Mad house!

Here in the Watson household we are frantically preparing for Maxi's 4th birthday tomorrow. He is so excited he could pop....hence the new anthem being sung at full volume whenever any of us remembers:

"It's MY birthday!!!It's MY birthday!!!"

Last night this is what the kitchen looked like at 9.30pm.....

but by this morning I was able to shimmy Maxi off to school with Aunty Sarah, armed to the teeth with delish looking cupcakes.

Leaving me to quickly head off to buy party boxes for the kiddies grub & sparklers because what is a rocket cake without sparklers???? Yip....I have been commissioned by Max to make him a rocket cake. Each year the kiddlets get to choose a cake, which T & I make & decorate with love & complete dedication.

Faithful fans I will keep you posted!!
Have a fab! day!!!

A few days ago I was graciously honored, with a beautiful bloggy award by my Hawaiian friend Joscie:

Joscie said...
I have such a hard time "picking" awardees. Not because I can't think of 5 amazing bloggers,but because I can't think of only 5 amazing bloggers. Hello, Have you seen the list of amazing bloggers in my sidebar? These are just 5 of the beautiful, talented, gifted, kind women bloggers who contribute so much to the bloggy world!
I am passing it forward to: KJ (thats me & 4 other of her fab! bloggy friends)

Isn't that just the sweetest? So here is the "award".

Thank you Joscie....I in turn would like to give it straight back to you. Your blog is an inspiration for your readers, from all over the globe. Thank you, you are such a honey XX

I took some pic's yesterday..

Evidence that Maxi is growing up.....he handles that car remote control like a pro.

Now isn't the perfect shot of Max playing in the rain....

Nope.....there wasn't a rain cloud in the sky hahaha! It was Max trying out his new umbrella, when his sister Cas, ambushed him with the garden sprinkler. She had a ball getting him back for all the pranks he has ever played on her. He was in boy heaven (shh! don't tell her tho' ...she thinks her revenge was sweet)

Hope you are having a great day everyone XXXX

Daytime dating!

I was treated yesterday to a day time date with my bloke. He decided it was time to get out of the office & 'smell the roses'.....& take advantage of being a business owner. Being a rare windless day in Cape Town, we headed to the beach for a coffee with a view of False Bay. The restaurant, 'the Empire Cafe', used to be our old haunt pre-kids, so it was fab! to be in familiar surroundings...like seeing an old friend again & talking about old friends, we met up with some very dear people there that we hadn't seen in ages. They joined us & the morning ended up being wonderful fun, with 2 hours of non-stop conversation....big people conversation...it was heavenly hahaha!The Corner surf shop (a legend in the Cape Town surf circles) was right near where we had parked, so T spent a good long while 'oggling' at the surf boards. So many of the new range has real wood grain trim...like the vintage boards from the 50's. They were AMAZING & if I ever had to learn to surf...I want one of those :o)
This photo is for my Mum & Pop's.....guys look what we found in Shoprite...'Laxa' (laxative) tea packaged all la-di-da~ hahahaha! When T & I saw it we laughed so hard. What next??

Have yourselves a super day & if possible try & grab a moment alone with your other half; to chat eye to eye, connect & feel like big people again. No matter how short whether in a restaurant or in the car with a flask of coffee @ the end of the road. It is a necessary thing to put aside the business of life & even if just for a moment.... hold hands & just be together!
XXXXX

Gone fishing!

We took Maxi fishing for the first time down to the ponds that form naturally around our neighborhood. It is a momentous occasion for us to have done this, because we are a-crazy-about-fishing kinda family. Growing up in Africa, I started fishing with my parents from a little after I could walk, mostly in rivers like the Zambezi or dams like Lake Kariba. Maxi took to it like a natural...reeling & casting. Watching him made my heart happy and even though we didn't catch anything (on account of not having the right bait), we will be definitely be doing it again.XXXXX

Very cool!!

I got my May CK magazine in the mail on Friday! Guess what I found inside........MY L.O! Heeheehee! Still gets me all excited to see a L.O in print!
Thanks CK.....I feel like a 'Starre' :o)

Lame excuses!

You know how some times the things your kids say, leave you red faced & mumbling all sorts lame excuses in an attempt to explain your actions. Well this was one of those moments...well sort of.

Maxi is a neat kid, he tidies up after himself, puts his dirty clothes in the wash hamper, takes his shoes off & puts them straight into his cupboard, reads books & puts them back in the book shelf etc, etc. I almost never have to remind him to do any of the above.

The conversation went a little bit like this:

Me~ Maxi, your play room looks amazing. WELL DONE!! for tidying up.
Max~ It was very messy Mama, but now it is lovely & neat now. All the cars are in their buckets & all the blocks are in the wagon. I think it looks GREAT!
Me~ You are right babes it looks great!!!
Max~ Mama, are you going to tidy up your scrap table??? It is very messy & there is alot stuff on it.
Me~ Uuum! (me now feeling daft...trying to explain myself to him...why I felt compelled to do this, I don't know)
Me~ You see babes....I have been very busy with some scrap pages & I need my table to be messy so I can find stuff (there is some logic in this I promise).
Max~ (Looking at me in silence)......No mama, that is an 'unacceptable excuse' (hahahaha! my words being thrown back in my face), you'd better tidy it or Aunty Sarah will be very cross with you!!!
Me~ OK, babes...you are right, I will tidy it up now.
Need I say any more???

Bit of a BUZZ!

This post is very much a 'gush-about-the-kid' for the grandparents, type of post, so be warned hee!hee!

Today our house was filled with the laughter of a Star Ranger......Buzz Light year, to be precise. It is the first dress up costume Max has ever had & he is SO in love with it that he had to sleep in it too LOL! (Without the wings....thankfully) It is 2 sizes too big (even tho the label says small) but he cared not one little bit. The wings I fashioned from a extra piece of ceiling board & a strap...so now BUZZ can fly!
You know.... midst the aaarh! times we experience in life, I am realizing more & more that it is moments like these that help fuzz out the icky part of parenting. It is moments like these that I draw on when I am blurry eyed, tired & ratty from being up 5 times in a night for every excuse imaginable. The $ spent on this costume is now irrelevant as I listen 'To infinity & beyond.....! being yelled from on top the drawer unit in Max's room', it is a moment I will never forget. My child, happy, is enough!

Here are a few pic's from the Watson Mamarazzi~Now is this little imp just the cutest??? (Well most of the time anyway :o)
XXXX

Great time.

OK....so blogger wasn't working yesterday! VERY IRRITATING!!!! nothing would load...text or otherwise. Today it works....I dunno!
So here goes....again... hahaha!
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Hi there everyone.....hope you are all well & happy?? We had a fun full weekend of much kuiering (translation~visiting) & getting out & about, so I just wasn't up to blogging much. I have a million & one pic's to post, so grab a coffee, get comfie & prepare yourselves for a 'Watson' expose'.

On Saturday, we ventured down the West Coast to a Farm stall/Petting Zoo for lunch with the children. They had such fun playing ....while we ate delicious fare....relaxed & generally recharged.

Yum!! lemon/meringue pie....Tersh's fav! Not my thing I am thankful to say!

Treats for the kiddlets.....candy floss for Cas & a cookie man for Max.

On Sunday....we ventured up the mountain to Tokai forest for a family picnic. It was idyllic! There was not a breath of wind, the temp's were perfect & the kids were on their best behaviour. They played, I took photo's & we walked & walked. The fresh air really clears the mind. It was a great way to prepare for a hectic week for Tersh.

Well now that you are all saturated with photographs of the Watson's, I hope you are enjoying your week.
XXXXX

Date with Maxi!

I took Maxi out for lunch today! We hit Bizzy Bodyz...ate toasted sarmi's & drank Pepsi & cream soda....then Maxi went wild with the other kiddies, while I pulled out my April CK & read it from cover to cover. Incredibly civilized I might add.....well for a total bill of R70, I was determined to get my $'s worth. Max had a ball....& an hour & a half I strapped him into the car exhausted, sweaty & mighty happy. He was in fact singing as loudly as he could with his head out the window.....this is evidence if any of his state of mind......10/10!!

It is Maxi's birthday on the 1st May & he already chose his birthday present....don't you love Chinese cheapies...it flashes, jiggles & the people inside, dance. Shame, Max was so sweet,he saw this plane in the toy shop the other day & fell in love with it. He said that if I bought it for him, that is could be his birthday present. I agreed of course but I just don't have the heart, not to give him something to open on his actual birthday, so I might get him some thing else too. I'll have to put my thinking cap on :o)If you are wondering what happened to my child's hair.....I attacked it with water & a brush....he woke up with a dandelion head. I couldn't let him go out like that could I? Hahahahaha! poor kid!

This pic is for my Mum & Pops....see I do let him eat chocolate. The novelty of being able to eat a whole chocolate bar, lasted about 2 minutes. He handed it back to me melted, sticky & hardly nibbled, saying: "This is too messy mum, I need a cloth! I'll swap you for dry sweets, OK!".

Another parental duty ticked off the list....Tried a whole chocolate bar X (doesn't dig it...yay!)
Sleep tight, I'm off to bed...I need sleep!
(scrappin' too late the last couple of nights...had a project)

XXX

Yellow.

My day seemed full of yellow today. I woke up this A.M to Max holding a butternut squash to his ear.....saying: "Um..yes...I see, I'm not sure....oh really! That is great....no I don't know...OK, bye Stitch".
"Mama...ssshhh I am talking on the space phone with Stitch" (from Lilo & Stitch fame) & in case you weren't quite sure if you had read right...yes, he had a butternut to his ear.

Max...creative...funny & oh so cute!!!

We then realised, too late I might add, to boil the kettle in time for the scheduled electricity cuts. We thought it was 8.30 AM but at 8.15 AM off it went, so Tersh fired up our loud, fuel guzzling, smoke spewing, seriously loud generator. It took him much muscle power to coax the devil to start...but when it finally kicked into life, Tersh & Tammy (his designer) were able to carry on life as usual. Life in 'Aaaarfrica'......

Meet Bessie!

Meters of extension cables & plug adapters.

Priority at it's best...coffee & wireless internet get plugged in first LOL!

We had a kitten in the house this morning....Max discovered his mittens while I was sorting out his winter clothes this AM. Do you remember that rhyme...3 little kittens had lost their mittens....? He loves that story!

My child really squeezed my heart today, by presenting me with a yellow daisy he had found on a walk to the park. He turned to me & said: "Mama, this flower is for you because you are a very special person :o) & I love you very much!"...no jokes, I almost crushed his ribcage with my hug of appreciation. I am truly blessed to have landed a super cute kid like him to love. His love language is so mature, it often leaves me staring with my jaw open.

Well guys that's the long & short of my day...I hope yours was everything as great!
XXX