My yearning…

You know when you have a yearning to do something different? The type of yearning that consumes your thoughts? Well I do. I’ve had the hunger to learn photography for ages, ever since I discovered natural light photography.

The main reason I’m so keen to learn is that I want to take those striking shots of my children - the ones that capture their spirit. I want to take them myself. I want to capture the moment when I see it, as I see it.

At the moment I have just your normal point and shoot digital camera, although it is a good one and does have manual settings. However, I’m not too sure exactly how it all works. So, I want to learn. I have ordered some books form Amazon.com and hope to receive them in the next couple of weeks; nothing spectacular, just beginner stuff. It’s a start though.

Ideally I would love to get my own Digital SLR but alas the finances don’t quite allow for that just yet. If only Santa could afford one! I also hope to do a course sometime soon – sooner rather then latter – but that will have to fit in with fulltime work, kids and domestic duties. *sigh*

I think it’s important to have a hobby; something of interest other then your children and for me – work! I want to accomplish something; see the final results and be proud of what I have done. Generally speaking, I think I have some artistic talent, although not enough to make me a great painter, sculptor or anything like that; just enough to compliment any photographic techniques I learn along the way.

I was out in the garden this afternoon, playing around with my point and shoot, trying to figure out manual settings, (all while looking at the stuff I printed on the web that I thought might get me through until my books arrive). I shot some photos – they're ok. I did cheat though; I think most of them were shot with the camera’s auto function on close-up mode. If only I had a DSLR – I’m sure I would figure it out faster. Oh well…

We have Lily...

Ok, they aren’t at professional standards but they’re ok. Good enough for the album.

PS. Don’t you love her chub – rolls everywhere (just like her mum! he he he).

PPS. Photoshop or some sort of editing program wouldn't go astray either. *sigh*

When does land become a house?

As it stands today, our land has plumbing and electricity *happy dance*. The footings haven been done ready for the form work on Monday and slab pouring on Tuesday. We've had some sunny days the last couple (emphasis on couple) of days, so they have been able to get a little bit done.

It's so very exciting to see progress. As expected though, it looks small; really small! Gawd I hope we picked the right type of design for us. It's really hard to tell on paper. Oh well, it's too late now!

Typically, whenever I intend to go and check out the progress of our building project, I generally say “I’m just going to check out the land” or “let’s go to the land”. I was thinking today that soon it won’t just be a block of land...it will be a house.

But when does it become a house? When the frame is up, roof on, bricked and rendered? Is it a house now, merely footings and plumbing? I’m not too sure. You be the judge...

(We have electricity!)

(And an ensuite...)

Fifteen whole months!

I shudder at the thought of the next 15 months going as fast as the past 15 months have gone. The thought of my baby girl (yes baby…I can’t deal with her being a toddler just yet – give me a few more months) growing up before my eyes is surreal.

I see newborns around the place and think Lily was that small once but alas, that was many, many months ago now – all but a distant memory.

She is definitely developing her own little intricacies. She loves to walk and wander around the place. She is getting really good at it too. Crawling kind of died once she realised she could stand up unaided. It’s been about 3 weeks since then and she hasn’t looked back. She still walks with her hands in the air for balance but slowly they are becoming less obvious. She can’t quite run or anything yet but she is getting faster and more confident every day.

She is my buddha baby; a solid little thing. I haven’t had her weighed for a while but she would be up there around 11kgs I think. She has the cutest little pot belly and round chubby face. Yesterday Trev commented that she isn’t losing any of her weight and should we be worried. Typical male comment! Umm hellooooo she’s only been walking 3 weeks! I couldn’t care less about her chub…in fact I love it.

Her hair is getting thicker but not longer. I’m looking forward to putting it up in pigtails and clips but for now I’ll just make the most of manageable hair that requires no maintenance. I’m sure I’ll be wishing for that in a year or two.

I know I have mentioned before that Byron was never really a ‘toy’ kid. He had heaps of toys but wasn’t and still to a certain degree, is not overly fussed by them. Lily on the other hand loves them. She loves to roam from toy to toy and she plays with everything. She takes an interest in almost every toy she happens to find around the place, including Byron’s toy cars and his wooden blocks. It’s a new thing for me…the way it’s supposed to be with kids. I really love playing with her.

On reading, she is getting much better. I have taken to reading her 3 to 4 books a night whilst she drinks her bottle and we sit together on the rocking chair. I think she’s enjoying it much more then she did – or at least she sits through books which is much more then she was doing a few weeks ago!

I know she is growing up fast and the baby years are slowly drifting into the abyss. I know she is nearly there in toddlerville. I know it. I just can’t quite accept it yet. I was reading that when children learn to walk, they are called toddlers. It is the time between infancy and childhood when a child learns and grows in many ways. She has only been walking a few weeks so I need just a little more time before I can employ that term.

I need more time with my whittle baby…my whittle buddha baby.

When I grow up...

"...I want to be a police man. When I catch berguulers I will take them to jail. After I be a policeman I’m going to be a road worker and then an ambulance man and fire man. When I get big I will come and visit but I will change my name because Byron is not an adult name..."

Oh the joys. He is such a treasure. That was a snippet of his conversation with me this morning.

I have been somewhat neglectful of my Byronisms of late. He doesn’t come out with the one liners so much any more. Rather, it is stories – full blown narratives about life in his little mind.

He loves bugs. Byron is a bug lover from way back. He can not stand it when he finds a dead bug on the ground being eaten by ants. He hates it. The gentle soul within compels him to move them away from the ants. There is a down side to Byron being a lover of all things bugs and that is, he considers the dreadful cockroach falls within that realm of loveable beetle! Agghh! No matter how many times we tell him they are pests, he still insists on feeling sorry for a dead cockroach he might see around the place. The other morning when I was dropping Byron off to kindy he found a little dead beetle in his kindy room that must have found his way in there and died. Anyway, he saw the bug and said, whilst picking the beetle up and putting it just outside the door, "I’ll just have to take him outside to Heaven".

Speaking of Heaven...this morning on the way to kindy we were listening to the radio when there was mention that someone had died. The following conversation ensued:

Byron: "He will be in Heaven. He will be alive in Heaven"
Me: "Yes, but he won’t be able to come back"
Byron: "Yes he will...he can just catch a helicopter back"

Who am I to shatter his allusion? Theoretically, I should probably correct these things but I don’t want to. I want him to live in hope; sheltered from the cruelty or pain that can come with growing up and living life. There will be plenty of that when he's older.

My day is filled with conversations that are innocent and splendid. I love them. I am blessed to hear them; to listen to his wonderful discussions about the simple things. My treasure...my son.

Sore Heart

Hearts are a funny thing aren’t they? Rather strange but in a good way. They are the core to your soul in more ways then one. They keep you alive and they keep you living – by living, I mean living in the sense of love, fulfilment and joy.

Yesterday afternoon my father in law had a heart attack. He came home from voting complaining of chest pains. They (my mother and father in law) went straight to hospital – apparently the cheeky bugger had had chest pains for a little while! At hospital they wasted no time in hooking him up to the machines wherein it was noted he was in the grip of a heart attack and it wasn’t a mild heart attack either. Apparently it was a major one. He is 56 years old!!!

Trevor was in a bit of a state as one could imagine and rushed to the hospital to see his dad. Byron didn’t quite understand what was going on. He wanted to go and see Poppy but sadly that was not appropriate. I stayed home with the kids.

Currently, ‘Poppy’ is doing ok. He is in the ICU hooked up to machines but doing well. He has to stay in for another week for monitoring and tests. Fingers crossed all goes well and he will be home and well within the week.

I pray that things will be ok with Trevor’s dad. He has been through a few health issues this past year – prostate cancer being number one. He got through that, so no doubt he can fight this too. I hope for a speedy recover and that his heart gives him no more trouble.

The one thing I have noticed about getting older is that I worry more about my parents and their mortality. As you get older so do your parents. The thought of something happening to them frightens the bejesus out of me, really it does. I simply prefer not to think such things.

No Such Luck!

There was the threat of a storm last night and the threat of rain today. The darn sky never delivered on either threat which just plain sucks. It sucks because, despite the hope something might have been done, the builder’s stayed away. I hate the thought that two perfect days were wasted; wasted for nothing. At least if it had of rained it wouldn’t seem as bad – at least I could curse the weather and not the builder. At the moment I feel like every sunny day has to be made the most of, especially when rain is forecast for the coming days and months.

Disclaimer: You’ve probably noticed a lot of focus of late on my lovely patch of dirt. You see, I’m desperate for things to get cracking. Please ignore my ramblings. My only excuse being I'm completely and utterly over the whole process...I want it to start and my patience has long since gone.

Hand, Foot and Mouth

On Tuesday kindy rang to tell me I would have to come and get Lily because she had a few little blisters on her feet and one on her hand. They thought she might have hand, foot and mouth (not the cow version – the children’s version). They had sent another baby home that day whom they were positive had it. It wasn’t looking good! I jumped straight on the phone and made an urgent doctor’s appointment. Luckily for me they were accommodating.

Being unable to get a hold of Trevor (close to his finishing time – but that’s a whole other story) I had to pack up, yet again, and go and get my baby. Lucky for me I have a reasonable employer who is happy (for want of a better word) to let me leave and work from home when I need to. I know that is neither here no there when talking sick kids but it does make things a little less stressful and easier to manage for me.

When I picked her up she was sleeping soundly. Meanwhile, the carers in the babies’ room were busily disinfecting and cleaning madly in the hope they could curb some outbreak. They showed me Lily’s feet – there was a grand old total of 3 blisters on her feet, nothing in her mouth and I could not see anything on her hands. Nevertheless, they thought she had it and who was I to argue.

My visit to the doctor shed no light. The doctor could not confirm whether she was infected at all, so we had to make another appointment for Wednesday and watch over night to see if she had developed any more blisters.

So we watched...and we watched...and NOTHING!

Not a single new blister – nothing. We thought for sure she would get the all clear. To our surprise, a different doctor on Wednesday thought she might have a mild case and therefore she would have to stay at home until the blisters dried up.

The blisters are minute – that is the two she has (one on each heel) are barely noticeable. It's amazing how two doctors can make completely separate diagnosis’. We have made another appointment for her on Saturday to get the all clear. Finger’s crossed for then.

In the meantime, we have been lucky and managed to juggle Lily’s ailment so I don’t have to have yet another day off work. My mother in law had her this morning until she had to go to work. Then it was off to visit Nanna at work for an hour or two until Daddy finished work at lunch time. The same process tomorrow...I have no doubt Lily loves all the attention.

Poor little Lily seems to pick up more bugs then what Byron ever did. She seems more susceptible. I wonder if she will grow out of it sooner rather then later. Byron is a trooper now. He has had barely a day off kindy through illness this year, which for a working mother is fantastic...makes things much easier to manage.