Thankyou for taking the time to read my blog! My incredibly busy super-Hubby is currently updating the theme of the blog in his spare time to make it more readable and give me more control over the formatting of my posts, but its gone a bit haywire! (Titles missing and formatting a bit odd – not as beautiful as it looks when I write my posts!)
Thanks for your patience… hopefully it will be all fixed soon! 🙂
Meanwhile, here is a gorgeous pic of B1 doing some construction work in our yard (with a drill that wasn’t working!)
About a year ago, the small element in my stove died. We decided it was too expensive to fix, so have been just using it with 3 of the 4 elements. I got used to the fact that I had to use a bigger element for my small saucepan, and often just used the bigger saucepan instead.
Recently though, other household applicances & large items seem to be jumping on the bandwagon of breaking. In November our washing machine broke (was fixed after a few days) and then in the last 3 weeks our oven has broken (replaced it yesterday after 3 weeks without it), our aircon has broken (temporarily fixed after 5 days without it), hubby’s car got a bolt in tyre (couldn’t drive for 4 days until fixed) and now my laptop is broken (unfixed)… it has been once thing after another.
Each of these things were out of my control. Each of these things, whilst VERY VERY frustrating, could still be worked around. I could easily write a dandy little post about how I shrugged and accepted all this, but I will admit to this- when my oven was finally replaced and I used my new one for the first time, I cried because I just wanted my old oven back. Yes, you heard me, I cried.
I was extremely disappointed because one after another I discovered:
1) it was SO noisy;
2) it took SO long (30min!) for the cooling fan (noisy!) to turn off after using it;
3) it didn’t have a timer (only an “auto-off” feature – bah!); and
4) my awesome Lasagne dish didn’t fit in it (pffh!).
So, yes, as every well-adjusted housewife would, I rang my mummy and I cried.
The phone conversation went like this, “Hi Mum, I’m just ringing cause I need to have a cry, and then have you tell me how silly it is, and then I can get on with my day… I’m just so disappointed.”
Then once my tears were over, I sat there and thought to myself. I really have two choices, I can dwell on this and become bitter, or I can be thankful and move on. Oh how easy it would have been to sit there and feel sorry for myself, though even with hindsight 24hours later it seems so silly that I was even upset over these small things. So what if, in the grand scheme of things, my oven is noisy and costs a little more to run because it takes longer to cool down?
I cleared my head and I decided:
1) I’d use my mobile as a timer (& set a “quack quack” sound as default! hehe);
2) I’d buy a new Lasagne dish; and lastly (most importantly!)
3) I would bake biscuits that night and be thankful that I had an oven!!
Anazac Biscuits baking in my Oven
With each of these things, there has been inconvenience, disappointment, time spent on organising repairs or replacement as well as a financial cost. At the end of the day though, I’m really glad that these are just physical ‘items’ that are broken. It’s just an oven, just aircon, and just a car. I am so blessed to have had these things in the first place. They are practical, useful and important…, but replaceable. Things on earth were not made to last, they were made to be temporary, it’s not where I choose to put my focus.
Doh, we’ve just run out of gas for the hot water! I guess it’s cold showers at home for the next few days… 😀
I am an adult who LOVES Christmas. I love the tree’s, decorations, baking & the Christmas movies made just for TV. I love the carols, crafts, Christmas books and getting together for a Christmas meal. The year I was pregnant with B1 I even put up our Christmas tree up in October because I was so excited and I was hormonal, and it was another thing I could cross off my “to-do before baby comes” list. But I haven’t always loved Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, as a child I looked forward to getting presents (what kid doesn’t?), but I don’t remember ever being caught up in the ‘spirit’ or ‘beauty’ of the Christmas season. Reflecting upon the change, I can see three significant events over my late teen and early adult years that transformed my view of Christmas.
1) My trip to Germany
I was so blessed to have been able to go on an exchange program with my highschool, spending 2months over the Christmas holidays in Germany. My parents made a deal with me that they would pay the airfare and I had to save up to pay everything else (which included a weekend trip to Paris & Berlin, costing around $800). So I got a part-time job, and then another job, earning $6 per hour, and worked and worked and saved and saved.
Falling over whilst playing in the snow at Christmas.
There were several special things about that Christmas that distinctly gave me a love for Christmas festivities.
The Christmas Markets: In the weeks leading up to Christmas they have Christmas Markets. We used to go afters school, so it would be either dusk or at night. The stalls were all decorated with lights and ornaments, there were smells of cooking foods and gluhwein (a spicy hot red wine) and often Christmas music. It’s the middle of winter, so you are wandering through the stalls all rugged up in your jacket, scarf and beanie and seeing Christmas decorations everywhere. It had such a magical feel. Can you imagine it?
Here are some pictures I’ve found on the web (mine are buried deep in a box somewhere at my parents place! oops!). You can click on the picture to go to their source.
My first Home-stay House: This may seem quite strange. The first friend I stayed with after arriving in Germany had heating in their house with a very distinct smell, like someone had been baking even when they hadn’t been. I have all these memories of coming into their house out of the cold and being struck with this amazing smell and feeling warmth and comfort, whilst seeing all of the Christmas decorations around the house. It was the same with many places there, but I now have this association of warmth and comfort with seeing Christmas decorations.
2) A new Reason for the Season
Two years later, I experienced another life-changing event that transformed my view of Christmas. I read the Bible and discussed Christianity for the first time as an adult. Finally understanding what I was reading, I made the decision to believe that it was real and became a Christian. Christmas therefore became a special time for me as I celebrated the birth of my Saviour, Jesus.
3) Becoming a Mum and Aunty
Since becoming a Mum and Aunty, there is a whole new element to Christmas: sharing the reason and wonder of the season with the next generation. It’s made me think more intentionally about my belief around Christmas and how I want my boys (and their cousins) to think and feel about Christmas. It’s so special to be able to share this time with the kids, and see their faces light up, especially as we sing songs about Jesus’ birth and give gifts to others!
I was jumping around and dancing like a professional outside our toilet, cheering on B1 for taking himself to the toilet, pulling down his undies and doing a wee on the toilet. Finally! Yay! After 5 days of more accidents than successes, surely that deserves lots of dancing and cheering, right?
By the time we were up to our 5th celebrtion for the day (yay!), I started to think to myself, “wow, this is some serious exercise! I guess there’s no need to do the treadmill afterall today! Surely this counts as my daily exercise!”.
Umm… sure! Right?
NO!
Don’t get me wrong, it certainly is good exercise jumping around with kids – it’s a great way to get fit AND spend time with your kids AND teach them healthy habits (Yay for multitasking!). Yes, the 2mins I had jumped around each time was some great incidental exercise, but when I had already planned to do treadmill time that day and still had time to do it that afternoon, I was just making an excuse. I needed to see the dancing around for what it was – praise, encouragement and fun with my son, and a bonus bit of kilojoule burning.
It got me thinking. Sometimes I wonder how I have manged to convince myself the lies are truth.
Other great trivial lies I tell myself:
If I bake with wholemeal flour, its a healthy option. Kind of true, but eating 5 cupcakes isn’t healthy even if they are made with wholemeal flour.
I’ll just do this for 2more minutes… {1 hour later…}
I’ll just read one more chapter…{5 chapters later…}
I can’t sleep until hubby gets home…
I was so busy today… {that I checked facebook 10 times, and my email…}
I read to relax and non-fiction books take so much brain power… {so I don’t challenge myself and stick to fluffy fiction}
It’s too hard for me to do… {get hubby to do it, rather than figure out how to do it myself}
These ‘lies’ are the more trivial of the ones that I tell myself. I actually have a pretty negative self-image, and have to pull myself up for thinking and saying negative things about myself, many of which are not true. This is an area that I’ve been challenged on recently, so will post more about this as I process it.
I’m sure I tell myself plenty more, just can’t think of them at the moment!
Do you have some great trivial lies you tell yourself?
Last year a very special relative came to live with our family. As we all adjusted to the change, we have grown closer together and developed special memories, habits and jokes between us.
Early on, one night hubby was coming home from McDonalds and us gals ordered M&M & Oreo McFlurry’s for him to bring home. At the opening of the garage door, a slip of the tongue, and McFlurry’s forever became “McFlurreos” to us: a special treat we shared with much laughter, and also sometimes a special treat when one of us needed a “pick me up” after a rough day.
Fast forward 18months.
McDonalds no longer sell M&M or Oreo McFlurry’s 🙁
how COULD they take away M&M’s??? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???!?!!
It’s sad that we can no longer get M&Ms or Oreo’s in our icecream and that our joke no longer has the same ring to it, but it’s not THAT bad. I could go as far as to say that this creates a problem for me, as I’m a creature of habit, but I won’t. I COULD have a new McFlurry if I wanted to… but I decided somewhat hastily that in my own little protest I was no longer going to buy McFlurry’s.
It’s been a few months now, and I’ve stayed strong. I now just buy a chocolate sundae. A few times (three to be exact, but I won’t admit that) I’ve even wanted a M&M McFlurry so bad that I’ve gone to the supermarket and bought M&M’s to go with my choc sundae. Yes, you read that right. Here’s my pic to prove it.
Choc Sundae with M&Ms
It’s a little more effort, but it’s really getting the best of both worlds – M&M’s from the McFlurry’s and the Choc Fudge Sauce from the Sundaes. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
I was ‘tagged’ by Raquel from mummasays to write a list of 10 things you didn’t really need to know about me. I’ve been lazy busy, so in the meantime was also tagged by Jac from Common Chaos Chronicles. So I’ve gotten my butt into gear and come up with 10 things.
Wholemeal white-choc-chip mini muffins.
1) I love to bake & cook, but I’m really not very good at it. I nearly always overcook my meat, my biscuits turn out different everytime and who really knows what you’re meant to put into a quiche – I just make it up.
2) I’m a middle child, and whenever I get the chance I let people know that middle child syndrom does exist. hehee
3) I like to paint my toenails pink. I don’t know why, I just do. I barely touch my fingernails – they’re lucky to get a trim every once in a while – but my toenails are nearly always pink.
4) I love the smell of rain. I think it goes back to childhood memories of swimming in our pool when it was raining, then getting all warm in trackies after a shower and sitting by my window smelling the rain and watching it fall into our gorgeous backyard. When it rains, I still think of that memory.
5) I got married at 19. It wasn’t meant to be that way. I was going to live at home until I was 25. Oops! 😀
6) I’m a left-brained maths/logic type person. Not creative/right-brained at all. I like lists. If you want me to understand something, give me dot points or a formula.
7) I’m an introvert. My pink pants and funky shoes say what I don’t dare to.
8) I am a reluctant iPhone user. We have a love-hate relationship. I didn’t choose it, it was forced upon me. Literally. Hubby stole my old phone (a very funky, pink, flip-open type) one day and moved my contacts across to his old iPhone. Tada. I had a new phone. That was 12months ago. I just learned yesterday how to go into the AppStore and update my apps. Better late than never, right?
9) I am NOT a morning person. Never have been, and I don’t think I ever will be. I did try once. I was getting up and going bikeriding around 4:30-5am with a friend. It lasted for about 2 weeks.
10) I love cuddles with my boys. Hubby gives great cuddles, as do B1 and B2. There’s nothing quite like a cuddle.
Disclaimer: It is not recommended that you eat any food whilst it is hot that might burn your child.
So you’ve gone 9months of pregnancy, having to avoid certain things that might harm your unborn child. Some people take this to greater or lesser extents than others, but generally there are at least some things we parents go without. Then the baby comes. If you’re breastfeeding, then you can get hit with a whole new list of “things to avoid”. Cabbage, brocoli, onions, cheeses, curries, alcohol, certain medications etc. …
Some babies are more tolerant than others. When breastfeeding B1, I learned after a few weeks that I could not eat dairy or most fruit & vegetables or it would cause him insane amounts of wind/pain. I lived on carbs & protein with a few ‘safe’ veges. When I gave in and had a bowl of icecream, we’d both pay for it later. It was certainly a trying time for me. But that is not what this list is all about. This is a far more practical list.
This is a list for when you have to breastfeed but are extremely hungry and have to eat something NOW… or you have a screaming baby that won’t settle and you are there for what seems like a billion years quite a while trying to rock them to sleep, or when you’re out somewhere and can’t put your baby down so have no choice but to eat with a baby in your arms… or you’ve been waiting and waiting to cuddle that gorgeous baby and stealing the baby for a snuggle whilst you eat is the only time. THIS is the list for you! So here it is…
My Top 5 foods to avoid whilst breastfeeding or nursing a baby.
1) Spaghetti Bolognaise. As fun as it is to twirl it around the fork and eat it like a pro, when you get half way to your mouth and your baby moves, you look down, it unravels. Yup, big mess on baby. Depends on the age of your bub, but if it gets onto that lovely white wondersuit before your baby starts solids, it’s a bit hard to pass it off as the baby’s mess.
2) Porridge. The breakfast that was creamy and sugary in a former life isn’t so great when it’s a cold and lumpy gel that bounces off baby’s cheek when you accidentally spill it off the spoon.
3) mini M&Ms. Yum! The problem with these is that they are so small that you want to grab a little, petite, ladylike handful and throw them into your mouth at once. Who want’s to have just one of these at a time? Not me. So when you take a handful and lean back to throw them into your mouth on a funny angle because you have a baby across your lap where your elbow normally is, there’s no doubt going to be a little escapee that jumps away and falls down into your chair (and who wants to dig down in there?) or finds a nice hiding place inside your lovely white bra only to be found hours later once it’s left a nice red stain. Totally not speaking from personal experience here.
4) Sausage Rolls and Meat Pies. Even party size. They may look like a nice “finger food” option to nibble on one-handed when you’re out but don’t be fooled! Wow. Whilst that pastry is delicious to savour, it is crumbly, flakes and falls apart. Without cutlery and a plate to lean over, it goes everywhere. All over you and all over baby. And that’s not even mentioning the “sauce factor”*.
*sauce factor = huge risk of dripping the dipping sauce over yourself or child in your arms. Another staining opportunity for yourself and that lovely white outfit your child is wearing.
5) Fried Rice. With a thick and binding sauce on rice, it is more likely to be a success. A yummy, sticky fried rice though, is not as likely to have a postive outcome. Whether using chopsticks, spoon or fork, those little bits of rice after often uncooperative. Like the m&m’s, rice are often daredevils that like to jump from heights and then hide in the most inconvenient of places, either needing to be discreetly dug out or cleaned up later.
I got funny looks taking this pic, but I’d never seen one, and I thought it was cool, so I HAD to take a picture. A shame I didn’t have my pram that day so couldn’t use it 😀
(Sorry about the bad quality. I have an old phone with not a very good camera in it, and was only game to take one shot. I was a bit embarrassed! hehe)
2) A new Reason for the Season
