Bras and Undies!

Well, I haven’t blogged for ages – February has been a crazy month here – lots of medical things going on to deal with (will write more another day), a written assignment to do, a few social outings that have been unavoidable and of course the start of dancing, tumblefun gymnastics and our occupational therapist appointments for the year!

But March is looking a little quieter here, so hopefully I can phone those friends I’ve been neglecting, write here a bit more, catch up on some cooking and sewing, and just plain old get back into life again.

And on the topic of sewing… The March Challenge on Aussies Living Simply is No Knickers! Now I cannot give up undies forever, but I have decided that from now on, I shall not put any commercially made underwear on my bottom (other than what I currently own, that is).

On ALS, I have been asked about my homemade undies, so here are some pics of my first Hemp Bra & Undies set made in April last year. They were made using Kwik Sew Pattern 3301

Its probably important to note that this is not an underwire bra and as I am rather small busted, I find it great, but I’m not sure what those with larger busts need in the bra compartment...

I made the undies the high waisted version, but afterwards realised that I don’t own any high waisted clothes! So from now on I will only make the low rise ones.

These are obviously boy-leg undies too, but I'm going to be on the lookout for a good regular undies pattern as I'd like to try some regular pants as well.

They were not at all difficult to make and didn't take too long at all. These are made using hemp jersey, but can be made from any stretch fabric. I'm guessing it wouldn't be too difficult to add some lace or ribbon if you wanted to make them pretty... I'm not so into underwear that it bothers me if they are pretty though!

So there you have it - my home made bra and undies. I must admit I haven't made any more since this set, but do have a couple of pairs cut out, so will endeavour to get them done in the coming weeks. I have some spotty pink ones and some beautiful bamboo velour ones cut out.

A Dilemma...

I’ve been slowly working my way through all my thoughts on the way the girls and I live, and the aspects we need to improve etc, but it’s left me with quite a dilemma.

Where I live, there are not really many options available to us with regards to sustainable living products – although every time I go near a shop, I do spot the odd improvement, so at least there is some progress. So, if I wish to use recycled pens, or biodegradable bin liners, or not pay a huge cost for compact fluoro lights, I need to order them in.

Now this is obviously not a huge problem – I have access to the internet and am a very capable online shopper LOL.

BUT, my dilemma is that I’m concerned that the costs associated with shipping these products to me outweigh the benefits. I’m not talking just the cost of posting/shipping the order – but the full costs of packaging, emissions and not supporting local businesses etc.

I honestly have no idea how to work this out either – is there a calculator that can somehow “tell” me, or is it purely an ethical decision that I need to make? Has there been any research into this? Am I over-thinking things?

Obviously a good first step for me would be to do a bit of research and see if there are any thoughts on the matter on the wonderful world wide web! But, somehow I need to make a decision on this because it will really impact on my decisions in the future.

And on the topic of sustainable living, I have been thinking about the most common products we use that are either disposable, or not very sustainable.

The biggest issues I think we have are:

Baking Paper – a lot of our special recipes only really work with baking paper, so as a result we go through LOTS of the stuff. I do reuse it as often as I can, but after a few uses it really does need to be replaced. Any recipe that can be used with just an oiled pan, or a silicone baking tray, I do these things as well. But, there is still a large qty of baking paper being used in this house and I have yet to see a “recycled” or similar baking paper – I’m also not sure if it can be composted or not? I’m thinking that the greaseproof coating will be problematic but need to research this as well.

Toilet Paper – with 3 girls in the house, and a 2y9m old who likes to use half a roll each time she makes a visit to the toilet, I was amazed at how fast a roll disappeared! We only use recycled paper, but we are now using cloth wipes for wees – no paper. Little Miss G still likes to use about 16 wipes for each wee, but I’m quite ok with washing wipes rather than using a roll of loo paper each day!

Freezer Bags – I order my meat in bulk, so once a month I have a large order to divide up and freeze. At this stage I use as many plastic containers as I can, but I simply do not have enough, so have been using freezer bags for the rest. I’m finding that they really aren’t up to a 2nd use once they’ve been frozen for a while, defrosted and washed. So, I think the obvious answer here is to slowly accumulate enough containers to store all my meat in and slowly reduce the bags.

Transportation – yes, I do use my car nearly every day. I currently have a horrible big 6cyl 4wd, but am in the process of getting a much more economical 4cyl car so at least that will help. I live around 10 minutes out of town, so do try to combine as many trips to town as possible, however I’m finding that between Kindy on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Occupational Therapy every second Tuesday and then every second weekend I do as many jobs in town as I can while the girls are with their Dad, I am still spending a LOT of time in the car. We do live around 100m from the nearest public bus stop, and I would dearly love to use it, but the routes don’t go near the Kindy or Occupational Therapist, and I’m simply cannot put my girls in a closed environment of a bus full of people wearing all sorts of smells – their bodies simply wouldn’t cope with it, and I can hardly ask the bus company to not allow people on if they are wearing deodorant or perfume that might pong a bit… So, I think doing the best I can to reduce my trips to town, and driving as economically as I can is the best I can do at the moment.

Electricity – This is really only a summer problem! We do use our air conditioner significantly during summer, and compared to grumpy, whiney, sweaty little girls, the pleasant, happy, and calm little girls I have when the a/c is on, makes it all worth it! And I know that once the worst of the heat is over, our electricity usage will reduce drastically and there may only be one or two days in winter when we feel the need for a little heating.

Meat – this and transport are my two biggest issues I think. Due to our allergies and the program we are on, we are required to eat a substantial amount of meat each day as it’s the only source of complete protein we have, and given our many allergies, combining proteins is not overly practical. So, I’m sourcing my meat from as local a supplier as I can get, buying in bulk to reduce packaging, and trying to accept that for now this is just the way it has to be.

Obviously our health is a very important consideration, so despite the fact that I struggle every time I get in our car when I see the bus pull up, or eat yet another meat meal, I really do need to learn to be ok with it because without our health, we simply wouldn’t be capable of doing anything to reduce our ecological footprint in other areas.

So, besides these 6 problem areas, I’m actually pretty happy with the way we live. I hope that we are making enough contributions in all the other areas to help counteract some of these issues, and will continue to endeavour to do whatever I can to address these 6 things.

Lots of ramblings from my mind today, but I do feel like I am doing the best I can right now and my nearly empty wheelie bin each week is a good sign!

A rather ordinary day :(

I'm afraid I'm feeling quite out of sorts today... I think I've had a few too many chemical exposures during the week, and its absolutely taken its toll on me... oh and I'm terribly stressed about selling our house!

We've had our 3rd Open House today, and to date we have had no one show up at any of them, no one has even enquired on our property from the newspaper advertisements, web advertising, being harassed by our agent or in store signage :( We have had one party through to look mid week before last, but they were only humouring their agent (our agents husband!) - I could see they were just there for the ride because they were doing and saying such similar things that I have done in the same situation!

Now we KNOW we can't live here as is - the house has really poor air quality and is full of problems, NEEDS to be renovated to give us the room we need (50m2 is just not enough when we need to spend so much time indoors escaping rain or stinky neighbours!), and we can't renovate safely without adding considerable time and cost to the project. BUT, what happens if we can't sell our house???

We could rent it out and rent somewhere else ourselves, but the problem with that is that we aren't really in a situation to be able to do that as we wouldn't come close to covering the loan repayments.

So, I think what we'll end up doing (if we can't sell) is renovating... VERY CAREFULLY... I'm not looking forward to that at all, but something is going to have to happen one way or another...

I think what we need to do is set ourselves a time limit on when to just bite the bullet and admit that the house may not sell and we need to consider renovating... more discussions to be had...

But, seeing as we've all been chemically exposed this week and have been reacting, I'm really really cautious about this and will need to do a LOT more research.

So just some pointless rambling tonight!

More musings...

You know, I've been thinking more and more today (seeing as its still a relatively good day!) and I've pinpointed some very specific things that do in fact improve our days...

1. Not to engage in the emotional *discussions* at meal times - the rules are simple, we must eat our meals before we leave the table. Until now, there had always been some degree of *discussion* taking place at meal times - bargaining over each and every meal. I was very caught up in the emotions of needing my children to eat for their health, growth, development etc, and I do believe that they saw this *need* in me and it was something they weren't sure how to deal with... I don't really have anything else that invokes these same emotions in me, so this would have been very different to the Mum they were used to. So, over the weekend we decided (as we had some months ago, but the situation improved and we kind of forgot about it) that from now on there will be no discussing or arguing or pleading. The rule is simple - we sit down and eat our meals before we leave the table. End of story. Yes, if the children aren't well or there is something else going on (ie a chemical reaction), I may alter the amount that I require them to eat, but for normal run of the mill type days, the rule applies. I may still be as emotional over meal times, but by not engaging in any discussions on the topic, I can keep those emotions to myself.

2. No more preparing 2 or 3 meals until the child is happy - yes, in my desperation to have the girls eat, they would sometimes demand something else and something else and something else... and I would go and prepare it. Well, if its a meal that I know they do like and have eaten recently, they will be expected to eat. I am absolutely prepared to make something else if we are introducing them to something they haven't had before or something I have made a little differently - I know they (Miss E in particular) have very distinct preferences for foods and textures, so if I am dishing up something different I am most happy to also have something that they will eat on standby. But a vast amount of time has been spent preparing several meals at each meal time and my time is far better spent interacting in a more positive way with the girls than preparing multiple meals.

3. Spending some time together doing something *fun* every day - Emma is always asking to do something *exciting* and when I make the time to ensure that even half an hour a day is spent on the floor with the girls doing something they want to do, the mood of the house is always much better. I may be a little behind in some of my jobs, but the girls do then tend to play a little better (for a short period of time at least) so I cam be more efficient as I'm not trying to play with them, help with conflict resolution and do my own things...

4. Spend some time outside every day - this is probably the trickiest one for us at the moment... The neighbours that would sit outside and smoke for hours on end have gone, but in their place we have a neighbour who is renovating and so we are now often being trapped inside to escape the paint and glue fumes that waft into our yard. We also haven't really been able to go out anywhere since May due to the girls being quite unwell. But, both girls are now reasonbley healthy, so on the days that we don't have anything planned, and are unable to go outside due to whatever our neighbours may be doing, I will try to arrange for a trip to a park or similar. Again, this will take time away from my chores, but hopefully will invoke the same degree of self-directed play and a sense of serenity over us all that my efficiency will improve.

Yesterday really was a horrible day and unfortunately I'm a little slow on the uptake and it takes a really bad day for me to sit down and re-assess what is happening, where we are at and look at solutions. But, doing so really is quite uplifting and today I do feel so much more energised and able to cope.

Now I just need to work on getting to this point BEFORE a really horrible day occurs...

phew.... A Better Day Already!

Well, today is shaping up to be a MUCH better day than yesterday!

Miss E woke up in a fabulous mood, happily ate her breakfast and even had all of her medication without baulking. It really does make an enormous difference to our days when they start off in such a positive way. It may only be 11am and there is still loads of potential for the day to deteriorate, but its still so nice to have such a calm and relaxed start to the day.

I made a concerted effort to sit with the girls and do some activities with them this morning for around an hour or so, and they are now happily playing together without me. I really do need to remind myself that a small investment of time in them does make a dramatic difference to their moods for the day. I guess the luxury of today though is that our play date was cancelled and I decided that the other jobs I really must do today can wait until this afternoon.

Doing some cooking last night also helped as it meant the pressure was off me to do some more this morning. We can now survive until tomorrow before I do anymore baking.

I also started to re-read Buddhism for Mothers last night and I know I am feeling calmer already for doing so. This week may still be quite chaotic with our other commitments, but hopefully by making a point of doing just a few minutes of reading each night will also help.

In addition to the reading though, I have also reduced one of my supplements... it has a tendency to increase insomnia in me, and it really didn't occur to me until last night that I was suffering insomnia again. So hopefully in a few days the reduced dose will have kicked in and I'll be back to sleeping well again!

Much happier all round here today :D

Is there a PAUSE button anywhere?

Because tonight I really feel like I just want to pause life for a couple of days so I can catch up and then hit play again!

I have had an extremely emotional day - every single meal has been an enormous issue for Miss E and each one has resulted in her staying at the table long after we have all finished and left the table - this morning we even had to forgo the lovely family morning out that we had planned as she simply would not eat her breakfast or take her medication afterwards. I know that a lot of parents would say that she obviously didn't feel like breakfast, but unfortunately we have to ensure she eats 6 times per day, and Miss E is also learning about power... This is one aspect of our lives where I don't feel like a very Gentle Parent :(

There are also lots of little things I need to catch up on - paperwork, book work, cooking to fill the freezer, some little sewing jobs and just a few other things, as well as just having the chance to breath! I am definitely feeling a little snowed under right now and not doing so well :(

So, tonight, we have had dinner, I am in the middle of cooking some more chippees and icing some biscuits for a play date tomorrow, trying to reply to some emails and catch up on some reading... and will attempt to be in bed at a reasonable hour.

I am in desperate need of some time for myself, but at the moment it just has to wait... I know I'm becoming grumpy and tired and stressed, but I think once this week (and a few engagements) are out of the way, I will have a chance to breath...

Oh and a house with some doors would help so I have the ability to shut a door and give myself 5 minutes of space at times of high tension!

Just some Ramblings today!

I really don't know what to write about today... I'm tired, have had a big morning out and am about to get ready to go back out this afternoon, and my head is hurting!

I am a real introvert so for me to spend a morning with friends for the girls to have a play date (as we did this morning) takes an enormous amount of, well, everything, out of me... I enjoy getting out of the house and seeing my friends and our kids all play really well together, but these mornings exhaust me.

This afternoon is Miss E's dance lesson though so we can't miss that! (Although one of my friends daughters from this morning also dances, so I still have to interact with people!). But, at least its broken up with watching the girls dance and talking to the other parents as well. I often start to wonder if perhaps I'm just not cut out to do anything socially...

But, I suspect its more than just that... my own stress levels according to other stuff happening in our lives impacts, as does the choice of company, the environment, the timing...

Last weeks visit to my uncles farm was TOTALLY different to this morning. That was a totally relaxing environment, people I feel absolutely comfortable with and take me as I am and still love me (ie my uncle and my brother!), the girls had an absolute ball and I really didn't need to supervise them or monitor everything they touched to see if they were picking up other kids food etc... Peaceful, quiet and calm...

Today, was at a friends house in town, 3 adults & 7 kids under 4, my friends that are very different to me and are on very different journeys in their life to me - although we do still get on quite well!, and of course there were lots of contraband food items around that I had ensure didn't go anywhere near Miss E and Miss G. Lots of noise and boisterousness... And I'm stressed about our housing situation!

So for me who is not totally comfortable with social outings anyway, I've realised just how much these factors make such a difference to my ability to cope with them without being overwhelmed.

I don't really know what to do about it though... I really can't stop going to these things completely as our fortnightly morning teas are the ONLY social interactions I have with people that aren't family or online and the girls really love catching up with their friends. Miss G is even starting to get more comfortable around the other kids (She is a lot like her mother and isn't a huge fan of crowds and noise!), and seeing as she isn't able to go to kindy until next year, I think its important for her to have these interactions.

And unfortunately, I can't only go when I'm not stressed about other things or feeling well rested etc! So I guess now that I've written this all down and have it a bit sorted in my head, I can approach these mornings in a different way - I can go into them knowing that they will have an impact on me, and be prepared for some quiet time leading up to and after the outings.

hmmm so my not knowing what to write has turned into a little psych analysis of why i'm so darned exhausted after this morning! But at least I have delved into why, and now that its written down, it makes so much more sense to me and hopefully it will help me cope that much better in the future! Its something that has always been just below the surface of my concious - I knew anything social exhausted me but hadn't really thought too much about it...

What does this have to do with food... ummmm... it was morning tea? LOL And I guess the hypervigilance of keeping an eye on the food around my girls... Well, its a stretch but you can connect to food if you really need to :D

So there you have it... a post that was totally unplanned and one I thought would be small has evolved into something very different!

Another short post today...

As per yesterday's, we had our open house this morning... and not one person came to look :(

So I'm feeling a little dejected (even though all week I had this really strong feeling this would happen), and not sure what to do...

We have been very lucky in each of the past 2 houses we have sold in that the first sold within hours and the second within 2 days of signing the Authority to Sell paperwork... So having a house on the market for 10 days is new to us... yes a whole 10 days!

I think we need to just be a little more patient and see what happens!

But, as a result of all the cleaning, meeting a friend for lunch and then a surprise visit from my Dad who lives 1300kms away, I'm rather worn out!

So, hopefully tomorrow I'll be up to writing more :D

A new me!

I haven't had anything done to my hair other than a quick trim in over a year, so yesterday I hit the hair salon! Here's the before and after shots!

BEFORE

AFTER

I'm really happy with the new do and loving it! I feel a million times better about myself too.

In other news its official - our house settles next Friday at arond 2.30pm, so we should be able to have the keys to our new home by around 3pm! Its exciting, but I do still have a LOT of packing to do!

That weekend is also Pete's work party - so we'll be moving house and going to the party - it will be one BIG weekend...... I bought a new dress and some cheapy jewellery to go with it, so when we get pics of us all jazzed up I'll have to post!

In other news, not much new is happening here! Too busy getting organised....

Love
T

Arrgghhh - Christmas - I hate it!

I really do you know! I hate the commercialisation and consumerism that seem to engulf the season, I hate giving gifts to people just because you have to, I don't believe in the religious meaning behind it, I don't know what to teach my kids in an attempt to keep them from getting caught up in the whole "Santa + Gifts" hype.

I'm going to tell (and already have) the Saint Nicholas story to explain who Santa is, but I still can't help but wonder how on earth I "do" Christmas with the girls....

So far I have it in mind like so:

• Christmas is a time to show the people we care about just how much we love them, and we often give people meaningful gifts to show them, but there are other ways of showing our feelings.
  
• Santa is a tribute to the real St Nicholas and gives gifts to the needy people in the world.
• Some people get a little too caught up in giving gifts that they don't necessarily think about what they are doing or giving and it can cause a lot of heartache for both giver and receiver.
• We will give a small gift to each member of our immediate family in addition to setting some new Christmas traditions that involve showing how much we care about each other.... not sure what yet though!

BUT I am struggling with the notion of Santa in our lives - so we tell the girls that he brings gifts to all kids now rather than just the needy ones, or do we stick with the truth and not even do Santa at all? And if we don't, do we then tell the girls that everyone else's parents are making up a story?

I think that's enough mental gymnastics for now! I'll be back once I've worked out what we'll do this year!

Welcome to MY blog!

Ok, so maybe its really overkill, but I wanted my own blog - somewhere where I could ramble away to my hearts content! If you want to stay up to date with the girls, you can follow the link from here to their blog, but you do need a password to access it - just let me know if you are interested. Otherwise, this is all MINE!

I'm hoping this can be a journal of my evolution. I feel like I am going through some massive changes as a person lately...well actually, probably ever since I became a mum! I certainly feel like a different person these days and I would like to think that maybe, just maybe, I am slowly kind of getting it all together - well, as much as I ever will!

Yep, I'm a little bit weird - my husband tells me so ALL the time! I don't exactly fit any traditional stereotypes and I tend to be a bit scatty brained at times! I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks they way I do, but I am may be one of a few who actually are willing to let the world see it!

So, I'm off to do some personalising of my blog, and hopefully you'll join me on a journey of mystery as I unravel ME!

Love
Theresa