Hallelujah its Holidays

Finally the time has come to kick back and not have to get up at 7 every morning and go to work. It is holiday time for me from today and we all leave the office at 12pm. It has been a long year and am looking forward to the 2 week break, normally I have a longer leave in December but am saving some leave to take with my Maternity Leave. When I come back to work in Jan I will only be here till mid March, and cant believe how this pregnancy has flown.
I am feeling quite good actually, just tired in the afternoons after work, but other than that and the heat on some days, am coping quite well.

Other than that it is going to be rush rush around the shops for xmas presents, as I havent done much at all and need to get started on the nursery. Clive and I are away in Pringle Bay from the 1st till the 6th and I cant wait, to just chill on the deck go to the beach and be away from all phones / pc's / motor cars and the rush of life.

So this is me until I am back at work on the 7th, have an AWESOME Christmas and New Years everybody. Looking forward to reading all the blogs when I am back in front of this PC.

Love Nicci xxxx

Wedding No. 2 - Andrea & Brent

Well it has been a hectic couple of last weeks with being a bridesmaid in Andrea's wedding, with the Kitchen Tea, stationery to do, helping with gifts, set out of venue and all odds and sods, but the day came and went so quickly - as I said it was the longest shortest day so much to do and yet goes so quickly. It was really a very moving and beautiful wedding. Paarl was quite hot and there was some wind unfortunatley but all in in it was great!

Here are some pics of the day, and of Mr and Mrs Jones:

Wedding Number 1 - James & Jess

As I have mentioned in a previous post or two, we have two weddings one this past Saturday and one coming up on 1 December. This past weekend's was James and Jess Lucas' wedding, and it was a very special ceremony. James is a missionary in Zambia and he is also one of Clive's oldest friends, which we were both at school with, James is also the pastor that married us, so it was a special occassion to go to.

Saturday proved to be a gorgeous day and it was really hot in Hout Bay where they had their wedding. Tammy Moelans sang both of them their own song which I presume she wrote and a hymn was song then their vows were said, and so they became Mr and Mrs Lucas. Weddings are always quite emotional for me, as it is truly a beautiful event, I have yet to go to a wedding where I didnt feel a lump in my throat as it is the one day where the love of the couple truly shines out for all to see and it is a vow made before God to love and cherish and respect this person for the rest of your life. With day to day life we sometimes forget these vows made and forget this very special day in our lives, however we are called to keep those vows and going to a wedding takes you right back to the feeling at your own.

All aboard the Steam Train

What an eventful time in the calendar I am having at the moment. Life is like a whirlwind and I actually just want to stop to smell some roses please!


Weddings abound, babies abound, work is ridiculously busy, Christmas is 5 and a bit weeks away!


A big CONGRATULATIONS to Steven and Veronica am so excited for you guys. And of course since your baby is due approximately (according to my calculations - and the help of the internet) 23rd July 2007, you will have to name him or her Clive. Haha only joking. If you have a boy then I just dont know what is going on with all these boys. Truly must be something up with all these people having boys ??


We had Andrea's kitchen tea this past weekend for her wedding on the 1st December, which was a great success, just had to endure being in a club for 2-3 hours with a cloud of smoking and loud music, and all kinds of funny stares as to what is this pregnant lady doing in here? Then again maybe it was me thinking that, who knows.


Last night saw us going through to Brandon and Ronel to visit them and the twins, I got there straight from work and Ronel made me bath Bianca and feed her so I could get some practice, must say I wasnt too bad, my back was just quite sore with holding her in the bath, as think I was a bit tense. But all went well and she was so well behaved, I cant believe in 4 months time that will be me and it will probably be old hat within the first few months.

Mr Bump

After some nagging for pictures of my bump which is now almost 20 weeks old, here we go. Am feeling very pregnant as in I have what seems to me a large tummy. Even though I have been overweight in the past have never really been one to put weight on my tummy so this is a new experience for me. The tummy and the bigger boobs are really taking a bit of strain on my back. But otherwise am feeling much better than what I did in my first trimester.

Other than that it is busy busy busy this time of the year, not only with work but also with functions / weddings / Hen Party's etc. We have two weddings come up one on the 17th November - James Lucas, the minister who married us and long time friend of Clive's from school . Then after that on the 1st December I have my best friends wedding, Andrea of which I am a very pregnant fairy bridesmaid at. What with dress fittings, hair and make up trials, kitchen tea organizing, helping with menu cards etc, I am a busy bee at the moment.

But after the 1st December life will return a bit to normality, however I suppose that is when I will have to get my A into G with the nursery and baby stuff, have done literally nothing yet, I have bought 2 bibs that is all! Of course the bibs say I love my Mommy :-)

Well without further adieu, here are my bump pics:

To Give Back

Just a quick update on our church activity as mentioned in a previous post. This past weekend saw a group of about 15 - 18 of us go through to Leiliebloem childrens home in Athlone. The old addage it is better to give than receive was never more true. In truth on Saturday morning with it being wet and rainy in Cape Town, I was not in the mood to drive through to Athlone, pack the car and entertain 80 odd kids. But that all changed when we got there.


It is amazing how most of the children remembered our faces and came running towards us for big hugs. For children that have been through so much it is remarkable that they can bring themselves to trust or be friendly with anyone really.


I was stationed at the Facepainting station, whilst I am no experienced face painter, the girls just wanted to feel special and have a heart or flower painted on their faces. A lot wanted make up too. There was nailpainting, crafts, games and sport all being played on Saturday. Mother Nature obliged by clearing up all the rain for us and it was actually quite warm on that side of the world. Hotdogs and cooldrink, ice cream and chips were devoured by all and the day was a great success. We will definitely be back. The feeling of spending time with children and giving back in this way is something that wont be forgotten for awhile.

Some pics of the day :

Time Out

Well we are fresh back from a wonderful weekend away, which I won at Constantia Uitsig. I left work a bit early on Friday and we drove through to Constantia and booked in. What a lovely quaint french style hotel! We were so pampered and were amazed by what a brief weekend away and can do for both body and spirit.

Part of my prize was full weekend accommodation, breakfeasts and Dinners and Spa treatments for Clive and I. I was in my element. We dined at Constantia Uitsig on Friday and at La Colombe on Saturday and had such 'out there' cuisine at La Colombe it was really an experience. But really divine and service was spectacular. Added to the festivities there was a wedding at Constantia Uitsig restaurant on the Saturday night and part of there wedding was an Opera singer who entertained the crown during reception, so we had opera music wafting in the background whilst eating, it really was amazing.
Saturday during the day we went for a short outing to Kalk Bay and walked through the antique shops on the main road and really enjoyed seeing all the bric-a-bracs and lovely artistic pieces together with just plain junk. I even found some Beatrix Potter items that I may have to buy for our nursery since Peter Rabbit is going to be my theme. South Africa has proved to obviously not be Peter Rabbit fans or fanatics as it is extremely difficult to find nice Peter Rabbit things. After our outing we went back to the hotel in time for a lie by the pool and then off to the spa for our treatments, which were absolutely heavenly. As women of the world today, some of us career orientated, some of us mothers, most of us running around like chicken without heads, we do ourselves a disservice by not spoiling ourselves more often! Husbands go out and play golf go to watch Rugby at pubs etc, and we end up either at home pottering around or doing chores, shopping etc. You wont believe what an hour massage and / or Manicure or Pedicure can do for you! I have decided to make a concerted effort to treat myself more often to these.


Leaving you with some pics from Constantia Uitsig.

Our little verandah outside our room

Jemima & Puddleduck our visitors in the morning

The thiefs that sneak into your room to steal your sugar

Our room turned down when you get back from dinner

Swimming pool and breakfast verandah

xxx

Leiliebloem House

Leiliebloem House is our chosen Social Action Campaign as I had posted on my blog a few weeks ago. It is a childrens home in Crawford/Athlone in Cape Town and houses 84 children that have been removed from their parents or are orphaned. We were there this past Saturday to have a look at what the specific need is. We had envisaged being there for half an hour and all 10 of us from our church group met there at 2pm. I had been out shopping for Bridesmaids material since 9am and was feeling very tired and cranky. It didnt take long before I forgot about that and just connected with the kids. The first little girl - Sharne - that I connected with was a little girl of about 5 who ran up to us and threw and said hi, to which we responded hello what is your name? I dont have a name she said. (She was playing a game for us to guess her name) Eventually another little boy told us her name to which she denied was her name. Anyway I digress, there are 4 units which both have an upstairs and a downstairs section that are identical. 3 of the units are for girls and 1 of the units are for boys. So for example in the boys unit there are 14 boys upstairs and 14 boys downstairs, each unit consists of bedrooms, bathrooms, a tv room, kitchen and small dining area.

There is a such a need here at Leiliebloem, a great need for maintenance and a need for time to spent with the children. A lot of the children dont get visits from their parents, even though some of them stay 10min away from the home. We have decided that we cannot tackle the maintenance issue right now without a lot of groundwork being done first, sponsors etc. So in th interim are going to hold a fun day for the kids on the 3rd Nov, and want to try and do either borewors rolls / hotdogs, cooldrinks, ice cream and a jumping castle for the smaller kids. For the bigger ones hopefully the guys can play some sport like cricket or soccer. As I said earlier or Saturday we had envisaged spending half an hour there, two hours later we were still there whilst the kids showed us their rooms, sang for us etc. It was quite hard to leave. I am going to post some pictures. We are really looking forward to this day and are hoping to get those with older children to sponsor some of their toys, books, clothes etc. So if anyone out there has, please get to me and I will make sure that it goes with us.

Leiliebloem House:

Playground - with building rubble

Most of the ceilings are terribly damp and rotting

One of the posters up

Severe damp is in most of the units

Chelsea with Danielle

3 of the boys

In their hall

Sharne - the little girl with 'no name'

Sharne and Danielle

One of the boys bedrooms

Maintenance problems

One of the kitchens

Up and Down

I find myself Up and Down lately, sometimes I am ok, and sometimes like the other night I found myself blubbing for a few valid reasons I thought but then just continuing, through the idols elimination, through Greys Anatomy (It was a really sad episode!). It was my first really good cry since I have found out I am pregnant. It is to be expected, isnt it? I dont know I just thought being pregnant would be me smiling, happy, glowing and so far it hasnt been that. Dont get me wrong I am very happy to be pregnant and find the whole journey quite amazing. I am just waiting for the second trimester "Happier Hormones"..... please tell me these are coming soon. I am also looking forward to summer and dreading it at the same time as I look forward to lounging by the pool but know I am going to struggle in the heat. I suppose I must start thinking a bit more positively.

I must say I am finding the thought of being a mother quite exhilarating and daunting all at the same time, what a gift and what a responsibility. Will we make the right decisions, can we provide the best, will we discpline our children (listen to me already in the plural) properly, being firm yet loving. I dont suppose any of us can get it 100% right, but we all want to do it 100% right. God grant me the serenity to take one day at a time, I am already living in the future planning etc, is that an Aries trait?
Oh well lets just get through today for a start shall we....
Happy Wednesday all.

Little Lammer has an identity

Yesterday saw our second scan for bean as we have affectionally been calling "it". Our appointment was for 10:15, so I left work at about 10 and luckily only had to wait 15 minutes as opposed to the normal half an hour behind schedule. I was a bit apprehensive as I lay down on the bed as you never know waht to expect, is everything still going to be ok etc.

Well a few seconds later there was baby, a lot bigger than what we had seen a mere 5 weeks ago! The scan was absolutely amazing we saw so much, we could see the vertebrae, hand bones, jaw bone, as well as the body and head so clearly now. (Well as clear as you can get on those sonor scans...ladies who have had them know what I mean). We had asked her if she thought we/her (we didnt know what the hell to look for!), would be able to see the sex of the baby, at 14 and half weeks. She actually said no she did think so as they dont like to speculate so early as it can sometimes be mis-diagonised due to the genitals being swollen, that I girls 'thing' can be mistaken for a boys 'thingy'. Anyway she asked what I thought it may be, and I said I didnt have a strong feeling either way (although I will share with you deep deep down I had a slight inkling that it would be a boy-but didnt want to voice this). I told her that Clive had a strong feeling it was a girl....why you ask? Because April is a 'girly' month he tells me! Never mind the fact that I am quite sure males have been born in the month of April.

So Marie our Doctor has a look and she says 'hmmm well your husband's intuition is...... wrong!" She said it's definitely a BOY, it was quite obvious where willy and two accompaning balls were, and showed us on the monitor. Well now that we knew what to look for of course it is obvious, you also need to know where on earth the angle of the sonar is. Wow how much more real it makes it, I must say I am so much more excited that I know what the sex is, I think than if I had not found out. So little Joshua will be making his way into the world....Doc better not say next time it is a girl all of a sudden...me thinks I will ask again just to be sure. She said though she felt 99.5% confident and we could go out and buy blue if we wanted, as it was quite 'prominent', I am sure Clive had a huge grin on his face, but could not see as Doctor was in the way.

Other comments she made about our baby boy:

He has a cute nose
He has long legs and nice calves
He has a brain - hahaha - had to put this in...
He is a thinker, his one hand was always on the side of his head as if he was thinking of course I said that is just like his mom

So overall, everything is well and we are so excited!
Happy Friday all from the Lammer family - it was just the two of us now it will be the three of us!
xxxx

13 and a half weeks

No it is not a title of a movie, well actually I am more along the lines of almost 14 weeks, officially next Monday. This morning proved charming as I promptly threw up my nutritious All Bran Flake breakfast. I have become quite used to the retching feeling, as if I am going to throw up, but then am always shocked when I actually do. It really hasnt been often that I have got sick, but when I do I am really really miserable afterwards, like today.

I have been trying to keep a journal of all my feelings etc, with regards to this pregnancy and I must say there is really not too much to report, besides the usual sore boobs, (thankfully have subsided a bit), nausea, the sciatic or whatever nerve numbness in my leg which is better now, some backache now and again, and feeling very sleepy at night having to go to bed very early.

So that about summarizes it really, am sure I will have more tales to tell as I progress. Next week sees our second appt and scan which I am actually quite excited about, I think everytime you have a scan it seems a little bit more real in the beginning, when your tummy is not protruding like a soccer ball! We also have the decision of finding out the sex if we are able to see with the next scan, which I am leaning toward finding out, but a part of me still doesnt want to know. The most interesting thing is that I dont have a specific leaning toward of any specific sex...boy or girl, majority seem to think girl, even Clive thinks it is a girl, so we will see...

Life is so busy at the moment, with so much on the go, I know that the next 6 months are going to fly by so fast, I am already want to 'nest' and sort out things and get the nursery items so that things can go in their place!

Have a great weekend all
xxxx

Previous Pregnant Fairies Advice?

Anyone out there experienced numbness in the upper thigh - apparently it can be a sciatica nerve problem - I am only 12 weeks and seems a bit early for this to me? Am going to ask my Gynae, but am interested to know if anyone out there knows or has experienced this themselves? Caroline, any yoga excercises that may help?
x

Finally.... We're gonna have the baby!

Sorry for the delay in post, but did not know what to post, really. Well most people know now besides Tom, Dick and Harry. Clive and I (actually me!!!) are pregnant. I am 11 weeks and all is well so far. I have been for my first scan and heard the heartbeat and 'bean' as I call him/her, was moving around animatedly for us. It was quite an overwhelming feeling, and we were so relieved that there was just one heartbeat and one baby.

Baby Bean is due on the 1st April or thereabout as a low percentage of women actually give birth on their due dates, April is going to be a biggie, I turn 30 and have a baby, the only question now is which one will come first? Must be honest dont fancy spending my 30th in hospital or in pain. But am sure it will all work out.

Welcome to baby Kai Benjamin Scott, son to Taryn Fowler and Mike Scott, born 7.09.07 prem by about 3 weeks or so.

We could actually start a creche at this rate.

I am interested to know what those out there, think I will have, I have had a few comments made about the sex and what various people think so will put down these on my blog and we can see who is right at a later date. That is another obstacle - do we find out or do we wait? Hmmm am so tempted to find out but am not sure....think we will keep that decision until a bit later.

Will keep you all updated xxx

Welcome to Twins

I seem to just be writing about babies a lot in my blog lately. There seems to be a definite Baby Boom happening right now. Many have said that it is an age thing, 'everyone's 21st's', 'all the weddings' then comes 'all the babies'. I dont know so much, I dont think it is as automatic as that. You cannot necessarily have a baby on schedule i.e. I am now X years old or X years married, and think it is now time to have a baby. As many of us know things are little more complex than that.

Have you actually ever read the biology of how a woman actually falls pregnant? How it ever happens is really a flipping miracle. So much has to be just right in order for this to happen. Ron will tell you all about 'dominant follicles' (within a womans eggs) and alkaline and acidity come into play, gravity etc. etc. it is actually quite fascinating and by no means I believe a complete accident.

Yes there are ways and means to enhance the ability to fall pregnant, but I believe when the time is right and the little being that was planned before you had your 21st birthday, before you got married, is supposed to join your world, he/she or they - (that one's for Brandon and Ronel's twins) will make their entrance. Yes some will say what about poverty and people having 8 children because they wont use contraception in the rural areas etc. etc. they werent planned! Well some of the poorest people that had those 8 children, I believe all 8 have/had a purpose for being born. If you take someone like Oprah Winfrey who was born to a coal miner father and a mother who was a maid, who suffered abuse and racism, has turned out to make a difference in so many lives, in so many countries. Yes perhaps that was her choice but she still needed to be here to make that choice. Children that are meant to be will be - to make a difference in the lives of the family around them.

As I mentioned in a previous post, so many of our friends have just had their babies and have been on my blog with pictures etc, what a privilege to be able to see how these young ones grow up and have all the children of friends grow up around each other.

Brandon and Ronel's 'tweeling' - twins made their appearance a whole 2 months early, last week, Nicola and Bianca were coming out and that was that. With much worrying and praying that they would be alright, they seem to be doing very nicely and we are wishing Brandon and Ronel all the best with the huge but blessed task of being parents to these two little girls. We are waiting for Caroline Avnit and Taryn Fowler and Tammy Smith now - 1 girl and 2 boys respectively, wow by now we could start a day care facility just with all our friends kids :-)

Not a great quality picture but them with just one of the twins:

Have a great weekend all

xxxx

Children and Babies they are everywhere!!

Hi All
I thought I would share some pictures of these babies and toddlers that are everywhere at the moment.

From youngest to oldest:

First Up - Matthew Brooker born on 24th July 2007 (son to Nicci and Gavin Brooker)

Levi Nell (baby boy to Kim and Carl Nell)

Lily Grace Humble (daughter to Wendy and Kristian)

Aren't they all adorable.
Happy Tuesday all, this is a short week, Thank Goodness!!!

40 Days of Community

Those in the know, know that Clive and I attend church regularly and are committed Christians. I am quite excited that our church Assemblies of God in Edgemead soon to be known as Edge Church is launching a worthwhile campaign in the middle of August - 40 days of Community. What will happen is that each church group - we belong to one which has 12 people in it - which most of our friends know we refer to as "Small Group" or our "Cell Group", will be getting involved in their choice of a Social Action Group for 40 days (with the view that it will continue), so that we can give of our time to those less fortunate. With one of our meetings last night, we are all brimming with ideas and things that could be done, there are so many out there who have so much need. Some of the ideas are:

Soup Kitchen Run on a either a week night or Friday night for the homeless children
Help for new mothers / abandoned babies with a small starter pack of essentials at state hospitals or clinics
Raising funds with a Womens Breakfast to donate to a charity or help fund the above

What we need to do is action something so for now we are brainstorming and coming up with ideas but am really looking forward to it as we all know of the plight out there but our own lives take over and it is forgotten. It will be great to give back to those that have so much less than we do.

So wish us luck with finding the correct cause and will keep you all updated!
xxx

HAPPY 30th CLIVEY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Hubby who turned the big 30 today!
Those of you in the know would have known that I had planned a SURPRISE 30th for Clive and boy was he SURPRISED! A huge thank you for all of you who kept the surprise and for those who helped set up a.k.a. Sian Kelly, Catherine and Veronica and of course Heather who helped make the party possible.

Well we all dressed up 70's and 80's style as these were the years that Clive grew up in, and everyone went through so much trouble to dress up and what was really nice was that everyone did! You know you always get some spoilsports who dont like to dress up well obviously this crowd was the exception to the rule.

Lets see we had an Elvis, loads of Hippies, Disco Queens, Afros, Rasta's, lead singer from Kiss, Madonna, Don Johnson - Miami Vice, Austin Powers and so the list goes on.

We had the whole day planned out, Clive went to play golf in Darling on Saturday morning early with Shaun (his ex-boss and family friend) and he left the house at about 10:30 for golf to start at 12pm, they kept him busy in Darling having drinks playing poker etc, whilst we all raced around to get the hall finished, pick up all the things that needed to be picked up and pull the whole thing together. Sian, Catherine and Kelly were in charge of draping, Veronica and I decor and Heather the Food Co-Ordinator. Well phew come the start of the party I was actually finished but it passed quickly once all the shriek of laughters started filtering in with the arrival of all the dressed up friends. If we had a prize for the evening I would have to say Elvis (Ford) and Kiss Lead Singer (Dan) would have won - as they looked brilliant!

Part of the "Plan" was that Shaun who is the chairman of the Melkbos angling club (where we held the party) had to "drop of petty cash there" on the way back for a dinner "we were all going to" for another "function" - hope you can make head or tale of all my inverted commas. Clive walks in with his fake bank bag and everyone shouts SURPRISE and he goes "no its not me" thinking that he has spoilt someone elses party he still didnt click as we were all in costume so he didnt recognise anyone - Hilarious!! Eventually he clicked and put his hands over his face and walked back outside... which he doesnt remember I think he was in a bit of shock. After some tears and greeting everyone we got down to some partying. A great time was had by all and the evening was a HUGE SUCCESS. Clive wont forget his 30th for a long time I am sure. Me on the other hand is pooped... Keeping a secret is hard work, never mind everything else that went into planning, but it was all worth it.

Here are some pictures of the evening, there are so many so I am going to just put up a few:

70's and 80's Jol

"Surprise"

Auf Wiederschauen - Goodbye

Well last night was the night to say bye to Monique who is off to JHB tomorrow morning early. So we gathered at Catherine's house for yet another mini party - there have been many lately. Never mind it was a Monday night - we all wrapped up warmly - as the weather here in the Cape at night is still freezing, to say farewell. Monique was rather emotional and a bit tipsy but as we all reassured her JHB is just a mango or kulula flight away.

So bye for now Mon your presence will be missed terribly at all the braais and all the parties but we will look forward to when you visit!

Some pics from last night: