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Jumping on the Bandwagon

Because I can!!  Pia , Wendy and Caroline have recently put this up on their blogs.  It’s one of those questionnaires that one routinely gets in your email inbox.  I have done them many times, but I always find them fun.  I’m sure most of you know most of these answers about me by now, but here it is anyway..

 

1. What time did you get up this morning?

6.45  – latest Sarah has woken up in aaaages – thank you my girl

2. How do you like your steak?

Not the biggest steak fan, but I would say medium to well which means I can’t have it while pregnant – because well done is just tough

 3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Hm. I think it was The Reader – it’s been so long since I’ve been to the cinema I have forgotten. 

4. What is your favorite TV show?

So many – out of what’s on at the moment – SYTYCD, Strictly and Trust Me (if you guys haven’t seen this you should it’s really really good).

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Cape Town – I’m happy right here although I could do with no crime

6. What did you have for breakfast?

Cheese on toast

7. What is your favorite cuisine?

Italian and Thai/Asian

8. What foods do you dislike?

You’d be here all day if I actually wrote the list – my worst is peas and beans (except jelly beans)

9. Favorite Place to Eat?

My mom’s house, Saigon, Primi Piatti

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?

Hyundai Tucson

12. What are your favorite clothes?

shlumpadinka clothes ie pj’s trackies anything comfie

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? 

UK, the rest of South Africa, USA and Europe

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?

I’d like to think I’m a glass half full kinda gal, but I admit sometimes things get me down

15. Where would you want to retire?

A small little dorpie somewhere quiet

16. Favorite time of day?

Seeing my daughter’s face for the first time in the morning, other than that – bedtime!!!

17. Where were you born?

Bloemfontein – sorry…

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Extreme sports, rugby when it’s a big match

19. Bird watcher?

Naa, I like boys

20. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Being pregnant means I’m not much of a night person at the moment – but under normal circumstances it’s definitely night.  I do not like mornings – I’m very grumpy and miserable in the mornings – especially Monday mornings.

21. Do you have any pets? 

Two dogs, five koi and four goldfish

 22. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?

Not really… I’m going to Yzerfontein this coming weekend.. that will be good

23. What did you want to be when you were little?

A ballerina or a lawyer..

24. What is your best childhood memory?

The times my dad would take me to the ballet as a little girl – I watched The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and many more

25. Are you a cat or dog person?

Dog – no question.  Dogs know exactly what unconditional love is and they never judge

26. Are you married? 

Yup

 27. Always wear your seat belt?

I never used to but road safety is now a very important thing to me and I actually do it automatically now even on the few occasions I don’t have Sarah in the car

28. Been in a car accident?

Yes unfortunately I did have a nasty one in 2002 I think it was

29.  Any pet peeves?

Judgemental people, pretentious people

30. Favorite Pizza Toppings?

olives, mushrooms, pineapples, tomatoes, garlic, spring onions

31. Favorite Flower?

Rose, tulip, orchid

32. Favorite ice cream?

Good quality chocolate ice cream… i would like to die in it

 33. Favorite fast food restaurant?

Simply Asia, Steers

34. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?

None

35. From whom did you get your last email?

My mom – thanking me for letting her look after Sarah and then a long paragraph about how amazing cute and wonderful she is – my mother is slightly obsessed with her granddaughter.  It’s really sweet

36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

Woolies or Nine West (not that I actually own anything from there)

37. Do anything spontaneous lately?

Yes.  Steven and I are always doing spontaneous things.  But it is a bit harder to be spontaneous when you have a kiddie in the mix. 

38. Happy with your job?

It is both the best and the hardest job I could ever do.  On the whole, I absolutely love it.

39. Broccoli?

As fussy as I am, I do love broccoli

40. What was your favorite vacation?

Plett summer holidays – but the best time I ever had was my honeymoon in Zanzibar… hmmmmmmmmmmm….

 41. Last person you went out to dinner with?

My mom, stepdad and stepgran whose birthday it was (Steven was there too but he was very sick)

 42. What are you listening to right now?

Megan playng with Sarah and the dishwasher humming

43. What is your favorite color?

Durrrrrrrrr – if you don’t know this, then you don’t know me

44. How many tattoos do you have?

None. Sadly. I will have on one day though

45.  What time did you finish this quiz? 

9.18am

46. Coffee Drinker? Oh HELL yes. (oh how I miss it)

 

Would love to see all of yours please!! Just for fun

 

xx

The Doctor vs The Mother

Ok, I know that title sounds a bit like some sort of showdown – it’s nothing like that really.  But I know I have had this conversation with Caroline many times – when it comes to doctors – always trust your instincts over theirs.  Now, I’m not saying that doctors don’t know what they’re doing – I’m just saying that mothers know their own child/ren better than anybody else and if you feel that something isn’t right – you have to say something and make sure that your concerns are not ignored. 

Let me start by saying that I LOVE our paediatrician.  He really is the most gentle, humble (which for a doctor is in itself rare), unassuming man who absolutely adores the children he treats.  He listens to us, he remembers everything about Sarah from before and he is just generally one of those people that you just know are genuinely good.  Ok, disclaimer over.  Now for the irritating part.  When Sarah started running a temperature  and coughing last week Thursday we immediately took her to him – I am extremely paranoid about the H1N1 virus – and before anybody tells me it’s media hype blah blah blah let me tell you that two weeks ago we lost an extended family member to it so I know it’s for real – anyway, suffice to say I am worried about it so I know that any sniffle or cough needs to be attended to immediately! He checked her out thoroughly and confirmed it was just a cold virus, gave us our antibiotics etc and we were on our way.  I told him I was worried about the cough so he checked it out and told me the infection was not yet in her chest so not to worry the antibiotics will sort everything out and in a few days she will be fine.  Thanks very much that will be R450.  Oh yes, you heard me.

What followed was three or four days of hell.  Her temperature continued to spike. And then drop. And then spike. And then drop.  She was soooo limp and just not herself.  Not a smile passed her lips in three days – which most of you know is just not my daughter at all.  We watched her and gave her lots of love and tlc and of course medicine and eventually by Monday she was back to herself – cheerful and happy but still coughing.  I figured well the cough has to just run it’s course.  But all the while I have been thinking – it sounds very chesty to me!!! But what do I know right -I’m not a doctor!!! Anyway yesterday she was totally back to herself and I was looking forward to maybe getting out a bit today (well just to go visit my dad so that it would still be indoors but at least out of this house for me).  Today she wakes up and starts coughing incessantly again!!!! It sounded so chesty that I thought to hell with it I am taking her back to the paed. 

So yes.  I was right.  The infection is in her chest.  She now has bronchialitis.  She has to use an inhaler every four hours, is taking cortizone(!) and continuing the antibiotics!!!! And that will be yet another R450 thank you very much! (How I miss Dr Nel who at least reimburses you if you have to come back to her for the same thing). Dammit!!! So even though her personality is back to normal (thank god) she is not better and indoors we shall stay until this clears and who knows how long that will take.  My poor baby.  Her little voice is so husky and she just coughs all the time which makes sleeping very difficult for her.  Anyway, so onward we go and hopefully upward.  This last week has been a trial and boy am I tired, but let’s hope things take a turn for the better soon.

Hope that you are all doing well – lots of love xxx

Remembering..

this tiny little sweetheart… it feels like so long ago and yet it feels like yesterday.  I can’t believe this little four month old is now a proper toddler with a personality and everything.  It just reminds you to hold on tight to those precious moments while they last.

Newsy Bits

Well, my blogger friends, it seems that we make girls in our household!! Yes, we are being blessed with another little girl – a little sister for Sarah.  It will be so wonderful for her to have someone to play with and grow up with and be hormonal with and hopefully be best friends with.  My two nieces also have a similar age gap and they are really close – also Caroline has two little girls who are an absolute delight. 

I am very happy to be having another little girl, although it has come as a complete surprise.  I was absolutely convinced I was having a boy. I am a little disappointed that this little boy I have been dreaming about is not to be.  Oh well.  This little girl is a very special little miracle and nothing can take away from that.  So, now it’s time to start thinking about names – the most exciting part!  It will be great this time around as with Sarah  we knew her name almost from the beginning and there were no name lists and excitement around that.  So this time we will be doing it the usual way and keeping everyone (including ourselves) in suspense.  We have decided that even when we do come up with a short list, we are going to keep the name to ourselves until the day she is born.  Already with some of the boys names I liked, you seem to get people who have no problem with telling you that they hate a name you like, even when you have just mentioned that it’s on the list! Ouch! I don’t want that for her – so when she is named people will just have to like and if they don’t – shut up haha!! My husband is the worst for this – he seems to crush every name that anyone can come up with – he is always analysing how people will shorten it and make fun of it until it completely puts you off! Annoying!!!

Two more things:  firstly, thanks for all the birthday wishes, ecards etc – it is so much appreciated.  I had a most wonderful day on my birthday.  I was so very spoiled and was surrounded by most of the people that I love.  In the evening we went to our little local restaurant (Chaplan’s) where they had a live band playing 60s music.  Not your usal Beatles (in fact they didn’t even play the Beatles), but some really great stuff from amazing artists.  They were really good and me and my little bump even had a few dances.  The band sang Happy Birthday to me and I felt like a real celeb. 

Last night Steven took me to dinner to one of the top restaurants in Cape Town – Jardine.  Very interesting menu consisting of certain scary looking things that I was too scared to try out being the fussy eater that I am.  What I did have was absolutely out of this world – a caramelised endive tart with rocket and pesto to start, pine nut coated kingklip with tagliatelle and a tomato and crayfish sauce (oh yeah baby) for mains, and to end off the most amazing lemon tart with whipped marscapone.  We had  a very nice romantic date!!

The last bit of news is that we have decided to put Sarah into a playschool next year – mornings only and to start with only a few days a week.  I am already battling with her as she is a very busy little girl and I can only imagine how uncomfortable it will be by the time I am enormously pregnant and can’t even lift her.  That is not the main reason – she is an extremely social child and I feel she gets quite bored at home with me all day.  I know that she is going to love the interaction with other kids her age – she so enjoys it on a Friday when we go to TopTots.  I think the day I drop her off there will be terrible for me but knowing her she will not even give me a second thought once she is playing with her new friends (and one that she already knows). 

So that’s my news.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Lots of love and hugs to you all xx

Tomorrow is My Birthday!

And tonight I am baking a chocolate cake and my ‘famous’ cheesecake..   Good times!!

Begin rant

Ok so yesterday I was completely spoilt.  My mom is on leave at the moment.  So she took Sarah for the day and I lazed around in bed, went for a facial, read my book and just bummed around in general.  I even had dinner ready early and I went to yoga last night (another post to follow). 

Was it worth it?  Well, yes yesterday it was.  Today?  I have a super-clingy, whingy child.  Who the hell is this person?   I have had a bloody awful day today.  I haven’t been able to even go to the loo without having her attached to my hip.  She refuses to sleep – I eventually went to the local mall and just walked around with her in the pram in an attempt to get her to sleep – I eventually managed twenty minutes.  I am totally exhausted now and wish I had just spent the whole day in bed. 

The people closest to me know that while I am a very social, people-loving person – I am also someone who really really needs time to herself and lots and lots of space.  I do not like clingy people.  Those kinds that seem to have no life of their own and need to be attached to someone else all the time.  I find it quite annoying when people get so attached that they can’t seem to go a day without seeing you.  Ok, this is digressing, but what I am trying to say is that I need a bit of space from people.  I think this has been one of the reasons that motherhood has been such a huge adjustment for me.  There is no such thing as having your own space when you have a baby.  However, I can see that in future Sarah will be like me too.  She is also very social and loving but USUALLY quite glad to be on her own for a certain amount of time.  (Not completely alone you understand – I’m not such a terrible mother). I am used to that.  My child is normally someone who will play happily on her own, occasionally coming over for a kiss and a hug.  After a little while I am the one who will go and get her. 

Well today is different.  And I know (well I hope anyway) that it’s just a one-off but hell it’s driving me stupid man!!! 

Ok rant over. 

 

ps.  I love my daughter. Really I do.  Really really. 

pps.  promise – please believe me …

Who Would’ve Thought It?

Not me, that’s for sure.. But it’s slowly happening to me, each weekend it becomes a little stronger…. I am turning into… A BAKER!!!  Ok, hang on.. that may be an insult to actual bakers who do this kind of thing for a living, but what else can I call it?  A really good recipe-follower? 

I have now made malva pudding, Sarah’s birthday cake, a baked cheesecake to just go ahead and drop dead for,  and as we speak a batch of peanut butter biscuits is in the oven.  Ok, I know this isn’t much, but the thing is:  I really really enjoy it!!! REALLY REALLY!! I know that if you have a recipe to follow it’s a dead easy thing – but perhaps that’s exactly what I love about it – being a Virgo and all.  You see, I have made no secret of the fact that I DO NOT enjoy cooking – I hate having to think of what to make, and I am no good at just putting things together randomly and knowing it will turn out good.  I have a few things I am good at making, and other than that it’s frozen stuff in the oven or it’s the  Woolies just stick it in the oven method.  So I had no idea that baking could ever be something I would like doing.  Ask anybody – it’s a shocker!!

But enjoy it I do and I can’t wait to keep trying new things and of course keep making the lovely things I have already made that have been such a success.  So, anyone with great recipes – pass them on please!  I’ll be waiting in the kitchen with my blender at the ready!

Sometimes certain words just get to me..

‘…I found a hair, the length of yours on my sleeve

I wound it round and round my finger so tight

It turned purple and a pulse formed inside

And I knew the beat ’cause it matched your own beat

I still remember it from our chest to chest and feet to feet

…

I said I knew the beat ’cause it matched your own beat

It’s become my engine and my own source of heat

The sea between us only amplifies the sound waves

Every hum and echo and crash paints my cave…’

[If There's a Rocket Tie Me To It - Snow Patrol]

 

If you haven’t listened to this song yet…. do it!!! Snow Patrol’s lyrics get me every time!!!

O.M.G!

It is in a state of pur shock and amazement that I write this post.  I’ll just come out and say it:  I’m pregnant!  Yes.  That’s right.  You heard me!  No fertility treatments.  Totally natural!!!  It was never meant to be possible for me to fall pregnant naturally so to say I am shocked is an understatement.  We were planning to go back to the fertility clinic next year to start the ball rolling but here we are…

It is still early days (I am between 5 and 6 weeks along) and I know that some frown on telling the news so early.  Clearly, I am not one of those people – never have been never will be.  When I have news to share, I want the whole world to know – and now they do (ok so not the whole world but the ones that matter anyway).  We are really excited and happy and shocked and amazed.  I feel so blessed and grateful that my body has started working of its own accord.. miracles do happen everyday and I have been blessed with so many in my life – the biggest one being my angel Sarah.  I just know that she is going to adore the new little addition to our family. 

Lots of love everyone xxx