Essence and Catrice Mini Haul

It's no secret my go to make up brands are Essence and Catrice as they are both affordable and cruelty free, which in SA there is far to little of.

Anyhoo I managed to replenish my make up stash this month and I usually like to try new things whenever I do so 4 of the 5 products I purchased are just that new and newly tested.

Essence Rock and Doll Mascara (R59.95)

Uhm I'm not actually sure how I feel about this mascara, the packaging is great, however the wand is much bigger than I usually prefer and the product is really thick which I am not a fan of but it did make my lashes look long, thick and amazing so its a hate love relationship on this one, will I purchase it again, I'm not sure I will I really love the Essence multi purpose mascara and will most probably stick to that a staple in the future.

Essence All about Matt High covering Concealer (R45.95)

My first impression when I opened the tube was that it had a very strong smell which I have to say put my off initially and I was somewhat disappointed but after using it I was pleasantly surprised, the coverage was awesome and so little product went a very long way.

Catrice Illuminating Blush- I'm nuts about you (R79.95)

Before I found out Avon tested on animals I purchased a dusty rose colored blush from them that made me completely change how I felt towards blushes in general, it was absolutely stunning and I have found it so difficult to find a similar colour since.

So when I saw this blush I just about jumped for joy and bought it, the colour once on the cheeks isn't exactly what I was hoping for but I love it all the same as it looks natural and the product and packaging in general is stunning so I will definitely purchase this one again, here is to hoping it isn't discontinued at some point!

Essence Kajal Pencil in Black (R19.95)

I always have both a black and a grey eye pencil in my make up bag, the grey is for days I want a more subtle natural look and the black for when I want my eyes to pop, I have purchased this eye pencil before and will again, the formula is great it feels soft and light and stays on all day and at the price it is such a good buy I highly recommend it!

Catrice All Matt plus shine control Powder (R74.95)

I adore Catrice powders they really are a gem, the packages are gorgeous and the product feels amazing on your skin.  Last time I opted for a translucent powder but I decided to go with the skin toned one this time and I was not disappointing, it makes my skin feel so soft and just blends everything in so beautifully, I will definitely purchase this again in the future.

Essence stay all day make up (R84.95)

I have not had a chance to try this one yet as my other Essence foundation is still half full but I hope to get the same results as I did with my previous purchase, Essence has really changed my feelings towards liquid foundations I used to detest them and preferred either a mousse or a powder but since Essence came along I have changed my mind.

A long extended version of a day in my household... yes its long

Every morning my alarm sounds at the sparrows fart time of 5:30am, every morning I switch it of whilst allowing myself 15 minutes of absolute silence… well somewhat if you don’t count the snoring coming from all 3 rooms, I think about the day ahead and maybe contemplate supper that evening but when 5:45 hits I’m up.

I wander through to Gabriel’s room, I call out to him several times, I pull the blankets off him he moans and grabs them back, I pull them off again, I tickle him I call him again and eventually once I threaten the possibility of no breakfast or pre-school playtime he will slowly sit up yawn stretch and moan then grab his clothes ever so not impressed and start to get ready.

Lunch Box Tips

The lunch box is the nightmare of many a parents daily life experience, and I agree its tough to always come up with something new especially if you have toddlers, children with sensory issues, or children who just like to change what they like often enough to drive you insane trying to get them to eat.

I have 3 kids with varying tastes at different stages of their lives 2 are adhd and its tough, I sometimes finding myself staring at the cupboard trying to figure out what to do next especially at the end of the month so here are a few tips and tricks I have learned along the way to make this a bit easier for me.

Alternate your selection

I usually have 2 or 3 set types of items that I include in the lunch boxes; a yogurt, a fruit (my kids eat a lot of fruit so one fruit in their lunch is fine) and a small handful of crisps or pop corn, the other items I tend to vary between crackers and cheese ( my youngest loves the cheese wedges the most), a sandwich or a savory muffin, I will also add in a biscuit or crunchie if I have or a packet of nuts or raisins, I find changing up what I put into the boxes keeps my monkeys happy and not bored of what they eat they also tend to eat everything in the lunchbox which I found was not happening when I packed in the same thing every day.

Bare in mind my toddler gets a full lunch and snack at school so for him a fruit, yogurt and cheese wedge with some chips is more than enough, my eldest has two breaks as he finishes later so I have to pack more.

Cookie cutter.

Purchase yourself a set of cookie cutters I got mine from crazy store and made sure that they were big enough to cut a sandwich without wastage, I got a heart, a star and gingerbread man and the kids love getting a sandwich surprise, it also cuts the crust away so I don't have mans and groans from Gabriel who seems to have an aversion to anything with a crust.

 

Notes

When Loghan was going through a tough time at school I made mini foam speech bubbles with notes on them that read you are amazing, or make friends today or you are our amazing do not forget!

These notes are very encouraging and also a nice way of showing your kids that you put love and thought into what you made and that you are thinking of them during the day.

You could even hand write these to make them even more special =)

 

Input

If you are sitting with a lunchbox half full at the end of the day ask your kids why maybe its to much or maybe they don't like a certain something you have included I'm not saying let your child dictate but it does save you wasting the stuff at the end of the day.

Treats

I insist that the kids have their healthy items if I see that they are not eating them I take out the chips or the biscuit the next day, I also try to do a treat day on Fridays or a tuck-shop day if I can afford it and behavior permitted.

 

Include utensils

For a while I could not understand complete blonde that I am why Gabriel was not eating his yogurt when I asked him he was like well mommy you didn't put a spoon in duh, so now we have a few plastic utensils that I keep on hand for the lunch boxes, that way if they get lost its not a train smash and its quick and easy, you can find these utensils for cheap at the crazy store as well.

 

A sturdy lunchbox 

I have gone through too many lunchboxes to count and often the character ones that the boys choose are expensive and small and break easily so now I use a standard large square Tupperware type container that holds everything and will not break if mishandled, its cheaper and last longer.

 

I hope you found this interesting, with these tips and tricks I have found that lunch boxes do not have to be a nightmare and can actually be quite an enjoyable part of my day =)

when patience is fleeting

When I woke up this morning I couldn't wait for my boys to come home I counted the hours and then the minutes.... we went to fetch them we hugged and they told me about their week and their weekend... and then it started.

Loghan kept annoying Gabriel, he touched EVERYTHING Gabriel was playing with, he broke down his tower and chased him around, in turn Jesse didn't want to share anything and since Gabriel is already going through the whole middle child  thing it only made him squeal and shriek for the better part of the evening spent at my parents place, now my mom has very little patience so you can just imagine how much fun that was!

We got home and they seemed to settle, they all bathed in turn, I read them stories and sat for a while with each in turn, until it was time to go to bed, then Gabriel started up again calling out to us every 2 minutes which set Loghan off in the other room because he couldn't think strait with the noise and set Jesse off downstairs because he couldn't sleep, we spoke nicely, which then led to speaking sternly, then ignoring and then eventually a hiding... my neighbors must have thought Gabriel was dying because one small hiding which I do not give very often and the monkey child screamed the house down... he apologized I hugged him and we spoke again and they both in turn calmed down, I said goodnight and no sooner was I on the last step down than Gabriel was up again... sigh.

They are now both fast asleep but my blood pressure is still elevated, and I am in desperate need of a glass of wine, sometimes these monkeys drive me unbelievably insane... but then I will go upstairs just now to peer in and they will all be sleeping sweetly as if nothing even happened I will kiss them all on the cheek and they will murmur sweetly in return, my blood pressure will settle and all the lovely endorphin's that come with the love for your kids will release leaving me to wonder why I got so frustrated in the first place... sigh... monkeys I tell you... absolute monkeys.

Its the small things...

In light of what has happened this past while I spent this weekend trying extremely hard as tired and frustrated as we were to just flat out spend time with the boys, play board games, read and talk and it really made me realize just how terrible it actually is to be a parent in today's age...

Everyone is always busy, we are always busy there is always something that needs to be done or something to worry over and by the time we all get home we are tired and quite frankly just want to fall into bed and get a bit of sleep before it starts all over again the next day.

Is it any wonder why things have become the way they are, why kids and adults both struggle emotionally or are emotionally crippled in some or other way, its not as if most of us don't want to spend time with our kids its just when we do we are present in person but we are not really always present emotionally if you know what I mean.

We have had to make an incredible amount of changes this last 2 weeks and I truely feel that although this situation or what has happened is not something I would wish upon any child or parent in many ways it has done our family some good.

I now get to drop my kids off at school every morning and as I hugged and kissed my kids goodbye this morning after physically walking them into the gate, I felt great; as a mom my heart swelled with joy and love as they waved good bye ecstatically until they were sure I could no longer see them... it may be something small but I feel even this will make a big change within our family dynamics and I will look forward to having this extra time with them every morning.

Its a terrible thing that sometimes it takes something tragic or terrible in order to wake us up to the small gestures, the precious time that we have to spend and truely appreciate those around us.

A games night is something that a friend and colleague actually suggested she was even kind enough to send some games our way and the kids had an absolute ball... no tv no interruptions I highly recommend it.

We are all so incredibly blessed but I think sometimes we just need to stop and truly wake up to our surroundings truly pay attention instead of living day to day in auto pilot so to speak.... our kids are only kids for so long and every year the time just seems to pass even more quickly than the year before...

Are you the 'mean' parent

I wrote a post a few days ago about Jesse and how he is going trough the terrible twos and through this I have seen how I have become the mean parent in the parenting relationship between my hubby and I.

I saw this most today whilst I was labeling my older sons stationary at our kitchen table I allowed Jesse to run around and play in their water shell outside where I could see him, but he of course had other ideas and proceeded to not only spill water all over the laminate in their play room but also distribute all the craft/ pencil boxes over the floor space, when I went in to see what he was doing I told him he had mad mommy sad and that he needed to pick up his reply was no mommy I want booba.

So I responded that he could have booba once he had cleaned up with mommy, by this time he started getting whiney and irritable because he was tired ( I don't know how stay at home moms do it all) but I persisted he got more and more irate and as we were finishing up he smacked my leg and said naughty mommy I gonna tell daddy, you naughty....

So it goes I have become the mean parent the parent I am a 'bad' mommy.... and strangely I'm ok with that... guess that is what my mom meant when I was a child and she would wag her finger and go you will understand one day why I do these things, I have become the very being my childhood self swore they would never be... and I'm ok with that as well.  I guess its all part of being a parent.

Toddlers...sigh

Jesse has officially entered the terrible twos, the tantrums the personality traits that scream defiance and stubbornness and the worst thing is he is so dam cute he often gets away with more than he should especially where my hubby is concerned....

So you can imagine my distaste when my hubby uttered the f word earlier this week and next thing Jesse mimicked him over and over and over... not impressed I think my look of death gave the correct impression because since then my hubby has become more strict with our little monkey, which has been incredibly heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time, a simple tap on the hand and Jesse bursts into tears and throws hime self at me going MAMMA, ever so dramatic like how could daddy do this to me... and then once I explain to him he sheepishly moves over to his dad gives him a hug and says sorry dada... the joys of parenting =)

The favorite child

Growing up I would always state that my brother was my parent’s favorite, my parents were less strict with him and he was afforded in my opinion many things that I wasn’t…

Now that I am as a parent, personally I do not think it possible to have a favorite rather I would say that there are certain aspects of my children’s personalities that I favor.

Potty Training... Again

If there is one thing I can tell you about potty training it is this, no child is the same just like with milestone development and development in general every child is different and what works for one will not necessarily work for another.

Attempting to Detox… Day 2

I decided to try and detox my system this week because my skin has been looking bad again, and I have just not been feeling great and I know the fact that I have strayed from healthy eating definitely has a lot to do with it, so I thought its time to get my butt back in to gear now with Summer on the way it will be easier to eat light, drink water etc….

Now when I say detox I don’t mean juicing or cutting down to the bare minimum I just mean that I want to get back to making healthier choices, so whilst it is not a complete detox my system is still going to give me hell for rejecting all the junk I have been consuming over the last few weeks.

So I started yesterday and this is how my day went…

I skipped breakfast (not uncommon I hate breakfast), had a packet of yoghurt peanuts for a snack, drank a ton of water, skipped lunch (not intentional forgot my spinach dish at home), drank more water and then got home and wolfed down said spinach and left over babootie from my mom…. then had a slice of red velvet for dessert… eish…Epic fail… but it was red velvet and my mom made it I just couldn’t resist… not the best start oh well better luck today.

So far I feel pretty crappy, tired but I think that has a lot to do with the dam heat wave that has hit us, anyone else absolutely detest summer like I do?

It makes me want to curl up and disappear until April!

The birds and the bees… I am so not ready…

Over the weekend we were watching a Disney documentary that follows a troupe of monkeys and one female in particular, this female ends up giving birth to a baby and even though nothing is shown it sparked the question from my eldest; mommy where does the baby come out of?

EISH, I was floored and silence hung in the air, you see I am lucky in the way that I had a c section so when the kids have asked me how they were born I have always been able to say in truth that they came out of my tummy but now I was faced with a question that I did not want to lie in answer about but that I was also not completely ready to divulge in detail either so I quickly mumbled off something to the part of uhm the baby came out of her lady parts… more silence…

Both boys giggled lady parts they laughed yes her lady parts, that is where most babies come from unless like mommy the mommy has a c section and the doctor takes the baby from the mommys tummy… hmm ok mommy and not another word on the subject.

I am not ready for this that is all I have to say on the subject…. Not ready at all!!!!

Co- Sleeping Pros and Cons

 

I have Co-slept with 2 of my 3 children, I have been told not to many times over that I would never sleep that I was creating bad habits or endangering my child.

My reasonings behind chosing to co sleep or not diffred with each of my boys with Loghan he was prem and strait from the NICU, he was born with underdeveloped lungs and I was a very paranoid mom, I couldn't stand to lay him in his cot and walk away.

Gabriel on the other hand slept through from a very early age and preferred to sleep on his own rather than in our bed so we decided to leave it be as he was happier that way and just slept better.

Jesse on the other hand again had issues with his lungs at birth, he also had terrible colic and reflux and Jaco and I felt uncomfortable leaving him in his cot, he would wake more often and we were constantly checking on him so we just found that we were all happier with co sleeping and he still co sleeps with us now.

Recipe Share- Grilled Cheese Roll Ups

I often see recipes on Facebook but there are honestly so few times I actually attempt to make it, this weekend however I made 2 Pinterest / Facebook related recipes and I have chosen to share this one with you because....

1) Its Quick

2) It's Easy

3) You can chop and change it as you please

4) Your whole family will love it!

Mixed feelings, starting the weaning process

So there have been a few times over the last few months where I have mentioned that I have been thinking of starting to wean Jesse off of the breast there have also been many days where I have just wanted to stop and never breastfeed again.

It can be exhausting and sometimes I just feel like so much of my time is taken up by breastfeeding and expressing and I just want my body back to myself, I don't want to worry about medication I cannot take or having a few glasses of wine its selfish I know but its just how I feel sometimes. 

Mom guilt and thankfulness

As a mom I know there are many times when I just feel like I am not good enough, that I can never give enough and I know there are many moms out there who feel the same, over the last week especially the last few days I have felt down in the dumps, especially when it comes to special occasions I want to give my kids everything they dream of and so when it doesn't work out it's easy to feel like I could have given more or that in some or other way my kids will be affected because I couldn't give them what they wanted or what I envisioned....mom guilt as another blogging mom termed it and it is the perfect term as a mom I don't think it is possible to not feel guilty about something or another, you work to much, you earn to little, you cannot spend the time you want to with your kids or give them the attention you feel they deserve... and so it goes on and we try to make up for it with gifts and birthdays anything in an attempt to ensure that they know you love them to the point of wanting to give them everything that they want as well as need.

Its times like this when I am so grateful for the woman I have come to meet as a blogger and as a mom on social networking the support and kind words are just incredible and always help me to see that there are still so many amazing people out there with enormous hearts of gold and shoulders for miles providing a shoulder and ear whenever one is needed, the generosity and kindness I have seen and been on the receiving line of... I just cannot begin to explain what an impact it has had on my life and my day when I need them so badly....

So I would like to say thank you to each and every one of those ladies, thank you for making my dark days a bit brighter and thank you for showing me the goodness in the world when often I just want to hide away from it with only my family , closed off from the world....Thank you for showing that as long as I give them everything I can my kids will know that I love them with all my heart and soul and that is what matters.

Epic Mom Fail

So I am feeling a bit like a failure this evening, this week just didn't go as I envisioned.

Jesse is turning 2 tomorrow and today was supposed to have been his party at creche I had the cake and party goodies all planned out everything was going to be perfect and then the creche owner went and closed the creche letting us know on Monday and said I must just rearrange everything for Wednesday baring in mind I only got paid yesterday and baring in mind I had discussed the party with her at the end of last week with no mention of the creche closing, the teachers also weren't aware, so ya that was fail no 1 because the cake couldn't be made on time and I couldn't get everything I needed to as I hadn't been paid, we did mange to pull something small together and Jesse's teachers went and got him a huge cupcake and candle so he had a ball but I was just really cheesed as I had taken leave for today specifically to be there and so my mil could be there, I think it was incredibly selfish but apparently I am in the wrong because it was on a notice that was taken down months ago already and most of the things on said notice have changed several times and like I said I did discuss it with the owner last week but ya I was in the wrong....

That aside after searching everywhere me managed to find the gift we wanted for Jess at the price we could afford and because I was in such a rush whilst buying it I just grabbed a roll of wrapping I liked and paid , only this evening whilst wrapping did I realize the wrapping wasn't near big enough so guess what Jesse's gift had to be wrapped in... the only other thing I could find at this hour and that was pink tissue paper... failure number 2 oh and then I ran out of tape and had to scrounge up some ribbon.... not my finest mom moment, I know Jesse wont care but I do so not feeling at my mommy best this evening.

We are just having a small cake and tea tomorrow with the cake I ordered (O will post pics for sure), and I'm sure Jesse is going to love it as it is Curious George his absolute favorite, hopefully that makes up for everything else.....

Competition Time with KidsBookClub!

So anyone who knows me knows how much I love to read so it should come as no surprise that I would love to foster the same love for books in my children that my parents did in me whilst growing up.

Unfortunately I have found that at the end of the month there usually isn’t much as far as extra cash is concerned to purchase any  books and although we have quite a substantial collection of kid’s books at home, they have either fallen to pieces from over use and grubby toddler hands or the kids have read them a million times, this means that we end up having to make weekly library trips in order to get new books for the kids to read and although I absolutely love the library and taking the kids, there is often times when the kids develop a strong attachment to a certain book and then unfortunately we have to return them.

So you can only imagine my glee and excitement when I found KidsBookClub…

My Weekend in Pictures

Good evening everyone from a cold and wet Cape Town.

We have a very sick monkey at home right now so its been a tough 2 days but the past weekend was really lovely so I decided to share a few pictures....apologies I am no photographer.

First off I woke up on Saturday to find out our Stickee collection had taken over the bathroom,,

A little bit of leeway....

Every so often I get asked why we are somewhat relaxed when it comes to the boys diets over the weekends as they are both adhd and Gabriel has a long list of allergies; diet is incredibly important to managing not only their health but their disorders as well.

Basically in our house the rules are as follows during the week whilst they are attending school I insist on cooking a proper breakfast in the morning, they get a healthy packed lunch every day that consists of at least 3 fresh fruits, a yoghurt, a sandwich with dried fruit or raisins/ nuts (in Loghans case) as an alternative to sweets and diluted juice or water to go along with it, we do not allow take away's during the week.

Embarrassing Mommy Moments

I'm sure everyone has at least one embarrassing moment in mommy hood or several, I was thinking about it today and had a good ol chuckle although at the time it wasn't very funny at all.

I was fairly new to my company and at the time we were still struggling with Loghan, his meds and school, so I received a call one day to come and collect him from school and to him this was the best thing since sliced toast since he wasn't very happy at school but hanging around with mommy at work was awesome.

Anyhoo so in an effort to discourage him from making this a regular occurrence on our way to my work I had told him that he was going to get mommy into trouble if he continued to act up at school he asked me why and went on and on and would not accept my answer of because so eventually i turned around and said because mommy's boss is a grumpy old man and he will get cross with mommy.

Any that was that we arrived at work and during lunchtime we went up to sit in my moms office, my boss came in and said to my son jokingly who are you, so he turned around and replied my names Loghan and my mommy says you're a grumpy old man.... crickets

I was mortified, completely and utterly mortified.

My boss took it in his stride thankfully but out of all the embarrassing mommy moments I have experienced and there have been many this definitely took the cake... plate and all.