The Day a City moved.

4th September.2010, 4.36am the earth moved with no warning. I had been breastfeeding my son, who was being inconsolable with his cold. His father had taken him into the other room to change his nappy and I lay for a moment in peace and quiet.





Then the walls started to move. I lept up from my lying postion onto my feet and ran into my daughters room with the ground moving beneathe me. She had only started to wake up. I scooped her up into my arms. A million thoughts went through my head of all the things I had learned growing up. Stand in the door frame, get outside, get under the bed! I screamed at my husband who had never experienced and earthquake before to jump under the bed. All four of us scrambled under the bed. My daughter was screaming 'Mummy Mummy' my son crying at the shock of being thrusted underneath the bed and my husband and I trying to console both of them "It's ok, it going to be ok." The sound was as terrifying as was the movement its self. The earth roared with complete fury, the windows shook to the point where they sounded like they were shattering in a million pieces. Then the deafening silence filled the room. We crawled out from our shelter, shell shock at what had just happened. "Is everyone ok?" I asked my voice shaken.


I hugged my daughter as tight as I could and placed her in our bed where we had just huddled under for shelter. I looked across at my husband and son and breathed in relief that we were all ok.I waited a moment and then went down to check on my puppy.





We have only had Freddie for a couple of days and he was sleeping in his crate. But before the earthquake hit he had started to whine. I swear he was trying to warn us something was about to happen.


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I got Freddie out of his crate and I took him outside to go to the toilet. The street lights were on but we had no power in the house. I looked at the sky and saw a million stars and thought of how beautiful it was. Freddie and I came back inside. I opened the curtains so we could have some light from the street lamps. I sat on the bed and my legs wouldn't stop moving.


I crawled back into bed and snuggled up next to my daughter trying to get warm to stop the shock from getting worse. Then the second earthquake hit. Not as violent and long as the first but frightening. The street lights went out.





We were very unprepared for this natural disaster, we had no batteries in the torch, we had candles but I know better then to light a candle in an earthquake. We also had no radio. Because there was no electricity there was no connection to the outside world. I grabbed the laptop and my cellphone so we had some light and huddled up in bed. Hubby went out to the car to listen to the radio, where we heard that it was a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. The same magnitude which hit Haiti last year. More aftershocks hit, whilst he was out listening to the radio. I was frantically trying to call loved ones to see if they were ok. They were. We are so lucky that everyone we know and love were ok. No damage to properties or people. Hubby came back inside and we lay awake wishing that the sun would come up faster.





My daughter woke up at 7am on the dot and demanded to have breakfast. I lay in bed with my son keeping him asleep knowing that there was disaster out there and it would wait until he woke up.





Nothing broke in my house, I hadn't fully unpacked from moving a few weeks earlier because we are renovating the lounge and dining. The foundations and land are fine and fortunately we don't have a brick chimney.





The electricity to most of the city was out, the cellphone networks were down and the water supply was and is on the dodgy side. I didn't see the major devestation until the electricity had come on at 1.15pm that day. It was horrifying.





My beautiful Christchurch, my home city which has looked after me since I was just a twinkle in my mothers eye had been bought to the ground. The beautiful historic buildings which lined the inner city were destroyed. Churches which were iconic collapsed. If you went into certain areas in Christchurch you could smell the sewage leaking from broken pipes. Closer to the ocean the silt had burst through the ground creating mass distruction in its wake. The ground spilt open where there was concrete and fields of grass. It bought tears to my eyes.





Every aftershock I sit on the edge of my seat ready to run, grab my children and dive under the table or go outside. Every movement you wait for the ground to open up and swallow you whole. My entire being is shaken.





But I am proud of my Christchurch. The way everyone has responded. Communities coming together sharing stories. The civil services couldn't have reacted any better. Well Done Christchurch.

Repitition the fun game

Missy Moo has entered the repetitive stage. This stage follow the parrot stage where they copy everything you say. Now she expects the answers to a question she asks twenty times a day. Her saying of the month is "Where's Daddy?" You can also substitute Daddy with, Nana, Nanny, Mummy (yes even to me she asks me where I am) or any other name she is thinking. To which I have to respond where these people are...immediately! Otherwise the question is repeated, over and over again and if that doesn't succeed she insists on saying Mummy over and over again.

I can see you all sitting there with a smile on your face thinking how cute that is. But cute is only so cute until it turns into annoying...What I don't understand, is that she knows alot of words but insists on this sentence. I love my Missy Moo to bits but I have only been given so much paitence before I develop a nervous twitch.

Not only is my day filled with the repetitive questions with the repetitive answers, her Nana kindly gave her a DVD to watch. It has these dancing singing colourful dogs. She would watch it all day everyday if she could. It is a good DVD espically around dinner time. But I find myself singing it in the middle of the night whilst I am feeding the master. My thoughts have been invaded by the dancing singing colourful dogs and it's not appreciated.

So alas I dare say the nervous twitch has begun and to control it I have resorted to eating chocolate.

My new arrival

I am currently in preparation for a new arrival to the family. All of you who have gasped and started gossiping before you have read the next sentence stop! I'm NOT pregnant...thank god...No it's much better then that. Because I don't have to be pregnant. Someone else has done the hard work for me and now she's kicking him out of home so it's up to me to raise her offspring. I'm getting a PUPPY! As a person who has never had a dog before, I thought it would be great for the children. (This is my spin to my husband) Missy Moo is nervous around dogs, so this will help her get over her fear... I hope, that or I will severely traumatise the poor girl resulting in endless hours of therapy.

I know that the children are much to little to look after the dog and that all responsibilty will fall on me (my husband) to make sure it's fed watered and walked. But, I already live in chaos, there is generally pee or poo somewhere on my carpet and what's the point in having a huge yard if nobody is going to run around it. So a puppy will fit in great with the chaos. We have chosen a Golden Retriever. How much more cuter could you get!!! A male dog, or in technical terms a dog, as I read they are much more cuddly then the females that and hubby saw the puppy daddy and he has a big head and wanted a male. So in all my preparation, I have been reading about dogs collecting things for the dog and making sure my house is puppy proof. I think I am doing more preparation for the dog then I did when having my babies.

And in all my knowledge from reading about dogs, I now tell my other friends with dogs, what I know, as if it's as easy as doing what the book says. 'Oh your dog won't walk on the lead? Maybe you should try the walking in the other direction tactic" and so on. Sometimes it's fun being ignorant.

Recovery of the Chaos

I've been a little distracted lately, so posting a blog has slipped my mind, for a few weeks. In those short few weeks. We have bought a house, Mr Commando has started commando crawling all over the house with great speed that when you turn around he's all of a sudden behind you and Missy Moo has been potty trained. In amongst all this chaos, I have managed to buy a puppy YAY and go up to Auckland to see 30 Seconds to Mars, which didn't fail to impress. I must admit I was a bit nervous about Jared Leto's mohawk hair style, because nobody should very support a mohawk, it goes in to the relms of a mullet.

I have decided that I am a glutton for punishment. I mean what other crazy person, has two children 22 months apart, buys a house redecorated the lounge the same week she has moved in and buys a dog! Only the clinically insane. No wonder I can't remember what day it is let alone what appointments I have on for the day. After all those who know me, know that I live in a constant state of chaos and if there isn't any chaos going on, I must be sick, or indisposed or worse the living dead!

Now I am officially part of the suburban housewife community. House, Husband two children and a dog. All I need to complete my look is a minivan and a sack of soccer balls hanging over my shoulder. Both of which wouldn't happen, because my highheels would sink in to the grass on the field and I am not allowed to drive large objects as they have a tendency to collide with stationary things.

Baby Led Weening

It's always exciting, a little bit nerve racking to see the plunket nurse. Ok so it's nerve racking for me. I'm always doing something that I shouldn't be doing like sleeping snuffalafacus on his tummy, or co sleeping with him. I can feel you saying to yourself well if it's a problem don't tell her the things you do wrong. But I can't help it, it's out of my mouth before I even know I've said it. But today was a good day. My suspicions were confirmed when he was put on the scales and weighed 8.6kgs he's almost catching up to missy moo who is only 11kg at 2 years old! No wonder my shoulders and arms are so sore. He's also doing everything he's supposed to be doing. Commando crawling across the floor at speeds to keep up with his sister. He's going to be walking before I know it! Time goes to fast. I spoke to the plunket nurse about how he won't eat solids. I thought little boys were meant to be pigs. Well apparently the food I make him isn't good enough. Yet he will eat a brocolli tree. So now we are going to try baby led weening. I'm a bit nervous as with Missy moo I just rushed her through the phases. But fortunately for me I have my sister who's son did baby led weening. I will adjuct quite quickly to watching him cough a little on some foods. It's his grandparents who might have the problem and have me up for neglecting my child by not pureeing. Ok so a little bit of an exageration but at the most they won't watch him eat food because they all might have heart attacks!

So here we go. I will keep you informed on the progress of Baby Led Weening. Day 1 is tomorrow!!! Wish me Luck

Teeth

Teeth, any mother who has had a child knows how horrible teeth are. With Missy Moo being 2, I had forgotten how awful those first few teeth are. Not only had I forgotten but I had been slightly insensitive to my wee man. Yes that's right I was telling my 5 month old off, like he can understand me!

It's been a long 4 days and 2 of those days hubby was home so we both had been walking around with him going OH MY GOD WHY WON'T YOU SLEEP. We went for walks, drives in the car but nothing seems to have helped the wee man. The sad thing is I have amber teething beads on him, imagine what it was like if I didn't. Today was breaking point. I haven't been able to put him down. My Master Bubble has turned into Darth Vader! Ok so a slight exagertation but only a little. After trying for over an hour to put him to sleep, with him contorting his head into various positions to either, watch tv (little tvaholic) or his sister and being upset. I put him in his bed hoping that by some miracle he would put himself to sleep. Instead he cried and cried. So I went and pick him up again and continued to walk him. I got to breaking point. I placed him safely in his cot and went and hid in the kitchen. I know very mature of me. In my hiding I ate one of my cinamon scrolls and a piece of ginger crunch and stared vacantly out of the window. After getting a good sugar fix I felt I was able to handle another go. I went and picked him up again and decided to feed him to get him to sleep. Which failed. Thankfully my trusted child advisor called me (my sister). She pointed out to me that he was probably sore from his teeth and to stop trying to put him to sleep cause he won't. To which I replied 'duh why didn't I think of that'. I gave him a good dose of panadol. He was still a horror for the rest of the day until now where he is sleeping in my bed after being breastfed to sleep.

Those teeth have alot to answer for. I'm sure when I see them they won't give me a good answer they will probably ignore me and tell their friends to come join them. I think the sadest thing about this whole sitution is that, Darth Vader is only 5 months old. I still have 18 months of this to go before he has them all!

God help me.

Words we teach.

Friday we had decided to go out to dinner. I hadn't been having a good day in general. There was no particular reason for it. The day was just crap. I was preoccupied from putting Mr Bubble in his carseat and listening to him protest about the fact the carseat is cold and trying to catch Missy Moo in the car to put her into her car seat, that after all of that was done I sat down and started reversing in the time that I had looked in my mirror and reversed the gate had magically half closed. Now for all you who know me who are reading this, I didn't drive into the gate as record might dictate. Instead in my annoyance I said 'crap' to follow on from this Missy Moo decided to repeat this in a chorus of song. So from the time we left home to getting to pick up hubby from work she was singing the word crap over and over again. Missy Moo likes to make up songs about anything. I must remember to watch my P's and Q's from now on. Otherwise there might be a few more unwanted words in her vocab.