How to make every moment count as a working mother - 5 tips

Being a working mother and juggling the rat race of city life are difficult, and I don't think we can have it all!
I am giving myself some grace as I am getting older and "wiser" (sic! Laughing at myself here!)
I try my best to make the moments count, and I do not beat myself up when I "fail"! I try harder the next time!

But there are definitely some ideas to consider to make moments count! Janice Windt, the managing director of The Working Mothers Expo, suggests 5 ways to make every moment count as a working mother.

1) Prioritise.  
What is most important to you? Do more of that and less of everything else...

2) Clear your diary. 
Just say no. Be on time for the kids. (It definitely goes with priorities and making your children the number 1 priority!)

3) Pause to breathe. 
Do the things that makes you happy, like reading, long baths or time-outs! Whatever!

4) Sing. 
The advice is to sing, even though you are not very good at it! My Little Miss does not appreciate my singing at all, and usually asks me to stop. But maybe it will work for you? ;-)

5) Sign up for the Working Mothers Expo VIP Waiting List and book your diaries for the  Working Mothers Expo, brought to you in partnership with MiWay Life, bringing together everything a working mother needs under one roof at the Sandton Convention Centre.


How do you make the moments count as a working mother?





Read more on this article: 5 Ways to make every moment count as a working mother

The Working Mothers Expo, brought to you in partnership with MiWay Life, brings together everything a working mother needs under one roof on 4-6 November at the Sandton Convention Centre.  Take a step back from your hectic schedule, make some time to reflect, hear an inspiring speaker, indulge in some retail therapy and connect with other working mothers. We would like to create some dedicated time in your schedule that is all about you.

Wordless Wednesday #305 - Father-Daughter date today

Our first Parkrun

Delta Parkrun

We finally did our first Parkrun. I have been listening for weeks to a very passionate runner who sometimes runs the Parkrun twice in one go!

The Parkruns are a great way to get exercise in the fresh country, while being safe and getting feedback each week about the progress of your own exercise.
I did not realise that it's a worldwide event happening each Saturday, but it's definitely worth checking out when going to another part of the country or world!

Even Little Miss enjoyed it, and wanted to run for most of it!
We will be doing it more regularly from now on! (And I won't dress like the Michelin Man! ;-) It gets hot very quickly!)

SA Musician Garth Taylor to fight for children fighting cancer

Garth Taylor #YouPledgeIFIGHT

Fridays are for caring! On this blog, at least!
There is so much wrong in this world, but fighting for a good cause and channeling your energy into giving or helping someone are what this world is all about! And what makes it worth the while!

That's why I get all excited when I see local musician Garth Taylor getting involved into a fundraising effort for the Little Fighters Cancer Trust. He was the South African Amateur Kickboxing Champion in 2014 in the Light Contact category. (I did not know that!!) The Childhood Cancer Charity, Little Fighters Cancer Trust, offers individualised and practical support to children fighting cancer, and their families, across South Africa. 

Little Fighters Cancer Trust

Garth says, “After having my sister, Joanne, taken away from me by cancer, I have even more of a soft spot toward people who are fighting cancer. Having watched what she went through as an adult fighting this disease, I can only imagine how much worse it is for children who are suffering from cancer, to fight this battle. So, I figured, how bad can it be? Me, stepping into the ring and getting punched around for kids who are fighting for their lives every single day. I might as well see what I can do, if not through my singing, then by getting into the ring and doing something more exciting, so that people and companies pledge money and hopefully we can raise enough funds to help these little kids. I see cancer as a big bully hurting these children, and that is what I will be fighting for.”

Pledges and donations to get Garth into the ring will be administered via Garth Taylor You Pledge I Fight
Once the target amount of R100 000.00, has been raised and/or pledged, Garth’s boxing match, which will be part of “White Collar Boxing 14” will be confirmed and his opponent will be announced.


Read more: Garth Taylor You Pledge I Fight
 

Wordless Wednesday #304 - The BFG Movie photo-op

Tuesday catch-up - Winter is coming

It has been a few busy weeks for this family!

- It's finally winter here in South Africa. We also had three days of no power last week with the cold! You can imagine...

- The no power also had an influence on our Internet connection! We had none! 

- Little Miss had bronchitis, and we had to keep her at home.

- Hubby and I also decided that we could definitely not have had more children. Little Miss is more than a handful. Especially when sick. There was the nightly musical beds which was aggravated by an earache on Thursday. We finally had to fetch the antibiotics as well! (Although I hate it so much!)

- I finished my 9 weeks online course, UCT Social Media Course, and it feels very strange not to have a studying sword over my head! Blogging has helped me tremendously in staying up to date with what is happening in social media, and I have more value for what we are doing and learning on our blogging journey! Especially as Mom Bloggers. We know lots!

- The Student also heard that she got a distinction in the final accounting subject for her Management Diploma. I am so proud of her. Her hard work paid off!

- We celebrated two birthdays and a Father's Day the previous week at Cradle Moon Lakeside Lodge (formerly known as Heia Safari). That's where the photo of Little Miss was taken. The cold started on that Sunday!

- This Father's Day I was reminded again of how lucky we are to have this Hubby/Dad in our lives! He stayed home for most of the week last week when Little Miss was sick, and is 100% involved in our lives! It's a blessing to share our lives with him!

- We attended the premiere of The BFG Movie on Sunday. It will start in the cinemas on 1 July. I love all of Roald Dahl's works, and we had so much fun on Sunday to listen to the creative language! This is a lovely movie for the holidays for the kids (and adults!)

- We are in the final stretch before the winter holidays, and I am looking forward to sitting in less traffic each day for three weeks. Rose and I are bonding, and I beginning to appreciate her more! She's spunky, and she moves when she has to! The traffic is not so bad now with her!

- We are not going anywhere for the holidays, but that's okay. We will get our turn...


What are your plans for the holidays?

LeapFrog LeapBand Review and Giveaway

LeapBand

We love this gadget! The LeapFrog LeapBand is a kid's activity tracker for kids aged 4 to 7.
Little Miss is already 7 years old, but I can see that she is going to use it for at least two more years.

She is enjoying the watch feature while at school, and because we have set the time features, the virtual pet only comes alive after school and over weekends!

Little Miss has been wearing it for over a week now.

This is what we love about the LeapBand

- It is both a watch and a wristband tracker!

- Kids run, jump and play to earn rewards and power a customizable pet pal that lives on the band. (The pet pal makes me think of a the Tamagotchi's of the 80's and 90's, although it looks much cuter!)

- For parents, the controls on LeapFrog Connect make it easy to set play times, challenges and more.

- This is a very cool birthday or Christmas present which won't break the bank!


How it works:

- The more kids run, jump and play, the more they earn rewards to power a pet pal that lives on the band.

-  Parents can pre-load 50 active challenges on the LeapBand to get kids moving, such as “pounce like a lion”, “march like an elephant” and “wriggle like a worm”.

- There are 8 virtual pets for children to choose from. The more they unlock joules, the more pet pals they can choose from.

- Parents can set up the LeapBand by connecting it to their computer, cellphone or laptop using a USB cable and downloading the LeapFrog Connect application.

 - Once the child has unlocked all the pets, the app allows parents to see their child’s activity level for an entire week.

- The LeapBand can be charged via the USB cable, either through a computer or a USB wall charger.


Smart Features:

- The onscreen pet changes colour to reflect your child’s activity level. The feature allows kids to instantly view their progress.

- Kids can also see how many joules (jewels) they've earned and this encourages them to complete activity challenges to unlock new pets.



Available at ToyZone, Pick n Pay, Toys r us and Reggies stores countrywide. RSP: R399.99

For more information go to Prima Toys

Disclaimer: Little Miss got a green LeapBand


GIVEAWAY
One lucky reader can win one of these.  
Unfortunately only open to South African readers of the blog.

The giveaway will close on 12 am 29 June 2016


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats to RIAZ!!

Sasol and Smile Foundation blankets' drive for children #Blankets4Coffee

Smile Foundation

I love and support the work that the Smile Foundation is doing by giving children back their smiles. Sasol has partnered with the Smile Foundation in a blanket drive for these children.

Sasol is calling on members of the public to donate blankets to its nationwide blanket drive with a customer reward of free coffee. 

The blanket contributions will be distributed to children undergoing facial surgeries as part of the Smile Foundation’s national surgical programme.

Sasol

“Corrective facial reconstructive surgery offers new hope for these children and their families. But it’s imperative the children receive the right care before and after their operations. In winter, that means staying warm while they make the often very long and difficult journey to the hospital, and keeping opportunistic infections at bay while they’re in recovery and return home after their surgeries. This blanket drive helps us address both those very important issues,” explains Hedley Lewis, Executive Director, Smile Foundation. 

Lewis adds that the Smile Foundation would be grateful for any blankets the public could spare, including new blankets. “Due to our multi-disciplinary approach to these paediatric surgeries, we support the children right through their recovery. As part of this, we take into consideration the opportunity for infections, and will be supplying the Smile patients with any new blankets that are donated,” he says.

What you can do! Blankets can be dropped off at all Sasol Delight stores in South Africa until 6 July 2016.


Share and encourage your friends and followers on Twitter with @SasolSA and #Blankets4Coffee.

Wordless Wednesday #303 - LeapBand

Jonty, the dinosaur who could not go to sleep #appreview

Jonty the dinosaur who could not go to sleep

 

Jonty reminds us of a Little Miss we have in our house. She struggled to go to sleep since the day she was born. We have sorted out most of the niggles, but even this week she fell asleep in the car on her way home. And she could not go to sleep after that...

Jonty is the sweetest character in this iPad app that is great for toddlers as well as children learning to read. It is also wonderful for learning to read a second language, such as Little Miss that is 7 year old and is only starting to read English now in Grade 2.



There is four modes in the app: Read to me, Read it myself, Autoplay and Add to story.

The story is interactive and objects can be moved, and some objects can even be added to the story. The child are able to record her own story and add it in. There is background music with a lullaby quality to it which really adds to the bedtime story routine!

There is an option to print colouring sheets for children.

Jonty the dinosaur who could not go to sleep

Interaction with objects on Jonty the dinosour app

Add your own story and objects on Jonty the dinosour

Beautiful illustrations on Jonty the dinosour who could not go to sleep

There is a Lite app available that's for free: Jonty the dinosour who could not go to sleep

There is also the full version that's avalaible for $2.99: In-App purchase available!


My only gripe with this app is that it is not available on the iPhone, and that is is only available on iOS.


Disclaimer: I got a free code for the full version!

Avalanche party

Avalanche

Little Miss was invited to an Avalanche party on Saturday! It was a real treat, and it was lots of fun!
It is especially nice for the older kids, but I have heard of toddlers going to these parties as well. (I presume they would not let them go down from the top?)

Avalanche party pinata 

Little Miss struggled with a bit of vertigo in the beginning, but to the end of the two hours she went down again, and again...



I love party ideas that's not at home, but where the kids get to do fun activities!

Words of wisdom from Mothers of Africa #MondayMotivation

Celebrating Mothers of Africa

The Working Mother's Expo shared the output of a recent survey. A stunning number of women, over 1200, responded to the survey, sharing their words of wisdom.The ebook is divided in sections of Courage, Perspective, Work Life Integration, We're in this together, On Happiness, Self Care, When the going gets tough, Perfection, On Motherhood. All with beautiful photos of real moms who are doing it day-by-day!

This helps for a bit of Monday motivation when the Monday feels a bit blue!

As Janice Windt, MD of the Working Mothers Expo says “The truth is that we’re all in this together. The challenges we face are not unique. No matter the colour of our skin, our marital status or job description, working motherhood is a challenge. If you find it hard, trust me, you are not alone. That’s why we are bringing everything working mothers need together under one roof at the Sandton Convention Centre in November - to help working moms make life work.” 

Signing up to be reminded of the Expo in November is for free!

Huawei P9 launched with magnificent camera features #OO

Huawei P9 launch at The Sandton Convention Centre

The Huawei P9 launch last night was a WOW start for the Huawei P9 phones being launched in South Africa today. Glammer, glitz, surprises, fun and stunning food! We were totally impressed!

The Huawei P9 phone seems to be the phone you want when you are always taking photos and selfies. With your smartphone! 

Huawei has reinvented smartphone photography by using Leica technology to combine two lenses. It incorporates colour and black and white to give a crystal clear picture and 270% more light. It also gives precise imaging when you want to shoot those fast-paced photos without having to take numerous photos to get one shot! With the phone you can get images as good as a professional photographer!!

The specifications can be found here: Huawei P9 

Another one of the great phones to consider when you are in the market for a new smartphone! We will definitely consider it for its camera technology.

Huawei P9 Plus

We are not selfie-worthy anymore, but even this phone made us look good last night! (Why did I not take more selfies, and captured it?)

This photo-op was done on a Huawei P9.

It was a RAD function:

Photo from the Sandton Convention Centre

#OO

Huawei P9 launch

Sheldon Kopman fashion show: Naked Ape

Colour and Light entertainment

Naughts and Crosses the Huawei way

Photos on display that was captured on a Huawei P9

#OO #HuaweiP9 launch