Trouble spelt f.a.i.t.h.

Boy oh boy.

Aaron was a really well behaved baby.

He tried opening a few cupboards, we got cupboard locks and left one open for him and filled it with tupperware and plastic stuff.  He knew that this was his cupboard and for the most part he left the others alone.

He never threw things in the toilet, he never climbed out his cot, he did occasionally draw on the tv or on a wall and he did shove a few straws down the sink drain but all in all he hardly ever got into trouble.

Faith on the other hand…

She is so adventurous, she opens and closes everything, she goes straight for the plugs and gets into everything she shouldn’t.

Including the toilet this afternoon.  I caught her red pink handed with her hands in the toilet bowl, newly cleaned with Toilet Duck (thank heavens I know the bowl was clean).  She threw such a hissy fit when I took her away from the toilet but got over it pretty quickly when I washed her hands under the tap and then got pissed off again when I wouldn’t let her carry on playing with the water in the sink.

I think this one is going to keep us on our toes!

About two minutes after I posted this a turned around and found this!

Juice is far more fun on me and the floor than in the bottle!

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6am

Faith pretty much slept through last night.  Yay!

It did mean that she woke me up at 5am for a bottle but I managed to get her to go back to sleep.  Yay!

That meant that if I went back to sleep I would be a very grumpy Gina when I woke up later, so here I am, 6am, coffee made, laptop on, getting ready to tackle my first day back at work in almost 4 weeks.  Yay!  Maybe… Kind of…  Ok, Yay!!!

I must admit I was pretty clever going back to work today, not yesterday, you see, today is my half day, so I get to ease back into things.  I do have to go do the monthly grocery shop after work though but I think thats a fair trade.

Oh, and after that, once it cools down a little, I am going to attempt a run.  I have been seeing all the Twitter runners talking about their training and races and I have felt the urge to get on the road and run too.

Dont get too excited though, just climbing a flight of stairs leaves me breathless and exhausted, my cardio ability is severely lacking!  I do however need to exercise and I know that I will not use a gym contract to its full potential, running seems like a decent alternative.  I dont have to pay a membership fee , I dont have to go a minimum amount of times a month, I can run whenever suits me.

So wish me luck!

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Sci-Bono outing of awesomeness!

Yesterday we took the kids into Newtown to visit the Sci-Bono museum.

I cannot get over how much fun we all had, especially Aaron.  So much fun in fact, that he didnt want to leave.  We had to promise him that we would come back on the weekend!

Oh and not only is Sci-Bono fun its also a really cheap family outing.  Adults are R20, kids are R10 and kids under 6 are free!

We landed up spending almost 2 and a half hours wandering around and we didnt even come close to seeing everything.

 

I had so much fun explaining how the mini experiments worked to Aaron.  Watching his face as he saw what I told him actually happen was awesome.

 

We watched a science demonstration.  The lady who did the demos was fantastic.  The kids (and adults) were laughing and shouting and most of all learning.

 

(Had to put this pic in, just look at that curl!)

We had such a fun day, the time literally ran away from us.  Aaron is still talking about all the things he saw and did.  Cannot wait to go back!

 

*most pictures were taken by Paul, some by me on his camera and some by me on the iPhone (Im sure you can tell which).

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Happy Holidays

We spent this afternoon at family.  We ate, swam, ate some more.  The kids had a blast playing together.

From our family to your, we hope you have had a happy and peaceful holiday weekend :)

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Everyone can sing!

I read this post over at Cinderella Trippin’ and it reminded me of a talk I went to a few (ok, maybe 10) years ago.

I had recently been held at gun point in the house I was living in.  I was shaken and scared and wanted to curl into a little ball and never come out.  My mom took me to a talk given by Alison.  You may recall her story from about 17 years ago.  She was raped, disemboweled, had her throat cut and was left for dead.  She survived! In every sense of the word.  I wont re-tell her story here, you can get her book for a truly inspirational read.

What I will tell you is how she opened that talk.  Something that has stuck with me this whole time.

Alison gave that talk in a school hall, there were adults, teenagers, children.  People that had been through unspeakable horror and their families too.

Alison stood in front of us and she said the following: “If you can sing, raise your hand.”

A handfull of adults put their hands up, every single child (they were all sitting on the floor in the front) stuck their hands in the air.

Alison pointed this out to us and said that she never asked if we could sing well, just if we could sing.  We should all have put our hands up.

The point she was making is that somewhere along the road to growing up, we become jaded, we stop believing we can do things, just because we cant do them well.  We see doing something well or correctly through the eyes of other people, ‘experts’ if you will, when we should be our own critics, our own experts, our own judges.  We have unimaginable power to do anything we set our minds to!

You may not paint like Picasso or sing like Michael Buble, or swim like Ryk Neethling but you CAN paint, you CAN sing, you CAN swim.

I think that sometimes we are too hard on ourselves.  We demand perfection in every aspect of our lives.  But we are not perfect, we are unique and that what makes us special.

I think that this will be my new years resolution.  To not be so hard on myself, to not demand perfection.  To paint and sing and swim just for the hell of it and not for anyones approval.

P.s. I have first dibs on the painting of the polka dot heals if it is ever for sale!

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Chanukah!

The festival of lights, where we celebrate the rededication of the Holy Temple and the miracle of a small drop of oil that lasted 8 days!

We set our menorah in a window where everyone can see the light, we eat fried foods, latkes and doughnuts in particular and we play games and generally have a good time.

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah and Aaron has been asking us everyday for a week when we will be lighting the menorah.  I cant wait to see his face tonight.

My brother Matt brought this menorah all the way from Israel for us. One of my most prized possessions

I also got my mom to buy me a mini donut maker from Clicks earlier so that I can make us some home made doughnuts for dessert tonight (I am petrified of deep frying anything so this seemed like a good alternative.)

For those of you celebrating, Chag Sameach!

 

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Splish Splash!

Faith is a real water baby.  She LOVES bath time and she loves swimming, doesnt matter if the water is warm or cold, she gets such a thrill out of splish splashing.

Today we got a fantastic surprise, a hamper from Huggies!

It came with a cool orange towel and a few Huggies Little Swimmer nappies.

I adore the Little Swimmer nappies.  They keep little accidents from happening in the pool and they dont swell up with water.  Perfect.

They are also the only swim nappies available in South Africa and as far as Im concerned the only ones I would use.

Huggies has improved on an already great product by making the sides open and close with velcro (they used to be pull ups) which is such a bonus when it comes time to change Faith.

At the moment Faith fits into the small nappies, but they come in 3 different sizes so she can wear them for as long as she needs to (up to 15kg and beyond).

Thank you Huggies for helping to make our summer a splish splash spectacular one :)

Oh, If any of you are going to be in Cape Town, why dont you head on over to the following beaches and have some fun with Huggies Little Swimmers:

  • 16th – 18th Dec                             Camps Bay
  • 22nd – 24th Dec                            Big Bay
  • 30th, 31st Dec & 2nd Jan          Camps Bay
  • 6th – 8th Jan                                 Big Bay
  • 14th – 15th Jan                              Strand
  • 21st – 22nd Jan                             Big Bay

And if you are in Durban check out the Huggies Little Swimmers team at uShaka Marine World on the following dates:

  • 16th – 18th Dec
  • 23rd – 24th Dec
  • 30th – 31st Dec
  • 1st Jan

And dont think Gauteng has been left out, find the team at Menlyn Mall from now until 15th Jan!

Follow Huggies on Twitter and Facebook for more info!

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2011 – Where the hell did it go?

This has fast become my year end meme :) Thank you Wenchy for starting me off on it.

You can take a look at 2009 and 2010 if you like.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I donated my hair to CANSA

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Im not entirely sure I actually made any resolutions last year…

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friend Sam gave birth to her 2nd little boy as well as a bunch of Twitter moms that I was pregnant with (and who all went to full term ;) )

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My brother.

5. What countries did you visit?

Again, I didnt leave sunny South Africa.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

More date nights, more movie nights!

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory?

24 Jan, the day I lost my brother.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I dont think I did anything so spectacular that it can be deemed an achievement.  I suppose I can say I survived each day and Im grateful for that.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Losing my temper, I really dont like losing my temper and I wish I had better control over it.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I slipped on the bathroom floor and partially dislocated my knee cap.  Took ages to come right.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Paul’s birthday present, a new camera.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Again, Aaron has been a champ this year, despite having to learn to share his mommy, daddy, nanny, grandparents, toys, dogs, house and everything else with his baby sister, he has been a star!

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

A family member.  Instead of drawing together she has pushed us away and made us ashamed to share blood with her.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food, nappies, food, bum cream, food. (P.s. this has not changed since last year, oh except I can add petrol to the list!)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My brother in law and his girlfriend getting engaged!

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2011?

Anything Lady Gaga.  Im not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing o_O

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

  • Happier or sadder? Happier
  • Thinner or fatter? Thinner
  • Richer or poorer? About the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Slept. Spent more time with friends.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worried about what other people would think.

20. How will you be spending Christmas

Not sure.  We are spending Christmas day with family :)

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Paul and my mom.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?

No.  Im still in love with my husband and my children though.

23. How many one night stands in this last year?

None.

24. What was your favourite TV program?

Grimm, Supernatural, Hawaii Five-0, HIMYM

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?

I didnt really read that much this year.  I am reading A Game of Thrones though and am loving it :)

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Nothing really new.

28. What did you want and get?

A new computer.

29. What did you want and not get?

Nothing springs to mind.

30. What were your favourite films of this year?

I loved Green Lantern and we just saw Real Steel which was great.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 32 and we went to play B.I.N.G.O. Was great fun and all for a good cause!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Having my brother Matt here for something happy not sad.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Casual.

34. What kept you sane?

Cipralex! And my amazing husband.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

None… boring :(

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

None, I am so not into politics.

37. Who did you miss?

Those that have passed, my brother Cliff and my dad in particular.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

Gosh, so many wonderful people have come into my life.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Take each day as it comes.  This is from last year and it definitely still applies.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

- Words by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons and music by Charlie Chaplin, sung by Nat King Cole

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Gratitude: Days 24 to 30

Im taking part in a photo challenge.

You can see the first 6 days here and days 7 to 14 here.

You can see days 15 to 23 here.

Day 24: gratitude - I'm so grateful that I'm able to make even this small contribution. #CutForCANSA

 

Day 25: artwork - the print we bought at the iPhonography exhibit. @Jenty sold it to benefit #teamjp

 

Day 26: transportation - my baby :)

 

Day 27: daily routine - tea! Can't start my day without it. Even if it's just one sip :)

 

Day 28: nighttime - the street light outside my house

 

Day 29: light - through the clouds. The sun will shine

 

Day 30: self portrait - mwa!

 

Im a little bit sorry I wont have anymore daily photos to take.  This was fun!

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Random facts are me :)

I was given an award by Tanya over at Dear Max (check out their spiffy new home on the web!)

So I have to tell you 7 random facts about me and then tag 15 bloggers to do the same.

Here goes!

  1. I hate painting my finger nails but love having my toe nails painted.
  2. I could speak in full sentences (no baby talk) by the time I was 1 year old.
  3. I have a very short temper but a very short memory too, once its over its over, I move on.
  4. I cant sleep with my feet out the blankets, they have to be tucked in.
  5. I always wanted to own a book store with a fire place reading nook, just so I could curl up with any book I liked and read all day.
  6. I wish I was tall.
  7. If I could have a 2 hour nap every single day I would be the happiest person ever.

And the 15 bloggers are:

  1. acidicice
  2. Because I Can
  3. Cinderella Trippin’
  4. Everything In Between
  5. Getting By
  6. Her Royal Cuteness
  7. I am Tamiya
  8. Jessica Giggles
  9. Keeping up with the Walkers
  10. Kambabe’s Thoughts
  11. Love.Cybelle
  12. Lovely Light
  13. Mandi Made It
  14. Mom’s Meanderings
  15. Roro’s Rantings

 

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