Monday, August 31, 2009

Eviction pending

Sorry bout the lack of posts. I finished up work on Friday and depressing little (mmm...not so much) control freak that I am, there was much to get done right up to the very last minute. Anyway, now starts 4 sweet months of no work. yes, yes, annoying people feel this incessant need to point out (read in a nasal voice) "don't think you won't be working, honey. mothering a newborn is the hardest you'll work in your life". Killjoys. Jealously makes them very very nasty. Clearly they have easy, stress free jobs. Not I. Saving the planet is a weighty burden and one I am pleased not to carry til January. OBVIOUSLY the mom bit will be tough in it's own way, but it will be SO different and so rewarding and exciting and exhausting and challenging. So bah humbug you miserable doomsday prophets.

On Saturday the Band and I left for our week in Plett. Our room at The Beacon Isle is fantastic. Waves pounding outside my window. gorgeous views. comfy beds. Great way to start the leave.

The child must appear soon please. I am so uncomfortable. the kicking in the ribs. The headbutting in the - ... well never mind. The heaviness and lack of access to ones own stomach muscles. Forget that my heart is now 1/3 bigger, that my diaphragm has moved up by possibly 10cm, forcing my rib cage to expand for the sake of my lungs, forget the cankles. Imagine having a 3kg bag of flour wedged under your stomach muscles. I tried to explain this to the Band - you have to try not using your stomach muscles to get some idea of what this is like. Like when you get into and out of bed using only your arms and no abs. Or even rolling over in bed. What a mission. It is a 3 point turn each time. Anyway, we have packed in case of the child coming early and we have checked out the new Plett hospital (which is truly gorgeous) and quite frankly I would be happy to pop any day now.*

*If I am still saying this in 2 weeks time be prepared for a miserable, self-pitying caz!

Monday, August 24, 2009

bloodshot eyes*

*not a search term I would recommend entering in google images (shudder)

Well naturally it's been far too long since my last Encounter and so another one was becoming inevitable I suppose.

It happened on Friday. We were in Betty's Bay for the evening and sometime circa 4am I woke up to pee. (That's just the way it is. I've long since kissed the thought of sleeping through the night goodbye for the next decade) Anyway, as I reached for the door handle of the bedroom who do you suppose is skulking there, LEERING at me? 8 hairy legs glinting in the moonlight?

"$#!& man!" I squeal in an embarassingly high pitched voice.

Enter The Band. "What's wrong my girl?"

"one of those- those- those- spider BASTARDS is here lying in wait for me to touch him!!"

Saintly spouse that he is, he duly got up and removed the offending beast.

The rest of the night I was plagued with dreams of these wolf spiders. scuttling. leering. jeering. lurking.

The next morning The Band started to laugh about the whole thing.
"What's so funny?" heavily pregnant, unamused arachnophobe wife asks miserably.

"Well, how did you SPOT the spider? I don't understand how you could have seen him in the dark"

amateur. Does he really think that just because I haven't had an Encounter in 3 months I have let my guard down? NEVER! My spider inspections are taken as seriously as ever and it's a bluddy good thing too. If i had touched the demonic beast I swear I would have popped the baby out there and then!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Is it just me

Or does the baby floating in the box to the right look decidedly asian all of a sudden?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

cool stuff i got for being knocked up

so far i've had 2 baby showers - one when I was home in the Eastern Cape in June and one at work last week. I haven't even shown you any of my cute presents yet.
ok so actually "they're not for me". Whatever. Lets be honest here. Cute stuff is for me. The baby will get excited about discovering it's own fingers. I doubt he/she's gonna be too taken by the stuff below at this stage. But I totally am.


Cute little African animals... yep, even a sable. This kid will love Africa!


There's that scene in How I met your mother where Robyn sees the baby socks and she's overs. That's me. Socks are very underrated. Those white ones on the left are minute - about 4cm long.


WHAT? You are using reusable nappies? Are you insane? Bla bla bla. Yes I am. What kind of composting, recycling, carpooling vegetarian would I be if I flooded the landfills with disposables?! Fear not. I also stand to save about R12K by going this route (and that's just on my FIRST child!!)


Awesome sheepskin mocassins. I really wish they fitted me.

Of course there is plenty plenty more, but you are probably all caz's baby'd out by now so I will spare you.

The Band is Hammy

The Band is nesting. Well... i don't know if it's nesting per se, but it's that sort of concept. Maybe a better term would be stockpiling. Or storing up. Or PREPARING. He has gone into Hammy mode.

C'mon guys, you remember Hammy from Over the Hedge? He needs to get all prepared for winter so he stores up stuff? I *think* that was Hammy? Well either way, Hammy was the cute one so I'll stick to it.

Suddenly he is buying all the odds and ends we still need.

"But The Band," I try to tell him; "I can get these cheaper through the antenatal class chick"
"Doesn't matter. Let's just get it so we have it."

Ha... you guys think that is an arb convo to share?? This is coming from a man who in the past would rather buy 3 toothpastes for the price of 2 in a flavour that he hates simply coz of the deal. This is a man who stayed in a cottage WITH NO DRINKING WATER for 2 years coz of the deal. This is a man who had a diet of "budget burgers" (R30 for 30 patties) for months on end* coz of the deal.
Now he is scoffing at a R40 saving!?

Definitely some kind of fathering instinct setting in. Plus today when I got home he has repacked the hospital bag (which we packed the other night amid much hilarity... I was going to take pics of some of the scary ass things that go into a labour bag but thought it may be too traumatic for you guys) and added all kinds of extra stuff. I've decided not to peek.

It really is very cute.

Anyway blogger is giving me hassles so the rest will have to go in a seperate post.

*The end of the pattie era came when he discovered an artery in one one day. I kid you not. I should perhaps mention that to be fair all these budget bargaining horror stories did happen while we were students and despite The Band having been quite the bargain hunter from the start where he himself is concerned, he also happens to be the most generous guy I know.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Happy Birthday Noon

Today would be my gran's 90th birthday. WOW. She made it just past 89.
If she was alive today I guess we'd all be gathered in East London to celebrate such a milestone with her. She LOVED her birthday about as much as me (and that's something!) I guess it was because she had grandchildren from all over the planet phoning her and sending her special gifts.

On her birthday she'd ussually go out for lunch with my folks at Grazias, a fancy East London restaurant overlooking the sea. She'd inevitably order a glass of white - probably Lyric - and sole or prawns and though she looked busy with it, she wouldn't make a very big dent in the meal. She'd end the meal with a cup of coffee.

She would have already walked up to the post office this morning to check for gifts - if any had arrived in advance she may well have snuck a peak. When I was small my regular gift for her was an assortment of jams. She likes to have a different flavour every day. She loved chocolate but due to migraines could only eat white chocolate... or so she claimed. When we sorted out her home after she died we found regular chocolate... sly!

She had special names for people. My dad was "My Richie". My mom was "Barb". My brothers were Marky boo, H.H. (for handsome hunk) and she called me Carrie but would usually say (none too subtly) "You know I love you best in all the world". Perhaps the only real competition for my gran's heart was Phoebe, our border collie. "Oh, I DO love that dog" she'd state emphatically as if anyone would ever question it.

Noon, today is your birthday and I was the one opening all the gifts. My colleagues at work surprised me with a baby shower and people - some of whose names I rarely get right - stunned me with their generosity. Piles and piles of gifts for your great grandchild. I wish I could share this time with you. I wish I had had the opportunity to tell you that if this baby is a girl, she'll be named after you. A better role model I can't imagine.

Monday, August 10, 2009

this weekend

has been a bit depro for me. I've managed to do not all that much. for once there were no birthday things, no 21sts. well we did have people over for saturday brunch and saturday dinner but other than that been chillin. so why am i so blegh?
maybe it's the weather. crap weather. maybe i'm just really really missing my gran today. maybe it's coz when i'm feeling the merest bit depro I put on depro music and indulge in it.

My current depro playlist includes:
Run - snow patrol
100 years - five for fighting
if you're gone - matchbox 20
broken - lifehouse
fix you - coldplay

what are your depro inducing favourites? any suggestions for me to add so i can indulge even more?

Friday, August 07, 2009

Why women's day rocks

because of the rock silly.

4 years ago on women's day i was given my rock.
The Band proposed on that day. I told him at the time that he has set a precedent now and I will forever expect diamonds on women's day but I suspect he thought I was joking.

Freakish dreams

So last night at the prenatal class thingmajig we learnt all about labour. Needless to say I had weird dreams all night and the evening slumber was not helped by the fact that i woke at 3.30 with excrutiating calf cramps. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? How can i be all "pregnancy is a piece of cake" if all these little annoyances start happening. No man. I am nearly done - it must go smooth to the end thanks. But seriously, it was BLUDDY sore. The Band had to give me a massage and then I couldn't sleep for ages and when I did I dreamt of GIANT (metre long) bottles of Gaviscon.

You know Gav's become a big part of your life when you are dreaming of him.

Monday, August 03, 2009

what's in a name?

Quite a frikken lot actually.

So as you know we don't know if the baby is a he or a she. We're all set for a girl. Have had the girl's name for years. It has even been mentioned on this blog... don't bother, you won't find it :)
But boy names... not so simple.

Here are the criteria for a boy's name:
It must be strong, manly, perhaps short. not sure tho.

Unfortunately I have a negative connotation for just about every boy's name that's thrown my way. I am quite painful in that regard. (Obviously kissed too many boys in my skanky varsity days. joking people!)

Any suggestions for me to tear apart?