#824 Saturday 2 February

12:35am .... bad ..... not Kaylia this time. This time it's a bad reflux attack.... my throat feels badly burnt by the acid. I've taken a strong painkiller so I hope I'll get some sleep. Having to sleep sitting up is hard.

6am. I slept well considering ..... and Kaylia woke half an hour ago in "cuddle mode" .... wriggling and squirming. Very nice.

9am
I always struggle with what is allowable content on this blog .... It's about Kaylia ... should I be including other content? I usually decide that if the subject touches on Kaylia's life, then it is suitable.

Evening.
Kaylia had a very good morning at the beach with AJ and Deb. it's Deb's second morning in the 'hot seat' with AJ guiding her to ease the start. AJ finishes on next Thursday and then heads off for a holiday in SE Asia before going to her next au pair placement in Darwin.

Both Naomi and I feel that AJ can be justifiably proud of her contribution to Kaylia's progress over the past months. It has been so good to have someone caring for Kaylia in such an energetic and dedicated way.
The impact on Kaylia can be illustrated by Kaylia's "mutterings" ...... ever since Zoe was here as au pair, Kaylia can often be heard quietly saying "Zoe ..... Zoe....." Now that has changed to "Zoe and AJ ..... Zoe and AJ ......"

The height of the bar has been raised!

#823 Friday 1 February

It was a good night .... Phew!

Today it is time to get ready for school next week.  We've been over to the school to collect her uniform for the year and to check her classroom .... she will be in the same room as last year with the same teacher and many of the same kids.  Kaylia was very excited to be there!

Then we went to Officeworks to get her stationery order ..... there's a display of little bits & bobs there and Kaylia loves it!  She calls it her toys.  She does want to take them home   ... there's a container of little rubbers in the shape of letters ... you buy them by the cup full.  Kaylia wouldn't allow me to buy any ... they had to stay there .... but she was so excited about them.

Now she's on the computer with the "Playschool" program .... painting pictures.

Later:
The past day has been quite noteworthy! Zoe was so sick that she fainted ..... I was freaked out by the fact that my vomit was quite dark .... This is an indicator of blood and I feared a rupture of my colon (from the hemicolectomy) ..... and then Naomi reminded me that I'd had tomato sauce on my tea! Silly me!

#822 Thursday 31 January

4:30am ....It's another "blog in the night" ..... but this time it's not due to Kaylia. She's fast asleep. Both Naomi and I seem to have a mild version of the tummy bug that Kaylia had ..... quel surprise!

5:00am ... It seems to be over. Kaylia's birthday tea was nice while it lasted! I hope the bug hasn't got to the others.

8am .... I spoke too soon! More episodes followed. We seem to have synchronised chucks..... first Naomi ... and the a few minutes after her bout finishes, mine starts. It's not pleasant. Kaylia slept all through the noisy time.

I don't think we will be doing much work today.

11am ..... I really spoke too soon .... in addition to Naomi and I, Zoe and AJ both have it. We're all in a bad way. Deb is the only one left standing.
I've been to the chemist for all the emergency meds.... now we batten down and survive.

2pm I dragged myself out with Kaylia to let everyone sleep .... down to Midland and back to Mundaring. Kaylia was very happy. She's playing in her room at the moment while I catch a little rest. She's probably emptying the drawers and the wardrobe. C'est la vie.

8pm. It's been hard to say no to Kaylia tonight .... she's been asking for food and I know she has already eaten well .... so her "hunger" is either routine.... or Risperdal. Either way we can't give in.

She has been really well behaved today ... It's made a big difference as we adults suffer.

#821 Wednesday 30 January

Zoe said this morning "You didn't write any blog during the night .... it must have been a good night!" It was. Kaylia was exhausted after her gastro bug and she slept from 7:30pm to 8am ..... It was good for us.

It's Kaylia's actual birthday today and she had a pile of little presents to open this morning. She loves to open presents.

The kangaroos put on a show for us this evening .... 5 or 6 climbed the hill in our back yard. Wonderful creatures!

#820 Tuesday 29 January

Oh the joys of parenting ..... up at midnight with a vomiting child! Poor thing. I hope the Novovirus thingy misses us!
What a way to start the day.

2am .... The second bout! The washing machine is going to work hard tomorrow! .... today.

2:30am. We're all sitting here with our iThingies .... sleep ain't gonna happen when you're waiting for the next 'chuck'!

4:30am ..... another bout. Poor Kaylia looks exhausted. She's thirsty but we only give her a sip of water.

5:30 .... a dry run this time. Back on the iThingies.

5:45 ...... oops .... too much water! Projectile vomit but Naomi moved fast and stayed dry.

8:30 Kaylia is still sleeping. Several loads and the washing is nearly done. I hope we have some 'anti heave' medicine on hand.
9:30 Wot a nite!! Kaylia is having a looonngg shower .... good medicine.

11am. We had the right medicine but it didn't stay down long enough to work! She brought it all up again ... probably her Lovan as well .... so a top up is predicted .

8pm
The day ended OK .... she didn't vomit all day and was able to eat a little bit of tea. She is very tired and she's asleep already. I hope the night doesn't bring a repeat!

#819 Monday 28 January

Goooddd mmooorrrnnning!

Kaylia slept well .... this morning she's intrigued by the strange pattern she has on her face .... left by the sunscreen applied to her cheeks. It shows that the sunscreen really works!   SHMBO says I'm not to put a photo on the blog .... but it looks hilarious .... like a raccoon.

Evening :  Shopping..... office ...... therapy ...... Nandos for tea ...... ho hum.

#818 Sunday 27 January

Yesterday Naomi reminded me about the full moon ..... and when I checked, the full moon is tonight! This makes sense of Kaylia's behaviour over the last couple of days. She always goes haywire in the few days before a full moon .... and she had a meltdown in the shops on Friday ... plus her behavior has been so full on that I've been wondering what was wrong with the medication!

Full moon! It wouldn't surprise me if she starts howling at the moon.....

It's 3am .... she has her knee firmly jammed in my back and won't budge.... even though she's fast asleep. I thought of giving up and going down stairs to sleep in her room ..... naaah ...... it's a disaster area with all her clothes spread over the floor .... empty drawers and wardrobe.
Ah hah! Yesterday I noticed that when she had to select something to wear, she just walked in .... glanced round the clothes spread all over .... and picked one straight out! Maybe her current clothes thing is a choosing strategy?



Evening:  The day has been  a great success  .... Kaylia's birthday party at the lake that is!  We feel that it has been the best of her birthdays .... and this is largely due to the huge effort put in by AJ and Zoe .... we're deeply appreciative.

We had booked a shelter and Zoe & AJ went there early to set up ... we followed and by 10am Kaylia was in the water .... where she stayed almost continuously for the next four hours.  She came out for her birthday cake but not much else!

One of the good things for me was that friends from my days when I was teaching in Northam came to the party!  I have only seen Otto and Jan a few times since 1975 and it was good to see them again.








                          This is Kaylia blowing out her 9 year candle

The laden table.... and the birthday girl.