TheBleghHousewife

The Deets: This place is honestly a gem in itself. It has everything a kid could want. Animal Farm? Check! Play Area? Check! Food? Check! Find it at 48 Keyes Avenue, Rosebank. Open 9.30am – 4.00pm (Tues – Sun)                                                                              The Noisy Rooster boasts Catz’s nail and beauty salon, and a farm stall/ market which sells organic food from the Heversham farm. You can also host a children’s birthday party at The Noisy Rooster.   Different programs for kids are continuously running here, so check out their website to keep yourself up to...

I walked into the indoor play area, sat down and ordered myself a milkshake while I encouraged my little man to go and play. My friend,who I was supposed to meet, couldn't make it because kids, pregnancy and life, so I decided to make the best of it and just hang out with my little guy and play with him. It took him a while to warm up to the situation and overall setting, but once he did he just wanted to play, and play and play! He spotted two little girls roughly the same age as him and he immediately made a beeline towards them (we're talking about 1 year olds here). I followed him cautiously, trying not to be a helicopter mom, but also wanting to make sure that they played nice. By the time he got there, the moms of these two little girls went quiet. I asked how old the girls were, I tried to make small talk as our kids started to get closer to one another, and before they were in touching distance these moms stood up and swooped their children away from my son and m...

It's been storming on and off in Joburg this past week, which has made getting out the house with a baby a tad impossible. Being home confined hasn't been all bad, and in truth it got me thinking: what makes a childhood? Now the obvious answer here is a child. Yes, I suppose a child is imperative to having a childhood, but I mean what makes a childhood good? How do you create those awesome childhood memories? The memories that forge friendships and have you talking about them way into adulthood. I have been so focussed on going out to create great playdates, to let me son have wonderful experiences and explore new places, that somewhere along the line I have forgotten that fun happens at home too. And so, on these rainy days I've been thinking that maybe we place too much emphasis on going out and not enough emphasis on making the ordinary fun. These memories that we're creating need to start at home - from running in garden to baking in the kitchen, to even build...

I'm having all the feels. This week my little boy is 11 months old and somehow in this period he has morphed from a baby to a little boy. I don't know when that exactly happened, in fact I feel like I just blinked and there you go, my colicky little baby has become a strong-willed, smiley little boy. And so we have begun planning his first birthday party. Family only? Friends and Family? Or Everyone? Each one of these has their pros and cons, but more importantly why is turning one such a big deal to us? I mean, it's not as if my little tyke is even going to remember this, so what gives? Many other cultures watch the first birthday come and go without batting an eyelash. So, for real, when did it become such a production? Cakes| Balloons| Jumping Castle| Soft Play| Baby Pools| Ball Pits| Ice Cream Trucks| Photographer| Streamers| Themed Plates| Themed Napkins| Party Packs| Adult Party Packs| Messy Play area| And the list goes on. So what gives? Now this is diffi...