This is what happened to Spindles on Tuesday. He went to a chess tournament at a town about 45 minutes drive away. It was a 'round robyn' comp, and over the course of the day, he developed a headache that he soon knew was going to become a migraine. Now, Spindles is not a kid who will ask others for help readily. He did inform the teacher that he had a headache, but a headache and a migraine are two different things!
By the time it was time to get back on the bus and go home, Spindles could hardly move.
And then as the bus chortled along, he vomited. Poor little possum. Having a migraine and being in a moving vehicle do not go together, but what could the teachers in charge do?
They had to get the kids back to school! They called the school nurse and us ahead of time to tell us what was going on.
Hubby was already in town to pick the kids up and he found Spindles still in the bus, curled into a foetal position.
He said that Spindles still had vomit in his hair, clothes, and mouth. And Spindles could not move at all, let alone take any medication. After cleaning him up, Hubby ended up taking him to a friend's place across the road from the school, where he lay on their couch till he felt able to take the medication that would enable him to endure the 15 minute drive home.
So that is the woeful tale of Spindle's migraine. I thank God that Roly happened to be on the bus with Spindles. He protected him from the 'OOh gross!' comments, SSSSHed the loud people, and got Spindles to lie down next to him. What a great big brother!
Grrr Incident-
A couple of days ago, I was at school picking a still-weak Spindles up early, 'cause I had only sent him to school for school photos.
He was still hanging around waiting for his chess photo, so I stood there waiting also.
And right in front of my eyes, a bigger kid hit Roly twice in the face.
It was across the other side of the room and none of the teachers bustling around seemed to notice.
I quietly motioned Roly to come over, and I saw that he had a lump on his eyebrow and a red chin from the impact!!!!
FURY!!!!
While the boys had their photo done, I breathed deeply,and got my shaking hands under control. Then as they all filed out, I followed the boy a ways and then got his attention. He came over with a friend in tow, having no idea who I was. I got rid of the friend and then said in a friendly fashion: 'I saw you hit my son, Roly, two times.' He was horrified and squeaked "Yes?' I said: 'I do not want to write a letter to the principal about this. So I want you to apologize to Roly, by tomorrow.'
He nodded mutely, and I let him go.
Well 'tomorrow' was yesterday and Roly was home sick, so today is D-day.
Though I think I will actually need to write a note to the principal anyways ,to explain what I did. I do not know how legal it is for a parent to approach a bully, even if they have witnessed the bullying.
A post script- I felt even better about talking to this child when Spindles told me later that he was the only one who called him a name in reference to vomiting on the bus.
Despite a couple of babysitting hiccups (children escaped!)we had a good time.
The food was good (though the Thai pumpkin soup was lacking something. I haven't worked out what yet!) Eight very different women sat around the living room and discussed the book. We all saw the book in 8 different ways, but seemed to respect each other's diversity! Due to school holidays the next meeting will not be for eight weeks.
Sorry I am not more descriptive, but I am dashing this off, so I can go clean up the bomb that went off in my kitchen and go lie down!
Kid's club went really well too. It was a day off in between themes, so we played bucketball, then the kids could do craft or worksheets while we watched VeggieTales.
The craft table is a new addidtion to kids club. Some of the kids understandably do not want to do anything active just after school. (the first twenty minutes as kids roll up, we do games) So I bought three big sets of paper punches,(which look a lot like the set in the pic below, though with shapes instead of the alphabet) a big stack of patterened paper, and assorted pencils and pens.
Well, what a hit.
Every single kid sat down of their own accord and fashioned something out of the materials, even the grade 6 boys!
Whew, and it is good to be back! I have missed interacting with all of you.
We are all just about better, I think. (though, remind me to tell you sometime, about poor Spindle's migraine experience while he was away at a chess tournament yesterday. Poor little possum!)
Last we spoke, my family was about to go away for a night to the Warrumbungles. And we did.
I won't lie to you. It was not a pleasant experience for me, when it was all said and done.
But it was nice to all be together doing something. Hubby has not had a Saturday off for months, due to having to work on the church extension, so for him to get a break we needed to physically go somewhere. This is the place we stayed at.
We did not get close to where the beautiful pic that I showed you in my last post was. But below is Split Rock where we went on a bush walk.
We saw some kangaroos and some magpies, but that was about it for wildlife.
I can't talk long. Lots to do. Tomorrow is our very first book club meeting. How excited am I! I heard all about the terrible language in the book ( A Million Little Pieces) from a couple people, so I never passed on another book after that. Accordingly only 7 of the 15 people on our books will be attending!
I think we will have some great discussion out of it. there is certainly plenty to talk about.
I will be handing out the next month's book Emma by Jane Austin. and after our meeting to discuss that book we will be taking two nights out of the following month to watch the BBC adaptation of the movie. should be fun.
The menu is very important of course.
We will be dining on:
*A warm salad of sliced chicken breast, chorizo sausage and cucumber served on a bed of monet lettuce and drizzled with rocket, parmesan and cashew dressing.
*Thai pumpkin soup
*plus slices of woodfire pizza for those who need bread with their soup!
Yummy huh!?!
And I have just spent ages setting up the church as a creche for the three babysitters who are coming! There is a baby corner, an action Man corner, dressups, blocks and building, mini piano, and a coloring in corner. A kid's music DVD will be playing on a big screen as well for any of the kiddy's who want to just chill out. There will probably only be seven!
I am so excited. Most of the gals coming never get much time out for themselves, so I think they will have a blast too. We might even squeeze in some time to chat about the book! Heehee!
Oh and I got my very first pair of crocs today. Though here they are called Shockers! I'll post a pic of them tomorrow!
*Edit* doc's prognosis- Bad chest infection with bronchial spasms. Stay warm and dry and have a weekend of bed rest so it doesn't turn into pneumonia.
He had a little fit when I told him that we are going to the Warrumbungles this weekend! LOL!
Well I'll do the 'stay warm and dry' part.
And what mother ever got to stay in bed?
Hello?
Have a great weekend girls. Sorry if my comments are a bit short at present. I am feeling a bit out of the loop with posting etc. I will be going to the doc on Monday, 'cause this thing's not shaking! The only upside of being sick is that I have lost 4 kgs! Hurrah!
We are going away for an overnight break tonight (to the place in the picture above), so I'll post some pics when we get back. Talk soon, and I look forward to reading your news over the weekend.
I wondered if I would be able to do kid's club today, as once my cough gets going, it really hinders any talking I want to do! But things went ahead without a hitch. Everyone listened and participated well. I chose two of Topsy's favorite songs today so the kids could cheer sick Topsy up. Well they sang to Topsy with huge enthusiasm and stopped him dead in his tracks with a huge smile on his face. And.... (drumroll!) we finished our series: The Bible in 10 Easy Lessons.(It is a set of lessons that comes with the kid's music CD below)
Which means we finished our banner as well. Yeah!!! It is certainly no masterpiece though, let me assure you!
Basically the 10 lessons are summarized as follows:
1.CREATION – God’s people happy in God’s place (Genesis 2:4-25)
2.THE FALL – The Temptation to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-24)
3. PROMISES OF BLESSING – God’s promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3)
4. KING DAVID RULES GOD’S PEOPLE – (2 Samuel 7)
5. SOMETHING GOES WRONG King Solomon disobeys God (1 Kings 11:1-10, Exodus 24:3-4) (whoops! I taught the lesson but forgot to put the pic on the banner! Typical of moi!)
6. THE EXILE – God’s people are punished and everything is a mess. But what about God’s promises? (2 Kings 24:8-16)
7. THE BIRTH OF JESUS – Jesus is from the line of Abraham and David. He will bring God’s blessing and rule forever on David’s throne (Luke 2)
8. PAYING THE WAGES OF SIN Jesus dies for our sin (Whoops! Ran out of room and had to put it's pic together with Jesus birth above!) 9. THE RESURRECTION – Jesus is the Risen king (John 20:19-31)
10. HEAVEN – God’s People in God’s place again (Revelation 22:1-6)
Today we went through the pictures on the banner, and the kids took turns coming up and explaining each one. And they have remembered all the key stuff! Hurrah!
Next week we start the CD sequel: Meet the King- a series of lessons looking at Jesus' life on earth. There is a banner for that too!
I hate banners, 'cause I am really bad at them. I have to remind myself that it is such a great way for them to learn and remember God's Word.
Posted by michelle ::
9:12 pm ::
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The reality though, is often very different to how I imagined it in the planning.
The simpler the idea, the better things usually go.
This year isn't actually party year. We do parties every second year usually. But because things are going so well socially for Roly at present, I really want to encourage his friendships as much as possible.
So here is the party lowdown.
Roly is not really having a party as such (too old! LOL!) so I am calling it an 'adventure afternoon'. (I really wanted to call it a 'Fear Factor Party' but I wasn't allowed!)
All sorts of icky fun will be had. Bobbing for apples in baked beans, cheeto face , wacky cereal games, a Tim Tam slurp off. (The second link will take you to a site that has these and many more yucky games.)
Playing games which may make the kids feel physically sick is dumb. We will just be gross enough to have fun! Ha!
The other extreme is Diva's party. Her's will be an arts and crafty party.
Hi girls! I just wanted to let you know that I will be back and blogging very soon. Just because I have fallen way behind in Kid's Club (and Sunday School) prep and housework with the last couple of week's illness, I need to play a bit of catchup.
I'll talk soon OK? Don't be strangers. :)
Let me leave you with the image that met my eyes this afternnon.
Ah yes, Topsy always feels as though he can conquer the world after bathtime!
I bought Diva a real 'girlie' outfit a couple of days ago at a 25% off sale. The pics of the skirt do not do it justice. It is so delicate and, well... pretty! The little flip flops are beaded and shimmer! Diva was thrilled to say the least.
Anyways, I expected her to wear it to the birthday party she went to today. And she did..... sort of.... after making some alterations!
Well, the birthday girl does live on a farm, and a great deal of the party ended up being held out in the back paddock, so having a pair of 3/4 jeans underneath her delicate skirt and wearing the cowboy boots instead of the dainty beaded flipflps were practical ideas. ( by the way she is tipping her head to show you the butterflies on her hat!)
I'm not going to drone on about about our week of sickness. Boring! But I did glean two humourous moments in the mayem. :) And I will share them with you.
Moment of Delirium - Yesterday, fevers were raging! Roly, Topsy and I were in the living room. I was just about coughing up my liver, Roly was about to spit up his lower intestine, and Topsy was crying with gusto. I was trying to do something. Not really sure what, but I was doing it with gusto. Not till I found myself gazing into Roly's terrified gaze did I stop. I had been trying to forcibly attach the velcro ends of one of Topsy's bibs around poor Roly's much too wide neck!
Moment 2: In Emergency last night, Roly and I had the misfortune to be placed in a bed next to a poor woman whose every breath was total agony. For the two people with the most active imaginations in the family this was not a great thing. We could not see her, only hear her excrutiating grunts. We were both trying to guess what was wrong with her, Roly in whispers to me and I in my imagination. Roly was convinced that she was having a baby. (which is what it sounded like, except that she was having no break in contractions if she was!) The mystery was solved when I heard her husband mention 'back spasms' to the nurse who came to assist her to the toilet. Roly did not hear this, because as she gingerly passed us on her toilet trip, with one hand pressed protectively to her chest, (I guess to keep as rigid as possible) he took one look and then gravely whispered his sad diagnosis, "Breast cancer."
I read alot of you guys' blogs this week, but did not feel up to commenting. Sorry. I will try to make up for it some time today. I missed you all!
On Sunday afternoon, while Hubby was having a nap, the kids and I took up an invite from S to come and see her at the ranch.
We had a limited time frame to do it in, because the pace is generally frantic there and this past weekend is probably the only occasion where S would be the only soul on the ranch. So out to the ranch we drove.
I have always thought that the town we live in and the even smaller town 5 minutes away where the ranch is, are both quite ugly. They are certainly far more practical than picturesque. But when we drove a couple minutes out of the second 'ugly' town we found the ranch nestled in the Moonbi ranges. It is amazing! It would be a great view to wake up to in the morning.
S gave us a tour and then demonstrated some of the games they play with the horses at Parelli. Here are some pics of her being the 'horse whisperer'.
I was amazed at how the horse responded to S. Like it knew English. S definitely understands how horses work! And they sense that.
Just before we went, S put cowboy hats on all the kids and let them cowboy up!
We will defintely be going again.
BTW: pity party for li'l old me: this is the first day I have put myself to bed (no I am wrong, the second day) as a sickie, since I had adult chicken pox over 3 years ago. Tempie, cold, and a COUGH! :( .
The Colin Concert My sacrifice: When we got into the hall, the seats at the front were already all taken.
So I sat us up the very front on the floor, in order that Topsy could see his hero Colin.
Colin, the mere mention of his name, sees Topsy toddling to his chair to watch the DVD.
My result: Squashed up under Big Mama for so long, my legs went to sleep, BADLY. In the end I had to sit flat on my butt, with my legs straight out, like a woman from the Pa Dong tribe. (you know, with the long necks!)
< I would imagine the poor lad in front of me (whose back my gnarled toes were poking, we were sqaushed that tight!) wished I had had a pedicure in the last decade. He kept sending me reproachful glancesevery time I shifted and inadvertantly poked him.
Topsy's result- he was terrified! Every part of his tiny body shook with fear as some awful thing yelled and strode around the stage, inciting everyone else to shrieks and yells. I don't know if Topsy ever clicked and realized that this travesty was his Colin. We have a volume button and an audience of one at home! Well I have never seen Topsy more scared. The first five minutes I only managed to keep him there, by blocking his ears and holding him as tightly as I could. He had his little arms wrapped fast around my neck with his face buried deep in my neck. (I rather liked the cuddling part.)
Even after I soothed him back into sitting on my numb lap, each new song and the ensuing screeches of approval from the audience brought on a fresh torrent of tears and trembles from my boy.
I was heartily glad to leave.
BBQ Lunch at the Marsupial Park!
*EDIT* (I had the first two lists identical which was totally NOT the case! This is the real set of lists!)
My mental list of things to take to the BBQ: matches, bread, ketchup, metal tongs, newspaper, drinks, sausages, cups, tray for sausages, napkins
What I actually packed: bread, ketchup, drinks, cups!
What I remembered to buy on the way there: matches, sausages
So we were short a few essentials! And I knew that the BBQs there were primitive. S must have thought I was an absolute wacko showing up with only half of what I needed! It was mortifying!
But we managed to all pull together to find dry leaves and kindling, and I lowered my standards even more, by rummaging in the public bins till I found some carboard to set alight.
It took a while but long story short: we did not go hungry.
As Roly said, after devouring a sausage he had torched all by himself on top of the BBQ he had help light: 'Best sausage EVER!'
And what amazing marsupials did our overseas buddy get to see in the 'marsupial park, I hear you ask? One kangaroo, count it folks: One!!
Poor old Roly! I have no photos to commemorate his birthday (being sick and all!). But here is the only decent pic of how he looks now that he is 11!(before the battery died and he didn't want to hang around to wait for me to charge it up)
All the kids are at school today, thank goodness! After catching up on housework, I managed to get all my Sunday School prep done, get started on the kid's club lesson, and nearly minimalize the linen cupboard. Once its done I'll take a pic! Tomorrow will be a busy one for us which is unusual as we like to keep Saturdays quite lazy. In the morning we will be going to a Colin Buchanan concert.
Then we will take a Canadian friend (S) to the local marsupial park for lunch. (the link here takes you to some English guy's blog who has 3 pics of animals from the park! I think I must be nuts, but there weren't any other pics!)
There is a chance that we will go back with S to the ranch where she is training to become a Parelli instructor. It sounds fascinating.
Then we will take a Canadian friend (S) to the local marsupial park for lunch. (the link here takes you to some English guy's blog who has 3 pics of animals from the park! I think I must be nuts, but there weren't any other pics!)
There is a chance that we will go back with S to the ranch where she is training to become a Parelli instructor. It sounds fascinating.