My Baby grows up, 24 June

This time 4 years ago I was calling the hospital telling them I wanted to come back up to the Midwife Unit while pacing around our Garden in Kingston with Mike and Anthony keeping Celina in the house out of my way and my mum following me with a glass of water trying to hydrate me. I was fairly cranky as I recall having been in labour ( slow labour ) for 3 days Prior and was not amused that the MW on the phone said she thought it could still be awhile till the baby arrived from the way I sounded, What did she know I was the one in Labour surely I would know best! lol She was right i had another 15 hrs to wait for him to arrive another night with no sleep as I would be pacing the hospital room then in the birthing pool.
I dont know how I would have made it through those long hours without Mum by my side and then in turn Michael there holding my hand.

But my baby arrived safely even if not the way we wanted and we certainly didnt plan on the complications which led to him being in the Special Care Baby Unit for 4 days and in hospital for a total of 7 days. but we got him in the end and Yesterday we celebrated his 4th Birthday with a Pirate Party which we held down at our church and was a big sucess even if we are all still tired the next day after even having an afternoon nap to try to recover.

So with nearly 4 years of being Mummy as an accomplishment then I'm still not quite sure how I managed I sure didn't get here without messing up a few times thankfully none so serious that they have had lasting effects on Nathaniel. We have had a few middle of the night trips to A&E for high tempetures and viral infections but Thanks to God not any for broken bones or deep cuts /wounds. which is a miracle in my eyes with the amount of Times I have had to rescue Nathaniel from being on top of bookcases, windowsills, standing on tables getting stuck places we didn't know he could get to.

But I've really enjoyed the last 4 years and would do it all over again in an instant for the chance to have Nathaniel as my son. He is such a caring loving child, very intelligent and bright, with a thirst for learning which I am hoping will be encouraged with School and having the learning resources will benefit him .

So here is my 4 year old boy, Nathaniel J Odendaal. I'm so Proud that he calls me Mummy

British Summertime, Drought.. Hosepipe ban... Say whaaaat?

Does this look like Drought weather to you...?

Its nearly mid JUNE and I just had to get everyone but the baby ( Thank God for raincovers ) completely changed head to toe after the walk home from picking up Nathaniel, 

Poor Elliott was drenched before we were half way there and out in the rain for 1 hr 20 min to do the round trip because every puddle on the way home had to be jumped in apparently lol.

It would seem that the Weather has mistaken half term holiday for Wimbledon and rained us out throughout the last week and looks like we are in for more of the same this week.

Typical British Summertime weather, we still actually have a hosepipe ban after a good 10 days of rain in a row though they are telling us it should be lifted this week, Its a con they are trying to conserve water for the Olympics because up north there is no Hosepipe ban its just in the South of the UK.

I really hope it isnt raining on Saturday we have the school fair to go to and really want to make it because Nathaniel will be at the school come September so its a great chance to meet the teachers and staff as well as the other kids who will be in his year group. 

And I am also out on Street Pastors duty on Saturday night which will not be very much fun if it is raining like it has been today. 

Queens Diamond Jubilee

Wow 60 years on the throne, quite some achievement ,
I learnt some interesting facts about our Royal family this last week, from the fact that HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex 's children arent known as Prince and Princess but as Lady and Viscount because after the Queen saw the effect of the pressure of the HRH title on her other grandchildren she wanted a more relaxed up bringing for her youngest grandchildren.  In fact i dont recall seeing Edward and Sophies son and daughter during the Jubilee festivities probably on purpose, they themselves were at the Concert outside Buckingham Palace and Edward was on the Barge with the rest of the family for the River Procession but only the Imediate line of Sucession down to Harry were part of the Carriage procession and the Appearance on the balcony of the Palace at the end of Tuesdays Festivities.

As a Family we attended a Jubilee BBQ at Hampton Wick Baptist church on Sunday and the boys had both had Jubilee parties on the Friday before half term then otherwise we watched the celebrations on TV and opted not to brave the weather for street parties etc.... We had to spend a bit of time recovering from Celina's birthday party on Saturday evening and such a busy Sunday

7 years ago

7 years ago I was getting used to being in the UK after only being here a few days

I think this was taken June 6th 2005.

It really does honestly seem like yesterday, I dont feel so different to the person in this photo although many changes have taken place. 

I have finally found a way to do a 3-4 way video call with my family without it costing heaps or being too complex to set up thanks to Google+ which you can do a "hangout" which I tried last night with Tanya ( big sister ) in Australia. I miss my family heaps its hard to be so far away from my sisters /brother and my adorable little nephews

Im not the only one who has had a big anniversary in the last few days, The Queen herself has celebrated her own Anniversary, Her Diamond Jubilee 60 years as queen and when she ascended the throne she was only 26 which is how old I am now.

I believe there are big things in the next 60 years for me too and hope I will still be around in 60 years time, Not sure I will achieve as much as the Queen but I aim to have a fair go at having her annual income by then.

I think I am going to give up coffee for good. Everytime that I have had a cup of coffee in as long as I can remember then I have suffered from a bad headache and irritability afterwards. It doesnt happen with Coca Cola or Tea just Coffee, I dont know why but Its ruined today for me having a Mocha Frap at Starbucks earlier on today.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 3-6th May

My week has been rather hectic with prep for the exhibitition so not actually managed to take photos since Wed, I did however assemble one for my "cover" on my facebook timeline and a friend shared this Winnie the Pooh quote which I absolutely love.

My work this week has been on these

And many other flyers and banners and labels for the event.

this is a a4 sheet that will be made into a6 leaflets for handing out around the event.

Ive also had to learn to operate and become qualified to operate the Turn Back Time Analytical Arterial testing machine and how to read the reports to explain them to my customers at the event.

I have found childcare for during it for the 2 older boys I will just have Alister with me during the entire event unless Mike has him so that should be fun I think when Mike is there I will be out leafleting the crowd as we have missed all the advertising except the final site exhibitioners list and the online listing due to our late booking of the stall etc...

btw if the leaflet above has sparked your interest at all and you want to know more about my new business then please do email me at legacyhealthworldwide@gmail.com 

Wed 2nd of May 2012

The joys of a 2 yr old

b.b...b..b.b.b..but mummy i dont want my picture taken ( excuse my messy house it was first thing in the morning )

I love all my kids dearly I have a clearly uniquely different bond with each of them.

Elliott is growing so fast its hard for me sometimes caus I want to keep him just as he is now even with the 2 yr old strops , I want to keep the wee sensitive soul that he is, His caring loving nature when I was Ill last week it was EJ out of my boys who was trying to take care of me most to get me pillows and blankets and books and he even tried to bring me a drink bless him. 

Hes a sweet child with an adorable personality, just this afternoon when I put him up in his room for his naptime he was calm and happy to go to bed and asked for cuddles then happily told me "bye bye Mummy I nap now!" and before I had even left the room he had tucked himself into bed and shut his eyes. 

My husband called EJ our "LOUD" child for the first 8 months of his life because he does have a powerful set of lungs on him and when he is upset the whole block knows about it theres no "Shhhhshh-ing" him when hes upset he wants everybody to know about it so over the last couple of years we have developed ways of enabling him to be happy in situations where there used to be issues.

We by no means give in to his strops and tantrums even if it sends my husband running for the hills when he lets rip in the middle of the supermarket lol. but instead try to minimalise chances of him getting upset by using a bit of forethought about things since hes not quite as adaptable and flexible as Nathaniel, Not that there is anything wrong with that Its part of who he is and we love him just how he is its just that Parenting requires more than just one text book because although our boys have the same parents they have very individual personalitys, needs, prioritys and require different tactics to manage them.

More with EJ than Nathaniel but their little faces when they are trying to be stubborn are just so darn cute and make me want to smile or laugh often ( which is not very helpful when your trying to be strict on something ) and the moment of this photo was exactly one of those moments, Little EJ was none too happy about having his picture snapped and was telling me " No mummy, no Pot-O" ( photo in EJ language ) and quite sure I couldnt get a smile from him but hes just as cute and adorable when hes grumpy thankfully so there's your picture.

long day's work

Tuesday 1st May 2012

Ok its not technically a photo but a PNG. image i drew out freehand/mouse in Paint yesterday to create Nathaniel's birthday party invitations, but honestly I was so busy yesterday with this ( party organization ) and Legacy Health Worldwide stuff that I barely had time to eat because the time I wasnt sat at the computer working hard then I was tending to the needs of my 3 children.

Nathaniel is a bit obsessed with "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" on Disney Junior hence the Pirate themed invitations. I could have done it in Inkscape and gone for a glossy look image that "pops" off the page but I didnt have time to sit through tutorials for all the inkscape bits im not sure on how to do and Im working out the business logo and everything else using Inkscape anyway and having a break from the software for a while was refreshing for my brain.

So to finish the Party stuff up now I have to organize, food, games, decorations, activitys and party bags as well as make the Cake which im hoping wont be as hard as the Train I made for EJ.

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