A very special Monday..

Most Monday nights, we have a small group of very good friends come over for dinner. We all take turns cooking, which is a great break for me, but I love seeing what crazy things everyone makes. Anything from fondue to pork hocks, or coq au vin to spaetzle. It gets a little out of hand some nights. After consuming a ridiculous amount of food, we game. Like the geeks and nerds we are. 

But most of the time, the boys are already bathed and in bed and only hear of the stories of the dinners, or via leftovers. But on Labour Day, everyone came over early and got to hang out with H&W. They loooooooooooved it! And they loved the BBQ everyone pitched in for. 

Willem  trying on Aunty Jess' boots

And not everything had bacon! See!!

Aunty Jess having some boy-time.

Thanks guys for making our guys' day!
Love you all!!! xx

Another Sunny Weekend!

Life is good here in Wellington. We have lucked out with the weather. It's been simply stunning. Being able to play outside and get that fresh air makes all the difference in the world. 

We had a great weekend spent with family and spending the time to catch up on little things ie. tree trimming and mending dresses (that I can actually fit into again!).

Happy 22 months to these little flower children of ours!

Hanging with Opa!

Finally fixing some summery clothes. 

And school holidays are now over! Thank goodness! The boys and I were back at Playcentre today. I'm so happy they love it! 

Good times.

And happy Monday!

xx

Yes. It's time to play catch-up!

And by that, I mean - Mom, here are the latest photos of your grandsons! Yeah. Seriously. Oh and I'm also catching up on the hundreds of photos I've taken over the past week, with a NEW CAMERA! (My heart swells) xx

So much climbing. And running. And chasing each other and poor Timmy-Dog. They are non-stop. 

And when they do stop, it's quiet and you might think the worst, but lately they have really taken to playing together and having little adventures. And they help each other... H helped W put the trailer back on the bike so he could take the clown for a ride to their room. So lovely.

Speaking of their room. It's slowly becoming "Their space". Full of their toys, I've been slowly putting everything back in their room and making it fun for them to be there. They now have an old CD player they can listen to, access to more books, and most of their toys out. 

Hendrik's cot. "Peter Rabbit", Lion and "Red Monkey"

Willem's cot. "Lellow Monkey" and "Teedy Bear"

I know in the not-too-distant future, all of this is going to change. Cots will become beds. Baby toys and toddler bikes will be too small. But even though, this age has had some hard times, we have seen some amazing milestones. And some milestones that not all parents get to experience. Twin milestones are something that are a blessing. While the boys scream and fight a lot, they are becoming such good little mates! They work together and help each other out. They bring each other food and snacks and their drink bottles. They share toothbrushes. (Yuck) But watching them spend time together (when they aren't fighting) is something lovely beyond words. One morning, they sat on the bean bags in the room, listening to music, sharing books and chatting. It was that moment, I felt I could breath. 

More of that please boys!

xx

Our sunny Dutch Sunday

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. The best kind you can ever hope for living in Wellington. Sunny, calm, and spent with the cousins at the Botanical Gardens to have our own special "Dutch" day. 

Some of the amazing flowers. Loved the orange poppies!

Hello frog! and many more wandering adventures.

Hanging with Uncle Paul, drinking tea and Cousin Silas checking out the bubble scene.

Aunty Lisa and some more beauty.

A Few New Rules for Interacting with a Twin Caregiver

I hear a lot from other (usually young) mums how they would love to have twins. I laugh. I snicker.

Because, I know what they're thinking... Two babies, how sweet! Two cute little bums, awwww! Dressing them alike, how adorable!

But, I know the reality... Two babies, crying in the night. Two little bums, that get bigger and smellier every day. Dressing them alike, umm no. I get them confused enough as it is!

So the next time you see someone with twins, think before approaching ...

• How is their day going? Looks bad? Then don't ask, just help.
• Do they look tired? Get them a coffee or a glass of wine. Take a kid.
• Have they had to run after one while leaving another with another mum and sprint across meters to just catch the other by the arm today? Be that other mum.
• How many tantrums has your kid had today?.. Double that.
• How many times have you told your child 'no' today? Well triple that. Chances are one child gets told no, the other sees the attention the first twin is getting and tries it to get a reaction by doing the same exact thing and gets told no, first child does it again to see if it's just a random occurrence, or if he can get three out of three. His odds are good.
• How many pairs of socks has the twin mum had to pick up this morning? How many raisins or pieces of popcorn has the dog eaten? Too many.
• Is mum wearing makeup? A normal amount, she may be approachable. None, or WAY too much to cover the bags and dark circles under her eyes, do not approach, I REPEAT, DO NOT APPROACH.
• Never, ever say (men, you are the worst offenders of this) "Looks like you've got your hands full!" Let me just answer in a way that my mother used to answer those puzzling but obvious questions by say... No Shit Sherlock. Seriously? Smile and nod, smile and nod.

Ok. Now that's done, let me apologise. It's been a long couple of weeks and sometimes I just need to rant. Any other twin or non-twin parent will probably understand. All of this always happens within moments of each other, within an hour of going shopping or having not enough sleep.

I guess the important lesson here is don't feel like you have to chat to everyone that makes comments about those amazing bundles of joy sitting in the pram. There will be those days when you can't be bothered, the day has gone to shit, dinner isn't cooked, one kid will not sit in the pram without screaming and you just realised you haven't brushed your teeth. But then, amazingly there will be the days when you can't help but chatting up the elderly neighbour about how awesome these beasts are! It does happen! And it's that little pat on the back that can keep you going.

So, if I smile and nod at you, don't take it personally. Some days we just need to keep moving on...

X

 

 

These guys...

Lucky they are all so cute!

X

 

Big Batch Cooking... What took me so long?!

Honestly! What the hell!?

I have spent the last few months looking up all these big batch recipes online and wanting to join up on some cooking groups and such... But I was going about it all wrong!

Early last week, I decided to do a triple batch of the old standby tuna casserole recipe. Yes, those are peas in there, old standby recipe thank you to my dad. After no extra energy wasted I had three dinners in the time it took to do one. I popped one in the fridge for later and the other two in the freezer. 

Last night was the moment of truth. I took out one the freezer meals to thaw in the fridge overnight, and had pretty much the whole afternoon naptime to myself. Tidy up, vacuum, dishes, and finally sit down to finish up some crocheting. I'm such a nana, I know. 

Dinner time came, put the thawed meal into the oven, made a quick salad and that was it. Brilliant! Too easy!

I know a lot of people do this and have been doing this for ages, but it was such a lovely break for me to have. And I was all concerned about trying all these new recipes, when really, it was taking something I know how to make in my sleep and just making it bigger, doubled or triple, maybe even quadrupled! Wooooooo!

I have a strange suspicion that I made start secretly saving for a deep freezer in my piggy bank... Just saying...

Happy Weekend!!!

xx

Strange food requests and so many new words!

The boys are getting more and more vocal everyday.

"Please"

"Thank you"

"Curry puff"

"Proper fluffy please" (Hendrik)

And I ask "What veggie would you like for lunch?" Willem says, "Lettuce please."

19 months. Crazy.

But I am shocked and amazed that somehow they have taken to eating salad! And requesting it on a regular basis. It's probably just a phase and they will hate it next week. But still pretty cool...

 

 

Life with twins..

 

Growing up..

Today was one of those days when you realise how fast it all goes. Today was filled with questions being asked and actually answered. It's so odd.

"What would you like?" "Snack."

"Would you like some water?" "No."

Hendrik especially has begun to become this very adventurous, curious, independent little man. During playgroup, he wanted to go off and see what was over "there", he came back holding a hand of another mum, looking above the tops of the heads of other kids sitting on the floor, sees me waving to him and smiles his big smile with dimple and all, and comes trotting over. He came over, flung his arms around me and gave me a huge cuddle. It almost made me cry..

Then in the afternoon we went to the Lyall Bay playground. It was a stunning day, so it was a no brainer. As soon as they saw the water, "OSHN!!" Yep. Ocean. Hendrik decided he was going to walk on his own to the playground, looks out over the wall to the beach and the waves, and decides that's where he wants to be. He keeps walking past the swings and slides and down to the beach.

After finding their footing on the sand and finding a couple of shells for Dad, Hendrik sits himself down in the sand. He sits, quiet and calm, watching the ocean, the waves and the surfers. Quiet and calm. The seagulls and the airplanes, taking it all in. Willem cuddles my shoulders asking about passing surfers and pointing to them in the waves.

It makes me so proud on days like these. Some days, I'm happy just to have survived. But these are the days that make this journey truly amazing.

Have a happy weekend!

X

 

The Charlton's {Wellington Portrait Photography}

After a wet and icky week, we all braved Percy Reserve and made some feathery friends!

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day!!! xx

At it again! {Wellington Portrait Photography}

It's been a good few years, and I feel a bit out of practice, but I'm shooting again! I have some lovely friends here in Welly that have kindly donated their families to the cause. Well, let's put it this way - if you haven't ridden a bike in 10 years, you aren't going to win the Tour de France?! You get the jist. :)

These are some of my favourites from Sunday's outing with Lucy and her lovely little family!

I'm really looking forward to photographing more over the next few weeks! Check back for more soon!!

x

A short afternoon to Waikanae

One of Jacob's best friends lives in Sydney with his beautiful partner and their, now, TWO kiddos! We got to meet the newest edition this past weekend out in Waikanae! 

Hello Ollie!!!!

Such a happy and handsome little man! The boys were a little curious about him. Willem especially. Sorry Willem, no little siblings for you! You'll have to make due with the "cousins"! 

We had a lovely time and it is always so nice to see so many lovely people, I always feel like I'm part of their family and that makes me feel incredibly special, even though it's usually chaos with our boys around.. So thank you!!!

And how could we all not love a picnic lunch for the boys and Eden!! (Thanks Sue!) They LOOOOOVED the chocolate yogurts! Hopefully, next time, Hendrik will actually use his spoon!

xoxo

A family weekend away - Castlepoint

The boys have had their first overnight, New Zealand road trip! I had tried to plan the drive out around the boys naps and it worked like a charm! They were happy and chilled out most of the ride.

We met up with the some of the clan in Masterton and had a lovely walk around Queen Elizabeth Park, with some good playground time, and some lunch. It was the perfect point to stop.

 Such beautiful weather, such beautiful autumn colour. Swans, ducks, acorn whistles and apples.

Another hour or so driving, lead to this...

Photos do not do it all justice. The rest of the weekend was rainy and windy, but still fantastic.

I am so proud of our little men. I wasn't sure how they would go with the long drive like that. But they were so great. I can't wait until the next road trip!