Creative Moments: Everything But The Kitchen Sink

Sunday, 29 April 2007

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

"New Mum On The Block "
Nelson District Parent Centre Newsletter December/January 2007

It never ceases to amaze me how much gear is needed when traveling with a little one. In the last nineteen months since Amelia's entry into the world, we've been on a few excursions. I have flown to and from Auckland twice with Amelia, without hubby. Earlier this year we had a family trip to Sydney. And we've stayed out at Ruby Bay, a mere 20 minutes drive from Tahuna, at my mums a few times.

Some days I'm good at it. I make my checklist and dash around the house filling a suitcase. Yet for the latest trip away, a simple two nights out at Ruby Bay over Labour w'end, I relaxed the rules a little. There was no list. And so in a very un-Virgo way, I haphazardly packed this and that, aware that this method was probably going to backfire on me.

Which it did. I ended up forgetting a bottle for Amelia (ah, a kind of key ingredient in her night time schedule at this point), my moisturiser, only packed one pair of socks for Amelia and then somehow lost my Pilates DVD between our place and my mums. Still yet to be found. My abs that were slowly toning up are settling back into the relaxed flopping belly they were before I started Pilates. Never fear, I bought another Pilates DVD today, there is hope yet...

My mum said when we were kids she always attached a list of what we'd taken with us to our suitcases so that when we left places we could check we had everything. Good idea. We're heading North over Christmas for two weeks, staying an average of two nights in each place.

The potential to lose precious toys is very high. It is amazing how many toys have been lost so far – out of the buggy. Some sentimental toys – but probably more so for us than Amelia as a few were given to her around her birth. I almost lost a toy she is strangely attached to at the moment the other day. I say strangely 'cos it's a doorstop – that is disguised as a cow. (Or is it a cow disguised as a doorstop??) It's fondly referred to as “sausage -cow”. Amelia insists on going to bed with sausage -cow and it ended up in her buggy the other day only to fall out in the last five minutes of our walk

Thankfully I noticed when we got home that sausage-cow wasn't in the buggy and so hurriedly backtracked. And when I saw sausage-cow in the distance, lying in the intersection between Green and Roto St here in Tahuna I :
1. Prayed that no cars were going to come anytime soon and squash poor sausage-cow.
2. Hoped that no one would see me pathetically pleased to see a cow-doorstop on the road...

Past experience of traveling with Amelia has taught us to bring toys, books and a few Wiggles DVDs. The Wiggles are the only magic trick we have up our sleeves at this point to get Amelia to sit still. They are typically on at the beginning of the day when I shower and at the end of the day, while I prepare tea.

Amelia's music cds seem to be a great source of comfort and entertainment – at the moment she can happily sit by her bookcase going through her books while her music plays for around an hour. So those will be coming up North too – the CDs – not the bookcase!!It certainly is a different kettle of fish traveling with a little one. Gone are the days of chilling out to music or watching an inflight movie on planes. Most flights I spend either encouraging Amelia to sleep or keeping her entertained.

Hubby and I have sat down and attempted to nut out an itinerary for up North. We've decided it's probably best on the days we are driving, to drive during Amelia's nap time which is around two hours at noon which is the average time we'll be on the road between destinations. But if there's any great one thing I've learnt about children it's that plans cannot be set in stone, agendas can change at any moment, and to always allow a lot more time than originally planned for the unexpected.

In our family we've discovered that separate bags for each individual is the easiest way to go. So when we went out to Ruby Bay at Labour weekend Kev and I had medium sized bags each and then Amelia had her very own enormous suitcase containing all her clothes, bedding (for the cot out there that we didn't even use in the end), toys, books, and DVDs. Everything but the kitchen sink, it would seem. :)

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About me

I'm Lynda. I was born and bred in Wellington, New Zealand, and in my late primary school years submitted short stories, book reviews and cartoons on a regular basis to KidStuff - a page exclusively for children's writing and artwork in Saturday's edition of The Evening Post.

My writing and art was somewhat squelched during high school, although I chewed through many books and cartooned frequently.

I spent my years as a twenty-something exploring new horizons with travel and gaining a tertiary education. I have a BA (Hons) in Psychology and Education, which was completed at both Massey and Victoria Universities. I've lived short-term in both Sydney and Melbourne and completed several OEs which have taken me to the UK, the USA, a fraction of Europe and to Egypt and Israel. My longest overseas experience was a total of almost three years where I nannied in Vancouver , Canada and worked for two Summers in a children's camp in Pennsylvania, USA.

Variety is the spice of life could well be my personal work motto! I've worked on the ski-fields as a lifte in Queenstown, picked apples locally in Nelson, cleaned toilets, served pints, cleared tables, pushed paper, temped in offices in Wellington and Sydney, telemarketed, knocked on doors selling Christmas cards and calendars, and wiped other people's children's bottoms.

In 1999 I completed a Diploma in Computer Graphic Design at NatColl in Wellington and I worked in the industry for over ten years. My first design position led me to a job in Palmerston North with an agricultural company. It was at this company that I met my husband to-be Kev. At the end of 2001 Kev and I relocated to Nelson and married in Ruby Bay January 2004. Our daughter Amelia was born March 2005.

I have an interest in scriptwriting and in 2003 completed a Certificate in Television Production at NMIT. Around 2004 I declared myself officially out of the writing closet.I have been published in The Nelson Mail, have entered a number of writing competitions and in 2005 had a short story published within an anthology of Nelson writers. I wrote a a bimonthly column for The Nelson Districts Parent Centre Newsletter for a couple of years. I also have two other blogs - one about my experience with SIF (secondary infertility) and one about mothering a child with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

In recent years I made the leap from graphics on the computer screen to art on canvas. As I'd never had any formal art training, in 2008 I enrolled in a beginners course in painting in acrylics. I held three stalls with friends locally in Nelson late 2008/early 2009 - at The Richmond Annual Market Day, The Founders Fair (sold seven paintings) and The Mapua Easter Show. (sold four paintings).

Towards the end of 2010 I enrolled in an experienced arts course. On January 2nd 2011 I had a stall at the Tahunanui Arts and Crafts Fair with some workmates and sold eight paintings - and a painted rock. I had a stall at The Mapua Easter Fair in 2011 with one of the same workmates and sold four paintings and two painted rocks.

In October 2012 I won a short story competition and was published in the February/March 2013 edition of Her Magazine. My first piece of fiction to be published in a magazine, which makes it an exciting writing milestone!

In November 2012 I held a stall with a friend at the Plunket Bonanza. After an eighteen month absence from painting, it was great to get out the brushes again!

In the Summer of 2012/2013 I held a few stalls at the McCashins Saturday market in Stoke with my own pergola that I got for Christmas in 2012. At the same time I launched my hobby-business Lynda J T - which is essentially art for children's bedrooms specialising in personalised art. There is a Facebook page for Lynda J T which features some of the work I have created for friends, family and clients.

I completed a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) through Victoria University in 2013. I'm looking forward to combining teaching with my love of art and writing in 2014.