Excitement...

Well, my baby is officially 7 today.  Hardly a baby any more, but he will always be that in my eyes.  It's amazing how clearly the birth of your child stands out in your mind - it feels like yesterday that we were blessed with a tiny bundle to love and cherish for the rest of our days.  I always find birthdays a bit difficult to get through, I guess they're filled with so many happy memories.   I just do my best to keep as busy as possible.

All that said, Jake's birthday has been such fun this year and he has been so excited about his party and birthday.  We chose a Survivor theme this year and ended up inviting just about everyone he knows.  We had it on the field opposite our house, which was a lovely venue and we were blessed with a bit of sunshine to enjoy being outdoors with the kids.

Jake & I made this survivor banner.  Jake did all the inside bits, I did the fine work.  It's very far from perfect, but I think quite effective anyway...

I also made Survivor style lanterns filled with sweets as party packs.  My mom & Rosanne helped a bit with them...

Once the entertainers arrived, the kids were divided into tribes and each had war paint done on their faces in their tribe colours...

Tribes then had to make up a war cry...

 The first game up was for tribes to line up and then each member has a turn to race against the other tribes to pick up little flags.  The tribe with the most flags was the winner...

  

The race is on...

 Next up was tug-of-war...

 Jake's team won their first round, but lost in the second.  That guy's one of the organisers...

The birthday boy...

I'm not sure that I would've been able to have done the next game.  It was another race against the other tribes, this time to use their mouths only to fish a plastic bug out of a bowl of jelly, then to find a sour worm in a bowl full of flour.  Needless to say, there was a lot of spitting going on... yuck...

Tribes ready to go...

 Jake fishing for his worm...

 And seriously battling to swallow it.  I'm not sure whether it was the connotation of eating a real worm that got to the kids, or the flour, but they all battled to get this down...

 Done and waiting for the last team to finish...

 They made one member from each tribe go up against each other to first get jelly all over their face, then rub it in flour to see who could get the dirtiest.  Abi, Jake's cousin, won - she even had flour in her ears...

 Next up was a water game.  Each tribe had a bucket filled with water and were given a leaking cup to carry water across to fill a bottle.  They only had to get it half full and Jake's tribe won this race...

 After all the fun, handing out of prizes.  Jake's tribe was tied with another, so prizes were shared.  I think it's fair to say, everyone had fun and I'm sure they all went home and slept well.  I know Jake did...

 In between the action, the kids were given time to eat and drink.  I thought I had over-catered, but just about everything was gone at the end of the day.  And thank goodness I made a few adult-friendly snacks, quite a few moms stayed to watch...

 Jo and Paul were there with Connor...

 She's looking great - Bianca arrives early tomorrow morning!

  Our friends from Augrabies were in town, so popped in for a bit, always good to see them...

 After all the fun and games, it was time to sing to the birthday boy and cut the cake...

 A group shot of most of the kids...

 After most of the kids had left, Jake opened his gifts - he was such a spoilt boy and people are so thoughtful...

 A funny moment amongst the cousins...

 Jake with his gifts, such a spoilt boy...

 This morning, it was just Jake and I at home when we woke up.  Jake was super, super excited and was awake around 6 saying "what do you want to say to me?".  I wished him, the lights went on and he opened his present from Danie and I...

To my darling boy: Jake, you are SUCH a blessing in my life and I am so proud of the little boy you have become.  Your birthday is finally here, no more sleeps to count, so I hope that you have the happiest birthday ever!  I love you with all my heart.  Mom (because I'm not mommy anymore *sob*) XXX


And on that, I'll end off.

Sue X

The Rugby Player...

 It's been so long since I last posted any photos - probably because I have been robbed of my picture editor, since my PC did a dying act on me.  It was a tough call as to how far back I should go with my pictures now, since I have missed sharing Jake's first rugby practice, Easter and our Royal Wedding celebrations (to mention a few) with you.  Anyway, I'm skipping all that out now, none of it is relevant much now and I'm jumping forward to last week.

Jake has decided that he wants to play rugby as his winter sport this year.  I'm much happier about him playing a school sport, rather than club - his old soccer team practises twice a week from 5:30 - 6:15pm and then they have matches on Saturday mornings.  This way, practise is almost straight after school on Mondays and matches are played on Wednesdays.  Last Wednesday, Jake was chosen to play in his very first match at Jan van Riebeek (it's an Afrikaans school, so it's a given that the boys play rugby and they are competitive!).  Our kids were told to go out and have fun, with very little pressure put on them to win the game.  The opposition's coaches and parents were very competitive, which surprised me.  They're so little and it really isn't about sticking to ALL the rules, just about having some fun and getting familiar with structured sport.  Anyway, Jake's team won with 4 tries to 3, so we were were all very proud of our boys.  Pictures below...

 The school sports fields are not on the school premises, since the school is in the heart of Cape Town.  Instead, they have grounds on the outskirts of town, overlooking Table Bay - it's very pretty...

Jake was asked to be the Captain and had to go pick a hand to see which way they were playing first...

 They lined up (that's Mrs Thomas, their coach) and prepared to run onto the field.  They look so little...

 And they got straight into it.  Jake is a little nervous and held back a little.  I'm sure he'll settle in fairly soon...

 Half time team talks...

 OK, it's a little blurred, but he did get a chance to run with the ball...

 After the game, a team photo - they look so smart, despite their HUGE jerseys...

 Jake is a very private kid.  I guess it comes from living with a woman.  He doesn't generally like walking around without his top on, so wasn't too impressed when he had to hand the jersey back to his coach and then had to walk back to  the car half naked.  It's also barefoot rugby, so he's having to learn to overcome his bad habit of never wanting to take his shoes off.  It's all about doing what your friends are doing at this stage.  Note the tiny rugby posts...

He's got another match scheduled for this afternoon at 13:45.  It's against Milnerton and it's at home, which means we'll have lots of spectators.  Jake is very excited, which is all that counts at this stage, in my opinion.

Sue XXX

A busy time...

I am still here, I just haven't had the chance to do any blogging in the longest time ever.  I haven't read or written a thing since my last post.  Not very good, but what can you do when life is crazy to say the least.

My computer woes at work continued this week, with an evil virus infecting and causing me to have to do a system recovery back to the 18th.  Thankfully, I was on leave for most of the time between, so it hasn't been too bad, but it did mean losing another day working effectively.  The joys.

While I did manage to get a few days off work over the Easter Holidays, it also ended up being a very busy time for us all.  Danie was off most of the time too, which was awesome and Jake's school was closed as well and despite the busyness of our time off, it was great to have a change in routine for a bit.

Things continue to be busy for the next couple of weeks - tomorrow is my sister's baby shower.  We've really left it till the last minute, there are just 11 days today until Bianca arrives.  Next weekend is Jake's party, followed by his birthday, my birthday and Bianca's arrival.  Needless to say, it's a very exciting time and we are all working like busy little bees to make everything special for everyone.

Jake is having a Survivor themed birthday party and he is really excited.  I've got people coming to do the party for me, so hopefully they've got some good games lined up to keep everyone busy for 1hr30.  The kids get divided up into tribes and compete to be the winning tribe.  I'm busy painting a huge Survivor logo on an old sheet and we are making little fake tiki torches out of polystyrene cups for the party packs.  There's a lot to do, we have about 30 kids coming.  Thank goodness I have a field opposite my house and we'll be having the party there.


Anyway, sorry so short - just a quick note.  I promise to try be better at this in the next few weeks, things at work seem to be getting back on track, finally.

Enjoy the weekend ahead!

Love,
Sue XXX

Decisions, decisions...

I love mobile technology - I'm writing this from the comfort of my bed!

As you may or may not know, we attend church regularly. I'm not a preacher of any kind, but Sunday's service has been playing over and over in my mind ever since. And, as Danie's learning, I'm a thinker. Things go around and around in my head as I try to work them out and get my story straight. I guess that's the point, to get one thinking & trying to put one's life into perspective.

Basically we are all vain to a certain extant. Egotistical. We put our needs, our passions, ourselves ahead of everyone else. We are all guilty of wanting the best for ourselves and of putting other people's needs second to our own. It's human nature. It was quite amusing at some points when the minister affirmed a recent discussion Danie & I had. But, believe me, there were a fair number of smiles and nudges passed all around the church, I'm sure.

It's very difficult to put other people's needs and desires and passions ahead of our own. I try, often unsuccessfully to do this. I think the only area in my life where I am relatively successful, is in being a parent. By being solely responsible for someone else, for being somebody's mommy, well that means putting everything that has ever been important to me in a very firm second place. Jake's needs come ahead of all else and I would gladly give up my life for him. Perhaps its a fitting thought as the Easter season draws upon us...

Anyway, it's something I will be working on, something I need to work on and something I will be trying to be more conscious of, especially as we go into Easter. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone tried to be less selfish - a much calmer and happier place for everyone, don't you think?

Sweet dreams!
Sue xxx

It's been a while...

But, I'm still here.  To be honest, there hasn't been much to say...

Things at work have been really hectic, I don't know whether I'm coming or going.  Our accountant only made it into the office 3 weeks after our financial year end to roll the books over for the new year, so I had a lot of catching up to do after that.  Then my computer crashed (fortunately I didn't lose anything, thank goodness for auto-backups).  Then I got a new version of our accounting programme, which was a complete mess.  And then the lady who fills in for me in the afternoons went on leave for a whole month. So, it meant that by the time I was sort of up-to-date with where I needed to be, it was month end, salaries needed to be calculated and paid, suppliers needed payment and I have been working a bit later most afternoons.  I'm tired and looking forward to the weekend ahead.  We'll be in Marina, so hopefully I'll feel relaxed and rested by the time Monday rolls around again.

Jake has also begun the second term of school this week.  He had a 1 week break at the beginning of the month and has another one coming up over Easter.  With all the holidays around Easter, it means that between 21 April and 3 May, they only have 3 days of school anyway.  I've taken the 3 days off and Danie has a day off too, so we're all looking forward to a bit of a breather over Easter and are hoping to do a few little day trips around Cape Town.

Aside from that, Jake and I are attempting to get the garden going a little (now that winter's on the way, of course).  We've started by doing our hanging baskets, which will probably die without water over the weekend.  I've also had compost layed on the lawn in the back, so hoping that starts to grow nicely.  The lady across the road has offered to give some advise on what to plant where, so I must try get her to pop in next week sometime.  While I don't mind doing the labour, I need help with know what to plant and where.

Anyway, I'm trying to remember to take more photos, it's been a bit of a dry spell for me.  When my computer crashed, I lost PhotoShop and for the life of me, can't find the disk.

Here's some shots of Jake doing our hanging baskets.  He really loves the garden and it's a poor show on my behalf that we haven't done more...

Monkey...

Amber did a little dying act on me recently too.  She hurt her back leg and couldn't walk.  At 47kgs, that's a big problem for me.  Anyway, I got some painkillers for her and she's back to her old self.  Naughty as ever...

Speaking of naughty (or fatty)... here's Duracell too.  They kept us company in the garden...

The finished baskets...

During the school holidays, we took Jake on a night-fishing adventure.  He loves it.  Actually, I think he'd give up school for fishing.  Pity we never catch anything!  We always pack a picnic of sorts (I must remember to get a flask for hot chocolate next time), with sandwiches, chips, sweets and cool drinks - it's half the fun and I assure you I'd be pretty bored without food.  It's starting to get quite nippy in the evenings, especially out on the water  I don't know what's wrong with this child, he can't seem to smile normally for the camera at the moment...

OK, one nice one...

Last weekend we went to the Cool Runnings in Durbanville.  It's a steel toboggan slope.  Jake and Danie had a go, while I took photos.  We must do it again, I am a little jealous I didn't get a turn!  These are the 'sleds'

 

They're off...

You get pulled up this slope, so that you can whizz down the other side...

Here they're coming back in.  They tell me they didn't brake once.  I'm sure the did, but they just didn't want to sound chicken in front of me...

Jake's teacher had a birthday during the holiday, so we baked her a cake as part of her gift.  Jake was responsible for all baking, icing and decorating.  She actually managed to cut it in half and shared half with the class and took half home.  It was filled with caramel and Jake was only to pleased to get a sample...

The 11th was Gareth's 30 - welcome to the Dirty Thirties Ou Boet!!  This is going to be an exciting decade for you and Rose.  We celebrated by going out for Mexican food at one of Cape Town's best - Pancho's...

Jo and Paul.  Their baby is due on 17 May, just over a month away.  We're all very excited and Jo is looking gorgeous, don't you think??  Paul did the Iron Man last weekend and did exceptionally well - I could not do it!  3.9km swim, followed by 180km cycle, followed by 42km run.  He did it all in just over 12 hours, so well done old man...

Seriously, another bad photo...

Mom and dad...

Danie, Jake and I...

OK, so it's possibly genetic...

Yep, definitely.  Nice one, Rose...

This morning, I managed to get a couple of hours off work to go and help at Jake's school with their annual grade 1 bible breakfast.  The kids all get dressed up in bible style attire and bring mats to sit on and are fed bible style food.  They had to make their own goblets during the holidays.  Mom's help on the day and it was such fun to be part of it.  This was our table, which actually looks a complete mess in the photo, but looked nice in real life.  We served them pita breads, fried fish, dried fruit, cut up apples and red grape juice and apple juice (meant to look like wine).  They had traditional Hebrew dancers in and read a Jewish grace.  It was a lovely morning and we had as much fun as the kids...

Jake's group (that's him on the right)...

The hall full of grade ones...

Jake's group again...

Jake loved the meal.  Most of the kids wouldn't eat one or another thing (at least) on the table, but Jake ate like he'd never seen food before. He especially loved the fish...

These are some of the little girls from Jake's class.  The one on the right with the light blue shawl is Kerryn.  Jake sits next to her.  She's his "special" friend...

One of Jake and I (mom's also had to dress up)...

Jake and some of his friends...

Jake wasn't too keen to take part in the dancing.  He watched from the back... 

Jake and his teacher...

Anyway, hopefully the weekend's going to be a quiet one.  And hopefully next week I will be able to catch up on some blogging properly.

Hope everyone's well.  Sending lots and lots of love,
Sue XXX