Froggy's third brother

The girls were aggravated because the oranges I bought them have seeds. Sofia said I must plant an orange tree in the yard, like the lemon tree we have. Then, Sienna says- "you know, Froggy's third brother ate an orange seed and an orange tree grew out of his mouth". I just can't figure out where she comes up with these things.

Sofia, on the other hand, said Moosey was riding a crocodile's back. And the crocodile's name is Croaky. We caught the crocodile and need to keep him now in the bathtub.

This morning as Sienna as putting on her pink Arkansas Razorback shirt that Mae Mae got her she says "Mae Mae loves the Razorbacks. That means she must be the Queen of the Razorbacks".

The monkeys raided our house again this week- taking all of our bananas and apples. This is the third time for them to sneak into the house. The leave a mess of banana peels in their wake. Mavis was there but in another part of the house. I can only imagine how terrorized the kittens, Bella and Sarafina, must have been having the monkeys in the house.

Driving to work and back is always entertaining. On an average day, here is what I see-

- Cows grazing on the roadside and leisurely crossing the road, causing traffic to come to a halt, as they please
- Men peeing on the side of the road
- Women carrying anything and everything on their heads- boxes, bags of rice, pumpkins, bags of potatoes, their purses
- Monkeys and more monkeys
- a little Zulu man walking as fast as he can back and forth from Hillcrest to Botha's Hill. They say he can average around 10 trips a morning. He walks barefooted and with a purpose- very, very fast. He is mentally ill.
- another Zulu man, a little taller than the one above, carrying a pole across his shoulders and huge bags on each side well balanced. Not sure what is in his bags, probably all of his belongings. He walks down the hills in the morning and comes back up early afternoon as I am starting my trip home. Normally he has on red pants. They say he is also mentally ill. He also walks barefooted.
- Usually there are at least 2 police roadblocks- one as I round the corner by the Valley Trust turn off and the other down at the beginning of Botha's Hill. I have been stopped once.
- earlier in the week, I saw a girl walking down the road knitting. Her male friend was walking behind her holding the yarn.
- And finally, the most magnificent views of the 1000 Hills. There is one point in the drive that is breathtaking on a clear day.

Pirate Froggy

Sienna explained today "Froggy has a boat made of plastic, rubber bands and paper. He's a pirate. And he has a tattoo on his bum. He lives on the boat."

Sofia, in the meantime, says "Mom, Quinn won't marry me".
I say, "oh, how do you know"
She says "well, I asked him to marry me when we were on the picnic that day" (one day while they were out of school, Penny took them on a picnic with Tai and Quinn).
I say "and what did he say?"
"Well, he didn't say much. I asked him to marry me and he looked at me and said not now".

Toy Story 3, Mandela's Birthday, Lesson Learned

Today we went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. It was very cute. The girls wanted to sit on the front row. They enjoyed it.
Right before going into the theatre, we had a small issue. The movie theatre that we went to is in the HUGE mall (the one that is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere). We arrived about 1 1/2 early and I wanted to go to a few shops before going to the movies. We bought our tickets and then went to a shop to get some light bulbs and other small things. The lines were long and we waited and waited. It was about 10 minutes before the movie was about to start. As I got up to the counter, the lady said I had to go to another counter (at the jewelry counter) to pay. I stood at the jewelry counter and they sent me to the cell phone counter. By this time, the girls are starting to fight and I was very frustrated. So, I pushed my cart (or trolley as they call it here) to the returns place and got the girls out quickly so we could make it to the movie on time. We trotted down (LONG way) to the movies, bought popcorn, grabbed the booster seats and was trying to balance it all. I handed a box of popcorn to Sofia to carry and a booster seat to Sienna. Sienna looks at me and said she can't carry it because her hands are full. That's when I notice that Sienna has a KitKat in her hand from the Game store. I about fainted. I was speechless. In the rush to leave the Game store, Sienna did not put her candy bar down. Now, after repeatedly asking her if she purposedly took it, I still don't know the answer. I really think she didn't realize it. She and Sofia usually are carrying so much stuff- frogs, silkies, moosies, purses, chapstick, that I imagine she just didn't think twice about it. I told her after the movie we had to go and give the candy bar back. I explained to her that it is against the law to steal and police can even arrest people for stealing. I felt really bad about scaring her but I had to make a point to both of them. After the movie, we went back down to Game, all the while, Sienna is very upset (her lip pooched out and tears coming down her face). I went to the counter and told the lady that my daughter had the candy bar in her hand when we left the store and I did not notice it. So, I played it down so Sienna wouldn't feel so embarrassed. She definitely learned her lesson. I told her if it ever happened again, she would have to take it to the counter and explain what happened. They have never even tried to take something from the store. Usually, they are very good about handing their juice, candy or whatever to the cashier and patiently waiting for them to scan it. And they never open something in the store, they know you have to pay for it first. So, I think what happened is that because we were rushing to different counters and then me leaving the cart with stuff in it, she didn't even realize she was holding it among her other stuff.
This evening, Sienna came to me crying. She said that Froggy was going to put her in the fire and he told her he wished she would die. I am not sure where that Froggy story came from. There was a part in Toy Story where the toys were about to fall into an incinerator but were saved at the last minute. It was pretty intense and even made me uncomfortable. I think that is probably what made her say that. She also told me after that it was Froggy today making her misbehave.
Nonno Gino is coming in a few days. We spent the majority of the day yesterday getting the guest quarters of the house ready. I bought a twin bed, some bedside tables, lamps, bedding, etc. I want to get a little fridge and a small table. I will do that next weekend. He is going to enjoy it here, I am sure. And I am glad he will be here when Sal is here. It will be nice to have family here.
Today is Nelson Mandela Day. It is his 92nd birthday. What an incredible leader and example for others to follow. He spent 27 years of his life in a cell on Robben Island- imprisoned for fighting for the rights of humanity, fighting for peace, unity and reconcilation. I hope to get to Robben Island in the near future. It is an island off of Cape Town, SA. The picture, one of the many of him and President Clinton, shows them looking out of the cell that Mandela stayed in for almost 3 decades. He is such an inspiration.