Legs and Stuff

We are having a quiet week. Milord had surgery on his left leg last Friday and is a bit of an invalid...

Milord's left knee has been troubling him lately. I should say "troubling him more than usual" actually, because as an aging rugby forward his knees were ruined many years ago and are always a bit of an issue. However, his left knee flared up badly a few weeks ago and so last week Milord went along to the GP for a specialist referral. While he was there the GP also decided Milord's leg veins were looking dodgy (Milord was aboard a helicopter in the Air Force that had a crash landing decades ago, and some of his left leg veins have been varicose ever since). So he also threw in a vein scan.

3 days later Milord was in hospital having a load of defective veins removed! Seems they were pretty bad and were even harbouring a clot so had to come out ASAP. It's fairly major surgery as they had to go deep to get some of them, and Milord has been weak as a kitten since. He's been a very good patient though as it's not too painful, and he is encouraged to be mobile so he's walked to the shops and to the park over the weekend. Now Milord is back at work, although he's taking it easy and coming home early if he runs out of steam. We are still waiting to hear about his knee!

In other news we are adding 2 feet of privacy screen to 15m of our fence where the raised house extension overlooks the bad neighbour's place (apparently we should have done this as part of our reno). While I'm thrilled that soon I shan't be able to see the bad neighbour any more, we really can't afford the $2000 cost right now - especially not on top of Milord's doctor's bills. Plus I'm flying to South Africa again in August to visit Dad who is not doing well.

But enough about money!

The kids are awesome. King is getting over a horrible headcold, and Princess is testing her boundaries by running away from me when we walk to the shops. Next time I'm going to make her wear a backpack with a leash!

Your Royal Fix

I have heaps to write about, but little inclination. We are all well.

We are trying to finish off our house to let it, and are looking around for a bigger place to rent before Mom gets here in December. So far the estate agents are frothing at the mouth for a chance to let our place! By moving a little further from the city we should be able to afford a couple more bedrooms and a bigger yard. Hopefully without obnoxious neighbours... I have plenty to write about that subject but perhaps should not commit anything to writing!

I have a robot vacuum cleaner. It is AWESOME! Vacuuming is a pet hate, and now I just have to flick a duster into the odd nook or cranny the thing can't reach every so often (or just leave it until the cleaners come every 2 weeks!). King finds "Mo" (nickname chosen from Wall-E - it's the little cleaner bot who follows him around going "Foreign Contaminant!") fascinating, and Princess ignores him unless he actually bumps her ankles.

Looking for puddles in her new wellies. Princess hardly falls down now, but she still walks with her elbows up like a marionette!

More puddles.

Rocking the Peruvian jacket - hi Aunty Jane!

Seesaw.

Snacktime.

Mummy! He's breathing on me!

Helping mummy make biscuits... 

Solids. Finally we progress past biscuits! Broccoli is a big hit, especially the pulverising part.

Long Weekend

I don't feel like writing lately. Dad is awfully ill, and that makes everything else seem petty...

Anyway. Last weekend was a long weekend here in Oz, and we went away to visit friends. Princess' godparents have just bought a little hotel (8 rooms arranged around a small lake/dam on many acres of land where kangaroos wander past) in the Hunter Valley - a wine region about 3 hours from my house. While the hotel rooms are fully equipped, the owner's residence is still a bit sparse and the guest wing has no more than a bed in each room... but then what more do you really need?!

Milord went there last Tuesday to help move furniture around and have a little fun, and Princess, King and I drove up on Friday. The kids were brilliant on the drive. I timed things so that King was fed just before we left and he doesn't mind napping in the car, and Princess snacked all the way on fruit, biscuits and carrot and celery sticks... yes, she's not your normal toddler! Half an hour into the trip she asked if we were almost there, but luckily she's a good girl, plus I had enough of her toys with reach to keep her happy.



Other close friends with a 4 year old girl (J) and 2 year old boy (M) were also invited. I had my doubts because in gatherings before the kids (J and M plus others) have been a shrieking mass barreling past Princess and generally bowling her over, but this time it was a perfect mix! Princess can walk now, albeit a little unsteadily, and J and M were gentle with her. They were constantly taking her by the hand and leading her off into the distance, teaching her to roll down slopes and throw oranges in the orchard, picking her up when she fell and slowing right down to her pace. King is still at the sit and watch (or scoot backwards on his tummy) phase, but he had plenty to watch and was very happy to park on the camping mattress (no rug yet) in front of the log fire and observe chaos.

The Hunter Valley is a lot more inland than Sydney, and gets a lot colder. There was frost on the grass in the mornings but the house was well heated and cosy and we had plenty of layers for going outside. The company was pleasant - while the people are more Milord's friends than mine, the place was big enough and the kids distraction enough so that the certain folk who can't hold their drink weren't a bother. One can always say "Oops, gotta check on King!" to get away from an idiotic debate...



Milord cooked all breakfasts (champagne brunches), lunches were help-yourself, and dinners were shared among the other couples so it was very relaxed catering. Mornings start at 5:30am with King (ugh) and being with friends means late nights, so we were pretty knackered, but to be honest I haven't known what it is to be rested for the last 9 months anyway! Milord surprised me by organising a masseuse one morning though, and that was awesome!

Princess had a ball with acres to explore and nice kids wanting to play with her. Milord hung out with some of his best mates, and I had a lovely time too and enjoyed not needing to do laundry or cooking (except for the kids). I ran around once with the vacuum and somehow managed to avoid the dishes heheheh.



The weather was clear and cold most of the weekend, but on Monday morning when we were due to drive home it started to rain. A bit stressful on the roads, but luckily the kids were brilliant again and we got back to our little, delightful, well-equipped house without incident, put the kids to bed for a nap and relaxed with a glass of wine. Ahhhhhhh.... it's always good to come home!

I have video from the weekend, but it needs editing. I'll post it once I get the hang of things!

Your Royal Fix

We all enjoy the new daybed ;-)

King's new teeth are all through and he is happy to sit on the floor again or do tummy time. He's thinking about crawling - he's at the inching-backward-while-trying-to-go-forward stage. When we put him down on his front he automatically goes to hands and knees for a second, so hopefully he'll get the hang of it.

King still doesn't like being spoon-fed, but he can now handle lumps of stuff and today had his first vegemite sandwich morsels which went down a treat! I may try him on big chunks of banana and pumpkin to gnaw on, as self-feeding is definitely his thing.

Princess' walking continues to improve slowly. Standing still is obviously a very advanced skill, and usually if she encounters an unexpected obstacle or another rocketing kid she has to fall down to deal with it. Today during dancetime at playgroup Princess managed to halt momentarily to avoid the others a few times, and provided they didn't actually bump into her she was able to stay upright and keep going! This is a huge improvement!

Princess has mastered spoon feeding herself porridge in the mornings now. I imagine most kids can do this at her age, but I'd chosen to skip the mess until she had enough control to do it properly! Most days she doesn't mess at all. Awesome.

Hmm, what else? Princess can count to 100 with a little help when she gets to each new set of ten (30, 40, 50 etc). Then she'll gleefully continue "Firty-One! Firty-Two! Firty-Free!". She's a right chatterbox and we have just moved from the "What" questions to the "Why" questions. Good fun.

Oops, someone is awake - gotta go!

New Back Yard!

From this...

To this...

Milord has fancied a Balinese-style daybed since his first honeymoon there many years ago, so now we have one dominating the space! The kids and I have spent a lot of time playing on it already.

While there is still a lot of finishing off and tidying to do (and there ought to be a lot more cushions etc on the daybed) the area is now mostly kid-safe. Princess loves being able to potter around outside, kicking a ball or scooting on her bike.

I can't wait to have friends around to christen the barbie - it has been years since we were able to entertain outside!

Still Here

Just not really in the mood. Lots going on though!

King has 4 top teeth appearing together! This may explain why he has been a bit... clingy... lately. He is such a happy baby that his discomfort only manifested as an unwillingness to be put down on the floor to sit or do tummy time. He was only happy on someone, or moving in the pram, or in his bouncer - not unlike when he was a lot littler (and at 11.5kg he isn't that little any more!). Now that I can see all 4 top incisors breaking through he is once again happy to sit and play with toys or do limited tummy time.

He is nearly 9 months old and showing no signs of crawling... of course not letting us put him on the floor for the past few weeks hasn't helped!

Princess' walking is coming along very slowly. The physio has finally talked me into going back to the specialist pediatrician because she is still so wobbly... which meant I had to go through with the urine and blood tests he wanted. The urine was fine - she hit the cup first try clever girl. The blood though. OMG. By the end (the doc wanted 5 tests, which means 5 vials of blood) both nurses and I were just about in tears too, as each vial obviously hurt and Princess was howling "Ow!" "That's sore!" between heart-wrenching sobs and wails as we held her down. King was oblivious to his sister's distress though.

Luckily I'd thought to take along special Winnie The Pooh plasters and a handful of jelly beans, and she got over it pretty quickly.

As for myself, I am finally fed up with being blobby and have rejoined Weightwatchers. They have changed things a lot since I was last a member and it's a lot better. All fruit and most veg are "free", so you can snack on them to your heart's content. Conversely other foods, and especially alcohol, are much more "expensive" in terms of points. Plus you can't carry points over from day to day, so no starving all week to allow a binge on the weekend! There is a weekly "extra allowance" though to cover the finer things in life, so I can have a couple of glasses of wine on the weekend.

It makes a nice change to have to search for more food to eat in my plan, rather than trying to cut food out like before. I've actually lost 1kg in 2 days since starting, but I was obviously bloated - there is no way I can have lost body fat yet!

Stopping wine every night and stopping eating all Princess' leftovers has got to help anyway! Anyway, my weight today was 74.5kg. My first goal is 70kg - my wedding weight - and then I'll see how I get on.

Milord has stopped Lite n Easy as it gets jolly boring after a year! His clothes are a bit tight, but my much lighter evening meals have got to help!

We almost have a back yard! It is fully decked over, with bench seating and bbq and a daybed. Lots of things need finishing off though and we are once again out of money, but it is looking great. Princess loves being able to go outside and play, although I still have to supervise her closely as there are tools lying around.

There is more to tell I'm sure, but if I don't post this now I don't know when I'll get back to it...

Your Royal Fix

I don't think I've mentioned it, but while Princess was pretty much ok with me being gone for 2 weeks she did have Milord and the Nanny wrapped around her little finger while I was gone!

Princess totally refused to walk or to to use the toilet (only the potty) while I was away. I sorted out the toilet thing within half a day (I'm not dealing with dirty potties if I don't need to! Luckily she can't get down once plonked up there, so had to stay no matter how much she complained until her business was done) and I worked really hard on getting the walking thing back up to speed too.

It took a day or two for Princess to get steady again, as after 2 weeks of only crawling she was a bit wobbly, but then we were back to where we'd been. I make a point of walking somewhere every day, even if it's just around the shops, and Princess holds onto the pram or my hand.

A few days ago Princess let go of the pram while I was paying for something and started to wander off! This is a first for us, and a harbinger of things to come, no doubt. So then I decided she was probably ready to walk 50m to the park unaided... and she did so perfectly! A bit like a clockwork toy, but no tumbles, and she was so chuffed with herself that she just kept on going around and through the park for ages. That was Friday, and we did the same on Saturday and Sunday too.

I have a walking Princess! At 2 years 8 months she is finally up and away! I imagine I'll be less thrilled about this shortly, but right now I'm over the moon.

Here is Princess being a Fairy. She has to have her wings and wand to watch the The Fairies tv show ;-)

Fairy Dancing.

Why yes, Cinderella, you shall go to the ball! (Either that or she's trying to turn him into something?)

While we were away King made a couple of giant strides of his own... he mastered sitting and started eating solids!

She is trying to kiss him and he is trying to grab her - the day he gets it right we're going to have trouble!

Who me? Butter wouldn't melt...

King may have started solids but so far he only really likes biscuits. He won't open up for mush, but bigger bits of banana and avocado etc make him gag and throw up. I have decided that nomming on biscuits is just fine! He'll get to the rest when he is ready... I do try him with other food every so often, then mop up the vomit and hand him a biscuit. It's not like he's wasting away!

Biscuit mmm!

This was from this morning in the park. Funny how when I lived in the UK 15C was a nice balmy day, and here I have to really wrap us up because it's cold!

And a couple of random shots of Princess at the top of the slide, disappearing into the distance, and playing with the iPad.

Pics from South Africa

King is a complete charmer. His sunny nature and wonky smile melted the most childfree of hearts, and his giggle had everyone queuing up to tickle him! Of course he is at the best age right now - very interactive but immobile and unable to argue.

The only pictures I have without King in them are from the seafront walk I did pushing him in the pram. This is Muizenberg Beach, where an old friend's company has a flat that he lent to me. The best view was from outside the door to the walkway! I grew up on Muizenberg Beach, as Dad was a surfing dude and we were always at the beach - I loved it.

Here are a couple of shots of Dad.

He actually looks brilliant, as he picked up a nasty skin complaint in hospital which caused his skin to peel off like cellophane, and now he has a baby's bum complexion! Of course he's extremely skinny and a bit gaunt, but if you didn't know him you'd probably not notice how very thin he is. When I left Dad was consuming at least 6 meals a day to build himself back up again, so hopefully he no longer weighs less than me!

Also a shot of King with StepGranny, and with Sis.

That's about it. I took very few photos - it just wasn't that kind of trip. I did take along a brand new video camera but hardly used it... which is just as well because I have somehow wiped all the videos before working out how to download them! Gah.

Home

Actually, I have been home for a week! Kids, jet lag, and a rotten Internet connection have stopped me emailing, never mind blogging! This is just a quick note to say I am alive, sent from Milord's iPad.

 My trip to South Africa was as good as a trip to see a terminally ill parent can be. All my friends and family rallied to organise me a car, accommodation, babyseat, cot, toys etc. Plus folk came visiting at very short notice once Dad was out of hospital and things calmed down a bit.

I can't upload pics right now, so let me just say that when I got to Cape Town Dad was finally being allowed unmasked and ungowned visitors, so he could meet King and have a hug from me. Over Easter Dad was released from hospital, and although extremely frail he was very happy to go home.

By the time I flew home a week ago Dad was much better, and he tells me he is now driving a little bit too, although still having to take things very easy.

Obviously the lung cancer isn't going anywhere. At the moment Dad is trying to decide on life quality vs quantity, a hell of a thing to have to contemplate, especially with a doting wife to consider.

 I will write a better post once my computer can connect again!

Saffa Chick in Saffa Land

I haven't dropped off the planet, just travelled half way around it! I am in Cape Town, South Africa, visiting my Dad who has been scarily ill. 

Dad has lung cancer, and in the hopes of improving the odds he started a course of chemo a few weeks back. Now, chemo disagrees with everyone, but as Dad was in a frail state to begin with it totally floored him. He has been in a hospice ward for a couple of weeks with no white cells, unable to get out of bed. On top of the normal chemo side effects he also caught a couple of nasty bugs.

Luckily all that is now under control and Dad was discharged a few days after I got here. He is awfully weak and still suffering from various complaints, but he looks better every time I see him. 

I didn't want to post anything about my trip because for a while there this trip was looking to have a sad ending. Instead, it is a mostly joyful time of watching Dad regain his strength! Obviously the cancer is still lurking in the wings, but for now I still have my lovely Dad to spend time with.

I brought King to South Africa with me, and left Princess at home with Milord and a nanny. I just couldn't face the trip with both of them, and Dad is in no state to cope with an easily bored toddler. Dad has met Princess before, but not King, so King came along. Honestly, it couldn't have turned out better, as King was brilliant on the flights, and poor Princess came down with a virus just before I flew and has only just got better! We checked in super early and got a bassinet which King loved sleeping in, and I had the best leg room since I was a child. The domestic connection was less comfy, but the crew were great and King slept in my arms while I rested my wineglass on my neighbour's tray!

I have been out of South Africa for so long that I have completely forgotten how friendly people are. Everyone greets you as you walk by, and if you are stuck in a queue or a lift they will chat or play with the baby. It's nice. I am, however, very tired of being told how FAT!!! King is by everyone from a passing stranger to a doting Auntie. Yes, he is a very big, plump boy. And so he should be. Princess at the same age was the same shape (go back and look) and now she is slender and so will he be. King has a bottle of milk every 4 hours, except for the feed he skips at night, and that's quite ok. He has rejected all solids so far and I am not going to force him before he is ready, no matter what the great-aunts say.... growl

My family in South Africa is big and close-knit and have been totally awesome. I am driving a cousin's car, with carseat hired by an aunt who is also handling my airport pickup and dropoff. Another cousin has found me a cot, pram, playmat, toys and bumbo seat. To top it off a couple of my inland cousins are flying in next weekend to visit me while I am here! I have no family in Oz, but boy do I have a great family here!

I also have a super circle of friends. While most have scattered to the 4 winds following their careers and wanderlust, the few left in town have been quick to offer their help and companionship. I am currently staying in the company beachfront flat of an old boss, typing on his spare iPad - all free! Other friends have all offered catch up time... I have been a bit distracted but now that my Dad is so much better I hope to touch base with them.

My sister came and crashed on the couch here over Easter. We had a nice time even though Sis is not very mobile and also is on a cocktail of antidepressants which help her through life but make her rather subdued. She loves her nephew and spent as much time as possible playing with him. Sis also brought along all the Twilight movies which we watched back to back and now I am dreaming vampires! I think the books suck (heh) but the movies do a good job of making a silk purse from a sow's ear.

In a couple of days Dad and Stepmom will travel home to Saldanha, just over an hour up the west coast, and we will go with them. Then a week with Dad in his seaview house before I fly home to Milord and Princess who I miss terribly.

King has been such a great kid on this trip. Some days he hardly gets a fraction of his naps (he has 3 a day) because of running around or unconducive sleeping arrangements, but he can always muster a smile and cuddle for everyone. Especially Mummy, who sometimes really needs a cuddle!