The Red Shed - The letter 'i' with a focus on insects & ink

These posts document my teaching adventures with the Reggio-inspired ‘school’ I started up in my farm shed in January 2023. I’ll share more about how all this came about soon, but in the mean time, enjoy these moments & learnings.

We spent the last week learning all about Impy Ink aka the letter ‘Ii’ (I love Letter Land!) which led us to learning about insects as well.

We took a lovely long walk down to the dam (accompanied by my two hounds, Zara the Boerboell and our Korean rescue pup, Shadow the Jindo). I had told the kids to collect as many feathers as they could find (I had the plan to use them as quill pens) which led to lots of discussion about all the different birds that the feathers could have come from.

For ‘writing practice’ (I don’t believe in anything too formal in the early years) I use a big white board with lots of different sensory letters for the children to touch and trace. Then they get to have a go at writing the letter themselves with a white board marker. I always start this exercise at snack time, by reading the corresponding Letterland story that goes along with each letter, while everyone eats their snack. And then they come up one by one so I can give them some undivided attention while they practice their letter formation.

I mixed up some pots (glass are best because they are heavy & therefore harder to knock over than plastic…and the little ones really do learn how to handle and be around glass when they are given the opportunity to) of tempura paint & water. Just add more water or paint to get a nice ‘inky’ texture.

I printed out some scanned handwriting sheets (again, not to force any formal handwriting) and let them loose with their quills.

And now on to the Insects!

Over the week we chatted a lot about the different kinds of insects (mentioning what makes an insect an insect). I froze our plastic insect collection into some coloured water (I used liquid food colouring to colour the water) and then set everyone up into pairs with a couple of hammers/plastic knives and a small container of salt. The salt helps to melt the ice (it’s a very slow process though…so definitely take them outside for the sun to speed things up!) and let them loose to hammer and smack to their hearts content. They all loved this activity.

I had a vision of a particular looking piece of art in mind for this week, and I’m sure you can agree that the final product came out beautifully. I printed out an a4 sized beetle (I will attach the file below if you’d like to download a copy of the beetles to make your own) and then gave everyone some watercolours to paint with. My only instruction was to make them as bright as possible, and to try not leave any white space on the beetles.

Yuval Zommer’s Big Book of Bugs is an amazing resource for any lessons on creepy crawlies. I got my copy on Takealot a few years ago.

Then I was set with the arduous task of carefully cutting out each creature (this was much harder than it look due to all the little legs and feelers!). I then pasted them onto brightly coloured paper, trimmed them down and stuck them onto black card and finally laminated.

Here is how they turned out. I just LOVE them!

Laminating anything watercoloured really makes the colours pop (and it also helps with the longevity of the artwork which can now withstand being taken on and off the fridge by sticky little hands!).

Nature Journaling - our favourite resources

We have just started Term 3 (the last term!) of Ambleside Year 1; Everly’s first official year of homeschooling. We have both really loved this year, and have both grown so much (I can’t believe just how much my brain has expanded along with hers, and how I am now used to the old English style of the Classics). It’s been a beautiful (not always easy!) adventure so far.

What Is Nature Journaling?

“Keeping an illustrated, observational journal is a centuries-old method that has been reenvisioned and refined through the lens of our understanding of neuroscience, learning, and deliberate practice. A nature journal is a lens that focuses our attention and crystalizes our observations, thoughts, and experiences.

Nature Journaling is collecting and organizing your observations, questions, connections, and explanations on the pages of a notebook using words pictures, and numbers. You do not need to be an artist or a naturalist to begin. These skills can be learned by anyone, and you can develop them with deliberate practice. The system is creative, rigorous, and playful, easy to begin and learn, and will grow and mature over a lifetime. Start now: you can do this, and the world is waiting.

Nature Journaling will enrich your experiences and develop observation, curiosity, gratitude, reverence, memory, and the skills of a naturalist. It helps you discover, think, remember, and integrate new information with your existing knowledge. Train your mind, and the world will offer you its secrets of wonder and beauty” - from the King of nature journaling; John Muir Laws

What is a nature journal?

The name pretty much says it all. It’s a dated record of what is observed in nature. Charlotte tells us in School Education, p. 236:

The children keep a dated record of what they see in their nature note-books which are…a source of pride and joy, and are freely illustrated by drawings (brushwork) of twig, flower, insect, etc.

Science, writing, poetry, art, and more are all combined into this single activity, the keeping of a nature journal. 

Nature journaling was one of the first things that drew me to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education . I came across beautiful photos of families outside, sketchbook in hand, drawing and painting and I thought to myself that that is exactly what I would love to do with my children. Our journey hasn’t been as Instaworthy as those (most often) posed photos, but it has been a beautiful one that we are slowly growing into. I am wanting to get into more of a habit of doing it for myself, and not just alongside Everly as part of her school work. I’ve always wanted to be able to paint with watercolours, and nature journaling has been a very accessible way to start.

Materials

You really don’t need anything fancy. You can absolutely start with what you have on hand. In fact, it’s probably best to start out with what you have at home so you can get into the habit first, but, if you’re like me and you want to have everything ready before you begin and you are looking for some tried and tested materials, then read on.

It’s worth spending a bit of money on a decent set of paints (the one we use is an old palette I bought in South Korea years ago, and I love how compact and travel friendly it is).

For general arts and crafts I really like the Giotto Acquerelli Colour Blocks, but the palette is a bit big for easy grab and go nature journaling. I’m going to need to replace my current paint palette soon, and willl probably go for this Daler Rowney Aquafine Watercolour Set (R285 for the set of 12 on Art Savings Club).

What has definitely made a big difference in our actual painting is a set of decent quality brushes. The red ones pictured are from the Giotto watercolour pans, and they are great! The type of ink pen you use is also crucial as you need to be able to paint over it without it smudging. This Croxley Fineliner set R69 on Takealot) is perfect and there are 5 different nib sizes in the set. I did purchase the more expensive Pigma Micron Pens at the start of the year, but the nibs got damaged very quickly (most probably due to both of us pressing too hard) but the Croxley ones have held up well and are very affordable to replace.

Next up is paper. I’m no pro, but have found that you need at least 110gsm weight paper for watercolour painting (even higher is better!). These little A6 sized journals are the perfect size for little hands, and they come in 120gsm. The paint doesn’t bleed onto the other side (unless a lot of paint/water has been used) and they are a really nice size. Anything bigger and you tend to have tiny drawings (especially from younger students) and a lot of white space.

I bought mine from PNA last year, but I have since seen them at Makro and on AmazonSA for +-R60.

I found a small plastic box to keep all our nature journaling goodies in one place. It’s small (which does limit the size of the items it can hold!) but this little box holds both Everly’s and my notebooks, our paint palette, 2 paint brushes and our pens. The only thing we need on top of what’s inside this box, is a container of water. My next purchase will be a watercolour ‘water pen’ that holds it’s own water. You squeeze out the water, which comes out of the brush, as you dip the tip into the paint. They are so convenient for travel, and are less messy then a regular brush and water. The set below is on Takealot for R129.

A field guide is another useful resource to have on hand, and I have been told of some great apps for plant identification, but I really love the traditional feel of a book. On my To Buy list are the Sasol First Field Guide books (also available in Afrikaans) which are lovely and small enough to carry around when out and about on nature walks. They cover just about every species of fauna & flora you can think of in South Africa:

I also got my hands on a second-hand copy of Anna Botsford Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study which has been an excellent resource, even though it is based on American fauna & flora. The way it is written, with questions and prompts to ask yourself/your children as you observe, has really helped to guide our eyes and get us thinking in new ways about the natural world around us.

Also, the ladies at Simply Charlotte Mason have written a wonderful article >>> Nature Journaling: Where Science, Writing, Poetry, and Art Come Together that I found really helpful and encouraging.

Happy nature journaling!

Creighton Open Gardens 2023

Whew! A whole year in the making and it’s been and gone in a flash. And we are about to have our SECOND Open Gardens in the time it has taken me to actually get this post written…sorry!

When Leigh Stokes (creative & artist friend next door) suggested the idea of hosting the first ever Creighton Open Gardens a year ago, I was like…yes, great idea! And then I was terrified…it meant opening up my garden to a bunch of strangers and letting them walk around and critique all of my efforts. But I have to say, the weekend was wonderful! And my garden has never looked as good as it does right now. They always say there is no better way to whip your garden and home into tip top shape than to host an event. And that’s exactly what happened.

We moved into our current home, Bedford Farm…the original Hutton homestead (which my in-laws had renovated in order to turn it into a guesthouse as my husband and I didn’t have any plans to move into it in the near future because we were very content in the little cottage) just over 4 years ago. I was pregnant with our second child, Aaron, and had only been back in South Africa for about 2 years. We lived in South Korea before that (click here to read more about those adventures). Since then we’ve added another little boy to the clan, Mason, and I the garden has become my happy place.

There was one main garden bed in the garden, and my mom-in-law had moved the 8 white Iceberg roses from in front of the house, to a new bed on the side of the house. I wanted to share some progress photos, as well as before photos so you can get an idea of the progression over the past 4 years.

We also created a Food Forest out of one of the pastures behind our house. This has been a huge labor of love, because we have had a sum total of about 4 blueberries and an onion over the years. Oh, and mountains of bolted Chinese cabbage, which always goes straight to seed and has yet to give us one cabbage yet! We initially planted this in order to make our own Korean Kimchi (which we still do make but always have to rely on what’s available in store when we are ever near large supermarkets in the big city).

The back garden overlooking the Barn Owl Shed (before & progress photos)

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Front Garden bed (progress photos)

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New side bed overlooking the cottage

We renovated this little cottage at the bottom of our garden a little over 2 years ago now, and it has been such a wonderful addition to our home. Not just because we only have 1 bathroom in our house (which included the toilet…there is very little privacy for anyone really), and no spare rooms (this is the problem with having so many off spring!) but now this is our guest cottage and it has turned into the most wonderful & private little space.

Please do take note of the gorgeous wall mural (done by another very talented friend and another neighbour…Savannah Stokes). You’ll see in the after photos how beautifully this came out, and what a change it made to such an ugly wall, that I just wasn’t able to get anything substantial to grown in front of and cover up in time for the Open Gardens.

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Hedge removed and bed opened up with new fence pole structure (before & progress photos)

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My Garden over the 2023 Creighton Open Gardens Weekend (14th & 15th October 2023)

I haven’t done too much since last year’s Open Garden in preparation for this one. I’ve mainly focussed on watering and maintaining the existing beds. I have dug up one new bed in front of my kitchen (at the back of the house) which I’ll share more photos of soon. Everything will be more established this year, and I’m just holding all my thumbs and toes that all the Spring flowers won’t be over by the time of the Open Gardens weekend, because things are all starting to bloom now…and we still have 6 weeks to go. EEEEK!

Kidscorner Kzn Math Counting Board - Helpful Homeschool Materials {Product Review}

Today I’m sharing the love for local brand @kidscornerkzn and their wonderful range of educational goodies & learning tools.
This is their Counting Board which is not just great for learning number symbols and quantity relation, but it’s also fantastic fine motor practice.

{This product forms part of a trade exchange between myself & Kidscorner KZN. I only share products that we genuinely love and use in our home}

The board can also be used to introduce the concept of even & odd numbers (talk about the numbers that have ‘pairs’ and the ones that are ‘alone’).

A nice extension activity is to use flashcards to add to the activity (these pretty number flashcards are from Stephanie Hathaway Designs) and feature really beautiful illustrations along with the number symbol and word.

This counting board is a really lovely addition to our homeschool classroom and both Everly and Aaron have been drawn to the board (for different reasons). Everly loves to play with the beads (loads of ‘accidental learning’ takes place as she makes cups of ‘tea’ with the beads…counting them out as she goes and moving them from the board to a tea cup). Aaron likes the pompoms, and likes to ‘cook’ with them, also counting as he goes moving the pompoms from the board to a bowl and into the oven in our little play kitchen.

The board comes with tweezers, a packet of 55 beads and a packet of 55 pompoms. It retails for R195.

All in all, a very budget friendly addition to your maths & number based lessons and would be a wonderful tool to have at home for your little ones to play with, even if you aren’t doing any formal homeschooling.

The ladies at Kidscorner have very kindly given my readers & followers a 10% discount code >>> Use the code Roxy10 to get 10% off your order at checkout on the website

Our homeschool journey - the beginning

For the time being, I’ve decided not to enrol Everly (4.5 yrs) in Grade RR…possibly even beyond that…and to rather spend this year following a loose homeschool/play based learning approach for both her and Aaron (3yrs)…with a bit of little Mason (6 months!) thrown into the mix too.

We will see how this goes (I’m also totally giving myself permission to change my mind at any time) but it’s been fun so far! As I am a teacher by training (and because I’m so passionate about play based learning) this has been a natural progression for me.

I do still send them both once/twice a week to the local pre-school for some social time and for a change of scenery. These stories & posts will document our adventures (and the prep that goes on behind the scenes).

I am often asked about my decision/interest in homeschooling and wanted to share more about it here for those who would like to know more. I hope you enjoy these posts and stories!

Why Homeschool?

Wondering why I’m interested in homeschooling my kids? It’s not just about the financial burden of mainstream education (although that is a factor when you have 3 kids!) but my reasons go far beyond that:

• I’m a qualified teacher and want to be involved/have a say in what my kids are learning

• I refuse to send them to school in masks

• I want to structure their day around their interests and their capacity (ie around nap times)

• School for us has a long travel time, and it’s not something I could easily do with a little baby in tow

• I love being crafty (printing & laminating make me so happy)

• I love a challenge!

• I’m a firm believer in routine so I know I will be able to figure out a nice (loose) structure for all 3 kids

There are as many ways (ie methodologies and paths) to homeschool as there are stars in the sky but here are a few things that do interest me and are elements that I would like to try incorporate:

• Montessori (especially their approach to maths & literacy)

• Forest Schooling (being outside)

• Reggio Emelia (child led learning & open ended exploration of materials)

• Charlotte Mason (her whole philophosy is incredibly inspiring…no formal learning until the age of 6/7)

• Routine and structure (to a degree…this is how I function best so it’s important I at least am able to follow a plan of some kind)

• The ‘pretty’ (I will always make things as pretty as I can while still trying to keep things simple. This also goes for what and how I share what we are doing…I love styled photos but everything I share will still be authentic, I may just move a few bits of junk out of the way when taking a photo etc)

I hope you enjoy these posts and if you have any questions along the way, please pop me a comment below. I love hearing from you!

Rose care 101 - A quick run down of my top tips for growing & caring for roses

Whenever I post photos of my roses, I get lots of questions about rose care. I’m no expert, but I’ve learned a lot in the past few years, and I’m always happy to share what’s worked (and what hasn’t!) so here are my top tips for growing & caring for your garden roses.

• Roses (especially newly planted ones) need at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight a day.

• Roses prefer direct watering (a hose pipe right at the roots) rather than a sprinkler. Roughly about 5 litres per rose a couple of times a week (more in summer & more often).

• Deadhead (remove the old flower heads) often! And try to cut at a join (between the leaf and stem).

• Feed your roses every 6ish weeks with a good rose food (I recommend and use Ludwigs Vigorosa).

• Spray your roses every 2-4 weeks (I don’t do this often enough 🙈😅) with a good rose protector/insect spray. I use ludwigsroses Insect Spray.

• Invest in a decent pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands. I also have a heavy duty elbow length pair for pruning, which really makes things easy and saves my poor hands and arms from those sharp thorns.

• My favourite place to buy roses...ludwigsroses for sure.

Roses are actually incredibly hardy, and often need very little care. Give newly planted roses a chance (at least a season or two!) to really settle before worrying if you’re no good at roses. It often takes roses a year or two to really come into their own. And if they don’t look happy, you can always move them (this is called transplanting). If you are going to transplant a rose, try and do this in Winter while the rose is dormant.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m always happy to talk roses. Leave me a comment below and I will get back to you.

Canon Pixma G3411 Refillable Ink Tank Printer for Homeschool, Photos & Home office Use - A Review

I have been on the lookout for a new printer for ages, something that is easy & (ideally) cheap to refill, and that does really good quality printing. I need it to be able to print worksheets and other fun activity pages for my little ones, and I also need it to be able to print really good quality photographs as we live in the middle of nowhere and getting photos printed is such a pain.

If you Google eco-tank printer, chances are the Epson Eco-Tanks will pop up. And while I was very tempted by them (and they have loads of great reviews!) unless you are going for the high end printer, it seems the photo quality isn’t that great. This was a big one for me as I want to be able to print photographs for scrapbooks, baby books and for frames around the house. And this is where the Canon Pixma comes in.

The one I eventually chose is the G3411…it does all your basic printery things (scan, copy & print), has wifi connectivity (I print straight from my iPhone and from my Mac…this has been a little tricky especially from my Mac because downloading drivers for a printer isn’t as straightforward as a PC but it’s doable!) and the best part is that the ink is refillable.

What’s in the box?

The G3411 is a midrange priced printer (I bought mine from Incredible Connection where it was on special for R2999 and it came with free delivery…it arrived out here on the farm within 5 working days!). The box comes with:

• actual printer & cables

• 2 black ink bottles

• 3 colour ink bottles (CMY)

The Set Up

I was slightly nervous when it came to setting up the printer, as I’m usually pretty slap dash and don’t read instructions. My mom was visiting, so that really helped as she read the instructions and I was able to actually follow them step by step. It took about 25 mins for the entire thing to be set up (it has to calibrate the ink and the black calibrates separately to the coloured ink) but it was very straightforward.

The actual printing took me a lot longer, as I needed to download the Canon Print app (I have an iPhone but the app is free and available for both Apple & Android) . Then to print photos vs documents is a little different from your phone. I used the Print app for for both photos & documents. And then to print from my Mac was a little trickier, as I have to connect to the printer via wifi (this means I can’t actually be on the Internet wifi…which was a bit of a pain as I have to disconnect from the Wifi and connect to the printer, and then connect back to the Internet when I’m done). I think I read somewhere that there aren’t any actual cables to connect this printer to a Mac…so just bear that in mind it would be much simpler if I was able to connect my laptop to the printer via a cable. But, as I work on a laptop and not a desktop, this isn’t such a big deal.

I have been blown away at the quality of the photograph printing most of all! The Print app is easy to use and you can print different sizes and collage using the photos on your phone. I tested the quality of my iPhone shot photos vs my camera images (I use Google Drive to on my Mac to upload my camera images to the cloud and then I download them from the Drive app on my phone) and I am very impressed.

Refillable Ink Bottle Prices

The ink is usually where you really get caught when it comes to home printers, but the refill bottles for this printer are pretty reasonable at R180 for colour & R270 for black (this is the online price at Incredible Connection right now). But, apparently I shouldn’t need to buy ink for at least a year (and then some!). So I’m hoping this proves to be the case even with printing kiddie related bits and pieces as well as photographs.

Filling up the ink tanks was very easy (you simply pour the ink into the little jars) and then once full the printer calibrates the colours. There is an easy to see ink level on the front so you can see how much ink you’ve used and when you need to buy more.

The nitty gritty product features of the Canon Pixma G3411 3-in-1 printer

• Print, scan, & copy 

• Ideal for those who do not require speed but low cost per copy 

• Ideal for regular printing  

• Page Yields: 12 000 pages mono / 7000 pages colour

• Productive low-cost printing 

• Wireless Connectivity 

• Rear paper feeding 

• Borderless printing 

• 12 Month Warranty 

So far I’ve printed a number of photographs and a lovely workbook from Under The Acacia (a nature based homeschool curriculum for little ones…even though I haven’t actually started it with Everly yet) and I am really impressed with the printer so far.

Next on my list is a laminator (any recommendations for a good one? I’ve been told it’s the laminating sheets that are the expensive thing?) This seems to be like most tech where the actual machine is relatively inexpensive, but the extras are what end up being so expensive.

I’m very happy with this printer, and will keep you updated as to how it goes and how long the ink lasts.

Lockdown Toy Love: A review of a fabulous selection of Leapfrog educational toys - Storytime Bella, Lettersaurus, Build & Discover Toolbox & Tumbling Blocks Fire Engine

Just before our official lockdown hit here in South Africa, Everly & Aaron received a fantastic package from Leapfrog. Looking back, the delivery couldn’t have been timed any better because, for the first 5 weeks or so, we were unable to purchase any toys as these were not deemed ‘Essential Items’. So, long story short, my kids got pretty lucky.

These toys were sent to us in the form of a trade exchange but my thoughts are views are honest, and my own.

We actually own another fantastic Leapfrog toy, My Pal Violet, which was a prezzie from my Dad for Everly’s first birthday. She LOVES that singing pup, and I’m telling you it was instrumental in her language learning. The same can be said for all 4 of the following toys. My kids love them, and are still playing with them all these weeks later. While we as a family try to stay away from plastic toys (opting for more toys of the wooden/handmade variety) but there is a place for DURABLE plastics toys, and let me tell you, these toys have been put through their paces in terms of durability.

And now on to the review of each toy:

Leapfrog Tumbling Blocks Fire Engine – RSP R1000.00

This bright red Fire Engine is sturdy, and even though it has a moveable ‘arm’, there is no worry that it’s going to come off anytime soon. I say this with good authority as Aaron has chucked it down the concrete stairs, off the bed onto our hard, wooden floors and it’s even been given a few good knocks with a hammer!

There are 5 brightly coloured blocks, which each have a letter of the alphabet on one of their sides, along with a cute picture to match the letter. There’s a slot for a block to fit into on the one side of the engine, and then the blocks all fit into the top of the ladder (the moveable arm) where the roll down into the back of the engine, where they ‘wait’ for the ladder to be pulled down and a very cool little mechanism opens up the bottom of the ladder and ‘picks’ up one block at a time. It’s one of Aaron’s favourite features, that and the music!

When you put the interactive blocks into the Fire engine window, it plays the names and sounds of animals & letters from A - Z. There is a real-life sounding siren, flashing lights and a turning water hose too, and different blocks call out different ‘missions’ to complete. And there is also a music symbol shaped button to press which plays the ABC song (this is Aaron’s favourite and it never ceases to get him bopping and grooving…and hopefully soon actually singing along).

The Tumbling Blocks Fire Engine is suitable for 12 month olds and upwards.

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Leapfrog Storytime Bella – RSP R1250.00

Bella has found her place right next to Violet, and I often find Everly walking around the house with a puppy in each arm as she feeds them snacks and gives them water. But, the best part about Bella, are the 5 books that come with her; each one ‘activated’ by the corresponding number on her collar.

Each story features one of the following themes; emotions, shapes, numbers, colours and opposites, and even though Everly can’t read yet, she follows Bella’s instructions to ‘turn the page’ and loves looking at the pictures while Bella reads along.

Bella also sings lullabies and her collar gives off a lovely soft light as she sings gentle songs that are catchy and easy to listen to (I say this more for the parents sake…they don’t drill into your skull, an important fact that should be highlighted). Everly will often come to me and ask me if she can read me her ‘Bella Books’ and then recounts the story to my complete and utter surprise because I haven’t actually read any of them to her. She adds in her own plot twists and turns, but she’s got a firm grasp of the story, which is pretty incredible.

Although Everly can’t read yet, she loves Bella and so I’d say Storytime Bella is suited to 2 year olds and upwards.

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Leapfrog Build & Discover Toolbox – RSP R500.00

And now for Aaron’s favourite toy! This poor tool box has really been given a hard time, and yet looks as good as new! It’s been put through it’s paces with all manner of hard objects thrown at it, and has also been yanked apart more times than I can count. It also gets played with as much by Everly, as it does Aaron.

The 4 sides of the box fold down, and then all clip together again with the handle at the top, which has two screws that ‘lock’ the handle in place. There are 5 tools (a hammer, a ruler, a screwdriver, a saw and a wrench) and all of these tools have fun places that allow them to be actually used for their intended purpose (and for all their non-intended purposes too…like hitting his sister over the head).

I must say that this is the toy that drives my the craziest, because of how all the pieces are always scattered all over the house within seconds. But, Aaron loves playing hide and seek with them so I pick my battles, and he does USUALLY find all the pieces and put the tool box back together most times.

The Build & Discover Toolbox is suitable for 12month olds and upwards.

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Leapfrog Lettersaurus – RSP R800.00

Everly and Lettersaurus can often be found walking together around the garden (although the little string/lead attached to his neck is rather short for use as an actual lead). It’s rather sweet how she will go and pick him up, play a few ABC tunes and then tell me she’s off to take him for a walk. His head spins from side to side as he goes, and it really is rather sweet to watch.

This little Dinosaur has coloured letters (from A - Z) on his back that when pressed sound out the letter name and sounds. He also says a number of fun phrases and sings three different songs when you press the musical note. His orange tail also spins and this brings in numbers and counting too. There is also a footprint button which plays a jungle tune, to which the letter buttons can be pressed to add sounds to the music, almost like a little mini DJ set up.

Lettersaurus is suitable for 12month olds and upwards.

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You can purchase the entire Leapfrog range from the Prima website by clicking the BUY NOW option on each product; or alternatively on Takealot, and in store at places like Toy Kingdom & ToyZone.

Do you own any of these (or any other) Leapfrog toys? Are any of these being added to your little one’s birthday lists this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Squarespace vs Wordpress and why I chose to specialise in Squarespace website design

When I first started blogging, I set myself up on Blogger (to all the other bloggers out there reading this, remember those good old days?!) and all was right in the world. Blogger (which is sort of where the term ‘being a Blogger’ came from) was how I started dipping my toe into the world of graphic design (I used PicMonkey at the time to create banners and blog graphics) and it’s also where I first started learning about coding & custom CSS.

Once I started becoming frustrated with the limitations of Blogger, I started a separate blog on Wordpress. I tried both the self hosted and the hosted options, but I just found the whole platform to be VERY clunky. I also ended up with a million and one widgets that continually needed updating and at least once a month there would be some sort of plugin that I was using that would ‘break’ my site. And I’d end up spending hours trying to figure out which one it was, only to realise the person who had designed it hadn’t made an update for it and so it no longer worked for my site. It was soooo frustrating, and I felt as though I was just never able to make my site look like the picture in my head. And for me, I just wanted a pretty place to blog from, and one that I could control the look and feel of without having to spend hours searching for coding tutorials or having to rely on graphics and other design elements.

This is also when I delved into Wix, but this didn’t last long either as I found the interface even more confusing that Wordpress. And finally, when I came across Squarespace I just knew, even from my very first day of their free 2 week trial period, that this was the platform for me.

Everything was (and still is!) just SO beautiful!

And the best part about the platform, and the main reason why I use it to design websites for my clients, is just how easy and intuitive it is for my clients to be able to take over and make changes and updates themselves (yay!). This means it’s a win-win for both designer & client, because as a designer I’m able to ‘sign off’ a project and I know, that while I am available to ask questions and help, my clients will probably be able to solve most of their questions themselves. They are able to swop out images, update text, create more pages and work out how to do this in relatively small amount of time. Wordpress on the otherhand, while being an incredibly powerful content management system, has a MUCH steeper learning curve. If you know what you’re doing and are familiar with the platform, the options for creating beautiful websites are endless! But, when it comes to clients being able to make changes themselves (especially when it comes to blogging and writing posts), in my opinion (and this seems to be the general opinion of everyone I ask about it) it’s just not an easy platform to understand and learn how to make basic edits.

This also brings me to the next tick for Squarespace…their help forum is amazing! They have an incredible archive of tutorials that are laid out systematically and most importantly, easy to navigate! There is nothing worse than spending hours looking for a tutorial for the most basic of basic questions. And they have a forum where you can pretty much find the answer to anything and everything. And if you can’t, they customer service is pretty fantastic. When I made the move from Blogger to Squarespace, I had over 500 blog posts (can you even!!!) and comments on those posts and moving everything was pretty straight forward. I was (and am still) using DISQUS for my comment management system though, so this posed a few issues and I ended up loosing a whole bunch of comments because of URL re-directs failing etc. BUT it was less of a hassle than I thought it would be.

So now that you’ve heard from my personal experience, here are some of the other important (and more technical) reasons why I believe it to be the best website platform for the types of small businesses I work with:

• Mobile Responsive Design:

Squarespace templates are beautifully designed and have built in & unique mobile experiences that match the overall style of your website. This means your content will look great on every device, every time. Squarespace is design-driven, user-friendly, and performance-focused (doesn’t that sound fancy!).

• Simple User Interface

The back-end of Squarespace's platform is extremely intuitive and simple to use, even for complete technophobes! This means it's super easy to make edits yourself without having to get a developer/designer involved to help with small tweaks. Squarespace was designed with the do-it-yourself user in mind, making it easy for clients to maintain, update, and monitor their websites on their own. Building pages is a matter of dragging and dropping blocks in a page editor, and backend tasks are a snap with clearly labeled menus and panels.

• Peace of mind

Squarespace is a self-contained platform that works seamlessly and is fully managed from top to bottom. This means there’s never any need to update software, plugins, or widgets; patch security vulnerabilities; or worry that changing one component might break something else. It also means there’s rarely any need to investigate or pay for third-party apps or plugins since most functionality is native to Squarespace. I have only now (nearly 6 years down the line) had to implement any coding. You can pretty much figure out how to do just about anything your heart desires with regards to your site design, without having to know any coding.

• Free SSL Certificates

All Squarespace websites are given free SSL certificates, which means everyone can enjoy a secure connection throughout your whole website. This became a necessity in 2018, when some browsers started marking non-secure websites as a threat to users! Google also shows a preference to secure sites in their rankings.

• Built-in search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities

Every Squarespace website is equipped with all the elements needed for a strong SEO strategy. Site descriptions, page titles, custom URLs, search-friendly formatting, and other key elements are all easily managed. Each site also generates a sitemap automatically that helps Google crawl, understand, and rank a website. So all of those Wordpress who tell you otherwise, simply don’t know what they are talking about ;)

• Simple Pricing Structure

Squarespace's pricing is transparent and simple; you can pay monthly or yearly (from $12 per month when you pay annually for their basic plan…this is what I use…and $26 per month for large online store option) which includes absolutely everything you need. You can buy your domain within Squarespace, and this cost includes your hosting too - there are no extra costs! You can also purchase a custom email with Gsuite right in your Squarespace dashboard, so all of your billing is all contained in one easy place.

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So, if after reading all of this you’re interested in working with me, click below to find out more about my packages and how it all works to hire me for your website project.

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The top 5 tools I use to run my online business

I’ve been at this online thing for a good many years now, starting with blogging, then photography (I also sell my photos online through Creative Market) and where I am now, a website designer. In the process I’ve used loads and loads of different tools to help make my life easier, and now I want to share my favourites with you. These are the tools and resources I use all the time, and while there are a lot more than 5 (I might do another post on all of them!) these are the ones I use just about every day.

{This is an honest, unsponsored post but affiliate links have been used. What this means is that if you do choose to sign up through one of the links in this post, then I receive a small commission. This helps me maintain this blog and keep it running with your support & it means you also get a discount…it’s a win-win! Please know I only ever share brands and businesses that I use and love.}

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Email Marketing - Flodesk

When I first started blogging (way back when in 2010), I began my journey into email marketing with Mailchimp. At the time, it was the best platform for beginners, and while it had & has a lot of pros to it, I made the move to Convertkit once I really started to take my blogging seriously. Convertkit is an incredibly powerful platform, and AMAZING for anyone wanting to sell info products online, but it became too costly for me and my list of 2500 people.

I have since moved over to Flodesk, and I LOVE IT! Beautiful emails, seamless integration with Squarespace and a very user friendly dashboard mean that I’m spending less time trying to make my emails look pretty, and more time actually writing. They have gorgeous templates (and FYI having lots of images in the body isn’t affecting open rates) so now us creatives can have our cake and eat it!

It’s been a real game changer (and just a little heads up, here is a link that will get you 50% off their monthly plan, and you’ll be locking in that price for life…no matter how many subscribers you have!). I’ll be writing a full post on my move from Convertkit to Flodesk, as well as a post on what the Fodesk platform is like, so stay tuned for that.

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Have you received an email from me lately? What did you think?

If you would like to see what my emails look like & join my list, you can sign up here:

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Invoicing - Wave

When it comes to book keeping, I do wish I was a bit more of a wizz when it comes to accounts, but alas, numbers aren’t exactly my strong suite. I started off creating my own quotes and invoices in InDesign, mostly because I wanted to have complete control over how they looked, so that I could keep them as pretty as can be. But it became a huge pain keeping up with invoice numbers, making changes, and then as my service offerings changed, my invoices just got all muddled. Wave is amazing (and its FREE!) and I’m able to keep track of outstanding invoices, part payments, send reminders and their latest feature, email statements with amounts outstanding. Its super easy to use, and syncs with my bank accounts (something I can’t quote decide whether I like or not) but either way, its fantastic and simple, and perfect for small businesses.

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Blogging & Website Design - Squarespace

Oh the amount of good things I could say about Squarepace…it’s the reason I actually got into website design in the first place. I started off on Blogger, dabbled in Wix, spend a good chunk of time on Wordpress (both versions) and then jumped to Squarespace and have never looked back! It’s beautiful, user-friendly, and did I mention beautiful? It’s a wonderful platform to work with, and the best part is once I hand over a site to my client, they are able to make changes and updates themselves, really easily. Click here to find out more about working with me, and to see some of the sites I’ve designed.

I run this site on Squarespace, and have been blogging with the platform since 2015. There are an infinite number of customisations that can be done to each template they provide. Without having to know any coding, you’re able to take one of the templates and really make it your own. Squarespace offers a free two-week trial so you can really dig into to the platform without having to commit.

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Client File Management - Gsuite & Google Drive

It’s taken me a little while to figure out a good system for keeping track of my clients’ files & documents, but I like Google Drive for this. I have separate folders for my photography & website clients, and then I order them by year, the month their project starts, and then by name. I also add a colour to their folder if I’ve wrapped up their project. It’s a nice visual way to staying organised. I share their personal link with them so that we both have access, and then there is less back and forth of sending files. I signed up with Gsuite through Squarespace, which means I get a custom email address, as well as storage space for Google Drive, and while I know I could be doing a LOT more with it as it’s very powerful, I’m enjoying it so far. I have a few Google drive accounts; the ones I use the most are my personal one…this is how I upload and access my photos on my phone and my business one.

I am always tempted by Asana, Dubsado and Trello, but it’s been a big enough learning curve for my clients to use Google Drive (and most of them know or have experience using Google) and so I worry the extra step of understanding how to use a very new platform just to communicate with me might be off putting. But I might be wrong! Please let me know if you use a business management tool for client communication & staying organised that you love!

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Quick Social Media Graphics - Canva

I can’t believe I turned my nose up at this fantastic design app all those years ago. I liked to think I was a real ‘design pro’ having taught myself photoshop (I only really knew the basics!) and I was too good for the free app that claimed to help you make beautiful graphics, for free! Well, I certainly ate my words when I finally ended up trying it out for the first time, and now I use it just about every day.

You can make anything from posters, to Instagram Story templates, Zoom Virtual Backgrounds, Logos and Blog Banners & graphics…the list goes on and on. Oh, and did I mention you can do all the above for FREE! Their paid plan allows you to upload your own branding (logos, colours and fonts) and lots more.

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So there you have it. My top 5 business tools that I use to run my online business.

What I haven’t mentioned above, but for anyone interested:

• Camera: Nikon D750

• Computer: Macbook Pro 15”

• Photo editing Software of Choice: Lightroom

• What I use to actually speak to my clients: Whatsapp Video Chat/Zoom/Facetime

Is there anything that I’m missing? Are there any tools that you can’t live without? Is there anything else you’d like to know about how I run my business? Leave me a comment below and I’ll get back to you right away…I’m always happy to share my ‘secrets’.

Night Nappies - different types of night time cloth & tips to help you get the hang of using cloth at night

We’ve been using cloth nappies at night right from newborn days, because I thought to myself if I’m going to commit to this cloth nappy thing I might as well go the full hog and not do things by half measure. I know a lot of moms are scared of night time cloth, when in fact it’s MUCH easier than it looks.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Once your baby stops pooping at night, you won’t have to change their cloth nappy during the night.

• There are loads of great nappies that are designed to last 12+ hours, just like a disposable (and to be honest, I get just as many, if not more leaks when I use disposables at night!).

• The trick with night time cloth is absorbency & fit.

• You really can’t beat a hemp flat for night time (it’s trim, thirsty and easy to boost!) and I keep coming back to them, no matter how many other ‘easy’ nappies I try.

• If flats seem a bit too out there for you and you just can’t get the hang of folding, there are also pre-folds (my favourite night time nappy) and fitteds.

• How much absorbency your baby/toddler needs at night will change. Their output changes, as well their body shape. How they sleep also makes a difference, as tummy sleepers will need more absorbency in the front, and back sleepers need more absorbency in the middle. The same is true for girls and boys.

• Don’t give up! You will need to troubleshoot. I still get leaks and have to adjust my fold/how much I boost, the type of boosting and the fit and I’ve been using cloth nappies for nearly 3 years and on 2 little ones.

• Leaks are very frustrating, but don’t let them get the better of you. There are LOADS of options to try before giving up altogether. And there is no shame in using a mix of disposables and cloth while you get the hang of it. If Everly ever uses a disposable at night, I still put a hemp insert & cloth nappy cover over her disposable because they always leak anyway. Cloth saves the day every time!

• Use fleece liners for a stay-dry feeling on baby’s bum. Fleece liners are the absolute BEST thing (you can literally cut up an old fleece blanket/piece of fabric into rectangles to use) to use as liners (don’t even bother with those fancy bamboo liners which are actually just a pain to use). Just use fleece, trust me!

• Have fun experimenting!

  And just keep in mind, because you need a nappy to be lasting the whole night, it’s going to be much bulkier than a day nappy which just needs to last a few hours. This means a bigger bum, and this means your choice of pj’s might have to adjust too. Nighties for girls are great because anything can fit under there, but for colder night if your little one is wearing tops and pants, the pants can be VERY tight over that nappy…this is actually the cause of a lot of leaks. If you’re using a fleece cover, you can’t have anything tight, like a vest, over the fleece as it will pull the moisture making everything wet. So, if you’re using a fleece cover, a looser fitting onesie is best, and then for an older baby/toddler, fleece longies are perfect with a long sleeve top & socks. In Summer, Aaron sleeps with just a t-shirt and his nappy with a fleece cover over and Everly sleeps in a nightie with her nappy & PUL cover over.

My current night time cloth nappies:

Aaron (14 months): bamboo fitted with padfolded newborn sized hemp flat in the wetzone, hemp/bamboo booster, fleece liner & fleece cover. Alternatively a medium sized hemp flat folded in origami, with a newborn sized hemp flat in the wetzone, a hemp/bamboo booster, fleece liner & fleece cover/fleece pants.

Everly (2.5 years): hemp pre-fold with a large padfolded hemp flat with a hemp booster and a PUL cover. Alternatively, two hemp flats folded together in Origami with a hemp booster, fleece liner & a PUL cover.

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My favourite night time cloth nappies & covers

• Pokkelokkie Hemp Sleepy Dust (click here for a full review)

• Pokkelokkie Hemp Flats & Pre-folds:

I still use the small Pokkelokkie flats I bought when Everly was a newborn to boost her nappies now, and I use them all the time for Aaron. Pictured here is a large sized Pokkelokkie hemp flat and below that is a Large Hemp Pre-fold.

• Pokkelokkie Fleece Longies:

Fleece longies are fleece pants that are used over a night time nappy as a cover. They are water resistant, not waterproof, but as long as your nappy underneath is well boosted and secure, they work like a bomb. Super soft and comfy, perfect for Winter.

• Pokkelokkie Fleece Covers:

• Sloomb Snapless Fitted:

I bought these overseas and had family bring them over when they visited. These need a cover…we use either a Blueberry Capri or a Fleece cover). Everly used to use these until they were no longer absorbent enough for her (around 18 months). Aaron now uses them.

• Blueberry One Size Capri Nappy Cover

These are our absolute favourite PUL covers. They are soft and stretchy, and have fitted over a 3 month old and still fit Everly now at 2.5 years old. They are GREAT! You can buy them here in South Africa through TinyHiney.

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And now for some tips from the pro…Kerryn is the owner of Pokkelokkie (and is just the loveliest lady, she has helped me troubleshoot nappies right from the very beginning, and I still contact her today when I’m having trouble):

1. Use only a fully absorbent nappy for night time. 

2. The nappy must be made of a good quality fabric. How to be sure of this? Opt for a locally made night nappy. 

3. Two hemp flats is  a very affordable and very reliable night nappy solution if you are on a tight budget.

4. Avoid PUL covers at night. A good quality fleece cover or fleece longies is 100% reliable.

5. Do your research. Buy well, buy once. Buying cheap nappies often does not end well.

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Nightime cloth really doesn’t have to be scary, and is as simple as just giving it a try. And if you do get leaks, don’t give up! I still get leaks now and again, and have to re-adjust what I’m using (especially on Everly as she’s bigger and often the nappies I’m using don’t fit properly under the cover because they are so bulky…and this is because she has a lot of output and needs a nappy to last 12+ hours). But, as flats have proved to me time and time again, you really just CAN’t go wrong with a good hemp flat. And even though Everly is daytime potty trained, I am going to be purchasing a few more flats and pre-folds because they just work SO well.

Do you use cloth at night? if not, what’s stopping you? Leave me a comment below and I can help troubleshoot any issues you may be having.

Yours in cloth,

Roxy

x

Disclosure: some of the above nappies were sent to me as a gift to try & in exchange for photographs, but all thoughts and views are honest, and my own.

How to make Rainbow Spaghetti - A sensory activity for toddlers {that is safe for babies too!}

This was a really fun activity for Everly, and I’ve got lots of tips to share with to make sure this lasts longer than one play session (as was the case with us because I actually just winged the whole thing didn’t look at how to store and preserve the pasta). So, first things first, this is a food based project (i.e. you’re cooking pasta) and so don’t expect it to last for more than a couple of days. I assumed it would last just like our box of Rainbow Rice (which is still going strong 6 months later…but this is because the rice wasn’t cooked, silly me). So, as long as you know that going in, then you’re all set!

I used a whole packet of pasta (a bit of a rare commodity these days with us being on Lockdown here in South Africa) but perhaps you have a little stash and can spare one. We don’t really eat pasta (not because we don’t like it....I LOVE PASTA) but because we follow a loosely low carb way of eating so I made sure to buy a pack of spaghetti before Lockdown so I could do this activity with Everly. You could actually use any pasta, but spaghetti made really fun coloured worms.

Then you need oil of some kind…and then food colouring.

There are two ways of going about this. You can do what I did (which was awfully time consuming) and boil separate batches of water for each colour you want to make. I thought this would make the colours more vibrant, but I’ve been told the other method does indeed work just as well.

Bring water to boil with a good dollop of oil (use more than you think you’ll need to keep the pasta nice and slimey) and then add your pasta and food colouring. Or cook your pasta first and then use separate plastics bags to make separate colours. Allow to cool and then place in a container of sorts. I used a big plastic box.

Some tips:

• Rinse the pasta in vinegar after cooking to help preserve it for a few days (although I’m not sure if you should rinse it before putting the food colouring in…as I haven’t tried this step yet).

• Dry it out a bit in the sun after playing, to help preserve it for a few more days.

Just bare in mind how squishy the pasta can get. I left Everly for a few minutes and came back to pasta pieces squashed into the mat by our front door…this wasn’t fun to clean up at all. So best to set up a nice big area to play on that you can clean up afterwards. Or better yet, set it up outside where the dogs can help ‘clean’ up the mess once you’re all done.

Happy playing friends!

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Here are more fun activities to do with your little ones:

Beautify Your Blog - my free gift to you to help you up skill during the stay-home period.

A few years ago I launched an online course called BeautifyYourBlog. I can’t tell you the number of hours of work I poured into it, as well as all the knowledge I shared. It was really well received, but I didn’t give marketing it the right attention (I’m going to be honest and say the fear of failure is what stopped me from going full force with it) but I learned a lot and I loved sharing my blogging journey.

Because most of us are at home (or we should be! Apart from those essential service providers whom we don’t give enough credit and support to), now is the perfect time to up skill and work on all the projects you’ve had on your to-do list for like, forever. If you come out of this time without having leaned a new skill, without having accomplished a good chunk of things on your to-do list, then you only have yourself to blame because YOU HAD THE TIME. A lot of us are trying to juggle working from home with little ones and staying on top of housework, while it’s hard & challenging (on ALL the levels) it’s not impossible to carve out some time for yourself to work on your goals.

Along with the online course, I created a workbook to be used alongside the course content. It sums up nicely everything that was inside the course, giving you the building blocks to take your blog to the next level. Full disclosure, there are one or two spelling errors (my followers will nod their heads because they know JUST how bad I am when it comes to spellcheck…but there are only a few…I think haha) and I did create this a few years ago. This means that there are a few tiny things that have changed, but the meat of it all is still 100% relevant. And I believe this is the perfect time to actually start a blog, if it’s been something that has been on your heart for a while.

I could launch into a million different reasons as to why blogging isn’t dead, and if you think it is then you probably wouldn’t be here reading my blog, so I won’t go into that. But if you are here, and you’ve often thought that you’d like to start a blog; then this post is just for you! Whether you' want to use this time to document your family’s every day adventures so Granny and Aunty Eileen can see what you get up to everyday, or whether you’ve really been battling with the isolation and writing down your thoughts and feelings would really help you to work through them, blogging is an incredible tool that gives a creative outlet and can be a jumping board for so many things. And if you’re just here for the free things, that’s okay too.

MAKING YOUR BLOG LOOK IT'S SHINY BEST CAN BE A DIFFICULT PROCESS...BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.

When I first started blogging, I wish I had had someone show me the ins and outs of branding and what it means to build a brand around your blog. I fumbled my way through my first 5 years of blogging, making so many changes and wasting so much time creating graphics for my blog that really didn't fit my style.

If someone had given me this when I first started blogging (10 years ago now), it would have saved me so much frustration, not to mention time.  This handbook goes through the how's and the why's of branding your blog and most importantly, it shows you how you can do it yourself.

THIS HANDBOOK WALKS YOU THROUGH ALL THE STEPS YOU NEED TO TURN YOUR BLOG IN A BEAUTIFUL, COHESIVE AND VISUALLY APPEALING SPACE THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF.

Perhaps your current corner of the web isn't what you hoped and dreamed it would be, and you're not sure how to make it stand out from the other millions of blogs.

Or perhaps, you've been putting off starting a blog because you have no idea how to make it look good; how to make it a place you can be proud of.

Inside I share with you super valuable secrets, tips and tricks that you will be able to implement immediately to beautify your blog, all by yourself. 

WHAT'S IN THE HANDBOOK?

• Lesson 1: Blog Branding - logo, fonts, colours & style guides

• Lesson 2: Blog Layout - how to stand out and show off your content

• Lesson 3: Blog Photos - how to take better blog photos

• Lesson 4: Home, About & Contact Pages - the most important pages for your blog and how to use the space effectively

• Lesson 5: Social Media Accounts - keeping your profile images & bio's consistent so you are instantly recognisable across all your social media platforms

• Lesson 6: Branding for Pinterest - branding images/graphics for Pinterest

My goal when I created the Beautify Your Blog Handbook wasn’t to throw out a bunch of complicated theories and fancy sounding blogging terminology but rather to show you the best & most effective strategies for bloggers that will help you take actionable steps towards creating a better, more beautiful blog.

It’s jam packed with information you can make use of today, and all of that information is laid out in a logical, simple to understand way. I had planned to launch it as it’s own E-book (and I might still do this!) when I get the inspiration back to re-launch the course, but for the time being I would like this to be my gift to you. Pop your email adress in the form below, and the handbook will be on it’s way to you.

Here’s to creating beautiful things together.

Our daily routine - a life update on being a stay (& try work from home) mom) to a two year old & a one year old

Aaron Jack has just turned ONE, and I finally feel like I am slowly getting a little more into my groove when it comes to finding a work/life/home balance. I don’t always get this right, and I often feel like I have to decide which balls to drop as I can’t possible manage them all on a day to day basis (sorry to my darling husband, who often feels like it’s him who is dropped more often than not). But man alive this whole parenting thing is hard enough as it is, never mind when there is more than one child and then the next juggle of working from home (or rather when you TRY to work from home). And then us mamas are also supposed to fit in feeding the family, doing housework, giving the hubby the attention and care he deserves AND trying to fit in the elusive ‘‘self-care'“ that we all know is so important, but is generally the last thing on the list and the first to be postponed.

Today I want to share with you my current daily routine, and how I juggle all the balls in my life. This ‘routine’ is constantly changing, and I’ve had to work REALLY hard at being okay with things changing. Especially as what ends up changing things is my kids (ie waking up early from naps, being super clingy all of a sudden, teething, dropping a nap, wanting to do everything ‘by self mom!’ and the normal emotions that come with being a mom. Like some days, you just don’t feel like parenting, and you wish you could just go back to a moment before kids, even if it’s just for 10 seconds, to drink a hot cup of coffee and not be clung to by sticky fingers…I adore my little ones, but feeling like this is SOOOO normal. And, as long as we don’t wish we were back in those days all day every day, I think it’s healthy to have those feelings. Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent now, so let’s get back to the point of this post.

photo by Storm Storah Photography

Here is my current daily routine for me and my family.

For anyone new around these parts, I am married to a dairy farmer and we live on his family dairy farm in a teeny tiny town called Creighton. The closest shops are an hour and a half away. I have two little ones (Everly Rose is 2.5 & Aaron Jack is 1), and we have a wonderful domestic worker who works Monday - Friday. I mention her, because she is essential to my mental and physical well being (because she is as dedicated to maintaining a clean & tidy house as I am) and is also here to lend a hand or two with both kids if I have to meet clients/have Skype meetings. Everly has just started going to play-school (she goes to school for two mornings a week…school is a good 40km ONE WAY and although I’m able to share one of the 4 lifts, I take her and fetch her and this takes up most of those mornings. It’s just not always feasible to take her, drive home, and then go and fetch her again and so I often take her to school and then run errands in the small town where her school is based. I actually often organise tea dates with friends in this time,as this is a wonderful way to get a little ‘me time’ in and make the most of the long drive. I had also only planned to send her to ‘school’ much later on, and to rather focus on more of a home based learning environment, but with another baby and trying to actually build my business, it works so well with her going to school. And she just loves it there.The wheels have yet to fall off in the 5 weeks she’s been going. We do cloth nappies (click here for all of my posts on cloth nappies), have 2 dogs (well, technically 3 as we just got a new puppy), have 2 cats and 6 chickens (this is where we get our eggs from…we eat A LOT of eggs, with both my kids eating two eggs for breakfast every day). We follow a REAL food diet (I used to say we followed a Banting/Low carb High Fat diet but we aren’t that strict anymore, and rather focus on eating real food, nothing processed, no added sugar and because of this I make 99% of my kids food…ie I spend a lot of time in the kitchen…click here for more posts on what my kids eat). I sleep trained both my kids from an early age (and because of this they sleep for a solid 12ish hours a night, and both still take naps…Everly is on the extreme side of the scale when it comes to sleep though, and has always needed lots more sleep than the average, but Aaron, who was much harder work getting into a good routine from 0 - 5 months, has been so much easier since that happened. I breastfed both my kids (and am still breastfeeding Aaron…they both wouldn’t take a bottle, and this is not something I forced because I didn’t need them to, as I was always able to be here at home…the boobs were always available haha and this meant no formula was needed). Gosh this is becoming a bit of an odyssey but bare with me! When I started weaning my kids (Everly at 5.5 months and Aaron at 6 months) they both went straight onto real food (no cereals!). They both only drink water & cows milk (although Everly is now very into Kombucha…a type of fermented tea…full blog post coming on this soon showing you how to make your own!) and we sort of follow a very loose Montessori approach to learning and play. Bedtime in our house is 6pm for the kids, which I know seems unattainable for lots of parents (and obviously won’t work if you are at work during the day and only get home at that time) but this has been key to my own mental wellbeing because I often collapse at 6:05pm and there are evenings where you will find me in bed by 6:30pm. I have been blogging for over 10 years now, and am a self taught photographer & website designer. I started my own online business in 2016, but it’s only really taken off in the last year…with this past month being my busiest month ever. I’m from Joburg, and have been married for nearly 8 years. I studied English Literature & Psychology at Rhodes University (this is where I met my hubby) and we both moved to South Korea to teach English for 4 years before settling back here in SA. I am also a qualified teacher & have a diploma in Online Journalism from the London School of Journalism. I also work for the farm, doing basic admin work as well as the payroll for the staff. We have been living out here on the family farm for nearly 3 years.

Whew! You made it…well done. Go grab yourself a cup of something & catch your breath before continuing with this post.

I say all of the above to help set the scene and knowing the above helps you understand more about my family and the choices we make, and why & how I structure my day. Things don’t always go the way I plan, and some days I just DON’T feel like standing in the kitchen at 10 o’clock at night making yoghurt..but for the most part I know that you have to be prepared if you want to feed your kids good food, and if you want to have a second to breath during the day you have to be strict about routine and be firm with little ones who like to test the limits of your patience. I think it is also VITAL to your marriage to have time together in the evenings, before your both exhausted from the day, to catch up & connect. Although this is something hubby and I need to work on, as I generally just feel like crawling into bed to switch my brain off while mindlessly watching series.

I hope you enjoy this post & that it offers you some inspiration to help make your day run a little smoother.

Photo by Storm Storah Photography

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Here is my week-day schedule:

• 04:30 Hubby goes to work, I snooze till 5am and then go make myself a cup of tea

• 5am-6/6:30am I do client work, check emails, post to Instagram/reply to social media comments

• 06:30ish - 7:30 Both kids wake up, change nappies, get them dressed and play time

• 07:30: Zanele arrives for work (she comes in at 7:15 on the days that Everly goes to school as I have to leave the house at 7:30…she then takes over Aaron and has him until I get back from school at about 12:30.

• 07:30 - 09:00 I make breakfast for the kids, I try and make a big portion of scrambled eggs & bacon so that hubby and I can eat that too…otherwise I generally eat a handful of nuts and lots of cups of tea.

• 09:00 - 10:00 Aaron naps, Everly potters around outside/drawing/playing puzzles (here are some nice activities that encourage independent play). I am generally able to do a little but of non-focused computer work during this time. I often have to wake Aaron up from this nap, and I do this to ensure he still has a good nap over lunch time, which is more important to me as this is when both the kids are down.

• 10:00 - 11:30 Play time with the kids

• 11:30 - 12:00 Lunch time for both Kids

• 12:00 - 14:30 Everly naps (if she’s been at school she will nap at 12:30/12:45 - 14:30. Although often I have to wake her up from the nap.

  12:45 - 14:00/14:30 Aaron naps. This is my sacred time during the day, because both kids are down and I get to rest/watch series/work on client sites.

• 14:30ish both kids wake up, and it’s play time.

• 15:30 is often a time when my kids will have a snack, or if they are super cranky we go for a walk down to the Willow tree with the dogs. We generally spend the afternoon outside in nature (nature for me is anywhere with grass…so even the front lawn is considered nature. I’ll often set up the water table with water and bubbles, or bring out our little blow up pool for the kids to splash around in. If it’s cold, we’ll stay inside and play with blocks or puzzles.

• 17:00 Supper time

• 17:30 Bath time

• 17:45 Aaron has a feed, and straight down to bed.

• 18:00 Everly changes into pj’s and then has quiet time (we have just started this to help prolong her evening…as she still takes a really long nap over lunch time and isn’t ready to drop it yet…haha although I’m sure it’s me who isn’t ready for her to drop it!) it’s not really fair for us to expect her to go to be bed at 6pm. But then it’s story time, prayers, and lights out. I watch her on the monitor and she generally sings, and talks to herself, only passing out around 7/7:30. I’m okay with this, because she’s happy to lie there quietly. It would be a different story if she was really upset and fighting us for that hour, but right now this works because she is quiet and content to lie there until she falls asleep, and this means hubby and I can begin out evening.

• 18:30 Take dogs for a little stroll (this doesn’t happen every day) or this is generally the time that I start making yoghurt/making chicken stock/preparing food in batches for the kids ( I make big batches and freeze portions for every day). I try to also get supper ready for hubby and I for at least 5 out of 7 days of the week. Generally this is meat (chops/boerewors/mince/roast chicken/leftover stew from the kids) and veggies and sometimes a salad if I have the ingredients and feel up to it.

• 19:30 - 21:00 Series

• 21:00 Bedtime (if not earlier)

The only difference over the weekends is Zanele isn’t with us (she goes home on a Friday afternoon) and so on a Saturday 7 Sunday I also feed all the pets (I have some form of help in a very eager & enthusiastic Everly) and collect all the eggs from the chickens. Zanele and I also ‘share’ the washing of the nappies, as I wash every 2 - 3 days, and this often falls over a weekend. I’ve only had her step in to help with the nappies in the past couple of months, as I was so determined to ‘do it all’ but I’ve realised there are certain things that you just have to relinquish control over, and accept the help that’s offered (this is actually one of the biggest motherhood lessons I’ve learned over the past 2 years). On the weekends when hubby is on duty, he is still generally around a bit during the day (depending on how busy the farm is) and so we are often able to at least have breakfast together in the mornings.

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So, as far as a routine goes, the above has only really fallen into place since Aaron dropped down to two naps. Before this, everything was higgledy piggledy and I was often left feeling frazzled because there was never any downtown for me. I wasn’t able to get anything done (work-wise) during the day, I was too exhausted to wake up early (and actually both my kids took turns waking up at about 5 am on and off for a couple of months). This was killer for me, and considering I wasn’t able to get them on the same nap schedule I felt like I was being stretched far beyond my means. Luckily, one realises after the fact, that as with all things, there are seasons to everything, and the tough times don’t last forever…unfortunately this is also true of the easy times too. But up until Aaron was about 5 months old (click here for a post on the very early days of #TwoUnderTwo and click here for one 6 months in), I really didn’t think we would ever get to a point when I enjoyed both my kids every day. Now that he is crawling and pulling himself up on things, he is a different child, and far happier to play by himself (within reason haha and not for very long!) but at least it happens ever now and again.

Some Tips for figuring out your routine

Accept (or be like me and at least ‘try’ to accept) that things change, and that the world won’t end when it does. When one (or both!) of my kids wake up early, my heart sinks. Especially if I’ve just say down to a hot cup of tea. I have to take big deep breaths, to help me ‘release’ the frustration I feel, and I remind myself that they are my babies and they need their mama. This helps a lot. In the early days, I had to often pick which little one to leave to cry during moments of the day, because I only have 2 hands and physically can’t feed a baby, change a nappy & prevent the entire bottle of powder from being shaken all over the carpet. Also accept that there aren’t any more ‘lie ins’ in the morning, unless you wake up at 2am and then have a ‘lie in’ from then till 5am ;) I’ve found the mornings that I don’t get up earlier than my kids, and if they are the ones to wake me up from my sleep…then I am a far grumpier and irritable person than the days I wake up intentionally earlier. Even if it’s just 20 mins earlier to have a cup of tea and let my brain log on for the day.

Decide on your priorities as a Mum and also a person. I decided very early on what my priorities were when it came to my kids. For me, I want them to eat the best food (this means I have to prepare it), I like a clean & tidy house (this means I am always picking up after them even though I have an amazing full time helper…the house is big and two kids make double the work…and for me, I can’t relax or function if things are chaotic. So this is a choice I make, to run around like a madwomen because at least when and if I get that cup of tea, I can enjoy it in a tidy space). I also have to be able to do something for myself, and this is my business. This means I need my kids to be on a schedule that gives me pockets of time to focus on this (ie my kids need to be in bed by 6ish pm and they need to be staying there until at least 6am…#hellosleeptraining which has allowed this to be a reality). My choice to breastfeed as long as I have has also meant I wasn’t really able to be away from Aaron for a good long time. But it wasn’t for that long, and it feels like I’ve blinked and here we are.

It’s either a good morning or a good afternoon. This was a wonderful saying that my friend Sophie told me in the very few weeks. She said she would focus on either having a good morning or a good afternoon, because it very rarely was every a good ‘day’. But, this means if the morning has been a dog show, the afternoon can only get better!

Be intentional with your free moments. Use them to focus on the things that leave you feeling rested/recharged. If this is scrolling through Instagram, that’s fine! If this is taking a quick shower, do it! Find something that’s just for you at least once a day, and be selfish with that time. For me, its the hour or so over lunch when both kids are sleeping. I try not to organise anything over that time, I don’t see friends, I don’t go anywhere, because I need that time to mentally prepare for the rest of the day.

Love on your kids. Kiss them, hug them, hold them, even if you feel like you are about to explode with frustration. I’ve found nothing makes me feel happier than my kids giggling because of something I have done. So in those moments where I feel like I just can’t parent (and there are lots, #justbeingreal) I take a walk outside around the house (because 30 more seconds of crying/winging won’t make a difference), take some deep breaths, and then I grab one (or both!) of my kids for a tight hug, put on some crazy music and we dance. This solves most things. And if that doesn’t work, snacks generally do the trick (always have some biltong on hand for these moments!).

It’s okay to live your life according to a nap schedule. This doesn’t work for lots of moms, and obviously if you have to work during the week (I am going to be honest and say there are plenty of days I wish I had a day job that took me out the house) you probably don’t want to be tied down by naps on the weekend and are more likely to be okay with naps on the go. I’m not this kind of free spirit, and you know what, for this season of my life I am okay with this. I know it’s just a season, and even though I’d love to be less fixated on naps and just go out for the whole day with my kids, as they are both so small, we ALL function better and are happier when they’ve had a good nap.

Photo: Storm Storah Photography

There you have it, a mammoth post on my routine. What’s your routine like? I’d love to hear how you make things work for you and your family, especially if you work from home.

x

Nursery Tour - a tour of Aaron's modern celestial inspired nursery

Aaron is nearly a year old (whaaaaat?!) and I have been wanting to publish this post since he was a teeny tiny newborn, mostly so that I could capture his gorgeous bassinet (a very special family hand-me-down) but alas, 12 months have flown by and here we are. I will share a few older photos of the room in those early days & months, as a few things haven’t changed. The biggest change came when moving him from the bassinet into the cot, as that is where Everly was sleeping once we took the sides down and converted it into a toddler bed (click here to read a full post on making the transition from a cot to a toddler bed).

When Aaron was sleeping in the bassinet, I had a single sized bed in his room which worked really well as a guest bed (mostly used by my Gran when she came to visit) and it worked nicely as extra seating when people came over to visit. I’ve got some very special photos of my mom and Everly & Aaron in the first few weeks, and that bed was the perfect place to sit and drink tea.

Once Aaron moved into his cot, the bed was moved into Everly’s room and she moved from the toddler bed into the big bed. It was a great swop!

I spent, as I’m sure most pregnant ladies do, a fair amount of time on Pinterest trying to decide how I wanted to decorate Aaron’s room. I loved the idea of a space theme, but wasn’t very keen on the traditional rockets or planets, and then I stumbled across a beautiful lampshade that had the Ursa Major constellation , aka the famous polar bear and I fell in love. And so, I decided to follow a loose constellation theme for his room, with a lot of white, grey, blue and a touch of brown as those colours were brought in by most of the big furniture from Everly’s room.

When Aaron arrived early, just like his sister at 38 weeks, I didn’t have everything in it’s place and things stayed like that in those first few weeks. Once I took the pressure off myself, I was able to add little bits and pieces to really bring the whole look together…like the name plaque on his door.

I’ll link all the suppliers/brands at the end of this post to make it easy for you to look them up if you see something you like.

The details…

• Feeding chair: a large wingback bought second hand on Gumtree and recovered

• Custom quilt:a gift from Love DW (find them on Instagram by clicking here)

• Custom designed bedding (scatter pillows, changing mat cover & wall art prints) by Riley & Fox

• Nursery Thermometer Gro Clock: a gift from Tommee Tippee

• Cot: Cozi Stijl from CoziCot

• White Quartz Lamp: Crystal Geological at the Bryanston Organic Market in Joburg

• Personalised poster: designed by me, printed by Nifty250

• Sheep doorstop: Home Etc.

• Grey rug: Rugs Original

• White plastic laundry basket: Game

• Wooden frames: Mr Price Home

• Large blue satin pillow, blue candle & white clock: Mr Price Home

• Black & white high contrast change mat dangles: Little Me Decor

I’ve received so many questions from readers as to how I designed & printed the Nifty250 poster, which I’ll share in a blog post soon (hint…I used the Baby App & Canva to design all the graphics and then uploaded them in a specific order to Nifty250. It took a VERLY long time, but was very easy to do).

I hope you enjoyed this post! Look out for a proper tour of Everly’s Woodland themed nursery (I’m only about 2 and a half years late with that one haha) but writing this post has inspired me to go back through my photos and put hers together. In the mean time, click here for a post on her toddler room, and what it looks like now.

Click through below for more toddler blog posts:

Cloth Nappy 101 - The different types

Once you dive down the rabbit hole of cloth nappies, it can be so incredibly overwhelming to know where to even begin when it comes to what to buy first. I hope this post makes things a little clearer for you, and that you feel a little less overwhelmed. Please feel free to leave me a comment below with any questions you might have along the way, I could talk all things cloth for days!

Cloth Tip #1: Not all cloth nappies are created equal. There is a reason some are more expensive than others, and there is a reason why some brands are voted number 1 time and time again. I’m going to share my favourite brands and types of nappies in this post, but as always, bear in mind these are the nappies I’ve had first hand experience with and have used over the past 2.5 years with two kiddos.

Cloth Tip #2: the best way to start is just to start! It can be soooo daunting in the beginning, especially when it comes to putting that first nappy on, but just start! The worst that can happen is baby is comfy enough to leave you a lovely surprise in the nappy, and then you just whip it off and start again. And now you will have had experience with two nappies and suddenly it doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming.

Sizes

There are two ‘sizes’ of cloth nappies; newborn & OSFM (one size fits most).

Newborn Size:

Newborn size generally fits until about +-5kgs or around the 4/5month mark, all depending on the size and chunk of your baby. For flats, the newborn size is 50cm x 50cm.

OSFM (one size fits most)

This is the ‘regular’ size nappies, and unless stated, most people refer to this size when talking about nappies. Most babies fit into OSFM from around the 5 months mark, some sooner and some later, all depending on your baby’s body shape, chunkiness & weight. Most OSFM nappies will last until potty training, due to the snaps that can be ‘opened/closed’. Everly, who at 2 is currently potty training, wears OSFM nappies for nighttime & naps, and is still wearing the same nappies she wore at 6 months old. Aaron moved into OSFM from about 5 months. When babies move from baby to toddler, they generally slim down, and you might find you are tightening up your nappies again and that they can go on to fit much longer than you had thought they would. Here are some photos of Everly to show you how OSFM grows with your baby:

The same nappy at 8 months & 14 months:

The same nappy at 6 months & 25 months:

The different Types of cloth nappies

There are lots and lots of different types of nappies on the market today, and it is always suggested that you build of a stash of different ones to try before committing to one type or brand. This way you’re able to get a feel for them all, and you can get more of an idea of the types that you prefer, as well as what fits/works for baby. When I first started out, I bought a lot of my nappies pre-loved (second hand) from the South African Cloth Diaper Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group, and this way I was able to build my stash on a budget. I also bought some of my nappies in the UK & Canada when I had family who could bring them over to me.

There are SO many different brands out there, and to help you, I’ve linked my favourite ones below. My recommendations are purely from experience, and there are lots more great brands out there that I haven’t tried so do keep that in mind when you start your cloth nappy journey.

All-In-One (AIO):

The most expensive type of nappy, but also the most convenient & the most like a disposable with the ease of which they go on and off. They are ready to go on the bum straight from the washing machine & don’t need any fancy assembly. These are the easiest for first timers to use, and the ones that Dad’s/Grannies usually reach for first. If you don’t have a budget to consider, then AIO’s are the bomb! I found them to not be absorbent enough for my daughter until about a year, after which I would still boost with an extra padfolded small sized hemp flat. They are very trim, and great when out and about but they do take long to dry because all the parts are ‘sewn together’. I loved using AIO’s from about 15 months, and they became my most used after that. My favourite brands of AI'O’s are Biddykins, Smart Bottoms, Grovia & Thirsties. You can buy Grovia nappies here in SA through Biddykins & Little Sams.

Pocket:

A sleeve type nappy that you ‘stuff’ with different inserts (namely microfibre, hemp or bamboo) depending on much much/little absorbency you need. Come in a huge variety of prints & designs, they are quick drying (because the inserts and the cover are separate) are very affordable & you have control over the absorbency as you can add/remove inserts as you need.

Downside to them is it can be a pain to ‘stuff’ the nappies and they aren’t suited to night time (because you need A LOT of absorbency for nights). I love pockets for day time wear, and my daughter (2 years old & day time potty trained) uses these for her naps with a hemp & a bamboo insert as they are my most absorbent ‘day’ nappies). My favourite brand of pocket nappy is Biddyins.

Snap-In-One (SIO):

Basically an All-In-One nappy whose inserts ‘snap in/on’ as opposed to being sewn on. These have all the convenience of an AIO but they dry quicker because the inserts wash separately. My favourite SIO nappy is the Grovia O.N.E (which you can buy here in South Africa through Biddykins & Little Sams).

Another lovely local SA brand is KylieCo which makes GORGEOUS custom designed nappies, but they are on the pricier end at about R450 a nappy. Although they are beautiful (and their squishiness & prettyness justify their hefty price tags, I don’t find them to be as absorbent as my other nappies).

All-In-Two (AI2):

These are generally made up of a waterproof cover with inserts that lie/clip into the cover. In this way they are similar to SIO’s but their shell (the waterproof outside part) is able to be re-used in between nappy changes because you can simply give it a wipe unless it has been heavily soiled.

My favourite brand of AI2’s is Buttons Diapers (available here in SA through TinyHiney & Smitten Baby Boutique.

Fitted:

A full absorbent nappy that needs a waterproof cover. They come in different fabrics (usually bamboo cotton or hemp) and are an amazing night nappy. They do tend to be bulky (but this is the case with all night nappies) and are either snap-less (which means you need to use something like a snappy to close them) or they come with snaps/velcro for easy clipping open/closed. They take a while to dry, but are very absorbent. My favourite fitteds are:

-daytime: Pokkelokkie Dawnpatrol

- nighttime: Pokkelokkie Sleepy Dust & Sloomb

Hybrid Fitted:

Usually made by WAHM's (work at home moms) and they have a water-resistant layer (fleece) sewn in but do need a cover to be fully waterproof.

These are my least favourite nappies because both of my kids have been heavier wetters and so the beautiful prints that these nappies can come in are always going to have to be covered by a waterproof cover, and then I don’t see the point in having such a pretty nappy that you will never see. If you have a light wetter, you would get away with using these with no cover. In saying that these are my least favourite nappy, the fish print below has been one of my favourite nappy prints and has gone on both of my kids. I think there is a time and a place for hybrids, and as I mentioned, if you have a light wetter you could get away with not needing a cover.

I bought the nappy below preloved on the South African Cloth Diaper Buy/Sell/Trade group.

Flat:

These are the ‘old school’ nappies that our mums and Grans used to use (remember the ‘terry towel squares’?, but these days they come in lots of different fabrics. - The fabrics that are popular today are just trimmer than the old terry towelling nappies, and of course there are loads of different colours around nowadays. Flats are just that, a flat layer of fabric, cut into a square, that you fold and then secure with a snappy or a pin. They usually come in 3 sizes: newborn/small (50cmx50cm), medium (60cmx60cm) and then OSFM or large (70cmx70cm). I LOVE flats and have used them on both of my little ones from birth. They are the most versatile nappies for the newborn stage, and they make the best night nappies because they are trim, super absorbent and can be easily boosted. I use flats for both my kids at night, with a fleece cover for Aaron, and with a nice stretchy blueberry coverall cover for Everly.

My absolute favourite flats are Pokkelokkie hemp flats (the blue ones pictured below). I am STILL using Everly’s old newborn sized flats to boost her night & day nappies, and they are still going strong on Aaron.

Prefold:

These are similar to the flats as they are also square/rectangular, but they have an extra absorbent middle layer (basically the middle of it has already been boosted and sewn together) giving you more layers for absorption. They are fastened with a snappy/pin & need a cover. They can come with ‘wings’ cut out (making it much easier to fold onto baby, and I love using these on Everly at night and have done so since she was about 15 months old. These are easier for Dad to work with that a plain flat. My favourite prefolds are the winged help ones from Kanini (but mine are very well used as you can see from the pic below, and they have little holes from being fastened with a snappy).

I fold the bottom of the nappy up (pictured on the flat) to make it a bit smaller for Everly, and then padfold another small sized hemp flat in the middle before folding the sides over. I then put another small padfolded hemp flat between the nappy & the cover, and this is what I do for Everly for nights. It’s a very bulky nappy but works like a bomb for 12-13 hours of wear.

Well done if you go this far without feeling totally overwhelmed! As I mentioned in this post, it can seem very daunting but once you become familiar with all the different types, it all starts falling into place. The best advice I can give is to meet up with a cloth nappy mommy in your area who can show you the ropes and then you can see first hand how things work. It’s not as scary as it seems, and everyone who uses cloth nappies that I have come across is so happy to help you troubleshoot/share tips/troubleshoot/give advice.

Next I’ll do a blog post on the different types of inserts, which are the most absorbent, and my recommendations on which ones to use when. Stay tuned for that!

And, as always, leave me comment below if you’d like to as me anything cloth related.

Drakensberg Gardens resort - A fun filled family getaway destination

We were invited to stay at Drak Gardens (otherwise known as the Gooderson Drakensberg Gardens Golf & Spa Resort) a short time ago, and all of us can’t wait to go back there again soon. What a wonderful place to take the family, filled with every activity you can imagine, good food (they offer breakfast & dinner buffets) and loads and loads of open space for little ones to explore (and get well & truly worn out & ensure good sleep!).

We spent 2 nights in their family room, and what a treat that was. Hubby and I were blown away by the amount of space in their family rooms, as we were all gearing up to share one room. Sharing one room with a 2 year old and a 9 month isn’t really my idea of fun, but it can be done! But I was so excited to find out we could all have our own space for the weekend. Even though both kids were up at 5am each morning (I am very spoiled with their usual wakeup time of between 6:30 & 7am). This was easy to manage though, as the breakfast buffet opened at 6:30 and it was light at that time anyway, which meant it was easier to get out of bed and haul them both off for a nice walk before heading to the dining room for breakfast.

There was so much to do during the day…an animal area where Everly got to spend some time with the friendly goats, a very sweet & good natured pony that took little ones for a ride twice a day (for free!), and then the highlight for all of us…the swimming pools! As well as lots of slides (Everly is still a little small for them) the main attraction for all of us was the Cove…a heated swimming pool which felt like a bath, and it’s where we spent most of the day. Aaron LOVED the warm pool too, and had a ball splashing around while watching his sister and all the other kids play.

Saturday afternoon we all took a nice long walk to the Adventure Park (past the Putt-Putt…putting that on our list for when the kids are a bit older), past the Zipline & tree top adventure course (which looked AMAZING!!! Again, popping that on our list for when the kids are older) and to the climbing wall, jungle gym & bike zone. We finished off with a treetop stroll through the bird walk, and then headed back (chasing the thunder clouds!) to the heated pool for a last dip before supper & bed.

Both kiddos arrived happy & smiling (thank goodness for both of them napping in the car!) and off we went to check in and get a feel of the place. Our room took ages to be ready (they were doing some last minute renovations…while we were a little frustrated at first, once we saw the room and how much space we would have, we would have waited ALL day if we had to!). There was lots to see and explore while waiting, and all the staff we passed on our way were so friendly and welcoming.

The Family Room

What a lovely family room, perhaps the biggest we have stayed in before. It was basically two bedrooms (each with their own door /entrance to outside) separated by a little passageway with two adjoining bathrooms. One bathroom had a shower, and the other a bath, both had toilets.

The bigger bedroom had a double bed, as well as a fridge (super important for us as I had brought some food items that needed to be kept cold) and a kettle. This was a lifesaver for those early morning wakeups, ensuring Mommy & Daddy could at least get a well deserved cup of coffee at silly o’clock.

Things to do

At check-in, I was given a programme for the resort, which showed all sorts of activities for the whole family. I was most interested in the animal feeding zone and the pony rides, and I wished I had paid more attention to it (I forgot it in the car the whole of he first day!) and we missed out on face painting and rock painting on our last day…but, thankfully Everly was none the wiser.

Even without the scheduled activities, we were able to keep both kiddos happy and busy. And Mom and Dad were both able to have a few quiet seconds to jump in the pool once or twice (each!).

I was also SUPER impressed by the little shop, which was so well stocked! I know that the area is really popular for overnight hikes, and with the self catering accommodation options available at the resort, you really can find all the essentials for your stay.

Everly & Aaron had a ball, and we had such a special family holiday together, with lots of laughs (and only a few tears along the way). I didn’t get a chance to visit the Spa this time, so I’m adding that to my (every growing) list for next time!

Thank you so much to Gooderson Drakensberg Gardens Golf & Spa Resort for having us to stay. We all had a really lovely time, and will definitely be back again soon.

How to make your own Rainbow Rice - An easy & fun sensory Activity for Toddlers

If you’ve even just spent 1 minute on Pinterest and searched for toddler activities, sensory bins are just about the first things that pop up. Basically, a sensory bin is a container of sorts that you put different things into that stimulate your little ones senses. One that has always intrigued me, and one that I have been wanting to do myself for AGES is a Rainbow Rice sensory bin. I finally got around to doing this, and it’s one of Everly’s favourite things to play with. And the best part, she doesn’t need me to help with anything and so it encourages independent play (click here for a blog post on 5 more activities that encourage independent play).

I had to do a quick google as to why exactly sensory play is so important, and I’m sharing some info I found on the CreativePlayUk site:

1. Sensory play builds nerve connections within the developing brain’s neural pathways, which trigger a child’s inclination for and ability in competing more complex learning tasks

2. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction

3. Sensory play aids in developing and enhancing memory functioning

4. Sensory play is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child

5. Sensory play helps children learn vitally important sensory attributes (hot, cold, sticky, dry, etc)

This sensory bin will trigger your toddlers sense of touch (the rice), smell (if you choose to use essential oils), sight (the bright colours) & sound (the rice makes the most wonderful sound when poured) making this a wonderful activity for just about any toddler.

Now, a word of caution if you’re going to attempt making this WITH your toddler. There IS going to be mess (probably A LOT!), and there will probably also be tears. Take a deep breath, relax a little, and rather enjoy the process. And, in saying that, no judgement if you stop half way, put your toddler to bed for their nap, and use the quiet time to finish making the rice in peace and quiet!

Most of the instructions I found online talked about using Vinegar and food colouring, but I had these acrylic paints lying around and decided to give them a bash and they worked out soooo well. I also only used 1 plastic ziplock bag for all the colours, and I just washed it in-between uses so try and now mix the colours too much.

What you need:

• Rice (I bought the cheapest, biggest bag of rice I could find…buy as much rice as you’d like to fill your container)

• Airtight Plastic container (i.e. something with a lid). Looking back I wish I had bought a container that;s sides weren’t as high, because Everly can’t actually sit on the floor and reach inside it, she has to stand or sit on her knees…not a huge train-smash but it does mean she makes more mess…but this is probably just me and my OCD tendencies when it comes to cleaning up). In saying all of this, she actually likes to sit INSIDE the container too…so I’m glad I bought one as big as I did. But it does mean you need a lot of rice to make it worth the effort.

• Ziplock bag(s)

• Acrylic Paints (or food colouring, but I think gel food colouring would work the best if you go the food colouring route)

• Essential Oil (optional…but does give the rice a nice smell, especially as my paint smell was rather strong…make sure you choose something you actually like the smell of. I just used what I had in my cupboard and I am now 100% sick of smelling this blend… I would have preferred a lemon grass or lavender).

• A willing helper (OPTIONAL!!! haha)

There is no exact measurements for this…I started with a measuring cup, but it was too big for my little bag and ended up just making a mess. So in the end I just poured the rice directly from it’s bag into the ziplock bag. I needed an extra pair of hands for this though, and luckily had our Nanny nearby for this step.

Pour about 2-3 cups of rice into your ziplock bag, squirt in some paint (add white to your colours to change the shade a bit), add a few drops of essential oil if you’re using any and seal the bag.

Then squish the bag and the paint together until it’s all mixed in well.

Instead of using an oven to dry out the rice, I just put the different colours onto baking trays and left them outside for a couple of hours. I think the acrylic paint was the key to making sure the rice dried out really well without having to use an oven.

Then, get your toddler involved (if they haven’t already been a part of the process) to empty the trays into your container. I would suggest moving to the grass were cleanup won’t be as much of a worry. Although, I now put a big blanket under the box so that I can put all the rice back once she’s finished playing, otherwise there would be an awful lot of coloured rice all over my garden. And I’m pretty sure the paint would wash off the rice leaving pools of red and yellow all over the show. Not sure my grass would like that very much ;)

And then leave them to play and mix!

I change things up every now and again by adding plastic measuring cups and spoons (toddlers LOVE pouring activities), and then swop these out for plastic animals and other toys that she has fun burying and looking for. There really are so many different things you can do with the rice, and even I have spent my fair share of time pouring rice into and out of a cup…it’s soooo relaxing!

So there you go. And easy and fun way to keep your little one entertained. Please do let me know if you make this yourself, and post some photos (tag me in them over on Instagram!) I’d love to see your little one’s enjoying their own rainbow rice.