5 things you might know or might not know about.....

I have so many ideas about posts in my head that I have decided to do a series of "5 things" posts - a lot of these items each actually warrants a whole post. I also realise that some of you might find the fact that I am living in South Africa interesting, therefore the first "5 Things Friday" is about:

South Africa

1. Most South Africans are at least bilingual - a big chunk of the population speak at least 3 of our 11 national languages. I am bilingual (English is not my mother tongue), H also speaks some Xhosa.

2. We live in a country of incredible contrasting beauty. We have mountains to rival the alps (The Drakensberg), cities so beautifully located that they are know as the most scenic in the world (Cape town), stunning desert landscapes (Kalahari), beautiful sub tropical scenery ( the lowveld) and more.

3. No, we don't actually have lions roaming the city streets, but we have nature pretty close to us. Where I am sitting right now in my office, I can see duiker and blesbok in a tiny reserve inside the city ( but I am probably one of only 50 people that have this honour). We do have a small reserve about 30 minutes drive from home where we can see zebra, antelopes, hippo and even rhino. We live a comfortable 1 and a half hours drive from the Pilansberg national park (big 5 country) and 4 and a half hours drive from the famous Kruger National Park.

4. New cars cost a fortune in South Africa - in fact, in comparison to other countries cars are very expensive. About 3 years ago a fancy car could cost half of what your house cost. House prices has since increased.

5. We are also shocked about fuel prices - we are paying more than the Americans, but less than the Britons.

Sleeping baby pictures version 2

And here is the promised sleeping baby picture of The Little Miss - about 4 days old and having her tan. She was the worst jaundice case of all 3 my babies and had to stay behind in hospital after my release for another 2 days. A bit ironic that my twins went home with mommy but their sister (born at 38 weeks and 3,45 kg) had a longer hospital stay.

Flying solo....

Yes guys, I am flying solo - at home AND at work. Both my "husbands" are on holiday. I am often asked how it works being in a partnership at work with a male partner, much older than me. Well, it's a bit like having a second marriage going - with teenagers as kids. One have to look after their work and listen to their personal problems. But you also get helpers - I like to think of my secretary (great girl, bless her soul) as my nanny at work.

My partner left last night for a two and a half week trip to Spain and Portugal - I am so jealous ( a one day trip to a local spa sounds like heaven to me at the moment). And H is busy with the single most popular winter activity of the South African male - hunting. Ok, maybe watching rugby or soccer is more popular, but you get the idea. He is meeting his buddies from waaaaay back (some from kindergarten) for a hunt halfway (Bethulie in the Free state) where some of them stay (Port Elizabeth) and Pretoria, where we stay. The idea is to spend some quality time together, hunt for meat and biltong and if the opportunity presents itself, for a trophy animal. Sorry to the bunny huggers (I am to an extend also one) - but this is just the most healthy and tasty meat ever and the biltong* is great. By last night he had already shot a blesbok .

This obviously means I am really having my hands full at home and at work. Hardly slept last night (although the nanny helped out with The Boys) as The Little Miss woke up 3 times - eventually I just brought her to our bed. This is the very first time that she can remember that Daddy's been away for a night and I think that is the problem - in general she is an excellent sleeper - has been her whole life. The weekend will probably be a bit tough (understatement) but I will be ok. To an extend this is a test for me that I want to pass - being on my own with all 3 kids. Wish my mom could be more of a help sometimes.

*Biltong is meat, pickled in salt, herbs etc and air dried. Venison (game) biltong has no fat and is the ideal teething material for babies. People often say that it is the same as beef jerky - I have tasted jerky and it is not. It is probably the South African national snack if something like that exists.

A first Bday party actually for the one year old set.

I am seriously technologically dis advanced or something to that tune. After buying a new card reader, what do I notice? A nice memory card slot in my laptop! Has always been there, but never noticed by me. Can one woman be so stupid, I ask you?

You know how first birthday parties are actually for everybody except the one year old? Well to re-cap, on Saturday the 21st June we went to H's cousins little darling's first birthday party. The mom warned on the invite that this was a baby party and not really for the bigger brothers and sisters although they were welcome to attend. They each got a party pack with sweeties and the girls got hairdryer water pistols - big hit with The Little Miss. But for the babies she went all out to execute the absolute best first birthday idea I have ever seen.

Present were 6 babies between ages 9 months (The Boys) and 13 months and older brothers and sisters (who by the way loved the little ones "tables" and joined in the fun). Each baby got their own "table" with food and activities. And although mine can not eat everything present I decided to ignore this fact and see how they enjoy this spread - and hoped two bits of wheat will not trigger some allergy.

Blue spaghetti was pronounced to be delicious by The Little Miss, mealie porridge coloured an shaped into animals was really enjoyed by C while L liked the pea and corn mix. A really digged into The Boys jelly shapes and before The Boys demolished the little wheat pourer, A had fun showing her brothers how to use it. In the tins were sweeties and a baby juice which you could decide to give to baby or not. The Little Miss scored with double extra juice and sweeties. One advantage to being the big sister to twins.

And my favourite photo of the day is the one on the top of The Little Miss. She once again is dressed in her favourite outfit for this winter. Seems like you are going to see this outfit gizallion times. I promise, she has other party outfits.

And this is how the party ended - C. and new friend Sebastian being the only babies still playing and L having a lovely snooze.

The mom also had a student photographer (daughter of a friend) who took pictures of the kids for her portfolio. We will all receive one photograph per kid as a thank you and will then be able to order more at a fee if we want to. I can not wait to see as we had nice ones taken of The Boys together, all 3 the kids together and The Little Miss on her own.

On Sunday we had a coffee date with friends Claire and Roland to see their new house and German Shepard puppies. The Little Miss is totally obsessed with cats and we are not owned by a single one. I am also not planning to get her one soon as The Puppies did not grow up with cats and merely chase the ones who brave wondering our walls. To her great joy she managed for the very first time to quietly sit next to Vincent the cat and to pet him. This was such a great moment for her, we just had to take a picture. ( note the tiara, Cinderella T shirt and ballet skirt over the clothes - Princess obsession rules at present).

Sleeping babes

So Debi has a great idea - sharing sleeping baby pictures. Here are The Boys - all of 3 days old having the snooze of their lives under the cozy lights - both with jaundice.

I just had to include this picture of little L.

The mad dictator next door.

Today is a sad sad day in the history of democracy. Our neighbours are having an election with, guess what, one candidate, one choice. Is that even an election? It's just plain stupid! I am very sad that the MDC have withdrawn, but on the other side, the violence and loss of life was huge. Let's just hope and pray that someday soon, the good will win and the mad dictator next door will make an exit.

Just a quick word or 2

Seriously guys, things are a bit tough in my world. But first of all, thanks for all your kind prayers for my mom. She is really doing well, but will only know after the weekend how well she can see with the repaired retina. For the rest, my laptop is still not in working order - we are struggling to get the Toshiba part. Hopefully that will be resolved soon. I have thrown my toys completely out of the cot at the Notebook company who have given absolutely shocking service in this regard.

I have a nice post with pictures lined up about the past weekend but suddenly can't find the camera's USB cord and the card reader has stopped working. Have to get a new card reader. No time until Friday. But the mommy for this party had great ideas for a first birthday party. Be sure to check after Friday.

On a happier note - my MIL is arriving tonight to spend a couple of days with us before leaving for Dubai on Sunday to meet her new grandchild. My FIL is arriving on Saturday.

Please guys, pray for new lodgings for our nanny. I am sure I can count on God and your support.

Mom's progress

So Friday night was quite an experience. My mom went into the theatre at 6 pm and when the anaesthesiologist called me in at 8:15 I was quite worried. My mom was having breathing difficulties and the doc wanted to know if I think she could possibly be having an anxiety attack. Big yes! After injecting some tranquilisers her breathing became regular and she calmed almost immediately but kept believing that she was busy dying. We managed to help her calm down ( with the help of excellent nursing staff) and she could not believe it when the doc told her later that there is nothing wrong with her lungs and the whole drama was due to stress. The operation itself was a huge success and completely uneventful (so the eye specialist says - she can not use the eye yet). By 9:15 we left the hospital and had a nice dinner at Cafe 41 - an old favourite from our pre-kid days. The rest of the weekend was really busy - but somehow my memory card reader is not working - I will post more once I have the photos.

Oh wow!

Just when the world gets you down, God steps in to help. Again and again. Got a phone call very late yesterday afternoon from my mom - her surgery was postponed to tonight as the theatre list is full. She has to be at the hospital at 4 this afternoon - excellent timing! The nanny is sleeping over tonight, I can very comfortably leave work early on a Friday so everything is perfectly lined up that I can take my mom and stay with her till after the operation. H will meet me at the hospital after the kids are in bed and me might be able to go out for a late dinner, seeing that this would have been date night for us.

A low point...

I am just so sick and tired of everything... Or, well, that sounds a bit harsh, I am just a bit overwhelmed at present. I have not written a lot about my mom, but she is a very real factor, both positive, and negative in my life. She is still awaiting the go-ahead from her physician to go for a knee replacement after the previous failed attempt due to bronchiolitus. Yesterday, after experiencing a bit of blurred vision, comes the news that the retina in her one eye have gone loose and that his will have to be urgently repaired (as in tomorrow), failing which she can loose the sight in that eye. So, tomorrow it's off to hospital for her, anaesthetics although she is not well recovered yet and she has to be there at 7 in the morning! Impossible time for me as this is exactly when The Boys get fed, A. gets dressed, etc. Add to that that my mom is a 25 minute drive away, and then to hospital in the other direction, another 35 minutes. H can not help tomorrow as he has an early morning meeting and commutes daily between Pretoria and Johannesburg. Big problem. So, I took the liberty and phoned one of her friends. Who gladly volunteered, and, well, problem solved on a physical level. But on an emotional level I had to admit that I definitely can not do it all and although my mom and I do not always see eye to eye, I really would like to be there for her.

Another very pressing issue is the fact that our nanny's current lodgings during the week, very close to us, will not be available for long any more. She stays in an outside flatlet at my aunt's place, but ,my aunt's health has deteriorated to such an extend that she needs a carer to stay in to help her. So, I need to find her alternative lodgings. This will certainly cost me money, but if I can only find somewhere relatively affordable it would be ok. This is proving difficult though. Both of us are stressing over this. We also do not want to add on to the house at present as the rising interest rates are not conductive to any big spending at present. And we have to get a bigger car.

With my mom not on her full health, it also becomes difficult with A being at school only half day. I can put her into school for the full day, but like the fact that she spends time with her brothers and her dear nanny in the afternoons. We will have to see how this develops. The nanny can fetch her 3 days in the week, but the other 2 remains a problem if my mom can not make it and I have work commitments. H. is not an option as her works 60 km away.

And that brings us to the other issue: H is being overused (I say abused) at his work as more and more work gets piled upon him. He is also terribly tired of the commuting every day and would like to see the kids more and more. The company has also started retrenching people ( but he is not in danger - has been there for long and holds a managerial position). He is however involved in the process of determining who gets retrenched and this is not a pleasant position to be in. So, he is looking for a new job, near to home. This will be great, but as we all know job hunting can be very stressful for all.

So, while having all this stress and negativity around me, comes the great news from Debi that just lifts my spirit and makes the sun shine on a dreary day! Great to have blogging friends to share our lives with. Makes one feel a bit better. And prayers please for my mom! Much appreciated.