Ahem...

Having one of those days where I don't really know where to start. I had a lovely weekend. Went wine tasting with a whole group of people on Saturday and it was brilliant. Our first farm was Hartenberg, followed by L'Avenir, which was brilliant. We ended off at Beyerskloof where we all sat down to a brilliant lunch too.

It was just lovely to get out for the day and spend some time with a group of nice people and to meet some new and interesting people, have a laugh and enjoy some good wine.

On Saturday evening I went to a 40th birthday party and when i woke up at 3am feeling slightly sick and very thirsty, I knew I'd had a good day! Needless to say, Sunday wasn't such a good day, although I had a lovely meal with some really neat people, which made it all the more bearable.

Today has been pretty busy trying to get as much done as I can before tomorrow, THE BIG DAY! I was originally going to let you in on my little secret today, but realised that I'll be able to come online tomorrow morning still, so you'll have to wait until then.

Over and above all of this, I've also been doing a fair bit of soul searching lately and have realised that I'm probably a lot more scarred than I thought I was initially. I've changed a lot over these past few years and have lost so much of the person who I essentially used to be. I think I'll probably start off being pretty guarded with my emotions and feelings when it comes to future relationships.

I think with all of last week's dramas it has just been highlighted that I can now move on with regards to relationships and this has just brought all of these thoughts into my head. As I've said before, I'm not sure I'll be diving straight into anything and as exciting as it is to think that I might experience being in love again, it's also slightly daunting and I'm actually quite afraid of being hurt again, however the dating part might be a lot of fun.

As for STBEH I'm also very saddened, because I think I've now lost all respect for him and whereas before I thought I'd be able to be friends afterwards, I'm not sure this will happen anymore. I can understand that he's done a lot of the things to keep his family together, but the more I see, the more I'm convinced that it's more a situation of him not wanting to start over and the financial impact that he's more concerned about.

Anyway, as you can tell, my mind is a little bit all over the place today, so I'll leave you with that. Bring on tomorrow!

Madge

I can't be bothered and 'Hint no.2'

Well, it's Friday already and it sure has been an action-filled week. As you might have imagined, I haven't received the apologies nor have I received evidence of having had an affair, said affair being the REASON for my divorce.

To be honest, I'm not surprised and don't really care. The reality is that the people who matter all know the real reason for the divorce and that's what matters to me.

STBEH and his cronies thought that they were really going to f*ck me over this week and I've been able to give them the finger quite beautifully. I just find it all so sad and pathetic, but then I'm pretty much used to it by now. I'm just totally disgusted to think that I actually loved this man once, who now seems to stoop lower than pond scum!

Very sad that they're now willing to drag innocent people into the equation. And for what? Anyway, I'm no longer going to upset myself. My lawyer has already issued the summons and the sheriff will probably be delivering that in about 2 weeks time, so I'm just going ahead with my plans.

Add to that the fact that I can pretty much date who I want, it means that I can finally start to move on. It's been dragging for quite some time for me now, considering the fact that I told STBEH that I wanted the divorce on the 1st of January already, so I really am ready to move on now and am really looking forward to living my life again.

Which conveniently brings me along to 'Hint no.2': A letter of the alphabet I will be, somewhere between A and Zee.

Lastly a sad farewell to the GEM. Ek gaan jou verskriklik baie mis vriendin, maar ek is seker ons sien mekaar weer binnekort. Ek is baie lief vir jou!

I've got a lovely weekend planned and hope you all do too.

Madge

And the plot solidifies!

Hmmm, where to start? Well, had a phone call from my lawyer this morning informing me that she's had a letter from STBEH's camp saying that he will not be signing the settlement document at this time.

Their reason for this? Well, apparently STBEH had hired a PI to follow me around and took photo's of me last weekend whilst visiting a friend.

According to my lawyer this makes absolutely NO difference whatsoever. The reality is that even if I was pictured shagging this guy in public, it would still bare absolutely no relevance to the matter for various reasons.

Firstly, I started this process in March already when I went to my lawyer for the first time. Meaning that with this time lapse, I can rightfully start dating, but even more to the point is the fact that it has nothing to do with our settlement. The only area that could have been affected is if I claimed a personal maintenance, which I'm not. Then he could've argued on that point. Once again raising the question about his legal advice??

So, reality is that he has been wasting even more of his money on hiring a PI (not cheap), who merely caught me visiting a friend who's birthday it was that week.

The height of pathetic! Oh, and I WILL be dating more actively from now on considering what my lawyer said, so he might soon be able to fill a whole photo album!

Madge

My house too!

Well, the dust has by no means settled at this end. STBEH (Soon-To-Be-Ex-Husband) is walking around here with a huge cloud over his head and I just wish that a bolt of lightning would crash onto him from it!

When I asked him for the keys to OUR safe in OUR house he refused to give it to me. Apparently he's afraid that I'll take the kids' passports. What on earth will I do with them?? Pathetic.

This is the bit that really gets to me. If this is OUR house, then surely he has no right to withhold things like that from me? Anyway, I'm waiting to hear back from my lawyer, so will clarify this matter with her too, amongst others.

I think the time has come where he needs to leave the house as he's making it utterly unbearable for me and the atmosphere is not at all healthy for the children. If he cares about them, he'll get out.

Madge

Hint no.1

It seems like many of you are absolutely DYING to find out what the exciting event is that's happening on Tuesday, so I thought I'd post a daily 'Hint' and you can let me know what you think it is, so here's no.1:

'It once was, but is no more, ample of you will be evermore...'

PS: Those of you who are privy to the relevant info, please don't spoil the fun!

Shaking with rage

Let's get right to it: Yesterday it was kindly brought to my attention that STBEH has been spreading a rather vicious rumour with regards to the reason behind this divorce. It turns out that he's been saying that the real reason for this is because of another man. (In my life, not his, although, one might want to question that...)

I am currently only aware of one avenue that this goes back to, but am pretty positive that if he's said it to one person, he's said it to more than that and, as we all well know, this kind of rumour can certainly spread like wildfire.

Following hearing about this rather slanderous news, I've consulted with my lawyer and have decided to give him and this particular friend of his, who was all too willing to spread the news, until Friday afternoon at 16:00 to return to me either with concrete evidence which proves that I'm having said affair or provide me with written apologies.

Now STBEH can go to his friend and has a couple of days to sort this out or I will lay charges for libel. Reality is that I have absolutely NOTHING to lose by doing so and in it could really help set me up financially for when I'm on my own. If he wants to ruin my reputation, I'll play the game!

Furthermore, it turns out that the prick has STILL not signed the consent paper as now he's apparently querying something else within this. In fact, I'm really beginning to believe he's less of a prick and more of a word that rhymes with the smallest in the litter of dogs... (Work it out)

So, after all of that, it turns out that things are still not finalised and I'm still being strung along with his pathetic little game.

Fortunately the house is on show again this weekend and it sounds as if someone who's seen the house a little while ago might well be interested, so let's hope for the best. The sooner I don't have to see his sorry face every day, the better!

Madge

One of those days

I'm positive that EVERYONE has a day like I'm having today. Surely they do?! The way I'm experiencing it is this: Blah, blah, blah, bored shitless, hell this is boring, blah, blah, someone entertain me, blah, blah and so on and soforth. Oh yeah, and did I mention blah?!

The only thing that I keep reminding myself is that my exciting day will be here in a mere week's time, so that's pretty damn exciting, but then again, that's only a mere reminder.

I'm not saying that I have nothing to do. There's always things to do, just nothing too exciting. I had a fab meeting yesterday about a very exciting little venture, which I'll be sharing once things are a bit more concrete and have managed to do a little research on the matter, but why am I feeling so... well, blah?!

Anyway, I'm just rambling and talking a load of nonsense now, so won't bore you any further. I'm sure that tomorrow I'll be back to my usual self again.

I'll leave you with this pic as I noticed that one of the top trending topics on Twitter today is 'Fat People Are Sexier'. You might not quite agree looking at this pic...

Hmmmm, very sexy...

Madge

Now that's what I call a weekend!

After a couple of quiet weekends, this weekend sure made up for it all! Went out on Friday night with some ex-colleagues and had a lovely time. We went to Fiesta in De Waterkant and I must say, the Fresca cocktails I had were divine (strawberry pulp, basil, vodka and cranberry), but the service not so much. We waited far too long for our drinks and when the waiter brought the bill, he couldn't took more for a tip than what was written down... and needless to say, after that you simply couldn't pin the bastard down to rectify the problem.

Anyway, that aside, I had a fab evening all round, so really can't complain.

On Saturday I went to see The Rat Pack at the New Space Theatre. This was an AMAZING show! I've seen the show in London and can't remember enjoying it as much as this. The singers/actors were phenomenal with stunning voices and every bit as entertaining as the real troupe would've been with all of the quirks and jokes to boot. I'd highly recommend this show, which has also been extended until the 5th of September due to popular demand.

Following the show, our group went to one of my favorite restaurants in town, Pigalle, where the food is always out of the books, service is smooth and atmosphere sublime.

Yesterday, STBEH asked me to do something with him and the kids for the day, so I agreed and we visited a couple of wine farms and threw in a visit to the Le Bonheur Croc Farm for good measure. We also visited Backsberg and the farm that's fast becoming my favorite, Vrede en Lust.

It would seem that the current winemaker at Vrede en Lust, Susan Wessels, is truly making her mark and one can certainly taste a distinct improvement and marked difference between her latest releases and those pre-Susan. My favorites on the day were the Chardonnay and Viognier, so with summer coming up, I'd highly recommend stocking up on these for your special occasions as they're not exactly your everyday drinking wines at R80 and R120 respectively.

The weekend was ended off with pizzas at La Romantica. So, fun was had by all.

On the homefront, I'm very pleased to say that the atmosphere has lifted considerably. STBEH and I seem to be getting on a lot better now that we've agreed the settlement - as I always said we would and I can almost say that things are pleasant. Spending the day together yesterday was quite awkward for me though. Not saying it wasn't a nice day, just awkward.

Furthermore I only have 8 more sleeps until the BIG event and I'm getting very excited now. I'll tell you all about it next Monday as I won't be posting for the remainder of that week, so keep an eye out for that.

I hope you all have a stunning week ahead.

Madge

Friday funnanigans!

And a big YAY to that! This week seems to have dragged on somewhat, but finally it's Friday and we can have some fun. As I'm typing this I'm getting into the mood with my current favorite track by Armin van Buuren called In and Out of Love featuring Sharon den Adel. Check out the music video below, although I have to add I prefer the Blizzard Remix as on his album, Imagine (The Remixes).

Another song that's recently come up again and is my current ringtone is Laid, by James. I heard it again recently on the radio and rushed back to my trusted Russian MP3 site to download it. It just brings back so many memories!

I have a few plans this weekend starting with post-work drinks in town with a bunch of people and a birthday party tomorrow night. Should be a blast.

Madge x

"Car guards" getting right up my nose

Yesterday, I had to make a trip into town for a couple of appointments I had. My first, being in Harrington Street, Gardens, I was 'ushered' into my parking space, which firstly pissed me off because two of these "car guards" were fighting about who was going to assist me with this job, which in turn only set my parking sensors of to bleep like anything!

So, when I returned to my car about 15 minutes later, already begrudging the fact that I'm feeling guilty because I don't want to pay them anything for their 'service', I get into the car, find some coppers (I'm most certainly not giving them more than that for 15 minutes!!) and hand it to the guy.

What does he do? He gives it one look and says "It's not enough, take it back!". At this point I'm about to drive off, thinking "You rude git!", when he proceeds to throw it back into the car!!! Ungrateful arsehole! And THIS, is exactly why I will no longer give these pricks money. They don't deserve it and need to be 'ushered' off our streets! In fact, I think there should be a law that makes it illegal for motorists to pay them as this will in turn get rid of them, especially since we ALL know that there won't be a law against them doing what they're doing.

Please note that I'm not against the legit ones that are employed by the big shopping malls and are genuinely providing a service, however how do you know, because, most of the time, these pricks buy a yellow hi-viz jacket and all of a sudden they seem to transform into 'reliable, trustworthy people who will prevent your car from being stolen'. I think NOT!

Madge

Dreaming about Gareth Cliff?!

Yes, how perturbed was I when I woke up from THAT dream? For anyone outside SA reading this, Gareth Cliff is a breakfast DJ on a national radio station called 5FM, the equivalent of the UK Radio 1.

Gareth, very cute!

I just find it very odd because although I enjoy his radio show while driving in the morning, I've never really thought of him in THAT way... ahem... Look, he's not exactly Brad Pitt, but he's cute. Weird shit!

So, another busy day running around, but I like it that way, so no complaints. Just wish it was a bit warmer, then one would be more willing to go out!

Laters
Madge

I just don't get it anymore

Well, as you know, we reached settlement almost two weeks ago. So, my lawyer drafted the settlement document and sent it through. I signed it and passed it on to STBEH to sign too. I said to him that he doesn't need to spend the money to go to his lawyer, but that he could confirm with him that they agree with the document as my lawyer sent a copy through to them too.

STBEH was insistent that he wanted to go and sign it at his lawyer's office and after a lot of nagging finally had an appointment for yesterday, but then he returned saying that apparently the lawyer was stuck in court and the next appointment is only on Friday.

The bit that I don't get is why he's actually willing to spend the R900 to merely go and sign a document that his lawyer can confirm to him via email or telephone is ok?! In the meantime it still continues to drag the matter along and this is the other part that I simply can't get my head around. Surely by now he would also just want to move on and get it over with?

So, this has been my frustration for the last day (well, the last 10 days actually) and I'm just pretty annoyed by it all. On the face of things it's just another 4 days, but when things have taken as long as they have and all I need is a basic signature, I think it's fairly understandable that I'm feeling this way. Now I just can't help thinking that he's messing me around again and that it's yet another game, which in turn makes me feel like I should just avoid STBEH again and that after the atmosphere at Wisteria Lane has been rather pleasant and nice for the kids and us.

Hey, at least I have something VERY exciting to look forward to that's happening in exactly 2 weeks time today...

Madge

Back to normal

Well, I've not been writing on here as religiously over the past week, mainly because of being really busy and ill on top of that. Though I'm looking forward to another busy week, I'm at least feeling a lot better than I did last week with my chest infection and I'm really looking forward to getting back to the gym today.

I had a lovely weekend. Had some friends round for drinks on Friday evening, which was nice. On Saturday did the kiddies party thing, which I managed to cope with, somehow and finally got to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Strange movie, and though it was a bit drawn out, the best part of it was that Brad Pitt just kept getting better and better looking!

Yesterday I took the kids to the beach. We were there for almost three hours and had a ball. PC and I even went into the sea with our clothes on. I didn't think it would be warm enough for it and didn't take cossies, but the sun soon dried us up. It's great seeing him starting to enjoy the water.

Right, now to get on with some work.

Madge

To do or not to do...

There is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now, years in fact, but it's simply never happened for a whole host of reasons. After consulting with the Project Manager and Mom, and explaining my predicament, they are in agreement with me that I should just bite the bullet and do it. So, I'm doing it!!

Anyway, feeling somewhat melancholic today. Don't know why. Might be because I signed the Affidavit for the summons and am now merely waiting for STBEH to sign the Consent Paper, which it seems he's holding off doing for whatever reason. Oh well, it'll happen when it happens.

I'm meeting with the GEM tomorrow, who is moving back to Jo'burg. I'm really sad about that. She's become one of my closest friends here and has been a major support for me and is such a wonderful person to have in my life.

Ek gaan jou mis, vriendin!!

Well, on that note I'll sign off for today.

Madge

Feeling rather mizzy

With my minor chest infection taking it's toll I'm feeling a little under the weather today, hence not posting earlier. The only positive is that I'm sounding rather sexy, but unfortunately don't have someone to talk sexy to...

Had a little business meeting this afternoon at and shared a beautiful bottle of Diemersfontein Pinotage with it's divine chocolatey, coffee flavours and two yummy Allesverloren Ports, I'm feeling rather contented right now.

Since I'm merely going to be talking a load of shite if I were to continue writing, I'll leave you with a funny that was sent to me by my dear friend, the Hedge Fund Manager:

The Ventriloquist
A young ventriloquist is touring the clubs, and one night he's doing a show in a small town in Arkansas With his dummy on his knee, he starts going through his usual dumb blonde jokes, when a blonde woman in the 4th row stands on her chair and starts shouting:

"I've heard enough of your stupid blonde jokes. What makes you think you can stereotype women that way? What does the colour of a person's hair have to do with her worth as a human being? It’s guys like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the community and from reaching our full potential as a person. You and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes, but women in general, and all in the name of humour!"

The embarrassed ventriloquist begins to apologise, and the blonde yells,

"You stay out of this, mister, I'm talking to that little sh*t on your knee! "

Madge

Aching back and feet

Over this past long weekend I helped someone out at their stand at the Baba Indaba selling a very innovative post-pregnancy belly-belt. Check out the Cherished Belly website and get one if you're pregnant and want to get back into your pre-preggie jeans quickly. It was fun getting out and doing something different for a change, although I must admit, I was totally buggered at the end of each long day, giving the same spieel to the punters and standing on sore feet.

Last night, after the three long days I went for a couple of cocktails at the Leopard Room in the Twelve Apostles Hotel. I had the Raspberry Truffle, which was absolutely gorgeous!

Now I'm left with a rather nasty cough, but I'll get over that too. And that is all I have to say for now.

Madge

Setting things straight

Firstly, I'd like to thank many of you for your support, however, to Anon 2 who wrote a comment on the previous post, it seems like you 'think' you know a lot about what has happened here, so since you're such a guru on the reasons why my marriage has fallen apart, please do me the favour of sharing exactly where I fucked up?

Was I a bad wife, did I sleep around, did I not do my bit to run the home, the children and contribute both financially and emotionally? Did I treat STBEH like shit? Did I not support him through ALL of the tough times instead of bitching about not being able to go on holiday again, bitching because of the nasty phone calls from creditors and lie awake with him at night, worrying about how we're going to survive? All the while not being appreciated for what I do, who I am and generally being ignored as a wife.

Am I to blame for wanting a life in which I want happiness, peace, stability and love? I DON'T THINK SO!!

STBEH could've posted his side on here at any point. I have never deleted any negative comments. The reality is that nothing of what I've said on here is a lie. It's ALL the truth.

Nobody's perfect and never have I professed to be either, but I am not the reason why this marriage has failed. I tried for a very long time to make it work.

I'm guessing that you're a family member or close friend of STBEH and therefore will accept that you're only trying to stand up for him, however I implore you to look at the facts. You might well be angry at me for writing this blog, but as I've said time and time again, this is my emotional venting ground. If STBEH wants to slag me off, then let him do it. I know he does it anyway, however not as publicly.

So, in conclusion Anon, if you still feel like you're such an expert on the matters of my marriage, please do share why you feel that you're such an authority.

Madge

Bittersweet

Well, yesterday afternoon I had a phone call from my lawyer informing me that we have finally agreed the settlement. My initial emotion was that of elation, but this was soon replaced by a feeling of deep sadness.

Don't get me wrong, it's what I wanted, but it just upset me again that this all had to happen in the first place. I know STBEH's family probably think I'm the bitch from hell and that makes me sad, because I really love them. They've always been good to us and welcomed me into the family with open arms.

I hope that people understand that I'm doing this because I know it's the right thing for me and the kids. I know he's been talking to them and telling him his side of the story and that they probably think I'm only being "stubborn", but as we all know, there are two sides to every story and mine is no exception. Although I say a lot on this blog, there's a lot more that doesn't get said purely from the point of avoiding hurt.

Reality is, I married someone who I loved with all my heart and I would've gone to the end of the earth for. I also know that he loved/s me dearly, but unfortunately love is not enough. As sad as it might be, I still know I'm doing the right thing.

Next step is for us both to sign the final settlement agreement that my lawyer is emailing through this morning. Once that is done, the summons will be sent out and once STBEH has signed that, then I'll have to wait for a court date and that's that.

So, on that note I go into the weekend. Looks like it's going to be sunny and mild all weekend.

Madge

Going to The Farm

It's been a pretty quiet week really with not a lot happening apart from Tuesday's dramas and Miss Muffet being ill, so when The Fiery One invited me to stay with her on the Farm tonight since her husband is off in Namibia, I thought "Why Not?". So, I'm taking the kids along too and we're just going to have a chilled evening in.

Tomorrow I have the carpet cleaners coming in to try and do something about the state of the carpets in the bedrooms. It's been pretty mucky for months now and just one of those things you simply have to book and get done, but somehow never get round to the booking part...

This weekend is going to be a busy one as I'm going to be working at the Baba Indaba expo at the CTICC from Saturday through to Monday (for the readers abroad, Monday is a public holiday here in SA).

On Sunday night I'll be staying on The Farm again as The Fiery One has asked me to babysit her dogs for the night as they're going to a party and will be staying over. Her dogs are her babies, the two Pugs go by the names of Mugg and Bean (the local version of Starbucks for those abroad) and her Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy is called Mocha. There's a theme here in case you haven't noticed...

The beautiful Mocha.

Might stay with Mom on Saturday night as she's off to Jo'burg for 2 weeks to visit Grandma who's turning 91 - bless!

So, a busy weekend after a less-busy week. Sounds good to me!

Madge

An accident?

Got this by email from the GEM (thanks!) and just had to quickly post it:

Honey!

Before you return from your overseas trip I just want to let you know about the small accident I had with the pick up truck when I turned into the driveway.

Fortunately not too bad and I really didn't get hurt, so please don't worry too much about me. I was coming home from Sylvia Park and when I turned into the driveway I accidentally pushed down on the accelerator instead of the brake.

The garage door is slightly bent but the pick up fortunately came to a halt when it bumped into your car.

I am really sorry, but I know with your kind-hearted personality you will forgive me. You know how much I love you and care for you my sweetheart.

I am enclosing a picture for you.

I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again.

Your loving wife XX

PS: Your girlfriend phoned!

Tee-hee!

Madge

I finally saw Harry Potter

Yes, I went last night after having threatened to go and watch the movie for ages! And I must say, I wasn't disappointed. For me, this is the darkest one yet and I would most definitely not classify it as a kiddies film anymore as it's pretty scary. There was one particular part (I won't say anything about it so as not to spoil it for those who haven't seen it) where I literally let out a yowl from the fright I got! My friend who went with me thought it was hillarious, but did admit to also getting a huge fright right then.

I have to agree with some reviews I've read, that the actors seem a bit stayed, but this was just in the beginning. I'm amazed at how pretty Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) has become. Not saying that she wasn't always pretty, it just seems that she's really evolving into being a very beautiful young woman:

I've also decided to re-read the series of books as it's such a wonderful fairy tale. I'm looking forward to my kids being old enough to read them and love them as much as I do.

Madge

It's NOT Swine Flu!

And thank goodness for that!! After another very restless night with Miss Muffet crawling into my bed at whatever hour like a little glow-worm, the heat from her fever emanating from her little body, I took her to the GP.

What was rather concerning was when the GP's receptionist asked me the following questions:
"Does she have a fever?" - Yes
"Does she have a cough?" - Yes
"Does she have a sore throat?" - Well I don't know, she's only 2, so I don't think she'll get me if I asked...
At which point I was told that when I get to the surgery, to phone them from my car and not come in, because of Swine Flu!!! WHAAAAAAT???

So, we get there, I phone them and the receptionist comes out with surgical masks we have to wear before entering the surgery. Try keeping a surgical mask on a two-year old!!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the doctor soon diagnosed the tonsellitis, so all worries were put to rest. I must say, it does sound like a bit of an overreaction, however considering the fact that there have been several confirmed cases of the H1N1 strain of flu locally along with a handful of deaths (YES!), I'd rather they did it that way than not.

On another note, I had such an aggravating experience today while in the Cape Town CBD. I had a lunch-time meeting and as those who live in CT know, parking can be a bit of a disaster at times. So, lucky me, I spot a guy climbing into his car just in front of where I need to be.

It's a parallel parking spot, so I pull up behind the car, flick the indicators and wait patiently for the guy to drive off. He does this and I drive past the spot (still indicating) and start to reverse into the spot - as you do!

I'm doing my thing and this absolute arsehole proceeds to drive into the parking space from behind!! At this point I'm blowing on the horn of the car and flailing my arms around trying to show this idiot that I was trying to park there, but he merely shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't be bothered. BIG mistake!

I slammed the car into 'P', get out and proceed to ask him where he 'bought' his drivers licence from, because I'm sure you don't get it by doing that kind of thing... He was totally non-plussed, which just pissed me off even more and I absolutely laid into him, much to the delight of the local shopkeepers and assistants.

The result: He pulled out of the space and drove off! And what a result it was!!

For me it was a mere matter of principal. If I hadn't indicated I might not have felt quite as strongly about it, but it was totally unacceptable.

On that note I'll leave you as I'm going to do dinner for the kids, bathtime, bedtime and then I'm off to finally go and see the latest Harry Potter film, which I'm looking forward to seeing.

Madge

When kids get ill

It's always such a worry when your little ones get ill. Even last week when Prince Charming had his eye infections, which in essence is a minor thing, you still worry and fuss over them.

Well, yesterday it was Miss Muffet's turn. She was quite sleepy all day and although she had a good breakfast, she didn't want to eat much at all, which is very unlike her. By 18:15 she literally begged me to put her to bed, which I did and then around 21:00 she woke up coughing terribly and with a fever that was through the roof. Her whole little body was glowing.

So, after administering the necessary medications, she seemed to settle down, but shortly after, she called me in a total state as she'd vomited. She was more upset at the fact that she'd made a mess than anything else. So, into the bath to wash her off and wash her hair that was kinda covered in the stuff and managed to break the fever too.

It's at this point when every mother would ask the question whether or not to take the kid to see a doctor. Thing is that she's still too small to tell me whether she's hurting anywhere or has stiff muscles, so you can imagine how my mind is running away with me, especially in the light of the fact that the dreaded Swine Flu virus is well and truly here with several confirmed cases locally!

Anyway, after a quick phone call to my Mom for reassurance, I decided to let her sleep in my bed for the night (a very risky thing to do considering she's been puking...) and she was fine. This morning she had a slight fever again, so I've decided to keep her home, but she still doesn't want to eat, so I'll just keep an eye on her. Fortunately I don't have any meetings out today, so I can just nurse her and give her lots of cuddles.

You might have noticed throughout all of this, the obvious absence of STBEH? Well, he was around, however had gone to bed. When I went into his room to get to the en-suite for MM's towel and the kiddies shampoo, he asked what was up, so I told him and he must've been able to tell I was upset and concerned. So, he offered to help me, but I was coping fine. "Well, that's OK then", you might be saying, but somehow it just grates me a bit that he didn't even go to the trouble to just get up and check on his little girl just to give her a cuddle and kiss. And this from the man who continues to give me little handwritten notes begging me not to break up the family, telling me how he doesn't want to be a part-time dad and that his kids are his everything?!

The same dad who recently threatened suicide, but when I asked him whether his kids weren't enough reason to keep going, the answer was a definite "NO"? Maybe I'm just expecting way too much? I ask you...

Madge

Girls night in!

That was last night's fun and shenanigans. Miss Muffet and I had the whole house to ourselves since STBEH went out - yes, AGAIN. I'm really pleased that he's finally doing something about his social life, not only because it gives me some space, but also because I know how good it will be for his own emotional state.

However, since he was out and Prince Charming was visiting The Fiery One on The Farm, it was just us girlies. After a neighbor visited, I had a few glasses of vino and ordered in some pizza. We had the music on loud, were jumping on the bed and had a rather splashy bath together.

I just can't wait for the three of us to be on our own again, so we can have some fun and laughter again. It was like that whenever STBEH used to go back to the UK. For some reason we could just never be silly like that when he's around.

Anyway, we're going out in a minute to capitalize on the sunshine, then MM is going to visit Ouma for the evening and PC gets home a little later, so then we'll be able to have some quality time together. It's actually quite a good thing to have some personal time with each kid on their own without the other sibling also vying for attention, so all good!

Madge x