Keeping Tots Entertained

How many of you have tots for siblings? Well I have two tots for siblings, and another one coming up!

They need to have activities to keep them amused, as we found out.

Often, their activities look much more fun than ours, so we join in!

Once, we painted bread with food colouring in milk. At first Nancy and I looked at this and pulled up our noses in disgust! It was actually so much fun, and it did not taste bad! We painted the bread. Then we put it on a baking sheet and toast in the oven. Then we buttered and ate it! It was great fun!










































































The littles made a bumblebee puppet, which they really enjoyed! I have put a link to the pattern for you.

Bee Craft
First School













Beth painting the bee.














The busy buzzy bees!

Another great tot website is Tot School.

Making ladybirds is fun! All you need is a paper plate and black cardboard and red paint. Just paint the paper plate and trace the legs, spots and mouth on the black cardboard. When the plate is dry, glue the spots, legs and mouth on. Ta-Da, your ladybird is finished!













Gabrielle painting the plate.

















The finished ladybird!

Building Barbie Houses

I know I must be quite old enough to not play Barbies anymore, but I still do! I don't really 'play' anymore, I make houses for the barbies. I still try and play, but it does not seem to come naturally anymore! I now make houses for my sisters to play with!

Yesterday, I made this lovely game lodge. It was so beautiful, that I decided to play!

My dad was given some pieces of wood for the fireplace as it is so cold here! Right now, it is pouring with rain! We used these pieces of wood for beds, tables, fireplaces, walls and the floor!

I had such fun designing and building this lodge! I used porcupine quills for decoration. There was a piece of wood with a square cut out of the top, so we turned it up-side down to make a fireplace. I put some broken up twigs at the bottom.

It was a very luxurious lodge! Here are the pictures!






































































Nancy's barbie's bed

Another Walk Up Constantia Nek

Today we went on another walk up Constantia Nek. We took Cody with us as he was very lonely and bored as we have been sick and unable to play with him.

We set off at about 9.30am and came home at about 3.00pm. We did not walk the whole way, as it was a little too far.

We made some Apple Cinnamon Muffins to take with us as a snack, as snacks for a family of seven (six able to eat), is extremely expensive!

We had a splendid walk and we played a great game on a steep slope with Cody. He was scared of the ledge and I went skiing down the slope with Cody pulling me! We are at this ledge in this picture and it is waaaaaaay higher than where we are and it is very muddy!
















Nancy had great fun climbing up the ledges and jumping down! She really gave a fright with how high she could climb!


















Beth had great fun too!



































Gabrielle had fun playing the good samaritan to the stones by watering them with her water! We gave her river water in the end to save our drinking water from being used to water the stones!
















A few months ago we went on this walk with some friends of ours. I wrote about it here.

We had a great day enjoying nature and our family!

Popcorn's Death

He was such a pretty bird

Poor Nancy. Popcorn died unexpectedly this morning. Here, I wrote about Nancy's new bird Popcorn.

She was very sad. This morning I came through to say goodbye to my dad. He went over to Popcorn's cage for some or other reason and said: "The bird is dead".

"What"? I said. I thought my dad was being sarcastic, but when I went over to the cage, I found he was right.

We think it was old age although the petshop owner said he was 18 months old!! He could have been older.

We are going to look for a hand-reared bird for her this time.

Poor Nancy, she was so sad when my mom told her.

I actually grew to like this little bird, even though he did not like me! Once I was sitting on the couch and he started chirping - I whistled back. On and on this went, Popcorn whistling, me whistling back!

















This was the last photo I took of Poppy. Note how interested Cody looks!

Gabrielle - Funny Girl!

This little girl does so many funny things to make us laugh!
Here is a photo of her with a beanie on - isn't she adorable?

One morning, we all were lying on Mom and Dad's bed - just talking and laughing over funny things, when we saw Gabrielle talking to Rebekah and then look at her with a puzzled expression. Then she looked at us and said: "Rebekah tan't peak" (can't speak)? We all thought this was very funny and burst out laughing! Little ones are so funny!
















Another day, my mom found her with her doll. She had taken koki and had scribbled on her and her doll - they looked the same!

No wonder she had been quiet for such a long time!

She is such a clown and life would not be the same without her!

Wonderful Mothers

Yesterday, I was feeling sick. I had been feeling a little sick the day before, but nothing major. Yesterday morning, I got up and went to my parents room. I told them I was feeling very sick. My mom said that I must stay in bed the whole day.

This was a huge sacrifice for my mom, as she was feeling very ill herself.

I climbed into bed and took over the duty of looking after Rebekah.













Me in bed, reading with little Rebekah. I know I am not supposed to read when I am sick but there was nothing else to do! I was reading 'The story of Elsa' by Joy adamson.

I must say, little Rebekah was so good! She slept about 90 percent of the day - the other 10 percent she used for feeding and staying awake!

Mom looked after the house and after me even though she was arguably worse than me!

Mothers are amazing - they sacrifice so much for us!

"I would just like to thank you Mom, for looking after me even though you felt sick"!

We Have A Real Live Doll!

Rebekah's Bath

I thought you might like to see some pictures of Rebekah having a bath!

I sometimes I bath her, but tonight I was the photographer!

Rebekah is so cute and is really getting so big - over 6 kilograms! She has more than doubled her weight since birth!














Rebekah getting a massage from Mom.

















Getting used to the water.

Washing.

















Gabrielle washing Rebekah's feet.


















'Snug as a bug in a rug'.

















"Check out my cool hairstyle"!

What To Do When Mom Gets Sick

What happens when Mom gets sick? The answer is: the house falls apart! But can it fall apart that much if there are big girls helping? The answer to that question is: no!

My mom was sick for quite some time, she became sick with a cold, then the cold went into bronchitis. The bronchitis got worse and worse and eventually she landed up in bed. What made it even worse was that she was pregnant!

But that did not mean the house had to fall apart. We big girls could manage!

Here are a few tips on how to cope if your mom becomes ill:

• You can do the washing and the dishes, you can take care of the little ones while Mom rests and cook a meal so that Mom does not have to worry about whether you are eating that night or not!
• You can vacuum and sweep so that Dad does not step on the little ones' play dough and get annoyed!
• You can take care of everything while Mom is sick or pregnant. It is hard work, but it is so rewarding seeing how much your mom appreciates it.
• Mom being sick does not mean that you do not have to do schoolwork, you can snatch a moment here and there to read a few lines of your book or to do one or two exercises in your maths book when the little ones' are sleeping. You can also help your brothers and sisters with their schoolwork.
• Keeping the little ones entertained is a problem when you are trying to do chores or make supper. Having a few activities ready does help. Water play is nice on a hot day, as long as there is someone there to keep an eye on them. You could give them a tray with a cup and teapot of water and let them make pretend tea is a nice activity!

• Also remember Mom is not going to be sick forever, so when you feel like you cannot anymore, try to feel how poor Mom must feel doing this everyday!
• Making Mom feel special while she is ill is important. Decorating her tea tray with pretty flowers is a great way to make her feel better! I like to write notes to my mom to say that I am praying for her and that I hope she gets better soon. Another way to make her feel special is to massage her feet and pray for her.

• Being kind to your helpers is a big thing as you are not the only one struggling.
• Your dad is going to be tired when he comes home from a stressful day at work, so make sure all you have to do, is done.
• Being cheerful while doing all of this is important. In the Bible it says: God loves a cheerful giver! Your Mom will feel bad if she sees you sulking about doing a chore, that she is not doing and will try and get up to helpnd in the end feel so awful after that she has to stay in bed even longer.
  
• Try and keep the little ones quiet while inside so that your mom can rest. Tell them that if they want to run and shout they must go outside.
• While Mom is sick, try to set aside your own feelings
• While mom is sick, try and set aside your own feelings and give to others. Remember you can do what you want to do another day, when mom is not sick. Also remember that God gives back, so do not compare yourself with your younger siblings who may be playing and having fun!

• You will feel so blessed when mom is better and the house is not messy. Mom will also look forward to getting better. Imagine you were sick and your mom just let the house fall apart, would you like to get up when you were feeling better and go clean everything up? I don`t somehow think so! It is the same with your mom. Try to keep everything under control. Remember, everyone else has to do the same thing for you when you are sick. Do unto others, what you would have them do to you and what you sow you reap.

So don't give up, focus on what you must do and keep on, or like Dory the fish says in 'Finding Nemo': "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"!

Meet Cody

Meet Cody, our new dog.

He is a tan-coloured Boxer. He is very sweet, and wants to be with us the whole time!
At the moment, he is sleeping behind my chair!

We had wanted a dog, even before the break-in we had on the 9th of last month.

We were looking on Gumtree, under 'pets' and we found a lot of adverts, but none that suited us.

We found one dog, a black Labrador and my dad left a reply and the lady phoned and we were going to take the dog, but then the lady said: "oh, I forgot to tell you that Roxy is a half staffie".

We have had bad experiences with a staffie - we had one and it nearly killed our dear cat Jerry!

Then one day, a lady phoned us to say she has a dog for us - a dog that she thought would suit us
and, it did!

We take Cody to the common, on walks, anywhere a dog would love!

We can now play 'Famous Five' and great games with Cody! A dog makes a family complete! We play dog jumping and all sorts of games with him!

Cody, as we found, has an incredibly sweet tooth! As I have told you before, I have a business selling fudge! I am sure you know the rest! Five packets eaten! I was extremely cross! It is, of course, hard to be cross for long with a very innocent-faced boxer!

















I love Cody! He is a wonderful friend to us and wants to be there 'with' us!
He turns out to be an outstanding guard dog. Today, our landlord was busy painting the bathrooms and Cody growled and barked at the painters and our landlord!

His favourite place to sleep at night is the couch! One night my dad walked through and saw him innocently looking at him at him, as if to say, "Yes, and the problem is"?

He also loves to strech out on the floor and just sleep!

















Poor Gabrielle was woken late one night to him giving her a huge kiss! You don't want a dog like Cody to give you a kiss, he has a lot of slobber!

Brilliant Bio Strath!

Bio Strath is such a wonderful thing!It is an immune system booster.
For a little while, my mom was off Bio Strath and what we found happening, was amazing!

Rebekah was very miserable and slept even worse than she normally does. We were so tired of her just crying the whole time, and decided to get Bio Strath again, as that could be why Rebekah was crying! When my mom was on the bio strath, her milk was more nourishing. When she was off the Bio Strath, Rebekah would feed and feed and then get a bloated tummy, as the milk was not very nourishing!

Well, what do you know? The very next night, after my mom taking Bio Strath, Rebekah was a different baby!

The Bio Strath really helps!

I thought I would just tell you how wonderful this is!

It is completely natural and you can find it a pharmacy, health shop, or any shop for that matter. Children can also have it. My two year old sister, Gabrielle, eats it like that, chewing it like a sweet! I just have to say, it is not very tasty!

Happy Birthday Beth!

On Wednesday it was Beth's 5th birthday.

It really does not feel like we have been here over a year already! She is a five year old little girl! I remember holding this little baby, delighted to have a sister! It was just Nancy and I before she was born!

This sweetie is now half a decade, of which she is really proud!

It is the first time Beth has had two birthdays in one place! Every other birthday she was in a different place!

Her first birthday was in Greyton. Her second at Bekezela. Her third in Knysna and her fourth here in Fish Hoek!













I must say, she has really been on a journey, quite an achievement for a five year old!

We love this little girl who is growing up so nicely!





















































Beth with her 'Birthday Bag' with all her gifts in!

Beth had a tiny little party in the rain at Noordhoek Common with some friends who lived down the road.














I made some little quarter sandwiches and my mom made some beautiful little cupcakes. We had some juice and chips.

It really looked like it was going to rain before we left, but we decided to go anyway and hope for the best!

Well, it turned out to be a beautiful day for a picnic birthday lunch, except, it started to rain when we were nearly finished eating lunch! We did not even get to play jumping over cross-country jumps! It was really annoying as there is lots of open space to run and play!














We went to Aunty Sue's house to warm up and dry off and for a cup of tea!

At least we got to eat outside!

In the evening two families came to wish Beth, and they very sweetly brought her a present!

We had cup cakes again and the grown ups had coffee and cup cakes!

Beth had a lovely day and really enjoyed it!

I gave her a scrapbooking kit and stickers!

First Place!

We won the grooming competition!

Yesterday was my second show. It was a practice show to prepare us for the December show. I was meant to only
jump in the 20cm, 30cm and the 40cm which had 50cm jump off! I ended up doing the 50cm which had a 60cm jump off! I had never jumped 50cm or 60cm before! It was so much fun! I got clears in both the 20cm and the 30cm! I won the 40cm with the 50cm jump off! My time was the fastest! Because I won the 40cm, I was able to do the 50cm. I was only praying for a placing in the 40cm, let alone winning it! I was so happy that when I received my rosette, I had tears in my eyes! It felt so good to do that lap of honour knowing I was the winner!




























































I have to say Flash was an absolute star winning a class with me and her owner, beating horses! She is an amazing pony! I will be sad to have to stop riding her when I am thirteen when I move from ponies to horses.















Me waiting for my round.


In the 50cm, I came fourth, which was really nice as her owner and me were competing in the same class! Her owner won and I was quite happy with fourth place!

I was on a jumping camp from Tuesday to Thursday. We got to build the course and ride it on the Wednesday so I did not get the course wrong!

Flash won the grooming competition! Our group won the stable cleaning competition too! I was so happy!

When I passed the finish with a clear round in the 50cm, I was a little bit nervous of the jump off, as 60cm is a HUGE first for me! I remember thinking: "I'm in"!

It was a great day and I received five rosettes! Much better than last time! My family went home after my four rounds, as I had to stay till four as my camp only finished at that time.

My family got quite a shock and this shock really spoilt their good spirits. Our house had been burgled. Someone had gone to my parent's en-suite and opened the window fully, (as it was already a little bit open) and screwed the bars off! They were very neat: the bottle on the shelf was neatly put down, not broken! The towel there was still folded! We had a mild one compared to others!

They took my dad's laptop, without the hard-drive in, so that does not help them much and my mom's engagement ring and our beautiful gold bracelet that had my mom and my name on it. We wore it on our birthdays. They took a few more small things, but it was annoying because somebody strange was 'here' in our house.

It was a quite a bad end to our day, but we are fine now.

Anyway, we had a lovely time. Gabrielle was shouting: "Go Kelly"! It was very sweet!