let's see what happens when the government gets eczema...

(or bear with me while I have a wee turn on the soap box)
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So I went off to the Pediatrician today. K has eczema and has had more colds in the first 8 months of his life than W had in the first three years of his life. Add to that the fact that he has sleep issues, like for well over a month he only slept for 20 - 40 minutes at a time. I have slept in a chair with him on my chest at night more times than I can count. Put all this together and considering we have been to the doc, the natropath, the osteopath and the bottom of the barrel, we thought an extra opinion just couldn't hurt!
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We have tried so many different things - funnily enough the most successful eczema cream was a pot the man at the Soapbox shop in the Central Market made for me for $6.25 which I requested to be honey based!
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But nothing seemed to actually solve it all. So, off we went.
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Suffice to say, it would not be unfair to describe me as a 'non-compliant' person when it comes to the medical world. My long suffering partner who just happens to be trained as a nurse bears up well considering. But with this in mind we went with open mind to the pediatrician and I kept reminding myself not to call her the podiatrist as I had to various other people already - makes it hard to seem together when you do things like that.
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After long discussions it seems she thinks (similar to us which was great) that it is a mix of colds, eczema and possibly hay fever all feeding into each other and sending the sleep off the wall. So, we are going to try a cream and a hay fever serum to try and settle the irritations and get some sleep happening to enable his body to fend a bit more off.

I had eczema as a kid and used a steroid or cortisone cream for it. I now have very brittle skin on my hands - I literally cut a whole in my skin if my nails are too long and I rub my hands together. Brittle skin is one of the negative aspects of using a cortisone cream. So, I am a little anti-cortisone. So when she (as I suspected she would) recommended the cortisone, we had a chat and looked for an alternative.
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Script begin:
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Her: oh here is one. not cortisone, can be used on face, suitable for use from newborn onwards - perfect.
me: great. can we do that one then instead?
her: no, you have to try the cortisone first
me: no, remember, I am looking for a NON cortisone cream
her: yes, but I can only write you a script for this cream after you have tried the cortisone
me: but I don't want to try the cortisone
her: yes, but the you won't get the rebate unless you have tried the cortisone first
me: pardon?
her: the government rebate. you don't get it unless you try the cortisone cream before this one
me: that sounds mad...
her: well, the cream you want is expensive
me: ummm, so you mean, the government don't want me to use the 'expensive' non cortisone cream until I have tried the 'cheaper' cortisone cream?
her: um, yes
me: is there any other reason it is set up like that - no other reason they would so obviously over represent a cortisone cream over the other?
her: um, no
me: so, the rebate is given to encourage people to use a cheap cream rather than the right cream?
her: hmm, sort of, but basically in your case, yes
me: well, I don't give a, (better judgement luckily came over me here) I mean, I don't really care about the government's money saving policy I just want a non cortisone cream for my baby so I guess I will have to pay for it hey?*
her: well, yes.
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Now I knew our health care system had issues and in the scheme of things I am sure this example is toe nail clippings on the carpet of a house with nuclear waste in the back yard, but STILL - it does not seem good or right to me.
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And as I always rant - what about the people who are in a hurry/don't ask questions/take the government or doctor line as best/don't have the best education to allow them to critique their options/etc./etc.!!!
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Isn't our health system supposed to provide the best guidance so those with least ability, least money and least options are best catered for? It shouldn't rely on the client being a pig headed, picky, nosy, obstinate mother with steroid cream history to work out that the recommended cream is actually not the best one for a wee baby!
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So you tell me - does this seem like a good health care system?
Or does it seem like this is just one more example of our government having an illness that needs healing???
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* note. over $40 for 15g
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happy days for a boy

or

A crane truck came to my house and two blokes did interesting things with it all day.

Loads of drilling and climbing ladders and banging and lifting and it was so so so good!

Of course having hot water from the sun as a result is also very good!

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Truth be told we are not ecstatic with it at the moment - having a few cold showers.

Does anyone else have problems with their solar hot water?

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I thought we would be ok without using the booster unless it was overcast but we have had lukewarm water a few evenings. Even on days where we had the booster on overnight with j-tariff.

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Does having the tank on the roof rather than tucked into a well insulated cupboard inside the house mean that the water cools really fast? Can you insulate the tank any more?

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Has anyone else had teething problems? How did you solve them?

I don't want to use the electric booster all the time - it defeats the purpose completely!

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Please help!

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(3) every child needs well used gumboots

Oh, wet boots, wet socks, then wet trousers and a splashed back. If you really put your heart into it you can also get flecks of mud in your hair.

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A rush home for a hot bath and a change of clothes.

Is there anything that brings joy to a child like a puddle or a patch of mud?

Run, jump, splash and feel every bit of the elements bursting around you.

Do you remember? Or were you a deprived child?!

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When we adults accidentally get splashed or step in a puddle our reaction is generally one of surprise and discomfort. Generally though, this is not what children feel. We can accidentally teach them to have this reaction though and so unintentionally shelter them from a whole lot of fun!

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Most children instinctively want to splash and run and jump. They instinctively find pleasure, laughter and energy in enthusiastically leaping about in mud and water. I love being the audience for the puddle and mud work that goes on around here. I am in awe and genuinely pleased with the effort and enthusiasm that gets put into gumboot work!

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Once again, we have the privilege of living on a pot holey kind of lane and so mud and puddles come fairly easily to us. As with many things in my every child series so far - access is sometimes an issue in this day and age. So make it your mission to get out there and into it! Is there a website for finding puddles? There should be!

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You can head out to National Parks on wet days, find back roads or bush sections. A quiet street on a rainy day will sometimes surprise you with puddles or blocked gutters. Build some holes in your backyard if you have the room - and wait for rain! The thrill of such access may of course wear off for you before it does for your young enthusiasts however!

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Access isn't everything though.

Acceptance on the part of the parent is a huge issue with meeting this need in children.

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How many times do children get told. 'Stop, you will get wet/muddy/dirty/cold/bumped/splashed/scratched/etc'.

Be sure of something. I have been that parent!

But I try to be accepting of the sheer joy of getting wet/muddy/dirty/cold/bumped/splashed/scratched/etc. as much as possible.

Still. Acceptance of the wet and the voluminous washing that comes with it is sometimes hard to take. Accept on the days you can.

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The season of meeting this glorious need that our children have is upon us here in Australia.

So, don't bother dusting off the gumboots - just make sure they fit and go get them filthy! Even better - get a pair your self! Pack the car with changes of clothes and a thermos of hot water for a flannel wash and you are set. Go puddle hunting.

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..

Ride the testosterone wave...

No, I'm not having a sex change. Perhaps if I did, days like today might be a little easier though.

For those of you with boys over about 3 or 4, you know what I am talking about. Some days the testosterone just surges through my son. Everything is bang bash, twice the volume, double the speed, three times the intensity.

Now, sleep deprivation does make me more sensitive to loud noises but today just really pushed me. I did what I could:

* Let's go racing up the lane.

* Let's go throw balls for the dog next door.

* Let's climb trees

* Let's water the garden and you can be in charge of the hose. (It is 29 degrees here today!)

* Get your trolley and woosh it down the hill for K and I to watch.

* etc etc for wearying hours

The other side of the surges is of course that all that expended energy means crashes and spent-ness. I did what I could.

* Let's have a snack.

* Let's have another snack.

* Let's build a car with the new Meccano so you can drive it around.

* etc etc for so many repeat moments of shatteringly emotional tired spates.

So, the day is nearly past. The surge might continue tomorrow. It might not. I know they settle and I am so much more tolerant of those ridiculous boys in playgrounds now than I used to be before the surges arrived in our life. Tolerance - my Buddhist teacher W is working hard on me today.

Find every positive to smile and and give kisses for. Ignore a host of what on any other day might have been picked up. Kiss a hundred times for every moment of good listening. Surges seem to detach the ears in our house. Kiss those ears when ever they whoosh past and they are working.

So, for all of you out there with surging boys. Breath deeply, over and over again. We are all doing it together. A great big world full of boys whooshing and hollering and surging.

Give them a drum and a room of their very own. Give them a stick and a rock to bang it on. Give them a spade and a hole to dig.

Make a cup of tea.

Breath deeply. Dip biscuit in tea. Breath deeply again. Remember...

This too shall pass.

I love my boys. The prospect of two surging at once kind of gives me a shaky feeling in my waters but I suspect by the time it happens I will cope just fine.

Great and wonderful surging testosterone in boys brings about the passion and strength that makes good men. So, living these days well is about raising boys well.

This is about boy. This is about men. Accept, rejoice, embrace.

Hope someone out there knows what I am talking about and I hope your day was wonderful.

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*

Gluten free spaghetti like you have never seen!

I have just found a new blog and it is so wonderful and inspiring.

This gluten free pasta just made me want to go to the midnight seed store...

Read about it all here... .

Oh and I had been feeling guilty about all the persimmon we aren't eating...

...but I got inspired about that too.

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Can't write more, inhaling new blog.

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one small change: April

(big breath out)
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it has been a long time coming...
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I may have converted over 10 friends and family to yogurt making and also at least 4 bloggers (both growing numbers I hope), but the biggest 'small change' we have made so far was done with a pen this week...
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oh, and a cheque.
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we are going solar!
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We did loads of research (ahem, that is the royal 'we'). In the end chose these guys as they were local and were prepared to come out and really make it work for us.
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It was confusing as when we shopped around it was easier to find cheaper quotes. When you look at it though, there are quite a few companies who do it all by distance and also offer lower quality product than most others so to compare quotes you REALLY have to look closely. If you go with the distance guys be prepared to do a bit of ground work yourself as they need you to measure, photograph, etc etc.
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The distance guys also work off google - hey it is a modern world and you can work from anywhere in lots of business' but for our place with overshadowing and loads of different bits of roof - it was so good to have someone prepared to come out - climb around the roof, show us the very cool shadow tracer thingo and talk and talk and talk. They were amazing. (again - very cool shadow tracer thingo - I want my own for absolutely no good reason)
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So we happily chose to pay wee bit more for down the road (going local also being one of our small changes!)
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So - woot woot and hoo hoo and whoopa whoopa - we are going sunny - hot water and power!
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We are having enough panels to more than cover our usage - especially when we get rid of the rest of the ding dong damit halogens. Doing our bit!
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Can't wait to see the metre go backwards!
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if it is labelled educational...

it probably isn't.
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some

days
it
is
difficult
to
see
the
winning
charm
and
amazing
personality
of
grot

giveaway!

Cast your mind back.
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Back a way way back.
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Aaah, the excitement of January - there was a giveaway - yes - and it was going to be drawn in January! Isn't it lucky that it is January today!
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So, all the names were written out...
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Screwed up into tiny balls.
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Placed in the top of the easy-yo yogurt maker.
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So they stand out nice and bright for our chooser...
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Oh he was instantly drawn to choose...
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Oh, he dropped it!
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Imagine the excitement - the crowd went wild!
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That could have been you - but no - a slip of the finger and you are forever NOT CHOSEN!
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This time he grips one more firmly.
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Yes, yes........yes...
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and in it goes!
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Of course we nearly had to work out the winner by elimination - well not the kind you grotty people are thinking of, but still, I managed to poke a finger in and flip it out for a moment...
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and just before it was grabbed back - I unscrewed it - and...
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Mama Tave!
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Well done you - soaked in spit but a winner none the less!
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Let us all know what you would like on your lovely crown!
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influence...

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as he plunged his head into my cleavage for the 37th time this morning,
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I realised,
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this,
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is how breast men are created.
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(2) every child needs to climb

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Walls, rocks, piles of things, trees.
Most children automatically, at some point, want to go up.
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With good reason too. Lots of good things are up.
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Birds, leaves, holes, sky, quiet, lack of adults, interesting lumps and bumps, possible danger, challenge, shapes and colour. Noise. Work.
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And, of course, the satisfaction of being up is only surpassed by the joy of getting up.
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Now we all know the story about how 'everyone can sing' and those of us poor tweeters that just struggle don't like that story much at all.
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I'm not going to say that everyone can climb. But I will say that it is not impossible to accidentally teach your child not too climb or to be afraid of climbing, or to forget that up is even there. Just like you can teach your child to dislike carrots because you do too.
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Perhaps it is better to say that the vast majority of children sooner or later do want to enjoy climbing and you can assist this natural process as it has so many wonderful outcomes.
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If assisting it frightens the pants of you - do like we do in the modern world and find someone wonderful to outsource it to!
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But don't make the mistake of thinking that adventure playgrounds and kinder gym are any kind of equivalent. Life is rarely so even, consistent, predictable or reachable. Real climbing generally involves some sort of dirt, sticky bits and possibly a graze or two. All usually nobly born when involved in a work of great importance. The joy of getting to the top of a climbing frame is a great joy but quite, quite different to the joy of getting to the heights of tree.
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There is a lot said about Australian children lacking upper body strength and how this comes from among other things, very controlled play environments. If I had more time and sleep I would find a lovely link to an interesting and informative article to back this up. Hey, let me know if you know of one!
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With W, I have taken a three pronged approach to climbing. (I know this through hindsight of course - I had no such idea at the start!)
1. I try to climb with him and for his viewing enjoyment and expose him to other people that do the same.
2. I help but I do not 'lift' or 'hold' or any of these kinds of things. I 'keep him safe' as he learns.
3. I encourage. 'you might not be able to get there today, but if you keep trying you will soon' 'you will be tall enough to hold there soon' 'it is hard but does it feel good when you get up there?' 'how does it feel now you are there?'
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When W started I did a lot of talking about keeping hands higher than feet, finding large, safe holds and pointing them out. I would hold him safe when he asked or squeaked - usually by the back of his trousers - undignified but practical. W has also worn overalls a lot and these are a great safety device in all manner of events - not only climbing!
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In the early climbing times, W was often frustrated and found it hard. He kept asking me to 'help'. The tree we often used wasn't ideal except in its location but I kept refusing to help in the way he asked and just kept him safe and guided and encouraged him. Over time he had small successes and persisting really worked. I think regular opportunity was good for him as he did get so frustrated.
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Over time, W gained confidence to find his own holds and gained upper body strength to do what he wanted do. He is a solid young man so he does need that strength to pull up!
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There is nothing so joyful as to be up a tree. I love the occasions I manage to get up a tree these days. I am always horrified at the muscles screaming as I tree climb. Obviously those poor muscles usually just lie around having cups of tea in my day to day life!
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I have found when teaching and parenting that if you give children opportunity and support them to have a go - they rarely do anything far out side of their skill base. They aren't crazy like us adults - they generally know their limits well!
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There are of course children who do not fit this mould and we have all heard the stories about those children and think about sending thoughtful and supportive cards to their stressed parents! However, most children will gain confidence and push the boundaries slowly and carefully as they gain experience. If you stand below or on a lower branch within easy reach you can support them just fine as they gain skill.
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If you aren't a keen climber, find friends or family who will happily and enthusiastically support your children to climb. Do the bits you can cope with - walking along high walls, jumping of piles of bricks and that sort of thing.

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We are lucky enough to live on a lane full of trees - this is just one of them. But if you don't have a climber in your back yard - go find them! Botanical Gardens always have out of the way big old trees you can encourage your child up! Parks and of course 'THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH'! Ask around - some friend is bound to have a good tree and there is nothing like climbing the same tree over and over to gain confidence, strength and skill. Of course - please remember that gums can drop limbs on a whim so choose good dependable trees to climb.

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Become a climbing tree spotter. Stop the car for it when you see one on a back road on the way somewhere. Don't you want to be the kind of parent that says "STOP THE CAR! That tree needs to be climbed!'

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Solitude, wind, good smells, little bit Christopher Robin-ish, a secret place, serious work, an accomplishment, sap on your hands, nooks and crannies, spots for hiding things, gnome homes and bird nests and possum scat, a view, a superior view, a good use for small hands and small feet, a 'danger' in good hands - carefully and confidently and slowly mastered. A quiet place. A stretch. A rest. A job to concentrate on from start to finish. A joy.
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Go on, find a tree to share with your small ones.
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for my friend T

from here

let the healing begin!

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