I have moved my blog!!
I have found a need to switch my host for my blog, and in doing so, have also changed the name of my blog. Find all new posts in the future at Hear Mum Roar
More on shag bands.
The response to my post about Shag Bands is still ongoing. I am discovering that many are searching for information on what the different colours of shag bands mean, and coming across my blog. Sooo… I felt perhaps it’s time to address the question that so many are asking: what do the shag band colours mean?
I have been looking into this question a lot. One thing is becoming increasingly clear; the meanings vary from country to country, from town to town, from school to school. I have compiled a little list of what most of them generally mean across the board. In my original post about this, I wasn’t keen to focus too heavily on the meanings, quite frankly, because it made me cringe. I figured, as long as the reader has a general idea of what the bands represent, then that’s enough. But, for those who are curious, here is a general list of what some of the colours can mean:
Black: Sex.
Glow in the dark: Using sex toys.
Yellow: Hug.
Blue: Fellatio.
Purple: This one seems to have a variety of meanings, depending on where you are. It could mean french kissing, or oral sex, it really just depends on the area.
Clear: In some places, it means whatever the snapper wants, in others, whatever the girl wants.
Green: Masturbating the wearer or snapper. Again, this varies.
Brown: Anal, oral sex.
Glitter: Some sources say ‘flashing’, others say it means, ‘girl’s choice’. It can also be the male’s choice in other places.
Gold: all of the above.
I’ve stopped there, although there are many more colours. I think this gives a pretty good idea of how it ‘works’.
What I really think needs to be addressed, going by all the hysteria among parents and the general community, is why are so many people so desperate to find out the meanings of the colours? The so-called ‘rules’ will be made up inside the school! Nothing can substitute us parents taking an interest in our kids, and asking them the vital questions if we feel this might be going on. Ask about the meaning. Find out how far the other kids are taking it, whether they see it as a joke that isn’t really acted on (in my researching this topic, the general consensus seems to be that most kids are smart enough to know that they don’t have to act on a band being snapped, and if they do, it’s usually only for the hugs and kiss type bands), or whether some kids are really doing the acts that the ‘rules’ spell out.
Since I’ve been looking into this, it seems there is a minority of teens who brag that they actually acted on some of the more hard core colours. But are these teens that were sexually active anyway? Think back to when you were in high school. How many kids were bragging about sexual acts they’d never actually done?
It may sound as though this post is telling you not to worry at all. But hey, we’re parents, and it’s our job to worry, right? But panicking is not helping anyone. Shag bands or not, something we all need to be teaching our kids, is the importance of having respect for ourselves, and for the opposite sex. That no one should be forced to do anything they don’t want to do, or that they are too young to be doing. That if someone is not sexually active or experimenting, no one has the right to belittle them for it.
We need to teach our girls that they are not put on this planet to simply please males or fulfil their fantasies. We especially need to drum this lesson into the males of our society. Women are so much more than their beauty or their sexuality. We have brains, feelings, and sex is one aspect of our womanhood. A much smaller aspect than society would have us believe.
Above all, as parents, if we truly believe this is going on with our children, and at a level that is unacceptable to you, you DO have the power and the responsibility to say NO to your child. If you feel it is necessary, see if they can be banned from school. It’s not what each colour represents that is the issue. It’s about your child’s (particularly girls) level of self esteem. Confident girls seem to be able to see these as a light hearted thing, and don’t really take them seriously. Girls with lower self esteem who like to seek out attention and peer approval might be more likely to take it more seriously.
Let’s work on giving our girls a fantastic self esteem. Isn’t this the main issue here? Let’s raise girls who will laugh this off and tell the guys at school, ‘as if, loser!’.
There is this belief among many parents that once children reach their teens, you can’t ‘control’ them anymore, or enforce boundaries. Maybe not, but we can try! It is becoming more apparent nowadays, that if teens have a loving, close relationship with their parents and feel they can trust and talk to them openly, that they are more likely to listen and respect the rules. If you feel strongly enough about something, be it shag bands or any other issue, say no to your child and explain why you feel so strongly about it. Teens listen so much more than they let on. Little kids, even more so.
I hope this helps put this can of worms to rest, LOL! Let me know what your view is on this, I know most people have very strong views on it either way.
The frugal baby.
Hello, readers, I hope you are well! It has still been hellish busy around here, my fiance is still in the process of selling the house, and of course we have the kids keeping us on our toes. Please bear with me, as the letter ‘m’ on my laptop keyboard keeps falling off as I type (thanks Mr 3).
Today, it’s all about being frugal with all things concerning babies. Whether we’re pregnant, or already have a baby or two, most of us are always keen to hear about how to save money on things our precious little ones need. There are so many unnecessary products on the market for babies, and for a first time parent, it can be very daunting. After all, what does a baby actually need?
For many parents, having a baby means dropping one income if mum or dad decides to become a stay at home parent. Some of these ideas can really soften the impact of this.
1. Use cloth nappies. If you do this one, not only will you help the environment, but you will save yourself a small fortune. There are many ways you can do this. You can use terry flat squares and fold them, or buy fitted nappies and put fleece or woollen covers on top. There are also all in one styles or pocket nappies, both of which fit like a disposable nappy and have a breathable, waterproof outer. Another option is prefolds, which have a more absorbent section down the centre, and can be folded and laid inside a nappy cover. I personally recommend against plastic pilchers, as they sweat and can cause nappy rash.
In the old days, nappies were soaked in a bucket of Napi San or similar solution. Not these days! Save your water, and dry pail them! To do this, simply place the nappies (with any solid matter rinsed off or tipped into the toilet) into a bucket and then wash them as normal. If using modern cloth nappies (any type of nappy shaped like a disposable), make sure you follow manufacturer’s instructions also. Many should not be soaked.
If you are concerned about nappy rash, you can also add a layer of polar fleece to lay inside the nappy against your baby’s bottom. This will draw moisture away from the skin. You can simply buy this fabric and cut it to size, as it doesn’t fray.
2. Use cloth wipes. Think about how much you spend on disposable baby wipes a week. When my baby girl was born over a year ago, I started out using disposable wipes on both her and my not quite two year old son. For us, this was adding up to between $15-20 a week. Within a week or two, I changed the wipes to cloth ones. You can either buy these, or make them from flanellette, terry cotton, cotton velour, or other similar fabrics. I usually just wet them with water, and they work so much better than disposables. They’re also great for wiping hands and faces. Some people prefer to use face washers as wipes, these are just as effective, it is more a matter of personal preference.
3. Use cornflour instead of powder for rashes. I buy a packet of cornflour from any supermarket for under a dollar, and it lasts such a long time, even with two little ones prone to nappy rash (my 3 year old son is in night nappies mostly). It is great to treat heat rash or even thrush, as it absorbs excess moisture and can suffocate the fungus spores of thrush. You can recycle an old powder container to put it in, or buy a cheap season shaker from the supermarket to make this really handy. Talcum powder isn’t recommended by many people these days, and it especially isn’t by me. It has shown that there might be a link between talcum powder usage in babies and ovarian cancer. It’s also not ideal for little ones and even adults to be breathing in.
4. The best toy for your child’s happiness and development is you! Talk to your child, give your baby lots of oppurtunities to get on the floor to play, and this will do them wonders. Other things I like to buy my kids to keep them stimulated is books, books, books! There is no such thing as enough, and they don’t cost much. I don’t tend to buy my babies very many toys at all when they are under one year old, because they get so many given as gifts and handed down to them. Then in a year’s time, I need to declutter them anyway.
Also, don’t discount the value of home made toys. I will have more posts about this in time. If you’re not sure what you could make, a plastic container is fascinating to a small baby, or a saucepan and spoon to bang it with. Just make sure you have earplugs!
5. Hand me downs. If you are offered hand me downs, accept them graciously. Babies really do grow incredibly quickly, and I often have found that many clothes didn’t get a chance to be worn as my children have grown so fast. It’s such a shame to waste hundreds of dollars on clothing that might only get worn once or twice. I always have a bag handy so that if I come across an article of clothing that has been outgrown, it goes in the bag. Once the bag is full, I pass the clothing onto a friend or to my local charity shop.
6. Whenever possible, make your own baby food. You can make up a special batch or two once a week, or put aside some vegetables from the family’s dinner for bubs. Either way, this will save you hundreds and you’ll know exactly what your little one is eating, and that it will be much healthier. With my third child, I discovered Baby Led Solids (BLS) which has not only made preparing food easier, I believe it’s made my little girl a lot less fussy than my first two kids.
If you have gotten into the habit of serving baby food in a jar from the shops more often than you’d like to admit and your child is hooked on a particular food, you can always try to copy the meal at home. I made the mistake with my son of letting him get hooked on one that had a lamb casserole, because it was the only way I could get him to eat meat. The cost of this bad habit was getting outrageous! So learnt to cook the same meal at home from fresh ingredients and he loved it! I was able to freeze lots and lots for the future.
7. Breastfeed. I’m not going to get into an arguement here, LOL. I’m not a lactivist, or anything like that, and it doesn’t bother me if anyone breastfeeds or formula feeds. But, it can’t be denied that breastfeeding is the frugal option when possible, as it’s free.
I hope this has been helpful, I plan to do more blog posts about this topic in the future, as there are so many ways we can raise our children frugally, be home for them if that’s what we choose, and not have to feel that they are missing out on anything as a result. After all, most of us want to take the stress of money off our shoulders just to enjoy our families more, don’t we?
I’d love to hear what others do to save money in what can be such an expensive time if we let it.
Howdy!
Gosh, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here, hasn’t it? It’s been school holidays and terribly hectic. Not only have we had the usual chaos that comes with the turf of having three kiddies home on holidays, but my darling fiance and his sister have been in the process of selling their deceased mother’s house as well. So, there’s been much painting, cleaning, phonecalls, and so forth. Such a hard thing, to say good bye to someone so special, and wrap up her affairs.
Thank you for the lovely comments on this blog, they are very encouraging, especially considering how new this blog is. I’ve not only been running around after the kids, I’ve been knitting up a storm, making woollen soakers (cloth nappy covers) for my two little ones. My one year old baby girl has just gone up a size, and my son needed a couple more just for nights. Here’s my darling baby girl modelling one of my latest ones:
It’s not a decorative one like some of my others have been, as I was in a huge hurry to churn some out quickly, plus she really needed a plain pink one to go under her myriad of pink-ish dresses.
I’ve also been working on some knitting patterns for toys which came to me one night, and the whole thing has just snowballed, so soon I will have some free knitting patterns for anyone interested in knitting baby, child or cat toys. So watch this space!
The two older kids have been having a ball making cubby houses, dog homes, dragon’s lairs and lots of craft! Anyway, this post is more just to touch base, and to let you know I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth, LOL! I hope my readers are well.
Finding the time to do it all – time saving tips.
One of the biggest complaints I hear about parenthood (it’s also my biggest complaint!) is the sheer lack of time parents feel they have to get everything done. Or most things. Or, at minimum, the most important things! It’s good to have some tricks up your sleeve, in order to fit more into your day. These help me everyday, and I hope they will be of help to you, too.
1. Double up
Never do just one job, when you can get two done at the same time. It may sound tricky at first, but once you have tried it a few times, and get into this sort of mindset, it slowly begins to come naturally. Examples are:
If you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, wash a couple of dishes, or wipe the bathroom sink clean, and quickly wash the toilet.
Cook twice the amount of food for dinner, and freeze half for another time. Or, keep any leftovers for lunch the next day. I’m usually able to at least save some vegetables for my baby to eat for lunch the next day. This also saves me a fortune in baby food!
Put a load of laundry on in the washing machine before doing something else.
Walking to school instead of driving. You and your child get exercise, and your child gets to school. I get two hours of exercise most days doing this. It’s a great way to whittle away any post-baby fat!
Put more than one child in the bath or shower at a time.
When cooking dinner, get started on washing the dishes as it’s cooking, to save you time later.
Give the kids an activity for them to concentrate on whilst you’re trying to do another job. A good example is today. My three year old son was nagging me to let him play a computer game, whilst I was trying to write this blog post! To help him wait, I gave him some pegs and a bento box to play with until it was his turn for the computer.
Kids love to just clip them onto the edge of the container, then take them off, over and over again.. It’s also great for their fine motor skills, and eye-hand co ordination. Best of all, it buys me some time!
2. Plan/prepare ahead of time.
This is a really effective one. If you start a task earlier on than needed, then you won’t be constantly running around like a headless chook, trying to get everything done at the last minute. Well, some things you might, but not as many!
Things I do ahead of time that help in this house are:
Starting dinner in the morning or at lunchtime. It could be just cutting up the vegetables for later, preparing a marinade for meats, or even getting it started cooking in the slow cooker (or crock pot, as some like to call it)
Checking the calender the night before for any notes that need handing in, or special things needed for the next day.
Making lunches the night before, and snacks.
3. Enlist the kids’ help.
This might sound like more trouble than it’s worth, but if you keep it simple, it can have a massive impact in a short space of time. Especially if you’re doing something else at the same time.
Get the kids to pick up everything from the floor that doesn’t belong there, eg clothing, toys, etc and put them where they belong.
If you have older kids, ask them to make their bed, or everyone’s beds, if you think they can manage. My nine year old will often make hers and her little brother’s bed before school if we have time, and it makes such a difference.
Kids love having a go at using the vacuum cleaner, so I have cultivated the habit of saying ‘YES!’ every time a child asks me if they can vacuum the floor! It doesn’t even matter if they don’t do a great job, if they’re picking something up from the floor, in my eyes, that’s an improvement.
It’s good to teach kids how to do tasks ‘properly’, but don’t expect perfection, or they will just give up and refuse to help you. Praise all efforts, and realise that any extra help is still going to save you time in the long run.
4. Deal with things then and there.
This one is very simple. Don’t put it down, put it away. When you finish with something, put it away straight away, and not pile it up on the bench. Admit it, we’ve all done it!
More importantly, teach your kids this one early on, and save yourself loads of time in years to come.
I would like to conclude though, that if you can’t get it all done in one day, don’t stress. It’ll be there tomorrow, or the next day. If you keep chipping away at your ‘to-do’ list, eventually you’ll get through it. Above all, try to always make some time for fun in your day too!
It’s my daughter’s birthday!
She’s nine years old today, happy birthday my darling!
Gosh, it’s going too fast. I still remember giving birth to her a month early, and her cute little inquisitive face, pursing her lips like a little princess. It’s hard to imagine how one day she can be this beautiful, tiny little newborn, and the next, a beautiful young girl, cruising through grade three with extremely high marks. She is so creative, imaginative, and so helpful and kind. She’s also got a kick arse sense of humour!
I look back at how quickly it’s all gone by, and I know the next few years will fly even faster, and before I know it, she’ll be a teen, with a whole new set of experiences! I just want to put a brick on her head, and make her stop growing for at least a day..
I also wish I would get better at making birthday cakes really quickly, and our bloody oven would just work! After running around after my 18 month old and my three year old (who was feeling sick today), it was only after dinner tonight that I got a chance to bake my darling a birthday cake! Eep.
I found a recipe for just a basic vanilla cake, and realised I’d chucked out all our cake tins! Argh. Maybe it’s time to stop being quite so ruthless when I declutter… So, I grabbed a pyrex oven bake dish, doubled the batter, shoved it quickly into the oven. After the oven turned off too many times, and I’d re-lit it (cursing under my breath so the little ones wouldn’t learn some new words they shouldn’t), I produced a very long, flat cake! Oh, for god’s sake!!
I was really starting to feel bad for my princess, having such a crappy cake. Then I remembered the cake I destoyed in 2007. It was a heart-shaped cake, and of course, I broke it in half getting it out of the pan. Yeah, I really don’t have much luck with cakes… I glued it back together with chocolate icing, then covered it all over with icing, then poured 100’s and 1000’s all over it. All the kids informed my daughter, ‘your mum makes the BEST cakes ever!’
So, just as I was about to throw a tantrum on the kitchen floor and scream about how much I suck at birthday cakes, I kept this chocolate heart cake in mind, and decided to just cheat my way through it. So I cut the long, flat, dry thing in half, quickly cooked a raspberry syrup on the stove top (this is why I am never without berries of every type in my freezer), poured the syrup in as a sandwich-type filling, quickly iced it, shoved some blueberries on top, then poured more syrup on top of that.
The verdict from the little ones?
‘Best cake ever!’
The moral? We may truly suck, but in the eyes of a child, we ROCK!
Here’s the cake:
I still think it looks bloody awful, but you can see my son in the background, gasping in awe. It did taste good, too.
‘Shag bands’ – would you let your child wear one?
Do you know what a ’shag band’ is? Apparently, it’s a rubber bracelet that is available in different colours. They were popular in the 70’s and 80’s in high schools, and now are taking off in popularity once again, this time in primary schools.
(photo from Getty Images)
The ‘buzz’ with these bracelets, is that girls wear them, and if a boy breaks one, she is supposed to perform a favour for the boy, based on colour. To break an orange one would ‘win’ the snapper a kiss, yellow is a hug. Black supposedly means the girl is to have sex. You can read today’s news.com.au article about it.
It discusses the concern that girls are being sexualised too early, and being taught that they are simply there for a male’s pleasure. I mostly feel the same way, but it also concerns me because this sort of talk completely cancels out a girl’s right to give consent, or the fact that hello, they are KIDS!
The whole thing sounds horrifying if you are a parent, more so if you have daughters. But, if you ask the wearers, it’s all a big joke. The general vibe is that most kids wouldn’t really do anything, and if asked to, would probably laugh it off. I am inclined to believe this. I remember when I was in school in the 80’s some girls wearing them, but never heard the ‘legend’ until my fiance told me years later.
So, if your daughter comes home wearing these, what do you do? Do you ban them? Or do you be ‘cool parent’, and allow yourself to believe it’s not really happening? Personally, whilst I feel they are probably (and hopefully!) harmless, knowing the myth behind it, I don’t believe I’d be comfortable with my girls wearing these and being spoken to in such a way. Maybe I’m a prude, but I just want my daughters to be treated with more respect than that. Thankfully my daughters haven’t had these things, and I hope it stays that way.
How do others feel? Would you laugh it off and let your kids wear it as harmless fun? Or would you take the hard line and ban them?
Home-made flaxseed hair gel.
This recipe has been circulating the net for a while now, and I felt it was about time I tried it out. I have naturally curly hair, as do my two eldest children. My third child doesn’t have enough hair yet to ascertain whether or not it will be curly!
Prior to trying out this recipe, I was using clear hair gel bought from the store. If you read yesterday’s post, our chemical free ‘diet’, then I won’t need to explain why I’m willing to try an alternative. Also, I love dabbling with home-made concoctions, saving money, being natural, the whole nine yards.
I’m not sure how true this is, but it has been claimed that this gel was used by the flappers in the good old days to set their pin curls. If anyone knows more about this, I’d love to hear about it!
I have made this gel once before and that batch has run out, so since I’m due to cook up some more, now would be a great time to share the recipe with you. It needs to be sealed in a container, and if refrigerated, will last two weeks, if not, it’ll last one week. I find it’s very nourishing on my curls, gives it a good shine and takes the frizz away.
The recipe is very simple, and I stuck to it to the letter last time, but this time I multiplied the batch by eight, and think that’s the amount I’ll stick with since three people in this house use it.
Here’s the recipe:
1 Tablespoon of flaxseeds (also called linseeds)
1 Cup of water.
This is so simple, it’s insane! Put both ingredients into a saucepan and boil until the liquid is reduced by half. That’s it! If you want it to be runnier, you’d not boil it for as long, if you want a thicker gel, boil it longer to reduce it down further. It’s good to stick to the recipe the first time, just so you know what to expect. Once you’re finished cooking, drain the seeds away and let it cool. If you want to add essential oils, you need to wait until it’s cooked and cooled down to mix it in.
A 500g bag of flaxseeds set me back between $4-$5 at the supermarket, so this is very cost effective. The kids are just fascinated by the whole idea, too!
I will be adding more cool home-made recipes like this in the near future, so stay tuned!
Our petrochemical free ‘diet’.
Some who know me will know that my darling fiance has a deadly allergy to petroleum. We’re talking full blown anaphylaxis. One problem that adds to his condition is the fact that we live very close to a petrol station, in fact it was when we moved into this house that we discovered his allergy. We’ve always found that when he’s working, he doesn’t have a reaction, because he’s not getting overexposed to the petrol.
Our problem now, is that he is not working due to paint poisoning from his previous job, and as a a result has the added issue of having to deal with his allergy again. We never really put much thought into the petroleum based products we use around the house (which are shockingly in everything if you buy from the supermarket), since the answer originally was to simply send him off to work.
After one of his more recent hospital visits, a nurse mentioned the danger of petrochemicals in everyday products, which made us realise we were endangering him everyday! The morning I put him in an ambulance for his latest allergic reaction, I had put lip balm on and kissed him on the lips before going to bed. Talk about the kiss of death, huh?
Our first step obviously, since he is not well enough to return to work, is to move house. We plan to do this in a few month’s time, but in the meantime, I am on a mission to make our house petrochemical free. This seemed a very daunting task, at first. Googling turned up a few results here and there. I found a lot of high quality products at my local health food store. But really, spending twenty dollars on a litre bottle of conditioner for a family of five is really not going to cut it for us in the long run.
I’m hoping that my research on this is going to help other families who avoid petrochemicals due to allergies or personal choice. How can I help? By sharing high quality, yet frugal products tested by a family of people ranging from one year old, through to thirty-six years old!
The bonus I am finding with most of these products is that they often also happen to be friendly to the planet (we love this) and more often than not, not tested on animals.
I am still journeying with this, and haven’t yet replaced all items in our house, but every fortnight, I buy what I feel is the next most needed item on the list. I am curious as to why so many people without allergies avoid petrochemicals, and want to research this also. To be honest with you, I get this impression that they are considered ‘bad’ by some people, and am not 100% certain as to why this is. I have searched for information about this, and have not found a great deal of answers just yet. What I have found has been extremely vague. But, being the good little researcher I am, I fully intend to find out, and of course share my findings with you.
Now, without further ado, I will share the petrochemical products I am happy with thus far.
Grants Toothpaste A lovely, fresh toothpaste that is gentle enough for kids to use. I find it actually makes our teeth feel cleaner than your big-brand toothpastes. What I love the most, is that it can be found at the health food store, as well as Coles Supermarkets. It’s around $3.95, which is a great price.
I have been extremely happy so far with the Natural Instinct range. Whilst I wouldn’t go as far as to say that all their products are budget friendly, most of their products are the cheapest petrochemical free goods I’ve found yet. Best of all, I can easily get them at the local Chemist Warehouse.
I’ve not yet tried everything in their range, as it is so extensive. What I have tried from this company are:
Natural Instinct Hand Cream. This is a thick, rich lotion that smells so good, I find myself wanting to constantly sniff my hands! But really, when a company is so generous with the lavender essential oils (and we’re talking the good quality stuff), this is bound to happen. Very reasonably priced at $9.95 for 125ml.
Natural Instinct Baby Bath Wash. I actually meant to buy the Baby Shampoo, and accidently picked this one up. I even washed my three year old son’s gorgeous curls in it before I realised my mistake. (Amazingly, it did wonders!) This is another of their products where they haven’t held back on the lavender oil, and the result is three calm, happy kids at bedtime. At $7.95 for 250ml, this one will be a family staple.
Natural Instinct Dishwashing Liquid. Now, we get to the boring stuff! That said, it’s one of the more important products for my fiance, as he eats off our plates, and any trace of petrochemicals there could mean contact with his airways, which equals deadly, nasty reaction. This has a lemon scent (and I don’t mean synthetic lemon like you’d find in a big name product, I’m talking, slice a fresh lemon open). It does a fantastic job on the dishes, which is great, because I must admit I was worried for some reason that not buying a mainstream brand would mean crappy substitute. Not so! It’s $7.95 for a litre, so whilst it’s not as thrifty as it’s petrochemical-laden counterparts, it’s a good price in comparison to other petro-free dishwashing liquids I’ve looked at.
Natural Instinct Laundry Powder. I have only just bought this a few days ago, and have not used it yet. But I must say, it is the most beautiful smelling washing powder I have ever come across! Again it features that great, ‘real deal’ lavender and other yummy smelling essential oils (I cannot remember now what they were). It cost $9.95 for a kg, but I was spending that on Aware anyway, and wasn’t very happy with it. It comes in a little plastic bucket, and I intend to recycle those in my studio, and with the kids. I really hope it’ll do a great job, because I’m hooked on the scent!
That covers the products I’ve used so far in the Natural Instincts range, so I’ll move on to the next lot of goodies.
Natural Alternative Shower Gel. This is a delicious smelling body wash! It’s pretty much like cracking open a grapefruit and washing yourself with it. Less messy, of course… It’s $11.95 for a litre, and while that isn’t what I would have spent on soaps or body wash in the past, it’s the best value petro-free one I have found yet. Of course, the search is on to see what else is out there!
My next two finds will be considered good value whether you still use petrochemical products or not!
Enya Aloe Vera Cream.
Another product found at Chemist Warehouse, you get a litre for under $4! It’s a great all rounder type body lotion. It’s not the most luxurious I’ve ever used, and is very light, but I have found it really takes the itch out of my eczema. It leaves my skin feeling and looking pretty nice, too. Now, because I’m blogging these products for you, and tracking down the websites, I’ve just visited Enya’s website for the first time as I write this, and have discovered they also do a body wash! Now, if their body wash is as cheap as their lotion, I will have found something even better than the dearer shower gel I’m currently using!
Healthy Care All Natural Paw Paw Balm How many mums have you heard over the years sing the praises of a leading brand of paw paw balm for curing nappy rash? Did you know that a lot of these balms contain petrochemicals? Not this one! This set me back a whopping $3 for 30g. My 18 month old baby girl has had a nasty rash lately, as we discovered her reacting to certain foods (which we’ve cut out once we realised). This nifty little balm gives her so much relief, and is really clearing her rash up beautifully. In fact, my 8 year old daughter had a bite on her hand last night which rashed up rapidly. We applied a small amount of this balm to it, it took the itch away, and she woke up rash free. We’ve only had this in the house a few days, and it’s quickly turned into a must-have. I also found this at Chemist Warehouse.
I am currently using Burt’s Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm, which is actually better than Chapstick, Blistex, or whatever it was that put my wonderful man in hospital with just one kiss from me. This really seems to nourish my lips and heal them at the same time. It tastes great, too!
I have one more brand I’d like to share with you. My good friend’s store, Mimsical Soaps. This lady is passionate about quality ingredients, and was openly expressing her disgust in nasty chemicals (especially petrochemicals) long before we put this house on a petrochemical free ‘diet’! She sources the highest quality, natural ingredients. She can (and will!) sit down and tell you every single thing about just about any ingredient you could imagine (plus all the ones you’ve never heard of), whether they are natural, or a synthetic ‘nasty’ as she likes to call them. She is well versed in responsible use of all ingredients, as well, which is important, as there are many work at home businesses producing similar products without really being aware of certain mistakes they are making with their ingredients.
Mimsical Soaps produces high quality, soaps that not only smell divine, but also are gentle on the skin and leave you feeling like you’ve had a day at the spa! You certainly haven’t lived until you’ve slathered yourself in her body butters, either! If you have stretch marks from pregnancy, or just love body butters, you would be hard pressed to find anything better than this. Another great thing about her products, is that a little goes a long, long way. One soap can last a very long time, but the scent will be just as good right down to the last sliver.
One of my favourite soaps she makes is her Coco Baby soap. This can wash both baby’s body and hair! I have washed my three year old son’s beautiful curls in this stuff, and his hair was extremely well nourished and shiny afterward! I was impressed, as I previously would not have believed any soap could look after fragile curls so effectively. You can see below the excellent effect it has on his hair:
The quality on the second photo isn’t great I know, but these were taken on my phone. I’ve actually promised myself that from now on, I shall use my good camera!
Mix and mess.
Recently I set up the always popular mix and mess activity for my three year old son. He loves to make a mess, and explore materials. Also, if he’s not occupied in something fascinating, he will go find something fascinating to do by himself, and get himself into mischief!
I set this up in the backyard, as I had my 8 year old daughter at school, and my 18 month old daughter in bed napping, and was desperate to get some laundry hung on the line. I really needed something to keep my exhuberant son busy and stimulated.
Enter mix and mess! What is it, exactly? It’s when you provide a child with a variety of ingredients of different textures and water. The child then is left to scoop, measure, and mix the varied ingredients into a wonderful goop.
It is good to provide kitchen articles that encourage pouring, mixing, measuring, and basic experimenting. I threw this together within five minutes, so it’s not the most elaborate mix and mess I’ve ever provided a child, but honestly, kids love it no matter how grand or simple it is.
I’ve used my good Tupperware platter, simply because it was easy to put a variety of ingredients into. In the past, I’ve usually put each item into a separate container, but this worked very well. It’s nice if you can manage it, to have kitchen goods made out of various materials, such as wood, plastic, metal, and so on.
It can be a great way to encourage language if you are playing with your child and describing what you’re both doing, naming the tools and ingredients, naming the textures, and whatever else comes up into the conversation. Many kids will bring imaginative play into the activity, such as pretending they’re making a cake. My son this time was mixing up ’slug food’, hmmm….
If you do this activity outdoors, clean up is quite easy (we tipped it all into the compost and gave the concrete a quick hose down) and you can either sit with the child or get some other jobs outside done. I did a bit of both.
Don’t you just love the intense look of concentration on his little face?
