Donnelle's World

jexia @ 2008-04-25T19:01:00

2008-04-25T07:01:48Z

By the way: watch this.

jexia @ 2008-04-23T13:01:00

2008-04-23T01:01:58Z

jexia @ 2008-04-20T13:57:00

2008-04-20T01:58:31Z

Could someone who has Alison Holst's muffin books please give me her Blueberry Bran muffin recipe? Dunno if it's in the first or second one.

Ta :)

jexia @ 2008-04-11T21:32:00

2008-04-11T09:33:07Z

Modem, modem, modem!

*dances*

jexia @ 2008-03-24T21:52:00

2008-03-24T09:10:51Z

Our trip was fantastic. Because of the traffic we didn't leave until 8. We stopped at Wendy's for dinner. Xander reduced us (and a nearby Wendy's employee) to fits of giggles. He had a little pottle of tomato sauce. He was happily dipping his chips, but he obviously decided that it had its deficiencies as a sauce transportation method. Attempt number one involved trying to drink from the pottle, and ended in big gobs of sauce down his shirt. Attempt number two, he... well...

It was a significant squish fitting us all in the car, but we managed. We arrived at Mum's around 12:30. X woke up bright and early (*groan*) but we pointed him at the bedroom door and said "Find Nana" and went back to sleep.

We were so lucky with the weather. It was just fantastic. Couldn't ask for better. H and A tagged along on one of Jock's tours and came back beaming. I got to tag along the next day and got to see bits of Pouto I hadn't seen before. (I also got to sweep a lighthouse-- how many people have done that?!)

Lots of swimming, lots of walks, lots of games of Settlers, lots of beer and lots of good company. What a marvellous break.

M dug this huge hole. Next day-- gone without a trace. The tides were really high (full moon). At one stage we went for a swim. Normally X would potter around on the beach with his toys and occasionally come out for a swim with us, but we spent so much time rescuing his toys as they got washed away eventually we tried to make a sand corral for them. And failed. Waves: 1, Us: 0.

A stitched-together landscape shot

The swimming bay again (we got married on this beach)

Swimming bay

From the cliffs

H has some nice shots too; I'll try to get copies of them.

I kept wishing zebraartist could have been there. I would love to see what she did with Pouto, compared to my pitiful attempts at photography. I love to see how she sees the world.

jexia @ 2008-03-05T20:43:00

2008-03-05T07:43:36Z

That would be me.

jexia @ 2008-02-28T23:02:00

2008-02-28T10:02:51Z

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

jexia @ 2007-12-04T18:38:00

2007-12-04T05:41:15Z

Would somebody please explain why I have the theme song for Dawson's Creek stuck in my head?

And would you please get it out?!

jexia @ 2007-11-19T22:41:00

2007-11-19T09:41:45Z

jexia @ 2007-11-07T22:55:00

2007-11-07T09:57:31Z

http://freerice.com/

Build your vocab and earn rice donations.

jexia @ 2007-11-05T21:15:00

2007-11-05T08:19:35Z

Who are you and what have you done with my son?

2007-10-23T05:35:49Z

"Capsicum! I love capsicum! It's my favourite!"

*nom nom nom*

jexia @ 2007-06-28T16:41:00

2007-06-28T04:40:09Z

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

jexia @ 2007-05-09T22:59:00

2007-05-09T10:59:23Z

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my wang.

Which movie was this quote from?

101 things

2007-04-29T08:27:21Z

I had posted my 101 list on GJ. Things have changed for me though; when I wrote it I was time-rich and money-poor. Now I'm time-poor and money-poor :P I want to update it, so I figured I'd bring it over here.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start date: Thursday, August 24, 2006

End date: Thursday, May 21, 2009

38 / 101
(37.6%)

1. Have another baby

2. Find Xander's photo album, and keep it up to date

3. Read The Artist's Way

4. Go to a ballroom dancing class
Salsa classes. Enjoyed it at first, but rapidly got frustrated with the competency of the instructor. May find a new class to go to.

5. Make a list of my extended family's birthdays and keep track of it

6. Read a translation of the Nuremburg speeches

7. Make a play quilt for Xander's bed

8. Remember to thank Michael when he does something for me
This is something I've got a lot better at.

9. Give myself permission to paint without judging it, and paint Here.

10. Pay off the credit card

11. Go to Erik and Giffy's wedding 5/1/07
We had a lovely trip to Wellington. They were both gorgeous. The ceremony was beautiful and combined their beliefs and customs so well.

12. Go to the zoo Completed 10 September, 2006. Summary here.

13. Help Grandma make a rockery garden

14. Pass an MCPD exam.

15. Climb Tokatoka

16. Buy a nice item of clothing for me without buying something for Xander 4/1/07
I bought a dress to wear to Erik and Giffy's wedding. It was white with big blue flowers on it.

17. Have a professional bra fitting

18. Do up a dolls' house

19. Get to 200 approved limericks on OEDILF

20. Learn to cook steak

21. Get a tattoo

22. Do 100 situps in a row

23. Do 1 proper manly push up

24. Finish a difficult Kakuro puzzle without peeking at the answers
Not just once, but twice! 18/10/06 or so. Here.

25. Walk to Sheean's Creek at least three times
(Done once, Jan 2008. Xander walked the whole way there!)

26. Do a course in Spanish

27. Make M at least twelve super-duper special packed lunches
August 06- home-baked bread, corned beef sandwiches, apricot chocolate chip cookies
September 06- ham and cheese pita bread, cookies
October 06- spinach and feta salad, bread rolls, fruit, etc
November 06- nice salad, individual size heart-shaped banana choc-chip cake
June 07- bacon, mushroom, onion and egg sandwiches, muffins, Pringles.

28. At least twice, do something that scares me
1) Went caving at Waitomo with Mum
2) Went swimming through seaweed at Opononi (with Mum!)

29. Make a cake decorated like a pizza or burger

30. Learn to hula hoop

31. Buy something from Lush
30/9/06 Bought Dream Cream from the Queen St store

32. Grow sunflowers

33. Get a new passport

34. Write a will

35. Go on a horse trek or go kayaking somewhere other than Pouto

36. Have people over to play board games at least five times

37. Get someone to do a tarot reading for me

38. Watch the episodes of Buffy I haven't seen before

39. Watch all of Angel

40. Design and make myself something really gorgeous

41. Give blood at least three times (15/1/07, 17/5/07, 6/9/07)

42. Write a children's book, just for Xander

43. Make at least twelve slings.
Made one for octopusgrrl 11/06
Made one for giffydoll's friend 5/07
Made one for moonmidwife 09/07
Made one for psychofox 01/08

44. Take Xander to MOTAT (May 07) and Kelly Tarlton's (Nov 07)

45. Join a Scrabble club or a band
Manukau City Concert Band FTW! Tuba tuba tuba!

46. Go snorkelling

47. Read a book about urban planning

48. Buy a vibrator

49. Jog 1 km

50. Jog 5 km

51. Grow parsley and pineapple sage

52. Read The Odyssey

53. Get a season pass to Kelly Tarlton's or the zoo

54. Make a SMART to-do list daily for a month, and follow it

55. Get all the information about our family tree

56. Get a Diva cup or similar

57. Spend a whole weekend at my Dad's house

58. Grow bean sprouts

59. Cook Elaine's chicken casserole

60. Watch Kurosawa's Seven Samurai

61. Go fishing with my step-dad

62. Hold a dessert-only dinner party

63. Watch season one of SG-1
11/2/07 Seen halfway through season three so far!

64. Try eating liver 7/12/2006
I popped over to Roger and Jodie's to drop something off. They were having liver and bacon for tea. Jodie remembered trying liver was on my 101 list. It was actually OK; not at all like I remember.

65. Go to the Rakaia gorge

66. Go to a chick flick all by myself
11/2/07 Went to Dreamgirls.

67. Go on holiday somewhere (other than Pouto) with Mum
4/1/07 Mum came to Wellington when M and I went down for Erik and Giffy's wedding. We did lots of shopping. Xander loved the cable car, and he had a lot of fun at Te Papa. I think we'll do something similar next year.

68. Go up the Sky Tower 17/5/08

69. Go ice-skating
31/12/06 with TM.

70. Get Grandma's recipe for cheese soufflé and make it successfully
Completed 26 August, 2006 Here.

Cheese Souffle
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheese
3 tablsp flour
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2tsp salt, pepper & little mustard

Melt butter & add flour, salt, pepper and mustard. Make into a smooth paste
Add hot milk and cheese. When mixed till smooth, add egg yolks.
Beat egg whites till stiff and fold into mixture.
Pour into a a hot buttered dish. Bake 20 minutes at about 375F / 190C.
Needs to be eaten soon after it is cooked, otherwise it sinks down!
I would use a bit more cheese if it is a mild taste.

Not quite as good as I remember Grandma's being, but it did get held up in the making. We only had four eggs left, so when I mucked up separating one of them, M had to go for an egg run. It was a hit with M and X!

71. Record myself singing, for the hell of it

72. Watch Came A Hot Friday and Goodbye Pork Pie

73. Mail someone a care package
micheinnz

74. Get a complete new set of bedding. And a new bed.

75. Go swimming at the beach in mid-winter.

76. Send letters to all of my family telling them what I love about them

77. Learn to cook fish other than tinned tuna

78. Be graceful in defeat at least five times

79. Accept a compliment gracefully at least ten times (honey, you don't count for that one, sorry)
1. Verity at a Playcentre workshop: You're very creative! It inspires me.
Me: *struggling not to say something denying it* Thank you.
Verity: *laughs, in a nice way, because she saw how hard that was for me*

2. Lots of lovely comments on this cake. I smiled and said "Thank you."

3. SO many comments about Blog Idol. I've just said "Thanks! It's fun!"

4. New job compliments on cupcakes-- 14/5/08

80. Sometime when I'm home alone, put on loud music and dance around like crazy

81. Get in the habit of putting any change in my wallet into my piggy bank

82. Record myself playing recorder or tin whistle and post it online
Here.

83. Own a copy of the Jon English Pirates of Penzance on DVD

84. Roll around in mud from head to toe

85. Paint or screen-print myself a t-shirt that isn't related to anything to do with children

86. Get, and get in the habit of wearing, a watch
Dad gave me one for my birthday. (But it broke. Will get another.)

87. One day, not get out of bed until 3pm without the excuse of being sick

88. Plant a fruit tree

89. Go through my clothes and get rid of anything that a) doesn't fit or b) is too old even for Playcentre

90. Make a gingerbread house

91. Leave at least ten books for Bookcrossing

92. Make a corset.

93. Pay off my overdraft

94. Pay Mum back at least $1500
25/10/06 $57
14/5/08 $50 = $107

95. Get some knee-high boots that actually fit

96. Get back in touch with at least four old friends or ex-flatmates

1. Kylee (rang her parents for her address)
2. Lynelle (she joined OldFriends.co.nz)
3. Hazel (went to her flatwarming)

97. Try five completely new and unfamiliar baking recipes

Chewy Chocolate Banana Cookies (Drop Cookies) (5/9/06)

80g butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
1 small ripe banana, peeled, microwaved for 15 secs, then mashed
1 small Crunchie/Mars bar, roughly crushed (optional), or 1/3 C choc chips

Preheat oven to 200 C, line tray with greaseproof paper.
1. Cream butter & sugar, about 3 mins
2. Stir in flour and cocoa powder; mix well
3. Mix in banana & crunchie bar
4. Drop teaspoonfuls onto lined trays, Bake for 8-10 mins.

Candy Cane Chocolate Chunk Cookies (24/12/06)
* 225 g butter, softened
* 100 g white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 10 ml vanilla extract
* 3 ml peppermint extract
* 345 g all-purpose flour
* 3 g cream of tartar
* 5 g baking soda
* 3 g salt
* 150 g milk chocolate candy bar, chopped
* 240 g coarsely chopped peppermint candy canes

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and peppermint extracts. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until all of the dry has been absorbed. Mix in the chocolate chunks and chopped candy cane. Form spoonfuls of dough into balls, and place them 2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

Chocolate Chickpea Torte

I found the recipe here.

2 cups cooked chickpeas (I used well-rinsed tinned ones)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp egg substitute (or 4 egg whites, which I did)
120ML water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 Tbsp icing sugar
1 Tbsp coca (extra)
200G blueberries
200G raspberries

Preheat the over to moderate 180°C (350°F/Gas4). Lightly grease a 21cm shallow, round non stick cake tin with canola cooking spray. Place the chickpeas, orange juice, egg substitute, water, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and coconut in a food processor and blend until smooth. (When I first starting blending, it seemed really runny, but seemed to get thicker as it blended more. It was still rather runny).

Pour into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Cool completely in the tin. (It is a little fragile, so tip it onto a spare plate and then onto your serving dish. At this stage it's a little sticky, too.)

Dust the torte with the combined icing sugar and extra cocoa powder and arrange the berries over the top. (If you dust it ahead of time, the stickiness will turn the cocoa and icing sugar into a chocolate sauce.)

It was actually... delicious. Moist, chocolate and coconutty. A couple of people weren't fussed on the texture, but most of us thought it was great, and wouldn't have thought it was low-fat at all. I would make this again.

Passionfruit Melting Moments
Pineapple upside down cake

98. Get a sewing machine that has a zipper foot and can do buttonholes, but still has guts enough for tough jobs

99. Research an Indian recipe, buy the ingredients from Rockyyz, and cook it from scratch

100. Go to Opononi music camp

101. Visit another country

Order of completion
26/8/06 70. Get Grandma's recipe for cheese soufflé and make it successfully
10/9/06 12. Go to the zoo
30/9/06 31. Buy something from Lush
18/10/06 24. Finish a difficult Kakuro puzzle
29/10/06 82. Record myself playing whistle and post it online
07/12/07 64. Try eating liver
24/12/06 10. Pay off the credit card
31/12/06 69. Go ice-skating
4/1/07 67. Go away on holiday with Mum
4/1/07 16. Buy a nice item of clothing for me without buying something for Xander
5/1/07 11. Go to Erik and Giffy's wedding
9/1/07 20. Learn to cook steak
21/1/07 9. Give myself permission to paint without judging it, and paint
6/2/07 63. Watch season one of SG-1
11/2/07 86. Get and wear a watch
11/2/07 66. Go to a chick flick all by myself
15/3/07 4. Ballroom dancing class.
8. Remember to thank Michael when he does something for me
57. Spend a whole weekend at my Dad's house
60. Watch Kurosawa's Seven Samurai
89. Go through my clothes and get rid of anything that a) doesn't fit or b) is too old even for Playcentre
73. Mail someone a care package
53. Get a season pass to Kelly Tarlton's or the zoo (zoo and MoTaT)
3/6/07 15. Climb Tokatoka
83. Own a copy of the Jon English Pirates of Penzance on DVD
41. Give blood at least three times (15/1/07, 17/5/07, 6/9/07)
45. Join a Scrabble club or a band (Oct 2007)
44. Take Xander to MOTAT and Kelly Tarlton's (Nov 07)
51. Grow parsley and pineapple sage (Dec 2007)
65. Go to the Rakaia gorge (Dec 2007)
97. Try five completely new and unfamiliar baking recipes (Dec 2007)
100. Go to Opononi music camp (Jan 2007)
28. At least twice, do something that scares me (Jan 2008)
32. Grow sunflowers
14. Pass an MCPD exam.
93. Pay off my overdraft
68. Go up the Sky Tower

jexia @ 2007-04-23T20:06:00

2007-04-23T08:06:56Z

*cackles and wastes hours*

jexia @ 2007-04-01T21:38:00

2007-04-01T10:10:11Z

We did it; we spent our first night away from the boy. It was desperately needed. I'm so burnt out that lately I look at him sometimes and it just feels like he's an annoying pet that I wish I could shut outside. Yes, yes, Mummy Hell, blah blah. I needed to get away. M has had weeks without him when we've been away, but I've never had a single night off. Add to that eight months of "morning" sickness... my time had come.

Dad came down Saturday morning and fixed the alternator on the car. Woo! He has been awesome lately. We've come a long way in nearly two years. It's his sixtieth birthday tomorrow. Scary. Once the car was fixed, we dropped the boy at Roger and Jodie's, settled him in and headed off.

We went down to Hamilton, for a school-friend of mine's (H) flatwarming. From quiet Catholic school-girl to polyamorous international jet-setter in ten short years :P We checked into the motel (which I recommend, by the way-- nice facilities and the best showers ever) then wandered down. We took Munchkin and Balderdash, and ended up going back to the motel to pick up Settlers.

I met lots of nice people (alasatyr and debxena-- always nice to meet friends of friends by overhearing "Livejournal" and then going "hmm, I know that username... who are you friends with?", as well as invisiblemoose and aj_dot_com) and had a great time. Just like old times, but with new people! Balderdash was terrific fun, such a great bunch of people. H catered from Not Your Mother's Cookbook, so we got to try blue cheese cheesecake and chocolate chilli with cornflake meatballs. You know you're at a geek party when there's multiple versions of Munchkin, and you have a group gathered around the computer suggesting youtube searches, which lead us to the either profound or profoundly weird sockbaby. Later entertainment included eye toy games. When we were down to the last four people (shush, we were making the most of our freedom!) there was Singstar. I thought it was fun, but I was pretty ~~tiddled~~ tired by then!

Stumbled back to the motel around 2am, where the Coke portion of the Bacardi and Cokes caught up with me and I lay awake for most of the night. *eyeroll* The customary McD's for breakfast, along with the customary McD's being incompetent and continually giving our ordered BLT bagel away to other people, and we delivered the required dose of salt and fat to H's house for hangover cure. Drove out of Hamilton for half an hour, then back in to pick up my bag which I'd left at H's, and then back out...

X cried for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. He was very very glad to see us and has been basically attached at the ~~boob~~ hip ever since. I left him in bed with M while I ducked out to the loo, and he started to cry "Mummy gone, Mummy gone", so I'm thinking it's not something we'll do again soon. He'd probably be much happier if someone stayed with him here rather than him at their house, but we're in no rush. Just knowing that the option exists makes a big difference. I feel... revitalised, despite the tiredness. I've not been a proactive or patient parent lately; my tank has been too empty. ~~Bacardi~~ A break has filled it again. I had a great time.

I've been needing one of these
No responsibilities
I've been needing one of these...
Saturday
-- David LaMotte

jexia @ 2007-03-18T20:04:00

2007-03-18T08:05:47Z

I just received a spam with the subject "Brazilian Weight Loss".

I don't know about you, but I'm not so hairy that a Brazilian would make a noticeable difference o.O

jexia @ 2007-03-11T16:09:00

2007-03-11T03:11:36Z

As part of my computer-sorting-outednessity, I organised Xander's photos and videos. Watching them all has really brought home to me how much he's changed.

(Quality varies; some have sound, some don't).

1) Two months: Random talky noises

2) Two and a half months: A geek-to-be

3) Three months: Getting more active

4) Four months: Rolling over

5) Five months: Jolly Jumper

6) Six months: Sitting up

7) Eleven months: Learning to sing

8) Twelve months: Dancing with Mum

9) Thirteen months: Walking

10) Thirteen months: Trying grapefruit

11) Thirteen months: Walking without hands

12) Fourteen months: Fun with a sprinkler

13) Fourteen months: Sleep-eating

14) Fifteen months: Playing with seaweed

15) Seventeen months: Costume peek-a-boo

16) Twenty months: Sleep-eating finale

17) Twenty-seven months: Riding a trike

Chocolate Chickpea Torte

2007-01-20T12:27:08Z

Yes, you read that right-- this recipe does indeed have chickpeas in it. I needed to make a low-fat birthday cake for my brother (his wife just had gall-bladder surgery), and it sounded intriguing.

I found the recipe here.

2 cups cooked chickpeas (I used well-rinsed tinned ones)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp egg substitute (or 4 egg whites, which I did)
120ML water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 Tbsp icing sugar
1 Tbsp coca (extra)
200G blueberries
200G raspberries

Preheat the over to moderate 180°C (350°F/Gas4). Lightly grease a 21cm shallow, round non stick cake tin with canola cooking spray. Place the chickpeas, orange juice, egg substitute, water, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and coconut in a food processor and blend until smooth. (When I first starting blending, it seemed really runny, but seemed to get thicker as it blended more. It was still rather runny).

Pour into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Cool completely in the tin. (It is a little fragile, so tip it onto a spare plate and then onto your serving dish. At this stage it's a little sticky, too.)

Dust the torte with the combined icing sugar and extra cocoa powder and arrange the berries over the top. (If you dust it ahead of time, the stickiness will turn the cocoa and icing sugar into a chocolate sauce.)

In the pan

Decorated (the supermarket had no raspberries)

It was actually... delicious. Moist, chocolate and coconutty. A couple of people weren't fussed on the texture, but most of us thought it was great, and wouldn't have thought it was low-fat at all. I would make this again.

jexia @ 2006-06-02T13:53:00

2006-06-02T01:56:16Z

A bannable icon, apparently.

jexia @ 2006-05-21T09:54:00

2006-05-20T22:07:54Z

Why, yes, I have a new default icon. Why do you ask?

cali4niachef was reported to LJ Abuse for using as her default icon. She was told to remove it, on the grounds that it was "inappropriate for a general viewing audience". If she doesn't remove it, her journal will be suspended. (Full post here).

The person who reported her has also reported multiple other users with BFing icons. The reason he has taken it upon himself to ~~be such an asshole~~ do so, is because someone reported his default icon as inappropriate, and he was told he would have to take it down. However, the apparently notoriously fickle LJ Abuse team have changed their minds and since told him that it was OK for him to use this icon.

LJ Abuse is maintaining the line that BFing icons are inappropriate to be seen in a public place, despite the fact that in just about every single US State, women have the right to breastfeed wherever they are legally allowed to be.

"LiveJournal's rules for default user pictures are stricter than those for non-default user pictures, as the default user picture is viewable in a much wider range of situations, including ones where a user may not be expecting nudity or other possibly inappropriate content. These rules exist for the sole purpose of ensuring that users can browse the "public" parts of the site (for example, the directory) without worrying about encountering "not-safe-for-work/public" situations."

BFing is legally allowed and acceptable in public situations.

"We must also make clear that the decision of the Abuse Team will not be changed because of write in campaigns such as this."

That's fine. We'll just go to Six Apart directly.

"We are not disputing the fact that breastfeeding may be legal to do in public, but nudity, regardless of whether it is sexual or not, is not permitted in default user pictures."

Oh? But right here you state that "The Abuse Team will not take action on content you find objectionable, but does not violate the Terms of Service." The ToS state that we are not to "upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive to another's privacy (up to, but not excluding any address, email, phone number, or any other contact information without the written consent of the owner of such information), hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable". Where exactly would BFing fit in there?

If you wish to show support for cali4niachef and the other women affected, please feel free to use this as your default icon, and join the email petition.

Several news networks have been contacted, and LJ's parent compant Six Apart has also been contacted.

I've done this before, but let's think of new ones

2006-01-13T04:20:39Z

Ground Rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yours" and people who get tagged need to write an LJ entry about their 5 quirky habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names...

My 5 quirky habits:-

1. If it's hot and I'm hanging washing out, I usually sling a wet towel or something around my neck until I'm done.

2. If I own one book or a CD by an artist, I have a compulsion to BUY THEM ALL. I have some CDs that I've never lsitened to, because I owned others by that artist. I've read all my books though.

3. I often kneel on the floor of the shower, leaning out the door so I can read. It's for the good of my back, honest.

4. PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE BUTTONS ON TOAST OMGZ.

5. I eat dry pasta, straight from the packet.

I tag:
vwip, moonstarshine, nznats, evillilkitten, and cataragon.

jexia @ 2005-10-27T09:39:00

2005-10-26T21:15:04Z

After a fairly easy birth, Xander and I tried to get the hang of this breastfeeding thing. While I was in the hospital, I developed blood blisters on my nipples from improper latch, despite a lot of help from the nurses. The nurses were supportive, but they all told me different ways to get him to latch, and some of it was conflicting.

We went home on the third day, despite Xander having a touch of jaundice. BFing was still difficult. He would refuse the left breast every time we tried, and the right breast half the time. He would scream and arch his back, and not open his mouth properly. Luckily, our midwife, Gay, was great. She came out to our house (20 minutes out in the middle of nowhere) every day, and even twice one day. One night Xander went 11 hours without BFing, but I expressed a little and we cup fed him.

When my milk came in I had mega boobies. When he was five days old, we had a DVT scare, but it turned out to be phlebitis (an inflamed vein). However, we had to pack up our wee newborn and prepare for a possible hospital stay for myself. That was stressful. During the first weeks I had almost constant "baby blues". I was so overwhelmed.

We were still having difficulty with latching. boobie_bootcamp members gave us good suggestions. Feeding him in the bath meant we were both more relaxed. We had no choice on the feeding by candlelight, as there was a four hour power cut one night when he was a week old! I think it helped, and we did it a couple of times after that, too. My nipples stopped being sore fairly soon, as he latched OK-- when he decided to oblige! Living in the country meant I could go around topless, too.

The mantra that got me through was a line from a pamphlet I'd read: "It may take six weeks or more to establish a successful breastfeeding relationship". It helped me not beat up on myself for having difficulty with something that was supposed to be natural. I hated every feed, but I hated the thought of formula more. So, come hell or high water, I was going to stick out those first six weeks.

One day, around three weeks, it got easier. I managed to feed him in the car when we were out and about. I got the hang of feeding him without feeling like I needed six extra hands to position him, and the breast, and the pillow, and keep my shirt out of the way. I could do this. The regular weighings that Gay did were a great encouragement. At one stage he put on 9 ounces in four days!

The first time we went out of town was when he was six weeks old. We went to the city to go shopping, but he had other plans. He had his six week growth spurt! Everyone else shopped while I spent nearly the whole day feeding him in the car. He also got fed by a river, in a restaurant, in the art gallery car park, and in the shoe section of a department store. Why the shoe section? They have seats there.

We had a couple of times where I had a minor plugged duct, but extra nursing and massage relieved it without any further problems. We had no real problems until his teeth came through. He gave me a couple of nips with his bottom teeth, which taught me to be more careful with how I latched him and to pay better attention! Once his top teeth came through, he did draw blood once when he took me by surprise.

I often struggled with feeling touched-out and exhausted, and this turned into full PPD. I considered stopping breastfeeding, but I felt like it was the only thing I was good at, the only thing I could point at and say, "I'm a good mother." I had some particularly bad times until I went on medication a month ago. Things have improved so much. I have found enjoyment in him again! I was nervous about going on medication, but I researched what I could about Citalopram (Celexa). We started on a 10mg dose, and stayed on that for three weeks, but we've recently gone to 20mg. Most women are on 40mg. Xander has shown no ill-effects.

Now his birthday is in a week, and we're still going strong. Since we've moved cities and money is very tight, I'm looking at going back to work. I will keep on breastfeeding him for the foreseeable. It's so much a part of his life, I can't see myself depriving him.

jexia @ 2005-03-18T15:56:00

2005-03-18T02:56:55Z

Our landlady stopped past today. All we did (well, M anyway) was look after her farm dogs for three days while she was in Christchurch, and she brought us a basket with wine, cheese, crackers, chips and scorched almonds! Totally unneccessary!

One of the neighbours down the road is moving, and she's doing a massive clean out. As all her kids are grown up (the youngest is early highschool age), she's passed a lot of stuff onto us- two plastic crates of wooden blocks, a crate of kids' toys, and more. SO useful, especially the wooden blocks.

There's a small chance we could move into her house. It depends on rent and the like. I'm kind of torn:

Our place:
We're settled in
The extra big games room

Her place:
No gravel road, no gates, no sheep poo
TV reception
Wooden floors, good for dust, bad for cold
The pain of moving

Lots to think about.

...I'm a disgusting pig. I just realised I ate the entire packet of scorched almonds since this morning.

Note to self: make baby photo CD for kaajatimos.