I'm Pregnant :-)

On Friday, 8 November 2013 I got a positive result on a home pregnancy test.

I was so shocked!  Even though I’ve been experiencing tender breasts and tiredness for a week or so I still could not believe the 2 lines when they appeared and had to get hubby to make sure!

We are over the moon and Hayley is so excited.  She recons I have a brother and a sister in my stomach.  I don’t think she really understand what is happening, but she does get excited and always respond with a brother and sister in mommy’s stomach and when asked and when you ask her what is in anyone else’s stomach she will tell you ‘food’.

So far this pregnancy has been totally different from my first.  I am more tired, experiencing food aversions and nausea and I am very moody.  My poor little family.

We had our first scan on 3 December 2013.  I expected to be between 7 – 8 weeks and it turned out that I was exactly 9 weeks then, our due date being 8 July 2013, which means I will be 13 weeks tomorrow and officially in the 2^nd trimester.  I am really hoping that the nausea, tiredness, moodiness and food aversions will then start to ease off.  Our first scan went really well.  Baby D2 looks healthy and doctor is happy with everything. 

Our next scan is tomorrow and I can’t wait to see our baby again.

My very positive pregnancy tests:

Our baby D2 at exactly 9 weeks

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The Worst Blogger 2013 Award

… has to go to myself!

One of my goals for 2014 will definitely be to blog more often.

Here is a looooonnnngggg overdue update on us.

Hayley:

At 2 years and 9 months we are truly enjoying the stage she is at now.  She talks a lot and has so many things to tell us every day.  She eats well, can keep herself entertained for long periods at a time and enjoys helping me around the house.  She listens well and we have had very few terrible 2 issues.  I can’t believe that we will soon be planning her 3^rd birthday party.

She still does not sleep through in her bed at night, but we have accepted this and now take things as they come.  She is fully potty trained and has been of the night nappy for about a month now.  We still have the occasional accident, but she is doing really well and making us so proud.

She enjoys books; especially the ones where we ask her the names of objects.  We read together every night and then Hayley will do a prayer before we kiss her good night.  Most nights she thanks Jesus for being able to laugh.  Cutest thing ever! 

She loves watching Lollos, Carike and Ghoempie, Mickey mouse Clubhouse and Barney.  She enjoys signing and can sign a few songs like Twinkle Twinkle, Wielie Walie, Handjies Klap and most of the songs on her Lollos and Ghoempie DVD’s and CD’s.  She plays with dolls for hours and is so motherly and soft hearted.  Recently she also discovered dresses and will take her clothes of and dress herself in the dresses in her cupboard 100 times a day.  After putting on a dress she will come and model it for me and daddy.

She is doing well at school and we are proud of the yearly report we received from the school recently.  She also had a school concert, and just like her mommy she was very shy on stage and just stood there, but performed really well in the Monkeynastix routine they had before the break.  I was so proud and I am really happy that we decided to let her start Monkeynastix this year.

We also recently went down to Rheebok (close to Mosselbay) to visit my parents for the first time since they moved and it was also Hayley’s first time at the ocean.  She was so amazed with this big, blue ocean.  Her face when she first got out of the car will be engraved in my memory for ever.  She loved the sand, but was a bit weary of the water.  She would go close and as soon as a wave breaks she will run back screaming and laughing.  By the 2^nd day she was sitting in the water playing with the sand.  It was so nice and she really amazed us on the long car journey, keeping herself entertained or sleeping.  I am such a proud mommy. 

Below is an overload of photos taken over the last few months.

Me and hubby:

We are doing really well, 2013 was both a really tough year for us but also a good year full of blessings.

I am still married to the best man on the universe, he always helps in and around the house, helps a lot with Hayley and absolutely lives for his little family.  He is gentle and kind and I love this man more and more every day! 

In 2014 we will also be introducing a new addition to the family.  Yes blog friends, I am pregnant, but more about that in my next blog.

My beautifull princess:

Family Photoshoot August 2013:

December 2013 Holidays:

Hayley was so good on the long road home:

Hayley and her cousins:

Hayley and the love of my life:

 

 

Me and the love of my life:

A legend turns 30!

Saturday, 17 August 2013, marked the 30^th birthday of a very special person in my life, my dearest husband.

We had about 30 people over on the day to celebrate with him.  He chose a 80’s dress up party theme and what a fun night we had. 

Pictures really speak louder than words.

 

The Lion and Rhino Park

Sunday DH took me and Hayley to the Lion and Rhino Park just outside of Krugersdorp.

 

What a stunning little gem to escape to from the busy city rush.  We first took the drive through the park.  Saw a lot of bucks and even saw a Rhino with a little one.  Rhinos are such amazing creatures and being so close to them on Sunday I cannot understand why anyone would hurt them.

 

Then we went into the closed camps where they keep the cheetahs, wild dogs and white lions.  We were lucky enough to catch the white lions just after feeding time so they were still eating.  Got some very nice close up shots from my old reliable ‘mik en druk’ camera.

 

Afterwards we went to the animal crèche and reptile park.  There is a huge braai and picnic area and you can then walk through the animal crèche where they have loads of younger wild animals.  You can also pay R30 per person to go into one of the enclosures to hold one of the young animals and also take photos with them.  The line was just very long for this so decided we will plan the trip better next time and then go into the enclosures with some of the animals.

 

Afterwards we had a light lunch, on a wooden deck overlooking the whole area.

 

As we left we noticed another restaurant with a huge play area for children.

 

It was an awesome day but now know what all they offer we will plan a bit better for our next trip. 

 

Next time we will go earlier, stop to have some coffee and then go into the animal crèche before it gets too busy.  Afterwards we will go on a drive and then return around lunch time to have either a picnic or a nice braai before we return home.

 

I can definitely recommend the Lion and Rhino park for people looking for something to do over a weekend.  It is close to home and Hayley really enjoyed the outing and at the same time it is an educational experience as well.

 

Looking forward to the next time we will be visiting the Lion and Rhino Park.

 

 

 

A typical Weighless day

One thing I have to say about Weighless is that you eat a lot!  They divide the total weight that you need to lose by 10, thus giving you 10 mini goals.  For each goal you get a Step.  I am currently on Step 1 and each step has its own specific eating plan or menu.

 

I’ve never had a day where I feel hungry since starting Weighless, and I think that helps to keep cravings away for chocolates and sweets.

 

A typical day looks something like this:

 

Breakfast (before 8 am):

 

30 g Rye Bread

Fish Paste

175 ml yoghurt

 

Morning Snack (10 am):

 

200 g Apples

250 ml Skim Milk

 

Lunch (between 12 and 1):

 

100 g Pasta

120 g Tuna

100 g Tomato

100 g Onion

Gherkins

 

Afternoon Snack (around 2 pm):

 

120 g Orange

 

Late Afternoon Snack (between 4 – 6 pm):

 

30 g Whole wheat Bread

50 g Pilchards

 

Supper (before 8 pm):

 

50 g Pasta

90 g Mince

100 g Tomato

100 g Onion

40 g Tomato Paste

 

Sometimes I can actually not believe that I’m going to lose weight eating like this.

 

Supper excited to reach my first mini goal so that I can see what Step 2 has for me.

All about Me...

My only resolution for 2013 was that this year will be all about me, what I want and what makes me happy.

 

My first big change was finding a new job.  A place where I could really be happy and be seen for what I am good at.  I managed to start at a new company in March 2013 and I’ve been really happy ever since.  I feel that it is important to have a career in a company you really are happy in.  You spend so much of your days at work and it really is the worst thing ever to be unhappy.

 

Secondly I wanted to change the way I feel about myself.  I’ve succeeded in doing effort almost daily with my hair and make-up.  Although I am know expert when it comes to this, it does make one feel pretty when you know you’ve done some effort with yourself.  The second part of completing this journey is to lose weight.  I’ve been very down in the dumps about my weight and I’ve been jumping around from one eating plan to the next.  Following the one diet to the next.  Losing a few kg’s just to pick them all up again.  Last month I officially reached the highest number on the scale ever.  I did not even weigh this much when I went in for my C-section with Hayley.  It was really an eye opener and I decided to join Weighless.  I officially joined them on 6 July 2013.  My goal is to lose about 22 kg and I am proud to say that so far so good.  I’ve lost 1.6 kg with my first weigh in and I’ve not felt this motivated in a very long time to succeed in something and I know that I will be at my goal within the next year. 

 

The only thing I still need to get motivation for is exercise.  I leave home before 6 in the morning and only return after 6 at night.  Traveling between 2 – 3 hours to and from work a day.  When I get home it is such a rush with cooking, packing lunches, sorting out Hayley and also getting some quality time with DH, but I suppose this all is just one big fat excuse and certainly something I need to get my mind around, but at least I’ve taken step one on my weight loss journey.   

 

I look forward to make this journey part of my blog, not only to record it and look back on days I feel like giving up, using my blog as a reminder of how far I’ve become, but also, hopefully to motivate and uplift someone else that needs it.

 

Below is some motivations I found browsing the net, wanted to share it on here as I plan on referring back to this on days I feel like I am ready to give up.

 

Chat again soon

 

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

A beauty contest

Once again I’ve been MIA from my blog.  I will most likely win the Award for the Worst Blogger Ever 2013.

Things have been very busy at home.  So much happening and it does not really help that I work far from home, so I normally leave when it’s dark and return when it’s dark.

 

Today’s blog is actually a bit of a brag post.  The past weekend my DH had to work the whole weekend as they had a huge name change launch nationally for their company.

 

Saturday I took Hayley and we went to visit Daddy at work.  They had jumping castles, sweet packets, clowns and face painters for entertainment. 

 

At 11:00 they had a beauty pageant with 4 judges and Bokkie from Idols was the MC.  Hayley was not allowed to participate as the ages was from 4 years up but we were told that she can join in for the fun as she would properly be too shy to go onto the stage in any way. 

 

So the first time we had to go on stage she refused that I put her down so I had to carry her on the stage.  As we stopped in front of the judges she all of a sudden got out of her shell and started smiling and waving at the judges.  They then calculated the scores and called out a top 10.  I was really surprised when Hayley’s number was mentioned.  She then had to go back on stage to be scored in the 2^nd round again.  As we were waiting in the line-up she pulled away from me running towards the stage telling me she wants to go on.  I picked her up and explained that she needs to wait for her turn.  When her turn arrived she went on to the stage all by herself.  Walked up to the judges, stopped and smiled and turned around and walked back to where I was standing. 

 

I was so shocked!  Clearly we have a little performer on hands and we will definitely look at enrolling her to modelling school or maybe look at something like gymnastics to boost this confidence she already has.

 

She went back onto stage with the rest of the top 10 for a line up.  Stood between everyone like a big girl and smiled and waved at daddy and mommy proudly sitting in the crowds.  She was then given a special award where she won a tiara and an Edgars gift voucher.  One of the judges told DH afterwards that according to her scores she was supposed to be 1^st princess but it would have been unfair due to her age.

 

It was such an unexpected but proud moment for us and it is something that I felt I wanted to share with the rest of the world out there.

 

Thanks for reading and sharing this moment with me.  Hopefully I will be back sooner next time.