Growing Up.....

My wee man celebrated his 5th birthday! And I can't believe it, he is five, I know I've said it before that it just goes by so fast, but seriously where did my baby go? I think I have mentioned in a prior post that he was our "surprise" baby and I'm so thankful for that. I definitely have a mentality of things happen for a reason whether we grasp it then or later and although I definitely wasn't prepared or ready for a second, we made it work and have been blessed with such a funny and caring little boy.

I'm super proud of him! And I want to freeze these moments, we are celebrating his birthday this weekend and so he kept asking, is it my "real" birthday or is this a "celebration" birthday and when I would say it was his "real" birthday, he would then say, well when is the celebration? And when daddy called via skype to sing him happy birthday, he said, "daddy, you've made my day," I think both the hubby and I cried.

So, it was a "yes" day yesterday, we went to Chuckie E Cheese, we ate cake, we read books, and they stayed up past their bedtimes to we watch movies (they made it through one and then fell asleep through the second one). And as my little man ended his day and was desperately trying to stay awake, he squeezed my arm and said, "thank you mommy for the best day ever." And I said, "no, thank you," to which he looks at me and says, "what did I do?" And I said, "for blessing me with you."

So, happy birthday little man, you gave me such worries before you even came into this world and even though I still get on edge with your daring antics, you are growing into a wonderful little boy!

"The spirit is there in every boy; it has to be discovered and brought to light." R. Baden-Powell

Does absence make the heart grow fonder....

We are about a week into my hubby's trip and I was doing well, a wee sappy when he left, but I've tried to remain busy with the kids, work, pets, chickens, and the household chores. The kids have been great, of course, they miss "daddy" and bedtime is the hardest part. My little man said, "we just aren't a family with the three of us." My heart sank, so we use our imaginations and travel to see him. Yet, again, I try to keep them busy too. It definitely helps that we can "skype."

After the kids went to bed tonight and I finished folding the laundry, I decided to just rest, no work, spoiled myself with some television and just relaxed....and then it crept on me...the stillness in the house, no noise, except for Barney, the pug, snoring. The house just seems empty. As I've posted before, the hubby and I don't always make "us" a priority as it is easy to get caught up with everything else, that it is easy to pass up date nights or one-on-one time with each other than asking someone to watch the kids, so we just don't do it. And although I knew he would be gone for several weeks, I'm not sure I was quite ready for the emotions that have come with his absence. The last time we skyped, I started to break down, which I quickly tried to hide because I didn't want him to know that I was crying and tonight, I simply miss him. I miss hearing his voice, his crazy antics, and all of who he is.

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't do well with a long distance relationship, but I know many people do. It gives you an appreciation for your relationship, especially coming from a military family and knowing my mom had to go sometimes six or nine months out of the year without my father or those who have partners currently overseas.

So I do think absence makes the heart grow fonder....at least for me...I'm looking forward to wrapping my arms around my hubby, showering him with kisses, and telling him how much I love him!

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." - K. Gibran

Aotearoa

Well today is the last day to blog for "blog4nz "and I hope that is has encouraged people to think about visiting, even after the earthquake. They had many people blogging on their behalf. As I was debating on what to post, I couldn't decide. There are truly many amazing and wonderful places to visit and for this to be my last post, it is hard to pick.
So, I've posted this slide show on previous posts, but I felt it was appropriate for this purpose as well. New Zealand holds a special place in my heart, regardless of how long I've been in the states, I still call it "home."

Aotearoa

They say it was fished from the sea,

Aotearoa,

land of the long white cloud.

The deep seas are calling me,

the mountains are howling my name, to come.

Home.

The land of my ancestors,

the land of my mother,

the land where I am from.

Beautiful with grace, that steals your breath away

runs through my soul, my heart, my blood

engulfs me like a wave of wonder

Home.

Oh, how the sea calls me

Oh, how the mountains howl for me to come,

and I so far away

can hear it loudly

Because I am your lost child

In a world not my own

And my soul yearns to break free,

back to Aotearoa

fished from the sea.

 

Split Apple Rock

Here is my second post for "blog4nz," it is a little late, but the day is not over yet. One of my favorite adventures while we were visiting New Zealand, was going to Abel Tasman to go sea kayaking.

The only issue is that I have a fear of drowning, so for the most part, I stay away from water. The morning of our adventure was beautiful, the sun was warm and the air was crisp.

Our guide, was providing instructions to us when the panic hit me. I couldn't do it. I looked at my husband and our friends and said, I can't do it..."what if I fall in," "what if I capsize," "what if..." I am a horrible swimmer, will I drown?

And the guide was empathic, trying to help ease my nerves and as I looked out and took in where I was and the beauty of this place, I looked at my husband and said, "get in." He started to talk and I said, "don't...just go." And we did...I paddled so hard and fast that when we hit our picnic spot, the guide said that was the fastest he had ever gotten to the secluded beach and I was just happy that I hadn't fallen in.

We visited Split Apple Rock (pictured above) and had a nice picnic of tea and a few caramel slices on the beach, it was perfect. Our two guides were fantastic, funny, and great to be with.

The beach we paddled too......

I can't say that I have overcome my fear, but I certainly can say I met my fear head on and came out smiling!

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Andre Gide

Overlooking Mt. Eden

As I blog today with many others in support of "blog4nz" over the next 72 hours. My intent was to reminisce about my travels to the South Island, but since my husband is currently in New Zealand with the Iowa Rotary Club and has been spending some time in Auckland area. I thought I would quickly blog about a picture he just emailed me.

My remaining posts will be about the many adventures we had when we were there. This is my husbands first trip by himself over there (completely jealous) and his first visit to the North Island. When we have gone, we typically stay in the South Island, only because that is what I am most familiar with and family is there, but after his trip, whenever we go again as a family, we will have to visit the North Island.

So, as we were communicating via skype, he sends over this photo. It was sunset and he said it is overlooking Mt. Eden, a volcano. It's Maori name is Maungawhau, "Hill of the Whau Tree." It is one of Auckland's most famous landmarks. I know he is enjoying his time there, his host family is wonderful, which is no surprise because most Kiwi's that you meet are always warm and friendly. He had to rub it in my face that on his first night, he ate a giant bowl of hokey pokey, which is one of the best tasting ice creams EVER! I told him no more gloating or he can't come home, but knowing my husband, he would probably like to stay in New Zealand forever anyway.

Blog4NZ

I just signed up for this grassroots blogging effort that is taking place March 21st for 72 hours. So, check out my posts during this time, I will be blogging about Christchurch and some of the other wonderful spots in the South Island.....

This is what they are are doing

• We are asking bloggers and travel websites around the world to publish at least one positive post on travel in New Zealand on March 21-23 March, 2011.
• We are providing guest posts and photo essays that may be used royalty-free for those who would like to take part, but haven’t been to New Zealand.
• We are talking with key New Zealand tourism organisations to ensure maximum impact and exposure.
• We are combing all those posts in one central location so people can see, repost, and retweet those they like.

Can You Believe It....

That is what I heard most of the day from my sweet pea...."can you believe it, I'm going to be SIX," she exclaimed! No, I can't believe it. I look at this little sassy individual and think, she isn't six, has it really been that long! And indeed, it has....I remember thinking when she was just a wee baby, that it would take so long for her walk, talk, school, etc...and now all of it has past or beginning.
We had her teacher conferences and her teacher said that she is reading above her grade level and really it has just been a few months that she learned to read and she is flowering. She loves to read and write letters. Her big personality sometimes clashes with me already, so I need to learn how to cope with this, everything has to have a reason and I know it is her wanting to know what is going on. We are all set and ready for her party, she is pretty excited, this is her first party where she has invited some school friends...we are having two small parties, one for her friends and then for family...it will help me. It is a cupcake theme, so we made cherry cupcakes and then I made a huge batch of almond buttercream frosting and the kids will get to decorate their own cupcake. I have tons of sprinkles and different toppings and I think it will be fun. My mom made little aprons for all the kids and then I picked up some small bags, glitter glue, and foam stickers at the Dollar Tree so they can also decorate their own treat bags.
Any who...it should be a good time.

Happy Birthday my sweet pea....I love you so very much!!! When I hear this song, I always think of my wee girl and those restless nights.

"A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future." ~Author Unknown

One Spark Sets off Another....

So, I posted about the art piece that hubby worked on and I think it was the spark that set the fire.

For weeks, he was having trouble trying to come up with what to get as a "thank you" gift for his host families while he is in New Zealand. He wanted to get something "Iowa" themed, but he wanted something unique. So, we went to various places, but he couldn't find the right thing...we picked up some of the Bing candies because those are made in Sioux City, a couple Iowa State and Iowa stuff and then one night he showed me what he created.

I love it and told him he should create each family one, all different, but similar. He had to create eight and I think they turned out great.

So here is his Iowa art....

and here is a closer view

It won't be long till his trip and I'm going to miss him so very much, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I couldn't be more happier for him. I think it will also be good for us, the longest we've been apart is two weeks, so this is all new for us, but he's got his Skype account all set up. Hopefully, this time will go quickly for us.

"Observe everything. Communicate Well. Draw, Draw, Draw." - Frank Thomas, Disney Animator

A day in the kitchen....

yes, quite literally I spent most of the day in the kitchen prepping and preparing stuff for tomorrow's big surprise party. The hubby left with the kids to visit his dad and so I took advantage of that time to get everything ready. I had ordered some NZ meat pies that were coming in from the east coast, however, I put the order in a day late and so they won't be here in time for the party (bugger it all), so considering that was going to be one of my dishes, I quickly had to think of something else, while still keeping within my budget. So, I think I've got the dishes ironed out thankfully I have two more birthday parties to host, so the NZ meat pies will not go to waste.

I also took a stab at making caramel slice - a baked treat that is so good and great for any occasions, picnics, birthdays or just with tea (my favorite). There are a variety of "slices," such as lemon, caramel, chocolate, rice bubble, etc...On our last trip to NZ with our friends the "Perkins" we went out kayaking and had a picnic on a cove and the guide packed tea and caramel slices....it was a perfect treat and one of my best memories of the trip. So, I wanted to try and make them...here is the recipe I used....

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon ice water
1 large egg yolk

Toppings
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons golden syrup (such as Lyle's Golden Syrup) or dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons whipping cream
Flaked sea salt

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch metal baking pan. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until coarse meal forms. Add 1 tablespoon ice water and egg yolk. Blend until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom of pan; pierce all over with fork. Bake until golden, piercing if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

For toppings:

Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, butter melts, and mixture comes to boil. Attach candy thermometer to side of pan. Boil gently until caramel is thick and temperature registers 225°F, whisking constantly, about 6 minutes. Pour caramel evenly over crust; cool 15 minutes to set.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate with cream in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally. Spread chocolate over warm caramel; sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
Cut dessert lengthwise into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 5 or 6 slices. Transfer to platter and serve.

I also made cupcakes (12 filled with strawberry preserves and 12 plain) but I used a kiwi butter cream frosting and for the cupcake batter I cheated and used a box mix.....I had planned on making them from scratch, but by the time I was ready to make the cupcakes, several hours had passed and I wanted to get them done. Below is the recipe for the Kiwi Butter cream frosting..and the kiwi is subtle.

3 cups confectionery sugar

1 stick of butter, softened

1/3 cup of kiwi puree or just plain old mashed up kiwis****

some vanilla extract to flavor

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the kiwi. Mix well and add vanilla, mix again.

****I made this twice once with mashed up kiwis and then one I blended, the only difference is the frosting that had the mashed kiwi was a bit more chunkier...where as the blended one didn't have pieces of kiwi chunks)

My favorite part about spending the day in the kitchen is cranking up the music, dancing while I bake, do dishes, etc... and then sampling all the stuff...doesn't help with the waistline, but you only live once ;)

"I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends." - Nancie Carmody

A New Piece.....

When that creative fire flows, you have to create...last weekend the hubby had the urge to paint. So we went to the hardware store and he got some stuff to make a large canvas. He made one for each of the kids and then a large one for his piece.

The kids immediately got into the paint hands first of course and went at, my sweet pea's is not finished, but my little man is done. He was so proud of his painting and to be quite honest, I actually love it!

I love how he blended the colors and the way the final picture turned out. He hung it on his wall and I asked if I could have it for my room and he said, he will think about it.

And my hubby's turned out great as well, he calls it "Life" as soon as he was finished, I immediately knew what it meant and I love his piece. We hung it in our dinning room, he is not so sure about it, but I love it. I love the rich colors and when you get close you see hints of gold and silver. It has been a while since he has painted and I think he should do it more often, but I suppose with anything, when the urge hits, it hits.

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” — Henry Ward Beecher