E - Vida

  Before you know it, we're in December and rounding up things at school and work for 2013! Jorja and I enjoyed a girls' night out with Yaya and the Aunts at the end of November. We watched Mamma Mia in Kirstenbosch Gardens and it was loads of fun - even the part when we lay bundled up in dark, sipping tea while the credits rolled!     When Missy saw her stamp on the next morning still, she was excited all over again!   We attended Canal Walk's Snow Park launch last week, much to the delight of Jorja and Ethan who initially (only just for a few moments) struggled to comprehend that all the pretend snow variations and sugary treats were freely available to them! Seems like Mamma's hand was shaking thanks to a sugar-induced tizz! "...I could get used to this..." That same week, Jorja and Madi were invited to attend Annie and Nat's end of year dance show case. Every year the invite comes on the day, which leaves little time f...

This morning I arrived at the office and found this - My colleagues, huddled around the pc, laughing with teary eyes and lumps in their throats as they watched Johnny Clegg sing Asimbonanga  to a jiving Nelson Mandela on stage in 1999.   We'd woken up to the news that Madiba had passed away. When I had spoken to Kim earlier, she noted that this was by far the hardest news report she'd ever had to deliver. However hard though, she added that it was an honour for her to be apart of what I called "possibly one of the most influential news reports of modern times". P-J and I spoke about how we would remember Madiba, and the things we would share with our children; What he had done for South Africa during a tumultuous period in world history How he had conducted himself as a Statesman in the public eye and - The things he had said, that would be remembered and could be applied both now and in the future. When I saw the guys in the office...

The morning after the event, I woke up with a fright - What's the time?! What day is it?! Oh no, have I overslept?! It's 6am. Relax Ashleigh...the event is over. You can sleep a little longer. On Saturday night, before pre-event day curfew, my roommate shared a horrific story of how her watch had stopped working the night before a big race...there she was enjoying her breakfast at a leisurely pace, while the Venue Operations Centre frantically awaited their brief and emergency radios before the race. Some people in this business don't travel without at least 2 backup alarm clocks for this very reason!! Standing at the Start on Sunday, as I watched the umpteenth team head off, I glanced down at my watch and realised that her story had literally stopped my clock! Fortunately, (I didn't care too much about watching the clock after a successful 3.30am rise n shine and) I was safe... Perhaps my watch was just tired - because she started up again after sunrise...

It's a little after 4am and I'm watching my family form letterland characters with their bodies, across my bed. Unless I'm the 'underline' in the word, I have no place to lay my head here... That's a pretty normal situation these days - The only difference today is that instead of a sleepy tussle for my rightful place in the alphabet bed, I'm wide awake, mentally preparing for my drive out to Swellendam at 6am. And it's just dawned on me: this is the first event of the peak season for me, I'm almost on my way out the door and a daunting goal (Ethan's self-soothing) is 3 and a half weeks in motion. Yippee!! I remember thinking about this a lot before heading back to work in August, wondering how (and if!) it could be done and whether I would miss this event altogether because of it - or drive through daily (which aged me considerably during our events in March)... And here I am, almost 4 weeks clear of a 4 year practise - and ev...

Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks since Ethan gave up his no.1 'soother' and grew up just a little (lot) bit more! But today's he's swaddled up in his big Sis' pink blankie as he battles day 4 of the Awful Bug that has plagued the duPs since Thursday... "Don't call me baby" is what his strut has been saying for weeks now - picking out clothes (and shoes!) to wear, carrying his adult size water bottle under his arm, handing me the peanut butter for his sandwich and initiating the hugs and kisses at bedtime. So you see, this swaddle is just a cover... ...Underneath all of these furry layers on this sunny Spring day, lies my 19 month old son who's growing up! Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Scrolling through some photos this afternoon, I came across one of our friend Tarrin-Rae and her new baby girl, Isla, born last Thursday 31 October 2013. Isla Grace Graham I struggled to contain my own emotions as I observed this special moment in Tarrin's life (and new Isla's too) and thought back to my own experiences. I immediately asked Tarrin if I may use this to share a bit more of what I some times feel as a Mom... At first glance, I see relief . She's finally here! We can see her face in real life and we can say out loud "I am a Mommy!" Like my own kids, Isla was in no hurry to be born and labour was induced. What's worse than having to wait 40 weeks to meet your newest family member?? Having to wait longer still! I must confess, that this feeling was mixed with a fair dose of disbelief  on my part too - when I sat quietly resting between visitors and feeds, I had to pinch my literal self and realise - the baby was here. Then I see comfort ....

October turned out to be quite a bright and busy month for our family and P-J's summed it up pretty accurately in this photo collage (cool, free programme) and I don't even think he realised it!  First came the birthday - an entire weekend of celebrating! And this, I admit, was where the idea was not only fed, but also watered and nurtured into a little seedling... Then last week, we sold our trusted, reliable, well-loved Opel Estate Station-wagon. A little surreal still. The Opel was our first car purchased as a family and despite some work needed soon after we bought it, she served us well.  When I think about some of the things we did - piling our swim things and Crespo into the back for beach days, moving our and other people's house many (many) times, loading all of our belongings into the car and on to the Shosholoza Meyl train to Johannesburg, bringing home both newborn babies from the hospital... ...I have to wonder how we could've parted with...

Writer's note: This post will talk about Mommy-specific issues and body parts. Read at your own risk. Tonight I tried, in earnest, to put Ethan to bed without any nursing and I prepared myself (as best as I could) for noisy protest... At first he just assumed the 'bed time' position and even closed his eyes to settle down with a snuggle. When I was not forthcoming, he let out a scream - and didn't stop for a long while! We tried a sippy cup of warm milk: He'd stop for a few seconds at a time to take a drink, ponder the situation, put his cup down and then burst into tears again. Repeat cycle... A good few times before the cup ran out of milk. Then - to make sure that I regretted giving him the cup instead of my breast - he drained the last few droplets of milk in his cup on the carpet! For a short while he was so busy banging the plastic that he forgot all about the situation at hand. When the crying seemed to be getting louder for longer, I got an idea...

On the eve of P-J's birthday, I found a grey hair...on MY head. That's a blog entry all by itself. But it was quickly overshadowed by the hectic celebrating for a usually low-key birthday age... ...Then again, no matter what age, P-J's always keen on his birthday - for presents of course! I woke up when I heard him shuffling around that morning. It was still dark. I checked the time - 5am. I kid you not. I found my bearings just in time to hear the birds singing. Now since when do they sing in our neighbourhood anyway ? They were chirping their chipper little hearts away too. I kid you not, again. P-J would later say that it only happens this way on his birthday. For almost two hours he sat up straight, impatiently waiting for Jorja to wake. He wasn't getting anything out of me and he was on the brink of heart failure. "This is going to be the worst birthday ever", he said. When Jorja woke, she first pretended that she'd baked him some coconut ice at...

On Saturday, one of our dear Cousins celebrated his 21st birthday - quite a big deal down under... here in Africa! Normally because it means a party. In a hall. With black-and-something-coloured overlays. And tiny, sparkling confetti that reads 'Happy Birthday' and '21'. And nuts and meebos and Messaris Chilli Chippies. And a buffet. And a DJ. (Hell! Some even go as far as to do the '21st step' and all that!) It also triggers a walk down memory lane - mostly for Mom's any way. Tim's Mom did not disappoint and she's been pulling out photos from the early 1900's  and tagging us all in them! P-J, Jorja and Ethan were fortunate to meet Tim and our other cousins living abroad when we visited them earlier this year. I too got to meet a older, taller, stronger, wiser man that I'd last seen 8 years ago. And then you realise just how quickly the time goes... and how important it is to make the most of our time...and what a difference time can ma...

Today marks the start of the fourth and final term of the school calendar in South Africa. It also marks the final nine weeks that our first born, Jorja, has left to enjoy at Bonny Babies! I find myself feeling quite nostalgic, thinking back over the last four years that she's spent there finding her feet, then finding her voice and then ruling the school! Along the way she's met many new friends , had a good couple of fights (and stern warnings ), taken up swimming , baking , needling and more and just plain grown up. She's been an only child, a big sister, a protective and pestering cousin, the gregarious granddaughter and noisy niece and I've got to wonder - how will she cope being separated from Ethan? How will she cope being in a new school? HOW WILL THE NEW TEACHER COPE?! I can't believe that we're already here.

I remember taking a needlework class in Junior School. Man that makes me sound antique! For my efforts, some of the treasures that I made was a red teddy and a full length dress with slits that Liz Hurley would go ga-ga for - And I'm starting to think that there are many practical and creative things that Jorja will miss out on, sadly, now that everything is electronic and push button... ...So imagine my pleasant suprise when I walked in on this! Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

"What's that?"...I'm told, is what Ethan asked the Nursing Sister as she walked up to him with two immunization-filled syringes, ready to administer the jabs! Our little man has passed the 18 month mark and he reported to the Clinic this afternoon with his sister and Yaya nogal! Once P-J and I had made peace with the fact that we both wouldn't have a chance to take him today, Bonny Babies stepped in and sorted it out. Jorja confirms that there were no tears and no bad side effects since. Big boy.

 Our Heritage Day long weekend (for some) started off well - again, more so for some. Jorja was invited to go and camp with Papu and Yaya and she didn't hesitate for a minute. When I arrived in Fish Hoek to collect her on Sunday afternoon, I found her wearing a party dress that she'd packed into her hand bag herself - just in case she needed it! On Tuesday - the real public holiday - we ventured out into the sunshine for a walk along the Promenade. Some how we all managed to report to the departure point by 10h00 and the Kombi was packed to capacity! Jorja has rekindled her love for her bicycle and she worked those pedals all the way up the Promenade in the hope of an ice-cream stop at the Sea Point Baths. Well...when that didn't materialise, she decided to walk back and Uncle Andel had to carry the  bike... Back in Newmans Avenue, Pops started up the fire and it was all stations go for 'National Braai Day' - the launch of the braai season as so...

I know it's not his first, first - since I did the first two. But let's be honest, I was too scared to cut off too much, and so many people didn't even notice the trim! It was time. His gorgeous curls, although pleasing to the eye, was just good for storing sand, food and other flying objects! Ethan's also a warm guy - he doesn't need any additional reasons to sweat. So I sent him to school this morning with his pocket money to use at a visit to the Barber... I held my breath when I received the first photos - not sure what to expect. And admittedly, my heart gushed a little at the thought of my baby boy now having a big boy haircut. For all I know, those curls may never return! But, he seemed happy enough (no sudden movements resulting in a Aunty Annie up-do) and I'm sure he's also kind of relieved. Mind you, his Dad was quite concerned about the 'wild look' too, so everyone is happy!

It's been a busy month and I'm sorry to say that half of the blog posts that I had in mind, didn't make it on to this space. Nevertheless, see some of the snippets below - There was the sushi-splurge that had everyone smiling because it had taken me way too long to try and then decide to like! If I'm honest, I'm attracted to the rice...and the avo! The fish is just in there for fun. You can tell by the fact that my wasabi, ginger and soy sauce remain untouched at the end of the meal. This Salushi Selection was my best order ever There was the Spur night   with the Hendricks' that I can actually say was an enjoyable one. Normally we're cramped, rushed, restless and suffer from indigestion afterwards because of those factors. Funny thing is that the good experience was not restricted to the kids-eat-free part or even the yummy waffles enjoyed too, but rather, the excellent balloon making skills we saw. Plus, Jorja had her first face paint and Etha...