A Weighty issue

Ever since little El joined us in the world 18 months ago I have done practically no exercise. So I am currently planning just how to do some exercise. A gym is out I would never get there, walking is not really exercise with three little ones in tow. Can't really rely on Mr A to watch the kids as his work hours are too unpredictable. Meanwhile I get fatter, my heart with its dodgy valve works harder, and I feel miserable!

So we are thinking of getting a treadmill. So that instead of sitting down watching tv in the evenings I can walk and watch tv! Problems with this 1. the cost (which I think can be overcome). 2. little fingers don't really mix with treadmills very well. So walking has to be done when miss El is asleep or we need some sort of fence around it - which I'm not sure is possile? and 3 If the treadmill is right there will I actually use it or just look at it while I watch tv? I know I will use it at first but what about in 6 months or a year? Anyway I guess I will find out - if we get one!


Miss El has had a mysterious temperature for 48 hours now. Not really sure what is going on. She is very clingy though. It shouldn't be anything too bad as she is still on antibiotics. Hopefully it will just disappear and be a distant memory. Clinic is two weeks away and her appetitie has dropped again so will have to see how that goes.

J for the first time is loving reading himself!! It is so exciting. He said he would rather wait in the car and read his book then come with us - until he discovered we were at toyworld!!

I spent some time with just Em yesterday which was wonderful, being the middle child can be difficult. ( I should know!! ) I am quite worried about her, she is very withdrawn at the moment. I am making an effort to spend a little extra time with her and tell her often that I love her. But a little lost as to the cause of her closed in nature.

Excited to be going skating this afternoon!!! My favourite thing to do.

Contemplating

I could not sleep last night for the silliest reason. I suddenly had this fear that if there was a fire J wouldn't know what to do! He is at the other end of the house to us and I guess i was just panicking. Anyway, I came up with a plan, we are going to have fire escape practice for him. Ok problem solved! Well that problem was solved, then I heard creaking which I thought was the huge gum tree outside our bedroom about to fall on us! It turned out to be just slight rain on the tin roof! Ok problem solved.

Then Miss El woke up and came for a cuddle and I started thinking how unfair it all is. For this little girl to have such a horrible mistake in her genetic make up. Then I remembered reading a verse that says God created me and knit me together in my mother's womb (something like that a psalm I think). So then I was asking God why did he make her like this? He could have stopped it, or given her to someone else. But he didn't. So after my anger and my tears, was not feeling the best. Then checked a blog that I have been following for a while http://www.gavinowens.com/ They recently lost their 3 year old son to mitochondrial disease, and she wrote this:


Choosing to believe that God directs our life path takes a whole heck of a lot of pressure off of us as incredibly flawed humans.


So although El has CF, God is taking us on a journey, he sees everything. There must be some good that can come from all this. I'm not sure it makes it any easier to live through though.

So thanks to Gavin's Mum for making my head stop spinning this morning. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight!!

voting

Well went and voted in the federal election yesterday and woke up this morning expecting a result, only to find there isn't one and it could be a while before we have one! We may have a hung parliment for the first time since WW2. The youngest MP ever has also been elected, he is twenty. Just goes to show that being young doesn't mean you can't do whatever you want. I have never been so excited about an election before, not that I am thrilled now, but just more interested and understand the implications of the choices we make a little more. Must be getting old!! I also appreciate more the fact that we do have a choice, which is a wonderful gift in and of itself. Yep, its confirmed I am getting old!!

Things have been crazy around here! I am so looking forward to my quiet week this week! Catching up on housework. I have a confession to make, I was so exhausted last night i couldn't even face doing El's physio. Bad Mummy points just increased. Thankfully, she is not coughing at all so maybe it is not a bad thing to have a day off?

One more crazy day (today) and then back to normal for the rest of the week!!

crazy life

We have been extremely busy. One of the craziest weeks I can remember. Thankfully, next week is looking much more normal!

El has stopped coughing so no need to go in next week. She has 2 weeks and 3 days of antibiotics left and another week after that until her clinic appointment. So hopefully we will have a cough free household for a long time.

School work has been going ok. J got 100% in both his English and Math this week, yeah! we also made treasure maps, (which was really fun), went to the library (my apologies to anyone else wanting library books, we have borrowed all of the good ones!), went to three parks for plays (a necessary part of school work), and didn't do much book work at all. In fact we did 2 days of unschooling (definately not my usual thing). Next week we will have no excuses, so we will have to get more done.

I have been thinking about things a little too much. But would love to get my kids to a sunday school regularly, and me to church. But where to go? Would like it to be somewhere close, somewhere calm, somewhere with a solid foundation, with friendly people, and somewhere it doesn't matter if you don't go every week. I think maybe I am too picky and this is why I haven't been to church since easter. Maybe I should just go once to each one and see which one I like best? I don't know.

anyway going to stop rambling now and enjoy my crazy weekend!!

Clinic and stuff

Clinic went well. El's still coughing so was put on antibiotics for a month, although is she is still coughing after two they may do iv's. She grew staph last time, so I think this is why they are doing a month of orals. No worries about her weight, which is a little hard to understand after the fuss last time. If she has grown anything on her last swab (anything serious that is) they will phone on Monday afternoon with a new plan of attack. Well, she is still coughing although not as much as Monday. so lets hope she stops by Thursday, so I don't have to phone them.

J turned 7 this week. I was sat up on Tuesday night watching one born every minute, a documentary about a maternity hospital in the UK. Thinking oh my goodness this is exactly what i was doing seven years ago! A bit of an eerie feeling! He had a great day and a great party!! Thouroughly spoiled!

We finally got back to school work on Wednesday after a week off! It has been a bit tough getting back in, especially for J who finds it a bit of a struggle. Miss Em loves her book work and had been asking for about 4 days when we were going to start!! She has just started some really simple addition and has picked it up so quickly, a little scary considering she is not yet 5! If only I could get her to slow down and take a little more time for everything!

Well, another quite normal week ahead with nothing too exciting which is actually a good thing after two rather crazy weeks. Hopefully no phone call Monday and no cough by Thursday!

Sick

Well, we are sick again! It feels like we have been unwell for a very long time! This time Em was first, then the next day me and J and El. So El had about 4 or 5 days with no cough and is now coughing worse then ever. We have clinic tomorrow but can't leave the big kids anywhere with their germs so not sure what to do. Guess I will phone in the morning and see what they say. El really needs the appointment to get checked over so hopefully they will let us all come.

In the meantime, dosing up on the vitamin c and trying to spend time in the beautiful sunshine for some vitamin D!

Our school work has completely ground to a halt, understandably so. Hopefully will start again on Wednesday, even if it is the EKKA holiday and A is home.

J is so excited about his birthday! I hope he won't be disappointed with his two presents, especially the distinct lack of lego. He did get some birthday money last week from overseas so he can always buy his own. In six weeks, when the money is available. I can't believe it takes six weeks these days. they also charge $10 which takes an awful lot of a 20 pound cheque! Not a lot you can do though. And he thinks it is an absolute fortune anyway!

Well, hopefully miss El has put on enough weight to keep the doctors happy, and this flu is just a virus so we can avoid anti biotics! Off to do some more physio now!

orienteering

All three of the kids and I went to an introductory orienteering session yesterday! It was really fun, we did the short course, in a really looooong time. Well, we did have a 6 year old, a four year old (who I carried part way), a one year old and a buggy!! It also fit really well into our SOSE mapping for this term! They loved finding the controls (boxes with numbers and special paper punches to mark your cards with). If you ever get a chance to try it, have a go!

The ice creams on the way home were essential to the trip too, it was really hot yesterday (for the middle of winter)!