Babies Born ~ September 2007 #71

Oh Arte: :( It sucks major that it is a daily thing. I have to say that Miss L now that she is older can have what i would describe as really mean tantrums. she can sustain them for hours and say some really rotten and heart-wrenching things. it totally wears you down :( thankfully in our case they tend to be fairly spread out and coincide with any major changes around the house (ie when we would move country, start the new kindy, new routine etc).

G: I am lazy so for me the pin the tail and pinata was more than enough lol. also the kids seemed really happy to just chase eachother outside for the most part. My BIGGEST happy idea was to actually remove the majority of the toys from the girls room and put it all in our room. i just left a few of the basics...dolls, dressups, train set and FP farm set. then outside had the bikes, prams and ride ons. that way the whole house didnt get trashed with books, crayons, and other debris spread everywhere. made clean up really quick and relatively painfree in comparison to other years.
that said, pass the parcel is a big hit as they all sit down lol. but does require some serious planning as you need to know who is really coming etc for the right amount of prizes in the wrapping ITMS.
cupcake decorating is also a big hit...you bake the cupcakes and unleash them with icing and lollies :)

G, one or two games is enough. The kids seem happy enough just playing with each other.

Trill, what do I do about pink eye? I have been bathing the eyes in salt water to clear the goo, but today I see that the bottom of the eye is pink and the eye is going cloudy :( Is there a home remedy? Or do I need to get something from the vet? I hope it isn't sore.

Cass, W has just started in the last week to say that he doesn't love me anymore when he is upset. But it all rolls off me, I am seeing it as a positive because it is a sign he is getting more in touch with his emotions - that he can pin point what is bothering him (i.e. me telling him off) rather than just being overwhelmingly upset and then losing the plot over something silly.

Arte, you just need to get some terramycin spray to spray on the eye. You can get it at a livestock place, not sure if a town vet would have it, but he could probably give you something else - it's just an antibiotic that you spray on their eye and it's easier than putting ointment in, but seeing as how it's only a little lamb it shouldn't be too hard putting ointment in it if you can't get the aerosol spray.

Well tonight is the last night of having a 4 year old and I'm devastated. I don't know why it's hit me so hard this time. It was always special when the other 3 turned five - there is just something about that age that makes them seem so much *older*, but this time I don't want him to grow up and get older. I know it's probably got a lot to do with him being the baby of the family, but there's something else I can't put my finger on too, if that makes sense. Anyway, I'll get over it soon enough I'm sure. I have to wrap his presents later - a massive tonka dump truck to replace the one he's worn out, a flatbed trailer for his tractor and some more thomas engines. I have also promised him a donut cake from Donut King tomorrow because we have to go to Griffith and he doesn't want to go. I will make a cake for him to have at preschool though.

A big happy birthday to Mr A today :happybirthday:

Trill: i wonder if it is because it is new transitional phase for the family? 5 is a big number i reckon...the enter Big Kid zone...a new phase of the parenting journey awaits...one of better sleep and super awesome family holidays....i will get there one day :rofl:

Arte: oh we get that alll the time with the 'i dont love you' stuff. it sucks balls lol. BUT she also tells us that she is going to leave us and live with her friends too and then proceeds to spit and stamp her feet at us. poor poppet. but like you, i actually really try to tune in and listen and hear beyond the words to tap into what insecurities she is feeling. not always easy, but i do like the expression as well as it gives me something to work on ITMS.

happy birthday A. i would be sad too, i am sad enough that L is such a big boy now but i think when J turns 5 i will be a wreck!

cass- i think dh would divorce me if i let a heap of kids goes nuts with icing.

L is such a big boy that i actually had to buy him real kids' socks the other day. he can't wear the baby ones anymore so now he is in actual bonds socks. cant believe it!

Happy birthday to A and big squishy hugs to mum. xxx

Happy Birthday to A!!

Trill, I totally get the feeling about the youngest turning 5 - it is the end of an era. A whole chapter of your life that is finishing - the whole babies, playgroups, activities thing, all done and dusted with no little kids left in the house. I can't imagine how my life will be when E is finished kindy, my life is entirely based on having small children. And she is already so big :(
I got some pink eye stuff from the vet and 'Boy' is doing much better. They are so freaking adorable! They play now, jumping and running around :)

Went to a really interesting talk last night and to another today by a early childhood/educational psychologist/uni lecturer about child development and how important the first 3 years are. Got some really good pointers on how to deal with meltdowns that is different to the usual time out stuff and makes a lot of sense.

feeling on an absolute high after leaving L's new school! yes it is definitely the perfect fit and he will be starting there next year!!! yah, such a great feeling :)

Yay Ginger! Glad you feel so sure about it now. Which of the two schools is this one?

I was wondering how you got on today G. That's fantastic that it's a great school - must be a load of your shoulders now! :hug:

I have ordered A's school uniform today because I know he will want to wear it when orientation starts in November. Bittersweet day.

it is school number 2. it has a fabulous feel. on 32 acres of natural bush with a creek running through it and a vineyard. total country feel, really loved it. such a load off me now that we have decided and he is defintely in.

trill- what size uniforms did you get for A?

WAHOO GINGER :happyforyou:

G, I had to get him a size 6 shirt. Most companies don't make shirts smaller than a 6, but some will do a size 4. They are very generous sizes though. He'll only need size 4 shorts still though because he still has no ass to hold his pants up :lol:

I expect we will be buying size 6 uniforms for Missy E - even though they are large sizes - but our school's uniforms are designed to be very adjustable, so there will be sewing fun for mummy!

Yeah, there are going to be some really tiny titches start school next year and I have no idea what they are going to do - the shirts will just swim on some of these kids. Luckily A is tall so it shouldn't be a problem for him. Our school doesn't do dress/tunic uniforms for girls - they all wear that navy and gold shirt only the boys wear navy shorts and the girls navy skorts.

that top is so cute trill :) he will look gorgeous in it.
i think L might actually need an 8. he has outgrown all his size 5 and 6 T shirts and i just spent yesterday packing away his size 7 jeans!!

Some of the little new entrant girls just disappear under their uniforms :)

G, L must be giant!! Great that you love the new school. It sounds awesome!

Erin is sick again! Spew bug #4, still has cold #11 or 12. I just can't believe how often she is sick! There was one whole month when she wasn't sick but apart from that she has had something every single month of her life, usually clears up for a couple of days or weeks and then gets hit with the next snot bug. I hope she outgrows it soon.

I just got W discharged from the Child Mental Health place. We have had half a dozen appointments now and I still have nothing practical to help him. It is getting too frustrating getting to these appointments where I talk about what he does and then take home nothing. He is still licking all the time, although less since school was removed from the equation. The psych sounded annoyed at me but her ideas of getting him to sit on his hands instead of licking entirely misses the mark - that won't clean off the touch of whatever it is that he might turn in to. She isn't the one carting 3 small kids 1.5 hours away for appointments that go nowhere.

That's really disappointing Arte. I expected more from them than just telling you to make him sit on his hands. Doing that will only build his anxiety more. There have been some pretty virulent illnesses going around here too - both the flu and the awful stomach bugs. Maybe you could start giving her a daily probiotic to help her gut heal. Once you start getting them all the time it's a vicious cycle to get into and the gut takes a hammering. Even just a live culture yoghurt would be OK.

G, do you know of anywhere that sells the school uniform? Maybe pay them a visit and check out the sizes? I usually get 2 years out of a set of uniforms for each of the kids which saves a ton of money!

It is very disappointing :( This has happened every time I have tried to get any help with him, it all turns into a dead end. It makes me wonder about the whole NZ mental health system, if 3 'experts' can come up with a solution that essentially equates to 'tell him not to do it'. That, and BIL's psychs decided he wasn't suffering from depression - the day after a suicide attempt! Now the feedback from IL's is that he is very down, can't find any reason to be happy, has nothing to look forward to in life and can't see any point in continuing to live. Apparently not depressed though.

how frustrating for you arte!!! is there any where else you can turn to for help?

has E got some sort of tonsil/ear problem or anything?

trill- there is a uniform shop at the school but im going to wait until the absolute last minute to buy it as he just grows so incredibly fast. he wears size 2 shoes at the moment but by next year who knows? i also heard that they might be changing the uniform for next year so i think i'll just try to ride it out until january. he can wear free dress to transition.

Yeah, if they are going to change the uniform I would wait, but they will tell you when you do the orientation/transition program. When they changed the uniform at our school from plain gold polo's to the navy and gold we knew 6 months before the new school year started to give everyone a chance to get organised. I want to get them now too because there is only one place we can get the shirts from and she is swamped from Jan to March with school orders.

Arte that is crap alright. I don't hold much hope that hte australian mental health system is any better when it comes to adults but at least there seems to be more action when dealing with kids.

Oh, forgot to say too that A will be going to preschool 2 days a week next term. The preschool teacher asked me yesterday if we'd consider it for him - not that there is a problem but they have asked all the parents of the kids who attend only 1 day a week if they want the extra day just to help get them ready for school as they have a program now which often has activities running over the 2 days and the 1 day kids miss out on part of it. They are also giving it to us at a discounted rate too. Now that he's confident going in and coming home on the bus we will send him - having that extra child free day will be a huge plus for me right now.

that sounds great trill. will be good for you to have extra time to study.

G, I don't think she has tonsil or ear problems. She doesn't snore and sleeps well during the day. She had a slight inflammation of the ear once but that is as bad as it has ever been.

Trill, yay for the extra day of preschool. That will be very handy for you, and good for A.

arte: that totally sucks that you guys were basically left stranded :hug: i dont know what it is like for kids over here but the system for adults over here is really disappointing. when i was going through the pnd and ptsd after miss l, i had to basically fend for myself as no one was able to help in the way that needed it. a very unnecessarily long road.

trill: the 2 day thing does kinda make sense i guess. apparently in the last term at miss l's they need to also take little lunchboxes for practice lol. she is going to love it!

AFM: flying solo this week. dh is in wollongong lapping up the beach lol. nah he is at a conference but i am jealous of the beachside apartment...

Oh I have been a bad buddy. Party, sick child, birthday, holidays. Back at work now and starting to calm down.

K's party went fairly well. She was pretty clingy and DH and I were getting really frustrated with her. Took about 1.5 hours of the 2 hour party before she was happy to run around with her friends (they had a great time - mainly the egg and spoon race). Then that afternoon she had a temp over 39 degrees and ended up having 3 days at home with a temperature and bad cough.

Dollshouse for birthday was a hit, then we headed down to Timboon (SW Vic) for a few days on my aunt's farm. She had a ball, saw a calf be born, 2 pulled out and went on the quad bike. She loved the independence too. 'Mummy, I'm just going to the milk shed to see how Aunty J is going with the milking', then put her boots on and head up the track. It's only about 150m from the house to the milking shed and in her hot pink jacket she was nice and visible. Then she'd just sit and watch the cows (not brave enough to try milking them though).

Then we had a few days in Canberra. I hit the shops, we did touristy things then one day at home before back to work.

Arte - can't believe that is the only advise they gave you. That's crap.

Trill - 2 days of preschool will be awesome.

ginger - sounds like the school decision went well. Sounds like an awesome spot.

As for school, haven't even thought about ordering uniforms yet! There is 4 days of orientation next term, not sure how we will manage that. I'm not too impressed with the school, they've had enrolment forms for a term and we haven't had anything back from them. I only know about orientation days because I called to ask. They didn't seem to get that working parents might need more than a couple of weeks notice to deal with orientation.

Back to work.

Hi girls!

Cally: :o that does sound like the admin office at the school has dropped the ball a bit there. we have had over a months notice...and we dont even have uniforms to organise lol. (down here they dont do uniforms in most public schools).

man, your holiday away sounded like bliss to me. a bit of town escape and shopping all rolled into one!! indulge me, what did you buy??!!

AFM: well DH came back early...'cause i went into threatened pre-term labour...middle of the night, all on my own with the girls. yep, it was FANTASTIC...not. spent all day yesterday in hospital, all the staff and midwives etc were lovely and awesome and yeah it was good to see the place and get a feel if i do have to go back....but am on bedrest and told baby that it is much nicer to be born in the birth pool than on those uncomfy beds hahaha.

Jeepers Cass, tell that kid to stay in a bit longer! Another dramatic girl for you lol Hope you are feeling alright. How long are you on bedrest for? Only 20 days to keep her in there until you are set to home birth!

Cally, sounds like a great trip away! That is rather slack of the school not notifying you about the orientation days - I would assume a lot of kids have working parents.

Trill, how long do these lambs need to be fed for? Novelty totally worn off now lol. Lucky they are cute. I love watching them leap and bounce around the yard.

they told me that the high risk period is the next 2 weeks. with this week being most critical. so will be couch potato this week and then see how i go from there...already going bonkers lol.

lambs are sooo cute...and tasty :rofl: i hope you have put pics up on FB?!

Cass, there are some FB pics. I did feel totally guilty when I left the kids out playing with the lambs to go inside and put a leg of lamb in the oven for tea. Would have been my Nana's 100th birthday yesterday, she always did a lamb roast for Xmas etc. I was waiting for her to send me the lotto numbers lol, but nothing yet :)
How is your Opa doing?
Will you be able to HB at 36 weeks? I know some midwives are flexible. Good luck keeping her in there :hug:
Is your DH at home watching the girls? I prescribe a marathon of How I met your mother or Farscape. And M and M's, because they fix everything. Except diabetes.

oooohhh! now i have to check out FB lol! i hate that with the new layout you can miss friends updates etc like that.

mmm lamb roast mmmmm...cant do the mint chutney that others seem to like, but love a good gravy...let's hope the wee little lambys outside dont recognise the cooked flesh smell hahaha. (oh, and I am ALSO waiting for my Oma to pass on the lotto numbers :rofl:).

Opa is doing pretty well I reckon. He is frustrated at how getting old is ruining all his fun plans and daily rituals (gets dizzy, and short term memory is getting worse...always tired etc). but he is as usual upbeat and super active.

we should be able to have the green light at 36 weeks. it was for the last pregnancy as well. i guess that my IMs like to play it by ear etc., but yeah, i think any day past 36w is AOK.

DH is at work BUT, the neighbours have the girls YAY! so am home alone...so weird, i cant really remember the last time THAT happened lol. so a bit of BB action, FB action and hopefully something trashy on the TV while these morning storms roll over. bliss...if only my bellah wasnt hurtin' lol.

how are you feeling cass? hopefully you are asleep and not even reading this LOL

Cass - got a few nice tops, skirt and some 3/4 pants as well as a nice Body Shop fragrance I like. DH picked me up some bargain $10 Big W shoes yesterday while he was in Bega as they were out of the ones I wanted in Canberra. I hope you have had a very quiet day. Bed rest actually sounds pretty good to me.... Although wouldn't have been impressed with the hospy visit. That little one needs to stay put for a bit longer - need to spread out the birthdays a bit more!

Miss K had her ears tested again yesterday to check they hadn't reblocked with any winter colds and all looking good.

Cally, that is great that K hasn't had any more blocks. Have you noticed her speech improving?

Cass, hope you are still hanging in there. I would post more often to entertain you but I really have nothing!

On that note....(boring alert) DH has taken the big kids camping and I am at home with Erin. Someone had to stay and feed the lambs. Not that I particularly enjoy camping lol. I keep hearing noises that sound like cars out the front but it is lots of helicopters/planes doing fly bus, probably looking for an army guy that drowned in a lake not far from here.

Cally: great stuff on her ears resisting the winter blues :dance:
and sounds like a decent shopping haul!

Arte: that actually sounds all quite dramatic lol. how is it with just the one kidlet?? liberating i find lol!

Hope you are hanging in there Cass.

MD, haven't heard from you in a while. Hope everything is going alright in your part of the world xx

Kids had a great time camping. It was very quiet with just one kid. I got study done, the floors mopped, porch cleaned, lounge tidied - makes me wonder why I thought it was so impossible to get the housework done when I just had W, seems like a holiday now lol Helps that she has decent day naps though I guess.

hahaha, it's so true isnt it?! i remember being so flat out with DD1...in a way having more than one makes it all seem easier...but that could be because then by the second baby your brain is so fried that you dont know if you are coming or going lol.

how is it going cass? got my legs crossed for you

had a party at an animal farm yesterday. j spent most of his time with the bunnies LOL he has become obsessed with them. he was having heaps of trouble seeing with his hair in his eyes all the time. he even walked out on the track in front of a tractor, totally oblivious. dh cracked it and when we got home he shaved his head :( i can see his point in doing it, but i loved his pretty hair. he will be much more comfy over summer though.

felt bad cos a mum who lives locally but i hadnt seen in a while was there with her ds and he was playing heaps with L. she said oh we'll be up at the school together soon and i felt bad because we have changed L to the new school instead of the local one. i explained it to her but it just made me realise that it's going to take me out of the social circle a bit :(

...but into a new social circle! One thing my neighbour mentioned (her son started prep this year) is that there is alot of socialising once they are in school...and you are brought into it (with parties, fetes etc.)

Thanks for keeping your legs crossed for me...'cause i can't :rofl: nothing like a head wedged firmly in your pelvis lol. But i did survive the full moon :)

I sooo cannot imagine J without his hair!

G, hopefully you will meet lots of new mumma friends as L makes his new buddies at school. How did things go with the mum that you wanted to be friends with a while back?
Will be watching FB for pics of hairless J!

Cass, glad you made it past the full moon.

Trill, thanks for the lamb advice :) Will make sure they don't nibble on the rhododendron's any more! I was rather concerned when she was lying down and I picked her up (she is usually the skittish one) and she slumped down and put her head on my shoulder. I thought she had died right then and there - and W was only metre's away! But she has perked up after the home remedy (substituted with what I had in the house lol). She didn't have dinner bottle but then they escaped later so I thought she must be hungry and offered her the bottle again and she drank it all so that must be a good sign.

I have come to believe the term 'ram it open' comes from actual rams - Boy is terrible for launching up on his back legs and just pushing through anything. I am literally having to kick them out of the door - little brats keep coming in any time the door is open! If one of them turds on the carpet I am going to be very unhappy!

We went out for dinner tonight and W demolished a whole plate of pork ribs. He doesn't usually eat much meat but has recently realised how delicious ribs are. Except he puts me off my meal with constant dissection of the meat - "mum, look, I just bit of a piece of connective tissue" :sick:

mmmm pork ribs mmmm. i really do miss those since leaving the US lol. they do a mean pork rib over there....