31 things

*its a long one beware and there will be moaning, bitching but then I guess that’s the beauty of it being my space – Reminds me of the lyrics: it’s my party…… 😉 *

The title is one of my first posts I wrote in my head about 5 weeks ago! Since then I’ve written about another dozen in my head so I guess It’s pretty apt as there is so much that has happened, so much to talk to, so many thoughts to offload…. Although 31 things doesn’t really come close…. More like 61!!

Adjusting to my new life.I won’t lie I’m taking some serious getting used to this working from home thing. Don’t get me wrong it’s still the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but if I had to look at the past two months objectively and I was the boss, which I am, I’d have fired me long ago!!! My business takes last place. After, family, maid, house and the list goes on. And that’s seriously wrong. I should be ploughing serious hours into this business and instead I’m spinning around doing all other cr@p that’s not ‘expected’ of me yet just ends on my plate. Every Monday though I regroup and start over and try again… I fail….. but at least in trying. I’m doing surprisingly well considering the effort being put in and have signed 3 clients this month. God has been so good to me.

Mothers guilt. I thought It would be different being at home with Kat but it’s just morphed into different forms but it’s still there. Just proves that us women and mothers are SO good at feeling guilty for just living! My latest guilt is the fact that I have to stop breastfeeding. The Kat,post my Cape Town trip, has just point blank refused to feed. I’ve had a few successes but she’s on the whole just not interested anymore. I’m mostly sad and very heart sore but also feel guilty that I went to Cape Town (I frikking know right?!?) And then there’s the ginger. He’s sleeping really badly AGAIN and I permanently feel it’s my fault for not spending enough quality time as I’m always running myself raggard with 1001 things and short with him. So of course it’s my fault right?!??

On running myself raggard.I seems to be in a permanent spin and the list never seems to get smaller. And every so often I will get an older lady ie not my generation tell me that I’m soooooo lucky to have a husband who’s hands on with the kids. And I read a blog post the other day which really summed it up for me. I am lucky because there are many husbands that don’t help. BUT that doesn’t mean I should have to accept always coming last out of the 4 of us or having to perform 40 tasks for every one someone else in the house does. Or as a women do I? Your thoughts?

Cape Town- 2.5 days 2 nights. 4 wine estate, waterfront, night out. 2 best friends and NO children. 

That pretty much sums it up. Heaven doesn’t come close to describing how frikking amazing the time was. It made me realise just how neglected I’ve felt and how much I’ve lost touch with myself. I laughed so much my belly hurt, I lived on a staple diet of cheese, red wine, champagne and ice cream. It was just amazing and made me treasure the two special friends I went with. I’ve only known them just over a year and they truly have supported me through a tough year. Those type of people you hang into. Most of all there is just no cr@p with them, which is really hard to find, especially with females ( we’re a special species 😉

Weekends away and conditions for travel. 

We were away again this weekend. It the second and last of our two annual weekend away. We we’re at Castleburn. It’s our first time and it’s really lovely. I packed totally incorrectly for us as it was quite warm even tho the max temp was only supposed to be 22 deg. It must be really beautiful in summer and has a lovely pool which the kids could make use of. There are also great activities for the kids, trampoline, tennis courts, paddle boats, jungle gym etc. My first impression is that we’ll be back.

BUT and there is a very big but. There will be conditions for travel going forward. I will no longer be trying to pack this family of four myself and then driving like a banshee to fetch daddy Abs from work and then arriving in the cold and dark with two kids who have slept and hour already and then have to settle in an unfamiliar environment. It’s not a great start for every weekend for me. I arrived stressed and raggard and just not conducive for good family time and I’m done doing it. I’ve been doing this for 4 years and the conditions for travel will be that we rather go away less but definitely not after work. It just don’t work!!

(Oh and on an aside and totally random……. I  was sitting outside on the Saturday and saw a hearse pull up and escort a dead body out a unit from across the road. What the hell. Not often you see that whilst on holiday!!!

The Kat.

Every day I fall more and more in love with her. She’s a smart cookie this one. Very expressive with her hand (secretly I hope she’ll play the piano like her momma ) and she communicates so well when she wants to tell you something. She is a beautiful 9kgs with thighs and cellulite to die for. The kind you jsut wanna sink your teeth into. I’m truly very blessed that I’m able to watch her sprout before my eyes, even if it makes me a little heartsore in the process.

The Ginger.

We’ve just done his 9/10/11th bout , sorry i lose track, of Tonsillitis. This was a particularly bad round with temps hitting 41 degrees and battling to break them. We have an appointment with Dr Desmarais at the end of the month as I think it’s time we get them out. Not looking forward to it and have some serious fears about it , thanks to my best friend who has scared the kak out of me (her little one had a really bad experience) So yah I’m hoping Desmarais will be able to alleviate some of my fears. Other than that he’s a real sweetheart and coming up with the most precious things. He turns four next week can you believe it and we’re having a little party at home for him. It’s a dinosaur theme. Really need to get my A into G and get cracking on  the decor. (ADD TO LIST OF 31 THINGS)

And here we are Spring is here, can you believe its September!!! I have my diet on and starting to shed my scaly and pale skin. * note to self , get legs into sun, you can no longer live at the coast and be THIS pale, not a great advert for coastal living * And that’s pretty much me in a not so concise short nutshell.

And the way its going….until next month take care. 🙂

Advertisement

Holiday… Me time, spoilings and family.



What luxury! I’m sitting in the hairdresser, cup of warm tea and just two hours of bliss and quiet ahead of me!! It funny how your standards change and how amazing the little me time you get can be so amazing even if it’s sitting at a hairdresser!! 



We’re away for the week and came to visit daddy Abs’s family in East London. It’s been a year since we were home so has been really nice to be back. 

It’s an 8 hour journey so on the way down we decided to break the trip and stay over in kokstad. We stayed at Imbali guest house. It had four stars rating and was really lovely. The only problem was we were all in one room and the room we booked was still occupied so instead of kicking out the dude occupying it they put us in a small room with a mattress on the floor for the ginger. Problem was the mattress was still covered in the original plastic they bought it in. I also forgot a mattress for Kat so we had to make a makeshift mattress out of the throws over our bed. 



So it was character building and saw us eating supper takeaways on he bathroom floor while the kids slept 🙂

Long and the short of it we’ve decided to do the trip back in one go . The kids travelled really well and we will just stop for breakfast and lunch. It is after all a family holiday and it’s about the journey too. And it’s a beautiful journey. Having been born in the Eastern Cape, one can’t but sense the feeling of being ‘home’ as one drives through this distinctive and beautiful landscape. 





A holiday with us wouldn’t be a holiday if we didn’t have one of us sick!! We did it super well however and ALL visited the dr on our first day here. Kat was well so she just came for the ride 😉 daddy and I got antibiotics and the ginger got a course of Aspelone. Horrid stuff that! Makes him super hyper and yuk. His last day is tomorrow and I can’t say he’s much better. This flu this year is nasty stuff. My poor Kat however is now sick and there is nothing you can give a 7 month old. So I’m just trying to keep her not so congested and from going to her chest. I won’t lie I’m a little nervous after our horrid hospital experience in April!! 

Whahahahahaha. I’m just retreading the post and it really doesn’t sound like a thrilling trip so far 🙂 but it’s actually been really lovely and relaxing…. As relaxing as it can be with two children. But yah it’s been really great. As usual gunny and bugga (aka grandparents) have been awesome and spoilt us and the ginger rotten and daddy Abs and I also got to go shopping for like 3hrs just the two of us. We actually went shopping for daddy abs and I came home with loads of things for me!! And now I’m at the hairdresser getting pampered





So it been a good week and given me time to regroup and get myself up and running as next week is going to be a big week as I finally launch my new business. 

The tragic weekend of Hluhluwe 2015

We’ve been away for the weekend. It was a complimentary weekend fully paid at the Protea hotel Hluhluwe in compensation for the crap weekend we had in October for Daddy Abs’s  birthday. They put us up in the lodge with was absolutely stunning and we were all set for a really stunning weekend….. Until Kat got sick.

She’d been ailing with a snotty nose which turned pear shape on Thursday. So I took her to the doctor only to be told there was nothing really they could do because she’s so little and also it wasn’t bacterial. So we’ve been treating her symptoms and she’s had ups and downs. It’s however now gone to her chest and after battling to get her down until 11pm last night I’m worried about her. Her breathing was a little laboured last night. So we need to get her checked out. 

We toyed with the idea of canceling the weekend but you know that saying it’s far easier crying in a Mercedes than on a bicycle…. I figured if it was going to go pear shaped rather in a 5* lodge than at home.

Now I’m not so sure…..

You see yesterday the ginger got sick as well and I think now has full blown tonsillitis… Again!! And he got sick fast. When we left the lodge to go to the game reserve he was fine and then suddenly spiked a massive temp!! 

So we’ve just left  the lodge and on our way back home to the ER (because there are no Dr’s open after 11am) 

This is proving rather challenging considering I’ve only been back at work for a week and this is now happening and I don’t know how I’m going to work this… On top of that I have no filter chick who will be on my back telling me this is all my fault because I have sent my poor tiny baby to crèche and that expressing at work is not going to help and how dare I take 20 min a day to do so  and that she has two sick kids too but her mother is SO amazing and looks after them and if I had a full time maid and an ‘amazing mother’ like hers then I wouldn’t have to figure out how I’m going to keep my children home tomorrow and still go to work…… And I want to scream at her and tell her to shut the hell up and that I DO have an amazing mother who is doing her best looking after my father day in and day out  even though she wants to fall part, and that I HAD a maid until I found her sleeping on the rocking chair with my tiny baby and that I’m trying to FIND a maid  to look after my kids when they’re sick but battling to find one and that I’m TRYING to find my feet back at work and doing everything and that I’m trying to SURVIVE on 3hrs sleep a night and that I DO doubt myself and the choices I’ve made but that I don’t need her on my case because contrary to popular belief she like me is NOT perfect!!! 

So yah we’re on our way home from a really kak weekend. I feel kak because our poor friends that came with us had a kak weekend as a result. 

It’s just another weekend to add alongside the tragedy of Dullstroom 2011, the tragedy of Harties 2012, tragedy of JHB 2013!!! I won’t lie I’m considering cancelling our weekend away in June to Castleburn, because  you know I’ve now proven, when your kids are sick it’s just easier to be home. 

So think of us as we enter this week week. It’s gonna be interesting. Going to have to dig deep and I pray we find a solution….

Gaining perspective a 150km from home

 

I’ve been a little scarce lately….you know it’s tough having such a hectic social and work life….whahahah.

Jokes aside though it has been quite busy, but in a nice way 🙂

So let me start with the long weekend on the 21st March.
We went to a KZN wildlife site called Oribi Gorge, 2hrs from Durban. We booked a 6 sleeper chalet and on Friday morning headed out early.

We stopped half way to give Daniel a break and also because we were all starving! We stopped in Scottburgh at the wimpy. Always a win! Plus I was plesantly surprised by Scottburgh. It’s really lovely?!?! I say it with surprise as I haven’t been down the coast for many years and so wondered how it has aged. After breakfast we set off and 45min later were at Oribi.
Our accommodation whilst old was clean and really spacious and as with all our bush adventures I was immediately struck at how deafeningly quiet it was.

This little piece of heaven that was so the worth the climb!

The following two days were spent doing walks, afternoon siestas whilst the Ginger slept and standing around the braai (barbeque), drinking wine and just chilling. It’s amazing how much perspective one can gain just two hours away from home and every time we go away we say it again and again…..we really should do it more often!

Would we go back? Probably not. There is not much to do from a young kid perspective and it’s kind of a place that falls into the “Been there, done that” category. But would I recommend it, 100% and of course you have to stand on the big rock

 

Christmas catch up

I know the title is Christmas catch up and its already the middle of Jan….don’t judge me its been a hectic start to the year!!!

We had a lovely few days with Rich’s parents. They came on the 22nd and left on the 30th December.
The house was pushed to its limits, reminding us just how tiny our rental is (roll on the house build!!!)

On Christmas day we all went our separate ways to church and then came home and opened pressies.
Daniel of course was spoilt stupid! It was funny to watch though ,that out of all his pressies, he loved the cheapest one…. giant jumbo thick chalks Judy my mother in law bought him.

  

I unfortunately had to work till the 24th so didn’t get to spend too much time with the family but it was still good to see them.

Daniel true to form when we have guests was a nightmare, so we spent the days scrambling to keep him quiet while family tried to sleep…..not easy ….not fun.

On the 30th though our house turned empty and we had a few days just the three of us, before heading back to work.
We tried to catch up on sleep as best we could and just spent as much time with Daniel as possible. Man alive that child is full on at the moment. He goes from the minute he opens his eyes till the moment falls asleep.

But it was a good time just the three of us…..and just as we started to relax it was sadly back to work. What with that….it always happens like that , just as you start to relax….ding dong….work bell rings!!!

The year has started full pace and we back into the swing of things, eagerly looking at weekends we can get away and chill…..watch this space

Drakensberg….need I say more

One of the perks of being in Durban is that we have the Drakensberg on our doorstep. It was quite funny because we booked one our annual weekend away in the Berg this year…..We booked it way before we had made the descision to move to Durban so it was quite ironic that we’d chosen a location close to our new home…..

We asked Richards folks to join us and it was so lovely to see them. Their last visit was over easter. Daniel just loved seeing them and spending time with them.

It was a pretty chilled weekend. I was feeling really flat still from the week before and hospital bout so it was perfect not to have to do anything.

On the Saturday we walked down to the dam and went on the pedal boats. Quite a walk!! Ask Rich who had to carry the ginger!!!

Then on Sunday we really just chilled. I flaked and had a 3 hours sleep. Lucky I had sets of hands to look after the ginger……

Sadly we had to leave and come home but we’ll definitely be back in the berg soon. Dunno if we’ll go back to Cayley’s Lodge again. It was lovely but it’s not right for a little person. We’ve been to a few places where Daniel had lots to do. Cayleys lodge is lovely but doesn’t have a lot for a toddler to do….Will look at something like Drakensburg Gardens or something like that.

Fabulous Easter

It was so lovely to be able to stay home this Easter instead of fighting the traffic to go down the coast or sitting at the airport while our flight is delayed

My in-laws joined us for the four days which was really lovely and as  a result Daniel added two new essential words to his vocab.

Ganny and Baa-baa.

We had a mixture of running around and just chilling in the garden. As usual the weather was superb (as only the Highveld can be) and my son (the naturalist at heart ) spent many an afternoon running around naked in the garden.

He never ceased to amaze me with his eating (I’m so lucky to have an eater) and tried a few new things this weekend such as plums.

On one of the days we headed to the JHB zoo and what an amazing time. Daniel kept us entertained and practically walked the whole way…needless to say we had a VERY tired ginger by the end of it.

On one of the other days I ran to the gym and Rich and his folks joined me. We then headed to the little park in Lonehill that borders the shopping centre and WOW! I was so stunned. I mean I always knew it existed but I didn’t know about all the swings and kiddies stuff. The ginger was in his element and Ganny and Baa-baa joined in too. Howcome its that we are finding some of the wonders of JHB as we’re leaving…Murphy?

All in all it was a great 4 days but alas just too short…….

Christmas holiday done and dusted!

 

And just like that the holiday is sadly over and we’re back in the City of Smoke, aka. The Rat Race, aka. Johannesburg. I am however sporting a nice tan which makes me less sickly looking than before and people have been telling me I look “well” (so fat must really be a good look on me 🙂 

We had the most incredible time though and completely relaxed and were so blessed with most amazing weather!! The first week we were on our own and got to spend some really nice time as a family. I got some really good running in and managed 35km in that week. Daniel also got to really experience the beach, having only been on the beach twice before that for a very brief time. We just loves the water and although cautious at first by the time we left the coast we was quite fearless.

I just loved my time with our little boy. He is growing so fast and it was so special to be able to spend some real quality time with him, which doesn’t happen being a working mom. Be it playing the sand, swimming, reading a book with him or just lying on the lazyboy watching Rio (for the 100th time), it was such a special time and something I have missed terribly this week as it’s all about feeding ,bathing and getting to bed during the week and all at pace!!

Daniel is growing up so fast and becoming a real little man with a mind of his own…. It was really super hot down at the coast and that combined with cutting eye teeth and molars made eating a little tough. All he wanted to eat was watermelon and more watermelon. But man cannot live on watermelon alone!! One night however after one of our supper fights I eventually let him go after 15minutes of refusing to eat anything. He quickly pushed past me , as if to say: ‘get out of my way women’, walked up to the fridge, opened the door, took a look at all the wares and then helped himself to a nectarine. We have a rule that he is not allowed to walk around with food and has to sit in a certain spot until he is finished. On holiday we had such a spot on the carpet. So he promptly walked with nectarine in hand, plopped down on the spot and proceeded to munch the WHOLE nectarine. Real little man with his own ideas of what supper should be.

The week over Christmas we were really blessed to have Rich’s family join us. Christmas was such a treat watching our little man open presents. It’s amazing at the tender age of only 16mths he totally got the whole present thing and wasted no time opening his presents.

He got SUPER spoilt and just loved all the toys. The four days with the family were lovely and chilled and on the 27th December we were really sad to see them leave (it’s never long enough!!)

Next on the agenda was my birthday. Because of the time of year and us being away from home most years, I have never really have the chance to celebrate my birthday with a party. However being in my hometown I didn’t have to rent a crowd and in actual fact had a handful of friends that were able to join me to celebrate the big 33!! I was so incredibly spoilt. My darling hubby bought me the new Garmin Forerunner 210 (best I get a running) and I received such beautiful presents from my friends. Then at lunchtime I was whisked away as surprise by Sal my BFF to “The boathouse” to their onsite spa for Pedi’s, facials and a Full body massage. Come 7pm I was pooped but went to bed with such a warm fuzzy feeling and huge smile on my dial. What an incredible day!!!

Our next visitors to join us were our mates Sal and Jon with their little boy Ben. The highlight has got to be our trip to Ushaka. I must say initially I thought it would be a disaster as Daniel is a big boy in many ways but still a little guy in other ways and I wondered how he’d cope. The first stop was the Dolphin show where he blew his bolt and lost it and I thought to myself “this will be fun” but next we entered the Aquarium and I wish I could’ve captured my little guys face more.

We was in absolute awe of this amazing water world and the look on his face when he saw his first shark is one that will be etched in my memory for years to come. Following that we went to the wave pool which was also a hit! Daniel absolutely loved the water. He lasted for ages and it was only on our last super tube ride that he laid his head on my shoulder as if to say: ‘Ok mom, enough now, I cant anymored” He had had such an amazing time and was so buggered that we didn’t even make it to the parking lot and he was asleep.

New Years was low key and NO I did not make midnight (oh how things have changed).

The following days were spent just getting the house in order for my folks arrival back from Australia and also some more quality time just the 3 of us. Before we knew it we were at the airport and Johannesburg bound. Sadly though we’re back at work and Daniel is sporting a lovely chesty cough and has had a few miz nights. But the week has flown and I can’t believe week one is over already!! And yet again I’m day dreaming about our next holiday and took a National Lottery ticket this week in the hopes that I’d win millions so we could retire down at the coast. Sadly I won nothing, but I girl can remain ever hopeful.

I hope you have had a fantastic start to your New year and that 2013 is a cracker for you!!!

2012 in Summary….

It’s been another busy year for us and of course filled with lots of exciting times and of course some big milestones. If you want to catch up on the long versions of the goings on of the Abdo’s you can click on the any of the links below, otherwise here is the concise version…..well as concise as I can be.

The year started relatively slowly for me as I was still on maternity leave, but soon the 23^rd January was up and I headed back to Moscon Optics. VERY HARD DAY and I won’t lie there were a few tears.

We settled nicely into the whole working thing and our first milestone arrived in mid Feb with the appearance our first two toofies. This didn’t come without any bumps in the road and we were soon to find out Daniel is a SHOCKING teether!!!

We also had some bumps with our first crèche experience and after a few nasty incidents we pulled Daniel from the crèche and moved him to Toddlers Inn just around the corner from us.

February was a very special month with family and friends as we Baptised Daniel. It was a beautiful day and one we will always remember.

March loomed all too quickly and we felt the toll of the year already starting. Lack of sleep and adjusting to our new dynamic led us to book a trip to Dullstroom for the weekend. It was so great to get out of Johannesburg and recharge the batteries.

April was yet another big month for me as I left Moscon Optics after almost four years and moved into the financial services game at Investec Private Bank. I’m still however in Marketing.

Rich continued to be really busy and has had a really successful year in starting up the digital arm of Timesquare called Humannode.

The long weekend in April we also had a visit from Granny and Grandpa. They hadn’t seen Daniel since Christmas so they saw quite a change in him. He was sitting beautifully and was starting to tease us with crawling. We also cut the top four teeth over those 5/6 days. Not pretty.

We have really battled with Daniel and his sleeping and after several chest infections we decided to go down to Durbs at the end of July for my sister to test him and see what was up. In the meantime Daniel had been trying to crawl for about 3 months without much luck and so I decided to try cranio sacral therapy. It was amazing the difference we experienced immediately and that weekend in Durbs Daniel started crawling.

August was a rouge month! At the beginning of August we said goodbye to one of the most amazing men you’d ever that the priviledge of meeting. My uncle Kevin died of a heart-attack and marked the 7th relative I’ve buried in 2 years!! We had a proper send off in true Wynne style and did him proud with the red wine we drank in honour of him. I’ll still battle to crack a bottle of Roodeberg without thinking of my special soppies, he is going to be missed for many years to come.

Through all this my dad hadnt been feeling so well and was battling to catch his breath. With Uncle Kev’s sudden death he didnt really have time to tend to it and upon his return from the funeral set off to see cardiologist. Turned out he was a walking time bomb and two days later was booked in for a triple bypass!! It was a hairy few days but he made it through the surgery and is recovering really well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of August after the month we’d had it was time for a break and  we headed out to Dunkeld Country Estate for the weekend. Again it was in Dullstroom and we had such an amazing weekend with Daniel.

September was another Milestone month as we celebrated Daniel’s first birthday. It amazing how this year has flown and before we knew it our house was filled with friends and many kids playing in the ball bond. Still cant believe how quickly he is growing and changing and the fact that he’s already 1!!

The next two months were hard! Daniel started cutting his Molars and for two months we battled with sleep and our poor guy was seriously miserable. This all culminated in yet another ear infection with finally ended us up at the ENT and Daniel was booked in for grommets. Through all of this Daniel has become really mummified and so I ended up having to go into theatre with him. It was not easy but the difference has been incredible.

Those months were not all doom and gloom and amongst the sleepless nights I was treated one day when I arrived at crèche and Daniel walked across the room to me. Very big proud mommy moment.

End of October saw Rich’s birthday approaching and we jet setted to East London to go and see his family. As always, weekends away are so short and the red eye flight, first thing in the morning, always looks like a good idea when you book it, but it ISNT!!

November saw Daniel and I heading down to Durban to see my family as Rich was away on his Boys Tour Golf weekend. I’m very proud of my hubby who won golf tour for the second year in a row! My weekend was not as pleasant as Daniel got the nasty bug going around which he promptly passed onto Rich and myself. It was began with him vomiting all over me on the plane!!! I’ll leave it at that!!!

November was all about shows and theatre. We were able to go and see Dirty Dancing with friends of ours. Whilst it will never beat Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the movie, it was still an amazing show.

Then a bunch of us girls got together and headed for the spectacle that was Gaga! WOW! It was quite the show and I must say was speechless in parts, and if you know me, I’m not often speechless!!

And here we are….December!

How did we blink and this year just disappeared? It has sure as hell been a whirlwind and we are looking to a well deserved rest down at the coast for three weeks.

We wish you all well over the festive season and for those that are travelling, be safe and we’ll catch up in the new year.

Winding down a time for reflection….

I’m tired! I’m so very tired and I am counting the minutes….hours ….days till we finally go on holiday.

I always find though as we near the end of the year things always affect me more than at the beginning of the year. Maybe it a case of “kick em when they’re down” or if its because it’s just the season….where we remember loved ones that won’t be here with us to celebrate Christmas or it’s a time where we realise just how bloody blesssed we are and how much more we have than others….

Put this post is not all doom and gloom its actually more about sharing the few things I’ve recieved over email or seen on FB that I’ve saved and wanted to post here….call them little bits of truth or things to ponder over….and a little humour thrown in for a laugh