Thursday Peanuts

Go The Gray

Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life.

--Proverbs 16:31

Yabbies

When I was a kid, I'd sneak through some body's front yard, slink down their side path, dash across their back yard, and disappear into the bush, down a secret little track. It wound down, back and forth, deeper and deeper into the gully, through the tall gum trees and thick green ferns.

When I finally reached the bottom, the ferns were very thick, and you pushed and scratched through them until you burst out onto the hidden, serene creek. I'd gasp with joy at my secret place, and sit down on the bank and watch the water. It was about thigh deep, crystal clear, completely still, and freezing cold.

Around the edges were a series of holes and tunnels, submerged just below the water line. Once, to my complete surprise, I saw a black shape, about the size of a shoe, dart out of one hole, across the pond, and disappear into another hole on the opposite side. It wasn't until after it had gone that I realised it was a platypus.

But I didn't go down there for platypuses. On the bottom of the creek sat yabbies. I would search for them like hidden treasures, and was so excited when I'd find one. I loved these yabbies. I called this pastime yabby-hunting, but really that was a misleading title, for all I wanted was to have them as my pets.

I would creep in very slowly, into the icy water, moving stealthily so as not to scare my prey. Slowly I would reach down to the bottom and grab it, and quickly put it into a bucket of water and take it home.

I had no tank at home, so I set up a little pond in a big red open bucket, in my bedroom. In there I would have several yabbies, ranging from the size of your thumb to the size of a small banana. Occasionally there would be a sad passing, and I would take the corpse outside for a proper, respectful burial.

One night, I was awoken by a scratching sound at my bedroom door. I thought it must be Sandy the cat on the other side wanting to get in. I hopped up in the dark and crouched at the bottom of the door, wiggling my fingers under, to try and touch the cat. But what I touched was no cat. It was hard, and cold, and shiny.

I leaped up with a yelp, and turned on the light, to see two or three large-sized yabbies grubbing around on the carpet, with their claws open, squaring me up.

I loved those yabbies. What I would give to sneak through that yard again now, and disappear down my secret bush track, and just sit beside that same old creek.

Baaa

I wonder if that lady was offended when she walked past us the other day with her silly looking poodle and little e cried out "sheep!"

My Friend

My friend sometimes gets a bit too carried away with the music he listens to in his headphones. When he reaches his work building in the morning, he is holding his breath, and like a tightly-wound spring, he feels ready to burst.

He steps into the lift, and as soon as those doors close, he starts dancing his head off to the music until he reaches his floor. The doors open, and he walks out, quiet, and composed, ready to face the day.

Man's Plans

In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps.

--Proverbs 16:9

Bird Watching

I saw this guy this morning when I was at the bus stop--

Why wouldn't a tough looking homeboy dude have an array of carefully chosen feathers sticking out the top of his beanie?

I wanted to ask him about the significance of his fine headdress but I thought he would probably beat me up.

MasterChef

Anyone been watching MasterChef (aka, So You Think You Can Cook)? I'm liking it. I wish I could go on it. I wonder what I would dazzle them with. Probably not gravy.

Last night one contestant said her passion for food was like 'an inferno inside' her. I get that from a vindaloo, but not so much just from food in general.

Gravy

Does anyone ever make gravy from scratch?

Usually I do it with Gravox, and some of the pan juices, but the other day we cooked a chook, and I tried doing it from scratch. It tasted pretty good, though I'd like to improve it a bit. The colour was quite light (sorta like KFC gravy), and I felt the flavour needed a little something, but I couldn't work out what.

I just scraped lots of that nice brown oily goop from the bottom of the pan I cooked the chicken in, melted that in another pan, added some flour, then gradually added water. I then put in a swig of balsamic vinegar, but I don't know that was a great idea.

Any tips?

Bye, Wagon

I, like, sooo fell off the wagon with giving up nail biting. It happened a month or two back, but it's taken until now for my bloody stumps to grow back enough for me to write about it.

How can I shake this stupid thing? When I was a kid and my parents wanted me to give up thumb sucking, they painted my thumbs with this brown goop to deter me. I quickly learned to quickly suck it off, get the bad taste over with, so I could return to my sweet, sweet vice.

Incidentally, that brown goop tasted just like Chinotto, which I now love. Go figure.

Atoned

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil.

--Proverbs 16:6

I Kan Spel Pritty Gud

What word do you always misspell?

For me it's 'definitely'. I genuinely believe deep in my water's that that second 'i' ought to be an 'a'.

Annoyingly I seem to use this dumb word about nine times in every blog post, and Mr Smart Alec spellcheck always corrects me. Shut up, spell check, you think your so great. What have you ever done.

Attrocity Exhibition

Many atrocities are committed in the playground I regularly go to with little e. First there was that kid called Marmaduke, but on the weekend I saw something that may have even been more cruel.

A kid, about little e's age. Similar longish hair. Definitely a boy-- dressed in blue, and going by the name of James. Yes, all fine so far, but wait..what's that keeping the hair out of Jame's eyes? A girls' hair clip.

Now I am not an unreasonable man. I am all for little e playing with with cars, and if I have a boy and he wants to play with dolls, well, go on my son.

But a hair clip neatly parting a boys hair on the side? I'm calling Doc's.

In A Day Gone By

Sorry I didn't post yesterday-- I was just not in the mood at all. I was feeling pretty down, and also was tired and still kinda sick. If I had of posted it would have been woe, woe, woe (your boat).

Some things I missed in not posting yesterday were talking about the Tiger's awesome win on Sunday against the Knights-- go Benji!

What else.. oh yeah, Swine Flu! Eeek! Oink! Gotta say, with this flu I have just lingering on and on, I can't help being a bit paranoid, and giving myself a once over for piggish symptoms. It all looked a bit scary on the news though, hey..

Sunday Spurgeon

'If we would learn to profit by our prosperity, we should not need so much adversity. If we would gather from a kiss all the good it might confer upon us, we should not so often smart under the rod.'

Kill Your Idols

'We pour ourselves out, we give ourselves away, we are passionate worshippers. We are always worshipping, everyone. There is no exception. The differentiation is who, or what, or how we worship. We are made to worship God the Creator, and enjoy and steward created things.

Idolatry is an inversion. Romans 1:25 says it this way, 'they exchanged the truth for the lie, worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator God, who is forever praised, Amen'.

Idolatry is by definition taking things that are good-- like food, or friends, or sex, or family, or job, or hobby-- and making them ultimate things; deifing them. The result is that we live for them, not for God.

And furthermore, we find our identity in them. The root of idolatry is finding your identity. Who are you? What is your significance? Where is your joy? Where is your hope? What can you not live without? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What makes your life meaningful, significant and purposeful? What gives you value, dignity and worth?

If it's anyone or anything other than Jesus, you're committing idolatry.'

From a really good talk I just listened to by Mark Driscoll. I'm feeling pretty challenged by this.

Song Of The Week

'The Boys Are Back In Town'

Thin Lizzy (1976)

I just heard this in a cafe and remembered how great it is. That harmonised guitar riff is soooo awesome.

Listen--

The Pretend Befriend

You know who I don't understand? People who seem so keen to be your mate, and then you never see them again. We should definitely do dinner some time! We should definitely do this, we should definitely do that! And then nothing.

Now I know what you're thinking. Maybe he's giving off a sad-person vibe, and people feel sorry for him and say that to make him feel better. But really, it's not that. I am not hunting down new friends. As my friend Emma once said "I can make my own people now". So why the pretend befriend? I'm baffled.

My favourite example of this was my driving instructor (who incidentally had a prosthetic leg. Not crucial to the story, but just for the sake of character description). I was a late bloomer with this whole driving a car caper, and only got my licence just before we had the kids. I was still a bit crap, so I got a few lessons off a driving instructor.

Our relationship was purely business, and there wasn't a lot of chitchat. I drove bad, and he criticised me and hit the special extra brake pedal in the passenger seat with his plastic foot. Not close mates. A teacher and his pupil.

But then, as he dropped me off after the final lesson, out of nowhere he says, "We should have you and your wife over for dinner some time."

"Oh?", I replied.

"I have this great fish recipe that I do in the oven. You wrap it in foil, and serve it with roast potatoes. It's beautiful".

"Oh?"

"How about, say, three weekends from now? Would a Saturday night suit you guys?"

"Sounds...good..."

And that was that. Three weekends later? Nothing. Two years later now? Still nothing.

I just don't understand these people. It is more than fine that we don't catch up for dinner. Truly. But why go to the trouble of saying all that? Why?

The saddest part of it all is that I will go to my grave without having tried that special fish recipe.

Mmmmm..Toxic

I saw another shop this morning that needs work on it's image. It was called Harbour Sushi.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of the harbour of our fair city, I don't think fresh, clean, healthy, unpoisonous, undeformed...

I know everyone loves sushi, but to me it's kinda a bunch of cold rice wrapped in a bit of old smelly seaweed, and putting the word 'Harbour' in front of it just makes me even less inclined towards it. Call me crazy.

Mp3 Help?

Does anyone:

1)know whether you can use itunes for mp3 players that aren't ipods?

2)know of any other good mp3 downloading sites?

Started

(Not Really) Finished

Has to go back to the library, so will reborrow another time. Got about half way.

Back..again

Well, back at work today. What a strange foggy week it's been so far-- return to work and then I'm off sick. It all feels a bit of a blur. Still feeling kinda rough, but better do some actual work at some point..

Thursday Peanuts

Sicky

I've caught that dumb old cold off the girls and am home sick today. Booooo.

Ivy Stats

Someone came around this morning to check up on little i. She now has the same weight and measurement that little e had the day she was born:)

Nice to see her growing out of the 00000's.

Litterbug?

Is it littering to drop an apple core in a garden?

Tiges Get Up

The Tigers beat the Storm last night, 16-6.

Good stuff! And good picture of Benji giving Billy Slater a bit of little e action.

Congratulations!

William James Follet was born yesterday-- congratulations Emma and Chris!

Sneeze-Swallowers

You know what annoys me? People who can't sneeze properly. Instead of just doing a regular 'ah-CHOO!' they stifle and swallow it, and do an annoying little 'AH-hmph'.

Now, I know this is a choice, so that's why I'm allowed to be angry at you if you do it. Are sneezes so deplorable that they must be silenced and avoided at all cost? And you may well think it's all very polite and well-mannered, but really you are putting your health at risk.

Have you ever seen an X-ray of a sneeze-swallower? I saw a medical journal one time. It's not pretty. All the filth and repugnance that your body is trying to expel, you are gulping it up, keeping it in, and in essence poisoning yourself.

Of course there are rules. Cover your mouth. Use a hanky. But, as a rule, let it out. Repeat after me, friends: Ah- CHOOOO!!!

Sick Kids

Little e has had a bad cold and is pretty miserable, and now this morning it looks like little i has caught it too. poor little things-- it's not nice seeing your kids sick.

Therapy

You know what was therapeutic?

Deleting those 93 emails that were waiting for me in my inbox.

Back At Work

Today's my first day back. It was a good two weeks, and I really enjoyed being with the girls. I feel bad that E is on her own now to juggle the two kids during the day. I'm looking forward to getting home this arvo.

It was a time of mixed emotions, and a time with both good stuff and bad stuff going on. The good was that I was with my family, and we had this wonderful new member in the home, and also that I was spending much more time with E and little e than I would otherwise. I loved that little e became so attached to me over this time. It felt good to be there for her.

The bad was that a lot of things slipped and I was not in a great head space. Prayer and Bible reading kind of went out the window, along with my speech practice. The absence of these things made me a more selfish, angry, short-tempered and anxious person. So one thing I am happy about with going back to work, is that time by myself to get my head together, so that I can be a more effective husband and father when I get home.

This morning I prayed, read some Bible and did my speech practice, and as a result I already feel way more collected than I did.

Nunnu

E's Grandfather (Nunnu) died last week. He was a really nice man and will be missed very much.

We are going to his funeral tomorrow.

The Many Moods Of Ivy McLaughlin

Thursday Peanuts

Ben Can Not Live On Bread Alone

I've been breading it up over the past few days. I've made flat bread to have with a curry, pizza bases and a sort of damper thing with sultanas in it. I just like how basic the ingredients are, and kneading this big messy lump.

I imagine myself to be Malcolm Douglas cooking on an open fire in the bush. I like to think how cheaply you could possibly eat, and it still taste good-- homemade bread with just flour and water, lentil curry and rice... About 5c a month.

Not sure how to progress my bread past big hard lump though. How do you get fluffiness? I haven't tried yeast yet. I don't know what it is, or what it even looks like. It all sounds a bit foreign and biblical.

Any bread making tips that don't require a bread making machine (which is cheating, and very un-Malcolm Douglas)?

HomeBlogger

Hmm. I wonder what my blog would be like if I always worked from home. I'm finding it hard to think of subject matter that isn't 'a funny thing happened today in the hallway', or 'I had an amazing adventure whilst taking my cup back to the kitchen'.

Avoiding B.B.S.

If the truth be told, I'm finding it difficult to avoid a bout of B.B.S. or, Baby Blog Syndrome as it is referred to in medical journals.

You've seen the symptoms before-- A blogger has a baby, and suddenly there are no posts for a few weeks. Then a post appears a couple of weeks down the track with some photos of the new baby. You scroll down to see if there's anything else more interesting to read. Nope.

Then months later a brief post saying 'just a quick note to say things are hectic and I have no time for such trivial matters as blogs'. Then nothing. Silence. A lonely wander in the wilderness for the blog reader.

Just so you know, the writers, cast and crew here at Vanishing Point will do everything in their (sizable) power to not let this happen. We will try to temper our gross poo stories,cute baby stories and poor me-ish no sleep stories with a wider range of human interest stories as well as a splash of sports and/or leisure.

Join the fight against B.B.S. one blog at a time.

Happy Easter!

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

--1 Corinthians 15:17-22

Speech Diary- Where To Now..

My final session the other day was good. I spoke to the main therapist about the way forward from here. We decided it would be best to continue on with monthly visits, and for me to get into a local support group as well.

She said something that I knew already, but that was pretty hard to hear. She said "This is never going to be real easy for you, Ben". But still, as long as there is some kind of path forward that I can try and work on, I won't give up. And as long as I am moving in the right direction, I can cope with the steps forward being small.

She also said that she was concerned about my level of anxiety. She reckoned that this is having a big impact on me, and will impact the way I try to go forward with my speech. She suggested I put my name down to try this new program that is in it's experimental stages still. It is a thing that is done purely online, over a period of time, and that it addresses this link between stuttering and anxiety. One does not cause the other, but they both feed off each other, making the problem worse.

So anyway, I feel happy enough that I will continue monthly sessions, and that there are a few more avenues to explore at the same time. I also feel a sense of satisfaction that I've completed this course.

A Good Day

Today has been much better. E had a good idea of how to work on little e's attitude to the baby, and that has been working so far. Basically not flying off the handle when she does the wrong thing, but trying to get her to help and be gentle, and then heap praise-- 'oh you managed to be in the same postcode as your sister, have a sticker!'

We went up to Norton Street and had a nice time out with the girls. Managed a coffee at a cafe and a trip to JB HIFI. I bought this sweet 80's thrash classic--

Things are feeling a lot better today, and not as out of control. Thank God for that. Gonna try and get to church for Easter tomorrow.

A Bad Day

Yesterday was the hardest day so far, it was a shocker.

The hardest thing about the new baby so far has been little e's reaction to her. The newborn is a breeze compared to the almost 2 year old. Little e has been very aggressive and strange towards the baby, and yesterday was the worst so far. She couldn't come within reach of her without trying to scratch her, kick her, hit her with a battery charger, pinch her. Poor little i is probably longing for those good ol' peaceful days in the womb.

I get very angry with little e, which I need to work on, but at the same time I feel really sorry for her. Her world has been turned upside down, and she is trying to adjust. She has been the centre of her parents attention all this time, and now there's some little impostor stealing them away.

Can't wait for this phase to be over though.

Thursday Peanuts

Speech Diary- Final Follow Up

I've got my final follow up session for my speech course this arvo. I'm pretty sad that this is kind of the official ending, because I feel like I'm along way off where I need to be, and won't be able to do it on my own.

But they have recognised that to, and have offered further follow ups, in some sort of semi-regular way. Hopefully today we'll work out some details for that. Also, the next step at this stage is to join a support group. Apparently there are a couple in the local area.

Anyway, looking forward to today, as my speech has slid back a lot this week, with the baby arriving and a lot of tiredness. Just need to refocus.

Two Weeks Off

I have a couple of weeks off, which is good. Just to be around while little i settles in, and we get in to a bit of a routine.

I finally got things set up so I can do some work from home, so the aim is to try and get some stuff done while I'm off. I've taken on a storyboard to do in my own time, so I'm just going to try and plug away at that when I get free moments.

Right now I'm typing with a baby asleep in my lap. Working from home might have to include a fair bit of that...

A Few Pictures

The Birth- Part Two

So at 3:09am, along came an Ivy. It was amazing. To see her face appear, was just an unforgettable experience. I just started trembling and blubbering, like I did with little e. E did an awesome job. She is truly my hero. Even though it was still really hard, I was thankful for her sake that the actual labour was shorter this time.

So the midwife held her and said to me "so tell us what you've got". I looked, and said "umm..it's a...what is it?" Things were kinda swollen, and I really was not too sure at a glance! So the drill sargent roused on me and said "It's a girl!", and I said "It's a girl!" E had a quick hold and then I cut the cord. In case you were wondering, it's kinda like cutting a piece of calamari.

Then the complications began, and Ivy (as yet unnamed) was struggling to breathe properly on her own. The midwife whisked her off, with me following, and she called for some baby doctors to come down. They checked her out and took her straight to intensive care. She was put in to an incubator thing, with a whole bunch of tubes going into her. It was a very scary sight to see her. The basic diagnosis was that she had fluid on her lungs, and needed help to get rid of that and to start breathing air properly.

Anyway, she remained in there all that day, but showed really good improvement, and was allowed to join E in the maternity ward by the evening, which we were thrilled about. One by one the tubes were removed and she was given the all clear. Praise God.

So from there, it all went smoothly, and E recovered amazingly quickly. The nurses said she could go on Saturday, but she just wanted a bit more time, so stayed until Sunday. So there you have it!

The Birth-Part One

Okay, I better get the birth story out of the way.

So, last Wednesday night, around the time of Farmer Wants A Wife, E started having regular pains, and they started getting stronger. By about 10pm we were pretty certain it was the real thing, and we got ourselves into gear, E dealing with the contractions and me packing the car and getting things ready. I'd like to say I was a rock, but when I realised it was the real thing, my insides turned to jelly, and I was pretty much packing it. Thankfully little e was in bed at this time, which made things a lot easier.

E's mum came over to stay with the kiddo, and E and I drove off into the rainy night, around midnight. It was a good trip to the hospital, with little traffic, which I was very relieved about. I was actually extremely happy about the timing of it all. I had been dreading it starting while I was at work, or in peak hour or something. I'm not real crash-hot under stress, so I was really thankful for God's timing.

We got in to the birth centre about 12:30am, and by that time the contractions were very strong and painful for E. The place was pretty deserted, and there was only one midwife on; and she spent most of the time with another lady who was further along.

So things just continued for a couple of hours, with the midwife sticking her head in every now and then. It was a pretty full on time, with E in a lot of pain, and me just trying my best to help. It may sound terrible, but as it had come at the end of a long day, I was pretty hammered and was really struggling to stay awake. I kept slapping myself in the face and splashing cold water.

Anyways, this time it was lot quicker then with little e (about 20 hours I think), and after about two hours things were almost done. The midwife now came in, and kind of took command. She was, um, a bit of a drill sargent-- not real nurturing, unfortunately. So it wasn't as nice an experience as last time. A lot of commands, and not a lot of empathy.

Day Three

Strong, healthy, and coming home tomorrow:)

Introducing..

Ivy Lucinda McLaughlin

born 3:09am, 2/4/09

Contractions???

Not sure if it's the real thing or not, but if so, well I'll talk to you in a little while....

Sir Postalot

Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month. Happy April!

In the past month I broke my record number of posts with 79. Wow, get a life, March Ben.

Conflict vs. Love-Fest

Following up from the discussion yesterday on blog comments, I came to the (pretty obvious) conclusion that you want a balance. Not too much angst, but not too much love. Prease consider:

Obviously, if the comments are antagonistic, or even just reckless, with people not thinking enough about how they will be taken or mistaken, then people get hurt, and people then are too scared to comment again.

But on the other hand, I don't think you want a blog to be a complete love-fest and completely avoid topics that others may not agree with you on. It is interesting to hear peoples' differing views, and often a blog is one of the few places where people feel comfortable to do that. You see some blogs where conflict is avoided to the point of making the comments kind of inane.

That said, conflict stresses the heck out of me, so I am happy for my blog to be relatively peaceful. I reckon don't balk at discussing touchy subjects, but tread carefully when you do so. And do it on someone else's blog, not mine.