Times are changing.

My little girl is growing up.

There's no doubt about it.

Sure there's been the tell tale signs.....

Reading her books all by herself. Writing letters to her friends all by herself.
Listening to her music and singing and dancing.
Listening to our adult conversations, taking it all in and laughing at our jokes.

Today she put a poster of Justin Bieber that she found in his CD box , on her bedroom wall.  She then went on to say that she wants all her scooby-doo, sponge bob and art off her wall and wants Justin posters everywhere, even on the ceiling!!

I remember my first music crush, do you? Mine was George Michael in Wham! Ah I  was completely gaga over him. Just like she is over Justin. Only, I had him on tape and would listen to him with my bright red Sony walkman - do you remember those???
Or we would take our 'ghetto blaster' outside (if we had batteries in it) and we'd rehearse and then put on our show while our parents sat in what we thought awe! Now I know only too well how they actually felt.

But there is a cute side.
Mathilde puts on a zip-up jumper, pulls up the hood, crosses her arms and looks like a little gangster while swaying from side to side.
Olivia mimics his every move and I must say does a great job.

So all these are the tell tale signs that she's growing up and dragging my little Mathilde a long with her.

Keeping it real!!

Last week had me up at Olivia's school as she had a drs checkup. She didn't take her school bus because by the time she'd get home, we wouldn't have the time to go back into Central.
So to her delight, I had to meet her at her school gates.

Now in South Africa, Id take her every morning to the French School in Morningside. Here, to my relief, she hops on the school bus at our residence. At first I was reluctant about sending her on a bus but it is really well organised. In each bus there is a bus mother who see's to the younger kids, makes sure all seat belts are fastened and just makes sure that all behave on the ride to school.
After tasting the 'school bus route', it will be hard going back to moaning kids in the back seat. Millions of questions, asking for whatever they just dropped on the floor, needing to pee....I could go on.
So yes, hurray for school buses!!

I get to her school and approach the gates. I'm not the only English parent but you can spot the French parents a mile off. Jeans, ballerinas, t-shirt and jumper swung over the shoulders. Greet with the infamous bise and chit chat with a bit of air blowing and puffing!!

Then this lady literally 'pops' out of no-where. Between all the frenchies, helpers and mamas like myself who look totally peeved about having to wait at the gate with the joys to tackle yet another week-end with kids.
She's all smiles and then starts waving and shouting hello. Oh crap and yes, she was english!!
Her kids finally made it through the gate with some kind of goodie bag. She was talking so loud and was really a bit too much! Like 'oh yummy, whats that? Show mommy? You are so lucky. Lets get to the car so we can look inside and you can eat it all up. Its going to be so much fun.'

I'm like what the hell just happened??? Its already mid-term, your kids are older than 3 and  for sure not their fist day at school, so there's definately no need for all this hoopla!
Come on people, we don't need this crap!!

We all know how it really is in the car with two siblings.

I want what she has and not what I have.

But the other wants what she has only to annoy the other one.

Tears. Laughs. Shrieks. And way too many MAMAs!!

Mine fell on the floor and I need it now.

On top of all this, horrendous traffic.

The i-pod earphones aren't long enough and one wants one song and of course the other wants a different one.
Olivia pulls the earphones just to nag her sister.

They have to just fight over the i-pod as there's no way we'll add Justin Bieber blaring out of the speakers into this already crazy and brain numbing situation.


So again, all bow to the beloved school bus!!!  

Being a mama is so not for sissies!!!

Warning this post is not for the faint hearted eg, if you don't already have kids, therefore never been subject to most of these yuckies, turn away now!

Rushing into ER with puke bag in one hand and a grumpy babe in the other, snotty noses and the never ending production of green, white or clear flying snot. Vomiting. Diarrhea and vomiting.
Need I say more?

I'm just going to touch on childhood and all the ailments that hail with it. Oh boy is there some hailing!!

Kids and all the goriness that comes with them or ... them with it?

Firstly, the 'ailments' always start on a week-end, early evening (just to get you all hot and bothered for a rough night ) or during public holidays where your otherwise loving (because of how you contribute to her well-being) paed, is on holiday.
Lucky for me, I have her cell number, direct dial and incase of emergencies, she can calm my nerves and then see to my little girls.

Not so long ago, on a public holiday of course, Alex called to me from the bathroom 'Mathilde a des vers!!!
'Mathilde has worms!!

Me, rushing to the bathroom 'What, are you serious?'

As I got to the bathroom, he shoved the removable part of her pot  towards me and there I saw them.

Wriggling, thin, thread-like white worms.

WTF? Get a grip!!

Mathilde is totally horrified at our discovery and has a worried look on her face. Seeing my mortified look when I looked at those little buggers proberly didn't help.

It's a Public holiday so I can't rush off to my paed in shining armour to fend of these nasties. So its off to the Canossa hospital (where we are regulars ), the nuns great us with a smile and tell say they remember us and how the little one has grown.
I think , well she would be growing more if she didn't have these gross little things doing the jig in her little belly!!

The dr asked 'so how can I help today?' He's proberly expecting the ever so common,  coughing and  fever, but no, not this little patient.

She has worms!

His eyes widened, yes, they widened!!

Him : 'How do you know?'

I was thinking, well there's no easy way of putting this, so just get it out.
Me : " I saw them when she went to the toilet"

He asked if she had the itchy bum syndrome, which she didn't.
So my new take on this is don't always wait for an itchy bum to check their poo.
No restless nights and no complaining of a sore tummy. None at all.

So after giving him a brief description of what I saw, his conclusion was..... pinworms.

Apparently not something they see often, but quite common. Kids scratch their bums, the eggs go under their nails and then they spread from dirty little hand to dirty little hand.

I'd never seen them before and I must admit they sent me into a tizz!!

I asked him to prescribe meds for the whole family.

At home, it was strip all beds, dressing gowns and any clothes that had been in touch with Mathilde's little tushy and put them on a very hot wash with some tea tree essential oils.

One week later, I went to her doctor to ask her about the worms and if I should use the other tablet the dr gave for a week later.  She advised me to hold on the tablet as they are quite strong and if not needed, its better not to take.

So every other day, I make her use her pot and not the big toilet so that, well you know what.....

And so far, so good!!

Like I said, nerves of steel and a stomach of steel to go with them. That to me these are the quintessential qualities needed for us mamas.

Chocolate dipped marshmallows.

I love quick and easy treats that have a wow effect, and these little beauties have just that!!

I first made a batch of these for Mathildes 3rd birthday party because, quite frankly, the food table was lacking something that tiny, sticky hands would gravitate to. And boy, did these nab attention!!  

These hit the spot and were so easy. 

So, when Mathildes school asked the girls to bring a sweet treat and the boys a savory for a recent party, I knew exactly what to make.

Just dip the marshmallows into melted chocolate and top with whatever takes your fancy!

He loves me, he loves me not.

Yes, its that time of year again.

You either love it or loathe it.  For some it holds bitter sweet memories of past love affairs and for others, it comes with the thrill of a new love, new feelings.

When I was a little girl, the shops would fill with red hearts, plastic roses, teddy bears and chocolates.

 I always wanted to be someones valentine. No one in particular (until a certain age of course), I just wanted someone to surprise me!
I waited eagerly for the dreaded V day, only to be let down with a great, big THUD! Sure, love isn't easy and for me, it by hell wasn't going to get any easier.

I remember coming home one day, sad and totally discouraged that I hadn't got a valentines gift, therefore no-one loved me!
My dad went out and bought my sister and myself one of those plastic roses (that you found at CNA) that I Oh so wanted and which for me (at that time, I was about 9 years old) was the biggest valentines gesture ever. A red heart pillow and valentine chocolates.

For me, thats why dads are little girls heros. He made us feel special. He was and still is always present  and will always do whatever they can to make their children feel truly loved.
Even if it means buying them a bit of plastic and chocolate!

Later in life, I never really cared for Valentines day. But that is all to do with bad choices and how I always steered towards the bad boy when honestly all he does is treat you like crap.  All the heartache and things that went on during my final two years of high school  turned me into a cynical person. I didn't trust any guys and just kept an eye out for myself, after all, no one else was looking out for me.

Its then that I met Alex. He is the complete opposite of any one I'd ever dated. But behind my wall that I'd built, he was the kind of person I enjoyed being around.

He calmed me, he soothed me.

I drove him crazy (not in a good way).
But we (he) stuck it (me) out and in the end, I could just be myself.
I could be Stacey.
There were times when I felt I had to push him away because maybe I would get hurt. I was scared.

I was nasty.
I hurt him.
I hurt me.

Luckily, he knew me.
I didn't have to protect myself. He showed me that this would be fine. That we would be fine. That he wouldn't hurt me.

It was good.
He was good.

For our first valentines day together, he'd arranged and enormous vase of roses and a beautiful necklace.   We were living in Lesotho at the time, so this was no easy task and required a lot of thought and for me, a lot of love to actually take the time to do this for me. Sure we were young, crazy and in love but not everyone does this for their other half.  Not everyone takes the time to think about their other half's feelings.

After years pass, its easy for a relationship to lose its spark or its "je ne sais quoi!!"
Its easy to just take each others feelings and doings for granted. We need to acknowledge each other and the things we do.
Its not easy. Add to the equation kids, work and housework and you have a recipe for disaster if you don't take your partners feeling into consideration.

Yesterday, my little Olivia got a Valentine card from her best friend Kyle. She loves him something terrible. When I checked the post box yesterday and I saw his envelope, it warmed my heart. I knew it would warm hers!!!

Love yourself, don't be too hard on yourself and if any of you have a guy that just treats you like crap....move on. We are all worth it and shouldn't settle for someone who treats us like sh$t.

So tonight for dessert , I'm making Alex an apple croustade. No fuss and no chocolate.
Throughout the year we always turn to choco cakes as they are the absolute favourite of Olivia, Mathilde and myself. He rarely has a look in, so today, this is especially for him.

There's nothing more simple.
Puff pastry, a homemade apple compote (left a little chunky), sugar and an egg wash. Bake in preheated oven (220 degrees C) until golden, crispy and oozing sexiness!!

 

He came home with an enormous bunch of pick and mix flowers to make a bouquet 'tres rustique'. But after Mathildes coughing episode last night, they'll have to continue their sejour on our balcony.

  

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon!!

Just when you think the end of the year celebrations are over, we are hit with yet another.

Luckily for us, it doesn't involve rushing around thinking of gifts and going out to buy them (phew, the bank balance has time to recover).

But this holiday is a MEGA celebration for the chinese.
Bonus for us, as we have almost a whole week off work :)

But as usual, when you use the words 'off work and holiday' in the same sentence as 'have kids', we usually end up with words like ..... fever, neurofen, doctor, sleepless nights, coughing, hearing mama every 10 seconds and the list goes on.

What seems to be the norm for Chinese New Year, the weather was rotten and really cold. A record 7 degrees. Hong Kong hasn't seen temperatures like this in 16 years. Hats, scarves,gloves and coats were dug out of drawers and put to good use.

We took time out to go and watch the 25 minutes fireworks display.  But because of the lack of wind and extremely humid air, not much could be seen as a smoke cloud accumulated and hid the bright colours against the Hong Kong skyline.  After that we headed back to Belair with 2 sleepy little girls.

Here's a little bit about Chinese New Year.
In China , its also known as the spring festival as it marks the end of the winter season.
People here splurge on presents, decorations and lets not forget, food.
Red and gold is everywhere.
Plum blossoms are found in almost every buildings lobby and are decorated with little packets inscribed with well-wishes. These symbolise good luck.

Let not forget the little kumquat bushes which are everywhere.

Doors and windows are decorated with paper cutouts and inscriptions of wealth, health,prosperity and longevity.

According to the chinese myths and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with the fight against the Nian.

On the first day of the New Year, Nian would come down from the mountains and feed off villagers and their livestock. 

The villagers would lock their doors and place food outside to protect themselves. One day, a child was wearing red and scared the Nian away. Since then the colour red was used to warn off the Nian. Firecrackers were lit and loud gonging on drums were also used to keep the Nian at bay.

So every year for the Chinese New Year, red lanterns, scrolls and decorations are hung to ward off bad luck.

In our residence, they put on the traditional lion dance. After the dance, the lion goes to each lobby where he goes around and then 'eats' the pack of leek, carrot and celery that's been hung from the entrance. Only to 'spit' it out. Apparently if you catch the leaves, you'll have good luck for the rest of the year.

  

These people were amazing. So young but ever so talented.

Lets not forget the Lai see or little red envelopes.  These hold an even number amount of money. Traditionally they are handed out to children and young, single people.  

We give to the concierge and anyone who helps out when they see me struggling along with 2 kids, pushchair and shopping bags - tipping up the pushchair :) 

Daily doings

During the week, our mornings consist of waking a sleepy little seven year old - mostly a grumpy one!

Then its breakfast and me shouting for her to take a bite every 20 seconds or so.  Dressed, again me shouting, put on your sock and 5 minutes later, realising that one sock is still only half on.

Pj's off .
Me reminding her to fold them and put them on her bed. I know that I'll find them where she was standing...in a pile and if I'm lucky....in a pile, tossed onto her bed, not made I might add.

Olivia brush your teeth and hair. If she could, she would never brush her hair - wild child!! Again, a reminder ever minute or so until I eventually crack and stomp my way to the bathroom like a complete lunatic! And her waiting, looking, knowing my every reaction!

She sure knows how to push my buttons.

All this before 7:15 every morning.

NERVES OF STEEL!

I hear myself saying this in my head quite often.

Frikken NERVES OF STEEL I TELL YOU!!

Once she's out the door and onto the school bus, a kiss and a wave goodbye, we look like any normal, well organised family. I then take a deep breath and breathe.

Mathilde doesn't go to school in the mornings, she attends the afternoon class from 12:30 - 4 pm. Hardly enough time to get the house sorted, have a hot cup of coffee and cut my toenails!

Mornings I try to do a few little things with Mathilde . She's such an easy child and can play all by herself, so guilt strikes about leaving her to occupy herself so I whip out the paints and indulge in a bit of fun.

She loved making these heart stamps and it was so simple. Of course, heart stamps turned into hand prints and hand prints = paint all over!

While writing this I spotted this.....

Yes, its my little Olivia who wrote this and I couldn't help but laugh! My little girl is growing up so fast and she officially has Bieber fever.  Never thought I'd see the day.