Trampling all over the sales.

Two reasons to avoid the post Christmas sales...here and here.

The Gift of Nothing

Yesterday afternoon Henry and I met some of our neighbourhood friends at the park. Discussions ensued about Christmas and what Santa was bringing the children, assembling Christmas trees and of course, Christmas shopping.

I told her how much I disliked it, especially when you were trying to shop for the kids with them in tow. We got around to talking about all the fake, nicely wrapped presents the shops include in their Christmas displays and how the kids insist on trying to open them. Henry has done this of course, but as far as I'm concerned if the shops put them within reach of small children they must suffer the consequences. I knew I wasn't the only one who felt this way but was secretly giving myself a high five when my friend told me she never apologised when her son opened kinder surprises or tore kids books etc which were always displayed at eye level and therefore within reach of small children at shop checkouts. She said she had been asked to pay for such items and had argued that she had no intention of buying them in the first place and if the shop was stupid enough to place them within reach of her two year old son they could cop it as "collateral damage".

I love it when someone feels the same way as me. We also talked about disciplining our children in public for such offences mostly to appease the shop owners and their patrons when really the children were doing what comes naturally.

I didn't tell her about the 1m square cell I have at home for other offences such as throwing my christmas baubles around the house because I'm pretty sure she doesn't have one herself.

Your branches are so lovely

The Christmas Tree went up yesterday and while I'd like to say that it was a joyous occasion in which my children and I bonded over the hanging of the star, I can't because it would be a complete fabrication of the truth.

I made the mistake days ago of telling Henry that it was nearly time to bring out the tree. For days he did not let the idea go and asked me repeatedly if it was "Monday tree day" yet. I did a deal that I knew as I was making it, wouldn't stick. I told him we could get the tree out, assemble it and decorate it when Monday - 1 Dec came around. Everyone who has children knows that you should never mention anything until two minutes before it's about to happen because that two minutes of hell is bearable in comparison to the days or weeks of hell that ALWAYS follows an important announcement. So as you probably guessed, I caved in a whole four days before Dec 1.

The decorations came out from their storage space under my bed. The carton they were in had about 10 inches of dust on it, the removal of which had me sneezing for the rest of the day. Never mind, I thought, onward and upwards - this WILL be fun. Henry's eyes lit up as soon as the carton was opened. He could see sparkling things and the possibilities in his mind were endless. He dove in and started throwing them all around the house just to see them sparkle as they fell. I did what all good parents would do and explained to him they were for the tree only and if he didn't stop what he was doing he would be confined to a 1 x1 metre square cell for the rest of his life.

I searched for the lights because all good tree decorating guides say they should go first. I couldn't find them in the carton so I turned my bedroom upside down and then the kitchen cupboards and the bathroom cupboards and the cupboards downstairs but they had disappeared. Determined that the tree was going to be decorated I got in the car, with Henry, and drove to the local supermarket to pick up some lights because there was no way my tree was going to be left to sit in a darkened corner full of sparkly things that wouldn't sparkle because there was no light.

I grabbed a set that had the word "sparkling" all over the packaging. That was all I was looking for so they would do. We got back home and I started tearing into that packaging when I realised they were not tree lights but some icicle string things designed to be hung outside. I tried hard not to scream as I threw them on the ground and went in search, yet again of my old ones. I found them in a plastic bag under my bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

Once the lights were hung I let Henry and Maya go for it. Maya lost interest half way through because her Myspace friends were hailing her in the background and Henry was only interested in throwing things at the tree rather than hanging them so I ended up doing it myself. Once I had finished I looked around at the carnage in the loungeroom and decided I needed a cup of tea and a lie down.

Before falling asleep last night

H: Mum, when I grow up I'm going to be a sister.

Me: Are you going to turn into a girl?

H: No, I'm going to be a boy sister.

Pinecone Spaghetti

According to Henry this is Pinecone Spaghetti.

Self-Portait

Not only is she beautiful but she's also talented! Oh and she can sing. Last night she sang to an audience in her school music class grading performances and she did a fantastic job.

Bad Bad Mother

Tonight Maya had her final drama performance for the year and it was being marked by her teacher. I missed it because I stupidly had the time wrong and showed up half an hour late. I think it's going to take quite some time for her to forgive me and for me to forgive myself. I'm not sure what's wrong with me though because yesterday I completely forgot that Henry had to be at a birthday party at 2.30PM and was only reminded by my friend who rang to see if I had got lost on the way there.

Apparently Maya's performance was outstanding and her teacher has very kindly promised to give me a DVD copy of it. I'll promise to watch it over and over until I know the lines by heart myself and can recite them in my sleep. That's how much I love her.

Morning Conversations

H: Mum, how come you're having a shower? Why didn't you come in and read me a story?

M: Good morning Henry. Lovely to see you. Did you get out of bed on the wrong side this morning?

H: No, I didn't. I just got out of my own bed.

M: Did you have a bad dream then?

H: No.

M: Did you have any dreams?

H: Yes.

M: Who was it about?

H: It was just about people and things were in it.

M: Like who? Was Sportacus in it?

H: Yeah

M: And Stephanie?

H: No because she's a girl and I don't have girls in my dreams.

Floodzone

These photos were taken in Woolcock Park. The park's beautiful hand made ceramic sign was smashed and the two pieces of it seen in these photos were found several metres from each other.

The park is features some wonderul interactive play equipment and most of it has been damaged. All of this however did not stop the locals from enjoying it.

Maya

Is a genius. She's a child prodigy just so everyone knows.
Sometimes I just like to walk around telling random strangers on the street how good she is and when they say "who the flip is Maya?" I say "you should know, she's that awesome".

You know, in retrospect maybe I should have had her checked out by a psychologist as a baby because I think she might have a severe disorder. I've been researching it and I'm fairly sure she has it. It's called Awesomeness. Some babies are just born awesome and they can never stop being awesome. Don't laugh, it's a serious condition!

Written by Michelle
(Maya might have helped a little bit)

Dude

I'm totally having fun with this

Debris by Degrees

Click here to see a slideshow of some photos taken this morning in a local park. These photos are just bits of an entire shed full of wholesale stock of friends of ours. Their warehouse was burst open by flood waters and its entire contents were washed away. We found quite a lot of them quite by accident this morning while walking through our local park area.

The Many Faces of Breakfast

Thanks go to Maya for putting this together for me.

Click on image to enlarge

New Bike

I took some no longer wanted items yesterday to the local charity store and while there I saw this bike. It was just the right size and just the right price. I was planning on getting Henry a new one as he had outgrown the one he had and there was one staring me in the face. Needless to say he loves it!

In stark constrast to the aforementioned storms...this is where I was last weekend right before all this storm business.

Flooding the Neighbourhood

The storm rolling in. Our house can be seen in the background.



Debris at the base of the trees left by the rising flood waters of the nearby creek



Our friendly neighbourhood playground



The much used picnic table at our friendly neighbourhood playground



The bridge from which we feed the ducks, turtles and eels.

Just in case one major storm wasn't enough we've had one each night since the first disastrous one on Sunday. Today is Thursday and we've just waved another one goodbye. Just when the sun began to shine and those whose homes were destroyed thought they might safely be able to filter through what is left we were hit again. Predictions are that we are going to be hit each and every day until Saturday.

Last night Brisbane was bracing for another storm. The news had warned us it was coming but what they hadn't predicted was how much rain would be brought with it. Turns out there was enough to cause major flooding across areas already hit hard. This afternoon we wandered down to our favourite playground which happens to abutt a creek. We came across another mother who was trying desperately to remove the debris in case the creek rose again tonight with the predicted storms. She wanted it moved off the play equipment so that fresh flood waters or rain might wash it clean. Henry made friends with her young daughter while I helped drag the offending debris away.

The rain chased us all off and we walked home with our new friends hoping to make it before the storm really hit. As we waved them goodbye I told Henry how lucky he was to have made a new friend today. This is how he responded:

"Yeah, I make friends. You just say, "do you like dinosaurs? I like dinosaurs and then they say, yeah I like dinosaurs and then you're just friends".

I think we should all take a leaf out of Henry's book because how do you know if you could be friends with someone if you don't start with something simple like "Do you like dinosaurs". Even if they don't you've still got something to talk about.

Storming the Neighbourhood

For those of you no longer living in this city or just not from here read here to see what transpired yesterday.

It was hot, almost hotter than hell through the day. Henry and I had escaped the clutches of the family and taken a trip to the Sunshine Coast on Saturday to soak up some summer sun and surf up some summer surf. We stayed overnight and woke up Sunday to an overcast morning up there. Still it was warm enough to take a quick swim before heading home but nothing like it was here in Brisbane. Here it was absolutely sweltering. The kind of oppressive humidity that makes your undies stick to your legs like a melting lollipop and your tongue just loll about because it too is too hot to move. It was the kind of weather that all Queenslanders know is going to bring a late afternoon storm. Usually we welcome it because we know that the short lived light show in the sky will cool things off dramatically.

Yesterday's storm did that. It cooled things off so much that I was wearing a cardigan at 7PM and tonight is still much the same. What we weren't prepared for was how much destruction that short lived and longed for storm would leave in its path.

I was outside around 3PM yesterday oiling my outdoor dining table when I looked up and saw the dark clouds looming over the city and making their way towards us. By the time I packed up and cleaned the paintbrushes the clouds were directly above us. All the sunlight, which only minutes before was packed with skin cancer causing UV light, had disappeared. It was as black as night and it was only 4.30PM. Right then I knew this storm was not going to be pretty. We battened down the hatches and huddled inside bonding by trying to convince Henry to allow us to remove a splinter from his finger. We weren't successful but it distracted us all while the winds howled outside and the rain hammered the roof. Several times we all jumped when lightening struck so loudly it seemed as though it had hit the roof of our house.

Once the worst of it was over we surveyed the damage. Fortunately there wasn't much aside from some flooding downstairs which happens every time we get a heavy downpour. We were expecting it but nothing of value had been ruined because we've learned not to keep anything of value in the flood path.

Our friend who lives in one of the worst hit areas called us shortly after to give us a report on how he had faired through it all. His roof had partly been torn off, his bedroom and all of his computer equipment had been flooded (he's a computer programmer), a nearby Jacaranda tree had fallen into his pool and the creek beside his house was overflowing. Our small amount of flooding seemed so trifle in comparison. He described the devastation in the streets surrounding him and said that he and his children were huddled inside the house scared that something was going to land right on top of them or that the roof would be blown right off.

This afternoon after work I took a drive out there to see if they needed anything and to survey the damage. I've got to say, I'm thankful we weren't directly in the path of the worst of it. There are streets blocked off with fallen trees and powerlines are down. Maya's school looks like some naughty kids had gone in there and ransacked the place but with big powerful toys to help them along. Trees have simply splintered and some torn right out of the ground roots and all. Businesses were handing out stock to anyone who would take it because it was better to give it away then to waste it. One thing it has done is connected neighbours who would otherwise never give each other the time of day. The community has banded together and they're all out helping each other in whatever way they can.

For the rest of Brisbane, the definitive line the storm did not cross, it's business as usual.

The following comment, left by a Courier Mail reader, pretty much sums it up Queensland style:

I was out on the verandah sinking a few beers when suddenly a storm popped up.

He goes on to say:

I thought our house was the worst hit but as soon as I stepped outside I realised the whole of The Gap is destroyed.

Docking in five minutes

Since Maya has requested a new ipod for her birthday/xmas present I've been checking out all the junk mail catalogues that come through our mail box to see who has the cheapest. I've made a scrapbook of them...not really, they've all just been left to pile up on the dining table. But people, have you seen what the hell can be done with an ipod? Nearly everything in the universe now comes with an ipod dock - DVD players, electric razors, BBQs, electric kettles, toilet cisterns. You name it and I bet you someone has developed some way of including the ipod in it. Perhaps a scrapbook is not such a bad idea. That way I can make a guest appearance on ABC TV's Collector series.

Makes me sick - I'm still listening to an old tranny.

The Life of a Pirate

Henry acquired this lovingly hand made pirate ship from some friends of ours whose children had played with it enough. Unfortunately it's made mostly from cardboard and papier mache so it can't be left out in the rain and it takes up a lot of room. When we're sick of it taking up space we'll forward it on to some other treasure hunters.

Life has been so hectic just lately that I haven't had time to scratch let alone blog anything much. It feels like I've been on an ever revolving merry-go-round that has only paused long enough for me to take a deep breath before it starts again. Even now I'm stealing precious time before heading off to work but it's early morning; the house is quiet because everyone is sleeping and I can think all by myself. That's a rare occasion.

So what's been going on? Well I turned 40 and had a party to celebrate/commiserate. The lead up to the day was rather harrowing because 40 for me seemed to be the point at which I'd start to become old. All the TV ads and the pamphlets in the doctors surgeries kept telling me I had to ramp up my health checks and instead of having certain things done once every two years suddenly they all seemed to be needed on an almost weekly basis. I don't know whether those guidelines were written by GP's wanting to line their coffers and saw old people as a way to do it or if it really is necessary to have your boobs prodded, your eyes peered into, your blood pressure measured, your hormone levels monitored and your toenails removed as often as they claim. It seems to me that spending so much time in a doctor's surgery waiting room would expose you to so many germs you'd probably die from flu before you'd die from the effects of unbalanced hormones.

Anyway I turned 40 and I'm still here. The party was a hoot I have to admit despite my misgivings. I was worried I'd not be able to stay up past 11PM, that there wouldn't be enough food and that I'd be too tired the next day to clean up. That's what getting old does to you - you no longer think you're capable of having a good time. Apparently I even looked ok - not a minute past 40.



The party was a protest party and of course I was protesting about being 40, others just protested - like my friend Liam. As he left the party at 2.30AM he took some of the protest signs from the garden and he and his partner took some photos of themselves protesting with them outside a popular city nightclub. I'm not certain whether or not they were joined by anyone who supported their cause.



Henry has started swimming lessons again now that the weather has warmed up. At first he was hesitant and not really keen to join in use his "big arms" as they call them to fasion a stroke. He was happy enough to be in the water as long as the swim instructor expected nothing of him. By the third lesson he was like a fish following the leader. Now he can't get enough. Every day he asks if he can go to swimming lessons. He prefers to spend his time sitting on the bottom of the pool or "diving" as he calls it. When the instructor aks him to show her his "big arms" his little body doubles over but his arms and legs are moving rapidly. He can't quite get the hang of keeping his body stetched out straight. As far as he's concerned though he's swimming like the strongest shark in the ocean.

We took him to see his first movie on the big screen this past weekend. I'd been thinking about doing it for quite some time to see if he was up to sitting still for that amount of time. Thankfully a Thomas the Tank movie was showing which was only 1hr long and it was cheap so if we had to hot foot it out of their nothing much would have been lost. In the lead up to it he'd found a swim costume that had been a hand me down from his older cousin. This was one of those all in one type swim suits designed to protect from the sun as much as possible - long sleeves, knee length shorts and a nice long zip at the front and very body hugging. It's ugly and it fit him perfectly and as soon as he had it on he was transformed as Sportacus - a superhero dedicated to saving children everywhere from the evils of laziness and obesity. Once he had that on he wasn't taking it off. I pleaded with him and bribed him but he would not hear of it so off he went to the movies with his swim costume on. He thought he looked like a superhero and that the suit gave him special powers so I let him go on believing that for the whole day.

In the shower

Henry: How come girls have fur on their doodies?

Me: Boys do too when they grow up

Henry: ...yeah and turn into girls.

Eye Pod

While very gently brushing something away from my eye...

Henry: Mum, something's in your eye pod.

Forest Shirt

Henry: Mum, that shirt's really nice, just like a forest