The "up" side of being 5 foot nothing ...

There aren't a lot of benefits to being a red-headed midget.

Rock concerts mean a fantastic view of sweaty armpits. Lengthy conversations with most people older than ten involve a crick in the neck. Any clothes I buy generally require at least 4 inches pruned off the bottom before they're wearable. I gave up teaching Brownies when I was 17 as most of them (7 - 10) outgrew me ...

We have no hot water. Well, we do everywhere in the house except in the shower. Which has necessitated the having of baths (the hot tap in the bath is immediately under the hot tap in the shower, and it gushes forth with copious amounts of steaming hot water ... alas, it reaches not the shower head).

I'm not a huge bath fan. I don't understand the rapture with which some people (the MOTH included) greet the thought of spending an hour in the dark immersed in rapidly cooling water, watching your fingers turn prune-ish.

I've had two baths in as many days (it's either that or ice cold showers). And I can fit the whole five foot nothing of me lying down, stretched full length in the bath, with no knees or elbows sticking out !!

The MOTH might be able to reach the top shelf at the supermarket, but even he can't do that !!! :P

We're not in Kansas any more ...

You may remember how excited I was when the MOTH and I went home in October last year ? (If I could work out how to link to that post I would ... but I'm not that smart so if you don't remember you'll have to find it the hard way).

You may also recall how, when we returned, I was literally counting down the days until we moved back north again at the end of next year ?

If I learnt only one thing from our trip north this time around, it is that I've wasted twelve months here in Dunedin wishing I was "home", and that I haven't really given our new address a chance.

Not that being up north wasn't brilliant. It was. The MOTH's family are gorgeous, warm, friendly ... and numerous. Did I mention before we left that there were 19 people at S's birthday dinner ? And that was immediate family only. The MOTH's brother lent us his car for the entire duration of our stay and his folks got up at 5.30am so they could drive us to the airport for our flight home. But I don't know where the plates live in their kitchen any more ...

Our friends were all welcoming, hospitable, thrilled to see us ... and polite. No, we could not help with dinner, it was all sorted, we were guests, just sit down and relax. These are people whose fridges I have raided and whose jugs I normally just switch on when I walk in so I can make myself a coffee ...

The fact we're away was illustrated in many ways ... we cuddled children who weren't born when we left and felt pregnant tummies containing full term babies we aren't going to meet until they're walking and talking. But Dunedin is home ... for as long as we choose to live here. I'm just sorry it's taken me twelve months to realise it ...

All hail the champion !!!

The main reason for the timing of our trip north, if not the actual trip itself, was the BMX Nationals in Cambridge over Easter weekend.

Originally the plan was to take both rugrats (S was over the moon when she finished her third qualifying meeting and was eligible to race ... the week before she broke her arm and rendered herself ineligible again) ... then we were down to one racer ... and then none due to some wildly inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour from K ...

However, the MOTH and I had one of those parental-what-the-hell-are-we-gonna-do-now type chats, and decided to register K without telling him what we were doing (with the thought that if his behaviour improved markedly, at least we hadn't "burnt the bridge" of participation so to speak). His principal played along nicely and set K holiday homework whereby he had the task of videtaping the Nationals and giving a presentation to the school when he got back.

K didn't think it at all unusual that we still packed his bike up, and included his racing gear and helmet in our luggage for our trip north. He was hoping that if he behaved himself, and supported the rest of our team properly, he "might" be allowed to ride around the track a few times after it was all over ...

After two awesome days of racing, some nail biting finishes, spectacular crashes, awe inspiring jumps and riding ... K can now throw away his 151 plate and ride next year with the plate NZ33 !!!!*


And for one of the smallest clubs in the country, Dunedin did extremely well. Two of our eight riders made it to the semi-finals, and five finished in the top 20 in the country. Yay us !!!

I should also point out at this stage that the MOTH was so impressed with K's feat that he bought him a new bike. I shudder to think what it will cost us if he ever ranks NZ1 !!!



* BMX rules state that riders are not allowed to ride with numbers under 100 unless they have earnt them (ie. a NZ ranking) ... K is now ranked 33 in NZ for 9yo boys (which happened to be the largest age group with 44 riders)

A W O L ...

Apologies faithful readers (all three of you) ... I'm well aware I vanished off the face of the planet for a few weeks there and can assure you I have been feeling suitably guilty ...

It's been rather a busy time in our little kingdom lately. I've now finished my old job, and we've just returned from nearly two weeks up north.

But I'm not planning on going anywhere for a very very long time, and I don't start my new job until Wednesday, so hopefully I'll have plenty of time to visit all your blogs, catch up on everything I've missed ... and maybe even fit in a post or two of my own ...

Foot in mouth syndrome ...

(I meant to post this a week or so ago, but like so much else at the moment, I didn't get around to it / have time)

K has been extraordinarily cuddly lately. It feels like every time I turn around, I trip over a small child wanting a hug.

I love him dearly, but having a four foot tall shadow can, on occasion, be rather annoying.

I was trying to get ready to go out for dinner the other night when I tripped over him one too many times.

"K !! I love you, but you're a ... a ... you're a (searching wildly for inspiration) ... a Klingon !!!"

"No I'm not. I'm a barnacle ... (slight pause) ... and you're my whale."

The difference between 8 and 13 ...

Reading a surf magazine today at the hairdresser while his sister had her hair cut ...

Turns the page and is confronted with three bikini clad women ...

"Ewwwww ... put some clothes on !!!!"