Connor has all of a sudden changed.  I know I’ve blogged about him quite a bit lately, but he’s changing so much and I have to record it somewhere

I’ve mentioned before that his vocab improved in the last 2 weeks (while I was on leave), but he’s just astounding us every day with new words.  Not phrases yet, still words, but this is HUGE for him!  All of a sudden he’s decided to start copying words, which is the cutest thing to listen to.

I took the boys food shopping on the way home last night, and he was sitting in the back of the trolley (I know… he’s not supposed to sit there… but you try fight that fight with him).  I’d bought a few cold items and then a hot grilled chicken.  He touched the cold milk and said “cawld” and then touched the chicken and said “hot hot hot”.  LOL!! I thought that was clever

I could go and list all the words he’s saying but that would bore you to tears.  I have to tell you though what my favourite words are… “chuse” or juice, “bovil” or bovril (I know he’s a strange kid, he’s barely talking yet he can say bovril by name!), “poon” or spoon, “bow” or bowl, and “eeeuuuuwww” or cat.  Yip, you guessed it, he’s still calling all animals by their sounds and not by the names

As for other stuff, the biggest thing happening at the moment is the start of potty training. It’s the bane of every mother’s life.  I can’t wait for him to get out of nappies, yet the process seems endless and it’s just crap (excuse the pun)! I’ve been trying to get him to wee in the potty before his bath for a few months now, but it was a pointless exercise and he would just sit on it for 5 second and say “pssss” and then get off and run away.  Then, 2 weeks ago,   I started leaving him nappy free after our swims and showing him that he could wee in the garden.  That’s been quite successful, and he’s started getting quite good control in the last week.

Then yesterday, he decided that tonight was the night…. he actually did it… he wee’d in his potty!! Woohoo! And he did it again tonight!! i’m thrilled! I hope this means that he’s close to having no nappy during the day.  I think I’m going to try this weekend.  I wasn’t going to do anything until the teachers started the process in a month’s time, but I think he’s ready, and he hasn’t had a major issue adjusting to school.   Hope I’m right!

And there goes my little baby… he’s nearly a big boy!

Connor started nursery school today.  It’s the next step in his life.

I have no idea why but I was so nervous this morning about it.

Part of me is quite relaxed about him being at school because I know no-one is going to be able to bully him… in fact, I’m concerned that he will end up being the bully.  This is completely different to my concerns about Bradley because he’s always been a softy, and still is.

I’m worried that they won’t understand what he needs because he’s not really talking.  His vocab has improved leaps and bounds with me being at home the last 2 weeks, but still, it’s nowhere close to talking properly.  In fact, I explained to his teacher this morning that if he starts chanting ”mine mine mine” it means that he wants his dummy (pacifier).

When I took him to school this morning, he was so funny though.  As soon as we walked through the gates he took off yelling and chasing the other kids and climbing on the biggest jungle gym in the school yard (which his teacher was a bit concerned about at the time… but LOL she’ll get to know my little daredevil).  He only seemed slightly concerned when I kissed him goodbye, but he didn’t cry at all.  I hope that he’ll be the same tomorrow, but I doubt that because he knows what he’s in for now.

I’ve actually just chatted to my mom, who picked him up a while ago, and she said that he had a good day and the teacher said that he was very happy today.   He even gave the teacher a hug to say goodbye!

My next worry is that he’ll be happy at the school and that they’ll stimulate him properly.  You can only guess at the quality of the school when you choose it initially, the proof comes a few months down the line. I hope that this time, we chose the right school (Bradley’s first nursery school was a disaster after a few months)!

Anyhoo, can’t wait to get home and give my big boy a hug!

As Monday draws closer and closer (I’m going back to work then), the more frustrated and aggravated I’m getting… with everyone and everything around me.

I feel like…

… chucking all the kids toys in the bin because they’re always all over the floor and I’m tired of it.

… getting a whole new wardrobe especially because I’ve just watched an episode of “What Not to Wear”

… tearing my hair out because I still haven’t done the filing!

… shouting at Beauty because I realised while she’s been on leave how filthy the house actually is… all I’ve been doing is cleaning!

… spending a fortune at the nursery in order to sort my garden out

… fixing all the problems with the house… on my own… because it’s taking too long for Lance to do it… never mind that he’s spending the whole weekend this weekend fixing the one shower!  I know, I should really be grateful that he knows how to do these things himself without me paying a handyman to do the work.

… considering whether I’ve been stupid about the photography business and whether I’m really good enough for that yet

… cutting my tummy off because I’m really tired of what it looks like! I got asked a few weeks ago at work how far pregnant I am.  Hmph!

… actually I really feel like running away so that I don’t have to work…

I found this very cool forecast on Laura’s blog (we’re not the same star sign though).

I thought that how he’d described my star sign was down to the tee, so I’m hoping that he’s right.  A few of the things that really stand out for me are the following:

In 2009, you need to feel OK!

Regardless of the roller-coaster ride that 2009 is going to bring to the world, you stand protected by a great bubble of planetary help and assistance. As long as you recognise that, you will always find the wisdom and the inspiration to make the right moves, at the right times.

I need to tell you that the opposition of Uranus and Saturn, this year, is due to benefit you enormously. It will effectively oblige you to unravel, strand by strand, every inch of the scarf of scariness you have recently knitted. Whatever you fear, it ain’t gonna be that way. And whatever you dare hope for, within reason, you can have.

So, if he’s to be believed, I’m in for an interesting year!

There’s just over an hour to go until the New Year.

Our guests have just gone home after a fantastic braai (BBQ).  We had Philidelphia cheese smothered in sweet chilli sauce with crisps and biscuits to start.  Then the main was a spatchcock chicken in a Moroccan marinade with green salad, garlic roast potatoes and garlic bread.  Dessert was a peppermint crisp tart and the meal ended with Cape Velvet liquor.

Anyway, the joys of having guests for New Years that have small kids :)  They didn’t want to wake up with hangovers at 6am if they’d only gone to sleep late.  LOL!

And the dishes are done, and the kitchen and house is relatively clean so that leaves me to ramble on about what 2009 hopefully holds.

Well, as I mentioned last year, I don’t really do New Year resolutions… all I plan on doing every year is to learn something new or experience one thing that I’ve never experienced before.

As for this year, there haven’t been a lot of NEW things happening, but I can recall a few…

On the workfront I learnt about Silverlight and new ways of doing specs.  I’ve learnt how to work in an Agile environment, and I quite like it.  I’ve also facilitated quite a lot of sessions using the techniques I learnt on a course and an international conference!

The only other thing I can think of is my photography, which was not really new in 2008, but I took photos for people for the first time, and started the thoughts of starting my own business.  Hopefully that becomes a reality in 2009

And before I forget… I do have a first… I won my first EVER award this year.  My old photoblog won 2008 South African Photographic Blog of the Year.

So yes, I think 2008 lived up to expectations then ;)  Here’s to 2009, may it be good for everyone And I hope that the economy turns this year

There’s only a few more days left of my leave, and I’m really not looking forward to going back to work next week.

Even though, I feel like I’ve done nothing much other than clean the house and swim with the kids, I’ve really enjoyed being at home. And this is HUGE for me. I’m normally chomping at the bit by now and needing to escape the kids.

I still have so much to do this week… go shopping with Elaine (hopefully tomorrow)… go plant shopping (highly unlikely now)… organise a beauty salon session (hopefully on Friday)… filing (ja right, it’s soooo hot upstairs during the day not sure if this will get done)… some other paperwork (I’d better get cracking on it)… and I’m sure there was more stuff.

I’ve had an expensive week so far though. Why is that you only realise that you need a new vacuum cleaner and mops when the maid goes on leave? Huh? That was Sunday’s expense.

Then I had to get Bradley’s stationery and school uniform… holy moly that was expensive - R960 for 4 golf t-shirts, 4 shorts, a jersey and a hat! Oh well, it had to be done… I still have to get his tracksuits though. Thankfully I got the shoes, socks and windbreaker at Woolies before Christmas.

As for New Years Eve tomorrow, we’re having friends over for a braai (BBQ). It’ll be very quiet, but nice because it’ll be the last New Year’s we spend with them, they’re emigrating to New Zealand next year.

I love sharing recipes with friends, especially if they’ve asked me for them after I’ve made them a particular meal.

Lance got me the new Jamie Oliver cookbook for Christmas, because I’d told him to.  LOL!  He doesn’t normally surprise me for Xmas, very boring… but he says that at least I like what I get.  I did get surprised this year though because he got me a new 4GB Cf card for my camera … but anyhoo, that’s not what this story is about.

I’d seen it while I was Christmas shopping, and while browsing through it, found a really easy recipe for bacon and pea pasta that I thought the kids might like, so I kinda followed the recipe from memory the next night, and it was an absolute hit!!I’m definitely going to make that again.

On Saturday when the girls were at my house, I showed my new book off :)  and Marlise mentioned that she liked the Chilli con Carne recipe.  So, I emailed it to her, and she made it for us last night for supper.  It was delish! Really delish!!  Now ordinarily I would go bragging that I’d sent a friend the recipe, but in his book he asks that people pass them on to their friends.

He mentions that you can register on his site, and you can get more info and recipes etc etc.  So, I duly go and explore his site last night… only to discover… most of the recipes from his book (not ALL because I can’t find the pea and bacon pasta recipe, there’s another one that similar but more complicated and it looks richer)… for free on his site (which is more like a blog with a built-in forum).  So there you go, for the other guys on Saturday that were looking for recipes… check out his site… and here is the link to the Chilli con Carne (which is amazing… tasty… very tasty… but not very hot).

Well he’s done it again… Connor is going to make me grey… well… more grey than I am already.

Before I tell you about today’s escapades, let me tell you the story I was telling my brother on Christmas Eve.

A few weeks ago, my mom went away on holiday (she normally looks after the kids in the afternoons), and I left work early one afternoon to look after the kids.  I was upstairs answering work emails, when I hear Connor having a tantrum downstairs.  So, I trundle off down the stairs to investigate, to find Connor on top of a chair that he’d pushed in front of the TV.  He was jumping on it, trying to reach a bottle of Bovril (similar to Marmite) that was on top of the TV cabinet.

So I ask Bradley “Why’s the Bovril there?”  And just then, Connor turns around and I see exactly why it’s there.  Connor had smeared his whole body (he was only wearing a nappy (diaper) because it was so hot) with Bovril… and the floor, and the persian rug, and the one chair!!  He’d obviously used the stool in the kitchen to climb up and reach the Bovril jar that I’d left on the kitchen counter.  And I couldn’t even praise Bradley for taking it away from him… because Bradley had a huge smear of the stuff around his mouth too!!  For Pete sake… Connor’s not even supposed to be able to open jars yet!!

And it doesn’t end there either… about an hour later, Bradley and I were upstairs typing a letter to Father Christmas when I realised how quiet Connor was.  We’d been upstairs for about 10 minutes by the time I asked Bradley if he knew where his brother was because he was so quiet.  And do you have any idea what Bradley’s reply was (in a very calm voice)?

“He’s on the coffee table… sucking on poison”

Well I literally flew downstairs to find Connor sitting on top of the coffee table… with a cloth and the open bottle of Handi Andi (cleaning detergent) next to him!! I don’t actually think he’d had any because I couldn’t smell any of it on him, and he seemed fine.  Needless to say all the cleaning aids were moved to a VERY high cupboard that day!

We were laughing about it and saying that we’ve been very lucky that he hasn’t done major damage to himself yet…  and then today happened…  today’s incident was more scary than the other incidents…

I was checking emails and twittering this afternoon upstairs.  Lance was downstairs.  Bradley was playing in the same room, and I thought Connor was too.  Next thing I know he’s standing next to me and hugging me.  And he smelt funny.  Bradley said that Connor smelled like soap. I asked Connor what he’d done, to which he replied “No”…. it’s not like I expected an answer anyway!  So I went to investigate… by following the smell.

To my horror, I found a bottle of Tea Tree Oil Shampoo next to our bed (we’d bought it to try out when Bradley had all those skin problems)… some of it was on the table… and the bottle was empty.  I have no idea how full the bottle had been.

I went to find Connor and asked him if he’d drunk the bottle.  Nodding of his head was his reply.  Oh crap!!  I tried to google drinking shampoo and the side-effects… but couldn’t find anything.  Tried to find the phone number for the Poison Info line… which I did… only to discover that it had been discontinued… WTF!!!  Then I phoned my brother.  Thank God he answered the phone.  He’s a paramedic so I knew he’d be able to help me.

He got hold of a doctor eventually who said that Tea Tree oil is water based and not chemical based, so he should be fine.  We just have to watch for severe tummy cramps and/or vomitting.  If he has either one of the symptoms we are to rush him to ER.  HECTIC!!

Thank God for my brother!! I was about to start panicking!

Thankfully Connor seems OK. We’ve given him lots of milk to drink in the hopes of diluting the gumph in his tummy, and he’s now sleeping.  So far so good.

He’s HECTIC some days, this beautiful child of mine.

And if you’re wondering about the scratch on his cheek in the photo?  That happened today too.  He was chasing Bradley this morning while he was blowing on his new trumpet.  Then the inevitable happened… he tripped and the trumpet scraped against his cheek and he bit the inside of his cheek causing bleeding in his mouth. He was DAMN lucky that the pipe didn’t ram down his throat actually!

… and the kids are getting excited :)  Even Connor is excited, he knows that Father Christmas is going to leave presents for him under the tree tonight… for “Meee and Baabaaa (Bradley) and Mama and Dada”.

I love this time of year with all the wonder and magic and mystery.  I really hope that this magic carries on for a few more years for Bradley.

I’m supposed to be cleaning the house… but decided a while ago to can that idea and watch a Christmas movie on TV with the kids.  It was called “Elf” and at the end of the movie everyone starts singing to get the Christmas spirit up so Santa’s sleigh can get going.  I had tears in my eyes (yes, I’m one of those people) when Bradley started singing on top of his voice…

Oh! You better watch out,

You better not cry,

You better not pout,

I’m telling you why:

Santa Claus is coming to town!

He’s making a list,

He’s checking it twice,

He’s gonna find out

who’s naughty or nice.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

He sees you when you’re sleeping,

He knows when you’re awake.

He knows when you’ve been bad or good,

So be good for goodness sake!

So…You better watch out,

You better not cry

You better not pout,

I’m telling you why.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

I’ve wrapped the presents, apart from the scooters for the boys, which Lance will put together tonight. The house is about to get cleaned (once Connor wakes up from his nap). The washing is getting dry on the line. I need to make the Garlic mayonaise (my grandmother’s recipe) for the ham for tonight and tomorrow. And then we’re ready.

Tonight, we’re having dinner at my parent’s house with my brother and his family (he’s on standby tomorrow so we can’t have our normal lunch on Christmas Day).

We’d better remember to put out the cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer before the kids go to sleep.

And to all of you out there… have a wonderful Christmas with your friends and family!