Safari Time!

We went for an open jeep bush safari at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge near Oudtshoorn, city of ostriches.

Ben was patiently on the look out.

He spotted some antelope.

We came across some buffalos

Why did the giraffe cross the road?

Wildlife

So it's not the big five, but we have run into some wildlife.

Penguins on Boulder Beach

And it's mating season (chicks and eggs under the adults)!

Baboons in the parking lot, looking for boerewors

The elusive Lila overlooking Cape Point

Cheetah, or "cheetos" as Ben would say

And we enjoyed true African fare and face paint at Moyo.

Table Mountain

Up Table Mountain

On top of Table Mountain



And back down Table Mountain

And yes, the cable car just about goes straight UP and UP, over 3000 feet.

Arrived

The kids were troopers for the 26 hours of travel!

We enjoyed the local beverages on the airplane

And the view as we landed in Capetown

And really enjoyed waking up to this in the morning!

This time tomorrow. . .

This time tomorrow, we will be piling in the car to go to the airport for a two week trip to South Africa!

Maybe I should start packing for me and the kids?

Or maybe I should start stamping the last FIFTY discs I still need to get out?

Or maybe I should start the reports I promised to get in to my boss?

Can I have my hour back now?

In any case, be sure to check back, because I'll be posting pictures while we are there!

Finally

After about 5 months of winter, we were able to spend the whole day outside yesterday! It went from 30 degrees to 70 overnight. Lila really loved discovering outside!

The possibilities!

I had several more disc types made for me with a raised rim, and here is everything I have at this point.

Oh, the possibilities! If you are interested in designing a necklace with these discs, please email me at underhercharm@gmail.com. They will be added to my website soon.

Three of a Kind Thursday

I'm pretty sure it's not Thursday yet, but I checked the calendar, and it says Thursday, so I'll just go with it for now.

I remember that ALL of these pictures were taken after their first day of school, and boy, were they exhausted. Better get tough - you've got 30 more years to go (if you're like your Mommy and Daddy!).

Awww, seepy Ronnie.

Ben is pooped!

Little Lila, so tired!

Hmm, those profiles looks just a little similar to me.

Jim says it's ok

I stamp all sorts of phrases and names into jewelry. I never know what they mean, and I would never ask, but they are always inspirational - people showing off the names of their loved ones, great affirmations and motivating words. Here are some custom pieces that were shipped out today. Definite pick-me-ups!

Lucky horseshoe (in SOLID 14k gold!)


Patience, compassion, pure love and grace


Not sure about this one, but I love the camera, and the words are quite motivating!


Over a year ago, I got an order for an eternity ring that said, "Jim says it's ok." This was definitely one of my favorites! Whenever I am worried about something, I just say to myself, "Jim says it's ok."

Thanks, Jim, whoever you are!

Keeping warm

I'm NOT going to complain any more about this never ending winter, but I am going to say that my car thermometer read 14 on the way to school.

That's 14 degrees fahrenheit.



Even though I have YET to take off my hat, I was able to unfreeze my fingers, and expand my men's collection! These came out great, and will make great gift's for Father's Day.



Get them in my Etsy shop!

Enough already!

It's pouring down snow, again! It's MARCH, isn't that springtime.

So, no school for the kids, which means no work for me.


Ronnie realized she already has a Snuggie.

If you haven't seen the Snuggie, it's the blanket with sleeves. It's pretty silly, and Ronnie realized all she has to do is turn around her robe to have her very own Snuggie!

Flashback

At the last minute, we decided to go on a date night last night, so we booked a babysitter and took off. We saw Slumdog Millionaire, and I lo-o-OVED it! Loved the music, the story, the actors, everything. I also loved just GOING to a movie, which I have done about 2 times in the last 5 years.

After the movie, Edwin got a page from his friends for us to join them at a restaurant and bar. I sheepishly called the babysitter, who gave us permission. Of course, it took exactly 2 minutes before they were in deep discussion about the hospital, patients' conditions, the house staff, blah, blah, but we were able to eventually steer them away from that topic.

Finally, we adjourned, discharged the babysitter and crashed. A whole 5 hours until little people crawled into bed and demanded chocolate milk.

And they say couples should have a date night every week! Who has energy for that!

Written in the stars

Introducing my new Zodiac Collection featuring natural gemstones and hand stamped zodiac signs!


Zodiac signs can be incorporated into any neckalce design.

Find them in my Etsy shop.

AND, the answer to yesterday's mystery (the grandparents got it right!) - Lila, Ronnie, Ben. Here is the littlest blue eyed Ostrin, an Aries.

Three of a Kind Thursday

For some reason Edwin thought we needed to be responsible humans and buy life insurance today. The guy came to our house to "discuss". Man, this was worse than buying a car! And they even need your blood.

I am mixing up Three of a Kind Thursday this time. I've included three pictures of the kids, BUT, out of their usual chronological order of Ronnie, Ben, and Lila. See if you can guess who's who, and no cheating! You can see their current pictures on the right sidebar, or in previous posts.

Baby Ostrin 1:


Baby Ostrin 2:


Baby Ostrin 3:


Leave your guess in the comments. Answer announced tomorrow!

Art by Ed

The proud Daddy put this picture together, as in desaturated the picture except for her beautiful blue eyes.

Her eyes kind of look like the swarovski crystals embedded in my discs!

Birthstones

Yesterday someone asked if I could embed a birthstone into my discs. I couldn't let that one sit, so I played with it all day, got a little help on the Etsy forums, and I think I figured it out! Here are two discs with swarovski crystals embedded into the bottom.

This is going to be fun.

By the way. . .

Ben gave his new scooter to Ronnie so he could have his paci back at night. I couldn't help letting him trade. He didn't really like the scooter, and it was his own idea to give up the paci, not mine. He gave it a good try.

I don't blame him. I wish I could use a paci sometimes. Ok, all the time.