Firstly, thank you for the outpouring of support for our family after yesterday's post. I'm touched and humbled by your messages. There's a lot of love out there on the inter web and we were lucky enough to be on the receiving end of it yesterday. Thank you all.
The girls had an OK night, they still coughed and cried but not any worse than last night. The cheery lady from Public Health told me that this is as bad as the kids should get. The fear is out of me now. I'm calmer. We can do this. We're tired and the girls' little bodies must be aching, but they'll come out the other side and this will be one of those childhood illnesses that you only remember you had because your Mum reminds you. Like the great Chicken Pox outbreak of Christmas 1985.
I planned for the girls to get some sunshine this morning. We picked up some mixing bowls and a box of cornflour and headed into the garden. I was just setting up when I noticed we had company. Mixing could wait; we moved to the veranda and watched the imposter instead. I love snakes. I spent my fair share of time around them at the zoo. This one is a Red-bellied Black Snake for those of you who are interested. The unusual thing about red-bellies is they have live young - anywhere from eight to forty of the little blighters. Luckily for Mum, it's a dump and run arrangement: she doesn't have to stay around and look after them. Imagine having to tend them without being able to complain, "I've only got one set of hands!"
The Big Sister was giving me the hurry up over lunch today. She was watching me stir the pasta over the stove, when she asked (not for the first time)
"Is it ready yet, Mum?"
"Darling, you can see me still cooking it. You know it's not ready.
Why do you ask these questions when you know the answers?
Do you like the sound of your own voice?"
She looked at me and hesitated, like it was a trick question.
"Yes.
(pause)
Don't you like the sound of your voice Mummy?"
And that's when I started laughing. Not little giggles, but proper laughing. My folks will testify there was a time when I loved the sound of my own voice too, but to paraphrase the Carpenters (who I was probably singing along to at the time), that was long ago and so far away.
do you like the sound of your own voice?
what's your stance on snakes?
womblywoo says
uggh 40 baby snakes!
And what is it with chickenpox and Christmas time??
mumabulous says
I got the chicken pox just after I finished the HSC. I dont need to tell you how much that sucked. The snake photos brought back memories of my Dad chasing after a red belly black with a shovel. It seemed very heroic to my nine year old self.
LittleWhiteDove says
The sound of my own voice? Not so much, especially if I'm editing vlogs and have to listen to myself say the same thing five times/ Two of my children are the "love the sound of their own voice" types, and never stop talking!
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
I heard your recorded voice today and it's lovely!
Tash @ littlebitofthyme says
Can't stand them.. we have dugites here and the dog (stupid 'I'll eat anything that looks like food" labrador) has been bitten twice. Two massive vet bills later they tell us the next time will be fatal!
I hate the sound of my voice! When it's recorded I think "huh? that can't be me!"
Hope your weekend is a good one. Lots of sunshine!
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
Yikes Tash. I can imagine that was expensive. This will probably sound horrible, but when our dog was a pup, we tried to instil a fear of snakes in him. We bought a little wild carpet python home and let him near it, hoping he'd be bitten. He wasn't bitten, but he did learn to be fearful. Now he barks whenever he sees one, which is handy in the house yard. Quite a happy accident really!
moodiefoodiejay says
Can't stand the sound of my own voice now - it's always saying stuff like 'no', 'not today', 'can you put that away', 'how many times do I have to say ....', 'NOW!'...... Silence is indeed golden:) As for snakes, I would not be overstating 'frozen with fear'. I can do spiders when I have to but can't do snakes. Hope everyone is feeling better today xo
rebeccassunday says
Kids, quirkly little beings.
Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me says
That's totally gold! Glad you got a belly laugh, you sure need it after the week you've had x