Nose-blind

Last week, I wrote about our boys getting sick.  They recovered nicely, but as tends to happen, I picked up their germs myself and came down with a nasty sinus infection.  I've now recovered as well with the help of some antibiotics.  I had an interesting experience during my illness, though... temporary anosmia.

Many times I've had trouble smelling things while sick, but this was the first time that I lost my sense of smell completely.  I tested very strong smells like bleach and acetone (as well as Arram's epic diapers, of course), but they didn't register, not even a little.   It was like living inside a deep-frozen wasteland where nothing smells of anything.  Additionally, it was very interesting for me to experience firsthand the old saying that taste is actually mostly smell:  because I lost my sense of smell 100%, I also lost my sense of taste by about 90%. 

I could tell in a very vague way that something was sweet vs. bitter, but I couldn't differentiate, say, mint from watermelon.  I did a taste test on some leftovers:  aside from the texture, I perceived savoury peanut noodles, beef with rice, and vegetable stir-fry as identical (identically bland, that is).  It was so odd. 

The novelty quickly wore off, though, and after several days I was feeling bored with food and craving flavor... any flavor.  I found crunchy textures, such as celery, much more amusing than I had previously, but still.   It's kind of sad when celery is your best option for comfort food.  I guess it was a decent diet aid, since I had no incentive to eat chocolate or any other junk.  I worried, what if it never comes back?  It was rather terrifying to consider a lifetime without chocolate.

Then the next day I realised that I caught a tiny hint of garlic in my dinner--it was incredibly subtle, but it was there.  The day after that, there was a hint of coffee flavor in my coffee.  And after that, I was able to correctly diagnose Arram's need for a diaper change by smell alone (although I really hadn't missed that aroma, lemme tell ya).   Now I'm back to normal, more or less, and grateful for our tasty world.

Our beautiful boys

Well, he DID hear a doctor say they recommend a one-cup serving per day...

Oh, that Arram!  He looooves his mischief.  Yesterday he reached up and grabbed an empty cup off the counter, and threw it down onto the tile floor where it shattered into a billion pieces.  I spent a lively 20 minutes barricading the children out of the kitchen and then sweeping-vacuuming-mopping up the tiny shards.

Here is Arram's contribution to the household's excitement today.

He stole it away from someone who was drinking from it.

The really sad thing in all this was that he picked up a tiny sliver of glass in the bottom of his foot.  I don't think it really hurt, but he sure did holler as we were taking it out and applying a band-aid.

Awwwww.  Poor little guy.

But he's OK.

Arram, how do you say 'milk'?

It was a big day here as Arram walked up to me and politely asked for a diaper change, instead of just hollering.  Hooray for communication.




(Note for those fluent in infant-signing:  Yes, I know that that is not the traditional diaper-change sign.  Amiri invented that sign all by himself when he was Arram's age, and we've continued it.)

Traditional carvings

Woodworking is a common art form here, especially in traditional Maori styles that incorporate the spirals of fern heads, and stylized human forms.  Here are a couple of examples that I see every day.

Rangitoto Island

Rangitoto Island is an icon of Auckland City.  It's a perfect, cylindrical cone out in the gulf, just a 30-minute ferry ride away from the city.   It's a dormant volcano, and about four years ago we hiked to the top of it and peered into the crater.


It's one of the youngest land masses in New Zealand.   Rangitoto's birth was high drama.  700 years ago, Auckland was already a decently large city.  People also lived on the big island at the mouth of the harbour, Motu Tapu.  One day, smoke began to billow out of the ocean, and continued for years.  The eruptions piled up and piled up, until it created an island so big that it crawled up Motu Tapu's shore.  Imagine the shock the inhabitants must have felt!



BTW, the boys are feeling much better.


  

We cover our mouths when we cough

This weekend, both of our little boys were sick and miserable.   Malaise, coughing, low fevers, and all manner of drippiness.  They were both so unhappy, the poor little things.  Cuddling with Mama made it better-- Amiri wanted to be on my lap constantly, and Arram clung to me with his arms and legs like a newborn monkey with his head on my shoulder.  Basically, I was a human hot water bottle for two days.

Toward Sunday evening, they seemed to feel better and perk up a bit, stopping their moaning and even playing together a little.  We got them some fresh fruit juice from the place down the street and they loved it.

Then they got their appetites back and had a lovely dinner of toast and bananas.  Arram signed for milk.  Hopes are high for two healthy little boys tomorrow.

We were walking and we saw a fire truck parked on the street!

The jam slice

Another Kiwi dessert.  It's a thick layer of jam between two layers of dense shortbread-style cake, with a nice strawberry-flavored frosting.  It's kind of like a home-made pop tart, isn't it?  And that's EXACTLY what it tastes like.  Only better.

Funny, I was just writing about 'dichotomous emotional responses' today at work

Here's how Amiri looks at the playground.

Complete joy.

And here's how Arram looks at the playground.

No, I REFUSE to have fun on this slide.

The seesaw burns.  We hates it.

He also hated the swing, hated being held by Mama while SHE sat on the swing, and flat-out refused to even consider the merry-go-round.  

Well, in his defense, it IS hard to have a good time when a giant frog is trying to eat you.

Amiri pulled a 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul' moment on me

Amiri and I were cuddled up for our nightly bedtime story/talking.  He likes to talk about how he's a big boy, and Arram is a little boy.  I told him, well, son, you used to be a little boy, do you remember that? 

Yeah.  I was short then.
     Very short.  You were very little.  You wore diapers.
Because I was little.  And I sat in a stroller!
     Yes, you couldn't walk.
What happened before then?
     You were a little baby.  You didn't have any hair.
What happened before then?
     You were brand new, just born.  Tiny and crying, and drinking milk.
What happened before then?
     You were in Mama's tummy.  Before you were born.
Before that? 
     You weren't made yet.
Was I in Mama's head?  (laughing)
     No, you weren't in Mama's head.
(he thought about it for a minute...)
Was I in Mama's heart?
     Yes, Amiri, you were in Mama's heart.

    

Auckland solves our problems

We have very few problems.  And those that we do encounter have a way of getting solved for us.

For instance, we had to walk over a kilometer to get a good burger.  I know!  It took like eight minutes!  Aaaarghhh!!

And then Auckland solved that for us.  Look what opened across the street yesterday.  They're spectacular.  No more journeying for burgers... we don't even have to put on a jacket to run out for these!

And then there was the problem of crossing Hobson Street between our house and school.  We'd have to watch for cars, wait for them to go past, and then bump the stroller down the curb on one side and bump it back up the curb on the other side.  Whew!  The stress, I tell ya...

And Auckland solved that for us too.  Some construction crews turned up last month, and look what we've got now.

Notice the stripey crossing and the round orange signs.  They make cars stop and wait for us.  And also notice the ramped curbs.  I can navigate the stroller across Hobson now with just one hand.

Hey, Auckland?  I have another problem.  I don't have a million dollars and it's quite inconvenient...

New Zealand's Sequoia

In the Northland grow the Kauri forests, largely unchanged since the Jurassic.  Great big conifers with succulent leaves.  Heights of 50 meters, trunks nearly 10 meters in diameter.  2,000 years old.  Pine cones that look like they would huuuuurt...

Since each tree has such a huge volume of wood, they were in great demand for shipbuilding during the whaling days.  Now kauri pine is used for high-quality furniture and fancy decking.  Here, want to buy a slab of kauri?

But I don't want to have to come back inside

It's so sad when playtime is over.

Here are your cute kid pictures for the day

Amiri swings high!

Arram looks pensive.

Ready for a career in standup

Amiri sat down next to me and leaned in close to confide a problem.  "Mama," he said, "I don't like my lion any more."  He meant that lion, his much-loved lion, the one whose fur is matted from numerous trips through the washer as a result of all the dragging-around-and-loving.  I asked Amiri why, concerned about his change of heart.  He said, "Lion tried to bite me."  I started asking questions about lionbites so I could get some idea about the imaginary world he lives in... and then he started to laugh, and yelled, 'Joke!  Amiri told Mama a joke!"

There's still love there.