I know I’ve been neglecting my blog since I started university, sorry about that…. All of my kid free time is taken by reading textbooks, watching lectures, completing assignments, running (more on that some other time, but in short, I’m training for a half marathon), and of course, hanging out with Aaron. But I’m not just going to uni to get a degree that will enable me to have a good job by the time Daniel is at school, I’m studying sustainable agriculture and food security so that I can make a difference. I want every person in every country to have enough food to eat. And I don’t mean genetically modified rice and potatoes, or sugar laden processed foods, I mean sustainably farmed, nutrient dense, diverse foods.
What does this have to do with anthropogenic eutrophication? Current agriculture practices are a huge cause of anthropogenic eutrophication, but most people have no idea what that even is. I know I didn’t until recently. Everyone knows about densely packed feedlots and mistreated animals, but how many people know about anthropogenic eutrophication? Seriously, how many of you know about it?
Here is a video I made as an assignment for one of my classes. Now you’ll know what anthropogenic eutrophication is, how it is linked to algal blooms, and why university takes up all my time.
“Daniel, do you have any friends that are girls at your daycare?” Hannah (5) asked Daniel (3).
“Charlie is my friend, ” he told her.
“Charlie is a boy, buddy.” I told him, knowing there is a little boy named Charlie at his daycare.
“No, there’s a girl Charlie too.” Daniel said in a duh-Mommy-I’m-not-stupid tone of voice.
“What does girl Charlie look like?” Hannah asked him.
Daniel’s daycare photo
He thought about it for a couple seconds. “Uh, she wears girl shirts.”
“But what does girl Charlie look like?” Hannah asked again, clearly unimpressed with the description only a little boy could give.
He thought about it for a couple more seconds. “She has a nose, like me!” He said proudly.
“What colour are her eyes?” Hannah asked, changing tactics.
“Um….Mama, what colour are girl Charlie’s eyes?” He asked me.
“I don’t know buddy, I didn’t even know there was a girl Charlie at your daycare.”
“Yeah, but what colour are her eyes, Mama?” He asked me again because obviously moms should know everything.
So girl Charlie wears girl shirts and has a nose. Thank you Daniel for those insightful observations.
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“I want to do a poo SO BIG that it goes all the way to the ceiling!!” Daniel (3) told me randomly the other day while I was driving down the road.
“That’s a pretty big poo buddy,” I told him, attempting to stifle my laughter.
“Actually, I want to do a poo SO BIG it goes to SPACE! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN POOPS IN SPACE!!!” He told me, clearly excited about the prospect of space poop.
“Wow, that’s a lot of poop,” I told him.
“Actually, zero poops in space.” Okay then.
Maybe we’ll just work on trying to get it in the potty for now…..
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You might have noticed that I haven’t written a blog post in months. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just didn’t have the time. My university classes took all of my spare time this semester. I do one external class and one internal class. Since I can only dedicate two days per week to uni, I am usually one week behind in my external class, since it takes a few days for them to post the lecture after it happens, and by then it’s past my uni days. This semester, however, my external class had an online quiz at the end of each week, so I had to keep up, which meant using my usual blogging time to watch lectures.
Yesterday, I took my final exam for the year, and now I’m free until the end of February!! It was a hard semester, but I really enjoyed my classes (resource sustainability and soil science) and hopefully I will get decent marks. Not only was I watching lectures in my spare, usually non-uni time, but I also had to make a 6 minute documentary that was worth 35% of my resource sustainability grade. In case you’re interested, here it is:
P.S. I plan to start blogging regularly again now WOOO!!!
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I’ve been really busy with university reports and lectures and things, plus all the other usual stuff, but I finally have a small moment to myself, so here is a blog post!
“What’s your favourite fruit?” Aaron asked Daniel one night as we all ate dinner together. They’d already gone through about five other favourite things.
“Um..” he thought about it for a few seconds, “apples.”
“What’s your favourite number?”
“GOOGOLPLEX!” Daniel answered excitedly. For all you non-nerds out there, that’s 10^(1*(10^100)). A very large number.
“You can’t even count to googolplex, Daniel,” Hannah told him.
“Yes I can, one, two, three, googolplex,” Daniel told her with a mischievous grin on his face.
“Did you know there’s a number even bigger than a googleplex?” Aaron asked Daniel.
“No.”
“Yeah, it’s called Graham’s number, and if a googolplex is this big,” Aaron held up his hand and measured a small gap between his thumb and forefinger, “then Graham’s number is THIS BIG,” he said, stretching his arms as wide as he could.
“Grahams not a number,” Daniel laughed. “SILLY DADDY.”
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I haven’t written in ages (as you’ve probably noticed). The between semesters break from university is over and I’m back into it. This semester I’m doing two subjects, which is part time, but it’s still pretty full on. One of my subjects is soil science, which is interesting, and I’m sure very useful, but the work load is very large. We have a 2 hour lecture each week, followed by a 3 hour workshop immediately afterwards, which doesn’t give me much time to read the 1-2+ chapters of the text book and write lab reports. I also have to memorise all of the orders and suborders of soils, and you’d be surprised at how many there actually are.
I’m also taking resource sustainability, which is really interesting, but also time intensive since we have to take a quiz every week as well as researching a relevant topic, writing a report about it, and finally, making a six minute documentary about it. I’m really excited about the documentary, but I’m also struggling to find time to keep up with the demands of both subjects.
So yeah, sorry about my lack of writing, but time is not on my side right now.
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Hannah went back to school this week, after having a three week between terms break. I don’t go back to university until next week. Needless to say, I was looking forward to using my kid and uni free time to get lots of stuff done. Like cleaning the bomb that is Aaron’s and my room. I clean the rest of the house every week, but the bedroom doesn’t get that luxury. The kids are bored by the time I finish the rest of the cleaning, so I just vacuum around the mess and that’s it. Aaron and I are not the cleanest people either. We both have a tendency to leave clothes around, and put stuff on the dresser with intentions to put it away later, only later never comes.
I was also supposed to go to a Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security student get together on Sunday where we were all going to plant a bunch of native trees at the university’s river site. I was really looking forward to it since I don’t really know anyone that well since I’m mostly an external student. I haven’t even met a lot of the other people in my course. There aren’t many of us, about 20-25 in total including first year and second year students.
But I’m sick. I’ve been coughing for over a week now, but for the first 6 or so days, it was just that, a cough. It sounded horrible, but I felt fine and went about my usual business, even running faster at the gym than I have in a long time. Hannah has a cough too, and since I’m paranoid every time she has a cough, due to the time she had pneumonia, I called the home doctor service on Sunday. My cough had turned into a deep, phlegmy type of cough that was getting harder and harder to break up, and leaving me short of breath when I did cough, so I had the doctor take a look at me too. I love that there is a home doctor service for weekends and night time.
Turns out Hannah’s cough was just a normal she has a cold type cough, nothing to worry about unless she develops a fever, but mine is bronchitis. By Sunday night, I had pretty much no energy, but didn’t feel too horrid.
Monday morning I took the kids to school and daycare and sat around all day trying to get better.
Tuesday morning I felt horrible. In order to get the kids to school and daycare, I took two panadol. Hannah said she wasn’t feeling well and stayed home too. I’m still not too sure if she actually felt sick, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I felt so bad yesterday afternoon that Aaron had to pick Daniel up when he got home from work.
And drop Hannah off this morning. Oh, and now Aaron is sick too. He describes the feeling very well: it’s like being blind drunk and you just have to lay down or you will fall over or pass out. That is how we are both feeling right now. Fevers, dizzy, aches, the whole thing. His is a throat infection, that he finally found out about because I convinced him to go to the doctor after he dropped Hannah off this morning. Lucky for us, no kids need to be dropped off anywhere tomorrow because I’m not sure that either one of us would be up for driving.
I hate being sick, I feel so useless.
I really feel for those who are chronically ill. They are some tough cookies.
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I’ve always loved going to formals and balls. It’s so nice getting all dressed up, having my makeup done (because I’m terrible at doing eyeshadow myself), and getting fake eyelashes to make my eyes pop. As a whole, going to a ball pretty much makes me feel like a princess for the night.
I bought fake eyelashes for my cousin Jennifer’s wedding last year, but every time I tried to put them in, I failed. Eventually one of her other bridesmaids put them on for me.
I really like how my eyes stand out when accentuated by exaggerated eyelashes. What if you could get the same effect, without the hassle (or in my case, down right impossibility) of false eyelashes? According to the new Younique 3D mascara, you can.
Image from the Younique website
Needless to say, I was intrigued and excited to try it out. They are taking off in the U.S., but have only just landed in Australia. I was one of the lucky first people to get my hands on some. And by get my hands on, I mean an independent consultant sent me some.
Without mascara, with normal mascara, and the bottom photo is with Younique 3D fibre lashes.
What exactly is 3D mascara (it’s actually called 3D fiber lashes, but everyone seems to call it 3D mascara, or just mascara. It’s so much easier.)? It’s a two part system. First, you put on some “transplanting gel,” which pretty much looks like mascara but is quite sticky. Then you use another mascara like wand from a tube full of 100% green tea fibres to apply tiny little fibres onto your sticky lashes. The fibre plumps up and extends your lashes making them look pretty awesome.
I really like the way it looks, but only on the top lashes. I think it’s a bit too much and stands out as un-natural looking if also done on the bottom. But maybe that’s just me. It looks kind of like your eyelashes are turning into trees by sprouting branches when you first apply the fibres, but if you use one of those eyebrow/lash comb things (the ones with what looks like a tiny comb on one side, and a tiny brush directly opposite the comb) to make all the fibres go in the right direction, it looks normal. Only longer and fuller. If you don’t comb them and tame them, you will also find a little pile of stray fibres on your cheeks a while later. The crucial combing/taming step eliminates that as well.
Personally, I only use the Younique 3D fibre lashes on special occasions, not because it’s hard to do (it’s not), or anything like that, but because I usually wear glasses and the rims of my glasses pretty much hide my eyelashes. When my eyes come out from behind my glasses, my lashes get 3D’d, which is only on special occasions because as a stay at home mom, I can’t be bothered with contacts most of the time.
I used Younique 3D lashes when we had family portraits done a few weeks ago (by Michael Seager)
Click here to peruse and or buy Younique 3D fibre lashes, or any of their other products, such as mineral make up and BB cream.
*I was given Younique 3D fibre lashes free for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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Everyone knows that number one is code for pee and number two is synonymous with poop, but what, exactly, is number three you ask?
I think this video explains it best:
Hannah was just a baby when that commercial came out, so naturally, I found it hilarious and actually understood what they were talking about. I can imagine that a non-parent/caregiver/nanny would watch it and think what the heck. Poo explosions were a regular occurrence when the kids were babies, but I haven’t had to worry about it for at least a year. Until recently….
Last week:
“Mommy, I need to go to the toilet!” Daniel tells me urgently at a friend’s house. I pick him up and run to the bathroom. At home he wears undies, but when we’re out, I don’t really want to deal with poopy underwear, so he wears a pull up. I don’t really want to deal with poopy underwear any time, but it’s so much worse when we’re out. Not to mention the pooped on garments sit there fermenting in a bag until we get home if he poops in undies while we are out. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
I pull down his pants and underwear as fast as humanely possible and lift him up onto the toilet. He wants down less than a second after I put him up.
“Nope.” He tells me. False alarm. He knows there is a poo coming soon, but he’s not so good with the actual timing. I know there must be one coming soon too, he hasn’t pooped in 2-3 days, and he’s a daily sort of boy. The two tiny little wet fart type accidents he’s already had today make me think he’s holding it in and has a bit of overflow. Yes, that’s a thing. I know all about it because Hannah used to hold it in. She still does sometimes, but I can tell when she’s doing it and make her go sit on the toilet. I guess she figures if she’s already on the toilet she might as well just go, so it’s not really a problem anymore.
I think Daniel is doing it because he doesn’t want to poop his undies or pull up. But he doesn’t want to go on the toilet either.
We have about five more false alarms at my friends house before we have to leave to go to a different friend’s house, one who’s house I’ve never been to before.
He has another false alarm there before I notice he’s lingering in the bathroom all by himself. Just standing there, away from everyone. A quick check of the pull up reveals he’s already started his poop, which is fine, I’m just glad he’s finally pooping.
“I need to go to the toilet!” He tells me. But it’s not just a turtle head, there is already some poop in his pull up. If I try to get if off, then put him on my friend’s toilet, I’m likely to get poop all over the toilet seat. Not exactly what I want to do at someone else’s house.
“There’s already some in your pull up buddy, just finish your poop in your pull up.” I tell him. If we were at home, I’d get poop everywhere and put him on the potty or toilet anyway.
I leave him to it and he stands in the bathroom by himself for ages before finally coming out.
“I’ll be right back, I just have to go to the car to get a new pull up and some wipes.” I tell my friend as Daniel sits down on the new carpet next to Hannah.
“Ok buddy, let’s go change your bottom.” I tell him whilst picking him up.
That’s when I notice; the 2-3 days worth of poop isn’t contained in his pull up. Not even remotely. We’re definitely talking about number threes here. My eyes widen in horror as I realize there is a big brown spot of poop on my friend’s beige carpet. Her brand new beige carpet.
My mind races. Should I help clean up the carpet poop? Should I run Daniel into the bathroom and deal with carpet poop later? I can’t believe there is poop on the carpet. I should clean it up, but what about Daniel? Won’t he just sit down again and make more poop spots? My mind is made up in a second.
Holding Daniel by the armpits out in front of me as if he’s toxic, I run him to the bathroom, where there is a tiled floor, to change his clothes and clean him up. The poop is half way up his back and oozing out both sides of the nappy. I don’t even know where to begin.
“Do you have a hose outside?” I ask my friend.
She looks at me like I’ve gone crazy. It is the middle of winter after all. “Yes, but you don’t need to do it outside.”
“Can I give him a bath here?”
“Of course.” I think she is stifling laughter.
It’s impossible to peel his clothes off without spreading the poop, so now there is poop not only on his back, bottom, stomach, and legs, but also his shoulders. The poo clothes are put in a plastic bag, which will have to ferment until I get home. We somehow managed to get poop all over the bathroom floor as well. There is even some on the bottom of Daniel’s shoe which has made poop tread marks on the tiles. The once white bathtub is streaked with brown.
Daniel is standing there, naked in the tub, delighted that he gets to have a bath in a foreign bathtub. I don’t really want to get poop on someone else’s wash cloth, so I splash water on Daniel and wipe him down with my bare hand. Once all the poop is off him, I use the warm water and my hand to get it all down the drain of the bathtub before using the baby bath I find on the side of the bathtub to wash both Daniel and the bathtub.
Daniel plays in the bath while I clean the poop off the bathroom floor and finally he and the bathroom are clean. Number three has been dealt with.
Meanwhile, my friend, who is something like 39 weeks pregnant, is in her lounge room with Hannah and her daughter (who is under 2), cleaning up the soiled carpet.
“It’s a poo volcano!” I hear her say. She is using vinegar and baking soda to fix her new carpet while Hannah’s giggles fill the room. Luckily my friend has the kind of humour that finds poop hilarious.
Note to self: Always put Daniel on the toilet, even if at someone else’s house and pooping has already commenced.
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Before kids, I always had shiny hair. Maybe I do now too, but I don’t really know since it’s pretty much wash, then throw in a pony tail whilst still wet. Today’s guest post is all about shiny hair. I’d better take note….
Everyone wants beautiful, luscious and healthy hair, but no one seems to know that the products we use to keep our hair looking shiny are actually doing the complete opposite! Most products on the market these days are riddled with chemicals that set out to destroy your hair – this will make you think that you need the products more and subsequently creates an evil cycle of consumerism that in the end only destroys your crowning glory! To help you out, here are the top five chemicals you should be avoiding in order to keep your hair looking healthy, luscious and beautiful!
Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS)
Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) is also known as sulphuric acid. SLS is not only found in heavy duty cleaning products, but in many brand name shampoos! Most commonly, SLS is found to dry out hair, which often leads to breakage! Something that is used to clean garage floors definitely should not be put in your hair to clean that too! Next time you’re buying shampoo, look out for SLS in the ingredients on the back.
Isopropyl Alcohol
Isopropyl alcohol is found in many hairsprays, gels and volumizers, as well as in antifreeze, shellac and wood finish. This product is used mainly to dissolve oils, which is great for things like shellac, but not so great for your hair. Since it dissolves oils, isopropyl alcohol strips the hair of its natural oils and moisture, leaving your hair victim to breakage!
Proplyene Glycol
This chemical is found in a terrifyingly large range of hair care products: shampoos, conditioners, lotions, hairsprays, hair dyes and much more! This product breaks down the proteins in healthy hair, giving it a false “shiny” appearance, but in reality is just causing your scalp to become itchy and irritated, and your hair weak and dry.
Mineral Oil
You’d think mineral oil would be good for your hair and would keep it shiny and healthy – but no! Mineral oil will just make your hair look greasy and unwashed! It will find its way into your pores which will block the natural oils from coming through and cause breakage in your hair. Unfortunately, many hair moisturisers contain this product, so be careful next time you’re looking for a new one – always check the ingredients!
Ammonia and Peroxide
This may seem obvious to most people, but constant hair salon go-ers need to understand that the ammonia and peroxide you are putting in your hair to change it’s colour are really damaging! The peroxide will dry out your hair and cause it to become brittle, and break really easily!
There you have it – five chemicals you must avoid if you want your hair to be as long and luscious as possible! If your hair is starting to thin, there’s always something you can do about it! Check out online sites like Transitions Hair to get your personalised hair loss treatment sorted – you’ll have a full head of hair again in no time. In the meantime though, keep avoiding those harsh chemicals!
*This post was brought to you by Transitions Hair. All opinions and research are from of the guest writer.
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Mommy Adventures 