Mum of 3 in CPT

What a fantastic morning and afternoon out at Harestanes Nature Walk and park with and and all the kids and Todd the Borders Terrier

We didn't know how far we'd end up walking, but the kids did so well as it was around 7km in the end.

Luckily the amazing Waffles at the end were a great treat to aim for!

I just love Autumn in Scotland. The colours in the trees are just so beautiful 😍 🍁

Have you been here before???

Monday in Dublin was beautiful weather and the perfect day to.go to
We went to the Butterfly world and marvelled on the beautiful different colours and intricate details on such tiny beings.
Then we did the fairy tour around the gardens, which the kids loved... well...I think the girls are getting to the stage where they don't want to enjoy these things as they're not 'cool' anymore, but they couldn't help it. It was very well preserved and organised.
We enjoyed the walk around in the sun (despite me having Tendinitis since day 1) and then walked back to get the dart back to Sutton before heading back for another session at my cousins before flying home today!

Dublin 2023 has officially happened!
We had a massive Diggin family reunion yesterday at my cousin's and I got to meet some of my first cousins for the first time in as much as 34 years.. 🤯

My kids got to meet their 2nd cousins and had a ball!

Such a blast was had by all!
Many memories were made!

This is what fills up my happiness bucket!

A 6.3km walk to start the day right!
Along to St Anne's Park where there was a market on and lots of locals
Beautiful way to spend a Saturday morning

The 2nd half of the day out in Dublin.

We met up with my brother and nephew by the Guinness Storehouse but it was fully booked so we went for lunch at and had Guinness there, then walked along the Liffey River, through Temple Bar area and towards the Dart for a ride back to Sutton, where we met up with the rest of the fam for some more drinks and dinner at home.

Stunning to be here all together with the Diggin side of the fam!

Roll on today's Massive Craic!

The first half of out day out in Dublin with the kids
We took the dart into Tara Street, then walked to the stop and got on.
This was the best way for us to be able to see so much of the city without having to walk so much and carry G so much...(the sling came in handy when he got tired but can't be done for long now as he's heavy)
The only thing I'd say is, the Dublin bus doesn't have the kids channel on the earphones like the Cape Town one did, which would have been nice.
Still ... made for an easy way for us to get around and see what we might stop and do on Monday.

Stay turned for the 2nd part of our day!

The obligatory airport departure lounge shot...
We on our first EU holiday since arriving 4 months ago...

We off for an immense Irish Family Reunion with my dad's side of the family in Dublin!

Thanks for organising Orla and Mairead

Thanks for hosting us Aunty Phil

So grateful to be able to experience these things. Many memories will be made this weekend....if we can remember them all after the copius drinks is another question hahaha!

For daddy's birthday today we decided to make it a castle adventure day...

We drove (ok daddy drove 😇) down to and paid the entrance to go in and explore.
We are spoiled with not having had to pay entrance fee to the last couple of castles we've visited, but this one was definitely worth the fee!
The girls are Harry Potter mad atm and were so excited to go into the Castle where Hogwarts is shot.
The girls learned how to 'fly' from Hogwarts Professors.
We had a guided tour around the stately rooms.
We went and fought dragons. (Which we would have gone and done multiple times as it was THAT good)
And had we had more time, we would have gone to the play area on the grounds, learned to shoot a bow and arrow and chisel stone.

Definitely worth a full day trip.

First drive to work in our new car!
3 and a half months after starting from scratch on the other side of the world and we now have our very own car..

Big huge thanks to my dad for assisting with the whole process, finding the car for us, and loaning your car to us for the last couple of months!

Adventures here we come!

Had such a fun afternoon with the Robertson Clan yesterday!
Foam party in the back garden!
Kids had an absolute ball!
Super chilled night with and too...catching up once the kids were down!
Thanks for having us you guys!!

Watching the Scotland-South Africa game at home with the fam, with our South African and Scottish flags donned...
Love getting into the spirit of this game!
I cried at the National anthems as usual...
Must admit, I am siding with Scotland but will be happy regardless of who wins as it is just a game, and for me, it's fun regardless of who comes out on top.

Play dates in our garden!
Love having the neighbourhood kids round to ours. My house can always be the place to hang. I'm happy 😊

Can't wait til we have our own place so we can welcome them all the day every day without having to worry about annoying my parents...

I know they enjoy the idea of having the house busy, but the actuality of it is tiring for them.

This weekend they'll enjoy the peace and quiet while we're away up in Edinburgh I'm sure!

Reminiscing hard this week..
Last May, E was a photo double for Lily Fisher as Young Nami in One Piece for Netflix.
We've watched bits and pieces of the show and have seen what could be E's back and hands, 😆 and her shivering while emprisoned at the start of ep 8...🥶
It was such an amazing and memorable experience and while we may not see much of E on screen, we have the memories of behind the scenes and watching this show being made, which is most important. ♥️

Today was a beautiful family day.
Me and G went up to Edinburgh with mum n dad to have a catch up with the extended family..
My great aunties were there, so it's amazing to think that there were 4 generations of family there with us today

So day 1 post wash with new starter pack and here are my opinions...

The products smell amazing and are not sticky on your handy after application, plus you dont need to use lots to get through hair nicely...

The curls are not crunchy and hard, they're soft and supple, frizz free and smell amazing.

They're not quite as defined as they could be... but this is pretty much them au natural...which is what I was aiming for... natural curls! I may use a bit more of the styling products next time...just to compare.

I'm gonna go for day 2 tomorrow and see how they last!

We stopped off in Norham at the ... a cute little old mans pub, and had a toilet break before heading home, and when in the bathroom, we found an old well with a glass top, and a skeleton at the bottom. which was interesting 🤪

Then the sky was just Amazing on the route back too!!

It's all about looking outside, and finding the silver linings, not having actual plans but just going where the road takes you and stopping wherever you feel like it.

These little trips are beautiful bonding times, and we are creating such lovely memories in doing all these 'Firsts' together.

Friday Castle Adventures continue!
Today after work and school we drove about 45 mins to Norham castle.
Was so beautiful!!
And it wasn't all about the destination.. the journey is also part of the fun!
Took took many photos...so will show journey photos in a bit!

I'm going for the curly girl method...
Please hit me up with tips, tricks and UK based products that you've used and love

OK.. I think I've found the app that works for me as a parent...

Since we've been in Scotland it's been difficult for us to allow the girls the independence that's normal for kids their age.. but now with this app I feel more secure in allowing E to go places by herself..as we can now properly track where she is as long as her data is on

has definitely eased this mom's worries about where her daughter is. Thank you!!

On this front it has worked better than Familylink app...which is good for controlling screen time and app allowances which is for sure also an important factor in parenting kids with phones...but its not the best at updating location...

So there you have it..

My 2 cents on parenting apps.

Or in my case a sexy pair of rain boots!
Hahah
Soo true though..no such thing as 'bad weather' just change your clothes to something more appropriate and get OUT there!

What a fab day up in Edinburgh with the fam.
A show at the festival (that we wouldn't recommend 😖)
A picnic by the Scott's monument thay we would.🥰
A train ride 🚂 and then a fun filled family dinner.
My bucket is full, guys... it was missed.
Thank you

Back tae school 👋

For 1 year we have all 3 kids at the same school!
What a dream!
1 drop off
1 pick up

E starts p7
M starts p5
G starts pre school nursery

Hope everyone in Scotland has a wonderful first day of school!

What an amazing afternoon out with the family.
We are making this a tradition now, having castle adventures on Friday afternoons.
This time, we went to ... although we never made it there on time for actually getting inside... (get there before 4 to be able to get in)
But that's fine.
It was beautiful to look at from outside, from the beach, in the sun!
We loved spending some time on the sand, playing and splashing and digging, all the while with this amazing view behind us.
Then, once we started to get hungry, we decided to head over to Seahouses for some dinner before heading home.

Love experiencing these things with my wee family. Many memories are being made. Many firsts are being had.

I love it.

Thanks hubs for driving us to all of these adventures. You driving skills are not forgotten and are soo appreciated 💛

When there are 2 hours of sunshine forecast over dinner time...
Ons gan nou braai
❤️‍🔥

What a beautiful chilled Sunday spent with the fam.
First a walk around Melrose, checking out the Melrose Abbey, then a chill at Wilton Lodge Park with live music in the bandstand.
Lovely to have dad out there with us too!

In 1785 Robert Burns wrote “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.
238 years later, we still cannot avoid this fact!

This weekend we were meant to stay with friends for the night in Dunbar... but half way there we got a message to say the little one had just thrown up and it seemed like she'd caught a bug..

So we stopped and looked around...

We were surrounded by history and adventure, so we took our plans and rejigged them.

We stopped where we were in Kelso, for a walk by the river Tweed where hubby saw swans for the first time...
Then we went up to Hume Castle, which is steeped in history, which was seriously amazing to see.
The fact that it's free of charge to enter, and that there are little booklets and maps on the area by the gate is impressive to me, so it's definitely worth a visit in my books.
Also, amazing 360° views of the Borders and East Lothian area. 😍

Then we went back into Kelso and had a bit of a play and a drink in the sun on the lawn at the

Then it was time for dinner so we went for a Smoked Sausage Supper at ... sooo good 🤤 and sat and ate and people watched in the square til we had finished.

Then we got back in the car and came home.

So... all of this to say... despite not seeing my bestie as planned... we had an amazing afternoon... and at the same time, taught our kids that sometimes plans change... and that doesn't mean it's the end of the world...it just means you can have a different adventure than the one you were planning..

The important thing to note is perspective...if you choose to be negative, you'll find the negative..but if you focus on the positives in life...you will most certainly find them, too!

G has been on a Nursery school trip to the beach today.
Must say I am loving all the 'out of school' trips and things that they organise here.
He's been to the local park, to the groceries shop a couple of times to buy veggies and fruit for a taste test they did at the school, and now the beach (and we're not close to a beach BTW, so it's quite a journey)

All these little things will hopefully help the kids experience lots of amazing things and get to see more of life...as well as helping them to gain some independence 😀

Definitely something that would never have happened in SA nursery schools, for valid reasons... but despite the weather ☔️, these are the silver linings that we're finding post Emigration