Suburban Hippie

Last week took E & I somewhere different again on our spiritual quest: our local Quaker meeting house. Now, like Emma, you might be thinking that the Quakers are like Amish but aside from an unusually high number of handknitted garments, they were just regular folk. They don't have church in a traditional sense, instead they meet for silent worship. There is sometimes talking (or "spoken ministry" which is usually a question from the Advice & Queries) at the beginning but otherwise they sit together in silence for about an hour.

It was even more challenging in that sense than the Buddhists but I practised the meditation we had learned at the Buddhist temple, along with some prayer and some reflection on the weeks question. I felt very calm and peaceful there. Very much at home. It was, of course, quiet different from my childhood experiences of church but I liked it. After the silent worship, the children came in and sang a song.

I liked the welcoming and inclusive nature of it. Quakers believe there is "that of God" in every person. They adhere to only 4 basic ideas : Peace, Equality, Simplicity and Integrity. Things I think we should all strive for regardless of religious affiliation. I like their openness to finding God in places other than church or the bible. I feel a good fit with these people and I hope to go again. I am not sure that E felt the same connection that I did but if our journeys take different paths, then we must follow those paths.

Hrmm hard choice between Indian and Mexican but would probably go Indian. MMMmmmm palak paneer :) :)

E & I went to church this morning for the first time in years. We chose a local, non-denominational family friendly community church to start with. We plan trying several different churches to find the best "fit" for us. This first church was friendly, not too intense and had lots of singing. I liked the format of the service, there were lots of young families and they have a good Sunday school. They were trying a bit too hard to be cool though and it is in a local community centre (as opposed to an actual church) and I feel there is something to be said for worshipping in a beautiful place. Next week, we are off to a more traditional Anglican church.

In other news, Oscar has started solids and we are partially trying out baby-led weaning with him. Baby-led weaning is basically letting your baby eat finger foods from their first foods, instead of pureeing everything. We gave Alice a lot of finger foods from an early age, so it's just natural extension of that for us.

Oscar does have some baby cereal for breakfast and then at lunch or dinner he will chew on some foods. So far we have tried avocado, banana and steamed carrots. He has had a few instances of gagging but no choking. Cam gave him a bit of mandarin today and my MIL also gave him a crust of toast to chew on. He seems to enjoy it so far.

The last few weeks, we have been rearranging our furniture in the house to make it more family-friendly ie. not spending so much time in separate rooms. We have arranged a designated play area for the kids in the lounge so their mess isn't everywhere and I've moved my craft desk into the living area so I can work while the kids play. Hopefully that will see me doing more craft projects and feeling more fulfilled in my sahm career.

Ikea is my arch-nemesis.

At the moment, I'm trying desperately to be both frugal and environmentally conscious but Ikea kills me on both parts.

It's cheap so I end up buying things I don't really need, spending unnecessary money. Buying hanging toy bags, play mats and plastic stools that I could easily do without.

And it's usually naughty plastic that I know will end in landfill :( Like my new plastic storage bins for the study. They have so much stuff there that I buy things that I know I could find second hand or wooden or recycled but I'd have to make 10 different trips or waste hours on ebay so I just get sucked in to buying it all there ("coz I'm there already...")

6 months ago next week and I was giving birth!!! LOL

Hi girls
I know a lot of you have been touched by the horror of the recent Victorian bushfires and I also know a lot of you are crafty types, so I thought you might want to check out his website:

Handmade Help is a group of fantastic crafties who are knitting, sewing, quilting and making things for bushfire survivors as well as donating craft supplies to help out survivors who lost all their wool/material/machines/needles/art supplies in the fires.

Hopefully you'll be able to see this as normal. Hope you all had a great Christmas!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Oh yes!! We were planning a trip to New York about 5 years ago for Christmas and we intended to surprise to some friends who were living overseas at the time. I responded to one of those emails where you answer questions about yourself and managed to include an obnoxious comment about being in New York in a few weeks time! I didn't realise the friends that were on the email list were the ones we were trying to surprise!!!

I also accidentally sent an extremely offensive IM to the wrong person at work. It was meant for a friend as a joke but went to the wrong person. And not once but TWICE because she didn't respond the first time.

You Are 56% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression

Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.

Evil Squirrel

Central Park, NYC, December 2004

... I'm nesting :)

Settlement went through fine!! 

We are officially homeowners now, yay!!

Doing it a bit early as I probably won't get a chance tomorrow.

Thirteen books I've read in the last day

1. Where is the green sheep?
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
3. Little Lamb finds his friends
4. Wombat Stew
5. Time for Bed
6. Farm Animals
7. Baby Animals
8. Things we wear
9. Spot's First Christmas
10. Words
11. The Farm
12. Hairy Maclary
13. That's not my dolly

As I mentioned in my TT yesterday, I decided to make a new nappy bag. My current one (sewn before Alice was born) is really big and awkward and doesn't fit under the pram.

Here is my new one hanging over my pram handle (something my old one couldn't do):


(ignore mess please)

Closeup of the inside:



There are four small pockets inside - 2 on each side.

Improvements from last time:
Smaller, more manageable size
One long shoulder strap instead of two small handles
Two half pockets on each side instead of one
Ironed on the fusible fleece before sewing instead of trying to cut it to size
Extra row of zigzag stitches along the straps (previous ones were ripping off)

Very proud of my efforts and completed it all while Alice had her afternoon nap.

You may remember I got a mushroom farm for my birthday. Well, the current weather obviously suits them as we have a bumper crop this week!

 

Today I cleaned the whole house without any chemical cleaners!! Thought I'd share my techniques for anyone who's interested in reducing nasty cleaning chemicals.

I clean the bathroom benches and bath with Ecover Cream Cleanser. I've also tried the Ecostore one and they are both about the same. I have to admit that they don't really do that well with my shower as we must be particularly scummy :P

For the shower, I use good old bicarb soda and vinegar. I make the bicarb into a paste and rub it on. Then I spray with vinegar and scrub it all down. Bicarb & vinegar also get a run in the toilet. On den_lace  's recommendation I use the fabulous Orange Power air freshener.

In the kitchen, I use the Ecostore spray cleaner - just as good as Spray and Wipe et al. I don't use oven cleaner, just wipe down the inside of the oven if anything gets on it at the time of use.

I use an Enjo dust glove or one of those rotating ones you see on infomercials for dusting. I am yet to find a eco-friendly wood polish so for now I just wipe down our wooden furniture with a damp cloth.

I mop our floors with Cinderella floor cleaner (which smells fabulous by the way.) I also use their window cleaner too.

I save on cloths and sponges by using old clothing torn up. Sponges that I do buy I wash and use again until they fall apart.

One of the best things about chemical-free cleaning is that I don't have to worry about Alice getting into things. No real harm done if she tries to eat vinegar. She potters after me "helping" by rubbing everything with her own cloth. hahaha got her in training early!!

We went and looked through our hosue today and it was just as great as we remembered :)

Alice had her afternoon nap without any boobie for the 4th day in a row. This time she didn't need rocking to sleep or anything, she just happily put herself to sleep in the cot with her teddy, blanket and dummy. Now she is officially down to one feed a day.

I made carrot cake for the first time ever and it turned out lovely. Aren't I a good wife making healthy treats for my dieting husband?

I am at a bit of a mothering crossroads and my head and heart are battling it out. So of course, when I'm confused the best thing is always to blog about it :)

You know I've never bought into the idea that breastfeeding can be selfish but I have felt over the last few days that Alice may be ready to wean and I'm not sure if I am :(

Most of the time, I feel pretty ready to give it up especially when I'm trying to manouvre a wriggling toddler around my belly bump late at night. However, when I look at her feeding and think about it never happening again, I get all teary. I think it has a lot to do with a lingering guilt about being "forcing" her to give it up because I'm pregnant again; like she's already being disadvantaged for her sibling.

All this came to a head yesterday when, without really thinking about it, I tried putting her down for her afternoon nap without her usual breastfeed and, with a bit of rocking and singing, was successful.

Then I remembered that Cam's parents were babysitting her while we went to the footy (when she'd have a sippy cup of soy milk before bed) and if she didn't have a feed during the day, it would be almost 2 days between feeds and I was worried about my supply. My supply must be pretty low because if I try expressing, I get nothing. So when she got up, I gave her a little breastfeed totally against her routine. I could have not done that and began the weaning process, as she went to sleep quite happily for Cams mum with a sippy cup of warm soy milk before bed.

One of my motivating factors was I wanted to decide myself when the final feed will be. Is that selfish? I just feel like I need to say "goodbye" to breastfeeding her properly (here come the waterworks now.) I have really loved breastfeeding and that quiet time we have together. I know I have another baby just around the corner and get to start that relationship all over again but I am still not sure I am ready to close that chapter.

**pause to recompose myself**

Today, we've continued with no lunchtime feed but gave her a nighttime feed. Over the last few weeks, she has stopped falling asleep at the breat and I put her down sleepy but awake and she puts herself to sleep. Deep down, I think she'd be quite happy if she just had a sippy cup instead but if I'm being honest, I kind of like that she "needs" me :(

My head says the timing is probably right and I may have missed an ideal opportunity. She is at a stage where she knows what "booba" is but doesn't really demand or ask for it unless I offer it. I don't think she's possessive of them and the next 4 months may be long enough for her to forget they were "hers" and not be quite so jealous of the new baby feeding. 

But my heart feels a bit reluctant to let go of that beautiful relationship and doesn't want it to happen accidentally.

I came online to post a Thursday Thirteen but then decided to have a nap instead. Sorry!

I've come down with a yucky barking cough and sore throat. I am also having a bit of wheezing and trouble breathing so I'm booked in to my GP tomorrow to get it checked out. Better safe than sorry when it comes to being sick and pregnant.

Anyway, Alice is asleep so I need to go get a nap myself while I can.

We got our formal finance approval today!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!

*happy dance*

Settlement will be 22nd September at the latest but we should have an earlier date if our paperwork is processed promptly.

YAY!!!!

Thanks for all your finger crossing, prayers and nudie dances. They have been much appreciated!!!

1. Own it!! Have to wait until our finance and settlement is all sorted of course :P Just waiting for a call from our finance dude now actually.
   
   
2. Furniture layout. When we have our inspection we have to measure everything up so we can work out where everything will fit and what new stuff we need. Even though we have 3 bedrooms, we are going to put the kids in together. This allows us to have the third bedroom as a study. We don't have the same living area as we have here so it will be impractical to have the computer desk in the living area. We will have the bub in the bassinette with us for the first few months anyway.
   Cam has already started to do the layout using Google SketchUp but we need some more accurate measurements.
   
   
3. Furniture shopping - we have built in robes in here so we have to get some extra wardrobes and cupboards at least. We also need a bed for Alice. I am hoping to get something second hand or through freecycle to reduce the environmental impact of buying all new furniture. If not, it's a trip to Ikea for us!!
   
4. Paint! The house has that distinct "old lady" smell that a coat of paint should fix. We are going to use the Oikos low-VOC paint even though it's a bit more expensive. We haven't chosen any colours yet but will probably go with something neutral in the living areas and maybe the same green/purple combo we have in Alice's room here for the kids' room.
   
5. Carpet. This is still a maybe. I hate the "piss yellow" carpets but we don't know if we should replace them with new carpets (and all the health/environmental concerns that go with that) or just wait until we can afford bamboo flooring.
   
6. Fix the heater/install gas bayonet. There is an ancient gas heater in the house which doesn't work. Cam's dad is going to try and fix it. If not, we will get a gas bayonet installed for our existing heater.
   
7. Air conditioning. We will get a reverse cycle unit in the lounge. I don't know how the old lady lived in Perth without one.
   
8. Vege patch! I have an idea where I want it but we will have to wait until I know where the sun falls on the house.
   
   
9. Clothes line. At the moment we have a long clothes line down the middle of the yard. I'd like to get a Hills Hoist rotary but aren't sure if we have the room.
   
10. Herb garden. I have picked a nice spot near the kitchen window, I just hope it gets enough sun.
    
11. Install a dishwasher. My parents have offered to buy us one as a house warming gift. YAY!!!
    
    
12. Alarm system. Another maybe depending on cost. Now that I have lived with one, I can't imagine living without one.
    
13. That is all the things we would like to finish before the baby comes. Next on the list is a patio/outdoor kitchen. The house has no outdoor living areas; nowhere to put out outdoor setting. Unfortunately, the layout of the house doesn't lend itself to one either: all the living spaces are at the front of the house and there's no side yard. So in my opinion, the best thing to do is build an outdoor patio with a little sink and built in BBQ and maybe a bar fridge so we don't have to run all the way in and out of the house when we are cooking for people. However, this is quite a big project and is something we would tackle further down the track I think.