And there there'll be four!

It's a bit ridiculous that the last time I posted a proper post to my blog, Yusuf was just 7 months old and unbeknown to me I was about 5 weeks pregnant. Well I can be forgiven for not knowing then, I can even be forgiven for not knowing at my most recent post, a wordless wednesday, that I was roughly 12 weeks pregnant. But to only have a vague suspicion at 16 weeks...sound familiar?!

With Yusuf I only found out at 13 weeks and remember very clearly the shock I had at my first doctor's visit when I saw a fully formed baby on the scan. But at the time Sumayah was 21/2 years old and Bilaal was already pretty independent so the news of a surprise bun in the oven was not too overwhelming. But this time...

The first question that usually comes to mind is 'how could you not know?!' Well I had no nausea or fatigue and having stopped breastfeeding only two months before finding out, I actually did have a period when I changed contraceptives from the mini pill to something stronger. Of course I was already pregnant at the time, but had no reason to even suspect so. At around 16 weeks I certainly started to sport a little boep, but with the festive season upon us I assumed I was just getting fat! Those close enough to not feel embarrased to ask, did question whether there was indeed something baking, but that was always my standard response, 'no I'm just getting fat'.

Even when we eventually took a pregnancy test and that second blue line appeared within seconds, we still could not believe it. We were on holiday in Cape Town at the time and had to wait a whole two weeks before I could see a doctor for confirmation...confirmation?! Really?! Clearly those flutters I was feeling was NOT nerves!

So it was no surprise to me when the doctor announced at my very first visit  that I was already 19 weeks pregnant, almost halfway...and with another boy! Of course the gift of life is a joyous blessing, but I would be lying to myself is I denied the overwhelming feeling of fear, dread and guilt that came with this gift. The reality that Yusuf will only be one year and three months when the baby is born is scary enough as it is, but that we will also be parents of four...! I have come to realise that the gestational period of nine months is not only for the development of life inside you, it also for the mental and emotional preparation of parents. Finding out so late- as humorous as it may be- didn't do us any favours in preparing for the huge adjustments our little family unit will need to make. But as the time draws near, the preparations start to fall into place and our little man kicks up a storm every night, the excitement steadily grows and I am happy to say I can't wait to meet him!

It feels good to be back on the 'blogwagon' again, thanks to a little nudge and inspiration from a good friend who recently started her own blog over at From Nasima, With love, as well as my reverting back to Android. Mom of 3, soon to be 4, over and out...

Wordless wednesday 73

Wordless wednesday 72

Wordless Wednesday 71

You know you're a parent when...

In my blogging absence I often found myself lamenting via Facebook status updates about parenthood, using the phrase "you know you're a parent when..." as an opening line. It turns out Facebook has redesigned themselves giving you the nifty little tool to check your activity history. You can specify if you want to review only posts from you or on your timeline, photos, videos, comments you've made on any other wall, etc.  So I decided to see how far back these "you know you're a parent when..." posts go and was quite surprised to see the  first one was in March already. Since I am trying to resurrect my blog I thought it would be fitting to post a list of these on my blog and welcome any further additions to the list, so here goes:

You know you're a parent when...

• After 3 days without water, when it comes back on the first thing you think of is to bath the kids and put on a load of washing
• Your Google search history has phrases like 'frequency of poo' , 'stinky farts' and 'is it normal'...
• Just getting everyone ready and into the car to go out is an outing on its own!
• The CD playing in your car includes smash hits like 'hokey pokey' and 'the wheels on the bus'
• You find yourself cutting your own sandwich into 8 triangles out of habit
• You find yourself quoting lines and phrases from Cartoon Network and Cbeebies characters
• You can't use your front door because your foyer is used as a storage area for toys
• You have a conversation on the phone and mid sentence you start shouting and scolding and then just continue the conversation as though nothing happened!
• You develop stalker tendencies, like staring at little kids while they sleep or wanting to know what they are doing and where they are every second of the day
• Cleaning someone's face with your spit often seems like a good idea
• You think getting up at 8 am is sleeping in
• You look at yourself in the mirror and see dried baby cereal stuck to your forehead
• You find yourself having arguments about fashion first thing in the morning...with a 3 year old
• You refer to ears as ornaments
• You feel as proud of yourself as the person who just climbed Everest...because you got all the kids to bed before 9 without a fight
• You think something is wrong when the house is quiet
• The parties you attend serve candy floss, smarties, jumping castles and flings

Please feel free to add to the list :)

Wordless Wednesday 70

Rekindling the relationship with my blog

Dear Blog,

Remember me? I seem to have given you the cold shoulder over recent months, I do apologize for my absence. But as it turns out, 3 kids is no walk in the park. I also returned to work in August, and while I work part time, it requires precision juggling techniques, because I still have to play the stay-at-home mom role as if I had been at home full time. I am not complaining though, because I love that I have the flexibility to have an occupation  and still be there for the kids, and I am also super lucky to have a domestic helper everyday who is amazing with little Yusuf. Needless to say though, the blogging ball has been dropped. But I have missed you dear blog. I have missed sharing my reflections on the mum drum of parenting kids with such amazingly different personalities. So I have made a resolution to rekindle my relationship with you, my blog, and will endeavor to cherish the value you have to me since we first started this journey together 3 years ago.

Thank you for understanding, I look forward to meeting with you again soon.

Lotsa Love,

Tasneem