When you give a child chocolate....

I think the pictures say it all.....won't be blogging for a while, am off to the Drakensburg for a week of R&R and then a week to Namibia to celebrate my sister Jill's 40th birthday. Will post pics and news on return.....

Trunk or treating.....

Yesterday evening the school arranged an early Halloween gig - 'Trunk or Treating'. We arrived early as we wanted to miss the mad rush. There was a 'Tunnel of Horror' which petrified poor Denny-boy so he had to be taken outside by dad. Emily, Faye and myself managed to get to the end of the tunnel without too many incidents and then headed off to collect some candy.....

A new haircut....

Took both Emily and Dennis for a haircut the other day to a lady called Gina. Pap-Gee who normally cuts their hair has moved to the other side of town and there was no ways I was going to trek across town just for a haircut. So Gina was the lucky one. As always Emily was not a problem - she is a bit of a poser and likes to see herself in the mirror. But Den on the other hand almost had to leave the hairdresser with one short side and one long side!! Fortunately a bottle of coke was used as a bribe by Gina and we managed to get out of there with a full haircut! Gina deserved the extra 10 pin tip I left for all her trouble......

Goggle goggle toil and trouble...

Guess where these little munchkins were off to.....

Chicks in the pool...

It has been so hot the past few days that we decided to blow up the little paddling pool and let the kids cool themselves down. Emily and Faye had a whale of a time....Denny boy was nowhere to be found....

(note: Anne have you noticed that Millies swimming costumes are doing their rounds!!)

Hello Kitty

Little Faye, darling that she is, is at that most awful stage where everything is an adventure and no cupboard is left unturned......looking at this photo butter would not melt in her mouth!!!

The Princess and the Pirate

This past weekend Andy and I had a Pirate Party to go to and Emily had a friends birthday party. Guess who the Pirate is?

House progress...

The trusses are being put up, so the roof should be on within the next week or so (I hope!) then it will be the hard part - the finishes - fingers crossed we will still be able to move in 1 December - otherwise we may just be knocking on your door!!!!

Faye's baby music

On Friday mornings myself and Faye have joined a baby music group where we learn some local childrens songs in Bembe and Nyanja. Faye thoroughly enjoys the lesson and is known there as the 'Dancing Queen' - Mama mia!!!

Den's 3rd Birthday party

Returned from Windhoek, kids went back to school - whew!!! and then it was Den's 3rd Birthday. He is now a BIG boy! He wanted 'Bob' to be at his birthday party so I managed to get my creative juices working and make a 'Bob the Builder' cake - didn't turn out too badly if I say so myself! We had a few games, 'Pass the parcel' with a few changes (three year olds don't yet seem to grasp the idea of passing ON the parcel UNTIL the music stops - not keeping the parcel for ones self all the time while the music is playing!!!), anyway the treasure hunt went down a treat and there were very few tears! I think kids birthday parties are more stressful than adult parties!!! The hit present was 'Lego Lightening McQueen' which goes everywhere with him now (John - where did you get it? Need to buy a back up!)

Quick trip to Windhoek

Managed to persuade hubby to look after the bigger two kids, so myself and Faye popped off to Windhoek for a week going back on the same flight as the folks. Faye had a great time with her cousins and I great time with my sister. Also got a few admin things done as well as a few cups of 'Kafee und Kuchen'!!

Lilayi Lodge

While Grandma and Grandad were visiting Lusaka we took them for Sunday lunch at Lilayi Lodge. Apart from my 3 monkey's we saw many other cheeky monkey's too....

When you give a child a camera....

Emily kindly asked for my camera the other day, I was a bit reluctant, but this is what was on it when she returned it to me....

Its me again....

After almost 2 months of non-blogging I am back. In the meantime the shop finally opened, my folks visited us in Lusaka, I returned to Windhoek with them and Faye, came back home, Emily and Dennis' school started again, Janine - our architect, has been to stay and check up on the building, had Dennis' 3rd birthday party....so been busy as a bee......

Three little monkeys...

The latest photo taken of the three Roberts kids. Emily and Dennis had just returned from a haircut at the local 'barber'. His name is Pap Gee, from the Congo, but says he trained in France (??)

Our little piece of Zambia

Have not been blogging for a while, what with World Cup celebrations and things happening on our piece of land, plus school holidays and trying to entertain 3 little ones....just have not had the time (or energy!). Well here's a few photos of what we have been doing on 'our plot'. Our front wall is almost up, we had a big drill in looking for water, which second time round we managed to find a good source, so we now have a hand pump so the builders have access to water. Dennis had some fun with the pump.....

Vuvuzela Voodoo

The vuvuzela bug has bitten. All the kids are now vuvuzela mad and are driving us nuts. Lets hope after the World Cup the novelty wears off (wishful thinking - anything noisy kids are automatically drawn to!) Fingers crossed for Sundays match - England vs. Germany!!!! Bring on the boys in red!!!!!

Madame Butterfly and Spiderman

Yesterday Emily and Dennis attended a friends 4th birthday party. There were clowns and jumping castles - so much fun was had. They even had their faces painted. Who would have guessed that Dennis would have wanted Spiderman....

Masai Sandals

My neighbour comes from Kenya. She came to show me some leather Masai sandals that she wants to sell here in Lusaka. I could not resist so I bought a pair. They are leather with beadwork and come in all colours. They cost the equivalent of R160.00 - I thought they were a steal at that price - anyone interested?

Yellow Stars and Blue Fish

Yesterday it was Sports Day at the school. Emily's class was called The Yellow Stars and Dennis' class was called The Blue Fish. They all had fun with potato sack races, egg and spoon races, obstacle course and running. Both kids passed out when they got home (much to mum's delight!)

Peanut butter balls

Yesterday I tried out a quick snack recipe for the kids lunch boxes. It is very easy and quick and goes as follows :

100g peanut butter

50g butter

40g rice crispies

75g icing sugar

8ml desiccated coconut

Melt peanut butter and butter in pan over a low heat. Toss in the remaining ingredients, mix well and allow to cool slightly. Roll dollops of mixture into balls and toss in coconut to coat.

Needless to say kids (and hubby) loved them so there were not many left to put in the kids lunch boxes....

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

My own little Elton John......he can grow up to sing but hopefully not be gay!!!

Hello...I'm back...

Well after a lovely week in Windhoek, I am back with unfortunately an awful flu I caught before leaving. Am feeling rather stuffed up (and fed up). Well it was good to see that Emily and Dennis did not miss me too much - next time I'll leave all 3 with dad! They made me some nice cards to welcome me home.