Junk Art and Cupcakes

 Junk art is what this is and a beautiful example!  Levi made it when he was helping at Shark Bait kids.  He loves putting things together and creating things.  He joined in with all the kids and siblings at Shark Bait Kids and was very happy.  The junk art was just a part of it.  He loves interacting with all the kids and helps out quite well.  At least he isn't high needs!  He pretty much looks after himself and joins the activities.  He also is a big help, collecting things, running messages and those sorts of things.  It is lovely to watch his with the kids in power chairs.  He understands the limitation of the kids but he also respects the chair's power and remains fairly watchful, getting out of the way when necessary.  It is a good lesson.  The chairs weigh about 125 kg and hurt lots running over your foot!  Trust me I know!

We have been continuing to do all Shark Bait Kids, all the time and now that it is finished, I think we are all grateful.  Happy but grateful!

More and More Underwater

Shark Bait kids camp one has finished and tomorrow, camp two starts.  We had a 'break day' today and yet there was little real rest in it.  I am tired and I am sure it has to do with the amount of work.  Levi is still being a champion and following me around, being a really good helper with all the kids and (mostly) not being too needy when I have to pay attention elsewhere.  Generally he swims and plays in the water for about four hours and then gets out and has lunch before going and helping (playing) with the other activities! 

He will be happier with this second camp because he knows the kids better and frankly they all know him better (and dote on him).  It means that he ends the day completely exhausted and as I am generally trashed as well, it is a pretty good fit.  The next four days are camp two and then we go to the coast for the big dives. 

I generally feel more and more like I am drowning at the moment, but I'm hoping that by the end of the next two weeks and with the workload slacking off, even slightly, I will be able to peek my nose above the water again for a while.  I am making myself feel better by researching flights to and from USA in June and thinking and planning about that vacation. 

It Starts!

Today was the start of Shark Bait Kids.  For obvious reasons, I can't show you the myriad of happy smiling faces of the clients on my blog.  Trust me they are there!  We started today's camp this morning at 8am and finished after debrief at about 4.30.  Other than the debrief at the end, I was in the pool helping the kids dive!  I am trashed tonight and will go to bed really early, as I have more than a week of this to go!  I have to organize, edit and name photos as well.  As these are all kids born into the computer generated instant gratification generation, they will be checking the facebook site for Shark Bait Kids as I 'waste' my time writing here!

Levi gets to come with me to work during Shark Bait Kids and he swam the entire time that I did!  We played underwater Uno and Levi helped out by playing as an opponent to the kids and collecting the cards afterwards.  He loves it!  He is also turning into a very comfortable diver.  As you can see in the photos, basically he swims around with a snorkel and then when he needs to be down there longer, he grabs an occy (Octopus line) and breathes off some random tank!  The divers are all very tolerant!

Today after we were all done, I found a text from a friend.  It made me feel so loved and it renewed my faith in humanity.  She sent a text saying that, because she knew that I was completely slammed for the next few weeks and would never get home on time, she had made me a few meals that were frozen.  Did I want to pick them up on the way home?  So incredibly thoughtful!  So I stopped by and had a cup of tea and picked up the three meals.  Levi played in the pool with her kids for another hour.  Yes, you read that correctly!  Levi played forever in a pool after playing forever in a pool!  Anyway I am going to bed.  I need to get up early! 

Couple of Days

It has been a wild week as you can tell because I haven't been here at all.  Monday was a day off for all of us and Levi and I and four other kids and two other parents went to the beach.  Shorncliffe is about 25 minutes drive from Samford.  Now all the adults made the same decision before leaving that it was too cold and the kids wouldn't swim.  Yes it took the kids all of about 3.5 seconds to actually get in the water when we arrived! 

They played beautifully together.  They dug in the sand and they played in the water.  They climbed on the rocks and jumped from them.  They played all day without our having to correct them or direct them.  I love beaches!  Kids can just go and go and there are endless things to do.  I spend time loving watching them.  I get joy watching them.  I see them running and jumping and digging, and I enjoy seeing how easy it is for them.  There is such beauty in that ease.  So many of the kids that I see struggle.  They struggle to get up and walk, let alone freely run to the jetty and back!  I get so much enjoyment realizing that there are kids out there not struggling!  I get a warped view at times and need a day (or more) at the beach with Levi to realign my views again.

My computer has been acting up.  It has been doing a really weird thing with scrolling and not allowing me to get to the bottom of any page.  Luckily, one of the Mums that went to the beach is an IT legend and found an exact link describing a cure.  It involved throwing out my mouse and buying a new one, but in the meantime, I haven't been able to access much!

Today my work mates and I went to the Ekka (the State fair) and helped out while Mick tried to break the world record for staying underwater on a single tank of air.  Mick is the diver that helps with the Shark Bait kids and he was raising money for the program.  I am really bad at these things.  That many people is just a day in hell for me.  But there are parts of our team that are, in fact, extroverted and they thrived.  I did the media thing.  I updated our page and twittered, sorry twitted.  Oh that's right tweeted.  Yes I can think of little reason to know what anyone is thinking during the day but I am happy to use it.  Plus I got to chat to a friend in USA at the same time when there was space in the day.  Mick didn't quite make it to the record.  He missed it by 15 minutes.  After 8 hours underwater it was a pity for him but he was a hero regardless.  He put Shark Bait Kids at the fair and he raised money for us as well.  I hope he can be proud of himself because we are!

Bad hair on multiple levels

Today was a weird day.  I went to the doctor.  Actually backing up a little, I have been having problems with a bunch of things but mostly that I seem to have a never ending cramping.  Sometimes being a woman really sucks on multiple levels.  Anyway, I went to the local doctor in October to report these symptoms.  He said to do a bunch of blood tests and an ultrasound.  The doctor said that if there was a problem with anything, he would give me a call.  Then I got nothing from him.  My assumption was that I was being a wimp and needed to suck it up a little.  So I got tireder and the symptoms continued.

Then about a month ago, I went to the doctor (different one) to get a referral for a hand therapist, because my thumb still hasn't returned to normal.  I asked about the tests and it seems that way back in October I was already anaemic and had all the signs of iron deficiency.  By April all of that had become much worse.  So now I get to go to surgery on Friday, which I am still a bit stressed about.  It isn't the surgery, it is just the idea of permanently being unable to have children.  OK I know that I am too old and I know that, really, my chances of even finding the partner at this stage is unlikely.  But still, there is a part of me that grieves that part.  Yes it sucks to be a woman sometimes. 

I read blogs at times on the internet, mostly random ones and am always amazed by random airheads, whose only claim to fame is that they can produce a kid a year, regardless of if they can support said children.  I still find myself jealous of their ease, of their fertility.  It was so hard for me and so hard fought and now I am giving it away.  Who am I kidding! I am not giving anything away that wasn't already gone, but now I have to admit that it is gone.

Then there is trying to do surgery in my family, without it making it to YouTube.  OK it isn't that bad but close.  In USA I could quietly get things done and the whole world didn't have to know.  Here, I had the appointment this morning and by this afternoon, it was being talked about by my sister-in-law's parents over a cup of tea and my mother had already cooked a few meals for me.  I just want to crawl into a hole.  Perhaps it is just love.  Perhaps it is just caring, but it feels invasive.  It always has.  I suspect that is partly why I have kept everything so close to my chest.  I will keep trying to see it as love but I think I will remain fairly stressed.

On a happier note, the link for the  Shark Bait Kids interview is up finally from March.  I am looking particularly ravishing after being underwater for 4 hours prior to the interview.  I should have thought of a different program; one that involved clothes, and brushes and maybe even makeup.  Instead I go on National TV in a wetsuit with diving hair!!

Last Few Days

The last few days have been quite busy.  Actually they made the last few weeks look really easy.  Friday night was our Night Dive with the Shark Bait Kids.  I have to say I was more nervous than I care to admit about the dive going in.  I was relaxed that I would be in control of my dive and the kid that I was with, but the difference was, from underwater, I couldn't quickly see everything.  I was used to the quick scan, that told me that all the other kids were OK too. 

Now I don't want it to sound like I don't trust them but they are kids.  Kids that inherently can't do instructions as well as others.  All my fears were unnecessary though.  The kids did really well.  The instructors did really well and the other therapists all did really well.  The kids all had a blast and the dive was fantastic.  I was on a high afterward and the kids were worse.  They all had so much fun.

Saturday was about getting organized and went from there.  I was supposed to go to the Chemical Engineering Reunion with the rest of the family, but at the last minute got a reprieve.  It was a cocktail party thing and then a big cheese type dinner.  Now I would rather be dragged naked through brambles than get all dressed up to talk small talk all night with people I'll never see again.  On top of that I was going to have to pay for the privilege by getting babysitting for Levi.   Now chatting with a few people over dinner or drinks, in jeans and a T-Shirt; Now that I could spend lots of time doing.  So I couldn't find a sitter for Saturday and I got a night off.

Sunday night we had the carolling night.  I am going to fix those photos, so I will save the post for next time!

Life and Death

Today, the mother goat had to have a Cesarean section because the second twin hadn't come out by this afternoon.  It is fascinating to watch the vets do it, with local anaesthetic and standing up, compared to the special delivery room and procedures that humans are lucky enough to get.  Unfortunately the baby girl was dead, but I think we all knew that as it had been nearly 24 hours since the first had been born and normally they follow in minutes.  She had jammed by delivering hip first, and so was unable to get through.  The baby boy is doing really well and drinking well as well.  He is still beautiful, but it is still a pity that he doesn't have a sister as well. 

Last night there was an impromptu get together as the whole family gathered to welcome the little goat and to have a bit of a play with him.  Levi had lots of kids to play with and esp had Robbie who he loves.  They wildly ran around downstairs and played loud and energetic games until well into the night.

We had Shark Bait Kids again this morning.  As we had gone to bed very late, even Levi didn't get up early, so we both woke up, about 5 minutes after we should have left.  In a frantic race around, we still got there almost on time.  It continues to be loads of fun.  Levi did some more diving and I think that I got some video of it this time, as he was on Mary's tank, not mine.  I hope I can upload it soon.

Saturday

 Levi playing underwater

Today was better all around.  Levi was lovely to have around.  The only downside to yesterday was that now he wants me to lie beside him when he goes to sleep.  I love to, but I have to be careful that I don't indulge that too much.  He would then need me to do it every night. 

Levi loves the Shark Bait Kids.  He swims with the kids for a little while and then he gets out and draws with whoever is out of the pool that day.  It wipes him out but he loves it.  The routine is then that we get him Maccas for lunch and then go home.  We have some quiet time and then we do something else.  Today we worked.  I mowed and he attacked the prickly weeds with big spikes of metal.  Where he found the big spikes I've no idea but they were longer than his forearm and looked like railway spikes.  He wielded them for about an hour.  Once again he has gone to bed early. 

And so it starts again

Saturday

 Levi diving for the first time

These posts are running a few days late but I figure if I just keep going, I'll eventually catch up with myself.  So anyway I am doing Saturday even though it is Monday and then if I keep the motivation I can do Sunday tomorrow.  Levi continues to love Shark Bait Kids, more so now that I am letting him breathe off the octopus on my tank.  He spent some of my down time picking up toys and coins off the bottom of the pool and happily swimming along the bottom.  He is getting to be a really good swimmer.  He keeps talking about wanting to play waterpolo, mostly because of me I'm sure, but it is worse now that Ross is playing in USA as well.  I think you can only start playing at about 7 and I don't want to push him into something just because I love it.  At least I'll know the rules of this sport. 

Levi's hair is starting to look very 'Australian'.  I think that it is just that he is spending a lot of time in water and chlorine.  Well, that and he hates getting his hair washed.  I will cut his hair in the next few weeks but at the moment I am just enjoying it. 

Saturday afternoon, I was supposed to go to Mim's Mega Movie Marathon, but sometimes you just have to pull the parent card.  Levi would have been a pain.  He didn't really need a sleep, but he really needed some down time.  We stayed home and watched our own movies.  He played with the Play Doh we had made last weekend and then I got him to bed at a pretty regular time. 

Last night (Sunday night) he almost started to sleep in his own bed.  My mother thinks that I am a terrible parent for letting Levi sleep in my bed.  When he shows some interest in moving beds, I encourage it but I have no desire to push him out of my bed.  There are some nights when I go to bed and just put my hand on his chest and feel him breathe.  When I wake at night I can reassure myself just by reaching over or listening to him peacefully and rhythmically breathing, without any pain or stress.  It is sometimes enough to let me just drift back off to sleep.  On those other, much worse nights, it still helps.  Do I think he will still be there in high school?  No? So regardless of the censure, I will continue to let him sleep where he likes.  Back to his story.  We started reading his stories in his bed and he lay there after I had left for a minute but after a minute or two, he says;

"Mum, This bed isn't comfortable!"

I walked back in and asked him;

"Why?"

Levi replied, 'This space here isn't comfortable" and he pointed to the empty space beside him.

"Is that the space where I am supposed to be?"

"Yep"

Needless to say he slept in my bed and tonight he is too.  When I went to bed last night, I tested to see how long it was before he noticed even fast asleep!  The answer .......... 3 seconds.  He turned over and hugged my arm.  Isn't that the best way on earth to fall asleep?

Shark Bait Kids,

It has been a long day but a really good one.  It was the first day of Shark Bait Kids.  Levi gets to come too.  He swims around for a couple of hours and then 'helps' a bit.  I would love to show the photos of happy smiling kids on this blog, but I can't.  Instead I can put my happy smiling kid on there.  It was very successful and we have some really fun plans for them all this year and I'm really looking forward to it.  We are planning to do a 'night dive' and put them in the pool with lights.  I think it will be really exciting.  We can do a BBQ before hand as well!

After the SBKs, Levi and I went to his Art Show.  OK no tiny school art show is any good but it was really fun and Levi was very proud of his painting of a clown.  It has been raining fairly hard here and we got 40mm last night.  It means that the causeway is flooded but not enough to make it dangerous.  It is about 30 cm deep.  I am happy to go over it at about 40 cm and I imagine that the car can do about 50cm but I am too nervous to travel across at that height.  He loves it when the creek is over, because I can go really fast at the end and splash his face when he sticks it out the window.  I like that about living on a farm, it gives Levi the opportunity to do country life sorts of things even though we live close enough to the city to do city things as well. 

It is a Start

Term 4 has started and it is going to be as busy as term 4 ever is. I have Shark Bait kids starting up this Saturday. It kills every Saturday for a term but it's worth every minute. The kids love it and I love to watch them having fun. Levi will be joining us this year again and will be playing in the pool at the same time. He is very funny about it and loves all the kids. This year there are a couple of other things in his (and my) favour. He is now a good enough swimmer, that I can leave him to his own devices most of the time and he can play in and out of the pool. The second thing in our favour this year is that the pool rules require a lifeguard this time, so I can even know that there are always another pair of eyes watching him. It makes me just a little more comfortable.

The other thing that I love about Term 4 is that at the end of it, we get to go back to USA for a whole 5 weeks. We are both counting the days!