I know I say it every time, but I have been stupidly busy! Very very sorry that this is so late. December has passed in a complete whirlwind of activity and actually saw me more disorganised than usual at this time of year. To the Keffs, Macs, Percy's and Ledgers, huge apologies but your Christmas presents didn't leave Auckland till Thursday 21st December, Le Riches, yours are with John snr - to The Blackmans and Fergusons - even sorrier, your parcels are still on my kitchen couch and will be dispatched some time in the next few days or so! To everyone else, your card is either in the post or on my couch!
Strangely, this complete inability to mobilise myself into action is not just because of the lack of time caused by so much going on, but also I find myself completely inarticulate in the face of trying to describe it all. I have started my Christmas round robin twice - and twice have not even bothered saving my endeavours as none of it sounded real - or at least I couldn't get over just how good everything is just now. I suspect that I may be faced with the same reality at the end of my blogging effort this evening, but fear that I will publish none the less as otherwise you will all think that I am being incredibly unsociable.
Possibly the best plan would have been to bluff and say that I deliberately did not update because I wanted the effect of a cliff hanger in a soap? - Not sure it would have worked though!
So, in light of the fact that my words are unlikely to paint the picture as accurately or as joyfully as I would have them do, I would ask you to read today's blog with a pair of very rosy spectacles, with a broad grin on your face and in the knowledge that we is in a very very good place at the moment!
Loads of big news so, starting slowly and building up gradually... The girls and I got citizenship at the end of last November - we don't officially become Kiwi's till we have sworn allegiance to the Queen at a Citizenship ceremony, but we expect that to be some time in January.
John and Sharron got 'married' on December 17th - technically they can't until 15th January, when he and I finally become officially divorced, so I presume they had a blessing / celebration - whatever, the girls were flower girls and had a lovely day and looked gorgeous, and I gather from John, were a credit to us both - so... there you go!
Mark's house went through on December 7th - he moved in here on December 1st and one month later it is every bit as right and gorgeous as I had anticipated. The cat has not escaped yet despite several attempts. Her name is Puss Puss (I had no input on this!) but we are considering renaming her Houdini as, so far, she has tried to get out up the chimney, out of the backdoor and 3 times through the wire mesh which currently adorns my front deck / cage!
Mark's move in here was complicated somewhat, by the fact that 5 days after he and PP moved in Vince, Angela, Callum and Adam arrived from the UK. They were here 3 weeks and managed to cram in both Milford Sound, at the Bottom of the South Island and the Bay of Islands at the top of the North Island - they spent Christmas with us in Auckland and then the girls and I joined them for a whistle stop tour of Rotorua, Taupo and the Coramandel. Was fab seeing them and the children got on fantastically well - Mark and PP coped very well with the chaos and noise, but both justifiably ducked for cover a couple of times!
Christmas was lovely - I have never seen quite so many presents under the Christmas tree. I have never seen quite so much wrapping paper either. The big day was preceded by a wee drama when the Christmas tree decided it wanted a closer look at the carpet and keeled over completely 3 days AFTER we had decorated it - Angela and I spent the rest of Christmas Eve redressing the damn thing!
Christmas was also quite interesting as John and Sharron had suggested that we meet up for breakfast / drinks on Christmas Day, which we did. Mark by this time had gone down to spend Christmas afternoon with his Mum and his brother (also over for Christmas!). But John, Sharron, me, Angela and Vince drank bubbles, ate fruit and fruit cake on Takapuna beach on a rather grey Christmas morning; the kids swam and opened more presents and John, Sharron and I exchanged pleasantries as if no hostile words had ever passed between us. It was fine, but just a bit surreal really - but good that we made the effort for the girls I think and good that we can remind ourselves that we can be civil to each other.
Anyway, Angela, Vince and the boys left to fly back to the Northern Hemisphere this morning, leaving Lou in a little pool of tears, Becca a tad deflated and Puss Puss looking just slightly relieved to be able to curl up on the beanbag without sitting on any Lego!
Today has been spent washing sheets, washing towels, remaking beds and....PACKING!!
On 20 January, I will wake up and drink tea on my back deck overlooking Rangi for the last time - and then, all my boxes, and all Mark's boxes will be shifted to our new pad 5 mins up the road from here, still accessible to school, to Lou's new school, to Mark's football and to my coffee and wine buddies!
http://www.ljhooker.co.nz/property_listing.php?id=210837&type=residential&category=buy
Have a squizzy on the link above - might not be there very long as at some point Mr Hooker will doubtless get round to removing it from his listings!
Suffice it to say, if you want to come and stay, you will have your own room with an en suite - and I will not need to sleep on the living room floor! You can stay as long as you like! Sod's law that Angela and Vince arrived only 3 days after we had found the house and have had to suffer the joy of 1 bathroom between 8 of us!
And I guess that it's the house / Mark stuff that is so hard to put into words. We stood on the back deck last night at midnight to see in the New Year - the sky was that clear dark dark navy blue that makes the stars brighter that bright, and as we hugged in the New Year, 2007 seemed to start with everything just as it should be.
Sure, Mark and I are both a bit stubborn, both a bit pig headed and both a bit set in our ways, and we are going to have to learn to live with each other's little foibles - and he with the children and I with the cat (!) but we've both been through the big dark forest - and we're both out the other side and happy. And we laugh together so much! And that as much as anything feels very very good.
In Mark, I feel like I have this wonderfully solid rock - I feel like there is nothing that isn't going to be better for him being there - and it feels unimaginably wonderful. There's still a lot of John crap to resolve but it's starting to feel doable rather than 'stick your head in the sand and it will go awayey'!
The house is the solid shape of our future I suppose - We have one, we are moving into it and we are going to make it just what we want it to be.
So have I got that bit over then? Keep the rosy specs on, it's quite a nice place to be!!
Meantime - girls fab. Lou very excited that for her birthday we are choosing all the stuff for her new bedroom - I am hoping to have a little bit of a say, but at 11 it is more difficult to do the "would you like this tasteful one or this almost as tasteful one" tactic! She is already planning her first slumber party in the rumpus room. Permission has already been sought and granted for pizza, pillow fights and movies - as far as I am concerned, the best thing about a rumpus room is that it has a door!!
School wise, she's just finished Year 6 and next year she starts two years of Intermediate before heading for 'college' from year 9. She's off to Birkdale with most of her friends and is planning on dragging me out for uniform buying next week - wallet will enjoy that!
Also school wise - report was again excellent and the teacher's remarks were so lovely that I cried while reading it! AND, at prize giving, I nearly burst with pride when she received one of the school cups - the Chafer Cup for Creative and Imaginative Writing - very very pleased for her - she came in in the top 5 for the year too and came home with enough certificates that she's probably saved me about 2 pots of emulsion!
As for Becs - also came home with an excellent report - Lots of As for effort and 1s for achievement. Mummy very very happy! Less news for Becs, but still doing brilliantly at all her sporty things and still smiling all the time!
Still haven't told you properly about the ballet! Can't do it now - now 1.16am on 2 January!
BUT - VV IMPORTANT NEWS!! Trip to UK now probably NOT in July....... Feel need for Winter Christmas so THINK we are going to come over next December - probably around 15 December - 15 January ish... Sorry to fanny about - lots of reasons but mostly think it would be nice to see Dad, Dunc and Dom (and Mark's family!) at Christmas - ohhh and of course the Christmas lights at 3.30pm! Plus, figure you're less likely to be away. - will confirm very very soon!
Think that's it for now! Will have to be! Wayyyy past my bed time!
Hope your Christmas was happy and peaceful and that 2007 is everything you want it to be.
Hugs
Lili xx
ps haven't proofed this - so forgive any typo's / repetition etc!
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