Awesome Giveaway Coming Soon....

Have you got young kiddies?

Do you enjoy taking your kids to live events?

Are you wondering what to do with your wee ones these school holidays?

Do you live in Johannesburg?

I will be holding a brilliant giveaway soon just for you guys.

Keep an eye on the blog....

Marriage is NOT a word, its a sentence...

Jokes aside, Plonkers...

...I read this inspiring story on Jamerican Spice's blog and it got me pondering (yeah, this happens with me from time-to-time).  

"Do you love your partner more than you love your children"?

This statement always makes me think of the debate my BFF and I have over this subject.  She says her kids will always come first and I say my husband always come first. 

We argue our various opinions back and forth and we will never alter our points-of-view.  A bit of background about our friendship:

We've been best friends for 13 years and that just happens to only be one year more than I've been married.  So, my BFF has known me before marriage, she was at my wedding, she knew me before kids, she was there when Megan was born and my children call her "Aunty Mandy".  Mandy was even there during my early stages of labour with my second born and looked after my first born, Megan while I went to the hospital to birth Kaylin.  Mandy is our primary babysitter and she refers to the girls are "our girls" when she speaks to me about them. 

This just goes to show you that you can have a close relationship with someone who doesn't share EVERY opinion you do.

Anyhoozer, back to my story about who comes first in your family. 

Some may be surprised to know that I put my marriage first.

I believe that R and I chose each other before we decided together to have children. 

I believe that marriage is the foundation for a family.


Oh, I know that these two are two COMPLETELY different types of love and you really can't compare them.  My love for my girls is totally unconditional.  It is a no-matter-what-type of love that needs less work and comes more naturally to me. 

My love for my husband is priceless and romantic - those intimate little gestures and glances we share, when we don't have to use any words.  A single look can say a thousands words.  It's holding hands in the check out que and the physical attraction and passion.  It's also a friendship - someone who is there when times are at a high and at a low.  When we stand together we're an invincible team.

Power in a Family Bubble.
R is the leader in our family. That certainly doesn't mean I'm submissive and take his word as gospel. No frikken way!  I am a redheaded Scots Lass with a strong will and flappin lips.  I have my say, but we've learned to talk about things, we've learned to communicate with each other, we sometimes bicker and fight about stuff because our opinions on things are completely different. But we can come to decisions together or agree to disagree. Then the outcome is implemented by R.



I just know that if R and I are NOT on the same page, it affects our children.  We need to keep each other happy in order to be able to navigate positive and loving parenting. 

I think we're teaching our children that marriage is important, fun and solid.  And, if you work at building a strong and respectful partnership team, they are learning valuable lessons from us.

What are your views on puting your children before your partner?

Tears! Tears! Screaming!

Oh its so heartbreaking for me to drop KK at school. She clings to my neck like a wee monkey and burys her head in my neck, sobbing, tears, streaming, calling my name...

When I kiss her, say goodbye and tell her that I love her I hand her over to Ennie (the Teacher's helper) she shrieks so hard and cries at the top of her lungs "Mummy! Don't go!". She upsets herself, me and the other children so much with her hysterics. Its totally heart-breaking.

I know that children don't like change and her moving from "Baby School" into the "Big School" section with a new classroom and new teacher is traumatic in itself but some of her little friends are still with her. Her teacher says that she calms down a couple of minutes after I am gone and she carries on with her day happily playing with the toys and her friends.

That separation is just so horrid.

I landed up crying all the way to work this morning and I heard her shrieks through my head and heart. It just gets to me. It makes me feel guilty and bad and so terribly insensitive. I know that its the change and that she needs to just get into a routine but its still hurts so much.

I have even tried explaining to her in the car on the way to school what is going to happen, that I'm not deserting or abandoning her. That I have to go to work but that I will be back to collect her soon.

I hope that she settles in soon and that she doesn't remain anxious to leave me and go to school happily. I'd hate to go through this everyday and that it developes into separation anxiety

Making Goodbyes Easier

These strategies can help ease kids and parents through this difficult period:
Timing is everything.

- Try not to start day care or child care with an unfamiliar person when your little one is between the ages of 8 months and 1 year, when separation anxiety is first likely to appear. Also, try not to leave when your child is likely to be tired, hungry, or restless. If at all possible, schedule your departures for after naps and mealtimes.

- Practice. Practice being apart from each other, and introduce new people and places gradually. If you're planning to leave your child with a relative or a new babysitter, then invite that person over in advance so they can spend time together while you're in the room. If your child is starting at a new day care center or preschool, make a few visits there together before a full-time schedule begins. Practice leaving your child with a caregiver for short periods of time so that he or she can get used to being away from you.

-Be calm and consistent. Create a exit ritual during which you say a pleasant, loving, and firm goodbye. Stay calm and show confidence in your child. Reassure him or her that you'll be back — and explain how long it will be until you return using concepts kids will understand (such as after lunch) because your child can't yet understand time. Give him or her your full attention when you say goodbye, and when you say you're leaving, mean it; coming back will only make things worse.

-Follow through on promises. It's important to make sure that you return when you have promised to. This is critical — this is how your child will develop the confidence that he or she can make it through the time apart.

ITS ALL SO HARD!