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Things I cannot live without

Today you are just getting a list of my things I cannot live without.  If you asked me 4 years ago, the list would have gone a little like this:

1.  Passport
2.  Bikini
3.  Sunscreen
4.  Credit card
5.  Perfume (something heavy like Clinique's Aromatics Elixier)
6.  Boots
7.  Flip flops
8.  Little Black Dress
9.  Cigars
10. A drop dead gorgeous handbag

Gerhard and I lived a pretty adventurous life before Liam and Luka ("BLL").  We travelled (ok, we still do that, but it is different), stayed in nice hotels, slept late, drank amazing bottles of red wine, loads of coffee, heck, we ordered stuff we like in crates.  We shopped a lot, yes, ok, I still shop a lot, but I now shop at Baby City, no more days at the mall buying whatever my heart desires. 

I wore boots, the higher the heels, the better and I could go almost anywhere with a little black dress and a splash of perfume, and I never even contemplated leaving the house unless I had a stunning handbag.  My collection is rather spectacular and wherever we went in the world, I bought a bag.  Other people buy curios (a different topic all together), I buy bags.

We smoked fine cigars whilst drinking the wine referred to above, we went to bed late.  A friend confessed a while back that she never imagined Gerhard and I would have kids, she imagined us living the good life and being godparents to other people's kids. . .

Today, the list is a tad different:

1.  Nappy bag containing a million things
2.  Bottle of water and a peanut snack
3.  Angel Care baby monitor
4.  Fleece babygrows from Woolies (where else)
5.  Nuk baby bottles, dummies and dummy chains
6.  Labels from http://www.kidslabels.co.za/
7.  Schools, baby centres and the like
8.  Wellingtons for littlies
9.  Multipeol
10. Medical aid card

Yes, if Liam is hungry and thirsty, he becomes a monster!  Literally, he starts acting up, kicking and screaming. 

Without the monitor I would never have left Liam or Luka's room, ever.  This thing actually picks up movement and plays a major part in the prevention of SIDS, and you can sit outside having a cup of coffee and you will hear them scream, because believe me, babies do scream (a lot). 

Labels, well these ensure that whatever you send to school (probably expensive NUK bottles and fleece babygrows from Woollies) actually come home again.  If not for these, I would have had to shop way more than I all ready do...

Schools allows me to go to work and be a great mommy.  It also allows me the opportunity to try and earn back a fraction of the money all ready spent shopping for NUK bottles and the like, keeps me sane and allows me some measure of adult conversation. So in all fairness, the credit card should probably still be on list 2 as well. 

Multipeol, now if ever you do have kids, nappy rash will occur, this is the only thing that works, failing that, you will need a medical aid to go to the paediatrician to get a script for Advantan cream or Advantan Fatty Ointment.

Wellies, well, you will wake up on some mornings and there will not be time to dress yourself and the kids in time for work and school.  On mornings like these, kids go to school in their PJ's (looks like a tracksuit ok) and they can put on wellies all by themselves.  I tell myself that looking different probably builds character.  On mornings like these, we also eat the peanut snack and drink the bottled water on the way to school. 

If you are wondering what happened to perfume, well, Liam hates perfume, he starts coughing and wheezing like you will not believe, so I just live without this.

Now, to some people the first list looks like the better one, and do not get me wrong, it had its merits, its time and place, but it is the second list that provides us with way more fun than we ever had. 

Nothing on the first list ever inspired anyone to tell me that I am the bestest Mommy (and the prettiest mind you) in the whole of Midstream (where we live.  The concept of the world is slowly taking place due to limited overseas travel with littlies) for remembering to pack water and peanut snacks.

I must just also at this stage point out that Midstream is yummy mummy capital of South Africa, loads of housewives, think personal trainers, plastic surgery, lots of list one and two combinations.  So this is the bestest compliment in the entire world (I have travelled slightly more than Liam).

Yes, we never sleep (ever) and it seems as if we will never sleep again.  We will probably never sleep past 5 am again, ever.  We spend all our money at Woollies, Baby City and schools, we do not smoke at all, drink limited quantities of wine (from Woollies), drink any coffee we can get for caffeine purposes only, no longer carry nice handbags (nappy bag remember).  When we do travel (local mostly) we stay in self catering places and cook our own food (or eat microwave meals from Woollies) but hey, we have more fun than the kids, and we know that they will not hinder us from seeing the Louvre again.  So whilst I would have loved many god children, I love my life, its perfect (well as close to perfect as it can be).

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