Family Dramas

After watching very minimal TV over the last few years, I was out of the loop on all the drama's.  Trude suggested that I'd probably like Brothers & Sisters, so I figured with my few months off I'd watch the series from start to finish.  3 1/2 weeks ago I started series 1, and yesterday I finished the last episode of series 4.   There are 24 episodes per season, and I've watched all 4 - do the math.  That's a lot of hours.  I've gobbled up every episode decadently, and greedily wanted more.  I'm actually quite happy it's all over now though, you know you've become a little too addicted when you start dreaming about the characters.

I've spent many a night, curled up on the couch once the kids are in bed watching back-to back episodes about the Walker family - and loved it!  There is something very satisfying about watching an episode and knowing that the next one is right there waiting for you.  I have had some very late nights, forcing myself to go to bed around midnight, knowing that the kids (read: Xav!) will be up raring to go at 5.30am.  Duane's happy I've finished, as finally he can watch something else of a night.

I love the family dynamics of the show, and although I come from a family of 5 siblings and now it's not all like the "Walker's", I would still love a big, close family to banter with over the dinner table.  I want to be Nora and have all my grown up children around (including the husband, but minus his mistress!), guzzling wine and sharing secrets.  I know it's not real life, but how cool would it be!

So that's what I've been spending my spare time doing lately.  Now that's over, I've got a stack of books that I'm going to delve into and get back into some craft projects.

Anyway, tomorrow is the day I've been holding out for the "big talk."  After approaching the idea of throwing number 3 in the mix back here, Duane told me to just wait till the end of the year and we'd work it out then.  So, I've waited patiently and not mentioned it since, biding my time for the end of the year - and it's here tomorrow!  I've got it all worked out in my head, with reasons and comebacks for any of his questions.  I highly doubt he has changed his mind though, still happy and content with just the 2, but I'm ready to put my proposal forward and hope he says yes.  Wish me luck........

Christmas Eve 2010

The kids are tucked up in bed after a busy day of preparing for the big event tomorrow.  All the shopping was finished on Wednesday after a mammoth 9am-7.30pm (with a couple of hours break at home) shopping trip.  The morning was just me, tidying up the loose ends and grabbing some extra stocking stuffers.  The kids joined me in the afternoon so they could purchase their presents for each other and also for a present to put under the K-mart wishing tree.  The night ended with yummy burgers at Grill'd after a play in the park.

Today we baked, cooked and prepared all the food for our "cold meat & salad" picnic that we were planning tomorrow, weather pending.  We roasted chickens, cooked roast beef, made trifle, chocolate log, coleslaw, potato salad and real mayonnaise.  The kids were busy with zip lock bags of milk arrowroot biscuits and mallets.  Then they got all sticky and gooey as they made copious amounts of mis shappen truffles.

The last of our advent calender notes were opened tonight, with instructions to open 1 present each from under the tree - carefully chosen by me.  Surprise, surprise - everyone got a new pair of Pj's!  The kids were in matching Christmas patterned boxers and singlet, whilst Daddy got a stunning pair of red boxers and I got some spotty Pj pants and singlet.  After a bath we headed out in the rain to view Christmas lights from the shelter of the car, however one house was way too magical to miss and so we braved the rain to see it.  The kids were enthralled with all the trinkets and the amazing train set set up in the garage. 

Grace was upset as she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to fall asleep once she got home, she was too excited about tomorrow.  The

excitement must of made her sleepy though, as she fell asleep in the car on the way home.  Which left Xav all alone to ponder the big questions.  Duane and I were a little taken back when we heard "So, is Santa real or 'tend (his way of saying pretend)"  coming from our alert little 3 y/o.  Hoping that he won't need therapy for his parents lying to him, we answered "Of course He is real sweetie"

Once home, Grace was carried to bed and it was up to Xav to get everything ready for the special visitor.  The reindeer food that they had prepared at school was scattered throughout the front yard and a plate of truffles and biscuits was left out for the fat guy.

I love Christmas with the children.  It is so much more exciting and magical sharing with such innocence and belief. 

Merry Christmas xx

~~Santa has been!~~

The Wiggles

I've never really been into the 4 old skivvy wearing entertainers.  I mean, they've obviously got a knack with the kids, and seem to be making a squillon dollars out of dancing and singing their way around the world - but I guess I was turned off by the over saturation and excess merchandising that also comes along with the hype.  I'm not really into young kids/toddlers being head to toe billboards for their latest obsession and also the ethics of marketing to such a young age groups.  Anyway.

 We have an old Cd of theirs floating around the Ipod, and the kids often want it on for outside dancing concerts.  It's not bad and I may or may not have been caught singing about hot potatoes once or twice.  The kids do know who the wiggles are, thanks to being plastered all through the children's area of Dreamworld and I also did take them a few years back to a free concert they were doing at the theme park, which Grace enjoyed.  Xav however wanting to be fed the whole time, which was difficult in a "standing room only, squashed in like sardines" environment and also having to watch a barely 2 y/o. 

So, when Duane called me up to say that one of his work mates had won 4 tickets to the Wiggles and we were all going, there was apprehension mixed in with excitement.

I could think of a million reasons to pass on the tickets.  The Entertainment centre.  LOTS of children, possible screaming ones.  Driving to Brisbane in potentially bad weather. Watching a bunch of old men dancing around on stage whilst singing about their "Big ref car".  Not really my idea of fun.

But, I sucked it up cause the kids were excited and had concert fever after their own little foray into the world of drama last week.  I think they actually thought they would be one stage too.

We got the kids a Dvd out last week, so they could brush up on words and actions to all the songs.  They spent the week getting their "Hot Potato" and "Dr Knickerbocker's" down pat. 

Sunday came and as predicted the trip up was wet and somehow in the bags packing efforts, the critical element that would keep us dry for the long walk from the car to the entertainment centre was left on the kitchen bench.   So, it was a wet whinging run (me, whingeing), as we tried to dodge all the other smart people, who came prepared for the weather. 

Once inside I was overwhelmed with the amount of crap merchandise that was being spruiked.  It looked like the Wiggles had thrown up all through the lobby, with hoards of parents and kids pushing and jostling for the best chunks.  Finally, after getting through the crowds, we did a quick toilet stop (funny there wasn't a big line up for the toilets, but then I guess most of the ticket holders were still in nappies!) then found our seats. 

I sat there waiting for it to start, cause that would mean it would be closer to ending.  The kids were a little in awe of the amount of people pouring in and asking "When are they starting?"

Finally, after a big lead up and introduction to everyone else, the 4 skivvied dudes came out.  The kids & parents went wild and I have to admit I may have been caught up in the hype by now.

They really seem to be nice people, who genuinely connected with the audience.  The kids love them, and the Mums all seemed to have a special spot for Sam.  At one stage, all the Wiggles main people (the 4 guys, the dog, the dinosaur, the captain etc) went through the audience shaking hands and talking to the kids.  We were lucky enough to have Jeff (apparently the kids favourite now) and Sam (I may or may not think he is mildly attractive) come visit our aisle.

The rest of the concert was pretty good.  I couldn't believe how into it my kids were and they danced, sung, screamed and laughed the whole way. Watching them have so much fun and absolutely LOVE the experience, was worth it all.  Xav was so disappointed when it ended, he had is groove on and was ready to keep on partying.  They spent the car ride home talking about their favourite bits and asking "When can we go back?  It was so much fun" 

I'm inspired now to amp up the live theatre/concert visits and expose them to a wider variety.  There are some great kid friendly productions on at the GC arts centre over summer, this year it's Beauty & the Beast.  Grace will enjoy that, so I'll take her along.   Xav might not be as excited over that, so I'll find something equalling enthralling for him. 

Blog Housekeeping

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am changing to private over the next couple of days.  It's something that I meant to do ages ago, then I thought I had but once I checked I hadn't.  So, I think I have everyone that e-mailed me then, and they should have already received invites.  If you haven't, and still are interested in reading my boring, sporadic dribble, email me at dpenney@virginbroadband.com.au

Kirsten xx

Grace's 5th Birthday Party

Grace's 5th birthday party was always going to be big and hectic.  Being that next year she is starting Prep, I was encouraging of her inviting along her kindy friends that will be in her class next year.  She also had all her mothers group kids that she wanted to come along, plus all the family friends.  Add on to that siblings and it wasn't long before the amount of kids invited was 26!  Jen and I decided that seen as how they were inviting the same people (bar a few), and Grace and Cass's actual birthdays are a day apart, we'd kill 2 birthdays with 1 party - so to speak.

With this amount of people, there was no way I was having it at my house.  Jen and I spent one day a few weeks ago park hopping, trying to find the best location suitable for a variety of ages.  We found some nice ones near the beach, but they were either too close to the road or too big, which would have made it difficult for those with younger ones.  We did want to be close to water though, as typically on the girls birthdays it's hot, however this year has been unseasonally cold.  After much toing and froing, we decided on a lovely park and swimming area behind the Arts Centre. 

The day before the party was spent baking, preparing and organising.  We kept it quite simple, but knowing that we had 26 hungry kids and about 20 parents coming along, there needed to be plenty.  Grace had already decided on the menu, and we stuck fairly close to her requests.  There were egg and mayo sandwiches, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, vegetarian sausage rolls, plain chips, carrot and celery, lots of dips, all different cheeses, fruit sticks, crackers and the favourite - scones with jam and cream, all 150 of them!  Not one of the scones were left over either, a particular favourite of the fathers that brought their kids along!

We set the kids up making "bliss ball's" for the party bags, and they all had fun mixing, stirring and rolling.   The bags were made up with the bliss balls, stickers and some gold chocolate coins - very simple!

Grace and Cass had wanted some party games, but they were all forgotten about on the day.  The kids were all too busy swimming in the lake and playing at the park.  It was hectic, but all the kids were perfect and had a wonderful time.  Grace was a little upset in the car on the way home, as she had been practicing skipping and was looking forward to doing it with her friends.

A few months ago, Grace had asked for a Wizard of Oz party.  I couldn't work out how to do that, but I did keep the rainbow theme in the cake.  I'd spent the day before the party baking all 6 layers, the oven was going non-stop for 6 hours!!!  Each layer was coloured naturally, as I was trying to avoid the dreaded artificial food dye.  Red was done with raspberries, orange was turmeric and orange peel/juice, yellow was lemon peel and juice, green was kiwi fruit, blue was blueberries and purple was beetroot.  The outside was iced with cream cheese, lemon juice and pureed raspberries.  It was initially double this height, but that was a bit ridiculous, so I cut each layer in half and that is in my freezer for another occasion.  Grace was so happy with how it turned out, and told me it was delicious! 

Grace was spoilt completely with lots of beautiful, thoughtful presents.  She has lots of new summer clothes, some fantastic stories to read, lots of crafty activities and many more wonderful gifts. 

After most people had left, I set my good camera up and let the kids take some pics.  I was so amazed that they actually could get the shot in frame and focus (something their father still struggles with!)  Finally, I have some nice photos of me and the kids.

I don't normally like doing the kids parties on their actual birthday, it can make the day seem so hurried and too busy.  However, this year her birthday fell on a Saturday, so it turned out that way.  We had the party late in the afternoon so that we could spend some time together in the morning and to not rush the present handovers.  Grace woke up at 4am and asked if she could get up yet, she was so excited about turning 5!  She was a little disappointed that she still couldn't whistle though, she was under the impression that as soon as you turned 5 you could magically do it as her good friend Sairayah learnt to whistle the day she turned 5!  When we eventually got up, at a much decent hour, I gave her the present Nanny  had sent up.  She got a beautiful white and coral peasant top, some lip glosses and a hair brush and comb set.  She loved them all.  Grandma and Poppy came up later and gave her their present, which was a dress-up felt set and a hand-bag money box - both things that Grace had seen and loved on shopping trips.

 She had asked me a year or so ago for a dolly like the one she has up at her pre-school, she loved her long hair and dressing her up.  So, I borrowed her for a week and went to work making one similar.  It took a week of late nights and lots of re-doing, but eventually she was created.  I wanted to give her similar colours to Grace, so she has blue eyes, different shades of blonde hair and creamy skin tones.  The excited smile on her face as she unwrapped her was worth every stitch.  She loved her instantly.  A few hours later she whispered to me that she loves playing with the dolly like her at pre-school, but never gets a turn as there are so many other people that want to play with her.  She has named her "Marabella Lavinia Chandelier", after the doll in her favourite Fancy Nancy books.  Marabella has been beside her ever since, and often accompanies us to outings!

We all had a wonderful day celebrating 5 years of having the gorgeous Grace in our lives. 

Happy Birthday Grace!

Results are in....

Well, official results for this semester have been released and I'm pleasantly surprised!  I was fairly confidant after both exams that I'd managed a distinction, but imagine my shock when I instead got 2 whopping, big fat High Distinctions!!  Of all the marks I have received so far, I am by far most proud of the HD for A&P.  It's a very challenging subject with a 30% failure rate, and HD's are scored rarely.  The science subjects are the ones I feared the most when I started, considering my last attempt at anything sciencey was back in year 8.  I'm just so thrilled that I managed to understand it all and pleased that all my hard work has paid off. 

So with these new marks, my GPA is 6.83 - Woohoo!!  I've done my absolute best, so now it's just up to the Midwifery decision makers as to whether I get a place or not.

Once the results had been posted, I've become mildly addicted to looking and admiring my academic transcript.  From the beginning of this year, my motivation was just to pass, but now I'm determined to never just pass - even that lonely distinction bugs me! 

So, Taa-daa.....My transcript so far:

Unofficial Transcript

ACADEMIC RECORD

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Nursing

Semester 1 - 2010

Bachelor of Nursing

Academic Load : Full-Time

1971NRS Commun & Assessment in Nursing 10CP      High Distinction

1972NRS Perspect Nurs, Hlth, Cult, Soc 10CP            High Distinction

1973NRS Psychosocial Health Lifespan 10CP              High Distinction

1974MSC Anatomy and Physiology 1 10CP                 Distinction

Semester 2 - 2010

Bachelor of Nursing

Academic Load : Part-Time

1506NRS Life Science 1 for Midwives 10CP               High Distinction

1975MSC Anatomy and Physiology 2 10CP                High Distinction

Total Credit 60CP

Cumulative GPA 6.83

End of Transcript

Shakespeare to Schoolies - a clash of culture.

Yesterday I had a catch up at a wonderful park with 3 of my study friends from Uni.  These 3 women have definitely been the highlight of Uni for me and I really value their blossoming friendships.  Even though I've only known them for not even a year, it feels longer than that.  I think growing the friendship under the stress of assignments and exams has put our closeness at a deeper level. 

So, yesterday was spent with the children running around the park playing whilst we chatted and reminisced over the year that was.  We munched on fresh cherries and macadamia's, under much less intense circumstances than our recent study sessions.  It was lovely to talk about more than study, and really get to know how wonderful all these women are.  I'm so fortunate that I landed with such and awesome, strong and different group - and I'm actually really sad that I probably won't be joining them next year.

Margo, who undoubtedly is the most complex and awe-inspiring person I have ever met, invited us along to her Nieces play that night.  She warned us it was Shakespeare, and Tanya and I admitted we'd never been to a see any "Thou for art" plays before.  We were willing to give it a go though, with the promise that our 2 cultured friends would translate and fill in the gaps.

After arriving late and missing the start, the first half of the play was very confusing.  I'd missed vital information, added to that was all the elaborate language and my head was beginning to hurt.  Intermission I was filled in on what I'd missed, and then the second half made a lot more sense!  I was a bit nervous at the start, but in then end I really enjoyed it.  I'm even inspired to attempt to read some Shakespeare and acquaint myself with the beautiful language he used.  They have been having the plays in the park for the last few years, so I'll be definitely going along next year - but taking a rug, cheese platter and a few bottles of wine to really embrace the experience.

It finished about 10pm, so we figured we'd head out for coffee afterwards.  Problem was nothing close was open, so we all piled into the torago and headed into Broadbeach with the plan of stopping at Starbucks for an hour or so.

Well, the lure of a nice glass of wine trampled all over the coffee option, so we walked straight past Starbucks and into a restaurant with a comfortable couch, cushions and wine list.  2 bottles of Rose later, and conversations flowed.  Margo revealed a little more about herself, and gave us all a deeper look into her life.  She is amazing.  Karen (the young gorgeous one of the bunch!) was approached by a nice young fellow, so she spent the rest of the time getting to know him....really well.

The restaurant closed up, the nice young fellow was ditched, Margo and Tanya decided to take up smoking and we all declared the night was not ready to be over.  So, our next stop was Surfers.  This time of the year, is Schoolies up here, so probably not the best idea for us more "mature" women to head into the heart of teenager craziness.  The last time I was in the middle of that, was my Hen's night 10 years ago. That in itself is a story that I should tell...later.

I wasn't dressed or prepared to be bracing the Surfers nightclub - but none of us were, so we decided to not give a shit and just have a great time.  It was a lot of fun.  Karen the 23 y/o party animal was having a rip roaring time busting her moves on the dance floor.  Margo, who has only this past year come out of recluse and had NEVER been to Surfers was loving it. She has this amazing ability to just be who she is, and not care one little bit about what anyone thinks - such an admirable and wise trait. 

We stayed there till 2am, us oldies relatively sober and having a wonderful time in the midst of all the schoolies, who were obvious in there attempts at making fun of us.  We didn't care though, having to much fun to let it bother us.

On the walk back to the car, we all eagerly booked in another night.  I'm not sure if our spontaneous one will ever be matched though, but we will give it a go.  It was just one of those rare and special moments, with no expectations and no plans - just FUN.

Goodnight my sweet little Grace

My little 4 y/o is tucked up in bed, no doubt dreaming about all the fun things we have planned tomorrow. 

First there will be the full dress rehearsal for their concert and then the big party in the afternoon with all her favourite people. 

Of course the absolute highlight of the day will be my baby girl turning the big 5!  An amazing age, with many new things to happen in her 5th year.  I say it every year, but where does the time go? 

Sweet dreams beautiful Grace xx

A long time between posts

It's been a long time since I've had the time or energy to sit down and write a post. 

The last month has been consumed by study, revision, more study and minor freak outs!  It's the pointy end of the University year, and although I don't normally stress about exams/assessments, these ones I felt a little more pressure.  I need to do well in these last 2 courses, otherwise my chances of getting into Midwifery next year can be pretty much kissed goodbye.  Also, I have no real back-up plan for if I don't get in.  I know that I can keep going with nursing, but all my study friends (in nursing) will be going onto other subjects and I'd hate to be stuck doing the ones I missed this year, whilst they are all off doing others.  If it happens like that though, I'll suck it up and take it as one big message that that is the path I am destined to take.  Of course, that will be after the worlds biggest tanty and lots of tears.  I know I've done my absolute best, so I don't think there is anything else that I could have done to make my chances better.  So, now just the LONG wait till January.

The last few weeks, although busy, have been a lot of fun.  A few weeks ago I got to visit the Anatomy lab at the hospital.  I wasn't sure how I'd go with it, but figured the people, (cadavars) who we would be examining, really wanted to be there.  The visit was for anyone that wanted to revise anatomy before the big exam, and only about 50 of the possible 200 students actually turned up.  We had full access to 2 wet bodies and a complete room of embalmed specimens and bodies.  I'll admit the unveiling of the first wet body was a bit daunting, but after a while it's very clinical and my science brain (cause apparently I have one!!) turned on and I was more fascinated than anything.  I even gloved up and explored everything.  It's so amazing seeing how everything connects and tracking arteries/veins around the whole body.  We got to see cancer in different organs, a heart after an attack and a knee after it was replaced.  All very interesting and definitely helped pull all the last years study together.  My study buddies and I spent the next 2 hours investigating and exploring the human body and being blown away by how amazing it really is.  Seeing the fat scattered throughout also has re-inspired my healthy eating plan.

Even though I've neglected my family for the last few weeks, I've had a great time hanging out with our study group.  It's a wonderful mix of women, and we all help and motivate each other.  For the last 2 Thursday's, we have done yoga here which is just the most beautiful location - although a bit of a trek to get to.  It was a perfect start to our long, sometimes intense study days - a beautiful balance.  If I am fortunate enough to get into Midwifery, I'm really going to miss this group.  I know I'm also going to really miss going to lectures and tutorials, in comparison to Midwifery which is mainly going to be external.  It'll be easier for flexibility but much harder to learn online and from a text book.

Duane has been fantastic during all this.  Completely picking up my slack and trying to make things as easy as he can for me.  There is a little gap in his "clean" and my "clean", but I've just had to suck it up and ignore the dust bunnies flying around the floor.  Cleaning has actually been one thing I've been looking forward to.  I've decided to go through 1 room at a time and give it a complete spring clean and de-clutter.  I'm sick of all the stuff that we manage to accumulate.  The kids and I did the toy room yesterday which was probably a bad move.  My kids are bigger hoarders than me, and trying to make them part with anything was painful - even baby toys.  I managed to smuggle a few things away, but nearly everything was met with "But that's my favourite broken toy, ripped book, old drawing etc"  So I might have to leave the ditching days for when they aren't here!

My lovely Mother in law, Wendy, has really been awesome this last year.  She's spent so much time with the kids and had a fantastic time doing it.  They have had so many adventures together and spent lots of time crafting, cooking and playing.  The kids do have Grandma wrapped around their fingers though, requesting all sorts of things that they know wouldn't fly with Mum or Dad.  I'm just so grateful that I have such a wonderful and willing Mother in law who has helped us all out so much.

Anyway, so now is the long wait to results and offers.  I'm hoping that all my hard work and a pinch of luck will be enough to get me over the line and into Midwifery!

Grandma saves the day!

I've got exams in about 3 weeks, so my levels of procrastination are once again reaching an all time high.  I've spent the last week paper shuffling, photocopying, stapling and sorting - not studying.  I figured I'd cram the weeks worth of study into yesterday when I'd just have Xav and then today when both kids are at pre-school.

There were a few things I didn't factor into my schedule though - mainly everyone getting sick and a husband that was working from 5am-6pm both days.  Wonderful.

Duane had man-flu all last week, which means he runs to any tablet he can find to get the quick fix.  Problem was, that mixing his drugs left him in all over hives and on a course of steroids.  I did try to negotiate the steroids from him, but he wasn't sharing and wanted them all to himself.  I did find him scoffing them down and then launching into a million sit-ups - not really sure what he was trying to achieve there. 

Grace was next to succumb to the cold, and in true Gracie style through in a few vomits for good measure.  That girl can not get a whiff of any sickness without resorting to spewing.  It was just a damn cold, and yet she spent the night complaining of a sore throat and heaving into a bucket.  I got it next, however being the one with the highest tested pain threshold, it didn't bother me too much.  Xav, obviously with his mothers hardiness, also caught the cold but took it in his stride and didn't let it stop him at all.  He did end up with a lovely dose of conjunctivitis in both eyes, which have cleared up now.  I was contemplating asking Trude for some breast milk, but went to the Dr instead and got some drops.

So yesterday was spent amusing small children.  They are so good at playing by them self, but it's the constant interruptions for food etc that mess with my study flow.  They spent most of the day making a mess things.  I gave them the huge plastic tub of craft things and they let loose creating lots of interesting pieces of art.  They did spend a few hours in the afternoon watching a Dvd, but that allowed me to get a bit of school stuff done in peace, so I was happy.

Today lovely Grandma came up for the morning to keep them entertained and out of my hair.  They did all sorts of wonderful crafts; making a spider and some roll people.  I locked myself in the study and immersed myself in the world of nephrons, recessive genes and reproduction.

 

Thank goodness for Grandma!

Trip to the dentist.

I've been meaning for a while to book the kids in for a  dental check.  Mainly to get them used to it, but also to double check that their teeth brushing vigilance was not all in vain. 

Getting an email from the Uni to say that children could book in for a free (love it!) check-up, scale and clean was enough motivation for me to sign them up!  Ah, the perks of being a poor uni student.





Grace was quite excited about going and even decided herself that she'd go first to show Xav how much fun it was.  Xav was quite adamant that he wasn't going to the dentist, and he was in no way going to open his mouth.  I was banking on him watching Grace have "so much fun" and not being able to contain himself from jumping into the chair himself.  I was also hoping that the lure of the mechanical chair would make the visit all the more appealing.

Grace was still excited, well until we walked into the room and then she went to tears.  She starting screaming and crying, saying she didn't want to have a turn and that she wanted Xavier to go first.  Xavier, meanwhile was huddled up to me whispering in my ear that he was not going first, and didn't even want a turn at all.  Crap.  My free dental visit was going to be wasted!

After some coaxing and calming, Grace agreed to laying on the chair with Duane.  It took another 5 minutes of the very patient dentist mucking around with a stuffed crocodile before she calmed down and agreed to open her mouth.  Once she was over the initial drama, it all went perfectly.  The dentist said that her teeth are beautifully spaced, which is a good sign for when her adult teeth come through and also congratulated her on her great brushing abilities - her pearly whites are in perfect condition!  He was actually quite surprised that she brushed and flossed all by herself, and told her to keep doing whatever she is doing as her teeth are wonderful.

Xav was next, and he was not a problem at all.  He played there with his mouth open wide whilst the dentist poked and prodded around, after a bit the dentist said he just wanted to double check something.  He called over the supervisor who had a look in, then laughed.  Seems what the first dentist had thought was a potential cavity, was in actual fact a piece black food.  Xav's teeth were also given the tick of perfection, and both kids were sent on their way with a new toothbrush and toothpaste each.

It's starting to look like the kids have got their fathers beautiful, strong teeth and not my dodgy ones - which I am over the moon about!

There are some things best left to the experts....

And it seems waxing is one of them.

Yes, I had an incident last weekend that will hopefully squash all future intentions of messing with stuff I have no idea about.

I had just got out of the shower and was doing my usual 10 second morning routine - moisturiser, deodorant and brush hair.  Just as I was putting the brush away I noticed a strip of wax shoved up the back of the cupboard.  Now, I can't ever remember buying this, so I'm guessing it come free somehow - maybe stuck in a magazine.  Right about now I should have realised that I was way out of my depth even contemplating using this, but my cockiness just shrugged - "Pfft, can't be that hard"

I had a quick rub between my eyebrows and felt fluff, so figured I may as well get rid of it with my new found beauty product.  There were no instructions, but I figured you put it on and rip it off - simple. 

I roughly cut out a shape that I guessed would fit between my eyebrows, peeled it apart and whacked it on.  After rubbing it a bit, to make sure it stuck, I then pulled the skin taut and ripped.  By now, I figured I must be amazing at this beauty business as it hadn't hurt at all.  BUT then I realised that all the green, gooey wax was still in a mound between my eyebrows.  I rubbed it a bit, but that just managed to smear it further over my face.

A quick rack through my brain as I tried to remember if wax comes off with hot or cold?  I justified hot as that would melt it, so I grabbed a face washer, heated it up and scrubbed.  It stayed there, except now it was smudged further and all over my fingers.  Right so hot didn't work, must be cold that you use.

I ran out to the kitchen and grabbed some ice, thinking for sure that would harden it up and it would fall off.  Meanwhile the kids are asking what's happening and Xav wanting to know why my face was covered in green bits.  I kept the ice on for a few minutes and then tried again to peel it off.  No luck.

So I then resorted to good 'ol Google.  BUT I had to type with my left little finger as that was the only one not covered in sticky, green wax.  After finally typing in "Removing wax strips"  I came across the wonderful advice to remove it with sesame oil.  I didn't have any of that, but figured olive oil would do the job just as well.

About now, the damn toxic wax had been right in the middle of my face for 15 minutes, so I was half expecting chunks of skin to come off as well.   A tissue soaked in olive oil did the job, and apart from some redness and the original eyebrow hair, all was good underneath.  Thank goodness for Google.

The bonus was, later in the afternoon, the eyebrow hair started falling out.  So I think maybe I'm a genius, I've created a pain-free way to wax!

But if I ever again have to urge to tidy up my eyebrows (and I probably won't, considering it's only the 2nd time ever I've bothered) I'll be paying for it.

They want a pony.

I was driving the 2 little darlings up to school this morning, when Grace spotted some new horses in one of the paddocks.

Grace:  "Look Mum, those horses are so beauuutiful!  I love horses as they are so kind and lovely.  Everyone must love horses"

Xavier: "I like horses, but ponies are better.  I want a pony.  Can we have a pony Mum"

Me: "Ponies need lots of room Xav, and our yard wouldn't be big enough for them"

Xavier: "Well, why don't we just get a bigger house then?  One with lots of room and THEN we can have a pony.  Muuuuummmmmm......CAN we have a pony?  I really like ponies."

Grace: "Yeah, that's a good idea Xav, we'll just get a HHHUUUGGGEEEE house, with a big paddock and we can maybe have a pony AND a horse.  "

Me: "Well, it costs a lot more to have a bigger house and paddocks for horses.  Mummy would have to go back to work all the time, and Daddy would have to work longer hours.  Then the kids would have to be in childcare EVERY day - for a really long time. " 

Grace: "That's ok.  We'd have SO much fun every day if we were at childcare.  We could do so many things, AND have a horse."

Me: "Right.  So you'd prefer to NOT spend lots of time with Mummy and Daddy, just so you could have a pony/horse?  Imagine every day not seeing Mummy or Daddy from early in the morning until dinner time at night.  That's a really long time.  Plus, Mummy and Daddy would really miss seeing you both."

Xavier: "But I'd really love a pony.  I don't mind not seeing you or Daddy.  You could have fun at work all the time and me and Grace could be at school all day.  I really like ponies. I WANT A PONY!!!" 

So, it seems they don't really give 2 hoots about our efforts to have 1 parent with them most of the time. 

It's a shame I'm only finding out about this now, I could put Grace in full time childcare and started my degree 4 year and 10 months ago.....

Grace 4.10

She loves raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.  She loves cradling, loving and caring for her dolls, followed by smashing up matchbox cars with her little brother. She adores being an older sister and plays the part perfectly. She is loving, gentle and fiercely protective of her younger brother. She looks up to her Daddy, wanting him when she is upset or sad, often barricading the door so he can't leave. She is funny and cheeky, with a wicked sense of humour.  She loves drawing and her most perfect day would be spent creating artwork out of crayons and crisp white paper.  She loves cardboard boxes and empty toilet rolls, turning them into masterpieces scattered around the house.  She can be timid and shy, but blooms like a beautiful flower once you get to know her.  Her greatest wish is to see a real fairy.  She believes in them.  She is stunningly beautiful from the inside out.  Her favourite colour is pink, followed closely by purple.  She loves stuffed toys and believes they come to life when she is asleep.  She is adamant trackpants are only to be worn at home, and is therefore often embarrassed by her mother.  Clothing is one of her greatest loves.  She is mesmerized by nature and has a beautiful way with animals.  She has a gentle heart and gives wonderful cuddles.  She's determined to do a perfect cartwheel.

She is practically perfect in every way.

I love you Grace xx

Travel

Duane won a carton of Corona through some sort of boy bet.  I'm not sure of specifics, but it had something to do with "my football team being better than your", a typical pissing contest between men/boys.

I've had my  years days of beer drinking and haven't had one for a long time, but decided it might be a nice complement to the seafood marinara pasta that I'd made for dinner.  Duane served it up with the obligatory wedge of lime shoved in the neck.  I took a sip........and that's when it hit me.

I NEED TO TRAVEL

One taste of that sweet cerveza and I was immediately reminiscent of my travelling days.  Sipping corona's on the beach of Mexico, walking through a late night summer thunderstorm after a night out at the nightclubs of Cabo San Lucas, jumping out of a plane in Canada, standing at the top of the Canadian Rockies, visiting a million temples in Japan, walking down the cobblestone street of Old Montreal, dancing in the street as I enjoyed my very first snow fall in Banff.  The world is such a wondrous and amazing place and I want to discover as much of it as I can.

I want to spend chunks of time really exploring a country/place, not just quick little touristy visits.  I'm also toying with the idea of spending a year in another country.  Once I'm a fully registered Midwife (OMG, I can't believe that I'm on the way to that!!!), there are many countries that I can work in.  Canada being one.  Duane and I have talked about spending a year there.  I spent a year back in my youth (gosh, now I feel old - I have youth), and have a wonderful friend living there.  It would be a great base for lots of travel, and would give the kids a taste of another country without the daunting task of learning another language. 

I love my life right now.  I just know that once the kids are older, I can't wait to take them around the world and open there eyes to the amazing planet we live on.  Money is the only thing that will stop us, but even for that we have a plan.  Duane and I have worked out that we can pay our home loan off in 5 years.   So, by the time Grace is 10, which we agree is a perfect age to travel, we should be mortgage free!  It means we have to somehow come up with an extra $300 per week to do it, which sounds doable - I think.  I know that we wont be able to start immediately, but I'm hoping that next year I can maybe get an assistant nursing position and maybe fit in a few shifts every week.  I'm also thinking maybe over the holidays I can pick up some work, then just dump all that on the mortgage. 

So, next year we have decided to start the project.  It will probably take longer, but that's our plan for now.  We want to be paying the last payment on our mortgage by the end of 2016.  I can't imagine how that will feel.  Imagine not having to pay a mortgage EVER AGAIN!!!  Being able to save all that money instead and use it on much better things than just interest!   The hardest bit in all this will be refraining from wanting to get a bigger and better house.  Duane and I often talk about our "dream" home, complete with acreage and ensuite.  However, we both have agreed that to be in our house and mortgage free would make us happier than extra land and a bigger/newer house.

One thing that may have to be sacrificed though is another baby.  Having a 3rd would mean me out of the workforce longer and not being able to pay the house off as fast as we want to.  I may be ok with it too.  Unless I think of tiny little wondersuits - then I'm a mess.  But right now, I'm thinking about making the best life for the family I have here.  If I am blessed with another, we'll work around it and everything will be fine too.

A stuffed up prick

On Wednesday I got a letter from the Family Assistance office letting me know that according to their records Xav's immunisations weren't up to date. Being that the only one he was missing was the chicken pox one, I called up to let then know that he had already had the chickenpox and wouldn't be needing the injection. After explaining this to the lovely lady on the phone, she then said "Well, apart from the chickenpox one, he is also missing his last Hep B" I knew this wasn't right as right in front of me, written in his little red baby book was the 12th April 2010, Hep B and the serial number. She then went on to say "No, on that day your son had the flu shot, not the Hep B" I'm just thinking now that it's a computer error and after checking with my Dr's surgery it'll be all sorted out. The lovely lady says she'll give the surgery a call to find out and she'd call me back.

I thought nothing much of it, still disbelieving that a mistake like that could actually be made. An hour or so later, she called me back. "Mrs Penney, I'm really sorry to tell you this, but your son was actually given a flu injection NOT a hep-b as you and the Dr had requested" As you can imagine, I was FURIOUS. I could not believe that my son had been injected with something that I did not request and I was only finding about it now.  It happened 5 months ago.

I wanted to march straight down there and give them the full wrath of my fury, but Duane was out getting the kids and his haircut, so I thought it best to wait for him.  However, by the time he got home the surgery had shut. 

The next day I called up to make an appointment, explaining what it was for.  The receptionist was very apologetic and suggested that I talked to the RN in charge.  The Rn apologised profusely, in between my ranting and raving about how angry I was this happened and wanting to know how they were going to guarantee it didn't happen again.  She thought I might be better off talking to the Manager of the clinic, so she put me through.  Once again, more apologies and more ranting.  The Manager did tell me straight out "I'm not going to lie to you, I've been put in the position for the last 6 weeks to clean up this clinic as there have been a few issues"  She also went on to say that the Rn who was responsible for Xav's injection had been fired only a week after starting, because of a few issues - including one similar to ours.  She is apparently suspended from working as an RN, and is in the process of being reviewed by the medical board.  I said that I also wanted to add a formal complaint and she agreed that a incident report will be completed and will be accompanying the review.

I remember that when I got Xav's injection, I'd forgotten his red book, so I took it down a few days later to be filled in.  I can't remember who filled it in, but whoever did wrote "Hep B - 12th April 2010" followed by a serial number.  I queried the manager about the number and she confirmed to be that it was a FAKE number, and she can only assume that it was the same RN and she has done that to cover herself.  SO not only did she stuff up and give the wrong immunisation, she's falsified documents too.  Wrong on so many levels.

I've been playing the "What If" game over and over in my head.  What if he did have a reaction and we took him to hospital and he was treated as if it was from the Hep b injection?  Considering the flu vaccine was withdrawn for children under 5, just a few days after Xav received it - certainly would have been nice to be aware and alert for symptoms.  It's just inexcusable that such an error and cover up were made.

I put a lot of effort and consideration into how and what immunisations we give the kids.  To have our decisions on what we give our child taken out of our hands angers me so much.  I know that the flu shot is not likely to harm him, but it's still NOT an immunisation that Duane or I would have agreed to for our children.   Also now we have the added inconvenience of taking Xav back for the RIGHT injection - Hep b. 

I have asked the medical centre for a written apology, explaining what injection we went in for and what he actually got.  I am going to be chasing the complaint up too, making sure that it gets done.  I know mistakes happen, but I'm not going to just let this one slide. 

Complacency and lack of attention to the small things, creates a slippery slope to big mistakes.

The curse of Studying

I feel we've been cursed since I started studying Anatomy and Physiology.

Every time we start studying something, it seems something related to what we are studying pops up in my life.

It started way back when I'd just taken Grace for her first hearing test. I rushed to my lecture afterwards, with my head racing about everything I'd just been told (hearing loss, severe etc) and guess what the lecture was on? The ear and hearing. I sat their listening to the lecturer talk about how important it was to pick up hearing loss early. She spoke about a study she did in children's detention centres and said that most of the children their had a significant hearing loss. Right, so of course I had visions in my head of my "late to be diagnosed" daughter turning into a misfit. Luckily a few months later she was given the all clear, and future visits behind glass panels was taken out of my mind.

Next was the heart. Guess what I was studying the week the Dr picked up Xav's heart murmur/valve regurgitation? Yep - the ticker. It did make me remember all the anatomy of the heart properly though and I certainly knew the difference between the atrioventricular valves and semi-lunar valves which paid dividends in last weekends exam.

Blood vessels were next on the list. I went along to a funeral for an old school friend just a few days after studying about arteries and veins, and hearing about how clots were such a problem post-operation. The poor girl had died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a clot that had travelled to the lungs and burst. She'd been tired and went to have a rest and then couldn't be woken by her husband. One of the saddest deaths I've ever heard. It was a terrible sad funeral, made particularly horrific by her husband up the front cradling their 2 week old baby whilst their 2 y/o ran around totally oblivious to what was happening. Although I didn't know her that well, she was a beautiful girl - both inside and out. The guys loved her and the girls loved her even more. She was the picture perfect student and friend and so amazingly lovely and I bet she made the most fantastic Mother. It's just so sad to think about her 2 beautiful boys not having their mother anymore and her husband not having his beloved wife. It's the hardest thing to imagine, but must be a million times worth to actually experience.

Back to study and last week was respiratory. We've had a week of colds and coughs, with everyone but me getting over it fairly quickly. However, a few days ago mine seemed to freshen up again and the coughing intensified. I coughed all weekend, then on Tuesday started having excruciatingly sharp chest pain accompanying every cough or deep breath. It got continuously worse over the day, until at lunch time I could barely move without the feeling of being stabbed in my right lung. I called Duane and although he was supposed to be working late, he negotiated to start earlier the next morning so he could come home sooner. I couldn't move my arm or even walk without being bent over and bracing my chest, so there was no way I was able to drive to pick Grace up.

Xav was home with me all day and was an absolute angel. He amused himself all day, alternating between playing with his cars and lego and putting on episodes of playschool. Food was a bit hit and miss, he could only really eat what he could reach. He did make himself a peanut butter sandwhich for lunch which was impressive - but spent the rest of the day snacking on crackers, biscuits and sultanas. He also played lovely nurse for me, and kept on filling up my drink bottle as I needed it. All that encouragement of self sufficiency definitely pays off at times like this!

I tried making appointment at my Dr's, but they weren't taking any more patients for the day. I then tried a few other Dr surgeries around, but they all were full. Duane ended up calling Medcall (our after hours Dr) and they arranged for someone to come out about 7pm. After checking me over and listening to my lungs, he said that I had pleurisy with maybe a touch of pneumonia. He gave me another script for antibiotics to take alongside the ones I already had and wrote out a referral for an xray the following day. He also said that if I got any worse over night to go straight to hospital.

Getting in to bed that night was tough. It actually took me 10 mins of inching down slowly and waiting for everything to adjust, before I was laying down. After about half hour of laying down the constant pain had gone, just coming back when I was coughing or had to take a deeper breath in. I slept well that night, with the pain bearable. However, it was back as soon as I stood up the next morning. I wasn't in any state to be driving, so my wonderful mother in law came up bright and early to take Grace to school for me. Xav should have been going, but he was only 4 days post getting chicken pox so had to stay home. All his spots had scabbed over by then, but the actual policy is 5 days after first spots come out.

The electricity was going to be off all day at my house (Yes, I'd paid my bill!), so after getting the x-ray Xav and I spent the day at Grandmas. I got to lay on the couch feeling sorry for myself, whilst Xav was fed, watered and amused by his doting Grandmother. I tried once again to get into my normal Dr, but she was full up. Medcall called later that afternoon and asked if they could come around that night to discuss the results of the X-ray. Turns out I don't have pneumonia, but do have the pleurisy and an infection running the length of my trachea.

I'm on some mega-antibiotics and just under instructions to rest, rest and rest. I went back to Uni on Thursday, and it completely exhausted me. I got home at 3.30pm and went straight to bed, woke at 6pm and went back at 7pm and slept all night. My darling husband knew I wasn't feeling fantastic, so took the kids out late night shopping to tire them out. Today was pretty much the same. I went to uni from 9-11am, then came home and slept from 12-2pm. I'm just so tired, which is both a result of constant shallow breathing with the pleurisy and also a side effect of the antibiotic that I'm on. I'm just so thankful that I'm on 3 weeks break now and can slow down and recoup after this little ordeal. The pain is waning, but certain movements still are a bit tender and I'm still not able to take deep breaths. My cough is going though, which will definitely help me heal better.

Meeting Miss Pam

A few weeks ago, Grace had her home visit from the woman that is stealing her from me lovely teacher that she'll have next year in Prep. Miss Pam was spending a week visiting all of her next years Prep students and of course the families. It's a chance for the child to meet their teacher on their own turf, and for the teacher to get to know a little bit more about them in a one on one situation. I was a bit nervous, thinking I was the one being assessed, but I was reassured by other parents that it's fine and mainly the teacher will be chatting to the child.

The visit went wonderful, and it didn't take long for Grace to warm up and talk to her. Xav, didn't need any encouragement and spent the whole time trying to steal Miss Pam's attention or asking her a multitude of questions like "Where does the lightening come from Miss Pam?". She took the time to chat to him and answer all his question, actually she was very impressed with his inquisitiveness. She'll find out all about it in 2.5 years, as siblings go to the same teachers! He kept on dragging out all his favourite things and spent the whole hour saying "Miss Pam, look at me, look what I'm doing Miss Pam" I had to laugh when we were outside and he was still insisting on it being all about him, he was digging in the sand pit and called out "Hey, Miss Pam. Look at me. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm DIGGING A HOLE" He said it like it was the most amazing thing that anyone had ever done in the world and he fully expected praise to rain down on him!

It was kinda good though having her pushy brother around, as it meant Grace had to step up and be a bit more assertive to get noticed. She showed Miss Pam all her favourite things, including the fairy garden and all her outside toys. Grace then asked her if she'd like go visit her bedroom and they spent a good 15 minutes up there together playing dolls on the floor. Miss Pam told Grace all about how she lived on a yacht and about all the fun things she was going to be doing next year.

Grace opened right up to her and I felt an instant ease about handing my daughter over next year. Miss Pam is lovely, kind, open and so perfectly suited to teaching the prep age group. She has a beautiful soft & patient voice, but my guess is she isn't a push over either!

Just before she left, she gave Grace her special symbol that she'll use in her early school years. It's a crescent moon, which is perfectly fitting considering her prep class is called "Moonlight". Miss Pam also gave her a crisp, white face washer that Grace will be using next year for washing her hands and face with the special lavender face wash they use after lunch, and she asked us to embroider a moon onto it.

I'm actually really thankful that we made the decision to send our kids to this school. I've met some wonderful families and I can see some beautiful friendships being made - both for the kids and for us adults. I actually went along last Sunday to one of Grace's friends Mum's blessingway, which was an amazingly, intense experience. It was my first blessingway and I left feeling so uplifted and connected. Connected - both in a spiritual sense and also sporting a lovely wool bracelet that is to be kept on until I get the text she is in labour. It was just so much more than a baby shower, and something that I'll definitely want for myself or any of my close friends.

So, although I'm saddened that the time is nearly here for my daughter to be off to full-time school, I also have a feeling of contentment as I know she is going somewhere very special.