Back to my Roots

I feel as though my blogging of late has been getting somewhat sidetracked! Will I really care in five years time that I purchased a new table? Although I have to pause and think about that for a minute, I'm guessing I won't! So getting back to my roots, and the reason why I started this blog in the first place, it's time I did an update on my Four Little Tongans!

 

In the past few months Cassius has really come out of his shell. Putting him in for an extra day at daycare on his own has been the best thing for him! He is so much more active and involved. He is still so kind, and is even getting a little better in the cleaning department. I'm really enjoying seeing his personality grow and we have had many the interesting conversation. Just the other day he pointed to McCaw's stomach and asked 'is there a baby in there mum?'. I replied 'no darling, babies only grow in mums stomach'. He then asked 'when are you going to have another one mum? I wonder what face he will have?'. I replied 'not for awhile, and maybe he will have a face like McCaw'. His eyes lit up and he said 'maybe he will have a face like Cassius?'. Of course, this increase in understanding and vocabulary can make for interesting times. He was sick one day and had started improving as the day went on. When dinner time came around I made him eat his vegetables. I casually asked 'are you still sick son?'. His reply 'this dinner is making me sick!'. I think I could write a whole book on the things that come out of his mouth!

 

All of my boys are a little obsessed with Hot Wheels Cars, and I often have to take them off them as the arguing and bickering escalates. On a few occasions I have taken them off Phoenix and I overhear Cassius assuring him 'don't worry, you can have my ones'. He is definitely his father! On the other hand I'd like to think that Phoenix isn't his mother, but when that temper of his emerges there's no denying the Simpson genes in him! At the same time he is very intellectual (wow he really is from my side ha ha), and has an intrusive mind. He picks things up a lot quicker then Cassius, and I often see him deep in thought digesting what has happened or observing whats around him. Here's hoping he will be my doctor!  He loves to be independent too. Whilst Cassius will find any opportunity to get help with getting dressed etc, Phoenix will readily assert that 'I can do it myself!!'. Often throughout the day I will see his underwear inside out, upside down, with pants on back to front. But you can't tell him otherwise! He loves to sing too. I hear him often throughout the day singing to himself and having a jolly old time! In the picture above he was driving along in Ricks car thinking he was pretty cool singing One Direction!

 

And then there's number three - Kingston. We call him the 'ring in' cos he spends all his day trying to be part of the 'fun'. If his brothers are in the middle of watching something, he wants to join in. If they are laughing, he joins in also and laughs like he has some clue what they are laughing at! I feel sorry for him at times as he is often left out by the older two. When I voiced this to my husband he was quick to point out that Kingston is a very annoying brother. Let me illustrate this with an example. I came downstairs the other day to find Phoenix and Cassius had lined up a number of plastic cups in straight lines. Kingston seeing the cups on the floor, walked over and just kicked them all over and starting laughing. That's my Kingston for you! Regardless, I hope once McCaw grows they will stay close like Cassius and Phoenix. Speaking of McCaw he is the first person that Kingston looks for when he wakes. He almost always wakes in a good mood and says 'baby caw, baby caw'. I really should take more videos of the boys as they grow. Kingston's talking voice is quite funny that's for sure! 

 

 

Last but certainly not least, my McCaw. McCaw is my angel. I look at him and remember everything that I love about being a mother. He is my treasure. I guess I just love the age that he is at. Rick is quick to remind me that Kingston was once in that position too - so I am treasuring up my moments with my boy who looks at me with delight, who is still at that age where he listens, laughs and enjoys me. I just love him. He's a thumb sucker too. None of my other boys have sucked their thumb, and whilst my mother would beg to disagree I think there are worst things in life! It really is impossible to imagine life without this boy!

 

And that's another update on my Four Little Tongans. They are growing so fast and although it can be overwhelming at times, I think I will really will miss this time when I had all four at home, creating chaos every minute. Next year our Cassius will be going to School. Exciting times ahead!

 

A Pleasant Suprise

Although I could rant on all day about moving and how much I hate it, I am loving our new place! The living room is rather small but other then that the new space is ideal! The additional space makes for a much more organised home, and the boys spend most of the day outdoors so I no longer have to hide ipads and other electronic devices. Heaven!
 

At the same time a bigger home means additional furniture, and given my bank account is running low I am 'pacing' my purchases. One room I decided not to spend on was McCaw's nursery. I set it up and decided to make use of what I had and that I wouldn't be buying anything new. I was pleasantly surpised when the room actually turned out looking not too shabby. I think it's the rug that makes the room - it's old and I got it from Ikea about 5 years ago. I was going to throw it out when we moved but when the carpet cleaners came I got them to clean it for $15. A good investment I say!

 

 

McCaw's Blessing

This post is about three weeks overdue, but being late is kinda the theme of the month! I was going to try and edit these pics, but for now I am feeling lazy and just want to put these up before I forget!

McCaw was given a baby blessing on August 5th, which in our Church means he was given a special blessing and his name recorded in Church Records. It also very much means a big family gathering and feed! But given Rick is Tongan and my family Samoan, would you expect anything different??!?

 

As I got the boys ready that morning, I couldn't help but get the camera out and take a few pictures. It still amuses me at times that people look at the fact that I have four boys with pity. Just by looking at these pictures I am reminded again that I am very very lucky.

 

 

Fabian wanted to join in the pictures - look at how Kingston is trying to mimic his brothers and hold him!

 

We eventually got to Church a little late, well maybe it was more then a little! So the boys and I hung out in the hallways.

 

 

And look at my handsome blessing boy! A few people have commented that he has a 'perfectly shaped head'. He looks a little chubby in these pictures. He's actually quite skinny, especially next to his cousin Max, but I'll write more about that in another post!

After the blessing I missed taking pictures of the extended family (everyone rushed home to cook), but I did manage to 'try' and take some photos of my little family.

 

This was our attempt at a family photo ...

We eventually gave up and decided to have a picture with our two 'good' children (well on that day anyway)!

All in all, it was another lovely day. A little stressful at times, but made extra special by the fact that Aunty Nola, Uncle Quincey, Aunty Bubs and family were all down. I am reminded every time we all get together as a family why I want a big family - good times all around that's for sure!

I'll leave you with a picture of some of the food ...

McCaw ...

McCaw is now ten weeks old and we all just love him. My boys will often mimic what I say (which for the most part isn't a good thing!), and so now when Cassius kisses McCaw he says 'I just love him Mum'. And we do! Kingston will wake up, look over at him and say 'Babeee', and then attempt to hug him a little too hard (but then our Kingston doesn't really do anything soft!). He is getting older and fatter, so stays awake a little longer and is interacting with us a little more. When he was born I thought he might look like my side, but now the manu genes are shining through and he looks very much like his brothers. I have no doubt that he will one day become a little terror like his brothers but for now, I am enjoying this stage where he looks at me with loving eyes and I feel like the luckiest person alive!

On a side note, the other week as I was preparing to feed him, Phoenix ran over and pulled up his shirt, pointed to his nipple and said "I've got it too mum. I've got it too". I just laughed and said 'yes you do son' ... It will be a few years yet before he gets the Birds and the Bees talk, but for now I will let my three year old believe that he has the means to feed his brother! xx

Life Lately ...

Time for another update on my little Tongans. They are growing and growing and I am loving it!

First off, Cassius, who is enjoying his new status as the front seat passenger! He's a very kind boy our Cassius, this morning I watched him going through the pantry getting three packets of raisins for him and his brothers. No one had asked hm to get it for them, I think sharing and thinking of others just comes naturally to him. He is sensitive though, and gets quite hurt when told off for something. He will say 'well I don't want to be your best friend anymore', but then quickly run back to say 'I want to say sorry to you mum'. The other morning he was taking a little too long to get ready and I started changing my tone as I told him to hurry up. He looked at me with his big eyes questioning 'why are you angry at me mum?'. Let's just say I wasn't angry anymore after that! And then on another night, my back started playing up and I hadn't said anything when Cass rushed over to me asking if I was ok and started rubbing my back! I was surprised at how observant be is, and as I later told Rick my ever so wise husband commented how we all have our good traits - Cassius may not be our cleanest son, but is loving. There's no denying that!

Onto number two - Phoenix. He is definitely my cleaner which I love!! It's funny though, as although he is my cleanest child, with his sensitive skin he probably looks the dirtiest! Yesterday he had gone upstairs and I told him to come downstairs (doesn't he know his room is only for decoration ha ha) but he yelled back 'but I'm cleaning mum?' He has also decided that he doesn't really like the Beast, aka Kingston, most likely due to Kingston being the little bully that he is. Don't get me wrong - Phoenix can hold his own! I fear that one day he will unleash that temper of his on some poor child lol. But with Kingston he will tell me 'I don't like him mum', and when I ask him why, he responds 'because'. He asks 'why' alot too, which is often funny and irritating at the same time. For example, he was helping me do the dishes today and asked if the dishwashing liquid was blue. I said 'no son, it's green'. He asked 'but why?' ha ha. Oh and his dinosaur obsession is ever present - the other morning he was talking to them and I asked what was happening. He said 'the dinosaur is sad mum', when I then asked why he responded 'because he can't find his family!'. He'll also watch them on YouTube and all I can hear is him yelling 'YOU CAN DO IT T-Rex!' ha ha ... There really are so many good times in our house!

Now for Kingston. Hmmm ... He's annoying. Ha ha, nah he's just at that age where he doesn't listen and it's hard to discipline because he thinks everything is a game. But boy does he love his father! I accepted early on that when my boys reach about 18 months they no longer are mummy's boy and become besotted with their father! It has happened with the older three boys and most likely will happen with McCaw also! I don't blame them though, Rick kinda has that affect on people (haha cheesey!). Kingston is abit of an actor also, always faking being hurt to not get in trouble ha ha. And he likes to take himself to the toilet also! Once I take his nappy off he runs to the toilet and is very proud of himself.

And then there's McCaw. Oh how I love having a baby in the house! He's such a good little boy - just eats and sleeps - and we all adore him! His brothers adore him a little too much, and I am constantly telling them to leave him alone as he lays sleeping in his rocker. He has completed our little family in so many ways, and I couldn't imagine things any other way. I do want more children eventually, but if four is my lot in life I will be equally as happy.

I was looking at my boys today as they had an afternoon snack and thought to myself I can't believe I have four boys. Four! And all under five! Good times xx

Here's a pic of Cassius and Phoenix at science play at the library

 

A Photo ...

They say that a photo is a memory sealed in time.

Although I am not at all gifted when it comes to taking photos, every now and then I get a GREAT shot. That was Saturday...

5am thoughts ...

It's five am and I have just finished feeding my McCaw. I'm not at all tired so will write a post to occupy my thoughts!

Our household has been a fester of snot this week, with sick boys and a case of Scabies to deal with. Yes you read right - SCABIES. I am highly embarrassed about that as it implies dirtiness (something as a mother I think you get even more cautious of). I won't mention where Cassius caught it, but he had it (thankfully in a small dosage) which meant we all had to apply the cream, lots of extra washing for me to do, plus trips to the laundromat for all our blankets etc. It appears to be gone but I find the whole ordeal quite embarrassing really!

McCaw has been especially sick and it is absolutely heartbreaking. You wouldn't know it though - he is a soldier and barely cries, but when he is awake he sounds very congested. We have been to the doctors twice, had a chest X-ray and antibiotics, and ultimately visited the emergency department for a day. He still is very much the same today and it breaks my heart. I've never had a sick newborn before, and I feel especially helpless given he is not even four weeks yet. I spend most of my day just holding him which means my house is very unorganized, looks like a laundromat, and my nesting is on hold, but some things can wait. I say that calmly, but inside I am also praying that no one decides to visit me this week! xx

Ps ... Here's a picture of the boys playing in our ghetto front yard!

Three Weeks with McCaw ...

So we have had our McCaw for almost three weeks now and I just couldn't imagine life without him! I've been abit useless with updating posts lately as I have been busy... well kind of! We came and stayed at mums after McCaw was born as I still had a little bit of work to do and Rick still had some jobs to complete. It was suppose to be for a few days but we ended up staying for almost two weeks! It was BLISS! It's amazing how easy life is when you don't have to do washing, cooking, cleaning, and all the other fun motherly stuff! Mum as always was doing everything and I was having a ball! I watched the whole season of Once Upon a Time (and developed a slight crush on Prince Charming), alot of other tv, and just enjoyed my new baby. Once again I have been blessed with such a good baby who just eats and sleeps! Also I think the fact that I didn't have to do all my normal daily tasks meant it was much easier to recover from labor - I really should have done this after every baby! Life was indeed pretty easy and I was loving it. But funnily enough, I did begin to miss our normal routine of things and our home. So we packed our many bags and returned home. And then things changed ...

By noon the next day, I had washed and hung out three loads of washing, done dishes, vacuumed, mopped, prepared salads for the lunch we were attending, fed, cleaned and bathed my boys ... and the list goes on. I was definately not at mums anymore! Life was back to our 'norm'.

It's nice to see how much the older boys just love their younger brother though. Now that we are back home I have to make sure they are within my sight, otherwise I know they have snuck in to see their little brother. They are constantly trying to kiss him (to the point where many a time I have found McCaw covered in dry snot!), they want to hold him and Phoenix especially will frequently say 'he's so cute mum, he's so beautiful'. I am breastfeeding again and Cassius asked me what I was feeding him, when I said 'milk' he replied 'well let's go downstairs to the fridge and get it mum?'

We need to get a bigger car now, so on the few occasions we have ventured somewhere we have had to put one of the boys in Jacobs or Mums car. We went to Ricks football game when McCaw was five days old, and Kingston was put in with Jacobs car. The day following McCaw was put into mums car for church, and as we left Cassius said 'Mum what's Kingston doing with us, take him out so that baby can come!' The boys also remind me to protect him from the mukka as he is too small. On one occasion when Phoenix said this to me, I said 'I'll protect him for you', to which he replied 'no your too small mum, only Dad has big hands to smash the mukka'. Thanks alot boys :)

One more story for this post ... while at Mums she told me about an experience she had had with Phoenix. She went to wipe his bottom on the toilet and Phoenix exclaimed pointing to his backside 'this is your arse grandma, this is your arse!'. Mum was quick to correct him that it's actually called bottom, but Phoenix disagreed and said 'no grandma it's your arse!'. Now, anyone that knows my mother would know that she would have been in complete shock hearing such words (I fear the worse is yet to come though), but I think I was more in shock when mum relayed the story to me and said the word 'arse' rather then spelling it out! Good times xx

 

 

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