Out of the words of Sammy

“Mum, do you know any ‘mythocological’ creatures?”
“Mmmm, not off the top of my head”
“Did you do history at university?”

Me, I was pretty chuffed he remembered I went to uni.

“I did do history, but I did stuff about cavemen?”
“You should go to uni and you can study history”
“I am going to be an archaeologist when I grow up, and if I don’t find any crystals or anything, I am going to be a farmer on the NIle”.

‘Mummy will miss you, but that sounds like a good plan.“

New Lunchboxes

I am still at the Special School. They have offered me another contract and I now have work for another week, which is fantastic.  It takes that stress out of my mornings, and I will just have to manage my time even better as far as house stuff goes.  So far so good. 

Working close to home is a bonus which I am really appreciative of.

 I see many sights and sounds at my job which are poignant and heart rending.  And so far the most poignant, the most thought provoking have been the new lunch boxes.  

Every morning the kids who are able, put their lunch boxes into the fridge. The ones who aren't able, are looked after by teachers and their assistants.  We feed and assist in feeding these kids, especially the younger students.  I was struck by the newness and pristine state of the kids lunch boxes and cooler bags.  To myself, I admired them at how nice they looked and then it hit me like a thunderbolt. I can't begin to explain how I felt.

At home I have Tupperware lunch boxes, put onto the sink for me to nightly wash and get organized for the next day. They are scuffed. scratched. cracked (Mickey's)  and have bits bitten off them (Sammy's). Billy-Joe has had his lunch box since day care, and is travelling well,but has that worn look about it. I have had name tags peeled off, the lunch box scraped along the ground. stood on, thrown at someone, and generally mistreated. They have been lost and found again, they have had twigs put in them and dirt. They come home with remnants of lunch, banana peels and apple cores and other unknown slush. The dirt has stuck to the food remnants. And I have roused at the kids at the state of their lunch boxes.   

The lunch box is cracked because they could step onto it.

The lunch box is scuffed, because they have been able to scrape it along the ground.

The lunch box is dirty, because they have been able to eat their food unsupervised in the playground and have been able to explore and add twigs and dirt to it.

The name tags are faded or half off, because they have the fine motor skills to peel them off.

The corner of the lid is bitten off because they can navigate something to their mouths with deliberation and intent.

The lunch box has been lost because they have eaten their lunch and been able to get up to go and play.

I won't ever look at these worn lunch boxes the same way again. 

I don't want new looking lunch boxes.

Update

It's Saturday afternoon, and I am taking some time out after a very busy day.  It's Billy-Joe's birthday tomorrow so I have been preparing some food for the bbq. Oma and Opa will come, and Nanny and Darby too.  We have a friend of Billy-Joe's staying over for the weekend, so Billy-Joe is pretty happy about that.  

I have made him a Malteser cake.  Well I think 'cake' is a very loose term. It has no flour in it and isn't even baked.  It's got chocolate, golden syrup, crushed biscuits, butter and maltesers in it. All boiled up and set in the fridge, should be delicious and served with a chocolate ganache mmmmmmm.  I have also made a Caponata, with eggplant, capsicum, tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, pine nuts, olives and a sweet red wine vinegar sauce. Tastes divine. I have also marinaded the chicken in a paste made up of curry powder, chillies, coriander root, garlic, sugar and oil. Tomorrow I will make a sauce to go with the chicken. Hopefully I will get some pictures and have a chance to upload the recipes. I have been slack with uploading recipes of late. I generally take photos, but never post them which is  a shame, as I forget all the yummy things I make.  Mum is marinading some pork ribs, one of my favourite things, and is making her coleslaw which is a solid family favourite.  We plan on talking lots, drinking wine, laughing and generally enjoying each others' company.  

Billy-Joe is getting an ipod shuffle and a playstation Pirates of the Caribbean game from us. I am sure he will be a very happy boy.  

I have also made Billy-Joe's card. He is right into the Sims at the moment, hence the little icon on it. No doubt I am infringing copyright somewhere along the line!! He just loves images of all his favourite things, so I know he will appreciate it.

Work this week was great, but very challenging and provocative as well.  Tuesday and Wednesday were good days, pretty cruisy, I must be getting used to working with kids I don't know well, and working in settings I don't know well. I had to cook with a group on Wednesday and just made stuff up (thank goodness I'm good at that). The muffins weren't that great, in my opinion, but they sold like hot cakes, especially as we sold soup with them and the weather was pretty revolting.  Thursdays group was damn hard work.  I had three kids and there were three of us, myself and two aides, thankfully one was a male.  One girl was completely non verbal and was basically locked into her chair, or in a play room. She just wonders otherwise and sits in front of the window, always looking for a way out. Another boy was basically non verbal, very autistic with ADD as well.  Actually I would add ADHD to that diagnosis too.  He too was always looking for an escape.  Moving him and the girl to another room, was diabolical. They would both drop to the ground or try and run away. Both things nearly pull your arms out of your shoulders. It was teeming with rain, so running after them through puddles wasn't fun.  Duty was spent inside, blocking exits, being pushed, shoved, pulled and generally harassed. It's an interesting thing standing there with your hand on a child's chest with your other hand up in a stop sign, all the while not giving them eye contact, because the whole thing is after all just a game to them - and I refuse to enter into that kind of repartee with the child.  This child also has a collection of about hundred cds which he wears on a string around his neck. This is his security blanket, but in my view creates more problems than it solves. They use it as a way of coaxing him to do things, but it didn't work.  I took them off him toward the end of the day, and he actually forgot about them for the afternoon. Moving him from one room to another, was impossible. We had to drag him, feet first, along the ground. Thankfully he had on two jumpers and the floor was slippery, so no injury to anyone ( or we naturally wouldn't have done it). Time out works - but needed constant attention as he could climb over the locked safety gate!  Another boy has mild CP with intellectual impairment and no verbal skills. His signing was limited to the most basic of commands.  He basically transitioned well, but was non compliant in the room. He became difficult when things didn't go his own way. We cooked (I use that term loosely too).  We made bacon and egg muffin burgers.  He cut the bacon (ate more than he cut) cut the muffins in half, (again ate them) and grated the cheese. I let him stir the bacon, even though it didn't need stirring but participation is crucial.  I then sat him down to butter the muffins as I wasn't letting him near the eggs. He became cranky when things weren't moving quickly enough for him. He got up from his chair, slammed it backwards with his full weight and I was in the way, and wedged up against the bench with him leaning on my bad leg and hip. Oy! I saw stars!! I burst into tears and they quickly pulled him off me, and I took some deep breathes and recovered fairly quickly. Thankfully my leg didn't end up hurting anymore than it already did, and the initial pain subsided very quickly. The burgers were a hit, all three kids hooked in.  

The afternoon was a little quieter, after I cleaned pee up off the floor, chair and footrest. One child (ADHD) was drawing on the white board with crayon, while we weren't looking. We left him go, he was quiet for ages after that.  Apart from reading two stories in the morning, which two of the kids listened too, and making the muffins, there were no other valuable learning situations.  It was basic crises and damage control all day - ensuring the kids are kept safe at all times.  I earned my money that day. The aides are worth their weight in gold, and definitely don't get paid enough.

I have two days booked for next week, which are supply days, so pay will be as if I work a whole week, so I am pleased about that.  Rock on pay day! It's been a month and things are not good. I hate not having money in my account.  

Stuff

Started the work week off well. I had a good day today, teaching wise - mind you I use that term loosely, because after all the toileting, feeding, changing nappies, there's not much time at all left for teaching. Two of my four kids were tube fed, and one needed hand over hand assistance. I had one kid who could do for himself.  I first met this child two years ago and was happy to see how much he had progressed.  

On another note, my leg is giving me grief. I am taking panadol four hourly and that just gets me through the day. The only reason I am on the 'puter now, and not doing chores, is that my leg has simply had enough for today. It aches continuously. The outside of the top of my thigh feels so badly bruised, it hurts to touch on the outside, but the bruise feels like it goes to the bone.  It's definitely not getting any better, and in the last couple of days has gotten worse.  I have a specialist appointment on Friday - not that I am holding my breathe for any answers.  

Kids had their athletics carnival today and did really well. (As long as I discount the fact that Sammy lost his hat - the second one in three weeks - and this is after a long lecture this morning, about where the hat MUST go when it's not on his head!!).  Mickey came first, Sammy came second and Billy-Joe got a third and a fourth....  They had a great day - they obviously don't get their athletic prowess from their mother!!

Curried lamb with pumpkin and spinach for dinner tonight, should be yummy.  

Too Cool

I saw these on someone's car the other night and thought they were so cool. Today we took the kids to McDonalds for lunch, and we went to Bunnings to check out some things that we need to fix up our extremely tired and dilapidated bathroom.  Then we went to Mooloolabah to look for these cute stickers.

The bathroom tiles are currently falling off, and are revolting.  The shower is revolting because it's leaking and I can't keep the mould out from between the tiles (because it's leaking) and the water actually drips onto the bed downstairs.  I don't want tiles in the shower, so we are buying a laminate panel for the shower, no grooves, easy peasy to clean!!  We are going with plain white tiles (20x20) with a decorative tile intermingled. It's a 20x5cm tile and we will place it vertically. The colours in the feature tile, are grey, black, silver and blue.  I am not that fussed with all the trendy colours of brown everywhere. It does look nice but it reminds me of the seventies too much and I keep thinking that burnt orange and lime green will emerge next!!  Mind you I do like those colours ssssshhhh, we won't tell anyone.  I wanted the bathroom fresh, with a bit of colour. I haven't decided on the wall colour yet, either a white, or maybe a really really pale bluish/grey - I will keep looking. We also priced a small light, which is an exhaust fan and heater too.  I always wanted one of those, but now they come in  smaller size, it's perfect for our tiny tiny bathroom.  It will look wonderful when it's all done.  I will look forward to more photos and a bathroom I can be proud of, and one that I know will always look clean.  

Another good day

Another good day today. This job is a bit like a lucky dip, I don't know what the day is going to hold.  

I stayed up latish last night, got to watch the Prison Break episodes.....oh that Wentworth Miller is just divine.  Smart, quiet, intelligent, caring, brilliant, and just yummo to look at!  (big sigh)  So I stayed up when I should have gone to bed, although I felt quite good last night even though my day was huge.

I dropped the kids off and drove Sheila into town and arrived at school at around 8.10am. I spoke to the classroom teacher, and was pleasantly surprised that it was an academically based classroom. No wheelchairs, and no nappies!  The class was smallish, six kids, with one who is severely autistic - he basically needed one on one all day long. The kids were just delightful.  I had a ball with them. In many ways these kids are easier than mainstream kids.  Its more intense, and you have to be even more watchful as their safety is a huge issue, but you don't raise your voice like you do when you have 25 (or 40) in a class.  I left the autistic child with the aide for most of the day as she knows him really well, and I can't walk in there all guns blazing so to speak.  In the afternoon though I sat with him, I spoke to him, got him to use his words when he wanted me to do something for him.  He would cut out small squares of paper, colour them in yellow and then write a word on them. By the end of the day he was getting weary, as he asked me to colour them in for him. He would write a word, and then invariably sing a portion of a song. He kept singing the same lyrics all day long, and finally I realized what he was singing.  It was 'Islands in the stream'. He sang the lyrics, and I continued the singing, and the look he gave me was just priceless. I got goosebumps. At that precise moment, for that one split second, I actually penetrated his solitary mind. It was an incredible feeling.  He just looked at me, and then continued to sing with me. I had connected with him - fleetingly, but in a way he could obviously comprehend.  My aide saw this happen and she said that was amazing because she said when she sings he hates it.  I said to her, I was stunned, because when I used to sing to my eldest when he was a baby, he used to scream!!  Never under estimate the power of music.

After school, I went and did the groceries, took them home and unpacked them, put a load in the dryer, made the lunches for tomorrow, and then took the kids to training.  I got home and had a shower, started preparing the kids' dinners and then sat down with a glass of wine. I have now organized our own dinner and the kids are fed and have had dessert and are sitting quietly and enjoying a movie. The machine is on again, with another load of mud sodden clothes from football training.

I wonder what tomorrow holds.

My days are far from boring

I know I am capable and organized (most of the time) and all that, but it's interesting to reflect on a day where I have been seriously challenged.  

Two days running, I have been placed with the older kids. Today I arrive, to find out that we are an aide down, and actually two down on what we had yesterday.  I had my day already planned out for me, but it was becoming increasingly obvious, that the challenge of 'just cook some muffins' was going to prove quite difficult.  I had eight kids, one down syndrome, two non verbal but basically able, one with the intellect of a 4 year old, one who has violent outbursts (she was the one who hit me last term) one boy who spoke and was well behaved, another girl who was well behaved and verbal and able..........   At this point trying to keep them all around the table was  challenge, but we had sung some songs and read a story and it didn't look like I had any aides coming any time soon.  So I took them into the kitchen, only to have two aides arrive and basically take over!!  Half an hour later they left me to feed some of the other students, and left me with muffins cooking, and more to cook, children I had to supervise and keep muffins up to them as they walked around the school selling them - I even had other teachers ringing me asking where the muffins were!!!!! Meanwhile another kid had arrived, who was really hard work. He kept touching the other kids and destroying everything that he came into contact with!!  And I was alone!  

I kept patient, I kept strong, I kept going and managed to cope with the day. I did ask for help at one stage, as it was obvious that 9 to 1 was not going to work.  I had another teacher come in and help me. It was great because he was physically strong enough to hold one of the boys. We took them to the gym and it took two of us to keep him on the treadmill, we had him nailed to the handle bars while he was trying to stop it. He enjoyed it, but wants to create havoc more!  We had to lock ourselves in, to keep kids from going out - well that one in particular. We couldn't keep him on that treadmill for ever. He got a great workout and so did the others, it was good fun teaching them shoulder presses and putting them on the rowing machines..... My aides spent most of the day in the toilet - no wonder I had to cope on my own. Toileting is quite labour intensive when you are dealing with wheelchair bound kids - and apparently one of the hoists was out of action.

The afternoon I assisted the other teacher and that was pretty cruisy!  I wasn't on my own - and the difficult kids were in another room.....

I am sitting quietly and enjoying a glass of expensive semillion.  MMMmmmmm, I think I deserved it. 

Had a great day - wonder what tomorrow has in store for me!

My little cherubs - NOT today.

It's the last day of the school holidays for us. The rushing, chaos, and stress levels start to rise again in earnest early tomorrow morning. It's been a great fortnight - very relaxing and I am ready to face the term head on.  Luckily for me I have worked teed up for the rest of this week, and hopefully next week too - so that's awesome news.  It's close to home, so that's even better. The pay won't be huge, but I am not in a position to knock back a short contract, and I don't mind the short ones where the light at the end of the tunnel shines rather brightly.

My three sons, are currently sitting on the lounge - no TV, no computer, no playstation, no gameboy!!!  The lady from two doors down came to the front door and let me have it. She just yelled at me about my kids!!  Apparently my cherubs have been up to their old tricks of putting sticks in her letterbox and calling out to her. This lady was not happy and neither was I. So the kids had to apologize to her, and were incredibly ashamed when they came inside. That mood will no doubt continue as they get used to having all their play things taken off them!!  It really annoys me that they have been so stupid.  I know kids are kids, but they are generally kind hearted but something about this lady has made them annoy her. She is a grumpy lady, (so would I be if my kids were harassing me like that!!) and I think they felt like they could annoy her..........  I think they have learnt their lesson. They know that kind of behaviour is just not acceptable, no matter how grumpy or mean they deem the recipient to be.  Ah parenthood, the joys.  Wait until Dear Bunny finds out, he is not going to be impressed.  Ah well, hopefully they will have learnt their lesson this time.  No more sticks in the letterbox, no more throwing stones, no more running down near her yard...... no more being painful! Will post again when I have more time DB has arrived home for dinner.

More Photo play

I read on Jessica Spragues Photoshop Friday about a great way to brighten up photos. I already use one similar to this, but I like this effect even more.

Before, the photo is a little under exposed, so I adjusted the levels before I applied Jessica's method.


Love this , turns a good photo into a great photo. You can find her method here.

Some layouts

I have been playing around, getting to know Photoshop Elements 6 better and am learning heaps. I am doing these photos as layouts in lieu of paper scrapbooking to save time and money. I wanted these photos scrapbooked but never seem to get around to doing the real stuff.

Because I am not going to upload these to any formal galleries, I didn't keep a notation of all the supplies I used. Living Kitchen Dreams is my blog which I kept doing the renovation time. I used elements from Jessica Sprague's 'Echoes of Asia', I've used elements from www. designerdigitals.com . The overlay on the last photo I made myself but the shape was inspired to Ali Edwards' overlays which are on her blog and are available through DD.

I was going to have this printed by shutterfly into a photo book, but I am not going to have 20 pages which I need for that. I have to decide how I am going to present the photos. I am not good at doing mini albums, so will seek advice from my friend who are good at making projects. I am just having an absolute ball doing this. I am so glad I took the 'Shoebox' class through Jessica Sprague's Website.

Using the class, I am able to go through my elements and they are easy to find.

Just Playing

Just playing around in Photoshop Elements. Date stamp is from Kate Pertiet at Designer Digitals, and journaling photo overlay is made by Ali Edwards and is also for sale at Designer Digitals.

Nature

Apart from sharpening, this is untouched by Photoshop Elements. The shot was taken from my kitchen window, handheld, no flash - right before sunset. The colours were breathtaking.

If I could bottle time

It’s days like today, that make me wish I could bottle time. I would bottle today and take it out when the children are not doing what they are supposed to, when they are fighting every second of the day, or when I am running around like a headless chook, or when I am feeling overwhelmed with the sheer volume of what I need to do. I need to bottle days like today, so I can take little sips to remind me of all that I have which no matter how mundane, is a wonderful life. If I could bottle today, I could sip and savour the moments I have spent with my children which are full of fun, love and laughter. I could relish in the moments where we just sit and play together and just enjoy the sheer joy of being together.

The day didn’t start off on the right foot, the kids had been great, I snoozed in until nearly 9am, and they were on the playstation. I had a shower, and they started to fight. I cooked them pancakes for breakfast, and Sammy and Mickey fronted up to the breakfast bar, with a sour disposition as they’d argued about something. After telling them that they were ‘ungrateful sods’ they sparked up a bit and enjoyed lots of pancakes. Mickey ate ten of them...... I did the ironing and set Billy-Joe a task of reading the ‘destructions’ for ‘Cluedo’. When I’d finished I sat down and read them too, and decided against trying to teach the little ones how to play. Instead we played a long session of ‘Game of Life’. Sammy didn’t want to play, but I made him, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself - as did we all.

Then the kid sat down and watched ‘Hoodwinked’ while they ate their lunch and I pottered around on the ‘net. I made a yummy pumpkin soup and let it simmer on the stovetop until dinner time. I also finished the third page of my Reno book which I am going to have made from Shutterfly - only 17 pages to go lol.......

My favourite show, ‘Prison Break’ starts tomorrow so I think I will stay up late and watch some old eps I have on DVD.

The weather is still forecast to be wet for tomorrow so we will head out and get some more movies and renew the PS game.

Love this photo

Baby of mine

Michael Luke
Mickey
Mickey Mouse
Mim
Bream
Mim the Bream
Brimula X the Oil that Protects

Baby of Mine.

Happy Birthday Sweet Little Man - you light up my every single day. Every day you grow up just a little more, your independence becomes stronger, you become a little smarter, a little kinder, and a little sweeter - it gives me wonderful furtive glimpses of the man that you will become.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Smile

Things that made me smile today
*Lady Grey Tea
*Kids playing together without bickering
*Smelling Chocolate cake baking in the oven
* Sleeping in
* Another part of the house with new paint on it
* Spontaneous hugs and kisses.

Too long between photos

For all the time I have been playing with organization and things, I haven't done much editing.

Some favourites of mine from our picnic on Tuesday.

Sammy loves to cook the bbq, and really drives Opa insane.....cool photo though - shows both their emotions perfectly.

He loves animals - it brings a peace within him which is quite precious to behold.

School holiday bliss

The first week of the school holidays is well and truly nearly finished. I wish the holidays wouldn’t go by so quickly. In some ways I have less time to myself, because there are others to look after during the day, but I do prefer the easiness of the days. I love the fact I don’t have one eye on the clock all day - meeting appointments, school commitments, work commitments, and picking up the kidlets. It’s 2.30pm now, and normally I would be heading out the door picking up my kids - and the afternoon and evening stretches ahead of me as a busy and demanding time frame.

This week has been great fun. The weather has been perfect. The days are around 25˚ and the nights are cool, perfect for snuggling, but not freezing cold like they had been for a week or two. On Tuesday we went to Wappa Dam for a picnic. The kids were so excited to spend some time with Oma and Opa and their Aunty Ricky and Aunty Denise, and the girls. Julia had to work, so couldn’t join us, but Kiana was there, playing footy with the boys which was great. I had my chair out on the sun,and just enjoyed the soothing feeling of it on my skin. One of the downsides (mmm, there aren’t that many!!) of living in the subtropics is that I don’t get to actually enjoy the sun much, but during he winter days, it’s just lovely sitting in it and enjoying the warmth on my skin, without being cooked to a crackle. I had to leave the picnic area early to meet a physio appointment for a very sore neck and shoulders. The million dollar latex pillow I bought several months ago wasn’t doing me any favours, and it wasn’t until I made a concerted effort to sleep on my other side, that it confirmed my suspicions. I paid $100 for it and was reluctant to give it up. I feel much better now, even last night it was starting to feel better. Two nights of not sleeping on the culprit has helped too. I have given Peter the good pillow - hopefully he will be comfortable.

I had a bone scan done last Friday, and Osteitis Pubis is no longer in contention for my diagnosis!! So, I am none the wiser. Another half day of injection, stuffing around, and laying still on a table, and I still don’t know what’s wrong. I won’t think about it for a few days - maybe it will go away lol....... I wish!!!

Peter has been painting the house all week, and it’s starting to look lovely. I am so glad I am not paying him by the hour, as he isn’t terribly fast, but he does a great job, considering he’s not a painter by trade. The house looks fresh, clean and bigger. His ‘to do’ list, which I jokingly tell him is written on a toilet roll, isn’t getting any shorter - well, maybe just a little!!

My darling husband took me out for lunch today. We wanted to go to the Orient Express, a really nice Chinese/Thai restaurant in Palmwoods, but just our luck and it wasn’t open for lunch!! Only on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland could you still make a good enough business, by only being open hallf the time!! We had lunch at the Palmwoods Hotel which was lovely. It was expensive, but delicious - and heaps of food. I couldn’t eat all my Caesar Salad, and had some nice warm cob loaf with capsicum dip which was delish. We also shared a caramel frappe which was decadent and yummy. It’s been 19 weeks on WW and this is the first time I have ‘let my hair down’. And it’s great because I didn’t eat heaps, left a third of my salad, because I was full. It’s Mickey’s birthday on Saturday. I have planned my chocolate cake recipe, lemon patty cakes, sandwiches, and I will make some sausage rolls, but will make some lower fat ones. I have bought pork mince instead of sausage mince and I have some low fat puff pastry too.

Kids have had a ball being at home this week. They have the car track set up and are enjoying the good weather and playing outside heaps. Today they are at Holiday Care, so we could have lunch and I could have the groceries in peace. Plus it means they will have a great day tomorrow, because they won’t feel like bickering as much.

One of my dear friends offered me some work. Her and her husband have bought the CamerHouse stores on the coast, and she offered me Sunday work, or part time work in the future. I know that I would love the work, but don’t think I am ready to kiss my teaching goodbye. Plus it would mean coming home around 6pm, instead of 3 or 4, which is a huge difference. I don’t want to stretch the friendship either, but having any ‘special’ requests. Not sure how much the pay would be, but it wouldn’t go anywhere near what I can get teaching - but knowing what days I am working would be a huge plus. I know I could definitely bring something to the business. I know more than the average person about cameras, and being a woman, I think that’ s a real bonus for the store. I would also learn more, which is always exciting for me. Definitely something to keep in mind....

Murphy's Law again

Unbelievable. I haven’t worked all week, and then today I get a call. The schools know I am not available on a Thursday, but she forgot. It would have been nice and close and would have put me back into the black for the following month. I am really cranky I had to say no. I had to say no, because we have a solicitor’s appointment to sign our wills, which we have finally organized, that’s the biggest reason, then I want to be home to take part in my ‘Shoebox’ webinar, it’s my grocery day, and probably the most important fact is because Sammy is involved in a ‘cafe’ and Mum, Dad and I are all going ‘out’ to the cafe for lunch - and he would be heartbroken if I didn’t go....

What price for your kids?