Almost 10

So June marks my baby girl’s birthday… Double figures.. BIG sigh. It’s strange how she seems so little but so big at the same time. Suddenly her legs seem to be endless and she has been growing at at rate that would put the best genetically modified vegetables to shame.

Double figures… Finally turning 10. Her birthday marks the point in my life where I will never again have a child that is young enough to be in the range of 1 to 9.

I feel a sense of loss. She will always be the baby, but it is still so final. She has been studying for her first exam that starts tomorrow. Big kid stuff, long gone are the small tests. The pictures of stick men and big yellow sunshines in the corners of a page has turned into intricate family portraits.  Smelling nice now dominates over the musky smell of a dirty todler. Pink lips and perfect hair has taken the place of uncombed messy bed hair.  Sigh, how things change

I don’t feel entirely ready to give over to the changes and looking at the other 3 older kids it is definitely getting harder seeing them all grow up so fast and becoming more independent. Yip this mom will definitely suffer from empty nest syndrome when it arrives.  For now at least they still demand to be tucked into bed and I still get to do their hair… It’s the little things.

Birthday Build up

I’m so excited..  I’m not usually big on birthdays, but my upcoming one will definitely be the best ever.  I absolutely love surprises, but this year I know exactly what I will be getting for my birthday. Gigantic smile…

I can’t wait, last night a part of my birthday gift was completed and once it is all done it will be amazing.

I will be sure to post pics and let you all know what my special birthday gift was 🙂 

Rocking weekend highs

What an amazing weekend filled with celebrations. My mom shares a birthday with my baby’s niece who turned 2 on Friday. My baby and I started the weekend festivities off on a high with some yummy food, good wine and of course cake at my mom’s. Saturday started off with a few tired yawns, but enjoying a party with an adorable 2 year old and more cake and treats definitely energizes any tired soul. After much wine and fun we spent an amazing Saturday evening indulging in cheese and wine and glorious conversation. Sunday being Father’s day turned out great. Slept late with a little breakfast in bed, another late breakfast with the kids, more lazying at home and then off to a show with my baby’s dad and fiance.
This was definitely the highlight of the day. First on stage was Stefan Dixon. Absolutely amazing. A combination of excellent sampling and a great voice with a slight African influence to his music. Definitely a very very talented young musician!

Next up we had the privilege to enjoy Fox Comet. Let me tell you, the lead singer is very eccentric and weird in a captivating and most entertaining way. Excellent vocals with a broad array of different influences within the music. They sang a cover of Message in a bottle that was top class. Definitely an indi-rock feel to the songs, great vocals and a very talented electrical guitarist. The drummer also did an amazing job. Not to leave out the base guitarist who sings backing vocals and is definitely eye candy for the ladies. As a whole the band amazed us with their talent, I really hope to see more of them in the future. Both Stefan Dixon and Fox Comet just released their debut albums, well worth getting hold of. Go have a look at http://www.stefandixon.co.za and http://www.foxcomet.co.za.

Last but not least we were wowed by Pebbleman. Lead singer Jesse Jordan belts out hard core rock tunes with perfect pitch and amazing voice control. For such a small guy he wow’s with his powerful performance. Excellent drummer and base guitarist, but an amazingly talented lead guitarist, Richard Pryor. He effortlessly strums through cords and gives a world class performance. This band is an absolute must see!!! http://www.pebbleman.co.za , https://soundcloud.com/richardpryor3/song-of-yesterday

We were blown away by the local talent!! It was such an entertaining and enjoyable evening and a perfect end to an amazing weekend with family and friends. 🙂

Cheerio Cheer?

With Christmas creeping closer, I feel like there is an invisible rubber band slowly constricting tighter around my body robbing me of precious air. I have always loved the festive season. I love the smells and aromas of good food that tingles your taste buds, the smells of all the familiar people you get to see and hug and share the festive cheer with, as well as the smell of all the decorations making their appearance after an entire year of slumber.

This year however I will have no tree to put up, no decorations to dust off and hang on the branches, frankly I feel as if I have lost my christmas cheer. This year has been challenging, I have come to know so many emotions I have not felt before. With my divorce also not yet finalized I feel there are so many loose ends that remain unresolved keeping my year in a mess.

I know Christmas is not about gifts and all that, but I do feel burdened by the thought that I cannot spoil my girls like before or give them a huge tree to enjoy. Christmas day is also my daughter’s birthday which adds another band to my already very constricted chest. She so desires to have a party before school breaks up in 3 weeks. Turning ten is a big thing for her… what to do … what to do … Sigh.

This will most definitely be a challenging Christmas. I keep reminding myself that I still have so much to be grateful for regardless of all that has happened this year. I cannot possibly sit back and allow myself any self pity, it will be so pathetic. I have thought of some ideas on how to spend the school holiday with my girls constructively. We might not have a tree, we might not have lots of gifts, but we do have each other and for that I’m utterly grateful, and somehow I’ll make it work. Perhaps with a few creative ideas we’ll spruce up the bland walls a bit, and who knows, we might even conjure up a tree 🙂

Party Pleasures

The thought of shopping for yummy party sweets always leaves me drooling like a teething baby. Tomorrow morning there will be a definite spring in my step as I prepare to go off to one of my most favorite dingy places, the cash-n-carry.

I am ever so thankful that my youngest is having a party soon, and the anticipation of what would be available to buy is almost unbearable.

I am convinced that my problem with sweets stem from being deprived as a child. Sure we got plenty, but we never had glow in the dark lollipops, and color-changing popping candy, or melted chocolate in tubes,or tiny bottles with squirty sour juice, or mini hamburgers or hotdogs.

I would have been a much better balanced grown up if I had the opportunity to color my tongue, pop out a tooth, looked for that tooth with my glow in the dark lollipop, and rinse it all down with squirty sour juice… After I had my mini sweetie hamburger of course… Lol

No really, kids get to have great fun with sweets. And of course they are filled with all sorts of colourants and preservatives and what not, but they have a party only once a year, so why not enjoy it.