Flu, flu go away - weekend of 1/2 September

Following that crazy week of sickness and all the rest, my hubby was just not getting better. Needless to say I was a little concerned that his cough and malaise were just not budging. I was still feeling unwell and the hives were out in full force once again so we all marched off to the doctor on Friday afternoon. Hubby was given antibiotics. I was not as sick as him and with IVF looming the doctor was afraid to prescribe anything for my being sick (not nearly as sick as hubby though) and for the hives. She said if we were not doing UVF she would give me prednisone...I am not much of a fan of cortisone stuff unless a must. I was also using telfast less and less - meaning more hives. (I am trying to eat a little more healthily - the hives did dwindle a little but come and go) I asked her if a sort of detox might help and she said to try it and has also referred me to an immunologist in Brisbane - his next available appointment is only in December. Poor Jos was beside herself in the doctor's room. She hated the doctor using the stethoscope, checking temperature etc...and that was on us, not even on her. Her little lip dropped as she first saw mommy, then daddy being examined. She was quite distraught (this happened also when i painted my toenails - she cried for some time when she saw my toenails - I popped some nailpolish on one of her toes and this did not sit well with her. She cried and performed and was only calm once i had removed it again) Hubby started the antibiotics and still felt horrid. He managed to venture out with us on Saturday morning but by the afternoon - well getting home he dropped into bed and slept...which is very unlike him. I took Jos out to the park and just tried to keep her entertained while he relaxed a little. On Sunday was father's day in Aus. We got daddy a few goodies for his BBQ including a rotisserie. Poor daddy still wasnt feeling well so Jos and I went to the big park and had a long play there. She fell asleep in the car and had a decent nap and in the afternoon we went to the park up the road, again to give daddy some time to relax and sleep. He really wasnt well although managed to cook for us on the BBQ. Sad to say our weekend was more abou missing each other than seeing each other and hubby still hadnt improved much despite getting meds!

My week

So last week began with a lovely morning devotion by one of my lovely colleagues, Kylie. I enjoy our Monday morning staff gatherings and some hit the spot more than others. Kylie showed us this youtube clip of Derek Redmond - it is below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5dgJwEvhrA She tied it in with Father's day, and having our Eternal father beside us all the way. She also gave out little pieces with scripture on and a space to write. The one for someone you appreciate. Jacques wrote my name on his one and I wrote his name on mine. There was also one for someone who is going through a struggle. I put down my friend Karin (she worked with me in South Africa then moved to New Zealand) she was once again facing a battle with cancer (she had breast cancer in SA and overcame it) Since then however she sadly passed away (Sept 1) and leaves a husband, and 2 daughters and many loved ones behind. It can't be easy losing a loved one. I was aware that her time was limited but it is still so sad. I became aware that she was rather unwell again on facebook and then her husband put a few updates on her page. Messages streamed in - messages of memories and happy times. Many farewelled her too. I am sure that Jesus is running alongside that family now. Anyway, that was not meant to be that sad but it makes us appreciate life that bit more, realise and enjoy our blessings. Tuesday hubby stayed home sick but came in the afternoon for an important meeting. He fetchec Jos from daycare. She came up to my desk and was picking up my work phone saying "Allo" - she is so cute. When I got to the car then I found a book titled "Guess how much I love you' placed on the steering wheel (we swapped cars coz only the one car has a carseat) Isn't he sweet. He ordered it a while back and it arrived in the post that day. Wednesday hubby was still unwell and I was starting to feel a bit under the weather. I felt guilty but rang daycare and they had a spot for Jos. I got to have a 2 hour morning nap - just what I needed I think. The morning was rather busy though because we dropped Jos off then the car had been booked in for a service a few weeks earlier so we dropped it off and had to get back home (after quickly buying some meds) for an ant inspection that had also been scheduled earlier in the week. While the termite people were here the postman arrived with big box...my vacuum cleaner...I was so happy coz i really missed it. The little clip that coonects one part to another broke off. We took it back to the store where we bought it but they said to ring the manufacturer. I rang them. They organised collection. A guy fetched on Tuesday of the previous week and I was not sure what the outcome would be (they can choose not to replcae it if they think it is not a manufacturing fault) I was not sure what to expect. This was Wednesday when a BRAND NEW vacuum cleaner arrived in the post. How amamzing. Our car service also was less than the previous one (Dealerships esp big ones rob you!! Our guy is a nice small one but seems to do a good job as more than pne person has recommended him) Thursday hubby returned to work. I still felt a little off colour so I sadly missed Zumba and it was cancelled the previous week due to the instructor being unwell. I ordered a pink shirt online - it arrived in the post. Yays :) Friday the hormones were definitely taking their toll plus a TERRIBLE hive outbreak. I had a teary start to the day. I was so thrilled when a parcel arrived in the post:) It really brightened up my day. A package from my sister-in-law, Kimmy containing a magazine, chocolate and 'real' utensils for Jos. All she is interested in is the knife! She stabs food with it as if it is a fork and tries to eat food off of it like a spoon! Jos and I also went to the shop to get daddy some father's day presents. We went to Bunnings (hardware store) first and then to Big W. We also got Jos 2 cute sets - 2 pairs of tights and 2 shirts plus one yellow shirt - i like yellow. Hubby still wasnt well and went to see the doctor and I also went with my itchies. We went together. Jos was very unhappy and cried when the doc listened through the stethoscope, checked our temps and looked in our ears. I was first and her little lip just folded downwards and then she cried and said 'mommy mommy'. This was repeated with daddy too. Hubby was given some antibiotics and I sadly coudl not take anything since IVF is looming... Anyway, hopefully we are all on the path to recovery. Thank you for reading :)

Teddy bear's picnic

Despite hubby not feeling great we ventured to Hervey Bay to the 'Teddy bear's' picnic. We were naughty to miss church but wanted an early arrival, as it was finishing around lunchtime. There were plenty of activities including jumping castle/slide thing, face painting, teddy hospital, fishing for prizes (we did pass this one and I think Jos was more interested in hopping into the the little pool than fishing for the ducks). We had to keep a very close eye on her as she continuously wanted to dart towards the water. There was a barrier but we were on a bit of an incline and so when she headed that way, it was with a speed. (And she wanted to do it often!) We bumped into a colleague from work's wife and their 2 kiddies. I took Jos for a little walk around (and we missed out on free cake by a second!! - They had cake to celebrate Harvey the Whale's 3rd birthday). We watched the kiddies do some activitie up front - lots of dancing and jumping around. She is still a little young for that but she liked watching. She does not sit still. She just wants to be up and off. We did try tempt her with tea and biscuits but to no avail. She did eventually become lethargic - from being tired I suppose. I bought some candy floss (fairy floss as they call it here) and tried to tempt her to have a taste. She only but performed and would not even let a morsel touch her lips. We also bought her her first ever show bag. Show bags are 'big' here, as in very popular. The bigger the show, the bigger the variety. They also have a poster up showing what is inside each show bag so you can choose and they have bags for boys and bags for girls. Jos didnt really know what was in it and only once we got back to the car (And mummy fished out the 'dodgy stuff' ie the stuff she could possibly swallow - a lolly and a necklace type thing - i have put the necklace in safe keeping until she is a little older. It's nothing fancy so could go to the bin, but i am sure she would enjoy it for dress ups in a few months time. Before we left we decided to take a last walk around without the pram or bag. Jos even got rid of her shoes and then she scrambled around through the crunchy leaves, chased some unsuspecting Ibis' and thoroughly enjoyed just playing, running this way and that and investigating nature. She picked up leaves, sand and grass and just seemed to love every moment of the sheer simplicity we often forget to enjoy and savour. Life through the eyes of a child certainly is refreshing. A short nap, lots of coughing later and a visit to the park we were ready to call it a day. Jos had a very bad night though. Lots of crying and coughing - her and daddy both (daddy was coughing not crying) She woke up several times and battled getting back to sleep. At 3 am i was desperate for just a bit of sleep. Since hubby was in the spare room due to all his coughing and snoring, i thought I would put her in the bed with me. She thought it was wonderful! Over an hour of me telling her to lie down quietly and sleep was pretty futile. I was however, smiling in the dark as she would lie down for short periods then yell 'daddy' 'daddy' 'tea' tea'. I had my back turned to her, then she would pat my head and say 'Ello' Ello'. This went on for over an hour. I had no choice but to take her back to her bed and much to my surprise with very little fussing it went quiet and she slept until after 6am. Eish, but I was tired on Monday as was poor sick daddy...

Spring is near

An eventful Saturday - we went to Eli's 2nd birthday. I can't believe it has been a year since we were at his 1st birthday. Jos was still so little and Eli had to be woken from a nap to enjoy his party. All Jos wanted to do was swing (she is obsessed with swinging at the moment) She ate all the icing off her cake and was not interested in the cake itself LOL and then she was interested in the presents. We popped to the toy library and got the pirate ship and Jos fell asleep on the way home, but instead of the usual hour to hour and a half nap she slept all of 20minutes and was ready to go go go. IT was a gorgeous warm day so we filled the pirate ship with water and eventually Jos was naked and having an absolute ball! A lovely Saturday with my little family :)

Hmmmm made ribs (Friday)

So we bought some ribs the other day. One doesnt come across 'real' ribs in the supermarket. They call 'rashers' ribs here in some cases so you have to ask for American style ribs if you want to get what we know. So imagine our surprise and delight to find a rack of ribs in our local woolies. Since we got the new barbecue we though it would be the perfect opportunity to light it up and make us some bbq flavoured ribs. We bought some marinate and let the 'soak' all day. Jos and I went to mum's group in the morning, popped to the shop after that and then she was due for a nap so we headed home. She had a good sleep and then we popped out again as I had a doctor's appointment. (My doctor was away for a month - that really shouldnt be allowed!! lol) Anyway I just wanted to check out a few things what with my itchies (hives) and taking antihistamines etc. By the time we got home, daddy was there. Within a few minutes the bbq was ready to go an the ribs were on and cooking away - smelling delicious. Unlike the charcoal braai, it is ready to use pretty instantly which is great. We ate like kings :) Jos and I played outside while daddy cooked and we wnjoyed the lovely warm evening. Spring is on its way. The weekend news is to follow but we had quite a busy time then hubby got sick, Josci had a terrible cough and has had some very unsettled nights and apart from suffering from broken sleep I am also on the verge of illness with a very sore throat and head and body. The hormones don't help much either with 'bringing on the crazy'. We will be seeing ourr fertility doctor in the next week or so. Take care xoxo

Clowning around

My head of department is doing some work for one of our other colleagues and needs access to her computer as she is working from home at the moment. He has now moved out of his office and to the desk across the room from me. He is funny and a bit particular. He always gives me a hard time about the angle of my computer screen among other things and just teases me a fair bit. Today my colleagues went up to Gladstone and are staying over the night as they have a workshop day tomorrow (our Distance Ed families in the area make an effort to get there and there are several activities to keep them busy) It is about a 4 hour drive for us, they were only going to leave very early tomorrow morning but decided to rather go up the night before. I was invited at the last minute and to take Jos up - they have a car seat in the car but I declined. The day before is a little short notice and Jos is not a happy traveller. They would have to stop a lot! And there is no way I would drive that far in my own car with Jos. Then i am also taking my hormone spray and boing out of a routine could mean me forgetting or something. I think i might go on the one to the Gold Coast in October, but I wont take Jos, it is also an overnight one. Anyway back to my sory. So when i got back to my desk the computer tech and another guy were busy with my PC - there is a problem with the hard drive and they were replacing it and doing all that computery stuff. I took my MAC and went to sit at David's (HOD) desk. I then took a photo of his 'precious' stamps and my MAC on his desk. I really should have made more of an effort to really mess it up and spread papers over the desk LOL. I then took a photo and sent it to Sarah (they were all travelling up in one car) and asked her to show him. IT wasn't long before they were ringing me and he was telling me to leave his stuff alone, especially his beloved stamps. There was much laughter from their side :) Hubby has told me I am the quite the joker ( i think he might of used the word clown!!) A little bit of fun in the workplace is a must, I firmly believe that :) On another note, I was all excited for Zumba today but it was cancelled :( The poor instructor is sick, so it's not her fault but I was all packed and ready to get my Zumba on. I really want to get my skinny on but that is not happening!! And now with hormones, who knows if it will happen anytime soon. I probably should have gone for a walk and I was planning on it, but hubby and I have been feeling so flat the past few days. With Jos being unwell, starting the hormone spray and hubby giving up coffee has taken a bit of toll plus we have both had busy days at work this week. At least i am off tomorrow and Jos and I can hang out :) We also took ribs out freezer to defrost to pop them on the BBQ tomorrow night...not really helping with getting my skinny on!

Weird Wednesdays and hamburgers

Today I had a hamburger for lunch at school. I dont usually work on Wednesdays but I swapped days with Jos being unwell. IT was weird to work on a Wednesday. Maybe it is all in my head, but the day felt somewhat like a dream plus it confused me thinking it was Thursday then Monday and being a bit like 'huh?' Anyway, the tuckshop is open on the days i do not work, so since I was at work this on a tuckshop day I got to indulge in a hamburger :) It wasnt too bad except for all the onion pieces in the patty. They could really cook the onion before putting it into the patty haha. Day two of nosespray and things still feel somewhat normal. There are several side effects - apparently boobs getting smaller is one of them (i dont remember this from last time) also headaches and crankiness and hot flushes - those I do remember. I have set my alarm for the evening to remind me to spray then - it can get a bit chaotic that time of day with dinner, bathtime, dishes, chasing after Jos etc. Jos slept really well last night and then had a 2 hour nap at daycare today. Hope fully that doesnt mean she will be up with the sparrows tomorrow. She was having a bit of a sleep in (by that i mean until 6.45am at the latest, there was one morning of 7am!) until a few days ago, i wonder if the sun rising earlier has anything to do with it? Perhaps I need to invest in some blackout for her room. Other than that work was pretty much the same. They wanted me to go on the field day trip to Gladstone tomorrow and take Jos - a 4 hour car ride. You have got to be kidding me (the workshop is only on Friday so it would be spending the night) - we take at least 5 if not more hours to get to Brisbane which is actually only a 3 and a bit hour drive. I am seeing the chiropractor once a week now. I am trying to do some walking, my stretches and then of course my thursday Zumba :) Hubby's eyes are still a bit sore and he is taking strain without coffee - well the withdrawals of headaches and geneeral malaise seem to be taking its toll. I am sure he will be through the worst of it soon. Well that is all from me today I think. Tomorrow will probably be another busy day and then Friday I am off again with my little chook. On Saturday we are going to a second birthday party and probably have a BBQ and make some bread. Oh yes, I made dough yesterday to make vetkoek. I should have made more dough but I also think I neeed to use a different dough mixture - any suggestions? There are several recipes in my bread maker book but the baked bread vs the plain bread dough have different ingredients in them??? But they were okay and it was super nice having them again after so long as trying to buy bread dough in this place is like trying to find hens teeth! I reckon I need to experiment a bit :) Maybe roosterkoek next :) Until next time xoxo