Merry Christmas

Christmas by Michael Leunig

I see a twinkle in your eye.

So this shall be my Christmas star, and I will travel to your heart:

The manger where the real things are.

And I will find a mother there

who holds you gently to her breast;

a father who protects your peace;

and by those things you shall be blessed.

And you will always be re-born;

and I will always see the star

and make the journey to your heart:

the manger where the real things are.

May you and yours have a magical Chirstmas, and may 2007 be a year of immense peace and abundance for you. With love and hope, from our family to yours.

Freya, Stephane and Will.

Fat people labels!

Ok, I am fat, so technically within my rights to post this!

Read and discuss...my thoughts to be added later.

link

brown paper packages tied up with string

these are a few of my favuorite things (from this week at any rate)

*WE are in the single digit part of the countdown to christmas

* W is old enough to stay awake and look at the christmas lights when it is actually dark!

*W's christmas concert today...so unbelievably cute!

*A package I sent to a friend in the US finally turned up, and she loved it, and it made her crappy day more bright.

* Po Po and Koung Koung are on their way- reinforcements! Whoot!

*W's new habit of saying "as you know" and "as you can see", which utterly cracks me up.

*A parcel arrived from Mexico via Canada, and much hilarity ensured...Please see photo evidence below *and thanks Kate and Andy!*

Just had to leave the dinner table and post this little W'isim!

W; Actually, I can't eat anymore of this chicken bun...I don't actually like the onion and ginger in it....

Well ex-cuh-hu-huse me...I didn't realise you were chaneling one Gordon Ramsey...

And again I shake my head and ask, who is this kid?

Oh this was a fun read!

And quite timely, given what happened in Woolies today.

W had picked up a "Pirates of the Caribbean" book to read while we were in the queue. Once the lady was done scanning groceries, I told him to go put it back...so he got down and went and put it back.

To do this, he had to move down past the trolley in the queue behind us. He looked up at the trolleys owner, said "Excuse me please" and put the book back. He came back and said "excuse me mummy, I want to go to the tractor now, ok?" and I said "sure buddy" and off he went.

The lady behind said "I wish mine would behave like that!" and the checkout lady said "it's so nice to see a child with manners!".

I said thank you, and then walked away thinking "You didn't see all those times when I called him back and made him ask for things nicely." "You didn't see the death stare and severe talking to he got the first (last, and only) time he said "shut up" to me. His behaviour is a combination of his sweet spirit, and consistency...Like Rachel Hunter told us, it won't happen overnight, but it will happen!"

The Great debate

Ok, so this came upon my mind today, whilst trying (and failing) to convince W that napping in the car is THE way to go, and that all the coolest kids nap in the car...

So we are driving along, W is playing with his dinosaurs in the backseat, and I am doing an excellent job of that most wonderful of feminine gifts, multi-tasking. I'm driving, listening to the radio, and thinking about the philosophy "Everything happens for a reason"

I was thinking back over times of trouble and stress in my life, and thinking "man, I have lived some life!" Then I got to thinking about how, if someone else were living my life, it would be quite easy for them to draw the conclusion that perhaps it was all to hard, and that maybe there wasn't a heck of a lot of point to it.

That made me feel grateful, for a lot of things, but mostly for having been raised in a way which taught me some powerful and sustaining truths, which I truly believe have shaped who I am, and how I view the world.

These are the all prevailing thoughts which are what fly through my head in the not so great times;

From Nana Lucas;
1;If God wants your attention, he drops a pebble. If you ignore the pebble, he drops a rock...Don't wait to get hit by a piano.
2; If no-one ever broke a plate, the crockery plant would go out of business.
3; Just by living her life in such a dignified way, but at the same time, not being all "holier than thou", she taught me a lot about the difference between being a woman and being a lady.

From Nana Paige;
1; There is room in every one's life for a little wallowing- channeling your inner Eeyore every now and then ain't such a bad thing.
2; You really do feel better about yourself and your place in the world when you give something back.
3; It is possible to cure the world of it's problems, provided you do so in collaboration with your best friend/s and over a cup of tea.

From my Dad;
1; God will provide
2; God loves a tryer
3; God isn't some puppet master, up there pulling strings...Life is what YOU make it.

From my Mum;
1; When you love your kids, it never leaves them, even when you do...When she died, it was right on the back of that horrible teen angst, selfish stage...
Even though I felt like I hadn't liked her for a really long time, there was a deep, abiding love there. Even through all the trouble we had, and the harshness, there was a foundation of love, which I don't think anything could have changed. I only pray I'm establishing as strong a bond with W.
2; It's never a good idea to store up hurt and anger and sadness...They're a poison, and eventually those feelings will find a way out...either with you, or in spite of you.
3; You only get one shot...Each day you're here, you are writing in the book of other people's lives, you're building memories, and creating a legacy for yourself. As cliched as it might be, I know that, because of the circumstances of her life, I live mine differently. I take risks, and holidays! I stop cleaning to snuggle my son. There is always time for one more story, and one more song.

I know that nothing will ever come before my child, and my time with him. The world of adults- work, socialising, holidays, fast cars etc will always be there...my baby will be 3 1/2 for the blink of an eye. Plenty of days are coming when he will be embarrassed to be seen with me...I have no wish to throw away these precious days when I am the centre of his world. I cherish so much the honour and responsibility I have. It honestly (for all it's drama filled blogs) is the greatest, scariest, most fulfilling thing I have ever done...and something I don't think I'd be anywhere near as passionate about if it weren't for the lessons taught by my mum's passing.

Wow, that's a lot! (hey, it was a long drive, and he NEEDED a nap!) I guess my point is that, I absolutely believe that all the good, bad and plain ugly experiences of my life so far have taught me one over-riding lesson.

It's worth holding on through the times of crushing pain, self doubt and just plain hurt. Those are the times that teach you who you really are, what is important, and who you can count on.

They cement your relationships, and erode the ones that weren't worth it anyway. Those are the times that change you for the better. Those are the times that make you sound wise and impressive when you write a blog : ) Let me know how I did!

Drama drama drama!

So, having been out of action (no playgroup, no parks, no pre-school) for a week, W itching to get back into "life" as he knows it...only now, we have been sidelined again *sigh*

But more on that later...First my rant!

W, suffering from cabin fever, decided to chanel one, or possibly both, of the Gallagher brothers, and do his best rock star impersonation on Friday morning. The scene; Freya stands at the sink washing up. W plays in the playroom with carefully selected, highly educational and stimulating toys (ok, he had the chopsticks we use when mixing noodles, and he was being a ninja)...

Cue the sound of the backdoor opening, followed by a mysterious, yet somewhat disturbing scrapping sound. Being the negligent mother she is, Freya ignores this, and calls W back inside.

Fast forward 2 hours, and the pair are preparing to leave the house, for W's "back to the real world, 1 hour playtime", with friend T

Freya; What the hell!?! W, what is this on the side of the car?

W; I don't know mummy!

F; DON'T GIVE ME I DON'T KNOW! WHY IS THE (PETROL CAP AND SIDE OF THE) CAR COVERED IN SCRATCHES?

W; I was bored mummy, and I wanted to write "baddies leave this car alone"

F; rants about the stupidity of this notion to W (internally) and externally says " I am very dissapointed that you would do something so silly! What do we write on?"0
W; "paper"

F; "Is the car made of paper?"

W; "no, metal"

F; "Should you have written on the car?"

W; "no"

F; "blah blah blah don't let it happen again" style speech

W and F go back into the house. F gets a cloth, and attempts to buff off scratches...they don't buff, but rather remain on the car, looking somewhat smug...W walks to his playroom, picks up his guitar, smashes it from above his head to the floor, and shouts "ROCK AND ROLL!" before looking at F, seeing the look on her face, and putting himself on the "naughty mat"

The pair then go back outside, enter the car and drive away, arriving a short time later at T's house.

Freya and W exit the car and walk towards T's house...Freya turns back to lock the car, and has a mild heart attack.

F; Oh my gosh! W, what the heck is on the other side of the car?

w; where?

F; Um, there, and there, and there (repeat x 10)

w; *looks nervous* I'm sorry about that mummy.

F; *bangs head into wall and mentally totals up costs for a major buff and re-spray*

In summary, W has decorated every panel of the car, in about 2-5 cm white gouges...Fabo!

So, I put that behind me, kiss W goodbye, go to my appointment, thinking I have had my share of drama for the day.

Return an hour later, pick W up, say goodbye to T's mum, wave etc...Then hear a constant sniffing. Turn around to see my 8 days post -op son sporting a geyser of blood from his nose, which is now all over his face and arms. Get tissues, try and keep him still, wait for it to stop. Get through the box of tissues. Still not stopping. Take off his shirt and use it to catch blood...still not stopping. Hmmmmmm.

Call the baby sitting agency, cancel my job which I am meant to start in two hours. Pick up Steph from bus stop on the way to the hospital (by which time, blood has stopped) Spend a thrilling 2 1/2 hours in ER, then W is admitted for overnight observation.

He finally falls asleep at 11pm, having had such adventures as not being able to find a vein in which to insert IV line, an allergic reaction to numbing cream, and his first ride in a wheelchair. He is woken at 2am for panadol, 4am for obs (during which, in his sleep, he punches a nurse on the nose, and talks about pirates and star wars droids) and 6am, again for panadol, by which time he is up for the day.

*sigh* SO, we are home again, with antibiotics. We are all set for another week of cabin fever. Once again, W will miss all his activities, a birthday party, his turn of taking home the family book, and a lot of other things which are very important to a boy who is 3. I am all set to start rocking in a corner, mumbling things under my breath, and crying into my tea! At least the house will be clean!

Now, to make this a somewhat more cheerful post, random cute shots of the "rudolph" cupcakes we made last week.