Back to basketball

Jalen has been so excited as basketball has started back up again at the YMCA, since school has gone back.

This year they are doing things a little differently and Jay is lucky that he gets to still be in the 'easy' league for 7 and 8 year olds. We thought that he had to go up to the more serious league this year, but I'm glad that he gets another couple of terms to learn some more skills before it gets too serious, and they actually get strict on the rules.


At the moment it is all about having fun, and learning different basketball skills and rules. Jay especially loves going and playing games. It is nice that his cousin Henry is also doing it again. Hopefully when they divide them into teams they will still be in the same team again.



Watching Jay train makes me miss playing, but I can't imagine running up and down the court right now when I have this huge 'basketball' up my top! :) At the moment I am happy to just watch.

Physio

This morning we had a physio appointment for Noah. A couple of weeks ago we caught up with Noah's physio who did a biomechanical assessment of him. She usually does one or two a year to just see how well he is, or isn't moving, and then shows us different things to do to help loosen him up or stretch different muscles.

It is really interesting watching how she literally measures things, such as the angle that he can get his hamstring etc stretched to.

The boys always love coming to St Giles. Harri always asks if we are going in the 'big room' as the gym area is a lot of fun, especially if there aren't any other clients around and they are allowed to have a play. If we have to go to the Seating Clinic that isn't as much fun, as we are usually just sitting and waiting for Noah's wheelchair to be adjusted.



Today our appointment was to show us some different ways to give Noah's muscles on his chest a stretch, as they are getting quite tight and short. His physio - Kerryn is great and has a lot of experience. The main problem that we are dealing with at the moment is that Noah has scoliosis (a curve and rotation in the spine) which is becoming severe. Many kids like Noah end up having to have spinal surgery to place rods etc in their spine to straighten it up as much as possible, as their internal organs become crushed as their curve gets worse. I hate to think that we may have to do that one day, but it is definitely looking like it may be an option for Noah in the future as he is getting worse, very quickly. We have different things that we do to slow the curve down, but there is nothing we can do to stop it. Hopefully we won't have to worry about having an operation on it for a very long time.

A visit from camp friends

Today we had a nice surprise when a lady and her son, that we met at camp dropped in to see us. Her son Daniel was has Downs Syndrome and at camp he would stick his tongue out at me and would wait for me to do it back and then crack up laughing.

Today when he came in he was really shy and wouldn't even look at me. Then I sat in front of him and poked my tongue out at him and he cracked up laughing and was my best friend again! He grabbed my head and planted a big kiss on my forehead.

He sat down and watched The Wiggles with Harri and had a great time. As he was about to leave he grabbed my head again and gave me another kiss. It was nice to see them again and are looking forward to catching up with them again when I work during the Easter school holidays.

Dusted if off

With Aaron back to work and Noah being home in the past week (he is now finally back at school!), I have had to bite the bullet and dust off the hoist. It usually just sits in our hallway and collects dust. Whenever Aaron is home he does all the lifting, but now I have to do it myself.

We have had the hoist for over a year, but I hate using it. It is so fiddly and takes so long to first of all get Noah all hooked up, then moved and then lowered back down and free from it all. By the time I even think about doing it, I could have picked him up and put him in his wheelchair, and already be out the door.

Noah actually really likes being in it and is used to using one at school. It is nice seeing his face light up, when you are moving him up and down.

Most of the time I still just pick Noah up myself (when Aaron isn't around) and move him the fast way, but I know as I am getting bigger and Noah is getting heavier, I need to use the hoist more. In a few years I won't have any choice but to use the hoist, as he will just be too heavy to pick up. I guess I will just have to keep pumping those weights at the gym to make sure I am strong enough :)

Whenever I decide to use the hoist I need to make sure that I have a lot of time, as Jay and Harri both want to have a turn too, which takes another ten minutes! They think it is soooooo fun!

Meeting Annie

This afternoon we made a quick visit to hospital, so the boys and Aaron could meet little Annie.

The boys were so excited to see her and were peering over to her and rubbing her and holding her hands.

Noah was so funny as he could hear Annie crying after she had a bath and his eyes got so big and he kept looking over in her direction. You could tell he was wondering what all the noise was about!

It was cute watching his reaction as he had a hold.

I took the boys up the hall to get a drink and Jay sarcastically said that he 'can't wait to have all that crying in our house!'. He acts like he is dreading it, but deep down I think he is so excited to meet his little brother.

Bec's sister - Louise and her kids Bella and Will were also there. It was nice to catch up with them again (notice Aaron keeping the boys entertained by making a chicken out of gloves!).

Goodbye Summer!

There is a saying here in Tassie that it always gets hotter once school goes back. Most years we have a mild summer and then school goes back and it gets so hot. It is not the case this year! The last week or so has had cold nights and last night I felt really cold and dragged out and extra blanket for Noah's bed. Aaron said to me that it wasn't that cold, but I felt freezing and knew that Noah would feel it too as he is usually colder than normal anyway.

Today we had Stake Conference in Devonport and as we were heading through Deloraine I commented to Aaron that it looked like there was snow on the mountains! As we got closer we saw that there was HEAPS of snow on the mountains! It is supposed to be Summer still! We haven't even reached March yet! I hate to think what this Winter is going to be like. I don't mind the cooler weather, but in Tassie the winter seems to last for 6 months. I can usually handle it as long as we have sunny days, just like today.

Annie Elizabeth Harrington

What a great day! This afternoon at around 4pm, Bec gave birth to a beautiful little girl - Annie Elizabeth.

She is absolutely beautiful and so tiny!



It was so nice to have a little cuddle. Scary to think that soon we will have one this small though! :) Well - maybe not quite so tiny since my three boys have all been so huge! :)

Bec looked amazing - you wouldn't think she just gave birth a few hours earlier! She was so calm and natural with her. Bec and Tone will both be great parents.




It is so nice to see them so happy. It is a very emotional day for everyone. We know how much they miss Andy, and are so glad little Annie is finally here - safe and well.

Anyone know a good carer/aide?

Well - it hasn't worked out with Alice. She has decided she is going to go back to uni full time and finish off the year properly and doesn't want to take too much extra on, so we are back to square one trying to find a carer for 4 hours per week at home, plus someone who is wanting to do some relief aide work from time to time.

This is so frustrating! First it was hard to get the hours funded to have help in the home, now it is just hard to find someone reliable, relaxed, willing and able to work!

Back to swimming

Today Harri started back at swimming lessons. I thought I had better get one more term of lessons in before the baby is born, and for weeks now he has been asking me to go swimming, so he was very excited today. Because Noah can't go to school at the moment he had to come along and watch. I was dreading that he would have a seizure or be grumpy while we were in the pool, but he was very well behaved :) It was funny watching the parents faces as I walked in with the boys. No one ever has any idea that we have Noah, so when they see me with the wheelchair they are really interested. I often get asked if he is my son.

Its amazing how much more confident Harri is in the water now! He told me he was getting in by himself and I wasn't allowed to help him and he just kept jumping in and going under and not caring.

While we were getting changed one of the Mum's asked me if we had spoken at the Make a Wish ball last year. I told her that we had and she said that she was there with her husband and said how much they enjoyed the talk and how she recognised Noah from the slides we showed. It seems like everyone knows Noah today! Last year we had to give a speech at the Make a Wish ball and then at the dinner for the Education Department within a week of each other! It was a scary week, but obviously both talks left an impact which is good. I hate doing things like that, but if I know it is going to help people understand more everyday life with a child with a disability then I am happy to do it.

We found someone!

I'm so happy as we have found someone to be Noah's relief aide at school and she will also do In Home Support at home for four hours per week. Her name is Alice and she also does some In Home Support for some of Di's other clients, so Di put us onto her. She is so lovely and in her 4th year at Uni, doing Education. She is keen to work with Noah which is nice. Today we met at school and went through some of his school routines etc. Next week she will be trained properly with Di (if she is well enough to be back at work) and will fill in whenever Di is sick. Noah was very spoiled today with the two of them, plus me fussing over him. We were 'excited' as we were hoping Noah would have a seizure while Alice was there, so she could see what they were like. He didn't let us down. Poor Noah - it is one of the few times I was hoping he would have one - and it was a beauty!

I'm so glad that we have found someone who I think will be really good - especially as it is getting closer to the baby arriving! I was worried that we still wouldn't have it organised by then.

Until next Monday (at least) Noah is still home from school. It was nice today to have him up there for a couple of hours and to have all the kids come up and say hi to him. There are a lot of new teachers at school this year, and two of them came up to me today and said hi and said that they were at a talk that Aaron and I did last year at a dinner put on by the Education Department. The talk was about Inclusion, and our experience of Noah going to school. They both said how much they enjoyed it and wanted to come up and meet Noah which was nice.

Wii Fun

We had so much fun at Chrish's house playing his Nintendo Wii, that I caved in when we got home and surprised the boys by getting one. We didn't spend as much money as we thought we would in Sydney, so when we saw them on special at Kmart when we got home, I told Aaron I would go down and put one on layby. When I got there I changed my mind and decided I would just buy it and surprise them all. It was also the first day of school, so I thought it would be a nice surprise when they all got home from school.

I talked to Aaron during the day and told him that I just bought it, and he was like a little boy at Christmas! When I picked up Jay from school he asked if I had put one on layby. I told him I had and he was very excited. I wasn't going to tell him I bought it until the very last minute (after we had had the big talk about trying hard at school this year) but when we got home Harri went into my bedroom and came out carrying it (and it was very heavy!) and stands in front of Jay going 'ta da!'. Jay's face was priceless!! He just stood there with his mouth open and then just about wet himself with excitement!!

It is so funny watching the boys play it. They get so excited and into it. Harri has surprised us and is getting pretty good at it!



I like it so much more than the Playstation, which I have never been into. It is fun actually standing up and moving around like you really are playing tennis, golf, ten pin bowling or baseball. It is especially lots of fun when I beat Aaron :) The first night Aaron and I played it together after the boys went to bed and we were both so hot and sweaty. We must have looked hilarious jumping around our lounge room playing tennis! It definitely gives you a work out - maybe I won't have to go to the gym so often! ;) The next morning I woke up with sore tummy muscles and a sore right arm!

It's a great motivator too - I have never seen Jay so keen to do his jobs after school, and to do some reading or homework before!

Sensitive Jalen

Anyone who knows Jalen really well, knows that he is ultra sensitive and a big worrier at times. Tonight I couldn't help but laugh as he is so sensitive about everything. I have been laughing so much that I have been in tears - I think I must be tired!

Last year at school his class did an aurora safety course (being careful around electricity) and also a fire safety course. Since then Jay is very worried about fires and anything to do with electricity. Whenever we go somewhere he is totally paranoid about bushfires! When we went to St Helens for the week he found it hard to relax as he thought that we would be wiped out by a bushfire! (it probably didn't help that there was actually a bushfire in the area at the time).

A couple of years ago he suddenly became totally paranoid about 'robbers' and 'kidnappers'. He would find it really hard to go to sleep as he was worried someone was going to come into our house during the night and take him. We kept reassuring him over and over again that the chances of that happening was very slim, and then one night we had a double murder in the house across the road so that also didn't help the situation!

When we were in Sydney we were driving up to Chrish's house on the first night we were there. Aaron was stirring Chrish about the area as Chrish told us that people can often consider it a little rough, but said he had never see anything happen or had heard of anything. We drove past a small group of teenage boys and Aaron joked about the 'gangs' in the area. Not a good move when Jay is in ear shot! That night when we put him to bed he said he was worried about the 'gangs'!.

Then the next day Aaron made a comment about how in NSW it is hard to spot a 'bommy car'. Compared to Tassie there are not very many older cars in NSW. Aaron said we should play a game to see who could spot the first 'bomb'. One day while we were driving, Aaron saw an older car and goes 'there's a bomb!'. Jay just about freaked out!!! He really thought there was an explosive in the area and Aaron had just spotted it! Talk about laugh.

When we were at the zoo last week Jay started to talk about how sometimes the animals can get out of cages and kill people! He was all prepared that a tiger or lion had escaped and was on the lookout all day long!

He also told me last week that when we have our baby we have to be careful as in his 'crazy book of records' he read about a lady in Texas who dressed up as a nurse and would steal babies. He is sure she is on her way to Launceston to steal our baby now!

Tonight two things happened that had me laughing so much I was almost wetting myself (very easy for a pregnant woman to do by the way!! :) I was in the bath and the two boys came in to talk to me. There was a tiny spider on the wall behind them and I knew Jay was going to freak out, but couldn't help it. I said 'there is a spider behind you guys' and Jay screams and says 'where!?' and turns around to see this tiny spider crawling across the wall. He then starts freaking out, which set Harri off!

Harri was screaming so much as he was absolutely terrified and couldn't move! I couldn't help it, but absolutely burst out laughing as they both looked so funny to be terrified of this tiny spider! I wanted to help calm Harri down, but was laughing too much and couldn't! In the end Aaron came in to see what was going on and calmed down the situation with a big whack! Then Jay freaks out saying 'was that a red back!?'. Talk about dramatic!

To top the night off Harri was moved back into his old bedroom to go to sleep. I was doing it as a ploy to get him to be quiet and go to sleep. He kept saying he wanted to sleep on the top bunk with Jalen, and wouldn't take no for an answer so I told him he had to go and sleep in the 'babies room' - in his old bed. He went willingly and then a minute later he called out and decided that he would much rather sleep in Jalen's room on the bottom bunk (where he was supposed to be!). When I took him back into the boys bedroom Jay was in bed in tears! He said he just realised how much he loved having his brother in his room and was bored and missed Harri when he wasn't there (it was literally gone about 2 minutes!). I couldn't help but laugh and reminded Jay of the night we moved Harri into his room and he cried as he didn't want him in there!

Poor old Jay. Having such a sensitive boy can be mentally draining at times as you are always trying to reassure him that things will be okay and nothing is going to happen to him. His new teacher told me on Thursday that he was a 'teacher's dream', so I guess there are positive sides to having him being so sensitive as well. He has never been a real 'boy', but I think Harri is going to make up for that - as long as he can get over being scared of spiders (and dogs at the moment!).

Noah's extended 'holiday' :(

As you can see from the clock in the photo above it is mid morning and Noah is home from school - on the second day of school for the year! Noah's aide/carer Di, hurt her back at work (St Giles) last week and has had to go off on workers compo for two weeks! She went to school yesterday, but shouldn't have really been there. She rang me last night to tell me what was going on. So Noah has to stay home until we can work out what to do with him and find a relief aide that is available and also willing to work with Noah.

Even though Noah wasn't going to school today his teacher asked if I would go in and talk to his new class about him. She likes me to tell them why he is in a wheelchair and about his feeding tube, seizures etc and for the kids to ask any questions. It helps them to not be scared around him but to talk to him more. Today it was funny as I was telling them that Noah gets his food down the feeding tube into his tummy and a little boy says 'but you can't put a hamburger down there!'. Another little boy asked how I get him into the car, so we all went out to the car park and they watched me load him into the van with the ramps. The principal was also out there joking around that he was going to put Noah in the back of his ute. The kids thought it was hilarious.

Noah is having another cranky day. At the moment he seems to have 3 or 4 really good days, then a sleepy day and then a cranky day or two. We have just been to see his Dr who is still wanting us to fiddle with meds, so it may be another couple of weeks until we get him sorted out properly :(

School's back!

I love school holidays as we get to sleep in, get to do whatever we want and have no routine, but I also love it when school goes back and I can get back into a routine.

Jay has been SO excited about going back to school for weeks now. This year his teacher is Mrs Bond and he is in a straight grade three. Supposedly Mrs Bond is really into computers and they do a lot of fun computer work, so Jay was sold when she told them that last year! I am really happy that most of the kids that he was in Kinder with are back in his class this year. It seems like it will be a really lovely class and his teacher should be great. Supposedly she is quite strict, but fun so that is just what Jay needs. When Jay got to class this morning he told his teacher that he was so excited he could hardly sleep for the past few days!

Noah on the other hand decided that he was going to sleep all morning and was still asleep when I dropped him off at school! With his new med change he has been so happy and hyped up - especially at night. Last night when I got home after going out for tea he was still wide awake in bed. Then at 4am he decided he was going to be wide awake and squealed for about half an hour - as he was so happy. I got up to him and told him to go to sleep as he was going to be tired for school, but he just smiled at me and let out another squeal! He was having a lot of seizures, which were making him smile. I like the ones that make him happy - but not at 4 in the morning!

Needless to say he was exhausted when Aaron pulled him out of bed at 7.30am so I could get him ready. One great thing about Noah is that even if he is asleep I can still get him dressed, feed him, give him his meds and send him off to school! Hopefully by now he has woken up and can enjoy his first day. This year he has the same teacher - Mrs Stackhouse and he is in a Prep again. He should be in grade 1, but we discussed it with the school and decided that he would do a lot better in a Prep with the atmosphere, so he is there again. We have a joke going, saying that he didn't learn to write his name last year so he has been held back.

This morning when Jay was getting ready, Harri said 'where's my school shoes Mum?'. I reminded him that he wasn't going to school yet - that he had to be four to go to school and he burst into tears and said 'no, I AM going to school - my Kinder is finished now!' (they have been building a new Kinder at the main campus of school). Poor Harri - he would love to be at school as well, but I told him he needs to stay home with me to help me with the new baby. He is okay now they are at school and I am enjoying the peace and that I can clean up and it stays clean!

Aaron was feeling a little nervous, but excited about the students starting at school today. This year he is teaching Grade 9 and 10 maths, P.E and I.T. He is also the Grade 9, grade leader which will keep him very busy, but he is looking forward to it.

The 'last supper'!

Last night Pip, Bec and I went out for tea - for the last time before Bec's baby arrives in around two weeks! We will have to get together at each other's places for lunch instead - for a little while at least. We decided we needed to go out one last time to celebrate that Bec didn't have to go back to work, my boys were going back to school and Pip's birthday (which is next week).

We decided that our 'last supper' would be at the Greek restaurant. It was so yummy there was so much food! Bec and I always seem to end up ordering the same thing and we always say we will try something new next time, but never do.

We can't wait to meet Bec and Tony's little bundle!

Valentine's Day Tag

Bianca tagged me via her blog to do a Valentine's Day thing so here goes:

You and your spouse: Lisa and Aaron
How long have you been together? 13 and a half years! Boy we are getting old!
How long did you date? 14 months before we got married.
How old is he? 35 - old!
Who eats more? Definitely me! Aaron is too fussy - drives me insane!
Who said 'I love you first'? Aaron! :)
Who is taller? Aaron
Who sings better? Definitely me - sorry Aaron! Must be all the eating I do!? :)
Who is smarter? Aaron would say he is as he has two degrees :)
Who does the laundry? Mostly me, but Aaron will throw a load in on the weekends.
Who does the dishes? Both of us.
Who cooks dinner? Me - Aaron likes to cook cakes and biscuits though.
Who pays the bills? Me
Who mows the lawn? Mostly Aaron after I nag ;) Sometimes me. By the way Aaron - it is needing a mow right now in case you haven't noticed! :)
Who is more stubborn? Me
Who kissed who first? Aaron kissed me :)
Who asked who out? Aaron asked me out I guess - can't remember what we did!? Probably something romantic like Macca's!
Who proposed? Aaron on Valentine's day.
Who is more sensitive? Probably me, although Aaron is pretty sensitive for a guy.
Who has more friends? Probably me.
Who has more siblings? Me. Aaron has two sisters - one has passed away, and three step sisters so if you count those we are even :)

I tag Toni, Steph, Simone, Clare and Becky if you are game :)
your spouse:

Noah laughing

Noah has been feeling a lot happier since we have changed one of his meds. The other night when Jay and Harri were staying at Mum and Dad's, Noah was laying on the floor and Aaron talked to him and he cracked up laughing! He hasn't laughed for over a year so it was so great to hear it again. Even after we put him to bed he kept giggling till about 11pm!

Eden the Builder

Today I drove out to Mum and Dad's to pick up the boys and to watch some of the action at Eden's block. Today they were pouring the slab so it is getting very exciting as it is starting to look like there will be a house there very soon! It is great watching Eden in action. Although I know that Eden and Jared are both builders (almost for Jared) it is still hard to imagine it, so it is great seeing them at work. Eden had a great 'apprentice' today - Jordan.


It was nice to spend a bit more time with Chloe too. She is such a cutie and talks so well. As soon as she saw Noah she said 'Noah!'. Mum said she also says 'Jay Jay' for Jalen all the time.

She was all over Noah - wanting to sit next to him all the time and kept rubbing his face and giving him kisses. It was very cute. It's funny how little kids are always fascinated with him.




The boys were so excited as Auntie Steph went to Deloraine and promised them fizzy drinks and chips when she got back.


Harri and Jay had a great time staying at Mum and Dad's, but Harri was VERY tired and grizzly. He needed his 'blankie' as he was so tired, so Mum had to go back to the house to find it. After a while I got sick of the grizzling, so I knew it was time to go home. I said to Harri that if he is going to be so grumpy after he stays at Grandma and Grandpa's then he won't be able to stay again, and Mum got excited and said 'is that a threat or a promise!?'. I think Mum is just as tired as the boys are. By the time we hit Deloraine on the way home, Harri was sound asleep.