E - Vida

...I'd have a month's supply of 'groceries' as we head into the new year! It's ironic that - at the end of the day on our 6th wedding anniversary - two self-confessed sand haters (being P-J and I) opted for a picnic dinner on Fish Hoek beach that evening, with the kids. And so poor Ethan's first experience of sea was spent hoisted high on my hip... Hardly an "experience", until today! At his first request to get down (on the sand!!) I granted him his wish. Even hesitant Jorja felt prompted to join in. He sat down, scratched around, tasted a little, splashed with glee... And the rest, as they say, is history! Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

A long weekend in December is no monkey business - cleaning, decorating, beach-ing and eating... And that's just one day! I'm especially grateful for the time to relax with family. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Waking up this morning and realising what the date was, I couldn't resist recollecting what I was doing at the time... And I am only too aware of how much P-J loves it when I do this - ha ha!  To think that we'll never have this date structure in our lifetime again?! 01/01/01 - New Years Day as a 15-year old   14 year-old (Big Sister corrected me!) . I probably spent it with my folks and wished that I was with my friends! ...( And apparently we were all dressed up with nowhere to go!) 02/02/02 - My last month, ever, of being metal-free...because by 1 March I had rods, pins and plates inserted to restructure my dislocated ankle and fractured leg bones. 03/03/03 - The first term of my Matric year at John Wycliffe Christian School 04/04/04 - I think this was my stint at University... 05/05/05 - Working in London at Stockwell Park High School on the week days and Squeeze Me Juice Bar on weekends! 06/06/06 - Awesome Plett holiday and six months to go until our We...

Here are a few snaps taken over this last month, a busy month of milestones, special moments and many new memories to enjoy!  Die Burger-fietstoer 2012 Andel and Brendan making it look easy After 4 years of working for this events company, I finally managed to see the first group start the race - and skrikked lekker too when the gun went off! It was extra special having Andel participate too - well done!  Jorja told me afterwards that she wasn't impressed by my leaving home so early (02h00!) to go to work...and yet, at her playdate in Grabouw, she didn't seem too perturbed?  Catching up with Lexi Of course, we've arrived at that time of the year  where Mom's waste their time dressing their children in anything more than the bare minimum. Here my child, Ethan, demonstrates that the swimming water is so clean, it's good enough to drink! Cooling off on the top and the bottom My time with Zac is precious - sometimes he's happy to smile ...

Yesterday I learnt that some people are already erecting their Christmas trees. Sounds like a fantastic idea to get into the Season - if you don't have a two busy kids! For the past couple of years, I've really enjoyed having our tree decorated with (my favourite) fairy lights twinkling in the night - and sometimes day - and all the festive cheer that comes with it. We normally pack it all up 1 week later and it just feels short-lived. We've jokingly noted that this year we'll have to suspend the tree from the ceiling because of all the children around. What about a couple of wreaths hung on the wall? In my house, storing gifts as high and out of sight as they can be is probably the only way they'll survive until 25 December - safe from children and adults alike! This year, my Christmas wishlist is quite long... I'd like: 1. A relaxed morning, as we prepare for the Church service, reading the story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and thanking God for...

I wish I knew how Moms did it in the olden days. SIDENOTE: I wish I'd pay more attention to stories of the olden days... Maybe the answer has been there all along? Or maybe not. Someone tell me how, back in the day, Moms reared kids - cooked hearty meals, cleaned everywhere (even the skirting, the kettle, the soap dish and the vegetable box in the fridge), taught life lessons and little lessons, played games, read stories, told stories, listened to stories, fixed torn clothes and scraped knees - and all while keeping the kitchen sink clean, the laundry ironed, their eyebrows perfectly shaped and their heels smooth?! I am feeling like an under-achiever of note. I enjoy my work, I value my home and I love my family dearly. Why can't they all just get along? Seems the glow of a good clean/project done/family day only lasts as long as a few short days and then we're back planning to plan to get organised about it! Unless I've got it wrong - and somewhere out...

I changed my blog entry setting from ' post from mobile device ' to ' post from computer ' when I went back to my office job. I thought for sure that I'd have lots of time to write at length and add photos and video clips too using super - creative layout styles instead of just the rush job of push-button-instant-upload that is mobile blogging. It turns out - I don't have a lot of time to blog when I'm actually sitting behind the pc from 09h00 - 17h00... Strange how that worked out, right? So hopefully, the activity graph will liven up again as I share more of what's been happening in our household lately, almost instantaneously!