#1283 Wednesday 22 June

In the ABC news today is a report on research published regarding the use of anti-psychotic drugs in children .... I am appalled by the complete absence of commonsense in the conclusions reported ..... they seem to be conclusions invented by the ABC reporter in order to produce a sensational news report.

After consulting with more knowledgable heads it seems that the research is just supporting existing knowledge .... the report by the ABC infers links that don't exist ... thus making for a much more newsworthy article.   The unfortunate result is that affected parents will be upset without cause.

#1282 Tuesday 21 June

Kaylia surprised us today .... she had been promised that she could go swimming after school .... but after school she changed her mind and didn't want to go!   In many ways she's developing teenager behaviour patterns .... she loves being on her own in her room now.   

Her speech is still very poor .... with encouragement she will very carefully enunciate the words in a sentence .... but it's hard work.   We often scratch our head wondering just what it is that she's saying.   Her use of written language continues to improve.  Last night I watched her find a YouTube site by changing the suggested search text till she persuaded it to bring up the correct result.

This week she starts a series of medical appointments.  Thursday is a gastro session to see if she has reflux problems .... or whether she regurgitates on purpose.   Then she has a fitting for a back brace on Friday .... hopefully to correct kyphosis that she has.   And then next week she has a day in hospital to have two teeth removed.... she doesn't have enough space in her jaw for the number of teeth she has.  For her this means general anaesthetic .... she really loves the hospital time.

#1281 Sunday 19 June

Kaylia is in happy mode today .... she's been entertaining herself all afternoon ..... what a change from the old days.

Yesterday we were visited by the black cockatoos ..... they come once a year to feed on the gum nuts up in the trees.  This time it was quite intense!  So much so that the roof of Naomi's car is all dimpled from the impacts of the falling nuts.

#1280 Friday 17 June

The new hot water system is being installed as I write.

The HWS being replaced is perhaps 20 years old .... so it doesn't owe us anything!  It has given good service.

The new one is a "heat pump" system .... it uses the same principle as an air conditioner.  The main heating is solar with the heat pump as a booster.  It uses much less power than the traditional solar system.  The hot water in the tank stays there .... the water we use travels through a heat exchanger.  The electronics are quite sophisticated and all the operations of the pumps are recorded ... and could be analyzed remotely if desired.

#1279 Thursday 16 June

The pain continues to be a problem for Kaylia .... at times she gets very upset.  We still have to guess at the cause of the pain. Our best guess is still the neck/shoulder muscle spasm idea from the recent doctor visit.  I hope that's it cos it's better than the alternatives.

Two weeks to Bali now .... we avoid talking about it so that we don't start her nagging.

#1278 Monday 13 June

We have an explanation for the behaviour of the past couple of days .... Period!  I wish she could have a flashing light installed to warn us ....

She came home from school very pleased with herself .. they did cooking today .... Kaylia always enjoys cooking.

#1277 Sunday 12 June

Naomi's sick today and Kaylia has had a day with me..... mostly driving as we have to get out of the house for Naomi to get any rest.  This morning Kaylia and I went for a drive down Brookton Hwy .... I have memories of going to Mt Dale many years ago so I thought I'd go there again .... I found a sign to Mt Dale ... 17kms .... after about 30kms I hadn't seen Mt Dale or any further signs .... and we arrived at the Mundaring Weir!   It was a good drive though.

In the afternoon we drove over to the coast .... I didn't have any destination in mind and as I drove I realized that our list of possible places to visit has dwindled away .... some people have moved, some are in hospital .... so eventually we just turned round and drove home again.

On the drive I suggested going to a playground .... usually a hot item for her .... her response was "NO" and I realized that she has stopped asking for playgrounds too.  Another sign of her growing up.

We had word last night that the new au pairs (Klara and Rebecca) will be arriving around the 26th.  They're from Sweden.