Our kiddies curly hair routine

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I often get asked what I do with Aidan’s hair, what the “trick” is with it.

The trick is, his dad has wavy hair his mom has a fro and he got stuck in the middle with a curly fro.

The great thing about Aidan and his hair is that he loves it. Growing up I don’t know many boskop/bushy haired kids that actually liked their hair but he does. He calls it big hair and isn’t very pleased come hair cut day.

I try to keep it trimmed but he is only two (well going on three) so who cares really…he doesn’t have morning inspection so I just let him have a boskop.

This is how I treat it (keep in mind these things are done under protest because: “leave my hair mommy”)

–          Treatment:

I have a mix of coconut oil and olive oil that I use on my own hair, on days his hair is dry I put it on his hair before a bath otherwise it acts as a quick shine serum

–          Cleansing

I believe in cowashing curly hair and only use shampoo on my own hair when there is real build up. Aidan loves sandpits and rolling around outside, his cousin also loves rubbing things in his hair so it gets dirty quicker. I make my own cleansing cowash by mixing let’s say a tablespoon of tresemme naturals conditioner with half a teaspoon of organics kids 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner. I tried it once because I was afraid the 2 in 1 would dry out his hair and I haven’t looked back.

–         Styling

Aidan doesn’t care for styling much. He actually just won’t let me touch his hair much. But when I do,  I use a small amount of Aunty Jackie ‘ s curly custard. To wake up his curls (I don’t wash every day) I sprits with water and a dab of Aunty Jackie. A bit of my oil mix adds shine.

Life in pics

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Saw this banner on my way to CT and I am hoping to live like this as much as I can
Love this picture so much!  it’s really a shot between Rob and Aidan pulling faces at me but I can pretend that it’s just a nice photo moment
Guess who tuned one
cute minion cake
Infact, we had two babas turn one this weekend…Cruze too
He had a mickey cake
I really love colouring in – it calms me
We were welcomed as members of our new church on Sunday, so poetic as it was actually Logan’s birthday
Aidan has taken to building nests/forts/sleeping places around the house, so no neatness in the near future
Aidan making an A with his fingers, he has also taken to making A’s out of everything he can

Our #ecmeetup venue sponsor talks: favourite EC spots

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So I told you guys how Luchae from My Spreadsheet brain and I decided that we were going to host the first EC Blogger Meetup (that we know of).

It was one of those, hey lets do this!!! things that kind of went out of control and before we knew it we were actually DOING THIS.

We have great speakers, awesome sponsors and an amazing venue! We even have a photographer on board who will be taking pictures of the event and has agreed to update our blogger’s social media profiles with  brand new headshots (our pleasure).

There are spot prizes and social media competitions and I’m feeling very grown up about helping to plan everything 🙂
I’ll go into detail with the other sponsors over the next few weeks but today I wanted to chat about our venue…
We will be at THE BOMA
Those familiar with the area knows that this is big! The Boma is one of the premier venues for  special celebrations in the region from  weddings and birthday parties to reunions and baby showers. So we are very lucky  that The Boma’s beautiful forest courtyardis at our disposal for the morning. 

Honestly, when fellow blogger Sarah Diruswei from Chasing The Rainbow, told us she would be willing to sponsor the venue, Luchae and I did our long forgotten “club scream”…you know the “whoop whoop” shake your butt thing moms used to do before they became respectable?
Luchae chats more about THE BOMA on her blog this morning while I wondered where someone who owned such a magical place would hang out…
I didn’t have to wonder too long as co-owner of The Plantation and The Boma, Sarah actually writes a hugely popular blog (I might have mentioned this), where she and her boys ; husband Ralph, and sons Jacob, Luke and Cian travel the country and document their exploits.


She recently wrote a post on their 6 favEC weekend getaways so do check it out especially if you are coming from out of town for the event and want to make a weekend out of it.

There is still time for you to register for our 2016 #ecmeetup. For more information or to book, please contact Luchae or myself. Seats are limited. We can’t wait to meet up with you guys!

Today I chose to be a little sad

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Sometimes I think I miss the early stages of grieving…I miss it being completely okay to break down because “it is still raw and  you’re allowed to lose it a little”.
I also feel like giving birth while my God mother was being buried robbed me of grieving for her so there is a deep sadness inside me which I’ve kind of missed the “statute of limitation” on.
I don’t often feel like I’m allowed to grieve her or Logan but this time of the year (the time 4 and 3 years ago when I lost them) I give myself some me time some time when being sad is 100% okay
 Logan is gone 4 years today…I now have a happy family and I should be satisfied and just move on… it’s hard though, I spend the whole year putting it all out of my head hardly thinking about the could haves and would haves and then his birthday rolls around and I’m annoyed.
It annoys me that I just never got to actually spend any time with my own child.
 I want to scream that it’s all very unflippen fair, but I don’t because I imagine people are thinking “Omw get over it” or “are we still on this” or “everyone has problems, you’re not special” and naturally “death is a part of life”
Sometimes it’s actual looks and comments I get and other times it’s in the plain ignoring and forgetting and saying things like “so and so lost a child could you imagine how terrible” (I kinda can) or “you have a new life now put the past in the past” or the glazed over “let’s move this convo along” look.
I don’t want to be babied, honestly don’t baby me! it’s gonna get awkward! I’m going to make an off colour joke (which I do when I’m nervous) and it will be all lets look away and laugh uncomfortably.
All I’m asking is let me be miserable today. Look at the child you have or think of the child you long to have and then imagine them snatched away and buried in a little white box before you could catch your breath and then cut me some slack.
Yes time heals all wounds but this isn’t a wound it’s my child and today I chose to miss him.
Picture from: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Lessons from sleeping in a fort

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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 🙂

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

Curly Countdown with Simóne Human

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Today’s curly girl and I have often been mistaken for sisters (probably because we are both short and have big hair) and I don’t mind one bit. She’s stunning! talented and has the type of spirit that makes you automatically comfortable in her presence. Here are her tips and tricks for curly locks.

5 random facts about you or your hair 
  1. I did not always love my curls. 
I spent an inordinate amount of time since I was a teen trying to coax my curls into submission with an arsenal of straightening irons, serums and relaxers. It is only after turning 30 that the self-acceptance on the whole came (including my truce with my hair). I now am fully appreciative of them. 
  1. When I wear my hair natural it doubles in size from wet to dry, leaving me with an afro that easily resembles Diana Ross’. 
  1. I get my regular trim of my ends from my mum. (Love my Warrior Woman Mum!) 
  1. My curl pattern is somewhere between spiral curl and wave. 
  1. I hate washing my hair! (Lol) Always have since I was small. I think it has something to do with the combing out of kinks. 

4 products or activities you can’t live without 
  1. Aunt Jacky curly custard. This stuff stuff is seriously the bomb diggity. I cannot live without  it. It leaves my curls moisturised, shiny, soft and defined.
  1. L’oreal Extraordinary Oil shampoo and conditioner. 
This range is specifically formulated for dry hair and leaves my hair smelling wonderful and feeling soft. 
  1. Kair Strengthening Silicon Serum. 
  1. My mum’s regular trims (roughly every 6 weeks). 
Not only do they get rid of dry ends but it’s a proper bonding session. I can’t get enough of those now that I’m married and no longer live with my parents. 


3 tips for other curly girls 
  1. Skip the brushing. 
Use your fingers for a natural finish that won’t break the curl. 
  1. Stop fighting your natural hair. 
You’re beautiful as God made you and that includes your crowning glory. Yes, even on the days when your hair is acting like a petulant 2-year-old and just won’t do what it’s told. 
  1. Satin pillow = no ‘swirlkous’. I’ve worn a stocking with satin fibres in it for years but a satin pillowcase is so much more comfortable and you don’t have a wake up regularly through the night to readjust it on your head. 

2 misconceptions about curly hair 
  1. People always assume that I ‘did something’ to make it curl. No love, it’s called ‘just add water’. No miracle potion. 
  1. That curly hair doesn’t shrink. You bet your barnacles it does!