Froggy in Candyland

You know...Froggy lost all his teeth and now he talks funny. I know what boogers look like because Froggy eats them. That's what made his teeth fall out and he also has hair in his nose. And we used to live in a house in Candyland but the mean, mean king kicked it down so then we had to move to China. And then we moved to 10 Sun Lane and then to Africa. In every house, Froggy punches out all the lights. And we can't see.

This story came out of Sienna this evening, pretty much all in one breath! I don't know where she gets these details!

Can't get out of the gates

The front gates at each side of the driveway have been giving us trouble now for about a month. The owner of the house has sent his friend to repair them but nothing seems to be working. This morning as we were all ready to leave for school/work, I couldn't get either gate to work. They just wouldn't open. And I don't have the little key that can override the gate motors and manually push them back. So, I called the owner of the house. He told me he was mad as h*ll and this was costing him so much. I told him I don't know what might be wrong and I was doing everything I knew to do. He acted as if I was causing the problem. He said he never had any problem with the gates. Anyway, he called the called the company that installed the gate some years back and they sent an electrician. In the end, the 12 volt batteries on each of the motors weren't holding a charge. They were old. They changed the batteries and checked the sensors. One of them had a huge nest of ants in it. Now, the gates seem to be working just fine. Later, I got a call from the agents who rent the house for the owner. They said he called and complained that I was calling all the time with issues. It mad me mad because when the hot water geyser (hot water heater) went out, he told me not to contact them but to call him directly if there was a problem. So, I told the agents that they needed to get the right story from him and it would be a pleasure not to have to call him because of him yelling at me. As usual, never a dull moment here!

Sofia's allergy test results are back. They said the tests didn't show any allergies, which is good.

I let the girls finally go through the boxes from Carla and Papa today. They were so excited with all the stuff- the Hershey's Kisses, the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, the bandaids, stickers, headbands, etc.

Worms?!

So, I am told that we have to be dewormed every six months or so while living here. I guess we are overdue for a good deworming then. That really makes my skin crawl. I already get heebie jeebies thinking about worms, especially those living in ones intestines, but to think I have to be dewormed disgusts me! Apparently, it is good practice to do it every 3 months and since we have been here 7 months and have not done it, we need to take a three day regimen. Well, I guess I am off to the pharmacy tomorrow for the 3rd time this week. Deworming is done in almost all the schools here in South Africa twice a year. Of course I had to do some research on the internet and now I wish I hadn't. The pictures are creepy.

The World Cup is winding down. Netherlands will be in the final. Spain is playing Germany as I write right now. The match is being played right here in Durban tonight!!! It would be so exciting to be there! I am hoping Spain will win it. They have never won a World Cup but are a very good team.

On to today's Froggy story. We were driving home from work/school and Sienna saw Hillcrest Christian Academy. She said- "You know, Froggy goes to school there. He also takes soccer lessons there. Right now he is out of school so he is at the stadium playing soccer all the time. All of his frog friends died in the snow so he has to play soccer with real people. The people are very tall and Froggy is small. Froggy doesn't have shoes to play soccer. I have to buy him some but I won't have any money until school starts. I am going to buy him some yellow and green soccer shoes like Bafana Bafana. He also needs a jersey but even the small ones are too big for Froggy. I think we need to go to Build a Bear to buy Froggy a jersey (note- she saw Bafana Bafana soccer attire at the Build a Bear here)."

Wanted: Froggy sized Bafana Bafana jersey!!!

Doctors offices, vets offices

Today, I had to work most of the day from home because I had scheduled Sofia's checkup on her allergies and then we had to take the kittens to get their 2nd round of shots.
At the doctor's office, Dr. Darby changed Sofia's allergy medication from Zyrtec to a nasal spray which she is not too fond of. Then he told me he wanted to do some blood work to see if they can identify what allergens are causing her problems. Both girls have been coughing so much lately, but I think that is because of congestion and a cold. Sofia gets coughing fits that always end in her gagging. For the past 10 days it has been going on and on. He prescribed some cough medicine for them both to take at night. I am up about 10 times a night between the two of them. So after the dr. office we had to go next door and do the lab work. Which I was not looking forward to at all. Needles and I don't mix well. And even if the lab work was not being done on me, it might as well have been given it was one of the girls. Luckily, Sofia's veins are likes Sal's- nice and protruding. The lab technician was there by herself so it was up to me and her to try and convince Sofia this was the right thing to do. At first, she was not having any of it. She politely packed her little purse up and started getting down from the bed. The technicial told me I would probably have to go to Hillcrest where there were more nurses there to hold Sofia down. So, I explained that to her- I told her either we could do it there and get it over with or we would have to go and nurses would hold her down. After a few minutes of convincing, she actually agreed to it. I distracted her, Sienna exitedly watched and talked 90 miles an hour about Froggy getting blood drawn and it was over before we all knew it. I tried to be brave so they don't inherit my fear of needles. But with her little veins she shouldn't have the problems I have had. She got to write her name on the wall of bravery and got a little badge to wear. Sienna didn't understand why she couldn't also write her name and get a badge so the relief of having the tests over with quickly turned to chaos as Sienna was screaming she wanted a badge. I looked at the technician as if to say- just give her a badge but she wasn't having it at all. Anyway, we will see once the results come back. Sofia was really worried about her blood being taken away in the two vials....
Then, we took the kittens for their shots. We ended up having to wait a long time at the vet because there were two dogs brought in that had to be put to sleep. It was sad. There was also a huge pig there that was squealing like crazy when they put it in the back of a truck. And Sofia and Sienna made themselves right at home behind the desk at the vets office with the receptionist! Finally, we were called back and the kittens, about 4 months old now, got two shots each. More needles. The girls watched and asked tons of questions about everything in the office. Dr. Singh, the vet, said they were very, very bright for their ages! Of course, Sienna whipped out several Froggy stories. Sometimes people don't know what to make of her stories. I am always explaining, it is her little stuffed animal. Now, we are up to date on shots for the kittens. They will get neutered next month so I don't have to worry about them getting pregnant. Sofia didn't like the thought of her cat not having kittens. I told them between the two cats, we could have 20 kittens and I couldn't deal with that. They said they would tell the cats not to have so many and just to have one kitten each. Yeah, right!
There was a breakin at our office last week. Luckily, they did not get in the office but they did manage to steal some tires off of our trailer that we use to haul materials to the projects. They think they have found the suspect and have arrested this person. And from what I understand, the tires have been returned.
The monkeys visited today again. We didn't have time really to watch them. They were just arriving as we were heading off to the doctor's office. About 15 of them.
Otherwise, just a normal day in South Africa.

Poor Tippy

Yesterday, we went early in the morning to try again with Tippy. We brought him over and played and played with him. He was very gentle with the girls and wasn't as anxious to try and get out to go back home. All was going well until about 4 pm when I heard that high pitched bark again. I knew he had gotten back over Michelle and Conrad's fence. And, like last time, they weren't home. I tried for a long time just to coax the dog's into being friends and not fighting. They just all stayed in the corner of the fence. Then, Tippy's brother Dipstick (or Lipstick as the girls call him) got loose and came over. He got all the dogs upset. I guess because Tippy felt bolder with his brother around, they started all getting worked up. Sarah, the girl, who had given us Tippy came over and got Lipstick. Then, I called Michelle and told her what was happening (AGAIN). They came home. As soon as they came home, Grommit, Michelle's bull terrier, and Tippy got into a huge fight. Grommit is just pure muscle with jaws of steel. He got into Tippy's neck and back. It was horrible. And what's even worse is the girls were standing there watching it all unfold. I was trying to get them to go back into our yard but they wouldn't. Finally, they got the dogs apart and Sarah took Tippy back home. We talked in the evening and even this morning and things seemed to be okay. But because she just can't care for them and her dad travels to Angola a lot, she took them to the SPCA (like the Humane Society). The staff were very positive and said that they would definitely be able to find them a home very quickly. Then shortly after they called her and said Tippy needed quite a bit of medical attention or they would have to put him to sleep. By the time, Sarah called her dad in Angola, the SPCA had put him to sleep. Poor Tippy, he was such a sweet dog. He had the sweetest nature. And the girls were absolutely smitten by him. So sad.

Meanwhile, the kittens continue to ransack the house. As soon as we let them out of the spare bedroom, they wreak havoc! They broke my statue from Zimbabwe. It was a stone carving of a mother and twins. They have started fraying a hole in the carpet in the spare bedroom and love to use the leather furniture as a scratch pad. They are so mischievious.

Sofia told me today that Billy Ray Cyrus called her and asked her to marry him. She said that he promised he would marry her.

Sienna said Froggy got a haircut today. He has two hairs and they cut them and now he looks like a skinny dog. She said she saw Alicia Keyes, Michael Jackson, Curious George and Lady Gaga at Disney World today. They were buying presents for Froggy. And all Froggy wants to do is sleep all day and when he gets up he punches her in the eye!

They are a mess!