So...A dash to the Bush!

We took the opportunity to get away last weekend and spend some time in the bush with a few friends and family.

It was so nice to get out of the city, even if it was only for 2 or 3 days, and we all had a great time!

We didn't get up to much but what we did do, and did it well, was eat...

and eat...

and eat...

And go exploring

Skipping stones

Catching lifts

Enjoying the landscape

Puting shoes on

and off

and on

and off

and on

and off

you get the picture

Watching the wildlife

Being watched back

Finding crazy cracks

And crazier ones

And breaking them apart like a puzzle

And throwing more rocks

 

Spending time with family

Watching sunsets

We hit a few golf balls and even caught a swim but mostly we just relaxed!
Perfect!

So...Half a year already!

Our littlest reached the half year mark this last weekend, I can hardly believe it!
And he's certainly been keeping himself and everyone else busy :)

Turns out he's pretty mobile these days, and of course ignores all toys etc in favour of things like computer cabling and plug points...sigh

And now he's 6 months we decided it was time to let the poor guy try out some food, so we set up the old svan for a baby again and shuffled around the other children's seating at the table

 He seemed pretty happy with the set up

 Hmmm, what's this, is it for me?

 I want to stick it in my mouth, take your hands off

 Errr, not so sure this eating thing is all it's cracked up to be?

 This is MY spoon, no you may not use it!

 This is better than that bowl, now I can get my hands on the food

 Nom nom nom

So...Snack Attack Wednesdays

This weeks snack was some guava, pretzels and peanut brittle, with some milky rooibos

So...if at first you don't succeed - fingerpaint!!!

So do you ever meander the web and come across those ideas that just look like so much fun that you're convinced enough you need to try them out yourself?

And then they completely bomb?

That was me a week or two back when I finally got my shizz together to try out something awesome I found on pinterest.
I had some small daydreams about exited children, teaching the alphabet, reinforcing colours, and a whole lot of learning stuff type things.
 It involved paint in zip locked bags so there would be no mess (definitely my favourite part),  and then with the use of earbuds we were going to scribble away, erase, and scribble again to our hearts content.
I carefully gathered the bits I needed and on the momentous day hyped up the children, grabbed my camera, started snapping...and about 30 seconds into it my eldest loudly exclaimed...

..."this is sucky mom.  It's stupid"
*gasp - not the unsaid swear word that has been banned from house and home*

See it was all good and fun mushing the paint together in the ziplock bags, but when we tried to use out earbuds to draw and write letters in it...well what can I say...absolutely nothing happened.

 It actually was kind of stupid.

Disappointment wafted through the air.

We tried more paint and less paint and white paper under the bags - all the better to show up Mom's desperate scribbling...but it was like a bad dream where no matter how hard you try you just make no impression whatsoever on the scene playing out (you know the one where you scream and no one can hear you...or you run but you can't move).

Who knows what we did wrong, perhaps our paint just wasn't thick or thin enough?

Finally I too was heard muttering the forbidden "S" word but when I glanced up the disappointment in my children's faces was too much to bear.

So I broke my golden rule with regards to paint (as in don't let any small child have any kind of open access to it), dragged the whole lot outside, cut open the plastic bags and let them loose.

What can I say but it got worse and the paint started getting on my camera so it was time to pack it away BUT the giggles and laughs were well worth it

P.S.  We survived, most of the carpet did too (there were some unauthorised dashes towards the loo) and the bath is basically paint free a week or so on :)

So...Snack Attack Wednesday

So this weeks snack attack is some yummy banana bread, naartjies, pecan nuts and warm rooibos!

So...Potty Training Success!

Potty training has to be one of my least fun things to do...like ever...but it's just one of those things that has to be done.
Because it's not something I have much fun doing I don't initiate it, I wait for the child in question to want to do it...for me this is just the easier way than weeks and months of accidents and running backwards and forwards to the loo.


A few weeks ago Evie asked not to wear a nappy, by day 3 there were no accidents and I thought we had it waxed, I was jubilant!
We sang and danced, stuck stickers and bought girly panties
And then she just stopped...going on the toilet that is.
I gave it a week, but my blood pressure was starting to boil.  Instead of getting better it just got progressively worse!  The more I asked if she needed the toilet, the more she would say no - while she was going in her pants!  Who knows what her thoughts were but it felt like it was on purpose and I was not amused!
So I just stopped.
The nappies came back out and we went on our merry way and just left it.

Until a week ago I caught her needing the loo and plopped her on it and after the success she asked again not to have a nappy.  So we gave it another go, and a star chart and the promise of going to the toy shop to choose her own toy.

And she did it!  A week later we are still going strong and I'm so proud of my baby girl!

So off we went to the toy shop, where she stomped in demanding her doll...and then needed the toilet and nearly panicked!  After explaining we could come back after she'd been to the toilet she toddled off with me happily and we were back shortly.  She picked up the first doll that caught her eye, declared it hers, and no amount of persuasion to consider other dolls was successful

So we'd like to introduce the newest member of our family, Poor Mimi  (don't ask lol)

Who dat?

Poor Mimi!!!

Lots of love!

So...in search of Spring!

Once upon a time the world seemed very cold, and dry, and brown, and dead.

The people wondered if there would ever be colour again...they closed themselves up in their homes, comforting themselves with their colour tv's and waited and wished and hoped.

Then one day a gallant knight and a courageous princess set off into the world in search of spring.
"You can't do it" said the people, "it's too hard, it could take too long, how will you ever find your way?"

But they were not scared, oh no, they had their swords and most importantly each other.

They wandered far.
They wandered wide.
They wandered and wondered side by side.
And of course it came to pass, that spring did begin one day.
And the buds became blossoms and flowers.

 The Knight and the Princess brought the blooms back to the people
"Come out, come out" they called,
"Come and see!"
"We've found the Spring and brought it to thee!"
And the people looked around and saw it was everywhere
They couldn't believe their eyes

 "When did it happen?" the people wanted to know "Was is there yesterday?"
 "Who knows" shrugged the knight, "I couldn't say"






"But it wasn't now,
And it wasn't then,
However I have no doubt it will happen again!"


And no matter how hard they tried the Knight and Princess just couldn't exactly remember
Perhaps it was the first of September?
"Of course not", they laugh
"Don't be so silly, it's just a date
And what does mother nature know of early or late?"

Happy Spring Day :)