It’s been a hot week with some strange weather phenomenon across the country. Thursday saw a dust-storm descend on Bloemfontein, hail and floods in Howick that looked like snow.

My week was pretty ok. I’m progressing well with Jay-Bee Academy, and learnt to spell a bunch of ‘at’ words, like cat, hat, mat, etc. My counting is getting better and I’m writing many more numbers now too.

On Monday evening I got busy on Dad’s laptop and wrote a long letter to Milo in heaven. I was getting sore crouched over the laptop so I started typing with my feet! Ha! Take that Mom and Dad, I won’t count but I can type with my feet. Go figure!

Mom and I continued on our journey of learning this week, and lions were on the menu, oh please no one call PETA, I meant learning about them. I learned to write the word lion, spell it, and draw it. These are things I did not even venture into about 6 weeks back. Mom’s quite proud of me to say the least. We have our own little routine and I think Mom is thinking about a change in job title on Linkedin.

I saw Gran during the week and took her aside to have a chat. Beside telling her all the words I could do everything with, I felt the need to tell her that my Mom was a little cuckoo, the conversation went like this… “You know Gran, Mom keeps talking about a brother or sister for me. You know I really don’t want one”. Then in earnest I put my chin down and looked at her with my serious face and said, “Nooooooooooo, I really don’t want one. Could you tell her?”

I mean it makes sense, I’m always told to listen to my parents and Gran is Mom’s parent, so Mom must listen to her, and to all Mom’s friends working on their second born, please stop telling Mom, I can’t handle this. Ok, only joking, I’m looking forward to teaching more escape tricks to the newbies.

I was riding my little red bike indoors, refusing to go out due to wind, and suddenly I slumped over the bike and groaned, Mom appeared as she does when something’s up (does she really have eyes in the back of her head), she asked me what was wrong. “I don’t have my driver’s licence yet, I am not sure how long I am going to have to wait”. Eleven (11) years was all I got back from her. Then in the car on an errand I again complained about this. “Oh my word Mom that seems so long.”

We did more hard work than playing at school this week and Mom and I were very focused, but I must tell you that it is not always that easy for me. We did however end up trying some exercise before school on Monday, we walked Mishka and played and I got the distinct sense that Mom was putting me through my paces, but indeed she did it herself.

Shapes were a big mathematical problem we resolved this week. Identifying them is fine, but drawing them has been a challenge. As you know due to my brain functions, we know I am left handed, because usually lefties have a family advantage of having another person in the family with a left preference. As you probably also know, this is why my midline and corpus collosum is really important. Mom and Dad have learned to write left handed in order to assist me, but I have noticed that my games Mom plays with me I always cross my midline. Does she not know I know what she is up to… this being said, it really seems to be working.

I’m truly loving being home-schooled, I boldly tell everyone I meet.

Saturday was a sad day for us, we went for tea to say goodbye to my Godparents Marc and Sharon, and little Matthew. This was not before we played up a storm with little Michael who came with his Dad to say goodbye. We headed off to the China mart for some educational things and I managed to get my Dad to spend money on a guess what? Thomas train and the shake-shake bridge.

Mom’s been teaching me a bit of hip hop during the week and I took to the floor at McDonalds to show off my newly acquired skills. The other kids were not happy with me disrupting their games, but for the first time, my Mom and Dad noticed that I held my own and told them it was my turn. Mom, then made Dad run up and down the slide and catch me. She is using her knee as an excuse and its working, poor tired hard working Dad gets to chase me a lot.

The cats are becoming part of my day as is my dog and hamster. We cleaned out Rhino Roo’s cage and I sat in the shower with him, with the door closed away from predators (aka Mickey and Missy). Such good quality time.

We acquired three new pets this week. No fewer than TWO (2) rain spiders made their appearance. The first dropped onto Mom in her bathroom and she didn’t even scream. The other made it’s appearance in the guest bathroom, I screamed, in actual fact, they may have heard me scream in Joburg Central. After being calmed and explained to that they were harmless (YES Dad I believe you really) and ate mosquitos, I ran around the house spraying mosquito deterrent (natural of course) I responded to Mom that the reason was if there were no mosquitos in the rest of the house the spider would get them all and be happy and web them all up. True story.

The third of the pets was a mouse deposited by the cats as a gift. I have to ask Mom or Dad why they keep doing that. Mom caught him (she’s the expert mouse catcher, Dad the spider guy/man) and dropped him outside, in a bag, then remembered that Pekinese dogs are better catchers than cats. Running for the keys and switching off alarms, Mom woke the whole house. ANOTHER True story!

As I write this I must mention that another little mouse has found its way upstairs, but Mom thinks she’s a magician now, apparently it ran into a box she put down but now she can’t find it, even the cats are confused.

Sunday we went to Yeesh and did some chores around the house. I was playing by the pool and had to clean my feet, and got in and had a little accident (wee), so the folks told me to wash off before I got out. Then it was off to a hot bath. I have a robofish from last year’s Xmas haul and I gave it a bath, I learned from Mom that real fish have a swim bladder that makes it able to go up and down in the water. I realised, my robofish has one too and recounted this to Mom, I also discovered that the soap dish ‘refracted’ the shape of my fish so that it looked smaller.

Yup, I can’t count to 100 but I know what refracted is. After my bath I asked Mom if she knew how spiders slept, Mom said “No, do you?” I said yes, they fold all their legs in. I then asked Mom to come look; we went downstairs to the guest bathroom. I asked Mom on the way if she liked spiders, a bit of what I think was fast thinking, Mom said “Yes, I like what they are there to do but I don’t really like the way they look”, “Oh me too!” I declared. We both stuck our head around the corner and there was our resident, confused rain spider. The poor spider has so much attention and so few mosquitos to eat.

It is now officially 14 days till the Postman Pat Movie, Michael and Matthew are going to join us and Jen and Mom are going to see an adult movie or something girly.

I have a few medical things coming up in the near future. I have an MRI this week and probably grommets the next week. I will fill everyone in on the upcoming details. Mom is anxious, Dad is worried, and I just don’t like MRI’s because they make such a noise, but I told Mom I will be brave because I know we need pictures of my head. On that sobering thought goodnight to you all.

Much love till next time.

Jay-Bee Lederer

Photo 1 One of Dad’s original Matchbox Cars that we played with

Photo 2 Dragons!

Photo 3 Doing my own version of ‘The Lion King’ with Rhino while his cage is being cleaned

Photo 4 Doing dress up

Photo 5 More dress up

Photo 6 Missy having a rough day

Photo 7 Dad chasing me

Photo 8 Chocolate doughnut face

Photo 9 Photo on News24 of the sandstorm in Bloemfontein

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