Jesse was icing cupcakes with Louisa and Max when she knocked a glass off the kitchen bench - but it was caught in a tablecloth and didn't hit the floor.
Louisa said 'Jesse, you are as lucky as a duck that didn't get its head cut off.' Which I suppose is true.
Then the icing got started and Max said 'I'm going to be as generous as a pig with this icing.' And Louisa nodded and replied "Pigs are very generous animals.' I didn't know that but Jesse says it must be true because Max was very generous with the icing.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
School
Louisa tells me that year 8 boys are weird (I would never have guessed!). It seems that one of said year 8 boys walked up to her and put his arm across her shoulder and said 'I don't even know you.'
It was all ok - Louisa gave him one of her famous stares and said 'go away.'
He did - Louisa's stares could move mountains.
Max tells me that Drew cut a mullet for crazy hair day. He is a very dedicated teacher.
Peet has a 'weird' English teacher - 'not bad, just weird'. I don't know what that means yet. Peet also says his maths teacher is not as good as Mr Delegi - that's the same Mr Delegi I had to take to task when Peet was in year 8 for being the worst teacher ever. Apparently absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Jesse is very keen for uni to start - for many reasons - not least of which is that she is working at Pine till then and it's exhausting (but lovely).
Tom is working at Lee & Joan's house getting it ready to sell - also exhausting.
I am not looking forward to uni starting - Tom hangs out washing, mows, defrosts during the day and on and on. Jesse too except when she is at Pine.
It was all ok - Louisa gave him one of her famous stares and said 'go away.'
He did - Louisa's stares could move mountains.
Max tells me that Drew cut a mullet for crazy hair day. He is a very dedicated teacher.
Peet has a 'weird' English teacher - 'not bad, just weird'. I don't know what that means yet. Peet also says his maths teacher is not as good as Mr Delegi - that's the same Mr Delegi I had to take to task when Peet was in year 8 for being the worst teacher ever. Apparently absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Jesse is very keen for uni to start - for many reasons - not least of which is that she is working at Pine till then and it's exhausting (but lovely).
Tom is working at Lee & Joan's house getting it ready to sell - also exhausting.
I am not looking forward to uni starting - Tom hangs out washing, mows, defrosts during the day and on and on. Jesse too except when she is at Pine.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Caterpillar
The middle kids at Pine are having a cooking and gardening term. They have their own section of the pizza garden and so they need to weed. Jasmine found two skink eggs while weeding - and one of them hatched in her hand and Max saw it hatching and was amazed.
That would have been the highlight of the afternoon if Max hadn't found a green caterpillar. He let it crawl around his hand for a while. Then, to much applause and disbelief, he ate it.
It was very exciting.
Not quite so exciting for our family to hear about - Max has eaten quite a few live grasshoppers and a live pippy (the pippy didn't taste great apparently).
That very night Max started to feel a little unwell. Then very unwell. Then his chest started to ache. Then he couldn't breathe. And I started thinking about anaphylactic shock.
A hot bath settled him but as soon as he was out it all started again.
We were close to going to hospital when he threw up (all over our bed). And was cured.
So it turns out - as Jesse said - "grasshoppers - all good; pippies - all good; caterpillars - not so good.'
That would have been the highlight of the afternoon if Max hadn't found a green caterpillar. He let it crawl around his hand for a while. Then, to much applause and disbelief, he ate it.
It was very exciting.
Not quite so exciting for our family to hear about - Max has eaten quite a few live grasshoppers and a live pippy (the pippy didn't taste great apparently).
That very night Max started to feel a little unwell. Then very unwell. Then his chest started to ache. Then he couldn't breathe. And I started thinking about anaphylactic shock.
A hot bath settled him but as soon as he was out it all started again.
We were close to going to hospital when he threw up (all over our bed). And was cured.
So it turns out - as Jesse said - "grasshoppers - all good; pippies - all good; caterpillars - not so good.'
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Surprise
On the second day of school I brought home a surprise - Jake and Jed.
Matt is in town to get a new eye fitted and we got the boys for an afternoon.
Jake tells me that his favourite singers are "Pink, The Veronicas, Keesha(?), and The Pussycats - but they've broken up now." He even sang a little bit of Pink for me.
Jake also says "I can't believe how fast your kids are growing up Kimmy".
And Jed says 'me too'.
Matt is in town to get a new eye fitted and we got the boys for an afternoon.
Jake tells me that his favourite singers are "Pink, The Veronicas, Keesha(?), and The Pussycats - but they've broken up now." He even sang a little bit of Pink for me.
Jake also says "I can't believe how fast your kids are growing up Kimmy".
And Jed says 'me too'.
Hunter
Twelve years ago we bought a dog - to protect us. We started looking for something savage. After all we had just had a man in the house at night feeling around Peet's bed until Alec sat up and disturbed him (Peet was in our bed at the time). Remember this was twelve years ago and very upsetting and unsettling - if it was more recent I would sound more traumatised.
Back to getting the dog - we tried for something fearsome - a german shepard or a rottweiler. But there were none to be had so we almost gave up. Then as we were leaving the pound fate intervened and a family walked in with a box full of the cutest puppies in town. We put our name down to come back the next week (after vaccinations etc) and I braced myself to break the news to Roger that I had just signed us up for a puppy.
At least she was smart. Unfortunately I was a bit busy raising children and didn't really have time to raise a dog and so the Fulcher Family Patented Dog Training System was born. (Tie them up on a run for two years - they're very grateful when they get off.) And finally Hunter became a lovely dog. She did every thing a dog should do - barked when she needed to, followed the kids all around the property, kept us all bailed up in the house one night when there was a snake on the back pavers and so on.
Then Hunter died. She was very old it's true and she was getting increasingly unsteady on her feet. I was actually worried about how she would cope with the winter. We don't really know how - maybe a snake bite, maybe old age. But whatever the cause there were tears, my were there tears.
Eventually a grave was dug,
Back to getting the dog - we tried for something fearsome - a german shepard or a rottweiler. But there were none to be had so we almost gave up. Then as we were leaving the pound fate intervened and a family walked in with a box full of the cutest puppies in town. We put our name down to come back the next week (after vaccinations etc) and I braced myself to break the news to Roger that I had just signed us up for a puppy.
At least she was smart. Unfortunately I was a bit busy raising children and didn't really have time to raise a dog and so the Fulcher Family Patented Dog Training System was born. (Tie them up on a run for two years - they're very grateful when they get off.) And finally Hunter became a lovely dog. She did every thing a dog should do - barked when she needed to, followed the kids all around the property, kept us all bailed up in the house one night when there was a snake on the back pavers and so on.
Then Hunter died. She was very old it's true and she was getting increasingly unsteady on her feet. I was actually worried about how she would cope with the winter. We don't really know how - maybe a snake bite, maybe old age. But whatever the cause there were tears, my were there tears.
Eventually a grave was dug,
a headstone prepared,
and we carried on with dinner and Family Home Evening which morphed into a discussion about the dual principles of resurrection and gratitude for blessings present and past. And then we ate chocolate - fair trade of course
Louisa and Max insisted that we could not email such news to Alec - he might cry in front of his companion and be embarrassed - so I wrote to him.
Eventually he replied: "Yes, I got your letter about Hunter, I don't really understand why you didn't just tell me about it an email. It was kind of funny, but not really funny, I was thinking the other day I wonder when she will die. I had an interview with Pres Scruggs after zone conference, like we always do, and like always he asked how home was. I said well my dog died and that's pretty much all we talked about. He said his dog died about two months ago, and guess what his dogs name was. It was Hunter - so that was pretty funny."
He seems to be coping.
LilyRhadika
Some friendships make me believe that at least some of us knew each other before this life.
Max had a fascination for Ruby Greenan when she was a newborn and he was around 2 - it was something to see. As though a two year old a baby could speak to each other.
And Louisa has LilyRhadika. They have been friends since they laid eyes on each other at five years old, and even though Lily has been at a different school for a few years now they remain devoted. There was a hot line of sorts between our houses over the school holidays as the two girls shared gossip, feelings of impending doom and excitement all at once while they prepared for high school.
And last weekend they managed to co-ordinate their busy schedules so that Lily could sleep over on Friday night.
And cook and swim all day on Saturday.
Louisa gave us a fashion parade at dinner a few nights ago. There was a bright purple coat - Lily's favourite colour. Someone said it suited Louisa, and I said it's lucky that Louisa and Lily both look good in purple.
And Louisa reminded me 'but we're twins.'
Funny thing is there was a time when both girls quite genuinely thought that was true. I walked past Louisa's bedroom when Lily was sleeping over years ago - the girls had dressed identically - and they were certain that 'the teachers will never be able to tell us apart.' Somehow they managed.
Max had a fascination for Ruby Greenan when she was a newborn and he was around 2 - it was something to see. As though a two year old a baby could speak to each other.
And Louisa has LilyRhadika. They have been friends since they laid eyes on each other at five years old, and even though Lily has been at a different school for a few years now they remain devoted. There was a hot line of sorts between our houses over the school holidays as the two girls shared gossip, feelings of impending doom and excitement all at once while they prepared for high school.
And last weekend they managed to co-ordinate their busy schedules so that Lily could sleep over on Friday night.
And cook and swim all day on Saturday.
Louisa gave us a fashion parade at dinner a few nights ago. There was a bright purple coat - Lily's favourite colour. Someone said it suited Louisa, and I said it's lucky that Louisa and Lily both look good in purple.
And Louisa reminded me 'but we're twins.'
Funny thing is there was a time when both girls quite genuinely thought that was true. I walked past Louisa's bedroom when Lily was sleeping over years ago - the girls had dressed identically - and they were certain that 'the teachers will never be able to tell us apart.' Somehow they managed.
Practice
Max is practicing Piano - he tells me that sometimes he just wants to quit but he knows he would regret it later - me too.
Louisa's cello teacher, Sabrina, now comes to the office. It makes for an interesting afternoon in the office. No business can be conducted after 3.30pm. But if any lucky person does wander in they are treated to a mini concert from Louisa and Joan.
And our evenings are full of practicing seeing! Louisa and Max are both having vision therapy. At first I was alarmed at the price - actually I am still alarmed at the price - but then I remembered that Alec started to read after we had vision therapy for him all those years ago - so vision therapy it is.
It's a bit scary actually - today I discovered that Max can't focus for almost two seconds after he switched his eyes from looking at one stationary object to another. I had no idea. And Louisa is worse! Don't know how I missed that - but none of the teachers picked it either, so I am comforted by that.
So we embarked on at least six weeks of training for Max and at least 12 weeks - maybe as many as 24 weeks of training for Louisa.
School - week 1
Louisa is going to be just fine at high school - as Jesse says 'no-one could resist someone so absolutely adorable.'
She just might be the sweetest little grade 8 thing on two legs!
But the next morning she bravely met the day and put on a happy face which was still there that afternoon.
His first day was a success.
Day three - not so much. Apparently one of the new kids is pushing him around and picking on him - he is scarred (and scared) and said he would not go back till the new kid left. I negotiated down to just having the new kid do the right thing at school. So I left the matter in Drew's capable hands on Monday morning, and left Max in Jesse and Tom's capable hands for the day.
The next day Max braved school (in spite of the other sadnesses of Monday evening) and although Drew hadn't made much headway the little girls had it all under control. They are watching the new kid - and he knows it and they are playing with Max - it's just not worth messing with Max - or the little girls.
It was all about the maths test - Louisa's first ever test - and she has decided she doesn't like them. Leaving her glasses at home didn't help - apparently the numbers get jumbled up without them. But even with glasses I think it would have been hard. So I phoned the teacher - who was lovely - and made some arrangements and Louisa braved the next day. Quite the triumph of will. And now she seems happy again.
She just might be the sweetest little grade 8 thing on two legs!
But the next morning she bravely met the day and put on a happy face which was still there that afternoon.
His first day was a success.
Day three - not so much. Apparently one of the new kids is pushing him around and picking on him - he is scarred (and scared) and said he would not go back till the new kid left. I negotiated down to just having the new kid do the right thing at school. So I left the matter in Drew's capable hands on Monday morning, and left Max in Jesse and Tom's capable hands for the day.
The next day Max braved school (in spite of the other sadnesses of Monday evening) and although Drew hadn't made much headway the little girls had it all under control. They are watching the new kid - and he knows it and they are playing with Max - it's just not worth messing with Max - or the little girls.
It was all about the maths test - Louisa's first ever test - and she has decided she doesn't like them. Leaving her glasses at home didn't help - apparently the numbers get jumbled up without them. But even with glasses I think it would have been hard. So I phoned the teacher - who was lovely - and made some arrangements and Louisa braved the next day. Quite the triumph of will. And now she seems happy again.
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