Hamish discovers the touch lamp

Unfortunately he worked it out before 'getting up time' this morning, so we all had an early start!

Growing Up

"When I grow up - I'll have matching furniture."

This is the one concrete thing I can remember thinking, as a child, about life as a grown up. I imagined a fancy house where everything was new and fashionable. This was what being a grown up would mean - having the money to live in style!

Although I don't remember consciously considering it, at the same time I was absorbing more serious ideas about what being a grown up would be like.

I've had a few strange moments recently. The first was when I was walking down to the local shops, pushing Hamish in the stroller. I was vaguely looking around at the trees and houses, when it dawned on me - this is it. I am well and truly a grown up now. That time I used to imagine way in the future, when I was little - I've arrived there.

I think it struck me that the day was so similar to my childhood - with one massive difference - I was the adult in the picture now, not the kid. Very weird moment.

The second strange moment was just the other day, in the kitchen. I was wringing out the dishcloth after having wiped the bench with it. A picture sprang to mind of my mum doing exactly the same thing. And I realised - I will be doing this for a Very. Long. Time. It wasn't a bad thought, just a sobering realisation that the kitchen and I will be spending a lot of time together for the forseeable future. And that I am really, really a grown up now - just without the fancy furniture!

Ribbet, ribbet

On the topic of my bible verse for the week, Soph recently wrote a great post on this section of the bible.

Now that I spend most of my time at home, I've got a great opportunity to control what fills my mind, more so than when I was out and about and working every day.

There's so much noise out there, and if we don't take a critical look at it and try to filter it we can end up thinking some unhealthy and ungodly things, without even noticing. For example - we live in a culture that is constantly telling us we need things, it's all about us, 'we're worth it' and (at the moment) it's our duty to spend money and indulge a bit - for the sake of the economy! I stopped reading catalogues a few months back because all they were doing was making me want to spend money on things I don't need. For the first time in ages, I had a look through a pile of them recently- and guess what? I now think I need to go and buy some winter clothes, a slow cooker, an SLR camera and a sewing machine!

Another area that this relates to is the moral slant of what I watch on TV. One of the first things we were taught at uni was that everything in the media has a bias. There is no neutral - there is always an agenda and a worldview at work, even if it's not obvious. What can seem like mindless entertainment can and does influence us and when you stop and think about it, it's really quite unhealthy to be enjoying tales of murder, rape, adultery, and so on. I used to love racing home from work to watch Bold and the Beautiful, until I took a long hard look at what I was actually enjoying!

I do feel like the proverbial frog in the pot of water sometimes, slowly cooking to a worldly crisp without even realising it. So here's to discernment, and to dwelling on the good things!

Memory update

So far I've memorised two bits of the bible, following Aimee's lead:

Jesus answered: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life".
John 4:13-14

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging."
Psalm 64: 1-3


I think my next one will be Philipians 4:8, which has been floating round in my head for a few weeks:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Is it worth it?

I quite liked this post on the Sola Panel about the new paid maternity leave scheme.

I'm not sure that the paid scheme is really all that great - it's not much more money than the baby bonus already available, and it does seem to have at heart the idea that a mother and baby only need 14 weeks together full time before the mother can get back to the office.

It's unfortunate that our society generally works on the principal that it's normal for mothers to go back to work when they have a baby, because I think that fundamentally, babies and paid work don't mix.

There are two main reasons for this - the first is that looking after a baby, especially a young baby, is a fluid, unpredictable, round the clock commitment. A job (usually) has set hours and responsibilities that require a level of performance that's hard to sustain on broken sleep and the stresses of looking after a baby.

The second reason is that it's not all that practical to work and have your baby in day care, because they get sick really regularly! This is what happens - you have to go back to work, so your baby goes into care for a day or two a week (if not more). Here they get exposed to germs and catch everything under the sun. This means you a) don't get enough sleep as they are restless and unwell overnight, and b) you have to take time off work to look after them. Not to mention the expense of doctors and medication!

So who does this benefit exactly? Not the mother, who is stressed at home and stressed at work, trying to juggle it all. Not the baby, who is unwell more often than not. Not the employer, whose employee is missing half the time and barely awake when they are at work. Not the husband, who has a sick baby and tired wife.

At least the mortgage gets paid.

Sun Shower

Captain Choko and the Flavourless Brigade

How Smart is Your Right Foot?

Give this a go:

1. While sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction. And there's nothing you can do about it! lol

What a Day

I took Hamish to the dr today, because he's been coughing and it was getting worse. He was wheezing a bit this morning. The doctor and nurse freaked out at his low oxygen levels and put him on oxygen and ventolin in a mad flurry of activity, totally freaking me out in the process!

He was ok after a little while, and they gave me a prescription for some strong anti-inflammatory drugs and I had to get him some ventolin as well. What he has is croup, which is a viral infection that can make breathing difficult.

To top things off, I left my wallet at the shops after going to the chemist! Luckily a lady found it and rang me, and we'll go and pick it up tonight. I didn't even realise it was missing when she rang.

I'm upset that Hamish is sick, but at the same time grateful that we can access medication so easily.

I'm taking on Aimee's suggestion to start memorising bible verses - here's this week's:

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of waterwelling up to eternal life"John 4:13-14

Now I just have to get my act together and try to learn it!

How To Cook A Choko (or, An Exercise In Futility)

1. Behold the choko.

2. Attack the choko with a peeler.

3. Chop up and place in microwave dish.

4. Cook for 4 minutes, as per instructions from parents.

5. While cooking, melt some butter in a saucepan. Add garlic, salt and pepper - basically anything that will obscure the taste of the choko.

6. Remove choko from microwave and drain water. Realise that parental time prediction was inaccurate and choko is, in fact, not cooked at all. Add more water and return to microwave for another 4 minutes. In the meantime, burn the garlic on the stove, and give cardboard box to baby for pre-meal entertainment.

7. Decide to cook scrambled eggs for lunch.

8. Remove choko from microwave, drain water, realise it is still rock hard, decide you don't care anymore and add to saucepan.

9. Add more butter. Twice. It's very important the first time to drop it on the stovetop instead of in the saucepan, as demonstrated in the photo:

10. Burn the eggs.

11. Put choko in a bowl, and take a photo, steaming up the camera lense in the process.

12. Remove cardboard from baby's mouth.

13. Try to eat choko but give up. Serve eggs on toast.

14. Try again tomorrow!

Back in the saddle

After a 4 month hiatus, I have joined a bible study group again. It wasn't a carefully thought out decision, more a whim (mainly because someone invited me!) but I'm feeling really good about it.

Baking

This week, inspired by Aimee, who was in turn inspired by Laura, I baked some bread.

My first attempt was not successful - it didn't rise at all and even though I cooked it for over an hour, it was still a soggy, doughy lump. I contemplated taking a photo to show you but it was just too embarrassing. Adam (resident bread expert!) explained that I had probably killed the yeast by having the milk too warm - i.e. in the very first step I managed to stuff it up!

Undeterred, I tried again and this was the end result:

It tasted really nice and had a good texture - I will probably make it again. It did take a while so I wouldn't want to be doing it every day though.

Winter Baby rugs up