Building a life

Something that has been on my mind ever since my "big boy" turned 7 on Saturday and I can't seem to shake it. I have heard it mentioned more than once that the first 7 years of a child's life is considered to be their "foundation" years and all the values, or not, and the "base elements" if you could call them that, are instilled and in some cases drilled into a child in their first 7 years.
I find myself recollecting all life's required skills and values and wonder if I have have taught enough, loved enough and helped him learn enough to be grounded for life. It's sort of like laying the foundations for a building, without any architectural plans or design and if you miss something or add in too little or too much of any particular ingredient, well sooner or later the rest of the building will collapse, not the ideal thought really for a first time builder!!

So basically, I've been asking myself the following questions; have I drilled or instilled, which ever method you chose, the correct and the necessary life skills in these crucial 7 years that will ground him for life? Have I laid the foundations correctly or am I constructing a building that could ultimately collapse because I haven't developed the foundations properly? What do I do if I have missed something life altering? Is it too late now to fix it?

As you can see this is something that is actually beginning to stress me out a bit. I would like to believe, please let me believe, that the foundations can be adjusted and moulded correctly and accordingly as we build our soon to be "towers of virtue and morality" and that they will be the sweet little angels and upstanding citizens that we all aspire them to be.

Happy Birthday Kade

Birthday boy's breakfast order:

7 flackjaps and chocolate sauce. YUM












Check the smile on that face. A cool bicycle for his birthday. "WOW, just what I wanted."

















Lunch at Panarotti's with his friends followed by a fun game of ten pin bowling.


















What a great day. Happy Birthday Big boy.

Play dating on line

Madam Fluff: "Mom, please can I go play at Jacquies house after school?"

Me: "I first have to ask his Mom, Sweet Pea."

Madam fluff: "But I asked her already at Jean's Party and she said yes."

Me: "I need to speak to her and find out what day is convenient for her to have you over."

Madam Fluff: "Why don't you phone her now and ask her?"

Me: "Sweetie, I don't have her phone number, I will have to try and find it and then I will give her a call and ask her."

Madam Fluff: "Well Mom, why don't you just e-mail her?"

Me: "Hhmm" speechless...........

What about now?

Errors in my verbal garbage

Clearly, my writing/typing/story telling techniques are failing miserably. This has absolutely sweet nothing to do with the fact that my fingers are practically frozen stiff and that my ability to type resembles that of a poor soul who has broken all ten fingers and is uncomfortably attempting to master a keyboard with all digits in casts and splints, but more to do with the fact that I have a secret proof reader hidden in my PC that seems to believe that what I have been attempting to express over the last few days has been nothing short of verbal garbage and as a result you have spent the last 10 days watching little Snuggle Bug sleeping peacefully on the sofa.

Imagine my frustration when every page that I have masterfully...HA HA HA...put together over the past few days has posted as ERROR and just wouldn't upload or download or load, whatever, you get the idea. While I have been tapping away awkwardly in an attempt to get my 2 cents out there, my little proof reader is thinking; crap, garbage, can't believe she is going to tell the world that, what the hell is she thinking there is no way I am going to justify that with the time and space required to upload it and spits out a big fat error message.

Well, little proof reader hiding in my PC, this is for you, lets see what you do with this little slice of masterfully created garbage.

Quiet please, beauty sleep in progress.

Poor Bug was desperately trying to get some peace and quiet so that he could catch up on an afternoon nap.
Well, I guess we can give him points here for improvising. Five minutes, perhaps not even, and he was lights out.
Mom's cutie little Snuggle Bug.

Office hours only please.

I have had the wonderful experience lately of having to deal with the banks...hhhmmm....yeah, wonderful...cough...not... Anyway, perhaps it has just been my awful mood lately, yes, I admit, I get moods, but I have had a few phone calls and SMS's from people and institutions after hours and on weekends. I am not sure about you but this freaks me out to no end.

I answered hubby's phone one Saturday afternoon.

Caller: "Can I speak to Mr. Hubby?"
Me: "He's not available right now, who is calling please?"
Caller: "This is so-n-so from the bank."

I explain that I am Mrs. Hubby and ask what it is I can do for him.

Caller: "I need to speak to him regarding such and such, can he please call me back?"
Me: "Sure."

I take down his details and relevant reference numbers etc.

Me: "Can he call you as soon as he returns?" Knowing what the answer will be.
Caller: "He can phone back on Monday after 8.30am."

My blood begins to boil and poor caller gets it.

Me: "Please tell me, why it is that you can inconvenience me on my weekend and after hours, yet I am only able to make any queries with your institution during office hours?"
Caller: "Often when we call people during the day, they are too busy to speak to us."

I'm thinking, conveniently I am sure!

Me: "Tell me." I'm ready for him. "If I call you during office hours and you are busy, surely I would just have to hold until you're available?" (And listen to some very boring announcements and or music and a huge cost to my phone bill while I am on hold awaiting your attention?)
Caller: " Yes, that is right." Beginning to sound very sheepish.
Me: "Well, I guess that settles it then, if you need to speak to my husband during office hours and he is unfortunately a little too busy to speak to you, then I am afraid you will just have to hold. O.K?"
Caller: "O.K. Thank you."

And with that, a very speedy good bye.

It really infuriates me when institutions call me after hours, when they would not be prepared to accommodate me and my enquiries at those hours; when people send me messages as late at 10pm, informing me that my account is overdue (by like a day!). Excuse me, thank you very much but piss off and phone me Monday to Fridays 8.30am to 5pm and if I am busy, you can hold!