Category Archives: Family

Things that make you smile

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It was my birthday today and we were all woken up early by hubby for our traditional early morning present ritual.


As hubby was going into hospital this month and he wasn’t sure how long he would be out of commission, he purchased gifts and cards some weeks ago for my birthday.  In fact he purchased them with son no 3 and 4 just before son no 3’s birthday earlier this month.


This morning I get 3 cards which I open one by one as follows:

  • Card 1 – From hubby wishing me a very happy birthday
  • Card 2 – BLANK – was supposed to be from Son no 3……  Apparently son no 4 was supposed to get him to sign it which he forgot to do
  • Card 3 – as follows:


As you can see – it clearly was not meant for me.  It was a card from son no 4 to son no 3 for his birthday earlier this month which he never gave him.  (You can feel the brotherly love)

So they agreed they would make their own cards for me during the course of the day.  And this is what I got from son no 3:

It certainly gave me a reason to smile!

Oh I love them dearly

What is a parents job

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Over the years hubby and I have had some challenging decisions to make regarding the rearing of our children – just like any other parent I suppose.  The one thing we agreed upon right from the beginning was that we would always be open with our children and able to speak freely about anything and everything with our children. 


Hubby and I have never encouraged any form of censorship and have never banned our kids from doing anything. If we say no to something – there is a very clear reason why and we are happy to explain this decision to our children.  We have always encouraged them to ask why and challenge any decision and not to take anything at face value.  We grew up in a society where children were seen and never heard and I vowed I would never bring my children up like this.

We have always been very irritated when a cinema has decided to not let us in due to age restriction on certain films and have always thought that it is our decision as parents to decide whether or not a film is suitable material for our children.  They are free to recommend some form of age restriction but you cannot box all children into a specific category.  They are all very different and very unique.


I firmly believe that as parents, we have 1 job only – and that is to make sure our children are able to survive in the big wide world on their own one day.  And this means exposing them to life and helping them to understand life – the good, the bad and the ugly.  


One of the most important conversations you should have with your children is conversations about sex.  Please note that I have used the plural – “conversations”.  This should not be a single conversation that you should feel obliged to have when your child becomes a teenager – this should be an ongoing open, honest conversation with your child from the day they are born.  Obviously these conversations should be age appropriate in the language you use, but you should never shy away from talking about the subject.  


I came across a post today which reflects a lot of my own thoughts and opinions.  Please go along and have a read and let me know your thoughts ……
http://blog.thebedroom.co.za/2012/05/how-do-you-talk-to-your-kids-about-sex.html

Wanna get Naked

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Well it is Tuesday morning. Life has settled once more. Apologies not not posting last week. It was a bit of a hectic week looking after hubby after his surgery, and not to mention the mood I was in.


Hubby is feeling much better. I have been changing his dressings daily – he still has stitches and drains from the surgery and he needs to go back to the Doc on Thursday to have it all removed.


Hubby’s sugar levels have dropped dramatically. He used to be on over 200u’s of insulin daily – now only takes 8u’s and hopefully the Doc will tell him to stop taking insulin altogether as his levels are well within normal levels. He has also started to lose weight. So all good stuff.

Hubby slept back in bed last night for the first time since his surgery. He has been sleeping on the couch as it was easier to get up from the couch. If fact I woke up in the middle of the night – to pee (it’s a middle aged thing – I have to pee in the middle of the night). Anyway, as I got back into bed I heard the obligatory “you wanna get naked” from hubby. Half asleep, I uttered a few four letter words back. I could also see him drooling when I got out of the bath this morning. So he is obviously feeling much better.


I am currently sitting at the Orthodontist rooms. Son no 3 is having his braces taken off at long last. He has had them on for 2 and a half years now and he really wants them off. From here I have to rush him back to school to write an exam which was scheduled for first thing this morning. As I had to make the Orthodontist appointment 7 weeks ago, I was unable to reschedule it so I had to write letters to the school and beg the teacher to please allow him to write at a different time to the rest of his grade. So he is not allowed to talk to anyone and has to report straight to her when he leaves the orthodontist.


I finally blew up yesterday morning. Son no 4 was not well yesterday morning – he had a sore tummy. He has missed quite a bit of school this year and I was really annoyed about him missing more and something just snapped and I blew up. I yelled and screamed and shouted at him and anyone else in my path for about 15 minutes. And then sulked for a few hours. It did make me feel so much better though. Haven’t got over the guilt of raising my voice yet.


It is my birthday next week so I have to do a birthday list – will post it in a few days.

Today’s the Day

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So today is the big day.  Hubby is having a gastric bypass today. 


The op was planned in January already.  Since then he has had to see:

  • A Dietitian – who has been monitoring his eating habits 
  • A shrink – just to make sure he is sane 
  • A specialist surgeon – who specialises in gastric bypass 
  • A Endocrinologist – who has been dealing with his diabetes and working with the dietitian to get his glucose levels under control

They have all had to do some form of motivation for him to have the procedure and to get our medical aid to pay for it (or most of it anyway). 


We were here at the hospital at 6am this morning.  Waited for the receptionist to get her first  cup of coffee (she is not a morning person) and once he was booked in, we made our way to the surgical ward and we were shown into a private ward. 


Not sure why he is in a private ward – may be because he SNORES (he is under the impression that the doctor just likes him!)  But who is complaining (about the private ward, not the snoring….) 


The hospital is brand new – only opened a few months ago and it is just up the road from where we live.  So everything looks so nice and clean and comfortable – the curtains match the chairs, beds and mattresses are brand new and that sort of thing. 


I have brought my basket of things to do today which includes the following:

  • Assortment of magazines (read them already) 
  • My iPad so I can spend some time catching up on reading all my favourite bloggers 
  • My laptop – because I planned to do a post on my blog today and I just cannot post from my iPad – it is just too clumsy.

My brother and his wife have been already and I joined them for a quick breakfast in the cafe.  Our eldest son and his wife will be popping in later as well to keep me company. 


Hubby has had an issue with his stomach ever since I have known him and he has had a problem with his weight for the last 20 odd years.  He had diverticulur disease back in 2003 and had a colostomy which was reversed 6 months later.  Since then he has also been diabetic.


His diabetes has been out of control and it has taken a lot of hard work getting his glucose levels to an acceptable level.  He currently injects himself with insulin 5 times a day with a combination of long and short acting insulin (if that is the right terminology). 


In theory this procedure will cure the diabetes.  This procedure will also probably make his gout flare up and apparently this is due to the massive weight loss that will occur. 


He has been on a special diet for the last 2 weeks – 1 week of soft foods and 1 week of smooth soups and smoothies.  He will be on a special diet after the op as well – couple of days of clear liquids, then soups, then soft foods and then slowly introducing him to real food again.  Should take about 4-6 weeks. 


He will only be able to eat small amounts of food at a time and because his stomach will be much smaller and his intestines re-routed, he will not absorb as much food / nutrients anymore.  He will have to take vitamin supplements for the rest of his life.  


He is so looking forward to not having to inject himself and test his glucose levels a gazillion times each day (and hopefully loosing some weight) and I am so looking forward to 4 or 5 days of peace and quiet at home while he is in hospital. 

Birthday’s

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It is Son no 3’s 15th birthday tomorrow.  It becomes more difficult to buy my sons gifts as they get older.  I haven’t been in a toy store for years.  Gifts seem to consist of gadgets nowadays.  So although he is only getting 2 gifts – they cost a small fortune.  No more wrapping paper either – re-usable gift bags are the way to go.  I remember the days when the wrapping paper was more appreciated than the gift – it provided hours of fun when they were little.

He had his post-op check-up last Thursday with the Orthopedic Surgeon.  (View my previous post about how he broke his wrist here:   http://www.lifecherries.com/2012/04/fashion-shows-and-boys-will-be-boys.html )

His wrist is looking good.  We finally got to see the pins – he has 2 pins in his wrist – just there sticking out.  Looks quite gross actually.  Apparently if he was a little older – they would have put a plate in his wrist.  He had a new cast put on and another appointment made for the 7th of June to remove the cast and pins (They just pull the pins out apparently – no anesthetic!)  

He has been complaining of pain since his cast was changed and keeps saying he can feel the pins.  So today I took him back to the Doc to check on the pain.  Doc happily removed the cast to replace it – his skin is starting to grow over the pins – apparently quite normal.  The pins were obviously catching on the cast and he is feeling much better now that the cast has been replaced.

Hubby on his special liquid diet (soup) till Friday.  He goes in for a gastric bypass on Friday.    He should be in hospital for about 5 days.  So I am definitely having my fair share of hospitals this month.

Cough, Cough, Cough

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It is about 10 days since Son no 2 has gone back to Dubai and it has finally hit me again that I am 1 son short.  I must sound like a broken record harping on about missing him, but I do.  I don’t get depressed or soppy about it – it just would be nice to have him here.  I am glad he is happy there and has made a life for himself there.  There is also a lot more opportunities for him there than here in South Africa so I am actually quite pleased he is in Dubai.  I still miss him like hell though. Anyway, life must continue.


Son no 1’s renovations are coming along quite nicely.  They have started painting and tiling so it does look like things are progressing well.  They should be able to move back in by the end of May.

Son no 4 was away all of last week at a school camp.  He got back on Friday with a sore throat and runny nose.  So we have done the usual doctor trip this week.  As I am writing this – I can hear him coughing his poor little heart out and there is nothing I can do for him.  Nothing seems to help.  I have tried all sorts of cough mixtures and honey and throat lozengers, but nothing seems to help.  So all suggestions are welcome….


Son no 3 has joined the technical crew at school so he gets involved with the various events which happen.  This week is the grade 11 fashion show so he is operating some or other desk for sound or lights.  He is loving it.  Only down side is that I have to stay up till 10pm to collect him.  I am usually in bed by 8pm as we are early risers.  The show is on all week so I should feel like death by the end of the week!

Boys will be Boys – Part 3

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This is the third post in my Boys will be boys series. View the previous posts here:

This episode involves Son no 2:

We were booked on a trip to Mauritius and I did my last bit of shopping the afternoon before we left.  I had 3 kids in tow and was about 6 months pregnant with son no 4. 

Son no 1, 2 and 3 made the usual dash for the car at the shopping centre and I am not sure who’s exact fault it was, but the car door was slammed shut on son no 2’s foot.  So off to the doctor, emergency room etc we go…..

Son no 2 had broken his big toe.  This of course put a bit of a damper on our trip to Mauritius. 

Son no 2 was now on crutches – thankfully the doctor did not find it necessary to put a cast on his foot.  This complicated things a little at the airport.  As the plane was parked away from the terminal, they had to make special arrangements for a handicapped access lift to get him onto the plane. 

He spent 3 days on crutches in Mauritius complaining about not being able to swim and join in the fun and his foot miraculously got better very quickly after that – must have been all the fresh air! 


He spent the rest of the time running around like nothing had happened.