Nate on a Bike!

We bought this bike for Nate whilst in Taipei (the makers of great and cheap bikes), thinking we are coming to (land of lacking) Africa... well... when we got here, Nate was not strong enough to pedal and I thought, great probably wasted money. Then I found even better bikes here for very reasonable prices, from bikes where the pedal does not slip back to bikes without pedals or trainer wheels (so the kid learns balance) and I thought... great purchase that bike from Taipei...

I see Lucas riding a bike near our round-a-bout and I think its one of those with locked back pedaling and am quite impressed with his pedaling skills, for some time I was wondering whether I should get nate one of those back pedal bikes... well earlier this week, nate wanted to try his bike from taipei and guess what, he is now strong enough to pedal and something in his brain synapses has clicked to also coordinate "how to pedal". Off course now Ike wants to a pedal bike!

I cancelled Nate's horse riding lessons today, it will end at the end of July. Although he seems really happy on the horse, its a big hassle to get him there and on it, so I have decided to cancel since he is quite vocal on what he likes, like he would not want to cancel Karate (he has a sat class with dada and a mon class in school) and says he wants to take a music class and a cooking class! (ok he has also said no ballet). When Ike turns 2, I will take him horse riding and Nate can play, if he then expresses an interest again, I'll reinstate the classes.

Meanwhile I am still bumping around on my horse riding. I have finally got the hang of the horse cantering (well it feels really fast for me on the horse) and can seem to not hang on the saddle for dear life (I can slow the horse now and also steer! yippeee). Last week I was even able to canter and jump over beams. I've got a few books on horses now, I do hope to get round to reading them. I got distracted recently by a beautiful old book on African Rock paintings and the mythology behind those paintings. Which is linked also to the abstract paintings my granddad is doing.

For those who are interested... the collectors of my granddad's art in KL are staging an exhibition for him, starting this Sunday for a week to commemorate what would have been his 90th birthday. For those who want to go see... email me for details.

BTW the first pic is a joint project of kids in the class, I may have posted it before... its the great wall of china upside down on the class ceiling.

Bob The Builder in Johannesburg

So bob came to hangout at Sandton City... we thought we would be able to buy some bob toys, like a mini scoop or other vehicles... but no, strangely the toy store that sponsored this only sold his DVDs! Seems like a simple sales lesson? consumer ready to part with money for little figurines... anyway bubbi who will be out here in 10 days will have to bring them in.

Nate and Ike seem like the only kids in the area that have bob tiny toys.

So the whole place instead showcased other brand's tool box set and large tractors (for kids) and again not bob merchandise. We got there quite early, around 9 am, since its holiday care of the kids, they didn't go to school on weds... which brings me to wonder which is better, spending a whole day with them but then getting quite impatient and short by the end of it or spending smaller amounts of time (like in the afternoons only) and it being an overall good experience. I think the latter for sanity as well.

Meera came along with us and although there is holiday care for another week, I still feel exhausted from the Weds to contemplate taking them out for another day next week. Maybe I will brave the transport museum. I need to plan better for their school holidays next time, ie bubbi or porpor should be around!!

Next term break is 29 sept to 3 oct (hmm thats quite short), this term 2 break is like 3 weeks. Of course there is the big break from 8 december to 12 jan!

Wine and Cheese Party

Loren had his first wine and cheese party... no pics yet as I was too busy experimenting with making cheese orderves. Must say for a first try (hope no one was poisoned!) it seemed ok, I didn't eat any of the cheesy brie mushrooms! but sure drank too much and then on sunday we remembered why we don't drink so much, the kids were up early and my head was throbbing.

Here is Ike before his new set of bumps on his head and Loren on the Nokia company retreat and a mysterious plant at the bird park.

Sinus Bronchitis

Nate has been battling a runny nose for some time now... something like 8 weeks. Last week, I took him to the dr on tues and he was given stuff to clear his nose, then on wed night out of the blue he is wheezing like a seal.... croup! After some steroids and the flaxinase for his nose, he seemed to get better... 2 nights ago his coughs had reduced to maybe once, then last night he coughed every 90 mins or so... and in the early morning complained of chest pains.

Today, the dr said he is glad I brought him in, in another 4 days, his present sinus bronchitis could have turned into pneumonia and so he is on antibiotics now and still flaxinase to clear up his very congested nasal passages.

No school for the boys today (well actually its holiday but they go to holiday care). Meera is also on holiday so took them all to the bird park then the dr then horse riding, in between that time, I got to try out Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook... and although Meera claims she will not touch a bite of the brownie (with 1 cup of spinach and carrot puree), she ended up swallowing 3 pieces and taking another 6 home with her. I will fatten her up... Mabo is now inspired to try the other recipes tho the kids do like their tasteless steamed cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.

Ike is really into bob the builder now and his favourite character is scoop the yellow digger.

Leftover shots

Pics from Loren's camera... Nate in his self painted sports day shirt.

Porpor left fro KL today, nate has been counting down and today is day zero. He said he misses porpor and in the same sentence said, bubbi is coming soon eh! yay! Porpor survived the last Bikram yoga that I dragged her to on Sunday and said the next time she does yoga it will be when she comes back. Bubbi, reminder to pack your yoga gear...

Here is the owl-penguin at the labyrinth at Bodhi Khaya and a few more shots of buildings from our Joburg tour on Saturday.

We had our first family council on Sunday... wish we had taped it, not sure words have the same effect...

I light the candle, which is on a plastic spiderman bag (the party pack from Isla's birthday party). The match burns my hand I burn the plastic bag, luckily not a hole in my carpet. We sit in a circle, the talking piece is batman figurine and a lego car.

Loren says how happy he is... Nates turn he says I don't know! Ike grabs the lego car and proceeds to play... I talk about the nice yoga porpor and I got to go to (porpor by they way had a great lunch at Woon's and came back drunk so she did not participate in the council), the talking piece goes round another time... TOOT from nate... followed by TOOT from Ike... and giggles... not sure what that topic was about! Aiya!

Everyday life

So my little vege garden is growing well, the super worm castings and worm pee are working its wonders... I have just planted the second plot of my winter vege garden and I think this season, we won't need to buy any lettuce, rocket or cabbage. The basket is what I can harvest from my garden every day. Loren now packs a salad from home to take to work and has his salad with fish at home at night... with the bulk of vege's from our organic garden.

Nate in his Karate gear and his new punching bag, he seems to really enjoy Karate which could be a good long term sport. Ike just likes his bike, its amazing how fast he now is on those wheels.

here is a shot of Nate's big fluffy eyelashes, some of them are close to one cm in length. Its really unfair! Though today his eyelash got stuck inwards and on his eyeball (ouch!)

Ike in good Ike form, stuffing his face!

Scenes of Joburg

On Saturday, Loren's friend took us for a local drive of Joburg, we went to the constitutional hill, into the courts (well loren did, nate was asleep in the car so I kept him company). Then the older part of Joburg which has many very nice old buildings but many of them are empty. Tenants had moved away because of the crime, there are huge hotels and office blocks, just empty!

The govt has been trying to revive the area but slowly it seems to gather momentum. Apartments (tho nicely refurbished), right in the heart of the city are going for US$60k.

He also took us to where the beginnings of the constitution were drafted and then to Soweto. We had lunch at Mopanya Mall (see pic) which is a really beautiful mall, though Loren was the only white guy, me the only chinese and nate... well the only fair looking kid...

Nate is quite funny, he says mama is yellow, dada is white, he is brown and if he stays longer in the sun he can be as brown as Aunty Mabo or his good friend Sipho and he wants to be brown too! Well he also wants to have big muscles which has made meal times easier.

Changing subjects, today i got Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook and how she disguises the vege's in the meal... many new bakerman possibilities... I wish its Nate's bakerman turn again soon!

The bus depot is actually Gandhi square. For those who did not know, he spent quite some time here in S. Africa. The big paintings on a power plant that has been shut down. Sure looks better than the cape town one that is grey and unpainted.

They boys are both recovering... a bit of cough at night. They have a 3 week break and I will take them to see bob the builder next week at Sandton Shopping. Maybe even catch a play or two.

Nate's Report Card

height: 101 cm, weight 16.5 kg, not sure whether he is right or left handed yet but right foot and right eye dominance.

Social / Emotional Development / Indepenence
Nate is a very independent little boy. He love playing imaginative games with other boys of the same age. Nate is confident and perseveres at his work. Nate can be shy and sensitive at times but thrives with encouragement and love. Nate does not enjoy packing away and will find any excuse not to do so.

Gross Motor Development
Nate has a good sense of balance and good posture. He is confident on the gross motor equipment but needs to strengthen his upper body more. Nate's motor skill movements like hopping and skipping are becoming more fluid. His ball skills are age appropriate at this stage.

Fine Motor Development
Nate's pencil grip has strenghtened but can improve further. His coloring in skills are not up to standard. Nate's scissor grip is now correct. He has improved his cutting out so much. Keep on practicsing Nate, because you are doing so well. Nate threads beads with great concentration. he enjoys manipulating clay.

Language Development
Nate is a well spoke little boy. His vocabulary grows daily. He pronounced most words correctly and uses the right grammar. Nate loves stories and is able to listen carefully and then answer questions correctly afterwards. Nate is also enjoying songs and rhymes more.

Intellectual Development
Nate can recall three out of four objects that have been hidden. He knows his family names and his won age. Nate can rote count up to ten and touch count up to fourteen before he is confused. His attention span has grown to an age appropriate level and this is helping him enjoy our lessons more.

Perceptual Development
Nate can build a sixteen piece puzzle. Keep up the practice Nate, so you an build a thirty five piece by the end of the year. He can copy a three color pattern on a pegboard. he can name all the shapes and colors and all age appropriate body parts.

General Comments
Nate has really worked hard this term. Keep up the good work, I am proud of you!

Teacher: Candace Strachan (May 2008

Ike's report card

"It took Ike a little while to settle into the school routine. Although we still sometimes have tears, he is now starting to show interest in his new environment. Ike is learning to interact with his friends and is gaining confidence.

At first Ike refused to do his creative activities but he is now starting to paint!

Ike is still getting used to the playground and enjoys playing in the sandpit or riding a bike.

Teacher : Yvette Anderson (dated June 2008)"

Just a small note on the "naked in a circle" from the last posting... its a joke, there is no naked in the circle part of the course. Also no Karma Sutra lessons... only inward looking of one's emotions and the sharing (or if one chooses, the not sharing of that).

Cape Town again

Our session ended early and although monday was a public holiday... we were in luck!!! Hermanus is part of Walker Bay area and home of two of the best wine makers in South Africa.... Bouchard Finlayson and Hamilton Russell. Guess what... they are side by side! We got there at 415pm and got to visit both before they closed at 5! what a treat!

Oh we also got to see a fossilised inner ear of a whale... I forgot to take a picture.

Here is a picture from the breakfast room of our hotel... the "never to be finished highway" in cape town.

Will post Nate's report card next!

Bodhi Khaya part 3

Even the session where we stood in a circle naked was quite comfortable (just kidding, there is no circle of nakedness)... instead we had the scissor move and the Yabyam as homework at night, two interesting positions where a couple can align their chakras. One couple ended up laughing so hard and had to get another lesson the next morning as they could not figure out where each leg should go.

We had such bad colds that going through some of these sessions was quite hard. let alone to have to do homework!

The other nice move is the heart to heart meditation, which also involves lining up of chakras before sleep and upon waking... connecting each others energy.

I think my favorite is still the dream council... its really wierd what pops up in dreams. It was good to be challenged out of one's comfort zone and to see 2 people who have practiced their relationship as their spiritual journey be so in tuned to each other and support each other in such a gentle, loving way.

The people we met on the course as well were quite incredible, all open and willing to move ahead to grow in their relationship. In hindsight I should have asked what couples have gone and it just didn't work out... though getting there is half the effort, those couples who have thrown in the towel, I guess won't make it there?

By the way, the zebra tub in Part 1, is their worm farm!! great!! I want one too!

Bodhi Khaya part 2

My head had never hurt so much before and I must have had more panadols in those few days than in 10 years. Moving my head was quite painful. Our room was like a wind tunnel the first night as it was a windy windy day!

The introduction process was quite interesting, they had your spouse introduce you and the way you did that also spoke volumes about you. They taught us a communication technique called the council, where only one person talked at a time. Kind of like the Red Indians over a campfire. We broke out into the women's council and men's council for the pm session.

The next day we did a Dyadic Council which is the couple and the "third presence", which is the voice of the relationship of the couple. That was quite heavy! the first couple that did it... it was like watching a play... with great actors except this was real! In that session you really feel like you are in a cocoon and there isn't other people around.

Every morning we did a 15 minute meditation, its the first time when time suddenly zipped by, I felt like i could have sat there for hours. Then its followed by a dream council (this is quite fun!) where we lie down and our heads face the center and we tell each other about our dreams from the night before or one that we remember. It is a way to share dreams and encouraged among couples.

They also taught us the aura massage or smoothening. Am not sure about this one but willing to try. Apparently kids see aura colors of other people and don't realise its not natural... must remember to ask nate!

Bodhi Khaya

We left for Cape Town last Friday without the boys, we were off to a couples retreat 2 hours fm Cape Town, near Hermanus, the town famous for sighting whales as the migrate north. In the morning, I didn't feel great and by night time I had a fever and a sore sore throat. Luckily we stayed in Cape Town at a warm room and heated bathroom hotel.

The sun rises about 45 mins later than Joburg so it was around 730 that the first rays of light hit the city. This is the main strip of Hermanus, there is a nicer part facing the ocean but it was too windy to venture out! Here is the superhero bath suds that loren excitedly chanced upon at the supermarket. One for Nate, one for Ike and one for him. Superhero bubble baths...

Bodhi Khaya is a nice tranquil farm with cape dutch architecture. The rooms were quite nice but heat came from a fireplace. Its run by Jessie and Amber, who have worked to build up the place for discovering the inner self. The course was quite emotionally exhausting but fun and well worth it. Its nice to be on a course where the facilitators participate with the group. It was good to have some sort of idea what could be achieved over the long run.

Nate the Bakerman

I think it must be more fun for the parents than the kids on bakerman day or is it I prefer to bake than cook? surely making meals may be just as fun? Anyway, its nate's turn and we tried a cheese cake recipe from Annabel Karmel and it looked really good, until I popped the bottom from the tin and saw that nate and I didn't press down the biscuit base well enough, the base is about an inch thick! the cake another inch, so I gues bore bickie than cake!

The secret is in the disguise then... if the cake turns out strange then some decoration is needed... so we made little mice out of halved pears, almond slices for ears, raisins for eyes and a little choc ball for the nose. The pink long licorice I could not find in the supermarket but we are a chinese household, we always have noodles lying around... dyed them a shaded of pink and voila... some mice tail. I think the form looked better than the substance tho out of the oven it smelled really good!

We were really tempted to cut out 1/4 of the cake and put a mouse there as if it had eaten it but there isn't much cake for 20 kids from an 8 inch cake tin.

This Thursday is a big challenge, need to dress the kids in some sort of national costume! where am I going to find that? I tried looking for a Malay costume in KL last year... did not even find a chinese one. I wonder if I could dress him like an orthodox jew (draw in the beard?, the teacher has already said no to superman costume (I was going to pin from land of krypton on their backs). Maybe a kippa, a white sheet, a rope belt and a stick... moses? anyone with an easy to execute idea please email me asap!

Here is Nate with mini barbie doll, I think I will go against loren's wishes and get him a small barbie set, just so he can get in touch with his feminine side. We were at Christine's new house and they have tonnes of girl toys, ah the familiarity! Next weekend Nate has 2 girl parties to go to...

Sports Day

As Nate is a senior now, he participated in sports day, he was part of the Tasmanian Team and painted his won shirt. He did quite well and got a chocolate coin medal.

He seems to really believe that he runs faster in his sneakers (or takkies as they are called here) and the N that stands for New Balance in his mind stands for Nate. Maybe Ike will think Nike is Nate and Ike?

We celebrated father's day a week earlier and got Loren another mask, one with a straw beard, shells and cow bells. But the mask also really smells... even the dogs have stayed away.

On sunday I took nate to watch Kungfu Panda, it is really quite funny, I must say I do like cartoons, I wonder if he will take to cinderella and snow white... On the weekend we also watched motor mouth Chris Rock... I wonder why he has a squeeky voice. The venue was quite far though 45 mins in the South of Joburg at carnival city. The next night we watched a play called nipple caps and g-strings, put on by an ex-stripper, that was quite funny with the audience participation (luckily we were as middle as an audience could get!). Highly recommended to watch, if it were showing longer, I think it would be fun to bring Shelley and Michelle for their birthdays!

Speaking of which, Charmaine and family may be moving soon.