clay jar people

Messy Yummy Edible Paint

Today I had this brainwave. After promising to take Elijah to the beach on the way home from our shopping trek, I saw that the mist was crazy over the beach… which meant beach was a no go with two wee ones. So I told him we could paint at home. Thank goodness I had vanilla instant pudding and a bunch of food colouring. And a gigantic roll of newsprint.

This is the story in pictures… no filters or editing… as I’m posting this off my phone, no internet when Chris is at work.

Mix up the pudding per instructions. Divide into bowls and mix in the colours.

Give free reign to babies and toddlers…

They enjoyed the texture… E wouldn’t taste it.

Managed to get him to look at the camera.

That’s paint by the way…

Naomi had such a ball.

Tipped all the bowls… much to her brother’s frustration.

Love that face. Elijah wouldn’t look at the camera at all. I tried.

All in all it was a fab exercise… and one that made me grateful that my bathroom is right be the front door.

Let me know in the comments if you have any fun messy or clean activities that toddlers and babies can enjoy.

The simple life

We moved to our lovely house on a smallholding outside Cape Town last weekend. This is our view…

We have very limited internet access so I’ll be fairly quiet. I’m also just trying to get back to basics and sort out our stuff.

Hopefully I’ll be back soon with some fun posts.

Book Review: Some Children’s Books

I have been asked to review the following four children’s books which are published by Graham Blanchard Publishing, and written by Callie Grant. I was sent one in hard copy and the other 3 on Kindle.

Jesus Shows Me is the first book in the “Knowing My God” series, which teaches young children about God’s love by explaining selected scripture through colorful photographs and supportive text. Each page of this board book illustrates a segment of John 15:9-14 with a photo of an animal parent caring for its young, which exemplifies how God loves people.

I liked this book, the photos are of animals, which automatically drew Elijah in. The way that Callie uses animals and their parenting and relationships to explain the bible verse is brilliant. She both teaches about nature and unfolds the scripture for the children. This series is in board book form, which makes it great for babies through to older kids. Even Naomi loves to look at the picture… and eat the books.

Jesus Invites Me is the second book in the “Knowing My God” series, and explains Matthew 11:28-30, in which Jesus calls people to learn from him and to follow him.

Following on the previous book, Jesus Invites Me, is a peaceful book that uses pretty photographs of children to tell kids more about the verse. The author uses verbal images that children can relate to in order to help them understand the peace that Jesus offers us when He invites us to follow him. I like that these books have photos as opposed to illustrations, because I find the kids relate better to real things than someone’s interpretation. I plan to use this book for quite some time to teach my kids.

All of Me that You Can’t See is an beautifully illustrated book for children aged 3-6 which teaches them about their soul, and that although they cannot see it, it is a vital part of who they are and the part that matter most to Jesus.

I liked this book’s illustrations the most, the story is sweet, but not my favourite. The kids enjoyed the rhyming though, but I find Elijah doesn’t get the whole Jesus and souls thing.

Mud Puddle Hunting Day written follows a young girl’s splashy walk in the rain, as she discovers and celebrates some of life’s little joys.

I love this little rhyming book, that is aimed at kids from 0-6 years. Its waterpaint illustrations, and simple rhymes are great for keeping the kids interested. Its not overtly spiritual, but as the story continues and the little girl sees all the things in nature and enjoys splashing in the mud, its a great way to remind ourselves and the kids that God created us and the world around us to enjoy. Elijah loves to “plash” in puddles with his boots, so he can really relate to this story.

All four these books are available from Graham Blanchard Publishing here.

About the Author:
Callie’s work as a writer and editor has taken her from the Tennessee Valley to Silicon Valley, where she learned about starting new ventures. In the 1990s, Callie was part of the Scholastic, Inc. product development team in Palo Alto, where she developed a passion for educational publishing and children’s books, later authoring two titles. She and her husband Michael and their daughter live with the family pup in Austin.

Review: Snappy Nappy

And its another cloth nappy! This is the latest nappy I discovered in my search for the perfect and affordable nappy. The Snappy Nappy is different to all the ones I have tried before for a variety of reasons.

Ease of use: Its super simple to use, just pop the inserts into the covers using the poppers and voila! There is a day time insert and a nighttime insert. The night time insert has a fleecy side which is gentle on the bums. The nappy is sized with poppers, so from newborn to about 16kg. I like the poppers, but sometimes they are a tad challenging to put on a wriggly toddler. They wash easily in the machine, and the drying time isn’t that long, its shorter than your natural fibre nappies.
Aesthetics: I think this is quite a pretty nappy, in its simplicity. The plain colored covers, with just a touch of variety on the edges makes it unique. The inserts are serged with different colours according to their sizes, so although you would use the same cover for all size babies, you use different sizes of inserts. My 9kg baby is in a medium and my 16kg son is on a large.
Effectiveness: I tried the nappies on both kids at night first, as I find thats usually where many nappies fail to impress. I was impressed. Both kids slept through in the nappies, which is usually a fear for me and many other moms, that the child will suddenly wake up as they feel wet. Both nappies did not leak at all, and although the night insert was wet in Elijah’s nappy, it would have lasted even longer I am sure. Naomi’s both inserts were wet, but she still drinks throughout the night, so that is to be expected. There was no gaping, and the gussets kept all the moisture in. I was worried that the large setting would be too small on Elijah, as he is a tall boy, but it was still absorbent.
Affordability: Obviously these work out cheaper than disposables, but that has been established in general with cloth nappies vs disposables. The Snappy covers are R90 each and the inserts R30, so for one day and night nappy, its R150, making the Snappy, one of the mid price range nappies available in SA. I think its totally worth is, as you actually don’t need as many covers as with AIOs or pockets, as you can just wipe the PUL in between uses unless its dirty. So you could even get away with a ratio of 1 cover to 3 inserts for day and 2 or 3 for night. The wetbags are R60, and are pretty and really convenient, and I love that these ones have zips, so I feel like they are more sealed when nappies are in them than the ones with drawstrings.

All in all I really like this nappy, and would highly recommend it as a night time nappy, almost above any others that I have tried.

All the pretty covers

Small (3-6kg) medium (6-10kg) and large (8-15+kg) inserts

Pink or blue wetbag

(All opinions in the review are my own, although I received a nappy per child to try out, as well as a wetbag, I was not financially reimbursed)

DIY High Chair Revamp

A really good friend of mine blessed us with a dearly loved high chair for Naomi. Her oldest daughter used it for all the baby led weaning adventures they had embarked on, and we are so grateful to them for giving it to us.

Some of the plastic material had started to tear and come off, and knowing kids, I knew it was only a matter of time until Elijah would have picked it all off, so I decided to give this chair a well deserved make over.

This photo I took after taking off the plastic off the seat.

I had some red heart plastic from when I has wanted to make Elijah a change mat way back when, and it was just enough for this project. Coupled with my new best friend, a staple gun, I recovered the chair in about 20 minutes. The perfect naptime project.

Here is the finished result…

excuse the mess on the floor, but hey, I think the chair looks awesome.

what cool DIYs would you like to see me attempt? what have you done recently?

Review: Pure Bubbles

A while back I wrote a review for Snugglebum nappies, and this is a type of continuation on that. Juliet also sells these natural body and home care products.

Castile Liquid Soap

I don’t think anyone understands how desperately I have been looking for a local castile soap. Its something I have only read about on US blogs and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t source any in South Africa. I was so incredibly excited when Juliet sent me this one. I have been using it mostly for washing the kids, and also for my own face. Its gentle and has olive oil as a base, but is not greasy. It cleans so well without stripping the skin of natural oils. I LOVE this castile soap. At R30 a bottle for 250ml and R60 for a 1 litre refill, this is a product I will always have in the house. If you look at many natural body product recipes, most of them use castile soap for something, and now we have a local option!

Hand and Body Liquid Soap

I was sent the Vanilla to try, and our whole family loved it. Because its natural it doesn’t foam as much as regular soaps, but it also doesn’t dry out the skin so much, so you don’t feel like you suddenly have sandpaper hands after using it. I was very sad when we used the last drop two days ago, and will be ordering some more as soon as payday arrives. I’m keen to try the lemon and lime scent… I’m sure it’ll be lovely and fresh. Go to the Snugglebum site and check out this lovely liquid soap.

Citrus Household Liquid Soap

This soap is even better than Sunlight liquid at degreasing hands, or pots or anything you need to get grease off of. I keep mine at the kitchen sink and use it when I have been working with oils or cleaning things. The fact that its made of natural ingredients make me feel better about using it to clean our dishes or the kids highchairs. I love the fresh citrus scent. I was a bit freaked out when I used it the first time to wash dishes, as it doesn’t make much foam but it does make the water kind of milky. However, it works like a charm, so don’t be put off when you see that happen.

Lotion Bars

Another one of those products I had only read about and was curious to try. Its basically like a bar of soap that you use to moisturise your skin. I like the honey for my hands, as it smells light but pleasant and is so great when you have winter hands (which I do all the time). I even use it on my super dry legs, and its brilliant! Not greasy at all, just really rich in moisture, and so convenient and very little wastage or mess involved. No more tubes of creams in handbags! I think R20 a bar is a steal.

Bar Soaps

These babies are rich in moisture and so so gentle on skin. I loved the mild castile bar for my little people, and the lavender is lovely for me. As with all the other products, I didn’t feel stripped of all moisture when using this. Really a lovely bar soap, and they come in 4 different scents, Mild Castile, Lavender, Beeswax & Honey, and Lemongrass. Slightly more than your average bar soap, at R25 per bar, but definitely worth it, even if its just a mommy-soap.

Let me know if you try these products and what you think, I’m always keen to hear if other people feel the same as me.

better than therapy

this is really just a link up post with a touch of sentiment and some cheese on the side…

my bestie wrote a funny post about our recent girls night out, and how it trumps therapy. having done both I totally agree. as much as therapy is helpful, girl friends, like the amazing ones I have, are so much better than paying someone money to talk about your problems. for a few hours every so often, just chatting and laughing with your closest girl friends, is really good for the soul. as a mom, i would totally be lost without these girls. they do not get enough credit.

yes, I did steal this photo from Cindy’s blog

even though we are moving 30 km away from them, i know we’ll stay in touch, and hopefully hang out like this more often. you girls rock and are really and truly blessings in my life. Cindy, you’re amazing, as a mom, as a friend; all the cheese goes to you… through thick and thin, you’ve been the bestest girl friend i could have asked for. Zoe, you’re a great mom to Leah, and a great friend to us all, i love chatting to you and seeing our crazy kids play together, maybe Leah and Elijah will really get married one day (I’m hoping). Kirsty, you’re so sweet, all the time, and so helpful and encouraging, you’re also my natural slightly crunchy sister, thanks for all chats and the help with sewing. Meryl, we don’t always see eye to eye, but you’ve been really encouraging and helpful, and you made me feel really at home when we first moved here, I really respect you for standing so firm on what you believe is right for your kids, will miss your face. Jules, we didn’t hang out nearly as much as I would have liked, but I really hope we can change that in the future, you’re an awesome mama to Alice and I think you’re hilarious… especially when it comes to butternuts or butter knives.

of course these are not my only amazing friends, but these ladies deserve a tribute. each unique, amazing, hardworking mamas to their precious children, and not afraid to stand up for their beliefs even if they end up standing alone.

thanks for the love and the laughs, ladies. love you all so much.

currently

following the new blogging trend i am going to try and do this every so often.

Listening to: Between the kids’ music and that which the husband listens to, not much really. So probably Mumford and Sons, when Chris is listening, and the occasional Civil Wars or Jenny and Tyler. Basically really into the calm, folksy, indie vibe at the moment. Also loving Jesus Culture, especially Kim Walker’s voice and then this song is amazing.

Feeling thankful for: my support system – husband, my folks, my best friends, my counsellor and my kids. Also so thankful that I am saved, by an amazingly gracious God, that He loves me enough to pick me up each and every time I fail. So grateful that I don’t have to do this mothering thing alone, because basically I suck. But He is great and He is the ultimate parent, and daily I am learning more about this thing that is parenting and is now my life.

Thinking about: being creative. I cannot wait to have more space when we move, to be creative, to paint, to sew, to think, to breathe. I breathe creativity, and I have been stifled by routine and schedule and things I must attend, and the sounds and noise and chaos of the city. The thought that in 18 days I will be able to breathe fresh air, and see the stars at night and hear the utter silence that is the country, oh man, I am amped.

Watching: Just finished watching season 2 of Once Upon a Time, and now kind of randomly watching movies, which we will not be doing so much of after the move, as we won’t have Netflix. At least for a while.

Bummed out on: the packing. there is too much stuff to pack and far too little time or boxes. I am freaking out quite literally about it. I can see myself loading loose things into the car and just hoping it all fits. As much as I am amped to move I am dreading the next few weeks with the packing and sorting out.

Loving: Elijah’s new vocabulary, and his sense of humour. Naomi’s happiness and her excitement at everything new and things like food and bathing. Also loving the few free hours I get at night when the kids are in bed early. Although I should be packing I tend to spend them reading, or watching movies or thinking. Its good to have some time out.

want to join me? maybe post a link to your blog in the comments if you do this too, or tell me in the comments what you are currently loving.

What to do on a Saturday

Today you can find me at 3 kids 2 dogs 1 Old House, I’m sharing what we love to do on a Saturday. Go over and check it out and share some comment love.

Cape Town Rain and a chance to help

Its been raining, like a LOT, in Cape Town, the news show photos of people driving in what looks like rivers. It is unbearably cold. I am cold, my kids are cold and sick, and it sucks. But you know what, I have a warm dry house, with hot water to bath, make tea or a hot meal, we have a heater, and the kids have plenty of blankets. We are so unbelievably blessed. Since you’re reading this post, I am guessing you are just as blessed.

In the cold, people are dying… while we are warm.

My friend, Jellie, works with people in Mitchell’s Plain, who have pretty much nothing. They live in shacks, that are covered in plastic sheeting, if that. The “roofs” leak, there is no hot water for bathing or tea. Their clothes and blankets are probably soaked through, and unlikely to dry.

She shared these pictures on Facebook…

there is plastic sheeting just barely covering these “houses”. the toilets are outside.

buckets all over the floor to catch the water leaking through the roof. people are freezing.

This is just one person, doing what they can, but Jellie takes people food every week, she helps them with clothes etc. She is not rich, she is a mom doing what she can to help others.

It makes me feel terrible knowing I have hot tea at the flick of a switch, and these people can’t keep warm. I have contacted her to ask what she needs for them, so that I can see what our family can do. I want my kids to grow up with a heart for others, not a heart of entitlement, or selfishness. I want them to be happy givers, as required by the Lord. God made and loves these poor people in our freezing city, the ones in Mitchell’s plain are just a drop in the leaking roof bucket.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

As Christians we are called to help the poor, the needy, to give out of the overflow of blessing that the Lord has bestowed on us. Instead of complaining about the cold, the inconvenience, and lounging in the luxuries of our warm cosy lives, we must act, we must give. We buy coffee for ourselves at the drop of a hat, maybe buy a beggar, or even a parking guard a hot drink. We buy ourselves and our kids branded and lank expensive clothing, why not buy a warm jersey for a homeless person, it doesn’t have to be fancy, just warm.

How are you going to help the poor and needy in our city? How are you going to show God to the lost and lonely?

If you are at all able to help, contact one of these places to give, they are legitimate and know where to send the things we give.

Commongood Foundation

Mamawethu House of Safety (Jellie’s place) 073 688 6280

U-Turn

UPDATE:

Jellie’s list of needs for her ministry at Mitchell’s Plain:

NEED LIST

- Potatoes
- Rice
- Tins / Pilchards, Vegetables, beans,
- Fresh vegetables and fruit
- Mielie pap or other porridges
- Samp
- Soup mix, Samp/ beans, Split peas
- Soya mince or the real deal and spices
- Flour
- Oil
- Sugar
- Tea
- Toiletries/ toilet paper
- Soap for hand wash
- Blankets/ Pillows/ ETC…..
- Any kitchen tools, Scissors, knifes…..
- AND BIG POTS….