DUCKS, DUCKS, DUCKS.

So so sorry this has taken FOREVER to get this post up, These baby ducks aren't babies anymore :( 

Baby ducks....Stinky, stinky baby ducks.


Dad had set up the incubator with a massive 30 something eggs, estimated to hatch when we arrived. They weren't far off. Only by a few days. Out they pipped, slowly working their way out of their shells, one first, then 4 at the same time. 

Then mum and Dad went on holiday.........we were left with the stinky ducks.

we managed to keep up with feeding them, keeping their water topped up and the floor relatively dry. And they kept on hatching. 

Sadly we lost a few and there were eggs at the end that did not hatch. Poor Mark had to deal with the reality of raising baby livestock and dig the holes.

We now have 12 healthy juvenile ducks roaming around their little hawk-deterrent enclosure.

And on another note, the house hunt is progressing slowly.

The longest week so far….

The pack and the drive. Oh the drive.

Monday Morning came way too soon. I was not ready. We were not completely packed, We were not organised, But the truck came anyway. It was a really, really, really long Monday.

Ace didn’t nap at all. He got incredibly stressed and would not have his parents apart. He wanted to go to the local shop but wouldn’t let one parent stay behind. He got quite upset. Understandably so. So hubby got him a great distraction toy….. not so great for everyone else.

I get you Mumma!

We eventually had everything packed up and on the truck. And off it went.

Bye Truck, drive safe

We had a lovely visit from The Aunties at the end of the day, Ace perked up and played with the girls, while The Aunties went through all the unopened food and cleaning supplies. They each went home with a boot full of supplies for themselves and Playgroup. But the best part was Aunty and her thermos of Tea. Just what I needed at a rough time. I will miss you ladies.

Karyn, you are AMAZING. 

We were 2 ½ hours late leaving after the packers took forever to load. I was a bit disappointed with their lack of motivation. But it got done and after stopping to say goodbye to Gramma and Poppa, and drop off the Keys, we were on our way.

On our way……….to Christchurch. Not coming back………. (well to live anyway)

We had such a late and rough start to our trip Ace fell asleep almost immediately. We stopped in Hamilton for a quick dinner and carried on to what is now my most favourite hotel in all of New Zealand. Hilton Lake Taupo. We arrived late into the night and it took a good while to settle Ace back into bed, but once we did it was a pleasant stay and lovely breakfast. I’m looking forward to an excuse to go back there again.

 

Breakfast for 2.5

From Taupo we headed out to the coat to the beautiful Hawkes Bay. And beautiful it was….. until it rained. We had a lovely overnight stay with some friends before hitting the road again for Wellington.

National Aquarium, Eketahuna Playground, Cuba St.

Wellington City is a nightmare. The hubby always swears he will never drive in the city ever again. And somehow we end up back there. Ace learnt a few new words that should never be used outside of the car.

But we sure had a lovely view from our hotel. When we found one. Somehow we chose a very busy week to stay.

Not a bad view?

Ace was super excited to get on the boat in the morning. I still don’t think he realised he was on a boat, but he had fun none the less. We booked a Cabin. Best. Idea. Yet. It meant we had space to leave our stuff, have time out from the noise and people as well as lie down and have a sleep. We all loved the playground (on the boat) and the pies were are brilliant as expected.

And the sounds were BEAUTIFUL. As always. Just like Picton Harbour. I love this place, just standing with my toes in the water, park behind me, hills in front. It is just beautiful.

We decided to keep driving after lunch and see how far we could get. Poor hubby was a bit over it by then and ready for it to be done. Ace fell asleep pretty soon into the drive (Thanks to some playlist manipulation) We had though about stopping in Kaikoura for the night, Ace was still asleep when we got there and The Hubby was over it.

We eventually made it to Ohoka at around 5:30 on Thursday much to the delight of Ace who had been crying “I want to get out now” from the back seat for over an hour. Poor kid.

So we are here now. In beautiful Christchurch. Friday we had a whopping 27⁰C and today it is 12.

The Hubby and I are still adjusting to not thinking about “when we do our trip back…” and Ace still thinks he is on Holiday. We don’t feel like we live here yet and probably won’t for a while. But for now. We are here. We are well and we are about to begin a new adventure.

Right now I need to go build a duck nursery. Stay tuned folks for super cute photos of baby ducks.

The last week in the Super City...

All the loose ends to tie up but still enjoy a few treats..

I know this week is going to go by quick (not today though, over tired toddlers never go quick) and we are going to be packing the car before we know it. But the packing will not do itself either. I am at a constant battle with boxes and said toddler. So far the score is Toddler 2 - Boxes 1. 

As quickly as it is going (Wednesday already) I feel like there has been a lot of achievements. Yesterday I went with 'The Aunties' to a professional photo studio to have some pictures of our kids taken. Well..... We did eventually have some successful photos, but there were a whole lot of tears and a lot of adults jumping around, singing and dancing to get responses from the kids. 

These are not trained Monkeys.

 Credits: Studio; Nina G photography Photographer; Claire Coulam

We have had a few quiet moments at home, around all the packing, sorting and prepping. I have even managed to cook a roast twice this week. I did escape for a few hours on Saturday for High Tea too. 

And look at that it is Sunday night and we are as ready as we can be for the container tomorrow. There have been so many lasts; last play at the Cedar Center, last bus ride to see Daddy, last play with 'The Aunties (and uncles) and so many others. 

Tonight we spend the last night in our first house. Bye House. 

First call, Second call, Third and final call.....

The house is SOLD. Well done Team.

I cant quite believe yet that we have sold our house. It has been the backdrop to many of our new parenting challenges and celebrations. We have laughed and learned, played and cried here. I have spent more time here than away from here in the last 3 years. But, just like everyday we are growing and changing. This move is a big leap for our learning as a family. 

We have done a lot of work to get a decent result for our house. There were long weekends of scrubbing, cleaning, painting and packing. Poor Ace was a little bit fed up with having to play by himself and constantly being told to "stay out of the way" when he had no idea where 'in the way' was. 

We went from being quite a free and relaxed house with toys all over the floor.

Toys, toys everywhere.

 To a house that is clean and tidy and shows off how much space there is (for toys) 

So clean and so tidy

We did have some advice to get the house 'open home ready'. We spent two days shopping for supplies; Rugs, pillows, lamps, blankets and throws. It made a huge difference, our house was ready to be presented to strangers. 

Ace sleeping waiting for the bus.

That was a little bit difficult. When people wanted to visit we sometimes needed to be away from the house. There were lots of trips to the local playground, a few trips to town to see The Hubby and lots of weekend lunches out of the house. 

Going out sure did keep the house clean and reduced the amount of dishes that I needed to keep up with, but it did mean naps on the go. Ace became a real trooper at scooping up his toys and going out without any reason. We were also really lucky that a lot of agents and visitors were not offended if we were home.

In the first week of listing Ace got sick. Contagious to small children sick. We couldn't go to friends or to play equipment, it was a real challenge. But we made it, 



Most importantly. Thank you to our team. Thank you to all our supporters who have offered to help, supplied us with boxes and have made the whole process that much easier. Thank you to the 'Aunties' for looking after Ace and keeping me in a rational state of being. You ladies are Amazing. Thank you to the Hubby's work colleagues for tolerating a sleep deprived, renovating, gardening, exhausted manager. And a HUGE thank you to our agent. Without him we wouldn't have done it. He inspired me, motivated me and worked really, really hard for us. I am so appreciative. Thanks Jordan. You did a brilliant job. Look him up folks. www.jordanselwyn.co.nz 

Well, that's one MAJOR step in the Christchurch direction. Now onto packing, packing and more packing. (and a little bit of unpacking to re-pack)

Drying out after the storage flooded.

The first of the lasts.

Here we go, the last this, the last that.....

They have begun. The last times........

Today we had the last 'bake day' for Hubby. (The last delicious carrot cake for the work team) 

Sorry no picture, it was iced too early this morning for a picture. 

And Ace had his last day at gymnastics. It was a bit of an odd last day without the Aunties and only one of his girl friends. it almost felt unfinished, one session away from his achievement certificate too. 

I didn't get a good picture today that really shows his skills. We will hopefully start up with gymnastics again next year.

Stay tuned for more lasts..... 

Five basic things 'About me".... I mean 'About us'

Lets see if I can keep it to just five.....

1. We are living in our first home (for the next 5 weeks), We paid a huge amount of money for it three years ago, about 3 months before Ace was due to be born. It is a 1960s bungalow with oodles of 'charm'. It has served us well, we have not had to do too much to it. The odd fix here and there and it sure looks lived in.  I have enjoyed the Tuis and the wood pigeons living in the trees. We have successfully grown; strawberries, Fejoas, passionfruit, peas, beans and boysenberries (we have eaten what the birds didn't get). It has been a great place for the little monkey to learn to crawl, walk and play. He has made a mess of it everyday but somehow it bounces back

   

   Strawberries from our garden

2. We are Moving to rural North Christchurch. Waimakariri area, to a little place called Ohoka (or close to it) This is where my parents are now after moving out of the Eastern suburb of Avondale. There are some great little secrets to this area. The Market for one is an amazing little treasure on a Friday morning. And it is just over an hours drive to the ski slopes.

   

   I get you momma

3. Neither Hubby or I have lived on a farm before. We are city kids who grew up in suburbia; with foot paths and takeaways down the road, a dairy on every corner and 24hr supermarkets. Life is defiantly going to change for us. The first thing I need to do is hook on the L plates and get this driving thing sorted.

   

   Dirty, filthy takeaways

4. I can't possibly explain the emotions that come with this move. I am so ridiculously excited to be going, to be making this massive change, to start living something new. But I also know that there is going to be a lot of heart ache leaving Birkdale behind. Leaving our house and the things we know and take for granted. But mostly it is leaving behind our community. I have established a very close bond to my 'mumma community'. We all have children of the same age and have watched them grow together. 

   

   Happy times at our local playgroup

5. We. Love. Food....We love to eat food, buy food, grow food, look at food, read about it ..... if its about food, I want to know it. I can guarantee we will be growing, producing and processing food on our new land. We will be researching, exploring and trialling ideas until we fall over.

I don't know if we will grow our own steak.....

Wow, I did it, i kept it to just 5 things. I am sure there will be much much more to come. 

Are we mad?

Are we? I have no idea, but here goes.x

For the last twelve months we have been talking about this dream of moving to rural North Christchurch. We have been watching the real estate sites like daily news and investing in little yellow 'retirement tickets' in the hope of making the dream come true. We have hummed and haaa'd about selling up and moving down, or keeping our house as a rental property. I have been researching schools, pre schools, gymnastic and a collection of other things in our new area in preparation. 

But now it is time. . . . . 

We are off in as little as five weeks. The house is on the market. The boxes are being packed (sort of) and we are 'booked in' at Hotel Mum & Dad for the first while. 

The listing for our house, our little corner of the world. I will miss you house.

It has been (and still is) a hard experience for Ace, he's only two and a half and has no idea that we will not be coming back. He is still sure that he is going on holiday to Gran and Grandpas house.  Although he does understand that someone else will buy our house. 

This is my Monkey Ace, having his snack bar in the Auckland sun.

I am exhausted from all the preparation, the ongoing housekeeping and the constant thought of packing. I am sure that once we do get to Mum & Dads I will sleep for a week straight. 

The hubby continues to work right up until our move day and will start his new job in the city the following week after we arrive. He is good at this keeping the house clean and keeping the chocolate well stocked. 

Everyday we are faced with so many questions, both from people around us and those in our own heads. Hopefully this blog will help with some of those questions and will help us to bring our thoughts and dreams to life. 

Stay tuned folks it is going to be a bumpy ride.