A Blog About a Bloke-Living with WHS

My christmas shopping experience wasn't as awful as I was expecting. Perhaps because I ran into people that I knew, so it was nice to talk to them. I managed to buy quite a few presents, though didn't quite get it all done. Our christmas party celebrations start this weekend and I must admit I am very much looking forward to getting our tree up tomorrow and decorating the house. I pulled the box of christmas stuff out of the cupboard and Braeden got straight in and pulled out lights and tinsel. Our party fun kicks off this weekend with two parties, the SMB Children's Centre party (Braeden's daycare centre) and then our traditional one with the Wheelers and Kricaks. I think the kids will be well and truly worn out!! We are going to make some decorations this year, so stay tuned for some pictures of our creations!!

Really. What are you doing this weekend? I plan to be up and out the door, at the shops by, say, 9:01am. I know I will be up early. That is a given. The boys have an appointment for a haircut at 9:00am. David takes them for that. This will be Braeden's first proper haircut. I have one day to do ALL of my christmas shopping. Yes, you heard me. ONE day. So by 9:11am, I will probably be over it. Crowds annoy me. People at christmas shopping time annoy me. It's like everyone suddenly becomes even ruder than ever. They become impatient, they are angry, and they will knock you over a hundred times to get to the last 'must have' item. I hate it. I lose my patience very quickly. I snarl at people who look like they are going to annoy me. I pre-empt my snarl by a sarcastic smile, or I look 'em straight in the eye and dare them to stand in my way. I hate how people stand in the way, chatting to each other as if oblivious to the rest of the mad sea of people who a...

For those that know Ryley and have been reading my blog, you will know that I have mentioned in a few posts lately about THAT noise that Ryley does. It is this whiney, grizzly, highpitched noise that he does when he is bored, annoyed or just trying to say " Muuuuuummmmmmm why are there no cars for me to watch? " (to which I normally reply: " because Mum can't control how many cars come down the street Ryley, if I could, I would "). Today, I had enough. He started the noise from the minute the bus left. I sat him at the front door so he could watch the cars and people in the street. He did the noise because there wasn't enough cars. I put one of the music channels on so him and his brother could dance. He did the noise. I gave him a drink and put Playschool on. He did the noise. Meanwhile, I was trying to express breastmilk for Braeden to take to childcare tomorrow, and Braeden was climbing up on me trying to feed at the same time. So. I shouted STO...

This weekend marked the beginning of two weeks of shearing out at David's parents house. We haven't been for the last couple of years because we have either been busy or just haven't been needed. The boys had an absolute ball! Ryley was very content and happy sitting watching the sheep get shorn, he loved the noise and busy-ness of everything. Braeden was trying so hard to help out. He will be a good rousie next year I reckon. He watched the shearing so carefully too. I bet he will love to have a go one day.

Poor Ryley. He was so sad tonight. He wanted to help me fill up a pot of water, and as he was climbing up on the chair he slipped and he fell down. I missed catching him because I was completely distracted by Braeden who was sitting on the toilet and tearing toilet paper up. Ryley was just completely devastated by the fact that he fell. He sobbed his little heart out. So did I. Sobbed with him. I asked if he was frustrated that his body didn't work for him and he looked deep in my eyes and I knew the answer. I know he watches Braeden do all these amazing things. He tries desperately to get his body to do the same things. He gets so angry with me for not helping him and for not always understanding what he wants. Why can't I make things ok?

Grumpy Ryley. Braeden thinks spilling his water is a crack up.

Today Ballarat declared it was a public holiday for the Ballarat Cup. So our household has had a day off. Now, I was really looking forward to this because I thought it would be fun for us to just hang out and relax together. I started the day by making pancakes for brekky and it all went downhill from there... Ryley was bored. Braeden spent most of the time in the strawberry patch picking all the unripe strawberries. Ryley did his 'silly' noise for basically the whole day, which meant I had to walk away from him several times before I lost it with him. Even David who is the most patient person in the world got cross with him for his 'silly' noise. Braeden pulled his chair EVERYWHERE so he could get into things he shouldn't...like knives for example. AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!! Thank God it is back to school/daycare/work tomorrow. It sure is going to be a loooooong summer judging by todays grizzly grump behaviour.

Sleep is something that isn't done to well in this household. Ryley has to have medication to help him sleep, and even with that, he wakes at least 3-4 times a night for a drink and a resettle. Braeden...well he has NEVER slept through the night, and his latest trick is to wake through the night screaming and refuse a BF, drink of water and even cuddles. Add to that the fact that both the kids think that first light means it's time to get up (5:20am in the morning), and it makes for a very grumpy, sleep deprived Mumma. Sometimes I wonder if people understand the exhaustion I feel every day. I manage it with a cup or two of strong coffee, but I know it is starting to affect me and I wonder how long it will take for others to notice. Most people wouldn't realise that I am still BFing Braeden at least every 2 hours through the night. It takes me and hour and half to get him to sleep most nights and then he is up again 2 hours later! So why do I do it? Why not just let h...

I have this 'thing' about birthday parties. I have never been very good at going to them. I find I always have to 'explain' Ryley and why he is so small. Today was different though. Admittedly, I was a little nervous. I mean, I knew the beautiful birthday boy and his equally special Mum (you can meet them here ), but I didn't know anyone else that was going to be there. I guess I was a little bit anxious about having to explain Ryley. What I should have known, was that anyone who already loves someone with WHS isn't going to look twice at Ryley and expect an explanation. We met such a lovely bunch of people! So friendly, and such gorgeous kids. We had a lovely relaxing time and for the first time ever, I didn't feel like I had to explain Ryley. I didn't have to pretend to ignore the curious looks as we did a PEG feed or as we helped him do something. I should have known. So thanks Liv and Elliott for a great afternoon with great food and great co...

I am very much humbled by this . I think that it is a wonderful idea, and look forward to passing on the blog love. I am very inspired by the blogs that I read and I think it is wonderful to know that the words that I write help make a difference for someone, somewhere along the line. So, Melissa, thankyou.

Wearing a hat (although Ryley is still working on keeping it on longer): Sometimes wearing a winter hat over your head is better though: Playing in water is lot's of fun: And pretending to do the dishes is EVEN more fun: We are very lucky at the moment to have such warm weather. It isn't too hot, although after a while we need to be in the shade and reapply that sunscreen. Braeden loves wearing a hat and usually puts one on as soon as he wakes up. Ryley, on the other hand, keeps his on briefly then throws it off when we aren't looking. He does have nice olive skin so I usually just pile on lots of sunscreen and keep him in the shade as much as possible. One day I am certain he will just decide he wants to wear a hat...well I can hope anyway!!!

Ok, so I have decided to do something I wouldn't usually do, and just for fun answer one of these questionnaire things. I stole it from Melissa , who I think stole it from other blogs. Apparently you are meant to answer with one word. Not sure I can do that, but I will give it a red hot go.. 1.Where is your mobile phone? Out on the kitchen bench 2.Your hair? In a stupid boring same-as-always pony tail then kind of looped back over. I desperately need to go see my hairdresser. In fact, she was asking David the other day when he got his hair cut, when I was coming in because "her roots must be soooo bad by now". Um. Yeah. They are. 3.Your mother? Busy. Recovering from breast cancer. 4.Your father? At work. Or overseas. Somewhere doing his philosophical best to change the world. 5.Your favorite food? Mum's tomato pork casserole thingy. Chicken Parma. 6.Your dream last night? That my sister was getting a divorce. That I was buying a house-AGAIN. I dream ...

If anyone wants to follow David, here is the link: David at Movember Men's depression is something that is rarely talked about, but there is an ever increasing incidence of men who are being treated for some kind of depressive illness. You can donate online and read more about the cause. It is great to see that there is something being done to raise the profile of men's health and the importance of talking about health issues!

Here are a couple of pictures of the boys taken yesterday. Ryley is pulling his 'funny face' and Braeden is making sure his mate Keto Meerkat is in the picture! We have finally had some heat here in our part of Australia so it has been quite a shock to the system! Braeden actually has a pair of jocks on over his nappy (which you can't see) because he has decided he wants to start going to the toilet. I think we are a loooong way off him being toilet trained, but hey if he thinks he is ready himself, then he must be getting close to it...??!! Ryley seems very keen to give the toileting thing a try too, so we are going to attempt to train him too. We figure that if he sees his brother doing it, he might be more inclined to try himself. Ryley has had some pretty nasty seizures this weekend and spent a fair amount of time feeling crap. He seemed very happy this morning though as he went off to school, despite having been up since 5:30am. I hope the warm weather sticks arou...

Stay tuned! David is participating in Movember this year. He is going to try and rope some mates in, but even if he can't, he is still going to do it. He has had facial hair for about 6 years so it is going to be very unusual seeing him all clean shaven to start off with. Then he will grow a funky cool 'mo. Hope the kids recognise him..!! Edited to add: Movember is a month dedicated to raising funds for research into Prostate Cancer. The idea is that blokes grow a cool moustache and see if they can people to throw a few dollars their way to support them!