The Conversation!

Yesterday we had a meeting at the high school about Bears transition (I should add that trying to communicate with this high school is like beating your head against a brick wall)

Anyway during this meeting there was a conversation which I felt pretty much sums up the past (almost) 11 years...

DCP Case Worker - You have to remember that when working with Bear you are not just working with an autistic child you are also working with a severely damaged child, those years of abuse and neglect would have left him with some level of Post Traumatic Stress.

Head Teacher - Well is someone working with him for that?

Case Worker - No.

Head Teacher - Well why not?

Case Worker - Because basically no one really knows where to start!


Thank you!

Have I mentioned that we have the BEST case worker!

actually I really mean that!  When Bear first came into care he used to have contact with his Mum at one of the local daycare centres and at that time our case worker worked at that daycare so she has actually cared for him HANDS ON and seems to REALLY understand that when we say "this is what is happening" then we mean that "THIS is what is happening" and I can't thank her enough for the support she has shown since she started working for the department :)

The Christmas MacGyver

Last year I REALLY struggled to find the Christmas spirit and while this year I have been able to feel a small tingle of that familiar excitement underneath all the stress for the most part the stress has taken over and the Christmas spirit has remained just a tingle.

Until about a week ago.

Our kids are growing up and it is a constant battle to find tv programs for them that are age appropriate but not the CRAP that they seem to spew out  by the truckload, full of attitude and disrespect for authority so the Geek and I had discussed it and had decided that when our family tax benefit went in this year we would buy the full 7 seasons of MacGyver on DVD for the kids. 

So we did, and it arrived a couple of weeks ago and come Friday night we decided to have a "Macgyver night" complete with popcorn and fizzy drink for some "quality" (?) family time.

Well what a blast from the past and the Geek and I both had a good old chuckle at some it but with all of our family (even Bear came and had a looksee) gathered together and enjoying each others company I really felt the spirit of Christmas.

No there was nothing Christmassy about those episodes of MacGyver that we watched but the feeling of togetherness and family is what Christmas should be about...aside from the obvious of course...the birth of Jesus...and it really did turn out to be QUALITY family time.

Since then our kids have become real Mac fanatics and with Tiger being a bit of a science nut I do worry that we are going to find things being "MacGyvered" all over the place but I guess as long as he doesn't blow anything up we can probably cope with that :)

So Christmas here I come!

Life!

Life at the moment is tough!

This last couple of months it has been one thing after another, after another, after another. 

There have been several big things going on in our lives...Bear's high school transition - HUGE!  It affects everyone in our household and I am expecting the fallout to last at least a year...not to mention that the special ed teacher at the high school just seems to have no idea (or doesn't care) and won't include us in the process!

Closing down the business - HUGE!  There were lots of deciding factors and we put it off as long as we could but once the decision was made we just wanted to get the stock sold and get it closed.  So when the time came to announce our closing I wrote a nice little blog post about it and did a nice expensive promoted post on facebook, so what happened next?  Gremlins attacked our website and it crashed...about a dozen times in the first 48 hours of our closing down sale!  People were messaging me left and right saying they wanted to buy from our sale and couldn't get on the site...many asked me to put their orders through for them, which I didn't so much mind, except the toddlers could feel my stress and got crazy cranky, Chicken somehow managed to chip her front two bottom teeth and need to go to the dentist (easier said than done when you live at least 50km from anywhere) and then of course Tiger and Monkeys birthdays were coming up and we had a big double party planned so I had heaps of baking to do too! 

Ducky (now 19) is having a really rough time.  She is struggling to find her place in the world and I can tell you now that there are very few things in this world that are harder than standing back and letting your children make their own mistakes.

And then of course there is Christmas sneaking ever closer...We are heading on a 700km road trip with 6 kids, 2 of whom are under 2.  This in itself is something I am DREADING, along with the fact that we are staying at the geeks parent's place (as we usually do without a problem) only this time the geeks brother and his family are staying there too and the house just isn't big enough so I really worry that Bear is NOT going to cope, especially after everything he has been through this last 6 months.  But not only that.  Because we are going away for Christmas we are having my side of the family's Christmas get together about 3 weeks early.  At first I was really looking forward to it, even when it was decided that it would be at our house.  But my Mum has taken over and started "planning" and "inviting" and this thing is going to be bigger than Ben Hur!  I've gotten to the point where I don't even want to think about Christmas cause I just can't deal with one more thing.

But for every thing that's gone wrong over this last couple of months there is 1000 blessings.  Every giggle that comes out of our toddlers is a joy and a miracle (even if they have us pulling our hair out most of the time), we have a comfortable home on a big block in a fantastic neighbourhood.  I can't even express how grateful I am for this.  That the kids have space to run and play and when they want to ride their bikes up and down the street it is safe to do so.  I have my garden, okay it has a few more weeds than I would like at the moment, but it's also the time of year when the flowers are starting to bloom and they are beautiful.  We are planning lots of baking projects with the kids this Christmas and I am REALLY looking forward to just being a mom again.  To spending more time with our kids and just spend more time as a family.  We are blessed that as poor as we have felt we have never gone without, there has always been food in the house and the bills have never gone unpaid.  The Christmas shopping is more than half done and will probably be finished within a couple of weeks.  I have an awesome husband (even if he has me pulling my hair out most of the time hehe) and healthy children and a God who is bigger than all our problems! 
And I am thankful, sometimes I need to remind myself, but yes I am thankful!

I've Been Slack

I have been SLACK!  It's been a FULL ON year with foster kids out the wahzoo the beginning of high school transition for Bear and a BUNCH of other little bits and pieces and I have neglected you :(

But we are closing down the business so that we will have more time and less stress so I am planning to make my best effort to get back into this, if for no other reason than to get my plethora of thoughts out of my head and down on paper...or into cyberspace at the very least :)

So to start with I will share 2 conclusions that I have come to this week (I'm pretty sure I have known them for a while)

1...There are not enough hours in the day!

2...I need more wash baskets!

And right about now that's about as profound as it gets :D

The Gift!

Two weeks ago we had a pretty big storm come through.  We lots power for about 18 hours and with the threat of another one two days later our local school closed for two days.  We also had a two birthdays in the space of 3 days that week.  These things combined with the fact that it is almost the end of the school term and that it is getting close to time to hand three of our foster kids over to their grandmother have worked together to send our kids NUTS....and I mean NUTS.  And they've stayed that way.


If you've ever struggled with your children going a little crazy then just picture NINE of them going crazy for TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT!  Suffice it to say we are KNACKERED.  Both physically and emotionally drained.

But as big as our problems seem there is always someone in a worse situation than us.  I have a friend who has just had one of her parents diagnosed with cancer.  Those of you who know me will know that I have been there and done that and I don't ever ever EVER want to go through anything like that again. I'll take my 9 crazy kids any day.

But when I was chatting to her last night she mentioned that she has made me a gift...even with all that she is going through herself she took time out of her day to do something nice for me.

I was speechless...in fact a little teary even

and all I can say is THANKYOU :)

I Swear I My house Was Clean Today!

I swear my house was clean today

I promise that it's true

I swear my house was clean today

Until the kids came through

This morning during school time

I vacuumed and I mopped

I folded all the washing

And the dishes all got washed

But when the kids came home from school

My clean house disappeared

I've been a mum for 18 years

So I shouldn't think it's weird

They dumped their bags and shed their shoes

And helped themselves to food

But when it came to cleaning up

They just weren't in the mood

But when I sit and take it in

My hard work, all undone

I wouldn't change a single thing

Not any single one

For my babies all are precious

And their time with me not long

My heaven given blessings

And the reason for my song

The mess will still be here tomorrow

So I guess I'll just clean it up then

So that when they get home after school time

I can say this all over again!

A New Year!

Well it's only the 5th of January and already the year has gotten away from me!

I had been thinking for weeks about my new years resolutions and I think I've come up with some good ones but an ill-timed visit from auntie flo has had me feeling a little blue and a lot lacking in motivation!

Now that auntie flo has mostly left the building I am determined to start afresh and while I may yet put my new years resolutions down on paper (or cyber space as the case may be) I thought I'd kickstart a fantastic year by writing a Thankful Thursday kind of post, for I have much to be thankful for :D


I am thankful for a husband who loves me...and puts up with me when I'm cranky.

I am thankful for 6 very special, healthy children to drive me nuts during the holidays.

I am thankful that I have a reasonable sized house on a fairly big block (as much as I often complain that I need a bigger house, I don't really, I just need to learn to utilize my space better).

I am thankful for my garden...even if it is a little neglected.

I am thankful for simple things like hot running water and flushing toilets....and a good many other things that I take for granted that, when you consider the number of people worldwide who don't have these things, are really a luxury.

I am thankful for 3 meals a day, though I'm sure my body could survive on less :D

And I am thankful for a Lord who will take all my burdens from me...if I will just hand the jolly things over to him!!!

I could ramble on for hours but you get the idea, I've got it pretty good when push comes to shove if I focus on that fact the world will be a much brighter place :D