And again now!

This evening it was relatively quiet and still.

The neighbours across the way took the opportunity to play once more their favourite album: "2000 back-to-back Hungarian polka hits".

(I'm sure that's not what it is actually called....but it could be.....).

Schemas in conversation

"....like an exploding apple flying through space".

Aidan's dynamic disconnect.

Cake

Today was the annual Christmas cake bake. I had prepared the fruit on Friday. The baking went fine - everyone participated.

The cake itself is bigger and heavier than previous years (which is not surprising as I put in extra fruit this time, just because that's how much I had bought).

It's now resident in the pantry, maturing and waiting....

A mothering conundrum

I wake up at around 5.30. My nose is a little blocked. Simple - reach for a tissue.

However...

Aidan is lying on my right near the edge of the bed. If I try and reach up and over him to the tissue box on the floor, I risk waking him, pushing him off the bed, or smothering him with my pendulous belly.

Complicating matters further, the peacefully sleeping Orla (spread across to my left) has a large handful of my hair firmly grasped in her hand.

I breathe through my mouth.

How many bath tubs?

According to figures obtained from

Smith JP, LH Ingham & MD Dunstone, The economic value of breastfeeding in Australia. National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australia National University, 1998

(where average production per child: 234 L in 1st year, 111 L in 2nd year - Total: 345 L over 2 years)

I have made approximately 1335 litres of milk. (Very approximately!)

I'm trying to think of some kind of comparative measure to get a handle of what 1335 litres looks like.

DVDs really are educational

- Grandma and Grandad's clocks have different numbers on them than ours.
- Yes, that's right. They have Is and Vs and Xs. They are called Roman numbers.
- But I can still read them.
- That's good!
- Yes, because those kind of numbers are on Star Wars.


(For the record, we have viewed episodes I, II, IV, V and VI....)

Broadly speaking (part two)

I am feeling Great With Child at the moment.

I am only 22 weeks tomorrow but I have really bulged out in the last few weeks. Here is a photo taken minutes ago in the half-light of our lounge. I'm kneeling on the chair and leaning back a little, but definitely a belly thing going on there!

Not into maternity clothes yet, but these trousers (which have a relatively tight waist) will be put away as from tomorrow.

I have never been this big so soon before - but I guess you get that when you are onto your fourth and don't exercise....

Broadly speaking (part one).

The children were keen for me to take some photos of our vegie garden.

We have potatoes, broad beans and onions.

And herbs, Brendon says. (Oreganum, thyme and rosemary apparently).

Isabelle started out the broad beans at school and they have made the transplant into the garden very successfully.

Every firework is doing you damage

A fireworks addendum:

One of New Zealand's two main supermarket chains refused to stock fireworks this year, piously stating this was on grounds of social responsibility.

And yet they sell cigarettes....

Obama

Sooo....Obama.....

I can now sit here being very smug as I predicted, back when Colin Powell first came to international prominence, that a black man would be in the White House before a woman. Gender is the most fundamental human divide of all, pervading across and beyond race, ethnicity, religion or political persuasion.

Anyway, an historic occasion to be sure.

Some thoughts...

According to the graphic in today's paper, the popular vote was 51% Obama, 47% McCain (not all votes were counted at that stage). The Obama victory was more pronounced where it counted - in the electoral college. But it's hardly what I would call "an Obama tsunami" or "a nation coming together" or any of the other excited comments I heard being bandied around today. Well, history is written by the victorious I guess.

I am actually made distinctly uncomfortable by the New Zealanders who have got themselves wound up to the point of tears listening to Obama's acceptance speech. Do they know anything at all about this person? (Apart from his skin colour, party preference and that he is not a Bush?). Do New Zealanders realise where in the political spectrum the US Democrats are relative to New Zealand politics? (A win for the "left" it may be, but this is hardly the Progressive party). Certainly, he seems to have the goods, and even a quick look at his achievements to date show us that he is an exceptional, intelligent and talented individual. But policies anyone? Do you know what they are?

And more to the point, would it have mattered?

And soon, when January 20th has come and gone - what real changes will he be able to make?

But the biggest thing for me is that, far from showing us that skin colour is no longer important, the talk around this election has shown me that it is very important. Very very important indeed. Electing a black President is an incredible symbol of hope. But the fact that we are talking about that so much....perhaps we haven't come as far as we have thought.

Logical mammalian relationships

"Bacon is from pig".
"Yes, that's right".
"But only from wild pigs".
"No - that's why farmers have pigs. For their meat".
Pause
"Then why do farmers have horses?!"

Fireworks night

Well, I had a serious kind of fireworks blog post in mind, an impassioned, yet reasoned plea for retention of the right to light fires in our backyards etc etc.

But I really can't be bothered, it's just too late in the evening.

So anyway, we did the fireworks thing and it was REALLY COLD but good. Orla looked happily confused (what is going on here?), Isabelle and Aidan drank it all in and enjoyed their sparklers.

Aidan said that the loud firecrackers "were like someone was shooting at me with a machine gun". He said the long running, yet silent bursts of sparks were "like a lovely princess bomb".

Toy house

Inspired by a reading book that she brought home from school, Isabelle made her own toy house. This project was completed during Saturday.

The photos have come out in the opposite order to what I wanted, so you will have to sort of approach this in reverse! Anyway.....

1. First she got some boxes and attached them with glue and tape.

2. Then she painted the inside yellow.

3. Next, different coloured crepe paper was used to line the walls.

4. Different things from around the house were used to make the furniture for the rooms.

The green room is the lounge, complete with family and crepe paper mat.

The red room contains beds.

The orange room is the bathroom, complete with shower and toilet.

The blue room is the kitchen, with various appliances and mats.

The white room is the attic.

The car is parked out front.


Isabelle was really motivated and focused in completing this. I think it's great! (well, I would of course, but anyway...).

Taste off

On Labour Day, while Brendon was working...we made a chocolate cake.

On the left, we have the shop-bought chocolate cake that Aidan slipped into the trolley while I pretended not to notice. (It was bought the day before we made ours, hence it is not whole).

On the right, our cake, complete with child-applied 100s and 1000s and chocolate hail.

The verdict was:

Shop-bought preferred - 0
Home-made preferred - 4
Both rated equal - 1

I therefore declare our home-made job the winner!