Success at last!!!

We have just spent four L-O-N-G days at a Level 2 Swimming event. Both Cooldude and WizzKid qualified for this gala, but this weekend it was WizzKid's time to shine ....................

In the 14 year age group he won GOLD for 400 Free,200 Free,100 Free,200 Back,100 Back,50 Back, SILVER for the 50 Free and BRONZE for 50 Fly !He loves swimming and after 5 years of commitment to this sport WizzKid is finally raking in the rewards.!Passion + Good work Ethic = Success!

Life's lessons can be harsh ....

CoolDude tried out for the soccer team today. Oh my word!!!
I knew the outcome before he even tried but I didn't want to crush his enthusiasm by saying something negative. He was so excited!

You see ...... CoolDude has never played in a soccer team before. In fact he never even kicks the ball around at home.
Now ........ he was about to try out for the position of goalie at a VERY competitive school, consisting of some VERY good soccer players!

As CoolDude hopped into the car afterwards, he stated .... " I SUCK AT SOCCER!" I replied "YES YOU DO MY SON!" We both had a good laugh and then we had the 'how-we-can't-be-good-at-everything' talk. My heart felt terribly sore as he told me how a Grade 7 boy had shouted at him that he was a terrible goalie. Life's lessons can be harsh(especially when you are eleven), but I was SO proud of how CoolDude handled the situation with understanding and maturity. You rock my precious boy!! ;)

Our first MudMan.

The Mudman event consists of a swim,cycle, and run. This one was held at Albert Falls, Kwazulu Natal. It was tough but all three kiddios loved it! CoolDude and WizzKid swam 375m(easy!),cycled 10km and ran 2,5km(hard!)....... Both did very well.
Above.... CoolDude in the red shorts in the middle of pic.(he came 19th out of the 58 in his age group)Above ....WizzKid racing to the finish!(he came 4th in the 14-16 yrs)Above.... Cooldude in red on the left, sprinting as fast as his legs can go!Above: No flies on Miss Tanzi.... she ran like a pro. On the home straight all the under 6's(bar one) ran past, looked for their parents, gave them a wave and toddled on by. Not our Miss Tanzi!!! She was SO focused and serious about the race that she put her head down, pumped those arms faster and bolted for the finish line. We didn't get a wave... not even a glance! heheAbove...... The reward .... her first medal!LOOK ...... she did the entire race with shoes on the wrong feet! Isn't that hilarious?MrGee was not with us but hopefully we can all be together at the next event in early April.

Look what the head nurse did.

MrGee has every right not to look impressed .......... This is the result after the nurse put the dialysis needle into a vein and, negligently, out through the other side of that same vein! Initially this botch-up gave MrGee a huge lump on his forearm near his fistula. A few days later .... the lump reduced in size but the underneath of his arm bruised up badly.(Thankfully it wasn't too painful though.)The Doc was furious with the nurse and threatened to report her!

Random signs? .... or do they hold a clue as to what happens behind closed doors .....

The welcome message on WizzKid's door .............

My interpretation ....... "After entering the Shark Tank you will need a toilet very soon!"

CoolDude's welcome message ...............

My interpretation...... *blank look* ...... ummm ....... ummmmm ...... no, got nothing!

Any ideas on what Cooldude's signs might represent?

Long weekend at Midmar Dam.

Below is my 'coming out of the closet' picture .....I have never been so vulnerable and in your face, but turning forty has been sooo liberating ...In the words of a dear friend .. "If you don't like what you see ...... then don't look!"


It was one of our best holidays! The weather was fab and we all chilled out beautifully. I managed well without my laptop/notebook ..... 4 days ...... now that must be a record!

The 'R-Word!'

A couple of weeks ago everything was just so 'random' ..... 'life was random', 'that song was so random', 'he was totally random'.

Well, according to WizzKid and CoolDude, it was! (I do promise to NEVER use the word RANDOM again after this post.) Oh yes, it had become an issue ... a minor one ....but never the less an irritating issue in the Gibbons' household. Whenever the boys couldn't find a suitable adjective they would slot in the 'R- WORD'! Of course in their eyes it was the coolest word around but I saw it as pure laziness!
Then ...... Miss Tanzi exclaimed, "My outfit looks so random!" I nearly went into cardiac arrest.... heck, my 5 year old has caught this terrible disease?
Hearing 'random' in stereo is bad, but hearing it in surround sound is 'Helsinki' ..... so, I banned the use of 'RANDOM' ..............

f-o-r-e-v-e-r !!
I am happy to say that two weeks down the line they have all forgotten about that random word .... except me, who has it permanently etched on my left-side brain!

The latest addition to our family ......

............ please welcome 'Stella' the dwarf bunny.(Named after a girl in the Jonas Brother's sitcom.... Tanzi's favourite show!)

The last experience we had with the rabbit variety was not a good one.... in 2001 we were given two really cute bunnies that became two HUGE, biting angora rabbits that kicked the poop out of us. Both met their deaths gruesomely. One was poisoned by our neighbour and the other broke his back whilst trying to get away from our cheeky Jack Russell, Roscoe.
~pause~

We are hoping for a very different outcome this time round. Yes, I know us Gibbons' have a bad track record with pets but I have a very good feeling about this little one. She has a cracker of a personality and is seemingly 'low maintenance'.

(mantra...."I will get over the fact that she gnawed through my mouse cord... I will get over the fact that she gnawed through my mouse cord....hhmmmmmm.")

Catching my breath ..........

The boys have almost completed their fourth week at their new schools. Wow! It has been busy! Within the first month the boys have each done an English, Afrikaans and Zulu oral. Cooldude has written two English stories,a book review and had numourous tests in each subject!! WizzKid has had cycle tests every Wednesday and Saturday..... YES, he has school on a Saturday! At the moment he is working on a Science Expo ......... I am exhausted I can't imagine how they must feel.
Because the boys have swimming(2 hours) every day, they have to do all their homework after 7:30 pm. Yes-siree-bob, our lives have changed 180 degrees. Boy do I miss those homeschooling days when we would eeeeeaase into the day ..... learn a whole lot of interesting stuff ..... and effortlessly glide into the evenings. I feel like all day long I am screaming orders ... "Hurry up!" "Get in the car!" " We're gonna be late!" .......... hmmmm. breath. breath.

Make-over ..... ?

Oh don't I look glam ....?

Although you can't see the final result properly, I can assure you Miss Tanzi took her time and enjoyed painting my face for an hour. I gave her carte blanche of my make-up draw and she took full advantage! She slapped foundation unevenly over my forehead and cheeks,outlined my lips horribly, filled in my eyebrows heavily,covered my pimples(pimples?) with layers of concealer,painted every shade of eyeshadow I owned on my eyelids, gave me a butterfly and flower on my cheeks and .......... stabbed me in the eye with the mascara brush!!! Yes ...... that was when I suggested "Lets wrap this baby up!"