sorryidontspeakmandarin

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

I can’t keep silent

Today I write for women. All women. Whether you are a mother currently, mother to be or have been. We celebrate Mother’s Day every year and I try to make time to remember that not all of us having living kids to celebrate with us. This year I was reminded by a friends’ post. For all the mommies who have experienced the loss of a child I want to say we see you.

Read the full article at www.sorryidontspeakmandarin.co.za

[envyavenue]

Catching Snowflakes by Klaus Wiese.

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

Just such a moment of cat happiness. A reminder that even the biggest cats can be kittens if only for a moment.

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

Living with water deprivation

As some, hopefully many of you are aware Cape Town, and the whole region surrounding it is in a water crisis situation. As a family of four we first found the restrictions quite challenging. Although we bathed every night, we were water conscious.

See the full article at www.sorryidontspeakmamdarin.co.za

What sort of crisis have you lived through?

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

“Will I ever feel normal again

...And the answer is no. You will not. But you find a new normal and it works so well that sometimes you don’t even know that it’s not. And I don’t think I realized how much of the weight I was still carrying.” The Bold Type.

This show really hit home for me tonight. Especially after my most recent post about hating my name. I watched this tonight and phew. Hitting such a poignant note. I was crying at Jacqueline’s reveal. Shattered with her “...and the answer is no.” Realizing that my reality is as she says. The facade works so well that sometimes I don’t even realize that it is not normal. That I am not normal.

And then just like that laughing with the main characters a few minutes after. Remembering what it was like to be as young as the main three characters. Such a great series.

Thank you for inspiring me. Making me laugh, cry and dream again!

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

Settling into a routine

So many parents ask my hubby and myself how do we get our kids to bed at such an early hour.

Practice, reinforce and reiterate.

Practice getting them ready for bed at least 20 minutes before you want them in bed. Feed them early, brush their teeth and bathe them.

Reinforce the idea that it is bedtime nightly with a story time, pajamas and cuddles. Have a good selection of kids books to read with nice pictures.

Reiterate. They will try their luck by getting out of bed and playing. Put them firmly back in bed, make sure the room is dark and that the house is quiet.

Do this from little, perseverance is key. Let them get used to the bedtime routine. As they age we shifted the lights out time a half hour later every two years.

Let me know what your routine looks like and if you have any tips for us.

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

Monday musings.

So tired. As in train wrecked exhaustion. These are the things they don’t warn you about when you have been under anesthesia.

One of the fun-nest side effects is pure, unmanageable exhaustion. Tired when you wake up. Sitting down and passing out without even realizing it. Getting to 9pm and having to drag yourself to bed because you ache from tiredness.

Unfortunately with our severe water scarcity I can’t even take a hot bubble to ease my tired body. This was my go to every evening normally. Now I miss it like a hot cross bun without butter.

It goes away after a few days apparently. For now I am going to take my exhausted keister off to Roller Derby and spend time with the ladies who make me feel like a kickass woman.

Have a great week. Let me know what you get up too.

[realizes]

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

#prettyinpink #onacloudyday

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

It might not be red lipstick, but it’s all a girl needs. Smooth and delicious smelling. Labello Vanilla Buttercream

[wanderlusteurope]

Seiser Alm, the largest high-altitude Alpine meadow in Europe. Located in Italy’s South Tyrol province in the Dolomites mountain range

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

Such a lovely cool view. #breathtaking

[ink3dmommy-deactivated20180921]

When you finally get time to clean but you just watch Netflix instead.

Reblog if you can relate. 🙌🏻

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

Totally can mate. #truth

[sorryidontspeakmandarin]

For the love of writing

Toying with an idea is great fun. It gives you oodles of time to procrastinate. However when it comes of getting down to the business of actually writing a niche post it can be complex if you have a variety of things about which you are passionate.

Today I am writing about health. Something to many of us take for granted and only when we go through the experience of our parents beginning to get ill with age does it hit home that this, whatever their this is, might be what we will be battling in a decade -more or less.

Cancer is the most likely. However I find the prospects of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s far more scary. These days cancer is something we can fight and may well live through. The others are progressive diseases that will worsen with time and reduce one’s faculties and eventually one’s self.

However I do not wish to be morbid. There is so much development in the world of medicine that may prove of assistance when we reach that stage.

I hope to write a more in depth on this subject soon. Today however I am merely reflective. Wishing to know what lies on your horizons and wondering whether you have given thought to it to?