Still Alive

Holla!

So...Joy put up a very nice blog post and put up a link to this 'ol place, and I decided to swing on by and...em...clear out the cobwebs I suppose.

Still cross-eyed. Trying not to multi task so much. Probably failing.
This is the hardest part - when babies are small and completely dependent on you for their entertainment.

And feeding. And fashion choices. And survival, I suppose.

But entertaining them is the hardest part. Same thing goes for toddlers as well. The Goo's favourite question after 'Why?' is 'What should I do now?'
Every time she asks, I flashback to myself as a child asking my mother a variation of that question "I'm bored. What should I do now?
My mother's responses ranged from 'I don't know' to 'Leave me alone!' to 'There are plates to wash' to 'Here! Read this M&B'
(To a nine year old, Mother! SMH)

Anyway, we're not talking about the beginning of my romance novel addiction. No, we're talking about how to entertain small children without causing permanent damage.

I'm still trying to figure it out but this is what I do:
(oh goody, a list!)

1. Don't park the 3 year old or the 4 month old in front of the TV - I'll admit this is tempting, especially if you've paid for the full subscription on DSTV. I mean, it's not as if I can watch any of my shows when they're awake. Sigh. However, studies have shown (Google is your friend. And I'm too tired) that it's bad for their wee little brains.
2. Do encourage them to play together but supervise - At the moment, The Goo is sulking 'cos I won't let her put a piece of cloth in Baby Z's ear. I have to make sure she understands that when I say it's okay to play with him, I don't mean as a toy.
3. Boundaries are important - For the toddler. who must understand that leaving the house without telling Mummy is a non-negotiable, spanking offence. Boundaries for the baby? Please, don't make me laugh.
4.  Read to them - Yes, I know it's time you don't have and the toddler keeps interrupting to ask questions and the baby keeps drooling on the page but just keep at it, and make sure you do the voices, and soon they'll both very happily fall asleep.
5. Let the toddler entertain the baby - The Goo loves to dance. I love to play music. Baby Z loves to watch his sister. Kismet.

That's all I can give to you today. They are done playing with each other and require my input. Oh joy!

What Shall We Say Of These Things?

I'm ba-ack!

Had to take time off everything to have Baby Z.

 

He didn't give me much choice though - worst pregnancy ever!

 

Okay, that's not true but I was so tired. And large. I pretty much switched off on everything except baby stuff. But now that he's here, I can no longer claim pregnancy brain as an excuse. So back to work for me. That means lots of reading before lots of writing. Let's go there!

Blast from The Past Thursday: The Little Hamster

Hey you!

How are you enjoying this season to be jolly?

The Goo attended her first school Christmas party today, and met Father Christmas. I was informed by her teachers that she cried and tried to escape the clutches of the red suited, white bearded stranger who tried to foist a dollhouse on her.

Yup. She's her mother's daughter.

Anyway, Blast from The Past Thursday ended an hour ago, but I'm up so you get to read something I wrote in 2006 (I think). I called it The Little Hamster, and I wrote it when I was having angst filled debates with myself over quitting my job in stockbroking.

Enjoy!

THE LITTLE HAMSTER

One day, the little hamster stepped off his wheel.

Sure, there were food pellets and water jugs that were refilled every day, but he didn’t want to live in a cage anymore.

This made the older hamsters angry. They asked the little hamster if he had eaten a bad pellet or something. They told him the cage was a safe place and that the wheel of purpose was every hamster’s destiny.
He said the wheel of purpose felt like a ball and chain and that the cage was more prison than safe house.

They asked him scornfully, “what will you do now?”

He answered, “I’ll burrow”.

So he stepped off the wheel and it slowed down and stopped, but the world kept spinning and the sun still shined. He broke the lock with an old milk tooth that had fallen off and stepped out of his cage/ safe house/ prison. When he stepped out of his cage and onto the ground, he realized, “I don’t know how to burrow”. Then he thought, ‘how hard can it be? I’m a hamster and that’s what hamsters are supposed to do! It will be as easy as running the wheel of drudgery’. So he put his nose to the ground, then his paws, then dug, wriggling his little hamster body into the ground.

There was something scary, but soothing about the soft, dark earth. It was as comforting as coming home but not knowing if he would survive this was freaking him out. It occurred to him that he could turn around and go back to the security of the cage with its food pellets and daily water refills. Sure, the other hamsters would never let him hear the end of it, but wasn’t life more important than fearing what other hamsters would say? But wasn’t life more important than fear? So he decided right there to stop worrying and keep burrowing.

The other hamsters never saw him again. Once in a while, word reached them that the little hamster had found an underground cave, and had met a little hamster girl. They heard rumours of his little hamster family, of his five little hamsters, and they still kept muttering, “He must have eaten some bad pellets.”

THE END

(PS. Do hamsters burrow?)

Back Story Monday:...then comes Timi with a baby carriage

It's Tuesday, but you got the rest of The Egg Shower yesterday, and I really want to give you some more Back Story on What Happened To Gypsy Black.

So where were we?

Oh yeah, burial, job, no job, wedding, honeymoon, then back to Lagos as Mrs. Someborri (can I hear an uh huh uh huh?). Before the wedding, I had sent in my resume for a financial position in an entertainment company. My degree is actually in Banking and Finance, and I had already successfully written the first diet (level?) of the CIS (Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers) exam. So...new job...in finance (blurgh!)...at least, it was in entertainment.

I was invited for the first interview, and it went well.

By the time I was called for the second interview, I wasn't feeling so great. I was nauseous, I felt bloated, and was generally very cranky. I'm pretty sure I was giving the MD evil looks throughout the interview, and was not at all surprised that I got a "We'll call you". I didn't care. I was kinda hoping they didn't. I just wanted to stay home, turn off all the lights, and lie down in bed forever.

Well, they didn't call back, and I got to stay home, turn off the lights, and lie down on the floor (at that spot the air conditioner never misses) for about 10 weeks. I did get up every other hour to puke, but hey, I got what I wanted, right?

Hmm.

Worst First Trimester Ever.

When that was over, it was pretty much smooth sailing.

Until the last trimester. Where I got tired of being pregnant, and large, and uncomfortable, and being kicked all the time (the girl was a dancer from the womb). To make myself feel better, I took a bottle of Coca Cola every day, and went through a pack of Mars mini bars every week.

Sigh.

And now, I will never be skinny again.

Ever.

*sniff sniff*

Anyway, I got a beautiful bambina out of the deal, so I can't complain. It's a pretty good deal.

What does all this have to do with Gypsy Black? I got pregnant. And to my surprise, was unable to do anything else till I had the baby.

After the baby, not only could I not get much work done, I wasn't getting much sleep either. That pretty much shut the door on any creative process for like a year. Now she's 1 year and 5 months, and is off to school (Playgroup) and Mummy gets to have moments like this to think, and read, and write. Phew!

Will Gypsy Black be back? Oh yes, but there will be changes.