We Found The Missing Piece

Quite a while ago now we decided to venture out to Hout Bay one evening to experience their indoor market.  We heard that it had a bit of an Old Biscuit Mill vibe, which we dig so we were looking forward to it.  I quite enjoy the hustle and bustle (good grief, I sound 100 years old) of markets, except of course when my kids are with me, in which case I stare everyone down like they are a potential pedo about to steal my kid!  Paranoid?  Maybe.  But I still have all my kids.  So there’s that.

Anyway, because they were with us, everything took about 10 times longer to do.  Moving from stall to stall was tedious and then when we did get to a place that I wanted to squiz through, they were totally not interested and tried to show me their frustration by pulling on my legs, tripping me up, pulling the merchandise off the shelves and other random acts of violence.  BUT despite this we found this cool puzzle of our beautiful continent.

It might not look like much, but let me tell you this puzzle is like a TV on steroids.  The girls are OBSESSED with it.  No jokes.

They walk in the door in the afternoons, go and pick it off the shelf and get down to business.  And look at it.  It’s quite intense.  Every country is a separate piece and the girls have figured out how to do it all unaided by me!  Do I need to even elaborate on why this is possibly the best thing we’ve ever purchased since, well the TV?!

And plus also, if you really want to make it even more time consuming, uh…  I mean, interesting for them, then I get them to divide it up into colours.  Then they have to do all of the yellow ones first, then all of the greens etc.  They are incredible, knowing where every single piece must go, even if the other pieces aren’t even in yet.  Which is pretty awesome considering that there are 58 pieces – side note, did you know that’s how many countries we have in Africa?  (I totes didn’t…  I had to Google it…  But I’m blonde and I’ve never travelled so it’s forgiveable.)

Then the awful thing happened.

We lost a piece.

Yes, we lost one single little piece to the abyss that we call our house.  It could possibly have been the worst day in my, uh I mean their lives.  Now they didn’t want to do the puzzle any more.  But I suppose I forgive them because really, a puzzle with a missing piece just sucks.

And then just the other day when I was starting to lose my mind one afternoon, after they had each had a turn on the naughty chair for biting each other, plus a klap or 2 for pulling hair and Riya putting one of Kyla’s toys in the bin, we found it!

Sanity has been restored in the Alfino household.  For now anyway.

Oh and these pictures were totally taken on the day of a party which is why she’s wearing that dress AGAIN.  OK, OK…  They weren’t.  I just let her wear it when she whines enough to break my spirit.  And sometimes it’s cool to have a party at home.

Kyla’s “what the heck do you think you’re doing Riya?!” face.