All about our trip to Knysna

If you don’t follow me on social media (and really, you should), you might not realize just how much fun I had last week. Dean, Harley and I went with Dean’s friend Kris from Iceland down to Knysna. I had been promised that Knysna was beautiful, that it was a land of whales, oysters and wine. I’ve been wanting to go there for years, but the timing never seemed to work. Until last week, when we all piled into our little car and made the trip down. Yes, that’s right, we did it as a road trip, making plenty of stops along the way.

I tried to do a bit of an update while I was away. In fact, I had planned on blogging while I was gone. But it just wasn’t really doable from my iPad, so I instead decided to enjoy my time away and worry about putting it all into words when I returned. So, here are all the words. Continue Reading

8 Comments Rambling, South Africa

I am not made for co-sleeping

If you talk to anyone who has made a person, they will tell you something about co-sleeping. It’s honestly a lovely idea – babies aren’t used to being alone seeing as they were with us all through pregnancy, so they actually prefer to be with us all the time, including during sleep. Many parents around the world share their beds with their little ones. The concept of the family bed is pretty much as old as humanity, and it’s meant to be way more convenient for midnight feeds, and help everyone get a better night’s sleep. But not me.

I knew I wasn’t cut out for co-sleeping even before Harley arrived. I’ve never been able to sleep well next to other people. I can count on one hand the number of people I can share my bed with and still actually sleep. In fact, it’s a way that I gauge comfort with someone – if I can sleep properly next to you, we must be pretty damn compatible. When I slept soundly next to Dean, it was part of how I knew we were pretty awesome together, plus I wanted to keep our bed as a place where it’s just the two of us and not a baby-oriented area. And while I adore Harley with a type of love I’ve never really known before, she simply isn’t my best sleeping companion. But that could also be because I keep worrying about killing her, something I rarely fear with anyone else I’ve ever slept with. Continue Reading

16 Comments Marriage, Parenting

A family holiday

I am currently on holiday. That’s right, as I type this on my iPad, we are driving down the N1, heading to Knysna. By the time you read this, we will there and I will hopefully be on my way towards an oyster overload.

Early on after moving to South Africa, I was told that I’d have to visit Knysna. I was promised whales and oysters ( one to see and one to eat), and I was pretty much sold. But Dean and I often get so caught up in life that we don’t book these things. Thankfully, his friend Kris arrived from Iceland and gave us the best excuse. Continue Reading

2 Comments South Africa

Becoming a mom changed my view of my mom

mom

When people ask, I say that my mom and I have always been close. It’s funny, though, when she and my father were going through their awful, drawn out divorce, we had tearful conversations about how hadn’t felt close when I was growing up. But then we went back and read our diaries and found at the time, we actually had always felt close – both writing about going for coffee together, visiting museums, and all our funny jokes that just we shared. Obviously, we had the usual dramas and tears that adolescence brought; at one point I even shouted “you don’t know me and I don’t know you” during a fight, only to laugh about it a couple hours later.

As I’ve grown into adulthood, we’ve stayed close. At some points growing closer together and at others further apart. But we always spoke, we always shared pretty much everything, and we have always based everything on the foundation of loving each other no matter what. Even when we disagree, we can usually at least see where the other person is coming from. We get each other in a profound way, and our relationship has been such a solid part of my life. And having Harley made things even more meaningful for me. Continue Reading

2 Comments Parenting, Rambling

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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