Does Absence make the heart grow fonder? (Guest post by Janup Mudenge)

Janup is a dear friend and colleague to me. I asked her to write a guest post for my blog because she is one of my greatest heroines when it comes to motherhood. She lives in South Africa and her daughter in Zimbabwe. Like every mother  it is Janup's desire to see her baby girl everyday, to play games with her, to embrace her and to physically witness her growing into the beautiful girl that she is. Difficult circumstances have led to them being separated, but one day...soon...this family will be reunited. Their dream will become a reality, a beautiful reality.

Thank you lovely Janup for sharing your story with me and my readers. You so strong, so courageous and always overflowing with such grace and love.

Does Absence make the heart grow fonder?

This was a question I always asked myself, because I never had to miss someone for a long time. Yet reading your blog about your beautiful “Caramel” makes me realise that I miss my baby so much. Being far from Grace (that is her name) and having to experience her presence via photos and the phone does not make up for that. I know she is in good hands staying with her grandmother (Bless her!), who showers her with love, and this helps keep me at ease.  But I miss her terribly and so desire to be with her. So I suppose I am living proof that indeed “absence makes the heart grow fonder”!

I will not go into the detail of why I can’t be with her currently, but I am comforted that soon I will be able to be with her. The day she was born was such a beautiful one! She was a strong baby and eager to see the world, so I was in labour for only 5 hours. Her dad was so happy to have his ‘Gee gee’ in his arms.

The journey from there was a glorious one, as night shifts started, with dad taking the early one and I finishing off. Each moment made me fall in love with her more and more, undoubtedly what you have likewise experienced with your sweet Caramel. The first time she smiled…the first time she sat up…and the first time I gave her a bath. I was so scared to hold her fragile body, much less with soapy hands, and my heart was racing!

Now she is has grown so much (2years old) and is taking full advantage of her grandmother’s love, being the only baby there.  In fact she even looks more like her grandmother than me!

I love you Grace! God has kept you safe for me, and i just pray for more blessings over my wonderful family who is taking such good care of you!

12/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Dear Olivia,

One minute you had no clue how to use a drinking straw, the next minute you were using it like a pro. You were pretty chuffed with yourself!

Love,

Mama

Click here to read about the 52 project

One of my favourite photos from week 11 was of pretty dancer  Lily from Aussie blog living, loving, laughing.

11/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Dear Olivia,

You had just woken up from a nap and you were so grumpy. I took you outside with a bucket of water and a pile of dirty laundry. You had a blast! Such a cheerful little helper.

Love,

Mama

Click here to read about the 52 project

DIY closet dividers

This past weekend I was on a mission to organise Olivia's room, especially her overflowing closet. This girl has heaps of clothes. My friends and family can't resist buying cute girly clothes and on top of that gets a lot of beautiful hand-me-downs from friends who've had girls. Okay, I admit mommy also goes a tad bit over board considering how much clothes she already has.

I came across this tutorial to make closet dividers. My hubby commented after I completed my task: "Your love tank must be absolutely full.". Yep it was and I was very chuffed with how the dividers turned out. I offered to make him a set as well, but he kindly declined the offer :-)

Materials

• Soft cardboard paper
• Scrapbooking paper
• Glue
• Medium(ish) round object (I used a sugar bowl)
• Small round object (I used a juice bottle lid)
• Ruler (Or something straight)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Pen

Process (For each divider)

• I cut my scrapbooking paper into two A5 pieces, then glued them onto both sides of the board paper.
• Using the medium round object, draw two circles as shown above. I tried drawing them as close to the edge of the board as possible to maximise the space.
• Then draw a straight line to join the circles on the sides
• Hint: Make the lines feint so that you can erase them easily

• Cut along the edge to get an oval shape as shown above.
• Draw a small circle using the smaller object. 
• Hint: This circle needs to be a little bit bigger than your closet rail

• Draw a line from the small circle to the edge of your oval shape as shown above
• Cut through the line and around the circle
• Then label your dividers.

• Aren't they pretty :-)

• Let's hope the closet stays organized!

Moments like this!

Olivia's sleep patterns have been rather shocking lately! She wakes up anywhere between two to five times a night and always eager and ready to start the day by the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. (Okay, sometimes we are lucky and she snoozes until just before 6 a.m.) Yes I've made peace with the fact that she has good nights and bad nights and my body has actually gotten used to this routine (or lack thereof!). But I have to admit, there are still those very trying moments when I just want to scream at her to GO BACK TO SLEEEEEEEP!

Friday night to Saturday morning was ridiculous. Between Scott and I we probably woke up about 8 times to either put the pacifier back into her mouth (How I wish I could tie that thing around her face!), or to cuddle her back to sleep. Eventually at around 4:30 a.m. I had had enough, I was frustrated, tired, grumpy and slowly losing my patience. (I'm very patient you see, even when I'm losing it, I do it slowly :-)) I needed my peace back before I...!

I very grumpily carried her out of her cot and off to the kitchen we went to make some popcorn. Her wide-awake big eyes were fixed on the pot so curiously as the corn popped, chatting along in an attempt to communicate her excitement. In that moment, I felt all the anxiety and frustration leave my body. We then watched a sweet movie together. Goodness, I have never seen such cuteness! She sat so content, munching on popcorn, eyes fixed on the television screen...for a good 50 minutes and after that she dosed off.

I hope I never forget this moment. I want to treasure it forever and ever!

10/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Dear Olivia,

This week it was so hard to choose a single image. We had so many special and fun moments, but this has to be one of my highlights for the week. What a special face for Sam's special day! 

Love,

Mama

Click here to read about the 52 project

9/52

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Dear Olivia,

You pull such funny faces. I'm glad I caught this one. I love it!

Love,

Mama

Click here to read about the 52 project