Barkley

Today we made the terrible decision to euthanise Barkley. Three weeks ago he was diagnosed with beagles disease. Unfortunately the drugs didn't work for him. Even the methidone he was on at the very end wasn't helping so we made the decision after he had an xray yesterday that we couldn't let him continue to live in pain.

We are heartbroken. Barkley was the gentlest of dogs.  He considered himself to be the fourth child. When he was excluded from coming inside when his brothers were allowed he would gaze at me with his gorgeous eyes saying "Mummy how come you let them inside but not me??!!"

He didn't like the deck being removed as his favourite place in the whole wide world was right on the back door. You could see that he thought if he got close enough to the glass he could consider himself inside with the family rather than left outside!

He had a mischievous spirit! And often his curiosity would get him into trouble! He was curious about what went on in other houses on the street so he would just dig a hole and go and hang out a Jose and Paula's house! Or Cleon and Michelle's. He had just discovered that Nathan and Monique had a kid who would squeal with delight every time she say him! Once he even got out and went to visit Cid and Trev! Nathan caught him just as he arrived at their driveway!  We tried everything to stop him from digging!  We came to the conclusion that Barkley is in fact smarter than Nathan because once it took him seconds to dig around a barricade that Nathan deemed impenetrable! He loved visiting everyone on the street. And last night everyone on the street came to visit him! All came over to give him a last kiss and a cuddle.

 Often you would find him hanging out in the fort. He could see all the way down the street and into all of the neighbours yards from there! He was also often found up on his hind legs peering into Cleon and Michelle's yard or off into the park to see the kids playing there. More than once he was found inside the trampoline net with the boys!

 I asked the boys what they loved best about Barkley and this is what the responded with:-
Matthew: "He was the cutest dog and I loved his cuddles."
Ryan: "I loved how Barkley would smell my butt when i did a fart!"
Ben: "I love that he laid down and played monster trucks with us!" (He would too! He would get right in the thick of it laying down beside they boys.)
Cid, Trev and Eli are going to miss his snoring the most! And Cleon and Michelle are going to miss their morning chat as he insisted they acknowledge him on their way out every morning!

The boys are coping well, so far. Ryan was the first to comprehend what was happening. They are still processing it and it probably wont be until they go out into the backyard to play that it will hit them. Nathan is having a really rough time as Busta and Barkley were his first pets. He is feeling like he doesn't have much luck with them so far!

This is what we would have greet us every time we came home. The look that says "where ya been and why didn't cha take me?"

So we have laid him to rest in the spot where he constantly dug. We thought he would get a kick out of that and Nathan thought it was the softest dirt to dig!

Go Karting

So at the community day that i recently ran there was only one prize that i really wanted to win, it was a go karting and rock climbing pack. It was up for grabs on the chocolate wheel so I did the only reasonable thing and bought nearly all of the tickets! Then when they spun the wheel and I won they called it a mis-spin and spun it again and again my number came up! We were meant to win this prize!

 So this weekend it was supposed to be a boys weekend. (I was supposed to have a hot date with my gf in Gundagai but was too sick to go!) So after spending all of Saturday in bed I was dragged out to the Grand Prix Track.

So on the first round, Nathan drove Ryan around the track and Matthew got to drive himself..........(watch the video is is so worth it!)

Getting their instructions! It's no wonder Matthew was going so slow he wasn't listening when they told him which one the accelerator!

He cannot wait to go again, which will be this weekend as we have two more vouchers to use before the end of the month so on Sunday Nathan and Poppy are going to take the boys again!

Ryan quite liked being spun around the track by Daddy and only asked twice for him to slow down! Ben really didn't think he had drawn the short straw by being driven by Mummy until she crashed into one of the barriers!

 So speedy fast! I am expecting a call from Red Bull Racing any minute!!!

 Ryan was comfortable with this speed!

 Nathan was spewing that this photo didn't work out but that is me crashed into the barricade with the amber light flashing in the background!

He looks far to comfortable in a helmet for my liking! This kids likes speed!

He did get faster!

Please vaccinate!!!

Currently there is a whooping cough epidemic in Australia. Whooping Cough is one of those diseases that should be eradicated through immunisation. It is potentially fatal for babies and if you have never seen the effect that it has please click on this link. For a long time there were few cases but an increase in so called "Conscientious Objectors" has meant that this disease is on the rise. Some people are misinformed and believe that immunisation causes autism. This theory has been thoroughly disproven. The number of adverse reactions too has also decreased with technology and increased research and the preservatives used in this vaccines have been changed. Why should I be so hett up about this subject you ask???
Well... 33 years ago I was vaccinated against Whooping Cough. Hours later I was rushed to hospital with convulsions. These convulsions were so huge it took 3 adults to hold me down and even then the needle snapped of in my leg. At five when the time came for a booster my Mum took me to be vaccinated. I can only imagine her fear as i was stuck with this needle. However, she felt vaccination was for the greater good of the community. For the next six months I was listless and lethargic this is called a flat floppy episode and during this time I lost half of my body weight. . At this stage my parents were told by doctors that I was very susceptible to whooping cough and if I were to catch it it would be fatal and it would be quick.
After all of this you would think that I could justify not immunising my children. I could have but I didn't want to place other people's children at risk so when it came time for Matthew immunisation he was admitted to hospital to be monitored and he was fine. Now you would think that this would be the end of the story! But no! Currently at the school where the boys go, there have been three reported cases of Whooping Cough. Due to my susceptibility and in discussion with the principal I have been in essence banned from the school. The boys are immunised so there is very little risk of them bringing it home but it means that I can't go to the school. I am no longer able to walk them to their class, I can't help with reading, I couldn't wave Matthew off to his very first camp, I cant go to the school fete this weekend and I cant watch Ryan's assembly!
So while these "Conscientious Objectors" rely on the blanket immunity (that is that the majority of the population are immune and therefor there is less risk of an outbreak in the community) are putting the people most susceptible at risk and it makes my blood boil! I certainly couldn't watch my child struggle for breath like the kids in the linked video! Yet "conscientious objectors" risk this with their children and susceptible people such as myself because there are more out there like me!  And are you aware that the vaccine only last for around 10 years meaning most adult are no longer immune.
Due to my current predicament we are looking for a doctor who is willing to immunise me. Nathan an I have had massive discussion and weighed up the risks. We have discussed it with my parents and even though Mum has watched me have two massive adverse reactions she agrees that we have no option but to vaccinate.
So here I am, the worst case scenario asking people to vaccinate their children as the only thing worse than what I went through is a child dying of a preventable disease like whooping cough.

Mo Update

So Nathan is up to his second week of growing a mo and thank goodness people aren't sponsoring him per millimeter! Because it has been slow going!

It is now at the really spiky stage so I have placed a kissing ban on the poor bloke so please show him some sympathy by donating now!

http://au.movember.com/mospace/872762/



Vocabulary

Ben has a rather vast vocabulary! This morning Ryan was sent down to see me. Ben felt it was his duty as dobber to fill me in with the details. After I told him i had it under control Ben left the room tossing over his shoulder "Now Ryan it just wasn't necessary!" Then tonight at dinner when Matthew wasn't using his utensil Matthew was admonished with as "Matthew bad manners are just not acceptable!"
I have no idea who he gets these words from or who he sounds like but i do find it very in-ter-esting!

The Real Karate Kid

So Saturday night is movie night in the Rickard household. So far we have watched all of the Mighty Duck movies, the honey I shrunk the kids and all the sequels that no one else watched and this week we started on the old school Karate Kid ones. 

Well this movie was a hit!

Can you guess who loved it the most?

This is an action shot taken by Matthew!

This is how Ryan went to school today! Yep that is his dressing gown tie around his head! It was also his news and he told his class all about how once he ties this around his head he becomes the karate kid! AND can you guess what has been going on inside the confines of the trampoline this week??? Did you guess Crane kicking?

How long before one actually connects and I'm taking one of them off to the hospital?

Robin Hood

We have renamed Ryan.
From this day forth he shall be known as Robin Hood!
It is well documented that Ryan, I mean Robin is our sneaky kid! I've known for a while that money often disappears. This week I had two fifty cent pieces on the kitchen bench to make up the ten bucks I need for netball each week. When I came out of the shower I noticed that the boys and taken their lunch boxes and the dollar had disappeared. When asked where it had gone Ryan, I mean Robin fessed up! When he was told to return it he only came back with one fifty cent piece. He was asked to go get the other one! I was then informed that he had put it in Matthew's bag!!!
How do you  discipline a kid that is so kind and considerate??????

Movember

*edit*
I just realised that this says I alot and it is I as in Nathan not I as in Jenni! To set the record straight it IS Nathan who is growing a mo not Jenni! Although that would be interesting!!!!

This year I am donating my face to Men's Health and growing a Mo for Movember.

Inspired by the Mo’s of the Commonwealth Games…. The cricket… My boys…. And my Dad.......

I thought I would grow a Mo to raise funds and awareness for Men’s Health.

Close to 3,300 men die of prostate cancer in Australia each year.

1 in 8 men will experience depression in their lifetime.

So support me and DONATE at http://au.movember.com/mospace/872762/

Money raised will go to Beyond Blue, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and the Movember Foundation.

I will be providing updates as to the progress.

Here is my starting photo…. Day 1.

By the end of Day 1 I had already grown quite a sizeable Mo!!

So I will keep growing a Mo and for the month of November I will be a Mo Bro, using my face as a billboard for Men’s health. So please donate to the cause and lend your support!!

Which Mo best suits me???

Any thoughts???