Category Archives: video

Ordinary Day

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Just a day. Just an ordinary day. Just trying to get by.

Today was just a day. Just an ordinary day. Just trying to get by,  just like the song.

I got out of bed at 5:30 after feeding Ava. Thankfully, she went right back to sleep. I showered, dressed and blow dried my hair. Chatted with Johan about the day ahead. My dad was visiting, so I got to eat breakfast him and Johan, while Ava played on my lap.

Drove to work with barely any traffic. Listened to the news, jammed to Adele a bit and gave the finger to a few taxis’s.

Working on two events right now, super busy. Making the day fly by. Listened to one of our speakers on the radio. An interview I helped organize. Made me feel pretty cool.

Drove to my brother in law’s house for my niece’s 4th birthday. Barbie themed. Ate some delicious soup. Watched my niece become speechless at the sight of her new bike. Ate some delicious cake and sweets.

Now I am lying in bed, thinking about my ordinary day. Just got the baby and husband to sleep.  I am so content with life right now. Today was just an ordinary day and I liked it.

Ava likes to play with my face while she falls asleep. I love it.
I saw this on JCrew and something similar, also JCrew, on I heart your outfit.
This is my dream outfit.
Now to find the $2,500 to pay for it…

I can’t seem to get Vanessa Carlton out of my head…

Here’s to ordinary days!

EBKS

Hello, My name is Blair and I am a internetaholic…

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It all began back in the late 80’s when my parents brought home our first computer. I would spend hours on that thing. From Where in the World is Carmen Sandeigo and Hero’s Quest, to Oregon Trail and Reader Rabbit, then on to Prodigy and AOL in the early 90’s. Before chat rooms were filled with freaks and serial killers, my friends and I would write, “two 13/f wanna chat?” The requests would pour in. Little did we know the dangers of giving your information out over the internet to strangers. Thankfully, nothing serious happened to us and the chat room craze faded, and I began surfing the internet. Still to this day, I could spend hours on end surfing the net, I am what you could call a internetaholic. I Googled it.
  
Most days I waste time with Stumbleupon. You fill out a questionnaire with your interests, then click Stumble! in the tool bar and poof, a random site is pulled up. My favorite Stumbleupon site I found, still to this day is OneSentence.org. Brillant. 

Have you seen Post Secret? New posts every Sunday. Love it and the community service he is doing.

I’m a huge fan of reading blogs. There are 11 I read daily, 5 of which are good friends. The thing I love most about blogs is that it’s real people, living real lives. Sometimes I am jealous of the fabulous lives these single girls are living, in awesome cities like Cape Town. Then I remember how awesome my little life is, married in Pretoria and I smile. Some are also 1st time moms, like myself. For example, The Rodrigues Family, sometimes I refer back to what little James was doing at say 5 months, just to give me an insight as to what I can look forward to with Ava. I just found Being Brazen today via i heart your outfit. Loving everything about it, the fashion and books, completely delightful.

Online giveaways and contests have easily gotten all my contact details, filling up my inbox with spam for years. Rarely, have I won but I keep on trying. Once I won a rainbow pack of Bic pens. They were pretty awesome and gave me hope for future contests. Recently, I registered Johan for a giveaway and can you believe, he won! Two pair of Paul Smith designer boxers, R350 ($50) a piece! He is so lucky, I swear. I hope one day my blog is cool enough that someone approaches me to do a giveaway or contest for them. One day…
Have you checked out Etsy yet? If not, you are really missing out. It’s the best place to find unique items and gifts. I just bought bibs with ties, a onesie (baby grow) with Mohammad Ali on it and monthly onesie stickers for my brother’s baby shower. Super cool. Love Ava’s monthly onesie stickers I bought on Etsy. My friend Jacy just opened a shop, lucylucybangbang. Super cute dish towels, bought some today. Also check out, My Child’s Hand, my friend’s 7 year old son’s shop. Buy a painting now, before he becomes famous! The good news about Etsy is that most shops will ship worldwide! For a price, of course.

lucylucybangbang

babyfables

My Child’s Hand

RetroBabyWear

Billeevers Boutique


Skype is pretty much a life saver. Don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t chat to my friends and family back home. Even my grandmother knows how to use instant messaging. Spoke to the BFF for about an hour tonight. Such a nice way to end the weekend.

Can you imagine how scared I was the day I reached the end of the internet, here? It says:

Attention:

You have reached the very last page of the Internet.

We hope you have enjoyed your browsing.

Now turn off your computer and go outside.

I honestly thought I had reached the end of the internet… My heart, was broken. I got up and went outside. Then it dawned on me, there was no way I could have reached the end of the internet, I hadn’t even been to sites in languages other than English! So, I went back inside, and began surfing some more. Jokes on you Mr. End of the Internet. Jokes on you.

The 4th of July party on the 9th turned out great. The weather was perfect for outdoor grilling, braai as they say here. I was even able to find red, white and blue striped napkins! We played some country tunes. Drank a few beers. Made a pound cake, with caramel icing and fresh strawberries. Over indulged myself like a true American. It was great.

We (I mean, Johan) finally installed Ava’s doorway jumper thing and she loves it! Honestly, the normal swing has nothing on this thing. Once we got it the right height, and she wasn’t leaning to one side about to be dumped onto the floor, she had a blast and mom could finally relax.

The picture says it all, sassy!

Gotta love the mismatched outfit kids wear at home when no one is looking.
Hopefully, this week she will sit up by herself long enough that we can snap a photo. I didn’t think she could get any cuter and she surprises me everyday. I freaking love this kid.

Friday night we are headed out to Joburg to watch the Parlotones concert with my work colleagues. I am so excited, I cannot wait!! I’ll be singing Remember When all week! Check them out.


Watch out week, here we come!
Blair

Things I Am Loving Right Now Part-1

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Today is Voting Day here in SA, and in true SA fashion, a public holiday. It was only in 1994 that black people were allowed to vote, so today is actually quite a special day for many South Africans. And rightfully so. Unfortunately for me, I am not a citizen and therefore, not allowed to vote. But, at least I still got the day to spend with my family! So while the baby naps and the husband completes some chores, here’s a blog post to kill some time. A list of the things I am loving right now.

Have you heard Adele’s new cd 21? Amazing! I don’t really relate to the songs, as they are mostly about heartache and I’ve never been so happy or in love in all my life, than I am right now. What I am loving is how good my voice sounds when I sing her songs. Ha! I am serious. It is like they were written for me. Someone Like You is on repeat as I learn the words. Coming soon to a karaoke bar near you! Well, near me. Actually, I’ll probably just belt it out to myself in the car. Or to Amanda on BBM.

Ava’s got a new bird house! A big thanks to Mrs. Boger! She sent the house with Natalie and it was such a nice surprise. We are still pondering on how we will attach it to the wall, because we want all sides to be visible. Such a thoughtful gift!

Ava’s Ruby Slippers and Mommy’s

Little Ava is growing so fast and the best part is her new clothes!! Here are some of my favorite outfits she’s worn out of her 3-6 months clothes.

Thank you Mrs. Boger for my purple Polo dress!

Compliments of Aunt Stacy!

This is the first outfit I purchased for Ava. A Polo layette velour coverall. Precious.

 I read the Millennium series in less than two weeks, I was totally obsessed. We saw the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in the theater and watched The Girl Who Played With Fire last night. Cannot wait to see the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. Will rent it this weekend. Hollywood has got nothing on these movies. I am also dying to see Water for Elephants and The Help (which isn’t even out yet).

Just started reading Hot Six by Janest Evanovich. Gotta love Stephanie Plum. Eagerly awaiting One For the Money movie release in 2012…

Do you Goop? I do. But only to torture myself.

Tomorrow Isabella arrives. Another girl added to our clan. We are extremely excited to meet her. I know her and Ava will be the best of friends. They are already sharing clothes! Will post pictures soon!

XO,
Blair

Jogging with the Baby Jogger

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Actually haven’t gone jogging, walking with the Baby Jogger I have done.

The main task I gave the Skipper to do before little Ava’s arrival was to help me find a stroller. Thankfully he likes wasting time on the internet just as much as I do. So he jumped on it. I think we spent a total of two full days watching youtube videos of stroller reviews. They are quite interesting.

When we finally stumbled upon the video for the Baby Jogger City Mini, we were blown away. A one handed close? This must be a joke. At only 16lbs, 7.25kgs it one of the lightest strollers in it’s class. And the one handed close? We just couldn’t get over it. So we bought one. Well actually, our BFF’s Stacy and Chad got it for us as a gift. Thanks again guys! It’s even small enough to fit in the over head compartment of an airplane, yet can hold a child up to 50lbs, 22.7kgs. It’s so amazing.

Bringing it home to SA from the US was quite a story. Everyone kept asking where our baby was and I couldn’t tell them in my belly. I had to lie to the flight attendant and tell her she was sick and coming with my parents. She misunderstood and thought the baby was coming on our flight. This lady kept quizzing me about what medication I gave her and when. I almost freaked out, I had no idea what to say. My lie kept getting bigger and bigger. Thankfully we then boarded I escaped the nosy attendant. 

Anyway, Skip and I actually nerd out over this thing. When in public we look to make sure people are watching then close it with one hand. That’s how much we love it. We give demonstrations at our house for free. Just give us a call. Sort of kidding.

I found that they are available at almost every baby shop in the US, but I’ve only found them at Kid’s Emporium (my favorite baby shop) here in South Africa.

The City Mini line is so cool celebrities even use them. Most of the photos below are of the City Mini Double which we will totally be buying in a few years.

I found all these photos on Baby Jogger’s website.

Halle with her stone and black City Mini

Blair with her stone and black City Mini

Who doesn’t know Julia?

Naomi and her man

Spiderman with his broad and brood

And the 2nd hottest dad on the plant, after the Skipper of course. Matt from Texas

Watch this video to see what I am raving about.

Twee Duisend en Tien

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2010 was a great year for me and the Skipper. Lots of great things happened to us and those we love. We are so thankful for all the many ways the Lord has blessed us and continues to bless us every day.

Here are a few honorable mentions:

  • We bought our 1st house
  • Della Mae turned 1
  • Found out I was pregnant
  • Hannu was born
  • I got an awesome job
  • Stacy and Chad got married
  • Visited US of A and saw lots of family and friends
  • Lee and Charl got married
  • Lee and Charl moved to NZ
  • Juan took first steps
  • Bailey won State Championship in Volleyball
  • Found out Amanda was pregnant with #2
  • Loads of friends pregnant with #1 and #2’s
  • Laura had a baby
  • Sammi had a baby
  • Had the most amazing December together on holiday at home
  • Prepared for Little Miss Ava

Here is a sneak peak of the fun you missed at Charl and Lee’s wedding…