Friday, 13 February 2009
Croup 2/ Family 1
Yes we are losing the battle - The Little Miss is down and out. I am truly surprised that my weakest baby, Little man L is holding out the longest.
Friday Foto Finish Fiesta
The view from my office this morning:
I am blessed to have our offices overlooking a small nature reserve. These are Blesbuck and they breed and live in the middle of the city. This little bit of nature at our doorstep brings us much joy. We also regularly see Duiker, Crested cranes, Blue cranes (South Africa's national bird), turtles and bunnies and heaps of other beautiful birds.
Pop over to Carrie's for 4XF to see who else is playing along.
I am blessed to have our offices overlooking a small nature reserve. These are Blesbuck and they breed and live in the middle of the city. This little bit of nature at our doorstep brings us much joy. We also regularly see Duiker, Crested cranes, Blue cranes (South Africa's national bird), turtles and bunnies and heaps of other beautiful birds.
Pop over to Carrie's for 4XF to see who else is playing along.
Weekend report
My few faithful readers know that I have set myself the task to live weekends more consciously - by way of fulfilling a list each weekend.
So let's see how I did the past weekend:
1. Do something for my hubby I let him go to gym on Sunday during suicide hour. I am a saint, truly!
2. Something for each of the kids
For The Boys: I took home a bag of shredded paper on Friday afternoon - we have emptied the overly wet sandbox to dry and I dumped the paper in the box. The Little Miss and I then hid plastic dinosaurs which The Boys had to find.
Little man L loved it from the word go!
Found one!
Little man C refused to get in, but later was semi-convinced.
Found one as well!
For The Little Miss: We baked cookies on Sunday. She adores baking and cookies - this was a real treat for her. And the cookies came out really great!
Licking out the bowl.
We chose hearts, circles, stars, hippos and elephants.
Having the first one to taste.
Completed cookies.
3. Something for the puppies
We at last, went on our (no so regular any more) walk up our local "Koppie" (hill) on Sunday afternoon. Actually it is a treat for us all, but it is their favorite outing as the get to swim in the river as well.
4. Something for someone outside of my direct family that shares my home
We had our Tuesday parade on Saturday morning at 11:00
5. Something for the house
Uhmmm - major slip-up. Nothing! Unless the cookies count.
6. And something for myself.
I finally made some cards again - something I truly enjoy, on Friday night. I just played around with textures.
So how did you do on your weekend?
So let's see how I did the past weekend:
1. Do something for my hubby I let him go to gym on Sunday during suicide hour. I am a saint, truly!
2. Something for each of the kids
For The Boys: I took home a bag of shredded paper on Friday afternoon - we have emptied the overly wet sandbox to dry and I dumped the paper in the box. The Little Miss and I then hid plastic dinosaurs which The Boys had to find.
Little man L loved it from the word go!
Found one!
Little man C refused to get in, but later was semi-convinced.
Found one as well!
For The Little Miss: We baked cookies on Sunday. She adores baking and cookies - this was a real treat for her. And the cookies came out really great!
Licking out the bowl.
We chose hearts, circles, stars, hippos and elephants.
Having the first one to taste.
Completed cookies.
3. Something for the puppies
We at last, went on our (no so regular any more) walk up our local "Koppie" (hill) on Sunday afternoon. Actually it is a treat for us all, but it is their favorite outing as the get to swim in the river as well.
4. Something for someone outside of my direct family that shares my home
We had our Tuesday parade on Saturday morning at 11:00
5. Something for the house
Uhmmm - major slip-up. Nothing! Unless the cookies count.
6. And something for myself.
I finally made some cards again - something I truly enjoy, on Friday night. I just played around with textures.
So how did you do on your weekend?
Thursday, 12 February 2009
The big 4th Birthday part 3
So, at last, the big main party's report - I will keep it short with lots of pictures.
My BFF Hesti and I baked and decorated the princess cake by ourselves - I used Belle inside the cake as she reminds me so much of my own Little Princess. It is a bit of an institution and we have done over 20 cakes together through the years from trains to Rapunzel castles. The decoration took us about an hour.
The party favor boxes were simple cake boxes - the girls decorated with a pink or purple feather, ribbon and a crystal. They got a tiara as a party gift and a fairy wand made of a sherbet stick, a cardboard star and ribbon. The boy's were pirates and their boxes were decorated with a Jolly Rodger and a flag made out of paper and a sherbet stick. They got black bandannas as party gifts.
A pirate waving his flag and a princess (without tiara) checking out her wand.
The Princess of the day in her party dress.
The table - ready for the princesses and pirates. The "table cloths" were sheets of paper I printed out on our plan plotting machine
The cousins having fun on the playground equipment. We rented A's pre-school for the morning.
Sharing a joke between two princesses in the castle - with BFF Emma.
With my BFF Hesti and wearing my tiara as a princess.
H was such a sport with his bandanna and eye patch as pirate captain of the day.
The smallest pirate of the day, little Louis (4 months) getting some love from me.
Our princess and her cake after blowing out the candles - can you see the resemblance?
Some pirates and princesses eating away - it was the first time that The Boys sat at a party table and ate their special boxes filled with baby stuff.
After all the eating and drinking (we had beers and vetkoek -bread dough deep fried) with mince meat and cheese for the grown-ups plus some koeksisters (deep fat fried dough twist dipped in a sugar syrup), H switched on the main entertainment for the day - a huge water slide.
Friend Amelie in full speed.
One of the Hesti's twins (Sean) having a go.
The birthday girl having a turn - as the morning progressed she got bolder and bolder.
And a foam covered princess. At the end we had to call it a day (the temperatures were reaching 36 C - 96,8 F), she and cousin Ebert just couldn't stop. And after getting the two of them dressed - some dads had a go (don't tell the school!) H was so stiff and sore the next day he could hardly walk.
In the car, driving back home, she declared that this was her best party ever and that next year she wants a Mermadia party. Yes, every year, since her second birthday when she ordered a butterfly party, she orders her next party's theme almost immediately, and guess what, she sticks to it - for a whole year! And the best of all, she got heaps of books and a lot of craft sets as gifts and very little toys!
My BFF Hesti and I baked and decorated the princess cake by ourselves - I used Belle inside the cake as she reminds me so much of my own Little Princess. It is a bit of an institution and we have done over 20 cakes together through the years from trains to Rapunzel castles. The decoration took us about an hour.
The party favor boxes were simple cake boxes - the girls decorated with a pink or purple feather, ribbon and a crystal. They got a tiara as a party gift and a fairy wand made of a sherbet stick, a cardboard star and ribbon. The boy's were pirates and their boxes were decorated with a Jolly Rodger and a flag made out of paper and a sherbet stick. They got black bandannas as party gifts.
A pirate waving his flag and a princess (without tiara) checking out her wand.
The Princess of the day in her party dress.
The table - ready for the princesses and pirates. The "table cloths" were sheets of paper I printed out on our plan plotting machine
The cousins having fun on the playground equipment. We rented A's pre-school for the morning.
Sharing a joke between two princesses in the castle - with BFF Emma.
With my BFF Hesti and wearing my tiara as a princess.
H was such a sport with his bandanna and eye patch as pirate captain of the day.
The smallest pirate of the day, little Louis (4 months) getting some love from me.
Our princess and her cake after blowing out the candles - can you see the resemblance?
Some pirates and princesses eating away - it was the first time that The Boys sat at a party table and ate their special boxes filled with baby stuff.
After all the eating and drinking (we had beers and vetkoek -bread dough deep fried) with mince meat and cheese for the grown-ups plus some koeksisters (deep fat fried dough twist dipped in a sugar syrup), H switched on the main entertainment for the day - a huge water slide.
Friend Amelie in full speed.
One of the Hesti's twins (Sean) having a go.
The birthday girl having a turn - as the morning progressed she got bolder and bolder.
And a foam covered princess. At the end we had to call it a day (the temperatures were reaching 36 C - 96,8 F), she and cousin Ebert just couldn't stop. And after getting the two of them dressed - some dads had a go (don't tell the school!) H was so stiff and sore the next day he could hardly walk.
In the car, driving back home, she declared that this was her best party ever and that next year she wants a Mermadia party. Yes, every year, since her second birthday when she ordered a butterfly party, she orders her next party's theme almost immediately, and guess what, she sticks to it - for a whole year! And the best of all, she got heaps of books and a lot of craft sets as gifts and very little toys!
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
My 200th post!
So this is my 200th post! Can you believe it! When I started out with this I certainly did not know just how much you will become part of our joys and sorrows.
I have also been wondering why you read my blog? I can think of 4 reasons:
1. You are a fellow multiple mom - we tend to stick together, don't we?
2. You are a fellow working mom.
3. You are interested in South Africa or Africa.
4. Or, you feel some special connection, like I do with some of you - some over the airways of life togetherness and understanding.
Whatever your reason may be, thank you for reading, and thank you for sharing.
So, in celebration, I am having a Q&A session - you can ask me anything you want, and please do, I would love to answer your questions. And I would love to hear from you - even those who I know are lurking here, now is the time to show your face! You can ask questions until Sunday the 15th - so keep them going.
Thanks once again!
I have also been wondering why you read my blog? I can think of 4 reasons:
1. You are a fellow multiple mom - we tend to stick together, don't we?
2. You are a fellow working mom.
3. You are interested in South Africa or Africa.
4. Or, you feel some special connection, like I do with some of you - some over the airways of life togetherness and understanding.
Whatever your reason may be, thank you for reading, and thank you for sharing.
So, in celebration, I am having a Q&A session - you can ask me anything you want, and please do, I would love to answer your questions. And I would love to hear from you - even those who I know are lurking here, now is the time to show your face! You can ask questions until Sunday the 15th - so keep them going.
Thanks once again!
Way back WHEN sday
Timeline: 12 February 2008
The Little Miss, age 3, getting the hang of her Leappad she got for her birthday a month before. Just see the concentration on the face.
So have a look at Cheryl's for some more Way-backs and if you need a good laugh, please visit my friend Karen for seriously one of the funniest blogposts I have ever read.
The Little Miss, age 3, getting the hang of her Leappad she got for her birthday a month before. Just see the concentration on the face.
So have a look at Cheryl's for some more Way-backs and if you need a good laugh, please visit my friend Karen for seriously one of the funniest blogposts I have ever read.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Two for Tuesday
A man and his dog.
Little man L had an affinity for the dogs from day 1 - he loves them! Endless play possibilities to follow in years to come.
Pop over to Deanna's for some more handsome two-somes. And please do not forget to read my post below.
Little man L had an affinity for the dogs from day 1 - he loves them! Endless play possibilities to follow in years to come.
Pop over to Deanna's for some more handsome two-somes. And please do not forget to read my post below.
We met Oompie Des!
The Little Miss and I had the great honor to attend our church on Sunday and hear the Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu preach. (If you do not know who he is, go here - he is a phenomenal man and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984) It was an important moment in church history and his message was so striking that it made the front page of one of South Africa's major newspapers.
The Arch receiving an Afrikaans encyclopedia.
The Arch preaching.
After church we were all invited for tea with the Arch (as he introduced himself to the congregation) but we had dad and the twins waiting at home, so we decided to go home. Then the Little Miss remembered that she dropped a marker in church and back we went to retrieve it. After finding it and taking a short cut through church to another exit, we were stopped by a photographer asking if he can take a picture of The Little Miss, another boy and the Arch. Off course I agreed, and we got to meet the man himself. A big moment for me as I have huge respect for this man of God. He introduced himself as "Oompie Des" to the kids, gave them each a quick blessing " Dear Jesus, please protect this child of yours" and the photos were taken. I whisked out my camera( which I remembered other than the day I met Nelson Mandela and had no camera with me - pre cellphone camera times) and asked the photographer to take a picture with me in it as well. Their picture did not make it to the paper (they used one of him while blessing the congregation), but a great and lucky moment for us.
"Oompie" means Uncle in Afrikaans - it is customary in the Afrikaans and black African communities to call older people that you respect "Uncle" and not just family.
Now, for those who want to know about his message and politics in South Africa, read on. The rest, I will surely not hold it against you if you stop here.
I am not good with politics, in fact I try to ignore it most of the time. But I need to explain a few things for those interested to understand the significance of the above mentioned post. I am not going to go into the very sordid and unhappy past of South Africa ( but I have to mention that not all Afrikaners were racist nationalists), but I am never sure if the rest of the world realize that a miracle happened in South Africa in 1994 - we managed to make a peaceful society (apart from crime) out of the worst of circumstances. With the grace of God. And great men like the Arch.
But the result has been a disillusioned and uninterested white community, especially under Afrikaans speaking people, white and coloured (of mixed race). We have almost no interest in politics as the ANC is so strong that your vote seems to make no difference, your politicians has not influence, your language is not important, you are the wrong colour to have a voice. The ANC has a two thirds majority in parliament which means they can basically do whatever they want to. That coupled with the high crime rate and affirmative action (which had its place but for which the time has really ran out by now) results in many young white (and mostly Afrikaans) highly skilled people leaving the country. Doctors, nurses, architects, IT specialists and teachers for instance. We almost lived in Calgary 3 years ago but decided against it. A lot of our friends have left, our only BIL and SIL works in Dubai.
This year is election year in South Africa and with the forming of a new political party by old ANC stalwarts - COPE, it is possibly the first time in 14 years that the ANC will loose the huge majority they have. As with any democratic country, the sharing of power is ideal and the basis of a democracy - therefore this is excellent news.
But, back to Sunday's sermon. Firstly the Church invited him to pay honor to him and the huge roll he played in South Africa and with the Churches is South Africa. Also for his great role as chairperson of the truth and reconciliation commission.
He read from Psalm 49 and that all the earthly treasures will go in life. He pleaded with the Afrikaner community to stay in South Africa, as the country needed us, to raise our voices against affirmative action, as he is doing, and to stay committed and involved in our country and politics. He did this all in Afrikaans, and blessed the congregation in Xhosa, while the scriptures was read in English. He is still building on his rainbow nation. And yes, it was needed. Maybe it will help to keep some more Afrikaners in South Africa.
I fyou have any questions, please leeve a comment and I will try to answer as best I can.
The Arch receiving an Afrikaans encyclopedia.
The Arch preaching.
After church we were all invited for tea with the Arch (as he introduced himself to the congregation) but we had dad and the twins waiting at home, so we decided to go home. Then the Little Miss remembered that she dropped a marker in church and back we went to retrieve it. After finding it and taking a short cut through church to another exit, we were stopped by a photographer asking if he can take a picture of The Little Miss, another boy and the Arch. Off course I agreed, and we got to meet the man himself. A big moment for me as I have huge respect for this man of God. He introduced himself as "Oompie Des" to the kids, gave them each a quick blessing " Dear Jesus, please protect this child of yours" and the photos were taken. I whisked out my camera( which I remembered other than the day I met Nelson Mandela and had no camera with me - pre cellphone camera times) and asked the photographer to take a picture with me in it as well. Their picture did not make it to the paper (they used one of him while blessing the congregation), but a great and lucky moment for us.
"Oompie" means Uncle in Afrikaans - it is customary in the Afrikaans and black African communities to call older people that you respect "Uncle" and not just family.
Now, for those who want to know about his message and politics in South Africa, read on. The rest, I will surely not hold it against you if you stop here.
I am not good with politics, in fact I try to ignore it most of the time. But I need to explain a few things for those interested to understand the significance of the above mentioned post. I am not going to go into the very sordid and unhappy past of South Africa ( but I have to mention that not all Afrikaners were racist nationalists), but I am never sure if the rest of the world realize that a miracle happened in South Africa in 1994 - we managed to make a peaceful society (apart from crime) out of the worst of circumstances. With the grace of God. And great men like the Arch.
But the result has been a disillusioned and uninterested white community, especially under Afrikaans speaking people, white and coloured (of mixed race). We have almost no interest in politics as the ANC is so strong that your vote seems to make no difference, your politicians has not influence, your language is not important, you are the wrong colour to have a voice. The ANC has a two thirds majority in parliament which means they can basically do whatever they want to. That coupled with the high crime rate and affirmative action (which had its place but for which the time has really ran out by now) results in many young white (and mostly Afrikaans) highly skilled people leaving the country. Doctors, nurses, architects, IT specialists and teachers for instance. We almost lived in Calgary 3 years ago but decided against it. A lot of our friends have left, our only BIL and SIL works in Dubai.
This year is election year in South Africa and with the forming of a new political party by old ANC stalwarts - COPE, it is possibly the first time in 14 years that the ANC will loose the huge majority they have. As with any democratic country, the sharing of power is ideal and the basis of a democracy - therefore this is excellent news.
But, back to Sunday's sermon. Firstly the Church invited him to pay honor to him and the huge roll he played in South Africa and with the Churches is South Africa. Also for his great role as chairperson of the truth and reconciliation commission.
He read from Psalm 49 and that all the earthly treasures will go in life. He pleaded with the Afrikaner community to stay in South Africa, as the country needed us, to raise our voices against affirmative action, as he is doing, and to stay committed and involved in our country and politics. He did this all in Afrikaans, and blessed the congregation in Xhosa, while the scriptures was read in English. He is still building on his rainbow nation. And yes, it was needed. Maybe it will help to keep some more Afrikaners in South Africa.
I fyou have any questions, please leeve a comment and I will try to answer as best I can.
Monday, 9 February 2009
A waggie ride for Tuesday
At 11:00 am, our local time ( as American time would be early evening if I calculated correctly), we had our own little parade for Tuesday. It was just me, 3 kids and 2 dogs - and a whole toy parade as I am sure she loved toys as any child does. Getting everybody to stand still and take a photo was tough going, but we had fun. We had Pink panther pushing a cart and a teddy riding a ride-on. But we remembered Tuesday in South Africa and said a prayer for her family.
I particularly wanted The Little Miss to wair the pink cowboy hat, but the child has a mind of her own! (Guess what!) So a willing puppy M wore it - it is cowboy (for JK who has a cowboy hat on in her profile pictures) , and pink for Tuesday. We had a tough day on Saturday, but at least we paid our tribute and it made my day. And I once again hugged my children close to my heart and thanked the Lord for giving them to me and keeping them safe.
For more Tuesday parades, have a look at this button:
The Little Miss and I had a great experience yesterday when we met a great SouthAfrican idol and Nobel Peace prize winner. Can't wait to tell, but today is for Tuesday.
Saturday, 7 February 2009
What a day!
Today's been tough incredibly tough. Only got Tuesday's parade done. Tummy virus, again (me) , one coughing baby (C), one cranky baby (L) and one plain grumpy beyond words refusing to do swimming lessons girl (A). One very patient but hugely stressed and tired dad(H). He is my rock! Pray for a better tomorrow.
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