The ambience of our home rivals that of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. It’s so cold that I can hear my fingers creaking as the bones grate against my crystallised flesh. (There may have been slight exaggeration in there, for literary flavour. It’s allowed.) The cryogenic effects have made it...
Forgive my recent lack of blog posts, but recently all kinds of things hit the proverbial fan, culminating in my spending the last week with Timmy in hospital, with no Internet access. My mood and ability to cope with Timmy has its highs and lows, but I’d noticed that...
I had been of two minds about whether to post this entry, but eventually concluded I had no good reason not to. Blogging, for me, has an emotionally cathartic effect — I do it more for myself than for my readers. So when I confront something particularly challenging, it...
If I wasn’t there when he arrived, I’d think my baby isn’t actually my baby. It’s a popular notion that a mother and child are supposed to have some kind of magic woo-woo link, that enables the mother to know, from the other side of town, when her child...
The last week, I believe, has been the hardest of my parenting experience. This entry’s image depicts an event that now seems as rare as phoenix sightings. Timmy has outdone himself in his extended screaming abilities. A large part of the problem, I believe, is wind. He simply won’t...
When Timmy and I were prescribed antibiotics after being exposed to a hospital worker who contracted whooping cough, the hospital neglected to inform me a possible side affect of the drug for infants is gut surgery, while adults may only have a more mild response of puking until they...
I’m caught up in fierce political warfare. It turns out that typical loyalists of either demand feeding or schedule feeding are not content to regard their strategy as a preference — it’s the right way, and mothers in the other camp are foolish, inefficient, and worst of all, wrong. Demand feeding...
Just when you think all is right with the world, the sky falls down. It must have been naive hope that had me thinking a dummy would solve all of my problems. For a while though, it seemed it had. While not on a strict schedule, Timmy’s feedings had...
My son is making a liar out of me. I’d confessed that behind my polite happy face (the one I’d use with customers at work; the one that smiles and would say ‘I’m fine, thanks’, even if a jet engine fell on my house), I really wasn’t coping with...
Wow. The last week has lasted a hundred years. Despite my fears that Bump was getting prepared to settle in utero for the upcoming winter (I’d been experiencing no pre-labour signs as his due date approached), so would be forcibly evicted by induction, he arrived on his own terms...
It seemed manifestly unfair (albeit unsurprising) that my resolve to Stress Less about all matters regarding Bump would be tested so soon after deciding it. I’d been booked in for another ultrasound at the hospital, two weeks after the last. This was just to make sure that Bump was...
I’m sure the perky endorsement ‘Stress Less!’ wasn’t invented by my former flatmate (who will never die of a high blood pressure), but I attribute my own introduction to the words, to her. She would often say it to me when I was worked up or anxious over something...
Every now and then I get hit with a nostalgic mourning for a nicety of the past. If I’m lucky, it’s a fond remembrance of a pleasant triviality — like the Pumpkin and Kumara Stack with pesto that used to be served at Breakers restaurant. (I’m of the opinion...
I’ve been able to ascertain a few facts about Bump already, even though we haven’t met yet. Clearly, he’s part ninja, having no respect for physical boundaries. On numerous occasions it’s felt like he’s trying to punch his way out. This, partnered with his frequent restlessness, tells me he’s...
Baby shower gifts tend to follow along the same line: bibs, onesies, toys… So when my imaginative sister contemplated unconventional alternatives, it didn’t take her long to come up with the idea of a belly painting — essentially, commercial face-painting. Except for the ‘face’ part. I’d heard of such...
Day One of my maternity leave does not bode well for the next five weeks. I’m so bored my heart rate is approaching cryogenic levels. I’d expected to feel bored at some point, before Bump arrived. I just didn’t expect it immediately upon arriving home from my last shift...
Consensus is that I should leave the professional blogosphere to its own chest-beating devices, and instead let this site be a personal forum for me to discuss my musings and goings-on, and occasionally show my hobby achievements — not for any ulterior career motive, but just for the sheer...
The proverbial ‘They’ say that honesty’s the best policy. Whoever ‘They’ are, I doubt they work in business marketing. Because, after all, it would be damaging to business if the customers knew Director Bob has his financial plan sketched on a crumpled napkin, or that he dances naked and...
I feel just a little bit shafted. I suppose what happened was, strictly speaking, above board. It was legal. But it feels exploitative, too. I had done some freelance work for Joe Bloggs of Company A. Company A then went into liquidation, so the amount of my last invoice...
There’s a problem with being asked to put my feet up; to ‘relax’. I get bored. If pregnant women aren’t supposed to keep busy, why does the acknowledged concept of ‘nesting’ even exist? We’re known for keeping busy! This was a good time to move house, because I could...
At the risk of sounding like a 10-year-old, it wasn’t my fault. My ‘blog more often’ goal for 2012 was dependent on my having the means, and although I had expected a delay in getting phone and internet services after moving to a new house, I hadn’t quite expected...
Boxing Day is the worst metaphorical sugar-low ever. It started even earlier than Boxing Day, this year. The evening of Christmas day had me feeling sad. All the presents were opened, the food was eaten, the guests were departed…and Christmas felt over. Even the tree didn’t seem sparkly anymore....
9 days ago Enraptured with a new enthusiasm for honey and the magical bee, I visited the local Arataki Honey factory. I didn’t anticipate being able to buy comb honey there, as it hadn’t been listed on their website’s product list, but I was resolved to ask where I...
If I channeled Eeyore, I’d bemoan how miserable life is when one has a sore throat and relentless cough. I imagine that would not be an enjoyable read, and even less enjoyable to write. Better to channel Pollyanna, and talk about the much more interesting silver lining I’ve discovered,...
Depending on which unreliable statistic you source, you’ll find a person will move house about 16 times in their lifetime. If that’s to apply to me, I can conclude I’m not going to reach my 30th birthday. For the thirteenth time I’m relocating my life in a mosaic of...
