Wordless Wednesday – Child Labour

The Health Report

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Pebble is still recovering from this looooooong viral visit. I really wish it would just bugger off. This afternoon we got a glimpse of our little girl again, she started singing, dancing, chatting, running around like a mad thing. It was quite a shock actually! A shock to me and then…. .eventually…. to her. Now she has hit a wall, she looks like a zombie again, all red ringed and saggy baggy eyes, and pale blotchy cheeks.

She was diagnosed with Fifth Disease (slap face) on Friday afternoon, and since then the rash has completely disappeared. However the zombie look was constant, along with no appetite, until Sunday afternoon. It was so good to see her enjoy a little meat feast at Grandad David’s BBQ birthday lunch! This morning Paul and I were still very unimpressed with her progress though, and a bit worried about her little pale and tired face. I dragged her to the doctors again (that’s three times in a week, if you’re counting). He was very reassuring, she checked out fine, he said she’s just still recovering from the virus. So, we wait. A few more days he says, and she should be completely healthy again.

Meanwhile, Pebble had her very first dentist appointment today. She was a super star and it was no drama at all. I also had my first dental appointment for about two years….. and boy, do I know about it! I’ve always had healthy teeth, and very little need for attention (except for that whole ‘braces’ thing in my teens). This time it seems I’ve pushed things too far and I’m paying the price – I actually can’t even tell you how many fillings I need and what kind they are, I literally lost count. She said I could have two appointments or four to get the work done. I opted to get it over and done with, so two it is. Just before Christmas. Ho, ho ho.

Have you had your teeth checked recently?

Spots

We’re seeing spots around here lately. Yesterday afternoon Pebble came up with a rash (déjà vu). She’s been a little more clingy, and a little less into food, but other wise ok. The doc says it’s a viral rash, and there’s not much we can do. One of her ears is slighty red and fluidy too, and she’s been grabbing at the other one (strange enough) today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, and we’re booked in for a follow up docs appointment in the arvo.

Of course, this means no child care, so it has been Super Gran and Super Dad to the rescue this week. Grandma looked after Pebble on Wednesday, as usual, then they both took care of her Wednesday night while I was at a Dyslexia information night (two students diagnosed last term), Paul had today off work with her, and tonight he played super daddy again while I went to a loooooooong awaited hair appointment. Bless their cotton socks, I don’t know where I’d be without them both. I am a lucky mummy. You can count this as this week’s grateful!

I’m coming off the back of two long days at work and two busy nights, with Sports Day to look forward to tomorrow, so I’m taking myself to bed very shortly. Go Kookaburras!

 

Point + Shoot–Water Play

Water + Paint Brush + Warm Weather = Toddler Fun!

It was early on Sunday morning and Pebble as keen to get outside with Daddy, who was getting ready for some hard work. The weather was just warming up, slowly making it’s way to a top of 31 degrees. As you can see, it was perfect weather for party shoes and that ever present tutu! I just shrug my shoulders and say, sure kid, knock yourself out! If wearing a tutu keeps her happy, then I’m happy.

We used a teeny tiny bucket of water to paint stripes, spots, and shapes, then to make little “puddles” for jumping in. Then Pebble discovered the nearby garden bed filled with wonderful, filthy dirt! She dipped the wet brush into the dirt and was amazed to see the dirt stuck to the brush. Daddy suggested that she rinse the brush in the bucket….. she was delighted to see the dirt wash away and that became the game for the next few moments.

More fun was found in rinsing out the dirty water and replacing it with clean water. I tipped the dirty water into the edge of the garden, where Pebble found another muddy puddle to poke the brush, as well as a down pipe to explore.

These are the corners of our garden that I never pay attention to. I would never have noticed that perfect little spot, right on the edge of the lawn, that was just waiting to be made into a muddy puddle. In fact, I had never noticed that the down pipe was chipped … how did that happen?

Thank you Pebble, for opening my eyes up to a whole new world, right outside our back door.

You can join in with Point + Shoot at Lou’s place.

Brain Washed

“Football, Mummy! Daddy’s football!”.

“Daddy’s! Daddy’s! Football. Kicking. Kicking! Hooray!!!!!”.

My child has been indoctrinated into the world of English Premier League Football. Help. Me.

Having a chat

With her bedtime posse.

Pebble is just so chatty these days, she’s always telling me this or that, naming things, asking about things, explaining things. She’s only just started to occasionnally use three word sentences instead of always two word sentences, and she communicates so much with those few words – not to mention the emphatic gestures and intonation. For example:“GO ‘WAY MUMMY” (grand sweeping arm movements). Just lovely. Or: “want to, want to” (with a big sulky frown, and which actually means ‘I don’t want to’). 

Tonight at dinner, however, I got some much friendlier conversation.

Me: Who did you play with at Toddler House today?
Pebble: Um, Ayex (Alex, primary carer)
M: Who else?
P: Nona (Fiona, primary carer)
M: Anyone else?
P: Um. Kids.
M: Can you tell me the kids names?/
P: Ummmmm. Yockie (Lockie – I assume!).
M: Did you play in the sandpit today?
P: (nods) dig, dig (digging motion)
M: Who played in the sandpit?
P: Ayex
M: Did you do some painting today?
P: (nods)
M: What did you paint?
P: Boo (blue)
M: Blue? That sounds nice.
P: (thinks for a minute) Red!
M: Red too?
P: pink!
M: What did you have for lunch today?
P: Soup. Dink It.
M: What else?
P: Bed (bread). Sweep (sleep).
M: Did you sleep at Toddler House?
P: (nods and makes snoring sounds).

This whole exchange was relaxed and chatty, while we ate our dinner and hung out. We often have little chats but this time it really felt like she understood everything I was saying. Usually she understands a little bit, and then we get something lost in translation and she’ll start talking about something totally random. I’m going to lap every little bit of this up before she starts answering these daily questions with “nothing” and “dunno”.

What’s the dinner table conversation like at your place?

Pebble – 21 months

Dear Pebble

Twenty one months! You are nearly two, but it seems like you’re really two already. You are so independent, so VERY independent. Everything is “me do”, “me turn”. And you can do nearly everything yourself (as long as mummy is patient). Here are some of the things that you’re doing and loving and saying these days:

You love:

• dancing and wearing your dancing skirt
• drawing
• playing with “bes fens” (best friends)
• hide and seek (still!)
• taking baths with your toys
• playing “oside” (outside)
• going to the park
• play dough
• playing at your grandparents houses
• shopping!
• reading books with mummy and daddy
• sleeping with your big teddy, little teddy AND baby
• eating pasta, rice, cheese, peas and grapes (some things never change)
• to have control over everything, all the time
• cuddles in bed with mummy and daddy
• playing “etend” (pretend - shopping, eating, driving, mummies and babies)
• help mummy do jobs around the house (dust, pack up toys, refill the toilet paper holder, hang out washing, put your dishes in the sink, put your rubbish in the bin)
• kicking a ball
• Peppa Pig. LOTS of Peppa Pig

You don’t like

• being told what to do
• getting into or out of the bath. the middle bit is fun
• putting your head under the water in swimming lessons
• having your nappy changed (since birth!)
• getting dressed (unless it’s in a “serk” (skirt)
• big groups of people. It takes you a while to warm up

You have learned to:

• sit still while you have your hair washed (YAY!)
• count to ten with help from mum or dad
• say almost any word that you want
• say your favourite words much more clearly
• say three words in a sentence
• climb almost anything
• brush you teeth pretty well by yourself
• climb into your car seat on your own
• sing lots of nursery rhymes
• do all the actions to Justine Clarke’s ‘Dancing Face’
• try lots of new foods, even if you decide that you don’t like them
• do a ‘fluff’ on demand whenever you hear anyone else do one (not Mummy, of course)
• sleep in your own big bed through the night sometimes
• take off your own clothes
• say please nearly every time when you ask for something

You are an absolute pleasure, we laugh and learn with you every day. We love you xx

With love from

How did I get here?

Yesterday I had a few little jobs to do – quick grocery shop, make dinner, tidy the house, take care of the kid. No big deal. In between throwing loads of washing in and out of the machine I whisked Pebble off to the supermarket to get the ingredients for dinner. She insisted on wearing her ‘dancing skirt’ over the top of her trackies, as she does almost every day lately. I couldn’t be bothered getting dressed properly myself, and chose to go out in my mummy uniform of charcoal work out pants (I don’t even know what to call these – trackies meet yoga pants and have a baby), an old, super faded t-shirt with a few holes in it (no bra – gasp!), and my black hoodie that was NOT coming off under any circumstances.

Of course this would be the day that:

a) I bump into one of the parents and a student from my class. A gorgeous family, honestly, they are such treasures. I just wished I was wearing a bra.

b) Pebble wets her pants – the nappy was dry, it was bizarre!

c) I don’t bring a change of clothes out with us.

d) I don’t pack a snack (she’s an EATING MACHINE right now!).

So there where are, in the car park at Woolies with my kid in a tutu and sneakers, stuffing her face with a bread roll. She was having a lovely time.  Sometimes you just have to laugh at life. Then other times you just have to learn how to prepare to leave the house with a toddler. For heaven’s sake woman, have you learned nothing in the last 20 months?

That’s why I write this blog – so I don’t forget moments like these. Gold.

Point + Shoot: Boo

Yesterday Pebble and I hung out at my dad’s place. That’s Grandad and Nana ‘Nette to you. Her cousins invited her to play Hide and Seek. It’s her favourite game. Still, she needed a little persuading. The poor kid was in a mood, perhaps just tired, maybe teeth, maybe she had her period. Who knows? Still, she joined in eventually. It was her turn to hide. The cousins counted as she dashed inside and found her hiding place. Are you ready? Here it is:

I love how pleased with herself she looks.

Just to be clear, we were all outside in the courtyard, where the cousins were counting. Pebble was hiding behind the screen door. The glass screen door. Which is made of GLASS.

Her eldest cousin, age 6, was so perplexed by this hiding spot that he walked right up to her, stared at her, then walked away. This only made Pebble grin wider, as she thought she’d found the BEST hiding spot EVER! She was invisible!

I’m playing Point + Shoot with Sunny + Scout. Make sure you go and see what others are Pointing + Shooting too. Lou has an AMAZING peacock photo this week. Such a clever lady.

30 Second Craft

Get one dolly peg.

Shove some tissue paper in it’s crack.

Draw a smiley face on it’s head.

Play.

Potatoes and Blackbirds

Saturday, 1st October was Potato Appreciation Day. Some of my friends have interesting ideas for get togethers, usually revolving around food. There has been Over Eating Fest (my personal favourite), Turducken Fest, Minge Fest (don’t ask), Mac&Cheese Fest…. and the latest was Potato Appreciation Day, otherwise known as PAD.

Paul and I were planning to attend the festivities as a family, but given Pebble’s cough-vom status we decided to keep her at home, away from other people and giving her a rest. Paul stayed home to look after her, because vom don’t clean itself up now, does it? I found myself in a rare situation – an afternoon all to myself to hang out with my friends! I packed a couple of beers and a gorgeously brown and bubbly tray of freshly cooked potato dauphinoise and off I went.

This celebration was significantly smaller than we have seen in previous years, probably owing to a) some big football game happened to be on the same day, and b) we’re all older and several of us are carrying extra baggage in the form of small people. There was a lot less beer and shots and lot more juice and softies filling up the drinks tub. How things change!

Best.  Wedges. Ever.

Not potatoes.

Potato Dauphinoise and Potato and Leek dip with mountain bread, snags, potato crown.

Potato dip with veg, potato chips and crackers

Sweet Potato Cheesecake (does not contain coffee)

Yum!

Forget Baby Bjorn – this is the real deal!

Homemade Spuds (dessert)

It was much fun and I am still full.

Meanwhile Pebble is still recovering from this loooooooooooong bout of shitty sickness. Amazingly she slept beautifully last night, the best sleep she’s had for months and months, sick or not. She stayed in her own bed until 5.30am-ish!!!! Then came into our bed and slept for another hour. Unfortunately on waking she is still very flat, pale and she’s off her food. She’s even refusing her bottle!

We’re expecting our friends over for dinner tonight, along with their two little ones. Time to make a phone call and let them know the sitch. Grrrr. So over it!

There is always a silver lining and here is todays…. she’s not too sick to sing! Pebble is just starting to join in with singing songs, usually singing the last word in each line. Her very favourite this week is ‘Sing a song of six pence’ which is in a little book I bought for $1 at an Op Shop.

Enjoy.

Vomit

I'm laying on our lounge room floor with Pebble right now. We are both knackered after are night of her coughing then vomiting then coughing then vomiting then... well you get the idea. That's how you get the BEST eye bags. See?

Three changes of pjs for her, one for me. One change of sheets. One daddy running around cleaning in four vom-splashed rooms (nothing like spreading it around!). One mummy cuddling one teary and stinky little girl.

WHAT do you do when it's 1am and your child has vom in their hair BUT they hate having their hair washed so much that the cry hard enough to induce vomiting? Ugh.

So far the light of day has seen no more vomit, but one very tired and clingy kid. I'm doing things solo this morning while Paul helps his brother with car stuff. I'm supposed to be making potato dauphinoise for Potato Appreciation Day at a friends house. More on that later (I hope).

Needless to say Pebble will not be joining the celebrations.

This day can only get better!

Bagged

Pebble received a little gift last week. Her Nana ‘Nette made her a library bag, made to just the right size so that Pebble can carry it over her shoulder all by herself.

Pebble has been loving her new toy and today we toddled around the house pretending to be at the shops. She bought some ‘nana’, ‘beetbix’, corn, ‘muk’, and ‘bed’ (banana, weetbix, corn, milk and bread). She put her groceries in the bag and paid the ‘yadee’ (lady) with money and then repeated it all again. And again. And again.

Thank goodness she understands and follows the “just one more” law. Last one. Just one more. I love me some play time but that kid can keep going and going and going.

Bliss amongst chaos

One of the shinier moments of the day
(ps.photo taken with my Samsung Galaxy. Untouched, no fancy tools, just the phone camera. How amazing is technology these days?)

What a strange day! It started so cool and crisp, I bundled Pebble and I up, but before I knew it the sun was shining and I had a Hills Hoist weighed down with laundry. But enough about laundry. Honestly, I’ll have to start getting some sponsorship from Omo or something, with the frequency of my posts on the topic.

Pebble’s cough is going on and on and on. She’s quite happy in between times, but naps and sleeps are broken (both hers and mine), and the snot is free flowing. Her mood crashed big time this afternoon. She was laughing then she was CRYING, then she was giggling, then she was SCREAMING, she was calmly playing, then she was SO FRUSTRATED. I think this bug that she’s caught is starting to take it’s toll on her.

This morning we just had her all packed up ready to go to Grandma’s for the morning so that I could clean house. We’ve only had two run throughs of this new routine so far and I’m already addicted. I have come to rely on it, my house is home to dust bunnies and they must be chased away. So there was Pebble, sitting in her car seat, ready to go. I lean in for a kiss, but she’s a bit distressed about having to get off the swing and get in the car. She cried, she coughed, she cried, she coughed, she coughed and coughed and coughed and BLEAUGH!……… and BLEEEAAAUUUGH! Vom. Everywhere.

Out the car. Strip off the clothes. Wipe the tears. On with more clothes. Laughing and making BLEAUGH sounds, to make light of the situation. She thought it was quite hilarious. Until she bumped her head on her book case. She CRIED.

What a way to start the day! We decided to plough on and continue with the plan. She was fine, Grandma would take care of her, she’s fine, fine, fine. Byeeeeeee! She was gone. I called them a couple of hours later but I got no answer, which meant they’re out for one of their walks. No probs, all good.

Meanwhile I whizzed around the house, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, washing, hanging, collecting, folding, scrubbing, wiping, tidying. I sat at my desk googling, reading, planning, writing, making notes for our next inquiry unit at school, getting excited about it. With about an hour left, and still a few little jobs to do I though YES. This is MY time.

I did something that I haven’t done in two and a half years. Not since I got pregnant with Pebble. I had a bath. Hot water. Bubbles. Trashy mags (thanks to the friend I visited yesterday!). BLISS. Thirty minutes of soaking and flicking through glossies before jumping out, quickly scrubbing the shower and throwing on some clothes to pick up Pebble. I felt so good after that bath. And after all that cleaning and planning. Everything was new again!

But. There had to be a but, right? Pebble had fun at Grandma’s and she was doing pretty well. Then the arvo was whittled away with some grocery shopping, dinner preparation, and some play in the back yard. But the cough was getting worse, the mood was getting more intense, the snot was flowing more freely. She was hot and clammy and everything was going wrong!  She couldn’t get her baby doll to do what she wanted, she couldn’t get the doll house people to sit just so, she screamed her way through a bath (that’s actually pretty normal) and sobbed her way through one (or ten) too many tantrums.

She’s in bed now, but the monitor is crackling with the sound of her coughing. I have already resettled her once. I have a feeling that I’m on borrowed time here tonight and I’ll be cuddling her in our bed before I know it, propped up with pillows, trying to sleep with a light shining on my face. A light? Well, that’s a story for another day.

I hope you get a better sleep that we will around these parts.

The view from here

This was the view from my back yard today. This was actually the worst view of the day, believe it or not. The sky cleared up and it was a brilliant clear blue all afternoon. I do like the pattern of the clouds though.

I’m not quite happy-shiny today, but I do have a better outlook on things compared to yesterday.

For starters, Pebble kicked arse at swimming. To give some background we’ve endured about four weeks of clingy, “NO”, “I’ll do it myself, my way” swimming lessons, with refusal to put her head under when she used to swim three seconds under water. It hasn’t really been a biggie, we’re there for fun and to learn a bit about water safety. The instructor doesn’t push it, and neither do I. We adapt and go with the flow and it’s all good.

However. TODAY Pebble was a star swimmer and she was loving it. Well, she always loves it, but today she seemed really proud of herself and her clever swimming skills. She was under, she was kicking, she was floating, she was diving, she was running and jumping in, she was blowing real bubbles for the first time and she was happy, happy, happy.

The arvo flew by, we had an appointment for our car which meant I had to leave it in the shop for about an hour. An hour at the nearby park felt like a really looooong prospect. The park is great, it’s fun, she loves it, but it’s just so DONE. Instead, we trundled to the library, we hadn’t been there for ages. She climbed on the mini-train, played with the bead puzzle, refused to read any books (of course) and we borrowed some new books for home.

Then we went to the park, and I was surprised to bump into two people that I kind of know and I had a chat with them while Pebble went wild on the equipment. She’s getting to the age where she can do everything herself if there is the right kind of equipment. In fact, she MUST do everything herself. I was told to “way, way” and she shooed me. Like a pesky fly. Lovely.

Three days of work ahead of me, I’m actually looking forward to it. A few days of teaching will well and truly knock the MEH out of me! Not looking forward to the child care drop offs, but that’s another story.

Ground Hog Day

Yeah, I am blessed. I am a very, very lucky woman (am I really a WOMAN? That sounds SO grown up). I’m grateful for my wonderful life. I mean that.

But can I tell you a secret? Sometimes it. is. just. so. BORING.

I have a friend who’s motto (one of many, actually) is “boring people get bored”.

So maybe I’m a boring person. But sometimes the whole nappies, dishes, washing, grocery shopping, various government/doctors/whatever office waiting areas, pushing swings, hide-and-sodding-seek (oh my god, I’m so bored with hide and seek!), chalk drawing, yet another play on yet another pay-per-ride (we never, ever PAY for that ride), The.Never.Ending.Teacher.Prep, the present buying, the cooking of the dinner, the more with the teacher prep.

Maybe I’m just riding the crimson wave, but today I had a serious case of the MEHs.

Meh to it all.

I love that kid, love her to bits and pieces. Sure we had some laughs today. We laugh every day. And sometimes, occasionally, her new hiding place is cute. And I’ll never, ever get bored with the cuddles. Ever.

See, I can’t help buy segue* to how freakin cute she is. But somebody, PLEASE, tell me they will lose their shit if they get one more request to blow a bubble?*

* I totally had to look up the spelling of that word. I tried ‘segway’. A different thing entirely, as it happens.

** I reserve the right to find my happy-shiny again and potentially post happy-shiny photos. Of bubbles. And hide and seek. And talk about how much I loved it.