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!

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.

Any day now...

OK so true to form (based on my one prior experience) I am enough of being pregnant (that is a deliberate gramatical error, Mom, heh heh) and ready for this baby to be born now!

I know, I know, crying, pooing, sleepless nights, how can that be better than being pregnant? Well it is! It just is, so leave it at that! I want to be able to lift things, fit into normal clothes, fit into my shoes, not be preceded by a giant basketball of a tummy, bend in the middle (it is surprisingly restrictive not being able to lean forward to any degree), sleep on my tummy, get off my bed or a chair without back pain, get close enough to the sink to do the dishes (ok it is a great excuse to leave them for someone else but frustrating nonetheless), fit behind my steering wheel, open the garage door, walk without getting out of breath, climb up on Shannon's top bunk to play with her, sit on the floor to do puzzles with Shannon, and more and more and more that this physical condition prevents me from doing... but most of all I want to meet the little character who will be my second child! I want to hold and hear and smell and see my baby!

Ah and the other thing is... the thing that is keeping everybody guessing... will this baby be a boy or a girl? Actually it seems no one but me is guessing, everyone else seems to know! That's just freaky! One thing is for sure: it will be one or the other and Sean and I are excited for either result, there are pros to both options!

Last but not least... a name? Well, we are stuck on this one! Any ideas?

All in the genes...

Most people who know me know that my "little" sister Suzi is in a league of her own when it comes to ... well most things in fact! Here are some things we know about Suzi:

• She is super sociable


• She likes to laugh


• She is really blonde under that mop of dark hair... really blonde at times!


• She has a SEVERE case of itchy feet (the travelling kind as opposed to some nasty affliction)


• She is always shocked when she realises that someone doesn't think she is fabulous

I could go on in fact... but I have a point:

Here are some things we know about Shannon:

• She is super sociable


• She likes to laugh


• She is blonde.... really blonde at times!


• It would never occur to her that someone might not think she is fabulous

The distinctions come in due to a slight age discrepancy (for example I might be considered a bad mother if I allowed my 3 year old to dye her hair! And Shannon has not had enough life experience to discover itchy feet for travelling.)

Anyway, the main vein of this rambling is to mention that yesterday my dear "little" sister took it upon herself to leap off a waterfall into the Oribi Gorge attached to nothing more than a bungi cord (which thankfully was attached to something solid on the other end!) and which claims to have something to do with being the worlds highest swing! Knowing this did little for my nerves when it led me to think that in 15 - 20 years my precious little baby will be all grown up and persuing similar thrill seeking adventures of her own.

So how does one go about instilling a height phobia into one's children in order to protect one's own nerves from fraying? Or would that be considered child abuse? Hhhmmmmm.

What's in a word?

So yesterday a number of my fabulous family and friends gathered to throw a baby shower for me! Shannon was very excited as I had told her the day before that we would be having a baby shower for mommy and the baby in my tummy. She was sorely dissappointed. As far as Shannon is concerned a shower involves water and washing and getting into the water and being wet! There was - thankfully - none of that at said baby shower. No amount of explaining could covince her that the shower had been had, and that it was about being showered with presents and not water! Needless to say I was not flavour of the afternoon as I had promised a shower which Shannon had been denied! As for me, I felt very spoiled. Thank you so much Tracey V, Kim, Amy, Tracey H, Vanessa, Nicci, Heather and Vivian, you are all fabulous friends!

Luckily for me, the previous day had been such a success on the Shannon front that I had the powers of distraction at my disposal! Our local watering hole, The Meercats, held a Christmas party for kiddies! It was brilliant, and children who attended were thrilled with the whole event! Jill, the landlady, had organised a veritable kiddy feast, Santa came to give out pressies and Nicci entertained the kids (with great enthusiasm) while Santa was preparing himself! The weather, which for the most part was appauling, kept itself in check just long enough for everyone to play outside on the jungle gyms, swings , trampoline and jumping castle.

Shannon, as usual, managed to be extremely cute: while they were all posing for a picture with Father Christmas she, who was standing on the bench next to the man himself, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said "I love you Father Christmas, thank you for my present!"

Thank you Jill and Johan for a great morning, we will be there in support of any event that is held at your very welcoming and relaxing establishment!

MISSING!

In the interests of helping the community, I thought I would post this which I recieved courtesy of my dear friend Tracey. If anybody can help please leave a message on my blog:


MISSING

ROUND YELLOW THING USUALLY FLOATS AROUND IN THE SKY!!!
ANSWERS TO THE NAME ''SUN''
IF U SEE HIM TELL HIM IT'S F****** NOVEMBER!!!

That Nesting Feeling?

So, I have a MOUNTAIN of work to do on my house before this baby arrives. I have to sort out Shannon's room, to accommodate said baby. I have to sort out the study...so we can get into it! I REALLY have to sort out our bedroom...once again, so we can get into it! I figured the Nesting Feeling that comes towards the end of pregnancy would cover the Sorting that needs to be done... so far no Nesting Feeling!

It is not that our house is particularly messy, in fact it is fairly tidy and organised... on the surface. It is the underlying strata that has become a problem. I am quick to blame this on the lack of time that I have had due to exams but that, as an excuse for everything, is wearing a bit thin, so now I am beginning to believe it is because we have Too Much Stuff. Time for a bit of downsizing, I reckon. So, where's that Nesting Feeling that I need to help motivate me through this Very Necessary Job?

I am sure I will soon reach the stage where it will be too exhausting to attemp such a mammoth task. Maybe realising that the job needs to be done is all the Nesting Feeling I am going to get! Perhaps I better fall back on good old self motivation and will power. OK, so where do I get those again?

Ahhh Mommyhood...

There are some things that REALLY make being a Mommy better than being anything else. Since finishing the dreaded exams and "returning to normality", Shannon and I have had some real quality time together and it is BLISS (albeit a little exhausting if I HAVE to be honest!)! We have started making 'Christmas decorations', which invoves - for Shannon - cutting out Christmas gift wrap and sticking it down with glitter glue onto a piece of card, and - for Mommy - cleaning up the...erm...after effects!

Since the main reason for this post is to prove that Mommyhood is the best vocation EVER it would be remiss of me not to mention the end of year school thingies that make a Parent feel sooooooooo proud (and of course to add photos!):

Shannon at her Catrobatkidz Awards Ceremony - they got to show off some of the things they had done and they got a certificate and a medal. Shannon was obviously the cutest and best performer on the day and here is the proof:



We have also recently had School Photos. Now, I know that everybody says that their child is the most beautiful, cleverest, cutest or whatever positive out look they have, but who can argue with evidence... Shannon is TOP OF THE LIST!!!

The Return to Normality!

As it turns out normality is a bit of a state of mind issue and therefore returning to it may be a litte tricky given my current stage in life and pregnacy, and given the time of year. But nonetheless here goes...

So since my last post the ONLY thing I have been doing is exams. That does not mean just writing them that means being consumed by them every waking moment. A little obsessive you may think but that is how it happened. Sean was hugely supportive, and only once dared to ask if perhaps a little food shopping might be fitted in around my reivision since the fridge has been rather empty for the last month. He also wondered at one stage if perhaps I could do a little laundry as he was suffering from a severe lack of socks to go to work in!

Shannon, for her part, has become accustomed to watching DVDs every day when she got home from school to a point when she was VERY cross with me yesterday when I told her that there would be no more after school DVDs and we would go back to doing activities together. She is fairly amenable so I am hoping it will not take long to wean her off the dreaded TV! The best thing about Shannon during stressful times is that she tweaks my sense of humour constantly!

This is my little (Sean is the big version!) rugby fanatic all dressed up with "my African flags Mommy" all prepared for the Rugby World Cup Final! According to Shannon any game that she sees being played ought to be called rugby and she will happily sit and watch big chunks of the game if it is riveting enough!



I learned a very special lesson this week: Shannon LOVES to sing, so the other day the two of us were sitting in the car waiting for Sean to get something from a shop, singing at the tops of our voices! I had my sunglasses on and after a while Shannon cocked her head, looked at me sideways and said "I can't see you Mommy!" I took off my sunglasses and the look of pure happiness on her face made me realise just how important eye contact is when it comes to communication! My New Years Resolution for 2008 is to try to be a better communicator on ALL levels - not just talking, which I have already mastered through PLENTY of practice!

*snif*

Ok, what do we have to do to move out from under this cloud??? I can't even remember when I last saw blue sky! I am not, however, (for once) going to sit here and moan about the weather, for while we have been sitting under this cloud a few silver linings have appeared:

• My exams start today! This is a silver lining because it means that I will be one down and closer to finishing them!


• I am well prepared for my exams - I may have been less inclined to revise had the sun been shining and outside activities been possible!


• Shannon has decided she is a big girl, not a baby any more, and since big girls can do ballet and babies can't she ought to do ballet - when the baby is born (I added the last bit - we all need to save special treats for when our lives get turned upside down)


• Suzi has decided to make the most of her life at present and go to Argentina (this is good, not because she will be so far away but because it is sooooooo exciting)


• I am holding my own against Clare and John in the scrabble competition - OK not winning but at least coming close!


• I have had an article accepted for publication - and they are paying me for it!

The only bad things that have come of this rainy episode are:

• I CAN'T DRY LAUNDRY - please, please, please, just one day of sunshine!!!


• I HAVE A COLD - and I can't take ANYTHING for it... except lemon and honey toddies... without brandy... *snif*

Dirty Sky!

This morning the weather is REVOLTING! I am as happy as the next person for a bit of rain to soak the land over night... but does it have to stick around for days on end? And today, well, the mist is so thick around us in these highlands that those drivers WITHOUT headlights CANNOT BE SEEN!

Anyway I am, contrary to all normality in this weather, in an extremely good mood today, and the reason for that is Shannon. When I opened the door for her to go out this morning on the way to school, she took one look at the sky and said: "the sky is dirty, mommy, you have to clean it so it can be blue!" So I will just add that to my job list and try to get to it sooner rather than later... I wonder what one uses to clean the sky?

Ball-ie Paint

When I was about 10 years old I remember being told by my horse riding teacher that she was expected to Jump Judge that weekend and that she would love some company, if I would like to go along with her. I was both very excited and somewhat confused by this, first of all I felt very important to have been asked and, as it was a horsey activity, I didn't need to be asked twice, and secondly Judge, who was one of our horses was no jumper, so I had NO idea why we might be jumping him. As it turned out we were to sit near a jump on a cross country course and ensure that everything was as it should be during the event, hence jump judge. Anyway I feel that Shannon had a similar experience this weekend as Sean, his brother Dean and some friends had all decided to go Paintballing. Well, Shannon knows what paint is, and she knows what a ball is, but during one of her imaginary phone calls to her imaginary friend (this IS normal, she is 3) she said: "I am going to ball-ie paint today!" Not sure she had ANY idea what she was headed for!

Nonetheless, off we went to Crestholme Paint Ball where Shannon and I stood in the vague drizzle laughing at grown men and their children shooting paint pellets at each other and yelping in pain every time they got hit! It was great comedy - the men were gunning for eachother (no pun intended) and most of the girls just hid behind the shelters too afraid to move. Brad aimed a direct hit at Sean's head which has resulted in a wonderful egg, though at the time all you could see was pink paint. Everyone is covered in bruises and welts and I am not sure I see the fun in that! What I did see was some men, who prior to this had been fairly stressed by life in general, run around playing at war, and all came away full of humour and completely relaxed by the end of their session! So to all the wives and girlfriends out there - if your man is a little stressed send him out for paintball and he will come back laughing like a little boy at Christmas! Shannon said to Sean when all the fun was over: "Have you finished shooting all your friends Daddy?" I think we will have to teach her to add "with paint" into that sentence!

The perfect end to a perfect afternoon for Shannon was that she got to sit on a beautiful, tiny little pony - Shannon is OBSESSED with riding (no questions where she gets that from) and had been begging me all afternoon to be able to ride the pony. When we got home she said she would like to watch a movie and then promptly fell fast asleep. Hmmmm, I am sure Sean and I will be signing our lives away next year when we sign her up for proper riding lessons!

Shannon the Good

Shannon is three... and a bit...so expecting perfect behaviour from her is not really an option. She has, however, usually been fairly well behaved... until last week. For the first time EVER at school, Shannon was sent to time out... twice! I mentioned to her teacher that she was behaving in a very un-Shannon manner at home and the teacher mentioned her transgressions in the classroom as well! So we had a 'chat'. Yes, Sean and I actually had the 'D' chat with Shannon, you know the one: "we are very Dissappointed in you!' (I am inclined to believe that this particular word was actually brought into existence with parents in mind as NOTHING was more effective from my own when I was young, and in fact it is still the word I dread the most from the people who really matter!) Except that beacuse she is 3 and might misinterpret the D word as something good, we said it made us sad! Shannon said: "I won't do it again Dad, and tomorrow I will say sorry to Bronwyn" (the teacher) which she did... as soon as we arrived at school! Shannon has been an absolute PLEASURE ever since.

The upside of this is that 'time out' works VERY well for Shannon wherever she is, threaten her with it and she modifies her behaviour straight away! What it does mean is that while she is coming to terms with the new methods of discipline in the home, ALL her dolls and teddys have spent time in 'time out' too!

Long may it last as this seems to have made her into a much happier and more settled person... come to think of it, when I am feeling grumpy and out of sorts, I could do with being sent somewhere quiet to think about things too!

And now for something completely different... Shannon has just told me that she needs to 'pop quickly', and that her action man doll has a 'kigger' instead of a nose! What is that about?

Not a minor, nor twenty niner...

So, here I stand on the threshold of a new era... awaiting the next decade of my life experiences and adventures! To all those who have gone before me, well... you are older than me... but does that make you wiser??? ;) All those behind me, don't grow up too fast. Those of you going with me... hang on to your hair, this is going to be a great adventure!!!!!

For the first time in about 9 years I am excited about my birthday. Tonight Sean and I are going out to RJ's Steakhouse with my Mom and Dad to celebrate my last day of 29! Tomorrow... is the next day, and on Saturday my little sister is driving down from Jo'burg to party the night away with me! See you in the next decade!

Beach Baby!

This past weekend Sean, Shannon and I, along with Sean's folks, his sister Kim and her daughter Amy, headed off for a weekend at Shelley Beach. Having kept a careful eye on the weather all week so that we would know what to expect we set off for a couple of days of soaking up bennies (for those not in the loop, bennies are benificial rays of sunlight) As it turned out it was overcast the whole weekend, but as it was far from cold we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Much to everyone's surprise Sean did not fancy fishing and I firmly believe our sweet Poppet is responsible for this! Shannon's favourite movie at the moment is Happy Feet, in which a young penguin, called Mumble, sets out to discover where all the fish have gone as there are very few left and those that are there are not enough to feed all the penguins. Shannon told Sean he couldn't go fishing in the sea bacause Mumble ate all the fish. "I will buy you a blue fish Daddy" she offered to try to cheer him up about this!

Shelley Beach is about an hour and a half down the coast from us and the sand on the beach there was washed away during that destructive storm we had a few months ago. This has left it looking BEAUTIFUL. The rocks are all exposed and they provided a very adventurous Shannon with huge entertainment as she clamboured over and round them looking for crabs and shells. Shannon was a little loath to put her feet in while Amy was fishing with a net in the rock pools however!

Armed with her duk (to prevent her hair from blowing away!) Shannon played and explored and dug in the sand for as long as she was allowed. She loved that beach and keeps telling me stories about it. I walked with whoever would join me and we all sat on the rocks staring out to sea looking for very elusive whales! This was a great weekend getaway and we are SO lucky to have it right on our doorstep!

We live about 40 minutes drive from the nearest beach and admittedly it has been winter so not really beach weather, but I am determined to take my beach baby down there as often as possible this summer.

Shannonisms

Last night after bath, Shannon and I were playing in her room and somehow got into an 'oh no you don't' 'oh yes you do' banter. It occured to me that she would LOVE to got to the Pantomime this year - if there is one in Hillcrest! So I said 'We must take you to the pantomime' Shannon said 'I've already GOT my panties on' (!)

One of Shannon's friends, Sydney, has given Shannon a pair of her shoes that she no longer wears. They are orange, with sequins on and Shannon ADORES them. These shoes are a little too big for Shannon still so she is not allowed to wear them to school incase she falls over them. So she made a deal with me: 'I will wear my orange shoes to school and then put my school shoes on!' which she did! Hmmm, our 3 year old can rationalise!

Big Sister talk:

Shannon put her ear to my belly button (because that's obviously the portal to this baby) as if it is a phone...

'Hallo? I'm Shannon. I got a skirt on. Ok bye!'

Shannon sits up and asks: 'Can I talk again Mommy?'
Mommy says 'of course you can'

So Shannon starts again. Well, this baby loves to hear poppet talking so everytime she lay down with her head on my belly button and talked to her little sibling, it kicked and punched and wriggled. So I told her that the baby was kicking me. She lay her head down on my belly button and said in her cross voice: 'Naughty baby, stop kicking Mommy!'

Now we tell her the baby is wriggling!

Come September...

Can you BELIEVE it is September already???? I am speechless (and let's face it, that doesn't happen very often!)! It feels like just yesterday that Sean and I were discussing whether or not we were ready for another child and now I am more than 5 months into pregnancy No. 2!

This September is a Very Important Month as it is the month in which I turn 30! When I have mentioned this before people have looked at me as if I am insane but I'll say it again: I am REALLY looking forward to my 30's! I am not greatly into symbolism of any kind but this new decade does hold some symbolic importance to me; you see I believe that with every year that passes we can all become better, more capable, mentally and emotionally stronger people and I have strived to do that with, I believe, a great deal of success. I became someone in my 20's and now I get to enjoy that person in my 30's. I feel empowered!

I am convinced that in order to achieve this sense of personal satisfaction, one has to draw a line between certain era's of one's life. During certain years we are influenced by different people (ie parents as a child) and from them we can take strengths and discard weaknesses and build on ourselves: take responsibility for who I am and develop the person I want to be. I see many people inhibited by the fact that they blame people in their past (such as their parents) for the way they have grown up. This makes me sad, especially since becoming a parent, as no one is perfect and most people do the best they can by their kids! In order to properly grow up and become a real person in our own right we need to say thanks to our parents for what they gave us and what they taught us, and use what is useful and disregard the rest, and not BLAME them for the people we have become, or curse them for what they didn't give us!

Mom and Dad you helped lay a great foundation for me that I have been able to build on to become the person I want to be. I am ready to tackle the 30's with vigour and happiness, while all the time building on ready for the next decade. I hope that I can provide that same foundation and insight for my own children!

To add to the fun of having a birthday in September, my three great friends, Tracey, Vanessa and Nicci, will be celebrating with me on the same day at the same party (we need 121 candles between us!), two virgos, two libras four friends! HAPPY BIRTHDAY girls, it will be a good year for all of us!

Exhaustingly good fun!

Yesterday Sean had planned to spend the day tinkering in the workshop with Mark, who is helping him out with his first big job in metalwork in the building sector. Since we know this family through Sean's brother, and they have a daughter not much older than Shannon, they invited Shannon and I at the last minute too. We went along and had SUCH a relaxing day. Shannon and Chelsea played like old friends, painting, swimming (I know it is winter but they were determined!), playing with dolls, watching movies (through which they didn't stop talking much to 7 year old Luke's dismay!)... ALL DAY. Lara and I lay on loungers in the sun keeping an eye on the pool and plying our husbands with coffee and hotdogs (Lara, not me, I was just LAZY all day!)

Shannon did not have her normal afternoon nap, and since she was playing so nicely I did not raise the question of whether or not she should! Having arrived there at about 10am it was a full day of fun and games (and sun lazing) by the time we left at about 5pm. Shannon was OUT FOR THE COUNT after5 minutes of being in the car! We stopped at Tracey and Quinton's house on the way home (to collect Spud... The Madness Continues - Thanks Trace!) and she slept through that - Shannon can normally sense other children in her vicinity and will raise herself from the deepest of sleeps to play with them... not this time!

We got home and I got her out the car and lay her down on the couch...ate supper...read Spud...wondered if she would wake up at 2am wanting breakfast having not had supper...took her to bed and SHE WOKE UP AT 7AM! 'Wes go make porridge Mommy!' was the first PEEP I heard out of her since leaving her playmate yesterday afternoon! If 14 hours of deep sleep isn't a good sign of a day thoroughly enjoyed I don't know what is!

Ladies nights!

There is an unwritten rule, somewhere amongst all those other unwritten rules that men are never privy to but expected to know, that ladies never breathe a word about what happens at Ladies Nights! So I won't. What I do feel the need to say is thank you to all the ladies with whom I sat last night and laughed more than I have laughed for a long time.

Such an eclectic mix of ladies cannot fail to amuse someone with a sense of humour such as mine and I failed to participate much due to the fact that I could not stop LAUGHING!

What is a little scary is that these ladies arrange trips away together once - or sometimes twice - a year (without kids or Hubs) to go off for some real UNSENSORED girl time. Now, judging by the stories from last night these are ...erm... really well behaved times where nothing interesting happens! (bother that rule!) And these ladies get up to the most amazing...erm...good behaviour! (there's that rule again!) What worries me about the idea of joining these ladies on one such weekeknd is not the...erm...boring well behaved-ness (!) of the whole thing so much as the fact that by the time it is over I will HURT! From LAUGHING! Not to mention they will NEVER ask me to join them again as I will lack input...because I will have perpetual giggles! Ah the dilemmas of a social life!

Anyway, thanks Ladies... I had FUN!