Tuesday, May 29, 2012

An endangered species.

blog 2012
(Joy the Baker* cookbook)

I have a confession to make.

No, it isn't that I watch Keeping up with the Kardashians
or Toddlers and Tiaras.

 I am not here to admit to waxing my upper lip...
 Not quite yet, anyhow.

I am not even announcing to the world that I am knocked up with Michael Jackson's love child 
because he isn't really dead; he is actually living in our back shed.
(If that was true, I'd be selling my story to the world;
 not posting it here on this insignificant, little blog)

But what I am owning up to is the fact that I feed my kids dessert. Every night.
Yep. I said it. It's out there.

Dessert. Every. Night.

 I am hanging my head in shame right about now,
because from what I have seen and heard,
dessert isn't "the done thing".
Pudding seems to be a dirty word these days.

We are too busy trying to bring our children up
with balanced diets, active bodies and an oh-so-healthy attitude to their future well-being
to whip up a bread and butter pudding or make a jelly trifle.

Dessert here is mostly yoghurt and fruit.
(A home made yoghurt at that.
Does that earn me back any cred at all?)

blog 2012

But I will own up to a love of baking.
I do love making the kids a nice custard
and I really enjoy baking some of those old-fashioned puddings
that I grew up with.

I don't feel like I have a lot of childhood rituals from growing up
but flicking through the CWA cookbook or my nans' recipes,
making that lovely rice pudding that they made...
it gives me a sense of comfort and happiness.

(Even the word pudding is just such a yummy word)

There aren't any "starving children" chats attached to main course.
There are no "if you don't eat every last leaf of those brussel sprouts
you are trying to hide under your mashed potato,
you wont get icecream" comments attached to a frown and a waggling finger.

We know, as modern, trying-to-be-switched-on parents,
that creating an unhealthy attitude to dessert-type foods is just not on.

We will ask the children to try new foods
but we don't force them to eat things that they don't like,
just so that they can have a treat.
I remember being forced to eat foods that I detested,
just so that I could have the bowl of yummy sweet stuff at the end.
I still grew up detesting every vegetable apart from potato till I was about 24 years old
and I certainly grew up with an excessive interest in (some might say obsession with) sweet food.

We will discuss how hungry they are
with regards to finishing their main meal.

I know that one argument that is in our favour:
That if kids aren't deprived of something,
they wont grow up desperately craving it and over indulging.

We are all doing the best that we can as parents
but sometimes I wonder if we are failing our kids by giving them that second (sweet) course each evening.
I certainly don't feel comfortable volunteering this information
at any mum meet-ups now that I have worked out that I am in the minority,
likely to be socially cast-out at the first mention of "self-saucing".


blog 2012

*Joy the Baker is my current girl crush.
I have foregone Dita Von Teese's style and glamour
for Joy's use of butter and sugar.

Monday, May 21, 2012

This Week...21st May, 2012

AMJ 2012

...There has been knitting...

Little Boozle 2012
(Maxi dress- Elena Nodel)

Little Boozle 2012
(Paint Me a Sweater- Elena Nodel)

...There has been embroidery and there has been sewing...

blog 2012 536 (Small)
(Red Riding Hood- Urban Threads)

Little Boozle 2012
(Imke Hoodie- Farbenmix)

...There have been (pink and sparkly) party preparations...

Little Boozle 2012

AMJ 2012

...There have been exciting travel preparations...

(thinkprogress.org)


...There have been discussions with Mr Boozle about the 5 food groups.
He believes that they are (in no particular order):
 beef, lamb, chicken, fish and pork
(bacon being a condiment)...


(news.blogs.cnn.com)

...There has been another fishy death in the family
and a Staffy freaking out from balloons popping at parties...

blog 2012

...There has been a 5th birthday for the baby of the family,
an all-little-girl affair that was a lot pinker and a lot more glittery
(and a few octaves higher) than the previous all-boy parties that we have hosted
for her brothers.

AMJ 2012

AMJ 2012

..there was the reminder that 4 year old tantrums didn't just stop at midnight when someone turned 5...

...there was the trying-on of school uniforms
and a realisation of how close it is till our last born gets to try out her wings.
We know that she will soar but it is still bittersweet...

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Big, scary words.

blog 2012

Yesterday I learnt some medical words that I didn't know,
in spite of my veterinary background.

I sat and listened as a specialist threw words like amblyopia
and intermittent exotropia at me.

Big, scary words that parents don't want to have to think about.

We consider ourselves blessed to have 3 healthy children.

Aside from the usual upset tummies, snotty noses and sneezes,
plus a few extras...
corneal ulcers due to a toothbrush in the eye,
corneal ulcers due to falling into a wet cement puddle,
corneal ulcers due to a foreign body,
corneal ulcers due to toddler's finger nails in daddy's eye
(yeah, pick the pattern)...
we haven't had too much to stress about.

The fractured skull from our 2 year old hitting his head
and the possible metal ball intestinal obstruction
have probably been our biggest blips on the radar to date.
(But here I am going to touch wood and not say the things that we haven't had to deal with
because I know that is just tempting fate)

So yesterday was a bit of a jolt.

The gist is that our youngest has a wandering eye
and has lost some of her vision in that eye.
When eyes wander in children,
apparently their brains decide that it is all too hard
and give up a bit on that eye.
The treatment plan is to give that eye a chance to lift its game
and get back to doing what it is meant to do
by giving the good eye a handicap (drops, patches etc)
Though her loss of vision isn't severe,
she is in the unlucky 15% of children that has had some sight loss with this condition
and we are now crossing our fingers and toes
that she isn't in the 15% of children who don't respond to treatment.

She was rather excited to think that she might have gotten to wear glasses,
with that naive enthusiasm that 4 year olds
can have about many, many things in life.
(Like flying in planes because they never, ever crash.
and like thinking that the precious 50c piece in her piggy bank is actually $50.)

Luckily at this stage she doesn't have her mummy's hideous rely-on-contact-lenses-or-glasses-24/7-
or-else-run-into-that-500-ton- meteorite-sitting-2-metres-in-front-of-you vision.

I was calm and matter of fact about the whole visit and its outcome
until I was lying in bed last night and start doing the parent thing.
The What If thing.

What if?

What if she doesn't recover her vision?

What if her vision gets worse?

I know as far as childhood illness or injury goes,
this is not as devastating nor as debilitating as most
and there is a more than good chance of recovery.

But it has made me think about those parents, the many friends and associates that I have,
in the real world and on-line,
who are dealing with difficulties each and every day.

Some minor; some more major; some life changing.
Some with no end in sight and no solutions.
Some that tear at a parent's heart.

Most just get on with it without complaint.
As a parent, you just do what you have to do.
You  are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep your precious little ones safe and well and happy.
When a hug and kiss wont do it, you take a deep breath, maybe have a little cry
and then you step up.
It's just the fundamental principal of being someone's mother or father.

OND 2011

We hope that the next few months will bring positive results.

But in the meantime,
I have had a timely reminder to know how lucky Mr Boozle and I are as parents
and to remember what an amazing capacity these little human beings
have to help us find our strength, our ability to commit whatever it takes to help them
and, of course, our unconditional love.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Sometimes, just sometimes, everything goes perfectly

Little Boozle 2012

...and you can't stop smiling when you realise
that the end result is just what you had hoped for.

Little Boozle 2012

Little Boozle 2012

Little Boozle 2012

I have had this yarn and this pattern set aside for over 6 months.
My favourite ever colourway
and a vintage style pattern.
Little Boozle 2012

Little Boozle 2012

Little Boozle 2012

I absolutely love it.

Ice Skating Cape (or skirt)
Cosette Cornelius-Bates

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Last month...April 2012

(Not quite keeping up with my This Week posts...)

Little Boozle 2012

...there have been brisk mornings, sunny days, colourful falling leaves
and rapidly cooling afternoons,
reminding me why Autumn is one of my favourite times of year.

...I was happy to see my walking man after a long absence.

Little Boozle 2012
(Cherry Leaf scarf - Mary Ann Stephens)

...I have knitted and sewed
and even turned on my embroidery machine after more than a year.
 I am finally making things for my long-neglected boys.

Little Boozle 2012
(Little Hoodlum- Julia Stanfield)

...I found out that there is more salt in most takeaway pizzas
than in sea water.
(As a 20-something year old Uni student, I wouldn't have given a pfaff
but as a 43 year old mother of three,
I am horrified)

...we went to see a very cool Lego exhibit.

AMJ 2012

AMJ 2012

AMJ 2012

AMJ 2012

AMJ 2012

Art of Brick- Nathan Sawaya

The adolescent sized T rex took a whole summer and 80 000 Lego bricks to build.
Very. Very. Cool.

...my newly sewn up take out knitting bag has been dubbed The Tardis.
I can fit anything in there.

Little Boozle 2012

Little Boozle 2012
(Sew Liberated Bohemian Carpet bag)

...I had gastro, a severe and lingering fight with an upper respiratory infection
and then was laid up with a sore back.
Here's hoping that May is a healthier month.

...I finished watching all the eps from the modern Dr Who era on ABC2,
only to find that they immediately started playing them all again.
I am a big fan but I really need that 4 hours a week back.

...I had a fringe cut in. Mr Boozle informs me that I look years younger.
It's a shame that a painless, free 1 minute snip can't make other body parts look and feel younger.

Little Boozle 2012
(Norie- Gudrun Johnston)

...those cats lulled me into a false sense of security.
I thought that they actually spent their nights sleeping.

blog 2012

Apparently not.