Month: November 2016

xmas ’16

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Wow…and so 2016 also comes to an end. For this year we don’t have a lot of words, let’s face it, it was a rough year. At least we have something to look forward too…….sun, sea and family time.

Leave the Trump at home, forget Brexit, after all, most of the people didn’t even know what is the meaning, as the question “What is the EU?” has spiked in popularity online. Pray for all in the Isis attacks and send your kids overseas to study. After all, who can learn anything during the chaos that came with FeesMustFall?

Enjoy, love and cherish everyone close to you, and let’s try to make 2017 awesome.

We promised ourselves that one day when the kids are old enough, we will have our white Xmas. In the meantime, we can only dream.

There is absolutely nothing more magical than a white Xmas.

We just came back from a Xmas tree hunt…literally searching the forest for the best natural, live Xmas tree. I’m not a big fan of all the plastic, fake decorations in the shops. I prefer the homemade, real decorations with character, and made with love.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!!!

Furry+Love

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To explain the life with your pets is to ask someone to imagine living without a BFF (best friend forever). You can’t really explain it if you are not a pet owner. In my case, I have 10, ranging from very big to very small. They keep me busy, they keep me young, and they are always there for me. Apparently, they have a lot of health benefits too, especially if you are alone, sick or selfish. If you are alone they are always there for you, they never judge, they are never jealous and they are ALWAYS happy to see you, sometimes even more than you are happy to see them. Yes, you do also get annoyed with them, especially if they jump on your white bed with their muddy paws, or if they dug out your newly planted rose garden. But, even though you get cross with them, you can’t live without them.

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I’ve heard that some hospital recently agreed to allow senior, or terminally ill patients to have their beloved pet with them, and it helps them through their struggle or pain. AMAZING IDEA!!

When you own a pet you are not allowed to be selfish. They need food, water, comfortable bedding and constant playing and exercise. It forces you to care for something else besides yourself, and what people don’t always tell you is that you can actually have long, meaningful conversions with them, and they will help you during those hard times.

I was not even married when we decided to get the children, Ice and Chikita. We did a lot of research, before deciding which type of dog to get, and in the end, we’ve decided on a Siberian Husky called Ice. She was the most gentle animal I have ever met, her eyes really spoke to you. 6 months later she just had to have a sister, and then we’ve adopted Chikita. Yes, for those of you who doesn’t know you don’t actually have to buy a pet from a breeder. You can adopt them, and give another life a chance to happiness.

(If you’ve missed it, I’m begging everybody out there that if you decide to get a pet, adopt, don’t buy)

Ice and Chikita lived with us for 13 years, and they were the best companions anybody can ask for. My children met them and were able to get to know them, and grow up with them for a little while before old age took them away from us.

To this day, we still miss them and my kids still ask about them, even though we now have two new very energetic furry kids. So, all I ask of you is to love them, care for them, feed them, and give them a warm bed to sleep in, and you will have a BFF for life.

 

It’s 5:00 pm, again!

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Don’t you absolutely hate 5:00 pm? In our house, I call this the ‘crazy hour’. This is the exact time that my 7 and 5-year-old decide they will die an excruciating death if they don’t get something to eat immediately and to top it off they become these very energetic bouncing balls that cannot sit still for just 5 min so that I can whip up something delicious out of the cupboard.

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Well, if you are anything like me, cooking dinner with a couple of loud, bouncing children is basically impossible. You see, by 5:00pm my energy levels also reached their all-time low, as, like all mothers, I’ve been running around from one corner to the next trying to adhere to everybody’s needs in our household, including feeding the donkey, the horse,  the bunnies, the birds and two dogs and cats, as they also look into my eyes for their daily bread.

The worst of all is that I’m not the best cook in the world. So cooking dinner, or basically any kind of nutritional meal is a lot of effort and planning. I literally need at least 2 days in advance to plan, and sometimes even cook dinner. And these little buggers have the habit to sneak up on you…if you open your eyes it’s dinner again, and I haven’t even opened the pantry to see what there is to use for dinner. 9 out of the 10 times the dish that I have in mind and the ingredients in the pantry isn’t the same, so a trip to our local market is also on the to-do list.

After a lot of effort, we will have a nutritional meal on the table and would enjoy it, then the chaos starts all over again…bath time….The act of bathing the kids isn’t so bad, but getting them out of the bath is a mission. My kids LOVE water, doesn’t matter in which form or shape…drinking a glass of water, running through the sprinklers, swimming in a pool or bathing. It literally takes me the same amount of time to get them out of the bath as it took me to bath them.

At last, it is time for me to sit back, relax and have a little bit of me-time. As my children, I also love a nice bath, and this is the only real thing that recharges my batteries. I love that warmth of the water that unfolds me, and I love the clean feeling after you’ve washed your hair. And I come to realise to survive the next day of making dinner, feeding all hungry mouths and just be the best mom that I can be, I need that little bit of me-time, even if it is just 30 min in a warm bath.

 

My Beach House

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As mentioned in one of my previous posts I would love to have my own little beach house one day in the future. I love staring at the ocean and just be…not really thinking of anything in particular, or sitting on a patio with a very long book to read.

Here are a few ideas I will keep once the beach house is bought.

As we believe in living a ‘green’ life and giving back to nature what we so generally receive every day it must definitely be a wooden house. I quite like the darker wood against a white sandy beach.

Each living area must definitely  have a view of the ocean. It would even be nice in the winter when the ocean shows its more aggressive side.

An outside shower is a must, as I’m quite OCD and would definitely not tolerate sandy feet in my beach house.

The base colour must be white, as, like the ocean, it makes you feel calm, clean and just let you be.

[Thanks to Pinterest for all you do for the creatives amongst us. All images found through searching the web]

White Beaches and Blue Waters

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There is probably nothing on earth as calming, relaxing, enjoyable, but also fears, angry and dangerous than the big blue ocean we have on our earth.

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We went to the beach yesterday, and once again what a pleasant experience. My children couldn’t get enough, they played, ran and investigate as if it is their first time to the beach, (and we have been to the beach many, many times). I couldn’t get enough looking at their faces and seeing the pure joy they experience playing in the sand, finding new treasures in every tide pool we enter. Yes, we walk into each and every one of them and investigate each corner of the tide pool to find hidden treasures and new and funny creatures.

Thanks to Octonauts, my son knew exactly what each little fish, sea urchin and seaweed are called, and whether it is dangerous or not. For those of you that don’t know Octonauts, it is a kids story about a crew of eight adorable animals who explore the ocean in search of adventure and fun. Through Captain Barnacles, Peso Penguin and Shellinton’s eyes my children are learning all the real facts about the ocean. They learn how to respect it, and they learn all the dangers that also comes with it. If you have time, check it out…..really worth showing it to your kids.

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For me, it is more the calming effect it has on me. I can sit and watch the waves for hours at a time, and just think or not think and just be. My husband cannot do that, so I presume the ocean is not for everyone. Hopefully one day we can have our own little house by the sea. See some pics of how my dream beach house will look like one day. Until then I will settle for travelling and visiting all the most beautiful beaches in the world. According to The Traveler the most beautiful beaches are in Brazil, Bermuda, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Mozambique, to mention just a few, but personally I think we, here in sunny South Africa, also have amazing beaches, I’m just thinking about Jongensfontein, around the corner from us, the West Coast, and not even to mention the East Coast. Personally my all time favourite is Strandfontein, situated on the West Coast. Nothing can top this, probably because this is my childhood holiday destination. We’ve been going there for almost 30 years, and it still has that magic to it, that you wouldn’t get anywhere else…well, that’s how it feels to me.

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The sad part is that not everybody appreciates this big, blue wonder with its white beaches. Not everybody knew how to take care of it and look after it. I’m thinking of all the big ‘companies’ that just leave all their dirt and think the ocean will be happy with us forever. At some stage, maybe not now, it will turn on us humans that cannot take care of it.

So, in this post I’m begging each and every one of you, please look after our oceans, don’t spoil the blue water and don’t throw your waste on the white beaches, because one day it might not be there anymore to enjoy.

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