Apologies for the delay

But we're back now. Beloved has gone to the US again to work and bring back his mum for another visit. They'll be back just in time for Erik's birthday, which is planned to be a fairly small event thus far.

In developmental news - I have been using a few modified AusLAN signs with Erik, and he's just started using one himself, which is pretty exciting. He now tells us he's 'finished' with everything - food, nappy changes, sleeping, being held...It's become slightly confused in the last day or so though, as he's also started clapping, which for a few hours was the sign for 'more', but now tends to be tacked on to the end of a 'finished' sign for amusement. Anyway, here's a post-breakfast video, showing these skills.



And while we're at it, here's another one showing another skill, which made me laugh a lot the first time I saw it. I'm trying to find a nice block trolley for his birthday, as he seems to be ready for it. He will stand on his own for a few seconds at a time, but doesn't seem to be very happy about it, and is still a way off walking I think. I hope.



D'Arcy is still Bakugan obsessed, but the school just banned them, so his opportunities for playing/swapping/obsessing have been curtailed now. I remember at school it was always this way, each new fad was banned and replaced by another equally inane thing, but with less marketing than these days. And the benign things like jacks or elastics were pretty safe. In fact, looking back, it was the "games that the boys played" that got banned more, and being "one of the boys" I was affected by this on many occasions. Yo-yos. Marbles. Trading cards. Things that could cause arguments or disfigurement. Interesting, and I don't think it's changed much. All his Bakugan mates are boys, but he is 8 after all, and right now girls are just weird.

Lovely day

Edit

I know I should have written a new post, but by the time I realised that I'd put the photo in... Anyway I forgot to mention my presents. D'Arcy had made me something at school, which turned out to be a bead key-ring, and it's fabulous! I love the colours (pink and orange together - yay!) Beloved asked me what Erik should get me for mothers' day. I replied "more sleep" with a laugh. Beloved and I were shopping on Saturday and went into Myers as I'd seen contour pillows there recently, and I've been looking for one since my physio suggested it might be a good thing. We scoped them out and then went to DJs where there was a better one and it still had its 'sale' sticker on, so Erik got me a new pillow. It is marvellous. I told a friend that it's like sleeping with your head and neck cradled in someone's hands.

End Edit

We had a great mothers' day yesterday. I got to have a morning nap with Erik before my mum and step-father came for lunch. They brought a lamb and quince tagine, and the beloved had made another one with chicken and dates. I'd stewed a bunch of quinces and we had them for dessert with Mungalli Creek honey chai yoghurt. It was totally spectacular eating, and I heard some interesing family stories from mum. D'Arcy came home for afternoon tea, and my stepfather brought his mum over too. The only sad thing was that I totally forgot to take any photos whatsoever. Sorry.

Not much going on here...

This is essentially a not very exciting (and wobbly) video of Erik just mooching around on the kitchen floor one evening. It goes for about a minute. There is a much longer one here which shows him playing his favourite game, "where's Erik?" with a square of silk.
I really just uploaded them for the benefit of The Americans, who haven't seen any action for a while, and his Grandma Joyce is probably getting sad that it's almost his birthday, and she was going to come over for it, but she's got cold feet (swine flu). We've said we'll wait and see if it really is as bad as they say, before we decide. The beloved is supposed to go over for a conference later this month. When he mentioned the possibility of his non-attendance to the organiser she said "But Baton Rouge is nowhere near Mexico" he laughed at her. Everywhere is near to Mexico in teh US.

Plastic crap

Bakugan
Originally uploaded by Crit Chicken

So I finally caved. D'Arcy has been at me for weeks about Bakugan Battle Brawlers. At the start of it we went to the local stupid market where we knew they had them, and saw how expensive they were. $19.84 for one figurine, one 'gate card' and one Bakugan. "Not bloody likely, it's such a rip-off" I said to my darling son, but he was determined. Every time we went to the shop he'd look, and we'd debate the pros and cons of $20 worth of plastic crap. He had an idea "you know that $20 I got for Christmas? I could use that" and I reluctantly agreed that if he wanted to blow his $20 on plastic crap, maybe that was OK. Since then, however, there has been a city-wide Bakugan shortage. Until today. We went to BigW and saw that you could buy a $19.84 pack of 1 Bakugan, 1 'gate card' and 1 'ability card', or you could buy a $38.88 pack of 6 of the above. After some negotiation D'Arcy is the proud owner of 6 Bakugan Battle Brawlers. I've said that that's the end of it. I hope it is. Erik loves the crunchy plastic packaging it came in, so everyone's a winner tonight.

As a kind of post-script to it all, when I showed D'Arcy the picture I took I said "that's the one I'll use for the blog post." He said "What are you going to call it? Plastic crap?"

Liveblogging the comedy that is my life pt 2

Toast in Mummy's shoe
Originally uploaded by Crit Chicken

Me (from the kitchen): Ezz, what are you up to?
E (from the lounge room): Ah Da! *
Me: Oh you've got my shoe! And some toast. In my shoe.


*Translation "Look at this exciting thing" loudly exclaimed with lots of arm waving. Often it's the cat.

Liveblogging the comedy that is my life

11.40am Wednesday

Me: OK D'Arce you need to get dressed.
D: Why?
Me: Because that's what we do.
D: Why? It's not Thursday.

We've been a bit poorly...

But today we went to the zoo to try to combat it all...apologies for the wobbly nature of the vid.



I've got a cold, Erik is covered in mystery insect bites, and D'Arcy's step sister Neve has chicken pox (which isn't what Erik has, they've been like that for weeks now, and I have a few too....) We spent a day lying low, thinking that D'Arcy was about to break out in spots at any moment, but not so far, so perhaps he's got to wait the 10-21 day incubation period. Annoyingly, I never had chicken pox, whcih was confirmed in my blood test when I was pregnant with Erik "you ought to get vaccinated after the baby is born" my GP said. I didn't get around to it until Thursday. Apparently the vaccination is protective if you get it early enough after you've had contact with an infected person. Now my arm hurts like a bastard, I have to have another shot in 4-6 weeks to be fully covered, and I'm still likely to get it, though not as badly...blah.

Zoo was fun, but now I'm tired, and Erik didn't get enough sleep today.

Edited to add the "official" photo that the zoo took for $5, which, on top of the $10 for the experience seemed pretty good. I have cropped it for better blogging.