We need to get to the Emergency Dentist!

Look what the boys look like! I think they have been to too many parties recently :) ;)

Look at them ...

'Jou ma se tande'

'Duidelik'

Griff as Naas Botha

'Too rend a beg'

Yoga, shopping & Fear Factor at RBPS

We just came back from a busy day out.

First we had the End of Year group yoga class, which the boys attended with me. It is held in a school hall and is usually attended by 30-40 people. I don't think I have missed one yet, so this was my 9th. The boys were very good on the whole. They did most of the class with me, and then went outside to play cards quietly for the rest of the time. It was 1.5 hours long. Then it was off to the yoga teacher's house for brunch - always a yummy affair with fruit, yoghurt, croissants, cheeses, muffins, preserves, nuts, juices etc etc, and always the teacher's to-die-for baked cheese cake. YUM.

Then it was off to do some shopping. General shopping, picked up a few things for me at Woolies (skirt, shorts, bra and track top) and to collect some supplies for our Halloween party on Wednesday. Then on to fruit & Veg city, where I was THRILLED to find watermelons. It is a very pitiful specimen though, so my thrill dissipated as soon as we got home and I cut it. Turns out it's not quite watermelon season yet...

There was barely time to change before heading off to Quinn's school for the Fear Factor competition they were hosting. I had expected a relaxing afternoon chatting while the kids played, but it turned out to be pretty intense and exhausting. Unbeknownst to me Quinn was captain of his team! We were supposed to dress the team in matching gear etc, so some pre-warning would have helped!!! So I ended up supervising the team and rallying around them keeping them together, doing what they were meant to and off course cheering them on. Whew!

Here are some photos of the action.

There were 10 events in all. I didn't get photos of all of them though...

The food challenge; there were 5 'disgusting' food items; boiled cabbage, squishy jellied peas,fish food, rabbit food and dog food. Quinn's team drew dog food and had to eat a spoonful of dog pellets each. Quinn was first and gobbled his down. Griffin walked away and spat his out, as did most other kids, and some of the fish food and pea kids were even vomiting!

Eeuuuw!Sling Shot Challenge - Griffin was the only one in the team who hit the target.Chicken Muck Bucket - A bucket of mushy oats with chicken innards in it. They had to retrieve a piece of chicken and run a relay to a bucket across the field. One child was so repulsed by the thought and feel of it he was vomiting as he ran. Shame!Griffin running with his gooey chicken... yeeeurgh! Slide & Maze - They had to navigate an obstacle course, climbing a cargo net, down a slide and through a maze jumping castle. Griffin really enjoyed this one, literally leaping off the top of the slide. I love this photo of him in mid air!
This is fun!All over - but still alive. Clearly Fear is not a Factor for us!Quinn eating one of his eyeball prizes on the way home.

Gearing up for Halloween

Halloween is on 31 October.

There is a lot of mixed feelings in SA as this celebration takes off.

Some people see it as 'yet another commercial rip-off the retailers are gleefully exploiting', others see it as 'Satanic' or 'Anti Christian' or even Pagan. I was going to link to the history of it, but decided not to, because WHO CARES!?

I see it as none of that. For us it is becoming a fun and festive evening, which the children look forward to with excitement and anticipation. They think about it, discuss and plan their outfits for several weeks, and they mostly put their own get ups together from what we have at home. They experiment with various things before hand, playing and using their imagination. The little ones do fun costumes we have had Bob the Builder, Harry Potter, Fairies, Angels, even Father Christmas once etc. The older ones like to pick up on the scary theme a bit being witches, ghosts and grim reepers etc. It is exciting for them. They see it on all the cartoons and TV shows they watch, and they like to be able to act and live out some of what they have seen..

On the day we get to stay up a bit later and walk around the neighbourhood at dusk, socialise with friends and neighbours, something which doesn't happen enough. It's an evening where the routines are broken, and where yes, a balanced and nutritious meal may go out the window. Instead we eat hot dogs and chips, and yes too many sweeties. But we save the rest in our treat tin and it lasts for ages.


In a time when fun and tradition are being eroded, I quite like having an excuse to get excited, giggle and play and have fun! It's becoming part of our family calendar and we like it!

We do it for the littlies from 3-10 years old or so, and it's a chance for them to be creative and dress up. We don't do any nasty tricks or anything mean.

They love chanting 'Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something nice to eat'. There's fun, excitement and camaraderie.

Some people are very fun and obliging and receive the children well. Even giving a banana for 10 kiddies to share, if that's all they have. And that's FINE. Often those things are the most well received and special because the old dear will come out and chat to them and marvel over their creative outfits and just have a good smile and chuckle with us. It's as much about the journey and adventure and socialising as anything else, and we always cater enough ourselves so we don't rely too much on the neighbours providing the treats - especially since many people in SA are quite oblivious to Halloween.

Some people however are rude and frankly mean spirited. Honestly there is nothing anti-Christ about a 3-year old little girl dressed as a faerie, skipping with a bag of sweeties. I mean really!

We usually go to a friend's house in Plumstead, but this year we are doing my neighbourhood and I have invited a few families to join us. I have been handing out flyers in post boxes, to ask them to be friendly and support us when we come past, and I am attaching a small bag of sweets to the flyer so at the very least we can get our own sweeties back

A photo collage of some of our past Halloweens

These are the Halloween treats the boys and I made last night for their cubs Halloween party tonight.

I'm finally graduating!

So I had my official doula graduation. :)

Yay me. I finished something!

Discussion with the boys tonight...

Griffin " Jesus was put on a cactus, and he died and it made him cross" LMAO

Griffin "God made the earth, and then Jesus, his son, decided to help, and made the people"

Slight discussion about where people came from between them...

Quinn "Mom is that true, surely there couldn't have been only 2 people, I mean how would they have someone to chose to marry??"

So I brought in the evolution discussion, and cave men etc etc and how it happened a long long long time ago

Quinn "Ja, like 10 years before you were born...?"

We are the champions!

YAY!! We won!!!

We were watching...

My 'possum pie'

A friend of ours used to call Griffin a 'Possum Pie' when he was a baby.

Now he is a big little-boy, but he can still be cherubic at times...

This week he has been adorable.

Last night he dressed himself up for the school's teacher's concert and people were pointing him out and saying 'ah cute', because he looked so funny - in an adorable way.



He is so looking forward to the Rugby World Cup Final tomorrow night :) Viva Bokke!