9 years have gone by....

... and I love you a thousand times more than the day I married you.



It was the best thing I ever did. You have made my life so rich, so happy and so complete. Happy 9th Anniversary sweetie.

*giggle*

Mop asked me this morning how many anniversaries do we (Daz and I) have. I explained about wedding anniversaries - then our "going out" anniversary. She looked confused, so I explained in simple terms, "It was when Daddy and Mummy became girlfriend and boy friend."

The eyes gave it away. The big blue parts of her eyes were sparkling, they were betraying the giggle that was being stiffled down. Her mouth formed into a smirk before exposing her teeth as her lips stretched into a huge grin.

I have never felt so old in all my life.
I teased her, I giggled and said girlishly "Mummy had a boyfriend"
She laughed and laughed.

Daz and I looked at each other and smiled. Yes, once upon a time we were young once. Before the days of bills, mortgages, children, marriage - were were young and carefree. We went to the movies, we went out for dinner, we went parking... :P

I guess to a 6 year old, 31 is ANCIENT!!

He sure can express himself #1

Today I had take EJ to the doctor to get some forms signed for receiving Carers Allowance. EJ has a phobia of doctors. He was really quite anxious about the whole visit, but I told him that the doctor wouldn't touch him - which was true.
So all day yesterday and all this morning he kept saying to me, "He won't touch me, he won't touch me." ... almost like a self calming mantra. No son, he won't touch you.
So we get to the Doctors, and our new doctor is a big tall African man with a warm wide smile, and sparkling fun eyes. He says hello to EJ - and EJ says "Don't you touch me!" The Doctor thankfully has an amazing sense of humour and laughed heartily. I settled EJ onto a chair in the office and gave him my PDA to play a game on. The doctor mostly read the forms and filled them out. Every now and then he would interrupt EJ to see if he could do something. EJ would stop playing and would do what the doctor said. Towards the end, EJ must have been getting sick of being interrupted, because he looked up from his game, smiled sweetly at the doctor and said "You are very rude!"
Again the doctor laughed loudly, and gave the boy some lollies. I however was feeling the heat rise to my cheeks, and wished that I asked for an assesment on tourettes as well! :)

We are getting somewhere!

I am so amazed at my son.

BEFORE THERAPY/DIAGNOSIS.
Me: E, you can't hit your sister. That was very unkind. You have hurt her!
E: *SCREAM* I DON'T WANT TO! I DON'T WANT TO! NO!! I DON'T WANT TO. *rant, rant and more ranting* - insert meltdown right here.

AFTER:
Me: E, you can't hit your sister. That was very unkind. You have hurt her!
E: *Looks at me, very upset - doesn't utter a word, then runs to his bedroom to calm himself down*

This is a miracle!!
He knows he's about to blow his top, he doesn't want to, so he goes to his room, sulks and sooks for a bit, calms down and then comes out.

He also said a COMPLETE sentence. The words were in the correct order. It was a long sentence - and he said it RIGHT!! That speech therapist is a genius!! He's getting it!!! :)

His kindy teachers have commented on his changes as well - he now initiates conversation, he listens, he asks appropriate questions. This is an area he has struggled in - conversation. He's getting it!! :) I've noticed this at home too.

It's so good to see all the effort being put into him actually working - and making him a happier little man!!

New lyrics in the spirit of Christmas

Daz came into the room chuckling and held out this piece of paper. Mop has been writing song books lately with old favourites, and sometimes made up songs. This time she was writing Christmas songs - and this is an old hit with kids - though with somewhat unusual lyrics. (Translation below)



"Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
Jingle all the way
On that farm
The easter ride
In the one thou
sooped slay"

HEY!

Ahhh... this girl is full of amusement for her parents lately!! This just adds to the joy we experience in having such a beautiful, clever and creative daughter - we get to laugh at the funny things she does.

She's so irresistably cute!!

A lesson on reproduction

Mop bought home her writing book along with a note from her teacher saying that she wanted to finish her story that she had started in class. Fair enough - so I send Mop on her way to finish it. She comes out half an hour later proudly with her story for me to read.
I start "Once upon a time there were two mated butterflies..."
Mated. What on earth is that?? Is that a breed that I don't know about?? I asked her, "Mop what are mated butterflies?"
And in a tone of voice that said uh.. DUH MUMMY, how come you don't know this, you are after all ancient... she begins to explain.
"It's when they get married and have babies."

Ohhh... THAT mating.

I had to bite my lips and cheeks as I read the rest of the story to not laugh at it and make her feel self-conscious. I want to take her seriously at all times... and laugh my head off when she isn't looking!!

All things great and small...

Tonight Milly showed such a deep compassionate side to her. While she was eating her dinner, she fell backwards off her little kindy chair. I went over to her and picked her up, comforting her. I picked up her chair and to my surprise I found underneath it, squished so it's insides were out but not completely dead - this little critter:



Now to me, this is one of my most despised insects. Cockroaches and these little ferals. EARWIGS. *shudder*

Anyway.. back to my story. Milly had squashed this earwig who happened to be passing at the time of her falling off her chair. It's little legs were wiggling and I told Daz who was in the kitchen, what Milly's accident did. Milly stared down at the ground, horrified. "ANIMAL!" she cried "ANIMAL!!" she bent down close to it, "ANIMAL!" and she burst into tears. She must have known that it was hurt and she caused it. I pulled her into my arms and she wailed on my shoulder about the animal. I took her into the bathroom so Daz could dispose of the critter. "ANIMAL!!!" she kept crying as I washed her hands and face, and changed her clothes, put a new nappy on.... she was really upset about it.
I had to think of something!! "The earwig has gone now to play with it's Mummy and Daddy." Milly looked at me as if she didn't quite believe me. Thankfully Mop came in and backed up my story "I put it outside Milly, and it's gone to play." Milly went to inspect the scene of the accident, and saw that the earwig was truly gone. She cheered up and ran off to play.

What a precious little girl with such a compassionate spirit. To me it was just an earwig - but to her every life is important, all things great and small.

It's over!

I'm excited! Uni for 2009 is over!! SUMMER HOLIDAYS! WOOOOO!!

Don't get me wrong, I love uni. but I am totally over my subject and the feeling of that research assignment looming over me. I have researched, I have written, I have submitted it and now I am free for 4 glorious months!

I have plans. Plans that involve long tender moments with my sewing machine. Plans that involve Christmas preparations! I'm looking forward to the break. It will refresh me and I know by February 2010 I am going to be well and truly enthused about the next subject and ready to go!

The only thought I have now of uni, is what subject shall I take next year? :)

Kissing me softly..

Today I have been working on an assignment, pretty much non-stop. My little fairy girl approached about 2 hours in, and stood beside me. I took my eyes off the screen and looked down at her. Today she is running around in a nappy - it's too hot for clothes. Her big blue eyes stared into mine, and she lifted her arms up. I scooped her up and sat her on my lap. She looked at my assignment as if she was reading it. I kissed her shoulder - how soft her skin is!! I rubbed my face into her tummy, inhaling her baby smell and loving the feel of her soft skin on my face. I kissed her chubby cheeks. I nuzzled her neck. She pulled back and looked into my eyes, the twinkle in her eyes coming before her smile. "Silly Mummy!" she said almost affectionately. She slid off my legs and ran off to play with her big brother.

*Sigh*

She's growing so fast.
I miss her.
One day she isn't going to let me kiss her tummy and cheeks and rub my face into her. One day she will shove me away impatiently and exclaim she is too old for this. But for now, I am going to enjoy her baby skin and her little chuckles when I nuzzle her cheeks and tummy. Then I'll have to wait for Grandchildren to do it again!

So this is Christmas.

Blog This challenge # 24

Little Skipper pressed her hands together with glee as she sat in her bed, waiting for Mummy to come and say goodnight. It was Christmas Day tomorrow and the excitement and anticipation of the day was almost too much for her. She felt like her whole body would burst because it could not contain the thrill. She felt her toes tingling and she wiggled her legs, trying to shake out the restlessness. Her throat constricted as she swallowed a squeal that rose to let the world know that she was excited! Mummy came in and sat on her bed and stroked her head gently, trying to calm her, trying to relax her.




“Goodnight sweetheart” she whispered above Skipper’s head as her lips pressed her cheeks. Little Skipper nestled into the soft mattress of her grandparent’s spare bed and pulled the sheet up to her chin. It was too hot to sleep with anything else on. The window’s didn’t open and the little miner’s cottage room was stuffy and warm.
Mummy gave Skipper another kiss and rose to leave. Skipper moved her legs over to where the warmth of her mother remained. The sliding door that separated the bedroom from the living area was left ajar to minimise the noise of Christmas preparations. Skipper stared at the ceiling while hearing the wrapping paper being cut, the sounds of pleasant chatter, the smell of Mum’s cheese straws that Pops particularly liked at Christmas. She turned over in her bed and peeked at her brothers; both were fast asleep and snoring gently. Skipper threw back the sheet and tiptoed to the sliding door and peeked out of the gap with one eye. Her green eyes were wide and absorbing as she watched her family prepare for the day ahead.




Nanna was busy stuffing each stocking of all the grandchildren, regardless if they were going to be there tomorrow or not. Mum was arranging gifts all around the Christmas tree, stacking them up carefully. I could see the lights on Nanna’s Christmas tree blinking, reflecting their lights off the vintage ornaments. Pops was sitting in his chair, legs curled up, eating peanuts and watching the goings on quietly as he did.




Skipper crept back to bed; all was as it should be. Tomorrow would be a wonderful day. Tomorrow morning she would be taken to church for a Christmas Day service where they would celebrate the birth of Jesus. Then, after what would seem like an eternity, they would go home and Nanna would begin making the Christmas lunch. Crispy roasted potatoes, roast chicken and of course the Christmas pudding! Nanna would set out more nibblies on different tables around the living area. Nuts, lollies, toffees, Christmas mints would all be in silver or glass bowls. Skipper looked forward to eating Mum’s cheese straws the best. They would melt in your mouth and so morish!




The rest of the family would trickle in from the city during the morning. Aunts, Uncles, cousins – bringing with them cheer, excitement and an energy that would warm Skipper’s heart. They would all sit down together at Nanna and Pop’s large dining table, laughing, chattering, smiling at one another, making jokes and teasing one another.
After lunch, when the lunch was eaten and the dishes all done, Nanna would sit by the fire, and read the Christmas story from the bible. Skipper would be taken back into an ancient world she could barely fathom. How on earth did Mary have a baby without a doctor to cut it out of her stomach? She would will her Nanna to hurry up, because it was nearly 1:30 and she hadn’t opened one present yet!! Then one by one, Nanna would be “Mother Christmas” and would give the grandchildren their stockings. Skipper would sit at her Mummy’s feet as she eagerly pulled out the contents of her stocking. What treasures would be in there this year? A torch, a doll, chocolate coins, soap, hankies? Then after the stockings were well and truly emptied, Nanna would hand out the other presents, making sure everyone had a present to open. These were the bigger gifts and this was the time that Skipper would get the gifts her parents had bought her.




Skipper flipped over onto her stomach and felt sleep claim her tired little mind, and she drifted to sleep with a smile on her face; Christmas Day was Skipper’s favourite day in the whole year!


22 years later, Skipper opened her eyes sleepily and tried to focus on the clock. 6:10am. Hmmm... she thought sleepily, why am I awake at this hour? Then it hit her, and her eyes widened with excitement. It was Christmas day!! She looked over at her sleeping husband who looked peaceful and quiet. She pressed her lips onto his shoulder gently and he stirred slightly. “It’s Christmas” she whispered. “Mmmm..” was his reply and he turned over to go back to sleep. Skipper stared at his back for a moment then decided that she would get up. The only day in the whole year that she is up and at em’ before 7am! She peeled back the quilt and crept out of bed, closing the door quietly behind her.




The house was quiet and cool – she crept into her children’s bedrooms to see if they were awake. Mop’s lashes rested on her cheeks and her breathing was slow and deep. Her thick hair was spread out over the pillow and she clutched her teddy. EJ’s face was planted into his pillow and he didn’t move a muscle. His hand dangled off the bed and twitched slightly. Milly was sleeping upside-down but deeply, her cheeks rosy, her breath sweet. No signs of life there, so Skipper went into the kitchen and began to mentally prepare herself for the day.




The kettle went on and Skipper began to prepare the special breakfast she had prepared for her family. Chocolate berry filled croissants, a summer fruit platter and an apple and strawberry juice.
Skipper double checked the menu and time plan she had made for the day. The ham was ready to go into the oven, with the little dish of glaze ready to coat it in. The vegetables she had chopped the night before were sitting in a big bowl of water, ready to roast for the roast vegetable salad.
The white plates with the silver rim were piled on the bench, ready to go onto the table after breakfast had been cleared. The new white table cloth was pressed and fresh from laundering. The new white and silver organza was ready to spread out over the top of the table cloth. Silver and white ornaments sat on a long platter with silver painted pinecones that had been rolled in opal glitter. The name place settings were silver letters with glitter and the names of her guests on them. S for Skipper. D for Daz. Her silver and clear rhinestone napkin rings twinkled in the early morning light. Each little silver gift box that had been packed with little goodies would replace the Christmas crackers this year and would sit on the plate, hopefully delighting all who sat at the table.




Her thoughts went back to when she was a little girl. How many of the traditions were long gone as she set her own family traditions for her own family unit. Morning church was now a thing of the past – her church didn’t have a Christmas service anymore. There was no way her kids could handle opening all their gifts in one afternoon – it had to be spread out of all of our sakes. Mop can’t physically bring herself to open a gift and toss it aside – she wants to examine it, look at it, read it, work out what to do with it, and if possible have a play with it. It’s her parents that have to hurry her along. Skipper smiled, as she drank her coffee.
She couldn’t wait for the family to wake up! There was so much fun to be had! The fun had really begun on the 23rd of December. That night is when the stocking are opened, to try and draw out the present opening. One of the gifts in the stocking is a tradition that Skipper has started for her children – a Christmas ornament for the tree. This means that when the kids leave home, they will have their own box of ornaments for their own tree.




The 24th of December is when we spend time with the in-laws and they can spend the evening enjoying the children and watching them opening their presents. Then first thing Christmas morning, before breakfast, the children would get their big present. This year Milly has a cubby house, EJ has a bike and Mop has a big box of Leggo. They would then get a little while to play with their gifts while the table is set and the croissants warmed.
After breakfast we then would make our way to the Christmas tree, one that is filled with memories and very special ornaments from our first year of marriage, our first child or from a special friend. Each ornament different in it’s own way. The lights would twinkle, but not flash as the air conditioner would move the tinsel slightly.
Then instead of the ordered one gift at a time as she did as a child, the kids will grab any gift and give it to the person that it belongs to. There is loud chatter, excitement, directions to keep their toys on their side of the room so they don’t get mixed up and lots of wrapping paper!


After the presents are opened, no doubt Skipper will look at the clock, and totally flip out because she is starting to prepare the lunch 45 minutes later than she had intended. The kids would enjoy their gifts, and Daz will be in charge of putting batteries in and constructing the toys. Skipper would then spend the rest of the morning preparing lunch.
Laid out on the coffee table would be the rocky road that Skipper makes annually, fruit mince slice and Mum’s cheese straws – in loving memory of her dear Pops that passed away Christmas time 7 years ago.
Christmas carols would be piped through from a Christmas radio station online and all of Skipper’s favourites would be playing gently. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Oh Holy Night, I’ll be home for Christmas and many more. Sometimes, much to everyone’s amusement, a death metal version of Silent Night would play. Christmas isn’t Christmas without at least one dodgy death metal style Christmas carol!
At noon, her guests will arrive. This year it will be Granny and Grandad and Mum and Dad. Skipper’s brothers are doing other things this year, so it will be a small and intimate affair. They would all sit at Skipper’s long table – the same long table that used to be in Nanna and Pop’s cottage many years ago. The candles would flicker, the decorations on the table will glisten, and the food would be demolished off in no time. Skipper’s Dad will overeat – he loves her cooking and tends to eat it even if he is full.
After lunch, the dishes are left and the family will all gather around the Christmas tree once again to exchange gifts. By now the kids will be totally over opening presents, thankfully Skipper’s family are understanding and don’t take it personally.
Then Skipper is able to kick back and relax and watch her kids enjoy their Christmas presents and the company of her guests. Mum can you open this? Mum can you help me with this? Mum how does this work? Mum.. Mum.. MUM!!

So this is Christmas...
Skipper smiled softly as she placed her empty cup on the sink. It’s still her most favourite day of the whole year!

Weekend in Stansbury

This weekend we had an amazing time with friends of ours, camping at Stansbury. We arrived on early Friday evening - our friends had arrived earlier and were all set up already. The kids were thrilled to see each other and were off in no time riding around the park as if they owned the place. They dissappeared off to the playground, leaving us to set up in peace.
We ate dinner then took a walk down to the beach after dark. The water was warm and delicious!
The next day we pretty much vegged. We hung out in the campsite, took the kids to the beach, went to some beachside markets - the girls got a face paint while I got myself a bargain: check it out - $8!!


Daz and T-man went fishing and did some manly bonding. Bought back a squid, which Daz seasoned delightfully, and T-man cooked up perfectly. Yummm!! I hung out with R and we watched the kids pretty much run themselves ragged all afternoon! After an unfortunate accident with my embroidery cottons (E accidently knocked them all out of the box) we took the kids down to the beach to have their final swim and play, then put them to bed.

Once the kids were down and settled, the adults had a magnificent feast of roast beef and veggies, choc caramel bavarian, and of course, our tradition, a cheese platter. I was very full after that. We all gasbagged, laughed and had an amazing time. Poor R seemed to be eternally nearly choking on her coke or snorting it out of her nose in fits of laughter!

On Sunday we packed up and headed to Port Vincent and I took a few photos of the kids for the Christmas cards for this year. After the shoot, we had to fly home.

We had an amazing weekend and it was so relaxing. I have to get my head out of the fuzz and into my study - I have an essay due on Friday!!! :o!!!

Here is a sample of the photos I took to use for Christmas cards - I'll put more up on my craft blog later on if you want a squizzy.

Early memories

I originally decided that blogging was a way I was going to reach out to my children if something ever happened to me. Daz knows that if I die, this blog is to be printed, bound and given to each of my kids, so that they would know what I was like with them, when they were little, and the little stories that Mum's store away for future telling. I know this sounds morbid, but this is "just in case".

So this story is part of that purpose.

Today I want to share with you my earliest memories. I remember living in my Nanna and Pop's house. This was around the age of 2 - same age as Milly-moo. I remember the purple bedroom that was mine and Mum's. Purple walls, purple quilt cover - not bright purple, a lovely soft lilac-purple. I remember sitting on the itchy couches that made me feel like I had prickles in my legs. I remember the nasty dog that bit me all the time - horrid little chihuahua - need I say more? I remember the huge backyard! I remember walking around underneath some shade house with Pops looking at potted plants. I remember Nanna's legs in the kitchen, she wore skirts alot. I vaguely remember floral flowing skirts.



I liked pink. I've always liked pink. I always will!
I liked reading, playing with my dolls, making cubby houses and having tea-parties. In fact there is a photo of my Mum, sick as a dog being pregnant with Pete, with me in a cubby house having a tea-party with me. Talk about being a devoted Mum!

I remember living in our very first house - when Dad joined our family. I remember the cubby house Dad made me out of wood and railway sleepers. I remember the fruit trees that were EVERYWHERE in that place. I remember the sandpit sitting underneath a nectarine tree. I remember throwing stones at the fence to make the dogs next door bark. I remember Dad playing in the paddling pool with me. I remember sitting in the bath, while Mum watched me play. I remember being swallowed up in big red fluffy bath towels and dried off. I remember telling Mum that I was going to pour water into the Tupperware cup until it reached the roof. I remember my first lesson in gravity happened that day while I was in the bath. I remember being scared of the black part of the toilet bowl. Not sure what it was to this day, but I hated it and I hated sitting down on it. I think I used to wee on the toilet mat because I didn't want to sit on the toilet where the black thing was. I remember when my first brother was born and Granny came to stay with me. I remember she gave me Tiffy - a brown dog/rabbit looking thing that became my special soft toy. Tiffy slept with me every night until I married.

I remember Dad laying in bed with me reading to me in all kinds of accents and funny voices. I remember Mum standing in the doorway laughing until she was crying. I remember Dad would oblige when I would say "Read it backwards Daddy!" Not only would he read it backwards, he would read every single word backwards. "emit a nopu ecno" It sounded like a bizzare language, which I found hillarious! Mum would request American accents, Irish accents, Scaaawtish accents... and Dad would do it, and the stories took on a whole different level of hillarity!



I remember the time that Mum opened a tin of corn and it has spoiled and the smell!! YUCK! I didn't eat corn for 20 years after that without complaint! I remember my Aunty Janet telling me if I stepped on a crack a monster would come out and eat me. Yeah thanks for that.. I didn't step on cracks for ages!! I remember Dad helping me learn to ride a bike. It was yellow and very little. It ended up being my brother's first bike as well.



Lots of memories. But these are just some of them. Some of who and what I was when I was a little girl.

A story

Once upon a time there was a Mummy of 3 children. This Mummy felt like she often asked her children to do the same thing, over and over. One of her instructions to her eldest child was "Don't leave the chair in the kitchen. Put it away when you have finished with it."
This Mummy didn't think it was too unreasonable, considering that she had tripped over this chair numerous times. But the eldest continued to leave their chair in the kitchen.
One day while Mummy was doing homework with the eldest, she decided to go check on the youngest who had gone very quiet. She was greeted by this greasy faced little girl:



The Mummy's eyes moved to this...



... then she gulped and peeped into the margerine container and was horrified to find this:



This Mummy's stomach lurched at the thought of how much grease and oil would be in her little one's tummy. So in true Aesop style she performed an emergency stomach pump and threw her eldest over the bridge to be eaten by trolls....

.. I'm kidding. She laughed her head off and grabbed the camera quick smart so she could document this for future opportunities to embarass.

Ahh he's a classic!

I'm laughing.

That boy of mine is hillarious!!

Ok that boy of ours... is that better dear heart?

EJ was told it was time to feed the dog. We hear the gentle thumps of feet running on the tiles at full speed. He decided to hit the breaks a bit too late, he fell down, and kept sliding along the tiles - true baseball style. He came to a halt - then he said in true Skipper and Daz dryness/sarcasm...

"SMOOOOOTH!"

:)

Ahhh he's a funny boy!

Etsy Spree.

Last week I joined up with BLOG THIS which is an Aussie blogging community. Every few weeks they come up with challenges to blog. This challenge was: you have $200 to spend at Etsy - what would you spend it on?

So here is my picks.

This wreath - my Christmas colors are blue and silver, and I think this would look so lovely hanging on my front door.



This apron - it's so me!! I love aprons! I love pink! I love THIS apron!


This would look amazing on my craft room wall - something to signify that it's a place designated for creativity!



And finally this clock for my bedroom - which I am slowly converting to a romantic/shabby chic look.



Though Daz may go mental at the "TICK TICK TICK" - but I still think it looks lovely - and it's MY spending spree, so I can spend it on whatever I like!! :)

This all up comes to just under $200. That was a pretty painless shopping spree. I wonder when they will deliver?? :)

An end of an era.

Almost 13 years ago I joined our church. A few years later I married and he called my church home as well. A few years later again, childred were born - and were dedicated there. (Similar to christening for those who are unsure of the term) A decade of serving and ministering in some capacity. Today was our last service.

As of next week, we begin at another church for the greater benefit of this family. It was sad, but I know we have made the right decision.

It depends how you look at it..

Today I had a rather interesting insight into EJ.

His speech therapist has suggested that we try and teach EJ the concept of "Who". She thought "who says" would be a good game for him to play in the car.

So I put my edumakation hat on and ask E brightly "EJ, who says 'meow'"?
There was silence.. then a "WHAT are you talking about?"
"Who says meow?"
"What are you talking about?? YOU said it!"
"No EJ, WHO says meow?"
"YOU DID!" all said in a tone of voice of "DUH MUM!"
I thought... hmm... this isn't working. So I said "Ally says meow. Charli says woof. Who says woof?"
EJ sounded exasperated, "What are you TALKING about? WHY are you saying Woof?"
I tried one more....
"EJ who says oink?"
A little voice pipes up from behind me "PIG!" says 22 month old Milly.

I laughed and gave up. I'll try again another day.


EJ sees life so differently - I can't wait to see how this develops in him.

Tuggin the heart strings.

EJ has developed seperation anxiety. He cries and hangs onto me for dear life whenever I am about to leave him. No matter who with. Even my Mum, whom he adores!! Yesterday when I was leaving him at kindy, he clung to me, "Don't leave me! Don't leave me Mummy!" I hugged him, cuddled him, reassured him that I was coming back, showed him on the clock when that was going to happen, kissed him - and then allowed the teacher to peel him off me while I left.
"MUMMY! MUUUUUUUMMMMY" he screamed after me and tears formed in my eyes as I walked away from him and out of the door. I tried my best to hide how upset I was from the teacher and receptionist and swallowed that huge lump and blinked back my tears. I let them fall when I left the building!! Then I had to suck it up because I didn't want Milly to see me crying!

20 minutes later, Mum and I were ordering a coffee from a cafe and my phone rang - it was the receptionist at the kindy - my heart started pounding - oh no! He didn't settle down, he's having a meltdown! He's crying and can't be consoled! And me, his evil mother walked away from him when he wanted me to stay with him. I ignored his pleas of "Don't leave me!" and walked on out the door.
"Mrs Skipper, we just wanted to let you know that EJ has settled down and he's really happy playing now."

You know that feeling of when you have been holding your breath under water for ages, and you come up for air? That's how I felt!

This morning, a repeat performance happened. He cried, he wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed his cheek against mine, "DON'T LEAVE ME!!!" I peeled his arms off him, told him I loved him, and that I WILL come back... then walked towards the door. I turned back... and saw his lovely teacher scoop him up into a cuddle and distracting him - his tears were slowing down. He was going to be just fine. THEN I waltzed out of the door.

What is it about these kids that makes it so hard for me to leave them?

Shattered...

.. me. I'm exhausted!! 4 hours sleep last night... and I am getting an average of 6 hours nowadays. I NEED 8 hours to functioned.

I'm not the only one who is shattered.

My lovely Ikea wall unit door is shattered. My darling son decided to test the theory of WHY we shouldn't swing on doors. My catch yell of the month has been "STOP SWINGING ON THE DOOR! YOU WILL BREAK IT!!"

So... I went to the loo, after promising the kids a DVD this arvo. I heard a pop, a tinkle and then screams from EJ and Milly. Milly came running to me - HOW she didn't not shred her feet I will never know. EJ was paralysed and just screaming "MUMMY! MUMMY!"

I walked into the meals area, a good 10 meters away from him, and I see a chunk of glass on the floor next to the table. What the??? I look up and see glass all over the tiles, spread from a massive pile near where EJ was standing. The glass was "popping" like popcorn, creating MORE of a mess and spread. Since when does glass "pop" like that???

So... I scooped up my barefooted baby and my screaming son, brushed them off as best as I could, checked for injuries, and shut them up in the bedroom. Then the clean up began. The glass spread through the house, because Mop came out to see what was going on, and trod in it (she had shoes on thank goodness!) I even found chunks in my bedroom from the stuff that had stuck to my shoes!! Clean up was difficult!! Unfortunately my HUGE pile of clean washing was sitting next to the wall unit, and was COVERED in glass. It was in my endeavour to shake the glass off the clothes that was my downfall - I hidden chunk sliced my finger open and very quickly blood was dripping from my finger and onto the floor. I managed to stop the bleeding, and pressed on. Thankfully Daz arrived home and he finished the clean up while I fed the kids and put them to bed.

Seriously, if any child swings on a door again, I will make them scrub my floors with a toothbrush every day of their natural lives.

Poor Moppet

Poor Mop is unwell.

For 5 days she has been quite flat, feverish and cries if you so much as look at her wrong. Today she complained her throat was really sore. I looked down the back to find pus and all manner of grossness. Then she vomitted... So I whipped her down to the doctors - and she has a throat infection. So she is on AB's - the first of the "season" - which is a miracle in itself! We have managed to escape the traditional winter viruses and colds - but she is more than making up for it now!

It was rather annoying at the doctors though - you don't make appointments, you go in and wait your turn. So we did. And we waited and waited. I was watching people come and go.... even the person who was before us in line at reception was long gone.... hmmm... 2 hours in I'd had it. They had said it would be an hour wait. But 2 hours???? I asked at reception how long it would be. She fumbled around looking for Mop's file. She muttered something about it being "lost" and she promptly put us back in the line - at the very front!! So within 10 seconds Mop was called. 30 seconds later we were in his office and he was checking her out. 2 minutes later we were sent on our way with a big fat perscription for a kick butt AB. 2 minutes..... 2 hour wait for a 2 minute look-see. Hmmm....

On the upside, I got to do some research for my assignment due in 4 weeks.

FINALLY! Spring!!!

Spring has finally decided to grace us with her presence. Beautiful 30 degree day here! I am sitting her, listening to birds chirping, dogs barking, neighbours chatting - the air is warm, balmy and still. There is a distinct promise of an approaching summer.

Bring it on baby!!

I LOVE summer...
- it's Christmas
- it's warm
- BBQ's
- Crisp, cold white wine.
- it's my birthday
- we can do more outdoors - and quit being cooped up inside all the time!
- summer clothes are lighter and just so much nicer than heavy horrid winter garb.
- swimming, iceblocks, icecream, salads, stone fruit, LONG school holidays
... and the list could go on.

If I could imagine Heaven, I reckon it would be one eternal summer!

Now I REALLY can't wait for summer..

This weekend we made a big purchase. A very big purchase. A swimming pool!!!

Part of EJ's therapy is swimming - but it makes it very hard to do that when the local pools are indoors in very large echoey buildings. I couldn't bear the thought of taking all three kids swimming there, and having to try and keep an eye on them all. I could wait for Daz to help me, then I am restricted as to what times I can take the kids. Outdoor pools are far and few between around here. But my biggest concern was, what if he starts melting down? What if he cracks it and I have to drag him out kicking and screaming. Not only will his banshee screams draw every pair of eyes in the place to us, but I may have to make my exit in just my bathing suit. Oh the HORROR! I am not very confident in my body - and the thought of anyone looking at me filled me with such panic.

We do have family members with pools, but I didn't want to take advantage of them and their swimming pools. So we looked into getting our own. It will be better for EJ to swim in his own environment anyway, and he can go in at any time and if he chucks a wobbly, we are 3 meters away from the house.

So Daz and I did a bit of shopping, Daz did a ring around, he did a stack of research and then today zipped into Clark Rubber and made the purchase. We are now proud owners of an above ground pool. We will put it in the ground in a few years time, when we can afford to. But for now, it's above. So over the next month or so, we will be starting to process of council approval, setting it up, fencing and whatnot.
We were quite lucky, the pool we bought was last season's stock - and we got an amazing deal. Mr Clark Rubber chucked in alot of stuff - I think Daz only had to buy 1 thing! - which was a measly chemical kit! :) We did quite well I think and I am stoked.

I am happy because now I can swim instead of walk for exercise. My fybromyalgia is finally not going to stop me or hinder me at least from exercising.

I am looking forward to lazy summer evenings, having a BBQ and then swimming all night. It's going to rock!!

Spring planting...

This week I've been busy planting out my freshly dug garden (thanks Daz!) So far I have three potato roots in, 5 strawberry plants, 10 tomato seedlings, basil and parsley. I have a selection of lettuces and chives coming. This weekend I plan to plant our brand new lemon tree and some shrubs to go in our front garden bed.

I love spring!

I look forward to Tomato soups, baked potatoes and fresh herbs in my cooking - not to mention strawberry sorbet - all from my own garden!

Ok I'm now officially beside myself....

As you know, I am absolutely nuts about Christmas. Completely and utterly nuts. I have this friend, Donna, who feeds this craziness with her own craziness, and between us both we are like 6 year olds bouncing on the bed, waiting for Santa.

I think it's infectious, because now Mop is starting to get excited! :) I'll have her be a Christmas nut like me before long!! :)

73 days to go!! :)

Today I will be making another stack of Christmas presents, along with table decor for my very posh meal that I will be making my family this year. My brothers and their families will be elsewhere this year, so it will be our crew, my parents and grandparents. A nice little intimate gathering - where I can really go crazy and make it super-dooper special.

As of 1st December, the online Christmas Carol radio station will be on! I'll be humming along to all my favourites - even though most of them sing about snow, reindeers and Santa - all three items that don't even factor into our Christmas. But oh well.. they are still fun.

In the garage, under lock and key, is where the kids Christmas presents are stashed. They never go in there, so can't see the big Makka Pakka (which Milly will want immediately if she saw it), the Wii games for Mop and the huge train set for EJ. Mop and Milly don't have their big gifts yet, we are still looking about for ideas. Over the next 2 months I am going to try and find stocking fillers that are appropriate for them. We always put new underwear in there - so that will be the easy part. Then it's small nick nacks, like hair ties, toothbrushes - I'm thinking a torch for EJ... Lots of thinking... lots of fun!! :)

Ahhh I love Christmas!!

Righto, I am off to paint my pine-cones I have collected for my centerpiece this year!

Boys!! ARRRGHH!!

Seriously, what is wrong with playing nicely and properly??? Would it kill him to actually sit down and play with his train set and cars on his cute road mat? Why does he have to fling it at the walls and on top of the cuboard. Would it kill him to have some imaginary boy game (whatever they play) with his beloved Teddy, instead of flinging him up on the hook of the curtain rod - or worse still try knock out the air conditioning vents? Would it kill him to ride his bike, play with the chalk, play with the dog, jump on the tramp, swing on the swings, climb the climbing frame, go down the slide - instead of throwing absolutely ANYTHING he can get his hands on over the fence - to the neighbours rather large dog??
Why do you have to rip up the grass, throw stones in the water feature at the fish, seek out and destroy everything you possibly can?

Why?? Because he is a boy. And he is my boy. And I love him to pieces. But geeze I am not looking forward to bothering our neighbours... YET AGAIN... and retrieve whatever it is he has thrown over this time.



Beware - he may look innocent... but it's all an act I can tell you!! :P

Lady in waiting..

May as well call myself that. LOL

EJ saw the Occ. Therapist today, and we are now back on the waiting list for actual treatment now. He should be seen around January, which is not too bad in the grand scheme of things.

Today I have been given a load of techniques to try to help him cope with sensory overload. So I will be implementing these immediately.

So waiting for the psychologist and OT now...

At least Speech Therapy is happening. :)

October Long Weekend

How perfect was our weekend? On Friday afternoon we packed up our caravan and headed to North Beach on the Yorke Peninsula. We had lots of lazy sunny days and lots of relaxing. Mop found herself a group of girls to run around with. She rode her bike around the caravan park and played on the play equipment with them. We barely saw her! That's ok, she had a wonderful time. EJ and Milly played on their bikes in front of the caravan, and Daz and I sometimes pulled up our seats and watched them, while sititng in the sunshine.
We caught up with friends on the Saturdays night and endured a Webber roast - I seriously have to buy one of those for Daz!! :) We played games, chatted and had a wonderful time.
I attempted the annual Christmas photo shoot on the beach, but didn't have as much luck as I would have hoped. You can see those photos on MY CRAFT BLOG

Daz managed to read, I did some scrapping and web design. (I am trying to revamp my domestic guru website.)

It was so relaxing and we really enjoyed ourselves!!

Next getaway is lined up for the second weekend in November. :) Looking forward to it very much

It's coming!!

The terrible twos I mean.

Milly - my placid, gentle, obliging little girl had a MASSIVE tanty in the shops today. Mummy won naturally, but my goodness she was stubborn and defiant!!

School Holidays - day one!

I had forgotten how much I love school holidays. I love the sounds of all three of my kids playing together. I love the sounds of Mop's imaginative games with her Polly Pockets. I love the dull roar of their advancement into the kitchen when it's food time. I love that Mop can do alot of the "mothering" for me and keeps both kids happy and entertained. Considering I have an extra child at home, I have less work!! I've managed to have a shower, clean out Milly's room to make it a bedroom (last lot of baby stuff left the house to the shed today *sob*) and do a big tidy up - without being pestered, disturbed or whinged at!! I love it!!

Today EJ had an appointment with the speech pathologist. She has been in consultation with the Occ Therapist and together they are sorting things out. EJ is still in the process of being asessed with his speech. They say his "content" is good - but his grammar isn't good. He has trouble putting things together correctly and doesn't understand alot of stuff, because he doesn't understand grammar. But they can work on that, so it's not exactly life threatening!! LOL
They are trying to get this assesment out of the way - then refer him on to a community health place that do speech therapy AND Occ therapy at the same place. The OT told the speechie that EJ did what they call "Sensory avoidance" - which means refused to touch or play with things that he didn't like. Interesting. I'll find out more about that on Wednesday when we see the OT.

We are starting to adjust to this change in churches. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to some, but it is a very big deal to us. We are still somewhat in a daze about it, but moving forward to make the necessary changes.

We are looking forward to this weekend - we are going to have a long weekend in one of our favourite areas on the Yorke Peninsula. I plan to do our Christmas card shoot (one of them) while we are there - if the weather is fine and lighting conditions are good. :) We are going to catch up with some friends for dinner and generally chillaxing with the kids. We are looking forward to some time away.

Mop's report card came on Friday and we are very proud of her acheivements. She has scored very high for all her academic areas - she just needs to work on her social areas. We are working on things as we can. Last term I told her that if she changed a certain behaviour, she could have any toy she liked at the end of term. Her teacher said in the report card that it had - so off we went to Target and she bought a Princess sort of Polly Pocket thing. Her teacher said she is producing high standard work and is a keen contributor to class discussions - in other words opionionated!! LOL. We are very proud of her and we love to see that she is doing so well and is very happy there.

EJ got a little report as well from his kindy. Apparently they have been focusing on coordination and physical activities. That's probably why EJ can suddenly throw and catch a ball!! :) He starts having full days at Kindy as of next term. Will be interesting to see how he goes with that.

Milly Moo got more than just a little sick with her teeth - she got that roseola thing. Poor love. I got her out of the bath and saw this rash which got progressively worse as the days went on. Yesterday it looked awful!! But then magically by 5pm it all had dissapeared and she is back to her happy self. Poor tike. I was horrified at first, thinking it was measles or something - but then I remembered that my other two had it around the 18 month mark as well - and it was pretty mild in the grand scheme of things. Isn't it funny how you automatically assume the worst?? When all goes quiet - I think... HMMM, whose being naughty? When Mop screams after falling off something, I automatically check for broken bones!! When does this paranoia and pessimistic outlook dissapear? I'm optimistic in most other areas. LOL

Well I better shoot off. This house won't tidy itself, and I better make the most of the quiet while Milly sleeps, and E and Mop play quietly at the other end of the house!

I know I shouldn't laugh....

.... but I can't help it!

Milly is a little drama queen. It's soooooo funny!! If she doesn't get her own way, she has the BEST sad face. She turns on the water works and.... WAAAAAHH!!! That works a treat for her soft ol Mum who starts crying too!!

Today Milly came up to me and kicked me - a stunt I think she learned from her rough tough big brother. I glared at her and told her very sternly that it was very naughty to kick. The expression on her face was CLASSIC!! Her lip dropped, her eyes went down to her feet, she started sniffing theatrically... now wait for it.... wait for it..... she squeezed her eyes shut tight and sniffed more. AND SHE SQUEEZED ONE SOLITARY TEAR from those big baby blues!!!

Keep it up babe, and you will get snapped up by Bold and the Beautiful! You will give Brooke a run for her money with that one tear!

I ignored it (though was killing myself laughing on the inside) and walked away from her. She followed me, sniffing loudly. I grabbed the camera to try and capture it - though she eased up at bit by the time I got it.



She's a funny little girl.

I also snapped this picture yesterday during naptime. She has been unwell with her eye-teeth coming through. Poor mite. But she loves this bunny, and is usually sleeping on top of her. Though today, Bunny's ear made the perfect eye mask.

Because a change...

... is as good as a holiday!!

What do you think of the new layout??

In honour of embracing change!

*Snort*

Sometimes EJ's speech problems can create little smirks and sniggers from yours truly.

Yesterday I was sewing a dolls quilt up. I had a doll laying next the sewing machine. E came over:
"What are you doing Mummy?"
"I'm making a doll blanket for this baby."
"Oh.... Mummy is making babies."

*Snort*

Tonight I wanted to finish before helping him do his buttons up. He protested loudly "But it will be October!!" Hmm... not that slow. LOL.

What a funny little dude he is.

Trying to grasp this week....

This last week has left us reeling. Decisions had to be made, adjustments had to be made - and it's a bit hard to get a handle on it all.

Last week I saw a few members of E's "team" who are helping him with his anxiety/sensory disorder. They have communicated to me that this will be a long term condition and that it's not going to go away or be treated in the next few months. He will get better, but slowly. It was also explained to me that his SPE is like the "world is screaming at him.". Poor kid.

This means that Daz and I have had to step back and look at our life and where we can make it easier for E and for ourselves. We've managed to avoid the shopping centres and other places with "drone". If we need to go somewhere like that together - then he stays with my Mum if she can have him, to save him from freaking out. My SIL has been picking my daughter up from school, because EVERY time we go there, it's such a trauma and he freaks out and then when it's time to leave, he's screaming and crying and carrying on.
Then there is church. We go every week - we are very involved there and we are often there from 9am - noon. And E can only stand it for so much, he can only stand listening to his Ipod and having his industrial earmuffs on for so long. Then usually about 2 hours in he starts whinging, crying, screaming, freaking out, hyperventilating. Then I would have to take him out, and sit with him trying to calm him down. The quieter place would eventually have it's desired effect, but that meant I was missing out on the teaching part of the service.

Now the quiet room I used for calming him down is being used for Sunday School - which is so good!! We definately need a place for the kids to go and learn in their own style, hang out with each other etc. Unfortuntaly E does not like the Sunday School teacher. He expressed this last week with a definate "I don't want to play with HER." - he has never expressed dislike of anyone before, and we don't take this lightly. He wouldn't even sit with ME in the sunday school room - he just wanted to leave. So we ended up sitting in the only place available... outside the toilets on a cold floor. The room was echoey, adding to E's distress and it was not a fun morning.

Usually by the end of the morning I am so irritated and tired and sick of trying to calm him down. My own irritation then contributes to his anxiety even more and we end up going home - him screaming and melting down.

This happens every week, without fail.

So this week we had to really evaluate this scenario and made the difficult choice of leaving our current church, and go to a place that had the facilities to cope with EJ. We resigned officially on Saturday night which was so hard. But first and foremost, we are parents, and what is best for our child is not going to a place that will cause anxiety. I have to protect him as best as I can until he is equipped to deal with this better.

Our new church, we have been going to every Sunday evening. They have a great Sunday school program, that EJ LOVES and speaks about all the time. They have a jumping castle, cars, DVD's, crafts, playground etc. They give the kids dinner and they are such great carers. E isn't exposed to adult "drone" - loud music and the lights going on and off. He is kept calm in a safe environment that he loves and we get to participate fully in the service.

Last night I had a chat to the co-ordinator of the junior Sunday School and asked about Sunday morning classes - it's very similar to the evening except they have lessons. Very suitable for EJ.

Even if Sunday School wasn't running, I have many quiet places I can take E to calm him down and make him feel safe and relaxed. And I don't miss out because they have TV links to the service, which means I can see what's going on and hear what's going on too!

Not only is this decision good for EJ, but Mop is going to have a ball too! She loves going to Sunday School there, and is very excited about going morning AND night! :) I am sure there are many positives about this move, but I have been going to my current church for almost 13 years running. All of my adult life. All of my married life. I feel like I am desserting my family. It feels horrid. But as I said, I am a parent first and foremost. I can't help it that he has a neurological disorder. I can only help him deal with it and make his world as pleasant as possible until he his ready and equipped to do it himself.

We will see the month out of our responsibilities - we will leave EJ at home where possible and then at the end of October we will officially leave, and start in our new church.

So that's what's happening. We are still in shock almost and feel like our world is reeling. But we will catch our footing and keep moving on - it will just take some time.

Another week and what have I got to show for it??

Well I'll tell you....

1. Milly is now in a Big Girl Princess bed... and she is not interested whatsoever in getting back into the cot. We've set it up in her room and we are gradually changing that room from the nursery into her own little space.

2. I've been working on a few creative projects, and have finally finished a project that has been a dream/idea for a few years. I put the words to "I love a sunburnt country" onto some of our photos we have taken of various places in Australia. I'm just about to send them off to get printed. I'm really happy with how they look. I want to hang them around our meals area as a conversational piece... not that we are lacking in conversation!!!

3. EJ has seen a speech pathologist AND the Occupational therapist and he coped really well there. They both had student helpers from various uni's and they played with him and made his experience fun and exciting for him. At least getting into the room isn't going to be so terrifying for him anymore. Especially if he knows that playdoh and sand tables are in the rooms!!

4. I've been spring cleaning. It's always a good feeling to get rid of the winter grime and throw open doors and windows and embrace the spring.

5. I got 96% on my test!! I have another one on Friday - I better knuckle down and study!! :)

6. Father's day was lovely. We did most of our celebrations the day before because Sunday is insane for us. We hung out with my family for a lunch and just relaxed. Daz got spoiled rotten with lots of gifts from the kids and I. He's now the yummy smelling man wearng Joop. :) Mmmmmmm!!!

That's it!! Not bad eh??

It's all happening!!

Hi peoples!!

A few days ago I got a call from a Speech therapist, booking Elijah in to see them. I am very happy about that!! So next week he sees the speechie AND the occupational therapist. I just hope this is the beginning of the end.

So what's been happening in this household?

Hmmm not much.

Milly is talking more and more. She says things relatively clearly, and soooo cutely! She can string 2 or 3 words together and is really quite a clever little cookie. She is growing up so fast!! It's almost time for her to start transitioning into a big girl bed. I've been collecting cute sheet sets and a quilt cover in preparation for the big moment.

EJ is EJ - he's happy enough roaming about the backyard, collecting caterpillars and picking sour sobs. He's getting better in a few areas - for example he can get dressed in the morning without chucking a huge fit. He knows he can do it and he gets on with it. It certainly makes it easier in the mornings. He also has stopped carrying on at dinner time. He sits, he eats and doesn't chuck a fit.
Last week, his school was featured on the news. The preschool kids were ushered onto the oval to go see the helicopter land and see the news people. EJ saw it coming as he was walking over and stopped dead in his tracks. Fear paralysing him because he thought he would have to get on the thing!! His teacher saw him starting to crack up, so she grabbed him and was able to comfort him, hold his ears so it didn't hurt them (he has very sensetive ears) and when he was calm enough, he was allowed to touch the helicopter. :) Nice work teacher!!
When he came out of school that day he came running out of his class. "I saw a helicopter!! But I cried." LOL What a cute!!
Yesterday I experienced something for the first time. EJ was on my lap watching the emoticons on my MSN window. Then he turned around and said "I love you Mummy." Awwwww..... SOOOOO lovely!!! He doesn't DO love much. He will cuddle and kiss, but he doesn't say "I love you." - and that's cool. I don't want to pressure him into it. Usually I cuddle him and say "Do you love Mummy?" and he says yes... or no.. depends what kind of mood he is in. But this time he did it, on his own - spontaneously. :)

Mop is flying through the school year at a crazy pace. She is totally acing her lessons. She is flying through spelling, reading, maths and whatever else it is she is doing. She is getting 100% for all her tests. I'm so proud of her. And she TOTALLY loves school. Next week she has some music evening at the school that she will be going to. I can't go, because E would not cope with the crowd. So I'll get Daz to video it for me. :)
She is growing up to be such a sweet dear hearted girl. She has started getting very cuddly too lately. She isn't much of one to give out hugs and kisses outside of bedtime or needing comfort. I'm getting LOADS lately.
What's in this family's water??

Daz is working hard at work and at home on all sorts of stuff. Being on the church board keeps him busy, as well as designing a home finance program to handle home budgets. Father's Day is coming up and I'm looking forward to a little spoil.. ok a big one. It's going to be a crazy weekend, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Me... not much really worth talking about.
I have started spring cleaning. Getting everything very clean, rearranging where I can, redecorating where I can. I enjoy this time, it's like my motivation has woken up from hybernation and I feel like I can tackle any project that I come up with!!
Uni stuff is still keeping me very busy. I have a few results back from the assesments, overall I am pleased with it. I'm keeping my head above the 70% mark which is good. I am not over enthused about the topics at the moment. But that's cool. It will be all over soon. :) I can't wait to get into the real good psychological stuff... but must walk before I can run. :)

And on that note, must run off now.

Plodding along, singing a song...

Not really singing... not much anyway... and nothing you would want to hear. LOL

So, what's happening in the life of Skipper?

Absolutely nothing.

Aren't you glad you read now? LOL

Ok let me think of something to tell you...

Ummmm...

No one is dead. Except the caterpillars that are loved to death by the little ones, and then left on the pavement, with their guts everywhere. Nice... I think Milly needs to be taught to be gentle - instead of giving them the death grip.

No one is sick - tho Milly is a bit of a snot machine because she has her eye teeth coming.

No is hurt - tho last week Mop looked like I have been beating her. She fell out of bed - HONESTLY!! - and she had a massive swollen bruise on her cheek, and then a few days later smacked her head on a chair at Mum's and had a blue egg on her forehead. Just in time for school photos!!!

It's nearly spring and this time of year I get very itchy - itchy to start new projects, decorate and clean madly. Spring cleaning starts next week, so that will take some of the itch off. Does anyone else get a bit crazy in the first part of spring?? Please don't tell me I'm the only nutty one...

This week in pictures

Our cherry blossom tree is in full blossom, welcoming spring in and chasing away the winter chills.







Every Monday I bake with the EJ and Milly - and I think they like it!! Now Milly grabs her little chair everytime I walk into the kitchen!!!





No picture - but Mop's bottom front teeth are wobbly!! :) She's gonna look sooooo cute with gaps!

Still alive

Hi all!
Just letting you know that I am still alive. I've been really busy lately and haven't had a great deal to write about.

Uni is pretty intense this semester. The assesments are coming in thick and fast. I have something due every week, and so I have to spend alot of time reading and preparing for those.

I'm sewing up a storm ready to sell a stack of stuff. I need to finish alot of stuff up today.

I'm starting to get into the Christmas spirit - since I make alot of stuff, my Christmas season lasts for 4 months!! :) I've got lots of plans to make and create, so am getting excited.

I've got some fabric from the USA sitting here ready to chop up and quilt for my baby brother's first baby, and my best friend's second baby. Both such very dear little people and I can't wait to meet them. So I'll be madly working on that because both babies are due within a week of each other.

Mop is doing ok. She is loving school and has become very creative in the last few months. I went into her classroom to do some reading with the kids. I saw a group of them crowded around something on the table. I asked what they were doing - they moved aside to show me a box with a little scene on the inside and a book attatched to the box. The book was about the scene. I was amazed! "OH wow! Who made that???" They all pointed to MY daughter!! :) I was so proud!

EJ is EJ. He's getting better in some areas, but he is regressing something awful in others. Last week he was hanging onto the pole on the verandah, screaming because he didn't want to leave the house. He had a massive melt down at the school, so now of course he starts freaking out if I have to go do a school pick up. Thankfully I have my brother Pete and his wife to rely on and they are very understanding. Also I can drop him off at Mum's to go to the school. :) We have ways around things, but it's a pain. I am just eager for him to be seen and get him sorted out.
One good thing though, we have noticed his speech seems to be improving. This is good.

Milly is just adorable as usual. Smiling, laughing, talking heaps! She is saying short sentences now, usually having something to do with the moon. Obsessed she is with the moon. :) "Look! Moon! In the sky!"
We have purchased her a little bedroom set from Spotlight - a Disney Princess bed with a chair/desk and book shelves. Marked down to $150. This will buy us a bit more time to buy a big suite.
I'm going to buy some paint and paint the old toy box for her, and we will paint her room soon. When we get 5 minutes. She still is ok in her cot for now, and we will work on her room after we have done a few other big projects.

We pretty much have decided that Milly will be our last baby. EJ has high level needs, and I don't think I could cope with another little person to be responsible for. We are pretty 100% sure of it.. but we have decided to keep the baby stuff and not take permanent measures until that niggling little "but what it??" goes away. We have heaps of room in the roof to store it in.

Not much else to really talk about. Seriously, it's been crazy, but nothing worth mentioning.

Today is 27 degrees! I will be welcoming Spring with open arms!

... on a cold and frosty morning

This morning Daz and the kids got up and went outside to this:

One end of the street: - where that light is in the middle of the fog, that is a school. :)


The other end of the street:


Last night Daz and I went outside - silly me went out without shoes on - and we watched the fog descend onto our street. The orange glow of the street lights looked eerie and out of some sort of murder mystery movie!

Today it's been drizzling all day, it's cloudy, it's cold and that's cool.
Because this morning this appeared....





The first blossom on our Cherry Blossom Tree. The sign to our household that winter is drawing to a close. I will have to remember to take a photo of the tree in full blossom - it's so beautiful!

Breaking news...

I got a call today from the Occupational Therapist, asking if EJ and I can come in on Thursday.

THURSDAY!!!

It's a 9 month waiting list!!

I don't get it...

I was under the impression that we would get a call from them in 9 months time to see EJ, not in 3 days time!

I'm happy. This could mean that we won't have to pay for a private Occ Therapist. We were willing to, because we want EJ to get treatment and help fast.



... and another thing..
We are going away this weekend. The first time we've been away since our Brisbane trip. We need it desperately. We really need some family kick back and relax time. We are going to be hanging with Scot and Kathryn for dinner and games, then just chilling all day Saturday. I met Kathryn when I was 6 I think. We've been friends for a very long time. And it's cool to have a friend you can pick up where you left off. No maintenance. No demands. And she's a great laugh! Her hubby is pretty cool too. I wish we lived closer so we could hang out more. :)

Well I'm off to bed. It's late and I have school drop off tomorrow. Fingers crossed Mop gets alot of sleep tonight. She was in a vile mood today from being so tired - got a note home in her diary from her teacher commenting on her grumpyness. Eeek...

How embarrassing!

I just got a knock on the door by a neighbour - asking me what my plans were with the shed that's been leaning up against our fence for a year or more!! They walk past every day with the dog, and were wondering if they could have it.

Seriously.
We need to put that shed up.

Anyone got a spare 48 hours they could lend us?

I wish I was this creative!

I saw this over at Mel's blog and I just had to share it too...

I wish I had thought of this!! This is soooooo cool!!

Happy Happy Birthday Mop!!

I can't believe it!
She's 6 years old!!

From this cute little baby



to this stunning 6 year old.



Just looking at these photos makes me want to cry. Look at how grown up she is looking. Such long hair, long legs and maturing features. Look at her face. No hint of little girl anymore!!



She's pretty pleased about that. She likes being a "big girl".

We celebrated the day in this way...
The night before her actual birthday we gave Mop her presents. That way she wouldn't be distracted in getting ready for school and Daz would be able to see the present opening. She got from us a big craft box filled with crafty bits and pieces, a 1600 piece Lego set and a Littlest Pet Shop Digi Pet. My brother Pete and his family gave her a Pixle Chick game thing... not sure what it is exactly because Mop hasn't put it down! LOL
We went out for a birthday dinner and at last minute my other brother Steve and his family joined us. It was nice to catch up with them and just hang out. We met my parents back here after dinner for birthday cake and a chance for them to give Mop her presents.



Steve and Jaz gave Mop a nightee, a diary for secrets and a create a belt craft set thing. Mum and Dad gave her a Princess box filled with gel pens, jewellery, create a tote bag craft set and a My Little Pony DVD and story book. Oh and my favourite... which I can't WAIT to watch... Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!! One of my favourite movies growing up. Honest Truly I do!!!
Today we took Mop into Target to spend her birthday money and pocket money that she has been saving for ages, and walked out with a heap of Polly Pocket stuff. Then we headed over to Newton to check out a play cafe. Two words.... TOTALLY AWESOME!!! The kids were exhausted after that play - Mop has even fallen into bed for a nap. There are so many cool things to play on and it was really fun!! It actually was a Christmas present from Bec and Nick - and I drank my capaccino (totally spelt wrong I know!) and thought about Bec - since today is her birthday!

It's been a lovely lot of celebrations and I'm so proud of my girl.

Happy Birthday Mop. 6 years ago God gave you to us and we will always be greatful he gave us you. A feisty, strong, smart, beautiful, dark haired angel. We hope that we can shape you and help you grow even more over the next 6 years. After that you will be a teenager, and if we haven't done it by then, we are done for!! :)

Happy birthday Bec. I love you and miss you more than words can say. I really wish I could fly over on the weekend to visit and hang with you. One day it will happen... I just wish I could have spent your big 30 with you.

Righto... better get on with it. All three kids are napping... I shouldn't be fluffing about when I could have maximum productivity!!

Oh PS: I start Uni again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it!

Calming tool number one.

A great friend of mine whose son also has an anxiety disorder was telling me about how she uses an ipod for a calming tool. Daz and I found a MP3 player (same thing, different name! LOL) in Harvey Norman for $15. So we bought it to see if it would work. $15 - meh, not bad. If it didn't, then I would get it. No big deal.

We took EJ to the shops - THE most stressful place for him. We sat him in the trolley, headphones on while he listened to familiar music. I went to Target AND did a food shop in woolies. And I did not hear a PEEP out of EJ. Usually he is screaming the place down in 10 minutes. He didn't care that we went from shop to shop. He didn't care that he was in the trolley (which is a huge thing for him) and he didn't care what went on around him. He couldn't hear the hollow echoey sounds. All he could hear was his music. He was a very happy boy.

Yesterday in church, we bought them along. He usually starts twitching, and ticking and hyperventilating in church. I spend more time in the "Time in" spot, trying to calm him down than in the actual service. I am pleased to say the music worked a treat. The echoey sounds of the speaker were drowned out by his tunes and he sat mostly very quietly and I only had to take him out once. He wasn't hyperventilating or twitching at all.

Normally those two outings in a weekend would have absolutely sealed his fate as a nightmare for the next three days. He would be whingy, screamy, more prone to meltdowns, not compliant. This morning he's as happy as can be.

AND added to those two outings, we took him to the drive-ins to watch Ice Age 3. We all snuggled into the back of the terrecan under quilts and watched away. It was so awesome to not having him screaming that he wanted to go home. He sat so quietly the whole time.

To most this may not seem like much, but to me, being able to take this boy out of the house and into places he can't cope with - in one weekend - it's a miracle!

So thankyou Donna for the awesome idea! I don't know what I would do without you and your help. You are an ideas woman!

Results!

Yesterday was a big day!

I had a 2 hour appointment with a psychologist, who asked all manner of questions about EJ. It was hard, especially as I had to answer some pretty personal questions about myself and talk about EJ's birth in great detail. Turns out he isn't as unscathed as we thought.

Anyway, long story short, the verdict is this: EJ has some issues with self-soothing, which could be a result of his being unable to be held much as a newborn while he received care in the NICU. EJ has anxiety as well as well as some speech issues. We have been given a referall to a psychologist to help him with his anxiety, we have a referal to a speech pathologist to help him form his words better to communicate better, to eliminate that form of frustration. We also have a referal to a Occupational Therapist, because E's anxiety seems to be sensory based.

This is a good outcome... we are on waiting lists for the help that he needs. We just need to sit tight until that comes.

One good thing though is that EJ started freaking out in the psych's room - and she watched me calm him down multiple times. She said she had nothing to suggest for me, because I am already doing it and I am doing a really good job. Awwww... that's nice to know, because sometimes I feel like I am drowning and don't have a clue on what I am doing!!!

I would like to acknowledge some really great support I've had during this time: it's been tough on me emotionally and psychologically, and it's not over yet, but we are coming to the end, so it's all good.

Mum - thankyou so much! For watching E when I need to go places he won't like. Thankyou for your input, your suggestions on what to do with him, for letting me probe you to get some idea of what on earth is wrong with this kid!! Thankyou for watching the other two when I have appointments for him. I really do appreciate you.

Donna - thankyou so much for talking to me tirelessly about this whole process. Thankyou for sharing your own experiences and holding out that hope that everything is going to be ok. Thankyou for being such a positive light in this whole thing, and for giving me a shove in the right direction when I first thought that something just wasn't right with EJ. I appreciate your support and above all your friendship. You should open a shop!

And more results... I got my two assignments back. I got two HIGH DISTINCTIONS!!!!

*Skip does a little dance*

I'm so happy with that!!

I'm looking forward to the arrival of my next course. :) Not sure when that will be, but hopefully soon.

Sucked in!

Tonight I left EJ to eat his dinner while I got the girls out of the bath. I told Mop to pull out the plug. I handed her the towel and she dashed into her bedroom, wrapped in her pink towel, eager to get her warm PJ's on.

I got Milly out, and then a really loud sucking noise from the water going down the drain resonated through the house. I heard a chair scrape, and there appeared EJ, eyes wide, face panicked.

"WHERE'S MOP??"

He peered into the bathroom, "WHERE'S MOP????"

I said she was in her bedroom - EJ looked down the hall but couldn't see her. He looked back at me, his face was so anxious and I knew exactly what he was thinking. He thought his sister had been sucked into the bath drain. I could also tell he didn't believe me.

I called Mop's name. "Yes??" she yelled back.

Relief flooded this little boy's face. "Oh, she's in her room." - then he went back to his dinner.

I chuckled to myself, as I finished drying off Milly Moo. Funny boy! I love how he thinks. I love that he cared enough about his sister to be concerned that she had been sucked down the drain.

I see it!

Today we got out of the car after picking Mop up from school. I let Milly out of the car and let her toddle off to the front door. I was busy unloading Mop from the back of the car, making sure she had her bag and whatnot. I then notice that Milly has stopped dead in her tracks and was looking up at the sky.

"Moon!" she exclaimed "I see it!"

This was the first time she had seen the moon in the sky and not a picture in one of her books or on her roof with her light mobile thing.

She was so excited and filled with such awe and she continued to stare at it, her eyes wide. "I see it!" she kept saying.

Finally she dragged her eyes away and followed me into the house, an expression of the WOW factor still on her face. "Moon! Sky! I see it!"