MIEKE SE 7DE VERJAARSDAG

Mieke het Sondag die 26ste Oktober verjaar - ek kan nie glo my baby is al sewe nie...

Ons het vir haar 'n klein lessenaartjie en stoel gekoop vir haar verjaarsdag (onder andere - so wreed is ons darem nie) en Werner het dit Saterdagoggend terwyl sy by Stagecoach was al grommende aanmekaar geslaan. So toe sy wakker word Sondag was dit in haar kamer met nog 'n persent bo op - sy was baie happy. Sy het ook 'n wekker gekry en Pixelchix babysitter game en 'n Disney prinses kasteel en perd wat my twee ure gevat het om op die slaan (hier in $%$£ Engeland moet mens friggen alles jouself opslaan!)

Toe bak ek gou twee baksels sjokolade muffins in die blommetjie muffinpan wat ek by my buurvrou by nommer 8 geleen het - dis so cute - 'n silicone pan met daisy en roos vorms. Toe dust ek dit met versiersuiker - dit lyk so mooi alhoewel ek nie dink dat die kiddies dit veel waardeer het nie!

Ek het Vrydag al haar koek gebak (ingeval dit flop en ek gou 'n winkelkoek moes gaan koop het) en dit het baie mooi uitgekom - nie sleg vir 'n eerste poging nie! Ek het die versierings en icing vir haar koek by 'n 'cake decorating' website gekoop - hier kan mens mos alles en nog wat oor die internet koop. So dit was pienk en pers en groen icing, klaar reg om uit te rol, en pers vere en goue sterre en balletjies. Die koek was sommer 'n boks sjokolade koek wat ek gebak het en die boonste twee lae twee kleiner koeke wat ek gekoop het en kleiner gesny het.

Ek het soos gewoonlik weer bietjie dol gegaan met haar partytjie (Venetian Mask Party), maar ek het besluit ek gaan dinge my way doen en nie worry oor wat almal gaan dink nie.

Ons het 'n saal hier naby ons gehuur en dis nice want dis kleinerig met 'n mooi uitsig op die park. Ons het groen en pienk en goue ballonne opgeblaas en ek het mardi gras tema versiering opgesit en die tafel ook so versier met goue krale en al. Ek het iemand gekry om saam met hulle goue venetian maskers te versier en vir party bags het ek klein pienk organza sakkies met sjokolade muntstukke gevul en ook vir elkeen 'n goue ladybird hangertjie (met 'n horlosie as jy die vlerke oopvou) ingesit. Dit lyk seker vreeslik duur maar ek het dit op Ebay van China af bestel vir £15 vir 10 van hulle wat glad nie sleg is nie (dankie Ebay).

Soos gewoonlik was die oomblik vir Mieke net te groot - eers het sy gehuil omdat sy 'n game verloor het, en toe gee die vrou vir haar 'n persent toe huil sy eers. Ek vra vir haar toe hoekom huil sy toe se sy want sy is so happy! Dit maak alles die moeite werd....

Ditjies en Datjies

Ek so trots op my twee dogters!! Eerste my baby - Silke het die naweek die eerste keer op die toilet gepoo so ons vorder stadig maar seker met die potty training.

En Mieke my groot meisiekind het begin boeke lees!! Natuurlik lees sy al lankal, maar sy het nou ontdek dat sy properse boeke kan lees, met baie bladsye sonder prentjies. Sy het klaar een boek klaar gelees en is nou besig met haar tweede een 'Worst Witch' of so iets. Sy lees nou in die aande skelm en ek is so bly dat ek haar nie keer nie. Want ek onthou toe ek klein was en dit gedoen het en 'n nuwe wereld ontdek het in boeke.

Maar sy is funny sy wil nie in die dag lees nie, wag tot laat in die aand wanneer sy eintlik moet slaap!

Ons het laas naweek bietjie in die woud gaan stap en dis so mooi met die herfskleure. Ons het lekker baie helder sonskyndae, alhoewel dit maar 14C buite is. Maar solank die son skyn is dit great - Mieke look kaalarms rond in sulke weer!! Ek het nog nie so goed aangepas nie en dra my baie dik baadjie.

Verder het Mieke vandag 'n Pirate party by die skool gehad en was the cute met haar pirate hoed en eyepatch ''Harr harr!!' Hulle het blykbaar niks werk gedoen nie en heeldag net speletjies gespeel en chips en koekies geeet!! Wel die skool sluit more so dis okay...

Ek is nou Blue Class se Rep (laas jaar se rep het my genag en ek kan mos nie nee se nie) - wat beteken ek is op die PTA en ek moet belangstel in dinge soos cake sales en coffee mornings en aan exciting idees dink vir fondsinsameling - o weeeeee... Ek hou net niks van die storie nie. Al wat ek van hou is om e-mails uit te stuur want dan hoef ek nie met iemand te praat nie. Maar nou ja dit forseer my om te socialise want natuurlik moet die staf rep by elke okkasie en nog wat wees.

Die ingelse begin nou bietjie minder op my senuwees werk en ek moet se ek hou van hulle ordentlikheid en ordelikheid. Behalwe anderdag by die boekwinkel toe die klein snip van 'n winkelassistent nie vir my 'n sker wou gee om 'n persent toe te draai nie en toe ek vra of ek 'n liniaal kan gebruik toe se sy ek moet een koop!!! Ek was lanklaas so kwaad - ek wou vir haar se dat die sker baie minder kwaad sal doen as die woede uitbarsting wat sy veroorsaak het.

Sondag is Mieke se verjaarsdag en ons hou haar partytjie Sondagmiddag - so wish me luck!!

Link to Italy Photos

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/claudinenel/Italie08?authkey=eDdX-H__iVE#

Bella Italia

We had an amazing holiday in Italy. After leaving a chilly England at 5:55am, arriving in hot Pisa just after nine was wonderful!! I can't believe how much I missed the heat. It is quite a strange feeling, like I need to savour the heat - instead of fighting it and sweating I relished and felt very comfortable.

We weren't that comfortable driving on the right side road among the crazy italians though!! But the drive from Pisa to Florence was uneventful. Driving in Florence itself was hairraising - dodging people on bikes and scooters and trying to squeeze past parked cars was exciting to say the least. But when we found our apartment where we were spending our first two nights we were amazed - again. You can read about it on my review on Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187895-d653478-r19954789-Palazzo_Alfani-Florence_Tuscany.html

Needless to say we really loved it. Waking up in the mornings and just experiencing the smells and sounds of Florence when we opened the shutters and took our first steps outside was wonderful. Yes it was hot in the middle of the day, we stood in the queue for the Uffizi Gallery too long because we went too late, we probably could have seen and done more. But it was still wonderful and my two girls were so good and patient and played in the gravel in the Bobbolli Gardens and ate lots of gelato and ran around in the piazza and shopped for Pinnochio at the market and overall also had a great time.

It was also great to have Antoinette (granny) there to help with the girls and to babysit while Werner and I went for a wonderfully romantic meal in Florence.

After Florence we drove to our holiday house in Tuscany, close to Lucca in the village of Massaciucolli. Well now I know what a hairpin bend is!! The house is on the side of the mountain with beautiful views of Lake Massaciucolli, but to get there is eh challenging! But soon enough Werner got the hang of it and we were raring up and down the mountainside, hooting as we go along just like the locals. The house was wonderful, stone built, wonderfully cool inside and a nice outside patio and our own swimming pool between the olive groves with beautiful views. And the pool was great after a hot day of sight seeing - just the right temperature too cool off. We went cycling on the walls of Lucca, visited the spa at Montecatini Terme, went for a quick visit to Pisa to capture the leaning tower, played on the beach and ate ice cream in Viareggio, admired the art of Pietrasanta, birdwatched on the Lake, and had a wonderful time.

Antoinette went back to SA from Italy and a few days after we left Tuscany to drive up north towards Venice. The drive was beautiful - tunnel after tunnel going through lush green mountains with little hilltop towns here and there. The area closer to Venice is definitely not as beautiful as Tuscany, but Venice itself was amazing. We went to Venice for a day, driving from the holiday resort Pra delle Torri where we were staying. We then took a ferry to Venice. It was extremely hot and humid, but once you are inside and walking the little side streets of Venice it is much cooler. We found a mask for Mieke and a merano bead neckglass for me. Then we had lunch where Mieke again enjoyed her 'white spaghetti' which is plain spaghetti with cheese which she loves. We loved looking at the gondolas and strolling on St Mark's square and just walking and getting lost in Venice - amazing. Then when we wanted to get back to the ferry we got onto a waterbus and admired all the buildings next to the grande canal. But then Werner realized we were going the wrong way so we had to get onto another one!! Eventually we got back to the ferry point and bought tickets, Werner said we should get on the ferry so long as he is going to buy the girls a smally toy that they were after. Well the next moment the ferry takes off with us on board and Werner no where to be found (and he did not have any money with him)!! Mieke was crying and I was trying to communicate with an italian who only speaks - italian.

Anyway, we got off at the other side and eventually he also arrived, luckily only cross with himself!!

The rest of the time we just enjoyed the holiday resort - the beach, pools, slides, bouncy castles, kids movies, eating out - wonderful for kids and because they had fun we could also relax and enjoy. The best was having a glass of wine at the beach bar while watching the kids playing in the shallow sea - Bliss....

So that was Italy, the best holiday I've ever been on and since I've been back in England I long for it every day (I know its terrible I should get on with life and get back to reality).

I've attached a few photos and also attached a link to the rest of them - enjoy...

Its sooo late but I'm online again - Jay!!

My broadband and telephone was off most of this week (BT problem) but nobody phones me anyway so this was not a huge problem! But I did miss the Internet, and checking up on my (non-existing) Ebay sales. I made a huge profit for a few weeks selling 'Acrostic teacher poems' as teacher gifts for the last day of school, but school is out now and business quiet. Which is just as well as I have to entertain my 2 girls and today was not a good example of how to keep kids busy on summer holidays:

1. I try to sleep a little longer as I don't have to take Mieke to school. This is interrupted at 2:00 am when Silke wants to bf (breastfeed - I know she is two and much to old but what can I do). I get up and make her another bottle of milk. At 5:00am she wakes up again (just as Werner gets up to go to work) and wants to bf, which she does, we sleep a little bit and then she is up again. I tell her to go wake her sister so that they can go watch tv. This helps a bit but at around 8:00 am Silke jumps on me demanding a biscuit. I get up and get her some cereal and make toast for Mieke.

2. I realize there is no milk so I mix some baby formula for Silke's cereal and my morning coffee. It's a beautiful day and I decide to take them to the park and then go to Sainsbury's for my weekly shop even though I have both of them with me. But we are out of milk, fruit, bread and most important - biscuits.

3. I made the beds and packed the dishwasher and get us all dressed and brushed and organise hats and shoes for everybody. We drive to the park and have a nice time especially on the new swing which is like a huge rope seat where both kiddies can lie on and relax while I swing them - this nearly put them in a trance for 10 minutes which was also nice for me. But it got really hot (probably only like 25 degrees but I am acclimatising so this was too much for me). So I loaded them in the car and drove across the road to Sainsburys - which was extremely busy - why people were shopping on such a nice day in the middle of the week is beyond me.

4. I put Silke in one of their wandering trolleys (all the uk trolleys are uncontrollable - wandering all over the place instead of where you want to go) and she is already moaning because her feet are sore because of the shoes she had on at the park (we always wear shoes here - bare feet are not allowed!!). I won't elaborate but the shopping expedition was long and hard with fighting, crying, and consuming half a tub of meringues.

5. At checkout Silke insisted on getting out of the trolley so I let her get out, while I packed my stuff (yes isn't it unfair - after an hour loading everything in my trolley, I have to unpack it all and then pack it into bags myself only to unpack it all again at home - what type of country is this - terribly cruel!!) Anyway she noticed one of the ladies who worked at Sainsburys who has Downs Syndrome - well she was so scared of her she literally climbed under my dress! Don't know why, maybe just because she looked different - at least it kept her in one place for a while.

6. Oh yes, I forgot I still had to pack the stuff in my boot and by now Silke definitely did not want to get back into the trolley and refused to hold my hand so I had to carry a screaming two year old while manoeuvring my wandering trolley and directing my sulking six year old to pull the £$%$% thing in the right direction.

7. We got home and I unpacked the car, carried everything to the house, unpacked everything, made a picnic lunch for the kids, sat on my little piece of lawn and had a picnic. At last a little bit of peace - except for Silke who only ate the cupcakes, strawberries and crisps and not even a bite of the sandwiches I made - as usual.

8. I thought after all this fun I would get Silke off to sleep in no time but alas, she ran around until around four pm when she finally fell asleep while bf. By this time I was so exhausted the rest of the day was a bit of a blur.... Mieke made Halloween decorations and drew pictures of parachutes and planes. I ate the other half of the meringues. Mieke used the tub to make an insect catching thingy - very creative she is...

Well that's what I did today - fun wasn't it? And this was the first day of our summer holidays. Wonder what's in store tomorrow.....

Mieke's Acrostic Poems

Mieke learnt about Acrostic poems at school (Acrostic poems is where you write a word down the side and then make a sentence beginning with each of the letters and staying within the theme of your word). I only learnt this recently from Mieke! Anyway the other day she was writing something and then showed me the 2 Acrostic Poems she had written - we have a poet in our midst!!

A great Day Out with the kids in London

Why is it called a 'DAY OUT'?

Days Out are like an institution here - its something you plan beforehand with great detail and then it normally rains on the day.

So our days out are planned on the day depending on the weather (we are getting a bit smarter with time).

The other day we went to London again, we enjoy just getting off the train and Waterloo and then wandering up the South Bank. There's a merry go round, play ground and lots of mime artists and musicians which entertain the girls (and us). And its beside the river so there are also boats to look at.

Then we went to the London Borough Market which is a huge food market with anything you can think of - its busy but wonderful - fruit, veg, the weirdest mushrooms, fresh fish and meat, wine, beer, bread, cakes and lots of places making sandwiches and take away food. We bought some baklava and strawberries and bought rolls with lamb and mint for lunch. Then we walked across a bridge (which we later realized is the Millenium Bridge) and then stumbled across St Pauls Cathedral. Cool...

A really great day out!!