Puppies are now 4 weeks!

After our very sad week last week, I have to report to you that our 5 remaining puppies are just getting CUTER and CUTER!! It is incredible that in just one week, each pup is now mobile, starting to eat solids (hurrah, I can hear Trixie cry!), and getting a personality (or is it doganality???) of their own! Poor Trixie is no longer just a feeding/poop cleaning machine anymore, she is now officially a TOY! With many nice bits to chew on - ears, teats, legs etc. Not to mention all the chewing/play fighting amongst the puppies themselves. There is no respect for the sleeping - if one wants to play, they all play! However, there is a great flurry for about 5 minutes, and then they all crash!

Of course, there are down sides to this stage... Trixie is simply not keeping up with all the mess created by these growing 5, and so much cleaning/replacing of newspaper is required by us!

Our biggest baby, Thatu, now weighs 1.24kg! Well done Trixie!

I am also happy to report that we are over-subscribed for homes for them (us being one of them - Megan has chosen Gemma for her own)!

A very sad day

As you should know by now, if you've been following our blog recently, Trixie had 6 of the most beautiful puppies ever born.

Tragically, one little girl, Wesidudla, died yesterday, after falling off my niece's lap. It was very traumatic for everyone - I was by myself with the kids so had to load all 4 kids into car, plus puppy and race to the vet. Unfortunately, she was already dead by the time we got there. As to the exact details, it's hard to say, but it is just one of those awful, unexplainable accidents. I am torturing myself with 'if only I had' or 'if only I hadn't', which is no real help to anyone, as it doesn't change anything.
As you can see from this photo, she was really deserving of her name 'hey fatty'!!

Anyway, we are still blessed to still have our 5, who are growing and thriving!

Mitzvah Matric Dance

Carl and I attended the Matric Dance for the school at which I teach, The Mitzvah School, on Saturday night. For those of you who don't know, it is a school for underprivileged students (sorry, lenners), from Alexandra Township, started up, and mainly sponsored by the Jewish Community (hence the name, Mitzvah, which actually means 'good deed'). This Matric Dance is a highlight of their year, and even the poorest students manage to find the money to come along. The school has a cupboard groaning with donated evening dresses, suits, shoes and bags, so the pupils can get a stunning outfit for free, and return it once the dance is over. All the pupils transform from Cinderella's and Frogs into handsome Princesses and Princes! Honestly, the transformation is remarkable (esp since half of them wear wigs or have their hair braided for the night and it is so difficult to recognise them!!).
The amazing thing about the dance, and which is why I am bothering to write about it on my blog, is the wonderful attitude of the students. When I had my school matric dance, the teachers were to be greeted, and then avoided at all costs! These kids are quite the opposite. I don't think I've ever smiled for so many photos with my pupils (I mean, with the MATHS teacher, who would ever have thought??), and even on the dance floor, the kids just accepted, and included these weird, poorly co-ordinated white teachers of theirs with such warmth and enthusiasm!
I know everyone is prone to gloom and doom about SA, and to be sure, there is plenty to be gloomy about, but these kids raise my hopes for the future of this country! If only everyone could be exposed to this positive side of SA!

An update....

The arrival of our babies has taken over our lives! Not that they are any work for us yet (Trixie does everything, for now!), but we find ourselves sitting and staring for ages on end, just not able to tear ourselves away and actually do anything useful! The timing couldn't be better, because the children are on holiday, so whiling away the time watching puppies is a great holiday activity!
You may not think that anything else exciting has happened in our lives, but actually, we are enjoying a visit from my sister and her kids from Abu Dhabi, but you know, that does pale somewhat in comparison to our babies (sorry Heidi!!!).

They've arrived!

For those of you who have been waiting with baited breath for Trixie's puppies to arrive, and even for those of you who haven't, they all arrived safely from 12:30am onwards, on Wed 29 July. We woke the kids up for the great event (well, it wasn't so great for Trixie, I don't think!), and we all watched, agog, with the wonder of mother nature, and the miracle of life that unfolded before us! Trixie was the consummate mother and did everything just perfectly, as did her pups. And they didn't even have a hand book/website/gyne/paediatrician to consult. It does make one pause to wonder, if, with all our information and modernisation, we humans have completely lost the natural instinct of having children?

The two boys (Carl and Ali) faded after pup number 2, as there was nearly a 2 hr wait between #2 and #3, and I think the boys just ran out of enthusiasm! Megan and I sat patiently waiting it out. # 3 and #4 arrived only 7 minutes apart, and, on seeing how peaceful Trixie was, we declared 'show over' and went to bed (about 3:30am). Only to wake up the next morning to not 4 but 6 beautiful and perfect little pups!! Well done Trixie!

They have now all been named and are weighed on a daily basis. Two have already put on 50% of their birth weights. Their names, in birth order, are: Tracker (male); Wesidudla (female - meaning 'hey, fatty' in Zulu! Carl calls me that, he's dead!!); Thathu (male - meaning three, as he was born third, and happens to have 3 spots on his back!); Jigsaw (male - named after a jigsaw shaped spot on him); Ntombi (female, meaning 'girl' in Zulu) and lastly Gemma (female, after a diamond shaped spot on her head).
Aren't we the luckiest family?

Skiing - Africa style!

We have just returned from a fabulous weekend skiing in Lesotho.

For those of you who have never been to Lesotho, may I suggest that you add it to your list of '50 things to do before I die'. Lesotho is known as the Mountain Kingdom, and the drive into the resort is one of the most spectacular (and nerve wracking!!) I have ever had! Lesotho is also a classic example of rural Africa (at its best and worst) and I am pleased to report that the resort itself, is slightly more sophisticated than the huts pictured below!

We were also lucky enough to be joined by Carl's folks (yes, I am serious - I've got great in-laws!) who joined us from the Natal side - driving up Sani Pass and into Lesotho from that direction. For those of you who had a trip like that planned on your list of '50 things to do before you die', I suggest you remove it asap, unless, of course, you would like to change your list to: 'the last thing I did before I died'!!! By all accounts, the road was absolutely dreadful and completely isolated. Carl was about to get into the car and go searching for them because they took so long to arrive. And, of course, no cell phone signal! Fortunately, they arrived safely, but had the wisdom to exit Lesotho in the North which, while further in distance, was a much safer and quicker drive.

We also had with us the daughter of family friends of ours, Fhionna, who is out from Scotland on a holiday, and we invited her to join us.

Lesotho does not have enough snow to ski on (plenty all around) but is cold enough to keep it, so the snow on the ski slope itself is made from snow cannons. Which is just as good as the real thing.

Other than a serious problem with our accommodation (the agent double booked our chalet, but fortunately there was a spare one, so we weren't forced to camp in sub-zero temps!!), we had the time of our lives! Saturday was very busy so we had long waits at the T-bar. 20 mins wait to ascend, 1 min descent. Sad hey? On Sunday the crowds thinned, and by Monday we skied straight to the front of the queue and headed back up.

Fhionna, being 22, sampled the night life of Afri-ski and made some good friends along the way. Somehow she managed to get herself free snowboarding lessons while we were there, and was then invited to stay on with these friends until Thursday. Carl and I felt like over-protective parents and haven't stopped worrying since we drove away on Monday. However, she is a young adult, and I don't think such a fabulous opportunity comes knocking everyday. Oh to be young and live spontaneously!

It was such a super time! But, back to reality with a bump. We now excitedly await Trixie's puppies which are due any time now.

Good news!

If you recall a few articles ago, I mentioned that we were hoping to have a litter of puppies with our Jack Russell, Trixie. I'm pleased to announce that Trixie is with child(ren). We returned home from our half-term break, and discovered a very chubby, slightly subdued little Trixie! We're thrilled, but I'm not sure she knows what she's in for! However, she's getting lots of love and attention from us, and I don't hear her complaining!
Will keep you posted - due date is about the 28th July!