So,

have you met any good exorcists lately? 'Cause I need a professional. Someone who really knows what they're doing. We're talking holy water, mystical chanting, rhythmic dancing with chicken bones, whatever it takes. I've gone way beyond grouchy here, I have no patience for nagging or repeatedly ignored instructions and I hate being snappish with the kids.

I have heaps of work and marking to do for school which certain individuals are not letting me get to, it's hotter than Hades outside, we're having an issue with the air conditioner and I'm currently wrapped up tighter than an Egyptian mummy plus I have to wear clothes over top of the pressure stockings, the back belt, the abdominal brace and the stomach support which stretches almost from hip to arm pit. So, while I should be calm, patient and understanding while I settle the bickering about who said what to whom and who did something that they shouldn't have done for the hundred and thirteenth time, suddenly I find myself enraged, with the raspy voice of angry demons screeching out of my face. This is not good. Nor is it the kind of mother that I want to be. So, if you know of any exorcists, therapists or anger management specialists please feel free to send them my way. My children will be ever so grateful.

Chores

Over the last few months I have been trying to get the kids more involved in helping out around the house. Goodness knows I will need it in a couple of months. Ruhi is really quite wonderful already. She does an excellent job vacuuming (though she hates the task) and is always ready to lend a hand. Anisa is slowly making progress and Bayan is quite accomplished at sabotaging everyones efforts while doing little to really help out.

We still use the chore can from time to time and occasionally play a "robot game" where I, the commander in chief, issue orders or tasks and robots 1, 2, and 3 do their best to complete them. I thought that would work best with Bayan, but he is the one who likes it the least.

I haven't done a chore chart yet, though I am planning. At the moment we are all just focusing on a single task. Ruhi unloads the dishwasher (at least once a day), Anisa sets and helps clear the table (sometimes she even puts individual name tags at each place setting) and Bayan takes out the trash. With Ruhi's assistance he is learning which things go in the rubbish and which go in the recycling bin. They are doing the jobs pretty much independently and are learning that even though they may not always feel like doing the task it still needs to get done. Hopefully that trend continues.

Good News with an Asian flair

We had Anisa's 6 monthly pace-maker clinic at the hospital today. I always feel so nervous before heading to these appointments. I am particularly aware that we are approaching the time that we will need to be getting her pace-maker replaced and was dreading hearing that we would have to do it sooner rather than later. Fortunately her battery level is measuring the same as it did at her last check. Which means that we should still have at least a year. They have adjusted her battery level a little which means that it will be using slightly more juice but hopefully we will still get at least another year before the pace maker (or batteries) needs to be replaced.

We stopped at the store on the way home because Anisa really wanted spring rolls for dinner and after hospital appointments I can never say no. She developed a hankering for coconuts while we were in the produce section, so we came home with one of those as well. She decided to dress for dinner as soon as we walked in the door and chose an outfit to go with the food. I love how she loves to accessorize and am so grateful that the appointment went well at least in terms of when we'll have to change the pacemaker.

And thus dawns the age of the pressure stocking

I'll spare you any photos of nasty varicose veins and torturous swollen limbs. I shall not describe the latest affliction that has caused hospital staff to urgently recommend the daily use of full length pressure stockings. And I thought that putting on socks in late pregnancy posed a challenge. Ha. I will simply say that at least now I can stand up more comfortably and am able to continue working, whereas a week ago I had serious doubts about being able to do either one for very much longer.

I also have a greater appreciation of what my dad has had to go through. He has worn pressure stockings every day for at least the last fifteen years. It sucks. But it sucks more without them. For a little while I tried pretending that they were tights, but that resulted in cankles by about 6 pm. No, they are not tights and there is no use pretending otherwise. To make matters worse they are a blinding white color with a tell tale blue patch at ankle level (what is with that?) Isn't it bad enough that they are hot and uncomfortable, highly unfashionable, (they don't go with anything) and that you must constantly keep hiking them up throughout the day?

Today my legs actually swelled up while wearing the darn things. Now Mom, I know you're probably thinking toxemia or some such thing, well it's nothing like that, just heat related. Meanwhile I'm thinking that, had I not been wearing the stockings today, I could probably pass as a body double for Jabba the Hut. Isn't that a pretty picture? Almost as pretty as the pressure stockings.

Works of art

Anisa and Ruhi both came home with some artwork they had done in oil pastels. Anisa's is a vibrant representation of a little girl on a water slide with a rainbow background, while Ruhi's depicts a woodland setting complete with forest creatures and towering trees. I absolutely love both of them and am simply waiting for inspiration as to where to display them. For now they adorn the craft hutch in the dining room.

In other news Anisa has spent the weekend illustrating a story that she wrote. I absolutely adore it. Each time I read it, or have it read to me, it brings a smile to my face. I am reproducing it here, with the artists consent of course, so that you might enjoy it too.

Once upon a time there was a girl. She wanted a pet but her mum said "You have to wait until you are older."

She grew and she grew and she grew until she was 7. Her mum said, "You still have to wait until you are almost an adult."

So she went to go find some different animals. She went to find a koala....So she went home for a bandaid. (I love that part. You may think that something is missing, but that is the genius of the thing, Koalas can be brutal creatures and some injuries are simply implied.)

So she went home with her mum to get some ice cream.

She is currently working on some more stories. Her one about a poor family at Christmas time almost had me in tears. I'm sure that had nothing to do with pregnancy hormones. It was simply eloquent and beautiful. Here she is reading her latest publication to an enraptured Bayan.

Crafting with Baba

We have fruit trees in the back garden: apricot, fig, peach, plum, plumcot and nectarine. Mehran adores fruit trees. He has been known to spot fresh fruit from the corner of his eye while driving a speeding vehicle down a twisting highway and he finds it perfectly tragic when good fruit falls to the ground or the birds get there first. In the last few years Mehran has waged a war with the magpies and rainbow laurikeets who appear to love our fruit just as much as he does. Over the years he has tried netting and tin foil and CDs, but nothing, despite the fact that there is still plenty of fruit for us, has worked to his satisfaction. So this year the gloves are off. We have... drum roll please... the cat. And just in case that is not enough Mehran has commissioned the children to help him with his first (child assisted) craft project: The scarecrow.I'd love to tell you that photo was the end product, but sadly it is not. It can, however, be found on page 26 of Google's scarecrow images. I really wish that I had taken a photo of the kids racing around plucking weeds and long grass to stuff into one of Mehran's old shirts. (He did take my advice and get rid of the newspaper stuffing after I convinced him that it wouldn't do well in the rain.) The head, as you can see from the photo below, has not fared well. Anisa agreed to let Baba use her pinata, but despite my old yard duty hat, the rain has taken it's toll (refer to the blue / grey mass on the ground). For the lower body Mehran 'borrowed' the mailbox post from the cubbyhouse and tethered the shirt to it. It is currently looking more like a pitiful version of the headless horseman than a scarecrow, yet despite its decrepitness it has scared the dickens out of me more than once as I caught a glimpse from of the corner of my eye while hanging washing at dusk. It's just a shame it doesn't have the same affect on the birds.

Soccer with Bayan

A beautiful day in the back yard with a beautiful boy and a ball.

Soheila's back

Well, now that I have sorted out the baby things and am mostly organized on that front I can start on rearranging the front room, dining room and craft area. Soheila has decided that she would like to come back to stay with us so we have to move Mehran's computer room / office out of the front bedroom and into the front sitting room. This will require some serious maneuvering and shifting of items, but it is worth it. Soheila is lovely and we are happy to have her back for as long as she is happy to stay. The kids are super excited to have someone else in the house and are loving the new changes in the furniture. I have moved my craft hutch into the dining room, until such time as I can get a specific piece of furniture that I have ordered from a second hand shop. Then we shall have a proper dining room again. For now it is all a bit of squishy chaos, but it is not as bad as Mehran's "front office" where he is stockpiling all manner of computer equipment and miscellaneous furnishings. I try not to go in there too much as it is very difficult to get out again. If you were a pixie with one buttock you'd probably be OK, but alas I am not and each time I must venture into the aforementioned area I find myself ricocheting from one item to another. Seriously. You wanna see? Really? Well here you go.

Mehran's on the prowl for an investment property and has high hopes of finding one near the university and renting it to students. He is currently amassing furniture from garage sales and storing it in any nook or cranny he can find. The kids love the sectional sofa and can often be found tucked into the back sharing stories together or playing in personal 'caves'.

Above is the dining room so that you can see that I am at least trying. A little.

The Mummy Dates

I have been trying to squeeze in some "alone time" with the girls before our newest addition arrives. This is has not been easy between work, school, extra-curricular activities and appointments but I have finally hit on a way to make it happen. And it has been working splendidly. This week it was Anisa's turn and I remembered the camera. I'm so glad that I did. It is nothing extravagant and we only have about 45 minutes together, but it is perfectly priceless. There is a small, quiet, cafe about 2 minutes down the road from the girls' school and that is where we come. We sit at the back, sharing hot chips and snacks and have a beautiful time 'just us'. I love how the girls are both so different. I love the opportunity to focus on them individually, even if only for a few minutes. I love Ruhiyyih's seriousness as she decides which frozen treat to try analyzing size, flavour, health factors and cost and Anisa's silly humor as she admires the artwork on the wall, spots wildlife from the deck and compares the length of her hot chips (french fries) to all sorts of unusual objects.

As an additional bonus we happened upon a koala on the way home. We have, countless times, seen them in the trees or waited patiently for them to cross the streets but I have never, not once, had my camera with me. Until today. Anisa saw him first lumbering down the middle of a side street so we doubled back and found him tucked into the branches of a towering eucalyptus tree. Thank goodness for powerful zooms. We watched as he snacked on the leaves, snuggled into the tree and as Anisa loudly exclaimed for all the neighbours to hear "Ohhh looook he's scratching his bum! He's sooooo cuuute!" Indeed he was, but you be the judge of just how cute.

Halloween Recap

Friday night was Family Night, so we did a Halloween theme. We had roast chicken with spider garnish, maggots (rice) and bat (chicken) wings with Zombie juice (because I was too tired to make salad). We borrowed a Halloween film "Hocus Pocus" and for a special treat had mango and banana smoothies while watching the movie. The kids loved the spiders that I stuck on their straws. I was a bit concerned about the movie as it is rated PG, but everyone seemed fine and it made for some good discussion afterwards.

The day before Halloween we were invited to a Halloween dinner party at a friends house. They had just returned from a holiday to the States and were inspired and excited by all the Halloween paraphernalia they found there. The kids had a great time with their friends and we enjoyed some great food and company. All Hallows Eve: Here is the Halloween banner that we made, minus two bats that flew in opposite directions from either side of the B and the O. The hot glue that I used to secure them didn't hold so well once there were gravitational forces to deal with. In the mad rush that has been the past week I didn't have an opportunity to take a photo shoot of the trick or treat bags, but you can see six of them here (partially at least). Bayan's designs were a bit vague but Anisa spiced them up by adding BOO in huge letters to the front. The girls bags were more traditional, Anisa went with pumpkin themes and catchy phrases while Ruhi was inspired to draw witches, cats and haunted houses.

I took this photo on our way out the door. Ruhi went as Stripes the Zebra, Anisa as her jockey in Rock star pants and Bayan as a policeman / pilot. We did three streets and came home with bags full of treats that will shortly be hidden away. I am so cruel. I let them eat the fruit one neighbour was handing out and the crackers from across the street and one lolly. So there. They really don't need anymore and it will be fun to discover some of these things again when we scrounge for things to decorate the gingerbread house with come Christmas / Thanksgiving.

As much as this is a highly commercial, highly sugar based holiday, and it still feels kind of strange to be trick or treating here it is also fun watching the lengths that people go to. One couple put a huge Halloween banner across their garage, one family set up a 'haunted house', many others staged pumpkins or witches around their walkways and gardens. There were quite a few candle lit jack-o-lanterns as well. We didn't do one as I couldn't get past the 23 dollar price tag for a single pumpkin. If they are still as pricey next year perhaps we'll make some butternut squash-o-lanterns. Perhaps.