The Christmas mood struck the McBonbon household this week and because our kids enjoy doing arty stuff so much, we decided to let them get their creative freak on! We purchased some baubles from the Warehouse, along with some foam stickers, and voila! Christmas art!
Emersyn very hard at work!
The kids each decorated their baubles and then we took the requisite photos of the kiddos with their creations.
Of course what use are decorations without a Christmas tree? The Christmas tree went out and then the kids were given the all important job of decorating the tree... and I have to say, they didn't do too bad! Naturally there were photos taken with the tree before we headed outside to decorate a couple of the trees in the front yard... with all those left over decorations it seemed like the right thing to do (even if most of them have now blown off in the wind...).
The kids were all very well behaved so I think we may do some more Christmas art over the next couple of weeks, before Lauriel, myself, Emmy & Gab head down to Christchurch and Eloise and Aidan go to spend the Christmas period with their dad. I am pretty sure there will be some Christmas baking done as well when we find the inspiration!
Eloise & Gaby showing off their baubles
Aidan & Gaby with their baubles...
trying to smile into the sun.
Fail.
Emersyn & Eloise with their baubles
Our crazy foursome...
getting them all to smile & look at the camera wasn't working...
As always four children smiling and looking at the camera wasn't working
.... funny faces it is!
Final product! 3/4 kids looking at the camera, 2/4 smiling... good enough for me!
All of the family at our official wedding in September
Mamie arrived from France for a month!!!
We got OFFICIALLY married! No more civil union for us. We officially upgraded to marriage!
I turned 30
Aidan turned 6
Lauriel turned 36
October
Gaby turned 7
November
I officially finished my first year of study... start back in February
Us at the game in New Plymouth
What else is happening?
The three older kids are doing great at school, Emersyn is loving preschool!
Me, Lauriel, Gab & Emmy are headed to Christchurch for the Christmas break, while Aidan and Eloise head up to the bach with their dad & his side of the family
..... It is hard to think of everything that has happened since May & I am sure I have probably left something important out... but I will try to be a better blogger from now on and keep you all up to date on the goings on in our slightly crazy household!
I've been very busy with uni work, so haven't had a chance to update the blog... Well, I could have, but I hate giving half-ass updates on here. It HAS however been a month since the blog was last updated, so here goes!
The children are all well.
We are well.
We are happy.
Really, what more could we ask for?
Life has (predictably) gone back to normal after the wedding... Which is nice, really. The kids are
Family time at the park!
to enjoy it! Gab continues to read up a storm - I think having Eloise around has encouraged her to read outside of school - the two of them always have a book or two on the go, which is really great to see. I love that our children are readers.
Aidan is making great progress at school, and got a 'Positive Person' award at the end of term assembly last month... Him and Gaby are currently enjoying searching for snails and worms, and playing outside on the bike. They have the ability to fight a lot, but when they aren't getting on each others nerves, they have an awesome little relationship going on! Being that they are so close in age, I guess it is to be expected... and it means that Aidan can protect Gaby from all those evil teenage boys when they are a bit older.
Emersyn... my little baby.. she's almost THREE. I don't know how time has gone so fast, because I'm sure that it was just a few months ago I was celebrating her FIRST birthday. Emmy loves Eloise, and is constantly by her side... it's very sweet, but not doubt also a little annoying at times, for Eloise! Emersyn loves preschool and always comes home and tells us what she's done that day. Usually it's 'went outside'... and for awhile it was painting painting painting.
As for us??? We are already an old married couple. But I don't think that's as much of a bad thing as it sounds... I think it means we are comfortable enough with each other that we can just be ourselves and do our own thing, and don't feel the need to have to impress the other person. That said, all my study has been taking it out of me, and I feel awful for not being able to stay up past 10pm - and even moreso for falling asleep within minutes of going to bed. I hope that when my exams are over, I'll be a bit more like the old Emma!
At the rugby in Palmerston North
We are looking very forward to our night in Hamilton next weekend - we get to see our boys playing, and we also get a night in a fancy hotel, courtesy of a very generous wedding gift! We did recently have a night without children - we went to Palmerston North (as you could guess, for rugby) and the kids had a slumber party with Amy, Kallum and Ellie. It was lovely having that time alone - and the time away from home... and I finally got to experience what Palmerston North has to offer... We crossed another rugby stadium off our list, and got to quench our thirst for rugby. Perfect!
Speaking of rugby, on June 22nd we are crossing another rugby stadium off our list - AND seeing the All Blacks... v France!
I will now sign off, we have kids that need to be fed!
... and do I ever want to get married again????? NO.
... am I madly madly crazily in love with my WIFE???? HELL YES!
the cops that turned up at our hens night... that WEREN'T strippers...
.... what are the odds???
I have always heard that weddings are stressful, but I never understood just how true that was until the last month or so. Planning our wedding wasn't stressful when it was deciding a date, deciding on a venue, purchasing dresses and shoes. But then the big 'one month to go!' mark rolled around, and suddenly there were 1,000,000 decisions to be made, decisions about seemingly pointless things (to me, remember - very un-girly), that I couldn't really have cared about whatever we'd decided...
BUT seeing it all come together as beautifully as it did (hugely in part to the amazing Kath and Sophia), I see now that those 'pointless' things we needed to decide on were all equally important, and without them the wedding would have been just another day.
with my Mum & sister before the wedding
I don't want to talk about the stress any longer though, because it's all in the past now - and it all seems so unimportant, because that stress led to the best day of my life (tied with the birth of both of my babies, my niece and my nephew).
The weather forecast was for showers, but we woke up to BLUE SKY, and throughout the morning the sky turned grey, but it didn't really look like rain... until about an hour before the ceremony was due to start. We got to the venue and it looked like it'd rain, but it also looked like it would hold off.
The gorgeous Mrs L. Masson-Oakden
We began our march down the aisle. And it began to rain. Heavier and heavier and heavier. By the
time we got to the 'altar' (read: goalposts) it was starting to rain heavily - and it proceeded to get heavier right throughout the ceremony. You know what though? I hardly noticed it. I KNEW it was raining (my hair was saturated, my shawl was saturated, my face was saturated), but it all kind of took a backseat because the only thing I was focused on was Lauriel, and the fact we were finally getting married!
Our walk down the aisle... in the rain... and wind...
After the ceremony we were supposed to do a sand ceremony, but it was too wet, so the table carrying the marriage register was taken into the changing rooms under one of the grandstands.... the food table was carried through, all our guests came through - and the next two? hours were spent socialising in a rugby changing room.
Lauriel saying her vows
It was strangely perfect for us.
We always joked about getting our photos done in a changing room - and well, ALL our photos (sans a few) were done in one! I am sure people will look at our photos and go "WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?", but what we were thinking is "this is the low key wedding that suits us, just like we always wanted". We got to spend time with family and friends, we had refreshments, lots of laughs were had. What more could we want?
After we left the stadium we went to the
After signing the register
Brickhouse for our reception, the girls did an amazing job setting up the room, and walking in I felt truly happy.... wet, but very happy!!!!! The meal was lovely, the speeches made us cry, and again lots of laughs were had. It was brilliant, it was exactly what we had hoped for. Again I am sure a lot of people will raise an eyebrow at how low key it was, and the fact our guests had to purchase their own meals... but from the start nothing about our relationship has been traditional, so it makes sense we had a very untraditional wedding and reception!
After the reception it was back home with our
Our beautiful wedding party
four gorgeous kids and two of my best friends in the world. The kids went to bed - and were asleep within minutes, then we did what we do best.
Got out of our dresses. Put on our jammies. Got the appropriate snacks from the cupboard. Flopped down on the couch. Turned SkyTV on to channel 30. And watched 1 1/2 games of rugby. And we couldn't have been happier. (minus the loss) it was the perfect end to a perfect day for us.
I would now like to thank all of you who played a part in our big day, particularly our bridesmaids and Marion, our cake making
the four most wonderful, beautiful, amazing bridesmaids
who ever existed...
queen, my Aunty for doing our professional photos for us, Sharyn for all her help over the past few months, Amy for making the GORGEOUS flowergirls dresses, my sister for planning the hens night, my parents for being as wonderful as ever.... and EVERYONE who sent us good wishes for the day, and who was thinking of us, whether they were in Wanganui, another part of New Zealand, another part of the Southern Hemisphere, or in the Northern Hemisphere. We love you all!
We both have unofficial photos up on Facebook, and I will post a link to an online album for the photographs my Dad took... then when we have our professional photos, we will put them on Facebook and on here.
This time in 10 days, we will be about 1 hour away from getting married. Time seems to have suddenly sped up, and we now find ourselves on that final countdown - which is oh so exciting, and also just a tad stressful! Everything is essentially organised, there are just final little details to iron out.... like y'know - finding a way to assure that the weather forecast for the 13th is sun, sun and more sun! Tomorrow the 10 day foreceast on the Metservice website will include the 13th, and there better be a nice yellow sun forecast!
The Easter break was full of chocolate - of course, but also full of our patience being tested. Whoever decided to give school kids a 5 day break really needs their head read. I know that teachers probably won't agree with me on that, however. Overall though, the kids were good and played nicely! On Monday they built a gargantuan tower with the blocks, and all worked very well as a team to complete the tower, though I think if anyone had touched it and broken it prior to the photographical evidence being taken, chances are they'd have been ostracised for the rest of the day.
the 4 little engineers, all very proud of their work!
Last week Lauriel and I picked up a curling wand for $3.00 - so naturally it didn't take long before we
my little blond curly wurly
began experimenting with it, with surprising success, I may add! I am the only one who hasn't had her hair curled - well, neither have Emmy or Aidan, but I'm pretty sure I could give Aidan a bit of a flick to his hair! I have a feeling the curling wand is going to get a lot of use on our wedding day - Gaby has already demanded she has her hair curled, and I think Eloise is rather fond of the idea as well. And whether she knows it or not, Lauriel is having her hair curled - because she looked gorgeous when I did her hair! With our outfits all good to go, I think the only thing left to purchase may be some mascara and lipstick. Neither of us are makeup people, and though we know it looks good with photos, we are opting for minimum makeup - if any. I'd sooner spend money on rugby tickets, than on makeup I will wear once... And realistically it'd probably be smudged two seconds into the ceremony, because I'm sure I'll be crying!
The hens night is the night before the wedding - so that my few guests can actually be there... more to the point, my sister is organising the whole thing, so it's kind of essential that she is there! All we know is that there is going to be Sing Star at the end of the evening... The rest is all shrouded in secrecy... Well, minus the fact we are having an 'adult novelty items' party, courtesy of my sister who is a retailer of said 'adult novelty items'. I have a feeling the night is going to be verrrrrrrrrry memorable!!!!!
No doubt I'll update again in the coming days... But for now, I am off to write my vows!
.... though I will share the most recent photo of Richie McCaw, because I want to see Lauriel melt when she reads this....
It's been awhile since we updated, about 5 weeks actually - but don't fear, we are back now!
Emmy showing off her new Dora cup that Nan & Poppa
bought for her in Australia.
A lot has happened in the past few weeks, the kids are back at school and all doing awesomely! Emersyn is now (day time) potty trained, she still has the odd accident, but generally it's when she's having so much fun she forgets about the whole toilet thing. It's nice to not have to deal with poo on a daily basis. I'm so over poo. I am also back at school, studying toward my Bachelor of Communication at Massey University - at the moment my major is Journalism Studies & my minor is Expressive Arts, but I think the order of those two may swap. I don't know. It's a pity I can't have a double major.... (Or maybe I can?).
Back where we belong... well, the stadium aspect...
Sadly it was in the wrong city!
On March 8 Lauriel and I finally went to a rugby game together... it was a long time coming, our last game was Hawkes Bay v Canterbury, in Oct 2012, in Napier. This game was in Wellington, the Hurricanes v Crusaders (y'know, OUR men)... sadly we walked away with a frown on our faces, as the Hurricanes won in the last few minutes of the match. BUT it was great to be back in a rugby atmosphere, and also to be on our own. Of course we love our kids, but all parents would agree that sometimes you just need that alone time, to do something that isn't Mummy/Daddy related. At the rugby we are Emma & Lauriel the rugby fans... the rest of the time we are Emma & Lauriel 'the Mums'... the latter is a role we love and adore and wouldn't change for anything, but all the same, a break is nice. And needed! Our next game is most likely Hamilton in May (Chiefs v Crusaders), but in July we are very excited to be taking Gaby, Eloise & Aidan to Wellington to see the Hurricanes v Highlander.
Highlanders = Jarrad Hoeata. Enough said.
Two of our little flowergirls!
Our wedding is approaching rapidly - I think we are now down to about 3 weeks and 3 days to go, and everything is starting to come together, a lot of that is thanks to Lauriel's wonderful bridesmaids, Sophia & Kath. My sister is planning the hens night - she is a seller for Cocobella, who sell.... 'adult novelty products', and to be honest, I'm a little scared to see what she has up her sleeve! There is a lot of secrecy surrounding it - well, as far as Lauriel and I go... but we know our bridesmaids will make sure nothing too dreadful goes down. (Those of you with dirty minds can stop giggling right now!). The girls got their flowergirls dresses this weekend just been, and they are AMAZING... made by the fabulous Amy at Little Miss Tutu.
We have been doing a lot of baking and cooking in the McBonbon household. Lauriel and I both loved baking and cooking prior to living together, but there is something to be said about having another adult to share the fruits of your labour with... someone who you KNOW will appreciate what you've cooked, rather than looking at it and going 'it looks gross, I am not eating it'. Generally our baking and cooking has been very successful, but we are still fine tuning the oven, which tends to burn very easily. As proof, here are some photos of our various baking/cooking sessions...
Lauriel's (pink!) almond meringue drops
Sponge cake!
Cooooookies!
an enormous cookie just for me! my wifey-to-be is the BEST!
Almond & pear tart... this was sooooo good
Slow cooker vege soup, prior to cooking
Because I'm sure at least one person will ask, here are the recipes for the almond meringue drops & the tart!
We are officially living in our OWN house. A house that is neither mine, nor Lauriel's - but OURS. Mine & hers. Hers & Mine.
... and of course that quartet of slightly crazy kiddos who call us Mum / Step Mum / 'the Mums'.
Gaby & Aidan in their new room
We moved at the start of February, and already things seem to be a little harmonious between the kidlets, which could be down to them getting used to each other, but I think it's more to do with the fact they aren't all squeezed into one bedroom, one tiny house or one tiny yard. We have room to breathe people, and that's a beautiful thing! Gaby and Aidan are sharing a room (they have bunks & thinks they are just the bees knees!), and Eloise and Emmy are sharing a room. So far Eloise and Emmy are winning the 'first asleep room' award, but I have a feeling that whatever room buddy configuration we use, the room that contains Gaby is going to be the last asleep. My sweet little chatterbox!
We still have some unpacking to do, but for the most part I think we are settled in... We are no longer on our feet all day, nor are we constantly looking through boxes to find something we NEEEEEED but can't find. Did I mention our awesome kitchen? With cupboards that actually close and stay closed? That's a major novelty for me, and probably a lot of people who lived in (or still live in) post-earthquake Christchurch... We also have a wall oven, which is something I have always thought is super fancy.. and now... I HAVE A WALL OVEN... I feel super fancy Nancy!
With that fancy Nancy wall oven, we have been doing a LOT of baking - and I must say, I'm starting to feel like quite the domestic goddess. Well, goddess may be a bit of an overstatement, but I am feeling like an adult, for the first time in my adult life. Baking for my family. Cooking for my family. Cleaning up after them.... Ahhhhh this really is an awesome life.
As I mentioned, school has started back <insert hallelujah chorus here> OH WAIT I CAN!
Gaby is loving the new school, and loves her teacher - and they have been going swimming everyday, so she is basically in heaven! Aidan and Eloise are also back into the swing of things at school, but I have to say there is a big difference between having 1 child to get ready for school, and having THREE to get ready! But we get there, and usually by 8.40am, which I think is pretty damn awesome of us. But we ARE awesome.
Gaby on her first day at her new school!
The girls and I have been up here for a month now, and Wanganui is really starting to feel like home - which I guess is no surprise when everyone has been so welcoming. Lauriel's friends have accepted me with open arms (some literally), so there has been no loneliness for me - no sitting there and feeling like I'm on the outer, because I know I'm not. Of course when everyone is so awesome, there has to be one person to screw it all up. One person who can't be happy for us, who can't accept the fact that other peoples relationships are better than his own, who can't stand to see the friend who helped him through a horrible time, happy.
So to him we say sayonara sucker... Hasta la vista, baby.. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
We don't need that type of fucked up negativity in our lives, so all contact has been cut.
Now for the 'McBonbon thing'. Lauriel is now officially divorced (scroll back up, play the Hallelujah Chorus again, if you so wish) so we were discussing what our surname would be when we get married (yes, I know, technically it's a civil union)... Would she take my surname? Would we hyphenate? Would we blend our names to make a new one? Would we just make a new name altogether? We then asked on facebook, for name suggestions, and our adopted brother-type-thing suggested we could be the McBonbons. We laughed about it. Such a silly name.
The following day we changed our name to McBonbon, on facebook.
THIS IS NOT A LEGAL CHANGE. We are not 'the McBonbons'. Well, not yet. The name IS kind of sticking. Emma & Lauriel McBonbon. It doesn't sound awful...
And in other exciting news, today is February 13th, meaning that today there are TWO MONTHS until our wedding! Plans are well underway, all that we really need to do now is get creating (DIY wedding all the way, baby!) and get paying. The paying part isn't exactly fun, but it needs to be done! The creating on the other hand is going to be fun, and we are lucky to have some very creative people who have offered to help us - we all know that EMMA and creativity don't mix, but I can at least sit and watch and boss people around. Or glue my fingers together.
And in more exciting, completely unrelated news... THE SUPER XV STARTS SOON! Rugby boys!!!! And tomorrow we are getting Sky installed, which means we can watch the rugby LIVE, and not makedo with videos on YouTube and facebook! Of course because the Super XV is starting soon, there has been coverage of pre-season shenanigans, and lots of headshots. Lauriel wanted me to share two photos with you all.... So here they are.
Mr Ryan Crotty... one of our faves... ... especially seeing as Zac and Richie aren't playing.
Mr Jarrad Hoeata... aka Hottyata... H. O. T.
While we are at it, big ups to our old buddy Sean Maitland, who is playing in the Six Nations for Scotland! He scored a try in his first game, so that of course is very awesome. We are now over our 'you evil traitor!' feelings for him, and are instead embracing the Scotish rugby team... It IS a little ironic really... The Crusaders cup of backline talent was overfloweth, so they gave Mr Maitland the boot... And now Zac Guildford is out of the team for the year and they are insisting on playing Israel Dagg at centre, so they really need the extra talent - and experience in the backline... the ONE man who can provide that is now in Scotland, reaping the rewards of an international rugby career. Of course we need to add a photo, because there are a couple of our readers who think he is rather easy on the eye... So I proudly give you Mr Sean Maitland!
