An ordinary week in an ordinary life

Everyone had fun at our first EI playgroup for the year. All the kids were a bit taller, had changed in different ways and all were a bit wary at first - until they got back into the swing of it. Kit and Hannah did their best to impress the special ed teacher (she has just returned from mat leave so hasn't met them before) by pushing and shoving and 'crying' over who got to feed 'baby' in her high chair and tehn over who got to push her in her 'pram' etc - luckily the spec ed teacher has 4 kids so I don't think it was anything new watching my two toddlers behave like the brats they are! Hannah jsut loved the singing in group time and kept wanting to stand up and go to the teacher to point at different things or to hold the picture card she was using.

She stood at the vestibulator and kept pointing up to the where the hammock swing should have been until the OT gave in and got it out for her to swing in - she loves that activity. The OT was very impressed when Kit who has refused to go near it (to the point where the OT has asked if he likes the swings in the park) said "My turn" and he loved it too.

Then I foolishly but in desperation took them (sans twin pram) to a white goods store in search of the cheap but good front loading washing machine because ours was dead. They squealed and chased each other around (Hannah does a good chase for a kid who is just getting the hang of this whole walking business - hands up for balance and away she goes!). Kit was turning all the knobs on the machines - it was the quickest major purchase I have ever made in my life. No haggling required - the salesperson was a woman who obviously empathised with my situation as she pretty much took me immediately to a wonderful little machine just what I was looking for and then just gave me a good deal straight away without my having to ask for 'best price'. Thanks Whitfords!

Hannah's child care seem to have greatly improved and they have been investigating support options for staff and her. The teacher in her room this year seems good although she hasn't had time to really develop a good rapport with Han she was asking me which signing system we use and she had obviously been talking to the inclusion support worker who was involved last year and who is pretty good. Hannah is still loathe to go but luckily the wonderful carer that she had last year is usually on in the mornings and she has a lovely relationship with Hannah so that it doesn't feel so bad leaving her there upset.

Each afternoon when I pick them up they are usually outside playing. I greet them and then chat to the workers for a bit then go and sign us out. The twins always wave bye to 'Ella" (the name of the child care centre) as we leave. Today Kit ran down to the gate of the outside play area to say his goodbyes and not long after Hannah did her funny walk down there too and was waving like a champ - a couple of the kids and the staff all enthusiastically called out "Bye Hannah". It took quite a bit of time to finally get everyone out the gate and into the car to come home.

Then there are the downsides of life. We got a new company car - it is lovely - a stationwagon. I knew that P would find it hard to give up but realisticlaly given my chaffeurring of the twins it is logical that I get it (such a pity - NOT!). So being the kind wife I am I washed and vaccuumed and air freshened the old sedan - to make it easier for him to hand over the stationwagon. I was parked outside my house having lunch with the twins - when someone backed into the old car. Now the boot won't shut properly and rego is due soon so we have to hurry up on getting it repaired. Then today - I had parked the lovely new stationwagon out front of my home (in a cul de sac) when - yes - another neighbour backed into it!! Lordy - I like an ordinary life but really this was a bit much for me. Luckily there was very little damage this time just a few scratches to the paintwork.

SO as you can see - a typical boring but never dull day. I had a couple of meetings at work (classes resume next week), did some cleaning, played with the brats and dealt with an array of administrivia that makes up an ordinary life. I did have a couple of those magic moments though - watching my children wave bye at the child care gate this afternoon - so happy to be coming home after a fun day and then watching those same brats play in the bath tonight. They love pouring games at the moment. Hannah makes me a 'drink' - tea I think as she blows on it I presume to cool it down! Kit makes me tea and Dad coffee. They are a constant source of wonder, frustration, mundanity and pure joy.

No new photoes to post - I'll see what I can do - cos the twins are pretty cute. Tomorrow we are off to the growers markets in search of some goodies so I had best go to bed early.

For Sheena's Mum.

The twins' 'pope mobile'. They are about 11 months old.

from

Nostalgic Mum (not competitive Mum!)

I confess!!

Some time ago I gave up pretending that I am not a 'pushy' mum - after all I am enrolled to study Special Ed - hoping to understand the best options for my Hannah and other special needs kids. Now I have a much worse confession to make - I am just a tiny bit competitive Mum too - tomorrow is Hannah's first EI group session for the year. I love the two other mums and their kids that are also in the group. I am really looking ofrward to catching up with them and seeing how the little ones are going. But, there is this incy wincy part of me that hopes they haven't absolutely taken leaps and bounds over the break. Why do I have this mean spirited secret wish? I want my Hannah to shine! She HAS made amazing progress over the break. I am so proud of her and can't wait to show her off to a bunch of mums and professionals who I know will understand just how significant her walking and speech development has been. OK. I might be hoping that their kids have done well too - they are both pretty adorable too - maybe we can share the limelight, or maybe not ...

PS Child care

Hannah seems ot be settling in ok - it isn't the total disaster that it might have become. The new teacher is still getting to know the kids and an IEP needs ot be drawn up but so far so good. Fingers crossed that she has a really good and supportive year there.

Thanks Michelle from Big Blueberry Eyes - as a staunch republican (as in non supporter of QEII being Australia's head of state) but a great fan of the well frocked royal I couldn't resist this link:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Shelley the Imaginary of Chipping Sodbury Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

"ORSRAALIA DAY!"

Not long ago Australia Day was an excuse for a long weekend. You didn't 'do' anything - certainly you never thought to wish anyone "Happy Australia Day". I must confess to being nostalgic for those times - when Australia day was a great excuse for doing nothing much ... maybe a bbq with friends. I don't like the nationalistic jingoism that has sprung up around it all these days - the 'contraversy' over the wearing of the flag - blah blah blah - I enjoyed invasion day as I have most years - a bbq with friends.

The brats had an absolute ball. I love watching how social and excited Hannah gets when we are out with friends and family. I can really tell the difference now as she is much less gregarious in an unfamiliar environment. She loves our friends K and R and particularly their children Rosani and Subash. So does Kit. As I said they all had a lot of tribal fun.

No sleep today ...

Rosani and Subash kindly tried to 'help' the twins have a sleep in their room - I didn't have the heart to tell them that they were hindering the process rather than helping! They read many books to the twins and lay down with them and patted them and their teddies etc. Everyone had a ball but I did worry a bit about how ugly dinnertime was goint to be with no afternoon nap!

Lunch

Rudi cooked a magnificant feast of duck. We had a ball catching up with our wonderful friends and celebrating R's birthday. YUMMY! Brats sat up like little children with Rosani and Bash.

Kit learns cricket

I know I gave the intro rant about the evils of Australia Day but I did enjoy Bashie (my godson) and his parents trying to teach Kit the intracacies of cricket on that day - it was very appropriate.

PS I hold PM J Howard and his cronies Ruddock and Hanson and the rest of the morons responsible for making me feel shame about this country that I do have a very true love for.

1967 … the year that I was born …I liked this idea from Big Blueberry Eyes but didn’t really ‘get’ much from the US version so here is an edited Aussie one courtesy of Wikipedia and moi:

Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming in heavy surf at Cheviot Beach, near Portsea, Victoria (December 17).
Gough Whitlam defeats Dr Jim Cairns and Frank Crean to replace the retiring Arthur Calwell as leader of the federal Australian Labor Party
Indigenous Australians are given the right to be counted in the national census after a national referendum and legislation changing citizenship laws, but voters reject a third referendum question about breaking the nexus between the sizes of the Senate and the House of Representatives (27 May).
Harry Chan MLC becomes the Mayor of Darwin, becoming the first Australian of Asian descent to hold such an office
Ronald Ryan becomes the last man hanged in Australia, executed for the murder of a prison guard, which he committed while escaping from prison in December 1965. He was hanged on 3 February 1967.
The postcode system of postal address coding is introduced throughout Australia (July)
Federal Cabinet decides to drop the word 'British' from the cover of Australian passports, and agrees that it will have to amend the Nationality and Citizenship Act to change the designation 'British subject' on the inside of passports (August)
Folk-pop group The Seekers are named Australians Of The Year
The NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service is established
Sydney is rocked by a series of brutal underworld killings as rival gangs battle for control of the city's lucrative gambling and prostitution rackets
Australian Roman Catholic bishops publicly declare their opposition to the war in Vietnam (12 April)
Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock is published
This Day Tonight, Australia's first national nightly TV current affairs program, premieres on ABC-TV, hosted by Bill Peach (10 April)
South Sydney defeats Canterbury Bankstown 12-10 in the Grand Final of the NSWRL competition
Red Handed wins Melbourne Cup.

Births of note:
17 April — Barnaby Joyce, politician
20 June — Nicole Kidman, actress
8 September — James Packer, businessman
16 December — Miranda Otto, actress

Tom Bass - The Falconer:

The dove of beauty - Thine eyes are as the eyes of a dove ...

Last week I watched a great doco on SBS about the Australian sculptor Tom Bass. It was an intriguing show and he is clearly a very interesting and thoughtful man with a striking resemblance to Santa Claus.

In one segment he was describing his totemic philosophy of sculpture and discussing one of his works which he reated for the University of NSW. It depicts a horse rider, a falcon and a dove among other things. He said he got the idea from a poem but unfortunately I can't recall the poet. He also said something along the lines of the falcon of intellect needs to be tethered as unbridled technology could obliterate the beauty of the dove.

And so what should we tether the falcon of our intellect with? Love, compassion, humanity? An openness to the surprises of life. Sometimes they are the best bits. Bits like a diagnosis of DS - doesn't end one world without opening up a whole different and quite spectacular other world. A world that I am blessed to know thanks to Hannah.

Dinner at the Bay Tinh for Jacqui's birthday was as much a success as you can expect when you rock up to a restaurant for dinner with 5 kids - 3 of whom are 2 year olds! Kit loved making up the rice paper rolls - carefully putting suace on each of is creations.

Hannah wanted to use the chopsticks and gave it a good go but when that didn't go as well as she would have liked she found that they also make pretty good drumsticks.

Visiting Allison

I have a dear friend that I have known for about 7-8 years I think. She live on the 'wrong' side of Sydney so today was the first time the twins and I ventured over since September last year. She has a 6 month gorgeous little boy and Eliza, who is about 4 months older than the twins.

The twins (and I) had a great time today. A simple lunch and an opportunity for the kids to play together. Kit and Eliza have grown and changed since our last visit - especially in looks and speech development. Hannah bear has also changed since last time.
Like last time, today she spent quite a long time in the sandpit with the other children and on her own. But this time eventually it was her own initiative that took her over to the cubby house. Last time she needed some help and as she was only taking small steps with assistance she commanoed over the structure. This time she walked over to it and climbed similar to the other 2 kids. She loved it.

What a difference 3 months can make!

At one point my friend asked me if I thought that more children with DS were being born because of the later ager of women having children. To be honest I don't know the answer to her question but I did get to say that many mums of DS are 'youngens' because they don't get 'the testing'. Blah Blah Blah ... I talked a bit about my feelings re all this - Allison much less crudely seemed to be implying that having a child confined to a wheelchair would be worse than having DS becuase it limits what you can do so much! (Mmm ... not a competition ... but did I mention that perhaps it was Hannah's intellctual disabilty that might cause me more concern?? ...) To which the response was something like: "but she'll be fine, she can do things. There is a girl at --- she catches the bus and works --- ". This is not a complete transcript of our conversation and I don't want to misrepresent my friend in any way - what I want to say is how I love that about her - in some ways she has NO IDEA! In others she is so spot on - it is why she is someone that I am glad to have as my friend - she really does just see Hannah as another kid running around her yard and at the same time she talks about DS when she wants to like it is 'just another topic of conversation' - not some awkward hurdle. So there it is - she is a great friend. She doesn't fully get it (how could she?) but she accepts Hannah and is there to listen if I need her too. I am so lucky to have such good friends.

Needless to say that all three toddlers where plum tuckered out after a very busy day. Kit went to sleep talking about playing at Eliza's house and I am sure Hannah is dreaming about it tonight.