Winter Wonderland...

On the spur of the moment (we literally decided, packed the car and were on the road within half an hour), we decided to go through to Ceres on Tuesday afternoon for the night. There'd been reports of snow falls in the Ceres mountains and we weren't going to miss out! We spent the night in a bungalow in the Pine Forest and woke up to rain on Wednesday morning (it was a public holiday). Because we expected the rain to have melted all the snow, we staying in bed longer than we should have, before heading out of town and into the Mattroosberg Nature Reserve at about 8:30am. I cannot tell you how cold it was, especially on Tuesday night and I was SO grateful to be sharing a bed with Jake - nothing beats having another body in bed next to you, to help keep you warm.

This is the sight that awaited us at the entrance to the Mattroosberg...

There was quite a bit of traffic and we queued up for a while before paying our fare and being allowed into the reserve...

We were thrilled with the little puddles of snow next to the road...An Afro snow lady...This one looks a bit like a gargoyle...And these two look like mourners at a funeral. Funny how each and every snow person is so different from the next...These guys had the right idea - bacon and eggs, with beers kept cold in the snowman... The view as we walked towards the thicker snow... A perfect snowball gathered on top of a protea... Very exciting stuff... As we climbed higher, the snow thickened... Look how cold Jake's nose is... A pretty, cold protea...This is where we stopped to play. Beautiful!!!The beginnings of a snowman...Everybody was having fun, laughing and playing - such a treat for us all...As you can see, the snow was a little patchy, so I couldn't make my snow angel... Some people brought along special clothes to dress their snow people into. These guys were proudly South African and fully supporting the Bafana Bafana boys ahead of their game last night. Which they lost, 3-0. Shocker...

They even made a ball for their soccer man...

After a little while in the snow, Jake began to get cold and very grumpy. We weren't properly dressed and I'd highly recommend wellington boots over takkies (sneakers) for anyone else planning a trip to the snow...I had to carry Jake to our snowman to get a picture of him with it...Throwing snowballs at me...Behind my camera, I was an easy target. Nobody seemed to concerned about damaging my camera. Then again, it is pretty stuffed already...Getting into the swing of things! Jake moaned last night that his arm's sore from throwing snowballs...Ummm... not for me, right?Having a taste of clean snow...Having a word with the snowman... Another sulk about cold feet. I love this photo, but in all fairness, Jake had been up vomitting during the night...This is the smile cost me R5.00...Time to go home and time to take back his scarf. I think my dad felt a little sorry for our snowman being so naked in the harsh weather... Now you be good and don't go melting away tomorrow... I thought he looked quite happy to see us go... There were lots more new snowmen built up on the way back to the car. Some people are really good and others just haven't got a clue... This one looked malnourished...And this one fat, but happy...Another proudly South African snowman...Since everyone else was doing it, we built a little snowman to ride on our bonnet. He lasted about 30 minutes before sliding off the side...
Yesterday's holiday was finished off with Bafana Bafana's match against Uruguay. I was picked up and went to watch with some friends and had a fabulous evening. Just a pity about the end result!!

Sue XXX

Viva!

Wow! For those of us who are patriotic - WHAT an exciting weekend!! It's just been amazing to be a part of this huge international event that is the soccer world cup. Even for those of us who really prefer rugby. The world is watching and we're here, part of it all.

We were very fortunate to get tickets to the very first match in Cape Town at our brand new, super-stunning stadium. The match was France vs Uruguay and while we didn't hold any particular preference as to which team won (we cheered for Uruguay anyway), it was just so thrilling to be there.

The match fell on the same day (Friday) as the opening ceremony and match between South Africa and Mexico, which took place in Johannesburg. Soon after I got home from work, we piled into the car and headed off to the V&A Waterfront in the hopes of finding parking and missing some of the traffic. We were lucky to find parking in a very busy Waterfront and spent the afternoon milling amongst the masses and masses of people.

Anyway, as always with this blog, pictures speak more than words...

Arriving at the Waterfront, Jake blows his vuvuzela for passing cars. He was super-excited and very proud to be wearing his Bafana Bafana top and SA scarf. It's moments like this that I hope he'll remember forever...

There were thousands of people from all over the world at the Waterfront. This is one of the Uruguay supporters... Behind the big blue board on the right, is a massive TV screen, up for fans to watch matches. Obviously many had come through early to claim their spot in front of the screen... This is a replica of the official match ball... Mom, dad and Jake getting into the spirit of things... I thought this was very clever - a mock coffin with flowers in SA colours, bigger than those of the Mexican. In other words, bury them!! Although it's winter here, the weather was perfect on Friday. It got pretty cold in the stadium, but we were warm walking around...Green and gold...Strong supporter...The flag he drew on me was better than the one I did on him. Not a bad photo either, thanks my boy...The crowds squeezed into any corner they could find to watch the SA match...Some excited Brazilians and a very drunk local...The crowds at the amphitheater watching the game. We couldn't get close to the screen, but it was enough to watch every one else's expressions change. To me the best part about this world cup has been how it's pulled everyone together. It doesn't matter your age or race - we're all one in this together, rooting for our boys to do their best and make us proud. We live in such an amazing country with so many wonderful people, it's great to see everyone sharing a common interest and excitement...And then SA scored! The first goal of the tournament (they drew 1-1 for those who haven't kept track). I cannot even begin to explain the volume of the cheering. The crowds literally roared with excitement. The vuvuzelas were blown and the atmosphere was electric. I cannot imagine not having been able to share that moment anywhere else. It was beautiful and just so exciting... I have no words for this - it was utterly spectacular and I haven't even seen the goal... Jake pretending to header the big ball. He's very excited about his own soccer again now... After the excitement of sharing our team's goal, we headed off to the stadium. By that stage, Jake had also bribed me into buying him a Bafana Bafana flag...Arriving at the grounds...My very excited little man. Oh, he also lost his first vuvuzela, so I had to buy him another one. Sucker that I am...We had cheap seats and I'm guessing that the higher up one goes in the stands, the better the view you have of the field and game. We were literally 4 rows from the front and the first 2 rows were empty. Plus we were almost behind the goals. But, in my very unprofessional soccer opinion, it was awesome to be so close to the action. Jake loved every moment and hardly moved out his seat... Soccer hotties warming up...Singing national anthems. France in white, Uruguay in blue...The game about to begin...Action! I was a little naughty and smuggled my camera and zoom lens in. I was told at the gate that I wasn't allowed to take it in, but then told to separate the lens and camera and then it was OK to take it with me. Unfortunately and probably because I cheated the system and fate was returning me the favour, I managed to throw my camera off the table during the bag inspection by mistake. I was trying to help a guy who had a sleeping toddler in his arms and battling to open his bag and swung my bag over my shoulder, in the process, knocking my camera on to the concrete floor. The casing's cracked, as is the viewfinder box (not the glass). It still worked OK for the game, which was all I was worried about then. Now I'm looking at new cameras, thank goodness for insurance... I must confess that I'm really not a sport's photographer. Perhaps it'd help if I had a really super lens and was allowed closer to the field, but I think managed to snap a few decent pictures anyway... And please excuse the professional photographers heads in the foreground. I know I should crop them out, but I ran out of time... Pick or choose - photographers heads, or missing feet...

It was great to be able to see the tension between the players. I can't imagine how stressful it must be to play on this level...

The French coach is a loud mouth and a bad loser (can I say that here?). Not sure what was going on here, but he was having some serious words with the ref...And a little later one of the Uruguay (Uruguaian?) players pulled a dirty and got himself a red card...A free kick (or is it a penalty?)... The game came to an end with a disappointing nil all result. Actually, it was probably one of the more boring games of the tournament so far, but we were there! The players shook hands and exchanged shirts (oh my!) and that was that. Brilliant!!!

We headed back to the car for hot chocolate/coffee and cake while we waited for the traffic to die down a little. We had a ball with us, so also played a little soccer match, which was great fun and got us all warmed up a little after the cold at the stadium.

And so, after that game, we're now very much into the whole World Cup thing. We're keeping track of the scores from each match and my house looks like a mini fan park. We're watching as much soccer as we possibly can and I'm cooking food to correspond with teams playing each day. It's been so much fun and I'm loving sharing it with Jake.

Lastly, just to wish out Bafana Bafana team all the very best for their game against Uruguay tomorrow!! We will be with you in spirit...

Sue X

What a busy time...

Things are just so crazy at the moment. I am finding it very difficult to keep up with my own blog, let alone anyone else's. Apologies for my lack of response to your comments - I love hearing from you, but like I said, time has been too short just lately. I'll get around to it, I promise! I also have so much to tell you about our exciting soccer weekend and I have photos from the game we went to see that I need to edit and post - you might even get them unedited...

Thinking of you all and hope that the sun's shining somewhere in the world. It's miserably cold here and due to rain all day :(

Lots of love, Sue XXX

All done...

Phew! Today is here and yesterday is finally finished. What a day! While it was still pretty stressful for me, Jake did really well and was such a brave soldier. I am so proud of him!

We were at the dentist 15 minutes early, Jake had a pre-med to take and has never needed to swallow a tablet before. I thought it would be a nightmare, but with the threat of loosing the use of his Nintendo wii for the week, he swallowed it without much fuss. By the time the anesthetist arrived a little later, he was relaxed and starting to feel a little drowsy. The IV needle hurt a lot, but he looked the other way and held my hand super tight. He literally fell asleep with his eyes open - took me a bit by surprise.

The dentist covered his eyes for him and did his mouth injections straight away. Every now and then, he got a little restless and the anesthetist just topped up the sedative. While Jake had very little control over his body, he was alert enough to open his mouth when asked and could show the anesthetist how old he was on his fingers as soon as they'd finished. There's no drugs to wake them up, the sedative just had to work out of his system, which took about an hour. Jake was totally floppy when I took him home, he couldn't sit up or even hold his head up on his own. He fell over trying to get off the couch at home and couldn't walk straight. He also chewed a hole in his lip, because it was numb. It was a good opportunity to teach him never, ever to touch alcohol (not like his mother) - he was falling around like a total drunk. But the best of all is that he cannot remember a thing from the moment the anesthetist gave him the sedative, until about an hour after we got home!

And most importantly, I now know that I did make the best decision for my child. I'd recommend sedation over sitting awake through a filling any day, especially for kids - it's definitely way to go.

Thanks for all your support and special thoughts!!

Sue XXX

The Life of a Single Parent...

There are many things in life that happen, which we have no control over. Things we wouldn't choose to deal with if we'd had the choice. For me, parenting single handedly is pretty high up on that list, probably topmost.

Take today, for example. What I'd really have appreciated having a partner for would have been to discuss Jake's fillings (2) that he needs to have done today. And for him to have been there to hold my hand while I hold Jake's... The dentist has insisted on sedating my child for the procedure, which he insists is standard procedure for all kids under 7, since they can't sit still. Problem is that, after having paid the anesthetist his fee (my child has to have a drip!!), I've heard about another very gentle dentist who works on kids unsedated. He plays Cartoon Network for them and is happy to do the work over more than one appointment, if necessary. And while the dentist promises me that with sedation, Jake won't remember a thing, it would have been really nice to have discussed this through with someone before committing.

At the moment, I'm feeling like I've made the wrong decision as far as my child is concerned and that's not a nice feeling. When I collect him from school, I'm going to have to put on my brave-mommy face, hold his hand and make light of the situation I could've avoided. So, sometimes one just has to pretend that what you're doing is right and maybe it will all be OK if Jake doesn't remember anything. Still...

So besides that, Jake's started Occupational Therapy under the recommendation of his teacher. She believes that he has fine motor co-ordination problems. Personally, I believe that some of us were born to have untidy handwriting and others were born to be artists. I'm not sure that the OT's helping much, but I guess it can't do any harm. Question is: is it a waste of time, energy and much needed cash?

Besides also having concerns with regards to schooling, health, animals, sport, friends, outings, holidays, disappointments and discipline, it's really frustrating not being able to do on your own all the things that a man can do so well - fixing electronics (although Jake & I very proudly repaired our gas heater on our own), re-hanging doors that have broken hinges (Jake's room), braai'ing and SO much more.

Don't get me wrong, I have lots of friends and a wonderful family, especially my mom who knows Jake & I so well, to discuss my concerns with (and there's always you guys), but a partner is always going to be someone who knows you almost as well as you know yourself; someone who can help you make the decision that is right for your family and someone to console you when you make the wrong choice. I miss that. I miss being adored and pampered and since Jake's started talking about having brothers and sisters and refers to when (if) I get married again and his next dad, it's playing serious tricks on my brain.

Anyway, all I wanted to say is please appreciate the men in your lives. You're lucky to have them. While they may drive you nuts sometimes (or a lot) and they certainly all have their faults (as do we), they're there for you through thick and thin and, most importantly, they share your love for your child/ren and that has to count in their favour!

Sue XXX