Creative Garden Stakes

When I needed to plant tomatoes a few months back, I realised that I don't have any stakes. I also don't have a spade, fork, hose or most other garden implements. In fact, I personally own a bucket, rubber gloves, and a hand trowel. Plus some seed raising mix, seeds, and punnets. But that's about it. One of the costs of moving - my spade and fork got sold in a garage sale before we left Townsville, along with our garden hoses. However, in saying that, I must admit that I do now own a garden hose. This is thanks to my wonderful in-laws, who had a spare. It even came on one of those fancy reels with a handle so for once in my life I have a TIDY garden hose. Anyone ever have the 'garden hose won't jolly well stay in a nice neat roll or pile or anything' issue? Yeah, that's usually what my hose is like. But not any more, now it is neatly wound up on its reel each time and I feel rather satisfied with the spic and span-ness of it all. But I digress. I didn't have garden stakes, among other things. I didn't want to go out and buy some, just for tomatoes. My parents have stakes, but they all get used every year for their tomatoes (some of which I do hope to eat too - the ones in my garden are a kind of back up/over flow just in case things go wrong somewhere along the line). So I got a bit creative. I'd borrowed the long handled loppers from Dad anyway, and was pruning camellia trees, so I figured, why not make use of some of those branches?! Here's the result.

Not your tidiest looking stakes. And some of the tomatoes against the house (not seen here) are in need of taller stakes, but all things considered I am rather happy with my tomato stakes. They didn't cost me anything. They were going to be rubbish anyway. All I had to do was strip the branches and leaves off, and pop them in the garden. My tomatoes don't seem to mind that they are not kept exactly vertical. In fact, they don't seem phased at all. They are merrily producing fruit with no regard to their staking whatsoever. Whenever I head out to the garden, I am greeted by this crazy leaning jumble of stakes and tomato plants, and find myself thinking that recyling is a very creative, cool thing to do...no one else is going to have a garden that looks quite like mine, are they?!?

Amy

Wednesday, 15th December, 2010

Eating

I was thinking about Munchkin's food yesterday. He loves his solids and we have been gradually trying lots of new tastes. This week, he tried out silverbeet and peaches (an odd combination, I know!). For his dinner last night he had: carrot, potato, kumara (sweet potato), silverbeet and peaches (to sweeten up the silverbeet!). Yesterday I bought our fruit and veges for the week. Half of my shopping was for Munchy baby. There was the box of baby rice, which I use to thicken up his pear and apple for breakfast and sometimes mix with his mashed banana at lunchtime. Then there was some broccoli and zucchini to try in the coming week or so. And some pork and chicken too. He's tried fish recently, so I thought we could try a couple of other meats now, along with some lentils and rice which I still need to prepare. I spent awhile cooking, pureeing and freezing it all in tablespoon-sized amounts.

So what I was getting to with all this, as that as I fed him dinner, I thought about this very careful process of introduction to solids. The way I'm trying to introduce him to varied tastes and textures. And the varied nutritional value each food provides. Banana gives potassium. Silverbeet has good iron. Each food offers him something special, and that is why we are encouraged to give babies a range of foods, even when they are little and just starting out like this.

I thought about other families in the world, and found myself wondering what babies in Africa or India eat. I realised how blessed Munchkin really is. He gets to have all these different foods. So many babies of his age would be having just one. Rice, maybe? Or corn? I'm not sure. I just know that for so many mothers around the world, meal times is not a matter of choosing what to feed baby, but rather wondering if there IS anything to feed baby.

The World Food Programme identifies the first 2 years of a person's life as critical in terms of nutrition. I've read in some of my Child Development paper this past year that nutritional deficiencies in infancy and toddlerhood contribute quite a lot to a child's future growth, in terms of physical size, but also in terms of their ability to relate to others, manage emotions, perform mental tasks...the list is phenomenal - basically, early nutrition sets the stage for a child's later abilities in all areas of life. I had no idea it was so crucial. I'd not thought about whether nutrition could affect a child's brain capabilities, their grades in school or their socialisation skills, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. Our bodies are highly complex organisms. They are incredibly adaptable. Amazingly so. Just look at the ability of the brain to compensate for damage to parts of itself. But the body can only adapt so far. It relies heavily on receiving the fuel it needs to function.

In all this thought process, I find myself more aware. Firstly, more aware that Munchkin has dietary needs and that he is very much relient on me. My knowledge of food. My eating habits. These all greatly influence how he will treat food. I can't expect him to eat well if I am not providing a good eating example. I can't hope he avoids lollies and chocolate and all that, if I eat it in front of him constantly. I can't expect him to be able to make good food choices if he is constantly presented with salty, faty or sugary foods...of course he is going to want to eat those, they taste so good (after all, our bodies are hard wired for these foods - not God's fault that we happened to create a whole lot of them!).

Secondly, I find myself more aware that food is in many ways a luxury. It is a luxury that far too many people cannot afford. I can't even begin to imagine the trauma of having to decide which of my family will eat or not eat today (something I think many mothers do have to choose on a daily basis). And I can't imagine being able to give my baby only one food, and precious little of that. And hope that somehow that one food will provide him with everything he needs to grow into a strong, healthy boy when I know full well it can't possibly do that. I can't imagine not seeing those funny faces as he tries something new. Seeing his wide open, gaping mouth waiting for some more banana or apple, and his slightly shocked, questioning look when he tasted silverbeet for the first time (what on earth is this, Mum, and are you really sure it is meant to be eaten?!?!).

Well, my baby has managed to roll himself off his plastic mat several times while I have been typing. I think it might be time for a nappy and his apple and pear. He will, no doubt, sit there with mouth wide open, arms waving madly, gulping each delicious mouthful. And I will think about how blessed we are to eat today. Opps, there he goes again...carpet, carpet, carpet, please do not pee on the nice new rental carpet! Better run.

Amy
Wednesday, 15th December, 2010

Munchkin's Favourites - 2

Here's another of Munchkin's favourite toys as a young baby.

This rattle belonged to me, or my brothers. So it is at least 20 odd years old, and still going strong. Munchy has other rattles. But this is his absolute favourite, particularly when he was around 3-4 months and just starting to hold things. You might notice that this rattle has a nice big hole in the middle, with a narrow ring perfect for little fingers to get around. The rattle pieces are also thin and delicate. I've noticed that a lot of rattles seem to either have a ring that is too small (can't get hand around it, or fingers inside it) or rattle pieces that are too chunky (and get in the way of holding the rattle, which kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?!). I do get somewhat frustrated that items which have supposedly been designed with a purpose in mind, have really had so little planning involved in reality. To me, this seems to be pretty simple thinking. If designing stuff for a small baby, then you need to make sure they can actually hold it.

So this one is just perfect.

Amy

Tuesday, 14th December, 2010

Munchkin's Favourites - 1

Here is one of Munchkin's favourite toys, made for him by Chrissy over at Silver Jandals (see my blog roll).

It is one of the most amazing baby toys I've seen! So simple. It is fabric, with folded ribbons all around the sides. Inside there's something that crinkles every time you grib the fabric.

When he was really little, Munchkin would just grab the fabric. Then of course there is the sucking. Now, at 6 months old, he loves to use his fingers to grab individual bits of ribbon, touching and stroking, pulling, and of course putting in his mouth.

It has been puked on and through the wash several times. It fits in a small corner of his bag if we need a 'going out' toy. It's colourful. It engages his senses and encourages him to explore and develop coordination. And he just loves it, which is all that really matters!

I think this toy should be given to every newborn. Never mind all those fancy store-bought things. This is the real deal.

Amy

Monday, 13th December, 2010

Happy Birthday Haji

Our sponsored boy had a birthday in November. The little man turned 7.

Because he lives so far away in Tanzania, letters take at least a month, if not more, to reach him (they go through a careful process through Tear Fund/Compassion who we sponsor through which does also prolong the process, but so worth it to know that he will receive and enjoy them, and write back to us).

This year one of my goals was to start treating our sponsored children more as family members and less as social obligations. A lot of people sponsor kids, which I think is awesome. But I have felt a little convicted that for me personally it is important that I treat my sponsored kids with love and respect. This, for me, means that I am not sponsoring them just to 'do my duty' but because I genuinely want good for each of their special lives. I want to get to know them, as much as is possible across the distance and language barriers that separate us. I want to pray for them, write to them, and remember their birthdays. This last one has been a sore point for me over the past years. I always seem to forget their birthdays. I've realised this is partly because I don't treat them as family birthdays. Family birthdays are REALLY important in my family. A birthday is your one special day of the year. You get to choose the food for a family celebration. The silverwear and crystal come out for the meal. The night before you basically got locked in your room as most family members were making birthday cards. I owe a lot of this to my mum, who really values birthdays and works hard to make them extra special. So, I realised that I don't treat my sponsored kids birthdays as equally important as family birthdays, and decided that this needs to change. The next issue was how to do that, when I know very well that I can't send them a big package (customs issues means the organisation can get huge fees to clear them, plus the items might not be appropriate, etc). I also can't just send them a card a week before, like I do with my brothers who live in Australia...it would be way too late. So what I figured out is that I need to put the sponsored kids in my birthday list. We increased our giving allowance, to include small financial gifts for their birthdays (Compassion encourages a small monetary gift, which their local worker then spends with the child and their family members - Haji has bought a mattress in the past, and Mariam shoes. This way the gifts are relevant and useful, and they also support the local community economy where the kids live). And what I've done is instead of celebrating their birthdays on the actual day, I've decided we will celebrate them at least a month early.

So here's what we did in October:

This is made of A4 paper, folded up easily to post, and coloured in by myself, Boyo and my mum. I did invite a few friends to come and have desert to celebrate with us, but no one ended up coming. The poster idea comes from my childhood. For quite a few years there we used to make these posters for each others birthdays. Many happy hours were spent drawing and colouring, then the poster would be displayed for the week on the wall, usually near where the birthday dinner was to be held.

He should hopefully have received it by now. I wonder what he thinks?

Amy

Sunday, 12th December, 2010

I'm back...

I'm back. Mostly. One of my friends has a very apt saying that goes something like "kinda-sorta-nearly-but-not-quite-really." This describes me very well just now. I have reached the end of the year with a screaming halt. My brain, body and emotions are telling me that I am, indeed, a madwoman. But I have made it. This past week I collected a cold on top of a cold. Or is just a really long, multiple-symptom cold? Probably just my body telling me it has totally had enough and some rest is in order right about NOW, thank you very much. Exam results are in. End of year results are in. I did really well, especially when considering that I had a baby half way through the year. One of my lecturers made the comment that my year has been a 'little unsettled in some ways.' I would have to agree! But here we are, at the end. I survived a three week full time practicum in a great kindergarten (with 3 and 4 year olds) and learned a lot. Munchkin enjoyed his time with his Suzz (grandmother) and Daddy. We even made it to Australia for a wedding the week after (travelling with a baby is an interesting experience!). So now I get to relax a little. This morning Munchy and I are going to garden after he's had breakfast. I've enjoyed a few mornings without setting an alarm clock. I'm gradually going to sort through some of the boxes in the garage which have been in storage for 4 years now. It will be interesting to see what I find! And there's a few friends who have been promised 'catch-ups' for months. I think we will just take the next few weeks as they come.

Amy
Friday, 10th December, 2010

Taking a Break

After a couple of recent 'foot in mouth' incidents (or should I call them 'keyboard in mouth'?!) I have concluded I need to take a break, at least until after exams are over - or maybe prac?. I love blogging so much, I've been trying to keep it up despite really not having the time or energy to devote to it. I can write some funny stuff at times. The problem is when I am trying to be funny or smart, and it comes out all wrong. Doesn't help that you can't hear voice inflections, or see body language online...something I often tend to forget. Anyway, I've been rushing and rushing because I (of course) still want to do everything else as well as study, having rediscovered the enjoyment of life beyond study. As it is not fun discovering in retrospect that a few of the things I've said have not be ah, quite what they should have, and I have also lost a lot of the enjoyment of doing the actual writing to start with because I've been so stressed out over exams, I figure it would be best to just put the blog down for a few weeks. It's not like it is going to go away, is it? I hope you enjoy the next few weeks, and we can enjoy some more conversations when I return!

Amy
Tuesday, 2nd November, 2010