Unliking Cadbury's page isn't enough to escape chocolate on facebook

I liked Cadbury's facebook page a long time ago. A loooooong time ago. Back when I couldn't live without my daily hit of a family-sized block of chocolate.

I'm more than four months into my chocolate ban and am going well. Sometimes I struggle, but I'm generally fine without chocolate in my life. Much to everyone's surprise. Including mine.

About a month ago I unliked Cadbury's facebook page. I don't know why it took me so long - perhaps I spent the first three months assuming I'd fall back into my old chocolate ways soon enough.

I've enjoyed the past month without Cadbury's chocolate promotion and trivia clogging my news feed. But with Easter fast approaching, I'm copping it from everyone else. (Given that chocolate is stalking me, I shouldn't be surprised.) Here's the latest:

John Sands, go away! Not only was the world's largest chocolate Easter egg made by Cadbury, it was made here! In Victoria! I did NOT need to know that. Or picture that. Daydream about that. Fantasise about that.

Imagine being trapped in the middle of that egg and having to eat your way out. Nom nom.

No. Go away.

Have you given something up? What reminders do you face, and overcome... or succumb to?

When kids learn a new skill, they can forget others

It's a tough life being a kid.

I often say that sarcastically. Having mum and dad provide everything, spending most of the day playing, having meals provided, books read to you, and being told by anyone and everyone that you're oh-so-cute. Such a tough life.

But it really can be tough. There is soooo much to learn. I might learn something new every day, but Ashleigh is learning more every day than I might learn all week. Month. Year!

It's not surprising that, as kids develop new skills, some of the skills they have already mastered may become sloppy for a while.

Ashleigh has spent the better part of the past year toilet-training herself. She got to the stage where she gave me enough notice that pretty much all of her 'weeeees' and 'pooooos' were done on the potty. When we were out, she would still tell me when she needed to go, and I would tell her it was okay to go in her nappy, as we didn't have a potty.

But this hasn't happened in the past month. Sure, her pre-bed wee is still on the potty. But every other aspect of toilet-training has been forgotten. Temporarily, I assume. But forgotten.

Because about a month ago, Ashleigh became a chatterbox.

She's always been good with words. Now she strings them together with ease. Not necessarily with grammatical correctness, or even any sort of sense, but she does not stop. Our lives are now narrated by a 21-month-old whose favourite words are 'purple', 'pasta', 'toothpaste', 'elephant', 'okay', 'please' and, of course, 'daddy'.

And 'Santa', a word that makes an appearance whenever we see someone with a beard. Male or female. Ashleigh's still good at embarrassing me when she wants to!

Instead of focusing on the (temporary) loss of one skill, I'm focusing on how quickly she's mastered this new skill. She understands conversational turn-taking. She likes to tell jokes (or what I assume to be jokes when she laughs at the end of them). Even when she's not using 'real' words, the rise and fall in her pitch makes it clear that she is producing real (to her) sentences, and that I should respond accordingly.

She'll come back to the potty when she's ready. And hopefully, by then I will have found undies that fit her.


Have you noticed the loss of a skill in your child - and the gain of a glorious, new one?

The kangaroo and emu appear on Australia's coat of arms because...

Another fun kangaroo fact to add to this one from earlier in the month.

Image from here

Our coat of arms features a kangaroo and an emu. But why?

It is believed that neither kangaroos nor emus can walk backwards, and symbolise a country moving forward. I took this picture at Healesville Sanctuary, where you'll find many kangaroos, so was prepared to take this one at its word.

But I found this on Wikipedia: in reality, both animals can move backwards, but infrequently do.

So there you go. A fun fact that is in fact not a fact. As a matter of fact.

Ever said a word so many times that it stopped sounding like a word?


I used to think giraffes had no vocal cords. Have you ever 'unlearned' a fact you believed was true?

Not every package deal is a bargain

I'm quite partial to fish and chips. Or chish and fips as my family ingeniously called them (not realising that one William Archibald Spooner probably thought of it first).

My local fish and chip shop manages to combine my love of fatty, greasy, salty treats with my love of a bargain. But not as much as they'd probably like to believe:

What's wrong with this picture?

Single pack $7.50. Couples pack $16.00.

Hmmmm. So, what do you get in the couples pack to make that extra dollar worthwhile?

Nothing. Same stuff.

In fact, you get more chips when you order two single packs than you do when ordering the couples pack. And more paper and elastic bands, if you're into that sort of thing. And a longer receipt. Score!

Mwahahaha, local fish and chip shop. I win.


What 'bargain' have you bettered? Or been sucked in by?

Kids can learn things from television

Ashleigh doesn't watch much television. While I was pregnant, I read somewhere (not sure where) that watching too much television can be detrimental to a child's development. 

I want Ashleigh to learn through play and doing, and develop an imagination. I don't want her to be talked at or entertained without her involvement.

But... I cannot miss an episode of Letters and Numbers. And when I've spent all day playing and talking with Ashleigh, I think it's okay to sit and watch my favourite show.

I know Ashleigh enjoys the show as well, but thought it had more to do with the pretty pictures on the screen and the quiet cuddle time with mummy than anything to do with the show.

Then she did this while playing with her blocks recently:

Interesting. Perhaps I should submit a contestant application on her behalf?

We've just started watching Play School together. Twice a week in the afternoon. She sings and dances and talks to the presenters and the Teds, and I've realised that television isn't necessarily evil.

But you have to pick your programs wisely. One lazy morning, I turned the television on for Ashleigh so that she wouldn't follow me into our dirty, unsafe mess of a kitchen. I returned to this:

ZOMBIE CHILD!

We haven't watched anything since.

What do you think of television? Evil, child-brainwashing presence or world's cheapest babysitter?

And to any budding Letters and Numbers contestants: what's your best word from Ashleigh's letter mix?!

Some people are nice just because they can be

Ashleigh and I went to the park yesterday. There's a large reserve around our local park, and a man was mowing the lawn with a tractor.

Ashleigh was smitten with the tractor. She watched it for the full half hour that we were at the park, pointing to the different parts and naming them and their colours, waving to the driver,and shouting hello! and beep! at him whenever he passed close enough to hear.

And he waved back. He shouted hello! back. He beeped the horn when Ashleigh cried beep! And he continued to do these things for the full half hour that we were at the park.

Thank you, friendly (patient!) park tractor man. You made my little girl feel very special, when it would have been so easy to ignore her. I raise my glass to you.


When did you last experience the 'just because' kindness of a stranger?

Parents will do almost anything to avoid a toddler tantrum

Yesterday, I wrote about Ashleigh's new obsession with dolls.

A timely post, as it happens. Because last night, the dolls were the only way I could get Ashleigh to cooperate at dinnertime.

"Guess what, Ashleigh? Dinner's ready! Time to wash your hands and put your bib on, please."
"No!"
"Yes, come on. Into the bathroom, please. Do you want some dinner?"
"Dinner, okay, dinner num."
"We have to wash our hands before dinner, don't we?"
"No!"

And so on...

After five hours minutes of this 'conversation', I had a brainwave.

The dolls.

"Come and wash Doll 1's hands with mummy."
Silence. Then the whirring and cranking of a toddler brain thinking through this new proposition.
"Okay."

We went into the bathroom. Doll 1 washed her hands, shook her hands and dried her hands. Doll 2. Doll 3. Mummy. Ashleigh.

We went to Ashleigh's room. Doll 1 had a bib chosen. Doll 2. Doll 3.

The dolls ready for dinner.

Yes, even mummy had to wear a bib.

Top and bib available at
youwishyoulookedthisgood.com.hot

And, finally, eventually, Ashleigh. Not that you'd have thought there was ever a problem:

"I'm an angel!"

Easy.

Well, not so easy. My 'brainwave' backfired on my patience when every mouthful of dinner had to first be offered to Doll 1. Then Doll 2. Doll 3. Mummy. Then, finally, Ashleigh.

Every. Single. Mouthful.

What have you done (or donned) to avoid a toddler tantrum? Or to simply get things done?

Girls love dolls

My girl does, anyway.

Growing up, I didn't play with exclusively 'girly' toys. I can't remember having many dolls. I vaguely recall one in a bassinet, but my male next-door neighbour spent more time playing with it than I did.

Most of my spare time was spent doing flips on the trampoline, reading books, or making up my own long division equations to practise when I'd finished my homework. That's right. I am supreme coolness in human form.

So I didn't buy Ashleigh any dolls. She has a few she's been given, but they've been largely ignored in favour of blocks, musical toys and books.

Until two weeks ago.

Dolls are Ashleigh's new black. She cannot part with them. Anything Ashleigh does, the dolls do.

They have morning cuddles.

They brush their teeth.

They wear nappies that are bigger than them.

They have stories read to them.

They dance.

They play golf.

They pose for photos (but are yet to master
Ashleigh's cheesy grin).

They are being toilet-trained.

And they sleep during long car rides...
with their eyes open. Cue scary music.

As someone who wholeheartedly believed that little princesses were created, not born, I've had to rethink my attitude to the nature vs nurture debate.


Where do you stand on the nature vs nurture debate? Does your child live up to stereotype?

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

The kangaroo is the world's second most recognised symbol

Or so I read at Healesville Sanctuary recently.

Everyone in the world knows what I am! Hoppity hop!

Aw, shucks. Doesn't it make you proud to be Australian?

But also... doesn't it raise another question? What is the world's MOST recognised symbol? Please don't be the golden arches. Or the Coke ribbon device. Or the Nike swoosh.

The interweb is a tricky beast. Hundreds Thousands Millions of 'most recognised symbol' lists exist. They list the symbols I've noted above, along with the Olympic rings, the peace symbol, the cross and the swastika.

So I started again. The kangaroo is the world's second most recognised symbol? I searched that fact instead. Word for word. And found that the kangaroo is the world's second most recognised tourist symbol.

Beaten only by the Statue of Liberty.


Do you agree? What is the most recognised symbol (tourist or other) in your family?

Cute moments can take you by surprise

Somtimes you're prepared for the cute moments.

You know that your child loves swimming, so are ready for that gorgeous smile that hits their face when they enter the pool. You know that your child loves going on the swing, so are ready for the squeal of excitement when they spot the park up ahead, and start running as fast as their little legs will carry them. You know that your child is tired, and are ready for your heart to melt a little when you glance into the backseat and see them with eyes closed, lightly snoring.

Sometimes you're prepared for the cute moments. And sometimes you're not.

And that can make them even more powerful.

I had (at least) three such moments on the weekend.

1. Ashleigh discovering her shadow while walking home from the park, and trying to detach it from her feet.
2. Cameron fake giggling as Ashleigh attempted to 'tickle' him, Ashleigh responding with genuine giggles and a more concentrated tickle attack, Cameron fake giggling louder, Ashleigh responding with more giggles and more tickles, Cameron fake giggling louder... and so on.
3. Ashleigh replying to Cameron's, "Have fun today" with, "Yes please daddy."

Swoon. So cute.


What cute moments surprised you on the weekend?

Self-cleaning ovens really are self-cleaning

If you're anything like me, you're sceptical of certain product claims. New and improved! Kills 99.9% of germs! Now with extra chumpaliciousness!

Whatever.

So, when I was asked if I wanted a self-cleaning oven, I made a sound that was half laugh, half snort of derision. Self-cleaning oven? Can I get a flying pet pig with that?

But I now understand how they work, and I've seen one in action. And it's awesome! Not the new definition of awesome that means anything half decent. Truly awesome.

So how do they work? Self-cleaning ovens, or pyrolitic ovens, heat up to approximately 500 degrees celsius. They burn through everything - grease, food residue, everything. It all turns to ash, and once the oven has cooled, you simply brush the ash from the bottom of the oven.

Image from here

And I'm getting two of them. Two!

Here endeth the bragging session.


Do you have a pyrolitic oven? Is it truly awesome, or am I getting excited about a pile of ash?

March is FAST month

Yeah, I know. We're halfway through the month. Ironically, I'm slow on the uptake when it comes to FAST.

And that's it for the jokes in this post. FAST month is important. So what is it?

FAST is the National Stroke Foundation's campaign to raise awareness of the warning signs of stroke.

Image from here

The FAST test:

- Face. Check their face. Has their mouth dropped?
- Arms. Can they lift both arms?
- Speech. Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
- Time. It's critical. If you see any of these signs, call 000. Immediately.

Any one or all of these symptoms may be apparent in someone suffering a stroke.

The National Stroke Foundation's mission is this: stop stroke, save lives, end suffering. Simple in concept, difficult in practice. We can all help by remembering to act FAST if we spot any of the warning signs.

Thank you for reading this post.

Mummy is a beautiful word

Ashleigh embraced the term 'daddy' very early. She'll say 'dad' from time to time, but 99% of the time it's 'daddy'. (Did you know that 73% of statistics are made up on the spot?)

But I've always been 'mum'. Don't get me wrong: I love hearing Ashleigh call me 'mum'. Sure, sometimes it becomes a squawk that grates on my nerves, but most of the time, it just makes me happy. I didn't think there could possibly be a sweeter sound.

Then, last Friday, she called me 'mummy'.

Mummy. Mummy mummy mummy mummy mummy.

I've spent the past five days feeling like my heart was going to explode through my chest every time Ashleigh said 'mummy'. It's so cute. Mummy truly is a beautiful word.

Then last night arrived. The night 'mummy is a beautiful word' became a mantra I said to myself over and over. All night long.

1am. A cry. A louder cry. Then no crying. Then one word repeated. Nonstop. Mummy mummy mummy mummy. Then one long word. Mummymummymummymummymummymummymummymummymummymummy. Then a loud, sob-infused inhalation. Mummymummymummymummymummymummymummymummymummymummy.

Mummy is a beautiful word. Mummy is a beautiful word.


What word(s) do you like to hear from your child(ren)?

There are lots of words for a group of giraffes

My apologies: I've missed a few days without notice.

Despite hinting that I might take a week off, it wasn't a deliberate decision. I've been (unexpectedly) sans internet for a week. It has been simultaneously frustrating and liberating.

And full of lessons!

After writing about giraffes in my last post, I took Ashleigh to the zoo to see them. (And, to prove me right, they were all eating leaves - the high ones! Munch munch munch.)

A fellow zoo visitor and I started chatting and she invited me to guess what the collective noun for giraffes is. Loving a word game, I threw a few suggestions out there - a lope of giraffes, a spot of giraffes - and she rejected them. She then proudly informed me that it is, in fact, a journey of giraffes.

Cute! But it just didn't sound right to me. Remembering my gullibility when it came to giraffes and vocal cords, I decided to looked up journey in my Macquarie Dictionary when I got home.

There is no mention of it being a collective noun. Not for giraffes. Not for anything.

So, being a fan of a good collective noun, I headed to Google, and here are the results: a group of giraffes is known as a corps, herd or tower of giraffes.


What do you call a group of giraffes? And do you know of any other 'fun' collective nouns?

Giraffes do have vocal cords

We've all been there. Reading a story about jungle animals to your child.

The lion is the king of the jungle. What do lions say? ROOOAAARRRR!

The elephant is the biggest animal in the jungle. What do elephants say? BBRRRRR! (With accompanying arm/trunk gesture.)

The giraffe is the tallest animal in the jungle. What do giraffes say?

Ummmmm... what DO giraffes say?

Tell me, Mr Giraffe, what DO you say?

In the Hawker household, giraffes say munch munch munch. Why? Because they eat the leaves up high. That's the stroke of genius I had when reading Ashleigh her first jungle animal story. Genius.

Munch munch munch also covers the fact that I didn't think giraffes could produce sound. Over the years, I've been told many times, by many different people, that giraffes don't have vocal cords. So I've always assumed it to be true. But I've just done some quick research (of the search engine variety, of course) and can refute that claim.

Giraffes do have vocal cords. They just don't use them very much. This from Wikipedia:

Though generally quiet and non-vocal, giraffes have been heard to communicate with various sounds. During courtship, males emit loud coughs Females call their young by bellowing. Calves bleat, moo or make mewing sounds. Giraffes also snort, hiss, moan, make flute-like sounds, and communicate over long distances using infrasound.

Okay, makes sense. But what's that word 'infrasound'? Infrasound describes sound which is below the human limit of hearing. So giraffes communicate - we just can't hear it.

There is some research (Infrasound from the Giraffe) suggesting that when giraffes produce infrasound, they throw their head or stretch their neck:

Giraffes produce a behavior where the head and neck starts at about chest level, is thrown back over the body and curled upwards until the nose is straight up in the air. The behavior was termed a neck stretch. A similar behavior was also observed but involved only the head in which the chin is lowered and quickly raised so that the nose is pointing straight up into the air. This behavior was called a head throw.

So, just as we raise our arm-trunks when we meet a storybook elephant, we could all start stretching our necks and throwing our heads when we come across a giraffe.

Hmmm. Pass. I think I'll stick with munch munch munch.


What noise do giraffes make in your household?

Today is World Kidney Day!

Yes, today! World Kidney Day! But what does that mean?

Image from here

World Kidney Day (WKD) exists to bring focus to an area of health that is often overlooked.

I have polycystic kidney disease, so, unsurprisingly, spreading the word about kidney health is important to me. But not as important as our kidneys are to us.

Our kidneys perform a vital role, as demonstrated in the WKD logo (bottom right of the image above). The three bright colour bars represent the blood (red), excess water (blue) and urine (yellow) that our kidneys filter, clean and eliminate.

Each year, WKD focuses on a different area. In 2012, it's all about kidney transplantation and the life-saving aspect of organ donation. The slogan? Donate - Kidneys for Life - Receive.

Coming hot on the heels of DonateLife Week, which we've just had here in Australia, I thought I'd flog the message one more time.

Please consider organ donation, and discuss your wishes (whether pro- or anti-donation) with your friends and family.


I support World Kidney Day. What International or World Day do you support?

Answering questions is easier than actually writing a blog post

I've been invited to participate in a blogging chain letter post thingamabob (patent pending). And, having had a rough week and not being able to think of proper posts to write, it couldn't have come at a better time.

So today, instead of me sharing something I've learnt, you can learn something new about me. Eleven somethings, in fact. I might take a week off!

The questions (as asked by Michael at Whatever Floats Your Canoe - thanks for the invitation) and my answers:

1) If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The ability to walk past chocolate without drooling.

2) If you are what you eat, what are you?
I'm proud to say that the answer is no longer chocolate! Probably bread.

3) What is your favourite board game? Why?
Scrabble. A crossword-construction board game? Easy win.

4) Have you ever been completely scared?
Yes. And I'd rather not share the details in this post. Sorry for cheating.

5) What is your favourite day of the week? Why?
Saturday. Cameron's home, I get a couple of hours to myself in the morning, and then I get to spend the afternoon with my two favourite people in the world.

6) What is your favourite movie? Why?
Anything with Jake Gyllenhaal in it. He's just such a talented actor. Sigh. Such talent.

7) If you could hold any Guinness World Record, what would it be?
The winner of the largest cash prize ever offered! Mwahahaha.

8) Do you think there is a God?
Man, some of these are hard! I dodged question four, so I'll face this one head on: I really want to believe in God. But there is something in me that just won't let me. I'm working on it.

9) Is Julian Assange a criminal?
Meh. I was in a new-mother sleep-deprived waking coma when Assange hit the headlines and can honestly say I don't care.

10) If you could, when would you travel back in time to?
The 60s. Beatlemania.

11) Do you like peaches?
Nope! And thanks for ending on a lighter question.

Now for the fun part: I get to nominate more people to play! And I get to write a whole new set of questions for them.

The rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.

3. Create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4. Tag eleven bloggers, though you can tag fewer people if you want. Include links to their blogs.

5. Let them know.

6. Have fun!

Who'm I gonna tag? Well, the Ghostbusters are so 80s, so I'll tag these four people instead:

Nicole at The SportyMummy
Lady Daa Doo at - you guessed it - Lady Daa Doo
Carla at Carla's scrappy tales
Rachel at I can type real good.

And here are your questions:

1) What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
2) When you were ten, what did you want to be 'when you grew up'?
3) What was the first CD you ever purchased?
4) Have you ever met a celebrity? If so, who and how?
5) What are you most grateful for in your life?
6) When did you start blogging?
7) Why did you start blogging?
8) Besides You learn something new every day, what is your favourite blog?
9) What is the definition of a shameless plug? (Feel free to incorporate question 8 into your answer.)
10) What is your favourite Dr Seuss book?
11) Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Enjoy!


What would your answers to any of the above questions look like? Feel free to share below.

A tarpaulin does not a roof make

The renovations are progressing. Yay! But to progress, we must first take a step back.

Boo.

Last Friday, the roof was removed from the back part of the house. The temporary roof, a tarpaulin, covers a space that includes an empty room slash tool shed - no biggie. Oh, and the kitchen.

The kitchen.

In a week or two, what you see above will be the floor of the second storey. I'm so happy that things are progressing; it is very exciting. But it's also scary. And messy. And cold. And wet!

It will all be worth it in the end. It will all be worth it in the end.

The silver lining: I have a great excuse for having a messy house. It's not because I can't be bothered cleaning just to watch it get dirty again... no, of course not.

What is your 'favourite' part of renovating? And... what excuse can I use for having a messy house once the renovations are finished?!

The plural of moose is moose

I don't know what I thought it was. Mooses? Meese? Meeses? But this fact took me by surprise.

Today's fact is brought to you by the book The Waterhole. Thank you, Graeme Base.


Did you know the plural of moose? What word fact can you share?

A recently mopped floor gathers much spillage

It's been one of those days. A recently mopped floor gathers much spillage, a recently cleared coffee table gathers much paperwork, a recently fed toddler demands more more MORE! food, and a recently changed nappy gathers much... well, you know.

And I'm only halfway through the day.

Whoa, it's March. When did that happen?

It's days like this I wonder why I gave up chocolate.


What can you add to this list? Which of Murphy's laws makes you go GRRRRR?

A misheard lyric is a mondegreen

I mishear lyrics all the time. I spent my childhood and teen years wondering why someone was gonna hurt someone before the night is through when there was 'gonna be a party tonight' (The Eagles - there's gonna be a heartache tonight - Heartache Tonight).

And I couldn't understand why Jimmy Eat World was telling me that 'elephants will be just fine' (everything will be just fine - The Middle).

I've learnt this lesson before. But, for some reason, mondegreen is a word that is the exception to my usually excellent memory. It slips out of my head at crucial moments. Like at trivia nights. Or when I actually mishear a lyric and then spend all day trying to think of the word for it, only to wake at 2am (and yes, that's 2am in the morning) and shout, "MONDEGREEN!"

So I'm writing it here to cement it in my memory. This from Macquarie Dictionary:

mondegreen noun a word or phrase which results from a mishearing or misinterpretation of the original words, especially in song lyrics, as Australians all eat ostriches from Australians all let us rejoice, the first line of the national anthem.


What song lyric have you misheard?