Bold-Faced Lie

In general, Lazlo is a rule follower and, as far as I know, has only told the tiniest of harmless fibs in his life. But I caught him in a bold-faced lie this week. On Monday he asked to bring his allowance money to school "in case there is a PTA fundraiser". I was about to tell him he couldn't, but figured it was his allowance and if he lost it he might learn a lesson in money management. He did the same a couple of days later. On Friday, when I dropped him off at school, he ran out behind me and said he needed his allowance money. When I told him that I didn't have it and that my purse was in the car, he became agitated. "You HAVE to drive home and get my money and bring it back", he pleaded. Then he started to panic and said "Mrs. Schultz said we NEED money for a PTA fundraiser today!" At this point I became suspicious, because there wasn't a note sent home about a fundraiser. Lazlo continued "She said we'll go to the office if we don't have the money!". When I told Lazlo I would talk to Mrs. Schultz right then and there he finally came clean- "Mom, can't I PLEASE just have a mouse?!" I asked him what the heck he was talking about and he admitted that "some girl" at school was hawking mice for "a dollar or two" and he had planned to buy one from her. I was laughing too hard to get angry about the lie and promised him we would discuss it this weekend. But no way is he getting a mouse!

Gramma Barb's Visit 2010, Part I

We were so excited that my mom came for another visit this year! She is such a good sport. We picked her up from the airport and headed straight for the South Island, just like last year. And just like last year she was raring to go, without any sign of jet lag.

We took the ferry over to Picton and drove down to Christchurch, stopping at Kaikoura to look at tide pools and seals and to eat roadside seafood.

Letters to Santa 2009

On Christmas Eve, Lazlo and Liska decided to write letters to Santa Claus:

Dear Santa,
Here are some cookies and milk for you and some carrots for your reindeer in case you are hungry. I hope you saw the magic oats we sprinkled outside to help you find our house. I hope you bring me a Star Wars Lego.
Thanks,
Lazlo


Dear Santa,
Please come into my room, it's the pink one with twinkling stars. Please leave Rudolph there forever so I can have him as a pet. If you don't, I'll steal him.
Liska

Boppa's Second Visit

We were fortunate enough to have my dad visit again this year, and best of all he stayed for almost a month. The visit was a little last minute so Brad hadn't taken any time off of work and the kids were in school, but my dad seemed happy to be part of our regular routine. We did get away a couple of times. We went to Napier for my birthday weekend, up Te Mata Peak and to the beach.

























We also hiked at Mt. Taranaki. It was a typical New Zealand hike, no information posted on the length or difficulty of the trail, which ended up including steep ladders and narrow bridges with a railing only on one side. You can't tell in the photo, but the bridge is up pretty high. We managed to get lost and had the sense to turn around instead of guessing at the trail, Brad and I having read about lost trampers dying in New Zealand one too many times in the paper. It's a good thing, too, because we had all missed the trail sign and were headed up the mountain. But it was a beautiful hike and Lazlo and Liska did a good job.



















Mostly we stayed in Wanganui, though, and my dad accompanied me on school/kindy pick ups and drop offs, swim lessons and touch rugby. He was an enormous help with the kids- putting them to bed, reading to them, singing with them and playing tickle bug, checkers, hide and seek and whatever else they requested. On top of that, he cleaned every chance he got. He also babysat so Brad and I could go out, and gave us an early Christmas gift of dinner at a great local restaurant.

He also had a little time alone with each of the kids, and took Lazlo to the movie theater (Lazlo's first time) and walked downtown with Liska for gelato at a cafe.


We miss him a ton, but feel lucky he got to come again and to stay for so long and can't wait to see him (and Grandma Molly!) again.

The Accident Compensation Corporation

The Accident Compensation Corporation provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all New Zealand residents and visitors to New Zealand. This means that almost all injuries are paid for. Apparently, until recently, if you were a robber breaking into someone's house and you got injured in the process, that injury would be covered as well. The flip side is that you are not allowed to sue for injuries covered by ACC.

For the most part I love that kiwis don't sue much. But I have noticed that certain things are not maintained as well as they should be. Notice the wire sticking out at eye-height from the cabin on the playground at Lazlo's school. I found this right after Liska cut her hand on a rusty nail sticking out of a climbing structure. Both were fixed after two phone calls to the school and a letter to the principal...

Liska's 4th Birthday

Liska had her 4th birthday on October 14th. It started out with waffles with whipped cream, followed by playing at Kowhai Park and a picnic lunch, watching Lazlo's first touch rugby game and dinner at Burger King (birthday girl's request, she has been eying the colorful Burger King play structure since we moved here). It ended with a princess castle cake and opening gifts. I surprised myself by falling apart- she isn't a baby any more. Once again, the grandparents, aunts, uncles and even great-aunts and great-uncles were wonderful- sending gifts, cards, getting the date right for the birthday phone call. Thank you!

Spring Break

I was planning lots of outdoor adventures for spring break, but it rained and was cold for almost the entire two weeks. Both kids got sick, though, so they were mostly content to stay at home. We read a lot, played hide and seek inside, played castle and legos, planted seeds for the garden, made these strange little waldorf-type yarn dolls, baked bread and went puddle jumping. On one of the clear days we went to the beach and watched people catching whitebaits. Whitebaits are tiny baby fish that are eaten whole. They are considered a delicacy in New Zealand and can only be caught for a short time each year.