Charlotte and Vicky

Well fed and happy!

Is it really news?

I have just been watching a reporter on one the the Australian TV networks. He was standing outside Heath Ledgers parents home in Perth. Talking about the fact that it looks like his death was accidental. He the second part of the report was to say how the family wanted to be left alone. The report made the point that this was unlikely to happen due to the media presence. It certainly seemed like he was talking about everyone else and somehow justified his own presence as OK?

The thing is I can see no real value added by having the reporter at the family home at all. The real news was coming from the US the only relevant story near to the Ledger family home was the one about the intrusive media and the family wanting to be left alone. That is simply a story created by the media!

Still Raining, a lot!

Gender Ambiguity

We have had a baby boy for five and a half years. Girls are few and far between on both sides of the family and despite the fact the there is no question that Charlotte is a girl. Vicky, myself, Vicky's parents and her aunts all keep calling her he and him. I'm sure we will get it right soon. Sorry Charlotte!

Surfs up

Just been watching Bondi Rescue on the TV. It's an Aussie show that follows the surf life savers on Bondi. It's the sort of show they might show on sky but I have no Idea if they do or not. Anyway watching the beach and the people surfing It reminded me the the guy I used to be really wanted to be able to surf (I just lack the commitment to do anything about it) . Reality is that I understand surfing is something that needs quite a lot of practice to be able to do let alone to be able to do well. So I gave up on the idea quite some time ago what with work and all the other things I have to/want to do.
Tonight for one short minute I thought that I could learn with Chris if he wanted to do it in a few years. Thing is it didn't take log to realise how uncool it would be for Chris to have his dad trying to learn to surf with him. Its really one of the youth things and I am going to have to admit that if I'm not already then I will very soon be middle aged and If I want to learn to surf well I should at least do it at the other end of the beach! Hopefully when it gets to the time when that may actually happen I still have the sense to realise it may be an issue for the boy.

It's Raining.....

And it has been for almost a week, not all the time and not heavy but it feels like it has been raining since Charlotte got home! The question is when will it stop?

Settling in at school,

Last Friday I drove Christopher to school and found that I could not get parked, In fact there was no danger of even getting into the car park let alone finding a spot. In the end I had to drive half way home before I found somewhere to stop the car. So today I learned my lesson and despite the rain we walked to school. Very pleasant and much much easier!

As soon as we go to the COLA (Covered Outdoor Learning Area) Chis went nuts running around and trying to get everyone in sight to play with him (and I mean everyone!) this was not a real surprise as Chris is very sociable little boy! the real surprise was that as soon as the bell went he changed completely calmed right down got his bag and started to walk to his classroom with no prompting whatsoever. Once at his class room he walked strait in put his bag where it should be, took out his lunch and put that away too. After That he walked over to the mat and sat down and waited! It was one of those moments where I just wondered when did he change how did that happen? He has really started to grow up and I don't remember when the change started. The only shame is he just cant do it at home!

Any way today he came home with a prize which made him very happy unfortunately he couldn't remember what he did to get it. Never mind he is a very happy, motivated boy which is what's important right now.

Five Days Old

Charlotte is five days old now and I am just starting to remember things from when chris was this age.

1. Babies are very small
2. They sleep A LOT at least Christopher did and Charlotte does
3. I think that babies smile from a very early age even if everyone else says its wind
4. A babies cry is the most efficent and effective way of getting atention in the world
5. They use a lot of nappies
6. They have no concept of night and day
7. If the baby wants to sleep there is very little you can do about it
8. If the baby is awake then it will be awake untill it wants to sleep
9. They use a lot of nappies
10. The arivals of a new Christopher and Charlotte are just about the most emotional experience I have ever had

Tactics by Edward de Bono

This has been an unusual book for me to read. Normally I would be reading a thriller or If not that then something closely relating to work. I certainly would not normally pick what sounds dangerously like a self help book. However while walking through Heathrow Airport on a far longer than normal stopover I happened to see it in the New Titles section of one of the bookstores. Something about it caught my eye and as I had already heard of Mr de Bono and his Thinking Hats I thought it may be interesting.

Once on the plane I sat down and started to read, it did not take long to realise that this was no new release and was probably written in the early 80's. The selection of interviewees and some of the comments were clearly made before certain events/developments like Clive Sinclair’s C5 electric car. The list of people interviewed is broad and interesting and as well as Sir Clive Sinclair Jackie Stewart and Sting stand out as particularly interesting to me. I am sure that just about everyone who reads the book will be able to find someone they admire or interested in in the remaining list of interviewees.

Is it a great book?
Probably not to my mind as it has taken me some 6 months to read
Have I read it from cover to cover?
I don’t think so but that does not matter as there is plenty of stuff you can pick up as you weave in and out of the book.
Did I enjoy the read?
Yes Indeed I did
Have I changed my own tactics?
Not really but I think that I may understand them better!
Would I recommend it?
Yes if after reading this you are still interested I think you should read it, but I am not going to try to persuade you!

If you want to buy the book then This Link will give me a cut of the sale price

The illusion of a routine

So its day three and we are getting back to normal. Charlotte is sleeping during the day and feeding at night which is a little less than considerate but hey, she has a very polite cry so we have to excuse her for now. She is feeding well and has so far done everything we could ask for.



We gave her her first bath last night which was a pleasant surprise. From memory Christopher screamed and screamed for his first bath. Charlotte on the other hand gave a short cry and then relaxed into the water very happily. I think we may well owe this to one of the Hurstville Midwives who told us to make sure that the bath was deep enough for her to float and to give her a face cloth to hold on to. She certainly seemed to appreciate the advice and we did too.

Charlotte.... 31st January 2007

The week in pictures....

Some people will tell you that a picture tells a thousand words, well this week has been to big for just one picture so hopfully 25 will do it some justice.

What a week!

The last week has been hectic; in fact I would say that frantic is probably a bit more reflective of how things have been.

On Wednesday Chris had his first day at school. Wednesday morning had him more excited than Christmas day and frantic to get to school as soon as possible! Once there he obviously felt very at home and found it much easier to trot off into the classroom on his own than Vicky and I found it leaving him there. Vicky balled her eyes out but tried not to let Chris see in case he got cold feet (I don’t think this was likely). A nice reassuring touch at the school was the teary mum kit they had on hand. It was a small plastic bag containing a tissue, teabag, instant coffee and a note letting us know that most people feel this way, they are just as keen to see your child do well and let you have a chance to relax until the end of the school day!

Once Chris was back home tucked up in bed thoroughly exhausted from his first day Vicky relaxed and on came labour only 10 days late. The midwives had told us they think that because Vicky was so keen to see Christopher’s first day at school she kept stopping her labour. Anyway a quick call to the in laws and a short drive to the hospital saw us arrive at the delivery suite by 1am. By 3.56am we had a beautiful baby girl and by 4pm the same day Vicky, Chris, Charlotte and myself were at home. Frantic hardly describes it but somehow it all felt very right and we all managed to stay calm all the way through the week.