Gizmos and Gadgets

I never figured myself to be a techno-geek, as in technology that is, but in order to keep up with my hubby and his father, I just have to get me one of these little babies… I’m referring to a piece of equipment, not another child, just yet!!!

So my 30th birthday is coming up and every year since I can remember, my parents have asked me to give them a list of things that I would like for my birthday and then they would surprise me with one or two items. The one year I was brazen enough to have filled an A4 size page on both sides and only Jesus knows why! To my surprise I got a few things that year but if my memory serves me correct, it was a few little things but they always went out of their way to make my birthday special. Now that it’s going to be a big one, I’ve given careful attention to what gift would make it memorable. I must just say though that looking back, it was not the gifts that made my birthdays as a child delightful, it was the fact that birthdays were a day where everyone in the house made a fuss over you and maybe my parents made their job easy by getting stuff they knew I wanted – which in all fairness, I didn’t and still don’t mind.

Passing on the “tradition”, I gave Lester a couple of “options” to make his job of saving up for my gift a little easier – I told him to get me jewels or a nice camera! Not expecting a response, he politely suggested that I look at getting a Samsung Galaxy Tab….. A WHAT???? Now the only reason why I actually know what that looks like is because my father-in-law is a techno-geek of note and that’s a compliment. He’s on top of his game that way! He’s got the big boy (10 inch) and Lester got a chance to play around with it while we were on holiday in Durban a while ago and he was amazed at its capability – which by the way, I know nothing of!

Google was my name… I wanted to know more about its features. This nifty tablet is compact, light, has 3G connectivity with Bluetooth/wireless technology (cool); the media hub app gives you instant access to a selection of movies and tv shows on broadband (not bad); its’ got cameras coming and going, no joke here, its’ got two cameras, the one is front-facing for plenty of 30th birthday party photo shoot angles (lots of those coming up – very nice) but the ultimate hook was being a bookworm because I can bury myself in all of my favorite books, magazine and newspapers with just a touch of the screen with the pre-loaded Amazon Kindle™ e-Reader (woo hoo) and  just like that I WAS SOLD right there, no need for further marketing!

Since the “suggestion”, I don’t know if my husband had superpowers but this gadget is all I can think of! Why? Because I love reading and you probably wondering why I don’t just buy a book that will be like a hundred thousand times cheaper, hello! Yes, I’ll buy books but just the other day I was looking at my bookshelf (filled to capacity with books) and while there is something wonderful about turning a page, with the advance of science and technology, why not move with the times? Who knows, in a few years (maybe less) we could have e-bookclubs. Just kidding on that, I’d still want to physically get together just to escape the mayhem my boys (hubby and son) create in my

house and be with a group of wine-drinking (optional), book-reading, let’s-have-a-good-time group of girls.

On a serious note, I really love reading and want to pass that on to Sam but why I really want this little gizmo is because I have a massive pile of crap (medicine bottles, rescue remedy, the monitor, pens, paper and books of course, belonging to Sam and I) on my bedside table and it would be nice to get rid of the clutter. I could read a few pages, check out Facebook and blog all at the same time from the comfort of my bed while my son sleeps in two-hour stretches – how’s that for multi-tasking???? Not only that but one day when Sam is old enough to follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, I wanna look like a cool mom who knows her way around these gadgets and the like. But on the other hand, I might have to fight my husband for it since he so politely “suggested” it… maybe he wants it for himself! IF I get this as a gift  do you think I’ll have to put “Samsung Galaxy Tabs for Dummies” on the list too???? Hahahahaha

Baby Shower Business

Over the weekend, we hosted a shower for my sister-in-law. She was surrounded by family and a few friends and it kinda made me sentimental. While the guests were cooing at the clothes and adorable goodies, every new mom probably has no idea what lies ahead, as it should be in my opinion, ignorance is bliss. But is it not amazing how much stuff is out there for babies? I’m convinced that weddings and babies are the biggest money-making scams. Stores dedicate isles and isles to tons of stuff and half the time we don’t even know if we need them but we still spend our hard-earned cash just in case those “must haves” come in handy.

Other than the adorable outfits, some gifts are so great (very usable) while others are a complete waste of time! Ultimately though, it depends on the mother’s personality and situation. Take a breast pump for example, not too cheap, I loved mine because it saved my life and allowed me to breastfeed Sam whereas a friend of mine used hers maybe three times and then sold it! Nasal aspirators are the pits and the most useless piece of plastic on the market. My personal favorite item is a feeding cushion, other than the obvious, it can be used as a seat for supporting a baby who’s starting to sit or a really nice big neck pillow for lazy days. Ever heard of a  ‘Arrival & Survival Hamper’? It’s fairly self-explanatory – full of essential items that the mother needs to survive when the baby arrives.  It consists of wine, chocolates, painkillers, big panties, sanitary pads, nipple cream, new-mother vitamins (suitable for breatfeeders), hand lotion, fake tan, moisturizer and a voucher for a nail salon…. you get the idea. I’m making mental notes right now to get one for myself next time around.

Past baby shower pomp and ceremony and onto the soppy stuff, you don’t hear much encouragement going on or pearls of wisdom being passed on – and by that I don’t mean things like “sleep all you can before the baby comes, you won’t have any when he comes!” although I must admit that I found myself having to consciously hold my tongue and not project my misgivings about being a mother. But words really do fail to describe the journey a woman makes into motherhood. There’s the wonder of knowing that you have the life long privilege and greatest blessing of being someone’s mom! The sheer amazement you have when you watch how this little person grows when you consider that they actually come from inside YOUR body! Such joy when that first smile is returned. And what about how you never knew that you could love someone so much, feel so deeply like your heart could explode because it cannot contain all the love you have and still you can never get enough of them. That no matter how tired you are, you find yourself watching them sleep because they’re just too precious. And maybe for the first time in your life feel like you would die for them because no sacrifice would ever be great enough. In your heart of hearts, you know that there is nothing you wouldn’t do for them – that is unconditional love.

Motherhood is the hardest thing any woman would ever do but there’s nothing on the face of this earth that is more rewarding or that  can bring such divine purpose to your life.  So while the baby shower (for me) is a kin to the wedding before the marriage, one resounding message that I hear from other mothers is to go with your gut instincts and do what feels right. While we may be equipped with all the goodies and gadgets out there in a modern world of information and technology, no tools are more powerful, nothing but nothing beats a mother’s instincts and the It does take a village…. of women” href=”https://maidentomotherhood.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/it-does-take-a-village-of-women/”>village of women that surround her.

Besides all that, baby Ethan, your aunty can’t wait to meet you and spoil you rotten.

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