Lessons from sleeping in a fort

Those who know my blog know that one-on-one time with Aidan is super important to me. It feels like he is just growing too fast and I want to ensure that special moments together are ingrained in his memory.

I think of growing up with my parents and the things that spring to mind are obstacle races through the park with my mom and DIY projects with my dad. I remember my mom teaching me to sew and knit(fail) and my dad coming from night shift to sit on the edge of my bed and find out what my day was like and tell me about his.

I want that for Aidan, a deep knowledge that his parents basically ” like having him around” love is often a given in parent child relationships (in my opinion anyway) like, is a little harder hehehe.
mostly because its not always easy to “like” tantrumy naggers … whaaaaat?! its true.

I have been really busy lately, extra shifts at the office, an influx of oh!boy orders (which I am super grateful for) and organising the EC blogger meetup with Luchae from Myspreadsheetbrain.

My time and mind have been occupied 24/7 and even when we went to CT it was visiting families and fielding questions about how I don’t look anything like I did as a kid.Then the weekend away there were seven kids between us so one on one time didnt happen.

I have noticed him acting out a little to get my attention. Talking like a baby and even expecting to be treated like one ( because Caleb gets alot of attention, being the little one I guess)
So last night when he was being a bit of a brat refusing to be cooperative in any way shape or form I decided to calm down, put down my work and build a fort.
He has a murphy bed (the ones that fold up) so it was easy to convert with nothing more than a fitted sheet. I climbed into bed with him and his eyes lit up.
“you dudu in my house with me?” I lay there listening to him tell me about his day and slowly drift off to sleep. And I felt so content.

His dad is awesome with bath and bed time when I’m drowning in projects but sometimes the projects need to come second.

Not only to him,to me too…I have been operating on coffee and energy drinks passing out (often still fully dressed) at 2am to wake up at 5am and get to the office. That’s not healthy.

The words “you can’t pour from an empty cup” keep running through my mind and that is exactly why I have asked my cousin to step in a bit more with orders…I can’t do everything and that’s okay…as long as I can still build a killer fort with a sheet and two hair ties I’m pretty much still my sons hero ๐Ÿ™‚

Here’s too a successful year and a little me time

EC Blogger Meetup is about to be a thing

I love blogging…not just the sitting in my PJs typing up things part…The “community”, the “likemindedness” the “somebody gets me”.

There’s such a great spirit of “learn from each other” and “share with each other” in the blogging world it’s hard not to get hooked (also occasional  bitchiness but like in high shool. ..ain’t nobody got time for that).

In CT and JHB they have yearly meet ups hosted by awesome bloggers  Cindy (3 Kids, 2 Dogs, 1 Old House), Heather (One Step at a Time, SA Mom Blogs) and Laura (Harassed Mom, SA Mom Blogs) which has been cause for much Fomo on this side.

It wasn’t until Megan from (By Megan) started an Eastern Cape Bloggers group on fb and all these bloggers came out of the woodwork that I thought “hey we could do that here!”

It stayed a thought until Luchae from (My Spreadsheet brain) was all like hey! Lets stop talking about it and do it already…
She got the ball rolling and as always she got me pulled into her avalanche of excitement (she does that).

We started contacting people and businesses and in less than a week things are coming together nicely… so WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

We aim to make it a get together with industry experts sharing secrets and amazing sponsors to connect with.

This is only the beginning so drop your email below if you are a local blogger who wants to get swept up by the avalanche too ๐Ÿ™‚

My tips for traveling with kids

We literally just got back from an over 10hour (each way) trip to CT – the first long journey with both Aidan and Caleb.
I went with my parents and siblings (Rob had to work) and I picked up a few tips for traveling with littlies…(P’S.  I hate feeling confined so long trips have never been my favourite)
– keep your snacks in a easy to reach place like a small cooler bag at your feet(if it sounds obvious you probably never had to stop the car in the middle of nowhere to rummage through your luggage for a sippy cup)
– stop frequently as having kids couped up together in car seats can make for a situation where the usually calm/mild mannered older one gets fed up with having his hair pulled and arm licked and then  grabs the little ones pacifier/dummy as revenge and throws it away (oh, just us? Never you mind)
– take doubles of toys because fighting will occur! Actually doubles don’t work because whatever the other one has is better even if you can’t tell the difference with the naked eye…The other one is better
– if someone hands your kids balloons…pop those suckers or release before the kids get attached…actually, when you see approaching balloons RUN!!! Grab a kid under each arm and make a run for it. (Unless being bopped in the head for hours with a balloon tickles your fancy or seperating balloon fights in the back seat seems like fun, in that case do you boo)
– if you have access to a big vehicle 7 seater (bless your heart) or even more than one…that’s awesome for seperating kids because – shut the heck up that’s why
– wet wipes… just yes! Lots! 
– make sure your electronics are charged because hell hath no fury like a toddler who doesn’t get to see the end of his saved (did you know you could do this with YouTube clips when in wifi areas and you can watch in dataless times) videos of opening eggs end – spoiler alert it contains a crappy toy
– But most importantly try to see things from their perspective… The miles of tree lined roads are “like forests where dragons live mommy” and a lake you pass by is “like the book you read me mommy” watching the world out of the eyes of a toddler is an amazing thing… A sort of “round two” if you will.
Have an awesome day…my tired is currently tired ๏˜Š