Another Billy and Bella Adventure

The lovely Bella came to play for the day again today. We discovered just how far and long (2.5hrs) two three year olds can walk if you

start with bagels and a fluffy for breakfast on K rd


and find a lolly dispensing machine on the home stretch


check out all the street art



find oak leaves

and acorns

and statues to play a game of baby birds around, which involves flying around the staues and picking a nest for their 10 baby birds



find a very small door

run from one billboard poster to the next to pick your favourite





work out which side of the footpath to walk on

look in all the shop windows

walk along walls


and finally head for home through the tunnel in time for playgroup

yep, these two are pretty cute together.

Brownie Promise

Harriet took doing her Brownie Promise very seriously. Despite the chilly winter night it was lovely the ceremony was held outside with some of the girls blowing bubbles and holding tea lanterns and then bananas with chocolate and marshmellows over the campfire to warm up afterwards.

Some Nice Things Around our House

piles of washed thrifted fabrics ready for projects- Whangarei op shops were fabulous

this little needle book also found in Whangarei

complete with supplies all for 50c

virgin mary retro mirror from sarah and sila for my birthday

my new bag, also for my birthday filled with goodies and treats from Ang

flowers in our bedroom this week

and lastly this gorgeous smiley small boy who likes to hang out in front of the fire before his bath

Proud Mother Smiles

We have had parent /teacher interviews for both girls in the last week.
Harriet is doing really well, she is in the top reading and spelling groups in her class, is a good group member, helpful, and is caring about her class mates. I even had one parent come up to me the next day and tell me Harriet had spoken to her after school, about her son being upset about the way some other kids had talked to him. This is a boy Harriet was at preschool with for awhile but is a few years older than her with some special needs. When she talked to her son it turns out Harriet had stood up to the other kids on his behalf and been a good friend to him. He wouldn't of told his mother if Harriet hadn't spoken to her and they were than able to resolve things within his class and with the teacher. This made us feel extra proud of her.
Isabella too is doing very well. She is currently in yr10 (which in old school talk is 4th form...I still struggle with the new yrs and NCEA)and started the year doing yr11 History instead of yr10 social studies. At the end of last term both she and I felt she wasn't being extended enough so I talked with the school and she was moved up to yr11 (5th form) French, English and Chemistry. Seems she is pretty much coming top of yr11 in these subjects, after only a few weeks for some of them, so we did some planning on how she should structure the next few years at school.She is going to pick up physics this year as well and most likely she will do some stage 1 university papers her last year and we will look at some kind of overseas french exchange her second to last year for a few months. The school also hopes to have Philosophy up and running as a subject choice next year as well. We are going to keep her in her current form class so all the social and senior school responsibilities happen the same year as her peers but extend her by a year or more academic wise. Her teachers talked about how mature her essay structure and content was.
So all round two girls doing really well at school and of whom we are very proud.

Some weekend pics and Giveaway Winners

Most of the weekend was spent catching up with friends. Friday night was fish & chips and some Abba singstar for the kids. Billly must of been soaking up Mama Mia the numerous times Harriet has watched because he actually did quite well and definately had all the dance moves.

Saturday the girls and I travelled down to the Waikato for our friend Tamara's
21st, Isabella and I even fitted in some op shopping. She is geting quite a collection of vintage and retro clothes now and added a very nice cardy from Saturdays shopping. We headed back to Auckland in time for pudding at Jo and Karens and a sleepover for Harriet . Her big achievement for the weekend was Jo teaching her to ride without training wheels.


Sunday afternoon Harriet and I did her letters for the kids mail swap
she did pretty well although I think the first recipient probably got a little more effort than the last. She loves getting post so thought this would be fun for her.


Sunday night was a lovely dinner with our friends Sala'am and Molly, I love a weekend where I don't have to cook at all.

GIVEAWAY

Billy, with Arlo supervising picked the winners. Thanks to everyone who commented or emailed for your lovely words. The first box of clothes should arrive at the shop this morning so will keep you posted on how that goes.




the winners are

Sofia's mama and Lyndie.....email me at geckogrl2002@yahoo.com or I will contact you and you can let me know whether you would like a lounge set for next summer or some upcycled pants for this winter...thanks again for playing

Billy and Bella's Busy Day

Today Billy had his "best friend because she is and I love her and I just love her and that's why" Bella to play for the day. We walked Harriet to school

than Mama and Arlo to yoga before heading to a cafe for bagels and fluffies (excuse the bad hat hair)


than it was some swinging before walking back to yoga


and a sustaining lollypop

on meeting up with Ang and Arlo we discovered an amazing garden behind the hall with a big painted maze which was good for running off even more energy (Bella came with the instruction 'please feel free to exhaust her and bedtime might be easier,)





we set off walking again and they got to check out the wonderful mosaic mural in Grey Lynn, we drive past this alot but I think this was the first time Billy actually got to check it out up close

than a final stop at the library, Billy got his own card last week and loves to scan it and his books at the self issue machine. Personally I like talking with the librarian but I can see the attraction of this for a small boy and he carefully explained it all to Bella


some last walking

before heading to playgroup for a few hours of dressing up fun