Child's Play...

We were driving home from a friend's house yesterday afternoon after collecting AJ from her play date and AJ was yapping on in the backseat telling me all about the rules of a game they play at school called Buzz Off.

I have never heard of this game so listened intently - well as intently as one can when not particularly interested in playing said game - with AJ hoping that, by letting me in on the rules, I may just play it with them one day.

But what did dawn on me is the fact that we learn all of these games as kids. They just happen and we play them and we never know how they originated. Heck, I don't even remember being taught how to play games. It was like I just always knew them. Red Rover, Brandy, Elastics, any number of sing-song, hand clapping games. And who doesn't remember Catch & Kiss which apparently starts as young as 5 these days! These are the main ones that stick in my mind from primary school.

Not that I have much of a memory for this kind of stuff. I'm lucky to remember being at school at all. And not because of any glue sniffing or the like as suggested by a good friend the other day. ; p

I just simply don't remember stuff. I think I have tried to block out a lot of things and, being that it is all from the same era, maybe the brain can't be overly selective so whole blocks get erased.

Or maybe. Just maybe it's as someone else suggested the other day. Maybe I am, in fact, an uber-genius and just don't know it! Luckily these days, said glue sniffing theorist, is now officially my external memory so whenever I need to know something about "back then" I just ask her.

Either way, the fact remains that as kids we just start playing and all of a sudden we have a memory full of games with no recollection - or maybe that's just me - of being taught them. It's like our brains are just programmed to know this stuff.

The Countdown is on...

The Wee One will be one in exactly 2 weeks.

And, while I'm happy to be reaching this milestone it's also just a little bit sad.

Oooh and just to vent a little. I've been waiting for photos that we had taken of the Wee One and the girls at 6 months old back in July and I really, really want them before her birthday. I hope I get them.

Close To Home...

A friend of ours and her sisters have a long family history of breast cancer and, as such, have had to make some really big decisions in their lives over the past couple of years.

The documentary

Imagine being told that you have the BRCA2 gene and then trying to make decisions based on the fact that you may or may not end up with cancer but if you do it could kill you. Imagine trying to decide the best path to take. To remove your breasts and possibly your ovaries just in case or to undergo the rest of your years with test upon test just in case.

And then to have people assume you have decided to enhance your body which, of course, there is no problem with if one wants to travel that path. But to make such a huge decision based around such a life threatening issue and then have people assume you were vain? I don't know about you, but I think that would be tough.

The book

I admire these women for their courage, strength and humour but also for sharing their stories and experiences with others.

My Girls...

Sometimes it's nice to be able to stand and observe without being noticed.

They play so wonderfully together. All three of them. They make my heart ache with love and joy and pride and hope that this closeness will be long lasting for them.

I went out just now to call them inside to help me make pizza and, already forming their respective roles within our family, AJ was taking charge and making a game with Schmoo her happy companion, following all instructions and then.

Then there was the Wee One. Following them everywhere they went. She just loves being where they are. Often not keeping up and they would be back before she got going. BUT. It's just so bloody cute!

AJ has always been such a great big sister and it's so lovely to see her creating the same beautiful memories with the Wee One as she did with Schmoo at the same age. Chasing fairies, collecting, making up stories. She is just so good at this. She was born to be a big sister that one.

And even better is that I watch Schmoo with the Wee One now and you can see AJ has taught her so much about what it is to be a big sister and she is devoted to doing a good job.

I feel so very lucky!!!

The Saga Continues...

So, let's face it. Who were we trying to fool?

Seriously. She is so. Not. Ready for this. I know she wants to be but is there any point if I have to get up to take her to the toilet twice a night which was the reason for our success yesterday morning?

Last night we decided we wouldn't put her on the toilet before we went to bed and just get up later in the night, knowing the Wee One would be stirring due to her farking teeth again!

Seriously, the Wee One is the looongest teether I know and the most painful. So much so that once the three top ones came through - it took weeks. I'm not exaggerating. My guess is a good four weeks - she has graced us with about four days of perfectness and now she's teething again. Ugh!

Anyway, I got up at around 2 and Schmoo had already wet the bed. So, CJ took her to the toilet while I stripped her bed so poor old AJ didn't wake up in an air of stale wee! Ewwww! The joys of sharing a room with a younger sibling huh?

We put her into bed with us and then I decided to put a nappy on her just in case - I know, I know. Such the doubting Thomas but I was so not washing two sets of sheets today after we'd done them all on the weekend - and she mumbled to me in her sleepy state that "that's much better". Awwww. She is so cute.

Well, she woke at 6 and had wee'd in that too. So. You see. It's just not going to work. Not right now. She didn't even wake up when she'd wet the bed the first time. Just shifted positions away from that spot. LOL

The problem I faced. How to get her back into nappies now that she is such a big girl. So, I have told her this morning that she can wear a nappy with knickers over the top. You know, just for now. Just for a bit longer because it's a much better idea and she won't wake up all wet feeling yucky! Was going to go with the not smelling like wee argument but let's face it a three year old that still wees all night definitely wafts the aroma of wee in the morning. Ewww again!

And....

She agreed!!! Let's hope tonight she is still so amicable.

The Saga That Is...

Toilet training with Schmooey.

Oh. My. God!!! This has been such a drawn out, painful process. We're finally. FINALLY. Doing okay during the day but she still wakes with such a full nappy of a morning. However, for the past two nights she has been desperate to wear knickers to bed. *cringe*

Friday night was good until, I suspect, the wee - hehehe, pun intended - hours of the morning and at 6 she came into me totally crushed because she had wet her bed. She was so disappointed in herself the poor little thing.

So, last night it was decided that I would get her up before I went to bed for a quick wee stop and then at around 4 this morning I did the same. You see, the problem with getting one's child up any time after about 4.30 is that it increases the risk that they will not go back to bed. So, luckily for me, Schmooey is a great sleeper and managed to stay asleep for the whole weeing process. LOL

BUT. This is where the problem lies I believe. Because she is such a good little sleeper and wakes up ever so slowly of a morning, it would seem that this is when the lazy little bugger does a wee in her nappy. It's like her morning ritual. Rather than moving before her eyes are even opened or her brain has registered that she is awake like some other members of the household - AJ and The Wee One for those not in the know - Schmooey is far more like me and could lie there for at least half an hour before casually rolling herself out of bed.

And who can blame her. I think it's a much nicer way to wake up. Well, I don't know about the weeing in the nappy bit as I haven't done that for a while. ; p

But definitely just lying there and having a snooze and slowly greeting another day, that's the way I love to wake up. And I'm slightly jealous of Schmooey because I very rarely get to do that these days. Having three girls I think the chances are high that I will, one day, return to these sleepy, lazy mornings in about, oh, I expect another 5-10 years from now but for now it's usually me jumping out of bed to attend to someone or answer the phone because nobody believes that I could ever manage a sleep in.

So, I'm waiting ever so patiently, for Schmooey to wake up and see how we've gone. I'm hoping she wakes up soon because the longer she sleeps the more likelihood there is of an accident.

Ooh. I think I hear her!!!

My Baby is Turning One...

... in under four weeks! *sniff*

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Day for Remembering...

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Every year I make a note here that today is that day.

Why?

I'm not really sure. Maybe because it's like a free pass. Like today is the day you are allowed to grieve. No questions asked! And it's funny - not haha funny. Weird funny - because I forget nearly every year that it is almost here and then out of the blue I'll be feeling down or reminiscent and within a day or two it will click that today is that day.

And I think of my friends who would give anything to have their babies here safe in their arms but instead have to hold them tightly in their hearts and memories.

So I will be another one who is lighting a candle tonight to remember and honour not only my lost babies but my friends and their babies and families.

May today be soft and gentle and may they watch over us and keep us safe.

Who's The...

Well, I won't say fairest. I'm going with most determined!

And my bet is on the Wee One. She is soooo independent. Fiercely.

She will not let you hold her hand to help her over a step. No. Way! She will not let you pick her up or come over for a cuddle if it's not on her terms. She will not eat something that you try to put in her mouth - not that I can really blame her there. I am one for sussing out said offering before it hits the taste buds - or that she can't hold herself. She refuses to sit in her highchair to eat because that would indicate she was, ah, a baby. And she'll let you know if you've upset her in any way.

She has the BIGGEST tantrums of any 11 month old I have ever seen. Yes peeps. It is her way or the highway.

She is one cranky little thing.

Oh and on top of all of this. She is fast. "Like a ninja fast" according to our neighbour today.

Four people in two days can't be wrong - unless of course they're assuming I'm pregnant. Yes, it's still a sore point - and she is keeping everybody on their toes. They turn, she moves, they have no idea what she's going to do next. They turn around again and she is gone!!!

And you know what? As with all my girls. It's a part of them I secretly LOVE and am so very proud of. Never let it be said that one of my girls will get pushed around. If the last six years are anything to go by I pity the fool who tries!!!

Because it won't just be one of them you'll be dealing with. No sirree! They're a gang and, boy oh boy, have they got each others' backs.

It's Early But...

I have to call it already today. Nothing will top this quote for today.

After Schmooey vomited all through my car yesterday afternoon and then proceeded to tell me this morning that she did a poo that came out like a wee. I explained to her that she may be sick - although I suspect it was more the punnet of strawberries and copious amounts of juice she drank yesterday - and couldn't go to kindy today or stay at the friend's house that is looking after the Wee One for me just in case she does have something and shares it around.

And the reply?

"But, Mum, I'm not sick. It's just inside my butt that's hurting! This is just crazy because I'm. Not. Sick!"

What does one say to that? Bwahahahahaha

My Poor Old Pooch...

Dodge...

He was my 2nd birthday present from CJ. He was our first baby. He was a pound puppy. We went to the pound - my very first heart wrenching visit - and met BJ. A four month old puppy with big ears and very big feet. I asked if I could meet him without the fence between us. He loved me and I him. And then CJ said he didn't think BJ would be the best dog for us and we left.

And I cried. All the way home and for about an hour after that. We went back to the pound two hours later and asked to buy BJ. The deal was that CJ got naming rights. The lady sat us down and reminded us that this puppy would grow into his feet and his ears - he never did grow into the latter - and wanted to make sure we were looking for a dog that size. We were. Dodge left the pound with us that afternoon.

We were on our way to a friend's birthday party so we took him with us. He was so well behaved from that very first day. I haven't told my Dad yet. Secretly my Dad was always Dodge's first "master". If Dad was here, he would obey Dad over anyone else. They had a thing.

And then we had Audrey. And Dodge was her protector. They were such good friends. He was such a great family dog. So patient as the girls would use the fur on his chest to pull themselves up to standing when they were learning to walk. So patient with any new dog that would come to stay. He was a clever dog too. He would let the dogs A Houdini dog that used to drive us crazy with his escape antics but a great dog nonetheless.

And last night it would seem he escaped again. Only this time, he didn't come back. Hit by a car. A friend called to say they thought they had seen him on the side of the road so I went out the gate to see, knowing all the while that nobody could mistake him for someone's dog. I knew. Deep in my heart I knew. If they said they thought it was him, it was going to be him.

I have cried. And cried. Audrey has not stopped crying. CJ is crying as he prepares a place to lay him to rest. What a sad, sad day!

Goodbye Old Mans!!! We will miss you so very much.

Name that Service...

Okay, so I've decided that I need a website and I need a name.

It is time to get serious if I want to continue working from home as a transcriptionist so I need to find some new clients.

I was going with Virtually Vintage Transcription Services (modern day assistants offering good old fashioned service). Not sure if I like it anymore. No idea why. I tire of things easily! LOL

CJ has decided he likes The Transcription Lab and I have opted for the K.I.S.S. method and used the girls initials or maybe just the Wee One's to get either ALM Transcription Services or ME Transcription Services (which is kinda okay I think).

Figured you're a clever little bunch.

So can you come up with a name for me please?

And stat. Thanks : p