Should I?

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I have alot of Should I's going through my head these days...

Should I sell my beloved handbag collection? 

Should I sell my baby clothes that Charlotte has out grown? 

Should I sell all my prebaby 

{aka clothes I will probably never fit in again :( } clothes? 

Should I join a gym? 

Should I cut my hair? 

Should I dye my hair? 

Should I sell my wedding gown? 

Should I get a cleaner in so I can spend more time with my girls rather then always cleaning? 

Should I quit my job and become a SAHM?

Should I keep up my blog? 

Should I take a photography course?

Should I upgrade my car?

Should I keep those family and friends in my life who only seem to hurt me?

Should I organise that holiday we say we want to take?

Should I send Bella to Kindy?

Should I cut Bella's hair?

Should I send Bella to Private school?

Should I post this post?

If I could

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5 months old going on 2!

My baby (or not so baby) Charlotte is amazing! She is only 5 months old (almost 6) and she is moving around the place, already on solids and trying her hardest to speak. She is very vocal and is trying hard to get some words out. She is only 5 months old!!! 


Every day I see her watch her big sister Bella and she wants to be doing what Bella is doing. Whether it be painting, crafts, dancing, playing in the cubby. It doesn't matter. My little 5 month old thinks she is 2. So, my days are spent taking Charlotte around so she can play and interact with her big sister. When we are painting, or doing crafts she is sitting her in high chair or my lap watching or even participating in the craft. When Bella is eating, Charlotte wants a snack also. And if I don't carry her around for her to do what Bella does, boy does she let me know! She get sooo cranky at me. 


They are both smitten with each other and I knew that in time Charlotte would look up to her big sister and want to copy and do everything she does. I had know idea it would happen so soon!


Below pics are an example of my little 5 month old wanting to do what her sister is doing. Bella was on the floor playing with her Dora laptop. Charlotte made her way over and was wanting to play with it too. Bella was happy to share but Charlotte wanted it for herself. She was determined to play with it. Bella was happy to let her baby sister play with the laptop and watch.

It makes me sad, my little baby (and maybe my last baby) doesn't want to be a baby anymore *sad face*

Love it or hate it?

This morning when I was perusing the news headlines and the hollywood gossip whilst eating breakfast I spotted something..... My girl crush, Jennifer Aniston, has cut her hair!!


Jen has said goodbye to her gorgeous signature look and chopped her hair into a shoulder length bob. She stepped out in Madrid rocking this sexy tousled look.

Pics from various sites

Back in the 90s I had the 'Rachel' cut. A cut that she just loathes now according to Allure Magazine. Hahaha! Me, I actually think that it was one of the best hair styles I have ever had. My hair sat well, it had a bit of body to it. I loved it! 


But just like Jen, I moved on from the 'Rachel' cut and channelled her longer highlighted hair. My hair doesn't look as wonderful as hers especially now since I am a Mummy. I am lucky to straighten my hair once a month these days. My hair is forever stuck in a Mummy bun. 


What do you think of Jen's new style?  Love it or hate it??


I love it! It looks fresh, vibrant and its really nice to see her sporting a new do.


Jen isn't the only one sporting a new hair do. Justin Bieber also chopped of his famous locks. Tweens around the world would be in tears!

Pics from TMZ

I think it makes him look older. I love it!  
I never thought he would cut his famous hair. My poor little cousin will be lost now as he sported the Bieber cut and the flick of the hair!

Hope

I can't believe the devastation poor Christchurch, New Zealand  is going through at the moment with the earthquake they had yesterday.


The coverage they were showing on TV was so shocking. I had tears in my eyes as I watched it all unfold. Those poor people. My heart ached.


When I closed my eyes last night before I went to sleep, I hoped that today, there will be news that there have been more people that have been found and located alive.

I spy with my little eye

Something beginning with O............ 

Oobi's 2011 Autumn/Winter Range! 

And I am in Love!

Oh how I love thee Oobi clothing range... 

In case you hadn't guessed...

I am a huge fan of Oobi clothing. 

Their clothing is not only stylish, it's good quality and the best part about buying Oobi clothing, its an AUSTRALIAN label! 

I also love that their clothing and accessories are 

affordable and well designed.

Their new Winter line is available next month.

Yayeeeee!!

Here is a snap shot of some of my faves. 

Even though I don't have any boys I have included my faves 

of their range also.

At this stage there is no pricing on their website. 

Bring on March!!

Wow! Have you seen this?

The Juppy

I just stumbled up this great little invention...


What a great idea! I would of loved something like this when Bella started being mobile.  Like everyone else I'm sure, I struggled with a very sore back walking Bella around pre-walking days. She loved to be mobile but wasn't quite ready to launch off and start walking on her own. She loved grabbing my fingers and directing me around to where she wanted to go.  


As much as I loved seeing the joy in her face and hearing her giggle away as she, with my assistance, was able to walk around and begin to be independent, I loathed it! My back would ache bad. Even though it ached, I still helped her to walk around, so I could see that smile on her face again. I wish I knew about this great little invention.  It would of made this stage in her (and my) life alot more comfier.... 


Now to persuade my Husband that I need this for Charlotte!

STOP!!!

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Paparazzi

I love love love taking photos (in case you hadn't guessed :p). I take hundreds and hundreds every week. I have the worst memory in the world and I am scared that I will forget everything we do, so I like to capture it all via the camera and video. 

I thought it was an awesome idea to buy a kids camera for Bella for her birthday back in October. She learnt fast how to use it and loves taking pics. I love seeing the world through her eyes until I just got paparazzied whilst I was on the toilet hahahaa!! No Privacy in this house!

Thankfully I have control of what gets deleted and what doesn't lol

My Favourite things for ~ Babies

For

When you have a baby...

1.  Mosquito Net Canopy for the cot. This was a MUST purchase for us and I am so glad we did. At night my poor Bella would get eaten alive by mozzies. Her poor little body reacted so badly to the bites. Each one would get so inflamed and the itch was just unbearable for her.  

2. High Chair Even though the Ikea high chairs are so much cheaper and much easier to clean, I still opted for the Chicco high chair (one pictured above). I just LOVE it. It reclines, the height is adjustable and the best thing, its on wheels. Bubs usually don't like it when you are out of site which makes it hard to get things done around the house. So I started utilising this high chair from an early stage with both of my girls. I would recline the seat right back, put a lovely bunny rug over the plastic seat, give bub a few toys to play with and that's how I have been able to get things done around the house.  I roll bub around, when vacuuming, when in the kitchen cooking, I take it outside when hanging up clothes. As long as they see me they are happy and very content. I am never out of site of my bub whilst getting the chores done. It has been one of the best purchases I made. I do  loathe cleaning it, but it's not hard to clean at all as long as its done every night.

3. Medella double electric pump With Bella, I was unfortunately, unable to breastfeed. I was so heart broken. I was so determined to do it that I promised myself, that even if I can't feed her she was still going to get the breast milk. I expressed every 3 hours 24/7 to provide her with the goodness of my breast milk. I did this for 6 months. I would not of been able to do it without this pump. Expressing so often didn't allow alot of free time on my hands so it was so handy that I was able to do both breasts at one (yes I felt like a Jersey cow :( )

4. Feeding pillow This pillow has been a godsend. I was given this pillow from one of my Mums friends. I am so glad that she did as I had already purchased two pillows that I thought would be great that weren't. Who would of thought that there would be some pillows out there that just don't cut it and be sooo bloody expensive!! This pillow is so great. I used it for bottle feeding as well as breastfeeding. I love it! It goes pretty much everywhere with me.

5. Bonds singlet suits These suits are FABULOUS! Pay the money and buy them. They are a must in my eyes. I hate putting on a sleep suit on bub and then have their singletroll/ ride up their back. It would feel so uncomfortable. Its also great reassurance in winter knowing that bubs back is fully covered by the singlet. In summer they double up as summer suits. They come in plain colours or come with patterns. I got a combination of both. Just remember to get some white ones for the white outfits!

6. Jolly Jumper I love my Jolly Jumper. Its a great little activity for bub to do when they get to a certain age. I bought mine with the stand. It takes up alot of space but its great and the bubs LOVE it.


7. Fisher Price Papsan cradle Swing This swing saved my sanity when I had Bella. She wasn't a fan of sleeping in the early days. I had read lots of good reviews on this swing and also how bubs settle well and sleep well in it. I sent my Husband out to get me the swing that makes the babies sleep :)) As soon as I put Bella in the swing she slept. She slept for hours at a time in it only during the day though. At night she would sleep in her cot and slept well. I often worried how on earth was I going to be able to wean her off the swing for her day sleeps. But it wasn't hard. When it was time I moved her to her cot and she slept well. I believe that when sleeping in the swing she learnt how to sleep and how to get into the deep sleep. Admittedly, this swing doesn't suit all bubs. Charlotte wasn't as much as a fan. She did sleep in it every now and then. I guess it really depends on the baby as to weather it is a success or not. Charlotte does enjoy being in it during the day just for a swing. 


8.Baby Bjorn I love this baby carrier. I had bought a baby sling but I wasn't a fan. I much preferred the Bjorn. This was soooo handy for the times you just wanted to duck into the shops to grab milk and bread, go to Medicare or just couldn't be bothered putting up the pram! I also loved it for times when I was out shopping and my bub had had enough of being in the pram. I was able to keep them happy in the Bjorn and continue on shopping. I couldn't of lived with out this product. I have a bad back and found it hard to carry my bubs on my hip all day long, this carrier though if worn for a long time did hurt my back but for little trips it didn't make my back play up.


9. Sophie Oh Sophie, how on earth did I survive with out you when I had Bella. This teething toy is fabulous! It was a gift to us from a friend when we had Charlotte. Charlotte LOVES her Sophie and doesn't like to be parted with her. If I had of known how much of a godsend she is I would of paid the $35 and got one for Bella.


10. Baby steamer I love this baby food making appliance. It has made my life sooo much EASIER! I am able to prepare bubs food whilst making dinner. It takes only minutes to steam and puree the vegies, fruit, chicken, fish or what ever you are wanting to puree. It also teams up as a baby bottle warmer. I never used it for this purpose. I recommend this product as it is so easy, there is not alot of effort involved to make yummy food for your bub. 


If you have had a baby, What were your favourite things?

My Official Taste Tester

Does this face look familiar?

My Miss 2 has just gone through a stage were she was very fussy with her food, especially dinners.


Let me start at the beginning.


When Bella was starting to eat alot of 'our foods' She was eating everything and anything that I was making for her. I loved making her fish fingers, chicken nuggets, salmon cakes, meatballs, fritattas, quiche sweet potato chippies, you name it I was making it. Everything was made by me from scratch. She ate well and enjoyed the food I was making and I loved making her this food and seeing how much she was enjoying it. She is a real meat eater. She loves meat. 


When I went back to work full time (urgh!) I was struggling to keep on top of everything. I would rush home and try and make something from scratch and it was just not happening. Dinner was getting later and later. Bella wasn't eating it due to being so tired.


I started doing bulk cook ups on the weekends, but our weekends would fill up  and there was no time for cooking and to be completely honest, when I did have a spare afternoon, I wanted to be playing with my girl. Blowing bubbles, playing dress ups, singing dancing, what ever I just wanted to hang out with her. Selfish... yep!!


Cue, premade/store crap! Ok, its not all crap. I shopped around and instead of making my own risoles, I found some already made that were yummy but low in fat. Instead of making my own Salmon cakes, I found a store bought substitute. This made life a bit easier and I was able to get Bella feed in time before she got too tired.


After 2 months of being at work and finally getting into the swing of things... We got pregnant!!! (yayeeee!!) But the down fall was I was pregnant and suffering the worst morning sickness ever. I couldn't even think about the kitchen let alone walk into it.


Cue, my husband having to cook for Bella which unfortunately meant, what ever he could make, reheat is what she got. I didn't care as long as I didn't need to be in the kitchen.... I pretty much relied on my Husband to make Bella's dinner for my whole pregnancy due to being so sick and also having to spend alot of it on bed rest.


This is when we started to have some problems. Bella wasn't getting the variety she was used to and she started to only want certain things...like Salmon cakes. This would have to be one of her favourite meals. I'm not complaining as it has vegies in it and Salmon is great for brain development. My Miss 1 at the time, just wanted the salmon cakes every night.


When something new was presented to her we saw tantrums and refusal to eat. To keep the peace my husband just stuck with her favourite things. Miss 1 at the time fell in love with the store bought Salmon cakes. She still loves mine but she just loves them and asks to have them every night.


Now life has settled down alot since having Charlotte I am back in the kitchen cooking. It feels great to be able to cook and provide for my family. In the beginning there was a few tanties until I got Bella in the kitchen helping me. We bought a funpod thingy and this worked a treat for a while as Bella was helping me but that wore of fast as it was a bit boring for her cause she really wasn't able to do much as its all pretty dangerous for a tot her age.


After some thought, I decided it was time to get creative and try and make dinner time a fun time for Bella. So out of nowhere, one night I just said to Bella that she had a special job and that was being our families 'official taste tester'. Being the families 'official taste tester' meant that she had to taste all the components of the meal to make sure they are yummy and suitable for us all to eat. I had no idea how successful this was going to be but she LOVED the idea! (Ha!) She gets so excited about it. When dinner is ready I tell her its time to taste the meal and races to the kitchen. I put her in the funpod, give her the official taste testing spoon which goes with her very important duties. After she gives her approval (which is every meal!!) she rushes to the table and eats her meal no worries.  


Who would of thought that she would even buy into this! Ha! It's a fun thing we both do together and it's working!! And right now, thats all that matters *smiley face* 




Here is Bella eating her dinner from last night. Sorry about the terrible photo. Last night we had grilled chicken, roast potato, roast sweet potato and mixed veiges.

Some tips I have learnt along the way...

• Never force them to eat their food I was forced to eat foods I didn't like as a child. I would eat everything except Pumpkin. I hated it. To me some kids will like all food some won't. I don't want to create a bad relationship with any foods with my kids. In my eyes, not everyone can like all foods right? To this day, I still can't stand pumpkin!

• Never give threats like 'if they don't eat their dinner they go straight to bed!' I think that if you give threats, you will soon start to see that dinner time becomes a tedious task as the child will start to perpetuate tension around dinner time every day. It will be a constant battle as the child will start to create a negative memory. I believe these actions will not help long term.

• Making it fun! We tried the 'help Mummy cook' approach but I just felt that it was too dangerous and it got a bit hard for me as Bella wanted to do everything I needed to do,  crack open eggs, cut up meat, stir hot saucepans of food. When being told she couldn't cut up the meat I was faced with a tempertantrum which was not only frustrating but also dangerous in our small kitchen. However, the taste testing idea is working for us. It's fun, she is involved and best of all she is eating her dinner!

Do you have any tips or tricks that worked for you?

Ok ok .....

Yes I am procrastinating and yes I will regret it later...I have washing to hang up and my house looks like a bomb has hit it! But its Tuesday (yep only Tuesday!) and I just can't be bothered! Plus I have a good excuse... really I do. So hear me out.


I am wanting to organise my life, my house, and anything else I can get my hands on!


I was just looking at the ridiculous mess called a toy room and thought, ok, this will be my first project. I have a quite moment so I jumped on to Google and already I have found something I like. Ok, it's not really what I am looking for to organise all the toys but definitely all the craft supplies. My only problem is I don't have anywhere for it to live when we aren't doing craft.

Link

I can't wait till I have a bigger house and my own craft room. This would be perfect to wheel in and wheel out when the girls and I want to do some craft.

Do you have or have you seen any wonderful storage ideas for kids toy rooms?

My man ~ My Valentines

My man

He's the shizzle

He lights my fire

He rocks my world

He's the bomb 

He is my best friend

He is my soul mate

He's the best!

Happy Valentines Day honey....

I love you more then rainbows love the sun x

And...
To YOU my lovely readers...
Whether you celebrate Valentines day or not.... 

I want to wish you a Happy Valentines day!

I'm baaaaaaack!!

Just a quick post to let you know that I am back from our little trip away!

Let me regroup and get my house back in order and I will be back!!

I'm off!!

We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
we've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you.
for me and you. 

Comparison Cyclone Tracey 1974 vs Cyclone Yasi 2011

Praying for North Queenslanders as they brace for Cyclone Yasi

I can't help but feel guilty heading off to bed knowing that 

there are alot of Queenslanders, 

who are not safe and sound in their beds like I will be.

I pray that when I wake up tomorrow morning

 there will be news reports advising that they planned for the worst 

but got through it unscathed.

What's on my mind RIGHT now!

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I really need to pack We are off to Sydney for a few days on Friday. This will be our first trip away as a family of 4. This is also Charlotte's first plane ride and also her first holiday! I haven't started packing yet :(

Loved chatting to my good friend tonight Reconnected with a great friend tonight. Due to some circumstances, a bit of distance grew between us. I will be doing everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen again! She is an important person in my life and I want to make sure she remains a part of my life.

Worried about another friend One of my friends had a work place accident tonight. When he went to fill out a OH&S form he was told that there isn't one! Hmmm very worried.

Must remember to call my bestie I keep forgetting to call my Bestie! Her first born started school last year and I have been meaning to call her to see how it all went. Tomorrow... must do tomorrow

Gosh it's hot I swear its like a 100° tonight... urgh I hate summer. Well, I hate not having air conditioning really.

Are the girls ok With this extreme heat my little darlings bedrooms become sweat boxes. I have a fan in both of their rooms but its still hot.

I must get organised tomorrow I like to be organised. Since having kids I feel like the most unorganised person alive. I

 

Urgh Dinner was a complete fail Tonight I cooked a meal I cook at least once a fortnight. It was a slow cooker meal (one of my faves actually) but somewhere along the line I did something wrong. It was a complete Fail

I'm thirsty Gotta get a drink of water  

Hoping Cyclone Yasi fades away to nothing I have family and friends up that way. Hoping that they will all be ok. Last thing they need right now!

My house is a mess I had Mothers Group here today. After they left I cleaned up so my house was back to normal, but some how, Bella has managed to destroy it again!!

This post is pretty boring I have some half typed up posts but I can't be bothered working on one of them, so I did this instead :)

 

I gotta get to bed Had a huge day.... Night xxxx

Feelin the burn

Credit

"There's no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. 

And believe me, 

it would be one of my favourite things!"

~ Oprah Winfrey ~

Well, the weekend has been and gone. I love my weekends. I love spending time as a family, the 4 of us just hanging out. Two days, truly isn't enough. 


This weekend I joined up an exercise group. After having both my girls I have been left with alot of baby weight that I am wanting to loose. I am not a regular exerciser post pregnancies, mainly due to my body not being like it used to be. Its much harder to run with all this weight, its much harder to do sit ups, push ups etc etc These days, there is also alot of other excuses that I use. The girls need me, I had a rough day, I need to finish cooking dinner, you know what it's like.


On Saturday morning, I rolled outta bed, got dressed and fed Charlotte. I really, hadn't put alot of thought in to what was going to happen and how much this was gunna hurt. I think I actually didn't want to think about it to be honest!


I am happy to say that even though it felt like the longest hour of my life, I got through it. It was hard, boy was it hard. I survived and better still I was able to drive myself home! That was a bonus. Unlike my pre baby days, when I did PT and went to the gym 5 days a week, it would take over night for my body to start to feel the ache. Ooh not now! It only took an hour or two and an afternoon of me shopping, I was in pain. My buttocks were burning with every step. When Sunday morning arrived I could hardly move. As much as I was sore and how much it was annoying as I had alot to get done on Sunday, I was soooo loving feelin the burn!


This group session is only once a fortnight unfortunately. I wish it was once a week. At least then I know I will be getting at least one good work out a week. I think I will take nice long brisk walk on the alternating Saturday morning. 


I think the main thing out of all of this, is that I hope to start feeling a bit more motivated to get moving and start exercising regularly. I need to start caring about me and doing what I need to do to start being healthy and fit again.


It's going to be a long and slow journey.... one step at a time.