I'm so tired these days!!
After 8 years with a full-time domestic helper, we have let her go. I have honestly had mixed feelings for a long time, especially with how lazy my kids were being, and disrespectful. They haven't had to bother to do chores because they know the lady will eventually do whatever it is--making beds, taking out trash, putting away their toys, the list goes on. When I would go through a phase of 'serious parenting', I would spend two hours in the morning explaining to her that the children must do what I have told them to do, that she mustn't help them. Then the afternoon nagging and reminding the children as well as spying on the domestic to chase her away from their chores. Every day. Aaaargh. Until I would give up and let her do it again.
So now, right in the middle of all these dresses I'm doing, while I'm running around town begging for a permanent girls' club venue, while the kids are having end-of-term exams, as we are planning to leave town for 3 weeks, we fired our cleaning lady / house-sitter. So, yes, I'm a bit tired these days, but I know it's worth it in the long run.

Girls' club today! We chatted about Friday the 13th, bad luck, good luck and personal foolishness. We were supposed to pick up trash, but the girls had good luck when it started to rain! So far the kids here don't seem to take western superstitions too seriously, which is good. Of the 14 girls, 4 had bad luck, 4 had good luck, and 4 had some good and some bad. I haven't got enough knowledge to check the local superstitions, apparently chameleons are very bad omens, and owls, but not bats.
We also made our first public appearance today. My friend donated peel-and-stick paper, so we made name stickers for everyone with their name and "Girls' Club" written. Then I had to explain the apostrophe in Girls'. The Pre-Primary school had it's fund-raiser, so we walked over as a group. Quite nice, we went singing. All we need is some marching moves and we're ready to parade! We didn't collect dues, rather the girls spent their money at the school.

Pictures will be in next post!

my daughter's horse, and the horse we gave to the dog

2011: Chippy and Horsey were almost the same size!

 First, the dog. She's so much fun. On Sunday, we had a bring-and-braai (cook-out)church social. One of the youngsters came home with us afterwards. We had brought bones, so we decided to show off how cute and smart is our dog. We made her sit and dance and she was duly admired. Then we had to show off Horsey because we had used the pink horse for Palm Sunday Sunday School lesson. So I took Horsey and put it on the laundry line. Usually, Chippy will sit below and whimper and jump for her friend, but apparently the smell of the bones was too distracting. So we gave her the bones and went inside.

A year ago, they were the same size and shape, just different colors

Fast forward to about an hour later, the two girls and I are in the kitchen when we hear this cheeping noise. Amy and I explain to our friend that's how the dog got her name, she cheeps. I assume my son is teasing her and will give her whatever she's begging for. But the cheeping doesn't stop so I go out to tell my teenager not to torture the dog with his teasing. And there she is, standing under the laundry line, staring at Horsey, and whimpering for her friend. Ooops!

Ligola's dress top-most, Amy's dress next, and the banner is the arm ruffles for the other six dresses to come

 I have gotten a healthy start on the anniversary dresses. They are all cut out, and all neck and shoulder seams are in. Tomorrow at hobby club I will pin in all the sleeve ruffles and the skirts for the babies and their mommas, or as much as I have time to do. It will be closer to winter when we wear them, so I got a long-sleeve tee-shirt for each of the little ones, but I still expect the African sun so they will also get sun hats which are so much easier to put on babies than the scarves their mommies will get.

Ligola's dress and sun hat

I need to be completely done by the 28th, so I have to do a bit every day.