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Asylum

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Dad and I circa 1983

I understand I'll most likely lose readers over this, I'm willing to carry that. For me, the issue of asylum seeking is akin to say sexual assault. It may sound dramatic to compare the two but really at the end of the day you either think it's acceptable or you don't. Asylum seeking is a basic human right, a right to live free of persecution without the fear of being tortured, harmed, killed. Being racist, discrimination against someone for their colour, race, religion is punishable by law much the same as sexual assault.

Since Friday I've gone through a lot of emotions, our gallant Prime Minster's announcement shocked me at first. Then it made me so sad, upset to the point of tears. Of course this turned into anger, frustration and shock at the reactions of people I know. The vast difference of opinion on social media was apparent in my feeds. On FB there was praise at the decision, on Twitter people were destroyed, broken and angered. One person I follow was speechless after having their parents come from Vietnam on a boat. They couldn't believe the blatant racism and complete lack of empathy for people seeking a brighter future. In The Age over the weekend the general shocked consensus prevailed. Prolific Australians that come from asylum seeking backgrounds expressed their disgust at the decision, Les Murry, Dr Karl Kruszlnicki, Henry Szeps among them. Dr Kruszlnicki was my favourite quote "I came by a boat and my father was a refugee smuggler. He smuggled jews out of Poland to get them away from the Nazis. Refugees are not coming here because we have really good TV shows - they're coming here because people are shooting at them." - The Age 21/7/13 

There is talk that this will stop the drownings, it won't. People will still drown this isn't going to stop people needing to escape turmoil, this isn't going to hinder people from getting on a boat. I've heard people say "but what about those who apply legally aren't these people stuffing it up for them?!" No, no they aren't. Julian Burnside said "As for “queue-jumping”, leave aside that there is no queue where boat people come from, the etiquette of the checkout at Coles is not how it works when you are running for your life." - The Age 18/713 Then there are the sweeping, misinformed, non factual, uneducated, ridiculous arguments "they are taking our jobs, Australia for Australians, don't speak English, etc, etc".

I started to write a rebuttal for all of these ridiculous statements but to be honest I don't have the time to go into it. Basically people need to pull their heads out of the clouds. 

I have seen people say they are "sick of THEM in this country". I'd love to know where these people have come across asylum seekers in their day to day life and how they are so threatened by them. I'd also like to know if it's in fact the migrant they are threatened by? Those pesky people that aren't white and "take our jobs" ahahahahaa it's just so ridiculous.

It breaks my heart that we can say no to women and children and place them in a country that carries travel warnings from the Australian Government. If a country can't fix itself on it's own how can it be expected to fix itself and look after vulnerable displaced people? PNG is a third world country with massive psycho social issues. It is not a safe haven for people escaping death, war, torture and political conflict.

When my father came here, in the late 70's the White Australia policy had just been abolished. I'm half expecting PM Rudd to reinstate the policy, it wouldn't surprise me. I know for a fact that my dad tried very hard to assimilate as soon as he arrived here, he picked a footy team, he spoke broken english, he ate meat pies. I also know that he found it impossible to get work in country Victoria because of the colour of his skin, I know I was teased at school and had my jumper slashed up because of my background. When I had people over I was embarrassed if we weren't having "normal" food. People teased me because of my button nose and the colour of my skin (I was blessed with beautiful olive skin when I was  kid, not so much now unfortunately!). It all kind of panned out after the early years of junior school. It wasn't until last Friday that I felt "different" again, defensive even. Defensive of my background, my dad our second language, different food. 

So, sorry if we've taken your jobs, spoken in a language you don't understand, spent time in groups with people from a country other than Australia. Sorry if we've come on a boat or a plane, I'm not really sure which one is "acceptable" now. Sorry. Sorry if we've been on any welfare or had medical attention. Sorry if we've been packing things in a factory, cleaning a toilet or cooking you your takeaway. We should have known our place was back where we came from. 

It's wonderful to have an inflated sense of entitlement now, isn't it?

*Julian Burnside has written a much more succinct article on this issue, you can find it here.

Work It Work It

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I'm not going to lie
It's taken a LONG, long, long, LONG time for me to start looking after myself. I read an article yesterday about a fitspo lady saying basically, that there are no excuses post birth. Hey crazy lady! Yes, yes there are. I wouldn't even call them excuses, they are just life. Basically after I gave birth my priorities kind of went like this:

Orlando's safety
Orlando's happiness
Orlando's food
Orlando's health
Orlando's sleep
Orlando's education
Orlando Orlando Orlando
Clean house (because I literally go mental if the house is untidy)
Hamish
Hamish
Hamish
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep

Me, my complete wellbeing didn't really factor into it. I just didn't have the energy, motivation or time. Never mind the mild bout of practically post natal depression that I suffered. Wild, wild hormones, post natal pain which stayed for ages... post natal everything. Being motivated to cook a healthy meal for myself?! Ha hahaahahahaa: I just didn't care.

Things are starting to change, because I have really wanted them to. I'm walking, eating food that's much more healthy. I'm feeling like my old self but a better version. I'll be honest, it's been EASY because I've been READY. Any attempt prior to now would have been a joke and just a downward spiral into failure again. I'm not on a diet, I'm not on a strict cross fit routine. I'm just doing what feels right for me on a day to day basis - NO pressure.

I guess what I'm really saying is: new mama bears - it's ok to not feel like yourself for months, it's ok to pick up the pieces almost a year down the track. Don't put pressure on yourself or you'll just end up a miserable mess. It might take a few weeks after birth, it could take months... the day will come.

Did you find it hard to "find yourself" again after giving birth?

Post Natal Ragin'

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I had some great responses to my last post, lots of good chats on Twitter. It really got me thinking about my post natal hormones. I'm going to be 100% honest with you - I wanted to write about this before but it's taken me a long time (what hasn't taken a long time since O was born!!!) to really reflect on what was going on and understand why I was the way I was. Poor Hamish went through hell, he stood by me though and never judged or got angry. He'd let me blow up in his face like a mad woman over the tiniest most ridiculous things - milk label not facing out in the fridge for example..... guilty! I would rage and rage scream, cry, cry, cry, scream. Never in front of Orlando, I'd fall apart as soon as I'd fed him and put him down. Then the dark horses would come racing and I'd go crazy mad.

The funny thing was I knew the WHOLE time it was my hormones and I'd cry afterwards and be so sorry and say "it's my hormones, I'm sorry" and Hamish would say "I know, I understand, it's ok you'll get through this". It was still heartbreaking though. There was no control. None. I knew what was going on, knew I was being ridiculous but just couldn't control it. 

What an awful and heartbreaking thing to happen during the early stages of having a beautiful, bumbling love bug of joy. It's SO contradictory to what TV shows you but for me it was my reality. Time with Orlando was like bliss, cloud nine loved up bliss. Then when he was down there was this huge moody storm.

I clearly, clearly remember in the early stages of breastfeeding as my milk was coming through (you know the surge you feel in your breasts) at the same time feeling SO sad. Deepest depression sad. Then as soon as the milk had stopped letting down the feeling would go. If that's not an indication that hormones were a HUGE effect on my mental health then I'm not sure what is.

This lasted I'd say for the first couple of months. Then all of a sudden it lifted, like magic! It was so strange and so weird and I honestly deeply regret feeling so awful and being so horrid to Hamish at the time. I regret knowing what was going on but not knowing what to do.

To be honest I was too scared to ask for help because I didn't want people to think I wasn't coping or was a bad mother. I was scared the Dr would put me on medication and I wouldn't be able to breastfeed. Hamish tried to encourage me to go to the doctors and get help but I knew deep down in my heart that the hormones would settle. They eventually did but perhaps, in hindsight, it wouldn't have hurt to talk it out with someone.

So that's the story of my hormones. Gosh, what a reveal!!!!

Did you have hormonal problems after giving birth? How did you cope?

Typhoon Haiyan

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My dad's village has been totally wiped out in typhoon Haiyan. The houses are either levelled on destroyed beyond repair. One house has remained and that's my dad's, luckily. Because of this, our family has a place to shelter - thank God.


There is little food to go around and people are relying on well water which isn't the cleanest. There are little medical supplies. My dad comes from an area called Daanbantayan you can read about it here.



His village is called Mayho. I'm raising money as he's going over there in 2 weeks for what was meant to be fiesta and his birthday celebrations. He will now be helping with recovery. 




I'm also tossing up the idea of going to help, but it is a little hard with Orlando. If you can spare $10 and donate that would be amazing, I would be so thankful. The money will be used for food, water, medical supplies and building supplies. The donations page can be found here.



These people literally have nothing as it is, they don't have fancy houses or cars some don't have electricity, they don't have running water. 

Please donate, every single dollar counts.

Thank you so much.

xox

1 Year Later.... The Nursery and Salted Caramel Cake

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With Orlando's first birthday looming we thought it was time to finally finish his nursery. Meaning we ripped up the carpet and set up his big boy bed - f i n a l l y. So people have asked where things are from, here's the list, click on the place for a direct link:

Cot - Boori
Bed- Incy Interiors
Bed Linen - Country Road
Pillows - Etsy
Art Work - 99 Problems
Rug - Ikea



For his birthday I made him this salted caramel cake recipe (doubled the recipe for a higher cake). I just didn't have the time to make caramel so used Bon Maman Salted Caramel sauce for the filling - SUCH a good idea!!! Yum!! I then made a normal butter cream frosting and added the same salted caramel to it. Yayyaayayayayaa!!!!



It's almost his happy birthday so it's high time he found out where he came from.... ta da!

I wonder if any other parents have taken a year to get their child's room together :/ Poor little Orlando. How long did it take for you to finish your child's room? A YEAR?! hahaahahahaa

xox




A Year In The Making

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Christmas is of course coming up, which means New Years Eve will be around the corner. Some people mark their year as beginning or ending around these traditional times. Others review their past 365 days on their birthday. For me, my year started and ended with the birth and 1st birthday of Little Orlando. So I'm doing the whole reflection thing. It's been a full on year. Orlando was born and it was all a little bit hazy - until he woke Hamish and I up on his first night out of the womb with a cry for food. I've never seen Hamish jump out of bed so quickly, he was like Flash Gordon and had scooped up Orlando before I'd even managed to painfully roll myself to the edge of the bed. Haahahahaaa oh those first days postpartum.... wow. We dealt with jaundice during our stay and had to gaze at our bundle of love in his Miami Blue Lights crib. It killed me. When we came home we tried to get out every single day. I'm still not 100% sure how we did it. We went to Carols in the Park where we pushed the pram around in a daze, realised it wasn't for us and zombie walked our way home. My dad's birthday was a week after Orlando was born - we hosted his birthday party, cooked and hosted. On Christmas day when he was 4 weeks old we bundled him into the car and drove over the bridge to the other side of Melbourne only to get back into the car as soon as we got there because someone had a bad cold. Orlando's immune system, like all newborns was pretty much nil so we just decided to avoid the situation all together. New Years Eve: once again I somehow zombie, dazed us to Cottonsock's NYE party. I've got NO idea how we did it, Orlando just slept but for me it was like I was on autopilot - desperate to regain some sort of normal social life. I was dog tired on top of my already dog tiredness for days afterwards. The weeks old baby turned into a months old baby and Mother's Day rolled around where I was presented with a pen. I even got to treat myself to making my own breakfast: muesli, with UHT milk. Then my birthday hit and I was gifted a beautiful orange and gold Hermes click clack, no pen. One night in July I was at work and Hamish called me at around 3am saying he couldn't get out of bed or lift his head without getting an intense migraine and nausea. I knew something was dreadfully wrong. I raced home. So worried. My brain kept saying - it's neurological, it's neurological. But when I get home he was laying down and thought he felt better. A week or so later the same thing happened and that was the night of the first ambulance visit, then the visit to the GP, then a visit to emergency. Three visits to emergency later and countless tears, heartbreaking, worrying, scared shitless tears later they finally did a lumbar puncture and my thought that it was neurological was proven. Hamish spent two weeks in hospital, through Father's Day and his birthday. He missed Orlando saying "dad" for the first time (on Father's Day), he missed a beautiful Father's Day picnic with my family. That two weeks was one of the hardest times of my life. I was solo parenting, driving in to hospital two times a day, keeping up Hamish's spirits - trying in earnest to keep up mine. The first night he was in hospital he was so, so critical - he couldn't form a sentence properly, had massive word finding difficulties. I was dreading the worst, I knew what the worst could be. I called the ward (my own workplace, thank God!) in tears to see if he was ok, the nurse told me to go back to sleep and try to rest, try not to worry. I called my girlfriend and cried on the phone to her - I thought he would never recover, I thought he would die. He had a million scans of every single region of the body. He had special blood tests and multiple lumbar punctures. Then he started getting better, gradually, slowly. I had the love of my life back. Meanwhile, through all the hospital drama we were trying to pull off Orlando's Christening and our secret wedding. Hamish got out of hospital a week before the wedding, we battled with trying to decide if we should hold it or not but we'd waited for so long. It went ahead. The day was very simple, on reflection, if I'm being completely honest: I do feel like we missed out on so much. Hamish couldn't even really drink a glass of Champagne. Yet, all that aside - I was finally married to the love of my life (and Orlando was in with God). Things then bumbled along pretty normally (touch wood!!!!). Orlando took his first steps a few days shy of his ten month mark, I said to Hamish the other night I can't remember the last time he crawled. That makes me sad, we remember celebrating when crawling starts but when they stop crawling - that amazing baby milestone, it's not remembered. I look at Orlando now and can't believe how far he's come in a year. He has a wicked sense of humour, a beautiful, bubbly laugh. He's got a fierce, strong independence already - if we try and intervene sometimes there are tears. He has fallen into a perfect little routine quite naturally and goes to sleep and wakes up like clockwork. Today he figured out how to slide off the bed safely - either landing on his feet or with a soft thud onto his bottom. He makes me laugh, smile and sometimes cry. Sometimes he frustrates me, but I frustrate him too. Sometimes he's cranky and won't eat, but tomorrow is another day. He has started to actually sit still in my lap for stories or a cuddle and kisses, always kisses. I can't even imagine what the next year will bring it makes my heart swell with happiness just thinking about it. 

Cheers!

Witness The Fitness

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Fitness First has sponsored this fitness post which has got me thinking about the end of the year and my fitness goals for 2014. Do I keep walking or hit the gym?! There is a Fitness First near to me that my main homie goes to and I could tag along with him read: annoy him.... massive, huge, epic emphasis on annoy. Ha! Basically I want to be in good stead for trying to get pregnant again and have a happy, healthy pregnancy like I did last time. It would be nice to take some time out for myself away from home a few times a week too!! I've been doing my walking at the beach but perhaps it's time to amp it up? 

How long did it take for you to hit the gym post pregnancy? 
Did you find it hard?

My daily routine so far (it can change at anytime!!!) usually means that I'm up in the AM, feed Orlando and myself breakfast then we're off to the beach straight away for a walk. If I was going to the gym I'd go at this same time. It works with Orlando's nap/food times perfectly, I'm blessed to have a toddler who's very good with routine so I can really work out prime times for exercise. I've got to say, getting out and moving with Orlando sets SUCH a good example for him and I swear he's happier/sleeps better when we do some sort of physical activity. I'd love to try a mummy and me gym class with him - I think he'd LOVE it! Especially now that he's more aware and responsive of the world around him.

I guess the good thing to remember is no matter what your health and fitness goals are, Fitness First will help you reach your potential! With personal trainers, a diverse range of equipment, and awesome group classes, you'll find everything you need at Fitness First. Clicky, click here for the Fitness First page. A little birdy just told me that if you have a Platinum Membership you can go to ANY FF!! That's great!! 




Meal Planning

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A few people have asked recently about how we meal plan. I had to admit I'd fallen off the bandwagon a bit but tonight I drew up the weeks meals. I've been thinking about the amount of meat we consume lately and would like to reduce it by having 2 - 3 vegetarian meals/days a week... We may even end up having more. I'm really keen to do it not just for our health but for our pockets.


So here's what I do/look for when planning:

1. I look at the weather hahahahaa crazy right?! But if it's going to be hot then I plan for BBQs and hot weather food, cold days are all about curries or roasts etc.

2. I pour over cookbooks and get inspiration... this is usually on the way to the market (last minute hahaahaha).

Roast pork belly with pork broth, lightly steamed zucchini, cabbage/fennel/mint salad. 


3. We go through what we have in our storage freezer/fridge and base meals on what needs to be used - less waste!

4. We always plan for a fish and chips night because frankly it's just the done thing.

So I'd love to know if you meal plan? Also, what are your favourite vegetarian meals and cookbooks? 

BBQ Dukkha chicken, greens/mango/avo salad sprinkled with black/white sesame seeds/dry chilli and hummus w/ paprika. 

AMAZING Vegetarian Tacos

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We had these last night and I've got to be honest they are probably some of the best tacos I've ever had. We made our own tortillas (once you make them you'll never use the ones you buy again) and had them with a black bean mix, guac, potato and corn mix and just a greens/tomato salad that we had leftover from the night before.

Here's the recipes that Hamish made up. The corriander mix freezes REALLY well pop it into an ice cube tray so you've always got it on hand. We whizz up the whole corriander bunch stems and all to make it. 

Black Bean Mix

1 x red onion
1/2 carrot
1/2 fennel bulb 

2 cans black beans
1 can cherry tomatoes
Tapatio hot sauce

all fine diced
fried in olive oil with 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
once starting to soften add 2 cans balck bean and 1 can cherry tomato (all strained)
seasoned with tapatio hotsauce and saltcooked just enough to get everything hot
remove from heat and add a bunch of chopped chives.

Potato and Corn Mix w/ Corriander Puree


potato was just boiled within an inch of it's life and then add the corn, strained and fried in olive oil with salt and a sprinkle of smoked paprika
cooked for 15 mins tossing every now and then. will need a non stick pan for this one i'd imagine
then added 3 heaped tsp of corriander puree (corriander, lemon, oil and salt) 

Breakfast Fritters With Orlando

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Orlando wasn't interested in his banana today or his Weetbix for that matter. So I thought why not just make him a breakfast I'd love - Sweetcorn Fritters and gooey egg. So I made the fritters and put the chilli in then afterwards thought "oh it's going to be too hot for him" but it wasn't. He ended up eating 3.5 cakes and having 1 egg. It's honestly one of the best breakfasts I've had in a while and it wasn't that hard to make. Orlando sat in his highchair and watched me cook while I explained everything to him. Oh, I didn't add salt to the mix because O was joining in with the party :) :) :) 

Sweetcorn Fritters

1 cup plain flour sifted
1/2 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can sweetcorn (I think it's around 410 grams?!)
2 sprigs spring onion finely chopped
1 chilli finely chopped (we freeze or chilli which makes it really easy to chop them)
tablespoon or ice cube size of corriander puree (blitzed whole bunch corriander with lemon juice and olive oil freeze in ice cube tray)

sift flour and baking powder
make a well for the egg and milk
mix all together until smooth
add oil
mix
add corn, spring onion, chilli mix

cook in non stick pan with a spray of oil if needed

Raw Decor + Giveaway

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My girl Cottonsocks opened her new shoppe on the weekend Raw Decor, 93 Victoria Ave Albert Park. It's amazing. I want everything in it. She's carefully curated a stunning selection of homewares and jewellery from overseas (it's been 2 trips so far!). There are also beautiful local goodies like the heavenly Little Hessian Jar candles below. I have bought one of the plates below to put our AESOP handwash onto in the bathroom - perfection!!!


R's planning on more trips soon and is in chats with other local designers. She's very hands on and has put so much thought into everything from what to sell to how to wrap things. Stock will be available online and she's happy to do phone orders and send packages interstate. Make sure you follow their instagram and Facebook for regular updates about new stock.


So R and I have decided to run a giveaway, one of the pineapples below in a colour of your choice (fluro green/pink/yellow/orange) the competition will run over FB and IG with a winner from each platform. Competition closes midnight 20/12/13. Open to AU residents only. 

To enter on IG:

Like Blithely Unaware and Raw Decor on IG and share the competition image on IG! Please tag #rawdecor #blithelyunaware

To enter on FB:

Like Blithely Unaware and Raw Decor and share the competition image on those pages! Make sure you tag #rawdecor and #blithelyunaware

Simples!!










Pizza Dough + Pizza

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This pizza dough takes 18 hrs or so in total. But to be honest I make it and if it proves for a little longer (a few hours) more than expected then so be it. I don't think it makes much of a difference, if anything it probably makes the dough better. The recipe is Jim Lahey's he is the mastermind behind No Knead Bread. We topped ours with salami/red onion/fresh onion/mozzarella and napoli and the other one had pork and fennel sausage/fresh tomato/mozarella/napoli. We used napoli instead of tomato paste. It makes the pizza taste so much nicer plus we have a massive batch in the freezer that Hamish made so it was good to use some.


What are your favourite pizza toppings?!


Jim Lahey's Pizza Dough

3 cups plain flour sifted
¼ teaspoon instant yeast 
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ cups water


In a large bowl, mix the flour yeast and salt. Add the water and stir until blended, I use a rubber spatula to do this (the dough will be very sticky). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 16 hours in a warm spot.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and lightly sprinkle the top with flour (this is really important as it's SO sticky!!!). Fold (don't knead) the dough over on itself a couple of times then cover with glad wrap or a clean tea towel. leave for 2 hours.


Divide the dough however you want (4, 6, 2 pizzas!) stretch or gently roll out and bake in a very hot oven with your toppings of choice.  I usually roll because let's face it I'm not a pizza master and can't hand stretch bases.







Nelly + Orlando + Rice Paper Rolls + Music + Giveaway

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Really quick post today, we made these rice paper rolls last week. Pork belly, rice noodles, cucumber, pickled carrot. Easy. We roasted the pork belly with a sprinkling of five spice over the cackling. If we had of had lemongrass we would have roasted it over that, instead we just plonked it on top of some carrots. This worked well to give the pork some UMAMI. So yum. So easy. Who doesn't love rice paper rolls?! 


This is Nelly (Domestic Divinity's daughter) and Orlando today. They are laughing at Cottonsocks. We went to visit her at her shoppe! Cute!


If you're looking for something quite chilled out to listen to over summer then this is your album. It's beautiful. I love that RZA track so much I've got it in my itunes twice.


Don't forget to enter my FLURO PINEAPPLE COMPETITION!!! Details here.

What are your favourite rice paper roll fillings?

What new music are you loving?

Wrap It Up

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Gift wrapping. 
You're either hardcore dedicated or happy to reach for something cheery and festive then be on your way. I fall into the hardcore dedicated camp. Last year I was in the Just Had A Baby Don't Expect A Gift camp hahaahahahaa This year I'm getting my washi tape on and adding a sprig of Rosemary for scent(stunning!) and a touch of green. 



How are you wrapping your gifts this year?

Lemon + Coconut Rice

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We made this a week or so ago?! Delicious curry and amazing lemon and coconut rice. The rice was a total - "oh I want to make lemon and coconut rice".... even though the rice was basically already cooked. Oh well, it worked and it was the bomb. This is hardly a "recipe" as such but people have asked how I cooked it so here goes! I'd give you the curry recipe but to be honest after putting the call out on Twitter and Facebook we kind of smashed together a few different recipes + added Hamish's chef brain to come up with our curry.

Lemon + Coconut Rice

Cook rice as per usual at the end, once it's cooked add some lemon zest a pinch of salt and a good, healthy squeeze of lemon. A couple of healthy spoons of coconut cream and you're good to go. If you're more organised than I was you could add spices like a couple of cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. But I wasn't that organised.... !

1YO Routine

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I'm writing this because I am copying Maryanne's post hahahahahaaa. No, really I'm writing it because people have asked what a 1 yr old's schedule is like. Orlando only naps once a day now, which is good and bad. 


0700 He wakes up. I leave him in his cot to talk to himself and play and I empty the dishwasher, put washing on, tidy up the house a bit - this takes around half an hour. 

0730 Pop cows milk into his sippy cup and then get him out of bed, give him his sippy cup of milk. He then walks around the house and untidies everything I just cleaned while drinking his milk. When I'm sick of picking things up I put him in his gated community to play while I make his breakfast. It's right beside the kitchen (a baby gate separates us) so we chat while I make breakfast, my coffee etc.

0830 Breakfast (1.5 Weetbix and a banana or toast and eggs + water sippy cup) Sometimes he flat refuses and that's cool, if he doesn't want to eat he doesn't want to eat. Then he goes back into his gated community to play more while I finish my breakfast/coffee, tidy up the dishes/kitchen then have a shower.

So between say 9 and 1130 we go for a walk or go and do grocery shopping or catch up with amigos for a chat and a coffee etc... He always has lots of snacks now fruit, cruskits, sultanas, cheese....

1130/12 his lunch + water sippy cup depending on how tired he is it's around 1130/12.... (he always has his sippy cup with him anyway). Again, he can refuse this. Sometimes he will eat if I let him walk around and follow him with the food, or if I let him use the spoon himself.

1230 down for his nap

1430/1500 he wakes up and has a sippy cup of cows milk and snacks... if he hasn't eaten lunch I'll maybe give it another go.

1500 - 1800 we play, we go wild. I probably annoy him. We will read books, baby books, kids books. Sometimes I will just sit in his playroom and read "adult" books like The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe and he will give me cuddles and potter around. We might go for another walk (he sits in his trike now). He explores the house, goes into the laundry and chats to the dryer aka his bff. He likes to point at the ceiling fans and shake his head at them when I turn them on. Fun times!!!

1800 dinner
1830 bath
1900 cows milk bottle and bed

Boom out like a light until 7am

Boring hey?!

He doesn't have formula or breast milk anymore. Had to get him off the boob as I went back to work and it just wasn't viable to pump at work. 

Finger Foods He Loves:
chicken, cheese, Jalna greek natural yogurt, toast, Heinz fruit bar thingys (I call them cake sticks and yes they are pre made and have a sugar content but they are a LIFE saver in sticky public situations so people can judge but you do what you have to do). Bananas, strawberries, kiwi fruit, cruskits, sultanas...

That's it!

Thanks for letting me copy your post M xox



Funny Retro Food

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So I got mum's cookbook back the other day from the Philippines and I'm loving the cake and biscuit recipes.

The savoury recipes though range from hilarious to horrific.... Let me show you some marvellous recipes from the 70's and 80's.....







1. This doesn't look to bad... then you read the description... kangaroo stew, with pickled onions all over it. Like it ain't no thang....

2. "An Impromptu Meal" with impromptu napkins in glasses. Food stylists take note. Boiled until they almost die a second death peas and corn. Asparagus Rolls Supreme, yes, that's what they are called: Asparagus spears, cream of chicken soup (canned), ham slices... olives. Tuna Aurora made with tomato soup with chips jammed into it's sides. Tangy Fruit Marshmallow.... ! 

3. ROLLMOP SALAD. Doesn't it look delicious?! Cold, slippery rollmops in sour cream... 

4. Roast Fillet of Beef with Sauce Valouis... and by the looks of it semi raw bacon....

If anyone wants these recipes let me know... hahaahahahahaha

I wonder what recipes we will cringe at in 30 years time from now?


Toddler Life - Toddler Chronicles

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Humans are funny creatures. One minute their a tiny baby full of rolling, sleeping and feeding. A smudge in your life that can't move beyond the space of a rug. The next they are a walking, running, 500 expressions in a day toddler. 

I passed Orlando a strawberry in the car the other day and he said "yummmmmm" after he bit into it. He knows which buttons to press for the lift at the supermarket and I cheer him on when he does it. He'll wail away like the world is about to end - without tears, all for show to be allowed to stand on the dining table. Mum knows best though, for now. In the morning I pick up glasses from beside the bed, hide the remote controls - Orlando proofing is necessary and just a part of the morning ritual. Recently he refused to be fed anymore and will now only take food in hand sized pieces or attack a bowl of yogurt and paint the floor, walls and himself with it. It has made feeding time easier in some aspects (he'll do it himself) but harder in others (it takes an hour). 

There are days when Hamish gets home from work and I literally go into the bedroom and stare at the ceiling for 15 minutes, silence is a massive, massive virtue. Sometimes I have a good cry because honestly it's the best thing to do. The past few weeks have leant themselves to many hot, heavy tears because of extenuating circumstances. It can be damn hard work some days but it's also the most cut to your bones, rip your heart out of your chest in love you will ever be in your life. It makes the somewhat testing times easier, at the end of the day. 

Orlando still wakes up occasionally at night, sometimes for a cuddle, often for a drink and a nappy change. As an adult I often need a sip of water and a visit to the toilet, so it seems only fitting that he does too. The other night he couldn't calm down after waking himself up so I put him on my chest and patted him saying "shhhhh, shhhh" he settled in minutes. It was beautiful.

I keep saying to Hamish "I can't wait until...." which has me kicking myself, we need to live more in the moment because these days, these moments - they amaze me.


Sunday Gallery

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There is an "occupy Facebook with art" thing going on at the moment. Of course I've been overly eager about it so thought I'd transfer some of that enthusiasm over here. I love art, adore it. I went to study Fine Arts at university after spending my VCE doing art sculpture. Basically though I was going through a rather rough period in my life (mum had just died) and I couldn't really see much hope in my future/anything so gave it up thinking "I can never make a career of this" - well that was my excuse at the time. A huge part of me regrets this naive 19 year old decision. Thankfully though, my love for art has continued to span across the years. This is basically all modern art. My love for older periods doesn't wane though. One day, maybe, I'll do a post about them.








2. Reka (this print was being sold in 2009 for $150 I shudder to think what it would be sold for now).
3. Sever
4.  Hense 


Obviously these are all "street artists" or "graffiti artists" or whatever you want to call them. A lot of people "don't like graffiti" to be honest there is a lot of "graffiti" that I don't like either but that's usually not actual graffiti/or art but rather straight up 13 year old boredom on a wall. This stuff, to me, is art and the essence of art especially in 2014.

I really want that McGinley photograph as a wall decal or canvas, any tips on where/how to get it printed??!

I've turned off comments here because as much as I love reading them I feel like I don't always get to reply, then I feel rude. FB, twitter and IG give a much more "personal" level of conversation. If you'd like to follow me on any of those formats here are the links:

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Work Mum//Home Mum {toddler chronicles}

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Firsts, in all aspects of life, they can be exhilarating, overwhelming, put a fear in your bones like you've never known, spark incomparable excitement. For a toddler I can only imagine what the "firsts" they experience feel like. As adults we forget most milestone firsts. I can't remember my first step, first word, first day at Kindergarten. To evoke some sort of a 3rd hand memory I read my mothers diaries or ask dad, my Aunty or my brother. When I was little mum had to return to work and put me in care down the road with a lady called Pam. Heaven knows how I've remembered her name, perhaps it was my experiences there that seared it onto my brain. Whenever mum dropped me off the tears would start and I'd stand in the corner at the front door and cry, full of dread, full of pain tears. I remember standing in the corner, I remember crying. It was, traumatic for me at the time - consequently it's one of my earliest memories. When mum picked me up it was like the heavens opened. One day she took me to the shops straight after and I recall swinging my legs in the trolley and picking a giant Care Bears colouring book to take home with me. Mum pulled me out of Pam's care pretty soon after putting me in. One day she came to pick me up and a whole bunch of us were sitting in Pam's car out the front, climbing all over the seats. The keys were in the transmission.

The other day was Orlando's first full day of childcare. I had to start work at 7 and because I'm a stickler for being on time I get there at 0630. So I asked Hamish to take Orlando to childcare or he would have been up at 0545, which isn't kind - to anyone, baby or not. Hamish drove him in and dropped him off without incident. I didn't hear a peep from the centre all day, but I could see it from the window at work. Don't you go thinking I didn't want to knick down and see if he was alright the whole time I was there. Half an hour before I was due to finish, I popped down to see how he was. He'd just fallen asleep - his first nap for the day. The girls told me he'd fought sleep all day, despite displaying clear signs of being tired. So I left him and went back to work instead of taking him with me to say hello to my co-workers. When I went back 45 minutes later he was awake, I scooped him into my arms as soon as I walked into the room and he rested his head on my shoulder. Instant relief for he and I. He wasn't upset or crying but he was so, so tired. I bundled him into the car and we started driving home. Around half way the crying started, sad, exhausted crying. We arrived home and I took him out of the car and brought him inside where there were more tears, kicking. It didn't stop.

I'm not saying this to be smug but Orlando doesn't keep crying. He may fuss, he may have a cry if he's hungry or tired or bumped his head. But he doesn't cry for prolonged periods of time. The crying after childcare went for over 45 minutes - I was worried. At one stage I thought "maybe I can google how to stop a baby crying" then I told myself to pull it together. I called Hamish and asked him to come home straight away because I just didn't know what to do. I held him, rocked him, patted him, tried to give him water, mango, hell I'm not going to lie I even tried a bite of Frosty Fruit - to no avail. Nothing worked. I had the TV on Play School to try and distract him but that didn't work. Then I pulled out the Foxtel remote. Orlando loves remotes, he has a healthy collection of old ones in the playroom but nothing beats The Real Deal. He reached for it, the sobbing started to slow down. For half an hour I let him play with the remote, we checked the fans in the house, we checked the light switches, we pressed the buttons on the remote to make words appear on the screen. It worked. I have never been so relieved.

When Hamish came home Orlando was already sitting up in his highchair, eating strawberries and mini pork meatballs. He was back to his happy, giggling self. Going to bed was a smooth transition and he slept beautifully. Crisis averted.

Prior to picking Orlando up that day I'd been talking with someone at work about returning to the workforce after having a baby. They thought it was imperative to "keep your finger on the pules" so to speak, to make sure you don't lose skills, become stale. Returning to work in this day and age was (in their opinion) not only valuable for your personal growth but imperative for keeping yourself valuable in the workforce - basically making sure you don't end up finding it hard to gain employment. They also said "you never know what's around the corner". I couldn't agree more with this especially after seeing what mum and dad went through with mum's cancer (financially). There is always the other side of the coin though.

A part of me longs to be at home all the time. To be able to draw chalk pictures on the driveway with Orlando all day long, to always have a delicious dinner prepared - to not miss things, little things, big things. Alas, it's not meant to be. For myself I can't lose skills at work, I have long service leave soon too, leaving just isn't an option. Plus I really do cherish the adult contact, that beautiful drive home where I can listen to whatever I want or be in silence. Bliss. With this two sided coin in mind though it has me thinking, can a mother really "have it all" or are we always destined to have an area of our lives lacking? Be it our relationship, friendships, work…. children. Does there always have to be a sacrifice? I'd like to think that there never, ever has to be a sacrifice but I know I make them every day. Most of the time it's a happy, not even noticed sacrifice. Sometimes it's one where it's not so amicable. 

How do you find a work/life balance? Did you find putting your baby in childcare difficult, any tips for those long days? If you're a stay at home mum what do you miss about working? Is the grass always greener on the other side?

Be My Valentine

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We had our very, very first getaway since Orlando was born over the weekend. It was - AMAZING! We're already planning out next weekender! Ha! Hamish took me to all our favourite places, including Bistro Vue which now occupies the whole space where Vue De Monde used to be. The food was phenomenal as always, the chicken terrine in the photo was my favourite - so delicious. My favourite waitress attended to our table and recommended the goose egg with chorizo and smoked yogurt - SO good!!!! We stayed in a hotel AND SLEPT IN UNTIL 0930!!! Cue angels singing!!! On the way home we had a souvlaki from Jimmy Grants for breakfast, perfection.

Want to know what I'm wearing? 
I wore shorts. My legs are terrible but I couldn't really care less and quite frankly a slap of fake tan does wonders.

Country Road heart print silk shirt find it here.
Country Road pleather shorts find them here.
Hermes bangle

How often do you go away for a weekend, sans baby? 
I'm thinking we should try to do it every 2-3 months. 
Where would you recommend we go next?!

Toddler/Bebe Essentials {toddler chronicles}

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There is a weird feeling in my feelings that I've used that photo before. Oh well… :/

This post should be prefaced with:
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!
Baby blogs, baby shoppes, people in the street will tell you to buy a billion things you do not need.

I've written lists about baby stuff I've used and used and not used. All my lists can be found on the left hand side over there <<<. So here's a list of toddler things that I use and use. I know my homegirl Domestic Divinity did a similar post recently - check out her lists because they are v similar and she does mention a few things I haven't used but should/could use.

1. Ikea highchair - you do not need to buy anything else. No. Hose it down or wipe it down with baby wipes. Simples. It's cheap. Cheap is good.

2. Baby wipes. I like the Huggies ones. We also use Huggies nappies. I know there are endless debates on what's cheaper and works but I figure if it's not broken why try to fix it. Huggies have always worked for us. Baby wipes will clean your house. I have cleaned the whole house using baby wipes before. Also the interior of your car. Brilliant.

3. A decent pram. Everyone has different pram "wants". We had no idea what to get so I saw my sister in law in action with their pram and thought "that'll do". Who can really be bothered researching prams when you've got someone you trust that can show you theirs. I don't know what I'd do without our icandy. It folds up easily and has lots of space at the bottom for shopping/bag etc, it's become very dirty and wipes clean easily. Yay!

4. Angel Care Monitor. There are 2 schools of thoughts about monitors. People are either for them or totally against them. I can't hear O in the living room and Hamish is basically deaf from his Dj years so it was imperative for us. We also set it up the other night when O was sick as he had vomited so it was a good way for us to hear that.

5. Nurofen and Panadol. I'm not even kidding. Make sure you have these for teething/fevers. They happen and there is no point having your baby in pain.

6. Bubble bath. Shitty days happen, cranky dinner time happens - a bubble bath calms baby before bed. This is free of nasties and costs about $4 from your supermarket. Bingo!

7. Love To Dream sleeping bags. They can be machine washed, they are natural fibres. I know there are cheaper ones out there but a lot are polyester - not great. 

8. Wine and coffee. Always. Always have both in supply and Champagne. Always. Also Beverly Hills 90210 reruns really hit the spot.

9. A library membership. Free books, an excuse to get out of the house that's all weather friendly. Priceless.

10. The best baby car seat you can get your mittens on. Plan for the worst. This is the one thing you really cannot be skint on. We bought the Safe and Sound Platinum.

11. Euro Trike. It's so much easier and lighter than the pram and great for trips around the block or a walk along the beach. Orlando's obsessed with his.

12. BOOKS. All the books. Classics. Flap. Cardboard. Soft. Bath. Picture. Word. ALL THE BOOKS. 

13. Music. Essential. Not just kids music too we listen to all sorts of jams. Foxtel has a fantastic selection of radio stations.

14. Cruskits. I don't know what we would do without O's beloved cruskits.


Things we used but didn't realllllyyyyy need at the end of the day:

Bumbo Seat - we used it for about 5 minutes

Dummies - we used one for about 2 minutes

Nappy Bag - used it for maybe 4 months. It was handy, but not essential. If you want one buy it second hand.

Outdoor swing - used it for 1 month. Orlando's too long for it now.

Baby shoes - pointless, a nightmare to get on. They look cute though haahhaaha Better to invest in good shoes for when they have established their walking and want to trot around outside.

Baby classes - we never fell into the trap. Orlando will start some swimming classes etc maybe in Spring but for now he's happy hitting the pool with us and seriously doesn't have the learning capacity to take a class on board. Plus the financial commitment to turn up... Your local library will do music/story time - don't spend your precious clams on music/gym/play classes.

We had a baby rocker thing that didn't rock electronically… it was useless. We used it for about 30 seconds and then sold it. If we have another bebe I'll totes get an electronic one that does something cool so I can have a NB in the bathroom while I shower as I imagine Orlando at that stage will want to poke/prod/annoy/squeeze his sibling to no end.

TOO MANY NEWBORN CLOTHES!! If you buy someone who is pregnant clothes for the bebe - buy them for 12 months down the track (make sure they are in season). They grow out of NB stuff in about a week, maybe 2.



Hey Fatty

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I've been thinking a lot lately about Orlando's body image and how I want him to grow up in regards to his perception of his physical self. When I think about my own childhood I clearly remember talking about how fat we were as early back as grade 4. We would have been 8/9/10 years old then. Recently I started clearing out boxes in the garage and came across diaries, SO many diaries with the usual trials and tribulations of being a teenager. There were the "I hate my brother because he did this" entries the "I'm running away from home" entries and the "I LOVE him" entries with the love calculations of our names together - 32% IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE. Then there were the lists of what I'd eaten, if I'd thrown up that day. The earliest I found of these troubling entries was in year 8. So sad. I was never super skinny, never looked "sick". I highly doubt most people would have known about my secret activity. But it was going on. Absolutely pointless at the end of the day but never the less it happened. I wish I could go back to my 15 year old self and tell her to stop being so stupid, enjoy the "turkey and cranberry roll from the tuckshop". It's not a bad thing to eat a roll for lunch! I've got to admit much of this naive, desperate behaviour occurred around times when mum was very sick. Perhaps it was my way of controlling my world? Who knows.

There is talk now with Orlando's eating habits. People have told me he eats "too much" and not to feed him anymore - note I have never, ever been told this by his child and maternal nurse. She thinks his development is fantastic. I have tried to cut out breastfeeds, he wakes up during the night crying for a feed and consequently gets 2 or 3 more than usual. So I stopped that. I have tried feeding him less solids, then the same night waking happens. So I'll just keep on going on and ignore what people say. He is thriving, he isn't "fat" or abnormally huge. I say he will be huge like his father but I literally mean he will be a huge almost 200cm like his father. He will tower over me one day.

The last thing I want is for Orlando to go through body image issues (they have been documented to be on the rise for males). I want him to look at people as a person not as fat, skinny, ugly, pretty, black, white, purple polka dot. He needs to make decisions about people based on their personalities - are they kind, respectful, honest. Do they make him happy or sad, scared or comfortable. 

To this end I'm thinking of banning fat talk, fatty talk, "I wish I was skinny" talk from the house. Crazy? Perhaps. But isn't it better to talk about how fantastic vegetables are and how they make your body happy and glow. Don't we all remember that carrots make you see in the dark? I want him to have a comfortable, honest, healthy relationship with food. Not to be scared of a turkey and cranberry roll.

It might sound somewhat silly to already be thinking about these things but it's no more silly (in my books) than introducing a plethora of other growing up tools from respecting his own body to learning a second language. Why wait, when the foundations are being built now.

Just some thoughts for today.

xox

When To Stop

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I'm making this blog public again (it was on private for a spell). A few people have said they want to access recipes and pregnancy stories/lists so it just seems easier to leave it public. That said, I won't be blogging in the foreseeable future. I think that for now I want to focus on my family and life beyond the glow of a computer screen. Blogging has never been and will never be a money making venture for me and neither is it a career. There are very few who can climb to those heights and sustain the readership, honesty and creative control along the way. I admire them, but it's not for me. I'm focusing on my career now with study and it's making me happy and somewhat proud of myself for adding to my resume and making myself more valuable in the workforce. I will of course keep "micro blogging" I guess it is called that?! Via the blog Facebook page and keep tweeting and  instagramming. (Links are on the side!) At the end of the day I want to condense what I put out in public, protect Orlando's future. No face photos have been in the public arena since he turned one, he is his own person, with his rights. I also want to protect myself from future employment or ventures on the high seas. 

So thank you amazing, honest, gregarious readers! You have honestly made my day with your comments and interaction over and over again. I've truly relished the ride.


Here's to the future and what a beautiful future it is!

xox

If anyone wants to drop me a line my email is: blithelyunaware@hotmail.com otherwise feel free to DM me on FB through the FB page. 

MAMACITA TIME

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Blogger is so easy to use… but it's also dang ugly and restrictive. So I've moved the old bloggy blog to Wordpress, given her a shiny brand new name and hopefully breathed new life in her. There may be a blogging future yet! It's not all sorted out but it's coming along. Please change blog links as this will be deleted soon.

www.mamacitatime.com

xox




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