A little update on the whole weight watchers thing.Two weeks in and its awesome!Some days I go over by a point or two and other days Im under by the same,so its working out!I am walking heaps (thankfully a friend is doing it with me and that is giving me some awesome,much needed motivation!),this week am doing 8.5kms a day.Still havent weighed myself,but clothes are starting to fit a little looser which is always an awesome feeling!

And more importantly.....

This little man was welcomed into the family this morning!!My SIL Sam and her hubby Dave welcomed Weston into the world.Sadly they live in the States so we wont get to meet him until the end of this year unless I can convince Steve I deserve a holiday to the States in July :p  Weston is so adorable,and I reckon looks just like a Wong (spitting image of Sienna when she was born!)

(hopefully Sam doesnt mind me putting this pic up,only one we have so far,and hell I didnt want to wait to share his gorgeousness with the world!)

Welcome to the family Weston!

I have gone back and forth so much with exercising and trying to eat healthier!Well early last week I threw a tantrum  decided I needed to just do it.

My mum had given me a bag full of weight watchers pro point things,the booklets,calculator,everything!So I am 8 days in and so far so good (especially considering we have had 2 birthdays in that time!).I love that fruit is 0 points!So trying when I'm wanting to snack to just grab some fruit (which is good anyway,I have realised that I go days without eating any because I'm aware the girls need it more than me.BUT a healthy mum is hopefully a healthy and happy household!So buying more fruit now :p ).Obviously not going to meetings,but Steve is helping out with it quite a bit (as in goes through the booklets and tells me what I can eat :p ).S offered for me to do a weekly weigh in at her place,but I'm not sure about weighing myself at all at the moment. I'm really worried about doing this the healthy way,and for me my mind goes straight to not eating when I see what I weigh... I'm a work in progress ok?!
So I have 27 points a day which being a week in ,Im finding it hard to use them all.But I do,so thats what matters right?I didnt realise really that I quite often dont have lunch,and the amount of crap I eat!!Oy!!!!!Onwards and upwards now right?!
The awesome thing about Isabella being at school is I HAVE  to walk her to and from school 5 days a week which each days amounts to 5.6 kms alone!So instead of using the extra points I could be for the exercise Im not and hoping I'll start losing weight.I dont want to lose heaps (I like my clothes ok!I dont want to buy a whole new wardrobe,but would love to feel better in the ones I have!),but in a year am hoping for about 10kgs.
Im also still training for the half marathon (walking remember NOT running!) which is in early May.Im doing it with a friend and with an extra walk added in,most days Im doing around 7kms a day,we will build that up each week to more.But yeah,Im finding it really good that no matter how I am feeling I just have to get out and do the school run at least.

So thats whats going on with that :) Hoping I am finally doing it in a healthy way that I can maintain.

Also,because I know I posted about it,but we as a couple decided to not join the LDS church (can you sense the it wasnt so much my decision?!It just got to the point where we were arguing about it so much that it wasnt good for our relationship or for us as a family).I LOVE the church and will happily go to services every now and then but not with the aim of joining.
But we came to a compromise and have been attending the Catholic church for a few weeks,which we both love.Will be meeting with a priest soon to talk about things. (but thats for another more in depth post,another day.But I do want to say that,because of an awesome 3 hour phone call to my close friend Steve and I have realised we need to get back into the Word.Didnt realise how much I had missed it!)

AND Steve has been given a days work a week for the next few months with the company he is working for at the moment.It means he doesnt have to travel to Tauranga every weekend and we will have more money to save!!It has been a bit of a leap of faith for us,but trying to rest in the knowledge that God has our backs.

Yup,so thats a little bit about whats going on with us at the moment :) Life is an awesome journey at the moment!!

I cant believe our baby is 5!I still see her as my little,little girl and in so many ways she is,but in others she is in such a rush to grow up and it freaks this mum out a little!

Because my aim in doing this blog is so that hopefully one day the girls will look at it and have a ton of memories to go through (and also think their mum is a little odd).I have read a lot of other blogs where Mums write to their kids...I dont know how eloquent I will be,but I'll give it a shot.

Isabella you are one of the most caring and compassionate little girls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing,you are turning into a real mother hen!You love helping out with Sienna,if she is upset (unless you caused it :p ) you are the first to try and get to her and hug her!It is so awesome for mum and dad to see how much you love being a big sister.
You LOVE school!!!Everything about it!If I dare suggest you dont go one day you are not a happy camper :) But its wonderful to see you settling in and making new friends.You are such a bright little girl,you bought a reading book home from school earlier this week and sped through it!You are writing so well too.
You love dancing (when we go into shops you have this funky dance you do!No wonder the shop ladies adore you,shaking your little hips!).Mum and Dad wanted to give you a term without after school activities to settle into school but you will start music again next term,you definitely have some good rhythm! (all from Dad I would say).
You are super talkative,and the thought you put into your questions amazes mum!You sure do find out about a lot of things though :)

Overall you are just the best Isabella that we could have asked for and we love and adore you so much!!!

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.

Isabellas family birthday party

On Isabellas actual birthday we had her family party (I will eventually charge our camera batteries and get photos up of her opening presents and will put my memory card into hubbys phone and get her first day of school photos on here.Better putting something up then not at all right?!).Again we were so fortunate that my big brothers girlfriend A took a few photos for us!!!I love them though and plan on putting them all in a photo book soon.

 When we asked Isabella what colour she wanted the family cake castle to be,she said blue (cute story,her little friend Vili put something in his card about her having a blue cake which influenced her idea :) ).

 Sienna and Grandpa (Steves Dad) blowing bubbles

 Miss Sienna and that friggin party blower! (those slowly 'disappeared' :p )

 Isabella blowing out her candles.

She wanted to be a tiger again!!!Makes a pretty gorgeous tiger though :)

Isabella had such a fun day and LOVED being the centre of attention!!

Birthday walk

At Montessori they do a birthday walk.I dont fully understand it,but they ask the parents to write down milestones for each year of their childs life,they read it out at the birthday walk,walk around the "sun" for each year then at the end light a candle then all the kids sing happy birthday and get all excited about whatever treats the parents have bought in for them all :p

It is actually pretty cool and unique.

So these are photos from Isabellas 5th birthday walk (again thank you to S for taking these so I could use our camera to video it for Steve.Again,not all the photos,trying to not get other kids in them is hard!!).

 Being a bit bossy hahaha.Beginning of her birthday walk

 Walking around the "sun"

 Blowing out her candle :)

 hahaha her adorable cake covered face!The kindy were awesome and gave her a drink bottle and swimming bag!

 With Malachi and Sienna

And Nana (Steves mum) and Grandma (my mum)

Isabella's 5th 'friend' birthday party

Yeah thats right!Isabella got two birthday parties this year,our house is not laid out to practically have over 50 people in it!But she loved it :D

On the 2nd of February she her friend party.Oh my gosh,so much fun!!!!15 kids between 8months-6 years.I thought it would be so hard to do but (Im hoping here) everyone had a blast!
Now both Steve and I are so slack about taking photos at important events,so thank God for S who took photos on the day,what a God send!

This isnt all the photos (I dont like to put photos of other peoples kids on here),but how awesome are they?!!!

Her birthday invitation (thank you to my big brother for helping me out and figuring out  doing all the hard work in making these for her!What a flippin cool man.

 The crepe paper flag bunting that we had in the lunge,out the front door,in the dining room and all along the back fence.I reckon it looked pretty cool

 As requested,a pink castle cake....

 ....that was a rainbow inside!!

 How do you tell a 5 year old that presents should be opened in an orderly fashion,not at the front door as soon as someone walks in?!

 Isabella wanted to wear this tiger hat for most of her party (which is why she looks all sweaty haha)

 S told me that Sienna requested she take multiple photos of her on the tramp.I love this photo though!!

 It wasnt supposed to work out this way,but Sienna was so stoked she won the prize for pass the parcel!

 Ignore me in this...but pin the tail on the donkey!!!!!!! (we only did two games,and I think we were lucky all the kids were from Montessori,otherwise neither game would have been played lol)

And our beautiful Isabella!!!!!

Last school visit

I woke up this morning and realise that at 12pm today I was in labour with Isabella!Where the heck has the last 5 years gone??!It honestly feels like only yesterday I was ringing Steve and telling him I thought I was really in labour (I shouldn't have been such an eager beaver for it hahaha considering Isabella wasn't born until 1.26pm on the Sunday!). I'm feeling like I should have really listened to my Nan when she told me to really enjoy and treasure these years because I would never get that kind of time with her again.Trying to have no regrets but I'm aware I focussed too often on the housework and things other than simply just playing with my kids.But at least I have been trying harder in that department the last few months :)

Anyway,Isabella had her last school visit today.Her kindy teacher,Ms. Yu came with us (for part of her training I think).We went to what will be her class,hung her bag up,she sat on the mat.Stupid day for a visit really as it was school assembly,she didn't want to line up with the class without me and spent the next hour off and on quietly crying (kid knows how to break me heart!).Once she got back to the class she settled in a lot more,thank God!They did the abc's,and here is where I started to think 'thank God she goes to a Montessori kindy',she knew all the sounds for the alphabet (when the teacher said at home we are not to focus on the name of the letter but rather the sound,another thank God for Montessori moment-there were a lot of those!).The kids then broke off into separate activities,and the teacher talked to another mum and I (her sons birthday is the same day as Isabella's and will be starting on Monday with her),and was telling us how hard it is for kids starting to be focussed on one activity and to have to clean up after themselves and to be responsible.Again,THANK GOD FOR MONTESSORI.I talked to Ms. Yu about it and she said Isabella will have no problem settling in because it is so similar to Montessori.You have no idea how much it eased my mind hearing all this and being able to think she's going to be fine.It has worried me,especially with her crying the last few visits.

She was fine and when morning tea time rolled around she was happy to go off and play,and bless her little friend Zaria,she came and found Isabella and played with her.She is so excited about starting school,and I hope and pray this is the start of an amazing at least 13 years of schooling for her!

(there was this one boy who will be in her class-unfortunately-in front of the whole school he punched his teacher,the principal took him off for a while,he came back and started doing it again and then announced to us his mum is naughty for something she put in his lunch.Its not funny that his behaviour is like that,but the other mum and I were giggling in a "this is awful,what kind of kid does that,what do we do" kind of giggling.I have never seen a child act like that before!.Maybe I should be praying for him??And for his teacher to have patience.Yikes!)

Oh and when I chatted to her teacher (so much for me being shy huh?!) I asked if she does parent help,and seriously she told me she has never had a parent ask to help out in the classroom!She said we could sort out a day that would suit when I bring Isabella in on Monday :) I was so nervous asking,seriously,I dont know why I worry hahaha.The teacher was so enthusiastic about me helping,it was nice really.

And now that  I have spent some time writing this,I need to go ice the 40 muffins I baked for Isabella's kindy thing that you do on their birthdays :p Eloquent aye?!

I am seriously not old enough to have a 5 year old! Don't be surprised if you find me on Tuesday rocking in a corner :p (Monday doesn't count,Sienna will be at home with me lol).