Even I jumped down the sand dune at Igoda yesterday

Well, I guess it's not such a big thing, after all, I'm still only 41, but I guess I've just been in our little home office a lot, and have not been getting out much, and so I felt like it was almost "a big thing" I also jumped down the sand dune during our little outing to Igoda, near East London late yesterday afternoon.  Tony is 50 though, and also jumped.  I really need to get fit again!  The boys were jumping down the sand dunes, and running down the sand dunes, like little monkeys, and the boys and I also tried out a homemade sandboard, but it didn't work. I tried a bit of everything, and got tired quite easily, but it was fun!

Here's two photos of me, trying (Basti, my 12 year old son, is in both photos too):

Follow the other three links further above to see more photos of Igoda, and of both Basti and Zooty.  Also follow this link which has a photo of Tony, Basti and Zooty at Igoda.

and
also see

Basti's Igoda story and photos

Zooty's Igoda story and photos

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

My 3 boys

Tony, the boys and I took a drive out to Igoda beach yesterday afternoon. Basti and Zooty and I took our cameras with and enjoyed taking some pictures at Igoda, and while I was driving back home afterwards, the boys continued to take some pictures out the car windows.

At Igoda, we didn't have much luck with a homemade sandboard, and the boys took to jumping off a sand dune instead. Next time we'll try and get to Igoda earlier so that we don't end up spending less than an hour there, like we did yesterday, and having to leave before dark.

In the three photos taken at Igoda yesterday, Zooty (11) enjoys being covered in sand, Basti (12) pulls a face as he tries to get the sand out of his pants, and in the third photo, Zooty, Tony (50), Basti and our dog Gilly start leaving the beach.

also see

Basti's Igoda story and photos

Zooty's Igoda story and photos

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

 

Totally thrilled with my new Blogger template and all the other theme options too

Just love the new free templates for Blogger bloggers! Settled on one, but was tempted to change it after just two days, when the boys were going through the various background images for the new templates for their own blogs Lava Reflections and Screeching Falcon.

Zooty's blog Screeching Falcon was one of the top five risers in the blogs on myScoop yesterday - they had just left with their father to spend three nights at him, when I saw this, and so I quickly phoned Zooty to tell him the good news - he was lank chuffed of course. I'm just so sorry I didn't send the flash with them, so that they could write some more blog posts while at their dad on their pc there, that I could upload for them when they get back.

Anyway, back to the new templates for Blogger: They're gorgeous, and wider too, nice spacing area for bigger ads in the sidebars too, and any other info one wants to have appear there too, so that all the info that usually appears in a sidebar no longer has the viewer scrolling down forever to see it all. Nice job, Blogger!

© copyright Teresa Schultz

I lost one of Zooty's drawings today and this was a big problem

Zooty likes to draw. Zooty likes anime, sketching, and computer games. I've organized that the the boys have their own blogs now, even though I don't yet allow them Internet on their computer, and I will upload most of their blog posts for them.

Zooty was taking photos of some of his drawings and there was one particular one he'd given me that we couldn't find. Oops, not good. Zooty kept repeating "Mom lost my best drawing, Mom lost my best drawing!"

Tony eventually came to the rescue and located the missing drawing in a box in the garage from the last time we were tidying up the office a bit. So all's well, and Zooty will soon be adding some photos of his drawings to his very own blog, called Screeching Falcon.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

Eish, the boys are missing lots of karate

The boys go to karate lessons in East London twice a week, but we missed taking them three times in a row recently, due to their exams (which hopefully helped as Zooty got 67,3% aggregate, and Basti got 86,5% aggregate.) Basti is trying to keep his high marks up and he did so, and even better by improving on last term's aggregate of 85,1%, and Zooty was trying to improve on his last term's aggregate of 72%. This didn't happen, but it may have been worse if we'd taken time out from learning to fit in three karate lessons.

We try not to miss too many karate classes so that the boys can learn and practice all they can before their next grading session coming up in late July, I think. They will be trying to grade to their brown 2 belt.

The boys did do a karate lesson last week, and were meant to go again earlier this week, but we went to my brother instead, for supper and to celebrate his birthday, thinking we would try not miss any karate lessons for at least the next 4 weeks (8 karate sessions in a row), but now Basti seems a little ill, and we're not going to go tonight either. I'm dosing him up on Viral Guard and vitamin C, keeping him home, and hopefully we'll get to the next karate lesson.

They enjoy their karate lessons, are doing well with it, and have even enjoyed a karate training session on Nahoon Beach.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

The boys now have their own blogs too

Spent quite some time this afternoon setting up blogger blogs for the boys, with their help. They chose their own blog names (titles), and two widgets each for their blogs.

Zooty's blog is Screeching Falcon and Basti's blog is Lava Reflections.

They enjoyed looking for widgets to add to their blogs and they have made their first blog post.

Zooty plans to upload photos of his artwork, or digital art, tshirt designs, and describe the pictures. He will also sometimes just give news or write a little story or idea down.

Basti plans to upload photos, perhaps some photos of art, and his digital art or other designs, and describe the pictures. He too will also have news and stories etc.

They do not yet have their own Internet on their computer (I do not yet allow it, and we can't afford it right now), and I will copy and paste or upload for them, from what they do on their computer. Sometimes, if I'm not too busy, I'll let them sit at my computer and upload their stuff themselves.

Zooty has already made himself a little "business card" design, and will hand some cards out to friends at school, who will hopefully pop in at his blog and leave a comment or two.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

Out for the Count

Knocked about, totally "kished" and worn out, what happens to one when one has just had too much? Activities that drain one's energy aren't the end of the world, as long as one has a chance to recover before the next bout. In fact, activities that drain one's energy are usually related to fun, fresh air and exercise, so definitely not the end of the world - instead, they're good for you.

These two photos below depict my sons, Basti and Zooty, in January 2009, asleep in the back of the car, on the way back home to East London from a daytrip to Hogsback, totally pooped, and out for the count, after a day of activities in the quaint little Hogsback.

Out for the count Hogsback Zooty

Out for the count Hogsback Basti

What fun we had! We hiked to Kettle Spout and Madonna and Child (waterfalls), bought little clay hogs, popped in at Saint Patrick on the Hill, and explored the view at The Edge.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

Grade 6 and 7 school English exams today

Well, the boys have been dropped off at school, and today they write their first SA 2nd term school exam. After today's English exam, they have 7 more days of exams, the poor things - although, I think their exams stress me out more than them sometimes!

Tony went through Basti's English with him last night, in our little home office, while I sat on the back of my folks' little bakkie in the garage with Zooty, going through his.

We'll swop kids some evenings, during the next few days, but, generally, we just can't wait for the exams to be over.

Basti (grade 7) is doing really well at school (85% aggregate last term) and we're hoping he'll stay "right up there" - but the first term was based on tests, while this term it's EXAMS. Scary word, and especially when it's English today, and Basti's spelling is not so hot. His memory is great though, so hopefully all those English rules will be remembered!

Even though exams are generally stressful for all, it's also fun going through the boy's work with them. We let them learn for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, for however many days we can fit in before an exam, but only "ask them questions" the night before the exam is to be written, give them tips etc. If we do it early enough in the evening and notice any wobblies, we send them off for another learning session, and we fit in one more "asking" session.

Zooty (grade 6) is not doing badly at school (72% aggregate last term), but we're hoping to see some improvement, because we know he can improve; that he is capable of improvement. His (all grade 6's in Eastern Cape - not sure if in the whole of South Africa) exams this term are being set by the Department of Education, so we'll just have to wait and see how he does, and cannot really predict how he might do, as we might have been previously able to do, based on exams NOT set by the Department of Education.

Sitting on the back of the bakkie, last night, asking Zooty his English, was fun, but not all that comfortable - might change our asking session place today (Natural Science for Zooty tomorrow, and Afrikaans for Basti).

English was my favourite subject at school, especially writing essays, but I didn't do badly at grammar either - last night I was reminded of what the four different kinds of nouns are: proper nouns, common nouns, collective nouns and abstract nouns - Zooty remembered only two, so that was dealt with, a bit.

He was good at remembering "i before e except after c" though and that it (this rule) does not apply when part of the word sounds like "ay" as in neighbour. Interesting stuff!

I was also proud that he knew that the plural for radius is radii.

Well, I certainly hope they can do something with this English they're learning, once they've left school, and that it won't be merely sitting on the back of a bakkie in their garage, one day, going through English books with their own children, fondly rembering their own days at school - and hopefully also remembering that their mother used to sit on the back of a bakkie with them too, when it was school exams the next day.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

What are the kids going to be when they grow up?

When does one start thinking about possibly steering one's children in certain directions? Or does one not - and just see what happens as they grow older, leaving career choices all up to them, the kids themselves?

And what if one does try and steer a child in a certain career direction? What does one do? Enroll them at a school that offers certain subjects that other schools don't offer?

I'm happy with the school my boys (now aged 11 and 12) go to now, and I'm most likely going to let them go all the way to matric at this school, but how do I know they may not have done better (in the future, after school) had I chosen a different school, that offered some extra or different subjects, as well as different or more extra murals?

I guess I don't know, but I'm trying not to let it bug me. Obviously I want the best for my children, and I trust that my decisions are correct, and also that them learning from how I make my decisions with their best interests at heart, will help them be more sure of their own decisions regarding a career path, when they grow up a bit more.

It's not just entertaining to see a child's character develop as he or she grows older, but it's interesting to also take note of where children's interests lie - what makes them sit up; what they're passionate about - and hope that the career path they choose reflects their interests, so that they can thoroughly enjoy their job one day.

It's relatively easy to do a bit of guesswork regards a career for Zooty (the 11 year old): he enjoys food, cars (he can't seem to decide between the more vintage cars and the really modern fancy cars though), anime, drawing and art. He also enjoys making models for various school projects. I picture a chef perhaps? An arty, off beat chef, that gets really creative with his preparations of food and how he serves or presents the food. Or perhaps an artist. But of course he may surprise me and become a terrorist or hitman (he teases me.)

Basti (the 12 year old), however, is a little more complex, and can sometimes never make up his mind about anything in particular. He does enjoy reading though, and a bit of art too, and isn't bad at writing stories (see A Ride on a Rag). He is also very detailed and particular about work that he does (school work) and does well in all school subjects including mathematics.

Tony and I have sometimes wondered: "It's easy to see what Zooty is passionate about, but it's not all that easy when it comes to Basti." However, we noticed at the Gonubie Agricultural Show recently, that he's mad about funfair rides or other fun physical activities. Hm, perhaps a funfair ride designer and engineer? He's also good at explaining things in detail, and has an excellent memory. A teacher? He did tease lately too that he'd like to be a flair tender in a bar.

I'm curious and excited to see which way they go with a career. It's great being a parent, isn't it?

During the 5 week winter school holidays coming up this year during the 2010 World Cup Soccer, I'm thinking of letting them start their own Blogger blogs too. I don't yet allow them Internet access on their own computer, but they can create content on their computer, then come upload to their blog on mine, or I'll sit back and let them upload their text or image blog content themselves. I am hoping that this will not only give all of us a better idea, as time goes by, where their main interests lie, but that this will also be an introduction to maintaining an online presence, should they decide to work from home one day, instead of going out to work for a boss.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

Let's see those teeth

Zooty was about 8 and a half here, showing off his teeth - well, some of them, as the other new teeth were still coming.  So he was actually showing off some gaps between his teeth too.  Aww, I miss those little shiny white milk teeth. He's now 11 and the teeth are pretty much sorted, for now.  Wish mine were too, though.

About two weeks back, I was eating a soft gummy sweet, but seemed not so soft afterall, as the next thing I knew, I was crunching something hard.  What was stuck in the sweet?  I removed the sweet from my mouth and had a look.  Oh dear!  Quite odd, really, but there it was, a little part of my left front tooth sitting there in the sweet, looking smug ("I'm out! I'm out!)

My tongue wriggled around in my mouth, along and behind my teeth, feeling for damage, and my fingers were in my mouth too.  Hm, a hole right in the centre of the BACK of my tooth.  Odd, but there you go.  Or there I go off to to the dentist to have that hole filled?  Well, not quite yet.  No medical aid, so it will have to wait a little while longer, until there's enough cash to pay the dentist.  I lost this bit of tooth so easily though (old age coming quickly now?) and am worried more of it is going to break off, or crumble, before I get to the dentist.  Well, I'm just being careful how I eat for now (look a bit silly I guess, when I bite into something I would usually use my front teeth for, but that's life hey!) (you win some and you lose some - teeth).

In this photo of Zooty, he had not yet had a first visit to the dentist.  Neither had his brother Basti who is a year older.  About a year later, though, Tony and I took them for their first visit to a dentist.  Luckily they're still on their father's medical aid, and the visit went smoothly.  A second check up is planned sometime soon - well, before year end, anyway.  Hopefully I go to the dentist before the end of the year too!

© Teresa Schultz 2010

Living at Granny

Two happy boys in this May 2010 photo, hanging upside down in their Granny and Grandpa's bedroom - that's my boys, Zooty on the left, aged 11, and Basti on the right, aged 12.  They love living at Granny.  Tony and I are living with my mom and dad for now (the boys' Granny and Grandpa that they live with too).  We also work from home here, offering various freelance services.

Basti and Zooty are very happy here.  Their artwork gets displayed in Granny and Grandpa's bedroom - see some on the left of the photo above, in our tiny little home office, and in the lounge too;

They enjoy lying on Granny and Grandpa's bed some evenings (if they finish their homework with some time to spare before bedtime), to watch tv wth them;

Summer (and even many spring and autumn days here in South Africa) they enjoy the swimming pool my folks have;

They have their own computer in the room right next to our little office - which is our bedroom, and there, they do homework that requires the computer, and they also enjoy playing computer games on it - we don yet allow them Internet, though - can't it afford it right now (for them too), anyway;

Granny also has them read their little Bibles she gave them, every morning before school;

The household also has three dogs at the moment, that the boys enjoy.  There's Gilly, our baby jack russell (well, she's a little over a year now, but she'll always be our little baby, just like the boys will always be my babies even when they're 60 and I'm blessed enough to still be alive and healthy then), and there's Shayna - a little supposed to be white old maltese poodle going blind and deaf, and there's Swift, a black big kinda maltese poodle thing, still fairly young, not sure exactly, she's an SPCA aquired dog of my folks - Swift and our Gilly are best friends.  There was also Sheba, who passed away a year or so again (had put down, very old and blind), and there was Rocky, who died on the property - old age.  My parents are actually thinking about sort of replacing Rocky (read about Rocky here)

Looking at the photo of my boys above again, of them hanging upside down like bats in their grandparents' bedroom, you will see a small black and white photo off to the right of the picture (actually looks grey).  That's a black and white computer print out of the picture below.  After Rocky died, I mixed a picture of Rocky with a picture of some flowers, in Photoshop, and gave it to my father.

The pole the boys are hanging on in the top photo is very helpful.  Read about why it is in the room, and also how it helped relieve some nasty back pain I had not so long ago.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010