Overexposed

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Blair

Well folks, there you have it. Ava has finally discovered her tongue!!

That little tongue of hers gives me the giggles like you wouldn’t believe.

Love it!!

On Friday’s post, which you can read here, I created a Bucket List for the weekend. I am quite surprised that we managed to accomplished all but one of the items on said list. Granted, there were only four, but still. If it weren’t for me writing this post last night, I could have probably read a few chapters of The Long Tail, but I’d rather be online clearing my head, then have my nose stuck in a book about economics.

The main item I wanted to tackle this weekend, was to learn how to properly use our new camera. I know it will definitely take longer than a weekend to fully understand the camera and the rules of photography. It would have helped if I had listened more during my photography class senior year of high school. The ISO, f-stop and shutter speed triangle thingy is still just as daunting as it was back then.

Needless to say, I was messing around with the camera this weekend, that’s why most of the photos are blurry, overexposed and just plain bad. Shame. I did, however, learn about the functions of all the automatic and professional modes. Should be a professional within a month, tops! hehe. Maybe two months….

Our hike was a perfect example of photos gone wrong.

overexposed, but I like it.

Underexposed? I don’t know. Such a shame, it would have been such a nice shot.

not too bad…

The rest were really bad, but I am learning.

One thing I didn’t mess up was the Seasonal Crunch I made, from the recipe I found in Notes From My Kitchen Table. DELICIOUS! And so simple, really. Made mine with strawberries.

These pictures aren’t sooo bad…

I need my brother in law, Charl to give me a bit of guidance with the photography! His pics are amazing.

Still obsessing over Pinterest this week. I haven’t had this much fun on a site since I opened my Facebook account four years ago. Look what I found yesterday:

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Blair on Pinterest

Johan and I had the idea of putting a tree house in Ava’s room, long before we even came up with the idea of the tree. See Ava’s tree and bird houses here. This photo, is exactly what I had in mind and I want to start building it right away! Thankfully, Johan is the rational one. He says we can start next month… Will keep you posted.

You can follow me on Pinterest here.

Don’t forget, today is awesome.

Blair

Weekend Update

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Blair

The Scheepers’ had a jammed packed weekend full of nothing. We had absolutely no where to go, and nothing to do. It was wonderful. Ava and I didn’t even get into a car this weekend. Normally, we spend our weekends out and about, shopping or exploring the city. But I have to admit, this weekend has been so relaxing, we really must stay home more often.

The warmer weather helps, as we no longer have to coup ourselves up in the bedroom to keep warm. We also turned on the DSTV (cable), again. Johan and I are funny about TV. Every few months, we switch on DSTV, after a month or two, we get annoyed by the repetition of movies and TV shows, that we end up turning it off. I am more excited about having the country music channel again, than I am about anything on TV, with the exception of Carte Blanche on Sunday nights. I missed Carte Blanche.

This weekend, Johan worked in the garden and I worked on Ava’s closet. She’s almost outgrown most of her 3-6 months clothes and I packed away her winter clothes. Plus, hung up her new clothes that arrived from America. Baby Gap, how I love thee? Their clothes really are so gorgeous. Everything I bought for Ava, I would wear.

Last week on iwantthat, she mentioned her Pinterest account, which I had never heard of, and am now totally obsessed with. It’s such a fun way to save your discoveries online, plus view what others find. Since my birthday, I’ve been spending lots of time day dreaming of Ava’s first birthday party. Pinterest is the perfect place to help me realize this dream. I am torn between an under the sea party or just a coral and teal theme. You can check out my inspiration so far by following me on Pinterest. Click the button below.

A peak into our lazy weekend:

Ava and Daddy playing XBox

Heading out on our stroll around the neighborhood

Reason number 5,784 why I need an iphone – Ava’s 1st school photo taken from my Blackberry. How funny is this?

Reason number 5,785 why I need an iphone – Ava’s 1st birthday dress that just arrived in the mail. Thanks again, Nat!!

Reason number 5,786 why I need an iphone – Ava’s 1st bathing suit. Doesn’t get much sweeter than this.

A few of my finds for Ava’s birthday party on Pinterest:

Source: thefarriersdaughter.blogspot.com via Blair on Pinterest

Source: pisforparty.blogspot.com via Blair on Pinterest

Source: ditziecakes.blogspot.com via Blair on Pinterestt

Another busy week at work for me. We have a huge event coming up in roughly 6 weeks. You can check it out here. Super excited to be apart of the team responsible for this event.

Enjoy what’s left of your weekend and all the best for the week ahead.

Blair

ps: Ava and I were jamming out to Toby Keith’s How do you like me now? today. She was smiling as I sung at the top of my lungs and we danced around the house to one of my all time favorite tunes.

The Ice Cream Man

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Blair

As the sun slowly sets on this relaxing Sunday, I find myself quite disappointed. All day I have been straining my ears to hear the ice cream man. The familiar jingle that would give me all the confirmation I need, that summer is on it’s way. The ice cream man is like my ground hog. If I hear him, then winter-like weather is nearing an end. Hopefully next weekend he will surface.

Funny thing is I have never even seen the ice cream man here in South Africa. I hear the jingle, then search for my wallet and keys, rush to open the gate on our door, then one at the front of the house and lastly, the gate on the street, by then Mr. Ice Cream man is at least two blocks away. It’s not too terrible, as you all know how I feel about South Africa and their ice cream, which I wrote about here. I was still a bit shocked the first time I heard that the ice cream man only sells soft serve?!?! How boring is that?!?! No ice cream baseball glove, with the bubble gum ball? Unimaginable.

Note to Self: Ava MUST experience an American summer, chasing after the ice cream man, for an ice cream baseball glove, with a bubble gum ball.

Friday night was Johan and I’s first night out without Ava. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, however, I did check my phone a bit more than usual. In my defense, both our phones were on silent so I was a bit paranoid something would happen and no one would be able to reach us.

The night was wonderful. A glass of wine at this swanky new restaurant, then a hilarious comedy show that had us all in tears, and then a nice snack and glass of wine at another swanky restaurant. Felt young again, until I realized the only people I was younger than were my friends. Everyone else around us looked like they were still in matric!! Thank goodness we don’t get out much these days. I don’t think my confidence can handle it. Honestly, I don’t think I ever wore my skirts as short as the girls these days.

Happy Half Birthday, Ava! Here is a look back at the first half of her life:

Don’t forget to enter my Birthday Giveaway here! It’s easy, just leave a comment saying which lucylucybangbang print you like the most and WIN! The winner will be announced next Sunday, on my birthday!

Goodbye July, hello August!!

Blair

Day Dreaming

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Blair

I spend a lot of my time day dreaming, a trait I picked up from my older sister Amanda. She is the Grande Dame of day dreaming. I love listening to her day dreams and hope, for all of our sake, that one day, at least one of hers will come true.

Lately I’ve been dreaming about moving back to America. Dreams about Sundays at my grandmothers house, eating fresh veggies from the garden, fried chicken and homemade biscuits, maybe even some gravy. Chatting about the good old days, when the house was filled with people, young and old and laughter could be heard all around. When there was someone pounding away at the piano and horns honking as my grandfather’s milk trucks passed by the house. The days when the whole family sat sipping sweet tea on the back porch.

I dream about a little house in Charlotte. Something with hardwood floors and a Harris Teeter close by. Eating sushi with Bailey, after watching her play volleyball. Of play dates with old friends and gossiping over wine with Stacy. Weekend trips to the beach. Many dreams about our old house on Lake Wateree. Shopping trips with Natalie. Day dreams of Ava as a high school cheerleader and later attending Duke. Honestly, I don’t know why Duke, but Duke it is. They don’t have cheerleaders here.

Johan and I have talked about moving to America. It’s definitely a possibility for us. Then we have a weekend like this one and I can’t imagine ever leaving this place. A weekend full of beautiful weather and wonderful friends. Great food and lots of laughter. I love Pretoria and the home we’ve built here. I love the friends I’ve made here and the family we have close by. I love the life we’ve built here. But, there is no denying that I miss America and the life we could have there.

My favorite day dream to dream, is where both my lives are combined. All my friends and family in one place. Somewhere near the sea, with a Target close by…

I cut my hair this weekend!! It feels so weird. Johan likes it, I am still on the fence. Ava still recognizes me and that is all that matters. I was going for Drew Barrymore in Going the Distance hair.

Before

After

The Hazel Food Market is the place to be in Pretoria on Saturday mornings. The yummiest food and greatest place to people watch. Grannies dressed better than you.

My sweetheart

The best pork dumplings ever! I get them every time,

Waited in line almost 10 minutes for that cappuccino. Yes, it was well worth the wait!

The Man


Day dreaming about sitting at that fancy table and people watching while drinking champagne.

Me and the birthday girl

Ava had her first taste of food this weekend! Steamed sweet potato with breast milk. Here’s what she thought about it…

A pictures worth a thousand words!

Keep it real.

Being Brazen: Happy Weekend!

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Blair

Being Brazen: Happy Weekend!: “‘We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.’ – Nelson Mandela

Please accept my deepest apology…

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Blair

Dear Mothers,
Please accept my deepest apology for passing judgment on you, as a mother, for your child’s snotty nose and dirty face. Until now, I did not know how difficult it is to remove loads of mucous from a tiny little nose. Especially, when tiny little person refuses to have the mucous removed. It is quite a battle, that is not easily won. So again, please accept my apology for judging you and please, try and not judge me, by my snotty nose little child.

Dear Previous Neighbors,
Please accept my deepest apology for all the loud, late night parties I hosted on a regular basis. Especially, to the Boger’s, residents of 5th and Ann and Cotswald on Walker. For your knowledge, I am now getting paid back in ten folds. Our bedroom backs up to our neighbor’s patio area. The first set of occupants were a couple of middle aged women who threw loud parties, quite frequently, that consisted of long nights of horrible karaoke. You could tell when there was a break-up, because there would be only female voices, drunkenly singing to the likes of Alanis, Kelly and Avril. Johan had to hold me back many nights from shouting at them from the window. And now, there are new tenants that are gearing up to be just as bad. Unfortunately, I think they bought the house, but my fingers are crossed. It is definitely karma paying me back for my younger years.

Dear Future Bachelors,
Please accept my deepest apology for the heartbreak these five little girls are going to cause you. Their wit is going to knock you off your feet and their beauty will steal your breath away. Their confidence will make you doubt yourself and their daddies will probably scare the life out of you. Take this message as a forewarning! Be afraid, be very afraid.

Dear Husband,
Please accept my deepest apology for all the money I spent buying Ava new clothes last week. While cleaning out her closet today (sniffle), I stumbled across all of her 6 months clothes that I had assumed where too big, but are not. Our little girl is growing so big and tall, so fast, that I can barely keep up. Hopefully, you have already figured out that a girl cannot have too many clothes and the Hello Kitty t-shirt was too cute to pass up.

Dear Self,
Please accept my deepest apology for wishing Ava liked falling asleep on your chest. I did not know that the wish would come true and make her only want to sleep on your chest. However, time is flying by and one day she will be too big, so enjoy it while it lasts.

My mom, sister and the girls came to visit for the weekend. We had a great time. Really missed my older sister, Natalie and her daughter, Bailey. One day we will all get together. I hope that one day will be real soon.

Here are the pictures of all the beautiful babies, just like I promised.

Bath time!

One proud sister.

Passed out.

Amanda and her mini me.

Della Mae talking a tour of the garden.

Only took them two hours to become BF’s again.

Don’t worry, Grandma’s got everything under control.

Ronet and her newest addition.


My favorite picture of the entire weekend, Ava and Isabella.

This one is also a favorite of mine.


Ah, family…

Happy 235th Birthday America! Miss you tons! We will be celebrating the 4th on the 9th of July. Going to introduce some of our SA friends to some good ole’ greasy American hamburgers and hot dogs!

this photo via this site

Proudly American,
Blair

Something Borrowed

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Blair

The husband is out of town for the night so I decided to indulge myself with a chick flick. My choice, Something Borrowed. Ginnfer Goodwin and Kate Hudson, two of my favorite actresses for this genre. This movie can’t go wrong, right? Wrong. The plot was shocking, and the ending even worse.

I never read Emily Giffin’s novel before watching the moive, and I sure as hell won’t read it now. I’ll be the first to admit I like to live my life through rose colored glasses. I don’t watch scary moives, and rarely read scary books. For news, I appreciate the truth, so I steer clear of the likes of Fox news, outlets that just like to heighten the fear level in their viewers. I also limit my intake of news. Why do I need to know every gory detail of what the psycho’s in the world are doing? I’ll pass, thank you very much.

My first choice of movie is always a comedy of sorts. And when the husband is gone, chick flicks for sure. Men always have comments that ruin chick flicks and reality TV. So tonight’s movie, Something Borrowed. And well, it was terrible.Thank goodness Skip wasn’t here. Let me start off by saying that I am glad I didn’t pay a single cent to watch this movie. Yes, I admit it, I watched it for free off the internet. Beat me up about it, I know. It’s a terrible thing I did. Poor Kate probably won’t be able to feed her kid tonight because I watched her movie off the net. I do know it’s wrong, but then imagine them with their 1000’s of Gucci handbags and me with my old Coach and my remorse seems to fade into the night’s sky.

The plot of Something Borrowed is about one girl, who is in love with her best friends fiancée and the relationship they have behind her friends back. Granted, the friend is a total idiot and the main character had fallen in love with the guy first, but still. I honestly don’t see how the producers of this movie expect to make money. The last thing I want to do, is go watch a movie with my girlfriends about one girl’s oldest and dearest friend in love with her man. What’s the conversation like walking out of the theater? Do you look at your friend and wonder if they secretly crush on your man? I guess I just like a good old love story where friends, help friends land their love. Not, secretly hope for their demise. The ending was also a bit blah, but I won’t spoil it for those who still want to watch.

If they ever made a movie about my life, I would totally want Kate Hudson to play the part of me. She is absolutely gorgeous and comes across so carefree. I have a huge girl crush on her and Gwyneth Paltrow. Ooh and Gisele Bundchen. Who would you want to play the part of you, in the movie of your life?

Since Daddy is out of town, Little Miss Ava is sleeping with Mommy. It’s amazing how such a tiny little person can take up so much room in the bed, and in your heart. Love her.

Sleeping Beauty

Wishing I could fall asleep. Just need one little phone call from Skip telling me he made it safely to Louis Trichardt. My 5 am wake up call is inching closer, and closer.

Goodbye weekend. Hello Monday…

Lekker slaap!
B

Weekend Update

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Blair

The Scheeper’s have been very busy this weekend despite both Skip and I being sick with colds.

Friday night was a bite hectic. I got stuck in traffic on the way home from work, turning my hour drive into almost two hours. Johan called about 30 minutes into my drive, to tell me that Ava had already finished our last standby bottle and was still hungry. Fifteen minutes later, Johan calls again, Ava is screaming now, she is starving. In come my tears. Big Mommy fail.

I was going ZERO, the guy in front of me was going ZERO and from what I could see, there were miles and miles of people sitting at ZERO. The radio said there was a serious accident ahead of me. What was I supposed to do? What could I do?

Having a ton of back up bottles is much easier said than done. If our timing is off by even 5 minutes, we have to use a bottle. I am not afraid to sit in a public bathroom and feed her, or in the car, but that is not always an option and bottles get used. I try to pump as much as I can on the weekends. But if we are busy, there is no time for me to pump. So here I am, again on Sunday, pumping away trying to get four bottles for tomorrow. Insert little guy pulling out his hair, that’s me…

Saturday, the best day of the weekend, always passes by so quickly. Too quickly for my liking. Our Saturday, like every day of the week, started at 6am. We then bathed the family and spent the day in Joburg! Woo hoo! The Skipper never wants to go to Joburg and I love it there.

Before heading to Joburg, we first took Ava for her 16 week immunization. I wanted Johan to come with so I wouldn’t have to experience her heart wrenching cry on my own. Would you believe Ava took it like a champ? There were maybe three tears shed. Not the blood curdling screams of the last two visits. Nope, little Miss Ava sucked it up and took it like a champ in front of her daddy. I was astonished. Johan should definitely take her to get her shots from now on.

Our next stop was my new office. At the moment, the designers are busy with the layout so it’s just a blank canvas, but it is beautiful. The top floor of the building, with windows all around. You can almost see to Pretoria from up there. The new office will definitely make going into work much more enjoyable.

Before

Ever since Hooters opened in Joburg, Johan has been dying to go. So we went. Saturday, I was the lady with the baby in a bar. Ha. It actually wasn’t that bad considering we were there at noon. Don’t get me wrong, dudes were already there getting their drink on, but there is no smoking allowed inside, so I didn’t feel so bad. I just kept reminding Ava, mommy and daddy will pay for college, she doesn’t need to worry about getting a job at Hooter’s. Shame.

Johan was a bit disappointed by the food. What we don’t get is, if they would pay so much money for the franchise rights, why wouldn’t they copy the menu, or at least the recipe for the wing sauce? Nothing is the same, other than the decor. The dressings pretty much tasted like watered down versions of the real thing. Minus the chunks of blue cheese. Don’t get me wrong. The food isn’t bad, it tastes quite good. It just doesn’t taste like Hooters. (American’s, I know, there are a million better places to eat chicken wings than Hooters, we just don’t have that luxury here in SA.)

Since we were so close, we stopped in Monte Casino and checked out Skoobs. Skoobs is by far my favorite book store in South Africa. I wish I had a picture to post, or they had a website. It is, a little slice of heaven. Imagine a children’s section with the most beautiful books and little hiding places to spark the little ones imagination. A lounge that serves wine and champagne. A philosophy section with a Zen garden. A putting green, in the sports section. A coffee shop, fish tanks and a cooking section you would not believe. Absolutely wonderful. I could spend days on end there. Thankfully the husband gave me an hour. It was one magical hour.

We then headed to the main event, Willie and Elzaan’s going away party. Two of our best friends are moving to London for a year. Man, am I jealous. Johan and I would love to go there for a year or two. Anyway, the party was so much fun. I love our Joburg friends and wished we got to see them more often. The theme of the party was SA vs England. The costumes were hilarious. Normally, I love dressing up, but seeing as we had so many errands to run I didn’t feel like trotting all over town in some crazy get up. So the Scheepers were the lame ones at the party. Amy Whinehouse was there, Catherine and Pippa, the Queen, a maid, a bunch of boers and safari hunters. It was great.

Our life has definitely changed. Instead of being the last to leave, we are now the first. My beer has turned into Sprite, and at 6pm, the Scheepers headed home. At 7:30, we were all curled up in bed watching movies. And I couldn’t have been happier.

Today, we witnessed a friend’s baby get dedicated to the Lord. It was so beautiful and really warmed our hearts. For friends to include you in something so special, really means a lot. Everyone wants to get invited to the party, but it’s the intimate gatherings that are important. I look forward to watching Ava and Nanindi grow up together and become friends.

The last stop of the weekend was at the in-laws. I, unlike many other people, love my in-laws. I really can’t say it enough. A) They made my husband the amazing man he is, and B) they have always made me feel so welcome and like their real daughter, not just the girl who married their son. For that, I am truly thankful. Then there is the brother in-laws and their families. My niece Keira is learning English and likes to tell me that I am beautiful. Might be the only few words she knows in English, but I just can’t get enough of it. Today, when we were leaving, she ran up to the car and kissed me goodbye. Maybe 6 times, back and forth. So sweet.

And here we are, Sunday night. Ava has over slept her feeding time by two hours. Why can’t she do that during the night?? Maybe she will sleep all the way through until 6? Doubt it. I actually want to wake her up and play with her. Get as much Ava time as possible this weekend.

Last but not least…

AVA IS FOUR MONTHS OLD! And getting cuter every day…

When a wet wipe just won’t do and the bath is too much, you go to the sink. I didn’t think she would out grow the sink so soon, but it looks like any day now…

Going to do a little screen shopping while I wait for Miss Ava to wake up. Have a good week.

Happy Memorial Day. Thanks to all of the troops who fight for freedom!

Blair

Home Sweet Home

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Blair

It’s been 5 long weeks, but we are finally home! Man, it feels good. Like a big stretch or sigh. We can walk around in our undies again. We know where everything is! See our friends. Get our mail. Chat to our neighbors. Start getting our little family back to normal.

It’s turned into Autumn while we were gone, so there is a bit of chill in the air. Today I made Johan’s favorite, potato soup. My body tells me it should be chili on the stove and the Panther’s playing on TV, but that’s not the case. It’s Spring back home. Little girls are shopping for Easter dresses with their moms, while daddies are playing golf. Not watching football. It’s a strange feeling, and I think it’s helping fuel my anxiety about leaving Ava and returning to work.

I have two more weeks of maternity leave and the anxiety has set in. I know returning to work is the best decision for our family. For me, I need stimulation and interaction with adults to keep me happy. For our family, the extra money is nice. But Ava’s happiness and well being is most important, which makes this decision extremely tough. And right now I have tons of emotions and questions running through my head. Is she too small for me to leave her? Will she think I abandoned her day after day? What if they can’t get her to stop crying and I am so far away?

I am a strong believer in day care, always have been. She will be attending my mother in law’s school so I don’t have to worry about her not getting enough attention and yet, I am still anxious. There must be a reason schools only start taking babies from 3 months. And I think she is a calm child and should be able to cope. Plus they will teach her more than I could ever teach her on my own at home. I’m a child of day care and after school programs and I think I turned out normal. Well, somewhat normal. I wish this feeling would go away!

It’s so hard for me to believe how fast 9 months flew by and now, the last 3 months. My little baby is going to nursery school in two weeks! Insert lots, and lots of tears and heartache…

Here are a few of the things that make our little house, home.