Month: May 2013

Uh… Research?

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There’s this quiz on the radio (Cool FM) that I listen to in the mornings on the way back from dropping V at nursery.  

I’m not sure if it’s on every morning or just certain days of the week – I haven’t quite figured it out yet.

Anyway, I quite enjoy it.

Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t really tell you.  Maybe I take pleasure in the fact that I actually KNOW the answers to some of the questions!  

There are, however, a few things that I’ve heard on the show that have really really bugged me over the last few days.

The first thing is that I’ve heard the same set of questions being asked during the course of one week.

Secondly…  Here are questions they’ve asked…

In which country is the CITY of Texas?

Which AMERICAN artist sang Candle in the Wind?

Which of the following is not an instrument violin, tenor or cello? 

Now there’s nothing wrong with the last question.  But he pronounced cello, “seelo”

For crying out loud – it’s a radio show!

Does no one research the questions?  Don’t they check their facts?

And the worst part is, they’re teaching people who may not know the answers to these questions THE WRONG THING!

I’m so annoyed.

 

‘Bits’

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Yesterday evening I had a conversation with V that I didn’t think I’d have to have for a long time…

Me: Vinay, what are you doing?

V: I’m touching my nooni!

Silence (as I’m unsure of what to say)

V: Mama, are you have a nooni?

Me: No Vinay, mama doesn’t have a nooni.  

V: Yes mama have nooni.

Me: No Vinay, only boys have noonis and mama is a girl.

V: Papa have a nooni?

Me: Yes.  Papa has a nooni.

V: Mama also have nooni.  Mama remove your pants and show me!

Thankfully the phone rang just then and we both got distracted.

Hilarious conversation, yes.

But what will I say when he asks me what girls have if not noonis?

I do NOT want to use words like hoo-ha and vajayjay!

Pacified

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One of the things I said I’d never do when I became a parent, was give my child(ren) a pacifier.  

Silly me.

V will be three in four months and he still uses them.  I say ‘them’ because he has several and he takes great pleasure in choosing which one he wants to use.

I’m not worried about him growing out of it (He will grow out of it, won’t he?) – I just find it irritating that the damn thing is always in his mouth.

It started out as a soother.  It became a necessity for nap/bed time.  Now whenever he’s cranky or sulky, he wants his chupa (pacifier).  He’s cranky and/or sulky A LOT.  He wants his chupa ALL the time.  I’ve managed to restrict some of his times.  For example, he’s not allowed to take one to nursery any more.  He can use one in the car, but he’s not allowed to take it with him when we leave the car (wherever we’re going), etc.

I’ve asked people for their advice, I’ve read others’ posts about their kids and giving up their pacifiers and tried to take it all into consideration.  In fact, it was after reading this post by motherventing that I decided to broach the subject with him.

Me: Vinay, you know by Christmas time you’ll be a very big boy…

I chose Christmas as it gives him a long time to prepare himself.  Don’t think it matters though, he still says ‘yesterday’ for three weeks ago.

V: Yes.

Me: At Christmas time, you should give all your chupas away to the little babies that don’t have any chupas.  And then Santa will bring you a very big present.

V: Yes, I want Santa to bring me a big big present.

Me: And he will.  But first you have to give your chupas to the small babies.

Silence for thirty seconds.

V: No.  I don’t want any presents from Santa.

Great.  Now what?

Should I keep talking about it?  Or should I just leave it?

 

 

Sure2Quit

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I have a love-hate relationship with cigarettes.

I started smoking when I was 15 and in 2009 I had hypnotherapy to stop.  You can read about that here, if you want.

I did amazingly well (even if I do say so myself).  I was a non-smoker for two years, one month and four days before I let myself down and started again.  If you want to know how *that* happened, you can read about it here…

So for the last twenty months I’ve been a smoker again.  I gradually became less obsessive about whether or not I smelled of smoke.  I stopped brushing my teeth and washing my hands after each cigarette.  I still tried to not let Vinay see me, but sometimes he did.

And I was disappointed in myself.

At the beginning of this year I decided that enough was enough and that I had to stop again.

Making the decision to stop wasn’t difficult.  But the *actual* stopping…?

If I were an alcoholic, I could go to an AA meeting.  Or I could go to a doctor or clinic.  I could check myself into rehab and get all the help I need.  But who could help me to stop smoking?

At the end of February an ex-colleague (and very good friend) told me about a friend of hers who is a hypnotherapist.  And the best part is that he lives in Lagos!

I made contact with Trevor immediately.  He said the program he does is called Sure2Quit and that I’d need three sessions over three weeks.

I wanted to start right away, but he was travelling and then I was going away for Easter, so I just had to wait!

I was nervous about my first session.  I couldn’t understand why it couldn’t be like the hypnotherapy I’d been to before (one two-hour session).  Why did I have to go for three sessions?

Anyway, the first session was all talking.  Trevor wanted to make sure that I wanted to be a non-smoker.  That it was coming from *me* and that I had a goal.  We talked about my smoking history and my triggers.  Then he gave me some times during the day where I was not allowed to smoke (9.30-10.30 am, 11.30 am – 1.30 pm and 4.30 – 6.30 pm).  I didn’t find it that difficult to not smoke during those times.

My second session was a quick re-cap of the previous week.  More discussions about my goal and a bit of hypnosis.  He also increased my non-smoking times. (No smoking before 8.30 am, 9.30-10.30 am, 11.30 am to 1.30 pm and 4.30 – 7.30 pm).  Again, it wasn’t too difficult to not smoke during those times.  I also found myself trying not to smoke during other hours.  I was still smoking, but definitely a lot less!  On the downside, I worked my way through an ENTIRE bag of Smarties.

My third session was last Saturday.  I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.  Or how anything I’d done in the previous two weeks was going to help me be a non-smoker.

My last session was basically all hypnosis.

And I walked out of there a non-smoker!

I realise now that the first two sessions were preparation.  They really helped me understand my dependency and my triggers.  They helped me to keep my goal in my mind at all times.

I think about smoking.  I can imagine myself doing it.  But it’s usually just a fleeting thought.

I feel…

Free.

Puppies, Kittens, Ducklings and Fish

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Vinay is sick.  Again.  He is on antibiotics.  Again.  This is the third time in three months!

His temperature has been up and down from 101 to 104 for the last two days, but he is *touches wood* doing much better today.

Anyway, when he’s unwell, he wakes more often during the night and wants to go to mama’s and papa’s room.  He snuggles under the duvet with us and asks me to get the iPad out.

V: Mama, I want to see pictures of puppies.

(Cue lots of oohing and aahing and awwing)

V: Mama, I want to see pictures of kittens.

(Cue lots of oohing and aahing and awwing)

V: Mama, let’s see pictures of turtles.

(Cue lots of oohing and aahing and awwing)

This goes on with calves, horses, parrots, sheep, dolphins… 

You get the picture.

Then…

V: Mama, I want to see fish.

I find pictures of tropical fish.  Why tropical fish?  They’re just pretty to look at.

He looks at two pictures.

V: No mama – I want to see dead fish.

Me: Dead fish?!  Why do you want to see dead fish??

V: Because I want!  I want to see dead fish!

Me: Should we look at pictures of buses?

V: Yes!  Show me double-decker buses!

*sigh of relief*

Dead fish?  Dead?  WTF?