Following on from
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ml#post3322369
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Following on from
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ml#post3322369
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Pretty chilly here today - I'm hiding out inside with a big pot of Jambalaya simmering on the stove for dinner tomorrow night - tonight is roast chook.
DH had a kangaroo jump on to the car bonnet on the way to work. Car may be a write off, find out tomorrow. Hope it's not, I bought it brand new and it's been a good little car.
Went out on Thursday night with a bunch of the kindy mums - was a good night, certainly a range of personalities there.
Hiya Snookums.
How are we all? It's been a busy week here, with a few extra things on at school in the evening, culminating with a disco (complete with cupcakes) for Miss E. Man, why aren't there more cupcake discos in the world? That would solve a lot of problems, I think.
Speaking of problems... hmmm... I might be imagining things but our little thread family seems to be dwindling. I know there was some upset a while back, and I just want to say to EVERYONE from my deepest heart - I value each and everyone of you, I treasure what we have shared along this journey, I adore hearing about every single one of our kidlets, and I hope that this can remain a space where everyone feels like they can share their parenting journey, even as our kids get older and our families' lives take on different directions and challenges as well as our different achievements and triumphs. You women have kept me sane during some of my very darkest hours and I hope that at some level each and every one of you understands that every. single. letter. you have ever typed and will ever type into one of these small purple boxes has value and is appreciated. xxx :grouphug:
ETA: Cally - sorry I missed your post just before. Gosh I'm glad your DH is ok - those roos can do some nasty damage. I hope your car is ok. Re your night out with the Kindy mums - I LOL'd @ "a range of personalities"... that sounds like a euphemism if i ever heard one ROFL.
I don't even know what Jumbalaya is but I want some. I keep promising (threatening?) to learn how to make gumbo, but I never seem to be able to find the okra when the gumbo mood is upon me.
Cass - how are the new mesdames chook & chook going? Are they laying yet? Glad your boobies are happy again and that L is over her tonsillities. I pulled up at school on thursday and just drove straight into a carpark on a nearly empty street at 8.25. It was like the zombie apocalypse had started and someone forgot to tell me... Apparently there's some kind of scabies/chickenpox contagion going through the school.
Arte - WTG on your babysitting! :D How's the study coming along? I've got one final essay that's due at the end of this week, it's a biggie and I haven't started yet.
I haven't fully recovered yet from my job-application-from-hell last week. It's only for a promotion so no biggie if it bombs out, but possibly *slightly* embarrassing because my new boss is on the selection panel so she will see my horridly underdone effort :o. I had a terrible narcoleptic week last week and for the first time ever I can see really clearly how it has affected my performance (instead of just clobbing myself with the self-hatred stick like usual). I'm not sure I will even get through to an interview, tbh. Anyway they keep saying it will be cutthroat competitive so I'll just have to take a pill o'chill and live with it.
Hello my lovelies :D
MD: it would be a bummer to not get an interview though...even if the application wasnt awesome it's still alot of work and time and stress. I had that happen a couple of months ago: made it through two selections and then didnt get the interview :(. was totally bummed.
Chooks are great!! the brown one AKA "slide" has already been a-laying! the guy we got them off said it could take a couple of weeks while they settle in, but she is so chill brazil and basically owns the joint. she has been teaching "lei" how to climb the ladder with rather hilarious consequences and lots of flapping and bok-boking lol.
Cally: man, i have everything crossed that the car will be AOK. Is there any replacement insurance on it??
AFM: all good here. basically havent seen the kids this weekend as the neighbours grandkids are over and they have been playing non stop. it's very cool to see and the grandma makes a mean soup so the girls have also been quite well fed. so i guess i am kinda adopting an extended family hahaha.
Yeah, we will get something for the car, but nowhere near what it was really worth if we had sold it. It was 13 years old, but had only done 100,000 km and was in really good shape. And the question as to what we get next - something crappy that can handle roos or something decent that will cost us to fix (possibly frequently).
Jambalaya - cajun seasoning, chorizo sausage, chicken thighs, stock, tomato and rice - scrummy.
Cass - cool, home grown eggs.
A cupcake disco - that sounds awesome.
MD, one of my life horrors was when I had the.worst.interview.EVER, just so painful. Then I got a job with another place so no harm done, except a few months later the first place bought the company I was working for and I had to join the staff. Then, just to make myself look even more stupid, on the first day I accidentally called 000 trying to get hold of reception to get into the lab (in my defence the emergency number in NZ is different!). So then the police showed up….
Study is o.kish. Big assignment handed in on time. Exam in a couple of weeks. We already have the exam so at least I know what essays I need to prepare. I am unsettled by this known exam thing - feels like I am being set up lol
Cass, that is a long wait for L's allergy specialist. Does she still react to kiwifruit or has she outgrown it (or too scared to find out?)
Same old here. Backed into a petrol pump the other day and smashed up the back of my car. I am sure the insurance company is going to disown us soon - they only paid out our old car 3 months ago.
Went to the city today. Spent hours at the huge park there. Good, free fun. Stocked up on some craft stuff too - need ideas for afternoon entertainment. Only downside is that E fell asleep on the way home and now it is 11pm and she is still a box of birds.
I can only assume that everyone will be back in as they have the time.
ETA Cally, I took forever to write that post and missed yours. Total bummer about insurance not paying out what your car was worth. If you have a second decent car then I would go for something small and crappy as a work transporter.
Killed the thread. Typical. I seem to have that effect on people.
My father is arriving from Australia this afternoon. Just staying one night and then going back tomorrow. It turns out it costs the same for him to personally deliver a heavy package of car parts as it does for him to post it. He hasn't been over since E was a tiny baby.
Cass, did you ever contact your brother or father?
ETA, I am insanely nervous. My heart is racing and I feel like throwing up. I don't know why - we talk on the phone all the time.
Arte - you are not a thread killer. How is the visit going? Was it better once he actually arrived?
Very funny story about you calling 000!
Ahh, one more day and then a long weekend. Have no plans, just relaxing family time.
Thanks Cally. The visit went well :) He is gone again now, but is coming over again later in the year with his wife and grandson. My kids haven't met their cousin. I only met him once when he was 4 - he is 11 now.
What is your long weekend for? We had Queens Birthday last weekend.
hello lovelies!
Arte: OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! that is way too funny about your job bahahahahahaha! i cannot believe that the company bought it and you called the police on the first day hahahahahahahaha! i cannot stop laughing! that is '30 Rock' material right there! I must admit that i had a moment of feeling foolish when i managed to set the work printer on fire. the whole floor was out of action because of me....there was sooo much ink. oh the ink.
I did manage to get in contact with my brother. but nothing really came off from it. he is just way too young (literally and figuratively). and just used his new found knowledge to have a fight with his/our Dad. it was good in one sense as at least the cat is out of the bag (ie: me lol) and i actually feel better that at least i am known and that they know i exist. it's not much but, for now, it is enough ITMS. I wish that i could have the rosey happy family thang...but if not, TBH I am not interested. i dont need more drama :rofl:
did the nerves settle down straight away? does it feel weird to see him? Do you see resemblance??? Being an only child and no other family around i am so fascinated to know if we look the same lol!
Cally: waaaahhh! that really sucks about the car :( how common are the roos? Do you have another car? I reckon i am with arte. if you have another ok car then i would be more inclined to go with a cheaper one as the 'second' car. otherwise a massive hilux with a bull bar lol.
MD: how is the old assignment going? All done and dusted I hope :D
AFM: well. it's been pretty...awful in the last 12 or so hours. Miss E last night started having seizures. and i have been connecting the dots and started to realise that she has been having them to a milder degree now for a few weeks. but i always saw them as just her being jerky or tired etc etc. but after last night and since then i now know that we are dealing with something not quite right. we are to the RCH to see a specialist. I have no idea. TBH i didnt really ask, the GP didnt really want to offer too much information as he said that really it is something needs to be assessed and then they can start making calls on what it is/what is causing it. I am pretty shaken. on top of all that she also has asthma. the GP checked her chest and it is incredibly tight so she was given cortisone on the spot and is now on ventolin as well. hopefully that is temporary while she fights of a cold but yeah, just not feeling too great ATM TBH.
Oh **** Cass, that must have been scary. I really hope it is something that is easily fixed/managed. The asthma really sucks as well. Is she really young to be diagnosed? I hope it is transitory from the cold xx
yeah the GP was really cautious and said the asthma is most likely related to the cold. He said that her chest was incredibly tight and that she is really really struggling for each breath. it was quite a shock as seriously she is just this happy bouncy baby...she sounds a bit darth vadar style but i put that down to cold she has :(
Mouth breathing when they are all blocked up sounds all kinds of weird though, it would be very easy to miss it. You said she was still happy and bouncy, so no harm done xx
How long do you have to wait until you see the specialist? Did she have several seizures or just one big one? I still can't imagine how freaky that would be.
With the family thing, I can totally understand not bothering with it if is only drama. TBH, after the initial satisfaction of my curiosity when I first talked to my father, I probably wouldn't have bothered to maintain any contact. It was very awkward. And really, I was a bit of a b1tch. Not outright but I found it really hard to talk to him. For the first couple of years he talked to DH and I was just present/mildly hostile itms. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had just walked away. Talking on the phone way less confronting and it has built up naturally over time. Not a typical father/daughter relationship - way too late for that - but we are on good terms. He is rough and rude (in a funny way) but a completely genuine type. I think it has meant a lot to him to be able to have a relationship now as it was a massive regret in his life. I think I am pretty lucky that it has gone so well though, you don't hear that many stories of it being a positive experience.
As for similarity, it is crazy. There is definitely a physical resemblance that I can even see in my kids. Plus a whole heap of personality traits and tastes that are similar.
Oh Cass, poor little thing. Are you able to get into RCH fairly quickly?
Arte - glad the visit ended up going well. Queen's Birthday for us this weekend - I'm not sure all the states have it though.
AS for the car - DH is arguing with the insurer over 'market value'. They really want to write it off. He's looking for new ones, but still hoping they will fix the old one. Roos are pretty common around here, one jumped out at our neighbour while he was on a motorbike and he ended up with 6 months off.
Heaps more than one seizure :( she seems to have a really big one and then throughout the day today she has had milder episodes and then just before bedtime she had a really big one. I am just so scared TBH. it is quite confronting.
I am hoping that with the treatment for the asthma that they will subside over the next couple of days but if it continues i will just take to the hospital via emergency (the referral will take a couple of weeks they reckon).
Cally: the market value is a tough one! they really do you over on that it totally sucks.
Cass, did you take her to emergency after the first big seizure or to the GP? A couple of weeks for a referral seems a long time if she is having unexplained seizures. Can you call the GP and tell them it is continuing and get her upgraded to a more urgent case? Or take her into emergency if she has another one - generally the people making the most noise get seen to faster.
Sending you big hugs xx
ETA, Of course I know you are doing everything possible to get her seen to asap. Sucks to be so far away and not be able to offer any real practical help. Have been thinking of you guys all day.
Oh Cass this is awful for you? Thinking of you and sending you lots of love Are the seizures caused by the asthma? How scary
we are being referred to neurology after a night spent at the RCH. it is on the cards that this may be more permanent than not for Miss E. I will be honest, i am a bit scared. i just want the best for her and am scared :(
I would be scared too Cass :hug: Are they thinking some form of epilepsy? I know that whatever ends up being the case, Miss E has the right family to help her.
Wish I could pop around for a cup of tea to take your mind off it for a bit xx
Cass - I'm not surprised you're scared, I would be too. We're all thinking of you and DH and of course little Miss E.
I would be scared too honey. Hoping you get some answers soon. Please keep us updated if you can xo
How is everything today Cass? Thinking of you all xx
any news cass?
Cass, have been thinking of you all with love and hope and healing for little E.:hug: Such a scary time for you all, I hope you get some reassurance quickly, although it sounds like it may be a slow process to get definitive answers.:hugs: Is the asthma looking any better now she's on the meds?
Arte, sorry to leave you hanging after your worst interview ever/accidental emergency call story (which, besides being horrifying at the time I am sure, is also pretty hilarious). Good to know the police do turn up though... kinda reassuring LOL. The known exam thing must be verrrrry weird. Sorry about your car/the petrol pump.
I had a dingle last year, had a big cognitive lapse and clipped our rosemary bush and didn't realise how much damage was done & then made it five squillion times worse by driving around before half the underside of the car fell off. LOL. The insurance company wouldn't pay for all of it so it turned out to cost more than just the excess. Ooops.
Cally, sorry to hear you didn't get the value of the car - bit of a bummer on top of the inconvenience of having to find a new one. Your jambalaya sounds yum, might have to try that one day. I've been promising myself to learn how to make a good gumbo too.
Still stalking Cass. I hope everything is going alright xx
MD, I would totally be the one driving around with the underparts of my car falling off lol.
Yeah, interview/emergency story is pretty hilarious, but I usually store it in some repressed memory vault or it taunts me with the moronic stupidity of the whole thing lol.
Oh Cass! that's just awful for all of you :hug: My sister sees a pead nurologist at Monash for her DD's epilepsy and they are fantastic with her, but her epilepsy is connected to her CP though. I really hope you can get in to see someone soon - having to see her endure that would be heartbreaking for you.
I have been incredibly busy here with the end of trimester and a heavier workload because of reports etc. Because of the TA work I had to help write reports because I spend more time with the kids than their class teacher. Plus with everything else going on I actually felt sick with all the pressure to get things done in time. But now I am officially in my 4th year!!!! Only 10 units left and I can kiss this degree goodbye! I will be completely finished by this time next year and I have started the process to get my interim teaching number in August.
OMG Trill, there's that rainbow again! You are seriously awesome, I cannot believe the pace at which you are putting that degree away AND now all the TA work as well. What ended up happening with your footy/committee commitments that you were stressing about. Did you just wade right on in or did you manage to push some of it to one side? Massive congrats at hitting your 4th year :cheer:
LOL - see that's why we're friends. What made it even funnier was the guts fell off one day when we were out on a little day trip, car full of me, my girls, my sis and her DD, and we had the Flo in the Machine fully blasting like some kind of girl power road trip movie scene.... and then we had to pull over and wave down a passing motorist (male) for "help" because there wasn't a hammer to hit the spanner to get the nut undone to pull the undercar thingo off. Talk about feminist mood killer :rofl::
MD, I would totally be the one driving around with the underparts of my car falling off lol.
Cass - thinking of you, love. :hug:
Thanks MD :) Unfortunately, I still have the other commitments and I am doing a **** job at it too. Had a big blow up with someone at the footy club who actually told me I'm donig a **** job and I told them to put their money where their mouth was and do it for me instead because god knows I don't need the hassle. Now trimester is over now I feel like I can breathe a little bit. There is only a few weeks left of footy too and then I can ditch it. thing is though, is that I really love doing it, but it's just been made so much harder this year because of all the haters and other hassles we've had and I think it would be OK next year. But I have to be realistic and give it away. I've started my netball umpiring badging as well so I will hopefully be doing more of that and not the club admin stuff anyway.
I am terrified of having pieces fall off the car while I'm driving LOL. It's equivalent to turning up to school in your PJs for me :lol:
LOL, at your road trip. Nothing says girl power like having to get a guy to undo a tight nut :) It is my dread that something goes wrong with the car when I am driving it. I think I might even be a car hypochondriac - every little squeak and bump and I think there is something majorly wrong with it lol.
Trill, glad you are getting a bit of a breather in your schedule, sounds like it was crazy busy for a while there. It is really amazing how fast time has gone - doesn't seem like that long ago that you were enrolling!
Cass, :hug:
I know Arte! the time really has flown by. How long until you finish your study? I'm like that with our car now too, it's been playing up a bit and I'm worried it's just going to stop one day.
Car is definitely a write-off, but DH has argued with them for a week and they've settled on a value that is better than expected, so that's good. Now just to buy a new one....
LOL at cars falling apart!!
Trill - I can't believe that you are almost finished, great work!
Cass, hope you are hanging in there xx
Trill, won't be finished until the end of next year. Provided I pass my exam next week, I have three papers (=units?) to go. I am only doing one a semester or it is too much time pressure and there is really no need to finish it fast - I will still be an at home mum if it is done or not.
Cally, glad you managed to get the insurance to pay out a decent price. I bet my company is regretting offering the no claims bonus for life lol - they only replaced our car 3 months ago andI have already dinged it. We certainly get our money's worth out of them :)
Well DH didn't dilly dally - bought a new car on Thursday night! Hyundai I30. Will pick it up when we're in Canberra on our way back from Gold Coast.
Made brownies tonight with Mint Slices as the middle layer - Scrummy!
Cass - any results yet?
Cass - hope it's all going well, I saw on FB that you're home again. :hug:
Trill :hug: - I cheered (silently :p) at you telling someone at the footy club where to get off! It's a pity you're going to have to give it away, especially as you're enjoying it, but that's not to say you can't pick it up again further down the track or even something similar, kwim?
Arte & Trill - stakes for you ladies if something were to fall off the car is a little bit higher than for us where the RAA is only a ph call away. The nice RAA man came out yesterday and changed a tyre for me because - yep - I'm too much of a flimsy-wristed girl to be able to get those wheel nuts off. (My inner feminist knows I should be embarrassed by that :lol:).
Cally, I'm imagining the scene out of the jeep ad:
HIM: "I bought an i30."
YOU: (*shocked disbelief*) "You bought... an i30?"
HIM (*continuing to tidy the room while you stand there looking completely stunned/in awe of his car-purchasing prowess*) "Yes, Cally - I bought an i30"
:rofl:
Nice pick by the way. I bet it has awesome cup holders and everything.
Also I so want to know how the mint slice brownie thing works. Do you put down half the mixture and then a layer of biscuits and then the rest of the mixture and bake it? What happens to the biscuit part of the mint slice - does it go soft?
Anyway, I'd best be off. I'm single parenting AGAIN this weekend - beyond p'd off - DH was supposed to get home yesterday and now because some bunch of delicate aircraft workers couldn't be called into work on a Saturday, it now means we don't know whether he will even be home by Tues for his/DD1's birthday.
Sucks MD. I am sure he will make it home in time. Has he given any thought to a change of career?
We have reasonable AA here - we ran out of petrol a few weeks back and the guy was there in 20 minutes! I told him our car doesn't have a petrol light (electric seat warmer, but no petrol light!), but then he pointed out it does have a fuel gauge. We agreed not to speak of it any more.
I am at home with the kids by myself while DH is off hunting. A bit P'd off also - exam on Wednesday, need to write a whole essay and had planned on both afternoons of the weekend but DH took the big kids out and left me with E most of yesterday afternoon and now it is 2.30 and he isn't home yet. E's day naps are getting harder to make happen on time, so she is staying up really late. I was hoping to get through next semester with day naps but I think we are into that stop/start bit when they start dropping the nap.
Today we have made salt dough to bake into shapes. Then I realised that kids don't really get to play with play dough once they get to school - W was loving it lol. So I made some proper play dough, and then all interest was lost lol.
LOL at your fuel gauge moment. Yes, he has been giving it some thought, but the whole organisation is geared towards making each person feel disempowered by requiring them to ask permission any time they so much as want to scratch their foot. So, needless to say, like many before him, he has no idea of what exactly he could be doing out there and no sense of why anyone would want to pay him good money for his time. :wall:
i would be p'd off about shortage in study time too. In fact I was - pretty much all week. Managed to get a very desultory essay handed in the day after the deadline - not happy jan - but with him away and a torrid bout of fatigue that I couldn't throw off it was the best I could do. Que sera, sera.
ETA - playdough is still massive in this house! Mind you I have never actually cooked up a batch... but we have every playdough gadget on the planet, especially the cooking ones. My girls (and their cousin/guests) will sit for hours "cooking" and then there are masterchef-style judging sessions afterwards LOL.
Easy peasy to make - two cups of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, dash of oil and two cups of boiling water. I like to add the food colouring to the water so that it is uniform throughout the dough rather than the streaks you can get if you add it after. Don't need to worry about the cream of tartar - I have never used it and mine works just fine.
My lecturer was in hospital for a couple of weeks and it looks like our big assignment won't be marked in time for the exam. I like to know exactly what pass percentage I am aiming for in an exam!
MD - yes, the conversation did go a bit like that. The man who cannot make a decision, took me by surprise.
I was in one of 'those moods' this morning. Every time DD spoke I got cranky. It's amazing how an hour out can make such a difference - went for a walk and watched the big waves crashing on the beach.
Hope those of you single parenting this weekend are doing OK.
Oh and the cat has fleas - which I knew about, but wasn't really worried, until I realised there were about 10 larvae wriggling around in DD's bed. Icky. Cat has been Frontlines, bedding washed.
Arte - lol at your petrol light! I rely too much on that light, would be really stuck if if ever decided not to work.
Md - those wheel nuts are super tight if they've been done up with an air wrench. The RAA man may moonlight as The Incredible Hulk if he was able to do it! Yes, that is how we did it. The recipe originally called for caramel type biscuits and it served them warm so the caramel was all melty. But we don't like caramel so we put mint slices in. Biscuit was still crunchy, hard to cut through with a spoon.
:ROFL::
Oh arte!! that is too funny hahahahahaha!
MD: that totally sucks mega butt that he is away :hug: He better be able to come home in time xx
Cally: ooh the i30 looks so lovely! we had one of those hyundais when we hired a car from sydney a couple of years back and it drove beautifully. I was really surprised.
AFM: we have had a horror week. but there is some light! miss e hasnt got anything really dangerous/fatal. we cant yet rule out epilepsy....but we kinda have as i have latched om likw an eager terrier to our neurologists gut feeling that she has benign myoclonus (basically an imposter syndrome of the very nast 'wests syndrome'). he said het seizures need to be monitored for longer so we have to try and film a whole range and then meet in a few weeks again for another review. but her EEG came back normal and *of course* decided to NOT have any seizures while we were there...darn it! but she is gorgeous and we havent had any really major ones now since thursday (the usual small ones...that are still full on but not so massive and distressing for her ITMS).
Oh...and someone left a gorgeous wee package on our doorstep....a mystery someone....