First swim...

On Friday it was such a hot day that Lolly and I had our first swim of the season...
What is it about a naked child swimming that is so charming?

I loved my day off with my precious boy... we bonded over breakfast out, swimmng, napping and a play date with Miss Sophie!

Thai dumplings...

I had this strange craving for Thai dumplings..... I not only NEEDED them but I NEEDED to make them. I scoured my online sources and found the perfect recipe and how to video to make these dumplings. Firstly the dough needed alot of kneading and love - I was amazed it came just like the video showed.

 Then come the rolling out of the dough and filling it with pork mince concoction I made straying slightly from the recipe.

 I was amazed again that they seemed to look as they should...

 And I was amazed again that they come out the of boiling water looking like dumplings...

I will however admit they were not as amazing as they ones I have had before BUT I think the dough wasn't rolled thin enough... next time I am sure they will be better :)

A little more social...

Recently we have realized that we can be a bit more flexible with Lolly's bedtimes and have been enjoying a evening out here and there. With last Thursday being a holiday we decided to take advantage of half price sushi at John Dory's and go for a early dinner...

Dinner was delicious and Lolly played so beautifully. I am really enjoying a evening out here and there and Lolly just takes it in his stride. I love my routine but I am learning that at times a change in routine is a good thing!

"Jofis"

Meet "Jofis" - originally named Joseph but Lolly can only say "Josif". This was his daddy's special childhood friend that he took a liking to... it totally delights Mike to see Lolly loving his Joseph.

It always so wonderful seeing someone cherish something that you once cherished!

These two...

These two are honestly my favorites!!

When I think of my little life and my little family I always revert to Winnie the pooh - I love his little community and how much they love each other. With them all being different - Rabbit being grumpy - Eeyore being depressy -  Tigger being hyper - Piglet being fearful - Pooh being a little clueless and Kanga and Roo bring a typical mommy and baba it reminds me that life is full of difference and we should embrace it and love it!!

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.” 

― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Trying to find a balance...

My life these days seems to be battle of trying to find a balance in all things -in work, home, social, food, exercise.... I like routine and balance and I feel like this has been a battle for me of late.
One thing I have decided is that waking up at 5am three days a week to go to gym and missing out on morning time with my boys is not worth it. I found that it didn't "help" me as much as I hope - mentally and physically I just found myself being exhausted all the time. I did a bit of research and decided that instead of gyming for an hour and a bit three times a week to do a half an hour most days of the week is as effective. I found a really nice home work out and half an hour daily is working beautifully for me! Oliver gets excited when I exercise and likes to exercise with me - and when I am done with a round he says "well done mommy" - melts my heart!

I was also decided that, in order to track my home work outs and continue to get my health benefits with vitality, a tracking device of some sort will be helpful to me. If you have savings in your discovery medical aid (which miraculously we do) they allow you take some of your savings to go towards a fitness device. I chose a Polar watch that tracks your heart rate and for me its perfect to track my workouts. I like tracking my workouts and trying to better myself. The work outs I am doing are on a 7 day rotation so each day its a different work - I am enjoying seeing which work outs track more calories burnt.

 I have also changed my food intake slightly - Often when I feel "fat" I tend to want to eat the bare minimum in the hopes it will help me loose weight but that is never the answer.
I have been enjoying bigger breakfasts and lunches - all healthy of course, and my dinners have been a nice big shake. This one was a chocolate shake packed with banana / berries and spinach.

Vitality has been a huge help in getting me on track - I was lazy to do all my checks but a little over a week ago went to a Dischem wellness center and did all my checks and that seemed to help get my mind right. I am taking full advantage of vitality and seeing a dietitian soon as well - to get points and to see how I am tracking with my diet. Balance - you are in reach!

Some days...

Most days I sit at work missing my boy - BUT some days are worse than others and today was one of those days. I was missing my boys terribly today!

These two are my heart, my home, my family, my love, my happiness, my happy place, my safety, my comfort, my sunshine and my life. This little family is all mine and oh boy, I love them dearly!

Potty training...

This is what potty training looks like in our house...

Lolly has been amazing with his potty training - one naked long weekend a couple of months ago and no more day time nappies. The only problem is he seems to like being a streaker so when the clothes come off for his wee he often doesn't want to put them back on :) BUT I can live with looking at this cute bum....

Toy fort...

On Sunday morning Lolly wasn't feeling too well, he had a bit of a cough and I could see that he was just feeling offish. I asked him if he wanted to go to Tik Toks (Sunday school) and he said no thank you - I knew then that he wasn't feeling too good!
So instead we did this....

We built a blanket and toy fort and we spent some time watching a movie! Some Sunday's are made just for this...

Makenzy's party!!

Last Saturday it was Makenzy's party. Now we received this party invite nearly two months ago so we have been hearing about this from Oliver for a LONG time now... and he wasn't dissapointed!! All his school friends were there and this has by far been favorite party to date...

The kids table even had chair covers.... schmancy!!

 The winner of the party table was the happy birthday blowers - all the kids LOVED them (more then the snacks I think)

j

 Lolly enjoyed a brightly decorated cupcake...

k

 And then bounced all morning!

I love these kids to bits - my heart is so happy Lolly got to start his years with these kids!!

Birches school.

Next year my boy is going to Birches pre-primary school - on Saturday they had a little fun day so we popped in to support them! My boy was a little overwhelmed at first so he did go on any rides or anything like that but he did join me at the tea garden and requested pancakes.

We are so excited for Lolly's schooling next year - its an amazing school and I am thrilled to jump right in and get involved as soon as possible. I said to Mike that even though he was reserved this year at this fun day next year he is going to own the place!

Baby masterchef...

This child, all of a sudden, has loved cooking! We went to this fair and found this cute little apron and since then its been cooking, cooking , cooking (and baking and making me coffee )

This child has been so absolutely adorable lately, its almost too much!!

Tea time :)

Tea time in our house is a cherished occasion.... Lolly loves tea as much as Mike does and that is saying something!

The many stages of tea-ing :)

He uses a little winnie pooh tea cup that my mom gave him, I LOVE tea time with my boys!