The pets....

My sister sent me this email...I absolutely love it!!!

By the way...it's my farewell gift for a week - after an incredibly busy month raising cash for the children's ward...I'm off to North Stradbroke Island for a week. Yay!

See you when we get back. xx


Excerpts from the Dog's Diary......

8:00 am - Dog food! My favourite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favourite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favourite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favourite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favourite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favourite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favourite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favourite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favourite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favourite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favourite thing!


Excerpts from the Cat's Daily Diary. ..

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre dangling objects.

They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bastards.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' Note to self: Must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return.

He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now................

Is your kid a bully?

Is it just me or does everyone think school bullies are a part of life?

I think schools are more pro-active than ever – but maybe bullies are tougher than ever too.
In my life – I’ve found that sometimes victims become perpetrators – that is, nice kids who have been bullied, sometimes turn – even if just to keep their head above water.

I guess what I mean by that is, no matter how badly your kid has been treated at some stage – never be too sure you don’t have to have the chat with them too.

A 13 year boy called Elijah Vetma – a kid who suffers from a mild form of autism called Aspergers – has written a letter to his local newspaper, the Geelong Advertiser.

It’s caused quite a stir in Victoria – and I thought I’d read a bit this morning….Elijah says he wrote the letter after a particularly gruelling day, "help people understand how I and other people with disabilities feel about being bullied".

Here is a bit of the letter....

"For over four years I have had to put up with being bullied and teased and hated by everyone in the school. I've been called all sorts of names like germ boy, gay and retard … Kids don't let me join their groups when we had to do team activities … I try really hard to make friends but the people that make fun of me turn them against me. I don't know why they do this - maybe to be popular … Just because I have a disability I still have the same feelings of wanting to belong, to have friends, and be liked. I have feelings of sadness, anger, and confusion inside, being alone and hated … Each morning before I go to school I think of what's going to happen today. Nothing I have tried to do has stopped it."

His mother, Jan, says that when Elijah gets on the school bus each day she sees hime as a soldier going into battle.

That story just breaks my heart - most people know how it feels to be bullied - it's time we ALL taught our kids to be heroes at school and shut bullies down.

Parent trap!

Is it just me or does everyone think the modern parent is sometimes a kid's worst enemy?

A friend of mine was a teacher in the western suburbs of Sydney for around 15 years. While others did their time and got out as fast as they could, Luke stuck at it.

Part P.E. teacher, part social worker, he believed in the kids and loved his job.

A couple of years ago, at the final bell one Friday as kids and teachers began streaming out of classrooms looking for a short cut home, a group of Year 10 girls passed Luke on the stairs.

Laughing and joking, one of them made a grab for the pens in Luke’s top pocket.

He was a relatively young, good looking teacher, he liked to joke with the kids and he felt he had a good rapport with them.

So he swatted her hand and kept moving. Suddenly there were ten girls who wanted the pens – amidst cheering and giggling, Luke was swamped.

Never one to back down from a challenge, as the pens were grabbed and lifted victoriously, he hit back – seized the pen snatchers wrist and backed her up against a wall.

To more cheers and lots more boos he plucked the pens from her hand.

Long story short, later that evening the police visited his home to discuss allegations of assault.

The 15-year-old had told her dad that Luke had ‘crushed’ her wrist and humiliated her.

Her Dad demanded an apology, Luke’s dismissal and financial compensation for the effect the injury would have on his daughter’s study.

The rumour mill began to grind and it eventually made the papers, with headlines like “student assault” complete with testimony from the standard disgruntled parents.
Luke was stood down pending an investigation.

In the end, the charges didn’t make it to court, however the family received an official apology and Luke was offered a job at a different school. He didn’t take it.

This week the Victorian Principals Association issued a plea to parents to “butt out” of their children’s education.

The Teachers Federation claims hundreds of Queensland teachers are under investigation because of parent complaints they yell too much.

As a parent, there is nothing I hate more than being stopped in the car park and whinged to about what is going on at school.

Across the board kids are offered a fantastic education these days and I have a lot of faith in the schools my kids attend.

If I didn’t, I wouldn’t bitch and moan for a second. I would simply re-enrol them somewhere else (where I suspect I would find the same mix of good, bad, relaxed, crabby, funny, kind and yelly teachers).

No doubt my kids like some teachers more than others but I don’t give it much thought.

If “being grumpy” is how a Year 10 science teacher gets through her day - locked in a classroom with 30 adolescents - that’s her bad luck.

The way I see it, going to school is my children’s job, just like their dad and I have a job.

It’s regularly boring and sometimes you get into trouble for doing the wrong thing.
Sometimes you get into trouble because someone else did something wrong and you copped the blame. Suck it up, Tiger.

It’s not always fair or fun, but it is life and the quicker you learn to play by the rules, the happier you’ll be.

Parents who allow their kids to turn every perceived slight or injustice into a federal case are fools. Far from protecting their children from harm, they are setting them up for a lifetime of petty battles.

You can’t manage every minute of your child’s day. And you certainly can’t trust them to tell the whole truth about what happens in the classroom.

When parents get involved, they can easily get it wrong and suddenly allegations and finger pointing take on a life of their own.

My friend Luke lost a lot more than his job when a parent got it wrong, but so did the Department of Education. They lost Luke and, I suspect, a lot more like him along the way.

Big Dell's biggest asset!

Is it just me or does everyone believe in redemption?

I think Wendell Sailor shocked a lot of people a couple of years ago when he tested positive for cocaine use.

Tonight the 33 year old makes his return to top grade NRL – playing for St George Illawarra against the Bronco’s.

There’s a great story in the Sydney Morning Herald today about Wendell’s wife Tara - and this is where redemption is important.

Tara has born the brunt of Wendell’s crime. As his wife and the mother of his kids she had to continue turning up to school with a smile on her face, nurse him through his despair and generally keep things running.

In an interview she has admitted that when St George-Illawarra first wanted to sign big Dell – she lost it. Tara says she was on auto pilot, just keeping things together…and the moment
Wendell started to get excited about his future…she admits that was when she went ballistic – a bit of the how dare you get your normal life back – how dare you get to be the big man again?

She says she knows it was irrational – because more than anything she wanted Wendell back in NRL….but I get it.

I think she’s good and strong and has proven to be a fantastic support for her flightly bloke….certainly no trophy wife.

So tonight, when Wendell takes the field I won’t be cheering for the Dragons but I’ll certainly be cheering for Tara.

Pay up Angry!

Is it just me or does everyone think Tania Zaetta is entiled to somes sort of compensation for the events of the past three weeks?

I am usually completely opposed to pay outs of any kind…but something that happened yesterday made me change my mind.

In a meeting for Mix fm’s Give Me Five For Kids, Tania Zaetta’s name came up because of something she generously donated to the cause, immediately the laughs and snickers started. And this is a group of people who know and like Tania….people who know she didn’t do anything!

Defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has admitted the military completely mismanaged the affair - after a so-called "Hot Issues Brief" containing the (completely unsubstantiated) claims from Angry Anderson was distributed to 96 people. It was recalled four minutes later and the names removed…but it was too late.

I don’t blame the military for the ‘Hot issues brief’ – it’s the modern world that they have to manage potential risk.

Angry Anderson still denies he made the claims, but the army is adamant he triggered "Zaettagate", when he told Lt-Col Greg McCauley that he knew Tania had sex with troops and that there were "photographs to prove it".
Anyway – I’d hate this to go to court – it would be tacky and undignified. I think everyone involved should do the right thing and make fair reparation to Tania.

Give me Five for Kids xx

Is it just me or does everyone feel very lucky to have healthy kids?

I know we’re only at day 2 of Mix FM’s Give Me Five for Kids but every time I spend time in the children’s ward – I get fired up again to make Give Me Five bigger and better.

Yesterday I spent time with Jo and her three beautiful baby girls. Four year old Kaitlin, 3 year old Jade and Zoe the delicious 6 month old baby.

Jade, who has the prettiest eyes and cupie doll face you are ever likely to see, has an undiagnosed condition that leaves her unable to sit, speak or even swallow. Her chest fills with fluid constantly and every now and then, inexplicably, her organs shut down…

Jo and her husband have a hell of a job with their girls. More than two hundred nights in hospital in the past couple of years…most of those nights with the whole family in tow.

Jade’s condition is undiagnosed. The experts think she might have invented it herself - probably in utero – it doesn’t come from either side of the family and she has never tested positive for a known condition - she’s just a baby in a million.

On one hand, it's completely heartbreaking....one the other, Jo is the head of a warm, generous, positive family, putting love into action every day.

Then, just when you think you’ve seen it all, yesterday I also met a gorgeous little 10 year old with an eating disorder. Seriously.

Her devoted parents are lost for answers. They didn't see it coming and they don't know how to fix it. They just can't stop crying.

I wrote recently about the growing incidence of Anorexia in teens. Stand by for the tweens.

Just because of the little girl I met yesterday, I decided to see how common anorexia was in one so young...there's heaps of stuff on the net...but I'll leave you with this...


Statistics from Body Wars: Making Peace with Women's Bodies
Source: Body Wars: Making Peace with Women’s Bodies,by Margo Maine, Ph.D., Gürze Books, 2000
· 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner
· 45% of boys and girls in grades 3-6 want to be thinner
· 37% have already dieted
· 6.9% score in the ED range
· 51% of 9-10 year old girls feel better about selves when dieting
· 9% of 9 year old have vomited to lose weight
· 81% of 10 year old are afraid of being fat
· 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies
· 78% of 18 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies