To my friend with no kids [Yet]

This is not a post about how to get along well with your friends, or even how to make friends. This is rather a very personal and sad post for me. You see, all my life I've only ever really wanted 1 thing - a best friend. Sounds stupid, I know! We all have different definitions of what this means but to me, it means someone I relate to so much, it almost feels like we are sisters. A bit too much to ask? that's probably because it is. So let me be realistic... I needed a friend, a person that I can talk to for hours about pointless things. The one that I can count on to bring me a chocolate and cupcakes when i'm heart broken. The one I can talk to when i'm angry at my boyfriend. The 1 that I don't even have to explain myself, and she just gets it. And most importantly, the one that'll understand and be patient with me.

I am a work in progress, but I am also definitely a Mother!

Irrespective of the situation, my daughter will always come first but this doesn't mean that I do not have time for you. I want more than anything to hang out and have coffee. I want to go to the movies, I want to do paintball saturdays and socialise with people that won't tell me *Okay, that's enough, mommy!* but I also want to be the best Mom I know I can be. And this on it's own is a full time job.

At first it was great, we got along well, too many things in common [which was fantastic], the same struggles, and most importantly we had aligned passions. I was there and willing to make it work....I still am. But my friend, I need you to understand and be patient with me. For me, gone are the days when I could do anything I wanted to {No regrets}. A schedule has become my partner and planning is right there with it. I find myself saying to you "no; I can't make it; I'll confirm" so much more lately that it breaks my heart to pieces. As I sit here and write this post, I feel you slipping away from me, one cancelled coffee date at a time. 

I don't want this to happen, and yet I don't know how to stop it from happening!

I wish there was a way to make it all work, and maybe there is; I just don't know yet. Our friendship has been on hold, mostly because of me. I have too many things going on. The same struggles you know, and also the good struggles that you don't know about. And in the misdst of all this, I forgot to text you and say hi; you stopped asking me to come to church/hang out; we both just gave up!

I really hope that someday, I will find the balance that I am looking for. One where I am able to give you the love and attention you need while being the best possible Mother I can be. Until then, I am sorry for neglecting our Friendship. I miss you more than you can imagine and it pains my heart each time when I have to say "I won't make it". Most of all, I need you to always remember that no matter what happens to our friendship, You are the Sister that I never had but always wanted. In you, I found a best friend. Keep well and stay smilling, My Friend :) .

PS: My Friend, you know yourself, afterall, I am a 1 friend woman *wink*

xoxo

Oluv

My Cousin's Beautiful and Classy Wedding Day

The bride and my Mom

On the 1st weekend of March I had the privilege of celebrating my Cousin's big day with her. You may not know this but I am a complete sucker for weddings and even though I don't get to attend all that many, I sure make the most of it when I do attend one. It was such a beautiful day surrounded by family and extended family exchanging good laughs. 

My cousin looked absolutely STUNNING and we were all just so happy for her, and we continue to be happy for her. The food was GREAT, the deco was on point, and the whole Ceremony as well as reception were perfectly beautiful.

Kbear

Kbear had a ton of fun and boy was it exhausting running around after her. I swear I probably looked like a crazy mom chasing her child for no reason when in-fact I was trying to keep her from getting lost in the crowd...LOL. 

Driving to my Parents' is a bit of a drive [ 3 hours] and seeing them at the wedding was a complete added cherry on Top. Kbear also got to spend a few minutes with her Grandparents and be spoilt which was both fantastic and heart warming.

Bride's Dad(My Uncle), Mom, and Dad

At the end of the day, we all went to go see my Great Gran Ma and again had some really good laughs. It's very safe to say that I got back home pretty late. My Parents spent the night at our place and so with all the talking and catching up, we ended up going to bed just before Midnight. We were all exhausted but just so happy. It was a really beautiful and wonderful day Indeed. Congrats Cuz and may you have the BEST and Blessed marriage. I wish you nothing but Joy and happiness.

xoxo

Oluv

Balancing Work-Motherhood-Love Life(Relationships) || Top 6 tips and tricks

Sometimes life gets so busy, too busy in fact that you hardly ever have 2 min to yourself. All my life all I ever wanted was to be a Mom. Truth be told, I wanted this more than I wanted a job...Shhhh. However I did not anticipate the amount of work that comes with being a Mom. It's even more work for me and my boyfriend because we live so far away from family. We hardly ever have anyone that can offer to baby sit for us and my boyfriend works a little bit far away from home. So as you can imagine, I end up being the one to handle all things baby :). I truly do not have a problem with this but I must say, it can be extremely exhausting at time.

I am a full time working Mom. Which means I have a job that I go to every single weekday from 8h30am till 4h30am. I also have a very busy and super energetic 2 year old, and an incredible Boyfriend whom we are trying to build a family together. I don't know about you but to me, these are the most important things in ones life. Now the challenge is to keep them all happy. To try and make sure that all is doing well and everyone is happy. To try and make sure that I don't burn myself out while I'm at it. Boy, is it difficult at times!

Back in 2015, I made a promise to myself to try and get the balance between my work, me as parent, as well as my relationship. This stemmed as a result of months of frustrations and a bit of unhappiness that came with the fact that there was no balance. I drifted through life. Took everything 1 day at a time and this just took every bit of strength I had in me. I was unhappy, constantly unprepared, and to a certain extend I was loosing confidence in myself. I needed something. Some sort of structure to help me get to a state where my life was well balanced. So I tried things differently. 

PS: You can check out video if you prefer to watch/listen rather than read... https://youtu.be/t6oe6pmSmp0

I stopped taking work home

It was so easy for me to just grab my work laptop, take it home with me and try get some work done over the weekend(sometimes during weeknights) at home. Hardly ever spent time with my boyfriend and barely had a moment to myself. All I wanted to do was finish a presentation or map a process or optimize this and fix that. One Friday I left the laptop at work and I had the BEST weekend I've never had in a long time. It wasn't because I was on holiday or out shopping but rather because I was home with my daughter and boyfriend and we got to spend quality time together as a lil family. It might not be an easy thing for you to do but try it and you won't regret it. Never take work home.

I created a nap time and bed time schedule for my daughter

This may sound very obvious but to be honest, in my mind, a schedule for my daughter was the last thing I thought I needed. When I was pregnant, I always imagined myself as a mom that had it all together with no schedule for no-one. I imagined having the sweetest lil baby ever and having no struggles with anything. And yes, I have myself thee most sweetest lil angel ever but with this sweetness come a lot of energy and the will power to fight nap times. So i gave it a try. I started to slowly introduce nap time schedule and bedtime schedule as well. It is now a consistent part of our lives. Lil one is at nursery school during the day and takes naps there and we continue with the school's nap time schedule even at home.

Have a set routine for house chores

A messy house is one thing I cannot stand. To this day I a still trying to learn to let my daughter mess up the house with her toys. It is not easy but it's a learning curve. Make no mistake, I can learn to ignore toys but i doubt I'll ever be able to ignore dirt and dirty dishes around the house. This is where my house chores routine kicks in. Every single night before bed, I always make sure that the dishes are clean and pack away, the floor is swept and all the tables and counters are wiped clean. then on Thursday evenings I go all out. I mop the floors and disinfect everything - which explains why I'm usually tired on Fridays at work. This helps me stay sane knowing that the house is clean and my lil won't be picking up and eating things from the floor.

Have a conversation with your partner

More often than not, i've had people tell me that I need to go on a dinner date with my Boyfriend. And so many times I tell them, we don't need a date. Society these days has us believe that the only way you can spend quality time with your partner is when you are on a date outside home. Well, for us this is not the case. We (myself and my Boyfriend) found that we connect much better when we are at home than on a date. So every night we spend 30min to an hour after we get lil one to bed together just talking to each other. Sometime we even just lie down next to each other and we watch a movie. Sometimes we even take naps together. For us going on a date without the lil one is not possible and so we have to make do with the situation.

Never Over promise and Under deliver

In other words, be REALISTIC. Do not commit to things that you know you won't be able to achieve. This goes for both work and relationship. Don't promise your manager that you'll have a project delivered at a certain time when you know very well that there's constraints. Don't commit to going on a date with your boyfriend and/or partner when you know very well that you might not be able to make it. I always say rather Under promise and Over deliver.

Set some time aside for yourself

I never used to do this before, I didn't think I needed this. Until the tension on my shoulders grew bigger and bigger. It was starting to hurt to get out of bed at night. My whole body was aching and I had no clue what to do. Then I tried a hot with loads of bubble bath for about 30min to an hour every Sunday once Kbear is in bed for night time. the results are magical. I feel more energetic, less pain, and definitely less tension. Plus I didn't have to go to a spa for a treatment. Yes, it would be nice to go to the spa but right now, it's close to impossible for me to go unless they bring the spa to me. But until then, I am more than happy with my bubble bath. I am able to reflect on my goals and dreams while in the tub. I get to sit and clear my head of all the clutter and I love it. It's super easy, very convenient and extremely relaxing.

These are my top 6 tips and tricks of how i'm able to balance Being a Mom, Having a full time job, as well as Being in a Relationship. I've had quite a couple of people ask me how I manage to have everything so together. Some even asked if I had a live in Helper. The answer is right here.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope you found it helpful as well. Sometimes all it takes is a lil shift of mindset and a lil bit of adjustment to all the small things to have a balanced and happier life. But until next time, Good luck finding the balance you are looking for.

xoxo

Oluv

It's the New Year

Oh My Gosh, I can hardly believe that it is the new year already! 2016! Where did the time go? It literally feels like just last week when I was pretty excited for 2015 and now it is 2016. WOW!

I've been thinking about writing this post for 11 days now and to be honest, I didn't want to make it a traditional New Year's Resolution post but I though it would be really not nice to start a year without wish you the very best of luck. [ PS: if you are interested in what my resolutions are for this year, watch this videos - I talk all about them and more here https://youtu.be/-znfp5CxEIk ] . I wish and hope for nothing but the best for you and pray that this year be everything you want it to be and more.

And of course, I need to make a few commitments as usual :) . I will be starting a series or a constant schedule of blogs that I'll be writing and posting on this very blog page. These will range from Mommy stuff - A lot has changed, Toddler life, Baking, Fashion, Travel etc. Pretty much like the tabs at the top shows. There will be a new blog post every Monday and Thursday starting today, since it's Monday :) and this time I promise I am going to be consistent. Not a week will go by where I don't post a blog and I hope you will be riding with me on this journey.

Be sure to stay up to date with what I get up to on my Social media Pages by following me on the links below :

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MnBapproved
Instagram - https://instagram.com/oluv_
Twitter - https://twitter.com/KbearAndMommy

Until then, I will see you later.

xoxo

Oluv

How I spent my Weekend - 27 to 29 Nov 2015

Painting with my Daughter

I have been thinking about doing this for a little while now but I never really got myself to do it. So here I am, with more than enough time on my hands and I thought....What the heck, I might as well!! :)

I want to share a little bit about how my weekend went. Now, I honestly do not plan my weekends, I like to let....let's say fate (for lack of a better word) take it's cause. This is simply because I'm usually so busy during the week, juggling work, cooking dinner, breakfast, and a very busy 2 year old. So I always go with the flow, with the aim to have fun and maybe relax a little bit.

This past weekend was rather a bit different from all my other weekends. It started off with Black Friday, which I still don't understand to this day. People seriously are willing to stand in queues for hours on end just to save a couple of Rands. I'm not that patient so I don't ever put myself through that. However, this time, I did experience a lil bit of the madness. The route I take to get home after work has a shopping complex and boy was it packed! It took me twice as long to just walk past the store. I was not impressed at all. Anyway, it wasn't until I woke up Saturday Morning to a freezing cold weather that I realized that my weekend will be completely different from all my other weekends. I couldn't do laundry, Kbear slept in a bit longer, Dzee(my bf) couldn't go for his usual morning walk, everyone's schedule was pretty much messed. So we decided to go to church. Very Exciting as we haven't been in quite a while. We all got ready and headed straight to church. As usual, we were a couple of minutes late but like they say, better late than never. The first part of the service was awesome and uplifting however we completely missed the 2nd service. Kbear was not having it and it would've been unfair for me to keep her inside church with all her screaming and crying while other people are trying to listen so we decided to go back home. We are not giving up though. We will continue to go until she gets used to being in church.

Sunday was a very interesting day for me. We had a very nice painting session with my Kbear and later I finally got my Me-Time where I painted my nails, watched some comedy and just relaxed. Dzee took Kbear out to his brother's and although I was quite angry with him for coming back home late when he knew very well that it's a school night, I was also very grateful for the time I had with myself. Now, I am starting my week on a high not, with proper planning, a firm schedule, and a very active imagination. I hope you will have a fantastic week as well.

xoxo

Oluv

Why I quit using Foundation

My Favourite Garnier Products

I'm a simple person! A little too simple sometimes. I love things that are not complicated and I do not appreciate spending time trying to understand something that not only consumes too much of my time but also doesn't bring any joy in my life. With this being said, I must say that, I really truly appreciate a challenge. And so a little over 3 years ago I challenged myself to learn a bit more about make-up and beauty products. This was just after I turned 22 and I was ready to take the corporate world by storm. I was already on my 2nd job and my career was heading the right direction. To sum it all up, things were looking up. There was just one thing I haven't tried and this was using make-up. So i did what every girl would do! I went shopping for make-up products and I started using make-up every so often but not everyday and boy was it time consuming and difficult!...sigh.. I accepted the challenge with a big smile anyway and turned to the one place we turn to in times of need - The Internet. So a couple of YouTube videos later and very sore eyes (from lack of sleep), I was ready to get started. 

To be quite honest I loved it. My skin looked more flawless, thanks to foundation; my eyebrows were more defined, thanks to brow pencil; and my eyes were even bigger - thanks to the miracle working eyeliner. For quite a while all was well until I just couldn't do it anymore. I didn't feel like myself. I hated feeling like I was forgetting what I looked like without foundation on! And most importantly, I just needed my skin to just have a break.

So I decided to quit and embark on a mission to even out my skin tone. I've never had even skin tone and to make matters worse, I have oily skin. Now, if you have uneven skin tone, you know the struggle!!!  So it's safe to say that needed some real help. Again I turned to Mr KnowItAll - Google - and researched products that can lend a helping hand. It goes without saying that I chose Garnier Products. Specifically focused on Evening out skin tone. 

I have been using these for a lil over 2 months and I do not regret it one bit. I can barely remember the last time I applied foundation on my face and I don't even miss it. I now have more time to spare for breakfast in the morning without rushing to put on make-up. Such a relief :). Especially because I have to get both myself and my little one ready in the morning. So these Garner products were my best bet.

Clarifying Foam / Face Wash

First I use the Clarifying foam to wash my face. Just a drop on my hands, rub them together and I wash my face. Then a good rinse and that's it. I do this twice daily - in the morning and evening.

Toner

Then the Even & Matte Toner. Once i'm done washing my face, I follow on using the Garnier Even & Matte toner. This smells so Good and Lemony, it's amazing. It leaves my face feeling 2 times clean each time.

8 hours oil control cream

Moisturiser

And then depending on the weather, I use either the moisturiser on the right, or the 8hours oil control cream on the left. In the mornings on a work weekday, I apply the 8hours oil control cream. It helps reduce the oil on my face and in the evenings I apply the moisturiser.

This is one of the best decisions I've ever taken. As much as Make-up is glam, natural is even better. I've never been more confident than I am now. I appreciate my skin more and not having to worry about applying make-up has certainly made me unleash my inner beauty. Though I must say, I can't live without lipstick...LOL...

Me with nothing but Lipstick :)

xoxo
Oluv

OMG, i'm getting old !!!!

I can hardly believe that I am 25 years old. Like seriously!!! why is time flying by so fast? 

For the past 24 years of my life, I've planned for my birthday and I always, without fail, have the day's schedule set. However on this day, I did not plan anything. I just wanted to do 1 thing - a Photoshoot. Of course I wasn't going to go and pay for a professional shoot, even if I tried, it wasn't gonna succeed because it was soo last minute. So I got my lil girl all dolled up and my bf also dressed up. We tried as hard as we can to match each other, and I think we did pretty great :). We took our Camera and tripod and headed to the park. And yes, we looked like complete crazies with the tripod and all but I loved every minute of it.

Accessories I wore for the shoot

Watching my daughter running around and posing for pictures made me realise exactly why I did not plan for this birthday. I wanted something spontaneous, something that I didn't have to plan an organise months before, and certainly something that both myself and my lil girl will enjoy doing. So yer, a home-made photoshoot seemed fitting. We, as usual, underestimated the time a lil bit, thanks winter, and ended up having to use just 1 location which i'm not complaining, it was awesome. We had all we needed in that location and we got a lil creative were it lacked. We took way too many pictures, more than anticipated, had so much fun, and got ourselves exhausted in the process. Then we went to grab some dinner and headed home where we snuggled up and watched a movie.

Birthday Girl

As i'm writing this post, i'm sitting in bed,preparing to go to sleep,  and i'm going through all the well wish messages I received today and i'm in awe of all the love that's surrounding me. My mom went to church and said she prayed for me, My dad challenged himself to actually type out a text message - he's not techno savvy, at all, My lil brothers sang for me over the phone, My bf made me some yummy green juice - the best and My daughter kept singing happy birthday mommy all day. These, for me, are the people that matter the most and to have them show me this much love makes me feel like the luckiest girl, or should I say lady seeing that i'm getting old, alive. When i wake up tomorrow morning I will be 25years old, still so surreal but i'm super excited for this next year of my life. I've had far more exciting birthdays before but this was by far more special and intimate and for that I am happy and of course i'm already looking forward to my next birthday - if only i didn't have to get older... *sigh*

Happy Birthday to me...

xoxo

Oluv

The Chronicles of a working Mom

This is very strange! I'm sitting at my desk, looking all busy like i'm actually working when infact i'm just day dreaming. On one side, I'm wishing that I stayed home today and just spent all day vlogging and watching YouTube, but on the other side, i'm just wondering what life would be like if I didn't have to wake up every morning to go to work!....*Sigh*....

You know when I was still studying I used to imagine the corporate world as a place to be. A place where all dreams come true, a place where people get rich, a place where you get to meet nice people [must've been out of my mind], and a place where judgement is non existent. Well, you know what? I was WRONG, i was sooo wrong! Honestly, I can't even tell what makes me more irritated, the judgement, the company or maybe the fact that I don't really want to be here.

My entire life as a little girl, I dreamed about what it'll be like when I get a job and how many things I'm going to buy and just how happy I would be. I even had a plan of how it'll all work out, with a timeline and everything. I worked so hard to make sure that the plan is executed well and on time, and I successfully did. I got all the things I wanted, all the things I dreamed of as a lil girl and even more. I got the job I wanted, the life I wanted [still work in progress though..you know,adjusting to changing lifestyle], and acquired all within the planned dates. But i'm not quite sure if this makes me happy. Don't get me wrong, i'm not unhappy per se but I certainly am not content. I always imagined myself feeling very content and satisfied once I got all the things I mentioned earlier but at the moment i'm not. Did I maybe set myself up for failure?

I keep getting this feeling that something is missing. The only problem is I have no idea what that is. I tried explaining to my partner and he also doesn't get it, not that I blame him. I honestly have no idea how to explain what is missing. Not a week goes by where I don't get this feeling and it just makes me feel so uneasy. Do you ever feel like this? Please tell me i'm not alone!

xoxo

Oluv

Easy Home made Chicken Wraps

I think we have a very weird kinda tradition at our house and it goes something like this...If we don't get to eat Take-Outs, then we make our own Make-Ins and that should be either on Monday night or Friday night. Personally, I think this is hilarious but you know what, it has been working like magic...or at least I think. The week flies by so fast because we looking forward to the next Make-In meal.
So anyway, this past Monday was a holiday and I made homemade wraps which turned out to be so delicious. We, including a 20 month old toddler, ate so nicely and all finished our meals. Because this was such a hit at home, I thought I should just share it here as well.

Ingredients:

• 4 Wraps (White or Brown) we used white
• Fresh Crispy Lettice
• Tomatoes
• Chicken Breast Fillet
• Cheese
• Potatoes
• Sauce of your choice 

Method

Start of by coating the chicken fillet in flavours of your choice, we used lemon juice and chicken spice. Be sure to add a little bit of salt for taste to your chicken. Once the flavour has set in, fry your chicken and set aside. Slice some potatoes, you can cut them into chips as well, and fry them until they are crispy but not burnt. Set that aside as well. Cut up some tomatoes into cubes and set that aside as well. Wash your lettice and set it aside to drain water.

Then take your cooled down chicken and cut it into slices. Then take a wrap, place it on the flat surface, add your ingredients as mentioned above and when done stuffing your wrap then just roll it over to cover up the ingredients. TIP: put ingredients a little bit on the side, it males it easier when wrapping them. Cut your wrap in half and you are ready to eat.

I hope you will enjoy your wrap and don't forget to check back again on Monday for some Monday Munchies.

xoxo

Oluv