Our Outdoor Space Reno Reveal

We live in a lovely sunny townhouse in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. We bought our first home when we still had just one kid and back then we smugly thought to ourselves, ‘Yes, this is a lovely starter home for our little family’. Six years and another two kids later, we felt that an upgrade to our highly used outside area was in need. Although our family sometimes feels over-sized for our space, we are so grateful to have a place to call our own (well, let’s be honest it still belongs to the bank) and to have been able to turn our house into a home in some small ways since we moved in.Continue Reading

A Cinderella Party for Kira’s 5th Birthday

I’m pretty sure that Kira had been counting down the sleeps for her 5th birthday since the day she turned four. She was adamant that she wanted a Cinderella party and I tried to dissuade her for the longest time – that is, until I discovered that there is a made for TV Disney version of Cinderella starring Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg and Whitney Houston and a beautifully diverse cast.Continue Reading

Guide to Modern Parenting, Part 4: How to Raise Kids You Like

It’s time for the final post in my ‘Guide to Modern Parenting’ series brought to you by Baby Dove. I think I saved the best for last because I know I’m not alone when I say that I want to be able to say that I not only love my kids, but that I genuinely like them (most of the time) too. I want them to be known as kids who are not only full of life and personality but who are also kind and caring.Continue Reading

Guide to Modern Parenting, Part 3: How to Parent with Freedom

Welcome to part three of ‘The Guide to Modern Parenting’ with Baby Dove. If you’ve missed the previous posts in the series, please pop back and take a quick read. This post is all about freedom and why it is essential for kids to experience freedom in order to grow  – I’m not just talking about physical freedom but freedom to experience life the way that they need to as children, not only the way we ‘want them to’.Continue Reading

Guide to Modern Parenting, Part 2: Get Back to Basics

Thanks for joining me for this ‘Guide to Modern Parenting’ series with Baby Dove – I’m so glad you’ve popped over to join this conversation. My first post covered how and why you should trust your gut  when it comes to parenting and my next nugget of advice for you (and a big reminder for me) is that you already are everything that your child will ever need. Just think about that for a second. Kids don’t need a busy after school schedule or name brand clothes that they will outgrow next week in order to feel loved and secure. They just need an interested and engaged parent who loves them without condition.Continue Reading