A day on Lion's Head

Well, with Griffin injured he wisely opted to stay at home to be pampered by dad and given free reign to watch TV and play computer games. But Quinn and I went up Lion's Head today.

Unfortunately we weren't blessed with yesterday's idyllic weather, but still the light was mostly great and there is loads of new growth and flowers all over the mountain it was really beautiful. It was even fun getting rained on on the way down.

We joined a friend, 2 of her daughters and one of her Siberian Husky dogs and off we went.

Here are a few photos from today:

Quinn at the mini caves half way up Lion's Head

At the top - with grey skies above. It was quite windy & chilly up there and the mist started to roll in too, making so of the tourists a bit nervous.

Climbing down the ladder on the way down (the dog had to be carried up and down the ladders!)

and the infamous chains...

I always LOVE going up Lion's Head. It's good for the body, mind and soul! :)

Griffin had a bike accident yesterday

We went to visit friends yesterday afternoon and took Quinn's new bike along so he could show it off and ride with his friend. We didn't take Griffin's bike as the family has 2 smaller bikes already one almost exactly like Griffin's...

So we left them to ride on the hill (a cul de sac). They were riding and skate boarding up and down it. 5 minutes later Richard comes in carrying Griffin and saying there'd been an accident....

Apparently Griffin got on the bike, went down the hill sort of unintentionally, couldn't stop, got a speed wobble and fell right on his face

I asked him why he didn't brake!? He said cos there's no brakes! Then I remembered the bike was just like his except it has pedal-back brakes not normal hand brakes.

It looks damn sore and has really swollen up!

He has been so stoic and brave about the whole thing too, which breaks my heart even more.

This was 15 minutes after it happened.


Then after eating


This was after 3-4 hours! Yikes!


This morning he looks like this!

He insists it feels ok and his head and bones aren't sore it's just the skin of his cheek.

We did put an ice bag on it straight away and gave him Arnica tablets.

He is so brave though. He told me not to worry he'll be fine in bed last night, he'll just sleep facing the wall (on his uninjured cheek). Why is it that their bravery is more heart wrenching?

Poor baby

Update at 17:00 Sunday:
Here he is more than 24 hours afterwards. The swelling is starting to subside, so he can see out the eye again, but now the bruising is setting in, and I expect it will get worse.

Update second morning:
The swelling is down more this morning, and the bruising is going black. If there was a break it would be more painful now not less, so I know he is basically ok. Facial injuries do swell and bruise terribly, and if you break skin they bleed profusely too. So often they look way worse than they are. If his eye was blood-shot at all I would have been very worried, but it's completely normal and white and he can see fine, he didn't get a headache or anything.

I gave him the option to stay home today, and he thought about it for a long time and then decided he would stay at home. He will go to school tomorrow. I am a bit worried that one of the kids will bump or elbow him inadvertently though, as I am sure THAT will hurt like hell.

Update second night:
Here he is on the second evening. It's actually looking more horrific, but it is starting to heal now. The swelling is subsiding, and the bruising is really setting in. We took him to the chemist when we went to get more Arnica cream and tablets and they were not too concerned and agreed that it would heal without medical intervention.

Update 3rd night:
He is definitely healing now. The Arnica really seems to help. He is thrilled that his eye can open properly again. He'll be back to school tomorrow.

Argh to Kia!

So after boasting about my stable weight over the years, I went and screwed it all up! * GAH.

This winter has not been kind to me. Not only did Tiny shrink all my clothes, but the gym scale is broken too! I am sure of it. That's the only explanation I can think of. I mean really!

I mean it can't be that every time it was cold and raining this winter (note that been like 5 days out of every week on average), I have baked with the kids and pigged out afterwards, snacked on crap, rekindled some desire to cook in the evenings and made and eaten loads of pasta and sauce, watched too much TV, gone out to eat to much, watched to many movies - with pop corn etc, been studying and doulaing - time consuming and tiring.

So exercise more or less went out the window and comfort eating took its place. I am sure none of that is the culprit. NO!

So where does that leave me? 3-4kgs up and not so very fit, and feeling pretty crap about it all.

I have still been doing my weekly yoga class and the odd run/shuffle/walk when the weather has been good. But now I finally feel fired up to do more and get my ample butt into gear.

So last night while my 3 boys dined (I think that may be too strong a word) at Panavrottis, what was I doing?

Well, I ran to Claremont gym (+-3km) and then did a Kata Box class. My first in I don't know how long, but certainly many months. I think I last went in March! Sies. It was surprisingly fun, and although I expected to I didn't keel over and die during the class. In fact I even had fun - Norman's classes are always fun. SO I may have piled on the layers, but I havn't lost ALL my fitness. YAY!!

I am freshly inspired and am going to try to get back to doing regular katabox classes. They really are great for strength and toning, not to mention nice endorphine rushes. Kia!

* I must note that I have noticed that I seem to put on weight EVERY winter without fail. But normally it is only about 2kgs and I keep exercising so it's not too bad. This time it's worse.

Rocking the Daisies again

So last year we Rocked the Daisies. And despite it raining most of the time and being pretty cold and not very well attended it was really fun!

So we are going back again this year (preggy ladies permitting) and will be...
Again!

I think this year should be GREAT. We have had loads of rain so there may actually be daisies, hopefully the rain with stop by then, and I am sure those that went last year will be back and will bring friends.

Here's what I wrote last year before we went, and this is what I wrote after the event.

I was just browsing their on-line Gallery from last year and found a picture of Griffin in there :)

Cute! More pics from last year, including some of mine can be found HERE and here

The line up rocks again:

So if you are in or around Cape Town do yourself a favour and get there!

Quinn

Here are some recent pics of Quinn.

Wearing a warm hat at home.

Ready for his Rugby match at SACS.

Most of the RBPS Garde 2H Rugby team and their mascot Ace.

Griffin's Concert

Griffin had his school concert last night.

Griffin and his friend Yaseen before the concert started.

Singing in concert

Being a monkey

Being a rustling tree.

The Tooth Mom Came again tonight

Quinn lost his 4th tooth tonight. That makes it 4 bottom teeth he has lost now. The top 2 middle teeth are slightly loose, but showing no hurry to come out STILL. I don't mind too much, I love those cute little baby teeth ;)

I wish the Tooth Mouse illusion could have held for a little longer, but alas Quinn is having none of that. He loves the financial gain of it though so he continues to play along.

This was when he lost his first tooth, and then when he lost his second tooth, and then he lost his third tooth during a busy and eventful week.

So tonight the tooth was shown to me and I was told it was going in the special tooth mouse pillow, I was also given quite a few reasons why the tooth mouse would want to give a nice tidy sum for this tooth...

Then when he went to bed, he yelled, 'Hey Mommy, don't forget my tooth!'

So there's now R20 wedged in the pillow flap. Sigh.

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 15% Conservative, 85% Liberal Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

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Scienide & Hapiness

Har har har!!!


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

See doing science is important, it helps you understand jokes!

Cyanide & Happiness

I never used to really GET Cyanide & Happiness, but the more I see these gems the more I am taken by them. They totally appeal to my sick, cynical and perverse sense of humour. I love 'em!!

It's a little South Park'esque actually... Love that too!

"The style of Cyanide and Happiness is best described as random, cynical and sometimes offensive. Frequent topics of humor include disabilities, cancer, murder, suicide, necrophilia, paedophilia, sexual deviancy, sexually transmitted diseases, sexism, racism, self-mutilation, and violence. The comic does not always have a definite punchline in each strip, or may have several panels of "awkward silence" after (or instead of) the punchline, with characters simply staring at each other. These awkward pauses coupled with the stick figure artwork mirror the surrealist humor of stick figure animator and comic artist Don Hertzfeldt. There are few recurring characters and virtually no characterization, with characters often acting irrationally or nonsensically. The few recurring characters include peculiarly-named superheroes such as Seizure Man, Ass Rape Man, "LOL FAG Man", and the villainous Purple-Shirted Eye-Stabber."

Here are some that made me cringe/chuckle today:








Ja, well, no, fine...

Aced it... I think...

So I wrote my WOMBS (Women Offering Mothers Birth Support) doula exam on Saturday.

It was a 3 hour written exam for 100 marks about:
- Labour support - what, how, why etc
- Pregnancy, Labour & Birth terminology
- Breastfeeding support
- Anatomy of pregnancy, labour & birth
- The Better Birth Initiative
- Evidence Based Best Practices
- Evidence of outcomes of benefits of continuous labour support
- Situation when a pregnant women should be advised to seek medical advice
- Doulas and parters
- Epidurals. pros, cons, risks etc
- Caesareans, pros cons, risks etc
- Posterior baby, how to deal with before and in labour
- Pain relief options and techniques - natural and medical
- Labour induction or augmentation options and techniques - natural and medical
etc etc

I think I was well prepared and the exam wasn't too bad at all. NOne of the questions stumped me and I think I answered them all competently... but yikes I practically wrote a BOOK!
We were given exam pads to use and I think I finished on page 19!
I took 2 hours and 45 minutes.

I think I did pretty well. But I am going to have a LONG wait until I find out, as 'graduation' is only in October, and I don't think we'll get our results before then...

I have now packed my door-stopper file away.

Whew! I realised that I had not sat a formal exam for about 12 years! But it really helps to be doing something you love. It was actually kind of exciting. :)

New addiction

Well it turns out no matter how much you love the subject matter, endless studying still gets tedious and tiresome. A break just must be had...

Enter my latest addiction as discovered by my kids yesterday. Bloxorz!

This game is awesome, so simple yet so fun and addictive!

"How many of the 33 mindbending levels of this spacial puzzle game can you crack.... before it cracks you? Don't fall off the edge! ..."

" Bloxorz is a simple idea for a puzzle game that is beautifully executed. The objective is to tumble a rectangular block through each stage and deposit it into the square hole at the end. Using a series of bridge-opening switches, teleporters, and block-splitting switches, solve the puzzle each stage presents to move on to the next of the game's 33 levels"

Go PLAY IT HERE but don't say I didn't warn you!

Reading reading reading

I have done a lot of reading this year. Both for pure enjoyment, relaxation and entertainment as well as for my doula courses, which although is technically studying is not mutually exclusive from the enjoyment side either. Thankfully, else it would have been a huge chore!

I have just updated the library section of my doula site... These books are just the ones I have read this year which I also OWN, and they are now part of my lending library:

- The Doula Advantage: Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant.

Author: Rachel Gurevich

- The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth.
Author: Marshall H. Klaus

- Partners in Birth: Your Complete Guide to Helping a Mother Give Birth
Author: Kathy Cain

- Active Birth, Revised Edition: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally - I also have a first edition from the early 1980s.
Author: Janet Balaskas

- New Natural Pregnancy: Practical Wellbeing from Conception to Birth
Author: Janet Balaskas

- Preparing for Birth with Yoga: an old edition but still has much useful information.
Author: Janet Balaskas

-Yoga For Pregnancy: a union of body, mind and spirit.
Author: Amber Land

The New Pregnancy & Childbirth: choices and challenges.
Author: Shiela Kitzinger

- Stand and Deliver!: And Other Brilliant Ways to Give Birth
Author: Emma Mahony

- Mommy Please Don’t Cry: There Are No Tears in Heaven. “Mommy, Please Don’t Cry is a book of love and comfort for mothers who have experienced the deep sorrow of losing a child. Serene illustrations frame gentle words that describe heaven from a child’s perspective.
Author: Linda Deymaz

- The Great Ormond Street New Baby and Child Care Book A very comprehensive pregnancy and child-care book. At 640 pages of straight text, uncluttered by drawings or photographs, the style is not dense; it remains very readable and can be read from start to finish–take a journey through your child’s conception and early years–or dipped into using the index.
Author: Tessa Hilton (Author), Maire Messenger (Author), Philip Graham (Editor)

Additionally to this I have also read:

The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman Through Childbirth
Author: Penny Simkin

Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth
Author: by Marshall H. Klaus, John H. Kennell & Phyllis H. Klaus

Practical Pregnancy, Birth & Early Parenting (no on-line link found)
Author: Irene Bourquin

When A Baby Dies Book - A Handbook for Healing and Helping
Author Rana K. Limbo & Sara Rich Wheeler

You and Your Newborn Baby: A Guide to the First Months After Birth (Paperback)
Author: Linda Todd

Then I have also read various journals, on-line articles and mailing lists and sites... I also respond to questions on various pregnancy and parenting forums. I have watched many many birth movies, on YouTube and on DVD, and even have a documentary on circumcision. I ahev also seen 9 babies born this year.

Oh and not to mention my full to bursting lever arch file of notes... best I get started on that, because I HAVEN'T actually read that yet, and that's what the exam is on. But it is all covered in the books so I am not too worried.

Studying

I am studying for my doula exam on Saturday which will allow me to call myself a Certified Doula (CD) - if I pass that is.

I was not really worried about it, I have a good grip on the material (even if I haven't actually READ the file yet, I am still planning too promise!) .... until Richard reminded me that I threw in the towel on my Engineering degree. He said something like, 'Wow you are actually going to finish this... not chuck it in like you did with Electronic Engineering. So it MUST be your calling'

I think it was meant to be encouraging. So why am I feeling unsettled and all nervous now? ;)

Odd.

(I do think I will be fine though, I love this and 'studying' it is really not like work for me, I enjoy the reading, and do seem to absorb it and retain it well.)

Think of me at 9am on Saturday.

Spider Pig Spider Pig

I so have to go see the Simpson's Movie...

'Spider Pig Spider Pig...' LMAO

I am not well.... I just saw Q in his Spider man outfit and wanted to put him against the ceiling so I could sing 'Spider Quinn Spider Quinn' **

I had to resort to some special effects photography instead... use your imagination!

**If you don't know wtf I am on about go look HERE... If you didn't laugh, boo hoo to you!