A Night with the Stars!

What an awesome weekend... It started off on Friday night going to see my pretend nieces Courtney (13) & Laura (11) in the production of High School Musical @ the Aotea Centre. They were both high school kids and they did perfectly. It was wonderful seeing them afterwards buzzing with excitement despite having done the show three times that day! So well done girls - I've been singing 'soaring, flying...' all weekend.

And then on Saturday we had the Pharmacy Awards Night - which was a Black Tie Dinner. There is one category for hospital pharmacists - and Rob had entered this in 2002 and won our honeymoon (a trip to Thailand) so we were excited when Rob was a finalist again this year. The night started off with cocktails for the finalists at the Rendezvous Hotel we were then transported in limos to the Old Town Hall. The theme of the night was 'a night with the stars' and you felt a bit like a star when there was red carpet and a photographer while hoping out of the limo! Once inside there were a lot more people 480 it was wonderful seeing so many people all glammed up.

With Rob being a finalist we had a good front row seat - we were sat at tables and served a gorgeous meal between categories. Unfortunately Rob didn't win this year - but there was still plenty to celebrate as others at our table won their categories. I even managed to spill wine all over the gentleman beside me which must have been good luck cos he won his category ( I didn't have any more wine for ages after that!) We then enjoyed a night of great company & dancing and before we knew it it was midnight. We stayed at the Rendezvous hotel which was also all paid for - which meant a yummy three course breakfast this morning! What a perfect night!

If you're wandering where Emma was for all of this... Well Grandma came to stay the night. Thankfully Mum was able to lend me lots of glamorous stuff too - like makeup, jewels,a purse and even the black cape (which is beaver fur - I know it's naughty to wear fur but it kept me very warm! It's over 100 years old so I figured it was ok cos the beaver wasn't killed especially!!) Emma was an angel for Grandma and slept beautifully. She seemed to enjoy watching us getting ready yesterday too - very fascinated by panty-hose and nail polish! And as usual my makeup!

A Week in Sydney

We've just got back from a lovely week away in Sydney. We managed to pack up the rain and take it with us and solve the NSW drought! It rained nearly the whole week and it was also very cold - especially for those of us who took mostly t-shirts to wear! We stayed in Manly on the beach in a great homely apartment. We caught up with friends Niamh & Ewan who recently married in Scotland so it was great seeing all their wedding photos and catching up on their news. Of course we did lots of shopping (not much else to do in the rain...) We enjoyed shopping at Ikea again - and Emma finally has a table to match her little chair she's had for ages. In fact nearly everything we bought was for Emma... We did visit the kangaroos and koalas at a wildlife park and Emma had a ball trying to chase them as well as some other wandering children!

Some sad news to come home to though - our darling cat Ruby had been run over and killed while we were away. Very sad cos she was our first pet and we couldn't of asked for a nicer cat for Emma - she tolerated Emma's not so gentle pats and her fascination with her whiskers! Emma's first word in the morning is usually 'cat' so she will be very sadly missed.

You know you're a parent when...

* Your credit card bill has more mention of Pumpkin Patch than Max.

* You know Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy off by heart.

* You can do just about anything one handed- with a baby glued to your hip.

* Television appeals featuring starving babies make you cry (in fact almost anything does!)

* You write your shopping list in crayon.

* You have a new appreciation for what your parents did for you.

* When somone's kid throws a wobbly at the supermarket you cast them sympathetic glances.

* You cringe when you remember saying "my kid will never have a dummy, sleep in my bed or
watch telelvision!

* Your handbag contains crayons, snotty tissues and crumbs.

* You haven't been to the loo in peace since heaven knows when!

* Your washing line is always full.

* You find yourself humming the Wheels on the Bus while driving alone.

* You know there's nothing more heart-warming than watching your baby sleep.

* You find yourself absent-mindedly rocking the super-market trolley.

* Somehow worrying about the meaning of life seems pointless... you know what it is!

From the latest Treasures' Magazine.

This Week..

Well it's been a funny week really... Rob & I have both been sick with some grotty viral cough thing... Last weekend was a write off for me after working a night shift (on the delivery suite - umm very interesting..) I got a nasty migraine - haven't had one since 2004 so can't complain really! A little scary for Rob though - because when I get them I loose the ability to speak (peaceful weekend for Rob!!) And I slept the whole weekend away - and then passed on my coughing germs to Rob so he's been off work most the week. Thankfully we weren't at our worse together - and I'm so thankful that we're a team - so I could sleep last weekend and be confident that wee Em was being cared for. Thankfully Em had the cough first so she's been happy as could be all week! Her latest thing at the moment is circles - she loves doing this especially in front of the mirror - it also seems to be her way of dancing! Anyway Rob came to swimming with us yesterday - so another swimming photo..

Welcome to the world to Joshua James Wood - and little buba Thomson who doesn't have a name just yet a wee brother for Alex.