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December and early January meant a bit of a break from routine, which meant that I had a chance to read a few books. Here is what I have been reading, minus one or two titles that I gave up on by chapter two or three as they were beyond redemption.

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

This Afghan-American author is best known for 'The Kite Runner' and this particular title shares some similar themes- it is also set in  Afghanistan (or at least that is where the story begins) and spanning the entire lifetime of its various interlinked characters (in fact in this one, the stories of the various characters are carried downwards to their descendants). 

What I like about Hosseini's books is that they show a different part of Afghan life other than the stories of war and travesty shown on the news. Touching stories of ordinary human life, love, family life, the relationship between siblings, sickness and ordinary human emotion are shown in the most poignant way. The story, told from multiple narratives, eloquently demostrates the extent to which seemingly minor decisions can affect the course of ones life and that of generations to come. The stories are raw and you can almost feel the pain of the characters.

I must admit that while this was a brilliant book, I did not experience the same magic as 'The Kite Runner' but in fairness think it would be difficult for any author to meet those standards after setting the bar so high. While the first part of the story was compelling, it felt like the plot was coming loose somewhere in the middle (though the last third of the book managed to redeem itself). I felt that there were, perhaps a few too many characters for the author to resolve all of their stories effectively, yet for the main characters, the story does have a satisfying ending. Despite this, I would strongly recommend this book if you are looking for something meaningful and compelling to read.

Handle With Care by Jodi Picault

While this is a slightly older title, I had not previously read the book (or watched the movie). Like most of her books, this one was a tear jerker, perhaps more so for me as the mother of a five-year-old girl who, other than being perfectly healthy, reminds me a lot of the main character of this story. Willow (five), was born with a severe form of osteogenesis imperfecta, a debilitating disease which leads to her suffering hundreds of bone breaks over the course of her lifetime. Her mother makes the decision to pursue litigation for wrongful birth, a decision which would adversely affect all aspects of her life. 

I felt like Jodi Picault had done this one before- it bore a few too many similarities to 'My Sister's Keeper'- again exploring the dynamics of a family with one sick and one healthy child.  I would still say it is a book worth reading, despite some minor flaws. Jodi Picault has a way of evoking a deeply emotional response from readers and of leaving lasting impressions. While this made for an entertaining (if rather emotional) read, at some points, it seemed rather unrealistic and the characters felt like slightly extreme caricatures. However, for me it wss a book that made me think deeply about my own potential responses to similar circumstances and to appreciate my own lot in life.

The Body Book by Cameron Diaz

Yes, you read right, Cameron Diaz, of Charlies Angel fame, is not just literate but actually wrote a book. I am not sure when exactly I picked up this book- I think my sister might have stuck it on my Kindle at some point- but I was searching for something lighthearted to read over December (you can see from the above that the other books I have been reading were a bit heavy) and stumbled upon this one. Essentially, this is a guide to healthy eating, exercise and spiritual wellness. 

While very motivational and filled with surprisingly sensible advise (no ridiculous fad diets, just good diet and exercise), it is nothing groundbreaking and at times it felt like I was reading a high school biology textbook. However, it is a short and easy read, which is what I was looking for at the time and  it was perhaps exactly what I needed to kick start some healthy changes into the new year. 

Have you read any of these? Please share your thoughts. Or just tell me what you have been reading lately.

Six Ways to Put Your Toddler to Sleep

Since I stopped breastfeeding, I have had to find new ways to put my son to sleep. Luckily, I have been through the rigmarole of putting a toddler to sleep with my daughter, so I have some tricks up my sleeve.

If you are battling to get your little one to sleep, either for daytime naps or at night, here are some tricks that you can try. Some might work on some days and not others, some might not work at all- you need to see what works best for your little one.

A SOLID BEDTIME ROUTINE

Toddlers are creatures of habit, so sticking to a night time routine (eg. bath, brush teeth, pyjamas, bedtime story, shut lights) is essential.

Meet their needs before they have cause to wake up and moan about something. Give them any comfort objects they may need before they ask for them. Ask them if they need the bathroom or a last sip of water before bedtime and make sure that their bedrooms are comfortable. Scan the room with them for anything 'scary' if you have a toddler going through a frightened stage and reassure them that their bedrooms are a safe place. 

If they wake during the night, reassure them but be firm and do not create any incentives for them to stay awake or you will be reinforcing the habit.

A SLEEPY STORY

When putting a little one to sleep, I switch off the lights (or put on just a small night light) and then make up my own stories. The trick is to make them very repetitive and slightly monotonous, engaging enough for your little one not to stop you in your tracks, but boring enough for you to literally bore them to sleep, e.g. He saw a bear at the zoo and clapped his hands. Then he saw a monkey at the zoo and clapped his hands. Then he saw a lion at he zoo and clapped his hands. You get the point. At some point, the character in the story needs to get very sleepy and start yawning, eventually falling asleep.

Have you tried 'The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep'? If not, click on the hyperlink to find the Youtube video. My sleepy stories work on similar principles to this.

A CAR RIDE

No toddler can resist falling asleep after a long car ride. If all else fails, this is a good way to get them to sleep.

WHITE NOISE

Some background noise, eg. a fan or a hairdryer can be a good sleep aid. There are some great free white noise apps that you can download or you can buy (or create your own) white noise CD. Experiment and see what white noise works for your little one. Noodle still drops off after a few minutes of a hairdryer while Squish seems more partial to water trickling. 

A LULLABYE

Lullabyes work well but you are bound to get tired of singing them over and over. So get a recording of your little one's favourite lullabye or if only your voice works, record yourself singing it and then play it softly on a loop.

SOME SLEEPY POTIONS

Try some lavender essential oil or tissue oils or tissue oils designed for sleep. (Note: I have found that this one helps sometimes but other times not).

Goodbye Nahnah: The End of the Breastfeeding Journey

This poem really speaks to me at the moment- especially the last two paragraphs. After almost two years of breastfeeding, December 2015, just before Squish's second birthday, was when we decided it was finally time to swap the nursing bras for Wonderbras again. Two years seems like a logical time for weaning and felt right to me- I was finally able to have a meaningful two way discussion with my son about the topic by this age. Two years also happens to be the time period recommended for breastfeeding by both the World Health Organisation and the timeframe recommended according to my religion- if that is not a sign that this is a good time I am not sure what is!

The breastfeeding journey was a tough one for me (read more about my journey here). I must admit, the last few months of breastfeeding were a bit easier, but after two sleep deprived years, I knew it was time. 

We had previous failed attempts at weaning after about twelve months. La Leche League's recommended method for weaning is 'do not offer and do not refuse'. Let's just say that was an epic failure and I am fairly sure I would be feeding through the high school gates if we stuck to that mode of weaning. Previous (less subtle) weaning methods tried also included putting foul tasting substances on my breasts, from bitter aloe to balsamic vinegar ( both of which Squish just responded to with a bit of a funny face but then proceeded to suck off the offending substance nonchalantly) and wearing polo-necked tops (which literally got ripped open).

So when I tried weaning again this December, I was ready for a tough fight, which to my surprise never came. We waited until the holiday season, when A was on leave. Night time is when Squish tended to drink the most so we anticipated some sleepless nights. On night one, I did something that I never did before. I packed an overnight bag and Noodle and I spent the night at my mom's house (which is close enough for me to return on case of emergency). While Noodle and I had a night of Monopoly, Squish was home with daddy. I do not know what happened in my absence (though I suspect Squish was lulled to sleep by Youtube). I am told there were a few tears but that he only woke once or twice during the night and went back to sleep quite easily. 

The next morning, I returned, with large plasters across my breasts (and a dot or two of fake blood for theatric effect). When Squish saw it, I expected a fight but instead he said sweetly, 'sorry mommy' and gave me a big hug. He kept asking to look at it, but instead of trying to drink, he came to give me hugs and say sorry each time.

For the next few days, he did not try drinking at all, though he did ask to look at my plasters every hour or two. For a few days, he replaced his 'nahnah' with (oddly), copious amounts of grapes. Even now that the plasters are off, he still asks to have a look at his old comfort objects at least once a day. 

Nap times and bed time was tough for the first week or two as breastfeeding had always been our method of choice for getting him to drift easily to sleep. Slowly, we developed a new routine, which included the old elements, bath time, a shower and a bedtime story, but now we switched off the lights and had one extra bedtime story in the dark- each day we now have made up stories about a character, Bubbles, who is the star of all our stories. When Squish is ready to sleep, he covers his entire face with the duvet and then is asleep in a minute or two. I then move him to his cot, where he sometimes sleeps right through the night- something that never happened back when I was breastfeeding. 

What nobody told me is how painful the weaning process would be for me! See, the recommended method is slow weaning. To some extent, this was a slow weaning process as we had already eliminated all daytime feeds except before nap time. However, till now, Squish still fed several times each night and we stopped the night feeds abruptly, which is apparently not ideal for mom. I did not expect the assault on my breasts. To say that weaning was a (physically) painful experience for me is an understatement. I quickly developed all the symptoms of mastitis- very painful, engorged breasts, a slight fever and excruciating lumps caused by plugged ducts, made worse by me plugging my breasts up with plasters. While the pain level was almost comparable to being in labour, by this time I was away in the bushes for a few days so cabbage leaves and Nurofen was as advanced as pain alleviation treatment was going to get! I was leaking giant puddles of milk everywhere and had to change my clothes several times a day. Charming, I know. It took a few weeks before the pain slowly subsided but eventually it did.

It turns out that the weaning process was actually quite easy for Squish (which is what counts most for me). He has adapted very well to our new routine and, apart from asking to look at my breasts or holding on to them sometimes when he is upset, he has moved on. I will miss that giddy look of elation as he took the first sip at each feed, the feeling of closeness and the way his eyes would almost roll back in his head in ecstasy, but seeing my little boy growing up into an independent little person is equally rewarding. Now we start a new chapter, one without breastfeeding but with a whole new independent world to be explored. 

Staycation in Jozi

Happy New Year to all! I hope that you all had a wonderful December and that all your hopes and dreams for 2016 are fulfilled. 

I know I have not been blogging much lately- I decided to take some time off, do other things and do some blog planning in the background. 

This December was the first time in forever that we all found ourselves at home for a week or two without any  pressing work obligations (A was on leave and December is quiet for me), and with no travel plans or renovations etc keeping us home. So we decided to be tourists in our own city.

Here are some of the things we got up to:

THE WALTER SISULU BOTANICAL GARDENS

If you live in Johannesburg and have not been here, this one is essential to add to your list. With exotic plants, waterfalls and eagles, it is difficult to believe this tranquil haven is in the city. Well, I guess not so long it was less urban- I can remember coming here for a school excursion back in the day and the entire area was still quite rural. Now it is surrounded by townhouse complexes and upmarket private schools but still feels like you are somewhere distant and exotic. This trip got a blog post all on its own- refer to the blog post before this one for more details!

P.S. We visit the Botanical Gardens next to the Emmarentia Dam, which is also lovely, very frequently throughout the year. This is often a quick stopover for the kids to ride bikes and feed the ducks.

A TRIP TO THE JOHANNESBURG ZOO

Both little ones adore animals so a trip to the zoo was sure to be a hit. We are lucky to have so many places to see animals close by but I must say the Johannesburg zoo is my favorite (the animals at the Pretoria zoo just look depressed to me and Lory Park, while seemingly better maintained than the state zoos, is a bit confined).

This time, we hopped on the Boomerang 'So Funny  Safari' tractor, which was awesome as it meant being able to see everything but with less walking while carrying two little ones most of the way (Noodle quickly gets tired when walking long distances and while Squish is still small enough for a pram, he refuses to sit in one). The 'So Funny Safari' is still on for a couple of weeks if you want to catch it. 

Noodle could not wrap her head around the idea that there were camels in Africa- she had been on a camel ride in the Middle East but could not believe they could be found here- out of their natural habitats. Squish was particularly fond of the giraffes and elephants.

THE LION PARK

  
Nature and wildlife featured strongly these holidays and the Lion Park was a definite highlight. The last time I was at the Lion Park in Lanseria, I was about Noodle's age.

This is apparently the city's top ranked  tourist attraction and I can see why. We got there at around lunch time so we first headed to the picnic area for a meal. (Warning: the picnic area, while neat, with benches has lots and lots of bees and flies, which can make mealtime a bit tricky). 

With our bags now significantly lighter after lunch was consumed, we went off to experience a lion cub interaction where were allowed to pet lion cubs in a safe and controlled environment. We had to queue for a bit as they only allow a few people in at a time (for obvious reasons) but it was worth the wait. The lion cubs chosen were the runts abandoned by their mothers at birth and 'saved' by the park. At five months old, they were a bit bigger than what I expected for cubs, which made me a bit nervous but, having grown up around humans and reared on special bottle formula, they seemed unphased by humans in their space. We were warned to only pet them on their backs and stomachs. What an amazing experience! 

Then the kids got to feed ostriches and giraffes and play peekaboo with the meerkats. I was glad to see taps and hand sanitiser close to the feeding station. 

Then we went off on a guided safari through the park in an armored truck. Our guide, Michelle was knowledgeable and informative. We saw various types of lions as well as cheetahs, wild dogs, zebras and various types of buck.
 
Afterwards, we enjoyed some ice-creams while the kids played in the play area, which has jungle gyms, jumping castles and some coin operated rides. i even did some gift shopping at the curio shop, which was quite reasonably priced and had some lovely goods.

MONTECASINO

This is a regular favourite place to visit (though we never set foot in the casino section). We did not go to the Bird Gardens section these holidays, but if you have not been before it is well worth it! This time, we enjoyed a meal and lots of arcade games with the kids (the kinds where you throw things into holes or stomp crocodiles). Then we went to the large outside piazza where there was an outdoor cinema theatre screening family movies and lots of families scattered on bean bags and picnic blankets. There was also a cute market set up adjacent to this and we had a nice evening stroll through the market.

SHOPPING

The few days after Christmas are a great time to be in Johannesburg. The city is quiet as many head to the coast and all the malls have great sales. As shopping is one of my favorite pastimes, I had to indulge of course (even if it was more window shopping than actual purchasing).

A lot of the malls have events for the kids over the holiday period- an added bonus! Our favourite was the set up at Mall of the South, which had a giant snow globe, a bubble machine, colouring stations, balloons, swings and a ball pit.

OUR OWN BACK YARD

The warm weather was perfect for outdoor play with bicycle/ tricycle rides, water play and impromptu picnics under the gazebo (which work great as it means less clean up after meals). 

NINTENDO WII

A bought a WII overseas just after we got married and it has been gathering dust for several years. These holidays, it was once again discovered and being a bit more interactive than other TV consoles, made for good family fun.

SOME CELEBRATING

There is so much reason for celebration in our home over the December holiday period. Besides the usual, we cheated and had a joint Minion inspired birthday party for Noodle and Squish. I also celebrated eight blessed years of marriage to my beloved best friend and confidante. How time flies!!!

NEW YEAR

We have not done anything for New Year's Eve since the kids were born. This year, we went for supper at our favorite Spur, returning home by sunset. Noodle had never seen fireworks before and was keen to see some but we are very nervous to attend any of the organised ones given all the drunk drivers on the road. We compromised and bought a few very tame, almost silent ones that would not disturb any neighborhood pets- sparkles, pop pops and the little ones with color but almost no sound. Despite the kids being up far later than usual, they were up for breakfast by six, just like every other day. 

This week is life as usual, but with plenty in store for 2016.

What were you up to this December/January?

Making Memories with Burger King SA

Yesterday,my inlaws looked at Squish puzzled when he told them 'we went on a picnic to Burger King'. He wasn't exactly wrong though- this weekend, Burger King SA treated us to a picnic to celebrate the launch of their delicious new King Snack meals. We received a stunning hamper stuffed with everything we need for the perfect picnic- picnic blankets, sunhats, water bottles, frisbees, bats... you name it! (I loved the fun messages printed on the various items). 

Most importantly, we received vouchers to collect the perfect fuss free picnic meals- the new King Snack meals (plus drinks of course). I think picnics are all about family fun and relaxation. Why spend hours slaving away in the kitchen for a picnic when you can just pick up your picnic food on the way? 

Saturday was a perfect sunny day- ideal weather for our #Kingsnackspicnic. We decided to have our picnic at the beautiful Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort, famous for its plants, breathtaking waterfalls and black eagles. While our usual Burger King is the Rosebank one, for the picnic, we stopped at the new Burger King at Clearwater Mall, which happens to just down the road from our chosen picnic destination to pick up our picnic lunch (if you are looking for this particular Burger King, it is in the upstairs section of the food court). 

While we like the Rosebank branch for its location and play area, at this one I was impressed by how friendly and knowledgeable their staff were and by how quickly and efficiently they dealt with a minor glitch with our card. While waiting, I was tantalised by the flashing poster for the King Snack meals we were about to enjoy- each King Snack consists of four chili cheese bites, four King nuggets, four King chicken ribs, two small fries and two barbeque dipping sauces. Everything contained works well as finger food for a picnic and it is perfect for one very hungry individual or two less hungry people. For us, two King Snack meals were just right for two adults and two little ones with tiny tummies.

After a quick drive to our destination, we found the perfect picnic spot under a large tree and we settled down to enjoy our meal- still piping hot in the cooler bag. 

I must say, we really enjoyed the new King Snacks. I think those chili cheese bites are my new favourite snack- they are beyond divine and I am dreaming of them while typing this up! I was very curious as to what chicken ribs were- did I miss that biology lesson? It turns out that they are succulent chicken wings in a spicy rib sauce- quite tasty but with a bit of a bite. Look- they kind of look like ribs!

The nuggets were firm favourites with the kids and the wings were yummy too. I don't need to tell you the fries are good- you already know that I am sure!

While every calorie consumed was well worth it, we decided that after lunch it was time to burn off some of that deliciousness. We played with the bats and balls, which the kids really enjoyed!

Then it was time to play some frisbee. This was fun for a few minutes until Noodle got whacked in the face. 

After the tears settled, we got even more active with a walk to the picturesque waterfall, followed by a hike up the ridge. 

We were quite impressed that Noodle got all the way to the top all on her own. It is quite a steep and tiring climb and hubby A built some muscles carrying Squish all the way to the top. We were all completely out of breath by the top but luckily, I still had some Burger King bottled water stashed in the cooler bag- boy did that go down well!

The long trek was worth it as the view of the West and North of Johannesburg from the top is quite spectacular and you have a good view of the waterfalls below too! 

All in all, we had a super fun day which we will all remember for a long time to come. Thank you to Burger King SA for making it happen!!!

*Sponsored post