Our Christmas...

We tried to have an "Traditional" Christmas here in South Africa, and by all accounts I think we succeeded! Santa found us, and of course spoiled us! Here are a few of our new Christmas memories....
We started our Santa festivities by making and decorating cookies, and a visit to Santa!
Kiddos decorating cookies for Santa...

Claire, nervous to see Santa...

All three before Santa, thrilled with the camera :)!

Christmas Eve we left out our cookies and reindeer food!
Leaving out cookies for Santa...

Sprinkling Reindeer food...

Look what awaited us Christmas morning!
Taylor's stash...

Claire's Santa stash...

Hunter's stash...

After getting Santa's goodies we ripped through the gifts under the tree.

All presents were distributed into piles, here is one pile...

Claire playing with new castle

Hunter opening....

Claire riding new wheels(Thanks Mimi and Poppa)

Taylor opening new Puma golf shoes(Thanks Mimi and Poppa)

I picked one of these for my gifts from Mom and Dad, Thanks!

Pat surprised me with a painting of our very first house, made me cry!

All Christmas decor is down now,hoping for a good new year; and maybe we will be home this year!

Merry Christmas!

We have been very busy here...We have been to Cape Town, went to Cape Point(where two oceans meet), climbed Lions Head, seen the musical CATS, been to the wineries, stayed in the most beautiful old winery, been on a safari, and been to local game parks. Oh, and the things we have seen! Lions, Rhinos, Giraffe, Monkeys, Zebra, Elephants, Water buffalo, Penguins; all of which were in their natural environment. We are now home! Cooking, baking, wrapping, and all the other fun stuff we do to get ready for Santa Clause!

Baking, Praying & Wrapping...

The last few days in a nut shell!
Baking; I have been invited to a Cookie Exchange party tomorrow with 16 other eager (frustrated) bakers. I have had to bake 6 cookies for each person, resulting in a hell of a lot of cookies! Finally done! Unfortunately my cookie bars are a little too crisp-to late to start over (I am a baking disaster)!

Praying, Claire had some dental work done in the hospital today. She was put to sleep for the procedure, but sailed through with flying colors! Me..well, I was a nervous wreck; South African hospital, seeing your child fight to be put to sleep and then cry for 30 minutes as she came to! I said a lot of prayers before, during and after!
(Soundly sleeping after a tiring day!)

Wrapping; trying to get all of my Christmas shopping done and get everything all wrapped. Three teacher/tutor gifts done, seven to go!

Still loving Christmas!

"The Stockings Were Hung....

by the chimney with care,
In the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there."

The preparations have begun! I love Christmas; the magic, the decorations, and getting to watch it all through my children's eyes!
The rest of the decorations will have to wait..big weekend! Birthday party, Thanksgiving Feast, and a Cricket match tomorrow!
Enjoy the weekend, I wish I were braving the crowds at Target; but I do love the simplicity of Christmas in South Africa!

I Am Thankful We Are Here!

As you all know, Claire has Speech Apraxia along with some other motor planning issues, and we have had her in a special needs school this past year. Well in August/September of this year, I started to feel that Claire may be ready to transition into a "regular" playschool with some type of an aid. I started asking for suggestions. The director of Claire's current school set up the "perfect scenario" for Claire...she recommended a playschool and set up Claire's transition for the next year(Jan). As we all know, nothing is as good as it sounds! End of October, early November comes and I start to grow anxious of our plans for Claire..with good reason. After some follow through on my part, Claire's director never set up anything! All of sudden I felt like a fish out of water...what do we do? Then I start to question everything again; is she ready, can she cope, will she be loved? Side note...Any mother with a special needs child knows how important it is just to have them accepted and loved.
I called one person, Claire's Speech Therapist, the one person that has been instrumental in Claire's life this year. It was all I could do to contain the panic, but I needed advice! She told me to go to Theodor PrePrimary, that there was a wonderful director there by the name of Buffy. I am sure you are thinking this is JUST preschool, yes it is but it will also be our first experience in a "real" classroom. It is actually huge for us, what happens here will maybe give us an idea about Claire's upcoming future in the ability to adapt to a normal school setting.
Well, Buffy is beyond awesome! She is very supportive and knowledgeable of special needs, and sees the benefit of inclusion! This is very uncommon here, people feel special needs kids need to be locked away in their own school!
As luck goes, they were full for the upcoming school year. I went through the processes and put our name on the waiting list, we were third for her class! So the search continued for a place for Claire...I was going to have to settle. I was going this week to put a deposit on the original school! Not that this school is bad, in fact if I was looking for a place for my boys the school would be awesome. It was a feeling I had..I knew they would "take" her, but would they welcome her, would they accept her struggles? I was afraid of the answers!
I did not need to worry with the answers, because....I got a call yesterday, Claire got in! She got into Theodor! Somehow her name moved up to first on the list...I think somewhere there is someone always keeping an eye on my baby! I went today for our interview, and it is the most awesome school for Claire! She will be in Ms. Hannah's class of 3s and 4s, she will be the oldest. Actually that's what we wanted, any extra advantage! She will also have her own facilitator, much like an aid, which will actually be her teacher who she has now! How perfect, her transition will be that much easier as she will be with the girl she has been with for the last year! My heart feels a little lighter today, God gave us another reason to be thankful!
God put us in this country, in this place for a reason! If only to give Claire more angels in her path, thanks for your advice Yvonne! You are everything to us, you have given my baby a voice! Buffy, thanks for your knowledge and passion for special needs, and thanks Hannah for carving a path and a place for us in your classroom next year! Thank you Natasha, for loving Claire this year and wanting to be with her next year!

Thank you God for putting us here, for Claire!

Good Night Africa!

This was our view last night around 7pm..There was a rainbow and everything had a red glow!

It's Only Going To Get Busier!

(I love this pic of Hunter, I found him reading without being asked!)
These past two weeks have been crazy! Claire was at the doctors twice in the last week and a half. Once for swollen lymph nodes that were hopefully caused by a viral infection(fortunately have already started to go down), and second because she twisted her ankle and could not walk! After all of this she almost cut off the tip of her finger with my sewing scissors, good thing we did not have to go back to the doctors...I was afraid they would start to think something! Hunter also was at the doctors last week; he had a case of tonsillitis. And last, but certainly not least Pat (after too much wine) had to go to the ER and get stitches in his elbow. Let's just say "What happens in South Africa , stays in South Africa".
Luckily, I have actually found the medical facilities and doctors here quite competent. Whenever my kids go to the doctors they are given a full and thorough evaluation and you are actually listened to! The pharmacies are also incredible. Our local "chemist" knows us by name and is extremely helpful, if you do not have time to wait they will deliver medicine to your house after it is filled(no extra cost)!
Everyone seems to be back to themselves, and the craziness of the holiday season begins! Let's hope we stay injury and germ free!
I remember last year thinking the holiday season here was so less hectic than in the states; I wasn't buying or making a thousand gifts and I had little shopping to do! I think the difference is that I was new here last year and I had brought all of my gifts overseas; so I was prepared. Not the case this year! We now have three teachers, an OT, a Speech Therapist, a PT, 8 tutors from Claire's school; and believe it or not..friends to buy or make stuff for! And of course I have three kiddos to shop for!
In South Africa holidays are less marketed, which makes you enjoy the season with family more! They are just not as commercialized here, there is not as much pressure to have the newest and the greatest! This is great with children, they have no idea what is new in the toy world!
With that said, we do have the next two crazy weeks to get through before the kids are out for "summer"!
Taylor is finishing up end of the year exams this week, so sadly the actual Thanksgiving Day will be a school day. We will celebrate a "real" Thanksgiving this weekend, with all of the trimmings! Sunday, Pat and I are going to a cricket match for a work function. Next week we have two school "prize givings" (similar to honor roll assembly) to go to, a tour of Christmas homes and a cookie exchange party to attend.
Oh, and company to prepare for!
For now; I will take one day at a time because life is only getting busier!

Here is a sneak peak at a craft I have been working on, an Advent Calender handsewn out of felt...

Just Mom!

That's my only job title. I was writing our Christmas letter and it led me to some personal revelations...I'm just the mom. I started the letter with hellos, and then moved to what everyone has been up to. Taylor, Hunter and Claire had a paragraph full of what they have been doing, and what they have accomplished this year. Even Pat got a paragraph, I had one line...I have taken up tennis this year. Gosh is that all I have done, how pitiful!
Wait! Hold on! The reason my children have three very long and fulfilling paragraphs is because I have been there to allow those things to happen. I have forfeited the role of Megan for the role of Mom. I have given it all up for them! But... whoever sees the man behind the scenes, whoever gives credit to the middle man...Not many!
It is enough to have three happy children...To know in my heart that I created them, and I have given all of my self for them. They are my year. They are my accomplishments. They are who I am. For now that is enough for me, I just hope it is enough for them. So when you see my card(it will surely be late) know that in all actuality all of the first three paragraphs are what I have been doing...I would not want it any other way!

Hold On, Here Is Our Halloween....

I realize Halloween is way over, but I have just had time to show you a little bit of ours! Because we are in a far away land, South Africa, and they are just getting the jest of Halloween; we celebrated a little differently! One of my other American friends, Kim, and I decided to throw a big kid party! I provided the location and we split the food, the guest list(close to 40 kids), and we all had a ball!
It was a gorgeous day and night... perfect party weather! We set up outside for a grand Halloween party...

The games were a blast; mummy wrapping, donuts on a string, ghost bowling, bobbing for apples, and even some crafting(thanks to a very crafty friend)! Food was easy; hot dogs on the braii, chips, drinks and way too many yummy desserts!

Hunter wrapped up...

Notice the ghost rider...

All in all, I do not think my kids ever missed "real" trick or treating! I think for these three it was a HUGE success...

Dracula Hunter!

Princess Claire!

The Joker, Taylor!

Oh, and after all kiddos had fallen asleep, the real party began and did not end until about 3am! Hee, Hee, Hee...The kid party was just a front!

It's Going To Be A BOOtiful Day!

The sun is shining, the costumes are made, the decorations are done....It's going to be a BOOtiful day! A very friendly Witch stayed up late into the night to make sure that three little Goblins did not wake to a fright!

We are having a party today to celebrate Halloween, American style! A little apple bobbing , costume contests, and of course some scary food! We are ready, we only now need to wait about 12 hours for the guests... I am not sure the kids can hold their excitement! Here is a sneak peak at our costumes, can you guess who we will be(there is one missing, mom is always last)?

The McScary's and this little blue feathery creature wish you all a Happy Halloween and hope you have a BOOtiful day!

Who Said You Need Electricity to Survive...

Well, I know we need it to survive; but we sure did a heck of a lot without it! We lost power 3 times this weekend, twice for over 6 hours. It did not stop us from doing a little picture taking, a little crafting, and even some Halloween decorating. I had a photographer come to the house on Saturday and take some pics of the kids, everything went well except for the kids insisted that our small zoo be included! So needless to say, we have quite a photogenic cat... I was hoping it would be one of my kids, but I will take what I can get!
Here is a sneak peak of some of our pics...



I also spent some time getting ready for Halloween. We scaled down quite a bit from what we would do in the States, but we had to add a little spook!

And last, but not least...a little crafting! I have been making some gifts, clipboards, and embellishing them as best I can without my monogram machine. They actually have turned out really cute and have been well received! I only need to whip up about 6-8 more! I am also going to be making some of our costumes, as it is very hard to find costumes here . Luckily Claire has hers all ready, a birthday present from Mimi and Poppa!