heart mama blog • Page 27 of 40 •

11
May
2016

Blue Downs Mom to 26 vulnerable children wins Clicks Mom of the Year

categories: Home

Saturday saw a few of us bloggers celebrating with Clicks and their Mom of the Year winner, Emma Makhatini at the glorious Vineyard Hotel. Ma Emma is a sprightly 70 year old Mom to her own children as well as 26 vulnerable children ranging in age from 2 to 16 years. Her project in Blue Downs, Emthembeni Children Care was established in 1990 when Ma Emma’s husband passed away and she started opening her home to children in need. Needless to say, she’s never looked back! As is this isn’t enough Emthembeni is financed largely by her own pension. Without government funding, Emthembeni is reliant on sporadic donations and a whole lot of prayer.

Ma Emma walks away with the grand prize of a car from Chevrolet South Africa worth R145 000, an accommodation spoil from City Lodge Hotel Limited and some hampers from Netflorist and GNC South Africa. The best part is that Clicks have committed to being involved in Emma’s story going forward – high five Clicks! Continue Reading

09
May
2016

WIN a R500 voucher from Kids Emporium with Heart Mama Blog

categories: Review I Giveaway

Kids Emporium is one of the reasons that I’ve wished that money grew on trees – their product range is so carefully selected, beautifully made and creatively designed. In my early days as a Mom I splurged on a Sophie the giraffe which was worth every single cent – she’s been munched on by two of my teething littlies and is still so popular in our home that I often have to break up a squabble over ‘MY Sophie.’

Sigh, kids. Anyway, if you’ve shopped at Kids Emporium before and have your eye on something special, then this competition is just for you! Scroll down to view some of the top sellers (for some shopping inspiration if you win) & for competition details.

54816a48-36b6-4772-bf68-c530b5c2ba8c — The famous Sophie Le Giraffe needs no introduction.

09
May
2016

Meet the Mama – Karen Apsey: an adopted Heart Mama who grew her family through adoption

categories: Home, Meet the Mama

Karen’s story is particularly special because she has experienced adoption in a way that most Heart Mamas have not – she was adopted into her own family as a child and has also chosen to grow her family through adoption. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Karen.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.

Justin and I have been together since we were 19. We love the outdoors and the beach. We are in the process of moving to Nairobi for Justin’s work on a three year secondment. I am a school teacher but full time mom for now. We have two biological children, Jess and Matt and have adopted our third child, Ben. Continue Reading

29
Apr
2016

Going, going, GONE – Shopping online with Gumtree

categories: Review I Giveaway

Isn’t there something so addictive about buying and selling things online? There is also something very satisfying about finding a really good deal. Just this last week we sold our dining room table to make space for a new-for-us table that has been passed down through the family. It sold in less than a week thanks to Gumtree.

I am always so impressed at how easy it is to sell something on Gumtree and how punctual potential buyers usually are. To be safe, my husband deals with the queries and we use his work location on the Gumtree ad. In the past I have bought a compactum, a cot, an outside table and rented two flats through Gumtree. I’ve also sold my trusty old Tazz on Gumtree. That was a sad day.

It’s easy for me to get a bit carried away scrolling through the Gumtree ads online and creating a wish list of items for the house and for the kids but today I decided to have a squizz and see if I could find anything suitable for my almost 5 year old for his birthday. This is what I found, what do you think?

swingball — Swing ball set for R170 – The dream is that your 5 year old can keep himself entertained for at least 5 minutes!

29
Apr
2016

What bloggers sometimes do on a Saturday

categories: Explore, Home

So, sometimes bloggers blog and sometimes we hop into an Uber to the #CTmeetup and hang out together and talk about blogging. Earlier this month I went to my first #CTmeetup hosted by Cindy Alfino from 3 Kids, 2 Dogs & 1 Old House. It was great to meet some faces behind the blogs and try to connect the who’s who in the zoo dots.

It was a rather raucous occasion as many bloggers are larger than life in real life and also there was wine. And although this event wasn’t just for Mommy bloggers, many of us in the room were moms who were relishing in an afternoon off from wiping snotty noses and endlessly pouring juice into sippy cups. They say blogging is ‘an escape’ but if you ask me it’s the blogging events on weekends that are really what we look forward to the most. Continue Reading