Thursday, December 21, 2006

Dear Mummy

Dear Mummy

I have been working on a little project for some time now (no it's not in my nappy) and I am pleased to announce that I have produced two teefs. You will find them on my bottom gum in the middle and I will bite hard if you put your finger in my mouth. (Consider yourself warned). I also want you to know that although I haven't bitten you on the booby yet, I reserve the right to do so without notice. Please don't scream too loud or you might hurt my ears and/or upset me. Please note also that any attempts to wean me at this time will be met with shrieks of outrage and big sad eyes. Also any attempt to move my cot out of your bedroom so you can't hear said shrieks of outrage will end in both your children being awake half the night. Face it Mummy, I've got all the aces.

I will also be clamping down on any spoons or other things put into my mouth. Including fingers belonging to my brother, who shouldn't be putting his fingers in my mouth anyway cause who knows where they have been.

I am working on the crawling thing. I quite like the drag myself along the floor 'crawl towards the booby' thing we have going at the moment and think it's silly that you are embarrassed about showing Grandpa and Grandma how I crawl. I like being naked and showing off. I can't see what the problem is.

luv Gemma

She hasn't bitten me yet, but I just know it's going to happen. I'm scared. Those little f**kers look sharp. At the moment the only way I can get her to crawl is to expose her favourite 'snack' and watch her little eyes light up. Needless to say this won't be demonstrated at the Xmas lunch. It's probably a good thing I don't get drunk.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Little sister's revenge

D and I are waiting for the day that Gemma can take on Charlie and win. We suspect it won't be long now. She got in an early victory yesterday when Charlie, lying on the floor, had Gemma lying on his chest and was bouncing her up and down. She giggled and giggled and then 'cheesed'. On Charlie's face who, unfortunately for him, was laughing at the time. You can imagine the rest.

Just one of those difficult times when you are trying to be sympathetic, while trying not to collapse laughing at the same time.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The Great Santa Debate...

Personally, I've never been a big fan of Xmas - but kids naturally are... The excitement, the lollies, the sparkly stuff, the lollies, the holidays, the lollies ad nauseum. Which brings me to the Great Santa Debate - do you, or do you not, perpetrate the whole Santa myth? We don't in house for a variety of reasons - lying to your child, materialism of Xmas being about presents, the threat of "being good" for presents only and not for general contribution to niceness and wellbeing, not being churchy folks, a strange man coming into your house in the middle of the night... We developed our "Santa" answer fairly early on - that Santa is a tradition and represents Xmas which is about showing how much you love each other etc.

Does it work in the face of marketing, school, peer pressure, christmas carols, well-meaning adults, and general chaos of life? Not a chance.

Our daughter knows there isn't really a Santa (or pretty much insert make-belive kid's character - tooth fairy, easter bunny), but she believes in Santa. The classic recent quote was "Mum - you're a grown up so you are not allowed to belive in Santa Claus, but I'm a kid, and kids are meant to."

So on we go with 12 days to Xmas left... ho bloody ho.

Friday, November 24, 2006

A sign of the times, sadly...

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but man have I been busy lately...

So anyway, on the Friday, I took Pers to swimming lessons and one of the mums there had her pregnant sister with her who was taking photos of their little girl. I just happened to have my camera, so I asked her to take some shots, which she did and you can see them over on my blog.

On the Saturday, we went for a make up swimming lesson and my parents were with me and had just bought a new digital SLR, which they were keen to try out. My stepdad's the photgrapher and he got a few lovely shots of Pers and I during the lesson, which are lovely and only have Pers and I and sometimes the instructor in them. We finished the class and went out to the little splash pool and my stepdad took some more shots, when eventually, one of the lifeguards came over and asked him not to.

My stepdad got a bit offended, as we were the only subjects in the photos and no other children had been photographed, not even in the background. I actually thought that no cameras were permitted in the changerooms and didn't realise that this extended to the rest of the pool. But I explained it all to my stepdad and he complied, albeit sadly. He asked the lifeguard "What about swimming carnivals?" to be answered with "No photography is permitted at swimming carnivals." "So, what about the beach?" "If you take photos at the beach and you are seen by a lifeguard, you will be asked to stop."

Wow.

Sad, that the scum of the earth have spoiled it for the rest of us who would like to cherish but a few small memories while our kids are kids.

Armpits.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

goodbye gummy grin


a tooth! a tooth!


first suspected around lunchtime at Casa del Torbenspang, when The Delightful Nanna(tm) noticed a tiny scraping sound as she gave the Dinghy a sip of water from her glass.


further audio confirmation was received shortly afterwards upon arrival at home, using a melamine cup.




confirmed sighting at approx 3:25pm Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time. much cooing and appreciation followed from all, with the exception of the Dinghy, who just wanted his custard and fruit, dammit.


a certain melancholy has followed, on reflection (previously noted in diary) of how unbelievably cute toothless gums* are.




current suspicions, based on evidence of bulging tooth buds, are that three other teeth may well surface in relatively quick succession.


and here's another image, because posts with images are always good. this cunning tooth chart is nice, isn't it? it's something I might even bother to fill in, which would be nice, seeing as I have a hankering to do a Baby's First sort of thing one day. has anyone else actually been together enough to do that?




btw, that image at the top is of a Limoges tooth capsule. kinda cute, kinda a couple of hundred dollars. never mind little Dinghy, until you're old enough to browse the archives, you'll never know what you missed out on...


* on babies only. seriously.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Weee!

So have we heard how Team Jasper are doing?

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Hoorah for tie dye

I'm feeling accomplished. I've finished my tie-dying for the sprongling. A rainbow of colours.


The photo doesn't quite show the colours to their best, the purple on top is really strong... You know me, if you are going to do a colour, don't do it by halves.

One the left, a pile of nappies, in the middle, muslin wraps and two flannelette ones and one the right, a pile of second hand clothes completely transformed.

It may not be to everyone's taste, but for the time being, I will have a fashion victim who can't run away.... Bwa-ha-ha

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween is evil, yes evil I tell you

Actually I logged on and expected someone else to have beat me to this particular rant... Why I hate Halloween:
1. Ruin a perfectly nice pagan tradition by hyping it up with marketing
2. Completely appropriate in the US, I'll even go so far as temperate northern hemisphere countries - not subtropical southern ones
3. Teaching children that bullying complete strangers for lollies (sorry) candy is OK
4. Eating your own body weight in candy in one night is ok
5. Marketeers jumping on the bandwagon - thus "creating" a new market through pester power - there is an answer - it's NO

Maybe others think that it's cute and inocuous... I consider it evil and insidious... but hey - I don't like Australia Day either...

Friday, October 27, 2006

Persephone is not popular

At least not as a name anyway.But I kind of thought this was cool

You know that pole in Pers' room? It's not a structural beam...

Actually, I have no idea why it's there. But hell, at least it'll save me having to trawl the net looking for one of these when it is time for Persi to commence her pole dancing classes at the tender age of 5. Dressed as a skanky ho.


Not.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

not a real baby


no, really

only a couple of things give it away - the lips, and some of the dimples and folds around one of the hands aren't quite right. also, the other hand is in a real but not sustainable pose, so it looks a little wrong in many poses.

but the skin... bloody hell. holy jeebus, that's talent.

I find the 'reborn' stuff alternates between touching, astounding, and bit freaky.

but, wow.
also: wow.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

I believe I can fly

Ready for to taxi down the run way. Requesting permission to take off.
Right Mum, ready to fly. If only I knew how...

Monday, October 23, 2006

Whinge about holidaying with kids

The Good Weekend Magazine has just published it's annual 52 weekends away, 21 of which are in NSW. Of those 21, 11 welcome children, two are okay with children 'by prior arrangement' and two are not suitable for small children. Of the ones that welcome children the prices vary from $140 per night for two people, plus $35 for extra adults and $20 for each additional child to $829 for a two night package for two people (0 - 12 yrs free if using existing bedding). So you are looking at a base cost of $160 for two adults with one child if you want one of the featured weekends away. So now starts the bitch. I find $160 a bit steep personally and I'm never going to want to spend $829 for a weekend away, even though it's a Peppers Resort. Where is all the nice weekend away accommodation for parents with kids that doesn't cost the earth?

Victoria is more child friendly,of the 21 featured 15 guest houses welcome children, and 4 accept children by prior arrangement except for the one that only allows children if other guests won't be disturbed - why not just say no children and be done with it? I know that my kids aren't everyone's cup of tea, screaming toddlers do tend to do your head in, that's why I need a holiday.

Prices are much the same as the lower end of the NSW scale, although some of the accommodation looks and sounds quite flash. I especially heart the one that provides a cot, high chair, change mat, linen and baby bath. I could almost pay the $180 per night high season, especially since it includes bed and breakfast basket, and would definitely be tempted by the $150 per night low season just because of the thoughtfullness of the proprietors for families with children.

I'm sure that there are places out there that cater for kids, are budget friendly and in places you want to visit. I just haven't found them yet. If you have been anywhere nice lately, make a comment. Please I need a holiday. Or if you think I need a reality check about quality accommodation and kids please let me know that as well.

Attatchment Parenting

So, did anyone see the segment on 60 minutes last night? I didn't, but I did hear about it on the radio this morning. So, what's the go? Were the people featured picked out for their fruit loopyness, are they the one or two twits or is it all like that?

Personally, breastfeeding until they're five is just wrong on so many levels I mean would you really lunch swap at Kindergarten? Yeah, I'll have the breast milk...not... and what about inviting your friends around after school? Milk and a cookie, anyone?

And I don't know about this not wearing a nappy business either... sorry, but I much prefer the sanitary approach to it all. Yurk. Not on my garden!

Those were two of the examples I heard about. Now I'm hoping that maybe 60 Minutes were a bit sensationalist about it all and that maybe there is more to it and that maybe it's not all fruit loopy. I took a look around and the websites didn't seem to go on with all the fruit loopy stuff. Sure, infact some of the information I looked at seemed logical and some of it seemed a bit hippy new age tree hugging sort of stuff.

But meh, it's one of those water cooler conversation points, I spose...

Friday, October 20, 2006

"Corporate Paedophilia"

Go and grab a cup of tea, this is a long one...

Thank goodness someone's given it a name - and, trite as a catch phrase can be, "Corporate Paedophilia" is a lot easier to say than The "I'm really sick of seeing all that Skanky Ho crap in the shops, aren't you? And what's with all the suggestive posing of little girls?" Phenomena. I know some of us have been bemoaning the hideous 8-year-old bralettes in chain stores. At least we're not alone.

Thankfully, several people have written lucidly on this. To start, check out the summary of Dr Emma Rush's report from The Australia Institute (TAI), the media release, and the ammendment they made when they pulled some of the images of children from the report at the request of the parents.

Tigtog posted on the topic at Larvatus Prodeo (cross posted here) and her own site; there's an article on 'sexy kids' on the ABC site and a transcript from the 7:30 Report about the legal action against TAI by David Jones; a short but pertinent article I found interesting; and finally Phillip Adam's article from back in 2003.

The site that I pulled Adam's article from, Young Media, is a great resource, by the way.

To be able to see some images which have been talked about go to Tig's post, or try here, there, and everywhere (also try this and that). Most catalogue sites have been pulled, but even though the front page was pulled, once you've got a link to a specific page, you can see the whole collection. Some photos I think are fine; some I don't.

The P-word is certainly provocative - but as with many touchy topics, you have to overcompensate and make headlines in order to push the envelope. Perhaps there should be an alternative, but what should be used instead? Any ideas?


In the defense of some of the skanky merchandise, it has been pointed out that children like to copy their parents and role models. So why shouldn't they want to dress like, and imitate, their elders? Of course they want to, and they should. Role playing, and dress ups, are an enormous part of children learning who they are. However -

Dress ups are meant to be children dressing up in cast-offs, and playing pretend. Mum's old nightie, dad's old waistcoat, a policeman's hat, long sparkly gloves, enormous cloppy shoes, nanna's wigs, a tool belt, a hard hat, mum's cast off makeup that she's still got at the back of the draw (a big thrill when I was about 5 was getting some old makeup from a lady down the street. she was very groovy, and her makeup was amazing!).

You dress up, you play, and then you get back into your normal clothes. Children's clothes. You do not, by default, wear a tiny denim mini skirt which shows your knickers and a crop top which says something charming like "Get It Here", then pester mum endlessly for your own tweenie (I hate that word) makeup like the range you saw in K Mart.


Most of the stuff being written is about the objectification and sexualisation of little girls. What of little boys?

Well, I know that lately, walking into a chain store leaves me pretty cold. The girl's fashions are pink, pink with a bit more pink, oh, and would you like glitter with that? And don't forget the ponies. While the boys fashions are just fine, as long as you want khaki, mud, slime and puce, printed with tanks, helicopters, and violent robot-on-robot action.


I'm sick of seeing little boys in head-to-toe cammo. The Delightful Nanna(TM) found an old army jacket at the Salvos and it's going straight into the Dress Up Box because - it's a prop. You can pretend to be a soldier, little Dinghy, but you won't be dressing like one every day.

Reading 'Raising Boys' by Steve Biddulph recently reminded me of another thing which really gets my goat (btw, thanks again for the lend, DV). I remember when I was working in child care, there was one teacher who'd always, when she saw a little boy holding hands with a little girl, giggle like a freakin' schoolgirl and say, "Oooh, is X (little girl's name) your girlfriend?"

Little boys hold hands with little boys.
Little girls hold hands with little girls.
Little girls hold hands with little boys.
Little boys hold hands with little girls.
Can we get that straight?

It's about friendship. It's not about bloody sexual relationships. They'll come sooner than most parents want. Can children be children first? The realisation of gender occurs early enough, but the sexual connotations can occur much, much later, thank you very much. Realising that you're a girl like mummy or a boy like daddy doesn't mean that you need to be attractive to the opposite sex. It means you're a girl or a boy, now get on with being a child.

There's an older lady I know who always looks at the Dinghy and says things like, "Ooh, he's so sweet, I'll bet he gets all the girls when he's older." I know it all sounds innocent while they're babies, but I don't like it much when people flatter children like that. Giving and receiving compliments is an art we should all cultivate, and you can say a child has a lovely feature - but why add that this is the way they'll attract the opposite sex?

Why is that the way to define a baby? Why is that the way to define anyone???

I want to extend this to the way some boys get called "Little Man." I know some won't be with me on this one, but sometimes, I don't like it. My baby is a baby. He's not even a boy yet, although he is male. He's a baby. Then he'll be a toddler, a little boy, a boy, an older boy, hopefully never a tweenie (have I mentioned I hate that word?), a teenager, and finally, a man. But at the moment, I still dress him in handknits and booties. Because he's a baby.

Finally, someone found this horrid piece of clothing. I'm not going to put the image up here, it annoys me too much. I think it's urban kiddie culture gone too far, a shame, because some of it is clever and bloody funny. If you don't know what the acronym means, try here.

"In honour of all the beautiful mothers out there" - my arse.

Okay, enough rant. I like a good cathartic rant sometimes, and I hope you got something to think about out of it. Even if it is just, "Oh dear, Speedy is a humourless loony, isn't she?"

Heh. Bugger orf.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Ta-da!!!

What do you think?? good, bad, hideous or the loveliest template you've ever seen.

Also, if you don't know how to add links in, send them to me and I'll update the page.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

North v South...

Back home today after the meeting in Copenhagen... The airlines managed to lose my luggage again so I had to go shopping in town to get stuff to wear (always fun - but at least I know where to go in CPH and what the money actually means...) which had me walking through the inner city suburbs about 10-11am, and I realised with a bit of a start that i was wandering through a public park where the school kids were playing, supervised by a few teachers. It took me a moment, cos school kids don't wear uniforms... and i bumped into again that if Australia was serious about the whole sustainable development of cities/suburbs and encouraging workplaces to be family friendly and for people to have more kids they should take a closer look at common things in the Danish way of life.

  • special spots on buses with lower entry for prams - tick
  • space to secure pram and the mum to sit down next to it on buses & trains - tick
  • all train stations with lifts or ramps - tick
  • tricycle and buggy style carts for lugging kids around with your bike - tick
  • bike lanes (real ones! safe enough for kids to ride in) - tick
  • teachers and child care workers respected and paid decently - tick
  • paid maternity leave = 1 year - tick
  • accessible childcare - tick
  • lots of parks and playgrounds, walking, cycling, picnicking etc - tick

It's quite a different way of life in many ways - catering to families as part of the package, not just as an afterthought. There are of course down sides (9yr olds wearing maek up to school) - but even a few of the small changes (eg the bus thing) would make it so much easier for young families to use public transport instead of the car...

Wouldn't trade it for the beach though!
cheers
fliss

Friday, October 13, 2006

If anyone ever wants to make this blog look better than it does, please, feel free...

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Charlie makes brek-skist

Charlie made me brek-skist. Raspberry jelly and Special K. Yum.This is what he had planned for lunch, but we had chicken nuggets instead.
This is the cute little outfit that does up at the back that I decided to put on Gemma yesterday. Then while playing with her on the floor I happened to glance down the back of her outfit. Oh my goodness. On the left, that dark shadow? It's not a shadow. It's brown and sticky and all up her back. Fortunately the cute outfit that does up at the back was much easier to get her out of than I imagined. So practical for everywhere poos, but impractical for a wet nappy because you have to strip the baby to get to their nappy.
Then I went under the house and had the bejezus scared out of me by a spider. Today is going to be a better day. Or else.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

v. v. funny

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Stuff to do...

Hi All

I realise this may be a little ways off for some... however just thought I'd pop my 2c worth in about stuff to do, places to go etc as I am yet again faced with school holidays (arrrgggghhh).

If you haven't already invested in the Sydney for under Fives book (Seana Smith) - stick it on your Xmas list - it's bloody brilliant (or ask for a lend of mine). Lists a fair whack of the attractions/parks/beaches/play centres etc of Sydney & surrounds geared to how easy to access with prams or clinging toddlers, how close the nearest decent coffee/loos/food/transport is etc. Have found a number of great parks/playgrounds tucked out of the way with this book. Also http://www.sydneyforkids.com.au/ is handy (but for a slightly older audience).

This hols I'm also trying out a few new vacation care options - as I was deeply unimpressed by the vacation care program run at the local childcare centre. They managed to lose 4 kids at the zoo on the first day - including mine! Only for 2min and nothing dire happened... but the whole thing did not inspire confidence let me tell you. For names - send me an email as I don't want to be sued for slander... So I will report back on the others!

The new playground at Queen Elizabeth Park in Concord is great for your 3-8yr olds. Climbing frame, swings, twisty pole, water pump, wobbly bridge, fun paths with interactive bird noises & crazy mirrors, fantastic chime made out of old tyres plus in-built mini-soccor goals. We spent 2 hours there this afternoon. Bayview Park (end of Burwood Rd, near the water) is also great, though parking can be a pain...

Shall stop blathering now and see if I can search out the web address for the under 5s author as it seems to have disappeared...

Thursday, September 28, 2006

( - : three in 15 days : - )


did I do my maths right?

today at Mummies Group: Special Edition, we had guests from out of town, to complete the "3 Babies in 15 Days" project. we even managed to get a few minutes were there was neither feeding, sleeping nor grizzling to be had, and a little Photo Op ensued.




from left to right: Min with Gemma, Speedie with the Dinghy, and Wenchilada with Persi (hope y'all don't mind I went all artistic on our arses).

and of course in my eagerness to get a photo of the three wise monkeys, I forgot to also take photies of Charlie, Torbenspang, and AJ. they were having fun, making sure that Hebedog got a run for her money, and that cakes and sammo crusts worked their way into interesting nooks that I won't find for a fortnight.

I hope you all had fun - I loved it :-)

Monday, September 25, 2006

Rolling

Sohpie started rolling yesterday. She finds it all very exciting and I love that she is excited but it is making sleeping difficult for her. She now flips over onto her stomach and then grizzles because when she is wrapped she can't get back. Normally she takes a long time to get back over onto her back anyway but she can do it, but with a wrap on plus the fact she is dog tired when I put her down she is having lots of trouble. She is so excited by her new ability and it is wonderful watching how happy she is in general when ever she rolls.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Opening my eyes

At the park today there were some older kids playing on the equipment as well as the littlies that the equipment is designed for. But the older kids were being sensible and staying away from the little ones so no one got hurt. I was standing near them while Charlie played and happened to overhear their conversation.

They started talking about how much they weighed - one said he weighed a ton, another said he weighed half a ton etc etc. Then the first lad, who I thought was a bit chubby said his real weight - 60kg. Goodness I thought, that's pretty heavy for a kid your size. Then he proudly said 'and I'm nearly nine'. Christ on a cracker! was my next thought. This kid, who at first glance I thought was a bit chubby, is the weight that I should be (to be well within my healthy weight for height range, I'm 168cm). So he's 8 years old, probably about 140cm high, and weighing in at 60kg. It can't be healthy for him to carry that much weight. That's when I realised how easy it is to forget what a kid is supposed to look like and why many parents don't seen to realise that their kids are overweight or obese.

I'm glad to be able to say that none of the other kids at the park were overweight. They all looked skinny to me, so that probably means that they are a healthy weight, like they should be.

Just a bit silly really...

I was just at the Qantas site looking at prices for taking the family to my brother-in-law's wedding in Auckland next March. Prices for two adults are pretty much what you'd expect, it's going to cost almost $1000 (return) for the two of us. What I think is outrageous is the cost of taking the kids. A four year old takes up a seat, so he pays full adult fare. Well okay I can cop that. They can't be expected to let seats go cheaper just for kids when they could get an adult fare on. It sucks but that's life.

Gemma, being under two will sit on our laps. Her ticket is 10% of the adult fare, probably to cover fuel costs that her huge (10kg?) baby body is going to add. But the real kicker is the $134 in charges and taxes that is added to her ticket. So a flight where she will sit on her parents' laps, eat her own food and not use any of the facilities is going to cost us $159.00. Just seems a bit silly to have to pay that much to take my own child out of the country, sitting on my lap. Of course if we wanted to put her in her own seat that would cost us $433.00.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Huge baby

I just saw a news bit about a 6 kg newborn, (omg Gemma is just over 6kg at nearly 5 months) and went online to see if there was anything on the interweb about it. I didn't find that story, but I did find one about a 7kg newborn, fortunately born via caesarian, in a Spanish hospital.



Photo EFE.

Apparently her firstborn was 5kg newborn, so they expected a big baby. That is one hell of a newborn.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Nurture sling

I've had the Nurture Sling for about a week now, and it's fab. It's easy and fast to put on, easy to wear, Gemma likes it, she'll go to sleep in it, it fits in my handbag when I'm not using it. In short it's everything it's maker said it would be. It has nice deep sides so bub is well held in and would take quite an effort for them to fall out, unless you were bending right over and they pitched themselves out, but that would be true for pretty much all slings I would think. It fits like a sash across your chest and the weight of the baby is on your shoulder and opposite hip. It takes about 10 minutes of wearing to get used to it but after that I found it quite comfortable, even when wearing it for a couple of hours. Best of all it should fit her up to about age 2 or too heavy to carry whichever comes first.

The only drawback that I can see is that for couples of different sizes, eg: she's petite and he's tall and broad shouldered, you would have to buy two slings because they aren't adjustable. However, for $40 per sling including postage it's still a pretty good deal. Once I have someone else to hold the camera I will post a photo of Gemma in the sling.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

More Music

Here yer go!

Monday, September 04, 2006

a walk in the black forest...


look at this beautiful photo:






I can't believe the expressions on each baby's face. are they all listening to the same noise/music? could you get more differing responses? I'm presuming that they're having their hearing tested, like the SWISH programme we have in New South Wales hospitals (which I think may have a different name in different states, but I'm not sure).

unfortunately I can't remember where I found the image, so I can't credit it. it was on a blog I visited some time in the past fortnight... gah! I'm sorry, person-whose-blog-I-visited!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I mean, really!

And here are the Stupid Security Contest 2003 award winners...

No, honestly!

Friday, August 25, 2006

Sling it to me, baby!

I don't know if anyone here knows the Baroness of Stormhold, but she has put her onstructions up for her sling. I didn't get to see it, but I'm told it is very good and SCA appropriate. It may even be period! It's over here if you want to have a perve.

Over on Popgadget, there is a quick blurb about a baby hammock for 0-4 month olds. Some our babies are now older, but this would be a really nifty thing to have, especially over summer. They go for the growth and development pitch, as most products seem to, but I would like to see a little more evidence supporting that. Anyway, have a look. If the thought of buying one's a bit much, I wonder how easy they would be to constuct?

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Rehash of printable colouring pages...

I actually sent this around as an email a while ago now - but thought popping them here might be useful for those who didn't receive it the first time round...

I thought you might be interested in trying out some of the links for printable colouring in pages. I've tried to only include the ones that don't require you to register etc Might save you some time on a rainy day...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/printables/printcolour/ (heaps of kids based TV characters etc)
for older ones - http://www.bbc.co.uk/paintingtheweather/colouring/
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/?scrollerId=art (elmo et al)
http://www.abc.net.au/children/makeanddo/print/default.htm (heaps of kids based TV characters etc)
http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/activity_finder/printables/index.jhtml (heaps of kids based TV characters etc)
http://www.hitentertainment.com/angelinaballerina/uk/index.html (only for angelina fans really...)
http://www.coloring.ws/animals.html (lots of animals - incl dinos!)
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coloringbook/archive/ (more animals..)
http://coloringpages.net/coloringpages.html general
http://coloringbookfun.com/ general
http://www.robert-hutchinson.co.uk/tonka-trucks-clipart.htm trucks
http://www.bears.co.nz/games/characters.htm teddies
http://flagspot.net/flags/cbk.html flags
http://www.first-school.ws/ everything you can think of - themed index
http://www.dinosaurvalley.com/kidzone1.html dinos
http://www.kids.net.au/kidscategories/Kids_and_Teens/Sports_and_Hobbies/Drawing_and_Coloring/Printable_Coloring_Pages/Favorite_Characters
links to other colouring sites
http://www.crayola.com/activitybook/index.cfm?mt=coloractivities seems to change regularly

a truly crapulous piece of PC bollockry

I quite like that title, don't you? ;-)

I was given a bunch of parenting and baby mags a few weeks ago, from a lady who dropped her bundle early last year. some of the mags are quite decent, actually, while some are a little gosh! wow! you're having a baby!!!! type affairs. I didn't buy any while I was expecting the Dinghy, so I'm enjoying reading some of them. and discarding others. and getting cross at one or two.

the process has really gelled in my mind (it was there already lurking, you see) that I'm really sick of the whole he/she thing when it comes to writing about children. I don't mind which sex you choose to make a fictitious child when you write about it, Mr/Sister/Ms/Miss/Mrs/Dr Child-Specialiste. just bloody give the info up so I can make an informed decision, and I'm happy.

because otherwise you end up with truly stupid pieces of writing which try and pass themselves off as making sense. or even pretending to be written in the English language. I mean really.

check this little beauty from a UK, Pregnancy, Dec/Jan 2004:

Breastfeeding Question Time
Q: How long should I let my baby breastfeed for?
A: Let your baby feed on the first breast for as long as she wants to before offering him the second. This will enable her to have access to all the milk he needs to grow and gain weight. Taking her off before he finishes could also mean you start to produce less milk. Watch your baby, rather than the clock to decide how long to feed her.


arrrrhghghghgheehheggggegghhh!!!


my brain hurts. please, make it stop.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Time for a Rant

I was at Alex preschool on Friday for a puppet show- Murry Raine Puppets, it was really good!
I bumped into a member of the general public. She was giving her children muslei bars and the staff were taking them away because they have children who get anaphalaxis with peanuts at the centre. She was spouting off about how next year when the pre-school doesn't provide lunches anymore they would just have to stop these children from attending because it was too inconvenient for her to make sure that none of the food she was sending with her kids contained no traces of peanuts. I sort of made the comment that the allergy could kill children and she went right off about how those sort of children should not be allowed at a public preschool where she had to pay high fees for her children. If she was paying high fees her children should be able to eat whatever they want to etc etc.
I just thought it was a prime case of discrimination, just because some children were a bit different. Yes a lot of foods contain traces of nuts but there are a lot out there that don't and when her kids get to school they still won't be able to take these foods because the risk has become even greater, so schools are not letting children bring these foods to school anymore.
I also thought it was amazing how the problem was that it was incovenient for her, not that her children may have a hard time seeing their friends sick or that other mothers may have a difficulty etc. She pissed me right off. Mind you by this time Alex and I had decided we were not interested in this member of the general public so we had gone elsewhere, but she was still going off at the top of her voice to anyone withing hearing distance.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Arg I hate breastfeeding- sometimes!
I know that lots of you are no longer breastfeeding and I know that it is my choice, and sometimes I love it, but Sophie has just virtually cracked a ring around my entire nipple.
Now this sort of post is exactly why we have this blogg- as I don't think it would go down very well on For Battle!
I have found the advice from lactation consultants and everyone else who wants to have a say so annoying and mostly crap, that I have decided to let off steam. I am currently using a nipple shield until my nipple heals and then I will go back to feeding mostly because I enjoy the closeness it gives me. Finally weaning Alex to a bottle gave me a lot of freedom but I also missed it, so I am caught in the same double bind with Sophie. Breastfeeding is convenient because I don't have to sterilise, sometimes it is wonderful, particularly after the first six weeks and other times it is pure hell, as far as I am concerned it is much worse than labour and pregnancy combined at some times. Why do we get so much rubbish and conflicting advice from so called specialists when our own experiences and emotions over the whole issue are conflicting enough regardless of whether we are breastfeeding, bottle feeding, introducing solids early or late etc.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Sesame St is turning 37!


Now I know some may not find this an overly exciting fact, but...

Sesame St is turning 37!!!!!!



And for this little Wenchilada, who was glued to the set at 8am and 3pm every weekday (for maybe just that little bit too long) to watch Sesame St, this is indeed an auspicious occasion!

Mrs Davis has this to offer: The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What to Think: Come and Play, Everything's A-Okay.

...and I thought, hey, maybe we could give it a shot...

Monday, August 07, 2006

Indie Romp


So apparently there is this whole genre of music out there called 'Indie Romp'. According to The Lovely Mrs Davis, there are heaps of bands out there catering for those of us with better taste in music, who would prefer not to be subjected to endless hours of listening to the Wiggles etc. I know this article has been around, but it's worth a read.

They Might Be Giants - Here Come The ABC's is brilliant so now I'm on the hunt for more music in a similar vein, though Persi seems to like jazz and singing on Mondays so maybe it's not going to be too hard a task.

Friday, August 04, 2006

I hate to get all political on your arse* but...

today I was trawling through the blogs. as you do. and over at Larvatus Prodeo was this post about a parenting magazine getting a flogging for it's front cover, namely, this -



- because a picture of a breast-feeding baby is obscene.

what the hell is that all about? thank you, conservative America, for completely missing the point about babies, mothers, a natural and fabulous process, and stopping mothers from feeling embarrassed about all of the above.

I won't write much more because a) you can feel my righteous indignation, and b) the following blogs/zines have done it for me - The Consumerist, Zulkey, and an article on the MSNBC website. Harry? if you're reading this, can For Rattle! borrow your sword for a while?

that is all.

* well, it's not really your arse I'm getting political on.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006


Hi everyone,
as no one has started to write anything yet I thought I would put a link up to the Sesame Site. It has all sorts of usful information on develoment of children and how to handle common problems such as tantrums, for those of us with older children.
The particular link I am putting in is for development of language skills from newborn to pre-school age but from there you can go to lots of other good stuff.
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/article.php?contentId=729&
I am also puting up a new photo of Sophie because I took one yesterday so I may as well show everyone how she has grown.