I've been trying to be a bit more interesting with cooking, and to try new recipes.

On Wednesday night I made couscous stuffed eggplants. Thursday night I was home late so I just did a quick chili con carne. Tonight I tried another new recipe, tagine with pumpkin and chickpeas (a Moroccan dish). It was really yummy! And cheap ;) I also made jam turnovers for dessert tonight, last night I made a rice pudding with the leftover rice, and now I'm making garlic & thyme crescents for a friend's blessingway tomorrow. AND tonight's dinner was a huge batch so I've put some in my freezer and have some to take to a friend who recently had a late-term miscarriage. So I feel productive, heh.

Three weeks to go :)

We're not having a big party, for a few reasons. Firstly, I'm not really up for organising it. House is out of control, and the one-year anniversary of Evie's birth is bringing up some issues (last night I had a horrible nightmare that I was in the hospital running around looking for her and no-one would tell me where she was; when I found her they'd given her Vit K and Hep B needles and fed her formula "because you weren't there"). Secondly, a lot of our friends with bubs have July/August birthdays, so everyone's going to be pretty busy.

I suppose in the future she could hold it against me and claim to be a forgotten, neglected third child. Oh well. I'll make her a cake on her actual birthday - maybe even let her have some ice cream, which she's never tried - and the following weekend we'll have family round for dinner and another cake.

So far I've bought her a set of wooden musical instruments (she loves the plastic maracas and tambourine we have) and some funky clothes. I'm going to make her a soft Iggle Piggle toy - he's a character from some inane children's show that for some reason she adores even though she's only seen it rarely. Strange child. Maybe I'll get a couple of books too.

Oh, I got a distinction in my final unit for uni. I worked out that I must've got 35/40 on the exam! Wow, I was NOT expecting that. I'm quite proud considering how much I struggled this semester.

I am cursed with laptops. The keyboard on mine stopped working, and I haven't managed to take it in to be fixed yet. I was using our old Mac laptop, and yesterday the mouse stopped working on that (it also had a battery life of zero, and the power plug was faulty so it didn't stay in properly). So now I'm using Garry's tiny eeePC.

Anyway, today is the first day of 2 weeks of school holidays. It didn't start well - Evie was up at least 10 times between midnight, when I came to bed, and 8am. At least being a non-school morning meant I could stay in bed, if not sleep. The kids fought all morning thanks to some lollies I ill-advisedly let Alastair have from a party yesterday. I only had enough milk for one cup of coffee, and that was long-life milk, which tastes AWFUL. I spent an hour getting Evie to sleep while the other two trashed the house, and she woke up after 45 minutes.

It was a little better after we went to the shops for milk, bread and fruit, although Alastair's decided he's scared of rain and wind, which made the walking a bit of a production. At least I could have coffee when I got home.

And I did put dinner in the slow cooker while E briefly napped, so at least dinner is done (beef & vegie casserole with potatoes, yum).

You know what else is really upsetting me?

No-one cares. Really.

If I'm reading my forums and my fave websites/blogs and my Facebook page it seems like *everyone* must care, like it's a huge deal and there'll be loads of action and someone will do something about it! But that's my bubble, where I surround myself with people with similar outlooks (not all homebirthers/wannabe homebirthers, but understanding the right to it IYKWIM).

But it's hardly made the mainstream media at all.

No-one cares and nothing is going to change. They'll pass the legislation and no-one will care. People will go on thinking it's okay to tell us what we can do with our bodies, they'll go on saying it's "for our own good" and treating us like children. Go on glossing over birth trauma because everyone's fucking fine.

Some of you may already have seen this on Facebook.



It sums up exactly how I feel. How fucking dare she??

I don't personally plan on having anymore babies, and if I did I'd be tempted to birth unassisted/freebirth anyway, but if I weren't comfortable doing that, how dare they tell me I have to go to hospital? Nearly a year on, and a couple of weeks ago we drove to a place a few blocks from the hospital. Drove the same way as when I was transferring in labour. I felt physically ill. I get that feeling when I am not within about 10 feet of my baby, because i didn't see her for 12 hours after she was born. I get that way when people touch me and it somehow reminds me of Evelyn's birth. I still cry re-reading her birth story, FFS. HOW DARE ANYONE TELL ME I HAVE TO RETURN TO A PLACE AND PEOPLE I AM TERRIFIED OF, AND DENY ME MY RIGHT TO BIRTH MY BABY FROM MY BODY AS I CHOOSE.

Imagine if they tried to legislate that labouring women can't have epidurals due to the risk. How about you trust women to make up their own minds about the relative risks and benefits?

Homebirthers may be a teeny tiny minority group, but that doesn't mean you can take our rights away.

urgh burgh lack of motivation.

As of July next year, homebirth with a private midwife will be illegal in Australia, if legislation being introduced to Federal Parliament goes through.

How? Well, it will be illegal for a practitioner to attend a birth without insurance, and indemnity insurance isn't available to private midwives - and the government won't step in and help midwives get insurance. At the moment, midwives practice without insurance, and this is a risk they, and their clients, knowingly take on.

From my understanding, government-funded homebirth programs, such as the Community Midwifery Program here in WA, will still run, because the government covers insurance for them. However, these programs are very limited in scope: geographically; in terms of the number of places available; and in terms of a very narrow eligibility requirement. For example, I doubt I'd be able to get a place now because I've had two post-partum haemorrhages, a cervical tear and a 43 week pregnancy. Women who've had previous C-sections, are pregnant with twins or have a baby presenting breech at term are automatically excluded.

Whether or not *you* would want to have a homebirth - either at all or with any of those "risk factors" - is entirely your choice. But that's just what it should be: a choice. That choice is being taken away from Australian women.

Bewilderingly, our Health Minister, who is introducing this legislation, is a woman and a mother. Can she not see that this is a huge step backwards for women's rights?

http://www.savehomebirth.com.au/howyoucanhelp.html

Write your local member. Attend local rallies. Lobby senators (I think it's in the Senate, where the government relies on minor parties to get a majority, that we stand the best chance of defeating this Bill).

You might not want a homebirth, but what if your daughter did one day? Where does it end? What if all you want is a vaginal birth and suddenly the law told you that your care provider must perform a caesarean? Everyone has the right to informed consent ... unless you're a birthing woman.

Our bodies, our rights, our choice. Back off, Ms Roxon.

Ahh, it's decidedly wintry today. Brrrr - we got soaked on the way home from school drop-off. 'Tis all good now, rugged up with a fresh cappuccino and the heater on :) I bought a fleece babywearing cover yesterday, I hope it gets here soon - it just hooks onto the carrier straps and will keep Evie nice and snug. I can't front carry her much anymore, she's too big, so she seems a little exposed on my back.

( Shiny! )

And ( this one's disturbing. )

( And just sad. )

At 10 and a half months old, Evelyn nearly slept through the night (well, technically she did, since that's defined as five hours, I think). I put her down to sleep about 8pm, and when she woke up and asked to come into bed with me - she's in the cot next to us for when she sleeps alone, so she doesn't fall - I looked at the clock and it was 4am! Then I just now got up for the day at 6.30 and she still didn't stir :)

The only problem with that is that I need to find time to feed her from the left side before we leave the house, or I'll probably get mastitis again, as her one overnight feed was from the right.

I dropped the iron on my foot yesterday morning. It wasn't hot, thank goodness, but it took a big chunk of skin off my big toe! And the kids keep stepping on it. OUCH.

Evelyn and I are going to Adelaide in November! For a giant online homebirth forum meet-up, lol, how geeky is that?! I got cheap flights ($90 each way), now I have a few months to work out where I can stay for a few nights that won't break the bank. A few friends from here are going too, which should help with the whole 'meeting tons of new people' thing.

Must stop spending money, though. Apparently remote sectional garage doors are more expensive than I had thought. Hmm.

Evie has two more freaking teeth - that makes EIGHT on top and four on the bottom. No wonder she's been biting me.

Exam is done ... trying to catch up on housework and fun time with the kids. Alastair and I made pancakes this morning, after we nipped into the shops and bought socks and tongs (odd combo, I guess - I needed some silicon-ended tongs for my good wok/roasting pan, and A insisted we also buy a kids-sized pair. And Evie needed socks) and wandered home in the rain.

I should really send off my intention to graduate form so that, y'know, I actually graduate! I might even attend the ceremony this time, because I really feel I've earned it.

Next Wednesday is my exam. Perhaps I'll manage to post more after that. It's all just a bit like wading through mud atm.

*hugs her coffee tight*

I know, I know, I don't update for ages and when I do, it's about BUYING STUFF. I suck.

www.fivesenses.com.au - a local coffee roaster here in WA. It's damn good coffee; I've had it in cafes, my favourite cafe uses it (psst, Beaufort St Merchant in Highgate), and they even sell it but don't stock any of the Fairtrade varieties in espresso grind. I am hoping to get a grinder soon, but I don't have one yet.

A bag of the Harmony blend just jumped into my cart ... pondering one of the Fairtrade or Direct Trade single origins too. Sweeeeeeeeet.

I should really be studying.

We just had vegetable and pearl barley soup for dinner, with freshly-baked cheese and chive bread. Except I had a heavy hand with the pearl barley so it was more a stew than a soup (it absorbs lots of liquid). Now I'm eating freshly baked gingernuts :D

I've also done five loads of washing today, even though it's been raining (yay for indoor washing lines, though I might have to use the dryer overnight).

Phew.

I finally got my assignment done. Then I got Evie down for a nap! Yay! I'm sure that won't last long. She did sleep 9 hours without waking last night (8pm til 5am), which is awesome.

I'm feeling pretty blah atm, which is why I'm not around LJ much. It seems to be a bit of a common thing right now.

I've been massaging yellow gunk out of my right boob all morning. Sexy, huh? ;) It's definitely mastitis; I had to pay $80 for the privilege of going to the doctor yesterday to get a medical certificate for uni (and have now begged via email for an extension). I'll get about half back from Medicare, but still. Not to mention, the receptionist wanted me to wear a fricking mask because I said yes, I did have flu-like symptoms. I explained that I didn't have the cough or sneezing, rather the muscle aches and lethargy part of 'flu-like' symptoms, that go with the huge red lump in my breast!! She didn't force the issue. Must be the easiest $80 the doctor made all day, seeing as I'd correctly self-diagnosed.

Got a script for antibiotics but I'm not taking them. I picked up some belladonna homeopathic at the health food store, and my lovely friend Emma brought me over some phytolacca drops that she had at home, and some bryonia. So I'm all set ... the fever and chills are gone, and as I said, I've been massaging the gunk out of the blocked duct and the lump is reducing in size, so hopefully I'll be all better soon.

I also voted NO in our State referendum on daylight saving. Looks like the 'no' vote is winning :) I'm sick of being called backward or narrow-minded because i voted no. That makes no sense to me. DLS will suit some people better, and not others. Everyone votes on their own personal preference, and i doubt many people are voting no for silly reasons like 'the curtains fading' - maybe we just prefer our extra daylight in the morning. I'm not even that passionately against it, but I do object to being insulted for my perfectly valid opinion.