So this is what we did

Henry and Maya waiting to board

My brother, this kid's Dad, reckons this is a sure sign his son is not gay (not that he'd care)



Where the public go to leather themselves up. But what a beautiful place to get leathery

Our flight last Friday was not scheduled to leave until 3PM but it was a stinking hot day. We were packed and ready to leave the house by about 10AM. A surprise visit from my brother in law filled in some time but we wanted to be out of here. Gone to places other than here. We had booked the car into an airport carpark for the few days we'd be gone and since it was so hot convinced ourselves that we could just drop off the car early and hang out in the air conditioning at the airport while we waited for our flight.

So that's what we did. Everything went incredibly smoothly. We dropped the car off, shuttle bused it to the airport and decided to eat. We didn't realise we would need a bank loan though to feed ourselves. Never mind, we justified the expense by telling ourselves were were on "holiday" even if it was only for a weekend.

Henry was so excited about getting on a plane. We ate and then headed to the waiting area in which we were able to see the plane we were about to embark being loaded with luggage and fuel. Another little boy, only slightly younger than Henry, came bounding up and announced that that plane there was his. Henry told him that he was wrong, the plane was his. They eventually came to a compromise when Henry suggested to him "you go on that plane and I'll go on that one". The boy agreed as though he knew to argue was fruitless.

Henry was so excited by the take off and could not understand why everything below us seemed so small. Then he discovered the individual tv sets in front of him. They gave us ten minutes free after take off and then you had to pay to continue watching. Since we were going to be on the plane for a little under an hour we didn't bother. He didn't notice. When the refreshments trolley came around offering up all kinds of over priced treats he decided he was hungry. As he'd only just had lunch and we were going to a place that lived life an hour ahead of us meaning it would be dinner time when we arrived, I ordered him some instant noodle things. That was a fortunate distraction because it kept him quiet and in his seat for the rest of the flight.

The weather was perfect and we spent most of the two days at the beach. We even had fish and chips for dinner down there on Saturday night. There were babies galore when my brother's friends visited but none of them came anywhere close to being as adorable as my nephew. That baby is squeeze material and he was fascinated with Henry who only cared about him when he made a dive for his new matchbox loader.

Monday morning it was back home and to work on the way home from the airport. Ben, Henry and Maya got the day off and had unpacked the suitcases and cooked dinner by the time I got home. Since then I've not had time to check my emails let alone update this blog.

Last night the smoke alarm decided to go off at 3AM. Once we overcame the panic and established that the house was not burning to the ground we ripped the thing off the ceiling. It might be sometime before it gets placed back up there.

Off to places other than here.

Today we're off to visit my brother in a town in another state. A town that has some of the world's most beautiful beaches. This will be Henry's first plane ride and he is so "accideted". I told him the pilot will tell him to sit down if he gets up and wanders around too often on the plane. He got worried that the pilot was going to come to our house and fly him away in Thunderbird 2.

He's not too sure what to expect and neither am I. If his behaviour on the plane is anything like it's been this morning I might resort to raiding the liquor bar.

Dancing with Liquor

My mother recently gave me a jazz CD with music from the twenties and thirties on it. On the inside front cover is a quote from someone somewhere which reads:

Jazz dancing is degrading. It lowers the moral standards. Unlike liquor, a great deal of the harm is direct and immediate. But it also leads to undesirable things. The jazz is too often followed by the joy ride. The lower nature is stirred up as a prelude to unchaperoned adventure.


So I played it over and over and over with a glass of wine in my hand while dancing around by myself, to see which would lead me to have immoral thoughts first - the music or the liquor.

Sadly neither caused me to feel as though I was a brazen hussy searching for a quick and intimate interlude.

I think it's because I'm eternally old. Apparently, according to my teenage daughter, once you reach the age of 25 you should just give up doing anything that might be considered "cool" because you'll just look like a bumbling idiot trying to regain your youth.

She once came home and told me how her poor friend was embarrassed becaue her mother, who is OVER 35, has a myspace page. I asked her how she will feel when she is 35 and her daughter tells her she is embarrassed about the fact that she is not yet in an old people's home. She reckons there's no chance she's going to ever be 35 because that's like AGES away. I had to do give her the "I thought that once too" talk. I should have remembered that that giving that talk is like asking "have you done your homework". It falls on deaf ears. They can't hear anything that does not mention the words "would you like some money now".

I decided the only thing to do is play degrading, immoral jazz music really loud every night, especially when her friend are here.

It's a conspiracy man!

This afternoon, on our way to visit some friends whose pool we use just because we can, Ben and I stopped off at the shop to pick up a bottle of wine to take as a thank you.

As Ben got back into the car he mentioned that the staff of the particular bottle shop we had stopped at are...well let's just say he called them something that I can't mention here. That started a conversation about how, nowadays, in the age of the casual twenty four hour workforce, no one is an expert in what they do. They care less about knowing the product they sell than they do about earing time and a half on Sunday. That then led us to talk about a program we watched on TV about a Mongolian tribe and communism and about the downfall of the younger generation (because we are eternally old now).

From the backseat Henry says "It's a conspiracy man!" as though he alone knows the politics of world operation.

Of course this is a line from the Cars movie. Words uttered by George Carlin who is the voice of Filmore, a petrol sniffing, early sixties Kombie van, but Henry happened to repeat it right when it matters.

Our son, he's already waving the red flag. We've raised him right and for that moment we believed he was capable of becoming the leader of the Labour Party before he starts prep school.

Tool shopping

The only way to get a man into action is tell him that you need a new tool. A man type of tool. Even if it's a man type of tool that they never use. The excitement at having to spend money on a man tool is palpable. It's completely unlike the excitement they feel when you ask them to hang the washing.

Ben lives for the days when our tools break down because it means he can go and buy new ones. Why he cares so much I'll never know because he doesn't use them, I do. Yesterday our grass trimmer packed it in. I got about half way through trimming the grass when it happened. Ben was almost emotional with excitement. It meant he could buy a new one. His excuse for not doing many of the tool related jobs in the house is because he thinks the ones we own are crap. I'll admit that none of them are particularly fantastic but for me they always get the job done. However replacing them with newer, more expensive models, does not mean that he will suddenly start volunteering to take care of the man related jobs.

He's on the hunt for a new grass trimmer and he's just waiting for the day the vacuum cleaner blows up. He's not the only man I know who reads the junk mail and does internet comparisons of such equipment. He would love a new vacuum cleaner and I think he deliberately sucks up poisonous vacuum killers in the hope that it blows up sooner rather than later giving him an excuse to go shopping. Since he does all the vacuum cleaning I'll allow him that.

Duck Update

The duck is still alive after twenty four hours. This morning we went and bought it some real duck food and it hasn't really stopped eating since. It seems to like us slightly more too.

Book Slide

I was just sitting here at the computer trying hard to mind my own business and trying especially hard to ignore the thumping sounds coming from henry's room. Through the haze I heard "Mum, come and get the mountain of books off me, please, I'm stuck under a mountain of books!"

I rushed in there only to find this.

Wild Duck

We're babysitting this wild duck for my niece while she is on holiday in New Zealand. My nephew found it abandoned in the bush and took it home. My niece has spent almost every waking moment with it since. It's cute but timid. I think it loves my niece more than it loves me. Henry has been very gentle with it and we've taken it out and let it swim in a large tub of water which it seems to like but I don't know what to feed it. It doesn't seem to like the seed my niece left. Last time we saw it, when it was just a wee thing, she was feeding it some kind of ground meal stuff and it liked that. I've given it bread but I know this is not good for it.

I will just hope and pray that it's still alive by the time she returns because she will howl and cry for days if it's not.

Little Treasures

We spent the morning at Carla's house today. Owen, Charlotte and Henry played beautifully together but I believe poor Carla may have been slightly frazzled after we left.

The Root of all Evil

Carla and I have just had an email conversation about all the bad things associated with bribing your child with food to get them to co-operate. She knows all about how bad it is because she works in an environment that is all about fostering good eating habits in children. But because she's also a mother she knows that the reality of life with kids is much harder than is often suggested in all those good eating habit books.

We spoke about this because I bribe Henry with Nutella. Yes Nutella. Those lovely little one-serve packs of them. They're worth their weight in gold because all I need to do is utter the word "Kintella", as Henry calls them, and he comes running.

I've had to bribe him today in order to get him to co-operate while I treated an infection that had developed in an unseemly place. After a restless night in which Henry woke several times in obvious pain I told him we'd need to go to to see Doctor Helen. When I rang to book in we were told she was on leave. I told him we'd have to see her locum. He did not think this was such a good idea and asked if she had lollies like Doctor Helen did. When I told him I believed she did he said "well, that's ok then."

Kintella or any other bribe subsitute that works, makes being a parent easy...sometimes. When I am in a hurry to get out of the house early in the morning and Henry is feeling decidedly unco-operative all I need do is whisper the magic word and he's like putty in my hands. What parent wouldn't want that kind of complaince?

Henry has also recently learned some unsavoury words from Child From Hell at daycare. He's also developed the normal sense of toilet humour. He says all day "Mum, that's a bum, bum". He then looks at me and says "I shouldn't say that naughty word should I?" I remind him again that no he should not. It's not polite. This is usually followed by the words "Kintella doesn't make me say naughty words".

In other news, Maya had her braces removed today. The three and a half years she had them on for were worth every second. Her teeth are beautiful! They're straight and perfect and look like they could easily be my teeth if I'd gone through three years of wearing braces. I'm jealous. I want her teeth. She has to wear a retainer for some months yet but it's not at all like those ugly fuse wire type things that were around when I was a kid. Her retainer is clear plastic and one would never even know she is wearing it. I'm very proud of the fact that she stuck it out and was diligent in doing all that was asked of her in order for her mouth to look like that of an overpaid supermodel's.

When Stashing the Trash leaves a sweet taste

It's been a busy weekend. We haven't stopped much to take a breath. While Maya was at her first guitar lesson for the year Henry, Ben and I spent some time at the park. Since he's that much bigger and has developed a sense of balance he does really well on the playground equipment. He seems less like a suicidal kamikaze pilot and more like a child who has realised there are no safety nets to catch him when he falls.

I've been trying to get rid of junk and clutter around here and as there is a council kerbside clean up on the horizon there was no better time than this weekend to pile the footpath high with unwanted bits and pieces. Then we just wait for the endless trail of utes and trucks that will come by, go through it and spread it around like vegemite on toast before the council eventually collects what's left.

We had some friends over for drinks last night and I learned many things about them that I hadn't known before. Amazing how loose the tongue becomes after a few drinks. They left around 11PM so I was tired when I was woken at 5.30AM by Henry who had been asleep already for twelve hours by that point. I lay down with him this afternoon to read him some stories and we both fell asleep - me for an hour, him for three.

I'm feeling very pleased to have got rid of so much useless junk from my house. It almost feels as though I cleaned out a few cobwebs from the brain as well.

Mental Rental

I don't know how many of you who read this rent the home you live in. I do. I'd love to buy a house one day but right now it's just not possible. At least not anywhere near where we'd like to live so we're stuck being tenants for now. That does sometimes have its advantages but they don't outweigh the benefits of being a homeowner. I've owned one before. For a start, when you're a tenant you can't let your kids loose with some sticky tape and posters of all boy bands. If your two year old decides he wants to learn to write the alpahabet on the wall using a wax crayon it causes you to stress and fret for weeks until you find some magic formula for removing it. It is however very nice to be able to call the landlord and tell him when the plumbing goes haywire, or the electrics don't work, or the dishwasher packs it in...or it would be nice if we were taken seriously.

We've had it good as far as the amount of rent we pay...up till now. We fully acknowledge that. But because of the low rent we have put up with a lot of things that we wouldn't normally. The rent is about to increase. Fair enough. It's going to rise substantially in one hit however. Because of this I asked for some things to be taken care of. Things that I have in the past asked for but have not received. One major problem, which required the services of a tradesman, was looked into and it seems something may eventually be done about it. The tradie arrived today. He's been here before and he's in deep with the landlord and so takes nothing I say seriously. Obviously he's been directed to do it as inexpensively as possible. I don't care as long as it gets fixed. What does irk me is that when he shows up he leaves his respect in his van. He walks through the house in muddy boots. Leaves a mess of garganutan proportions all over the place, uses the bathroom to wash his hands, splashes dirty water all over the place and then wipes it on my towels. He uses the toilet and flushes it using his mud covered hands.

I know these things are pretty typical of tradespeople but it seems when you're a tenant they care even less. It's no big deal to them if they leave a mess. They're doing a job for someone who's going to claim the cost as an expense at tax time and who only wants to pay the bare minimum in the first place. I'm tired of it but there's a certain game that needs to be played. Right now the rental market is tight. Rents are exhorbitant and they can pick and choose who they rent to at will. They won't take a lease that's longer than six months because as soon as it expires they'll raise the rent higher.

I regularly read an investors forum, just to see what all these property investors are saying. None of them care much about their tenants in this time of prosperity. They see them only as dollar symbols. Gone are the days when a good tenant would be rewarded and treated fairly and justly. We've been lucky up until now and so the decision for us now is whether to move to a nicer house in which all things work as they should for the same amount we're going to have to pay or stay here. But of course moving house doesn't come cheaply. It's inconvenient and stressful but it sure would be nice to walk away.

Tea Party

My mother is always looking for an excuse to use her fine china so she holds tea parties for her grandchildren when they have a birthday. She bakes all morning and then sets out the delicate china. She even, from places known only to her, manages to find heart shaped, pastel coloured sugar "cubes".

Even Henry enjoys these rituals. He gets his own small tea cup and saucer and ever so gently lifts it his delicate little lips. Then he slurps down the tea until he gets to the undissolved sugar at the bottom. Then he runs his fingers around the bottom of it to get every last grain.

This latest party was to honour my niece who turned thirteen and was last year Dux of her school.

Cool

School starts again next week. For Maya, sleeping in until 2PM will be a thing of the past. She will have to totally retrain her body to wake up in time to get to school. She hasn't practiced yet because she thinks it will be a cinch but I know there will be at least a week of cranky, stinky attitude coming from her until things settle down. She'll tell me that she's NOT TIRED! She'll say that it's the fault of the school for GIVING HER SO MUCH DAMNED WORK TO DO! She'll say that she can't possibly do the dishes for me because she has SO MUCH HOMEWORK to do. Then the whines will turn into requests for me to drive her all over town so she attend all of her social engagements.

We've been trying to enjoy the last few days together before hell warms up again. We've been to what Henry refers to as the "cool" either because he refuses o say Pool or because it is actually quite cool. He loves it and it's been good because he starts swimming lessons again next week. The only problem is that we've all caught colds because we've been swimming in publicly gathered germs.

Maya gets her braces off in two weeks time and the only thing that would make her happier is if we got a call from Golden Casket telling us we'd won a gazillion bucks. Hopefully she'll be diligent in wearing a retainer so as not to undo the three and a half years of sacrifice she's made to ensure her teeth are straight.

Only good things

Henry asked me in the car today if I knew how to say good things. I told him I did and rattled off all the good things I knew how to say. Such as "I love you", "You're so precious", "You're the smartest, most handsome boy I know".

I asked him if he knew how to say good things. His response; "Yeah, but I only say naughty things because I'm good". What that was supposed to mean I have no idea.

Whenever I am feeling cross with him I tell him how I'm feeling. Now whenever he hears that tone in my voice he immediately stops what he's doing and looks at me with a huge grin on his face and says "Are you happy now?". As though that is the way to make everything right.

just a couple more

because I love them!

making the ordinary seem extraordinary

I'm going to bore you all stupid with photos we've taken since becoming the owners of a new Digital SLR. I love that I can make the junk lying around this house seem so cool. I can single out one thing among the myriad of stuff and present it to you as something interesting. Such as the dishes we rarely get around to putting away before we need to use them next.

Dead Snake

On the way home from the park we noticed this dead snake on the road. He looked at first as if he had been painted on there because of the way in which he'd been squashed and smashed into it.

Late afternoon in the park

Play Photos

Here are some more images taken with our new toy. We're still amatuers but we're doing ok I think. The doll house photograph was taken by Maya who seems to have a knack for photography.

Note the scratches on Henry's face. He got those the day we bought the camera. We took some time to look through some beautiful floor rugs hanging in a nearby shop. He was running in and out of them and came out with that. We don't know if it's carpet burn or not. He didn't complain about it.

Changes

I would post some more photos taken with our brand new camera but they're on the upstairs computer and since I have to book in ahead to use that one you'll have to wait. I'm typing this from Maya's eMac. A supercool little computer and the one she spends all night chatting to her friends on. I only know how to use it to its most basic features - like surfing the net for useless pieces of information such as who created Fireman Sam.

We rented a Fireman Sam DVD from the local video rental place. It's only a three night hire because apparently it's a new release, even though it was made in like 1915. It's the early episodes of Fireman Sam in which all the voices of all the characters came from the one man. The puppets don't have moving mouths so it's sometimes hard to distinguish who says what. If you're a Fireman Sam officianado like we've come to be you'll know that having these early episodes is almost as thrilling as watching water boil. I say that with only a hint of sarcasm because it is actually very interesting.

Interestingly enough Fireman Sam was created to help promote the Welsh Fire service. It started as a public service announcement. Fireman Sam is of course the town hero. If he can't fix it no one can. Norman, the redheaded village ratbag, comes from a single parent family. His mum runs the local store. Her name is Dylis and she's always on the hunt for a husband. In the newer episodes she is always flirting with Trevor the dark skinned bus driver. He always seems oblivious to her overtures. BUT...in the older episodes it's Trevor who's always attempting to have Dylis respond to his flirtations. He even calls her "my darling" and "sugarbag". At some point they must have decided that it was politically incorrect for a dark skinned bus driver to be making heavy moves on a white single mother struggling to keep her general store afloat. They've cut out all the endearments, except those made by Dylis to Trevor. Perhaps they thought girls and boys the world over needed to recognise that women were the ones with all the power. That they could be career women, have children and still attract a man.

Henry has noticed the subtle differences. He's noticed that Fireman Sam has the same voice as his nephew James. That Norman is dressed in different clothing. That Jupiter (the firetruck) has a different shape and that Bella, the Italian cafe owner, can't sing. He's not so fussed on the older episodes. The theme song and accomanying introduction is different and Henry refuses to sing along to it. He is a boy who does not like change, who would like for things to stay the same always. In an ever changing world he's never going to be happy. I'm going to have to send him to therapy in order to help him cope.

New things

We took advantage of the post Christmas long interest free period being offered by the large retailers and bought ourselves something that we've wanted for a long time. It's taken up a lot of our time in the last few days and it's going to take a long time for us to learn how to use it to its full potential. It's a Nikon D40x and so far we love it.

Of course the only thing to do with such a camera is take photos...of ourselves...in the mirror.

Wet Holiday

This is what you do when you're on holiday and it rains the entire time. You first get wet under the eaves while still in your pyjamas and then strip off and run through the puddles.

We spent a few days with my sister in Maryborough. We were hoping to get to the beach but unfortunately it rained the entire time we were there. It was beautiful, soaking, welcome rain but it left us with little to do in the great outdoors. We did take a few walks in the rain and ride bikes through the puddles until we were covered in mud but other than that we sat around and read books and solved puzzles - lots of them.

Christmas is over for another year and I've taken the tree down already. Now the dreary drudgery of life returns. Back to work for me and daycare for Henry. Maya still has a few weeks left to sleep until midday and then get up and spend the entire day on the internet chatting to her friends. It is of course much more pleasant to chat to them online than it is to see them in person outside of the house.

Fire Hose

Testing out the fire hose that Santa brought. This came with the fireman costume that has not yet been used. The hose however has been put to good use squirting his sister.

Helicopter Christmas

In the lead up to Christmas Henry had told us that he wanted Santa to bring him a Fireman's costume, a fire helmet and a fire hose. Santa searched high and low for those things and found them all. At the last minute Santa also decided to get Henry a toy replica of Tom's Helicopter from his favourite show - Fireman Sam. Once that was opened everything else was forgotten about. He went through the actions of tearing paper off presents but wasn't really interested in anything underneath it. The only thing he truly loved was the helicopter.

He woke late because we'd been out late on Christmas Eve at my parents house. Maya insisted on sleeping in his room beside him so that she would be awake when he woke up but she was up a long time before he was. She kept prodding him and poking him in the hope that she would get him up.

My sisters had called at around 7AM hoping they'd get here in time to see Henry wake up and see what Santa had brought him. He slept until almost 8AM and then took a few minutes to take it all in. He looked around the room, spotted his santa sack full of toys and said "oh, is that for me?" and then set about tearing the paper off whatever was in it.

We spent Christmas Eve at my mum's house and had, of course, a very special and delicious three course meal prepared exclusively by her. My family joined us for Christmas Day at my house. We ate, we drank champage, we played cricket in the park across the road and then played some more board games until late in the evening.

All of us scored this Christmas, especially Henry and Maya.

We hope yours was joyful, peaceful and rowdy all at the same time.

It's that time

Henry just woke up at 8.30PM after four hours sleep. When I mentioned how tired I was and that I was looking forward to going to bed he told me...
"Mum, you can't go to bed until 20 past a clock ago".

I guess that means I won't be going to bed any time soon.

Do they know it's Christmas

This is the first year Henry has really been aware of Christmas and that awareness is awesome. It's incredibly joyful to be seeing it through his eyes for the first time but I'm not sure if it's just me but things seem to have much more of a Christmas bent this year. Homes in the streets around our house have suddenly gone all out with the Christmas lighting, people are playing carols at night and there's Christmas everywhere.

It's nice. I love it.

What is very pleasant is that it's not ridiculously hot. We can still breathe and take walks and eat and have conversations comfortably. Normally at this time of the year people are exhausted from the heat and the humidity. They're normally grumpy and find it hard to open their mouths to say hello because if they do they'll use up some of the precious energy they need to keep them alive in the heat.

Last night my mother and stepfather came to collect us to drive us all over town to look at the lights of the suburban houses. We came across one street in which every house had done their bit. It was like a fairyland. There were sausage sizzles to raise money for local charities, people milling around everywhere, kids laughing and bus loads of retirees driving by to check it all out. I would love to live in that street. One little girl told me that people had been asking if there were any houses for sale. Obviously everyone wanted to get in on the spirit.

Because we're finding it so exciting we've decided to host Christmas Day at our house. Of course while one side of my brain was thinking about the nice parts the other was thinking about the work required. I decided there will be no food served that requires cooking. It's going to be cold meat, salads, prawns and oodles of champagne.

Henry is very excited about Santa's visit and would like him to bring a Fireman's costume, a fire hose and Tom's Helicopter (from Fireman Sam). Fortunately Santa was able to find most of those things and more.

It's Christmas Time in the City

This year Myer's display is based on Graeme Base's book, Uno's Garden. I am not familiar with this book but am with many of his others. The display was very artistically clever and colourful but it wasn't christmassy in any way. In fact the city was decidedly lacking in Christmas spirit. If it weren't for the odd fairy lights strung up in the shops and the giant Christmas tree it could have been any other time of the year.

The thrill for Henry was the ride into the city and home on the train.

Firefighter Ablutions

Henry: Mum, does Fireman Sam have a doody?

Me: Yes he does. He's a boy just like you

Henry: But he doesn't go to the toilet?

Me: He does. just like you do

Henry: But he doesn't have a toilet at the Fire Station

Me: Doesn't he?

Henry: No, he had to go and buy one at the shop.

Doin' The Lips

This is what happens when you let your children loose with a digital camera. They band together and against you. They become facial contortionists behind your back. They conspire against you and get along with each other. Maybe I should let them have the camera more often.

They call this pose "The Lips" even though they didn't manage to get a photo of themselves both pouting their lips at the same time.

Our New Toy

Check it out! This new toy arrived yesterday. It's a gift from Ben's mother in the U. S. of A. and it is totally cool! It's a video phone and comes with a US telephone number. Now we can keep in touch with her and other family members in the States by calling them as though we were right next door. No need to dail a country code or anything. We simply pick it up and dial her number direct and Voila! We can even see each other. Because it comes with a US number we would need to call our neighbours in Australia by dialling the Australian country code first. What we can do though is easily order pizza's for everyone in the states for the cost of a local call. Kind of! We'll test it out for its prank factor later and report back. Until then Henry and Grandma can see each other each time they speak now. Henry's already shown her his Fireman Sam truck and told her all about what Santa is going to bring him.

Meeting my old T-shirts

Today I caught up with some friends of mine. People I used to work with. Some of the nicest, funniest and most interesting people I've had the pleasure of knowing. It was like slipping back into a favourite T-shirt, one that you thought you'd lost but found again lying under the bed in amongst the dust.

We visited an old favourite lunching haunt. A vietnamese restaurant in the Valley, aptly named The Vietnamese. The food is cheap but good. The company was comfortable, the conversation and laughs flowed easily...all that without a drop of booze!

As I get older I have less of a social life but I also find it harder to meet people I feel a connection with. Maybe it's just me but I find it harder to meet kind, friendly and patient people. Everyone is in a rush (including me), time poor (including me) and more interested in the size of their mortgage and investment portfolio than they are in the people that live within their community. So it was so nice today to meet with the people that used to make me laugh until my sides hurt - and still do. It was great to hear about their latest projects, their dreams and aspirations and their everyday struggles. We were a mixed bunch but we were a great team. Respectful of each other but at the same time comfortable enough to tell each other where to get off.

It's dates like these that restore my faith. That remind me that people do still have fun, that they care about each other and still find life interesting and challenging.

I must do more of it. I'm as guilty of the next person of not making an effort. My new year's resolutions list will be long and maybe some of them will get shot down before they get started because they'll be impossible to keep but I feel happy enough today to start the list.

FOUR doors!

So we have a new second hand car. Picked it up Thursday night. I can't tell you how nice it is. The move to four doors was worth every dollar the bank paid for it. I don't have photos yet because I haven't taken any but it's white and in case I haven't mentioned it already it has four doors. I've counted them several times to make sure I'm not dreaming. FOUR doors. That means no more back pain trying to heave Henry in and out of his seat in the back. No more slamming back of the front seat in order to just get to the back seat. I would talk about the other features but they pale in comparison to the fact that it has FOUR doors. Alright... I will anyway. It has one of those cute little buttons that you can press to lock and unlock the doors. Handy but not as handy as having FOUR doors. It's also a lot more comfortable to drive and ride in.

When I bought our old car there was only Maya and me so it was no big deal. The family was extended to three when Ben arrived on the scene and then four when Henry made his entrance into the world. We wanted to buy a bigger car when Henry was born but we just couldn't afford it. We put up with it and then bought a cheap volvo from our friend who moved to NZ. We got our money worth out of that car and then it just kind of started to cost too much money to repair so we ditched it. We then bought another cheap car from some other friends who moved to France but it isn't roomy. Ben drives that around and loves it. It's by no means a car for a family of four though. As Henry got bigger and heavier we kept talking about buying a bigger car but never got around to doing anything about it. Eventually I'd had enough. I could no longer take the two doors. It was time to upgrade.

We narrowed down our options with the help of a book called the dog and lemon guide to cars. If ever you're considering buying a car I recommend you invest $20 and read it. With the help of that book we decided we wanted a Toyota Camry or Corolla. We already knew we wanted only 4 cylinders, a car that was cheap to run and maintain and would last a lifetime, and was considered relatively safe. The Dog and Lemon Guide helped us by recommending highly the Camry or Corolla. Next came the price. We had originally decided we really only wanted to spend $10 000 but because those cars hold their value so well we were looking at a car that was as old as the one we already had. Seemed a bit stupid if we were to really go for something that was going to last. We decided to go higher. We ended up with a 2004 Corolla with only 30 000klms on the clock. It is immaculate. Looks like it's never been driven. It was owned by a guy and his wife who were pedantic about keeping it clean and tidy. It still smells new.

So now we're driving in style. It's no longer a chore for me to get in the car and do stuff. At first Henry was a little dubious. He didn't want a new car. He kept saying "No Mama, we need our old little car". When we picked it up he refused to ride in it and insisted on travelling home in the old car. The following day however, lured by the button pressing locks he was convinced that the new car was indeed a beauty.

Maya wanted to be delivered to school in it. On the way I drove right by Henry's daycare and he told me I'd forgotten to drop him off. I told him that I hadn't and would do it as soon as I had dropped Maya off as she wanted me to take her to school in it. "No she doesn't, Henry wants to go to school in the new car" is what he told me. Unfortunately he now thinks he's king in it and won't allow anyone to touch anything in it unless he gives the go ahead. If we adjust the radio he's like "No. Don't touch that. That's the new car radio"!

I know the excitement will wear off in time but for now. We're lovin' it!

My Girl & Her Friend

Ah to be this young again and so excited about attending a school dance. I was such a very proud Mama.

She's more excited than I am about the new car we picked up last night. Woo Hoo! And in the words of Homer Simpson in regards to our new found luxuriousness "From now on we'll be spelling everything with letters"!

Doing What Kids Should (mine at least)

Making mud pies while the cow lingers around hoping they're going to turn into Weet Bix.

I will survive

You know it's been a bad couple of days when you try to go shopping for a birthday present for your husband whose birthday happens to be today and when you get to the shopping centre the first person you lay eyes on happens to be the police officer who charged you with shoplifting two years ago.

We've been trying to buy a new car and for all intents and purposes we've bought one. The bank has agreed to loan us the money but they're a long time coming forward with the dollars. We're anxious and very much looking forward to having a car with four doors because a car with two doors is only fit for a Barbie doll who gets put into and out of it by a much larger human being. So the week has been so far taken up with trying to sort that out.

Yesterday when I arrived to collect Henry from daycare he came walking over to me very slowly which in itself is unusual. He normally bounds into my arms and wraps his arms around my neck as though he hasn't seen me in months. I took one look at his pale, bluish face and knew instantly something wasn't right. The ladies there told me he had been very quiet for some time and had been complaining of a headache. I held back from screaming at them that they should have called me earlier and the fact that Henry was sitting quiety should have rung alarm bells for them. He NEVER does that.
I picked him up and he was limp and appeared to be gasping for breath. I didn't wait around to hear their explanations. I got him into the car and drove straight to the doctor. They agreed to see him straight away but we still had a few moments to wait. I sat him on the chair and he flopped down into it. His lips started turning blue. He still appeared to be gasping for air. I tried to remain calm and refrain from screaming that someone had to call an ambulance. The receptionist showed me to a room and we waited for a few more minutes before the doctor came. He sat on my lap so quietly. He was clammy and grey. Then he threw up. The doctor came and checked him over and decided he probably had a tummy bug. He seemed to pick up a bit after he got whatever it was in his system that didn't agree with him out.

By the time we got home he was almost back to normal. He wanted food and drinks and his colour had returned. He went to bed reasonably early and had an uneventful night until he woke up to vomit again at 5AM. He's been fine ever since. If it was a tummy bug it seems to have been short lived.

Poor Ben had to wake up to a distinct lack of birthday gifts this morning because I simply haven't had a chance to get to the shops to find something. Feeling bad and noting that Henry seemed fine I decided to take a chance on taking him to the shops with me to get something. Taking Henry to the shops is sometimes akin to deliberately grating my knuckles on the cheesegrater. It's painful and useless. I told myself it wouldn't take long, we'd just duck in and come straight back out.

Despite my promise never to go there again after being charged with shoplifting when I unknowlingly walked out of the store with $4.00 worth of children's undies hanging on the side of the pram, I headed directly to Myareyouashoplifter because I thought I would find more of a range of gifts all in the one location.

As I walked in the door a saleslady hawking beds that were drastically marked down bailed me up in an attempt to have me lie on one in order to convince me that my chiropractic problems would be solved just by handing over a store card. While she was doing so Henry decided to slip away while he had the chance. I didn't even notice him do it. I turned to grab his hand but he wasn't there. As we were close to the Thomas the Tank ride I thought he must have headed directly to that. I wasn't concerned because that's what he always does. I had to cut the saleslady off short and while she was mid sentence I just took off in search of him. When I got there and he wasn't there I immediately started to panic. I started running up and down the centre calling out his name. I knocked people out of my way and ran in and out of shops in the hope he was in one of them. I rode down the escalator wondering if he'd gone out into the carpark. As I was about to concede defeat and head for security I saw him with two ladies. He was crying his eyes out as he realised he was lost. They were looking around searchingly but with a look on their face that said "what kind of mother loses her kid in a shopping centre". I guess I can't blame them for thinking that as Henry was still in his pyjamas because they're his favourites and he didn't want to take them off to go shopping. He thinks he looks very cool in them. I didn't care. I just needed to go to the shops and didn't have the time for arguing. When he saw me he came running towards me and grabbed hold of my legs. I waved to the two women he had been standing with and they responded with a scowl. I deserved it I guess but they are probably the kind of mothers who are able to bake a batch of cookies at the same time as braiding their daughter's hair and ironing their husband's underpants.

So with that little drama sorted I headed back to Myareyouashoplifter. I had Henry in my arms who was screaming in protest at having to be confined. As I walked in the door this time the police officer was walking directly towards me. We locked eyes. I stared my most Ugly Mean Trailer Trash Woman stare while Henry was doing his best to escape my clutches and yelling "Mum, I don't like it!" at the fact that I was holding him so tight. "Great" I thought. "Not only have I almost lost my child this morning, I've also run across Little Miss Chargey Pants in the same place I was caught unknowingly thieving. And my son is screaming at me as though I've been torturing him". I wondered if the day could possibly get any worse.

It took us about 45 mintues to get to the section of the store that I wanted because in their desperate bid to cash in on the Christmas spending they've strategically placed all manner of sparkling, colourful, glittering eye candy that children just love to poke and yank.

We finally got where we needed to be, quickly grabbed the first thing off the shelf we could find, took it to the counter, paid and proceeded to leave. Of course it's never that easy. On our way out Henry heard and spotted the Christmas shop that is full of North Pole Express trains running around Christmas Tree displays. Not wanting to make a scene and have him throw a fit right there in the menswear department where lovely home making ladies were talking to sales people about having a tailor take up pants for their husbands, I caved in and took him to see all the thousands of Santas riding the express and hanging from fake tree branches. He ooed and aahhed and would have stayed there for hours had I not bribed him away with the promise of a treat.

We went to lunch, I managed to get him to sit quietly and eat for about 15 minutes then decided I'd try to get him a haircut at the Barber before we left. This particular Barber doesn't take appointments and because they're so popular you just line up like you're in a cattle chute wait to be released. The line up didn't seem too long so I decided to risk it. His hair resembled an electrocuted cat and I didn't want to take him public anymore like that because that, combined with his pyjamas, was making me look like a bad mama. We sat down on a bench and waited. Problem was we happened to be sitting right next to a sour faced old Granny who wore painted-on eyebrows and pursed lips. As we approached she clutched her handbag to her and turned around and gave Henry, who was jumping on and off the chair, a death stare. She then turned to me and said "I don't like what Julie did to my hair today. Next time I'll tell her to give me my old colour back. She didn't even ask me, just did it". She looked like she was about to burst into tears. I almost felt sorry for her until she said "I'm glad that kid is yours and not mine. I don't know how you cope with him". All my protective instincts came into play and I simply said "I cope because I love him". She then started to tell me her husband had left her there waiting for over an hour. She had no idea where he was and he had never left her that long before. I also heard about how she has no time for her grandkids and great grandkids. I really felt sorry for her then because I realised how lonely and sad her life must be.

We finally got called into the hair dresser and while I won't say Henry was co-operative he at least didn't keep trying to escape from the chair this time. Job done. It was time to head home and by this stage he was happy to go without complaint. He came home and fell asleep and I decided that I'd upload all the recent photos from the camera to the computer and update my blog. Of course nothing ever goes smoothly and for some reason the computer won't recognise the camera which is why I have no new photos to show you...

Now, I'm going to call a mental health helpline...