Coffee group kids dinner

I found these photos on my camera the other day, and I thought all the kids looked so adorable I just had to post them. At the end of last year life was just so crazy and hectic I didn't manage to do a lot of blog posts, and now that I've been doing a bit of photo maintenance it's quite nice to find photos such as these. It was of our last kids dinner for the year with my coffee group.





Loose stones and children - what can I say - the kids were fully entertained (and mischievious) for quite a while.





We tore them away from their games for some dinner.





The smallest child was the last to leave. She ate everything on her plate, and then some more.



After dinner fruit was served on the patio.



The other kids wanted to partake in fruit eating too, so we moved them to the small table.









Kien ended up being alone with all the ladies. Looks like they were a captive audience.



Oh look, other boys busting in on the party.



After fruit it was driving time - driving and crashing and dangling. I look at these photos and wonder what is in store for the future...







It's hard to imagine that they were once this small!

Pumpkin carving extravaganza

Last weekend we went to a kids dinner which also consisted of a pile of pumpkins being massacred. Here's what that decimation looked like:









The carnage:



The result:



The kids had dinner after the cleanup:





Then it was judgement time:







The votes were cast, and I'll give you a guess at which one won. OK, it was this one:



Guess who carved it?



The end.

Preparations

It doesn't feel like we are going to fly out on Sunday or Monday night for a month away from here. Yes, that's right, I haven't made up my mind as yet which flight to take, so I haven't booked. If we fly on Sunday night that means we get to spend practically 2 days plus one night in Hong Kong. Yes, that's right, that also means I haven't booked a hotel in Hong Kong either. Oh, and when we get to Saigon on Tuesday afternoon we are more than likely just going to wing it with our hotel for the night - maybe, unless I have a total panic attack on Sunday and book everything. It just doesn't feel real yet, you know? Jef's been working his butt off and I've hardly seen him these last couple of weeks as he's been working some mighty odd hours. I've been kinda busy at work too, but it's been so hard to stay motivated. But I've had 2 project test plans to complete and people to train for various IT tools - bla bla bla, wah wah wah, so I've had to stay somewhat focused.

Anyway, some pleasant distractions along the way in the meantime, including a kids dinner with my Plunket coffee group friends last Friday.



The kids had a great time, as per usual. It only just occurred to me that there are so many of them! They ran around and played outside until dusk and then migrated indoors to play with toys and watch movies, and iPads.







We all had a great time. This was actually the first one where partners came along too, so it was really nice to meet everyone's significant others. It was our way of including them, because last month they were at home with the kids while we did this:



Thanks, Dads. Us girls do need a bit of time out of the house occasionally :-)



~~~~~

We got Kien jabbed on Monday - Hep A in one arm and Typhoid in the other. He was so brave about it, more so than I was, and I wasn't the one getting a needle in my arm(s)! He winced and said ow but didn't shed a tear. I gave him a Kinder Surprise as reward and he was happy about that. I was so grateful Jef was there at the appointment to hold Kien. I was so nervous and was basically useless.



He wanted to show you his band-aid he got for the injection site, however that wasn't where is jab was located. Oh well, "Cars" band-aids are cool was all he was trying to say.



~~~~~

On Tuesday it rained, and we walked to playgroup. It was also cold, much to my surprise. What is going on? It's like overnight we went from scorching summer to autumn conditions in one foul swoop. Oh, if it wasn't for us going to a tropical climate I would be in mourning for our long hot summer.





The activity was for the kids to plant seedlings to take home. But Kien refused to do it. He watched as I did it for him, and then he said he didn't want to take it home. But I knew better! I left it on the bench along with the other plants, and as we were getting ready to go home Kien reminded me that we had to take HIS plant home.



~~~~~

Breakfast at daycare. Wonderful!

Catching up over the last two weeks

Kids dinner

It's nice to do catch-ups with kids that have known each other for over half their life span.

A couple of weeks ago we had another awesome kids dinner gathering. I love these; it's just a fun way to accomplish what would ordinarily be a routine/chore on a Friday night.



I'm pretty sure we all appreciate the variation.





I didn't even get a picture of the host, who was busy in the kitchen making pizzas for our kids!

Playgroup

Ponsonby playgroup is always a good place/thing to do on Tuesday mornings. It is nice being able to watch Kien play.



With the help of the Activities Coordinator he made me a card giving me lots of coupons for treats - like 1 bug hug, 1 big kiss, quiet time.



I tried redeeming my "quiet time" coupon numerous times. I'm sorry, but time-out doesn't count. Maybe I have a better chance of redeeming the coupon when he's 13.

Mother's day present(s)

The day before Mother's day we stopped at a store looking for a DVD reader and exited the store with two items, none of which was what we went into the store for.



He liked his Mother's day gift(s).


Please ignore the state of the utility rug. We do.

When coffee turns to wine

When the 10:00am sessions at the park or someone's house over coffee, tea, bickies and muffins while the kids crawl around on the floor are a thing of the past, that's when you know life is just that much easier and more enjoyable, especially when there is wine involved, and especially when someone else is looking after your kid's dietary requirements.

Last week we had a kids dinner at one of my Plunket coffee group buddy Danielle's place. Despite us turning up an hour late (Kien is in the process of dropping his nap, but in doing so he kinda falls asleep at random/inappropriate times - like 3:30pm?!?).

Once upon a time a scene as depicted in the storyboard/collage above would have frightened me to no end, but now? It pleases me beyond belief! How I love seeing kids playing and eating together. I never thought I would love it as much as I do. Yeah, gushy and yucky talk for all you non gushy-over-kids folk. I know who you are, that's OK, I forgive you.

But it is with toys and finger food and wine, so it's all good.

Davida brought along her 5 week old little girl, Neve - so now I am officially the only one in the group with only one child.

Her brother was lovin' her like crazy - it was so sweet to see.

Kien got hold of the rock guitar and mic, and he got himself all set up to play a gig for his friends.

Then he was into it.

He even did the typical thing of acting like a rockstar and throwing his guitar all over the place.

~~~~~

The week prior it was a meet up for just the mums.

When life as a mother just gets a bit too hectic and crazy it is always nice to go out with like minded people who are in the same phase of childrearing as you are and can relate to your sagas.

I always feel like a paparazzi as I'm always the one whipping out the camera, or holding the camera at some strange angle where I can keep it steady to take suppressed flash pictures. But hey, I'm the one with the bad memory (is there such a thing as permanent nappy brain syndrome?), and I'm the one running a web log of my son's existence (and all peripherals), so therefore I just have to take the pictures, and sometimes I apologise for it, but more often than not everyone is understanding, so thank-you for being understanding!