Things I'm Loving Number Ten!

 EASTER!

And an 8-year-old who is finally beginning to understand what it's all about.

And no, the answer (in this one particular case) is not
 chocolate!

 A super-easy Easter egg hunt organised by my husband.

You rock babe!

And I kinda liked the deviation from tradition where we used coins instead of eggs.

 Clearly, so did the boys!

Helpful little three-year-olds.

This particular one has finally realised that he can!


I'm guessing his older brother is loving that fact too as it means he isn't the only kid helping mom out anymore!

More about what's in that mixing jug later.

He's even helping out with entertaining Blossom.

He can just about reach her glass-bead-homemade mobile.

Which, by the way, is a total success - the kid loves her 'dancing pretties!'

What are you loving today?


























And finally, winning pretty things from Scrap-a-Bull - email for more info on cool scrapbooking supplies here.

Linking in with PaisleyJade.
Cos she totally rocks.

And because:
I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is. 
Amen

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Brace yourself, this one is going to be profound.

Ok, so most of you who have been following my blog know that Blossom has started 'talking' to me. She's only just found out she can control the sounds coming
out of her mouth and she has started practicing her newfound vocal abilities on everyone around her.

And of course, as besotted as we all are with her, we get pretty excited whenever she 'speaks.' Our smiles become wider and we encourage her for as long as she can cope with the stimulation.

We delight in her.

This week, as I was having a delightful conversation with my daughter I was reminded of Matthew 21:16. (Ok, I confess, I remembered the words to the passage and had to google it to get the actual verse!)

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He has perfected praise.

I never quite understood that one, and maybe I still don't, but as I sat and thought about it I had a slight revelation:

If we delight in the first coos and goos of our children, how much more does our Father in heaven delight in our praises?
If I long to hear my baby talking to me, how much more does He long to hear me talking to Him?

May you be blessed this week.

Thing I'm Loving UPDATE!

A surprise super-blessing from Betty May and her husband for The Man.

Thanks Betty May and Mr Gadget! You rock!

And enjoy my love, you deserve this... you deserve this in a very big way!

Things I'm Loving Number Nine!

Honestly? Do I even need to write anything?
Are words even necessary?

I'm loving Blossom, who has just started 'talking' to me. Those first 'goos' and 'coos' are the sweetest sound ever!

I'm also loving Snapfish and their current offer of 30 free prints!

I'm loving the fact that it's payday!
(We get to be happy about it for about half an hour... and then the bills go off the total and it all just looks depressing... BUT that half an hour happens TODAY!)

I'm also loving www.wrapyourbaby.com - full of useful info, as is The Sleep Store.

Hope everyone has a great joy-filled weekend!

Linking in with PaisleyJade, cos she's my blogging homie and:

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Just a random update...

On saturday we held our bi-annual (that means twice yearly right?) Clothes Swap Party. It was awesome!

I scored Levis! Of course I don't actually fit into them yet, but that's a minor detail best ignored for the time being....

But one of the highlights was that my friend Lynne came up from Auckland with this precious angel.

As you can see the boys LOVE Kiera-Leigh!

 Blossom spent her first period of time away from her mommy.

Of course Mommy was more concerned by this than she was!

She spent the morning with her Granny and Auntie 'Laine.

I sent the wrap with them, and apparently, according to them, she wouldn't sleep anywhere else... Apparently.

I wonder who wore her... and picturing how those two decided who got the honours gives me a bit of a giggle.

As a result of my efforts to overcome the feeding issue that Blossom's little excursion presented, I now have the nickname: Fonterra Woman.

Fonterra is one of New Zealand's largest dairies.

I went crafting at the Town basin with the Whangarei Bloggers.

Happy birthday to Leonie and Jacksta B!

And I figured out a new way to wrap Blossom - so she can see the world.

Cos she yells if she can't...

How has your weekend been?

Busi and Baby-Wearing

I need to tell you the story of my last maid.

Yes, it's quite common in South Africa to have a maid, I grew up with them as did most South Africans. In fact, my sister was practically raised strapped to the back of a sweet lady named Autelia.

Anyway, I will always love Busi, my last maid, she was completely reliable. Of course, she didn't speak a word of English and my Zulu was rudimentary at best. Giving her instructions every morning before work was like playing charades.

One day, on a saturday we were getting ready to go out
shopping and Busi suddenly made a mad dash for the loo. That's strange I thought.

She came back out and carried on as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. So I told her we were leaving and pointed to the clock to show her what time we would be back, and we left.

When we got home Busi was still ducking in and out of the loo rather more frequently. It was actually quite alarming and I went to my medicine box to find some rehydration solution to give her, thinking she had a bout of gastro. She came to me and told me she was finished but wasn't feeling well and could she go home early. Of course I agreed and drove her to her bus stop.

I dropped her off with instructions on how to make up the rehydration stuff and then left her and got on with my weekend, fully expecting her to be ok.

Huh!

On monday I had a VERY interesting conversation with the maid at work who was Busi's next door neighbor.

It seems that Busi went straight to the clinic after I had dropped her off and was told that she was in labour. She was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance where she delivered a very healthy and completely unexpected baby girl. She had never known she was pregnant, she had suspected it but had been told by the nurses at the clinic that she wasn't.

I will forever love this lady because she had polished my slate floor and done two hours worth of ironing while in labour!

I gave her ALOT of time off and sent an email out asking for girly baby stuff.

Anyway, when she returned to work, her little one returned with her. She still did all her work, just with a baby strapped to her back.

Strapping a baby on one's back was a skill that I had always quite envied but had never been able to achieve...

... until I found this website.

I now have the skills!

Things I'm Loving Eight!

Tying in with PaisleyJade because:

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.


This book.


It makes SO MUCH SENSE!!!


Find it here.

Walkie Talkies that double up as baby monitors!


Hallelujah!

And babies who sleep in a regular pattern...




One of these days, Blossom!


One of these days...

The Messy House Ministry

Credit: Sanja Gjenero, sxc.hu

I don't know if I can truly call my messy house a ministry, surely a married person in a ministry should be married to someone similarly called?

I'm giggling as I write this... because The Man does not share my views on messy houses being ministries to those oppressed by the same, and to be perfectly honest with you, I would prefer my house to be neat and tidy and organised.

I would prefer to have a place for everything and everything in it's place. But the reality is this:
My children do not know how to tidy up after themselves. (Which is my fault)

Clutter spots have formed in strange places like the hatch between the playroom and the kitchen and the ironing board. (Shows you how much I use that!)

Laundry lies in piles all over the floor - the only organisation there is inside my own head, in that, I mostly know which pile is clean.

But the difference between The Man's perspective and mine is this: I am the primary caregiver for two boys, aged eight and three, and an eight week old baby girl. I've given up.
It is the epitome of chaos.

I have lowered my standards to this:

We're doing ok if -
Everyone has clothing to wear.
Cooking food in my kitchen will not cause widespread stomach upsets.
The dishwasher gets turned on at least once a day.

I turn a blind eye to -
My unswept kitchen floor and unvacuumed lounge.
The bin (not my job!)
The boy's bedroom floor (also not my job!)
A messy playroom (yet again... not my job)

Unfortunately our untidy house with it's crumbs on the floor bothers my husband and he finds it disturbing that other people see the house in this state.
He doesn't believe in a messy house ministry and will devote large amounts of time on the weekend to cleaning.

I love him dearly for this and feel beyond blessed to be married to him.

I do have faith that eventually one day the rhythm of my household will settle down and that the pace of my daily life will become less frantic. And I'm fairly sure that, when this happens, my standards will rise.
My home will become a place of calm and peace. Where my husband will come home and relax in it's serene atmosphere.

I wouldn't hold my breath though. 'Cos I'm also fairly sure it ain't gonna happen any time soon.

Just call me...

Anybody remember HeMan? What about his
female counterpart SheRa?

Of course, theoretically we were never allowed to watch HeMan or SheRa, it really disturbed my parents to see us running around the yard yelling 'By the powers of grayscull!'

I haven't thought about these two characters in a good two decades, but was reminded of them today.

See, it was an effort of herculean proportions to find all the pieces of the cot (many of which seem to have travelled the earth since they were last used)...

...and put them all together again.

There were many snarls of frustration as I figured out where the tools were to try and tighten the bolts - searching for allen keys and obscure looking screws.

And then doing all the work in silence while Blossom slept - the cot doesn't fit through the average doorway - it needed to be assembled in her room.

But in the end I prevailed: By my own powers thank you very much!

Ooooooh... wooden slats!

Just call me... Supermom! (snicker... snort!)

The Cot

I absolutely love this cot.

It was given to us by a
really lovely couple at my parent's church and The Frog used it up until he went into a big bed.

The Man hates it. And granted, it's a bit rickety.

But, because of his intense dislike, our need for a cot for Blossom was one of the things that went to the top of the prayer list.

Now, my mother has three cots. Again - I have no idea why. All of her children are long past the need for a cot - and yet she has graciously agreed to lend me one.

I'm still praying for a cot.

See, quite a few people have lent me stuff for Blossom, but I'm starting to get really frustrated - when is this child going to actually have stuff of her own? Even the place she sleeps doesn't belong to her?!?!?!

Wouldn't you find that frustrating too?

Anyway, today I have been on a mission to find all the scattered pieces of the oval cot. I am going to set it up and that is what Blossom will sleep in. If all I accomplish today is finding all the bits of it (parts of it are used for biltong making!) I will count today as a success.

Wish me luck.