Beth's Hannah from Hannah's shenanagins (sp) tells some great jokes - ones that Kit would love too - he was telling me a knock knock joke this week - let me see if I can recall it... Why is 6 scared? Cos 7 "8" 9 - and then he cracked up laughing. The knock knock was something about Boo Hoo I think.... then this morning as I was munching on my toast and jam with a nice long black - and not just any toast and jam either - a beautiful slice of miche loaf from the gourmet Sonoma Bakery and some homemade blood orange marmalade - and I was just in the 'zone' where it was morning bliss before the mad rush out the door to school... Hannah is sitting next to me with her bowl of cereal. She commands me to close my eyes. "No peeking Mummy" she says - and then the little bugger swipes the prized last piece of my breakfast. And she eats slowly - so not only did I have to keep my eyes 'closed' for ages I didn't get my full brekky and didn't finish reading my newspaper either.
I helped in her class today and the spelling words for the week were sn ones - I relished explaining to her what 'sneak' meant.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
The good life
saffron milkcaps
As part of the schools enrichment program Kit took part in a knight and castle day
While I was relaxing at Solar Springs Dad and Phil took the brats to the park
Hannah chose pink carnations for the bedrooms
Buying a present for C's party meant buying something for Hannah too - she chose an umbrella - cos they have been 'singin' in the rain' at her spec needs dance class
Hannah and her best friend at one of her good friend's birthday parties - this little boy is just gorgeous - and then Kit sat with him at the tigers game the next day.
Hannah and I made a rainbow cake with playdoh
The boys went to Kit's first Tigers game... and Hannah and I had a mother daughter date - we did some butterfly craft - used the wonderful Pictello app to put together a story of her weekend for her teachers aid, ate chips and watched the Princess and the Frog...
Hannah and I enjoyed a gelato at my favourite pasticceria
Monday, June 13, 2011
Somewhere to start
Well - the photos seem to have absconded from iphoto... Hannah had some weird files open earlier today... hmmm.
I went to Solar Springs in Bundanoon for a Mothers retreat with NSW DSA - it was fantastic!! to have all that head space just for me. Such a treat. On the Thursday before leaving I was walking by Gleebooks - so I wandered in hoping to get a copy of the novel Water Under Water by Peter Rix (it was being launched on the following Sunday) and I got lucky - it was there - so I promptly bought a copy and in snatched moments of my students graduation ceremony I began to read it. I finished it while I was away - and when one of my frineds asked me what I though of it - I had no words - I am still not sure - but i am mulling it over and will reflect upon it more a bit later. If you haven't heard about it - it is the story of a family, in particular a father and son - where the son has DS. It sort of reminded me of the Memory Keepers Daughter - only this time the father got to keep the child with DS. the writing style was a lot like Tim Winton (who is a GREAT Australian writer) although that was perhaps due to all the descriptions of water and the cover which was not unlike the cover to Winton's Breath. Being so close to the subject matter can make responding to the book as simply a novel very difficult - hence I am still thinking it over in the back of my mind.
One of the mums on Retreat has a 42 year old son - she has self published the comfortingly titled: Down Syndrome Where Do I Start? (Sigrid Kaly) - and I read it straight away too. I had been looking for stories about DS just before I left for the retreat - and had ordered a couple I found on the wonderful Book Depository UK site. Dear Dr Fields (Pat Daniels) arrived just before this weekend - so I am in the midst of reading it (well actually polished it off late last night while this post was in the to be continued folder). The young man in question is in his 30s now - and his mother retells their family story in the guise of letters to her obs who handled the delivery of a child with DS in Brisbane in the 70s very poorly. I was surprised to see that it was actually set in Australia as I hadn't heard anything about it here and had thought it was an english story.
While at Solar Springs I managed to get to a yoga class and go on an evening bushwalk to see the glow worms at GlowWorm Glen (is it only Aussies that have such imaginery names for places?). I pottered through the local village shops and foraged (successfully!) for some pine mushrooms along the roadside - also known as saffron milkcaps - they were delicious with pasta when I got home. Phil, my Dad and the kids had had a good time at home - we met them at the local park. Hannah was very excited to see me but Kit was much more laid back about the whole Mum going away thing, the big brat.
We have just had the long weekend and Dad and my AUnt from South Australia were in residence which was lovely. We all went out to the local Italian restaurant for dinner on Friday night. Yesterday some good friends came over - including the 'other' set of twins from Year 1 - so everyone had a blast playing together. We also finally made it to the travel agent to plan our European holiday - man holidays for 4 are expensive!! We are going to go to London, Oxford, Paris, somewhere near Paris for a quiet week - not sure where just yet!; Florence, Venice and Rome. Then home. Given the cost and limited time we have opted for direct flights there and back which are going to be hard on the twins - especially Hannah but I have asked for a little extra long service leave so will stay at home with her if need be to get her ready to return to school. I am very excited that I will be able to do some 'royal' things and Kit and I will be able to wander through Monet's garden - bliss.
Once I come out the other side of the marking abyss I will try and rectify the photo problem that prevents me showing you how lovely Solar Springs is and how much fun the kids had at the local park while I was away.
I went to Solar Springs in Bundanoon for a Mothers retreat with NSW DSA - it was fantastic!! to have all that head space just for me. Such a treat. On the Thursday before leaving I was walking by Gleebooks - so I wandered in hoping to get a copy of the novel Water Under Water by Peter Rix (it was being launched on the following Sunday) and I got lucky - it was there - so I promptly bought a copy and in snatched moments of my students graduation ceremony I began to read it. I finished it while I was away - and when one of my frineds asked me what I though of it - I had no words - I am still not sure - but i am mulling it over and will reflect upon it more a bit later. If you haven't heard about it - it is the story of a family, in particular a father and son - where the son has DS. It sort of reminded me of the Memory Keepers Daughter - only this time the father got to keep the child with DS. the writing style was a lot like Tim Winton (who is a GREAT Australian writer) although that was perhaps due to all the descriptions of water and the cover which was not unlike the cover to Winton's Breath. Being so close to the subject matter can make responding to the book as simply a novel very difficult - hence I am still thinking it over in the back of my mind.
One of the mums on Retreat has a 42 year old son - she has self published the comfortingly titled: Down Syndrome Where Do I Start? (Sigrid Kaly) - and I read it straight away too. I had been looking for stories about DS just before I left for the retreat - and had ordered a couple I found on the wonderful Book Depository UK site. Dear Dr Fields (Pat Daniels) arrived just before this weekend - so I am in the midst of reading it (well actually polished it off late last night while this post was in the to be continued folder). The young man in question is in his 30s now - and his mother retells their family story in the guise of letters to her obs who handled the delivery of a child with DS in Brisbane in the 70s very poorly. I was surprised to see that it was actually set in Australia as I hadn't heard anything about it here and had thought it was an english story.
While at Solar Springs I managed to get to a yoga class and go on an evening bushwalk to see the glow worms at GlowWorm Glen (is it only Aussies that have such imaginery names for places?). I pottered through the local village shops and foraged (successfully!) for some pine mushrooms along the roadside - also known as saffron milkcaps - they were delicious with pasta when I got home. Phil, my Dad and the kids had had a good time at home - we met them at the local park. Hannah was very excited to see me but Kit was much more laid back about the whole Mum going away thing, the big brat.
We have just had the long weekend and Dad and my AUnt from South Australia were in residence which was lovely. We all went out to the local Italian restaurant for dinner on Friday night. Yesterday some good friends came over - including the 'other' set of twins from Year 1 - so everyone had a blast playing together. We also finally made it to the travel agent to plan our European holiday - man holidays for 4 are expensive!! We are going to go to London, Oxford, Paris, somewhere near Paris for a quiet week - not sure where just yet!; Florence, Venice and Rome. Then home. Given the cost and limited time we have opted for direct flights there and back which are going to be hard on the twins - especially Hannah but I have asked for a little extra long service leave so will stay at home with her if need be to get her ready to return to school. I am very excited that I will be able to do some 'royal' things and Kit and I will be able to wander through Monet's garden - bliss.
Once I come out the other side of the marking abyss I will try and rectify the photo problem that prevents me showing you how lovely Solar Springs is and how much fun the kids had at the local park while I was away.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Nonno's Farm
We had a wonderful day today. One of the boys on Kit's soccer team invited his teammates and their families to his Nonno's farm. We all went - and had a blast...
The kids were imrpessed when the first thing they saw upon arrival was this piece of play equipment - from an old MacDonalds. Hannah was just as impressed as she had been with the car going on the boat - or the ferry we went on to get to the farm.
The kids picked oranges and lemons in Nonno's orchard.
There was plenty of machinery for the boys (and girls) to enjoy - including this motorised car. The Dad's were having as much fun as the kids as they took turns in taking kids around on the quadbike and the dune buggy. In fact it seemed to be as much a 'dad's party' as a kids one.
Quad Bike
I think she is ready to participate in the next Scrapheap Adventure that fundraises for NSW Down Syndrome Association.
Dune Buggy
Most of us went on a bush walk after lunch - up 'Shark Mountain and to a cliff face as well.
THe pinnata was a hit.
The kids were more than happy to make sure Hannah had a go too.
Here is the picture of the house that M's Nonno built - or carved out of rock and then built on top of. It truly was both amazing and fantastic. The farm had something for everyone! We had a great time.
The dinosaur cake was a huge hit - and it tasted good too...
Talk about 'at home on the farm', little brat had a great day and when I asked her what was the best bit she prattled on and on - and unfortunately I could only get the key words - but it was so sweet to hear the excitement in her voice.
A quiet moment at the end of a lazy mother's day.
The kids were imrpessed when the first thing they saw upon arrival was this piece of play equipment - from an old MacDonalds. Hannah was just as impressed as she had been with the car going on the boat - or the ferry we went on to get to the farm.
The kids picked oranges and lemons in Nonno's orchard.
There was plenty of machinery for the boys (and girls) to enjoy - including this motorised car. The Dad's were having as much fun as the kids as they took turns in taking kids around on the quadbike and the dune buggy. In fact it seemed to be as much a 'dad's party' as a kids one.
Quad Bike
I think she is ready to participate in the next Scrapheap Adventure that fundraises for NSW Down Syndrome Association.
Dune Buggy
Most of us went on a bush walk after lunch - up 'Shark Mountain and to a cliff face as well.
THe pinnata was a hit.
The kids were more than happy to make sure Hannah had a go too.
Here is the picture of the house that M's Nonno built - or carved out of rock and then built on top of. It truly was both amazing and fantastic. The farm had something for everyone! We had a great time.
The dinosaur cake was a huge hit - and it tasted good too...
Talk about 'at home on the farm', little brat had a great day and when I asked her what was the best bit she prattled on and on - and unfortunately I could only get the key words - but it was so sweet to hear the excitement in her voice.
A quiet moment at the end of a lazy mother's day.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Bubbles
Well Mothers Day is done for another year. This year Phil had a cold - he still troopered on to make buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and chicken noodle soup for dinner. I know that Mothers Day is not the most important day of the year - a load of commercial hooha - but these days I do miss Mum just that little bit more than usual on that day. As I watched the twins play - bring me in the gifts the had so carefully chosen at the school mothers day stall and as I then played with them - I appreciated the day even more. It occurred to me that the best thing about Mothers Day was I felt more free to sit and play with the kids. I could ignore the piles of washing and marking and cleaning that all really needed to be done and play shops with the twins instead. Then I Hannah and I took the dog for a walk and when we got home we got out the wave wand she received at a friend's party recently and we made 'big bubbles'. Lovely.
This morning in the school I was chatting to a mum who couldn't get her daughter to school today - she commented that she thought she'd do better in 'the other class'. I had to laugh - the other class is Hannah's and I am thinking the opposite!! She had very clear and reasonable explanations for this - which were also why I think Hannah would do better in her daughter's present class. LOL>
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Manly for a day
The only thing better than fish and chips by the sea was the gelato we had at the end of the day...
Calamari Kit
Sandy play
Sandy boat
On the Ferry
Things are a bit stressful at the moment - not hopelessly so but I am very disappointed in the contrast between teacher approach for Hannah between last year and this year. Feel so badly about it that at our meeting with the principal this week I am going to ask if she can be moved into the other year 1 class - a move to surely enrage her existing teacher - and something the principal probably won't allow unfortunately but I feel so frustrated that I have to at least try. If nothing else it will communicate the level of my dissatisfaction.Needless to say then when my work had their picnic day at the beach on Friday it was a nobrainer that the twins would be allowed to skive off school for a day to come and play with me... we had a blast. And I feel so much more positive...
Calamari Kit
Sandy play
Sandy boat
On the Ferry
Things are a bit stressful at the moment - not hopelessly so but I am very disappointed in the contrast between teacher approach for Hannah between last year and this year. Feel so badly about it that at our meeting with the principal this week I am going to ask if she can be moved into the other year 1 class - a move to surely enrage her existing teacher - and something the principal probably won't allow unfortunately but I feel so frustrated that I have to at least try. If nothing else it will communicate the level of my dissatisfaction.Needless to say then when my work had their picnic day at the beach on Friday it was a nobrainer that the twins would be allowed to skive off school for a day to come and play with me... we had a blast. And I feel so much more positive...
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
special me
Years ago a common prayer used at just about every high school retreat I went on as a student was about being special. That prayer took on a whole new meaning when my daughter was born with Down Sydnrome and its meaning changes yet again now that I am doing my damndest to support her right to be educated with her peers just like any other kid.
I'm special
I am unique
In the whole wide world there is nobody exactly like me
and I even have a twin.
We are unique
we are special
Mum says we are the most precious things in the whole wide world.
I bet your mum told you that too.
Now we go to school. I am less special
I am just another one. I am more special
so many things are "too hard" for me.
We are twins, we are both special
I wish school saw us that way too.
In the special classroom everyone belongs
We try and work alone,
We try and help each other
When we're really stuck
We go and ask the teacher.
There everyone is special, everyone belongs
I am good at listening. He is good at maths.
The teacher works so very hard
the focus remains on us.
What we learn is by the way
How we learn is everything.
I am very special, I am smart as smart can be
I am very special but learnings hard for me
We work alone, we work together
Our teacher lights our path
and we both know that we are unique
as special as anyone else can be.
I'm special
I am unique
In the whole wide world there is nobody exactly like me
and I even have a twin.
We are unique
we are special
Mum says we are the most precious things in the whole wide world.
I bet your mum told you that too.
Now we go to school. I am less special
I am just another one. I am more special
so many things are "too hard" for me.
We are twins, we are both special
I wish school saw us that way too.
In the special classroom everyone belongs
We try and work alone,
We try and help each other
When we're really stuck
We go and ask the teacher.
There everyone is special, everyone belongs
I am good at listening. He is good at maths.
The teacher works so very hard
the focus remains on us.
What we learn is by the way
How we learn is everything.
I am very special, I am smart as smart can be
I am very special but learnings hard for me
We work alone, we work together
Our teacher lights our path
and we both know that we are unique
as special as anyone else can be.
Holidays are over 'normal' resumes
Then the kids had parties - three to attend in 2 days... talk about the life of Reilly!! They had a blast
My girlfriend had a bit of a royal soiree which was just lovely...
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