Shhh... Studying here!

Been *really* busy with school this week, so I've been super quite on the blog. Have an essay due in two weeks, along with a drug calculations exam and a respiratory/cardiovascular patient assessment exam. Yipes! Classes have been really interesting, and I think of heaps to write about on here, but I've been knuckling down and hitting the books lately. {But I do have ideas for future blogs!}

Just a couple cute pix to share of Miss G. We managed to sneak away to the beach on Monday with a friend. It was such a lovely day to take Pixie (dog) for a run and for the rest of us some sunshine! :)

Rach and Miss G enjoying the beach!
I think Miss G is telling stories! 

Cute girl checking out the gorgeous flowers in the yard. :)

We had a bit of excitement here with the recent snow - it was in the news quite a bit and was really fun. I haven't really been around snow in quite a few years now, so it was exciting to see it falling from the sky. Even though it didn't stick!

Miss G and I taking our photo in the 'snow'...

Snowing! (It's not meant to snow here!)

Finished a book off my list - A Fine Balance. I really enjoyed the book and am kind of quite sad I've finished it. Give it a go, it's a really well written book and it was just lovely really. :)

Well, off to bed for this nursing student / mommy. Mornings come waaayyy to early! :)

Things I'm LOVING!

Things I'm LOVING!! 

I'm LOVING that this cutie is going to be 7 MONTHS tomorrow (13 Aug)! 

(Look at all that drool!!)

I'm LOVING all the studying I did this week! 

(However, I still need another week This year is full-on!)

I'm LOVING the nice lady at the supermarket today. She was behind me in the check-out and helped pushed my trolley to the car since I was carrying Miss G and struggling with an overflowing trolley! Thank you! LOVING random acts of kindness! 

LOVING the second-hand rocking chair I won for my sissy on Trade Me. Awesome buy for $26 and lovely people I picked it up from! 

It's going to look fab when it's re-covered! Any suggestion on colors? 

Linking up with Paisley Jade for 

Who wouldn't procrastinate?

When someone this sweet is distracting you? 

Watching cartoons while mommy reads!

Such a beautiful day here - loved the sunshine and great weather. Managed to get some studying done while Miss G napped - which is great! Even got to SKYPE with Gma, Gpa  and Uncle in the USA - Miss G put on a good show in her Jolly Jumper! 

Well, must carry on... Only 3 study days left!! 

Study Week!

Kia Ora!

This week, I am on a 'study week' from classes. Phew! B/c I feel so far behind and it's only week 3!! This year we have been assigned sooo many readings (most optional, but I still want to read them!) - so this is my week to 'catch up'. yay!

Unfortunately, since I am the queen of procrastination, it is also my week to tidy the house and do all the random jobs I normally wouldn't want to do anyways. Case in point: this morning, I have been vacuuming the house (Edan did it yesterday), dusted house, cleaned kitchen, took car to local garage for WOF, one load of laundry waiting to be put away, one load of laundry on the line and another in the machine... and it's only 11:45am!! Yipes! I just may get our house completely organized by the time this week is over!! Now onto the dreaded office... (The office was our 'dumping ground' when we moved and it has kind of stayed that way...)

Miss G was quite excited when I put her in her car seat this morning to take the car in. I think she was a bit disappointed we only went 2 blocks and then she was in the buggy walking back home... She's loving going to care when I'm in classes. It's probably a bit more interesting to have another little girl to play with (Miss K is 16 months)! But, it is nice to have some time to chill, catch up and re-group before heading back into classes.

Loving my classes this year - they are really full-on, but super interesting! Long may that last! :)

The biggest loser challenge I was involved in finished off on Saturday - I am super excited to say I lost 6.5 kilos (14 1/3 lbs.) in the challenge! (I didn't win, but, very stoked I'm back in my normal clothes - which was my goal!) Purely by eating super healthy and exercising daily. Sounds like everyone is keen to continue on, which is great. Group support has been wonderful for me to loose those extra baby pounds that snuck up!

Well, better attempt SOME study today!

Haere ra!

Grateful Sunday...

Grateful Sunday...

Grateful for bubbles!!

Isn't she just so gorgeous!

Linking up with  for Grateful Saturday (Sunday for me - I'm a bit behind this week!)

Random blog...

I'm still a 'novice' in the blogging world, but I'm trying to get into it. Mostly to keep our friends/family updated and possibly to meet some more fellow mummies/mommies out there. :)  So, bear with me as I adjust my page, title (- note: new title), and photos. I'm still learning!

My first week of being back in school has gone really well. Classes are super full-on this year (which is good, I suppose!) - no slacking at ALL this year. Miss G is LOVING going to care - which is a huge relief for me. :) I'm in the mid-year intake, so it's a much smaller class size - went from 100+ students to 35ish. Much better learning environment. ;-)

Funny story about my first week. A girl I just met, said to me, 'Do I detect an accent?' "Yes, I am from Minnesota, USA," I said. New classmate: "So, do you have permanent residency?" Me: "Um, yes?" Conversation kind of ended there b/c we had to go into class... Not sure if she was from immigration? Haha. Kind of giggled to myself. I'm guessing she was going to keep moving w/ the conversation, etc, but we just had to quit talking and never carried our conversation thru at the end of class.

This is my last week of doing the 'biggest loser' competition with some (new) friends. We've all been trying to loose weight, and for the most part, it's been successful. So far I'm in the lead (barely), and $300 is up for grabs! I'm not super concerned about the money, but I am very happy to be down 5.5 kilos/12 lbs so far! Group weight loss is the way to go - very encouraging - and super excited to have some new friends as well! :)

Well, I better get back to the homework I've been putting off - funny how much random things I can get done instead of doing home work... Wrote on Degen's blog, wrote a poem about Gretchen, cleaned off the desk, decorated kitchen... Yep, procrastination is my middle name!

Haere ra!

Things I'm LOVING!

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Loving how excited Miss G is about food!

Loving her super-cute, food-covered smile!

Loving her energy to bounce and bounce and bounce!

Grateful Saturday...

Grateful for the sunshine and that we live near the beach!

Grateful that Miss G is going to a dear friend while I'm in my second year of Nursing School.

Grateful that my husband and I can afford for me to go to Nursing School.

Grateful that my husband supports my decision to give up a successful (well-paying)10-year career in Marketing & Communications to follow my passion.

So, so so grateful for Angel D for inspiring me to pursue Nursing. Wish you were still here with us buddy, miss you so much each and everyday!

Grateful for my amazing family and wonderful friends. So blessed. xxoo

Linking up with Maxabella Loves.

Things I'm Loving...

I'm loving that Miss G is over her cold - she had a *very* high temp on Sunday eve and Monday, and thankfully it came down and even her stuffy nose has gone away.

I'm loving catching up with friends for a Friday morning tea! So fun to gossip, have yummy baked goods, coffee and revel in good company!

I'm loving my new rose brooch. So gorgeous and handmade! Some people are just so talented! (If you want a rose brooch, pm me and I will give you the TM sellers details - only in NZ, sorry!)

I'm loving that my wonderful hubby brought home a trailer load of dry wood to keep our home nice and warm! Growing up in Minnesota, I just *hate* being cold! And, thanks to the wind from Antarctica, it's a tish chilly!

I'm loving that my sissy will be back in New Zealand in a week! Can't wait to see her and her hubby after their month-long holiday in the USA (back home!)!!

I'm loving that my pre-preggy jeans fit loosely again. It's been a bit of work, but the weight is finally coming off. yay!

I'm loving my cross-stitch project I'm working on!

I'm loving that I'm back in Nursing School on Monday! And,  loving that Miss G will be going to a good friend during the day. :)

Linking up with Paisley Jade for Things I'm Loving...

Winter Wonderland?!?

Growing up in Minnesota, winter to me is lots and lots of snow, freezing temperatures and outdoor activities where you are massively bundled up so just your eyes are barely showing. Climate of Minnesota

Winter is *not* insane amounts of rain, hail, flooding and wind - like it is here in the Manawatu region of New Zealand. Winter has officially 'hit'! Current Weather

Maybe I am just looking through rose colored glasses, but at least you can semi do something in the snow. IE: Cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating, downhill skiing, snowboarding, etc, etc. 

Gale force winds and down pouring rain = indoor activities by the fire. ;-) *HOWEVER* I will have a massive shock when I get back into a MN winter - because the temps here rarely get below freezing! (BLISS!) Plus, we get our fair share of snow when we go up  Mt Ruapehu for skiing. (Active volcano we ski on - good fun!) Can you believe my last Minnesota winter was 2005-2006!?!? How quickly time flies!

So tomorrow is a big day for us here - tomorrow Miss G is SIX MONTHS!! Where, oh where, has the time gone!?!? 

Our little princess is just so adorable and such a delight! We love her to bits! I'm planning to take her into Plunket at some stage this week for her weigh and measure - I know she's grown heaps this month! Her pants are becoming 3-quarter pants now... 

She's right into food now - loves apple purees, not into pears or baby rice just yet (but has fun blowing bubbles with them!), and loves pumpkin! So fun watching her learn all sorts of new things - like crawling! She was off on a mission last week at mommy/baby yoga and has been moving since. However, I have slowed her down a bit by putting her on a blanket on the floor. Mean, I know, but she just can't quite get the traction... On the carpet and she's slowing doing a commando-style crawl. It's super cute, but very frustrating for her. ;-) She wants to go! 

Until next time... 

5 Months!

Weighing in at 6.2 kilos (13lb 11 oz) and 67 centimeters (26.4 inches) Miss G is in the 21st and 91st percentiles respectively. So, she's very tall and lean and doing very well. The Plunket nurse was very happy with her and says she is doing very well for her age!

I went up to the resthome I work at part-time last week, and of course, Miss G was an absolute HIT! The residents absolutely *loved* her and of course, she put on a good show for them - smiling and cooing. It was so neat! I will have to try to take her up there more often b/c it was so great seeing the smiles on the residents faces! :) I'm going back to work one shift/week for now, on Sunday am's. Will give us some extra $$ and Edan will have some father-daughter time as well. :)

I'm starting back full-time at nursing school at the end of July - and I am actually really looking forward to it. I can't wait to be back into nursing classes, although I know it is going to be a lot harder this year. Miss G will be going to a good friend of mine when I'm in class, which is *awesome*. I was so nervous about leaving her in group daycare, but am very excited for my friend to watch her. (She has a girl 9 months older, so she will have fun playing I'm sure!) My classes are only 2-4 hours/day, so nothing is "full-time" in the classroom until I hit placement time at the end of the year...

Congrats to Amber @ Life on a Stick on the birth of her beautiful twin boys! (Amber is a ND native.) They are absolutely gorgeous!

June bug!

Wow, can't believe it's *JUNE* already! Where does the time go?

Tomorrow Miss G has her Plunket 5-month weigh and measure! *Five* months! WOW! She is doing all the wonderful things a 5-month old does. Babbling, sticking everything in her mouth, chewing on EVERYTHING possible, grabbing toys, rolling over, etc, etc. She still loves her musical gym, but I can hardly get her to sit in her bumbo chair! She is just plain not interested in sitting - she wants to STAND. Yipes!

Love my exersaucer! 

We've been enjoying an Indian Summer here in NZ, which is great! Yesterday I took Miss G and Pixie out for a walk and I only had a tee-shirt and jeans on! yay! Although, once again, I can hear the cats squishing as they walk across the lawn - it is so wet and boggy! It would be very nice if the gardens and lawns could dry out a tish so my vege can grow! :)

Quick shout out to my cousin Heather - congrats on your wedding! I heard it was gorgeous! ;-)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my precious Angel Degen today - 27 May! Two years old - how time flies! We miss you so much and wish you were here with us on Earth to celebrate - although we always know we are with us in spirit.

You continue to be such an inspiration for so many, especially for your mommy and daddy, in your short 6-months here on Earth. Thank you for enriching our lives, in everything we do, we think of you. We love you sweetheart!

He greeted life with a smile, lived it with determination and said farewell with a fight. 

Beloved son, cherished friend, eternal inspiration. 

Love,

Mom & Dad and your sissy Miss G

xoxo

Degen's Story

The Green Torpedos, continued...

Well, I have picked, given away, chopped, froze, preserved and baked with literally THOUSANDS of feijoas... There are *still* more under the trees, but I am choosing to ignore them by not going into the backyard. (Side note: if anyone wants any, feel free to bring a bag and help yourself!)

Auntie Tracey was just telling me yesterday they are apx $3/kilo at the supermarket. Hmm. May have to start selling these little bad boys next year for a bit of extra coin... Okay, I probably won't... But, it would be a good idea! :)

What we have found is that feijoa muffins and feijoa crumble are yummy! Will see how the preserves go later in the year...

In other news, Miss G is 4 1/2 months now! WOW! Where has the time gone? She is just such a lovely cheeky girl - so happy and smiley. Love her to bits!

4 months old - with the feijoas! :)

We are still enjoying a relatively mild autumn here - it's actually been fairly warm for this time of year. Which we are *loving* at our outdoor netball games! We are now 3-0, our last game was a bit of a nail biter, so we all need to step it up for our upcoming games!

Edan's project car is officially 'home' now. Well, it's more like a body of a car at the moment, but he's out in the workshop every night tinkering... Oh well. He's happy with that. Now, if only I could get him to hook up my bike trainer...

Miss G and I are headed to Mainly Music this afternoon, she *loves* music, just like her brother did, so hopefully she has a lovely time there. And, well, me too. :)

Until next time!
:)

My Favorite Things!

Amber at Life on a Stick tagged me in her post, so I'm going to play along! Amber, a ND native, is an RN at the Mayo, a mommy of 1 and soon to be 3!, and is studying to become a Family Nurse Practitioner! Amazing!

A few of my favorite things (in no particular order):

#1 Cloth nappies. I recently purchased 11 cloth nappies to try out on Gretchen and I LOVE them. No big accidents yet (knock on wood), feel like I'm helping the environment by reducing our weekly landfill waste and saving $$. yay. (I still use disposables at night, I'm not quite that brave yet...)

#2 My netball team - Te Kawau Greens. A group of girls that just want to have fun playing some  weekend netball. Love it. :)

#3 My besties. I have the best of family and friends. Yay for all of you! Where would I be without your love and support? :)

#4 Travelling. Ok, so I haven't done this in quite a while... but I have backpacked a good portion of Europe (twice - @22 just out of Uni and @27 on our honeymoon), North America, a bit of Asia and some of the South Pacific.

Edan and I hiking - Mt. Ngauruhoe in the background

#5 Studying Nursing. Yep, I love it. My gorgeous Angel Degen enriched my life and has encouraged me to study nursing and I *LOVE* it. Can't wait to graduate with my Bachelor of Nursing, and then hopefully I can start my Nurse Practitioner study in the USA...

#6 Popcorn. Yum. Love it. Especially with butter.

#7 Living in New Zealand. My husband is a native "Kiwi" so I agreed to give it a go living in NZ for a few years. Plan was to be back in the USA w/in 5 years. Well, that's this year... (Finishing my RN training in NZ before we head back.) Such a beautiful country with super friendly people. I've been fortunate enough to have travelled to a vast majority of the country and it is just amazing.

Top pix - top of the North Island, Bottom Pix - Glacier on the South Island

Pancake Rocks/Blow holes - South Island

On Mt Ruahepu looking at Mt Taranaki (both volcanos)- North Island

#8 Autumn.

Pix I took here in the Manawatu

#9 Spending time with my family and friends - esp my hubby and sweet baby! So lucky my USA family come down here as often as they do. Would love to see more of you though - fab vacation destination! :)

#10 Reading. Love to read - was getting through the books quite quickly after I had Gretchen, however now she is a bit more active, so it's getting harder. But, still managing to get in a few books/month.  Any good suggestions?

Ok, I'm new to blogging so I don't really have anyone to tag yet... But, I'll get there! :)
Have a great weekend everyone! xoxo

Happy Mother's Day!

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa.
Let us keep close together, not wide apart.
-Maori Whakatauki (Proverb)


Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mother's out there - especially mine and my grandma of course! :) While I am not physically near my mother, I am really happy that we are 'close' in the other sense of the word. Thankfully, she has been a positive rock for me to lean on during the darkest year of my life (losing Degen). So, yay, for her! Happy mother's day and sorry I just mailed your card yesterday. oops!

Mom with newborn Gretchen

Fruit galore!

Well, my feijoa harvest is definitely underway and I've been giving bags of the tiny green torpedos away as quickly as they've been falling off our hedge of trees! 

A days pickings! Yipes! 

Waste not, want not ... however, nature has provided us with more than our fair share. Thankfully, we have lots of friends that enjoy them as well. So far, I've made feijoa crumble, feijoa muffins, preserved feijoas and have frozen them as well... Which will be fantastic this winter! My next goal is feijoa/grape jam... Yum! :) 

Scooping out the inside to freeze in containers for later use! Yum! :)

When did I become such a "domestic goddess"? Hmm. I think I'm a domestic goddess in training really... I love trying to find ways to be more 'organic' and finding ways to save money... Funny how in my 20s, I poopooed the idea of being a stay at home mom and what could they POSSIBLY do ALL day!?!? Hmm. I'm really glad reality slapped me in the face - I have never knows such hard work, but yet, so rewarding. I absolutely love being home with Miss G, and of course I loved every moment with my precious Angel Degen. 

Some of my new 'missions' are attempting to quilt for friends and to sew dresses for Miss G. Wish me luck! 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day filled with good food, and great company. :) Edan and I stayed home this year for Easter, although we would have loved to go away. Although, we are quite glad we did stay home - we got a lot of yard work done around the place, and it's looking fantastic! We are just building up our winter veggie garden, and I'm itching to plant some broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. leeks, lettuce, onions, and beans. And, Edan is busy getting his workshop ready for his project car to come 'home' soon.

We had a bit of an impromptu Easter dinner on Sunday eve at our place. It was great! Most of our friends were home for the holidays - and we had 14 adults and 5 kiddos in our place! It was chaos, but very fun. It's so cool to get together with loved ones for the holidays and it was really fun to have our friends over to share the joys of Easter with. Jen & Sam also came down to share in the fun day - and it was fantastic to see them! Miss G was so spoiled with all of the attention!

Our place when we bought it. 

SOLD! (Note, I am 8 months preg here.)

Today is ANZAC day in Australia/New Zealand - a day to remember the soldiers that have fallen in battle. Since we are so close to the Air Force base here, we heard the helicopter going around the area doing fly overs during the special services. It was quite neat. 

Otherwise, today is a bit of a rainy day - but since we enjoyed sunshine for the weekend, a bit of rain is a-okay. :) 

My next project is doing something with our feijoas. What is a feijoa you may ask - FEIJOA. We have a hedge of feijoa trees on our back boundry fence, as well as our neighbors tree that hangs over into our yard... I have "gifted" several bags to friends and family, but figure I better start doing something with the remaining... Watch this space... ;-) 

Hope everyone is well - and until next time. 

xoxo

3 Months of Bliss!

Miss G celebrated her 3-month birthday on Weds! We had quite a busy day - we went to a seminar on Baby Talk - and are planning to teach Miss G baby sign. Apparently we can start doing the signs with her now (just a couple) and she will be picking them up and using them around the 9-month mark! Very cool! So we are starting with milk - and then add in some words as we go on. I've had some friends use baby sign and have good results with it, so I'm hoping Miss G is able to use it as well.

3-months old!

We also had Gretchen's Plunket check-up - she's weighing in at 5.06kg (25%) and 60.5cm (75%).  She's such a happy wee dot - and LOVES her voice! When she squeals with delight and it sounds like cats fighting! I kid you not - it is absolutely HILAROUS! Mom, Dad and Dan were on SKYPE with us Weds afternoon - and as usual, she put on a good show.

 I can't believe how quickly the past 3 months have gone - may the good times continue to roll on! :)

Have a great Friday everyone!

First Post!

Hello! Just thought I'd give 'blogging' a whirl to keep everyone posted on what is happening in New Zealand! I'm trying to figure out how to change the background, etc - so please bear with me while I have some growing pains. ;-)

Well, 2011 has been such a rapid whirlwind for us - Gretchen Klara Maria was born on the 13th of January - Edan's birthday! She is such a fun addition to our family - such a sweet happy girl! Mom arrived the evening of the 12th, so she arrived just in time - which was absolutely fantastic! Even Jen made it down from Taupo in time for Gretchen's birth.

In February we celebrated Jen's and Sam's wedding - it was a beautiful day and everyone had such a wonderful time. Welcome to the family Sam! Couldn't ask for anyone better for Jen! :) Both Dad and Daniel were in New Zealand for the wonderful event as well.

Beautiful bride!

Being cute is so exhausting! 

The "Thorstad" family

In March, mom and dad flew back to cold Minnesota to start their calving season. Daniel went down to the south island and spent some time hunting with his college buddy Ryan, and their NZ mates down there. He brought back some venison and crayfish for us to enjoy, which was yummy! :)

Two months old - by Belle's 2nd birthday cake!

April has come before I could even blink! Gretchen is 12 weeks now - oh where has the time gone? She's such a wonderful baby - she's fully discovered her hands and loves to put them in her mouth! She also enjoys reaching out and grabbing, as well as playing with her musical gym and her stuffed animals on her bouncy chair. (Tigger is her favorite!) She has a very similar smile to her brother and we are constantly reminded of him when we look at her - which is really nice. We wish he was here with us to enjoy her as well, but we know he is here in spirit everyday. :)

Dan's crayfish

Cheeky monkey! 

It's coming into autumn here now, leaves are starting to drop and the air has a bit of a chill in it. Netball season has also started and I am playing for the Te Kawau social team. We had our first game (grading game) on Saturday, and we had a blast together as a team. Despite that we lost 25-39, but nevermind - it was very fun to get out and play. (PS To all my American friends, here's what netball is: NZ Netball) It's a very fun game!

Well, until next time... :)