New chapter

Its like a new chapter in my life right now. We each are settling in to our new house and routine starts in earnest this week with Mike fully back to work and me at home with alkaline the boys. I'll be shifting my main family blog to a different place and using this one more for me and life topics. The reason behind this is that we feel God is leading us towards home-education and I want a blog where i can post about that separate from my Topics here. I will get the link for that sorted soon

New house new phone

Well we have moved house now and I've gotten a new phone too so i finally upgraded to a proper smart phone allowing me to update on the move

Carlys Voice

The link above is a blog that I follow, I got the update today and felt that I needed to reblog her post to help spread Autism awareness and the story of Carly and her life with Autism,

Please read and spare a thought for all those who's lives are touched by Autism and help spread awareness so that we can understand more how to help and stop prejudice

Life on the school run

My baby has started school !! : ( 

So sad that he's grown up so quickly

Here in the UK our children start school in Reception the September following their 4th birthday which for NJ was this year, We can keep them off till the following year and start them in Year 1 but 99% of children who aren't home-educated head off to school at 4yrs+ some who have just had their birthday in the final days of the August that year. Nathaniel was well ready for school and down to space and other things we decided home-education wasn't a great fit for us at the moment.

Typically in English weather the first day of school was a raincoat day we got wet on the way to school and on the way home, My second son EJ has started Nursery at NJ's old nursery for 2 days a week which we are paying for ( ouch ) and 2 other mornings a week we are @ the local Children's centre which is next door to the Nursery and still on school grounds for a Stay and Play group for both EJ and AJ and toddler cooking lessons for EJ which he loved the first week , So that leaves me with only one day where I can drop off NJ and not be either hanging around the school or back for a lunchtime pickup of EJ but instead get to stay home till I have to go get NJ at 3.05 which leaves little time for housework.

We thankfully got some more decent weather after the first week of school and the first week of full time school ( first week was half days ) then we managed without getting wet on the school run. AJ has decided he hates the pushchair now though which isn't great news since he has to spend about 100 min in it a day with the school run trips, Im also walking 10-12 miles a week doing the school run which is good caus its boosted my activity levels and with AJ's distaste for the puschair and EJ's little legs getting sore Ive been carrying AJ in the wrap for the afternoon trips which gives me a bit more of a workout.

We got some good family time last weekend not the one we have just had but the previous one, we took the boys to Chessington World of Adventures using our free residents passes and had a good day out with the boys.

Paralympics buzz

I didn't thing the Paralympics would be the massive hit that it has been I've been surprised at the media and social reaction in this country. the Athletics have been branded as " Superhumans " and with the incredible things that they have done in the last week then I cant say that the label doesnt fit caus it most certainly does.

Ive purposely put the Games on TV for the boys to see that there are people out there that are different that still do awesome things and they have been really enjoying it and shouting just as loud for the paralympians as the olympians a month ago.
I want them to grow up seeing the variety and differences in life without prejudice and accept people for who they are regardless of how many limbs they have or what their limbs look like.

The NZ Para team have an incredible haul of 13 medals so far 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze with more medal  hopes to come. I think we need to get the swimmers in the pool with the able swimmers to give them some tips because most of our medals have come from the pool.

Thats all for now we are preparing this morning for Nathaniels school teacher for the year to visit in preparation for his start on Monday

Olympics Build Up

Today we had the Olympic torch relay go past near our house so it was an early start for all of us to get up and out the door in time to get a place in the crowd. 

I found a fairly good place but sadly the boys couldn't see and I wasnt able to pursuade the crowd to let me and the kids to the front so we could see and because I had AJ in the woven wrap I couldnt lift either of the other 2 to see so really thankful I got such a good clear picture of the Flame

You can see in the background on the left the crowd that lined the route all the way into Kingston ( well as far as the eye could see up the hill ) it was 8-10 people thick in places on the sidewalk

We forgot to take Nate's "torch" he made at nursery with us and the Flag but I think the boys enjoyed the trip out and the breakfast treats since we didn't have time for breakfast because I forgot to reset my Alarm.

This weekend the Men's and Woman's Cycle races are happening in Kingston so going downtown is near impossible with the road closures etc.... so we will probably be at the Chessington Fun Day at The Kings Centre which is round the road from us, they have planned a fun day with bouncy castles  a bbq, entertainment for the kids and will be having a little concert plus showing the race on the big screens in their hall. 

Otherwise the build up to the Olympics has kinda missed us lol we didnt get tickets to anything partly because you cant take Children very easily onto the Sites where events will be held plus they were super expensive lol so we will watch the events we want to on the BBC like the rest of everyone and I hope to catch the main NZ medal hopes in my watching.

Perils of 7month old with teeth

Well its been awhile since my last post now and we are continuing with BLW for Alister

we have introduced a spoon both pre-loading it and handing it to him ( watch out for flicking of the spoon ) and just loading it up and allowing him to open his mouth and move onto the spoon if he wants to eat, being careful all the time to watch for him loosing interest in the food so we stop.

Though mostly he's eating by feeding himself finger foods

 We are expanding his diet slowly

this past week he has had

Yogurt ( about 2 1/2 table spoonfuls each time)

Toast 

Toast dipped in low salt chicken soup

Honey dew and Water Melon

Strawberries

Apple

Pineapple

Cucumber

Melon

Pasta with Spag Bol sauce

Pasta with Pesto

Cheese ( mild and red leister )

Chicken

Ham

Tomatos ( halved and seeded )

Red and Yellow Bell Pepper strips

Banana 

Lettuce ( wasnt very happy with this )

Pork ribs ( the meat minus the sauce )

Roasted Duck

Fish Fingers minus the crumbs

Homemade Chips

Normally for a meal I'll offer 2-3 different foods onto his tray and let him pick and choose what he wants to eat and how and just rescue the bits that fall down beside him because they slip out of his hand.

Hes had a few goes with a beaker of water at playgroup but otherwise has water out of a bottle during the day

And he still wakes in the night to be fed, last night he slept 8.30-1.30 then woke again at 4.30ish and up for the day at 7.30ish. But that is a huge improvement over the 11, 1.30, 2.30, 3.30, 4.30, 6.30 he was doing.

We will get there one day

Weaning... the Baby Led Way

I don't proclaim to be an expert in Baby Led Weaning

( lets just say BLW instead aye )

But now AJ is nearly 7 months old we have been slowly introducing him to real foods without mushing things up the same way we did with EJ.

In fact Ive not even read the whole BLW book I should probably get it out of the Library and read it lol

Anyway This is about my experience using the BLW method ( loosely speaking ) with EJ and AJ

Typically first food in this house for all 3 boys has been Apple,

With Nate I did puree it but not for the younger boys they just got sticks of apple big enough to hold and have a bit sticking out to chew on.

It can be a scary thing to give whole food to a young child but BLW works on the priciple that if their bodies are ready to accept food ( ie.. their digestive system being mature ) then they will have the motor skills both with their hands and their mouths to be able to eat food without the need for it to be provided in puree form.

It makes sense in my head probably because we had a terrible time with Nate moving from smooth loose puree's to thicker and lumpier foods and hes still not great with thick textured foods or things lumpy in a sauce like chunky soups... so if there was a way to skip that problem I was all up for it with EJ, Also we had to spoon feed Nate for ages as he wouldnt feed himself it was a misson when I was pregnant with EJ to get Nate to eat with a fork and spoon on his own loading them himself so I was thrilled when I saw videos of BLW babies at 8-10 months spoon feeding themselves !

With EJ we started out with grab sized cooked vege and raw fruit and he coped really well at 9 months old he tucked into a full roast Christmas dinner and ate much more of it unaided than his older brother did. 

it doesnt take long for BLW children to get to grips with moving food around inside their mouth forwards and backwards and learning how not to put too much in,

the Gagging reflex is natural and normal and supposed to prevent choking its often confused with a child choking and consquently parents freak out because of it but ive learnt that if they dont learn to gag and cough up the lumps then choking is a much more real possiblity if they get into something they arent supposed to be putting in their mouths. having a good gag reflex is a life skill it could save your childs life!

With EJ we had far less real scares over him and foods than with Nate where we were dropping off food on the back part of his tounge off a spoon.

I dont know many adults who enjoy being spoon fed so I think its normal for children to feel the same way and being able to feed themselves is a great way to grow independance in a way that you want them to be independant of you, ( who really wants to spoon feed a 5 yr old or 15,25+ yr olds )

So starting as I mean to carry on makes good sense.

Right now AJ's list of tried foods is.

Apple slices and sticks

Raw Carrot sticks ( didnt like this one much )

Pear chunks

Banana

Bread sticks

Pizza crusts ( why should he miss out on pizza night? )

Chicken breast sliced diagonally into thick fingers

Baked Potato sticks ( aka fries )

Grapes

Clemetine segments

Tomatoes ( quartered and seeded )

Pasta ( Spirali, Penne and Fusilli in ragu sauce )

Brocolli ( cooked in easy grab florrets )

Yoghurt

Pork Sausage

The favorite from those is probably Pear and the Chicken both he ate really well then probably Pasta after that. the Brocolli was fun and he definately ate some as we witness from the nappies this morning lol.

So its food fun and games in the Odendaal household at the moment 

more to come later...

My Baby grows up, 24 June

This time 4 years ago I was calling the hospital telling them I wanted to come back up to the Midwife Unit while pacing around our Garden in Kingston with Mike and Anthony keeping Celina in the house out of my way and my mum following me with a glass of water trying to hydrate me. I was fairly cranky as I recall having been in labour ( slow labour ) for 3 days Prior and was not amused that the MW on the phone said she thought it could still be awhile till the baby arrived from the way I sounded, What did she know I was the one in Labour surely I would know best! lol She was right i had another 15 hrs to wait for him to arrive another night with no sleep as I would be pacing the hospital room then in the birthing pool.
I dont know how I would have made it through those long hours without Mum by my side and then in turn Michael there holding my hand.

But my baby arrived safely even if not the way we wanted and we certainly didnt plan on the complications which led to him being in the Special Care Baby Unit for 4 days and in hospital for a total of 7 days. but we got him in the end and Yesterday we celebrated his 4th Birthday with a Pirate Party which we held down at our church and was a big sucess even if we are all still tired the next day after even having an afternoon nap to try to recover.

So with nearly 4 years of being Mummy as an accomplishment then I'm still not quite sure how I managed I sure didn't get here without messing up a few times thankfully none so serious that they have had lasting effects on Nathaniel. We have had a few middle of the night trips to A&E for high tempetures and viral infections but Thanks to God not any for broken bones or deep cuts /wounds. which is a miracle in my eyes with the amount of Times I have had to rescue Nathaniel from being on top of bookcases, windowsills, standing on tables getting stuck places we didn't know he could get to.

But I've really enjoyed the last 4 years and would do it all over again in an instant for the chance to have Nathaniel as my son. He is such a caring loving child, very intelligent and bright, with a thirst for learning which I am hoping will be encouraged with School and having the learning resources will benefit him .

So here is my 4 year old boy, Nathaniel J Odendaal. I'm so Proud that he calls me Mummy

British Summertime, Drought.. Hosepipe ban... Say whaaaat?

Does this look like Drought weather to you...?

Its nearly mid JUNE and I just had to get everyone but the baby ( Thank God for raincovers ) completely changed head to toe after the walk home from picking up Nathaniel, 

Poor Elliott was drenched before we were half way there and out in the rain for 1 hr 20 min to do the round trip because every puddle on the way home had to be jumped in apparently lol.

It would seem that the Weather has mistaken half term holiday for Wimbledon and rained us out throughout the last week and looks like we are in for more of the same this week.

Typical British Summertime weather, we still actually have a hosepipe ban after a good 10 days of rain in a row though they are telling us it should be lifted this week, Its a con they are trying to conserve water for the Olympics because up north there is no Hosepipe ban its just in the South of the UK.

I really hope it isnt raining on Saturday we have the school fair to go to and really want to make it because Nathaniel will be at the school come September so its a great chance to meet the teachers and staff as well as the other kids who will be in his year group. 

And I am also out on Street Pastors duty on Saturday night which will not be very much fun if it is raining like it has been today. 

Queens Diamond Jubilee

Wow 60 years on the throne, quite some achievement ,
I learnt some interesting facts about our Royal family this last week, from the fact that HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex 's children arent known as Prince and Princess but as Lady and Viscount because after the Queen saw the effect of the pressure of the HRH title on her other grandchildren she wanted a more relaxed up bringing for her youngest grandchildren.  In fact i dont recall seeing Edward and Sophies son and daughter during the Jubilee festivities probably on purpose, they themselves were at the Concert outside Buckingham Palace and Edward was on the Barge with the rest of the family for the River Procession but only the Imediate line of Sucession down to Harry were part of the Carriage procession and the Appearance on the balcony of the Palace at the end of Tuesdays Festivities.

As a Family we attended a Jubilee BBQ at Hampton Wick Baptist church on Sunday and the boys had both had Jubilee parties on the Friday before half term then otherwise we watched the celebrations on TV and opted not to brave the weather for street parties etc.... We had to spend a bit of time recovering from Celina's birthday party on Saturday evening and such a busy Sunday

7 years ago

7 years ago I was getting used to being in the UK after only being here a few days

I think this was taken June 6th 2005.

It really does honestly seem like yesterday, I dont feel so different to the person in this photo although many changes have taken place. 

I have finally found a way to do a 3-4 way video call with my family without it costing heaps or being too complex to set up thanks to Google+ which you can do a "hangout" which I tried last night with Tanya ( big sister ) in Australia. I miss my family heaps its hard to be so far away from my sisters /brother and my adorable little nephews

Im not the only one who has had a big anniversary in the last few days, The Queen herself has celebrated her own Anniversary, Her Diamond Jubilee 60 years as queen and when she ascended the throne she was only 26 which is how old I am now.

I believe there are big things in the next 60 years for me too and hope I will still be around in 60 years time, Not sure I will achieve as much as the Queen but I aim to have a fair go at having her annual income by then.

I think I am going to give up coffee for good. Everytime that I have had a cup of coffee in as long as I can remember then I have suffered from a bad headache and irritability afterwards. It doesnt happen with Coca Cola or Tea just Coffee, I dont know why but Its ruined today for me having a Mocha Frap at Starbucks earlier on today.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 3-6th May

My week has been rather hectic with prep for the exhibitition so not actually managed to take photos since Wed, I did however assemble one for my "cover" on my facebook timeline and a friend shared this Winnie the Pooh quote which I absolutely love.

My work this week has been on these

And many other flyers and banners and labels for the event.

this is a a4 sheet that will be made into a6 leaflets for handing out around the event.

Ive also had to learn to operate and become qualified to operate the Turn Back Time Analytical Arterial testing machine and how to read the reports to explain them to my customers at the event.

I have found childcare for during it for the 2 older boys I will just have Alister with me during the entire event unless Mike has him so that should be fun I think when Mike is there I will be out leafleting the crowd as we have missed all the advertising except the final site exhibitioners list and the online listing due to our late booking of the stall etc...

btw if the leaflet above has sparked your interest at all and you want to know more about my new business then please do email me at legacyhealthworldwide@gmail.com 

Wed 2nd of May 2012

The joys of a 2 yr old

b.b...b..b.b.b..but mummy i dont want my picture taken ( excuse my messy house it was first thing in the morning )

I love all my kids dearly I have a clearly uniquely different bond with each of them.

Elliott is growing so fast its hard for me sometimes caus I want to keep him just as he is now even with the 2 yr old strops , I want to keep the wee sensitive soul that he is, His caring loving nature when I was Ill last week it was EJ out of my boys who was trying to take care of me most to get me pillows and blankets and books and he even tried to bring me a drink bless him. 

Hes a sweet child with an adorable personality, just this afternoon when I put him up in his room for his naptime he was calm and happy to go to bed and asked for cuddles then happily told me "bye bye Mummy I nap now!" and before I had even left the room he had tucked himself into bed and shut his eyes. 

My husband called EJ our "LOUD" child for the first 8 months of his life because he does have a powerful set of lungs on him and when he is upset the whole block knows about it theres no "Shhhhshh-ing" him when hes upset he wants everybody to know about it so over the last couple of years we have developed ways of enabling him to be happy in situations where there used to be issues.

We by no means give in to his strops and tantrums even if it sends my husband running for the hills when he lets rip in the middle of the supermarket lol. but instead try to minimalise chances of him getting upset by using a bit of forethought about things since hes not quite as adaptable and flexible as Nathaniel, Not that there is anything wrong with that Its part of who he is and we love him just how he is its just that Parenting requires more than just one text book because although our boys have the same parents they have very individual personalitys, needs, prioritys and require different tactics to manage them.

More with EJ than Nathaniel but their little faces when they are trying to be stubborn are just so darn cute and make me want to smile or laugh often ( which is not very helpful when your trying to be strict on something ) and the moment of this photo was exactly one of those moments, Little EJ was none too happy about having his picture snapped and was telling me " No mummy, no Pot-O" ( photo in EJ language ) and quite sure I couldnt get a smile from him but hes just as cute and adorable when hes grumpy thankfully so there's your picture.

long day's work

Tuesday 1st May 2012

Ok its not technically a photo but a PNG. image i drew out freehand/mouse in Paint yesterday to create Nathaniel's birthday party invitations, but honestly I was so busy yesterday with this ( party organization ) and Legacy Health Worldwide stuff that I barely had time to eat because the time I wasnt sat at the computer working hard then I was tending to the needs of my 3 children.

Nathaniel is a bit obsessed with "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" on Disney Junior hence the Pirate themed invitations. I could have done it in Inkscape and gone for a glossy look image that "pops" off the page but I didnt have time to sit through tutorials for all the inkscape bits im not sure on how to do and Im working out the business logo and everything else using Inkscape anyway and having a break from the software for a while was refreshing for my brain.

So to finish the Party stuff up now I have to organize, food, games, decorations, activitys and party bags as well as make the Cake which im hoping wont be as hard as the Train I made for EJ.