Fun in the sun ’16

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For the first time in 4 years, we went back to my childhood holiday destination, on the West Coast of South Africa, called Strandfontein. It brought back so many memories, but most of all it was so nice to see my children enjoy it. They loved the freedom that came with a camping-at-the-sea holiday. I gave them total freedom and they were able to come and go as they please (but, as they are still under 12, with a strict clock-in time of 8:00 pm).

See the magic of the West Coast of South Africa.

The best part of a sea holiday is the new friends you make.

Then there is the most beautiful beaches and views.

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Last, but not least is the best sunset….

When I was young(er)

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Turning 40 is not for ‘sissies’. I went to a rock concert the other day, which we did quite a lot when we were younger, but wow, what an eye opener. The music rocked, and the artists stood up to my expectations, but……

My 40-year-old body and it would seem my looks, couldn’t keep up. This I realised after a ‘boy’ made a statement with regards to my age, and the fact that I looked at least 10 years older than the general age of the audience. At least he showed some awe as to the fact that I was actually at the show.

That, however, didn’t put me off, as this young man don’t realise yet, is that age is in the eye of the beholder and that you are always as old as you feel, in my case, 25. I still feel like a young girl who thinks she can concur the world, party all night and only life on coffee. However my favourite part about getting older is realising all the adults I looked up to were really just winging it as well, and that is ok. We don’t need to stress and worry about so many things, in the end, all will be fine, you must just realise within yourself that you are ok, you are making the best choice (not always the correct choice), and if you fail you will learn.

So, I realise the value of privacy, of cultivating my circle and only letting certain people in. I can be open, honest, and real and know that not everyone deserves a seat at my table of life.

Therefore I vow that I will never, at any age, be that old lady, waiting for life to happen. I will embrace every moment, be happy within myself and accept myself for who I am.

I will not look back to my younger days, as I am still young.

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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.