Day Sixteen of Chicklet Holiday

Seven year old child + goo + Poppy Bluebarry = Fail!!

I worked this morning so Poppy and Chicklet drove into The Bay to get the items from our list that we missed on Friday because of the public holiday.

The story goes that Chicklet picked up an elastic band off the floor of Go Natural and left the shop with it - then had a meltdown because she needed to return it!!

I had a great morning at the shop and had a steady stream of customers through the door all day. Everyone was happy and chatty but I think the gale force conditions outside probably kept a few people at home.

Half an hour before closing, I received a phone call from Poppy Bluebarry to find out what time I was closing. When I told him, he explained to me that there was a BIG problem with Chicklet, that she had been playing with the 'goo' and got it stuck on her forehead and all through her hair.

They tried wetting it under the shower to no avail and he had already cut some of the hair at the front to remove some goo, but decided to stop because she'd have ended up with no hair at the front of her head if he kept going.

The 'goo' is a black blob of cold pliable jelly type substance that has a mind of it's own. We have kept it in it's container thus far, but sometimes we place it on the kitchen bench to see how far it will spread overnight (it spreads a long way on a flat surface) and it's fun to play with, but is very sticky on certain surfaces, such as cloth and skin.

It says on the outside of the container 'Keep away from skin and eyes'

So Chicklet had put it on her forehead and while she was attempting to peel it off, her hair stuck to some of it. The harder she tried to remove it, the more hair attached itself and the goo itself stuck like glue to her forehead, so by the time she got to the shop, it was a complete disaster!

She hid behind Poppy's legs as they came into the shop and I was serving a customer at the time, so they shuffled their way into the back room and waited until I'd finished.

I snuck into the training room and Chicklet looked at me and whispered "I'm sorry"

On closer inspection, it really was a disaster. Her entire forehead and the whole front section of her hair above her forehead was completely matted together with goo.

I felt like it might be an impossible task and that we'd require a trip to the hair dresser to cut all of her beautiful long hair. I was imagining Vegan Chickie's horrified face when she saw the result. I wondered how long we would have to endure crying and squirming and complaining and shrieking as I attempted the impossible!

God, I wish I'd taken photos!! I never think of these things until after the fact.

My first thought was Eucalyptus Oil, which I used successfully on her forehead. I wasn't sure that it would work on her hair, so I decided to try soap and water first - all that did was bring all the goo together into a giant smooth flat lump, still stuck in the hair.

I lay her down in the bathtub and splashed eucalyptus oil all over the goo and began massaging it through her hair, hoping against all hope that something good would happen. Miraculously, within seconds, the goo literally disintegrated in my hands.

Within three minutes, there was absolutely no evidence that anything had ever happened EXCEPT for that small area where AH had cut the hair! Now she has a tiny tuft of short hair front and centre.

I claimed "Goo Removal" as my super power and told my little family that they were VERY LUCKY to have a Bozzy Wozzy to save the day!!

From there I cooked lunch and dinner at the same time.

We cleared the outdoor table ready to start on the Fire Dragon Cave tomorrow.

Chicklet had some quiet time in her room while I watched some football.

We released some dragon eggs into a jug of water which (apparently) will grow into tiny water dragons. We'll see.

I finished preparing dinner and afterwards, Chicklet and I had a longer than usual cuddle and chat time before she fell asleep.

What a day! I'm done!

Nite all.    

Day Fifteen of Chicklet Holiday

It was the usual start to the day with breakfast in bed and iPad games.

We showered and dressed and headed into The Bay at about 10am but two of the shops that we wanted to visit were closed due to the public holiday - their Facebook pages said they were open, but unfortunately they were not.

Adoring Husband had to visit my favourite shop (Office Works) for SES business, so Chicklet and I went for a browse and picked up a few things to help build our Fire Dragon Cave which we will begin on Sunday.

Stocklands was the next destination and we bought some new clothes for Chicklet in Best and Less, then we bought some shoes and slippers at Spend Less Shoes.

A few weeks ago I bought a teal top at full price and it's so comfortable, I wanted to get it in all the colours - pink, lime, orange and red - unfortunately the only colour they had left in my size was the orange, but the up side is that it was half price!

We visited Heaps Discounts and picked up a bag full of crafty things to help with the dragon cave while AH bought us a couple of take away coffees from the coffee shop.

Our final stop, much to Chicklet's dismay, was the supermarket for just a few items

It was about 1.20pm by the time we headed home. Chicklet was 'over' the shopping trip and was very happy to be finished walking and sitting in the car. She did incredibly well considering we didn't stop for lunch, so her energy levels were running low.

As soon as we got home, I threw together a quick lunch for her and she gobbled it down while I unpacked the shopping and then asked for more.

After lunch, we added some final touches to the Sea Serpent cave and then had a long early bath playing with the fishing game that Poppy Bluebarry got for Chicklet yesterday.

AH was kind enough to offer his babysitting services so that I could attend the club tonight.  I whipped together some dinner and dessert and got myself dressed for my first Friday at the Club for three weeks and they dropped me at the club for a three hour hiatus from caring duties.

It was a nice evening even though I was a loser at all the club activities.

I arrived home to discover that Chicklet had disappeared and I had to 'pretend search' the house until she giggled loud enough for me to find her.

We had some cuddle time before she fell asleep by 8.30pm.

It's almost 11pm and I'll be working tomorrow, so I'd best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Day Fourteen of Chicklet Holiday

It's been a fabulously great day.

Chicklet was quite late coming into my bedroom this morning - after 8am - and quietly sat eating her breakfast and sharing with me, all the stuff that she'd learned in the new Minecraft update this morning.

She was incredibly happy and calm and loving.

We got out of bed, dressed and did some work on our Sea Serpent cave before I had to get ready for work.

She followed Poppy Bluebarry around the garden for a while and they both came inside to sit in the recliner chairs and play with their iPads side by side.

I made her a quick lunch and issued Poppy with all the necessary instructions for while I was at work.

It was nice to pedal to work on the trike and I checked the mail before making my way to The Happy Abode.

The Motivator was supposed to have the afternoon off, but we talked and talked and talked and caught up with business news and personal news, as well as ordering some stock together and she didn't leave until after 3pm.

That was when Poppy and Chicklet walked in the door and they stayed while I spent about an hour with one customer who almost bought out the shop!

A gentleman entered the shop earlier today looking to buy a gift for his wife who was at home while he came away on a fishing trip. He selected one of my Tawny Frogmouth photos, which was pretty exciting for me!

I also decided to take in to the shop, some of the bracelets and earrings that I've made. They've been packaged away for a couple of years and I found them yesterday, so I thought I'd pop them in the shop to see if they sell.

Within an hour, I had sold one!

Poppy and Chicklet had been down to the beach for an hour before visiting me in the shop and they brought the signs and flags inside and helped close. He decided to buy her a surprise because she had been such a delight all afternoon. She chose a fishing rod with some plastic fish to play with in the bath.

She did try to con him into buying some lollies or some soft drink but he said "If Bozzy Wozzy gives you the ok, I'll buy them for you". She knew better than to even ask me haha, so she chose the toy instead. We played with it in the bath this evening and she decided that it was her favourite part of the day.

Every night at cuddle time, we talk about our best and worst parts of the day. Fishing with me in the bath was her favourite part of today.

Tomorrow is a public holiday so the shop won't be open, and we plan on driving into The Bay to restock our craft supplies so that we can create the Fire Dragon Cave next week. I'll open the shop on Saturday and spend the entire half day there.

I cooked up a nice curried chicken for Adoring Husband's dinner, a big plate of boiled egg and raw veg/salad for Chicklet and a big mug of chicken bone broth for myself.

I can't believe it's already 10.30pm.

Need sleep.

Nite all.

Day Thirteen of Chicklet Holiday

More of the same.

Except Chicklet spent some time with Poppy Bluebarry this afternoon showing him how Minecraft works on her iPad. He showed the perfect amount of interest and asked all the right questions, keeping her happy while I did some chores around the house.

She had started the day quite manic and I felt like she might be on the verge of a meltdown. Somehow, we were able to make it to the beach by lunch time without incident. Thank goodness for the beach and the calming influence of water.

Chicklet LOVES water. Our beach, on an outgoing or incoming tide, is perfect for her because the water is only about two feet deep, it's clean and clear and calm, so that she can do exactly as she likes and I don't have to worry about her being dumped by waves or getting dragged out by a rip.

It was windy and cold on the beach today. We spent an hour walking through the water trying to find the warm patches. She remained submerged except for her head to stay out of the wind ... but eventually she had to walk across the beach to the car ... funnily enough she thought that walking in my shadow, out of the sun, would keep her warm haha. Go figure.

When we got to the car, we found this little (or rather large actually) gem ...

It's a pity that I didn't have my camera with me because he was a beautiful specimen.

We went grocery shopping and then returned home for a quick lunch, some quiet time, her Minecraft class with Poppy and some more work on the Sea Serpent cave ... this cave seems to be ongoing! Every time I believe we are finished, Chicklet comes up with a new idea!

I'll be working tomorrow afternoon so I'd best get some sleep ... it's almost 11.30pm ... again!

Nite all.

Day Twelve of Chicklet Holiday

Today was almost a carbon copy of yesterday, much to Chicklet's joy.

Breakfast in bed with me and a couple of devices playing with dragons.

We had to walk to the beach today because Poppy Bluebarry was on SES duties until well after lunch, so we took the shortest route to the water and then walked right along the river path until we reached the sacred beach.

I was excited to be able to show her the two Tawny Frogmouths in the tree near the Seat of Knowledge. She has never seen owls or Tawnies 'in person' before, so she was pretty impressed.

I named all the birds that we passed and talked about the sort of food that they eat and how and where they nest. She seemed fairly interested.

By the time we reached the beach, she couldn't get undressed quickly enough and became a crocodile for the next hour. While I strolled back and forth along the shore in knee deep water, she crawled on all fours loving every second of playing in the icy salty liquid.

The only way that I could lure her out of the water, was to entice her into the shallower puddles that are scattered along the beach.

Poppy Bluebarry picked us up around 1pm and I carried a shivering little Chicklet wrapped in a towel to the car so that we could return home and stand under a warm shower to thaw out.

We ate a very large lunch with heaps of salad veggies, a boiled egg and an apple, had an hour of quiet time and then spent an hour working on the Sea Serpent cave ...

Mama phoned us from the border of Croatia this evening as she waited for their tour bus driver to sort out some problem with paperwork. She's certainly getting around!

Poppy Bluebarry has hurt his back again ... overdoing it in the back garden, so we have to try and be gentle with him for a while.

It's almost 10.30pm so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Day Eleven of Chicklet Holiday

Today was voted, by Chicklet, as the best day of her holiday so far!

Of course, we started with our breakfast in bed and playing Sim Dragons.

At 10.30am, knowing that there was an incoming tide, we decided to go to the beach to collect some more shells and some sticks that we could use to build a shipwreck that will be part of our new dragon cave.

Sporting a bright orange bag to carry our selections in, Chicklet stood on the dry sand and watched me walk onto the wet sand.

"I'm not walking on the wet sand!" she called out.

"That's okay!" I replied "You can stay there. I'm going to splash in the puddles!"

She warily walked to the edge of the wet sand but did an about face and returned to the dry sand where she watched me walk further away from her.

I got so far away that I was feeling concerned I wouldn't be able to get to her quickly enough if anything happened and I turned to look at her just as she shrugged her shoulders and on the soft breeze, her words floated to me ...

"Well obviously Bozzy Wozzy isn't going to stop, so I may as well just go too."

She very carefully walked behind me and didn't even hesitate when she reached the big shin deep puddle that she had to walk through to get to me.

We walked together along the beach, sinking our feet into the muddy sand and laughing at the suction that made it difficult to lift our feet out.

We followed the toad fish into the shallows, watched some Whistling Kites fighting in the sky, copied the sounds of the seagulls, took the superhero pose together, laughed at the big dog dragging his owner by the leash along the beach and then we dared to walk into the deep water until Chicklet's knees were underwater.

She tried to move quickly through the water, but one foot slipped into a hole and suddenly she was down and completely drenched underwater. The look of shock on her face and the quick intake of air as the cold water washed over her chest, made me laugh out loud and then the expression on her face changed to one of pure joy and happiness.

She spent the next thirty minutes crawling around on all fours through he shallow waters, pretending to be a crocodile, as the tide came in. The water was bloody cold! But she loved it.

I phoned Adoring Husband and asked him to come pick us up in twenty minutes and bring towels!

I then had the problem of getting her off the wet sand and onto the dry sand to come home and it was only when she was worried that we would drive off without her, that she moved her butt.

A warm shower was in order when we got home and then a snack lunch of red capsicum, carrot, cucumber and celery sticks with peanut butter.

I crumbed some Snapper fillets for AH and myself .

We worked some more on our new dragon cave ...

Shells dangling from the ceiling of the cave.

Cave wall paintings - A mermaid (above) A sea serpent creating a mermaid chicken (below)

The bottom of the Sea Serpent cave decorated with shells so far and the tinsel splash.

One of the Sea Serpents - still a work in progress

... and tonight, Chicklet was so hungry, she just kept asking for more food. Capsicum, carrot, celery, cucumber, green beans, 2 boiled eggs, a big bowl of freshly made fruit whip ice cream with chopped strawberries and some shaved chocolate and then she asked for toast with peanut butter and THEN she asked for more ice-cream (which I denied her).

Bath time, cuddle time and then we remembered that we promised to send photos of our Sim dragons to Mama ...

... so we did that, which meant that she didn't fall asleep tonight until after 8pm. The last thing she said tonight was "Today was the best day EVER. I love swimming in the ocean!".

Pretty good coming from a little girl who in the beginning, didn't even want to walk on the wet sand!

Now it's already after 11pm and I need sleep.

Nite all.    

Day Ten of Chicklet Holiday

Yes, you guessed it!

Dragons. Dragons. More dragons.

We played the Sim Dragon ap this morning over breakfast in bed - always fun - and once again, Poppy Bluebarry made our breakfasts and brought them to us on a tray.

We got dressed, did a load of washing and then made our way to the outdoor area to do some more work on the dragon caves.

We added the sign to the first dragon cave and because the spiders that we glued to the front of the cave began falling off, I took them all off and wired them in so that they all look they are spinning webs.

We finished painting our dragons (well, Chicklet is not quite finished) and began creating our new Sea Serpent dragons for the new Cave.

We painted the floor of the new cave in different shades of blue, including some glittery blue.

We created a tall splash out of the watery blue floor using long sparkly blue pipe cleaners.

We selected shells from the huge collection that PB and Ch found on the beach and have stored in a smaller foam box. These will be the shells that decorate the cave and will hold the treasures and jewels belonging to the dragons.

We made a list of things that we'll do to the cave tomorrow, including the types of cave paintings that we'll paint onto the walls and also making a wrecked pirate ship.

We stopped in the middle of all that for a light lunch.

We had some quiet time.

We watched some football ... she gets very excited when the 'Dragons' play!!

We had a final 40 minute play on the Sim Dragon Ap before I made dinner and Vegan Chickie phoned us as I served dessert. She was at the airport about to leave Cologne and fly to Hungary to start a tour that is going to take her to many different countries over the next two weeks.

Finally, we had bath time and cuddle/talk time and Chicklet was sound asleep by 7.15pm.

Now it's approaching 11pm so I should get some sleep too.

Nite all.