The Peas Pod

Be Prepared - what we are doing in our season of waiting.

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 10:27:00 +0000

Our family is emigrating, and we have been waiting on VISAs for what feels like forever. The 12 weeks they originally quoted us have come and gone and we are still here, waiting. My husband has a job in the UK already. Luckily, they are allowing him to work remotely from here until we are able to leave. But each day gets more difficult, the situation of working there but living here more tenuous. This week I have felt particularly stuck, not moving forward but not able to go back to how life was. Living in limbo is a really terrible place. Nothing is certain and the children are taking strain as their lives seem to just float around them with no substance. So, the question is how do you live in limbo? A place when you are neither here nor there. In that place of transition. Like the Israelites in the desert on the way to the place God has called you to but not there yet. Well, its not easy and I certainly don’t have all the answers.

I have been reading a book by Craig Cooney called The Tension of Transition. It has been incredibly helpful in this season of our lives. In the piece I read today Craig wrote that God tends to speak in sentences and not paragraphs. God knows that giving us the whole picture of our futures would be total overwhelming and so he gives us our instructions one step at a time. So today I prayed, ‘Lord what is the next step you want us to take.’ And I got one word in response – PREPARE. Suddenly Scar (from the Lion King) is standing on top of a rock singing ‘Be prepared’ inside my mind’s eye. Jokes aside I really am not sure what we are supposed to be doing to PREPARE. We have filled in all the paperwork, submitted all the documents, lined up a moving company, found my mom a place to live, left our schools and our jobs. Really, what else am I supposed to do to be ready God?

Well through Craig’s book I have come to understand that God used the Israelites’ time in the desert to bring them from slavery to freedom and to teach them how to be his people. He was preparing then for life in the promised land. With that in mind I prayed and asked God what he thinks we need to do to PREPARE for this next season of our lives. Here are some of the things he has asked me to do, perhaps this list (although certainly not exhaustive) might help you to as you wait in that in-between place.

· Say goodbye. Not just a last wave as you get onto the plane but a proper honouring goodbye. Tell the people and places you are leaving behind how much you love them, honour them for what they have done and meant to you. Thank them. Write letters or sit together as a family and discuss this kind of goodbye together. Recently we sat together and said a proper goodbye to our house before we sold it. We honoured it for protecting us and keeping us warm. We reminisced about our happy memories inside it and we thanked it for being our place of safety. It sounds weird but without this type of goodbye moving on is really hard.

· Allow space for mourning. Sometimes during a transition like moving countries it can be hard to find space or energy to mourn the things you are loosing. Perhaps like us you are trying your best to be upbeat for your kids who are already feeling down. Mourning is the last thing you want to get into. But its important. If you don’t admit to yourself that you are loosing things and people then those feelings of loss will follow you into your new space and make you sad and depressed there. Working through our feelings can be hard but bottling them up can be even harder.

· Pray through it. Never stop praying. Even when you feel like you are praying the same thing over and over again. God hears you but He also knows his timing is perfect. Pray for all the small things, the things you need each day to keep you going not just the big things like getting your VISA. We created a prayer wall in our house where we write all our prayers out and we update it from time to time with answers to prayer and any new prayer requests we might have.

· Work with your kids on their personal struggles. These are things that have really come to light due to the transition you find yourself in. During this time, it has become more apparent just how much my children fall into the trap of worrying. So, we are using this time to talk about worry and how God sees it. We are also reading a book called Outsmarting Worry by Dawn Huebner. We are also working on having a Growth Mindset using a book called Growth Mindset Workbook for kids by Peyton Curly.

· We have also used this time to become closer as a nuclear family. We will know almost no one when we get to where we are going, and we will need to learn to rely on each other and be able to depend on each other. So, we have been going bowling, playing board games, having movie nights and creating other family traditions that make us a closer knit family.

· Learn about the place you are going to. Use this time of transition to learn about the country you are going to. We have watched documentaries about the history of the UK. We have learnt about how their money works. We have used google maps to look at the place we will be staying, at where the shops are, where the parks are and where the schools we might attend are. We also ordered a large fold out map so we could see where things are in relation to one another.

· Take time for yourself. Living in limbo is terribly stressful so don’t forget to practice some self-care. Here are some ideas for mom’s I wrote about a while ago.

· Keep your marriage strong. Times like this can be very taxing on a marriage. So make sure to take a date night here and there and ban each other from speaking about the move. Talk and plan together, share your feelings and be honest.

· Last but most certainly not least; read your bible. It is incredible what a comfort the word of God can be in a season like this.

I Am Still Here - a teacher's poem

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 14:45:00 +0000

On Tuesday our term will begin. A totally unprecedented term. How do you teach preschoolers online? How do you take Reggio teaching online? On the eve of this new experience I am apprehensive and excited. With that energy I have written this poem to my class, to their parents, to the world. I am still here!

I Am Still Here

I miss my children
I miss my class
So much is uncertain
And there is much to fear
But I am still here
Online now
Through videos and zoom
I will remind them of my love
Through google classroom
I will challenge their minds
I will partner with parents
I am still here
Together we will figure this out
How to bring learning home
My kids will be the guinea pigs
When my lessons get to you
They will be well loved
I am still here
I am afraid of this new thing
I am uncertain what time will bring
But I know that I will try my best
To do the cooking and the cleaning
To do the homeschooling and the teaching
To continue my vocation
I am still here

Zoom Tips for Preschool Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 19:27:00 +0000

Today's post is by a guest writer, Lindi Bell founder and head of Small World School a Reggio inspired preschool in South Africa. Lindi has over 25 years experience teaching children and is a mother of three. She has conducted and attended courses on Multiple Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Art Therapy, Play Therapy, Imago relationship Theory, the Reggio Approach and many more. She holds a very strong image of children, as she has seen what they can do, given a ‘Yes’ environment that supports the way that children learn.

Here I am Zooming from my living room. I am playing a card game with my class during our playdate.

As a school we are also facing moving our teaching online for the next little while. As part of preparing for this we have been having Zoom playdates with our classes. After her classes playdate Lindi wrote the following about how to do Zoom with preschoolers. The children in her class are mostly 4 years old.

1) COME IN QUIETLY: it works to have everyone come in on Mute (that’s a setting you select when setting up the Zoom meeting before hand). This creates a listening space.

2) ROLE OF THE TEACHER: Hold the space as Host as you would in your rings. In other words, you offer the floor as to who will speak next (rather than all at the same time, juggling for bandwidth). Make sure everyone has a chance to speak.

3) HOLDING SPACE FOR THE CHILD IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: Treat the digital as a material. In other words, involve the children in coming to grips with Zoom’s potentials eg ask child themselves to mute/unmute mic.. show them where it is. This is just like teaching children to raise their hand before speaking or keep quiet and listen while others are telling a story. Children need time to work with the medium of Zoom. You can also start to teach children how to raise a hand (while on mute) to indicate they want to say something. You can literally raise your hand or there is a tricky-to-get-to ‘Raise Hand’ function on Zoom. We are also teaching digital citizenship here, active listening and respectful reciprocal dialogue.

4) PLAN FOR POSSIBILITIES: Don’t waste parents valuable time and data with dead spots or waiting for ‘things to come up’.. eg “what shall we sing today”? As with your normal class rings, have something to connect around, go in with a plan, a focus, a provocation, which you have made visible to children/families beforehand. I’m the beginning, I would keep these provocations broad but relevant to what is going on what with Lockdown and the many changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought. For example: ‘Come and share what you have been busy with this week’; or
‘Bring your favourite toy that you have been playing with’ or
‘What do you miss about school?’
It works to be more teacher directed on Zoom Rings than you would in your play sessions/Discovery Time with the children. Try to keep rings 15-25 mins to save families’ data.

5) SINGING TOGETHER: rather ask all the children to Mute their Mics and “sing to the class in the cloud'. Sadly, singing altogether with mics on brings interference and lag. Teacher/Host can keep Mic on and sing along. Songs with lots of Actions work (so everyone sees everyone doing them). Also call-and-response songs eg “Sawubona (Sawubona)”. Have these songs planned beforehand.

6) MAKING EVERYONE VISIBLE: Suggest to parents beforehand to set their Zoom setting to Gallery view so children can all see everyone who has joined. Zoom on Laptops can view more than 9 faces on one screen. Phones/iPads less than 9.

7) DOCUMENTATION: While you are Zooming with your peeps, make notes (ie document as you would normally) what they have shared/things of interest that you might want to build upon or provoke further. Documentation is also Listening Made Visible. This precious Zoom time together helps you as a teacher to actively build upon their current interests that you might not be privy to while in lockdown so that you can continue to co-create inquiry-based curriculum. You can also choose to Record the Session as Host when setting up the meeting... just like video recording a Morning Ring. You will need to inform the parents before they come to the Zoom meeting that you will be recording it. This will help you to reflect on how the children have engaged with the provocations, and build on the current interests.

8. PROJETTAZIONE: If you are in the habit of bringing the previous week/day’s documentation of the children’s thinking/artwork/conversation to class rings to share with your class and plan your next days provocation, you can also work out how to use the ‘Share Screen’ option in Zoom which allows you to share back a photo/video of what you/their peers have been creating (an artwork/or garden/dance move) with the whole class. You can also share that week’s provocations that you have set (we are using Google Classroom for this) with the class as you talk them through it by pulling up the Google Classroom screen.

10) BUILDING CONNECTION: Use this platform of Zoom as a way to expand our relationships and as an extension of the best of our humanity. It is fundamentally human to want to connect, offer support, care for one another, learn together through Play. No, the digital world can never replace the power of real life intra-action. But it does offer a substitute for the interim. Use Zoom to check in with the children and their parents. Ask “How are you doing there?” Listen to the answer. Offer support, a laugh, a smile, a joke, and active hope. Children really love to see their friends and, if you have built a warm relationship foundation, they will also be missing their teacher. They are eager to connect.

11) SMALLER GROUPS: For smaller groups/one-to-one interaction, offer your class children the opportunity to video call you anytime during school hours, if they want to ask something, or share what they have made. You can call them too, at least twice a week to start. Work with families to find the right time to work with their children in smaller groups. I’m finding that parents are enjoying connecting and sharing and even documenting on our existing WhatsApp class groups, something to bear in mind as we search to find the right platform for documentation (our other options include: Storypark, Google Classroom Stream, Small World Families FB page etc)

12) ASK FOR FEEDBACK: After each Zoom session, send a WhatsApp message to your class group asking for any suggestions to improve it for next time. We are all learning on the job here. For example, one parent reminded us that her child’s sibling had a Zoom play date scheduled for the same time.. oops! Another parents told us of zoom hackers and that we should always set up a meeting that requires a password.

13) THIRD TEACHER: Pay attention to your background and the materials you have at hand... consider creating a mini atelier so that you can just reach out and grab something (a book/TP roll/pen and paper) as an idea come up. Also think about your face’s angle to the camera (no-one wants to see up your nose.. or, maybe they DO!). Make sure you as Host are well-lit (!) and not too far away from the camera and microphone. If you as teacher have kids of your own, and they want to come and sit on your lap, that’s fine! Teachers’ homes have always been a great source of inquiry for children!

Art Journaling

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 14:42:00 +0000

I don't know about you but I have been keeping myself so busy and trying so hard to be ok about Corona for my kids that I have not been dealing with my feelings about it at all. I have been cleaning, cooking, researching (getting ready to teach preschool online), looking after kids and just generally sticking my head in the sand. Then last week a friend of mine posted a video on art journaling and I was inspired by it. So I tried it and I tried it with my kids. It gave us something fun to do together and I thought that that was enough.

Then I went shopping out in the big bad Corona world and I came home feeling totally overwhelmed. I barked at my kids and my husband and then switched on the TV to house shows to calm down. But it didn't work the feelings were still there. Then I remembered the art journal that I have started that afternoon. So I grabbed it and some pastels and just started drawing. When I felt that was done I still had feelings left over so I wrote a poem.

This process really helped me get my feelings out and calm down. I have noticed how the art journal is helping me to release my feelings that I had been storing up behind a dam wall in my mind and heart. That dam wall would definitely have broken at some point if I hadn't found the art journaling.

I'm sure like me lots of you moms (and dads) are holding onto your feelings so that your kids won't be more scared, worried and frightened that they are already. So why not try art journaling as an outlet or infact a journal of any kind. Not only will it release those pent up feelings but it will be a great part of your remembering of this time.

You don't need a lot of things to begin this just a blank book and some things to draw with but here is what I am using:

Acrylic paints (left over from art class)
Fine liners
Old magazines
Scissors
Modge podge (not the real thing its actullay just watered down wood glue and it works like a charm)
A hair dryer (because who can wait for paint to dry)

Here are a few examples from my journal for inspiration.

A Time to Remember Interview Answers

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 12:15:00 +0000

So I took my children through the interview and they were intrigued as to why we were doing it and what I was going to do with their answers. I told them I would print their answers and put them in our Corona Time capsule or their memory boxes. Once they realized their answers were important to me they were more than happy to answer the 10 questions. My youngest found one or two of the questions difficult but gave answers after I explained and expanded the questions.

In case you didn't see yesterdays post here are the questions again.

Here are my children's answers to the above questions. Each child's answers told me so much about their personalities. It also gave me some idea of how they are feeling, how I can support them and what they are struggling with the most.

Curious George's Answers (9)

  1.  I think the virus is basically a very bad flu which is extremely contagious and fatal to some people.
2.       Nervous, upset, bored
3.       We had a movie marathon, more time by myself, sleep in later, play more, more TV
4.       One of my best friends moved overseas earlier than expected, missing school, no playdates, more time in the house, less fun than normal
5.       Protect yourself and wash your hands and don’t worry.
6.       Build a puzzle
7.       Friends, playdates, being outside of the house.
8.       That this time never existed
9.       Play dates and cricket
10.   Encourage them, say kind words

Jelly Bean's Answers (7)

1. Corona is a virus that is contagious, lots of people can get it, some people die and if you breathe on someone you can get it and it started in China, then it went to japan and then other countries.
2.       Scared, worried, bored
3.       No school work, more playing, mommy is home, we don’t have to go to the shops, we don’t have to get up early.
4.       No going to restaurants, no going out, no play dates, no going out your house, no going shopping for toys
5.       Boring. It was boring because we had to do chores and stay in our bedrooms.
6.       Play board games, have a picnic in our garden, camp in the lounge
7.       Seeing friends, going to Spur and Panarotties and going to Food Lovers Market and going to PicknPay where the ice cream is.
8.       That everybody would have a picnic today together.
9.       Play dates
10.   Cleaning the house, being quiet, obeying the rules, not getting hurt so we don’t have to go to the hospital and praying for the sick, homeless and people who have Corona

Mr E's Answers (5)

1. It’s about um people who get sick and people who die.

2. Happy and sad

3. People haven’t died, colouring, swimming and playing outside, watching TV, jumping on the trampoline

4. Can’t play with our friends, no school

5. That I have been colouring and tracing.

6. Play a board game with five people. If we have a board game with five people.

7. Um I miss school

8. Having tea with anyone

9. Going to the shops

10. Not be naughty

A Time to Remember Interview for Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:46:00 +0000

It has been a very long time since I posted anything on this blog. I now have three kids and am a preschool teacher and time just slips through my fingers everyday and I wonder where it went but can't get it back. However the current global pandemic has given me pause and made me want to keep a record of this unprecedented time in our history. So I have decided to post in my blog again. Who knows how much I will manage to do but at least when I look back I will be able to see some of what went down in my life and the life of the Peas Pod.

People have been talking on Facebook and other social channels about keeping some sort of memoir with their children to document this time when history is being made. So with that in mind I have created an interview to do with my kiddos for them to look back on in the future. Here are the questions I have put together and will ask my children to answer for me tomorrow. I can't wait to hear their answers.

Take care of yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 04:11:00 +0000

Its tough being a mom.

One of the things I discovered when I became a mother is that motherhood is a full time job. A 24/7 365 job, with no leave, no overtime pay or bonuses and no sick days. If anyone in the formal sector had to put up with these sorts of working conditions they’d probably be on strike right now. So just exactly how do you survive this endless job without breaking down. Truth is you don't. Unless you learn to care for yourself. To carve out time for yourself to renew your energy and your soul. Here are some things that I have found helped as a mom. Take care of yourself. After all if you collapse who will make dinner. 😄

1. Join a hobby class or club. If you are like me just having a hobby is not enough motivation to actually find time to do it on your own so join a class or a club. You'll make friends and be held accountable for going.

2. Go to bed early. If it doesn't have to be done leave it till the morning and get to bed early. A rested mom is a much more patient and energetic mom.

3. Put your kids to bed early. Get you kids into bed early. Even if they don't go to sleep straight away allow them reading time or quiet games. You need time in the evenings with your spouse. Don't let late bedtime shenanigans stop you from getting one down time. My kids will tell you that mommy goes off duty at 7:30pm.

4. Go on retreat. In my home my family knows that mommy goes on 'retreat' twice a year. This is a time for me to get away on my own. I usually got to somewhere in nature where I don't have to cook, clean or organize anyone. I sleep in, pray, read, watch movies, go for walks and sometimes a massage of I am lucky. It's time for me and God and rest. There are times when I have gone away to weeping and gnashing of teeth. My husband and kid have been angry and felt unloved but God constantly reminds me that if I want to be a good mother I have to look after myself to. It's not easy but it's worth it.

5. Sleep in. Make a deal with your spouse so that each of you gets a turn to sleep in one day a weekend. The other person takes the kids in the morning.

6. The vent message. My best friend and I started this little self-help item. When one of us is feeling truly horrid or angry we send the other a WhatsApp which starts with the word vent. Then we proceed to lay out all our feelings. The agreement is that these messages do not need a response and all that they contain is confidential and to be read with an open heart and a goldfish memory. These have been great for those days when you just need to let your feelings out and know someone has heard you.

7. Exercise. Yuck this is my least favourite self-care topic but it works. I hate to exercise but I have tried to find something that works for me and to give it priority if time and budget. All that nonsense about increased endorphins is actually true. Also the fitter you are the more energy you will have for the task of mothering.

8. Outsource dinner especially during the tough times. It is not a failure to admit that you need help preparing food for your family. A friend of mine has taught her domestic helper to cook certain meals. She then prepares the meal once or twice a week. I have another friend whose helper preps everything during the day and then she simply cooks it at dinner time. Another friend just does the Woolies thing. In my house we have a menu. It's the same every week for now. Boring but doable as I hate to cook. My mom helps me prepare and/or cook dinner. Suicide hour is not a myth and it's my most stressful time of day. It has taken me 6 years to admit I need help in this part of my mothering.

9. Give up things and simplify your life. I always thought this meant that I had to empty out my life to make time for everything but recently I have learnt this is not what it means at all. When you empty your life of all your own activities and the things that give you joy you burn out. Believe me I know. Give up bath time every night or always having home cooked meals. Give up the dinner time fights and streamline bath and bedtime. Give up your preconceptions of what your family should be doing. Ease up on yourself. Your kids won't die if they only eat peanut butter sandwiches or don't wash behind their ears every night. I've given up fighting my daughter do wash at bath time, if all she does is soak that will have to do. I pick my battles very carefully now days because living in a house where I am constantly shouting is no fun at all.

10.Join a bible study. Go with your hubby or without him just go. If he is your only babysitter then so be it. Your soul needs to be fed by God. You need to surround yourself with women who can listen to you, care for you, pray for you and give you Godly advice. Sometimes it's helpful to be part of a group with older women who have been through the journey of motherhood and can give you advice.

11. Pray. In the shower, while patting children to sleep in the middle of the night, while you are driving, while you are shopping. Talk to God, lean on him and take the strength that only he can give.

The Jesus Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 13:55:00 +0000

About 4 years ago we started a new tradition in our house inspired by a post I read on another blog, 1plus1plus1equals1 . We call ours the Jesus gift.
Each year we have a special gift under our Christmas tree; a gift from our family to Jesus. As He doesn't really need material things, being in heaven and all, we give him our hearts in acts of kindness and service. During the run up to Christmas we choose something to do, as a family, for others.
We have bought supplies for a baby clinic, put together Santa shoe boxes for under privileged children and taken gingerbread biscuits to a frail care centre. This tradition is our way of redirecting our children's focus off of themselves and the commercialism of Christmas towards others. The Jesus gift encourages them to see that there are less fortunate people out there. It teaches them that Christmas is about giving gifts to others, as a response to the love and grace we receive from God.
And so the first gift we open on Christmas morning is our Jesus gift. We talk about whose birthday we are celebrating and we thank God for his goodness. Inside the box we put photos of whatever it is we did for others this Christmas season. Then, of course, we descend in to a present opening frenzy, just like every other family out there, and the focus shifts back to who got what.
Our aim is to grow this tradition as our children get older to a point where they will give willingly of their own time and money. During a time of self centered, pleasure seeking we want our kids to see beyond their own wants and needs. To see the plight of others and recognize the madness that is commercial Christmas. We want them to celebrate a christian Christmas with Jesus and love at the centre.

How we celebrate Valentine's day as a family

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:32:00 +0000

This weekend was Valentine's Day, a day which has been completely over commercialised. On Valentine's Day a meal costs twice as much as any other day and don't even try to order roses unless you've got money like Donald Trump. My hubby has also been totally irritated by the commercialism of the day but I have always insisted on celebrating it. However in recent years, with the craziness of kids, it has become less important to me to be romanced on Valentine's Day.
So we decided to include the kids in the Valentine's celebrations. Now we all spread the love and make each other feel special and we've brought some fun back to the day. We also have a new name for it, after all who really wants to celebrate a person's torture and beheading. So now the kids have taken it upon themselves to call it Love Day, all thanks must go to Daniel Tiger and PBS for this idea.
So just in case you're looking for something a little more meaningful to do next year, here's what we did for Love Day.

We cut out hearts - ok mommy cut out most of the hearts but this year CG did his own cutting. Each person, kids included, wrote a message for each family member saying what they love about them. We sat and read them all together in the morning. Of course everybody got the obligatory chocolate heart as well. Then in the afternoon we had a Love Day picnic, complete with heart balloons. At the picnic we read some books about love and just enjoyed each other's company.
All in all we had a great Love Day as a family. Best of all we weren't broke by the end of it and everyone felt extra special.

No Bullies!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 06:51:00 +0000

We have been having a lot of trouble in our house with kids hitting kids. Ok so let's be honest it's not just hitting. It's hitting and ....... kicking, biting, sitting on, standing on and just generally trying to hurt each other. It's been driving me batty.

The poster CG made. With two people punching

I've tried time outs and taking away TV and of course shouting. So far no deterrent has worked. So eventually I just thought 'ok I give up'. Then after I had spent some time feeling sorry for myself I decided I needed some more tools in my parenting toolbox. The ones I had just weren't cutting it.
So I took Siblings without Rivalry off the bookshelf and started to read. At the same time I started to ask friends for advice on how they deal with the general nastiness that sibling relationships can deteriorate into. With the help of these two resources here's what I did.
1: Call a family meeting.
2: We discussed what a bully was. Then we discussed what a bully might do. This conversation was inspired by a post I saw on FB called Is it Bullying.
3: I asked the kids to give me examples of times they had been bullied and to tell me what they had done in return.
4: Then I got then to describe time when they were angry and what they did to the person who made them mad. Both said they would never hit someone. 'That's not right mom' I was told.

5: 'So' I said 'neither of you are a bully at your school?'
'Noooo' they chorused.
6: 'Ok that's great, well done. Are you guys bullies at home.'
They both looked a little taken aback and JB immediately got an impish smile and said 'No'. CG looked sheepish and said, very slowly, 'yes'.
7: 'Oh dear guys, I think you are definitely bullies at home. Is that a good thing?'
8: Once we had all agreed that we needed to stop being bullies at home to the people we love we moved onto what the consequence should be for hurting each other.
9: After a few overzealous ideas from CG it was decided that an immediate time out without a warning would be the punishment.
10: It was also decided that we needed to have some posters up to remind us all about our 'House Rules'.
11: We also decided (with some mom prompting) to make No Bullies posters for the house.

After all of this I am happy to report that the incidences of physical fighting have gone down. They are still at the stage of yelling 'No Bullies' at each other anytime things look like they might get physical. We have had a couple of time outs and even Mr E (2mnths) has had his turn in the quiet corner. It's definitely not a fool proof solution but at least I am shouting less and there are less hurts and tears.
I will try to keep you updated on how long it lasts.

Building a skyscraper

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Woolworths Building NYC.

A while ago I wrote a post about building cathedrals and since then this idea has been something my husband and I uses as a way of reassuring ourselves on really hard days. This last holiday was a real struggle for me. With three kids, one of whom is still a very needy toddler, it felt very much like every day was just more of the same. I was feeling very hard done by and sorry for myself because my work is non-stop and mommy's don't get 'vacation days'.

At Christmas my hubby wrote me the most wonderful message in my Christmas card. It was the best Christmas present I received. It made me cry (and I am not a cryer). I wanted to share it with all of you because I am pretty sure I am not the only mom who feels exhausted and unappreciated at times. Here is what this lovely man wrote:

"There is no way I could do this without you! Please know that while the credit for a skyscraper goes to the architect the foundations are laid by an engineer and the concrete mix is thrown by a labourer. The labourer feels 'ordinary' until he (or she) sees the final product. So when you have to so when you have to mix cement (cook dinner or clean the house) or when you are designing the foundation plan (building relationships, teaching potty training etc) or being the architect choosing schools. teaching about God). You may feel ordinary at first but just wait till the skyscraper is finished. "

Saving money at Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 16:53:00 +0000

A friend of mine was writing an article on budgeting at Chrismas. She asked for some ideas on what you could do to save money this Christmas. At first I thought I have nothing to contribute but after some thought I realized I actually do a lot of things to save money during the Christmas season but they have become so normal that I don't realise I am doing them. So I thought I would share the ideas on my blog just in case I can help some other families out at this crazy and expensive time of year.

I try to buy presents before the December paycheck. I don't want to do it too early otherwise everyone (especially kids) change their minds on what they like. So I usually start in October some time. This splits the cost of presents over multiple pay checks.
I Buy gifts at the Christmas markets and fetes, which are abundant, in late October and November. Things are often cheaper at markets and fetes. You also have the added bonus of finding one of a kind things that are homemade and interesting
I buy second hand. People probably think that its rude to give something second hand however I see things differently. You can often find items that are almost new at fetes. This is great for kids, who don't really care as long as the items is cool. You can also find old or vintage things which you would not be able to find in the shops. I also upcycle or remake things for people that I find second hand. The added bonus of buying second hand is that you are supporting a charity rather than adding to the bottom line of a big corporation.
I buy items online when they are on sale. I subscribe to emails from Takealot, superbalist and groupon and when there is a good special on something for someone I know I will be buying a gift for, I will buy it and keep it in my gift box.
Decide ahead of time on a gift price limit. This is essential in my family where there is a big extended family to give gifts to.
We have a large extended family and so sometimes we do secrect Santa with them. Each person gets assigned one other person to give a gift to. That way each person only buys one present. We also put price limits on these gifts so it's fair.
I do everything in my power not to shop in December. Shops often push up their prices in December and there are fewer sales.
In the past I have made gifts for people. I say in the past because with three kids it is very difficult. If I want to do any 'making' I have to plan it far in advance. However I have discovered that you can also 'make' gifts by getting someone else to do the making. For example you can create a mug or calendar with kids photos for grandparents, it through a printing company. I also get my kids to draw cards and decorate large pieces of newsprint which we use as wrapping paper. Family members love that.
Wrap your gifts in plain brown paper with an interesting twine or some washi tape as decoration. I also look around for cheap christmas decorations and use them as toppers. In the past I have never used sugar sticks and hot chocolate spoons.
Bring and share celebration meals. Whenever we have Christams meals each family gets designated an item/s to bring for the meal. That way no one family bears the financial burden of feeding the whole brood.
Have a staycation. JHB is awesome during December because its so quiet and everyone else is away. The weather is great as well. We stay home and do all the touristy things we never get to do during the year.
I have a number of store loyalty cards which allow you to earn points for very Rand you spend. These points can be used to pay for things in the store. I save all my points till December or January to spend on shopping when money is tight.

When God calls you to be ordinary

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 15:43:00 +0000

"You have a purpose in this life."

" God will guide you to make a difference."

" You are fearfully and wonderfully made."

"You are special."

I have heard this many times throughout my life and I have said it to myself during the dark nights of wondering who I am and what I am meant to do with my time on earth. It is after all, the eternal question, why am I here? As a Christian I know God has the answer to that question. He knows what purpose he has for me. He has gifted me and he has a plan. There have been many cross roads in my life where the search for this purpose has kept me on my knees and awake at night.

As a child dreaming of my life and as a teenager planning bigs things for my future I always envisioned that somehow I was made to do something special, something extraordinary. In university I searched for that one perfect 'job' that would bring together all my talents, gifts, passions and abilities. To find my perfect place and purpose in the universe. Something that would fulfill me, challenge me, make me happy and bring the kingdom of God to earth.

After many many years of searching for that one perfect thing I have learnt that such a destiny only exists in fairy tales. That our lives are full of seasons and in each our purpose and God's plan for us may well be different.

Unfortunately somehow I keep missing the memo. I find myself striving, yearning, reaching for something new and exciting. Searching for something else, after all, I am special and God must have more planned for me than what I have now. Did I mention that I am a mom to three kids under 5. Which for reasons I cannot fathom (insert sarcastic wink here) is not nearly as glamorous, fulfilling and meaningful as I had thought it would be. I know, crazy right!

Don't get me wrong, I love my munchkins and I chose (and continue to choose) to stay at home with them. It's just that when you are changing throw-up-sheets at midnight or sleeping next to a child who expects you to warm her feet under your back (whilst kicking you) or playing snakes and ladders for the hundredth time, onetends to loose oneself in the mundaneness of it all. One tends to find one's mind wandering, during the third poo nappy change of the morning, whether this really is all one is to ever be. A bottle washer, cook, cleaner, transporter, disciplinarian, referee and chair

In September I was given the amazing blessing of going to the annual women's retreat at our church. I was so excited. What would God have in store for me? After all I have been at home for five years now perhaps it time to break out of my shell and do something really awesome for Him.

The anticipation of meeting with God made my brain buzz so much that I couldn't focus during our first silent prayer time. "Please God still my excited mind, help me to be calm and at peace so I can hear from you this weekend." And then I did! But it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Infact it wasn't even what I wanted to hear.

In the silence God whispered in his still, small voice, "I want you..."

"Yes God I'm listening, I'm ready to do something awesome"

"....to be ordinary."

"Wait, what now. But I am awesome and you have given me all these gifts surely you have something special for me to do."

"I do daughter, you are right where you are supposed to be. I want you to just be. Be an ordinary mother."

I was sure there must have been some mistake. I came on this retreat because God was going to show me how He was going to fulfill His purpose through me. As you can imagine "I want you to be ordinary" was really not what I wanted to hear.

Slowly throughout the weekend God revealed his plan for my life during this season.

"I need you to stand still, can you do that?"

"No, no I can't Lord. You made me, you know I get bored easily. You know that my creative brain can't possibly stay focused on only one thing."

"Will you stand still, will you be ordinary?"

"No you must have the wrong person. I am too much of a creative force to be still. Anyway mother's get so little appreciation and acknowledgment. I need that, you made that my love language, remember Lord."

"Can you be an ordinary mother for me? Will you let that be enough? Can you serve your family and not yourself? Can you have a true servant heart like I do?"

"But I don't know how to do that, how to be that. I don't think I can stand still, I don't think I can just be a mom. I don't know how to serve without begrudging getting up to a child who wants juice at 2am or being irritated with correcting a behaviour for the hundredth time (no you may not sit on your baby brother). I don't know how to graciously release my hard working husband to go out for a beer with friends on a Friday its-the-end-of-the-week-and-I'm-about-to-loose-my-mind-night."

"Can you do this? You keep seeking your purpose and my plan for you. Can you stop seeking and be the ordinary mother I am asking you to be."

"Alright lord but I don't know how."

"Hold onto me and I will teach you the steps."

"Ok Lord, I'm ready to try."

"Alright then..... Shall we dance?"

Painting by Leonid Afremov

The things I have done....... for my son.

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 12:31:00 +0000

It's been a long time since I've written anything for my blog. I guess I've had a combination of writers block and three-children-no-time-to-sit-downitis. In that time so much has happened that I have no idea where or how to start again. So in the end I have just decided to start where I am now and fill in the gaps as I go along.

Right now I am feeling overworked and under appreciated, not to mention sleep deprived and totally overwhelmed. There have been many days when I have wondered if I am really cut out to be a stay-at-home mom. I have been tired, irritable, shouty, short tempered and in a general funk with my kids (and my poor husband).

I got to the point where I started to wonder if perhaps it was time to pack it in and go back to work where perhaps I would at least be appreciated. Yesterday out of the blue, a pod cast link appeared on my FB page for a radio show with a guest mom, Lisa Jo Baker, talking about finding your identity as a mom. I listened to it and it was like she was talking directly to me. Wow. God used Lisa Jo to talk to me right where I was directly to my heart.

I don't know why but I am always so astounded when God finds an unexpected way to speak into me life. After many weeks of beating myself up I finally decided to look at some of the things I have accomplished as a mom. The words that poured out surprised me and when I reread them I cried. But once again I was reminded just how easy it is for the devil to focus my attention on everything I am doing wrong. It makes me sad at just how easily I am blinded.

Here is what I wrote on May 20th of this year. Things have changed a lot since then but more about that later. The things I have done...

Read, prayed, sought wisdom and professional counselling for my son. I did not give up when my husband didn't easily agree, when the devil got in and said I was crazy.

I have driven him to play therapy and OT.

I have put my other children off to do this.

I have loved, reasoned, rationalized, intellectualized, disciplined and hugged him through out-of-control tantrums, arguments, anger and fear.

I have been the only person he wants and the one person he is meanest to. I have been hugged, kissed, clung to, cried for, kicked, punched, bitten, hit, shouted at and hated on.

I have listened to his night mares, philosophized about heaven and dying with him and answered a million questions on a million topics.

I have played puzzles, read books, built duplo and played fantasy at 5am and when I really needed to be taking care of other things.

I have given up my whole life and withdrawn from all my extracurricular activities to be there for him and to make sure I had the energy to deal with his emotional state calmly.

I have made charts, carried weighted stuff toys across the Atlantic, stocked the car with juice and allowed him to sleep in my bed for nights on end.

Now almost three years later I am finally seeing all my hard work, in the area of his anxiety, make a difference. Finally we are at the point of him being on medication which is making a huge difference to his life. We have a long road still to go and I will be the one to carry the load again and again because he is my son and I want a different and a better life for him than I had. One where he is not crippled by anxiety.

Mom's have super powers

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 10:53:00 +0000

Recently it was my son's 4th birthday party and we had a wonderful Super hero training themes party. Lot and lots of fun. So our house is very super hero mad at the moment. Curious Goerge basically wore the Iron Man costume we gave him every day. By the end of the week it could walk off him.

This super hero craze got me thinking about how as a mom I have a special set of super powers as well.

Here are some of the super powers I've discovered and honed over the past 4 yrs. In no particular order:

1. Night vision - the ability to find blankies , pjs, blankets and bottles in the dark. As well as to walk down stairs to heat bottles without switching on a light or stepping on toys.

2. Magic healing power - the ability to go any owie with a plaster or a kiss and cuddle. Although CG often tells me it's too sore for a kiss.

3. Super strength - the ability to wear my baby all day because she won't sleep any other way, to carry my 2 and 4 yr olds down the stairs, to carry bikes and or children around the shops or park.

4. Snack attack - the ability to pull a snack out of thin air when someone is very grumpy (sometimes thin air is the bottom of my handbag where said snack has been for months).

5. Blood hound sense of smell - the ability to smell when your child has a poo nappy in amongst a whole group of toddlers or babies.

6. Wakefulness power - the ability to stay awake and function on extremely small amounts of sleep.

7. Shape shifting - the ability to turn yourself into different people according to the situation; carer, nurse, cool, cleaner, educator, wife, friend and the list continues.

8. Imagination power - the ability to distract a child with the things around you or what you have in your handbag when they are bored in a queue (at Dischem most often).

9. Super hearing - the ability to pick out your child's cry or scream in a playground full of children.

10.Hidden vegetable power - the ability to hide veggies in seemingly kid friendly dishes like speghetti bolognaise and cake (I'm still working on this power).

Combating bad dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 10:23:00 +0000

Curious George has a fantastic imagination and with that comes a lot of anxieties. Unfortunately some times I add to these inadvertently because he asks such grown up questions and I always endevour to give him honest answers. I do my best to soften the blow but there's no 'nice' way to answer questions like "how does your body die"?

His intense imagination, enquiring mind and traumatic leg break all lead to him having bad dreams from quite a young age. The dreams were distressing for him and when he shared them they were pretty distressing for us to. Like the big Cookie Monster who was trying to eat him and was saying yum yum. When I went in to him that night I had to assure him that the toy Cookie Monster was not going to eat Jelly Bean either

and then I had to sleep next to him with my hand on top of the monster to squish him.

In the middle of the year the frequency of the dreams intensified. So between his waking and JBs waking I was not getting much sleep. One day I was so tired I decided we could not continue like this anymore. So I started looking online for some creative ways to help combat bad dreams. I knew that if I could tap into my son's imagination I could harness its power to help him deal with the bad dreams.

I found a wonderful book call The Dream Jar by Lidan Lee Johnson, you can buy an ebook version on Amazon. It's a wonderful story about a little girl with bad dreams. Her older sister helps her to combat them by equipping her with imaginary magic wands and other things so she can go back into her bad dreams and turn them into good dreams. One night the older sister goes out and leaves a dream jar full of ideas for combatting the bad dreams to help her little sister when she wakes in the night. It's a lovely story and CG really enjoyed it.

Inspired by this book I set out to make a dream jar for CG. I found an image of a bottle online, enlarged it, printed it and laminated it. Then I went through all our recent family photos and found pictures of CG participating in happy events.

I stuck the bottle on the wall beside his bed and stuck up the photos to look like they were flying out of the bottle. Now every night before prayers he chooses one of the photographs to talk about. I tell him the story of the event using him as the main character. For example I tell him the story of going to Disney Land or of our family holiday at the beach or of a special bubble bath he had with his cousin and sister. He loves that he is the star of the story and it fills his head with happy thoughts just before lights out. This has worked wonders for him. Having something happy to hold onto has been key in redirecting his mind from the worry path it usually sets off on when the activity of the day comes to an end.

We also pray that Jesus will hold his hand , protect him from bad dreams show him how to change the bad dreams into good dreams.

This little routine is now a part of every bedtime. In fact he has started to ask for 'memories' , as he calls them, that he has not actually experienced, like going to the circus. He has harnessed his imagination and is putting it to good use now in creating happy thoughts instead of worries.

Exploring paint

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 16:45:00 +0000

This week when we finally had some time at home Jelly Bean and I had a wonderful time exploring paint. I put out a huge piece of paper, gave her primary coloured paints and a bunch of strange things to paint with and let her loose. She has a great time and I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed just mucking about with the paint. For little ones it's all about exploring a medium not the outcome.

I put out paint brushes, string, a doll shoe, a pipe cleaner, a shower pouf, some round sponges, a dish brush and left the rest to her. I painted along side her and just let her do whatever she wanted. I know she loves to get messy and I am trying very hard to keep my clean-freak side from influencing her. I bit my tongue many times during our session and tried not to cringe to much when she touched me with painty hands.

Of course painting herself became the most fun. She started off painting her feet and then I had to stripe her so she wouldn't paint her clothes. In the end she was covered in paint from head to toe. One of my favorite moments was when she decided the dolls shoe should fit her. It was so funny to see her putting it on her toes again and again.

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Toddler sayings - Smartie pants

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 05:18:00 +0000

This morning Super Dad said to Jelly Bean and Curious George that he was so proud of how both his children were real Smartie pants (in our house we've turned this saying into a positive affirmation).

CG responded by saying "No dad I'm wearing Jammers". So funny. Of course dad he's not wearing smartie pants he's wearing pajama pants.

A lovley day for painting

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 11:22:00 +0000

Yesterday it was 20 degrees in the middle of the day, despite it being winter, so I decided to let the kids paint the paving around the pool while I hung washing. I took these pics of Jelly Bean and they were too cute not to share.

I wish I had manage to snap one of Curious George because his idea of messy painting was taking his shoes off (under protest) and painting as far from JB's mess as possible. When we were done she was covered in paint and needed a wash down in the sink. He on the other hand did not even need to wash his hands. So funny how different they are.

Toddler sayings - what does the baby eat

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:15:00 +0000

Today I was playing duplo with Curious George. We had created a 'car' to transport all the duplo people to a party on the other side monster trail (his choice). When the people scarred away the monster by blowing the car horn and shinning a light in his eyes they all got out to have some breakfast.

Once every one was served he said "oh no we have no food for the baby". So I said we would have to get some. "What does the baby eat" I asked. He had a think and then said "mushrooms and spider lips".

Man oh man he is hysterical.

Our first art gallery visit

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:57:00 +0000

I was inspired by blog posts on the Tinkerlab and RedTed Art blogs to start introducing my kiddles to art. I love art and wish I had more of it in my life. So I decided to take us all on a trip to the Johannesburg Art Gallery. My dad came with us which was great because he's very knowledgable and has little interesting facts about a lot of artists.

Of course Curious George decided ahead of time that it was going to be booorrring but I persisted and he really got into it. His favorites were a collection of Jackson Hlangwane carvings and a William Kentridge hand drawn animated short film.

He and Jelly Bean also really enjoyed the huge halls which have nothing in them except for the paintings on the walls, they ran/crawled all over the place. Fortunately we were the only ones there so there were no rude stares and angry glances.

One of the funniest moments was when we were looking at a super realistic painting of a man called The Emporer. We were looking at it up close to see that the the artist had even painted the veins in his feet. Then I asked CG "what is odd about this painting." At first he pointed to the green curtain which was the backdrop of the painting. " What else" I asked. "His penis" he replied matter of factly. Then we all had a big giggle because the man was "necked" a CG puts its.

We only stayed about 40 mins but it was a great experience for all. Even JB found something she liked, a set of marble steps which she climbed about 50 times while we watched the Kentridge film.

Sunbeams and Rainbows - 1st Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:05:00 +0000

I struggled to come up with a theme for Jelly Bean's 1st birthday party, there were just so many lovely options. With Curious George we did a ball party because he was obsessed with balls but Jelly Bean has never been all that into toys she's more of a social butterfly. One day I was thinking about what a little sunbeam she was and how she makes every one's life brighter with her big smile and that is how the theme came about. In the end the rainbows took over a bit (partially cause I'm not that partial to yellow) but it turned out very well. As usual I made a Pinterst board with ideas which you can see here.

This is my absolute favourite shot of the day.

The outfit

Being a girly party I had to go all out on the outfit. She had a onsie with a sun and rainbow design which I painted a 1 onto. Then I made her a rainbow tutu. She looked super duper cute. I also made her a crown which she refused to keep on her head but she had lots of fun looking through it.

The Cake

As we weren't really going to be having games the cake became the focus. I decided on a cloud cake with a stand-up rainbow and a sun. To make the cloud base I made one round cake and made one flat cake in a rectangular roasting pan. Then I cut circles out of the big flat cake using a cookie cutter. I stacked these pieces in different formations to made the cloud appear 3D on the round base cake. I had watched a Cake Boss episode where they made a cloud effect using butter cream icing, to which I added an idea my cousin gave me to use candy floss (cotton candy) for the cloud as well. A little tip is to only put the candy floss on the cake just before you bring it out as the moisture in the icing destroys the candy floss over time. For the rainbow I decided to make a rainbow shape biscuit which was something my mother had made for me as a child. I then iced the biscuit in rainbow icing. Each colour comes from a tube which goes on thick, does not drip and dries hard. The sun I created out of cardboard which I painted gold. The final touch was adding the three fairy godmothers (from Sleeping Beauty) which I had kept from JB's baby shower cake.

Blow out your candles Jelly Bean.

Mmm those fairy godmothers look yummy. The bigger kids loved the candy floss.

One of my favourite moments was this one of JB trying the birthday cake. She took one bite and handed it back to me. She certainly knows what she likes and doesn't.

Here mommy you take it.

Come on mommy take it already.

The Decor

I created a gazing umbrella for the little ones to sit under. We put out our big umbrella and draped the under side with coloured organza and balloons. I also made some hanging chandelier streamers out of tissue paper and embroidery rings.

We created a 'gazebo' effect over our front patio with strings of coloured paper lanterns and streamers. In the garden we had bunches of clear balloons stuffed with coloured tissue paper confetti (unfortunately we didn't get a pic of these).

The Games

At first I wasn't going to have any extra entertainment for the kids seeing as it was a 1yr old's party. Our garden has a sandpit, swing, slide and ball pond which I thought would be more than enough. But in then I realised that we were going to have a lot of older siblings at the party. So I decided to add a few games for them.

Seeing as the jumping castle was such a hit the week before (and was so cheap) we decided to hire it again. Jelly Bean had an absolute ball because there were fewer 'big' kids this week.

I also put out painting with rainbow paints (thanks to my aunt for bringing these from the preschool). All the kids tried their hand a painting on our big outdoor easel.

Bouncing with great granny (visiting from the USA) cheering JB on and making sure she didn't fall off of course.

Lastly I created a rainbow pinata. This I made out of cardboard and tissue paper. I added ribbons through the base for each child to pull it open (instead of hitting it open).

Sparkle confetti and sweeties. Yay.

We made a big number 1 out of photos of JB's first year similar to the one we did for Curious George's party. Everyone had a wonderful time. Thanks to all our friends and family who made it such a special occasion.

Mater the Greater Stunt Party - 3rd Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 07:04:00 +0000

Curious George decided that he wanted a Mater the Greater birthday party this year. If you have no idea what Mater the Greater is take a look here. Mater plays the role of an Evil Knievel type stunt man in one of his Tall Tales. This was such a fun party to create because the theme lent itself to a bunch of fun, age appropriate games. It also gave me a very clear colour palette which always makes life easier. Of course Pinterest has also made finding birthday party idea much easier. I started collecting ideas straight away and here they are.

Lovely family shot with CG actually looking forward and not running away in usual CG fashion. Thanks Uncle Ben.

At the moment CG is very into jumping, running, riding his plastic motor bike and of course racing cars. He had also been asking to have a jumping castle at his party since our 30th birthday party (which you can see here). So I decided to go with a whole lot of stunt type games, all age appropriate of course.

The Stunt Race Track:

We marked out a race track on the ground with chevron tape and then placed some obstacles along the track; a mini trampoline, a board with bumps on it, a fabric tunnel and our home made 'fire' hoops. I also made some 'steering wheels' out of plastic plates which I cut to look like steering wheels and decorated with insulation tape and stickers.

Super dad setting out the race track at 7:00am.

Our 'fire' hoops. I used hula hoops and stands and made flames out of cardboard.

The High Dive:

We set up our garden table and placed beanbags and mattresses around it. The children has a great time jumping from the table and crashing into the beanbags.

Death defying downhill race:

Each child got a little car from the Cars movie in their party pack. We created these 'downhill race tracks' out of big poster rolls I found on the side of the road. The kids had a ball sending their little cars racing down the tubes.

Jump Practice:

And of course the infamous jumping castle. This stole the show, the kids loved it and Curious George had a blast.

I had his shirt printed from the image we used on the invitation.

The Kiddies Table:

I recreated Mater's 'death defying' car jump stunt on the kids eats table. CG has a soft toy Mater which I transformed into Mater the Greater. I used felt pieces which I painted and pinned to him and I created a helmet for him out of iClay. The I created some cars in photoshop, printed them,cut them out and stuck them along the edge of the table. Lastly I placed Mater on our slide, creating a ramp so he was ready for action.

The Cake:

For the cake I decided to recreate Mater's High Dive from the animation. I made a simple round cake with butter cream icing, blue piping gel for the water and finger biscuits for the barrel. For the ladder I used the ladder from CG's toy fire engine which we stuck to the base with play dough. As we can not get Mater the Greater toys in SA I bought a regular Mater car from Toys R Us and painted him to look like Mater the Greater adding the snorkel and mask with iClay. CG was very please with his cake and after we blew the candles out he asked me to make Mater dive into the cake, which I did of course and this thrilled the kiddies.

Of course we had the obligatory toddler blow-spit the candles out.

CG decided the best part of the cake were the finger biscuits and the fondant stars.

Love his reaction to the cake when it arrived.


All the parents taking pictures of the kids enjoying the cake.

One of my favourite parts of the party was CG reacting to us all singing happy birthday to him. He just lapped up the attention and laughed and laughed. He taught me something about living in the moment that day.

Everyone had a wonderful time and I was thrilled that CG enjoyed himself so much that he didn't even get a chance to eat any sweeties from the kids table (a point be bemoaned later). After everyone had gone home we used the giant photo 3, we had made out of photos from his third year, as a part of the thank you card for all the wonderful gifts he got from our very generous friends and family.

Just had to add this photo of him opening his adventure backpack from my cousins and aunt and uncle.

Thanks everyone for making his day fabulous.

Toddler sayings - the last few weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Wed, 29 May 2013 16:25:00 +0000

"I can't know" - used to answer questions ranging from "where is your dummy" to "what did you do at school today"?

"My wee looks like a rainbow" - a comment he makes every time he wees in the garden. I think it has more to do with the arc shape than with the colour.

My absolute favourite of the moment:

CG - "I hurt my foot mom"

Mom -"oh dear, where my boy"

CG - "on my thumb toe"

A poem for mom's - Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sun, 12 May 2013 08:54:00 +0000

When Mommy is Your Name....!!

The telephone's ringing, the TV is blaring.

Sister is crying' cause Brother's not sharing.

There's a spill on the carpet that no one will claim.

There's no time for sitting when Mommy's your name.

The laundry is folded but not put away.

The dishes you just washed are from yesterday.

Without any warning your relatives came.

There's no getting caught up when Mommy's your name.

You drive to the market, you drive to the school

You drive to the cleaners, you drive the carpool

You drive yourself crazy, it's really a shame.

There's no time for resting when Mommy's your name.

To your bedroom you sneak to find peace for a minute,

but your minute is over before you begin it.

Your little one finds you and thinks it's a game.

There's no time for hiding when Mommy's your name.

At night as you kneel to thank God above you,

An angel creeps in and says, "Mommy, I love you."

You may not know glory or fortune or fame,

but what does it matter when Mommy's your name?

Thanks to my bestie for sending me this lovely poem.

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