Mrs Fish & Mr Egg

Tyler has a neat imagination. He has a fantastic sense of humour. He also thinks outside the box. Combine all three, and you end up with a really funny, quirky kid.

Most afternoons, Tyler and I walk down to school to pick Ethan up. A few doors down from our house, there is a group of 3 trees* on the grass verge next to the footpath.

Tyler pretends that Mr Egg lives there. He will knock on the (imaginary) door and greet Mr Egg, who then offers Tyler a lolly.

These “lollies” are in fact small pieces of lichen, which Tyler pulls off the tree trunks. He pretends to eat his lolly, and then we continue walking.

A little further down the road, we come to another group of 3 trees.
This is the house of Mrs Fish.

The above procedure is repeated, and another lolly is consumed.

On the way home, Ethan graciously joins in on the fun, “visiting” Mrs Fish and Mr Egg with Tyler. Much laughing and giggling ensues, and I smile. Every time.

Tyler has been doing this for months. It’s a daily ritual. The other day, I realised that I needed to do something to preserve the memory. So I took my camera with me, and snapped the photos above. Now I’m blogging about it as well. This means I will have ready-made journalling to use on a layout with those photos.

Because 20 years from now, Tyler won’t remember Mr Egg and Mrs Fish. A scrapbook page will remind him (and us) of this funny little quirk. And I’m sure it will be hugely entertaining to look back on!

* Remember … it is winter here, so most of the trees are bare. Pretty soon (it’s the first day of Spring tomorrow, woohoo!!), they will be full of blossoms. Can’t wait.

Admire

admire v.t.. regard with pleased surprise, respect, or approval; (arch.) wonder at; (colloq.) express admiration of; hence ~ER n., suitor, ~ING a., showing or feeling admiration.

Annelie asked me, “Who do you admire, and why?”

That’s a hard question, because I admire many people. Rather than choosing just one, I thought I would make a list.
We all know how much I love making lists, right?

1. My parents.
I consider myself fortunate to have parents who are also my friends. My Mum & Dad are young (55 and 54 years old, respectively), fun, supportive, wise, Godly, kind, generous, loving, reliable, cool. They’ve provided me with all the usual things parents give their kids, and THEN SOME. Plus, their still-going-strong marriage (of 34 years!) is an awesome example to me.

2. My sister.
Sounds like a family reunion, I know. But my little sister is one of the most courageous people I know. Not many people know what she’s been through in the past and what she goes through on a daily basis, but I do.
She’s got a heart bigger than Texas, an ability to love people like you wouldn’t believe, wisdom and discernment far beyond her 28 years, and an inner strength that simply blows my mind.

The other people on my list are “famous” people, who I admire because of who they are and the things they have done, been through, or overcome. They really need no introduction. As luck would have it, they all have Wikipedia pages, too. So I’ll just list ‘em and link ‘em.

3. Corrie Ten Boom
4. Michael Jones
5. Phoebe Snow
6. Brooke Fraser
7. Bono

Now tell me, who do YOU admire and why?

Twenty-one

Kim asked, “How old were you when you left home?”

The short answer: I was 21.

I also got married when I was 21.

Yep, that’s right. I lived at home with my parents and younger sister until the day I got married. I never went flatting or boarding, never lived in a student hostel, never lived alone. And now, at the age of 31, I can say that I have only ever lived in 2 houses. Not many people can say that! I moved directly from my parents’ (then) house, the one I had lived in ever since I was a baby, into the house I live in today.

I did a lot of things the year I turned 21. 1999 was a VERY busy year for me.
I got my first full-time job (yes, the same one I have now).
I turned 21.
I graduated from University with a Bachelor of Science (a 3-year degree which I completed in 1998).
I moved out of home.
I got married.

I never really “planned” to do all those things so quickly (over a 3-month period, actually). I guess for some people, it could have been a recipe for disaster. However, I believe God has a plan for my life, and that things happened the way they were supposed to happen.

I lived at home for longer than most. Some people thought I should have moved out earlier. But I didn’t do that, because my parents offered me free board while I was studying. They weren’t in a financial position to pay my tuition fees, but wanted to help with the costs of my education in whatever way they could. I am extremely grateful for that. But if my circumstances had been slightly different, I think I would have chosen to go flatting or live alone for a little while before getting married.

I got married younger than most. Some people probably thought I was too young. But in my opinion, age has very little bearing on a person’s level of maturity, or their ability to make a lifelong commitment.
Rob and I knew we were ready to get married, and didn’t see the point in prolonging our engagement just for the sake of it. Also, we both knew we wanted to have children earlier rather than later (I was 24 when I had Ethan, and 26 when I had Tyler).

Rob and I didn’t live together before we got married. Some people probably think that is terribly “old fashioned”. But I don’t care what some people think. Our beliefs were (and still are) very important to us, and we didn’t want to compromise those. Neither of us have any regrets about waiting.

Twenty-one is an auspicious age. The associated birthday celebrations are usually highly anticipated. Often, the guest of honour recieves a “key” to symbolise that they are prepared to open the door to their future.

Looking back, I can attest to the fact that there were a LOT of great things waiting behind my door. I’m glad I accepted the key, unlocked my future, and dived in head-first. No matter how crazy it may have seemed to some people at the time.

I have no regrets, baby. No regrets.

Guest Post*

My friend Angella contributes to several blogs, as well as having her own (amazing) site. One of the blogs she writes for is called The Daily Grommet. The name makes me laugh, because here in NZ, the word “grommet” is usually used to describe either a gnarly little skater dude, or a small bead-like ring inserted into the ear drum.

Anyway, The Daily Grommet is actually a site dedicated to finding really fresh products (what they call “grommets”) and telling their stories to help them get discovered. Pretty neat concept.

So when Angella asked me if I would write a guest post for the site, I immediately agreed. Also? I’ve never been asked to write a guest post before, and I wasn’t about to turn down that awesome opportunity! I LOVE to write.

The topic she gave me was a fun one, too. Over in the US and Canada, kids are heading back to school after their summer vacations. Angella asked if I could write about “Back to School”. This topic was chosen to coincide with the promotion of a new product called Lunchbots. These are eco-friendly, durable, stainless steel food containers. They look pretty cool!

So I set to writing an article about “Back to School”. Here in NZ, it is the middle of August, the middle of winter, and the middle of the 3rd school term. But I made myself think back (or forward) to warm and sunny mid-January, which is when I, and most other NZ parents, start thinking about getting our kids ready for the coming school year.

My VERY FIRST guest post went up yesterday. Click here to read it.

I’d love to know what you think of it!

* Please excuse the incorrect American spelling used in my article (eg. ‘organize’ as opposed to ‘organise’). Things had to be adapted for the target audience.

Where it all began …

Back to your questions!

Kim asked me a lot of questions (she’s a real nosey parker!) and one of them was “How did you meet your hubby?”

Okay. Here’s the story of how it all began.

I first met Robbie (as he was known back then) when I was about 13 years old. He was 18 and still lived up in Whangarei, but his older brother Greg had recently moved down to Auckland to live. Greg was friends with some of the older people in our church Youth Group, so he often came along. Robbie and his friend Nick would sometimes come down from Whangarei on their motorbikes, and that’s when I first met him.

To be honest, I didn’t think much of him. I was only young, and completely besotted with another boy at Youth Group. I eventually went out with that boy for about a year, and then went out with his best friend while I was on the rebound. Amidst all of this ridiculously immature teenage “dating”, I never thought twice about Robbie.

Fast forward about 3 years, and Robbie decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps and move south. By this time, Greg was ready to shift from inner-city Auckland to the Hibiscus Coast (where I have lived all my life). Greg and Rob flatted together, along with a couple of others. Their house was *literally* just around the corner from my parents’ place.

I started to get to know Rob (as he became known) a lot better over the coming years. We went to the same Youth Group and church, and had the same circle of friends. At age 16, I wasted 6 months of my life in a relationship with an 18-year-old guy, which turned out to be a huge mistake. The guy broke my heart in a big way. But I moved on.

By the time I was 17, Rob was one of my very best friends. He, I and our friend Dan hung out together ALL THE TIME. We were like the Three Musketeers. All for one, and one for all.

Little did Rob know that I was secretly falling for him. Over a 2-year period I developed strong feelings for him, but I was too afraid to tell him how I felt. I used to confide in my friend Jo. She and I both worked part-time at the local supermarket, and most of our Saturday lunch breaks were spent talking about Rob. She was a good listener! I’m surprised she never got tired of hearing me go on (and on, AND ON) about him.

When I was almost 19 and Rob was 24, things changed.

It was 2 March 1997, a Sunday. Rob left church early, and I didn’t know why. I found out later that his Grandad had died that morning, and he’d left to go and be with his family. My heart just broke for him. All I wanted to do was give him a hug, but I couldn’t.

To take my mind off things, I went to the movies that afternoon with my Mum and sister. I still remember what we saw: Emma* (starring Gwyneth Paltrow).

As Mum drove us home after the movie, I just KNEW I would see Rob’s old Mercedes Benz parked in our driveway. I just KNEW my house would be the first place he’d come, after leaving his family. He was really close to my Dad, who was like a mentor to him. I knew he would be there, talking to Dad. And waiting for me.

We pulled into the driveway, and my heart skipped a beat. His car WAS there. I raced inside. He was sitting on the couch, and I pretty much fell into his arms. We both cried for a long time. I just wanted him to know that I felt his pain, and that I cared.

My parents asked him if he wanted to stay the night. He was no longer flatting with his brother; Greg had gotten married a couple of years earlier. The other guys he was flatting with were both away that weekend. My parents didn’t think Rob would want to be alone. He agreed to stay.

Later that night, after my parents and sister were in bed, Rob and I were sitting on the couch talking. We talked about lots of things, but eventually the conversation got more serious. Rob said something to the effect of, “I really like you, Hannah”. I decided this was my chance to tell him how I felt, so I replied, “I really like you, too. More than a friend”. Gosh, it sounds so pathetic now! But it was heartfelt and all I could manage at the time.

Rob said he felt the same way (!!), and had done for a long time. He also told me that a few months ago, he had been praying about a future partner. He had asked God for somebody who would laugh with him and cry with him. He told me about a photo a mutual friend of ours had recently given him. It was a photo of Rob and I which had been taken the previous summer, while on holiday at the Bay of Islands. In the photo, we were both laughing. Then he told me how much it had meant to him that I had cried with him that afternoon.

After the “confessions” were over, he kissed me. We both realised that this was the start of a relationship. I didn’t sleep much that night, knowing my new boyfriend was asleep in the very next room. The man I had been in love with for 2 looong years was finally MINE.

Twelve years later, I can still remember almost every detail of that day. It may not be the most romantic or inspiring love story, but it is OUR love story. And that’s all that matters to me.

*To this day, Emma remains one of my favourite movies.
The story of Emma Woodhouse & Mr Knightley is so similar to ours. Friends for years. Neither person realising they were falling in love with the other. Then the big confession. Sigh.

Rock A Buy Baby

BREAKING NEWS!!

I’ve interrupted my “question answering” to brag about my amazing sister-in-law! Last night, she was announced as one of 16 finalists for the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year!!

This is a BIG deal, people. You know who won this award in 2008? Michael Hill. Yes, the Jeweller. I KNOW.

“To become a finalist in these Awards, entrepreneurs must display leadership, creativity, business acumen, perseverance, and an unflinching determination to succeed. This year’s finalists have shown they have all of that and more. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards recognises and celebrates these people, their substantial achievements, and their contribution to our society and to our economy.” – Awards Director Jon Hooper.

Click here for a list of all the finalists. Sarah’s name is second from the bottom.

Sarah Hannah*, Miyo Baby Hammocks
Rock a Buy Baby

“They say fairy tales and nursery rhymes don’t come true, but someone forgot to tell Sarah Hannah. Replicating the conditions for creating a perfect sleeping situation for a baby (albeit one not in breach of the Health & Safety Act with ‘boughs breaking’), the Miyo Baby hammock is clearly a rocking good invention.

Trained as a nanny and with experience in pre-school education, her child affinity pedigree is well established. Rather than someone else’s offspring, Sarah’s homemade sleeping hammock was ‘test driven’ on her own three children. The research was then extended to incorporate nieces, nephews [MY BOYS!], God children and friends’ new arrivals.

Seeing the consistently positive results achieved in establishing good sleep patterns (and the by-product, happy babies), her natural entrepreneurial drive kicked in and Miyo was born.

Her quest to create a new way to ’sleep’ a baby was, however, not without some labour pains. Sarah spent over two years researching, testing and working on designs as well as assembling a team that would help support her vision.

Two solo—and somewhat harrowing—trips to China ended up with an ideal manufacturing partner. Nevertheless, Sarah still travels to China for each and every order that leaves the factory to ensure the ‘custom made/high quality’ promise to consumers is not breached.

Realising the limitations of focussing solely on the New Zealand market, Miyo has been a regular exhibitor at a variety of international baby shows with telling results. The hammock is marketed in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Scandinavia and Europe with Japan, the Middle East and Canada the next areas of focus.

Two years after the company’s launch in 2005, sales growth was in excess of 254% and the company won the 2007 NZCTA Exporter/Importer of the Year award.

To date, thousands of children have started their sleeping lives swinging in a Miyo. Only four years old, the company still has a great deal of growing to enjoy.”

We loved using the hammock when Ethan was a baby. He had gastro-esophageal reflux, and lying him flat in his bassinet or cot would inevitably result in him throwing up all over the bed, not to mention the screaming due to acid coming back up and burning his throat. He was always much happier sleeping in the hammock, which kept him in a semi-upright position. I truly believe that the hammock helped with his reflux, and we wouldn’t have been without it.

The hammocks Sarah manufactures now are even better than the one she tested on her 3 babies, and subsequently lent to me. I’d recommend the Miyo Baby hammock to any expectant mother. Oh, and she is NOT paying me to say this!

I’m very proud of my big sis – she has worked really hard over the past 4 years to establish and grow her business. To be named a finalist in these awards is a huge testament to her initiative and determination.

She ROCKS, just like her hammocks!

* For those of you wondering why my SIL’s surname is the same as my first name, you need to read (or re-read) this post!

Workin’ it

Thanks to those of you who asked your burning questions! I now have several draft posts underway. Okay, so most of them only have a title, but at least it gives me something to work with.

I decided to tackle the work-related questions first.

Alison asked, “Do you choose to work or do you have to work to afford your lifestyle?”

Both.

I have to work because we have 2 kids and a mortgage.
I am the main bread-winner in our family. I earn more than Rob, and he only works 4 days/week (by choice). He stopped working Mondays when Ethan was small, so the boys have always had 1 day/week to spend with Daddy. When I started working from home 2 years ago, we considered the possibility of Rob going back to work full time. But he loves having a day at home with the boys, so we decided not to mess with a good thing.

But even if I didn’t have to work for financial reasons, I would still choose to.
Why? Because I LOVE my job.
I have been doing it for 10 years, and I still love it as much as I did when I first started.
When I got my job back in 1999, I was a fresh-faced 20-year-old, straight-from-University. I felt so lucky to get the first (and only) job I applied for, because it was the only thing I wanted to do.
Medical writing combines my 2 great loves: science (which I studied at University) and writing (which is my “thing”, and English was my best subject all through school). I’ve never looked back.

Getting the chance to work from home was like a dream come true. I had been wondering how I would juggle everything around the 9-3 school hours, so to be able to work at home and be there for the kids is just perfect for our family.

Which brings me nicely to Kim’s question. She asked, “Do you ever have trouble working from home?”

Not really.

I’m a pretty organised and self-motivated person, so it works for me.
Working from home requires a lot of discipline. I have weekly deadlines, so if I “mucked around” early in the week, I would pay for it later on (with VERY late nights).
Mondays and Fridays are my most productive days. I usually do ~10h on each of those days, because childcare doesn’t have to be factored in. Rob is home on Mondays, and my Mum looks after the boys on Fridays (she has done this ever since Ethan was little).
But on the other days, I juggle my work with looking after the kids and the house (although I admit housework doesn’t get done as often as it should). Tyler is at Kindy every morning, so that time is spent working fairly solidly. My afternoons are more flexible, as I have the kids at home. I usually do more work in the evening, once the boys are in bed.

Sometimes it can be a bit lonely. But I don’t need constant social interaction, so most of the time I don’t mind the solitude.
That’s not to say I don’t miss my work colleagues, because I do. But I get to catch up with them at social events (and there are plenty of them; my company is big on that kind of thing). And I’ve filled the gap with other things, like getting to know lots of “school mums”, and making sure I carve out time to socialise with my friends at the weekend.

The one thing I don’t like about working from home is that I can never “leave work at work”. It’s always there. I’m pretty good about not working at the weekend (unless I have to make up the time because I have done something special during the week, like helped at Kindy or gone on one of the boys’ field trips).
But sometimes, after I’ve finished my quota for the day, it is tempting to do “just one more hour”. You know, to get a head start on the next day.
It’s a bit of a constant battle in my mind, but I’m learning how to fight it.

Deciding to work from home was the best decision I’ve ever made.
I love the fact that I can drop my kids off to school and Kindy, and pick them up afterwards. I can attend their assemblies, prize givings, cross country races, Athletics days, etc.
And if they are sick, I can keep them home without having to take time off work myself. Sure, I might have to work late at night on those days, but it’s worth it to be around for my kids.

So although I said I would choose to work even if I didn’t have to, there is a condition – I would never go back into the office. At least not full-time.

I love the balance I have right now. For me, it’s like the best of both worlds.

Ask me :-)

First up, thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post. Obviously I am not the only one feeling this way right now. I suspected as much, but it was nice to have it confirmed, and to know that you all understand.

Anyway, I’m determined to at least keep this blog going.
I like blogging, and I miss it.

However, I don’t really know what to blog about.

Thanks to my AWOL scrapbooking mojo, I haven’t got any layouts to share.
Because I haven’t been scrapbooking (or blogging) that much, I also haven’t been taking very many photos (which are often the inspiration for my posts).
And it seems that the older my kids get, the fewer “funny stories” I have to share.

So. I need your help.

Now I’m sure that every time you visit my blog, you have burdening questions that you wish you could ask me. No? You don’t? Okay, well at least pretend that you have questions, and then make some up! Because I’m giving you the chance to ask those things you’ve always wanted to know about me, my family, my life.

I will choose some of your questions as “fodder” for my next few blog posts. Hopefully by the time I’ve answered everything, the ideas and inspiration will be flowing once more.

Where for art thou, mojo?

I have some layouts to share today. However, none of them are recent; most are weeks or months old.

Because the truth of the matter is this: I have lost my mojo. As a matter of fact, I have lost both my scrapbooking mojo AND my blogging mojo. I have no time, energy or patience for either activity right now. To tell the truth, I actually have no DESIRE to blog or scrapbook at the moment.

But I am forcing myself to blog today, and forcing myself to scrapbook this coming week. We’ll see how that goes …

Okay, time to share:

These first 3 were done for Crafty Tart.

As some of you will know, I am leaving the Crafty Tart Design Team at the end of this month. By then I will have been on the team for 12 months, and I think it’s time for a change. It has been a great opportunity though, and I’m so grateful to Kate for asking me to be a founding member of her team.

SO HANDSOME (featuring Basic Grey “Wassail”)

YOU LITTLE PIRATE (featuring Making Memories “Spellbound” and Karen Foster)

FLY (featuring Glitz Design “Dozer”)

These next 3 were Creative Team examples for Scrap The Boys:

The first one was for the June challenge, which is obviously all over now (oops). Anyway, we had to use the word “Play” in our title, with a red & black colour scheme (plus one other colour).

PLAY

This was my example for the July challenge, which is also all over now!
For this one, we had to scrap our boys doing something “traditionally” girly. I enjoyed the chance to use lots of pink and lots of hearts!
I’ve always wanted to scrap these photos of Ethan (who, believe it or not, WILLINGLY dressed up as a fairy and posed for photographs).

REAL MEN DON’T MIND DRESSING UP

And here is my example for the August challenge, which is still open (yay). You need to scrap photos of your boys with food, and use a cooking term in your title (eg. cut, slice, bake, mix). Deadline is Sunday 30th August.

BAKING GINGERBREAD

And now for a couple of random layouts. These were done for challenge examples at The Sketch Book or Crafty Tart.

FUNNY FACE

LIL BOY BLUE

Well, that’s it from me. As you can see, not a lot of scrapping for just ME lately. I’m hoping to do more of that over the coming months.

Sorry I’ve been so AWOL lately. Hopefully my scrapbooking mojo will return soon, as well as my blogging mojo. I need to try and remember why I love both of these things, because I DO love them, deep down!