The kids’ toys have been bugging me for ages, so I got a bee into my bonnet this afternoon and I’ve just finished cleaning them up and doing a major chuck out.

I was amazed at how much they let me throw out… and in a way it made me sad.

What I did was have 3 piles… one with broken toys to throw in the dustbin… one for toys to donate… and the other the toys to keep.

I then asked the kids to go through the donation pile and move the ones that they still played with to the “keep” pile.  And they went through the “keep” pile and donate the toys that they didn’t play with anymore.  I didn’t get much wrong, although I started being more ruthless when Connor shouted that something needed to go to the donate pile… when it was “too baby-ish… yuk”.

It made me feel really sad to get rid of the last of the Fisher Price toys (the ones for age 2+), and all the brightly coloured cars with chunky tyres.  The only toys Connor wanted to keep were the guns and swords and Bakugans and the Hot Wheels and the meaner looking toys.

My baby is gone

But it’s crazy keeping the toys.  In the end I threw out 2 rubbish bags of broken toys, and then I went to the carwash and gave the ladies a rubbish bag of old toys… and I’m going to give Beauty (my domestic helper) the last bag of old toys for her grandson.

…. and now we’re going to watch a movie.

Connor has until now, been swimming with armbands and he’s swimming quite well.  Then he spent some time swimming at my parent’s house last week while I was at a photoshoot, and when I got home he very proudly told me that he swam without any armbands!!

He’s not quite comfy to do it at home yet, but yesterday afternoon the kids were swimming at my parent’s house when I went to pick them up, and Connor had to show off his newfound skill

I’m so proud of him… and he’s so very proud of himself…

Then he started practicing kicking…

I did a list with Connor’s favourite things a few days ago, and here are Bradley’s current favourite things…

TV programme:  Star Wars
iPhone App:  Words with Friends… yip, that’s right… if you’re playing against me, you actually can’t be sure whether Bradley has made the last move or me.  As soon as he notices that it’s my turn, he makes a beeline for the app.
Meal:  homemade hamburgers
Fruit:  the only fruit he eats is watermelon and naartjies… and if we’re lucky an apple every now and then
Vegetable:  potatoes and carrots and broccoli
Breakfast:  chocolate pronutro with warm milk which he now makes himself
Drink:  vanilla flavoured milk
Drinking yogurt flavour:  strawberry
Sweets:  This week it’s an Aero chocolate

Chips/crisps:  plain salted Lays or salt and vinegar chips
Toy:  Lego and action men
Colour:  blue
Something that happened yesterday: He’s starting to read Afrikaans books, and now gets one Afrikaans book a week to read as homework.  It’s quite funny to hear him try and pronounce the words, and I’m sure that Lance now regrets the decision to not let them be bilingual at home.  Bradley is so keen though, but it’s not easy to relearn the way that letters sound in a word… especially when he’s only recently learnt how to spell comfortably in English.

I saw this on Cat’s blog, and decided to do it too.  It’s always a good idea to remember what the boys like at various points in time.

TV programme:  Star Wars
iPhone App:  Pet Zoo, he’s obsessed with checking to see whether he has to pick up rubbish in the animal enclosures and whether there’s enough money to buy more animals
Meal:  Spaghetti bolognese
Fruit:  grapes and strawberries.
Vegetable:  broccoli
Breakfast:  Squillos if I let him
Drink:  At the moment vanilla flavoured milk
Drinking yogurt flavour:  Granadilla
Sweets:  Anything with sugar
Chips/crisps:  Tomato fritos or those prawn chips from Woolies
Toy:  Anything that looks like the Star Wars weapons, and Lego men
Colour:  blue
Something that happened yesterday: Last night, he got hold of my phone to check on his zoo, and hid under the diningroom table to play. It was bath time and he wasn’t listening, so I shouted at him to get in the bath. I heard him run and assumed he had gone to the bathroom, but soon realised it was too quiet. So I went looking for him. Neither Lance nor I could find him anywhere. We checked in all the usual places, under the beds, in the cupboards, behind the curtains and in the other shower. Nothing. As I was walking back through my bedroom for the 3rd time, I noticed the laundry basket move ever so slightly. He was inside!! As quiet as a mouse! It’s amazing how long he’ll stay in a dark cramped space just to hide from everyone!  There was no way I could shout at him after that… I was too impressed.

You were born a daughter.
You looked up to your mother.
You looked up to your father.
You looked up at everyone.
You wanted to be a princess.
You thought you were a princess.
You wanted to own a horse.
You wanted to be a horse.
You wanted your brother to be a horse.
You wanted to wear pink.
You never wanted to wear pink.
You wanted to be a Veterinarian.
You wanted to be President.
You wanted to be the President’s Veterinarian.
You were picked last for the team.
You were the best one on the team.
You refused to be on the team.
You wanted to be good in algebra.
You hid during algebra.
You wanted the boys to notice you.
You were afraid the boys would notice you.
You started to get acne.
You started to get breasts.
You started to get acne that was bigger than your breasts.
You wouldn’t wear a bra.
You couldn’t wait to wear a bra.
You couldn’t fit into a bra.
You didn’t like the way you looked.
You didn’t like the way your parents looked.
You didn’t want to grow up.
You had your first best friend.
You had your first date.
You had your second best friend.
You had your second first date.
You spent hours on the telephone.
You got kissed.
You got to kiss back.
You went to the prom.
You didn’t go to the prom.
You went to the prom with the wrong person.
You spent hours on the telephone.
You fell in love.
You fell in love.
You fell in love.
You lost your best friend.
You lost your other best friend.
You really fell in love.
You became a steady girlfriend.
You became a significant other.
YOU BECAME SIGNIFICANT TO YOURSELF.

Sooner or later, you start taking yourself seriously. You know when you need a break. You know when you need a rest. You know what to get worked up about and what to get rid of. And you know when it’s time to take care of yourself, for yourself. To do something that makes you stronger, faster, more complete.

Because you know it’s never too late to have a life. And never too late to change one.

JUST DO IT

- Nike

This is a Nike print ad from the 90′s.  Clearly living in South Africa we would not have seen it, or at least I don’t remember it, but I found it this morning on one of my favourite bloggers, Deb‘s, site.

Isn’t it just amazing?!I tried to Google the origins to get the actual ad, but it seems the words are just more powerful than the imagery.

It made me think.  It’s taken me years to find my own significance, and that’s just so sad. I’m glad I have…. and I also have to add that the journey has been important even though sometimes it still hurts to remember certain parts.

If I had a daughter, I’d make this into a huge poster to pin to her wall.  And hopefully she reads it.

I feel like I’m not using my blog like I’d intended.  It was partly supposed to be a way to keep track of the boys development, and I hardly ever blog about the simple things like I used to do before.  I only blog when it’s something big… and that’s just not right.  I need to also write about the little things, because it’s the little things that change without you noticing… and they’ll be forever lost if I don’t write them down.

So, every few months I’m going to write a blog post about their latest greatest favourite things, and I think it’ll be cool to watch them change.

Bradley:

Favourite food – Mash potatoes and chicken schnitzel
Favourite vegetable – Carrots
Favourite fruit – the only fruit he eats at the moment is watermelon
Favourite toys – Lego
Favourite TV program – Batman
Favourite computer game – Need for Speed offline, and Ben10 Alien Force online
Favourite XBox/Kinect game – Adventures
Favourite friend – Angelique
Favourite colour – Blue
Favourite sport – cricket and swimming

Connor:

Favourite food – Spaghetti bolognese
Favourite vegetable – Broccoli
Favourite fruit – blueberries and raspberries
Favourite toys – Fire engines and police cars
Favourite TV program – Batman
Favourite computer game – Lining Mac Ween (Cars)
Favourite XBox/Kinect game – Kinectimals
Favourite friend – Jordan
Favourite colour – Green
Favourite sport – swimming

Connor goes to school tomorrow.

He’s not a happy camper.

We decided during last year that it would be best to move Connor to Bradley’s school for Grade 000.  We felt that the level of education at his current school wasn’t fabulous… I didn’t see much artwork coming home or displayed and that worried me.  I also wasn’t wild about the playground which had slowly but surely shrunk in size and become more and more sandy, and eventually partly tarred during the time he was there.

Kids need grass. I’m adamant about that.  SEriously, we live in Africa, what’s this rubbish about kids playing on tarred playgrounds?!

So, we decided it was best to move him to Grade 000 at Bradley’s school.

But… he doesn’t want to go tomorrow…at all.

And now I’m feeling bad about our decision.  We can’t change it, because we’ve already paid for the entire year for him.

But he’s only 3 years old… to wear a uniform at the age of 3 sounds a little cruel.  Big school is a massive step, and we only started Bradley at that school in Grade 00… there’s a big difference between age 3 and age 4.

So wish us luck for tomorrow (

I believe that learning to climb a tree is a thing that every child should do.

It’s an important part of growing up, and there aren’t enough climbing trees around anymore, which is such a pity.

Two weeks ago though, I looked at the trees in the park where we walk the dogs a little more closely and realised that those trees were perfect! So Bradley has finally been able to learn to climb a tree.

Then on Sunday, we went with a group of moms to a tea venue, and there was such an awesome tree.  The kids had a ball, even Connor managed to climb the huge trunk, and they spent more time in the tree than they did on the jungle gyms.

I think there’s something to be said about trying to navigate around a natural uneven tree, that’s just so much more rewarding for any child than climbing on a straight man-made frame.

In fact, the one mom commented that the tree was like the Faraway tree   I just love that connotation… that tree was so full of wonder for the kids!  So special, and they all had such big smiles while on it.

I was chatting to my mom about the climbing this evening, and we both had stories relating to trees, from when we were growing up.  And the memories just made me smile.

Carl and I went to an afterschool centre, and at the back of the house there was a field surrounded by fruit trees. One of the trees was an enormous mulberry trees, and I remember spending hours in the tree, picking the fruit and chatting to friends.  Those were the happiest times that I remember from those afterschool afternoons.

I wish I had trees in my garden for the boys to climb, but at least I know that there are a few around where I can let them explore the wonders that trees can hold.

The worst thing about motherhood is, without a shadow of a doubt, toilet training! I hate it!

There’s nothing, absolutely NOTHING, worse than cleaning poo undies!!  I dare you to find something worse!

Bradley was an easy child to toilet train, and by the time he was 2 and a half, he was 100% off nappies… and we haven’t had ANY accidents overnight since then.

Connor, on the other hand, is entirely another story.  He’s been pretty good with wee-ing in the loo, but other than that it’s been a bit of a mare.

As soon as he wants to poo, he hides… then the proudly comes and tells you what he did.  I just haven’t been able to catch him in time or convince him that the toilet is the best place for it!  Until now…

… this weekend we hit on THE bribery item that would work.  If he poo-ed in the loo, I would buy him another bakugan. And it worked!! On Monday morning we caught him in time, and with much persuasion and luring him with the thought of a new bakugan… he finally did it!

And now he’s a pro

Next… find a way to stop him peeing at night!

… and find an illusive bakugan in the shops!! They’re as scarce as hens teeth at the moment! Wish me luck… I need to honour my promise!

I did actually go to work today, and while I was there I was quite productive… but I also did the following:

1.  Delivered photos… well, not personally… Lance printed photos for me and delivered them to a client (it’s handy to have him at home at times like this)

2.  Donated blood.  I haven’t donated since the HIV incident, and now that I’ve been the clear for so long, it’s safe to donate again  The blood service actually comes to our offices every 6 weeks and sets up stations for donations.  In fact, to remind their regular donors, we also get reminder emails and phone calls from the SANBS a few days before. It’s very handy, because I used to always forget.

3.  Trekked to the other side of the world to visit Nicole (my SIL) in hospital.  The trip home took forever in peak hour traffic, but I’m very glad I saw her with my mom, and she had some company for the hour that we were there.  My mom and brother have blogged about her hospital stay.  She’s been in hospital since last Thursday.  At first they suspected swine flu, but she didn’t respond to treatment and the blood results came back negative.  Thankfully, she’s doing slightly better now, even though they have no idea what’s wrong yet.  She’s not in high care anymore, and she’s now in the cardiac unit undergoing test after test.  Even the hour we spent there today, tired her out a lot, and she needed to go back on her oxygen canula when we left.  I really hope they get to the bottom of the problem soon, so she can go home.

4.  Saw Bradley ride his bike without training wheels for the first time with help!  That’s HUGE!  I’m so glad I was home to see it.  He’s hates not being able to do something, and it was frustrating him, but today he got it right.  OK, he’s not flying around on his bike yet, but at least he can go a bit without help. I reckon he’ll have it sorted by the end of the week, and then we can take him riding on the road again.

5.  Took the boys to get pizza.  It may seem tiny to you, but I’ve been getting home so late in the last few months that I’ve just got supper on the way home.  The boys love going to get pizza, and watching the guys make it etc, and it was nice to spend some time with them too.  One day I’ll get a job where I can leave the office before 5pm again, these late evenings kill me.

So, all in all, it was a good day