for this post, i'm interviewing judah on his favourite things from the last few months. he is a boy who knows his mind so knuckling down to 4 things wasn't that hard:

I could lie....





I could make out that I did everything I set out to do every single day and came out on top. You'd all think "Wow, she's superwoman!". But I'd know. I'd know that in reality, after a week of waking up at 5, doing the things I do normally (that usually run me down), managing the home, school runs etc - I was exhausted beyond belief. I was still excited, but I was exhausted. Then Judah caught a bug. That dealt with the second week. Then I got ill & that dealt with the 3rd week. By the 4th week, I couldn't even remember if I was coming or going. I felt a deep sense of disappointment with myself. I felt I had failed. I had let myself down & would possibly never achieve anything in life if I couldn't even achieve this task. Woe is me, wah wah wah!

But after a few days of wallowing in self pity, eating lots of chocolate & crisps, no exercise and 6:30am wake up's initiated by Morayo-Hope; I decided to assess my challenge. Was all really lost? Not really. Because in reality I had actually learned some things about myself that I probably wouldn't have learned had I not even tried.

1. I liked the challenge - it gave me focus, determination & something to look forward to everyday - well, for that week at least.

2. I set unrealistic goals for myself. Once I've decided things have to change, it becomes a demolition derby up in here! I do it with housework. I do it with my hair. I need to slow down & accept that it's a journey, not  a race. I didn't get here overnight & it'll take time to change some things. And that's ok.

3.  I function well when there is structure. Planning this challenge forced me to set a daily routine which was good to stick with.

4. Social Media / TV / The phone = all enemies of my progress!! When I wrote out my daily routine, I realised how little free time I actually have. I found that after fitting in kids stuff / school runs / cooking / cleaning etc, I actually only have 2 hours to myself - at a serious squeeze. So really I don't have time to be chatting to everyone on the phone & keeping up with facebook / twitter / instagram and expecting to be a serious mum boss.

5.  I love breaking my own rules. And I am the only one who suffers for it. There was me running away from the voice inside my head telling me to get to that gym i'm paying for. Ultimately, nobody was chasing me, because nobody cares. Nobody cares if i making nothing out of my life, because they are all too busy trying to make something of their own lives.


So what next?

With these take aways, I decided to start afresh. November is a new month - with 30 days. I will start again tomorrow with a slightly less OTT list and pace myself.  Discipline is the key to success & I am more convinced of it than ever.

earlier this year, mummy was tasked with finding a cake maker for her friend's baby shower. she found someone she loves and agreed on a cake. unfortunately a week to the shower, mummy found out there had been a miscommunication which meant she now had to find a new cake maker. she couldn't find anyone at such short notice! she had to make the cake. enter Youtube! Mummy watched every video on how to make ruffle cakes and bought the necessary gadgets. By the day of the shower, a zombie-mode mummy clutched her handiwork and delivered it in one piece to the venue. she had never been so proud of herself!







having triumphed at ruffles, mummy now felt invincible. she decided to bake my birthday cake! as it was a fairy party, it was only fitting that she should bake a fairy princess cake! back to youtube university she went and with some keen guidance & on-the-day help from my aunty Tsungi, (herself a baker), this was the cake she made!







having begun to garner a neat little reputation for herself from sharing the above cakes enthusiastically on her facebook profile, mummy was asked to bake another baby shower cake. she couldn't say no to this request! she already had very clear ideas of the kind of cake she wanted to make. her inspiration was as below:



 




on the day, all the cakes were baked & ready to be iced & decorated. it was a blissfully hot day and mummy hummed away to herself as she rolled out the fondant icing. she placed the icing onto the cake the way a seasoned professional would & began to smooth it. the fondant was having none of it & began to....wrinkle up.... for lack of a better word. mummy removed it & started again. same thing happened. then she thought, ok - it has to be ruffles then. happily she rolled out the fondant and cut out her strips. she stuck them on and they flopped about - a bit like an orangutan's boobs. she knew what to do & held them up with cocktail sticks. but soon, the cake resembled a hedgehog & as she removed the sticks, visible holes remained. back to square one. mummy finally cottoned on to the fact that fondant & heat are lifelong enemies and a fan was brought in. she started again and finally the cake below was the result of that steep learning curve!






the good thing is that no deaths were reported as a result of anyone eating these cakes. mummy feels she's well on her way to martha stewart status (minus jail term) - and is now attempting an even more challenging 4th bake! we are looking forward to seeing how this goes. it'll be fondant iced, lets hope this indian summer doesn't last till christmas!

**images of the 3 inspiration cakes are from pinterest & google searches. the work is not my mummy's own.**

you'd think the 30 day discipline challenge would've been enough to keep mummy busy for the next few weeks - but what can I say? she's a sucker for punishment! now that she's primarily at home she seemed to be  wistfully looking back at pix of herself back when she was working in an office and longing to get back into a pair of heels and dress up. thank heavens she snapped out of it & decided to embrace the season of life she's in!after all, she has school runs to look good for - i do not need her dragging my rep down!  she spied a 10x10 challenge on one of her favourite blogs - Style Bee - and decided to do it! Below are the 10 items she picked for this challenge. she went for items she already loves wearing and that should work well together, giving a polished but authentic school run look. well..that's the aim anyway!



1. Toffee Blazer available here  2. Black Knitted Top similar here, here and here; maternity option here  3. Denim Shirt similar here , here and maternity option here 4. Basic White Tee similar here, maternity options here and here 5. Breton Stripe Top similar here, here and maternity options here, here and here 6. Silk Blouse alternative here, maternity option here 7. Skinny Jeans available here , similar maternity option here  8. Colour Block Sandals similar here  or here  9. Black Ponyskin Lace Up Loafers similar here 10. Black Ankle Grazer Pants similar here, here, here and maternity options here and here
she's busy narrowing down her winter wardrobe wishlist after realising she was working with her budget, not the Duchess of Cambridge's. this has served as a really great starting point for her, helping her to highlight the gaps she has in her day to day closet. i don't know about you, but I am tired of hearing her  "I have nothing to wear" dramas whilst i stare into a closet full of "stuff"! over the next few days i'll be sharing with you the looks she managed to create from her capsule closet of 10 items!

(mummy says sorry the image is a bit rubbish - she spent ages pulling a collage together on photoshop only for it to be auto-resized by this blog template!! Arrgh!! don't worry mummy, i'll be sure to post individual items as i post each outfit!)


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Nothing breaks up a tense moment better than your kid saying the craziest thing. This is the latest in the MH-isms we have had the joy of experiencing over the last few months! Enjoy!

Mummy: Morayo-Hope, please eat all the food on your plate.
Morayo-Hope: Do I like chicken mummy?
Mummy: You absolutely love chicken!
Morayo-Hope: Oh yes, I do! Hmm...but I mean do I like this particular chicken?
Mummy: You're 3! Where did you learn about "particular"!!

footnote: I am totally enjoying this current phase of her asking me if she likes something! Bring out every vegetable and fruit under the sun and she'll eat it as long as i enthusiastically proclaim her undying love for it. 







Me: Morayo-Hope! Please be careful!
MH: But I am be carefulling!



Back home after an outing & someone refuses to take their dress off before settling down to Topsy & Tim.

MH: Oh dear mummy I spilt some red juice on my new white dress
Me: **Blinks**
MH: It's ok mummy, we can just use Vanish Oxy Action
Me: **Double Blinks** **Bursts out Laughing** (how can you get mad?)

Out Grocery Shopping

MH: What's next on the list mummy?
Me: We need to get some spray for cleaning the table & kitchen counters.
MH: Ah, ok. We better get Dettol Power & Pure Advance.
Me: **Double Blinks** **Bursts out Laughing**  No more Tiny Pop for you young lady! You are an advertisers dream!
**Proceeds to check out Dettol Power & Pure Advance - it's on offer, it's in the basket, it's in the house, well done Dettol marketing dept!**





MH: wake up mummy, it's morning time
Me: no
MH: mummy, it's morning time and i need my breakfast
Me: my back really hurts (because you insist on sleeping in our bed halfway through the night & i end up sleeping in a yoga pose) - daddy is downstairs, he can make you breakfast.
MH: oh dear mummy. what am i going to do with you?
Me: why?
MH: well, because your back hurts and i just love you so much and i just want to play with you....
Me: **sits up too fast and worsens back pain but ignores it in light of the words just pronounced**  oh MH you are such a darling & i love you too! let's go downstairs then.