12 Mar 2013
by Tamsinin Fascinating Things, Review Tags: Doodle Doll, Handmade, Mommy, Squidge, The Love Bucket
About a month and a half ago, Tabitha drew the most awesome doll ever. Then she drew on the reverse so it looked like a three dimensional character from a cartoon, cut it out and handed it to me with an expression of total pride. I was blown away. I’m 40 and I can’t draw as well as she can at the age of 6!
Then I read an article in Ideas Magazine which talked about a lady called Stacey and her business, The Love Bucket, where she makes Doodle Dolls. These are accurate and identical copies of your kid’s drawings made into gorgeous, felt dolls. Some of the whackier drawings actually turned into the best dolls. Well, I think so anyway.
I had to get this Daphne drawing made into a Doodle Doll. I knew T would adore it and I was soooo excited about seeing it made real. So, I scanned in the pic, sent it to Stacey and POOF the doll was made. I would like to add here that it was one of the easiest things I’ve done this year, the rest of my admin and making has been fraught with kak. In this case I sent the scan, she sent her bank details, I paid her, the doll arrived. And it all happened in under a month, which is superb when you consider how she makes these dolls by hand.
This is a picture showing you the drawing beside the doll:
Today the Doodle Daphne Doll arrived and here is Squidge with her. She is SO happy with her she even made me strap Daphne in the car so she was safe while we were driving. I have never seen her so in love with a toy before. MELT!
11 Mar 2013
by Tamsinin Fertility Tags: Fertility, Mommy, Mother
I’ve been trying to have baby number two for two years now. I’ve had two miscarriages and I’ve had crap fertility doctors – just wait until I tell you about the moron I saw in December. His incompetence was staggering, outmatched, in fact, only by his arrogance and sexism. What the hell is with patronising and sexist doctors in South Africa? Surely the vocation of gynaecologist should draw the attention of people who actually like and respect women? Or am I just deluded?
The second gynae I saw worked on the premises of the MedFem clinic in Sandton, Johannesburg. This doctor (name not included due to my fear of being sued by people far richer than I), also felt it imperative to talk me through biology basics 101 like I was merely a brainless heating system for a vagina, and then charged me a fortune for the privilege. He didn’t ask me any decent questions and he got irritated when I asked mine. In fact, he managed to NOT answer them most of the time. He then put me on a cocktail of drugs that included Parlodel, Fertomid, Glucophage, Ecotrin and Staminogro (five pills a day) and told me it was 93% successful.
The instructions were simple: Take the pills as your period starts. So off I went.
Then my period started and I read the package inserts. Hang on, you’re supposed to do a blood test for Glucophage and you need regular scans for Fertomid. And he hadn’t done any tests at all, nor had he scheduled any. I decided to give him a call.
He wasn’t in when I called so the receptionist told me she would get him to call me back. And this is what happened:
When I first answered the phone the doctor started reading out SOMEONE ELSE’S test results to me. I told him that he hadn’t done any tests on me and that was the reason I was calling. He got annoyed with me and demanded I explain why these results were in my folder.
Yes. It is my fault that somebody else’s results were in my folder. Quite.
Then I proceeded to ask him about my tests and referred to the Fertomid and the Glucophage. At this point his aggressive stance became even worse. He started yelling at me and telling me that he didn’t need to justify himself. I was really taken aback and baffled. Why was I being shouted at for asking a simple question? I would like to mention that he had still not answered my question which was: Was I supposed to come in for tests, had I misheard him and I didn’t book an appointment, and was this OK?
Hardly combatitive…
Then he swore at me. Unfortunately my phone chose that moment to lose the signal a bit so his rude words were muffled by static. I asked him to repeat himself as my phone signal went hinky. He said: Good. And hung up on me.
Now I am crabby.
I call back. He answers the phone and DENIES having hung up on me. I pointed out that a) I was not stupid and b) I heard him say “Good” and hang up. He didn’t deny it. What he DID do was refuse to answer my question, repeat himself, get aggressive, insult me, treat me like I was mentally incompetent and argue. I called it quits.
Subsequent conversations with other doctors has revealed that Parlodel was actually the bad choice as that should ONLY be prescribed if you have had the requisite blood test. Insane.
Then I went to Vitalab and had some fairly decent experiences throughout January which I will be documenting shortly. All I want is a baby. I just wish it wasn’t turning out to be such a horrific journey.
08 May 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva Tags: Cute Girl's Hair, Hair, Mommy, Squidge, Twists
I am still struggling with twisting hair. It is incredibly frustrating and yet it delivers such awesome results that I have to keep on trying to get it right. I mean, just look at this hairstyle! It’s so chic and gorgeous and Squidge just loved it. It is one of the best cute girls hairstyles in my repertoire now.
Again, I was inspired by Adopt a Do, but what she makes look easy I find really tough. I think that the reason I struggle is because (other than my two left hands) Squidge’s hair is so fine and tangly. It seems to untwist itself as fast as I twist it! Again, plenty of spray in conditioner and hairspray (I use the John Frieda one that isn’t sticky and awful) tends to fix the problem.
If your little one has the same kind of hair as Squidge, then this style is pretty much perfect. Once you have the hair twisting to your demands, it really does keep those tangles at bay. Although I have to confess that this particular cute girls hairstyle didn’t withstand the demands of school.
I really must start taking pics of how her hair looks at the end of the day so you can see how well each one copes! Happy hairdos!
17 Apr 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva Tags: Child, Cute Girl's Hair, Mommy, Squidge, T, Twists
This cute girls hairstyle had me smitten from the start but it did take a bit of persuading to get Squidge on board. She didn’t think it was exciting enough. Fortunately some cuddles persuaded her to try it out and she patiently endured my spraying and fiddling.
You’ll need spray, a hairbrush, elastic bands, a rat tail comb and patience for this style. It is really easy but requires a little bit of patience and fiddling about. The problem I have is that I am incapable of parting hair. Yes. This is very true and very embarrassing.
Ever since I was a kid I failed to part my hair. I got away with it because my hair was huge, frizzy and impossible to tame. THEN the world of hair straighteners came along and I scraped by with a faintly straight stripe.
THEN some *(!”&(!*”& came up with the zigzag parting. Who did that? Why? What did I do to them? I have never been able to do it and can almost do one on Squidge.
Anyway….
So this particular do demands that you part the hair in straight lines so you can get this joozsh look. As you can see at the back, I failed. hahaha. You can see all the instructions on how to create these clever twists on Adopt a Do but the premise is quite simple.
Just use the rat tail comb to part the hair into two lines, one near the front of the head and one hear the middle. You are only using the hair in the middle of the head, not from the sides. Then take the hair in the front and divide it into two strands – one on the right and one on the left – and tie them in a knot. That’s it!
Get your child to hold the ends and repeat on the second section. Now you have two lovely little hair knots sitting in the centre of the head. Pull the rest of the hair back into a low pony, adding in the strands from the two knots, and tie.
And you’re done. Feel free to add in bows, flowers, and other such pretty stuff.
I think that in my series I am going to start showing you pics of how the hair looks when she gets home from school. You’ll be amazed at which ones survive and which ones are in complete disarray.
16 Apr 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva Tags: Cute Girl's Hair, Mommy, School, Squidge, Twists
The cute girls hairstyle to launch the term was both simple and pretty and inspired by Mindy’s designs on Adopt a Do. This one is really easy to make and is a good way to start the term and get back into the habit of sitting still (Squidge and her Extremely Wriggly Bottom) and not screaming SIT STILL (Saffa mom and her mood vs coffee intake).
You’ll need to brush the hair until it is silky soft and knot free. One thing about having a little girl with curly, fine hair is the knots. If your daughter has this hair, then you’ll know exactly what I mean. I recommend the Vosene spray-in conditioner or detangler spray as they are anti lice AND good at helping remove and reduce knots. And no, I am not sponsored by Vosene…
The next thing you need for your cute hairstyle for your little girl is an elastic band and a rat tail comb. Using the rat tail comb, split away a neat sub section of hair on the left of the head – this is going to form your side plait. French braid this for about 1/3rds of the way along the head (you can do it for longer, it depends on how much of a braid rope you want) and then carry on plaiting until the end, close it off with a hairband.
Now scoop up the rest of the hair into a low side pony tail – pulling the braid you just did into this – and split it into three and braid. That’s it. You are basically pulling the side braid you created into a side pony and 
then plaiting this until the end. We ended our cute girls hairstyle with a minimalist black hairband for school but if you do this for fun or on weekends you can just bung in a bow.
And, hopefully, you’ll be better at it than I am. While I’ve been doing these since January, I am still rather crap. This I find hilarious…
16 Apr 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva, Parenthood, Saffa Tags: Child, Cute Girl's Hair, Fascinating, Mommy, School, South Africa, Squidge
School holidays have kept the blog quiet as I’ve juggled work and offspring with differing degrees of success. Squidge established really early on that hairstyles were not on the menu. She explained that these were for school but in the holidays she was doing her own hair, thank you very much.
It was truly adorable to watch her brush her hair and spray it, even if it meant huge chunks of knot growing at the bottom and sopping wet patches where she had put on too much spray-in conditioner. It was worth it to see her get so excited about doing it by herself.
I went to Africa on my own for 12 days as well. It was an exhilarating and inspirational trip. I realised some core truths, I rebuilt my self esteem and I decided that Africa will always be my home. It is time I think about returning to my motherland and building a life out there regardless of the issues and risks. Choosing a country to live in isn’t about finding the perfect place, it’s about finding somewhere that speaks to your soul and that has issues you think you can deal with.
So, without further ado, rambling and boring navel gazing, welcome to the summer issue of Saffa and the plethora of cute girls hairstyles coming your way. I’ll also be posting up a video I took at a watering hole in the Kruger Park. It’s five minutes of peace, silence and nature that will just ease your soul.
Happy Easter and Happy Hairdo!
15 Mar 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva Tags: Child, Cute Girl's Hair, French braid, Mommy, Squidge
My cute girls hairstyle skillz are on the rise! Although, it is worth pointing out that last week I had a “why isn’t anything bloody WORKING” time of it with her hair and nearly gave up our mission…
Anyway, today was a good hair day and I was so happy with the result. Again, this is definitely not an original style that will win me a prize in the “Wow You Are So Creative” competition, but it was easy and fun to make. And, most importantly, Squidge loved it.
So, how do you make this inverted heart hairstyle? Simples…
First, brush all the hair back into a pony that sits near the top of the head. Then, invert the pony tail (see instructions on how to do so here). Tighten the inverted braid carefully so that the pony isn’t loose and so that the hair covers the hairband. I’m not very good at that but it is getting better with practice.
Separate the hair into two strands, take one of these, divide it again into three and braid it. Do the same with the second length. When you are braiding these, try to do so off to the side, so the right braid keeps to the right and vice versa. This just helps them to hang better. While you do the second braid you can either clip off the end of the first, or ask your daughter to hold it for you.
Once both braids are done, loop them over the pony to each side – what I mean here, really, is just to pull them to either side of the pony knot so as to create that heart shape – and tie off with an elastic. You can make it prettier with a piece of ribbon if this calls to you…
29 Feb 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva Tags: Child, Cute Girl's Hair, Mommy, Squidge, Twists
Today’s hairstyle was quite a challenge, especially with Squidge’s super curly hair. It took ages to get those bits of hair to twist, and stay twisted! However, she was just lovely and said to me at one point, “Mom, you know you’re getting cross with a piece of hair, right? You’re crazy…”
Well, if that isn’t telling me what’s what, then nothing is! We adapted the cute girl’s hairstyle from Adopt a Do to fit her curls and her short front ends. Sweet!
27 Feb 2012
by Tamsinin Little Diva Tags: Braids, Child, Cute Girl's Hair, French braid, Mommy, Squidge
This hairdo is stunning and I love it. (geddit? Love it? Yeah?) Ok, bad jokes aside this particular hairdo immediately caught Squidge’s eye and she gave me her perfected puppy dog, “Ohhh pleeeeeeeeeease” face when I balked at the idea.
Take a peek at the original version here, yeah, Adopt A Do is far better at this cute girl’s hairstyle stuff than I will ever be, and her heart braid is astonishingly good. I was a little intimidated and didn’t believe the whole “This will take you 1o minutes” thing at all.
I looked at the clock, 8am stared back at me, Squidge batted her eyelashes, and I thought, “Sod it, if it fails we can do something else quickly…”
And here it is. A surprisingly simple braid that takes almost exactly ten minutes to create and that looks utterly delicious. Squidge won a Cool Hairstyle Award at school for this one – yeah, my offspring’s school rewards funky hairdos on a Friday, I know it isn’t very educational but I love it.
You can see the video
walkthrough here and for those of you who have a child
with the same fine and curly hair as mine, you can avoid those pesky End Of Day Tangles in the loose hair at the back by using a moisturising hairspray. I’ve been using the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Laque hairspray as it does a great job of keeping the tangles out for longer. And it smells YUMMY.
04 Oct 2011
by Tamsinin Bedraggled Mum Tags: Anniversary, Child, Husband, Mommy, School, School Run, Squidge
I have come to the conclusion that the School Run is not suited to a wedding anniversary. This is why…
7am: BLEEP BLEEP BLEEEP. The Husband’s built-in iPhone alarm wakes me up from a deep snore sleep. I realise I am still sick. I go back to sleep.
7:30am: Meep Meep Meep, WOOF. Meep Meep Meep WOOF. Squidge’s Animagic puppies (she got these for her birthday) are eeping at each other while she manages her doggy zoo on her bed. I place pillow over head. At this point the fact that it is a) our anniversary and b) my morning shift has not been remembered.
7:45am: “Mooooooommmeeeeee” The adorable voice howls, I mean, calls at me from the bottom of the stairs. I smell coffee. I rise, like a zombie (seriously, if you saw The Hair you would totally think I had been dragged out of a grave backwards) and head for the smell.
7:47 am: “Happy Anniversary darling,” says The Husband, looking annoyingly perky and talking to me before I have caffeine. I can get off on a technicality for that. He hands me a lovely card with blood on it, “Look,” he says, “I bled for you.” Suddenly a lightbulb goes off in my head. OH. My. Holy. Knickers. I have his card, but I haven’t written in it. I have his present, but it hasn’t arrived yet. I have his gift voucher, but I didn’t print it.
8am: I have shut the lounge door and am frantically writing in The Husband’s card. I pause for a moment to praise myself for its amusing joke involving the Kama Sutra. All the cards I buy him are rude. It’s important. I am also juggling a child who is not interested in remaining in the same room. She is like a cat. If the door is shut she has to go through it. I am trying to print Amazon voucher at the same time but screen faces kitchen and the door has glass panels so is blindingly obvious I have not prepared his present. The Husband is being rather sweet about pretending not to notice his Crap Wife.
8:01am: Fastest card writing and printing in the West. Duly handed over and I’m making French Toast for breakfast. We got some Manuka honey yesterday and, along with the Olbas oil tissues, the cough mixture, the Beechams, the honey and lemon tea, the rooibos tea and the echinacea it has been added to my “eff off you effing cold” armoury.
8:05am: Am frantically juggling hot spitty pan, temper is frazzling as coffee machine on a go slow and STILL no caffeine, and child has come into kitchen for the fourth time to argue about getting ready for school. “Mom, how am I supposed to get ready if I don’t have any school clothes to wear?” she asks. I snap. I pick her up and carry her into her room, dump her on floor, yank shirt, knickers, socks, and pinafore out of cupboard (all of which are in plain sight) while yelling (not REALLY yelling), “It is all here so stop coming up with excuses. WHY we have to go through this EVERY morning when *blah blah blah*”
8:15am: Sulky child sitting at table with French Toast. Husband glaring at Sulky Wife who knows she should not have gotten cross but is refusing to back down in spite of having now had some coffee. The Husband is also grumpy about being undermined by aforementioned wife when he weighed into Getting Dressed Argument. The Husband is tad sulky too. I attempt to lighten mood by going, “Ooooh, look, Manuka Honey!” The Husband responds with, “Bet it is just a marketing scam.” Child responds with, “It tastes funny! I don’t want it! Ack! Ack! It makes my throat burn.” I try to drown self in coffee mug.
8:25am: Child sits like angel while I brush her hair. She is, stubbornly, refusing to offer hugs and to make friends. She is a master manipulator and knows how to push her mother’s buttons. I am so pathetic.
8:30am: The Husband hurtles downstairs screaming, “TIME TO GO!!! We are late!!!” He insists Squidge goes as she is, sock-free, as she was told ages ago to get ready. He relents as he walks out the door, half carrying her and half putting her socks on. Silence reigns over the house.
8:55am: Email: Dear Husband, thank you for my lovely anniversary present. I love you. Not sure we should have our anniversary on a weekday anymore.
Reply: Well, quite.
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