Birthday Celebrations

Birthdays are fun.....

......especially when you are 11 and all your birthday wishes come true!

One excited boy woke to our usual tradition of piling into mom and dad's bed, surrounded by siblings, to open gifts. The excited exclamations confirmed that he was happy!

Then it was off to Oma for more spoiling! 

Phone calls, text messages, fb messages and emails poured in throughout the day.

Big sister lovingly baked a birthday cake

 and then the birthday boy and his sister had fun decorating it.

Friends and family gathered to celebrate

and spoil the birthday boy more!

Far away cousins were missed....

Elephant's Eye

On Tuesday, we took advantage of the public holiday and joined some friends on a walk to Elephant's Eye Cave.

That was where we were heading for...

the sun shone brightly, the wind was a little nippy at the start but....

....it was great to be outdoors and enjoying the wide open spaces in nature.

The last time I headed off in that direction must have been about 20 years ago!

In just a little while, we warmed up and it felt like we were on top of the world and the views where spectacular!

The strong, pleasing scent of Fynbos was a reminder of childhood walks in our mountains with my family...

....the delicate flowers were magnificently displayed in hues of pinks and purple upon the mountainside.

After heading up, it was over and down where we were greeted by spectacular views of the bay in the distance....

In the shade of the few Pines left on our mountains, we enjoyed gazing out into the distance with a pair of binoculars that one clever dad brought along.

To our left we had the most magnificent clear views of the Constantia Valley and the back of Table Mountain.

On and up a little more to a lookout post...

.....time for some delicious cookies before heading on to the final destination.

The last up hill stretch was well worth it and we spent some time admiring the views from the cave while the two youngest boys explored the cave, before scampering back down the mountain to enjoy a well deserved picnic at the dam.

The kids enjoyed seeing this lovely example of phototropism in this tree trunk as we had just read about it last week in our Botany studies.

Special delivery....

On Wednesday evening we had a special delivery of Baby M to our home! My brother and his wife were going to a friends party and we were thrilled to be babysitting.

I love the way my brother arrived with baby in one hand and baby bag in the other. He is a real hands on daddy!

I joked with him asking if he could stay for the night and about an hour later he called to ask if it would be ok for the little man to sleep over. He is such an easy baby and we just enjoy him so much, so it was no problem.

He is growing beautifully and is full of smiles.

He slept well next to me and had a good night, waking at 06h00 for a bottle and back to sleep until 08h00. I slept in that "awake' mode again, checking that he was not too hot or too cold during the night.

It was such a joy to wake to this sweet, smiling, precious little face next to me.

He had fun being entertained by his cousins in the morning and promptly went back to sleep just after 09h00. I don't remember my babies sleeping so much. Perhaps all the entertainment was tiring for the little guy.

His mommy, well rested , came to fetch him and waited until almost lunchtime for him to wake.

It was a treat to have him here.

Fabulous Finds....

Today was one of those days that I just needed some cheering up. If I feel like that, I either need to get out a little or I curl up for a snooze. This afternoon the beautiful weather beckoned me outdoors, and I decided to take the younger two along for the ride and we had a fabulous time...

Fabulous find 1) a chameleon!

We have read and talked about chameleons and perhaps rarely seen them (they were common when I was a child) but today the kids found this one on the fence outside Soil for Life. They got to hold it very gently and watch it change colour. They wanted to bring it home but I was afraid our kitty would make a meal of it so we left it behind.

Fabulous find 2)....

..... the perfect place to celebrate Z's up and coming birthday!

We are trusting that the weather will be good and that he can celebrate with his friends in the beautiful gardens at Little Streams ... the perfect place for a bunch of busy boys! Perfect for hide and seek, treasure hunts and tadpole catching!

Fabulous Finds at Soil for Life:

3) organic lemons at just R4.00 per kg

(just in time for my next batch of sweet chilli jam)

4) organic celery for R7.00 a bunch

(fabulous to watch it being picked straight from their garden for us)

5) lettuce seedlings

6) a seed tray full of broccoli seedlings just ready to be planted out into the garden.

School days

We are well into the third term of school and the children have settled in well to the routines and rhythms of learning. I feel so blessed to be part of their learning and daily lives.

I love those "aha" moments when they figure something out and those moments when they get excited about something they have read and are just bursting to ask, "Mom did you know.....?"

I love that each of my children is able to learn in their own individual style.

I love that it doesn't matter if it takes longer to grasp something as we have the time to explain it.

I love that we can dwell on a subject for as long as we please when we are captivated by it.

I love that we can read another chapter because our book is just too exciting to put down.

I love being able to make them nourishing home cooked meals at lunch time on cold winter days and freshly squeezed juice at a morning break.

I love being able to take our learning to the fire place with mugs of warm tea or out into the sunshine.

Here's a peek at some of what we have been doing.

K has been working on design at her art classes.

Strange things like floating eggs are on my kitchen counter.

Botany has had us planting bulbs in vases.

We are hoping to see some beautiful flowers.

The Simple Schooling website has given us lots to learn about in fun and different ways, with their weekly free interactive themes : atomic theory, life cycles, rocks and minerals and more.

The younger two are listening to podcasts of The Chronicles of Narnia.

The older kids and I are doing Kevin Tredeau's Mega Memory course together... a lot of fun so far! Here is a quote from the website , " After just a few short hours with this program, your memory dramatically improves. In fact, your new ability to remember the things you read, hear and think provides an amazing advantage in both your personal and professional lives."

I certainly could do with a boost in the memory department!

Z has enjoyed making paper planes in his unit on the Wright Brothers. He is now reading about Benjamin Franklin.

J has been working diligently as he has his exam dates set for 3 subjects. He has completed his studies on these subjects so now it is a matter of revision and writing numerous past papers. Hubby has been able to help him put together a suitable schedule so that he will be well prepared when the time comes to sit the exams.

So we are back into the rhythm of term time and our days are interesting and full of new things....

we are loving learning together.

It has been a while...

It has been a while since I have cared for a sweet little baby for more than just a few hours. My nephew came to sleep over with us while his mum went into hospital overnight. What a joy to have a little baby in the house again.

I had forgotten what it is like to schedule meals and chores around a baby. When he slept, I rushed around to get things done that needed doing. Simple things like washing and sterilising bottles to be ready for the next feed. Fixing a meal for my family and making sure that the normal chores were done.

I had forgotten what it is like to feel so helpless when a baby is crying with pain from winds and you know you have done your best with every trick in the book to help ease the pain and the baby still cries.... thankfully a sweet friend who knows how to massage popped in and was able to help ease his pain.

I had forgotten the look of complete satisfaction on a baby's face after a feed as he drifts off into dreamland..

I had forgotten what it is like to sleep with the sweet sounds of a baby in the same room. He slept in his carrycot on hubby's side of the bed while hubby kindly slept on the couch.

I felt like I was sleeping in "awake" mode and feared sleeping too deeply in case I did not wake if he cried or needed attention in the night. I wanted to sleep with my hand on his little body to be sure he was breathing all night.... silly I know, but I felt I needed to be sure he was ok! And he was.

I had forgotten what those midnight feeds are like while all the world is sound asleep. It was precious to relive with my nephew. He fed in the warmth and dim light of the room, winded and smiled and dozed off again until 06h00. It amazed me that he knew that is was night time and not time to play, but time to sleep again.

His cousins enjoyed playing peek a boo with him, cuddling him and best of all was a morning cuddle in K's bed while I got myself ready for the new day.

We went off to the hospital so he could see his mum and we found out she could be discharged from the hospital. We popped in to visit my Dad (his Grandpa) and then came home. We had the pleasure of having him and his mum here for the rest of the day. His poor mum needed to rest and was in pain so we left her resting and went to tea at a friend for her daughter's birthday.

I had forgotten too about all that needs to be considered when taking a baby out ... clean clothes, nappies, wipes, dummy, blankets, bottles and more.

I had forgotten most of what it is like to have a little baby to love and care for round the clock , but we loved it and this sweet little guy is welcome any time!

Winter skies

All though the trees are bare and winter skies cloudy, not much rain has come to our part of the world . In fact we have had many glorious days where one may be mistaken into thinking it could be summer. I wonder if the rains will still come or if we are in for a very hot summer.

Aloes are in full bloom everywhere and I love their bright and bold colours. They remind me of my dear Grandpa Hobby.