A change of reading habit

Perhaps it's because I'm busy these days, and between work and parenting and gaming I just don't have time to read books like I used to.  However, there is one rather embarrassing thing that I HAVE noticed about my reading habits..

... and that is that I read a book AFTER I have watched a movie.

Take Harry Potter, though that was what started it all, I think.  I watched the first movie and then after that I read the books as they came out.  That was well before I had children though.

More recently, there was Stephanie Meyer's Twilight.  I read the books after I watched the first movie.  I actually quite enjoy the movies, and I liked the last one especially as Bella came into her abilities.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I watched both versions of the movie and then I read all three books.  The Swedish version is very good, I thought.  Though Lisbeth was annoying towards the end, but it was still a good read, and a good watch.

The other day I saw my sister watching Beautiful Creatures, and I only saw the end.  I didn't know what it was about but she told me it was a book, so I read the book.  I read all the books, actually.  Another teenage romance with a supernatural.  It was not a BAD read, but it was a teenager's book, really.

Hunger Games was another that I read after I watched the movie.  I haven't even read the second book yet, but probably because the book did not engage me as much as I thought it would.  Weird, since it was so popular and I managed to read through Beautiful Creatures, so why can't I get through this teenage book?

The latest one was World War Z.  Zombie movies are generally not my thing, but I watched this one because I had heard good things about it.  Then when I was talking about it, a World of Warcraft guildmate told me that he refused to watch it because it was nothing like the book.  So I was curious, I read the book.  And it really was different.  So different that it has been on my mind for days, that I thought I would write about it in its own post.

I even have a reading list of books to read from the movies I've watched!

• The Big Year.  I quite enjoyed the movie - it's about birding and competition, which is already something that interests me - so I would like to see how the book pans out.
• We bought a Zoo is another one which was a cute movie, and I wonder how it reads as a book.
• The Help - I really really enjoyed that movie.  My sister says it's a good book.

Potty training your mouth

A gaming friend of mine was writing about how she was playing games late at night and her mouth just let loose with all sorts of language that she was glad her son couldn't hear.  It's funny because as a gaming parent, I have similar issues.

Swearing and cursing are things we don't want to teach our children, but they are things that they pick up when they're listening to you talking.

One funny time was when our family went out for lunch at Kitchen by Mike, in Rosebery.  Mike McEnearney is the force behind the menu, whom with Jeffery de Rome (both of whom worked at Rockpool in sydney as senior chefs) have come up with this concept of great food in a canteen type environment.  Rustic tables, cutlery in tin containers, a line-up and get served ordering system make it an interesting experience.   Unlike other canteens though, the prices are not cheap, but the food is really nice and it has a coffee section as well.  There is minimal table service so if you're looking for that - you're looking in the wrong place.

It's great for kids because they can just sit at the tables and you don't have to wait for food, you go get it yourself and pay for it and sit.  By lunchtime it's gets packed so get in early.  There is also room to sit outside.

I took some WoW friends to eat there once.  I'm not sure if the menu was not mainstream enough for them.  But they have cakes and desserts as well and the menu changes daily.

Anyway, back to the story.  So we had just had family lunch and we were walking back to the car.  My daughter kept stopping to tug at her leg and pants and scratching.

"What's wrong with you?"  I asked, looking down at her leg.
"Fuck my leg's itchy," she replied, as she tugged the pants down.  She just said the F word.  Just like that.
I was taken aback.  "What did you say?" I asked, calmly, thinking maybe I'd misheard her.
"I said fuck my leg's itchy," she replied.
I put on my nice calm and it's not-a-big-deal voice.  "Oh, you can't say that word E, it's a bad word."
"Which word?"
"Fuck.  It's a bad word.  You can't say that word.  I'm not going to say it again because it's a bad word."
"That's not a bad word.  Shit is a bad word," she replied.
Oh my god.  This was just getting better.
"Yes, that's a  bad word too.  But the F word is a bad word.  You can't ever say that or you will get in big trouble.  Ok?  Please don't say that word again."
"Ok, Mama," she replied.
I hugged her, so she knew she wouldn't be in trouble.  After all she must have heard us saying it.  Which made me wonder. "Where did you hear that word?  Who says it?  Did you hear Mama saying it?"
I know that I say that word a LOT but mostly at nighttime when the kids are asleep.  Anyone who hears me playing World of Warcraft especially in arenas and doing poorly in a raid will hear me drop a couple of bad words... well, maybe more than a couple.
"No, not Mama.  Dad says it."
Aha!  SPRUNG!  I admonished my husband for his use of swear words in front of the kids.  I mean, she even used it in appropriate type of context that you could hear in an everyday occurrence.  If you don't watch your mouth that is.

My daughter is well trained now.  She never says the bad words, but whenever she hears them, or she hears us saying them, she says "So-and-so said a naughty word!" and whoever says it apologises for saying it and tried really hard not to say it again.  Relatives, friends, are also suitably admonished and they contritely say sorry and try their best not to swear in front of my kids.

But your kids will hear these words at school, on TV, or read it on the internet.  I think it's important to let them know that it's NOT a good word, and try hard not to use it.  If we can exercise some restraint, then so the kids.  In fact, I am really impressed with the amount of restraint my daughter has, because she never says the words anymore.  If she can do it, why can't we?

Coming to terms with the post-baby 30-something year old body and dressing it

People always talk about how your body is never the same after you have a baby.  Your boobs aren't the same - they end up like deflated balloons compared to the oomph you had whilst breastfeeding; your belly is jelly and covered in stretchmarks and scars (if you had a caesarean)... the worst of it is right after you stop breastfeeding and you look in the mirror and you feel so old and worn out.

However, nobody tells you that it slowly does come back.  Probably because a bit of weight gain comes back after breastfeeding ends, but the bra filled out again after about a year, but the muffin top wouldn't go (but I wasn't really trying very hard).

My wardrobe choices have now changed to reflect the change of times.  Underwear is a big thing now - preventing the muffin top is super important in trying to look good under dresses and figure hugging skirts!

The undies I love the best are the new comfy tops by Bonds.  No digging, they sit nicely and don't fall off (like some other undies do that don't give you VPL or muffin top from digging into your hips)

I ended up changing ALL my old undies to these because I love them so much!

And would you believe it, now I have to buy SPANX to smooth out all my wobbly bits - I have to say they do a great job smoothing out everything.  And you can wear them instead of undies as well!  However, they tend to dig in at the waist making an uncomfortable line there but the rest is quite good.  Sara Blakely, the founder and creator, was the youngest woman to join the Forbes Billionaire club.  And they are actually quite comfortable to wear, imagine that!

On the top, I can still wear my usual bras but I wear a lot more push-up bras than I used to.  But hey, all the models wear them, and they have fantastic figures already, so surely it wouldn't be bad if I did!

And talking about dressing your age...

When I was younger, I thought that 40 somethings couldn't get away with what 20 somethings wear.  But you know, 40 really is the new 30.  I'm not quite there yet (but I'm close) and I still wear the same things that I wore 10 years ago.  Perhaps even a little more outrageous than I used to.  I've turned into a bit of an Alannah Hill fan and her designs tend to be rather whimsical instead of mainstream.  For example, my favourite items by Alannah Hill:

It's Hard to Die Frock

My Pussy Bow Frock

Pray for her coat

None look very 40ish and all look a bit outrageous (but that's just what I like!)  Fashion is forgiving if you can carry it off :)

I wonder what other mums have to share about clothing that helps with the post baby body bulges!  Or how they dress to hide it.

Does Speech Therapy Work?

I admit, I was skeptical about speech therapy.  With my son J speaking very little and quite behind on his vocabulary as well as showing no interest in letters or words, I finally gave in to my anxieties and got him to see a speech pathologist.

Firstly, they're not cheap.  The one I see costs $70 for a half hour session.  The initial assessment cost me $180.  And of course, I didn't take all those extras on my health insurance so it's all out of my pocket... sigh.

The first time I went, I watched what they did with my son.  The speech pathologist tried to talk to my son and play with him, and on subsequent sessions, it looked like all she was doing was playing with my son with toys.  The toys themselves have purpose of course - lots of Mr Potato heads so that body parts can be learnt; a shape sorter so he can learn shapes and colours as the blocks are coloured; one of those pop up pirate games where you insert the swords into slots on the side of the barrel (though I'm not sure what this is for, maybe for learning to take turns and learn colours); and a box of toy foods obviously for learning everyday foods.

However, for whatever reason, his speech has improved.  I haven't really done much homework with my son J, because it's a little advanced for his current comprehension level, but I am trying hard to focus with colours and talk to him as much as possible.  I was doing that before though, and not with much success.

People have said they can understand him more now.  He consistently does 3 words, and he is intelligible.  He talks a lot more and he greets everyone and says goodbye properly with names.

I wonder if I had done no interventions, would he naturally develop his speech?  Many people have said to me how they know someone who didn't speak till they were 5, or how Einstein didn't speak till late... however, how long would I wait?  I waited this long, and saw many of my friends taking their children to see Speech pathology at a much earlier age because they were concerned.  But, I console myself by thinking, that if I did nothing and it was too late for early intervention I would be kicking myself.  So, it hasn't hurt my son at all to go to speech therapy - he thinks it's a new game, and quite enjoys going.

I don't know how long I need to persist with speech therapy.  Perhaps until he is fluent or speaking in sentences.  I chose a speech path that is very far from my home, near my work, because it was recommended by friends.  It sucks up a lot of time for me, and though it has done good for my son, I won't be sad when I don't have to do that long ass drive anymore!

OMG I love this Alannah Hill coat!

One of the few times I am kicking myself for not bidding higher on this item on ebay.  But I really really love the look of this coat.  It's called "I'm a Showstopper".  I don't think I've ever been in love with a coat as much as this one! /sighs dreamily.  I love Alannah Hill stuff.

A welcome addition - with a bang!

Yesterday morning I had a bit of a shock!

I was getting ready for work, hubby was in the bathroom, and his phone goes off.  I checked it, it was my brother-in-law, he'd rang twice.  I rang him back, no answer.  Weird.  Jokingly I said "Maybe they're having a baby now!"

My sister-in-law (SIL) was due last Monday but if they baby hadn't come by today, they were going into hospital to get induced.  My SIL and I had worked out what was happening with my nephew who goes to school with my daughter, and the plan was that he stay with us.

So I got into my car and my SIL calls me, hangs up.  I call her back, no reply.  I only drive another 50m down the road and hubby calls.  "They just had a baby at home, on the floor!  There's no ambulance or anything, can you go over?"

"OMG!" I said, and did an about turn, and headed to their house.  I rang work to tell them I would be a bit late, and rushed to their house.

Fortunately, everything had gone well, but it was a bit of a shock.  She had woken up with some pain, and told my brother-in-law that they were 5 minutes apart.  He didn't know you could call 000 from your mobile phone (that's our emergency dial number in Australia) and so he went downstairs to make the phone call.  My sis-in-law yelled out "The baby's coming!  The baby's coming out!"  and my brother-in-law thought "Yeah right, not that quick," but a minute later he heard a baby crying.  He told me he was a bit stunned - he wanted to go up and see the baby but he was on the phone to the ambulance!  He wished that he had helped  deliver his own son.

By the time I arrived the paramedics had arrived and they had packed her up in a stretcher.  I took my new nephew from my SIL and did a quick check and he seemed fine - good tone, good colour, breathing was a bit grunty but no sucking in of the chest, and his heart beat was good.  I hugged my SIL telling her how clever she was and quickly went to put on my shoes and ran out with the baby in my arms to give it back to her in the ambulance (I went out the side door, they took her out the back door).  I took a photo of her and the baby and of us and the baby and then I was all grins and smiles as I drove to work as I relayed the exciting story of my nephew's entry into the world to all my workmates.

My SIL told me that it was so quick - she woke up, and had the contractions and she timed it, and they were close together, she went to the toilet, her waters broke and then she felt like she needed to push and 1 or 2 contractions later, she had a baby.  All up - 7 contractions.  She couldn't believe it. And she said it was about 10-15 minutes from pain to baby.  So quick she couldn't even get in the car to get to hospital.

We visited her later that evening with all the kids, and she was so happy to see all the kids, and I asked her a bit more about it.  She said that she went to the toilet and her waters broke and then she stood up and she felt the head coming!  She tried to awkwardly catch the head while standing/squatting and she said it was so strange, she felt the hair, it didn't seem real!  There was blood all over the floor, and then he was out, and she was holding the baby.

Her screams had woken up her son who walked out sleepily to the bathroom and he saw his mum holding the baby.  He asked her why there was blood on the floor.  My SIL told him to go to the drawer and get the blanket for the baby and he did and he handed it to her.  She wrapped the baby and by that time her hubby had come back upstairs to the spectacle.

He told me that she looked like Daenarys Stormborn with her baby dragons, when he saw her kneeling there on the floor with a baby in her hands.  He wished that he had hung up on 000 so that he could have seen the birth of his own son.  I felt bad for him, I imagine that would have been so miraculous for him to see.

But I am an aunty again!  I have been so excited all day and it's always wonderful to have such a happy miracle occur in such an amazing way.

New Vaccination Laws in NSW

Recently the government introduced some tough new vaccination laws.  Under the new laws, unvaccinated children will be excluded from child care centres unless they can provide evidence from their GPs why their children cannot be vaccinated OR for religious reasons, the child cannot be vaccinated.

This has sparked a huge debate, and there are many opinions about this matter.

What is interesting is what some people have done to exploit loopholes in this system.

Recently in the news, a group of anti-vaccination campaigners have decided to create their own religion to use this loophole to circumvent the government's new law.  This will negate the government's attempt to boost public health awareness in preventable diseases.

Why are people refusing to vaccinate?

1. In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a paper in the Lancet suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.  This was later found to be fraudulent, with Wakefield found to have fixed and manipulated data, as well as having a conflict of interest in publishing the paper by receiving £55000 from lawyers looking for evidence against vaccine manufacturers.  Since then, there have been multiple research papers with no link between autism and the MMR vaccine.
2. Herd immunity - if the vaccination rate is 95% then the 5% who are not vaccinated will be protected.  This is often the case for cancer patients and young babies as their immunity is low and it is they who will be put at risk.  If everyone is immune, then they will be protected as the disease will be unable to get a foothold.  Those parents who choose not to vaccinate believe that the herd immunity will help protect their child, which is probably true.
3. Building immunity naturally without chemicals and toxins.  Vaccines used to contain heavy metals, formaldehyde - things which nobody would want injected into them.  Our body was made with an immune system to fight disease - we should use it.  (though it's funny - vaccines stimulate your immune system to fight the disease, not give immunity passively)
4. Belief that vaccines don't work.

I am a health care professional, so perhaps my opinion is skewed.  Of course I will be a believer in the modern vaccine.  Giving your child a weak strain of a disease so that they can build up immunity to the strong strain is a great advance in modern medicine.

Measles is a childhood illness but the most serious complications can be panencephalitis (infection of the brain) which can cause permanent brain damage or death.  The risk of that is low - maybe 1:100,000.  It can also cause pneumonia which is very serious in adults - in 1920, the death rate from measles pneumonia was 30%. Of course with modern medicine that would be a lot less.

Mumps is generally a benign illness but can cause unilateral deafness in 1:2000 patients.  Panencephalitis can also occur.

Rubella is not a serious illness in childhood, but it causes significant problems in pregnancy.  Rubella is responsible for stillbirth in early pregnancy, and significant congenital defects in the heart, brain, eyes and ears, resulting in congenital heart defects, congenital cataracts, and deafness.  The vaccine was mainly developed to prevent infection during pregnancy.

I am not sure that restricting unvaccinated from childcare is the correct decision.  I agree that reducing their welfare payments for unvaccinated children as well as increasing health insurance premiums would be a better way to deal with the problem.  Drop the child care rebate for unvaccinated children.  They can still go to childcare but the government isn't going to help pay for them to go when they are disregarding publich health and safety.  The unvaccinated child should have the same rights as a vaccinated one - but just as we cannot force people to drive with their headlights on, we should be aware that they are compromising the safety of others, and they should be penalised for that.

I remember the case of the 4 week old baby who died from whooping cough in one of the lowest areas of vaccination in the state - that was 4 years ago.  That news item prompted a big push for vaccination. However, what I did not realise is that the anti-vaccinaters had a hate compaign against that family, who had already suffered enough.  Some of the comments or letters they received included:

• "harden the f*** up"
• "I could walk through a ward of babies dying of whooping cough or any other infectious disease and it would not affect my decision to vaccinate my children."

It must be hard enough to lose your own child without having to endure this insensitive barrage as well.

They are not the only ones.  Another father, whose son died of chicken pox, was rung by anti-vaccination campaigners who said this:

• His son must have been weak, to have succumbed to such a harmless disease.  These things are a matter of survival of the fittest.

I urge everyone, to consider vaccinating your child - if not for their own safety, for the safety of others - including your own unborn children.