Ten on Thursday and the toddlers talking

although it does feel like Friday because tomorrow is a public holiday in South Africa.

1. I worked out this morning at the ungodly hour of 9 am. It was terrible as I'm hardly awake then... but felt awesome straight afterwards because I was DONE for the day :)
2. I have been eyeing a particular lilac-y shade of nail polish (Roz, yours and a colleague's nails) so I bought a similar shade but still not quite right last weekend. Two coats look good enough but I'm still searching for the exact elusive shade :)
3. My Kendra has been a little bit sick for a week. We took her to our GP's replacement last week and she's been on an antibiotic. However, every night at 12:30 - 1 am she wakes and wants water. That's my cue to 1) get her water 2) check her temperature (always around 38,5) and 3) give her an empaped which she hates so screams D awake. Oy. 
4. I am so knackered from all this night-time drama that I literally fell asleep a couple of times in an afternoon meeting this week.
5. I phoned the GP yesterday to say that K is still not well and she suggested we now go to the paed. Off we trotted this afternoon where the lovely Dr S was treated to K WAILING (and how!) before he even touched her ears or whatever. She had to be cathed to get a urine sample (unpleasant but very efficient, much better than those annoying bags they want girl babies to pee into) and she has a bladder infection so she is on a better AB and "should be better in 24 hours".
6. K and I then had some girl time (as we were both fairly traumatised) and went shopping for necessary items like the AB and my birth control, and then for fun things like a Michael Buble Christmas CD. I shocked myself - I also bought Celine Dion (and I'm not into girl voices!) because I like the way she sings O Holy Night. Gives me cold shivers it's so beautiful.
7. I got the most STUNNING blue glass water bottle from my work colleague (the same one with the nice nail polish) as a present. I love it. So much so I get a little frisson of joy every time I pour water. She laughed today when I told her again how much I LOVE MY GIFT.
8. This same colleague is an even stricter mother than I am (I want to be her when I grow up!) but is such a P it makes me laugh. She is unstructured and totally spontaneous. It's really nice to see that not only J mothers like me can be strict.
9. V announced today that she wants to take FOUR weeks leave (she only has 11 days due to her - actually 10.87 if we're being specific) and I flipped. Much like my friend did with her nanny. We don't even have enough leave to take four weeks. I told her D and I will have to discuss as I am not sure what I will do with my children for one of those weeks. I understand she has to sort her son out in Zim with schooling but 4 weeks?! D and I have now discussed it - I drew calendars, different highlights (ideal vs compromise scenarios), etc - and we will discuss with her on Sat.
10. My study is a mess - I get a bee in my bonnet every December to "beautify the house" so there are 9 photo frames (most with multiple photos) all spread out with photos in position. D's job is to put them into the frames and mine is to use my trusty hammer (yes, the hammer is mine - I seriously love my hammer - so satisfying to pound away at a wall) to put them up on the walls. I'm going to use all the command hooks that are left and then just have at it.... can't wait. This weekend it is all happening.

and one more...

Tonight D went to gym.

Connor runs out of their bedroom and says to me, "Mummy, Connor NEEDs Daddy".

How sweet is that?!

I said, "Connor, we all NEED Daddy but now you NEED to sleep" and marched him back to bed.

His sister was out for the count - I'm sure the day was way too full of excitement for her.

How has your week been?

Don't forget to take a pic of your flip flops and link up. I only have ONE proper link - I don't get these other people who just link to anything... what for?

PS Kendra's just done her nightly wake-up (temp = 38.7) and I changed her nappy. I accidentally stuck the sticky part onto her skin so when I took it off, I ripped it and she said it was sore. So I go, "sorry, Baby, it was an accident". Do you know what she said? "Mummy, be careful!" LOL

Easter baskets and boss's day!

1000 posts

Yesterday's post was number 1000!




Who knew I had such a lot to say?!

Easter baskets


I don't have the holiday wrong... I am crazy busy trying to get my photo book done of the babies' first year and am finding TONS of pics I never got around to posting.

• Baskets about R16,99 each from Pep - I regret only buying about 6 at the time because they are all used and I love their depth.
• Inside - pj's from their Granny in PE and their first chocolates from us :)

Update on me

• I phoned the good doctor today and his view is... if you're not well enough to drive yourself, you shouldn't be back at work.
• I'm going to go back on Wed because I have important client meetings relating to the stuff I still have to tell you about from Sat but I'll work half days Wed - Fri.
• Hopefully that will be enough of an ease-in so I'm raring to go Mon 24th.

Update on the kids

I'm sure Nanny V will be happy when I'm back at work (!) because I know we upset their rhythm when we're here.

I try and stay out of their way as much as I can but of course, I also want to see and hear all the cuteness going on. And they're cute as buttons - who knew 2 was so fun?!

However, I had to put them in time out about 3 - 4 times today because they walk all over V. They are 2, she is 27 and even one of them outnumbers her.

I gave her a little talk this morning to say that in the beginning it was important to nurture them; now it's important to train them to be decent human beings :) She thinks they can do no wrong but several times Connor didn't even bother to say "Sorry V" like he does with us after a transgression. She says "oh it's okay" but I said, "No, V, it's not okay with US that they treat you like that".

Aside from all that...









Julia and I emailed a ton, I chatted with my Wonderful Boss and told him nice things since today is Boss's Day, I sorted out some customer service stuff with Telkom and I wrote out 2 cards and wrapped 2 gifts. Oh, and I bought about 7 books for the Kindle (all Sophie Kinsella). This was all in an effort to procrastinate doing the photo books, of course :)
 


Any takers for anyone to do the next 5 photobooks I was so quick to buy Groupons for?!
 

How was your Monday? What are you looking forward to this week?


Me? getting the photo book done!

D's birthday

It's D's birthday today.

Yes, within the space of less than a month, we celebrate all the birthdays in this house.

One crazy month and then it's all over til the half birthdays :)

I didn't do much due to this being the house of sick over the weekend.

However, I spied this idea for a card the other week.

If you don't feel like clicking, Allison's little boy (around my kids' age) got her some flowers and signed the card with some scribbles.

I am a sop and LOVE this idea!

So the kids wrote in a card for Daddy.

They each chose their own colour of gel pen (Nicole, they're the ones you got me - the kids LOVE them) - purple for Kendra and blue for Connor - and I let them scribble in the card, and then I held their hand and wrote their name underneath.

Let me tell you - it is taking some letting go to let babies scribble in a perfectly good card.

It was worth it though when D opened it.

That was it for this morning but this afternoon I hung some bunting in our dining room which I have to take a pic of because it is fabulous.

Each triangle says something positive (it's so me :)) like "you're fantastic, you're superb, you're fabulous" and then it repeats.

Connor then chose the colour candle for D's cupcake - green - and we lit the candle and sang properly.

These two love all the drama of the singing and blowing of candles.

As for me, I've cooked our current favourite (cashew nut chicken) and we're watching a Friends DVD after supper and spending some good quality time together.


How's your Wed been?

I can't stop staring at the pretty

I know I'm a very, very sad person but I can't stop clicking over to my blog and staring at the happiness :)

It is exactly the feeling I'd envisioned when I thought I wanted something simpler, sleeker, fresher.

It feels clean and uncluttered which is so me.


I was telling my work colleague earlier that I'm bringing back pretty to my home.

She laughed and said that only happened to her when her boys were 7 and 5.

I told her that I feel so frustrated when I leave my house all organised and in order on a Sunday night and Monday when I get home, things are put literally anywhere.

• Toys do not belong on my kitchen table.
• Notebooks do not belong on my dining room table.
• Babies' clothes do not belong anywhere but in their bedroom or the laundry.

Quite honestly, I thought it was my high expectations of others which I'm working on (see 36 things list) but I'm not the only one.

Another colleague said she's had the same cleaning lady for 20 years and she STILL hasn't got it right with her.

She regularly finds toys on her decorative wall unit... :)

Anyway, that's why I decided to label everything in my house to within an inch of its life.

But I'm tying the labels on with ribbons to make them at least a little bit pretty.

Of course I wouldn't change a thing about the babies but I longingly think of the days when I was the only one messing around in the cupboards and knew if things were out of order, it was all me.

Now there's two other people messing around in my cupboards. Grrr.

On the bright side it doesn't take more than a few minutes to tidy up but still, frustrating to find it that way.

I don't know why people don't get that it's more work when you don't put something in the right place once and for all.

I'm going to give both V and Nester a good talking-to because really, I have better things to do with that extra 20 - 30 minutes a day, like read.

When did you bring pretty back to your home post kids? Do you freak when people mess with your cupboards?

P.S. Last night I was making tea in the kitchen and heard a thud.

No screaming but I went to the bedroom and found poor Connor had fallen out of his bed onto the pillows.

He was still fast asleep (and bad mother that I am, I first tried to take a picture but couldn't find the setting to put the flash back on - is that good or bad? - but picture a cute boy in red pj's lying sprawled on pillows next to the bed) and I then moved him back onto his bed which then woke him a little bit.

I'm telling myself it's all part of that letting go thing :) but it gave me such a fright.

PPS I still haven't decided to move or not to move the other blog back to blogger. I am such a wuss. I tried Windows Live Writer but it gives me an error at home when I say "run".