Telstra SUXS....multi call centre ring around

Now I need to vent and vent I will, for as the proverbial steam needs to rise from it enclosure so does my anger with this telecommunications maze. I have recently switched my mobile carrier to T from another inept carrier who shall remain nameless, my bill due date was the 15th monthly which suited my accounting needs. Apart from forgetting the promised rebate of $50 for ordering a new phone on line and the promised $40 for leaving my existing carrier a week before the contract ended, I have not had much need to contact them. Until now......
in April my bill for March was due the 13th instead of the 15th, this DID not suit my needs or accounting timetable, so I called to request that the DUE DATE be made 15th MONTHLY and the billing cycle revise to reflect this. Now, if you work in a department called , BILLING, I think you'd know the difference between a BILLING DATE and a DUE DATE. But no, not the undoubtedly blond "Who Weekly" subscriber I had the misfortune of encountering. So today I received another bill 6 days after I paid the last one!!!!!!!!!! The doffus had placed the 16th as the BILLING DATE. I rang Telstra AGAIN to rectify the problem, so after talking to the inept voice recognition program and then getting to speak to a real person, then identifying myself, she then told me I had to go to another section and transferred me , where I again had to identify myself and go thorough the whole spiel again. What ever happened to phone courtesy, you know ; if you transfer a call you identify the caller to the other person and then tell the caller you are transferring them to Sally/ Jane/ Bob or Bill. Meanwhile the power went out and so did the phone, so ends that call.
So I call from my trusty mobile, again I enjoy the illustrious and welcoming timber of the electronic voice answering service, again I tell it my required section, again I am transferred to a real person and for the third time I identify myself and state my reason for calling, AGAIN I need to be transferred and so on and so forth, you get the picture. Telstra suxs chunks and the sooner they sort themselves out the better. I cannot say I am for the sale but their level of customer service has reached the depths of ineptness.

And now for something a little different

I am always in awe of blogfolk who change and swap about their templates on a whim, but I crumbled and had some spare time ( I have no life) and switched to the new,improved templates. I must say it was easy to swap the links and all over and just as I was mastering my href'ing and HTML'ing. So for any one who's thinking about it, it took me all of 65minutes to do.

Happy Birthday Miss 10

The former Miss 9 is now officially Miss 10 , double figures, never again to be a single digit age!!!!!

2IC flew back from OS after a 3+ week absence on her birthday: YAH, YAH, YAH and that's not just the kids LOL. Apart from attempting to buy part of her birthday present with Mr 4 in tow..."No I did not buy you a fish tank, he must be remembering when we went to the Aquarium to get fish food". Trying to hide the said non existent fish tank: " Stay out of my wardrobe, I do not have the Spiderman outfit in there" and organising to collect a bookcase I got on eBay for her room after I asked the seller if she'd hold it till the weekend of the 31st for me, then having her pull rank and dictate that it'd have to be collected Saturday as she was out Sunday...( NOTE TO SELF: Never send money in advance on CO Pick UP item as a gesture of good will to hold as it WILL back fire) I was tearing my hair out come Saturday. All went well and Miss 10 got her much coverted The Dragon's Eye book, the new Clarice Bean book, and her much wanted Jebo tank for her room. ( Are three fish tanks over doing it a tad???)
During the afternoon, 2IC, in between jet lag snoozes and PS2 games with the boys; helped Miss 10 re arrange her room ( seems adolescent impulse arrives with the tween age)I left on a intrepid road trip to the eastern suburbs ( may well have been the eastern states) with my pal, B to collect the eBay bargain bookcase. Given my past interlude with travelling across town, I'm glad for her coming and and the use of her Catholic school bus Tarago to cart the bookcase back in. We had a wonderful time chatting on the way over but I AGAIN used WHEREISIT and it again tells you to turn LEFT from Manningham Rd to get to the Eastern Freeway, which we AGAIN followed and AGAIN got lost. Never the less ,we arrived at our destination not 51/2 hours later but 15 minutes after we said we would be there, not too bad but B is a much better navigator and has a better sense of direction then I . So we arrived back with Miss 10's other birthday gift in tow, a solid wood bookcase, 61/2 foot high painted mauve and blue, which cost me all of $42 and nice trip across town with a good friend.LOL It was worth it to make her 10th something special. I'm not big on parties as they tend to turn into little power games and "I invited you to mine" scenarios. We might still make a special trip to the piccies with a few select friends, one of the blessings of birthdays near the school holidays...no one really ever finds out if there was a party at all!!!!LMAO!!!!

Once upon a decade gone..........

Ten years ago our lives changed here at Supamum Central, the concept of Supamum commenced. I became a mum, that is I carried and gave birth and all that stuff but in so much as instantaneously was bestowed the mantle of a mother....Uh Uh Nah. I was confused, felt awkward, and later felt imprisoned by the needs of whom is now, Miss 10. It was months before I even conquered the ideal of going out WITH baby to get milk or such, let alone go out. I gave up the breastfeeding deal before it killed me as I was trying every thing under the sun to for fill this much maligned; yet oft ill advised; function to early life. I ran to the GP at the slightest change in temperature, behaviour or appetite ( as do most of us with 1st bubs) I smiled back benignly at the older mums who smirked knowingly at me with a wailing child in arms as I stood at the supermarket checkout. What did they know any how?? Now a decade on and three children wiser, I too, am one of the smirking brigade for I no longer have a wailing, inconsolable babe permanently attached to my breast or hip; but I don't smirk, I smile, offer my place in the queue and tell them it gets better. Which it certainly does, thank you Miss 10 for being the test case and hoping you have not suffered to harshly for it. Love you Pumpkin Bum

Of little words and bigger dreams

I was interested and aghast at the parallels and oft unfounded assumptions made in such articles as this.
Which were equalised somewhat by these articles.
My point being that despite what all and sundry assume, guess, speculate, or blame. No one person can categorically tell or diagnose why a child has speech issues which limit their expressive/ receptive speech, their syntax, their irregular patterns of pronunciation has such problems. I abhor placing children ( or adults) in the diagnostic boxes created societies need to categorise and label. This is further enforced by Government red tape and sub agencies ( yes, Centrelink, Education Department and Health funds, I am looking at you!!!). There are more children being diagnosed earlier with speech delays but because of positive actions like more maternal child welfare resources, associated welfare and children programs at community health centres,more funded early intervention programs, recognition of possible developmental delays in relation to premature births ( of which the success rate has increased allowing many more premature bubs to survive and thrive), proactive monitoring of premmies by MCHN's and GPs so early onset of any delays are actioned and therapy commenced where appropriate.

As recently as 2005, the Victorian Department Of Education recognised severe language disorders (SLD) as a a genuine issue requiring funding for assistance in schools. This was withdrawn in the 2005 school year leaving many parents without speech therapy or assistance for their barely verbal and often non verbal children in schools. The World Health Organisation accepted level for speech ability in children WORLDWIDE is a score of 71, in Australia we accept 67. Now in perspective a score of 67 is relative to the comprehension ( receptive) skills of a 3.5 year old- 3year old with little or no knowledge of opposites , prepositions, common nouns, syntax, sentence structure. A score of 67 in expressive language would mean pronunciation of words would be disembodied, mixed and often showing no real pattern in the mispronunciation( dyspraxia) THIS is the benchmark we allow bureaucrats to place before our children as the acceptable level of achievement to attain, this is the line in the sand for having an aide in the classroom or not for your barely understandable child.

I challenge anyone who claims TV, PCs or any other of the theorems sprouted by the uninitiated to our world of mumbles, signs and frustrations; to spend a day with any of our children in their school and home environment and then try and justify the theory in a relative matter to what they see. Parents strive for all these children's needs to be addressed so they may be able to learn, work and undertake a role in society. We are poleaxed by red tape, funding issues, bias,unknowledgable guesses, and unkind theories. We stand united by the ideal that our children , although often silent or unintelligible, have a right to a voice and those voices sound long, loud and clear as a warning bell in a silent bay.

Families and my big "sisters"

I don't really have big sisters as many know, I had three step sisters once who tried to over crowd me with the "sister" thing but that, with my Dads marriage fell away. Any who, I had visitors for the past few days. My cousins came to stay as they travel about catching up with rellies about the place, they only were here a few days but it was grand. H and R, her husband, and C flew down from Qld and G flew in from NZ Friday. My cousins, C & H are older than me, their mum was my mums sister. Their older brother, G is only 9 years younger than my mum if she were alive. Their mum died the year I was born ( something I did not know). H and C always had time for me as a kid and even when I was older, I went back to Qld with H and R a few months after my mum died for a break. I was always at C and D's place and often baby sat their boys whilst they were at work ( they had four boys, one set of twins). I miss D who died in 2005 but felt he was there at times laughing with us.
C and H have always been special to me , maybe because they were close to my mum or what I don't know but I consider them my big sisters and love them fiercely. The kids loved it too. They arrived Thursday PM after sitting about a the Coolangatta airport for 7 hours, we had the inevitable cuppa and after the kids came home, we sat about talking and then went for a walk. Tea was very late because 2IC missed the bus. Friday they had to collect G from the airport but before that went sight seeing to Macedon, I returned from school to find the grocery fairies had invaded my pantry and fridge and laden them with food WTF!!! Friday night was a party night till midnight with talking, drinking, stories and photos. G lived with my mum and dad when he was an apprentice and when first married, he was very close to my mum I think and talked a lot about her and my dad before they had kids. It was GREAT.

Saturday my dad, brother and their partners where coming over for a family lunch, we did a lovely rib eye roast on the BBQ and a leg of lamb, together with salads, and roast jacket potatoes, everyone had plenty to eat. Every one sat about talking and remembering until after 6.00 then we made pasta for tea and say about drinking and talking some more. Despite 2IC never having met G before, they seemed to hit it off. 2IC and R aways get along as he did with D when he was alive. Sunday we went to Gisborne market and after, as H, C , R and G had never been to Hanging Rock, we went there too.
They left this morning to travel to the Bellarine Peninsula and then across by ferry to Dromana. I miss them already, my house seems empty but my heart is full. May the wind always be at your backs and the sun shine warm upon your face.

Birthdays,parties and such

I have been BUSY, I mean really busy. 2IC and Mr Now 7's birthdays are two days apart and 2IC was going to be uuum ,27 ok. So for 2IC's 27th birthday I had planned a surprise party ( as you do for all 27ths) and we also were at a loss as to what to get Mr Now 7 for his birthday, I had searched everywhere for a Thunderbird 2 ( Sound tech model) to no avail...apparently the Soundtech models are now a collectors item and very hard to find ( Oh, well at least his collection of TB1, 3 and 4 might pay for his first car LOl) So we were at a loss, after collecting 2Ic at work on Friday night we headed to Highpoint( HP) to the dreaded Toy R US ( YUK) We browsed, we looked, we ummed and ahhhhed. Then we spotted it...a skateboard, beginners model with a wide deck and slow ball bearing based wheels. YES YES YES this was it...balance, skill, big boy toy, challenging but not too much and an activity for him to try alone or with others. FAN TASTIC. SO with the accompanying purchase of some safety gear ( knee and elbow pads) whilst 2IC took the boys to get a drink, Miss 9 and I got Mr Now 7 his deck!!!!
Now between this all I am co ordinating 2ICs party, a friend to get him out of the house, balloons and cake to collect, drink to buy and hide, etc. Saturday morning, I ran about like a blue arsed fly getting stuff and ,thankfully, being able to stash items such as balloons and extra food at my pals place ( you know who you are, cause I know you read this) I was even able to put the drinks on ice in the garage without 2IC noticing ( too busy with the cricket or PS2 to notice me in the garage) So despite 2IC's mate being on call and unable to get him out at 3.00 as I asked , he gallantly arrived at 4.00 with some story about 2IC's help being needed to fix his PC, to my dismay and the confusion of his mate, 2IC offered his mate a beer and they sat down to chat...by this time I'm pulling my hair out as I have to collect the cake, etc. They left about 45 minutes later and I whizzed about picking up stuff whilst Miss 9 stopped home and cleaned up a bit for me. All in all, everyone arrived on time for the 7.00 party with 2IC and mate turning up 45 minutes later after his wife ( my pal) had told him he needed to go home for tea maybe. LMAO All this whilst she was cooking up a storm of party goodies to help out in 36degree heat telling 2IC "I always cook on Saturdays"YEAH, RIGHT.
It was a fun night with family and friends, I put one of 2IC's oldest friends; who was also best man at our wedding on the spot; and asked him to say a few words...sorry. Scotty, mea culpa, mea culpa. All the kids had fun, I had a cake and ice fight with my nieces, dunked Miss 9 in the ice chest, told my SIL she was rude and ill mannered,the kids lost about three helium balloons when they were leaving...they flew over the fence to one of our favourite neighbours backyards...it was a blast!!!
Funnily enough Mr 7 was up early the next day for his birthday, he'd already been to Build A Bear to get a bear done except he got a monkey instead who now wears a "Woody"( Toy Story) costume. He was in awe of his skateboard and not at all shy about having a go..indoors. Outside may be a different story.

And between the sixth and seventh days..God made speechies

Today Mr 6 Almost 7 had his first speech session for 2007, complete with new book and new abode for his darling, R. His S/P has moved from the planet of the blond receptionist medico centre to her own digs not far away from where she was. It's a light, airy room which ; to me ;was reminiscent of the type of English nursery/children's room you read about in kids books. She has shelves of games and books, a Velcro board with Com Pic pictures on it, a tall table for working on with two straight backed chairs and the smaller toddler table in muted pastels. Mr 6 Almost 7 was very impressed with graduating to the bigger table and chairs. He was on the final leg of his testing which takes up to an hour at a time and if we didn't complete it this week, would have to start again as he will be 7 in 5 days time. The testing involves various game type activities, like repeating number combos of up to three numbers, repeating a sequence of numbers backwards, looking at a picture and being asked "what is the boy doing?" and being able to place as much discription and explanation as possible, placing like objects in groups and using collective nouns and explaining why they are of the same group. They grade his expressive and receptive language skills as well as break it down to his abilities to understand numbers, instructions, comprehension skills, etc. Whilst he was very distracted by the new area and the accessibility of the games, he did very well and the test will be written up and ready for school in time for the 1st PSG for Term 1, 2007. I have put off requesting this so I will have the report to pass on to his teacher as I feel some relevant material is not passed onto the teacher unless I undertake it. All in all, looks like another progressive and fun year with R as his S/P and bonus is I don't take Mr 4 with us any more as I co ordinate the speech appointments for during kindy time.

Extraordinary extremes......

Questionable at best, amoral at the worst is how I see the latest round of "make it up as you go along" legalese by the US and the Commission created for the trails and charges against David Hicks, et.al. Seems now you can lock humans up for years without trial or committal hearing or charges under the guise of terrorist suspect and pretty much get away with it...Betcha Adolf wishes he'd thought of that one. Seems that despite the US Supreme Court ruling that both the trials and the imprisonment are illegal and an overstepping of Presidential and military boundaries, Dubya, his octogenarian cronies, and his war monger generals who are desperate to win something; think they are a law unto them selves. The British attorney general has declared that the US has betrayed their own beliefs in liberty and justice for all. For all... provided Dubya and co, and their Mc Laws ( fast and tailor made)say so, provided they don't create retrospective laws to fit the bill. The military commission say they have allowed everyone to speak their minds for five years without telling of any charges because the truth will be known at the trial...yep, and the moon is blue, people.
This "laws r us' form of "justice' is disdainful to the creators and forefathers of jurisprudence, it is shameful to the millions through out history who have fought and died in the name of freedom and human rights, it is a blight on a government who are standing by to allow it to happen; allowing not only a free citizen of Australia to be held by a foreign country without charge but openly endorsing and supporting the methodology used. Why has not Ruddock of the Red or some other government representative intervened? Because they are of the coalition of the witless, they are gutless, subordinates to "god talks to me" Dubya. They were elected to govern for the majority of Australia not to create the 53rd US State. Dubya and co care little about their country, ours or anything but their own fiefdoms, this is a power image trip for him and through out the remainder of history he will be remembered in the same auspices as Judas Iscariot, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Hitler, Mengele, Hess.

School started....

School started for two of mine on Wednesday, Mr 6 Almost 7 was very happy to return but a bit confused about the whole not being a Prep anymore. He knows he is in a different room with a different teacher but has not quite grasped the idea that he is now a Grade one boy. He has an older teacher who whilst firm handed will give him all the help he needs as she is of the "old school" of teachers who have many tricks up their sleeves. She also has a background in cued articulation which is one of the visual cues used by his speech pathologist in his speech therapy. He will retain his aide from last year for which I am very grateful as it turns out she was very, very happy and helpful in the session she had together with Mr 6 Almost 7 and his s/p last year. The cued articulation will go a long way towards helping him increase his sound repertoire and word annunciation. The down side being it is a 4/1 teacher split, he has teacher "W" 4 days a week and teacher "T"on Tuesdays. Teacher "T" is the teacher I swore would never teach any child of mine again after Miss 9 had her in Grade one. She is computer illiterate,yells at the children A LOT and has done so in front of parents, and generally lax in her approach to teaching but, hey, that's just my opinion and a few twenty or so other parents. What would I and three others who are qualified to teach know anyway???? So that is the trade off so to speak, "T" is there in Tuesdays but, WAIT his s/p now works Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and as Mr 4 has kindergarten AM Tuesdays, it allows plenty of time for a round trip to Woodend for speech whilst Mr 4 has kinder. SO that means he has her for maybe an hour in the morning, he returns for lunch and if he has Japanese in the PM,( which he is being withdrawn from...why try and learn another language when your own is a mystery to you) we'll be lucky that she only has a few hours to muck up everyone elses work with him:).

Miss 9 started with the teacher of her dreams, "M". Miss 9 has always had nice teachers apart from the horrendous 6 months in Gr 1 with "T". Teachers who care and are innovative, teachers who are true leaders and encourage all children of all capabilities. I know "M" from outside of the school environment and whilst young, she has the grit to teach senior classes but with the compassion that is also required at such a level. She is approachable and friendly but often seeks me out to chat about our mutual interest and teaching in general. Miss 9 has been told that she needs to study more and not just cruise, she is capable of may things but chooses her subjects for excelling in and cruises by the others when she could excel. As a parents, we always believe our children are good at something. As a parent I see this in all my children, as an educator; I can see so much potential within her it astounds me. A perceptiveness that is beyond her years, empathy which is boundless, an ability to create in word, paint and cardboard any myriad of worlds, images and lifeforms.
Whilst I am not a fan of over parenting, the education system today relies too heavily on completion of the syllabus rather than the associated outcomes of spelling,comprehension,logic, grammar, sentence structure, letter formation, basic combined math problems, etc. Much of the learning of these skills fall on the parents, I get tired of the "parent information nights" where they tell you to "encourage your child to add up items from the shopping or play spelling games at the dinner table" all under the guise of involving you in their learning.....NO, it so you can teach your child the basic things the school is not spending time teaching them. Yes, they learn spelling in literacy but there is o subject on the syllabus titled "spelling" or "punctuation" or "everyday math skills". This is where our schools are failing our children, this is why I fought for an aide for Mr 6 Almost 7, because the system as it was would fail him( as it does many children across the board) because it is poised for syllabus completion not student comprehension.
Mr 4 has started kindergarten, he had an hour on Wednesday and an hour and a half (without mum) today by next Thursday he will be on a full schedule. He is very confident with kinder as he spent a lot of time at Mr 6 Almost 7's kinder in 2005 so he is very familiar with the content, the toys, the activities and the format of the program. I had a hour to myself today, a precious glimpse of the times to come and a smack in the head reminder that time is marching on and my babies are growing up.

Summertime

Ain't summer a grand time ? The lazy mornings, the late lunches , BBQ dinners , the sounds of kids playing late outside. Reality rarely fits in with the picture of what we'd like though, does it? Muggy mornings with scorching heat, lunches late because you really cannot be bothered to eat, BBQ dinners only if its not too hot outside but too damn hot to cook indoors, kids playing outside if its not too scorching or if they have a pool.
Gone are the days when people rarely had an air conditioner, now my suburb resounds with the constant "hum" of ducted air con and the occasional "whirr" of the odd wall/window mounted refrigerated unit. Days when a hot day meant playing in a dam, creek, river or in the suburbs..under a sprinkler, now the dams are dry, creeks and rivers dry or/and polluted and water restrictions no longer allow for water play incorporating watering.
Vegetable gardens we once used to supplement our food sources and to teach our children about horticulture and seasonal change are a luxury, not a necessity. Flower gardens of annuals, bulbs or banks of European influenced horticulture are for the dedicated and obsessive now. Lawns, oh, you mean that patch of straw coloured covering in front?? Well, that's going soon when we revamp our front garden. Shame it cannot be said for million of others who want a patch of green on their dream 600m sq. block.
I miss the days when summer graduated from Spring in a truly gentle format, days of temperatures varying from 25-30degrees Celsius. Not days of sleet, rain,hail and yes, SNOW!!! Two weeks before the advent of Summer. When bush fires were a January/Feb occurrence not something that took hold in October and carried through to the New Year.
Days when people joined forces to help the fire victims, not relied on corporate well doers or government hand outs. People actually went and helped fight the fires and rebuild towns and services whilst on holidays, not cruise about sightseeing at others losses and misery. There was a time when bush fires were just a part of living in the country, no one blamed anyone, what you leveled for grazing, you used all of it. No one every back burned except undergrowth of bracken in late winter, no one ever burned hectares or bush to protect it from bushfire. The Department of Sustainability and Environment did not exist in guise it does today; so there was no one to blame. It was a fact of life of living in the bush.
I wish my kids could see what I saw, feel what I felt, do what I did..but they only have what I can tell them and show them. Because some one, somewhere along the way lost the map for how things should be and now most of society wonder about aimlessly like sheep .

What Have you been up to.....

Different spin on things today, I'm tagging a few lucky(?) people who may be( may be not) at a loss as to what to post, they in turn need to tag another FIVE people. Whoever is tagging will nominate the subject of the post, it can be the same topic for every one or different ones for each person. So todays guests are:

Guruann
Mr Brian
Jamie
Sceptic
Sign Language

Your topic of post will be what I got for Christmas and do I really want/like/ need it and why. You need to be brutally honest in this subject matter. ENJOY

Belated Readers Digest Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Report time

School reports were issued last week and both Mr 6 and Miss 9 did tremendously well. Mr 6 is on par with much of his class but is below required level in speaking and listening...Um, hello the kid has DYSPRAXIA. He was never going to be marked on his own achievements but against the curriculum standard as he is learning the curriculum by regular means and has no IEP(individual education program). I think I'd rather he have a IEP and be marked against his own success and not the packaged deal set by DET/CEO. His grade for PE is below expected level also..There again I wish he'd been graded on individual successes as he is now able to kick a soccer ball left or right footed whilst in motion. He's going to try Milo cricket next year and see where it goes, 2IC has some cricket gear to pass on including his club cap and a very good bat. He has overall done better than we expected, given that at age 3 we were told he'd never be able to attend a mainstream school and today we have this. NEVER, say NEVER to me. He still struggles with the ideals of school yard politics and will try and right any wrongs he sees..Even if the kid is twice as big and twice his age. He's is the personified protector of the under dog.
Miss 9 , what can I say, she just blows us away each time. She is 9 and in year 4 so she is 12 months younger than the average Year 4 anyway. She reads at end of Yr 5 level, which grades as a "B" but as the revised grading have yet to be confirmed it's really an"A" as is writing and speaking. She writes using many genres and needs to be encouraged to move beyond this comfort zone as she is showing some great talent, the child writes well I can say that. Her stories are full of emotion, feeling, character depth and imagination. Maths, well, she take after me...Doesn't care much for the use if Trigonometry and the circumference of a circle for use in every day life.Dad will undertake some tuition in the maths area as it is neither my forte nor can I be unbiased about it. Miss 9 want a tutor as it seem to be the flavour of the month but she is only lacking in one or two areas and it more of a catch up then anything else so she is more able to grasp the later concepts of maths. It's our decision based on the student feedback sheet she completed not an academic requirement, she wants to be batter at math. What is it Michael Grose says about first borns?...."They want to rule the world" and second borns "want to change it".

Oh and for the very little person who I know reads this from the people of the Sidhe....

Go hlfreann leat

Busy doin'...I don't exactly know what

I'm not sure what I have been doing that has kept me from this journal journey. I was Christmas shopping a bit, I have been training the boy dog more now as he has matured to be showing a lot of aptitude in the scent and scent discrimination area of trialing apart from his natural abilities in herding and athleticism for agility. I have been helping out at school fixing some broken readers and such, organising a collection for a gift card for Mr 6's teacher and getting all the class to sign a gift bear for her...Now that is a task and a half!!! Gardening; which was a waste; as the dog who digs decided after a month of my petunias and snapdragons being there, yesterday he required a new cool hole and that patch of garden bed was IT!! I decorated the interior of the house for Christmas, 2IC is in charge of the outside and he has located a seller on Ebay who does the wooden cut outs with an Australiana theme ( no, I am not telling you where or doing a link, we may want to get more) We bought one new light figure for the house at the Christmas Cave and he is on the roof, far away from thieves and miscreants. Want to try and climb the gate and get out with two legs, good luck with that LOL.
Mr 6 had his last speech session for 2006 and his speech pathologist is going to be working THREE days a week next year and getting her own premises. She was leasing a room at a medical centre. This is a boon as it means I can arrange Mr 6's appointment around Mr 4's kinder sessions...YAH. Also means no more dealing with the silly "I'm having a blonde moment" receptionists at the medical centre when I am paying for the gap on the previous and current session and handing over a cheque from the health fund for the previous session. After a year of it, you'd think she'd get it ...But no.
I have been having dinners out with some very good friends who have been a great help with Mr 6. R and D were Miss 9's kinder teachers, and I specifically wanted them for Mr 6 last year..Got them, but due to some parents need for full frontal lobotomies, he lost one before he was really prepared. Any way she went on to have a beautiful baby and now we all get together for some very LOOOOOONG ( and late or would you say early??) dinners at her place with some other mums who owe them both quite a debt of gratitude. It's fun and entertaining as we all have different yet strangely similar lives and the common bonds being that we all respect and love these great teachers of our kids. I'm sorry Mr 4 will not have both of them but I have kicked up enough dust at the council that they switched him to the kinder where D is and by God in heaven she'd better not get moved in 2007. They just do not seem to understand that parents choose a preschool based on the staff and not the location...I will be traveling 3-4 kms out of my way next year to get Mr 4 in with D, passing the kinder from hell, which is around the corner en route.
My friend, AJ had a stroke like collapse a few months ago and whilst her body is repairing ,her speech is problematic. She speaks in a halting manner, as she has to think of the next word. Her sister had a similar attack a few years ago. AJ, and I went out Christmas shopping a few times and to the market...Just to get her out of the house and doing something as although she is seemingly fine physically, she gets tired, dizzy and has good and bad days speech wise...I know when she has a bad day as she screens her calls and doesn't really want to talk to just anyone( except me). AJ is one of my bestest friends and she needs to look after herself more but its hard with two children with autism spectrum disorders.
Now I've written down a lot of what I have been doing,I can see where my time went.
Last night I perfected the shortbread biccie recipe I continually stuffed up last year..They just weren't right to me, even though everyone ate them. But last night, without much interuption..2IC was watching cricket, boys were in bed and Miss 9 was reading ..I was able to create the most perfect shortbread biscuit ever made..No, I'm not telling but it has to do with allowing the butter to soften before using a rubbing method with the flour etc but I am not telling any more. The biscuits went off today to Mr 6's class for him to pass out in lieu of Christmas cards..He has neither the dexterity nor patience to write out 24 cards.

Tolkien and the Rainbow Bridge

Miss 9 very often mentions our old boy, Tolkien or Tolly. He was a blue ACD of true working lines and we lost him in 2001, he was 13. He died when he swallowed a part of a corn cob thrown over the fence by a neighbor's child. It caused him to have a perforated intestinal tract, and blockage. Surgery was a risky option as there could be no guarantees that all the tears in the lining would be repaired or picked up. A second opinion gave us the percentages of success and the highly likely scenario that a missed perforation would result in septacemia and death. We decide to let him go. It was the hardest decision ever made and I have always lived with the loss, harder still is the fact that Miss 9 was old enough to understand the loss. Mr 6 was only a baby and Mr 4 ,a distant star in the sky. Miss 9 annually takes Tolkiens photo and some obedience ribbons and trophies to school to show her new teacher and class. She has his picture in her room and will talk about him often. She asks if Gemma misses Tolkien or if she should tell Lawson that Tolkien was the first boy dog in the family. Things such as this come up occasionally, not often, but I choke when I hear his name as she speaks about him with such freedom that I envy her.
Yesterday, she asked if Tolkien was in heaven. I told her I was unsure but that I think animals wait for you to join them in heaven so every one is happy again. She asked where they wait and I remembered a great site that has some great visuals and music complete with the poem by Paul C. Dahm called "The Rainbow Bridge". She watched it with tears steaming down her face, I felt bad but after she told me it was such a nice place that the animals must be happy and not miss their families too much. Maybe it will help her not to worry about him too much now.

What's the difference?

I have been pondering the current upsurge of intolerance for others in society of late. The increasing banning of hajibs,burkas, etc in some countries and States is of some wonderment to me. These women and girls wear this as a symbol of their dedication to the beliefs of their religion. Nothing more, nothing less. Their religious principles and steadfastness are a honorable and noble in the mixed societies in which we live. I do not believe they attempt to stand out, nor create trouble , nor do many of them want anything more but acceptance of their beliefs. They seek not to convert the non Muslim nor prove the Catholic, Anglican, Unitarian or Seventh Day Adventist wrong...They simple want what we all have had. The right to worship in our way.

I think back the days of my childhood when nuns wore habits and garments much not all that different from the dress worn by many Muslim women of today. I don't recall the patients some of these nuns ,who were nurses, complain about the habit. Nor did I ever hear that an Irish nun; of which there were many; was a terrorist threat because she came from the "troubles" and might be a member of the IRA, or may harbour a bomb beneath her habit and gown...No sorry, folks, just the Catholic Church. But watch those Rosary beads, they could be made of C4 or Plastique. Or maybe the nuns who taught many of us in the 70's and 80's and before where secretly planting in us the agents for the uprising of the faith of Vatican 2.; the New Crusades..Bit late now, we missed it, people.

Within the Orthodox Jewish faith there is a need for women to have their heads covered, they utilise wigs for this purpose in many cases, but the premise remains static; that of an religious observance, humility and a sign of faith in ones religion. Many European women of many faiths, no doubt; covered their heads as either a religious matter or when in mourning. Did we ever worry about this? NO. Was a call ever placed to ASIO by any wig outfitters to say a woman of the Jewish faith was purchasing two wigs for herself? I really doubt it. We can be alarmed by what we are being told or were can be just lerts, looking for a reason to habour ill will against that which we do not try to understand. I'd rather be neither.

I am sure I am not thinking on such a vast plane ,that no one else can see the parallels I have touched on here. Nuns were cloistered away in convents, yet lived, worked and worshipped amongst us all and still do where the community is fortunate enough to have them. Women of faiths that have clothing as a religious observance do like wise...So why do society sneer and taunt the other religions? Is it a lack of understanding? I think not, for the life of a nun was always the unknown question of every Catholic educated child and no doubt the fascination of many non Catholic people as well. I never heard of a nun being stoned, spat upon or ridiculed in a public place except by a inebriated misdemeanant. I feel it is the Governments increasing creep towards a quasi "WASP Australian"policy as opposed to the "white Australian policy of the 1950's. I have yet to see a picture of the PM in a handshake with any indigenous leader, non Christian based religious leader or any real meaningful, proactive talks that weren't a photo opportunity with any of the above. They tell us to be alert, not alarmed, based on the US information( and how infallible is that ?) that it was a religious war that is being wrought by the Muslim faith. Yep, and the Sheraton bombing was the result of Holy Water disguised as nitro.

Of toys for boys and such

I'm not supposed to post about this under threat of a nasty comment, but 2IC has some talking dollies. Really, they are the Boonie and Botham talking "figurines" that you have to buy two 24 packs of Victoria Bitter beer to get. Oh, well lots of cheap beer for the Christmas/New year visitors. 2 IC is normally an social/occasional beer drinker and drinks Crown, Red Back, Beez Knees,Boags,boutique stuff...So VB in our place is a hardly ever occurrence. Any way, back to the dolls, and they ARE dolls which is "a small model of a human figure" (Oxford Dictionary) and they speak intermittently when the cricket is on but during the news, cartoons, whatever. So they are TALKING DOLLS. For those not acquainted with the wonders of 11 men running about in white clothing or now pajamas as night cricket in known, bowling leg side, stumps, ducks, wides, leg spins, maidens and other such terminology...Boony is a replica of David Boon who is a legend to cricketers and drinkers Australia wide whose claim to fame is drinking 52 cans of beer on the flight from England to Australia. Botham, well he was perhaps over rated but a Pom to boot.
I can say that being half Pom myself, nah nah nah. It all has to do with a marketing ploy and a pay on words: Battle of the Tashes ( Ashes: England V Australia cricket series))as in moustaches...Both had/have moes.
Any how, these DOLLS talk and have a niggle at each other with sayings like:
Boony: "I feel like a beer, your's is in the oven"
Botham: " Where are the crisps?"
The kids are fascinated by the randomness of the comments and I have encouraged them to call them what they are ....DOLLS. "Dad, your dolls are talking" is a common catchcry about the house..With "they are not dolls, they are figurines" Well, they are annoying anyway you call it.
Now how many households have these dolls but would freak if their son wanted a Barbie, I wonder.

Oh diddums.....

1974 VOTES as at 2208

Geez, who's that I wonder.

LMFAO!!!!

My, My , My What have we here....

Seems the Christian Right has spoken and says that the ALP, Greens or Democrats because they have "blantant humanist anti Christian ideologies and agendas" should not get your vote as a Christian. Seems homophobes stick together. Last I recall of my history and Philosophy classes was that being a humanist was being concerned with the human race and not ones self . This in it basest form is not a bad thing as opposed to the direct opposite of caring only for oneself, and, on that basis; if you are against caring for the whole then you care only for yourself, tsk tsk, tsk not a great attribute for an aspiring politico.
Read the last few lines and see whom they want you to vote for, in case you "catch fire" here it is for your reading pleasure;

WHOM TO VOTE FOR

In the Upper House, vote (#1) for Family First or CDP, as we don'’t want the Greens to hold the balance of power.

In the Lower House, vote (#1) for Liberals or Nationals. If you live in the electorate of Mildura, vote for Russell Savage (Independent candidate in the Lower House), or if you live in Gippsland East, vote for Craig Ingram (Independent candidate), or Macedon vote for Steve Medcraft (Independent candidate).

Some things just need to be seen and left unspoken...........................