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.....