Wordless Wednesday #265 - Hiking

The Tooth Mouse came to fetch tooth number 8 while camping

She asked the teacher to pull tooth number 8. (We can't be trusted, it seems!)
She said the teacher just touched it, and it came loose.

So we went camping with the tooth, hoping that the Tooth Mouse would find it there.

Tooth number 8
Could not get the phone camera to focus on the teeth
Notice the cute bag the teacher uses for the teeth (the children choose the stickers)

The first night she put the teeth in a shoe next to her sleeping bag, and when she woke it, there was a R50 note with a letter from the Tooth Mouse. (It seems he was under the impression it is the last of the teeth she is going to loose, and gave a little bit more than the usual R10.)
There was also a R30 in one of the other tents of the friends we were camping with. He must have gotten lost at some point during the night while searching for her teeth...
Little Miss was very impressed, and was telling everybody at camp about her riches and the letter.
R80 ($6.756) is a bit steep, but it is all going into the "plane fund" (our upcoming overseas trip, as she calls it!).

A reminder to all parents: Google says they replace all of their 20 primary teeth with 28-32 permanent ones. This keeps going until they are about 13 years old.
How come I don't remember the bigger teeth coming out?

The next night she decided to sent a letter to the Tooth Mouse as well, and put some cheese on a plate with the letter (see first photo). It was of course all gone in the morning. She was a bit lot upset that he took the paper plate with him, and we had some convincing to do. (One of the many strange things she gets upset about...)

For now the Tooth Mouse is going strong in our house!

Related posts:

- Adventures with a Tooth Mouse

- Great excitement over a loose tooth!

A very long and a very short weekend: Camping at Mountain Sanctuary Park

The long weekend is done and dusted already. A weekend of three days is definitely not enough when going camping! 

We had a great time, as always! 

It is really such a schlep to pack your house, unpack it at the campsite, to pack and unpack in three days again. 

But spending time with the family and with friends are worth the effort! Hiking and getting back to nature is worth the effort! Evenings around the campfire are worth it! 

We camped at Mountain Sanctuary Park again. We love the big campsites, but not particularly the ablution facility. We are planning to phone regularly to enquire about the extra ablution blocks they are going to build. In the hope that they would start considering doing it...

But the hiking trails is what makes us going back and back!

Little Miss did 6 kilometers of hiking with us yesterday! She enjoyed it tremendously, and only complained to the end of the two hikes that she was getting tired. She picked up rocks, and we printed out a photo of her in front of the rocks which she is going to use at show-and-tell tomorrow! (Love it that she is as big as she is now, and enjoying it with us).

We did not get time to explore all the routes this time. The weekend was too short! 

We will be back!

What did you do on the weekend?

Related posts:

- Wordless Wednesday #108 - The Grotto at Mountain Sanctuary Park

- Xmas in the Bush

Wordless Wednesday #264 - Enough! #photos

Sensory issues

I love parenting in this Internet Age. When we have questions, we can ask Dear Old Google, and he always comes up with a great number of solutions or diagnose the "problem".

(But it can also lead to over-analysing and worrying! I know!)

I do think our Little Miss has some sensory issues. I have expressed my concerns before. She still get emotional melt-downs or tantrums. 

I have even taken it up in an email with the OT, but she just said it is very difficult to distinguish between auditory sensitivity and just being emotional. She assured me that hearing sensitivity is a real thing that many people are struggling with and that there is much that one can do about it. The auditory nerve has a very strong connection with the limbic system (emotional brain) which makes it sometimes difficult to distinguish whether a child is sensitive about the emotional and whether they are emotional about the sensitivity to sounds. She said that it is important to address the core of the problem! Totally agree, but now how do I get to the core?

I have observed that we are always in a tap-dance with regards clothes and how it feels/bothers her! There is always something about being hungry/not hungry, thirsty, hot/cold, noise around her! She really keeps us on our toes! I also try to sort out the clothes and issues as much as possible, because I know that it can put a severe damper on her going forward and doing something constructive. I imagine myself at school with clothes that bothers me (for example) and then I can't hear what the teacher says... 

It feels to me as if it is getting worse, or maybe it is just because she is able to express herself better! 

I can now understand why she used to not sleep so much when she was little. There must have been something bothering her. I am sooooo glad that I did not let her cry, and I am sooooo glad about the extended breastfeeding. Something that we did do that we do not have to beat ourselves up about! 

On a positive note: Little Miss got a great report card, and we are seeing her teacher for five minutes tonight! I will ask for some feedback from her. I was reluctant to raise a flag from the beginning of the year, and did not say anything to the teacher about her being young for her age group... 

This parenting thing is not for sissies! 

You cannot say because you have successfully raised one human being you have got it figured for the rest! They are all their own persons with their own "manuals", writing them as we go along!

I am writing this down for you, Little Miss! (Six years and four months today!)

We are trying to understand you! 

(I hope you won't be an angry person for life!)

Disney Africa launched two new websites for parents and children

As a parent I am always keen to explore websites with information about parenting and everything to do with our children. It is even nicer when my child can explore with me through games and activities.

Disney Africa in collaboration with Discovery Vitaly launched two new websites in April:
Disney Baby Africa and Disney Healthy Living

baby.disneyafrica.com
"Creating magical moments from the beginning"

Disney Baby Africa is a great website for expecting and new parents with information and resources for the early years of raising their children. There are sections for "Getting Ready", "Dressing", "On-the-go", "Playtime", "Nursery" and "Milestones". The website also links up to Disney videos, games and activities for children.

[We just could not get the videos playing of the mini adventures with Winnie the Pooh and friends on the main page, not on my iPad and not on my PC. (?)]

http://www.disneyhealthyliving.co.za/
"Celebrating healthy and happy families"

Disney Healthy Living is an engaging website helping families to live more healthy with healthy eating habits and physical activity. There is a Did you know? section which covers the body, food and getting active. There is a Create and Play section, as well as a Recipe  section with healthy, easy and fun food suggestions. Perfect for the fussy eaters!

There's a couple of recipes I am definitely going to try, such as the sandwich sushi.
How ingenious is this?

Sandwich sushi

Both websites are worth checking out!

The final word from Christine Service, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Africa:

“One of Disney’s unique qualities is the strength of its emotional connection with families. This stems from the shared Disney experiences families have from their own childhood through to connecting with the characters and stories as adults and parents,” says  “The Disney Healthy Living and Disney Baby Africa websites celebrate, support and even inspire new magical family moments. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Discovery Vitality in bringing these online destinations to South Africa.”

Disclaimer: I received the following package from Disney Africa, which includes a Consol water bottle, a Discovery Vitality cellphone arm holder, a Naartjie bib and lovely baby socks. (Luckily I now have someone at work who had a baby recently who I can pass it onto)

Disney Africa launches Disney Baby Africa http://t.co/SqS9bAajGG AND Disney Healthy Living http://t.co/TegLwDtEKv pic.twitter.com/x5milG3z2v
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) April 15, 2015

Featured blog: Chasing Dreams

I am taking part in the South African Mom Blogs who features a new blog each month.

Let me introduce Fazila Cariem of Chasing Dreams. Fazila is a first time mom , who is currently on maternity leave. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant, however her true passion lies in health and fitness and her site is aimed at assisting working moms with tips on getting fit, running and planning healthy meals for families . She is currently studying towards becoming a qualified gym instructor so her tips and hints are quite informed!

I am very impressed by the fact that she recently ran the Old Mutual Two Oceans Half Marathon, while her baby is only 6 months old. Respect!
She also has a post up about a roadtrip holiday ... with a six month old baby without a husband.

She can also be found here: Instagram and Facebook

Happy 30th birthday, Philips Avent! #tinythings

We were invited to the Philip Avent 30th birthday celebration at the lovely Il Giardino at 44 on Stanley on Saturday. I took Little Miss and The Student along.

I have a small anecdote to tell about Philips Avent. 21 years back when my eldest had to go on the bottle, we did not know anything about BPA-free bottles, and I bought the cheapest on the shelve.
The second time around, 15 years later (6 years ago), I knew something about bottles that should be BPA-free. I also wanted to try harder at the breastfeeding thing, and searched for breast pumps. I found the whole set of Philips Avent breast pump and bottles on the shelve at the nearest Dischem, which was also the most cost-effective. It could also claim it back from my medical aid, which really helped! We used them exclusively for the duration of her bottle drinking while she was at day care. I also carried the breast pump to work with me, and expressed twice until she was nine months old.

The following is a quote by Philips Avent:

"We believe that the smallest things can make the biggest difference. A picture capturing your child’s firsts can cement a lifetime of beautiful memories that you will always hold dear.
Having shared three decades of memoirs with moms and their precious babies, Philips AVENT is celebrating its 30th Birthday this April."

Il Giardino venue

Yummy food!

Philips Avent Baby of the Year Bokamosa Moloi with family

Little Miss had a great time with cupcake decorating, colouring, face-painting and making hand-prints.

Disclaimer: I was not asked to write anything. 

We got our hand prints in a frame and a photo-mobile, and of course the lovely breakfast and entertainment!

Wordless Wednesday #264 - Dancing

Is the Easter Bunny and Father Christmas for real?

We had to dodge a number of questions this weekend:

 - Is Father Christmas for real when the parents buy the presents?
- The Easter Bunny got the chocolates from the shop? How is that possible?
- The Easter Bunny left the same chocolates that we have been eating this week?

 I don't know for how long we will still be able to dodge these...

At what age did your little ones figured it out?
It is kinda sad that we are nearing the end of the childhood fantasies!

Wordless Wednesday #263 - Butterfly faces #selfies