Kevan and our treasures

I just love this pic of my family, taken last week!

Eric Alexander Moore - A Lasting Heritage

In honour of a truly amazing man, my Grandpa, Eric Alexander Moore. Promoted to Glory 28th Sept 2008, aged 90 years.

The world just won't be the same without you Grandpa, I will miss you always. We will never forget the "onky dooreys or doorey onkys", your ability to grow any sort of fruit (I'll forever treasure the times we ate all of Grandma's strawberries), the times spent playing in the choko vine, helping paint your fence (even if Kyles & I were ripped off with the payment!), and I'll forever miss the symphonic grand intros on your harmonica, introducing the key for my 'happy birthday' greeting! But most of all, I'll just miss the fact that you're not here anymore, cheering in my corner, regardless of whatever life decision I've made, always applauding the things I do well, and encouraging me in the things I don't do well.

But as much as I miss you, I'll take some comfort in knowing that you are finally where you've waited your whole life to be: with Jesus. May you enjoy the fruits of your life long work, enjoy singing with the Angels, look after my boys, and save a seat for me one day...

This tribute by Uncle David is fitting, and says it all: "You raise us up". You always did. Love you & miss you forever, Mel.

I admit - I suck at blogging

I know, I know. At least I admit it.

Anyway, finally I've updated the blog with tidbits that I've started previously, but never published. Check them out. Obviously way more has happened in our lives this year, but to try & include everything would seem too huge to undertake. It's a miracle I finished the past three posts really, given my track record.

So stay tuned - I'm working on an abbreviated pictorial which is better than nothing. You'll just have to forgive me I guess...

Book Week

Now I'm not the world's greatest parent. And I'm certainly not 'mother-of-the-year' material. There are some mother's who thrive on these two words: book week. But there are many, like me, who dread it. Not that I'm not all for reading & literacy development etc - because I certainly am - but why must the kids have to 'dress up'?

Really, between babies, work & school it's enough to make sure they have a clean, ironed (okay, okay - I DID iron the shirts when they were in grade one), non-stained uniform. Let alone a costume! Costume? Sure that was easy when they were little - like in preschool. Need a costume in preschool? No worries - Toyworld will have one. Easy.

But now they're big? No darn toy store in the world would stock something in Lach's size. And he's a bit fussier now - a gigantic buzz lightyear apparently is NOT the go.

So - here are my dreaded book week efforts for 2008. Thank goodness it's only once a year!! Harry is a dalmation from 101 dalmatians. And Lach is a green goblin character from Ben10.

Oh - and I forgot to mention... (how on earth could I forget?) - that only MOMENTS after Lach's photo was taken. And I mean moments, did he decide to mention, "Mum I don't feel well. I think I'm going to be sick". zrrrrp! Why not mention this to me BEFORE we spent an 1hr putting on green goop? "Because I really wanted to get 'made up'". And ten seconds later he vomited. Uggh. Now I've got a vomiting green goblin, half his face now in a mess, desperately needing to be completely cleaned & showered and lie down, half the floor now in a mess, and a dalmatian who still needed to get to school...

Just gotta love Book Week. NOT!

Let him who has ears hear

Well today our little treasure got her hearing aid! And boy did she have a strange look on her face when it was first turned on! She jolted her head, and blinked her eyes, and looked all around (honestly, you'd think she'd got a set of glasses or something), not quite knowing what was going on. Every time I spoke she turned to me. Every time Pa spoke she turned to him.

Ahh.. here we were in the wonderment of it all, revelling in the fact that my little Treasure would now be hearing directional sound for the first time, and probably a clearer sound at that: given that she's had a couple of ear infections and her last two hearing tests showed that the fluid build meant she had a hearing loss - even in her good ear. But now, now she was hearing clearly. A crisp, clear, beautiful sound so awesome her little eyes glazed and became as wide as ever. And this revellry was so awesome that Pa & I started to tear up - when Pa asked if he could try it.

"Sure" said the audiologist. So Dad put it on, and soon as we spoke, he veritably jumped. "Oh MY" he exclaimed. And immediately I felt the tears well up within my soul, for surely my dad was now hearing the lost sounds of years forgotten, that stereo sound that he as musician has craved all his life to hear, my beautiful vocal dulcet tones.... when he further exclaimed "That's terribly distorted!" zrrrp...

The volume response was turned up so loud it sounded like a shzz shzz guitar that even Jimi Hendrix would be ashamed of! Revellry deflated. No wonder Bethany had a glazed look, it would've sounded like life on LSD or something!

Anyway - so it was wonderful and incredibly helpful that Pa was there. No one else could tell the true sound quality, as we all have full hearing. But no, each time they took it away into a room elsewhere, to hook it up to a computer to change the sensitivity & settings, and then brought it back for Dad to try on. Each time he'd tell them it was better but it needed further adjustment. They take it away again, and so on, until it was just perfect. Thank you Pa. If you weren't there Bethany would have been subjected to audible agony that we wouldn't have know about, because she'd be still sitting there with that glazed look, wondering what the hell was she listening to!

Actually, just quietly, I think it has inspired Dad to now explore a BAHA, (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) or a BCHA (Bone Conduction Hearing Aid) for himself. Because, once they finally got all the settings right - he was quite impressed with how life sounded!





Now you're probably wondering why the hearing aid appears to be on her good ear... right? Well the aid above her ear is mostly a microphone & a counter balance. The mic picks up the sound, sends it down the wire (hidden in her head band) through to the vibrator on the other side. The vibrator sits securely under the head band, just behind her little ear. So it causes a sound vibration on her cochlear, which stimulates the auditory nerves and enables her to hear from that side. Wonderful really.

Look Who's Got a Brand New Tooth

Tis a red letter day in history. It is official, my little baby is growing up. It started yesterday. For some reason 'Feral Beryl' made an appearance, but unlike other times - she decided to stay for the whole day.

Tried to feed. Didn't want to feed.

Whinging. Crying. Fussing. And then more whinging, crying, fussing.

I checked her mouth. Nothing. No sign of any little peepers.

Checked her temp. Nothing. No sign of a temperature.

Tried to feed her again. After all - she needs to feed, doesn't she? Nope. Doesn't want to feed.

Just wants to whinge, fuss & cry.

So I give her panadol anyway. Check her mouth again - still no sign of peepers. Finally she settles, but not for long. Uggh - I resign myself to a day of holding her. Everything else will have to wait. My little girl needs me.

Night time comes and at last she seems to settle in for the night. We get through it with the help of panadol. She woke this morning and to my relief, seemed a little more settled. So it is with much relief that she feeds normally, and seems back to her usual self. We get ready and head off for mother's group.

It is at mother's group that my friend Chris, upon hearing about our day yesterday, promptly notices one little toothy peg, just starting to make its appearance. Geez she must have eyes like a hawke. I mean, I checked that mouth over and over and over again, at least twenty times in the last 24hrs and I didn't see ANYTHING. Nor did I FEEL anything. But nope, my friend Chris with her eagle eyes spots a miniscule tooth tip from a metre away. Unbelievable!

Whatever you do Chris, just don't look too closely at my face... you might see signs of ageing.

So here are some pics - taken a week later when there's a visable sign of a tooth that even blind freddy can see. Actually, she's decided to cut the 1st two at the same time. Clever little princess isn't she? And yes I do know that she takes after me!

I was lucky enough to get this pic of the teeth clearly, one second before she poked her tongue out for the first time, and then kept continually poking it out - was just too cute not to photograph!



Behold, her teeth...


But not for long...


Here comes the tongue...


Look who can poke out her tongue!!

Growing Too Quickly

Well our little girl made the leap yesterday from the bassinette to the cot. And not before time, too, because she was almost at the point where her head & foot were touching the ends of the bassinette. This is such a treasured bassinette. It belongs to my Aunty Christine and has housed quite a few of my cousins, and even my cousins' children as well. And yet, it is still in good nick, as Aunty Chris has cared for it well over the years.

Lachlan (in 1998), Harrison (in 2000) & now Bethany have all slept in it. But the some has come (the walrus said)... and Bethany sleeps in the Bassinette no more. We'll clean it and get it ready now for Nathanael & Leonie's new baby.

So here are some pics of little Bethany in her new cot. Well, as you'll note, the cot is not new, nor even near new. For it is the same, trusty cot that Lach slept in, and then Harry slept in. And while it's looking more than a little rustic - I couldn't bear to paint over Lach & Harry's teeth marks. And the blessed green paint that was Lach's first artistic effort!

Enjoy the pics...

The work of Lach's teeth...



Harry's teeth (not to be outdone)..


Looks like the cot gets the thumbs up from Bethany...



Love that smile...


Shhh... don't wake her...

The Trials & Tribulations of the First Day Back at School!

What was supposed to be a happy day didn't eventuate the way I'd imagined it.

** ahh - first day back at school, drop the boys at school, have a coffee with the other mum's (as is our usual first day tradition) and go home and say "how's the serenity" **

zzzzrrrppp. Reality Check.

If you must know the first day of school turned out to be rather crap, actually. All went well with the drop off: we were well organised at home. Got the girl fed on time. Boys dressed on time – and with shoes on too. Lunches made (thanks to Kevan for that one). Bags packed (with their entire year’s book & stationery requirements). All in the car and off to school.

A block and a half from the school the parked cars started to pile up. Crap. I don’t mind having to walk up the hill, but around the corner and also up the hill? Not my cup of tea. Please Lord, there has to be a park a little closer. Hallelujah – some woman pulled out leaving a spot for moi just-a-little-way-up-from-the-bottom-of-the-hill! Excellent, all parked, all out, all bags & all Goffs accounted for. Now for the hill. Whilst technically not at the bottom, we were only just a wee-bit up from it. And well, let’s just say it’s been a while since I last walked up that damn hill. I mean, I’ve had a cesarean since the last time I had to walk up that hill. Not to mention the humidity, nor the fact that I was pushing the pram, and it was full with the girl and two boys yearly stationery – oy ve. By the time we made it to the top I was worse than a puffing billy. I swear you could see the steam coming off my shoulders.

Then I was accosted by the mum of one of Harry’s classmates (and soccer teammates) – who stopped me in my tracks (ah the train analogy again), took one look at me, one look at the pram and said, “What THE? Whose baby?” “Err - Mine.” “Oh mi-god, Oh MYYY GODDD. WHEN did YOU have a baby?” *thought: slap her now* You’re joking right - this is a woman whom I saw nearly every week last year – once on a Tues night for soccer practice, once on a Saturday for the soccer game, and then-some mid week around the school!!! Most Saturdays the talk on the sidelines was the mum’s asking me for updates – and then us all sharing our collective pregnancy, childbirth and worst cracked nipple stories!!! Hello earth to Rachel… I mean – seriously!!!!

Harry’s class first. Quick hello & update to the teacher, find the desk and unpack his stuff. Then suddenly my most boisterous boy was rather subdued and looked a little sad even. I gave Harry instructions that because Lach won’t be there at the end of the day, Harry will have to be a big boy because he won’t have Lach there to make sure he gets his lunch box & bag etc – so he’ll have to do it himself and make his own way to the gate to be picked up.

Lach’s class next. Same deal. Meet the new teacher – a man for once. Damn, should’ve done my hair. Wonder if some of the mum’s might spruce up a bit more this year? Told Mr Mahon I’d be back at 10.45 to pick Lach up to take him to his ENT appointment at the RCH.

Chat to some mum’s. Go home, feed the girl and breathe.

Pick up mum, then head back to school to get Lach. Arrive at the school only to find they’re having morning tea. Crap. Forgot that now he’s in a senior class they have their break earlier than the Juniors. It’s not so easy to fetch the boy when he’s not in his classroom in class! And all the kids scattered around the various parts of the school all look alike in their uniforms. With mum manning Bethany in the car – I frantically search the school grounds for Lachlan. Fortunately it didn’t take too long to find him, but it took long enough for us now to be tight with the time. Go to his classroom to fetch his bag, only to find the room is locked. Crap. Found a teacher with a key, grab Lach’s bag and we were on our way.

The trip in turned out to be the least of my hassles. We must of gotten nearly every green light because only 25 mins later (yes, no word of a lie, and no speeding either) I pulled into the hospital car park at 11.30am (from Petrie no less).

We arrive at Outpatients to find a massive queue waiting just to ‘check in’ – and a waiting room already full of people. You know it’s bad when you have to send your mum to ‘bags’ a seat! Oh well.

So we sit. And we wait. And we shuffle in our seat. And we wait some more. The girl wakes and starts to cry. I’m in two minds whether to feed her in the waiting room, or find a ‘quiet spot’ somewhere. I decide to look for somewhere quiet, knowing that mum can go with Lachlan to audiology if he’s called while I’m feeding. Fortunately they had a feeding room. I’ve been going there 7 years (and had baby Harry attend Lach’s appointments with me) and I never knew they had a feeding room! So I feed the girl and re-join mum to find them still sitting and waiting. Much more of this then finally Lach had his hearing test. Which turns out to be good – all within normal levels. And better yet – his grommet is out, but his ears are clear & looking good. Yay! So we re-join mum & Bethany in the waiting room for more sitting & waiting to see the Specialist.

More shuffling, Lach whingeing, and half a cryptic crossword later we were still waiting. We hit 2pm when mum went off to the cafeteria to find us some lunch. Then finally a nurse announces that 2 doctors had been called away, then had now found 1 who could come and see the patients. Suddenly I realised that even if Lach was seen immediately, we still wouldn’t make it in time to pick Harry up from school. Ugg. So I make a few calls and get a hold of Jenni, who agreed to pick up Haz for me. Which ended up being another story in itself. Because when she went to pick Haz up from the gate, he wasn’t there. He’d announced to his teacher that he had to pick up Lachlan’s bag, and so he and his teacher went on a wild goose chase to go find it! They then got Lachlan’s teacher looking for it also, before eventually deciding to give up and the teacher delivered an upset Harry to the gate. Meanwhile, Jenni was frantic trying to find Harry!

Fortunately I didn’t know any of that until after the fact and finally, finally Lach was seen by the Doctor at 3pm. We just finished with the Doctor when it was time to feed Bethany again! The girl fed, the massive parking bill paid for, we headed home in the pouring rain and peak hour traffic. By the time I dropped mum home and got to Jen’s it was nearly 5pm!! And then I had to battle Harry to get him out of the pool, and console Lach over the fact he didn’t get to swim and Harry did.

So - that was my first day back at school! Uggh, when do the holidays start again...?

Bethany's Dedication

Yesterday (Sunday 6th) we joined together with our friends and family for Bethany's dedication. The day started with Bethany's early morning feed, then straight into cooking preparations. I must admit I was a bit nervous as we have never entertained that many people before, and with a newborn & only having just moved into the house I found myself wondering it was all going to pan out.

Do I have enough seats for everyone? (The old house was a 1/4 the size of this one and we only have enough furniture sufficient to fit in the old house!)

Where is it best to serve everything? Do we have enough food? Do we have enough tables? How will it all work?

We were expecting some 45 people for dinner after the service so now is the time to test out the new kitchen. Oh what a pleasure it is to have some bench space for once!! What a wonderful thing it is to be able to have 3 or 4 dishes on the go at once. Unlike previously, where I could only do one dish at a time, making the whole process take 3 times as long! But not yesterday - I got all the hot food done by 10am, just in time for Bethany's second feed! Wonderful!

Once the cooking was down there was still plenty to do, nibblies to organise, drinks to buy & platters to pick up from the shops. Oh, and plastic plates/cups/utensils. Oh, and some more serving stuff & dips to be bought. It was then off to Woolies to battle the Sunday shoppers. Still - cooking done, there was a whole house to clean, and I couldn't have got everything done without two angels, my sister-in-law Sal, and my niece Jemma.

Then it was off to church for the 4pm service. And boy was it hot in there. Whenever anyone asks me about the dress-code at our church, I always tell them the same thing, "dress for comfort". Because we've not long moved into the building and it hasn't yet been fitted out for church-use, so therefore it's not air conditioned, nor conducive for breezy air flow.

Pastor Lex did the dedication as Pastor Troy was away in India. And I must say that all went well and Bethany was on her very best behaviour. She was asleep during the dedication ceremony itself! She looked resplendent in the dedication gown, hand-smocked by Grandma Moore for me when I was dedicated all those years ago. It is a wonderful family heirloom that has now been worn by: Myself; Beck; My aunt's children - Rachel, Vicki, Natalie, Cameon, Caitlin, & Jemima; My boys Lachlan & Harrison; My niece Marcella and now little Bethany. That's 12 children that have worn Grandma's dress - and I must say it has held up well, looking every bit as good as when it was first made. That's thanks mostly in part to Vanessa, who cared for it so well for so many years.

Anyway, the dedication over, we only had just enough time to take a few pictures at church before rushing home. There was a storm coming and it was supposed to hail, and no one wanted to be caught driving in it. It turned out to be only quick shower of rain, no hail, fortunately.

Dinner at our house went off without a hitch. We managed to fit everyone in, had plenty of food, and a good time was had by all. Again, a big thank you to Sal & Jemma for their tireless efforts in serving up & clearing away the food. I couldn't have done it without your help! Bethany did quite well all in all - it was a very big day for her - and even though she was passed through many sets of hands, she eventually settled well for the night, after a bottle and an extended cuddle from Nanna (Jackie).

As for Kevan & I - well we collapsed into bed also. It was a great day, and we enjoyed finally being able to have the extended family over to celebrate in the new house!

Merry Christmas & Welcome 2008

Merry Christmas to all our family & friends!!! I trust you and yours had a happy day celebrating Jesus' birth.

I love Christmas and all that it means. I love celebrating together with the family, and I love the relaxing day we always have together at Mum's.

We start off the day (always an early start with kids) with the kid's opening their presents from 'Santa' and then from Mummy & Daddy. Then it's off to church when the hour is more reasonable. Usually we all go to our own separate church services respectively, but this year we decided to start a new tradition: to join together at the one church, alternating between ours & Beck's each year. And since Dame was on team this year, North Brisbane won the vote. It was really lovely to sit together, the whole fam taking up the whole row, with Nanny's chest swelling with pride.

Then for me it's usually straight home to glaze the ham, but thanks to the fact that Bethany's only 8 weeks old, Mum did it for me instead this year. Thanks, Mum. Still - we headed home to gather the cold foods I'd made the day before, and after a quick feed for the girl it was off to Mum's.

I love gathering together at Mum's each year. I love the fact that Kylie comes home from London and is there to share the day with us. Aunty Mal comes too, and she always enjoys a good laugh at our stories. Nanny & Pop join us every year. And Beck & Dame share lunch together with us as well. And it's all the more fun now, with little Marcella able to walk around and have fun with the boys. Mum always prepares a wonderful feast but usually leaves something in the microwave, Nanny always gets a photo taken of her with her mouth 'full', Pop always carves up the ham/turkey (and you name it) because no one does it as good as he does, we all crack open our bon bons, groan at the seriously-not-funny "jokes" and most of us wear the silly hats. Benny always hangs around the table for tidbits of food, while none of us want to be the "Santa" when it comes to handing out the presents. Oh, except Lachlan this year decided it's the job for him. Which worked out fine until he got a cool present then he quit to play with it! Most of which usually gets caught on video camera (usually with Dad or Kylie at the helm). Then it's straight into Mum's plum pud with her delicious custard, orange peel 'butter' and brandy cheer. Oh - and I forgot the one thing that all of us are certain to do every year - eat too much.

And then we spend the afternoon sleeping, playing cards/star wars monopoly, trying out presents and still eating nibblies. And then we feast again in the evening...

Recover overnight...

And then go to Mum's for leftovers on Boxing Day.

Thank you for another wonderful Christmas Mum. You go to so much effort every year, often cooking for days beforehand, just so we can create such wonderful memories as a family. I loved it as a kid and I know my kids love it too. You really are wonderful Mum... thank you!

Tis the Season to be Age-ing

Yes, that's right - for us it's not just the season for Christmas, but also for birthdays... Right on the back of Harry's (at end of Nov), we have Kevan's, Grandpa Moore's, Mum's & Lachie's all in December, and all before we hit Christmas!

So a big happy Birthday to Kevan, Grandpa (who turned 90), Mum & Lach !!