Worker's Day and a Secret of Adulthood

Normally I'm not a fan of holidays in the middle of a week but these days I'll take them all :)

I was chatting in the lift at work to some random stranger ... as I do... and she said, it's like a mini Sat and Sun rolled up in one.

That was exactly it. Sat stuff - errands, some fun and Sun stuff - a bit of the crazy kid thing and prepping for work.

I spent quite a bit of time there today

Today the kids woke at about 8.15 (!) - things are looking up!!! Winter is being GOOD to us.

We faffed around in our bed for a while until Connor announced that he wants Weetbix NOW.

the children are now hooked on Lego - D is in boy heaven. He says it's a milestone :)

The cupcakes are made and all ready in the plastic containers (I need to label them) but are not Pinterest-worthy so I didn't bother taking pics.

They do taste very nice though. I figured it's only for 4 and 5 year olds - why do they have to look good too? :)

I used two recipes. A Martha Stewart one (made 18) and a pre-packaged mix (made 12) so we had 6 for us. The kids couldn't wait to taste them and were all "thank you Mummy for making us such nice cupcakes" (unprompted!) which makes all the mess worthwhile.

I did most of it while they were eating breakfast so the kids only placed the muffin liners in the pans.

Kendra had a bit of a sore tummy this morning but the minute I said "who's coming to the shops with me?" she was up and about :)

Kendra falling asleep in my bed one night (if they're going crazy I bring one to my bed to fall asleep) Taken with flash - flash is a beautiful thing :)

 Alas, I couldn't find decent-fitting jeans at my nearest Edgars and Woolies jeans don't suit my shape.

But we had a DIVINE lunch - D and I had fettucine with meatballs. It was perfect.

Connor makes these masterpieces and instructs everyone to not TOUCH his stuff while he's at school

Home for a 1.5 hour nap for all 4 of us. I could have slept for double that time...

In other news, I'm almost up to date with April photos - have about 2 hours left if I focus - which means I can do my Project Life this weekend.

Totally and unashamedly obsessed by the sunsets!

We really and truly have the BEST sunsets in South Africa! Much better than at the sea :)

I'll hopefully post all about my goals tomorrow but I have a LONG day at work so who knows if I'll be in the mood for lots of writing or if you'll just get some pretty pics :) And next week isn't looking better - I'm sure Nanny S will be doing some overtime.

I can't tell you enough how much all the comments and emails helped after that work post. I am lagging behind because I'm obviously slower... but you're all right - whether they realise it or not, I do need to have a period of adjustment and will probably only hit my stride after at least one complete project. The thing that keeps me positive is I have really good instincts about this stuff and I'm really good with the people. I build rapport quickly with the clients and they tell me "things" they wouldn't normally say to people doing the work I do.

And for you who have been praying, don't stop - I can feel the covering!

through the study window

Let me share another one of my Secrets of Adulthood:

I asked myself on Monday, "honestly, what's the worse that could happen?" I could totally not cope, resign in shame and be out of a job. So what? I have a very healthy savings account and could live for a year without work (although I'm a bit mingy about dipping into savings...) I'm a T so I really don't care very much what people say about me. If they do talk, I'll know I'd done the very best I could at the time and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

So then I could relax a bit :)

What are some of the things you tell yourself so you can cope?

How was your Worker's Day?

PS there's a whole debacle about the govt wanting to cut down on the number of public holidays. I say NO WAY - leave them as is. I seriously LIVE for them :)

The first of the 4-year-old birthday parties

This morning I woke up and said to D, "I can still remember sitting on C's couch, newly pregnant, and her 6 months ahead, feeling all grateful and in awe that finally, our bodies did this. And now our babies are 4".

Of course now they're 5 months apart, because mine came at 32 weeks and hers at 36 weeks.

But wow - how did they turn 4?!

Just the other day they were lumps lying on a blanket!

Anyway, can you see I'm a bit nostalgic?!

So we went to their party today - on their actual birthday - and it was lots of fun!

I bribed the kids (without any shame) - "no photos, no cake" - and that's when I got the pic I facebooked from my iphone, and the ones where D is holding them (see below).

It was TOTALLY worth it because I got some stunning pics. And the cake was without icing and quite small.

I believe in having a definition of success for everything in life (one of my Secrets of Adulthood a la Gretchen Rubin :)) and today, my DOS was simply to get a good pic of each of my children. I use Picasa so it's a picture I would star.

In my group of friends, there are 10 kids who'll turn 4 this year - these two are the first ones in the year. Thank goodness 8 of those kids are twins.


(I took 387 today, I've deleted some but am only down to 311 at the moment)

Without further ado, pics!

G

my friend C, as usual kissing G :) (i love it - I need to go look on my external hard drive for the past 3 years' pics - I have one at every party like this :)

A - she didn't stop the entire party

gorgeous cake made by C's sister

A and Daddy

birthday cake time

my handsome guys - is there anything better than a husband with his kids?!

so very Kendra!

sweet Kendra

I love this pic of us - look at her putting some chips in her mouth

 

and C brandishing his water bottle - D said our kids were the only ones drinking water and not juice. Apparently this is hardcore....

How many parties do you go to in a year? I think we go to 6 besides our two. 
Also, please share some of your Secrets of Adulthood with me.

Halfway to Zen

So on Saturday D went to a workshop and remember I said I was trying to organise a playdate.

Well, I invited a friend, didn't get a definite yes or no so I phoned (!) on Thursday to check if they were coming or not (do you think that's too much?).

After much to-ing and fro-ing (the two of us both talking to each others' voicemails), she got hold of me and said YES they were coming and what should she bring (nothing - btw, is it me but I always say "nothing" except for one set of very fussy friends who change what they drink every few months and I can't keep up, so I say "bring what you currently drink" :)).

Well, Sat morning she phones and says the weather's looking horrible (funny, it was LOVELY and GRAY :)) and she's not sure. We South Africans are nothing if not fickle about the weather.

Two hours later she phones and says the sun's out so they are definitely coming.

Can you guess where this is going?

That's right... she didn't pitch.

I practised my Happiness Project learnings (I'm not even joking), stayed present and in the moment, and decided to enjoy the time with my kids.

We PAINTED!


Outside, of course. I'm halfway to Zen but not mad.

(I was inspired by my post the other day)

 

They were adorable in their little aprons (my sister gave them an art set plus aprons for their birthday - she knows I don't like mess!!!).




Kendra got into the painting in a big way but she only likes to use one colour at a time?!



Connor was more interested in painting my walls, his sister's face and the table than anything else.

 

 They both had jars of paint but Connor wanted to use her jar, not the ones on the table.

It was a really fun time - I loved seeing my little artists :)

I really want to just toss all their masterpieces but am I being too practical?

How much of the kid clutter do you keep?

(Natalie laughed at me the other day because I said I throw all their artwork away - I'm still waiting for the "art" in artwork)

PS. I made liquid hand soap and found a fabric softener substitute :)

PPS.
Paintbrushes - Crazy Store
Paint jars - old Purity prunes bottles, the same ones I used for some of the party stuff.

The Happiness Project

I've just written my first post here.

If you've read it or are reading along, please follow this blog so I don't have to make notes on this one :)

Thanks!

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

I think it's time, don't you?

I've been waiting and waiting for a book club guide from the author but I'm done waiting - let's do it!

Last time I mentioned it on my birthday post 3 weeks ago, Claudia had read it but Julia, Cat and Deanna were all interested in reading The Happiness Project along with me.

So are you in?

Let's start on 1 September.

Deanna and I are authors of my virtual book club blog but I do think we should all have a chance to write a post - maybe one post per chapter? - what do you think?

Leave a comment and let's get reading.

On a scale of 1 - 10, how happy are you right now?

P.S. Confession - I read the intro on my Kindle already :)