E - Vida

After weighing up the post topic options and not wanting it to sound as though we're rushing the process, I settled on the one that you see: On the Button - because despite feeling a little impatient about meeting this bundle-size addition to the Klaasen family and a host of tell tale signs that he was already on his way, we firmly believe that Button will be born right on time. Last Sunday, after a month of hustling and re-arranging, we finally managed to secure a lunch date with Andel, Robyn and Zac that we could invite friends and family to in our effort to have a relaxed, co-ed baby shower. The sun (and traffic) came out in full force and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the Kid's Carnival area at Lekke Neh on Weltevreden Estate. First, we had to convince Andel and his male cronies that it was okay to attend the baby shower...and then we had to make sure that Rob stopped taking on extra work on the weekends - which was resulting in us pushing the date closer and closer t...

Without a doubt, I can say that I went to the Michael Buble concert on Thursday with the youngest fan - and there were many other kids there to contend with. But I win...because dear Button is still in utero - if only just! Back in October, on the road to Swellendam for an event site recce, the news broke of the upcoming Cape Town show. I immediately added it to my Secret Santa wishlist and secretly hoped that Kim would score some VVIP tickets from her then employer, Heart 104.9FM! When Santa delivered something else and Kim resigned from Heart, I resigned myself to watching reruns of the David Foster dvd at home. But when a heavily pregnant Robyn asked me to be her plus 1 on Thursday, all hope was restored! This was my first ever time inside the Cape Town Stadium and I was in awe... Having googled  "What to consider when taking a pregnant person to a concert" extensively the previous night, I kept my eyes peeled for toilets, emergency exits, disabled access and vendors...

For our youngest's birthday on Monday past, we planned a pizza dinner on the Promenade - just a few of his favourite things at the moment. After weeks of beautifully balmy weather, we did not expect the grey and windy conditions that prevailed - even with some drizzle!  So the picnic moved home, but very little else changed -  We did paper plates and cups, wetwipes and serviettes a plenty, juice boxes, flasks of coffee and hot chocolate...and pizza boxes strewn all around! Jorja even whipped out a picnic blanket and laid it out over the carpeted lounge floor. She's always game for a good party - which was quite obvious by her 3 outfit changes in as many hours. We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating Ethan's life with family and friends - even under iffy weather conditions - and he had a blast sharing in some of his favourite things! 

Yesterday I came across an article in a local family magazine where the Mom spoke of a separation anxiety issue. Interestingly enough, it was not the kid suffering from it nearly as much as the Mom was! It got me thinking about how as parents we often think that we are here to teach our kids everything. When in actual fact, they teach us just as much - if not more? Case in point: I can't stand the sight of  a cockroach - dead or alive. I have smashed many a dustpan while in a fit of uncontrollable rage against a cockroach - not because I'm the Indiana Ashleigh of vermin hunting, but because I don't want any part left of the roach - a part that could possibly reproduce or mutate to come back and irk me! Yesterday evening I found a cockroach in the spare bedroom. I was horrified. Might I add that P-J despises them almost as much as I do and to this end, refuses to assist in these situations. It's quite ridiculous, the two of us, I know. Be that as it may, there l...

A conversation between P-J and Jorja about acquiring a car once she’s able to drive: Jorja : So when I’m older, I’ll learn to drive... P-J : Yes, but you get your own car Jorja : Really? P-J : Yes. We aren’t buying you a car Jorja : Awww. Maybe I can take Mom’s? P-J: No. You can’t just have it. You can buy it Jorja : I won’t have to buy it. It will already be paid for. And you don’t pay more money on something that’s already paid for. Made you look!

As I sat last night cleaning off Jorja's 7th (or 8th) version of nail polish of the Summer holidays, I thought about how differently we'd approached the start of the new school year - compared to last year. Right at the beginning of January 2014, we shopped for uniform and shoes, sourced lunch menus and painstakingly labelled every fold, frame and shoe lace of whatever was heading into the wide world of big school. In January 2015, I quickly stopped by the school shop for a few absolute essentials (that school shorts would have to do another 2 terms at least!) almost forgot to collect the new bright, white shoes from the Klaasens - especially imported from the UK on their holiday - and planned school lunch by standing in front of the fridge trying to tune into my creative mind's eye... Ha! Needless to say, we are a lot more mellowed out this year. But that does not take away from the life-preparing experience that is: learning. I think to a large degree, we downplay...

What's not to love about a New Year? Clean slates, new diaries, hopes, goals and timelines. I fall for it every time. This year is no exception because each year I hope to be a better version of what I was the year before. My 2014 was a memorable one - A first year at school, travels, progress, growth and success at the workplace and more! But upon closer in(tro)spection, I found that the year also held: Too little listening for all the talking, Too much planning and too little implementing, Too much eating with too little exercising! Too little encouraging to balance out the sighing, Too many distractions and too little attention, Big investments in low priorities, And big efforts spent on things with little meaning. I look forward to the year ahead; Not because I think I will right all the wrongs of the year past, but because I know that the mere fact that I can identify these areas of concern means that I can work a little more on them...