Kids

I am still around.  And now I’m a mother of two.  A gorgeous girl and the most handsome little man ever.  Life is good 🙂

 

I’m an addict

To the point of almost being a dealer.

My drug of choice? Pinterest.

When I first heard of Pinterest, I thought that I would never find a use for it.  I don’t have a wedding to plan, I’m not a designer or a fashionista and I don’t spend hours on the net looking for pretty images.  I decided to request an invite anyway, being the serial early adopter that I am.

A few days later I received my invite.  I’m yet to figure out if this was a good thing or a bad thing.  I spent all of two minutes on the site before coming up with at least ten different boards that I could make.  The food category alone was enough to keep me staring at my screen for hours on end, pinning one delicious picture after the other.

I’ve discovered that you don’t need to be a designer or a fashion fundi or a bride-to-be to appreciate the stunning ideas and images on the site.  I’m not a photographer, but one day I might want someone to take pictures of me and Pinterest has helped me find poses that I may want to try.  I’m not a chef, but I’ve found countless meal ideas that are quick and easy to make by even the most disastrous of cooks.  I’ve found hundreds of fun and informative games and crafts to do with my little girl.  I’ve even become the proud owner of a sewing machine and can’t wait to try some of the patterns that I’ve come across on Pinterest.

My biggest challenge now?  Getting off of Pinterest long enough to actually try the dozens of projects that I’ve pinned.

And the dealer part I mentioned above? Pinterest is open by invitation only, so leave me a comment and I’ll send you an invite 😉

The end of an era

I’m in the process of coming to terms with the fact that my mom is moving away.

My parents have travelled throughout South Africa quite a bit over the past few years, and they fell in love with the Eastern Cape.  Three years ago my mom started making noises about buying a house in Port Elizabeth or close by to use as a holiday house and maybe to retire in one day.  Then suddenly in December, they bought a plot and started building a house in Jeffreys Bay.

That’s when things started changing.

My mom started getting very unhappy in her job.  She held a fairly high position in the company she’d worked for for 10 years.  She made very good money and mostly enjoyed what she did for a living and the recognition she’d received over the years, but it wasn’t quite the same.  She complained daily about the childish politics and the ridiculous workload that her boss kept increasing (the hazards of being very, very good at what you do).  She and my stepdad went down to J-Bay as often as they could to check on the progress of the house, and she was miserable every time they got back.  She’d had enough of the rat race that had been her life up to this point.  She wanted to start her own business.

In August, she got an opportunity to attend a seminar about women in business.  She told me that the two days of the seminar where real eye openers (and this from a woman who wasn’t all that keen to go a few days prior).  She had a one-on-one session with the presenter and told her about her plans to maybe open her own business at the coast in a few years’ time, being very non-committal about it all.  The presenter then turned around and told my mom that the only thing holding her back is herself, and that she’d have her business up and running in three years or less.

Not even two weeks later, things at her office started going awry.  She’d been called in to attend a disciplinary hearing for a mistake that her department had made, which she would have to defend as the department head.  She’d been placed on suspension until the hearing could take place.  She phoned me the Monday morning to tell me that her hearing was on the Friday and that she might lose her job.  My heart skipped a few beats before the tears started streaming down my face.  My mom had been through so much in her life and had worked so hard to get where she was, just to have it all taken away from her again.

She never made the hearing.  She resigned on the Thursday, choosing to take the severance package instead of being fired.  She’d decided that she was going to follow her dream and start a business, and that everything that had happened over the past year were just signs telling her that it was time to go do what she wanted to do.

So this is it.  My mom is leaving for J-Bay tomorrow.  Leaving to go to her new home.

I wish her every happiness in the world and I’m so excited for her, but I can’t shake this feeling of sadness that I’ve been carrying with me since hearing that she’s moving away.  I’ve never been so far away from my mom for any length of time.  I’ve always been able to get in my car and get to her house in an hour or less.   Whenever we’d go visit my in-laws, we’d make a stop-over at my mom’s house on the way home.

My family and I spent the day at my mom’s house on Saturday, having a bit of a farewell party.  This past weekend was their last weekend here and all my brothers and sisters were there to say goodbye and to wish them luck on this new era in their lives.

We stayed there as long as we could, leaving at 10pm that night.  I took one long last walk though all the rooms in the house.  I spent some of my happiest years there.  I’d loved and lost there.  I’d said goodbye to beloved pets and welcomed new ones into my life.  This was the house where my husband and I had told my mom that we were getting married.  It was the home my mom had created for me after a very hard time in both our lives….but it was time to say goodbye.

I’ve shed many a tear over the past few weeks, knowing how fortunate I am that my mom is only moving away.  Knowing that I can still call and email her every day.  Knowing that I’ll see her again in December when we go down to spend a week or two with them.  Knowing all of this, my heart is still breaking at the thought of my mom being so far away.

Good luck Mom.  I know how excited you are and how hard you’ll work to make a success of this new venture.

I’ll miss you.

xoxo

To Caz

It’s My Birthday, Mommy

(Dedicated to Sophia Grace)

I wish you could see the balloons, Mommy

There’re so many all around

Smiles and laughter and happiness, Mommy

Not one single tear to be found

There’s a big cake just for me, Mommy

And so many presents galore

Everyone’s dancing and singing, Mommy

There’s glitter all over the floor!

I wish I could show you these things, Mommy

I wish you could see my smile

I wish I could dance in your arms, Mommy

Even just for a little while

But, I see my Father each day, Mommy

And though I am missing you too

I know only happiness here, Mommy

And I’m patiently waiting for you

Happy birthday Sophia.

xx

My Little Girl’s Birthday

Today is the first anniversary of the day my darling daughter was born.  Its been a year of learning and laughing and experiencing new things.  The cliché about nothing preparing you for life as a parent is certainly true.  I didn’t know how many nappies I would change, dirty noses I’d wipe or bumps and bruises I would kiss better; but I was kind of prepared for that part of it.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the overwhelming and all-encompassing love that I feel for my baby girl.  Her smile slays me daily.  Her laughter is the most infectious I’ve ever heard.  Her pain moves me to tears.  I’ve never before felt so helpless and so powerful all at the same time.  If I had to choose to give my life to save hers, I’d give mine in a heartbeat.

She is part of me in every way and today I want to share a bit of her with you 🙂

The day Sienna was born

One of her first smiles

Her Little Wonder Dress.

She gets her eyes from her dad.

She's the happiest baby I know 🙂

Taken by @philly_girl

Happy 1st birthday my little angel.  I love you more than I could ever explain!

Mommyxxx