Looking and Standing Up

After being sick for a week, and things falling apart around us, things are finally looking up.

On Monday, Boo Boo got sick, and terrible as that sounds, that was good for me. We took the boys to school in the morning, and 2 minutes into the way home, she fell asleep in the car. This is the girl that never, ever, sleeps in the car, not even when she was a baby. In fact, if she did anything in the car, it was scream (a neurological thing, I've been told). So for her to conk out in the car is amazing. Once home, I gently transferred her to her bed - and took myself off to the sack. Boo Boo slept from 9 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon. I crawled out of bed for some lunch and an important bill that needed paying, and slept the rest of the day. Then, we all went to bed really early - can you believe I tucked in for the night at 7:30?

As a result, I feel positively human today, and Boo Boo looks like a new girl. Her eyes are no longer weepy and red, she drools less, and she's simply down to a runny nose.

We're not the only ones sick - today, 36 children did not turn up at school. Most are sick (although some are wagging school because their parents have left for an early holiday) so that's a potent virus going round. And off course, being the caring sharing kind of people we are, Boo Boo and I have passed the virus on to Daddy. Yes, it's now Hubby's turn to feel crook. He's had to postpone his trip to Tasmania and cancel a few work meetings to go home and recover.

Other good things are that the car has been fixed (at the relatively cheap price of Aus $ 4,000, which is about half of what we were fearing) and the power in the house is back on.

\We have decided to sell the car (and the lucky buyer will get a well maintained car with a completely new transmission in it) and buy a new Tarago. This car will be large enough to hold all our kids and an electric wheelchair strapped in the back. We won't convert it quite yet - we're hoping that Boo Boo may surprise us and be independently mobile for at least a few steps, and then we can get away with a foldable manual wheelchair. But, if we need to convert, we can.

The power loss was due to water leaking. The good thing is that once the circuit dried out, the fuse stopped tripping, and all is working again. The bad thing is that it's raining, and will be for some more days to come, so I'm chasing the builder (he promised to come round early next week, fingers crossed) to come and finish the cladding so this does not happen again. Phew.

And one other thing.

Our pediatrician is a Steiner trained guy. According to his philosophy, fevers are very beneficial and bring a child's soul to a higher plane. He is convinced that after a fever, children always achieve new skills. While we're not Steiner kinda people, we have noticed that fevers, or a good illness, do seem to bring about some change.

Well, today Oma Ine and I went shopping for some new shoes for Boo Boo, on the recommendation of her physiotherapist, who wants Boo Boo to try some firm, support giving shoes. They are not my cup of tea, but Boo Boo is totally in love with her shoes. Here they are:

And after all that exhausting shopping, Oma and I sat down for a coffee. Boo Boo - with her new shoes on, off course - insisted on standing on the coffee table and drinking her babychino - and she must have stood there for at least 10 minutes. We were impressed.

On our way out of the shopping centre, she got to have the ride I promised her in the little Wiggles merry-go-round. And at the end of the ride, she pulled herself up to standing. We were very impressed.

See (and see the smile on her face)?



It might be the shoes.

It might be the fever.

It's definitely an amazing girl.