snap shots

I just want to give you little verbal snap shots of what the kids are like at the moment.

in the supermarket, Bax says to G "Please Daddy may you go and get us some ham to eat please thank you." G, impressed by Bax' manners, agrees with a smile. As he is walking away, izzie (the polar opposite though usually also very polite) yells at her father "Run! Run!"

And tonight i peeked in the door to the dining room and there is Izzie sitting up to dinner all by herself, just waiting to be served, and she is standing on her chair marching on the spot and singing to herself (she doesn't see me watching).

I took Bax to the theatre (Sound of Music) and he loved it. Miss O and Auntie H came too and the four of us sat near the back all on our own so the kids whispering didn;t bother any 'serious' theatre-goers. We left at intermission - the kids didn't know, we made out it was finished. They'd only seen that much of the video anyway and they had been sitting for an hour and a half. They were so so tired. But as we left Bax remembered his favourite cafe across the plaza and he said "Oooo I'm so hungry and so is Miss O", Auntie H and I laughed and off we all went to the cafe for a "midnight" snack of cake and juice. It was terrific.

new doll

Last weekend I went to a really quite magical doll making workshop. It was so so great. I made a doll and really wanted Iz to LOVE it. It has blonde hair and blue eyes and a lilac jumpsuit and I called it Lila.

On the first night I said to Izzie "i have a new friend for you to meet, her name is Lila." and I gave her the doll. Izzie was so enamoured at first. She carefully cradled the doll and sat up in bed with her and listened to the story and all the while stroked Lila's legs and whispered to her. I heard her say "This is my pop Lila" 9her pop is her dummy) and "you have very scruffy hair Lial". and I thought YES! she loves her. But then when the story was over Izzie solemnly passed the doll back and said to me "You take her mummy I'm too tired" It was if the responsibility was just too much.

Then this morning I put Lila into a bag to take to show a friend and Izzie saw her there and said she would like to have Lila on her knee for the car ride. She was so careful to not get vegemite onto Lila;s skin (Izzie was eating toast.) Then at kindy Iz said she would like Lila to come to kindy and sit in her bag and be there when kindy was finished for the day. so off Lila went.

then when I got home Lila was snuggled under the blanket watching tv with Izzie. Izzie was lookng after her so carefully (although I suspent she lets her watch far too much TV!). But then on her way to bed Izzie gave her back to me and said I should look after her.

Bax piped up and said "i think she's very pretty, I'll have her with me Izzie".

in the end Izzie did take her to bed (as long as zebra could go too).

Fire!

Well the last couple of weeks have been a real doozee!

I put my back out and that meant quite a number of visits to a chiropractor (never been before so a new experience) and a physio (never been before so ditto). Then I got a cold with aches (that's like getting more than just the burger, like supersizing up to the burger with fries AND a shake). Then the kids both got sick. Then G got tooth ache.

Having had enough of all that I took friday off mainly so I could sleep in and in the morning not rush the kids out of the house and into the cold day. To help with the sleeping bizzo G got up really early and got the fire going in the potbelly down stairs. At 6.30am I woke up to the alarm clock...but not mine...I got up, still asleep really and went looking for the racket before the kids woke up (or me for that matter!). Took me a while to work it out but the noise was coming from downstairs.

I went down (without my glasses) and soon found all of downstairs full of smoke and the fire alarm going off! I went right up to the pot belly and peered at it. The wall behind seemed to have a lot of smoke coming out of it! it took a me a while to register I have to admit. I have discovered I am useless in a crisis!. I went back up stairs and found my specs and a blanket which I wrapped myself in. Then I rang my mum. Of course! Not 111. My mum. She suggested I go over to the neighbours and she would try and get hold of G.

So off I went wrapped in the blanket into the frosty, dark, morning. J and R across the road woke up to my banging on the door, came out, came across to my house. R had to stop to light a durrie. As we went into the lounge she asked "Can I smoke in there?" I didn't laugh, but in hindsight it was a deeply ironic question seeing as though the house was billowing smoke. J, R and I all stared at the smoking wall. Then the volunteer fire brigade siren went. We live in a small town remember! I was mortified "That's not for me is it?" J and R hjadn't rung the fire briagade, and I hadn't, so who had? Mum. Mum to the rescue. She had also got G on the phone and he had rung 111 too.

Then 2 fire engines and about 10 fire men turned up and they all trooped inside and I'm standing there in my blanket and huge polka dot PJ pants thinking "shoot I wish I'd put a bra on"

Then the main fire man asked what was above us. "My two sleeping children " I said. he said it would be a good idea to get them out of the house and only then did I realise the enormity of the situation.

I got the kids up - Bax bounced off bed with great excitement. Izzie was not so keen - she mewed like a kitten. I took them over the J and R's front room and we washed all the comings and goings from there. I drank tea, which is what one does in a crisis.

Mum and G arrived and the fire men did their stuff and then the whole drama faded into the day and things got back to normal. Well when I say normal what I really mean is chaos and when I say chaos what a really mean is a state of post-war mayhem with a smokey smell AND a wet carpet AND half the wall missing thanks to ten men and a crow bar.

Thank heavens for smoke alarms - get yours tested, installed or both today.