Jo's Angels

Long time

2006-08-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I last posted on this blog. Very negligent of me. I have no excuse apart from not enough time. My angels are growing up too fast. Since my last post Jodi has turned 2 and his mommy didn't even post a birthday message for him. Sis on myself!!! He is such a loving, lively and happy little boy. Gets up to the funniest tricks and is talking so much. He is now 28 months old. Still refuses to go potty, but hopefully when the warm summer weather starts, I can complete his potty training. He tries, but it seems that he is busy concentrating on other things at the moment. Here is a picture of him on his birthday....

I must admit that he is a very independent little person. He wants to do everything himself. He has been eating on his own since very small. This picture was taken more recently....

As for his little sister, she is following very closely in his footsteps. They simply just love each other so so much. Jessi is 17 months old and seems to think that everything her brother can do, she can do better.

She also tries to eat by herself, she follows him around and copies what he does. If he climbs into the kitchen drawers to reach the countertops, she is right there next to him. We recently went to our favourite eat-out and they took over completely. Jessi also had her first taste of prawns and calamari heads and I thought she wouldn't enjoy it, but eventually she ate most of my prawns. She wasn't too keen on the calamari heads, but still ate them.

I'm 1 today!!!

2006-03-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

Guess who turns 1 today?

The prettiest little girl in the world is 1 today. You have brought so much love and happiness to our lives. I will endeavour to keep you happy and safe for always. I can’t believe that I have had the priviledge of spending a whole year with you already. It still feels like yesterday when you were bouncing and kicking in my tummy. You are the sweetest, cutest, friendliest, happiest and most loving little girl ever.

Happy birthday my sweet!!!

Double trouble....

2006-02-26T23:42:00.000-08:00

My little ones are fast approaching their bithdays. Jessi will be 1 on 17 March and Jodi will be 2 on 17 April. They are keeping me very busy. From the minute that Jessi opens her eyes in the morning, she is walking. She eats while walking and even tries to drink her bottle while walking. We spoilt them a bit the weekend. We bought Jessi a little "Care Beares" scooter that she is loving to bits. Jodi got a battery operated quad. I took pictures, but due to the fact that I still use the traditional old hand held camera, I will post some pics when I have developed the film.

Here is the latest with the two little ones and daddy. Can't help but love them.

Here is another one with Jodi up to his bathroom tricks. This is where I found him after I fetched a towel for him and his dad came running with the camera. Dental hygiene is very important to him and he has to brush his teeth after bathing. Obviously I was taking too long to get to his teeth.

And just to prove that the bathroom isn't the only place he performs in, here he is on mommy's bike. How's that for freedom?

And just incase you don't believe me about his sister getting up to mischief,

here's some proof..

All in all, they are developing into beautiful little people and I am loving every moment with them. Just wish I could sleep as nice as Jessi after a whole day of being so cute....

Those first steps....

2006-02-10T02:19:00.000-08:00

Jessi started walking!! She has been walking against the furniture for a good couple of weeks. She climbs onto our bed, couches and into the walking ring without any assistance and has been doing that for a while also. Just so you know, she hates walking in the walking ring. She used it as a walker and pushes her brother around in it. He is 11 months older than her and just sits in the walking ring with his little legs pulled up and lets her push him all over the house. Two weeks ago, she gave her first tentative steps and after falling down, decided to wait before giving it another go. I coaxed her into walking inbetween myself and her dad for small distances and have increased it little by little every day. She has now realized that she doesn't need mommy or daddy to catch her to be able to walk. She is walking the whole length of our passage which is as long as our lounge and three bedrooms going down to the end of the passage. She thinks it is extremely funny and laughs her very corny little laugh when she gets to the end of the passage. I so wish to film it, but I don't have a camera to do it with. I think I am going out this afternoon to upgrade my cellphone to a camera phone. That would enable me to take some awesome shots and short videos. Then again the prospect of dealing with a service provider on a Friday afternoon is not a good prospect.

How they've grown

2005-11-04T00:25:00.000-08:00

I have neglected this page. I have been so busy snapping away, that I haven't put anything on this page. I am glad to report that my angels are doing well and growing by the day. Ok, at least one of them is growing by the day. Jessi is now 7 and a half months old and she is growing at a rate of knots. She is still toothless, but has started crawling and is climbing up against all the furniture. If I put her on the floor in the lounge and leave the room, she will come searching for me wherever I might be in the house. She is a little daredevil and not scared to try things.

Look at me now:

She is crazy about water. She loves to play in the bath or pool and whenever I go for a swim she wants to be with me in the water. Here she is in the bath with her brother. He has just poured water over her head and she thought it was very funny and so did he.

This will have to do for now. We are experiencing technicult difficulties with Telkom and our Service Provider. Telkom seems to be choking all our connections and that is making life very slow in the cyber world. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

I started this on Friday and want to add a couple more if you will allow me the indulgence. I am just so proud of my little ones. Jodi has developed two very big loves, the one is bikes..

and more bikes...

But I don't think anything comes close to his love of water...

or the love between brother and sister. Isn't this just the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

Flicker

2005-09-30T01:31:00.000-07:00

I am having so much fun experimenting with this blog and all the things that you can add to it. I have recently opened a flickr account and this allows you to store your pictures on a blog which you can then either post to your blog site or just create a flash like I have done. I have friends all over South Africa and also many that have left here and are living in Ireland, England, New Zealand and even as far as Canada. It is such a wonderful way to share what is happening in your life and to show how the children have grown. I don't have a digital camera, I don't even have a cellphone with a camera in it therefore I am still relying on my trusted old camera and thank goodness for editing software and cd's. I will add some more pics as time goes by. Maybe you should go and check it out if you haven't yet.

Flickr

2005-09-29T01:44:00.000-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

How I feel today?!

2005-09-15T03:16:00.000-07:00

How long does toiletpaper last in your house??

2005-09-12T03:28:00.000-07:00

We have just had a week from hell. Let me explain. We are 4 adults and 2 babies co-habiting. Sunday last week friends came to visit. A typical Safrican Sunday visit - F1, braai, brandy, rum, etc(yes, even on a Sunday). She failed to mention that she and the little one had just had a bout of gastro. Needless to say, within hours it had spread to our house. First up was my other half(Mr B), then it was his fathers turn. This was Monday. Monday night and Tuesday was my turn. Tuesday night belonged to my 17 month old and Wednesday it was Sakkie's turn. I haven't mentioned him before. He lives in our granny flat, but is very much part of the family. Then Mr B's children came to visit (Friday) and yesterday morning we awoke with the 12 year old paying Ralph a visit. My little girl(6 months) has so far avoided it. Then to my shock and horror, I read an article in the Herald this morning about Delmas in Johannesburg being hit by Typhoid - 120 cases and over 1200 people infected with gastro. I stood in line at a chemist on Sunday to buy Immodium and Valoid - tried and trusted remedies - and there was 5 other people buying exactly the same stuff. The chemist sold the last boxes to me. I think the guy behind me wanted the same, because when she told me it was the last of her supplies, I just heard a hurried scuffle behind me. Don't know if he was rushing to the next chemist or the toilets just down the corridor.

So back to my title question and here is my answer - 15 rolls in 7 days. Now isn't that just like flushing money away?

Did you know you can break it?

2005-09-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I mentioned my friend Stompie in a recent post. I must just give you a little bit of background. He is a divorced guy of at the time 48. He had been single for about 10 years and most of us initially thought that this guy was gay. After joining our biking club, he also met a luscious lady a couple years younger than himself. She happened to be the sister of one of our other members. Well, needless to say, they started a relationship and after a while this became a very physical one. One evening, my then husband received a phone call and after a brief conversation, he burst out laughing after he put the phone down. What he told me was just too much to believe. Our friend had informed him that he is at the hospital in the emergency room and will be undergoing an operation in the next couple of minutes. He called just because he wanted someone to know what is happening and where he is. They had apparently been busy at it and as far as I could establish from her, she was on top and somehow he had slipped out of her and she didn't know and continued in a speedy downward motion and thus caught a very stiff member between her two (you know what I mean) and all they heard, was a very loud snapping sound. The snap was actually from the ligaments and tendands of his member that literally snapped and had to be rejoined in surgery. The next day he went to my husband's office and actually showed him what it looked like. It was as all blue, bruised and swollen. He had a bandage around it for a good number of days and thus the name Stompie. I know that he did regain full use of it again, but the relationship fell apart. I am happy to report that he is now in a very happy, very stable relationship. Just so you know, the lady also earned herself a nickname - she was known as Muscle Cracker!!

What's in a name

2005-09-09T01:36:00.000-07:00

A friend posted a url on her site and curiosity got the better of me. I just had to go and look and this is what it told me

Jo-Anne

God`s gift : Hebrew

Extremely intelligent in thought and deed you are gifted at communication and finding practical applications for your ideas. You are strong willed and ambitious and need to have passion, freedom and adventure in your life. Always willing to help others. Your warm, honest and loyal nature ensures that you are loved by all. It is likely that you will achieve a great deal of success and recognition in life

Need I say more?

To Rip or nut to Rip???

2005-09-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

I believe it was November 1999. The place was Craddock - very small, very hot dorpie(town), the event the Lions Rally(then a favorite Biker jol) . It was the first rally I ever attended and that was in the days before I became a biker myself. I was approached by a friend to help on the Entertainment Committee. We organized and participated in all the games and competitions held during the course of the weekend. Yes, this was a whole weekend affair!!! This is also the first time that I met the guy this is all about. He was there with his fiance of the time. We had just about finished all the competitions for the night and was busy packing up and clearing all our stuff off the stage. This was in a very big tent and the stage was assembled around one of the main supporting poles. The two guys, nicely plastered, decided that they had to proceed up this pole and see who could go the furthest. Peter(aka Ripnuts) took the one side and went up first. He went all the way to the top and came sliding back down. When he reached the bottom, he fell and could not understand why he could not stand on his legs. By now, we are all in a pretty drunken state and thought it extremely funny - obviously not thinking anything was wrong. Bill took his turn, but climbed up the other side of the pole and had to go all the way, despite being at least 20 years older than Ripnuts. He came down and after a perfect decent, we decided that he was the obvious winner due to his perfect descent and the fact that he didn't fall. We(Ripnuts included) proceeded to have some celebration drinks and all retired to wherever it was we all slept. Still not knowing the seriousness of Peter's injuries. After about an hour's attempt to sleep, we heard an ambulance that came to fetch our friend and took him off to hospital. It would appear that his fiance realized that he was actually bleeding profusely. On his decent down the pole, he actually hit a protruding nail(the thingy that was inserted at two joints in the poles) and this literally ripped his nuts. I remember the fiance telling us that she saw her future children vanishing. He was obviously stiched up and sent home. Now, with this thing happening amongst a bunch of bikers, it was obvious that he would have earned himself a name and thus Ripnuts were born.

Tears!!!

2005-08-29T00:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, go ahead. Gloat - all those All Black supporters out there. You did it!! You actually made the whole of South Africa cry. We can blame a lot of things for the fact that we lost. We can even blame Percy for missing kicks which made us loose the game in the end. Some people are blaming the referee. I didn't think he did too badly. Apart for the obvious drop by Fly half MacDonald when he tried to pick up the ball, knocked it and then proceeded to score a try. Everyone but the referee saw that. It must be extremely intimidating to referee a game between the Springboks and the All Blacks. Especially when every other person on the field is bigger than you. The game was full of everything a rugby spectator can ask for. Very enjoyable indeed. They say the House of Pain broke the Springboks spirits. I don't think that was the case. I don't think I have ever seen so much grit and determination on their faces. Let's face it, they started protecting their lead too early. I missed someone's magic on Saturday and realized that it was Victor Matfield. He did not show any of it. Mind you, if your opponents keep pulling you back and keeping you away from the ball, it must be difficult. Poor Schalk Burger, he got fisted so many times and held back and when he did get a bloody mouth, it came from his own team mate. A little justice maybe in the fact that Jerry Collins has been suspended for two weeks for punching Jaco vd Westhuizen. He won't be able to play on Saturday and he is a major player amongst the AB forwards.

I can't believe that I am going to say this, never mind putting it in black and white, but I will be praying for the Ausies on Saturday!! Ouch!! It hurts even thinking about it. Unfortunately, that is what this has boiled down to. We have to hope against hope that the Wallabies beats the All Blacks. I don't know if that is possible. They will probably loose just to spite us.

So, yes, many tears flowed in my house on Saturday. To make things worse, it was miserably cold and the cold did not do anything but dampen our spirits even further. However, I am still proud to be a Springbok supporter and yes, I will still wear my Bok jersey in public.

Devil in disguise??

2005-08-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

I have this uncanny ability to know when my little one is up to nonsense. About two months ago, he got very quiet and I heard giggles coming from somewhere down the passage. I grabbed the camera because I just knew that this will be good. Judge for yourself.

Needless to say, we now have to keep the bathroom doors closed in the house. I am scared for the day that we might find him head first in the toilet. His latest is to empty the contents of a drawer in the kitchen, which he then proceeds to climb into and this enables him to reach the countertop. I am shuddering to think what is lying ahead for me with this little monster. Here he is swinging inbetween two double bunks...

and all this while his little sister just watches in quiet amazement......

Weighty issues

2005-08-24T03:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, but this had to come. This is an issue that will never go away. I am battling to loose the extra kilos from my pregnancies. To make things worse, I quit smoking the day I went into labor with my 16 month old son. On the one hand it is wonderful to know that I was able to quit smoking without any help. I must be honest and admit that I still get the crave every now and then. I used to smoke between 30 and 40 cigarettes a day - geez!! I went from 40 to zero in one day!! Why then can't I loose weight so easily. I am watching what I eat. I don't drink fizzy cooldrinks, don't eat fastfoods, sweets & chocolates are out. I don't eat pies and pastries and don't eat later than 20h00 at night. I run after the little ones all the time, sometimes having supper on the run. I have had a dietician work out a eating plan, but I don't have time to eat 5 meals a day. I am not the type that will be able to follow Weighless or Weightwatchers because to count calories and weigh portions is out of the question. I have a family that consists of 4 adults and the two little ones. Weekends we add 3 teenagers to the family. It is impossible to prepare separate meals for myself and the rest of the family. One eating plan that seems to work is Fit for life - you know - not mixing proteins and carbohydrates - fruit for breakfast, protein or carbo for lunch and whichever one you didn't have for supper. I admit I need to get more exercise and therefore have joined the gym and starting 1 Sept. Let's see what a month at the gym can do. Please hold thumbs and I hope to report back with good news.

Sleep???

2005-08-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

I hear people talking about how they slept too much the night before or how they enjoyed their Sunday afternoon nap. What is that? I vaguely remember experiencing something like that years ago. I can't for the life of me remember when last I had a full nights sleep. As you can see from my previous posts, I have 2 small babies at home. Believe you me, they only sleep at the same time when the nanny is there. The minute Mom walks in the door, they know that I am there. Mind you, they do it to Dad too. The older of the two has become Dad's night baby because I am looking after his little sister. Believe it or not, but it was actually Dad's decision. I am still breastfeeding our little baby girl at night and her first feed in the morning. She is almost as big as her brother. We believe it is because of the breastmilk. I couldn't breastfeed her brother because the doctor said that my milk caused his colic which he had for the first two weeks of his life. We changed him to formula and he was a different baby. I am not complaining because I manage fine with little sleep. The joy and laughs these two little ones have brought into our home makes up for all the nights of little sleep. What could be better than the four of us lying in bed every morning having a couple of good laughs, hugs and kisses before starting the day? Those two happy faces are worth more than a hundred nights of sleep.

Bokke!!!!

2005-08-23T01:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we all know what the Bokke did on Saturday. As if anybody expected anything else but the outcome!!?? hahaha. I got very concerned when we watch the prematch statistics and according to that, odds were that we were going to loose the game. Trust the Bokke to not do what is expected of them. How I love them for that. My being a true rugby fan has caused many a argument at the local pub. Like yesterday for example. We were having a couple of beers at our local hangout(Barney's Lorraine for those South Africans out there) after work. I only work until 13h00, so I am lucky to have an afternoon off every day!! I was the only lass in the group of about 8. One of the guys mentioned the speed of Fourie Du Preez and the fact that he was so close behind Brian Habanna when he scored his second try. All the guys agreed that he was right. I told them that it wasn't Fourie du Preez but Jacques Fourie our number 13 who ran behind Habanna in both his tries. Well, this sparked a massive debate and newspapers were pulled out and friends were phoned. It was even said that the number I mentioned was incorrect and that the number 13 jersey belongs to Juan de Villiers. I laughed silently by myself and thought best would be to keep quiet. As it were, the TV's were set on the sports channel and at that time they showed highlights of the game. I saw the main instigator quietly sneaking out the door. I knew he wasn't too sure about his facts and he went home to watch instead. Needless to say, the lady was right and the guys all wrong!!! I phoned him and he could only laugh. An apology will probably never come from his lips, but there were a few red faces around the table. All I can say in conclusion is GO BOKKE!!! As I proudly stroke my bok emblem on my jersey.

Cold but beautiful

2005-08-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

It has been a rather cold weekend. We took a drive to Cape St Francis and I had to capture the scene. This is normally very flat and tranquil waters. If you look nicely, you will see how rough the seas were. This was taken on a low tide. When the weather is miserable, you tend to feel miserable. In order to lift the families' spirits, I set off and prepared a chicken curry to die for. While sitting under duvets watching DVD's last night, I thought some more of the curry will go down nicely, but to my surprise, there was nothing left!!! Out came the flour and eggs etc and I quickly made some flapjacks served with syrup and fresh cream. Now that finally blew the weather blues away.

Life Changing Experiences

2005-08-19T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there

I have recently had a life changing experience. After 3 failed marriages, two children and being told that I will never have more children, I met someone who changed all of that. We have been blessed with 2 beautiful children. Jodi is 16 months and his sister, Jessi, is 5 months old. Well, my partner considers himself a bad mechanic because he always get comebacks, but I think in my case it was a bit of both. I kept going back for more and he fixed my "gearbox" properly. We are both 37 years old and after Jessi was born, we decided to close this engine down.

If anyone out there is close to my age and contemplating parenthood, I will strongly recommend it. I had my first two children in my early twenties. Our parents were right when they said you are only a grown up when you turn 30!!!