Category Archives: Family Life

Flat Stanley visits Granny in the UK…..

Posted on by

0

Via my amazing Mum and Super Granny…

The beautiful and sweet Granny Janny!

19th October 2012 England

Hi!

I’m Gwennie Porter’s Flat Stanley and I am on an exciting trip to England to visit Gwennie’s Granny. She lives in a pretty little market town called Wimborne near the South Coast. I had a long journey here with lots of delays, but finally got here two days ago! I have been thinking about what I would like to be when I grow up, and one of my ambitions is to become a doctor!! Granny works at The Royal Bournemouth Hospital, which is about 10 miles from Wimborne, and she kindly took me to work with her yesterday to meet the team and find out a bit more about becoming a doctor.

Dr. Stanley!

Granny works in the Postgraduate Medical Centre which continues the training of the doctors. They have a fantastic Skills Lab there, where they teach doctors and nurses on some brilliant manikins which look so real. They are worked by computers and can breathe, groan and generally show all the symptoms of real patients. It was very exciting to go and see all of this equipment. Firstly I went into the control room of the lab, where all the computers are. There the tutor can set up scenarios and the doctors in the next room have to diagnose and treat patients and deal with medical emergencies. In the first two pictures you can see me learning how to operate the equipment using a microphone and computer which links me to the lab next door. Then I went into the lab to see what equipment they had. I found a Sim Man lying on a trolley. He is linked to the computer and can be treated as a real patient. It was a bit scary at first seeing him “breathe” and “groan”, but once I got over the shock, I put on my stethoscope and listened to his heart beating ! It was amazing!!!! Then they showed me a simulated baby boy which the doctors practice on to perform various procedures. He looks very real doesn’t he!!!!

The Sim Man


Baby needs care!

There are lots of other pieces of equipment, and I got to practice suturing a cut on an arm. If you look very closely you can see one cut just above the wrist and there is another one which I worked on just to the left of where I am standing! It was very weird working on a limb!!!! Next they showed me a model of a foot which shows all the bones, veins, muscles etc. It was very interesting and I learnt a lot about how a foot works!!!! Next it was time to try out some of the equipment on me! That was very exciting indeed! I was shown how they would insert a drip into my arm and in the photo you can see a saline bag hanging on the drip stand! It tickled a bit when they did that!!!! Next I tried out a piece of equipment to help me breathe – but the mask that goes over the nose and mouth was a bit big for me – cos I am only small!!!!! Next they took my blood pressure. They wrapped a cloth around my arm and pumped it until it was very tight! They said my blood pressure was perfect – so that was a relief!!!! Then they showed me a Heartstart machine, which had lots of leads and dials and would help if I had a heart attack and needed to shock my heart! Thank goodness there is nothing wrong with my heart!!!! It was such an interesting morning learning about all the equipment and getting the chance to try some of it out!!!!!

That’s quite the foot!


110/80

After all that excitement it was time for a coffee break, so we went into the kitchen and I helped to make the coffee and tea for all the girls. We also had some yummy chocolate chip cookies!!! They were great and I had worked up quite an appetite by then!!!! In Granny’s office I met all her work colleagues. They were very nice to me and we posed for a group photo. They are from left to right: Christine (the boss) Becky, Tricia, Grace, Zoe and seated is Jean. She is a very old lady of 84 and she comes into the office once a week as a volunteer and helps with some of the admin work. She was very sweet and they call her “The Queen Mother” in the office!!!

Coffee break!


The beautiful ladies of Bournemouth Hospital!

After our coffee break, they decided I should learn about the fire drill in case of emergencies. If the alarm goes off, all the fire doors close automatically and everyone has to evacuate the building and assemble at various places around the hospital grounds. There are lots of fire extinguishers in the building, and I got chance to inspect them (14). Then the boss took me into her office to meet some very junior Junior Doctors (15) – for once I met some people who were smaller than me!!!!

Then they showed me around the rest of the Centre. There are lots of Seminar Rooms which they use for teaching, a big Conference Room and a Lecture Theatre which seats 100 people. In the entrance foyer there is the bust of someone called Walter Child Clark. He was born in 1844 and was made an Honorary Freeman of Bournemouth in 1923. He helped to set up the original Bournemouth Hospital, which at that time was called The Royal Victoria Hospital and was on a different site. Now the new hospital is very modern and has bright blue roofs – very smart! It also has a big lake with with ducks and swans and lots of seats around so that patients and staff can sit and enjoy the view on nice days.

They asked me if I would like to go into the Lecture Theatre, which was fun. It was a big room and the seats were steeply staggered. You can see me sitting part way up looking rather small!!!! I went on to the lectern where they operate all the equipment for teaching – it was quite exciting! They asked me if I would like to give a talk, so I hopped on to the flip chart and gave a talk on the heart! I was a bit nervous speaking in that huge theatre, but I managed it OK and everyone seemed to enjoy it!!!!

Stanley the Lecturer!

After a long, tiring but exciting day, Granny took me home, where I spent the evening watching TV with Granny’s little puppy Alfie! He is a cute little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is almost 5 months old. He gave me lots of licks and we had a nice evening cuddling on the chair! For a little dog, he does snore very loudly when he’s asleep!!!! He’s got lots of squeaky toys, and you can see “Dicky Duck” in the photo of us!!!!!

Alfie & Stanley!

After a good night’s sleep, it’s time for me to head back to Florida, so I must pack my bags and get ready to catch my flight!

Thank you Granny for a fabulous visit!

Flat Stanley xxx

Hard times can make you stronger…

Posted on by

8

Three ago yesterday, I walked into my OB’s office for a routine check-up. I was 16 weeks pregnant with our son, Henry.
What followed was a 4-day whirlwind of shock and grief.
Henry’s story.

As we approach the date of our son’s third anniversary, I find myself in a state of deep contemplation again.
Bill and I both have some things going on in our lives right now… personal matters, friendship woes, and work stress (in Bill’s case, not mine).
It’s easy to get a little “woe is me” now and again, but I have to say that I feel very lucky to have such a great husband.

After a very long day working yesterday (Bill, not me!), we both sat down on our bedroom floor and talked.
We talked about all the things that are going on in our lives right now. We unloaded and vented and offered one another support.

I know a lot of relationships suffer when a child is lost, but losing Henry has honestly brought Bill and I closer together.
Thank God. I can’t imagine losing my husband as well as my baby.
I am so grateful that I can talk to Bill absolutely anything. He truly is my best friend and confidante.
With him by my side, I feel we can get through anything and achieve all that we need to.
We are far from perfect, but we love and trust one another, and we are always willing to make things work… together.
I can’t imagine my life without him.

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine

Gwendolina Ballerina

Posted on by

6

OK, so hence follows gratuitous posting about my amazing kid.
Move along quickly if you feel nauseous!

Our sweet girly!

Those of us who are parents all have them… amazing kids.
They are beautiful, smart, fun, and some of the greatest souls we will ever wish to know and be associated with.

For those of you who don’t know, Gwennie is 5.
Yesterday, we got to have our first parent/teacher conference with her Kindergarten teacher.
She got a glowing report and so much positive feedback, my heart positively swelled with pride and joy.

Naturally I was thrilled with the fact that she is right on target for where she should be learning-wise.
She recognises certain sight words and “chunks”, so she is starting to read and write little sentences.
Her art work is phenomenal. Her teacher spoke about the fact that Gwennie loves to paint and colour and takes a lot of time and effort into making her pieces perfect.
I still think we owe a lot of credit to her preschool teacher who was outstanding in the art department (amongst other things).
We have so many fabulous works of art from our little munchkin already framed and proudly displayed about the house; her rendition of
The Girl with the Pearl Earring and Van Gogh’s Starry Night, amongst other beauties.

But the main topic that touched my heart (and made me teary) was when G’s Kindergarten teacher proudly shared that Gwennie has the most amazing social skills.
She told us that G is a kind-hearted and happy little girl… Ms. H. feels so blessed to have her in her class… and that she is sweet and dear to everyone she meets.
She is known for her loving hugs… no matter if you are a girl or boy, she has one for you.
If she is playing with a friend and sees someone alone, she invites them over to join in the group.
She loves everyone and is kind to all.
I am so proud of that.
I personally always strive to be the kind of person that I would like to be friends with myself (if that makes sense).
I have tried to impart that upon Gwennie. Not that it was a difficult thing to do, because she has a loving heart by nature and needs no encouragement.
Bill is a gentle soul also and is very wise and thoughtful with Gwennie. I know it sends a huge message.
I know how she is at home with us and she is sweet, kind, easy , and thoughtful. She always wants to please and is a great helper.
You can’t help but wonder how they are when they are out of sight in the care of others, so to hear that she is exactly the same wherever the location, just makes me so proud of her.
I feel so honoured to say that my daughter truly is a good person… inside and out.

Angel Face!

Yes, I am totally gloating! No, I don’t really take any credit, because I truly think we got lucky.
She is just a great kid and I think we made some very good decisions so far with her schooling.
She was surrounded by love and nurturing in her preschool and had some wonderful teachers there.
Gwennie still talks about her past preschool teacher, Mrs. F. She misses her and often brings her up in conversation.
That just shows me what a difference amazing teachers make in a child’s life.

Gwennnie’s current teacher in Kindergarten seems so sweet and sincere and patient also. I am so grateful to her for being so diligent and kind with our little fairy.

So, I guess apart from going on about how wonderful my child is, I am also giving a huge shout out to the wonderful teachers out there who make such a difference in our children’s lives.

Thank you for helping us parents out, dear teachers. You are so worth your weight in gold!

A week (or two) in September

Posted on by

1

I have been itching to write a post for a while now but life just gets in the way! I have had so many topics in my head depending on the day and my mood.
I guess now will be a mish-mash of thoughts and happenings!

What’s going on?

Spent a lovely mini-weekend with my beloved Bar Method Babes.
Karen (the boss from heaven) treated us all to a retreat at an idyllic location in New Smyrna Beach in honour of our 1 year anniversary of the Winter Park location.
We all met up at the house, which was tucked away up a country lane surrounded by beautiful fields, after lunch on Saturday.
We took part in some team building exercises, which were a lot of fun.
Karen, generous as ALWAYS, gave each of us a gift of a framed group pictures and she had made hilarious Paper Plate Awards for each and every one of us.
Mine was: Most Likely to Get Anyone to Do Anything Just by Opening Her Mouth!
Then it was time to get our fun on! Trish had made a wonderful welcome cocktail with Malibu and Pineapple Juice (and other special secret Trish ingredients!!!!). It was perfect!
Then the wine bottles were cracked open. We all made pizza together. Ellen was our Pro Pizza Maker… she had us all in fits as she rolled and flipped and spun the dough around like a true Italian!
I have the most beautiful memories of this amazing group of women, each so different in looks, style, background, and personality, as they all came together and just laughed and laughed and laughed.
I have some great videos of our weekend, which I won’t share here… anyone who wasn’t there probably wouldn’t truly “get it” anyway… but for us girls, it was a great memory to keep and we all said how much we rolled around just watching the footage again.
We played a game into the wee hours…. Ellen brought it and I forget the name, but it was something like “Guesstures”… a type of Charades. It was absolutely raucous and hilarious!
We all cozied up and slept a little before congregating in the kitchen once more for breakfast and more giggles.
It was a great bonding experience and we really missed the ladies who were not able to make it… Kendra, Kelly, Morgan, Fionaaaaaaa, and Suzanne.
A huge thanks to Karen for making it all happen. Once gain, I am blown away by this amazing family that I am so lucky to be a part of.

The Bar Method Winter Park 1 Year Anniversary Retreat

Talking of families, I want to give kudos to my darling husband, who still amazes me every day with his supportive nature and actions.
Bill held the fort whilst I went away for a night. As typical as life is in throwing its curve-balls, his shop was broken into on Saturday night.
Thankfully our BFF James was in town staying at our house and so he watched Gwennie whilst Bill drove in to town to meet with the Sheriff.
Really, really fortunate, else it would have been an even more difficult situation for Bill.

I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such good people. Bill has just been amazing with my new work commitments.
Obviously, as the owner of a successful business, he is the bread-winner in the family. For me to work, it had to fit around his schedule.
However, he has been so kind, supportive, and helpful to me. It has been a transition to go from stay-at-home Mum to back-in-the-workforce Mum.
We live out in the sticks and to get G to school and go to work means driving around 60 miles a day. I get up at 5am most days during the week.
I spend about 2 hours in my car every day. Sometimes more.
I have to admit, I was feeling a little burned out last week.
Even though he works all hours, Bill immediately jumped in and offered to take G to school an extra couple of mornings this week so that I could have an extra hour or so in bed.
I appreciate it so much… it truly is the little things that mean so much. I am so lucky to have such a great husband/friend.
He has thrown himself into his new workout regime and has spent 4 mornings this week working out with his TRX personal trainer.
I’m really proud of him, because I know he does not love working out!

Bill & Gwennie at Daddy Daughter Donut Day

Gwennie continues to enjoy her new school life.
I did laugh this week as she came home informing me that her class is raising money to adopt a manatee.
She thought that adopting a manatee meant that said manatee would come and live with us… in our pool… or pond across the road.
I had to explain that the money raised to “adopt” the manatee would just go towards caring for him in his natural habitat.
Cue sweet disappointed face!
She is all fired up to go back to Sea World and visit the manatees there though.
I am looking forward to less humid days so that we can get back into visiting some of the parks on a weekend. So much fun!

Dear Kate is still the matriarch of the house. I hate watching her start to struggle with her stiff back legs.
She doesn’t seem to be in pain, but it is an effort for her to get up after being laid down for a while.
I loathe that she is getting older. She will be 13 at Christmas. I wish we could press the pause button.

Sweet old lady, Kate!

Car Seat Safety

Posted on by

11

A comment was made to Gwennie by one of the teachers at her school yesterday, whilst she was getting into the car at car pool line.
It really got me thinking and inspired me to write.

Teacher: “Do you have a baby at home? Or are you the baby?”
Gwennie: “No? Why do you ask that?”
Teacher: “Because you have a baby seat instead of a big girl seat.”

Gwennie is 5 years old. She weighs 39lbs. In my car she travels in a forward-facing convertible car-seat with a 5-point harness.
She has a booster seat in my husband’s car.

The reason I haven’t put her in a booster seat in my car is because she still fits perfectly into the car-seat…. she can strap herself in easily, which is very useful during busy car pool when I can’t leap out to help her, plus, despite the fact she is already 5 years old, she is not yet 40Lbs which is the recommended weight (along with the age of 4 years) to move up to a booster seat.

Honestly, I think the 5-point harness is much a safer dealio. Gwennie is very petite and I am not entirely comfortable with her being in a booster seat yet. Also, her convertible car-seat is made to hold her up until she weighs 70lbs. I notice that in some States they require that a child stay in a forward-facing car-seat between the ages of 4-7 years.

I wish I was a little quicker with my wit and tongue. I was rather taken aback when this faculty member made fun of G being in a “baby seat” still. In fact, she made me feel a bit of an idiot and rather inferior, until I had time to think about why I choose to keep G in a car-seat. Let’s face it, she mostly rides with me and we drive 25 miles each way to school every day in rush-hour traffic. Personally, I think she looks and feels a lot more comfortable in her car-seat… plus it is a heck of a lot safer.

Fortunately for me, Gwennie was unperturbed by the comments made. I would have been cross if she had suddenly decided that she didn’t want to be in her seat anymore because of some thoughtless remarks!

What do you think??? Am I being a helicopter mum?

God… are you there?

Posted on by

3

Those of you who have ever had children know that they come out with the most amazing and funniest things on a daily basis.
Usually several times a day in fact!

Here’s another one of Gwennie’s classics.

We played outside by the pool for an hour this afternoon.
I was feeling pretty weary and begged a few minutes peace whilst I laid on the sunbed.
Gwennie decided to busy herself with the pool brush.

G: “I’m cleaning, Mummy!”
Me: “Oh thank you! You are such a good helper.”

Much huffing and puffing followed and then…

G: *sigh* “I wish I had some help… not you though, Mummy! I know you are tired!”

A little more huffing and puffing, followed by…

G: “God? Are you there?”

Wow.

My little bathing belle!

Don’t call my name, Alejandro!

Posted on by

4

Gwennie’s first week at Kindergarten seems to be going well. She has re-bonded with a little friend she made at her other preschool. G and Lilly are not in the same class at Kindy, but they see each other most days on the playground. I think it’s pretty sweet that they have resumed their friendship despite having not seen each other for a year!

G came home yesterday and said, “Mummy… you know that Lady Gaga song, Alejandro?”
Me: “Yes!”
G: “There’s an Alejandro in my class!” Cue cheeky smile.
Me: “Yes, I remember!”
G: “Well, I’m going to ask him to marry me tomorrow. Will you help me write him a letter to ask him?”
Me: “Don’t you think you should wait a week or so to see if he really is a nice person and the man you want to spend the rest of your life with?”
G: “Nope. I want him.”

Wow.

I managed to get out of writing the letter… for now! But we did have to sing the song over and over in the car on the way home!

After school today…..

G: “I asked Alejandro to marry me.”
Me: “And? What did he say?”
G: “Nothing! He just stood there! So rude!” (Poor little guy was rendered speechless!!!!)
Me: “Aha! So maybe he isn’t the right guy for you then?”
G: “Nah! He’s still cute. I still want to marry him!”

Yikes!

He is pretty cute though!

Day of Hope

Posted on by

0

Sunday August 19th 2012 marks the 4th anniversary of the founding of Christian’s Beach. Since that day we have remembered over 15,700 babies and children down on the shore of Mullaloo Beach Western Australia. We wanted to mark this anniversary of Christian’s Legacy beginning by doing something special. August 19th is about honouring and remembering the lives of babies and children that could not stay with us. By doing this we are speaking out about the death of babies and children.

August 19th is a day to break down the walls of society that keep pregnancy, infant and child loss a hush hush subject. People view the death of a baby as just a sad thing that happened. These babies that die are not sad things that happen. They are people, much loved and wanted children. They are brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandsons and granddaughters.

August 19th is about openly speaking about these children and celebrating their short lives.

By having this special day once a year we get people speaking about pregnancy, infant and child loss. And by doing this we break those walls down so that people are not afraid to speak about these children anymore.

If you would like to show your support to this day please use one of our awareness images that can be found through my albums page here on facebook http://www.facebook.com/CarlyMarieProjectHeal/photos. You can use the images on your own blog or website. Please feel welcome to post one of our awareness images as your profile picture on your favourite social media website!

Please feel welcome to share your babies and children’s names/photographs/stories on the event wall.

With much love and blessings to you all,

CarlyMarie

In Loving Memory of Christian Dudley and Hope Angel Heppleston

http://carlymarieprojectheal.com/

In loving memory of our sweet Henry James who was taken from us too soon on October 2nd 2009 at only 16 weeks.