Let's Celebrate!

The children's combined birthday party was a blast! We had a huge turnout, and the kids seemed to love it. Here's a couple of photos, and rest are all uploaded to the "Recent Photos" section to the right. You can click on that slideshow and it'll take you to the whole album.

We had lots of great party food, pressies for the kids, and Lucy B & Sam A got to blow out the candles as it was their actual birthday that day!

Kids Talk - Thanks Jackie!

Once again, we were lucky to have Jackie (family therapist) with us to share her wisdom. I wasn't able to be there - very disappointed. Below is the two handouts she shared with the group. There's some awesome tips in there for the dreaded potty training!! Thanks so much for your time Jackie!

Toilet Training - short version / Toilet Training - in full

Card Making - Thanks Shannon!!

We all learnt alot from our own Shannon on how to make our own cards. It was alot of fun. We saw all sorts of things used from ribbons, to used wrapping paper, dried flowers & leaves, shells, stickers, motifs, and even pictures from our kids colouring books. Thanks so much for your time & materials, Shannon - it was a fun morning.

New Calendar for 2009!!!

Hi Mums! 2009 is already here and moving! The new calendar is now uploaded there on the right, and it does look very cool - thanks Jo W!

We start Feb 3rd at the Hall with a coffee & cake week - bring along a small plate if you can. Looking forward to seeing you all, and hearing about your Christmas & holidays.

What's Happened Since October?!

Alot! This update will include a few different items - with photos from most of the events we got up to each week. (My apologies for the slack blogging, my only excuse being pregnancy). Events in order of most recent listed first:

1st Dec. Carol Singing: at Erin Park was a blast! (no photos sorry) The residents just loved us! Which was quiet reassuring given we were rather nervous at our lack of practice. I think I speak for us all tho, when I say we were really blessed ourselves when it was so evident we had made a difference to their morning. Thanks for having us Erin Park!

29th Nov. BBQ Breakup/picnic at Maraetai: surprisingly, it was a fair afternoon! A bit of wind, but a couple of us still worked up the courage to get in the water (which was very pleasant!). The children enjoyed the playground, and eating their dinner alfresco with each other - what an adventure!

25th Nov. Christmas Crafts: Michele Gallichan came armed with pasta, glue guns, & gold paint. She taught us how to make gorgeous christmas decorations out of Pasta. Those that braved the hot glue enjoyed creating unique wee angels for their Christmas Trees. Thanks for your time Michele (Mum), we totally appreciated it!

18th Nov. Gardens Picnic: No photos for this one, as we were all esconced in the cafe drinking our hot coffees and some of us indulging in some yummies. When we did venture outside for a walk to see the ducks, the rain decided to make it's presence known, so we all raced with our prams back to shelter. Ah well, we enjoyed the coffee & chat at any rate.

11th Nov. Sewing: Far out! Who knew we could be domestic goddess'? Well, we are. All sewed a pefect invisible hem, so men... Now your wives can easily take up your new trousers if they're too long. :o)

4th Nov. Flowers: Jenny Rosser was awesome! She showed us all how to put together an arrangement, and mostly from the sorts of flowers we have in our back yards. We all really enjoyed it and went home inspired! Thanks so much for your time & skills shared, Jenny!

Bus Train Playground Adventure

Next week, the 21 Oct, we are going to ride the train to Papakura, play on a cool playground there, then catch the bus back home to Manurewa.
Costs: Train = $1.40, Bus = $1.60 Make sure you have the right cash - makes it easier.

We will meet at the Southmall Train Station at 10am. WARNING - be very careful where you park your car. If there are no all day parks avail, it is a good idea to find parking on the road - NZ Wheel Clampers are very active at Southmall.

Bring along morning tea to have at the playground. We aim to catch the 11.25am bus back to Rewa. It is a good idea to bring an umbrella pram rather than the buggies - for ease of jumping on and off the bus.

If you have any queries, please call Monique or Catherine or Jo W.

Butterfly Creek

We had a blast at Butterfly Creek to end the term together. The kids had the opportunity to pat a goat, pat a Lop-eared Bunny, and see all sorts of other creatures: Llama, Calves, Goats (which Samuel insists are Horses), Pigs, Chickens, Lambs (to whom Lucy was fast losing her shoe to), Dog, and Guinea Pigs.

Some of us rode the wee train around - lots of fun!

More photos in the slideshow...