Friday 31 December 2010

The South African Kiwi's 2010 Photo Roundup!

What can I say about 2010 for us?

It was definitely an exhausting year!

So much happened:

The biggest highlight for all of us was when Uncle Andrew (of the Fishing post) got married and we welcomed Aunty Sherri to the family.

Not that she wasn't already a part of it - they have been together for about 9 years now I think.

But they finally made it official.

Let's hope 2011 brings some more surprises for these two ;)
Speaking of surprises...

We discovered that God had another blessing planned for us as a family.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster and at times I haven't felt very blessed, but....
I'm glad I get to experience this one last time.

And it better be the last time!
My baby has grown...
 ...and learnt so much.
My bigger boy learnt alot too!

Oh boy, did we have some funny discussions about where babies come from - how they get in there and (funniest of all) how they come out!
He's had some awesome experiences this year too.

It's been amazing watching him mature.
My baby isn't my baby anymore - he grew up...
...this precious one grew up too.

Not just taller but emotionally too.
Their relationship with each other became something to marvel at.
I've made new friends...

SO many new friends!
More than I can photographically represent.

And I'm grateful for all of them!

It amazes me how God gives me such precious people to walk alongside me in this strange carnival ride I call my life!
I discovered a few things:

Like blogging...

...cinnamon rolls...
and Pioneer Woman. 
All in all it was a fruitful year for us transplanted South Africans.

Looking ahead, I'm not sure what I want for 2011.

Four weeks away from Miss Piggy's due date, I am truly not in a place to make huge goals and plans.

Personally, I just want to figure out the new element to my journey as a mother...

but realistically, our plans as a family are going to need to be bigger. I'll let you know our goals when we figure them out!

Thank you to all of you for walking alongside us this year. You are all precious people - even those I have never met and probably will never meet.

For 2011, I wish you all joy, peace, fulfillment of your dreams and contentment with your lives.

Thursday 30 December 2010

To Make it Fair...

This is the beanie I crocheted for The Jord.

He chose the colours...

And, unlike The Frog, The Jord loves having his picture taken!
Poser!
I think he's trying to make up a modelling portfolio...
He is a gorgeous kid, though - and I love him!
Still playing the fool though...
Funny child!

Well, Whaddaya Know?

 Check it out!

 I can read a crochet pattern.

I just made this beanie for the Frog from the pattern here.


 Ok, so it's a newborn pattern, but I didn't have the size hook required.

I used the smallest one I had and figured The Frog might fit the result.


 Silly monkey - he tried to put it on himself!

And started dancing to P!nk..

Love your taste in music Frog!
 All in all, I'm quite impressed with that and I'm ready to try something else - just as soon as I finish one for The Jord...
Ok, enough P!nk now?

If you want to give this a go, check out Rachel's site.

She is very good at explaining it all.

And will reply to any queries you have.

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Slow Down Attempt Number.. ok, I've lost Count!

I wish I could bottle the hormones that cause the nesting instinct in pregnancy. Can you imagine what we could accomplish?

This time around I've made all our christmas gifts, planted a vegetable garden, recovered my one couch, managed to get another one fixed and now I'm crocheting.

Now, I wish I could tell you that I was an expert at crochet. The truth is all I really know how to do is granny squares.


My mother tried to teach me to knit once. I must have been about 6 at the time and as I recall I found the entire thing hilarious and she found it frustrating.

She gave up and I never learned to knit.
 My grandmother managed to get me to knit a vest for The Jord about 6 years ago but she coached me through the entire thing and I seriously doubt I could duplicate it.

But granny squares I know!

When I was pregnant with The Frog, I had a full time job and didn't feel such strong urges to 'get things done' but The Man's mom was in a stage of her life where she needed her hands busy and her mind free, so I taught her to crochet granny squares.

In other words I delegated the nesting instinct.

Evil commanding wench, I am!
She created this gorgeous blanket for The Frog and did a far better job than I ever could have!

Anyway, back to the current crochet attempt.

My gorgeous 'new' couch has wooden armrests that weren't sealed all that well, so you REALLY have to use a coaster.

Unfortunately I don't own coasters.

So this morning inspiration hit like a lightning bolt and I began to crochet.

The problem is, while nesting hormones provide the drive, they certainly don't provide the know-how.
As evidenced by my first attempt.

I suppose it would serve it's purpose, but it doesn't look very pretty does it?

Also, I'm not sure wool would make the best coasters, do you get cotton for crocheting?

I'm also sure that this would look much better if I used a smaller metal crochet hook rather than the monster 8mm plastic hook that I have...

sigh...


I'll get there one day I suppose!
Not Your Mama's Crochet: The Cool and Creative Way to Join the Chain Gang (Not Your Mamas)Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy HookerCreepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More!

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Holiday Season Driving...

Ok, so here it is...

YET ANOTHER reason I am so grateful that our work permits were renewed for another two years.

The comparison between the road death tolls of South Africa and New Zealand...

I was reading an article here. When one sentence caught my eye:



Her death took the holiday road toll to three.
Huh? Say that again? Three???
In New Zealand?



So, out of interest I googled the toll for South Africa and found this article, published two hours ago, so pretty much up to date: It says...
More than 900 people died from fatal crashes between December 1 and 27.

But even more chilling is this quote, from the same article:
Two minibus taxis crashed on the highway in KwaZulu-Natal last Thursday, killing 20 passengers including a child, and leaving 18 others injured.
Read that again.

38 people involved in an accident between two vehicles with a maximum capacity load each of about 12...
I can't imagine anyone trying that here - where you do not turn the car on without making sure everyone is buckled in... As a matter of course!

South African roads are shocking - particularly during the holiday season. I'm glad I don't have to travel them...

Multiplication Theory

It's a rainy day today which, while very refreshing and  much needed, means that the kids can't play outside....

...and while The Man is home to help keep them entertained, late stage pregnancy and an insecure little Frog means that no one is getting much sleep.

Except The Jord, who seems capable of sleeping through a nuclear disaster!

So The Man is upstairs having a snooze. I'm considering doing a bit of tag-team napping/parenting. It's almost time for his shift.

Back to the cooped up kids..


 The Jord was a bit behind in his maths this year, specifically multiplication.

And while he had a fantastic teacher this year (who was supposed to be his teacher for the coming year, but decided to go travelling around the world instead...) I'm not fully on board with the way this kind of stuff is taught in kiwi schools.

So just how exactly do you teach the theory behind multiplication?

Sure it's easy for us - we know what 6 x 6 is. And I could make him recite times tables over and over and over again, but he is the kind of kid who is going to understand concepts alot faster if he is taught why from the beginning.


And so I found a website that generates free maths tests (www.freemathtest.com) that are customisable according to ability.

And I sat him down with some graph paper and made him colour the blocks in.

6 x 6...
colour 6 blocks across, and 6 blocks down.
Make it into a square and count how many you've coloured in.

He seems to be getting it. The underlying concept, that is...

Anyone have any other ideas? Maybe I should make him count little piles of raisins...




Math War Multiplication Game CardsMultiplication 0 to 12 (Brighter Child Flash Cards)Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables: Fast, Fun & Easy with Dazzling Patterns, Grids & Tricks!Grade 3 Multiplication (Kumon Math Workbooks)

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