Oh So Heavenly Pillow Mist and Body Spritzer - WIN

Oh So Heavenly fragrances to win on blog

I really love the Oh So Heavenly products. Two of them are part of the MomAgain40 Shweshwe goody bag give-away. They are affordable, great scented products which also carries the bunny logo. A few years back I got a goody package at a blogger meetup, and they have been on my monthly Clicks list for years now. They are definitely holiday survival products, but also as general go-to products every month. I also love to add them as extra birthday presents.

The two products included in the goody bag are the Oh So Heavenly Soothing Pillow Mist and the Bye-Bye Stress Body Spritzer.

MomAgain40 Shweshwe goody bag give-away

Shweshwe spoil hamper

MomAgain@40 blog is nearing the 10-year mark! It feels like celebrating. I have been wonderfully blessed through the years by new skills, new experiences and wonderful IRL-friends. It has been my outlet, and a journal of 10 years of parenting. We love going back and reading about all the milestones, mishaps and celebrations through the years.

I have put together a goody bag of things I love at the moment. This is not sponsored at all! The give-away will run for a month, and one lucky South African reader will get the goodies featured on top.

Each day there will be a post about one of the goodies in the bag and why I love it so much!

BLOG JUNE - Here we go

Blogging in June - Cocoa Crazy perfect for winter

Blog June started on Saturday this year. I am not very good at getting blog posts out over a weekend. But here goes. I can schedule backwards...

A little introduction is a good way to start:

Top 10 Midlife Parenting blogs in 2018

Awarded Top 10 Midlife Parenting Blog

MomAgain@40 has been named as one of the Top 10 Midlife Parenting Blogs by Feedspot. That is such a honour. Thanks you so much!

What makes it more special is that the ranking is based on search and social metrics:

Blogs that are actively working to educate, inspire, and empower their readers with frequent updates and high-quality information.

These blogs are ranked based on following criteria

    Google reputation and Google search ranking
    Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
    Quality and consistency of posts.
    Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review

Is Midlife Parenting still a thing? You tend to forget when you are in the midst of parenting. Because parenting at any age is still parenting. But yes, some of our peers are in different life stages than we are, and some are even taking the plunge as we are making ready for a next life phase. Midlife parenting comes with it's own set of challenges.

Here we have just had the wedding of our eldest daughter, and this afternoon I have to run around for the youngest. The school choir have to be at a different school at 15:45. Don't the teachers think of the working parents? Rant over. It was a choice to be a midlife parent. So here we go... We are doing this! :-)

Check out all the cool Midlife Parenting blogs, such as:
- Motherhood Later / Midlife Parenting
- Over 40 and Mum to One
- MidlifeMamma

Thanks so much for the award. 

Grateful for this blog!

On this Monday I am grateful for this blog.

I have been contemplating what to do about this specific blog and if I should continue blogging here. I was thinking that I reach another horrifying milestone in age (guess what?) this year, and that the blog title would not fit anymore. Little Miss is also older, and would not appreciate me sharing about her life so much!

At this stage I still love blogging, and I still love this little space on the Inter-webs.


I am grateful about the MomAgain@40 blog:

- I have a journal of our life with our family and the new addition who added so much more colour to our lives! I would have forgotten so many good times, experiences and anecdotes of Little Miss growing up if it were not for this space.

- I have met many great fellow bloggers and parenting bloggers who taught me so much on my own parenting journey. If I needed advice, it always came through on this blog.

- Little Miss had a few challenges at her first week at a new school. I got a call from a fellow Mom blogger who arranged a play date on Friday afternoon. Not only did Little Miss met a fellow school pupil at her new school whom she could play with at school, but I also have a fellow Mom to help me navigate the new school! Thank you, Louisa, it means so much to us!

- I get to attend some great events, such as Hoener met die Rooi Skoene Premiere, through this little blog.

- I get to test new apps and sometimes gadgets which I would not have known were it not for this blog.

- I still use Blogger, and it has been a most stable platform for years! I have not had any issues. It's also free! (FREE!)

- This blog has taught me so much (social media, technical), and has broaden my horizons and my connections!



For now I am thankful for this Blog! The title will still cover me for a few years to come. I am a mother who had her second child over the age of forty! I am an older mother! That won't change!
This year I will look at how I share about Little Miss, but this blog is still intrinsically about how she came to change our lives. And how parenting has changed globally, and has changed us!


Why are you still blogging?

2016 - a few notes on the start of the year!

This is the week that everything goes back to reality!
I have been back at work since last week, so it does not feel as alien, and I don't have the millions of emails to sort through!

Little Miss asked me this morning if school is going to start tomorrow. She was very relieved to hear that she has two whole days left of holidays!

Little Miss in 2016

- She is not as excited about Grade 2 as she was about Grade 1.
- She is also worried about bullies in her class this year. I told her that we would sort them as soon as they start with bullying. We have already asked that she not be placed in the same class as two kids who made her life miserable the previous years. (I hope so, but I trust the school will honour our request!)
- We bought a new school case, but I recycled most of her stationary from the previous years. She was upset at first, because it's "old"! Luckily the complaints stopped when we put everything in a new stationary box for school. You can't see the difference, and we saved a lot of money!
- She is getting big and I love all the conversations we are starting to have. Real existential questions and remarks. I was in awe last night about the depth of her understanding about spirituality!
- I will try to write it down and share it here! (If she allows me!)


MomAgain@40

- This little blog has only a year left before the 40 won't ring true anymore! (Heavens!!)
- Little Miss is also getting bigger, and I am starting to censor more about what is being put here!
- I have a year to decide what I am going to do with this blog, but I think I will re-purpose or start a new blog with a new theme! I still love blogging, the community of bloggers and what I have learnt while blogging!
(There is sooo much I have gained from my experience here!)


Me, Myself and I

Yes

- My word and my motto for this year is Yes! I already had the opportunity to say yes without thinking twice this year because of this!
- I have never regretted saying yes to new opportunities, and this year is going to be better and bolder!
- I still need to work on a Vision Board for 2016. It really works! (Does any one knows about a good Vision Board app? Off to search...)
- On the second of January of this year I became a vegetarian. I have always said that the moment I have to kill for my own food, is the moment I would stop to eat living things! I have been a hypocrite for most of my life! I am taking it day by day, but it is not as difficult to make other choices!
I still eat eggs and dairy which makes me a ovo-lacto vegetarian! (Little Miss tells me that I should stop eating eggs as well! For now I am feeling proud of myself for getting 10 days into the new year without eating any meat!) My family supports me, but it is difficult as we love to braai (barbeque)! My go-to food now for a braai is a mushroom! (Sorry Hubby!!)


The Student

- I feel unsettled about The Student as this is her year to start with a new job and finish the final studies.
- Everything is uncertain, and we don't know yet what is going to happen...


The Hubby

- I am extremely grateful for Hubby who keeps us together and fed!
- I am sorry for upsetting the equilibrium by becoming a vegetarian. (Thank you for taking it in your stride!)
- This year is going to be a better year for you as well! I know it and I feel it!


2016 is starting with new things, new challenges and lots of uncertainty!
BUT I have good feelings about 2016!


May 2016 be good to you as well!
What new things are in the pipeline that is worth sharing?

Wordless Wednesday #236 - 5th Blogaversary!