Project Life - rounding off the year

So yay, I completed a year of project life!

I'm beyond thrilled that I stuck with a (scrapbooking) project this long :)

If you're not interested in PL, feel free to skip this post. I'm really just posting this for my own continuity.

that top photo is one of my favourites of the kids this year. It was on my phone til I exchanged it for a shine photo :)

in Dec, I didn't bother with any journalling - it's all obvious, isn't it? :)

and that's it!

This year I'm using a Kiwi (lime-green) album, the Turquoise kit and I bought some digital files (Sunshine and Honey kits), had the PDFs printed and I cut it all out (that part was painful but I did it over a few weeks in front of The Amazing Race). I want COLOUR and plenty of it this year.

Right, so do you have any projects for this year?

PS So far, I've tried 2 new recipes for the year.

PPS In exactly 6 months I'll be 40. I guess it's time to kick the party planning into high gear.

{Wordless Wednesday} Bubbles!

 

We saw these bubble cameras at the Crazy Store for R30 each and D convinced me to get them.

Connor told me, "that's the flash popping up, Mummy" :)

when the kids start acting crazy and I have my camera, I "centre" myself by taking other random photos like this one and the bird above :)

Seeing a way forward?

So my boss had his last day in our team on Friday and starts in his new role today.

One of the guys in our team is the new manager.

If you've wondered if this changes anything for me, no, it doesn't.



I had my first day back on Thurs and let me tell you how it went so you get an idea.

It's day 1 after 2.5 weeks out of the office and I walk in to someone saying if I don't have anything pressing this morning, could I assist with a workshop.

They know there's nothing pressing so of course I say no and so I have to run all the way to the other end of our campus with a laptop and bag.

This goes on for a few hours, we rip off all the stuff from the wall and I run back to the other building for a meeting I'm now 10 minutes late for, sweat pouring off me, red face, etc.



Run into ex-ex-boss who says "hi is it your first day back?" I said, "of course it is; that's why I look like a mad woman" because now I have the laptop, my bag and rolls and rolls of the paper that was all over the room.

I even got stuck in a turnstile.

And those were only the first 3 hours.

I'm apparently shortlisted for something I applied for but they haven't told me anything about interviews yet.... and my CV is getting its final polishing as we speak.

So to answer my subject line, I'm not yet seeing a way forward in reality but I was reminded yesterday in church that WHEN you pray, God starts working. So I know He's on the job and I have to be patient but keep hustling :)

Does anybody else have job news?

 

Annnnnnnd... Bruce Springsteen

So one day I was at work and an email came through from D.

Bruce Springsteen tickets go on sale at 9 am.

I told him I don't even LIKE the music and I definitely don't want to go.

You know what happened next, right?

Another email came through... "Dear Marcia... here is your confirmation of the Bruce Springsteen tickets"

I went AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH and got on the phone with D.

He said he went ahead anyway because once I come around to it, I'll enjoy it and this is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity (D has seen The Boss in concert before, in Zimbabwe when he was 18, 25 years ago.... ).

And guess what?

I didn't come around to it.

Up until the day of, I was still not wanting to go. I personally don't mind wasting the R750 but since he paid, I knew he'd feel bad if I didn't go.

So I went.

The only part that was smooth was driving there. Then a 30-minute walk to the actual stadium, queues, queues and more queues.......... sitting and having people up and down a million times for BEER is not my idea of fun. Neither is waiting an hour between the opening act and the main event.



No jokes - I thought I knew 2 songs (can you guess which?) and at the concert, it turned out I knew 4. Woohoo.

Then he started and it was magnificent to see him and the band so very clearly expressing their passion (I LOVE THIS!) and enjoying themselves. He is such a great performer and engaged with the crowd beautifully.

How he ran up and down on that stage for 3 solid hours I will never know!!!

That said, at the end of one hour, I'd heard one song I didn't know I knew (Hungry Heart), and then the rains came about 1.5 hours into the concert.

So the rest of the concert was spent under cover, amidst SMOKERS (please don't take offence if you smoke but I can't stand the smell  and people blowing smoke wherever they feel like it).

Bottom line, I enjoyed my 4 songs and 2 Irish-sounding ones (I couldn't tell you the names if I tried), and at the end they did Shout and Who'll stop the rain (Creedence) which was great.

I do know for sure the big concert thing is not for me, thank you very much. Give me The Dome or Carnival City anytime :)

(I hope Billy Joel's listening........ please come to South Africa! because I'm starting to think otherwise I may have to go to where he IS having concerts....he has a concert at Madison Square Garden the day after I turn 40...... could it be a sign? :))

I was a good sport though, no complaining except right at the end at about 11.40 because my legs were KILLING me from all the standing around.

We got home at 1 am so we were knackered today.


I have such a lot of things to talk about - work stuff, goals, reading, school, weight, etc. and no real time to do so.

And I'm only at 18th Jan with my photo editing - I took on average of 412 photos daily while on holiday...... so being on day 3 means I have a LOT left to do.

But what was your weekend like?

{Friendship Friday} Robyn and the munchkins

Robyn and I first met in person on 30 Sept. I know that's the date because I remember being glad we could still squeeze it into the month despite a slight postponement to the original plan.

Then we tried to get the families together and that was impossible at the end of the year so I suggested we schedule it for this year.

Well, plan was set for a few weekends ago and they came over for lunch and a playdate.

There were a few episodes of not sharing and such.... but they eventually sorted it all out and by the end of the afternoon, were firm friends. As firm as 3 and 4-year-olds can be, that is.

Robyn's kids are SO well-mannered. I was chatting to D about L the other night and he said, "OHHHH, the well-mannered boy" so if that's the thing that sticks out, then you know. Miss H held her own with the older kids all too well and I do love a kid with some sass. She said to me, "no thanks, I don't want anything to drink, but I do want FOOD!" That's it, honey, you ask for what you want.

It was a delight to have them over and I can't wait to do it again.

my new dress and... gorgeous light!

You can read Robyn's version of the events here.

Funny, I have never invited kids over from the kids' classes but I do invite my friends and their kids over. Hmmm.

Do you invite kids over to play?

School has already been "interesting" and we're only 5 days in.

I must say, I've felt so anxious about school this year.

1. The babies are growing up so fast. Look at these big kids!

 

2. Connor's issues with the teacher from last year
3. The fact that everybody keeps asking me "so where are you sending the kids next year" and I want to say "I'm going to unschool" just to keep people from going further with the topic that most annoys me, other than politics!



We had it in our head that if they did not put Connor in one particular class, we would pull them out of school but that morning as I was dressing and praying, I felt God say to me, "don't you trust me?" and do you know what, I didn't!

!

Barely two weeks out of 2013 and I was not trusting.
 

So we took them to school, they met their teachers and sure enough, Connor is with the stricter teacher of the two and Kendra has the fun, silly one.

But I felt okay with it and three hours later we went on holiday!

 

On Monday they went back... no problems. Tuesday Connor said nothing but Wed morning he was thrashing around on the floor not wanting to go to school.

This is technically the 4th day of the year so it is a problem. I had the day off from work to do errands (more on that on the organising blog next week because I was a machine!) so I asked him if he'd like me to take him to school later after he calmed down. D was not helping saying "come, I have to get to work, etc." (as we all do) so off went K with D, and C waited for me to get dressed to take him.

 

While we drove (all of 2 minutes, maybe 3 because there's traffic at that hour :0 :)), I asked him if he wants me to talk to the teacher and he said yes.

C Teacher J makes us write on 20 pages. (he says write for anything to do with paper - colour, write, draw)

Me I don't think so, I'm sure it's only one or two pages.

C No, Mummy, it's 20.

So we went and I had a chat with her. I decided to try a new approach this year - that of making the teacher my co-conspirator.

"This is what's happening. What are WE going to do about this?"



This is the part that freaks me out. D is also very cross.

She said she was expecting a difficult child based on what his teacher from last year told her but instead he has been a gem. Participates fully during class - asks and answers questions, sings along, does all his stuff nicely and the ONLY thing is he HATES anything creative. They have to do one thing a day - yesterday, cut out granny's head and C's head, paste on paper, draw bodies on both people and colour it all in.

This is a bit strange to me - he likes cutting and pasting, but I agree he has never liked colouring. (I also don't like colouring - I could never see the point. The figure is there already, what's the point of the colouring? :) Now what I did love was join the dots!)

I told her that, and she said it's probably because at school she's telling them what to do and at home with me, I let him do anything he wants with all the stuff. True.

(he doesn't like people to boss him around like one of his parents)

When I fetched them after school (I LOVE dropping and fetching them - LOVE LOVE LOVE it), I told Connor that we agreed he only had to do ONE page. He wasn't convinced and still had a moan.

 

Well, this morning we had Drama.

D had to force him to stay still in his car seat while he wailed and cried "I don't want to go to school".

D emailed me LATE (he'd only got in then) to say Connor had to be pried off of him.

 

I phoned the school later and apparently he eventually calmed down (this age is so difficult - they don't stop crying in 2 secs like when they were 2 - they have serious determination... and can keep going forever) and was a star.

I think we crushed his spirit and he was flat.

He told me this afternoon that his tummy hurts when he thinks of school.

Isn't that what anxiety in kids looks like? I think that's beautifully articulated.

Kendra of course is 100% fine!

I'm dreading tomorrow morning.

I know he's still in a period of adjustment (today was day 5) but how long can I let my boy go to school with a sore tummy?!

Have you experienced anything similar? What worked for you?

Do you have any bright ideas?

PS isn't the light fabulous in this set of photos? I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

Great kid activity in Jhb - Sci-Bono Museum

If I say so myself, this was a great idea to take the kids to Sci-Bono on the 2nd:

1. it was a dreadfully hot day so being inside an airconditioned building was divine
2. it cost us R40 for the 4 of us - I still don't know how since the website says it's R35 per adult.... but I double-checked with the cashier and she assured me that was correct
3. the kids were CAPTIVATED with all the displays and I must admit, my science nerd side came out fully to play. It was glorious for both kids and adults
4. there's nothing they can break!!!! 
5. we spent two hours there and still didn't get to even half of it (and in some sections, we kind of dragged them along to get them moving - puzzles :))

If you haven't yet been, do yourself a favour and go. Your kids will have a ball and so will you!

I loved this one!

D was the fastest reactor of all of us

D and I rocked this thing... okay, we didn't entirely follow instructions because you're not supposed to talk but that's part of our awesomeness!

leaving the city

Have you been to Sci-Bono yet?