The boy who cries poo

This being a blog with a family (and young child) focus, it was inevitable that we get around to the subject of poo. Here are a few toilet-related anecdotes. 

I was having a shower the other morning and Nic was crawling around the bathroom floor. He got my attention by kicking the bathroom rubbish bin (the metal sound made a great noise against the tiles). I took a peek out to find a very good imitation of the Kleenex / Cottonelle puppy toilet tissue commercial. Nic had caught himself in the toilet paper (bathroom tissue), and this had travelled with him across the floor. He was having a great time (see photo above).

Luc is not yet toilet trained at this stage. He has shown absolutely no interest in being trained. So, we have taken the advice of many a wise parent and carer and not bothered. We haven’t even bought a potty – since it was explained that it was easier in the long run, without. 

I have an open door policy whenever I go to the toilet. This is particularly important in public toilets, so it happens at home too, although Paul is not so keen on it! Whenever I flush the toilet, for whatever reason, Luc exclaims “Good-bye Poo” or (to my horror) “See you later Poo!” This happens in public toilets too – which can be rather embarrassing! 

It is amazing the lengths children will go to gain attention. I’m sure that every parent has experienced the child that needs to be picked up / fed / read to / cuddled / supervised / dressed… as soon as one picks up the telephone to make a phone call. When Luc needs attention, he tells us “Poo!” We ask if he has done one, he says “yes”, but when we inspect, there is no poo in sight. Luc – 1, Parents – 0.  Since a recent bout of vomiting, Luc’s attention seeking repertoire has extended to include, “Mummy, Daddy, I burp… in the bucket” which has seen us jump to lesser heights the more we have heard it.  

Reduce, reuse, recycle

When we first arrived in Chicago, we were living in an apartment block. All our waste was put into a receptacle in the hall that took everything away down a garbage / rubbish / trash chute… never to be seen again. It was all very convenient, but we started to have a mounting pile of recyclables in our kitchen. I am so used to sorting refuse, it was against all my principles to include glass, tin, paper and plastic items with general household waste. My parents were responsible for ingraining these principles: we had a compost container, newspaper pile, different bins for recyclables, and general waste, even a container for food waste to go to the birds. Even when living in Brisbane, we had a separate bin for recyclable products (and a compost heap for some time – that sprouted several trees!) Most containers and packages have a recycle logo and plastic products have a number to define the plastic type. I am still scanning all containers in the hope of finding a recycling logo. The majority of packaging here does not carry this. 

Old habits die hard and I tried to find out a way to manage recyclable goods. I have seen a couple of recycling stations. These are no good for a cold climate or for people without cars, let alone the motivation that is required to transport goods to such a service. Someone mentioned to me that there was a ‘blue bag’ program for recycling waste. I had no idea what this meant so I did quite a bit of searching but found it difficult to find any clear information. I ended up buying some blue bags from Peapod (online grocery delivery service). Apparently, the blue bags can be filled with recyclable goods and these are then sorted (by some unfortunate soul) from general refuse. Different bags are to be used for paper goods, plastic / tin / glass / aluminium, and garden waste. Nowhere on the bags or the box that they come in, is the need to sort by different garbage type mentioned. I have since discovered that Wholefoods offers blue bags for groceries (if requested). It seems very strange to put all the garbage together – landfill and recyclables. 

Wastage extends to water usage. An abundant supply in the form of the very large fresh water Lake Michigan makes water use and wastage so easy. Advertisements for housing all note ‘steam’ or ‘spray’ showers, Jacuzzi tubs, and other high water usage appliances. These are the antithesis of the water saving shower heads promoted in Australia. The parks are very lush as sprinklers spray day and night. Footpaths (sidewalks) are often wet with the overflow from people watering their gardens. If only we could package up all this water and send it over to Australia. My second cousin, Chris Griffith, has put together an online project report about the dire straits of the Brisbane water situation. Check this out at: http://mp3.news.com.au/bcm/water/water.html 

Last night, Paul and I saw the movie An Inconvenient Truth. This is a movie about Al Gore’s (former Vice President and “former Next President of the US”) personal crusade to stem the impact of global warming. It was inspirational to see someone of such high calibre taking such a strong personal stance. I have been really impressed by former political figures using their clout when political imperatives can be put aside for moral, humanitarian and global advance. Including our own ex-prime minister and Liberal Party member, Malcolm Fraser and his work and high profile with Care Australia.  

The current Australian government, also the Liberal Party, does not share such global or humanitarian insight. While 163 countries have signed the Kyoto Protocol, two developed countries refuse to sign: Australia and the USA. What an embarrassment. Australia is currently one of the highest emitters (per capita) of greenhouse gasses in the world. Our small contribution due to our low population is continually cited as a reason for not signing. Despite the USA not being a signatory, nine states (and some 192 cities in the US) have agreed to reduce emissions in line with the Protocol. This includes the state of New York that, coincidentally, has a population comparable to Australia. 

Fetch puppy

Luc is dog mad. I think this has been quite apparent in his collection of stuffed animals of the canine variety. His very first ‘cuddly’ was ‘P’ or ‘Pup P’ whom he used to carry around everywhere. He had been given this dog as a Christmas present at his first Christmas. To avoid some of the separation anxieties experienced when Luc’s cousin Jacob was separated from his ‘Ruff’ for a whole weekend (and the hell he put his parents through), we bought two replacement puppies and were careful to rotate these on a regular basis to ensure that they were equally ‘loved’ (read matted / bedraggled  / scruffy). 

Luc has a need to ‘chat’ to almost every dog he sees in the street, even if this is just to greet the dog with a “Hello puppy dawg”. We have had conversations with many of our neighbours this way, and most dog owners are only too happy to make a brief stop so Luc can pat the dog and have a brief conversation. This takes place mostly with a lot of giggling and some dodging and weaving of displays of affection (on Luc’s and sometimes the dogs behalf). 

The ultimate expression of Luc’s obsession became the evident the other day when he raced up to me in the park and started kissing my face. I was a little startled and asked him what all this affection was for. He made some slurp slurp sounds and then woofed. It dawned on me, Luc was a puppy. I asked him if he was a puppy. He answered “Woof”. It was official. I asked him to sit. He did so. I then asked him to bring me a stick. He obliged, so I threw it for him and commanded "Fetch Puppy!” Puppy Luc dutifully retrieved the stick for me, so I threw it again. This game continued for some time until I thought I would try another command. “Roll over”. Puppy Luc rolled over. I thought this was hilarious. I have never seen such a happy puppy with bright blue eyes and dimples. 

Luc has continued to be a puppy all week, particularly in the park. I have had to explain this to people when Luc’s greeting comes across as a growl. He has added playing dead to his repertoire of tricks (thanks to Harry the Dirty Dog), although he hasn’t seen the point in begging... yet. 

As a puppy, Luc is quite well trained and responsive. I wish Luc the toddler had the same degree of respect! 

Spring has sprung... Summer too

Before I get roused on for not submitting a blog entry, let me say that summer has arrived! Well, not the official summer (this starts on June 21^st), but a very good sample of what summer will be. The locals here say that there are two seasons in Chicago: Hot and Cold. We have been told that Spring and Fall (Autumn) seasons, last for approximately 15 minutes each. 

What a fantastic 15 minutes Spring has been. It did appear to take only minutes for the trees to transform from a lifeless and barren grey to a soft green fuzz, through to full lush green full leaf. Yellow bursting from the ground in the form of daffodils was followed by the whites, yellows, pinks and deep reds of tulips. Azaleas bloomed, and in the blink of an eye, there was lawn. Lifeless gardens soon became green with bursts of colour with a abundance of leaves and prolific flowers. Simply beautiful. 

The people also seem to bloom. All of a sudden, there is a profusion of people out walking, running and riding bikes. People amble and are all-akimbo instead of rushing with purpose with arms folded and shoulders hunched to avoid cold draughts. People now get up early and stay out late. Families pushing strollers are abundant on weekends. Dark colours and long coats have been replaced by bright shorts and t-shirts. Everyone is wearing trainers. Chairs and tables have spilled out of restaurants and cafes onto the pavement. Chicago has become al fresco. We love it. 

Having lived in sub-tropical Brisbane for 10 years, I had lost touch with seasonal differences. Melbourne’s changes in season are more drawn out and not so ‘instant’. Even in England, I don’t remember the onslaught of spring to be quite as dramatic. 

All this change occurred in time for a visit from Rowan and Shirley. Rowan (Paul’s brother) and his wife Shirley, live in Houston, Texas. They decided they would visit us over the Memorial Day weekend. Paul took Friday off, and we had a public holiday on Monday to provide a really long weekend. 

After several delays to flight times, Rowan and Shirley arrived late on Thursday night. We took them out to breakfast at Toast on Friday morning to avoid the impossibly long waits for tables on weekends. After a very full breakfast of omelette, eggs benedict and coffee, we caught the El from Fullerton to the Loop. We walked past Paul’s office and headed towards the Sears Tower with a coffee break on the way (as the boys were sleeping). The views were a little limited as ‘fog’ was about. Off to Millenium Park after a lunch of sushi (Luc’s favourite) at Marshall Fields. It was great to see this park in warm-weather. The Crown Fountain is very popular with the kids as it is now in ‘fountain’ mode, with a shallow layer of water over the pavement surface and gushing mouths spurting streams of water at regular intervals (see photo above). The ice skating rink is now an alfresco bar area. We had to experience it in this guise. Very civilised indeed. We then walked up Michigan Ave to have a look at Paul’s downtown gym and its amazing climbing wall before heading back home to bathe and feed children before our sitter Lisa arrived. Out for dinner on our local stretch of a very lively Clark Street. 

Saturday saw us chill out at the Lincoln Park Zoo. This is a weekly destination with the boys as it is less than 10 minutes walk from home… and it is free! We had some lunch here and rides on the lovely old carousel before checking out some of the animals. In the evening, we went out to see Baby Wants Candy, an improvised comedy routine in the form of a musical based entirely around a title suggested by an audience member. This was hilarious. We ended up having dinner in a bikers bar. 

Sunday, Rowan and Shirley checked into a downtown hotel and we went for a trek down Michigan Avenue (sans boys), after a visit to the Billy Goat Tavern – the original seedy hamburger joint. Back to feed and bathe the boys before meeting them once more at the Hancock Tower for cocktails as the was sun setting. Then to the bustling Rush Street for dinner at around 11pm. 

Monday, we met Rowan and Shirley downtown to take an architectural boat cruise along the Chicago River. It was then that the perfect weather had a momentary aberration. We had some brief showers while sitting on the boat deck (only not enough to make us seek cover). We stopped into Wholefoods on the way home to buy some provisions for dinner, and arrived home for Nic and Luc (in particular) to have a bit more uncle and aunt bonding time. 

We ended the weekend by paying a fortune in baby sitters fees, but had a sensational weekend-away-at-home as a result. Great company, great weather, great outings… this is partly why I have not written more! 

Boys update

Both boys are doing really well and are happy and healthy. I am so proud of them with their ability to cope with several ‘homes’ in as many months, a toy and clothes shortage and extreme changes in food, time and weather. Here is an update on what they have been up to recently.

Nic is rolling and wiggling and seems to gravitate under furniture. I have to keep pulling him out from under the coffee table, the TV bench or even from under his cot /crib (see photo above). He doesn’t seem to mind until he gets really stuck. He has started to chat in the last few days and Luc thinks it is hilarious when Nic yells out “Ya Ya Ya!” or “goy goy goy”.

Nic turned 6 months old today. We started him on solids in the last week. His first ‘taste’ was banana. He seemed a little nonplussed about this… but as for rice cereal – he can’t get enough. He has surprised us with his enthusiasm for food. 

Luc’s defiance is becoming apparent. He had been banished to the corner for some misdemeanour, continuing to flaunt authority I asked him in my meanest, gruffest voice if he would “want me to get mad?” through tears he whimpered “yes”, I responded in an even meaner voice, “do you really want me to get really mad?” “YES!” he responded again. It took some restraint not to burst into laughter… of which I did not have very much. I had to hide in the corner so Luc couldn’t see me giggling. I have used the “I’ll count to three…” threat on Luc which had been very effective until recently. Upon finding him sitting on the kitchen table, I told him to get off. Not doing so immediately, I told him I would start counting “One…” “two, three” Luc quickly responded with a great big smile. 

There is no point in getting mad – it is a really ineffective means of discipline. We have found (thanks to Steve Biddulph), that the most effective means of getting Luc to do something is to be really persistent. Keep telling him something, in a calm and monotonous voice, over and over and over until he does it. It is really quite satisfying to ‘win’ these battles… but does not work in the park when he dumps bark over some unsuspecting child (or mum – so sorry Margaret!)… I still tend to lose it on these occasions. 

Luc has an assortment of favourite toys. These include several Toy Story characters: Buzz Lightyear in two sizes (Big Buzz and Little Buzz), Evil Emperor Zurg (Buzz’z nemesis), Woody (big and little), and Jessie (who has since been lost). Another constant companion is Puppy Dog. I am driven insane on occasion when all his toys have to accompany us on a simple outing. He drops his toys as he has to hold too many (along with his water bottle), and has to keep stopping to pick them up. Otherwise, I have to carry them (along with Nic, Nic’s items, my handbag, keys, clothing items, etc.). We had to go for a walk recently to look for Little Buzz, who I was sure had dropped out of the stroller somewhere between the supermarket and home. Thankfully, for our own sanity, this was the case. 

Luc had taken a real interest in my breast-feeding Nic and would sit next to me, pull up his shirt and position Buzz to his chest. He also liked to give Buzz and Zurg ‘nappy changes’, lying them down next to Nic on the change mat, and covering them with baby wipes. I’m not too sure how this would help these characters’ tough-guy images! Luc wants to hold Nic and give him cuddles. He has to be supervised as this game has a time limit and he is likely to let go of Nic as soon as something else catches his attention

Luc’s imagination really amazes me. He has recently given ‘Puppy Dog’ a persona. Puppy speaks in a very high-pitched voice and addresses us and Luc’s other toys. If I want to get Luc’s attention, it is wiser sometimes to address Puppy asking if he thinks Luc might want to do something. Puppy will answer. Puppy is also used to effect with food. If Luc does not seem so interested, I will offer Puppy a bite. When Puppy thinks that the food tastes really good, then Luc usually does too. 

Earlier this week, Buzz and Zurg were fighting over a building block. The block was being tugged in different directions with the two characters yelling “Mine!”, “Mine!” - I am so glad Luc is picking up something from his interaction with other children!

Give this lingo a burl

Following my previous entry, I started to think a little about language, accent differences and then some of Australia’s ‘unique’ words. With Paul’s help, I constructed the following conversation. This would be well understood by Australians... not too sure how the ‘international’ readers of this blog might cope!

G’day Mate. I was gobsmacked to see you the other day. It would be great to tee-up a time for a good old yabber. If you are up at sparrow’s fart, brekkie might be a goer. Just bring a plate - We can divvy up the tucker.

Maybe we could meet for a barbie: some snags, sangers and, if you like, some grog - put some tinnies in your esky (XXXX if you must) or BYO cab sav, you know, anything from the bottle-o. If it’s easier, we could just bog into a hot chook or some dogs-eyes or savs with dead-horse. 

If arvo tea is more your thing, some bickies, chockies, a pav and a cuppa if we get around to boiling the billy – even Tim Tam slammers if you are game.  Better bring some lollies for the ankle biters, or we’ll have Buckley’s getting any time to ourselves.  I might even whip up some chocky crackles or lamingtons.

You know, if we did all of the above we’d be as full as a goog!

In any case, dress code is daggy: trackie daks and thongs or your togs would be beaut. The blowies and mozzies are pretty rank, so don’t forget to bring the Aerogard or your sunnies. We know we live out woop woop, (you’d think it was the back of Bourke) but it is a great pozzy – away from all the hoons in the big smoke. 

Photos above: what a difference a couple of weeks makes!

Rub a dub dub

I really enjoy a British cartoon show called ‘Peppa Pig’. It is shown on ABC Kids in Australia and is very cute. The main character is Peppa Pig, a young, rather ‘bossy’ female pig with a little dinosaur-loving brother George, Mummy Pig and a well-meaning, blundering slightly smug, and sometimes grumpy Daddy Pig.

I was really happy to see that it was shown on our new cable network (Luc likes it too!). I was so disappointed to find that the show had been dubbed! Instead of the cute voices with intonation and feeling, it now sounds ‘happy pappy’ American with none of the character I had enjoyed. It now seems so bland.

This reminded me of the situation in 1993 when I was visiting Doug (a friend of my sister Jenni) at his house in the Silicon Valley (outside San Francisco). A Nescafe coffee (or similar) advertisement came on TV. Doug commented how this ad had been really popular and had been part of a series of ads that had been running for years. I did in fact recognise the ads. These ads had been showing in the UK and I saw them during my time there. I even recognised the actors as English (from various TV shows, movies, etc.). The ads had been dubbed for the American market and it took quite a bit to convince Doug that these were in fact originally British ads. I could (sort of) understand why these had been dubbed: to suit the local market.

Why Peppa Pig had to be dubbed though, is really astounding – after all, it is in English language and there are an assortment of British programs shown here without dubbing… then we discovered that Bob the Builder is dubbed too. What a shame. The situation that takes the cake though is the dubbing of Thomas the Tank Engine. One of the coups of this show is the use of Ringo Starr as narrator (in the original episodes). Why on earth would anyone think that some unidentified American accent can improve upon that fantastic Livipudlian lilt? We then found out that Alec Baldwin does the narration for the local audience. Somehow, a Scouse accent seems really appropriate for a bunch of grumpy old engines. The man known as the Fat Controller has been politically corrected to his real name, Sir Topham Hat.

I remember hearing that there were some complaints re The Wiggles (who are not dubbed) – and their possible subversion of the ‘American’ language… with the next generation traipsing around saying copious ‘G’days’ no doubt. It won’t ever happen. After all, if TV was such an influence on language, the Australian accent would sound distinctly British-American.

Ay, there’s the rub!