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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Same stuff different day...

...although in this case there may be developments!

Eskom. My second favourite topic. The mines are powering up again so back we plunge into darkness. Sometimes I am not sure if being right is a good thing!

My favourite topic? My kids! Ha ha, I love the pleasure of multiples! OK nuff rambling!

So today Jordan has slept... again...for ages! I am patiently awaiting the change from angel to devil with the vague hope that it might never happen. Somehow I manage to function on full cylinders with 5 hours sleep a night (the timing of feeds seem to get in the way of anything more)and today I got stuck into the second year of my degree. There is a LOT to be said for exercising the brain and it has left me feeling invigorated - if a little rambly. Why did that never happen at school?

Shannon is back at school today having suffered the joys of the first-week-back-bug which came in the form of a throat infection. Shannon LOVES to go to the doctor. I think she believes that the better she behaves the bigger the sucker she will get. So we arrived at the doctor and she leapt onto the examination table opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out! Luckily I had Jordan to busy myself with, so my uncontrollable mirth at the seriousness of Poppet and the game reaction of her doctor was, at least, conceilable!

Shannon starts ballet next week and SHE CAN'T WAIT. Now, I know she is my child... I still remember the pain of birth!!!... but this little girl LOVES to wear skirts, especially ones that spin out when she whirls around and she believes that ballet gives her the License to Whirl! I guess some things are just not genetic! So ballet it is! (I am also cunningly getting her involved in activities that happen AT school in order to postpone the agony of running around like a mad woman in the afternoons.) She has told me in no uncertain terms that I have to go and watch her doing ballet, but that I will have to hold Jordan as he is not big enough to join in.

Shannon is keeping everyone in check when it comes to her little brother, including me! Yesterday I asked him (rhetorically of course) if he would like me to change his nappy, to which Shannon replied "I think he said 'yes' mommy because that one's disgusting!" Honesty is, I suppose, a virtue!

Load Shedding!

Load shedding could mean many things to many people. To me it has 3 connotations:

1. Eskom should be fired (is that possible?)
2. Get baby out and shed that load! (This has been accomplished)
3. Shed pregnancy weight! (This is a work in progress)

So Eskom! OK for all of you listening to the news overseas, I understand that we in South Africa are making the headlines. Needless to say we are adapting to our 3rd World status and for anyone who thought South Africa was a first world country (yes, I have heard this said) YOU ARE WRONG. Eskom top Brass were paid R143 million last year... but they can't afford to upgrade our power supply... hmmm! They recieved bonuses in excess of R1 million each... but they can't afford to upgrade our power supply... hmmm! They recieve 'ghost shares' (yes that means more money!) from a company which is not even listed! But they can't afford to upgrade our power supply... hmmm!

OK so I have been told to be optimistic about this situation: "Not much will change!" I have heard. But I need to say this. Everything will change! What depends is whether or not one is willing to overlook the demise of South Africa in order to remain here and enjoy the standard of living we are lucky enough to have (albeit in the dark!), or to leave for greener pastures where one can use the electricity as long as one pays for it...

Not to mention this is just the tip of the iceberg... how does a country continue to develop and provide for its people without electricity? How does agriculture survive? (OK we can go back to the manual methods but production might drop just a teensy bit!) How does industry survive? (top 5 biggest mining companies IN THE WORLD have had a few problems with this question!) We can go on living like this but it's not really ideal is it?

I wonder if they'll let us host the soccer world cup in 2 years time when we have even LESS electricity... hmmm!

As for shedding a 3.86kg load... I am the EXTREMELY proud mother of a beautiful baby boy. His name is Jordan and he has slotted into our family perfectly! Sean, Shannon and I are so excited and loving every minute... he sleeps! A lot! YAY! Shannon seems to have been expecting someone she can play with so is, perhaps, a little disappointed that he sleeps so much, but I am sure she will be wishing for these days again when he is knocking over all her games when he becomes mobile!

The pregnancy weight... well... time is a great healer. I am being proactive about this and thanks to the mammoth efforts of my fabulous hubby and the kindness of in-laws I have a treadmill in my bedroom which I have used everyday since it arrived! (OK that's only a few days so far but since I enjoy it so much I believe it will be easy to keep up) I am also being destructive about it as I can't stop eating chocolate... best plan: STOP BUYING IT! Ahhh for a world without vice!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Jordan Sean Hendry

Sean, Shannon and I are proud and excited to announce the arrival of Jordan to our family! He was born 15 January 2008 which is his great grandfather's birthday - Great Grandpa Coughlan would have been 92! It is also my cousins son Kian's birthday! It is also the date that Jordan's Great Grandma Hendry passed away 2 years ago. He is obviously a very special little man to choose such a prominant day for his arrival for both his Hendry and Coughlan families!

Jordan was delivered naturally and without drugs in an hour and a half, under the highly professional and skilled guidance of my Midwife Cheryl and Doula Annie. He was born in the birthing pool and was so relaxed and content on delivery that he did not cry once. His cord was cut by Sean 20 mins after birth giving him all the goodness he could get from it! Jordan weighed 3.86kgs and was 50.5cm long! Sean was, once again, the perfect birth partner and, knowing how helpful and supportive he would be, we left the hospital to return home 2 hours after Jordan was born! This was an AWESOME birth experience for me and I highly recommend Cheryl and Annie to anyone wanting a Midwife and Doula to guide them through their pregnancy!

Thank you for all the well wishes and beautiful messages we have recieved via snail mail, e-mail, sms, phone calls, blogs, facebook and in person! We will keep you all posted on Jordan's development.