Mama Chameleon

Saturday, December 27, 2008



Bet he never heard that one before!



Santa is not something we really utilise at Christmas. Growing up, I had the funnest Christmases possible for a child, but Santa wasn't a part of them, so it doesn't come naturally. We see him a lot in the shops and sings carols about him, but that is about the extent of it; till this year!

Topsy really took to Santa this Christmas season. Every time we saw Santa at a shopping mall, he wanted to go talk to him. But the lines were so long, I never stopped.

But on Christmas Eve, I could not endure his wistful face going past yet another Santa. We got in line, and Topsy's excitement was evident as he hopped from one foot to the other.

Finally it was his turn. He gave me one backward glance before cautiously approaching Santa's soft red lap. There was some conversation exhanged, then the photo was taken. And one happy boy left Santa's presence.

Later I asked him what Santa had talked to him about. 'Did I be a good boy this year?' began Topsy.

I taped the rest:



The interpretation for those who need it: 'What do you want for Christmas and I said 'A Yellow plug for my kitchen.'
My practical boy, getting something useful that is his favorite color.

Posted by michelle :: 2:13 pm :: 1 comments links to this post

Post a Comment

---------------oOo---------------

Friday, December 26, 2008




Surefire Ways to Embarrass Your Teenager for Dummies: A tutorial


I thought I should sound like an expert at it, as apparantly I am quite adept; at embarrassing my teenager, that is.

And today's method of embarrassment? Take your teenager and his siblings on a fieldtrip to get rid of all the surplus garbage from Christmas that won't fit into our own garbage bins.


Here is how I did it:

Piled all the kids into the car. Loaded each lap with a large green bag full of garbage. Then drove around looking for half empty public bins in which to put one bag. Please don't email me about this. I only put one garbage bag in each public bin.

Well ,this field trip was apparantly the ultimate embarrassment and very 'hobo' ( not the dicitionary meaning of the word, rather, slang for 'not cultured')

I thought the car smelled OK, but you wouldn't have gathered that from all the gagging going on around me. I thought it was a fun little adventure, a quest to rid our neighbourhood of a smell that would only worsen and linger for several days till next Wednesday. But apparantly I have not got my finger on the pulse of what constitutes fun and adventure. And apparantly no teen has ever had to endure what I put my child through on our little jaunt.

Till next time!

Next week's tutorial: public shows of affection with your teen!!!


Posted by michelle :: 4:20 pm :: 0 comments links to this post

Post a Comment

---------------oOo---------------

Sunday, December 21, 2008



a bit of a sticky beak!

We have moved! It was a strange feeling actually. I was very surprised and felt rather guilty at not feeling euphoric about the move. After all, loads of people would give anything to be in their own home. All I felt for several days was flat...... I think it was a minor grieving process, having left a place that held a year of family memories,and moved into a strange place, a blank slate. But that numb feeling is gone now and all I feel is grateful and blessed. We intend to fill the blank slate up with lots of beautiful doodles!!!

I will have to get inside shots at some stage once I have totally unpacked, but I thought you might like to check out some pics of our new backyard. We have a yard that meanders nearly all the way around the house but probably the front yard is bigger than the back and once we are finished all our final unpacking jobs, I will probably make it a habit to sit out there of a morning with a book while the kids play and explore. Such a fun place for inquisitive minds! :) (sugar ants to feed and observe, trees to climb and areas to hide in. )
Sorry about the photo overload! And I have to preface this with saying that the photos more than do the place justice, in fact the reality is almost a let down. It photos well! Heehee!


Picture these following two pictures stuck together, with the first one being on the left hand side and the next being on the right.







'Sploring








One of our 13 trees! :) There are more, but they are small and I am not counting them, yet...



The boat finally has a home!



The fish pond












Posted by michelle :: 8:58 pm :: 2 comments links to this post

Post a Comment

---------------oOo---------------

Monday, December 08, 2008



Special Memories!

Last weekend Diva, who started singing lessons this term, sang at her first recital. She did NOT want to perform at ALLL. And on the day of the recital, she went into a phase where she could not even talk, which, if you know this girl at all, is unheard of!!!

But when it came time she sang beautifully. Waiting to hear if one of the teachers got an audio of her singing 'My Favorite Things".
I had been so nervous for her, but it all went away when she sang, and though I tend not to be a crier, I couldn't stop the tears from leaking down my cheeks!!! Well done, Diva!

She has confidence in sunshine....


Did I do good?



Then on Thursday night at the final presentation night of school, both Roly and Spindles received a Christian Character Award in their class.
Roly's award was for 'a strong faith and valuable contributions to discussions on the Bible, a hopeful, congenial attitude to others and being a positive person in class.'

Roly's teacher announcing the award.





Waiting in slightly embarrassed anticipation!



Posing with the principal

Spindles' award was for 'being considerate of others, polite and respectful, and enjoying learning more about God and sharing his knowledge with others.'
Spindles' teacher announcing the award:



I couldn't be more proud!!! :)

And finally, I had to write down Topsy's performance at his 'last day of school Preschool Party'.

He wasn’t expecting me to come. And when I walked in the door, he was lined up ready to perform a song with all the other kids.
His whole body lit up when he saw me. “Mummy! Mummy!’

Despite his joy, Topsy remembered he was part of a performance so he stayed put and contented himself with blowing me several kisses that he obviously put his whole soul into sending.
Topsy's eyes were huge and totally focused on me. When he was handed out his little star on a stick for one of the songs, he stepped forward one step and wiggled it, just to show me he had one, then quickly stepped back. He blew me more kisses, without using his hand to send them as it was otherwise engaged with holding the star.
As they performed, Topsy kept his huge eyes fastened on mine and rather than sing, his eyes made sure I was focused only on him as he dangled his star in my direction. It was as if he was absorbing the energy from me watching him. So cute, had to write it down.

Posted by michelle :: 10:27 am :: 2 comments links to this post

Post a Comment

---------------oOo---------------

Saturday, December 06, 2008



School's Out!!!

Here are some pics of Topsy trying to be patient after setting up the annual School's Out party for our family.
'Hmmm, it all looks good... Mummy surely wouldn't notice if I snuck a taste of just one little thing.......'
'Let me count and see what I can get away with. Well , at least 3000 crackers....'
'Awww only one cake! That's a bit cheap!! 3000 crackers and one measly cake!!!'
'2 packets of yumy biscuits. They might do nicely'
"Hmmm, it's a big choice!"
'I'll just sneak a napkin too, so I don't make a mess.....'


'Awwwww, Mum, you caught me and I wasn't even up to the fun part yet!"


We are all exhausted but delighting in the thought of all this time off!!!

We move in just 6 days.......eeks!!!

Here is our front yard... or should I say soon- to-be front yard.... (not that these pics give you too much real indication of what the place looks like really. All the houses we saw when we were looking looked so different to their photos!!)




and the back yard.....




I am thinking a lot about family dinners at present, and might blog a bit more on the topic soon. We do the family dinner round the table thing each night, and I love it, but there is still plenty of room for improvement, most of which is due to lack of planning. So that is what is on my mind. I am going to be doing some experimentation in the next while!!!

Posted by michelle :: 11:14 pm :: 2 comments links to this post

Post a Comment

---------------oOo---------------