After a series of, uh, let's call them "incidents" involving Heike's head versus various pieces of household furniture this week, I've been forced to take a long hard look at my parenting style. I must say it does, upon examination, appear unconventional. I like to think of myself as "laid back" and "free thinking" but others might view me as lazy, careless and flighty (I would call these people "uptight").
In light of this I compiled a list of the top five reasons why I will never win a Mother of the Year Award, assuming such things existed and were doled out by parenting Nazis.
They are, as follows:
1) I constantly see risks and yet fail to act upon my observations - I have been known to look at Heike pulling herself onto an object, particularly those with slam-able draws or potentially fatal sharp corners and say aloud "Ooh, that looks dangerous," approximately one second before disaster ensures (fingers are slammed, head is bumped, tears are cried). I'm not entirely sure but I feel like other mothers use the word "No!" and pull their child away. Not I! Live dangerously is my credo (it's not).
2) I have been known to let my daughter eat off the floor - Yesterday I saw Heike eating a strawberry and said happily "Hey, I haven't given you strawberries today! That's resourceful." I then walked back into the kitchen. 'Nuff said.
3) I let my daughter play with my keys, phone and wallet - I'm not sure why but these objects have been deemed "off limits" by responsible parents everywhere. Neglectful parents like myself allow their children to play to their hearts content with such contraband, resulting in destroyed iPhones (vomit kills smart phones, FYI) and awkward moments in cafes where they realise their ATM card is still in their child's cot.
4) I can not make Glad Wrap stick - I always thought that when you gave birth, your body released hormones that enabled you to Glad Wrap lunches and leftovers in taut, neat fashion. Not so. In fact, I think my Glad Wrapping is worse than ever because I'm just too tired and busy to give a shit. Instead I use containers, which go missing for weeks and are then found mould encrusted on the floor of my car.
5) I am generally vague and forgetful - You all know my track record with car keys. I'm getting better but still haven't managed to live down my infamy. I have, in my mothering prowess, burnt boiling potatoes (previously thought impossible). I have also burnt stewing pear (does happen not frequently). I was incredibly proud that I managed to send off Heike's school application but, incidentally, I had enrolled her in the wrong year. I drove 10 minutes to pick up some formula and other groceries, parked and then realised I had left my wallet at home. You get the gist. I don't know about anyone else but when I was a kid, mothers simply did NOT do things like this. Or did they just hide it well?
Despite my shortcomings and the concrete knowledge my parenting won't win me any accolades, I DO have a happy, healthy daughter who gets TONS of cuddles, OODLES of kisses and has lots of laughs with her, ahem, kooky mother.
Z xx
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Hand Foot and Mouth "Disease"
When an illness has "disease" in its title and it sounds suspiciously like the Foot and Mouth disease that kills cows, a Mum is going to worry when her child gets that diagnosis. Luckily a girlfriend's bub had just been struck down with the Medieval sounding affliction that is "Hand Foot and Mouth Disease" so I wasn't quite as freaked out as I could have been.
In fact, it turns out that Hand Foot and Mouth is quite common amongst little people, what with their propensity for grabbing things with their hands and shoving them in their mouths and, well, they have feet so those get involved too.
According to my vast google research, Hand Foot and Mouth is a virus that causes the usual flu symptoms along with blisters that appear in and around the mouth as well as the hands and feet. Most children who contract it have a few spots, while some, like mine, look like they have contracted the bubonic plague.
We're still not sure what we were dealing with when it came to poor Miss Heike's illness, but sadly she was covered head to toe in large, sore blisters. Her ears, her nappy area, her fingers and toes - nowhere escaped unharmed. The blisters were so extensive that in places they were basically on top of one another, and as they dried up whole pieces of skin the size of twenty cent pieces were falling off. BLERGGGH!!
It is possible that she had the chicken pox as well as HFM which caused her case to be so serious, while it is also possible that she just had a really, really bad dose of Hand Foot and Mouth, which is what her GP seemed to think (after we had gotten a chicken pox diagnosis at casualty days earlier). Either way, I feel so sorry for the poor poppet!
No one tells you how hard it is when your child gets sick. You feel like crying on their behalf. You also feel like crying because they are crying so much and you don't know how to fix it. Also if they have an infectious disease you can't leave the house, so then you do cry because you are going INSANE!
At the peak of all our chicken pox/HFM drama, Heike got her first three teeth - three top teeth that look very cute. So it seems she has inherited her mother's flair for drama, whereby life ticks along normally for weeks and then BAM! seventeen significant and disasterous things happen in one day. Just to keep life in perspective.
Z xx
In fact, it turns out that Hand Foot and Mouth is quite common amongst little people, what with their propensity for grabbing things with their hands and shoving them in their mouths and, well, they have feet so those get involved too.
According to my vast google research, Hand Foot and Mouth is a virus that causes the usual flu symptoms along with blisters that appear in and around the mouth as well as the hands and feet. Most children who contract it have a few spots, while some, like mine, look like they have contracted the bubonic plague.
We're still not sure what we were dealing with when it came to poor Miss Heike's illness, but sadly she was covered head to toe in large, sore blisters. Her ears, her nappy area, her fingers and toes - nowhere escaped unharmed. The blisters were so extensive that in places they were basically on top of one another, and as they dried up whole pieces of skin the size of twenty cent pieces were falling off. BLERGGGH!!
It is possible that she had the chicken pox as well as HFM which caused her case to be so serious, while it is also possible that she just had a really, really bad dose of Hand Foot and Mouth, which is what her GP seemed to think (after we had gotten a chicken pox diagnosis at casualty days earlier). Either way, I feel so sorry for the poor poppet!
No one tells you how hard it is when your child gets sick. You feel like crying on their behalf. You also feel like crying because they are crying so much and you don't know how to fix it. Also if they have an infectious disease you can't leave the house, so then you do cry because you are going INSANE!
At the peak of all our chicken pox/HFM drama, Heike got her first three teeth - three top teeth that look very cute. So it seems she has inherited her mother's flair for drama, whereby life ticks along normally for weeks and then BAM! seventeen significant and disasterous things happen in one day. Just to keep life in perspective.
Z xx
Thursday, June 28, 2012
A Boozy Question
I was interested to read an article this week citing a new study out of Denmark into drinking alcohol while pregnant. The study, conducted using data from over 1600 women in the Danish National Birth Cohort, found that up to eight drinks per week or the occasional binge drinking session during pregnancy is not neccessarily harmful to your unborn baby - woo, let's party!
I'm constantly baffled as to why studies like this even exist. I mean, it's common sense. We all know what alcohol does to us when we're NOT pregnant - how it makes us feel, what it makes us do, the effect it has on our bodies. Why then would we choose to drink while pregnant? Regardless of the potential risk, or lack of one, it would be easier to just say "Look, you're pregnant, let's eliminate all risks and say steer clear of booze for a few months." And maybe direct the resources from these studies into something like, maybe, curing cancer.
Personally, I didn't drink when I was pregnant. Okay, that's not entirely true. In the weeks between the "fateful deed" and finding out I was indeed knocked up, I participated in some rather, ahem, jovial holiday celebrations - a Christmas party, a boxing day drinking fest and a rambunctious New Year's Eve bash. On the day before realising my period was late, I was offered a beer and felt kind of sick at the thought - the first clue that drinking would be a thing of the past for the next nine months.
Throughout my pregnancy however I was the model pregnant madonna, otherwise known as the slightly crazy anxiety ridden whale prone to hyperventilating while in the presence of soft cheeses. STAY AWAY FROM MY BABY WHITE RIND! But I only wanted what was best for my child and I can't understand why other women wouldn't feel the same.
All these thoughts of alcohol had me craving a wine, which I promptly poured and got to thinking - hm, I was such a martyr when I was pregnant but these days, I'm quite the booze hound. I remembered watching a program on binge drinking not long ago in which they enlisted a "health expert" to discuss the binge drinking epidemic.
"We are finding," said he "that among the biggest binge drinkers are stay at home mothers, who frequently drink half a bottle or more a night without even realising it."
.........
Okay so I don't drink half a bottle or more per night - I only ever allow two glasses on school nights (yes, even though mothering a baby is a seven day job I still differentiate school nights) and I have at least three alcohol free days a week. But I do find an increased dependence on wine now that I'm a mother.
Why is that?
I think for one it's a stress release thing - being able to sit down at the end of a long day and drink a large glass of wine is a rare and deserved pleasure for many Mums. It's also a way of preserving an individual, adult identity, which is tough to do when you spend most of your life covered in vomit, saliva and mushy crackers and talking chirpily to someone who doesn't and can't reply.
As evidenced by the "health expert"'s comment above, it's not just me who is driven to drink. Many of my Mummy friends have confessed they are drinking more alcohol more often now that they have children, while I've discovered there are entire blogs devoted to Mums Behaving Badly - that is, Mums who drink.
One of the comments on one such blog states, and I quote:
“I became a daily wine drinker to cope with being a stay-at-home mom. The boredom, the stress ... I just decided one day I’d start sipping on wine at 4 when Oprah came on ... the thought of quitting for good seems unbearable. I wish the desire to drink would just be lifted from me.”
This comment made me stop in my tracks. For one, I feel for this poor woman, and her family. She sounds depressed and at a dead end. For two, it rings way too close to home - I mean, I'm not there but I get it. And sometimes getting it is just a hop, skip and one too many glasses of Shiraz from being there.
From now on, I'll be having four alcohol free nights a week.
Z xx
I'm constantly baffled as to why studies like this even exist. I mean, it's common sense. We all know what alcohol does to us when we're NOT pregnant - how it makes us feel, what it makes us do, the effect it has on our bodies. Why then would we choose to drink while pregnant? Regardless of the potential risk, or lack of one, it would be easier to just say "Look, you're pregnant, let's eliminate all risks and say steer clear of booze for a few months." And maybe direct the resources from these studies into something like, maybe, curing cancer.
Personally, I didn't drink when I was pregnant. Okay, that's not entirely true. In the weeks between the "fateful deed" and finding out I was indeed knocked up, I participated in some rather, ahem, jovial holiday celebrations - a Christmas party, a boxing day drinking fest and a rambunctious New Year's Eve bash. On the day before realising my period was late, I was offered a beer and felt kind of sick at the thought - the first clue that drinking would be a thing of the past for the next nine months.
Throughout my pregnancy however I was the model pregnant madonna, otherwise known as the slightly crazy anxiety ridden whale prone to hyperventilating while in the presence of soft cheeses. STAY AWAY FROM MY BABY WHITE RIND! But I only wanted what was best for my child and I can't understand why other women wouldn't feel the same.
All these thoughts of alcohol had me craving a wine, which I promptly poured and got to thinking - hm, I was such a martyr when I was pregnant but these days, I'm quite the booze hound. I remembered watching a program on binge drinking not long ago in which they enlisted a "health expert" to discuss the binge drinking epidemic.
"We are finding," said he "that among the biggest binge drinkers are stay at home mothers, who frequently drink half a bottle or more a night without even realising it."
.........
Okay so I don't drink half a bottle or more per night - I only ever allow two glasses on school nights (yes, even though mothering a baby is a seven day job I still differentiate school nights) and I have at least three alcohol free days a week. But I do find an increased dependence on wine now that I'm a mother.
Why is that?
I think for one it's a stress release thing - being able to sit down at the end of a long day and drink a large glass of wine is a rare and deserved pleasure for many Mums. It's also a way of preserving an individual, adult identity, which is tough to do when you spend most of your life covered in vomit, saliva and mushy crackers and talking chirpily to someone who doesn't and can't reply.
As evidenced by the "health expert"'s comment above, it's not just me who is driven to drink. Many of my Mummy friends have confessed they are drinking more alcohol more often now that they have children, while I've discovered there are entire blogs devoted to Mums Behaving Badly - that is, Mums who drink.
One of the comments on one such blog states, and I quote:
“I became a daily wine drinker to cope with being a stay-at-home mom. The boredom, the stress ... I just decided one day I’d start sipping on wine at 4 when Oprah came on ... the thought of quitting for good seems unbearable. I wish the desire to drink would just be lifted from me.”
This comment made me stop in my tracks. For one, I feel for this poor woman, and her family. She sounds depressed and at a dead end. For two, it rings way too close to home - I mean, I'm not there but I get it. And sometimes getting it is just a hop, skip and one too many glasses of Shiraz from being there.
From now on, I'll be having four alcohol free nights a week.
Z xx
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Me Myself and I
I'm feeling sick, tired and sorry for myself today. It's been a busy few weeks in which I've felt like there is always someone needing my attention, always something cooking in my oven and always something that needs cleaning, washing or tidying. You know those weeks - they're just like all the other weeks except everything feels harder.
Having a sick baby of course escalates these feelings, but what's worse is the last few days I've felt a bit sick myself - I know, I know, woe is me. I've got all kinds of first world problems!
Thus, I have decided to have an evening that's all about me. I've just enjoyed a nutritious dinner of muesli accompanied by a fine cup of tea, painted my nails for the first time in months and am watching "The Block" while simultaneously googling, online shopping, pinning and writing this. In 30 minutes or so I'm going to retreat to bed covered in moisturiser and fall asleep reading my book.
While this isn't really subject matter worthy of a blog post, I was glad I remembered that sometimes, it's not only okay but necessary to take some time just for me. So I thought it was important that I remind you, too - if you can, put the kettle on, make a cuppa, put your feet up and read a tacky magazine. You deserve it.
Z x
Having a sick baby of course escalates these feelings, but what's worse is the last few days I've felt a bit sick myself - I know, I know, woe is me. I've got all kinds of first world problems!
Thus, I have decided to have an evening that's all about me. I've just enjoyed a nutritious dinner of muesli accompanied by a fine cup of tea, painted my nails for the first time in months and am watching "The Block" while simultaneously googling, online shopping, pinning and writing this. In 30 minutes or so I'm going to retreat to bed covered in moisturiser and fall asleep reading my book.
While this isn't really subject matter worthy of a blog post, I was glad I remembered that sometimes, it's not only okay but necessary to take some time just for me. So I thought it was important that I remind you, too - if you can, put the kettle on, make a cuppa, put your feet up and read a tacky magazine. You deserve it.
Z x
Monday, June 18, 2012
A Pox Upon Our House
Well, we have been dealing with some dramas in our house over the weekend! Late on Friday, Heike came out with a rash all over her body - it started on her face and legs and gradually spread, well, everywhere. We decided to keep and eye on her overnight, rather than having a total stress attack (which parents in general are prone to do).
When we woke up on Saturday morning to find the rash was worse and large welts had developed all over Heike's tiny body, I decided I would start to stress. We rushed straight to casualty (okay we may have stopped for coffee and breakfast) and were swept straight into triage where the nurse took one look at our baby and said "chicken pox".
Chicken pox?!! First of all I was convinced she was in the throes of anaphylaxis, which is probably more telling about my understanding of allergies than anything else, and second of all how the HELL does a nine month old baby get chicken pox? I thought it was the business of grubby school-aged children, and many years away from our present reality.
Of course I've since done lots of reading into "the pox" and have found that it is in fact rare for a baby this age to contract chicken pox. Most babies are still carrying immunity from their mother until they hit about 12 months. It's possible that Heike's immunity has already worn off, or that she never got great immunity from me in the first place (*adds to mental list of failures).
I also thought kids could only get chicken pox by running around and touching and slobbering all over one another, which is why I couldn't believe my perfect bundle who spends most of her time with adults or other babies could possibly have it. But alas, this is also not the case. Chicken pox is highly infectious and, once it's airborne, there's NO STOPPING IT. It could have been that child we sat next to in the cafe...the nice lady and her dog who walk past us each afternoon...the schoolkid in the swing three metres away at the park...it's EVERYWHERE.
In all seriousness I was surprised just how contagious chicken pox is, which is why I have written this delightful community service announcement, so now you know too. The huge, ginormous inconvenience is that I must now shield my highly infectious child from society. Which sucks because spending a week indoors with a baby has been found to cause odd behaviour such as talking to oneself, eating entire packets of cookies and spending long periods of time with ones sight fixated on inanimate objects. So I've heard. Not to mention the sun is shining for the first time in weeks, and we love getting outside to the park. Luckily we have a small back yard where Heike can help me do entertaining things such as hang washing out and weed the garden.
Anyway, for those who are interested I have found the following things to keep Heike comfortable in this trying time (my poor baby!):
- Baths - baths seem to put Heike in a better mood so I assume they are soothing for the pox. According to various websites you can put oatmeal, bicarb soda or Pinesarol bath oil into the water to relieve itching. We have used Pinesarol which is effective but smells like Satan's armpits.
- Calamine lotion - While this does seem to relieve the itch it makes Heike really uncomfortable when we apply it. I think it is probably cold and hurts the more open/weeping lesions.
- Panadol - We rarely use Panadol but because Heike's sleeping has been effected and she has been running a little warm, we've been giving her one or two doses a day. It definitely helps - even if it's just taking the edge off, I figure if I was in her shoes I'd probably be on harder drugs than paracetamol.
- Socks on the hands - The best thing about Heike being so young is that she can't really scratch. I'm not sure she really knows how, but she does rub her face on everything. Nonetheless we have been putting socks on her hands (in lieu of mittens, which we are too cheap to go out and purchase) which prevents any scratching and protects her hands, where the spots are the worst and most concentrated.
- Love, hugs and a relaxed attitude - This is perhaps the best advice I can give, because Heike has needed a little extra TLC over the last few days. She would rather be in my arms than on the floor and would rather be carried than crawl. No worries, says I, you are unwell! She's also not really into food at the moment and has basically only eaten rice cakes and toast. No worries! All good! (That's my relaxed attitude right there).
Anyway, I hope that everyone in your house is healthy and you don't have to deal with the pox any time soon.
Z xx
When we woke up on Saturday morning to find the rash was worse and large welts had developed all over Heike's tiny body, I decided I would start to stress. We rushed straight to casualty (okay we may have stopped for coffee and breakfast) and were swept straight into triage where the nurse took one look at our baby and said "chicken pox".
Chicken pox?!! First of all I was convinced she was in the throes of anaphylaxis, which is probably more telling about my understanding of allergies than anything else, and second of all how the HELL does a nine month old baby get chicken pox? I thought it was the business of grubby school-aged children, and many years away from our present reality.
Of course I've since done lots of reading into "the pox" and have found that it is in fact rare for a baby this age to contract chicken pox. Most babies are still carrying immunity from their mother until they hit about 12 months. It's possible that Heike's immunity has already worn off, or that she never got great immunity from me in the first place (*adds to mental list of failures).
I also thought kids could only get chicken pox by running around and touching and slobbering all over one another, which is why I couldn't believe my perfect bundle who spends most of her time with adults or other babies could possibly have it. But alas, this is also not the case. Chicken pox is highly infectious and, once it's airborne, there's NO STOPPING IT. It could have been that child we sat next to in the cafe...the nice lady and her dog who walk past us each afternoon...the schoolkid in the swing three metres away at the park...it's EVERYWHERE.
In all seriousness I was surprised just how contagious chicken pox is, which is why I have written this delightful community service announcement, so now you know too. The huge, ginormous inconvenience is that I must now shield my highly infectious child from society. Which sucks because spending a week indoors with a baby has been found to cause odd behaviour such as talking to oneself, eating entire packets of cookies and spending long periods of time with ones sight fixated on inanimate objects. So I've heard. Not to mention the sun is shining for the first time in weeks, and we love getting outside to the park. Luckily we have a small back yard where Heike can help me do entertaining things such as hang washing out and weed the garden.
Anyway, for those who are interested I have found the following things to keep Heike comfortable in this trying time (my poor baby!):
- Baths - baths seem to put Heike in a better mood so I assume they are soothing for the pox. According to various websites you can put oatmeal, bicarb soda or Pinesarol bath oil into the water to relieve itching. We have used Pinesarol which is effective but smells like Satan's armpits.
- Calamine lotion - While this does seem to relieve the itch it makes Heike really uncomfortable when we apply it. I think it is probably cold and hurts the more open/weeping lesions.
- Panadol - We rarely use Panadol but because Heike's sleeping has been effected and she has been running a little warm, we've been giving her one or two doses a day. It definitely helps - even if it's just taking the edge off, I figure if I was in her shoes I'd probably be on harder drugs than paracetamol.
- Socks on the hands - The best thing about Heike being so young is that she can't really scratch. I'm not sure she really knows how, but she does rub her face on everything. Nonetheless we have been putting socks on her hands (in lieu of mittens, which we are too cheap to go out and purchase) which prevents any scratching and protects her hands, where the spots are the worst and most concentrated.
- Love, hugs and a relaxed attitude - This is perhaps the best advice I can give, because Heike has needed a little extra TLC over the last few days. She would rather be in my arms than on the floor and would rather be carried than crawl. No worries, says I, you are unwell! She's also not really into food at the moment and has basically only eaten rice cakes and toast. No worries! All good! (That's my relaxed attitude right there).
Anyway, I hope that everyone in your house is healthy and you don't have to deal with the pox any time soon.
Z xx
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Box Fresh
While shopping with a nine month old is by no means as difficult as shopping with a newborn, it still ain't easy - particularly if your particular breed of nine month old can be sitting happily in the trolley seat one minute and be found with a bunch of rosemary in their mouth the next.
I tried Woolworths online once and while it was good for the basics, it was rubbish for the fruit and veg. I ended up with all the bruised apples, mouldy strawberries and floury tomatoes that I've become so good at weeding out over many years of training.
Recently, a friend put me onto a gem of a site called Box Fresh - you can check them out here. The basic idea is that you order roughly the quantity of fruit and veg you need for a week and they deliver you a box of what's in season, direct from the markets.
I suppose the downside is that you can't choose what you get, but personally I love this because if there's one thing I hate more than grocery shopping it's deciding what to cook. In fact this exact issue is often the cause of arguments in our household as I'm incredibly indecisive and this annoys my decisive husband so much that he refuses to make decisions, leading to stubborn cold wars in which NO ONE will dare utter what they feel like for dinner. Mature, I know.
Anyway the other FAB thing about Box Fresh is they offer special "Mum and Baby" boxes, where they throw in a little extra of the stuff bubs love to eat - potatoes, carrots, broccoli, pears etc. So you're not stuck with loads of capsicums and chilli's and ginger and other delicious stuff babies won't eat.
I ordered from Box Fresh this week for only the second time, but it made me wonder why I don't do it more often - in future, I will! A small Mum and Baby box had my fridge looking pretty stocked, but a regular probably wouldn't go astray in families that go through lots of fresh food or like to cook extra and freeze (both things I would like to say about myself but, alas, I am flawed).
Another idea a friend had was to chuck any leftover vegies into a pot with some stock and herbs at the end of each week and voila - a healthy and delicious soup. Again, I probably won't do this but I'm just throwing it out there for the frugal and organised amongst you.
Stay fresh! (ha)
Z xx
I tried Woolworths online once and while it was good for the basics, it was rubbish for the fruit and veg. I ended up with all the bruised apples, mouldy strawberries and floury tomatoes that I've become so good at weeding out over many years of training.
Recently, a friend put me onto a gem of a site called Box Fresh - you can check them out here. The basic idea is that you order roughly the quantity of fruit and veg you need for a week and they deliver you a box of what's in season, direct from the markets.
I suppose the downside is that you can't choose what you get, but personally I love this because if there's one thing I hate more than grocery shopping it's deciding what to cook. In fact this exact issue is often the cause of arguments in our household as I'm incredibly indecisive and this annoys my decisive husband so much that he refuses to make decisions, leading to stubborn cold wars in which NO ONE will dare utter what they feel like for dinner. Mature, I know.
Anyway the other FAB thing about Box Fresh is they offer special "Mum and Baby" boxes, where they throw in a little extra of the stuff bubs love to eat - potatoes, carrots, broccoli, pears etc. So you're not stuck with loads of capsicums and chilli's and ginger and other delicious stuff babies won't eat.
I ordered from Box Fresh this week for only the second time, but it made me wonder why I don't do it more often - in future, I will! A small Mum and Baby box had my fridge looking pretty stocked, but a regular probably wouldn't go astray in families that go through lots of fresh food or like to cook extra and freeze (both things I would like to say about myself but, alas, I am flawed).
 | ||
| Check out my fridge homies! |
Stay fresh! (ha)
Z xx
Friday, June 8, 2012
What I'm Reading
Okay, so us Mums don't get a great deal of time to curl up with a nice novel. Actually I got tons of reading done just after Heike was born, because I was either feeding or holding her while sleeping a LOT of the time and the Kindle app on my phone saved my sanity (just). But these days I have one very active little girl on my hands, and the time I do get to myself during the day is usually used for washing, cooking, eating or showering. Don't even get me started on trying to read at night in be-zzzzzzz.....
Still, I think it's important to take the time to read, firstly because I am a MASSIVE fan of reading in general and life just wouldn't be the same without it, and secondly because it is a stimulating activity that gets your mind ticking over. Unlike, say, peek-a-boo. So perhaps reading is even more essential for us stay at home Mums who get very little mental stimulation!
At the moment I'm reading 2.5 books - finishing one, part way through another and just purchased the third. I always seem to be reading more than one book at a time, which accurately reflects my inability to focus on any one thing for longer than ten minutes. The two I'm reading are REALLY GOOD and the third I'm REALLY EXCITED ABOUT so I thought I'd give y'all the lowdown.
1) Hope: A Tragedy - Shalom Auslander
So I'm reading this book for a book club I'm meant to attend but have only been to once, almost a year ago. The book club for this book has actually already taken place and I missed it - d'oh. But I do try to read the books despite my fledgling attendance because my mates involved with the book club have FABULOUS taste.
This book is so awesome. Basically it's about a neurotic, depressing and probably insane Jewish man who finds a rather famous Holocaust victim/survivor living in his attic. This doesn't sound very hilarious (or does it?) but it is. I have scoffed and chortled (the most accurate words to describe the sounds I made) frequently while reading it. It's really well written and easy to read - and the two don't always go together. I won't spoil it by banging on about it but I will recommend it - go forth and purchase thee a copy. (Preferably from Oscar & Friends in Surry Hills or Double Bay).
2) We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
You've probably all heard about this one but I'll go there anyway. Not long after I had Heiks I entered a competition to win tickets to the movie of the same name - We Need To Talk About Kevin. I'd actually never heard of it but entered anyway and won, so decided to take my sister for a girls night.
Oh what a barrel of fun and laughs the evening turned out to be! Such a lovely, jovial time was had! Sarcasm noted.
This story is seriously disturbing. Essentially it explores the idea that children can be born "evil". Such a nice thing to have in the back of your mind when your own child is up screaming at 2am! I didn't even see the ending to this one coming, and not to big note myself (I'm awesome) I can almost always tell how a movie is going to end. Hecticcccc.
Anyway some friends have since told me how the book is way better than the movie and goes into a lot more detail, and despite the grim nature of the story I simply can't not read a book I've been told is better than the movie. (Side note: What kind of sick human beings would refuse to read the Harry Potter books even though they like the movies and every person who has read the books will tell them how much better the books are? I think these people are born evil).
So, so far so good on the "better than the movie" count, I'm really enjoying the details in the book as much as I'm not enjoying reading about a sociopathic murderous eight year old.
3) The Little Book of Anxiety - Kerry Sackville
I read Kerry Sackville's blog and she is flipping hilarious. She isn't afraid to take the piss out of herself and she writes about motherhood in such an open, honest way. Check it out here and prepare to be converted.
Anyway, when her latest book was released I got a little bit excited, not only because she had written it but because it was about anxiety, which I mildly suffer from myself. (MILDLY!). I knew that Kerry's talent for making light of big issues would immediately make me feel better about my own tendency to uh, stress. I'd also read she is actually super anxious, so I would thus feel better about myself by reading her stories, shaking my head and saying "Wow, girl, you loco!".
Silly me had forgotten all about the book until Kerry's face popped up on one of the morning programs this morning, and I promptly purchased myself a copy - that's the beauty of a Kindle, peeps.
Am really looking forward to sinking my head into this one!
What have you read lately that I simply must read?
Z xx
Still, I think it's important to take the time to read, firstly because I am a MASSIVE fan of reading in general and life just wouldn't be the same without it, and secondly because it is a stimulating activity that gets your mind ticking over. Unlike, say, peek-a-boo. So perhaps reading is even more essential for us stay at home Mums who get very little mental stimulation!
At the moment I'm reading 2.5 books - finishing one, part way through another and just purchased the third. I always seem to be reading more than one book at a time, which accurately reflects my inability to focus on any one thing for longer than ten minutes. The two I'm reading are REALLY GOOD and the third I'm REALLY EXCITED ABOUT so I thought I'd give y'all the lowdown.
1) Hope: A Tragedy - Shalom Auslander
So I'm reading this book for a book club I'm meant to attend but have only been to once, almost a year ago. The book club for this book has actually already taken place and I missed it - d'oh. But I do try to read the books despite my fledgling attendance because my mates involved with the book club have FABULOUS taste.
This book is so awesome. Basically it's about a neurotic, depressing and probably insane Jewish man who finds a rather famous Holocaust victim/survivor living in his attic. This doesn't sound very hilarious (or does it?) but it is. I have scoffed and chortled (the most accurate words to describe the sounds I made) frequently while reading it. It's really well written and easy to read - and the two don't always go together. I won't spoil it by banging on about it but I will recommend it - go forth and purchase thee a copy. (Preferably from Oscar & Friends in Surry Hills or Double Bay).
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| Hope: A Tragedy |
2) We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
You've probably all heard about this one but I'll go there anyway. Not long after I had Heiks I entered a competition to win tickets to the movie of the same name - We Need To Talk About Kevin. I'd actually never heard of it but entered anyway and won, so decided to take my sister for a girls night.
Oh what a barrel of fun and laughs the evening turned out to be! Such a lovely, jovial time was had! Sarcasm noted.
This story is seriously disturbing. Essentially it explores the idea that children can be born "evil". Such a nice thing to have in the back of your mind when your own child is up screaming at 2am! I didn't even see the ending to this one coming, and not to big note myself (I'm awesome) I can almost always tell how a movie is going to end. Hecticcccc.
Anyway some friends have since told me how the book is way better than the movie and goes into a lot more detail, and despite the grim nature of the story I simply can't not read a book I've been told is better than the movie. (Side note: What kind of sick human beings would refuse to read the Harry Potter books even though they like the movies and every person who has read the books will tell them how much better the books are? I think these people are born evil).
So, so far so good on the "better than the movie" count, I'm really enjoying the details in the book as much as I'm not enjoying reading about a sociopathic murderous eight year old.
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| If only they had talked about Kevin... |
3) The Little Book of Anxiety - Kerry Sackville
I read Kerry Sackville's blog and she is flipping hilarious. She isn't afraid to take the piss out of herself and she writes about motherhood in such an open, honest way. Check it out here and prepare to be converted.
Anyway, when her latest book was released I got a little bit excited, not only because she had written it but because it was about anxiety, which I mildly suffer from myself. (MILDLY!). I knew that Kerry's talent for making light of big issues would immediately make me feel better about my own tendency to uh, stress. I'd also read she is actually super anxious, so I would thus feel better about myself by reading her stories, shaking my head and saying "Wow, girl, you loco!".
Silly me had forgotten all about the book until Kerry's face popped up on one of the morning programs this morning, and I promptly purchased myself a copy - that's the beauty of a Kindle, peeps.
Am really looking forward to sinking my head into this one!
 | ||
| Anxiety, Shmanxmiety |
What have you read lately that I simply must read?
Z xx
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