After what seems like many weeks now of bad sleep - due to Astro-girl finally getting colds after a dream run of not, and the rest of us catching them too and feeling generally like cr*p - we are exhausted!
Sick babies have trouble breathing through their noses, and there isn't much you can do but get up to them and give them a hug when they cry, wipe their little noses, give them a drink, or give them something for their fever if they have one. E-chan has been sleeping through his sister's wakings, despite sharing a room with her, and waking us up on separate occasions most nights. So despite a only being woken once last Saturday night, lately it's been more like 3 times a night. On average. Leaves you running on reserve most days, scatty, feeling like you have mountains of stuff you should be doing, but just can't.
This is coupled with end of financial year mahem at C-chan's work, resulting in long hours, with variable coming-home times. We're lucky if he's home for dinner with us one weeknight a week, and even then we're usually more than half way through our dinner before he gets home. I'm pretty fed up with it all.
The other morning C-chan left for work, and said good bye. I replied:
"Right, see you later tonight, when at least one of the kids will probably be in bed already, the house will be a mess because I won't have managed to clean up dinner or the toys yet, your dinner will be cold, and you can complain about having to do housework after such a long day at work, countered by my complaint that I haven't managed to even get to half the housework so don't you start, before Astro girl wakes up and screams for 2 hours straight".
We both had to agree that this pretty much sums things up lately. Things go in phases with kids, and usually there are many good weeks that go by without much reflection that they are indeed good. But gee, would be nice for this phase to pass by soon.*
*PS last night we only had one waking, yay!
02 July 2010
Repeated mistakes...
- Tissues in pockets going through the wash; little fluffy bits of white all over out clothes. Not just once, but 3 times in a week!
- A lack of accumulated accessories to wear - particularly belts, shoes. This is purely because I don't have the time on my own to shop for them,.
- Managing my son's egg and sesame allergies at parties. Oh man, we have been spoilt by having a group of friends who are allergy-aware, because about 3 of the little boys have egg allergies, and a few of them have multible allergies. I find cashews are easy to avoid. But the suprise hommus sandwiches on the kiddy tray, next to the cheese and ham sandwiches? Didna notice! And while E-chan is fine with eating some cooked egg, say in cake, without much ill effect, I forget to ask about the likelihood of raw egg being somewhere in the mix. Raw egg white is a no-no. Result? Mess requiring buckets and mops. When are we gonna learn? C-chan and I clearly need a pre-party battle plan, but are so scatterbrained of late we just don't get around to it. At least he is all better after a dose of antihistamine, and we managed to take that along with us.
17 June 2010
Venting the little annoyances of life
You know your life is privileged when your list of life's little irritations cover such trivial issues in the big scheme of things. However, if we don't vent them from time to time, we risk going bonkers. Here's a list of things that drive me up the wall... how about you?
- People who stand still on the escalators and block your way past - the escalator is a means to speed your way up a level, not a sideshow ride!!
- Shop assistants, when giving you your change, putting the coins ON TOP OF THE NOTES! Really, how hard is it to put the coins in your hand first, followed by the notes? Maybe I'm just unco, but I find the coins slip off our plastic note currency if placed on top, and have dropped them countless times.
- Drunks/teenagers breaking empty bottles of alcohol on the footpath. OK, I know they're drunk, but are they so disconnected from people who ride bikes and push prams that they don't realise they are creating a danger to young kids and pneumatic tyres?
- Girls like colours other than pink too! Do you hear that, department stores? And I don't just mean purple...
- LED down light sellers - do I really need to get an electrician to change over my high energy usage halogen down lights to an LED alternative, or can someone somewhere just tell us how to do it ourselves and which globes to buy?
- Those voice-overs the commercial TV networks do over their Drama promos. You know - they put on this creepy (yet ocker) voice, almost a whisper... "And in this weeks' episode of _____ Bill has his work cut out for him.... but you'll never guess what Nancy has planned next!". I want to know WHO DECIDED THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA? Why can't they talk normally?
- SATC II: am I the only female not getting a posse of my girlfriends together to see this movie? Yeah - power to them for covering topics supposedly of interest to and from the perspective of females, vacuous and superficial as they are... Am I the only female who's watched a few episodes of this show and decided it's not really that interesting? I'd rather watch "Anne of Green Gables". (Love me, don't judge me!)
09 June 2010
Neighbours (becoming friends, and freaky noises in the night, part 5)
We had a nice little kiddy corner thing going on in our end of our apartment complex. Next door, there were twin boys (now 16 months), and across the corridor, a family of 5 with kids between 6 and 11. The other two mums were home most days, and we could poke our heads out the door and say "hello", chat when we needed adult company, or lend obscure cooking ingredients or appliances. It was nice to have people living nearby who you know are sympathetic when kids cry/chuck tantrums/are being sent to the naughty corner.
But last month, the family with twins moved to the next suburb, and now the other family have bought another unit in the complex - not so far away, but not across the corridor any more. The nice thing is we have become friends with these families, and will keep seeing them.
So what are the new neighbours like? Hard to tell so far, but relatively quiet. They are a couple, and seem nice enough. The fella's work takes him away from home for weeks at a time, so his partner has friends/relatives come to stay with her. She is a sports psychologist and dance instructor!
Last night I we were getting ready for bed, and heard a weird thumping. We thought "oh no, late Sunday night renovations?" I went out into the corridor to try to work out what the noise was, and thought it sounded a bit too rhythmically perfect for a hammer.... then the noise stopped and was finished off with a round of applause from a few people! It was TAP DANCING!
Now I know what it was, it won't bother me again!
But last month, the family with twins moved to the next suburb, and now the other family have bought another unit in the complex - not so far away, but not across the corridor any more. The nice thing is we have become friends with these families, and will keep seeing them.
So what are the new neighbours like? Hard to tell so far, but relatively quiet. They are a couple, and seem nice enough. The fella's work takes him away from home for weeks at a time, so his partner has friends/relatives come to stay with her. She is a sports psychologist and dance instructor!
Last night I we were getting ready for bed, and heard a weird thumping. We thought "oh no, late Sunday night renovations?" I went out into the corridor to try to work out what the noise was, and thought it sounded a bit too rhythmically perfect for a hammer.... then the noise stopped and was finished off with a round of applause from a few people! It was TAP DANCING!
Now I know what it was, it won't bother me again!
05 June 2010
Back atcher, babe!
Things my son has said to us recently (and his tone and choice of words sound eerily familiar...):
No human being is capable of devoting all their childs' waking hours to giving entirely satisfactory, age appropriate answers to every question... especially when you have a son such as ours who talks constantly, and half of that time is asking questions, even when he knows the answer.
This is tough, because I really do want my son to learn and feel important, and when I can, I give careful, considered answers to his questions. But the rest of the time, I have other stuff going on in my head (you know, minor stuff like keeping the household going, looking after a baby and all that it entails), and for short pockets of time, I might actually be having a thought that doesn't involve anyone else's life or ideas but my own!
Oh the compromises you have to make!
- "Sometimes you just have to let me have some biscuits/watch one more show/stay up later!"
- Us: Why do you have to talk ALL the time?
Him: Because I do! - "Astrid, you have to let Mummy cut your fingernails, otherwise they will grow in and hurt!!"
- "Mummy, if I leave the light on in the toilet, you have to leave it on for me for next time!"
No human being is capable of devoting all their childs' waking hours to giving entirely satisfactory, age appropriate answers to every question... especially when you have a son such as ours who talks constantly, and half of that time is asking questions, even when he knows the answer.
This is tough, because I really do want my son to learn and feel important, and when I can, I give careful, considered answers to his questions. But the rest of the time, I have other stuff going on in my head (you know, minor stuff like keeping the household going, looking after a baby and all that it entails), and for short pockets of time, I might actually be having a thought that doesn't involve anyone else's life or ideas but my own!
Oh the compromises you have to make!
26 May 2010
When it rains, it pours...
Life has little fits of hectic-ness (bad English, I know), and I'm in the middle of one right now...
In summary:
In summary:
- Friend/former colleage kindly recommends me to her boss for a 12 month part-time contract, which both interests me and would suit me just fine (both in hours and contract length)
- I send in my CV and hear nothing for ages
- I'm casually asking about child care for Astro-girl and am hopeful that she can go to the same centre as her big brother (I like the centre, it would only be one drop off etc etc, but it isn't the most convenient really since we moved house a couple of years ago...). Also need to look into Pre-school for E-chan next year. This rainy weather is not conducive to walking around the suburb applying for day-care!!
- Astro-girl gets sick for really the first time in her 10-month life, and has had night time screaming marathons, resulting in us all playing musical beds (her dad and I taking it in shifts to carry her around, while her brother is shifted into our bed so he doesn't have to put up with screaming).
- The place is a mess - dotted with toys that 2 kids have spread around, now that Astro-girl is mobile.
- E-chan decides now is a good time for experimental play resulting in dramas (e.g. plays in bathroom sink for a while, comes out saying "my tongue feels funny!!". After a few moments consideration, it seems getting soap on his tongue is the most likely explanation!! Immediate mouth rise operation initiated...)
- You-beaut event I arranged for Playgroup tomorrow cancels due to the flu!
- E-chan's child care centre confirmed there are currently no places for Astro-girl, and 2 other families with equal priority to me are also trying to get a place!
- Potential new employer (see 1 above) contacts me this morning asking if I want to meet this week (and yes, it's Wednesday!!). Which I do, but C-chan will have to take a few hours off to mind the kids.
12 May 2010
Update on diet...
As I mentioned in the post before last, I have been trying a high-fibre breakfast so see if it has any effect on the eczema that has been troubling me more than usual lately.
Some result so far - the eczema around my eyes and throat has cleared for the first time in months! I'm impressed. My hands are wrist are another story, but probably caused by other things (contact with dust mites and detergents when cleaning for e.g.). But promising so far.
Some result so far - the eczema around my eyes and throat has cleared for the first time in months! I'm impressed. My hands are wrist are another story, but probably caused by other things (contact with dust mites and detergents when cleaning for e.g.). But promising so far.
Mum's Day the Fourth...
And so I have survived until my 4th Mothers' Day*, and now have 2 children under my belt. Except one will be higher than my belt before too long! That's it for me and child bearing. I've never wanted more than two kids, so should we find we have room for more, it will be fostering or something like that. I would like to be able to help out someone less fortunate than myself. Not yet though.
Mothers' Day was hectic, as is the norm these days. My own Mum was staying at our place (and Dad), and we attempted to go out for a nice cafe lunch. Astro-girl has decided to start being difficult about sleep in the past few weeks (ie waking up more, won't always sleep in the pram, sometimes won't go to sleep in the morning, etc), but she actually fell asleep in the pram, after much complaining, just as we arrived for lunch. Our lunch order was stuffed up, and they waived the fee of one of our dishes, but my Dad didn't realise and gave the cafe staff a serve at the counter when he was paying! Embarrassing!!
My little boy decided to head butt his father on two occasions that day, too. On one of these, I came down the stairs to find him looking all sheepish in the Naughty Corner, and raised my eyebrows at him. He also put his hands on his hips and stared me down about something when we were arguing the other night. Not sure if this is the dreaded 4-year testosterone surge that little boys get... If so, am wondering if this is as bad as things will get with him, or can we look forward to worse from him? We've heard some horror stories about our friends sons recently. So far he's a gentle-natured little boy - he's smart, caring and sensitive, yet masculine. Much like most of the men that are close to me, and my preferred kind of male. At his worst he usually is just plain argumentative.
I am looking forward to seeing how his character develops. And my daughter's too, of course, but her character at 9 months of age is less apparent. I think she may be a bit cheeky! And determined. She's getting more vocal, too - I am destined to have no peace in my household!!
But I love my kids so very, very much, and I can't help but be a bit chuffed every year when Mothers' Day comes around, just because I am the mother of these two.
*hope I got the apostrophe in the right spot...
Mothers' Day was hectic, as is the norm these days. My own Mum was staying at our place (and Dad), and we attempted to go out for a nice cafe lunch. Astro-girl has decided to start being difficult about sleep in the past few weeks (ie waking up more, won't always sleep in the pram, sometimes won't go to sleep in the morning, etc), but she actually fell asleep in the pram, after much complaining, just as we arrived for lunch. Our lunch order was stuffed up, and they waived the fee of one of our dishes, but my Dad didn't realise and gave the cafe staff a serve at the counter when he was paying! Embarrassing!!
My little boy decided to head butt his father on two occasions that day, too. On one of these, I came down the stairs to find him looking all sheepish in the Naughty Corner, and raised my eyebrows at him. He also put his hands on his hips and stared me down about something when we were arguing the other night. Not sure if this is the dreaded 4-year testosterone surge that little boys get... If so, am wondering if this is as bad as things will get with him, or can we look forward to worse from him? We've heard some horror stories about our friends sons recently. So far he's a gentle-natured little boy - he's smart, caring and sensitive, yet masculine. Much like most of the men that are close to me, and my preferred kind of male. At his worst he usually is just plain argumentative.
I am looking forward to seeing how his character develops. And my daughter's too, of course, but her character at 9 months of age is less apparent. I think she may be a bit cheeky! And determined. She's getting more vocal, too - I am destined to have no peace in my household!!
But I love my kids so very, very much, and I can't help but be a bit chuffed every year when Mothers' Day comes around, just because I am the mother of these two.
*hope I got the apostrophe in the right spot...
18 April 2010
Back to those diet issues...
So I mentioned some time last year that my family has a history of bowel cancer, and that I want to reduce my meat consumption (particularly red meat) for environmental reasons, as well as for health.
Vegetarian meals are a challenge, because my little boy is a fussy eater and prefers the meat and 3 veg style of meal. I think fussiness can be common with little kids with food allergies and intolerances, and sometimes they don't like complex flavours. And then there's the fact that he can't eat egg or sesame, and I don't tolerate spicy food or too much tomato. So for the past year or two make do with vegetable soups as our vegetarian meal most weeks (using beans, chick peas or lentils) - blended so E-chan can't complain about the individual ingredients in it, and occasionally we do something like risotto (when we can be bothered bribing our son into eating it). I might try to make some lentil patties soon, see if he likes them.
The other thing we've been doing gradually over time is reducing the size of the meat portions we do eat. We found when we visited our parents recently that we normally eat much less meat than they were serving to us. We craved vegetables and salad.
Next thing for me to tackle was breakfast. I've been eating either yoghurt and wholemeal toast, porridge, baked beans on (wholemeal toast), or a commercial wheat biscuit with milk with banana. I used to eat muesli, but dropped it when I had to avoid nuts during prenancy and breastfeeding - it's too hard to find pre-made mueslis without nuts. Last week I became aware of research that shows a link between high fibre diets and reduced inflammatory and auto-immune conditions - arthritis, asthma, type 1 diabetes etc. Eczema is also an autoimmune condition, and there is arthritis on both sides of my family (but not me so far - fingers crossed).
This was a trigger for me to look at how much fibre I'm eating. While my diet is low in processed food, there are days when my fibre intake is probably on the low side. Breakfast is somewhere I can make a huge difference. So we started making our own muesli - oats, coconut, linseeds, sunflower seeds, psyllium, bran, and assorted dried fruit. First day of eating this was today. I hope to think up more legumey meals (I usually add them to casseroles anyway), and start using brown rice also. I'm hoping I'll notice a difference in a couple of months. Now all I need to do is find some sulphur-free dried fruit - very hard to do!!
However the instant effect has been FEELING GREAT! Gone is that horrible feeling in the back of my mind that I should be doing something about my diet. This is combined with the fact that I've been exercising more - both pushing the kiddies in the double pram, and going to the gym again. Going swimming is temporarily just a bit too hard. I opted for a gym that is 2 minutes away by foot, and bought 10 sessions that I have 3 months to use - should be easy to do even if the whole household gets a bug. Start with something achievable, I says! I'm sure I can bear the bizarre dancey remixes of Guru Josh vs (some new artist I just can't remember), and film clips of attractive young ladies in their underwear for no apparent reason on ten occasions, and by then I may have finally made my own gym playlist for my MP3 player, and can ignore the music more...
So who knows - maybe soon I'll be eczema-free and fitting into all my normal clothes again??? Can't wait to get into my favourite jeans again...
Vegetarian meals are a challenge, because my little boy is a fussy eater and prefers the meat and 3 veg style of meal. I think fussiness can be common with little kids with food allergies and intolerances, and sometimes they don't like complex flavours. And then there's the fact that he can't eat egg or sesame, and I don't tolerate spicy food or too much tomato. So for the past year or two make do with vegetable soups as our vegetarian meal most weeks (using beans, chick peas or lentils) - blended so E-chan can't complain about the individual ingredients in it, and occasionally we do something like risotto (when we can be bothered bribing our son into eating it). I might try to make some lentil patties soon, see if he likes them.
The other thing we've been doing gradually over time is reducing the size of the meat portions we do eat. We found when we visited our parents recently that we normally eat much less meat than they were serving to us. We craved vegetables and salad.
Next thing for me to tackle was breakfast. I've been eating either yoghurt and wholemeal toast, porridge, baked beans on (wholemeal toast), or a commercial wheat biscuit with milk with banana. I used to eat muesli, but dropped it when I had to avoid nuts during prenancy and breastfeeding - it's too hard to find pre-made mueslis without nuts. Last week I became aware of research that shows a link between high fibre diets and reduced inflammatory and auto-immune conditions - arthritis, asthma, type 1 diabetes etc. Eczema is also an autoimmune condition, and there is arthritis on both sides of my family (but not me so far - fingers crossed).
This was a trigger for me to look at how much fibre I'm eating. While my diet is low in processed food, there are days when my fibre intake is probably on the low side. Breakfast is somewhere I can make a huge difference. So we started making our own muesli - oats, coconut, linseeds, sunflower seeds, psyllium, bran, and assorted dried fruit. First day of eating this was today. I hope to think up more legumey meals (I usually add them to casseroles anyway), and start using brown rice also. I'm hoping I'll notice a difference in a couple of months. Now all I need to do is find some sulphur-free dried fruit - very hard to do!!
However the instant effect has been FEELING GREAT! Gone is that horrible feeling in the back of my mind that I should be doing something about my diet. This is combined with the fact that I've been exercising more - both pushing the kiddies in the double pram, and going to the gym again. Going swimming is temporarily just a bit too hard. I opted for a gym that is 2 minutes away by foot, and bought 10 sessions that I have 3 months to use - should be easy to do even if the whole household gets a bug. Start with something achievable, I says! I'm sure I can bear the bizarre dancey remixes of Guru Josh vs (some new artist I just can't remember), and film clips of attractive young ladies in their underwear for no apparent reason on ten occasions, and by then I may have finally made my own gym playlist for my MP3 player, and can ignore the music more...
So who knows - maybe soon I'll be eczema-free and fitting into all my normal clothes again??? Can't wait to get into my favourite jeans again...
11 April 2010
Me kids done me proud, and other adventures...
Easter took us off on another trip to our home town, Adelaide. Except it was Astro-girl's first plane trip ever. And she was a little trooper! She travels really well, sometimes just needing a cuddle when she's tired. She fell asleep on my lap on both flights. There were mishaps on the way home: well and truly in her "grabbing phase", she grabbed a breakfast bowl half filled with milk and tipped it over - it landed on the seat between C-chan and me, so we both had our pants covered with milk. We laughed it off. E-chan was good also, playing with toys in his seat, and only getting a bit restless from time to time. This is a stark contrast to our last trip, the xmas before last, when I had morning sickness, and a 2 1/2 year old E-chan screamed for half an hour straight (on a 6am flight) out of fear we would crash. Parenting does get easier, people!
Our kids adjusted to a lot of things apart from the journey: strange beds, strange houses, strange prams, with no bedwettings, and not too many tantrums. E-chan even spontaneously said "this is the nicest lunch I ever had!" when we went to my parent's house! I had been coaching him to say "thanks for the dinner/lunch" and "thanks for having us", but not what he said!! Manners are slowly sinking in! We went to Henley beach on Good Friday, to the city and the SA Museum on Saturday, the Zoo on Sunday (saw the new pandas, but they were sleepy that afternoon), and to the hills on Monday. A lovely, but brief trip - no time to do much but see family, which was kind of the point.
------------
We look at Adelaide with different eyes these days - gone is the sentimentality with which we used to look at our flat, blue-skied city. In the years immediately after moving to Sydney, we used to wax lyrical about the ease of getting around Adelaide, the Central Markets, the affordability, the quiet.
Now things are different:
- the endless sky is slightly overwhelming, now that we are used to Sydney's many hills.
- the city looks like a little toy town
- in the quiet, I can hear my ears ringing (was that something to do with the aeroplane trip, or do I need to go to an Ear specialist again??)
- we stay on sofa beds at our parents places
- the vegetation looks dry - many lawns (public and private) have just been left to fend for themselves, as long term water restrictions and below average rain takes its toll. My Dad has installed not one but 3 rain water tanks for his 1/4 acre garden
- our activities are driven by the needs and desires of our children
- public transport really isn't as frequent
- Crows, Crows, Port Power, Crows...
- unfavourable family traits are these days overlooked as family becomes more important - more on this below.
Many of these things are not bad things - Adelaide is a very good place to live. It's just we don't have so many friends there any more. And career prospects will never be as good there. But what is becoming more important is family. Kids can tell the difference between those who love them unconditionally (such as grandparents, uncles) and those who are just fond of them or good friends with us.
But as well has the support we would get from having our kids' grandparents in the same city, there is another issue looming - the ageing of our parents... While my parents are in excellent health at present, and in their early sixties, things can go downhill fast in the 70's. My father commented that travel will probably get hard from him from then on. That is less than a decade away! I watched my own parents rather helplessly liase with their sibilings as their own parents descended into alzheimers or old age, frequently having to prepare for sudden trips interstate as their parents' health teetered. I was the only one home the night my Grandma's nursing home called to say Dad's mother had died, and had to call my Dad on a work trip to tell him the news.
So I understand the difficulties involved with ageing parents living interstate. At least my own grandparents had other children and grandchildren nearby to check up on them. My parents have no relatives but each other in Adelaide, and my in-laws have one son, who has a recurring illness himself - the rest of their relatives are ageing themselves or not very close. This is something for us to ponder over the next few years.
Our kids adjusted to a lot of things apart from the journey: strange beds, strange houses, strange prams, with no bedwettings, and not too many tantrums. E-chan even spontaneously said "this is the nicest lunch I ever had!" when we went to my parent's house! I had been coaching him to say "thanks for the dinner/lunch" and "thanks for having us", but not what he said!! Manners are slowly sinking in! We went to Henley beach on Good Friday, to the city and the SA Museum on Saturday, the Zoo on Sunday (saw the new pandas, but they were sleepy that afternoon), and to the hills on Monday. A lovely, but brief trip - no time to do much but see family, which was kind of the point.
------------
We look at Adelaide with different eyes these days - gone is the sentimentality with which we used to look at our flat, blue-skied city. In the years immediately after moving to Sydney, we used to wax lyrical about the ease of getting around Adelaide, the Central Markets, the affordability, the quiet.
Now things are different:
- the endless sky is slightly overwhelming, now that we are used to Sydney's many hills.
- the city looks like a little toy town
- in the quiet, I can hear my ears ringing (was that something to do with the aeroplane trip, or do I need to go to an Ear specialist again??)
- we stay on sofa beds at our parents places
- the vegetation looks dry - many lawns (public and private) have just been left to fend for themselves, as long term water restrictions and below average rain takes its toll. My Dad has installed not one but 3 rain water tanks for his 1/4 acre garden
- our activities are driven by the needs and desires of our children
- public transport really isn't as frequent
- Crows, Crows, Port Power, Crows...
- unfavourable family traits are these days overlooked as family becomes more important - more on this below.
Many of these things are not bad things - Adelaide is a very good place to live. It's just we don't have so many friends there any more. And career prospects will never be as good there. But what is becoming more important is family. Kids can tell the difference between those who love them unconditionally (such as grandparents, uncles) and those who are just fond of them or good friends with us.
But as well has the support we would get from having our kids' grandparents in the same city, there is another issue looming - the ageing of our parents... While my parents are in excellent health at present, and in their early sixties, things can go downhill fast in the 70's. My father commented that travel will probably get hard from him from then on. That is less than a decade away! I watched my own parents rather helplessly liase with their sibilings as their own parents descended into alzheimers or old age, frequently having to prepare for sudden trips interstate as their parents' health teetered. I was the only one home the night my Grandma's nursing home called to say Dad's mother had died, and had to call my Dad on a work trip to tell him the news.
So I understand the difficulties involved with ageing parents living interstate. At least my own grandparents had other children and grandchildren nearby to check up on them. My parents have no relatives but each other in Adelaide, and my in-laws have one son, who has a recurring illness himself - the rest of their relatives are ageing themselves or not very close. This is something for us to ponder over the next few years.
Quest for most compatible hairdresser may be at a close...
Over the years, I have suffered from dreadful incompatibility with my hairdressers. While everyone likes to look nice, I do find my hair cut can be one of the things that gets shoved down the "to do" list when busy - I just grow my hair longer for a while. This is partly because I dread the hairdresser experience...
Don't get me wrong, I love having my hair played with, washed, the smells, the coffee/wine and a tim tam. Many times, I have nearly fallen asleep, semi-reclined at the back of the salon as the warm water washes out my shampoo.
But I do find that hairdresser conversation can be a tad on the mind-numbing side. From the high pitched "So what are you up to tonight?!?" conversation from past young hip, female hairdressers, who struggle to continue conversations I start due to vastly different interests, through to Very Serious male hairdressers who take their business Very Seriously, and give you a 5 minute run-down at the end of the styling process about how they cut down that line to give me more body etc etc blah blah blah, I do find I wish I didn't have to nod and put on a smile all the time.
So a year or so ago I found a salon that was an improvement somewhat. I never managed to have the same hairdresser, but their music was plucked from my own collection, and the conversation wasn't too bad.
Then someone gave me Carmelo's number....
Carmelo operates out of his own house around the block from me. I expected a gay guy in his 40's or 50's, daggy decor, and I don't know what else - shirts tucked into tight ish jeans, fluffy white pooches... Apart from being gay, I got most of this wrong. Carmelo is youngish, of Italian extraction with stunning blue eyes and glasses. He has a dog, but medium sized and black. His house was done in 40's-50's retro style, but humbly so. Immaculate, but then you have to keep things tidy if people use your living room as waiting room.
Sure, I was handed the standard hairdresser array of style magazines, which left me annoyed at myself for forgetting a book.
But then I noticed his book collection. "Succulent Plant Dictionary", and a book about the stereotyping of men, then finally as my hair got washed, cut and styled, I found the time flew, as we had many interests in common. Or perhaps he's just a really good people person. Or it's something to do with the fact that people are coming into his home to have their hair cut, and you can't really pretent to be something you're not. Whatever: I had pleasant, interesting and rambling chats, spanning many of my common conversational topics. My friend says she often comes home with mascara streams down her cheeks from laughter... I may actually find myself going to get a hair cut a bit more often for a while!
Don't get me wrong, I love having my hair played with, washed, the smells, the coffee/wine and a tim tam. Many times, I have nearly fallen asleep, semi-reclined at the back of the salon as the warm water washes out my shampoo.
But I do find that hairdresser conversation can be a tad on the mind-numbing side. From the high pitched "So what are you up to tonight?!?" conversation from past young hip, female hairdressers, who struggle to continue conversations I start due to vastly different interests, through to Very Serious male hairdressers who take their business Very Seriously, and give you a 5 minute run-down at the end of the styling process about how they cut down that line to give me more body etc etc blah blah blah, I do find I wish I didn't have to nod and put on a smile all the time.
So a year or so ago I found a salon that was an improvement somewhat. I never managed to have the same hairdresser, but their music was plucked from my own collection, and the conversation wasn't too bad.
Then someone gave me Carmelo's number....
Carmelo operates out of his own house around the block from me. I expected a gay guy in his 40's or 50's, daggy decor, and I don't know what else - shirts tucked into tight ish jeans, fluffy white pooches... Apart from being gay, I got most of this wrong. Carmelo is youngish, of Italian extraction with stunning blue eyes and glasses. He has a dog, but medium sized and black. His house was done in 40's-50's retro style, but humbly so. Immaculate, but then you have to keep things tidy if people use your living room as waiting room.
Sure, I was handed the standard hairdresser array of style magazines, which left me annoyed at myself for forgetting a book.
But then I noticed his book collection. "Succulent Plant Dictionary", and a book about the stereotyping of men, then finally as my hair got washed, cut and styled, I found the time flew, as we had many interests in common. Or perhaps he's just a really good people person. Or it's something to do with the fact that people are coming into his home to have their hair cut, and you can't really pretent to be something you're not. Whatever: I had pleasant, interesting and rambling chats, spanning many of my common conversational topics. My friend says she often comes home with mascara streams down her cheeks from laughter... I may actually find myself going to get a hair cut a bit more often for a while!
27 March 2010
Talk to the hand...
... 'cause the face don't wanna hear it!
This view is somewhat depressing.
But isn't it true that advertising campaigns have effects without people needing evidence? Or is that only when you can be easily convinced that you need something, or something is in your best interest?
This view is somewhat depressing.
But isn't it true that advertising campaigns have effects without people needing evidence? Or is that only when you can be easily convinced that you need something, or something is in your best interest?
20 March 2010
11 March 2010
Rich imaginary lives
I have been coming down hard on E-chan's TV watching - both as a punishment for bad behaviour if necessary, and in an effort personnally to be less lazy when I'm tired and it's just too easy to let him watch another show or two instead of getting pestered as dinner is getting made.
The result has been - not suprisingly, but happily - play rich in imagination. Soft toy dogs (spot, clifford and snoopy) have been REAL dogs, complete with play dough* dog food. Lego has become spaceships. Play dough has been made into caterpillars and a very convincing snail.
And do you know, as I've found in the past, this tough love stuff - you know, being firm but fair - really has its rewards. A couple of whining interludes to endure, and then your kid understands that you mean what you say when you say it's time to turn the TV off, and instead of complaining, his little eyes start wandering around the room, looking for something else to play with....
-------
In a parallel adult world, C-chan and I had to do some imagining of our own. C was asked if he (we) would like to go to Hong Kong for 3 months for work, if it could be arranged. We spent a good week thinking through the implications, the pros and cons, and whether we'd like to go. The answer was "yes", because you don't get opportunities like this very often. Only, a few days later we were told it wasn't going to happen after all. Interesting exercise to go through, however!
* I've made a few batches of play dough recently too - very fun! recipe can be found on the side of the Cream of Tartar tin.
The result has been - not suprisingly, but happily - play rich in imagination. Soft toy dogs (spot, clifford and snoopy) have been REAL dogs, complete with play dough* dog food. Lego has become spaceships. Play dough has been made into caterpillars and a very convincing snail.
And do you know, as I've found in the past, this tough love stuff - you know, being firm but fair - really has its rewards. A couple of whining interludes to endure, and then your kid understands that you mean what you say when you say it's time to turn the TV off, and instead of complaining, his little eyes start wandering around the room, looking for something else to play with....
-------
In a parallel adult world, C-chan and I had to do some imagining of our own. C was asked if he (we) would like to go to Hong Kong for 3 months for work, if it could be arranged. We spent a good week thinking through the implications, the pros and cons, and whether we'd like to go. The answer was "yes", because you don't get opportunities like this very often. Only, a few days later we were told it wasn't going to happen after all. Interesting exercise to go through, however!
* I've made a few batches of play dough recently too - very fun! recipe can be found on the side of the Cream of Tartar tin.
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