Rag Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

(Limp Bizkit fans will see what I did with the title of this blog post!)

Last week I had a sudden memory of 'ragging' my sisters hair when we were both younger - basically you twist damp hair, wrap a rag (piece of cloth, not an actual rag) around it then twirl it up on itself, tie the two ends of the rag together, sleep on it and VOILA, in the morning you have curls!  Because Lauriel and I both want curly hair for our wedding, I decided to start experimenting - figuring that if I can become good enough at it (and give Lauriel some practice) that it will be something we can do ourselves for the wedding.

I have experimented on Gaby, Eloise & Lauriel's hair - learning various things along the way (such as the smaller the section of hair used, the bigger the frizz potential) (think Monica in the Bahamas...), the bigger the section, the looser & less frizzy the curl. 

Of course now I have to share photos with you all - of the various stages of ragging...

Living in Sin!!! FINALLY!!!!

We are FINALLY officially living in sin (okay, going by various religions & moral compasses, we will always be living in sin due to the lack of penis in our relationship)!   I have to say, it's a hell of a lot of fun as well... even the 'grown up', 'responsible' stuff we've been doing this week (mostly regarding government departments). 

Driving onto the ferry

Our trip up from Christchurch was very much smooth sailing (quite literally for the three hours we were on the ferry!) - the children were amazingly well behaved, I don't think there were any major meltdowns by either of them, and the one time Emmy did get close to tantrum territory was when we were stuck in the car waiting to go onto the ferry... and after putting Peppa Pig on the laptop for her, all tears disappeared and were replaced by laughter and the general happiness that comes with watching Peppa Pig.  It was lovely being able to see parts of the country that I had never seen before - Lauriel and I lost our 'top of the South Island virginity' at the same time, which was very fitting.  In total we were travelling for 13 hours - around 10 of those hours spent in the car... there were about 10 minutes in total when we weren't driving (getting petrol, going through the Wendys drivethru).  I drove the entire way, which was mostly to keep my passenger anxiety at bay (I make an awful passenger)... but it was also a really cool road to drive!  It was extremely hot in Picton, and admittedly quite the bore... but the rest of the trip was pretty cool!

Emmy as SpiderMan

On Tuesday Emersyn started at her new preschool (Little Kiwis Learning Centre, which Aidan also attended), and so far she seems to love it.  There were a few tears when we left on Tuesday (her, not me!), but Wednesday and Friday she seemed to be fine - and on none of those days did the teachers contact me to pick her up because she was inconsolable... quite the success I think, especially considering she had started throwing tantrums whenever I left her at preschool in Christchurch!  Gaby is rather jealous of Emersyn who has started school already - every morning (without fail, trust me) she exclaims how excited she is to be starting school soon.  The next just-under-a-month better go quickly.

Look!  Its Princess Gaby

Between arriving here and now, we have purchased a set of bunks for... well, two of the children to sleep in and a set of drawers, which from the start have been our 'must buy ASAP' items.  Obviously living in a 2 bedroom house with 4 children isn't optimum (or even close to it), so right now we are on the lookout for a bigger house, and it seems we have found one - and it just so happens to belong to one of Lauriel's friend, and could very much be a win-win situation for all involved, due to her friends tenants f*cking her around.  There is a HUGE yard, which we decided is more important than big bedrooms (we looked at a 4br house which had HUGE rooms but a tiny yard) with four very active children who love being outdoors.  Plus that leaves us the opportunity to get them a trampoline for Christmas...

We have also started planning our wedding more seriously - to the extent we have a book especially for wedding related stuff!  Our venue is sorted, date and time are sorted - so yesterday we ordered our wedding invitations... it seemed like the logical step.  Tomorrow is three months until the wedding, so really it is time to get things organised!!!  It's exciting doing so, and makes me feel like I'm actually an adult, which is something I've never really felt like before - for the past 6 years all I have acknowledged myself being is a Mum, which of course is amazing and wonderful, but I never really felt like there was another side to me.  But now I know there is!

A Year Ago...

We bonded over this DVD!

A year ago, Lauriel and I were probably sitting on my couch - getting ready to watch the RWC 2011 DVD that we had both purchased copies off that day (along with buying a RWC 2011 related book each)... There is no doubt in my mind we'd have been laughing, giggling like idiots, making rude jokes,  and feeling that the two of us being on the same couch, in the same room, in the same house, in the same suburb, in the same city, was quite simply meant to be.  Little did we know that 5 days later the 'meant to be' aspect of US would evolve into something a lot more intense and forever-ish (that's a word... or it is now). 

Pav... we ate a LOT of Pav...

A year ago neither of us would have imagined we'd be HERE right now.  Me sitting at the table blogging, Lauriel on the chair with Aidan on her leg, and Eloise.... well, lets pretend she's not in the toilet right now!  We didn't know we'd be in love, we didn't know we'd be 3 1/2 months away from our wedding, or 8 days away from the girls and I moving up to Wanganui to live with Lauriel, Eloise & Aidan!  We knew we'd be best friends, but I guess we both assumed our friendship would be played out via text and Skype...

It's verrrrrrry funny the way things work out!

Three of our fantabulous kiddos

Lauriel and the kiddos have been here for over a week now - and I have to say that other than a few little spats, the kids are getting on really well... I am enjoying life as a parent to 4 kids, even if it is more stressful than 2, though I think that's more related to the adjustment we're all going through.  I wouldn't change anything - I really wouldn't.  Like I've said before, I believe everything happens for a reason, and although I know that in Lauriel's mind the perfect situation would be us living here, in Christchurch - but Christchurch just can't be part of the equation for now.  From the start we have wanted to be together, and have said we'd do what we had to do to live together - and Wanganui is that for us right now.  

Don't get me wrong - I'd love if we COULD stay in Christchurch - but when it comes down to it, for me it's not about WHERE we are living... just that we are there TOGETHER.  We could live in Ethiopia and I wouldn't give a rats ass, as long as we were there TOGETHER.  We've had our 12 months of living apart, and if those 12 months taught me one thing, they taught me that I NEED to be with Lauriel, I NEED to be living with the love of my life and our four beautiful, sweet, funny, amazing, kooky, cheeky kids.

First Official Family Portrait

As promised, here is our first official family photo.... The dude in the red and white isn't actually a family member - he photo bombed! 

I apologise for the quality of the photo - it's a photo of a photo....

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Saturday Morning!

Look!  It's us!!! TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!
do the amount of exclamation marks, suggest how excited I am?

On Wednesday at 4.50pm, Lauriel and the kids arrived!  We are no longer in a long distance relationship, we no longer have to say "I love you" over the phone or via text (though we still text it to each other - old habits die hard), we no longer have a count down to when we can be together again, we are no longer saying 'when we live together'....  We ARE living together. 

The four kiddos waving Poppa off, on Friday morning.

The children are all getting along well - and most surprisingly, Eloise and Gaby appear to be getting on extremely well.  I'm not sure why they are getting along well, but we sure as hell aren't questioning it!  Gaby seems to understand that Eloise doesn't like being crowded by her, and enjoys having time to herself - while Eloise seems to have more of an understanding of what this time is like for Gaby, moving houses, leaving her Grandparents (& her father, though that's not as devastating for her).  This morning they enjoyed drawing Big Fat Gypsy-esque dresses & girls, and awhile later they were colouring in together.  Perhaps creativity is their little niche, as far as having things in common goes.

Eloise & Gaby sitting in a tree...

 Yesterday we had our first family photo taken - which also counted as our first Christmas photo, and first Santa photo.  Yes, we ALL got our photo taken with Santa.  They had a hard time fitting us all in the frame.  It's rather weird when your family suddenly doubles in size - who would have thought the impact would reach as far as the bloody frame on a camera????  We pick up our photo today, and yes - of course we will post the photo!  Last night we took the 3 oldest kids to have a look at various Christmas lights around the eastern suburbs, and I think they all had a good time - perhaps if they are good we will go hunting for lights, another night...  Especially if they go straight to sleep afterward, like they did last night.  Sleep has probably been the one area where we've had some little issues - that said, they aren't rowdy or whiny while trying to go to sleep... I think the three older ones are just enjoying the novelty of having someone else in the bedroom with them, to talk to and laugh with...  I do hate to think how many rolls of toilet paper have been gone through though, because all of the older kids seem to need to go to the toilet about 50 times before they do finally go to sleep!!!

The kids have had a lot of time with Nan and Poppa - and I think it's quite the novelty for them, to have a little boy in the house!!!  Eloise and Gaby enjoyed a supermarket trip with Nan, and I think Aidan is chomping at the bit to have a little ride on Poppa's motorbike!  Nan and Poppa seem to be enjoying having all the kids in the house, but we might see if they still feel that way in another few days!

The End of an Era...

Gaby and Emersyn having their first cuddle in Cowlishaw Street
20th June, 2010.

Yesterday was the end of the era for myself & the girls - we moved out of the Cowlishaw Street house which has been home to us since August 21, 2008.  We are now living with my parents - I guess you could refer to it as a pseudo-halfway house for us, as we are living here before we leave for Wanganui on January 6th.

MANY milestone type events have happened while I have lived in the Cowlishaw Street house...

• my heart was broken for the first time
• Emersyn was conceived
• there was a huge earthquake
• I brought baby Emersyn home from the hospital
• there was an enormous earthquake 
• my gorgeous niece was born
• Emersyn turned 1
• Emersyn and Gaby both experienced their first big snow
• Gaby turned 5 & became a big school girl
• I fell in love

Surveying a little
earthquake damage

When I look at the list that way, it seems very apt that when I moved into Cowlishaw Street I was soon experiencing heartbreak for the first time - but upon leaving, I am right in the midst of experiencing the most amazing, intense, wonderful, mindblowing love... It's amazing how things change and develop... but when I look back on it, my time in Cowlishaw was full of development... my own personal development as a person & mother, the development of my own little familiy unit, and the development of my children. I also firmly believe that everything that happened in Cowlishaw Street (as with most of my adult life) led to me meeting the love of my life - and yes, that could more be me trying to look on the positive side of the few shitty things that did happen while I lived in Cowlishaw Street, but I know it's not...

One of the many happy family moments

Who would have thought a year ago when Lauriel and I were excited about her little trip down after Christmas, that in a years time we would be even more excited about the fact she was coming down again - and that I would be going back up with her, to live.  To merge our families.  To get married.  To start our forever.  Come think of it, a year ago we were bemoaning the fact we felt as if we were going to be single forever, destined (I won't say doomed, because that isn't accurate) to life as a single parent, with some Grandkids running around eventually.  Neither of us ever imagined that our lives could infact be the total opposite, that we'd meet someone amazing who wanted to spend the rest of their lives with us & our kids.  We never for one second entertained the thought that for each other we would be THAT person.

Mummy & Emmy hijinx

Mummy & Gaby lovin'

If houses had the capacity to think, or to be aware of what goes on between its floor and roof, I would like to think that my house would think it was quite awesome that a big out of the blue love story had played out inside it.  The last year of my life in Cowlishaw Street was the most amazing year of my life, and I think that it's a very happy, positive way to end a variety of eras - the end of MY era in Cowlishaw, the end of mine & Lauriel's single parenting era, but also the end of the 15B Cowlishaw Street era.  I have NO idea when 'my' house will be getting demolished, but feel quite honoured that MY great love story is the last of any story to be experienced and lived, in that house.

Introducing US!

Have to love winter - hats are the perfect
bad hair day solution!

Some of you know me personally, some of you know me through Mums and Bums, some of you will know nothing about me whatsoever - and this blog post is mainly for those of you in the latter category!  So go and make yourself a cup of coffee or tea (hot chocolate or a cold drink is more than appropriate too), sit back, relax and read on!

First off, who am I?  I am Emma, 29 years of age.  And alone, I'm boring - really.  But then you add my two gorgeous daughters to the mix, and I'm suddenly a lot more interesting!  My eldest daughter is Gabrielle (aka Gaby), she was born 14 days overdue on October 26, 2006 - she is a lanky, hilarious, intelligent, thoughtful, sensitive little blondy, who upon her arrival into this world, gave my life meaning beyond anything I'd ever known before.  My youngest daughter is Emersyn (aka Emmy) and she was born 1 week early - she's a sweet, funny, cheeky, mischevious, energetic, headstrong two year old.  Yes - by headstrong I mean her favourite word right now is "NO!", and she enjoys telling it to me on an extremely regular basis.  Her arrival taught me that the human capacity for love has no bounds, and that even if you are sure you can't love anyone or anything more than you already do, that you can.  And you will.

My two beauties, November 2012.  (L.Gaby, R. Emmy)

The three of us live in Christchurch - life may be a little shaky here at times, and our pretty little suburb may look a lot worse for wear, but we are happy here.  I moved here in 2001 and of course both of the girls were born here, it's the only home they know, only city they know - and with my parents (Nan and Poppa) living here, it has been host to a lot of happy family memories for all of us.

Little did I know though, that very first earthquake back in September 2010 put in motion a series of events which has eventually resulted in the girls and I making plans to move away from the Christchurch we love so dearly!  I joined a local health and wellbeing forum in August 2010 - Emersyn was about 2 months old and I was on the lookout for other single parents to talk to, and that particular website had a single parents forum, and a group private message.  I thought that sounded like what I needed so I registered, and was immediately in contact with other single mums.

In a word, Christchurch was 'munted'

Fast forward to February 2011 - the really bad earthquake hit, and one of the women from the forum text me to stay in contact and make sure I was okay.  Her name was Lauriel, and I thought it was particularly nice of her to think of me.  Over the next few months we text on and off, but nothing too serious or regular.

Again we fast forward - this time to June 2011.  You guessed it, there was another earthquake (two actually) and I decided that enough was enough, and for the first time since the earthquakes started, I felt the need to escape Christchurch.  I packed the girls up and we went down to Oamaru with my friend who had been staying, we stayed the night there, before heading over to Wanaka to stay with my Grandma for a few days.  Just before I left for Oamaru, I received a text from Lauriel, making sure we were all okay. Over the next few days we started to text each other a lot, and by the time I was ready to leave Wanaka, we were quite literally texting each other all day - we'd text upon waking, we'd text minutes before falling asleep... and when we were back in Christchurch the texting continued, and we found very quickly that we had a LOT in common, so much so that we joked we were twins.

The texting continued and then around the time the Rugby World Cup began, we started to talk on Skype.  Though Lauriel was reluctant to start with, I soon got her interested in rugby, and after the pool match between the All Blacks and France (Lauriel is French), her rugby obsession had officially begun, much to her surprise, and I think also to everyone around her.  The Rugby World Cup came and went, with the All Blacks ending the campaign as the victors, and after that Lauriel and I began talking even more and our friendship grew from strength to strength.

We had very honest conversations about things that you normally wouldn't discuss with someone you didn't actually KNOW in person, but we had that connection right from the start - and nothing was off limits, there was no such thing as TMI (too much information), and if anything, those conversations served to show us that we had even more in common than we had realised.  Before long, we were thinking of each other as best friends, and I felt extremely lucky to have such an amazing woman & friend in my life.

In late November Lauriel told me she'd booked tickets to come down and stay with the girls and I during December/January while her children (Eloise, 8 & Aidan, 5) were with their Dad - and we were both incredibly excited!  As December 28th grew closer and closer, we became more and more excited, and FINALLY that day arrived, but of course not before we had another sizable earthquake on December 23rd, and I had been surprised when my first instinct upon getting out of the mall, was to ring Lauriel and let her know I was okay!

Lauriel's flight was early, and she text me to say she was 'waiting under the big flag' - looking up I groaned as I saw what appeared to be about 20 big flags at regular intervals, so I had to try and look for her, whilst appearing as though I wasn't looking for her, but I soon found her and immediately we hugged and said hello.  There was no awkwardness whatsoever, we began talking straight away, as if we saw each other everyday...  I had to keep reminding myself that it was infact the first time I had been in her presence!

From the word go, things were comfortable between us - and a week into her visit things changed and we realised that we felt a lot more than just friendship for each other... and so began US.  On December 28th Lauriel arrived and we were best friends.  On January 11th Lauriel left and we were in love.

In Napier, on one of our many rugby dates (October 2012)!

The past almost-11 months have been spent mostly apart, though we did manage to see each other for approximately 24 hours in March when Gaby, Terri (my sister) and I went up to Auckland to see Taylor Swift, and Lauriel drove up and met us there.  In April Lauriel came down and we had a week and a bit in the school holidays (also going to see our first rugby game together), then in June, Lauriel came down for a weekend so we could go to watch the All Blacks vs Ireland (again with my sister, and her partner).  A couple of weeks later, Lauriel was back down for a week (and another rugby game) in the July school holidays, and in the September holidays the girls and I flew up to Wellington, where we were met by Lauriel - and then drove to Wanganui, where we stayed for 18 days, giving the kids an opportunity to FINALLY meet (and we went to another rugby game).

Our four gorgeous children, September 2012.

With four children and three exes between us, moving to be together immediately, was not an option, and we knew that we would have to spend time living apart, and for a long time it was an indefinite amount of time...  Then one day, Emersyn's father told me that if the girls and I wanted to move up to be with Lauriel and her kids, that him and his girlfriend would also move up (he has family up there) - and FINALLY we had some hope that finally our long distance relationship would become a thing of the past - and the only distance between us would be the distance between point A and point B, while we were at work during the day.

Gaby's father has never played a HUGE part in her life, so after informing him that I planned to move up north with the girls - and him agreeing to that, we could finally get ourselves sorted and make plans for the big move up to Wanganui.  The thought of leaving my parents was horrible, but at the same time - not being in the same house as Lauriel first thing in the morning and last thing at night was even worse, and I knew it was time to grow up and do what I had to do for MY family.

Together at another rugby game, late June 2012

On December 19th, Lauriel and the kids fly down for Christmas.  On January 2nd Lauriel's kids are flying up to Auckland for their time with their Dad.  Then on January 6th Lauriel, the girls and I are leaving Christchurch and driving to Wanganui.  Flights are booked, the ferry is booked - all that is really left to do is to wait for the magical date to roll around, so we can start our life together, as a somewhat unconventional blended family.

Oh wait!  Did I mention that we're also engaged and are getting married (sorry, having a 'civil union') on April 13th?  And that we have a rugby theme?  More specifically, a red and black (Canterbury, Crusaders) rugby theme.  Considering my Dad is a staunch Otago/Highlanders supporter, I hope he will still agree to walking me down the aisle.  Maybe if I suggest he can wear his Otago jersey?