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Friday 2 March 2012

Never

I NEVER get around to updating this blog, please see me over HERE
Val
xxx

Monday 14 November 2011

How to Eliminate Monsters

It occurred to me yesterday that there are quite a few advantages to sleeping on a mattress on the floor.



I think there is a monster living under my bed,
Should he come out to play I will surely be dead,
From the bed to the rug to the door I leapt,
Then out of the door, while the creature slept,
Is he green is he black is he blue or brown,
Does he look like a dragon or white faced clown,
Why does he live there, I want to know,
And, cant we persuade him to get up and go,
Then the answer it came as I peeped round the door,
To be rid of the monster, we will sleep on the floor.

by me

Val

Sunday 13 November 2011

Back

When I was 19 I hurt my back for the 1st time. Ever since then I have bouts of back trouble. Sometimes I am merely niggled by it, sometimes it is very painful and sometimes I am completely debilitated. Right now, I am completely debilitated. I have take up the supine position on the sofa (mattress on the floor at night obviously), and I have been forced to lie here fairly still and watch my family move noisily all around me. Poor little O doesn't quite grasp it of course and has mixed flying leaps on to me (sometimes caught in mid air by Daddy), with silent tender little skin to skin pats on the arm or leg or cheek (so sweet it makes my eyes brim). I have come to realise that perhaps the migraine headaches I mentioned the other day are connected to my back pain, but thats a whole other area I need to explore.

Luckily though, I have managed to knit 2 hats for Christmas gifts (pictures to follow), and I have shopped online for some spring bulbs, some white sage seeds, and some flower seeds. I have caught up on some reading A Game Of Thrones and I have read some lovely blogs and listed some fantastic craft ideas. Quite busy for a person lying completely flat.

This is my favorite time of year and the build up to Christmas (and my birthday and wedding anniversary) in December fills me with such excitement. I love the changing season and I long to be outside to fill my lungs with the cold crisp air of winter, tinged ever so slightly with woodsmoke. We have an amazingly huge window,


but it's not the same as being outside. I cant decide if it is better or worse to see what I am missing. Although sunsets are something to be enjoyed anyplace.




The boys have been finding ways to amuse themselves, and a little 'fairy garden' (area) in the garden has been worked on this weekend, along with many other moments of joy which I have mostly missed due to pain, painkillers or locality. I am hoping this debilitating phase is over soon so I can get back to living, but in the meantime, I was reminded by a friend,
"sometimes you need to put down the oars and lie back in the boat,
Its the only way to look at the stars"

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours

Val



Saturday 12 November 2011

By Myself

I am never alone these days. Its inevitable when you have small children is it not? O sleeps with us, eats with us, bathes with us and spends all of the time in-between with us (Daddy works outside the home, so I mean me for the most part). I read something a while back on this subject and I couldn't make up my mind about it. The author was saying that it amazed her that people who were so desperate for children often end up using great amounts of resources to get them out of the way. 'Me time, Mummy time, quality alone time', call it what you like, its purpose is to separate yourself from your children. Is that wrong?
I know all the phrases bandied about, a happy mummy is a happy baby, bla bla bla. The truth is though, little O will be 3 in 3 months and apart from the odd trip out with Duncan, we are never apart. Or should I say, were, never apart. Three weeks ago I started life drawing classes, one evening a week for 2 hours. It should have been 4 weeks ago, but I got myself into quite a tizzy and didn't go that first week. I had had one of those days with little O, he cried all day and needed constant consoling, I needed to clean up the house and couldn't seem to get to it, and I didn't get out of my nightgown and into the shower until 3pm. Technically I could still have gone, but the fear was probably the bigger issue, not the grumpy toddler and the burnt dinner.
The next week I employed a 'don't think about it too much' attitude and just picked up my art supplies at 6.15pm and skimmed out the door. And I loved it.

I loved walking to the bus stop alone under the twinkling stars. I loved having a sketchbook and some charcoal in my bag instead of a change of toddler pants and a spare dummy. I loved the silence in the classroom, and the smell of paper and chalks. I loved being able to empty my mind of all thoughts except the task at hand. I also loved to come home and find little O had been fine without me.
Don't get me wrong though, it was still scary, and even the next week and next it was scary, and I presume it will go on being slightly scary. But the fear is of equal balance to the joy of being all by myself (even if it is only for 2 hours a week).


A bit rough I know, but I am more proud of myself for going than for anything else.

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours

Val



Thursday 10 November 2011

Floored

Many years ago when Duncan and I first met, we were able to have some time as a new couple almost every second weekend, when the children went to stay with their Dad. After their Dad collected then on Saturday afternoon and Duncan and I had the flat to ourselves we would indulge in some (mostly) secret behavior. We called it 'having a mattress day'. We would bring the mattress into the lounge and lay it on the floor in front of the fire (particularly nice in the winter when the real fire was lit). We would then spend 24 hours hanging out on the mattress. We would watch movies, listen to music eat food, drink wine and in general just be together. I think we made the effort because we were a new couple and had the children (from my first marriage) there for the rest of the time. I have some fond memories of this time and listening to Moloko or Primal Scream or watching certain movies will always evoke memories for me that come with a secret smile.
As the children grew older (they were 7 and 9 when Duncan and I met), their visits with their Dad faded away and Saturdays became family day and we 4 would hang out together. I would make a special dinner and we would play board games and watch family movies. It was a logical step looking back on it now. Duncan and I had built a wonderful relationship as a couple, next we shared that bond with the children and became a tightly knit little family.
Now things have changed again, and Duncan and I have found ourselves sleeping on a mattress on the floor every night. We are not alone though, because little O joins us at some point every evening/night.
We didn't start out this way, in fact we have had a few different connotations sleeping wise, since O was born.



Now that O will be 3 soon (in February) and sleeps like a starfish baby, we have found it impossible for all 3 of us to share one double bed. For now, we have two mattresses pushed together to make one giant bed on the floor, and I have to say, its working out pretty well. O can slip in beside us from his own cot-bed with the minimum of upheaval and we can all stretch and roll around a fair bit without someone else having to sleep on the edge (one foot on the floor). Bedding is a bit tricky, but a huge fur throw and a king size duvet is sufficing for now. I think I may try and sew some king size sheets together at some point in the future, we will see.

I would love to hear how other people are managing their co-sleeping. I find people are reluctant to talk about in real life. Comments such as, rod for your own back, spoiled, and too dependent from non co-sleepers tend to put attachment parents on the defensive. I adore waking up with O's sweet little head resting on me and although its a far cry from the mattress days we used to have I wouldn't change things for the world.

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours

Val

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Cats, Quotes And Soup

Yesterday I had planned to do some crafting and some house keeping, but I woke up with a terrible headache/migraine. My GP has told me I am suffering from migraines, but cant offer a cure. If you have had them, you will know how devastating that news is. Some how or other though, we managed a little bit of crafting and a little bit of home cooking for nutritional healing.

Little O and I painted up some wooden cats which I have had for ages, but have kept on a shelf covered in dust, because I didn't like the colour.


They were actually more burgundy than red in real life. We painted them with some acrylic paint and turned them in to 3 little black cats.


Now they have a place on top of the piano holding some inspirational quotes.




The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller




The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The
woman existed, but the mother is something absolutely new.
Rajneesh




Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
From the Sanskrit


While the little lucky cats were drying we made some soup. I don't know about anyone else but I never use a recipe for soup. It normally evolves by itself, a mix of the ingredients available and instinct. I always always have onion and garlic thought because they are so good for you. The stronger the flavor the more powerful they are. Part of the Allium family garlic and onion are known to be natural anti-biotics, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. They can aid in clearing your digestive tract and boost your immune system. Powerful little bulbs indeed.
Todays soup was a mix of veg with some chilli and pasata for rosiness. I also threw in a handful of thin noodles at the end for some extra texture. Had I know we would find a live worm on the kitchen floor later (brought in by the real cat), I may have left the noodles out for today.



May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours

Val

Hello

Hello and welcome to the new blog. I am trying to separate my diary type blog from my own personal lifestyle and thoughts. They may sound like the same thing in principal, but I need a place to mull over my choices and connect with other Mama's who live their lives in the same way as me, or in the same way I would like to live. I want to find the strong nurturing woman within myself, and also find inspiration in others. To do that I need a blog where family cant find me and criticise my choices (extended family of course, not my husband or children, who are always in my heart and by my side, be it in real life or on the web).

In the spirit of things to come I thought I would share a recipe on the first post, but not a cooking recipe, a recipe for washing powder (for clothes). I am trying very hard to eliminate chemicals from our home, but of course its impossible to do it completely. What I can do though is eliminate it as much as possible. It gives me a sense of achievement to make something for use instead of buying something for use (it often works out less expensive too), and this applies to all levels, from food to knitting and sewing right down to washing powder. So here we have it.

The ingredients are as follows
1 cup of bicarbonate of soda
1 cup of soap flakes or grated soap bar
2 cups of soda crystals
a sprinkle of your favorite essential oil
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and decant into jars. I use 3 tablespoons (heaped-ish) per wash of this, so it lasts ages.
I have found it can be a little clumpy in the jar, but a quick mash with the end of the spoon does the trick.
If you find your clothes are too hard try adding half a cup of white vinegar (in the softener dispenser), this helps to soften the clothes, and does not leave a vinegar smell. If linens are softened they actually last longer, because hard fibers rub together and wear away faster.

I hope you have found that helpful? If any of you lovely Mama's have your own recipes, please feel free to leave them in the comments or leave a link to your own blogs, I really want to hear from you.

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours

Val