No sweat.

These pics were taken last week at the RCH.

i-spy in the hospital grounds

Squeak in the cafeteria.

Bubble's test in progress. A bandage covering a 'sweat collector'.

Tattoo hands from the Starlight Room.

We went back to the RCH with moral support from Dad today. The test failed again twice and we had to come to the conclusion that Bubs is just not a sweater. If he needs to do some other test to rule out CF we will find out about it at the follow-up appointment on friday.

Mat won a CD from PBS radio on the way back from the Vic Market this morning and was itching to pick it up. Looks like a good compo' of world music goodness from Shock Records/Filter Music.

Before heading back we popped into mixed business in Clifton Hill. We sat out in the sunny court yard and let someone else be hospitable for a change. Nice coffee and food.

The best part was watching the boys make a miniature cafe under a giant nasturtium leaf 'umbrella' with a rock 'table' and succulent leaf 'chairs' for lavender 'people'. it was lovely to see them being so imaginative/creative with natural items as play-things.

We took these pics awhile ago at Batman Park.

Tree Huggers


The big green slide.


Mr Strong

Bubble wears a home-spun superhero costume. (red cape courtesy of the tea towel drawer)

Don't 'sweat' the small stuff.

As part of seeing the Respiratory Specialist at the R.C.H Bubble had to have a sweat test to rule out cystic fibrosis. On friday we went to the hospital to do the test, the pathology was crowded with sick kids and anxious parents. The test involved having a device attached to the arm which sends a small electrical current through two electrodes to stimulate the sweat glands. A small amount of people don't sweat enough and have to repeat the test.

They can only perform the test twice in any one day, once on each arm. Guess who didn't sweat enough? Despite drinking copious amounts of water and running up and down the big ramps in the hospital wearing five layers! Those bloody tests took 3hrs and we have to go back on Tuesday to do it all again. Woo.

In the middle of a very late lunch I got a raging fever and decided not to take the boys home on the tram because I was feeling so rotten. Mat couldn't pick us up until he closed the cafe and we found ourselves going for dinner at Rumi because we were both too shattered to cook or even contemplate what to have.

We sat outside so as not to infect other diners and I rallied a little. We had olives, labne and smoky fennel, tenth century carrots, fried cauliflower with caramelised onions and pinenuts and the goat. (Sorry Kirti, I know of your 'herder' dreams) We had walked in like four weary travellers and came out like feeling like Persian Royalty leaving a banquet and sucking on great blobs of pink rose-water delight studded with pistachio.

We came home, threw the chaps into bed before collapsing in the lounge to watch 'Wire in the Blood', which was disturbing and left me cold.

I felt worse than I did after lunch as I crawled into bed with my vision swimming before me. Absolutely bathed in SWEAT... Oh, the irony!

Spring Fling.

Wowzer. The de-clutter bug is going through my house like a dose of the salts. With a promise to be ruthless, I pulled clothes out onto my bed, drawer by drawer. I tossed odd socks, stained tees and past-it knickers into the cleaning-rag bag.

I tried everything else on. Anything clean and good but no longer for me went into the op-shop pile. All the heavy winter things went into a big suit case that all the summer stuff had just come out of. I cleaned my shoes. I polished some boots and stuffed paper in them to keep them straight over summer. I'm even getting through my alterations, taking up pants just in time for shorts weather. 

*sigh* 

I got rid of about a third of my clothes! The majority were sent to charity for someone else to buy and love which is nice. I feel lighter and it's actually easier to get dressed in the morning so it's a shame that I'm waking up all stuffy. I had to take an anti-histamine today. Yuck. The cold of last week seems to have triggered the hay fever I had for a few years before getting pregnant. Must remember to take my zinc/C powder.

We made some critters today.

bear, dog, snowman

dragonfly, pig, bird

Calling all Deities.

There's a bug going around and Bubble and I have been afflicted. Crossing fingers and actually praying to God, Buddha and Ganesh that he doesn't need steroids. Again.

I'm not actually very sick just running hot and cold and cloudy in the brain. I refuse to get bad. I'm really being very kind to myself and napping on the couch with Bubs which is not like my usual 'keep going until I break' health plan.

This house is being transformed, it started with the toys and has now hit the pile that was once a kitchen table. We've been eating in front of the telly for umm... quite awhile. Pretty much since I pulled out my sewing box and made all kinds of promises about finishing this task or that. There are a shit load of excuses going on and it doesn't help that the house is too small to allow for a designated sewing area. Wahhhh!

My Mum always served our evening meal at the kitchen table. NO telly. Just 3 kids sitting around a little kitchen table (lot's of good memories) Sometimes we ate at the dining table with Mum and her Boyfriend. (lot's of bad memories)

When I left home I went to live with my Boyfriend's family for 3 months. They ate dinner together every night, Mat's family were the same. When my kids look back over their childhood I don't want them to think sitting in front of the telly and eating is normal or parents eating at a different table to the kids is normal. 

I have always loved our family sitting around the table chattering and laughing so today I am going to move all my shit and start relishing my kids and food in a way I haven't for quite a few weeks.

Health warning: Eating dinner in front of the telly for weeks on end can have a negative effect.

Squeak 2005

Fortunately the effects are reversible. Oi Squeak! Is that Mat's famous pumpkin and leek lasagna?