This post is an extended version as I am covering two weeks since I had family here over the weekend and that took priority over writing.

Sunday before last, my daughter Caitlin came over with my granddaughter for a visit. They went for swim lessons that morning and then Caitlin stopped and got food for us all from Kleinsky’s Deli as it was on their way here. The deli is my new addiction, everything I have had from there has been divine. Bree was obviously hungry from swimming and was insistent on ‘foodies!!’. Once Bree finished her lunch we took her to the back garden and when I opened the playroom door she walked in with huge eyes like it was Disneyland. She could not decide what to do first so she investigated everything. She found a large box of coloured chalk and did a drawing of each of us. All of the men were a single line, all of the women were 4 lines and some of the women got a circle, I guess representing a head and hopefully not our stomachs. Not everyone was ‘lucky enough’ to get a head.

Bree rode the pink bike around a bit, pushed the stuffed bunny babies in the pram for a little bit and generally looked in all of the cupboards. At one point she was taking the pram down the stairs when she lost control of the pram, the pram overturned and she panicked, wailing loudly ‘my babies!!!’ until we reassured her that neither bunny was hurt and set the pram upright.

Caitlin took her upstairs for a little nap and she went down quickly and had a good sleep. While she was down Caitlin staged all of the little doll houses by unpacking all of the furniture and putting it into the houses.

When Bree woke up we blew bubbles for a bit and she played in the room while the rest of us chatted. It was a lovely relaxing day.

On Monday night a week ago I was woken at 4.30ish to bright flashes of light and the sounds of rain pounding on the metal roof. Thunder was booming loudly and the lightning was fierce enough to light the entire bedroom. The storm was obviously right over us. The sounds of the rain (and my antihistamine) put me right back to sleep and I slept until about 8am. When I got up it was incredibly hot already and it was 28℃ by noon.

Kim cleaned the pool on Tuesday but by then the heat had already started to cool. Lily drove down to Cape Town with Amelia and Roo that day. Josh could not come as they came for almost a week and he is working. I was working too but the kids are busy during the day.

On Wednesday Caitlin and Bree came over to visit. Amelia and Bree were so excited to see each other they could barely cope. They spent so long in the pantry greeting each other with complete chaos. This was the first time that Bree’s language skills allowed them to actually have a verbal conversation. Listening to them chat was the best.

We ordered sushi and Chinese food for dinner that night. Bree loved the sushi. Roo is now annoyed when you try to feed him baby food, he wants the same thing we are eating. I spent one night desperately trying to feed him a boiled egg with zero success. Lily handed him a bit of pizza to gnaw on to keep him quiet and he wolfed it down. He ate one and a half pieces of pizza and only wore the egg. Sometimes you just want them to eat something so that they sleep all night.

Spoiler alert: Roo never sleeps all night. I do not know how Lily copes, she gets so little sleep.

Caitlin put Bree into the bath with Amelia and Roo and Lily took the opportunity to hop into the shower. You manage those seconds however you can! After bath time Caitlin and Bree made Bree’s tea for the drive home and off they went, Roo and Amelia were off to bed.

It is a high energy situation with multiple toddlers running around, but at least they go to bed at 6.30 or so and Norm and I have the evening to wind down.

The babies were up early on Wednesday. I was at my desk working but Lily tried to relax while the babies played in the play room and in the fairy garden. It is funny that Amelia is obsessed with the fairy garden and spent hours there while Bree was told ‘do not touch’ so she didn’t. Two fairies were accidently broken over the weekend but it was through play, not because she chucked them or anything.

Thursday was a Public Holiday so we invited everyone to my house, including Lily’s childhood friend Chelsea and her family. Caitlin, Wes and Bree popped by. We ended up with 6 adults and 4 children. Norm went to the shops for the ingredients for a simple lunch. He bought rotisserie chickens, ham, cheese, breads, vegetable crudites, hummus, dips, chips and salads.

We had a lovely lunch and then the kids all went into the back garden. The adults popped a brolly into the hole where the laundry rack goes and made shade for them all.

The children played in the fairy garden, the play room and ran around. Everyone had a lovely day.

On Friday I worked and Lily and the kids hung out here. We had dinner and shortly after everyone went up to bed Trevor arrived from the airport. He was exhausted from travel so we all had an early night.

The rental company had dropped off the mushroom themed jumping castle on the Friday and on Saturday Caitlin had planned a Princess Party for Bree and Amelia and invited over Norm & I as well as her family who were down for the weekend

Bree has a Snow White gown and Amelia has a Cinderella one and so they dressed in them and jumped. I wore a dress from Truworths that I had ordered online and was too tight until my recent weight loss and it now fits me perfectly! It was just below the knee and very lightweight as it was a warm day.

The girls had so much fun jumping and just in wearing their outfits. It is not unexpected that we have another generation that loves a dress up party! Every time Amelia did something naughty she said ‘I am Cinderella!’ as if she, Amelia, bore no responsibility for any of Cinderella’s naughty antics.

Caitlin and Wes provided sandwiches for us for lunch and then Norm and I headed home in the late afternoon so that Norm could walk the dogs.

On Saturday when we arrived at Caitlin’s a beautiful multi-coloured sunbird landed on the bush in front of us. It was my Grandmother who always signals that she is with us.

I thought about how blessed I am with my children, my grandchildren, my husband and my home.

On Saturday night I ordered dinner for us all to arrive when Lily, Trevor and the kids got home. They had dinner and then went off to bed exhausted.

Sunday was Bree’s actual 2nd birthday and all of the family and Bree’s friends were invited to a Fairy Party.

The girls have matching beautiful fairy dresses, Bree’s is a soft green and Amelia’s is pink. They looked so adorable with large wings attached to their backs. All of the kids there had such fun jumping and playing. We were so relieved that the weather stayed manageable because bad weather would have ruined the day. The wind did pick up in the afternoon but it was not enough to cause any issues. Bree looked at the shaking chimney and shook herself and said ‘the roof is shaking!’. She is such a funny little thing.

I managed to pin down all of my kids for a group photo. Since I cannot post pics of the grandchildren I need some proof of my existence. I have such gorgeous, kind, lovely ‘children’.

I wore a dress I have had in my cupboard for ages but could never feel comfortable enough in to wear. I added a new black silky lacy vest underneath and a necklace (both from Me&B) and was happy with it. I wore new animal print mary janes from Leluya. I also got a pic of Trevor and I since I see him only when one of us visits. I look like a hunchback but he is very handsome isn’t he?

On Monday Lily drove back with the kids and Trevor flew home to George. The house was so quiet after a week of fabulous chaos. I got to know Roo a bit more as he was much more interactive. However he was not my biggest fan, he just looked at me and cried. However he adored his Papa Norm! His face lit up and he dove towards Norm every time he saw him. Bree also loves her Papa Norm. I love that he gets to experience this time with them. I hope we are planting those roots for a lifetime relationship.

Awkward Segue… speaking of roots, my fairy garden plants are doing well.

I added the little slow watering mushrooms into 2 of my existing pots.

When I filled up the new birdbath I also put a little stone into the insect watering section so that they have somewhere to stand.

Today Kim cut down the vines at the back around the fairy garden.

Both of the robins popped by to visit and one of them shoulder checked a tiny swee waxbill. There seems to be some bird gang. Then when I went outside after work, mama squirrel brought baby squirrel to visit me. They got a fright from something and took off eventually.

The days have been sunny but not unbearably hot.

Today it has gone up to 33℃ and it has been pretty unbearable.

The nights are peaceful.

Our first night alone I chose sushi and Norm popped down to get some for dinner.

Tuesday Norm went down to the shops and bought some food to cook for dinner. I had to work late and he made a gorgeous salad, some potatoes in the air-fryer and steaks cooked perfectly.

It was such a beautiful evening we decided to sit outside.

I have been jumping every night while my family was here, much to Amelia’s annoyance that she had to compete with me for time on the rebounder. One night Lily was busy running around and sat Roo down to watch me jump. Amelia joined him and the two of them sat arm in arm watching me as if I were doing a ballet on a stage instead of an awkward jig about on a rebounder.

The dogs loved having the kids here. Roo giggled with delight when they came near him. He tried to bite Blue on the tail but we caught him just in time. He is so fast we have to keep one eye on his mitts at all times.

Amelia told them off when necessary and cuddled them when possible. Finn was always on guard and lay down across Roo’s path if near the front door.

It has been such a wonderful time with them all and I was so happy to see them enjoy the space I created for them. I wanted them to feel like they have a space of their own to hang out. They can shut out the dogs and not have to cope with them stealing their toys.

I hope you have all had a lovely week. I will catch up again not this weekend but the following and then get back into my usual publishing routine. I thank you all for reading!

Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxo