a little Friday moan

My god I could do with some reliable internets. Our phone line periodically downs our ADSL - it's been happening for months and Telkom have been (surprise!) u-s-e-l-e-s-s.
Obviously we're always online when I need to a) cook supper (like now), b) put kids in the bath or c) 1 am. Naturally we're always offline when I a) get 5 seconds to myself, b) am home alone or c) have a head full of blog posts.
The phone thing also results in one of us screaming 'Don't answer that!!!!' when the phone rings and we're downloading (for fear of getting the connection knocked off) or, one of us making long calls to the talking clock in the hope we'll get bumped back online.
Trying, to say the least.

Winter huh? I'm so over it already. I'm not usually this affected by the change of seasons but man I was loving March ...
Yesterday we were at my Mum's house when it started to rain, and I caught myself starting to whinge about 'Winterrrrrrwhyyyyyy?' when I looked up and noticed Friday looking at me curiously. Instantly I changed my tune, trying to muster some enthusiasm for rain! snuggles! puddles!
This is the problem with having 3 generations in the room - in front of my Mum I want to indulge my inner (whiny) child, in front of my daughter I have to suck it up and be the Mum.

Here's a nice thing: a friend and I try and see each other for a regular 'stitch 'n bitch' evening. A chance to chat and catch up while doing something crafty.
This week her clever suggestion was to cook together. So on Tuesday evening we met at her house and cooked Tomato (and Chicken) Bredie.
We got to hang out, catch up and ended the evening with dinner sorted for the next day. Win.

And back to moan ...
I'm covered in huge red welts from suspected hay mites picked up at the fabulous rural Karoo wedding we attended on the weekend. And when I say covered the last count was 50+ so ja, covered.
No I was not rolling in the hay, just sitting on it.
I would've thought the amount of alcohol I consumed would've made me unpalatable but it seems not.
Also, applying antihistamine cream to one's own ass in the mirror is damn hard yo.

But:
It's Friday. And this weekend, for the first in many, I don't have to pack a bag, plan any meals or get anyone out of the house by any specific time so hey, it's not all bad.

Scratch scratch, reach for a cardi, pray internet stays on long enough to post this ... happy weekend all.

I'll be the one in the concrete shoes

Now hear this. I hate the Two Oceans Aquarium.

1. It's over-priced.
I get that it costs a lot to run but so does the World of Birds and look how much 'cheeper' that is. And with so, so much more on offer.
The Aquarium's tickets are over-priced and so is everything else for sale there. It's a tourist trap, and local or international, we're all being ripped off.

2. It's boring.
Barring a few new fish and the occasional re-arrangement, nothing much has changed there since I first went 4 years ago.
Even the puppet shows operate off a handful of scripts which they rotate haphazardly.
This morning Friday said disparagingly, 'The Nemo tank is boring'. Gasp!

3. It's demographically depressing.
Nothing makes one feel like a white middle-class mother of two like a trip to the Aquarium.

4. It's over-stimulating to them, and severely under-stimulating to me.
They barrel in there full of expectations, I drag behind full of good intentions, chanting 'This will be fun. This will be fun. This will be fun.'
20 minutes later we're all in the same emotional space. Tired, irritated, needing to pee.

5. It has toads.

I succumbed to their pleas and took them to the Aquarium today. It was the first time in about 6 months and as Neptune is my witness it'll be the last for a long, long time.

I'd rather sleep with the fishes than pay exorbitant amounts of money to dash past them chasing my own kids and tripping over everyone else's.

just swingin'

We spent last weekend at a house near Stanford with my family. We've been going there every year for my Mum's birthday weekend since 2006.

The first year it was just my parents, two brothers and my husband.
The next year my older brother's girlfriend joined us and I was pregnant.
The next she was with us again as his new wife and Friday was 9 months old.
A year in between.
Then one with me heavily pregnant (we went in Feb that year for that reason).
Last year we celebrated my Mum's birthday and Sunday's 1st together.
This year my younger brother was absent (abroad) but we made enough noise, ate enough food and laughed enough laughs for a crowd twice our size.

There's a pond down the bottom of the property, with a swing rigged up in a giant Gum tree next to it. Each year since 2008 Friday and her Dad have conspired to give my father conniptions by swinging out over the water on it.

 2008

 2009

 2010

 2011

This year she swung out herself.

2012

Fly my precious girl, fly.

2 birthdays, a funeral, a wedding ...

... and that's all in just one week. March is mad. Julius Caeser had no idea.

bookcase dolls house

It's been a bit of a week ... my small girl turned 2 on Sunday and last night my 92 year old grandfather passed away peacefully in his sleep. Makes for some mixed emotions, but all of them around celebrating family - and what greater thing is there to celebrate really?

For Sunday's birthday I ambitiously tackled a bookcase dolls house, as always greatly inspired by Pinterest. Not having a handy IKEA from which to purchase the perfect bookcase I scrounged around furniture stores in Woodstock and stumbled across this beauty ...

... not.

But, voila! Lookee here ...

I lucked out on the kalahari.net Educo sale and got the bathroom, kiddies room and kitchen dolls house sets at 50% off, used some other bits 'n bobs we had around, some pretty paper (wouldn't I love Orla Kiely wallpaper in my own kitchen?) and some pieces carefully saved from my childhood dolls house (made by my beloved departed grandad). The whole project cost well under R500 and is, if I do say so myself, magnificent.

The bathroom has proved to be the most popular with a certain birthday girl who took it upon herself to potty-train the week before her 2nd birthday! All the dolls house inhabitants seem to be suffering some terrible tummy bug judging by how often they're on and off the commode. Plenty of showers being taken too.

After a short but furious debate with my co-architect (ie Husband) we I decided to fore go partitions between the rooms. We can always add those later but for now the open-plan layout works well for little hands.

It's all about celebrating families round here.

impossible conversations

Impossible Conversation 1:

Working Mother: ‘Where do you work?’

SAHM: ‘I don’t, I’m home with my kids.’

Working Mother feels judged.

Impossible Conversation 2:

Working Mother: ‘Where do you work?’

SAHM: ‘I don’t, I’m a full-time Mum.’

Working Mother: ‘Oh I could never do that.’

SAHM feels judged.

Impossible Conversation 3:

Woman 1: ‘I’ve 2 daughters, do you have kids?’

Woman 2: ‘No, I decided not to.’

Woman 1 feels judged.

Impossible Conversation 4:

Woman 1: ‘I’ve 2 daughters, do you have kids?’

Woman 2: ‘No, I decided not to.’

Woman 2 feels judged.

4 conversations women have with other women in which it's virtually impossible for someone not to feel judged. Usually by themselves.

One more impossible conversation:

Me to Friday in moment of extreme frustration: 'Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have me around so much? Lots of children's mummies work really hard and don't spend nearly as much time with their children.'

Friday: 'Uh?'

Serves me right for trying to have that conversation with a 4 year old. It's hard enough with my peers.

monday morning

Yesterday morning unexpectedly turned into a quiet morning at home with Sunday. Not what I’d had planned for my Monday, but that’s how it worked out and despite having to tuck my massive To-Do list away, I was grateful.

I was grateful for the chance to spend a morning with my baby girl, one last precious morning alone with her before she turns 2.

I was grateful for the gratitude which made me not fret about what I wasn’t getting done, but fully enjoy what I was ... playing, eating grapes, pandering to her bizarre wardrobe decisions, hanging out.

But above all I was grateful, immensely grateful, for a life I’ve chosen which enabled me to change gears so easily, so smoothly.

Monday morning didn’t see me furthering my career, earning any money, organising anything, achieving much. Monday morning didn’t even see me brushing my hair ‘til midday.

Monday morning probably hardly noticed us at all, but we were there, in the moment, just spending time.

Spending time like we were the richest creatures on earth. 

On Monday morning I think I was.