Nuha's New Years Eve Birthday party- success!!!!

Nuha always laments the fact that her birthday is during the run-up to the New Year celebrations.


Obviously, the poor thing has come to realise that the celebration of her birthday pales in significance and is drowned out by the general hype and excitement of the festive season.


She (like her siblings) start planning their next birthday party a day after their last one, but she has come to realise that many people are away on holiday or have other plans that time of year, so are often unlikely to attend her parties.

So she had thus far been satisfied with having only her cousins over to help her celebrate- obviously, since cousins are family and simply cannot get out of it.

But this year, she has developed a particularly close bond with two friends, Somaya and Jenna. She and Somaya had been best friends in Grade R. They have two completely contrasting personalities; the one complementing the other perfectly.

I remember the first time she met Jenna. It was the nerve-racking first morning in Grade 1. I accompanied my baby to her table, while I tried not to let her see me fight back my own tears. She'd looked so precious in her little school uniform (albeit a hand-me-down from Tharaa). I made conversation, trying to sound excited, when suddenly the cutest, most confident little angel approached her.
"Hello. My name is Jenna. Would you like to be my friend?"
Immediately I was comforted. I knew she would be okay.

So despite the fact that we were holidaying at Goudini on her birthday and were having a very impromptu birthday party the following morning, Nuha insisted that we invite her two darling friends. I found it so embarrassing to spring this last-minute invitation on her friends' mothers, that I insisted my obliging husband make the calls. Luckily, both mommies were such great sports, both agreeing to have their daughters at our place by 11h00 on Saturday morning.

We had already requested that my sister-in-law (who is becoming quite the expert at baking children's party cakes) bake something for Saturday.

Jenna and her mum were the first to arrive. I had never met her mum, so I was a bit nervous doing so (I am regrettably no social butterfly). But I needn't have worried. The mother was as delightful as the daughter is. In no time at all, she was helping to arrange cupcakes on plates, which I greatly appreciated.

Then the cousins and Somaya arrived. The children all hopped into the kids' large 4.5m (diameter) x 1m (height) plastic pool (which fortunately Mo and his assistant, Peter had fixed the night before after a hole in it had caused the entire thing to collapse- sadly causing us to have to watch as an untold amount of precious water flowed freely through the garage, down the little driveway and into the street.

After the kids had had enough of swimming, we served boerewors (sausage) rolls and salads to stave off the hunger until the birthday cake arrived. It was already half past eleven and there was no sign of sis-in-law and the birthday cake.

Since SIL is generally the most punctual person on my side of the family, this was rather surprising. But her tardiness was explained when my brother called asking what time the party was starting. Which is when we had realised that we had completely forgotten to inform them of the time of the party and; hence, when the cake should be here.

This would normally not have been a problem. But since it was New Years eve, we had to wrap up the party earlier than we normally would have; since some of our party guests had had other plans for the evening.

My stress about how to keep the kids occupied until the cake arrived proved unnecessary, since they made their way back into the pool before anyone could stop them.

And then the cake arrived. It was so lovely- it had a picture of a smiling Nuha on the one side; adjacent to a Hello Kitty picture. Covering the sides of the cake was the most delicious icing. And with its moist sponge cake layer, it tasted as good as it looked.

Oh so yummm!!!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Nuha. Despite the fact that she had been looking forward to this part, well practically all year, the poor child squirmed with embarrassment at all the attention she was receiving. Definitely a case of  'like mother like daughter'.

Someone then suggested that she should then open her presents. I am always very uncomfortable at this stage of the party, as children often don't  hide very well if they do not particularly like a present. I am particularly uncomfortable when I am one of the persons whose present is being opened by the child. I usually sit there as tense as an Idol's contestant waiting to hear if she's been voted out.

But this time I was more concerned about whether my daughter would be gracious to thank everyone and display sufficient gratitude, irrespective of whether she liked the presents she was receiving. Luckily she loved everything she got. I heaved a huge sigh of relief.

She had indicated earlier this year that she wanted a bicycle, but hadn't really insisted, knowing that bicycles are quite costly- and she is generally such a considerate sweetheart. So twelve year old Shakeel and ten year old Tharaa convinced her that she would be receiving Moon Dough for her birthday (about which she was excited enough). So imagine her surprise when older brother and sister  brought out her present (in the most dramatic fashion, I must add), and it turned out to be her much-coveted bicycle.

Shyly, on her way to check out her new bicycle

Her reaction was one of joy, surprise and shyness. She was so overwhelmed that at one stage it looked as if she was actually crying- with joy, I hope (maybe she had really wanted that Moon Dough ???!!) 

Overall the day was lovely. I was so pleased at how much she enjoyed her party. She really really deserved it. The little darling is so eager-to-please, and is really the most uncomplaining of my lot. I am so deeply grateful to everyone who made her day so special.

Who needs a clown at a party when you have Shakeel

Goudini heat

On Thursday we spent the night at Goudini spa.

This is a lovely resort to visit during the cold winter months. With its choice of heated pools (varying from cool to hot), this is the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors during winter, while still staying warm.

But, since it is now summer, and the past few days have been really hot, our visit to Goudini was less than ideal.

When we arrived on Thursday, we were enveloped by the most overpowering heat, resulting in me developing an instant headache.

After unpacking we went off to the coolest pool in search of some relief from our discomfort, but even this pool was as warm as one's bath water.

No one swam. Everyone stood about in the pool, looking as lethargic as I was feeling. I realised that wetting one's body entirely and then getting out of the pool provided one with some degree of temporary coolness, which felt like a few moments of utter bliss.

This is the hot outdoor pool- it was far too hot to even sit in this pool

Later we traipsed lazily back to the rondawel, hoping that the fan would provide some relief before we sat down for supper. I was so glad that, I had had the good sense to insist upon giving the braaing (barbequing) a break, and had brought along chicken pasta (prepared at home on Thursday morning) for supper.

Despite my heat-induced haze, I vaguely remember Aisha peeing through her Swimmers nappy (which is only designed to catch baby's poo while swimming) and onto the rondawel floor numerous times that afternoon.Yet she refused to let us take it off to put on a normal nappy. And we had no energy to fight her. It took all Mo's energy to mop the floor each time, while I irritably tossed her into the shower each time, threatening her with serious consequences if she did it again. She giggled, most likely enjoying tormenting her poor zombie-like parents the whole afternoon.

On Thursday night the temperatures outside dropped slightly. This made swimming at night an absolute pleasure. Mo and I did not swim, but sat next to the pool enjoying the slightly cool air.

Shakeel thoroughly enjoyed leaping from the cool pool to the hot one, in which about thirty people were lazing about watching the movie 'Transformers', which was playing on a very large screen in front of the pool. The atmosphere was so inviting, but I had to head back to the rondawel with Aisha, who was threatening to pee through her Swimmers nappies at any moment.

That night Aisha slept between Mo and me, adding to the uncomfortable heat in the rondawel. I have no idea what the time was that she awoke and threw a tantrum of note. I had been expecting a rough night, since she hates getting hot- she does not even want to sleep with a blanket on the coldest of nights. We knew that she had awoken the neighbours with her shrieking when someone switched on their porch light, most likely letting us know that we had awoken them. After about 45 minutes she calmed down, probably too drained to persist as long as she normally would. Who would have thought that the heat would also turn out to be a blessing.

Friday was slightly cooler (though not much). We had had to book out of the rondawel, but could laze around by the pool for the rest of the day.

Nuha was incredibly excited, since it was her birthday. She has been planning her birthday since the middle of this year- inviting friends and talking about her party. Who would have thought that she would not even be home to have a party on her birthday. Her happiness at it being her birthday did not stop her from nagging that she was not able to enjoy her party on her birthday. She was not comforted by the fact that we were making last-minute plans for a birthday party at home the following morning.

In the pool it was so much fun watching the Goudini staff entertain the holiday-makers by leading them in an Aqua-aerobics class, and dances. Although more activities had been scheduled according to the programme, these did not take place, which I can only assume was due to the heat.

At about midday Mo left to attend mosque in Worcester (which is about 25 kilometers away from Goudini). I stayed at the pool with the kids. And then; as if she had been planning it; just as her dad left, Aisha once again threw a massive tantrum beside the pool.

I tried to appear to be more composed than what I felt. The child was screaming like a freakin' maniac, attracting sympathetic stares from some people, and annoyed glares from others.

Later the kids enjoyed time on the huge water-slide. Mo took Aisha down the slide too, which strangely did not evoke any reaction from her. Considering the height of the slide and the speed at which one comes down, this was rather surprising. I remember my first time on the slide (since my childhood)- I had been shaky and dizzy for a while afterward, teaching me that one should probably not hold one's breath for extended periods if one doesn't want to pass out.

The kids also spent time playing mini-golf; which, as usual, resulted in a massive argument among my competitive kids.

I have been visiting Goudini for a few years now, and yet the beautifully landscaped gardens never cease to impress me. The beautiful palm trees ensure that I always experience that typical 'holiday feeling' whenever we arrive.

Despite our general discomfort due to the heat, we were still quite sad to leave. I really hope to return during the winter months.