The price of children

I've been worrying a lot lately about finances, and how expensive things are now compared to our DINK (Double Income No Kids) days. We have a bigger mortgage now because we had to add on to the house, we now have 2 cars, there are daycare fees, buying food/clothes/etc for 2 kids ... it all adds up.
I read this today, and it was a poignant reminder of how precious my kids are to me. They mean the world to me, despite how much it costs to have them in my life.

The Price of Children
I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's very sweet!
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $US160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about shock! That doesn't even touch tertiary education.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day, and just over a dollar an hour every 24 hours!!
Still, you might think the best financial advice is to not have children if you want to be "rich". Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?

* Naming rights. First, middle and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, & warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with dirt or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* Finger-paint
* Carve pumpkins
* Play hide-and-seek
* Catch bugs
* Never stop believing in Santa Claus

You have an excuse to:
* Keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh
* Watch Saturday morning cartoons
* Go to Disney movies
* Wish on stars

You get to frame:
* Rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodles
* Wreaths for Christmas, handprints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* Retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof
* Taking the training wheels off a bike
* Removing a splinter
* Filling a paddling pool
* Coaxing a wad of gum out of hair
* Coaching a sports team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless

You get a front row seat to history by witnessing the:
* First step
* First word
* First date
* First time behind the wheel!

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no university can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
That is quite a deal for the price!

Love & enjoy your children! They're really priceless.

Starstruck ...

Hey Christi, this one's for you!

I was getting petrol on my way to work this morning and guess who I almost bumped into at the Mobil? NIK CARLSON from NZ Idol!!
He smiled at me!!!
I kept looking at him after that, trying to work up enough courage to ask for his autograph, but then I realised I had a pen but no paper (hang on, I could have used my receipt, DOH!) ... actually I was too shy to say anything :(
I wish I had though. I love Nik, I wanted him to win, I voted for him!
Now I am completely agog with excitement and want to tell everybody about it ... but I know my workmates would just laugh at me :)

PS. He drives a silver Nissan Skyline, and he was buying coffee and fuel additive ...

My child is a thief!

Here you go, mum. The shoplifting story.

On Friday Rob took Tyler to get his 15-month vaccinations. When he came home he had bought a new pair of pants from JayJays. I made a comment about how he didn't really need any new pants, and he said it was OK because they were only $5! So I reminded him of a recent visit to Shanton where I saw a $10 top and wanted to buy it, only to be told "you don't really need any more tops, do you?" ..... needless to say I didn't buy it.

Then Rob says "Tyler got you a T-shirt today, but we had to take it back."
Apparently when Rob got back to the car Tyler had fallen asleep in his buggy, and when he went to pick him up he saw a yellow T-shirt clutched tightly in his hand!! He must have grabbed it off the rack while they were in the shop!! So Rob had to go back to the shop and return the stolen T-shirt. He said the girl seemed ever so grateful that he had returned it - as if it was unexpected or something!

Hi5 was a blast!

Quite literally, because it was the Space Magic Tour!

**I stole this pic from Christi's blog ... she said Hugh took photos but I didn't because I didn't think any would come out (no flash photography allowed). I hope you don't mind, Christi :-) I just thought Ethan's Nana and aunties who read my blog might like to see!**



We went on Friday, just Ethan and me. It was such a special day for us to spend together. I decided to get the ferry to Auckland so we wouldn't have to pay for parking, and I thought the boat ride would just add to the adventure. Ethan loved it. He was really excited on the boat, watching the "big city" getting closer and closer.

Once we hopped off the boat, we had to walk up Queen St to get to the Civic Theatre.
Now it used to take me less than 10 minutes to walk up Queen St when I was a University student. But when you are doing the same walk with a 3.5-year-old, it takes a LOT longer!!
Like 20 minutes longer. He did get pretty tired, but I pointed out lots of things along the way to distract him. And once he saw the Golden Arches he picked up the pace!

We had "Old McDonald's" (as Ethan calls it) for lunch and then it was time for the concert.
I caved and spent $10 on a Hi5 sticker book with hardly any stickers and 4 large posters which are now gracing the walls of the playroom.

The show itself was great. It was really entertaining and they kept the kids' attention so well.
Lots of the kids were up dancing. My child was not. He just sat in his seat, concentrating intently on everything. He sang along to a few lines of a couple of songs, but I was singing and cheering more than him!

Going off on a little tangent here ... I was horrified to see how skinny Charli was. She looked almost skeletal! And Nathan is going bald in a bad way. He needs to cut his hair, because having long hair when you are going bald is NOT a good look. Tim is my favourite, so I spent a fair amount of time watching him, LOL. He's totally my kind of guy. Nathan is supposedly the one all the mums drool over, but he is just too cheesy (and bald) for my liking.
Ahhh, Tim .....

Anyway .... we had a fantastic time, and Ethan seemed to really enjoy himself. He was pretty well behaved all day (apart from when he ran away from me at the ferry terminal, and another time when he was sick of walking and lay down on the pavement in protest). But considering all the hype and excitement (and the amount of sugar consumed), he did well, and I was proud of him.

Storytelling ... but not the bad kind

Ethan has an amazing imagination. I guess it makes up for his lack of fine motor skills (he can’t hold a pen and shows little interest in drawing). He plays so imaginatively with his toys, I know I’ve posted about that before.

But lately he has been making up the most impressive stories. The other morning he and I were lying in his bed and he asked me to read him a book. I was so tired I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, so I told him I would make up a story, which I did (with my eyes closed the entire time, LOL). He loved it and then said it was HIS turn to make up a story for me, and I had to keep my eyes closed while he was telling it (which was just fine by me!!) … anyway, his story was so neat I wanted to share it with all of you:

“The King’s daughter had a pool. She was having a fwim [swim] and her dog pounced up the stairs and woke up the King. Then the King and his daughter and the dog went to the farm yard and they got a rabbit and a cat to take home for pets. When they got home the dog jumped on the rabbit and the cat and he loved them. The End.”

I have to explain that the story I made up for Ethan had nothing to do with Kings or swimming pools or farmyards! My story did have a dog, cat and rabbit in it, but the context was very different. Even if he did borrow some of my characters, the bulk of his story was completely new.

Three things

I saw this on a blog when randomly surfing, and it looked like fun!

Three names I go by:
1. Han
2. Sam. I don't really "go by" this name, but it is my Dad's nickname for me.
3. Mummy/Mama

Three screen names I've had:
1. HoneyBumble
2. BlairsBoys
3. Poppet

Three physical things I like about myself:
1. My ears. Not that I find ears particularly attractive, but mine don't stick out and they are not too big or too small which is all I can ask for!
2. My hands
3. My shoulders. Usually, but not at the moment. I need to lose weight again.

Three physical things I don't like about myself:
1. My eyebrows. Too thick, dark and bushy. I don't care if Brooke Sheilds has them too!!
2. My tummy. I have 2 kids. It shows.
3. My legs. They are simply way too big.

Three parts of my heritage:
1. Kiwi
2. Scandanavian - Danish and Swedish on my Dad's side.
3. English? We don't know much about Mum's side of the family :(

Three things I am wearing right now:
1. Three-quarter jeans
2. Black top
3. Jewellery

Three favorite bands/musical artists:
Oh, I can never answer these questions properly! I love so many bands and artists, and my "favourites" change all the time. My favourites this week are:
1. Dave Dobbyn. Dad got me his new CD for Christmas and I've been thrashing it.
2. U2. No explanation needed!
3. Maroon 5. I'm still really into them.

Three things I want in a relationship:
1. Love
2. Kindness
3. Trust

Two truths and a lie:
1. I like Reality TV
2. I am trying to lose 10kg
3. I want more kids

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
1. Taller than me
2. Great smile
3. Nice eyes

Three favorite hobbies:
1. Scrapbooking
2. Reading
3. Crosswords

Three things I want to do badly right now:
1. Take a nap
2. Eat something!
3. Hug my kids

Three things that scare me:
1. Losing my husband or children
2. Large scary insects
3. That we will never pay enough off our mortgage to get a decent car!

Three of my everyday essentials:
1. Car
2. Computer
3. Cellphone

Three Careers you have considered or are considering:
1. Hairdresser. Doesn't every little girl want to be one?
2. Doctor. My serious career goal all through school and first year of university.
3. Medical writing. What I am doing now.

Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Canada
2. Europe
3. Gold Coast

Three kids names you like:
Besides the 4 names I chose for my boys?
1. Sydney
2. Kendall
3. Connor

Three things you want to do before you die:
1. See my children grow up
2. Travel
3. Make a difference in the world

Three ways I am stereotypically a boy:
1. I can assemble things that come in boxes. Cots, medicine cabinets, toy storage racks ...
2. I like watching rugby.
3. I drink beer (sometimes).

Three ways I am stereotypically a girl:
1. I do crafts.
2. I like shopping.
3. I cry during sad movies.

Three celeb crushes:
1. Nicholas Cage. Especially in Con Air. Ohhhh!
2. Liam Neeson. I love that accent!
3. Brad Pitt. Just to prove that I am normal. I know Nic and Liam aren't most people's cup of tea but I like them!

Three people I am tagging:
1. Jenn
2. Christi
3. Anyone who reads this!

1000 hits!

Since I put the SiteMeter on here, there have been over 1000 hits!
I noticed it was up around 990-something last time I posted, and then suddenly it was over 1000. Cool!

I know some of the people who read my blog, because they post comments. Mum, Leah (although you should post more comments!!), Olivia, Jenn, Donna, Jes, Christi, Rachel, Shauna, Linna (where ARE you, girl?) and I know there are probably others who I have missed.

To mark this 1000 hit milestone, I would like EVERYBODY who reads my blog to please post a comment! If you haven't done it before, don't be scared - it is easy and you are not signing away your life by doing so. I'm just interested to know who actually reads this, LOL :)

And finally, I would like to thank you ALL for reading, because it makes writing more worthwhile.