One in a million

We are still alive! Honest we are.

We have spent the entire week at the shop, as Hubbs had a work experience girl there and we went to help out - it was good and she was a great kid, but it was very tiring.

There have actually been a lot of reasons i haven't been blogging. I have issues that are pretty big for us at the moment, and it just didn't feel right blogging about them. Mostly they are money related - life isn't about money but it sure makes it hard when the money starts running low.

I go back to work in about 3 weeks, so next week i am spending the entire week at my sisters in the country - yay! It will be great for Alex and I to get away for a bit before the mayhem of working full time hits us.

I have also been deeply affected by the amount of news reports on parents hurting their babies. The twins that were found dead from malnutrition hit me hard. I found out their names and there are still pictures of them online (if you know where to look) - not pictures of them now of course, but pictures of them as newborns and up to 7 months old. They were happy, healthy and very loved. So what happened?

That hasn't been the only case of neglect, murder or abuse lately - every night the news seems to have yet another case and it is damn depressing.

Please i urge you - if you find yourself having thoughts you know are wrong; if you find yourself surprised that you smacked your child harder than you intended (or just surprised you smacked them at all); if you think there is nobody to talk to - nobody that can help, Please PLEASE speak out - contact someone - anyone. Contact everyone if you have to. Eventually someone is going to listen to you and then you won't be alone again. Please don't go through major things alone.

Alex is doing wonderfully well. He is of course, looming up to 11 months of age (thanks Katt - i fixed the ticker). He is incredible. He now has 6 teeth. He occassionally says Dada but flatly refuses to say Mama. He is showing signs of independence already, happily playing with other kids at playgroup, without hardly a look back at Mum. He is crawling everywhere, pulling himself up to standing on everything and everyone, and yesterday he started letting go and standing on his own for a second or two (then he realised he wasn't holding on and grabbed for the closest thing to hold on to).

My mother in law is yoyoing. She came out of hospital after 6 electroconvulsive therapy treatments a happy vibrant woman who immediately went on a shopping spree and increased her household from 2 cats and a dog to 3 cats, 2 dogs, 5 budgies, 4 canaries and a fish. We are really peeved about them getting the dog and the cat as it is seriously the last thing they need. The dog is a pup and not housetrained and is peeing everywhere and destroying everything - they are seriously too old to cope with him. He will never have any obedience training or anything. She then went and completely cancelled all the arrangements i had set up for them - the cleaner, the help with showering her husband, the meals being delivered - everything.

We have been to visit her once and i won't be returning with my son. It was putrid. We couldn't put Alex on the floor at all. The house stunk of pee. It was disgusting. The best room was the loungeroom - and even that stunk to high heaven. She told me it was because she had "just sprinkled pine-aclean around" but it wasn't what the room smelt of i can assure you. We stayed 30 minutes and finally had to leave as we were all feeling sick. Instead of going there I have been meeting her at shopping centres or inviting her to our place. It is the only option.

Anyhow, thank you Lesley, Net and Rachel for checking up on me. We are okay. Jac - i got his tigger outfit from Target.

To finish off - some new pictures of my "one in a million" boy: (check out his top, the teeth and the smile! hehe)