Welcome

. . . in all seriousness, thanks for stopping by! This blog will no doubt evolve over time, and will include all sorts of content. My aim is to let you know what we're doing as a family, how I'm coping as the mum of a child with Cerebral Palsy, and a variety of other things too.

If you are the parent of a special needs child, I pray that you will find encouragement, hope and support within these posts. I'd like to get to know your story too, so be sure to leave a comment.

I hope you'll come back soon.



Monday 10 September 2012

I'm baaaack!

No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth, I've been finding things a bit tough going recently, hence the lack of posts.  A dear friend told me a couple of weeks ago how long it had been since my last post....
Starting with the anniversary of my Dad's passing.

We've been having some behavioural issues with Reuben.  He's fine at school and his after school programme.  But at home, well that's another story.  Hitting, kicking, biting, throwing things, breaking things.  Poor wee Isaac gets terrified when Reuben gets like that.  I get bruised.  But I'm not giving in, I will continue to discipline him, and not allow him to behave with such disrespect! Mum has spoken, you have been warned!

Work has been difficult, restructuring which is going to take a total of about six months to complete, in addition to other things which I am unable to talk about here.  So I've started having a bit of a look around to see what other opportunities are around.

After I got over the flu, I've ended up with the hundred day cough which seems to be doing the rounds in Canterbury at the moment.

On a positive note, we've hit spring big time.  And I've started getting motivated to do some baking with the boys.  Been doing something each week, and because we've got a convection microwave, I don't have feel guilty about heating the whole oven just to cook/bake one thing.

I have missed international Cerebral Palsy day which was also the second anniversary of the first of the earthquakes - September 4th.  We've had over 12000 earthquakes in the last two years.  But we did just have a stretch of 10 days where there were none at all - it's a bit surreal that a statistic like that is a milestone!

Isaac has been a star.  He's making fantastic progress with his walking.  He is only using it at preschool intermittently, and occasionally at the mall.  His motor control for feeding is improving.  He now has a special raised chair that he uses at the table.  I was initially a little wary, thinking that it would create more mess, but actually it's been okay.  Balance is getting so much better and the exercises that he's doing at champion centre have lead to him being able to jump off his chair (when I hold his hands) knees bent and everything.  Yeah, I'm a proud Mama.


The next few weeks are going to be hectic. Why is it that all the apppointments end up happening within a couple of weeks of each other? Isaac has his first IP this week.  I'm kind of nervous about it, but at the same time quite excited.  He has come such a long way in such a short time.  Optometrist appointment which we've had to wait 3 months for.  Appointment with Paediatrician - I think she is going to be impressed with our little guy. OT home safety assessment, and Lifelinks assessment (my best advice for people is to get into the system as soon as you can, that way you can access as much funding, etc as possible). Add in some interviews, a couple of staff leaving lunches, pamper day, Silver Ferns test.

We were really fortunate to be able to get our house insulated with batts (under floor and ceiling). It has made such a difference and although we've past the worst of winter and headed into spring, I think that we're going to notice a difference through summer and into next winter - YAY for saving money on Pellets for the pellet burner!

If anyone knows how to do a circular or oval crop, please let me know.  It's something that I haven't had time to figure out - or maybe I don't have the correct software.  We're not allowed to put photos of champion centre staff on the net, so I've improvised.

A group a mum's from champion centre have started getting together for dinner once every month or two.  Last time was the first time that I'd been, but I figured if I don't do it now, I'll wimp out later too.  I got my friend Cushla (also a Champion Mum) to come with me.  We had a great time meeting new people and eating great food.  Some of the mum's are graduates, so they know what we're going through. It is crazy how ordinary people end up going through an extraordinary journey for their child.  

I have been amazed a the courage of parents I have met online from around the world.  There are a couple of people from the UK and Australia who are raising awareness of the newborn cooling which Isaac had at birth.  I watched a story on tv tonight about an amazing father with a child who has cerebral palsy, it was really inspiring.

Until next time, and I promise that it won't be so long

Thursday 2 August 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

It's been another of those weeks, ended up on another lot of antibiotics - this time for a throat infection.  I am so looking forward to this winter being over.  On a positive note, we're getting insulation installed in our ceiling and under floor. It will be really interesting to see how much difference it makes to the warmth of our house, and how much we save on pellets for the pellet fire.

Although I haven't been posting on a very regular basis while I've been under the weather, I have been thinking about other topics that I can blog on.  How about a regular post on things from my childhood?  "Blast from the Past" will be featuring soon.

Something else which I quite enjoy is finding new, unusual and cool fonts.  So I'm playing with the idea that I do a free font of the week.  Just need to do a bit of testing to ensure that my page will be able to support this idea - that's the old analyst programmer in me coming out.  Some fonts that I've discovered are great for scrapbooking, others for children's party invitations and some for handcrafted card inners.  I know, kind of an odd thing to like, but hey at least it's got practical applications!  Probably comes from the stamping and scrapbooking that I have done and from when I worked at the stamp shop and made suggestions on new designs for word or alphabet stamps.

Probably should remember to give you an update on the boys at some point too!

Sunshine
Shoot the sun! Easy!
Sunset requires sun, so here you are.  We have been very fortunate to witness some stunning sunsets over the past couple of weeks. I love the fact that through most of winter here in Christchurch, after a frosty start we have a stunning sunny day.  I much prefer that kind of a day to the drizzy, overcast kind, they can get a bit depressing.

On the Road
Take a photo of something on the road, you driving, other cars, paint on the road, anything!
A concrete truck, but not the normal kind of concrete truck. This truck was carrying slabs of concrete, having been removed from a deconstructed building. Over the past 23 months we have seen so many things that we would never have imagined seeing in our wonderful city. In that time, we have survived the unimaginable, but I think that everyone is looking forward to the future.  It's going to be tough, but I almost wish that we could look into the future and see 10 years into the future.

Cup
What's your favourite cup to drink from? Or a trophy cup you won?
Or a drink you had today? Shoot it and share it.
I quite like to drink my night time hot chocolate from this cup.  But what I really like is the way that the stripes look as though they vary in width depending on what angle you are looking at it from.

Last thing you bought
Was it something exciting or toilet paper? Or something more extravagant? Share it!
Don't you love it when you find a bargain? And it was actually something you were looking for! A friend had one of these apple peeler/corer/slicers and I thought that it was fantastic.  The other week on one of the one day special websites (Grabone, I think in this instance) had purchase a voucher for the Homestore and get double the value to spend in store - basically 50% off.  I jumped onto their website and found that they did indeed sell this particular item, so purchased the voucher and have just been and got my new gadget.

Calm
Earlier in the month we shot busy, now let's shoot something calm.  What's calm in your life today?

A cool little bridge, over a wee stream, surrounded by native plantings.  Peaceful and relaxing, just need to relocate it from where it is to our front yard and it would be perfect!

Toothbrush
Boring right? Make it interesting. Play with apps, to make it more interesting. Have fun!
Who needs to play with apps when you have a gorgeous model to assist with the taking of photos?  Isaac loves to brush his teeth, and is very much into routines.  Immediately after finishing breakfast he wants to go and brush his teeth before we get our bags and coats to head out the door in the morning.  At night, after dinner and some play time or cartoon watching, once Isaac is in his pajamas, he will go and do his teeth, then give Daddy a kiss goodnight and off to bed.

Outside
Take a photo of outside/outdoors or something outside of something.
So a person outside a door, a lolly/candy outside a lolly/candy jar.
Occasionally you need to bend the rules, when you find an image that is stunning.  This really speaks for itself!

Thursday 26 July 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

I'm starting to get the hang of this photo a day thing, and quite enjoying coming up with photos for each day. Now I just have to get a life, so that my blog has a chance of being interesting!


Animal/insect/pet
Take a photo of a little critter or a big critter today.
Had a visitor in the office the other day - I'm not really a dog person (or a cat person for that matter).  The only reason I took any notice of the pooch was because I suddenly remembered that I needed a photo of an animal.  Don't hold it against me, I'm sure that there is something you don't like that I do :)

Eyes
Take a photo of eyes, on you, someone else, a pet or even a toy.
Cheeky little monkey - you can just see the mischief in these eyes.  Both of my boys have lovely blue eyes.

9 o’clock
Take a photo of what ever you’re doing at 9am or 9pm. Your choice.

Washing, washing and yet more washing to be folded and put away.  Sometimes it feels like this is never ending and that all I do is washing, dry, fold....


Upside down
Take a different look at the world.
Take a photo upside-down or of something upside-down.

Isaac loves it when Daddy throws him upside down.  Reuben used to, but has grown too big.


Mirror
Take a photo of a mirror, or your reflection in the mirror.

When Isaac has his music therapy there are various mirrors around the room so that he can see what his body is doing and so that I can see his reaction to the activities that he's doing.


A stranger
Be brave or sneaky. Take a photo of a perfect stranger.

There are some strangers in the background of this photo!  We took this while away on holiday at Christmas. Tiny town at Splash Planet in Hastings was a huge hit, as was the gondola and luge in Rotorua.  I think that the thing that I appreciated most about our holiday was that we were away for the 5.8 and 6.0 earthquakes that hit Christchurch again on 23 December 2011.

Heart
Take a photo of a heart.
When a saw this necklace a couple of years ago, and thought it was so pretty, I just had to get it.  Love it when the sun hits the glass and the colours in the refracted light shine through.

Friday 20 July 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

When I was getting prepared to write this post, I started getting really confused. The subject matter didn't correspond to the pictures I thought that I was meant to have. Turns out that two weeks ago, I couldn't count to seven! So this week I am intentionally adding an extra photo.

Letter
Take a photo of a letter, perhaps one you get in the mail, one you wrote or even a letter from the alphabet {in a sign, or in a book or somewhere else!}
Reuben's birthday ended up being spread over three weeks.  There's nothing like getting home at the end of the day and finding a package sitting on the doorstep.

Texture
This is a toughy! Take a photo of something with texture; carpet, wood, a painting anything that has texture.
You may have noticed Isaac wearing this beanie in other photos.  It was actually given to Reuben last
winter as part of an initiative where people around the country knitted hats/beanies for kids in Christchurch.

Open
Take a picture of an open sign, or something open; a door, a jar, anything that can be ‘open’!
"ROAR!" Watch out I'm going to eat you all up.

Building
Take a photo of a building you see. It could be a big or small building.
 Reuben decided that he wanted to put stickers on his shirt.  Not sure about the motor bikes and boat in the sky among the buildings, however the airplane was positioned perfectly.

Finger
Take a photo of a finger, yours, someone elses, a finger sign or even a toy finger or sorts.
 I will admit that I cheated on this one. When Reuben was a baby, we got some photos taken, and this one was just too cute not to include in this post.

Sign
Get creative! Find a sign {a street sign, someone doing sign language or even a sign of fate!}
Created by the amazing Rachel, this mosaic was made from broken crockery on the anniversary of the February earthquake. It is displayed in one of the windows in our church.

Your Addiction
What’s your guilty pleasure? What do you love? What are you addicted to? Share it!
I was having difficulty thinking of what to do for this photo, then I realised that one of the things that I enjoying a lot is hanging out at the mall.

Plate
Take a picture of a plate, with or without food on it.
Because we live near the beach, I have quite a bit of beach themed crockery.
Sorry that this post is a bit on the short side today, but it is getting really late, and I still need to get a few things done before I can call it a night.

Monday 16 July 2012

Slackness & a VERY late Through the Lens Thursday

I am slack, slack, slack! No posts in almost two weeks is not the way to win friends (readers) and influence people.

After a week in bed with the nasty bug that's doing the rounds and a week of trying to recover, get back to work and get the house operational again, I am starting to feel like I've just about returned to normal - well as normal as I can be! I'm so pleased that I had Reuben booked in for holiday program, and Isaac at preschool. Over the holidays, I try to let the boys have a bit of a sleep in in the mornings, so we're not out the door as smartly in the mornings as we are during term time, but on the other hand we can't just laze around home all day either.


Since I last updated you, Isaac has been doing amazing with his walking. Not only does he not use his walker inside the house any more, it usually gets ditched when he arrives at preschool (although it's good that he still has it if he needs it or is having a 'wobbly' day), Champion Centre he used it for walking into the building and walking out again - he flew solo the rest of the time, at the weekend we went to the mall (this time across town to Riccarton, which is significantly bigger than the others in the city) and he went the whole length, twice with his walker! I can tell you, he's been having great afternoon naps after all that exercise. He is getting more and more stable, and has figured out how to regain his balance if he's walking along and starts to loose it. I am just so proud of the little guy! His determination is inspiring.

Reuben has now lost his two front teeth (bottom ones), I guess mid-winter Christmas is nearly as good as Christmas.


Here's last weeks Through the Lens Thursday....

Fun 
Shoot a picture of something fun or something you enjoy doing
I could watch Isaac play for hours. He is such a happy content wee fellow. My heart just wants to melt when I think about him. And, if I think about what could have been, my heart wants to break. But we are making the best of everything, and are constantly asking the Lord for His strength to keep us going.

On the floor
Take a picture of something on the floor. Your feet, patterned tiles, toys, grass – what’s beneath your feet?
I had a lot of help from my sister and niece when I was sick. Reuben was also really helpful, one night he got Isaac ready for bed - nappy, pajamas, teeth, prayers. What a great big brother.

Chair
Take a photo of a chair you see in your travels or at home/work/school etc.
Sometimes as a special treat, Reuben and Isaac like to sit in Daddy's recliner and watch cartoons. There is just enough room for both boys on here, but this particular day it was Isaac's turn.

Garden
Take a photo of a garden, yours or someone elses!
Ok, it's a fence rather than a garden. Every time I drive down this road, I am astounded by how much this fence has sunken due to liquifaction (terms like this come up in everyday conversation in Christchurch).

Lunch
What’s for lunch today? Take a photo before you eat it!
Lunches are a bit of a production line around our place. Each night, the sandwiches, fruit, and snacks are lined up, wrapped, packed, and ready for the next morning. Sandwich content ranges from jam or peanut butter through to cold meat and salad. What goes into your lunch boxes?

Big
Take a photo of something big. Perhaps make it look bigger by getting down low and shooting it looking up?
As the city continues to undergo massive changes, there is more and more heavy machine coming in. Durham Street has only just reopened, and this is what I saw driving to work. That is one BIG crane.

Your favourite colour
What’s your fave colour right now? Take a photo of it.
Saw these in the shop the other day. Love the colour, and the style, am thinking I might need to make a return visit!

Thursday 5 July 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

I've spent most of the past week in bed ill, hence no posts. Haven't been this sick in many years, it even took a few days for the antibiotics and steroids to kick in.  Just as well it's only the athletes and not the staff at work that get drug tested after a match!

Bathroom
Share a bathroom - yours, a public one, a friends - can even just be the door
I knew that today's photo challenge was bathroom. Our bathroom at home is not very exciting, it's not modern, is a bit worse for wear (and earthquakes). So when I needed to use the bathroom at the mall I figured that I'd just take a photo of the door. I actually quite like the coloured frosted glass with stainless accessories. Wasn't until I went to upload this week's photos that I realised that the suggestions included public bathroom and that it could even just be a door.

On the shelf
Shoot a shelf and what's on it
No cupboard is complete without a cookie jar!  What does your cookie jar or cake tin look like?

Soft
What's soft? Is it your hair, a toy, a sofa, or something else?
Soft cuddly toys, for cuddly boys - and this is only some of the collection.  Some nights there isn't much room in bed for the boy.  Other nights the boys both get into bed together and there isn't much room for the toys.

A friend
Take a snap of a friend and share it.
It's so good to have Aunty and Uncle home. They've been working overseas for the past 9 months. Welcome home!

Self Portrait
A photo of yourself that you've taken (get creative, take a photo of your reflection maybe?)
Snuggles on the couch, and playing with the phones camera.  That was about all that I was up for.

Best Part of Your Day
What's the best part of your day? Your morning coffee? Seeing your kids or loved one? Going for a walk? Snap it and share it.
What a surprise I got when I went onto my blog and found that I've passed 2000 page views! That really made my day. There are people around the globe who are interested in what is going on in our lives, very humbling.

Busy
Take a photo of something busy - the street, your to-do list, people shopping, just something that represents busy.

It's been a bit difficult to get a shot of busy, and I've been thinking about having a go at using some of the various photo apps that are available.  I'd been wondering how some of the photos on other blogs looked so fantastic. Tints, saturation, contrast, as well as various effects within the different apps. Had a bit of a play and this is what I came up with:



Obviously different effects will work better on different photos, but I thought that this one of the cuddly toys was a good place to start.

What do you do with your photos?  Use them as is, or crop them?  Do you have a favourite effect or app?





Thursday 28 June 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

I know that I'm not the best photographer, but over the past couple of months, I've taken more photos than I have in a long time.  Better angles, positioning, etc - see I don't even know the correct terms - will come with time and practice.  So in the interim, you my faithful reader, are going to have to put up with my inept attempts at creating an artistic masterpiece!

On your mind
What are you thinking about? The news? Your family? Yourself?
Share what's on your mind.
When I was at the mall the other day (yes, I do spend quite a bit of time there - it's winter, give a girl a break) I noticed a billboard advertising the university.  Really made me think.  We have come to rely so heavily on technology, what does happen when we don't have access to our laptops, smart phones, emails, etc?  Even after the earthquakes, we had some capability to connect to the rest of the world.

Fave photo
Re-share a favourite photo
Reuben has always loved his little brother, and I think that the love is radiating from him in this pic. To be honest, I usually don't like photos of myself (who does), but this one isn't too bad. I think that Phil looks rather handsome here too. We had photos of Reuben taken when he was about 9 weeks old, so I really wanted to get some taken when Isaac was around the same age. This was a bit later than that, but with everything that had happened, I was going to go easy on myself.

Where you slept
Where did you sleep last night? Take a photo and share it.
Sometimes on a cold frosty morning (we've had a lot of those lately), when I don't want to get up, the boys will come in to bed for a cuddle with me. Only problem is, they can get a bit rowdy, and then don't want to get up and get ready for school/preschool.

From a high angle
Shoot your photo from a high angle looking down.
These boys sure know how to chilax!

Movement
Take a photo of movement; a car flying by, a person dancing, someone jumping - anything!
I know I'm always saying about how much Reuben and Isaac adore each other, but you know what, it's really cool when they can just behave like normal brothers.  Wrestling on the floor, tickling each other, the sort of thing when Cerebral Palsy doesn't really get a look in.  It will always be there, something that affects Isaac, but I pray that we're able to raise him to be a person who does things despite the limitations of his disability.

The other day Isaac's Physical Therapist said that she had seen a teenager playing goalie on a hockey team.  The boy had similar movement and balance issues to what Isaac has.  He didn't let any goals through, and when the game finished, he was coming off the field and fell over, the same way that Isaac does.  This has given me real hope that Isaac may in fact live a close to normal life.  That his disability won't limit how full the that life he lives will be.

Something cute
Did you spot something cute? An animal? A person? A thing?
Oh, yes, I so spotted something cute!  There's a cheetah and a crocodile, Reuben and Isaac, a couple of hats. . .yep, they ticked all the boxes.

Where you shop
Do you shop online? Or in a store? Share where you shop.
I've talked a lot about going to the mall a number of times in my posts.  And now, I'm being really brave.  I need to get new glasses, it's kind of an age thing, lol.  So ignoring the fact that I really hate taking my own photo, which pair do you think look best.  Leave your comments and votes - left, middle or right?  Please be honest, I can handle it.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Happy Birthday Reuben

This year for Reuben's birthday we decided that we'd have some of his friends come over for some games, dinner and a sleepover.  We were blessed with a fantastic, unseasonably warm day.

Phil was in charge of the games - having worked as a youth pastor for many years, he has loads of games to call on at a moments notice.  For the party he decided on food games.  Although it was a toned down version of what would normally be called food olympics, because this was a group of five and six year olds.

After tossing marshmallows and catching them in their mouths, the kids then threw them all at Phil (food fight style).

The trampoline is always a great attraction, we knew that getting the largest available was going to be a necessity with a family of boys.

Boysenberry drop: open one can of boysenberries, drain of juice and drop boysenberry into volunteers mouth.  Phil and I did a demo for them, but they weren't too keen on this one.  Isaac, however, was up for the challenge!

Reuben was not about to be outdone by his little brother.  You'll notice that we werre responsible and covered their clothing.

Hotdogs and chips all round.



Chocolate mud cake, mmmmm.

All in the bed and the little one said . . .

All Blacks third test match was on that night, so the boys put their haka skills to good use after the national anthems.

None of the boys were able to stay over, but that didn't stop the fun.  Reuben, Isaac and Phil had a sleepover in the lounge.

Happy Birthday Reuben, I love you buddy.
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