My toddler is not much of a toddler anymore, no she is a little girl, soon to be 3 and suddenly full of attitude. It is amazing though to see how she thinks and the depth of what she understands at this young age.  Her language skills are growing every day and she has me in hysterics often. At the moment she is very independent and wants to do everything on her own. If she can’t she tends to sulk and remind me of this particular thing that I did not allow her to ‘do on my own mommy’ later. My daughter is like an elephant – she doesn’t forget.

Amy loves ‘pink milk’. I think this is because of the TV show Charlie and Lola,where the little girl, Lola loves drinking pink milkshakes.

Anyway I bought her some strawberry milkshake powder and she likes to help spoon some into the milk, when we make her pink milk. She likes to do it all on her own but inevitably it takes forever and involves a mess, so much to her annoyance, I will try and help her with it. Last week, without her seeing, I poured some powder into her cup and then went to her to give her the spoon to stir it with.  She looked at me all annoyed and placed her hands on her hips (her new thing) and said, ‘You did it all on your own mommy! That’s very nasty!’

Later that week, her container of pink powder was getting rather empty and difficult to reach into with a spoon. I showed her how it had to be tilted in order to allow the powder to flow out and into her cup, rather than spooned out. The next time she wanted pink milk, she enthusiastically grabbed the container from me and turned it virtually upside down in one swift movement. Needless to say, half the powder went on the floor. I was annoyed at now having to clean up the wasted powder and went to get a cloth with a huff. By the time I returned our Bull Mastiff, Winston (aka Winnie) was there, licking the spilt powder up off the floor and Amy reassuringly said, “Don’t worry mommy, Winnie’s tidying up!”

Wasabi Nuts! What can I say, my family find them revolting, while I am addicted! You find them at food markets and the Wellness Centre in town. If you like burny tastes, you will love them.

Amy’s art. Here is a picture of a monster she painted a few weeks ago, while my mom was coaxing her to ‘make him have big eyes and be scary!” I think she did a good job!

Fresh herbs from the garden. Need I say more?

Nina imitating E.T in her gown. How cute is that little body?

A winter’s day calls for baking and it is great fun to bake with your toddler, especially one who loves biscuits (‘bikkies’) as much as her mom. Here is an easy recipe:

Instant pudding biscuits

250 g margerine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

I packet of instant pudding (I used cocolate)

500g flour

1. Cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Add the eggs and mix.
3. Sift the flour and instant pudding together and then mix it in.
4. Stir until the mixture is dough like, then roll into medium sized balls and press down with a fork on a baking tray.
5. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. (I did mine a few minutes longer as I thought they weren’t properly cooked but that has made them a bit ‘too hard mommy’ according to Amy, so be warned.)

- On looking at all my old school books and reports, I realized that I did far better at university then I ever did at school. Was that due to age, self-confidence, experience or just plain luck?

- Potential means nothing. Life is all about action!

- How many old school books should a person keep?

- Fischer Price toys are timeless.

- If you are going to store old toys and objects for future generations, do it well. Perhaps those air-tight bags advertised in the glomail ads would do the trick?

- Dust is a bitch to clean.

- I have too much stuff.

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- Croupe is a scary illness! If you are a parent, buy a nebuliser and a humidifier now!

- When your child is sick, the world stops.

- The doctors and nurses at N1 City emergency were amazing!

- No matter how you tell your 2 year old, that the scary X-Ray machine is “a lovely camera for taking photos inside your sister’s body”, it will still be scary. Even to you.

- I have two very brave and loving daughters.

- My children make me vulnerable. That quote about once you have a child you wear your heart outside your body, is just so right!

- Always count your blessings and make health be at the top of your list!

I have been neglecting my blog lately and my lack of comments shows this! Come back people, please!! Anyway one of the reasons is that I only really get a chance to blog in the evenings and recently I have just been watching a few good TV shows instead. My parents have DSTV and while my husband and I have been able to go without TV for a long while and do actually prefer it that way, once it is there and you start watching a good series on this night and an interesting reality show on the next, well you get hooked and the week flies by.  I plan to get things under control shortly and restrict viewing to certain particular TV nights, but in the meantime I am enjoying watching:

- Flashforward (very cool story of a global blackout and how certain people respond to the flashes they experienced during the blackout)

- Californication (you just have to love David Duchovny)

- Fringe (from the creators of lost, I love this sci-fi series)

- LOST ( last series of my absolutely favourite show is now on!)

- The Mentalist ( Patrick Jayne has me amused)

On the reality TV front, I am now enjoying watching Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. I have never particularly liked Mr Ramsay much. His swearing, arrogance and general dislike for all things vegetarian had me seeing red, but honestly I take that all back. The man is good at what he does and so passionate about it all. You have to admire that. He really wants to help people succeed and is very encouraging and uplifting in this show. He really has helped change lives and that is inspiring!

Another inspiring show is ‘The world’s strictest parents’. A show where rebellious, drug-taking and disrespectful  British teens are sent to spend a week with a family somewhere on the other side of the world, in the hopes that it will help change their behaviour. I love these social experiment type things and find the results totally fascinating.  I think to bring about change you have to do something drastic and the effects these ‘strict’ parents have had on some of these really awful, spoilt, selfish teenagers has been darn right amazing. I have only seen two shows so far, the first dealing with a Mormon family in Utah and the second with an orthodox Jewish family in Israel. I have also reconsidered my view of Mormons, as this particular Mormon family were really good in the way they handled the two teenagers that were sent to them (one a 16 year old girl who told them she started trying for a baby at 14!). The things these families had in common have been that they showed unconditional love and respect while instilling strict boundaries. They also placed family and family values first and the community was held in high regard. There was a great sense of belonging and contributing. Hard work and respect for yourself as well as others is valued. I think there is a lot we can learn from these values.

I just had someone come begging at the gate. He wasn’t asking for money, but rather food. While making him sandwhiches, I had to field two calls and so by the time I got to the gate, he had gone. I just hate the idea of someone going hungry.

Amy has taken her time with talking, but these days is really getting into the swing of things. Each day she comes up with new words that I didn’t even know she knew and she says the funniest things. It is so amazing to be able to have a conversation with my daughter and to hear her view of the world around us as she experiences it all.

She has no trouble ordering me about. “Open the gate please mommy.” ‘Close the door please mommy” “Small spoon please mommy” “Purple bubbly juice please.” “ Amy to paint a pretty castle, please mommy, please.” This morning I adjusted a setting on the TV and had her say “Stop it mommy. Stop it! It is mine. My programme.” (while her one hand rests on her hip and the other wags a finger at me. ) Oh my word, I am a slave to a 2 and a half year old.

She sings along to the soundtracks of all her favourite Cbeebies programmes, describes things as “tasty”, “cute” and “pretty”(especially if it is pink).

Amy has been sick this past week with flu and has developed a cough. She has never had a problem taking medicine, and in fact I have been concerned that when she is older I might have to hide the stuff away. I think though she just loves the extra attention she gets when she is ill. This morning I gave her some cough syrup that my mom gave me, that is in a large bottle and she hated the taste and refused to have any more. Her usual cough syrup is in a small bottle and so she told me, “NO mommy, not nice. Not the big medicine mommy, the small medicine is better!” Ok, then.

We play this game where I ask Amy what animal each person we know would be if they were an animal. Amy came up with her own answers, and this is what they are:

Me – a monkey

Her dad– a goat

Herself – a pig (strangely enough it is her Chinese symbol)

Nina – a snake (which she pronounces “ssssssnake”. Very Fraudian)

Granny – an owl (very appropriate)

Grampa – a bear

Great Aunt Nor – a pig

Great Aunt Mini – a cat (one of her favourite things)

Uncle Richard – a horse (also happens to be his Chinese symbol)

Rowan – a dog

” The key question isn’t “What fosters creativity?” But it is why in God’s name isn’t everyone creative? Where was the human potential lost? How was it crippled? I think therefore a good question might be not why do people create? But why do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.”
- Abraham Maslow

Like many toddlers, Amy loves to draw and paint. Basically, she loves anything to do with art and one of her favourite programs on TV is Mr Maker. She is pretty good with her colouring in, but I prefer her to draw freely on paper as colouring in the lines can stifle creativity and independence. (My daughter tends to lean towards the rule-following-anal type of personality anyway, so a bit of ‘going with the flow’ is needed!). I am quite impressed with her drawing though, as she is able to draw all the correct body parts in their correct places, which for her age is very good. Needless to say as a proud mommy and art lover myself, I have fantasies of my child being the next Picasso, but most importantly I am happy that she enjoys being creative. I hope this continues into adulthood as too many adults have lost their sense of creativity and in fact do not even view themselves as creative at all.

There are so many different forms that creativity can take. You don’t need to be a great painter to be creative. Perhaps you love cooking and have a good sense of what ingredients go well together or perhaps you are a skilled baker who loves decorating beautiful cakes. You could be good at gardening or sculpting, beading, knitting, writing, sewing or interior decorating. Perhaps you are simply creative in the way you dress. I feel it is important for mothers to encourage creativity in their children, especially their sons as too often creativity is associated with femininity and considered a girl’s activity. Unexpressed or stifled creativity leads to frustration and dissatisfaction with one’s life. Maxwell Maltz eloquently put it “ Emptiness is a symptom that you are not living creatively. You either have not goal that is important enough to you, or you are not using your talents and efforts in a striving toward an important goal.” A more masculine form of creativity could take the form of making things with wood or metal, or hobbies that involve building model airplanes, cars or boats.

From an energy point of view, our creative centre is our sacral chakra. It is orange in colour and is linked with water and the idea of flow and movement. This reminds me that dancing and making music is yet another form of creativity! This centre also links with intuition and very importantly, with our reproductive organs and fertility. If you are having difficulty conceiving, it is worthwhile to make a point of creating something in your life. Plant a tree, take up a creative hobby or sign up for a yoga or bio-danza dance class!

Another reason I feel it is important to encourage creativity in our children, is that it teaches them a way of expressing themselves that is non-verbal and non-threatening. It helps release stress and repressed emotion and can be very therapeutic.

So, if you are reading this post, why not whip out some paints, write a poem, visit your local nursery or plan a wonderful meal for tonight? Whatever creative activity you choose, remember the most important thing is to have fun!

“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.”
- Alan Alda

Amy’s drawing with ‘pretty hair’. Notice the belly-button!

Amy wanted to draw a bunny last night(I think she is looking forward to Easter!) So, here is our drawing of 3 Bunnies with Easter eggs, by Granny(Ga), Mommy and Amy. Amy’s egg is chocolate and therefore very enthusiasticly coloured in brown.

Going bananas
When shopping at the Spar a few days ago, I let Amy choose the bananas and put them in the plastic bag. A young man was next to us, choosing fruit and smiled at Amy as she looked rather cute as she went about her assigned task. When she was finished, I tied a knot in the bag, handed it back to her and said, “Right now you must hand the bag to the man to be weighed”, as I turned to walk towards the man standing by the scale about 1 metre away. I heard a giggle behind me and looked back to find that Amy had just handed the man choosing fruit, her packet of bananas! Her was very amused. Time to be more descriptive mommy!

Snow Angels
I walked into the lounge the other day to find Amy lying on her back on the floor, waving her arms madly about. On the TV played Winnie the Pooh, with a scene where he and Piglet are lying in the snow, making snow angels. I guess, so was Amy!

Speaka de Engleesh
Despite starting early, Amy’s language ability is not as good as it should be. If it weren’t for the fact that she is an intelligent child and ahead in other areas of development, I would be worried rather than just frustrated. Call it due to regression, laziness, stubbornness or whatever you will but my child will only honour you with a word or sentence on her terms. You can’t force her or bribe her, it just doesn’t work. We joke that she speaks a mixture of German(she says ‘Ein’ and “Nien”), Russian(she says ‘Da’ for yes) and Chinese (her general gobbledeegook). Craig often says to her, ‘speaka de engleesh’. She just laughs. Although she knew how to say ‘Nina’, when her sister was born, she simply refers to her as ‘the baba’ and is quite content saying, “No baba, no, dis Amy’s” at every opportunity when Nina has a toy. She calls her granny, ‘Gaga’, her grampa, ‘Gagi’, her one great aunt is ‘Mimi’ and now the other is ‘Bugger’! Wendy’s daughter Lily has now been affectionately been named, “Buggy”. Amy will frequently repeat the last word I say in a sentence and so recently I have heard words like “Wait, Ice-cream, umbrella, naartjie, take it, Mickey Mouse ” .  But then they are gone.  Her favourite sentence now is “Mum, Amy want go out” which she repeats until she feels I have gotten the message and we are heading towards the garage door! She may not use all the words the English language has to offer, but she certainly gets her message across!

A Hairy Tale
This is a rather embarrassing story. I hope no-one from child services is reading.  About two weeks ago my hair had been driving me mad. After realising I had 5 different hair shades going on but lacked the finances for a hairdresser, I finally bought some good old hair-dye to apply at home. It had been a while since I dyed my own hair – 3 years actually! Things have changed since then, for example now I have a two year old clinging to my leg while I try and apply the noxious liquid to my scalp.  I tend to be slap-dash with this kind of thing at the best of times, but now it was even worse. While throwing the stuff on my head as quickly as possible, I felt some splash to the floor. Fortunately the floor is tiled, so I removed it easily with a cloth. I thought nothing more of this. Later that day I noticed that Amy had some type of sticky patch in her hair and still wondered how she had managed to get food there.  She would not let me fiddle, so I just left it. Much, much later, – just before her bath, I picked her up and gave her a big hug. As I did this I got a whiff of peroxide and thought OMG!!! I (finally) put two and two together and realized that some hair dye must have fallen into her head while she was clinging to me that morning. It had been there THE WHOLE DAY! (The box says leave for 20 minutes). I was petrified of the result and even kept this knowledge from Craig as I anxiously awaited the outcome. Fortunately her hair is not too much darker than mine and so it just looked like a highlight – a patchy one, but not too noticeable, Craig never noticed until I told him, neither did my mom, but my aunt did! I am just grateful I wasn’t being adventurous and dying my hair black or fire-engine red.