Seats are for sitting on...

It has come to that time in baby Giraffe's life where he needs to learn how to use the toilet.

I bought a potty for him quite a long time ago, and we put him on it every time he baths, but I think he will do better with a trainer toilet seat, because he sees me using the toilet all the time. (No more privacy in my life!)

So, today I went to Reggies to buy a seat and at the same time i got a little bathroom step for him, which he absolutely loves.

Anyway, I have baby G in the trolley and I'm scrutinising the 3 different seats that i can find. I hand one of them over to him to keep him occupied and turn to pack one back on the shelf.

When I turn back, to my horror and absolute embarrassment, he has managed to get the seat stuck on his head!!!

OH-MY-WORD! I start panicking, obviously, and start pulling, but he's already got his ear through to the other side. I am now red in the face from embarrassment and panic, and he is red in the face from pain! he starts crying a bit, but I must say, he was actually quite good through the whole thing and thankfully didn't cause a scene.

It wasn't on his head for long. I was about to call a shop assistant to help me, when i managed to yank it off. But my mind went to emergency room status, picturing us rushing off to hospital and having the seat cut off his head!!!

After the whole ordeal, I couldn't stop smiling and giggling about it. We went out to the car and baby G kept touching his head and smiling! so he thought it was quite funny too!

I just hope this doesn't give him ideas now with the one that I actually bought for him!

When we got home, he went running around the house with his new step, to every different room, trying to find new things to reach and climb onto! He is super-chuffed with his little blue step. He climbed on and off my bed about 20 times over and over! I think he is happy to have his boundaries stretched that little bit extra.

Your Cat Ate My Pet Fish!!!!

Oh my word, the horror!

I am extremely embarassed.
My neighbour knocked on my door this morning. An acquaintance, rather than a friend. I mean, our kids have played together once or twice, but that's about it.

She seemed hesitant and asked, pointing to Merlot, if that's our only cat. I said "No, we have another one." and tried to explain what she looks like.
She wasn't sure if it was the cat she was talking about, so I showed her some photos on my computer.
YES, it was definitely Misha.
Apparently this Forward little feline has been jumping through the neighbours window in the evenings and helping herself to some attention.

My neighbour said that she has started closing the windows after one night finding water all over her floor from the fish tank.

Last night she forgot to close the window.

Misha ate her 4-year-old daughter's pet fish!
I wanted to die of embarassment. What on earth do you do in a situation like that?

Do I need to feed my cat a more fish-rich diet?
or is it because it's Easter?
Maybe she's Cat-tholic...

A couple of things that made me smile today...

'Baby Giraffe' said a word very soon after the first time he heard it. Usually it takes a very long time to drum it into him, and even then, he only says the first syllable! Like Baa is meant to be 'Barney' and it's 'bath' too!

We went for an afternoon walk. 'Baby Giraffe' was in the pram, because I had planned to take him to the far away park, but when Merly started following us, I thought I'd cut the walk short. Merly went around the whole block with us, following like a dog! I was smiling all the way, and 'Baby Giraffe' was fascinated!

I think that's about all. The rest of the day was a bit of an irritation, because 'Baby G' is really pushing his luck with everything. He is throwing tantrums left right and centre.
I do feel that I've gotten a lot better with staying patient with him now, although he seems to push even further, like he wants me to lose it.
Anyway, I'm really hoping that this is a phase; a very short one!

Coffee...

Doesn't that picture just make you imagine the delicious smell of coffee?

A Visit to The Vampires

If you know me well enough, you'll know that I'm petrified of needles and injections.
It all started in standard 8 Biology class. I thought I would be the brave one and volunteer for the finger prick. You know, the one where you get to look at your blood under a microscope.

Needless to say, I never got to see my own blood, because I fainted straight away and woke up in the corridor. This was the first time I had ever fainted and it was such a terrible feeling that I think my fear of needles actually started with a fear of fainting. Later that year, I had to go for my German Measles injection. I worked myself up loads for this, went for the injection, went back to maths class and about 10 minutes later had a complete panic attack. I had to go back to where they were giving the injections, and they gave me this weird bitter stuff to calm me down.

So that just set in stone this blooming new fear of mine.

Since then I've never actually fainted, and I've actually gotten a lot better. But the not-so-fond memory is still there. When I was in labour giving birth to my first baby, I'm not sure if I was screaming more for the pain of the labour, or for the thought of the huge epidural needle.

Today I had to go for my 16 week blood tests. These vampires love a pregnant woman's blood. It must taste sweeter or something!
Anyway, so I'm sitting in the little room at the Pathcare, resting my arm on the elbow pedestal and I'm trying my utmost to concentrate on something other than the obvious.
The nurse ties the tourniquet and I feel the needle prick.
"It's OK, " I tell myself, "the worst is over."
She sticks the plaster tape over the hole and tells me to press.
She turns to her paperwork and immediately says, "Oh! There are tests on the other side too!"

I look at her in disbelief. Is she joking?

I swallow hard and ask bravely, "so we use the other arm this time, I suppose?"

She says, "Are you sure you don't want me to just use the same spot? I had such a good vein in that arm, I could have taken it all!"

OH MY WORD!Is she crazy?
So I left there a bit hot and sweaty, looking like a patched up pin cushion with both arms plastered. But I didn't faint!

I'm very proud of myself!

Throwing tiredness to the wind

I am pregnant, yes, but I can't keep letting life pass me by like this.
I need to pick myself up and stop living in this cloud that I've been living in for the last 3 months.

Maybe I feel like this because I actually am starting to feel better, although it felt like the morning sickness would never end and my life would be over because I am so damn tired all the time.

I've also come to the realisation that I need to spend more QUALITY time with 'Baby Giraffe'.

The way I've been spending the days lately is with the attitude of : "Just ... more hours until I can go to sleep again." And although I am pregnant and I know I need to listen to my body, etc; I also know that it is not helping 'Baby Giraffe' much by spending time with him on a superficial level.

So, I have decided that I need to force myself to be more patient, and I need to get 'Baby Giraffe's' sleeping patterns sorted, once and for all. Seriously.

A better sleep for him means a better sleep for me. And ultimately a better day time for both of us.
This leads me to express, OH MY WORD, parenting is H-A-R-D!!!!

And something that I've been meaning to say for a long time:

"WELL DONE to all those hard-working stay-at-home moms out there!"

A few thoughts that I had today...

1. Why was that farm labourer carrying a dead animal over his shoulders on the side of the road today? Was it to take home to eat or to bury? Was it a dog, or a goat?
2. Do I help my mom enough with general things?
3. When I was younger, I was a real horder. I'm so glad I've grown up and that today I could let go of: my candle making junk, my old school books and old letters from friends that say things like: best friends forever..., really old toys that have bug colonies growing in their hair and bad water damage.
4. What on earth am I going to wear to the J&B met on Saturday next week? I haven't shopped for fancy clothes in so long, and plus I'm at that stage in the pregnancy where I feel like I'm showing, but not quite enough to look like I'm showing. I JUST LOOK FAT!
5. Cup cakes make a cool birthday gift.
6. Can't wait for the Ollivello cooking demo tomorrow morning.
7. It feels good to have shaven legs. I think I really need to do it more often. 2 months of growth is not fun. It tickles like there are ants walking on my ankles.
8. Arnica gel stinks.
9. New hose pipes suck. how do you get rid of the kinks that stop the water?
10. Looking forward to tonight, for a good meal and a good sleep. 'Baby Giraffe' is sleeping at his granny and 'The One' and I are going out for dinner.
11. Why WAS that farm labourer carrying that dead animal???