Back on track

After reaching my goal weight of 66 kgs back in January, I got a little lot slack with my eating habits and slowly but surely the kilos that I'd worked so hard to get rid of, snuck back on again. I'm at about 70kg's now, so have 4 kg's that I need to shed. I wasn't too worried though, knowing that once it got too out of control, I'd reign myself back in again. I also blame most of it on uni and the copious amount of chocolate that I needed to make it through assessment and exam time. I was also very slack in first semester with meal planning and dinners turning into last minute throw togethers - usually loaded up with way too many carbs.

That's all stopping though. I've got time now to re-establish old habits and make healthy meals and snacks. I normally go to the farmers market on a Friday, but I've had to reassess that as it clashes with a 9am lecture that I know have. I was also getting frustrated with the lack of quality produce, with most things not looking that much better than the supermarket shelves.

So, I'm now ordering from here and I couldn't be happier. I love knowing that all our produce is mostly organic or spray free and coming from a 5 hour radius, thus reducing the food miles. It's all fresh and good quality and the taste is 100 times better than any produce I've had lately. I'm also hoping that we can get on the next farm tour and show the kids where all the yummy food we are eating is coming from. Getting the boxes is also going to make me think outside my comfort zone for cooking. There is always going to be some things that I wouldn't normally use, but what I can't use I'm sure I can pass on to someone else. This week we got a custard apple, which I am eager to try as I've never had one before. Everything else was stuff that I'd normally use, except for brussel sprouts which I ended up frying with garlic and olive oil and they were delicious!

Duane's also eager to get more exercise into our routine. I'm hoping to fit in a few long, hilly walks during the week and we are also going to start up our afternoon's of exercise in the front yard. It's something that we used to do, but somehow ended up falling by the wayside. So, back to making time every afternoon for playing in the front yard. It'll be a mix if kicking balls, chasing kids, stretching, skipping and some toning exercises. I like involving the kids too, not just going off on our own to do it. It's a way of keeping the kids active and trying to instill movement/exercise as a daily activity - something I need to be reminded of too.

I'm starting up weight watchers again too. My eating habits are quite questionable at the moment, I'm enjoying way more biscuits and snack food than my body needs. I need a reminder on portion sizes and to be a bit more accountable for what I eat and I find WW gives me this boost.

So this weekend, I've been stuffing my face like it's my last supper. Not the smartest way to approach a diet, but certainly helps rid the cupboards of tempting junk!

Schools back!

Well, my days of freedom are over and I'm back at Uni.

I started back at the GC campus on Tuesday, with a wonderful first day! Heart dissections straight up - so interesting! You know when you're a fully fledged anatomy student if you can talk with your lab partner about tonight's dinner menu, whilst trying to locate the atrioventricular valves of a fresh sheep's heart specimen - and not blink an eye! We then got to prick our fingers and fill up little viles of blood and have it spun to check the composition. We also checked our blood under a microscope, and using some chemicals, had to work out our blood type. I alrady knew I was o+, but it was interesting working it all out.

I've actually had a fantastic introduction to semester 2, with placenta dissections last week for the Anatomy for Midwifery subject and then today's heart. That was fascinating, but still felt a little wrong to be pulling apart something that less than 24 hours before was a little newborns home. At the lab we also had to estimate blood loss on a range of hospital linen. There was a station set up with a pad, towel, bed sheet, bluey and nightie - all soaked in blood and we had to estimate how many ml's it would be. It was a lot harder to guess accurately than I thought, as everything absorbs differently. I got all mine within 50ml's, so not a bad effort for the first go.

The 2 intensive days I did with the Midwifery students were fantastic. Apart from the placenta's, there was also a lecture on conception and embryology - fascinating! One other part that got me all excited was the lecture on anatomy and physiology of lactation. Breastfeeding is one of my passions and studying to be a lactation consultant is something that I'd love to go on and do. There is so much about lactation that we do know - but way more that we don't. How the body works just blows me away. As much as I'm loving this subject, I'm finding it really hard to get motivated now that the rest of the course in online. I'm supposed to have completed module one this week, but I'm been stuffing around with it and really need to just get it started. My excuse is that I'm waiting for the textbook, so hopefully that arrives soon so I can get it into it. I'm also trying to arrange regular study sessions with some of the other students, I need interaction and people to bounce things off. It seems I'm not much of learner by myself.

I'm really liking being back on campus for A & P and catching up with all my study buddies. I've hooked up with some lovely people that are all high achievers, so that satisfies my competitive side. It keeps us all motivated and encouraging of each other to do well. One of the women is a single 50? year old, with no kids. She quit her job as a political journalist to study nursing as she wanted to do something meaningful. She is amazingly intelligent, and completely eccentric! She is great though, and really eager to study and do well. However, she's tough to sit beside, as she gave up smoking and drinking just before the start of semester 1 and spends the whole lecture tapping her feet. I've had to yell at her to stop a few times, as my writing starts being affected with the constant moving. She also told me yesterday that she has anxiety, and in the absence of coffee, cigarettes and alcohol she uses magnum ice-creams as her vice. Sounds normal right? Well, no she then went on to say that she needs 7!!!!!! I thought she meant this as a one off, but no - she's said she did this 3 or 4 times over the semester break whenever she had a freak out!! Now, I'm a lover of all things chocolate, especially all things ice-cream covered in chocolate - but I even think 2 in a row would be my absolute limit. Blimey, 7! She's fun though, and I'm heading out tonight with her and a few others for on of the girls birthdays.

I'm really enjoying being back though, and giving the brain a work-out after the break. Doing only 2 subjects this semester is going to seem like a breeze compared to the 4 I did last semester. I'll actually be able to fit in a life around studying - bonus!

Weekend activities

I've had a wonderful weekend! A perfect one before life is just a blur of study and exams.

Saturday we made a last minute decision to do a cake smash for my lovely little God-daughter, Lucie. Only 2 months overdue, but still a perfect age to get some super cute photos. Lucie had a few diva moments, which can only be described as hilarious. Nicole keeps on saying how much of a handful she is, and talking about the tantrums she is throwing - I don't believe a word of it! Whenever I see her she is so sweet and adorable - full of cheek and cuteness, with a generous helping of fiestiness!

~~Adorable much?~~

Sunday, after a lazy family morning in bed, we headed to the nursery's to stock up on seedlings for the vegie patch. I'd cleared it out a few weeks ago and topped it up with new soil, ready for the next round of vegies to go in. We bought some strawberry plants, lettuce, spring onion, rocket, oregano, basil, cauliflower, broccoli, snow peas and zucchini. I'd already planted some seeds and had a few seedlings ready to go, so they filled in the gaps. We also bought Grace a passionfruit vine to grow in her fairy garden over the arch.

After stocking up on goodies for the garden, I decided to lead us up the garden path and suggested a drive to a playground in the hinterland that I'd heard people raving about. After about 30 mins of driving, and me insisting that it must be close, Duane realised that the fuel gauge was becoming scarily close to empty. We pulled over into a picnic area and interrupted a party to see if anyone knew where the closest petrol station was - Nerang! So we headed back home, with upset children as they didn't get to visit the "cool" playground as promised. Oh well, another time when we have both petrol and directions!

The afternoon was spent planting the crops. Xav and Grace diligently dug all the holes and delicately placed in the seedlings. The chooks paced up and down the fence line, no doubt planning their attack.

Speaking of chooks, I don't think that I've mentioned it before, but we have 2 new additions. After the passing of Dulcie, my clucky (if only it was for the baby variety!) was eagar to add to the flock. So we headed out to our chook lady to find out about introducing some newbies. Grace and Xav chose a chook each: Grace chose a Red Hampshire and called her "Sassy", whilst Xav picked out a gorgeous grey Leghorn and named her "Jet". We've had them for about 4 weeks now and they have both settled in nicely. They spent the first few weeks looked up in the chook house during the day, watching forlornly as Henny, Silkie and Bertha had free range of the front yard. Our chook lady had suggested keeping them separate to avoid any chicken territorial fighting. We let them out to join in on the weekend, and everyone has gotten along perfectly! Hopefully won't be too much longer and they'll both be contributing to our daily egg supply.

The other project we completed on the weekend was the paper mache volcano that has been on the "to do" list for a while now. The kids had a blast ripping up newspaper and getting messy with the glue. We all laughed and giggled whilst layering up the wet, pasty paper. Duane had the fantastic idea of using the left over black crepe paper from Xav's birthday party as the last layer - saved having to wait for it to dry and then paint! It took a few days to dry, so we haven't had a chance to make it explode - but Grace has asked to take it along as show and tell, so we'll save the explosion for then.

Actually, on the subject of school, there is something very exciting happening tomorrow. My little boy is having his very first day at Pre-school!!! I didn't want him to start childcare until he was three and could go along with Grace and low and behold that time is now! He's going to be going every Wednesday, and although I'm so excited for him to be joining in on the fun times that Grace has, I'm sad that my little baby boy is starting the journey to school. The last 3 years have gone so quickly, and now he's growing up and ready to be learning and playing in a structured environment. Xav's over the moon though, and so excited that finally he gets to stay. He loves it up there, and he is going to have a fantastic time. He told me today that "Grace is going to protect me, and if anyone hits me she is going to give me a cuddle" Awwww....sweet little children! I just hope that Grace isn't the one hitting him!! They have been a bit volatile with each other lately, so I hope that having them together will not create any problems. Xav loves playing with all Grace's friends, especially Cassie, so I hope that doesn't create dramas either.

He's been a bit fiesty this week and Duane and I have had many moments where we say to each other "Good luck to them on Wednesday!". He's such a sociable little boy and very confidant, so I'm not expecting too many adjustment issues on his part - not sure about the tranquil envinroment he invade though!!

People power!

Last Thursday night, the birth centre that I had Xav at was abruptly closed down. The crazy big wigs of the hospital even fell so low as to try to evict a birthing Mum and transfer her from the birth centre into the normal delivery suite. Thankfully, the Midwife stood up for the woman, and she went on to happily birth her baby.

Once the word was out that the BC had been closed, the phone tree sprung into action. Phones and computers went into overdrive as everyone who has ever had anything to do with the BC were notified and a rally was organised for 11am the next day. Facebook played a big part in bringing everyone to the cause, and providing a place for arrangements to be made. I cancelled my day of baking and cake decorating, instead taking the kids to rally against such a stupid decision.

I was blown away by how many people had turned out to fight for the Bc to be re-opened, the official number was about 500! Amazing, considering it was at 11am - just 18 hours after the announcement to close had been made. We rallied and chanted, most in disbelief that it had happened so suddenly and unsure if our voices would be heard. The CEO of the hospital came out to speak at one point, his speech full of politically correct language but no specific reason for the closure. He agreed to a meeting with about 50 - made up on midwives, Academics and women. I was lucky enough to be given a heads up to where it was, so Trude and I headed off with the kids to join in.

The CEO explained that the senior Ob's of the hospital had pulled their support of the BC, and as one of the "rules" to setting up the BC in 2006 was that it had an Ob overseeing it - he said he had no other choice than to close it. It was also revealed that the Ob who is extremely supportive of the BC and is the one that mostly oversees it, was away on holidays. I wasn't sure who's strategic move this was, but I later found out that this Ob was furious that this had been done whilst he was away, and was still supportive of the BC. Seems there must be a little unrest between the Ob team.

Anyway, we left the meeting still not convinced that it would be reopened soon. But later that night I received a message from my Midwife that it has been re-opened and the CEO had called for a review of ALL maternity services in the hospital! He also apologised for the distress the closure had caused, especially to the poor women and families due around now. Gosh, if it happened 3 years ago, it would have really jeopardised my fantastic birth of Xav. I always buy the paper on the kids birthdays to be put away for when they are older, this one will be very memorable with the rally dominating the front page!

It's still not a perfect outcome, there is a anxiousness that if it happened once, it may happen again. So many birth activists are encouraging us all to keep this issue alive and make sure that the powers in charge are aware that we won't just sit back and watch such a wonderful Midwifery care program be closed down.

I also attended the friends of the BC meeting on the Monday following the rally. The original instigator of the BC opening spoke and explained about the review and how they would like a consumer on the panel. Me, being in a post-euphoric, save the world rally haze decided that I'd love to do it.

So now I'm nervous as hell. Our first meeting is on Monday and I'll be one of 6 representing the BC. 2 of the other women are homebirth midwives that are so well known and respected in the birthing community. One is big in the political side of birthing and was responsible for the BC being opened. So, yes a little daunting.

I just feel it's such an important issue (both the BC and birth choices), so I'm playing my little part of making that point.

Some links about the issue:

Rally

Reopens

Article in Weekend Bulletin

Xav's 3rd Birthday Party

We did something a little different this year, we had the birthday party on Xav's actual birthday - something I'll be avoiding in the future! We normally just have a family day for the birthday, Duane takes the day off work and we do something fun and stress free. But this year the day fell on a Saturday, so we thought we'd just do the party then. I didn't like the stress of organising, decorating and cleaning up though - when I'd much rather be enjoying the birthday and leaving the big celebrating for another day. I've learnt for next time though!

The morning was spent finishing off the party decorations and tidying up. We gave Xav his present that Nanny had sent up, and he excitedly unwrapped it to reveal some new lego! He's loving lego at the moment, so it was perfect for him. He spent the rest of the morning zooming the garbage truck around the lounge room floor, filling the back up and dumping it out.

Grandma and Poppy came up early to help and also to spend some time with the birthday boy. He was spoilt with a digger for his sandpit and also a beautiful wooden bulldozer.

Xav had requested a racing car party, so I searched and searched trying to come up with ideas on some fun things to do in that theme. He also asked for a racing car cake, and presented me with one of Duane's old remote controlled car - saying he'd like one just like this one, Mum!

I had planned to finish of the baking, decorations and cake on the day before the party, but a last minute dash to save the GC birth centre put those plans to rest. Instead I spent the night before frantically finishing everything off and throwing icing mixture at the cake - Literally! Decorating a cake properly takes time, and I didn't have much of it so unfortunately. Add to that the fact that I didn't have a pattern to go by, just a damn remote controlled care and it was a recipe for disaster! I spent the whole night just looking at it and laughing, it was so pathetic it was hilarious!

Xav loved it though, and when asked about his party, mentions his awesome cake first!

The kids and I also did lots of baking for the party. We made yummy vegetarian sausage rolls, banana pancakes, mini scones with jam and cream and apple slice. We also made biscuits which where then decorated to look like traffic lights. I did the first one to show Xav how it was done, and he finished off all the others. Diligently applying icing and then carefully putting on the MnM's in the right colour order.

Meanwhile, Grace was busy decorating her biscuits into little cars. I had to help her a little with these ones as keeping the wheels on proved a little tricky!:

Going along with the car theme, I also made Pit Passes for all the party guests.

Each child was presented with their pass upon arrival and wore them proudly for the rest of the day. I'd also divided the guest list up into 2 teams - red and blue, and asked each team to come dressed in their team colours. The babies were also allocated a team to "cheer" for. Halfway through the party we held the Big Race. The kids and I had spent the day before making very sophisticated (!) cardboard cars. I'd let the kids each go nuts painting one car red and the other blue. They then painted paper plates black for the wheels. I added a few extra details: numbers, handles for the kids to hold onto and the race name.

So, the big race was started. The teams were lined up and then the chequered flag was waved and they were off! Each car did a lap of the backyard and then went back to the start to swap to the next team member. The older kids did really well, and the younger ones loved it too - just needing a little extra help. It was a close race, but the Red team were the winners in the end. They were all presented with a medal, whilst the blue team were all given a sticker! The race was definitely a highlight for the kids, and such simple cardboard cars were a huge hit!

We also did pass the parcel, which is always a party favourite. I'd decided this year to just go the old fashioned, probably politically incorrect route and just have 1 present at the end. The kids were fine with this, each one just excited to unwrap the newspaper and pass it on when nothing was revealed!

The kids spent the rest of the day playing and running around. I also gave the older girls face paint and let them go nuts with decorating each other. They loved it! Xav unwrapped all his wonderful presents, where he was very spoilt. He received so many lovely gifts, and has played and loved each and every one of them.

After a big sausage sizzle for lunch, the kids started getting crazy and it was time to wrap it up. Grace and Xav had helped me make up little noodle boxes full of goodies for the guests to take home. We'd put in each box a packet of sultana's, a freddo frog, some chocolate balls and a matchbox car.

So, the party was a huge success! Xav loved it, and so did all his little friends!

Dancing

Grace has been wanting to start dance lessons for a while now, but I've been a bit reluctant considering how expensive they can become when you factor in lessons/clothes/shoes etc. So, when I heard that the local PCYC had lessons for $6 each, and only having to pay when you turn up - I gave it the go ahead!

Thing is, once Xav got wind of what was happening, he wanted to come too. I really didn't think he'd concentrate or pay attention though, but he was adamant that he was not missing out. I figured he'd have a go, get sick of it and then drop out. He completely surprised me though, and not only loved it - but did really well! He did look so adorable, being the only boy in a sea of pink and had all the other parents commenting and praising him! He was keeping up with all the moves and followed orders and directions beautifully! I could barely keep my eyes of him, I loved watching him concentrate and try so hard to follow the routine.

~~Doing "butterflies" across the room"

Grace loved it as well and was so beautifully behaved. Two of her best friends are coming along as well, so the 3 girls all had a blast together. She can't wait for next weeks lesson, but she has been begging for tap shoes since all the other girls have them. I'll see how dedicated she is before I start handing over the $$.

It was 100% cuteness and so sweet to watch.

Camping June 2010

**There are PLENTY of photos that I want to add to this post, but Blogger is not being kind. I'll hopefully remember and add them later!

We have just come back from THE best camping trip. Well, we slept in a tent. That is about the only real "camping" thing that we did, it was all a bit luxury to be called roughing it.

~~Our tent~~

~~The luxurious ensuite~~

We stayed here and although it was more expensive than we'd normally like to pay for camping, it was fantastic. There was so much for the kids to do and the facilities where amesome. We were a bit apprehensive about our first winter camping trip, but it was fine and I may even prefer it to summer camping. Maybe. We paid extra and had our own ensuite right beside the tent, and it was so convenient having it so close. The kids could go off to the toilet by them self and it certainly made the night trips quicker in the cold. It also had the added bonus of a heater inside to make getting out of the shower more appealing.

Jen and the kids crammed their tent onto our site for the first 2 nights. The kids all had a great time exploring the park: jumping on the giant pillow, playing mini golf, playing on the playground and scootering around the park. Just as we arrived to set up, there was an excavator clearing the bush on the park boundary, which fascinated the kids and allowed us to quickly set up in peace. I was tossing up whether to cheer the clearing on, or chain myself to a tree though, but having quite contained kids whilst Duane and I fought over the tent set up won in the end.

There was also a heated pool, which only Duane and Grace were brave enough to try. Xav and I spent that afternoon cuddled up in the tent having a sleep together. Bliss.

We were there for 5 nights, and spent most days out and about. The first day we visited Australia zoo, which was a highlight. Jen and her 2 kids were there for that too, and as no-one but me had been there before, it was an exciting adventure. The weather was a bit drizzly, but didn't create too much of a problem. There is so much to see there, and we could have quite easily spent another day and still not seen it all. Definitely somewhere that we will visit many times.

We visited the famous Eumundi markets, although they close quite early (1.30pm) so we only had a few hours to wander around. We then visited Noosa and Coloundra, taking the back roads home to get the scenic tour. Duane also managed to find 2 prize homes to visit, which I pretended to be excited about.

Next day we headed off to the sunshine coast hinterland, with a few stops on the way. First one was the big pineapple, which was slightly disappointing. Lucky we didn't pay anything, as it's really not very exciting. We got to go inside the big pineapple, which was extremely boring and stunk like a Grandmothers house. Next we headed to the Ginger factory, which was only a slight improvement on the previous stop. We had a wander around, took some pics, bought everyone a honey lollipop and headed off for the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Now, this was way more up my alley and so much more beautiful!

We drove to Mapleton first, then through to Montville. Both little towns were stunning, with gorgeous sweeping views back to the coast. We only did a few stops though, with Duane and I alternating who got out as the kids had fallen asleep in the car. They woke by the time we got to the picturesque town of Maleny, so we all headed out to wander the streets. I stole some time for myself, loving shop hopping in all the cool, funky stores. I even found a few op-shops to peruse, but didn't score anything. After meeting up with Duane and the kids, we headed to the Maleny Markets where Grace was in awe of all the crystals for sale. She has a real attraction for them, so picked out a few special ones to buy.

For lunch we bought fish n chips and heads to Gardeners Falls for a picnic. It was drizzling, so we started off eating in the Torago but soon enough it fined up and we layed out the picnic rug to finish off. After lunch we headed for a bushwalk in to see the falls. It's a lovely, easy walk only taking about 30 mins there and back. The kids loved it, pretending they were "going on a bear hunt" and jumping in lots of puddles.

The kids enjoyed the walk so much that we headed off for another one the next day. This one was a 40minute rainforest walk, filled with lots of beautiful moss all under a canopy of tall trees. Grace asked about half way through for a photo shoot, although it didn't look right her pulling out her modelling moves in the middle of such a tranquil place. She was fascinated with the moss trailing along the rocks though, and spent ages poking and prodding it. Xav was just happy to be running free and stopped every now and then to twirl and declare how much he loved "bushwalking". I'm so thrilled that they love it, and I've got great plans in my head of family bushwalks and picnics in the Gold Coast hinterland.

This camping trip would have to be one of my favourites so far. It wasn't hot, just perfect for cuddling up in the tent with a hot water bottle. It also lent itself for lovely day rests in the tent, minus the suffocating heat. During the day, the weather was mostly perfect and didn't stop us from doing anything. Our other camping trips have been all about swimming and watersports, but this one wasn't - which was a nice change! And although we were probably our busiest this time, it was still lovely and relaxing.

Change of plans....

The last few days my whole study plans have been turned all upside down. I was all planned to take 2 or 3 of the nursing subjects, and looking forward to another 3 leisurely weeks of break until I e-mailed the Midwifery Convener to ask her opinion on which of the Nursing subjects would be best to enrol in. She replied on Thursday with a response that I'd never expect in my wildest dreams. She's offered for me to take 1 or 2 of the Midwifery subjects at Logan with the Midwifery students!! I'm stunned, but flattered and after freaking out a bit, I"m taking her up on the offer. I've decided to just do the 1 subject of Mid and the other Anatomy nursing subject, so just the 2 for this semester. But instead of my break, this course starts on MONDAY!!! It's really flexible though, I only have to go to uni on the 12th July and the 22nd July, and everything else in on-line and self-deirected.

It doesn't meant that I'm in to Midwifery yet, I still have to do really well and maintain at least a 6 GPA, which is roughly a distinction level. It just means that I'm doing a subject that I'll get credit for and FINALLY I get to do something pregnancy/birth related. I've just had a quick look at the course outline, and we will be doing a placenta dissection - way, way cooler than the rat!

I'm so nervous about it though. It's going to be a tough subject, covering the anatomy and physiology of reproduction, pregnancy, birth and the newborn. The mid students have done a condensed Anatomy which covered the whole 12 systems briefly in 6 months, whereas the one I'm doing covers them over 1 year. So, I haven't even touched on reproduction systems. I am reading the chapter over the weekend and hoping that I can at least have a basic knowledge and bluff my way through. It will work out great for end of semester though, as I'll be studying reproduction in both courses and hopefully it'll help in exams.

I'm also really nervous about being the new one in the group. There are 50 people already started Midwifery, and no doubt all formed friendships and may be hard to break into. I do know 1 girl though, so I'll just super glue myself to her and hopefully it'll be fine and they'll be nice. The other thing that worries me is that in nursing there is a lower entrance rank, which means lots of students that don't do as well. However, in the midwifery the rank was ridiculously high and mostly the people that got in have previous degrees and therefore a higher standard. I'm just hoping that I can still do well in such a high standard group.

Anyway, all that aside I'm still stoked that on Monday I'll be starting my first Midwifery subject!

Semester 1 results

Woohoo results are up and I'm pleasantly surprised.

After feeling like I flunked one exam after a very blase attempt at study, I actually did alright. I ended up with a Distinction for Anatomy and Physiology, and High Distinctions for the 3 other subjects. So, a GPA of 6.75 - with 7 being the top, I'm really happy with that!

I'm finding it a bit hard to comprehend that I've completed a full time semester at Uni and done ok. Out of the 11 assessment items this semester, I managed to pull off 8 High distinctions and 3 Distinctions - not bad for a "mature age" student!! After the first few results, I figured I just got lucky. Maybe I fluked it, but now, I'm thinking I might be able to do this - successfully!

It's been tough, but doable. My whole family has had a big adjustment to make, but it seems we have come to the other side relatively unscathed. Now, this could just be a semester break fantasy here, far away from the many stressful moments over the last 5 months!

I've actually decided to only do 2 subjects next semester. With the subjects I have already done, I've got a selection rank of 88, and I need a 90 to get into Midwifery. If I do 4 more subjects, I'd get in easily. But I don't want to just do subjects to do that, if I can get away with less subjects. It means less time, less money and less stress. I figure if I do 2 subjects, and do really well It'll give me 94. It also gives me a little room for movement, just in case I don't do as well. I could get 2 credits and still have a rank of 92, which should be good enough. I'm also happy with the alternative if I don't get into Midwifery. I'll just keep plodding along with Nursing (which I actually quite enjoy!), and I'll just swap between full time and part time as the need arises. I'll then look into dong Midwifery post grad.

Either way is going to suit be fine! And it means that Grace's last year at home, will be relatively easy and stress free. Also, her first year at school (sob, sob!!) depending on what course I'm doing, I'll be only doing 1 or 2 subjects. Perfect.

It might take me a while, but I'm on the way!

Sleep time

For about the last 6 months both kids have been asking for extra special treatment at bedtime. Xav, at about 7.30pm, always comes and asks me to take him to bed. He spends the whole day idolising his father, but come nighttime, it's his Mummy that he wants.

He then heads to the toilet, then bathroom to brush his teeth and we meet back in his room. He's usually picked out a few books, so we snuggle into his bed and start reading. After 5 or so books, I'm usually over reading and by then he's asking for me to tell him a story. I have 2 stories that I've made up and they have evolved over time, just for Xav. Ones about a little boy that wants to fly and one day grows wings, the other is about a little boy (see a theme?) who finds a magic fairy door in the garden. He loves both of them, and never tires of hearing either story every night.

~~Grubby hands and blankies~~

After I've finished the story, he rolls over and grabs his blankie for a cuddle. Then I get a request to either pat his back, run my fingers through his hair or lightly touch his back with my finger tips. Ok, I may be setting him up here for future fetishes here! But he loves all of them, and asks that I keep going until his asleep - I oblige. The lightly touching his back thing is a bit odd though. I just can't believe that it doesn't tickle him, instead sending him into a relaxed, docile trance. He often wanders up to Duane or I during the day asking for the back strokes too.

I love doing any of the above and watching him drift off to sleep. It's one of my all time favourite things - watching a child nodding off to dreamland. It's the beautiful moment as their body relaxes and they drift off - Bliss.....

Whilst all the above is happening, Grace has her Daddy performing much the same. They read some books and then Duane lays on her bed and they cuddle until she's asleep too.

We do sometimes mix it up, but for mostly I stick to Xav and Duane goes with Grace. It's become our quiet one-on-one with each child, and it's precious. Duane and I both do it eagerly and there is never any resentment for bedtime taking so long, sometimes we can be in there up to an hour. Mostly if it's taken this long though, it means the adult has fallen asleep too!

Now with all these lovely, relaxing night time rituals you'd think that they'd stay in their own beds all night? Nope, usually around the early hours of the morning (3-5am) we have 2 little bed buddies creep in. We barely even wake when they come in now, either they have improved their stealth qualities or we are learning to sleep through the disruption!

Xav cuddles into me and Grace snuggles in with her Daddy. Xav holds my hand as we sleep, which I just adore. Also, every day he picks a moment to tell me that we had lovely cuddles last night. Just today he thanked me for our last night snuggles as I buckled him into his seat - Just Adorable.

Duane and I both know it's not something we'll be doing forever, so we take the moments when we can.

**I probably should note here that the above photos weren't quite the tranquil picture they paint. Xav had a wonderful meltdown the other day, as he was tired and wanted to just lay on the couch watching a Dvd. I said no, which resulted in said meltdown. He was going crazy and throwing himself around, so I bear hugged him and reminded him to take deep breaths until his body softened. He then stomped off to his bedroom (still yelling about the injustice of it all) and layed down on his floor and went to sleep. It's just what Xav does when he has a rare meltdown, takes himself off for a rest.

Hospital visit # 2

Grace had another stint in the emergency department of the Robina Hospital yesterday. Fortunately, she wasn't as sick this time, but was well on the way to it.

It all started on the way home from our camping trip on Tuesday. She was fine in the morning as we packed up to leave, and fine in the first part of the car ride. We stopped in Brisbane and headed into a shopping centre for lunch. The kids were getting ratty from hunger, so I headed to the closest place with food which happened to be McDonald's. Now, the kids have had dribs and drabs from there, mainly chips and ice cream, but this was the first time that I'd bought them a full crap meal. Xav's not that keen on chips, so he opted for nuggets, apple pieces and apple juice. Grace had the nuggets, chips and apple juice. All was good until we got back into the car to head to the Museum in the city. Grace started complaining of a sore stomach and looked a bit white, we put it down to car sickness as she had been reading and writing the whole trip.

Soon after though, she was looking paler and said she was going to vomit. Lucky I had a spew bag in the front of the car, and just after I passed it to her she filled it up. She perked up after the spew, so once again thinking it was just car sickness, we headed to the museum. Grace was quite happy wandering around checking out the dinosaurs and all the other exhibits, however after an hour or so she just wanted Duane to carry her. Her and Duane went and found a comfy chair to hang out on, and I took Xav through the rest of the museum as he was absolutely loving it! She fell asleep, but we still figured it was a combination of a busy week and car sickness.

She slept all the way home, and transferred straight to the couch - where she spent the rest of the afternoon/night. She vomited once more, and although she didn't want anything to eat she was still drinking small amounts of water and sucking on ice chips.

We put her in our bed for the night, with towels under her head and a bucket close by. She slept well, 12 hours with no stirring or vomiting. However, as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning, the spewing started and didn't stop. Poor little thing was bringing up bile, as there was nothing else left. By about 8am she started vomiting specs of blood, which was a very worrying thing to see. I got her straight into the Dr, who after examining her told us to head straight to emergency as she was on her way to becoming severely dehydrated again.

So once again, we hurried and dumped Xav and headed to the hospital. The triage nurse took one look at her limp and listless, and sent us straight through - Thank goodness. She was a lot more alert than last time, but her mouth was dry and her capillary refill was taking a bit longer than it should. Her pulse was also really high, and the way she looked was worrisome.

The Dr was keen to get either a gastric tube or iv in straight away, but I was a bit apprehensive as she was still alert enough to put up a fight. She wasn't to happy about the bsl test, so I could just imagine how she would react to something being shoved down her throat. The Dr and nurse suggested we try a drug called "Ondansetron", which is mostly used for cancer patients to stop the nausea from chemo. It worked amazingly. Grace went from vomiting every 5-10 minutes to stopping within 10 minutes of sucking on the wafer. It's apparently not commonly used, and there are certain criteria that have to be met before it can be prescribed. I'm normally all for letting an infection or whatever works it own way out, but yesterday I was thankful for the relief this tiny pill offered my little girl. It also meant that she could now hold down fluids and have a better chance at avoiding an Iv.

Once the vomiting ceased, she was put on a strict time frame of 20 mls of fluid every 10 mins. My over achieving little girl gulped back 40 ml in the same time frame, so was well on the way to rehydration within the hour. We got to hospital at 10am and were on our way home with a perked up little girl by 4pm. Once again, I am so thankful for access to such a fantastic public health service.

The Dr's are still not really sure what keeps happening to Grace. This is the 4th time in 12 months that she has been vomiting (no diarrhoea) and no one else gets sick. The Dr once again said that although it doesn't seem right, he could only put it down to a viral infection. I've got my own suspicions that it's food related, so I'm going to be keeping a close eye on her eating over the next few months. I'm also dosing her up on probiotics and booking her in to see a naturopath to hopefully build her gut flora up again. It just doesn't feel right that she gets so dehydrated after being sick for less than 24 hours. Maybe she is just one of these people that has trouble stopping vomiting once they start?

By this morning she was back to her happy, cheerful self. The only remnant left of yesterdays ordeal was the tired meltdown we had early today. However, after a little rest it has rectified.

There is one silver lining to all this. She has blamed the vomiting on McDonald's, in particular the chips and has vowed never to eat them again. She must associate the taste of them with the vomiting, something I also do. After vomiting after eating saveloy's as a child, I still can't bring myself to even try them now.