As I become more aware of the damage we are doing to the environment, the more I am exploring house hold products that are safe for the planet.

Chemicals found in bleach, washing powders, drain cleaners and washing up liquids contaminate ground water, lakes and oceans- there is a website worth looking at for more info on this topic www.groundwork.org.za

There are a couple of SA companies that are manufacturing biodegradable house cleaning products :

Enchantrix- www.enchantrix.co.za Anthia, the owner, is completely committed to a sustainable lifestyle and most, if not all, of her products are Organic,  they are available at selected Pick ‘n Pays and health shops.

Triple Orange Wonder Gel- www.tripleorange.co.za , this is a multi purpose product that can be used for many applications and is available in health shops.

Pick ‘n Pay have had their own no-name label biodegradable dishwashing liquid and household cleaner for years.

The other thought is to use stuff in your pantry. In the September issue of Real Simple magazine they had a long list of alternative cleaning solutions using ingredients from your cupboard. Here are a few of them:

Blocked drains - pour 1/2 cup of bicarbonate of soda followed by 1/2 cup of vinegar cover the drain with a damp cloth leave for 5 minutes remove cloth and flush with a bucket of very hot/boiling water.

Wet rings on your wooden table - spread a liberal amount of mayo on the water mark and leave it overnight,wipe off with a soft dry cloth and voila.

Grease stains on upholstery - Cover the effected area with mielie meal and leave it for 30 mins ,vacuum the mielie meal up and the stain will be gone.

If we can all start being aware and look at making small changes within our household I believe we can make a difference

I found this in the Weekly Telegraph (UK Newspaper) this weeks edition, I think this is great news, I think this is only happening because of consumer pressure…..I for one am going to start to find out who I can speak to at the sweet companies in SA !!! and cause a bit of havoc, I will keep you posted with contact names and emails so you can do the same …In the mean time stop buying these poisonous things and go to the health shop and buy the healthier version they are made in SA and do not have any artificial colourants or flavours ! - cannot remember the name though

We have the most amazing sweet peas growing in our garden - fab flowers with lots and lots of peas hanging from the branches, Kate Sidley from Your Child was at our house (Look out for me in the Nov issue)when we had just picked a huge bowl of peas and she suggested the following recipe:

Pea Soup

As many peas as you have ….Remove the skins(Pod the peas), and set aside the peas for later.

Make a stock by putting the skins in a pot , cover with water and bring to the boil simmer gently for about 15/20 minutes and remove the skins by straining , using the liquid for the base of your pea soup.Simply add the peas and cook for a further 15 minutes season with salt , and liquidise chill and serve.

Sulphur dioxide is not/should not be in Organic Dried Fruit,it is available at Woolies and health shops,make sure you check the labels though.

Dried fruit is a great snack to pop into lunchboxes , or is it ? The awful news for me is that there is this awful ingredient that they sneak in that can cause all sorts of problems.

SULPHUR DIOXIDE E220

Can provoke gastric irritation, nausea, diarrhoea,skin rash,asthma attacks,difficult to metabolise for those with impaired kidney function. Also destroys vitamin B1,and should be avoided by anyone suffering from conjunctivitis , bronchitis, emphysems, bronchial asthma or cardiovascular disease !!!!

I will only buy the dried fruit that does not contain this ingredient, and quite honestly I will give it a miss all together if I cannot find any - fresh fruit will be the replacement.

I bought this amazing book called “Whats in this stuff” by Pat Thomas-an essential guide. I bought mine from the WELLNESS WAREHOUSE in Cape Town - a must visit for all Capetonians. You can get all your natural products there as well as a healthy lunch - check it out.They will be opening new stores in JHB soon.

My Sister in Law Pia sent this to me this morning from the Sunday Times in the UK.

Mosquitos

Vitamin B1 makes your blood bitter and stops mosquitos from biting, ( they can smell it)which could be a good malaria preventative as well

TRAVEL KIT

Ginger: stops nausea and travel sickness. The easiest way to take it is in tincture form. Take 1-2 drops directly under the tongue.
Aloe vera: Aloe Max is a gel from New Zealand that contains chlorophyll to help the skin repair itself after sun damage (£9.99 from the NutriCentre; 0800 587 2290).
Probiotics: will help prevent and treat the dreaded traveller’s tummy. If you buy capsules, make sure they have an enteric coating: this will protect the good bacteria as they pass through your acidic stomach.
Nettle tea: an excellent liver tonic, this simple brew will not only help your recovery when you’ve overindulged, but is also effective against allergies such as hay fever.
5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP): beats jet lag by boosting levels of serotonin, the mood-controlling hormone produced in the brain that is a precursor to the manufacture of melatonin, which regulates the body clock. It won’t work straightaway, so start taking it two weeks before your departure date.
Echinacea cream: accelerates wound-healing and is excellent for serious sunburn.
Arnica 3c: if you take nothing else, makes sure you pack this homeopathic remedy. It can reduce bleeding, inflammation and bruising. It is also effective against jet lag.
Citronella, eucalyptus or lavender oils: stop insects biting: dilute 10-20 drops in an egg cup of almond base oil and apply

For all those mothers that are completely exhausted on Sunday night but still have to feed everyone here is the simplest dish in the world and everyone will tuck in including the old Husband all you need is 3 ingredients and one of them is water !!

Ingredients for 4

8-10 Large Organic Eggs

2 Handfuls of Gruyere cheese

A few splashes of sparkling water

Preheat a grill on high, break all the eggs in a large bowl and whisk, add the water and whisk again. Set aside.In 2 Medium non stick frying pans over a medium flame melt some butter (enough to cover the base of the pan) pour the egg mixture into the pans, dividing the egg mixture up equally.Cook for about 5 minutes until the egg mixture is cooked at the bottom , remove from heat sprinkle the cheese on both of the frittatas and place under the hot grill until the eggs are cooked through.Serve immediately.

They said it would happen but I thought we had a wunderkind on our hands, but Jules finally crumbled on Fri night, sobbed and sobbed. She missed her special friends Lexi and Bellsy. I spent many hours playingthe psychologist as she doesn’t find it easy to express her feelings. So I do a lot of reading between the lines and guessing until suddenly it feels right for her then it all comes tumbling out….then she feels great.

But shes back at school today and once again no fuss and skipped ahead.

Hugo turned 10 today and is all of a sudden very grown up. He went to school and told the class about all the naughty things he has done over the last few years (it’s a tradition) and then left them 100’s of Chocolate Muffins to add to the general hyperactivity in the classroom.

We took a few of his friends to the farm for the weekend. They had a great time completely exhausting themselves by cycling , riding horses (The bucking broncos) we will give that a miss next time, and shooting cross bows….

We will be having a nice homemade cake for tea !!!!

We have just moved Julia to a new school mid year, and she started on Tuesday.

For the last 3 years we have felt that things were just not right with Jules. She has always been a confident bright kid , but things just started to change slowly.

In grade 1 in the mornings before school she would moan about her uniform not fitting properly or her hair would not look right, or she didn’t have the right crayons in her pencil case. It would be one thing after the other,she was also not showing any interest in all the wonderful extramurals she could do at school like ballet , music ,drama, swimming the list was endless which was strange for a kid that was great at singing , ballet and swimming.

I began to think that we really had a problem child .We started play therapy and tried to understand what the issues were, was she just a difficult kid, were we the problem, how could we change?

After 6 months of therapy and Julia resisting it every step of the way, the therapist recommended we change schools. I thought that was a bit drastic and didn’t want to even contemplate that and the school she was at was so nurturing. She had some nice friends and the other consideration was that it was so convenient around the corner from Hugo’s school . So we continued to look at Jules and wondered where we had gone wrong.

In grade 2 learning became a problem for her. She began to fall behind and this from a kid who started to read at nursery school! But, she loved her new teacher which was a big thing as she was completely terrified of her grade 1 teacher - things were not looking good.

After doing assessments and taking her to remedial and OT it became clear that a whole chunk of learning was missing . I was in shock …..this was really hard for me to comprehend - She had always been a bright kid I never thought she had learning problems.

But you know what I think it is a lot more complicated than that- I believe the environment was not right for her. The problems we were encountering every morning was a symptom , the cause was that she had lost her confidence and self esteem she was anxious and stressed and when you are in that state of mind you cannot learn anything .

I’m sorry we didn’t do it sooner. We moved her and you cannot believe this is the same child! She skips into school every morning , she hasn’t complained about her hair or uniform. It’s early days but the signs are good….every kid is different and I have learnt that it is really important to match your child to the right school - they all require different things and to learn they need to feel supported

Maybe some mothers would call me irresponsible when I tell you what happened to Jules on Sunday.

But the reason this happened, and in my defence, I think it’s really important that kids get outside and get dirty, build a mud pie, climb a tree, dig a hole, plant some herbs whatever it takes really. Kids today are often found behind TV or computer screens, which in my opinion sends them off into cyber space, and I would rather send them of into the garden which is great for grounding kids, brings them down to earth gets them to let off some steam.

We have a dusty plot of land in the bush. Nothing fancy - making it a great environment for me to get grounded (because parents need it too!).  Anyway on Sunday Jules, who loves cycling,  chose the smallest bike to ride around the farm on, the one she had when she was about 4 yrs old. It doesnt have brakes and is really not suitable for cycling on sandy stoney roads but you know how it is with kids - they want their own way.

So, off we went together. Rupert and I were walking and she was cycling and off she went down a dusty steep road. She really got into the swing of things picked up speed and was amazingly brave. Then she hit a large stone,  skidded,  wasn’t able to stop in time and tumbled all the way down the hill on her face….she looked like she had been in a war zone.

I felt really negligent as I had encouraged her to head off and that we would catch her up. But, she was really ok about the fall and in fact,  I think she was quite proud of herself.

She didn’t brake any bones - but she had hurt herself  and bruised her knee which are really just normal bumps and bruises.

Anyway, I got to thinking that falling off  your bike is actually a good thing for children and that despite it being hard as a mother, we mustn’t be overprotective parents all the time as kids learn so much from these experiences.