Wordless Wednesday #346 - Pekinese cuddles

Colour and learning - STABILO BOSS PASTELS are perfect!

STABILO BOSS Original Pastel notes

The new STABILO BOSS ORIGINAL Pastels on review. What can be more exciting than new stationery? NO-THING!

I know that colours have a huge impact on my own learning. I have never tested it, but that's one of the major ways I learn and take note. We have signed up Miss Fine for a study course. Grade 4 is THE year they are starting with tests. The study course promises to find her best ways to study. (I hope!) Fortunately the parents will be able to sit in as well. I will let you know if such a course is worth it. And if colours have such an impact as I think it do? (Google says it does)

Wash Less Live More - OMO

Photos from the OMO Gallery of Stains #WashLessLiveMore

Wash Less Live More! This is a positive hashtag that we can all get behind!

Shout-Out to OMO for running with this great hashtag! We can use it for all live quotes:

Clean Less Live More

Tidy Less Live More

Dust Less Live More

Cook Less Live More

We were invited to an OMO GALLERY OF STAINS activation at Cresta this weekend. It was open and free for all to enjoy! (Next time you see an activation at Cresta, jump in! It is always so much fun!)

Miss Fine

New school year and new friends

I think we worry too much! The anxiousness got penned down two weeks back in How to cope with the first day back at school? Miss was expressing some worries about being able to cope with Grade 4. The parents' meeting last year did not help to ease our worries, but exacerbated it! (Yikes! We already signed up to a study course for the family and the online Studiemeester is on the budget). The thoughts were around Miss and her being young for her grade...

Wordless Wednesday #345 - Gardening

Play-Doh and the 4 C's of skills

Play-Doh Shape & Learn - Numbers & Counting

Play-Doh has been a firm favourite in our house from early on. It does not look as there is a cut-off date for creating and learning with it! We received the Play-Doh Shape & Learn - Numbers & Counting set yesterday as a blog drop. The package states 2+, but I'm sure we can go until 100 years of age. It's a great family activity, and we love the fact that the creative possibilities and learning opportunities are endless.

Win tickets to the Mozart Festival - for the whole family

#JIMF2018

The upcoming Johannesburg International Mozart Festival, in it's 10th year, is a musical smorgasbord for the whole family. It will be running from 26 January until 4 February. The Mozart Festival combines classical music concerts of the highest international standards with vital education initiatives and community engagement projects.

There is no better way to introduce our kids to classical music, than this opportunity. We like the fact that some of the events are for free, and some asking only for a donation.  Two readers of this blog can also win family tickets (4 members each) to attend the family concert on 4 February.

Star Wars The Last Jedi quotes - Twitter

#TheLastJediSA

One of the highlights of a movie year is usually Star Wars. We saw Star Wars The Last Jedi at the end of last year, and of course we loved it! It was everything as expected, and the story-line was enthralling! Of course, it was not too long! (Says a serious fan!)

Now we can't wait for the next one!

Here's a compilation of some of the quotes that made this movie epic, as copied from Twitter. It is good to use for every day life situations.

My favourite is this...

Wordless Wednesday #344 - First day in Grade 4

How to cope with the first day back at school?

Holiday memories

This has been the longest school holidays ever! We did not do all the Johannesburg Staycation Wish-list things we wanted to, but it was awesome taking a break. The children are only going back to school tomorrow. It's already past the half-way mark of January.

We will miss the relaxed days of holidays, and not sticking to a fixed routine. Miss loves going to bed later, and sleeping until the sun is in the 9th hour quadrant already! We also love sleeping later (at least 30 minutes later), and not having to dodge the early morning traffic. Tomorrow it's a thing of the past! "Sigh!"

But, sticking to my "positive" word of the year, I have to grab this year by it's Grade 4 horns. Miss is apprehensive about this year, and after a school meeting with the prospective Grade 4 parents, we are also worried aware of the challenges! (Help!?)

Hiking at Kloofendal Nature Reserve with Dumbbells and Delights

#DDHike 

We were pleasantly surprised this weekend when we went on a hike at Kloofendal Nature Reserve with powerhouse Samantha Dube of Dumbbells and Delights. The area is beautiful, and it is just around the corner in Roodepoort. There were so many people who were there, enjoying the hikes and the views, and sitting down for picnics. (But not overcrowded).

Pretoria Zoo Snooze - it's an experience!

National Zoological Gardens of South Africa

I realized at the end of last year that I never wrote about the children camping overnight at the Pretoria Zoo. They had such a great experience! It is one of the things that gets a place in the memory books!

This is me - 5 silly questions to the blogger

I am answering my own five questions first. If you are keen, send me your own answers to this?  I am planning to run a regular feature.

Five questions to the Blogger

(Do not edit, and do not think too much)

Hill's Prescription Diet and our dogs

We were contacted last year to test Hill's Prescription Diet. Based on our dogs' profiles we got the Hill's Prescription Diet k/d + Mobility food for Benji (the oldest) and Hill's Science Plan Mature Adult for our pavement special, Petite Peu. (Petite Peu is already a senior after she passed the age of 7 years already. So quick!)

We had to say goodbye to our little Yorkie Benji last year. It was difficult for me to write about him, and think about him. Even while writing this, I am tearing up! Our pets are not only our pets, they are our companions and our friends! He left a huge gap. He was such a happy chappy all along!

Disney Pixar's Coco - reminds of the importance of family, living and dead

Disney•Pixar’s Coco

Ever since I saw the trailer of Disney•Pixar’s Coco at the Disney Life & Style Exhibition, I wanted to take the whole family to see this movie! It is bright with colourful characters, who shows us the importance of family, not only for the living, but also reminding us of our loved ones who have passed on already.

Positive - my word of 2018

Positive 2018 is going to be a good year!

Happy New Year! I am back at work! Jay!

I still love my word of 2017, which is KIND. I was thinking of extending it into this year, but an inbox email sorted my word for 2018. It's going to be POSITIVE! (Thanks, Rhonda Byrne)