Thursday 24 May 2007

Hip hip hooray




Managed to speak to the GP yesterday who confirmed that the ultrasound scan shows Dulcie's hips are developing totally normally. Phew. We've celebrated by introducing chicken to her diet. I spent hours the other night making various types of chicken stew, blending and freezing them. I'm not sure how well they are going down: she had one for lunch today and has spent most of her 'nap' since screaming. Maybe too much leek?! We are learning that Dulcie essentially has two modes. She spends most of the time grinning widely and toothlessly, charming the pants off people. But the rest of the time, to quote Thea, 'she screams till her head falls off.' There's no in between. So it may not be a digestive problem, just a bad mood.

We went to see a cool exhibition at the weekend about the Great Wall of China, where I learned that there are in fact many walls, not just one, and that it can not, in fact, be seen from space. So there you go.

We're really enjoying speaking to people on the phone. If you use skype, send us an email and we'll let you know our identity (if you don't understand that bit, don't worry, it's not relevant to you).

Tuesday 22 May 2007

Updates

The ambulance bill arrived today. $250. Apparently if we'd needed a trip somewhere it could have been thousands. In the envelope with the invoice they send you an invitation to join the ambulance insurance scheme for $120 a year per family. I think we'll be doing that very very soon.

Dulcie had her scan on her hips on Thursday. I am still waiting for a chat with the GP to get the official results, but the lady who scanned them said she thought all was normal. And that cost $180, about half of which we can claim back if we go and queue up for half an hour in a nearby suburb at the Medicare office.

People of the UK, I say unto you, treasure your NHS. Cherish it, nurture it, love it, buy it little gifts. You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Monday 14 May 2007

Call the cops!





I am just recovering from the trauma of having the girls locked in the car with the car keys for about 20 minutes! I had been at a friend's house and was putting the kids in their car seats ready to go home. Thea was groaning so I Iet her hold the car keys, slammed the doors and was just saying goodbye to Raechel when - click, stomach wrenching noise - she must have pressed the zapper and locked the doors, and then let the keys fall to the floor. I just stood in the road not quite sure what to do next. I started trying to talk to Thea and ask her to try to wriggle out of her straps or undo her harness so she could jump into the front and open a door, but of course she couldn't manage either. Neither she nor Dulcie seemed bothered initially so we rang Will to see if he could drop his set of keys by. It looked as if that might take a while, so Raechel rang the police. Who brought the fire brigade with them. And because there were children involved, an ambulance turned up. It suddenly dawned on me that there were NINE uniformed men all gathered round the Subaru - and don't forget, this is Australia and you have to PAY for these services. Thea thought it was hilarious. The firemen said if it had been summer they would have broken the car window immediately due to risk of kids overheating but I really didn't want that to happen unless really necessary, so one of them kindly called the RAC (on his own membership! I think they took pity on me after hearing me repeatedly gabbling, 'How much is this going to cost?') and in the end RAC man got there first and broke in. It was just in time as Dulcie had just started to cry, the paramedics were getting itchy about how long the kids had been in there and I was only just holding it together. When I got T & D out they were really hot - this was on a cloudy autumn day.

Phew!

Other than that, we are all v well and happy. Starting to feel like we are making some friends and that our social life is nice and busy. And Dulcie seems to have decided she doesn't want to feed at night any more, so the last couple of days she has slept 7-7 and I have had boobs like rocks. It was Mother's Day here on Sunday and I got the best gift: I was allowed to go back to bed for an hour or so in the morning, and then Will & Thea made me pancakes for breakfast. What more can you want?

A few pics of us. The ones of me and Will were taken by Thea who seems to be following her dad's enjoyment of photography.