Have a little peek at this

This article was written recently, and sums our family up in a beautiful, sensitively written article. Have a look at Q Weekend's story.

Attention Liesbeth

(sorry it's a little blurry)
These are my Grandmother's coral necklace, bracelet and ring.

It's Christmas Time...

...and we've finally put up our tree!

Technology Woes

Just when I thought I was all set to start regular blogging again, my little laptop decided it was time for a holiday. My hard drive has crashed and it's currently being refitted at the repair shop. So I'm now suffering from laptop/internet withdrawal symptoms. If that isn't enough, our home phone has also chosen to play up, and we're feeling quite cut off from the world here. Oh well, hopefully we'll be back online in a couple of days!

Congklak

I bought myself an early Christmas present, a traditional game called Congklak, from the Oxfam shop. Here's a photo of the game board, which has been beautifully handpainted in Indonesia:



The game's playing pieces are tiny little sea shells. Not only is the game board simply beautiful, but it turns out that Congklak has a fascinating history.

Shaving

I have just finished shaving the bristly face of my very trusting husband. WHY? you may well ask!

Over the next couple of weeks I'm doing a clinical placement to complete my first year of nursing study. As part of that, we will be assessed on a range of skills, including shaving. Since I have never shaved a man before in my life, I really wanted to practice on someone before being unleashed on strangers with a razor. Fair enough, wouldn't you say?

Strangely enough, I have more confidence in my ability to give someone a shot of insulin than in shaving them (well, not so very strange considering I've had years of practice with Christopher's diabetes). Anyway, Garry was able to provide me with plenty of feedback and advice - and he's not bleeding (so no Norman Gunston look-alikes here tonight).

Beemsterboer visit

Earlier this year we were lucky to have a visit from some Dutch relatives (my aunt and uncle). We were particularly lucky to have their presence in court during the early days of Christopher's trial. Every bit of support was very much appreciated!! Here's a photo of my sister, my aunt and I.


Liesbeth, Ditty and Tamara 

Halloween Party

A friend from university invited us to her annual Halloween Costume Party, so the children and I went for a couple of hours - for the fun of experiencing something we'd never done before. Christopher went as Harry Potter, Catherine as a witch, and I was Guinevere. It was an eye-opener, to say the least! Here is a photo of the kids in their costumes...

Aint' she gorgeous? 

Christopher's Day in Court

Back to the "Real World"

The court case is finally over!!!!

What court case? I hear you ask....

Have a look at this: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20350418-1702,00.html

After seven and a half years, we have reached the end of the journey to get compensation for Christopher, and it feels great.

Obviously I haven't been able to journal about it until now, but it would make a lengthy and painful story, so perhaps that's for the best. I will put up a photo of Christopher at the Supreme Court on the last day of the trial.

Perhaps I'll be able to blog more often now - although with exams coming up I still have plenty to keep me occupied.

palmtree

Monopoly

Christopher and Catherine discovered our old Monopoly game today, so after dinner tonight we started a game. I'd forgotten how useful a board game can be for teaching various maths skills! The kids both bought every property they landed on, while Garry and I "wisely" focussed on buying certain properties and building lots of houses on them. Sadly, we had to finish the game before anyone landed on our carefully built up streets, so in the end neither strategy achieved very much. We plan to continue the game another night, so we'll see what happens next....

Meanwhile, it's certainly another great way to avoid studying for my exams :)

A blessing

May your spirit soar gracefully
on the whispering breeze.
May your joy run strong
as the deepest seas.
May your soul reach out
to embrace the sky.
May your heart guide you truly
as the years go by.

Camping In

Last night we went camping indoors. We cooked dinner on the "fire" (the potbelly stove) and ate toasted marshmallows for dessert. We played Uno and charades, then read the last chapter of our book ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"). Christopher and Catherine slept on their mattresses on the floor in the lounge room, toasty warm by the fire. It was lots of fun although quite a late night by the time the kids finally fell asleep.

Study Avoidance

With three exams coming up next week, it's high time for me to start blogging again! Things have become very cosy here as winter weather sets in - I always love having the pot belly stove going. The back yard is starting to look bleak and skeletal. This time of year is great for seeing the bare bones of the garden.

I have been reading a new Elizabeth Goudge that Garry picked up at a secondhand book sale. I still need to find "Green Dolphin Country" (and others), but our collection of her books is slowly growing. As always, this one had me deep in thought. Book group has just finished "The Aunt's Story" by Patrick White, and we are now reading Tim Winton's "The Riders".

We are right in the middle of Christopher's 10th and Catherine's 8th birthdays. June tends to be an expensive month in our household. From 22 June I will be relishing the forgotten joys of having some time off from study. Easter was a write-off in the 'holiday' sense this year and the four of us really need a proper break.

Next Book

Book Group met here last night and we engaged in some very lively discussion about Shirley Hazzard's "Transit of Venus". Opinion was divided and ranged from strong antipathy (pretentious twaddle) to fairly positive (like having a warm shower). This resulted in lengthy debate and a number of enlightening moments: "Oh, THAT'S what she was talking about in that scene!!!"


Our next book will be a lot easier to read, and is one that I've enjoyed in the past. We are reading Alexander McCall Smith's "The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency". It may not cause quite as much passionate debate, but should be fun. I think we're all ready for an easier read this month, anyway.

The Coming Week

Here is a snapshot of what's happening at our place this week:

Monday: a two-person film crew will be here from 7am to 8pm. I will be attempting to study and have to attend a nursing tutorial at uni. A family friend is coming over for an hour to spend time with Christopher.

Tuesday: My day begins with an exam and ends with a two hour CPR refresher course (4.30-6.30pm), while Garry & Christopher have to spend the entire day in Brisbane (together with my parents and Garry's mother). This means Catherine has to be dropped off at a friend's place by 7am, and will return there after school until either Garry or I are ready to pick her up.

Wednesday: My turn to spend a day in Brisbane, this time with Garry's father and brother. Christopher will be at school the whole day and has a friend coming over to play in the afternoon. He might be going to his grandparents' for a sleepover. I have Women's Circle in the evening, from 7.30pm until late. We are also supposed to meet with friends for our weekly gathering at 6.15am.

Thursday: I will be at uni from 8am until 5pm. Christopher has homeschool while Garry does the grocery shopping. Catherine has a swimming lesson after school. A relatively normal day.

Friday: Final day of school and uni before the Easter break. For our anatomy class I will be dissecting a sheep's heart today. Christopher has homeschool followed by respite with Uncle Brad from 12-3.00pm. Our book group meets this Friday night, from 6pm until late.

At this point I'm not sure how this is all going to work, but we'll get through it all somehow. It will be good to have a short break from Uni next week!

Night Shift

I worked a night shift last night, which I was dreading because I'd begun the day with a Physics Exam at 7.50am! However, once I'm at work I always enjoy what I'm doing and last night was no exception.

This was my very first shift since starting uni again and it struck me at once how useful our nursing subject has been, even after a mere 4 weeks. Already I found myself using better techniques and understanding more of the "lingo" the registered nurses use. That is very encouraging, I can tell you.

One cute thing that happened: as I was passing one client's room they caught sight of me and called out, "Nurse, excuse me nurse". That's the first time I've ever been called a nurse - and of course I have no right to the title, but it felt kind of nice all the same.

(By the way, the exam went really well, and I am currently taking a quick computer break from studying for our anatomy & physiology exam on Tuesday - which is going to be quite a lot harder).

Ego Boost

I discovered this week that being asked out on a date (dinner and a movie) is rather a nice ego boost! Yep - I was completely taken aback when a fellow student asked me out, and I didn't quite know how to respond. Garry is of course suitably impressed :)

Christopher

Transit of Venus

the transit of venus 

Our Book Group is reading "The Transit of Venus" this month. I've read about a third of it and am slowly starting to appreciate Shirley Hazzard's style. At first I was quite irritated by her sentence structure - almost as if certain paragraphs and sentences were little puzzles to be solved by the reader. However, I have gotten used to that now and am beginning to enjoy her writing more. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other book group members thought of it....

Still Kickin'

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking.

University has hit like a ton of bricks - we are all in adaptation mode right now.

At least we can rest safely in our beds now that I know how to wash my hands properly :)

First exam is on March 31st!!

Better go and study (ahem, ahem).

Mangoes

Two years ago we planted a small mango tree in our backyard. I didn't have very high hopes or expectations for this little tree because I don't know many people who successfully grow mangoes in our area. We have dutifully protected it from frost the last two winters, and were surprised to find it setting fruit this summer.

After many weeks of waiting, today the four of us shared a delicious, sweet, enormous mango - a very exciting day! Now we are hoping that next summer will bring us a bumper crop of beautiful homegrown mangoes . Need I mention that the four of us are all mango lovers? Or did you guess?

Quick Update

Life has been speeding up around here!

Great news - Christopher's latest HbA1c was 7.6%, so his diabetes control is really fantastic.

Catherine went to an optometrist today and her eyes are in great condition (a relief).

I did two full days of chemistry workshops this week - am much more confident about that part of my course now.

Garry has finished building the deck and painting the back of the house, so it's looking so nice out there now.

International Dinner 

The Witches

Catherine's English teacher has been reading a Roald Dahl book ("The Witches") to her class. We first heard about this when Catherine complained about not being able to get to sleep one night, as she was too scared about witches. So she told us what was going on and we talked about the book maybe being a little too old for her. After all, she's still only seven.

The next morning on the way to school, I asked her what we might do about this. Catherine suggested that she should talk to her teacher about it, which is what she subsequently did. As a result, she and another girl were able to sit in a separate area and read their own books, while the rest of the class listened to the story.

I was so impressed by Catherine's solution to this situation - she was quite happy to deal with it in her own way and seems very content with the outcome. I think it was important for me to allow her to find her own way through this. It's so easy for me to feel that I should take care of both the kids by dealing with all the situations that pop up. So it was a good reminder that as they grow older, they will be able to find their own solutions.

BTW, I really like Roald Dahl's books, although his sense of humour is not everyone's cup of tea. Both the kids enjoyed "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - book first and then movie. Catherine can decide to read this book later if she so wishes :)

Dress-Ups 

Weekly Home Blessing

As part of my journey with FLYlady, I have learned the concept of having a "Weekly Home Blessing". This involves breaking the regular weekly cleaning tasks (dusting, mopping and so on) into 10-minute blitzes that take a total of one hour (this works best if the house is basically picked up).

I have done the one-hour WHB a number of times, with great success. It really feels satisfying to have all those jobs done, and using a timer makes it fun (yes, I did say fun). It's also a wonderful work-out! However, I have really struggled to do a WHB in the heat of summer. Somehow an hour of active housekeeping begins to look more like a chore than a blessing when temperatures soar in the Australian summer.

I've finally found a way to incorporate the WHB into my routine without the mental hurdle of doing a whole hour in the heat. My new strategy? Doing one - and only one - of the WHB tasks every day except Sunday. Facing a ten-minute job is much less daunting, and each day I'm motivated by how good it felt getting the job done the previous day.

As today is Sunday, I am enjoying the peaceful feeling of having done what was needed, and knowing that I can start again tomorrow.

Text or Photos

I noticed last week that I'd been posting a lot of text-only blogs, so I followed up with a few days of photo-only blogs. I'll have to try to get the balance right one of these days....

Christopher at Oma and Opa's 

Tamara and Beau 

Three Cousins 

Happy Birthday, Opa! 

178 Kilograms

Last night we all weighed ourselves on our new scales.

Together, the four of us weigh 178 kilograms.

Catherine weighs two kilograms more than Christopher.
Garry weighs nine kilograms more than I do.
We forgot to weigh Hermione, the cat.

February Already

I have just been revisiting my intentions for this year: reviewing my babysteps for January, and writing out some babysteps for February. I was pleased with how well this process worked for me throughout January, so am looking forward to the new month. We'll have to see how this all holds up once I return to university in March!

Here are my babysteps for the coming month:

Read chapter 8 of "Compassion" by Henri Nouwen.
Begin collecting together my favourite yoga poses.
Practice portion control at dinner time (my weakest time of day - I can't resist piling my plate with pasta and rice).
Think about finding a role model who is consistently gentle and joyful.
Preview my lectures on powerpoint (I have downloaded them already).
Read chapter 2 of "Anger" by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Commit to the Women's Circle that's just started up.
Do lesson one of online meditation course.
Add some exercise to my days.
Join in with FLYlady goal for February (January was keeping our sink shiny).
Start reading "For the Children's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer McCauley.
Think about how we can celebrate Autumn Equinox.
Work in garden 5-15 minutes every day.
Read "Practice the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence.
Copy all my best guitar songs into one book.
Implement reading routine with Christopher and Catherine.

My January goals were very similar to the above, and I found them quite manageable. So hopefully this next month will also work quite well. Clearly some goals will require more discipline than others.

Oasis Centenary

This is my 100th post on this blogsite! Hurrah.

It's also my shortest post on this blogsite. LOL.

Insulin Pump

One of the best inventions of recent years has got to be the insulin pump - at least in our household! Christopher has had type 1 diabetes since 2001, and initially had to make do with twice-daily insulin injections. The problem with those is that you have to eat the right amount of carbohydrates at the right time each day, to match the insulin that you've already injected into the body. So eating less or more than usual really becomes quite a problem.

With the insulin pump Christopher can eat whatever he desires throughout the day, at whatever time he wishes (within healthy limits, as we all should) - and his insulin is tailored according to his food intake. Until you've experienced both alternatives, it's hard to realise exactly how much difference this makes to his life.

The real measure of the benefits come with Christopher's three-monthly test, called a HbA1c. This test is designed to determine how well his sugar levels have been controlled over the previous 6-8 weeks. Someone without diabetes would have a HbA1c of about 6% or less. Someone whose diabetes is absolutely not under control might get a result of around 10%. Before the insulin pump we were getting levels around 9% (not very good). Christopher's most recent HbA1c was a very, very good 7.8%.

Why does this matter? Well, the test is important because higher levels are intimately related to all the negative long-term outcomes that diabetes brings with it - ranging from liver failure to loss of sight, from foot amputation to death. Clearly, any improvement in blood glucose control is highly desirable.

The only reason we've been able to afford the rather pricy insulin pump is thanks to family members in Holland. Their generous contributions have enabled us to get Christopher's glucose levels under control, thereby greatly improving his life-long health, and making his life that much more enjoyable.

So while diabetes is not yet curable, the insulin pump is a wonderful step towards improving the life of anyone with diabetes.

Women's Circle

One of my Intentions for 2006 relates to creating deeper friendships. My absolute best friend is Garry, and that relationship sustains me in ways I never dreamed possible. However, I haven't ever deliberately developed friendships with women other than my sister and mother. I tend to be very self-reliant when it comes to problem solving and so on. That said, I realise there is a great deal women can offer one another as friends.

So when I was recently invited to join a women's circle I was delighted. Last night the five of us met together for the first time and it was great. We will be meeting fortnightly for about two hours (although last night it was four hours!) for a time of structured meditation and discussion. I found our time together very nourishing and enlivening and am really looking forward to our next gathering.

Intentions for 2006

Although I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions for several years (always sets me up for failure when I do), I have listed a number of intentions/desires for myself. These are things I would like to see manifest in my life (in no particular order):

• increasing compassion


• improved yoga ability


• well-nourished body, mind, soul


• gentle spirit and joyful approach to life


• successful year of study


• handle interruptions gracefully


• deepening friendships


• establish meditation practice


• some weight loss & increased fitness


• strong focus on FLYing this year


• improving parenting skills


• learn to celebrate various occasions


• a garden that nurtures peace


• developing 'present moment' awareness


• a competent classical guitar repertoire


• work on reading skills with Christopher and Catherine

Whew! Seems like a lot when it's all listed in one place. This month I have taken babysteps in each of these areas, and have enjoyed myself a lot. I might write more about it in days to come...

Harvest Feast

Last night we celebrated a feast which used to be held at this time of the year (or in August in the northern hemisphere), to celebrate the first harvest of wheat, corn and berries. Our menu consisted of:

Beer and Cheese Twists

Champagne Bellinis (made with fresh peach puree)
Scallops in Butter Sauce
Freshly Baked Bread Rolls (to mop up the butter sauce)

Macaroni with Four Cheeses
Baby Spinach, Tomato, Egg and Almond Platter
Corn on the Cob

Strawberry Glazed Fruit Flan with Cream, Icecream
After Dinner Mints

It was so much fun, and the scallops were melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Weigh In

To my surprise, I weighed myself at work the other night and have lost a total of 8kg since I began my healthy eating plan some months ago. I was surprised because it has happened quite naturally, without trying hard to lose weight. I'd like to lose another 2kg although I'm really happy with my current weight. Eating well has also given me more energy, even when I've done a few night shifts in a row. Drinking heaps of water has been quite painless (probably because it's summer - I don't enjoy water quite so much in winter). So I'm feeling pretty good about my achievement today!

Back to School

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new school year - Catherine starts grade 3 and Christopher is in grade 4/5. There is a back to school advertisement on TV at the moment which shows a mother all excited about dropping her children back off to school - presumably because she has her days to herself again. While I can understand that sentiment, I don't think children need to be told that they are a burden to their parents. But that's just my humble opinion :)

Personally, I'm sad that it's the last day of the summer holidays. Our holiday routine is always so relaxed compared to school routine. We can get up a bit later, there's no pressure to be ready by a certain time, no lunches to be made, no uniforms to have ready each day, and no homeschooling. While I really like homeschooling Christopher, it certainly puts a hole in the day as far as other activities are concerned. So yes, I like school holidays, I love having the kids around, and I will be both sad and happy (as Catherine put it) that school begins again tomorrow.

Family Split

Thought that heading would get your attention!

Here's the story:

About 18 months ago we made a decision to become "at home" vegetarians. That means we eat no meat (except fish) at home, but will eat whatever is offered when we are eating at someone else's home. This hopefully keeps things simple for family and friends. Now, keeping in mind that Christopher is 9 and Catherine is 7, they have been doing a wonderful job of eating chick peas, lentils, tvp (textured vegetable protein) and various other legumes.

Recently though, Christopher made the comment that he's getting sick of being a vegetarian. As a result we had a family meeting and came up with a compromise. Garry and I will continue to be vegetarians, but the kids will go back to eating a little meat in their diets. Each week they get a meat selection to use as they wish. So far they've enjoyed bacon and cheese sandwiches, fried eggs with ham, and little sausages.

On a side note, I was surprised to find that the smell of cooking bacon is no longer pleasurable to me. I thought I would miss meat much more than I have. However, I'm still a sucker for any kind of pizza you put in front of me :)

Japanese Visitor

On February 2nd, Saki will be arriving from Japan to live with us for 5 weeks. She will be studying English at the Uni each week day. As her homestay family we will be giving her a taste of day-to-day life in Australia! Here is a photo of her (she's on the left):



She will also spend a weekend at the Gold Coast and a weekend at a farm (includes horse riding, billy tea and damper, whip cracking and bush dancing). I wonder if she can teach me to make Sushi?

International Readers

I know for certain that this blog is read by people in the following countries:

Australia
Holland
England
Japan
America

Does anyone out there want to add to the list?

"I don't want cerebral palsy"

Last night I lay beside my nine-year-old who was sobbing his heart out and crying, "I don't want cerebral palsy". It's heartrending to be totally powerless to take away such a burden from your own child. We ended up both having a good cry and chat about it, but it left me feeling pretty blue last night. I have dreaded these moments from the time of his diagnosis. Although I fret and complain (at times) about all the extra work that comes from his cp and diabetes, that is nothing compared to the pain of watching him suffer through these moments.

We're Back!

Here are a couple of photos taken while on holidays:


Christopher in his new sunnies, looking very cool indeed.

Catherine in the pool, playing on her enormous plastic dolphin.