Tuesday 16th March 2010

Today my mum arrived from South Africa (dance) and it is just so so lovely to have her in our home.....she has settled straight in and sometimes when I look across the room at her it is like she has never been away.

We had managed to keep her arrival from the older children so they were beyond excited upon returning from school and finding her in the lounge, they have always shared a very special bond with my mum and for them having her here is like Christmas come early. It didn't take Nick Nick long to find out how special Gran is either and by this evening he was already starting to follow her around like a little shadow :0)

Nick Nick having enjoyed a chocolate dipper from Woolworths courtesy of Granny's suitcase

Bonding time

I am just like my papa, I DON'T like crusts (note them all piled up next to the plate)

What does it mean to be a Mother?

I think Mothering is different to each and every person experiencing it and as today is Mothering Sunday I guess it is something I have been thinking about - to me it is the following

• Love beyond measure and condition
  
• Joy without limits
• Guilt without end
• Frustration and exhaustion
• Wearing my heart on the outside of my body which can hurt like hell
  
• Willing to kill or die for my babies
• Fear of the unknown
• Overwhelming responsibility
• An ongoing test of patience
• A new lesson about myself every single day

I LOVE being a mother, and although at times I find it brings me to the absolute end of my tether, I am so grateful for my three beautiful children - they were a gift from God created especially for me and I only pray that I can serve them and raise them in a way that is deserving of this tremendous responsibility.

Sunday 14th March 2010

Today was Mothering Sunday (Mother's day) in England which to me means the official beginning of spring and a HUGE day of cleaning. So after a lovely breakfast in bed of tea and hot cross buns (my absolute fav part of this time of year), a lovely flower basket which Megs planted herself and a cute card from Phil, the family got stuck into the house.

All those winter dust bugs where driven out and every window was open while the warm spring air filled out home with the scent of impending summer and all the uplifting energy that provides....dinner was KFC on the floor of our lounge, and although it may not seem like much to some, to me to sit in a perfectly spic and span house which my family helped me achieve with not so much as a grumble is a very satisfying feeling.

Thanks guys it was a lovely day, despite all the hard work :0)

Car update

The finance was instantly approved at the bank and the funds have been transfered to our account....our car has been ordered and we should be able to collect it around the 25th. Beside myself with excitement!

Saturday 13th March 2010

As the term is coming to a close for the Easter break we have had feedback on both children's progress for the first half of the academic year, and I am a HUGELY proud mommy!

Megs brought her school report home yesterday and has achieved four 5's and five 4's at the half year mark - this is a AMAZING achievement for her, especially given her dyslexia and it is just showing what the right teacher's and school ethos has done for her.

In the UK they don't grade the children in terms of A's B's etc or even in percentiles which can be a bit confusing for a mom like me (lol) but rather the children have scores that they need to achieve in each year so for example 4 is what is expected and 5 is above expectation and a 3 would be below expectation except in Modern Languages where a 3 is spot on target - but that is only for year 7, in year 8 for example a 5 would be expected and a 6 would be above expectation etc etc. Needless to say Megs has done extremely well and her attitude and behaviour score with both exemplary so we are so so very proud of her.

Phil didn't get a report this term but rather a parent / teacher interview - and let me tell you I went to this one with a HUGE lump in my throat and knot in my stomach. We have been in a couple of times this academic year for disruptive behaviour (blush) as my boy appears to have been bored stiff in the classroom.

In those initial meetings the teacher, Phil and I discussed how well he responds to responsibility and how he could be such a good and helpful influence in the classroom because of his popularity....well it seems my boy has risen to the challenge beautifully and has turned over a new leaf, he is an elected member of the student council for year 4 and has joined the "circle of friends" which are a group of children working with staff to stamp out bullying in the school.

His academics are way above average (no surprise there) and it would seem that this second half of the term has been a MASSIVE improvement with the teachers only singing his praises - WELL DONE my Phillip, I always knew you could do it!

Friday 12th March 2010

What a week - it would seem that even 2 years in and despite me holding a British Passport we STILL do not qualify for vehicle finance in this country.....a very hard pill for my dh to swallow considering the credit that was literally thrown at us before we left SA.

On Monday we were informed that our first application for vehicle finance had been declined because Si doesn't appear on the Electoral roll.....hey, what, he isn't British how can he appear on the Electoral roll was my first question...now I know (and if you have recently moved to the UK or plan to do so listen closely), it is possible to appear on the Electoral roll even though you aren't British it just means you can only vote in local elections not national elections and it goes a long long way to establishing credibility - oh and it is finable offence not to register (£1000 per person), fortunately we weren't charged the fine as we went to them, they didn't find us, but needless to say a little to late, we will officially hold voter's cards on 10th April.

Our second application for finance was also declined as we don't have a credit history in this country.....again hey, what, how are we supposed to get a credit history if we can't get finance in the first place.....eish!

Needless to say a whole lot of phone calls later we are now going into our bank on Saturday to take a personal loan to purchase the car - it would seem that it is a much less stressful, and much cheaper way to finance a vehicle here and one that, I have now learned, is the most commonly used. As you manage your bank account here you become eligible for same day personal loans subject to certain limits, and as we are eligble for more than 3 times the value we need for the car, it is as simple as signing the papers and the money is transferred.

So, a week later than expected the car is actually becoming a reality and we should hopefully be able to pick it up within the next 10 days.

My Boys

Megs is out with friends this afternoon and as it is a cold grey day again the boys and I have been inside entertaining ourselves.....check out my boys below playing with Phillip's diabilo.

Phillip the diabilo king
He makes it look so easy and I can't even get it to spin on the string :0)

Nick doing his best to copy his brother

Sunday 7th March 2010

What a perfectly happy blissful day today has turned out to be, a wonderful, peaceful way to spend my birthday and in fact the whole weekend has been lovely - I have felt very spoilt and blessed.

On Saturday morning we took a drive out to Lancing (about 40mins away just beyond Brighton on the coast) to test drive a 3 year old Vauxhall Zafira that we are hoping to buy. In England the government gives anyone with a disability a fully paid for and maintained car every 3 years - these cars are known as motability vehicles and they are literally fully services and looked after at the government's expense, which of course makes them sought after once they are sold off at the end of the 3 years. To cut a long story short, we have our eye on a March 2007 Zafira with 15 000 miles (24 000kms) on the clock and with a little bit of luck tomorrow it will be ours.After our exciting morning (I really fell in LOVE with the car) it was off to lunch in Crawley before heading home to prepare for the Viljoen's for dinner, as always it was a lovely evening and a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday.

This morning Megs had to leave early for a compulsory farm commitment so it was up with the sparrows for present opening (a wonderful digital photo frame from my dh) and then a Wii tournament between Phil and I. I had loads of phone calls and texts which made me feel incredibly special and as the weather was glorious we decided to hit the park for a couple of hours and enjoy the blue skies which we have missed for so long. Such a relaxed way to spend the day and then my gorgeous husband cleaned the WHOLE house for me when we got home (while I honed my wii skills lol) so that I wouldn't have anything to do during the week - a real blessing let me tell you.

Nick Nick enjoying the neighbours friendly cat earlier today

In the park enjoying the sunshine

Off to lunch with Catherine tomorrow and then I will put this years birthday behind me - a HUGE improvement on last years experience on the side of the M25 ;0)

Wednesday 3rd March 2010

Dinner at Zizzi's (my fav restaurant) in Haywards Heath kicked off my birthday celebrations for 2010 and I have to say it is already looking a WHOLE lot better than last year. Jess, Hils, Kirsty, Romy, Tanya and I met at 8pm for a lovely evening together and I was such a very spoilt girl, they clubbed together and bought me the most divine goodies from Cath Kidson.

Two coffee mugs like this

and this beautiful bag

Such a happy happy evening!

Saturday we are off to choose our new car and the Viljoens are joining us for dinner and then Sunday (my actual birthday) will be a very lazy affair around the house before I am out to lunch again on Monday with Catherine....lovely to have so much to look forward to over my birthday and it has really added to my settled feeling :0)

Tuesday 3rd March 2010

Happy Birthday my darling father for yesterday!

2010 has definitely started off with a bang and we have loads of wonderful things to look forward to including my mom's arrival on 16th, a weekend away with great friends in March and 10 days in Spain in August.

And as if that wasn't enough, do you remember the post where I said exciting stuff was happening, well yesterday it happened, my wonderful, clever, amazing husband survived 5 rounds of interviews to secure a new job with a very prestigious firm in the city.....he scored the HIGHEST result EVER in their technical test and managed to impress at every level.

I am so so proud of this man who NEVER gives up and continues to put the children and my needs before his own every single day - you so deserve this babe and it is going to be the beginning of wonderful things for you I just KNOW it!