What 30 years of marriage taught me

August 31, 20153 Comments

My parents celebrate 30 years of marriage today…
A real achievement in this day and age especially if you factor in how different these two are.I swear it’s like they filled in a dating profile with the words “I would like someone so far from my personality it’s scary”

My mom is cool calm and calculated, every thing is thought through and organised while my dad flies by the seat of his pants, he does everything instant and big while my mom is reserved and calm. She speaks when spoken to or after a glass of wine and he never shuts up 🙂

But they have that “stay up if he works late”, “check on her if she’s home alone” kind of love. It is the kind of love one could spot from miles away.

At my dad’s birthday party this weekend my mom said that marriage was not 50/50 if you want something to work you don’t go half way. .. marriage is 100/100 it’s about sacrifice and truly accepting that you are no longer just looking out for yourself… powerful words I’d say.

I’ve learnt a lot about marriage and love from these two even though neither of them had the best role models when it came to relationships growing up (both sets of grandparents were involved in pretty destructive relationships).

I learnt about team work by watching them work together for everything they wanted, I learnt about sacrifice by watching them give up and go without in order to save and I learnt about never being “too big” to say you are sorry.

Living together is one thing loving together is what I witnessed and what I strive for…

Happy anniversary may God grant you many more years together 🙂

fashion you can play in

August 28, 20153 Comments

Even before my first pregnancy I always knew I would be one of those moms who “dress up” their kids, but it came to my attention rather early on that the kid I am tasked with is not the “sit around looking pretty” kind so I had to come up with a middle ground of sorts, stylish (Hey he won’t let me dress him for very long, indulge me) but practical playable clothes, Mr Price and Jet Stores are really my go to when it comes to clothes because it’s fashionable things that won’t break the bank… Also I make a lot of his things, and he wears Oh!Boy things a lot and I’m very blessed that people buy him clothes for birthdays and Christmas and I love them for that…

Batman t-shirt (Mr P) Chinos (Gift) Scarf (Oh!Boy) Sneakers (Gift)

Top (Mr P) Pants (Gift) a scarf and a clip on snood worn together because he wanted to (Oh!Boy)

How the outfit looks when refusing to get out of mommy’s car

Denim Dungarees (PnP, bought for his first birthday but only fits now)
Top (Ackerman’s)

Snood (oh!boy) pants (oh!boy) Cardi (Mr P)
he has other shoes I promise

Mr P head to toe

I swear he has other shoes

Track pants (Pep) Red t-shirt (PnP)

Shirt (Jet) Pants (Gift) Boots (Mr P) Bowtie (Oh!Boy)

Hat (stolen from dad) clip snood (Oh!Boy) Pants (Gift) Jersey (MrP)

Track Pants (Pep) Boots (MrP) Jersey (MrP) scarf (Oh!Boy)

Beanie (Daddies one the other way around) Top (Pnp, set of 3)

Jacket (Gift) Pants and Snood (Oh!Boy)

Full view

Apart from boots this whole look is made up of gifts 🙂

Mel and her faith in “someone elses plan”

August 27, 2015Leave a comment

I really love this No Fear Just Faith series, I love how it means something different to everyone tasked with writing a piece. Today we have a blogger who I have mentioned here and here before, Melanie Blignaut, I love her realness and her views of princesses and cartoons and I am starting to forgive her for putting that stupid bubble guppies song in my head yesterday….

In my final year of varsity, while completing my BA (Dramatic Art) at Wits, I found myself uncertain about what I wanted to do next. After four years of drama, I knew that I didn’t particularly want a career in the industry.

Those four years had challenged my faith. I never doubted God or his love for me, but I wasn’t always consistent in living out my faith. Perhaps it was because I never really rebelled as a teen, but I made a lot of mistakes in those years.

I knew, at the end of it, that I needed to be serving God and not myself.

That December, I joined a group of young adults from our church who were running a life skills workshop at a local primary school.

During that week of the workshop, I felt God nudging me toward something, and I spoke to our youth pastor. I decided to commit the next year to serving on our church’s schools ministry team. What this entailed was teaching Life Orientation at three local primary schools, as well as helping run the Friday night junior youth group and July holiday programme.

It was a good year for me.

I reconnected with church friends I had drifted from while studying, and I also grew in my faith and desire to continue serving the Lord. God also gave me the desire to use my gifts for him, so that year a friend and I wrote and directed a Christmas play at church. This play was the starting point for our church’s drama ministry.

I started my year on the schools team not knowing what the future held. I had to give up all my plans, all my concerns and simply trust that God had a plan, he was in control, and he would provide all that I needed.

My biggest lesson that year was really seeing God’s faithfulness. I had to trust him to provide my financial support, for one thing, but also in a more personal, intimate capacity. I had to trust that he had placed me on the team, that he was working in me and through me, and that he would show me the next step to take.

As I look back on my life so far, I can see how he was guiding me all along, even when I wasn’t paying attention. I can see how has used the people he brought into my life to grow me, to encourage me, and to teach me.

While I regret some of the choices I made as a student, I don’t regret studying drama or going to Wits. I made great friends there. I met my husband there. My husband and I now run our church’s drama ministry together, which just goes to show that you never know how God is going to use you and the people he places in your life. His plans for my life have been so much better than mine!

{blog} Wind in a Letterbox

{blog} Confessions of a Zombie Mom

Melanie Blignaut Writing

A day in the life of a part time wahm

August 26, 20153 Comments

Since I am not in a traditional “work setting” on Thursdays and Fridays, Wednesdays are usually filled with comments like “It’s practically Friday for you”, “Oh my, you are so lucky” and the more loaded “Wish I was so lucky, but some of us have to work” I smile, I nod, I think; I had to sacrifice half a pay check for this you judgmental so and so and duh I need to work, I happen to work my arse off at not one but three jobs and a blog so you can go jump. I wanted to spend more time with my kid and I wanted to follow my dream of starting a brand so it’s sacrifice after sacrifice and I don’t judge your decisions so HUSH…
Sidebar: I’d be very unpopular as a person if I ever lost the filter that turns that sentiment about judgmental so and so’s into a smile and the phrase “different strokes for different folks hey”

With this in mind I thought I’d tell you what my wahming (being a work from home mom) is like these days…

-Thursday morning I cuddle into bed with my angelic two year old as the sun streams in through our favorite tree, the nanny takes him to sort him out for school and such and I go to yoga, before popping off to the spa, I get home to freshly squeezed organic vegetable juice and quickly pop in to see how my workers are doing on the spring collection I’m very excited to bring out.
I log onto the net and surf for a while then come out to my beautiful little cherub eating his lunch neatly at his table. We then put on our matching running shoes and take a walk through the park, I do another quick check in on workers and then Rob comes home and we have a healthy balanced meal that magically appeared in my pristine kitchen and then, I wake up and my real life starts…

– Actually on Thursday mornings I wake up at 6.15 (incidentally that is sleeping in for me because we are usually in the car on our way to work then) I get ready and then wrangle an unresponsive toddler out of bed.
He tries every trick in the book to not go to school, like hiding his shoes, faking injuries and emotionally blackmailing me by telling me school makes him sad, can he stay with me as I make him happy…
I get him into his car seat and then drag him into the school building where he cries, goes limp and acts like I’m leaving him as a sweat shop, I hardly leave the driveway and he is merrily playing with his friends.
Then it’s get home, and do some blog admin over a hearty breakfast of whatever is quickest, usually coffee and a fruit. Then it’s admin for Oh!Boy… I take and make orders on a weekly rotation so it’s quick stock take before I’m off to material shop for supplies and back home to get as much sewing done as I can before I have to pick up Aidan -I try to fit in some form of exercise around this time too.
Then I bring him home, make him a balanced critic approved lunch, beg and plead with him to eat it, then give in to yet another, Provita, apple and yogurt meal.
He then wants to watch some TV, usually one episode of Mickey Mouse Club House followed by one other show about some kid who seems to be without their parents all the time like Dora, Jake and so on – I use this time to do some more sewing.
After TV we do a mom and me activity like crafting, play dough, play in nearby park for a hour or so, then we get back home and I hope Rob has something he is dying to cook or wants to buy because if not I have to cook with a toddler dying to “help you mummy”.
I then set Aidy up with a puzzle, colouring activity, books, blocks and get some work done, he often ends up by Ma (my mom) after this to pick up his cousin/brother Caleb who he would have asked for quite a few times by now…
They go off, I evaluate how much I have done and how much needs to be done…
Rob comes home we do the usual family time, bath time, bed time thing and if I didn’t do enough to my liking I let them sleep and finish up.
On Friday I do it all over except that I have early morning Gifts&Goodies meeting with my partner Jill where we touch base, shop and create till I need to pick up the Tyke. On crazy days I bring him with me back to her place where he plays with her kids; 4-year-old Madison and 3-year-old Levi, they almost ALWAYS fight and one always cries, but they can’t get enough of each other either… so yes my life is all LUXURY BIATCHES!!! jealous much 🙂

I’m not complaining though, we all get annoyed when our life decisions are questioned but I’m happy, I have always been the type that needed to be doing different things at the same time to truly relax and be me… I thrive on the crazy and things have been really crazy but I love it, honestly 🙂 apart from maybe a nice cash injection, I wouldn’t change my life for anything right now.

Picture my weekend-hoarders toy edition

August 25, 20153 Comments

So this past weekend I took on the daunting task of fixing up a certain little someone’s room and play area, I am still tired , I swear…

I just think this picture shows so much independence, Mr, doing dishes

HOARDERS TOY EDITION!!! moved everything into the TV room so I wouldn’t be tempted to give up

On the plus side all the packing gave rise to this idea, the latest, OH!Boy product, window toy bags 🙂

Things were separated, like all his musical instruments and dress up stuff found a home in this beautiful basket
– which I may or may not have acquired by telling my mom it didn’t fit in with her decor

Starting a reading nook; a poof and books is all you really need, oh and a crocodile in a cape

His own little crafts table 🙂

I have no real direction with all these cars and things, so they just got shoved in what used to be a makeshift ball pit

Oh look cows in our street, seriously don’t know what’s been up with this lately, goats, cows, donkeys, sheeeesh

We have a new rule since mommy had to stay up till three in the morning sorting out toys…
You can’t play with a new set of toys until the old set has been packed away
– oh and tip: you see that blue fold up laundry basket in the back ground, you can pick one up for a steal and
kiddo can use it to practice his/her aim without you forking out a lot of money and it folds into a toy bag 🙂

Aidan seems to think he has all new toys now, he is sooooooooooo chuffed keeps thanking me for his big boy toys
even though he has owned most of these things for a while now.
I let him give away some toys himself and he was quite happy to do it, as long as no one touches his “play dough stuff”

These are his “play dough stuff” I had to make quite a big bag to house it all
he LOVES it, makes monsters and food and he has even got the hang of the extruder thing
you know the one you put dough into and squeeze shapes out
I had no idea how many cookie cutters and shapes and things we had, JOH!

That’s the extruder I mean, his favourite thing to do is make dough come out really skinny and call it monster hair
His love for play dough has caused more than one session of watching YouTube videos of people making fake
food with play dough, this is an ACTUAL THING! grown people making food out of play dough on camera
I stumbled across it when searching for play dough set ideas and now
it’s all, “watch play dough foodies mommy PLEAAAAAASE”

Okay so maybe I was inspired a little

Look mommy made a Minnie Mouse, oh sidebar every time we see a clip of Minnie Mouse, Aidan asks where Daisy is
Definitely roots for the underdog this kid

Win a girls night in package!

August 24, 20155 Comments

You can win this!!!

So I have mentioned Gifts&Goodies before, but don’t think I ever shared what it is we do…
Basically me and an equally “must create things or perish” kind of friend started a gift and activity box service, we make gifts for people who want to show they care but are not sure how…
Here are some of our more recent orders 🙂