February favourites

Our new mattress



(Not my picture; this one was taken from their website)

This month I had to put our new mattress on the top of the list. It is the best mattress I've ever slept on. After our last mattress purchase was a disaster. The mattress lost support very quickly and gave us both terrible backache every night.

Grant did tons of research into mattresses and we eventually decided to order one from Factory Beds Direct. I know, right? Ordering a mattress without even lying on it? Well, what good does lying on it in the store for 10 minutes do? It's not going to tell you if it's supportive enough for every night's sleep. Every mattress will feel good to lie on when you're walking around shopping.

At Factory Beds Direct they talk to you on the phone before you order, and make sure you are getting the exact bed for your needs. The deal-clincher, though, was the fact that they will replace your mattress in the first two weeks if you are not happy with it.

It took a while to come but we've been sleeping comfortably ever since it did - it is so firm and supportive, I love it. The only down-side is that I now need to buy extra-depth sheets as the mattress is so thick.

treSonics Facial Cleansing System



I had heard a lot of hype about the Clarisonic facial cleansing brush, but the price was a little hard to swallow. I decided to buy the treSonics instead, from QVC and I absolutely adore it. Here's the blurb: "The cleaner utilises the power of sonic technology to help to gently and effectively loosen dirt and oil, and clear your pores." I have to exfoliate pretty much every day and now I use this brush - it only takes 50 seconds. My skin texture looks and feels much better, my face feels so soft and smooth and I almost never break out anymore. Definitely worth every penny.

Simply Pure Gentle Eye Makeup Remover



Inexpensive, gently and effective. What more do you need?

Our new driveway



Especially now that we have had the kerb dropped. It's made such a difference and we love it!

Ta-da Lists



I've long loved Ta-da Lists. It's free and appeals to the geek in me who loves organising and computers. Basically you can set up as many lists as you want and check them off as you go. Super fun and helpful too, especially now that we are juggling mile-long to-do lists. Check it out and let me know how much you love it too :)

Waffles

(Recipe coming soon in my e-book!)



"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else."

- Erma Bombeck

Danielism

After months of being indoors due to freezing cold and wet weather, yesterday was warm and sunny enough to take the kids to the park. After ten minutes of running around Daniel ran back to Grant and I, his whole body buzzing and his face alight, and declared, "I've never felt so alive! Not for months!"

It was a great opportunity to point out to him how much better he felt, when he hadn't even known he'd been missing fresh air and excercise - and that's exactly what we believe New Zealand is going to be like for him and Noah. Grant and I know what they're missing out on. They don't have a clue. But hopefully they'll come to realise that life has so much more to offer once they are there, experiencing it, and that taking them away from their friends and everything they know is worth it.

NZ update - shipping

We just had the first of the three international shipping companies round to quote. We haven't received the quote yet, but as expected we're looking at a 20 foot container. But we were under the impression that the shipping time was 6-8 weeks - not so. Apparently we're looking at 12 weeks without our stuff!

The worst part is that I can't take any of my wicker baskets - and I have so many! It will cost a fortune to replace them all. I'm NOT IMPRESSED.

With regards to our permanent residency, we had an email from our case officer two days ago, who said, "I expect to make an initial assessment of your application within 10 working days. If I require any further information from you I will contact you directly."

Kids' clothing bank

What if you never had to pay full price for your children's clothing ever again?

What if you never ran out of clothing for them, but always had clothes in the house that they could wear when they outgrew the last lot, no matter how unexpected the growth spurt?

What if you could buy more clothes for the same amount of money you currently spend?

You can, and I'll tell you how.

Children grow. It's a fact, it's not a surprise or emergency when it happens. It's something you can pretty much count on - your kids are going to get bigger and are going to outgrow the clothes they currently wear. By planning for this fact, you can save oodles of cash.

Building up a clothing bank is not an original concept, but it's an idea I've finally been implementing with our impending move to New Zealand and I love it!

I've been informed by those who have lived both in the UK and NZ that clothing is not only less expensive in England but is better quality too. I've always put clothes for my kids in storage for them to grow into (both new and hand-me-downs) but now I'm been determined to buy enough clothing to last the boys for the next two years, so I won't have to buy any in New Zealand for that length of time while we'll have other settling-in expenses.

Here's how I've gone about building up our kids' clothing bank.

First, and my inner geek rejoices at this, I created a very basic spreadsheet. I listed every item of clothing that is necessary - I'm talking the bare basics that they can comfortably get by with, taking into account the fact that I do laundry pretty much every day and they wear school uniforms. I didn't list vests (undershirts) as my kids hardly wear them - I'll just pick some up as they need them. (I put 0 next to jacket as I wanted to make a note of which jackets we already had (light-weight denim or corduroy jackets) but I don't see them as a necessity - my boys would rather just wear hoodies.)



Then I made a note of every clothing size from the one that Noah will next grow into up to age 12-13. I made a note of which items I already have and coloured each block accordingly - red if I don't have enough in that size, amber if I have half (or 2 out of 3 items) and green if I have enough. And yes, Noah is currently wearing age 4-5 clothing, even though he's about to turn 6. Oh, and the underpant thing - my kids don't get new underpants in every age range, they tend to wear the same size for a few years before outgrowing them and then getting new ones a couple sizes bigger. What can I say, their skinny butts don't seem to grow! (Wish I could say the same for myself!!)



Then it's time to shop the sales! Every time I go somewhere that has decent quality, low-priced kids' clothing (Tesco, Asda, Matalan, Sainsbury's or Primark) I check out the sale rails. I take a print-out of my spreadsheet with me so that I don't end up buying too many of one type or size of item - it's not a saving if you don't need the item.

This week I was in Sainsbury's and they had 25% off all clothing - out came my printout and I stocked up on some items for the boys. Then I went to Tesco and they had a 50% off sale rail - got some more goodies. Went to Matalan and they also had a 50% off sale rail and I bought enough items that the guy on checkout had to get a colleague to help him process my purchase. When the total rang up both of them did a literal double-take, they couldn't believe I got so many items for such a low amount. Score!

Here's how I store the items - in large plastic bins with lids. I printed the sizes on sheets of paper and slipped them in between the sides of the bins and the clothes - there are labels on the ends as well.



I can't tell you how much I love having this much preparation! Because let's face it, I'm going to have to buy the kids all of these clothes sooner or later anyway, but this way I get to control how much I spend on them, rather than buying items at full price because my kids urgently need them.

I will continue with this concept once we get to New Zealand - maybe not buying everything in every size for the next three or four years, but certainly picking up things that I know the boys will need sooner or later. Might as well get them on sale, right?

Busy week

Is it only Tuesday? It feels like we're further into the week. We've been pretty busy the last two days. We've had a roofer come and fix a couple of slates and fascias on the roof, we've been painting walls and ceilings, running errands, flat-packing furniture, organising clothes (I can't wait to show you my awesome system for kids' clothes, I am loving it!) and generally keeping busy. This is a good thing and makes us feel like we're making some sort of progress when really we're just doing more of the same - WAITING.

Daniel had a wobbly day or two and asked if we could all sit together and talk about our feelings about New Zealand. He felt better after he was heard and validated. He said that all of the upheaval in the house makes him feel better too. I think that it's a relief to him to see something happening, after the months and months of talk.

Noah, however, was perfectly happy and excited about the move until we started moving things around and packing things up. He got a big anxious the other day but all was put right when I realised he thought we would be jetting off in the following few days! I assured him we'd give him plenty of notice and that once we had a date I'd do a chart on which the boys could cross the days off.

I say we've been packing, but we haven't really. Not being able to pack is the second biggest frustration for me (the biggest being still not knowing when we're going!) The international removals company does the packing as part of their service. They come in and pack everything and ship it, and their packing everything ensures that it goes through customs without inspection. If we pack our own boxes it will be delayed and inspected at customs. So when I say we've been packing, I mean putting things into plastic boxes and moving them upstairs so they're sorted and out of the way, ready for the shipping company to pack - so that we can dismantle furniture. We're doing it now because we've been painting walls and woodwork and it's easier to just dismantle the furniture while we're moving it anyway, because it will have to be done eventually. And it helps to feel like we're able to do something while we wait.

Here's what some of our rooms look like right now - bare, clean walls and pieces of furniture missing.

Top landing:


Room on top floor:


Office / craft room:






Kitchen:

Chocolate waffle batter

"People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest."

- George Matthew Allen

Hardworking husband

Grant and I have been doing all of those home maintenance jobs that keep getting put off, trying to get the house in tip-top shape before renting it out. Today he's painting the kitchen ceiling. I'm so grateful as it's a crappy job but it really needed doing.

Cheesecake

"You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace."

- Ernie Banks

NZ update - emotional rollercoaster

You know that feeling you get as the rollercoast crests a rise and begins a descent? The way you kind of catch your breath and hold on tight? That's how I feel pretty much all the time right now. I have to remind myself to breathe - literally. I find myself taking shallow panic-style breaths. In any given hour I fluctuate between exhilaration, panic, impatience, fear, excitement, worry, enthusiasm, sadness, hope, grief, happiness, frustration ... you get the picture. It's exhausting.

Grant and I are anti-commute. We don't see the point of wasting hours every week just driving back and forth, not to mention the financial cost. We've always tried to live close to where we work.

We were under the impression that in New Zealand he'd be stationed in Counties Manukau, which is south Auckland. A lot of people commute down from the North Shore, but we felt the suburbs there were too crowded, not to mention out of our budget. Ages ago we chose Pukekohe as the town we'd like to live in - not too far of a commute, semi rural, affordable, but close enough to Auckland itself.

We chose the area back in 2009 because I needed to know where we were going. I needed the security of having a landing spot to aim for. But then yesterday we realised that Grant's job offer says he'll be in Auckland District. We were trying to find out what that means and which stations it covers but the police website wasn't working properly.

Did it include Counties Manukau? If it didn't, did that mean it was Auckland CBD and northern suburbs? Did that mean we'd have to choose a new place to live to avoid a nasty commute? Should we live north of Auckland and Grant commute south to work, rather than live south of Auckland with a northerly commute through the city?

I know, not a huge deal but enough to freak me out. It meant a lot to me that we knew where we were going and I have a wonderful internet friend in Pukekohe (hi Nic!) who is helping us find a house to rent as she is familiar with the area and the schools. We originally decided on Pukekohe with the help of my friend Amanda, who lives on the North Shore. I wouldn't even know where to start in picking a new area to live.

We've finally found out that the CBD and surrounding suburbs is the area that Grant will be working in. This is good because he will have less dealings with the really rough Counties Manukau areas but of course does mean a longer commute BUT it's manageable from Pukekohe. So relief all round, as we can continue with our plans.

But I have to say ... NOT HELPFUL when I'm already on an emotional rollercoaster!!

Cornmeal cookies

(Recipe will be available in my e-book, coming soon.)









“There is certainly no greater happiness, than to be able to look back on a life usefully and virtuously employed, to trace our own progress in existence, by such tokens as excite neither shame nor sorrow.”

- Samuel Johnson

NZ update - application submitted!

After the job offer arrived on Thursday Grant and I went over the calendar to see what the earliest time would be when he had a couple of days off during the week, so we could drive down to London to hand in our application in person. We had decided to deliver it ourselves rather than relying on the postal service because that way it couldn't get lost or delayed in the mail. We also wanted to be there as they did a quick check of all the forms to make sure nothing was missing.

Now, I have to mention that Grant doesn't get many weekends off - his rest days usually fall during the week. But, typically, he had this past weekend and the next two off, with no rest days in between. We had originally planned on going down on Thursday the 24th, but his rest day was canceled because he has to appear in court (to testify). Yet another rest day that they'll take away but replace with time-in-lieu, which he is never able to take! (Don't get me started on that rant.)

It looked like the next available time would be Monday 28th. Cue my tantrum about how we've waited 17 months and I point-blank refused to wait another two and a half weeks with the application sitting here all ready to be submitted ... I would rather drive down with the boys and do it myself than wait.

I then checked Grant's shifts for this week again and realised he was working nights, starting last night at 11pm. So on Friday we decided to drive down on Saturday, stay at my cousin's home and go into London on Monday morning and drive back up home after submitting our application, getting Grant back in time for work.

And that's exactly what we did.

Friday was hectic - I was finishing up the birthday cakes, preparing for Choc & Chat that night, and packing. Choc & Chat was loads of fun as usual, but it made for a late night and I didn't get much sleep. Before I knew it it was early Saturday morning and time to drive to London.



We had an absolutely clear run down (very unusual!) and made it to our friend Roy's home in Staines within about 4 hours. He had brought our police clearances back from South Africa for us which we gratefully took from him. And wouldn't you know, the latest police clearance for me didn't have my maiden name on and that's one of the things that was required on the application form - all police clearances had to state previous surnames to prove that all records for each person were checked! Fortunately Grant's mom had also included my old clearance which had 10 days left before expiry and did include my maiden name! So it turns out we couldn't have waited two and a half weeks to apply anyway. Phew!!

After a brief visit with Roy and Laura we drove to my cousin's flat. I had to get this picture of the M25 - it's never this clear!



She and I took a drive to a South African shop near her home and I went a little wild and bought way too many things - pure emotional buying, triggered by seeing all of those familiar brand names and foods and being transported back with memories. We came home and relaxed for the evening and planned our route into London so we'd be ready on Monday.



On Sunday I woke up with an absolutely splitting headache. Hilmar and Di went to church and Grant went to spend some time with Roy. My head was so sore and nothing was easing the pain, even though I'd been using a heat pack and had taken two Diclofenac. I ended up lying on the couch and just started crying and then that was it - complete emotional breakdown. My cousin arrived home just about then. I just cried my eyes out. I've had a bit of an emotional collywobble at every major step forward in this journey and I guess I was due for one. I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of leaving my friends and the family I have over here (including my mom in Norway) and everything that is dear and familiar. My cousin and I are extremely close and it didn't help that I was in her home - it really highlighted the loss involved with our move.

Even as I was crying I had said to Di, "I'm okay, I just need to go through this." I know it's not the last time I'll feel it either. It's all part of the process and it's not something that can be avoided, it's not something you can go around, you have to go through it. It's okay. It just sucks when it hits.

Finally the pain in my head eased off and I felt so much better. The guys came back and we had an enjoyable evening and a good night's rest.

On Monday morning we got up and got ready to leave for London. We went down to the train station with ten minutes to spare and bought our Travelcards for the day - they came to £45!! Ouch. As we waited on the platform I realised I hadn't done my hair, I had forgotten the camera and we hadn't brought the notepad with our travel plans on it! I ran back to my cousin's flat and grabbed the camera and ran some gel through my hair in a split second, but I couldn't find the notepad. Oh well, we knew where we were going and I was confident we'd find our way. I ran back to the station and got there about 10 seconds before the train pulled in.

Noah absolutely loved riding the train - he's a bit train obsessed and was too young to remember the last time he'd been on one so it was as if it were his first time. I felt sorry for the commuters around us as he excitedly chattered the whole way. Scratch that, I just plain felt sorry for the commuters for being commuters - I remember doing it myself and I much prefer my life now!



When we got to London we had to change to the tubes (underground) and it all just came back to me from when we used to live in Greater London and I was working various temp jobs and traveling in. We found our way no problem. It was great to relive the memories - and I'm so grateful I'm no longer having to commute into London every day! The boys really enjoyed the experience of traveling by tube as well.





The tubes were packed, as always:





Daniel and Noah were amazed at the long escalators - and the fact that there would be two or three of them to get down to tube level (I took this photo halfway up one - it's twice as long as it looks):



We emerged at Picadilly Circus:



From there it was a short walk to New Zealand House. We were so blessed with the weather - clear and mild:



We arrived exactly as planned - ten minutes before they opened. We waited in the lobby.





After a short wait we were allowed in and went to the first floor to Immigration Services.



We had to wait while a man before us had his turn. There were a few toys that the boys inspected, but apparently they were baby toys and didn't interest them. They were very well behaved while we waited and during our turn, which soon came around.



The man we spoke to in a cubicle took a look through all of the forms and paperwork in our application and said it looked like a pretty straightforward application. Little did he know how much hassle and stress we had to go through to get it all ready! He said that because Grant has a job offer we would be assigned a case worker immediately and our application would be prioritised. He said that if there is nothing missing from the application (and we feel confident we haven't left anything out) he would be surprised if it took as long as a month for us to get approved for permanent residency!!

Once we have PR we have to get our passports stamped with the PR visas within 6 months. They have kept our passports so it's just a case (once PR has been approved) of telling them to go ahead and stamp them. Once they are stamped we need to arrive in NZ within 3 months.

So the next step is waiting to hear back from them to say we have been approved (hopefully within a month) and then Grant will contact NZ police to say we have permanent residence. NZ police will then give him a start date and he will contact immigration services to ask them to put the PR stamps in our passports.

The appointment was over very quickly (after paying the £1,005 application fee) and we were just giddy as we left. The whole time in my head I was trying to grasp the fact that I could be weeks away from having PR. It doesn't seem real that we'll actually be able to go to NZ soon.



The boys really wanted to see Hamley's so we walked up Regent Street ...



... and stopped in there for a little while.







Then we had some lunch at a McDonald's:



And headed back to my cousin's home on the tubes and train:





We threw our things into the car and immediately started the drive home. Again, we were lucky to have a straight run and got home around 6:30pm - just enough time for Grant to have a short nap before going to work at 11pm.

Today I am chilling and doing some housework and laundry. I am so excited that we are moving forward and that we will hopefully be in NZ by April / May! It's surreal. I need to start phoning shipping companies for quotes ... tomorrow. Today I am taking it easy after a very busy few weeks and a hectic weekend.

Chocolate Chips

"Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life."

Peppa Pig

Birthday cake and cupcakes for a little girl turning 4. The brief was Peppa Pig themed cake and cupcakes that were pink and sparkly. I chose to do fondant covered cupcakes with fairly flat decorations because they will be put into the party bags.