24

That was possibly the hardest night we've endured as parents. Of course it was pretty terrible for our poor children. In the end Ben and I each slept in a room with one child on opposite ends of the house so as not to wake each other with all the multiple nappy changes and comings and goings in the bathroom. Mia and I would wake up hourly with Mia frantic to retch in the bowl, all doubled over and groaning. My poor girl. It continued this morning but slowly abated so they could at least sip their water without having to dash for the bowl. It was a very sad sight to see a little boy begging, limply, for water in the kitchen, whimpering. It broke my heart. Eventually though, they have managed to keep their Marie biscuits down and really like their flat Coke!
I decided today that even though it was a horrendous 24 hours, children who are on the mend are actually really lovely to have around! They are calm, manageable, affectionate and they don't wriggle much! Joshka crawled onto my lap this afternoon and just sat there with his head on my chest and arms around me, until he fell asleep. (UNHEARD OF!). Mia needed cuddles as well and snuggled up to me on the other side, clinging to my right arm and fell asleep too. I soaked in the rare moment. There were lots of lovely gentle, quiet moments today with both children and they were just lovely. I can see they are on the mend, which is gratifying. I hope, after all their daytime sleeps, they still manage to sleep all night.

And most of all I hope not to contract the same horrible bug as they did. Could do without that.

Not so

Did I say "under control"? Yes, I suppose it was, for a while. Until Joshka decided to join in the fun and games. I was hotfooting it between my two children, rinsing and returning the bowl to one or the other, changing foul nappies quickly in between. Running a hot bath for Mia after she woke up vomiting and messing her pants while still in bed. Sometimes a bath is better than trying to clean it all up with wipes. But there I was literally running between my two children, trying to contain all that was being thrown my way. And 2 loads of washing too. (Yes, it's raining and the forecast is miserable for tomorrow too, and I have no more space on my inside washing line!). After Josh started vomiting his lunch all over the couch, I knew I had lost the advantage and was crumbling under the pressure! Josh in the bath, content for now, but Mia vomiting again...retching, really. There's nothing else IN there to vomit.
Thank goodness Ben is back from work to catch, clean and console with me. He is currently convincing Joshka to go to bed. We've had one false start with Mia already.
I hope it passes quickly. Joshka has already had the runs and has already been sick a day ago. We thought he was on the mend. I expected Mia to follow suit, but not that Joshka would start again! He only just started eating breakfast again this morning. "Bikbik" was demolished (Wheatbix).
But there he goes again. I'd better go and help.

It's not something you want to hear about.

Well, one hears the stories about parenting, and how unglamorous it is, but you never quite know how you will fare until you're hit by the horrible truth: "I need to vomit, Mummy!"...In the time it takes me to assess a safe place to pull over (I'm on a pedestrian crossing so I pull over half on it and half off it, obstructing the parked cars from getting out-cars have to veer onto the wrong side of the road to pass us now), switch on my hazard lights (just so people know it's not out of choice that I am parked like this), dash out of the car, open the door behind me, and witness the vomit, onto the skirt...too late. A small consolation is the fact that I manage to get the spare ice-cream container onto her lap before the second wave. We've just had take-away hot chips so the vomit is, it has to be said, of a manageable consistency which isn't spreading too far and is mostly contained on Mia's skirt and jersey. I scoop her up and stand her next to the car, letting all the 'mash' drop to the ground. I'm almost feeling guilty about the mess we are making. But secretly glad we're not at home. OK, now let's step out of your skirt...easy does it. Allow me to take off this jersey: pull your arms in...let me lift the back over your head (so we don't immerse you in your own vomit!). Wipe down the small specks on the car seat with the wipes I have in the nappy bag... and help Mia back into the car. Wipe down the seat belt: it was kind of in the line of fire. Gather all the spent tissues and wipes, and the ice-cream container, and dispose if it in the rubbish bin 2 metres away. The spoiled clothes are bundled into a plastic bag and are in the boot. I am grateful that in all this time, no-one has commented or hooted as they have passed and have obviously assessed the situation compassionately. I climb into the driver's seat and watch with a morbid interest as seagulls flock to the scene. We watch as they huddle to devour their lunch. Mia and I laugh about it and drive off home to a change of clothes and a session of afternoon tv under a fleecy blanket, on the couch next to a big pot, while Joshka has a nap and I write about our experience. The washing machine is going now and all is under control.

Dog Piñata and Lady with Trolley

It's school holidays again... Time to be an active parent and engage in all sorts of entertainment for my children. Luckily drawing is still one of Mia's favourite activities (as long as I keep Joshka away from annoying her) and she has been presenting me with absolute gems of late. Mia is fascinated with letters and how they form to be words and is making "books" and writing pages and pages of "letters" and "stories" that are quite lovely. I hope to spend some quality time with her while Joshka has a snooze to look at letters and how we make them and what they mean when we put them all together. Here are two drawings she came up with in the last two days. I note with interest that a sky(line) has been introduced and that the fascination with FIVE fingers has reduced somewhat. I also find Mia's "4" quite charming!

Portraits on my wall

I commented on the mug Mia was drinking out of today (it had her name on it). "Do you know who gave you that mug" I asked. She didn't. "It was Kyla."
"Oh..."
"Kyla died last year...she's Lynley's sister..."
"I KNOW, Mummy"
Ok then. We continued with our dinner and after a while, Mia had something to say about death. "When you die and you're underground, you can't brush your teeth, so you get rotten teeth under the ground." Can't really argue with that. I explained how the whole body will eventually turn into the soil that makes the ground. She was impressed. "And when someone dies we can't...if we want to see them... we can't just fly over to see them, 'cause they're dead, " she added. Correct. But I think we can still keep them alive in our minds by talking about them. I think about Kyla a lot. I see all her special little gifts around the house that she chose for me and for Ben and for Mia - all thoughtful and chosen with love. She's not around to reinforce her presence, so I will do it how I can. We have photos of all the family scattered around the house, including one of her, which Joshka and Mia find regularly and play with. Can they name all the people? Not always. But that's to be expected.


Today I completed an art project that has been brewing in my head for a long time. I was inspired by a piece in my sister-in-law's house in Auckland: some stencil work (with spray paint on canvas). I knew I wanted to do something along that line; something graphic, something that requires careful choice of line and shape. Last week when Ben was working a night shift, I looked through all my photographs on my computer, with an eye to make them into something spectacular, something special. Something other than a photograph. I found a few which were less than average photographs in their own right, but which, when manipulated into high contrast pictures became something out of the ordinary. I have been collecting ready-made canvases over the last year (when they were on special...you never know when the creative urge might pounce) and now I had an idea of what to put on them. I bought some spray paint and found some cardboard to cut out my stencils, stuck my printouts on the cardboard with spray glue, and started cutting away bits here and there with my scalpel. My fingers hurt from pressing so hard on the scalpel to get it through the cardboard, but I don't mind it. It's an achieved pain; a process caused it. Much like a good workout when your muscles are so sore afterwards. Anyway, Ben was on hand to distract the kids and to help open the tins of paint (I used the colour of the wall in my lounge as the base coat), get newspaper handy, give advice on technique (he got his head bitten off for that!), recommend waiting for the canvas to dry a little longer, and to encourage me. He liked the project, which counts. Now I plan to hang them on the wall, which is blue, like the canvas.

I had fun! It was so good to get something done...and I hope to do more.