Month: January 2009

All 3 the kids have runny noses, but of the common cold variety, nothing worse.  Daniel has had a bit of a cough that he picked up from school, but also something that is being managed.

Hubby took Daniel to school this morning as I had to do the big trek to town today and shortly after he dropped him off I get THE CALL from the school.  Uhm, sorry, but he sounds chesty and his nose is running and ONE OF THE MOTHERS COMPLAINED, so please can we come fetch him.

Now, there is this woman whose child started at Daniel’s school last week and she just looks EVIL, she never bothers to greet any of the other Moms, she doesn’t even make eye contact. (she’s actually been the topic of conversation between us old-timers from last year, so the posse already has her number)

So, I dispatch my poor husband to go and face the music and collect Daniel.  He then gives the teacher a piece of his mind and notices that THIS WOMAN is there and listening to every word he is saying, she was also apparently there when he dropped D off and only left as hubby was leaving the second time with Daniel.

What pisses me off the most is that there are often other sick children at school, children with runny noses and hectic coughs, which is why Daniel is sick in the first place.  I get that kids get sick when they go to school, so I have never complained.

I have now made an appointment with our doctor for this afternoon if only to please the school. 

BUT let it be known that that woman best not EVER send her child to school with as much as a sniffle and I will A LOT to say about it – to her face.

I HATE underhanded people and waiting at the school until Daniel was collected is NOT COOL!  I am so incredibly PISSED OFF I spent the hour in the traffic crying most of the way. 

AND THEN I switch on my computer and the first email I open is the following link: http://www.mumsnet.com/RHH_Nov08.html
 
More later!

Most days I can cope with leaving my 3 kids in the care of other people, Daniel at school and the girls at home.

But every afternoon I come home at 17h00 and they all 3 demand my attention at the same time.  I cannot pee, it’s almost impossible to change into sweats and I certainly cannot have a conversation with Etienne until after they have all gone to bed.

Some afternoons I want to bash my head against the wall and cry along with them about all the time I don’t get to spend with them.  I sometimes, in my really weak moments, resent my husband for not earning more money so that I can be home every day at least when they wake up from their naps.  He is after all the one with the MBA stuck in a dead-end job.

This is so much harder than I thought it would be.  This being-a-mother-that-has-to-work-thing is a crock of shit.

OK, thanks for reading my little piece of self-pity.  I promise tomorrow will be better 🙂

1 lost this past week, total of 3 down, 19 to go.  

Not as good as I wanted, but better than nothing! 

Went to the weigh-in with Daniel and he ran amok, trying to roll down the toilet paper whilst I was peeing (Daniel, please don’t roll down the loo paper!), blow out all their beautiful ambience candles (Daniel, that’s not a happy birthday candle, please don’t blow it out), opening the taps on their water cooler (Daniel PLEASE don’t play with the water), and so on and so forth.

The people at this particular Sureslim branch are lovely, but don’t get that my child is hecticly busy, I actually don’t have 10 minutes to attend a motivational talk or to chit chat about all the extra products I can’t afford, because we are in the throes of potty training and he might just decorate their lovely carpet.  Or the car seat on the way home.

He is such a fun child, even though he does treat me like his PA most of the time.

I was in Willowbridge on my way home this afternoon and just before I got to the car I realized I needed to visit the little girls’ room. 

I then thought, ah, I can go at home, but then realized what amount of chaos it would be with the girls pulling themselves up against my legs and Daniel rolling down the loo paper.  Sooo, as much as I hate public toilets, I did my thing in peace and could go home and launch straight into Mommy mode!

Good news:  2kgs down, 20 to go, YAY!!  I need to remind myself that it is going to be baby steps.

Great news:  Mignon is clapping hands at 10 months and 8 days!  Isabel is above clapping, I think she is going to be a Goth because she does some serious headbanging. 

We had a marathon Twinkle, twinkle little star session tonight with Daniel as lead singer and Mignon on clapping with Isabel doing the bopping.  Lots of laughs all around  :-)) 

Please hold thumbs, I’m going for my first weigh-in later this avie!  I had a really good Sureslim week and only had a cheat lunch on Sunday.

Even if I didn’t lose any kilos I can feel the difference and my bloated stomach is gone after a week of no wheat and no milk – the difference is amazing!! 

I didn’t actually think I’d be able to do this, it helps that I didn’t entertain any clients this week, let’s see how next week goes!  I even managed to say no to a special coffee one of my colleagues ordered without asking.  I think that alone is worth half a kilo!!!

 

Isabel left and Mignon right help Daniel in the bath.  Mmmm

Look at the audience!

Rushing like a maniac out of town to get home in time to drop nanny off at her bus, hubby called and said he had to work a little later, could I get to the shops for supper.

I then called the live-in and suggested that we take the 3 kids and go to the shop quickly – something I have never asked her to do, but the girls needed to get out of the house and I cannot do grocery shopping with a twin pram and a toddler running amok in Pick and Pay, no matter how good the staff are at Willowbridge PnP!  She then says ah, she doesn’t feel like going to the shop and I ground my teeth and kept quiet.

I then thought, bugger this, hubby can meet me at the shop screw her, so I get home and get presented with yet another shopping list.  And. I. Lost. It.

So we had ourselves a nice little chat about who eats what when and what I am prepared to buy when and what our current financial situation is.  I think the problem is our live-in, who is a little younger and quite pushy and has been with us since Aug 08.  The nanny, who has been with us for 2.5 years then tells me that live-in demands that she shares all the leftover food for lunch.  Which was not the rule to start off with, as we let her take the leftovers home to her kids as I don’t think her kids eat very well.

So, necks are now firmly wound back in, myself included, and life carries on.  If they want to hold grudges they need to find themselves jobs where they are going to be as well looked after.

Did I mention I am a little premenstrual??

Please tell me if I am mad or being taken for a ride!
 
We have 2 domestic staff, 1 for the 3 children (travels in every day) and 1 for the house primarily and to assist with the kids in the avie (live-in).  They are both lovely and a real asset to our family.  Daniel goes to school half day and the girls are at home.

I actually hate telling people I have 2 domestics, it’s really not because I’m spoilt, its the only way we manage and it actually was the cheaper option at the time.

I don’t think that we are “snoep”, they are very well paid and well fed, the nanny goes to the clinic once a month and to get grant money also once a month – this is 2 days that she comes in late that we don’t deduct money, but it impacts on our jobs.  They each received a 13th cheque in December, even though I probably won’t get a bonus this year and hubby might get a “tip” in April.

We cook supper every night and feed the live-in and leave a full meal for the day-nanny for the next day.

A couple of examples of things that are annoying me at the moment:

A while ago I posted a choc cake recipe that has Amazi in.  I had some Amazi left and said they could use it, I’ll get them some mealie meal.  I then buy the mealie meal and get told its not the right brand, I have to buy another, more expensive brand.  The next day I had Amazi and mealie meal on the shopping list.  The next week I get a request for the 2 litre Amazi as the 500ml is not enough.  They cook HUGE bowls of the stuff and eat it for lunch.  It has now transpired that the nanny eats the meat we cooked the night before FOR BREAKFAST.

We also always make sure that they have Oros in the house and this used to last about a month.  I then get a request for “Wild Island” – almost double the price.  We buy a bottle.  A week later it is finished and its back on the shopping list.

The amount of milk, sugar, cereal, chutney, tomato sauce, tea etc we go through is also astounding.  I bought a box of oats for my diet which they asked if they could use yesterday morning and almost half the box is gone!

The rule is that they can watch tv in the afternoons whilst the kids are sleeping, but no tv otherwise because I don’t want my kids exposed to so much tv, not because I’m being funny.  I get home a little earlier the other avie and the tv is on.  Needless to say I switched it off immediately.

Whenever there is anything left we give it to the nanny that travels as she has children at home and is the sole breadwinner.  Whenever I come across a sale I buy something for each of their kids – 4 kids in total.  It’s almost as if the nanny that doesn’t travel eats only when she is with us and not at home, hence the overeating.

I’m just reaching the stage now where I think it is getting out of hand, but as a working mother you are so guilt ridden and I almost feel like I am held at ransom and have to deliver what they want.  I think I’m quite a generous person, but at the moment I think they are taking the piss.

I also wonder whether I don’t maybe, on some level, resent them for being able to be with my babies the whole day whilst I have to work.

Any suggestions on how I can deal with this or even whether I am just being silly??

I never thought I would clean up vomit/poo
I never thought that I would survive sleep deprivation
I never thought that I would be able to get up at 06h00 in the morning when I didn’t absolutely have to and actually enjoy it. 
I never thought I would sit with 1 child on my lap whilst feeding 2 more in their chairs! (the rule is that the girls each get 2 bites of porridge and Daniel then gets 1, otherwise he doesn’t eat his supper)
I never thought I would have twins
I never thought I would breastfeed – let alone breastfeed twins
I never, never thought I would want to give up my job and stay home with my kids.  My career has always been extremely important to me.
I never thought I would be so adept at not stepping on small toys strewn across the kitchen floor.  It’s almost like you have a sixth sense for where the sh1t is.
I never thought that buying myself a bunch of flowers is much less important that buying something for the kids – and I LOVE flowers.
Lastly, I never thought that I had the capacity to love my husband and children as much as I do!

Feel free to add, I’m sure I forgot many things!