Sickness and health

Image credit http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4387598833_d2e0d4c2ee.jpg

Over the last fortnight I've been very grateful for good health because in the fortnight prior I did not enjoy good health at all.

Enough said, other than that it involved a trip to the after hours GP on Monday night, a trip to the normal GP on Tuesday afternoon, a trip to Sir Charles Gardiner emergency room on Tuesday night, a locum home-visit GP on Friday night resulting in mega-loads of antibiotics, an ultrasound and more GP the following week, after which everything appeared to have returned to normal!

It was a full-on, unpleasant time and having come out of it at the other end pretty much unscathed other than a few kilos lighter, it's made me grateful for a bunch of things:

1. My Mum, who rallied around taking care of E, dispensing invalid food and good advice;

2. Lovely D, who came home at lunch on Monday and Tuesday, took me to the long list of appointments above, didn't go to work at all Wednesday to Friday and did the bulk of caring for E and keeping the house running the whole time I was unwell (and did it cheerfully, without complaint and pretty competently too!);

3. Public hospitals. Not something I've ever had cause to be grateful for before, but we waltzed into Emergency at 10.30pm, were seen straight away and dealt with efficiently and compassionately the entire time we were there. I know it is not everyone's experience of public hospitals, but I was really grateful that it was mine. Sneaking glances around the ward as I was walking out, I was also really grateful to be leaving on my own two feet, as everyone else in there looked as though there were in far worse shape than me. Having also paid all the fees that go with various after hours appointments it also impressed upon me how good it is that public hospitals are free. I mean, they should be, but isn't it good that they actually are?

Today I am grateful for ... pikelets

Pikelets of the gourmet variety from www.taste.com.au.
Mine don't look quite this impressive.

 ... seeing as Little E has decided they are a food group all on their own. 

Meal times have become a bit fraught lately. She won't sit in her chair - or if I insist, she attempts to climb out of it, heart-stopping Houdini style. She wants to snack constantly, tugging at the freezer door (the only one she can reach, and which has a baby lock on it) demanding "minga minga minga" as though she has not been fed for weeks. She will eat pikelets, or frozen vegetables, or rice cakes/crackers with hommus/cream cheese, or sliced cheese. That's about it. She's even off fruit, which if I'd heard a week or so ago I would have laughed at. The constant snacking is perpetuating the annoying cycle because I think part of the problem is that she eats so many snacks she's then not really hungry when it comes to meal time.

Yesterday for dinner I offered E:

* Boiled egg: doubly offensive because it had to come off a spoon, and being fed from a spoon is, like, worst ever nightmare territory - she would not open her mouth, shoved the spoon away, and when (even though I knew it was a bad idea) I tried to persist, she grabbed it and rubbed it in her hair;

* Mini raviolis (which a week ago she could not get enough of) - she ate two;

* Frozen vegetables - she ate a few bits of carrot and maybe three peas.

It is making me feel like some crazy bag lady who alternates between mumbling to herself and then bursting out into loud, unexplained rants.

I keep reminding myself that it's not the worst thing in the world; after all a homemade pikelet has nothing dreadful in it and incorporates a fair amount of egg and milk.

And I have a few strategies to attempt this weekend and next week:

1. Distraction. Instead of giving in to the demands for constant snacks, offering a book or something else fun. Hopefully she will then be hungrier at meal times.

2. Trying some savoury pikelet recipes; the old sneaky vegetable technique.

3. Maybe trying some other finger food that is similar to pikelets, little fritters or something. I just need to work up the enthusiasm to cook stuff even knowing that it will probably be rejected.

So there we are, gratitude for the old one cup of flour, one cup of milk, one egg (plus at our house at the moment, some mandatory mandarin rind).

This post is part of Maxabella's Grateful Saturday.

The Great Mandarin Glut of 2011

It's on, folks. And it shows no signs of abating any time soon. This has to be the most tolerant, generous tree on the planet. It barely rains all summer, we vaguely remember to turn the hose on it a few times, we do absolutely nothing else. And look what it bestows on us:

We've been through a couple of dozen already and I'd say there's another couple of hundred to go. So earlier in the week I decided it was time to attempt some mandarin-heavy recipes in an attempt to dispose of a few.

First off the bat was mandarin jelly:

500mL mandarin juice

100 gm sugar

10 gm powdered gelatin

... all stirred together over low heat until the sugar and gelatin dissolved, and then refrigerated for several hours. It used up about 20 mandarins, which I juiced by whizzing them in the food processor and then straining the pulp through a sieve. It's tangy and sweet and was declared a success.

Next attempt - mandarin muffins courtesy of this ABC recipe. I did them in cupcake containers and they also turned out well, pretty much just butter cake with mandarin juice and zest, but nothing to complain about.

I have in mind a mandarin chicken dish but don't have a recipe, I've  googled for one but to no avail. I was thinking a stir fry kind of thing that uses mandarin juice, if I can't find a specific one I might adapt a lemon chicken recipe.

So today I"m grateful for citrus, citrus, citrus! How are things at your place this weekend?

Today I am grateful for .... good food, good company and a little break

 

Yesterday, in belated celebration of my Dad's 60th, my parents, my sister, my sister's boyfriend and I had a lovely long lunch at Riverbank Estate Winery in the Swan Valley. D took Little E to his parents' house and they also visited his aunt and uncle's house where there is a cat, dog, chickens and numerous birds and parrots.

It felt extremely luxurious to have a two course meal that lasted for more than two hours and during that time to not have to dispense food cut up into little pieces, wipe sticky fingers, pick up the little pieces from the floor and wrestle a toddler in and out of a high chair. I also enjoyed uninterrupted conversation (even if a fair whack of it was about Little E) and food that I didn't have to cook myself.

We then paid a fleeting visit to the Chocolate Factory (along with half of Perth, those guys must be making an absolute fortune) and then suddenly it was 4:00pm and time to go home. Full, happy, renewed. We should do it more often.

'Grateful Saturday' brought to you by Maxabella Loves.

Today I am grateful for ... autumn

On the other side of the country it’s all looking a bit grim and chilly. But here in Perth, city of endless sunshine, it’s just about perfect. Cool nights, ideal for sleeping.** Crisp mornings hosting our wonderful long walks with two other playgroup mums and bubs. Adventures in local parks and playgrounds that don’t require lashings of sunscreen and wrestles with toddlers and their hats. Sun drenched afternoons. If this is global warming, then I have to say I’m enjoying it!

** At least that is the theory. Darling Little E, Mummy loves you. But she does not want your company at midnight.

Today I am grateful for ... fresh, safe food

Little E is a fruit fiend. She would happily live on fruit alone if we let her. Today she ate: a frozen pear/raspberry square in her porridge; bananas, strawberries and kiwi berries for morning tea; more strawberries with her lunch; more banana with dinner. And that was a fairly moderate day! 

Yesterday I surprised her with a bowl of the first strawberries she had seen in a few weeks as the season seems to be ending here and she was just delighted. She peered into the bowl on her tray, realised it was strawberries, and looked up at me with a huge smile. She then carefully picked each one out and it was obviuos she was savouring them. Fortunately she also gobbles vegetables, including the green variety.

Anyway. I have been horrified by the news that Japanese fruit and vegetables, as well as tap water, might not be safe to give children. I am very careful about what Little E eats - up until the last week or so she really hasn't had anything with sugar (other than what's in her beloved fruit) and only very minimal salt. I figure I won't be able to control her diet forever, and at any rate I just want to ensure that what goes into her little tummy is as good for her as it can possibly be. The idea that the food and particularly the water that is available  to  give children might give them horrible illnesses is just awful. We're not talking about our completely first world problem of some things just being not as healthy as others, but the food that's on the shelves in the shops, and what comes out of the taps, being actually life threatening. What would you do? If you're Japanese you presumably don't have the option of just getting on a plane and going somewhere else. How do you feed your children, knowing that what's available might be down right dangerous? I suppose Japan is lucky in that it is a rich enough nation that it can import food if it comes to that.

So today I'm thankful that (so far!) I have a baby who is happy to eat what is fresh and healthy, and that I have easy access to food that not only meets those criteria, but is simply safe to give her. I have to say that it's not something I ever thought I'd need to feel grateful for.

To see who is grateful for what, this week visit And Then There Were Four (Maxabella is on holidays).

Today I am grateful for ... a healthy baby

One of E's little friends from playgroup had his head cut open this week because he was born with fused skull bones.

Another friend's child recently started speech therapy because he is 18 months old and doesn't have any meaningful words/sounds yet.

I am grateful grateful grateful for our share of the life lottery, particularly, this weekend, for our littlest angel's good health and development that is as it should be.

Image from http://theoffbeatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sick-teddy-bear.jpg

Today I am grateful for ... saving and swimming

www.babykidsmarket.com.au

This morning we meant to go to the pool but didn't quite get there. Instead we went to the Baby & Kids Market and Little E scored a handful of new toys plus a couple of books for cheap, very cheap!

 

We saved the pool for after lunch, by which time we were all feeling a bit flat and hot and not knowing what to do with ourselves. It was worth the hassle of wrangling bathers and suncream onto all of us and venturing out into the heat, all of which prior to going felt like far too much effort. It wasn't a long outing - a splash in the baby pool, a swim in the big pool, a snack for everyone, and home - but it chased away the grumps and we are all revitalised.

And grateful. Check out Maxabella's Grateful Saturday to see who else is feeling thankful this weekend.

T-shirt image from http://rlv.zcache.com/i_love_swimming_blue_swim_character_tshirt-p235869886582678569q9m9_325.jpg.

Today I am (belatedly) grateful for ... the beach and books

1. We live a 5 minute drive from the beach. We don't got as often as we should. This morning we went (to Swanbourne rather than our local beach) and had a lovely walk along the path to North Cottesloe. On the way back I realised Little E had fallen asleep in the pram which is quite unusual these days. It was a weird time of day for her to sleep as she'd only been up for about two hours, but was I complaining? Not when there was a lovely new cafe, the Naked Fig, to provide a cup of tea and a newspaper! Eonly slept for about 30 minutes but woke up happy, and despite not having brought bathers for either of us I decided it was such a beautiful day (and that given E had had such a strangely timed sleep that she should get completely tired out) that we would have a swim. So we sat in the shallows and played with water and sand and were both very happy. The weather lately has been such that if we get out at about 7:30 or 8:00 we have an hour or more before it gets too hot, so my resolution for the week is that we need to get to the beach more often.

2. Books. I couldn't survive without them. I mainly read fiction, although since I no longer work I do enjoy non-fiction more. I re-read my favourites compulsively, particularly childhood favourites. I can't really figure out why I do this, as there must be several dozen books that I have read literally hundreds if not thousands of times each. All I can say is that I find the process relaxing; the familiarity of the plot and characters allows my mind to switch off, wind down and go elsewhere. When I pick up a book I've read before I don't always read it from cover to cover, I often just dip into it and re-read bits I particularly liked, or sometimes just open it and randomly read chunks. I do also read new things, but they're certainly outweighed by the old.

This post is a late entry to Maxabella's Grateful Saturday, which I didn't get around to writing on the weekend.

Today I am grateful for ... happy news

Another horrible hot day that I spent wavering between being excessively irritated by Little E who is teething, grumpy and clingy and feeling guilty for feeling like that when I know the poor munchkin is only like this because her teeth hurt and she didn't have proper naps due to teeth and more hot weather.

So the day concluding with a phone call from a far flung friend, telling us that she is engaged, was unexpected and lovely and I am sending lots of happiness and congratulatory thoughts to Bel & Dom in Berlin. I am sure it will be no hardship to either of you to go out and drink many celebratory champagnes on our behalf!

Image credit: www.livingelectro.com

Today I am grateful for ... a return to self settling

So grateful.

Twelve uninterrupted hours.

Please let it continue.

Amen.

To see who else is grateful this weekend, visit Maxabella's Grateful Saturday.

Today I am grateful for ... libraries

More specifically, the Cottesloe-Peppermint Grove-Mosman Park library which recently had a huge face lift. It now has a fantastic children's room with lots of cushions and little chairs and a play house. I think the children's book collection is much better than the one in our local Cambridge library. They let you borrow 16 things at once so when we visited a week or so ago we came home with 14 picture books and two grown-up books ... admittedly the grown-up books do take a lot longer to read! If you are feeling similarly grateful for libraries and books, then check out my post below on Book of the Week.

For some reason not quite clear to me, the Cottesloe library also has chicks visiting for the next week or so ... chickens like books, right? This week, with our mothers' group, we attended a special chicken themed story time to welcome said birds. Which brings me onto my second pot of gratefulness for the week: I am very grateful for my mothers' group. 15 or so new friends for me, and let's face it, when was the last time I made 15 new friends? High school probably? Other people who have small children and who get it, not out of politeness, but out of shared experience. 15 friends for Little E who all live locally, and some of whom she will probably wind up going to kindy and school with. Guaranteed company at least once per week. Plenty to be grateful for there.

This post was brought to you by Maxabella's Grateful Saturday.

Today I am grateful for ...

It is big.

It is silver and shiny.

There is room in the freezer for baby food, and ice cream, and still more baby food.

I love our new fridge.

This post was brought to you courtesy of Maxabella's Grateful Saturday.
Image from http://www.hotandcoldinc.com/burnhill/untitled/fridge%20cartoon.jpg

Today I am determined to be grateful for breastfeeding

Lately I have been finding the fact that Little E (at 8 + months) still wants to feed every four hours (definitely during the day and often during the night) very frustrating and depressing. So today I am determined to be grateful for it. To be grateful that we have had a really easy run breastfeeding - no horrid cracked nipples or supply issues. To be grateful for something that is the best for her and good for me, healthwise. To be grateful for a chance to talk and cuddle multiple times every day. She will be big too soon. Grateful. Oh yes.

This post comes to you courtesy of Maxabella's Grateful Saturday.

Today I am grateful for ... marriage and breakfast

Two pots of Maxabellian gratitude today, of varying degrees of seriousness.

In our 8 years D and I have attended 11 weddings. Three of these marriages have now ended. I am very grateful that ours hasn't. I don't think there is a magic formula and I don't think we "work" at it as such, but we are conscious of how precious it is, and we bite our tongues rather than sniping about small irritations, and make an effort to do and say little things for each other.

On the less serious note, I am also grateful for breakfast. For creamy-eggy-crunchy-greasy-bacony goodness. And salty hash browns, lovely red tomatoes and glistening baked beans. For a meal that we can both get to, and Little E can enjoy with us, without needing to arrange a babysitter. That can be shared with friends on either side of the Great Divide. And if we can persuade Little E to have her nap, we are off to enjoy some this morning!

Today I am grateful for ... weekends

For a while now I have been admiring the blog of the lovely Maxabella and it is finally time to do as she does each week and reflect on things I am grateful for. And this weekend I am grateful for weekends, because:

1. Weekends mean company all day long (and not incidentally, the company of the person I like best!)

2. Weekends mean help/company during the screaming that currently accompanies nap-time

3. Weekends mean the chance to go out at night while E's lovely Dadda stays home with her.