Being a tourist in your own backyard...

There is something that Boo has been dying to do since we moved.

We always seemed to say "another day" or "we haven't got time"...

But today we did it.

We rode the Ferris Wheel!

I must say, I am glad we finally did. It was pretty cool!

 

Such a stunning day.

Finished off with an amazing lunch with Ganma & Pa on the waterfront.

Life's pretty good here!

Painting a chalk board wall...

One morning, I woke up and decided that I needed a chalk board wall in my life.

But where?

 

I knew with my (and Dad'ns) OCD ways, we couldn't have it in a main area of the house. Not only would this chalkboard be for me, but the kids would also be on there too. I had already visualised lots of smudged artwork and chalk dust everywhere. This idea took some deep breaths,

 

I decided that our pantry was the perfect spot for said chalkboard.

 

I could have all my fun on it, the kids could go crazy, and when I no longer wanted to see it... I just close the pantry door. Perfect!

 

Dad'n was sceptical but knows better than to doubt my decorating ideas. Mainly because it just ends in me sulking.  

 

My inspiration was found very quickly. Thanks Pintrest. And we were off to Bunnings the same morning. When I want something done... I want it done yesterday. That's just how I roll.

 

So that evening, my chalk board came to life.

 

Two coats. A few drip crisis's, and please note, chalkboard paint isn't the easiest things to get off. You need to wipe it the SECOND it drops. It was a bit hairy scary.

 

 It was so black going up. Dad'n gave a few "are you sure this was a good idea" comments.

 

But then it was finished and I was absolutely in love. It suits our home perfectly! Love, love, love it.

 
 

                   Before                              After

 

       

 

 If you are toying with the idea of adding a chalkboard wall into you life, I say go for it. They are a bit fab. 

Operation "Playroom organisation"

If you follow me on Facebook, you will know that we are in the process of organising our playroom. 

To be honest... I've been on this operation since we moved in but have never managed to finish it off.

So here is what we have going on to keep chaos to a minimum and easy fun playing to a maximum!

When designing our floor plan for this house, storage in our playroom was really up there on my priority list.

We decided on two shelved cupboards on the TV wall which meant it didn't eat up any wall space, and also added to the bulkhead effect around the TV feature wall.

You could also organise similar to this with Ikea Expedit unit's, bookcases, shelving units.

We have used this system for quite some time now, the "homing similar items in a box" system.

I have found that it is easy to manage as at the end of the day, we just lay which ever box is needed on the floor, and usually its 6+ boxes. Sometimes its all of them. Not all the time.  Then everything gets put in the appropriate box, and put away.

I now have each box labelled with not only the word of the items that are in the box, but also a picture to help with recognition.

The containers I ended up settling on were from Target.

 

After doing the rounds, I found these to be sturdy, cost effective,  they had clear windows to help see what's in them, and they came in a variety of sizes.

 

The cupboard to the left I decided to dedicate it to all of the containers.

 

 

 

The cupboard to the right homes Boo's dress up's down the bottom. This was just achieved with a hanging rail below one of the shelves.

It is also is home to all our art and craft supplies.

Then above we keep our kinder and swimming bags which are always repacked and placed back in their home at the end of the day.

 

 

 

Oh and the top shelf. The special top shelf.

 

It is reserved for toys that have driven Mummy insane, the ones that need a "rest".

 

We also keep our Easter egg hunt baskets up there. Better dust them off soon for when the fluffy bunny visits!

 

So that is our major storage covered...

 

We also have a 4 x 4 cube Expedit unit to house all our every day toys, ones that don't require storing.

 

And also a kids desk that is home to all drawing and colouring in things.

 

  

I hope that has given you some insight in to how we try to keep our playroom organised and maybe given you some ideas?

 

Maybe you already have a fab system that you find works well?

 

 

Share it! Find me on FB and pop some pics up! Would love everyone to get sharing.

 

Until next time...

 





Finding the perfect travelling bag for kids...

Finding the one... Travel bag for little people that is ;)

I love to travel and holiday, that's no secret. Who doesn't?

But what I also love is every fab find that I can get my hands on in the lead up to said holiday.

It used to be beautiful travel bags and accessories for myself, but since children, the obsession has turned to them. As it does with everything it seems.

For quite some time, I have been on the hunt to find to perfect carry on bag for them. The one.

Our family holiday last year had us taking a "Trunki". I thought it was SO going to be the one. How wrong I was.

I thought it was the answers to all. It was going to be amazing. So many parents raved and swore by them. It was going to rock my travel accessory world right? Wrong. It didn't work for us. AT ALL!

Sure it was fun for the first 15 minutes arriving at the airport. It was cute. But for the rest of the time, children got over pulling it. We didn't have time to have them riding it. Dad'n got super over trying to carry it. Its bulky and awkward. Its hard to get into. Many un choice words flying around surrounding that little case. Try to picture arriving after an overnight flight with two children still trying to sleep getting through customs with this big pink thing that every family member wants to throw! Sorry, still some pent up anger issues regarding poor Trunki LOL. Can you tell?

So we are getting geared up for our trip in a few weeks and our new bags and accessories have arrived. So we are having a play.

We kind of  look like a walking advertisement for Skip Hop.

I have always loved their products, we have quite a few in our collection. They have always functional and very durable.

We also got the matching travel blankets that I have attached on the back with a hook for easy access. Who doesn't like matching! They stuff in and out of the attached pillow which seems to work really well.

So far, these bags seem to hold a fair bit, but not to much so they get to heavy for children to manage. Carry handle packs away neatly and  they have a parent strap to make them a bit easier to carry for those times when children get over it. Which mine seem to a lot!

I look forward to giving a review on the other side of the trip and letting you all know if these in fact, were the ones.

Anyone else have a travel accessory problem? There could always be worse things I say ;)

Feel free to share what works, or what doesn't work for you.

*** Please note: These are my own opinions the products mentioned above, no endorsement has or will be received ***

Creating better days.

I often wonder. What would be the ratio of peoples complaints vs compliments?

 

Everyone always seems quick to ask for the manager to report someone, email a complaint and spread the word to family and friends to avoid a certain business, person or place.

 

But when do we show gratitude to good service, wonderful help, or someone just being a positive influence on every day life?

 

I try to always focus on being thankful and showing gratitude in my own family and life.  But now I have made it my mission to extend that to my surroundings and encounters.

 

It began yesterday.

 

I have been feeling very positive about Ace's childcare that he started attending one day a week this year. It hasn't been the easiest of transitions for us both but we have found the centre to be overwhelmingly caring and made it so much gentler on us both.

 

I decided to write an email to the manager expressing how happy I was with Ace's care. That she has wonderful staff and that I could not be happier having him there... It went into it a bit further than that, but you get the gist.

 

The response from her was so heartfelt. It was beautiful. It also said that what she received from me was so rare that in fact, she couldn't recall the last time it had happened.

 

I hope it made her smile. She  then forwarded it onto Ace's carers, I hope it made them smile. And  I know it definitely made me smile.

 

It was just showing gratitude. That's all it was. It took less than five minutes.

 

Is there something you are thankful for?

 

 Tell the person. Tell the place.

 

Just a thought.

 

 

*** Picture credits to: http://www.honeybearlane.com/2011/10/giving-thanks-thanksgiving-printables.html ***

 



 

A wedding that I will never forgot

On Sunday, Dad'n and I got dressed in our best, we had a wedding to hit up.

 

 

For me, attending this wedding felt "awkward".

 

I had never met the bride, nor the groom. And no, we weren't wedding crashers, Dad'n worked with the groom.

 

I knew this wedding was going to be different to anything we had ever been to, there were over 500 guests!

 

That point did make the idea of not knowing the couple a little easier.

 

They were Macedonian and Italian. So everything was big, loud and amazing.  I feel so blessed to have been invited to witness something that could only be called a spectacular. It was seriously the most amazing, beautiful, exciting and fun wedding that I have attended.

 

 

 

Where do I start?

 

The ceremony was so interesting for me. I had never witnessed an Orthodox ceremony. There were so many different traditions that all symbolized the marriage. Each one so beautiful and the vibe so AMAZING even though I could not understand one word.

 

To move onto the Reception.

 

These guys know how to party.

 

The food... so plentiful. Five courses, for over 500 people. WOW. And it was some  of the best food I have ever tasted.

 

Drinks, flowing freely. Not one glass in that room was half empty. Ever!

 

Dancing. Holy moly. I LOVED the Macedonian dancing! They hardly sat down the whole night. They had an amazing Macedonian band that made every fibre in your body want to dance. If you wanted to or not. Most was traditional music, some was not. Every song was dedicated to a particular person which lead the dance around. Oh and not to mention the $100 notes that were being placed on the band! They must of been good? Or maybe another tradition? 

 

The one feeling that left me going WOW, was the family love in that gigantic Grand Ballroom. I have never seen or felt anything like it. It was displayed. It was felt. It was emotional. It was something I had never seen before. All of this celebrating was exactly that. Celebrating their marriage and love. Celebrating life. Celebrating their families.... In a huge party kind of way!

 

 This was definitely a wedding that I will never forget.

 



 

 

Three O.



I have a birthday coming up. It's a milestone one. So they say...

 

Three O. 30.

 

I am not a very big birthday person.

 

Never one to have a fabulous party. Not one to shout it from the rooftops. It just usually slides by with some warm and fuzzies from the family and quiet celebrations. That's what makes me happy.

 

But this one feels different. This one, I'm actually quite excited for!

 

Our proper celebration for this birthday will actually be 5 weeks late.

 

We are heading off to Thailand to celebrate with family, as it is also my brothers 40th birthday in May. We decided to meet in the middle... April, and have a tropical birthday bash, my 30th, his 40th.

 

As you do yes?

 

I also got advised by a girlfriend last week to add a date in my diary, a date for a girls night out for birthday dinner and drinkies. Hello! I don't think I can remember the last time I did that. Sad but true.

 

So turning 30 definitely has some excitement surrounding it.

 

Things feel right, as if I am exactly where I should be. Life is good.

 

No crisis in sight here. Bring on 30 I say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making it on the kid scene...

I've done it. I've made it on the kid "scene".

Let's start from the beginning.

When we made our big move, I knew no one. It hit home that I had left behind everyone I knew and had to face the reality of being a loner.

My friends and I now joke of how I used to stalk the supermarket isles for mums with kids in hope that sparks might fly and I could make a friend. Don't laugh, it's kind of true LOL. Actually, not even kind of. It was true.

At the beginning of last year I had all my hopes of meeting all my "new friends" due to the fact the kids were in swimming lessons, dance lessons and daycare. I thought for sure, that with all these opportunities, I would be meeting SO many fabulous people. Turns out, it didn't really happen the way I intended. It didn't happen at all.

No sparks. No friendly chit chats. Nothing!

I won't lie, it left me pretty down and out, feeling worse than I did to begin. 

As it turns out, the universe had a fabulous group of girls waiting for me a little bit further down the track.

Throughout the second half of last year, I  bonded with these girls. I enjoy spending time with them. They are now familiar. I feel blessed to call them my friends.

Why was I writing this again? Back to the point Steph!

Kid scene... That's right.

Well, last night, while waiting for Boo to finish dancing. I had a moment, a moment that I realised I had finally made it on the kid scene!

I had a friend to talk to while I waited at dancing. While chatting,  three other Kinder mums arrived to drop their children off and came over to say hi. Things were finally familiar, including me to others, and others to me.

It was just a moment that I smiled inside. 

I had made it on the kid scene! 

Just another thing that feels right now. 

Joining in today with EssentiallyJess with my first #IBOT

Next month...

Next month, our move will have been two years ago. Two years!

I love what it has given us.

I love what it has given our children.

I love that this is not our holiday.

It is our home.

It is our life.

Muesli Bars

This was a recipe that my sister gave me a few months back.

It came home with me with good intentions then got filed in the overflowing "must try" folder.

With Kinder lunchboxes high on my priority at the moment, I decided to dig it back out and give them a go.

I'm not sure how long they will last in the pantry though, as I have taken quite the liking to them! Must.save.for.the.kids!

They are easy. I like easy.

It's the kind of recipe that you get to chuck in whatever you have in the pantry. Love those recipes.

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1 cup of sultanas
1/3 cup of sugar
125g of butter
140g of honey
Other optional ingredients: chia seeds, dried apricots, pepita's, wheat germ, LSA ect....

Method:

• In a fry pan, dry roast all your dry ingredients for about 7 minutes until they are nice and toasted (not the sultanas or dried fruit).

• Let that cool down a little and enjoy the delish smell in your kitchen ;)  Time to add your sultanas / dry fruit.

• In a saucepan, bring your butter, sugar and honey to the boil then bring it back to a simmer for 7 minutes while stirring. Don't take your eyes off it.

• Pour your sticky butter into your dry ingredients and mix it well.

• Pop the finished mix into a lined slice tray and refrigerate.

• After a couple of hours your free to slice and dice it as you please. The kids liked theirs chopped into little mouthful squares.

• (Note: This recipe is quiet sweet. Especially if you have the sultanas or dried fruit. So feel free to drop the sugar / honey amount, I will be next time.)