Drakensberg day 3 - and bringing back The Nap

The reason we brought back The Nap or The Rest is due to something MIL said on New Year's Day.

When she was growing up, her parents ALWAYS had "quiet time" after lunch so they could nap/ read/ sew (in those days her mother sewed all their clothes) and that was how parents in those days "got things done". (MIL is 71 so this was in the 50s)

This conversation happened because D said he was so tired (he is fairly low energy and of course, the kids sap even my energy) because the kids just don't stop.

MIL told us even though they didn't have "modern conveniences" and they cooked everything from scratch, etc. (they did have a maid to help in the house and a gardener/ handyman - this was Zimbabwe back in the day), their lives were slower and there was time for everything, EVEN THEMSELVES.

We decided there and then to re-institute rest times because let it be known, D and I have always been keen on alone time.

How we re-instituted Nap/ Rest Time

It had to be "sold" to the kids but I explained that everybody needs some quiet time to do their own thing during the day. Especially the introverts. 

These days, K still sleeps 98% of the time and C sleeps about 60% of the time. I prefer them to sleep (45 minutes only) because I really like non-crabby kids for the supper/ bath drill and I would rather have a slightly later bedtime (7:30 - 8:00).

We separate them (no exceptions otherwise you're wasting your time with twins!) - one in their bedroom and one in the lounge/ sunroom. I used to let one be in the study but then I feel like I can't move around and that doesn't work for me.

If they don't want to sleep, they still have to stay in whichever room and do QUIET things (read, play with a puzzle, draw, colour, etc).


The other day I used that time to read too (DIVINE and oh-so-decadent in the middle of te day) but normally that's computer time for me, or photo album-type stuff where I don't want little hands getting involved and "helping" me.

The key for adult rest time is you have to already know what you want to do during those 45 minutes because they go fast. I plan to edit a folder of photos, write a blog post or two, etc. I know in advance exactly what I want to do.



Anyway, so on holiday, we also have Rest Time. D & K definitely nap, C is 60/40 and I read.

This day, C woke first, found me reading outside and we chatted about the light because I had my camera next to me on the patio table.

We then decided to go for a walk without waiting for the others because it was golden hour.

(These days he tells me, "MUMMY! LOOK! Golden hour!!!")

I was sitting right under this lapa

I had to spell some of the message but he wrote one for them. They're going to make my shopping lists soon!

these are my favourite autumn leaves

blurry but I like that I look happy

Which is your favourite photo?
Do you have rest or quiet time in your house?

I should do this more often

Well, even though the half day wasn't as productive as I'd have liked, I had a great time today.

I finished all the edits and am now busy putting it into their book template. A bigger schlep than I thought but at least it will look like a proper book :)

I also had a chance to play with the babies.

By play I mean chasing them around the garden taking pictures of them :)

But it was a success.

I read my Kindle on the couch upon Connor's insistence (BTW, Kendra tells me tonight when she's BIIIIIGGGG she also wants a Kindle :)) and when D got home, we told him we want to go to a restaurant (their words!).

So off we toodled (okay, I lie - we flew - you guys know I am very scared of them going over the edge and screaming their little heads off) to Ocean Basket and had a lovely fish supper.

Back home and they're in bed.

Inspired by writing the book, I sorted out the medicine cabinet and the freezer and now I'm blogging.

I'm going to get back to the book in a minute but I just wanted to remember that this is the pace I prefer to operate at - literally able to smell the roses and enjoy the small things in life.

I'm half tempted to take a half day every week (oh how I wish) but I think I could happily do it at least once a month.

The fertility babies and the infertility support ended up being on the same day but they're bringing the one forward just for me! Yay.

I felt a tiny bit guilty going out two Thursdays in a row but actually, why? I love the time of connection and ministry (I always find I'm sharing God as well as hope at the infertility group, even if just with a lady one on one) and the kids are in bed anyway!

Do you ever just take time off just because?

How good are you at carving out time for yourself?

When's your next date with yourself? :)

Five on Friday and... I'm back with the PT

1. I am surrounded by photos, cards and presents in this study and I've had enough! A good batch was done this week and I think I sent off/ handed out about 15 cards and presents. I really have to finish the rest of the cards this weekend so my study can go back to a state of order again.

2. Yesterday we had our work Christmas lunch. I got D to drop me at work, caught a lift there with one colleague and caught a lift back home with another colleague. All this to maximise connections and it was fabulous :) I think I got and received some of the best gifts around the table...I am SOOO not into gag gifts, like stupid drinking games. Last year one of the girls got her person a really thoughtful gift and she got a drinking game gift. One look at her face was enough to know it did not go down well. I bought a beautiful photo frame (distressed and with the word family, just like on the blogs!) and I received a set of 4 vases, fused together with L O V E on the front. Beautiful. At the moment they have a red candy cane in each - looks very pretty.

3. When I got home yesterday I decided to take Connor on a mother-son date (you know why, MandyE) so we went late night shopping (from 5:10 to 6pm). He LOVED IT (my quality time child). He was charming, well-behaved but way too energetic for that time of the day. I even caught a guy saying to his girlfriend, "we'll have a little boy like that one day" LOL We went to print TONS of pics from this photo shoot. Once I made a new folder (Pics Marcia Loves) and focussed on those pics, I started loving the shoot. I particularly love these ones of me and D.

4. We got our increase letters today and I am beyond thrilled. This is the highest of the 7 increases I have ever received at this company. It's been a record money year for me at work. Brilliant bonus, free money and a good increase. Things are looking up and my savings account is looking healthy again. I think I'll get a cleaning lady for a 2nd day a week from next year. On the other hand, it's also been the worst year for my business in about 5 years! There's much more to the story but that's for another post. Maybe on the private blog.

5. I don't think I'm going to go to Sting simply because I can't find anyone who wants to go with me. Normally I'm not a girl who needs anyone with her to do anything (movies, restaurant, shopping, etc - I love being alone) but a concert is not something you go to by yourself, right? L from work booked her tickets in the 2nd row (!) about an hour after they were announced so that's not an option.

On the bright side, Michael Buble will be here in May. The not-so-bright-side is that he's performing at Sun City (2.5 hours away...) so it will have to be a granny babysitting thing... South Africans, are you going?


What did I do for me this week?

Well, I woke up on Tuesday, tired again. Yes, it is that time of year but I'd just had enough.

I know that I always feel better about ... well, everything... when I'm exercising. I make better food choices because I don't want to stuff up my hard work in the gym, I imagine I'm more muscular, have a flatter tummy, etc, sleep better, don't stress so much, and and and...

"Enough of this nonsense!" I said and the minute I got to work I phoned the personal trainer. The one I kind-of fired.

Amazingly the stars aligned and she said she'd resigned but she'd send me the new girl's details.

I contacted her, went to the gym that very afternoon to work out by myself while the new PT and I got acquainted and had an expectations chat.

She emailed me her bank details, I paid her a lot of money and I started with her the next day.

She's tall, blonde, has a beautiful smile and while she's lovely, doesn't put up with any nonsense.



She is KILLING me but when I see results I'm going to love her. Actually, I already do.

I can't believe I've been to the gym THREE times this week (the last time that happened was Feb) and it feels fantastic.


So what did you do for yourself this week?
Are you going away over December?

We're not but I can't wait for the rest of Joburg to leave so I can catch up on my work!

This week's me time

I actually had a fantastic week of me time.

1. On Wednesday morning I checked my diary, saw that I only had my first meeting at 12 and decided to take some time off to go run some errands.

Well, in the space of 1 hour 15 minutes I attended to 5 errands in one shopping centre. Unheard of with kids in tow.

It was bliss.

Christmas music playing, beautiful decorations, not many people (!).

I only got to work at 10:50.

I got some books for Caren's kids that she wanted to get for her friend's kids. Well, I even had time to go browse around the bookstore and found similar.

I phoned Caren and she says, "why are you not at work?" or something similar.

But really, sometimes you just need a time-out for your sanity.

And of course when I got to the office I was super-productive so it didn't feel like I'd even had that time away.


2. Then, Hayley and I finally met up on Wednesday night and it was great.

I was late because the kids were a bit crazy. My fault, as I thought I could arrive at 6:10, quickly change into jeans and then rush out 10 minutes later.

No sirree.

They wanted to chat, hug, etc. which in the grand scheme of things is totally fine with me.

Hayley was very gracious when I eventually pitched.

You're all dying to know what I thought of her, right?

She was open, honest, positive, shared freely and of course, passionate about Jhb and South Africa, everything I imagined and then some.

I really enjoyed myself and we've decided we need to do this supper date thing more often. Hopefully next time she'll also eat (I was starving and tucked into my scrambled eggs - that Mugg and Bean makes DELICIOUS scrambled eggs)!

I also have a client near where she works so if things work out time-wise, we'll try to meet up in the CBD and walk somewhere. I can't wait!

3. Yesterday I took a half day (I know, you're wondering if I got any work done this week!) and went to get my hair re-Brazilianised.

The hairdresser and I hit it off and we chatted so much I stayed about 10 minutes longer showing her pictures of my kids, etc.

She said she'll do my hair again at the Groupon rate if I come back so I'm totally taking her up on that.

We finished very early - 1 hr 15 minutes - and so I decided to go back to the mall to finish up some shopping for a Christmas gift I have to buy. We each pick a name and buy that person a gift. I got the new boss!

I ran into TWO people I knew and was really glad my hair at least looked decent :)

4. But my main news is this - I bought a new camera! I walked in, spent about 5 minutes looking and handed over my (debit) card.

Somehow (and this annoys me) I felt I had to justify why I was making such a huge purchase so quickly and I muttered something to the guy about having previously done my research. Ugh!

By the way, I do realise I was emotionally spending (this was my first day in over 6 years of not reporting to my boss) but this is something on my list - I just got it a month earlier.

Oh, it's a Canon EOS1100D - twin lenses. Something like that. I've taken a few pics and love the feel of the camera in my hand but I know squat so I'm not getting good pics yet. I really need to read the manual.

5. I'd been waiting for 5 parcels in the mail - 4 purchases and 1 from Jess. One arrived yesterday, one arrived this morning and Jess's one arrived this afternoon. (Hopefully my moo stuff and my photo book will arrive early next week)

Of course I squealed.

I am overwhelmed by her generosity to me and the kids. The kids' things are in their rooms - Connor got a bow tie and Kendra got a headband. And she wrote me the loveliest card too :)

What a blessing you are, Jess!

 I honestly love everything - everything! - but I love this most of all. When I sent Jess a thank-you email, I told her I'd had something yellow on my "to buy" list for months and now I have it. Yellow just screams summer, doesn't it.

I already wore it tonight :)

Then I took it off with my rings...

and here's where I realise I've been reading Katelyn James too much. She always puts the wedding rings in unusual places :)

look - the background is suitably blurry and I haven't even read the manual yet.

So that's me - a very full week of me time and I am sufficiently recharged. We have nothing but church on for this weekend and I couldn't be more glad about that.


How was your me time this week?

PS all pics taken with the new camera

So that's why handmade stuff costs so much

Well.

So I had all these bright ideas to make a handmade gift to give to my infertility support group recipient.

I also had to prepare some gifts for people I will probably not see before Christmas.

Source: theletter4.blogspot.com via Marcia on Pinterest

For the friend gifts, I made one batch of peanut butter chocolate cookies (delish!) - I get 30 - and so each of the 3 people got 10 in a scrapbook-paper-wrapped small formula can with a ribbon, a "from the kitchen of ....." tag and a cupcake tag on the top :)

Sadly there are no pics but they looked cute enough.

And then I thought it would be quick to throw a mini scrapbook together.

All I can say is... I am either deranged or very ambitious in my thinking.

I'd had some 12 X 12 chipboard covers cut into 6 X 6 at work as well as some papers and I honestly thought the cutting would be the main time culprit.

How to make a year in review mini book:


What I used

• 2 chipboard covers
• 2 binder rings
• washi tape
• free printable quotes from internet - one for cover, some for random placement
• lined paper in 3 different colours - yellow, green and pink
• scrapbook paper
• some other bits and bobs
• stickers
• ribbon

What I did

• I arranged a 2-page spread for each month
• Put numbered stickers on each page - 1 to 12
• Arranged co-ordinating scrapbook paper - yellowish opposite yellow, etc.
• I decided once I'd started that the book felt too flimsy so I pasted each of those papers together to be sturdier. It took l-o-n-g.
• Punched all the paper and the other quote inserts
• Inserted binder rings
• Put ribbon around the binder rings
• Decorated cover with printable quote, washi tape, a handmade for you by Marcia tag on the back

Here's the thing - all of that took about 2 hours and I only finished at 12:30 am!!!

I was knackered.

Thursday I got home, started attending to emails while D played with the babies and at 6:45 I think, ever so casually, "C's coming to collect me at 7".

And then, "OH MY WORD, THAT'S IN 15 MINUTES".

Present not wrapped, card (instructions) not done, nothing.

Fortunately I'm relatively organised in here.


For me, pressure's a good thing with writing because I wrote out a very long card (quite a nice one) in about 2 minutes flat, straight from the heart.

In addition to the year in review book, I also made a bit of a creativity pack. Two notebooks, 12 strips of decorative tape (that I made myself - I'm starting to rock this thing - I really need to blog it), fabric tape, about 10 two-inch circles and some flower shapes too, and a glue stick :)

My gift went to someone I don't know but apparently (she could have been lying though, whoever knows?!) it meant something to her. Or maybe she just liked my note.

Can you tell I really liked my note? :)


So this week I had 1) one night of baking and crafting and 2) one night of catching up with friends.

It was a wolnderful evening, although verrrrry cold and slightly weird (for me, at least). We were so involved in the group for so long (especially me and C) and yet there are all these new girls who we don't know.

A lovely thing happened yesterday too - the one girl who, at the talk I did in March, said, "what good can come of ICSI'd eggs?", fell pregnant and had her baby yesterday after 9 years of infertility.

Amazing!

There is NEVER enough time to chat to everyone - my friend Nat had to say to me, "can you please sit next to me at dinner (I say "supper") so we can catch up?".

C & I only left at 11 and were home by 11:29!

I don't even have one picture of any of the crafts, Christmas function, NOTHING.

 All that means is I'll have to do another one at some point and actually take pictures





Linking up to MandyE's 52 weeks of me post :)

What did you do for you this week?


And do you say supper or dinner? :)

PS I read on Annie Blogs (the courage blog) about some Scottish phrases she picked up while living there. D and I had a lovely time reminiscing now. He says a very South African Scottish thing to say is "Hen" or "Pet" as a term of endearment. Strange because we didn't hear one person say Hen or Pet to us while there! Ha!

Can you think of any foreign words or phrases you've adopted since hearing them? Now and again, I like to pretend I'm in Dublin in a Sheila O'Flanagan novel and I say, "I'm gasping for a cup of tea" :)

Five on Friday

Okay, I just typed about half the post and blogger ate it so this version's going to be short.

I did 6  mini-projects last night which all turned out exactly as I planned (actually, slightly less cute, except for my year in review book) and then I did some cards which were soooo not cute.

I have ideas on how to cutify them tbough and I'll be attempting the new ones this weekend - have to get them done as they are gifts for some special people ;)

Interestingly enough, I got overwhelmed by all the washi tape goodness and didn't do a single one.

Confession - I took an inventory of all my stuff and I bought some more washi tape in colours I don't have (and want) like yellows and oranges, and I have two unused rolls to sell. I have a green one with white dots and a bright pink. Any takers? They're going for $3 each (I paid $4 plus shipping) - otherwise we can swop? I'm looking for chalkboard paint pens if anyone's keen...

Don't forget to link up!

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I've just had a call from a publisher in the US to talk about my book. I had to say, "it's not a good time as it's the middle of the night here" LOL

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I decided that the stress of all the personal admin is not good so today I left work at 3:15 and tackled 3 things on my to-do list.

I went to Hi-Q to buy a tyre, get them swopped around and wheels balanced (R665 = peace of mind, finally), then went to FNB to get my stuff for SARS, and then went to swipe my card at the gym.

Felt super-productive because I also paid Telkom and Jhb Connect (wanted me to pay R4000-odd and the girl figured out that they had problems on my account so I actually paid R1611 - SCORE!)

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Tomorrow a cousin is getting married (very informally) and we're supposed to be going, except I have no idea how to get there and she hasn't given me directions. These things stress me out, big time.

Still, her gift is ready (and looks beautiful with one of the macaroon tags and some washi tape!) so if worse comes to worse, I'll meet her for lunch somewhere next week.

The only reason I'm really keen to go is to see her mom (one of my favourite aunties)

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Tomorrow is 1 Oct and I'm supposed to be starting a series on the Organising Blog, one post a day. I can do it if I've planned out the topics but of course I haven't done that. I should have followed my gut earlier this month and asked a dear friend, J (yes, you!) to help me organise the content. 

And for me?

I was forced to take it easy from Tuesday due to The Back.

I said to a friend today that it felt worse than after my C-section, and I'm not exaggerating. At least then if I lay still, I had relief. 

With this bad back I could not get comfortable and the meds were doing zip!

I did almost nothing this week but I believe that my body needed it to regroup.

On the children side, I've had a BALL with them because I came home, lay on my bed and they played around me, we chatted, kissed, hugged, etc. Adorable-ness. The cuteness is way, way too much at the moment.

I'm going to start scheduling 30 mins a day in the gym - 5 mins warm-up and then some work on my upper body one day, and then lower body the next day. I have a programme from my previous favourite PT, Sara.

And it's not like I have all this time, but it's an investment in my health.

So what did you do for yourself this week?

Five on Friday

1. Just got a new-old coaching client. She coached with me for a long time, and then stopped for 5 months and is now back. Since she's trying to lose weight I told her I'd join her in trying to eat better and exercise more this week.

2. Two random acts of kindness for me this week - someone bought me a piece of sinfully delicious fudge and my boss bought me a box of popcorn today. May I add that the popcorn was salted just enough. I'm fussy about the salt - I don't like salty foods - and this was perfect.

3. I asked my old personal trainer, Sara, to do a programme for me and it's just come through on my email. Really, this girl is fantastic and so nice, you can't help loving her. PTA ladies - if you want her details, mail me.

4. I'm 100% done with Connor's clothes. He has MORE than enough shorts and t-shirts, and after a vest-buying spree, now has enough short vests too. We might have a pj problem soon though because those legs have grown.

5. I have to check if V sorted the last of Kendra's winter clothes properly. She tends to be less ruthless than I am in what is too small. Otherwise, I'll be posting some clothes to my sister and then donating the rest. I've labelled everything in sight (punched circles with my 2 inch circle punch and attached to plastic tubs with prestik)

And what did I do for me this week?

1. I went out with a friend for pasta on Tuesday night. It was LOVELY to catch up with her and we said we need to do this more often. Next month is her birthday so that will keep the momentum going.

2. Amazingly, I dragged my butt to gym on Wed despite my headache. I had to leave 10 minutes early when it got really bad but 40 minutes is better than nothing, right? (I was 10 minutes late too!)

I forgot this not-so-little reason I don't enjoy the heat - headaches! I've had headaches about 3 out of the 5 days this week.

3. And I finally coloured my hair. It was about two months overdue but the thought of Louisa seeing all that grey tomorrow moved me to do it :)

4. I've been dog-tired at night so reading only 15 - 20 minutes before falling asleep. That's not going to do so I've started reading an extra 20 minutes in the mornings BEFORE getting dressed for work. Do you know how decadent that feels?

How was your week?

What did you do for your self-care?

Birthdays, organising and me-time

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

I had a lovely day - I said to Julia (yes, you're one of the 5 bloggers!) that it's certainly been my best birthday since the twins have been born. Just being honest.

The one after they were born was honestly one of the worst - D and I were fighting so much because we were both sleep deprived, I had one of the 3 - 4 crying sessions in those first few months on my birthday and it was just super-terrible.

I think the key to this year's success was that I kept my expectations really low :) and I didn't feel guilty about not answering the phone.

And, of course, the kids are just super cute so I kept staring at them in wonder, amazed that they are mine. They are real little people and I wish I could bottle up their energy and cuteness and remember every little thing.

*sigh*

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I was reorganising some stuff on my desk and in looking through some folders, I found recipe lists mixed in with my business stuff.

Which of course made me grab everything and start sorting.

I have been feeling like I need to clear out a lot of stuff - old papers, things I now see I have no intention of doing...., etc.

My self-imposed rule is if I have a piece of paper by the next "sort" (which happens about 2 - 3 times a year - Jan, around April/ May and then usually September-ish) and I haven't made any progress or had any excitement, then out it goes.

No matter how good the idea.

My desk currently has three piles - business, household and personal.

And because of the interest in yesterday's virtual craft night, I have a new Bible cover (it was the nearest convenient, suitably sized thing) stuffed full of some of my "crafting" ideas.

Yes, I've made a list as I dumped things in so that I know what's in there.

My preferred way of keeping my paper organised is

1) as little as possible
2) as simple as possible
3) regular tweaking

I'm going to use a flipfile (clear plastic sleeves bound together in a folder) for each of those three piles and make the papers fit.

How do you organise all the different categories of paper in your life?


On Tuesday we celebrate Women's Day in South Africa. Of course this means a public holiday.

I love Women's Day and I look for excuses to celebrate the whole month :)

Another of my self-imposed rules is to always take a day off next to a Tues or Thurs public holiday so I'm off work tomorrow.

I briefly entertained noble ideas of going to the gym but quickly changed my mind.

My work gave each woman not one but TWO movie tickets for Women's Day. I could NOT believe how ungrateful some people were.... "I don't go to the movies, moan moan moan......... GRRRR. Quite honestly, I don't care if you don't go. Be grateful anyway.

So I'll be going to a movie, have to run one or two quick errands (posting baby gifts and some clothes to my sister), will hopefully get my hair done and I want to spend about 3 hours on the photos.

What are you looking forward to this week?

P.S. Even if you're not in South Africa, think of something fun you can do on Tuesday for Women's Day :)

On receiving & what I did for me this week

I am really, REALLY bad at receiving help or things from people.

Really bad.

When I'm like this, D calls me Independent Marsh.

Normally, he just calls me Marsh :)

So a couple of things happened:

I got 3 gifts from one friend all within the space of a month. Two cards and a Keep Calm brag book (I just love the keep calm thing).

I don't think she planned them (or maybe she did?) to all arrive quite so close together.

I LOVE that people think of me and think to send me nice things that they'll know I love but I started feeling bad.

And I couldn't understand why.

Why do I have issues with receiving?

It's like I want to even things out because I don't feel right about being in people's debt or some such weird thoughts...

Anyway.

I still don't know why I feel like this but God challenged me in that moment.

I love to give other people things so I need to learn to receive things gracefully too.

ooh...

When I'm in that moment I really have to challenge myself to breathe (Lynette's word for the year) and gratefully receive what the person wanted me to have.

So of course there have been a couple of things I received after this "lesson" on receiving:

• * someone who did some work for me sent me a mail saying I didn't have to pay her and that the work was a gift to me
• * people buying me tea at work
• * lovely, blank cards arriving on my desk (they all know I'm a card-giving freak - LOVE it)
• * lovely Nicole offering to go out of her way and buy me my precious binder rings (and I am having a BALL with them - I will show you soon)
• * someone at work baking and bringing me ginger biscuits (cookies) - I LOVE ginger biscuits
• * talented Mandy doing the giveaway for me on my blog of that gorgeous beach bag. Mandy also surprised me and told me she made me a Kindle cover - I am SUPER stoked and can't wait to get it. That did not take much work on the receiving part - I so very willingly receive it.
• * Caren sending me all those pics which was such a labour of love - downloading, compressing, emailing. I know the schlep of sorting photos. I love and appreciate it so, so much and I gushed in an email back to her :)

I wonder if I've learnt my lesson yet? :)

And what did I do for me this week?

1. I turned off the computer at 10:30 on Monday and Tuesday. Huge for me.

Of course then all h*** broke loose with the website and I more than made up for that by only going to sleep at 1 both Wed and Thursday. Oy. I'm too old for this stuff.

(BTW guys, I happily paid someone to fix the website and she did what she could but then she couldn't fix the other part and that was what stressed me out. That and the fact that it's all unnecessary spending. It's not like I'm raking in the big bucks in my business. Things could be a LOT better.)

2. However, Wed I had a massage. When I got my reminder SMS, I replied and said, "I can't WAIT. I've been counting the days since last week". That seemed to please her.

3. Yesterday I had my session with my coach who tried to tell me I should go once a month but I said no, I'm very happy weekly because it keeps me sane... and moving forward fast. She said something very nice to me - speaking to me is like free coaching for her too because I make her move on things she's been procrastinating :)

4. Tonight I made scones - from a packet, but I added my own twist by putting in some cinnamon sugar. Yip, delicious :) I've been craving for a nice scone and we've both had a tough week. My poor husband is so stressed by work he's in bed by 9:30 at night.

5. And some of you will get this but I also totally organised all the party stuff (paper plates, cups, decorations (all my birthday banners!) and other overflow crockery in my sideboard and that was also ME TIME! There's nothing like a bit of order for my sanity.

6. But the thing that made me feel so good this week is this (and please don't laugh, Jayme) -

I wrote down two long to-do lists (master lists) - personal and business - and now my mind is empty, my shoulders are relaxed and the bits of paper are all off my desk. Bliss.

Tackling them is another thing as there are 14 personal and 22 business things. Good times :)

7. Oh, and I went back to the personal trainer and worked out twice this week. Miracle in this cold!

So that's me.

What did you do for yourself this week?

P.S. I just had a little boy run from his room to come sit on my lap for a two-minute hug. When he was done, he jumped off, said, "come" and off we went to tuck him back in. How precious! I love these little moments that only he and I share.

And now I'm off to bed, only 23 minutes past my deadline.

Me time and a very cute giveaway - handmade beach tote

So can you believe we're half way through the year?

I know it's crazy.

I wrote on my other blog last night that in terms of me time/ self-care, etc, I'm doing great. This area is the best in my life at the moment after the babies of course.

I'm reading a lot, having massages, hair, personal trainer, etc. The weight is not quite falling off but I look better which was the whole point anyway.

This week I took a sick day (HUGE for me) and didn't go to work out with the personal trainer (this is big for me because I write these things down as goals and I hate not accomplishing goals. yes, I have issues).

I also spoke to the boss about not doing things properly and he admitted he was wrong and apologised profusely.

And tomorrow I'm going shopping with some of the free money :) Don't get too excited - I'm buying paint for outside the house.

Anyhow enough about me.

*********************************

Dollimama, MandyE and Andrea are hosting a giveaway thing and since I'm a regular participant to 52 weeks of me, I'm participating.

Now here's where I love blogging.

Mandy who is Suzy Homemaker is a sewing whizz and has offered to make something very cute and gorgeous for a reader of this blog.

We haven't finalised exactly what it will be yet (since she's doing her floors or something Mandy-ish) but It's going to be for you, the woman behind the baby/ies :) and is a FABULOUS beach tote with a wet bag inside!




I'm so jealous I can't get this myself :)

Mandy will be opening an Etsy shop soon and this will be a great way to see her cute stuff.

This giveaway is open to EVERYONE in the whole wide world (I will pay the shipping to wherever you live), mother/ non-mother, everyone! I'll draw the winner on Friday 8th at 7 pm SA time.

So if you'd like to enter the giveaway leave a comment telling me what you'd do with an extra hour a day :), or what you did for yourself this week. Big or small, I'll celebrate them all :)

If you want more entries, follow my blog. You'll have to leave a 2nd comment so that both count.

Date afternoons, the next best thing

As you know we don't have anyone who can babysit the kids at night so we can't have date nights.

The next best thing is date afternoons.

Very 60-year-old couple thing to do but this is the life stage we're in right now.

So Nanny V comes to work on one Saturday a month and D's mom comes to babysit one Sunday a month, and we use those times as our date afternoons.

We usually go run an errand or two that we can't do with babies (look at furniture/ house stuff) and eat out in the Nanny V time, and go see a movie in the MIL time.

Today we were both off from work and Nanny V worked so we hung around til the kids went to nap and then took off.

By the way, these babies never sleep as long for us but with her they nap about 2 hours usually, today 3 hours!!!!

I have NO idea what she does to make them sleep that long.

Anyway, I first ran a quick errand by myself (D said he'd rather not come with me to stand in a bank queue - I can't think why :)) and went to close my three accounts at the red bank.

For my non-South African readers, there are 4 major banks in South Africa and they each have a separate colour - red, green, blue and turquoise.

I was with the red bank for 25 years and opened a new account with the turquoise bank two months ago, and have only just managed to find some time to officially close the accounts. I transferred everything out except the R1000 I'm supposed to keep in the one account.

I am quite sad because the service today was good, the best I've had in YEARS but way too late.

Moving on...

We tried to go to an early movie but D is a stickler and if the movie's been on for even 10 seconds, he will not watch it.

So walking through the mall while deciding where to have lunch, we run into some old friends of ours and stood talking right there for one hour!

I had a brainwave and phoned through our order to Mimmos so when we arrived it was ready, we ate quickly and then went to see the Lincoln Lawyer (based on Michael Connolly's book).

Michael Connolly is one of my favourite authors ever (I have not rated one of his books below an 8) and I actually even met him once.

You know how no-one looks like their bio photo?

Yes, well, there was this man at the table with us at the author breakfast and I was chatting away to other ladies who had never read him but came to the author breakfast (who does that anyway?!) about how excellent his books are (you know how passionate I get about things I love) and how you can get any of them and won't be disappointed, and on and on.

Anyway, then the lady starts the proceedings and says, "please put your hands together and welcome Michael Connolly" and THIS GUY stands up.

!

I nearly died as I quickly scanned my memory bank wondering if I'd said anything bad. D assured me that I was very complimentary and only wondered how he (MC) kept a straight face through all of that. Teehee.

So that's my "I met a famous person" story.

The movie was OUTSTANDING - go see - and we both loved it.

That's what I did for me this week - I took leave, spent some quality time with D and I may have also bought a couple of cute notebooks for me.

You can never be too rich, thin or have too many notebooks, right? :P)

And I'm so glad those bank accounts are closed because that's one less thing I have to keep on my mental to-do list.

What have you done for yourself this week?

P.S. I've just prepped my talk for Monday and have also done the handout so that's another 4 things off my list and a total of 7 out of 15 :)

This week's me time

I've been in a strat session from 8:30 - 6 pm today.

By the way, the clock in my car is 10 minutes fast. That is part of the title of the CD I'm listening to, and yes, 3.5 degrees celsius.


We'd all agreed to go in and not come out til we got something sorted out, no matter the time, so yes, a long day but decisions made and lots of action items.

I love leaving strat sessions with things decided!

Especially when I see sunsets like this...


Absolutely gorgeous :)


Anyway, I have such a lot to talk about but I'll keep it easy. I was going to start my blog featuring thing today but you'll have to wait for tomorrow.

But first, how did I take time for myself this week?

1. Well, despite this week being the coldest week of the year (there was snow in some parts of SA, or so I hear), I braved the elements and went to gym not once, not twice, but THREE times.

I feel so virtuous.

Every single time I told myself that I must be the maddest (most mad?) person in the city to be out in this cold but I went.

Two of those were personal training sessions and one was a dance class.

The dance instructor is a new girl (well, new-to-me since I haven't been in over 2 months) and I was sweating and exhausted, and when I checked my watch, only 15 minutes had elapsed.

!

Somehow I made it and I felt AWESOME afterwards. I forget in between but I SO love dancing!


2. Then I hired a new coach this week. We had our intro session last week, I felt we connected and when she sent me details of her packages, I picked one (a weekly coaching package which I'll transition to monthly after 3 months, or maybe not, if I'm enjoying the weekly accountability), paid and am signed up.

It's for my business but we're going to focus on spiritual and family goals too. Woohoo.

I did my goals form last night - all 3 pages and emailed them through and we start next week.

3. Tomorrow I'm going to the hairdresser to get my hair blowdried and I can't WAIT!

4. My nails were painted purple earlier this week but I wasn't loving the colour so Wed night I took off the colour and painted my nails with clear polish. The next morning when Kendra came for snuggles, she goes, 'where's the purple?" Hilarious! This child notices everything!

What did you do for yourself this week? Did you have a fun one?

PS new post here

Decadent

Yesterday I had my first massage of the year.

I always go for a neck and shoulder massage since I "store" my stress in my back.

It was wonderful.

What made it even more wonderful was that it was POURING with rain.

And there were claps of thunder and lightning.

Just divine.

The massage therapist got such a fright with the first clap of thunder though and we spoke about it afterwards.

She wanted to know if the massage was, in fact, relaxing with all the rain and thunder going on.

I told her that (for me) it made it even MORE relaxing because I so love rainy weather :)

In fact, I suggested that she get a CD with rain music LOL

Two of my friends suggested I get something like a massage (hmmm) since I've been feeling a bit blah.

That's not the answer - superficial things never are - but it was nice nevertheless.

What do you do when you feel a bit blah?

P.S. There was nothing controversial about the church post and no, I didn't delete anything. There is no way I'd delete posts over things like that. It's just I don't normally get people dropping off and then straight after that one, 1 went. And look - another left :) I'm not bothered by it honestly.

700, me time, some bullets and a question

I see this is post number 700 on this blog.

How did that happen?!

I love the idea of me posting 700 times, 344 of them last year! Even though I started my organising blog way before this one, there's only a difference of 63 posts between them.

Apparently I also have a lot to say about organising!

Moving along.

So D and I decided to take off 3 days once V was back, for some date time.

Doesn't that sound decadent?

He is still not well though... went to work on Mon after being sick the whole of last week, let them see him sick so he went to the doc, got booked off again and has told me he doesn't want to "run around town" with me and get sicker.

Fair enough.

I briefly contemplated cancelling my leave but I've decided to do some "me time" things, just like Cat did the other day.

I forgot to mention that last Thursday after supper I went to see Life as we know it all by myself and it was fabulous. Fabulous. I keep raving about this to anyone who will listen. TONS better than Eat Pray Love... Go see it!

Anyway, so tomorrow after I take down Christmas and quickly pack it away (15 mins max), I'll be doing a bit of window shopping and real shopping (tripod, some inspirational wooden things) and then going to have some quiet time with my laptop at a coffee shop. Heavenly!

I intend to write 3 organising posts and a couple for this blog too - I really need to finish the reverb things and Caren wants a post about Christmas :)

I would have gone to the hairdresser too but my one is on holiday and is only back on Tuesday.

And then, the bullets

• I've decided to take one last bash with the gift card so I made one phone call today. That's it though. I am not following up on it or on my other 20 emails to the pest control place. I am letting go... Only thing is... I feel I have to warn all those who live in Jhb, don't ever use Pest Control Experts - they are crooks - and go read hellopeter for the full story.
• My boss gave us (well, technically only me since I've been the only one back since Christmas) two photo frames as gifts - one is for the work side and one is for the personal side of your life. I've put one of the beach photoshoot pics in the one frame and since I couldn't decide what would represent work adequately, I've started making a vision board.
• While I was cutting from the magazines (very therapeutic, by the way), I decided to make the word COURAGE to stick on my very boring but useful, black Moleskine planner.

without flash...

with flash (why is flash so evil? I love it!)

And finally, the question:

Do any of you in the US know about the 3M command hooks that you can use to hang photos on the wall? They are marvellous (or so I've been told by my organising blog buddies). I've even written to 3M to ask them who in South Africa stocks them - nobody. So I've decided to ask for help.

Is anyone willing to buy me some packs and post them to me? I will pay for everything via Paypal - command hooks, postage, etc. And I will be eternally grateful!


What do you do for me time? How often do you take some?

P.S. Claudia, please email me - I want to talk "book" with you and have some publishing links to send you too. Thanks :)

Enough with the pink!

It is crazy windy here at the coast and the wind is chilly. Lovely when the sun's out but ice-cold the minute that wind starts blowing.

So tomorrow is going to be interesting as it's our photo shoot.

Yes, another one.

I didn't plan to have them 6 weeks apart but as I said before, I have dreamed of a beach photo shoot since I found out I was having twins.

And what are bonuses for, right?!

Speaking of bonuses, I am spending an insane amount of money and have already started compiling a mental "how to save more money on holiday next time" list.

For this photoshoot, we are wearing denims and grey t-shirts.

We were going to do the shoot this afternoon at 5 pm but I phoned the guy and told him my kids go to bed at 6 pm normally so are going to be super-crabby :)

Anyway, in anticipation, we dressed Connor in his grey t-shirt and oh my word, the little boy cuteness was too much. I had to bite those little arms.

I'm not the only one who does this, right?!

He then pulled over a mug of cold coffee on him and the carpet so aside from the house trauma, we had to go back out (in the WIND) and buy him another t-shirt and one for his sister.

I am so tired of all the pink (after 17 months!) and have decided that is that. I will not be buying pink for a loooong time so today I bought grey, yellow and red t-shirts, all for Kendra.

In other news, I am tired of being behind on my emails and text messages. I need to take an hour and just reply to everything.

I've also been planning to join a blog link up from 8 Dec. I know, I know, is there any point now? But I've been thinking through the post (do you also write them in your head first?) and I want to get it down. Maybe tomorrow?

I know you know this but it's so much harder looking after babies at other people's houses... I have MUCH less time on holiday than I do at home!

What are your tips when you get behind?

Something strange is happening

I've written before about how V sometimes comes in on a Saturday if I have an event to go to or if D and I need to run lots of errands quickly.

As you know, quick errands and babies do not go together in the same sentence.

Nevertheless, the last time we did one of these babysitting days, a few Saturdays ago, I actually felt guilty leaving them at home with V.

It is VERY strange because:

1. I don't generally feel guilty
2. It felt like they should be with us because we're a family!

What's that all about?

I suppose I'm just delayed and the rest of the world felt like this from the beginning whereas I just wanted to escape?

Coupled with this guilt thing, I'm finding that I'm being a lot more intentional with my time.

I'm really thinking hard about whether I want to spend (waking) time away from the babies and if I do, then I want my time away from them to count.

Quick example...

I went to a women's event last Sat that was hosted by our church. The theme was romance so I thought, "great. we could do with some jazzing up" and I went.

Well, the theme should have been "God as the great Romancer" or something like that because there was not a single thing about marriage, etc. and I was very cross.

I found myself resenting the time I was spending away from the babies and after I wallowed a little, I gave myself a talking-to and determined to get as much as I could, since I was there.

Still...

We have a thing going on in our Fertility Babies group where it's "moms only" for two groups, and then for the 3rd one, we can bring babies with us.

Technically speaking, that is.

As in it's never happened with me.

I didn't take the babies for the first two and then felt so "out" I just stopped going to the "with babies" groups.

But I think I'm finally getting why the other mothers want their babies with them.

I think I'd have no qualms about it if we had the meetings at night and maybe shared supper together. Kind of like a book club, but for ex-infertiles :)

Because I have absolutely no second thoughts going to gym or movies or coaching... but only once the babies are asleep.

Does this seem weird to you? Anyone relate?

P.S. Toddler Sense was very interesting!
P.P.S. Katherine, I thought of you running your race as I drove to the seminar this morning :)

Have you let yourself go?

I was blog browsing and someone posted about feeling like she'd let herself go because she is a SAHM with a baby of about 8 months.

What's the use, she said, of getting dressed "cute" when you're just home with the baby?

The end conclusion (I read all 38 comments) is that it really doesn't take that long to "put yourself together" and at the end of the day, YOU feel better about yourself. Also, the husbands appreciate it.

Now I'll talk about my situation.

I have and always will be a girl made for comfort and not for style.

I love being comfortable, I would absolutely NEVER "waste" money buying clothes I didn't feel comfortable in.

Which is why I live in jeans and t-shirts, or capris and t-shirts, or shorts and t-shirts... you get the picture.

But when I go to work, I somehow dress up more. I love my suits (those that can still fit me), tailored pants and shirts with jackets.

We have a casual day policy every Friday and I must admit, on those days, I somehow feel less productive and less "get up and go", maybe because I'm in jeans and a t-shirt. I don't know.

When I have TONS to do at work or a meeting where I really need to accomplish lots of things, I tend to dress up more (usually in red, or black with flashes of red - trademark red bag, etc.) so that I feel empowered, confident and energetic.

Most people think I don't wear make-up because I wear so little - the barest hint of foundation, eye-liner and lipstick. Sometimes I bother with some eyeshadow.

I know that most people are not like me. And that doesn't bother me one iota.

I've always felt that as long as you're neat, clean and presentable, you're good to go.

But reading the blog post made me wonder - have I let myself go?

I know I have a bit in the weight department. I think I've been using the fact that I had a twin pregnancy to hide from the simple fact - I am eating too much and not exercising enough.

I've resisted hiring the personal trainer, not for money, as would usually be the case, but because I'm struggling to figure out exactly how I'm going to squeeze 1 hr 15 min into my already full days, 3 times a week.

So while I figure that out, I think I need to up the ante. I'm committing to you to work out (that is at the gym OR in my house) for 45 mins 3 times a week for the next 5 weeks. I'm also going to drink my 2 L of water a day and have one extra veg a day. Carrot sticks, here I come.

After all, I have a photo shoot booked for 30 October.

So how far along the path of "letting myself go" do you think I am?


Are any of you in the same boat and when did you recognise you were at that point?

P.S. I did 140 ab crunches in front of the TV last night for 5 minutes. Onward and upward.....

My plan for my evenings this week

Thank you so much for your great ideas on surviving as a single parent.

I've decided that I have to go to bed an hour or two earlier as I have to do the early bottle while D's away.

So after the babies go to bed I have about 4 hours before I need to be in bed.

6 - 7 pm

• Have cup of tea while I watch Bold and Beautiful and write my list for the evening, pack work bag, etc.
• Heat and eat supper (oh, in other news, I didn't have a proper supper on Sat and lost weight!!! so I'm thinking toast for supper is suddenly a very good idea)
• Babies bottles and food for next day
• Pack my own lunch bag

7 - 10 pm

Marcia time and Business time :)

Marcia time includes

my 30 ab crunches, showering and whatnot, blogging on this blog, TVs and movie (Survivor and I hired a DVD for Wed), reading, etc.

Business time includes

Coaching, any projects, business blogging, writing newsletters, etc.

Tonight I've already done quite well - let's see how this holds up the rest of the week.

What are your evenings like generally speaking?

P.S. I'm convinced K is telepathic. Tonight D phoned me and while we were chatting, she woke up and starts sobbing like her little heart is breaking. ??? Poor thing - maybe she realised Daddy's away?

A day in my life

I was going to post about my weekend but...this is such a fabulous prompt on the multiples blog that I can't resist.

* What is your schedule like? Do you work outside the home or stay home with the kids?

I work outside the home and I run a coaching business part-time. I happen to have a really good arrangement at work where I work in the office for 6 hours and then finish up at home when the babies are in bed. That's not always necessary because I'm highly productive (I coach time management for busy women LOL) and most days get everything done at work. At home, that's another matter altogether.

So, typical day.

7.20 wake when nanny arrives (babies are babbling away in their cots but D gives them morning bottles and plays with them/ changes nappies, etc.)

Faff around until about 7.45 - 8.00 and then start getting ready for work. Depending on time of first meeting I leave at either 8:00 or 8:30 (I prefer 8.30) as it takes me 25 minutes to drive to work and another 5 to walk from my parking space to my desk.

I set up everything the night before (all babies' things, notes to nanny, my lunch bag, work bag and even my clothes) as I'm USELESS in the mornings (see late wake-up) so I literally have to get dressed and go (less than 30 mins usually).

9:00 - 3:00/ 3:30 (if meeting I don't want to miss) - work - meetings, clients, bringing people together to get things done, etc, etc. Office chit-chat (love this!), Facebook and reading blogs over lunch.

3:30 most days - home - play with babies

4:00 - 5:00 babies' supper time & baths (I don't get involved as Nanny V handles it all perfectly - aren't you proud of me for not intervening? - in fact she gets more food down them than I do) so I check and respond to my business email, write my newsletter, do business stuff. I usually hear something cute happening during bath time so I dash around the corner with my camera and they stop doing the cute thing 90% of the time LOL

5:00 - 6:00 Nanny Viola leaves at 5 pm and I put them to bed with their bottles, tuck them in, pray with them, tell them I'll see them AFTER 6 in the morning (I believe in speaking in faith) and marvel at how sweet they are (is there anything better than a clean, sweet-smelling baby? I thought it was all like this before I had babies. Ha!).

6:00 - 6:30 - The Bold and The Beautiful plus a cup of tea ("me time" plus planning - I write my to-do list for the evening)

6:30 - 7:45 - gym on two nights

7:45 - 8:00 - heat food and have supper (these are the days I have my freezer meals)

8:00 - 9:00 - shower, make bottles for the next day, notes for V, take out/ cook food for the babies, pack lunch bag, etc. (while D's at the gym - we swop over on the same gym night), tidy house, etc.

9:00 - 10:30 - time with D/ business stuff/ work emails/ blogging

10:30 - 11:00 choose clothes, tidy desk, to-do list for next day

11:00 - 12:00 - reading and bed

On weekends

We are VERY relaxed and loosely follow the schedule. I basically give us an hour to do everything (e.g. during the week they have breakfast at 8 sharp; on weekends it's sometime between 8 & 9) related to meals. We usually end up very late... like tonight, they only went to sleep at 7 instead of before 6.

We usually only do one out-of-the-house trip a day although on Sundays we often do church and something else (today, lunch at a friend's house).

I'm not very structured with doing "activities" with the babies like reading, playing, etc. I let them get on with it and do whatever. Actually, I need to write a blog about this as I'm a major slacker mother.

On the non-gym nights I have time to work on and in the business more - client appointments, hosting teleseminars, etc.

D and I also eat earlier, together at 7:00 or as close to 7 as possible.

* Do you follow it very closely?

I like the babies to stay on schedule as closely as possible. For me, I have certain things I need to do daily and I'm flexible when in the evening they happen but they usually do happen.

* How much (or how little?) "help" do you have?

Well, of course, D participates fully with house and babies (that was our agreement when we got married - if we both work, we both work at home too. Did you have agreements before you married?) and I have our fabulous nanny, Viola.

Absolutely no family here on my side and D's live so far we have to make a "plan" to get MIL to babysit.

* What chores do you do on a daily basis?

Decluttering, restoring the house to order, cleaning the kitchen. I cook about 2 - 3 times a week and freeze the leftovers so that there are always meals in the freezer.

V does the babies' laundry daily and I do ours twice a week (one load each day). Have I mentioned that laundry is my worst?!

* Do you get any "me" time on an average day? What do you do then?

Definitely get me time! The B&B at 6 and my blogging time. Even if I just take 10 - 15 minutes to read with a cup of tea.

* What is your favorite part of each day?

Coming home and hearing the babies race to the door to meet me with big smiles. Connor's bath time is another favourite (he is a FISH!) and putting the babies to bed.

* What is your least favorite part of each day?

Babies' lunch and supper as I have an independent little boy who wants to feed himself and then takes FOREVER to eat.

* Are you able to make time for all the things that you want/need to fit in? If you could fit it all in, what else would you do?

Usually, yes.

As I said earlier, I coach time management and I believe 100% that I have to walk the talk if I teach these principles to my clients.

On days when I get overwhelmed/ lazy/ demotivated, I self-coach.... "if I were coaching me, what would I tell myself?" and I do it, usually :)

But if I had MORE time, I'd read more. I used to read for pleasure (because of course, I do read boring business cases and legal agreements at work) for hours a day but of course now I manage about an hour and some days I'm so tired I only manage 30 minutes.

What about your day?

Also, did anything shock you? Or is there anything you want to ask about?