A Decade of Life...

1999 ended with a bang. At least, I think it may have? I was asleep, having been up with my young daughter and being just pregnant with our second child. I remember Christmas was awful that year with many clashes between ourselves and my husbands parents. I nearly lost the baby due to stress so the last thing I wanted to do was celebrate. I was woken by the hulabaloo at midnight, yawned rolled over and went to sleep.

Y2K didn't happen, the computers didn't die, the world didn't end (at least not then) and the next ten years would be filled with life, love and loss.

My greatest triumphs were my children. Caitlin Marie, a spitfire with a heart of gold. She adores her brothers and loves to drive us bananas. She is now 11 and we can just see glimmers of the young woman she will become. The time goes so fast.

Aiden Anthony, my special boy. A lovely bear of a baby, fat as butter with a rollicking laugh that would send everyone into fits of giggles. He was an easy baby, a dream of a toddler and emerged into a slightly off center child. Diagnosis this year is of Aspergers Syndrome. We now have the help we need at school and I can see a bright future for him.

And Conor James. Last but certainly not least. Full of fun and sure of his good looks and charm, Conor adores everyone and everyone adores Conor. He makes friends wherever he goes, is slow to cry and quick to forgive.

I love you my babies!

We have had ten years of memorable moments and those moments we would like to forget.

June 2001 found me in a battle I could not hide from. Diagnosed with tongue cancer, I had to endure two operations on my mouth, removal of a large part of my tongue, learning to talk and eat again and, the worst part of all, being seperated from my children for nine days while in hospital. I am now clear of the cancer and have been for the last nine years.

In 2003 we lost Tonys adored Grandmother. She was the only member of Tony's family who welcomed me. A prickly old curmudgeon, she loved all her grandchildren, loved me and simply worshipped her greatchildren. Our world has been a little darker since then.

2004 heralded the birth of baby Conor, making our family complete and throwing interesting challenges to us. Caitie started school and had to be pulled out on the second day because I selfishly went in to labour! It was also a week of horrendous temperatures followed by massive storms. The final outcome was worth it though LOL! Initial prenatal scans revealed a possible problem with his kidneys and scans at 6 weeks confirmed it. It was heartbreaking to watch them strap my tiny baby boy into this massive machine. The results were conclusive though, Conor has only one functioning kidney. He lives with it well, only requiring extra fluids during excessively hot weather.

2005 was a year that I could cheerfully forget. We put the back deck on our home, endured argument upon argument with the builders....and then...

My beloved baby boy, not quite 2, climbed over the railing and fell four meters, striking the handrail as he fell. I heard him scream, couldn't find him and finally looked over the balcony to see him, hysterical at the bottom of the stairs. His face was covered in blood. I screamed for Tony to call OOO. Tony was the one who scooped him up. I couldn't look. His face was split open and I was convinced he was going to die. I spent the next twenty four + hours holding my child as he was prodded, poked, X-rayed, given needles, stitched, bandaged, vomited all over himself and then re-bandaged. Four stitches. Thats it. Four stitches, a humdinger of a black eye and a scar that chicks are going to love!

And that wasn't the end of it either! A few weeks later, he hit the corner of his eye on a coffee table...one stitch (wasn't really worth the effort was it!) And then he fell off the slide and headbutted the only piece of concrete in the entire yard. I rang husband, told him to come home, the ambulance was on its way! Super glue that time. Dangerous child!

Like all families we have had breaks ( 2 at last count, both Caitie, both arms), infections (Aiden has a snodger of an infection in his knee), burns (yeah me and fat don't mix), one bout of cellulitis (stupid husband stood on a stupid nail), illness, colds and flus but the scariest had to be croup.

Caitie came down with croup at around the age of six. She was coughing so hard she was vomiting. She was turning blue. I called the ambulance. I then proceeded to be abused by the ambos for NOT taking her to the hospital. They put her on oxygen and we were quickly taken to the hospital and back home again. The following week Aiden got croup. Alot worse. His head was bobbing, he was uncommunicative, making no sense and lapsing into unconsciousness. Heeding the warning by the ambo's, I put him in the car and drove to the hospital like a mad thing. Luckily I put the heater on in the car. He was rambling and making no sense. When we arrived at the hospital, it was to have him immediatly put on steroids. Very scary and a lesson well learnt. If in doubt, ring the ambulance and ignore the sarcasm.

Together, Tony and I have celebrated twelve years of marriage, a second surprise wedding, enough hassles to last another ten years and at least twenty worth of bad luck. A little good would be nice around about now. I am looking forward to something good happening in 2010.

Happy New Year to Everyone

Cin

Peace on Earth...or at least my lounge room!

Christmas morning, up with the birds. Presents unwrapped...and Peace On Earth reigns in my household....

Ahhhh, the blessed silence four Nintendo DS consoles can bring.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cindy

Running out of Firsts

When you have children, their lives are filled with firsts. First bath, first night home, first smile, first steps, first christmas, first bicycle.

The firsts start to slow down as your child gets older and the firsts are more important. Conor has just experienced a special first for him.


Conor lost his first tooth. And he was very brave. The tooth has been loose for a little while, with an adult tooth pushing through from behind. Today, he asked if we could pull it out. Daddy tried cotton but Conor wasn't feeling particularly happy with that. So Daddy tried to dry it with a paper towel and pull it out on the sly! Nope, that didn't work either, all that happened was Conor bled like a stuck pig!

Finally, I told him he had to be brave and see if he could pull it out himself. There were tears, there was much forehead wrinkling and then...he squared his shoulders and pulled it out himself.

Tonight he will be anxiously waiting for the tooth fairy...or the Molinator as he likes to be called!

Cindy

BeTWEEN a Rock and a Hard Place

When I was 11, I was a little girl. I played little girl games and dreamt little girl dreams and had a little girls respect for her parents.

Caitie, on the other hand, is a Tweenie. She is between being a little girl and a teenager. And it comes with all the attitude that a teenager has with a pinch of angst and alot of anger. Everything is so unfair, I'm so horrible, everyone else can do this or that. And when she doesn't get her own way, she throws the most appalling temper tantrums. Bad ones...kicking my solid wood antique dining table across the room bad. Throwing herself against my fridge bad. Destroying things bad. And I don't know how to deal with it.

She is sweet and funny and was fantastic helping out at an Obedience trial the other night. The committee couldn't say better things about her. That, I suppose, is it. Is the one thing I should be proud of. She respects her elders, is polite, goes out of her way to help.

I reckon I can put up withe the next seven years of "I don't like you" if she is good when she is away from home...at least I think I can!


Cin

Cousin It!

A week ago, Caitie asked me to plait her hair. So, being the wonderful mother I am, I obliged...it had nothing to do with the fact that I knew what it would look like after she brushed it out. *snort*

Enjoy,

Cin

Sadness by the bucket load

The problem with breeding anything, cats, dogs, horses, chickens, fish...kids is that eventually your heart will get hurt. Your heart will be ripped out, stomped on, wiped through the mud, torn to shreds and put back in your chest just for the hell of it. It hurts...it hurts alot.
Our first litter of the season was born in a kitchen drawer. Mum managed to squeeze through the back, all two inches of it, and gave birth in the smallest drawer possible. The first two babies died after Mum laid on them. Of the surviving four, the smallest perished after a few days. The remaining three have grown and prospered and taken the hearts of others. They will go to their new homes soon, fat little butterballs they are. Super sweet and naughty too!


Our second was a tabby litter of six. The littlest girl died after a long struggle. Her five siblings, two girls and two boys were doing fine until the choccie girl crashed and struggled to stay alive. I was NOT going to lose yet another kitten so we fought long and hard and she is doing well. She is somewhat smaller than the rest of her siblings but is doing very well. Her brothers are below.


Our hardest litter was born last. We lost one boy at birth. We lost one boy at around a week and a half old and we lost another boy at two weeks old. We had to bottle feed these babies and I fought so HARD to no avail. It really hurt, these kittens meant the world to me.

The last two are putting on weight and are fat as butter. I hoped that was the end of the bad luck...but the kids had other ideas!

Last week Caitie was supposed to be cleaning her room and snuck out. She then went down the road and borrowed her friends roller blades. The first we knew of it was when her friend came running up to the house in a panic. Caitie had fallen over and broken her arm...(sigh)

Can the world just stop for one second? Please?

Cin

Endings and Beginnings

Long before we owned and bred Devons, we were loved by Dax. Dax was a silver tortie tabby moggie of indiscrimanate breeding. Mum was purebred himalayan and dad was lucky. She arrived on our doorstep in an esky, a freebie from the paper. It was love at first sight.

I have a favourite photograph of Tony eating icecream with Dax sitting on his shoulder as a wee kitten, trying to scoop the icecream off the spoon into her mouth. Dax lived through having her jaw broken by a dog, a massive foot infection, abscesses and numerous puppies. She was our resident puppy trainer, teaching them respect for cats. Every Monday night, home from Obedience training with Nell, Dax would meet me at the gate because she knew I would have one leftover treat in my treatbag just for her. She never met me on Wednesday nights because I didn't take treats then! Clever cat.

Thursday afternoon Dax was hit by a car. Dax was road savvy and had been an outdoor cat her entire life. She was found by Caitie who believes if she found her sooner Dax would have lived. The damage was too severe and Dax passed away that evening aged 15 years old. We badly miss our Meow Cat, who never learnt how to Meow completely. She either said MMM or Owwww!.

Yet life goes on and we welcome our new babies. Two litters have arrived, the first a litter of six were born in a kitchen drawer (silly Mummy). Unfortunately we lost three due to complications and being born in a small environment. The surviving three are thriving under the lovig attention of their mum, Titch.

And this morning, at 4am, we welcomed our second litter of six tabby babies! Three girls and three boys. They are doing well but its the first day.

The circle of life in its most heartbreaking and joyous forms,

Cin

Art Appreciation 101

September school holidays have been long and boring most of the time for my kids as I have had to work quite often. We've managed to fit in trips to the beach, the park, the Water Park and today I took the kidlets to the Museum and Art Gallery.

The museum is the boys' favourite place to visit. Aiden and Conor both love the animals and seeing all the bones and gross bits. I love identifying the birds that are around our area. Today they also had science experiments where the kids made whirlybirds and balancing clowns.

We also popped into the Gallery of Modern Art where the kids came across this giant sculpture by Ron Mueck, titled "In Bed". They were all fascinated and you could see them itching to touch and explore. I think we spent a good ten to fifteen minutes looking at this huge woman. Caitlin said that she thought the woman looked cold. Not a bad observation for an 11 year old.

After we came home, I showed them some more of Muecks work and the kids are absolutely fascinated by him and his take on humanity. A little bit of culture for the kids!

Cheers,
Cin

Persistence Pays Off

It was Aidens birthday last month and he had been hoping to get a Ripstick for Christmas. This skateboard on two wheels is very difficult to learn to ride but lotsa fun when you get it right. Aiden told me he had learnt to ride one at his friends place and was really good at it.

So we surprised him with one for his birthday instead and the very first thing he did was fall off in spectacular style! There was blood, there was torn flesh, there were tears...turns out Aiden told me a furphy. He thought a little lie wouldn't be noticed, much.

Anyway, he has been practicing and practicing and practicing...

So, he's not ready for any gnarley jumps or anything and he's no Tony Hawke but geez I'm proud of him!

Cheers,

Cin

One Piece of Tape

They say a picture tells a thousand words. Well, I'm hoping this picture saves us thousands of dollars!

Caitie went to remove a piece of tape from her wall, accidently leant on it and broke the wall. She flew out of her room in tears thinking she had done this horrible thing. In truth, if she hadn't of leant on the wall, we wouldn't have discovered the horrible truth.

As husband went to repair the very small break in the masonite, he turned to me appalled and said those awful words...."We have termites!" Ohhhh, crap! After destroying a fair amount of wall inside as well as removing the capping on the side of the house outside, he determined we had caught them just as they were starting to build. There was no damage, just alot of mud and some really annoyed crawlies. Its hard to have a Happy Sunday when you've just been sprayed with insect kill.

Now the bets are on for how long it will take for him to FIX the wall!

Cin

Dump and Burn, Baby!!

Today was the start of the Brisbane River festival, a three week long celebration that highlights life in our River city. We spent it, and a belated Fathers Day, down at Kalinga Park. It is a stunning park, interwoven with a burbling creek that attracts kids like moths to a flame. Today the kids even saw two clutches of ducklings bumping along the creek with their Mother and a big water dragon!

This park has special significance for our family as Tony and I were married there, along the banks of the creek where we loved to run the dogs, playing in the shallows and exploring. We hoped to bring our kids to the playground and watch them grow and explore as we had. It wasn't to be as vandals burnt it to the ground.

We hadn't been to the new playground in some months when we came to the Park one day and were met by a kids absolute wonderland! The playground now nestles amongst the trees, inviting the children (and parents) to indulge in wild games of tag, fanciful imaginative play and exercising young minds and bodies....and its great fun too! Its consists of four tree houses, all interconnected with slides, ramps, moving bridges, ladders and firemens poles. There is also a large sandpit for the toddlers to explore and build in.

We enjoyed a simmple picnic lunch sitting under the trees and watching the birds come down and pilfer our scraps for their nestlings. The park was alive with the sounds of children playing ball, bicycles, scooters, laughter; quite simply, it was a beautiful spring day.

After lunch the kids and Tony went down to paddle in the creek. Caitie of course got thrown in while the boys splashed around like seals. The water was cold today but the boys still had a blast. I was quite content to enjoy the scenary, our own little piece of the bush right in our backyard!

I had to include this fantastic photo of Caitie who loves to mug for the camera. She is getting so big. At one point her father was pretending to throw a ball at her while she was on her bike. When she got close enough, he did throw it, where it promptly bounced off her and beaned him fair in the head. I don't think I've laughed that hard in ages...the look of shock was priceless.

Tony took the opportunity to have a ride on Conors scooter where of course Conor had to help him. They were so cute together. Papa Bear and Little Bear.

And here's the three rats, together, probably planning something naughty!

After we came home, it was time to plan for the nights entertainment. Every year, the River festival is started with Riverfire; a showcase of fireworks set off in time to music. This year we had halo's, hearts, happy faces, waterfalls from the bridge and lots of OOOh's and AAAAh's. We have enjoyed it every year, watching from home for one very good reason.

DUMP AND BURN BABY!!!!

Sorry, I get carried away with those four words. The dump and burn is the F1-11's screaming over the city and doing a fuel dump, blazing across the sky. It can be clearly seen from our home and is the highlight of each year. Sadly, after this year, the F1-11's will be retired and its the very last dump and burn....but gosh darn, it was fantastic!!! Right at the end of the clip you can hear the roar as the jets fly over heard, two small fireballs that lit up the sky.

It was a poignant end to a great day. Happy River Festival everyone!

Cheers

Cin

These Little Wonders

I watched the movie "Meet the Robinsons" again the other day and heard the song "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas and the lyrics gave me pause.

Our lives are made in these small hours

These little wonders,

These twists & turns of fate

Time falls away,

but these small hours, these small hours still remain

I suppose what hit me was that, when our children are wee babies, time is measured in the tiniest increments, a sigh here, a smile there, each moment is remembered with perfect clarity, each tiny memory is cherished and put away to bring out in our darkest times.

This week has not been dark but quite dim for my oldest, Caitlin. She has aphthous ulcers, which means her mouth is full of ulcers, shockingly painful ulcers and there is nothing that can be done until the virus runs its course. As a mother, it is killing me that I can't do anything. I can't take the pain away, I can't eat for her and I can't stop her friends drifting away as they are scared of this thing that has turned her into a mumbling, dribbling, foul breathed child. I can't help her...except in these small hours, I can hold her and let her cry.

But it made me remember, as did the words of this song, the other small hours. Those moments when I had stumbled from my warm bed to feed a crying baby. Wrapped in a quilt, in my rocking chair, there were just the two of us. Whether it was Caitlin, Aiden or Conor, there were only the two of us, in the small precious moments of the starlit evening. We were in our own tiny world, nothing existed except the sleepy contentment of a milk-drunk baby and a mother, holding that which is most dear and precious to us.

So, I thought I would share two of my favourite photos of my kids...they were only little then and now, they are big kids...but there is always room in my arms for a hug that heals all wounds.

Aiden on the left, our Michelin Baby and Caitie on the right, adoring big sister.

This is my all time favourite photo of a newborn Conor taking his first cautious peep at the world, safe in the arms of Dad.

And my three now...they may not like each other but I know they love each other!

Cheers,

Cin

Q..Who Knew!!

For many years I have loved a particular coloured stafford and that is those that have either a full white face or a white head. After the passing of my beautiful Besa, I had plans to bring in a new pup and ached for another male. And then...I found one!

We would like to welcome Alangrove Qupids Arrow or Q as we call him. Q is a lovely puppy and a really good boy too. He has leanrt to sit on command, come when he is called and wait at the door or for his dinner. He is learning the heel position and also how to return to the heel position. And did I mention he is a gooooood puppy?
When he arrived, he slept with me the first night on a mattress in the lounge room. And we progressed night after night, moving him into his crate. Then into his crate with the door closed and finally outside with the big dogs.
Today, we went to the beach for the first time and it was a bad day to go. The wind was high and blowing up fairly sizeable waves (at least sizeable to a fourteen week old puppy!) I thought Q would be a little bit hesitant but no, he jumped right in, wasn't worried or scared and followed the big dogs like he had been swimming forever!


I'm looking forward to having him attend puppy school in two weeks time. A new adventure awaits us!

I was concerned about how well Nell would react to a pup and she was snarfy to start with. Now, they get on well mainly because he has really good puppy manners.

On an aside...Nell gained a Quali in her Snooker run this weekend. One more and it will be her title. She has also achieved enough to gain her her Gold Super Dog Medallion this year.

GO THE NOODLE!!!!

Cin

A Candle for Isabella

A dear and close friend recieved a beautiful gift last Thursday. Her first grandchild, Isabella was born 7 weeks early and entered the world with complications and a fighting spirit. Izzy is doing well but could use a pinch of Prayer Power. Please, if you have the time, the inclination and the faith, let Him know that we down here need this little girl and love her dearly. Help her on her road to recovery...please.
Cindy
(hugs Maree)

A Tropical Winter Garden...ie Silent Sunday!

Cindy

p.s. Ok, I couldn't do a wordless Wednesday but a Silent Sunday...!

A Farm Girl at Heart

I grew up on a farm. Actually I grew up on many farms, piggeries, massive properties, the works. It was always my job to look after the chickens. Of course, as a kid, any time not spent playing was wasted so I hated it.


I was also a lonely teenager who lived in a small country town where most of my friends lived outside of town and I had no transport, therefore no friends whom I saw after school or at the weekend. And there I found my first love of chooks. I loved their orderly lives, I loved that they would take any bit of garbage and turn it into fresh eggs. I loved that mine would come running when I called out 'chook, chook, chicKENS!' I loved seeing them delve with much pleasure into table scraps. I loved the feel of their feathers and the sheen they had in sunlight.


And stupidly enough, I learnt to understand how they worked in a flock. I learnt how to round them up and get them to go where I wanted them to go. Chooks are a bit like sheep, they follow the leader and the slightest body movement changes their direction. My kids don't understand this and it frustrates me. And my kids also don't get that chooks need food to produce eggs and clean water to stay healthy...this too frustrates me.


But all in all, I just love having them around. I love to indulge my passion for chooks by spoiling them with a new layer of mulch or some oats in their food. I love that they are undemanding, that they make the coolest noises and they are just plain pretty. I love that they can live in small backyards as well as they can in huge open barns. I know, its strange but thats the kinda girl I am...

The girls enjoying the "muck billy"

Did I mention how much I love black chooks??

The girls having a gossip "Did you see Mabels egg this morning it was sooo tiny"

"Yes, I knowwwwwww"

And the ultimate gift, farm fresh warm eggs. They are all natural and aren't dyed.

This was going to be one of those wordless Wednesday posts but HA! I couldn't shut up if you paid me too!

Cin
p.s. hugs to Gen on the loss of her Nanni. Chin up chook!

Diagnosis

Well, Aidens appointment was moved up with Dr S. After discussing our concerns and having him talk to Aiden, he agrees that he has some form of Aspergers. There are many differing things that make up an Aspie child, Aidens is that he can't handle crowds, says inappropriate things at the wrong time and in the wrong context, he is brilliant at some things and quite bad at others, he has concentration issues, clumsiness, is easily distracted and he has alot of trouble making friends. Forty years ago he would have been labelled as quirky or eccentric. Now we know there is a reason for it.

Treatment at the moment is more maintenance than a cure: there is no cure for Aspergers. We are working with him on channelling his behaviour, thinking before he speaks, removing himself from confronting situations etc. We will be putting him on fish oil to help with a healthy brain and in a few months time Dr S will have another look at the situation. We are also waiting for the school to send in their information as well.

Its all coming together, now we know what we are dealing with! Now comes the learning!

Cheers,
Cin