Scratch that off the "Mommy Fail" list

It's taken me five months to come to the realization that no matter how often I trim Ava's nails or how short, she will inevitably scratch her face. And scratch it a lot. This week she has a scratch coming out of the corner of her eye. How she didn't cause serious damage to her eye ball, I have no idea. But, I am officially taking face scratching off of the "Mommy Fail" list, as there is nothing I can do to prevent her from said bodily harm.

Yes, I said five months. Ava turns five months tomorrow! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. Last year at this time, the notion of being pregnant was only starting to sink in. My diet had changed to 95% crackers and 5% fruit. I could not stomach the idea of any meat and yearned only for sushi. And American fast food, of course. During my pregnancy I gained a total of 23 kgs, which is 50.7 lbs. Way over the recommended limit. I cannot imagine how fat I would have been if we lived in the US during my pregnancy. I've got 6 more kgs, 13.22 lbs to loose before I am back to my normal weight. With only two months until bathing suit season...

Yesterday my Aunt hosted a baby shower for my brother and his girlfriend, who is due in August. Missing special moments like these really make me miss home. But if we lived in America then we would have missed Johan's nephew's 1st birthday party this morning. Unfortunately, we will always be in a lose, lose situation.

Sometimes I day dream that Johan is American and his family all live in Charlotte. Or that I am South African and my grandmothers are only a few hours away. But then I guess we wouldn't be the people we are. And maybe those people wouldn't have fallen in love like we have. Life is all about tough choices and our toughest choice is being away from the ones we love. Right now it is mine and maybe one day, it's his.

We got Ava's mid-term report on Friday. The additional comments read:

Ava is 'n baie oulike dogtertjie. Sy het gou aangepas en geniet die skool. Sy is 'n plesier in die klas.

I know enough Afrikaans to understand what it says, but for those of you who don't, Google's translation is:

Ava is a very cute girl. She quickly adjusted and enjoys school. She is a joy in class.

So Google's translation isn't so great. Here is mine:

Ava is the cutest little girl in class. She has adapted well and is a pleasure to have in class.

Keep makin' Mommy proud little one, so I can keep my "Mommy Fail" list short!

Here are some photos from the weekend:

The Birthday Boy and his Mommy

 Sweetie Pies, some chocolate log thingys, strawberries and white chocolate! Yum.

Again, Ava drank way too much and was the first to pass out at the party...

5 Months old! Yay for Ava! She is laying on top of one of my baby blankets, almost 29 years old...

Modeling is hard work, Mom...

 My mom and sister, along with her girls are coming to visit Ava and I next weekend. The Skipper will be out of town for work, so it is perfect timing. And we will get to celebrate Amanda's 32nd birthday!! Man we are getting old! Well, she is.

Be on the look out for more pictures of beautiful babies coming next week!

-Blair

Our Next Thirty Years

The Skipper turned 30 on Wednesday, hard to believe but true. When he woke up I played him Tim McGraw's song, In My Next Thirty Years. He'd never heard it before and I'd been waiting for this day to play it for him. I was definitely more emotional about his birthday then he was. I started crying when Tim sang,

"My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years"

Raise a little family and hang out with my wife, that's what we'll be doing these next thirty years. I am so proud to be his wife and we are really enjoying watching our little family grow. Ava's personality has really begun to take shape and shine. She is becoming such a friendly little girl. At the moment, I can't imagine having another little baby, but I know the day will come.

I always find it ironic that the day after my husband turns a year older, is Youth Day. The day might not be meant for him, but at least we get the day off work. Being the lucky guy that Johan is, it's only fitting for him to have a public holiday the day after his birthday. And from this year on, he will also get to celebrate Father's day in the same week. An entire week celebrating him, lucky duck! Good thing he's worth it.

For his birthday I got him an Xbox and we went out to dinner at The Spur with some friends and family. The Spur is like the American version of Outback Steakhouse, but instead of an Australian theme, it's a Native American theme. Not very fancy, I know, and I don't think the Skipper was too happy with me when he heard where I had made the reservation for his 30th. But, in my defense we had 10 children in attendance and with the chaos that many children stir up, we would have been kicked out of any other restaurant. All in all, the night was a huge success. Johan got to spend time with his nearest and dearest, who were all there to celebrate him. He was given some wonderful gifts which he really appreciated and did not expect.

A recap of the nights best photos:

The Birthday Boy!

Skip's parents and Ava

Three of my favorite girls!

Gorgeous!

Tyron and his mini me.

The De Jager's

Big boy!

Isn't my sister in law so beautiful? Her youngest is going to be a heart breaker for sure!

Johan's oldest brother and family, minus one.

 See, The Spur is a fun place!

Too cute!

The newest addition!

The Dad's.

Little Angel and her daddy!

Love this photo! Little Miss D is too cute for words.

Jokester!

M squared.

Opa love's his Ava!

Precious!

The Smith's.

This little guy will actually pose for a picture unlike most little ones. Which works out well because he is so photogenic.

The Kolver's - Troopers who helped us celebrate Johan's b-day well into the next morning!

Today is a school holiday so I am working from home. Little Miss Ava is a full time job on her own! It's hard to get any work done with this gorgeous little thing around.

Don't forget to click on the Top Baby Blog button and vote for me. I don't win anything, it's just for fun. But I would still appreciate it.

Love,
Johan's wife and Ava's mother, sometimes referred to as Blair.

"Leave Ordinary Behind"

Check out this video I found on TravelComments.com and tell me you don't want to come visit us now?



Yep, I live here. Come visit, and leave ordinary behind!

Good Morning!

It's a cold Saturday morning here at the Scheepers household. And Ava and I are in no rush to get out of bed. Doing a little internet surfing and screen shopping. Prue bliss.

The Skipper turns the big 3-0 this week and it's father's day! The little girl and I are so excited to spoil daddy. He has no idea what's in store for him...

Life is good.

Something Borrowed

The husband is out of town for the night so I decided to indulge myself with a chick flick. My choice, Something Borrowed. Ginnfer Goodwin and Kate Hudson, two of my favorite actresses for this genre. This movie can't go wrong, right? Wrong. The plot was shocking, and the ending even worse.

I never read Emily Giffin's novel before watching the moive, and I sure as hell won't read it now.  I'll be the first to admit I like to live my life through rose colored glasses. I don't watch scary moives, and rarely read scary books. For news, I appreciate the truth, so I steer clear of the likes of Fox news, outlets that just like to heighten the fear level in their viewers. I also limit my intake of news. Why do I need to know every gory detail of what the psycho's in the world are doing? I'll pass, thank you very much.

My first choice of movie is always a comedy of sorts. And when the husband is gone, chick flicks for sure. Men always have comments that ruin chick flicks and reality TV. So tonight's movie, Something Borrowed. And well, it was terrible.Thank goodness Skip wasn't here. Let me start off by saying that I am glad I didn't pay a single cent to watch this movie. Yes, I admit it, I watched it for free off the internet. Beat me up about it, I know. It's a terrible thing I did. Poor Kate probably won't be able to feed her kid tonight because I watched her movie off the net. I do know it's wrong, but then imagine them with their 1000's of Gucci handbags and me with my old Coach and my remorse seems to fade into the night's sky.

The plot of Something Borrowed is about one girl, who is in love with her best friends fiancée and the relationship they have behind her friends back. Granted, the friend is a total idiot and the main character had fallen in love with the guy first, but still. I honestly don't see how the producers of this movie expect to make money. The last thing I want to do, is go watch a movie with my girlfriends about one girl's oldest and dearest friend in love with her man. What's the conversation like walking out of the theater? Do you look at your friend and wonder if they secretly crush on your man? I guess I just like a good old love story where friends, help friends land their love. Not, secretly hope for their demise. The ending was also a bit blah, but I won't spoil it for those who still want to watch.

If they ever made a movie about my life, I would totally want Kate Hudson to play the part of me. She is absolutely gorgeous and comes across so carefree. I have a huge girl crush on her and Gwyneth Paltrow. Ooh and Gisele Bundchen. Who would you want to play the part of you, in the movie of your life?

Since Daddy is out of town, Little Miss Ava is sleeping with Mommy. It's amazing how such a tiny little person can take up so much room in the bed, and in your heart. Love her.

Sleeping Beauty

Wishing I could fall asleep. Just need one little phone call from Skip telling me he made it safely to Louis Trichardt. My 5 am wake up call is inching closer, and closer.

Goodbye weekend. Hello Monday...


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