I Painted a Pebble and I Liked It

I did, rather a lot actually. So here's a short and lighthearted (non-political, easy reading) post about my new found love of painting stones. I'm guessing some of you may have heard of the painting and hiding pebbles thing huh? I'm not exactly sure if it's popular further afield but certainly here in the U.K. it's become so in many parts of the country.

How Did We End Up Here?

Would help I guess if you knew where 'here' was huh, not least find out why I'm so surprised at where we are and how we managed to arrive? 

Just read that back and managed to confuse myself; let's start again shall we.

For those who may not know, or those who've forgotten during the massive break I took from blogging, my family is Hubs, myself and our two boys now 12 and 9.

A half South African and half English family, we moved to the U.K. in 2015 for lots of reasons but our plan was to start our second business, having sold our playground business in Johannesburg, and we got the boys in school and set about making our plans a reality.

Best laid plans and all that so now we fast forward to just a few months ago and Hubs and I are at our wits end.

Guess Who's Back

Well I'll be. Not sure what I'll be, not a monkey's uncle that's for sure albeit the correct idiom to express my shock and surprise at the fact that ... I am blogging again! 

Bit like riding a bike, I'll wobble and bump my way back in - bear with me as I find my voice. Possibly a new one hey, as we have all grown and changed since I was last here. So much so, I find some of my earlier posts make me cringe! Although I do manage to resist the urge to edit them.

Positive Parenting: Saying Yes!

Since having my two boys, I have found myself becoming an advocate (in my own home and Social Media pages at least) of 'Positive Parenting'. Being that style of parenting that tries to focus on gentle guidance rather than punishment and critique.

Easy it certainly is not, but then no parenting - whatever your style, is. I've decided that my blog is another place, aside from my own home, that I can increase my advocacy so here's a light little starter post.

Falling in Love Again: Happy Valentines

I’ve just fallen in love. Really hard and so deeply and truly, it takes my breath away.

Settling In

Howzit all! (Like I have so many readers ...).

Another quick post done on my phone, to let you know that we are settling in nicely in the U.K. Actually been here one month today, which has flown by.

Yes, it's a bit colder than Africa but you know what? We've had blue sky and sun for over a week now so I have high hopes for Summer. Even unpacked my flip-flops, oh yes.

Spring is Coming!

My favourite time of year, my favourite time of year … doo doo doo, tra la la, Spring is coming guys.

WARNING: Fully expect now a cheesy post about Spring. Those of you about to enter Autumn, I apologise in advance because ... SPRING IS COMING!!!

The coming of Spring in South Africa is so frikkin tangible, I can feel it with all of my senses. And today is September the 1st, considered here the first day of Spring.

Winter is dry, dry, dry. Everywhere you look outside, you can see

yellow and brown. Even the trees with some green left on them have a yellowed tinge to them and the ground is dusty and cracking.

Dear Readers (dramatic pause) I AM BACK!

Hello! *waves frantically* Anyone there? Gee, there's cobwebs everywhere and look at the dust...

Not as Excited as Me. *

I've been without a computer (other than my teeny, but awesome phone) since February and you won't believe how excited I am to be sitting in front of my (secondhand) new one now, typing with all of my fingers on an actual real keyboard!! Which makes me sound a bit archaic, I know - I should be blogging from my tab, no? But then I don't have one of those either so you can see why ANYTHING other than typing with my thumbs while squinting at a teeny tiny screen would be welcome.

Who knew I would miss the blogging world so much? Oh ... okay, I knew. Anyone that knows me could have figured it out too but yoh, it feels good to be back!

And after months away, you'd think I'd be bursting with post ideas, have notebooks full of notes and drafts huh? But it surprised me how much it effected me, knowing that I couldn't actually POST anything. I stopped wanting to write anything, went into a writing lull if you will. In fact, when I first sat down this morning I couldn't think what to say at all!

Ta-ta, Tata Mandela

('Ta-ta' in some dialects of English is an informal and friendly 'Goodbye'. 'Tata' is the isiXhosa word for 'Father')

You've heard, right?

One of my heroes passed away just recently. He was, of course, many MANY people's hero so at least I need never feel alone in my sadness.

South Africa, for the last week or so has been an understandably emotional place to be. There's been moments of great celebration and moments of great sadness. And the warmth and love of all the other people around the world who are sharing South Africa's sense of loss is tangible and comforting.

And for the most part, South Africans are united in their sadness at Madibas passing and keen to continue in his stead and with his example as their guide. The Head of opposition party the Democratic Alliance put it so simply:

“He has handed the baton to us and we dare not drop it" 

Time to Leave South Africa?: For This Family, The Answer's a Mixed YES!!

I am guessing this will come as much as a shock to you *taps glass* lovely peeps out there as it did to the family and friends back home but .. have you heard? We're moving back to the UK at the end of January!!

I know man :)

Er ... yeah, we'll be on a plane but go with me.

It wasn't quite as shocking to us (obviously). We had in fact discussed the very same plan for many months, even off and on throughout our years out here but it's not the kind of discussion we felt we could share with the folks back home. My darling Mum would have heard, and got excited about, the possibility of us coming back many, many times over the last six years. So we felt it best to say nothing until a definite plan had been made.

Which it now has. Woo hoo!

We're Having a Smashing Time

That's a terrible pun, that title. Which you'll realise fully if you read on.

This is one of those 'OMG you won't believe what happened to us!' type posts. Although to be fair, it happened to Hubs and he gave me his blessing to make a post of it. "It would make a good post" says he.

It also fits perfectly with a want I had to try out my newly downloaded Blogger App. I often have better internet on my phone, so if I can master and make use of this app, we might just have a more frequent blogger here. Hooray!

Photo Diary Time: Where TF Have I been??!!

You know that feeling you get when you turn up late? And possibly last to arrive also, to something really important that you really should have been on time for?

That's how I feel now, as I sit down (at friggin' last) to write this post.

I mean, seriously, where TF have I been?

I'm not going to say simply 'busy' or 'out of internet scope' (as we are in our new home, apparently) but both have been factors to my absence. Still, I feel bad. My last post was at the end of January FFS so I'm going to try and catch you up quick with what I've been up to before getting myself settled down to some nice juicy blog post writing and reading *sips tea, stretches fingers like a pianist*

The quickest way I can think of to catch you up, is a PHOTO DIARY POST YAYYY! No? Just me then.

Back to School: Ready or Not

Don't tell anyone, but speaking as a Mum of young boys, I'm not quite ready for 'Back to School'.

Anyone else with me? No? All you Mums out there over excited at the thought of getting your days back? Eagerly pushing your little bearers of over laden back-packs out the door? Uhuh.

I've packed their bags. Written their names on the labels of their new clothes and rinsed out their drinking bottles, which have been lingering in the back of a kitchen cupboard all Summer.

Our boys Pre school opens on Wednesday and it's my youngest boy Nate's first day. I am thus far definitely finding it harder than him. In fact, harder than when his older brother Tallen started and much harder than I thought it would be also.

Christmas: Time for a Reshuffle. And Some Silly Pics

First things first. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Sorry, it's gone 10 p.m. here on Boxing Day night so I'm a leeetle late with my Christmas post. How was yours?

I do hope filled with fun and overeating and joy and peace and all that.

I was woken up at just after 5 a.m. on the day and one of the first thoughts that occurred to me, after I'd told Tallen with croaky morning voice and through half-open eyes how AWESOME I thought his stocking presents were, was "Hooray, I can start me a blog post before everyone else wakes up" That's okay, right?

I've been remiss of late. My posts have got fewer and fewer each month, the content has been (in my opinion) weaker and it's showing, in my mind, on my blog that I'm just too FREAKIN' BUSY HALF ALL THE TIME!!

Just the fact that that is as far as I got with this post yesterday, which I now continue on Boxing Day evening, pees me right off.

I don't like it, and I hereby declare/promise/swear on my life that things are going to be better in 2013. I shall focus. And I shall write more.

In my feeble attempt at a belated Christmas present to you all, here's a round up of news followed by some funny and cool Christmas pics. I know, I know. It's been done before on a Christmas post ...

Being a Parent is Tough: But Today I'm Having Fun!

** SPECIAL NOTE: I wrote this post months ago, wanted to post it over the weekend and then the completely mind numbingly atrocious shootings in Connecticut happened and like a lot of us, I didn't feel like being online or posting (or tweeting) much.

Today feels right, and with much love to all who were affected I give you:

Being a Parent is Tough, But Today I'm having Fun!

Photo Diary Time: Rhinos and Mini Gardens

I'm in a weird mood tonight - you ever get that? Something hormonal no doubt, makes me feel that for inexplicable reasons, I probably shouldn't operate heavy machinery, drive or make big, life altering decisions. In fact, any decisions.

Good time for a Photo post methinks!

So here it is, the pic-laden post that I promised and one I feel I owe to my blog as I haven't uploaded any photos from my camera or phone in ... ooo, months now.

Want to see *blink blink* with your EYES what we've been up to lately? ...

Huge Jungle Gyms: New House: Random Blah, Blah

Honestly? I'm sat here at 7:15 a.m. on a Sunday morning, partially distracted by the fact that I currently share the computer screen. I have the bottom half for writing and my freshly awakened boys, Tallen and Nate, have the top of the screen for viewing 'Ice Age 3'.

Hubby's having a much deserved lie in, everybody's happy. And you'll note I make sure to include myself in that happiness, oh yeah.

Point being, I sit here keen and eager like a beaver to write a post, the computer's just returned home after nearly three weeks away so you can imagine my excitement BUT just like a kid who's running off to play in the garden without suncreen or shoes on .... I'm underprepared.

As has more recently been the case with me, I sit here with no idea what I'm writing a post about. My High School English Teacher would be tutting at me.

WTF expect a random post then, let us just enjoy the fact that a NEW post is up! Ha Ha! Go on, laugh with me. Let's just wing it. It'll be fun.

Moving House is Stressful? Nah, Not The Weezafish Way!

I should have a Sub Heading "and Other Goings On" or something, this post is about all sorts really. 

It's all go in our lives, as mentioned in a previous post, two Birthdays and fifty cupcakes are just out of the way.
 

Well, we did find a tupperware with six cupcakes in it in the car on Sunday, one box that obviously didn't make it to school on Friday. There's still a few scraps of Toy Story wrapping paper lying around the place too and I think I saw a Birthday cake candle in the cats bowl just now.

But as we catch our breath, we're onto the next. Our lives are very busy and full right now and for a change we're loving all we're doing so we don't actually mind being busy at all! How cool crazy looney tunes is that?

Cats and Dogs and Hair EVERYWHERE!

At the risk of doing a bit of a boring post about pets, I'm going to do exactly that!

I hereby promise that my next post will be cool and edgy. And not about pets.

Remember the two cats we stumbled across in our back garden rescued, Black and Jetta? Now fully grown big boy cats both doing well and both very much at home with us now.

Jetta and his new 'brother'.

They also have a friend. We haven’t named him yet because we didn’t officially adopt him. He just joins them at every meal and eats whatever they leave him after they’ve done. Which wasn’t much, so we got him his own bowl … and suddenly we have three cats!

It seems a bit odd to us that there would be so many cats in need of a home and a good feeding in our area, we're wondering if this new cat is in fact a brother, from the original litter we rescued. His colouring's different to Black and Jettas, but very similar to their Mums.

And me not really a cat person. How did I end up with a 7kg bag of ‘Catmor’ in my kitchen cupboard FFS?!

Back to Normal & Bye Bye Aunty Laura

Whatever the heck normal is, I think I may have forgotten.

Just after my sisters visit, like literally the morning after she departed, I was struck down with a very nasty Stomach Flu.

I ached from head to toe, my sinuses blocked so severly my head pounded all day and all night and for six or seven days I couldn't eat, move without hurting or do much of anything at all really.

I am better. Far from recovered as yet, but better.

I'm left with a nasty cough, very tense and sore stomach muscles (all that coughing) and I haven't got my appetite back yet. Which, for anyone who knows me and my love of food, is totally out of character. I'm having to tell myself every day to eat.

Oh, and the strong sinus meds I'm taking kind of ... well, trip me out!

It could be fun, Hubby says I should enjoy the trips, and they are kind of fun. I feel spaced out and a little fuzzy, prone to giggles and unnecessary grinning.

Hard to work though, I'm a bit worried I may do something silly in my 'airy fairy' head.

I decided to post instead, a wacky little post I can look back on later and laugh at! Good idea? Maybe not, but here goes anyway ....