*sneeze* I refuse to succumb to Miss 7’s cold. I refuse to succumb to Miss 7’s cold. I refuse to succumb to Miss7’s cold. *sneeze, sneeze*. Oh. Bumma. I don’t feel so great. *sneeze, sneeze* Who’s got the tissues?!!! *sneeze*
So much for willpower.
*sneeze*
Lucky my (now newly refilled) tissue box sits on the head of my bed…!
Squashed. Like a bug that’s been steamrolled. That’s how I’m feeling after this week. I mean, I knew it was going to be a biggie, going into it, but didn’t really expect to be feeling like this at its conclusion…
Monday was work day. Head down, bum up, get-a-heap-of-things-done day, because the rest of the week would be drive-around-like-crazy day. It didn’t help that I had negative-gig left in my data quota due to a mix-up with Telstra this time last month. But, I had to get it done, so done it got.
Tuesday morning I spent at St Paul’s, getting stuff done on campus – stuff which would have been nigh-on impossible to do remotely, then it was pick-up-the-kids-from-care-and-drive-up-to-Minyama for my last (sob) Speech Therapy session with Suzanne at Sunshine Coast Speech Therapists. Lovely lady. Truly lovely. And even though that nodule on my right vocal cord isn’t gone yet, at least now I have some techniques to speak properly without exacerbating it – and hopefully it will go over time. Then I taught that evening.
Wednesday morning was meant to be playgroup-before-podiatirist, but Miss 4 and Mr 2 weren’t going to cope too well with that, so we ended up just visiting our neighbour in the morning, then heading out to collect Miss 7 early form school and driving down to Brisbane for her Podiatry appointment, then driving back to Caboolture for her swimming lesson, before driving to Morayfield for a *fun* time grocery shopping, then finally back up the Coast to home.
Thursday was diagnosis day. Miss 4 got dropped off at my mum’s at Currimundi while Mr 2 came to Nambour (Selangor Hospital) with me. Autism diagnosis confirmed, he then spent the afternoon back at my mum’s villa while I visited Tullawong Primary College, Medicare, the Family Assisstance Office, CentreLink, and finally Telstra (Yay! Got the internet working on my iPhone again!) before collecting the kids and heading home exhausted…
And Friday, I relief taught a very full-on Prep class. And Miss 4 managed to lose one sandal at care. One half of her favourite (and only!) pair of sandals. And Hubby fell victim to an unfortunate accident – our HUGE German Shepherd pup tripped him up badly in their morning run – which not only meant that a) he spent the majority of the day visiting doctors (X-ray of right wrist revealed just tissue damage thank God!) and dentists (teeth shaken about and chipped, but little other damage) and b) being laughed at because he’s limping and looks a sight – and his dog did it to him, but also that he’s completely out of action when it comes to helping with the kids because they don’t understand that they can’t jump on him anymore – plus he has zero use of his right hand / wrist anyway.
And Saturday morning was family-time. Half-great; half-tragic. I guess it’s no wonder that I spent most of Saturday afternoon yawning, if not dozing / less-than-conscious. Which is why I’m blogging now, at 3.07am Sunday morning. Nuff said?!
Phew! And it looks as though this coming week will be almost as full on…!!!
I can’t remember when my insomnia first started. I think my earliest memories of it were when I was a teenager. Back in high school, I got into the habit of staying up very late at night, reading. Then I would get up at 6 the next morning, as I always have.
Source: tonigrote.fineartstudioonline.com via Ceridwyn on Pinterest
At Uni, the poor sleeping habits continued. And then in my second year of Uni, I joined a cult. (Didn’t know that that’s what it was at the time, though!) Time in the cult was time spent awake. At meetings, at church services, at coffee, at meeting with people, at conferences, and at Bible”studies”. When I’d been there a few months, I was asked to join their leadership. Which meant even more hours awake – for the rest of my time in the cult, I would average around four hours of sleep each night.
Maybe, that’s when I got hooked on the adrenaline rush that accompanied my lack-of-sleep. That’s when I decided that I could accomplish so much more, if I didn’t have to spend 7 -8 hours sleeping each night. I liked knowing that I had more control over my body, than my body had over me.
I liked that I could do more, because I was awake. I like that I had time and space to myself at night when others were asleep and the world was quiet.
And then I left the cult. But I didn’t leave behind me the feeling of superiority I had gained by doing so much more when others were asleep. I carried that into my life after Uni, and into my married life, and into my life at work. Then, seven years ago, kids came along. I entered a whole new world of sleepless nights and being woken at strange times and odd hours.
My insomniac habits, which had been gradually decreasing, return full force.. It has continued to this date.. Now, self-employed, and studying my Masters online, I find that this lifestyle – being awake at night when everyone else is asleep – is the only one that I can use to effectively get through all of the tasks that I have set myself. And really, I’m okay with that. I love my life.
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.
I bought Miss 7 an iPod Touch for Christmas. (For regular readers of my blog – yes, this was a recent addition to my ‘list’. It now includes “Get an iPod” next to the age “When you can read”. Yes, I am aware that this is out-and-out bribery. Hey, it works!)
So anyway, she loves it, and in her limited time in between sleeping, eating, school and the long drive there and back, she gets time to play on it. That is, when she’s not doing homework, playing on the computer or on the PS2.
Yes, I’m a bad mum. Maybe. You see, even though many parents, and even many, many more educators, would say that all that time in front of a screen is ‘bad’, I wonder if it is. Really.
What are the main arguments against kids in front of the screen? 1. Lack of physical activity. 2. Slow speech / language development. 3. Less socialisation; 4. addictive tendencies. Okay, so here are my answers to these:
1. My kids’ all-time-favourite place is the beach, closely followed by the playground or my neighbour’s pool. Given the choice, all three would hands-down go for the outside activity.
2. Hubby was worried about the effects of TV on our middle child. When she was 2, her favourite activity was watching TV (it was just a phase) and he pestered me with questions like ‘they say TV is bad for young kids, why are you letting her watch it all he time?’ (Not that I was, but he didn’t see that). When I explained that ‘their’ reason TV was so bad was because kids who watched TV learned fewer words than kids who didn’t watch so much,(apparently it’s a loss of approximately six new words per hour,) he stopped worrying. Although she was only two, she spoke like a four year old.
3. My kids socialize around the PS2 just the same way that other children socialize around their favourite family toy or object. Lessons in sharing, taking turns, winning and losing gracefully, not being bossy with each other, encouraging each other, coping with jealousy and the odd tantrum, helping each other, teaching each other, all come into play.
4. Addictive tendencies – this is a biggie for me, seeing as I’m a gambling addict myself. Miss 7 knows the words ‘addict’ and ‘addicted’ and understands the harm an addiction can cause. We were given the PS2 when she was 4 1/2 and she quickly got hooked playing ‘Nemo‘. At first she didn’t understand why I limited her playtime, but then one Saturday I let her play for as long as she wanted too. Five hours later, she was complaining of sore eyes and sore thumbs. It was a lesson she learned very quickly, that excess, even in the things that you love, can be bad. she also saw how her desire to play Playstation non-stop had cost her fishing time with Daddy, and that it was better to control her desire, rather than have her desire controlling her. (One smart cookie, that kid! And the best bit is… she teaches her siblings what she’s learned!)
So having thwarted – or at least, annulled in part – the objections, these are my hopes:
1. My children are learning to problem solve, by having to rely on themselves to work out how new games work. Hopefully, these problem solving skills will be transferrable to problems that they encounter IRL. They’re also problem solving in digital media that will undoubtedly be a huge part if their lives. And the strategies of dealing with disappointments and triumphs, will hopefully also be transferred.
2. Not so much on the PS2, but firstly with computer games and now with Apps, I am continually amazed at how quickly kids can learn the numbers, letters, sight words and sums. Yes, I have ‘game’ apps too, but most of my apps are maths based, word and alphabet based, and kids books. And they’re all free.
Miss 4 left the nurses at Nambour Hospital flabbergasted a couple of months ago. She was being wheeled in for surgery to remove the wires in her elbow, and she was correctly completing two digit sums on ‘Addition & Subtraction for kids‘. And she was only three. (Check out this App if you haven’t come across it yet – the fish that looks like Nemo works quite well at attracting the kids!)
I’d say, the way they’re going, both she and Mr 2 will be quite ahead-of-the-game when they start school. Well, maybe not ahead of the classmates who also have had similar exposure to such learning opportunities, but ahead-of-the-curriculum, at any rate!
3. My children are learning the value of ‘rewards for work’. Yes, Miss 7 and Miss 4 have spent a large chunk of the past few weeks (since the rain set in) on the PS2. But they’ve only had one hour ‘free’. The rest of the time, they’ve had to ‘earn’ it. Write a ‘story’, get half-an-hour. Complete a page in an activity book, get 20 minutes. Complete two hard pages, get an hour. And Miss 7’s iPod timer keeps us all accurate – and reinforces the mathematical ‘time’ concepts, too!
So, that’s it. My three ‘hopes’ for my digital babysitter’s teaching abilities. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Have any more arguments for or against to add? I’d love to hear them!
Oh – and today’s photo is Miss 7 down at Caloundra. Taken by the incomparable Greg Parsons, photographer extraordinaire and all around great guy.
So today I played catch up. I’ve been majorly neglecting sleeping, eating properly, and just the usual run-of-the-mill stuff that I always neglect, those of you who know me IRL. So today was catch up day. I washed clothes. I washed dishes. I shopped for food (and caught up on some sleep in the car while Hubby drove!) I cooked food. I cleaned various parts of the house. I even noticed a headache that didn’t want to shift. (It had probably been there for days, but I’ve been too busy to notice!) I started filing the never-ended mountain of paperwork that seems to be getting even bigger now I’ve scored the marketing consultancy at St James in Hervey Bay. (Absolutely BRILLIANT school, by the way!!! Really going places; it’s got an excellent team at the top – visionaries who also know how to successfully implement that vision. Which is pretty rare. And I’ve been in and around a LOT of schools! FYI, did you know that EVERY kid from Year 7 up has an iPod Touch which they use – in every curriculum area?! How cool is THAT?!!!)
And catching up on stuff today allowed me quite a bit of time for introspection. Which is cool. I’m starting to not mind the whole ‘figure out who I am’. And today’s thinking was in the context of my work life. Brought about courtesy of Craig Hewlett, President of 101.5 FM, who invited me to do a DJ-ing course at his station, yesterday. He seems to think that I’ve got a good voice for radio. (Poor guy had to listen to me for 6 hours straight at the St Paul’s Spring Fair Teen Space yesterday, and that probably addled his brains!) Anyway, he was pretty serious about the offer – it’s a paid course, and he offered to sponsor me to do it! How cool is that! Unfortunately, I had to say no (for the time being). Even though I’m always up for a challenge, even I think that adding something like that to my life would just be stupid. After all, I have 3 kids, and my eldest is 6; I run a website, a tutoring business and I’m the QLD distributor for another business; and then I’m working pretty much full-time as the Marketing consultant to two schools. Oh, and somewhere in there I’m also managing to find the time to study for my Masters in IT. (So stoked about finishing that 40%er last Thursday!!! And a HUGE thank you to Tony Wilson, QUT’s Marketing and Communication Director, for permission to use that awesome quote of his!!!) Which leads me to believe that, although working as a radio DJ would be such a cool thing to do, maybe now might not be the time to consider it. (Oh, and did I also mention I’ve been invited to join the Golden Key International Honour Society?! Pretty chuffed!)
So anyway, today I got stuff done. Not that I haven’t been getting stuff done recently, but today’s was different stuff. And that’s cool. By the way, I particularly dislike filing.
I read recently in a friend’s blog that in France, 1518, 400 people died in a ‘dance plague’. Yes – they danced til they died, of heart attacks, exhaustion, and the like. Apparently they didn’t want to, and were pleading for onlookers to help them. Strange.
It got me wondering. I wonder what other ‘normal’ activities have been known to kill people, en masse, like that? Have there been cases of mass plagues of ‘harvesting’? How about ‘washing the dishes’? ‘Skipping’? ‘Nagging?’ I wonder!
Anyone out there know of any?
This seems an easy one to start with. And hopefully it’ll be quick because Miss 6 will be home from school soon, and Miss 3 and Master 2 are due to wake up from naptime any second… Thanks, @katreena, @flexnib et al for the idea!
A. Age: 37. And slowly getting used to it.
B. Bed size: King. Gift from in-laws.
C. Chore that you hate: Housecleaning. Were I to win lotto, employing a full-time housecleaner would be at the absolute TOP of the list.
D. Dogs: 12 month old German Shepherd and 10 year old Labrador. Don’t visit without prior notice.
E. Essential start to your day: Hugs from kids. Miss 3 especially.
F. Favourite colour: Orange.
G. Gold or Silver: Gold. No question.
H. Height: Average to tall? I’m not sure exact measurements, and I’m too comfortable to get my driver’s license and check…
I. Instruments you play: Violin. Voice. I can also pick out a tune on most instruments. Played Bass Guitar for a few years.
J. Job title: Mummy. (The best word in the English language). Plus I “look after” the marketing for St Paul’s Lutheran in Caboolture, but I haven’t given myself a title for that. Yet. Suggestions welcome!
K. Kids: Three. Plus hubby when he’s sick…
L. Live: Paradise. Better known as the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
M. Mother’s name: Rehanah.
N. Nicknames: C – but only my best friend and her husband call me that. It’s weird, cos they pronounce it as ‘see’ but my name has the initial sound ‘K’
O. Overnight hospital stays: 3 x childbirths.
P. Pet peeve: “Austraya”
Q. Quote from a movie: Not a favourite, but always cracks me up: “You have bewitched me, body and soul. I love, love, love you.” Mr Darcy to Elizabeth in the latest mangled ending of Austen’s P&P.
R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Two. I’m a middle child.
T. Time you wake up: 6 am would be nice. Generally at least one child will wake me around 4.30am.
U. Underwear: Yes.
V. Vegetable you hate: Capsicum
W. What makes you run late: Me. But I try to get away with blaming others…
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Umm… teeth?
Y. Yummy food that you make: Coconut Ice
Z. Zoo animal: The otters at Australia Zoo. But not when they’re asleep.
I have a new theory. My kids get ill at end of semester. Yes, I know that sounds like an excuse, a bit like “The dog ate my homework” or “Our printer ran out of ink”. And yes, as a High School teacher for over 15 years, I’ve heard my fair share of excuses. Inventive as well as the plain ol’ run of the mill ones. And I absolutely HATE them. Anything that sounds suspicious, I treat with contempt. And yet…
Last week – end of semester – I submitted an incomplete assignment. Illness in my family had taken its toll on my assignment-writing time, but I was loathe to ask for an extension due to the other assignments that needed completing. So I swallowed my pride and submitted it anyway – and made sure it was accompanied by a very apologetic email!
The week before, and for only the second time in my life, I contemplated making the dash to Caloundra Hospital with my child vomiting uncontrollably in the back of the car. (We don’t bother with ambulances where we live… they never find us anyway. The last time, we waited for 90 minutes before calling again – and they still couldn’t find us, so we cancelled the call. Even with heavy traffic, we can drive to the hospital ourselves in 35 minutes. 20 if we “go fast”, when the traffic’s light enough for us to do so!) That was Week 13 – two weeks ago. The day before assessments were due. And when I reflect… my mad dash to Caloundra Hospital with Miss 6 in the back, happened at end of semester two, last year. I called another student en route and asked her to email the lecturer for me, and submit the draft of my assignment I’d sent her previously (we had been collaborating).
So yes. I’m thinking that the worst illnesses occur around end of semester. And I’m only saying this because it’s 12.26am and I’ve got one assignment left to complete, but for the second time in the space of a week I’m in Master 2’s bedroom trying to comfort him as he snivels and whinges and generously distributes his germs all over me. Yay.
Maybe I should just declare a ban on semester-ends?
I knew that I’d missed a post or two on #blogjune, due to busyness, illness, and just general other stuff. I just didn’t realise that my last post was June 8!
So. To some stuff that I feel like sharing today.
I am ill. I feel like death warmed up. But on the up-side, I only have two Uni assignments left to submit.
I am sick of typing on my gorgeous new Macbook Pro. I guess it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Especially when it’s being used for never-ending assignments that I’m kinda over.
Hubby and I took our three children down to St Paul’s Church this morning. First time that it wasn’t a “School Sunday” (as in, expected due to Miss 6’s participation in a performance). It went well. Highlight: Master Two (loud voice) “Mar-mee!” followed by running up to me for a hug from 10 metres away. He only learned to say it yesterday.
Miss 6 is perilously close to losing her first tooth. Finally.
The “recommended” shoes to fit Miss 6’s orthotics are $80 at Athlete’s foot, but only $50 at the recommended shoe shop in Brisbane. Not to self: GO THERE NEXT TIME YOU IDIOT!!!!!
Hmmmm… and now back to that assignment…
(Oh, and a PS… I got a Distinction for INN331. SOOOO stoked!!)