Teacher Appreciation event

Our local Baha'i community(Holdfast Bay, Adelaide) joined others around Australia on 30th October in celebrating World Teacher's Day. As Baha'is, we take the role of teacher's in society pretty seriously, and as such try to demonstrate the appreciation of the amazing and often unseen work that teachers do by hosting some form of event or gifts for teachers. This year, we decided to offer morning tea to a primary school and kindergarten at the schools. So we all made finger food - cupcakes, fruit platters, etc, and also a thank you fridge magnet pictured above for each staff member. The fridge magnets are available from 'Hidden Words bookshop, Melbourne.
I went to the kindergarten event and the teachers were so appreciative, saying that no one has ever done anything like this for them!

Happy Birthday Lessan!

The 4some cousins growing up in Africa - Lessan, Nura, Vafa, Martha. Current locations: Lessan in Isreal, Nura is in the best of all places, waiting for us, Vafa and I are in Adelaide, oz.
Lessan, maybe 9 or 10yrs old. Ngoundere, Cameroon.
My sweet little brother ! So many good memories.... and many a pillow fight!

A changing world

This is a beautifully illustrated book i borrowed from the local library recently, a story of a family's home which grew from log cabins and grows as civilization progresses in America, through the eyes of a grandmother telling her grandaughter about the house they live in and how it came to be. The thing that touched me about this book was the sense of continuity and stability, of staying in the same place, and making it home over so many generations, of hard work and perseverance and resilience.
I've lost track of the number of times i've moved houses since childhood, the number of times we've moved countries, cities, suburbs.... As a child, i absolutely loved the moves, and the thrill of what was to come next, of exploring new territory. I look around me now, and it seems like just about everyone i know has moved quite a bit in their lifetime. The last 100 years have seen huge migrations of people across the globe, due to so many things, being displaced by wars and social unrest, seeking safety and a better life in a new place.
As a parent, I sometimes wonder about the effects of so much change on children. I see benefits, such as exposure to different people and places, opening up their mind to what the world has to offer, becoming more adaptable to living in discomfort. But i also wonder wether so much change, coupled with a social norm of instant gratification would result in a person who then craves change for the sake of change, who gets hooked on a fast paced life where we get such a buzz out of it that at the slightest hint of challenging life situations, the first solution that comes to mind is - lets move somewhere else! How do we instill qualities like perseverance, resilience and patience when so many aspects of modern living and of our own lives as parents lean towards quick fixes? Just some of the many perplexing, wonderful learning opportunities that having children has given me.

October in pics

Danny's photo of my current knitting project - first ever sweater, with help from my pro grandma (retired knitter who i'm trying to get back into knitting, for selfish reasons:)
My darling bro pays us a VERY brief visit from Haifa, this is a picnic at Mt Lofty botanic gardens on a cold spring day, and some warm memories.
Love picnics, can ya tell! Baha'i Holy day with friends! Great times.
Danny and his uncle whom he adores and tries to coax into a lot more conversation and games than Lessan would initiate, the 2 get along just great.

paper box

Recycled box for recycled paper. We go through a lot of paper each day, with the kids artwork and writing, so i always have a box for printed paper with a blank side. I'm hoping the tree cutout will be a reminder to 'save trees'.

the weekend

what we each did on a lazy sunday morning..... followed by a hectic week. Danny's working in the new building that's being built in our backyard, a house for my grandma. Life in a construction site can have a few perks!

long overdue post

Above: Different types of triangles - taste better with lavoshak , fruit rollup
Below: Matching game with animal silhouettes i printed and laminated. Also works as a memory game.


Its been almost 2 months now since we made the big decision to withdraw Danny from school. The reasons are many, but the outcome has been nothing but positive, beyond anything I'd ever hoped.
We arrived back in Adelaide just as the school year began, with no idea as to where we would live and what school he would go to. We pitched camp at my parents' home and frantically started looking for a school, so he endedup going to the closest public school. A very outgoing, bubbly boy nervously started school. Nervous became the dominating feature of his life from then on. He enjoyed some aspects of school, was quick with the academic aspect of things, made friends, but at the same time, his desire for perfection and wanting to fit in were very strong. He became extremely shy, to the point of frequently having 'accidents' because he couldn't ask the teacher that he needed to go, he never wanted to talk about school, and eventually he started telling me about incidents of bullying by his classmates. He also became very reluctant to go to school. I tried talking to his teacher, to the PE teacher whom he dreaded, to no avail.
But the last straw for me was his losing interest in reading. Love of learning is a big deal. Once lost, its very hard to recover, and reading is THE most important skill ever. So after prayers and family consultation, we decided to keep him home for a trial period of 2 weeks to see if there was any improvement. Sure enough, he started begging me for lessons, we did math, reading, writing, science and loads of art and craft (his passion) every day. So that was it. End of that school.
I can't begin to describe the ways in which our life has improved ever since that decision. I thoroughly enjoy teaching them myself, and watching those 'aha' moments when something clicks, when he goes dizzy with excitement to try out a new skill.... its priceless. And I'm not going to share that with a poor, frazzled busy teacher who will probably never notice or appreciate these moments anyway, as part of the conveyor belt style education system, which seems 'the' only way for most. Call me a possessive, over protective, whatever mother, but i know i'm doing what feels right at the moment, and I'll take each day as it comes.

Recent happenings

Pirates and princess event organised by a local city council, a very outgoing princess and a much more subdued pirate who wouldn't be talked into dressing up 'in public'.

Mom's group, in the backyard, which is currently a construction site but fascinating to 3 year old boys. This group started out as a crafting group, and we still slip in some knitting or sewing when we can, but basically its a chill session for over-worked moms to catch up and spend a good part of the day with the kids totally occupied with playing together or admittedly 'the box'. We rotate the location, and will be having more outings as the weather gets better.

Daniel's prayer

Amy's prayer

Fairies and Rainbows

A recent trip to nearby Hahndorf, pics at a fairy shop. The picture with Tigger is of Bayan, Amy and baby Ethan, as the kids call him. We've been getting together on fridays for a moms get together. I really look forward to these friday chill/craft sessions with some fabulous mamas!
Did i mention we're(danny) into rainbows at the moment?

The allergy story continues...

For as long as i can remember, allergies have been a part of life, not so much for me but for those around me. I can still hear the sound of Dad blowing his trumpet/nose ten times a day, due to years of severe hayfever type allergies, the raw food diet he went on etc. Then Vahid with his eczema, and when Danny made his grand entrance, allergy was a word that took on a whole new meaning. Below is yet another serious case of hives, after possibly eating something at my grandmas that had a pumpkin seed on it.
The search for solutions has seen us take him to specialists for skin-prick tests, whichgenerally don't do much except tell what you are really sensitive to, then a course of homeopathy when he was 2, which helped a lot to reduce sypmtoms, and now once again, i'm on the trail looking for help. I don't believe in antihistamines for ongoing use, because they simply suppress the allergy and can lead to asthma. We've recently had talks by a Baha'i chiropractor on holistic healing and spirituality issues, and some of what he said made so much sense that i decided to go see him. Dr Reza Samvat is a neurological chiropractor who specializes in sleep issues and just about everything else you can imagine, and his take on Danny's allergies was that there are two aspects to it, one is to do with retained reflexes, and the other with phenolics. Phrases that i had never really heard about, but the way he explained it made sense. Basically retained reflexes affects 95% of people in some form or another, so its worth doing a search on if you have any chronic health problems. Phenolics are naturally occuring substances in a large number of foods that trigger allergies in some people, and one way to overcome it is through desentising the brain by exposing it to small doses, like a vaccine. Also known as homeopathy.
Over the last few days i've been asking lots of questions of my good friend Google, and learning A LOT. It still sounds a bit out there and complicated to me, but i think there might be some solutions here.
Meantime, its a bit of a challenge to feed a family with various food allergies, such as dairy, wheat, seeds, food colouring and sugar. Not fun for a candy-lovin 5 year old.

people who make me smile

Danny with his K-nex invention, my darling Aunt Jaleh and Grandma, who live together at the moment and are my pillars of support with the kids, cousins Vafa and Parisa, recent imports from Canada and Texas and fabulous with kiddos. I just feel so appreciative of family now, after being away for 2 yrs. And even more blessed to have my aunt and her family living here, after years of geographical separation. Vafa is THE best cousin ever, still with the exuberence and some of the innocence i remember from Cameroon days, and SUCH a gentleman now. Helps with missing Lessan less, in a way...

Random activities

Facepainting
Dried flower press after a nature walk, using bags below which i made last year from jeans scraps.

Iran

I don't generally give a hoot about politics or the news for that matter, but i do hope what's happening in Iran will bring about some much needed positive change. Rather than comment, I'll let you read this from one of my favorite blogs, The Little Travelers. Angelina made a trip to Iran last year with her girls, and her views are very unbiased and refreshing.

A dawn party!

This year for Amy's 3rd birthday, we decided not to have a party. Many reasons. Main reason being cultural/faith views on the concept of birthday parties. Generally speaking, i don't much enjoy kid's birthday parties where the child is the centre of attention, gets to open presents in front of everyone, kids get filled up on sugar and junk, produce huge amounts of waste and get sent home with more of the darned rubbish. I'm sure we all do it with the best of intentions, to celebrate, bring friends and family together, an excuse to get together etc, its just that consumerist society has turned it into something so superficial and ego boosting, in my opinion.
I really don't have all the answers yet to the dilemma of what to do instead, but here's what we did this year - Nothing. Until last night. Spur of the moment decision to set up a surprise breakfast for the family. Some special occasion felt crowns (thanks to soulemama's book) i made earlier were placed on their spots, some candles to blow out, and voila! Her majesty was absolutely thrilled with the table next morning, as was everyone else! Cake for breakfast, yummm! Brought out their baby scrapbooks, told her story of the day she was born, lots of attention from everyone, and at the end, she helped clear up and on her own, thanked me for the 'party'. I even got the thumbs up from my dad, who is the brianwasher behind all the above fluff. happy mommy. happy birthday girl.

@ Home day

We're trying to have Sundays as family day, where we touch base and do all the many things we could do at home, when we get to use all the books and toys and crafties that i keep collecting. It takes a special effort especially for me to give on my 'getaway' time, but the results are sooo worth it. Rainy, cold winter days makes it a LOT easier to stay put...
Here's what we did last sunday, all together.... apple pie, from scratch!

Bit of this and that

I've given up trying to edit this page - blogger is impossible - apologies for the mixed up layout.


Danny wearing an apron I made, with a bit of inspiration from SouleMama, complete with his name on the front. (i adapted the waist strap to include velcro so kiddo can put without help)
But boys and aprons don't seem to go too well, he decided it would be more fun as a cape for his superhero stunt jumping off the couch. Ouch. boys.


Amy with a salad she made, and yes, sharp objects of the 'knife' type were used in the manufacture of this product.

Amy looking a bit chinese - with Aunty Nushan. These 2 go way back..

Ridvan celebration at Sarih's house. She has this wonderful tradition of a world cake with international dolls around. Its yummy chocolate on the inside. Also on the table are handmade flowers (with coffee filter paper).

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope all you awesome mamas out there had a lovely day. It was a special one at this end, the first time the kids really got into the whole mothers day thing. Danny coudn't contain his excitement all week about having made a surprise for me at school, and 'mommy just don't look in my bag, okay?'
So the minute he woke up this morning, i was greeted with, ' By the way, Happy mother's day!!' and the biggest warmest hug ever, instantly followed by a most gorgeous card with a spinning flower which he'd carefully cut out. Inside was his message in his neatest writing ever, not bad at all for someone who is still learning the alphabet...so proud of the little man:)
Oh... lest we forget her majesty, she insisted on getting a card too, but big bro was not interested so she had to make it herself.
Photo by Amy.

A harsh reminder

Last night was a harsh reminder of how fragile life can be, and how thankful I should be for the 'ordinary'. Right after dinner, Danny started having a few red spots on his face, nothing unusual for this allergy-prone kid. After 10 mins, more spots on his neck, and his ears went bright red and were extremely irritable. Hmm, maybe some antihistamine should fix that, I only give it when he's really miserable. One dose, and redness is getting to his mouth, swelling developing around the eyes, inside joints...okay maybe i didn't give enough medecine, here's another dose, now go to bed and get some rest, you'll be fine Danny.
15mins later, he comes back this time his face doesn't look good at all, he can't kep still for all the itching, i'm starting to panic. One last dose of Zyrtec, and this time i'm keeping a very close eye on him, checking his tongue for swelling (none obvious), can u breath, yes mommy.
Finally, about 45 mins since the first sign, there's Vahid, me and my friend Sukriti who happened to be over, getting very worried and decided it was time for the hospital. But wait, he has an Epipen, shouldn't i be using that now? After a frantic search in a very panicky state of mind, i finally found it in the fridge, where its supposed to be anyway.
By now Danny is not his usual bouncy self and has slowed down a bit, still getting worse.
Quick, get this adrenalin into him. How? never done this before.... Easier than i thought, Epipen is as easy to use as a needle gets. Press blunt plastic end into thigh, hear click sound, needle has magically popped out, delivered its life-saving carge, and out in 10secs.
Releif.... Lets go to hospital just in case.
Within a few minutes, swelling subsides, redness dimishes. Life saved.
Whew!
Now to figure out what on earth CAUSED it!!! He IS allergic to quite a few things, but i've been super careful the last 5 years, i THINK i know everything he's allergic to, but apparently not.
I still can't figure it out. So for the second time in his life, it takes a life-threatening event to get a decent referral to an allergist to get tested.
And to think that the night before, Vahid and I were have a big fret session about how slow his reading is compared to his peers, how shy he is at school, the really 'important' stuff u know...

Love these little ones

Forwarded by Lessan, little bro, who seriously needs to get into the parenting scene soon:)

"While they are at your side, love these little ones to the uttermost. Forget yourself: Serve them; care for them; lavish all your tenderness on them. Value your good fortune while it is with you, and let nothing of the sweetness of their babyhood go unprized. Not for long will you keep the happiness that now lies within your reach. You will not always walk in the sunshine with a little warm, soft hand nestling in each of yours, nor hear little feet pattering beside you, and eager baby voices questioning and prattling of a thousand things with ceaseless excitement. Not always will you see that trusting face upturned to yours, feel those little arms about your neck, and those tender lips pressed upon your cheek, nor will you have that tiny form to kneel beside you, and murmur baby prayers into your ear.

Love them and win their love, and shower on them all the treasures of your heart. Fill up their days with happiness, and share with them their mirth and innocent delights.

Childhood is but for a day. Ere you are aware it will be gone with all its gifts for ever."

by George Townsend