Maeghan can swim on her own now. She has always worn a floaty when swimming but she doesn't have to anymore. She can swim from one side of the pool to the other all on her own. We are really proud of her. She spends all her time in the pool just ducking her head under the water and then coming back up. She used to do that with the floaty on, but now, she will just stay under for a few seconds and then come back up. She really loves the pool. It has not really been warm enough to go swimming yet, but she wants to get in everyday. The only days she does not get in is when it is raining, which is kind of weird since she will be getting wet anyway, but it is just too cold to go in the pool when it rains, so she stays out then.
William is still a bit afraid of the water. Ever since his near accident, he has been really afraid of getting his head wet. Even in the shower, she refuses to stand under the water. Not sure if I related the incident when he went into water over his head without his vest, but I know he still has nightmares about it. He tells us sometimes that he had a bad dream about being stuck under the water. It makes me really afraid and I have bad dreams about it too. Since it was my fault he was in the water when it happened, I am really afraid of him being in the water over his head also, but he is getting better. I am hoping he will forget it someday and be able to have fun in the water, but I am in no hurry for it to happen. Just let him take his time and go in when he is ready.
He still has fun in the water, but never with his head getting wet. Just floating around in the pool and pretending he is swimming. Maeghan, as I said, can swim better than me at this point. Not that I am a bad swimmer, well actually, I am, but Maeghan is basically fearless. I still insist someone has to be within a few feet of her anytime she does not have the vest on and I still worry every time she takes off swimming, but she can keep herself afloat and seems to do ok, but I am always ready to reach her just in case she gets tired.
William will be four next month. Juanita's birthday is also next month. I am not sure what we will be doing. Maybe have a party for Williams birthday and then go out for Juanita's, but I have not made any plans yet. William thinks he already had his birthday. He is waiting for Christmas. We got him the new Roary dvd the other day and some other car or something. He thought they were his birthday presents, so he thinks he is now four. He tells you he is four now and he is ready for more presents at Christmas. Not sure how he will react when it actually is his birthday.
He is still hyper as ever. Sometimes, he takes a nap for three or four hours during the day, but mostly, he just goes and goes. We were having dinner tonight and I was sitting next to him. He did not stay still the entire time. Kept moving around in his chair, kicking me and constantly getting up and down. I kept asking him if he was ever going to calm down and just sit there, but he thought I was joking and kept moving around. I have no idea how he is going to handle school when the time comes. He wants to go to school, but having to sit still for any length of time will be a real challenge for him. Maybe he will have calmed down by then. Probably not.
Maeghan things Daddy is the funniest guy around. She always laughs at whatever I do. She is a really good girl. I think we got used to Maeghan being so calm all the time and that is why William is such a handful, but Maeghan has always been a good girl. Oh, she has her moments, and can be really naughty at times, but not a lot. That happens mostly when she is playing with William and gets frustrated with him. Since he is so much bigger than she is, she tends to think he is just as old as she is and doesn't understand when he does not listen to what she is telling him to do. She gets kind of bossy then and when he still does not cooperate, she tries to get him in trouble by yelling at him until he yells back.
Not that William ever talks in any voice that is not a yell. He is one of the loudest talking kids I have ever seen. He can whisper sometimes, but most of what he says is at the top of his voice and he never lets up talking. A constant stream of chatter is his way of life. He has gotten into the habit of saying Mom, Mom, Mom, all the time. It is one question or statement after another and he never lets up. He doesn't do it to me so much, but the words Mom, mom, mom are part of every conversation.
The grandparents are still here. I think they are staying until the end of November. Karen gets here sometime in November. She is staying for a week. I don't think she will be here for Juanita's birthday, so we might have to do something early for that so she can go with us. We will have to see what we are doing once she arrives.
The dog is still here also. Always jumping and trying to get into the house. He never stops sitting at the door either jumping up on it or whining to be let in. You cannot walk outside without him jumping up on you. One of his annoying habits is to bite at your feet while you are walking. The kids hate that although Maeghan does not let the dog come near her at anytime. The dog likes to jump up on you and that scares Maeghan, so she stays away from him whenever possible.
We have had a big contract at work so I have been having to work a lot of weekends and a lot more hours than I normally do. I spend a lot of time out in my office. It has a bed and a couch and a tv and the xbox out there, so when I take a break from work, I never really leave the office. William like to come out there and sit with me sometimes. Of course, William does not sit for very long and begins to make up games like jumping over the couch and the bed. That makes it hard to work or to watch tv, so I end up having to yell at him. It then becomes the saddest thing as he hangs his head and walks out. I hate it when that happens but he is just so hyper that it is impossible to work with him around. He needs constant attention and I can't always give it to him.
Maeghan rarely comes out to sit with me. I think she would like to, but with William there, he demands so much attention, she retreats into the house to get away from him. They like playing together, but Maeghan sometimes gets slighted when William always getting into trouble. I am sure it looks like, to her, that he is what we are watching and not paying any attention to what she is doing. I am sure she gets it that he is always getting into trouble, but sometimes, she just wants to be cuddled and it makes it hard when you have to keep one eye on William so he does not do something stupid and she can't get your full attention.
As of this writing, I am officially in the country illegally. My passport expired a few days ago and I have not sent it in to be renewed. I have it all ready, but I need to find a place that will give me an American money order. The state department only accepts American money and they do not accept cash or credit card, so a money order is the ony way to pay them. It is said that some post offices will let you buy an American money order but I have not checked into it yet. I need to do that tomorrow so I can mail in my passport and get it renewed. They say it only takes two weeks, but I am afraid they might find something wrong and then have me deported or something. I am sure I am just being paranoid, but the thought has crossed my mind several times. I am hoping my taxes are in order over there as I am not sure they are and one of the things the state department does is send in the application for approval to the IRS. If there are any problems, they do not grant the new passport and what happens after than, I have no idea. It is a worry, but probably will turn out to be nothing.
Once I have the new passport, I am not sure what happens to my permanent residence visa. It is on one of the pages in my current passport. I don't know if I have to go through the same process again to get a new one or do I just take it to the Australian Immigration office and they put a new stamp in it. I have read the original letter they sent me concerning my permanent residence, and it says I need to have something called an RVA in my passport if I ever leave the country or I will not be able to get back in. It doesn't say anything about what I do if I do not leave the country. I will try to find out what I need to do once I have the new passport.
Guess I should be going now. I need to get to bed so I can get up early and do some work. Have to have some proposal out by tomorrow and I have not started it yet. One of the biggest jobs I have ever attempted and I am the only 'expert' on this system, which is really a shame since I inherited it from someone who retired and I never really understood it before he left. Way too technical to get into in this blog, but it is a big job and I am not so sure that after it is done, they will have no use for me anymore. Once I get it converted, anyone will be able to support it and that means I have no job security as the only 'expert' left on this account. I am trying to get my project management certification done before that happens so I can fall back on that if needed.
So, after saying all that, the kids are in bed and I am ready to go there myself, so it is goodbye from me and it is goodbye from him (an old two Ronnies routine).
Until next time,
Talk to you later
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
MWNews 80
Maeghan lost her first tooth. It had been loose for a long time and it finally broke loose. We were at the shops having KFC and she said it was jut hanging there. After a few minutes, she showed it to me and said it had fallen out. Apparently, she had actually twisted it until it came out but we were telling her to ull it out anyway, so we were happy she did. I was afraid she was going to swallow it while she was eating. It is really small. About the size of two pieces of rice. Very small. I went over to the jewelery store next to the food court and got her one of those little plastic bags to put it in. One of the girls over there thought it was gross but the other was happy about it and wanted to see.
I think Juanita tried to send the pictures via a text message but I am not sure who or if it made it to everyone she sent it too. We took several with the phones. Over here, they put the tooth in a cup of water overnight and the tooth fairy comes and replaces it with money. I didn't suggest putting it under the pillow, I thought they might think I was crazy. (And as a side note, this computer is acting up again in that it is not typing what I am typing, meaning, I type a whole bunch of words and they do not appear on the screen for several seconds. It makes it hard to catch spelling mistakes and things, but I will muddle through again. As an example, I finished typing this whole sentence before I could see it on the screen.)
I think Maeghan was a little scared about her tooth. As I said, it had been loose for a long time and I think she was afraid of having it fall out. I can understand that as it is a little scary to have things falling off of you. I prefer adding more bulk as it then becomes a good thing if something falls off, you lose weight that way.
Another sign has occurred that I am getting old. My three, soon to be four, year old son now gives me advice on how to play video games. I think I have mentioned he had become addicted to the DS and carries it everywhere. Occasionally, he gets stuck and asks me to help him with something. I never play the DS, so I have no idea how to play any of the games but I give it a go and can mostly figure out how to get past whatever he is trying to do. Sometimes, I can't and he gets an exasperated expression and tells me to give the game back and he will do it or he keeps saying you have to do this and you have to do that and then gets frustrated and takes the game away to show me what I am supposed to do.
I hate that when grownups tell me how to play the games, or what passes for grown ups around here, but to have a three year old be better at the games than I am, well I am sure it is just a matter of time before he is able to push me over and tickle me instead of the other way around. He is already big enough that he it hurts when he hits me or wrestles with me. We have to keep telling him to be gentle when he plays with the other kids and he is bigger than most people his age.
William and Maeghan get along most of the time, (and this typing thing is driving me crazy) but they generally end up fighting. I think Meaghan has figured out ways to get him in trouble all the time. She knows he is bigger and stronger and she cannot always get her way, so she goads him into doing something that gets him in trouble to make up for not being able to push him around.
Right now, Maeghan is on school holidays for two weeks. Actually, she has one week left. She is at a birthday party right now, so William is bugging me constantly. So, in addition to the typing thing, William is driving me crazy. He found the xbox last night, Maeghan wanted to play the Pinata game. While I was getting it out, William found the Cars game, so he has been asking to play it constantly since then. Since Maeghan is gone, he has a chance to play, so I set it up for him. Unfortunately, he does not know how to get from one game to another, so when one ends, he is in my ear asking me to change it to another. Amazingly, if he tries to follow the game, he can usually win, but he doen't do that often, so it takes him a long time to finish any one game.
The other problem is he wants to play all kinds of things that are not unlocked on the game. I have to constantly explain that he can't play as that character or play that race until he wins the other ones. It is a lost cause trying to get him to understand.
Well. this has bugged me long enough. I am sure there are other things, but I can't stand it anymore, so I am going to close this. William is here bugging me again and the mother in law wants the computer. She hasn't said anything, but she is sitting behind me and I am sure that is a subtle hint that she want to play on facebook or something. Gusee I will be going.
So, until next time
Talk to you later
I think Juanita tried to send the pictures via a text message but I am not sure who or if it made it to everyone she sent it too. We took several with the phones. Over here, they put the tooth in a cup of water overnight and the tooth fairy comes and replaces it with money. I didn't suggest putting it under the pillow, I thought they might think I was crazy. (And as a side note, this computer is acting up again in that it is not typing what I am typing, meaning, I type a whole bunch of words and they do not appear on the screen for several seconds. It makes it hard to catch spelling mistakes and things, but I will muddle through again. As an example, I finished typing this whole sentence before I could see it on the screen.)
I think Maeghan was a little scared about her tooth. As I said, it had been loose for a long time and I think she was afraid of having it fall out. I can understand that as it is a little scary to have things falling off of you. I prefer adding more bulk as it then becomes a good thing if something falls off, you lose weight that way.
Another sign has occurred that I am getting old. My three, soon to be four, year old son now gives me advice on how to play video games. I think I have mentioned he had become addicted to the DS and carries it everywhere. Occasionally, he gets stuck and asks me to help him with something. I never play the DS, so I have no idea how to play any of the games but I give it a go and can mostly figure out how to get past whatever he is trying to do. Sometimes, I can't and he gets an exasperated expression and tells me to give the game back and he will do it or he keeps saying you have to do this and you have to do that and then gets frustrated and takes the game away to show me what I am supposed to do.
I hate that when grownups tell me how to play the games, or what passes for grown ups around here, but to have a three year old be better at the games than I am, well I am sure it is just a matter of time before he is able to push me over and tickle me instead of the other way around. He is already big enough that he it hurts when he hits me or wrestles with me. We have to keep telling him to be gentle when he plays with the other kids and he is bigger than most people his age.
William and Maeghan get along most of the time, (and this typing thing is driving me crazy) but they generally end up fighting. I think Meaghan has figured out ways to get him in trouble all the time. She knows he is bigger and stronger and she cannot always get her way, so she goads him into doing something that gets him in trouble to make up for not being able to push him around.
Right now, Maeghan is on school holidays for two weeks. Actually, she has one week left. She is at a birthday party right now, so William is bugging me constantly. So, in addition to the typing thing, William is driving me crazy. He found the xbox last night, Maeghan wanted to play the Pinata game. While I was getting it out, William found the Cars game, so he has been asking to play it constantly since then. Since Maeghan is gone, he has a chance to play, so I set it up for him. Unfortunately, he does not know how to get from one game to another, so when one ends, he is in my ear asking me to change it to another. Amazingly, if he tries to follow the game, he can usually win, but he doen't do that often, so it takes him a long time to finish any one game.
The other problem is he wants to play all kinds of things that are not unlocked on the game. I have to constantly explain that he can't play as that character or play that race until he wins the other ones. It is a lost cause trying to get him to understand.
Well. this has bugged me long enough. I am sure there are other things, but I can't stand it anymore, so I am going to close this. William is here bugging me again and the mother in law wants the computer. She hasn't said anything, but she is sitting behind me and I am sure that is a subtle hint that she want to play on facebook or something. Gusee I will be going.
So, until next time
Talk to you later
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