Cape Town

Another great family time of many firsts!  We spent the recent school holidays in Cape Town so that meant the boys first time on an airplane so as you can imagine there was great excitement.  We bought them some little Spiderman wheelie bags that they could pull along like ours and they absolutely loved those. I actually hate flying but I love travelling so I had to keep my brave face on at all times. It was easier this time because I had 2 busy little men to keep me occupied during the flight.  They asked a million questions and at one stage Rog and I got the major giggles because little Max had a serious case of “Suza Bum” and was stinking up the cabin big time! We got some really bad looks but what else can you do besides laugh? It was rather a relief to land in CT and step out into the fresh Cape Air. Note to self – pack some air freshener in my handbag next time.

Another exciting first about this trip is that this time we did a house swap with a family from Cape Town so while we went to their house they came to ours and the boys took great delight in staying in the beautiful and child friendly environment.  We were diagonally opposite a lovely little park in Tamboerskloof Rd and we had beautiful views of Table Mountain from the corner coffee shop right next door to where we stayed.  We did loads of activities just for the kids, things like movies, the aquarium, harbor cruise, Ratanga Junction, Boulder bay penguins, caught the train, cable car, played in the park etc and so when it came to “adult” things like trendy restaurants, shopping, exploring etc we asked them to have a good attitude and they did (most of the time J), they really did exceptionally well. 

We had long afternoon sleeps after busy days and although they would wake up rather tired most days they would soon be right as rain to head out for dinner and super excited to dress up again.  My boys just love their clothes and we get a huge kick out of it.  On the first Friday night we only went out for supper at 8am and first did a long walk up Long Street, the boys eyes were wide as saucers at the crowds and thumping music coming out of most places. They got loads of high fives and smiles everywhere they went. We eventually found a suitable place to have supper right up at the top of Kloof Street and loved ever minute of the beautiful vibe.  We seem to be super lucky in that if the boys have a late night and go to bed at say 10pm then they sleep late i.e. most mornings they slept till about 8am so it worked out well!

Some of their highlights of the week were, going to the opening of the Red Bull Studios with “Ollie” where they got to sit in the recording studio and Tom even had a turn on the drums, visiting the beautiful oranjezicht market and playing on the swings, everything at Ratanga, seeing their first squirrel in the park, seeing a penguin bite the silly man later known as the “penguin attack”, meeting the crayfish fisherman near the boats at Hout Bay, watching the man feed the fat seal out of his mouth, buying a fish at Kalk Bay, making pizzas at home with Adriaan and Kady and going in the cable car. Tom said that the top of Table mountain was boring because there were no animals there so can’t say they were super impressed with the views.

Most afternoons when we headed back home, the boys passed out and Rog hit the couch and then I would head back out to town and go shopping and missioning up and down any side street that caught my fancy. I explained my need to escape to Rog by saying its like you being in Bali when the surf is cooking and you can’t surf – I love CT with a passion and I love coffee shops, restaurants, galleries, shops etc and there is only so much of that you can you with 2 little men and 1 large man giving you “the look” so I soon found my balance by having afternoons out to head off on my own – it was heavenly!

We loved every minute of time spent together and with my brother Adriaan (Uncle Ollie), the boys have really missed him since he moved to Cape Town. They now enjoy knowing where Ollie lives and can picture things we tell them about.  They also took great delight in meeting their Capetonian cousins for the first time, they were showered in love and spoilt with gifts - what a blessing, thank you all! I feel like after a holiday like that we could go pretty much anywhere as a team – thank you Rog for our beautiful adventure. When I was there I bought a little wooden plaque which says “Dream Believe Do Repeat”  - Life is an adventure – Lord pls help us never to waste it!

The Holidays

This Christmas was our second Christmas with the boys and it was very different. They knew exactly what to expect and they where beyond excited. We counted down the days right from the 1^st December and the last few days seemed almost unbearable for them – it brought back a lot of memories for me and felt like our first real Christmas together – the last one so much happened all in one go that I could not really prepare for it nor take it all in so this one was better.

We had a holiday in our hometown and stayed close to home for the whole holidays except for a two-night adventure to Lake Jozini north of us.  We are blessed enough to have the use of a family cottage on the beach just around the corner from us where Rog spent his youth.  The boys created some memories of their own this December and our days where filled with wake up at your leisure, have breakfast, put on baggies and head for the cottage where you either lived in the pool or on the beach and you ate when you were hungry and slept when you were tired – a holiday indeed!

We fetched cousin Jake on breakup day and there he was waiting for us at his school with bags packed and fishing rod on his shoulder. Thomas especially misses Jake a lot – he spends so much time being an awesome big brother to Max that I love having Jake around and seeing the change in Tom – he gets to be a “little brother” and he relishes this time.

Our bunk beds arrived just in time for school holidays and now we can comfortably sleep 4 in their room. It has always been my dream to have a house full of kids and I found myself sitting in the room and starring at the beds for ages when they first arrived – they gave me such a thrill! The boys love their room so much and so that was the end of Max sleeping in his cot and the beginning of another big step away from babyness – boo hoo!  A bittersweet moment indeed.  How is a mother supposed to cope with underpants and big boy bed all in one month – nooooooo bring back the nappies and cot!

Our trip to Jozini was fab except for the moment on the boat where things started to float on the deck and Rog pointed to water sprouting through the floor like a fountain and then tried to tell me that this boat was unsinkable … (but could I just take the wheel and go full taps to keep the nose up while he pulled the plug from the back to drain it.) Sure thing Luvvy I will keep just stay calm while we speed through crocodile and hippo infested waters with our children and you remove the plug from the boat???? Yes well clearly we lived to tell the tale but it was a close call in my booksJ - Rog will tell you a different story.

Back to school was perfect and we did not have even one tear – I would be fibbing if I told you that I did not do a little victory dance with myself as they drove off with Rog on the first day of school!  As much as I love my boys – alone time is also a very beautiful thing ;)