#ChoosePinkorBlue: A morning to remember

On the 22nd of June I had the honour of attending the #ChoosePinkorBlue Huggies nappy launch with my sister, which I won invitations for through Melinda's blog. I was ecstatic about this win since I have been wanting to attend one of the Huggies functions ever since I learnt about them in Arnan's first year. If you haven't heard about the Huggies functions before, they are an awesome opportunity to find out more about the latest Huggies product innovations while mingling with and getting to know other moms, most of whom blog and have Twitter accounts. And they are invite only, which just adds to the allure.

The function was held at the Westcliff Hotel. What an amazing venue! This was my second time to eat at the hotel as I've had high tea there before. The views from the balcony were spectacular and the brunch was scrumptious. I especially enjoyed the salmon topped potato rosti. The meal was finished off with the yummiest mickey and mini mouse decorated cupcakes.

All the socialising and dining aside, we were there to find out about Huggies' latest product - the Huggies Gold for Boys and Girls nappies. Huggies have developed nappies specifically designed for the different absorption "hot spots" for boys and girls, providing extra absorption where it's needed. The campaign highlights the differences between boys and girls, and the nappy packaging is also colour differentiated - blue for boys and pink for girls, hence the hashtag #ChoosePinkorBlue. One thing I was surprised to find out about is that Huggies South Africa manufacture their nappies in Cape Town.

At the @Huggies_SA breakfast. Interesting trivia from the presentation: the Huggies nappies are made locally in Cape Town! #ChoosePinkorBlue
— victoire olwagen (@victoireo) June 22, 2013

In addition to being spoilt with an insiders view of the marketing campaign and product information we were treated to a candid talk on raising children and the differences between boys and girls by comedienne Tumi Morake. There were times I laughed so much that I could not see beyond the tears - Tumi certainly has a way with words. I think I enjoyed her raw honesty and real-mom anecdotes the most.

And after all the spoils of the morning, feeling like a new person having had some "me time" away from my delightful but demanding kiddos, I was treated to a gift bag filled with goodies for my darlings and two packs of nappies - one for Arnan and one for Amelie. Wow! What an incredible experience and indulgent morning - THANK YOU Huggies and Melinda!

Thank you @Huggies_SA and @melindaconnor for the opportunity to attend the #ChoosePinkorBlue breakfast this morning! I had such fun.
— victoire olwagen (@victoireo) June 22, 2013

You've got family in the online business

Who would've known? You've got an Uncle in the furniture business and an Aunty in the blogging business!

I was followed by Joshua Doore (@Joshua_Doore) on Twitter today. At first I was a little taken aback, expecting the usual boring schpiel. Their most recent tweet captured my attention, however, because I have been pondering on what to do to add some zing in our small home.

@Joshua_Doore: Need to transform your home but can't seem to get going? Be inspired, click here >> http://t.co/gyzlWLN4kv

So I clicked. What I discovered completely changed my perception of Joshua Doore. There are articles guiding one in choosing the correct mattress and other useful home tips, however what grabbed my attention were the recipes dotted inbetween. They look scrummy yummy and are posted by Mrs Doore, your Aunty in the blogging business. 

I'm going to subscribe to the feed for the site, just so I can keep an eye out for some home decorating tips and keep up to date with those recipes! Why don't you go check out their blog too?

Amélie and the Five teeth

Doesn't that title lend itself to a story? Something like...

One day, today in fact, Mama (that's me) noticed that Amélie was cutting her fifth tooth, the left lateral incisor. She was rather surprised as Amélie had just cut her right lateral incisor the day before...

Anyway, enough of that...

So now Amélie has five teeth! They are: both bottom central incisors, the top left central incisor, and the two bottom lateral incisors. It also looks like her top right central incisor is going to make an appearance soon... Perhaps tomorrow! :) The Boston Children's Hospital has a great image showing the names of the milk teeth along with when they appear.

I remember Arnan also teethed quite quickly, although I never made a note of it I think he had almost all his milk teeth before the age of 1.

Thankfully Amélie is a rather happy teether and is not grumpy for long. I did give her Nurofen today because the niggling teeth seemed to be keeping her from napping. I've also been rubbing Prodol on her gums just to try ease the discomfort. Other than gnawing on everything she can find I wouldn't really know that she was teething!

Thirty Five

Today is the last day I will be thirty four... Tomorrow I turn thirty five.

To be honest they all just seem like numbers to me. Except for the knowledge that I should surely feel old by now, I mean I'm half way between thirty and forty! 

I don't feel much older than I did a year ago though. Perhaps a little more tired, a little more worn around the edges. Parenting two babies under three years old can do that to one. Heck, parenting a two year old is pretty hairy as it is!

One thing I miss from "life before kids" is that special birthday feeling. The excitement and butterflies. Although I still love birthdays, I tend to get more excited about the children's birthdays than my own. 

This year Nico is away too, so there's extra parenting load and less being made a fuss of. Rah! 

It isn't all gloom though, in fact I haven't been able to feel sorry for myself at all. I'll be seeing my Mom for afternoon tea, and then my sister and I go out for cocktails and dinner together. So exciting! My sister and I haven't done anything like this in years and years. It's going to be a blast.

Alright... I think I'm ready... THIRTY FIVE here I come!

It has begun

Amélie started standing by pulling herself up by the couch and baby rocker this past Friday - at 7 months old! She has stood up in her cot before, and did a kind of leaning stand on the baby rocker, but this was her first real stand all on her own.

I was out of the room at the time and got a huge surprise (and a little fright) when I returned to find her standing! Note how Amélie is pointing her toes in the photo, even while standing. It's been her favourite pose since she was born.

Standing is her new obsession now, and it's still a bit of a surprise to see her tiny head peeping up over the couch.

Any bets for when Amélie will start walking?

Arnan's first week at school

We've started a new chapter in our lives - Arnan started school this week! His first day was on Monday (20/05/2013), and he was so excited. He'd been carrying his school backpack wherever we went and couldn't wait to put it on his back the three days that he went to school this week. He didn't even want to change out of his pajamas before getting his backpack on and heading for the door!

Arnan's loving school, the activities and play time. He's been especially excited about seeing his cousin, who is in his class. Apparently even his cousin has become louder now that Arnan is there. I foresee a few adventures and escapades shared between these two, I hope they won't get up to too much mischief together!

I have been carefully enforcing the concept that I will return at the end of school - "Mama is going to come back...". It's been so cute, and Mama's heart has melted every time, when I return to fetch Arnan he immediately pipes up, "Mama come back!". 

On Wednesday Arnan, now familiar with the dropping off modus operandi, started telling me "Mama seet" (Mama sit) on the short walk from the car to the indoor dropping off area. Once inside it became clear that he wanted me to sit on the couch, while he played, in an effort to keep me from leaving!

All in all Arnan's doing exceptionally well, considering the big change in his routine this has brought about, and I am such a proud Mama.