this kind of excitement I can do without...

It was shaping up to be just another Thursday evening last night... dinner was out of the way and I was in the laundry finding today's school uniforms while the bathwater was running. Then Doodlebug came in screaming,telling me he'd accidentally put his fist through a pane of glass in the front door. A split second later I realised that he was spurting blood from his wrist. Thankfully the nurse and first-aider in me was able to take over at that point as the mother was threatening meltdown. Peter was not at home, so I rang our friend Michelle a few houses away. She bundled us all in her car and took us to the hospital (thankfully only blocks away) since I couldn't drive while applying pressure to Doodlebug's wrist. Otherwise Doodlebug might have had an ambulance ride.

I am so proud of how brave all my children were. LP got busy with the first aid box unravelling bandages, and getting me a teatowel for a makeshift pressurepad. Turtle found me the phone and turned the bathwater off. Poor little Doodlebug was petrified - he really thought he was going to die. Hoping that I sounded calmer than I felt, I reassured him that was not the case - not when his mum was there to look after him.

As we left for the hospital I had a brief smiley moment as I realised that I was actually wondering about bringing the camera to hospital..... just like the joke "You know you're addicted to scrapping when....". (Shocking, really.... ) In the end I was too busy practising direct pressure and elevation and carrying Doodlebug, so our visit to Emergency is photographically undocumented.

Our stay in Emergency was a lot less traumatic than it could have been - we went to the hospital I work in, and our Emergency Care nurse was a mum from school - her daughter is in Doodlebug's class. And finally, Michelle's husband Graham is a surgeon and kindly took on Doodlebug. Doodlebug felt completely safe with his buddy's dad. There was a lot of waiting in between examinations, X rays etc, and as the resus bay had no TV (not a huge requirement in there, funnily enough) we had to make our own entertainment. Meet "PsychoChicken"and "NerdChicken"

After a short night's sleep - none for me actually, since I was still full of adrenaline - we went to have Doodlebug patched up. The damage? Damage to one tendon and to the ulnar artery (hence the spectacular "murals" on our walls). But..... he was a very, very lucky boy, because he narrowly missed 2 vital nerves, so we are feeling blessed this evening because things could have been worse.

Before and after theatre shots..

safely back home for another sleep

The offending door - less one pane.... Peter (my hero!) had cleaned up the horror movie interior design and fixed up the door by the time we came home from hospital.

soccer Saturday

Doodlebug had his game first thing this morning, but since LP was still fast asleep, I stayed at home with her while the boys and Peter went down for the first game of the day. At lunchtime it was Turtle's turn. He wanted to ride his bike down to the game, so I went with him. We pulled up just in time for the game with Turtle nicely warmed up and me nearing cardiac arrest. I could obviously do with riding there more often....

The game was greatly entertaining, although I am still getting used to the new SSG format. I love this age group. In most of the game there is far more enthusiasm than ability. Somehow they're not really worried about the outcome of the game as much as just enjoying playing. We had some great passes today, and some great goals. Turtle showed great form (he's shirt no 9) and I noticed that he favours kicking with his left foot although he is a right hander. Peculiar

Henrietta - there's no one better!!

I love nothing better than to feed my addiction to books, but you already know that. Earlier this week I thought I would make good use of a voucher for Borders. I was not going browsing for myself since, let's face it, my 'to read' pile will keep me busy for a good while still. I wanted to get some books for the children this time so what better to spend a voucher on?

I bought a big art book for me to browse through paintings with the children as well as some fiction for bedtime reading. E Nesbit's "Five children and It", "Tom's Midnight Garden" (Philippa Pearce) , "Peter Pan" (the original JM Barrie novel) and the first in the series of Enid Blyton's Famous Five.
As if this wasn't exciting enough, I made a new discovery! After reading "Nicholas" (by Rene Goscinny - him of Asterix fame), and "Pippi Longstocking" (by Astrid Lindgren - we read the version gloriously illustrated by Lauren Child) LP and I needed something new.

We found Henrietta - written by Martine Murray (Australian author!) -

The pink cover featuring an illustration of a girl with underpants on her head caught my attention. Then I turned the book around to read:

I'm Henrietta P. Hoppenbeek the First. I have a baby brother, two white mice, a chocolate coloured dog, a woolly mammoth, two long green socks with toes, one pickle-eating best friend, a bathtub for sailing in, and definately a huge HUGE amount of discoveries to discover.... And if anyone tells you I make things up, you better believe it..."

and I was sold. Or rather, the book was sold..... to me....

The story is rambling using really creative wordplay and different fonts making it fun to read. The illustrations are whimsical and childlike. Reading it is like listening to LP talk (in that continuous stream of consciousness way....), they both have wonderful make believe experiences..... so Henrietta and LP have found each other and formed a lasting relationship. So far there are 3 books, and I am hoping there will be many more.



Here's a clip of the author introducing the third book:

a leisurely friday

And today, my thanks go to Serena for rescuing me from a day of laundry and housework....

With Serena's brother Jonathan (currently visiting from London) and little Jack we set off for an 'expotition' to Summer Bay aka Palm Beach. It was a wonderful day - the weather went from a foggy, grey morning to a beautiful and sunny autumn day.

Good friends

Hot chocolate with lots of froth

Sandy toes

Fish and chips on the beach

Chasing seagulls

(and the ducks who had their beady eyes on our fish and chips)

Laughter

Relaxation

It really doesn't get much better than that!

It was lovely having a barefoot walk on the beach. The water was perfect for wading but probably too cold for whaling swimming (and I'd left my swimmers at home)

gorgeous photo of Jack Livingstone Seagull (courtesy of Jonathan)

And that just about sums it up.......

found at the breakfast table this morning.......

Someone had a rough night....

But I am happy to report that LP perked up considerably after a bowl of porridge, and she scrubbed up quite nicely. I should have taken an 'after' photograph, but we were running late this morning.

my favourite Beatles song (I think)

... continuing on with the theme of musical talent from around the world, I have to shine the spotlight on Wing from New Zealand.

"Ken Lee" by Mariah Carey.....

Don't know how long this one has been around but it's a hoot!!
This contestant on Bulgarian Idol is doing Mariah Carey's lesser known hit "Ken Lee" (I know, you're probably thinking "huh?!?!" right about now)



It cheered me up today!

the world just got a little emptier

Our friend Tash (with the glasses) died yesterday after an 8 year long battle with breast cancer. She was diagnosed at the age of 26 so she had a very short innings. Peter shared a flat with Tash and Michelle (also in photo) when I met him. They were part of my introduction to Australians and Australia - this introduction also included going to see "The Castle" at the cinema and eating TimTams. I enjoyed getting to know Tash and Michelle as well as Mark who was to become Tash's husband. The Tash I got to know was vibrant and positive, generous and kind. We found about her cancer diagnosis during the lunch where we were going to tell them about us being pregnant again (Turtle). Even as her future had just become a whole lot more uncertain she was unreservedly happy for us. Although I am sure she had her down moments, Tash was not one to succumb to bitterness and self-pity. Instead Tash and Mark decided that although the cancer was something they had to live with, they were not going to let it rule their lives. They went on holidays to places they had not visited before and Tash embarked on new ventures such as developing a passion for knitting. Sadly, we left London before the Vespa era. I could picture Tash zipping around London on her scooter though and will keep that image in my mind.

I am grateful to have known you Tash and to have been even a very small part of your life!

my baby is growing up!!

Another milestone has been reached today as we took the training wheels off LP's bicycle. She got the hang of it surprisingly quickly, and bravely set off down the pavement with Daddy. We're still a little on the wobbly side, zig-zagging all over the place but getting straighter all the time. I loved the look on her face, going from intense concentration (complete with her tongue sticking out) to sheer exhilaration and pride as she conquered the balancing.

For Turtle it was also a big day as he was the recipient of his very first brand-new big boy bike with gears. He's had a bit of a growth spurt and was no longer safe on his little bike as he barrels down the pavement. Instead of having to wait for a birthday or Christmas, he got a surprise instead as Peter brought him to the bike shop after soccer. No photo of The Turbo-charged Turtle yet as he is a little camera shy. I'll get him though........

Oh, by the way...... this obviously means I found the missing camera again!!!!!

confessions of a book-a-holic

For the last 2 days I have been at home with a bad cold. My own remedy for a cold was quite simple - retire to bed with a good book, a nice cup of relaxing tisane and.... a huge bar of Dairy Milk chocolate (thanks to the YW/YM fundraiser). I read Kelly Denley's "Almost Perfect" on the first day, and continued my reading of "A matter of conscience" on the second day. Bad timing had it that I was in one of the chapters of High Court rulings. Having most of my grey matter replaced by snot I was struggling with the Legalese, but I am pleased to say that I conquered Mabo (1). It has been a very educational book for me as I have learned a lot about recent Australian political and judicial history, with the latter half of the book emphasising Ron Wilson's work for Human Rights/Aboriginal Rights. Very topical in this year of "sorry".

Anyway, and this is where the confession comes in, I needed an outing today. Besides milk and bread shopping I thought a visit to "Recycled Reading" might be nice so I called Tina to join me.

I love book exchanges, it is so much easier to make a new book discovery in them. I feel more inclined to make adventurous choices when I am not paying full price for a book. There is also the rather satisfying aspect of coming out with an armful of books. I bought a couple of books I have always wanted to read, but haven't got around to yet: "A short history of Tractors in Ukrainian" and "The Shipping News". Then there were books that have been recommended to me eg "A long way gone, memoirs of a boy soldier" . I also found another Barbara Kingsolver book and a Muriel Spark. But, I was really excited to find Spike Milligan's "Silly Verse for Children" that I have been on the look out for, as well as another poetry book for children. A couple of old dr Seuss books also decided to come home with me.. I would take a photo of the complete stash, but my camera is still missing.... besides, I'd hate to incriminate myself any further :)

My name is Mari, and I am a book-a-holic.......

(btw, when I walked out of the door of the book-shop I came face-to-face with "LollyWorld". I had to indulge in a pack of Penguin biscuits.... all around a terrible experience!)

end of the school holidays

School holidays this time coincided with the recordbreaking longest stretch of rainy days for 77 years. But we did have a few hours respite on most days where we could enjoy a break in the rain. Back in The Old Country the saying goes "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing", weather is no hindrance to getting out to play. But we've gone soft since moving here.... I haven't bought wellies/gumboots for the kids for years because in times of drought and occasional downpours, there just hasn't been a need for them. I wish we had them these past couple of weeks, though!



But, enough about the weather..... here's a photo from the park. It was one of those precious times when all 3 children played together (usually there's one that wants to do his/her own thing so the other two pair off).

happiness is......

a Nutella sandwich......... at least in the eyes of Turtle who happens to believe firmly that chocolate is one of the major food groups the only food group that matters..... (ok, so he is obviously my son). He went through so much Nutella at one stage that we set down a new rule - only one Nutella sandwich per day. So, the Turtle Special "TripleDecker Sandwich with Triple Lot Nutella" was born. (He's too smart.....) .

The angle on the photo is wrong so you can't see the size of this thing, nor the thick layers of Nutella oozing out from between the slices. I believe there may have been more Nutella than bread, and the bread was serving as a sort of napkin to hold on to the Nutella.........

So how do we persuade a child who would happily live off chocolate and who considers fruits/vegetables to be evil, that he needs to eat a balanced diet in order to grow big and strong and healthy? Ironically he is bigger, stronger and every bit as healthy as his older brother who could be a poster boy for the fruit/vegetable growing industry........

While I ponder that, I think I'll just ask Turtle to make me a sandwich, because looking at the photo is making me hungry....................... :)

ANZAC day - Lest we forget

A sprig of rosemary in remembrance of Anzac Cove, where the rosemary bushes grew in abundance

Every year, LP goes to Grandma Marnie's house to make Anzac biscuits. These biscuits were called Soldier's biscuits until after Gallipoli and their origins are fascinating: During WWI mothers and wives were worried about their men receiving adequate nutrition. The problem with sending care packages to them was the length of transport from Australia to Europe and the lack of refrigeration. So these Soldier's biscuits came about. Biscuits with as much nutrition as possible packed into them - oats, coconut, sugar, bicarb soda, water and golden syrup or treacle to bind everything together in lieu of eggs.

This is the "Hobart", a navy light cruiser that Peter's granddad served on. We honour his contribution to WWII on Anzac Day.

And every Anzac Day Pop (Peter's Dad) marches in the big parade in Sydney. We watched the parade on TV and waited eagerly until we could see him wave. Next year I would like to take the kids to the dawn service, and go into town to watch the parade. I'd really like for the children to learn to appreciate the significance of this day, to learn to truly honour the memory of all who have fought and to learn true gratitude for the blessing of living in a country that is free and prosperous.

deepish random ponderings

Part of my morning routine is to have a little roam around the Blogworld. These blogposts do many things - some posts amuse and entertain as I read of the events small and large that form part of the daily lives of my blog friends. Other posts inspire creativity, and then there are the posts that inspire me to think and ponder.

This particular morning there are 2 posts that sent me down a particular path of thought. First I read the latest update from our friends Mark and Tash over in London. Tash is battling secondary breast cancer. In Doodlebug vernacular what is happening to her stinks, but she remains such a positive and vibrant person.

While I was digesting the latest news which isn't good, I visited Jordan over at the Wonderwheel and her beautiful piece on faith and its place in parenting. One particular point Jordan brought up was the belief in "everything happens for a reason" and how she prefers to turn that around to believe we can find reason in everything that happens. Jordan wrote her piece so beautifully that I won't butcher it by trying to paraphrase what she said, but I wanted to think out loud for a while over here instead.

I believe in an omnipotent, omniscient Heavenly Father and that He has a plan for us. This means that I believe things happen for a reason or purpose even when I don't see clearly what that reason or purpose is in the short term. Usually the reason can only be seen by hindsight.

Life on earth may appear random in the way good and bad things happen to people. A bit like a boardgame e.g. Monopoly where landing on the "chance" box means drawing a card that might earn us a blessing or a tribulation in a completely random fashion. But, according to scientific theory, nothing is truly random. What might appear random to one person might have a pattern to another. All the bad things that happen such as war, natural disasters and disease are part of our earthly existence. So are the personal disasters or trials we face in our life. Are these things random? Are our reactions to them random? Some people find faith despite disaster or even because of it while others use these things as a reason not to believe in God.

I believe that everything happens for a reason and that the reason is for us to find reason or purpose in everything, to find faith, to find good in ourselves and others and to use this for good.

love in my mailbox

That one thing I miss the most with the arrival of email are good old-fashioned letters. These days I go to the mailbox only to collect a wide selection of envelopes that usually never contain anything warm and fuzzy. Then every once in a while there is something special.... like today!

Tusen takk Joanna for my beautiful "Pobody's Nerfect" journal! I love it!!! LP was most envious of my special book and most put out that I wouldn't give it to her. So, now I'm in trouble because I promised I would make her a journal of her very own. Tutorial please, Joanna?

school holidays!

On this first day of the school holidays, it's a wettish, grey day outside. So we made a cubby in the playroom instead of our planned outdoor one. The finished result is not just your everyday ordinary sort of cubby, but a mansion with 4 little rooms and a waterfall outside (the blue sheet).

so much fun!

"on my night table..."

my little item in the sidebar makes it look as if there are only one or two books on my night-table.... this might be true, but lately my collection of "to read" books has grown to the extent of no longer fitting on the nighttable, and I had to move them to the top of the dresser. This picture does not include the ones waiting for me in the bookshop that I have ordered in......

My name is Mari and I am a book-a-holic.........

boomerang

Doodlebug has studied the colonial era in school this term. As part of these studies the class visited Cockatoo Island and the whole school had its Colonial Day. For their end of term project, the children have to make and present either: 1. A ship like one from the First Fleet, 2. A model of Uluru, 3. a model of a settler's cottage or 4. a boomerang. They also have to write a report about their chosen model. Doodlebug wanted to make the boomerang but needed some assistance from MOTH. The opportunity arose on Friday when Doodlebug was off from school with a high temperature and MOTH was working from home. They went down to The Shed and got to work.

This photo was taken around the time Doodlebug's temp spiked again, hitting a toasty 40.8/105.5, and judging by this photo he was feeling the chills despite the outside temperature still being pleasantly warm.

MOTH gave a hand with the curved bits, but Doodlebug did the cutting on the straight lines, thanks to the guidance of a laser line. Very cool apparently..... :) The finished product was then sanded. That was enough for an exertion for one day, and Doodlebug had a long sleep after this.

We continued yesterday with the finishing touches - the painting. We had researched traditional Aboriginal designs and Doodlebug decided he wanted to do the dot painting rather than painting a kangaroo on it. MOTH had cut out some extra boomerangs for the others so they could have some fun too, and yesterday afternoon we set ourselves up on the deck with paints and cotton buds to make dots.

And here are the finished products, didn't they do well?

Traditionally the owner/maker of a boomerang would decorate it with a design that had some significance to him. In that spirit all the children chose their own patterns rather than copying the designs we had found on the Net. We have possibly the very first boomerang with a Pokeball on it........

Last, but not least, we had to check if it flies.

the game of two halves

and so soccer season starts again. Doodlebug was struck down with a virus, and to his great distress was not able to play his first game. But Turtle was excited to play his first game. He was trying his very best. Every once in a while as he stole the ball off someone I would hear a "sorry" and I was about to be really impressed at the manners and sensitivity of my boy...... then I heard what he said after... the full sentence was "sorry..... but you don't get to score a goal this time". He played very well and was awarded the "player of the game" trophy at the end. To top that off, I bought him a sausage sandwich from the BBQ and his bliss was complete :)

my little angels

their wings are slightly tattered around the edges, but still...... when I see them asleep I suddenly can't remember the frustrations of "Witching Hour". The boys decided this week that they would like to sleep in the same bed. Fine by me. Their sleeping arrangements have always been changeable - from separate rooms to sharing rooms and back to separate rooms again. Our bed is also a favoured stopover in the night. They are so adept at sneaking into our bed that most of the time I don't wake up - they just slide in under the doona and snuggle up - They are thankfully not restless sleepers!