August 2013

Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth I wrote about Lex’s big transformation earlier this week, so to balance things out, I thought Jax deserved a mention today, which will hopefully result in a few chuckles. Jax, at five, is an interesting little dude. He has incredible self-confidence, but is already struggling with the politics of women (yes it’s begun already, sigh) and it’s painful for this Mumma to observe sometimes – bless him. Jax is also very eloquent with his speech and he does NOT miss a verbal trick. From 15 months of age, we’ve had to be very aware of what we say in front of him. Let’s just say we haven’t always been successful… Anyways, in Phuket, I overheard a very interesting conversation between Jax and his Dad. It went something along the lines of this… “Dad, Dad, I’ve got to tell you something.” “Sure mate, what’s up?” “Well, Lex said thebloodyfuckenword.” “He said what?” “Thebloodyfuckenword. He’s not allowed to say thebloodyfuckenword, only Mummies and Daddies are allowed to say thebloodyfuckenword, but he did say it Dad, he said thebloodyfuckenword.” “I didn’t say thebloodyfuckenword Dad, because I know it’s a Mummy and Daddy word, but Lex Did say thebloodyfuckenword and I think he needs tabasco on his tongue Dad, because he said thebloodyfuckenword.” A recent charming family shot… “Lex is VERY naughty Dad, because he knows he shouldn’t use thebloodyfuckenword but he did say thebloodyfuckenword Dad. I wouldn’t use the bloodyfuckenword Dad, because I’m a good boy.” Dad, at this point, clears his throat and says: “ROIGHT, Lex don’t say thebloodyfuckenword, ok, OK? It’s a Mummy and Daddy word, and if you say it again I’ll, well I’ll, well you know….” Naturally Steve was stuck for words, because it’s the hardest thing in the world to discipline a child for saying something super funny, whilst doing everything in your power not to laugh and trying not to make a big deal out of the fact your other little treasure is also using the “word” several times in an appropriate context. Jax, in the meantime, knows he shouldn’t say thebloodyfuckenword, but he’s relishing in the opportunity to say a naughty word – many MANY times – as well as a chance to dob on his brother!!! How do you deal with that in an appropriate way? We have no idea how to deal with it, other than not letting them see us laugh. That’s key or it’d be MUCH worse. Then again, everyone who knows us well, will probably say it’s hardly surprising… Bless my mini dudes. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

I couldn’t believe it this morning – Lex (6) slept until 10am – Lex has never slept until 10am, I mean, he just doesn’t do it! Lex is up and at it so early EVERY SINGLE DAY and has been since the day he was born, so much so Steve and I are worn out by the little bugger, but 10am, 10AM!! On one of the disco buses with Aunty Vick Equally I’m not surprised. Our trip to Phuket was mind boggling for Lex. He loved every minute of it and we could see his mind expanding as he was putting this new world together in his head. Jax is a little different in that his life exists in closer proximity to his body – he’s just a cooler character – but Lex, from the day he was born, has been way out there in the world – taking it all in, working it all out, trying to put all of the pieces together. Interestingly, as he’s the one who had speech challenges, people have often failed to notice how bloody smart and aware he is. As a Mummy observer, I can’t help but feel children are measured on their intelligence by the eloquence of their speech? But with Lex, I’ve always known he was smart, as is his little bro Jax, but we also have another quality in the mix – and that is curiosity. Curiosity is an awesome quality in a person and one that attracts me to new friends. In a child, however,  curiosity can be really REALLY bloody annoying. An excessively curious child (which Lex obviously is) is always seeking more, checking more, touching more, feeling more, smelling more, seeing more… and as any parent of an excessively curious children knows – it’s a SUPER BIG pain in the arse for the parents – I mean, how many times do you need to tell them to stop bloody touching something? And no, I don’t know the answer to that question, because we never reached a definitive point on that one, with either of them… Bloody kids! But Lex really loved our Phuket adventure. He took it all in, and we watched him processing all of the new information he was receiving, working it out in his own unique way and drawing incredibly logical conclusions about some very surreal situations. He was open and aware, but by the end of every night, he was bloody knackered, which meant he was walking around with big bags under his eyes every day. Little love. Is it any wonder our mini-man comes home, to a place where he feels safe, and just sleeps as hard as he can? I wasn’t surprised at all – I mean it was exhausting just watching his brain in action. One thing for sure – apart from the fact that this trip has positively helped Lex to grow in leaps and bounds – is the wonder I felt seeing both boys really embracing every new experience they faced. Steve and I also feel tremendously relieved because we now know, deep down, that they are born travelers which is important to us – like really really important. Let’s face it, not everyone was born to travel. As a Mum, I love being able to offer the boys these sorts of experiences, because there will be many many more, and a lot of them will be a lot more adventurous. We’re already planning our next one to Sri Lanka – which we expect to be even more interesting. Travelling, exploring, adventuring – that’s just how we wanna live our life. Regular 10am sleep-ins from both boys would be a superb bonus too. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

I am on day three of a six day break in Phuket – the first proper break our family has had for five years, and the reason it’s a proper break is easy – we’re not worrying about anything right now, it’s all kind of going in the right direction. Awesome. So now we have a chance to stop. Be happy. Walk slowly. Be at peace. Celebrate life. Enjoy each other’s company. You know, be on holiday? But day one I was a frickin basket case. I could not switch my mind off because there were so MANY things I didn’t finish before heading to the airport. There was, literally, no time in the day to get it all done before I left. I couldn’t let it go, and even though I have years of working wisdom behind me with the knowledge that no one’s going to die based on the work I do,  it still put me in a frazzle. The night of day one Steve and I sat down, relaxed and remembered to laugh at ourselves. That’s what did it. Tuned me into holiday mode – the mode that allows you to step out of the chaos of your life and ask the question – is this right for us? Are we headed in the right direction? What do we need to do differently? What needs to change? What’s good? What could be improved? Everyone in the family OK on this journey of life? As such, the epiphanies have been flowing – and I love epiphanies – the notebooks are out, ideas are being recorded, and most importantly, Steve and I are getting a relationship tune-up, as are both of us with the boys. It’s good for them to see us relaxing. They haven’t seen too much of that with all of the constant uncertainty around us. Phuket is also a favorite place to be, but this trip has been cathartic for a number of reasons. The main one being – we had to come back to Phuket as a family, because the last time we were here it was a disaster. It was in 2009 and we tried to live here – thinking all we needed were phones, laptops and international airport access and we’d be laughing. The boys were 15 months and two and a half then, and within the first week, Jax got electrocuted and it was pretty much downhill from there. The dream became a nightmare and it was the start of a few years of uncertainty – we just didn’t know where we wanted to be. We’re beyond that and this holiday is an opportunity to say thank god that bloody time is over – never again! With that, the mega-pool at the Angsana is calling to me and I’m going to take the boys on a frog discovery adventure. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea