Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The day our lives changed



On 24 September 2008, you came into our lives and changed everything! Definitely for the better, but still... Tomorrow marks a year from that date, and how you have filled our lives in this year with so much joy and love!! I can not imagine my life without you anymore and somehow it feels as if you have always been a part of our lives. I love you with all my heart, my angel!!!



Monday, September 14, 2009

The month from hell!

Well, this month isn't even halfway and I already feel like calling it a day...month, whatever! This is going to be a looooooooong post, filled with lots and lots of venting and quite possibly some swearing, so bear with me!

It started out with a very unpleasant shocker from SARS. I'm not even going to go into it, you can figure it out for yourself.

On the 3rd, we came home to a flooded house (see my post). Were we stand with this little 'problem' at the moment, is that the carpets in all three bedrooms have been ripped out leaving us with these 'beautiful', 'rustic' cement floors, covered with bits of orange underfelt that stick to your shoes and in this way gets distributed throughout the entire house. Pretty..... Basically all the furniture from the bedrooms are crammed into the patio (thank goodness the previous owner had the vision to close up the patio, so we have an extra 'room'). I won't even begin to describe the frustration when you need something that was packed right next to the opposite wall, right at the back where you just can not get to (which, of course, as dictated by Murphy, WILL inevitibly happen).
But don't think the rooms are empty, ooooooh no! We are going to put in wooden floors and the Floor People (FP) were there on Thursday last week. Unfortunately, the Cupboard People (CP) decided to wait until Thursday to pitch for the first time, and promptly stopped the FP in their tracks, saying that the cupboards have to be replaced first. That leaves Bedroom 1 full of FP-stuff... Hubby decided that since we painted the two spare rooms last year before Shevaughn was born, he'll now paint our room while there are no carpets or furniture in the room. That leaves Bedroom 2 full of paint-stuff. And since hubby wanted to paint our room, our bed and Shevaughn's cot is currently in her room. (A big step up, as we were sleeping in the living room at one stage.....)
Then, of course I have to empty out all the cupboards so that the CP can replace the cupboards. Which, at the rate they are going, may or may not be before the turn of the century... The good thing that has come of this, is that I am in the perfect mood to throw away all the crap sentimental-little-me is always gathering!
I am happy to report, though, that at least the toilet has been replaced!

On the 7th, I was on my way home, when all of a sudden there were a number of lights shining on the dashboard of my car that really aren't supposed to be on (the airbag light, for example...). As I stopped at the traffic light (about 1km from home), I switched off the car (it's an Alfa, it sometimes helps to just 'clear its head' a bit when it does something stupid) and when I wanted to switch it back on again...NOTHING. Not even a stutter! So there I am, next to the road with a baby in the car (in Gauteng, aka Crime Capital), going nowhere. Luckily hubby was home already and got to us within 5 minutes. Diagnosis: dead battery. So beyond repair dead that hubby couldn't even jumpstart it!

But wait, there's more! Saturday morning, hubby noticed a wet mark on the ceiling and against the wall in the corridor.



Went into the roof to check, only to find that the geyser is leaking. As hubby didn't even know where to start to fix this, he phoned the plumber that fixed the loo, who told him that he'd suggest we contact the insurance and have it fixed ASAP as it sounds to him as if the bloody thing is about to pop! We are just soooooooo incredibly grateful that this happened when it did and that he noticed the mark against the wall. Imagine us two weeks from now, brand new cupboards, brand new wooden floors, furniture all back in its place...and the geyser bursts. I can guarantee you that would've sent me straight to the looney bin!!!

So, a recap on the past two weeks:
SARS - An unmentionable amount of money... Check
Cracked toilet - An unmentionable amount of money to the insurance (cleverly called 'Excess', as if we had it just lying around)... Check
Alfa - An unmentionable amount of money for a huge new battery... Check
Leaking geyser - An unmentionable amount of money to the insurance (oh yes, this counts as a whole new insident, so there's that 'excess' again)... Check

Budget? What budget?

I am hoping, praying, pleading that my house will be back to normal by the end of this week, but I am affraid with the standard of service we are receiving from the CP (or rather lack thereof), it looks to be high hopes.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Oooooeeee!

My gorgeous girly has started going 'Ooooooeeeee' for anything that tickles her fancy, and this is what it looks like....




(Pictured here with my brother)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Water, water everywhere

We had a bit of an unpleasant surprise when we got home last night. Sometime during the day, the cistern of the toilet in the main bathroom cracked... Which meant that we came home to a flooded house. We have carpets in all 3 bedrooms, which will probably have to be replaced as they were soaking wet (see the video) and we can’t get them dry!



Hubby went and hired a steam cleaner to try and vacuum out as much of the water as possible, but it is basically a lost case. He spent about 3 hours in our room... and half an hour later, the water just started seeping through again. Not exactly the best way to start the weekend, is it? But you know what, this just made me realise all over again why I love my husband so much: In the midst of this huge mess, we could still help each other to laugh about the whole situation!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I love you because...

Irene tagged us to give ten things we love about our little angels. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stick to ten, because there is just soooooo many things I love about her, but let's see...



1) Oh, those eyes!! Those big, beautiful eyes with the long, long lashes that can stare at you as if you are the most amazing person in the whole world, with so much love and trust!
2) The way your whole face lights up when you smile or laugh, those eyes (again!) squinting until you can hardly see the eyes between the lids, wrinkling your little nose and then laughing and squeeling with delight... Makes everyone around you want to laugh with you.
3) The way you call for me from your cot if I take too long to get up and greet you in the mornings. "Mamma?" Soft and questioning, almost as if you don't want to disturb me if I am maybe still asleep.
4) Those magical hugs and kisses! No matter how bad my day was, I immediately feel 100 times better when I pick you up in the afternoon and I get a big bear hug from you (while patting my arm as if to say "It's okay mommy, I'm here now").
5) Every little inch of your cuter than cute body. Your feet (which, by the way, looks like a size-reduced copy of daddy's) with those cute little jelly-tot toes. The marshmallow-bum that has got cellulite even though you are quite a skinny-kiddy (okay, I confess, that part you got from me...). Those busy little hands with their gorgeous dimples that are always pointing, waving, blowing kisses... Granny says you have got the most beautiful hands she has ever seen, and I completely agree!
6) The way you get so super excited when you see yourself in the mirror. I don't blame you, I'd also get so excited if I were that gorgeous!
7) Your total enthusiasm for everyone and everything. You laugh so easily, at the doggies, at your grannies, at your cousins, at something as silly as me playfully biting your fingers to try and coax you into allowing me to feel your gums (with which I am having no success!). You love life, and I love you for it!
8) The way you very firmly shake your head when you decide you have had enough to eat. Since before you were born, you knew what you wanted and NO-ONE will make you do something you don't want to do.
9) The fact that you do something new practically every day! One of your latest things is to go "Oooooooooeeeeee" for something that tickles your fancy, pouting those lips like a real pro! I just want to kiss you when you do that!
10) The way you 'share' your dummy with me and daddy. The way you crawl. The way you walk. The way you stand. The way you love books. The way you sleep... You see, I can go on and on and on, I love every single thing about you! My baby, I love you with all my heart!!!

(I imagine you reading this blog 15 years from now and going "Mooooooooom!!! You wrote about my bum!!! How could you?!!! This is sooooooo embarrasing!" all the way rolling those eyes as you already do when you've actually had enough to eat, but is indulging me with taking one more bite because I don't think you've had enough...)