Communication

Today we have had a lot of fun with Mini Miss.

She is almost 17 months old and has a rather large vocabulary already. This means she is getting quite good at communicating.

Unfortunately, with all good communication comes attitude, opinion and argument. 

Today has been particularly challenging;

Me, to our puppy: "do you want to go outside?" (because the dog understands human ok?!)

Mini Miss: "outside!!!!!!!" she runs enthusiastically to the door.

Me: "No, you cant go outside yet, you need a nappy change and to get out of your pj's"

Mini Miss: "outside!!!!!" and bangs on door in a mini tantrum

This afternoon in the car I give her a sippy cup, which she drinks from, then as soon as I look away, starts splashing it all over her legs. Its warm. It would probably be ok. But we are in the car.

Me: "please stop tipping your water everywhere"

Mini Miss: "No"

Me, reaching for her cup: "ta for mummy please"

Mini Miss: "No" laughs and begins to wave it around just out of my reach.

Then again this afternoon another example....

Mini Miss barges at the barricade stopping her from getting in and destroying the tidiness of the inaccessible parts of the house (namely the kitchen). She does this because she is aware from past experience, eventually she will get through.

Dad: "Molly stop"

Mini Miss continues ignoring Dad's demand

Dad: "do you want to have this argument with me now?"

Mini Miss: "yes"

Me : poorly hidden laughter "what? I coughed!"

Because it's only funny when the do it to someone else!

funny mini miss

Today we went shopping with Mini Miss (Molly)

She is now 16 months old and very, um, boisterous and verbal!


Today when shopping at a sporting shop, Dad wandered off to look at something while Molly and I were inspecting the snorkeling gear and other fun water stuff.

         

Molly notices Dad is missing...

"whereareooo????" This is said all as one word.

"are you looking for Daddy?" I ask, smiling to myself (This is a new sentence so of course, as all crazy parents do, I am encouraging her to use it as often as possible!)

"I said whereareoooo!!" Molly replies in a slightly impatient tone.

Sorry for stating the obvious!!

Finally, Dad comes around the corner....

"peek boo" squeals Molly and runs away, throwing bouncy balls all over the shop as she goes. (yes, I foolishly bought the bouncy balls!)

When then head into the chemist, where she proceeds to run riot, and charming the pants off everyone. I am here to get medication for a migraine, so, of course 

a) the chemist wants to ask me a thousand questions and 

b) I should actually try and LOOK and SOUND as sick as I feel so the chemist believes me & lets me have my medication.

This is impossible. Even with Daddy in tow "managing" mini miss, she is loud and chatty, and throwing her new found bouncy balls in every direction.

Seriously, she turned the chemist, and the other older and sick people into her own personal pin ball machine, but instead of a rolling ball, we had a ball bouncing everywhere....up onto shelves, off counter walls, poles, off peoples legs...you get the idea....

So there I am trying to look as sick as I'm feeling, while trying to not laugh at my very humorous child and smiling at the other people waiting` so they don't start a riot over the little kid playing pinball in the chemist with their legs and the parents who are unable to control her!

Needless to say, I came home, took  my medication and crashed....a busy, chatty, excitable toddler is.....exhausting!!!! 

a whole new world of friends......

When I joined Facebook 4 or 5 years ago, it was to keep in touch with the people I knew. To share my life with the people I loved who I couldnt see all the time.

When I moved to Coffs, it became even more important to me. It was a way of communicating with my friends, people I knew in REAL life. My friends list was small and consisted of people I knew, well. These were the only people I was interested in. I didn't need hundreds of friends. That seemed silly to me! How can you possibly keep up with that many friends?!!! Why would I want to make friends online that I will never meet?!! 

I had no idea!!!

As always things changed. Its hard to believe, especially for me, but many of the people on my friends list these days I have never met, have only known for the last 2 years or less. But I really do count them as friends!

When Maddi & I went on our cruise in 2009, we went with good friends. Real life friends. But I also joined a facebook event for all the people going on the same cruise. I wanted to see what experiences other had had. Maybe meet a couple of people. These people were and are wonderful! Chatty, friendly, sharing previous experience and reassuring those of us who were new to cruising and more than a little worried about the dreaded sea sickness!!  I met most of them on the cruise, and I am happy to still call many of them friends on facebook today!

When I fell pregnant with Molly I joined Bubhub, encouraged again, by a real life friend who had done the same during her pregnancy and made some friends as a result. 

It was lovely talking to other women going through the same things, experiencing the same feelings, emotions, physical changes. It made me feel normal. Then they started a facebook group. I love the girls in this group. My Yummy Mummies laugh with me, cry with me, make me laugh when I need it, offer me support and advice when i need it. I count them all as friends, even though I have only met 2 of them in real life. I long ago stopped using bubhub, but i hope these girls will be around for a long time yet! I feel a love for all the other bubbas I never knew I could for someone Ive never met! When they are sick, I worry, when they achieve or learn something new I celebrate, just like real life friends!! I still hope to meet most of them...one day!

Now, I have become rather involved in the world of facebook. I have met and made friends with many people in Coffs through interacting with them on facebook! In fact the lovely friend organising my very, um, educational hens night, I met on facebook not even a year ago!! 

Also, I have become a lover of hand made items, clothes, but particularly dolls. Through the magic of facebook I have started building friendships with other lovely ladies who are collectors and lovers of dolls and who are the talented ladies who make the dolls I love so much. Its lovely chatting with like minded people who don't ridicule my love of hand crafted dolls! If anything they encourage it....not sure really how Shane feels about that!!


So, to those that say spending time online is bad for you. Restricts your social life. Makes you anti social and unable to communicate in the real world...... 

You are W.R.O.N.G! 

As long as you are willing to combine real life and online life, balance them, watch and make sure you don't spend your whole life online, you can make it work. In fact, it can make your life better!! 



Remember, I met the man I will be walking down the aisle to in just 8 weeks ONLINE! 



Without my online friends, I would be lost. I laugh, cry, bitch and moan with them as much as I do my real life friends. At times when I am feeling lonely because my real life friends are busy with their own lives, its nice to know I always have someone to talk to