FIVETRIBE

I felt his small body crawl in next to mine in the early hours and promptly heard his breathing easing back into peaceful sleep. A few hours later I hear the words 'HOORAY, IT'S TODAY' ! I turn to face him and find bright, sparkly little blue eyes boring into mine. Sporting his Stormers jacket from his McGregs grandparents 'Mom, its rugby day! It's stadium day! Pity its raining but IT'S TODAY!' Can't help but smile at the kind of enthusiasm first thing on a rainy, grey and cold Cape Town morning. So we are taking Levi to watch the Stormers vs Lions this evening. Poor Russ is all alone in his support of his home team (Lions) ....I have had to gently remind him that all his offspring were born in Cape Town and thus required to remain true to our Stormer boytjies!

I have to confess I enjoy technology. That is not to say I dont sometimes yearn for simpler times when we didnt have access to everything all the time; when we didnt have to pack chargers for the Kindle, iPad, camera, media players and mobile phones. This is where the argument starts....with my non-techie mates. They are of the opinion that you DONT NEED all the 'trappings' especially when going off to 'relax'. Tell me how do you relax? Is it by hiking or running or some other physical activity? Sleeping until the sun is high in the sky? Painting out in nature? Writing in your journal? Reading into the wee hours? Or is it perhaps finding a quite spot and reading on your Kindle which holds the latest 5 novels you have been itching to read. Perhaps it is firing up your iPad and watching the newest series of House that you never are able to keep your eyes open for during the busy week. Or perhaps it is surfing the net for ideas on a new refurbishment pr...

My baby has lost his first tooth. I have pulled my first tooth. Momentous day for us both. Cant say I will be rushing out to do it again but pretty glad I did experience this rather revolting milestone at least once in my mothering stage. Levi is beside himself with joy - he is the first of his close mates to lose a tooth so this really makes him feel like the 'leader of the pack'. Of course I had to smile brightly and enthuse with him on this 'coming of age' thang but inside I was weeping, just a little.

You know sometimes things just dont go quite the way one envisions...and just because it is Fathers Day doesnt really mean all will be groovy. Examing the chocolate rugby ball!  We woke early and gave Dad his pressies and then geared up for a lovely breakfast at Ellies Deli in Noordhoek. The kids were utterly enthralled with Oliver, the huge shaggy French poodle. We took a lovely cosy table right at the fireplace. On our way home we had to pop into the mall - which is where I think the wheels fell off for everyone. Sadly it could not be avoided.....we HAD to get food and we HAD to get a 3G wirless router as Telkom have truly stuffed up our adsl. Upon our return home the Man aka Dad became increasingly agitated with us all as he tried to configure the router with umpteen (dropped) calls to Vodacoms helpline. I eventually retreated to the place of all peace - wonderland aka sleeeeep! Alls well that ends well though. The kids have learnt that Fathers Day may not always b...

Greyton Classic The day finally arrived! We had been so looking forward to spending a night in  Greyton  and then competing in the  Greyton Classic MTB and Trail Run challenge. Traffic was bad. Like intensely bad so we eventually pulled over to the One-Stop for a Wimpy dinner and waited it out. Shortly before 8pm we pulled in at  Zebra Moon Hikers Hostel ....a bit of roughing it for us all tonight. We found our dorm and then headed off to Rockhoppers to register and get our numbers. By now we were all lus for something hot n sweet so we ducked into a cute little bistro for coffee and malva pud. Nom By 9pm we were back in our dorms unrolling sleeping bags, filling hot water bottles and getting our kit ready for the morning. I have to say - sleeping in a bag is an acquired skill! I havent done it for YEARS but thankfully I was warm, toasty and got a few zzzz's despite the noise of the other hostel dwellers. :-/ Race day dawned and it was just perfect! We...

Taking in the view at the 7km mark The day finally arrived! We had been so looking forward to spending a night in Greyton and then competing in the Greyton Classic MTB and Trail Run challenge. The kids were safely ensconced with Granny Allie and Aunty Lisa and we were on our way! First stop: Jeannes and Digz where we left our cars. Then we all piled into their very nice Trendline Caddy (yes, am totally spying this out as my next car!) and hit the road for Greyton. Traffic was bad. Like intensely bad so we eventually pulled over to the One-Stop for a Wimpy dinner and waited it out. Shortly before 8pm we pulled in at Zebra Moon Hikers Hostel ....a bit of roughing it for us all tonight. We found our dorm and then headed off to Rockhoppers to register and get our numbers. By now we were all lus for something hot n sweet so we ducked into a cute little bistro for coffee and malva pud. Nom Very stoked to finish our first race together By 9pm we were back in our dorms unrolli...

Waiting to board the cable car. Lynda (Russ' sister) and her girls have been staying with us since Saturday and what a blast it has been. Cape Town has put on a great show for them and Sunday saw us going up Table Mountain. An absolutely blissful blue sky and sunscreen day in mid winter! The kids all get along like a house on fire and we have had not one moment of real unhapppiness to speak of. Plenty of hijinx, sleepovers, late night giggles, trampolining, crafting and everything else. At times like this it really hits home how our global living impacts family. It may be many years before we see them again but hopefully good fortune (and some dollars) will come our way soon.

Not only has my firstborn turned 11 today but my "baby" boy discovered he has a loose tooth! Always the joker! All too much for the mom to handle - let me go sob quietly into my pillow as I come to terms with the years flying through my fingers! :-)

My firstborn is eleven today! Wow, how we awaited this little lass and rejoiced over her safe arrival. At eleven you: love to read play with your Littlest Pet Shops, Sylvanian Families, Teeny Little Families and soft toys. mildly addicted to the iPad loving pop music a bit *too* much. the NOW cd's are the favourite love having your own dog. Luke is a blessing. do vocal coaching, hiphop dancing and keen to trail run with me soon love watching House of Anubis, The Troop and iCarly, Life with Boys (much to my disdain) spending time with Jhenn, Rachael and Cush love doing research for projects, you love to learn new things dont love sibling messing with your stuff or going in your room are a wee bit on the lazy side...always keen to get others to do stuff for you have a messy room that I have to tackle monthly are a perfectionist can spin a yarn like few others I know have a strong sense of justice - and the ability to mediate/arbitrate and restore peace We l...