Good Memories

When we went to Sydney to spend Christmas with Jobs family, we had so much fun. I asked the kids afterwards what they're favourite part of the holiday was and they couldn't decide. While we were there we went to Luna Park and I was sure that it would have been the highlight of the trip, but I think the kids enjoyed just hanging out at home with their cousins the most. I feel the same, I enjoyed every day of our 10 (or so) days in a three bedroom townhouse with 24-26 family members!
I have a handful of Sydney blogs to do but I'm going to start with the family photos at the temple :) I'm smiling now just thinking of that night. Anytime you try to get a good photo that involves more than a couple of kids, you can bet its going to be interesting. (Especially when there's a Benny and a Sumo in the family!)

     We started with a family photo. We tried to get the kids to sit normally but this is a 'normal' as we get :)

Then we took shots of the Tais in all their varieties. I'm not a fan of 'look at the camera and say cheese' photos so these are my favourite shots - they may not be anyone elses! lol. I like these photos as they reflect the fun that we had together :) - don't ask me what John is doing??! I'm guessing he's trying to be old skool?

Johns head is in the bottom left of all our photos of the Tai women, lol. It's not so much that he has a big head but that Job was holding Tanky who was grizzling and grabbing the camera - which is also why the picture is blurry!

Once we'd finished taking photos on the bench, we moved to the front of the temple. We started with the kiddies.....and um, Uncle John...?!

I love the sequence in these photos......scroll down.

Sisi continues to get squashed

Add the two babies

 

...and Benny does Gangnam style!

Grandma and Grandpa

And the whole family (except Jobs younger brother Eric)

We finished taking photos and were socialising when we heard a 'crack!'

We turned around to see that Sumo had broken Grandpas chair, lol. I was just relieved it wasn't one of our kids - for once! - I mean, Shame John, what do you teach your daughter at home?!

                  We checked out the nativity scene while my boys turned themselves into....reindeer?

Who knows, but the kids had fun. Benny made himself a grass/leaf skirt and got upset with Ally when he thought she took one of his leaves! 

It looks like Sisi and Indi are playing but really Sisi is squashing her and wont get off. 

We hung around chatting and laughing for a while....until  John decided it was time to go home ;)

Great night,

Great time,

Great family

and Great memories.

More moments with washing

Finding and dedicating time to catch up on our family blog is still continuing to elude me at the moment. I'm looking forward to being able to blog about the last month....and I hope to very soon :)

I sat down at the computer today to download some photos (with the intention of preparing them for the blog) I had given Lani and Sisi the job of orgainsing the clean washing into piles. We had a pretty huge pile today - okay, if I am being honest, when is it not huge?!

We got home from a week of camping yesterday (blog to come) and Job and I have managed to wash and dry the 'campfire smoke smell' off just about our entire collection of blankets (we need to invest in sleeping bags) as well as a heap of towels and clothes.

So I was sitting at the computer with tanky on my lap, perusing through some photos not really paying much attention to the girls chatter beside me. Then the sound of Sisi's cute little voice made me stop. I heard her saying to Lani "You're so pretty Lani, this is making you beautiful."

I looked over to see Lani sitting cross leggged trying her best to sort the washing while Sisi (who was wearing a pair of undies on her head) pulled Lanis hair in different directions. I realised this had been going on for a while and was instantly overcome with an intense love for the both of them.

I love this picture as Sisi believes true beauty is wearing your hair behind your ears.

Eventually Lani got a bit tired of the hair pulling and told Sisi to stop. Sisi couldn't understand how making her sister beautiful could be construed as uncomfortable..

Sisi couldn't help but dress up in my clothes. This isn't the first blog I've done on my kids and washing. She put my jumper on the wrong way and looked ridiculous. Lani and I couldn't stop laughing. Tanky wasn't sure what to make of her. He recognised her voice but couldn't relate to the ghostly figure.

                                        Sisi, you're such a cute little nut. No wonder I love you.

I'm glad there will always be washing to sort and I'm glad to have noticed my girls sweet personalities during what is usually a mundane task. I was also grateful just for the fact that I noticed. I used to see my children often....really see and soak in their cute little persons but since the birth of tanky and the sleepless nights, I've been struggling to connect with each of them as often. Most days its a task just to get the simple things done and life seems to be more like completeing a mental check list of things to do rather than enjoy the time doing them. I wanted this moment with my girls to last for longer so we made some cookies together - they love to cook.

-Oh and by the way, here's how the sorted washing looked. There's individual piles in there somewhere!

I made up a biscuit recipe with what we had in the cupboard - nothing fancy....

When I cook something for Lani from scratch, I need to weigh and measure everything so I can work out the carbs, in this case per biscuit. Its often a bit tricky but we were lucky that the portions of ingredients we had weighed worked together. It doesnt always work out so well.

By this stage I started wondering where my boys were. I looked out of the kitchen window to find them on the trampoline with their good buddy and neighbour Louis.

Everyone enjoyed a fresh cookie once they were baked - even Louis got one :) In out house, you can't have biscuits without milk.

 I just did Lani's BSL (Blood Sugar Level) We always test before she eats and then a couple of hours afterward. Her levels are good, meaning amoungst other things that I got the carb counting right for this recipe :)

Meeting Tank

I've got lots of blogging to do and before I get into detail about our holiday in Sydney and Melbourne, I want to post some cute pics of Tank (aka Teancum) and my youngest sister Toni.

One of the things I was most looking forward to was introducing Teancum to my youngest sister. Toni is great with kids. After his first cuddle with her, Tanky was hooked.....with her nose ;) Each time he saw her, his face lit up and he opened his arms for a play with her.

Its cute how babies love people who love them!

Just what I needed..

The night before last I went to bed in a huff. Job did something that annoyed me so I took myself and the baby off to our room and closed the door behind me without even saying goodnight to the kids. I can't remember exactly what it was that set me off....All I know is that I had a gross overeaction and chucked a hissy fit for nothing :)
Unfortunately (for Job) I was still off the next morning. I couldn't put my finger on why I was being a grump and I couldn't seem to help myself. It was nearly time for me to take Sisi to pre kinder. I really didn't feel like going. I didn't want to spend an hour with other people when all I wanted to do was throw pillows really hard at something (or maybe someone..;) and have a good sook!
Job doesn't like it when I'm quiet and withdrawn. He suggested we skip pre kinder and go out somewhere fun instead. The gloomy feeling I was experiencing started to lift immediately and when he offered to take us to the gorge for a nice walk and some lunch, it just about vanished! Then my heart sank a little as I realised that we couldn't go. I wouldn't have enough time to get back to school for lunch and do Lani's insulin. After a discussion and some nudging from Job, I went to school and asked Lani's teacher if she would mind supervising Lani as she gave herself her dose. She was happy to oblige and so our day was now free :)
Job knows I love to get out of the house and one of our favourite places to spend time is at the Launceston Gorge. I still believe it is one of the most beautiful places in the world - not that I have seen any of the world outside of Australia and parts of NZ, but anyway....
We arrived and Teancum was hungry (he's always hungry) Job took Sisi to the park while I fed bub in the car and consequently began my day at the gorge with baby spew all down my front.

It was such a beautiful day, perfect weather. The perfect setting for me to unload all my problems onto my husbands shoulders. I thought it only fair since some of the problems were him :)

                                       We left Sisi to babysit while we walked and talked

                                          We had a nice lunch - and even went back for seconds.

 

We watched a male peacock as he showed off to a couple of female peacocks

 

We had lots of fun, walking, playing and hanging out together.

     I wished I had a pair of rollerblades when I saw the empty pool. How much fun would that be??!

                                       It was the perfect day. So nice to have a small break.

I came home happy as larry and have been ever since. One of my dear friends from Melbourne - Bronwen, called that night (last night) just to top of a lovely day. It was so nice to chat to her.

                   I am grateful for my hubby who knows you can't be grumpy at the gorge :)

A month on....and some fame!

I think this last month has been the longest one of my life. The days and nights seem to last for ages, like one continuous cylce that is always the same. Feed and settle the baby, tend to Lani, feed the baby some more, tend to Lani, resettle the baby, binge on double coated chocolate tim tams ;) tend to the other kids...look at all the mess and convince myself that it doesn't bother me, feed the baby again...and again.

I wouldn't change my life, I love my chunky baby and I would do anything for Lani. It's just that life is a little different at the moment than I thought it would be. The hardest part of this last month has been the times when Lani has been angry at me. I try not to take it personally and I know most of the emotion she is experiencing is beyond her control, but it is still disheartening when she throws mega tantrums. They are nearly always directed at me. I am hoping that when we have her diet and blood glucose levels more stablised that her moods wont swing so intensly.

 I just want her to be a happy little girl. 

 

A couple of weeks ago, Lani had a check up with Sam, her diabetes educator. Sam checked her fingers (where she does her pricks)

And had a look at her tummy to make sure we have been giving the injections correctly. Lani laughed when she drew a 'no-go' zone over her belly button.

 

While Sam spoke with Job and I, Lani kept herself busy. She doesn't mind having diabetes, but she is hoping not to have needles forever and she is tired of finger pricking already!



 

We were fortunate that the day of our appointment the Prime Minister was in town. She was here to officially open the wellness building which includes the diabetes centre (I think!) Sam arranged for Lani to meet her. We sat upstairs for a few minutes in the foyer before it started getting busy.

   ..And then she arrived. She shook Lanis hand and then asked Lani about her baby brother (who decided he wanted to have a feed right then in front of all the cameras)

The Premier and Health Minister were there too.

Job and I have no idea who the man in the middle is?!

 

After our brief but exciting encounter, we headed back downstairs to finish chatting.

 

Sam - always a professional :)



 We even bumped into a weird podiatrist!

 

Once we'd finshed at the hospital, I was eager to get to the Clarks to pick up Sisi. I told Nettie that we wouldn't be too long, but we were held up a little by Julia Gillard (sheesh!) When I arrived, I found Nettie and Sisi outside in the hammock. Sisi was feeling tired by that stage so they lay outside together in the sun. Sisi absolutely adores Nettie and wont go to Primary on Sundays without her.

Nettie told me they had lots of fun together, baking cookies and playing. I dont think Sisi wanted to come home. I can see why:)

 

It was funny when the boys arrived home from school that afternoon. They didn't believe Lani when she told them who she had met that day. After we showed them the photos, they kept saying "I wish I had diabetes so I could meet the Prime Minister." At school the next day, some of Lani friends told her they'd seen her on the news.

 

During the appointment that morning, Sam gave Lani some skins to put on her injection pens.

She loves the new look (and showed her friends the next day at school)

 

Today we received a suprise package from my dear friend Kristy who posted a present for Teancum. Inside the package was a small gift for Lani. She was so excited to open it and loves her new clips, tatoos and pretend nails. I wanted to include a picture of the little note that was attached but the camera we're borrowing (ours suffered a tumble out of the car) needs a charger. I just got these two photos of Lani before the battery ran out. The cute note reads: 'For Lani....because she's so brave and strong! Lots of Love, the Pitmans.'  - Thanks Kristy xx

I love this photo taken a few days ago,  I can see that she has put the weight back on over this last month. I love her cute little chunky face :)

 

So...

 

Now that we have featured in the paper (a story about blogs) met the Prime Minister and been on National Television, we are feeling pretty famous :) We may even be able to spare you a signature.....if you ask nicely ;)