It's always great to have all the family together.  Especially so for the kids.  They are having a blast.  Very loud but having fun.  I can't believe the combined energy of all these kids.  lol  They run non-stop.

We will hopefully today get some photos of our entire family.  Getting everyone., especially the kids to sit still for longer than a minute is close to impossible

However I can show you this photo so long.  It's my folks and all their grandchildren.  Yes FIVE grandsons

Today is a public holiday in South Africa.  Youth Day.  To read more about this tragic day you can go to Broom Girls blog.  She wrote all about it there.  It is shocking and sad what people had to go through to fight for their rights, to earn freedom.

Today is also the day that the Comrades are run in South Africa.  They used to run it on the 31st of May.  That used to be a public holiday - Republic day.  Also obviously my birthday.  I remember waking up early on my birthday and mostly watching the start of the Comrades.  I would watch it till everyone else has woken up and then again as the first runners would end.  Of course I couldn't stop myself from watching the end of it too...where they have to enforce the cut-off time and see some people miss getting a medal by mere seconds. 

My brother and his family will be visiting us this weekend.  Quintus and Jason has already been driving me crazy, asking me when they will arrive every two minutes.  I hope they get here soon lol

Best I get some work done before they get here.  Not sure how much I'll be able to do with them visiting and I really want to finish these financial statements that I'm currently busy with.

Oh and I need to get all the Father's Day gifts done.  The boys will be making Tommie a t-shirt again.  The one he sleeps in currently (with their foot prints on) is really worn out and we need to get one with Zander's little feet too.

Almost said what we will be doing for my dad and then I remembered that he reads my blog!! hahha  Hi Daddy!!

I've been tagged

7 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE:

• Go bungee jumping
• Take my kids to Disney Land (yes, even though everyone says it's not that good blah blah, this is what I want to do) 
• See my grandchildren (and may there be a little granddaughter there somewhere!)
• Travel to Europe with Tommie
• Go to the top of Kilimanjaro with my dad (and dad taking your ashes up there doesn't count)
• Stop worrying (yeah right)
• Live at the coast

7 THINGS I CANNOT DO:

• Fly a plane
• Play golf
• Go a week without my Wimpy coffee
• Drink Coke or any fizzy cold drink
• Wear high heal shoes.  (I tore ligaments in my right ankle 10 years ago.  My foot was put in a cast that was too tight and it hurt the bones in my foot.  Wearing high heals causes extreme pain)
• Read while driving
• Think of one more thing

7 THINGS THAT ATTRACTS ME TO TOMMIE

• How he makes me feel like the only woman on earth
• How he takes so much of the workload at home onto himself, without me asking
• The way he calls me his sexy blond when he phones me
• How he wakes me with coffee and runs my bath every single morning
• He is an awesome host.  He can make anyone feel welcome in our home.
• The great father he has turned into
• How he was willing to change his entire life for me and his boys

7 BOOKS I LOVE

• Waiting for Christopher - By Sam Cowel
• My sister's keeper - by Jodi Picoult
• Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom
• All my kids story books
• Yes I know those aren't seven lol

7 MOVIES I'D WATCH OVER AND OVER

• I have yet to find a movie that I'll watch over and over.  If I know what's going to happen, I can't see the reason behind watching it again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

• I have finally managed to set up my laptop so that I can work from home.  I have been having problems with the program that I work with.  What a relieve.
• Although I'm sure Tommie isn't too happy with me spending my late nights in front of the computer.
• I wonder if Angelina Jolie still thinks it's a great idea that she had her baby in Namibia after the polio outbreak there.
• I really miss the sea.  I can't wait until we can go on holiday.
• It's been almost a year since we've been there and we normally go more often.
• I haven't' been able to go to Johannesburg in a while.  I'm missing my friends there.  I'll be missing out on going this weekend again as my brother and his family is visiting us.
• Quintus if very much looking forward to the visit though.  His cousin is like his best friend.
• Zander is five months old today.  Where has the time gone.  I look at his newborn photos and I can't believe he is so big.  Soon he'll be walking and talking my ears off lol
• From the way he baby talks, I'm pretty sure he'll talk a lot.  Like his brother Jay.
• Jason loves Power Rangers and I understand from his teacher that he "fights" with his friends.  Mmmmm...after a talk and a rule of no Power Rangers I hope he will stop that behaviour.  Even though it's just a game for him, I'm pretty sure his girl friends don't appreciate that kind of behaviour.
• Quintus was so upset tonight.  We were listening to a CD I got from Jason for Mothers day.  It was made by Jay's teacher and it has songs on that are all written for mothers.  Quintus was listening with us and then I saw that he was crying.  He felt bad that he did not give me such a nice gift.
• I did explain that his self-made card - my first ever hand written card from my children - is extremely special to me.  After some loving he felt better.

I am not one of those people who just blindly trust doctors.  Not anymore anyway.  Not since becoming a mom.  I used to be though.  I used to feel that they are professionals.  They are the ones with the degree, with the experience.  That they would be honest, to admit when they aren't 100 % up to date with your specific illness.  How wrong was I.

There are many examples that I could not and maybe this is only a problem here in my home town..maybe on in South Africa.  I don't know.  I do know this.  I often say I have no regrets - but that is not true.  I have one.  I totally regret that I only breastfed Quintus for 7 weeks.  Due to bad advice from my pediatrician. 

At Quintus' six weeks check-up, I was told that Quintus was underweight (this while he was steadily gaining weight, had more than enough wet diapers, were thriving, happy and even sleeping well!)  He told me to give him a bottle or so a day of formula milk. 

Yes, obviously he started choosing the bottle over breast.  I will never forget how sad I was the day he started drinking only formula.  I can still feel the tears come up when I think about it.

My point?  A new mom that I know, has just been told the same thing.  Baby boy has apparently not picked up enough weight.  Also the doc *thinks* that the baby is lactose intolerant and therefor the baby should go onto formula!!???  Come on!!!???  The mom only has to cut out dairy.  URGH.  I get so upset with doctors.  She has been informed but what she does with the information is obviously up to her.  As a first time mom, she might still decide to rather trust the doctor.

My little Zander loves physical touch.  Being held.  Being in his sling.  Sleeping on my chest. My mom thankfully loves having the kids close to her as well, so he has been taking his naps either on my mom's chest or mine.

However this is now turning out to be a bit of a problem.  My mom has a back problem.  Zander is getting heavy.  This is not a good combination.  So we are trying to teach him to sleep on the bed.  Obviously we still get him to fall asleep in our arms (by rocking him on a chair) and then putting him down on the bed. 

Today was his first day and he only managed to nap for about 45 to an hour every time.  I know that's not bad for most kiddos but my son loves his sleep.  He was exhausted by the time we got home.  Little boy is now fast asleep on my chest as I type this.

I'm sure that in time he will get used to taking his naps on the bed.

(I know that I'll get flamed.  Saying that I should have known better.  That I spoiled him.  BLAH.  No I did not.  This is my third child.  I have done this with all three.  The way my life is, I can do this for my kids.  Just a pity that my mom's back is getting worse.  Kids grow up way too quickly and need all the closeness and love that they can possibly get)