Bits 'n Bobs...

Life has been hectic lately and I'm feeling so exhausted at the moment that I can't wait to flop into bed at night.  Somehow when life is busy and you have things planned for you months in advance, you (well me at least) just look forward to a break.  To time out to relax and enjoy together.  It just isn't happening for us at the moment.

Enough complaining!  Who's listening anyway?  The top photo was taken about 10 days ago, on the morning of Jake's swimming gala at school.  We were at my parent's house before school and Jake was loving taking Bi for a ride on the bike.  Bianca was tickled by it too.  Besides how big my kid is and more about that in a minute, that little girl is growing way, way too fast.  She's standing beautifully on her own now and has even taken a few wobbly steps between things.  She'll be 1 on 17 May.  In some ways, it feels like yesterday that we were celebrating her arrival and yet in other ways, it feels like she's just always been a part of our family.  She's so much gentler and quieter than the boys are and it's just so lovely to be able to see her (and Connor) nearly every day.  Speaking of the big brother, he's about to turn 3!!  We'll be celebrating his birthday on Saturday, photos to follow.

Back to my boy now.  Jake took part in the fun race in his school gala earlier this month.  While he does go for swimming lessons and can swim well for a little guy, he opted out of swimming in the competitive races and just did the fun one.  Obviously, I was there; after the Argus debacle, I wouldn't have missed this for the world (I'll never not be there for him again!).  The did a little fun relay with umbrellas, which ended up in them walking across the pool, so wasn't too much to write home about, but I was there.  And just look at this boy's body!!  OK, I know he's my son and in my eyes, he's the most gorgeous boy on the planet anyway, but seriously!  Where the heck did those shoulders come from??  Hang on, I think I know.  I must fish out an old photo of his dad swimming sometime...

He was super excited about the gala, I think more because it gave him a reason to get out of the classroom than anything else.  Last year's gala was rained out, so this was his first.  His little friend's coming over as fast as he can.  His little friend is the class exhibitionist and Jake thinks it's hilarious.  The girls think it's gross...

The pool is not heated and the water at 8:45 in the morning is freezing.  Jake is never impressed when he has to do swimming at school, I think that's part of the reason why he opted not to race this year.  See how he keeps as much of his body out of the water as possible...

I had to get to work so stayed just long enough to watch Jake "swim and then had to go.  He told me later that when I came to take this photo and say goodbye, he felt like he was going to cry.  Next year I'll take a day's leave...

This was the morning of the Junior Argus - I still feel terrible for missing his ride when I look at these photos.  He had fun though, that's all that matters...

I don't know how I'm getting the shadowy photos in there, but they're kinda funky.  Truthfully, I don't know how to get them out there...

We have spent as much time fishing as possible, taking advantage of the last few days of summer.  The marina is pretty when the wind doesn't blow you away... 

Something happened to the little fish in the marina over the last weekend.  There were lots of dead little fishes floating when we went down early on Saturday morning.  I don't know whether it was the rain that had fallen and added fresh water to the marina, or whether it's the red tide I've heard them speaking about on the radio and at work, but it's sad.  We want these guys to get big...

Jake and I had our morning coffee/hot chocolate on the jetty on Saturday morning, while the old man slept...

On Friday afternoon, I took Jake through to Buitenverwachting to go and help with their harvest, but it rained, so the cellar was virtually closed.  We went again yesterday and they were processing a few grapes that had been harvested on one of the nearby farms.  Jake was in his element and it was a good thing that the cellar wasn't running full steam, because it gave him time to chat and ask questions.  And he got to press a few buttons too...

This is Hermann, showing Jake the latest Sauvignon Blanc harvest.  Hermann's been the farm winemaker for years, Jacques worked under him and he's a brilliant teacher and winemaker.  He is super passionate about his job and only too happy to share that passion with anyone who's willing to listen.  Jake was his guy...

Freshly picked grapes...

When the grapes arrive at the cellar, they're tipped into a big scale and notes are made about the weight, quality and location from which the grapes come.  Enzymes are added, to prevent the juice browning...

The next lot of grapes waiting to be processed...

From the weigh scale, the grapes move down to the de-stalker and crusher...

Yep, that's wine in the making.  Almost enough to put me off the stuff, but not quite... 

Jake made himself quite at home ('scuse the quality, blaming my lack of PhotoShop), climbed the railing to check that the grapes were moving properly.  My nerves were shattered and it took all my self control not to go hold onto him...

He helped Hermann print the tickets for the batches of grapes...

Still checking out the grapes...

Bonding.  I think Hermann was as nervous of Jake's position as I was.  There's a serious drop down from where Jake's standing...

Of course, part of being a winemaker is having to sample your wares.  Here's Jake tasting some wine that's about a week old.  It's still pretty sweet, just starting to ferment, a bit like murky, sparkling grape juice.  Hermann was cracking jokes about how bad this fermenting juice makes farts smell and Jake could barely swallow he was giggling so much.  Boys...

Part of the barrel cellar - I'd like to have one of these on tap in my lounge...

We didn't spend too much time in the cellar yesterday, it wasn't too busy and Hermann had a visitor to see.  We're going back tomorrow, hopefully to go and work in the vineyards a bit.  Jake is so excited about his day on the farm.  It makes me feel so sad to think of what our lives should have been.  Especially for Jake.  He'd be in the cellar every day of his life, riding quad bikes and tractors, no doubt.  It's so funny, how much I still feel Jacques on the farm, especially here in the cellar.  It still feels like home.  So much has changed and so much more has stayed the same.  I still expect to see him coming around every corner, he is so much a part of the walls and I can only imagine how Jake must feel being able to go there and take part.  It's his history.

After our time at the farm, we popped in for a quick bite to eat at Danie's house and to fish of course.  Jake is fishing mad at the moment.  Since Danie's put his jetty up, we spend a bit more time down at the water's edge.  There are millions of tiny fish about at the moment (the ones that made it through the weekend)...

Jake wasn't feeling great over the weekend.  He had a temperature on Sunday and was very washed out and he still isn't 100%, but mention fishing and he's ready.  Last night he decided to find out what is pecking at the reeds from below...

He grabbed the leftovers from Saturday night's dinner (tenderised steak) and broke it up into chunks for bait...

And look!  He caught his first fish in Marina with his rod!!

He ended up catching 3 (they were in water, I just couldn't take a photo of them in the water, so pulled them out for a sec) and was super chuffed with himself.  The guys at work tell me that these are little "streepies", who knows what they are.  They were fish on the hook of  a little boy and that's all that matters...

Part of loving fishing, means learning the 'catch and release' practise.  It's not easy when you're a little guy and so excited and Jake was less than impressed at not being able to keep these guys, but he did the right thing...

And, as they do on monster fish, he gently held his fish in the water and made sure that they were breathing well and ready to go on their own...

So, in between all the busy-ness of life, Jake and I still manage to find plenty of time to have fun and to make happy memories together.  Life is always so rushed and stressful and it's great to have Jake around to remind me to smell the daises sometimes.  It won't be long before he doesn't want to spend time with me, so I'm going to cherish every second of this time in his life while I can.  Danie's got so much on over the next 2 or 3 weeks - 2 weekends full of golf, plus golf tomorrow (it's a public holiday here!) and a trip to China for a week somewhere in between.  Thank goodness I have Jake for company!!  Jake and I have lots planned too and I always look forward to having some quality time with my little guy, he's so special.  School closes this Friday until 10 April, so I'm hoping that I can get a day off work somewhere in between to try get away with Jake for a night or two.  I need time out.

Hope you're all doing OK, remember to stop and smell the roses along the way!
Sue X

Life's ups and downs...

Something that I haven't really blogged much about, because I needed to get my head around it and I needed to get all my facts straight first, is Jake's schooling.  Jake has always loved school, he's always done well and he's a pretty sociable child, so enjoys the time with his friends.  So, it's come as a bit of a shock to me that he's not doing as well as I thought he was...

I only realised to what extent he was battling, when he brought his books home from school a couple of weeks ago and I saw how many of his tasks he is not managing to complete in class.  Like I said, it came as a shock, because my child is brilliantly perfect, of course.  He did really well last year and scored above average on his reports throughout the year.  So, I was totally blind-sided, after having seen his teacher, when I was given a note saying that they wanted him to go for a remedial assessment.  Remedial?  No ways - my child is perfect, remember?  He went for the assessment and I met with his class and remedial teachers this morning to discuss the results.

Turns out that my child's not perfect, that he does have problems.  Especially with visual spatial integration, which is basically his perception of spatial relationships between objects in his field of vision.  This affects reading, writing, maths, copying, puzzles, problem-solving and understanding of how to tie it all up together.  He also has fine motor co-ordination problems, which can be linked to the visual spatial problems, which is why his handwriting is such a mess. The teachers both agree that his intellectual ability is above where it should be, which would explain his frustrations in class at not being able to do the things his friends are able to do so easily.
So, the hard work begins from here, he has to go for Occupational Therapy and he will be starting up with remedial classes (they fall within school time) as soon as they have a gap for him.  He is also spending time doing homework twice a week with his Auntie Tam, who's also a remedial teacher. 

He is lucky that he has the wonderful teacher that he has this year.  She has been kind enough to pay close enough attention to him and to realise that he's not keeping up with the pace.  He is blessed to be at a school (public, not private), that has excellent remedial facilities in place and that they are able to help him find his feet again.  He is blessed to have a wonderful auntie who is excited to be able to help him and who has been spending hours researching games and exercises that she can use to help him.  He is so blessed in so many ways and instead of being upset about all of this, I'm so pleased that I am in a position to be able to help him when he needs it.  I am excited to get started on all of this with him and I am excited about getting him excited about learning and about school again.  That's the most important thing for me, not that he excels, just that he enjoys school.

It's hard enough accepting that I'm not perfect, but it's even more difficult to have someone telling you that your child's not as perfect.  I just have to keep focused on the blessings in our lives and how wonderful it is knowing that we have the most amazing support systems to help us deal with life's little problems.

Love,
Sue X

PS.  You can read more about  visual spatial problems here, if you're interested...

I am blessed...

Well, Monday is here. I wished for it on Friday and I am relieved that today is that day.  The weekend was tough on so many levels and I'm still not sure how I managed to get through it all, but I did.  I don't want to go on and on about it, you all know what I had to deal with this weekend and it was about as tough as I expected. 

Letting Jake go off to do his Junior Argus and knowing I wasn't going to be there to cheer him on was heartbreaking.  He rode like a little star though and had all 4 of his grandparents there to encourage him on his way.  He and his Auntie Tam took a little tumble too, so it was tough for him on the road, but he finished and I am super proud of him.  He is so thrilled with his medal and is super proud of himself too. 

The weddings went better than I expected and I managed to enjoy both.  The first was tough but lovely none-the-less.  I am learning more and more how to distract my brain when things are tough and you have no idea how absolutely fascinating bamboo actually is.  Anyway, we sat out in the sunshine, drinking ice cold cool drinks through the ceremony and stuffed ourselves on a scrumptious buffet-style picnic for lunch.  It was more than delicious.  I didn't know too many people at the wedding, so met a lot of new faces, many who have known Danie for years.  It was nice to finally be able to put faces to names I've heard so much about.

The second wedding was quaint and cosy and so special.  I met the couple through Danie and they're really lovely, down-to-earth friends.  They have a gorgeous little girl, Lily, so it was high time that they got married.  They were both so relaxed and happy and it was lovely to be there to share it with them.  We knew many of the other guests, so it was tons of fun and by that stage I was very relaxed and really enjoyed my glass of wine during the emotional speeches.

Anyway, like I said, it's Monday.  I'm physically drained and so exhausted today that I wish it was a public holiday, so I will be in bed super early again tonight.

Thank you to everyone who loves me, to those who sent messages to say they care and for those who said little prayers for me.  Thanks to my mom who covered me with cucumber to try fix the swollen, hot rash that I developed on Saturday morning (allergic reaction to stress-relieving meds).  And a very big, very special thank you to my Danie for putting up with me and all my issues and for holding my hand when I needed you most.  I don't think you really knew what to expect, but you were so supportive and lovely and I am so blessed in so many ways.  Thank you, I love you. 

Love,
Sue X

A jolly time...

So, the weekend is here.  It's probably the one that I've been least looking forward to this year.  Besides being an exceptionally busy one, it also marks 11 years since Jacques and I started our "lives together".  It's a day that is filled with so many happy memories of such a special time, that it's always going to be a little black cloud on my calendar. 
So, it's particularly difficult to be going 2 weddings of friends, one couple good friends, the other not so much.  The first wedding is right near my old home on the farm where Jacques used to work, so it is going to be extremely difficult.  The second wedding is a bit out of the way and I'm just hoping we don't have to pass Miller's Point (the slipway where Jacques died) on our way through to Scarborough.  Unfortunately, I don't really know too many people at the first wedding (lunch time), so I need to try keep myself controlled as best as possible.  It'd be so different if it was my own friends and family who know my circumstances.  But crying at a stranger's wedding is not so cool.  I am quite good at distracting my mind, so hopefully that'll work in my favour tomorrow.

Sadly, I'm also missing Jake do his Junior Argus (10km) tomorrow and I'm feeling quite sad about that.  He is very excited though and I'm sure he will be bursting to be able to show off his newest medal by the end of it all. 

Added to that, I got a VERY childish letter shoved into my car window this morning when I dropped Jake off at school, from someone I actually know.  Some of you will have read said letter on twitter or on BBM.  SO embarrassing for them.  I'm not going to waste my breath writing about it, I will just say that if your house is on the same road as a school, with a pathway built onto the roadside, you have the potential for parents to park their car on the PUBLIC ground that is the pavement.  OK?  Seriously, get something else to worry about, my life is too busy and stressful without this.

So, as you can see, I'm pretty much an emotional basket case at the moment. My little helpers don't seem to be helping at all, neither do my rescue drops and I am looking forward to Monday for the first time ever.   I guess I still need to learn how to paste that smile on my face and just get on with it.  Bring on the champagne.

Hopefully everyone else has a great weekend planned.
Sue X

Smokey...

 Yesterday saw Jake and I going off to investigate the thick smoke billowing up into the sky near our local high school (in the background of the picture above).  We followed the trail and were on the scene before the fire brigade.  Needless to say, it was any boy's dream - you show me the 7 year old that doesn't want to be a fireman/policeman.  We watched for a while and decided to head home to fetch my camera and watch the action.

The fire was burning in the nature reserve, protected for being the only place for a specific orchid to grow.  I've never seen the orchid, but I guess it's pretty special.  Jake's adamant now that we need to find it and photograph it, so watch this space, if I find it, you'll be the first to know...

 It's not so easy taking photos of a moving fire through a wire fence from inside a car, but just a few to show how big the flames actually were...

 My dad was mowing my lawns for me yesterday, so he came with us to watch the drama unfold.  He was roped in to help open a tap for one of the volunteer firefighters...

 This is the guy he helped...

 There were more than 3 firefighters, they were all off in the bush doing their thing.  These guys came to work near us, so it was fun for Jake to see how much hot, hard work they need to do...

 Jake did wonder (aloud) what would happen if this guy decided to turn the hose on him...

 A super stoked boy...

 The water started to do the trick and the fire started to smoulder, but was still raging a little further on...

Jake was even more impressed when his new found hero came over to chat to him.  Seriously, I don't think he could've been prouder if a Springbok rugby player came over to say hi... 

 I overheard him asking Jake for his name and then ask Jake to please look after this little guy...

 In amongst the smouldering ashes, they'd picked up a little tortoise.  Jake was beyond ecstatic and totally thrilled with his new pet.  In amongst all the destruction of the fire, how sweet that these big men could take the time to save a little tortoise...

 We'll call her Smokey, because she was saved from a fire and we'll keep her in a box filled with grass (because my dad was mowing the lawn) and feed her tomatoes and hibiscus flowers (they like them).  And she is so pretty...

 Jake cleaned her off, her shell was muddy from the ash and water.  He used toilet paper that he left on my lounge floor.  She was very friendly, or maybe to small to bite him, but she was sweet and he fell in love in a heartbeat...

 Pretty shell...

 Letting her free in the front garden for a little stroll....

 Unfortunately, we just couldn't keep Smokey.  We have a dog, Duracell, who'd eat her in no time and her rightful place is either in a safe garden, or back in the wild.  My parent's neighbours have a gate going into the field where she was found, a little further away from the fire.  We tried to go out to set her free, but the neighbours also fell in love with her and have decided to keep her in their garden.  They have a big, very natural garden, so she'll be very happy there and Jake'll be able to go visit as often as he likes.  If he can find her.

On my way to work this morning, I took a drive past the scene of the fire.  It's so bleek, but the animals (grey heron below) are still there and hopefully there'll be lots of new plants in the not too distant future... 

 A lesson was learnt by Jake, as we watched the fire engulf plants, listening to seeds pop open - no smoking (especially in the bushes), no littering and always, always look after animals.

Sue X

What a week...

It feels as though I haven't stopped rushing once this entire week.  Jake's schedule is keeping me pretty busy at the moment.  He's got extra lessons with his auntie twice a week, swimming twice a week and cricket once a week.  In between, we need to find time for homework and shopping and cooking.  As far as work goes, we've had our financial year end this week and every one needs everything urgently.  Thankfully, I only have a half day job.  So, life has been insane both at home and at work and I am exhausted.  Thank goodness it's Friday today, but our weekend doesn't hold much time for rest.  I have a kitchen tea tomorrow, Danie a bachelor's party and then we're off to watch the rugby at Newlands.  Sunday Jake has a birthday party from 3-6pm (it's might just actually kill me).

Breaking news is that Danie's had a jetty built at his house, which Jake absolutely loves.  I can't keep this boy inside when we're at Danie's house, he just wants to fish and fish.  I have all my fingers crossed that he'll eventually catch something of a decent size that we can actually cook it (boys have to clean it though), but for now he's learning a lot by practising his casting and doesn't seem to mind too much that he's not catching anything.  He was up at 6am last Saturday morning to spend time on the water's edge...

The jetty covers the entire front of the lawn, so it's pretty big.  We just need to get a pretty little table that we can take down to have snacks and drinks at hand for lazy evenings...

Jake's also been working on cubs badges again, so hopefully he'll have another one or two to add to the 4 he's already got.  We've been working on his cooking badge and as part of it, he has to make a sweet.  As in fudge, or something along those lines.  We found a recipe for gummy bears, so decided to make them.  They're pretty easy, although a little messy, but heaps of fun for the kids.  Basically, you put 3/4 a cup of cold water in a pan, pour in 2 sachets of unflavoured gelatin (we used 2, because 1 was too soft for us), pour in a packet of flavoured jelly and leave it to soak for about 10 minutes...

 

 It'll end up looking like this...

 

 Next, you heat it up, stirring it until all the gelatin has dissolved.   The liquid will go clear...

 Put it into some kind of pouring device and pour into bear shaped chocolate moulds.  We had to go buy one and also got stars, dinosaurs and fish moulds...

 If you're eager, pop them into the fridge to set.  Takes about 5 minutes.  Then just peel the sweeties out of the moulds.  We didn't use any grease or power to dust the moulds and the sweets came out easily.  We did dust them with cornflour, because they were a little sticky.  You could use castor sugar or icing sugar too...

 Jake loved it and was thrilled with being able to make his own sweets, whatever shape he chose...

  

We ended up making 3 batches and they were gone by the next day.  We need to play around a little, but I'm pretty sure you could use fruit juice instead of the water and just add an extra packet of gelatin.  It was fun and pretty low effort.  A nice one for a rainy day... 

 I still don't have PhotoShop, so my pictures aren't great, but you'll get the idea.

Enjoy the weekend, I'm so relieved it's finally here, but by the end of it, I'm sure I'll be equally relieved to see Monday.

Take care!

Love Sue XXX