My Darling Rabbit

Ah, the firstborn. They're always at a disadvantage as they're the one you 'learn' on. I expected things of Anna-Jayne I never would of Poppy as my parenting style has changed and I've become much more relaxed and realisitic in my attitudes.

She is an official 'Aspergian' and with that comes many challenges and special talents.

She knows all about Echo-location, more facts about animals than you can poke a stick at, and can sit for hours playing Nintendogs on her DS or cataloging her Littlest Pet Shops into 'groups'. She also is fond of tissues, rocks, shells, sticks, leaves and all types of other natural matter and I will find 'homes' for her Littlest Pet Shops made of the above materials in every conceivable nook and cranny in her room. Organisation is not something she'll ever come to naturally I'm afraid, despite lists, picture cards and cranky Mum routines. There are so many other things about her that I will share in the coming time but they're just a couple of little Jaynie-isms....

We have had so many break throughs in the past year which seemed to culminate in a wonderful weekend. She had been invited to a schoolmates Birthday party. She had such a lovely time, as soon as we got there, she was off with her friends. There was a 'Guess the Lollies in the Jar' game. I asked her if she'd like to guess. She said "No, I'll just get it wrong anyway and not win" as a Mum, my instant reaction was "well, you've got to be in it to win it" but I let it go as I'm learning more and more when to 'let things be'.

I went to take the little ones for an icecream and when I returned to pick her up, lo and behold, she ran up to me "I WON! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE WON!!" Her first ever prize!! She was so very proud. I have no idea who got her to enter but I'm so glad they did. She never wins.... she's not very co-ordinated, she'd rather gallop like a pony in a running race than be competitive. But in this, she did! She'd also won 3 other 'prizes' in games (I think due to a very lovely Mum who's seen her in the past come away empty handed). She proudly went around to everyone and shared her Lolly jar (which incidentally had 109 lollies). *Bless*

She was showing me all her loot when she saw her little friend had not won anything. I mentioned to her that she didn't seem to have anything and perhaps it would be kind to see if she'd like one of Jaynie's prizes? Albiet a bit confused, Jaynie dilligently asked if she'd like her glow-in-the-dark stars (no thanks)? Her special soap (again no thanks)... but she said - oh I'll have your skipping rope. Instantly - I could see on Jaynie's face, that she wanted that BADLY. I was instantly stuck. She'd been so giving & kind to her friend and now it was kind of backfiring. I quickly jumped in and said "Oh Jaynie, what a lovely friend and a wonderful person you are, I will get you the loveliest most beautiful skipping rope this week"... and with that, situation defused.

So my beautiful girl will be the proud owner of the most beautiful skipping rope I can find on pay day... and she's reminded me about it 154 times and counting since Sunday...........

My Marvellous Three

We had a Birthday party this afternoon - the invitation was in the shape of a mask - a Masquerade Party!

Yesterday afternoon, we cut, painted, glued & hot glued up a set of masks ready to party. On the way there Anna-Jayne had a nervous moment as 'everyone else will have store bought masks'...

I suppose it had to happen eventually. The realisation that home-made is 'different'. I explained to her - we're a creative, crafty family by our choice and I think - the hour or so of fun and mess produced making our masks makes them more beautiful than the most gorgeous store bought product. She kind of agreed with me and lo and behold, when we arrived, there were quite a few hand made masks anyway.

I grabbed a few photos and looking at them on the screen, it amazes me at how fast they are growing. No longer babies or toddlers, I definitely have 3 young people. Anyway, enough talking. I hope you had a lovely weekend!

Troublesome Tuesday

The wheels have well and truly fallen off this week! My eldest daughter Anna-Jayne received her 2nd and official diagnosis for Aspergers on Friday. It has brought mixed emotions to the fore.

Guilt for what I may have done wrong in my ignorance, subsequently making things more difficult for her, sadness that she's never going to 'grow out of it' and she will always struggle with certain things in life, anger that I am the only one who deals with this on a day-to-day basis and relief that I have some answers and can now get on with finding ways to help Jaynie sort through things and help her be the best person she can possibly be.

On mentioning to friends and family, I have dealt with a lot of disbelief and questioning with her being 'labelled', resulting in me personally being unsure and questioning the lady doing her assessment. She said in her professional opinion, Jaynie is very 'subtle'. She doesn't believe there is 'mild' Aspergers - Autism, yes absolutely - but not Aspergers. You either have it or you don't. She said Anna-Jayne definitely has it, but because of her being a) female, b) intelligent and c) lovely natured, she presents very 'subtly' and has learnt to 'copy' certain behaviours to help her cope and 'fit in' to a certain degree. All of this is very new to me and I am relaying the conversation as it was said to me so it is confusing?!

We have a long road ahead. But I am actually looking forward to helping Jaynie understand herself and enable her to use her wonderful positive attributes in new ways. I am going to update on here too so hopefully we can look back & see the progress we made and who knows, perhaps help and connect with other families in similar situations?

I made a wholly home-made gift on the weekend for my god-daughter but forgot to photograph it! Oops! I will come back tomorrow to share the links I used for lovely hair clips, headbands, gift basket & pencil roll.

*sorry about how difficult this is to read - blogger is being a poo & ignoring my formatting*

Roar!

Argh! There's a tiger in my house!

Oh Cameron, it's only you -thank goodness!

Give us a smile Gorgeous boy! Come on!

Hey Cameron - I love you...

Too much for a manly tiger to take huh?! But I've not finished with you yet! Oh, okay then, maybe later?

Christmas Traditions

We've been in the midst of creating some new Christmas traditions and rekindling some old ones! Every year I buy a new ornament for my Darcy. This year it was a variation on my normal star:

I am in love with the champagne decorations that are the 'in' colour this year, I am hoping to snaffle some at the after Christmas sales.

My best friend Rachael had us around for the decorating of their tree, it was a lot of fun with the kids enjoying the angel hair placement the most. It was a nice reminder of the true meaning of the season:

And then we had a rip-roaring Gingerbread decorating afternoon! Who would think so much sugar, colours and sprinkles could make 6 kids happy & silly as a wheel?! ;0) No photos, we were too busy trying to contain the icing to one small area!

What are your special traditions? I have more to share about Christmas Day itself but that will have to wait - we've got pine cones to cover in glue & glitter!

Skirty Saturday

I've been busy today! I made Poppy-Mae 2 gathered skirts. They were inspired by the House on Hill Road tutorial, but I went the simple route and skipped thetop band and bottom hem and focused on prettying them up.I can't believe how quickly they came together. The strip on the bottom of the pink skirtwas leftover from the first skirt and I didn't want to waste it. I got the whole piece from the Op Shop in Bright for 50c.

I love when I can make something so pretty out of a cheapoff-cut.I have plans to use my Monday to make Jaynie a few skirts. They are so gratifying to whip upin such a small time.

Zippered Pouch

Here's a zippered pouch to go with the bag! I love the shabby-chic flower on the outside. Even though the fabriv has a very Japanese feel to it when it is in a big piece, with the applique, it becomes almost country?!

I ironed the cut-out flower to I have 2 birthdays coming up in the next 10 days so I'll be whipping up a couple more sets. I'd love to find some d-rings and key chain rings to make them a bit more professional. Anyone have any ideas/suppliers?

We took Poppy to the ENT last night, she is booked in to have her tonsils and adenoids out and grommits put in on the 25th of September. It's so quick but we'll be glad to give her the chance to put on some weight and have longer than 5 weeks between anti-biotics.

Old Photos

DH found some CDs with backed up photos on them. I found a whole stash of Cammie photos and just had to share a couple. Thanks to Leni and Rose, I can now email them instead of having to upload them.

Play dough?!

I finally finished Poppy's quilt but as they are burning off the whole of the military range at the back of our house, I can't get it outside for photos because of the smoke.


Just wanted to share an easy playdough recipe I stole from my friend Cassie ;) :

3 Cups Plain Flour
3 Tbl Oil
6 tspn Cream of Tartar
3 Cups Water

Mix all the ingredients in a microwave bowl, cover and cook for 7 minutes on high, stirring half way through. Once cool, knead to smooth consistency.

It makes really soft 'playdoh' consistency playdough! It's really lovely to play with and an easy way to do it. Also having no salt, it works out even cheaper to make.

Friday Again!

I really need to find some creative titles, don't I?
I have photos to share from last weekends' jaunt to the hills just north of Brisbane. There's a lovely picnic area and down a little hill is this hidden creek. Isn't it just the thing Childhood is made for? The kids had so much fun with rocks, sticks and leaves. *Bliss* We went with some really good friends of ours who seem to be so in synch with our idea of a fun time: Good food, friends and nature. Six children totally engrossed and not an electronic gizmo or doo-dad to be seen.

I know this is meant to be a craft blog. I have NO SEW-JO. I have the want but it just seems to never eventuate. I have been so busy trying to keep the house Martha Style that I have seemed to forgone my creative endeavours. Time to remedy that I think.... Stay tuned... (I hope)!

I think I'll buy a Lotto Ticket

I have MIA as Cameron spent 3 days in hospital. They're not 100% sure what it was but think one of his testes twisted. He started on Saturday night saying his 'bum' was sore and by 10am Sunday morning we were in at the Ipswich Hospital with him screaming in agony. They came up with every possible diagnosis you can think of: telescoping of the bowel, enteritis, virus, plain old constipation but nothing fit. The most likely opinion is the testes thing. They say it can happen once and then never again or a few times then get twisted good and proper. The doctors told me if it happens again and doesn't right itself - they've got 6 hours to get it out . Needless to say, I'm a bit worried. Seeing as we don't have a actual diagnosis, it makes me anxious it will happen again and it was horrible, he had every test known to man and was on morphine at one stage. He's home now, I just have to watch him very carefully.

To top it off, Steven's car broke down, the dishwasher's flooded our kitchen twice and it cost over $250 for three days worth of nappies and food! If it had been a skit on TV you would have to laugh! But it all pales in significance to my baby boy's health. I'm just so thankful he's okay. And to be extra kind on my exhausted body and nerves, I'm still in my PJs (albeit clean ones after my morning shower), using the dryer to get on top of the washing and the kids are pleasing themselves with all day ABC Kids!

We ended up spending Darcy's 5th Birthday on hospital, so I'll hopefully be in to update for my big boys' 5th Birthday. I have to go and do some housework as 3 odd days of nothing really builds up around here! *mwah*

Sweet Poppy's 2nd Birthday

It began so prettily

Buzz opened the presents, dirty face and all

Mum didn't bake the cake (that one will be at the party)

You call that a knife?....

Playing with presents

Such a joy at two, can't wait to see what three brings. So lucky to be her Mum....

Happy Birthday Poppy Mae for tomorrow

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at what will be hitting inboxes of all our friends & family tomorrow morning. I can't believe she's almost 2! Where did that time go? And why do I still weigh the same as 3 days post-partum?! *Note to self: stop eating chocolate and be a size 8 for 3rd Birthday photos* :)

Happy Birthday My Darling Boy

My Son Watching you grow has been the delight of my life. I look at you and wonder what dreams you will dream, what mountains you will climb, what joys you will have. I know there will be tears and struggles as well, but my prayer is that you will grow into the man you are meant to be.

Three already - how did that happen? You're such a funny little man. Obsessed with Transformers, anything with wheels and your favourite DVD of the moment is Shark boy & Lava Girl. You love to eat your veggies and you can be so headstrong one minute and so compliant the next. You are much more sensitive than your sisters - one word can send your bottom lip trembling but one kind word sees you throw your arms around for a huge hug. I love your spirit and admire your heart. I can't wait to see what you're fourth year has in store. Love you "boy". x

Grateful

Photo taken by Me in our Front Yard, Wodonga

What a weekend. Full of talks, full of past, present and future. Love, loss and hope. It's been a tiring and fulfilling time.

I wanted to escape to the beach to clear my head and let the unending wash of the waves cleanse my futile soul and refill it with a sense of something bigger but alas time was against me so I've decided to do a totally disjointed Gratitude list. I've read lots of peoples' lists (wish I could link some right now, please forgive me, I'm too tired) and thought they were a cool idea so here's my crack. Today I am grateful for:

• Friends in my life. Old and new, all understanding me and loving me for me.
• Not-so Friends no longer in my life - for helping me to better appreciate what I do have in my real ones. For teaching me life lessons, however painful but necessary for growth.
  
• My children. My living children for being my daily joy and for Darcy being my strength and forever link to a Heaven I can only dream of.
  
• My husband. Through thick and thin (thin and not so thin). Best friend, rock, support, laughter, vulnerability, nemesis.
• Mocha coffees at 1am when Cameron won't sleep and my nerves won't rest.
• This silly little blog - my link to some of the most amazing people I have ever not met.
• Needle and thread. Fabric and Yarn. A universal language.
• Charlie and Lola DVDs - my 71 minutes of peace and quiet a day. And for the hours of inspired play they create afterwards.
• Borders Bookstore - for giving Jaynie and I a precious hour and a half of perfect intunement - reading, browsing, hand holding. We are now proud owners of Possum Magic, Koala Lou and there's a Hippo on our Roof Eating Cake.
• Messenger - the connection to a ray of light and a dimple creating smile (Hi Kylie!).
  
• God for putting me here and now and guiding my futile attempts at navigating the sea of life.

I think that'll do for now... I think I've covered most all and the kitchen sink. So if you're confused and random as I am right now, you might like a try?!

An Nena Lollie Nena Head??

The kids and I had a trip to the museum yesterday. After a week of illness and DVDs, we all felt a little cooped up. I gave Jaynie the choice of op-shopping and park or the museum. Apparentlywe're going op-shopping today (don't like her chances, I'm exhausted)!

We toddled in around 11:30 after making lunch to take with us and getting all snazzed up. We had to park in the covention centre car park and walk but it was a nice day so no problems there. I was surprised at just how busy it was!

The kids were awesome, waiting their turn to look at things and being generally exceptional in their behaviour, with the slight deviations from the norm of course, nothing that a stern talking to or a jellybean to break the monotony of being in the pusher for Poppy couldn't fix. We finished off at the Science Centre playing with all the gadgets.

I really enjoyed seeing how the kids' different ages and conceptual understanding made each experiment a different experience for them. Anna-Jayne read each plaque and asked questions based on gravity, mirrors, weight - lots of things that I had to struggle to answer. She was most impressed with the idea that she could lift an 80kg fridge by a rope attached to a lever - and she worked out all on her own that the closer to the object she was (ie: less leverage) the harder it was to lift it! Cameron loved playing the impromptu musical instruments and tried to get different sounds: lower and higher pitch, louder and softer and Poppy just loved dancing around in the coloured shadows and bashing things to make as much noise as possible! I experimented with a new diet I've heard about - it's called the smoke and mirror effect - I think it's working for me - although it does tend to give one "bingo wings" and bloated looking midriff - and I have no idea how they got there. Oh well, back to the reality...

Upon asking the kids there favourite part of the outing, Jaynie said it was the stuffed animals, Cameron the dinosaurs and the case of vintage firearms and Poppy? It was "An Nena Lollie Nena Head" for all your punters that don't speak Popstar-nise, that translates to getting a Lollie in her head, or stuck in her hair, whichever way you choose to think of it. Next time I'll save my legs and give her a jellybean to spit on!

Happy Sugary Easter!

We've had a lovely quiet weekend so far... How about you?
Friday we decided to make sugar biscuits then ice & decorate them. We had a blast watching the kids drizzle icing over everything bar the biscuits! And we did some Easter craft, followed by a park outing - a real kids' day (of course as parents we had absolutely NO FUN, playing and running around like a child is too immature for us - not ;) ).

Yesterday saw us doing some shopping - Steven needs to buy a handheld MGRS Sat Nav thingy - all very technical! He still hasn't decided which one he'll get.

Then this morning was a flurry of shiny wrappers and exclamations of bliss through sticky mouths and fingers! Our Easter Egg hunt was fabulous as this is the first year all the children have been able to really hunt the eggs - they all went into a communal basket for "sharing" and this arrangement seems preferable to complaints of "He's got more than me!". It also goes with the spirit of the season.

Then my Dad came up for lunch which was so lovely. He turned 60 at the end of last month so we gave him a Willow Tree statue (he loved it), and made him BBQ ribs (his favourite). It's so cool to be able to hang out with a parent as a parent. It may sound strange that I'm saying this seeing as I've been a parent for over 6 years now, but this is the first time we've lived within 'visiting distance' of each other. I'm getting to know him in a totally different light and it's great.

So now we're off to the park again to burn off some sugar rush in the hopes of getting them into bed at a reasonable hour. Wish me luck!

Wishing you a joyous Easter.