Another year already? Must be time for an update

The main reason I haven't had time to update is because basically I have no life :-)

Brae takes up most of my hours, which is as it should be. Then there's study, work, wifeliness and somewhere there's even a bit of sleep. And then there's the oversensitivity that I developed last year re the Grumblemunchkin because I got so sick of people telling me how to raise my kid.

First it was Kindy - because I want Brae to stay at this kindy & his friends, I won't say too much except thank GODS he's now on the big kids side, and that we were proved right that his "attitude" was a direct result of being bored out of his gourd. That's what happens when the move on up is based on chronological age, not child-readiness. But last year saw us having to trot Brae to a behavioural specialist because kindy said "we can't control him" and hinted quite strongly that we had a budding serial killer on our hands.

Turns out he's a perfectly normal kid, as far as "normal" goes, and that the issues he does have are explainable, understandable, and fixable.

He doesn't speak much/well because he can't hear much/well. So with the help of our Doc & the surgeon, Brae is on the accelerated priority waiting list & hopefully will get grommets by the end of March.

He wouldn't do a thing the "littlies" teachers told him because he had worked out how to play them (play deaf, play dunce, pretend to be semi-vegetative).

Because he didn't talk, some of the other kids were exclusive towards him, and this wasn't helped by Brae talking with his hands (ie a quick shove instead of a verbal "leave me alone"). So he got a bit of a rep for "unkind hands" which soon escalated into him being blamed for every single bit of aggression & child-like behaviour going. I even had a mother bail me up at the toy library one day, and express her displeasure about my son beating up hers.

Thing is, it wasn't Brae but another child who tore into her son, and I can prove it because I just happened to have the video camera with me on the day in question. Not only do I know who the real culprit was, but so did the teacher who witnessed the incident. Brae was roughly 20 feet from the child in question when the fight went down. But I wasn't about to tell this woman her son was telling porkies.

Nor was this situation a one-off, but when you try to set the record straight you get that look.. the one that says "Yeah, of course you would say that...".

As the saying goes, never let the truth get in the way of a good story :-(

Kids are pretty sharp, and when they realise there's a scapegoat available, they will cheerfully dump all over them. That's kids. But I expect adults who are around kids a lot (parents, teachers) to be aware of the wee games kids play & to take a bigger view.

That's why I am very pleased Brae has settled down well on the "big kids" side, especially as it looked for a while like he was going to break my record* & get expelled before his third birthday.

We've had him assessed also by the Ministry of Education teachers who work with 'special needs kids' and they reckon he's okay too.

So last year was the year of people continually saying "there's something wrong with your kid", in many different ways. "Why isn't he talking/toileting/wanting to play with other kids/doing what we tell him/etc etc". And I got a lot sensitive about it. While the criticism of our parenting was a bit on the nose (real or implied), that was a mere niggle compared to any criticism of our kid.

So I'm setting the record straight.

Braeden is a fantastic kid with a rocking sense of humour that is actually more advanced than many adults. He's not stupid - he taught himself to count by 2, and some basic reading by 3. He may or may not hear you, and if he does hear you he might not respond if you talk to him like a baby. But treat him as you would your average 7 year old, and you are getting the idea. If he thinks you're silly enough to be manipulated, he can and will have you jumping through hoops (he even had them opening his yoghurt for him, for goodness sakes! This kid can make his own sandwiches).

And yes, he's got his mother's infamous temper. Unfortunately coupled with a lack of words, it can mean the odd swipe will be the vehicle for his frustration, but a quick trip to the naughty chair soon sorts most things out. If he's still shitty after that, take his temperature because chances are he's coming down with something.

Btw the green snot is a thing of the past - we found the core allergy... to Joey, our African Grey parrot. So Joey moved out to the aviary full time, but she's got the most amazing condo out there, and frankly she seems happier for it. As a result, Brae has only needed one puff of his inhaler in the last four weeks, whereas before he was on three different asthma meds 2-4 times a day, and STILL he was coughing & leaking green snot.

Sorry J-Grey. But we still get out & play with you every day, and miss your witty little comments & wind-ups.

Braeden's latest big lerve is "Imagination Movers". Yeah, pretty good show if you zone out Nina's nasal little-girl voice. It's four blokes in blue overalls, dancing & singing & acting goofy - well DAD wears green overalls, and Braeden loves singing, dancing & acting goofy so what's not to like! Also Mover Dave looks a lot like a younger version of Dad, so that's a bonus :-) (especially for Mum, LOL). Only other gripe is that it's bloody hard for a little guy who can't talk so well to ask for "Imagination Movers". It comes out like "Innahm oofus" but I know what he means (or at least, we worked it out in the end).

Okay ... my five minutes of freedom are just about up for another six months so quick "where are we up to" re the rest of our lives:

Nutters Grove: renovations proceeding at snails-pace, but definitely proceeding. Big new stone wall courtyard now borders the house on two sides, providing a safe place for Brae to play (water race, busy road, livestock etc). Wayne can't wait to get out of here & into the next place, but he can't go any faster than he already is. Pity there's so much to do!

Study going well, although I've slowed it down for the mean time & I'm only doing three papers a year now. Holding on to the A average, although sometimes it's by the skin of my teeth. Still loving it, although I enjoy the "actuals" like statistics, law, accountancy & technology MUCH more than "theoreticals" (read: airy fairy shit) like management, communication & ethics. At this rate I'll get the damn thing finished about a year after Brae gets to school.

Still not pregnant, but having our bed in the dining room for the last year might have a leeeeetle something to do with that. Hard to get in the mood when you could be interrupted at any moment. Also makes it damn hard to sleep between the hours of 5.30am & midnight.

And yesterday we heard some fantabulous news - but it's not mine to share so all I will say is we're very excited (and madly jealous, LOL).

See you in July - or maybe sooner if I can squeeze in five free minutes to myself.




* By the end of my 7th year, I'd been expelled twice from different schools. The usual reasons.. fighting, swearing & telling the Nuns to stuff themselves. As you do... ;-)