Monday night dinner

My photo today is of the start of the occasion of the first Odendaal BBQ of the season!!

I had to go to Lidil today to get Nappies and Bread and was thinking about dinner while I was there and stumbled upon their BBQ section and decided it would be a nice option, Since Mike is fasting Bread at the moment then it presents a bit more of a challenge to do a bbq without the burger buns but I think ive managed it. 

Menu

Quarter Pounder Beef Burgers

BBQ Marinaded Chicken Drumsticks

Lincolnshire Sausages 

Roasted vegetables  

( courgette, red capsicum, red sweet peppers and tomatoes and black olives

in Olive oil with salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste )

Ranch Salad

( Tomatoes, Iceberg Lettuce and Cucumber with light Ranch dressing )

Slices of Mature cheddar

Ketchup & BBQ sauce

Fresh Strawberries served under yogurt

So a simple BBQ with Simple salads and vegetables but in keeping with Mikes diet goals and its lovely and seasonal 

Sunday 29th April

Twas eve on a Sunday

and they gathered en'mass

found cushions and sofas

and bright coloured pads

armed with their popcorn

fizzy drinks in their hand 

they sat down together to watch one man take a stand

Amazing Grace the movie about Wilburforce Will

the story his triumphant Parlimentary bill

"Abolish the Slave trade" was Williams cry

His fight for the cause almost saw him die

But Victory was His in the end of the day

Slavery is finished in that sense today.

other forms of Slavery have sprouted up since

the slavery of minds of hearts ....

and still they trade people, 

souls brought and sold

dragged from their homelands to work till they're old

My heart sunk yesterday after watching "Amazing Grace" the true story of how William Willborforce with his fellow men of like mind brought a GLOBAL change in the passing of their bill "the slave trade act" of 1807 when I realised they may have " abolished slavery " over 200 years ago but we still have Slavery in various forms in this world we live in.....

WATCH THIS

Please watch the video link above and buy the single if you have any heart for anybody, Out there is someones mother, someones daughters, somones sisters

How did we let this happen ??????

A Picture a day 

Today Saturday 28th April 2012

This little man is 

 3 years, 10 months, 3 days, 12 hours, 11 minutes, 12 seconds old in this photo

He was curled up on my sofa watching the Gruffalo's child which we recorded to the Sky box at Christmas time. He insists on watching it even though it scares him every time and he ends up curled up under my Arctic Wolf blanket on the sofa with his fingers in his mouth periodically hiding his head under the blanket.

Some days I dont know where the time has gone since his birth. I re-read my birth story yesterday the whole ordeal of what we went through with him when he was born with his Jaundice needing special photo-therapy lights and coming so close to a blood transfusion for him.

It reminded me of the emotional rollercoaster that happened that night less than 24 hours after the  blessing of his birth to the panic and fear of the unknown that I had wheeling him down to the SCBU and the relief after talking to the doctor the next morning finding out what the issues actually were and what the plan was for treatment, then the endless day/night/day/night cycle of 3 hourly feeds meaning trips back and forth to the SCBU and the pumping room to get milk for him. Sitting up in the SCBU in the middle of the night to feed him worrying and praying over him.

His first week was one of the scariest of my lifetime, My world was all contained in one little boy I barely noticed Mike and my mother coming and going from the hospital visiting us.

Thankfully God was with me and brought us both home safely after just a week in hospital and though over the following 3yrs this Little man has had us back at the hospital a few times, very recently only 10 days ago we were up at a&e in the night getting his breathing checked out as he had managed to get me worried.

I wouldnt change a moment of it though, through all the tears and tantrums there have been many more smiles and giggles and laughs with Nathaniel and we are so blessed to have him as a part of our lives. 

I have plenty to do to organize his upcoming 4th birthday party, He wants a Pirate Party as his favorite show atm is Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the Disney Junior channel

So i have a treasure chest birthday cake to prepare and lots of plastic gold coins and pirate decorations to buy, Just waiting on confirmation of our venue then its full steam ahead.

I wonder what Tomorrows Photo will have me talking about.....

Life with 3 plus one and a business

Wow this year is flying by soo fast, my baby is already 4 1/2 months old and the time has vanished. We got exciting news with Nate achieving a place at our first pick for school for him, we had been planning to home educate however with starting our own business and having Michael's sister living with us it has not been possible due to size restictions for me to do all I want to do for Nate where we are currently and we feel that for the time being come September he will be better served attending a good local school. Life has been fairly hectic this year with alot happening for everyone in the household,sometimes I don't know how we stay sane in this zoo lol however when the children are all sleeping and Peaceful then I feel very blessed to have my family, the boys have grown alot in the last year and developed lots of new skills it's scary how fast they grow and with doing all the school preparations then it's had me thinking about how life was four years ago when I was in my final weeks working as a au pair and preparing to start work as a driving instructor trainee whislt getting ready for Nathaniels arrival and my mothers visit. Life four years ago was still busy and hectic but in a different way and back then it was just my insomnia causing my lack of sleep not the children lol. Recently I discovered pintrest and have my own board there now it like most things with me online is linked to my facebook. I really should be working on my website for our new business and getting the flyers finalised and onto a USB so I can go print them off this week when I'm returning the stack of library books we have, I need an organiser for my to do list but I know unless it was a tablet pc of some kind I would loose it or forget to pick it up so will have to look at getting myself a tablet at some point. I'm brewing up some ideas about ways to go forward with this business and got to find some backbone to start calling people about it after all the worst they can do is say no right? Anywa Aj needs mummy so enough of being Lynni for now back to being Mum at least Mike is being Chef tonight

Growing boys

My little boys are growing up so fast, Ive been wondering if Mike and I are doing all we can to tun them into Godly young men, I try to remember to pray for each of them every day for their futures and development but i quite often fail in that attempt. I hope the methods we have chosen to use for discipline will work to help us teach them to respect others to be kind, helpful , gentle men who are strong and wise and considerate.

New Baby

Well little baby AJ has arrived ,
born 9th december 2011 , weighing 9lb 7oz at 3.20am , caught by daddy as the MW didnt make it and the ambulance arrived about 10min after birth , Full Name is Alister Robert James Odendaal

London Riots

Whatever next....?
How has this society let communitys down to such a point where people are rioting senslessly in the streets looting shops for no reason other than selfish greed? its all gone so wrong the young people out there commiting serious offences and for what?

There needs to be a community solution to this problem not a police one, obviously the crimial behaviour has to be dealt with but locking them up for 8 months of a 16 month sentance isnt going to teach them much, It wont give them hope of a better future or ambition or reason to change.

We need more people to step in and give a little time to help. we cant just live in our houses in our "safe" neighborhoods and watch and be disgusted by it we need action from the upright, productive, useful members of society to help, to connect with these youngesters to show them that thier is another way that they can achieve that they can aspire to , that they are allowed Goals and Dreams and that there is support out there to make those come to reality!

I want to thank the many many charitys already working in the UK and in London , the ones on the ground level with the people who need the 1 to 1 support and care the ones mentoring young people and providing a way out for them, showing them and equipping them with the skills to make a better life for themselves.

How much would it really cost YOU! to give up 30 min a week to spend with someone who doesnt have the fortunate circumstances you have. to spend time with someone whos mum works 3/4 jobs and is never home just to pay the bills. To get to know someone and have an impact in their life just because you took an interest in them as a person not a statistic??

I reckon it wouldnt cost you much at all, if anything you might find it rewarding.
Stop living in your little protective bubble this country needs a team effort to bring it back to the wonderful place for all that we know it can be!

half way there

21 weeks tomorrow Im halfway through cooking this baby now,  it has gone by so quickly even though at times each day has dragged and been a fight to get through.
Im finding some energy and motivation to do stuff now, today I got the windows in the living room washed, It might not seem like much to some of you but battling PGP again has had me seriously unmotivated to do anything, I also got dinner cooked and ready early and made brownies for Homegroup today.

One day at a time doesnt seem enough sometimes its more like one Hour at a time just getting one job done at a time and slowing working at getting the bigger picture sorted out. There is more than enough stuff to keep me busy till this baby is here I just have to motivate myself to get it done.
I discoverd this website. www.stumbleupon.com and its rather addictive but basicly it churns through the web searching for sites sugested by other users on a subject/interests list that you compile It has come back with some helpful and amazing results for things and I now have some great affordable ideas for Christmas presents for friends this year as well as some simply " to die for " amazing recipes that I just have to try out, I tried out one of the many Chocolate brownie recipes today and they taste really yummy quite similar to what Mum used to make but with a twist, ive had to contain myself from not eating the whole batch since they were made with a purpose for homegroup tonight.

Scan is tomorrow and we will find out the gender, Im warning people however if we are expecting another boy then any " dont u wish it was a girl, will you try for another " comments will not be welcome as i find them rather intrusive and rude. My head is thinking boy anyway so it wont be an issue for me either way although if its a girl then its a good reason to declutter all the little boy clothes we have lying around.

My mission in the next week or so is to be practical and make things easier to live around here so decluttering the clothes for everyone, sorting out stuff to be put aside out of sight till we have time to file it etc... make it a nicely enviroment to live in and easier to keep clean lol

First born son turns 3

Well this day 3 years ago I was just waking up after having had a baby at 2:45am and not  getting to sleep till nearly 6am i got 5 hours sleep missed breakfast and woke to a sleeping baby with a big old purple bruise on his head from the ventouse. Was the best morning waking up to my son sleeping peacefully next to me.

anyway today we have a 3 yr olds birthday and he is obviously very overwhelemed by the excitement and getting a bit cranky im debating him having a short nap before the party so hes in a good mood. i'll add more to this later for now i have lamingtons to finish making

Week 14 + 1 day

Pregnancy, what an amazing, magical, wonderful time in a womans life, what a hormonal, crazy, emotional time in a womans life.

Single or as part of a couple there are lots of daily challenges faced as a pregnant woman and to a degree more when you are already a mother and have children to care for.

It is true when they say every pregnancy is different. My pregnancys with the boys were markedly similar with the exception of developing SPD /PGP with EJ which made the simple things like getting out of bed and putting clothes on a monumental challenge let alone doing my shoe laces up! But with the exception of this horrible condition then my Morning Sickness was the same with both boys and my bump developed the same at about the same rate it was almost like I was reliving my previous pregnancy.

But this Pregnancy has been a world apart my all day rushing to throw up was replaced by all day nausea and lack of appetite with only the occasional days where I had to make several trips up to the bathroom to hurl and they were mainly mercifully spaced apart, I have been alot more tired this time and having more trouble sleeping than I remember with the boys, So far my Anemia has stayed under control my base Ferritin Levels remain at a good level which bodes well although I will of course have them checked a few extra times to make sure.

The first 3 months were a bit rough though with unexplained bleeding that lasted quite a few weeks and resulted in an early scan but it all seems to have gotten itself sorted out now which is a relief for me.

Mike seems to think this baby is going to be a girl and I'm not holding my breath as much as I would love a girl im going to wait out patiently till my 20wk scan to find out and be happy with what I find out.

You who are reading this should know we wont be telling anyone what name we pick for our Baby till we annouce the arrival to everyone so there is no point asking me lol you wont get a response , We are undecided if we will disclose the gender of  our baby before its birth also and that decision will have to be made sooner as my scan is in the latter part of July.

My "baby" EJ is growing up hes now finally taken solo steps { even if it was sideways like a crab }and gets closer to full on walking each day now which is of course exciting but sad too because it means hes growing up and needing me less in some ways. Hes recently learned the "No" word and how to apply it when he doesnt want something or doesnt like the sound of my idea lol but with the instalation of "time outs" for both the boys then hes learning quickly that you dont say that word to Mummy.

siggie

Annoucement to Make

We have news... lol as you can probably guess by the picture above our family of 4 will become a family of 5 in December of this year.

We were not expecting this little one to be joining us but welcome the surprise with Joy and look forward to the preparation for His/Her pending arrival.

NJ and EJ dont really understand whats going on with Mummy at the moment they are starting to wonder why I am not letting them sit on my tummy or play rough with me, and I'm sure its got them puzzled why I routinely dash off to the bathroom to throw up as soon as I have finished changing one of their dirty nappies.

so 12 wks 4 days in just 192 days to go till I can start telling this one to vacate its current rooming's, At my scan on Thursday they bumped my dates forward by 3 days which was nice , less time to wait now lol although from my own experience my babies will come when they are ready and nothing I can do will change that lol. So im really not expecting this one out till the 20th of December even though I am technically due on the 6th. They have booked me with a consultant to discuss growth scans for this baby ( however inaccurate they actually are it will be a good chance to see baby again ) since EJ arrived at such an impressive weight. 

I would really like a smaller baby this time but not getting my fingers crossed, Big babies have their own benefits with tending to be more settled with eating and sleeping than smaller babies and there is new research out to show that children with a larger birth weight show less signs of adult obesity, at age 7 have a higher IQ on average, Better temperaments and more alert as babies as well as less risk of heart disease in adult life.

also from my own research the labor process tends to be shorter and easier but that might be linked to the fact that women tend to have bigger and bigger babies the more babies they have lol.

Anyway a small part of me feels like I never really had a "newborn" with either of the boys as they were such healthy weights and grew so quickly they were never ittybitty babies and always looked big in my arms the only time they really looked like Newborn babies was when Mike was holding them and thats just because he is so big in comparison to even a 10lb newborn.

Anyway the doctors are right to fear that this baby could easily be over the 11lb mark and according to research. With EJ I showed 5 of the 6 signs exclusive of Gestational diabetes that predispose me to having another Larger baby those signs being

1) not my first child

2)already having had a large (macrosomic ) baby

 { NJ was 25grms below the weight limit guide and EJ was well over}

3)Long pregnancy, ie.. over 40wks average

 { both boys were born after 41wks}

4)Carrying a male child 

{ we dont know yet but odds arent in my favor for a girl }

5) Parental Stature

{ well neither Mike or I have lost any height }

6) Excessive weight gain in Pregnancy

{ I hope to avoid this again }.

So It would seem my chances of having a smaller baby are slim as I cant re-have my first child again,

 I cant put EJ back in there, It seems women in my family are a big genetically predisposed to having longer pregnancy's although no science has yet proved that this is cause for longer pregnancy's the fact that I have myself made it to 42wks ( if you use my original due date with NJ ) in a prior pregnancy and gone post 41wks with another (EJ was induced so I dont know how long the pregnancy would have otherwise lasted ) then I am more likely to carry past 40 weeks again, 

I would have to be carrying a Girl right now ( possible again but it would seem that 51% of the babies born are male not female as once thought, just girls tend to survive better meaning in a population sample of mixed ages then there is a trend towards more females.)and as yet Mike or his Father have yet to produce a Daughter.

Neither Mike or I can loose Height without surgery lol 

I can however avoid added weight gain. I didn't gain excess weight In either of my last pregnancy's and with both ended up lighter 2 days post partum than I had been when I learnt I was pregnant which is positive, 

It sadly is the weeks after that which see me gain weight lol.

Anyway from what I have researched there Is little to Nothing I can do differently in this pregnancy than in any of the others ( besides making sure the doctors keep an eye on my base iron levels ) so as always I will be trying to eat healthy ( currently on a 40 day fast of all Takeaway/fast food ) and try to fit some gentle exersize in there somewhere with running around after 2 toddlers.

Oh on a seperate subject, EJ is doing very well with his Standing up he will get himself up on his feet in the middle of the room now and stand for some time , he runs with the aid of his walker and climbs on everything just like his big brother so I do expect him to be walking solo in a few days/week or so.

Thats all for now

Bank Holiday after Bank Holiday

I think Summer is here, 

This month we have had the London Marathon, Easter weekend ( which has 2 bank holidays )and the Royal Wedding ( again 2 bank holidays ) this all 3 wks in a row. It is a bit tiresome having the public transport running Saturday service for an additional 4 days this month. 

we have had proper Summer weather too, clear blue skies and sunshine my lawn is turning very brown very quickly so gonna have to find a way to sort that out.

So Friday is the big day, where the future King of England marries his Queen, its a big deal apparently but it seems like over half the country dont care. 

Coming from outside the UK then i can very much see what the Royals bring to the culture and atmostphere as a tourist visiting London and the rest of the UK. Yes everything they "DO" can be done by others but who would want to? would someone really commit to attending opening after opening for no pay? There seems to be enough problems with getting the policticans we do pay to do their jobs properly so if we were to load them up with other duties as well that were unpaid then we would get nothing done at all for the country.

Even for comedy value alone at what the Prince of Edinburgh comes out with then surely its worth it. I bet the goverment couldnt keep the places and the grounds of them in as good a condition as the royals on the same budget. I think this country would loose an awful lot if the Royals were to go. Whos gonna come see Buckingham palace if the queen didnt live there? the place would be grafettied in under a week

My Little Poppets

Little Men

My little men

It hit me with a bang yesterday that I am the Mother to 2 little boys, not that i was under any illusions before then as to their gender but yesterday they started really behaving like little boys.

Putting it simply they went outside to play in the garden ( empty of toys, so if you have childrens toys filling up your garden that you want rid of let me know ) and found some toys to play with, well I say toys but they were really the pots full of planting mix that the previous tenants left behind

anyway shortly after finding them they had emptied the dirt onto my patio and were playing with it, pushing mounds of dirt around with their hands after the obligatory taste test of course..

This ended up with them covered head to toe in dirt, Anyway naptime arrived for Elliott so i picked him up and dusted him down and tucked him up in bed to come back down to find that Nate had collected a variety of toys from the living room plus my brush and shovel and taken them to play in the dirt with him. oh how fun.

anyway I kinda left him to it knowing i could clean up come late afternoon when i  needed to have him inside and that i would put them both through the bath before bed. Shortly later I hear the crash of a pot hitting the patio tiles and breaking, uhoh but oh well pots are replaceable and im trying not to sweat the small stuff in an effort to be a calmer parent.

anyway to cut to the chase I now have a broken planter pot and a pile of potting mix on my patio as i no longer have a pot to refill, and the boys loved playing in the dirt. Im so proud that they get along so well together most of the time