Catching up again...

Well, Christmas has been and gone and it's 2008 alredy! Fingers crossed that this year will go a little slower then the last. I keep thinking that by this time next year, Jake will be 4 1/2 and on his way to pre-school! Scary...

So much has been happening since my last post weeks and weeks ago and I have only just finished catching up on reading everyone else's news. Our offices were closed from 21 December - 3 Jan and it was a wonderful break, a bit busy, but much better then work would've been! We literally ran from beginning to end and really only had one day at home to just relax beside the pool. Still, all good and it was great catching up with friends and family. As per usual, we all ate and drank way too much and are suffering the consequences. I have to be a bridesmaid at Joanne & Paul's wedding in 6 1/2 weeks time and have some serious bulges to get rid of before then (yes - between Greece and Christmas, I've put on 5kgs - horrific!!).

So, holiday festivities and lots of photos...

Christmas Eve was spent with the in-laws. Since Jacques died and Jake and I live with my folks, I always give them the choice over when they'd like to have us at Christmas. Josette (my sister-in-law) and her family were to be with the other side of their family on Christmas day, so my mom-in-law decided to have us on Christmas Eve, so we could all be together. There were no less then 37 people for dinner!!! It was chaos, but with the help of a little (OK, a lot) of champagne, it all went off OK. Jake got to bed way too late, but enjoyed it all so much this year. After our dinner, we went home to put out goodies for Father Christmas and his reindeers - Jake's face was just priceless. He was so excited, his eyes were literally shining. Kids really do make it all so special.

Christmas Eve - putting out food and drinks for Father Christmas and his reindeers... Jake hiding in his sack on Christmas Eve... Showing off his sack... Christmas morning, Jake slept until 7:30 (YES!!). It took him a few moments to register that it was Christmas morning, but when he realised what day it was, he literally flew out of bed and ran around the house waking the rest of the family and making sure that Father Christmas had actually been. He was very concerned the night before, about the fact that we don't have a chimney, but our neighbours do. Anyway, he was thrilled with all his presents and even got a new grape vine for his garden! He spent the morning playing with his water pistols and bow & arrows and aeroplanes, it was such a high.

Presents! It's a watch! Finding his grapevine on Christmas morning... So proud of his new vine - don't you think he looks like Jacques here? Lunch was HUGE to say the least. My mom put on a serious spread for us (I helped a little!) and always tries out new things. This year we did a combination of both hot and cold foods. Somehow, even when you're just having teeny bits of everything, by the time you sit down to eat, your plate is piled sky high. Still, I managed seconds and dessert (see how I managed to pick up all this weight). After popping in at my Aunt's house and spending the early evening with his second cousins, Jake was just so exhausted, but he had a happy Christmas and that's what counted!

Our Christmas lunch spread... Christmas Day lunch with my mom, Joanne, Jake & Me on one side; my dad, Joanne's fiance - Paul, Paul's mom, Rosanne and Gareth hiding behind the flowers... Jake (on your right) with my two cousin's kids... The next day was my mom's birthday, so it's always a re-run of Christmas food. We stuff ourselves again and, again, drink far too much wine...

Skipping on to New Year - Jake and I decided that we were going to have a quiet one this year. To be honest, I find the festive season very difficult to deal with. While everyone expects you to be happy and merry, it's damned difficult pretending all the time. And it's exhausting to say the least. I find I'm really ratty and difficult to be around (and I know I am, I can feel it), but I still try to smile and get on with it. Jake does take some of the edge off things and he definitely makes things fun, but that doesn't detract from the fact that Jacques' not here to share it with us and I find it really tough. Every second of it's a challenge to me. Anyway, New Year's Eve's always been really difficult for me. My mom's family's Scottish (well her dad's side anyway. Difficult old man that he was) and their tradition's generally to make a bigger fuss out of the New Year then over Christmas. I don't enjoy it and it makes me want to cry. So, this year, I pretended it didn't happen. I made a nice dinner for Jake - a platter of all the foods he enjoys (little sausages, smoked salmon(!), olives, cherry tomatoes, feta, blueberries, strawberries, chicken pieces, pumpkin fritters - it was delish!). We bought some non-alcoholic champagne, set the table and had the most wonderful candle-lit dinner with each other. Everyone else was out, so it was just us. After dinner, we watched Toy Story and ate dessert, which was the MOST delicious chocolate pudding from Woolies. It's a cake thing that you bake in the oven, filled with Belgian chocolate - too yummy for words. Again, see how I managed to get fat? We were in bed at 10:30, read stories till 11:00 and I passed out at 11:20 only to be woken with "happy new year!" phone calls just after mid-night. Success ;)

In between we spent a day/night visiting my in-laws at their camp site in Kommetjie where they took up residence for most of December. I was spoilt by them with fresh crayfish for dinner that my child stole from me. He's just amazing with what he's prepared to eat or just try. He stole all the legs, which I love and then had everyone in fits of laughter when he told me to "hurry up mommy, my mouth's just watering for that" when I was getting the tail ready to eat. Nice. So I basically ended up having salad for supper.

Other then that, besides general run-of-the-mill stuff, there's not much happening in my life. Been doing quite a bit of work for Jo's wedding and we're busy planning a kitchen tea, but I can't tell you anything about it, because she reads my blog from time to time. mmm... Jake's due to start school again on Wednesday next week. He's going to be starting at a new school and he seems quite excited about it. He'll be there from 8:00 - 12:00, which works out quite nicely - I'll at least be able to drop him off before I start work now. YAY!

Shame, he's such a sweet little thing now days. Cheeky and naughty, but he's just too cute for words. I could just about eat him up!! He's been a little naughty with regards to sneaking into my bed during the night. I really don't mind, it's not like there's anyone else in my bed and it's nice to have the company. I do think that he needs to stay in his own bed though, so have been trying to teach him that it's only OK to come to my bed when the sun comes up. Seems to be working well so far. Still, when he's in my bed with me and wakes up before me, he literally kisses me awake - it's too precious. He sends flutters of kisses up and down my arms and on my cheeks, sometimes I pretend I'm still asleep just to enjoy it for a few more moments. He got a new helmet for his bike for Christmas, so we've been spending quite a bit of time riding bike in the street. We're trying to teach him the basic rules of the road - keep left, put your hand up when you stop (he shouts "stopping" at the same time) and to signal when he's turning. He's still on fairy wheels but every now-and-then mentions that they need to come off. So, my latest sport is jogging and he makes me run quite far next to his speedy little bike. Actually, I can't believe how much energy he's got in those tiny little legs. We do about 3 or 4km at a time. One way of losing weight.

Riding his bike with his new helmet on Christmas morning... And, of course, he's still spending lots of time working in his little veggie garden and we actually had his carrots for our Christmas lunch (he picked them on Christmas Eve!).

Picking Carrots for our Christmas lunch... Full harvest... He's also got flowers on his watermelon and butternut plants and his bean plants are getting new little beans too. He's got a greenpepper that seems to be growing by the minute.

So, without boring you to death, that's all our news. Glad to hear from all your blogs that everyone had a good Christmas and I hope that 2008 will be a very happy, exciting year for all!!

Heaps of love, Sue xxx Some other general holiday photos: Joanne, Paul, Jake & I at Uncle Paul's Party... Jake & Michael waiting for thier names to be read out by Father Christmas at Uncle Paul's party... Decorating the tree... Our Christmas candles again... Rosanne and Gareth at Hartenberg (celebrating Rosie passing her diploma in Food Technology)... Jake getting stuck into MY chicken drumstick and loving it... At Hartenberg's Dam... Cheeky boy... Jake & Rosanne's boyfriend, Gareth... Time for a haircut... After... Camping in the garden... Jake feeding the dogs - Amber (ridgeback), Sasha (staffie) and Duracell (Jack Russell-something-or-other)... Picnic at Oude Libertas Open Air Theater with friends and family...