Make every day World Children's Day!

Hope Statue - Nelson Mandela Square

As a Mom I find it very difficult to hear about the suffering of children. There is so much disruption, upheaval and natural disasters in the world, and the most vulnerable is our children who are impacted. I have to limit myself to not read so much each day! It is too upsetting!

I still think about the children denied the basic right of education because they don't have id books in South Africa... (To name but one!)

SAD! Human rights violated of children without ID's- not allowed to go to school! via @KarindOrville https://t.co/gnunrarq7S#SABC #Fokus

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) August 21, 2017

UNICEF South Africa unveiled an art installation alongside the Nelson Mandela Statue in Sandton City Square yesterday on World Children's Day! (I wish I could be there, but it's still a school night!)

Protect your children by not staying

Keep them save from domestic violence #ChildProtection

It is National Child Protection Week this week. We hear about so many violent situations our children are subjected and exposed to. I don't even want to go there, because as a mother you can't stand it when you hear our children are getting hurt.

I also saw some domestic violence cases being reported on in social media. Of women so scared and so lonely and ostracized that they are prisoners in their own homes. I only hope that they will get the courage to leave the situation.

It is never a good idea to stay!
It is never good for the children to stay!
It always gets worse!

My plea is to all mothers stuck in this situation to get out as soon as possible. Make your plans! There will be a safe time to leave! Take your children with you! Ask for help! There will be people in your family and your community who will help you!

You don't know how frustrating it is for the people on the sidelines seeing you suffering and not being able to help! They will step up when you are ready! But they can't help you when you don't ask and when you think you can handle it on your own.

Think of your children! Is this the way you want them to grow up? Living with violence, physical and emotional?

I am so glad I left a previous life! I asked for help! I saved myself and my daughter! Things get better, much sooner than you think! Now it is only a blip in my past, and we are living a life with hope and wonder! To be afraid in your own home is not a way of life!


Would you help someone asking you to help when they are stuck in a domestic violence situation?


There are resources to contact:

Child Protection Week

POWA Get Help

Kindness - what I want my kids to be!

Kindness! We always aspire to be happy, and I want my kids to be happy! But how do we get happy? Because "Happiness is an inside job!" (My Eldest's most favourite expression!)

In most recent times I have read a number of thoughts around happiness and kindness! A most sure way to get to happiness is through kindness! It makes so much sense!

The prompt for Roxy Hutton's #cgscreative monthly Instagram last week was kindness. How do you show kindness! For sure it is in the little things! Trying to help others as far as possible. Giving that coin at the robot, or helping to collect for a worthy goal. Even kindness to everybody around you, and most of all, your own family!

Kindness is the one thing I can show and learn my youngest as well! It makes me extremely happy when she see people we can help! When she tells me that me must help the man at the robot who she has seen has children. They are sometimes at the robot with him...

To teach kindness is not a difficult thing! We need so much of it in our world!

How do you teach kindness to your children?

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
 

How do you know you have a great mother?

How do you know you have a great mom?

When you become a Mom yourself and realize all she had done!

Without complaints!

Every day!

Thanks, Mom!!

International Childhood Cancer Day

CHOC

I can't think of anything worse than hearing that your child has cancer.
We luckily don't have any child in our nearby family that has cancer, but we had a little boy in the extended family who had cancer the previous year! We followed along on the journey on Facebook (they are living in another country), and we rejoiced with the parents when he was finally clean!

I know for a fact that all parents would happily exchange the suffering of their children with their own.

Today is International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD). This day is part of a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to express support for children with cancer, survivors and their families.To support ICCD, you are urged to wear blue on the 15th February, just as thousands of school-children will be doing throughout the country. Anything blue will do. It will all help in the effort to spread the message and create awareness.

The great news about cancer in children: 80% of children survive it and continue to live healthy lives!



To support CHOC and ICCD, join the CHOC Facebook page
Visit the website at CHOC
Call 086 111 3500.

Children and their best friends, their pets - dealing with loss

Chase the Ball, By Kyle Logan


This is a Kickstarter project, but a really worthy project!

We have to help our children deal with the loss of their best friends, their pets! I do believe you can't shield your children from the loss, because they need to learn to deal with one of life's heartaches that we can't avoid! Most of the time we don't know how to do it. Little Miss got really upset when her silkworm moth died. I think we will have to keep our dogs alive forever (sic), because I can't imagine...

This project is the creation of a 6-minute movie which addresses the issue of losing a loved one, Chase the dog.

"Chase the Ball is a touching story about best friends; a tennis ball and his dog named Chase. Told from the tennis ball's perspective during the final day of Chase’s life, the tennis ball reminisces about their time together. Through these memories, we witness the formation of a life long bond not even death can break." 

Art by Juhmelly Calrson

To back this Kickstarter project, go here: Chase the Ball

Please share the project on social media if you are not able to contribute financially.
The share buttons are available on the Kickstarter page.

Wordless Wednesday #275 - Traveler

What does it take to raise a child to adulthood? - Kid Calculator

Kid Calculator

Finally, a calculator to compute the expense of having a child and raising him/her to adulthood!
It's a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun.

It's a calculator based on American living expenses, and also calculates in US dollars, but it is easy to convert.

I did the quick calculation: Our daughter "owes" us: $ 344 400.40 = R 3 977 996.82 (nearly four million South African rand)

Kid Calculator results

The breakdown on the invoice looks like this:

The certificate can be shared on social media, printed or emailed.
Very cute!

How to blow up a balloon without blowing into it #science

Hubby bought a science book for Little Missy, and she has been enthralled by all the easy experiments! We are constantly bugged to do another one!

This is great for the winter holidays when you want to do something of value with your little ones.

The recipe is easy:

Ingredients:

Balloon

Plastic bottle

Vinegar

Sodium bicarbonate / baking-soda

1. Pour vinegar into eighth of bottle.

2. Pull balloon over a funnel, and drop one and half teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate into it.

3. Pull balloon over opening of bottle, preventing the bicarbonate from spilling into bottle before it is secured onto the bottle.

4. Hold the bottle securely when pulling up the balloon to dump the sodium bicarbonate into the bottle.

5. Carbonic acid gas is released which makes the balloon blows up.

It really works!

From the book: Doen dit self Wetenskap (Do it yourself Sience)
www.priddybooks.com

Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days - Hamper up for grabs

I received the Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days initiative in my inbox.

Since I am a breakfast person (I cannot do a day without breakfast) and I get grumpy without my favourite meal of the day, I love that they are focusing on feeding the children. We are also always trying to get the Little One to eat something in the mornings. She struggles with breakfast, but can get ravenously hungry at ten... Unfortunately we have to drop her off at seven in the mornings, and we have to force her to eat something before she starts her day!

It makes me extremely sad to think that there are so many children who have to go without a proper breakfast each day. That's why I love this initiative by Kellogg's.

The Press Release states:

"Dishing Up 5 Million Breakfasts for South African Children 

On Wednesday 14 January, over 12 million learners headed back to school after the long summer break, but started their day on empty stomachs:  nearly one-fifth of South African children are not eating breakfast before going to school1. To help address this need, Kellogg is launching a large-scale Breakfast for Better Days™ Initiative, which will provide five million servings of breakfast to children throughout 2014, with 25 000 school children receiving breakfast every school day. 

With one in eight people around the world facing food insecurity each day2, Kellogg Company and its foundation, the Kellogg's Corporate Citizenship fund, have pledged to provide a billion servings of breakfast and snacks to children and families who need it most, through this global initiative. In South Africa, a breakfast of Kellogg's cereal and milk will be provided to children in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. Partnering with Kellogg are FoodBank South Africa, the country's largest food banking network and Kellogg's international partner in the global initiative, who will distribute the food; and Parmalat, who will be donating the required milk." 

For more information visit www.kelloggs.co.za or follow @KelloggsZA on Twitter and www.facebook.com/KelloggsMomsSA on Facebook for regular updates.

I asked specifically about the schools that are targeted in Gauteng. The initiative is in its pilot year and will benefit 56 schools across SA, with the following 8 schools in Gauteng as beneficiaries. Kellogg is however hoping to grow the initiative to other schools in various areas across the province next year.

Letsha Primary
Duduza Primary
Michael Zulu Primary
Monde Primary School
Kabelo Primary
Mogobeng Primary
Thabang Primary
Ikwezi Primary

This little video of Mpho touches my heart.
(I would freak if my Little One had to walk in rain and on his own to school!)



Kellogg is providing one lucky reader a one month's supply breakfast hamper.

Please comment below: How can the power of breakfast give someone a bright start?

The draw will take place on Friday at 12 pm.
(Unfortunately only for South African readers)


(Photo on top: Swelihle Masuku from Gugulethu Primary in Kwamashu, KZN enjoying his first breakfast for the year - supplied by Kellogg)

It’s fairly easy to get your hands on information about parenting

Caring for Your Child blog

Tamsin Haley from Caring for Your Child is responsible for today's guest post:

There are often times during our lifetimes that we look for information. Whether it’s about tertiary education options, to buying our first car, to looking for somewhere to live, or even just to find out what celebrities may be up to, we constantly want more information. This never changes, though maybe the topics we search do change. From the moment we find out about being pregnant, there is so much more information that we may need. And this doesn’t change as our children grow up. Sometimes it’s just great to get a second opinion, or to find other mothers that think the same way that you do.

This is where Caring For Your Child comes in. We are focused on becoming your one-stop-blog for information regarding parenting. Our easy to search through categories cover the different stages that children go through as they grow up. Different articles are placed under the different categories so you can find what you are looking for. To gain access to the main body of our site, you do need to sign up as a member – this sign up process is free and always will be.

However, we realise that we cannot cover all the topics you could wish to know about. But we have a solution to this. Our discussion forums are available to all members of our site, and you are more than welcome to start new topics or join in the current conversations. If you would like information for a topic that we have not covered, please ask us here, and we can see what we can find to help you.

We also know that mothers are busy people, and sometimes you don’t have the time to go searching for answers to your questions. So we bring the information to you. We send out a newsletter every two weeks, covering topics that are relevant to the busy mom right to your inbox!

Visit our site to sign up at www.caringforyourchild.com and join us on Twitter @Caring4UrChild!

The Importance of Teaching Children to go Green

I really want to focus more on going green, and how to teach it to my children. I want my children to be responsible adults who will consciously make a positive difference in their environment.

This guest post is a kick-in-the-butt reminder of why and how.

Going green has become a huge trend in today's society. Some people are doing it because they really care about the environment, and others are because they want to learn more about doing so. Teaching your children to go green is crucial to make sure this trend isn't just a fad, and the following reasons explain why:

Our Future: Here

Consider the future of the planet. We simply can't continue consuming the resources at the pace we are now if we want to survive. In other words, it's vital  for us to be proactive. As this generation begins to pass away, the planet is going to be left in the hands of the people who are still on earth. It is OUR responsibility to teach children about going green - each of us has a part in carrying on sustainable traditions into the next generation. Otherwise, the planet and our grandchildren will suffer as a result.

The Everyday Benefits

Let's say you're not currently living in an environmentally-friendly home. Maybe you don't recycle, or perhaps you've not been turning off the lights when you leave a room. That's all right - most families don't. However, if you're willing to talk to your children about the importance of going green, you have the ability to create a productive, team-focused atmosphere in your house. By working together, your family can become much more tight-knit and environmentally conscience. That way, whenever they grow up and move out, you can know that you did more than just raised them right - you made the world a better place.

Future Visions

Though you might not realize the potential that your little ones have, you should definitely note that they can make some major changes in their life. If you talk to them about going green, they might be inspired to start a green project, whether they plan out a day where all of the residents of your community get together to pick up garbage in the park or perhaps raise money to clean up a local body of water. They may join clubs at their school that are dedicated to the environment or study environmental studies in college. Who knows, but they might need a bit of a kick-start to light the fuse. Be the spark!

Future Opportunities

Speaking of which, there is an endless amount of jobs and opportunities in the green sector. Companies will always want to save money on energy, and they will always be eager for PR-friendly solutions they can brag about. Besides, we live in a world of limited resources - we won't always have oil to rely on! People are interested in discovering energies of the future NOW so that when they're in demand, they'll profit from them! 

Finances

It might seem selfish or simple, but the truth of the matter is that green families are frugal families! Investing in green technology and solutions on a family level will save you money down the road in infinite ways. Turning off lights, unplugging unused machines, replacing old light bulbs with CFL bulbs and more will all lead to savings over time (of both money and time).

Teaching your children to go green is a goal that you should have for your home. You might be amazed at how much information your little ones are able to absorb and where they take these ideas.


Joseph Rodriguez writes about all things related to parenting and education. His recent work is on earning an online education degree.

Wordless Wednesday #186 - Check my shoes! #fashion

Gautrain from Rosebank to Hatfield

We celebrated 9 years of being married yesterday!
It has been so much fun, and I love how I still enjoy going home at night! We enjoy each other's company, and we love doing stuff together.
Thank you for being the perfect mate and pall and life partner! I am so lucky to have you in my life!

Yesterday we finally did the Gautrain trip to Pretoria. We got on at Rosebank, and stepped down in Hatfield. Little Missy loved it!

When the first train arrived, I could not see a "perfect spot" for us to sit, and we stepped out of the train.
Big mistake! You can't take your time getting on. We had to wait another 30 minutes, and I was not very popular!

The train ride to Hatfield just takes long enough for us to enjoy. About 30 minutes!
We could also step out and walk to Hatfield Plaza and Square where we found Cappellos to have lunch at. The service was not that great, because they forgot to put in Little Missy's order, but for the rest it was perfect!

This was definitely a great way to spend our anniversary!


Related posts:

Gautrain train trip - The Toddler's first

Movie Clip Monday #10 - Toddler on the Gautrain

Wordless Wednesday #177 - Waiting for the Gautrain

Posted with Blogsy

A quiet weekend... The best!

Puzzle building

We had a very quiet and relaxed weekend, without having to go somewhere, or to do anything!

Breakfast at Second Cup and photo taking

I am ordering some more of these this year!
Nothing that restores and gives so much peace than a bit of quiet family time!

The Little Missy spent a lot of time on her art works, and she came up with this all on her own.
She ordered me each time to take a photograph (where we usually have to beg for her to pose for a photo).

I added the second title. Maybe we have a budding artist in our midst?

Little Missy art 1
(Self-portrait: Reflection on love)

Little Missy art 2
(I had to write my name and her name on the paper)
(Self-portrait: Reflection on love)

Little Missy art 3
(Self-portrait: Reflection on love)

Happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday #170 - Birthday report

Love is...

An arm around my neck, accompanied by a bear hug AND...

"I like you!"


I am looking forward to a weekend with my girls! We have nothing planned, and at this stage it sounds like heaven HEAVEN!

Hope you have a great weekend as well!


Related post:

Love is...

All birthdays should come with party packs, even at 74

The Little Missy believes that all birthdays should come with party packs included.

She checks out the party packs when we arrive at a party, and it takes a bit of convincing before she leaves it to the end of the party.

She asks for party packs  even when we celebrate a 40-year old birthday, and yesterday her Granddad of 74 also had to explain where the party packs are.

We had such a chilled weekend, and celebrated a belated birthday, which we missed because of the accident on the highway in December.

Missy got to blow out the candles

We also celebrated another year yesterday with my Dad who is 74 now!
He looks great and he can still go forward, but says that it takes a bit of motivation in the mornings.
I hope we celebrate many more with him!

During each celebration we become much more aware of how sad it is to not have family nearby.
We miss the family members who are on different continents, and we now also have a Student who is off doing her own things at Varsity!

It is not the same being able to communicate on Skype and Facebook and emails! (Just saying!)
And it is not getting and feeling better with time passing... NO!

Coming up for some air, before talk-talking on!

And the rest of the weekend we got a barrage of Missy talk. Non-Stop!

She still has the pink house in the clouds, with two dragons and three dogs. Her little sister and two brothers are staying there. Someday she might invite us there. There are two trees nearby the house that they had to cut down, because a grown-up used too much toilet paper in her loo... 

An art work from the weekend
 (1 of 100, give or take)

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?

Wordless Wednesday #163 - Faces