Home James! Or Is It Jane? July 14, 2009

Hubby, against my wishes, bought our Eldest son his first skateboard at the age of 3 years old.  He came into the house with the glow of a father who had just given the ‘ultimate’ gift to his son.  I must admit that all the fancy toys I have bought, for their educational purposes, toys that were requested on Christmas and Birthday lists, all get played with seldom but a request to go outside to have “a little skate, just a little one Mom”, is a daily occurrence and the thrill has obviously not worn off.

Over the last few months Hubby has been taking Eldest to a a local skateboard park, not that much skateboarding gets done due to our child being as young as he is, but he loves to watch the more experienced skaters.  It was at about this time a few mutterings were made by Hubby that he would like his own skateboard so that he could skate with Eldest instead of standing around doing nothing. 

The surf and skate shops around our area have had blowout sales and it was on one of my ‘hunter gather’ expeditions that I found some skateboards that were discounted! As Hubby’s birthday was in a few months time I decided to buy him the skateboard he was obviously going to buy himself.  That evening he turned the board in his hands and a boyish glint could be seen in his eyes.  I had the glow of a wife who had finally presented her Hubby with an ultimate gift!  He was desperate to get out there and skate, even taking his board out in the empty parking lot at work for a secret session!

Last week Sunday we finally revealed to Eldest that his Dad has his own board and would finally be joining him on the ramps!  Not wanting to interrupt the Father and Son bonding moment I left them to it and took Wee One for a little stroll.  When I returned I found Hubby standing, watching Eldest skate and doing nothing!  As I approached I was met with a grimace of pain clearly displayed on Hubby’s face. 

 

“I came so left and fell on my arm.  I am sure it’s just muscular because I can move it!”

 

Mmm.  As the afternoon wore on Hubby’s pain increased and he got paler by the hour.  There was only one thing for it – Emergency Room.

He returned with his arm in a sling and was told that the x-rays would still be reviewed but nothing was obviously broken.  What a relief!  However he still could not put any pressure on the arm and I had a new title to add to my long list of  job descriptions, that of chauffeur!   Yesterday we learnt that there is a fracture and that Hubby needs to keep his arm in a sling for the next three weeks!  So for three weeks I will be doing Hubby’s work run and the kids school run.

On the drive home I heard the following conversation take place between father and son.

 

“Dad, I’m so sad you hurt your arm.”  sympathised Eldest.

 

“Don’t worry boy, it won’t be long and it will be fine.” reassured Hubby.

 

“But Dad, are you not going to skateboard with me anymore?”

 

“Of course I will!  Once my arm is okay we will go skateboarding again.”

 

“Thanks Dad, thanks.”

 

As I turned into our driveway I could only sigh and wonder what lay ahead of me and my extream sportsmen!

Recalling 25 Firsts. July 8, 2009

I have reached the middle point of the holiday break and still holding on to my sanity!  Don’t get me wrong I LOVE my kids, but my Eldest has the worst case of verbal diarrhoea, (an affliction he apparently inherited from me), and from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep it is non-stop chatter, questions and commentary!  Wee One can still attend his little playgroup in the mornings but once he awakes from his afternoon slumber it is as if somebody has let the Tasmanian Devil lose in my house! 

So due to lack of energy and time for any thoughts whatsoever I am entertaining you all with a meme I read on Charlotte’s Web.  It looked like fun and sometimes it is fun recalling a few firsts in ones life!

Here are my 25 Firsts: -

1.  Who was your first prom date?  Proms are not really done in South Africa but we do have a “Matric Dance” which I  have always believed to be similar.  The high school I attended was co-ed (boys and girls) and for some or other harsh reason we had to go to the dance with somebody in our year from our school.  My date for the evening was a Robert, who did driving lessons before school started so that he would be able to get his drivers license and  drive us to the dance.  There was no romance there whatsoever, well at least not from my side, as I had just met my ‘Future Hubby’.  I do believe, thinking back, I could have been a better date to Robert.

2.  Do you still talk to your first love?  The young dude who I thought was my first love was probably my first crush, the last time I spoke to him was as I was leaving to study at University.  My first ‘real’ love was and still is Hubby and thankfully after nearly 10 years of marriage we still talk!

3.  What was your first alcoholic drink?  Mmm, at a sleepover, me and two of my friends got into Mom and Dads drinks cabinet and had a few tastings of “Irish Cream”.  Luckily, my parents were never big drinkers and Mom only found out about my bit of mischief months later!

4.  What was your first job?  Doing children’s shows for a promotions company.

5.  What was your first car?  A lovable little blue and white VW Citi Golf!  He came to our family with the name Henry and when we had to part ways I vowed never to get into a personal relationship with a car again!  It broke my heart! 

6.  Who was the first person to text you today?  A dear friend of mine who is also at home with her energetic little boys!  We are hoping to join forces tomorrow and brave the madness!

7.  Who was the first person you thought of this morning?  Batman.  I didn’t have a choice my Eldest woke me up dressed in his Batman outfit asking me to tie on his cape for him.

8.  Who was your first grade teacher?  A Mrs Swart, I will always remember her as the person who taught me to read, something I had always wanted to do! 

9.  Where did you go on your first flight in a plane?  My first flight was with my mom and brother to the then “South West Africa” now known as Namibia to visit my grandparents who had recently relocated there from Cape Town.

10.  Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?  A stunning person, Leanne, who I was always in contact with even after my parents relocated to KwaZulu-Natal.   We lost touch after the Varsity Years but actually saw each other over Christmas last year again.  Facebook is good for some things after all!

11.  Where was your first sleepover?  Funnily enough at Leanne’s, a whole group of us decided to form a band and practice our music at her house as she had a ‘loft room’.  I think we still disturbed her parents with our noise at 2 am!

12.  Who was the first person you talked to today?  Its a bit fuzzy, either it was my Eldest son dressed as Batman or Hubby who brought me coffee in bed to ensure that I got out of bed as he was leaving for work in half an hour.  Being a deep sleeper has its drawbacks!

13.  Whose wedding were you in for the first time?  Not that I remember but apparently my Aunts as a flower girl.

14.  What was the first thing you did this morning?  Tied on ‘Batman’s’ cape!

15.  What was the first concert you went to?  If memory serves, it was a “Live” concert.

16.  First tattoo?  What?  And have it sag half way down my body as I age – no thanks!

17.  First piercing?  None!  Mom had me facing the ‘firing’ squad’ for my first set of earrings at 3 years of age and Dad thundered into the jewellers, whipped me off the chair saying “If God wanted my daughter to have holes in her ears he would have made her that way.”  I never bothered to get them done or had any desire to wear them.

18.  First foreign country you went to?  Deutschland. 

19.  First movie you remember seeing?  Bambi and I balled the whole way through from the moment Bambi lost his mommy! Nothing else mattered – Bambi didn’t have a mommy and that was earth shattering to my 4 year old mind!

20.  What state did you first live in?  I was born in the Western Cape,  the province that boasts fine wines and Table Mountain.

21.  Who was your first room mate?  A strong and brave girl at Uni, named Wandi, who I have sadly lost touch with.  I often wonder where or what she is doing in the world.

22.  When was your first detention?  Who me?  I was the good girl! ; )

23.  If you had one wish what would it be?  To live in a crime free South Africa, now wouldn’t that be paradise?

24.  What is one thing you would learn, given the chance?  Homeopathy.  Although the chemistry side leaves me paralysed with fear!

25.  Who will be the next person to post this?  Whoever would like a trip down memory lane!

Party Panic & The Pinata! July 2, 2009

There is one day in every year that my Eldest son yearns for, this excludes Christmas and Easter, and that is his birthday.  We constantly get asked how old he is and “Four Years Old” has never been good enough, he has always been 4 and a quarter, 4 and a half or 4 and three quarters as the year progressed.

Now most kids get excited about their birthdays and are quite happy for their moms to lay a table of sweets and get on with it but my son plans his birthday literally a year in advance!  After his fourth birthday I was informed what the theme of his fifth birthday would be – the boy didn’t waiver on that and as this particular Superhero is seen as ‘unpopular’ at the moment finding party themed material became impossible!  The real humdinger of a request was that this year he wanted a Pinata – and not just any Pinata – it had to be his Superhero of choice.

Thank goodness for the Internet as this very important ‘guest’ was ordered in Gauteng, who arrived 2 weeks before the big day and for his safe keeping our Superhero Pinata slept in my bedroom out of my overexcited sons reach!

The day of the party finally arrived – I managed to paint signage, find colour co-ordinated balloons, book the jumping castle, shuddered as almost every child we invited was going to attend - all 32 of them including the addition of their siblings and the weather was good!

My Eldest was ecstatic but the excitement only increased when it was time to ’smack’ the pinata!  My main concern was that none of our party guests would become an additional pinata – so I made sure the children were lined up a safe distance away from the child with the stick!  When our Superhero finally succumbed to his fate, the children dropped to their knees with glee as it ‘rained’ sweets and treats, the mothers looked on glumly knowing that the rest of Saturday afternoon would be sugar induced mayhem, the fathers knew that they would have to corker for a pinata at their kids next birthday and I sadly picked up our fallen ‘Superhero’.

I had grown quite fond of the paper mache little chap.

Soccer Mom, I Am! June 10, 2009

I am slowly coming to terms with an additional role to my already bulging portfolio of “Mom”, I have entered the realm of “frantically rushing from school to afternoon sport activities” and therefore “Soccer Mom,  I Am”.

I got a taste of it last term when I decided that extra effort had to be given to my Eldest to become swim safe, I also think that being the only boy to splash in the pool wearing armbands at a class party can be pretty damning to an already sensitive little ego.  So for 2 months, twice a week, I would throw Wee One and packed lunches in the car, make a mad dash to the school to pick up Eldest , throw the packed lunches on their laps and hit the freeway to attend the swim school of a highly recommended teacher.  For 15 minutes I would try and keep Wee One from drowning himself  while cheering Eldests swim efforts.  It paid off, by Eldests last lesson he could finally swim and his water phobia was put to rest. 

This term has snowballed into something a little bigger.  Eldest expressed an interest in Karate , as I thought this would be a good confidence builder I went about to choose a Karate style and Sensei that would foster that in him, unfortunately it was not the Karate offered at the school and once again I hit the road every Monday.  Then, just to add to my chaos, Eldest wanted to play soccer and so Wednesday’s  have became another mad dash with packed lunches.   In between Monday and Wednesday he also participates in a club activity after school, so every Tuesday I have to occupy Wee One for an hour before picking up his brother, getting home and putting him down for his afternoon nap!

I am so glad tomorrow is Thursday!  In fact I may have an afternoon nap myself!

A Year Of Rants, Raves and Everything Else! May 28, 2009

Dear Blog!

My dear friend it has been a full year since we became acquainted.  You have been there to hear my moans and groans, my rants and raves and waited patiently for me to visit you when for weeks I neglected you.  It’s not you, it’s me you understand?  I need to feel creative and inspired to write and that unfortunately seems to elude me during times of stress and worry …. which I blame my star signs for!  That’s what you get when you have your feet in both camps, one foot in Virgo and the other in Libra. (I have to put the blame somewhere, after all I am perfect!) ; )

Luckily, we have made a few friends during this past year and they pop in every now and then to keep you company, unfortunately many seem to be seeking the medicinal properties of parsley tea which I didn’t write too favourably about here. 

This year we were introduced to something called a meme, I think we did pretty alright here for our first attempt. Most posts were written with a huge amount of sleep deprivation which did cause us a certain amount of embarrassment here and you love me even though I will never look like a supermodel which I lamented about here , you have at least allowed me to laugh at myself!

So Blog darling, here’s to another year!  Blog and I would like to thank Charlotte, Honeypiehorse, Lizzy, Pete, Kit and Gill for  reading and commenting, its been fabulous getting to know you all!  Like I need an excuse, I’ll be popping the bubbly and raising my glass to more rants, raves and everything else!  (Even if it is written with very poor grammar!)

“Nigella” And The Rye… May 12, 2009

In my dream world I would love to have the cooking skills of Nigella Lawson.  Firstly, she is left alone in her kitchen without interruption unlike myself who, while chopping vegetables, is trying to prevent Wee One from getting hold of the bread knife by keeping the cutlery drawer closed with my hip !  Secondly, the woman always has the ingredients needed to cook her masterpieces!  Honestly!  Have you watched her cooking show?  Right down to the ready made vanilla sugar and pancake mix!  Forward planning is not my forte and so I tend to substitute, which I can justify by saying that my cooking ‘evolves’ till it arrives at the dinner table.  Thirdly, she puts it all together so effortlessly whereas I tend to chase the egg yolk around the counter and my kitchen floor looks like some form of abstract art!  Fourthly, (and the list could go on), have any of you seen Nigella wash a dish? ….  Exactly! 

Since entering the career of Wife, Housekeeper, Cook , Mother, Nanny and Laundromat I have become embarrassing with the meals I literally throw together in between the mayhem.  I have become the queen of  ‘one pot cooking’ , so simple and less dishes.  My other new found friend in the kitchen is something called a slow cooker. For once my stews are edible!  I know my tools, I know the product and together we produce somewhat nutritious dinners for the family…. until Monday.

Hubby went on a wee shopping spree at the local health shop and came back bearing gifts!   Yes, a gift for me, and no it was not essential oils, Bach Rescue Remedy or some organic soap, it was pasta and not the type ‘Mama’ is used to cooking with!  We were presented with rice pasta twists and rye macaroni. Mmm.

The rice pasta twists didn’t scare me one jot, it looked like any other no name branded pasta you would find at your local supermarket but the rye macaroni had me stumped.  It was shaped like macaroni but it was a dark brown colour and somehow brown mac and cheese just didn’t do it for me.  I needed time and definitely forward planning to attempt the new visitor in my kitchen.

This afternoon, while the kids napped, I went to work, chopping veggies, frying mince, making pasta sauce and cheese sauce, layered the lot, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and bunged it in the oven.  I produced my rye pasta bake with flair and held my breath as my harshest critic held his plastic lime green spoon in his hand.  Eldest, all of nearly 5 years old, slowly went to work and only managed to extract one tiny piece of onion, the rest of the veggies went unnoticed and I was rewarded with a clean plate!

As I washed up my last dish this evening I must admit I felt a bit of a “Nigella”……

Around The World in 80 Clicks – The Enjoyment of Motherhood. May 9, 2009

As Mothers Day is approaching, I felt it was apt to attempt the meme I was tagged to do by Kit.  It was initiated by Catherine of Her Bad Mother and her friend David to find out if mothers around the world have similar or different perspectives when it comes to raising children.  So the challenge is to list 5 things one enjoys about motherhood and then tag 5 different mothers to do the same. 

Five things I enjoy about Motherhood: -

1. Experiencing all the ‘firsts’ of  my children.  The first butterfly they see, the first time they enjoy the beach and their faces when they taste chocolate or lemons for the first time!
2. Experiencing my heart.  Feeling my heart soar when they achieve another milestone, from their first steps to the first time they can ride a bike without training wheels and feeling my heart break at their lows and disappointments.
3. Hugging  them when they have just woken up from sleep – all warm, soft and cuddly!
4. Hearing their philosophy on life, like Eldest informing me that he will not be having children because they are just too difficult!
5. Wild laughter, chuckles and giggles!

As my little blogosphere is minute – I have only one mother who I can tag to do this meme and that is Honeypiehorse who I know will do this justice!  If you comment on the original post you will be included in the roundup here.

Eldest came home on Friday bearing the gift he had been secretly making me all week at school – a delightful ‘crazy clay’ pot – in Spiderman colours – to put my rings in.  It’s lumpy, the colours are bright but I love it!  Just another reason to enjoy motherhood!

Yes I’m back! From Outta Space! May 7, 2009

Well not quite, but if feels like I have been far away for a long period of time!  It was with a twinge of sadness that I  left the shores of the Eastern Cape to return to the shores of the East Coast.

This trip however was not without a touch of drama! Try… missing the only flight out of Durban to Port Elizabeth on the day of your expected departure! For once it was not due to procrastination or tardiness but basic human error on the part of Hubby – he read our car hire information and mistook it for our flight time! The look of absolute disbelief on his face, when we approached the flight desk and were told that the flight had already departed, I will never forget!
So there we stood, 2 huge bags, 1 camp cot, 1 set of golf clubs and no flight! Eldest was in tears and Wee One didn’t have a 18 month old clue!  While Hubby tried to book us on the next flight, the next day, I took the boys to the sweet shop as the situation called for chocolate even if it was only 8:30 in the morning.  Unfortunately, chocolate was not going to do it for Hubby who spent the rest of the day starring into the nothingness and shaking his head, reliving the moment over and over again.  You have to understand the man is a Virgo, perfectionist and financial accountant, missing a flight due to personal oversight and then still having to pay for the pleasure, shook him to his core!

So we repeated the same procedure the next morning, just an hour earlier.  As we offloaded our luggage to make our way to the Departure Hall, Eldest insisted on holding my hand and pray that we would make our flight.  So I take it a lesson was learnt by all, Hubby realised that even he can make mistakes, Eldest learnt that his parents are not perfect and can make mistakes and I learnt that it  feels much better when you are not the one who made the mistake!

We had days on the beach…

 

Touched Cheetah’s…

 

Held Lion Cubs…

 

Saw Rehabilitated Penguins…

 

And this cool lighthouse!

 

I wish I had taken a picture of Ouma’s (Grandmother’s) Banana Bread/Loaf but it was everyone for themselves and I would have lost out on my slice!  Delish!

I have many blogs to catch up on and I see that I have been tagged by Kit to do a bit about motherhood…. which may require a little bit more time for me to focus on it.  Right now I have lunches to make and another load of laundry to do!  So, will be back soon with a bit on my five points regarding the enjoyment of motherhood although I must admit some days I think I fail miserably at the task!

A case of the “Blah”! April 19, 2009

I honestly thought that when I tried to post today my “WordPress Account” would flash up an error message. Something like … “Who are you?” “Your Account has been frozen” “Your Blog has left you for another…”  I am literally clawing back onto my keyboard and I have to ask myself why I have been so …. flat?  It is the case of the “Blah” – too much has been occupying my mental space which has seriously stifled any attempts to get creative and write!

It has been a busy time, I had a tiny skin cancer scare – “Out damned spot…” was a thought that came to mind!  So off  I went to a Dermotologist thinking he was just going to look at the spot on my back and give me the yey or the nay, instead I was told to strip down to my knickers!!!  I was a wee bit taken aback I must admit…

“It’s just a spot on my back!” I exclaimed.

“Well you are here now, lets just check you out as I can see by the texture of your skin you are a high risk candidate.”

Feeling very vulnerable lying under a magnifying glass in my undies, I was searched and relieved when he gave me the good news that every spot on my body was healthy!  Yay!  That was a load off my mind!  The bill that arrived a week later was not so pretty.  However health before wealth and so we focus on the positive things that lie before us!

This week  I have two major events to focus on: -

• 22 April 2009 – Voting Day.  I must say following the election campaign has at times been depressing with ridiculous statements being made by all parties concerned…. I am not sure which movie it is from but I always hear the actor Jack Nicholson’s voice, “Little people, why can’t we all just get along?”  So on Wednesday I will be hitting the queues with my bar coded Identity Document and making my mark once again.  I also pray that all South Africans respect each others democratic right to vote and that the political violence that has sparked up here and there will be contained.

 

• The next event will hopefully lift my spirits and cure me of the dreaded “Blah”!  I am going here: -

 

My annual trip to the Eastern Cape, Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa.

There are may gems in South Africa, and shamefully there are many I still have not seen, but I love the coastline from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.  My boys will be visiting their Grandmother and Great Grandmother.  Their Great Grandmother is known as “Ouma”, which is Afrikaans for grandmother, and she is already anticipating our arrival by baking our favourite ginger biscuits!  Hubby has spent many a childhood holiday in this amazing little town and it has found a special place in my heart.  As we take the third generation of our family to Jeffrey’s Bay we hope that it will also hold fond memories for them too!

So it is time to start packing  for my dear family, clothes for all seasons, SPF 40+ for all my spots and hopefully I can leave my “Blah” on the white sands of the Eastern Cape shores.

Hop Hop Hop!!! April 4, 2009

Our schools have closed for the Easter Holidays but not before they filled our children’s little minds with hopping Easter Bunnies and chocolate eggs!  We have been sent home Easter masks, baskets and other arts and crafts just to ensure that the Easter spirit does not wane in our household!

Every night, for the past two weeks as I kissed my Eldest goodnight, he would try to engage me in another one of his sneaky schemes to ‘trick’ the Easter Bunny!  Every now and then he has a surge of excitement that tonight is the magical night when the Easter Bunny will make his appearance and we have to dash his hopes by informing him that the Easter Bunny is still very busy making chocolate eggs for the boys and girls of the world.

It was with this realisation that I, mother of the household aka Father Christmas and my current future role of Easter Bunny had to dash off to the shops to stock up on our Easter eggs, rather today than next Saturday!  So, as I type, my little secret stash of chocolate eggs is safely hidden away, the pressure is off!  Or is it?

My sons have inherited a most hideous gene called an ‘early riser’ from my husbands double helix!  Thankfully,  Hubby pays for his sins and gets up with the team at the unearthly hour of 5:30am allowing moi an extra hour of ‘zuzz’ time before the smell of java pulls me from my slumber.  However, this year I have to break the pattern and awaken with the sparrows as I ‘hop’ around the garden, in a half asleep state,  finding good hiding places for the precious choccie eggs!  I have heard that some Easter Bunnies hide their eggs before they go to sleep at night but unfortunately for me this is not an option due to a troop of monkeys that use our garden as part of their morning stroll!  Can you imagine the drama?  Monkeys whooping with joy as they swoop down from the trees, collecting the chocolate eggs, ripping them open and gorging themselves leaving my boys to wake up to a multicoloured lawn of just shiny papers?  An Easter nightmare!

So next Sunday morning, while you are all tucked up in bed, think of those who will be up at the crack of dawn keeping dream of the Easter Bunny and his chocolate eggs alive!