A Change of Name...

Rick has finally given in and decided to let me name our boy McCaw! He is 9 days old today, so its a little late and strange that we would change his name now, but better late then never I say. We had settled on Memphis but I just didn't feel completely comfortable with it, and I don't think Rick was either. 

Needless to say, Rick informed me the other day that he could get a really good deal on a new motorbike and what did I think etc. I don't claim to be a perfect wife by any means, but I have never been the type of wife to not let my husband do the things that he likes - be it driving a motorbike, countless days at golf with his boys etc. So I told him if he wanted to get it (even though I didn't think we could afford it) he could, and I will wait a few months to save to get our much needed 7 seater car.

Anyway, as I was driving this morning, I thought to myself I'm a pretty decent wife ha ha, and I'm letting him get his bike - he can let me have my name! So I messaged him asking him if we could change his name, and he finally said YES! 

It's nice to know that the world is as it should be xx

And Then We Were Six ...

Our boy has arrived! Arriving on 15th May 2012 at 12:37am, six days earlier then his due date, weighing 3020 grams and measuring 53 cm - Memphis Taniela Manu. I may be a tad bias but he is beautiful :)

Both Cassius and Kingston were born around the 39 week mark, and as that day approached for this pregnancy I had the feeling that this time I would go to 40 weeks. But just like his brothers, he decided he wanted an early entry. The day gave no indication that I would go into labor, as I spent it cleaning and just hanging with the boys - just another day in our household! Rick finished work early and called asking if I wanted to go to golf (he's seen old couples at golf and has this idea that that is also going to be us one day lol), but I was my usual lazy pregnant self and opted for a nap instead. When he came home we made dinner and whilst I still had washing to fold and organizing to do, I thought 'who cares!', and sat with Rick eating and watching 'the voice'. I remember sitting there with Rick at my side and my boys playing and dancing along thinking 'our life really is good'. I guess that thought was significant in light of how I'd been feeling the majority of this pregnancy, but I'll develop on that later.

Just after 9pm I had my first contraction, and similar to my other pregnancies they were coming at 7 mins apart. I don't really get any build up in my labors - it just HITS. And I've been reading lately about fourth labors and how they are suppose to be easier, so although the pain wasn't drastic I thought I should probably go get some things ready just in case. So I spent the next two hours at home - cleaning and putting washing away, packing my hospital bag and bathing the boys. Around 11 Rick and I decided to take the boys to my mums, and he gave me a blessing just before we left. One thing that he said in the blessing that stood out was to help me have an 'increased love of motherhood' haha ... So much for keeping this blog all positive huh - this blog is giving way too many hints that maybe motherhood isn't all peaches and cream?!? But getting back to things, so we dropped the boys off and got to the hospital around 1130pm. I must admit the contractions were intensifying, but I put on my brave face and wonderful Liverpool Hospital had me wait until 12am to take me to the birthing unit. Once there, I was once again given a midwife who didn't really pay any attention to my labor history. I asked her to do an inspection to see how far dialated I was, but she insisted she needed to monitor the baby first and set some things up. By now, my contractions were quite unbearable and I insisted again that she check to see if I could push. She didnt listen, and even questioned if I was having contractions as her monitor didn't pick it up. When she finally did do an inspection, she realized I was almost fully dilated and just needed to push (this has happened in 3 of my pregnancies, the only exception being Phoenix because he was delivered in the car!). A few pushes later and my beautiful boy was here!

I must sound like such a sook, it's just I've never had a midwife who actually listens to me! They always seem so rude, yet when we got to the maternity ward the midwife told the nurses that I deliver babies 'just the way they are suppose to be delivered' ... Now she decided to complement me? Ha ha ... Anyway I am belng petty and moving away from the fact that I have once again been entrusted with one of Heavenly Fathers precious children.

When I found out I was pregnant last year to say I wasn't too excited is quite the understatement. I remembered vividly the difficulties adjusting to the demands of three children when Kingston had arrived, and that constant feeling of being overwhelmed, not to mention that the physical recovery from pregnancy and labor gets harder every time. I also felt that I was in a place where I was really enjoying my children, and my role as a mother and as a wife. I'm quite embarrassed to admit that for a good part of this pregnancy I concentrated on all things negative. But when Memphis was born all that when aside. I had forgotten ... I had forgotten what it's like when you hold your baby in your arms for the first time. I had forgotten that overwhelming feeling of love you have for this precious baby that just melts your heart. I had forgotten that life changes when your baby arrives - be it your first or fourth child. I had forgotten that there is truly nothing like motherhood. And just when I thought I couldn't be any happier, the next morning as I sat with Memphis in the hospital bed, I heard the all too familar sound of little feet runnning through the hospital corridor. The first voice I heard was Phoenix 'where's my mum?', and my boys walked in full of energy and anxious to meet their newest brother. Phoenix and Kingston just loved him straight away, but Cassius looked and asked 'who's baby is that mum?', and I told him he was ours and no longer in my stomach. He came and inspected my stomach to ensure I wasn't lying. Their attention span didn't last too long and within minutes they were causing chaos, but that chaos is all mine and I love it xx

Fabulous Things ...

My husband likes to tell me that I dont live in reality sometimes (regarding our finances). For example, when Cassius was born, the pram we had probably cost more then the car we drove! lol But to that I say who cares!!

I have come to the conclusion that people just spend their money in different ways. To some it is important to own a home, to others to have the latest car, the latest clothing etc. Me? I just love to shop! Rick once told me that I would make the perfect wife for a rich man. I'm not sure whether to take that as a complement or an insult? I'll go with complement for now :)

So I find myself constantly searching the internet, looking for 'beautiful pieces' and so forth, the majority of which I can't afford!! And whilst I know that material things are not the most important thing in life ... Oh how I love a beautiful piece of baby clothing :)

And so with this is mind, here are a few of my favorite things, the majority of which relate to my children. That's one of the great things about being a mother, there's an endless supply of beautiful things to get!

Hush Baby Blankets

These beautiful blankets were introduced to me recently by my fabulous cousin Keri, a recent addition to the 'mother' club. Keri probably enjoys shopping more then myself, which I LOVE as I know when it comes to buying things we probably shouldn't - Keri will understand lol. Even as I write this we are messaging each other regarding the current winter trends in baby clothing :)

The blankets are hand made in our native NZ, and come in various felt colors with ribbons attached to the ends. I'm currently waiting on my 'personalised' order right in time for my newest addition! I always get excited when having a new baby, as it means I can get some of things I either couldn't afford with the previous, or just didn't know about!

Aden and Anais Wraps

These are by far the best baby wraps I have ever used! I discovered them whilst shopping in Berry when Cassius was about a month old, and fell in love instantly. I have used them for all my babies and have just received another order to be used for my newest addition! They are muslin wraps so really breathable, and measure 120cm x 120cm - a lot larger then other wraps that's for sure. I also love that they have a 'crink' (is that even a word?) in them, which means that even after they are washed they still looked new! Don't you hate when you wash a blanket and it has that 'used' look to it? You don't get that with these :) And if I haven't persuaded you yet - check out how many celebrities use them - now there's an incentive :)

Bugaboo Prams

Bugaboo's are quite simply, the Best. Prams. Ever! But I will write more in a future post xx

Coco Bloom Baby Lounger

Since becoming a mother and 'housewife', I find I now pay more attention to what's in the 'background', and what items celebrities use. And so one day as I was watching Kourtney and Khloe take Miami (yes I watch stupid things on tv), I saw in the background this beautiful wooden rocking chair that Kourtney had for her son Mason. And so I enlisted the help of Google and discovered the 'Coco Bloom'. Isn't it a beautiful piece of furniture! Kingston was already a few months old at the time, and I couldn't justify the spend since it's only used for the first six months of babies life. But now that I am having my fourth (McCaw), (as previously mentioned, there are lots of perks to having more children!), I can finally getting one! Exciting times ahead :)

Personalised Lunch Bags

Sometimes I really wonder what I did before online shopping! There is just so many things you can get and these bags are an example of such! I ordered some for my boys and they absolutely LOVE them! They are their special bags for 'church' and I find they add a little bit of excitement to the church going routine! Check out their website as they offer so much more ... I know money doesn't make you happy, but it sure does help ha ha xx

More Coming Soon xx

 

 

 

Love Me Some Saturday's at Football...

Ten years ago, actually even a few years ago, I never thought I'd hear these words come out of my mouth! Growing up in New Zealand with a nation and household obsessed with rugby, I often equated rugby with boring Saturday afternoons, and never being able to watch the shows that I wanted. That didn't change too much till I married Rick and found that I now had myself a husband who was also obsessed with the sport. I remember our first year of marriage - often his Saturdays were spent at footy, and I went shopping! What an unsupportive wife I was! So I made a conscious decision to watch a little more sport, and get a bit more involved. And now, our Saturdays are probably my favorite day of the week! With rugby being a 'rich man's sport', most of the games are in the Northern (aka 'nicer') suburbs, so we often head out early and I get to do a little shopping which makes me VERY happy :) I enjoy being in those areas too - I find myself aspiring to better our situation and create a better life for our boys. Todays game was in Rushcutters Bay - look at the white picket fence around their field! And the boys love it - they get to watch their Dad play football, play all day, and often we end up at Uncle Gums which to them is quite a treat! Happiness all round xx

The Latest...

Just a quick update on my boys - we've been spending a lot of time at mums as Jaslyn is still here with beautiful Max. He is such a good baby and my sister is absolutely loving life as a mummy, which is really lovely to see. It's so nice that everyone is beginning to have babies and the new generation is emerging :) Phoenix especially loves little Max, he wants to hold him all the time and this morning just sat and watched while he had his bath. Last night the Ah Mus were over also, and Phoenix wanted to hold Max and Alaska and was kissing them continuously. He rubs against their heads kinda like a dog would which is slightly unusual (but I wouldn't expect anything less from my Phoenix). The picture to the left is from that night.

Cassius still hasn't acquired a love for cleaning ... The other day he had been sent to the corner, and upon coming out we told him and Phoenix to pick up their toys. Phoenix of course started picking everything up quickly, but Cassius walked over to me and said 'I want to go back to the corner mum' ha ha lazy little thing :) The other morning I woke up and he was next to me looking at my stomach. He pointed asking 'Is that a baby in their mum?', when I replied yes and that he would have a new brother in a few weeks, he said 'ok' and walked off... It was said in a very matter of fact like manner :)

As for Kingston ... He is becoming quite the terror! He has acquired quite the temper and when he doesn't get his way he storms off, hits the walls, and starts having an attack. It's hard not to laugh, and he's at that age where it's also hard to discipline as he just runs off and thinks it's quite hilarious. He is always trying to speak now, which is also quite funny especially as he often tries to repeat what his brothers say. His vocab (that we can make sense of) is pretty much limited to the word 'No'. He says it for everything, which can also be quite entertaining. And his obsession with the vacuum is ever increasing - he will be doing something in any part of the house, but once I turn that vacuum on I know he will be shortly by my side. Tonight was no different, as he was in the bath when I started vacuuming downstairs. Look at the concentration on his face as he is trying to get under the table! Good times xx

Ps - still waiting on baby! 12 days till my due date!

 

Pictures with Cousin Max...

Well Analiese has done it again! A week ago we meet with her to take some pics of the boys and their cousin Max ... Here they are. Now I can't wait for our newest addition to come so we can do some family pics again! Check out her page to see her beautiful work - she just gets better and better! We also got pics of the boys in Tongan traditional attire, which you can see here xx

 

The Peaceful Playdate ...

Yesterday Kingston and I had a 'playdate' with Pina, her twins, Jaslyn, and cousin Max! Actually, it wasn't so much a playdate at first, as both Pina and I had our older kids at daycare. That in essence meant we had a very 'peaceful' afternoon, chatting about motherhood, listening to Jaslyns details of Max's birth, adoring the twins and Max as they slept and ate. It was bliss!

The onslaught hit in the afternoon when Cassius, Phoenix and Kiera joined us. The peaceful serenity was gone, and in its place yelling, throwing of objects, fighting ... it was such a contrast to our afternoon! We asked Jaslyn if she was still keen to have another baby so close now! ha ha...I will write more later, but here are some pics of the afternoon/evening xx

My Son the Thief ...

I was a bit hesitant at first as to whether I wanted to include this in my blog. My initial aim with blogging was to keep a record of my boys lives, and to keep it positive. Do I really want to read about the times they were driving me insane twenty years from now? Well maybe I do :)

Last week I had one of those moments as a parent where I really didn't know what to do. On picking up Cassius and Phoenix from daycare, Cassius asked if he could take one of the toys home. I told him no as he would be back the next day and he could play with it then. As we walked to their lockers to get their bags, Cassius was already waiting at the door with his bag on his bag and a huge grin on his face. Being in my own little world, I thought to myself 'isn't Cassius eager to go home?!'. Lucky for me, my little brother Morgan was with me and was a bit more clued on! He told Cassius to open his bag, to which Cassius replied a very stubborn No! Switching on, I told him in my 'mother voice' open your bag now, to which the screaming and tantrum started. So we forced it open - and there was the toy I had told him he wasn't allowed to take!! I was so shocked that he would deliberately disobey me - I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! I called Rick quickly as I was really unsure if I should let it pass as he is only 4, but hey if I don't teach him now that stealing is wrong, he'd grow up thinking nothing of it. Rick didn't answer, so I told Cassius he wouldn't be getting any McDonalds (huge punishment right?), and his Dad and I would be talking to him later. When Rick got home, he sat down with Cassius and tried to explain that we don't take things that are not ours. Let's hope the lesson was learnt :)

Looking back, it was actually quite funny, and no doubt one of many occasion where as a parent I have no clue what to do! But that's life I guess - you live and learn. And I am especially grateful I have Rick by my side during the journey.

On another note, our Phoenix is finally out of nappies! I thought he would be toilet trained a few months ago, but after a few accidents in his pants and cleaning up poo'd undies, I gave up and went back. But over the last week Rick especially has been talking to him everyday about being a big boy and sending him to the room/corner when he does a poo in his nappy. So i put him back in undies on Tuesday - and no accidents or nothing. I think he's doing so well out of fear of being sent to the corner! Oh well, if all else fails - take the fear approach right! True to form, even with his toilet goings Phoenix does things a little different - he has toilets he prefers and will only use my grandma's toilet at my mums house. I wouldn't expect it any other way! xx

Ps - this picture doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but it's just of the boys watching their dad mow the lawns yesterday. My boys really love their father, and when I think of my life and my marriage, I feel especially grateful that my boys have Rick as their Dad xx

The Mukka ...

We first heard of the 'mukka' about a year ago, when Cassius started saying 'Mukka Mukka', and lifting one knee up doing this little dance. Rick and I had no idea where this dance and name had come from, until one day Rick was overlooking Cassius watching 'Scooby Doo Villians' on YouTube and there we saw it! Now the Mukka has become our boys excuse/name for all monsters and unpleasant things. If they don't want to do something, it's because the Mukka is there. When they like someone, ie their Uncle Gum, they like to tell people he has big hands to smash the Mukka (their hands are too small you see). On another occasion as I was reading my scriputres, Cassius came and asked me what I was reading. I replied 'stories of Jesus', to which Cassius said 'Jesus Christ is mad mum, he has big hands like Uncle Gum and Uncle Daniel to smash the mukka'. Tonight's latest episode featured them in bed, and Cassius coming into our room saying the Mukka is in their room and has four eyes and is pushing them off the bed. Now their Dad is in there smashing the Mukka so they can go to sleep xx

3 weeks and counting ...

Just less than 3 weeks to go now, but who's counting right? I am getting very very excited about the idea of not being pregnant anymore. I shouldn't complain - my pregnancies aren't 'hard' and my labors are quicker than most, but I have never been (and don't think I ever will be) one of those women who love being pregnant and the evolution of the female body etc. To me, it's a means to an end! A great end at that, but I still don't love the process. Realistically it's probably because I just look SHOCKING when pregnant, which I know sounds superficial and is not the most important thing in the world, but hey - it still matters. If I looked like the shillouette here to my left I wouldn't mind so much, but my shillouette is just a tad rounder :). I have decided not to weigh myself anymore either - it just gets depressing and I would rather just live in denial!

Moving on - we had photos of the boys taken with Analiese on Saturday so that's pretty exciting. She has taken photos of my boys a few times now and I am never disappointed! Her pictures are planted all over my page - the ones of the boys on the side panel, my main family picture and even my background! Need further proof that I love the pictures :) I've been wanting to get photos of the boys in traditional tongan clothing for awhile now, and since cousin Max was coming for a visit it was the perfect opportunity to get some of the boys playing with him, and the boys in their tupenus. I cant wait to see them! Phoenix wasn't too excited about getting dressed in the clothes, but that's my Phoenix for you. He did however smile the night before when we tried them on, so at least we have one picture of him happy ... Here's some pictures from the night before xx

 

One In, All In ...

My boys are beginning to fight a lot more lately, which I'm hoping is only temporary as usually they're quite close and inseparable. Rick and his brothers are probably the closest brothers I know, and I remember my sister in law Morgana joking once that if her and Gum (one of the brothers) were both drowning, she knew who Lam (her husband) would save first. It was all said in jest, but there's no denying their bond!

Having 4 brothers and 2 sisters myself, I'm a firm believer in the power of a sibling. I dont really have many close friends, and I truly believe that that is simply because my siblings and cousins are amongst my best friends. Then again maybe I'm just trying to justify the fact that I have no friends :)

Anyway I'm going off on a tangent here, and your probably wondering why I titled this 'One In, All In'. I sent Cassius to the 'stairs' the other day for time out. I try not to smack my boys when they're naughty ('try' being the key word here), not because I'm anti smacking, but because when I do I find it brings out an aggressive side of me I don't really like. I also find that smacking really doesn't deter my boys at all! The corner and stairs on the other hand are quite different, and for now are our chosen disciple mechanisms (thank you super nanny!). So getting back to the story, Cassius was sent to the stairs because he had been naughty (I can't even remember now what he'd done). I then went to the toilet and came back to the living room and was wondering why it was so quiet, and where was Phoenix and Kingston? I looked up the stairs and my three boys were all sitting side by side, and upon seeing me Phoenix said 'mum, Cassius wants to listen' ... It was adorable! I ran to get my camera but by the time I came back they were all laughing knowing clearly they had hit a soft spot with mum. I told Cassius he could come out, and quickly messaged Rick to tell him what had happened. Rick has a way of always phrasing things, and he replied "One in, All in".

I really do hope my boys continue to grow up close and remember that there simply is nothing like Family xx