Resident pyrotechnic!

CoolDude loves making fires with friends that come over to play . Okay..... let me reassure you that they are little fires, done in a wheelbarrow with my supervision.
He also gets great enjoyment out of scorching toy soldiers. Doesn't he look cool with Mamma's sunglasses on!

I so enjoyed burning ants with the magnifying glass when I was a wee thing! But ..... I think CoolDude has found a more humane way of playing this game! (Pun most definately intended!)hehehe

xx

S-O-S !

I have used the Sonlight curriculum for 3 years and love it! Well almost all of it. To be honest I don't really enjoy the Sonlight Language Arts. I know that there are many options out there (an internet search can leave you feeling quite confused), but I value the advice of friends and their hands-on experience. SO........ please tell me what Language Arts program you love and why.

Thanx.

The anticipation is killing us!!!!

Spring is just around the corner for us southern hemispherers and MrGee and I are enjoying spending time in our garden. MrGee planted many different vegie-pots.... unfortunately the packets were thrown away before he could label each pot so we will only know what veges we have when they eventually produce!!! Any ideas?

(?????)

(Carrots?)

(Lettuce perhaps?)

(This could be beans!)

(??????)
I find it all quite exciting guessing which pot is going to produce first and what it will be! (oh yes ---you find joy in the simpliest of things as you get older. hehehe)

xx

We will survive!!!

As long as we know how to read.......... and a whole lot more I'm sure!

hehehehe

What am I gonna do Mom?

WizzKid is good at many things but at art he is bad, an' I mean really bad!!This last week he was asked to draw a poster informing people what to do in the event of a natural disaster. He chose to do it on Tsunamis.He came walking to the car with a very worried look upon his mug.
"Mom, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I have to draw a poster and I don't think I can do it!"
As we drove home from school I reassured him that I'd show him how to create a poster that required very little drawing at all. We spoke about the 3 elements(wave, buildings, hills) that were needed in the poster, and he assigned the colours.

WizzKidd cut out the coloured card,outlined the shapes in black felt pen and drew rectangular windows on the buildings. I wrote the heading, and he inked it in. He loved the bold colours and I think the simple message works well.

Another project complete...... whew!

xx

A changed man......

MrGee was not that keen on having a daughter, in fact both of us wanted only boys! Apparently MrGee saw his sister giving his Dad a hard time in her teen years, and decided that adult life would be a happier experience without that stress! I just felt having boys would be far less complicated. (I was a complicated teen with some major insecurities.)

So when God blessed us with two boys we were extremely happy! Then our world was beautifully shattered in an unexpected and wonderful way. I fell pregnant, and immediately knew it was a girl! I even went out and bought a pink baby grow. Suspicions were confirmed and MrGee started to panic....... he was not ready for this "pink creature!" What games would he play with her? Would he feel confident to change her nappy?

On 6th Sept 2004 I was induced and gave birth to the prettiest thing alive!!! She was 3.4 kgs and a feisty little one! The Paediatrician on call told me " You have a girl with a lot of attitude!"

And so, this "pink creature" entered our lives and changed it FOREVER!!
TanziPanzi turns 4 in a couple of weeks and MrGee and I are so glad God blessed us with her! She has crept easily into MrGee's heart. She adores him as much as MrGee adores her. She has truely captivated his heart!!!

xx

Look carefully!

Okay..... so how often do you get to see this in your neighbourhood?(Infact on the main road into your suburb!)
Every other day I see this small herd of cows at the side of the road being well behaved bovines, but today the lot of them stopped traffic. It seems the grass was greener on the other side! I grabbed my cellphone to record this "Africa Moment." Excuse the revolting quality of pic!

Wordless Wednesday- sign at the holiday resort.

xx

Wonderful family time

We enjoyed a very short, but wonderful stay in the Drakensberg this last weekend. It was a spur of the moment holiday so we had to be happy with what ever accomodation we could get! The 5 of us stayed together in a one room rondavel. Not ideal..... but fine for 2 nights/3days!

Cathedral Peak Hotel is the best Drakensberg Hotel I have ever been to! On our first morning we took a short walk to the river..... Tanzi complained her legs hurt after 5 minutes and begged to be carried by MrGee!!!



We arrived at the river and set up camp on a wonderfully flat rock.
The boys enthusiacically began re-constructing the river's flow!

With Hubby's help WizzKid and CoolDude demolished and rebuilt dam walls!

Below: WizzKid and MrGee had a quick break for the paparazzi..........

And then we headed back to base camp.Bellow we have Tanzi....... jumping like a Springbok over the pools!

And Below:...... Catching our breath after the short hike.

Isn't this a gorgeous view?


Well...... we certainly relaxed and pondered on what our feature might hold! We do love this country, but realise that we need to be wise and plan our next move very carefully!
*Sigh*

xx

Drakensberg

We've been away on a very short holiday. MrGee got us accommodation at the Cathedral Peak Hotel in the Drakensberg. It is my FAVOURITE resort! My Dad and I enjoyed many a walk in this area when I was a young girl! This hotel has beautiful walks, magnificent views and great amenities for the kids!
To get to the mountain resort, we had to travel through a few rural townships..............








It can be quite heartbreaking travelling through these rural settlements..... the small kids shout out "Sweets, Sweets!"..... wanting us to throw sweets to them .... And of course you also get the odd small stone shot(perhaps aimed) at your car!!
This is AfricA........the country of my birth and the land that I love!(most days!)

xx

What could I say?

Our Mozambican gardener,Paul, either has a wonderful sense of humour or a very kitsch taste in garden design!!!

After clearing away a corner near the front door he took it upon himself to try something creative .......... He found this piece of art in the bushes and decided to put her on display!

Gorgeous.... isn't she?

xx

Creative CoolDude.

CoolDude is such a precious child...... he has a very soft, kind heart, and eyes that "leak" very easily.(Although this has improved considerably!) He loves doing crafts, cooking and drawing.
He came home yesterday from school and said "Would you like this?" He presented me with this gorgeous bead necklace!


Apparently (after drawing the information out of him) he was the only one who decided to do a multi-colour necklace. The rest were either monotone or consisted of 2-3 colours. He told me he made it multi colour because he knows I love lots of bright colours. (Oh yes I do!)
Here is my handsome boy designing grafitti and being watched by our kitty, Tiggy-Pooh!

I look forward to seeing where his creative talent takes him. He often tells us that he is going to be a famous car designer. We believe in you CoolDude!

xx

Wahoooo!!!!

...........we celebrated 14 years of marriage on the 6 Aug !!!! We have survived the seven year itch x 2 , and a whole lot more!! I feel our marriage is on a deeper and much better level.... We truely are good for each other!

I love you babes. ((x))

xx

Enjoying time together.

We decided to spend a morning on the beach! It was slightly chilly but there was not a cloud in the sky... it was a beautiful day. Mrgee and the kids hired canoes and paddled out to sea. I relaxed on the sand, protected our belongings and snapped away on the camera. MrGee and Tanzi nearly overturned their canoe on the first wave they hit! (Nail biting stuff!)





At some stage, after realising that I was still fully clothed, Tanzi remarked.. "Next time you can bring your big bikini Mom." (Thanx sweetie!)
Afterwards we had lunch and enjoyed some local entertainment..... Zulu dancers.

What comes to mind is that phrase ......... 'A family that plays together stays together.' We sure did that!

xx