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#ecmeetup topics: the importance of social media
So as the 14th of May draws closer (yes, I am aware that it’s still March) Elle and I excitedly prep for our very first (and soon to be annual) Eastern Cape bloggers get together. The #ecmeetup has all kinds of wonderful things awaiting us such as the droolworthy brag bags and really awsome special giveaways (That I’m not allowed to win. Suddenly this job has lost it’s spark) thanks to our amazing sponsors. The #ecmeetup topics are also a great drawcard and we can’t wait to learn.
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I shouldn’t be alive: I could have been aborted {Birthday Celebrations}
Go shorty! It’s my birthday! Well not today, tomorrow. And I’m not short. But that’s not the point here. As you can tell, I’ve been living in a glass cage of emotion the past few days. As the 18th of March draws closer I’m filled with more emotion than I care to share. I guess it’s exciting to turn one year older when you’re like, 20, and you can’t wait to be 21. But after you reach that 30 year mark, it all becomes one big blur of birthday celebrations and you find a deeper meaning behind each year that God has blessed you with. -
I shouldn’t be alive: How I almost partied my life away {Birthday Celebrations}
So it’s my birthday in a couple of days time and I’m just chilling here like “whaaaaat”. Literally. I’m asking myself “What? It’s my birthday? Again?” I feel like I turned 30 just the other day. Life is but a breath and one should savor and appreciate every, single, moment. I’m still alive. And that means that I still have purpose and destiny.
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#ecmeetup guest speaker: Megan Kelly Botha
On the 14th of May a bunch of us bloggers, from the Eastern Cape, are getting together to do blog stuff. You know, talk about blogging, learn about blogging, meet other bloggers and then, eventually, blog about it all. We are so excited about our fabulous #ecmeetup guest speaker and Eleanor (over at JustEllaBella) and I have hooked up aaaack-worthy giveaways and swag bags! We are totally looking forward to meeting all our EC peeps! (BTW Elle chats about what you can expect at the #ecmeetup on her blog today).
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How to take good photos of your toddler
I’m one of those moms who are always camera ready because dammit, my children are gosh darn cute! I love documenting all the weird and wonderful stuff they get up to and literally have tons and tons of photo folders on every computer and hard drive that we own. Fortunately the older ones know to smile when I say “Smile!” (“Nowwww! Or else no XBox!”) But grabbing photos of your toddler can be a bit tricky. Right?
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The day I fell out of a moving vehicle
So it’s my birthday in a few days time and instead of planning birthday celebrations, I find myself catching a whole bunch of feelings. I mean, guys, life is a gift! The very fact that we are still alive means that there is purpose and value and untapped potential in us, just waiting to be… well… tapped into! There are probably 100’s of reasons why I shouldn’t be alive today, but I’m still here, and that’s got to mean something. Allow me to elaborate…
The day I fell out of a moving vehicle.
My uncle was a backyard mechanic, with stained overalls and oily hands and car parts everywhere… He was a hero in our eyes. He told the best ghost stories and made everything seem more exciting somehow. He would often take my cousins and I (all in primary school and younger) with him when he went to test drive the cars that he would fix for clients and friends.One particular day, a boisterous bunch of cousins piled into a rather ancient vehicle, to “help” my uncle test drive it. It was school holidays and we had slept over at my grandma’s place, but we were bored. So even though he was only going for a short, slow drive around the block, we were excited to be doing something with him. We jumped into the old “skadonkie”, with 7 year old me claiming my place on the back seat behind the driver’s seat, and took off on our adventurous drive around the block. Everyone was chatting away and telling “knock knock” jokes or something – I can’t really remember because I was in my own imaginary Enid Blyton fueled world (as usual) – when a couple of minutes later, I found myself rolling in the street.
Rolling… my head in sync with a passing vehicle’s wheel. I remember watching its hub caps rotate as I spin next to it. I eventually rolled down a grassy embankment, totally dazed, not realizing what had just happened. As I got up to try to make my way back to the road, I noticed that my shoe had slipped further down the small hill. I rationalised that I simply could not leave my shoe behind! So I made my way further down the hill to get my shoe, before I hiked back up, trying to get back to the road.
Funny enough, the car was still in sight (he was driving that slow) but my dear uncle had still not realized that quiet Luchae was missing. You see, the door of the vehicle had been faulty and had not closed properly. It seems, as I leaned against, it quickly snapped open, creating a gap big enough for tiny me to slip through, and then slammed shut again. So there I was, limping along the side of road, watching the beat up “skadonkie” indicate as it was about to turn a corner and disappear into oblivion. All I could think was “must I really walk home alone?” I wasn’t allowed to roam around alone. What would my mom say? I eventually burst out crying, limping my way in the direction of home, with a shoe in my hand.The “skadonkie” then came to a halt, as my uncle and cousins realized that I was gone, and I watched it make a u-turn, relief washing over me. A trip to the doctor and an injection later and I was a legend. By the grace of God there were no broken bones and no concussion! Besides for not having any injuries, the mere fact that another car did not flatten me, is a miracle in itself!
Needless to say, I pretty much made it into one of the top 10 family stories repeated at family functions. Which is not always a good thing.
Have you survived an accident, or event, in your childhood that is best described as a miracle? Please do share 🙂
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#ecmeetup venue: The Boma, Port Elizabeth
The date has been set, the venue is booked and the guest speakers are a-prepping for our very first, annual, Eastern Cape bloggers meet up. The long-awaited #ecmeetup will take place on Saturday, May 14th at The Boma in Port Elizabeth. The #ecmeetup venue is a beautiful, safari-style country restaurant and wedding venue that is best described as magical!
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Separation anxiety: The day my toddler wrote me off
Hubstopher and I went on a mini vaca this past weekend. As I mentioned in a previous post, his best friend got married out of town and it would be the very first time that I would be away from my curly girly! My heart broke at the thought of leaving our 16 month old at home, but we were unable to take any of our kids with us. Look, my spreadsheet brain and I thought that we had this separation anxiety thing waxed. I filled my MIL in on curly’s routine, I made sure to pack all her favorite things and we even slept over at MIL’s house the night before, which I thought would help to ease my girl into being there for 3 days. -
#ungratefulnessmustfall
Can we all just take a chill pill? Well, atleast, just for a couple of seconds while I try to fix my hair. I don’t know it just seems as if everyone’s so on edge lately; standing on guard, fists up, ready to retaliate if someone so much as sneezes in their direction. #feesmustfall? More like #ungratefulnessmustfall. -
Preparing your son for his future wife
Have you ever considered the fact that you need to be preparing your son for his future wife? Well, firstly, brain explosion: I’m going to be someone’s mom-in-law one day! Shame Hahaha. But no really, I think I’d be a sterling MIL. Let’s be positive about this thing. Give love a chance! Make the world a better place! Anyways, last week I was chatting about how grown my kid is and the fact that he wants to get married at a young age. I mean, this could still change, but for now he is planning to be a chef, build an empire and find a wife, all while in his early twenties. Oh and they will live in France. So this got me thinking that hey, I need to learn some french! And, more importantly, I need to start preparing myself for a future wedding!I’ve been told that, as a mom of a boy, it’s your duty to keep your future DIL in mind, while raising your son. There are basic principles that you should be instilling in them to prep them for life as a dad and husband… and just a decent human being, over all, I’d think. Some of it are no brainers… well, all of them are no brainers, in my opinion… but sometimes these “no brain needed” principles still require intentional demonstration from us, as parents, in order for our kids to catch it. Stuff like:
Teaching him to clean up after himself
Yes, ladies, mold them while they’re still young and unmarried. Do you give your sons chores to do, around your home? I guess guys become expert “taking out the trash” people, but I’m talking hardcore house work. Things like sweeping and mopping floors, hanging up the washing and making beds.Make sure he doesn’t expect to be served on, like a king
Let’s keep it real moms-of-boys, we sometimes tend to spoil our little princes. I try to make the boys aware that they have just as much responsibility as my daughter will have, one day. Want some tea? You’re welcome to make it yourself, oh and while you’re at it, find out if anyone else would like some too. When I do serve on them, I make sure that they show gratitude. ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ goes a long way!Showing him how to be considerate towards others
Teaching your son how to be considerate and emotionally aware at a young age will not only help him to not be a stinky person, but I’m sure the women that he comes in contact with will appreciate it too. My prayer is that our boys will treat women with respect and consideration. I do not encourage the bullying or teasing of others. It’s not okay to make someone else feel bad about themselves! Train him up to be a gentleman by teaching him how to show consideration and care towards anyone that crosses his path.Teaching him how to be dedicated to the relationships in his life
I’ve said this before: I will NOT encourage my son to be a “player” or to bring multiple girlfriends home. I WILL out you! We’ve had the ‘dating’ talk and I explained that being in a relationship is a serious business and if he wants to have a girlfriend, he must be doubley sure about it. No, they aren’t getting married. He’s a teenager for crying outloud. But I will not have him prancing around, breaking the hearts of other peoples daughters, simply because he wants to feel like “the man”.Show him what a happy marriage looks like
This is one of the no brainers that we were talking about. Your marriage is a blueprint – an example – to your children. And yes, some of us are single or divorced moms. That’s okay. But you still have the responsibility of watching what you say around your children. If you are breaking down the covenant of marriage or disrespecting the marriages of others, your children will pick it up. Worse still: they will consider it NORMAL to not view marriage in a serious light.Make sure he knows the principles of working hard for what you want
Be honest, ladies, a passionate, ambitious man, who honors his agreements and has integrity, is so attractive! Where does it all begin? Well, at home, of course! I’ve considered having my boy take on a part time job, during the school holidays, because I want him to learn the principles of working for what you want and being dedicated to a commitment.Then there’s the thought: What type of MIL will I be? Have you ever thought about the fact that your future involves you being someone else’s MIL? Are there ways to prepare yourself for it? I guess your preparation for it occurs throughout your child’s dating season. Just like how it prepares them for marriage, it will probably prepare you for the change too. So I guess that’s all the prep we get, moms!
Here’s another shocking revelation: Since our boys each have a mom AND a step mom, this means that their wives will have to deal with TWO MIL’s! Hahahah bless their hearts!
But on the real: Isn’t it amazing how our lives are always changing, causing us to permanently be on that growth trip? Just when you think that you’ve done it all, something new pops up and you find yourself a scholar of life, once again.
