Fred’s aunt Rosemary has been here the past week with her two children, Emma and James. It’s been nice having them here. The kids got on really well. I had a lot of fun talking to Emma and doing art and crafts with her. This has caused me to look eagerly to the future when I can really get into doing that sort of stuff with Lily and Frank, assuming they’ll be interested. Rosemary et al. have gone home this afternoon so the place will seem comparatively quiet and tidy (because twice as many kids makes for at least twice as much noise and mess!) but we’ll miss them.

My canaries had 3 babies hatch today, with 2 eggs due to hatch tomorrow. I have sold all but 2 of the previous clutch youngsters and have hopefully covered the day to day costs of having them as well as part of the large cage we bought. They’re much less noisy with 3 less singers; I’m sure plenty in this house are rejoicing. But I miss the rowdiness of them all competing. If all 5 babies survive (big if), there will be more competitive twittering soon enough and I will be in bliss, cooking, eating, cleaning and doing art to the shrill vocalisations of half a dozen male canaries.

I’ve been buying more perfume, much to Fred’s dismay, bewilderment and maybe disgust. It’s partly stress, a dollop of greed, a handful of self-medication, and a desire for variety, including the associations scents give me. Depending on mood, weather, and company some scents are more appropriate than others. Fred says he usually can’t smell me, which is good. Except in bed, when I receive comments/complaints about smelling of musty prunes and old ladies as opposed to the “sweetcorn” I supposedly normally smell of (WTF? I still haven’t worked out whether he’s having me on about that). I’ve not yet worked out how much of the bedtime complaints is proximity, the fragrance, and how recently I’ve applied something. Maybe I’m crazy but perfume’s a comfort thing and that extends to sleep scents. It’s probably good bedtime routine/sleep training. I can make samples for anyone who wants to share in my obsession. I doubt any of you do but who knows.

Playcentre has been taxing this last term. I’m feeling rather ambivalent toward it. To sum up, the kids love it but I feel like it’s more about running a childcare facility than enjoying my own sacks of ferrets. And I haven’t even taken on a centre position or anything yet. Madness.

I’ve heard second hand a comment that I’m socially unskilled and probably drive people away with my rudeness. It may be true for all I know, but I’ll take comfort in the fact I’m considerably better now than when I was younger, and hope that by the time I’m 40 I’ll be a comparative master! At least I don’t pine for company between introversion and having some really good friends who I don’t spend enough time with but are there when I need them (and _hopefully_ I’m there for them too).

I should also mention my beautiful cousin Liz got married to Michael, a most genuine, lovely fellow, in March. I got to be a bridesmaid for the first time in my life and had a day of laughter, luxury and bottom pinching. There are a couple of photos on Flickr of the morning but nothing of the gorgeous ceremony and fantastic reception because I was busy attending the bride’s needs and having a jolly good time. Would have been even better with Fred there but one can’t have it all. There was an awesome 80s cover band I would have loved to dance with him to. Anyway, congratulations to Lizzycake and Michael! And thanks for the awesome shindig!

So long and thanks for all the fish.

Let’s start with how both kids are in crèche three days a week now. I get a day with each and only one day with both which makes it considerably easier. And, being a certified nutcase, it’s subsidised so we can actually afford it. Most importantly, I get two days to myself to do whatever I want!! Which is usually housework but some fun stuff too like painting or listening to music or having lunch with my husband, all of which is depressingly impossible with the “sacks of ferrets” (as Fred lovingly refers to them or at least Frank) about. I have to agree with the sack of ferrets analogy – their limbs do fight each other and they do get that angry. As long as we don’t open the sack, we’re sort of fine (until they chew their way out with their rabid, foaming mouths). I’ll leave you to work out what on earth I’m on about because I’m not entirely sure myself.

We’re coming to Wellington NEXT WEEKEND! Yaaaaay!!! It’s been over a year since we left. Fred is going to Kiwiconn and I’m going perfume shopping and nosing about. Damian, I plan to visit you on Saturday afternoon if that suits you. Do you still have the same cell? Let me know!!

I don’t have anything else to add currently except that I have canaries again and they have 11 eggs (that’s a lot, I don’t expect them to all survive) and there will hopefully be babies any day now. Very excited.

Sarah: Lily! That’s not a nice thing to do! Where did you learn that?

Lily: Nana Corinne!

Lily gives mummy a thumbs up.

In her defense, Nana Corinne claims to only have taught Lily how to give a thumbs up.
]]> http://clog.wanion.net/2009/10/28/grandparents/feed/ 0 http://clog.wanion.net/2009/09/01/frank-is-1-angela-is-leaving-i-cook-food/ http://clog.wanion.net/2009/09/01/frank-is-1-angela-is-leaving-i-cook-food/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:08:45 +0000 Sarah http://clog.wanion.net/2009/09/01/frank-is-1-angela-is-leaving-i-cook-food/ Continue reading →]]> Frank had his first birthday a week and a half ago. It went well. He had a surprising number of lovely presents given to him (home knitted wool jumper, home made quilt, books, and some great toys) and I even made a cake (Ginger cake). We took lots of photos.

Angela is going home tomorrow, sadly. She’s been a great help. I don’t think I’d have got through the last month otherwise. I wish she could stay! We’re very fortunate to have a friend like her.

We had a bit of an eighties day today wearing Opium. If I understood correctly, her mum may have worn it too. Or at least she’s got childhood associations with it.

Frank is in Auckland with my mum until Thursday to give me a break because it’s much easier with just one and he’s been biting me (mostly while breastfeeding but also having a random chomp at other times eg my thigh if I’m sitting down). Hopefully the time away will break him of this habit. He only targets me. I guess my yelps are just that funny.

I cooked pork strips for dinner tonight, trying to crisp them into crackling like my mum does. I need a lot more practice. I had a good go at scalding Angela with a splash of hot oil :o They weren’t bad for a first attempt though. It takes a bit of effort, getting back in to cooking. My timing is off and I’ve been making silly mistakes but so far my food hasn’t been so bad it’s had to be binned. Others may disagree. My baking has been mostly fine, at least. Angela is leaving with a very tasty looking carrot cake. I only forgot the walnuts, which weren’t part of the recipe. I just think carrot cake should never be without walnuts.

The last time I got a ride from Fred was on the way moving to Wellington.  Fluffy was sitting on my lap and Fred was getting him to attack my knee; I hope Lily isn’t trained so well.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, lending a hand and not having to go to work.  That’s the case at the moment anyway, in a few days I could be broken and crying for regular hours…I can’t wait!

It’s been over 9 months since we left Wellington but from tomorrow we’ll be a proper family again.

There is much to do aside from the actual moving. Though much has already been done. Have you seen our flickr photos lately?

Angela is coming to stay!

Can’t wait.

Thanks for the loan, Karl!

I woke up at 7 when Frank woke but I managed to keep him entertained while I stayed in bed. He’s been waking very frequently in the night the last week or so, worse than usual. At 8, I was surprised not to hear any activity from Lily (usually crying) but optimistically thought maybe she’s sleeping in as she was particularly tired on Monday. By 8:30, I was up and suspicious. I went in and discovered…

A disturbingly blue child.

She was oxygenated but there was a thick, blue, unmistakeably non-food substance smeared all around her face, over her clothes, and a good quantity on the duvet too. WTF. Looked like the old loo blue. Then i noticed the 200g tube in her hand. Toothpaste. “Were you eating it?” I asked, quite horrified. “Mmmmm,” she responded.

This set about a series of events. Acertaining the toxicity of toothpaste, trying to get it off her (toothpaste doesn’t rinse off that easily), and then taking her to A&E. Thankfully Mum and Fred did most of this stuff. I was busy feeling stunned (and holding Frank).

Toothpaste sounds innocent enough, right? But it can cause convulsions and heart problems. The fluoride messes with electrolyte balances. Moral: DON’T EAT TOOTHPASTE. Though Fred says an adult would need to consume more than a full tube’s worth.

We couldn’t tell how much she may have ingested. How full was the tube initially? It was now half full. How much does it take to produce that sort of coverage? Less than you’d probably think, is my guess. The large blue area surrounding the mouth, the acknowledgement of consumption, and the missing toothpaste all indicated a concerning situation.

She had to be monitored for 4 hours to make sure she wasn’t going to be affected. Her throat and mouth were irritated, so she had definitely consumed some amount. She was otherwise fine.

All of this didn’t stop her wanting Nanna Poppet’s “pimps” (mints). She seemed rather oblivious to it all, really, except for knowing she didn’t want those suspect doctors and nurses interferring with their contraptions.

It’s too easy to forget about things the kids could get in to trouble with. I’m going to have to be better about tidying things away. Especially if she continues to wake quietly.

Our laundry has never smelt so minty fresh.

It’s not fit for habitation at the moment -no water, lots of safety issues, mess everywhere but hopefully it will only be another 3 or 4 weeks now. Yep, we’ve managed to get down from always being 6 weeks from completion to about half that. It’s strange because the builders are always very active, stuff is happening and I’ve never caught them loitering. I guess we just keep deciding we want to do more? I’m not sure where the delays are coming from now.

We fucked up today. We bought 10 litres of paint. The wrong coloured paint. Long story short, it was a dumb mistake. Does anyone want 10l of ugly green weatherboard paint? Going cheap, I suspect. We can’t think of anything to use it for.

I’ve managed to save us about $2k on bathroom stuff buying off trademe. People buy lots of stuff they don’t end up using, I’ve determined. Like us and the mammoth bucket of paint, I suppose. Anyway, such savings go towards such things as… towel rails. They are damn expensive! But I’m wary of the cheapies. You’re looking at upwards of $500 for a decent heated towel ladder. As with anything, you can pay much more.

I have found a new pastime: wallpaper removal. It’s strangely enjoyable. The hall is done and I’m thinking I just may do the bedrooms too. Paint on wallpaper looks nasty anyway.

Not much to add except that I hope I get the mild strain of swine flu shortly, in case it later turns very nasty.

Oh, and I still think about adoption. Hopefully this will pass soon but it won’t be quick enough. I’d like to resume enjoying the children.

Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.

“Are you feeling all right?” I asked her.

“I feel all sleepy, ” she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.

The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her.

That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.

On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.

It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness.

Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunised are putting the lives of those children at risk.

In America, where measles immunisation is compulsory, measles like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out.

Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunised, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year.

Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another.

At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections.

About 20 will die.

LET THAT SINK IN.

Every year around 20 children will die in Britain from measles.

So what about the risks that your children will run from being immunised?

They are almost non-existent. Listen to this. In a district of around 300,000 people, there will be only one child every 250 years who will develop serious side effects from measles immunisation! That is about a million to one chance. I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.

So what on earth are you worrying about?

It really is almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised.

The ideal time to have it done is at 13 months, but it is never too late. All school-children who have not yet had a measles immunisation should beg their parents to arrange for them to have one as soon as possible.

Incidentally, I dedicated two of my books to Olivia, the first was James and the Giant Peach’. That was when she was still alive. The second was ‘The BFG’, dedicated to her memory after she had died from measles. You will see her name at the beginning of each of these books. And I know how happy she would be if only she could know that her death had helped to save a good deal of illness and death among other children.

I hope I can find this funny one day. I think it would involve forgetting how hard it was to be this tired.

I would choose the pain of scores of labours over this endless fatigue with no hesitation. Women who find labour to be the physically difficult part are SO LUCKY.