#1722 Saturday 16 December

It's 3pm.... We're waiting outside the op shop while Naomi is having her post work fix.  This morning I took Kaylia to the shops.... we'd run out of bubble bath.  While in Woolworths Kaylia kept walking without me.... so I thought I'd watch and see what she did when she realised that she was lost.  I knew exactly where she was by listening to her babbling.  I could tell that she had passed by the aisle where I was.... so I followed her.  I could see her about 20 metres away and she was looking in all the wrong directions.  I caught up with her and we had a little talk about being lost.  I explained that if she was lost she should stand still.  I think the lesson sank in.

Naomi frequently plays a game of "Twenty Questions".... most of the questions are ones of identity and so very important.... but Kaylia loves the game. 

On a more sombre note ..... The announcement yesterday of the final report into the abuse of children in institutions was a momentous event .... it's very sad that the "institutions" don't appear to be accepting the need for change.   The effect on the victims is lifelong so it will be a tragedy if the abuse continues.  Even 50 years after the events, I still relive it almost daily .... and yesterday's report was particularly upsetting.

#1721 Friday 15 December

Today = the first day of the holidays!   She is seriously wanting 'school on Monday'!  ..... over and over.  When I respond with "No ... no school on Monday." she is very thoughtful.  She can grasp the idea that she likes school .... but she comes back to "School on Monday?"

Naomi says this is the current version of transition anxiety .... it's nowhere near as bad as transition used to be years ago .... but the anxiety still has to be managed.  This morning she was up and bouncing at 4am.  Fortunately I had just got up to start the days work of preparing the pays ..... so I was able to get her back into bed for a while ... and then she was happy to go in the bath.  It's now 6pm and she has had 4 baths today.  This means a lot of bubble-bath but that's pretty inexpensive fun for her.

No prospects yet of a new aupair for her.

We have had news tonight that Anni .... who was Kaylia's aupair in 2007 .... might be getting work in Australia next year. It would be great if it all happened and we were  able to spend time with Anni again.

#1720 Thursday 14 December

This morning after breakfast we were filling in some time before leaving for school ..... Naomi was going through the calendar for the next couple of weeks ... that brought us to Christmas .... and to presents.  Naomi went through some possible presents for her ..... new bathers ..... dingle-dangles ...... then she asked Kaylia .... "What would YOU like for Christmas?"  Without a pause Kaylia says "Aupair person."  Wow!  That's certainly clear.  It leaves us in no doubt that she has understood that her aupairs have left .... and that she really likes having an aupair.

Evening:
Teddy has had a night away from home and we collected him after school .... we were testing out the dog-sitting arrangement for our time in Busselton ....... to check his compatibility.  He went to stay with a family in Mt Helena that have a lovely dog called Stanley .... the two of them got along very well ..... and even the cat!  Apparently he didn't try to eat the cat.

Tonight we went to Nandos! It was a mini celebration of Kaylia's last day in Year 8 at high school.  Next year she will be in Year 9 .... with the same classroom and the same teachers .... so there will be no transition issues to deal with.  School starts the day after her birthday next year.   At the moment she is having trouble coping with the fact that there is "No school on Monday!"  Poor thing.

#1719 Wednesday 13 December

Not much is happening on the Kaylia front ... she's continuing to be her gorgeous self.  The looping is still hard to take but she shows understanding of the problem ... if reminded, she will try to find a different way to say it ... or not to say it at all.

She has today and tomorrow at school ... and I'm back on the 'school run'.  Nita and Sverrin departed this morning with 12 hours notice .... so I'm in the hot seat again till we find replacement carers.  The hard part is going to be Friday when I have to process the CWBC pays at the same time as keeping Kaylia occupied on the first day of the school holidays!  The pay process is a solid 8 hours work.... so the day will be ... interesting.

#1718 Monday 11 December

Well .... the office party is over ..... there weren't as many people as expected so we have a fridge full of left-overs.  We won't need to cook this week!

Kaylia coped with the party quite well.  When the noise and people were too much for her she took herself off to her room and closed the door.  Then after a while she would venture out  ..... I think it was largely to keep an eye on what food was on the table!  When the cheesecake and icecream came out, she was right onto it and very excited!  She had personally chosen the strawberry cheesecake.

I think I was a bit jealous of her being able to hide away .... it was a bit much for me.  The past week of working on the roof repairs has really "taken it out of me" and I'm happy to potter around doing little jobs that have been put off.  Of course the weather doesn't help  .... the mercury is climbing early in the day and I only get a few hours before I need to find jobs inside .... or at least in the shade.

Kaylia has a school outing today .... the school has arranged a trip to the "Maze" .... it has a waterpark so Kaylia will love it.

She has adopted the expression  "Good Girl!" into her routine ..... after each action she completes, she wants "Good Girl!" to finish it off  ...... I'm not sure if this is wanting praise .... or whether it's just a routine that she has decided must be included.  One day in the future, I hope that she will read this blog and be able to tell me what it all means in her head.

Evening:
She's come home from the outing ... very tired but very happy.  It was a good day with lots of time in the water.

9pm  despite being very tired she was having difficulty getting off to sleep .... so I went in to do the settling routine.  This largely involves insisting that she stop talking!  She "loops" on 'school tomorrow'....  I had cut short her words several times.... and then I heard a very faint whisper 'school tomorrow'! .... and then she was asleep.  She's a funny thing.