Under siege

It feels like we've been bombarded lately... weather bombs, time bombs, and O-bombs (aka Oliver). Winter has closed in and it's all on. The temperature has plummeted, we all have colds, it rains a lot, we are surrounded by half-dry laundry, and we are left hunkering-down indoors away from all the fun things.

I started drafting this post almost a month ago. Since then we've had a good dose of what we suspect was rotavirus (Ella got it twice!), and the lingering coughs and colds. We are all tired from nightly coughing fits from various family members, and at the same time both Andrew and I have had the added stress of changes to our working conditions. Things have been quite miserable, but we are surviving.

I used to enjoy winter - the crisp air, frosts on the grass, rain to freshen everything up, and some good old mud to slosh through on the trails. Now? Not so much - sickness, dirty wet clothes, unhappy children, boredom, and a distinct lack of sloshing through mud on the trails. But what about the good stuff? Children to cuddle, hot baths and showers to enjoy, drinking milo, and learning the words to all the children's DVD theme songs. :D

Ella has been growing and developing lots. She is 11 months old now (the big 1.0 is next week!). She sprouted a fifth tooth at the start of the month, but we haven't seen any sign of it's partner coming through. Tooth number 6 (should be #7!) has emerged, but Ella is a bit lop-sided, with the top and bottom tooth missing on the left hand side... I'm sure it will all even up over time. Ella is enjoying her mobility, crawling everywhere and using the furntiture to stand and walk along for short distances. She is still wobbly and crawling is her preferred mode of transport - she has no desire to walk, even if I hold her hands for balance. Although just this week she has done a few short 'walks' using the trolley for assistance. Her speech is developing, with lots of babbling nonsense to amuse herself and us. She likes to clap, give 'high fives', put her 'arms up' (useful for getting dressed), wave, and is starting to mimick some basic baby sign language signs. I have started Ella at daycare, and is going for full days on Mondays and Wednesdays (the same as Oliver).

I am intending to work those two days a week, but don't have anything contractual yet. If I don't secure some work, things are going to be interesting!

Oliver has grown up a lot over the last month (or two!). He is well entrenched in the terrible two's stage of things, being very independent, and doing things his way as and when he chooses. He is officially 2 and a half now and recently (quite suddenly) decided that he doesn't need an afternoon sleep at home. Sleeping is compulsory at ABC's - the kids don't get a choice. They are bundled off into the sleeping room and it's lie down time. The teachers usually sit with Oliver until he falls asleep. At home he won't even stay in bed anymore! I knew this time was coming, but I had secretly hoped it would never eventuate. On a good day, Oli will play in his room by himself. On a bad day, he will keep coming out of his room every five minutes. About once a week he will fall asleep for 1-2 hours. And he's such a lovely fella in the evenings after he's had a sleep.

Of course, Oliver and Ella like to play together a lot, so I am trying to teach them about sharing, taking turns, and that sometimes you just have to go off and do something by yourself for a while. It's hard work! Oliver can be quite physical with Ella too, but what he doesn't realise is that one day Ella is going to be as big or even bigger than him...

We haven't done a lot over these past couple of months. I rode at Rotorua the weekend following the Rest of the World Singlespeed Champs, and throroughly enjoyed it. A good mix of trails, fine company, excellent weather, and plenty of grins. We topped off a 25km ride on our singlespeeds with a late lunch at Zippy's. Oh so good.

I had (ambitious) plans to do the full N-Duro Winter Series and the local Winter Fun Series sponsored by R&R Sport at Pukete, but the family illness put paid to the first N-Duro race, so I just did the Winter Fun Race instead. With no training done yet, and none planned for the immediate future... we'll see how the rest of the winter season works out.

Andrew and Oliver escaped for a boys day out at the Fieldays, enjoying a free lunch, watching the tractor pulls, motorbikes, helicopters, animals, and miscellanous other farming stuffs. I was pretty jealous, but chose to stay home with Ella to try to get over our colds (it didn't really help much).

Andrew also took Oliver to the Westpac Helicopter Open Day up at the Waikato Hospital heli pad (again, the girls were at home sick). The Armed Offenders Squad was also there displaying their full kit, and even allowing the public to try on the gear and hold the weapons. Oli wasn't keen on that, but he was keen on looking at all the helicopters, and had a little drive of the red tractor that is used to move the helicopters around.


Other than that, we are just trying to get outside when the weather is nice. Fresh air (no matter how cold) has got to be good for you!
Andrew turned down a couple of invites to the rugby due to potential conflicts of interest while a big contract was negotiated at his work. Frustratingly for me, it was the first time any of those invites were extended to include "the wife". My fingers are crossed for some more invites to include "the wife". :D