TweetDeck VS Hootsuite

With the digital sphere taking the world by storm, one needs to keep up. This becomes tricky when one realises how many social media accounts there are that one needs o be active on. Luckily, there are tools that can assist us, namely TweetDeck and Hootsuite. The similarities and differences will be discussed below.

TweetDeck
Often on Twitter, we are looking for certain things. Thanks to the hash tags and TweetDeck. it is now possible o only see what you want to read. It is basically the perfect app to monitor all your favorites. One automatically asks whats the downside to TweetDeck? well it is not as jam-packed as Hootsuite is.

Hootsuite
Hootsuite is more business like - it allows you really experience time-saving benefits  and effectively manage ALL of your social profiles in one spot. However, you will have to pay for this.

So, which one do you prefer?

The Father & Daughter Bond

Whether she can't stand him or admires him, a girl/women relationship with her father is always special. This specific relationship is complex and is never the same between two families, Yes a mothers bond is extremely special but there is just something unique about the bond between a father and his daughter. I am lucky enough to have an amazing bond with both my parents but the one with my father is something that can't be explained. 

I get to experience this special bond from two very different sides, one being my relationship with my father and the second one being the bond between our daughter and her father. 

Seeing that I always only speak to the mothers out there, here is something for the dads.

"A girl’s father is one of the most influential people in her life, from infant to toddler to tween to teen. A father's influence in his daughter's life shapes her self-esteem, self-image, confidence and opinions of men. "How Dad approaches life will serve as an example for his daughter to build off of in her own life, even if she chooses a different view of the world," says Michael Austin, associate professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University"What matters in the father-daughter relationship is that Dad seeks to live a life of integrity and honesty, avoiding hypocrisy and admitting his own shortcomings, so that she has a realistic and positive example of how to deal with the world. He should try to model a reflective approach to life's big questions so that she can seek to do the same," he adds. "

Any man can make a child but it takes a real special type of man to make a father.

I recently took a test to see what type of father-daughter relationship we have and the results were as follows:

"As far as you're concerned, your dad is the strongest, cleverest, handsomest dad of all. You're completely charmed and see him as representing what all men should be like. You'd do anything to gain his approval and retain his love. You really enjoy the time you spend together and his opinions are important to you. You try not to disappoint him, and even a minor reproach from him can have a profound effect on you. He's an important figure in your life who makes you feel strong and protected."

I agree 100%!! Whats your relationship like?

Some Inspiration

As each day goes on and new places are experienced, I have been noticing nothing more and more often. I am speaking about UNHAPPY MOTHERS. Yes UNHAPPY! By the term UNHAPPY MOTHERS I mean, "mothers who are in a bad mood, mothers who are not in the mood for their kids, mothers who are rude to everybody around them including their kids, mothers who just can't stand their kids, mothers taking their moods out on their kids." This might sound brutal but this is what I see.

So this unhappiness may be due to all sorts of things but I highly doubt it is because of your kids, so why take it out on them? Lets not forget, it was YOUR choice to have a kid and bring another human into this world not the other way around. Lets also not forget that you are one of the lucky women who actually can have kids, why be sour about it? Yes your kids make you mad but you love them dearly, don't you?

So here is a little inspiration to get you through the weekend:

The Best Child Freindly Resturants In Cape Town

There is nothing like a good supper at a great place where both you and your partner as well as the kids are happy. Where you get to enjoy a great meal while your kids are entertained. Thanks to EatOut - here is a list of the best child friendly restaurants in Cape Town.

 1. Bella Bellota
Explore: The playrooms equipped with PlayStations, DVD players, flat screens and other toys. There is also an indoor jungle gym and dedicated child minder.

2. The Black Marlin
Explore: The garden area with benches, colouring books and a kids’ menu.

3. Blue Water Café
Explore: The play area, which includes a tree house, slides, see-saw, neighbouring animal farm and a kids’ menu.

4. Café Paradiso
Explore: Supervised kids’ activities of pizza making, and baking and decorating cupcakes, as well as the section for kids on the à la carte menu.

5. Café Roux
Explore: The jungle gym and indoor play area for rainy days. There is also an extensive kids’ menu.

6. Deer Park Café
Explore: The large fenced property for kids to entertain themselves and a kids’ menu.

7. Die Damhuis
Explore: The jungle gym with slide, swings, sand area and the kids’ menu.

8. Dunes
Explore: The jungle gym, sand area, slides, swings and kids’ menu.

9. Easy Dig
Explore: The play park with swings, a see-saw, jungle gym and flexible à la carte menu with options for the kids.

10. The Foodbarn
Explore: The grassy play area with a see-saw, swings and jungle gym and the kids’ menu.

11. Kirstenbosch Tea Room
Explore: The kids’ menu, Lego and colouring books. The rambling garden is also perfect for family picnics, whether you’re after shady trees or sunny lawns.

12. Ons Huisie
Explore: The garden area with jungle gym, child minders and kids’ menu.

13. Spiro’s
Explore: The indoor play area, an on-duty au pair, and jungle gym outside

For more information, go to this link:  http://www.eatout.co.za/article/50-child-friendly-restaurants/

See you there soon :)

Café Paradiso

Having it all..

There is no other way to put the fact that studying full time and having a two year toddler is exhausting and extremely challenging mentally as well as  physically. Surely there must be some time for yourself amongst all this madness. Here are a few tips as to how to have it all:

1. Include some exercise and do it in the morning while all is asleep
So exercise is basically all you need to get a good start to your day. The reason I say do it in the morning is this is when all is calm and you actually have a moment to yourself. This will impact your entire day!

2. Do not be afraid to ask for what you want
Do not forget that you also have needs. You also need to be taken care of. This will make things a lot better as this will show your partner that you are also human and also need a break.

3. Do not check your work/varsity e-mails immediately as you wake up
This will just give your day a chaos start. First do your morning routine and as you are about to leave the house - take a look at it.

4. Prioritize
This is probably the most important point, prioritize!If it is not important and won't kill you - it can wait. It is as simple as that.

FUNKY FROGS

Looking for a place to take your kids?

Funky Frogs is an indoor play centre and party venue with branches all over South Africa. Cape Towns branch is situated in Tygervalley mall in Durbanville.

Myself and Kiara both love this venue as she gets to enjoy her self with all the activities they have for kids while I get some work done. Two birds gets killed with one stone:)

This place really has it all from indoor tracks, jumping castles, lots and lots of toys, holiday programmes, and even a menu that kids will love!
 

This place is also ideal as this is the one place that the kids will NOT want to be around you mothers and fathers all the time. To me, this sounds amazing!

There is an entry fee but this varies depending on how long you plan top stay.

For more information you can visit their website which is very informative: http://www.funkyfrogs.co.za/

About me.

So here you are, on my blog while having no idea of who I am.

Well, my name is Zaylin Smith and I am 22 year old mother to a two year old toddler named Kiara. I am currently in my fourth year studying Public Relations Management.

In 2012 while being second year, I found out I was expecting and I decided that I would not give up my studies but make a success of both raising a baby and my studies.

I am currently in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend who is working in Pretoria.

So continue to check out my blog to see how I balance getting my degree and raising my little princess.

HI!

Getting home at 18:15 on a Monday evening after a long day and immediately getting into the shower and falling on my bed which is covered with new sheets - oh would this not be lovely? It surely would, but I have a two year old toddler waiting for me at my bedrooms door with Lego blocks in her hand.

So of course, I accumulate my last bit of energy and together we 'Lego away!'

Being a young study mum is surely one of the hardest challenges any women can go through but the rewards at the end and seeing the happiness on her face makes everything worth it.

The blog posts I will put up will elaborate more on how to balance studying and having a toddler while neglecting none!

Welcome :)