Life after Beth

Chances are that sooner or later we will leave this gilded cage. Apart from the obvious question mark that hangs over next destination, the actual thought of leaving the expat life conjures up feelings of both dread and excitement.

Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom that having household staff affords. Our live-in nanny, Beth, is bright, energetic, imaginative and, most importantly, the kids adore her. I'm free to study, workout, primp and pamper at will. Yet I still look forward to chaotic (and sometimes hungover) Sundays of dressing, feeding, wiping, cuddling and amusing our two littl'uns. I know that I would miss my helpers no sooner had I stepped off the plane and no matter what, I will never look forward to cleaning my own toilet bowl but with kids as gorgeous as these two, can you blame me for wanting them all to myself .... sometimes?

Sharp as a knife

I will spare you the pain of my experiences with US airport security during our trip. I will, however, share what I thought was an impressive piece of detective work. As we rolled Luc's hand luggage through the security machine, the conveyor belt stopped abruptly while a couple of inspectors took a closer look. After a few seconds of examining at the screen, a rather fierce looking officer came over and asked "Do you have a knife in the bag?". I could sense my fellow passengers eyes drilling a hole into my back. I wracked my brains wondering whether I had inadvertently slipped a carving knife into Luc's luggage before confidently answering "no". Without a moment's hesitation, he asked "In that case, is there a toy limousine in there?".

A true cliche

People say the best thing about having kids is that you get to be a kid again yourself. It's so true! Can you guess who was more excited to meet Donald and Minny at New York's Disney store?

April Fool

As I hit create post, I noticed that my last entry was dated April 1. How time flies! Over the past few months Scarlett, Luc and I have all celebrated birthdays and I finished my penultimate semesters of studies which kept me pretty busy.



Bart, Luc and I just returned from the States where at least 3 friends told me they miss reading my Blog entries so here I am again! Can't promise to post regularly but I'll give it a go.

Bart's Birthday

Birthday boy decided he wanted to spend the afternoon at the gocart track followed by a bbq back at the house. The carting was huge fun and as usual the bbq offerings cooked up by mum were the toast of the town.

Is it February already??

It's a good job that 'updating my blog regularly' was not on my resolution list. They say one of the signs of growing old is constantly remarking on how quickly time is passing. I'm positively middle-aged in that case.

So let's see where am I with the resolutions that I did make:

* Sort and backup digital photos
Done. Although I admit my hand was forced when the computer that houses said photos starting coughing and spluttering. There followed a frenzied few hours of cd burning.

* Buy outfits instead of separate items
Haven't done much clothes shopping but am looking forward to keeping this one!

* Finish masters degree
Have enrolled on penultimate unit which starts March 5. Really looking forward to it.

* Get down to pre-Scarlett weight
For all the doubters out there (BO!!), I have shed 6lbs since the beginning of the year thanks to a modified South Beach diet and thrice weekly pilates. I know I could lose more if I added some cardio to the routine. Maybe next week ...

* Stop hoarding useless receipts
Done. I must have taken about 20 old Starbucks receipts from various handbags!!

Playtime

Luc plays chaperone during a play date with Anna and Scarlett. Scarlett is getting the whole crawling thing down!

Staff BBQ

We hosted a Sunday afternoon barbecue for our helpers and their families. In the past we usually took them out for dinner but this year we though a relaxed afternoon in the garden would make a nice change. To make it even more fun we hosted jointly with our friends the Purkas.

New Look for the New Year !

Thanks to preventive measures taken before going to bed, today's hangover has thus far been subdued like an unruly airplane passenger. I'm hoping that when the ibuprofen handcuffs are off, the headache doesn't make a sudden bid for freedom.

Meanwhile, if you're a returning visitor, you might have noticed that we have a new look. You will also notice that to the left of this posting, I have shared my New Years resolutions. They are intentionally not earth shattering but they are achievable and you're looking at the proof.

If you haven't made any resolutions this New Year, just resolve to check out this blog every now and then. I'll try to make it worth your while!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!