My blog is getting a facelift...

... please be patient. Surgery can be quite sore! Not to mention tricky. In the meantime, shield your eyes folks. It has to get worse before it can get better. Or so they say.

Blogistics...

Yeah, blame me. I went and fandangled my fonglewongle to try and fix an error message on my blog and now look! My whole nifty-looking blog has disappeared and I'm left with...
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Well, this bugly blog.
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And I'm STILL getting error messages. Grrrrreat! Stay tuned folks. Sorry for the break in transmission. Service will resume shortly.
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Hopefully!

On a more serious note...

Today held the loss of two friends. Two young men, both recently out of school who have spent the past three and two years respectively working for God as missionaries in Abundant Life Missionary Touring Team. A tragedy to be sure.

Words always fail me at times like these. But we live on in their absence, knowing that when that awesome trumpet sounds, at the resurrection day, God will call for them, and we will all be reunited together again. For now, they rest. Oblivious of the fact that many mourn their loss. Oblivious of those who already miss them. Anton and Andre, we are going to miss you guys. But we look so forward to that glad day when Jesus comes and raises you from the dead! Not long anymore. Not long.

You know you live in the bush when...

...the cows break down the fence around your yard to get into your garden, because the grass is longer greener on your side of the fence than in the fields around it.

And that's all I have to say about that.

That, and now would be a good time to be grateful that you've never had to clean up bull-you-know-what. Now THAT's all I have to say about that.

Backfire!

It would seem that Jo (of www.benades.blogspot.com - sorry, my Mr Linky's not working) was a prophet of doom with her comment on my post "Game On!" Her words were barely cold when her warning came true. My popularity with pudding pie totally backfired on me.

See, yesterday morning my gal refused to go down for her early morning nap, which is when I usually do my unHillbillylike things, like have worship, shower, wash hair, brush teeth and make up my bed. And if time allows, I also quickly grab a few bites to eat.

Well, not so yesterday morning. Little sugar booger decided napping was for the birds and refused to sleep. Okie dokie. The girl has a will of her own. Lord have mercy! Those teen years are rapidly approaching.

Anyhoo... I prop the gal up in her pram, with a few good toys strewn on her lap for good measure, park the pram in our bathroom en-suite facing the shower, then hop into the shower myself and proceed to belt out my rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone" clean the earwax from my ears. With a little jig or two on the side. You know, to get the blood moving, and all of that.

Jess happily sat in her pram with her toys, watching Mommy act like a dork. Until it was time for me to hop out the shower.

Then all h*ll broke loose. The gal took one look at this monstrosity of a hot pink monster with a towel wrapped around it's head, and let out a screech that threatened to shatter the very walls of our house.

I learnt one big lesson from the experience too: never underestimate the staying power of a child in distress. They can scream way longer than you can block your ears. I'm just saying.

Sugar Booger only stopped screeching once I'd unwrapped the towel from my head AND put my Hillbilly glasses on.

What can I say? The girl has style.

Nervous tic(k)

Did you ever read the email that did the rounds a year or more ago, about the woman who attempted to help her son's lizard (maybe a gecko?) give birth, but unbeknown to her, gecko's don't give birth to live young and she was actually just yanking it's, uh, ahem, chain?

(Yeah, it's all downhill from here. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Wellll, monkey see, monkey do. And yeah, you guessed it, I'm the monkey. Minus the gecko. But add one big fat city slicker cat that we adopted from my sister when they moved to New Zealand last month. But that's a whole other story, and one that I'll only be telling when it no longer reduces me to crocodile tears.

Anyhoo... Where was I? Oh yes.

It won't be news to y'all that I'm still pretty much a city slicker myself, so I don't do bugs too easily. Warra warra fish paste, long story short, it's the end of a long day and I'm doing the Hillbilly Couch Potato Thing this evening after the rest of the Hillbilly Household have hit the hay, when Big Fat City Slicker Cat hops up onto the couch next to me for a snuggle and a nibble of my KFC sprinkle pops, when SHOCK! HORROR! What do I spy dangling from her torso but a big fat spongy tick! And where was Hubby when I needed him, but already throwing some ZZzzz's around the room! Well, there aint no way I'm going to bed tonight wondering if Angel (the big fat city slicker cat) is hoping to follow me to bed with that grotesque parasite dangling from her... So off I run to the trusty bathroom cabinet to grab my tweezer and return to detick fatcat. Only, by the time I've summoned up my courage and swallowed the bile collecting in my mouth, placed the tweezer tips firmly on the tick and yanked... It's only then that I see it is more firmly attached than a tick... It is in fact a fat cat nipple! And I will never be grabbing anything ever again with a tweezer. I am so grossed out that I can't sleep. Ew. Poor cat. The next time she sees a tweezer coming it will be enough to give her a nervous tic.

Game On!

I can't even begin telling you how smug excited I'm feeling today... Well, I was even MORE excited yesterday, because that's when it happened for the very first time. Jess bawled her little eyes out and wailed when I passed her onto someone else! (SO exciting that she knows ME and recognizes when she's not with me anymore!) And then, (even better!) this someone else passed her onto Mr Someone Else who Jess should've been quite happy to go to. Said Mr Person who Jess should've been comfortable with shall remain anonymous. But hypothetically speaking he could well be recognized as one of the Hillbilly Household. If you know what I mean. When Jess saw that I was still in the room, she stretched out her arms and reached for me!! And when I took her from her least favoured Hillbilly ahem! her current captor from Said Person Who Shall Remain Anonymous, she stopped wailing, snuggled into my neck, sighed and smiled! VICTORY! Score one, Mommy. Zero to Mr Person Who Shall Henceforth Assume The Title of Loser Challenger. Not that I'm competitive or anything.

You know you're loved when...

...you ask to speak to your nephew (who has just moved to Mars New Zealand and therefore doesn't get smooches from his favourite aunty very often...) and he says "Hello Aunty Char! I am busy catching a spider, a live one, so please just leave me alone for a little bit ok? Love you!" (CLEARLY!) "Bye!"

Yup, I think it's safe to assume I've dropped a bit down his Favourite People List. When someone would rather chase a spider than chat to you, there's your sign.

My christmas present budget just got a bit bigger. Nothing says "I LOVE YOU AUNTY CHAR!" quite like a newly bribed nephew who just got the gift of his dreams. Yeah. I'm scaly that way.

Even an old dog can learn new tricks!

Are you sitting down? Ta-dah! I am actually writing this ON MY CELLPHONE! Which just goes to show that necessity is indeed the mother of invention! Or REinvention. Very exciting! Nobody told me my phone was so nifty!

Which brings me to my next point. You know you're old when a teenager has to show you how to use your phone. And that's all I have to say about that.

Even an old dog Hillbilly in the Bush can learn new tricks!

Maestro in the making

This pic was taken on Sabbath after I'd played for church. I'm so excited she's showing an interest in playing piano like her Mommy!

Little bundle of smiles

I took Chocolate Mousse for a walk yesterday. This is her dressed in all her paraphernalia! Poor kid. (Sorry the picture quality isn't too nifty - I took the pic on my cellphone.)

Quick pic of Jess 2 weeks ago

Where was I?

If you're wondering where I've been, then here's a quick update for you. I've been home. Nothing interesting. I'm just STILLLLL WAAAIIIITTTTTIIIIINNNNGGGG for my internet installation.

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Welcome to Africa. Where everything takes about fifty times longer to get done than elsewhere on the planet.

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Apparently the installation will be complete this Sunday.

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What. Eva.

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I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, stay super nifty. I'll chat soon. Hopefully. Toodles!

Some pics from this past Sunday

Jess just looooves Robin!!! I don't know what it is about him, but the minute she sees him she starts squealing. And boy oh boy, she grabs onto his beard and pulls until he grimaces! I love it! It's just deserts, if you ask me. I knew he'd be a great dad. I just didn't know I'd be standing in a queue for Jess's attention whenever he's around. Bugger. I'm going to need to rectify the situation somehow. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

The many faces of my Stinky Roquefort Cheese Sugar Booger

A few pics

I have a moment or two at a friend's computer, so I thought I'd share a few of the most recent pics of our bunny with you. These were taken by my friend Bronwyn on Sunday. It was a brilliant, HOT spring day under the African sun... hence the hat! (She's doing much better already, by the way. Those meds seem to be working. She's not screaming all day long anymore, and not running such a fever either. Bonus!!! Thank heavens for drugs! uh, I mean meds.)
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Ahem.

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And now for the sweet stuff. Behold our banana pancake:-

Regress...

We had Jess back at the doc's today... The poor tadpole has a perforated eardrum (buildup of fluid - snot n other gunk - in her tubes burst the eardrum), tonsillitus and pneumonia. So, the torture continues. Please think of this hillbilly family in your prayers, guys. We're all seriously down in the dumps. But especially our smallest sicko. Poor bunny.

Update on the Dead and Dying

The fact that I'm writing you a post right now should reassure you that I am not, as previously suspected, dead or dying. Although there were a few moments in the last few days when I would have happily walked towards the light.

Our house has been a petri-dish of germs, y'all. The entire Hillbilly Household succumbed to this ghastly virus. Or bacteria. Or whatever it was. Because, lemme tell you something... Hillbilly Wisdom this... When one of The Parents gets sick (and by The Parents, I actually mean The Mother, i.e. ME!), seek held fast! Because you can bet your bottom that within days, the entire household falls apart. Snotty tissues litter every available surface area. Dirty dishes become fertile breeding ground for the infestation of all manner of instects.

Not fun.

And I am stiiiilllll waiting for our internet installation. So right now I'm sitting in an internet café in Dunhillbillydee. Except this internet café has no coffee. Café schmafé. So, this will probably be a short post. Because right now, all that's keeping my eyelids upright is a leftover caffeine kick from an hour or so ago. Which is fast being depleted.

So this is just a quick checkin. Thanks for all the sooper-dooper advice guys. Pity I never had internet to see your comments until just now, because it's been a week of orange and purple splatter...

Anyhoo. Let me not complain. Just saying yowdy and sending smooches until next time.
I miss you already.

Of Meddars, Madmoms and Bum Bullets

I have a sick child. And his name is Robin. Haha. I crack myself up. (It's all downhill from here. Don't say I didn't warn you.) Actually I have TWO sick children. Robin AND Jess. It's not funny, this sick business. Which would probably mean that I'm a sicko for thinking it's funny. Oh boy, here I go again. Then again, if you can't laugh through life's problems, what can you do, right?

Where was I?

Oh yes. Sick kids. My poor little girl is battling a really nasty flu bug. And keeping me awake half the night. I took her to the doc, who prescribed a list of meds long enough to see us through from now to her university years. Unfortunately, none of said meds are sleeping pills. Because she's still keeping me awake half the night. You'd think I'd be used to it after four months of next-to-no sleep. You'd think wrong. Acquiring "Zombi" as my middle name wouldn't be an inappropriate addition.

So we have a truckload of drugs for the girlchild. Another truckload for Mr Hillbilly. And a few half-bottles for moi. I don't mind leftovers.

The meds are one thing. Administering them is another thing entirely.

Cue the "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" soundtrack.

I swear, this child of mine has a Meddar (meds radar) tucked away behind those innocent looking eyes of hers. Innocent schminnocent. Within seconds of the meds making an appearance within her range of vision, she morphs into The Incredible Hulk. With jaws of steel. And that's not all! It also comes with a nifty extra included: a screech that would put Sarah Brightman to shame.

What I don't understand is - why would they make paediatric medicine flavoured with things like grape, or orange? Don't these guys realize that a four-month-old doesn't know those flavours? No sooner have you prised her clenched jaws open, shoved the syringe into her mouth and gingerly worked the back of the syringe down so that it doesn't squirt the contents of the syring blasting down her throat, than she spits aaaallllll of it out. Every time. Then rewards you with an enormous smile immediately afterwards. While you wipe the sticky orange and purple goo from your spectacles and hair and struggle to keep your sanity intact.

Fun fun fun!

Why don't they rather make the meds into bum bullets? Suppositories totally rock. No prising open her jaws. No grape-flavoured slime in your hair. It'd be FABULOUS!

Perhaps I should reconsider my ambitions of being a stay-home-mom and hillbilly couch potato, and rather opt for a career in award-winning super-clever pharmaceutical technologist thingy-ma-jiggyness. I wonder if they'd take me serious in my now orange and purple splattered outfits?

Still alive. And looking for something to kick!

So, I'm hijacking my friend's computer for a quick hello (yet again). This quick hello business is starting to grate my carrot. I have soooo much to tell you guys and so many adorable pics of Jess to load... (yes, that's my o.c.d. side showing) but I'm stiiiilllll waiting for my internet to be installed at home. This past Sunday would have been The Day, and then we had such stormy weather that the guy wasn't too keen on climbing onto our roof.

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Poofta.

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Just kidding.

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He happens to be a friend of ours (hello André), so I better keep it clean. Just in case he reads this.

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Anyhoo...

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I promise I'll be blogging again as soon as my internet is up and running. So if you don't hear from me for a while, it's because I'm playing The Waiting Game again. Story of my life.

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Toodles!

No internet, no happy

Yeah, I'm still waiting for the internet to be installed at home. Thus the ever-decreasing blog posts of late. Sorry. This blog is becoming b-o-r-r-r-i-n-g... Either NO posts or hasty ones while gatecrashing a friend's computer. Let's hope I can get online from home again soon...

It's my dad's 60th Birthday Bash this weekend, so we are traipsing down to East London for the weekend. Actually to a resort just outside of East London, called Cefani. It's going to be SUPER GROOVY! and I mean GROOVY as in hip-hugging, bell-bottoming, dance-till-you-drop partying in a nifty sixties' theme! ALLLL the family and old family friends will be at the resort for the whole weekend - bound to be lots of funny stories afterwards. And of course, it's the first time they will all be meeting our noonoo-pie... so, I'm priming Jess now already for lots of cheek-pinching, smooching and "Ahhhh, moeder!"'s. Tomorrow morning early we hit the road from Durbs (we're already in Durbs) and do the mind-bending long drive all the way back home to the Hillybilly Dump again on Monday. Over a thousand kilometres in ONE DAY! Eish! And then I'll be posting pics of the 60's Bash on Tuesday. Woohooo!

So, have a fab weekend guys. Chat again next week!

Just checking in

Hello guys. I know. I've been MIA. Tell me about it. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel! I am getting internet (HIGHSPEED nogal!) installed at home, so that I won't have to wait for hubs to bring my modem home from work everyday. Woo hoooooo!!! So, stay tuned folks - you'll be seeing a whole lot more of me soon. Until then, stay cool, all of you gorgeous blog-reading peoples out there! Toodles x

Adoption...

I just spent a good half hour, at least, catching up on my friend Ms J's blog (my blog is giving me errors so I can't make her link easy, but if you go to www.inourownweirdway.blogspot.com you will find their story there). She and her husband have adopted a gorgeous little girl from China and I am totally over the moon for her. Please keep her and Dr J (her hubby) in your prayers, and send up some special prayers for their Lil Pumpkin too, please! The adjustment time is very difficult for all of them, and she could use some well wishing too.

And reading her story made me realize, again, just how especially blessed Robin and I are to have been able to adopt our little Sugar Booger. Ms J reminded me just how special adoption is and how blessed we are to have been granted this, the biggest, most precious gift we have ever been given!

Just last week I was reading an article in one of the million baby magazines littering my living room while My Caramel Pancake was sleeping, and one of the articles, written specifically focused on Adoption in South Africa, said that in the entire Western Cape region of South Africa, only ONE white baby has been adopted in the last four years! And then I look at Sugar Booger and think "How on Earth did we get her???" There is really only one answer to that question: it is God. It is all Him. He is the reason our family is finally complete. Mind blowing!

Is it a tea-cozy? Or just another madhatter hillbilly?

Oh so soppy

I so know that my blog has become totally soppy. Me thinks I might have lost my edge. Maybe that's what becoming a mommy does to you? Oh well, too bad. Let me just plunge ahead and tell you what's on my mind, regardless. And it's short and sweet: It's no secret that I totally adore my hubby... But I never knew that I was capable of loving him even more than I did, when it was just the two of us. Seeing him as a father, as Daddy for Jess, has totally blown my socks off. I don't have a clue what I did to deserve this man of mine. But I'm going to hold onto him with both hands (and feet) for the rest of my life. Just look at these gorgeous pics of my man and our noonoo pie...

Hands off, girls. He's taken.

Pretty in pink

It's the dimples that do me in.

Those darn dimples. They get me every time.

Happy gal

And... MORE pics!

More weekend pics

We took Jess to our favourite coffee shop in Durban. To, you know, initiate her have coffee. In these pics are Robin's uncle Juri and his aunty Di with lil Jess. And then one of my mom with her favourite granddaughter.

Let the little children come unto Me.

OK, y'all. I'm back. For all of two minutes, but back nonetheless. Wow! I can't believe I get to go online again... how long has it been? Over a week! My shattered nerves. That accounts for the nervous tic I developed a few days ago. And for the, oh, six hundred or so new photo's I have waiting to upload.

When I get snap-happy, I get snap-happy.

In my next life I'm going to be a paparazzo. Hmmm, I wonder... Does Heaven stock paparazzo's?

Aaaannnnnyhoo...

So, this past weekend, Robin, Jess, half the household goods and I trooped down to Durban for Jesse-Lee's special Dedication Service. Dang! Kids needs lots of things for a weekend! It's just as well we bought the double cab then. Next time we go anywhere, I'm thinking of calling a removal company to help with the preparations. And (uggghhh!!!) the unpacking. And that's all I have to say about that.

But the service was AWESOME! We had our groovy friend, Pastor Gideon and his wife, Rhona, drive down from Johannesburg especially to do the service for us. And the church was super duper packed! Friends and family from all over came to share in the joy with us! It was AWESOME! Of course, a few tears were shed... (You know you're getting old, when happiness makes you cry, hey?) And later, a few pounds gained. (My mom-in-law knows her way around a kitchen!)

Here are a few pics of my favourite moments at the service.

ABOVE: Haha! Note the expression! Jess wasn't too impressed about being held up like a trophy... So she told us all about it. (BELOW)

ABOVE: Little Ethan joined the party.