Archives for July 2012

What do you see when you think of a number?

July 29, 2012 by Jen

I was on my way out to Pilates the other night and I make JJ lock the screen door behind me and I said thank you to him. He asked me why I was thanking him, and I said because you’re you. As I got into the car to drive off I realised I meant it.

He exasperates me to my absolute limits at time, but that’s one of the ‘joys’ of parenting is it not?

We have some great conversations though. I love that he helps me see things through a different light.

He asked me the other day what I see when I think of different numbers. I just see the number I realised. When he thinks of the number six he sees darkness in the middle and glowing red eyes on the outside. And that’s not a one-off, it’s just what he sees. And he sees different things for different numbers. WOW! Do other people see something else when they think of numbers?

Below are a series of images I took last weekend when he was on the trampoline. I bought this trampoline when he was about two and he’s just turned 11. I replaced the mat a few months ago and I’m really glad I did because he still uses it.

It’s not easy to put a new mat on a trampoline let me tell you. It took two adults a while and a lot of strength and grunting to get that mat on.

This photo one was his favourite.

The one below is one of my favourites.

Bare

July 25, 2012 by Jen

It seems I have a thing for taking photos of trees bare of their leaves in winter. Excuse me re-using one photo I particuarly love.

This is for Trish’s Wordless Wednesday as she rocks that pink wig.

What’s not to love about the ukulele?

July 18, 2012 by Jen

I can’t quite believe that it’s seven – yes seven – years since I first picked up a ukulele and learned three basic chords and therefore started to play it.

I’d always wanted to learn the guitar and that never happened but learning the uke was much more achievable. I still play it but I’m pretty much still a one-strum-wonder. I’m just not that dedicated I suppose. I’ve sat in front of YouTube clips that show differeing strumming methods but if it doesn’t click fairly quickly I lose interest just as quickly.

I have had a lot of fun with it along the way though.

I’ve had trouble staying in rhythm with my singing. Although I have to admit sometimes I just don’t have the mojo for it and other times I think I sound pretty damn good. One night I picked up the uke at about 11pm and started belting out a song. My son’s bedroom was the next room and normally he sleeps through quite a bit of noise. This time, however, he came out to the lounge with his face screwed up because of the light and a look of disgust and told me quite clearly that I was making too much noise. Suitably chastened I packed up for the evening.

I think the most fun I’ve had with it is getting together with a group of people. There’s a lot to be said for other players hiding your mistakes and introducing you to songs you otherwise might not have considered.

I’ve even performed in public. I’ve done this more than once and get a kick out of it even though my legs were shaking.

More recently I’ve started ‘jamming’ with The Surfer and a friend of his. They play the guitar and I sing, and play the odd song with the ukulele so it’s getting a bit of an airing.

I realised only recently that I haven’t got the ambition to become a great ukulele player, but I do enjoy picking it up every now and then to have a strum.

Like doing a big poo

July 16, 2012 by Jen

After a 24 hour labour my son was pushed into the world without me uttering one swear word, just repeats of GET OUT, GET OUT during those last few minutes. He was a biggun at 9lb 6oz, or 4.25kg and I was glad he finally made it without having to be cut out. I didn’t think it funny when the doctor was stitching my third degree tears up down there when she said that I might have to have a caesarean next time due to the tearing this time. Creating another baby was the last thing on my mind at this stage.

He was lifted onto my stomach and did a big poo right then. Normally someone pooing on me would be really gross, but this didn’t worry me in the least. And someone else quickly wiped it up like they did for mine while I was pushing him out. I remember visiting a friend in hospital years ago after she had her first baby and her saying that pushing out a baby was like doing a big poo. She was right.

I tell him the story of how he pooed on me just after he was born, and he thinks it’s hilarious.

I also tell him that the first night he was home he cried nearly all night. I imitate his baby cries, WAH, WAH, WAH, WAH. And he also thinks that’s funny.

I didn’t think it was funny at the time. I just wanted to sleep. I like my sleep and it was frustrating that he was a sleep during the day and party at night baby for the first few days until his birth jet lag went away.

I was reminded of all of this by this post.

Mummyblogging – perhaps not my direction

July 11, 2012 by Jen

Wordless Wednesday? As if. This blog started off being about the words, and now it’s about the photos and the words.

I have marvellous ideas during the day while I’m at work about fabulous blog posts I want to write and I even quickly jot those ideas down (hallo mega amounts of draft posts). Then I get home and do the parenting thing and by the time I’ve had dinner, washed up, and told my son a million times that, yes, he does have to have a shower today, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer and write of those blog posts.

I’ve been thinking lots about this mummyblogger thing as it explodes in Australia and for some reason is a ‘thing’. I think it only is a ‘thing’ because people are using their talents to earn some money. How dare they?

I look at it from the sidelines and wish that I had more time, more creativity, and more inclination to get more involved.

But I work nearly full-time and if there are any bloggers out there who work full-time, and parent full-time on your own, while making blogging work for them part-time then I’m all ears about how you do that.

I’d much rather do what I love and pay someone to do the housework and gardening but the housework and the gardening, oh, and being a fabulous mum, take up a lot of my time out of work hours. So is ‘mummyblogging’ just for those mums who don’t work full-time outside of the home? I’d like to know.

But I’m probably out of the so-called ‘mummyblogging’ zone because my son is now 11 and I write less about him than I used to. I guess I’m a bit directionless here. Am I a photoblogger now? I don’t know!

In the big scheme of things it’s okay because I’ve got my health and I’m bloody thankful for that.

When you want to act like a kid

July 10, 2012 by Jen

He turned 11 two weeks ago. I’m getting around to mentioning it now.

Remember how he was going through a really good stage? I knew that writing about it would tempt fate because he went through the crappy, shitty stage but we’ve come through the other side and he’s back to being good again. I picked him up from vacation care today and beamed when they told me that he’d been excellent and he got to lead an activity. He really enjoyed that and he’s a natural at it.

Three weeks ago he was being sent out because he wasn’t listening, he was answering back and being a general pain in the ass.

So the in the lead-up to his birthday we weren’t getting along at all well and I was THIS close to cancelling the birthday shenanigans.

But I didn’t. I organised a dinner for some of his/our friends. I even organised a cake (see picture above). It was a pretty good night and behaviour was forgotten about for a little while.

I also organised him to have two friends for a sleepover a few days later. I made lasagna and garlic bread. I baked my fabulous banana cake. I took them to see the Three Stooges even though it’s not the type of movie I would have normally gone to see. I cooked pancakes for breakfast and I even manually squeezed orange juice for them. None of them like freshly squeezed orange juice as it turns out and preferred the bought apple juice instead. Weirdos.

I did all of this with good grace and it was a success. But I really felt like punishing him by not doing any of it. Luckily the adult in me kicked in and I didn’t.

Geez woman, what do you do all day?

July 4, 2012 by Jen

It’s 9.02pm as I sit down to write this. Where did the time go today? I’m glad you asked….

7am – alarm goes off and drag myself out of bed.

7.02am – turn on hot water in shower only it’s not hot. I kind of knew the gas pilot light had gone out but when I was told last night that it had possibly gone out I was in bed and couldn’t be bothered getting back up. I go out to light it but can’t.

I try and take off the cover to the gas hot water but can’t undo the knobs.

I storm back into the house, let aforementioned person know that the bloody pilot light did go out, and I get a box of matches and a wrench before going back outside.

The wrench doesn’t work. I storm back into the house, slamming doors and cursing as I go because that will make it better and hoping the person that told me when I was in bed that it might have gone out hears me. I get another implement and finally get the knobs undone.

I light the pilot light with a match.

I try to put the cover back on and curse and swear some more as it’s always hard to put back on.

7.10am – I finally have a shower, dry my hair, get dressed, put on some makeup.

7.30am – I have breakfast while getting lunch ready.

7.45am – The person who didn’t tell me about the pilot light takes my son to school while I replace my ug boots for shoes and do the last few things I need to do.

7.55am – I get a lift into work.

8.20am – I start work.

12.30pm – I have a quick lunch then pop into the supermarket to buy some goodies for my son to take to a friend’s place tomorrow.

1.10pm – I get back to work.

4.40pm – I get an offer of a lift home from work.

5pm – I get into the car.

5.10pm – We’ve barely gone 200m. That’s how long it takes to get from Gawler Place to King William Street.

5.35pm – I get home and I go and pick up my son from vacation care.

5.45pm – We get home and I bark orders at him while preparing for pilates. He’s learned to write down tasks when I do this, so he does that.

5.56pm – I get to pilates a little bit early.

7pm – I get home and make arrangements for tomorrow night’s outing.

7.10pm – I cut up potatoes he peeled while I was out, cook them, and heat up other leftovers from last night.

7.35pm – We eat dinner while watching the rest of Masterchef (I knew the Blue team were toast).

8.3pm – I wash the dishes and sweep and wash the floor in the back room that is a mud pit after 2-3 days of dirty dog paws trekking through it.

9.02pm – I sit down to write this.

9.13pm – I finish writing this.