Category: momentous events

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family anecdotes Life momentous events

Mr almost-3

My little boy has his last day of being 2 today. He’ll be Mr 3 as of tomorrow. Which is great – but also rather sad. I can’t believe it was really THAT long ago that he was delivered (C-section. Elective. Long story short, Miss 7’s was 33 1/2 hours and Miss 4’s was 10 and I’d discovered, respectively, that a) epidurals in the wrong place don’t help a great deal, and b) water births ain’t as easy as you’d like ’em to be) but I guess it must have been, because he’s about to be 3. No longer a baby, no longer a toddler, now well and truly a little boy, on his way to becoming a big boy, a youth, then a man. And if you’re thinking ‘Yeah, but that’s ages away’ – look how fast these last few years have gone! Heck, Miss 4 will be in PREP in less than a year – and it doesn’t feel all that long ago that I was holding her tiny body in my arms on the balcony at Selangor hospital (Nambour), and introducing her to the gorgeous world outside that hospital room. Now that’s all swallowed up in the busyness of mid-March, 2012, and life don’t seem to be slowing’ down any!

Well, best go. I’ve got a cake to make…

 

CC Image courtesy nojhan at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nojhan/1571935892/

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Bloxham Marketing family anecdotes momentous events More about me Random thoughts Technology

*Thursday*

I did it again: wrote the post, scheduled it to post at a ‘daylight’ hour, rather than at the just-prior-to-midnight-ish of actual writing, then realised days later that it was set to ‘Private”. LOL Whoops!

So anyway… this (below) was my Thursday:

* * * * *

My day today was non-stop. But perhaps it could be easily remembered through these three snippets.

1. My 4.11am entry on my church’s wiki – a few of the ladies in the church are reading through a chapter of the Bible each day, and recording our thoughts / whatever we’re going through, and are supporting each other / keeping each other accountable. Today’s post was on Galations Chapter 1. I wrote:

A new month – a new beginning…
I’ve been absent recently, both virtually and in head-space. But I’m now longer in denial that Mr 2 lies somewhere on the autistic spectrum, and that’s been the biggie over these last few weeks; coming to terms with this fact. He’s booked into a paediatrician next week on the STRONG advice of our local GP, so I guess we’ll have to take it one step at a time. And work’s been full on (yesterday was particularly crazy) so when I saw that today was the 1st of March, I thought it opportune to start again here, in Galatians 1.
What I love about this chapter today is verse 15. Paul was ‘set apart at birth’. Me too. And my son. Set apart to do His work, is the places and ways He has chosen for me, and for my son, to be in and to do. So who am I to argue?
I pray that today I might see God’s ways – and walk in them.
Have a lovely day, ladies.

2. This second snippet is taken from the end of my day – a fb update at 10.49pm:

Mr 2 was stuck on a particular level playing Wall-E on the PS2 today. I tried helping him – and then Miss 4 entered the room. “I can help, Mummy!” “Sure, sweetheart…” I answered, handing over the control. And she did – about a gajillion times faster than I ever could.
How’s that for an eye-opener!

3. And finally, a snippet of IRL, that occurred in between the beginning and end of my day (well, naturally! D’Oh!!!)…

I signed another client for Bloxham Marketing. Woohoo!!!

* * * * *

So. It’s now Sunday morning, 5.46 am, three days later. And life just has NOT slowed down enough, since, for me to write again – let alone realise that I’d set this to private. LOL Whoops!

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family anecdotes momentous events More about me

Done.

Today I took Mr 2 to the doctor. I poured out my concerns regarding his extremely slow speech development and his inability to cope when told “no” or “don’t”. About how in the last three weeks he’s developed the habit of hitting himself very hard on his knees when he knows he’s done the wrong thing, like he’s smacking himself. About the high-pitched scream he’s developed when he doesn’t like something or if he’s thwarted in what he wants to do.
I mentioned his sleeping problems, his digestive problems, his extreme sensitivity to temperature change, for example when being given a bath or my attempts for him to use the potty.
About the fact that he’s only started looking me in the eyes in the last six months or so. About how he’s never wanted cuddles, and in fact he has only voluntarily given me a handful of hugs and two kisses in his entire life.
The doctor agreed with me, that these certainly do seem like signs of mild autism. And he wrote a referral to a paediatrician and sent it immediately. So now, I guess, I get to take my second step in what may turn into a very long journey, me and my boy.
I guess every journey has to start somewhere.
Thanks for letting me share with you, dear readers.

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momentous events More about me Random thoughts Technology

A huge week, but a great one!

Saturday morning again. Housework (mostly) done, and it’s time to reflect on the week-that-was.

Source: farm3.static.flickr.com via Melissa on Pinterest

I love this shot. Even though I rarely drink caffeine (I’ve got enough adrenalin in my system already – I seriously do NOT need help with that at all!) I relish the smell of caffeine, and to me a good cuppa always signals time to stop. Relax, and reflect. (Plus, the shadow effect making the handle into the love heart is also pretty cool!)

So – this week. It was a bit of a tweeting week this week – I think I tweeted more this week then I have any other week. Ever! I guess the week itself was rather unusual, too.

Monday was my Term One Hervey Bay day. I left home at 5.30am but didn’t arrive at McTaggarts the printers until 8.30 due to roadworks. Then it was off to St James Lutheran College, which employs me as their marketing consultant, for meetings with the Principal, a working lunch with the Business Manager, the DP and Library Aide who looks after most of the College photography, before heading out and meeting with Sabene (sales lady at the Hervey Bay Independent newspaper), Greg (sales at WIN TV) and Matthew (sales at Channel 7). Phew! and another almost-three-hour drive brought me home again.

Tuesday saw me in the car again – but only to go to Speech Therapy – because I had planned a huge day of busyness on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Mr 2’s screaming in agony from 3am Wednesday morning negated all my plans, and we dealt with his wry neck instead. Then it was ‘try-to-play-catch-up’ time all afternoon / evening.

Thursday and Friday were conference days. And if you follow me on twitter at all, then either my @KRidwyn account or my @BloxhamMkting account would have spammed your tweet stream horrendously, and you would have known exactly what I was up to, who I was listening to, and what they were saying. And if you don’t then perhaps you were lucky! (Unless, of course, you were interested in what cool Apps I was discovering, in which case, you might want to follow me!)

And that brings me to this morning. Saturday again. And it’s not yet midday and I’ve mostly caught up on the housework – yay for the rest of the day!!!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ceridwyn on Pinterest

 

 

Oh – and one more thing… the highlight of my week… the amazing Greg O’Connor from Spectronics NOT ONLY used a screenshot of Hmmm… (as in, my humble blog that you’re currently reading) in his presentation yesterday – but @Spectronics also included my @KRidwyn account in a #FF tweet. How COOL is that!!!

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Bloxham Marketing momentous events More about me Random thoughts teaching Technology Work

Toys for toys?

Today was Day 2 of LEQ’s Mini-conference, exploring iPads in education, on the Sunshine Coast. Again, another very cool day of exploring what iPads can do; how Apps, App chains, and even the tool itself, can be leveraged for better outcomes for our kids. Very very very cool stuff.

Amongst the myriad of sessions and workshops were two standouts for me. Firstly, the very tactile ‘app-cesseries’ – extra bits and pieces that accessorise the iPad (or iPhone, iPod, etc) to give it added functionality. My favourite – in the photo – would have to be the mini-Mater (from Disney’s Cars movie) that you could move on the iPad to explore the world of the movie.

 

And the other standout would have to be my extreme surprise at one of Greg O’Connor’s slides. Still can’t believe it, but there was a screenshot of hmmm… up there. Yes, you read right – he had my last night’s blog entry “The Good Stuff” up there on the screen, and was talking about this ‘cool blog he had found last night’. Absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! I was just so surprised, so grateful, so humbled! (If you ever read this, Greg – thank you SO much!) Absolutely stunned to think that everyone at this conference had, in a way, “visited” my blog. How COOL!!!

So yes, these were my highlights of the day. And if, by any chance, any of my readers also happened to attend the LEQ conference, please feel free to add below what your highlights were. And if you weren’t – then I’d love to hear what you think of the Mater truck!

(Oh, and I’ll be writing a blog post on the other great Apps / links, on the other page – “The Good Stuff”. Hope they’re helpful!)

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Bloxham Marketing momentous events More about me Random thoughts Work

Excited!

I love the anticipation of a journey!

Source: bing.com via Heidi on Pinterest

Not knowing where it will lead, or where it will take you in the process… as an optimist, the thought of where I could end up always makes me smile with the possibilities!

Tomorrow and Friday I’ll be at my first Lutheran Education Queensland (LEQ) conference. Possibly my first of many! (At the next one, on the 28th of February, I’m actually the presenter! It’s called ‘Harnessing the Power of Digital Marketing’, and I’m the ‘Professional Digital Marketing consultant’ that they’ve got addressing the LEQ Principals and Business Managers. Cool or what?!!)

So I feel as though I’m taking my first steps into a journey I’m very much looking forward to taking.

Wish me luck, dear readers!

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momentous events More about me Technology University studies Work

A new ‘toy’

This coming Thursday and Friday, I will be attending a conference on iPad use in education, as the guest of Derek Bartels, Head of ICT at Lutheran Euducation, Queensland. Majorly cool stuff.
Unfortunately though, although for the past year I have been the proud owner of a MacBook Pro and an iPod Touch (last year’s “Back to Uni deal”) and for the last two months, the extremely proud owner of an iPhone 4S (the unfortunate loss of my LG Xenon meant that I needed a replacement, and what else was I meant to get – seriously??!) I had not extended my I-collection to include an iPad.

Owly Images

A difficult situation could therefore have arisen… but… I’ve managed to avoid it. I’m currently blogging from a $580 credit purchase. And loving it! LOL!!! (I’d say that maybe this is fairly appropriate for Valentine’s Day, but that may just give the wrong idea to my Hubby…!)

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family anecdotes momentous events More about me

The pros and cons of labels

On the one hand, I have always liked to simplify my life as much as possible. On the other hand, I have a dislike for the concept of labelling people, especially when these labels have been applied to me or to those who are close to me. I know, I’m a hypocrite. I use labels myself but then I don’t like it when they are applied to me. Funny, hey! I wonder if everyone is like that?
Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about labels over the last few days. I blogged a couple of days ago about facing my fears and googling “autism”. You see, Hubby and I have suspected for a little while now, that Master 2 may have this condition. Not to a huge extent, but I’m pretty positive that he is showing several of the symptoms. And this scares the hell out of me. You see, I know how impatient a person I am. And I know, that were I to have an autistic child, I would need boundless reserves of patience. I worry how others would treat him if he were labelled with the word ‘Autistic’ or ‘Aspergers’. I worry if I have enough strength to cope. Truth be told, I’m scared. Really scared. I’m scared of taking him to get an official diagnosis. I’m scared in case I find out that I was right. I’m scared of what may be involved in the management of an autistic child. And yet, when I look at him, I see the same little boy I’ve loved for almost 3 years. He hasn’t changed. But to suddenly apply a label to him and to his life will change that life drastically, for ever. Is this something I could really do? Is this something I should do? Which is best for him? Is this also what is best for me? For my family? Should we even come into this equation?
As a teacher, I know full well how the system is changed for the ascertained child. Again, is this something I want for my little boy? Will it help him more than it will harm him? Or won’t it be worth it, because it could just make it all worse? It certainly will make it all harder!
I guess, what it comes down to, is this: Are his symptoms severe enough, am I worried enough, to change his life so drastically? Or, would it be just best to let his life continue as it has been? What do I do? Where do I go from here? My mind is full of turmoil. And I’m not sure what my next move should be.
Maybe it would just be best to get the wheels in motion. To work out whether or not he does fit on the spectrum. What I really want – is to equip myself with strategies to manage his behaviour so that he understands how to fit in, socially. So that he learns to control his own behaviour, and understand what is, and what is not, appropriate. They say that early intervention is the best move. I wonder if they are right.
I guess, whichever course of action I choose to take, I’ve changed my opinion forever, on this whole idea of ‘labelling’.

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family anecdotes momentous events More about me Random thoughts

*My* chair

A couple of years ago, I was having trouble coping. It felt as though my life was one big pile of pressure, and there was no relief in sight. I felt that there wasn’t even any place in my own house that I could escape from the demands of others, or of my own (sometimes unreasonable) expectations of myself as a new mother, happy wife, and indifferent yet not-TOO-slack housekeeper.
So I snapped, and demanded Hubby buy me a chair. One of my own choosing, for my personal use ONLY.
(Plus, baby number three was unexpectedly on his way, and we’d given away my feeding chair with all the other baby stuff, after our second daughter had arrived.)
So I threw a right royal tantrum, and got *my* chair. Rule number one: it’s Mummy’s chair. No-one puts toys or books on it, and no one sits on it without asking first. Grown-ups included. Rule number two: never forget Rule number one.
I love my chair. I use it, and no one else does. It is wholly and solely, irrevocably, MINE and everyone knows it.
And I love it! My ‘special place’. Just for me.
My chair.

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#blog12daysxmas momentous events

A sad day…

Max has been a faithful companion for 12 years. A black labrador, he was best friends with Hubby’s German Shepherd “Storm” until her sudden death on Good Friday, 2009. He since played father to “Aksel”, Storm’s replacement; a very exhausting German Shepherd pup.

Max with Storm, late 2009.

We buried Max today, in a grave next to Storm. She would have liked that. He had broken his foot, and was in incredible pain. It was good to give him release from that pain. It was also good to see how much support I felt from others through how hard today was. Hubby – a tower of strength; my children, all trying to make me smile; friends on facebook with their condolences and messages of support.

But what surprised me the most were the instantaneous tweets from people I’ve never met IRL. People who I “follow”, and with whom I have communicated via twitter, sending me messages with (hugs), <<hugs>>, *hugs*, many *hugs*, big hugs, and hugs and tissues for me and my whole family. Absolutely incredible. I feel SOOOOOOOOOOO blessed. Thank you, my friends! I am so honoured to *know* you all!

One of my resolutions this year was to intentionally be more positive. So today’s photo of Max is accompanied by other memories of today that make me smile: Miss 3 building a tower out of Garlic bread crusts, and Miss 6’s eggs that she scrambled herself, while saying “These look like vomit, Mummy. Lucky they taste nice…” Just wanted to share these lovely memories with you, too.

Thanks, dear readers.