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!

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?

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?

Why I am still doing Wordless Wednesday's?

I reached a milestone on my blog yesterday with my 300 Wordless Wednesday post!
My 1st Wordless Wednesday was just a very small photo of The Hubby sleeping on the couch with baby sleeping on top of him. (It was yesterday, surely, not 7 years ago?)

It must be a record somewhere?

It doesn't matter! In my books, it is a record!

Why am I still doing Wordless Wednesday's?

- It is fun!

- I always have a photo to share that is not necessarily worthy of a blog post.

- It increases blog fodder! I don't have to think on a Wednesday of what to post!

- I love looking back at my Wordless Wednesday posts, and being reminded of how quickly she grows up/time flies!

- "A picture is worth more than a thousand words!"
Sometimes it is!


Do you still do a Wordless Wednesday, or is it only me?

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?

Featured blog of the month: Juggling Act of Life

We are back with the Featured Blog of the Month.
Carla from Mommy & Baby Wellness Blog did the pairing for the month of July!

I got Cat whom I have been following since I started this blog. I had the pleasure in meeting her in person at a blog function this year, and it felt like we knew each other like old friends!

Cat at Juggling Act of Life is mom of a primary school girl AND fraternal twin school boys AND Labradors. She calls herself the wife of a wonderful man, daughter and architect. She is juggling the craziness of life in Pretoria. On the blog she captures their daily lives with photography and Project Life.

She always takes the most beautiful photos, and has the most creative ideas with regards arts, crafts and school projects!


I will be following up with a couple of questions on the blog.

Wordless Wednesday #236 - 5th Blogaversary!

Da Engleesh

WordItOut word cloud

English is my second language.


I get it wrong and twisted and confuse my “is”-s and my “are”-s, and sometimes I put the I before the other person.

I forget who is my “cousin” is, and who is my “niece”!

Please be kind.

I don’t mind if you tell me I have made a grammar or spelling mistake!

I wants to use the big words, but Da Engleesh fails me!

This little bloggy are having a fail-English-day!

(Please tell I it is totally allowed?)

Accept my sincere apologies if I have offended your English language masterfulness!



Tomorrow I promise I will be better!

Goodbye 2011!

2011 was a great year!

I checked my stats to see some of the most read posts!

It is always interesting to see what gets the most views!
It seems it is those posts where you show the real you!
(Or that I am NOT Powerwoman... ;-) )

Number 1 for 2011:

Stuff you allow your toddler to do
Those things that you thought you would never allow your little ones to do...
Just for the sake of a few minutes of breathing space!

2.

Winnie the Pooh quotes fo an un-peachy Friday
A black Friday post about relationship problems.
Nobody says it better than Winnie the Pooh!

3.

A strange week
A strange week in the middle of winter with a public holiday, the lunar eclipse, AND a sick toddler!

4.

Reasons why you should not stay
I took part in Kirstin's of Wanderlust_lust Speak Out campaign on domestic violence on 18 November.

5.

Christmas lights
We did a drive-by to a nearby house decorated in Christmas cheer!
The toddler loved it!


Hope 2012 is going to be the best EVER!

Musings on a blogging workshop

I attended Tanya Kovarsky's of Dear Max's blogging workshop last Friday.

It was at the lovely Manna Cafe at Montecasino Boulevard, with stunning cappuccinos and a lovely play area for the little ones... Definitely going back there!

Because I sometimes feel like a lone ranger with regards blogging, and not always knowing if I am doing the it correctly, it was great to hear that we bloggers have very similar issues.


Some insights I got from Friday's workshop:

- The platform you are blogging on does make a difference. Choose wisely before you start! It is much easier to be in the right place, than having to change later on...

-  Bloggers are nice people. Online and offline! They are always willing to share their insights!

- What works for one blogger does not always work for another blogger. But it is all perfect in Blogoland! We make the rules as we go along. The rules that suits us!

- Authenticity is very important! Stay true to yourself!

- Blogging gives enjoyment, community and satisfaction.

- Bloggers know more about blogging than we think we do! Trust the blogging journey for teaching us as we go along!


Thanks Tanya. You can do it!


Check out the other bloggers, some who only started now to blog:

Taryne at Taryne Jakobi Styling
Vicki at Sapphire Weddings
Tiffany at Tiffany Markman; Dear Thumper; and others.
Denita at Baby Makes Six
Natalie at The Ing (Please send me the link?)
Talya at Journey from Jozi


What have you picked up on your blogging journey?

Second Blogoversary

This blog was two years old on Saturday! 584 posts with this one after two years... Happy birthday Blog!

I read my first blog post again, and my goal for this blog stays the same. I have recorded so many of the milestones in my daughters' lives.

When I try to tell someone about the reasons for my blogging, I sometimes get stuck when I see the look of confusion on a face...

But bloggers know why we blog, and that we become somewhat addicted to the daily post. (I give myself off over weekends.)

I have met so many interesting people!
I have learnt so many new stuff about parenting!
I have learnt so much about social media and networking through this!

Blogging on...

My first post two years back:

http://momagain40.blogspot.com/2009/08/mom-blogging.html?spref=bl: "Blog by Karen du Toit about becoming a parent after the age of 40, the second time after 15 years. It’s all about new beginnings. Being a ..."

FlowerPowerMom.com: The Leading Online Resource for Motherhood After 40

I never planned to have another kid after 40, but I think it is true for most moms after 40. Life happens, and sometimes you don't have a choice... 

I know I am just very grateful to have been able to have a kid at a later stage in life! 

Angel la Liberte asked me to put this up on this blog. I am so grateful for all the great sites out there making it much easier for us moms. 

Especially for Moms over 40! Because we rock! 

FlowerPowerMom

Flower Power Mom—The Truth About Motherhood After 40, (www.flowerpowermom.com) is the source of a growing “movement” to empower the rising number of women having children after 40. It launched as a blog in 2009, featuring commentary, real mom stories and expert advice on the hardcore realities of midlife motherhood.

In May, 2011, FlowerPowerMom.com launched A CHILD AFTER 40 (ACA40)—the first free, private online community to empower all women on the journey of motherhood after 40—from fertility, pregnancy and birth, to parenting, menopause and ageing. 

The A Child After 40 community now has a dedicated Weekly News Brief and is currently featuring a 2011 Summer Series of free online “Ask Our Experts & Authors” Forums. Experts range from the fields of reproductive endocrinology, clinical child psychology and Traditional Chinese Medicine, while Authors include journalists from some of the top newspapers in the USA and the BBC in Britain.

FlowerPowerMom.com has been widely featured in the media on key issues related to midlife motherhood, including several live broadcasts on CNN and a broad range of radio programs and newspapers across the country since 2009.

FlowerPowerMom.com is the leading resource for the fastest growing population of moms in the USA—midlife moms!

www.flowerpowermom.com.

Cuppa Java Friday

Skinny Cappuccino at Woollies

It is winter here (duh!), and all we are talking about is the cold! I have said before that we South Africans are real moaners-deluxe when our weather goes to the freezers. And guess what? Our midday temperature goes up to 19 degrees!


Not something to complain at all, you would say? Proving my point!

I am looking forward to the weekend. It started well already yesterday with a free meal at Woollies Campus Square! They forgot about our lunch-time order last week, and invited us back again this week! They score tops for following up on complaints, and top on their coffee and harvest table! Woollies, you are definitely forgiven!

Hubby figured out how to take care the sheet cycling of our toddler last night. He picked her up while she was fighting him, saying she wants her Mama, and cocooned her into her blankets. That sorted the open sleeping for most of last night!
He came back down the stairs and told me: “Sometimes fathers are also worth something! We can also do good parenting!”
Of course! I have never thought otherwise!
I could not have done it without you! (Thank you! Thank you, Dries!)

Best of all for the end of this week: I am featured as a Mommalicious Mommy Blogger and had to answer a couple of questions! I love checking in to Mommalicious Mammas active page to see what all mommies are up to, and sometimes to ask a question as well.

I could even sent one of my favourite bloggers, Mama Poekie, who blogs at Authentic Parenting, to the website to ask for advice about gynecologists in Cape Town. She is going to come from the Congo for the check-ups and birth!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

What are you up to? What are you drinking?

Plagiarism of blog - dealing with it (work in progress)

I have mentioned already (The Yin and the Yang...) that I have found my blog to be ripped off big-time on another blog. I do not understand what the meaning could be of this? It seems it is ripping off other blogs as well! They are not using Google Adsense, but they have listed the blog on various sites.

The link: http:// funny dash toddler dot blogspot dot com

I will start a process of getting them to take it down. I will report back here of my progress to get it removed.

This is the most recent post of mine on the blog which is plagiarizing my content:

1. I cannot comment on the blog, although I have tried. I wanted to demand them to take it off!

2. I have done a Sidewiki inscription on the most recent blog post of mine that is plagiarized on that blog. I don't know if it's anything worth? I don't see any other way of contacting the blog author/s.

3. My next step will be informing Google about the rip-off! Will let you know how it goes.

My second most recent blog post plagiarized on this blog site

4.




The Toddler being scrapped; or why fellow bloggers are nice!



Lynette at A work in Progress created this scrapbooking art work

Lynette of A work in Progress asked me to send her the picture of Mieka that was taken at the day care a while back. I had it up here on the blog.

My Hubby asked incredulously why someone would do something like this? Because she is very nice!
(Am I right, Lynette? Wink smile!)

This is one of the reasons I have found blogging to be so satisfying. I have met the most wonderful people here who are trying to live normal lives... Some get hit by life! Somehow we get through it by blogging about it, and by encouragement and sympathy from fellow bloggers! It is sometimes also just nice to find out that we are all the same... We struggle with the same issues, no matter where we are in the world!

Thanks Lynette, I can't wait for the real thing. (Yes, she is even sending the scrap book creation by post!)
This is so very sweet and nice and thoughtful of you!

Chunky Bling ring

I got a Chunky Bling ring! How cool is that?! And it looks even nicer on my own finger!

The sales pitch (which of course worked on me):

The new line of Swarovski pearl rings!  These hand-crafted rings are made of silver plated beads, rhinestones and genuine Swarovski pearls.  They are strung on durable stretch cord, so the sizing is flexible, and the rings are comfortable.

It is a Swarovski Pearl-Bordeaux costume jewellery ring bling. I love love love bling.

It s the very first thing I got through this blog! Except for meeting all you wonderful people (Of course)! 
That’s what the Chunky Bling banner is doing there in the left hand corner. They have an affiliate program which I signed up for.

Now that I know how easy and fast I got my bling, I will definitely order another bling. The main headache will be to choose the prettiest item. Choices... choices...

Yes, I have sold out! (Tongue-in-cheek!) For BLING! (How can you say no to that?)

What do you think of my bling?