First Kiss

I dropped Maggie off at pre-school today and was seriously running on low batteries due to my lack of sleep. I was in need of a caffeine boast, something --anything. I managed to watch Ryan fall and bruise his temple and lose my car keys (that seems to becoming a habit). Fortunately, the car keys were found and I managed to leave her pre-school without any more major happenings.

I got my something, my boast when I saw Maggie receive a sweet little kiss from one of her playmates , Oliver. Oliver is such a sweet, friendly and very happy boy. His hair is, more often than not, always a tousled mess and he has big hazel eyes that look at you with wonder and curiosity. He's the kind of kid with one sock up and one sock down that no sooner is your back turned he's in the dirt getting his hands dirty. The most overarching part of his personality however is his kind heart. He shows a lot of empathy and loves his friends in the kindest way I have seen a child love. Not too pushy, childishly honest, and protective.

Today, Maggie was not fairing well was being a little clingy to me. When I was distracted with Ryan, Oliver had come over to Maggie, put his arms around her, held her hand and gave her two sweet little kisses on the lips. After that, they were of running a playing together. It was a lovely thing to witness and I was very appreciative that he was able to help Maggie out of her funk.

I wish I could tell Oliver how sweet he is and how much of a difference he makes to Maggie's little world. How every morning I drop Maggie off I look out for him, not to hook him up with Maggie, but to watch him play and interact with everyone around him. He really is a lovely little boy, any parent would be proud to claim their own.

Beautiful Durban

I've hardly slept. Correction. I have not slept --but for very good reason.

I had the privilege of being present for the birth of beautiful baby boy named Durban, his mother a good friend of mine. He was born at 12:55 am on the 16th of April (he made it past tax day) and weighed in at 6lbs 20z and was 19 and half inches long. He has really long legs, long fingers and the cutest little nose. I can't wait to go back to see him and his mummy later this evening.

Congratulation mum and dad! And congratulations to the grandma, aunts and uncles. You have a keeper.

Brush Your Teeth

Most parents know the angst tooth brushing can bring to bedtime and morning routine. I am no exception to that and in my early attempts to make a somewhat unpleasant experience more fun, I came up with a song as I as brushing my daughters teeth.

Four years later I'm still singing it to her, as well as her younger brother. I imagine in time, I will forget that I ever did this so feel it warrants a blog entry before old age betrays me. I sing it twice through to the tune of "row, row, row your boat" which seems to last long enough for me get to their "upstairs teeth" as well as their "downstairs teeth".

So, without further ado -- the lyrics.


Brush, brush, brush you teeth,
Brush them everyday,
Brush, brush, brush your teeth,
Brush them twice a day

Brush, brush brush your teeth
Brush them everyday
Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Brush the food away

Pork Tenderloin

I had a major success with dinner tonight with Pork Tender with Savory Fruit from Domenca Catelli fantastic family recipe cook book mom-a-licous.

Ryan (19 going on 20 months) requested for more, more, more as if it was cookies. Maggie (4yrs and 3/4) sung praise for it and hubby announced that he was halfway through it before I even got to sit down at the table myself.

It was so exciting to see everyone enjoying a meal together with such enthusiasm. A meal that I had put together. This is one I will be sure to do again -- especially when all it took was twenty minutes of my time!

pictures courtesy of mom-a-licous website

Cinderella and Her Ugly Sisters

Today I had a flash back to a conversation I had with a good friend of mine. We were talking about shoes and how much we hated shoe shopping (that was no typo, I am a woman that hates shoe shopping). The conversation went something like this -:

Me: (big sigh) I need to get some new shoes. I hate shoe shopping. My feet are so hard to fit.
Friend: What problem do you have?
Me: My feet are shaped like flippers. Wide and flat at the front, a high arch and narrow heel. If I get them to fit at the front, they're too big at the back. I feel like Cinderella with the glass shoe.
Friend: Don't you mean one of her ugly sisters?

And she was right of course. I belted out a laugh, quickly followed by a sigh. It was so much nicer thinking of myself as poor old Cinderella than one of her ugly sisters. I still giggle when I think of her proclamation.

The Family Weekend and Simple Things

As I've blogged before, My Husband, works extremely long hours and when home is often still working well into the twilight hours. These last few months or so have been particularly challenging in terms of the hours he has needed to put in at work and it has been an adjustment for us all. Sometimes there has been weekends which have been lost to his work responsibilities, resulting in some frustrating and disappointing emotions.

However, this weekend was fantastic! A weekend we have been waiting for and needing for a long time. Regrettable it came at a cost to a dear friend of mine for reasons that I shall not go into here, but she knows I love her and was her sweet understanding and empathetic selfless self. A friend as true as they come. I owe her so much and hope her weekend was just as rewarding and special.

But I digress. The family weekend.

It was fantastic because we spent it together, well I gave hubby a well deserved lay-in, but other than that we spent every minute together. It was a simple pleasure and we revelled in it. Saturday we ate lunch out and ran a trip to Costco, and while that's not the same as saying we spent the day at the zoo it was good quality time together. Maggie was wheeling and dealing her way into buying new things and we were talking our way out of getting her another swimsuit and Disney character toy that would have more than likely, at some point, broken our ankles after we stood on it and tumbled to the floor. Ryan was sitting in glee next to Maggie in the shopping cart and bringing his little fingers together to request "more food please" and the big plus? We replenished out t.p. supply which was getting dangerously low -- we were on our last few squares before leaving the house and may have resorted to using the baby wipes to wipe our little aristotles .

Today we took the morning easy. The kids played in the back garden for a bit while hubby and I took turns in supervising and doing our own little "things" we needed and wanted to get done for ourselves. After that we headed out to lunch -- footed with our most comfortable shoes. The four of us plus one dog took a three mile walk through the park, stopping at Subways and a local coffee shop before picnicking further up the bike trail. It was a perfect day for a walk through the park -- sunny with a little overcast. Just a light jacket needed.

I basked in the pleasure of watching my hubby with Maggie and Ryan from the picnic blanket, Jewel (the dog) at my side, as they went off to kick a ball around and play on the slides. I grinned from ear to ear and with open arms as Maggie came running back to me, with her funky kid run, announcing the various "pretend-real animals" she bought for me from the pet store. I got a saber-toothed tiger and another domestic cat to play with our two at home. The image of dear hubby and dear son walking off hand in hand to take on the park's slides and swings will always be imprinted on my mind, the kind that can't be found on a memory card or negative.

All in all it was a good family-bonding day. A really beautiful day, and one I am truly grateful for.

Tears for Music

Some songs just make you cry don't they? "You are my sunshine" by Elizabeth Mitchell is one of them for me. The song evokes so much emotion in my heart and speaks to how I feel about being a mother to my two children and to all the children that have since left this earth. You can listen it here -- just click on "sunshine" from the menu on the left, and another menu will come up for you to listen to her music. Click on listen and again on "you are my sunshine". If you are a mother, be sure to have your snuffle tissues at the ready. The lyrics are below as best I know them.

You are my sunshine by Elizabeth Mitchell

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know, dear, how much i love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and cried

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away


You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know, dear, how much i love you
Please don't take my sunshine away