At my wits end ...

Life has not been all roses and fairy lights in the King-dom lately. We asked for an appointment with K's teacher and principal on Monday after he came home last week and cheerfully advised us that his class had had ten relieving teachers so far this year ...

In light of the problems he's been having fitting in, and the fact he's still seeing a counsellor regarding his issues from last year, we didn't think this was ideal and wanted to (finally) hear from the school just how he was going ... I mean, here we are halfway through the second term and I can't find anyone to talk to who actually knows who K is as there's a different teacher in his class every time I go in !!! I blithely assumed that as we hadn't heard from the school, no news was good news ...

K has had eight lunchtime detentions so far this term. His "low level annoying behaviour" is chronic. Nothing anyone says seems to sink in. His after school programme has put him on his final warning. We had a big talk with him Monday night, then again last night about how life is about choices and how it is up to him how he chooses to react to situations. He nodded, agreed, said he'd try harder. Today at school he was sent to the principal's office for threatening to hit a classmate with a chair ...

What do we do ? What are we doing wrong ? Where the hell do we go for help now when the shrink / counsellor guy tells us that he has no "real" problems (ie. he doesn't have ADHD or ADD or anything like that) and school tell us that his behaviour issues are something we "need to keep on top of or they could become serious" ... I'm sorry, but an eight year old boy who simply refuses to do what he is told is serious as far as I'm concerned ....

So that's it ... I'm at my wits end, I have no clue ...

I don't like Mondays ...

S took the opportunity this morning to have a good cry about her grandad, which is all good ... because she hadn't really "let it all out" up until now. However, it did nothing to help with the whole trying-to-do-everything-at-once-and-get-everyone-ready-for-school-on-time scenario I was trying to work through.

Because it was only lower-single-digit-degrees outside, the rugrats decided that soup would be a good idea for lunch. As I raced around doing my best "chicken with its head cut off" impersonation, I asked K to grab the cans of soup out of the pantry (because of course they couldn't both agree on the same flavour !!!) ...

In between doing S's hair, cuddling her, and throwing a load of laundry in the machine, I grabbed a can of soup and shook it as I reached into the cupboard for a bowl so I could throw it into the microwave and nuke it ...

K had cracked the lids on the cans !!! Minestrone soup everywhere !!!! I had to change my outfit, rinse my fringe and restyle it, redo my makeup and wash my glasses ...

I left the splatters on the wall until after work ...

Goodbye

Dear Grandad,
I remember ...
- picking feijoas and mandarins in your back yard
- watching rugby at your house on Friday nights
- taking two big snapper to your house and helping you scale them
- you watching me play rugby against Silverdale
- eating cockles and mussels.
I love you. See you in heaven.
Love from K

* * * * * * *

To Grandad,
I love you very very much. I am going to miss you heaps. It's good you aren't sick any more.
Love from S

If you REALLY have to ask ...

After several days of sneezing, snuffling, generally looking thoroughly miserable and numerous none-so-subtle hints, the MOTH finally took yesterday off work.

I would have been happier had he taken another day or so off to recover fully, but I suppose I should at least be thankful for the fact that he took a whole day off ... and let me dose him up with cold and flu tablets and cough syrup and extra Vitamin C ...

Tonight, while he was packing his lunch box for tomorrow ...

"How am I supposed to fit food in here ? It's full of drugs !!!"

(I suspect if one has to ask, one already knows the answer)

It's a boy !!!

Congratulations to G & N, our friends in Auckland who, as of this morning, are now the proud parents of little Jack Joshua ... one day early, good job there little man ... your mommy had had enough :)

They're one of the few people I know who didn't find out what sex their baby was before it was born, which I think is great (we didn't either). As G said ... "She has the whole "I gave birth" story and what do I get ? All I have is the phone call to say "It's a boy !!" (elbow in the ribs from N : "it might be a girl !! you know") ...

With parents this happy, JJ is a lucky little man ...

I almost forgot !!!!

We celebrated a birthday ... S turned 7 over the Easter break while we were up north.

Due to our geographical familial split, she managed to end up with two birthday parties !!! One of her best friends here in Dunedin has her birthday on exactly the same day (apparently, in little girl speak this means they will be best friends forever and ever and ever) and so they had a combined birthday party the weekend before we left ...



Then while we were up north, we had a big family dinner at Lone Star (her "most favouritest" restaurant because she can order spare ribs and eat with her fingers !!) with her Nana and Grandad and the rest of the family ...


(I'm trying to work out how to Photoshop the strange looking child in the back out of the photo, but there's the reflection to contend with ... I might just have to turn him into a pot plant :P )