Stickers.

Maya loves stickers at the moment.  I'm not sure what's so good about stickers, but hey whatever makes her happy.

So when I first gave her some stickers I put them on her hands and then for some reason I decided to put one on her forehead.

So now she has decided that stickers belong on her forehead.

Maya is at an age now where she gets offered stickers by other people.  Like if we visit the doctor the reception staff offer her a sticker.  They will put it on her hand and Maya will respond by pointing at her forehead, telling the person "sticker goes here".  I'm sure they wonder what she's doing.

When I take Maya shopping with me she loves running around the stores examining products.  She also likes peeling price stickers off the said products and sticking them on her forehead.  So for the rest of the shopping trip she'll have a price tag stuck to her head.

Most people find it amusing and thankfully shop staff usually have a giggle about the fact that she's pulling the price tags off.  But I did have one woman stop me recently to tell me that my daughter had a tag on her head.  "Yes I know.  She likes it there." I replied.

It reminds me that children are sponges, absorbing and learning everything around them.  And if you teach them that stickers go on your forehead, well then stickers go on your forehead.

Steps to independence - Part Two.

We bought a step for Maya recently for use at the sink in the bathroom.

Well as soon as we brought the step home, Maya dragged it to the couch and climbed up.  A few days later I saw Maya dragging the step out of the bathroom again.  This time to reach the laptop.  And today when I asked Maya if she wanted to go to the park she exclaimed "Yes!" and ran into the bathroom... to get the step.. so that she could use it to climb into her stroller.

I am in awe that Maya is now able to solve problems on her own.  She is definitely determined to be independent and is proud of herself when she accomplishes tasks on her own.

I can reach the computer.

I

Getting into the pram.

Nearly there.

I'm so clever.

When are you having another?

I get asked a lot: "When are you having a second baby?"

The thing is:

1. Guys don't get asked this question, which implies that women only want babies and it's all we think about.  Recently when I announced I had "good news" people immediately guessed "Oh you are pregnant".  No, I bought a house, which I think is good news anyway.
2. Not all women want babies and some couples only want one baby.
3. Some women have tremendous difficulties conceiving and asking someone when they are going to have a baby when they are desperately trying is not going to make them feel very good.

I don't mind if people ask me "will you have a second baby?"  I just don't like the question "when are you having a  second baby?" because it implies that I must have a second child.

The truth is, I don't know if there will be a second child.  With Meniere's Disease I am on medication that has not been trialled enough in pregnancies.  So it depends if I can wean myself off the medication and remain vertigo attack free.

I suddenly find myself jealous of people who are pregnant or who can be pregnant.  I actually never wanted children close together and even without the Meniere's Disease I would not consider a second child yet.  But having the choice possibly removed from me is a very hard place to be.

Another drink?

At a birthday party recently I had the following conversation with someone.

THEM: What are you drinking?
ME: Flavoured mineral water.
THEM: So do you think you'll have another?
ME: Err.. yeah I guess so.
THEM: So you're enjoying it then?
ME: Err.. yes
THEM: When do you think you'll have another?
ME: I dunno?
THEM: Yeah I guess Maya is still very young.

At which point it dawned on me.  They had switched the conversation from my drink to babies.  As in "So do you think you'll have another baby?", "So you're enjoying motherhood?" and "When do you think you'll have another baby?"

I thought it was odd to be so interested in what I was drinking.

Steps to independence.

For each new skill Maya attempts to master, there is a period of frustration, and it is hard for me not to step in and do it for her.  I hate seeing her frustrated and upset and my instinct is to solve the problem for her.  But I know that if I step in and do it for her she will never learn to do it for herself.  Besides she tends to get frustrated with me if I do it for her, which makes perfect sense as her goal was to master the skill by herself.

Park etiquette.

Maya loves going to the park.  She loves the swings and the slides.  She loves running up and down ramps.  Climbing things.  Riding on things.

But there are times when we are at the park and some child will punch, push or kick Maya for no reason.

Recently while at a park I watched some older children running around with plastic cups throwing sand at each other.  Then one boy threw a cup of sand directly into the face of a much smaller, toddling, little boy, who was playing nearby. The toddler began howling while the older children laughed and continued with their game.  The toddler's mother tried talking to the older children about how dangerous it is to throw sand at people, but they took no notice.

Now what I want to know is.. where were these boy's carers and why were they letting them thrown sand at each other and other people?  I've been in a situation where I ended up with sand in my eye.  And it hurt!  A lot. I ended up in hospital because I couldn't open my eye from the pain the sand was causing.  Having sand thrown in your face is highly unpleasant.

Of course, it's not always the case that a carer isn't around to help deal with situations and thankfully those situations are rare. But it does surprise me how often I will witness a child being punched, kicked or pushed by another child and there is no carer in sight.

Tell 'em they're dreamin.

It is frustrating being on a diet restriction that is hardly catered for by manufacturers and is not catered for at all by restaurants, Cafes or take away places.  Now there are vegetarian, low fat, gluten free and low carbohydrate meals, but no low salt options when eating out.  Manufactures occasionally bring out low salt products, but usually their products disappear after a time.  Often I will find something low in salt that actually tastes great, but after a while I can no longer purchase it any where.  When contacting the manufacturers directly they all give the same reason - not enough people buy the low salt options.

People are so used to their high salt intake that food low in salt doesn't taste as good or even tastes awful.  I know this because I went through a period of about two months, once I began my low salt diet, where nearly everything tasted horrible.

Now what I miss are options.  I miss being able to stop at a cafe and have a bite to eat.  I miss going out to a restaurant and being able to choose from a selection of meals (to be honest I don't actually like fish and my first meal out at a restaurant (as discussed in my previous post) wasn't enjoyable for me, except for the fact that I was 'eating out').  I miss getting take out and having a night off cooking.  I miss having easy options for making meals at home.

There are many health problems that salt contributes to - stroke, heart disease, Meniere's disease, PMS, etc.  Yet there doesn't seem to be that many people on a low salt diet.  Not enough to justify manufacturers or restaurants catering to the diet.

Even "health" foods are a joke to me now because they are usually very high in salt.  I think more salt is added to try and boost the taste and make up for the lack of sugar and fat.

I would love to see more low salt options on the shelves in supermarkets and in restaurants.  But whenever I have this thought a quote from "The Castle" always enters my mind - "Tell 'em they're dreamin".

Eating out.

My low salt diet fills me with anguish about eating out.  Salt is such an integral part of cooking that I wonder how I can explain my diet in such a way that salt doesn't happen to sneak its way on to my plate.  I have to trust that the cook will know enough about salt and how much of it is actually hidden within practically everything to be able to avoid it altogether.

Well a couple of months ago I made it out for breakfast for the first time since starting the diet. Porridge and fresh fruit are two options that are very low in salt.  Since then I have been out for a few breakfasts, but I have never been game to order something salty and have the chef modify it for me.

Recently I decided to try going out for dinner.  This was a huge step for me.  We picked the restaurant ahead of time and I browsed their online menu.  I found something that would be easy to modify and rang up the restaurant for assurance that they could modify their meals.

On the day I made it very clear to the waiter that my low salt diet restriction is for medical reasons and I made it extremely easy for him by ordering the fish, chips and salad.  Fish with no batter, just plain grilled.  Chips with no salt.  Salad with no dressing.  The waiter even came back after placing my order to inform me that he had made my order very clear to the chef.  After my meal he asked me if everything had been OK.  I was actually pleasantly surprised by the service and my meal came exactly as asked.  Not a hint of salt to be seen on my plate, either by the shaker or by dressings or sauces.

I used to take for granted...

..things like.. going to the toilet by myself and having a shower in peace.

Now I have a little person following me where ever I go.

Not that I mind, but having to entertain a little one in any situation does take a bit of getting used to.

Guess what?

I have big news.  No I am NOT pregnant again, which is the first guess everyone makes for some reason.

Yesterday Greg and I bought..... a house!!

We were actually looking for a unit, which of course is more affordable.  Then this house came along in our price range.  It met all our criteria.  We got our act together and finally applied for a loan.  Got our preapproval.  Went to the auction yesterday.  And next thing you know.. we're bidding and we've bought a house!

Here's some pictures of our new place!

Just after we bought the house.

Lounge room - ignore the dodgy furniture. :)

Kitchen.

Backyard.