And the Worm saga continues!

This is already totally freaking me out, so pretty please – no “worst case scenarios”, no “this can affect her permanently” or “give her learning difficulties” or “lead poisoning’ whatever.  I already know all of that.

As soon as I found out our nanny had worms (this post)  I de-wormed our whole family, including Little OL.  In the meantime I also took her to the doctor for a chest infection and while she was there she licked his desk.  He asked me if she licks stuff a lot.  I said she didn’t usually but I had noticed her doing it the past weekend.  She licked the glass door, but as she gets cold sore blisters on her tongue I thought maybe she was doing that to cool them or ease the pain on her tongue.  In fact at the time I thought it was funny and took a photo…. (not so much anymore)

Licking my not so clean windows.

He said if she continued doing it after the blisters went away I should call him as it can be a sign of a nutrient deficiency.  I just thought kids licked stuff.  Well, she did not stop so I called him.  He sent us for blood tests and it turns out she is anaemic due to lack of Iron.  URGH – cause by 1 of 2 things, worms or too much milk. Both huge possibilities (she loves milk).

I am not a happy camper (understatement), but fortunately there do not seem to be any of the usual problems caused by this and she does not show any of the normal signs of being anaemic (except for the licking). She is not lethargic, she has not lost any of her motor skills and she has a great attention span. The only other thing I can notice is that she has been picking up infections quite a bit this year, but I put that down to starting day care in January…

We have dewormed her again (yes she still had worms even after de-worming her before) and she has been put on a 3 month course of Iron Supplements.  In 3 months’ time we will need to go for another set of blood test.

This is turning into a total nightmare.  And our poor nanny shows no signs of improvement either!

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I love you, I love you all

What can I say, I am not that good at acceptance speeches…..  I did however win an award, thanks very much to Cat at Juggling Act of Life. She gave me a “Thanks for Writing” blog award.

The rules are that I have to tell you 7 things you don’t already know about me.  Pretty hard seeing as I have been bloggging for over 5 years.  So I guess you pretty much already know everything or you don’t because it is something I am not willing to share…. But here goes:

7 things you might not know about me….

• I am scared of heights…. Just going into the bathroom at work freaks me out as the door opens above the stairwell.  I have to look the other way.  And yes, I do hike, do trail running and have climbed Kilimanjaro.  I try to “grin and bare it” and just keep moving until I have passed over the scary section.  I am generally fine as long as nobody tries to help me.  Just stand back and let me get through on my own.
• I never thought I would get married; I did not see it in my future.  If I thought of how my life would map out there was never a significant other.  I was very vocal about this and if somebody started suggesting marriage in a relationship I left, however 3 weeks after meeting Mr OL we told our families we were getting married.  Mine was in total shock – his asked “to who?”  Next week will be our 5 year anniversary.
• The 2.5kids, house in the suburbs, dog in the backyard thing freaks me out.  I have at total fear of being “ordinary” and yet, if you meet me that is exactly what I am.  I have 1 kid, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and house in the suburbs, a husband and the same job for the past 5 years!  When I started this blog the title was a bit of a personal joke – which kind of backfired.
• For the first 12 years after finishing school I would only accept temporary jobs, anything too permanent would send me running – usually to a different country.  (Yip, commitment phobic!!)
• My parents are Scottish
• One of my main goals is to own at least 10 income generating properties by the time I retire.  I still have quite a way to go.

Then I need to nominate 5 – 10 bloggers that I admire. This part is quite hard too… Most of the blogs I read have already been nominated. If you have already, sorry.   This is in no particular order

Hayley – Everything in between.  Amazing photos that really capture her life, and I love the way she writes about her family and her love for her husband.

Lynette – A work in Progress.  Such an amazing and inspiring woman.  I have had the pleasure of meeting her and seeing the work her and her husband do.  I was even more blown away.

Jenty – The real Jenty.  I don’t know how she manages what she does.  Take the most amazing photos, raise two boys, hold down a full time job and do the reviews and things on various websites.  Very impressive.

Bronwynne – Keeping up with the Walkers – just because…. She just carries on with it, no moaning, no complaining  (much) and she is a fellow runner.

Cupcake Mummy. A single mom who is not scared to say how she feels on her blog.  I admire her openess and courage.

Mel – Lipgloss Ninja.  Also a trail runner.  We are similar in ages (yikes) and I would like to think that if we lived closer we would be friends.

There are so many more blogs that I read and love, but for now that is it.  I have run out of time.

Here’s what you need to do if I have nominated you:

1. Include the award logo in your post or on your blog
2. Say 7 random things about yourself that the readers don’t know yet
3.  Nominate 5 – 10 other blogs you usually follow
4. Let the nominees know that they are nominated & include their blog-links
5. Link the person who nominated you

 

 

Worms and not the good kind.

Do you de-worm your family regularly?  I knew that it was something that you should do, but did not really realise the importance of it until now!

Little OL’s nanny is sick – very sick.  A couple of months ago she came to me crying and explained that she had worms (I won’t go into details, its gross).  I immediately took her to the pharmacist to see what he could suggest.  For her he suggested a course of tablets taken over 3 days, and then repeated 6 weeks later.  I also bought de-worming tablets for my whole family as well as her kids.

I thought that would be the end of it and all would be good.  Not so.

3 weeks ago I received an SMS saying she had flu and was feeling weak and would not be coming in. That was a Friday, I knew she had not been feeling that great for most of that week.  On the Sunday evening I received another SMS. She was still feeling weak.  Then nothing…. Her phone was off and I heard nothing.  I phoned her ex-husband to find out if he knew anything.  He eventually found her and called back.  He said that she had collapsed and that her family had taken her to the hospital.  She had worms coming out her nose and mouth – URGH!  His English is pretty bad but he said she is back at her family home but there is “something not right in her head”.  Apparently she is in a daze, just lying there and not recognising anyone.

This is absolutely devastating. She is a young vibrant woman with two small children.  Little OL loves her and I rely on her greatly.  And I know what you will be thinking – no her immune system is not compromised.  She recently went to go and get tested.  This is a young healthy woman.

I hope for her family and her sake that this is temporary.  For me it has been a big wakeup call with regards to de-worming and why it should be done regularly.  For kids you can do it from the age of 2.

A first for me!

Stawberry and Banana is our favourite.

A little while ago the people from Fruit Pack asked if they could send me a couple of samples…  I said “Yes!”

Seriously, what else could I say?  Firstly, it was the first time anybody had contacted me to send me FREE stuff and secondly (kind of defeating the purpose for them) I already knew that Little OL loved them.

When Little OL was still Baby OL I used to buy them all the time.  I always had her nappy bag “ready to go”, so these were the perfect snack to store in there.  I did not have to worry about the fruit going off or spoiling.  She loved them (still does- especially the strawberry and banana) and they are pure fruit.  Wins all round.

I do have a warning though… there have been few incidents where I have ended up with fruit puree in my hair.  The first time was when Little OL was still little and I was holding it for her, she tried to grab the packet (pouch??? sachet??) out my hands, I grasped it tightly – not a good idea.  Puree went up, up and with perfect aim hit me squarely in my face and head (in the middle of a crowded shopping centre).  Thankfully Little OL now seems to have the hang of eating these straight out the sachet and all I need to do is leave her be.  If I interfere she squeezes too hard and it’s not good.

My best advice; give to toddler and let them enjoy while you stand well clear.

 

 

 

The race that wasn’t

Phew – it’s been a while… Hello.

So my second big race of this year was also a DNS (Did Not Start) and sugar coat it as much as you like that the race was actually cancelled and I therefore could not do it anyway I had decided to bail before the official cancellation came through.

I had been lying in bed listening to the rain and the wind thought there was NO WAY I was getting up to go and run a marathon in that.  Even more off putting than the running though was the standing outside, waiting for the taxi and then waiting at the start in the cold, wet and rain.  For those of you that don’t know the Knysna Marathon starts in the forest and to get there you need to take a taxi shuttle. The shuttles start running at 4:45 but the race is only at 7:00 (marathon) and 8:00 (21.1km).  So lots of waiting!

At about 3:30 and after BBM’ing my running partner who was elsewhere in the house, wide awake as well we decided not a friggin chance and went back to sleep.  To put me to total shame though my mom and sister both went to the start and where turned away – they did not bail.

I am pretty disappointed that I was not able to do this race.  It would have been my first stand alone marathon (not in an Ironman) and I was quite looking forward to it.

One of my friends decided to drive the route later in the day to see if it was actually necessary that they called off the race.  Below is a photo he took of a causeway that we would have had to cross… Yip, race organisers good call…. (Thanks to Mike Brewis for these photos)

Gouna Crossing 14 July 2012

Gouna Climb 14 July 2012

What would have been the finish line Knysna 14 July 2012

Dear Little OL

At 2 Little OL:

• You are just beginning to talk – a bit later than some but you are making up for lost time quickly.  In the past 3 weeks your vocabulary has increased tenfold and you are talking nonstop.  I don’t always know what the heck you are saying and that frustrats you no end.
• You are giving and asking for hugs and kisses – and I LOVE IT!
• You are still signing certain things and will still generally use the sign before the word.
• You are still not a big fan of TV but have discovered Dora. Thankfully she has kicked that big purple dinosaur’s butt right out the door.
• You believe the iPad is yours.  It pretty much is…
• You love books, colouring in, building blocks and your teddy (who is actually a door stop, I posted a picture in this post).
• You are obsessed with helicopters.
• You love singing.  Happy Birthday is your favourite.  We need to sing it all the time.
• You don’t say no – you say uh uh. I know where you get that from- oops.
• You are an independent little girl that wants to do most things for herself.  This includes, putting on your own pants, socks and shoes.  You want to brush your own teeth, wash your face and hands.  You don’t like to have us help you at all.

Brushing teeth with “Door Stop”

• You are potty trained during the day. You still wear nappies at night, but will, in the morning will take it off and put it in the bin.
• You are generally very helpful and tidy up all the time.  Especially if it can be used as a delay tactic, like it is time to go to bed or leave the house. Then you empty all your blocks on the floor and pick them up one by one.  Then empty them again……. Urgh!
• I am a little worried that you have OCD tendencies.  Friends have assured me that this is a stage.  One I am not complaining about.
• You are friendly.  It’s very cute as you say good bye to all the cashiers when we go shopping and wave to them as we leave the shop.   What’s not so cute is the performance if you don’t get one of the kiddies’ trolleys.
• You have started carrying your teddies everywhere with you these include “Door Stop”, Sheep, Teddy, Mouse, Poo and Jimbo.  They are all waiting in my car for you to be picked up from school.
• You went to a game farm last weekend and loved the bouncing around on the rough road.  We just heard giggling from the back seat as you were being rocked all over the place in your car seat.  You were less concerned about the animals and kept asking for more bumps.

 

Shopping with “Door Stop” and Jimbo

You are more precious to me than I ever thought and I love being a mom to a 2 year old.  There is so much more that I could write about what you are doing now.  I should do this more regularly to remind myself.  It is a very cute age and you do new things all the time.  I love you.

 

Are you creative?

I have written a post before (HERE)  that I find it difficult to define myself with one word or even words.  I can’t say I am a runner, or that I am a triathlete.  Yes, I run, I do triathlons but am I a runner?  I have the same problem with saying I am creative.  I just cannot do it. I say “I can draw” or “I can copy”, or “I do crafts” but I cannot say I am creative.  Maybe because that is not how I see myself.  I don’t see myself as creative.  I intend to change that!

I want to be able to say I am creative.  I have read that creativity, like most things improves with practice. So that is what I intend to do. I am going to practice it.

I used to draw much more than I do now. I used to carry a sketch pad around with me and draw random stuff.  I stopped.  I want to start again.  Jeanette had a link to a site called Doodlemom.  What an awesome blog.  I don’t plan on doing that, but it has inspired me to pick up my sketch pad again and draw.

Not an Ironman today

So, I like to think I am brave and strong.  That I have a high pain tolerance and can cope. And generally I can.  Not today!

I had the two lower wisdom teeth out on Wednesday. It went well.  Thursday was great, no swelling or anything.  I was feeling mighty chuffed with my little self.  Friday was fine (right hand cheek was slightly swollen but no bruising). Saturday was ok (swelling the same as Friday). Sunday,  uhhhh (swelling no worse)  until I ran out of pain meds!  Holy mother F##$%#$#!!!

Today I am not coping so well.  I am back at work but all I want to do is take lots of pain killers, find my bed and climb into it shedding a few tears as I go.  I hate feeling like this.  The strange thing is that it is not even the site where my teeth where that is sore. It is my whole mouth – including the top teeth????? And my ears????? What the…..

I am going to the pharmacy at lunch!