Matching Pegs

There has been quite a bit going on this week, which has resulted in the general lack of posting.  The main thing is that we are in the middle of 2 weeks of school holidays, but we also had a very big day on Wednesday, from which I am still recovering.  WARNING: for those that are here to see craft only, skip the next section and scroll down to the crafty photos

Essentially, Michaela had a funny turn just after getting up that morning.  She turned a funny colour, went all floppy in my arms, was spaced out, and clammy - she did respond to me talking to her, but her responses were delayed.  I laid her on the couch and called “Nurse on Call” to ask if I should be calling an ambulance (if “Nurse on Call” was not an option, I definitely would have called a ambulance first) and they got me to answer lots of questions, and get Michaela to do certain things - she passed their tests, so I was advised to take her to the GP rather than the hospital.  By this stage Michaela had improved a lot, she was no longer floppy, but she was still spaced out.  The doctor saw us straight away, and found no signs of infection/temperature etc, but also thought that Michaela was altered - she was still listless and spaced out. She managed to take Michaela’s blood pressure and heart rate etc, which she recorded and sent us off with a letter to take to the children’s hospital for further investigation.  She was thinking Absent seizures or Cardiac problems.

You see, back around the time that Michaela swallowed the crystal, she also had several episodes of fainting (a few days prior to swallowing the treasure), and was investigated for serious heart problems.  The Cardiology Department at the Childrens’ were very thorough, and found no signs of a problem - they felt that the fainting was extremely likely to be harmless , but as she hadn’t had an episode while wearing a monitor (even after a 24 hour stint in one) they were not sure of their origin, and were going to keep a close eye on her until she was old enough to do a stress ECG - the only test they were unable to perform.  The wanted to see her again if anything strange happened - this definitely qualified.

I dropped the other two kids at a friends (eternal thanks Silvana) and went, with my wonderful Mother as support, to the Childrens’ Hospital, where we were seen very quickly.

About 4 hours and many tests later we were sent home.  The diagnosis was a near faint (pre-syncope) of the Vasovagal syncope variety, triggered by sitting on the toilet trying to poo (a common trigger)!  This was really good news, as other diagnoses on the cards were very serious.  The heart rate recorded by the GP was low for a child Michaela’s age (but normal for an older person,so it didn’t particularly alarm the GP), and was probably even lower when she was floppy at home.  This all casts a more positive light on her previous fainting, which was triggered on at least two occasions by being tickled (unfortunately, we don’t really tickle her anymore).  Even though Wednesday was a traumatic, scary day (which I don’t want to repeat) the upside is that it reinforces the suspicions of the Cardiologists that her fainting was benign.  We are to go back soon to see a paediatrician at the hospital, to talk about this some more - I have quite a few questions about managing this tendency of Michaela’s - but overall the outcome puts many more serious worries of mine to rest.

Here is my contribution from the archive this week - A Peony I made for my Mum’s Birthday a few years ago. The design is based on an ancient Japanese Family Crest and is taken from this lovely book.

The author adapted them for Applique designs, and here is a photo of her design made in colours that have particular significance and meaning. I find it a little busy myself.

There has been some more crafting going on here yesterday, but as this is such a long and eventful post, I will save details for another time.  Hope life is more uneventful for all of you, my lovely readers.

While here in the Matching Pegs household, we try to run a pretty tight ship, consumption wise, I don’t think anyone would single us out as a green, green household. Our family of five, according to the little info box on our water bill, uses the amount of water of an efficient 3 person family with a large garden (although we never water our garden). We pay a relatively small amount for our heating, because our house is so small. I use very little in actual cleaning products (although I have some that I use occasionally), with the exception of washing up detergent, and washing powder for the clothes.

I have just tried going one step further - a step that many might consider a bit unusual.

After toying with the idea for quite some time I have decided to try making a change that will be better for my hip pocket, the environment and hopefully my hair! I’m going to try ditching store bought shampoo and conditioners in favour of a couple of home made versions.

Why - mainly to avoid ingredients like Dimethicone * and it’s relatives. I’m talking about an ingredient that (as I understand it) even 10 years ago was only in a couple of brands of conditioners. Now it is in every conditioner sold in my supermarket, and most of the shampoos as well. It makes your hair shinier and slippery, by coating the hair strands, but unfortunately it keeps building up in your hair, and the build up can make your hair look even more dull and limp in the long run. A couple of hairdressers have indicated that it might be the culprit that is making Amelia’s hair so knotty - her hair is that way inclined and this product might be making it worse.

Of course, these hairdressers want to sell me salon brand products that do not have this ingredient, but that cost about $20 a bottle. I can’t quite justify spending that amount on hair products. If I could just buy products with 10 year old formulations, I would happily do that, but there are none readily available.

So I am going to try this - Going Shampoo Free.

So far I have washed my hair twice this week with the Soda Bicarb. (shampoo) and Apple Cider Vinegar (conditioner) concoctions. It feels clean, has no vinegary smell about it and was easy. Last night I washed all three kids with the stuff. No drama, and their hair looks clean and shiny. I am going to try this for a couple of weeks and then reassess. So far the only thing I miss is the lovely smell released when you lather up with normal supermarket shampoo and conditioner (also there is no lather at all with Soda Bicarb.).

Oh and By the Way - that lovely, thick glass in the photo, that has the tortoiseshell appearance, is my new “Mug” for my daily cups of tea. I couldn’t resist it, and it was on sale. Perhaps I need another one - it also looks like it would make a nice vase.

* Synonyms for Dimethicone that you might find listed on your products…

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cetyl dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Silicone oil