Today was rather a strange and disjointed day. A good chunk of it was spent sorting through about a cubic metre of old clothes the kids have grown out of - everything from tiny newborn things right up to dresses Lauren has recently got too big for. I managed to pull out a couple of ungirly things Daniel will be able to grow into, but the rest has to go (lots and lots of baby things, and lots of girls' stuff). I've been putting off doing this for years owing to the sheer size of the job (I know, I know, I shouldn't have let them accumulate, but I've always had something of an excuse to keep them until we'd finished having babies).

I found it harder than I thought I would. There's such an air of finality about it. I also located a whole sub-pile of maternity clothes. Since I can't (couldn't) bear buying maternity clothes due to the sheer insanity of buying things to be worn for only six months or so, it's hard to get rid of these too. It's not terribly logical, but it feels like getting rid of all this stuff will make the possibility of having another even less likely, notwithstanding the fact that the chances of us having another are about zero already. Or rather, the chances of it happening are approximately equal to the rate of condom failure. Not that I really want another. But still.

I'm going to let myself keep just a few of our favourite baby clothes. The kids are begging for some for their dolls anyway. And I can't possibly give away Daniel's beloved Fiderman slippers either.

The other part of today I spent visiting my parents. After their burglary on Wednesday, we'd been trying to phone to see how they were doing. We tried on and off all day - no answer on their phone. Neuroses and wild imagination took over, and so I zoomed up to Maritzburg just to check they hadn't been paid a second call by their Wednesday visitors and were perhaps requiring to be untied from the table leg.

So all was well when I got there, of course, and it turned out that the phone had just been dead since Wednesday. Why didn't I call their cell phone? Don't they have one? Ah. Well. Indeed they do. But it lives in the car. It's only for emergencies. It is permanently switched off (to avoid having to charge it). No one has ever phoned this phone. I know this for a fact, as I was the only one who actually had the number, and it turned out today that the number was two years out of date (from their previous contract).

While I was there, I convinced them to relocate the cell to the house until their landline is repaired, and in addition, to switch the phone on. I was also able to inform them what their actual cell phone number is, just in case they ever find that little piece of information handy. The number was carefully written down in a little notebook. Along with such items as 'How to Call Someone' and 'How to Answer'. Incidentally, I shouldn't misrepresent the sitation here. They do use the cell phone. Once every three months, they have to make a call to keep the contract activated. So, once every three months, my dad makes a quick call on the phone. To himself, on the land line.

In other news, Lauren is booked for grommets on Monday morning - this was the outcome of our visit to the ENT on Friday. He estimates her hearing is currently about 30%. Poor little sweetie. I was quite blase about the whole thing - went to the appointment fully expecting him to recommend grommets, fully in favour of it, very knowledgeable about the whole thing. I was a bit taken aback when he then said she should also have an adenoidectomy while we are about it. Seems a pretty routine thing to do if a second set of grommets is required. We haven't finalised the decision. We hate the thought of unnecessary meddling, but want to avoid further problems and it does make sense to kill two birds with one anaesthetic.