giggling boy

It was a bit strange, being that it was about 9pm, to hear giggling coming from the children's room. Not giggling between the two children, just one, laughing out loud, when he should have been fast asleep. I thought perhaps he was having a fabulous dream or something, but when we tiptoed into the bedroom to check up on what mischief was occurring, it was just our Josh, still perfectly under his covers, laughing out loud at nothing in particular. Ben even shone the little torch on his mobile phone at Josh to check if he was asleep or awake: eyes wide open and laughing. What was even more disconcerting was that he continued to giggle as we walked out! Wha'? Ben returned back a little while later to check on Josh, to kiss him on the forehead and to encourage him to fall asleep... "Mummy ting?" was Joshka's request (mummy sing?) but it was way past singing time so no 'tinging' for our little man. Perplexed and bemused parents went to bed a while later, but were awoken in the early hours by crying. I went to fetch him and found him at the base of his bed (odd place to be) standing there crying...poor thing. Was he disoriented what with the new sleeping arrangements? I picked him up and was immediately aware of how hot he was. Ben confirmed my suspicions and we dosed him up with some medication and water, and tried to settle him to going back to sleep. In our bed. He was very restless and full of wriggles and kicks. Ben was working the next morning so I put Josh on the outside to shield Ben from the pummeling. It was a grumpy few hours for me and by 5am I was truly shattered! Ben got up early (good man) and saw Mia get up too. He decided to set her up with a bit of early morning tv to allow Josh and myself to catch up on a bit of sleep. He said he would phone (placed the phone beside her) to let know when it was time to wake mummy up.

I was blissfully asleep (at last) and completely unaware any of this was going on. I was sort of starting to wake up when Mia marched into the room saying, "MUM! I talked to Daddy on the phone and..." i propped myself up and had a conversation with her, feeling strangely not too bad considering it was early - ah - it was already an hour past when I would normally get up! SHIT! How-? And then I heard Ben coming inside...But-? He was beaming at the fact that Mia had managed to answer the phone and have a decent conversation with him, even though he realised he'd forgotten to show her which button to press to answer. Added to that, she'd turned off the tv 'cause her "eyes were getting sore" and had informed him of it over the phone. What was she doing then? She was quietly playing with her dolls and their pram in the lounge...

Ben had come in to help me get them ready to take to school. Nominations for husband-of-the-year goes to....BEN! What a brilliant help. Getting the breakfast, teeth, hair and clothes done, making the lunch and washing some dishes...all so much easier when there are 2 adults available. Never mind that he was still on call (his work partner was parked out front doing a vehicle check...) but I was just so impressed that he'd thought of a) keeping Mia from waking us after our restless night b) called to wake us up (even though I never heard the phone!) c) come IN to help! Fabulous.

Josh seems to be ok, but we'll see after tonight. The fever was gone with the medication, but came back this afternoon. It's under control again, but I'll most probably take him to the doctor tomorrow (get in before the weekend!) if there's no improvement.

And well done to Mia who answered the phone by pressing the correct button, turned the tv off and played so well by herself. Soon she'll be making her own breakfast and lunch and walking herself to school!

gems from my 4 year old

Mia's dad features larger than life in her world. Aptly illustrated in this drawing where he's "sooooo big, that he can hang the banner on the sky." Everyone is wearing a crown (and these days we have hair, although we've lost our five fingers). Mummy (top left) was an after thought, really, but never mind, we're all there! Sized from smallest (Josh) to largest.





This next drawing was a complete surprise to me - a departure from the norm, and I LOVE it! When asked, Mia explained to me that it's a giraffe... What about these? (On the right hand side...)"Hmmm, it's antler land..." I love the abundance of legs!




Following on from "antler land" is another drawing of two giraffes (legs like ladders!), a snail, and a bee with a STINGER!...and some writing...

domestic goddess... not I.

I don't pretend to enjoy being a housewife. It's one chore after another. And this week, I am going to feel the full brunt of being one since my shift-working husband has taken on a couple of extra day shifts. I KNOW I am lucky to be married to such a lovely Kiwi man who is not afraid of vacuuming, cleaning toilets, cooking, dusting, changing nappies etc etc, in fact, I'd even venture so far as to admit that he is a better 'wife'! I am especially lucky because he works two 11 hour days, followed by two 13 hour nights. followed by 4 days off...so that leaves him, in effect, at home during the day, for 6 days out of 8. Which is, for such a housewife slacker such as myself,fabulous. Also, it does allow me to get in some work hours in front of the computer (in theory) and to get a break from the kids.

We were recently given (actually a present for Ben since it was his birthday) a slow cooker. You toss in some veggies and a chunk of meat on top, leave it on low for the whole day, and hey presto! All done and dusted! Minimal prep time and even less thought! Of course I haven't looked into doing anything fancy in it yet, but have had 2 delicious dinners so far. It also helps we get given 'top ups' for our freezer by Ben's parents, who processed one of their cows that keep the grass short around the property. One hundred percent organic beef! Great! They currently have 3 cows and are debating which one to 'process' next...there's the lovely "angel face" who is getting enormous, the new cow "grassy arse" (Mia named her "grassy" which got spun into "gracias") who had run with the bulls before being bought and gave birth to a calf last year. This calf (Luna Rossa), still suckling, would make very tasty, tender meat... I'm glad it's not me making the decision. Makes me feel quite a bit guilty for being a meat eater in the first place...

Anyhow, as it turns out, Ben didn't work today (had originally planned to) so I've managed to go for a walk, have a swim, do some work and catch up here...but I really, really, really need to pay the house some attention. It really, really, really needs a tidy. Which is fine, I don't mind, since I have achieved some other important things too. Not as much as some people fit into their day, but being a novice at this housekeeping job (and I don't profess to have high ambitions about becoming an expert) I will do it one step at a time and the most important things first!

NZ is being pounded by bad weather - lots and lots of rain and wind expected over the next few days. Doesn't bode well for the pile of washing gathering in the bathroom (and on my bedroom floor). I missed the only sunny day (yesterday) what with getting the kids to school and to playgroup on time (and sticking dinner in the slowcooker)...by the time I was walking back home before midday, I realised the futility of doing a load of washing since the sun was already disappearing behind clouds, so I took Josh for a walk to the park instead and pushed him on the swings. A much better decision! He had fun and fell contentedly asleep on the short walk back home, so I had a peaceful lunch break. But I still didn't do a load of washing. Ah well, I'll see what can be recycled and do a load of undies, socks and thermals to dry in front of the heat pump.

the bunk bed saga

The bunk bed experiment didn't go so well last night; I'm crossing my fingers it goes better tonight. Josh woke up around 9.30pm (unheard of!) before I'd done a general tidy up, before I'd done the dishes, before I'd had a shower, or brushed my teeth, or got into my pyjamas... Since he now sleeps UNDER Mia, I didn't let him cry too long for fear of waking her (can't cope so well with 2 awake kids in the night) so after failing to console him while still in bed, I yanked him out and took him through to the lounge to check him out (wasn't too hot, no rashes or bites, nappy fine - bad dream?). He gets into these moods sometimes and it's hard to get him out of them. Ben normally threatens to take him outside, and usually does, for a walk to the corner and back, which seems to settle him and bring him back to reality. I admit to being more of a sissy: don't really fancy walking outside at night with a crying boy in my arms. In any case, Ben was at work, so I wouldn't leave the house with one sleeping child unattended, no matter how short a period I was gone for. So I let him cry it out on my lap and slowly coerced him back to sleep in my arms. Isn't that what being a mother is all about? A warm, safe, comfortable place to be for any little body in distress. I walked back into the room after about 30 minutes with my little snoring bundle only to have him start crying again the second he was back on the mattress. It wasn't even a cold mattress! I'd just moved the hot water bottle out the way so there was a warm spot to plonk him on. I thought he'd calm down and gently fall asleep again...but to no avail. Repeat the process again. After 45 minutes I tried putting him to bed again. This time he performed even louder, working himself up to such levels of hysteria that I thought he would vomit with all his sobbing and coughing. By this time, of course, I'm more than annoyed that I'm not winning. My gentle demeanor has left the building temporarily and I see that the only way I am going to get him to go to sleep is if he is in my bed, beside me. So I told him to get into my bed while I brush my teeth, forfeit my shower and get into my pyjamas. He won't get in until I'm in already which is tricky because I have to put the light off and I just know he's going to think he's been abandoned in the darkness! Silly boy. I pulled him in with me and obliged his tantrum. He wanted me there, but not. This way but not that way...In the end I turned over and pretended the feet pounding my back was a lovely massage... All through the night he was unsettled and full of kicks for his bed partner. Not a great nights sleep for either of us. But I am certain I would have been up and down and up and down had I not succumbed. Lucky Ben was away. He's not a fan of little bed partners. I don't mind so much (we've been lucky to not have vigorous wrigglers).

In the morning, Mia came in for the morning snuggle and I commended her on being such a good girl for sleeping the whole night! In her NEW BUNK BED! What a big girl! What a clever girl. Joshka was still sleeping on the other side of me, doing a good impression of a teenager not wanting to wake before midday...I told Mia he'd been a grumpy bum all night. We laughed together until finally it really was time to get up (should have been up at 7, it was already 7.30). Finally Joshy woke up with a little smile and I told him Mia wanted her morning snuggle...he propped himself up and leaned over me to reach Mia who was leaning towards him on my other side, puckered his lips and gave her a gentle kiss. What a worthwhile little moment to remember, especially because she didn't pull away or recoil, she just smiled with me.

rearranging the furniture

My two lovely children are fast asleep in their "new" bedroom. We rearranged things today and popped the beds back into their bunkbed format, which has freed up a lot of floorspace again. Josh used to be in a cot when the bunks were last up, but now without a cot in the room, we've moved the cupboards against the other wall and the nappy changing table is out of our room and back in theirs! Great!

I just managed to secure another little design job...finally the word-of-mouth networking is starting to pay off.

productive...

I feel like I've achieved some stuff. Little bits here and there. Must be all the lists I'm making, to remind myself that in the real world, things need to be done! I sent a lot of emails requesting quotes and sending proofs. I made up some raffle ticket books (for the volleyball club I belong to) - perforated, cut, numbered: the works! I checked to see if I'd been paid (I have). Updated a website. Filled in my time sheets. I played with my kids, I made dinner...I put away some washing...I chatted online to a few friends...I went to volleyball...I've made a coffee date for tomorrow morning with a friend who finds herself "sans children" and would like to meet up. Yay, looking forward to it.

I am off to bed with one sore arm from numbering all those raffle tickets.

Moderation

Speaking of my girlfriends... I just had a long Instant Messaging conversation with one of my best friends. What a relief! How great to just throw down my thoughts as they spill out of my brain and literally laugh out loud as I sit here in front of my computer. It was a bit stop-start at first (what with the time difference and us both getting phone calls inbetween) but once we got into the swing of things, it was hard to tear myself away.

I'm finding it increasingly harder and harder IN GENERAL to get away from my computer these days. It seems only fair I should write something here in that case...since I spend so much time escaping my immediate surroundings. It's not that I don't want to be where I am, I'm just finding it so INTERESTING. It's so fascinating to be talking to people I haven't seen or heard from in 10 or 20 years. They're out there, and online, and not as shy as they are in 'real' life when it comes to typing something to say...some witty comment or some random statement. It's flattering too because, like I said, these people haven't seen or heard from me in 10 or 20 years, so in their heads I am younger, fitter, with longer, lighter, sun kissed hair and a great tan. A great platform to begin from!

In reality I am finding it hard to focus on what has to be done, what needs to be done and what should be done. I vary from day to day in my performance... but have made a real effort in the last week to GET OVER IT and concentrate on the here and now!

As I said to my mom once when I was much younger, "I want to be good now". I want to be able to leave my computer for hours at a time...I want to be able to get a good chunk of work done without checking for friend's status updates every so often. I want to get physical - do some gardening, or paint the house, or bounce on the trampoline with my kids... I will! I MUST! I must not become consumed, addicted! I must break free!

No, I just have to be smart about it. Just give myself an allotted time...just a little bit here and there. Everything in moderation.
(Boring.)

8 random things

Following on from my previous post...
OK. Here are 8 random things about me, that not a lot of people might know.

1. I can't live without my "Amazing Flygun" . I don't consider us to have a fly problem, but you know, in summer, the buggers manage to get in the house...and so with Mia and Josh in tow, we go on a FLY HUNT! "We're going to catch a big one, we're not scared! What a beautiful day..." My flygun in one hand and my dustbuster in the other (sometimes they are just stunned, but if I suck them all up, at least I get rid of them). There's something really satisfying about it. (Oh, it's very effective on a cockroach too.)

2. Once, I had the experience, or the sensation, that I could breathe underwater. I think I was swimming just under the surface when I felt like I could breathe...it's very hard to explain. But after 3 or 4 "breaths" the little voice in my head was making a pretty valid argument that this was impossible and maybe I was actually drowning? I wasn't. I'm sure of it. But I didn't want to experiment for too long, so I lifted my head for air (I wasn't out of breath or anything) and breathed normally. Of course I couldn't recreate the same feeling again...much like trying to get back into that really good dream you were having before something woke you up.

3. When I told this guy I met about my "I can breathe underwater" experience (I don't know how it came up), he knew what I meant: he'd ALSO had a similar experience. What are the odds?? I don't think he was that desperate to impress...and I still talk to him about it sometimes, since I'm married to him now.

4. All my ex-boyfriends have international passports. All of them have left South Africa and live overseas (apart from my very 1st boyfriend). I think it was pretty inevitable that I would end up living overseas. I manage to keep in contact with them all, albeit briefly, every now and then.

5. I discovered the value of girlfriends too late in life. I have some wonderful girl friends and I am truly lucky lucky lucky to have them - I just wish we could all live in the same country.

6. I've always been self conscious about my tummy. It's not an ironing board kind of stomach. I look back at photographs now and think "OH MY GOD, IF ONLY!"... I remember the first time Ben fell asleep behind me and wrapped his arm around me how I lay there for a bit holding my stomach in until I was reasonably sure he was asleep. Of course, I loved being pregnant and not worrying about "letting it all hang out"! Which is followed by the current me, who has a post pregnancy mummy tummy. I'm trying to get down a size or 2 but have been hampered by my back so haven't really been able to do as much as I wanted to. I also have a weakness for a biscuit with my coffee or tea, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows that about me.

7. When I was sent to the shop to go buy some ciggies for my mom... (can't do that these days!), I used to buy 2 chocolates for myself and eat one really quickly on the way home so it would appear that I only bought one, which I could savour, to eat at home. I sometimes still do that. The only person I'm fooling is myself, right?

8. I just really don't like kidney beans. The texture...it's all wrong. One of the first things I learned on our travels in Central and South America was to ask for my meal without beans, please. The ONE time we were taken into someone's home and made to feel part of the family (they were a really lovely family in Mexico) I tried my utmost - my absolute BEST - to finish what was on my plate...I managed half, but I really couldn't. I honestly tried, but I just could not go on. I still feel bad about that, but at least I know I tried my best. I usually do. One can but try.

a new challenge

It's a strange thing: I started this for me, and perhaps my mother and father, but now I have to come to terms with the fact that there are actually other people out there who I don't know (not even someone I've vaguely heard of!) who may be reading. I mean, OF COURSE other people are going to read it, I'm just realising the magnitude of it. Specifically because I have recently been "tagged". I am very much into my online social networking phenomenon that is facebook (it is absolutely perfect for me to keep in some kind of 'touch' with my friends who are scattered all around the world) and I do tend to follow links and look at peoples websites and things that they have published online. I have been reading a blog of an old family friend of mine and getting to know her a little better without actually putting in any effort...I've been a passive friend. Are we even friends? We were when we were little. We had lots of fun together, but I'm struggling to find those memories...they are sitting in a dark corner, not wanting to step into the light, so I've left them there and am focusing on the new, older, wiser, broken, fixed, mother of 2 that I am observing through her blog. We did meet a while ago. We didn't really have the chance to connect again, it was hard to think of things to say and I admit to being completely distracted by the fact that it was my birthday and I was seeing a whole heap of other friends and family who's friendship timeline was more intact. I was interested to see if she really was as stunning as the photographs of her I'd seen...and yes, she was fit, toned, tanned, and all grown up - my mental picture of her had to change somewhat (it was 30 years out of date).
Turns out she also follows links and things, and found me here. And tagged me. Which means that I have to share some random things with the readers out there about myself: thing they don't already know. Since I imagine my mother to be my number one fan on this site, it's quite a challenge to think of 8 random things that she doesn't already know. Or my husband. That is a big challenge, so I'm thinking, I'm thinking!

What's good is that I'm actually writing again. I've been thinking up some absolute beauties of late, but am finding it hard to manage that final hurdle of getting it committed to my blog! Distractions and daydreams...