For the love of bunt

Anyone in the know knows that bunting is the new buzzword in cake decorating. The idea is to have a simply iced cake decorated with bunting. Think a little wash line with pretty flags or any other cutouts and there you have it...

Poor Danielle at Moemas doing Emma's birthday cake! I've just realised I'm THAT mother / customer but really, how beautiful are these?

I've included a bunting tutorial from The TomKat Studio which includes a printable mini bunting alphabet.

So to get this

You need

2 Bamboo Skewers
2 Striped Paper Straws
Embroidery Thread
Needle
Scissors
Cardstock

Download and print the free printable alphabet pages of your choice on card stock. Cut out bunting flags and arrange them in order on a flat surface. Thread your needle with embroidery thread (it's perfectly OK to make funny faces when completing this task.) We pre-punched two holes on the top corners of each flag to make it easier to push the needle through the card. Embroidery needles aren't sharp enough normally to pierce without making a mess of the card. Thread each of the flags from the top row then pop the needle through one of the straws. Take the needle off the thread and re-thread the other end to enable you to attach the loose end to the remaining straw. Place your skewers in your cake and then insert the straws over the skewers. Tie the end off with two or three knots to secure the bunting in place. Continue this with the remaining bunting.

How to make crepe pom poms

I'm in full party decorating mode and am coming up with all sorts of ingenious decor ideas, most cheap and easy but beautiful (sounds like me, except for the beautiful part :)

I'm not sure what I did before I was googlized but I know it's my first point of reference for everything. With this in mind I wanted to find out how to make those gorgeous crepe pom poms, like the ones below

I found a few sites on DIY pom poms, including Martha Stewart's one. Let's just say she obviously had a lot of free time in prison - it's complicated, hard to follow and almost scientific. There's much easier ones available and they look just as pretty, if not more so.

I found an easy step by step tutorial on The Mother Huddle website which includes pictures. My first attempt is definitely not worth putting here but after one or two more tries I'm gonna have the best pom poms in town...

Outrageous mom's (kid's) party

Hi my name's Melinda and I've realised I'm an outrageous mom when it comes to throwing a kid's party. On 24th January 2013 it's be Ben's 1st birthday and I've ALREADY decided it's going to be a Smurf party with a cake smash...I can't tell you what I'm doing tomorrow or the day after that, but I can tell you what I'll be doing for his party in almost a year's time.

But for now I'm concentrating on Emma's party, which started off as a fairy party which became a Lalaloopsy party which is now a woodland theme...

I got my inspiration from Google and am so excited to see it all come together. I've even started making my own toadstools.

We've chosen The River Cabin in Chartwell as the venue and the SAVE THE DATE mail has been sent. The invite's ready to go but I don't want to look too eager.

I am over-the-moon-hot-diggity-do excited because the lovely and very talented Danielle from Moemas will be doing the catering for the party. From the kiddies cakes and treats to the adults food. And I can't wait. There's going to macarons and cake pops, petit fours and cupcakes, savoury treats for adults and some healthy options for the kiddies.

Without knowing it little Ben might just be part of the props too...

God's definitely a man

I've often wondered whether God's black or white, male or female. At the risk of sounding blasphemous I've come to the conclusion that he's definitely a man

Let's face it if God were a woman we would have been created with 8 arms, 4 eyes, two sets of boobs and 2 vaginas

Eve tempted with an apple? I don't think so. If God was a woman it would have been a chocolate cake, cheesecake, carrot cake or even an apple crumble. But an apple?

It took Him seven days. Wait! Six, cos he hung out on the 7th, to create the world. Women are expected to clean house, cook dinner, work, clean, feed and put babies to bed, laugh at husband's jokes and have sex in ONE day!

Men go through a mid life crisis where they get rid of the old (wife), bring in the new (20 something) and get a snazzy little sports car. Women go through menopause where everything dries up, droops or hangs

Only a man would make a woman push a baby through a hole the size of a tic tac and give men kidney stones, yes stones, not rocks, not boulders, stones, and equate the pain to child birth

Leave it to an omnipotent man to have men know everything about everything EXCEPT how to make a bottle, when to change a nappy or when we need some alone time

Would God, if a woman, make us bleed every 28 days? If God was a She we wouldn't have a G-spot we'd have a W-spot

If you ever needed proof that God was a man, take a look at the pic I took of the sunset just the other night

PND and an angry baby

Ben's been with us for a while now and there hasn't been very much to report on. He drinks, poops, sleeps, drinks a bit more, poops even more and sleeps again. When he's not doing any of the three then he's crying and crying and crying...and crying and crying. There have been days where I've felt completely incompetent and other days where I've felt slightly less so, but never a day passes where I don't doubt myself.

I know this is my second time round the baby block but Emma was three months when she came home. Still tiny but it's three months that a baby's had of getting used to his / her new body, a new environment, a  new skin. It's three months that his / her digestive system's been working and it's three months of 'acclimatizing'.

Ben's been battling with colic and he takes a while to wind, which obviously causes him a lot of discomfort. I never experienced this with Emma. There's a chance she might have outgrown it by the time she came to live with us or she never had it. But over and above the colic and the wind, he just seems angry. Sounds odd I know. But he looks pissed off with me and the world.

His little body seems to be in a constant state of 'flight or fright'. He's never completely relaxed or calm. In my more confident moments I put it down to wind, exhaustion or hunger. At my most vulnerable I've thought that he simply doesn't like me. I don't think my dose of PND (or in my case Post Adoption Depression) has helped either and while I wax lyrical about the universe / angels sending Emma to us and being such a perfect match, I also have to consider the possibility that the universe / angels mismatched Ben to us. Maybe someone somewhere made a mistake.

I've taken him to the chiropractor and the paed and they've both helped with colic and reflux, which I would imagine are the symptoms but not the root cause of this pissed off little person. A few people had mentioned Craniosacral Therapy (CST) to me but I thought it sounded a bit hocus pocus and a lot airy fairy until someone mentioned that their physiotherapist was a trained CS therapist so I started considering it. I was also desperate and ready to try anything.

The first therapist, highly recommended, was fully booked for the next few months, but she gave me the name of someone else who could see Ben almost immediately. She came to our house and the session began. It was an amazing thing to witness and for any moms and babies who went through any kind of birth trauma I would definitely recommend it.

She let Ben cry. His  little face contorted with anger, his body tense with stress. As a woman, a mother, heck, a human being, our instinct is to comfort and shush the wailing but she let him cry it out. The horrified look on my face spoke 1000 words and she quickly explained that crying is a form of communicating for babies and instead of plugging them up with a dummy sometimes we have to let them do it. "Imagine you trying to say something and someone constantly saying shhhhh or putting their hand across your mouth" she said. "How would that make you feel?" "Angry, voiceless, desperate" I answered. "Exactly!"

After what felt like an eternity his cry changed from an angry wail to a sad sob with tears streaming down his little face. And before I knew it the tears were running down my cheeks too. It's a helpless feeling to see your baby in such distress, with a tangible sadness, and I cried with him and for him. For his feelings of rejection and abandonment. For his loss and the confusion around him. It's a lot for anyone to deal with, let alone a 6 week old baby.

I don't know what she did or how she did it but I do know that for the rest of he day he was calmer, smiled a lot more and cried a lot less. He seemed at ease and at peace.

Emma as a baby taught me about unconditional love, acceptance, grace and gratitude. Maybe, just maybe, Ben's here to help me through my feelings of abandonment, rejection and loss...


Suggested reads:
Craniosacral Therapy: The Road Less Traveled (for children with special needs)
CranioSacral Therapy for Babies 

Emma's Room

The arrival of Ben meant some maternity leave for me. Timing wise it worked out perfectly because I've been threatening to convert our spare bedroom into Emma's room for far too long now...

The task seemed daunting and at one stage I was considering getting a decor person to assist me with transformation. But once I pulled my finger out of my you-know-what and consulted with Pinterest the inspiration came in leaps and bounds.

So ladies and gentle people without further ado, I present the before and after pics of Emma's room

Clearly the BEFORE -

Now for the AFTER -

Lalaloopsy Birthday Party

So it's Emma's birthday in May. The 10th May to be exact and I'm already wondering what theme, which venue, how many people, etc. Might I add it's my 40th in May too and I haven't given that a moments thought..

With all things party in mind I popped over to Kara's Party Ideas and look what I found. A Lalaloopsy Birthday Party. I, I mean Emma, loves Lalaloopsy and this is just too cute for words...though in all honesty Kara's website is a little like Pinterest - so many ideas, too little time and too little budget.

There, but for the grace of God go I

You never know when a tantrum's going to strike. Like tsunamis, hurricanes, car accidents and bad haircuts they come out of nowhere and leave you with a WTF kind of a feeling.

Emma's been throwing a few duzi's lately. And as is the case with tantrums they only happen in public places like restaurants, queues at the local store, church, or in confined little places where you can literally feel the stares of people without children (or their kids have outgrown the temper tantrum tyranny) or the empathy of parents with toddlers...

She's thrown herself on the floor with friends of ours who chose, years ago, not to have kids and you can see them exchange the 'I told you so' look. She's screeched like a foghorn with people who openly disapprove of out of control  kids, and even more so of can't keep control parents.

Emma's  tantrums are something to behold. She is able to contort her body into positions I've only ever seen gymnasts and 'f**** f****' girls achieve.

Short of her head spinning round and her body levitating above her big girl bed, her tantrums are like an exorcism and just like the super-natural, they need to be seen to be believed.

Parenting books can never actually prepare you for a full blown tantrum. On paper it looks so easy and the theory is great - walk away (so they can scream louder) until they've calmed down (this rarely ever happens), get down on their level (so when they hit they get a good shot in), reason with them (have you tried reasoning with a two year old at the best of times) and explain why their behaviour isn't acceptable (after you've explained what 'acceptable' means. Of course parents are told to never threaten to leave the toddler behind (a not so bad idea at the time) or to smack (who's protecting the rights of the parent?).

So in reality there's very little you can do, except maybe leave whatever you're doing, carry the child kicking and screaming to an area with fewer people (at a shopping centre this could be miles away, at the assembly point for bomb fires, bomb scares, terrorist attacks or toddler tantrums) and wait for the howling to become a wail to become a cry to become a soft whimper to become hiccups. Then you can attend to your child!

Tantrums are the great equalisers. Very few of us with children haven't / won't have a moment with a child in front of you thrashing themselves about in the middle of Toys R Us while you stand shrugging your shoulders with an 'I have no idea what to do' look on your face while whispering a prayer that the floor swallows you up there and then.

To those parents who survived them I salute you. To those going through them I feel you. For those awaiting the baptism by fire I wish you well. May you have the fortitude and the courage to get through them (yes them, not it) unscathed, undamaged and with your sense of  humour (and mind) in tact.
Tantrums have been around as long as there's been kids. Expect them as part of your toddler growing up and discovering the world around them. Accept that they're going to happen in inconvenient places and expect people to look on in horror. Don't worry about being embarrassed or what people think...chances are they're feeling your pain and thinking 'there, but for the grace of God go I!'

Naartjies are tasty and lovely to eat..

Naartjies are tasty and lovely to eat..

Online shoppers, you're in for a treat!

Just when you thought shopping at Naartjie couldn't get any better they go and introduce easy and convenient online shopping. From 15 March me (and you) are going to be able to buy delicious Naartjie stuff, from the comfort of your couch, kitchen or bed!
I haven't been able to pop into my favourite Naartjie store since Ben, our newest addition, arrived. He's a little niggly so I don't like leaving him with other people and I don't want to put him through one of my shopping sprees...you know the ones where you shop 'til you drop?

So with only 8 or so sleeps to go, I'm getting my trigger finger ready to browse, shop and 'click-click'

Visit Naartjie's website before the BIG day to register and you'll get yourself a mystery discount!

For updates and information follow Naartjie on twitter and facebook

FYI for Online shoppers:
Online shoppers will be the first to see our brand new collections.  There are ten per year, so there will be something new and interesting all the time.

The entire range will be available online (some of the retail stores are too small to stock the whole range).

Certain items will be launched and ONLY available online and not in store.

Naartjie will be shipping countrywide – so everyone who lives far from a Naartjie store can now enjoy the latest collections whenever they choose.  Unfortunately there'll be no shipping outside SA borders initially.

There'll be awesome online only promotions and great opening specials.

A fantastic gifting service will be available for all those grandparents, godparents, aunts and uncles who want to spoil the special little people in their lives. Also a great service to use when a new baby is due and you are far away. Naartjie will wrap gifts in theirr gorgeous new gift box, tissue paper and card with a message for only R29.95.  If you simply cannot choose a gift, you can buy a gift card online.

There will be a wish list for any items that you can’t find online and Naartjie will let you know as soon as the item is in stock again.

Online shoppers are most welcome to exchange clothing at Naartjie stores as well