BOYS ARE A JOY AND THEY MAKE ME SMILE :)
I always have a million and one things I want to blog about and a million things I want to show you but half the time I'm too lazy busy to take photos. But alas, here are some to share... my beautiful boys working hard at their swimming...

Here's Daniel blowing bubbles. We must have drummed "blowing bubbles" into his head so much that he blew bubbles continuously (in between crying) for the whole half hour lesson... poor baby just kept trying and trying...
Here he is in crying mode. Mind you, swim instructor Karene hasn't even counted to 3 before he throws himself in blowing bubbles... he does everything she asks him to do but just protests whilst he does. Sometimes I feel slack taking him, but I want him to be safe around water...
Here's Thomas about to jump in. I have been absolutely amazed with his progress over the past couple of weeks! He's a water warrior!
Here he is paddling his arms and kick, kick, kicking. He can now dog paddle quite a distance with his back floatie on. Yes, he too is grimacing but the instructor was saying this period is all about getting his strength up, so it is hard work. (Family members can see more photos on Facebook)

Okay, on to pasta now...both my boys ABSOLUTELY LOVE pasta!!! And they both eat it enthusiastically (Thomas usually uses a fork but sometimes he digs in with his hands as well). And what does one do after finishing a plate of pasta? Pour water on the bench and proceed to splash it and squish until a big mess is made!!

That was yummy Mum! I tried to stay clean!!
Daniel LOVES all food and shows his appreciation by eating with his whole body...
Fingers, hands, arms, legs, clothes, face and gorgeous eye lashes are usually covered with food! And when the eating is done, plate is turned upside down on head for good measure! (Didn't get a photo of this) but here is his cute little face :)
Thomas has been refusing to have day sleeps but after being out late every night this week, it finally caught up with him! I found him asleep in the middle of the kitchen floor...
That bag lying next to him holds a container of Nonna's biscuits (which Thomas LOVES)... he was surrounded by crumbs. Tummy must have been full when he just fell asleep mid-crime (they were up on the bench).
And finally, a funny story from my classroom: this week I asked Kindy to glue a sheet they had done into their books. There was nothing else in this particular book so all they had to do was glue it on to the first page. One little boy's book was empty... I searched for his sheet... and where did I find it? My husband tried to guess: in the middle of the book? no at the back of the book? no not on the cover of the book? no in someone else's book? yes, in someone else's book - on the 2nd page - right after the rightful owner's work on the first page!! I don't even know how that happened! Ah, the joys of teaching little ones!

WRAP UP
Another week over...and again, I'm really hanging for my bed!

We had a terrific day today catching up with friends at Noah's Christening. Noah is such a sweetie - tiny and very, very cute:) He's had a hard time of late with his feeding and sleep and goes to hospital tomorrow to have some tests done. If you're reading this Geni and Paul - best of luck for tomorrow. We will be praying for you. I'm sure Noah will be fine.

We also learnt today that our friends Sheree and Jason are pregnant with their second child. Very exciting news! A little brother or sister is on the way for gorgeous Bailey!

And we also learnt that our friends Lauren and James are not pregnant!! They couldn't attend the christening today and another friend told us they had heard Lauren was pregnant. We're very good friends and I couldn't believe she hadn't told me! So tonight I rang her to find out...and she assured me she is not pregnant! Just a misunderstanding...lol

Off to pack Thomas' bag for daycare and get ready for work tomorrow. I'm starting to enjoy my little dance and drama classes. The kids are so sweet and I finally got some supplies last week! Yay!

P.S. We have HEAPS on this week (something every night) so I'll see how I go with blogging!

Hair and the Double Crown. What does it all mean?

It's a serious issue. Seriously. Does everyone know what a double crown is? I stole borrowed this definition from someone else: "Picture not one, but two circular swirls at the crown of your head — going in opposite directions". It's where the hair naturally parts and if you have two crowns well hair styling is impossible and you end up with a bit sticking up in the middle (a la Alfalfa).

Both my boys have double crowns...I rarely do anything to their hair because it just ends up in a mess! I can't comb it down either way! Should be interesting as they grow older...

I have heard many old wives tales theories about what a double crown means but was just wondering if anyone else had anything to add (just a bit of fun, not that I put much stock in this). So here are the theories:

1. They will have more than one wife. (I surely hope not!)

2. They will be very naughty. (So far this one seems to be leading the way lol)

3. They will be lucky in money matters. (I hope so...maybe they'll provide for us in our retirement)

4. They will travel a great deal. (As long as they return safe and sound this one is fine by me)

5. The next child will be a boy. (Well correct for Thomas as he was followed by Daniel...but we have not been game to test the theory further)

6. Child will be followed by twins. (Obviously wrong as there is only one of Daniel!)

7. They will be very bright. (Jury still out on this one)

I would have provided a photo of a double crown, but I couldn't find an attractive picture on Google. I would have taken a photo of the back of my boy's heads but they went to bed early...

NOTHING
I have nothing much to say or maybe I have a lot to say but I'm exhausted and dying to hit my pillow...and beautiful bed!!!

We didn't end up going out to dinner tonight but still had a late night because we were at my in-law's for dinner and a bon voyage party for relatives returning to Canada. Did that sentence make sense? Too tired to check. Eyes barely staying open...

Anyway, jsut wanted to post and say I was very proud of my boys at swimming lessons today - after a two week break, they did amazingly well! Daniel whinged the whole time but still managed to go under water, blow bubbles, kick his feet etc. And we managed to do it all without me needing to get in the pool! Woo Hoo! The beauty of private lessons! (I'm only having private lessons using my sister in-law's pool because it would have been hard to resume lessons at a public pool where I would have to get in with both boys).

Thomas was amazing!! He astounded me! Not only did he enter the water without me but he hardly cried (just a bit of whingeing) and he paddled across the width of the pool with just a back floatie on, then paddled almost the length of the pool on just a noodle...and then paddled a little on his own without any aid! So cute! So wonderful! Wish I had pics! Must remember to take my camera along next time!

Nighty Night :)

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...I FINALLY HAVE THE PHOTOS!

although they are tiny in size (Rosie, please send larger ones! or better still, maybe I'll just have to take my own!)

So now I can reveal the exciting news I was waiting to post...meet little Alessia :) Isn't she just gorgeous?

Alessia is my new little niece born 12th February. She is my 6th niece and I also have 7 nephews, however she is the first cousin for my boys on my side of the family. She belongs to my brother Frank (unfortunately at the moment it looks like she has inherited his receding hairline lol) and sister in-law Carmelina.

Don't worry guys, before long this little angel will be corrupted by the warriors and will be running around getting up to all sorts of mischief with them! Although they are also very protective of her, telling everyone to "shush" when she is asleep :)

Oh, and today is also my 8th wedding anniversary. Sam went to soccer. Very romantic. He went to racquet ball on Valentine's Day as well. Just sweeping me off my feet as you can see! We are planning a dinner out though (either tomorrow or on the weekend) without kids to make up for the two missed dates, so looking forward to that :)

MY LITTLE WARRIORS

Whilst still awaiting a photo for the "exciting news" post I promised (Rosie hurry up!), I've decided to post some photos I took a couple of days ago of my two little warriors...

Gathering rocks to begin the assault on the backyard (They did a great job attacking everything! Note that I do not condone rock throwing but having failed to stop them, I thought I would take some pics before dragging them inside)

Can anyone guess what was happening in this photo? (Hint: It looks more sinister/dangerous than it actually was).

No Mum - you may have been trying for 15 months, but we refuse to both look at the camera and smile for you so that you can have a nice photo of the two of us.

Thomas gives me a cheeky smile...

Followed by Daniel (because he just has to copy his big brother)...

Oh and before I go, a big thank you to Picciolo for again presenting me with a blogging award (much appreciated):

The Award originally came from Arte Y Pico's Blog

The Award rules are:

* Post the award on your own blog.(Post who gave it to you)

*Indicate its original link and link to that site. (Arte Y Pico from Uruguay)

*Give the ward to 5 other blogs that you enjoy, find creative and inspire you.

The five people I'm going to pass it on to are:

Bridget's Flame

Chalk and Talk

Elegant Snobbery

Pepperina Press

The Adventures of BaldyLocks

because all these women are creative and inspiring - and I always look forward to reading their blogs :)

AUSTRALIA SAYS SORRY

It has taken me a while to get to this post, but it is one I had to write. On 13th February 2008, our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, made a historic address to Parliament apologising to indigenous Australians for the events and policies that gave birth to a Stolen Generation.

Watching the address, I must admit it felt like a defining moment in our national identity. Many do not see the point of such an apology and many argue that we personally did not do anything wrong so we shouldn't apologise for policies that were formed long ago by other generations.

However, I wonder whether people with this view actually listened to the speech and whether they heard just one of the personal stories told. Aboriginal children were forcibly taken in the name of protection, and yes, perhaps the people doing the taking at the time truly believed they were doing what was best for the children... but just imagine having your children ripped from you and taken away, never to be seen again. That horror would be too great to bear.

I encourage you to read a blog post written by a white Australian woman who had her children taken by government officials over a recent custody dispute. It tells of the pain of being without her children and not knowing where they were for about a week. Then imagine that being years. Imagine it being done by people of another culture. A culture so different to your own, it is completely incomprehensible`.

Yes, the speech by Kevin Rudd was symbolic and yes, it alone will not solve current problems. But it's a start. Sometimes sorry needs to be said so that forgiveness and healing can follow. I know a lot of people may read this and think I'm just indulging in a whole lot of idealistic blah-blah! But seeing the reaction from indigenous Australians to the speech left no doubt that the hurt was deep and that the apology was needed.

Perhaps if more countries around the world looked back on their histories and apologised for wrongs done, more progress could be made.

You can read the address in it's entirety here on All Consuming's blog.

___________________________________________________________________
P.S. I do have some other very exciting news to share but am awaiting a photo before I post, so stay tuned :)

P.P.S. I am not pregnant if that is what some readers were thinking!

RENOVATION
I can't remember how to upload a new banner ie it's not working! But I'm working on it - blog is currently under renovation. Back soon with some exciting news :)

FEBRILE CONVULSION
I know there are a lot scarier medical terms, but this week it has been the term febrile convulsion which has scared the living daylights out of me.

Late last week my youngest son had a high fever and I took him to the doctors. They told me it was just the onset of a cold. I gave him Panadol and the fever subsided. He wasn't eating as well and was a bit whingey when we were at my nephew's birthday on Sunday...but other than that all okay.

Then Sunday night my eldest son seemed really hot so just before bed we gave him some Panadol thinking it was just the same thing as his brother.

At about 3.30am he woke with a scream and when I went into his room he seemed spooked and very scared. He felt very hot. We brought him into our bed, gave him another dose of Panadol and sponged him with a damp cloth. I had just stepped into the ensuite when I heard my husband scream out in fear, telling me our son was having some sort of fit.

I ran out and the next moments all seem a blur - and yet I can't get them out of my head. I placed him on his side then promptly forgot the rest of my first aid training! I stuck my finger in his mouth (which I later remembered I shouldn't have done) and he bit down on it. My finger stayed in his mouth for the whole of the convulsion, which only lasted a couple of minutes but felt like a lifetime.

In the meantime, my husband frantically ran for the phone and called an ambulance. I have never witnessed anyone having a convulsion so when he went limp at the end of it, I thought he was falling unconscious. I lifted him off the bed and placed him on the floor ready to do some sort of CPR if I had to! I then realised he was breathing and just stayed with him until the ambulance arrived.

In short, febrile convulsions are caused by a sudden change in body temperature and affect mostly boys aged 6 months to 6 years. Apparently, 6 years old is when the brain has matured to a degree where it can regulate and handle sudden changes in temperature. A high temperature in itself won't cause a convulsion but a sudden rise will.

Anyway, they did tests and found that Thomas had an ear infection which they believe caused the fever and in turn, the convulsion.

I have been a nervous wreck since, following him around taking his temperature every half hour! And I couldn't sleep for the first couple of nights because I kept checking on him.

But he is on the mend now thankfully - he is on antibiotics for the infection.

It is possible he may have another convulsion next time he has a fever, but if we control the fever it could be avoided. Although febrile convulsions look like epileptic fits, they rarely have anything in common with this illness. Ninety-nine per cent of children who have had a febrile convulsion have no more fits after they reach school age. So that's good to know. I never want to see him go through that again! It was the scariest moment of my life!

There were some lighter moments during the whole thing - namely the attempts to get a urine sample from a little boy who is not toilet trained. They couldn't collect the sample in a bag - it had to be directly in the little speciman jar! Believe me, it was a task and a half! I was literally dancing for joy when I finally got it :) Thomas thought my hollering and dancing was quite funny :) The test came back clear so that was all good.

Although now I am concerned by his low temperatures. I've been advised just to keep monitoring him and if temperature doesn't stabilise within a couple of days to take him back.