Party!

Party!

Big 3!

My Pip is 3!

Pip sure knows how to enjoy herself

Dearest Eva

My sister put it nicely as I was gloating about Evas latest accomplishment.' it must be such a privilege to witness a person growing and learning about how things work and why they are a certain way'. Eva has had a personality since she started talking, but is now developing an intellect. A big milestone was when we were off to our friends Sam and Sam, Eva drew a picture to take to them and then wrote 'their' name on the envelope. Her own instigation. I had often sat with Eva and taken her through the alphabet and practised writing letters, and she would not concentrate and easily get frustrated. I made a decision to leave it till school. As her competitive nature demands, I knew she would learn best in a group.
After going through the adventure packed stores from Dahl and Blyton, I think something twigged in little Eva, that she could read these adventures whenever it pleased her. She would memorize stories and hold massive books up and pretend to read. I watched and waited. She has learnt to read a Noddy book that she can make sense of, reading about half the words. She writes endless words, letters, reads the cereal box, draws intricate pictures on aliens in space and fish in the sea, writes musical notes with words in between and gives them to people as songs. The greatest privilege to watch her taking her own initiative to learn.
Along with this comes a new personality from Eva. The phrases ' Pip, you don't know, your too little' 'that's not right', 'I'm busy doing something important,' are often heard. A new one made me laugh, 'why do you get so confused mum?'. Que flashbacks of harassing my mother, now with my new experience as a tired, brain stretched mother.
Eva, thank you for taking me with you on this journey, life is so much fun at the moment. I will do my best to listen to your 16 hour chatterings ( and you do talk in your sleep-sarie!)
and keep up with all the things you want to learn. X

5yr old mind

Nippers!

Can you spot the towering figures of Eva and Pip?

Eva is big 5!

Birthdays are fun!

First day of preschool for my cherubs

Summer!

My beautiful belly dancer x

Faux sPaz

Those things that run through my head, enough times now I think of it more of an inventory of i cant help being me, than regrets... Surely I am not the only one blurting inappropriateness.
1. I remember my lovely neighbours, just met, invited me and the kids over for tea as Steve was away. We had a yummy roast I think, and maybe this comment was lost in the background noise, I wish. Me' yeah, it's hard when you can't cook anything interesting anymore because of what the kids like to eat' mmmm seems less retarded out of context.
2. Me' we may look at having more children, god willing, after our ski holiday at the end of the year'. Not only does this sound as contrite as a toff, but it was said to a table full of career women my age with no kids and all recently separated from boyfriends, yes they were uniting in their anti-ness and I happily displayed how out of touch you can become as a housewife. One good thing, maybe I just confirmed their doubts about giving up that career ladder to get pregnant and go on ski holidays.. Or was that the other way around..

Pip is awesome !

Those crazy Danes!

Eating out

At a lovely outing to Franschoak, we hunted down a frenchy type restaurant together. Over lunch Steve and I discussed how we hardly ever went out to dinner when younger, and now with out 2 and 4 year old we go out if not once but twice a week. We love it, and cape town has so much to offer with fresh produce and colorful restaurants. Kids menus are always interesting, with this particular restaurant having kids 'calamari and rice' being served in a very artful way with green! (gosh!) garnish and some super tasty yet heavily spiced, grilled squid. Do 8 year olds maybe eat this? Dunno. Anyways we do return to places again and again because the kids menu has been done with kids and real food in mind.
After a yummy meal of springbok shank the waiter cleared the plates;
Eva ' could I have the dessert menu please'
Waiter ' how old are you?'
Eva ' 4 and 3/4s
Waiter 'would you like to hear the specials?'
I had to laugh, she cannot read beyond her own name, but this is either a sign of a young one going to more restaurants than my parents probably did, or maybe to another independent step, not being shy to ask the right person for what you want. She will be five in a month, she has made it clear she wants a new bike..

Dinner at Auntie Kates'

Eating shots

So tall!

Time

When did time become so precious. I remember my 20s life seemed so huge, almost daunting, now my 30s are rushing by exasperated by a need to 'do' something apart from mum as Eva begins school. Maybe I should just let time slow down again, and cook and garden but most of all enjoy my children's story yelling/ appreciate being a spectator as they battle with the most important thing to them in that tiny 10 minutes of their lives.
I thought of all this as my girls got themselves dressed for a sat night grocery shop followed by pizza. They dressed each other, suggested accessories, and shared clothes. Pip came upstairs wearing a purple silk dress, pink belt that became a trip hazard, and a head torch. Eva, not to be outdone, wore large pink necklaces and all the flower hair clips she owns. I could have rushed them, as I do when I get frustrated at the outfit changes, but blame it on a recent spurt of yoga classes, I let the whole thing run it's course. Eva even took the time to glue a single sequin to my black shoe as all I was wearing was black, and that just wouldn't do.
Do other people have time? Does having children force you to confront your mortality more regularly? I love the memories I have when I look in the mirror, but more recently I need to know how my story goes, is it a best seller? I would settle for memorable.

Sharing is caring

I am a lucky mum. From breakfast till the last story at night, we are making it up as we go along, starting the day with a vague plan. As a day with children goes, a pee in the pants in the freezer ailse, you choose to laugh or cry, but realizing you have spent most of your day 'playing' is fun for me.
There were a few months there, as Pip's attitude and tenaciousness grew larger than life, the day was filled with battles. Not with me mind you, but with her sister. Recently, I have had the pleasure of seeing the two of them share everything, use the language of negotiation, fairness, acknowledgment and I can't help but think the following; We chose early on to care for our children at home until school, sometimes through no other option, but one bonus is the concentrated time spent together with nothing to interupt us learning about each other and hopefully, for the two sisters, about a life shared.

Ewwww

It all started as the girls fought over this poor little lizard they had found. In all the commotion the lizard dropped it's tail in fright, 'now we have a lizard each ' Pip said excitedly! The next hour in the park she took the wriggling thing on the swings and eventually put it in her pocket. Still working up the nerve up see if it's still there. Maybe I should put it through the wash....

Careers

Eva announced today she wants to be a 'cake chef'. Not pastries, strictly cakes. Pip? She wants to be a builder so she can help dig on the building site next door.

Sweet Eva

Something has been happening in the compact world of Eva Wendy this week. It all started with a realization that even after the most busy days, and late nights she is not going to sleep during the day. Gone are the times when the little miss would need a rest if a night out was planned, or to make her day more bearable after an early start. Just an inkling, but she has grown older...
Since then, Eva has put her sisters shoes on her before we head out, got her own cereal ready complete with milk and spoon, but the most defining moment is that she proudly sleeps in her own bed the whole night! I have deja vous of the unexpected heavy heart I had when she stopped breast feeding, and silly as it sounds to those that have not experienced this, it is a similar feeling. My baby is growing up. I have said to her, out of Steves ear shot, that she is more than welcome whenever she wants to come and cuddle in our bed, but at the same time so proud that she growing into such an amazing independent person, as little she still may be...

Botswana, Cheobe National Park

What an amazing trip. Saw so many animals and even a lion hunt or two! The girls had a great time camping in the tent on top of the car under many layers of blankets. I am sure they will have memories for a lifetime.
Shed a tear and spent some quiet moments overlooking the Zambezi, as I know my parents would have travelled through the same area some 35years ago. We had a sundowner at the most beautiful colonial hotel,'The Royal Livingston' overlooking Victoria Falls and I thought how little the place would have changed since my parents would have visited.

Cape Town winter!

After the wind and rain closing in for days- we are here for the wind Tommy reminds me- we are rewarded with amazing sun filled days. Pip spotted the first whale out the front today, aww

Sunday Style

Walked in to find a funny scene

We love the aquarium on a windy cape day

Strutting

Pip has taken to wearing tutu and various fairy outfits day and night. A little uncomfortable to cuddle a pile of tule and sequins at night, but too cute. This was the first day I successfully put a jumper on her as well, it's freezing!

I don't think I look as petrified as I was

Sunday bogans

Our beach x

Shhh little Thomas

'i'm faster than you are!'

Little miss sunshine

Koh lipe

Beautiful Cape Town

Gettin' techi

Sitting at my kitchen table, hoping ton have mastered the incompatible iPad, Eva is painting; practicing her ' shoulders' on people as the overly enthusiastic teacher at her craft class told her it is a ' school ready sign' that she becomes aware of herself as a person, not just a head with arms..... Mmm I nodded and smiled, but Eva is now on a mission. She has an organized brain and great concentration, thank you sister for those genes.
Now as my beautiful Pip gets older and throws her personality on everyone that passes, I realize that although my daughters look nothing like me, Pip has a personality recognizable to my loud, hungry, testing, foot stomping babyhood. It really gives me a lovely sense of connection.

Sent from my iPad