Many things I am

I had a friend and her boys over for tea this morning and of course there were snacks, so come lunchtime Mr Daniel wanted nothing to do with his lunch (spaghetti), I even tried to entice him to sprinkle his own cheese over which he normally loves doing.

He didn’t even sniff his food and then proceeded to ask for a yogurt.  Well, I was finished.  We then said to him that if he doesn’t eat at least 3 bites of his food, he won’t get a yogurt and he won’t get an afternoon snack (normally dried fruit or something similar).

He clearly did not take us seriously and was VERY upset with us when we produced his untouched lunch instead of a snack when he asked for it.

We decided to bite the bullet and had a ROUGH few hours, but when suppertime came we made him some fish fingers and rice and salad and he polished his plate with a smile.  He was awarded with the much treasured yogurt.

Parents 1:Daniel 54 677

I often look at my almost 10 month old identical twin girls and think that they could put an end to the nature vs nurture debate. 

Here is why:
Mignon loves people and is a very friendly and outgoing baby, whilst Isabel cries at the sight of anyone she doesn’t see often and even then they need approach her with care.
Mignon loves animals and is not fazed by our dog or cat in her vicinity, whilst Isabel is absolutely petrified of the animals.
Mignon is going to be the shrieker and babbles away the whole day, whilst Isabel does this Darth Vader sound which makes me laugh every time.  Isabel does chat, but not on the monumental scale that her sister does.
Mignon is fearless and just puts her head down and goes for it, whilst Isabel tends to sit back and suss things out first.  She is definitely more of an analyst.
Mignon will eat almost anything, whilst once again her sister does not like to dirty her hands, so finger foods are not very high on her list.  They are however both very good eaters (at the moment)
But, the funniest was to watch them on the beach.  Mignon went mad in the sand, I think we are still finding sand in strange places.  Madam Isabel on the other hand wanted nothing to do with with the sand, we had to put her back on the towel before she was happy. 

I am really glad that they are so different, it makes them each even more special!

Funny little people 🙂   

We often battle to get Daniel, our 2 yr and 8 mnth old boy, to eat, but decided that this was not a battle we were going to “choose”.  We prefer fighting with him about not hitting his baby sisters, not throwing things at them etc.

As a result, we opted to be consistent with eating times, trying to eat together as a family most meals and to offer him what we eat.  We also try not to push him too much, but applaud when he does eat.  He also knows that he cannot get dessert if he doesn’t eat at least some of his food, so is aware of the boundaries.  We try to stay away from too much bread and luckily he enjoys salads and fruit.

This afternoon I was making lasanga and told him all about it, he rinsed off the mushrooms for me (until the splashing in the small bowl became a little too hectic of course!), helped ladle the mince and white sauce into the dishes, helped pack the sheets, sprinkle the grated cheese over (and patting it down of course) etc etc etc.  I actually enjoyed it as much as he did and it was quite a fun thing to do with him.

We even asked him what he was having for supper beforehand and were rewarded with “lasana”.  So, when we then did sit down to supper and mister decided that he wasn’t even going to have A SINGLE bite, I was finished.  I really try not to take this personally, but sometimes I can’t help it.  I refuse to offer him other food like bread if he hasn’t even tried the food made for him.  And it’s not like we’ve never offered him lasanga. 

So, we didn’t make an issue about it, but now he has gone to bed without eating anything tonight and it breaks my heart.  We were just very firm about the fact that, because he didn’t even try his food, he cannot get anything else.  He is a real Taurus, not even saying that he can have the yogurt he asked for if he takes 2 bites of his food will sway him.  Bugger. 

Are we doing the right thing?  Or are we bad parents?

What bliss when both our Nannies arrived for work on Monday after 2 weeks of no help.  I was ill, so hubby could simply hand over the 3 little ones and was back in bed by 7h45. 

Yes, 2 nannies and no, I’m not spoilt, just working Mom to 3 kids under the age of 3 🙂

We managed ok for the most of it, but the amount of washing and cleaning to do is astounding.  And the nappies.  And feeding everyone.  And the dishes.  Thank goodness for dishwashers!

BUT, we got to spend serious time with our kids and rediscover them all over again.  They are amazing, each one of them and I love them each differently.  Last year this time I was pregnant with the girls and this is something I wondered about a lot: how could I possibly love 2 more children as much as I already loved my boy.  So, if there is something I learnt last year is our capacity to love our children, each for their own qualities.

May everyone have a wonderful 2009 and happy blogging!

As family holidays go this one wasn’t too bad.  My Brother and Sister-in-law built a house in Arniston last year (a magnificent one at that) and we got the nod to go and stay for a few days.

I’m always mindful of the following as things can go pearshaped very quickly…
–  not to yell at their children
–  not to flinch every time their kids demolish my kids’ toys
–  to do the dishes and clean the kitchen
–  to jump up and keep the babies quiet when they wake up at 06h00 in the morning so as not to wake the other people in the house
–  not to yell at darling dearest husband when he is smoking and drinking with his brother and generally being in lala land when I have 3 kids demanding my attention whilst trying to cook supper for A LOT of people
–  not to whine when 4 adults smoke in the house with my children around.  I really had to bite my tongue with this one as it generally is one of my pet hates.  I eventually got hubby to suggest that it was really nice outside for the smokers.  (it was actually raining at the time, this really made me laugh)
–  to remember to make the beds the minute I lift my arse in the morning, otherwise my SIL will have done it by the time I have gone for a pee.
–  that I really didn’t want to go to the beach and preferred to stay home with the sleeping babies whilst trying to pack everything up so we can chuck our stuff into the car and do the mad dash home whilst the kids have their afternoon nap.  Not.

It probably sounds like I’m complaining, I’m not really, just some thoughts.  I go into overdrive when I am not in control of my environment and sometimes tend to over-compromise when I am in someone else’s space, but hats off to my SIL, she made it quite easy for me.

It’s also amazing that you don’t have time to ponder too much on how good or bad a guest you are when you trying to keep your oldest from biting his cousin…

Hope everyone had a great time, we are off to Arniston for a couple of days, will post again soon

It would seem that we are now over the worst of the impromptu top-and-bottom deliveries, but wait: THE SNOT has kicked in.  My little girls are soooo unhappy 🙁

I’ll spare everyone the ugly details..

According to our Pead runny noses apparently happens with Gastro.  Anyone care to comment?

Daniel is also coughing up a storm, apparently that’s yet another bug going around in the CT area.  Anyone aware of this?

Our domestic goddess goes on leave tomorrow for 2 weeks.  I did a mad rush to the shops this avie to finish my Christmas shopping (managed to buy before now for everyone except hubby?!@*&)

I really feel like I’m sucked dry emotionally and I’ve only been on leave for a week.  I cannot move without having a child attached to me in some way, be it attached to my hip, on my lap or hanging onto my leg (did I mention that the girls are standing and cruising at 9 months?)  Normally they are fine and don’t get me wrong, we are a very loving and affectionate family, but when kids are ill they are very, very needy and where I am normally a very organised person, I just don’t seem to get anything done at the moment.  And just sometimes I really enjoy a warm cup of coffee.

How do stay-at-home moms do it?  If there are any Dads reading this post that are married to one, she deserves BIG diamonds, lots of help and a break every once in a while. 🙂

Off to the doc now, bad bad bad night! 

At the risk of sounding like I’m complaining, herewith my day so far:

06h00 – 08h30:  changed 5 nappies and 3 sets of clothes between the 2 girls and mopped up Mignon’s breakfast.
Managed to actually leave the house in time to make it to breakfast with friends in Stellenbosch at 09h00 (pat on the back for that one!)  Everyone behaved really well, bless them.

The rest of our day continued much in the same vein, we managed to put a nice dent in our nappy supply, hope that whatever they have Daniel doesn’t get.  Did I mention he is coughing?

We ended up at my Mom’s house for a visit which turned into impromptu supper, which meant a mad dash home to get everyone bathed and into bed.  I really enjoyed the decoration of the inside of the bath and things ended with yet another delivery from Mignon all over the runner in the passage.  I managed to get her out of her cot in time, but just didn’t make it to the bathroom.  (big pat on the back for me, at least I didn’t have to change her bedding)

All quiet for now, wish us well for the night! 

Thank goodness for a sense of humor, at least hubby is also tired…

I have a confession to make.

I really, really don’t enjoy this whole Festive Season thing.  I think it is overrated.  Maybe I’m just a little bitter and twisted from spending 8 years in the hotel industry having to deal with really shitty people this time of year and always working.

I try, I really do.  I put up with the family politics, the wastage of food, the sidestepping of issues for the sake of peace over Christmas.  Not that I have many issues, but negating my sister-in-law is like a minefield. She is 10 years older than me, even though her kids are only 2 years older than mine.  She is forever changing her mind about stuff we agreed on and then makes me feel like we had an imaginary conversation about it and I’m the idiot that forgot??? I’m not usually one to shut up and suck it up, but it’s just not worth it.

I often buy the gifts months in advance, but still end up doubting myself and spending more money days before the “delivery date”.

I understand the meaning of Christmas and think that it’s very special, but would prefer to just have a better balance between making it fun for my kids and being able to share the true message with them without going completely overboard.

Just my 2 cents’ worth.