Winter Flowers

Kit has always been a snuggler. Hannah is a cuddler too but not of soft toys. She might have been 'putting them to bed' all day but at night she dumps them without ceremony at the end of her bed before she goes to sleep. Until now - one night when we were having trouble getting her to sleep I gave her a cuddly gingerbread man (The Shrek one) - well he has definitely become her cuddly - just like Kit has his Armstrong bear (named for the family who gifted it to him when he was born).



Dress ups for gold colour day at school...
Well winter is well and truly here - the weather has been windy and wet. Poor Kit hasn't been to soccer for a couple of weeks and even the ducks would have been complaining on Wed. The twins are going well at school. Hannah is pushing a few boundaries but over all is going well. I am so impressed with her reading!!
I finish teaching fo rhte semester next week so that makes me feel a bit festive - not that long until te mid semester holidays. Yay!!! Dad is back from his holiday at his house in QLD so that pleases us all - especially Hannah who would tell me every few days while he was away that she 'want Gra NOW!'.
I put my name down for research project about DS and numeracy - there is a session about it tomorrow - so hoepfullyt hat will be interesting. I also have Uni exams coming up and as usual am flying by the seat of my pants in organising time for it. Still I am learning a lot which I will be able to use to help me undertand the learning process for both Kit and Hannah.
I cleaned the house up recently - and as usual - to celbrate a good clean up I bought some flowers - and then I played around with my new 2nd hand camera ...
Hannah is so SLOWWWWWWWWW with her eating. She is always the last one to finish. Tonight we were all sitting around watching masterchef while she finished eating. When she was done she got down from the bench. Came over to me and said "Thank you for dinner Mummy". How cute is that - what a fantastic kid - no idea where she got those manners from...

Mothers day

Lovely time of year here in the Dock although it is starting to get colder now. The twins spoilt me terribly on mother's day. Breakfast in bed - with them in the bed too (??hmmm)- and then lunch with the extended family. The school had a mothers day stall which the twins were very excited about. They went in separately with their different focus teachers and low and behold I got 2 sets of heart shaped measuring spoons. Very nice actualy as I don't have any measuring spoons and we do cook a lot here. They were very proud of themselves. Kit also did some craftwork which was sweet.
School athletics carnival went well. Everyone enjoyed themselves even thought he weather wasn't great and we all had to make a run for it and end it all a bit early when the drizzle became a downpour!

Holly Hobbie

I used to collect Holly Hobbie when I was young - I still have a vase and DH has a coffee mug with his name on (of which he denies ALL knowledge BTW!). Anyhoo - Kit and Hannah are mucking around on the computer WAY TOO MUCH as they do on the weekend and suddnely Hannah wants to print - a template for a holly Hobbie dress up doll. She loves it and keeps it by her bed. Then a week later they are pestering their father again (the coloured inks are running out and it is NOT a pay week...) to print another template - a Holly Hobbie house. Kit follows the instructiosn cuts out the bits and stickytapes togehter a house that Hannah loves. What a wonderful brother, and how fantastic that a little bit of my own childhood gets to be relived through my daughter? I will have to scour the op shops for a piece of Holly Hobbie for each of them to have as their own.
PS If you don't read Mainstream Musings - Hannah is doing so great at school. It fills me with the most joyous pride - I don't expect her to be top of the pops - but she is loving school and the school is welcoming her - and is starting to really see the unbelievable gift that she is to the community. The special ed teacher is mighty impressed with her literacy skills - and I know in my heart of hearts - it isn't cos of 'all the work I do' - no way - it is just because that is how our family is and that is how talented our kids are. The glory - every single little bit of it - belongs to my coraegous and wilful redhead - who knows that she is different but does what she does to perfection. I love her exactly as she is. I am so proud of her - and so happy with our choice of school...God is good.

Dragon

Hannah and Kit brought home their first 'Homework Book' this week. I must confess to not being a huge believer in homework - their school doesn't expect anything too onerous - read their reader to a family member each day, some sight words. Then - for 'bonus' if they like some acivities to colour in if they get done - 20 star jumps, setting the dinner table twice, saying a prayer, drawing 6 things from their reader etc. All fine - except I already do speech drills with Hannah each morning - and there really isn't huge amount of time left - she has been so tired this past week getting back into school routine.

Anyhow - she has swimming lessons (mainstream) Tuesdays and Rainbow Club (children with disabilities) on Saturdays - as well as music. Now she has been going to this music school since she was 2. And LOVIN it - but it is getting harder now they are learning parts of the keyboard. In fact this year Kit moved on to the next level but Hannah repeated - that was fine by me - Hannah clearly needed it - she is good at the rhythm and dancing activities etc but the finemotor of playing as well as reading the music notes really challenges her.

So - I chatted with DH - perhaps it was time to pull her from music - I was facing a lesson where she hadn't practised for 2 weeks and only practised once in the past week. When I got to the class I spoke to her teacher - who immediately said that she wouldn't charge me the full cancellation fee - but would be happy to ring me to discuss it all.

The lesson began. Hannah beamed the WHOLE time. And I cried. I am not really sure why - but I guess because it hurt to think that I'd have to pull her out of something that she enjoys because she ahs Down Syndrome. She played terribly and when they had to play a rhthym on a drum - she (as well as a couple of others) were a bit out of time. But not so bad that I would say she definitely not continue. The playing skills is so hard but she does know a little - it just takes her longer to find the keys and the backing music plays pretty quickly. One game is 'echo' - or 'my turn, your turn' and last year Hannah was always out of sync and copying the teacher as she did actions rather than staying one step behind like she was supposed to. I watched her this week - she got it EXACTLY right. When it comes time to 'solo' she is keen - her little hand goes up and she is so proud of herself. She stands and faces the class, says her name and the title fo the song she will play - not that anyone understands her much!

She wants to play soccer but can't - due to her neck xray reslts. I had been thinking that perhaps a dance class - for kids with speical needs was the way to go. A physical activity that sdidn't rely upon 'practice' in the same way that playing an instrument does. Instead all lesson I thought about ways to make it work. How to make it easier (for Hannah and myself) to practice regularly in amongst all the other stuff we do.

Her teacher was very open - from her point of view Hannah is going fine (except for the playing part). She hasn't had a student with DS before - and doesn't know what is 'usual' or not for them. I said perhaps if I could buy one of her 'wobble boards' (laminated cardboard keyboard) that Han could practice on that - she seemed quite happy to see that I was willing to let it go at least another term. When she gets in some new wobble boards she will pass on an old one for me. I am hoping that putting apiece of cardboard in front of Hannah will make it easier to 'practice' piano without adding a whole other homework activity into her schedule. Fingers crossed it works. Cos she really does enjoy it.

Oh - and the clouds - Kit came in wanting to take a photo - he saw a dragon in them - and I can see what he means...

Bounce

Here are a few random pics. Hannah in the WIggles car after her haircut - lovin it. Then our 'first baby' and my Dad's strong hands. See the two wedding bands? He had Mum's diamond one enlarged so he could wear it. He tries so hard to look after us all in her absence. I am sure Mum is so very proud of him. He went back to Brisvegas for a week holiday and brought back some lovely treats for hte twins -a dolphin on a chain that Kit adores and this H for Hannah - which quite frankly I adore - as it swings over her precious heart...


This boy is just so gorgeous at the moment. He also melts down regularly come the afternoon and especially at bedtime. Yet he is also such a delight. He got a 'principals award' sticker at school last week - when I ame down to help in the classroom - he was SO proud to show it to me.

For Carly

Hannah's Holiday Book

Today's activity. While I was online Hannah brought out her favourite book of the past 2 years - the Banana's in Pajamas Holiday Book. She asked me to staple some sheets of paper and write 'Hannah's Holiday Book' on the cover. She then set about drawing. When I had finished spending time on the computer - I asked her to talk to me about her pictures - and then I added in the words. I also helped with a couple of pages that had been blank originally.




(Mummy and Hannah got a haircut)

Holidays End

How feral was their hair? Poor darlings. I finally got around to taking them to the chopshop yesterday. they look so much better now.
After:
I thought it would be fun for the twins and i to make a scarecrow for our vegie garden as a holiday activity. I had been saving some of their old clothes to use - and yesterday we finally got around to it.
After:
Before...
I hate answering the phone - close friends know that if it takes a while to get a response - it isn't because we screen our calls - it's cos DH and I are arguing over who gets to answer it - neither of us really wanting to. I am not really sure why I feel that way - cos I love a chat! (lol). For Christmas Santa brought me a gorgeous 1940s black bakelite rotary dial - I LOVE it. Over the holidays I have found that I have to 'race' to the phone - or trian up the kids - cos they both love answering it. Kit usually says 'Kit here. Who are you?' or "Kit here, here's Mummy'. Hannah either heavy breathes or says in her funny speech way "Hello?' They both 'make calls' while I am driving them places - to their father, or an imaginary friend.
And so it is the last day of the holidays. A quiet day in the Dock - cos I am taking Hannah to get the flu injection and the swine one too - hope it goes ok. I am already lookig forward to next holidays - these have been great.

Training

Well the twins' play date was successful - I guess that's to be expected when you combine 4 great kids together! Hannah didn't interact all the time (she happily played on her own too - thank goodness for Kit!) but she had a ball on the trampoline with everyone, intiated a drawing activity and had a ball using Kit's bed a s a'stage' for their concert. A lovely morning. Like a leaf on the rosebush unfurling in the first light of dawn. then I had a lovely lunch with my former colleagues - Hannah was pooped and slept from when we arrived to the end of lunch pretty much!
Today we went to the local all abilities park to meet a friend for a moring tea picnic which was lovley. Then Kit visited a friend from the twins old preschool for a playdate - when we got home Hannah kept saying that she wanted Kit - "Want Kit now". So I asked her about her friends - her response was R (yes our gorgeous 12 year old) and then she listed "Kit, Mummy, Daddy, Gra..."
Kit then had his first soccer training session - he really loves it but he was so buggered - he played soccer for at least an hour! Hannah and I kicked a ball around and chased and threw and played tunnel ball - as we rumbled I looked up at her beautiful face - laughing mouth framed by strawberry red hair and topped with a cheeky sun hat - surrounded by blue sky backdrop and some fluffy white clouds - absolute bliss. I don't have any judgements to make or say but I spared a glancing thought/half a prayer for the beautiful twins in Florida - the one who was 'wrongfully terminated' by the dr and then the other with DS who was 'terminated' not long after. I couldn't help it - but I didn't linger - I also wished I had my camera closer (it was in my bag on the sidelines) but precious moments of joy like that are sometimes just for the having not the capture.
I did notice though that after 20-30 minutes of running around Hannah was tired and slowed the pace down and when she missed - if the ball hit her - she got quite upset and tentative. Yes I really don't think she'd cope in a regular soccer team. Throughout the game as she noticed him stumble or crash into anohter team mate - she'd say with concern 'Kit sore'. She also has obviously been practising some interesting moves with Miss A her sprots teacher at school because she was literally moving my legs and arms to show me what to do at one stage in our play - too funny to see her try and show me - she wanted me to lift a leg up and an arm up (on the same side of my body) and then she would try and throw a ball through them!!
At one stage towards the end I saw Kit tumble, saw him look shocked (and a bit winded), and tired and then go to cry before pulling himself together, getting up and chasing the ball - I was so proud of him at the same time I just wanted to go and hug him close. At the end of the game Hannah went straight to him and gave him a cuddle. he was so tired and sweaty and dirty - he barely noticed - he just wanted to get into the car and have some quiet time.