Lockdown Lowdown...

Lockdown has been a messy business.  We've all been sent home to do nothing.  Companies have closed, schools have closed, shops have closed.  We've had curfews and been restricted with times for exercising.  Obviously no group gatherings - so people have had to cancel weddings and funerals and you certainly weren't allowed to go into a hospital if you weren't desperately ill.  That means that if someone you love is sick and dying, you can't be by their side.  Dad's can't go with their wives for scans, nor watch their baby be born.  There are so many issues around lockdown, that I can't even begin to even try summarise them into a few lines.  It's been a time of panic and stress and uncertainty for all of us.  And the worst part is, there's no real plan.  As I write this, we've just droped down from lockdown level 4, to level 3.  Full lockdown was level 5 and we were pretty much prisioners in our own homes.  The worst part was knowing that it was going to be 3 weeks and was then extended to 5 - these walls get boring!!  Also during level 4 & 5, buying alcohol was banned.  It was OK, when we thought we'd only be doing 3 weeks, but the ban's only just been lifted as of 1 June, so we've been dry for 9 weeks!  Fortunately, we were given a few bottles of gin and have wine, so we've been ok, but many haven't.  The smoking ban has continued into level 3 - some people have really suffered.  And the black market has been making a killing.

The day before lockdown, Jake and I bought a huge puzzle (3000 pieces), which we did in 6 days...

For us, the lockdown period has been a time to re-connect with each other and I have a feeling that we are all going to struggle getting back to normal once this is all over.  We've had some really magical weather, which has definitely helped.  Here's Jake feeding the guinnae fowl on our front lawn.  They are so tame, they literally eat out of his hand...

Shopping has been a challenge for us.  My mom usually goes to the shops just about every day, but we've been trying to go once a month for a big shop and then once a week for fresh fruit and veg.  I've been doing quite a bit of baking, when I can, which has been really good...

I don't think lockdown would have been as much fun without my mom.  She always knows when to pour a gin and we have really enjoyed this time together.  I can't imagine what life would have been like had Jake and I been living on our own now...

Just for fun, we did an egg hunt for Easter.  I think Jake is still eating Easter eggs, but it was a fun morning and we all enjoyed behaving like kids again...

It was a rainy Easter morning, so most of the eggs were hidden inside and on our stoep.  This little cactus garden was a project Jake did for cubs once.  He got the pot from Josette and had a ton of fun putting it together.  He's added and taken out over the years.  That big prickly cactus lived on Jacques' desk in the cellar, so it's a very special one...

Did I mention that we baked?  This one was a caramel, cinnamon pull apart bread.  We need to make another one of these, it was SO good. You can find the recipe here.

And I baked real New York bagels.  They were good, but bagels are heavy and my poor dad doesn't have many teeth left...

We've had games evenings both traditional and virtual and eaten dinner around our table.  Jo & Paul sent us a delicious box packed full of yummy cheeses, cold meats, bread and preserves, which we really enjoyed...

Our street organises pavement braai's and potjie competitions, which have great - nice just to see a different part of the house :o) Jake has been a good sport with these.  One of our neighbours has old DJ equipment, so the music is on loud enough for the whole street to enjoy, which really makes it a good night..

Jonny likes to get his guitar out at any opportunity...

One of our delicious braai's...

During lockdown level 4, we were allowed to go out to exercise from 6 - 9am.  It meant everyone in the whole neighbourhood was out for a walk early, as we'd all been couped up indoors for 5 weeks of level 5.  Jake and I took a walk up to his grandparents, Karen and Hubert, who live at the top of this street, also in Edgemead.  It was so good to see them after so long and even though we weren't really allowed, we couldn't help but give them great, big hugs.  On our way home, we bumped into Rosie and her family, exercising past Gareth's parents house...

Jake's hair got really long.  He has such thick hair, he's so lucky.  He also used the money that Karen and Hubert gave him for Easter, along with some money my folks gave him for his birthday to buy himself a new winter jacket.  Pity he has nowhere to go in it...

One of our virtual games evenings - a quiz night hosted by Bi.  Shame, she did so well, but her questions were impossible to answer and she ended up in tears because we kept giggling about it.  Do you know how far Mars is from the sun in meters?

We painted rocks and posters for the windows of our house...

Oooh we made salmon gradvelax, with a dressing of gherkins, capers, mustard and all things yummy.  I could live on this, so good...

Mother's day gins - Jo sent my mom another box for mother's day.  it included some berry flavoured gin tea bags, they were so yummy...

My sweet child turned 16 during lockdown.  That wasn't so much fun and he really missed being with his friends.  I baked him a cake, which was slightly under cooked, but we all enjoyed the gooey bit in the middle,s o it wasn't a train smash.  It just didn't look so pretty.  It's a hummingbird cake, made with bananas and pineapple, covered with a cream cheese frosting.  So good - between 4 of us, it didn't last long!  Jake's such a lovely teenager.  I couldn't have asked for kinder or gentler.  He's still quite shy, but he has such a great sense of humour.  It's lovely to start seeing him grow into a man and to catch glimpses of the kind of man he's going to be.  He's a loyal soul and his love runs so deeply, he's so caring and affectionate and he's not afraid to show it.  I adore this boy...

We had another street braai on Jake's birthday and made him ribs (with braces) for dinner...

Kisses from his mom in public...

 A serious pic...

 Jake had some sneaky visitors for his birthday, which really made his day...

Rosie and Gareth stayed and had a drink with us.  They ran out of alcohol and Gareth smokes, so it's been a tough time for them.  We've helped them out as much as possible...

16?  How the freak did that happen?  Really...  the time has gone too quickly with this one and I really want to press pause for a while...

More cuddles from his cousin...

There's 10 years between these two, but Rylee's been like a little brother to Jake...

That evening, Jake had arragned a games evening with about 30 friends online.  His cousins, Abi and Becky hosted it for them and did so well.  We plugged the laptop into the TV, so that we could see everyone properly.  It was so lovely to see how excited these kids were to see each other - they chatted and chatted...

The birthday boy wore his hair in a mowhawk - they all had little dares to do.  We prepared chocolates and popcorn and cooldrinks to drop off at everyone's house on the day, which meant that Jake did sort of see all his friends on his birthday...

The zoom chat...

Jake invited Connor to join too, he was such a good sport and his team came third...

The next day was my birthday and we'd planned a champagne breakfast, complete with scones.  It was divine...

Karen, Hubert and Tammy dropped off balloons for me early in the morning, complete with sweetie pies as weights.  They became our table center piece...

Dad and Mom.  Yes, there was a glass of precious champagne knocked over, it was the angel's share...

And me with my boy...

It was Bi's 9th birthday on my birthday too, so we zoomed in for a sing and candle blowing session with her...

Rosie helped Jake plan a special birthday dinner for me too.  Jake never cooks.  He might braai (sometimes), but he mostly stays out of the kitchen.  I wish he would get more involved, but it doesn't interest him yet.  Here's my mom helping him figure out what to do...

He made me delicious chicken with potatoes, green beans, broccoli and baby marrows with a cheese sauce and chocolates for dessert. It was divine...

We watched baby pigeons go from eggs to babies to adults...

And that just about summaries our lockdown.  It hasn't been terrible and I've really enjoyed working from home. I feel so much more productive.  Jake's homeschooling has been tough, but the teachers are getting into a better rythm now and so hopefully it'll go smoother for them all.  It's tough to self-motivate and he has been such a champ keepign on top of everything, despite missing his friends.  

Sending love and hope everyone's well in your corners of the world.

Sue xxx

Oh sweet child of mine...

The times are changing.  My child is growing up quite literally before my eyes and it's terrifying and exciting all at the same time.  He's HUUUUUUUUGE and has grown even more since the photo above was taken!!  It's not a great photo of me, but I really like it of Jake.  He can rest his chin on the top of my head now - I am feeling very short!  

It's fun stage of life for him and I am enjoying him so much.  That said, I don't think there's any stage that I haven't enjoyed with him.  Perhaps it's knowing that I only have one shot to enjoy being someone's mom, that's made me treasure every step of the journey.  

Jake seems to finally have caught up to his friends in the eating department and seems to be permanently hungry at the moment.  He's forever grazing.  Despite that, he's is still skinny, so I'm always happy to see him stuffing his face.  He's a bit fussy in the food department though, which I worked hard to avoid when he was little.  It's a pain, especially at supper time.  He doesn't like veggies (not even fries!) and so that always makes supper a bit challenging.  He tries though, so maybe it'll change soon...

Jake adores his little cousins and loves it when they come to visit.  He spends the most time with Rylee, who is 10 years younger than Jake.  Schools out now until mid-Jan, so hopefully he'll be seeing a lot more of all his cousins.  X-box is still a huge feature in Jake's life, but the Fortnite craze seems to have faded a lot.  He's moved onto more technical games and spends too much time playing Call of Duty Black Ops 4 at the moment.  I must be honest, during the holidays I don't mind him gaming too much, especially when I'm at work, but during the term, we have some fairly strict rules around the X-box.

 Jake's reached an age where he really things his cousins are cute.  He admitted the other day that he is looking forward to having kids of his own one day - yay it looks like my chances of being a granny one day are fairly high!!!  No pressure!  Bi is still our little princess and she has us all wrapped around her finger.  She is a proper act and loves having a stage.  She squeals and giggles like a little girl should.  She wears the most beautiful dresses and pretty shoes, but invariably forgets to sit like a lady.  She is our little rose amongst all the boys...

Academically, Jake has done well this term.  He's changed his study style and is trying new ways to learn better.  I think he was a little disappointed with some of his year end marks, but he is doing well and as long as he learns from his little slip-ups this year, then that's the most important thing, really.  So, Jake's finished grade 9 this year and will be moving on to grade 10 in 2020.  Grade 9 is a notoriously tough year (as are grades 7 & 11).  He's dropping subjects to focus on what interests him most.  Next year, he'll be taking English 1st language, Afrikaans 2nd language, life orientation, pure maths, science, biology (now called life sciences) and accounting.  A tough set of subjects, but he is thrilled to have dropped social sciences (aka history & geography).  Fingers crossed next year is a bit of a breather before grade 11 hits us.  I can't believe we only have 3 more years left of school.

This year, Jake's gone from wanting to be a wildlife vet to a Chartered Accountant.  I'm not sure that either profession suits him, but I'm sure he'll still change his mind a few more times before he has to settle on something. 

 

 Jake still does Junior Rangers, this was his third year with the program.  He mutters and moans when I wake him up early to go (usually to the Cape Point Nature Reserve), but he always enjoys the outings and learns so much.  I've been able to join the group for walks and info sessions, mostly because I have to travel so far to get there and I've thoroughly enjoyed learning with the group.  We had a really lovely visit to the penguins at Boulders a few weeks back...

We had so much fun with the rugby world cup this year too.  Jake played rugby in primary school, but has switched to hockey since he started high school last year.  He absolutely loves hockey, so hopefully it's a sport that he keeps up.  To be honest, he'll never be on the first team, but he has fun and loves being part of a team.  They had an awful season and the score never seems to worry him, he always has fun and that's what's most important to me.  That said, the rugby world cup was a highlight for us this year and the Springboks did us so proud.  This was us joining in for the national anthem ahead of the final...

So, in a very short little nutshell, that's what Jake's been up to.  His social life is booming and now that it's holidays (6 weeks, whoo-hoo!!) I'm sure he'll be spending lots of time (and money) with his friends.  They're such a great group of kids, he's really lucky to have the friends he's got.  The girls are definitely becoming more of an interest these days too and I love that he shares this with me.  He is actually a very open teen and talks about any and everything with me.  He can make me blush, but it doesn't help to be a prude.  There are plenty of things he's had to ask me, where his father would've been a better equipped to answer, but that's life.  He's in serious need of a shave, that top lip is getting very dark, but he's quite happy to ignore that for as long as possible - the razor and cream are all in his draw for when he's ready.  His skin has been a bit of an issue for him, so I think he's worried that shaving will cause some sort of a flare up.  He will have to tackle this before school starts again!

In other news, Rylee invited us to attend his Christmas concert at school.  He didn't know it at the time, but he chose the same costume (kangaroo) that Jake wore when he was at the same school in 2009.  I had such a huge lump in my throat and a tear in my eye the whole way through the play - he looked so like Jake and it was so hard to process how quickly the time has passed.  Jake is so grown up already, I'm not sure how we went from a little boy to a hairy teen so quickly!!  Below is Rylee...

 Jake...

   Rylee...

 Jake...

 When the time came for Rylee to do his bit in the play (If I were a butterfly), he initially got a bit of a fright when he saw just how many people were watching him...

 Then waved at his mom...

 And then started to look a little nervous when it came time for his turn...

 And just when we thought he wasn't going to jump, he sprang into action and our little kangaroo bounced up and down.  This boy has only got eyes for his mom!  Sadly, his dad had to work and missed the whole show.  That broke my heart so much...

 Oh and one last time - there's Jake jumping too.  Now scroll back up and look how big they get in 10 years...

 The concert was really short, just 30 minutes long and the kids were brilliant.  They ended off singing we are the champions, complete with a blonde haired Freddy Mercury (in front of the mike) and our very own little Siya Kolisi, holding up the trophy.  The crowd obviously went nuts and the kids felt very proud of themselves.  So sweet...

If you want to go back and look at the post of Jake's concert, you can click here.  It makes my eyes leak.

Other than that, life has been very busy.  It always feels like we need a breather after exams are done.  The exam cycle was nearly 3 1/2 weeks long this year and it's tiring for everyone.  The weather has improved so much and the kids spent the whole day in the pool yesterday.  Corky and Stinky slept over last night and Rylee's been there most of the time too.

Work's been insanely busy.  I didn't think I'd ever find myself rushed off my feet in my job, but I am.  I love it and I would never complain - they might make me work a full day then and I still like being able to leave at 3pm.  They do get a full day's work out of me though, so every one's happy.

We've had lots of birthdays too - Jacques mom turned 70 in October and it's been both his dad and my dad's birthdays in November!  Speaking of my dad, he's doing very well.  Thanks to my mom and all her tireless help, he's still got both his legs.  It's been a tough year for them and he really wouldn't have managed without my mom.  She dresses his feet every 3rd day and makes sure he gets a good 1km walk in just about every day.  The doctors are amazed that he is able to walk as far as he does.  His feet are very sore though and we are just grateful for every extra day that he has them.

And on that note, Christmas is well on the way now and we are all getting ready to share another special day together..  Jo and Rosie both have elves that have moved into their homes in the build up to Christmas and it's become one of my favourites - I love seeing how naughty their elves can be!  Jo's one is having a love affair with a fairy and has brought his cousin with him from the North Pole for training.  Rosie's one has been eating the dog's biscuits and having snowball fights with Batman.  It's such a fun tradition.

Anyway, sending love.  Sorry that I've been away fro so long.

Sue XXX