Just to break from the work talk : )

So as per my post yesterday I am still running through a few organisation tips regarding being a working mother.  It really involves just that next level of organisation as you are out for a portion of the day.

Feeding whilst you are working creates a whole new challenge- especially with a small baby as they often don’t feed to an exact schedule. Getting a store together is the freezer in the key for me to staying on top of feeding and supply. I use an electric pump whilst I am away for a feed and also I pump an extra feed every night which is about 120mls. With this extra feed I am currently freezing this for a trip I have to take next month. The rest I am donating to our local milk back starting next week- just a small way to give back.

Anyway onto a product this busy mum loves- milk freezer bags.

This is a much cheaper way to store lots of milk and allows you to write the date and amounts etc on the top. This is what I will be taking when I travel as it will be a lot easier for storage etc.

Once I have a few I then store them in a Tupperware container in the fridge all ready to be defrosted.

I have also found that this time around a good electric pump is a must, much quicker and easier than a manual pump. I went with the Medela Swing as it had the best reviews and lots of different accessories and add on’s.

I try to stick to the routine that I pump when Oliver is feeding- it works well and helps keeps me on a time schedule. And make sure I keep the timing right. I have regular reminders set in my Blackberry to keep myself on track each day and I also take Fenugreek everyday to keep my supply up.

Some days combining breast feeding and work is challenging but it is well worth the effort. I hope this post gives hope to any of you hoping to do the same, it is possible : )

Well tips for all mums really as you can adapt them to all parts of your everyday life : ) I get a lots of questions about my work/ what I do  and how I stay organised etc. I haven’t really replied to these as yet as I wanted to compile it all into a few posts over a week like I am doing now : )

Firstly the most commonly asked question is what do I do? Well without saying exactly what I do for obvious privacy reasons I will give you all a brief run down. I work as an Account Manager for a company looking after their business customers. By look after them I email through price lists and specials, help them with their ranging of products, lend out demonstration machines, provide POS and training for the staff when necessary. Basically be their point of call for the business as needed.

I realized early when I went back to work when Flynn was about 6 months old that I needed a more flexible job than the office one I had. I was working for a Telecommunications company  and doing 3 days per week- but a long day 6/7 until 3/4, It was tough and after a few weeks I resigned knowing that this set up would never work with young children.

I needed to be able to work from home, drop my children at school, complete emails at night if needed and work around my family. I wanted them and my children to remain a priority in my life and so I needed to find that all important work/life balance. It took me until Flynn was about 2 to find that balance and then stop feeling guilty about working.

As mothers we all make our own choices  and mine was that I wanted to work. I know this is not for everyone but I knew it was the right thing for me. Simon has the same sort of job role just a different company which means we can juggle the boys between both our jobs and the grandparents with a day of daycare thrown in for socialization for Flynn.

So that is what I do. Mostly I love it and some days it’s all too hard and I want to crawl into bed and stay there ; )

And so now to share some tips. Both for working mums and anyone really wanting to stay organised.

Tip #1- Baking in bulk and freezing. I do this for meals which I have spoken about before a lot on the blog. But no so much snacks. I also freeze a lot of snacks. Muffins, cookies and breads etc freeze very well. I like to use the mini size Glad Bags for these, I freeze on the day I bake and then take out in the morning, by the time snack/lunch time comes around they will be defrosted and ready for eating.

Sunday morning is a great baking day for me. I am usually in the kitchen cooking pancakes etc anyway and so I do some muffins/cookies/ banana bread at the same time. These are then ready for Monday and it is a great way to have healthy snacks available all throughout the week. It can also be handy for unexpected visitors as well.

Tip #2- Packing snacks for yourself. Simple but really great during the day while you are out and about. I find it works really well to lay out what I am going to have the night before so when I am half asleep, making breakfast and tending to babies in the morning it is one less thing to think about.

I often don’t pack lunch I just have that once I get back from work or while I am out and about.  And yes there is a lot here, I get super hungry when I am breastfeeding.

So there is the start and tomorrow is about returning to work and breastfeeding : )

There is a lot of this going on at the moment, here are a few of my recent POTD (Picture of the day)

This little guy is getting to that clingy stage- the you cannot put me down stage. And if you do I am going to scream….especially if I cannot see my mummy.  And yes I know I am the meanest mother in the world taking a photo of my baby crying but you know what, it is real life. That is part of our day sometimes and part of project life for is about captures the real life, the everyday stuff both the good and the bad.

There was a mini challenge on the Becky Higgins blog the other day about putting you camera down on a surface- your kitchen table etc and capturing your everyday life.  I always like a good photo challenge I think it is great to stretch our angle and sometimes you can get some great  shots.

Here is Becky’s example and the link to the post for the challenge is HERE

And so I did out kitchen bench- where a lot of the life and planning happens in our home and then I did my messy scrapbooking table- both photos were ok and then I decided to do our bed on a Saturday morning.  And the last one was the one I loved the most.

It is one I would not have gotten had I not decided to do the challenge and look at the angle in which I take my photos a little differently.

I did a challenge last year that was about looking down and every since I try to occasionally catch a shot from that angle. Like this one yesterday of Flynn eating his breakfast on the go- waiting to be strapped into his car seat. We were off to the Guildford craft markets and this was his travelling breakfast.

So I pass the challenge on to those of you doing Project Life as well to look for a different angle- try something new and you will get some new and different photos that you are bound to love.

There are so many wonderful and involved and loving dads out there and it is fabulous to have a day just to spoil them with lovely handmade gifts, breakfast in bed and treats all through the day : ) What do you think for a new office tie?

I just thought I would share this quick snack I put together last weekend. We had some left over pesto after the yummy chicken pasta we had made and so when I saw this recipe in I think it was the latest Donna Hay magazine.

It is pesto and prosciutto pin wheels : )

You just spread the pesto over  a sheet of puff pastry and then add some chopped proscuitto. Roll up into a large log and then cut into 2cm pieces. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or so. YUM !! These went down a treat and even Flynn devoured quite a few : ) Great way to use up some leftovers and a yummy weekend snack too.

Have a great Saturday : )

Are the best siblings ever : )

P.S. Yes my son is wearing a pink shirt, more on that later ; )

Just a mere 15 weeks ago Oliver Harrison Conran entered this world and changed my life forever.

I wondered if I would have enough love, enough mothering, enough everything to service both the emotional and physical needs of another child. I doubted that I would have the ability to offer him the same childhood as I did Flynn. You wonder if you will feel the same when you have another baby and if the wonder and amazement and miracle of having a baby will be the same or if the sheen fades the second time around.

People ask me this question now- is having a second baby any less exciting ? My answer is absolutely not. I still swoon over the smiles, go stupid over the coos and call everyone over to look when he does something new. I have taken 531,758 photos (slight exaggeration) and it doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon.

It is almost more special the second time around as you are acutely aware of just how quick the newborn time goes and how in what feels like just a fleeting moment they are toddling around the house.

You cherish every single breath the second time around.

You spend you spare time kissing their neck and breathing in their baby smell as you know they will ever so soon be a sweaty toddler. You gaze into their beautiful baby face as you feel it almost change in that instant.

I was on the Ngala website (fabulous resource)  a few days ago and was struck by the fact that when I went into You and your family section and then to Newborn  they had this listed as babies aged 0-3 months !! What the ? When did my newborn become a baby? Boy was I sad. As much as I feel I have soaked it in the best I possibly could I still feel a little cheated.

After almost 10 months of carrying this sweet babe he is growing into an aware and talkative little boy who watches his mummy walk around the room and stops crying at the sound of my voice. Who now loves tummy time and “chats” with all of his toys on the play mat.

We set up a new play area for you in the living room so mummy can watch you play happily.

And along with your hands you have now realized you have these amazing things called feet. You love to kick and kick and kick. And as much as I love that you are developing perfectly and doing everything you are meant to be doing it is all happening way too fast for this mummy.

Oliver you are absolutely perfect, we love you more words. And I say it again but I mere 15 weeks ago you seriously changed my life. You made me refocus on the important stuff, taking it slow, having a cuddle and soaking in all that is childhood.

After all of the hard and difficult days that pregnancy bought me I am right back where I want to be – and I know that this is absolutely the best time of  my life. Between the snotty noses and the toilet training, the spewing and the poop through incident, there is life here. A life created through love.

And I never ever forget every single day just how lucky I am to have the two most beautiful boys any mother could ever ask for.

I am always on the lookout for ways to get in just that extra bit of fruit into Flynn’s diet. Although he eats very well for a toddler he has his moments like all children do. And so I like to think of ways just to slip a few sneaky ones in there.

So on the weekend I made a slight alteration to the normal Sunday pancakes and added a pear twist ; ) They were super yummy sliced thinly and just added to the pancakes while they were cooking on the other side. Then flip and cook as usual.

We are also into dicing fruit at the moment per Master Flynn’s requests he like things to be little, little little as he tells me with the correct hand gestures and everything  and so we dice the fruit for him- whatever works I say as long as they eat it.

We have been super busy around home the last few weeks with lots of different things to plan and on the go.  With Flynn having both Kindy and daycare now there is not a lot of free time to do extra crafts etc but Flynn is bringing home SO much stuff from Kindy it is insane trying to keep up with it all- more on storing kids crafts from schools soon : )

And some photos that show it is getting warmer around here and we are loving it : )

Hats are back in force outside-

New flip flops, after  enclosed shoes for the last few months I am so loving the feeling of almost bare feet : )

Lots more park time-

Well all dads are really just big kids aren’t they ? We are blessed to have some great local parks and on our walk home from Kindy/daycare we try and stop in at them a few times a week.

Rediscovering my love for chicken pesto pasta YUM !!

I had forgotten how much I loved this dish, both hot and cold it is awesome and so super easy to make.

Walking back from Kindy-

I so love this time at the end of the day. To be able to have some down time, chat about his day and just generally burn off some very last bits of boy energy and excitement before we get home. Flynn is such a great big brother and the latest obsession is pushing the pram home (with some help from mum)

I was inspired to take this last photo after reading an article about capturing your everyday  routines and so I took my camera along on this walk, and I am so glad I did : )