Tag Archives: South Africa

Where in the world is safe and normal?

the world

I have lived in a few wonderful places. I grew up in New York and loved it. Then we moved to The Hague and it was fantastic for me while in high school. Then I moved back to the States and tried living in LA, which wasn’t really a fit for me at that point in my life (being under 21 and without a car, I felt so restricted after the freedom of Holland). Then it was back to the Netherlands to study in Maastricht, which was a wonderful student town. Then Joburg, which has its flaws but has been a fun  and wonderful place for me and Dean to start our lives together. But now South Africa is changing, and I’m not sure about the rest of the world, too.

I don’t like to talk politics here on the blog. It’s supposed to be about my thoughts about my family, my life, and all things geeky parenting. But I can’t help but think about how politics are impacting on those very things. Thanks to poor political management, the Rand has gotten so weak that buying games and books and whatever else has gone from a monthly norm to an expensive extra. And as we start to talk about emigrating and making a better life elsewhere, I have to consider the potential risks associated with any move. Continue Reading

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Here’s my list of questions for picking out a nursery school

questions for picking out a nursery school

I mentioned yesterday that I plan to put Harley into nursery/playschool/creche from next year. I really think it’s the best thing for all of us; it will be nice for me to have time to get things done in the morning without her, she can have awesome stimulation and socializing time, and we can both have even more fun when we are together. Plus, I think I’ll be less stressed and chaotic and more able to be present with her, with Dean and with work stuff. So yeah, win-win situation. Of course, I need to find the right school, which means asking the right questions for picking out a nursery school when I go and visit.

There are a few things that I know are different for me than some people, so this list might not be ideal for you but can at least give you a jumping off point. See, at this age, I don’t want any focus on “academics”. This is the time in her life when she is just supposed to play, not be made to sit down and actively learn. She will already be learning so much by playing, exploring new environments and interacting with different people. I also don’t want her exposed to religious education – theological education is fine, so if they celebrate all the holidays or all religions, I don’t mind, but it mustn’t be a religious school in the sense of teaching just one. Anyway, here are some of my questions for picking out a nursery school: Continue Reading

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Finally, Harley has a country

Finally a South African birth certificate

Since Harley was born, I have had a continual stress – she didn’t have a birth certificate. It was a real nightmare, and a bunch of you were awesome and helpful, tweeting at Home Affairs in the hopes of helping us out. It just kept dragging on, and I was getting worried that it might never get resolved. After the ladies in the hospital refused to help us, we escalated and moaned and tried all sorts of solutions. Home Affairs had a rule that the ladies in the hospital had to be the ones to help us, and with their refusal it was becoming an impossible situation.

After getting some help from the twitter manager for Home Affairs, and getting referred to a variety of managers, I got some advice that was similar to other advice I’ve gotten in different situations. Just go to Home Affairs and try to register. If they refuse, go back a different day and try with a different person. Just like when dealing with other service providers, it seems that some things are always possible depending on your interpretation of the rules, so you just need someone with an interpretation that works for you to help. Plus, my crazy American ability to speak to people in charge certainly helps. Continue Reading

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This is your Volvo Britax Max-Way car seat winner!

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed the Volvo Britax Max-Way car seat, and I  had one to give away to a lucky winner. I actually felt bad about the competition – when your comments started pouring in telling me about your little ones, I wanted each and every one of you to win. I really wish we had many more for you to win, but there are giveaways currently running, so if you didn’t win, please head over to the #CarseatFullstop campaign page and check out the other giveaways and info. You might save a life by sharing, and you might win a car seat by getting involved.

Meanwhile, a quick funny story before I tell you who won. Thanks so the drama that is our life, Dean and I thought that we were going to be changing vehicles recently, so we took the Volvo car seat out of our car. The next morning, due to the complexity of installing the thing, we decided to throw Harley’s infant seat back in the car instead. She is still within the weight limit for it, and she always loved it so we figured it wouldn’t be an issue. She now is one of those crying in the car babies, which she’s never been. I guess once she traveled in First Class, she didn’t want to go back to Economy. Continue Reading

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Volvo Britax Max-Way car seat review and GIVEAWAY [Giveaway now closed]

I have already told you how important it is for kids under four to face backwards. It’s one of the big things I learned since joining the #CarseatFullstop campaign. Carseats were always important to me – it was a no brainer that Harley had to be in a car seat from the moment we brought her home from the hospital. But as she has gotten older, I’ve wondered which seat would be best when she outgrew her awesome chair. Once I learned that she needed to keep facing the back of the car, I wondered which model would be best. Well, I didn’t need to wonder much longer – Volvo were kind enough to send me one of their toddler seats for review.

They weren’t just kind to me, though. One lucky reader will be able to win a Volvo seat of their own. And it doesn’t have to be a toddler seat, either. Read my review, enter to win at the end and you could win a car seat for your infant, toddler (up to 25kgs) or a booster seat for your not-quite-adult-sized kid. But why should you be excited? Well, this is a top-of-the-range seat! Continue Reading

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