| Priorities... |
[Dec. 13th, 2009|12:45 pm] |
One of the things I've become conscious of in recent months is my priorities. They haven't changed, I'm just aware of them now.
While my health and fitness has improved slowly but steadily since the stroke, I still have a fairly limited amount of spoons, and even when I'm doing well, it doesn't take much to steal them all if I'm not careful. I've been tending to beat myself up a bit for not getting things done, but then recently I realised how it is I work my limited resources. ( Read more... ) |
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| Lex Communication |
[Dec. 3rd, 2009|10:41 am] |
 In the last week, Lex has suddenly hit his stride with a bunch of words, symbols, and concepts coming together for him. He's understood sign language previously, but for whatever reason wasn't using it, but this week that changed.
He's now doing his own adaptation of the sign for book by clapping his hands together as if he were shutting a book. Sometimes he will accompany this with the word "dat" which is his most common word for book. The next most common words for it are "dot" and "dook."
He also signs for food now by opening his mouth and then putting his hand over it. Very handy one, that. He sometimes also combines the sign with the word "mum."
"Shluck" is his word for sock.
"Car" is now used for pictures or actual cars.
Of course he already had "Kal" and "mum." Any words he has can get used for other things. For instance, the other day he named my nipples. One was called "mum" and the other was called "Kal."
Other times he just says the words because he likes the feel of the word in his mouth, something I also do. But all the words mentioned have a pretty consistent use associated with their respective objects and lifeforms. I tend to wait until I've seen an ongoing use and connection before I credit him with actually understanding the word.
Today, for the first time, he said "da" as he pointed at me. Will be looking out to see if that's repeated or it was a one off. |
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| Conventions in 2010 |
[Oct. 26th, 2009|11:11 pm] |
So, we've looked at finances, holiday logistics, Lex logistics, and a bunch of other stuff, and have had to divvy up the convention going for next year. We've been nutting out ideas for a while, but Sharon's work commitments and our finances have meant we've had to firm up our plans. ( Read more... ) |
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| Progression |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|04:44 pm] |
Amongst things Lex has learned or experienced in recent weeks are -
- shaking his head (it doesn't actually mean no, I think he just likes the cheap high)
- walking (he did a proper walk last night for all of half a dozen steps - this is how the world ends!)
- his first true word, as in a word that is solidly identified with one inhabitant of our house (the word is "Gahr!" or "Carh!", which is Lex's attempt to say the dog's name, "Kal")
- interior design (he keeps rearranging all the chairs)
- the sign language for milk (it's a two handed milking-a-cow motion, only he does it with one hand and so it's hard to distinguish it from him waving, but you can tell the difference if you really look)
- two big teeth finally breaking the skin after months of bothering him (both have come through in the last day or so, on the left side top and bottom)
- bubbles (a really good way to distract him so he doesn't scream while you're wiping his face after eating)
- swings and slides (both of which he adores)
- paper planes (threw the plane back and forth around him, then let him have it. It became the most precious piece of paper ever, for about half an hour)
In other news, it feels like everyone I've ever known is having kids at the moment. Just heard about another. Will be interesting seeing the direction all the kids of the fannish and alternative folks go over the years. I suspect a few rebellious Liberal voting accountant or sporting types will pop up. |
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| Boo Yays |
[Sep. 22nd, 2009|10:34 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | belwood, doctor who, dot points, fandom, lex, movies, people, serious thoughts, sex, sharon, slice of life, travel | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  Variable | ] |
* April and Andy visited on the weekend. Yay!
* My car indicator continues to play up. Boo!
* Sharon and I got to go see Up on Sunday. It was good and didn't stupidly pander to the 3D. Yay!
* Sharon's grandpa died Sunday night. He was an awesome old bloke. Boo!
( More under cut, some TMI... ) |
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| Pointing and posting |
[Sep. 18th, 2009|09:58 am] |
Lex has had a number of little milestones since C5, that have mostly gone unblogged because I've been sick, busy, or haven't remembered when I was posting. In the last few days he's discovered the power of pointing!
It's both awesome and funny. He can communicate that he wants a particular thing by pointing at it, which is great because even though he seems to understand a chunk of the signing he doesn't actually use it himself, so the pointing makes life a little easier.
He also randomly points. He won't even be looking, he'll just raise his hand and point off in a random direction. Sometime he does it with both hands at once - two completely different directions.
And then there's triangulation. You're not sure what he's pointing to, so you pick him up and wave him back and forth, slowly zeroing in on the item in question which, nine times out of ten, is something that he's not actually allowed to have. So he gets the joy of having us take him right to the thing he wants, and the disappointment of not being allowed to have it.
He's also started 'posting' stuff, a term we picked up from Bill Congreve at C5. Posting is when they start going, 'Hey, I bet I can put this thing I'm holding, in that thing over there!' So now we're in a mix of ongoing surprise, and regular hunting. So one can't be sure what will appear in one's drink cup... a block, a rusk, a sock... and neither can one be sure where something has disappeared to... is it in the drawer? The box? Oh! It was hidden in my shoe!
I find both these stages an never ending source of amusement. |
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| Why do mothers whinge? |
[Sep. 16th, 2009|05:57 pm] |
You know how some mothers whinge about how hard it is, and how much they do, and how some folks look down on women who are 'only' mothers, and not in the workforce? What the fuck are they complaining about? It is so delightfully easy being a stay at home parent.
I was awake at 7, had some breakfast, and listened to an episode of Doctor who. So a nice gentle start.
Lex woke at 8:30, and since then I have been with him every minute, enjoying the beauty of the parent/child bond, including literally five hours of trying to get him to sleep, something I totally failed at, and he mostly screamed through.
I haven't gotten a single thing done, and I only managed time to eat and drink because Lex can feed himself.
See? It's easy bitches!
*faints* |
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| The Evil One |
[Sep. 14th, 2009|08:14 am] |
Bloody Lex! He often refuses to go to bed before around 9:30 at night, so most days he sleeps until 9:30-10am, sometimes later. Having struggled for so many weeks, and in my zombie state not having achieved much beyond the very basics of housework at best, my plan for today was to take advantage of his late starts by getting up around 8-ish. That'd give me time to choke down some breakfast, then give me an hour or so to actually catch up on some of the stuff I've been needing to catch up with for ages.
So of course the little bugger has been awake since 5:30! And he's been generally unhappy for most of it. Well, at least I've got a load of nappies washed.
Mind you, much as I'm now back in my usual tired, braindead, zombie-like state, I can still admire his evil timing.
That's my boy! |
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| Question Meme (revisited) |
[Sep. 12th, 2009|12:25 am] |
Life is stupidly tiring and busy at the mo'. Lex is refusing to sleep, which woldn't be so bad but he insists we don't sleep either. So here is a mostly pre-written post I've been meaning to get up for ages.
Way back in January I did the Interview Meme. As it stood, I still had a bunch of questions to answer, I answered most of them at the time but babalon_93 hit me with five questions that required detailed answers, two of which were stumpers. And it's taken me until now to finally answer the two I found most difficult. All the rest were answered way back in early Feb. I haven't made any changes to my old answers to update them.
So, below the cut, my answers to questions posed by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) stephiepenguin, arcadiagt5, and babalon_93. If you posed questions for me that I haven't answered here, feel free to repose them and I shall attempt to answer them sometime in the next eight months. ( Very long... ) |
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| Lex Turns One |
[Aug. 20th, 2009|09:59 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | lex | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | indescribable | ] |
This coming Sunday, Lex turns one year old.
According to what we've been able to track down, I should be firmly past the infectious stage of my 'flu by tomorrow, and no-one else in the house has shown any signs of infection, so some sort of celebration looks likely.
Anyone who feels like dropping over on Sunday the 23rd anytime between noon and 6pm, please feel free, it's basically open house. Lex will possibly be sleeping for a portion of that but will be happy to see various faces when awake.
No presents are needed - family in Victoria is already loading us down with tonnes of stuff and Lex will be just as happy if you talk to him, play with him, or give him a cuddle. He is a very social kid.
Basic nibblies provided. And if you can let us know you're coming, that would be great. |
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| Dot Points from the last couple of months |
[Jul. 25th, 2009|12:40 am] |
In the last week or so, I've had a small bunch of concerned friends contact me privately to ask if I was okay, as I haven't been posting much for a while. Everything's cool, I've just been balancing being busy with my limited mental/physical energy, and some things, like LJ, are tending to suffer.
Thank you for the thoughts! I have been wanting/trying to put stuff up, but just not finding the time. Now some quick dot points and a picture... ( Read more... ) |
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| Whose son is he? |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|07:15 pm] |
Conversation with Sharon a while ago
Me - Your son has been a right little horror all day!
Sharon - My son? And when does he get to be your son?
Me - When he sets fire to something or gets arrested for public indecency.
-Beat-
Sharon - That sounds fair. |
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| 11 years |
[Jul. 5th, 2009|06:43 pm] |
Today is Shaz and my 11th Wedding Anniversary. Surviving the eleven years isn't the achievement, it's surviving the last ten months with Lex!
We had a nice day at the National Film and Sound Archives, 'cos we're geeks. And before anyone says anything, it was Sharon's idea! |
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| Conversations with Lex 02 |
[Jun. 5th, 2009|04:23 pm] |
"No, don't put your foot there. No, Lex, don't put it there. No seriously. Ow!"
"No, Lex, don't pull dad's hair. Ow! No, don't do it... That's it, play with dad's collar... Ow! ...and head butt dad in the face too, that might be fun, eh?"
That was just the last ten minutes. |
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| April Dot Points additional +pics |
[May. 3rd, 2009|10:16 pm] |
Just some extra things I forgot to mention...
* While seated and holding Lex in the kitchen the other week, he head-butted me, driving my head back into the wall. *Whack* *Thud*
"Nice one, Lex," I said, prompting him to do it twice more in rapid succession. *Whack* *Thud* *Whackthud!*
* Lex is now shit scared of my dalek.
* hehehehehe...
* Lex only started to properly crawl a week or so back. Within a couple of days of nailing crawling, he started to pull himself up to standing using things like the couch. A day after that, he started trying to actually climb up onto things like the couch. Too fast!
* Tomorrow night at 7:30 on SBS is the Botswana episode of Top Gear. If you've never seen the show, or have seen an episode but didn't like it, try this one. This is the one that turned Sharon into a fan. I've been married to her for over a decade, and I have literally never seen her laugh so hard for so long. She was in real pain by the end.
Basically, if this episode doesn't get you in, Top Gear will never be a show you'd enjoy.
* She's sitting beside me and giggling now, just thinking about it.
* I have decided that at some point, within the next few years, I will have to get a theremin.
* Continuum 5 seems to be shaping up well. We're going, who else is?
* Lex also gets to listen to Uncle Terry on PaleoCinema fairly regularly.
( * Four Lex pictures below the cut... ) |
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| April Dot Points |
[May. 1st, 2009|04:47 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | conventions, dot points, health, interesting or important links, lex, my stuff, sharon, slice of life, swancon, things that delight me, unimportant but annoying, videos/dvds | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  reflective | ] |
* April was a busy and tiring one, hence this being written on the 1st of May.
* This is a very Lex-heavy month. ( Read more... ) |
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| Conversations with Lex |
[Apr. 19th, 2009|10:02 pm] |
Tonight, Lex happily said, "Goo goo."
My reply was, "Dude, that is such a fucking cliché!" |
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| March Dot Points |
[Mar. 29th, 2009|08:05 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | continuum, conventions, filming, interesting or important links, lex, my stuff, people, photos, slice of life, swancon, travel, videos/dvds | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
* We survived our rent inspection
* Lex has survived his fourth tooth
( Nothing of importance, just a collection of stuff from the last month or so, and one picture. ) |
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| Some February dot points |
[Feb. 16th, 2009|11:27 pm] |
* I made banana and walnut muffins today, and they were yummy. I gave half to Bill and Diane from the Post Office, because they are lovely people and I didn't manage a Chrissy prezzie for them last year.
* Our estate agent has put back our rent inspection a month at my request. Basically told her we were in the middle of sorting/rearranging, and the house would be a mess.
( Cut for extreme length, and because there's nothing overly exciting... ) |
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sleepy
grumpy
okay