Browsing Category: Featured

Peace of mind is my biggest privilege

February 10, 2017 Zoe

White privilege is a very touchy subject. Probably that first sentence already turned many of you off of reading the rest of this blog post. This isn’t a blog post to make people feel bad about being white, or the privileges that go along with it. This isn’t a blog post to try and pretend that white people don’t have problems or struggles. Instead, it’s a realization I’ve had over the past few days just how privileged I am – in part because of my race, but also because of other factors as well. And thanks to that privilege, I have peace of mind where others don’t.

But, let’s start with my lack of peace of mind. I am sort of terrified about moving at the moment. Not the actual act of moving, although that’s also so daunting that I choose not to think about it most of the time. No, I’m talking about what happens once we get to America. What if we don’t get the amazing jobs we’re imagining? What if the political leadership ends up causing economic disaster or even another world war? We live in a very nice bubble here in South Africa – what if by moving we actually make things worse for our family instead of better? But in the past couple days my perspective has shifted again. Continue Reading

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Comment South Africa, USA

Ubuntu Baba review – falling in love with toddler wearing

February 6, 2017 Zoe

When Harley was a tiny little thing, I had a ring sling that was fantastic. I could pop Harley in and she would sleep while I had two hands free to do whatever else needed doing. I loved baby wearing at that stage, but the sling itself wasn’t exactly the best design – it put most of the strain on my one shoulder and if she moved around too much, she would basically squirm out of the thing. Once she crossed the five kgs mark, I simply couldn’t use it anymore.

Things were still okay – her car seat would clip into the pram, so I could usually knock her out with a drive and then shop with a sleeping baby in the pram. But once she graduated to a bigger seat, the pram became a bit of a waste; she didn’t want to sit in her pram, she wanted me to carry her on my hip. I was getting really bad carpal tunnel and body aches as a result, which is why I decided to jump back into the world of babywearing with the Ubuntu Baba, and I have never been so happy with a purchase. Continue Reading

6 Comments Health, Parenting, Products, South Africa

Baby Carrier Baby wearing Ubuntu Baba

What I learned from a month of daily yoga

February 1, 2017 Zoe

There are two people I need to thank at the very start of this post. The first, is the incredible Cassey Toi. She invited me to a yoga challenge at the end of last year, a month of daily yoga for January of 2017. I was honestly skeptical – I’ve never been able to stick with yoga, it has never gelled for me, and I didn’t know if I would like the woman making this series of videos. But I said yes, and I feel like my life is forever changed as a result. So first things first, hugest of thanks to Cassey for inviting me to join the #YogaRevolution – I never would have done it without you.

The second person I need to thank doesn’t know me and will probably never read this blog. But Adrienne’s series, Yoga Revolution, has helped to reshape my body and mind. Her emails were warm and inviting, filled with the deepest insights paired with the worst musical theater jokes. Her videos were the same, and exactly what I needed for each day of the journey. I have learned so much by doing yoga every day, and it’s a daily practice that I plan to continue for the foreseeable future. But why am I so grateful to these ladies? Well, my body and mind have changed so much in the past month, and it’s mainly thanks to the things I’ve learned with yoga. Here are just some of those things. Continue Reading

5 Comments Fitness, Health

2017 Goals Health Yoga

Reactions to starting nursery school/creche

January 31, 2017 Zoe

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in the last week or so. I’m sorry for my absence – I really have wanted to write but a number of things have conspired against me. My day job was absurdly busy, I had a day with power issues that led to internet issues, and I was so tired in the evenings that I actually just wanted to zone out while bingeing on something on Netflix. However, the biggest reason is because I wanted to write about Harley starting at her play school/nursery school/creche, but my feelings about it hadn’t quite settled into a form I could write about it. Now, they have, and i think it’s important to write about the various emotions that come from starting nursery school.

First up, I knew that I was sending Harley to a good place. Like, I really really knew it. I didn’t have reservations about the school – I had asked all my questions, and popped in for visits at random times of day, and I was impressed by the answers as well as by what I saw first hand. While that made things easier, that didn’t make things easy. Continue Reading

10 Comments Parenting, Rambling

education Play School

Thoughts on a year of breastfeeding

January 24, 2017 Zoe

Today is Harley’s original due date. It’s also a special kind of anniversary, the anniversary of when she finally started latching and stopped needing to be bottle fed expressed milk. So, while I was like a cow before this date, today marks a year with Harley on the boob, a year of breastfeeding. It’s been such a journey so far, and I have so many feelings about it all. While most of them are good, there is some negative stuff mixed in, too.

All the research says that breast is best. Before even talking about the emotional stuff, simply said breast milk is the best for a baby. It’s got all the nutrients she needs, lets her try all sorts of new flavors depending on what I eat, and helps with immunity and allergies. Plus, it’s free. I had no doubt that I wanted to nurse Harley, no doubt that she would be on the boob for a while. But how long did I think I would nurse? Probably about a year. Now that she’s a year on the boob and almost 14 months old, I’m reassessing the age, but not as much as I would have thought a few months ago. Continue Reading

5 Comments Breast feeding, Parenting