FIVETRIBE

How often I have I heard of moms taking their kids in for tonsilectomies, adenoids, gromits and worse? Very very often. I have given them my sympathies - the type of sympathy you give someone when you have NOT been through it yourself. Hooli had some nodes/glands removed from his neck today. Turned out to be a couple in one spot that they took out under general anaesthetic. It was a loooong day. I fetched him from school at 1030 (bearing in mind nil by mouth from 0730). I then fetched my mom and we were at the hospital at 1130. We did all the admin stuff and then waited a good 90mins in reception. My son was an absolute gem. Not once did he complain of hunger, thirst or anything else. He just wanted it to be over. Oh, and he refused pointblank to wear any manky backless hospital gowns. I went in with him until they put him to sleep. That was EXTREMELY traumatic. They did not warn me that their little bodies fight the anaesthetic. It was like he was having a seizure. I was completely t...

Last night we took the kids and headed out to Newlands for the rugby - it was such fun. I was very greatful that the stands were not jam-packed, there was plenty space for us to spead out and the kids could run around when they got bored. Just had to post this pic of Honey with one of her bestest friends, C. I love watching these kids doing their thang - she is growing up so fast. I woke at 7am today. And it is Saturday people. I had decided last night to go to the 0830 spin class at Virgin Active. Those that know me well know that I have been out of the gym scene for some time for various reasons....and I have not spun in 8 years! What I thought was to be a 60min spin turned out to be a 90min pre-Argus spin class. Omicat. Thankfully I was flanked on the left and right but two good mates. I got through it with a smile and I am tentatively hopeful that I am back on the road to regular workouts. Late pm Lulu went riding on the gorgeous Viking. (pics to follow asap) While she rode, the...

Things going on in my world and head this week: Hooli is going in for surgery on Monday. Oh the suckiness. He is having a little gland removed from his neck. It is a simple 20min day procedure but I am not loving the whole thing. His anxiety is making me sad. I wish he didnt have to go through it but in the scheme of life it is not a big deal. (I am telling myself that - not him!) The hardest part is going to be keeping him away from food from 8am until the surgery at around 2pm - oi vey! Am so enjoying watching Lulu embrace school, new friends and reading. There are very few things in life more rewarding than watching *words* come alive through the eyes of a small person. She had a rocky start to school, feeling a bit insecure and friendless but she bounced back within a day and now is very excited to find out what new surprise each day will bring. Both girls are LOVING their violins. I thought it was going to be heinous - having to hear them practice but fortunately their teacher in...

We went to Mcgregor mid-Dec. Upon our return I had no telkom service so I never was able to share any of the magic moments we had there. The weekend was blissful. It was the last time I remember feeling totally and utterly relaxed. fun with granny annie and grumpy gramps my very special parentals very animated Honey super cool peak with built-in sunnies my beautiful trio I am going to see a DPPT therapist on Friday. Kind of a body stress release thing I think. I have never done anything like it but new experiences come in all kinds of forms these days!

I began weaning myself off Facebook last Friday afternoon. My reasoning behind this decision was outlined in this post. Initially I decided to leave my profile up but I soon realised that was going to be a problem as I was tempted to *pop in* and see what my friends were up to. I suspended my account. This decision illicited a remarkable response.... Within minutes I was contacted via email and smses - all with differing responses to my decision - either respect, ridicule, concern or confusion. Bizarre but true. The first 12 hours or so were tough. My overwhelming feeling can only be described as feeling like there was a party going on in the next room and I wasnt able to join in the festivities. I felt isolated and left out. And yet I was at home with my family . The most important people in my world. On Saturday I reactivated my profile to use the chat function to interact with a friend who is going through a trauma. Of course a few friends could see my presence and immediately t...

Lulu started school last week. Today she plucked up the courage to speak to a second grader. The conversation apparently went like this: Lulu : Wow, you have the same rollerblades as my sister! Nasty girl : Do I care? No I dont! (and stormed off) Lulu was aghast. When retelling me the story she almost sounded like she wanted to cry. I got all mad and furious (inside my head) but I gave her a hug and asked her how it made her feel. And she said: She looked like such a nice girl and I just dont understand why she had to be so rude. Suffice to say I did the mom thing and we had a lovely chat about life ( and its crappiness etc) but I encouraged her to keep *unwrapping new friends ; to not let this one rude person ruin her engaging attitude. * Unwrapping new people : Hooli started school again today and many of his mates have gone to Grade 1 so he was very upset by all the new faces. I spoke to him and explained that new people are like wrapped presents. Just like you have to unwrap pres...

It has been 6 weeks to the day. Six weeks since I have been alone in my own home. I have not waited with bated breath for all my children to be back at school although the quietness is something I have desparately missed. I had planned to head back to the gym today, however, the thought of sharing sweaty, loud spaces with others is just not appealing. I need to be alone. With no noise. No music. I am hoping to feel the wind on my face (but not a gale!) and smell the sea. Happy Monday people.

Lulu started school this week. You all know what I am going to say.... cant believe how time flies, she looks so grown up - yada yada. Yes, its all true. I feel all those things. I am not, however, a mother who has ever felt tearful when my kids have started school. I am missing that gene. I am always very excited and cant help thinking how cool this next phase is going to be. Dont be mistaken; I am not made of stone and I do have nostalgic thoughts but never tears! Honey also started Senior Primary so it is a big year for her too. It is lovely to have them in the same school even though they finish at different times....eish. The extramurals are nuts this term - spent a crazy few days trying to sort it all out so I can avoid having to be in 3 different places at the same time. I have ended up with extramurals every day of the week but fortunately still managed to be home by 3pm every day except Tuesday so that is a mercy. I am not complaining ( right now ) as I choose to be a SAHM for...

I made a big decision today. It has been a long time coming but reading this blog post by Lightseeker was the catalyst for me. (go read it quickly and come back right away okay?) ****************** I have taken a Facebook break. I am not swearing off it forever because that would be dumb and irrational and silly. Facebook, in moderation, is fabulous. I love being in touch with so many people - some I only relate to via fb because distance separates us. This does not, however, detract from a meaningful friendship. Here is the problem. I am a facebook addict. I check it in the morning. I check it in the night. I check it in the Pick n Pay queue. I check it in the parking lot. I check it while the kettle boils. I check it while I eat or drink tea (if alone). I justify this by saying that I am not doing anything else so why not? It is not hurting anyone. Or is it? It is no secret that I am wired for media. I crave it. I immerse myself in it at any given opportunity. I seldom read real b...

Right. Back to the bullet points I referred to in this post. But first, a disclaimer.... I am not a princess. I do not need 5-star accommodation and wireless internet and 24hr cappucinos. Please realise that while a cruise sounds *divine* - this one was seriously flawed. I was not alone in my disappointment - many, many passengers were unhappy. So, let us begin: 1. We all get sea sick to varying degrees....except Hooli - who is totally immune! I think that is fairly self explanatory. The ship receptionist was handing out motion sickness pills like smarties....but it did little to alleviate our nausea. Fortunately none of us were actually physically ill, thank God! The Melody is a small ship and they should mention in the advertising that SIGNIFICANT motion can be felt even in calmish waters. 2. We do not enjoy sharing holiday time with 1488 other people. We queued for breakfast. We queued for lunch. We could never find 5 chairs together. We couldnt get into the entertainment areas ...

We arrived in Walvis Bay 3 hours late which was a blight as we had planned to meet with the Man's family. Fortunately we still had time to shoot through to Swakop and spent 3 hours with them. We went and had seafood at this great new restaurant; just built at the end of the Pier. You can see by the sea that bad weather was heading in... The Man and his dad Kinda novel to be seated on a piece of glass above the sea; must confess to it giving me pause! So great for the kids to see their cousin albeit only briefly. It was quite surreal to just be there for the day and then be heading home again. We shot back to Walvis to board the ship again by 4pm. The wind was absolutely howling and it was extremely unpleasant. And it didnt get any better as the days went by. :-/

Blogging and facebook is a funny thing. You can project anything / anybody you want to be out there. So here is the thing; maybe some of you have some wrong perceptions so lets have a little confession session shall we? I love shoes. But I only own 14 pairs. (for guys reading this...that is VERY few for a girl who loves shoes okay?) I dont really enjoy shopping unless I am looking for something specific or am in a very frivolous frame of mind. In fact, I avoid the mall at all costs unless someone is meeting me for coffee. I can cook. I am good at it too. I choose to hate it cos it sucks the life out of me. I will avoid having to cook at all costs. I am not as frivolous as my Other Blog makes me out to be. In fact, my Other Blog is my antidote to real life. Its full of meaningless tripe. But that is okay because sometimes meaningless tripe makes me happy and takes my mind off heavy meaningful dilemmas. I think about stuff. A lot. I know some people may see me as a *froth and bubbles* ...

This will be a photo post - it was the best day we had on the ship and the photos speak for themselves. Blogger feels the pics look best right justified...so we will leave it at that okay? hanging at the pool - the water was frrrrreezing as its seawater. Duh. Only figured that out later. doff chick. Kids checking themselves out before the Captains dinner. The man and I - more spruced than usual. j My gorgeous trio. They found an empty stage and couldnt resist! Soaking up the sunset. A day I will not forget! This is the way things would have been all along....if the storm hadnt ruined our fun. Grrrr. :-)

On Monday we boarded the Melody. Embarkation took a good 3hrs...going from one queue to another queue. This was not fun but the anticipation of new things and a week away kept us in (relatively) good spirits. Once we managed to find our way to our cabin we droppped our stuff and headed up to the sun deck to wave CT goodbye. It was all rather magical really. Shortly after our 20 minute deck exploration we had to then all file through to various checkpoints on the ship for a drill (with our life jackets on) and listen a lengthy talk on what will happen before we die. Not a great start. Especially after a 3hour embarkation process. Hooli lost it and lay on the floor and quietly wept. I tried to do the same but people wouldnt move out the way for me. Tsk! We returned to our cabin, unpacked and became acquainted with our new surrounds. The cabin was lovely, small but comfortable with plenty of cupboard space. The bathroom was well designed and I could even lie down and read my book in ther...

We arrived home yesterday evening. A week of highs and lows people...literally. And figuratively. We learnt a couple of things : 1. We all get sea sick to varying degrees....except Hooli - who is totally immune! 2. We do not enjoy sharing holiday time with 1488 other people. 3. Entertainment is a very subjective thing. 4. I have well-behaved, respectful, patient and resourceful children. 5. We can all survive quite happily without tv, dvd, laptops and the like. I will be doing a detailed post on each of these lessons learnt in the next day or two. I still dont have a helkom line so am using a cellphone to dial up....tis verrrrry slow people so photos and long entries will have to wait. Laters

What I learnt this weekend: 1. Lulu shares my taste and passion for unusual shoes. And no; I did not influence her choice. She did ask if I liked them and I do. 2. Honey does not share my passion for unusual shoes. She is a sneaker girl. Thatisall. She loved these pumps though because of the skull motif.... makes them *less girly* apparently. 3. Honey will soon be raiding my wardrobe.And definitely shares my love of skinnies, t's and the leather jacket. Totally decked out head to toe in my clothing/shoes! I couldnt believe my eyes. I do enjoy watching their little fashion quirks - my girls are *so* different in their style. Makes for some highly amusing moments but they both generally encourage each others' individuality which is very cool. Happy weekend mense - will be back next weekend with photos from the cruise. :-)

Summer Celebrations happened at our place today - the kids were all missing their mates and we decided to have an impromptu party today. Cape Town's weather has been begging for us to celebrate the arrival of true summer! We hired an inflatable slip n slide, fired up the solar heating on our pool and invited 25 kids to come join the fun. True to form, Lulu spent the first hour in her room, utterly overwhelmed by all the noise, kids and general rowdiness. I was so touched when I saw Honey sneaking party food upstairs to her and eventually even coaxing her out to come and join the rowdiness. I really enjoy doing this kind of thing - even though it thoroughly depletes me it is so worth it to watch the kids all interacting and having a blast. Mam Honey is showing definite signs of domestic goddess-ness. She has been sewing as well as making us muffins and fresh (delicious) lemonade. Hooligan is back to his perky self and was our star dj today. So good to have him back on form! This wee...