February in Wellington

So, apart from all the birthdays and leaving preschool/starting big school, what else have we been up to this month?

We've been enjoying spectacular weather, and we've made the most of scootering around the city, along the beautiful waterfront, to the museum, we met Jake for a picnic lunch one day, we've watched buskers, we've played in the park, and Alfie's been showing great interest in all the different buildings, sculptures and statues...

Alfie's enjoying school immensly, is completely wearing himself out and has been cooling off with the hosepipe after school most afternoons...

I'm not sure exactly what he does each day, but his appetite is suddenly ENORMOUS and I can't keep up with it! Between him and Jake (who is consuming a triathlete's diet these days), our weekly grocery bill has increased by about 35% over the last few months - and I am more chained to the kitchen than ever!

And after he's eaten, he's usually back outside for more hosepipe action!

Meanwhile now Molly's in Year 3, she has a lot more homework....reading, writing, spelling, maths, and other things which don't fit neatly into an academic category or description. If I thought it was tricky to fit her homework in before, Year 3 is a whole different ball game! She doesn't look too happy in this picture, but it's just her look of total concentration - she is doing Mathletics, which she really enjoys.

And as for me, I've been grabbing the odd early morning coffee and enjoying the special kind of peace & quiet that you can only truly appreciate in that post-school-drop-off zone....ahhhhh, mums you know what I mean!

Work's going well for me and is slightly less frantic especially now I have 5 days a week to spread it across. I even get to take a real break for lunch now - I don't have to eat it in front of the computer and I can sometimes read a magazine or listen to the radio while I eat - I haven't done that for years!

I'm so nearly up to date with things that I haven't had to do much evening/weekend work for a while, and sometimes I'm even managing to sneak out for a quick walk up the mountain  (thanks Jake!).

And Jake....well, Jake continues to be outdoor sports mad. If he's not running up the mountains or going for a "quick" 40km bike ride before work, you'll find him at the local pool doing laps several mornings a week and/or in the ocean at lunchtime. He's just done his second mini triathlon and all the training has paid off as he came 17th out of 57, with his fastest ever 5km run (21 mins). GO JAKE!!!