Belinda’s Blog

That is how i would describe this stage of the school term/year.

End of term is always busy. But this year, learn to swim classes coincide with the 9th and 10th weeks of an 11 week 1st term. So a bunch of my kids are missing for the first 1.5-2 hrs of each school day for 2 weeks. There goes our reading and writing programs, folks! I tried to keep up and do it anyway, but when my supervisor tells me she’s chucked her program out the window (so to speak) during this time, I have since decided to follow suit! 

An added benefit of doing so, is that not only can I set my kids to some creative writing time that we often don’t get to do, but while they are working independently, I can use that time to benchmark reading levels, which are time consuming and 1 on 1.

I feel like I’ve been doing reading assessments and supervising and marking tests nonstop this week. Probably because I have! But before this week I felt so far behind and was stressed. Now, I’m tired, but I am I got my final reading assessment for the term done this afternoon..with 2 weeks to spare! My end of term Maths tests are done and I will mark the last 25 tonight at home. This is  HUGE chun off my to-do list!  Yay! Now I feel like I can just work on getting thru the usual workload for the next 2 weeks.

Actually, when I think about it, it’s less than 2 weeks. Take out an excursion day, the last day which activities are planned and 2 afternoons off-class and it almost feels exciting that I can make it to Easter without falling in a heap! 

Before I submit this post, I thought I would mention for ppl who know my friend Caroline, that she had her baby yesterday afternoon. She held out another 9 days or so after coming home & made it to the 34 week mark before she had Chloe by C-section. She weighed 2.5kg (5lb 8oz) which is great for her gestational age & she is doing everything on her own. Caroline must be so relieved.

In my ploy to stay calm thru the stress we’ve had in our lives of late, I’ve been taking solace in books and movies.

As I said in a previous post, I finished Marley & Me, and I had another waiting in line. “When In Rome” – a true story of a Sydney woman who become sick of her fast-paced and meaninless job and went to live in Italy. So far, so good.

A week or two back I saw “Elizabethtown” on DVD and while some of it was a bit unbelievable and plain odd, the driving aspect of the film was done cleverly and beautifully. It redeemed itself.

Yesterday I watched “Flight Plan”. Of course totally over the top fiction, but a good thriller type. Not bad.

Finally got around to seeing The 40 Yr Old Virgin and while some of the humour was a bit cheesy, it had lots of fun moments and some very sweet moments, which I really wasn’t expecting.

Finally, I saw “Prime” which is about a 37yr old divorcee, who meets a 23 yr old guy. It’s about their r’ship and the ups and downs they have based on differences in age, experience, religion & the opposition of his Mother to the whole thing – who just happens to be the divorcee’s therapist! I enjoyed this one too.

Anyone seen anything else good lately?

That I have the heater on? and a cardigan? 

SLowly but ever so surely, the last week has become just that little bit cooler each day. I hope it means that Autumn weather is here to stay.

I really like Autumn , when you can finally start wearing layers and socks and slippers & comforting hot dinners.

I adore Summer, but we had a long one, and I’m ready for this season change! 

OK, don’t you love it when you try something new and it works?

I tried this Lamb Ragout yesterday and didn’t exactly go with the recipe in some regards.  I let it simmer for longer so as to time in with Steven getting home. I have never really cooked lamb, we only ever do it on the barbecue. It was so tender it literally fell off the bone and the ragout gravy was to die for! So rich and thick. Given the cooler weather has been around the past few days, it was such perfect food to eat. I am definitely going to have to make this again soon, only with more lamb next time as it was so nice

Steven’s Dad is making wonderful progress. He had a long phone call with him the other night after he had moved into a regular ward and could be on a phone. He was tired but really lucid and feeling good.

The big news is that he is going home tomorrow! 15 days after the surgery. He gave us plenty of scares and it will be some time before he will be energised and feeling himself, but he is fine and can start the rest of the recovery process at home starting tomorrow 

Not sure when we will see him. They are coming here for a 4-day visit in early May, but we may try and squeeze in a trip before then, finances and his health permitting.

No plans here for tomorrow, we’ll just play it by ear. Sunday, we are going to a christening. Maddison was about 9 weeks old the last time i saw her in Oct and I haven’t seen Catherine, her Mum, since then either. So looking forward to it .

I sure am sick of eventful things happening in our life!!!

Yesterday, went to feed Paris and she was acting a little weird – not sitting and waiting etc as per usual. Thought nothing of it though.

Then a little while after she ate, we noticed her abdomen looked a little swollen. We tried calling our vet surgery to get their after hours number, as we did not want to risk anything to do with possible bloating without her being thoroughly checked out.  Our vet’s answering machine was crapped out & was cutting out before the emergency number was given! I was v. stressed and we couldn’t just leave Paris hanging, as she was  restless and not right. So Steven just phoned another vet practice and took her to their after hours service.

That vet was USELESS! Gave no real advice or did very little – what a waste of $160! He just said to bring her home and keep an eye on her. Anyone who is slightly good at their job as vet knows that bloating is something to be taken VERY seriously, especially someone like Paris who almost died and had surgery to correct it. It kicks in VERY fast, so he just expected us to sit up all night and watch her????

Alas, that is what we did. Steven slept next to her in the guest room so he could check her. She was restless and neither of us got much sleep at all.

By 6am , we decided she was still uncomfortable so we had to take her to our own vet. Leaving her alone for 8+ hrs was just not an option. Our vet surgery opens at 8, so we both let work know we’d be in a little late, and we were on the doorstep at 8 asking to have her seen to.

They decided it best to keep her in for the day for observation.

They did x-rays and found that she was somewhat bloated (but it was not gastric dilation, like 18 months prior). She had either eaten quickly and for some reason bloated, or she had eaten quite a lot of food (not sure if this was possible as her food bin is clicked shut and we are SO careful in feeding her 2 small meals per day due to past history of bloat). However it got there, it had since passed from her stomach to her bowel and none of it had been released out of her body yet.

Got her home and she has been to the toilet some, but there is probably still quite a lot more to come out. If she has trouble passing it, we can take her back , otherwise they said no need for a followup. We have to feed her a certain type of diet for the next week or so just until her tummy and bowel don’t have any problems.

So after a night of a lot of worry, a crappy Vet surgeon, very little sleep and a day of having her watched, we finally got her home around 5PM and I will be SO glad to get to sleep tonight!!!

I don’t want another Paris scare for a LONG time!!!

My FIL is doing really well!  He is finally rid of all the drains and tubes he had. He is now eating custard and mash and water. The best bit, though, is that mentally he is not wandering like he was. Yesterday he finally started coming back to us and my MIL was just so relieved I could practically hear the happy tears in her voice.

He gets tired very easily, but he is sitting up and he had a shower and went for a short walk with the aid of a walker today. And he was able to make a phone call to Steven this  afternoon and Steven said he was very lucid though he was just a bit vague at the end as he was getting tired.

So it is all looking much more positive. He is still in Critical Care Unit but by mid-late this week hopefully he shall be moved to a regular ward.

Special thoughts going to my friend Caro, who was admitted to hospital at the 32 week mark yesterday. Her first daughter was born at 31 wk 2 d mark. We were hoping she’d go a lot further this time, but it seems it maybe just wasn’t meant to be.

Whatever happens, I just hope that baby Chloe, whenever she decides it’s time,  gets the best of medical care and that Caro does OK physically and emotionally.

Thinking of you!!!