Pet hate #1

In 2002 my sister-in-law and her 2 year old girl died in a car accident.  My niece was not in a car seat and possibly would have survived if she was.  I’m sure everyone has a similar story.

Hence, my promise to myself was that my children will not sit in a car without car seats.  I have stuck to this rule and because we are consistent with this Daniel doesn’t know anything else. 

Which brings me to all those IDIOTS that have little ones jumping up and down in cars with open windows.  (No kidding, seen this morning driving out of Kenridge.)  I even saw someone with a little boy on the N1 in the fast lane the other day on the front seat, not strapped in and also with the window down.

What are people thinking?  I feel like a screeching banshee when I see kids flailing around cars, do people not know how dangerous this is??  Maybe I need to go on a vigilante mission and start hooting at people??

Any comments?

Things no-one told me

I have been pondering the things no-one told me and I certainly couldn’t find in books, such as:

1.  When your baby decides to reject the boob, what to do.  All the books are so gung-ho on breastfeeding that no-one seems to think what you should do with the sore boobs and to get rid of the milk should THE BABY decide he/she doesn’t want boob anymore.
2.  How to make a 2.5 year old stop throwing stuff at his twins sisters’ heads in an effort to get attention
3.  That no book is going to get your baby into a routine and that they are pretty much going to do what they want for at least the first few months
4.  NOT to be smug with first-time parents.  Shame, it’s hard enough as it is 🙂
5.  Vomit.  Need I say more?

Anybody care to add any thoughts??  What were your experiences that no-one warned you about? 

360

If there is one VERY important lesson I learnt this year it’s that there is NO time to hold on to shit.  It’s a complete waste of energy and time. 
I have learnt that all my internal noise when I worry about work and money makes me a bad listener for my family. 
I have learnt that you really do have to be “in the moment” otherwise you miss so much of your kids.  I have learnt that it’s not that much harder to have 2 babies at the same time than 1. 
I have learnt a little abandon and how to let go and have fun. 
I have learnt that my husband really is a fantastic friend.
I have learnt the importance of a sense of humor.
I have learnt gratitude for all that we receive, of a physical and spiritual nature.
But most of all this year I have learnt to really, really love.  My love for my family grows every single day!

I really try not to judge people that choose not to have children, but they don’t know what they are missing!!

A weighty issue

I have some baby-weight to lose. 

OK, I have A LOT of baby weight to lose.  This is what happens when you have 3.5 kg twins (each!)

Tomorrow they are 8 months old and so far I have lost 1.5 kg (apart from the 6 kgs I gained whilst on Maternity leave thanks to many packs of Lemon Creams, but that’s another story)

There probably isn’t a reason why I cannot lose the weight as I have been a little bit more “on top” of things the last couple of months.  But I haven’t and I know that I should probably stop flagellating myself over it, but hey, such is life.

I have put off having the girls Christened for as long as possible because I wanted to lose the baby fat, but have now been politely forced to do it in 3.5 weeks’ time.

So, I have officially decided to stop cracking myself up about it and just suck it up (and in).  Whatever comes first.

Mondays

I’m amazed at how some Mondays suck.

It might have something to do with the fact that I woke up at 4h30 this morning because Isabel was trying to turn over from her tummy and moaning about it and when I moved her onto her back she promptly rolled over again.  I then got to lie in bed and worry that she might suffocate. 

That and the R13 000 the Municipality wants from us.  And all the other financial shit we are in.

So, then I lied awake for an hour, fell asleep at about 5h30 and was woken at 6h00 by Daniel.

Then we got to run around like lunatics as the nannies were late and pack school lunches etc.

And then I got to sit on the N1 for 90 minutes.  (and then I wonder at the end of the month why my cellular account is so high)

Ah, happy days.

Who lives in a pineapple?

under the sea…

Took Daniel to see Noddy and Barney at the Baby Expo today and left darling hubby with the girls.  What a parralell universe that was.

Daniel sat open-mouthed most of the time, I had more fun looking at him than the stage.  I didn’t initially think it was the best 40 bucks ever spent to see some poor dude dressed in a suit lip-sync to Barney, but there you go.

Did I forget to mention the 3 missed calls because hubby didn’t know when to put the girls down for their morning nap?  Shame, he really is very good, poor man.

Home sweet home

Went away on a Management thingy overnight last night, finally got to bed at 02h00 this morning.

I didn’t smoke any cigarettes, although I might as well have for all the secondhand smoke..  I also managed to not drink too much, which is good, otherwise I would have ended up having a cigarette..

It was so nice to wake up at 06h30 this morning and then turn over a go straight back to sleep.  Until I was woken up by one of my colleagues 15 minutes later.  Thanks, you shouldn’t have.  No, really. 🙂

I then made the mistake to call home and couldn’t actually have a conversation with Etienne due to all the screeching in the background.  Apparently Daniel spent some quality time on the naughty chair after the phone call.  No surprises there!

It was great to have a 2hr drive to myself, got to listen to MY music at top volume for the first time in ages!
 

Some loose thoughts

1.  I changed a really baaaad nappy with the accompanying nappy rash tonight and was a little surprised by it, but remembered just in time that it probably is a teething nappy.  Oooh, can’t wait, forgot how much fun that always is.  And this time it’s a double dose!  I see a few trips to M-Kem for their “tandekry medisyne” in my near future.  Poor babies.

2.   Why do 2.5 year olds shriek?  And how do I make it stop??  Tonight it was all about the unpronounceable “ice monkey” Daniel wanted to watch.  No, it wasn’t Ice Age and no, it wasn’t any of the Baby Einsteins.  Go figure.  It does my head in that they look like their little hearts are breaking when you just don’t get what they are saying.  Even unpacking ALL of the DVD’s didn’t help.  Whatever, Cbeebies worked fine in the end.  His school teacher has always said that he is the least frustrated 2 yr old she had seen in years.  I think he was a late starter. 

3.  Going off to a management thing tomorrow for the night.  Feeling REALLY guilty for leaving hubby with 3 kids under the age of 3, but think it will do me a world of good.  It comes complete with a 2 hour drive home by myself.  Always great thinking time for me, don’t have much of that these days.

Election mania

So, decided to try and catch some of the US election news between supper and bathtime for the girls tonite.
Impossible.
Etienne and I each had a baby on our laps and Daniel was shrieking about wanting to watch “Bob square”.  We eventually gave up and gave the girls their bath early.
I’m going to attempt to take Daniel to the Barney/Noddy show at the Baby Expo on Sunday.  Wish me well.  I’m going to need it..

I sometimes wonder what goes on in people’s minds.

We were in Baby City yesterday with the girls in the twin pram.  The pram pretty much stayed in front as it is impossible to push a pram around the Baby City in Rosen Park, there’s too much crap in the shop.

Anyway, I’m standing at the till and this woman comes up to the pram and looks at them and comments on how it must be a boy and a girl.

They were wearing little blue and turquoise tops with lace and frills.  I ask you with tears in my baby brown eyes, why would someone think that, just because a baby is wearing any other color than pink, that they should be a boy??

And don’t even get me started started on strange people that try to engage the girls when Isabel generally freaks out at a strange face and starts crying.  It’s very presumptuous of people to assume that all babies will respond with a smile.

Mignon is also almost crawling at not even 8 months!  She is crawling backwards at the moment, so lets see how long it takes.  I love this phase of their development when they get mobile, they are so proud of themselves when they get it right!

Little madam Isabel on the other hand is not interested at all.  She sits on the floor playing by herself for ages, too cute!

It really amazes me that at such an early age they already each have their own personality, Mignon being the extrovert and Isabel the introvert.