Another busy weekend tidying up around the place - we had one friend come over to prune our trees and another to do some plastering! Jamie will be doing some painting over the next few nights - after our new bifold door was put in two years ago we never finished it off properly. So by the end of the week it will be done!

Sunday night we went to the Wintersons to celebrate Ben's 7th birthday! Happy birthday Ben. We got him some cool quiz cards so it was fun asking him the questions, and being asked. He's a clever cookie, that boy.

Lachie was playing with a microphone at their place too - he was so cute singing away with his microphone (the Harold song) and then Martin got out his video camera.

I went to work last Thursday while Jamie stayed home with the boys which was great. And Friday I didn't do much ' cos I had a wee cold. But that healed up really quickly.

Fletcher has two teeth coming through up top - and I can see a couple more on the way. He can now get himself from his tummy back to sitting up.

Jamie and I are going to do a session (hopefully more) of a Marriage Enrich course. So last night we started off by filling in a questionnaire about our marriage that gets sent to a computer for analysis.

More soon!

Here is Fletcher and I guess you would call it his 'commando crawl'. He's just been doing it in the last couple of days.

See Fletcher Crawl!

Some pix of the boys

Fletcher likes to stand up in the bath now!

Fletcher in his highchair watching his brother's antics

Its a cold night here - colder than we've had for a while. Jamie is working a late shift so I am on my way to the woodshed for more firewood!

Over the weekend me and Jamie got into some spring cleaning. Jamie washed the house, which took most of the day. I cleaned skirting boards and ceilings and walls. And the oven - I did such a great job I kept peeking inside to see how shiny it was. I felt sad that I had to spoil it by making lasagne last night. Lachie stayed with his grandparents for the weekend so that we could attend to our tasks pretty much uninterrupted. But Jamie did wake Fletcher up from his afternoon nap by cleaning outside his bedroom window.

I went to the orthodontist last week. You see, I have a tooth coming through and there is no room for it, and my bite is all wrong. He said that I could do with braces, but I don't have to. Something will eventually have to be done. So I've just got to decide whether I have $5000 to spare for orthodontist bills!!

Fletcher is now pulling himself up on the furniture and sort of crawling around. He doesn't know how to use his legs properly - he gets into crawling position but doesn't know what to do next. I've tried to show him!

Lachlan is also great. I was reading a magazine last night and he pointed out the letters 2 and 0 on the cover to me! How impressive was that?

I also took both the boys to the Plunket nurse this morning after coffee group and they are both going great. Unfortunately I can't compare them at similar ages - I missed Fletcher's 5 month check (but did get to Lachie's) and I missed Lachie's 9 month check (but did get Fletcher's). She said I should take Lachlan to see the dental nurse. That shouldn't be a problem, he loves brushing his teeth lately and loves the taste of the toothpaste.

Bye for now!

Jamie

If you'd like to see a news bulletin from last week, featuring my husband, please click here.

A note on the video..

I heard Lachie singing one of the songs from a Thomas story & dvd the other day, so I decided to

video it. This was taken Monday morning. Its actually his second attempt - Jamie heard his first

and encouraged him to sing a little louder. And even since yesterday his pronunciation of the words

has become clearer. He's certainly not shy about sharing this song with others! I know you will

enjoy it. Sorry its a bit dark.

Been out to coffee group this morning. Good to catch up with everyone. Then did a few jobs and home to put the boys down for a nap! The rain has started up again so I have thrown my laundry in the dryer.

Here is a photo taken last week of the boys in the bath together. Ever since we stayed at Mum's, Fletcher wants to sit up in the bath now. They don't usually bath at the same time, but may occasionally overlap!

Say Goodbye to frozen peas!

I usually buy frozen peas just in case we need a green vegetable with our dinner, and I don't have anything more exciting. Well, no more. I have started buying frozen stirfry mix instead, with neat things like red pepper and snow peas in it. And with the price of red peppers etc and all the other vegetables you need to buy to make a good stirfry, I find it quite cost effective! So there's your little culinary tip for the week...

Me and Jamie have just been doing some jobs around the place on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, while the boys have naps. We went to church this morning and Mark V spoke. Speaking of jobs, I should go and do something about the two loads of laundry I have done.

I will try and post some pictures at some stage!

My first August post!

Sorry its been so long! I guess we have had another busy week here. I always feel like I don't have the time to post, but I should probably just post snippets when I have the opportunity.

Lachie has been home all week as he has a bit of a cold - no church last Sunday, no Starlights and no Mainly Music. I think he has been finding it a bit of a drag really!

Me and Jamie went to a Marriage Seminar at church two nights this week. Mel came and babysat the boys Wednesday night and Nana Ann on Thursday night.

I'm just going to do some work so I better get on with it.

Thursday

Jamie is working a late shift today, so he was home this morning. I took the opportunity to go in to work for about 3 hours while I had a baby sitter! So that was all good and plenty to do at home.

I must sing the praises of Glasson's on today's blog. I saw a girl in the supermarket on Monday and thought, 'what superb pants she has on...' So I asked her where she got them and it was the wonderful House of G. I telephoned the nearest store (Tauranga) when I got home and they mailed them over to me! The girl was so helpful and recommended a size smaller than you usually wear in these particular pants. They arrived the next day.

Anyhoo, it turned out that I still got the size wrong, so Jamie picked up another pair for me yesterday while he was working in Tga. THEN I had to take them this afternoon to be hemmed up cos they are way too long! So they should be fully functioning members of my wardrobe by tomorrow.....

For Auntie Tracy & Uncle Steve

Its been a quiet couple of days here. Jamie has been taking it easy and the weather has been wet.

Fletcher seems to have come down with a cold, just after he got over the virus he had in June! Pooh.

So me and Lachie went to church this morning by ourselves. Sarah spoke a great word and I am encouraged to persevere!

Jamie is back at work this week (I hope he is up to it), so we will be well and truly back in to the swing of normal life.

Lachie helps wash the car

One of the jobs Jamie did on Saturday was wash the car - it still looked filthy after my trip to Havelock North. Lachie got his own bucket and cloth and helped out. Despite his waterproof overalls, he was very wet when he was finished!

Fletcher is his new snuggle sack

Here is a funny photo of Fletcher in the new snuggle sack that Grandma made him. It is positively luxurious compared to his old one. Thanks Grandma!

It Ain't the flu...

Jamie went to the doctor this afternoon after another night of fevers, and a sore throat that got worse. Diagnosis: Strep Throat. The doctor said his throat was hideous. So a round of penicillin for him.

A new refrigerator!

Our fridge has been on its last legs for a while now. It used to ice up quite bad and we'd have nearly frozen food on the top shelf. So we replaced the thermostat but I'm not sure that it worked. I got back from Havelock North and found it was decidedly warm in there!

So me and Jamie went on a mission Monday morning, and I must say, it was pretty easy. We felt like we got a good deal, and the refrigerator was delivered in the afternoon! I am really starting to love it - its bigger than our last one. After that I went and did some grocery shopping, now that I had somewhere safe to store the food!

Its been great to have Jamie home - he got home at 7pm Friday night - his flight was delayed and he got stuck in traffic in Tauranga coming home. However he has been unwell - a touch of the flu - achy and fevers. Despite that he's not one for recuperating in bed...

Fletcher is now going from sitting on to his tummy, so hopefully some crawling is just around the corner. He got a lovely new snuggle sack from his Grandma in the mail on Friday. Check back at some stage for photos.

Lachie had a very late night on Saturday. We went to friends' to have dinner and watch the rugby so he was up 'til about 10pm.

Better go and get Fletcher his dinner and the boys into the bath!

For You, Mother

Here are a few of the pix . Of course I can't email them to you - its the entire reason I began this blog!