Weekends with Big Sister

We really miss our eldest when she is away at university. It was really nice to have her with us this past weekend!

Little Missy told me before the time that her sister would immediately go with her to her pink house when she comes home. That is her ultimate "gift" she bestows on a person; to promise them a visit to her pink house! (The pink house with the two dragons, the little sister and the small kitten.)
She told me that we could not come with, because our wings are broken...

We went again for a Saturday lunch at Glen Afric. It is not that far out of the city, and we feel as if we can breath a bit of fresh air, while looking at some animals walking in the distance. We saw a few elephants, giraffes and some antelopes. It definitely helps in recharging the batteries!

We are having a bit of summer again. The days are still warm and sunny!
Weekends are best spent outdoors!
Hope you had a lovely weekend as well?


We are missing you, again, Big Sister!


Related post:

Glen Afric: A place to go for a bush outing

Walk away

Culprit chasing off

We witnessed a scene yesterday. It was through the window of a restaurant, and we did not know if we were supposed to duck, or to keep on watching to see what was going to happen...

Cars came to a screeching halt in the parking area. A young boy (I don't think he is a man, especially judging by his behaviour) jumped out of his car (the yellow car without number plates).
He was wildly waving his arms, and brandishing a gun in the one hand at the family in the white Merc (see car in back of photo).

His girlfriend was running around the car, and pushing and shoving him back into the car, while he was running towards the other car with the gun! She managed to get him back in the car, and they chased off!

It was very scary! As easy as that to wave a gun at other people...

The only thing I could tell my eldest daughter: If you ever ever find yourself in such a situation... Where guns are being used to threaten other people...

Walk away immediately! Get out of the car, and walk off! Phone somebody else to come and fetch you!

Walk away!

She totally agrees with me!
She said that she would not even tolerate a gun in her home!

It was very scary!

All is right in the World

Big Sister is home!

Happy weekend!

Trust

Week 4 of the Weekly Parenting Poetry Workshop by Lauren Wayne of Hobo Mama.
The theme of this week is Trust.

Trust 


to let go of you

each day
each milestone

to believe
to know
to be thankful

you are your own person
on your own
                            journey


I am only
                    your guide
                    your mentor
                    your safety net

                    your parent

I will be here
               for you

Little Missy
"A girl bird"
24-3-2013

Wordless Wednesday #176 - Playground antics

A seat booked in a spaceship

We were told last night that she has got her purse with her money, and that they (?) are coming to fetch her. They have a seat arranged for her in the spaceship.
She asked us if we want to come along.
But, apparently, they have no seats for a Karen and a Dries!
Only for a Mieka!
But we can get seats in another spaceship, and we will be able to look at each other...
----
She had a scolding about a terrible melt-down about a jacket yesterday morning, and yesterday afternoon she was afraid her dad would also be cross about the ink marks on her face and hands as well (which he was not!)
(She was busy writing in the car on the way home, and I only noticed the face when we got home.)
So, threatening not to have a place for us in the spaceship, because we should not be scolding her, is her way of dealing with it!
We usually get threatened with not being invited to her pink house!
The pink house in the sky, with the dragons, the smaller sister and the small kitten...

Posted with Blogsy

Rainy weekend

We had a very wet weekend, and at one stage we thought the rain would never stop!
Our rain meter recorded over 100 millimetres, and then of course it overflowed!

All we wanted to do,  was this...

But we were extremely busy, and we had to rush from one appointment to another.
Luckily it was all fun, especially the wine tasting on Saturday afternoon, and the Rock Cod fish braai on Saturday. In the cold!

The Little Missy had a great weekend playing with friends, and with her cousins. We don't see her when the friends are around - she is off playing with them!

I realised this morning that her 3-4 year old clothes are not doing the job any more (I had hoped it would still see me through the winter)...
She complains that her stomach stays cold. So we are off to the shops this afternoon.

And the weekend is gone!


Hope your weekend was good?

Hope

Week 3 of the Weekly Parenting Poetry Workshop, with the theme "Hope", hosted by Lauren Wayne of Hobo Mama.

Hope


to inspire you
to dream
to dream
without limitations
you can be
the best of the best you
you can be
if only you believe in you
to dream
LARGE



Related posts:

Emerge

Preparing for you

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For the Over 40 Mothers - a free tribute e-card

Celebrate Motherhood over 40 Mothers' Day e-card

I did have a child over 40 years of age, but you tend to forget it in the normal rat-race that we are in....

There is nothing like having a little kid in your life that makes you forget your own age!
Until you get reminded of it again! :-) (Thanks, Angel!)

A Child After 40 has launched a beautiful tribute album for Mothers' Day 2013 to reveal the true faces of the rising number of over-40 moms.

MOTHER'S DAY 2013: 

True Faces of Rising Number of Over-40 Moms Revealed 

In a bid to dispel unfounded, negative stereotypes regarding maternal age—and uncover the real benefits to children of the dramatically rising population of women having children after 40—AChildAfter40.com is launching the "The Over-40 Mother's Day Album", via social media. 

A leading advocacy website for later mothers, AChildAfter40.com says the free online gallery is set to reveal the true faces and authentic voices of the growing ranks of women creating “a mother of an evolution” at the very heart of the Western nuclear family. MORE

Web:  http://www.achildafter40.com 

Email:  angel@achildafter40.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AChildAfter40

Twitter: https://twitter.com/achildafter40  

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/AChildAfter40 

.

Are you really blind?

We now have an almost daily discussion about blindness in the car after I have picked up The Little Missy.

I have a blind colleague that I drop off in the afternoons near his home.

He turns his head and looks at her when she is speaking, and he takes the stuff she hands to him.
He does not look blind, and there have been many misunderstandings through the years...
Like people seeing him walking around holding onto different ladies' arms, and thinking him a Don Juan... Or when he walks without a stick in familiar surroundings, and bumping into unsuspecting people.

Little Missy got quite upset in the beginning when she waved at him when he was out of the car already, and he did not wave back. I had to explain that she should say bye before he gets out of the car, or else he would not know that she is waving.

She also wants to know about the walking stick and how it works. To her it seems like some sort of magic wand. That it tells him where he is walking...
I have to tell her each time the stick helps him to know where a wall is, or where the road is!

She comes up with these questions, which he has to answer.
"Why are you blind?"
"Because I had a virus!"

"Why can't you drive a car?"
"Can you see me?"
"How do you know where we are driving?"

The day before yesterday she loosened a shiny stud from her leggings, and tried to give it to him.
"I have a star to give to you!"
"No thanks, Mieka, you keep it!"
"It is very bright! It will help you to see!"
In the end she threw the stud at him! Luckily it is small and did not hit him!

Later on she said:
"Oom J, jy moet vir jou 'n brilletjie kry!" - You must get glasses!
He just said yes, he will do it!

Wordless Wednesday #175 - The cup of hot chocolate is not big enough

An app that makes us smile - Petting Zoo by Christoph Niemann

Petting Zoo by Christoph Niemann
(Screen print)

We have been playing now for over a week with these 21 imaginative creatures of Petting Zoo from author and illustrator Christoph Niemann.

I can't remember where I saw the link, but it mentioned specifically that it is now also available in the South African iTunes store. There is a fee of R15 involved, which is totally worth it!

It is a combination of quirky animals mixed with sound effects and music.

As soon as I think we have found all the ways the animals can move or react, Little Missy makes a new discovery.

You can also spend hours with the music incorporated in some of the animations. The crocodile loses his teeth to the most beautiful sounds, and the octopus can be played like a harp.

It is fun, and I am sure it will keep a little one as occupied as an eighty year old!
Very smart!

https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/petting-zoo-by-christoph-niemann/id618703130?mt=8

A screen print from the app on iTunes

Reasons why the Preschooler gets upset

Little Missy still gets her furious tantrums, and after snort laughing at Reasons my son is crying, I decided to put up our own list.

A work in progress, of course...

Most of the times she gets upset about the most illogical stuff (or so we think), but in Her World it is Big AND Logical!
(Or else, it wouldn't have warrant such an explosion, would it?)

1. Waking up in the afternoons. This can sometimes take more than a hour to calm her down. (See photo above)

2. Pitching up "too early" at Pre-Primary in the afternoons. She still wanted to play!  (When it is the normal four o'clock pick-up time)

3. Not bringing a "surprise" when I go to pick her up.

4. Not turning on the children's programmes on television.

5. Wanting to turn off the children's programmes on television. (After we have said she could only watch for a fixed amount of time!)

6. Not dressed in the "right" clothes for the day!

7. She wants a sweet/ice-cream/lollipop at the shops. Protesting in the car, or in the shops!

8. Her friend hurt her feelings ("my hartjie seergemaak"), but only switching on the waterworks when we arrive at school.

9. Getting upset about a small hot chocolate in the coffee shop. It should have been a big cup like ours!

10. Screaming loudly when you try to distract her. She is not stupid! She knows what you are trying to do!

11. Not being kissed by Mom or Dad just before pulling out of the drive-way!

12. Having to leave too early at the Grandparents.

13. Breakfast in the car should not have been porridge/egg/fruit, but the other thing she had eaten the day before.

14. We are not allowed to sing with her! Period!

15. We are not allowed to interrupt her thought stream when she is talking to us!

16. We are not allowed to talk for too long in the car. She wants her turn as well!


What upsets your toddler or preschooler?

Emerge

It is Week Two of the Weekly Parenting Poetry Workshop by Lauren Wayne over at Hobo Mama. The theme this week was emerge.


emerge


your sweet little eyes
with your innocent mouth

dependent
little being

who are you?

---

growing so quickly
showing us your big feet
and big hands
now four

so proud
of all your achievements

independent
all-ready

emerging

You

Related post:

Preparing for you

A Story of Cancer Survival: How I Made It as a New Mother

A guest post by Heather Von St. James, who is trying to raise awareness about a deadly little known cancer, which is totally preventable, and also about the dangers of asbestos!

As a mother and friend to many who have been through this challenge, I hope you are never diagnosed with cancer. I was 36 when I was informed that not only did I have cancer, but I had a case so specific that it was going to be a real challenge to overcome. The year that I was diagnosed, I went through extreme highs and lows. The happiest day of my life was when I gave birth to Lily on August 4th, 2005. She was my husband Cameron and I's first and only child. However, just a few months later, we would experience a devastating blow to our new life together. 

I had an incredibly smooth pregnancy. Everything leading up to my cancer diagnosis never could have prepared me for what was going to happen. When Lily was born, we brought her home and prepared to share every moment with her, raising her to be a successful and kind woman. I realized soon after we got home that things didn't feel right. I didn't have any energy and often felt as if I was exhausted with the basic tasks. On top of everything, I was losing weight. It grew to be too much, and when I couldn't work any more, I had to go in for tests. 

About three months passed before the tests results came in. It was just three days before Thanksgiving. We were in the full holiday swing of preparing for baby's first Christmas as well. Sitting in the doctor's office and listening to him say that I had malignant pleural mesothelioma, I immediately felt myself going into a breakdown. On top of that, I was only given 15 months to live if I didn't go in for treatment right away. I simply couldn't believe it. I stared at my husband, tears in my eyes, shaking, and he realized that I needed help. The doctor was giving us a variety of treatment options, but I couldn't even think straight. All I could see was Lily growing up without a mother and missing all of the memories that I had thought of as a new mother. It was devastating. Cameron, seeing me in my state, listened to each treatment option and knew which one was best right away. I had to see a specialist in Boston who had a history of successfully helping mesothelioma patients. 

My treatment was going to be a challenge from the very beginning. The cancer had infiltrated multiple parts of my chest. I had to lose one of my lungs, parts of my heart, chest and diaphragm with a surgery called an extrapleural pneumonectomy. It would take me over two weeks to recover from the surgery in the hospital. Then, I would face the next challenge. I had to go through two months of chemotherapy and radiation. Even then, it was unclear whether I was going to beat mesothelioma. I had the highest of hopes, however. I continuously thought of Lily and how no matter what, I had to be there for her for as long as I could possibly be. It was even more difficult because I wasn't able to see her for many days while I was in treatment. The dreams that I had as a new mother seemed so far away, but I never lost sight of them. 

Lily lived with her grandparents during part of my treatment in Boston. Cameron was working full time. Such a sweet man, he was my rock and caregiver during this time. He never wanted me to know what was happening, but he needed help, too. When I went to live with parents and Lily in North Dakota to recover from my treatment, he continued to work and support our family. He was only able to visit once during this time. It was then that help started to pour in from other family members, friends, co-workers, neighbours and even strangers. I met people who had been through similar experiences or knew what it was like to go through cancer treatment, and all of those experiences made me even more hopeful that I would get through cancer treatment and be the mother I needed to be for Lily. 

Finally, I started to get ahead of the cancer breaking down my body. With mesothelioma, 95 percent of those diagnosed don't make it. I was able to not only beat cancer, but seven years later, I'm still cancer-free. I can never thank the people who came through for my family enough. They did so much to ensure that we had everything we needed to get through this battle. 

Now we have a healthy, beautiful family and a growing seven-year-old girl who just loves to tell people how she saved my life. I can't argue. It was the thought of her that got me through so many tough moments.

More can be read about Heather's story on her blog: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/

Wordless Wednesday #174 - Faces

Sleeping Beauty is a hit!

Disney's Sleeping Beauty is still on at the People's Theatre at the Joburg Theatre Complex in Braamfontein.

We went to see it the previous weekend.

It is still on until the 21 of April.

It is worth it to sign in to the Kid's Club. The birthday girl or boy get a free show each year, and they get invited on to the stage. The people accompanying the member also gets to pay less each time! (Always a win!)

It really is a hit with the children.
The older children, age 10 to 80, enjoyed it just as much! (Hubby and The Student included!)

There are a regular update of photos on the People's Theatre Facebook page if you want to see some photos of the show. The costumes and characters are a real treat!

Our Little Missy laughed and got frightened (Maleficent IS scary!) and hid underneath her dad's arm and laughed again.

By the break all the children had a light stick/sword (an extra R30), but it all contributed to the fun!

We will be back for the next Aristocats coming up.

(This is not a sponsored post.)

Not colour blind!

The first eye test went very well. I had made the appointment because I suspected our 4-year old is colour blind.

 

Little Missy told me she was afraid, and I had to promise I would hold her hand.

She was a star! The optometrist spoke only in English to her, and she even tried to give the answers back in English as well. She enjoyed all the machines, and different glasses, and could perfectly identify all the objects on the screen.

 

The optometrist gave her only 4 colour patterns to identify.

She had to coax her to identify a house in one of the colour patterns. (Which makes me feel a little bit uneasy...)

But, according to the optometrist: She is not colour blind, and we should not worry about it anymore. She says that she would not have been able to see any pattern in the 4 colour charts had she been colour blind.

She also carried on for quite a bit about girls and that it is very rare that they test positive for colour blind...

I will keep an eye (pun intended!) on the situation, but for now we will trust the judgement of the optometrist!

Yay!

I am relieved!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Preparing for you

Taking part in Lauren Wayne's Weekly Parenting Poetry Workshop for April 2013.


PREPARING FOR YOU
(my daughters)

the moment
I saw
galloping heart beats
of a new life
felt the kicks
 your hiccups
(how cute!)

I was waiting for you
Impatiently!

I LOVED buying the goodies
AND gadgets

thinking about how you would look
and Be

but nothing could prepare me

on meeting
You!


LOVE

L
O
V
E

does not need preparation

Wordless Wednesday #173 - Peace doodle

Peace doodle by Cat from Juggling Act of Life

Ears pierced!

Little Missy finally got her pierced ears today.

We walked past a counter with a sign in the mall, and I asked if they did the piercings in one go...

She was all keen, as she had been asking us for having her ears pierced for ages. It was on her Christmas wish list last year.

There was a flash of stunned horror on her face when they shot in the piercings, but then she was all smiles!

Dad had walked away. (He could not stand to watch them do it!)

She ran to him after that, and have been all smiles for the whole day when we talk about it!

She was a brave little girl!