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Living with teenagers can be annoying!
If you’re the parent of a small kid, or, in my case, a gang of small kids, and you’re thinking that your life is “woes” right now, allow me to bring some clarity to the situation. This level of “woesness” is nothing compared to when your tiny angels are full grown adults, who have opinions of their own. (Disclaimer, if you’ve come here for advice, move along Jackie. But if you’re looking for a kindred heart who has had to stop herself from, you know, throwing shoes and cutlery at her grown son, then welcome friend! This post is for us.) No one makes me as angry as my 17…
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Choosing the right school for your child and other parenting headaches
I grew up in (what our brown people lovingly refer to as) the hood, in Port Elizabeth. You know… the type of suburb where all the kids in the neighborhood would play with each other, in the street, literally, because we didn’t have big yards or grassy side walks. It was a time of unsolicited nicknames (because we all knew a “China” or “Blou” or “Koppe”) and anyone’s parent was allowed to give you a group spanking if you misbehaved. Back then, the unspoken rule was that when your time for schooling came, you would attend one of the public schools in the area. I mean, my parents probably knew…
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When is cow’s milk safe for my toddler?
My bully beef baby boy is growing so well, you guys! His budding personality and infectious giggles are the highlight of our day (Kari included!) and we love watching him grow into a real little boy. On his first birthday, I had begun to wean him off formula, introducing a growth milk slowly. My wallet enjoyed the relief! My Hubstopher appreciated the efficiency behind simply pouring, versus the mind-numbing time suck that comes preparing formula bottles in the middle of the night. And then, the unthinkable happened. It was 11pm, on a Sunday night, and we had run out of growth milk. I don’t know, somewhere along the line, my…
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Moms, have you heard about the ‘Fiver Party’ trend?
What if I told you that “no gift parties” are the new in thing? Yes, I’m being serious. Okay, let’s start at the beginning. Hands up, if you’ve been to more kid’s parties in one year, than you’ve been to actual, grown up parties. In fact, taking your children to birthday parties is high up on the list of standard “things to do when you’re a parent”. But the thing is this, guys, it can get quite pricey if you’re attending copious amounts of birthday parties on the regular! Well, one genius mom came up with the “Fiver Party” concept and it’s now trending in America and Canada. A Fiver…
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Your children are watching you
Ever wonder what your kids see when they witness how you handle things at home? I mean, sure, sometimes your hubby annoys you and you have your moments of frustration. But you keep it together, right? I mean, your home is totally not a war zone, right? But what do your kids see? And, are they seeing what you would like them to see? Your children are watching you. Yes, that sounds like the synopsis of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. My cryptic opening paragraph may have you scratching your head and reaching for your phone to scroll through Instagram. Sorry, Candice. I was having a moment. But now that I’ve pulled…
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Human trafficking: Should I be sharing my kid’s photos on social media
The child abduction scare has literally left our parenting community reeling and, to be honest, the frantic (false) voice notes and Facebook shares are not really helping us at all. As I’ve said before, I’m all for REAL news and information, but when you start spreading mass hysteria, you’re kinda not allowing people to make informed decisions. As a blogger I’ve been so aware recently with regards to the type of information I share about my kids online. Should I be sharing my kid’s photos on social media? It is with these questions in mind that I contacted three legit organizations – namely A21, STOP Human Trafficking and Missing Children…
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Human trafficking: Keep your kids safe from abduction
As I type this post, I am shook to my core. I mean, I am in no way an expert on human trafficking. But having just spent a good few minutes online, reading stories of child abduction, my world has suddenly become a lot more shakier. Human trafficking is on the rise in South Africa, yo, and woman and children are being targeted. Have you begun to educate your little one on what they should do if someone grabs them? Do you have a plan in place, to keep your kids safe from abduction? Are you also freaking out a little bit, on the inside? Allow me to reiterate: aaaack!…
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Ear piercing for kids: doing it right
So the great “when to pierce your kids ears” debate had me trolling the interwebs for hours. I mean, how else was I suppose to know whether my child is old enough to get her ears pierced?! Ear piercing for kids suddenly became a tad more complicated than I had initially thought it was. We sure do have A LOT of opinion about EVERYTHING. People seem to care a bit too much about how other people are raising their own children. And hey, I get it, who am I to speak? I have a blog and I tell you guys how I do things, right? Fair enough. But I’m not…
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Cake smash alternative: First Birthday Paint Session!
Okay, so you’re a mom and you’re scouring the internet for ideas on how to document your little one’s first birthday. But for some reason, the idea of having your baby dig into a cake is just not appealing. That’s okay. You’re in a safe place, you can confess. Maybe playing with food is not your scene. Or maybe you feel like you need a fresh approach to the whole thing. Well, guess what, Michelle of Cutepix Photography now offers moms a first birthday cash smash alternative: The First Birthday Paint Session! You guys, I LOVE this idea! And yes, I know, the way I gush on and on about Michelle’s…
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936 Pennies: Discovering the joy of intentional parenting {Giveaway}
The thing about children is that they grow up so flippen quickly. I mean, one minute you’re staring down at your perfect bundle of joy and marveling at their newborn freshness and the next, you’re hunting down a bundle of – uh – poop, that your toddler has left for you in a misplaced nappy. It’s all fun and games really. But my point is that it goes by so quickly! How do you make the moments count? Well, for Jojo’s birthday play date I gave a few of my close friends a copy of Eryn Lynum’s wonderful book, 936 Pennies, and asked them to have a read through it…
