Double Celebration

There has been great excitement in our home the last few days as today drew closer and closer! It is Z's 9th birthday today! This little guy of mine had a wonderful day and was truly blessed !

He was awake at 4a.m. and came creeping into our bed because there was a storm going on outside. (I think he had just woken up and knew it was not time for celebrating yet and couldn't fall asleep again as he was so excited about his big day!) When the alarm finally went off, he gleefully announced it was time to open presants...he said he had seen them lying on the floor at 4a.m. when he crept into our bed.

As our family tradition goes, the kids all pile onto our bed to open birthday presents and today was no different. He was so appreciative of his birthday gifts and it was fun to hear him exclaim, "oh that's just what I wanted, thank you!" I had been buying little things here and there and had them stored up for today so I knew that they were all items he would enjoy.

He requested a breakfast of French toast so that's what we had. Hubby went off to work and we headed over to Oma's house. He had a pile of gifts there too and a lovely chocolate cake. I took the opportunity of going for a work out while the children enjoyed the hour with Oma. After all in our home, birthdays are not school days....

We spent the afternoon at home ,cuddled on the couch, watching the movie "Gandhi." I had read a book about him to the younger two children yesterday, so they knew a little about him. ( So I was really sneaking in a little school anyway!)

Tonight we went out for ribs to celebrate the birthday and the fact that J had his braces removed yesterday.We had promised we would do that as soon as they came off , so tonight was the perfect night.

Some hands on learning and fun

Well its been almost two weeks since we came home from our holiday and it felt like we had not achieved anything with school but as I look back, I see we have. It seems like the holiday was a life time away. Two of the children have had colds and fevers so that always interferes with the book work.I hope the littlest member of the family will be feeling much better before his big day on Tuesday. He will be nine!

K spent the better part of the week lying in bed and one of our furry members of the family decided to keep her company by finding herself a cosy spot on K's chest of drawers...I almost didn't even spot her there!

J made a model of DNA with pipe cleaners for his General Science. I was thrilled to have them on hand, as sometimes we need to dash out and buy supplies when he needs to do an experiment. We completed the module yesterday and he did very well with the study guides. I have yet to mark the test.

They all had fun doing an experiment to see how air pressure works for our Zoology studies. I must say, I am enjoying learning alongside my children! (excuse that basket of washing in the back ground!)

My sister had sent me an email showing what chefs do when they are bored. It was a whole lot of very creative sculptures using fruit and veg. The younger two decided to try their hand at some orange and lemon faces. Rather cute!

We had some fun yesterday with the pipe cleaners and made these creations. There are some wonderful sites on line where you can learn to make all sorts of things using pipe cleaners.

Today i headed off to the library to source the books we need for next week. I was so happy to find almost all that was on my list but when I got to the check out....I had the wrong library cards! How frustrating! Thankfully they will keep the books until Monday.

Z took a break from Acts club today as he was feeling under the weather and not up to running about. J continued with his copper beating course and K enjoyed cookery with eggs. They made deviled eggs and egg salad. They shared their cooking with the teachers and the boys doing the copper beating. I truly am grateful for the wonderful opportunity the children have to spend time learning new skills.

Are your words kind....

I recently read a quote by Jessica Hulcy of Konos that our words should always be kind, necessary and true. I have shared this with my children and by Gods grace, we are keeping a check on this in our home. In other words, if they don't fit into those categories.....don't say them!

It is so easy to say things to one another that are not necessary. We need to learn to guard our mouths and think of the consequences of what we may say. Will it hurt the other person?
We have been challenged in our home this week regarding this issue. Sometimes older children "chirp" unnecessaries which are really harmful to delicate little souls who are still growing. As parents we need to keep an eye on this and gently lead our children on right path when they slip up. Above all, we need to treat one another with love and let our words be kind, necessary and true.

South Coast and beyond

Welcome to San Lameer. Take a break where nature, wildlife, and the ocean compliment this prestigious golf estate on the glorious South African coast in Kwa-Zulu Natal.....

We had the pleasure of an early morning breakfast with my Godfather from Cape Town, who happened to be at San Lameer for two days. It is just a stones throw from mums house and we set off early on our last day on the South Coast to enjoy the pleasure of his company and copious amounts of hot chocolate and a buffet style breakfast. It was lovely to see him and I would have loved to linger longer to experience the beauty of this place.

Later that day we headed off to Margate and ended up getting the keys locked in the car...it was unfortunate but gave us the opportunity to explore a well stocked craft shop while waiting for a locksmith to arrive. This shop was very interesting with anything you might need or want when doing crafts, as well as various other bits and pieces. To my delight, I found a little brass bell that was very reasonably priced. I have always wanted a little bell in my home. As children, the bell was always rung at meal times to call the family to the table. Far more pleasing to the ear than yelling for everyone to come to the table! My dear older sister says she is STILL waiting for the bell to ring so that she can just arrive at the table for a meal! She will have that pleasure next time she visits my home!

We visited the beach market at Margate and found more items we had been looking out for and finally we rounded off our outing with a visit to Sabenza Villiage. Sebenza Village is situated in Margate surrounded by an 80 year old tropical garden. Stately rows of palm trees and large shade trees predominate the landscape. Central to the development is Paradise Plants Nursery with a flowing river and Koi dams.Surrounding the nursery are wooden shops housing a variety of crafts and artists. Ambiance and tranquility sets the tone in this bustling environment.

We enjoyed milkshakes and a bite to eat at the Tree Top Cafe which is built around the Indian Toon Tree, tree house style. The Indian Toon Tree is old in years but full of vibrance and full of leaves. It comes to full life in Summer and provides a wonderful shade. The Indian Toon Tree is rare and we enjoyed our experience.

We had a final beach walk late that afternoon and the younger children had a last frolic in the warm Indian ocean while mum and I spent some time chatting on the beach.

The lush tropical vegetation is so different to our vegetation down south. The children enjoyed hiding among the enormous foliage.

We spotted this interesting tree with strange looking fruit. The monkeys seem to enjoy it and mum thought it was the Jack Fruit. I couldn't identify it in my field guide so if you know what it is, please let me know!

The following day we all set off together in a north westerly direction to my older sister and her husbands home. It was a pleasant drive even though the journey was long. I couldn't help noticing the change in vegetation as we headed away from the coast. The tropical vegetation faded away and sugar cane fields and aloes took their place. Mum had prepared a delicious lunch of fresh rolls with all sorts of tasty fillings and we stopped alongside the road to stretch our legs and enjoy our lunch.
As we journeyed on after lunch, the land became more and more hilly. So typical of that part of our beautiful land. I noticed the Zulu huts scattered on the hills, goats and cows surrounding the huts, children walking home from school, spaza shops and some women doing their washing in a river. The land was dry and brown, yet beautiful. We passed a number of fires and saw the black scars of previous fires. This is fire season in KZN.

We finally arrived at our destination, Mossbank. It was as if we had stepped from the sauna into the freezer! It was wonderful to be there again and to see my sister. She had warned us it was cold and she was right!

South Coast days continued

The days down on the South Coast went by so fast and were so enjoyable. On one of our walks down to the beach, we spotted the monkeys having a feast on some gorgeous granadillas! I wanted to join them and enjoy them too! The fruit was so big and it was a shame to watch them taking a few bites out of the fruit and just tossing the rest to the ground.

We spent some time at St Micheal's, a great beach. We strolled along the sea shore, enjoying the warm surf and Z ventured in for a refreshing swim. We came across the most amazing sand sculptures I have ever seen. The artist was working away and had a pit dug out with the words "money please" carved into the sand. An innovative way to make some money. One cheeky little boy had got his mom to bury him in the sand and wanted her to write the same on the sand that covered his body! He protested loudly when she declined!

All though not very beautiful, this sculpture was very well done!


Another day, we spent time exploring the farm stalls and craft shops along the South Coast road. We visited Mac Bananas which is one of the biggest farm stalls I have been too. One could go crazy in a place like that as the variety of pickles, jams, cheeses etc is vast. I managed to pick up a few gifts there.

We went on to "Ilvas Country Crafts" and enjoyed the stalls there too. Of course we couldn't resist buying the odd item or two. We also saw Ilva, an old friend of my grandparents. I have fond memories of a holiday down the South Coast with them in Ilvas home.
We found a coffee shop called the "Cowshed". We all know K is just crazy about cows! The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee was too much to resist so we had cuppa chinos and the children enjoyed sodas. The tables were painted like cows and the decor was charming.

K outside the Cowshed. Isn't that door just lovely!

The children enjoyed the jungle gym at the Cowshed. The view was great too.

South Coast Days

We left for our holiday to KZN on Friday 17th July. The alarm was set to get up at 4a.m. as we had the early flight out of Cape Town. Now we are not used to such early rising but all ran smoothly and there was great excitement as we drove to the airport in the dark!
We were bumped up to a British Airways flight instead of Kulula.The added bonus was that the flight was really empty and the older kids each took a row of 3 seats to themselves while Z and I shared our 3 seats and had a good snooze as we winged our way towards our precious family.

We arrived at around 8 a.m. and were met by Pappa P who treated us to breakfast at the airport Spur. I chose to break all the rules and had a chocolate double thick for breakfast! It was good!
We headed down the South Coast and reached mums home by about lunch time. The children always make "welcome " signs when granny comes to stay and we were greeted with the same. A special touch! My mum has always been so good at adding those special touches like a little vase of flowers on the bedside table or a little gift to welcome a visitor. This was no different and there was something comforting about being with my mum again.

After lunch and a little rest, we could not resist heading down to the beach. It is just a walk down the hill and you are there. I made a point of going to beach every day while we were on the South Coast and the children made a point of enjoying the warm Indian Ocean every day. The temperature of the water is so pleasant even though it is officially winter! A welcome change from our own cold and wet winters.

Header Photo

Just wanted you to know that I changed my header photo on my blog to the Coral Tree. I just love this tree with its beautiful bright orange blossoms. It is not seen much in our neck of the woods, but Kwa Zulu Natal is covered with splashes of colour from these gorgeous blooms!