Friday, June 10, 2016

Dying young

The great story of an early death that is romanticized by poets and songwriters. Think for a minute about all the songs about dying young. Well the reality is far more tragic.

I had planned to write a funny post about school reunions but then I a got a letter from the kid's school.

The College section is currently writing exams. After they had finished writing yesterday, two boys got a lift home with a matric friend who attends a different school. They where involved in a massive accident on the Berea turn off from the M4. One Grade 10 boy died on the scene and the Grade 11 boy is in a critical condition in hospital.

The school has cancelled all exams for today and they are bringing in counselors to talk to the kids. My children are far too young to have known this Grade 10 boy BUT E is asking questions.

I told him that school may be a bit different today. When we arrived they had wreaths on the flag poll at the Prep and the flags are flying at half -mast. He understands that people die when they get very old like his great-grandmother did last year. Dying young is not something that he had thought possible till now.

I bet there will be more questions after school.

I kept thinking about that boys family last night and this morning on the trip to school. They won't be driving that route with their son again. As a parent, I keep thinking about my own children and hoping that nothing like this ever happens to them.

Give your kids an extra hug today for the parents that can never hug their son again. Spare a thought for a school and the children that are now facing a reality that they hadn't even considered before.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

What am I doing wrong? Oh right, I hate mornings.

So this morning husband was home as he had a meeting in Pinetown. So today I made school lunches and kid breakfast but ignored the getting kids ready part of the day. Okay I got eldest in the bath but I figured hubby could do the rest. I was waiting for the meltdown as the kids performed their morning terrorist routine.

Guess what?!!

E actually washed himself in the bath and got out after 15 min without a fuss. He ate his breakfast quickly and drank all his milk. He brushed his teeth, washed his face and got dressed in the fastest time in history. He was ready for school at 6:55.

Z got into the bath without screaming, got out out of the bath laughing and happily accepted the clothes I had laid out for her. She let hubby brush her hair without screaming or tears. In fact she bounced and laughed the whole time.

Both kids got play time and they left for school at 7:15.

How the hell did he do it and what am I doing wrong? If I get the kids in the car by 7:20 its a miracle.

Husband dearest suggested that it may be because I am not a morning person and any smiles I try in the morning are fake. True his chirpy personality this morning did cause me to ask what the hell was wrong with him?

Let's hope that he moves down here soon so I can become the evening parent and he can deal with morning chores.


Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Peak stress

So right now I feel like I am balancing a million things. I am working extra hours to save towards a house, trying to find the right piece of land on which to build said house, stressing about choosing the right piece of land and the right architect before we even start with the stress of the actual build, I am still single parenting during the week and I chose to dismiss my maid so I am doing all the housework as well. So that is the end of my pity party.

Z is now 3 and wow 3 is way more fun then 2. By fun I mean, constantly saying "I won't like it" and "No thank you" to everything. Try dress her in the morning and you get one of those two responses to everything. At least she is polite but it does take for ever to get ready.

E is 7 and we are facing the hill of therapy. He went for a full assessment last week to try and find the issue. He is reversing his numbers but not letters. He fades out often and you can't get a response and the final issue is that he doesn't follow instructions. We will see what the results are and take it from there. On a positive note he is starting to really find his place at school. He plays with a number of kids in different classes and grades. I don't know how they manage it but as a large school with about 350 students, they all seem to know each other.

On the housework issue, I was getting tired of having to re-iron clothes, clean the bathrooms(they got pretty gross) and clean the kitchen all while paying somebody else to clean the house. Last week I moved my recipe book holder and found grime underneath it. I don't think she had ever bothered to lift anything and clean. I looked around the house and found tons of issues with the cleaning and I had a large amount of family coming for the weekend. So I had to spend the whole of Friday cleaning and doing the ironing that she hadn't bothered to do. So I decided to start following a few Youtube channels that show cleaning and organizing tips. If women there can work full-time and clean then so can I. So far it's going pretty well. I hate moping the floors but otherwise I really don't mind the work. I have split it over different days and it takes me about 10 min in the morning and 30 min at night to keep the house looking good and the laundry done. I will take about an hour every weekend to deep clean but I am happy to do it. Everything is where it's meant to be now and I don't spend ages looking for items.

On a final note... any tips for choosing an architect? I have a list of approved ones on the estate but there are 25. I don't know where to start and I need to chose one so that I can get them to look at the sites we have chosen and give their opinions. My favourite site is a pan-handle with a very narrow entrance to a steep slope. The land the house will be built on is flat but getting there is going to be an issue. Any tips or suggestions?????

Have an awesome week.