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Well, just had the latest test results back from new wholistic doctor and discovered that while my thyroid isn't too bad (for once) my iron levels are very low, particularly my iron saturation levels. So, have started on Hemagenics Intensive care iron and vitamin B supplement (among other supplements including liquid zinc which tastes absolutely foul) prescribed by the doctor and almost immediately have started to feel less tired and more human. Wonders will never cease.

I think that perhaps the 20 or so blood tests I had last year may have contributed to my iron deficiency and may not have contributed a great deal in terms of knowledge as to what was actually wrong. As a result, I have also decided not to see two of the doctors I have been seeing - kind of doctor sacking by stealth I guess ...

So, perhaps blog posts will increase in the next little while. I certainly feel more able to manage things and hopefully will have more time in which I actually feel like doing more of the things I want to like my ABA Counsellor Training, writing my blog, reading, cooking, gardening and sewing. For the past little while life has mostly been about doing what is most important and what I can which has been looking after Chet and going to work and doing the stuff required to keep a house reasonably clean and it's occupants reasonably well fed. Can't say I have been doing a bang-up job, but passable I guess. So, here's to things looking up I say!

Loving ...

my KeepCup. I feel so virtuous trotting downstairs from work to get my coffee in it. I have felt vaguely guilty for years, throwing away all those take away coffee cups and now I don't have to.Re-usable, environmentally friendly and it looks good. What is not to like? I still feel mildly embarresed by my coffee order at the moment (soy decaf flat white) but feeling virtuous about my KeepCup overrides any lingering embarrassment. A win win situation I would say.

In fact, it has gone a bit green round here. I decided as a bit of a New Years resolution to make a concerted effort to remove chemicals from our home environment and to eat as healthily as possible. This, combined with a dairy free, gluten fee and yeast free diet has meant that the past few months have been a bit challenging but I am thinking very carefully before I buy food or cleaning products which is part of the battle I think.

To that end, I went to a workshop last night at the Watershed on Natural Personal Care, and very illuminating it was too. It was presented by a cosmetic chemist and she talked about the kinds of chemicals that go into beauty care products and gave us some recipes to make our own. I made an oat and honey scrub and some rose water toner and am looking forward to making more products. Chet even had an oat bath today - oats are very good for eczema and the dermatologist recommended creams I have been using on his skin contain oats so I figured, why not go to the source. And, he seemed to like bathing in oats so maybe we will do it more often.

The wheels on the bus ...

Chet woke up this morning making the hand actions for The Wheels on the Bus and singing along. This is great, although it is not a song I really know - I think they must have been singing it at day care. So, I have been forced to look up the words and try and figure out the actions to keep him happy. If I don't, he just moves his arms about like Peter Garrett did on stage circa 1983 and says "more, more". So more it is. I did find a website that has the words for rhymes of all kinds on transportation themes, so if you are looking for a rhyme about a plane for example, this is the place to go!

Alone ...

The rain has stopped, the sun is out and Sydney is putting on a beautiful summers day. I have taken three days annual leave from work and Chet is in his new day care where he is settling in well. I took this opportunity to grab some much needed alone time and to sort out some things I had been putting off for an eternity. I put him in the car so the K-man could take him to day care and he looked really brave and tried not to cry and waved just a little bit as they drove off. Poor little monkey ...

The house is really quiet, I was able to have a shower without having to talk to Chet while doing it and I can leave doors open as I please. I have done some washing and had breakfast in peace. It feels really strange. It has only been an hour and I miss him already.

Cowpoke pants

Couldn't you see Chet in these pants? I could. He sure would look cute and he is a bit of a coyboy by nature ... We can't wait for him to talk properly as we are sure it is going to be very amusing. He is on his way, he can say Chet, cheese and cheers - all very important words for a small man although the distinction is perhaps only something a parent could hear. He is particularly good at 'cheersing' with his water bottle and will work a room, saying cheers to everyone and touching drinks. He is a hit at gatherings that's for sure. He has also been known to cheers us in the morning over breakfast. So, to win some kids clothing like these cowpoke pants by Brusselsprouts go to Georgie Love for more info on the giveaway. And thanks to Mama Mogantosh for the heads-up.

Sleeping ...

Well it is nearly the end of January and the blog has been very neglected. Mind you, it is not the only aspect of my life that has slid by the wayside recently. I started ABA Training at the end of last year and just before Christmas put all my training material in a box and there it has stayed. And the clean-up of the house has stalled somewhat as well although I did manage to prune the hibiscus tree out the front - hacked some might say but at least passers by can walk on the footpath without being assaulted by it. Still, I have to say, that health-wise I am much better and despite having been off the air for most of January I am now back, baby I'm back (and yes I have been watching too much Seinfeld on our new digital TV!)

And Chet has been quite unwell as well. He came back from Toowoomba with a cold, we all did, but his was the worst. Then he was well for about a week and then came down with an awful cough and high temperature last week. He didn't sleep properly for a week as his coughing kept on waking him up and as a result I didn't sleep very well either. He started getting better on Saturday and even slept most of the night Saturday night but wouldn't sleep for an hour and half last night for no reason that I could fathom. Well, this afternoon the poor little monkey has slept for three hours, nearly three and a half. I finally got him to sleep around quarter past one and he is still asleep at four thirty. I may have to wake him up as he won't want to sleep tonight. But, since we are going to a bbq tonight he might have a later night anyway. I think I will just let him sleep - he must have been so tired. Let sleeping Chet's lie I say ...

Mummy bashing

Lynn Harris at Salon asks 'why is there so much contempt for mothers these days?' An interesting article that examines some of the ways in which mothers and their 'choices' are criticised. I tend to think that choice is an over-used word in a capitalist world when it often feels as though the only choices people have are around products - if you have a choice of 20 different washing powders isn't it just a bit meaningless? And a bit of a waste of time - I tend to find such choice a bit paralysing - I could spend half an hour trying to decide which one to get and then just end up getting the one that is cheapest, or has the least offensive packaging, or something. And I have always thought that mothers get a bit of a rough deal - not sure if the vitriol is new or just expressed in a different way. Mostly, mothers just want the best for their children and unfortunately that can often be expressed in a desire for the best (or most expensive) pram or neighbourhood or school ad infinitum. And, mostly, we are doing the best we can with the resources we have at our disposal. Hopefully our children will agree when they are grown up and look back at their childhood.

Chet and Spot

Chet and I went to visit Andrea and Kevin on Sunday and Chet proceeded to put their toilet duck in the toilet and splash the toilet water all over himself, get DVDs all over the floor, crawl manically up and down the hall, go into their bedroom, get the broom out and wack it about the kitchen etc etc. We didn't stay that long! Kevin wrote about it in his blip here.

And then he was 1

Chet is now 1. In fact, he turned 1 on 5 October, two weeks ago now. He is now not far off walking - he walks around the coffee table and has a little wooden trolley I got him for his birthday that he likes to push around the house, grinning madly. He now has 12 teeth - 4 molars seem to be coming through at once which has been giving him some gyp. And he sure can eat - sometimes it seems as though he is eating his bodyweight in food. And when he doesn't want any more food he waves his arms around vigorously in front of his face or he spits his food out or he simply drops it on the floor. But mostly he waves, a lot.

For his birthday we had a picnic in our local park which was well attended. I managed to consume a couple of glasses of champas which I felt were much needed after a year of interrupted sleep. We laid the cake out on a table cloth that my grandmother had bought in 1940 to use for my father's birthday parties. This table cloth was then passed to my mother when I was born and was used for all of mine and my brother's birthday parties. And, last time I saw my mother, the cloth was duly handed down to me to use for Chet's birthday. It is a beautiful linen table cloth with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves on it and has held up surprisingly well given how old it is. Although, as my dad pointed out, it hasn't actually been used that much over the years.

So, to my beautiful son on the occasion of your first birthday - you are a delight to me, I revel in your smiles and giggles and I feel we have been privileged to be your care giver until you are ready to take your place in the world. You are a happy contended child and you light up my world. With much love, your mother.