GUESS WHO'S 1 TODAY???

If you guessed Max, then you were right. As he was the kitten of my middle daughter's neighbour's cat, I know the day he was born.

He has settled down so much over the last couple of months, there are fewer and fewer mad runs through the house, but he still loves to play. His latest love, is a fluffy ball with a bell inside, he runs around with it in his mouth before tossing it into the air and batting it along the floor.

He is just so grown up now that yesterday he took on the role of supervisor to my hubby!! Hubby had to take the range hood apart so he could do a spot of painting/touch-up on the wall. Max was up there in a flash to make sure hubby did it all to plan. Here are the photos I just had to take.

Now Dad are you doing it right. What about this bit down here?

Supervising from the top of the fridge!

I'm Still Here

Thanks to @mybabyjohn and @the elephant's child for checking on me during my absence, and to my youngest daughter and her girlfriend Kam for taking the time to see if I am okay as they have missed my blog posts. Love you all xxx

The quick low down is that I am battling my arthritis at the moment, and nothing I do seems to be improving my pain levels at great deal. However, the trigger point acupuncture that the physio is doing, is releasing some of my muscle pain and I am confident that over time this will continue to help.

I don't really want to blog endlessly about how bad I am feeling so that is the reason I have not been here much. Nor do I feel inspired to be here when I feel so low.

But I love that people care, it makes me cry a little but in a good way - if you know what I mean.

Now to put a funny spin on the day I would like to share some photos of funny face (aka my younger daughter). Funny face tends to pick up your camera when you are not around and take photos for you to find at a later date. These are from a few years ago, but I found them again recently. Now I haven't asked her permission, but hey, I'm sure she won't mind. The first 5 she left on my eldest daughter's camera and the last 4 on mine - all on the same day.

And these two show you how beautiful she is when she is not pulling funny faces.

Father's Day And The Issues It Raised

So I rang my father to wish him a Happy Father's Day and got off the phone totally spun out.

The last time I saw my father I did this post, other posts including this one after my mother-in-law's funeral, show who my father is. This is persona he has shown me most of my life, right from my childhood (this post which was one of my earlier posts).

Today's phone call was done with duty in mind, I feel I have to at least acknowledge him for without him I would not have been born. I dread these phone calls, birthdays/ Christmas/ Father's Day, they always reinforce my opinion of him. One I have had since childhood.

Then today, just before our phone call ended, he did something that has left me feeling confused. He asked how I was going, he expressed concern about my hubby, he admitted the last time he was too pushy and acknowledged he was the reason it all happened. The thing is, I could tell he really meant it, not that someone had prompted him to say something, but that he had actually thought about it, about me and was concerned. He said he wished that we had meaningful conversations, that I could talk to him about my life.

In 56 years of life, I have never felt so unsure of my perceptions of who my father is.

Sharing Some Bloggy Love

Sharing some bloggy love again today, snippets of blog posts I have loved over the past week. If you haven't already seen them, pop over and share some love too.

Tenille from Help Mum - is taking my language with rhubarb and yoghurt muffins, I love rhubarb.

Delores from The Feathered Nest has a couple of posts that really spoke to my heart, here is one and here is the other. Delores is one of the most prolific bloggers on my blog list, and she is always worth a visit.

Now you know I love Beth at BabyMac and this Vlog of hers, well it says what all of us think about anonymous commenters - don't be scared by Beth's face before you press play, she really keeps her cool while telling it like it is. Way to go Beth.

This post at Jemikaan is worth a visit. It touches my heart in many ways, her journey feels so familiar to me. It questions how much we should share here in cyberspace. But if it was not for us putting it out there, would we make the connections that in some small way sometimes helps us move forward? Her follow up post is also worth a read.

Kirrily at Sunny Side Up reposted from 2008 - I am so glad she did. I don't want to give anything a way, so pop on over and have a read.

and last but in no way least Joan from Anything Fits A Naked Man asks a question that all of us should contemplate.

A Birthday Post & Something Old Is New Again

Today is my eldest grand-daughter's 15th birthday, it seems just like yesterday that I was there when she was born. I am so proud of the person she has become, even with the hurdles that have been placed in her way, she is truly amazing. Happy 15th Birthday C, I will always love you to the moon and back.

I wrote this post back in 2009 and today seemed like a good day to bring it back as part of Something Old Is New Again.

Moments in Time - My First Grandchild

Dear C

I remember so clearly the day your Mum came and told us she was pregnant - she had not long been living away from home, she was just 18 and she bought her best friend with her for support. Somehow I knew what she was coming to tell us. I think she was worried we would be angry - but how could I be angry, I had my first child at 17 - why would I cast stones. Did I worry about her being a young Mum - of course I did, it is not an easy road, but then being a parent at any age is a challenge.

Not long after the big news, we found out that your Mum was going to be a single mum - your Dad was not going to be part of the journey. I knew that it would be okay as your Mum is a survivor and she would do the best she could even though she was on her own.

Your Mum moved back in with us a few months before you were born and we got to see first hand how her tummy swelled, we got to talk to her about the doctors visits and I got to go the ultrasound when you were just 18 weeks old - how excited I was to see you moving about with all the boxes ticked to show you were healthy and well.

I got to help Mum chose your clothes, pram and car seat - we got your crib and had fun getting it all ready for when you arrived.

We got to talk with your Mum while she chose names - Lachlan James was going to be your name if you were a boy - and a boy is what we thought you were going to be - the Dr had told your Mum he thought she was having a boy following one of the ultrasounds he did in his surgery about 6 weeks before you were born. And so I would rub your Mum's tummy and talk to you and call you Lachlan - I wanted you to know your name and how much you were loved even before you were born.

Your Mum and I went to 'birth classes' together as I was going to be Mum's 'birth partner' - I was so excited as I had never been involved in someone else giving birth - and it is not the same as when you do it yourself.

Mum got bigger and bigger and then her feet began to swell with fluid and I was worried that her kidneys were not coping, but the Dr kept saying all was okay - which really wasn't totally true.

Your due date came and went and your Mum got bigger and so they decided to induce you. I took Mum to hospital the night before you were born and was to come back in the morning to be there for the birth. I arrived at the hospital at 8 o'clock and was so excited when I was walking in to see your Mum - today was the day that we were going to meet. The drugs they used on Mum worked really fast and she was already in labour when I got there - but they also did something strange to your Mum and she kept lapsing in and out of consciousness - I was so worried that something was really wrong - and the nurses didn't know what was happening either, so they stopped the drugs - but your Mum still was only semi conscious most of the time.

The doctor arrived around 11.30 to check Mum out as the nurses had rung him and your Mum managed to say 'I want to push' and of course the Dr said 'No you don't'. Then he checked and said 'Oh yes she does' and so we all rushed around to the delivery room, nurses and Dr and me pushing your Mum's bed, whizzing past other people walking down the corridors.

We somehow managed to get your Mum from her bed onto the delivery bed and then the Dr was saying 'Push' and your Mum was still not fully conscious and then the Dr said 'OK I need forceps' and suddenly your Mum roused herself and said 'I can do this' and she did - with just a little help from the vacuum to get you out the last little bit.

I felt like I was going to burst, I was so excited and then the Dr said 'Oh I made a mistake' and thought he had done something wrong with Mum or you and then he said 'Its a girl' and I laughed - I was so relived that there was nothing really wrong, just that he thought you were a boy. Mum and I cried when we saw you - Mum could hardly hold you as she was still so spaced out from the drugs, and you have some very hearty cries to let us know you were here.

I got to cut your cord and see you weighed while the Dr and nurses looked after your Mum - I got to cuddle you close while your Mum whispered your name to you - luckily she had a girl's name picked out too. I got to give you your first bath while Mum was recovering - they wouldn't let her out of bed in case she fainted.

Words can not express the love I felt for you on this special day - I knew that we would be bonded for eternity - you are my precious chicken and no matter how old you get - I will always love you to the moon and back - and just know that nothing will ever be able to change that.

xxx

The Elephant In The Room

Last week in my PMT on Steroids post, I mentioned my teddies and my elephant with pink spots and promised to tell you about her.

Now I am not a big hoarder of toys, but I do have 3 teddies and a pink rabbit, which are not from my childhood, and my latest addition is my elephant.

When my littlest grand-daughter was born, her Mum and Dad lived in Sydney, on the East Coast of Australia, a 4 hour flight from here.

I was determined to build the same connection to her as I have with my eldest grand-daughter and so there were many flights across to visit after she was born. In fact I racked up a fair few frequent flier points in the year before they moved back to Perth.

Each time I was over there, I would take my daughter shopping for baby things at one of the big baby shops. Lot of practical things were purchased and the odd fun item. On one visit I spied this cute and cuddly (so soft that even I loved cuddling it) elephant with pink spots. It had the cutest little face and I could not resist buying it for my littlest munchkin. She still plays with her elephant nearly 3 years later.

So imagine my delight when out buying some baby gifts for one of my staff members, when I spied this little elephant all the way over here in Perth. I couldn't resist - again!!! And so she now shares the chair with the teddies.

My grand-daughter saw her the other day and wanted to know how her elephant had got to my place - lol.

We are never too old to cuddle a teddy, or in this case an elephant!!

Could you resist this cute face and cheeky smile??

Healthy Gardens - One of our frogs

Hubby was out reorgansing his orchids the other day when I heard him shout - bring the camera.

Every year we find a couple of lovely frogs hiding somewhere in the orchids. Here is the latest one - isn't he a beauty?

I am sure he is smiling in one photo - happy little frog!

Motorbike Frog - Litoria moorei

Find our more about frogs of WA here - click on the frog sound button and enjoy the chorus we regularly hear in our backyard.

Spring Has Sprung

My sinuses are on overdrive at the moment and Spring is only just officially blooming.

Every day I walk into our house after work and all I can smell is Jasmine, it is having the best blooming season ever and my sinuses are not impressed. The flowers are stunning, and the scent is heady but maybe not a good garden plant for me.

Still it is staying, it has grown so lusciously over the old tree stump in our backyard that I can not bear to kill it off. Look at all those buds just waiting for burst forth.

Happy Spring Days, my sympathies if you suffer like I do!!