E - Vida

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...