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

Bohemian Hippie for a day #86

Today at school the girls are dressed up as Bohemian Hippies, no normal hippies no they wanted Bohemian Hippies, more glamorous! With the wavy hair, the head band with the flower, all the jewelry, the soft make up with lip gloss, the whole shebang!

We even made a Peace sign on the tshirt, with glitter... of course!

All the kids had to dress up in the era 50s to 90s, so we browsed the internet a few days ago to see what we could come up with. Of course with excisting clothing we already had, but that is not a big problem here, since they have a 4 cabinets filled to the brim with clothing, so we came up with this....

Fun or what??



I even bought these retro ponchos a while ago, not knowing that they would be perfect for today...



With loads of bangles and glitters they are off to school like this...



I wish we had those fun activities when we were a child, I can't remember that we ever went dressed up to school!

Does your school now or then do those fun things??

Have a good day,
Mireille

AISJ Festival of Races #70

Yesterday the girls had to run a race of 1 mile. Each year they build up their distance, so this year it was 1 mile (1.6 km).

A huge event, the whole school, parents and teachers were able to run, it was from 1/2 km to 1, to 2,5 to 5 km. Different groups starting at different times, but everybody was out on the fields in the morning.

And it was such a sunny and nice day, not too hot, and defintely not too cold!!

Just gorgeous!!

Such great events AISJ organizes!!

All the kids are waiting in groups by class... I am trying to find JJ & Jezz...



There I spotted Jasmine with Svenja.



Juliet noticing me, while I try to find her as well in the groups of kids waiting for their turn.



A quick picture before the race; FLTR: Flo, Juliet, Jasmine and Svenja.



On your marks! GO! Here are the 4th graders starting to run their 1 mile.



Agustin, a boy in Juliet's class is way ahead of everybody else! He is the 'lone ranger' so fast!!



Jasmine, her race is over and she is watching the bigger kids run now.



After the race... with a medal and a ice pop. FLTR: Rose, Flo, Elle, Kristen, JJ and Jezz.



Everybody walks toward the field for the last race, the 2,5km and 5km, mostly the high school kids, teachers and parents are running this race.



Looking down, supporting the runners and having fun being outdoors with everybody else!



Such a great event!

Enjoy your weekend! We will, because we are going to Sun City! YEAH!!
Mireille xx

Soccer tournament at AISJ #43

On Friday the girls had a soccer tournament at school. This year the girls had to play against each other, so only one of them could win :-)

They were so competitive!!

Last year they didn't play against each other and both teams won, but now the pressure was on!!

So fun!!

Jasmine's team were called the Rock Choppers, and Juliet's team were the Turbo Turtles.

Here all the kids are lining up with their teams before the game starts and they walk each to their soccer field.



Juliet's team: the Turbo Turtles in blue.




Juliet here in front with the cap, her team was in blue but later had red sleeves on during the game.



Jasmine's team before the game. The Rock Choppers.



Cheering on their team, which was split in half, so everybody could at least play for 12 minutes. With their own made banner.



Is that going to be a goal or not?? Everybody is watching in anticipation...



Jasmine in the opposite team in her black shirt and jeans short.



Both sides want to win, so everybody is running for the ball.



But in the end Jasmine's team: the Rock Choppers win! Their team was a bit of the underdog, but won in the end! Great job 4B!



Even though these are girls from both teams, they still are friends and happy together. That's what it is all about!!



It was raining during the match, but the kids didn't really notice.. only the parents on the side cheering them on were not all that happy...

A good day anyway, and now off to a long weekend, Monday = off!

YEAH!!

Have a Super Sunday!
Mireille xx

Living in Dainfern #38

I was researching about Dainfern, the secured estate I am living in and found this article in the Mail & Guardian online. I found the article interesting, even a bit sceptical... almost with an undertone of jealousy, like most reporters do when they write about Dainfern.



I agree that it is a kind of bubble we live in, but do I want my children to live in the real world with a chance of being hurt, killed, or even raped?

NO!

So YES, we decided to live in this secured estate that not everybody can afford. But don't we all want to live in a safe place, wherever you are? And if that means that you need to move to a secured estate with gates to enter and electric fences around and on top of the walls.... like a prison almost, YES then I will make that choice.

This is the choice we had to make in order to come to South Africa and live here safe with our children. I lived in 5 other countries before, and I never lived in a secured estate in those countries. I didn't need to, it was safe to live in a normal street in a normal house. Open for everybody to enter, but nobody did unless you were invited.

Here in South Africa that is not the case! If you would live in a single house in a normal street the chances that visitors come un-invited is very high. So people secure their 'normal' house with a wall and a gate around it. They put bars in front of their windows to make sure nobody can climb through it. So the situation is also not 'normal' anymore.

If you live within the secured walls of an estate like Dainfern, at least you don't need bars in front of your windows, you don't need a wall around your house, the wall is around the outer perimeter, but hidden by trees so I don't see them and don't feel like I am living in a prison. Although the reporter in this article below writes that she feels Dainfern is like a prison....

Each their own choice, but I like it that my children can walk freely out of my house and to the Pavilion where more kids are playing at the soccer field, or swimming in the community pool and meeting their friends from school without being scared that somebody will hijack, hurt or rape them. Because we live in a secured estate and we can walk around wherever we want.

I probably would not have chosen to live like this if it wasn't necessary, but in this country it is!! So do we have a choice?? Not really!! And when we move to a safer country we probably won't go to a secured estate, because like everything else it has advantages, but also disadvantages. But for us, expats with kids going to the American International school with a school bus system this is the best option we have. And I am glad to be part of this community that they give all those negative names for, mostly because they can't be part of it, are jealous, or don't know really what's going on here and just have some info from hearsay... isn't that how it mostly goes?? Gossip spreads fast, but a lot of time it is info they just have from 3rd parties but never direct from the people that live inside....

Read full article here.


For us this is a safe haven, and that is all what counts when I make a decision of where to live in whatever country I move to.

What is your prime decision making point of where to live in your country? Is it the safety issue or the school district, or being inside the city centre, or just outside in the country side?? Do you have to make a choice of safety as your FIRST choice??

It probably all depends in which country you live! So don't judge because we live in a place you would not choose to live in your country, but make up your opinion after a bit of research and see if you still would make that same decision....

Just my 2 cents on living where we do!

Enjoy this Terrific Tuesday!!
Mireille xx

Hip Hop classes at school #25

At AISJ, the International American school the girls attend started with Hip Hop classes as an afternoon activity.

So I decided to sign the girls up... they did not really agree with me. But these girls are super lazy sometimes and don't want to do anything after school. They rather come home and read their books.... the only thing they want to do is reading.

So as a good mother I want them to be all-round and let them try different things in life. After trying and they still don't like it... OK then they can finish the classes and not sign up again for a next semester. But once signed up... they have to finish! That is the deal!!

So very reluctant they went to the first class last Friday... and I was a bit anxious to see how they liked it or not.

When I saw their big smiles on their faces when they came back home... I knew I did the right thing!

'Mom, Hip Hop class is AWESOME!! and the music is totally COOL!!' ...is what they told me!!

Me happy.... the girls happy!! Sometimes life can be so good :-)

They wanted to show me what they learned in this first class, some pics below. And also they told me what the best thing is to wear on Fridays from now on....

Some moves the girls learned after just one class.



'And this is how you end' ...they told me :-)

NO skirts, (Jasmine was wearing one) but short pants with a legging (this was JJ's outfit and perfect) or long pants, because you swirl on the floor and if you have a skirt or short pants it will hurt your skin. "And if you jump too high everybody can see what is under your skirt Mom"... even though she was wearing a legging underneath.

OK ~ no problem, we can do that :-)

So Fridays is Hip Hop Day for the girls from now on!! I am glad that they do something besides the Pilates class on Wednesdays, because these girls turn into a recluse if I let them. They simply have enough company between the two of them, they really don't need much interaction with other people.... but this mommy will not let that happen!!

How are your kids? Social butterflies or rather a bit a loner??

Enjoy your day,
Mireille