Meet the Family

We are Team G. Our family is not story-book perfect (those families are only in the movies, or on the Prairie)

We wrestle, we argue, we whinge with the best of them... but we are determined that good times outweigh the bad 10-1; that our kids grow up secure, knowing they are loved; that they have plenty of great memories of fun and silliness to bring a warm fuzzy glow when they look back on their childhood.

We're working on it. In the meantime we like to crazy-dance in the kitchen, dress up at the slightest provocation and have takeaways and DVDs on a Friday night cosied up in our PJ's...

Names have been changed to protect the guilty, so meet Dash (7), Miss Fab (5), Scrag (2) and Mr G (their daddy).

T H E   K I D S . . .

Dash: Seven years old, a mad keen football player; green eyed, freckle-faced funny guy.

Dash is best known for his gazillion soccer goals and his ability to name all the teams and players in the English Premier League. He is a bit of a clown, a bit sensitive, a bit silly.

He can be very charming with young ladies and has been known to waltz and pour tea. Dash is a fussy eater who would munch happily on junk food all day if I let him.

My favourite thing with Dash: Bedtime Snuggles and Chats after Dark

Miss Fab (a.k.a. Princess): Five and a half going-on-fifteen; Miss Fab is a big personality. You can hear her coming long before she comes into view.

She is a girl of extremes - blazing sunshine or thunderstorms - with not much in between. Miss Fab loves pretty clothes and lipgloss and trying new hairdos. She also loves swinging on the monkey-bars and turning cartwheels.

A girly girl who gives the boys a run for their money, Miss Fab is kindhearted, generous and eager to please. She is also a sucker for Sharpay Evans - so HSM is banned from our house until further notice.

My Favourite thing with Miss Fab: Long squishy cuddles, kissing her velvety cheeks and playing "I love you more..."

Scrag: Two years old, Scraggy is our baby. He is a bundle of joy, a character, a laughing charmer. Scrag loves choo-choos and cars.

His favourite thing is Thomas the Tank Engine. Scrag keeps us all laughing. He has twinkly eyes brimming with mischief and is a permanent ray of sunshine in our family.

All of us dote on him. He is sturdy and strong, tall for his age and full of mischief. his favourite words are "no!" and "mine!" - a typical two-year-old but not terrible at all.  (Click HERE for Scrag's Story)

My favourite thing with Scrag: Receiving his sloppy kisses and when he plonks himself on my knee for a cuddle... I breathe in his hair and kiss his sweet little cheeks and feel my heart about to burst with love.

T H E   H U B B Y . . .

Mr G: Tall, platinum and handsome, Mr G is my younger man (the platinum George-Clooney look is very appealing, but has only been in evidence since having kids!) 

Mr G is English, a Geordie from the North-East who emigrated to NZ in 1996. His strengths are: His generosity, his integrity, his kind heart and his sense of fun and adventure (among other things). His downside? A slight obsession with dust and paranoia about security. But such minor things in the face of all that greatness.

Mr G is legendary at Birthdays and Anniversaries. He spoils me rotten. We have been married for 10 years this year, and we probably love each other more now than we did then.

Favourite thing with Mr G: Drinking wine on the couch watching re-runs of British comedy series like Auf Wiedersehn Pet and Benidorm. And being wrapped in his big tall strongess when I am scared. That's all you're getting - this is a family blog!

Some Family Adventures:

• Our UK Holiday
• Clown Camping
• Going Commando
• Lessons from a Theme Park

T H E   G R A N D P A R E N T S . . .

Nan & Grandad: My parents; they live in Palmerston North (which is too far away for my liking). Dad is a former-pastor, currently a postman. He had a heart attack last year which gave us all a scare.

Mum is one of my best friends. We ring each other up and chat regularly. It's mum who taught me to make Christmas and birthdays special. Me and my sister Kris are working on getting them to move north to Auckland! Watch this space. My Favourite thing with mum and dad: having them here!

Grandma (a.k.a. Winnie): Mr G's mum, who lives in Newcastle, England. Much too far away for all our liking. You could go a long way to find a better mother-in-law than mine! She is young hip and cool.

She loves my kids to bits and seeing as Mr G is her only child, my little-uns get the benefit of Grandma's undivided attention and devotion. Grandma comes to visit us about once a year. The kids just love her to bits (and so do we).

Favourite thing about Grandma: Having such a lovely mother-in-law!

Brown Grandad: Mr G's dad, now deceased. Originally from Scotland, Brown Grandad re-married and emigrated to NZ when Mr G was little. If he hadn't been here, Mr G would never have come to this fair land, we would never have met and this blog would have never been written. ("Brown Grandad" is how the kids distinguished between my dad and Mr G's dad; it's their name for him)

We miss Brown Grandad; he died of asbestosis (cancer) in December 2008. We will never forget him. xx

T H E   O T H E R   R E L L I E S . . .



My Siblings: I have two younger sisters and a brother, spread all over.

Aunty Kris, Uncle Craig and cousin Joel live in Auckland. Meet them here

Aunty Hayley, Uncle Gav and eight cousins live down south. We saw them here.

Uncle John, Aunty Judith and cousins Hector & Hannah live in Spain, near Madrid. They came to visit us here.

Mr G's Sisters...

Aunty Sarah & Uncle Buzz; Aunty Anna & Uncle Mark live in Whangarei. Sarah and Anna are Mr G's sisters from Brown Grandad's second marriage. We went to Anna's wedding here...

The British Rellies: 
There are lovely aunties, uncles and cousins untold in Newcastle, all bursting with love for our kidlets. Read about how we met them all here.

Great-Grandad John: Lives in Newcastle, England (Grandma's dad). He is in his eighties and still going strong. The kids loved meeting him when we visited the UK in 2009.

Great-Grandad Jack: Lives in Greenock, Scotland (Brown Grandad's father). He is also in his eighties and still going strong. We also met him in 2009 when we visited :)


That's our bunch. We are loud. We are messy. We sometimes scrap and shout. But we love each other. Our motto (created by Mr G) is: "Peace! Unity! Love! and Having Fun!" Imagine this to a rap beat and all of us dancing around chanting this...

"PEACE! UNITY! LOOOOOOVE! AND HAVING FUUUN!"
That's our goal anyway :)