An exception..

Just had to interrupt my blogging hiatus to let you know that my beautiful and awesome niece Lisa has started blogging. It has only been up a few days and already it’s one of my favs – yes I am biased, but I think you will agree.

Go to www.days-like-today.blogspot.com

Hope you likey x

In case you didn’t notice..

I am on a blogabbatical.. a leave of absence, a temporary resignation.. whatever you want to call it.

I guess I just want to make it official for all of you who may still be checking in and getting frustrated. I have been toying with the idea of stopping the blog altogether, but who knows maybe I do that and then a flash of inspiration hits and I decide I actually do feel like putting something up here. Also, the baby will be arriving soon and of course I want to let you all know about that too.

So, I’m saying Goodbye for now, maybe forever, but I will not be gone – I am going to make a much more concerted effort to keep up with the blogs that I read regularly and I will hopefully be back up and running on Twitter soon too. Not having my own computer is so yuk – I’m still just muscling in on Steven’s whenever I get a chance – so it makes keeping up a lot more difficult and at night I am just too tired to do anything else but lie in bed!

Lots of love as always to all and any of you reading this xxx

People are Unbelievable!!!

Wow! Just when you thought you’ve seen every kind of idiot imagineable, you have an experience like this that just leaves your jaw hanging open.  Mother of toddlers will empathise, maybe others might think I am the idiot.

So, I’m at the shops (yes Woolies of course), and Sarah is one of those lovely toddler moods where she is whinging about everything.  She wants this, she wants that, she keeps trying to climb out of the trolley, putting  juice bottle lids in her mouth after me telling her not to, etc etc, the list is endless.  After a great battle of wills all round the shops, we get into the checkout queue where of course there are rows of sweets.  She then starts whining for sweets.  Now, I am normally the type of mother that will give her a little packet of sweets as a treat, but because of her behaviour in the shop, I say no.  Which then leads to more screaming and of course that wonderful brand of crying – the no-tears cry.  This cry means I am not really crying I just want you to give in and give me what I want.

As if I don’t find this kind of situation stressful enough, when I eventually get to the till (child is still ‘crying’) and pay, a woman walks up to my child with a packet of sweets and says “Please can I give her the sweets, shame she really wants them obviously.”  I mean – F*CK!!!!!!! Can you believe this?????  So I very nicely and politely say that I’m sorry but no she can not have them because I don’t want her to be rewarded for throwing tantrums and behaving badly.  The woman starts begging and saying yes but she only has boys and she really wants to get them for her.  “Please mommy please” she pleads.  I tell her if you want to give them to her I will just take them and put them in the shopping bag and give them to her another time so there really is no point.  She says “I will pay for it..”  I say it really isn’t about the money – I have R6 on me.  I am now beyond annoyed and embarassed, and then – THEN – she gives the packet of sweets to my child!!!!!!!!! What the hell can I do now except tell Sarah to say thank you to the lady.  I then take the sweets and put them in the bag at which point she starts screaming even more! She says “I’m sorry I know I’ve just ruined your discipline.”  I say:  “Yes, actually you have.”  The woman then merrily walks off to pay for her things – and yes I did have to go back to the till and pay the R6 for the sweets because no she did not pay for them. 

I am so freaking irritated right now.  Try to imagine how this scenario feels – I actually feel like I’ve been bullied by some complete stranger.  And she is happy because in front of a shop full of people she was the the sweet lady that bought the poor little girl sweets when her mean mother wouldn’t.  I have had strangers pass unwanted judgement and commentary on me many a time – but this is something I don’t think I will be able to shake off for a while.  The bloody nerve of the woman.  And just another example to backup my motto:  “The more people I meet, the more I love my dogs.”

Anyhoo, other than that we are having a wonderful summer and I am looking forward to dinner at Caroline’s tonight with Wendy and our respective hubbies of course.  Hope you are all well.  I know I am quiet but I am still reading all your blogs – just rushing around so much that I don’t always comment.  Lots of love everyone.

xxx

Quotes

Here are some quotes by Dr Wayne Dyer that I love.  Caroline’s latest post has gotten me thinking all day and I feel that he is such an inspiration with regard to this and many other topics.  As we approach the festive season and all its trappings, we could do well to reflect on what Caroline has written and on these quotes. 

“Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality. “

“We are Divine enough to ask and we are important enough to receive.”

“When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.”

“Prosperity in the form of wealth works exactly the same as everything else. You will see it coming into your life when you are unattached to needing it.”

“There’s no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.”

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”

Pregnancy Update

Hi everyone.. Hope you are all doing well.   For those of you that regularly check in here I apologise for my silence of late.  On top of computer related issues being a pain in the ass, things have been very emotionally tough for me this past week or so. Suffice to say that I have not been in the mood to blog – I have been reading your blogs as always, but have not always commented as I usually do.  Anyway, I am in the mood for writing now and so I here I am.

I am now at 24 weeks pregnant, which means I am well over halfway there.  We went for another detailed scan today and again things are looking great.  We had a few glimpses of 4D, but my little girl is either very shy or very naughty as she had anything she could possibly find shielding her face – both hands and feet, the cord and the placenta was in the way too!  From what I did see she is an absolute beauty, knobbly alien head and all! 

For Steven and I, going for these detailed scans – or fetal assessments as they are called – is a bittersweet experience.  The little room we have the scan in is the exact room that we were in when we were told of all the issues that Sarah would have.  We remember vividly the look on the doctor’s face when they discovered something wrong – that look of dread and pity.  Even now that we have been for two we are still studying her face carefully and with trepidation, in case the relaxed smile turns into something else.  Also in that room I had the procedure called cordiocentesis – that day was the worst one of my life – being told there may be a serious problem, and then having to keep dead still while a long needle is inserted into your pregnant belly – it has to be inserted exactly into the umbillical cord at the entry – there is not margin for error.  Having to lie still while going through a storm of emotions and feeling your baby kicking you in distress does not a pleasant experience make.  I am sure some of you are wondering why we would go back there – there are other places we can go.  Well, after the experience we had with Sarah, we trust these doctors more than anyone else.  We know that being armed with the information that we had saved our daughter’s life, and that is why we would not go anywhere else.  If there is something wrong, I know they will see it and we will have a plan of action in place for the day of her birth, like we did with Sarah.  And as you all know, all’s well that ends well – our Sarah is a healthy, strong, gorgeously cute and happy little imp.  The reward of having her far outweighs the drama we experienced. 

But, our little girl is growing beautifully in the womb – they are still extremely happy with her and everything is ok.  We have one more assessment to do at 30 weeks, when her little bowel will be fully operational – this is just a precautionary measure to be 100% sure that it is in working order.  Also, with my placenta out of the way, the 4D scan will be more successful. 

I am beyond excited to meet this little mystery girl.  She moves so much inside me, always reminding me that she is there – and I do need reminding.  One’s second pregnancy is not as leisurely and relaxing as the first.  There is no option to go and have a three hour nap in the middle of the day or just relax and put your feet up when you have a busy toddler demanding constant amusement.  How I wish I had treasured those moments more and not taken them for granted.  I can’t wait to see if she will look a lot or a little or nothing at all like her big sister.  I can’t wait to get to know her personality and mannerisms.  And most of all I really can’t wait to have a little newborn to hold again – this time around I will appreciate that more too – and hopefully I will get to have her at home for the first 6 weeks of her life, rather than have to go and visit her in the hospital.  I know it will be hard and I will be tired, but I am going to try my best to cope and ask for help when I need it.  Sarah will be going to a small creche in the mornings as from January, which I know a lot of people don’t approve of – but I have my reasons and I know that they are the right ones for my little girl.  I will of course be devastated when the time comes (nothing has made me more aware of what a control freak I really am than having a child), but what I am very happy about is that when the new little one arrives, I will be able to spend at least a little time each day bonding with her and giving her my undivided attention, as I have been able to do with Sarah. 

I am feeling really healthy and good in this pregnancy.  I am getting very tired and uncomfortable but not to an extent that I can’t manage.  I have started doing some prenatal/restorative yoga, which I hope to do more regularly.  (Thanks Caz - just the one session has been more beneficial to me than you know).  So, although other areas of my life are extremely tough at the moment, I am actually very content and happy on the whole.  Being pregnant is such a wonderful experience and I am very grateful for it.

I hope that you all have a good week – lots of love to you all xxx

Meatless Mondays

I have been wanting to start doing Meatless Mondays for a while, but every time Monday comes around I forget about it and end up eating whatever.  Well I have finally remembered and intend to do so every Monday now.  Did you know that:

If every South African had one (extra) meat free day a week for a year, it would be the equivalent of taking close to one million cars off the road for a year.

You can read more about all the benefits of doing this here.  Thanks to Caroline for the link. 

Tonight I am going to make Sandra’s Asparagus and Herb tagliatelle dish. 

It feels good to know that I am doing just a small little something towards a very big cause. 

Have a happy week everyone xx 

 

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Rediscovering Rumi

“In your light I learn how to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest,

where no one sees you,

but sometimes I do,

and that sight becomes this art.”

Halfway there..

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant – which is technically the halfway mark.  Since I will definitely be having a Caesar I will have her at least a week before my due date, and so (assuming she isn’t premature) I am actually more than halfway to meeting my youngest daughter.  How strange and wonderful it is to say such a thing.

The attitude around here has shifted temendously.  We are all so excited.  Steven was not really that into this pregnancy as he was with Sarah.  I think it just didn’t feel real for him – and to be fair not to me either.  But now there is a constant atmosphere in the house that something truly amazing is going to happen.  When we watch our tv programs and there is a baby in it – we cuddle up closer and look at each other with total joy – it’s like we can’t believe how lucky we are.   We are really really very lucky. 

We have decided on her name.  Well, about 95% decided.  And it is amazing how many times we hear the name now!!! I just realised that the little girl down the road of about Sarah’s age also has the same name.  I mean, I knew she did, but I just didn’t realise it until yesterday.  Does that make sense?  The more I hear the name, the more I love it – which is strange because usually I get sick of a name that I like when I hear or say it too many times.  But, like with Sarah – it just feels right.  Yes, we are still being ‘that annoying couple’ that is not going to tell the name until the day she is born.  There are a few reasons – one being that we want to announce it on the day – make it something special for everyone else.  Also, now we won’t have to hear others’ opinions on the name.  If they don’t like – tough – they will have to learn to like it. 

My pregnancy is going very well.  I am feeling great in general (although I have been quite ill since Thursday – I am starting to finally recover).  I feel I have more energy and the weird thing is is that I actually want to be healthy.  I am enjoying going for walks and eating healthy things – I want to enjoy the feeling of nourishing my baby from within.  I know…. who is this person I hear you chorus!!! I will try and get my hubby to take a nice picture of me and my bump so I can share that with you all .  Me and photos are still sworn enemies I’m afraid.. oh well!

Due to the sickness, I am suffering once again with a bit of cabin fever.  Being someone that suffers with mild depression, I find it much easier to cope when I have a full week planned out with little outings here and there to look forward to.  So now that I have been home all day every day, I am really having to give myself a good talking to every day so as not to fall into that metaphorical pit that I sometimes tend to do.  

That’s about that as far as what is up with me at the moment.  I hope that you are well and happy.

Sending lots of love from me and my girls

xxx

On A Lighter Note..

Please read Moody Mabel’s latest post – it had me crying with laughter..  I sooo needed that!!