That the playground at Northland is back. It was packed away so that the santa photo place could fit in. The last time we were here, Ivy was not walking.
Monday, January 25, 2010
We are happy
That the playground at Northland is back. It was packed away so that the santa photo place could fit in. The last time we were here, Ivy was not walking.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Teeth again
I had prepared for this, but you know that preparation thing, it's usually no use.
The girls each grew six teeth when they were seven months old. They've both had four on top, two on bottom ever since. Until this week, that is.
Hazel now has a new molar, plus one or three new incisors (hard to tell), plus another molar about to break through, plus maybe another two molars not far behind. She's been justifiably shitty about this.
Ivy has a new incisor I think, plus about ten molars about to erupt out of her head in all directions.
The last four nights have been dire, and I am back in that Place, the Place where everything has a thin glowy rainbow halo, and my eye sockets ache, and my brain is set on Mute. I didn't visit my sister & mum yesterday because I am clearly not safe to drive more than a few minutes.
We bought a new twin stroller today, to replace the one I lost. Did I mention that I lost our stroller?
I lost our stroller last week. I loaded the kids into the car, then I loaded in the shopping, then I just drove off!
I didn't realise until late the next day that it was gone. I rang Trudi at work to ask where she had put it. We worked out what I must have done.
In a lot of ways I hated that stroller in comparison to our Mountain Buggy, but at least I could lift the damn thing into the car without having to make an osteo appointment. And it was expensive!
My mum has lent me her twin stroller. It's a much cheaper thing, which a friend gave to her. It's pretty horrible to drive in comparison to the one I lost, but it's better than nothing.
So what do I do the other day?
I loaded the kids into the car, then the shopping, then I drove off without the loaner pram. This time, I realised about 2 minutes later, then zipped back to pick it up. It was still sitting there, lonely, waiting for me. THIS TIME.
Today Trudi tactfully asked me "What do you think you could do differently, so you don't lose another pram?". Because I am not a horrible person, I didn't bark "get some sleep!" Anyway, this happened before the teething thing, so I was fairly well rested.
And so to bed.
The girls each grew six teeth when they were seven months old. They've both had four on top, two on bottom ever since. Until this week, that is.
Hazel now has a new molar, plus one or three new incisors (hard to tell), plus another molar about to break through, plus maybe another two molars not far behind. She's been justifiably shitty about this.
Ivy has a new incisor I think, plus about ten molars about to erupt out of her head in all directions.
The last four nights have been dire, and I am back in that Place, the Place where everything has a thin glowy rainbow halo, and my eye sockets ache, and my brain is set on Mute. I didn't visit my sister & mum yesterday because I am clearly not safe to drive more than a few minutes.
We bought a new twin stroller today, to replace the one I lost. Did I mention that I lost our stroller?
I lost our stroller last week. I loaded the kids into the car, then I loaded in the shopping, then I just drove off!
I didn't realise until late the next day that it was gone. I rang Trudi at work to ask where she had put it. We worked out what I must have done.
In a lot of ways I hated that stroller in comparison to our Mountain Buggy, but at least I could lift the damn thing into the car without having to make an osteo appointment. And it was expensive!
My mum has lent me her twin stroller. It's a much cheaper thing, which a friend gave to her. It's pretty horrible to drive in comparison to the one I lost, but it's better than nothing.
So what do I do the other day?
I loaded the kids into the car, then the shopping, then I drove off without the loaner pram. This time, I realised about 2 minutes later, then zipped back to pick it up. It was still sitting there, lonely, waiting for me. THIS TIME.
Today Trudi tactfully asked me "What do you think you could do differently, so you don't lose another pram?". Because I am not a horrible person, I didn't bark "get some sleep!" Anyway, this happened before the teething thing, so I was fairly well rested.
And so to bed.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
My daughters
My daughters MY DAUGHTERS my daughters slept all night until 7:30am without waking in the night.
My daughters each have three or more new teeth coming through. They are on very different schedules, physically, but for some reason they do teeth in lock-step.
My daughters run in different directions when we are in public and I am the only growup.
But mainly, my daughters slept all night without waking until 7:30am.
My daughters each have three or more new teeth coming through. They are on very different schedules, physically, but for some reason they do teeth in lock-step.
My daughters run in different directions when we are in public and I am the only growup.
But mainly, my daughters slept all night without waking until 7:30am.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Contract
It's been a big week. Rooster-girl, the lost pram, and now the roof.
Our roof is made of 57-year-old concrete tiles, which are brittle and let some rain in. We decided to get it replaced rather than re-sealed, and then found a roofing company that would put on a new roof, replace the gutters, and also install a 10,000 litre rainwater tank.
The tank will be a right shit to get into our backyard. It won't fit down the driveway, so they would have to hurl it over the back fence from the laneway. Happily, they agreed, and we signed the contract. Canny Trudi insisted on a clause about how it all had to be finished by the end of next week.
Yesterday no materials were delivered as we had been told to expect. Trudi's calls went unanswered. Today she got to talk with Roger the Quoter, who has been a very bad boy. He tells us that they are happy to start the job on Monday, only a day later than planned, so long as we give them an extra $2000.
!
Roger made a mistake in his quote, so they want us to pay the difference. We are totally un-keen on that option. There is a standard clause in the contract that says that they don't have to do the job if they decide that it is not in their interests to do so. Which I think is not very good.
Not sure what we are entitled to here. Stay tuned for details of the arguments Trudi will have with poor hang-dog Roger and his boss. Roger seems very embarrassed and sorry, but that doesn't get us a new roof.
Our roof is made of 57-year-old concrete tiles, which are brittle and let some rain in. We decided to get it replaced rather than re-sealed, and then found a roofing company that would put on a new roof, replace the gutters, and also install a 10,000 litre rainwater tank.
The tank will be a right shit to get into our backyard. It won't fit down the driveway, so they would have to hurl it over the back fence from the laneway. Happily, they agreed, and we signed the contract. Canny Trudi insisted on a clause about how it all had to be finished by the end of next week.
Yesterday no materials were delivered as we had been told to expect. Trudi's calls went unanswered. Today she got to talk with Roger the Quoter, who has been a very bad boy. He tells us that they are happy to start the job on Monday, only a day later than planned, so long as we give them an extra $2000.
!
Roger made a mistake in his quote, so they want us to pay the difference. We are totally un-keen on that option. There is a standard clause in the contract that says that they don't have to do the job if they decide that it is not in their interests to do so. Which I think is not very good.
Not sure what we are entitled to here. Stay tuned for details of the arguments Trudi will have with poor hang-dog Roger and his boss. Roger seems very embarrassed and sorry, but that doesn't get us a new roof.
I am a nong
I'm not even breastfeeding any more, and I am a big nong with no way to excuse it with Hormones.
The level of my nongyness unveiled itself when I was getting ready to leave the house yesterday afternoon. The plan was to drive to Moreland train station, meet Ange and her kids, then get on the train to the zoo. I was running late, and when I took our bag out to the car, I saw that there were no prams in the boot. An aside: we have three prams. One is a 4WD thing with big wheels that is lovely to drive but heavy and a shit to get in and out of the car. The next is lighter, smaller, a bit annoying to drive, but I can get it in and out of the car without having to make an osteopath appointment. The third one is a little light stroller. Did I mention that the other two are doubles? Well of course they are.
So there were no prams in the car, and I couldn't see one in the carport. I rang Trudi, who was in a meeting. I assumed that she had moved them all to a secure location for a good reason. She said the single pram was on a shelf in the carport (it was), the 4WD pram was in the house as usual (it was), but she thought the other pram was in the car. I took the single stroller and wore Ivy on my back in a sling. All fine, we had a great afternoon, but where was the bloody stroller?
The most likely story is that I drove off without it, after shopping for toys and books at Savers, a few days ago. Seems most likely. How ridiculous is that! I would have unloaded the toys and books into the car, then shifted the girls into their car seats, then just driven off, leaving our forlorn stroller on the footpath. I feel guilty for not liking it more, now.
Mum has a similar but much cheaper double stroller that was given to her, and I am going to trial it this weekend. I hope hope hope it's OK to drive and doesn't chop off my finger when I'm collapsing it. Trudi is checking eBay to see if someone is selling our pram. I have written our name and phone number on our other prams.
The level of my nongyness unveiled itself when I was getting ready to leave the house yesterday afternoon. The plan was to drive to Moreland train station, meet Ange and her kids, then get on the train to the zoo. I was running late, and when I took our bag out to the car, I saw that there were no prams in the boot. An aside: we have three prams. One is a 4WD thing with big wheels that is lovely to drive but heavy and a shit to get in and out of the car. The next is lighter, smaller, a bit annoying to drive, but I can get it in and out of the car without having to make an osteopath appointment. The third one is a little light stroller. Did I mention that the other two are doubles? Well of course they are.
So there were no prams in the car, and I couldn't see one in the carport. I rang Trudi, who was in a meeting. I assumed that she had moved them all to a secure location for a good reason. She said the single pram was on a shelf in the carport (it was), the 4WD pram was in the house as usual (it was), but she thought the other pram was in the car. I took the single stroller and wore Ivy on my back in a sling. All fine, we had a great afternoon, but where was the bloody stroller?
The most likely story is that I drove off without it, after shopping for toys and books at Savers, a few days ago. Seems most likely. How ridiculous is that! I would have unloaded the toys and books into the car, then shifted the girls into their car seats, then just driven off, leaving our forlorn stroller on the footpath. I feel guilty for not liking it more, now.
Mum has a similar but much cheaper double stroller that was given to her, and I am going to trial it this weekend. I hope hope hope it's OK to drive and doesn't chop off my finger when I'm collapsing it. Trudi is checking eBay to see if someone is selling our pram. I have written our name and phone number on our other prams.
The rooster is gone to a happy rooster farm where all the roosters play together in a big green field
This week Trudi and I agreed that the smallest chook, the one with the attitude, was looking a bit rooster-y. She was mounting and being bossy, and then one morning she crowed.
This morning I took him back to the breeder. She opened the lid of the box, glanced in for a picosecond, then said Oh Yep Definitely A Rooster. I think that means that we are useless first-time chicken owners, who let this whole is-she-a-rooster thing go on for far too long. Well she didn't say that, but that's how I read the situation. So she took him back, and gave us a new hen, who is now being pecked and shouted at by the three old hands.
The rooster will either stay with the breeder (he is awfully pretty), or go to one of those travelling children's farms, where he will be patted mercilessly. Could have been worse. "Worse" is being dinner for a zoo inmate.
This morning I took him back to the breeder. She opened the lid of the box, glanced in for a picosecond, then said Oh Yep Definitely A Rooster. I think that means that we are useless first-time chicken owners, who let this whole is-she-a-rooster thing go on for far too long. Well she didn't say that, but that's how I read the situation. So she took him back, and gave us a new hen, who is now being pecked and shouted at by the three old hands.
The rooster will either stay with the breeder (he is awfully pretty), or go to one of those travelling children's farms, where he will be patted mercilessly. Could have been worse. "Worse" is being dinner for a zoo inmate.
Monday, January 11, 2010
It's going to be 43ºC
So the chickens are inside. The weather people think it might get to 45ºC. Last time we brought the chickens inside, they had a lovely time in the shower. There was shit right up the walls. Yes, I mentioned poo. Good morning!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
My life is so exciting
I took this video a couple of days ago. It seemed full of portent at the time. Not so much now.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Ivy charges around
Today was hot so we went to the museum, where we met Ange & Toby.
The kids hooned around in The Box, which is a kid-focused room with all sorts of stuff to look at and play with. It is great. Hazel gets all passionate and runs from thing to thing, fiddly with the drawers of butterflies under glass, whacking the button that plays the sound of an emu, and running up to the life-size model seals to fondle their noses.
Last time Ivy was in a clingy mood, and did not venture far from the stalacmite display:
This time, she was in Walking mode. The stalacmites got another workout, plus she marched (rather, lurched) from end to end of The Box.
We went into a kids performance called Wild Party which I'm sure would be lovely for bigger kids, but we got scared when everyone had to roar like a lion, and bored at the rest. A bloke played a guitar for a while which Hazel seemed to like.
After we'd wandered in the museum for a bit, we went outside to a lame "artistic" playground that was badly designed (no handrails on the ramp, weird steps, lots of sharp edges) and so it had to have a sign saying that it was not for kids under five. But our three kids (all under two) loved it. Ivy walked up and down the shallow ramp, up and down, back and forth, turning around at the top and mostly not falling over.
Time to go and make up the bottles for tomorrow.
The kids hooned around in The Box, which is a kid-focused room with all sorts of stuff to look at and play with. It is great. Hazel gets all passionate and runs from thing to thing, fiddly with the drawers of butterflies under glass, whacking the button that plays the sound of an emu, and running up to the life-size model seals to fondle their noses.
Last time Ivy was in a clingy mood, and did not venture far from the stalacmite display:
This time, she was in Walking mode. The stalacmites got another workout, plus she marched (rather, lurched) from end to end of The Box.
We went into a kids performance called Wild Party which I'm sure would be lovely for bigger kids, but we got scared when everyone had to roar like a lion, and bored at the rest. A bloke played a guitar for a while which Hazel seemed to like.
After we'd wandered in the museum for a bit, we went outside to a lame "artistic" playground that was badly designed (no handrails on the ramp, weird steps, lots of sharp edges) and so it had to have a sign saying that it was not for kids under five. But our three kids (all under two) loved it. Ivy walked up and down the shallow ramp, up and down, back and forth, turning around at the top and mostly not falling over.
Time to go and make up the bottles for tomorrow.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Another weird thing for sale at Safeway
This was just before Christmas. They must have hoped that these would be really popular gifts.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The sleep negotiations continue
The girls are on their way to having only one nap a day. This is exciting and scary for me. Exciting - we get to go to morning events, such as the 9:30 am book reading at the library. Scary - just one block of time in which to Get Things Done.
Today they went to bed at 11:15 am. I hope they have a nice long 2-hour nap. They will be ravenous when they wake. I will have to kill the fatted calf I think.
Today they went to bed at 11:15 am. I hope they have a nice long 2-hour nap. They will be ravenous when they wake. I will have to kill the fatted calf I think.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The sourdough adventure continues
I have made a lot of awful bread lately. This one looks nice. It rose which is always good. Now I am standing here admiring the lovely golden stripes of crust, and the paler slashes. It is just bread!
Ivy walks
Ivy has been knee-walking for ages now. She has red bruised knees, but she seems fine with that.
Here's Ivy's first session of unprompted walking. She's taken a few steps between us, when we've set her up, but this is the first time she wanted to do it herself.
Ivy still does not walk much. Her confidence is increasing slowly, and one of these days she'll run from me in the opposite direction from Hazel while we are in a playground with a busy road on one side and a lake on the other. But I am fine with that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)