Living a SPIRITED life filled with wanderlust, emotions and everything in between

Tag: happiness Page 4 of 8

Kievits Kroon for some R & R

spa-day

On Thursday 6 October, I headed to Kievits Kroon Country Estate and Spa for some much needed R & R… It has been a bit busy in Spiritville and then there were some changes on the work front, not my doing but we Dude and I will manage, we somehow always land on our feet. We have some contingency plans but looking at the bigger picture we are thinking that it might just be in God’s plan for us seeing as how we are also expecting the resident alien soon…

Kievits Kroon Spa, you pampered me beyond my expectations. As an expectant mom I was slightly apprehensive about going to the spa but I was assured that a trained therapist would take care of me…and she definitely took care of me. I actually found myself dozing off and snoring during my therapy session…yes, you know that sleep where you hear yourself snoring and wake up and think shit did I just snore out loud…that was me. I am 22 weeks pregnant and although I feel good I just can’t stay awake past 8pm anymore…no matter what I do I just can’t stay up late.

After my session I was treated to a three course meal in their Signature restaurant…OMG, that food was sooo good.

Starter – Crispy fried duck savoury pancake with peas and soy foam

Main – Prawn fettuccine with aioli and white wine saffron sauce

Dessert – Warm battered banana, coconut and vanilla deep fried ice-cream and caramel sauce

kievits-kroon

Kievits Kroon I thank you for a lovely day of pampering. I will be back…Let me just monitor my budget….

Spirited Mama

P.S. I am thinking that this is the perfect venue for my resident alien’s baby shower…

Mabalingwe…is why I was off the radar for a while

mabalingwe

 

I was beside myself… I was literally trying to sit still as I typed this. I have anticipated this holiday for months. Along with the excitement it also brings great sadness that Mamma isn’t here to share it with us, well physically that is… She was the one who called me up in January and said “I really enjoyed spending my birthday with you guys (Dudie is on the 1st of October and Mamma on the 2nd) so I was thinking I want to spend my birthday with you guys again”. I said cool I will find a place for us… And I did. Mabalingwe it was. I booked and confirmed that we would the last week of September at Mabalingwe in anticipation of their respective birthdays…We arrived 26 September to beautiful chalet surrounded by the bushveld and nature. We did send Dude into the chalet to check that there were unwanted pets/wildlife/snakes in the chalet…Yes, we waited in the bakkie until he came back out to give us an all clear…One day I will tell you about how my Guess watch saved me from a Mozambiquan spitting cobra…I shit you not. True story but for another day.

Well you may or may not know that Mamma is sadly no longer with us as she was lost a very short, well from the time of diagnosis for the family, we really don’t know how long she knew about it, 8 day battle with CANCER! you can read about it here. I miss her dearly. I wish she was here.

We haven’t been to Mabalingwe since I was 7 months pregnant with Dudie, which was more than 7 years ago… I am really not sure why though but I do know that we had loads of fun the last time we were there. Like Dudie’s godparents probably conceived their first child there. LOL. We went up Vodacom hill, yes with me being 7 months pregnant and I even went on a game drive to the Lion Camp, all whilst I used most of the Chalet’s cushions to pack all around my pregnant self….However, this past week I was very lazy and very cautious NOT to have extreme activities….We spent the week just lazing around and enjoying the heat. Cooling off at the pool with some refreshing drinks and too much ice-cream…

It was a happy but also sad and emotional week as there were many moments where I caught myself staring out blankly and just having a quiet cry for Mamma…we saw lots of animals, loads of birds (OMg I am so impressed with Dudie who knows how to navigate through the bird book. This kid is damn good at spotting birds, and finding the correct bird in the book).

It is sad that Mabalingwe, like many places not just in Limpopo Province is suffering due to a lack of rain…the water levels are so low. The dams actually look empty.

Do you remember the old Castrol(Boet & Swaer) Ad? They made this ad at the Kalahari Oasis aka Bush Pub at Mabalingwe.

We discovered the BushPub on a previous visit and it is definitely a MuST stopover every time we are at Mabalingwe. This time however, we etched our names into the walls and forever left a little piece of ourselves there. They have scheduled game drives but you can and really should drive yourself through the bush as well. I find it very exhilarating….except I shouldn’t be the actual driver…

God willing we will be back to soak up some Mabalingwe again…

Spirited Mama

P.S. Some elephants went roque trying to break the water pump or filter or something to get some fresh water. They actually also broke into a private home to steal some food… The sound of these elephants approaching is insanely scary and yes it was pitch black outside as they decided it would be best to do the deed at night. SO we’re sitting on the porch and Dude is about to braai when we here the commotion…Dude says “It sure beats the hell out of PnP animal cards and sound readers…this shit is real….this is what the actual sounds are.

 

Cadbury’s Peanut Tumbles.. I miss you…

tumbles

Where do I even start??? I am so pissed actually. I have been hunting down Cadbury‘s Peanut Tumbles but can’t find it anywhere…Like nowhere in Pretoria can I find just one freaking packet…And what gets to me is that this hunt has been on for a long long long ass time now.

Cadbury this is my plea to you. Please bring Peanut tumbles back….

Love how you say “Let the joy find you” well I am searching and just not finding MY joy!!!!

Spirited Mama

Our resident ALIEN…aka baby

YES, we are having a baby. It’s happening. This baby will be making an appearance very close to our 10 year wedding anniversary. So what an awesome gift! When I showed Dudie a scan and an early foetal development video he aptly responded….is that the baby? looks like an alien.

Of course everyone is totally beside themselves with JOY and so too am I . I was very reluctant and hesitant but it seems things have a way of working out for the greater good. I am longing and yearning for this baby as much as Dude and Dudie.

It’s going to be an adjustment as it’ll be like starting over. Dudie will be 7 when this baby arrives.
So here’s to us having a super awesome sorted baby routine in no time….Hey don’t judge I can wish can’t I. At this stage I can’t think of sleepless nights, breastfeeding, purity and nappies etc…

Spiritville is growing…

Spirited Mama

P.S. did I mention that I will be in my final year of studies when this baby arrives…OMG we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Hello world…..I am still here

Hello…..

I am not even sure where to start but I am truly amazed that I can still remember my password to log in to “my precious” blog.

Apologies for being MIA but I have been a bit busy. Things have been crazy, sometimes normal, sometimes odd and emotional and sometimes just chaotic. We have had holidays, changed school grades and I started working full time again.

I have checked on my blog from time to time but somehow I just did not have the energy or perhaps the courage to blog. I have missed it though. It was a part of me that needs to be nurtured again. As I am growing wiser(well older) I sometimes feel sort of beside myself. Like I am having an out of body experience. I am standing on the outside looking in on my life. I feel “left out” of my life sometimes.

So I am slowly but surely finding my way to getting myself back on track, if there even is a track… I am not unhappy on the contrary I am in a happy place. I just feel that I have so much more to offer myself and my family that I am willing to search for “that key” to unlock that potential.

At least it’s FRIDAY!

Spirited Mama

P.S. A recent conversation with Dudie:

Dudie: Mom, if Daddy dies you need to marry a new husband.

Me: Why? I don;’t need a husband to raise my offspring.

Dudie: You must cos who will be my Daddy then?

Me: But you have a Daddy and if he dies you will have a Daddy in heaven. But wait what if I die, can Daddy get a new wife?

Dudie: NO! You are my Mommy and I don’t want a new Mommy.

Needless to say Dude was not very impressed with Dudie’s reasoning. LOL. But Dudie assured him that he is the bestest Daddy in the whole world and he says thank you to GOD for his Daddy.

Still here….

Hello

Whilst ET tried to call home, I wonder what he would do with all the technology of today, I’ve been working halfday, baking and cooking like Masterchef and really just enjoying my “free”time.

Technically, it’s not free time as the half of the day when I’m done at work is already filled with various activities but that’s life i suppose.  We’ve been indulging in our family time and spend more quality time together.  Can’t wait for Summer to hit the pool, or in my case swim off the extra weight….I pray it works.

The cooking and baking is definitely evident in my entire household, we all bought new clothes.  Need to make healthier variations.

I’m not even going to attempt catching up with my reader ‘cos its just not going to happen.

On that note, I’m less stressed at work.  Just when I do want to throw a Tantrum it’s time to go home.

Anybody in Pretoria want to have a cold one, let me know! Spiritedmamablog@gmail.coM tea/coffee/wine/beer/etc

for now let me watch Dudie swim, he’s just completed level 4!!!! And he dives! I can’t dive to save my life… Well done Dudie!

hope all is well with everyone

Spirited Mama

xxxx

When My 3yr old says “Mom, you’re boring!”

I had to stop myself from responding with WTF. I know I’m a paranoid parent. I’m the one who worries that he’s get hurt. Dad is the cool fun playful one. They play and I thank the Lord that I have a son ‘cos OMG a girl child would’ve been beyond tomboy… And besides I don’t have a sister. And my mother never did any mother/daughter things with me so I really wouldn’t know what to do with a girl child… When I watch them “play” my Dude says, all whilst rolling his eyes at me and with a not so subtle tone in his voice, what does Mommy say – Just remember – someone always gets hurt…

<I just spent 10minutes explaining to our executive home assistant, aka Maria our helper, that I would really appreciate it if she could handwash 1 of Dudie’s polonecks as it is soiled, looks like he swam in the sand! She was ok with this instruction when I left for work but she’s been frantically searching for this grey sweater that I specifically left on Dudie’s Bed in plain sight. And I did mention that its on his bed. She’s called me 5 times and after I tried to explain its the fck grey poloneck on the bed, I do not swear at her -promise- I may curse under my breath but not directly at her. She calls me back to say she’s found it so she’ll wash the blue jacket. BLUE? WTF? I said it’s ok just leave it I’ll sort it out tonight. I think she picked up on my irritability and called me back again and said she’s found the grey sweater. Swell – let’s see shich item she’s washed when I get home>

Anyway, I try to do fun things with Dudie. For example on Saturday I told him let’s paint. So I drag out the paint stuff and whilst Dude was braaing (barbeque-ing) we painted or lets just say Dudie painted over my pretty blue sky and green grass.. sigh. I let him be cos that’s how he paints. So after reading Tanya’s post on Cool “kid” things that adults should do, I was wondering what other parents out there are doing with their kids. These are the things we do, I took these from Tanya’s list:

Pop the bubbles in bubble wrap – I looovvve this. We have a massive roll of bubblewrap in the office and every now and then I take some home 🙂

Jump on a bed – Dudie and I cannot resist. Especially when we go on holiday! We recently spent a small fortune on our new bed so I’m definitely not jumping on that bed.

Jump on a jumping castle – Errr, we kinda broke Dudie’s Jumpolene….Maybe that’s why they say for kids under 6 yrs only.

Have a water fight – Errr, every night at bath time. Water guns, jugs, cups whatever is available will be used to scoop water and throw at any human or animal form passing by

Jump in puddles – Dudie says I need Wellies but this Mam wants some Hunter Boots

Run through sprinklers (clothed might be more appropriate) – we did this the other day. Bad idea cos its cold in Gauteng. Winter is coming

Blow bubbles – Love this. We do it all the time. We even did it on the beach in George…

Enjoy an ice cream cone with sprinkles and sauce, or even a soda float – Late night Ice-cream treats. On Sunday we started with ice-cream and chocolate ice-cap. And we’ve had it 3 times this week too

Finger paint – We don’t do this often enough

Have a midnight feast – This is reserved for Dude and I 🙂

Camp out in the garden – We set up Dudie’s tent in the lounge so we camp in the house

Make biscuits in animal shapes – Oooh this is a hit with Dudie. My Dude’s colleagues have requested that I make those animal biscuits again. Dude always take s treats to work so his workforce knows what I’m capable of…

So what “fun” things do you do?

Spirited Mama

What THIS Mother wants for Mother’s Day!

Cotton pyjamas would be nice – off white or any colour as the white only looks white until the first wash! What is it with the water in Gauteng?

An abundance of Lindt chocolate…

A morning of sleeping in… even if just until 9am – as much as I like waking up to Dudie’s soft voice stating “it’s wake up time guys at 6 sometimes 5 even 4am!!!! (thankfully this happens more than the shrieking noisy wake up call/sometimes a cry – I think he has bad dreams…/poking at my eyes/ears/nose/moth/tummy/etc)

A warm breakfast. Uninterupted, without having to feed anyone.

Sweet treats. Cake and Pringles for breakfast and maybe an ice-cold coca cola for BREAKFAST without having to feel like I need to set an example for Dudie. I want a fck coke for breakfast! And chocolate cake! Ice-cream! Pringles – the Original flavour! I DON’T want to share MY Pringles!!!!! MINE mine mine!

A shopping spree would be great. Pity my bank manager won’t allow it. sigh… I so need a new wardrobe..

Oh and a new kitchen would be nice and whilst they making dust we may as well extend the house too.

And some bubblegum steri stumpies would be awesome!

I really can’t complain ‘cos my boys spoil me ALL the time. Fortunately, I do not have to wait for Mother’s Day. What is is with making people feel guilty and telling them YOU have to spoil/appreciate YOUR Mother on Mother’s Day??? You should be thankful EVERYDAY! You should Appreciate YOUR Mother everyday.

Now, some of you might know that I don’t exactly have a blissful Mother/Daughter relationships… ours is more like ‘wtf? were you thinking? doing? going to do? it’s like a business transaction. It’s not filled with hugs and emotions. It’s kinda of emotionless… Let’s not even go into my Mother in law, whom I haven’t spoken to in a few months. Let’s just leave it at that.

But that being said, I have a Gran whom I love to bits and who loves my family to bits. I have Aunts – my mom’s sisters – who treat me like I am their daughter and I love them for it! So let’s not wait for Mother’s Day to show appreciation to whomever it may be that is close to your heart. Let’s appreciate them NOW.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms on Sunday 12 May 2013. Hope you are appreciated, even if just on Mother’s Day.

Spirited Mama

P.S. I defend Mother’s Day the same way my Dude defends “16 Days of Activism for NO violence against Women and Children. <This is only my and his opinion. In no way am I condoning any violence against any human form or even animals>In short he says it just fcked up ‘cos technically what they saying is for 16 days lets ‘Love” each other but what about the rest of the year? Is it ok to fck each other up then?  Guys let’s appreciate. And let’s give credit where it’s due.

Mauritius…

Right now I’m getting ready to handover my credit card to pay the accommodation I’ve booked in…. Mauritius….

Yes, whilst Winter is nearing I’m fitting on costumes. And looking for cute shorts and dresses and whatever else I can find that screams tropical island holiday. self- find a big floppy hat> I just need to get approval for my leave and we’ll be heading out in June. ****fingers crossed***

As a bonus the resort has a Kids club – now before you get that number for the welfare – we’re not wanting to leave child there all day everyday but we would like US some  adult time too. It’s suppose to be romantic.

Romantic + 3yr old = NOt POSSIBLE/ERROR/Try again in 18 years/malfunction

So on my to do list today is to:

1. Get leave approved

2. Pay accommodation

3. Breathe after payment has been approved and I view my bank statement

4. Do a happy dance

5. Pay fees for Dance Mouse – Oh yes, I forgot to mention that my child had a complete breakdown on the way to school the other day because I need to give him a letter… After 10minutes of crying/whining/etc and me trying to decipher his cryptic message it emerged that he wants to do Dance Mouse but I need to enrol him first. So I calmly told him that we will discuss this matter in the evening. We did. The child has won hand s down and will now be enrolling in Dance mouse too.

Happy Friday!!!

Spirited Mama

P.S. How lovely is the weather today??? Weird considering all the cold we’ve had the past few days…

 

Seattle Coffee Company.. I seriously love you!!!!!

So our new ok it’s not new but it’s still new as a family affair – is our Coffee dates at Seattle Coffee Company. I love coffee but a good coffee almost as much as I love chocolate. And I love hot coffee. Now just to clarify, before anyone call the welfare and the health inspector and who ever else need to be called when a child is involved… WE DO NOT give our child coffee. We substitute with Milo or hot chocolate or a Baby Foamy 🙂

Dudie, loves his coffee. That could possibly be one of the first words he learnt to master as he always saw either Dude or myself with a cup in hand…. Yes, we go through a crap load of coffee and let’s not forget milk….. I’m still looking for a cow, if anyone has any just standing around doing nothing… So ever since my child could talk he would ask for coffee.

So every now and again, and I noticed that it’s becoming a regular must have on a trip to Menlyn, we absolutely MUST NEED HAVE TO HAVE coffee. I would generally get the Latté, Dude gets a Café Mocha and Dudie well it’s either a hot chocolate or Baby Foamy. And we recently discovered the yummy apple cinnamon muffins – YUMMMMYYYYY! As I do not have any sugar in my coffee I will spoil myself sometimes with a Café Mocha too…

I’d like to think that we are becoming regulars and sometimes it’s a quick in out dash to get coffee and sometimes its a sit down and just unwind with your coffee… The best part is seeing the pretty images they create in your coffee cream – from flowers to smiley faces. These guys and girls are really talented. And it’s fun to see the excitement in Dudie for the surprise picture that awaits… Thank you Seattle Coffee, you make my family happy!!!!

 

 

IMG-20130403-01222

*This post is in NO way sponsored. We are just really loving Seattle Coffee. I told Dude, We need to go to Seattle to try this coffee in its hometown…. I’m working on getting him to take us to Seattle…

OOh, I think I need to do a quick detour on the way home.

SpiritedMama

P.S. Dudie bought the Russel Hobbs Red Edition Coffee Maker. Now whilst this is not Seattle Coffee and there’s no one to make me pretty pictures in my coffee, this is seriously my vice in the early hours of the morning. You get woken up by this freshly brewed coffee in the morning. Dude programmes this machine and sets it up before bed every day so that we wake up to fresh coffee. When Dude leaves for work and Dudie is having his second sleep in my bed, I sneak into the kitchen, pour a big cup and snuggle on the couch with my coffee. That 5minutes of pure bliss. It’s quiet and peaceful….well sometimes the birds interrupt my peace and quiet but I’ve now just learnt that I do not open them up until I’m ready to leave….

P.P.S Did I tell you that I get up at the crack of dawn to bake muffins/cupcakes or whatever treats I think the boys would like… Not everyday, but they love me so much more for this….They wake up to fresh baked treats…. I jsut nee dto figure out where I can find someone who wants to treat me…

RED Coffee Maker

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