A little sunshine and fun

Today K went off to learn a little about horses from a friend. I decided the little patient needed a change of scenery. He is doing so much better!

He had fun feeding the chickens the left over popcorn.....

He enjoyed the relaxing surroundings and K enjoyed her time with the horse....

It was a pleasant time in the sunshine and the great outdoors......

On the mend

My little man has certainly been through a rough time over the last ten days. I can only be thankful that he is beginning to feel so much better. As I said to my hubby this week, all of our kiddies have been very sick at one time or another but it seems that this has been the worst ever.

He was well enough to have some fun doing some sand art in bed over this weekend as we listened to story Cd's. The swelling has subsided a lot and he says his neck no longer feels so heavy. Today he got out of bed for the first time and dressed for the day. It was a beautiful sunny day and we decided to have a braai. He spent some time outside in the shade playing with his "Martian Mud".

Tonight he was really tired and somewhat grumpy. I lay with him as he fell asleep on my bed, reassuring him that tomorrow will be a better day. I am sure it will take some time for him to get back his usual energy levels. But in the mean time, we will take each day as it comes with plenty of quiet time and rest.

My brave little man

Things have been a little crazy around here for the last week. My youngest woke last Friday and said he had some blisters on his neck. I took a look and decided we needed to get them checked out. After seeing the doctor, we thought he had a bacterial infection of the skin.

By the time the weekend was over, he was a really sick little guy with painful blisters spreading rapidly onto his scalp, ear and towards the front of his neck and onto his face. Back to the doctor who took one look and said he had shingles! (yes, children get it too!)

The little guy has been fighting high fevers and intense pain bravely all week. He has endured needles and endless medication. Today was the fourth visit to the doctors and he was prescribed further medication. The chemist delivery guy has been here so often this week. Finally we have the pain under control with stronger pain killers and now we just need to get the itching under control and make sure that he doesn't get a secondary infection. His little neck and face have swollen up and he does look rather strange. He is infectious and so may not be in contact with children who have not had chicken pox.

I am so grateful to friends and family who have popped in to see him, spoiled him with treats, done shopping for me, lifted my other two children, called , emailed and supported us in this time. He has been lent some wonderful story Cd's and kiddie movies to enjoy while in bed. I set him up in our bedroom and he has a little bell to ring when he needs something. It has proved to be very helpful if I am off doing washing or getting cooking done. Not much else has happened here this week other than seeing to his needs.

Italian Tonight

We have been very busy in the kitchen this weekend. My sweet daughter baked us some of the Maize Cookies from Ivory Coast but added some coco....they are delicious. She also made her dad a sweet treat for Fathers day: low GI Mocha Chocolate Squares. Lastly she baked some cheese muffins for our Fathers Day breakfast today. We had a lovely breakfast with my dad and my brother this morning.

You all know the oven never goes on for 1 dish at a time so while the oven was on for all her baking, I made us a fantastic spinach and feta quiche for our enjoyment. The spinach was all freshly picked from my little garden. I find it so satisfying to use what we have grown in our meals.

During the week we enjoyed a Spanish Meal. The kids didn't have a hand in this one as they were at soccer practice. We thoroughly enjoyed our sausage, potato and pea tortilla....we will be making this one again!

Tonight it is Italian which seems fitting as Italy is playing this evening. J is going to make meatballs in tomato sauce with spaghetti. It is his Fathers Day gift to his dad and a good choice as my husband should have be born Italian...pizza, pasta and ice cream are some of his favourites! Of course it will be liberally sprinkled with fresh, shredded basil straight from the garden!

Bowling again

As ambassadors for the Chaeli Campaign, J and K had the pleasure of helping to host a group of 40 Chinese Soccer Fans at tenpin bowling this week.

A commemorative artwork was made to remember the event too. This time it was a screen and the Chinese guests really seemed to enjoy this activity.

A walk in the forest

The rain subsided on Thursday and we joined a group of moms and kids for a walk in a nearby forest. The temperatures were still low despite the sunshine and we dressed warmly as it is cooler in the shade of the enormous trees.

We were aiming for "level 5" where we expected to see the waterfalls. The river was flowing swiftly after the recent rains and we had to cross it twice.

After our second crossing, higher up, it was decided that we would not go as far as we had planned. We were only at level 2 and one of the littlest members of the group was taking strain.

Instead we headed off the track in search of mushrooms that always appear after the rains.

Among many others, this huge one was found. We were not sure if this was poisonous or not and the little guy was instructed not to touch his face at all by his very worried mama. We could not seem to identify it in the field guide.

Zakumi

I took the kids to see the larger than life Zakumi Mascot yesterday. Zakumi is the official mascot for the 2010 World Cup. He is a cheerful and sporty leopard with green hair . His name comes from "ZA" for South Africa, and "kumi", a word that means ten in several African languages, referencing the year 2010.

His green and yellow colours match the colours used in South African sport uniforms and of course Bafana Bafana! We hope they win tonight. We have a fire going and a delicious Lemon Tart to enjoy while we watch the match.