Happy 10th Bday sweet peas!!

I am still behind a few days, so here is my post about their actual Bday, April 27th. The party is over but the girls had 6 friends to sleep over, so the party was not really over yet....

We planned to go to the movies after breakfast and opening all the gifts and then at midday all the girls would go home again, and we had time to celebrate Jasmine and Juliet's Bday with just the four of us.

What a difference some make up does, here they look again like my 10 year olds.. not like the 15 year olds they looked yesterday!! Happy Bday sweet peas!! We love you very much!!

At 5am the girls with their friends who stayed over for a sleep over opened all these gifts that they got....

After that we all had breakfast together, 8 girls on my breakfast bar :-)

Then later when everybody was gone they opened our gifts, they had to wait quite a while, but it was still the 27th!

Here with daddy, eventhough boyfriends are starting to be interesting, he is still their favorite man in the whole wide world!

And here with mommy... thank you for all the gifts and the FAB party they were saying... at least they still appreciate it all ;-)

It's all behind us, the girls truly enjoyed all the festivities at school and home, and since we only have 1 month left before school finishes the girls have this weekend and the coming weeks so many Bday and Goodbye parties planned it is not funny anymore!!

Only this weekend they have already 3 planned, no wonder these girls know how to party, they get enough practice!!

Double Date, Juliet and Aviv and Jasmine and Ijzac are 'dating' Not standing next to each other though...
from L to R: Ijzac, Juliet, Aviv and Jasmine.

Both their 'boyfriends' are moving away to either home country or another expat location. So saying goodbye is another thing they will be good at after a few years being an expat kid, because this happens all the time as well!

Well, up to 5th grade after the big break off 10 weeks and who knows new boys on the horizon... at least it is still innocent and I hope that it will stay that way for a long long time!! But looking at these social butterflies I am afraid that soon the innocence will be lost ;-(

Have a good day,
Mireille xx

Punk, Rock & Goth Party!

We had a Punk, Rock and Goth Party for the girls 10th Bday and had about 30 kids and 10 adults coming over. 

So full house!!

We had a band and a DJ, with a smoke machine and laser lights, the kids all had glow in the dark glasses, bracelets and other items which they were wearing, so you could find each other. 

The evening was gorgeous, not too cold and the kids danced away on the FAB music of the DJ. They were very excited to have the band, but then when they played they didn't dance anymore... I guess those rock band songs were hard for them to dance on... then you can see that 10 years old is still so young!! But the adults danced at that point.

All the kids were dressed up either as Punk, Rock or Goth. For most of the girls it was goth, they are so intruiged by all the black and especially the make up!

Smokey eyes is the IN thing now!!

The girls in their Goth outfit, make up, nails, hair all done into detail.

Pre-Party Posing!

We had all kinds of glow in the dark gadgets to make it even more fun!

Most of the girls in one shot!

You can see that Jasmine and Juliet are used to posing... :-)

As soon as the girls had to pose with the boys they felt a bit awkward.

Pre-party posing with Candice, my friend and mother of one of the band members Leo.

Posing in their Goth outfits from L to R: Paula, Cathlynn, Elle, Juliet and in front Jasmine.

The band was great!

The girls are dancing the Macarena dance.

Even the boys did the Macarena dance.

The party was great and I believe that everybody had a good time!

Pfew... it takes another whole year to come up with a new theme for their 11th Bday party!

Ciao,

Mireille

Party Time!!

We celebrated the twins Bday on the day before, since April 27th is FREEDOM day here in South Africa and everybody has a holiday.

So we had double parties, one at school and the BIG one in the evening, more pictures about that later!

The cupcakes and cake I ordered at Kadies baking shop, they can do any theme, color or shape. They are wonderful! The cupcakes and cake (which unfortunately I forgot to take a picture off :-( are RED chocolate inside. I wanted red velvet, but they couldn't do that, but they accomodates with dark chocolate and made it red, looked equally fabulous!!

So we had skulls and black roses with a 'plastic' icing, since the girls don't like all that fluffy frosted cream on top.

The cup cakes were in the party's theme: Rock, Punk & Goth

JJ and her class mates waiting in line to eat
 a cup cake

Jasmine and Juliet were a bit shy when all the kids sang the Bday song for them...

Here is Jasmine with her classmates

Here is Juliet with her classmates, unfortunately her teacher was sick that day :-(

It was a gorgeous day outside, so the Bday party was for both classes outside, the kids had their cup cake and played a bit before the school ended.

A good start for a Bday weekend!
Mireille xx

Last day 9

I know I haven't been blogging much and I hope that my readers are not too mad at me... sorry guys, just not in the mood for writing and nothing much happening here. At least in my eyes nothing worthy to write about. But I will promise better...

I haven't been blogging for 1,5 week and the system has completely changed on me, the outlook looks completely different when I type in the text for the body... hope it turns out the same ;-)

Tomorrow is the girls Bday, so last day in the single digits. Tomorrow they will turn 10... TEN!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone, can remember the day we got them so vividly and now almost ten years later.

I just measured and weighed them to see how things are at the moment, well Jasmine is a bit taller, always has been and she is 1.40 mtr/4,5" and Juliet is 1.39 mtr/4,5" and they almost weigh the same as well. Jasmine is 66 lbs/30 kg and Juliet is 65 lbs/29,5 kg and they wear shoe size 3 US and 2 SA. They grew in the last 4 months an inch = 2,5 cm, so that is a good sign that it is still going upwards and not side ways ;-) But you can see that their body is changing, the womanly curves are setting in, a bit more hips and booty and the boobies are slowly coming in as well, a new phase is here!



Here they are on their last day being 9, having breakfast before going to school. Today at school they will serve cupcakes, pictures later and today is the BIG party as well. The girls have off tomorrow for a long weekend so we do the party today, in case some kids go out for a few days to celebrate the long weekend. WE, we just PARTY!!

The scene of the party is Punk, Rock & Goth, and everybody has to be dressed up in either one of these 3 scenes. It will be fun!

We will have a live band and a DJ with a smoke machine, laser lights and all kinds of glow in the dark thingys to make it fun, since we have it outside on the patio between 6-9, so dark and mysterious :-) And there are coming about 30 kids, so busy enough tonight!

The girls have chosen their outfits and go for Goth, black hair, black clothing and black eye make up, it is looking good. Took a while to get those outfits complete and it just reminds me how my future with these two will be... a lot of fussing about hair and outfits!

More pictures tomorrow!
I promise I will be back :-)

Enjoy your day!
Mireille

The life of an expat wife...

Being a trailing spouse of an expat husband is not always easy...

You might have to move to a country that doesn't speak your language?

You need to give up your job, say goodbye to all your friends and family...

You need to start all over with doctors, dentist, hobbies and other interests..

You maybe go to a country that is under developed, slow internet, not such good infrastructure... dangerous or in an earthquake or other nature disaster zone..

These are just a few mishaps that you might end up dealing with when you move to the other side of the world.

BUT...

There are also ADVANTAGES!

And yesterday was just one of those GOOD days as an expat wife!!

12 of us had a fun PAMPER PARTY at HOME! One of my friends, Paige arranged the whole thing so Tshidullo African Day Spa was coming to her house and give us all 12 each 3 spa treatments... so nice!! So bliss!! So heavenly!!

Yes we arranged that the spa ladies come to us! A luxury or what? So we each brought some food and bubbles and got 3 treatments each, while we are reading magazines, having a chat with our besties, and nibbling on the most delicious snacks and of course we slurp it down with some good champagne!

LIFE = not bad at all as an expat wife!!

The 3 treatments we got were: Back & Neck massage with grape seed oil, Facial and an African foot massage and scrub with a warm lavender foot soak, peppermint foot scrub and grape seed oil massage from knees to toes. Hmm.. Hmm... Hmm!!

If you want to book this private Day spa to come to your house for a girls day out or a romantic spa with your husband, contact them on 079-618 3533 or click on the link above to go to their website. And if you click THIS link, you get even a 57% discount on their services via groupon!!

I can promise you it is fun & fabulous!!

Here we are gathering for a drink before our treatments start.



The girls are setting up 3 stations, one for the foot massage, one for the facial and one for the back massage.



They bring everything! Massage tables, towels, products, even soothing music!



Even fluffy bathrobes and slippers, just wonderful!



While they are prepping the areas we are chatting and having our first glass of champagne... it is 10am, but hey somewhere in the world it is 5pm!



The girls are almost done..



And we slip into our robes waiting patiently till we get our first treatment, with bubbles in your hand you are not in a hurry!



So good those foot rubs!



And afterwards we have a great lunch, having those treatments makes you hungry :-)



Nice to know is that Tshidullo African Day Spa won a small business award! So not only we think they are good, some other people agree with us!! Check the info here.

Well, for sure Pheladi and her team are professional, friendly and good at what they do. They found some new fans in us after today!

Book them too, you will not regret it!
Enjoy your weekend!
Mireille xx

Happy Thai New Year ~ Songkran

The Thai people celebrate the beginning of a New Year this week, it's called Songkran Festival.



The Songkran festival or literally "astrological passage" is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia.

The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following. If they fall in the middle of the week, many Thais take off from the previous Friday until the following Monday. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season.

Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.
Songkran has traditionally been celebrated as the New Year for many centuries, and is believed to have been adapted from an Indian festival. It is now observed nationwide, even in the far south. However, the most famous Songkran celebrations are still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. It has also become a party for foreigners and an additional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion in another culture.

The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran as a Buddhist festival may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance (Thai: น้ำอบไทย) over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year.

In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.

Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.

The throwing of water originated as a way to pay respect to people, by capturing the water after it had been poured over the Buddhas for cleansing and then using this "blessed" water to give good fortune to elders and family by gently pouring it on the shoulder. Among young people the holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat, since April is the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days). This has further evolved into water fights and splashing water over people riding in vehicles.

Nowadays, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the many alcohol-related road accidents as well as injuries attributed to extreme behavior such as water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.

Watch this video if you like to know more about the ways the Thai people celebrate Songkran in Thailand, so much fun to be there. I wish I could just hop over and celebrate!! But I am sure one day we will be back and celebrate again!



Jasmine and Juliet are dressed in traditional Thai clothing, which you would see a lot of girls wearing in Thailand during the Songkran festival, and especially the ones who would enter the beauty contests held all over in different towns.



Sawatdee Pee Mai!! ~ Happy Thai New Year to you all!
Mireille

Back on African soil

I am back on African soil again...





It was a great trip to the USA this week, but I am glad to be back with my family. I missed my little girls!!

All the paperwork for my Green Card and Travel document are done and over with... I am good to go for another 2 years!!

Getting over my jet lag again... with the 6 hours difference and the 17 hour flight it is an exhausting trip!

Have a great day,
Mireille xx

My new hangout in TriBeCa...

While in New York City I was hanging out with my good old friend Espen in TriBeca. It was just days before the Easter weekend and he was moving out to his new place just around the corner.

So this will be my new hang out while visiting him in the City next time I come around... Truffles Tribeca, the most talked about rental in Manhattan.

The view: the trendy and totally cool and hip area of TriBeca.



The view on the other side: the Hudson river.



The common area: where the pretty people mingle... cool & funky!



I know they are up to date with the trends, look at that African side table... I have a few of those in my house!



Good job choosing your new place Espen, love to come back to hang out some more with you!!

Not bad at all... I LOVE the City!!

So vibrant, always something to do, to see, to experience, to eat...

Next time we move to the USA, New York City will definitely on our list!!

Mireille xx

Meeting my 'old' friends

So fun to see everybody again!!

Everybody brought some food and wine and we enjoyed each other's company!

From L to R: Meryl, Liz, Marion, Me, Patsy, Deanna, Valerie and Ella.



Patsy, Bob and me.



Me, Marion and Valerie.



Valerie, Deanne and me.



We met at Patsy's house which has a beautiful view over Rainbow Lake.



These green card trips are always short but so much fun!!

Love you all guys!!
Mireille xx

Spring in Connecticut

I am in Connecticut and the skies are blue and the blossom is everywhere!!

So beautiful... while in South Africa it is full Fall now, we have here full spring in the USA...





What season is it now where you are??

Love, M xx

Central Station #92

Sunday morning at Central Station ~ New York City.

I just arrived after a long flight from South Africa...



Now the train to Stamford, rent a car and drive to Redding.

A long journey... more than 24 hours on the road.

I am exhausted, but had a business class flight, otherwise I am not sure if I could have handled the train ride and car ride anymore.

All this to do my biometrics to keep my green card alive...

But of course I combine this trip with a few visits to my favorite friends!!

YEAH!!

More later...
Mireille xx