Those moments....

You know, those ones where you stand back and think "Slow down time - this growing up thing is happening way too fast" . Those ones where you look back to the photos a day or so on and still can not believe how big they are and that the milestone was reached. First smile,  steps, first day in school - you know what I mean.

Last night was one of those - I looked at my daughter and had to swallow hard because all of a sudden she seemed so - well, way too big. Don't get me wrong -they are just little girls still - but little girls growing up fast. The realization that we are now way closer to the teen years than I may want to admit. Solid in tweenhood.

How can she be going to her first dance? Just yesterday she cried on her first day in grade 1.

I am lucky that we have wonderful moms in our school and that the idea to make a group of friends and attend the dance together was born in one of the mom's heads. So we assembled 5 friends, I did a little photo shoot with them to document this big event. This in itself was huge fun for the girls and as one of them said, they felt very pretty and special indeed. They went together and had huge fun. Apparently A and her BFF spent most of the evening together chatting, dancing, visiting the photo booth etc with assorted other girl friends. For most of them it was about having fun together and not about boys yet. But yes, they all danced with a boy, or two, or three....

I am glad their first dance was such a positive experience and that they all want to go again. I guess there is no holding back time and all that it brings.

The day my boys had me speechless - and extremely proud.

If you have been reading my blog for a while you may know that our family has a motto - If you participate to the best of your ability it is good enough for us and in our eyes you are a star. For us it is always about trying, and trying your best. Not winning.

The boys have been doing Judo for the last 2 years and Mr C has participated in two tournaments before and Mr L in one. Mr C has previously won one silver and a gold (but with very small field). We were not convinced in both cases that they were giving their all .This Saturday we decided to participate in one again and the field in their age and weight category was sizeable.

I did not expect much but boy, when Mr C went in for his first fight I could not believe my eyes! Such guts, such determination and will to win! Even more of a surprise was Mr L that went full out for it and did exactly the same.  I was so proud right then that I could not stop smiling.

In the rounds they never played against each other but then when the medal play outs were announced they came up brother against brother. Fun but difficult - all of a sudden it went quiet in our little corner - just for that fight.

In the end, Mr L walked away with gold and Mr C with silver. Mr L won the medal decider with points but also had one more clear (not points) win in the rounds. I am so extremely proud of my two boys - not just for winning medals, but for living out our motto with enthusiasm.

Letting go!

I seem to be writing a lot about growing up and independence these days. I guess it is just a reflection of the phase we are in with the kids, especially with the Princess who as the oldest child is always the one to push for new frontiers. As is the usual way it goes in families.

In the beginning of the Easter holidays she left for her first 5 day camp (4 nights) with the Voortrekkers. The longest she has even been away from us before was for two nights.  So this was a huge jump in independence, possibly more for us than for her. Gosh we missed her and worried about her but we all made it through fine and it was great to have her back with us on the Sunday.

I am so proud of how she handled it - she did the "Vasbyt" badge - basically a fitness and endurance specialty that involved a 2,4 km jog, uphill running, push ups, sit ups, climbing ropes and flagpoles, 5km hike etc. and did it with guts and determination. Only 5 of the girls in their group did it - the other 12 did the First Aid badge. Some of the boys even opted out and did the First Aid. I did not realize that it was a big deal if they made it but only the group that did this badge received a special medal for completing it and it apparently has a bit of a brag factor if you have that badge on display on your uniform.

The lesson I guess is that we need to slowly let go - the kids handle this way better than we do. But it's hard! It's a piece of our heart being sent to cope with herself on her own for 5 days. To dig deep and to push through on her own. But the payback came in self confidence - about her abilities to cope and cope on her own. About being able to do things she maybe did not think she could. About finishing very well in that 2,4 km run - ahead of most girls and realizing that maybe she can run after all even if a 100m is not her thing. About trying her best on her own - without our immediate support. And that, I guess is what growing up is all about.

Bats, balls and ballet shoes

Last night as I was staring into the eyes of the most gorgeous little 3 week old boy it hit me once again - we have 3 kids in primary school! Gone are the days of bottles, babies and bums. We are solid in the bats, balls and ballet shoes years. And gosh, I am loving it. I am loving seeing them growing up, developing interests, finding their own ways. More and more independent almost every day.

Sometimes I wonder if maybe I wished those earlier years away. Did I take enough notice of the little things - the small wonders that makes up our daily lives? I love doing Project life as it retains the memories of so many of those daily little things. Years ago I made photo books and paging through them brings a flood of memories. But how often did I live with the "this too shall pass" mantra in my head in stead of living life to the full - watching 3 little lives blossom. Yes, we had few a rough cards dealt to us that sometimes made life a lot harder than your run of the mill family's. But we dealt with them best we could and we were incredibly blessed as a family.

I also realised that I should read more books to them because the days of bedtime reading (and I am willing to admit that sometimes I really did not want to do it - I was tired, hungry, ready for adult time) is almost at an end. Mr L read his first little book this weekend - we now have 3 readers. Maybe reading to them should never stop.

This morning I dropped off the kids like every school morning . Mr L the most independent grade 1 I ever had give me a quick hug and made for the gate running into the school grounds and to his class. I quietly watched him from the pavement to make sure he makes the walkway in front of his class. A typically 10 year old- unhappy with me for some reason I do not even recall - turned her back to me and I had to hug a reluctant shoulder with a backpack as she stomped away all angry. My grade 2 took my hand and asked me to walk to his class with him. Bliss - I obliged because it was such a welcome feel of love after the 10 year old. In front of his class we met his teacher that had a quick chat with me while he ran away happily with a friend after a hug and a kiss. And as we were standing there I got a huge hug from behind and a head that sits above my shoulder these days popped around my side. She kept hugging me until I said goodbye to the teacher - gave me a kiss and a "I love you".

I am so thankful for that little blessing - for her possibly deciding in her walk into school that she was wrong. These are indeed the days of miracles and wonders - the days of bats, balls and ballet shoes. Because yes, this too shall pass. Unfortunately.

So you want to be an entrepeneur? At age 6 or 9?

The rubber band looms are all the rage in the school at the moment. Apparently it has been huge overseas for a while and the craze has ran its course. Here I thought we were last out of the blocks, but we're not. So much so that the Princess has sold a few bracelets. But the market is basically saturated unless you find something brand new to do with it, you have huge competition

 So she has been asking me to help her find something to sell. Clearly she has realized that by selling something at school she can have more disposable cash than the bit of tuck shop money we give her. I agreed and then set out to find something not available in the school and at least quality. With a bit of a search I found Afrikaans Fathers day badges - and really cute ones too. And then decided that I have to give the boys the opportunity to also make a bit of profit and I will assist them each on their own level. Of course the profit will be spent on Lego apparently.

I picked up the badges on Monday and this morning Mr L in grade 0 had 6 left of his 33 to sell. I helped him by advertising on his class' Whattsapp group and his teacher has kindly offered to be the keeper of envelopes of money and badges being exchanged. We even had requests from other classes as the word spread.

Mr C has to sell on his own - I did advertise on his class' Whattsapp group but he has to sell them himself - work out the change etc. I pasted a table of number of badges and cost in the lid of his little box. He sold 11 by the end of his first day.

The Princess I sent in cold - let her do the marketing and sell. Yesterday she sold 4 - great as many kids did not have cash (the grade 3s can only go to the tuck shop on Fridays which is when most kids will have cash). She had plenty of kids that will come today with their R8 in hand as she very wisely decided not to sell without cash. And she can also sell at ballet this afternoon. I went the full length with her (and to some extend the boys too) I told her what each badge cost to buy and that they will have to refund me for my capital outlay, we talked about a fair price (the badge manufacturer gave me the guideline between R5 and R10) They agreed on R8 as it worked out on the profit they wanted and we thought it was a fair price.

We will see how this little experiment will run - many kids wanted badges for themselves and I can see us selling smiley face ones etc in future - things that are not seasonally related. I really do hope it runs well so as not to dampen the little spirits. The point is that I love that they thought like entrepreneurs - with no spurring by me, the school, or anyone else. A very useful, maybe even essential skill. In the process we are learning many other skills as well that I hope will come in handy.

(BTW if you want some - pop me a mail - I can post at an extra cost)

Of growing up and big boy stuff

Every year I feel myself starting with the same post on this bog - something to the tune of "This holiday huge progress was made by....." referring to one or more kids reaching some milestone. Its true that time together in a relaxing environment often encourage these moments. This year was no different as...

 Two big boys got rid of their fairy wheels and are cycling like hooligans. To add to that they both lost their second baby tooth mere minutes apart.

This growing up thing is now really going way too fast. I am super proud of them both.

Back to school 2014 and Mr C's big day

This morning I was woken by a very excited Mr L and a slightly more subdued Mr C. By the time I was out of the shower we had 3 kids dressed and ready to prepare for the first school day of the year.

 Hunter dropped off Mr L who he reported after some initial shyness was totally happy in his class. A asked me and  Mr C to walk with her to where the grade 3's are meeting but when she saw her friends she quickly called "Bye" over her shoulder and ran to them. So it left me and Mr C to enjoy his big day - first one in the real big school in grade 1.

 I was totally surprised by his confidence and total joy over at last being in grade 1. The fact that he and his best "girl" friend are in the same class and that he met his teacher last year certainly helped to make the day a very happy one indeed. I do think the way that they integrated the grade 0 classes into the school more and more towards the end of last year made such a huge difference.

My precious little man C - mom knows that you have looked forward to this day for ages I know that you really want to learn and enjoy school and I know that you are going to make us so very proud of you. I love you to no end. May your school career be blessed beyond words.

Embrace enthusiasm

I have come to a simple conclusion this weekend - with enthusiasm you can go very far. Also, that enthusiasm about anything is one of the things I love most about my kids. A lack thereof on the other hand just totally makes me sad.

For instance, the Princess did not swim the whole winter - in fact I thought she has lost most of what she knew. And she did not want to swim again as the coach at school changed. So we bumped into the new coach last week, had a chat to her and in no time A agreed to at least go for an evaluation. Which went way better than I thought and guess what? Yesterday at school swimming period she swam lengths with the school swimmers in her class. Something she has never done before. Love the enthusiasm.

I can go on with things each and every child did the last week, each showing enthusiasm - I have to mention how well C is doing in his swimming. He totally makes my heart sing. And L that is very unhappy that rugby is over for the year and told me how much he loved it and his Judo that he totally adores.

But back to enthusiasm and my little word for the year, "embrace". Gosh its been a hard one this year, many things really tested us, we had to accept and embrace a lot.

We had big plans for Saturday night - to take the kids to their very first "grown up restaurant" experience. Then when I called to make the reservation the restaurant was closed for a few days and we had to change plans. As the kids worked hard in the garden that afternoon we gave them the choice for the night - and they chose MacDonalds - possibly the very last choice we would make. But we embraced it - and it turned into a lovely family night out with lost of happiness and enthusiasm. We had a great chat over dinner, ice cream or smarties for desert , looked at the Christmas lights and spent some time in Exclusive books. A good night out. This Saturday with just as much enthusiasm we will try that "grown up restaurant" . I have high hopes.

 

Afrikaanse lesers - het julle geweet Asterix is nou in Afrikaans beskikbaar? 

The last few weeks

Really just rushed by, filled with the school revue mainly, but so much more. I am totally overwhelmed by trying to cover everything that happened so let me just share a few moments:

Pretoria is all purple and pretty right now - and I have the hayfever mixed with a cold to show for it.

 We went to a Dumbo themed birthday party and got a fun family shot as a result.

 A little man C learned that it's more fun to jump into the pool than to climb into it.

My wonderful MIL visited us over the revue period and I truly have no idea how we would have handled those 2 weeks without her help.  In return she fulfilled a bucket list item in seeing Pretoria's Jacarandas in bloom.

The boys had a Horse farm themed birthday party which was hot, windy and filled with laughing, running, jumping dirty kids. By all accounts every single little person enjoyed it and fell asleep very early that night.

The school revue (musical production) really took my breath away - I could not believe what they managed to accomplish with every single child in the school. It is the school's 60th birthday this year and they did an oversight of the last 60 years in news, school news and music. You all know "itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini that Mr C took part in but the Princess' number may be unfamiliar - have a listen here:

Mr L got funky new glasses - just slightly different in shape and colour than his previous pair but the same nice and sturdy frames.

 On Friday the Princess danced her grade 2 RAD ballet exam - the girl's hair was so beautiful and a bonus this year that she danced in the same group as 3 of her very best friends.

 And on Friday morning Mr L was the last of our kids to loose a baby tooth - and the very first to do it all by himself! Now we have 3 kids with loose teeth - the tooth mouse /tooth fairy (depending on the child ) is going to be very busy!

So that's most of our news - what's happening in your corner of the world?

At the Princess' baby shower almost 9 years ago

my one cousin, whose two kids was almost grown up at the time gave me a wonderful bit of advice. She said that she believes that one of the most important things to teach children these days is self confidence - and by that she meant to tackle the world with no or little fear, with the confidence to proceed and achieve what we set out to do.

It is a difficult balance to keep kids humble but with self confidence. Often I wonder if we achieve this - the humble part is relatively easy - our competitive world sees to this . Often I wonder if we install enough confidence, but sometimes I know we are on the right track to achieve it. Our kids are relatively fearless on rides at the school fete for example.

Mr L on the top of the 3 story slide - they repeatedly did this. All 3.

A surprise us every time at the English schools speech festival on the left and at the Drama Eisteddfods where she competes with great confidence. 

And what really prompted this post - the 3 of them with friend D in a cave on Sunday. They were fearless little explorers - in fact, we had to keep them back from not going in too deep.

I truly love the sense of adventure. I hope we can keep it going in them all.

So in the next 2 weeks....

it's silly season. No really. Get this list:

• Two separate revue rehearsals for two separate kids on two seperate evenings (A & C). It's revue year at school - only once every 4 years, but still.
• 4 days of ballet course (A), one day followed by the school's  big yearly festive event, one by a hockey match or two and one by her drama Eisteddfod with only 30 minutes in between the two events.
• Said festive school event for the whole family where I am busy designing posters for the grade 2 stall.
• English speech festival (For A)
• A school outing (For C)
• Spring picnic (For C) 
• Early mornings at school on 3 occasions for team photos (all 3 kids) and one late afternoon (A)
• One Granny day at school as seeing that we only have one granny in Pretoria I have to help and attend to make sure both my boys have someone at their little event, followed by a picnic with granny where I will have to help out.

And..... what? That's it? Somehow I feel totally out of breath just thinking about it all.

But yes, work is busy, I am totally loving family time and I am reading whenever I can. I am also loving Masterchef SA. But life is busy and somehow blogging is taking a backseat. At the same time, I am still loving Project Life and although I am even behind on that at the moment, it is taking a lot of the urgency to blog out of my life. Recording such lovely details of day to day stuff is so enjoyable and in the Project Life format we can all enjoy it as it develops every week. I am still surprised at how much I love the format and that I am not far behind. Also sad I have not done this years ago

In the meantime - the biggest "event" in the last week was Mr C loosing his first baby tooth.

It starts so young,

this "letting go" thing. When they start to walk one has to have the courage to let that hand go and let them fall, get up and try again. The same with riding a bike and letting those trainer wheels go. You do not want them to fall and you will do all you can to prevent that but in the end, they have to do it on their own and we need the courage to let them go.

Of course as life goes on the letting go gets easier to an extend but the issues to let go about gets way more difficult. It is always that balance of giving them the courage and the knowledge to  go but also having the courage that you have equipped them well enough to let go. Like this weekend when the Princess went on her first long bike ride  (not the 11 km one - it was about 6km) I kept thinking if we tought her well enough to keep to the side of the road, to get up fast when she falls. What if? It started to get a bit darker and I worried about her not having light enough clothes on. Yes, I guess we always worry.

This morning a friend of mine updated her Facebook status with the acknowledgement that her daughter in her 20s is a total drug addict and that they have managed to get her into a rehab centre and have her 3 year old son in their care. Believe me that this is a good solid Christ fearing family with the dad and one of the brothers as pastors. She mentions that one should never underestimate the influence of friends, no matter what age your children are. Which brings me back to the question of letting them go and decide for themselves. Equiping them enough to make those decisions they need to make in life and giving them the wings to fly.

I know that I have a lot to learn and trust and pray that Hunter and I as parents do enough and the right things in order to equip our children for their future lives. From those first steps to the independence of a solid grown up with their own kids. I guess it never really stops. Ijust pray that we never have to walk the road they have to. And that she finds her way back to fly again on her own.

2013 - It will always be remebered as the holiday in which...

We saw the famous Mtunzini zebras wandering around town like its nothing out of the ordinary

Scooters and bicycles ruled (and we took ours along for the first time ever in our new bike rack for 5)

Where we only got half way through the 4x4 swamp route due to the very wet conditions.

We saw storks and more storks in the marshland.

 Most memorable for the kids, without a doubt - they caught their very first fish (released back into the lagoon to be caught another day)

And maybe most memorable of all - two little boys swam on their own  - yes the pics are with dad, but these two pics are just precious in their own way. They gained so much confidence. C was doggy pedalling by the end of the holiday while L mainly paddles under water, coming up for air every few bits. They turned into swimming water babies.

It was a great holiday - just too short. We now know that we can camp for more than a week with the kids, the Princess helps at times, they boys have their own little jobs and it's much much easier. I am once again amazed at the progress one makes on holidays - this time with mainly the swimming of the boys, but many more small things. Every year when camping we had leaps from all 3 kids in some or the other area - it must be a combination of relaxed parents, relaxed kids, a lot of time together. I am not sure. What I am sure of is that it works, and that without a doubt it was so worth it. Leaving you with 3 pretty pictures:

Taken with nifty fifty.

It's a winner!

We had a great weekend - kind of busy, but also kind of chilled. Nothing too hectic apart from me being suddenly struck with a huge sinus infection which I am now nursing with as many meds as I possibly can. The boys' rugby day was cancelled due to rain but the Princess and I went to watch the Nutcracker (more about that later) That all being said, I can feel that the year is speeding to an end. Today and only two more Mondays to go for the work year. Planning for our family holiday in December is done mostly and we are all looking forward to spend some time together as a family. At both the schools things are wrapping up for the year as are extra mural activities. The Princess seems tired and when I went to read for her class today they were so excited to tell me that they will have no homework this week (and I presume the rest of the year?).

The very best bit of the weekend actually was the achievement of one of the little things we have been working on with the kids. We have been training them to play in their rooms on weekend mornings and not to wake us up. And then to later go downstairs, get breakfast with the help of one of us and play nicely. leaving us a with a bit of a sleep in. Yesterday morning I went downstairs with them at 7:30 after they woke me up to tell me they are hungry. I helped them to get breakfast and had another snooze until 8:45! ( without any of them killing the other or destroying the house) Ai, the bliss. Definitely one of this year's great milestone achievements in my book (you know those lesser milestones that we so often forget to celebrate)

On the not so great front the Princess and Mr C is heading towards possibly killing each other - leaving us all exhausted. If she says it's blue, he will say it's green. If he says it's on she will say it's off even if she knows it's on. Sibling rivalry on the extreme front. We are contemplating boxing gloves for Christmas.....

Eat your breakfast!

As most parents, somewhere along the line (ok I know exactly when - the Princess was about 18 months old and we were on a weekend away with family) we succumbed to the temptation of feeding our kids kiddy cereals. Mostly Coco Pops and Oaties ( the ordinary no colour ones), I never fell for Fruit Loops - way too much colouring in them. I was also rather happy that they never liked the vile blue Smurfie Oaties but the did catch on to the just slighty less vile green Ice Age ones) The kids devoured them - bowls and bowls full. Sometimes on really busy days, even in between meals as snacks. Some weekends when Hunter was away we might even have had some for dinner on occasion. But I have always had the healthier options available and would offer them first - in our home Wheatbix , Pro nutro and All bran flakes or Special K. Sometimes they would choose these, but mostly not.We eat cereal about 4 of the 7 mornings a week - the others would be porridge, eggs and toast or on Saturdays flapjacks or muffins for a treat.

So Hunter and I had a chat about 2 weeks ago about phasing out the kiddy stuff. We both felt that the sugar is too much and that moving towards more formal school for the boys, we should limit the sugar and other unhealthy stuff intake, especially before school.. We made the call to use up the batch we had at home and bite the bullet after that. By Monday this week the Coco Pops were at their end. They were without a doubt Mr L's preferred breakfast - a tantrum ensued, but he settled for the last Oaties with Mr C (Oaties are his preferred poison). The Princess has been eating a lot of Wheatbix and Special K for a while so she was fine as one should possibly expect at 7 in any event). Tuesday morning dawned with another small tantrum by L and one by C - both settled for Wheatbix after much tears. I gave us a bit of a break yesterday with eggs and toast - everybody but C's favorite in any event. This morning was reality again - to my surprise L immediately took me up on the Pro Nutro offer. Mr C was so angry with me - boy! But I have to mention that we had our first run in about dressing earlier. ( his perfectionism will drive me crazy some day). But at the end he settled for Wheatbix and had two bowls of it - one of the mini type and another of the original bricks.

So yes, we will fight the good food battle bravely- bit by bit. In small steps.

BTW - I make scrambled egg in the micro wave (takes about 5 minutes for a big bowl enough for us all - about 6 eggs) It leaves little dishes and is very healthy. 

And what does your family have for breakfast? 

Moments....

So yes, I am typing this on the ipad at home. I should be sleeping but my throat aches so much that I cant - waiting for the new pain meds to kick in. Yesterday afternoon I thought I had a bit of a cold, by last night I struggled to swallow and this morning I felt plain miserable. I hardly slept last night with an aching throat and left ear. This morning I popped into the office, made sure that the most urgent work will be done, had a quick meeting and made an appointment at the doctor. On my way there I stopped at Makro to buy the boys some Lego for their birthday ( at the moment they have 20% off on all Lego) . It turns out that I have a huge throat infection spreading to the ears due to a most probably seasonal allergy post nasal drip. I think my body just called it a day - the stress and pace of the last two months just got too much. He recommends 2 days rest. Alas, it will be hard to do at the moment. Tomorrow I have an important meeting early but am planning to come home afterwards and try to get better by sleeping it off.

Enough about me though - I want to share some moments I want to remember.

Yesterday afternoon after I picked up the Princess we stopped at our local Spar for a few things and as she stepped out of the car she spotted a R5 coin, which she immediately planned to spend at tuck shop. Then she saw the blind lady we often give a few rands to and decided to give her the R5. She told me it made her feel way better than the sweetie she would have bought. A moment I will never forget.

Sunday at the lunch table I told the kids how much I loved them. L looked at me and said " ek is lief vir jou" (I love you). It's the first time ever that he has said this to me. A few weeks ago he said it to Hunter, unprovoked, but I will never forget this moment. If one has waited so long for these words, they are so much sweeter.

Saturday morning I was busy showering C with kisses. This little Bear if mine adores his snuggles and kisses, but he looked at me and said "yeg!Gross" My first reaction was, this is too soon. Where has my little guy gone to? Not even 5 yet! And then I caught the twinkle in his eyes as he gave me a hug and a kiss, another moment I will never forget .

I can hardly believe that in just a few days my babies will be 5! Gosh, time flies. Cherish the moments.

On milestones

We as parents often celebrate those big moments, those milestones that we wait for so long. That first tooth, well if you ask me the whole teething thing is no celebration. That first crawl - mobility at last to mommy's delight. To be replaced by urgent packing away of everything on eye level when baby gets the hang of standing. And talking - all 3 of mine followed that first "mama" or "papa" (yes, my Mr L said papa first - he is still daddy's boy though) with floods of words often talking together to my frustration. And so we continue - it seems those first ones, celebrated with zest often have negatives to them. Then there are the other big, only positive ones -like potty training, riding the bike without trainer wheels, brushing your own teeth and tying shoelaces. All onwards and upwards towards Independence.

But I do find that the other less big in anyone else's books are often the ones that makes me the happiest. Learning to pour your own juice without making a mess, making your own bed however shabby, being able to press play enter on the DVD remote, wiping your own bum. A big one for us was to teach them to play in their rooms after they wake up on weekends - giving us an hour or so to sleep a bit more. You know, those things that really makes my life easier.

So last night when, on asking if they want to shower, the boys enthusiastically said yes, and showered without a single tear and big talk of how big they are, I shed a tear of happiness. Both where so afraid of showering - it has taken us (especially Hunter) many many frustrating tries to get this achieved. To on their own prefer the shower is BIG! Yeah to easier camping, gymming etc. And much faster bath and bed times.

Any unusual milestones that you loved? Anything you are working on at the moment?

First day of big school

My alarm was set for 5:45 - a full half hour earlier than usual. I woke up, showered and went downstairs to fix lunches, and then to wake up our little grade one Princess. All the tears and uneasiness of the previous days were gone - she was so excited! What a happy morning.

Of course, things went downwards just after we got to the school and found out that she was not in class with a single one of her group of 6 friends from the year before. And that her two besties were in class together. In fact, the only girl in her class from the previous year is one she had a particular love/hate relationship going. Luckily Lilly, the twin sister of one of her boy buds and a friend from another class last year is in the same class. Then her one bestie said that she should not worry, they can play together during break. So that was sorted.

During assembly the headmaster named all the grade 1 kids that had their birthdays during the holiday - hers was nice and as big as the others on the screen and she saw it there, but he read right over hers not mentioning her. The tears started welling in her eyes and she said that she does not feel welcome in this place at all and wanted to go home. With luck we then moved to their classes and after seeing her teacher she piped up happily until it was time for mommy to leave. Huge big tears. Actually the only ones in her class. My heart broke. But her teacher came over, gave her a big hug, asked me to take a picture and her to wipe her tears as we can not have a pic with tears, and problem solved. A smile, and I could go.

When I picked her up this afternoon it was all smiles - excited and happy with her pretty teacher. I was so relieved. Actually I should have known that she would bounce back, but we moms worry, don't we? When we walked into aftercare (the idea was to meet the teachers, go back to the office with me and then to aftercare tomorrow) she saw two of her besties and some other friends and the playing started immediately. I was immediately dismissed back to the office and she stayed.

All in all, a good day, after all.
(BTW Mommy was all smiles at school, walked in at the office to tell them about the morning and shamelessly started bawling her eyes out)

"Mommy", she said to me last night...

right after we read a book about kids going to grade 1 for the first time, "I am so excited, but I a just a little bit scared". I asked her why and she said: "What if I do not like the teacher or she does not like me? What if I do not have any of my friends in the class with me?" But I know it's much more. It's the fear of the unexpected, of the unknown, of the newness of it all. Of growing up.

My answer was simple: "Don't worry my love, mom feels exactly the same. " Tonight we will mark the huge bag of stationary and all the bits of clothes. Tomorrow I will make a last attempt to get the ever out of stock school school scrunchies and she will spent her last pre-school day quietly at home with Lucy.

Om Wednesday we will be in grade 1. Excited, but a little bit scared.

It's been a rather BIG weekend for us.

Yes dear readers, I am THAT mom - the one that couldn't potty train one of her kids. The mom that got a Play therapist involved to do it - well, the mind part, and then with huge help from the hubby actually forced the little man out of his nappies. For the last 7 weeks, no 1 had been going stellar. No 2 has been more of an issue - in fact, I spent hours (literally) in the bathroom with Little man L to get him to do those no 2's. Talking to him, having his Dino do no 2's with big high fives thereafter. It has been totally exhausting. There was some crying involved by both of us.

Then, on Saturday, he casually walked to the downstairs loo, got on it and did his no 2. I saw him by chance, and man, did we make a big thing out of it! I was hopeful, but scared of that one odd bit of progress that might just regress. But yesterday, he did it twice. In the same, quiet way. We had MacDonalds for dinner - a small celebration.

The long and short of the story is that we as moms tend to always feel so incredibly easily like failures. I beat myself up on this one - boy, I did. I mean what is wrong with me that I can not potty train my kid. Really? Then when I read that SID kids do potty train with great difficulty, I relaxed a bit but when the OT indicated that she thinks it is a mind issue and not a body issue, and we got the Play therapist involved, I really felt the urge to get this done. I mean, he on his way to turn 4 at the time. The fact that his therapy was at that stage between the two of them amounting to almost a R1 000 a week certainly played a part.

So yes, we all sometimes need to be a bit less tough on ourselves - but boy, does it feel great when we reach that milestone! We threw away all potties yesterday - just to get it out of the way. Over kedovers! Done.

And this really really Makes my Monday - no heavens, it makes my year!

Playing along with Cheryl.