Tag: mother

Mothers that Rock by Oreke

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

Jordan P Martin rocks, she is a mother of two, a writer and an amazing Yoga teacher

What is Your View on Motherhood?
Somehow I am learning each and every day how to be a mother! I have a seven-year-old son and a six-month-old baby daughter – and it is tough physically, emotionally and mentally hence the reason why it took me six and a half years to do it again… Oh and boy the pregnancies and experiences were different… My son changed my world, he was a shining light in my life and he really did teach me the meaning of true love, and I see that same love each time he and my daughter look into each other’s eyes, and for a moment the masses of washing and the copious amounts of ironing, the sleep deprivation, the school stories of name calling, the homework, the bottle making, and the rest… well all of that vanishes because I feel a wonderful woman for having two wonderful children in my life. Those little moments are ‘motherhood’ to me.

My overall view on motherhood from my experiences is that it is challenging and it can test your sanity, but it is the purest most magical single greatest thing to do, because it puts perspective on so many things that I used to consider to be important prior to being a mum… Remember this is my opinion, because motherhood isn’t for everybody, it calls for a whole new level of patience, compassion, selflessness, self-awareness and masses of love and understanding… And all of these don’t come bottled or gifted after you squeeze the baby out – you have to focus really hard sometimes to summon these qualities when you are super tired or haven’t had a second to yourself to shower, to eat or even to pee… And Just because we can create something, doesn’t mean we have to control it, and so with my daily learning I try my best to teach them rather than preach to my children, so that hopefully they will grow up with the tools to be grounded adults with the ability to be kind and to love, and to receive kindness and love too… and I believe that this grounding comes from their childhood. So yes, motherhood is far from easy, and I refuse to hold onto any so-called notion of ‘perfect mothering’, because like most mothers I constantly question if I am doing it ‘right’, and as long as I care for and nurture them, and listen to them, and manage to brush my teeth and sometimes wash my hair, then I guess I am doing fine.

What is the Best Advice You have Received on Parenting?
I have had a close friend recently remind me that children are humans in their own right and even if they are your own children, they will show traits that you may not always like or feel comfortable with, but that we do not create them to be like us, or to live our lives through theirs. So I guess what I took from that is just as there is no such notion as ‘perfect mothering/parenting,’ there is no such thing as a perfect child, because they are learning just like we are. They will make mistakes, and they will be cheeky or naughty at times, but it is our job to listen and guide, and provide explanations and reasoning for our reactions, so they can process things in their own time. They are allowed to get angry and sad and excited just like we are. And they need to learn from their own experiences.

The philosophies of yoga have also taught me a lot about parenting that seems to work for my family and I.

What Are Your Kids’ Favourite Food?
My son loves seafood – loves it! And vegetables, he has always been an amazing eater and tries most things unless he doesn’t like the consistency. My daughter has only just gone on to formula a month and a half ago, so she loves milk hahahehe… but she enjoys her puréed sweet potato and seems happy to try most fruit and veg, because she is being all ‘grown up’ eating ‘real’/solid food.

What is Your Favourite Meal to Cook For the Family?
Okay – confession ALERT! I am not the household cook any more… Phew! Glad I got that off of my breasting-feeding-to-two-kids chest… My husband is a great chef… he enjoys it and my son cooks with him. We eat meals made from scratch… sauces and even homemade pasta if we have time. I do have a couple of meals I cook with my son… our fav is fish pie, and it is super easy! We add seafood too as he loves it. We also like avocado chocolate moose, and honey and banana muffins.

What Are the Kids’ Favorite Toys?
My son loves anything that is creative – he creates things from rubbish, often to my dismay – “PUT IT BACK IN THE BIN!” – now he opts for the recycle – phew! And we have come to an understanding that we keep his creations for a short while, take a photo and then return them back to the recycle…

We are just about to do a huge move back from Australia to the UK and he has packed his own toy bag… it has activity and puzzle books, and some Trashies, and his absolute fav things are books about gross facts, or wildlife, and he has added chess too. He loves board games.

My daughter generally ignores her plethora of soft toys, and heads for my son’s board games… Which, he (luckily) thinks is funny and tells me that he is looking forward to teaching her the word ‘poop’ so they can play Scrabble… delightful… I shall cross that bridge when it comes and can only hope that the word choice doesn’t progress… You see LEARNING each day.

Until next time xx

Mums that rock by Oreke xx

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

Cressida Hilken mama of Jasper and bump. We love Cressida because she is one of the most honest and witty individuals we know.

Your view on motherhood? This is one seriously broad subject but in short my view is it is the most beautiful, challenging and extraordinary experience one can have. It changes ones perspective on life in a matter of minutes and renders you deeply in love with a tiny being forever and ever…even I expect when they are a not such tiny beings! Being a mother is a huge responsibility and something that changes you innately.

Best advice you have received on parenting? Every child is different.
What’s jasper’s favourite food? Pasta! And large tomatoes eaten like apples..this started in Italy and is rather messy but such fun!
What’s your favourite meal to cook for your family? I love doing my slag bol. Everyone is satisfied and there are always requests for ‘more please’!

What’s jasper’s favourite toy? Jasper loves the colander and also our keys. Neither of which are ‘toys’ of course and one when it gets lost is rather debilitating! Xx

Best kids friendly Restaurant by Dunja

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

Ari and I may live in Essex but whenever we have a day off we like to venture into London. We have become experts at choosing the best kid friendly places to eat out in the very center of London.  If I find it quite boring waiting for my food to arrive, I can only begin to image how bored my hyper 2 year old must be!

So here’s a list of restaurants with delicious food and a play area for the kids:

My personal favorite, and hence being at the top of the list, is Tibits in Heddon Street, just off Regent Street. It’s a fancy vegetarian buffet place with a spacious outside area where the kids can run around safely, and downstairs seating with a playroom! Only people with kids venture downstairs so you don’t have to worry about your little one annoying anyone

Carluccio’s in Garrick Street, Covent Garden has a lovely atmosphere, and also provides a play area. The food is very simple, classic Italian, so most kids are more than happy to eat anything off their menu

Bodeans in Soho is perfect if you’re starving and on a budget. Kids eat for free, it’s extremely child friendly and they play movies downstairs to keep them entertained while you eat

If you’re looking for a restaurant that purely tailors to your kids’ needs, look no further than Rainforest café on Shaftesbury Avenue. An amazon themed restaurant with a collection of moving animatronics, waterfalls and tropical fish tanks! But do beware; kids might be too busy playing to have a good feed

Yes, there are plenty of restaurants around London with crèches and activity areas, but if you are in the very center, the ones above are your best options

Ari’s first year by Dunja Knezevic

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

I’m not going to lie in the slightest or sugar coat it. The first year spent with Ari has been the most challenging and euphoric year of my life. The challenges have been so wide ranging, confusing, unexpected and emotional but the pay off has been one of elation, sense of accomplishment and getting to experience the most intense love I’ve ever had the privilege of feeling.  It has been the longest year as well. It certainly didn’t fly by for me. The first two months all my little girl did was grimace in pain and cry. All the other little babies were doing their first smiles long before Ari had anything to smile about. She was born very underweight, suffered from reflux, colic, eczema and struggled to both eat and sleep. So, obviously, those two months felt slightly long.

From about three months she was an angel. She more than doubled her weight, she slept through the night, she hardly ever cried, all she did was smile, we travelled overseas numerous times, and very importantly, she was happy to spend days on end with her grandparents or her aunty, as well as overnights with her nanny and our wonderful neighbors, which afforded my husband and I a much deserved road trip to burning man, and a few weekends away.  With all that packed into a year, it felt more like a decade!

But ofcourse I now have a toddler. A climbing, plates smashing, biting, pants pulling, gorgeous, giggling little leech, and I’m starting to understand that every new year will come with its own new challenges and wonderful ‘firsts’ and that I will just have to grow as she grows.  And that I will continue to stare at her incredulously at every birthday, thinking, how did I do that?

I am a good mother.By Dunja Knezevic

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

I am a good mother. I typed those same words into Google the other day (don’t ask why, was quite bored at the time) and the results made me slightly pissed. Here are some of the results: I am not a good mother, nor do I aspire to be; The good mother quiz: Terrible mother or good mother; Am I a good mom?;I wasn’t a good mom, etc etc. You get the gist. I can’t help but feel, and this feeling is shared by a lot of moms I showed the searchresults to, that it is wrong to say you are a good mum.  But why, and why do I feel a slight pang of guilt admitting what a great mum I am? Quite simply, it’s other moms, and the ‘They Say” specialists.  If you say you’re a good mother, there will be a hundred women and another hundred “specialists” saying you’re still doing something wrong.  You should have done baby led weaning; your baby doesn’t sleep in perfect temperatures at all times; you shouldn’t have child care; you should stimulate your baby more; you should have breast fed longer etc.  But somehow, when I look at my baby girl, I don’t see any of those apparent mistakes. I see a happy ,healthy , inquisitive , adaptable and friendly little toddler.  And I’ll go ahead and pat myself on the back for that, and so should you.