Bits and pieces from around our home at the moment.

Whilst Simon was away I had a little sick toddler who was running a temperature of 39 for a few days, the poor little poppet did a lot of lying on the couch and watching movies until he felt better.

Little Oliver is getting so big and chubby now. I will be very sad when he grows out of his little moses basket. Speaking of moses baskets I managed to get this little one almost brand new for only $30 which is fantastic compared to the price new.

We have been using this little sleep pillow for about 5 weeks now to help correct a slight flat head and it is working a treat, Oliver can favour this side like he does but his head still looks good : )

Chocolate chip brownie cookies. MMMMM these were SO good I had to make another batch as I kept on eating them : ) Recipe coming soon.

A little warm jumper for Jack-

A few people commented and emailed me about sleep suits for bigger boys as I has Flynn in one in my post from a few days ago.

There are a few places you can get these suits from in above size 3. You can get them from Snugglebum HERE they are having a winter sale at the moment and I managed to grab some more pyjamas whilst they are on sale for next winter as it is a great time to stock up. You can also get them from Next UK HERE I like all in ones for older babies who are not toilet trained at night as they dont ride up and as they have feet you don’t have to worry about sock falling off. They are also really comfy for bedtime. Next do not ship to Australia so I have to enlist the
kind heart of a traveller/ friend who is going there to pick them up for me (thank you Aunty Alicia)

We are grateful for new technology to be able to Skype with Simon and other friends whilst he was away.

That is a little bit of what has been happening here- have a great weekend : )

Hate folding Laundry?

I know I do. It is actually one of my least favourtie jobs !! A few months ago I was sent a FlipFold from the wonderful people at Green Apple Organising . At first I wondered what I would use it for and how it would make laundry easier. Then I started using it, and now I am totally hooked. I want everything to be uniform and folded to the same size- just like in the shops.

Basically what the FlipFold does it is fold your shirts and other laundry to the same uniform size in under 5 seconds. Yep thats right just 5 seconds- even the kids can use it. There is no messing this up it is super easy to use and I love the suggestion on the website HERE that you can teach the kids to use them as well. I am thinking that is a great idea and I will most certainly be teaching Flynn to use this when he is old enough.

Taken from the website-

“It works on any shirt including folding long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirt folder, folding tank tops, button down shirts and collared shirts.  Use FlipFold for folding your pants, shorts, skirts even folding towels and sheets!”

I decided to try out the FlipFold on my cardigans. I wear a lot of cardigans and they are a pain to fold. They are all different size and shapes and many have buttons etc. So I grabbed a pile or my cardigans and  started.

Firstly you lay the chosen shirt down on the front middle of the FlipFold.

Then you flip over the right side.

Then you flip over the left side-

Then upwards-

And voila you are done : ) Easy hey !!

And once I started it was addictive and I couldn’t stop LOL now all of our shirts and cardigans look something like this-

And so today I am going to giveaway for one of these great inventions- Green Apple Organising happens to be the only distributer of these wonder in Australia so head on over to the site and for just $45 your entire family can have organised closests like mine : ) I just cannot wait to teach the little ones to use it.

So for the giveaway leave a comment like last time. But this time I am giving you some extra chances to win- “Like” the Superorganiser page on Facebook and you can add another comment to this post hence giving you another chance to win.

And just to spice things up a little refer a friend to the Facebook page and you can add another comment giving yourself even more chances of winning- so start referring : ) If you do refer a friend just pop their name in the comment too. And good luck, winners will be drawn next Wednesday 4th August.

I am attempting to try one new recipe per week at the moment and trying to add a few new things to our everyday list of family favourites. One of my new favourite cookbooks at the moment is Healthy Babies by Womens Weekly, there are lots of great recipes for kids and general family in both snacks and meals.

Ingredients-

3/4 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 cup grated apple

This recipe has a few more ingredients than I would usually use for an everyday muffins mix but it is well worth it as the flavour is great.

1. Sift the flour and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir in sugar and oats.
3. Combine the milk, apple juice, oil and egg into a small bowl and then add into the dry mixture- stir to combine.
4. Add the apple and stir gently to combine.

Divide into paper muffin cases and then bake for 15 minutes until slightly golden, I like to bake my muffins in little cakes paper cases as they are great for little kids to take outside and eat : )

I am sure I am not the only one whose bedroom becomes haven for all things child throughout the day- especially on the weekend. I often get into bed only find I am sleeping on a buzz lightyear, toy car, sippy cup, book or whatever else has made it into our bed and room.

When I was at Kmart last week I saw these cute little canvas storage boxes for only $10 and thought this would be a great solution to clutter in our bedroom. And so I added a little label and so far after one weekend it has worked great. I just throw stuff in there during the weekend that doesn’t live in our room and I then walk around with it on Sunday night packing everything away.

The green matched particularly well with our wall colour which was great and this tub is the perfect size. It also comes in white and blue. These would also make great book and toy boxes in kids bedrooms.

The label was made with the Making Memories metal tag rims and the clips are from Kikki.K and I printed the label off the computer.

Small idea and small solution but already after only a week our bedroom looks tidy on a regular basis which is fantastic : )

I just wanted to tell everyone I just found out that wonderful trike I reviewed a few days ago HERE is suitable for use from an amazing 6 months. This is due to the extra recline and stabilizing bar WOW now I am even more impressed. Only 4 months until Oliver can take it for a ride : )

Why can’t I get this child to smile for a photo without bribery : )

but boys can wear pink too : )

So the lovely people at Smart Trike sent me this little gem to review just before Oliver was born. They have been so patient which I really appreciate and we put it together a few weeks ago and Flynn has been riding it around the house ever since : )

You can use the Smart Trike from 6 months through to 3 years which is fantastic. In baby mode you have a bar which goes around the seat section and also a foot rest so their little feet can sit just about the wheels whilst they are to little to pedal- such a great idea.

We don’t usually use the hood now as Flynn is a tad too big but I love this idea for the smaller kids when you are walking to keep them well protected. There is a strap in harness to keep the little ones safe where near the road which is also great if you have a bolter (like me).

There is a great little basket as you can see in the below photo which is where Flynn like to keep his current favourite treasures.

The seat also has recline feature which is done by using the little buttons on each side of the seat.

Now I am not usually a fan of these plastic bikes as they always seemed to lack in quality which is why we purchased the Radio Flyer Trike for Flynns second birthday, but now I am a convert as this is so pratical. I am really impressed with the thick quality of the plastic on this bike and it really looks like it will stand the test of several children throughout the next few years. They have so many features and functions that make it a breeze to use for the first few years of your childs life and I am also a huge fan of all of the storage.

The handle allows you to control the direction of the bike which is especially great when they are learning to steer/ get tired of riding and you have to push them or you want to control hos fast they are going. There is also a great little storage bag on the handle perfect for water bottles, snacks, hats etc. The handle is also very easy to remove for if you want to put the trike in the boot and take it to the park/ Nanna’s house etc.

I cannot wait to start using this bike for Oliver when he is 10 months old and then both boys will be able to ride down to the park. I have always been a big fan of kids riding down to the park or for a walk from an early age as it is so great for all of their gross motor skills- much better than just sitting in a pram and looking out at the world : ). I saw these trikes in the Target catalogue $70 off at the Toy sale which is great bargain. Check out the Smart Trike Website HERE

Wow this seems to have come around mighty quickly. To me anyway. It was almost like yesterday that this little boy was joining us and making us a family and now he is so big it kills me. He was super excited about going to big boy Kindy and walked confidently up to the school wearing his rocket ship “pack pack” (as he calls it).

We waited ever so patiently out the front for the school to open together.

And once inside he was in his own little element. It was great to stand back and watch him interact with his teachers and his peers.

And you have to love them bringing home some artwork on the first day which takes pride of place on the fridge for everyone to look at admire.

And so we have another milestone for our little boy to have completed his first day of Kindy and surprisingly enough I didn’t even cry : )

And now I have to start thinking about the system I am going to use to scrapbook his school years, I have a few ideas and a few kits etc but I just need to collate them so I have an idea of what I am going to do.

I am one of those people who absolutely love newborn babies. I love everything about them, the cuddles, endless photo opportunities, the late night feeds, their utter dependence on you. I just love all of it. But the cruelty of it all is that it goes way too fast. I already feel like in the blink of any eye that newborn stage is slipping away from me already.

At his paediatrician check up last week Oliver was deemed and healthy baby boy and now weighs 5.2 kgs so he is feeding great- which is always such a relief to hear.

At a mere 9 weeks old he has already changed my life beyond what I ever imagined and most definitely bought me into a happy and beautiful place in my life. Those first hard weeks are behind us and this little champion has been sleeping through the night now for almost 2 weeks : ) With the extra sleep I am feeling human again and feel my capacity to function get better and better every single day. Yay for baby bootcamp !!

One of the things I love most about having a newborn baby is watching other people love him. Watching the grown men (and women) within our group of friends all goo and gaa over Oliver whilst fighting for the next hold is simply too sweet for words.

Now that he is older he is starting to take a few feeds a week of expressed milk all of the boys love to feed him whenever the opportunity arises and Oliver is wonderful and taking milk from anyone which is a great help sometimes.

And now I am going to go an enjoy my babies whilst they still need me and want cuddles and milk and stories. Make sure you enjoy your precious children this weekend and remember that there is no greater gift than becoming a parent.

Yes ok well pick yourself back up off the floor there really is a way : ) I decided this year that I would collect together all of the things that I wanted my husband to journal on – some of them dating back to when Flynn was born and when he asked me what he could do to make my birthday special he was handed a little pile of layouts and journaling tabs !!

And disbelievingly he actually wrote on them (who can say no on your special day). And so last week on my birthday afternoon my husband scrapbooked….

And a few more recent layouts I did a few weeks ago-

And although my pile grows on a daily basis I still love this hobby as much as I did when I started 10 years ago. I love that I am capturing the memories of the youngest years my children, my life, our friends and my family. I hope that I never stop documenting and loving and capturing everything about this wonderful life I am in.