Another week done and dusted

This week I was struck down with a stomach bug of some kind. It came on fast! I spent 3 days vomiting and wallowing in self pity on the couch. Unfortunately since Aarahi is taking time off in a few weeks for his brother's wedding we could afford for him to take anymore time off to look after the kids for me. The kids however were incredibly well behaved! I got them up changed them and sometimes fed them breakfast. On one day I let Auron get his own breakfast and he was nice enough to make Lili a plate of fruit and a piece of toast. He made a huge mess but I didn't care. For the rest of the morning they usually played quietly, I put Lili down for her nap and not long after that Aarahi would be home. On one day I just put them both in Lili's cot with the ipad and some toys and then I got in bed and went to sleep. They were happy, and safe, well I didn't hear any complaining from them.
Along with the vomiting came a rash...and when I say rash I don't mean a small patch of red itchy skin I mean a bright ready bumpy itchy sore rash covering almost 80% of my body. It was crazy. That combined with the vomiting had me freaking out that I was pregnant, as both those things only ever happen if I am pregnant. So I send Aarahi off to the pharmacy for a test and some drugs to get rid of my burning skin. He protested about how he didn't want to buy a pregnancy test, but he's an awesome husband and came back with one anyway. Negative by the way.
I am feeling much better now, still not 100%  but better. We stayed home from church today as I wanted to keep the kids in as much of their routine as possible since we fly out this week. We have afternoon church and it messes with the kids sleeping and moods every week and it takes a few days for me to sort them out again. So hoping to avoid it this week.
Aarahi bought a Ps3 this week, too keep him company while we are away. I think he is going to relish the uninterrupted gaming time. He has been training Auron up on how to play Tekken. Not the most appropriate game for a 2 year old....or anyone for that matter but they are pretty cute playing together.
Today I have watched despicable me 3 times and its now playing for a FORTH time in a row. Aarahi was going to turn it off but....we're still watching. On Friday night we stayed up til 1am (big deal in our house) watching Person of Interest. We bought the first season on DVD and love it. Now we have to wait for the 2nd season to come out!!!!!!!!!!!! tempted to just download it though.

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We've been BUSY

Third week in a row of groceries under $100, I'm feeling pretty awesome.
At this moment both my children are busy ripping up newspaper and junk mail in the middle of the living room floor. It's a mess but they are having the time of their lives and I couldn't possibly ruin their fun.
I'm not sure what happened last week. I'm sure we did stuff. Probably just more of the usual, playgroup, gymbaroo, libray, shopping etc.
Aarahi and I made a budget a few weeks ago. It was the first budget we have ever made. What pushed us to make this monumental step you may ask? It was the $200+ grocery bill that's what, and even after that we still would end up buying more food and we would still be eating out atleast 3 times a week. Sure we could afford to spend that much money on food, but was it really necessary? our revised budget was $110 per week. The last 2 weeks we have been well under that, and you know what? we haven't run out of food! A little planning goes a long way. I don't know what we were actually buying that was sky rocketing our grocery bill but probably my aimless walking down the aisles just dumping in things that took my fancy and Aarahi and Auron's love of the confectionery and chips aisle. Now I go armed with a list. The last 2 weeks I have done groceries by myself before Aarahi met us. That meant pushing and pram and hauling the trolley along behind, so I was pretty keen to get in and get out.
Let's see how long this budget will last. Ill just be happy if I can master the groceries.
I got a letter from IRD last week. It was showing a summery of my student loan. It was both impressive and depressing. I still have a long way to go, and have made a sizeable dent in it and that's what counts. It is on automatic payments so I pay some ungodly amount of money each fortnight that come directly out of my family tax benefit. Yup my student loan will be paid in full by the Australian government. I am still yet to use my actual degree, and probably never will.
We had date night on Saturday. It entailed a dessert pizza, hot chocolate and answering dumb questions about each other and ourselves.
Today we had our end of term party for Gymbaroo. Auron was in a strange mood this morning and I was in no mood to argue with him so I let him wear my shoes to Gymbaroo...and then into the shopping centre. He was happy, I was happy, Aarahi rolled his eyes and laughed. When Aarahi finished work we went to the movies and saw Despicable Me 2. It was hilarious just as good if not better than the first.

Museum and Ramen

What to do on a blustery winters day you ask? why not head to the museum! That is exactly what we did. On the weekends public transport is only $3 for the day (instead of $8), so we drove to the station near us and caught the train to the city. As we exited the lift from the station it had of course started to rain. Luckily the walk to the museum wasn't long. The museum is located on some beautiful parkland. It reminded me of the Auckland Domain, which is where the Auckland Museum is located. Fancy that. We ate our picnic lunch before we went in, it had stopped raining by this time. Auron fed the birds half of his bread roll, then when that was done tried to feed them glad wrap, they weren't the least bit impressed with that.
The museum was really neat. We hadn't really been there before. We went once when Auron was a week old or so. Aarahi hadn't been feeling well so went home and left mum and I there with Auron. Then we realised we had the house and car keys so we had to go home too otherwise poor sick Aarahi would have to walk home from the train in the rain (yes it was raining that day too, haha and all you people thinking we live in the land of sunshine!)
Anyway, before I get too distracted... They had a amazing kids area which I think older kids would find interesting as well. Auron was just happy to build with the blocks and play in the tunnels and look at himself in the funny mirrors. It was during this time that Lili decided to wet through her nappy, oh my gosh not just the nappy but all her clothes! of course we forgot to pack extra clothes, we aren't one of those super prepared families as you may have guessed. So I take her to the baby changing room and strip her down and wash her clothes and her in the sink with hand soap then dried her clothes with the hand dryer. I wish I had a photo of that, she happily played in the sink through out the ordeal. Lesson learnt, must bring changes of clothes, and more than one nappy each and definitely more than 4 wet wipes to last the day....yes incredibly unorganised.
We moved on to the more adult orientated exhibits and the kids fell asleep. We enjoyed some more intellectual conversation, and made ourselves feel a bit smarter. We have been feeling like our brain cells are dying lately so are making an effort to exercise our brains more.
When we left the museum we wanted to go to one of our favourite dessert places, it was of course raining again but we pressed forward with the promise of delicious hot chocolate and churros drizzled melted milk chocolate. Alas it was not meant to be. By the time we got there, it seemed like everyone else had had the same idea and the place was packed wall to wall.
We were back out in the rain, luckily the kids were still sleeping nice and toasty in the pram. We walked back towards the city, we walked we talked and found ourselves arriving at Melbourne Central, a train station and more. The train station is underground with a big shopping center and restaurant hub on the top. I looked in our voucher book to see if we had any vouchers for there. Ajsen Ramen it was, and it was delicious. I didn't think Auron would like it too much but eat ate half of mine and a good portion of Aarahi's ramen as well. Lili was happy with rice and teriyaki sauce. We ended our day off with a hot chocolate from Max Brenner.
Another perfect family day out.

Lili tipped the water jug over and decided to eat the lemons out of it....she thought they were great,  not even the  slightest hint of a sour face. 

Auron's favourite part of the museum was the lego wall. If you look closely you can see his attempt with my mascara.....Daddy was not too impressed. 

Ahhh nice and clean after her little nappy incident

Lili is getting pretty strong, and is now pulling herself up on things. 

These kids love bath time. It's a far cry from the torment bath time used to be with Auron

In their matching fluffy pj's, This photos was incredibly hard to get Auron was is no mood to cooperate.

The Zoo and a birthday date at the Immigration office

It was my birthday this week, it was great although I am feeling kind of old. 26 to be exact. It's been 8 years since I was in High School, I thought I was old then but now teenagers annoy me, well certain ones do. The ones on the train were definitely in need of a slap. We didn't do anything on my actual birthday. I made dinner and a cake. Aarahi looked after the kids while I cooked and baked in peace. It was bliss. I kind of missed my little kitchen side kick though so let him in to help chop some veges, a task he does well with little guidance.
Aarahi had to take the day before my birthday off so we could go into the city to the Immigration offices.  He was sick the night before too so a day off was nice. By the time we got to the immigration department and waited in the loooooong line of people wanting visas both the kids were asleep. Aarahi and i found ourselves sitting together in a waiting room with sleeping kids and nothing but time (our ticket said C34, they were only up to C20) So we sat and talked, and laughed, made plans, talked some more, we laughed at the lady who had see through pants/tights....was not attractive, her husband was with her, we wondered why he didn't say anything to her before they left the house. Finally after 2 hours or so, probably more we were finally seen. Our appointment only took 20mins if that.
We had skipped lunch, foolishly thinking we would just get something after our appointment. It was not close to 330pm and we were famished. We had some indian then got back on the tram to our car. We had hopes of having churros for dessert but the place was closed by the time we got there.
We made a trip to the Zoo whilst our car was getting serviced. Auron loved it, Lili slept for the most part. The elephants are always our favourite. By the time we had finished at the zoo our car still wasn't finished so we carried on to the city for an early dinner. I had a voucher for a restaurant close to the central train station which was convient, we were in no mood for walking around the city. We ordered too much food and had to take some home, we hadn't even touched one of our desserts.
Once we finally made it back to the Holden centre where or car was being fixed we went to drive home but......our car no longer went. Ironic right. The man came over like 3 times and each time he drove it it went fine. Aarahi thought he was going crazy or something. It finally did play up for the man, the mechanic came over and had a look and readjusted the new switch they had installed and all was well, its still going strong. Good little car. It ended up costing $670 but at least now its fixed. I was expecting it to cost more so that was a nice surprise.
Tomorrow is a public holiday, we have no plans.

He was obsessed with these random toilets at the zoo, think  they had something to do with pollution

Stuffing his face with pancakes and berries

Sticky date pudding we didnt even eat. We brought it home and had it later though

Cooking...Some kind of concoction with mustard powder and other assorted herbs from the pantry

First taste of cake

Lili during free time at Gymbaroo

Aurons favourite activity is the parachute and balloons 

Our weekly noodle date after Gymbaroo 

Shoe's Shoe's Shoe's

Written 3 weeks ago...

Auron LOVES shoes. Every morning he wakes up and selects his shoes for the day and he doesn't take them off except for when he has his nap or goes to bed at night. He isn't as keen on his shoes as he is on mine. His favourites are my grey and pink Adidas ones. When we go out he is happy to take them off and let me wear them and put his own shoes on but as soon as we get back in the door (like while I am trying to unlock the door) he is already trying to get my shoes off my feet.
He's so cute I love him.
Lili is getting so close to crawling it wont be long now she is growing so fast. Aarahi and I are enjoying her baby-ness as much as we can as we know she will be our last baby for awhile, maybe forever so we are just loving on her yumminess. She is sleeping so much better usually only waking just before Aarahi get up for work at 330am then back to sleep til around 630am. I can usually convince her to stay asleep til 7am but then she becomes just too cute to ignore. I love waking up to her cheeky smile. I unzip her swaddle bag and she stretches out then she's off rolling all over the bed. We usually have an hour or so together before Auron wakes up. Auron is also his cutest in the morning. He runs into the lounge and jumps up on the couch for cuddles with a blankie. We usually  watch Sesame Street together then have breakfast. I love my mornings with the babies. I feel so blessed that I don't have to go out to work and that we can enjoy these quiet mornings together without having to rush out the door to get to daycare and work. I can't imagine working outside the home, I would hate it.
Yesterday we went to get Lili and Auron's portrait taken by Soldier's Road Portraits. They are from NZ and doing an Australian tour. They take portraits of people dressed up in traditional Maori dress. Auron was not cooperating so ended up just being Lili. After we left Aarahi was like "We should've got in the photo too" I didn't think it would be his thing as I had asked him when I booked and he said "nah" but after seeing it he thought it was pretty cool. Oh well next time.
We came home and as we were turning into our street Auron started crying and crying. He was upset that we were going home. I looked through our voucher book and found one for a kids playland not far from us. Auron loved it. We were there for four hours, but could have stayed longer. The best part was this huge slide that was almost vertical. The kids were going down with out a care in the world. Several parents went down and when they got off they said "I am never doing that again" I thought "seriously it can't be that bad" I went and had a turn and I assure you it was scary. You go so flipping fast. Aarahi and Auron went down over and over again.

If it's not one it's the other

I am pretty sure my kids have some evil plan to ensure I get as little sleep as possible. Liliana's night sleeps have been pretty much ridiculous ever since we left came back from NZ. I finally got her sorted then she got sick, so sleep went out the window again. I can probably put half of it down to a massive growth spurt, it was like over night she out grew half her clothes. But now she seems to be back on track. Auron on the other hand has decided 4 am is a good time to wake up for the past 3 mornings. Who knows what his problem is.
Lili is pretty much sitting up by herself. She's a few weeks behind Auron was at her age, but Auron was on the move from day one. Lili can quite efficiently get around by rolling everywhere, she is ridiculously fast its hilarious to watch. Yesterday she started getting up on her hands and knees so no doubt she will be crawling soon enough. Auron didn't crawl for too long before he started walking, if Lili is anything like him she will be walking by the time we are back in NZ.
We had a playgroup at our house last week which was fun. Just some people from church. We have had a few young families move into our ward which has been so good. We have quite a big ward but most of the kids are in primary or youth. Auron had a melt down when everyone left, it was a mix between really cute and really sad haha.
On Friday night I went to a relief society activity, it was awesome. Actually my first relief society activity I have EVER been too. I always thought Relief Society was of old people....I guess I am an old person now haha. It was nice just to talk to people make friends etc. Aarahi looked after Auron and Liliana, they went to McDonalds for a frozen coke, which is Auron's favourite treat at the moment.
Yesterday we went in to town so I could spend my Pumpkin Patch voucher which was due to expire. They were having a huge sale so Auron got some new clothes. Lili has too many clothes already. Later that night we went out for dinner and ate way too much, we could hardly move when we got home.
Today was mother's day I got to sleep in til 9am, thats like 4 and a half hours extra sleep...pretty much doubling my total sleep haha.
This week I have been dealing with the guilt I feel from giving Lili formula milk. She is having one bottle each night. It's been good for me and her but the guilt is still there. I needed a break, I have been feeding babies for over 2 years non stop pretty much. I only stopped feeding Auron a couple of months before Liliana was born. Auron has had formula only twice in his life. Both of those times were when he needed to be looked after by other people.

Well til next time.

Little Auron, gosh he was a cute little bubba

Bits and bobs

We spent our weekend curled up in the lounge watching DVD's and being really lazy. Lili and I were both sick which meant Lili's sleeping has gone out the window, I have had probably 3-4 hours sleep in the last few days. I cleaned the house at 3am this morning while Lili played. It tired her out and she went back to sleep then Aarahi got up for work, then Auron woke up and our day starts again...actually it feels like the days NEVER END! Today is looking up though, Lili went down for her normal nap (first time in a week). I'm pretty sure she's just gone through a growth spurt. I bought her new onesies last month 6-12 month size and she is already almost too big crazy right? she is really tall.
Our bank account took a bit of a hit this week. We paid for insurance, car registration (which is ridiculously expensive here), flights back to NZ oh and a months worth of rent. I don't think I have ever spent so much money in one go! And all on dumb things...well a holiday isn't dumb but the rest are haha.
I was planning on going back to NZ for the weekend in July, to have a girls weekend up in Auckland, mum was coming up which is good. But now its going to end up being more like a month, not complaining about that! Although I will miss my husband terribly! Aarahi will join us August for a week to spend up at his parents in Tauranga. I think this will be a much more relaxing trip for him.
We don't mind coming back to NZ so much but sometimes it would be nice to go other places. We knew when we moved to Australia that we would have to make many many trips back to NZ for our kids. So that they would know where they came from, and develop a good relationship with their grandparents, aunties, uncles cousins etc. Haha and as much as people say "oh it doesn't cost that much to fly between Aussie and NZ" it's not exactly true. For us it usually costs at least $5-6k each time we fly over. But it's all worth it. We are excited for July. Auron is starting to recognise people now in photos. So far he knows who Lia and Teina and Khyber are and my mum.
The other day at church there was little boy that looks quite similar to Khyber and Auron just attached himslef to him. He followed him around until we went home. He kept calling him Khyber it was too cute.
We are having playgroup at our house tomorrow morning with the kids from church. It should be fun. I will have to make some more playdough this afternoon since Auron put the old stuff into the washing machine...and turned it on. Did I tell you my 2 year old can do the laundry?! yup that's right. I was hanging out the washing last week and when I was finished I went back to the laundry and the washing machine was on again. Auron had put a new load on, he even put the soap powder into the right part (and the right amount) and then turned it on.
Yesterday it was a little too quiet so I went to look for Auron. He was sitting on the toilet with the ipad (Aarahi's influence there) I said to him "come on bubba let's go" he then proceeded to wipe his bum..with his nappy still on then flushed the toilet and put his pants back on.
Lili is becoming quite attached to Auron this past week. He has been playing with her quite a bit and now she cries is he leaves the room with out her. Sometimes he pulls her by her feet to go with him but she kept getting a sore head on the tiles so I showed him how to put her on a blankie and pull her on that. Yesterday he was spraying her in the face with water which she loved haha strange child.