Ryan's Writing

In an attempt to encourage the boys to write more they will be blogging over the summer holidays. This idea stemmed from the Andy Griffiths book "Once Upon A Slime" which I bought for Ryan earlier in the year and got him all sorts of curious about publishing writing. When I explained that my blog was a form of publishing he got super excited and wanted his own.  And when Santa delivered him his very own Chromebook with which he could blog until his hearts content, he went mental! But now that he has all he needs to be a published author I am going to need your help! He is concerned that no one will read it! So I now need you all to click on the link to his blog and leave him a comment!

Thank you! xx

http://ryanswriting2014.blogspot.com.au/

THE jet box construction

Remember a few weeks ago Ben had to present to news a box construction and the evaluation? Well he finally brought the construction home. See it does look like a jet plane! It has a cockpit and everything!

 Even jet burners!

He really was right in his evaluation about the only thing that could make it better would be a pilot!

The Elfelfa the Elf Helper saga continues!

He really has been running amok! 

First, he drew all over a family photo. He gave Ryan a tail, Matthew horns, Ben glasses, me a halo and Nathan hair!

 But the boys were horrified with his behaviour. When I suggested that perhaps we should send him back to Santa Ryan and Ben agreed! The little army men were also very unhappy with his behaviour!

 Thank goodness the next morning Elfelfa the Elf Helper made they boys breakfast to make up for all the trouble!

 He even wrote a little sorry note.

 The next morning we woke up to a lego snow angel!

 Followed by a reminder that Elfelfa the Elf Helper was in constant contact with Santa. He also brought back from the North Pole their mid December report card from Santa the same day that they received their school report cards. Their teachers were more impressed with their progress than Santa was!

 And last night Elfelfa the Elf Helper made a flying fox out of some ribbon and a candy cane. Apparently he had so much fun all night!

It has been amazing to see the magic of Christmas come alive this year. I really thought it was going to over, after all Matthew is 10 but Elfelfa has re invigorated Christmas magic big time in this house!

Ummmm Ahhhhh!!! ELFELFA!!!!!!

Last night he got into the bubble gum ball jar! And he ate one! And blew bubbles! Naughty Elfelfa!

What Elfelfa the Elf Helper did next...

Last night he helped Ben with his hearing homework! Which resulted in Ben being super motivated to beat Elfelfa's best score! Yay!

Elfelfa the Elf Helper

This Christmas we thought we would try something different from the usual rotten potato threats! Because we know how well that worked! 

So this year we have enlisted an Elf on the shelf to help. Our elf arrived in the mail yesterday after days and days of anticipation. Saying the boys were busting to meet him was an understatement!

Once we had him unpacked we needed to give him a name and the boys decided on Elfelfa the Elf Helper. We were standing near our Alfalfa grower at the time! I explained the rules to the boys and we registered our new elf online. We printed our adoption certificate and perused the Frequently Asked Questions page on the website. The boys were pleased to know if they accidentally touch him they can cleanse him with cinnamon to refresh the magic and Mum and Dad were pleased that if the elf is in the same position as the night before it just means he is happy there! Phew!

 Then in the morning they woke up and found Elfelfa the Elf Helper riding the boys favourite monster truck jump! They went off! And the magic of Christmas has been re-invigorated for another year! The boys then raced around cleaning their rooms and doing their jobs to ensure they get a favourable report tonight. They got a little freaked out when Ben swore he saw his head move and then they all witnessed either his head move or his eyes move!

Then Ben sat down quietly to do this:-

 This is a picture of Elfelfa the Elf Helper.

And this is a picture of Santa! The bottoms line says The Rickard's believe in you. Awwwwww!

Engineer In Training

Ben's homework this week was to plan, build and appraise something that would be useful or a gift. Ben being Nathan's son designed a bomber. Complete with egg carton jets and juice bottle cockpit.

When I read this I hear Nathan! It was completely written, designed and constructed by Ben but it speaks volumes to me about how much Ben and indeed the other two boys idolise their father. It also speaks volumes on the level of Ben's confidence! I love how the only way it can be further improved is to put a pilot in it! I also love how it rates a 10 out of a possible 5 stars! Gosh I love this kid! When he brings the actual construction home I will take a photo of it because it was quite impressive!

7, 8 & 9

This time of year is my favourite! Because when people ask me how old they are it comes so easily off the tongue. 7, 8 & 9.
I also get "Are they triplets?" A Lot! No! No, they are not! They are however very close in age!
And at this moment in time I can tell that Ryan has just had a growth spurt, Ben is due one which will be closely followed by one for Matthew! Which all in all result in a larger food bill! 
And Nathan and I wouldn't have it any other way!

In the blink of an eye....

The time of our lives

 I was organising our Fiji photos ready for printing and enlarging last night when I was struck by the thought that the whole trip to Fiji was the best time of my life so far! Big call, I know! But it combined so may vitally important ingredients. Firstly, Nathan and I had been planning it for over 10 years. Secondly, I spent 10 days thoroughly enjoying my family. We had nothing but quality time together. I am fairly certain there was not one cross word spoken by anyone. Thirdly, it was like our wedding day except less stressful and no less meaningful. Finally, we were carefree, happy and healthy. I am only now just realising how truly special an experience it was.

Another bonus I discovered was this picture. This pic wasn't an initial favourite but after scouring through all of them this was the one I picked to get enlarged, not because it has the best composition or the most aesthetically appealing but because we all look so unbelievable happy!

Another day, another frustration.

But how well does this kids take it??? Two hearing tests this week. Results exactly the same and still no answers.  We need to find someone with a holistic approach to hearing. At this stage it is like the ENT is the left foot and the Audiologist is the right foot and they are walking in separate directions! If either of them would bother to read each others notes or their own notes for that matter we might feel like we were getting somewhere. All we want is someone to tell us what we can do to save his hearing, not what they can do for him when it is gone! For now Nathan and I are making up our own plan of attack and heaven help you if you get in our way. 

Despite all of this however, we need to remember that he is our greatest blessing and we need to admire how resilient this kid is! Perhaps we should take a page out of his book and just sit back and smell the coffee (or baby chino for him and chai latte for me!)

Stop this ride! I want to get off!

When will this end? Ben has an appointment with Hearing Australia on Thursday. 

Yesterday I was thinking this would be the one, the hearing test that he would actually pass. He had spent the last month on antibiotics, the ENT said the infection was cleared, the grommits were still working and he was cold free! For a winter month in Canberra that is awesome. He passed the first test. His right ear was working normally and healthy. The test showed the grommit was in his ear canal rather than the drum but that was fine because the drum was working. The left ear, which they usually cant get a reading on actually got a reading to say the grommit was still in and working. I was getting hopeful....

The actual hearing test showed otherwise. The audiometrist did a really thorough job testing, Ben really concentrated hard. She says we are lucky that he still enjoys the testing process as some kid tire of it and get bored easily and refuse to engage fully. But Ben still loves it, he probably makes more a game out of it than he should as he likes to colour coordinate the pegs into a pattern as he puts them in the board! But despite his best efforts he still has a hearing loss and at this stage it is looking like a permanent loss. Further testing on Thursday will help as well as assessing him for something called Central Auditory Processing Disorder. As the lady was explaining the disorder to me I was certain they were using Ben as the example! He struggles in noisy environments  gets easily frustrated and tires easily when he is trying to listen. I always thought he was willfully disobedient however it is looking like he might be better behaved than we thought just less able to follow instruction, interpret them and follow through!

My family and friends are always telling me hearing loss is never going to hold Ben back. And is isn't and it won't. It is just hard for me as a Mum to reconcile the fact that my baby isn't perfect! I am thankful that I have been tenacious and persistent in asking questions of behalf of my son because the biggest factor in helping to identify hearing issues is struggling with school work. Ben doesn't struggle and this hasn't affected his ability to learn to read (although it does affect his spelling ability but now they mark him on the work he heard rather than the word that was said, but that was another story!) or any other facet of his education other than his classroom behaviour  I am now just hoping we may have the answer to the questions I have been asking on this subject!

The Many Faces of Ryan William Rickard

Another free photo collage by Smilebox

Getting back in the swing

I have been absent from here for a really long time. I've not been in a good place for sharing for quite a long time. However someone said to me yesterday I have to make room for the things I love to do, I just need to figure out a way to make it manageable. So for now you are not going to get funny, crazy stories about my lovable, rambunctious boys. I am challenging myself to post one photo at least twice a week, more if I am up to it. So I am starting with this terrible selfie. I walked up my mountain today after a really long absence. It was hard and cold but it was a start. Just like this post.....

Nathan: Formula Ford Superstar!

The best wife in the world bought Nathan 10 laps in a Formula Ford for his birthday/Christmas present. Needless to say he loved it! Here is the video....