What a weekend...

This weekend was an insane one. First off, it was Jake's 5th birthday on Saturday. I can't believe that my baby's already 5, where has the time gone? How can he possibly be so grown up already? I'm so lucky to have him in my life, he is the most wonderful child I could ever have wished for and I love him more then words can say! I'm such a lucky mommy...

The weather was forecast to be crap for Saturday - 80% chance of rain and 65 knot winds - so I opted to substitute the jumping castle for a magician on Thursday and it was the best thing I could've done, since it poured with rain and we were forced to stay indoors. I don't know what I would've done with all those kids (25 + some siblings) without the extra entertainment!

Jake was up early on Saturday morning - like 4:30, but I managed to get him to go back to sleep and we eventually got up at 6:15. He was just so excited and couldn't wait to open his presents. We hauled his duvet to the lounge and snuggled on the couch (just the 2 of us) while he opened his gifts from me. It was great to have a few quiet moments with him on my own, before the day began.

The party started at 2 and the kids had a ball. The magician was fantastic, even though he forgot who the birthday boy was and then when we pointed out that it was the kid with the crown on, he called Jake Jason. He eventually got the logistics sorted out, got down onto their level and put on a brilliant show for the boys and girls (and parents). They were mesmerized and Jake hasn't stopped talking about his birthday ever since!. After the party, the family and a few friends stayed for supper after the party and we eventually got to bed at about 10:30. It was quite a day for us!!

The fun continued on Sunday, it was my birthday. On Friday morning Jake had been so excited about turning 5, he wanted to know how old I was turning. I got him to guess and he guessed 60. 60!! I know I have crows feet, but surely I don't look that old. Anyway, just to set the record straight, I turned 32 yesterday. Jake woke up really early again, but I managed to convince him to close his eyes for a little while longer, which he did and then only woke up at 8:35 - what more could I have wished for? When he woke up, he looked at me and said, 'it's your birthday! Happy birthday Mommy!'. Then he rubbed my shoulders and tickled my back for all of 3 seconds, but still - I don't think there could've been any better start to my day! I had a few friends that popped in to wish me in the afternoon and they all spoilt me rotten!

So, before I overload you with photos, I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped make Jake and I feel so special and so loved on our birthday weekend, it was great!! We were showered with phone calls and sms's and visits - it was a really great weekend, especially for Jake...

Opening presents. Do you remember feeling this excited about your birthdays when you were a kid??

A frog for the veggie patch from a family friend... The party table... Waiting for friends to arrive...Josette (Jacques' sister) with little Connor. It was Connor's first birthday party, I think he was in shock...Cutting the cake...Waiting for the show to begin...Look how many kids there were...Jake was called up to help with a few things. He was very embarrassed at first...Pooping out an egg... It worked... The old trick of the breaking wand. Jake thought this was hysterical...A balloon poodle (don't ask me why not a sword) for his efforts...Abracadabra...Pass-the-parcel passed the rest of the time... A very happy little boy at the end of his day...I realized when I put Jake to bed last night (again in my bed - my treat for my birthday), I realized that I didn't have any photos of the two of us from the weekend, so took a few myself. It's one of the joys of being a single parent, there just wasn't time to think about what I was doing properly. I was sober when I took these shots, though I don't look it. I took about 100 photos, of which at least 87 are of me with my eyes closed. I had to take some without the flash, just to try catch us both with open eyes. In the rest of the pictures, we look like dorks, but they're happy memories, we laughed our heads off in the process...

One last thing, please spare a thought for Gareth, my future brother-in-law, who sprained and then broke his ankle (the sprain made him fall) getting out of his car on Friday night. He had to have surgery done yesterday to pop the joint back into place and they've put plates into his ankle to reinforce it. He'll probably be in hospital till Wednesday. Hope you feel better soon!!

Happy Mother's Day...

My gift this year...

It was a long, busy weekend and, despite having a sore throat from hell, I'm quite glad to be back at work again today!! So, as you can see, Jake's gone and broken his arm. It happened on Saturday, exactly a week before his 5th birthday party. He was at a party on Saturday afternoon and fell off the top of a jumping castle. I'd just warned him that he needed to be careful, but, as those of you with sons will know, boys just don't listen. He had one knee bent under his bum and the other alongside him. He then stretched across to pull a lemon off the tree next to the jumping castle, someone jumped onto the 'beam' he was balancing on and he fell off the other side, landing on his wrist. We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon at the hospital having X-Rays done and he's got a fracture in the bone on the inside of his left arm. So, he's got his arm in plaster. He's not amused and is already telling me that he wants the plaster off. He says he's getting angry with it. He's very itchy, so I can't blame him getting upset!! Anyway, he'll be like this for about 4 weeks - it's going to be a long month! He's enjoying the attention though...

Besides that, Rose and Gareth helped Jake spoil us with a fabulous breakfast yesterday, which was a real treat. Rose picked Jake up early and took him to Gareth's folk's house (they're house-sitting). We had a few glasses of bubbly and enjoyed the warm autumn morning together...

We also visited Jacques' family and I was spoilt with a candle holder & card that Jake made for me at school, plus another chocolate & beautiful cream scarf that my mom helped Jake buy for me. Jacques' grandfather bought me a box of chocolates too - so spoilt girl!

After all our running around visiting everyone, we decided to go up Table Mountain with my cousin, Taryn, who's here from Johannesburg. It was a absolutely beautiful day and the views were incredible...

For those that don't know the area, this is looking down over Camp's Bay and Clifton Beaches...

I couldn't get Jake to stop climbing everything with one hand. He was on a mission to catch a lizard...

Here's Jake sulking 'cos I had just moaned at him about climbing. Cape Point is out in the back ground...

The restaurant/shop...

The patient enjoying the view of the city...

Part of the city bowl. Note our burnt Devil's Peak and how close the blaze came to the properties. This is actually just a fraction of the burnt mountain.... Signal Hill and Robben Island. If you look carefully, you can see our new 2010 soccer stadium just in front of the end of Signal Hill, just before the water...

The lower cable station...

Looking down the cables. It's an intimidating thing if you don't like heights...

I promise to try catch up again soon...

XXX