Sigh...

I miss my wife.

But I am thankful that after running a temperature since yesterday afternoon and a vomit last night, and after lying in for nearly 3 hours past his normal getting-up time, SP seems to be on the mend.

Petrina's settling in to the ward, starting to meet some of the other mums there and getting over some of the aches and pains that have been interrupting her sleep lately.

I think we're due for another scan today sometime; I'm not certain but I think there are basically two possible outcomes:
- some improvement, stay on the current treatment plan
- no improvement, switch to a different drug

Either way Petrina will be in for a while.

Here's an interesting bit of search engine trivia for you too: I was doing a little reading on some of the drugs the doctors have mentioned - just wikipedia level broad brush-strokes; we have a senior pharmacist at church who can go through the details with me. But anyway, searching with google as usual, it auto-completes some suggestions. Now for the first two drugs, I didn't take much notice, except to realise that about halfway through the spelling was slightly different to what I expected. By the fourth search, google had cottoned on to the fact that I was researching cardiac drugs and gave the correct suggestion after only two letters! A good thing too, 'cause I had no idea how to spell that one properly. Kinda cool, kinda scary at the same time.

Please keep praying.

Another day, another twist

Remember how I said I hate rollercoasters? Well this ride is a long way from finished yet.

It was wonderful to have Petrina home for the weekend, and to be able to have everyone come to our place to celebrate my Mum's birthday. Way better to be sitting out in the yard than in a hospital room.

This afternoon we had another scan. Leading in to it we were a little nervous, but generally thinking that even if there wasn't any progress yet the doctors would still let Petrina come home for a few more days until the drugs had had every chance to take effect.

Well, the scan didn't show any improvement, except that the amniotic fluid level was a little high but is now OK. In terms of heart beat and oedema, no change.

I didn't realise at the time, but I guess it's a measure of how serious the problem is that the paediatric cardiologist went and had a conference call with two colleagues and with an adult cardiologist to agree on the best way forward. There are lots of options, each with their own pros and cons to weigh up. At the moment the plan is simply to increase the level of the current drugs. If that hasn't worked within a couple of days, they'll start changing the drug combination to something a little more potent - dropping the "lolly water" component in favour of one that's still relatively benign. If they still don't work there is another drug in a higher class of toxicity, although they don't want to go there if they don't have to. Even "relatively benign" is still strong stuff that needs to be monitored carefully. Balancing treating the baby and keeping Petrina healthy is a difficult task.

It's still a grim situation, but the cardiologist is still confident that they can treat it successfully.

So the long and the short of it is that Petrina's back in hospital again, probably for a longer stay this time.

Please pray:

• That we will keep trusting God
  
• That Petrina will cope well with the increased doses and will be able to handle the stress it puts on her body
• That the drugs will start to take effect on the baby
• That the doctors will have great wisdom in the decisions they make
  
• That I will know how to balance work committments and caring for SP
• Give thanks that the ward staff have been so good in caring for Petrina thus far
  

PS the title for the post came from an observation we made while Petrina was getting settled in the room, that when you're in "the valley of the shadow of death", the path twists and turns around each mountain, making it hard to see where the end is. Give thanks for our Good Shepherd.

A little piece of thankfulness

Random bit of information: I have an naturally fast heartbeat. It's never affected my health or my life generally, except that I had to stay an extra couple of hours in the day surgery after having my wisdom teeth out when I was 17, because they were concerned about it. We have wondered why and never had an answer.

Now, that fast heartbeat may mean that my body is more able to cope with the heart-slowing medications that the baby needs. 

So there's our answer to the 'why' question. God certainly has everything under his infinitely wise control. 

And also a brief update: 

Baby's still kicking, I'm still feeling ok. Both good. 

I have blood tests first thing tomorrow morning, then a scan with the paediatric cardiologist at 4pm. 

I should be able to keep being treated as an outpatient for the time being. But obviously anything could change any time. 

Pray for: 

- blood results to be back in time for the scan. 

- the scan: that the baby's condition would show some improvement, and that we wouldn't lose hope if it doesn't. The digoxin didn't reach therapeutic levels in my blood until Thursday night, so theoretically it could be 7-10 days after that before things start to change. 

- wisdom for the cardiologist, and others treating us. 

- patience and trust. Waiting and uncertainty are hard.

We are so thankful for all of you out there, for your prayers and help and love.

I'm home!

I was praying this morning that I might be able to have a couple of hours leave from the hospital on Sunday to go to church. And God, in his infinite mercy, answered my prayers in a way that I hadn't even considered.

Firstly, a repeat scan this morning showed no significant change in Baby's condition, which we'd prepared ourselves for. We continue to pray that these days are necessary waiting time before the medications take effect. 

But as Dave has said earlier, I seem to be coping fine with said medications, so continuing in hospital is not really necessary, particularly as we live so close by. It looks like I'll be treated as an outpatient for a while. 

It's so wonderful to be home, but it's also scary. It was very comforting to have my vitals monitored regularly, and to know that help was just a call button away.

Pray that we'd continue to trust God with all our lives, whatever his plans for them.

Baby will hold the Duplo and I will build it...

... those words were a random quote from SP earlier today. He doesn't know it, but they've brought us both to tears over the course of the day. How do you explain to a two year old that baby might not be able to play with him? That baby might be going to heaven much earlier than the rest of us? Aand when do you explain something like that?

I could equally have titled this post "I hate rollercoasters". Always have - the big two-loop coaster at Dreamworld, the mine-cart ride, no fun at all. Being at the back end of an aircraft 30 kft above the Pacific Ocean with 140 km/hr winds buffetting is less than pleasant. Being in the back seat of a single engine Cessna when the instructor teaches the student a mid-air restart gives you a definite sinking feeling.

Well the last 12 hours has given us plenty of ups and downs. I'll try and go through them all here, but I may miss one or two.

The day started off positively enough, with signs that Petrina might have been able to come home this afternoon. But that didn't last long, when we then heard that the Drs wanted two full days for the drugs to work before doing the scan.

The next up came when the registrar spoke to the "big boss" and shortly after Petrina was scheduled for a 10:00am scan. Just sneaking in between outpatients, but the hope of coming home was back.

Then the scan.

It started OK, with just a simple ectopic beat (like SP had, and apparently most of us have from time to time). But it didn't take long for the irregular beats to show up. And all the oedema is still there.

They let Petrina out for a few minutes while consulting with the cardiologist, which is when I came in to the hospital. After some additional checks on the ultrasound, we learned that Petrina would have to stay in until at least Monday, when they will do another scan with the cardiologist present (I think). Given that we were starting to prepare for an emergency delivery, this was relatively good news.

The specialist doing the ultrasound said that right now it looks bleak, but in the womb surrounded by prayer was definitely the best place for baby to be. There is a small chance that it will die in-utero, but less chance that if we delivered now.

All I can say is thankfully the day didn't end there. Petrina has a great job working at the Mater's Growth and Development unit, where she rubs shoulders with some world class physios, psychs, and paediatricians. One of those doctors was able to come up and talk through the scan results and what might be ahead of us.

The summary of that discussion is:
- The drugs Petrina is on haven't taken effect yet. And even if they had, it's normally 7-10 days to see results.
- The cause of the irregular beat and the oedema may be linked, but not necessarily. Apparently oedema is usually associated with anemia. We'd assumed that the oedema occurred as a result of the heart failing to keep up. But, it should still clear as the heart gets back into rhythm and gets stronger.
- Because the heart is not working properly, there's a chance that the baby may have some form of disability.

So, we're back to a wait and see case. Petrina's in until Monday at the earliest, and that assumes the drugs come up to effective levels soon enough to show results in the scan.

Thank you for your prayers so far. We're finding things pretty draining emotionally. Please keep praying for us to trust God completely and that the scan on Monday will show that the drugs are starting to have the desired effect.

Boy or Girl? (by Petrina, posted by Dave)

It seems that when an unborn baby is in troublem its parents typically announce its gender and name before it is born. I [Petrina] was actually discussing this with a friend a couple of months ago and though we both prefer not finding out the gender under "normal" circumstances, we agreed that with a sick baby, we would want to.

Now that I'm in that situation, I disagree with myself.

The thing I liked most about not finding out SP's gender before birth was the moment of delivery, when he finally arrived. After all the waiting and longing, "it's a ..." were some of the sweetest words I'd ever heard.

Whether this baby comes out healthy, sick, or stillborn, it will still have a moment of birth. And whatever happens, I still want my moment of hearing those sweet words again as we meet our little one face to face.

Update #1

Thank you to everyone who's praying for us and our baby.

Give thanks that the first step of treatment is going well: Petrina is coping well with the heart medication, and doesn't appear to be experiencing any side effects.

Pray that the drugs will carry through to the baby and have the desired effect in its little heart.

Please Pray for our Baby

Our precious unborn child has heart failure. Its little heart is moving through many different rhythms and its body is swollen, with fluid gathering under its skin and around its organs.

I've been admitted to hospital for a couple of days, and the doctors are working to find the dose of medication that will help the baby's heart get back on track without harming mine. When (if) they can do that, we pray that the baby will heal sufficiently in its present home before coming into the big wide world. Some staff seem very optimistic, others not so much.

We are so thankful that God has all this absolutely under His control, and that He has had this little one's life planned out since before the beginning of time.

Please pray that our baby will be healed and that we will trust Him and His plan. Pray also that we will have opportunities to share with those around us the reason for the hope that we have.

May God be glorified.



---------

Petrina wrote that from hospital this morning and asked me to post it for her. At the moment the possible outcomes range from a small but otherwise healthy baby, to stillborn. We just have to trust God for the final answer. But as she said, we're amazed and so blessed to live in a country where we have this sort of medical care; where the doctors can look at a scan and see a problem, and know that if they give Petrina certain drugs, they will get through to the baby as well.

Dave

Mobile computing

We've got a new computer. A laptop :)

I've had a laptop before, a hand-me-down from my wonderful uncle, but it was never fast and lost the ability to work without a power cord some years ago. 

Right now, I'm sitting on the couch, on the computer. And it's plugged into nothing. 

Nice :)

Feeling more organised

I had my Glucose Challenge test today. In the quiet hour between drinking the bottle of Lucozade & having blood taken, I organised myself a bit of a weekly plan for now until Christmas, a la The Planning with Kids Blog. Except mine is a plan for pre-baby as well as pre-Christmas tasks. 

There's actually not as much to do as I thought there was, and it all slots quite nicely into the coming weeks. 

Now to action it. 

And if baby comes before Christmas, I guess there'll just be things left undone :)

I shouldn't complain

Because God says not to. 

And also because I'm pretty fortunate to have a 2 year old who can dish up dinner for me. 

I'd like less help around the house

Particularly in the kitchen.

2 year old help, that is. 

I know it's great that SP is into cooking, and all other domestic things, but sometimes I'd really like to cook alone without having to wait until he's asleep or in rest time. 

From the back seat

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch some pail of water
Jill fell down and broke her crown and Jack came tumbling after."
(much laughter)
I mixed up the song! I made it sound funny!
I'm a imposer [composer] like Uncle Phil! 

We're back from holidays

• 3 days drive down to Melbourne
• 6 days there
• farm, train & tram adventures
• a wonderful wedding
• many catch-ups with family & friends
• 2 days driving back
• 1 day home
• a move to the big boy bed

• one happy (and tired!) family :)

Ooh, I won something!

Thanks to Squiggle Mum, we'll soon be transporting our food in cloth lunch bags from A Good Wrap. Nice!

I'm just quite excited, I never seem to win anything :)

After Independent Play this morning...

"I'm been taking things out!"

It really does make a difference

After reading The Sweet Poison Quit Plan, I've been fructose free for almost 2 months. And feeling really good. 

Yesterday morning I had a cup of tea with sugar in it. 

I've been awake since 2am, with nausea returned full force. 

I had been planning to have a sweet treat at Phil's wedding reception, but now it doesn't seem so attractive...

Thinking about Kids Time at Church

There seem to be quite a few blogs around linking to the new online Briefing magazine, so I might as well become one of them. 

Just read a very interesting article: 'Maximizing the kids' spot at church' 

The purpose of kids time as stated in the article makes a lot of sense to me: 

To quote my minister, the aim of the kids’ spot is to “make a cultural statement about who we are as a church”. The fact that we send kids out for most of the service could give the impression (to them and to the adults) that church is not for children. However, we know from the Bible that children are valuable to Jesus (Matt 19:13-14) and are able to know and understand the sacred scriptures (2 Tim 3:15); after all, they receive specific teaching from Paul (Eph 6:1; Col 3:20). Having a kids’ spot says that together—kids and big people—we are God’s church in this place. It says to the kids “You belong at church, you are part of us”, and reminds the adults that this is so. Having kids in church for at least some of the time, and having a segment to serve them in particular, reflects the unity we have as the people of God, as the body of Christ.¹

(emphasis mine)

For the last year or so (or since we started doing whole-sunday-school programs each term, rather than each class working through different material), our kids talks have predominantly been from the church4kids leaders revising last week's material or introducing this week's material. I love that it keeps the adults informed about what the kids are learning, and I hope it fosters connections between the adults and kids, and says to the whole congregation that what the kids are doing is important. 

But there are so many great ideas elsewhere in the article that I'd love to try! Even though some sound quite scary. Like interviewing a family on how their home bible reading is going - yikes, but how cool!

Food for thought. 

Secret Hiding Spot

SP's secret hiding place for Daddy's Fathers' Day present: 

Good thing the bag didn't give much indication of the contents!

Quote of the Day

SP slips off the bathroom stool: 

"I dropped myself!"

I spent 3 minutes and 40 seconds on the bus this morning

It used to be about 10-15 minutes. 

I LOVE our new busway :D

Projects, projects, projects

I think I must be an ideas person. I never really thought of myself as such, but yesterday I turned to SP and said 'I've got an idea' and he gave me the exact same look that Dave does. A look that says "Oh, here comes another crazy scheme, what will it be this time..."

So I thought I'd share some of the 'ideas' that have become 'projects' that I'm currently working on. 

• A little something for Fathers Day. I will say no more here, because said Father will read it. But chances are he's already guessed that something is coming. 
• A photo prayer diary for SP. 
• A hutch dresser for SP's cardboard kitchen. It really needs some more storage space!
• A tray table for SP for our road trip. Haven't got past the planning stage with this yet, but I'm modelling it on this one.  
• A button toy for SP, also for the road trip. A button on the end of a bit of ribbon, with lots of squares of felt with holes to button on. I saw this on a blog but can't find the link right now. 
• An overhaul / computerisation of my recipe box, to fit with my new routine of monthly Aldi shops. 
• A display board for SP's artwork. I just decided yesterday that a newly-organised corner needs one.
• Christmas crackers for our family celebration (yes, a while away, but still in my thoughts). 
• Converting our long, narrow sleepout (ie. study / library / reading area) into 2 partitioned rooms, one of which will be a nursery. This actually involves a fair few smaller 'projects', but there's no need to list them all here!

I think this will keep me busy for a little while :)

Free nappies & giftcards anyone?

I've just registered my interest with Q&A research for this product trial. Sounds good to me!

Mothers, of babies that are in the weight range of 10-15kgs, who use disposable nappies to trial 3 brands of nappies over the next 2 weeks.If you participate you will receive 3 x 25 nappies and after the completing the questionnaires, you will receive a $20 Coles Myer Gift card. The trial will be from Monday 29^th – 9^th September.If your child fits the criteria above or you know anyone, please pass along our details and ask them to call  or you call on 07 3119 8003.And just mention the NAPPY TRIAL.

John Piper Live

I loved pretty much everything about QTC's John Piper evening yesterday. 

I'd just finished reading Piper's 'Don't Waste Your Life' and it was really helpful to hear bits that I recognised in his talk but have them expanded and expressed differently so I understood them just a little bit more. And lots of new material too.

Colin Buchanan is such a professional. As much as I enjoyed his music, and I did, I also learned so much from him as a song leader. It's actually okay for the song leader to totally stop singing and let the congregation take it away. Very cool. 

My 'high' for the evening: If singing praises to God sounds that good with 3200 people, how great is heaven going to be!!

Yep, I'm now one of those parents

I always cringed at people who post their kids saying memory verses on youtube, but now I have one of my own...

Click here to hear SP, age 2 years 3 weeks, singing our current Church4Kids memory verse, Isaiah 12:1-2. With just a couple of prompts from Mummy. 

There's something so special about hearing him randomly singing around the house "Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid..." Even if he doesn't quite get what it means yet. 

And no, I did not do hours of coaching to get this recording! We sing it around the house a bit (but not that much), and he started singing it at the dinner table so I got my phone out. And turned into a puddle of proud-mummy-goo :)

Oops

Today's lowlight: Paying $150 for a suitcase we don't need or want, because SP was playing with it in the shop and it got scratched. 

For the record, I'm not blaming the store or their staff at all, except that it's unfortunate that they had concrete flooring. I let SP get too far away from me. I was letting him play more vigorously than he should in that environment. It really was scratched all over one side. And it should have cost us $180; they gave us a discount because they felt sorry for me!

Not my proudest parenting moment. 

I'll try again tomorrow. 

SP's Quotable Quotes

At just over 2, SP is full of words, sentences and ideas. And he cracks me up! Here's some recent quotable quotes:

When we were in the back yard and all the afternoon tea food was inside: “Better go upstairs then.”

When I was a bit slack on the admin side at playgroup: “Nametag Mummy!”

“S______ get on his trike and put his helmet on and ride to work and carry his trike up the stairs in Daddy’s foyer.” All said through tears - he really wanted to go!

While climbing up on stool: “Climbing up like Jack and Jill climbed up the hill to get some water.”

Any time he wants something that he thinks isn’t going to happen: “Today or not today”

eg. “Mummy get in your cot.”

            “Sorry, Mummy doesn’t fit in your cot.”

            “Mummy get in your cot today or not today.”

Any time he doesn’t understand the conversation: “Mummy and Daddy are talking about..."

Hello there baby!

We finally had a scan this week :) All looking pretty good at this stage. This baby has the same ectopic heartbeat that SP had in utero, although it's more pronounced and earlier this time. We're praying that all it will mean is extra monitoring between now and birth, rather than any pre- or post-birth complications. 

SP did a great job sitting with Dave through the ultrasound, with only a little bit of distraction needed, and he did seem genuinely interested in what was going on. At one point, I told him that we were looking at the baby's nose and asked him where his was - he pointed to his nose then the baby raised its hand to its face too. We told SP that the baby was copying him, and he looked very chuffed at that. He's now a bit confused about the baby's location though - previously he knew it was inside Mummy, but now he's seen it on a TV screen he doesn't seem so sure! He's still convinced its a girl though. And no, we didn't find out and don't want to :)

Bliss

SP had his first proper sleepover on Friday night, at Grandma's house. 

Dave & I had a sleepover too - at the Stamford Plaza!

It was an early 5th wedding anniversary celebration, as our actual anniversary is 2 weeks before Baby is due. 

I loved the luxury of the whole thing, and the relaxed morning was particularly wonderful. We finally appeared at the buffet for breakfast after 9am. At home that's morning tea time!

Thanks honey :)

The Birthday Party - finally

As I hinted earlier, SP had a Winnie-the-Pooh birthday party for his second birthday. For the occasion, we turned the backyard into the Hundred-Acre Wood, and were very blessed by the beautiful sunny morning.

The inspiration for the Hundred-Acre Wood idea was a big forked branch that came loose from one of our trees a few weeks before the party. It became the doorway for Eeyore's house. 

We made Pooh and Piglet's houses with a couple of big cardboard boxes, thanks to the helpful people at the Harvey Norman warehouse, then re-named the sandpit as 'the Sandy Pit where Roo Plays' and the herb garden as 'Rabbit's Vegie Patch'. 

SP's essentials for a birthday party: streamers, balloons, party hats and cake with candles to blow out.

We certainly satisfied the streamer aspect of things! Just a few balloons, as blowing them up is currently making me nauseous and Dave was 2 days post-wisdom-tooth-removal. For party hats, we printed some Winnie-the-Pooh pictures and let the kids decorate with crayons & glitter.

   

And of course, a Winnie-the-Pooh cake! SP and I did the baking (all fructose free, including the icing!), then Dave showed that spending his days working under a microscope produces useful hand-skills for real life too. I'm very proud of his decorating. 

My favourite party moment happened before the party even started. Dave and I set up the backyard while SP  was having Independent Play Time in his room. When we were done, we brought him out through the front door to see the balloons on the gate and the Hundred-Acre Wood sign. Then down the side... 

"Streamers!" "Eeyore's house!" "Pooh's house!" I pray I'll remember the look of wonder on his face forever. 

For those with the password, here's some more photos...

Last 3 lessons done!

Just in time for the meeting tomorrow. 

But I'm not going to get to the blog post tonight. 

Maybe tomorrow, if the census doesn't take too long. 

Thanks for your patience. 

Birthday Boy

Just to let you know, I have a birthday post planned, but I'm not going to let myself write it until the next lesson of my Isaiah Sunday School material is done. 

It'll have to be before my meeting on Tuesday. 

Noises from naptime

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero...

"Blast off!!"

Thank you, Colin Buchanan, for teaching my son to count. Even if it is backwards. 

Party Prep

There's a Winnie-the-Pooh birthday party in the works. Here's a sneak peak...

Show link to video

Our afternoon

I had a fair few jobs that needed to be done this afternoon. I was feeling pretty unmotivated, and couldn't decide where to start. So I let SP decide. 

This was our afternoon: 

A daytime sleep!

Another sleep-related post! Fellow parents will not be surprised, given how much sleeping seems to affect everything else. I'll try to post about something more interesting soon - so much going on at the moment that I don't seem to have the brain space to write about it!

Anyway, SP's having a day sleep for the first time in a week! Turns out it's REALLY important at the moment that he's in bed by midday, and too many days of the week we're just getting home & starting lunch about then. 

Time for some better time management strategies, I think...

A sleep in!

On an average weekday we're all up at 6, and we'll stretch it out a maximum 10-15 minutes on weekends before SP becomes insistent. When Dave turned to me this morning and said it was nearly 6:30, I just about fell out of bed. 

He reminded me of a conversation we had on the Saturday after SP was due to be born (and a week before his actual birth): he wanted to get up and get things done, but I suggested we rest a bit longer because post-baby we might not have the chance for a long time. I was right. 

But today, we didn't hear SP until about 6:45. Then it became a challenge to stay in bed until 7 just to see if we could. 

When I went in to get him (which is usually Dave's job), he was sitting huddled in bed with his sheet over his knees and his beloved wrap held around his shoulders, granny style. My gorgeous boy :) 

PBC Expo 2011

I said last year that we'd make the Pregnancy, Babies & Children's Expo at the Convention Centre an annual event, especially for the joy of the animal farm. For a trip down memory lane, here's last year's post and photos. 

SP & I made the trip (on the bus!) on Friday, and had another great time. We spontaneously met up with a friend from church and her kids, and a very dear friend with her gorgeous adopted son whom I hadn't previously met - hooray!

The animal farm was a hit again. SP was very excited to tell Uncle Phil about the 'little piggy' on the phone this afternoon.

Dorothy the Dinosaur wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be. Captain Feathersword's impersonation of Incey Wincey Spider falling down was quite traumatic; Sam LOVES Incey Wincey and I think he was quite concerned for his dear friend's safety. Plus, the absence of the actual Wiggles was keenly felt. 

So while Dorothy continued, we headed over to the Red Nose Day Traffic School. He's always been into riding cars, and he's currently into parking them as well. Bobby Cars look fantastic, but we really don't need more ride-ons at this point!

We didn't see much of the actual stalls, but we went for the entertainment and got what we were looking for. We'll be heading there again next year, I suspect.

Show photos

A new ticker

Creative sparks

I've been working on Isaiah sunday school material all year. It's been hard slog. 

Finally (a few weeks before it's due to be used) I've got some creative presentation ideas. Now my brain's running a mile a minute. Bring it on!!

Airport Lookout

Thanks to a friend, we've discovered a new favourite place to go - the lookout just past the domestic terminal at the airport.

Parking, grass for running, a concrete platform to stand on and lots of planes to watch. And a whole lot of new words for SP's burgeoning vocabulary.

We got the finer details from here: http://www.jetspotter.com/forum/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=42 - it's the first one on the list.

Anybody need an airport pick up?

Dear SP

I'm very happy that you're excited about another airport run tomorrow, and it's very cute that you can say 'pick up airy (area)', but I'd really prefer that you spent naptime asleep. Trust me, we'll all have a happier afternoon if you do.

Love Mummy

Boy or Girl

A conversation with SP this afternoon. 

SP: Sam boy.

Me: What's Mummy?

SP: Girl.

Me: What's Daddy?

SP: Boy

Me: What's Nana?

SP: Girl.

Me: What's Grandma?

SP: Girl. 

Me: What's Aunty Rachel?

SP: Girl.

Me: What's Uncle Phil?

SP: Man. 

Right. 

Pastitsio Love

I cooked an old favourite last night, that I'm so glad I remembered after a year or so of absence. I have no idea why it fell out of use, but it's back now. It tasted so good that I just had to share the recipe and share the love. No photo unfortunately, it was eaten before I thought of that. I'll put one up next time I make it. 

Pastitsio is a bit like a greek version of lasagna. I have no idea how authentic our recipe is, but it's all we know. It originally came from a book called 'Cooking with Herbs and Spices', whose author I didn't record. And it really is the herbs and spices that make the dish - if you don't have cinnamon, cumin & mint, buy them! Do not substitute or it just won't be the same :(

2 cups macaroni (I used pasta spirals because that's what we had)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

450g mince (I used a bit less mince and some beans, because I often do)

300mL beef stock (or water if you're out of stock powder, as we were yesterday)

2 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp mint

50g butter

1/4 cup plain flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup natural yoghurt

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

- Cook pasta & drain

- In frying pan, heat oil & cook onion & garlic for 8-10 mins until soft

- Add mince, stir until browned

- Stir in stock, tomato paste, cinnamon, cumin & mint

- Cook gently for 10-15 mins until sauce is thick and flavoursome.

- Melt butter in saucepan

- Stir in flour, cook 1 min

- Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk & yoghurt

- Cook gently 5 minutes

- Stir in half the cheese & all the pasta

- To Assemble: Spread half the pasta mixture in the base of your dish. Cover with meat sauce and top with remaining pasta. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. 

- Bake 45 mins or until golden brown. 

Yum!!!  

A is for Up

Imagine SP and I discussing the letters on my shirt, as we often seem to these days. On this occasion, the 'A' in 'Istanbul' is of particular importance to him, but there's some confusion.

"A. Up."

I gently correct. "A is for aeroplane."

"A. Up."

He usually knows this one. I try again. "A is for apple. A is for ant."

SP remains adamant. "A. Up."

I try a different tack. "U is for up."

A pause, and a confused little face.

"Me?"

Mothers Day is looking good

I'm banned from the kitchen while Dave cooks up a storm.

Mums-don't-cook-on-mothers-day is one family tradition that I've been very happy to adopt :)

The cuteness of toddler speech

SP's speech isn't his strongest point, but it's getting there. 

He's had proper nouns for some time: Mum, Dad, and other extended family members (including Nana's dogs - very important). 

Other nouns he generally signs. Except barber - Grandma taught him to say that one and it comes out a lot, especially as he's desperately in need of a hair cut. 

Verbs he also signs, or imitates. It surprises me how accurately he can reproduce an action that he's only seen a small number of times. 

SP's favourite part of speech at the moment: prepositions! Up, in, out & on mostly. Useful for almost any situation. I never realised how many different phrases and contexts include 'up' until it became SP's favourite word to imitate. Apart from the obvious directional meaning, there's clean up, pack up, fix up, tie up, makeup,  and many more that I can't think of right now. 

Here's SP yesterday, reading up on local news and events...

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Royal wedding

Yes, I watched last night. And felt a little voyeuristic, but I guess that's ok for the royals. 

I agree with Simone that Jerusalem was a low point. High point for me: 2 billion people all heard the Bible. 

And now the furore is over, maybe we can all get back to our lives. And normal TV programming. 

God Answers Prayer

About a month ago, our best drummer, Pete, left the church. And left a big hole in Dave's music roster. 

We found out today that a new guy plays drums. His first Sunday with us was Pete's last. 

Thank you, God. 

Easter Calendar Finished

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was thinking of doing an Easter Calendar with SP this year. We did it, and it's done!

It was inspired by the material we used for Church4Kids in term 4 last year, which went through Matthew. 

The top row of pictures were the 6 Sundays of Lent - Jesus' life & ministry up to Palm Sunday. 

The middle row is Monday-Thursday of Easter Week, following what happened in that week. 

Then bottom row is Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

Once I'd picked the passages it was actually really easy to organise - I just printed & coloured clip art (except for the upturned table which Dave drew), we read straight from Dave's bible, did a quick SP-language summary and sang a related kids song together. 

I wasn't expecting too much understanding from SP, although he always takes in more than we realise. Just wanted to get the system up and running while the idea was fresh. In future years we'll add memory verses, reading from other gospels etc etc. I like to think long-term :)

I think that reading from the grown-up bible was a key to our success this year. SP loved it! On Easter Sunday he got the bible by himself and sat down waiting for us to join him...

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I pray that he'll always be so willing to learn about Jesus. 

What we're reading: The Book Thief

Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is the next book club book. I borrowed it from the library on Wednesday and I'm nearly finished. So much easier (and smaller) than Wolf Hall!

Can I please be in 2 places at once?

Found my next super-fun, perfectly me-shaped choral opportunity. I was SO excited, then I realised it's the same day as my high school reunion. 

The two events are about 500m apart, but I can't exactly skip out halfway through a concert for a quick chat with friends...

What would you do?

We're on You Tube!

The Hallelujah Chorus from last night's Sing It Yourself Messiah. Not bad for 2 hours rehearsal!

Boys night in, Girls night out

I'm going to a sing-it-yourself Messiah this afternoon, with my mum and mum-in-law. Dave & SP staying home. I see lots of Duplo in their future, and lots of lovely harmonies in ours.

I suspect it's only going to increase my desire to get back into choral singing... 

Obligatory photos of SP

I know this is what you out-of-towners come here for.

Balloon family

We got the balloons out this afternoon intending to make plant pot drums. But the balloons were way too small, so we made our family instead. 

Can you guess who is who?

Tip of the Day

How do you fix a failing car remote?

Put it through the washing machine. 

Yes, really. 

Famous connections

My niece Emma is making her debut as a presenter on Play School on Tuesday morning. 9:30 ABC2. 

You can even read about her on the Play School website.

How exciting!!

Travelators, trolleys and children

A parenting dilemma: 

When we're at the shops, SP is in the trolley more often than not. He likes it, I like it, I don't have to remember to bring the pram, and we have room for lots of stuff. All good. 

Except that I noted a couple of months ago that one of the posted rules of travelators is 'no children riding in trolleys'. 

I've been ignoring the rule for a while, but my conscience is getting the better of me. So this afternoon, instead of putting SP back in the trolley for the walk from the kids playzone back to the car, I thought I'd obey the rule. 

This is where the problems start. If I am to hold onto the rail with one hand (another posted rule), and also hold my child's hand (yep, that's a rule too), how do I hold on to the trolley?

I guess its between my conscience and the very inconveniently placed lift. 

Am I a self-absorbed Mummy?

Just been reading this: 

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/baby/baby-blog/are-you-a-self-absorbed-mummy-20110324-1c7bp.html

Actually, I think it should be child-absorbed, rather than self-absorbed. Apparently, not everyone wants to hear every little detail of every little accomplishment in my child's life. 

Oh well. I'm going to keep posting about the little details, uninteresting as they may be to others. You can choose whether to read about them or not :)

But if I start to get too child-absorbed in public, feel free to let me know. 

What we're reading: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

I first read this to SP a few days ago and he loves it! I'm a bit surprised that he's taken to it so much, as it's quite a bit longer than your average toddler picture book. I guess it wouldn't have been popular for so many years if it didn't have something special. The copy we're reading from was given to me when I was young, so it's a bit special in that way too.

It may be a bit wordy, but SP definitely has the basic plot down pat. He shakes his head vehemently when Peter goes under the gate into Mr McGregor's garden, and has taken to walking around the house pretending to sneeze and hop away, just like Peter when he hides in a watering can. Cute, but dribbly!

Here's some photos:

What we're reading: The Shaping of a Christian Family

After my Wolf Hall post, I've decided to blog about the books I'm reading for a while. Hopefully it will help me to distill my thoughts about them, and to finish some books that I've been meaning to for a while.

Today's book: The Shaping of a Christian Family, by Elisabeth Elliot.

I've intended to read some Elisabeth Elliot for a while and I picked this one up second hand, so it's become my introduction to her writing. I'll be reading more. 

The 'Christian Family' referred to in the title is Elliot's own family of origin, and substantial portions of the book are taken from her parent's diaries, detailing her life and upbringing. It seems like the perfect family to me. Old-fashioned, yes, but I like that sort of thing :) Life is orderly, routine, and manageable, the kids are well-behaved, hard working and considerate, everybody gets along with everybody else, and faith in Jesus is palpable and contagious. The kind of house I dream of having.

I don't agree with all the methods in the book, but I did find her mother Katherine's diaries to be particularly inspiring; there was some considerable hero-worship going on. I actually got quite a shock near the end of the book when a letter from Katherine to the adult Elisabeth read:

...I try to put into words my thankfulness to our Father for His good hand upon you over the years, for His faithfulness when I have been so faithless, ...  (emphasis mine)

Yikes! If she is faithless, what am I? Never fear, a few pages later...

Be not dismayed! If you are convinced of the value of standard here set forth, never think of the impossible. It is always possible to do the will of God. Begin to be ready to do. What do you want your home to be? What does God want it to be? Waste no time wondering if you can do it. The question is simply Will you? Your weakness is itself a potent claim on the divine mercy. (emphasis in original)

I think I may have that stuck on my mirror for some time. 

Photos

I promised my loved ones a photo update some time ago, intending to post quite a lot of photos and info from the last few months. But I don't think that's going to happen, so here's an update on the last couple of weeks.

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New Ticker

The observant among you will notice that the little picture at the top of the blog that tells you SP's current age has changed. The little sitting baby we had before didn't seem quite appropriate anymore. 

But the new one makes me realise that he'll be 2 in a few months time. Yikes!

Playgroup

Our church Playgroup started (or restarted) this morning! 

SP has been very excited, pointing to the calendar and signing 'play' for the last two weeks or so. And I think it lived up to his expectations - he had a great time. 

A few kinks to iron out, but overall it was a lot of fun for kids and mums. Bring on next Thursday!

Book Club - Wolf Hall

I read a few of the books that our church book club read last year, but haven't made it to a meeting yet. I'm planning to get there next weekend though - after 600+ pages, a bit of discussion is warranted, I think.

The book was Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall - a novelisation of the life of Thomas Cromwell, who is a key player in the saga of Henry VIII's divorce of his first wife, Katherine, and marriage to Anne Boleyn. 

I enjoyed the book, and once I'd waded through the first 200 pages, the rest went quite quickly. My impressions are unfortunately clouded by a personal pet peeve: the title of the book has almost nothing to do with the book itself. The Seymours, who live at Wolf Hall, are characters in the book, but the story ends well before Jane Seymour becomes Henry's next wife. Maybe the author uses the title as a foreshadowing of the future. Whatever the reason, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Other than that, it's a good read. The cast of characters list at the beginning is worth having, and I'm still confused about where a few of them fit, but the lives and characters of the main players are quite artfully revealed as the story progresses. I found it interesting to see the Catholic/Protestant debate from both sides, although actions, rather than doctrines, are the focus of the book. I think the following quote neatly captures the religious changes afoot at the time:

...he feels a force ready to break, as spring breaks from the dead tree. As the word of God spreads, the people's eyes are opened to new truths. Until now, ... they knew Noah and the Flood, but not St Paul. They could count over the sorrows of our Blessed Mother, and say how the damned are carried down to Hell. But they did not know the manifold miracles and sayings of Christ, nor the words and deeds of the apostles, simple men who, like the poor of London, pursued simple wordless trades. The story is much bigger than they ever thought it was. ... They have seen their religion painted on the walls of churches, or carved in stone, but now God's pen is poised, and he is ready to write his words in the books of their hearts.  (pp 515-516)

There's a sequel on the way, apparently. I doubt I'll go out of my way to get it, but if I see it on the shelf in the library, I'll probably pick it up.

Easter Calendar

We all enjoyed our Noel Calendar so much at Christmas that I'm working on one for easter. A story about Jesus and a picture to stick up for each of the 6 Sundays of Lent, then one each day from Monday-Sunday of Easter week. 

I'm pretty sure that most of the stories I want to cover will be in at least one of our kids bibles, but right now I'm considering reading them straight from the NIV (or maybe NIrV). There'll be a toddler-speak summary at the end, that we'll then repeat and add to each week/day until Easter. 

Too ambitious? 

Helpfulness vs 'helpfulness'

SP loves to be 'helpful', as I think most little kids do. But 'helpfulness' is not always helpful to whoever he's helping. 

Recently though, there are elements of his 'helpfulness' that are actually helpful! In the last few days, he's learnt to pull the dry socks & jocks off multi-peg-hanger that hangs off the clothes line and put them in the basket. Keeps him busy while I bring the other things in, and it's a whole category of clothing that I don't have to do myself anymore!

There are some slight issues when he 'helpfully' pulls off the wet things as I'm putting them out, but we're working on that :)

Long live helpfulness!

Church

SP loves church. He loves the music, the friends, the music, the toys, the music, the food, and especially the music :) Hopefully at some point he'll also love being at church to learn about Jesus and be with God's people. 

I love that he loves church. I like that he often talks (ie signs) about church (especially about the music!) during the week. 

I don't love that he had a HUGE tantrum this morning because we're not going to church today.

We've now looked at the calendar and talked about church days and non-church days. I think we might also make ourselves a book about church. Any other ideas?

Want a laugh?

I don't know where this is originally from, but I saw it on Facebook. Worth doing. 

1. Go to Google Maps and click on "Get Directions." 

2. Enter "USA" as your start point. 

3. Enter "Japan" as your destination. 

4. Go to the 31st point on your route. 

5. When you stop laughing, post this as your status so that others can laugh at it too..

First Guitar part 2

A guitar need not always be a guitar...

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Now to get him into bed without it... Or maybe not?

SP's first guitar

Thanks to clip art, cardboard, paddle pop sticks for stability, and 10 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. He's already frustrated that it's not strummable, but it's a start.

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