Have a wonderful day & we'll skype when the sunrises on your African birthday.
xx
PS - and a very happy birthday to KNA and little Banjo... busy day in October. xoxo
Wednesday 24 October 2012
A special birthday montage.
With no fanfare my boys would like to wish their Mum/Nanny a very Happy Birthday! They would be doing it in person but you know only too well how much they need their sleep.
Have a wonderful day & we'll skype when the sunrises on your African birthday.
xx
PS - and a very happy birthday to KNA and little Banjo... busy day in October. xoxo
Have a wonderful day & we'll skype when the sunrises on your African birthday.
xx
PS - and a very happy birthday to KNA and little Banjo... busy day in October. xoxo
Monday 22 October 2012
Swakopmund Grandparent Style
So week one with the parental unit has flown by. And here are some moments for you to enjoy from afar.
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| Stealing Pa's Weet-bix! |
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| The thiefs. |
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| Shalom Market for brunch. |
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| The wild Atlantic from the jetty. |
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| Pa's chosen morning tea stop, Cafe Anton... very German and very Good. |
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| Quad bike riding with Daddy at last. |
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| Beyond Thunderdome. |
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| Doctor Doolittle. |
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| More birthday party fun.. this time Miss Tilly turned 5. |
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| Nana on the Living Desert Tour. I cannot remember the name of the lizard. |
Sunday 21 October 2012
You've still got it!
My beautiful friend... wishing you the happiest of days from the distant shores of Africa. You may be 40 but you've still got it! From the heady London days to the highs and lows of motherhood your friendship means the world to me. Thank you for all the laughs, tears & memories. Happy Birthday Jen. Love you. xoxo
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| Look at what we created! |
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| My BFF! |
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| What a couple! |
Wednesday 17 October 2012
The one where Ace rode a horse and I rode a mule.
In the lead up to Mum & Dad's arrival, we managed to take Ace back for another horse ride. It has probably been 3 months since we first went and the difference in him was huge. He sat up there on Renegade all confident, happy and proud. Soon it will be Sonny's turn but for now he is happy with mum!
So after many months of discussion Mum and Dad finally flew around the world to see us. Ace was pretty keen for the sign to read "Welcome to the Airport" but I managed to convince him that Africa had more impact! The boys were beside themselves happy, Sonny remembered his Nana & Pa and Ace was deliriously excited. Steve received almost his body weight in chocolate and Aussie Milo, lucky devil!
It has been an interesting experience to fully realise how much my parenting has slipped in these tough months, as in for the most part solo parenting. Mum has swept in and tried to restore some order. The "snot rag" is now called the "nose cloth". Sonny is experiencing consistent discipline when he throws his toys around the house. And well I have only yelled once in 3 days... oh the quiet!! It is the reset button I have been dreaming of.
So with order at home I swiftly took off to go horse riding. Its been many years since I rode a horse and it looks like it will be many more. In my complete animal ignorance, Noni pointed out that there was a little bit of donkey in my "horse" called Spock but when mum, dad and Steve cried with laughter upon seeing my photos, well I realised perhaps there was a little more donkey than horse! A mule to be precise. Oh well, we had fun, trotting & cantering like the man from snowy river and I have the sore bum to prove it!
We have a jam packed schedule and it's going to fly by. Dad will probably take the entire trip to correctly pronounce "Swakopmund" but he is already full of interesting facts about the town. The raw sewerage they water all the lush gardens with is a constant source of bafflement for him. And well Mum is shopping for Australia! They are off on the Living Desert Tour tomorrow and we are quad biking on Sunday and in between we will try to visit all the cafes, scoot to the playground most afternoons, and just enjoy some family time.
So after many months of discussion Mum and Dad finally flew around the world to see us. Ace was pretty keen for the sign to read "Welcome to the Airport" but I managed to convince him that Africa had more impact! The boys were beside themselves happy, Sonny remembered his Nana & Pa and Ace was deliriously excited. Steve received almost his body weight in chocolate and Aussie Milo, lucky devil!
It has been an interesting experience to fully realise how much my parenting has slipped in these tough months, as in for the most part solo parenting. Mum has swept in and tried to restore some order. The "snot rag" is now called the "nose cloth". Sonny is experiencing consistent discipline when he throws his toys around the house. And well I have only yelled once in 3 days... oh the quiet!! It is the reset button I have been dreaming of.
So with order at home I swiftly took off to go horse riding. Its been many years since I rode a horse and it looks like it will be many more. In my complete animal ignorance, Noni pointed out that there was a little bit of donkey in my "horse" called Spock but when mum, dad and Steve cried with laughter upon seeing my photos, well I realised perhaps there was a little more donkey than horse! A mule to be precise. Oh well, we had fun, trotting & cantering like the man from snowy river and I have the sore bum to prove it!
We have a jam packed schedule and it's going to fly by. Dad will probably take the entire trip to correctly pronounce "Swakopmund" but he is already full of interesting facts about the town. The raw sewerage they water all the lush gardens with is a constant source of bafflement for him. And well Mum is shopping for Australia! They are off on the Living Desert Tour tomorrow and we are quad biking on Sunday and in between we will try to visit all the cafes, scoot to the playground most afternoons, and just enjoy some family time.
Tuesday 9 October 2012
Bits & Bobs.
So what news?? As my old friend Ben used to say. Well lets see, I should have probably noted in the last post that many of those photos of me where taken by Noni, who turns out to be quite the photographer, so much so I have included two more of her photos of Oscar the giraffe who liked to wander the grounds of Epako Lodge.
In other news Ace is ill again. I decided to give the little dude the day off to visit the doctor and get to the bottom of his persistent cough. Dr Dirk peered in his throat & listened to his chest and diagnosed him with tonsillitis and bronchitis & prescribed what he called the Swakop Kid Cocktail. I now have the enviable task of dosing him with 5 different medicines, 2-3 times a day for the next 5 days, I guess it is my penance for taking him to swimming lessons yesterday!
Steve is also as sick as a dog, coughing up a storm but otherwise happy. Its been a long and often tough shoot for him, shooting in the African desert is no picnic. Also working with the locals has been enlightening, the asking for money ethic is quite different to ours and he has heard all the stories. He recently was asked for money because his brother had been bitten in half by a crocodile and the best so far, one guy needed money for a circumcision so he could marry into another tribe!
Sonny on the other hand is tip top, throwing tantrums, wrestling anyone who dares get horizontal and hurling things down the stair case... oh how I long to live on a single level. It's extraordinary the things that can push a mother over the edge and a three level home is one.
Our social life ramps up again in the month of October with birthday parties and cupcakes almost weekly. Of course back home in Australia we are missing some big ones. Just in the next two weeks Juno turns 2, Ben turns 1 and Archie turns 1.. Happy Birthday!! (We'll save the rest for another post.)
We are all excited about the imminent arrival of my parents. I am mostly excited for them to see how Sonny has grown, he is no longer a baby and we can see hints of the boy he'll become, fiery, determined and sweet as an angel.. you know the usual toddler madness! It will be so unreal to have some support during the often grueling week of the film widow and to finally share some of this life with that life!
Ace & Clarence have been cast as sheep in the Bugs & Beetles production of "The Nativity of Jesus"... too cute! This will be my first costume effort and I am fortunate to have Sarah to guide me through. I spent some weeks stressing that we would miss the show but the move to Cape Town has been pushed and we are so far in the clear. I can't wait to see our little sheep sing "Away in a Manger", "Whoops a Daisy Angel" and "He's got the Whole World"!
We are also patiently waiting for some our favorite guys to become first time fathers... good luck Al & Foto, just remember to do whatever your wife says for the foreseeable future and always ask if she needs anything when she is being held hostage breast-feeding on the couch, it may look like we are kicking back but it is tough and emotional work.
And finally my bestie is pouring all her creative genius into an incredible documentary about Calisthenics. It is a little known fact that my grace, confidence and agility is the product of the Calisthenics movement. Take a look at her Indiegogo campaign for Calisthenics: A Love Story and help make the dream a reality by throwing her some dough.
Later xxx
In other news Ace is ill again. I decided to give the little dude the day off to visit the doctor and get to the bottom of his persistent cough. Dr Dirk peered in his throat & listened to his chest and diagnosed him with tonsillitis and bronchitis & prescribed what he called the Swakop Kid Cocktail. I now have the enviable task of dosing him with 5 different medicines, 2-3 times a day for the next 5 days, I guess it is my penance for taking him to swimming lessons yesterday!
Steve is also as sick as a dog, coughing up a storm but otherwise happy. Its been a long and often tough shoot for him, shooting in the African desert is no picnic. Also working with the locals has been enlightening, the asking for money ethic is quite different to ours and he has heard all the stories. He recently was asked for money because his brother had been bitten in half by a crocodile and the best so far, one guy needed money for a circumcision so he could marry into another tribe!
Sonny on the other hand is tip top, throwing tantrums, wrestling anyone who dares get horizontal and hurling things down the stair case... oh how I long to live on a single level. It's extraordinary the things that can push a mother over the edge and a three level home is one.
Our social life ramps up again in the month of October with birthday parties and cupcakes almost weekly. Of course back home in Australia we are missing some big ones. Just in the next two weeks Juno turns 2, Ben turns 1 and Archie turns 1.. Happy Birthday!! (We'll save the rest for another post.)
We are all excited about the imminent arrival of my parents. I am mostly excited for them to see how Sonny has grown, he is no longer a baby and we can see hints of the boy he'll become, fiery, determined and sweet as an angel.. you know the usual toddler madness! It will be so unreal to have some support during the often grueling week of the film widow and to finally share some of this life with that life!
Ace & Clarence have been cast as sheep in the Bugs & Beetles production of "The Nativity of Jesus"... too cute! This will be my first costume effort and I am fortunate to have Sarah to guide me through. I spent some weeks stressing that we would miss the show but the move to Cape Town has been pushed and we are so far in the clear. I can't wait to see our little sheep sing "Away in a Manger", "Whoops a Daisy Angel" and "He's got the Whole World"!
We are also patiently waiting for some our favorite guys to become first time fathers... good luck Al & Foto, just remember to do whatever your wife says for the foreseeable future and always ask if she needs anything when she is being held hostage breast-feeding on the couch, it may look like we are kicking back but it is tough and emotional work.
And finally my bestie is pouring all her creative genius into an incredible documentary about Calisthenics. It is a little known fact that my grace, confidence and agility is the product of the Calisthenics movement. Take a look at her Indiegogo campaign for Calisthenics: A Love Story and help make the dream a reality by throwing her some dough.
Later xxx
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| Sonny in the sunshine |
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| I would have to say the Guinea Fowl is a favorite with the boys! |
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| Oscar's eyelash - Photo by Noni |
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| Photo by Noni |
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| Photo by Noni |
Monday 1 October 2012
Good times - Part 2
And then there were the animals! Again so incredible. We all had a chance to go for a drive and it was certainly more pleasant than the last trip, this time in shorts and t-shirts. Oh and the giraffe said to say Happy Birthday Archie & Freya xx
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