Arram's head looks even bigger in his helmet

He's working on his scooter skills.  He doesn't actually scoot at all.  He just holds the handlebars and scuffles along, both feet on the ground, one on either side.  He stumbles a lot, but he seems to enjoy it.

He likes to do puzzles too

He did this one all by himself.  And in doing so, learned some facts and figures about the Land Down Under, and the Land Down Under the Land Down Under.

He likes to float

Amiri's spots have all crusted over and are starting to disappear (we counted, and he had 62 of them).  His fever's gone, his appetite is back, and he's back to leaping gazelle-like from couch to couch.  Except for the mandatory week-long stand-down, he's ready to go back to school.

Here he is enjoying his last medicated bath.

Sports-related vexillology

Because the World Cup is in town, the participating countries' flags are flying everywhere.  This has been a good opportunity for the boys to learn to identify them.

I just tested Amiri, and he got 17 out of 20 right!  I only helped him with multiple-choice options for a few.  He missed Ireland, Namibia, and Romania.  

Even Arram picked out New Zealand (pronounced, 'New Raisined') and Canada ("Leaf flag!  Leaf flag!")

 

Little funnies

Here are some jokes from the brothers.

Amiri surprised me with a phone call while I was at work today.  (We've been working on his phone skills.)  He said, "Mama, I tried calling you earlier, but you didn't pick up the phone!"  I replied, "That was because I was driving the car when you called.  I can't drive AND hold the phone at the same time.  I don't have enough hands!"  "But Mama,' he said, "I thought you were an octopus!"

And here is what Arram obliged me with when I asked him to do something funny.

They're getting their rest and of course their prawn crackers

Health update:  Amiri is itchy and hot but otherwise doing fine.  He's getting daily oatmeal baths and a liberal coating in calamine lotion.  He doesn't like that very much, but totally digs getting to watch lots of TV and drink all the juice and eat all the treats he wants.

Arram continues to party like a rock star, not a pock in sight.

Here they are resting in the middle of a busy day.

"Some people who have had the vaccine will still get sick."

Chicken pox has come to roost in our house.

Amiri was sent home early today with a fever and some spots.  He's gotten more and more rashy as the day has gone on.  Poor little guy.  The Palmol seems to be working well to keep him comfortable, though.

We had him vaccinated for varicella as a baby but apparently the vaccine doesn't work for everyone.  Hopefully it will stay mild.  Until it runs its course, I'm kind of looking forward to having special cuddly sick days with my little guy.

Arram shows no signs of illness, in fact shows no signs of even slowing down.
 

Rules of the road

--Freeways are called motorways.  Motorways run for 50 km or so, max, inside the cities and then peter out into local roads everywhere else. 

--New Zealanders bemoan the Spaghetti Junction interchange between the 1 and the 16 in central Auckland as a horrifying example of dangerous urban traffic.  As a 5-year veteran of Los Angeles, I find it remarkably well-planned and comfortably un-congested.

--Unless otherwise marked, the speed limit on the street is 50 kph.  On the motorways, I feel like a wild speed-racer seeing my speedometer pegged at 100.

--People actually obey the speed limits.

--Roads are narrow.  Take turns in the tight spots!  Be aware of where the sides of your car begin and end!

--Parallel parking feels like a game of Operation.

--There are lots and lots and LOTS of roundabouts.   The ones with one lane are easy.  The ones with two lanes are a little trickier.  The ones with three or four lanes...I've learned some tricks to using them correctly:  careful observation of signs and lane markings, defensive merging into traffic, and saying a little prayer. 

--Finding an address in the city requires a complex mental map, or a patient navigator in the passenger's seat.  Urban planning on a grid?  Ha!  It's not like you can just track back so you had best watch carefully for the street signs.

--Street signs are somewhat haphazard.  What, we're gonna put one on every streetcorner?

--Look to the right for oncoming traffic when you are turning.  Americans are not conditioned to see hazards coming from that direction.

--Try not to freak out and think you're about to crash when observing the give-way rule.  Maybe I'll get used to it by the time the traffic rules change to something more sensible.

--There are animals to avoid, even in the city.  Pigeons are stupid and will just stand in your lane and stare you down.  Pukekos and possums are apparently even stupider but not so belligerent.  My first time driving, I had to maneuver around a goat.

--Gear shift:  left hand.  Wipers:  left hand.  Radio:  left hand.  Turn signal:  right hand.  Lights:  right hand.  Gas:  right foot.

--Have some good jokes ready for when you unlock your car and settle into the passenger's seat for your commute, for the tenth time, and wonder for a second what happened to your steering wheel.

  

Here are the brothers enjoying an afternoon snack

Breadsticks with hummus and dips.  Yum!

Arram has learned how to pose for photos

Look at that face.  I am in trouble.  I want to give him whatever he asks for now.

Mama takes a self-portrait with an exicted little boy

Amiri is a poster child at school

He teaches his classmates world geography.  (He is dressed as an aeroplane.)

And he demonstrates good hygiene for everyone.

The RWC brings out all sorts of entertainment

We were heading out to dinner, and this was right outside our front door.

Finally, a grocery purchase that did not qualify for the 15-items-or-less checkout

Okay, I have some big news for you today.  As the title of this post may suggest, I went out today to the Pak'nSave and bought us a couple hundred dollars worth of staple groceries.  Among other things, I got three litres of milk, a big jug of laundry detergent, a bale of toilet paper, and a case of soda pop in glass bottles.   All at once.  Awesome.   I think my purchases weighed more than I did.  And how did I manage to get all that home in my backpack without toppling over?  Simple.  I didn't use my backpack.  I used our NEW CAR.

Yay!  We have wheels!  It's a 2008 Honda Civic hybrid and it is AWESOME.  It zigs, it zags, it runs silently on batteries at low speed (all the better to sneak up on you with, my dear) and most of all, it goes so much faster than we do on foot.  Look at this:  I ran an errand today over to Newmarket.  To get there and back on the train, we typically budget at least a couple of hours.  Today I was back home, done and dusted, in 45 minutes.  Much like a black hole's inexorable gravitational field that pulls matter toward itself, our car has instantly compacted the city for us.

It feels slightly odd to drive again after nearly two years of having not.  I almost have to check myself every time I slide behind the wheel:  I can do this, right?  This is mine?  I am a driver?

And I am indeed a driver.  So far this week I've already covered a couple of hundred kilometres and I'm feeling comfortable behind the wheel.  I think the hardest thing to get acclimated to is signalling a turn with my right hand; I keep turning on my wipers.  I even gassed it up like a pro, cringed at the bill, and was grateful that due to the hybrid-ness I won't have to do it that often.

Babies love to disco

We took the kids to another disco party.  Here are how little guys go wild. 

They start with some head-rubbing.

They climb freely on the furniture.

They get all sugared up on soda pop.  Although it looks like it, it is NOT beer. 

 This is his 'Jim Morrison' portrait.

They get their hair spray-painted green to match their shirts.

They play in the water even though it's cold outside.

And they eat fruit pops.  Because they hadn't had enough sugar.

They don't have sugar maples here

Check out these killer prices for maple syrup.  The quart of Grade B on the right?  In hours: 2.2 NZ; 0.8 US. 

Luckily we are still eating big-brother-day syrup in our house!
 

I love how none of us have arms, and I apparently have a trick knee

Going for a walk, holding hands

Bumblebees, always a hot topic of conversation.   Arram calls them bumbleberries.

They've got all the important stuff

Amiri's graduation card from Preschool 1 with a picture of all his classmates
Matching shirts
A baggie of fresh roasted peanuts
Special Bear
Cuddles and love

The problem with birdie air locks

We went to the zoo this weekend and enjoyed all the new habitats that they've been working on constructing for the last year or so.  They're largely big aviaries, incorporating all the native bush and netted-in over their tops.  The entrances are cleverly constructed to prevent the birds getting out: you have to go through two consecutive sets of doors, only one of which can be opened at a time.  The brothers loved taking the responsibility of opening the doors for us.

You may be able to anticipate the problem that developed.  Arram got a little ahead of the group, eager for door duty.  First he opened one aviary door, went through, and closed it behind him.  Then he trundled over to open the second door.  Attempting to go through, however, he got a little off-balance as two-year-olds do, and tumbled bottom-first into an inconveniently-placed mud puddle.  This was unacceptable.  He wailed.  The door eased toward the jamb but fetched up against his little bottom, and was thereby propped open.  Oh dear.  This meant that Mama, on the other side of the first door, was locked out and could not do the rescuing that was so desperately needed.  It was an earnest minute with all of Arram's zoo friends urging him to stand up and allow the door to shut.  Eventually he did and big cuddles followed.  He even got a cookie.  His bottom wasn't even very wet; it was a small puddle.
 

Here is Amiri putting on a rainy-day puppet show for us

The brothers doing their chores: peeling garlic edition

Amiri enjoys his hot chocolate

After a fun but chilly morning of playing outside, I took the boys to a cafe for a warm drink.  Amiri loved his; note the chocolate ring on his forehead from having pressed his face so deep into his mug.

Amiri saves Arram from certain doom

There were crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and hot lava down there about to get his feet.  It was imperative that he make it up into the safety of the boat.  Thank goodness there was a sturdy Cap'n ready to rescue the deckhand.

RWC: We were there

The Rugby World Cup has come to New Zealand!  They've been talking about it for years, and now they're talking about nothing else. 

On Friday it was the opening ceremony.  I left work at 1 pm to beat the crowds.  It was a good thing I did; two stops after mine, the train was standing-room-only and I saw hundreds, maybe even a thousand, of disappointed fans being turned away from boarding our train at the stations, as there was simply no more room aboard. 

The Viaduct and the Wharves (Prince's and Queen's) were Party Central.  (This is not my appelation; this is the official name.)  Fifty thousand people ended up packing themselves into a space designed for 12,000.  Luckily the organisers had thought ahead and had arranged for plenty of port-a-potties.  And, cleverly, they'd deployed a fleet of kayakers whose job was to patrol the perimeters of the wharves and fish out the inevitable partiers who toppled into the water.  Word was that the nimble little boats successfully rescued thirty-some people who'd been overly intoxicated or else overly squashed in the crush of people.

We took a little walk through the craziness outside our front door early in the day before it got too-too busy.  We ventured out again briefly later in the night to watch the fireworks from our sidewalk, but headed right straight back inside due to the non-family-friendly atmosphere.  I wouldn't take the kids outside at Mardi Gras, either.   Noise ordinances were lifted for the night and we were treated to all manner of hoopla until the wee hours.  We woke up to find our neighbourhood in shambles.  Nothing really broken or wrecked, just a really proper mess.  Barricades shifted all around.  Litter everywhere.  And vomit puddles.  Oh yeah.  That's how you know everyone's had a good time.

And of course, the All Blacks won their match against Tonga that evening.

The next night, we were treated to the quietest night in the Viaduct that we've ever seen in all our time in this apartment.  I guess everyone had already had their fun; no reason to return two nights in a row.
 

The boys' first movie

We took the boys to their very first in-a-theatre movie.  We saw A Cat in Paris as part of the international film festival.  And this was no ordinary theatre... we were at the Civic Auditorium for the old-school experience of a movie being an event, and were treated to this view of the lobby as we walked in. 

 

We were right up front by the screen and the ornate curtain that dramatically opened as the film started.

 The boys loved it!

On the theme of sleeping...

Arram had his lunch at his little table and then complained of being cold, so we wrapped him up in his baby blanket.  He became uncharacteristically quiet.  It turned out that he was REALLY ready for his nap.  He'd simply tilted over and gone to sleep.

It's too late at night to show you anything BUT these little sleepers.

We buy our diapers in bulk

I can't WAIT until Arram is out of nappies!  We could really use the closet shelf space for other purposes.

Juxtaposition

Arram tenderly tucks his babies into bed

Look at the snack Daddy made for the brothers

For the brothers, yeah, that's it, Mama wanted nothing to do with it in fact she hates cheese thinks it's soooo yucky...

A wedge of Kapiti camembert, and a heart of blue brie.  Face and various daubs courtesy of all the condiments in the fridge.  Crispy crackers, of which the first ingredient is cheese.

We put a good dent in this after naptime, and totally demolished it within 36 hours.  This is how we roll in our house.  Yeah.

They still fit, technically

Lately, Arram has been having a lot of fun going into the back of the brothers' closet and opening up the big plastic bin of too-big-and-saved-for-later clothes and the too-small-but-too-special-to-give-away clothes and pulling out something to play dress-up.  Of special interest have been two hand-knitted baby hats.

One of which he's been insisting on wearing to school, to the great amusement of his teachers.

The other has only been worn around the house, during naptime, but it's an even tighter fit.