Officially unemployed

The last matric paper was written yesterday!
Finished! Done! Final! Never again!

"Ma skryf matriek" has come to an end!

The last day of school clothes!
The end of an era!
The closing of a chapter!
The reaching of a gynormous milestone!

(It is a bit sad! For me!)

My daughter is moving on!

They have a joke going around that they are now "officially unemployed"!

But she is sorted for next year! Can I call her a "student" now?

The registrations for university has been done! The first payments (ouch!) have been done!

She is on her way...

I am so proud and so happy for her!

It happened so quickly!
(Much too soon for this mother...)



Photo: Patrick Pretorius at Photostyle.

Breast cancer awareness

Ithemba Walkathon 2011

I saw this on Laura's blog at Harassed Mom, from where she was tagged by Celeste over at Reluctant Mom.

I would like to answer these questions as well, because breast cancer is something that you can do something about. Before it is too late!



The Questions:


When did you have your first mammogram?
I went for a test in my twenties when a van came to our workplace. Never again after that!

Does anyone in your family suffer from cancer?
Luckily, no! But my teen gave us a scare about two years back when she discovered a big lump in her breast. It is called a  fibroadenoma, but she now has to have it checked every six months!
See: 18-year olds can get breast cancer

Why have you not gone for a mammogram?
I should have done it earlier... Guilty!
But I went in support of my teen for a sonar in July (also because the doctor insisted), and as soon as I stop breastfeeding I will go for the mammogram!

What were your mammogram results?
The sonar was fine! (A mammogram does not show the correct results when still breastfeeding.)

How bad is “going for a mammogram” on a scale of 1 to 10?
I can't remember that it felt that bad. I would give it a 3

When is your next appointment?
Three months after I stop breastfeeding. Don't know when that is going to happen!

Do you know anyone who has had breast cancer?
Yes, I have a colleague who went through a harrowing experience having to remove both breasts but now are declared 100% healthy. She caught it even before it developed into breast cancer! It is through her that I got the referral for my teen. We now feel very safe knowing that Dr Benn (Specialist in her field) will give us the right advice!

What is my point?
Do not accept the advice of doctors when they tell you to not come back again, or that you should wait until the diagnosis is cancer. NOOOO!
We were told not to come back for a regular check-up by a gynecologist...
My colleague was told that she should have her breasts regularly checked until the cancer is finally confirmed... (Scary!)

If you feel uneasy about a decision or opinion, get a second opinion! 
It is your health and your life!

Wordless Wednesday #96 - Off she goes...

Movie Clip Monday #20 - Wearing a crown

A very short clip: The matric dance made a huge impression on the Toddler. She insisted on a Princess dress as well, with the crown!

She was not as keen to pose for photos on the day, but very impressed with her big sister!

Lending Movie Clip Monday from Tasneem at MumDrum.


Related post: 
Princessionista

The matric dance

The Big Event took place last night!

A matric dance does not look like the matric dances we remember...
There are big cars and vintage cars, chauffeurs and red carpets! It is FANCY!

Everybody looked like stars, and the Teen had the time of her life!
She looked like a Princess!

(I will ask the Teen to write me a little post. Hint hint!)

Which eye works for the best for a matric dance?

Left eye

Right eye

The matric dance is a month and a half away, and already the Teen is driving me crazy...

The matric dance is the same as the Prom, that final function celebrating the last year of school!

The dress is hanging in the cupboard! (Small miracle!! Thank you Universe!)

It was bought from the shop, as I had meaningfully coaxed her into that direction. I did not have the stomach to have a dress made. I had a few unpleasant experiences myself!

The girls are totally one-track minded by now. They have already consulted the hairdresser for the day, and if I did not say "No!" the make-up artist would also be involved by now!

I have never been to a make-up artist myself, and I feel it is a waste of money!

Tell me if you think I am a bit harsh? Being an older mother sometimes makes me go into fall-back mode of "We never did that when we were young!" I realize it was "ages" (just the other day) ago!


This week a friend's mother practiced the make-up for the girls, and the  result can be seen in the photos above.

Which eye looks the best? The dress is a light blue.

Please help us by voting in the poll on the left side-bar!

The result of the Poll - thanks to those who have voted, and those who let me know: The left eye won by far! (My choice as well ;-) )

Dragonflies & Astronauts: Beautiful!

The picture of a sleeping toddler was not to be on Saturday night when we went to see a show of The Parlotones…


We usually don’t have a problem and at eight (nine perhaps on a weekend) she goes down, but Saturday she was bright and breezy!
Murphy does not sleep!

But we left the Toddler with the Teen. We haven’t done that much up until now!
You would think that we have a babysitting minder in-house… But, we mostly prefer to take the Toddler with. If that’s not an option, we leave her with her grandparents!

We worry about that “what if?” something very bad happens! (Just in case…)

Anyhow, we left the Teen and Toddler with a Barbie movie! And it went well! Except for lots of bed jumping that had to be endured, apparently…
(The Teen doesn’t mind at all, because she is getting a bit of pocket money!)

We went to see the live 3D movie of The Parlotones show of Dragonflies & Astronauts! It was incredible! Some of their best music in a great post-apocalyptic (?) show! Loved it! They had some problems sorting out the technicalities in the first songs, but from there we were with them on the stage!

We were sitting with our 3D goggles, and I wanted so much to take a picture. Imagine me with the blackberry with the 3D goggles in front of it! I only got this very poor image…

I hope there is a DVD coming out? I hope they do it again?
I want some more!
In the meantime I am listening to all their songs…

Yes, it was nice! (I am officially a Parlotones groupie now!)

Wordless Wednesday #84 - Sleeping sisters

Morning's first photo at day care #23 - My sister!

The Toddler was extremely pleased this morning. Her sister came with her to day care...
The Teen is going to help out for a few days!

The Young Lady is eighteen tomorrow! WHAT?

I can't believe that time has flown as quickly as it does! It is a huge cliché which all parents use. (Sorry!)
But it's true!
My little girl is 18 / eighteen / eight plus ten years old tomorrow! Not so little anymore! A young lady now!

[But, it's not about me, and ME getting old! Although, it is!... Help!]


I am so proud of the Young Lady in our midst:

She is such a special person, because she is her own unique individual.
She can make up her mind about things.
She is a very caring soul, who feels deeply for other people.
She is loved by all her friends and family!
She is a responsible lady whom I can trust with important tasks and information.
She is bright, and creative!
She has hope for the future!
She has plans for the future!
She is loving!

I have enjoyed seeing her grow up. I am loving the relationship I have with her as my daughter!
I can't wait for her to enter the new stage in her life when she goes to varsity, and LIFE!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday tomorrow, and that your year will be most special!

I love you!

Wordless Wednesday #82 - waiting for the doctor

Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

The Script - the Teen is smitten

The Script in Joburg (twitpic)

The Teen wrote a small review of  attending The Script performance at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg.

An Irish group of friends loved playing their instruments and singing. Never knowing they would become very famous, they started small and went BIG TIME!!

Yep, I’m talking about The Script!

My friends and I had the privilege to go and watch them on the 24th of June, at the Coca-Cola Dome!

It was an awesome evening! First we had a local band perform, The Arrows. They got the crowd hyped up and excited!

Then The Script came to the stage! Ah, the crowds went wild, because they sang their songs that made #1hits on radio stations all other the country!

Danny, the lead singer, walked off the stage into the crowd. The girls went wild, because he started taking phones and cameras and taking pictures of himself with it!

He gave me a kiss on the cheek and gave me his guitar pick!

Gorgeous man!
 
Apparently, we were their biggest crowd to date, with a huge number of 18 300 people! Johannesburg was also the coldest airport they have landed in, but it’s only because we aren’t geared for this cold weather!

The band was so happy and impressed that we knew their songs and could sing with them! They have songs like: For the first time, Nothing, The man who can’t be moved, etc.

It was an amazing evening and I would love to go and see a show of them again!

Cellphone photos by the Teen

Winter sun

It was the shortest day on Tuesday in the southern hemisphere, and we are saying that summer is around the corner again. The middle of winter means things have turned around already. Summer is on its way again!

I noticed that the Northern hemisphere announced that it is the start of summer there...   (Wink smile!)
It seems we all are looking forward to summer! But it seems we have definitely more of it!

We have had a lovely few days of winter sun here in Johannesburg, and we have been soaking up the lovely rays! (Go away, Murphy!!)

I am attending a conference for two days! We have not had much of these in recent years. It is so invigorating to hear new voices, and to get some valuable insights in my field of work! I like attending conferences! (Nerd!)

The teen has finished with her mid-year exams. Holidays for them already! When they have holidays, it feels a bit like holidays for us as well! Not having to do the taxiing and a bit less traffic make our lives much easier!

She has found her perfect fairytale dress yesterday. It is way above our budget... (No surprises, actually!) At least the search is over, and I can sigh with relief!

All is well in Toddlerville! Little Miss is better after she was sick last week, and sleeping very well at the moment!

It seems we are happy families...

Time to soak up some of that winter sun!

What do we need more than this?

(Boring is my new black! Sorry readers!)

The Teen is clever!

Yes, she is very clever! She KNOWS and she tells you what she knows!


I am lacking seriously in grey matter to understand the complexities of her universe. I have become a second class citizen with regards the workings of this plane of existence we found ourselves in. I just do not know at all how all this fits in together…

My Teen knows how it works! There is not a thing that we say that do not get a clever retort back…

She told a teacher umpire yesterday to penalize a hockey player who had hit her in the shins. Or else she would have to leave the field. The teacher told her that she does not have to worry. She is sending her off in any case. With a yellow card! Before that she also had something to say about the other penalties blown by the teacher…

When I told the Teen to not be so bitchy, I was told that I clearly do not understand how unfair this whole situation had been…

If this had been a single incident, it maybe could have been overlooked as a single incident. But apparently there is a lot of wrong and unfair happening in the world. She is fighting the war against ALL the wrong-doing going on!

This is the passion and the vigor we all had at her age. I understand it, and I remember it! But we also have to learn to address the issues with more diplomacy. If you tell someone they are wrong; they just defend it, and you do not get your point across!

Now, how do I tell the all-knowing Teen that there are better ways to address an issue, but without her losing her passion for addressing the wrongs in life?

We do not want our children to become passive passengers in life, do we?

She wants to change the world! I want her to change the world!

How do I nudge her gently in the right direction?

Walking with the Toddler

One of the best places to be: On Daddy's back!

I wanted to post this on Friday, but Blogger had other plans. More that 24 hours of down-time... That was really frustrating!

We have to fetch the Teen every night at half past five after she has finished with her hockey practice!
I know all parents have to struggle with this, but all this driving and taxiing back-and-forth is a big headache. It takes just a little bit less of an hour before we get back home. So I suggested we get something from it as well. We walk with the Toddler in the back carrier and get some much-needed exercise as well! We drive to the school, and while we wait, we get in an exercise of at least half an hour!

I have announced now a couple of times I want to move more, but it seems the daily business of it all makes me slip time and again. I hope we can continue with this little exercise... We all feel a little bit better after we have worked up a sweat, and the Toddler really enjoys being outdoors!

Late afternoon walk in the 'burbs

Friday, you came early!

Thank you!

Miracles happen each and every day! This has been a four day work week, and we have a Friday showing up! How great is that?!

The Toddler was extremely impressed that it is Sweets Day today, and off she went to day care… The money is in her bag! AND she gets to visit Ouma (Gran) tonight! She announced yesterday already that she wants to go to Ouma, and when I told her that it is only tomorrow, she was not impressed…

The Teen celebrated her boyfriend’s birthday with him yesterday, and is planning another day tomorrow with him. Watching him play rugby and going out! We might see her for a few minutes this weekend… I am hopeful!

I committed one of those brain-bubble stupid moments this week when I forgot my Wimpy coffee of the roof of my car, and drove from the Mall. A truck driver tried to alert me, but I gave him a complete ignore-look! It was only when a student stepped into the street, and took the coffee from my roof that I realized that he was actually trying to tell me something important! I will never forget the look on the driver’s face: “I told you so!” Not even my “I-am-sorry-wave” and cheapish smile could make him wipe that indignant look of his face!

Hubby and I are going to a Barnyard show tonight. Can’t wait! A bit of time out tonight!

What are you doing on your weekend?
Do you still have brain bubbles, even when your children are older?

In search of higher education

Next year seems very far away, but when you want to continue your studies past Grade 12 you need to register YESTERDAY already. The registrations have opened in March and places are filling up...

We went to an Open ay at the Potchefstroom University on Saturday. Everything is available on campus. The residences are close by and it seems very safe, especially for the young ladies! I was at first not very keen on the university because it is one and half hours drive away, but it seems that the institutions nearby does not offer us the same options.

The Teen wants to continue her studies in communication with a keen interest in book editing. It seems they have a very good degree in Communication as well as specialization areas. The problem is that they only select 100 people in a year to start with the course! We will definitely have to apply to other universities as well. (Sigh!)  She has to prepare a whole portfolio to be accepted here! (Standards are high.)

We only went through one of the residences, and the Teen has voted it as her favourite to go to next year! (They have the option of three.)

I was struck by the fact that the young people have three or four years more of being in a safe and secluded bubble! A couple of more years of being young and carefree... What a wonderful opportunity! It made me wish I was young again, and with all the limitless opportunity ahead of me... Well, nearly! But I had my four years of university life as well! Which I enjoyed thoroughly!

I am holding thumbs that The Teen gets to have the best time of her life while preparing for a career! And I am holding thumbs that she gets a place here!

Related post:
Grade 12 - the stress is getting to me

The Dress!

The final year matric dance dress seems to be quite a big deal! No, it is one of the focus points of this year!


It does not matter that it is only taking place at the end of September this year! No, it is a matter-of-urgency!

Since The Teen returned from her overseas tour it has been a constant discussion point. I had a “very urgent” talk very soon thereafter. “Should we not consider having this Dress made?” Only the choice of university (which is another story altogether) seems to be taking up some of her head space!

I think I am going to have to exercise some amount of patience / understanding / negotiating skills this year! I have given The Teen a budget with regards the Dress, but it seems her choice of Dress exceeds that budget. (I am not going to budge… I am not going to budge…) It is far more expensive than I would spend on any ball gown!

I have given The Speech: This is only one function! You are going to have to attend lots and lots of functions in years to come! You look extremely pretty in a very simple elegant design. So much more pretty than an elaborate Ball Gown! She agrees about the simple and elegant… (phew!)

I spent yesterday afternoon at two shops in the Mall where I think we are paying off that hefty rent bill a month. The dresses far far exceed our prize range… And it did not help that she found a near perfect dress! Luckily she agreed it was not a “Wow! Dress” (wipe sweat from brow)…

Any suggestions on how to not go crazy in searching for that perfect dress? I am Mrs Plain and Mrs Cheap (if I can get away with it!). I always believe it is not the most expensive that looks the most beautiful!

Image: Microsoft Clip Art: Princess

This week I’m grateful for... my family

I am linking up with Maxabella and her I’m grateful for.

It is Sunday already, but I m so glad my family is all back at home again. The Teen is back from her Paris and London tour, and Hubby is back from his Namibia conference. I missed them!

Nothing than a missing family member to make us realise how important they are in our lives!

How lucky we are to be a family! Our lives are enriched beyond our wildest expectations. We are able to share our lives and tours... We know that when we share our photos, the members of our family actually want to see what we have been up to! (wink smile)

I love my family!

What to do on a Thursday night?

In surburbia? When Hubby is not here, and The Teen is on her forever tour… (It feels like that! Two weeks are very long!)


It is only me and the Toddler tonight! The case of when the cat is away… What to do?

No, Hubby, before you get concerned… I can’t wait for a quite night all on our own, just The Toddler and me. Being lazy and going to bed early… What is better than that?

Autumn has arrived with its cold spread of clouds, grey, wet and orange. I think we have had three days of this already, and the main topic of conversation is the weather on this side of the world. We are very one track minded, we South Africans! We are complaining already! I do hope it is not a very long winter this year! Three months are way too much…

Vegging out on the couch tonight does not sound like too bad of a deal with the weather!

What would you do on a night like tonight?