Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Yay Us!


So we are back from our camping trip.....and have brought all the holiday lethargy back with us. What we haven't brought back is the tummy bugs and flus! Yay Us!!! All healthy again here. On the flip side of that, my laundry looks far worse than the photo in the last post. We had fantastic weather for camping but as we were driving away from our campsite, the rain set in and the further south we drove, the heavier the rain came down. So I have been gradually trying to work through the washing pile from camping in wet weather....as you can probably imagine, it's not moving very quickly.

Anyways...I have stories and photos to share.

Before we left for our trip, Ayla finally realised she could reach through the playpen 'protecting' our Christmas Tree and pull off Baubles....and tinsel, and shred the fake branches, and pull the tree over.....Oh and look, Mummy put that Bauble back for me to rip off again...Cool. Yep, lots of fun and games to be had there. Trust me, that tree is not staying up til New Year's Day. It comes down tomorrow!



We have had 7 days of camping in a gorgeous spot at Burrum Heads. It's a tiny little seaside town that is supposedly part of Hervey Bay. The park was a bit neglected but we managed to snag some pretty reasonable camping spots and it was just a short walk across a road to go swimming. And yes, swimming made up the majority of our day. Ayla could see the water from our tent door and while I was tidying each morning she would sit at the door giving her very own little version of a sign for swimming and then squeal and giggle until we put our swimmies on. Our days went something like this.....wake up, have breakfast, go for a swim. Come back, tidy up, have morning tea, go for a swim. Come back, have a nap, wake up, go for a swim. Come back, have lunch, play in a bucket of water til whingey, go for a swim.....you get the picture. Ayla was in heaven.



There was one major drawback......SANDFLIES! Ugh. I absolutely will not use chemicals on anything to do with my living space, myself or Ayla....but camping we didn't have a choice. We had to resort to the good ole Dettol and Baby Oil remedy...only I just couldn't commit all the way and insisted on paying $15 for a tiny bottle of almond oil instead! I know it sounds weird but it does actually work. You mix them together 50/50 and smother yourself in it...the Sandies won't touch you! Promise. The worst hit with the bites were Ayla and Mum and it appeared that Mum might have had an allergy to them so she had to resort to antihistamines as well. And that kinda contributed to her wanting to go home after a few days...Sorry Mum. Majority rules and we stayed :)



I know that up and down the coast of Queensland was rain, rain, and more rain but we actually had perfect weather. We had a few showers and storms in the late afternoon and evenings but the days were fine and hot and perfect for swimming. We won't talk about the fishing....needless to say that Steven and Dad's record remains intact. Good onya boys!

On the way home, we stopped in at Steven's Mum's house to visit her and his sister and Ayla's cousins. Ayla slept for most of the afternoon but it really warmed my heart to see her 2 cousins actually wanting to interact with her. A lot of kids their age can't really be bothered with her and considering we only see Bridee and Aaron once or twice a year, I was really chuffed that they actually asked if they could give her a cuddle. Awwww....



So that's us! Hope your Xmas hols were just as lovely as ours and that you all stayed Happy and Healthy.

We wish you all an amazing 2010. I know lots of people that have really done it tough in 2009, so here's to a much bigger and better year in 2010. May all of your dreams, wishes, ambitions come true and for those of you who have littlies like Ayla....May your little ones reach milestones that make your happy tears flow.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Deck the Halls.....


Deck the Halls with Vomit and She-ets, fa la la la la la la la la.....

3 more sleeps until our camping trip to Burrum Heads and all is well with the world....Can you hear my sarcasm? Steven's down with a flu, Ayla has picked up a vomitting bug from her little friend, I'm feeling a bit nauseous, I have forgotten to organise a couple of Christmas presents, I'm supposed to be getting washing done so we have clothes to go away with but seriously the vomit has to be washed first, and I haven't even started packing yet. I've printed off the checklist....does that count?

Friday, December 11, 2009

Pretty Girl Lost



I never thought for a second that she wasn't coming home. I'll miss that little white tip on her tail. I always saw her tail tip well before I saw her. Slinking past the window. Disappearing around a corner.

She was 15 years old and she didn't act a day over 2.

Chloe-Jane aka Pretty Girl....Love you.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Sweet Summertime



Aaaah....My favourite time of year. And it seems it's Ayla's favourite time of year too. Her favourite past-times involve anything and everything to do with water, and most of them you can't do in Winter.

This is how we've been spending most mornings (...and afternoons). Who would have thought 1 bucket of water would provide me with enough time to water the garden, pull out some weeds, or clean the kitchen as I watch her from the kitchen window. Our dog, Khayman, thinks it's pretty good too.

There is one thing that also loves Summer and this week it has struck us hard. SNAKES. Our beloved 15 year old cat was bitten by a snake on Sunday night and is still fighting hard for her life at the vets. We rarely let her outside at night time but on this night Ayla was sick with a tummy bug and we needed to leave her bedroom door open during the night so we could hear if she vomitted again. Chloe-Jane (the cat) likes to creep into Ayla's bed so we thought it best that she stay outside that night.....possibly not. She seemed a little 'odd' on Monday afternoon but by Tuesday morning she was still lying in exactly the same spot, just staring. Since then she has been declining rapidly. Even today, the vet said that she possibly hadn't reached the bottom yet. I am hoping for better news tomorrow but I have a feeling it could be a few more days yet before there is a possibility of good news.

In the meantime, we'll just sit back and work out ways to pay for it! Gotta love your animals :)


As a little extra to this post.... check out this beautiful blog post from ABR founder Leonid Blyum....it really warmed my heart to know that we have some truly wonderful people on our side. Thanks Leonid!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Potty Training the Special Needs Child....Diary of a Wombat Style


If you're reading this because you think I have some idea on exactly how to do this.....you are very sadly mistaken. I haven't got a clue! Sorry to disappoint :)

What I can impart is possibly some humour.

Above is a photo of the sign that sits against our wall on the way to the kitchen. It's a spot that we pass by several times per day. It's slightly out of the way from the lounge room where Ayla plays but she is more than capable of getting to it. Our thoughts were that if Ayla could grasp the idea of touching the sign when she needs to go to the toilet then she may actually have a way of letting us know when she needs to go. That being said, let me now share with you the last 30 minutes....."Diary of a Wombat" style.

5.30pm Rolling toward kitchen...giggling. Touch the Toilet sign. Mum does the toilet sign with her hands, picks me up and carries me to the potty in the toilet.

5.31pm Sitting on potty, playing handsies with Mum. Grizzle and do finished sign. Mum takes me off the potty and says "False Alarm"

5.35pm Returned to the lounge room.

5.37pm Rolling toward kitchen...giggling. Pick up toilet sign and chew it. Mum does the toilet sign, and carries me off to the potty again.

5.38pm Sitting on potty, insisting that I'm finished. Mum takes me off the potty and says "False Alarm".

5.42pm Returned to the lounge room.

5.45pm Found my way to the Christmas tree and desperately reach through the wooden playpen.....managed to get a tickle from the tree. Got Bored.

5.50pm Rollin toward the kitchen....Hey! There's the toilet sign, touch it and see what happens.

5.51pm Sitting on potty again. Bored. Finished. "False Alarm"....back to the lounge room.

5.55pm Playing on floor, farting and grunting. Nowhere near the toilet sign. Picked up by Mum and she puts my hand on toilet sign....off we go again.

5.56pm Did a wee....."Yay...Hip Hip Hooray", says Mum.....No poo though...suckers!

5.58pm Got to flush toilet....must be some sort of reward.

6.00pm Back in the lounge room.

6.03pm Rolling toward toilet sign...Mum pushes highchair in front of it. Think she's had enough....and now we're on the way to the Bath.


And the funniest part of all of this.....I'm going away for one night (well, 36 hours to be exact) and it's all up to Grandma and Grandpa.....Have Fun!!!!