So we have decided this year to NOT throw a birthday party for my soon to be 4-year-old, because he wants a slightly more expensive birthday present (A red Ferrari sports car to be exact, I think we may have to settle on a go-cart). I’ll be honest, its got me feeling like a pretty terrible mum, because If you are anything like me, you slightly obsess over children’s birthdays party. Well any party’s really. The creative side comes out and I spend months trolling the internet for ideas and ways to be original. I LOVE IT! It’s my side hobby. My bestie and I always say one day we will focus on it full-time and make it a career. I love to creative unique idea’s and I hate the stereotypical “Disney cartoon” themes, with cartoon characters plastered all over plates, though I did cave once my putting barney toppers on my sons 2nd birthday cakes. Continue reading “Party Inspiration – Cookies and Milk”
Category: Parenting
My V-Bac Experience
Let me start by saying that I did not choose to have a V-bac to be “more of a woman”, or to fulfil some right of passage that is bestowed upon all women, because to be honest, in my opinion, that is a load of rubbish. Regardless of the way you give birth you are still a bloody strong woman, in fact dare I say, having a c-section is far worse than giving birth naturally. Continue reading “My V-Bac Experience”
Soap Foam Recipe
Foam is one of those things I do for my kids at least once a month, and to be honest, I think it’s more for me than for them, it keeps them busy and out of my hair for at least 20 minutes! My kids are going through a super “whiney” phase which is driving me nuts, so I’m looking to all the distractions I can get 🙂 Continue reading “Soap Foam Recipe”
Perfect Puffy Paint
A while back I helped out at my son’s playschool and the theme for the week was “Night Sky”. I had so much fun researching and testing out activities and crafts to do with the kids.
I settled on two hands on crafts for the children, one being a galaxy playdough. It wasn’t just normal playdough, this one had gelatine cooked into it for a little extra stretch. Continue reading “Perfect Puffy Paint”
Three ways you didn’t realise you were harming your baby’s skin
Writing my blog on breastfeeding recently got me reminiscing on that newborn mummy stage of sweet milk scented kisses, gurgles and the oh kissable soft skin of your baby. Broody much??
I learnt recently from the launch of the Johnson’s Baby Healthy Skin Project, which aims to improve the health of more than 3 million babies by 2020, that a baby’s skin is 30% thinner than an adults. Continue reading “Three ways you didn’t realise you were harming your baby’s skin”
5 toddler friendly Science experiments to expand young minds
So I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a “Pinterest” mum…. with such great ideas out there, who has time to come up with their own original ideas right ? With it being “holiday season” with various mid year breaks coming up its perfect timing to get some new ideas on how to spend time with your kids. Continue reading “5 toddler friendly Science experiments to expand young minds”
The truth about breastfeeding, and products that can help you along the way.
So there is phase of motherhood that no one really “tells you about”… You know all about the milestones and a little about the burping and sleep patterns, but everyone fails to mention those first 8 weeks, where as a new mother, your body aches in places you never knew existed. If you have chosen the breastfeeding route, you feel as if someone has put you through 12 rounds of a boxing ring. The one thing you don’t see in those cosy cute pictures of mammas breastfeeding their babe’s is the endless hours of “back end” work to get them there. Soothing hot towels, cabbage leaves to reduce swelling, nipple creams slathered on 🙂
So let me set the record straight, Breastfeeding, in the early days is PAINFUL! Before everyone jumps on and shouts at me to say Breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful, I’m not referring to the ACTUAL act of breastfeeding, I’m referring to everything around it. Your breasts are adapting, your milk kicks in and they are they are full, hot, swollen and bruised and then dealing with a baby learning to latch correctly you can get all sorts of issues happening with your nipples (I looked for a more kosher word but sorry, there isn’t one 🙂 ). Let me say this does only normally last for about 3 weeks, the pain does go away, but in that moment, it can feel like a lifetime. I encourage all mums to HANG IN THERE! Please, continue on in your breastfeeding journey, if you can, it is one of the worlds most beautiful experiences.
This blog is focused on products that can help you through that, and hopefully, get you on track to one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I managed to exclusively breastfeed both of my boys for over a year each (I don’t have anything against formula, I personally just found it more convenient to breastfeed.) Here are some of the things that helped me through:
A lanolin based salve can do wonders for sore, cracked nipples in the early days. I tried both Medela and Lansinoh. My personal favourite was Lansinoh – it has no horrible “stickiness” to it.
Seamless nursing bra – A good nursing bra is a God send, you will literally spend 24 hours a day, and then some in them 🙂 Personally I used “Carriwell”, and used both the normal t-shirt ones and the ones with extra padding. The extra padding can really help especially when baby starts sleeping for longer stretches.
Electric pump – Personally for me, this was my best friend and I would never have lasted so long in my breastfeeding journey without my Medela swing pump. I actually started off with the single swing pump, and after spending 20 mins each side expressing thought I should switch to the double. Ironically, the single pump was waaay more effective and remains my staple. Going back to work when expressing is always fun, I would hide myself in a locked interview room pumping while interviews were taking place in the rooms around me J. I will say I HATED the time spent pumping, I felt like I was wasting time (though I know the end result was far from that), often I considered pumping on the way home whilst stuck in traffic and I know many mums that successfully do so. Pumping also helps to stimulate milk production if you have a dip in your supply.
Nursing pads – I started off using the Phillips range and to this day that was by far my favourite. Soft, non itchy and disposable but for some reason I couldn’t find them anymore in South Africa, so I switched to Pigeon. Once your milk is more settled and more of a routine formed I switched to cotton based, washable ones which were a big cost saver.
Cooling Gel Pads – Can be used hot (to stimulate your milk production) or cold (to soothe the pain). I will be honest, I didn’t use mine . I found them a bit uncomfortable and heavy, and in the early days the ONLY thing that worked for me was warm wash cloths and cabbage leaves J YES, Cabbage leaves. However I know a lot of new mums that swear by them.
Extra Vitamins – This is a must! breastfeeding, coupled with lack of sleep, or rather broken sleep, drains you! You need essential vitamins to promote healthy supply. Continue with your prenatal vitamins even after birth. You need all of those extra vitamins for breastfeeding. Personally the found the hugely popular Preg-Omega disagreed with me, the Salmon Oil content (or something) was too high and made me terribly nauseas. I switched early on to a generic pharmaceutical brand and that worked like a dream. My best breastfeeding tonic was Vitaforce’s Schlehen Blackthorn Berry Elixir (with my firstborn I swore by it). I would make up litres of jungle juice to store in the fridge. With my second, I just took a good old tablespoon every time I felt I needed it. The other thing you desperately need is WATER, and lots of it!
C Shaped nursing pillows – These are life changing. They take all the weight off your arms and baba sits at the perfect position, so no wriggly awkwardness. If you have had a c-section, it also protects your scar.
Nursing Cover/ Breastfeeding blanket – Debatable … Ummmm I will admit I never really used it. Nothing that a good old muslin blanket won’t quickly cover up when you need it to and IF your baby doesn’t mind the cover over him/her.
Whatever your breastfeeding journey is, or for however long it lasts, remember each day is an accomplishment. You have given your baby precious anti bodies and created a beautiful bond. Try and join your local la Leche league to invaluable advice and encouragement.
I’d love to hear your breastfeeding stories, one thing I have learnt is to talk about it more. Every woman who has had children and gone through the same thing but for some reason, the struggles around breastfeeding aren’t spoken about enough. The aim of this blog is to open that up. Its okay, we have been there, and as fellow mother’s we should all support each other. Every way we can.
Empowering our future, making South Africa a better place.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela
There is nothing more that breaks my heart than the fact that around the world there is STILL no balance in terms of education. I was fortunate to grow up in a country where we didn’t have racial divide, or rather, social issues CREATED BY racial divide. As such we didn’t see “townships” and at that point, our main concern was helping orphans. As such it really makes my blood boil to think that not everyone has an equal right to education, this is the very founding of our future.
Every single child deserves the right to a full education. That, as a society, is the LEAST we can do. This is how we can start by building a better nation, this is how we eradicate social injustice, this is how we can alleviate poverty.
Our adventure clubs outing this week took us to the Kya Sands Container Pre School, created by “Build the Future”. Build the future has 3 projects within South Africa, a preschool in KZN, Gogos Soup Kitchen in Soweto and the Kya Sands preschool.
I really feel it’s important to instil in my children, from as young as possible, that we are all one, and as human beings we should always try to do our best and give to those that have less than us. So before we went the boys went to their toys to pick out ones they don’t play with any more and to choose books that they thought other children would like to read. My 3 year old was so enthusiastic about it and proudly wanted to give his SOME of his toys to children that had less than he did. (Proud mummy moment). They then took the selected toys along with some soup and bread to give the children at snack time and together they enjoyed story time and a competitive game of soccer.
But more on the fantastic work that Build the Future is doing:
Build the future was founded in 2006 and since then they have made tremendous ground in establishing early learning development in informal settlements in South Africa. Their mission is to plant container schools throughout the country. Children are given a safe haven in which to play and learn and they are also fed healthy meals twice a day. If memory serves correctly, they started off with one container for 40 children and now have 3 classrooms with over 100 children. At Kya Sands they have their own vegetable garden, teaching sustainable development, which had a fantastic array of green beans, spinach, and cabbage to name a few.
So how can you help?
There are a number of ways to assist the preschool. Firstly you could sponsor a child for R350 per month, this covers the costs of food and education for one child. Secondly they often host “Work days” which are great days where you can get involved in the community. Food donations are always welcome and they are always looking for nutritional food donations and cooking supplies. Lastly of course, get in touch with them to see if you can volunteer your time or expertise. The children loved having visitors and you could sing songs, do puzzles or get involved on a weekly basis with some of the preschool projects.
Build the Future is also always on the lookout for artisans to volunteer their time or expertise. Even if you are not able to make a financial contribution, maintenance and upkeep of the schools is always needed.
Being in containers and exposed to the harsh elements, winter in particular is a harder time. If you can knit beanies or can give a donation of warm clothes/ shoes this would also help a great deal.
So with all the uncertainty of the world happening around us, and South Africa officially being in a “recession”, lets all work together to improve our lives, one child at a time. Nelson Mandela so truly quoted again, There is no better judge of society than the way in which we treat our children.
Lets Rise up and create a better future for ourselves, and our children.
Contact details for Build the Future:
Director of Build the Future Phillip Shapriro 0823438886 or visit the website to donate through there at www.buildthefuture.org or email info@buildthefuture.org.za
Keeping little ones entertained in Johannesburg – my favourites list
I keep getting people asking me for tips on where to go and what to do with their kids. I’ve been trying to sit down and write a list for a while now but as any multi-tasking, working mum would know every day seems to escape me and my to do list just keeps getting longer.
After our move back to Johannesburg from Cape Town I was at a loss of what to do with my boys in a big city and struggled to find a mums group like I had in Cape Town. In Johannesburg I find most mums have less flexibility with their working hours …. Until a friend suggested a download the adventure clubs app and our lives changed forever 🙂 It’s opened up my eyes to a whole new Johannesburg, discovering hidden gems and unique places to take my boys. So thank you thank you thank you!
That being said, here’s my list, together with some of the places we have discovered with Adventure Clubs, of fun things to do, with your kids in the big city:
Lion and Safari Park (Lanseria Side) – New and improved, the recently re-opened Lion and Safari park is bigger, better and has a lot more interaction for kids.
Crocodile City (Just before Lanseria) – We had such a good time at our outing to Croc City. They boys got an educational talk on crocs, on how thick their skin is and got to hold and observe their eggs. They also house a number of reptiles and much to my horror my boys lined up to hold the snakes.. After a tour of the croc park the kids ran around counting and feeding as many tortoises as they could. The play area of course provided hours of entertainment.
Old MacDonald’s Farm Yard (The Fat Olive Restaurant) (Lanseria Side) – This is a true hidden gem. Home to the Fat Olive restaurant and a Beach bar, Old MacDonald’s has free roaming Zebras, geese, duck and a whole mini farmyard for kids to feed/interact with. It doubles up as a party venue as well as a restaurant. Theres even canoes to take out on a paddle on the small lake.
Crazy Kids Farmyard (Randburg) – A diamond in the middle of a bustling city. Crazy Kids has also recently had a bit of a refresh with some new animals (including another pony and a friendly pig). It is literally smack bang in the middle of a residential area in Randburg. It has a huge variety of play equipment for kids, a ton of bikes to ride around and an epic sandpit. This is a winner, everyday of the week.
Bird Garden – Monte Casino (Fourways) – We have been going here since the boys were small. The only bird park of its kind in Africa and perfect for all ages! Take a stroll through the gardens and aviary and see a wide variety of bird life, reptiles, and other exotic animals. It also has a café and a cute kids play area.
Clay Café (Irene) – About twenty minutes out of Johannesburg Clay Café is opposite the iconic Red Barn in Irene. Kids can choose from a large variety of ceramics to paint with lots of accessories to add patterns/ shapes to their masterpieces.
The Irene Dairy Farm – Every child’s dream, right on our doorstep! A working dairy farm situated right in the heart of Gauteng. Kids can enjoy seeing the cows being milked, ride on one of the numerous tractors and enjoy an ice cream underneath the beautiful shady trees. We were lucky enough to go when the construction was still occurring, it was every little boys dream, with tractors, trucks and diggers to watch!
Pappachinos – No Johannesburg list would be complete without one – Broadacres seems like the biggest, Clearwater mall also has a bike track)
Lori Park Zoo (Midrand) – Holds a nice variety of crocodiles, predator birds and of course lions/ leopards – though I do feel for the bigger cats as their enclosures are very, very small.
The Johannesburg Zoo – A timeless classic and always good for a family day out.
Delta Park – Probably holds the best play area out of all Joburg parks. It also has glorious walking paths with gigantic trees shading them.
Lonehill Park – Between Lonehill Park and Angelo’s Restaurant you are guaranteed a good time with the kids. Lonehill Park has a beautiful enclosed play area for kids and Angelo’s Kitchen borders onto the park with additional jungle gyms, bike tracks and games for kids.
Mushroom Park – Our go to park for mid week fun. Mushroom park is a little piece of green forest in amongst Sandton’s high rise buildings. It has the perfect tracks for kids to ride their bikes on and has over 5 jungle gyms and a large sandpit area. Perfect for soaking up the winter sun, and when it is in operation, also holds the Hyundai Hot Air Balloon.
Raspberry Picking at Fieldberry Farm (When in Season) – A morning spent in the fields at Fieldberry farm is a morning well spent. A beautiful day out for the entire family, kids will have an amazing time selecting and picking the juiciest berries to pick. After all their hard work mum and dad can relax on hay bales around the play area while sipping on a handmade smoothie. My boys had sooo much fun. Raspberry season typically ends around April.
Alliepad Alpakkas – A bit of a drive out of Johannesburg, Alliepad Alpakkas is just before Magaliesburg and has the most adorable fluffy Alpacas to go crazy over. Make it a weekend drive or wait for one of their festival days when you can get a tour around the farm, learn more about how they get wool and feed the Alpacas.
Willow Feather Farm (Pretoria) – Originally started off as an Indigenous tree farm, Willow Feather now hosts a nursery, tea garden and awesome Farmyard for kids. They have a number of interactive activities for kids and the number of animals in the Farmyard is exceptional. Alpacas, pigs, bunnies, cows. Kids can get up close and personal to the animals and of course participate in feeding. There’s also a wonderful kiddies play area to keep little ones busy while mums can enjoy hot tea and scones.
Two Trees Bakery (Mulbarton) – Under the shade of blue gum trees, this gem is in the South of Joburg. It possibly has the biggest selection of climbing equipment, monkey swings and zip lines that I’ve seen in a restaurant. They specialise in pizza’s, burgers, and yummy baked goods. Super friendly staff and a mass to do with the kids, my boys cried when they left!
TreeTop Adventures (Riversands) – Situated in amongst an old pine forest, Treetops have constructed different obstacles at varying heights catering from about 2 years of age right through to an adult course! Kids can climb through the trees, complete an obstacle course, and if brave enough (my 4 year old was), zipline across the river!
Yeesh for Kids in Woodmead is a favourite of ours on down days or in colder weather. With a huge soft kids play area, Yeesh goes the extra mile by hosting cupcake/cookie decorating sessions, as well as an art corner where kids can paint a range of items ranging from t-shirts to canvas to ceramic ornaments.
Tres Jolie (Ruimsig) – Traditionally thought of as more of a wedding venue, Tres Jolie actually is a littler wonder world for kids. They offer a touch and feel farmyard, giant sand pit, pony and camel rides, and a big jungle gym. You can bring your own food to feed the animals or buy packets at the Kiosk.
These are just some of the places I’ve explored with my boys and I know there are probably hundreds of more hidden gems waiting to be discovered. The list is on going, and ever expanding. Where are some of your favourite places to go?
Cloud dough/ Moon sand recipe
It’s been a while since we did this one, in fact shockingly, I don’t think I’ve ever made it for my youngest ! (Hides behind hands).
Moon Sand or Cloud dough as its sometimes referred to in the USA promises at least 40 minutes to an hour of exploration for my little ones. With a consistency similar to beach sand (obviously alot softer), the possibilities are endless. You can make cakes, or castles, pies or if you’re a mum of boys like me, everything turns into a quarry and the sand will end up being transported in dump trucks!
Its easy to whip up when your kids need some stimulation in the day, and we often use it to create a sensory tray and hide treasures at the bottom, little ones can then dig through the sand to find the treasures.
It takes less then five minutes to create and is made with ingredients found in your cupboard.
8 cups flour to approximately 1 cup of oil. You can either use a vegetable oil or baby oil. I’ve used both and obviously vegetable oil is safer with smaller kids. Just mix it together in a big bowl until its the right consistency, akin to slightly damp beach sand.
Have fun 🙂
Ps. Excuse the pyjamas I always like to do messy play in the mornings before we get dressed for the day 🙂