Friends, love and beach magic!

Well it finally warmed up--and oh, it got HOT fast!! Of course my friends in the States will think I am nuts for being so bothered by the weather here but it feels deadly when you get used to most of the year being so ...brisk... as it is in this little town. I don't know why Padstow seems to have such a unique weather climate to the rest of Cornwall, but aside from living in a kind of crummy neighbourhood, I absolutely do love it here.

Lilla Osrid Olov has made some very dear friends shortly after my last post and me too. There is a woman a few houses down who I have long wished to speak with, always friendly and trying to chat with me, but I am so shy and awkward that I never knew what to say in return. All of this time. I felt so sad, I thought surely she must have believed I hated her as she had stopped saying so much. She must think I am such a snob, I thought! Well, one day I was playing with little O.O. in the park and one of her sons came out and brought a big car out for him to ride in-I don't know why, but it was so sweet, and then he ran back inside.

From then on I started talking to her, and I sort of blurted out something along the lines of how sorry I was that I was so awkward, I had always wanted to be her friend and say hello but I have aspergers and have no idea what to say to folks, and and and and I ..and she gave me a big hug and we have been the great friends ever since! :) Her sons are 6 and 9, so they are a bit older than Osrid Olov, but they love him to bits and they come running out to play with him when they see him and vice versa. We take long walks to the park or here or there or visit and play for hours, they are all so much fun. The boys really understand that O.O. needs gentleness and understanding and are so compassionate towards him, and he makes them laugh with his sweet little dances. There are not many people after all who will dance in joy every time you do something that makes them happy-but, my little boy!

About 2 weeks ago, Osrid Olov told me that he LOVES me! I know this, of course and he has hummed it before (he is good at humming out words he wants to say, hee hee) but hearing him able to verbalise it was incredible. He said "I love you Daddy" to Paul the night before too. Ohhh!!! He has been blowing us kisses all the time too. What a LOVE this boy is. Oh my life.

We had a lovely evening not long after that I still remember because it felt very magical. We had taken a walk and, via a new and very funny little friend, spending a couple of hours playing by the beach along the Camel trail as the sun went down with this lovely Muscovite family on a long holiday through Britain. Their 4 year old boy kept taking my hand and bringing me up upon the rocks to show me snails, and he ran around in big circles with O.O. making huge happy screams. They also had a younger toddler but he was cuddled into his mama. Their Dad was an international businessman and had been many places that I had lived. The 4yo boy could not speak very much English (not that O.O. can either really ;)) so when he wanted O.O.s attention he just screamed with his tremendous voice that happiest of screams. They were just adorable.  I found a huge, perfect seashell dried on the beach and imparted it to audible Pasha to remember us by. Little Osrid Olov fell asleep in the Ergo as I walked home in a warm misty rain-it was wonderful.

We have had some great warm summer nights together with our friends down the road now. It is so nice to have someone close that is awake and open to the world, it seems that far too few people are these days.

Today, we went with O.O.'s grandparents (my in laws-but unfortunately Paul was at work all day, boo) to the beach after grandad installed a brand new curtain upstairs to block out that infernal ball of yucky hot light from shining on us in our sleep. Osrid Olov wasn't feeling quite so great as he had had an accidental allergen exposure the night before and was just cuddled up in my arms the whole time-not that I minded that one bit if I am honest, I just wish he had been feeling more secure because I know how much he enjoys the sand beneath his feet normally. He did have a lot of fun though because he got to go in the ocean for the first time with me. He thought the waves splashing up against us were just as funny as could be and we were laughing, it was lovely. He got cold after not so long, but cheered up after nursing in the sand :) His nan wrote his name on the beach with a x and he loved it, he said "O.O.!" "O.O.!" "O.O.!" as I spelled out the letters "O-S-R-I-D  O-L-O-V, walking through the letters. OSRID OLOV! He loves the sound of his name, just loves it. His face lights up as I spell out OSRID OLOV! What a great idea, grandma! On the way home we talked about how soon his third birthday is creeping up on us and he kept saying "three three three" "three three three" "three three three" in a funny little hummy way, three times in this rhythm. It was so cute. We climbed into a lovely mag sulph. bath when we got home...oh, oh oh the mmmiiinnneraaalllsssss. MINERALS! Miineralllss. MMmMMmmMMmmmm.

The End Of An Era...

2012 is drawing to a close-

Always a tragic time of year for me; a sort of "postchristmas depression" if you will! I know, there are other things to look forward to, but it is always a bit hard.

So many things have happened-a terribly tragic event on the 14th which, although had nothing to do with me,  was another of many echoes throughout time reminding me of the fragility of life-as if I needed a reminder! What a precious life this is. Between this and the commotion of people believing that the world would end at the turning of the Mayan calendar (what!) on the 21st-I've felt somehow that I needed to get back in touch with things that I had lost sight of. My patience hasn't been as great as it could have been, these days-and it's something I've decided to work on. Including jumping into puddles. All kinds of puddles. With my shoes and socks and favourite trousers on-because that's what my son loves-and even though it's so gross, these moments are so beautiful; his smile is so beautiful, and if I remember the way the mud feels squidging into my toes it will be worth it for the prevalent memory of my laughing son. Our connection has deepened even more than ever, I think; because I feel like I'm understanding things a little bit differently.

O, our autumn/winter has been so beautiful-crunchy leaves and frothy breath before us-December bringing into the most exciting festivities; of course! I've made it so Osrid Olov can get to the counter with me now-and help me bake and things-which is so sweet and special and fun for us both. He is so excited to do this and I am too. What a valuable skill, especially for a boy with food allergies! We've made such nice treats-like cookies and sweet mincemeat pie.

I've also done so much sewing-I made a star for our tree, ornaments, presents for O.O. and more...and acquiring more presents, making spice blends and listening to the sweet music. I just love love love the holiday season! Such a shame it has to end, phuu. I adore these winter days; and am so glad though that we have a couple of months left of truly COLD weather. I want to live where it is winter all of the time, and we can do Christmassy things all of the time!

O.O. has learned a ton of words lately-I knew his vocabulary would begin to develop-but of course, no-one else understands him but me; it would seem. His voice is so incredibly deep-poigniant, deep and beautiful. I have never heard a voice like it. I am just thrilled as could be to understand more and more of what he is telling me. It makes everything so much easier.

My dear son teaches me so much about life-nothing that we feel is too small, or silly or stupid; it is all important-and no matter what anyone says, the things we do together confirm what I've been fighting for all along: love is the only rational act.

Oh, books!

Sweet little O.O....
yesterday Paul was going through some things in the room and he plonked a few of O.O.'s hardback storybooks down on the bed. The excitement! He was in my lap and I was playing with him and half-arsedly reading something on my laptop-but immediately he wanted to grab for all of them. I shut down the laptop to read with him but he could not figure out which one he wanted first and ended up drumming on half of them before he decided. I truly think he may be bound to be a drummer, mm hmm!

We ended up reading some counting/picture book with a 3-D caterpillar in it, a Thomas the Tank Engine book with a button that made puffing noises-which O.O. pushed at every opportunity-and about half of The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle, which Osrid was more interested at looking at the cover of.

...and everything has been going quite well with him in general, I would say. He's such a happy, playful, chattery little guy, and we are the two luckiest parents in the world (of course we would think so, but come on! Just look at the little fella :)).

2 1/2 New Friends :) (or should I say 6?!)

I haven't posted in a couple of days!

Sunday was a nice day spent lazing around at home-well, somewhat-Osrid Olov wasn't lazing-when is he ever? He was playing and chattering and standing as always. He was LOVING his Danish computer games that we play at www.emu.dk and didn't want to do anything else for ages, which made me very happy. I love that he is so interested in it too. Pottying went well-we got another 4 tinkles, no plops though.

Yesterday was so lovely...what fun we had! Osrid had a shower and got to play his Dansk lessons and we went out in the afternoon to visit our lovely friends Mr. & Mrs. Sands which have just now moved over to the West side of town, which is wonderful as we can walk to their house in about 15 minutes. We saw some BEAUTIFUL spiders on the walk over! One was almost as big as my fist, I have never seen one so big in Cornwall before. I don't know what type she was but fortunately I managed to snap a photo(above) there was also a very cute little one adjacent to it that I had to photograph, too.

We were really glad to get to go and visit James and Sam especially as they have announced a couple of weeks ago that they are pregnant!!! Which means Osrid will have a new friend along shortly. It made us SO happy to have someone nearby to talk to about parenting and kid stuff and them too. This was Osrid's first time meeting them; he just loves them, and I am just elated that they share our views on gentle parenting. I worry when I have friends who get pregnant that they will be the type of parents who religiously follow the advice from the likes of Gina Ford & Tizzie Hall and leave them to cry & scream themselves to sleep until they are internally silenced. I have lost friends over some of my extreme views but despite that I respect people handling things differently I could never condone the sad and blatant neglectfulness that the majority of the western world seems to practice these days-which just makes me so feel so warm and fuzzy when I meet other people who are actually truly happy to have their children. A huge congratulations to James & Sam!

Paul went to see the doc & tell her we are not seeing Osrid's HV (nasty wench...) anymore. She was fine with that but was insistent we wean Osrid...this is the 3rd time I've heard a health professional mention weaning at a year or earlier, it doesn't surprise me the breastfeeding rates are so low in this country with such unsupportive doctors and "health" visitors. It must be illegal to give that kind of advice since it goes against World Health Organisation recommendations!! It seems insane...thankfully I know better than to listen. She wants to see O. but, unless he breaks a leg or something *touches wood* we don't plan on it. I'm glad Paul sees eye to eye with me with pretty much everything regarding our little one. I am so lucky. <3

We also had a nice little walk on the quay-I always love looking at the sailboats on the sea side, but I can't help that they make me nostalgic missing my dear old Dad. Heck.

We didn't get to bed until midnight which has been very late considering we've been falling asleep at dusk recently (strange, right-but we fall asleep whenever Osrid happens to.) This morning we got 2 tinkles on the potty so far, yesterday we only managed to get 3 for the whole day but that was probably because we were out. He also made a bit of a pooey gooey mess, augh, the joys of being a parent (Paul is at a seminar)...so it was shower time for BOTH of us again...my goodness. I am so tired, but I really do have the cutest time eater in all the land. Oh, and we have another spider that Paul found crawling across the floor of the bathroom this morning- she appears to be carrying a little egg sac of her own!! Aww!

Language Learning Methodology

This is just a special post on a specific subject I have on my mind, that I think some of my readers may find helpful in light of some of our recent discussions :)

I have had many people ask me how I have such skill learning languages, and the answer is quite simple really...I don't try nearly as hard as you'd think.
The first step is to gather your learning materials. I would advise against using programmes such as the Rosetta Stone because while it may help you gain a very basic vocabulary, it will not teach you grammar. Another thing that Rosetta Stone will not do is teach you practical phrases that you will need, realistically, in everyday conversation, even in travel. I will get into more details if anyone wants to know more about why Rosetta Stone and similar language programmes do not work, but this is the gyst of it. The best idea is to contact the Ministry of Integration, Language Dept. in a country whose language you are trying to learn and explain to them (these people speak English as part of their jobs, so don't worry about using a translator) what you are trying to learn and for what purposes I.E. "I want to learn enough Spanish to get by on a vacation to Guatemala in December" or "I am trying to learn and teach Italian to my 6 year old daughter, could you send me some resources that might appeal to her interests/education level?" most will be happy to oblige as they are  pleased to see others taking an interest in their culture and many of the things they will send you, due to the fact that they are experts in their fields, are totally free, best of all!

Now that you have your learning materials, the second step is to make a commitment to learn every day. Whether you take 10 minutes or 2 hours, learning needs to be consistent.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly of all, you need to goof off. This might sound like the silliest advice, but it works. Take your time. Cut your language learning into easy to manage sections (if it has not already been done for you in whatever learning material you are using) I.E. groups of letters, vocabulary lists, grammar lections, ect. and take them one by one, day by day. Each day, focus on only one lesson. Mill everything over in your head slowly, take each thing in until you fully grasp what it means, but the most important thing is that you do not try too hard to remember anything. By all means, eat, have a record playing in the background, tap your feet, laugh at words in other languages that are reminiscent of swear words in your native language (you'd be surprised how many there are :)))) this is very difficult to wrap your head around doing at first and to let go of the idea of not trying to remember, but I guarantee you that it works. How does it work? Well, when you are enjoying yourself and relaxing, the information is more likely to stay with you than when you are putting stress on your brain. Think of when you are cramming for a test at the last minute, how much of the study session do you retain? Not very much, if anything. This works in precisely the same manner.

Now, when you feel you have thoroughly given a lesson the time and attention it deserves to soak into your brain, move onto the next lesson. If you have been a busy bee and have only had time for a few minutes to spend on it that day, do it again the next day, but don't do it for more than a few days in a row. Then, simply move onto the next lesson and do as you have been-relaxing and enjoying your language learning experience.

When approximately 2 weeks have gone by, go back to the 1st lesson and review. The reason for doing this is that you are moving the items you have learned in this lesson from your short term memory into your long term memory and as you delve into your language practice further, these terms and lessons will resurface naturally over the course and they will then resurface too in your mind - naturally!

This is based loosely on the Goldlist Method, developed by prof. Viktor Huliganov (search on youtube)

I hope this helps you all-enjoy and let me know how you are getting on!

Introduction

It's Friday, 16 September 2011.
I'm starting this blog mainly for our own purpouses, but for anyone who is curious as well to see how we are doing. I, Yardana, and my husband Paul are earthy/attachment-style parents who are currently loosely "unschooling" (to put it short, child-led home education) our 10 month old son, Osrid Olov. I plan on writing some bits and bobs about his development/progress, what we are doing ect. -just to have an overview of what we've done over time, collaborate with fellow home educating parents to gather and share fun ideas and share with family and friends. Hope you enjoy! :)