| Dashed off Dot Points |
[Dec. 11th, 2009|07:43 am] |
* Today I get three wisdom teeth out!
* My teeth tend to lock into my jaw with curved and hooked tooth... thingys. So for one, they actually have to saw away a small part of my jawbone!
* Weirdly, I'm not nervous at all. I honestly expected to be. ( 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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| 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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| Ow and okays |
[Oct. 15th, 2009|10:57 am] |
The last couple of weeks I've been wiped and emotional, my cold has come back (it never fully went away), and today I've majorly barked the back of my right foot on the wire door, hurt the index finger of my left hand mending the gate, and hurt the thumb on my right hand fixing a tap.
On the bright side I spent chunks of yesterday watching Ghost Rider, which while Nicolas Cage was a bit crap in it, I still found to be an enjoyable film. And Christopher Young did the film's music, and I almost always enjoy his work.
And I finished The Kolchak Papers which was a good read despite the huge amount of spelling errors. |
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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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| Email |
[Aug. 19th, 2009|07:26 pm] |
When did email go from being a way to keep in contact and communicate, to being a chore?
While I was away, I didn't have any real opportunity to check email. And I know, I just know, that I've nearly two weeks worth of emails waiting for me to download and read. And every day there will be more of them. Some of them will be nice, most will be forgettable, and there will be one or two that make me want to pierce the nether-regions of the senders with six-inch nails.
Now I'm back, I didn't miss it, and would like to do without it altogether from now on. But that's not really practical, for a variety of reasons, not until I live in a little shack somewhere.
So at some point I will have to download my email for the first time in ages, and start sorting through it all.
But not today. And probably not tomorrow.
So if you want to tell me something, call. |
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| Long Term Planning and Willing Souls |
[Aug. 7th, 2009|01:32 pm] |
The mid to late nineties was when I first had the base idea for the Continuum Conventions. I still have most of my notes from then, filed away where I can one day come across them and say, "So that's where they were!"
I've never thought as myself as a good person for running cons, or something like the Continuum Foundation for that matter. ( Read more... ) |
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| Smaller World |
[Jul. 27th, 2009|05:44 pm] |
Just got back from wandering the Giralang shops with my better camera (but no tripod). Pictures will be up when I find time.
On the way back I walked past the soccer field and there were a bunch of kids playing and being coached. The field was lovely, the kids seemed to be having fun, and in the distance between the trees, the Telstra tower was lit orange by the setting sun. It would have been a gorgeous photo.
Five years ago.
But of course, in this day and age, I couldn't afford to take it. ( Read more... ) |
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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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| Grump |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|11:50 am] |
I've had an interesting few weeks, in the good way. My headaches stopped about a week/week-and-a-half ago, and I've gotten a lot done in that time.
Amongst other things, I made space in the library for Sharon's desk and computer, and moved it all so that we now no longer have a computer room but Lex has a bedroom. Lex also now claps when he hears the word 'clap,' and he seems to be enjoying swimming.
Working with the wonderful arcadiagt5, we've gotten the Chronos Awards sorted, and will be announcing the nominees as soon as we've gotten a couple of small details confirmed. And the awards are being designed and made by two fabulously talented folks in the special effects/model-making field, so they should be nice.
I've fixed the ceiling fan in the bathroom, been visited by some good friends, and sent out surprise presents to a small handful of others. Plus, I'm doing some fun panels at the upcoming Continuum 5, and I was able to justify the purchase of the original Night Stalker series, and seasons 1 & 2 of Supernatural for a panel I have planned for C6! These fall outside my yearly budget of $100 for DVDs, because I basically need them for research, so huge bonus (paid for out of shop profits, rather than household budget)!
So, why did I wake up so dreadfully depressed this morning? ( Read more... ) |
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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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| Nice! |
[May. 25th, 2009|09:12 am] |
Because we don't often notice the absence of something, I'd just like to say that I am fully aware and appreciative of the fact that today I woke up without the merest hint of a headache, let alone screaming pain, for the first time in weeks.
Doubly impressive since Lex kept us both up into the wee hours. And at this point I think I've had about four hours sleep.
It may not last, but for the moment... *big happy sigh*
(EDIT) - Actually there was one other day where I woke without pain, but I still had a sensation of pressure. Today doesn't even have that! |
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| Mother's Day |
[May. 10th, 2009|02:00 am] |
Just finished a loaf of gluten free bread for Sharon, and have pre-prepared most of the mix so that in the morning I can make her and mum gluten free pancakes.
I'm feeling quite happy about this :)
Bed now. |
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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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