growing veges

We've finally got our own little vege patch! After a lot of work fixing a retaining wall and laying bricks to make the garden bed, laying the timber frame and filling it all up with a vege organic compost mixture, our first lot of edibles have been planted! We have blueberries, strawberries, mini watermelon, zucchini, cucumber, snow peas and cherry tomatoes in. This is what it looked like on the day we planted.

And below is what it looks like now...

I can't believe how quickly it has all grown in a few weeks! It's amazing! Yesterday I tasted my first blueberry off the tree and I'm patiently waiting for the cucumbers which look like they will be ready next.

It's all very exciting watching it unfold and the kids love it too.

Do you have a vege patch? What are you growing? Let me know your favourite websites for backyard vege growing!

today i love....

this

and this

and this

keep calm...

I really need to start paying attention to this piece hanging up in my kitchen. I know the mantra has been done to death, but it's a good one. With 5.44am wake ups from the 1 year old (yeah, I know, it could be worse) and days of non-stop school and preschool madness with the 5 and 4 year old, mountains of housework, Christmas shopping still not done, cash flow looking VERY unhealthy. sigh. I'm a bit exhausted with life, can you tell?

Just breathe. Gotta breathe and take baby steps. And keep calm, and carry on.

building fairy houses

I wonder if the fairies will come and like their new house?

naked chocolate cake - yum!

I've been getting into a little baking lately, and trying to make things that I will love as well as the kids. Things I might be able to use in the lunch box too, so I can completely stop buying snack foods. The more I've been reading about nutrition and what's in our food and the products we use, the more horrified I'm getting! I'd love to be able to make everything at some point, including bread, but I'll need to work up to that.

Anyway, I came across The Healthy Chef blog recently. It's great, as it's Australian, and all the recipes I've come across so far are super easy, and super yummy! I noticed the Naked Chocolate Cake last week and was determined to make it. I've made it three times already! It's really, really good, and not an ounce of sugar. The only sweetness added to this is through the pure maple syrup. This is the type of thing I'd be more than happy to put in the kids lunch boxes, knowing exactly what is in it, and it really isn't all that bad either. It's also gluten free, and can be easily adapted to be nut free, which is also great for the kids taking to school.

There's not much to it either, so it's quick to make and it was a great one to do with Zoe who LOVES cooking and baking with me.

I've been eating it with my new favourite yoghurt, Barambah Organics natural yoghurt, and I don't feel guilty at all eating it! Win win!!

i won i won i won!

I spotted this Papercookie giveaway last week on Facebook. I don't often click on things to enter on Facebook, but this one looked GOOD! And it was only open for a few hours. First thing this week I decided to check back just to see who had won.....there was my name staring back at me! It was just the pick me up I needed too. I've still been feeling mostly low and out of energy, and lacking inspiration due to all the kids still taking turns being sick and a non-sleeping-at-night, certain 10-month old. Low funds around these parts, too, has meant very little impulsive shopping for me, so this was a great treat!

Here's what I bought:

 

 

Love You Bear card | Hello Bear print | Love You Cheeky Monkey card | Washi Tape Hooks

What do you think?

Can't wait for it all to arrive now. The two Love You cards I plan on framing and putting on in each of the kid's rooms. Just a little friendly reminder of how much I love them, even when I'm a cranky mama bear.

And now, I'm looking forward to a (hopefully) relaxing weekend.

Adieu!

coconut flour banana muffins

Little Miss Zoe loves, loves, loves baking with me. So today we whipped these coconut flour banana muffins up. I've had the coconut flour sitting in the cupboard for a while, so it was great to finally make something with it and see the results!

I was happy with how they turned out. They don't look overly pretty but the taste was good. I was a bit worried at first as I put the eggs straight in to the mixture right after I had put the melted coconut oil in, and of course, the oil was still hot, and the little one couldn't mix it quick enough, so we had a few chunks of cooked egg white swirling around! When I saw it, I was a bit disappointed, and very nearly threw it out, but knew we couldn't start over as I didn't have any more bananas left. So I thought we'd press on anyway and see how they turned out. I'm surprised to say they don't taste egg-y at ALL! Next time, I'll wait until the oil has cooled a bit and make sure I stir the eggs straight away, or at least whisk them in a separate bowl before adding.

We also didn't add the walnuts in ours. Zoe decorated the top of them with a sprinkle of coconut flakes and a few choc chip bits.

The were lovely and moist and tasty, and Zoe declared them 'the best cakes I ever had!'. No sugar in these either, so no guilt with these! Perfect in lunch boxes I think or as an afternoon snack on the balcony as we preferred. Yum!

how to have a better day

image from Mango Watermelon Love via in spaces between

don't grow up

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Some days, I truly wish I was little again. With no responsibility and to be able to run about carefree. It's so hard to feel free and alive when you are a grown up sometimes. I think we kind of trap ourselves into a hard place when it doesn't have to be. Life can be simpler. It is nice to kick back every now and then and pretend there is nothing to worry about and just go a bit silly. Kids are good for that. They know how to have a good, honest laugh or a satisfying, silly dance around.

Might go do that now.

see this little face?

See this little face? Isn't it cute? Yep, it is sometimes. But, by golly, when it's whining and crying at you numerous times in the middle of the night, when your whole body aches for sleep and does not want to be dragged away from the slumber it is yielding too......urgh. It's the most horrid feeling in the world. I love him to bits, but he is turning me into an enormously grumpy and impatient mama.

We have been referred to a sleep school. Still waiting on a call from them, but hopefully it will be the answer to all these shenanigans. One can only hope!

coming out of hiding

I'm coming out of hiding today, and will hopefully start to re-use this little space again. It's been months of a sleep deprived fog for me, which I am still in, but I can see a tiny little light at the end of the tunnel. Well, at least I hope that's what it is and not just sun glare!

I'm going to try and do a little more of this today - eat, drink and enjoy!

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a new blog

hmmmm, so my words are few and far between mostly these day. being a mama of three is proving very hectic and there is not really a lot for me to say. most of my thoughts and the snippets of my life are now mostly journaled through photos. so i created a new space that i can easily update with my pics and not necessarily need to write anything at all. i hope you'll pop over and take a look with me. otherwise you can just follow on instagram too! i'l still keep this page but just probably won't be here very often unless i've got something bigger to say.

join me over at myinstagramlife.

lost: weight loss mojo

A few weeks ago, I started menu planning, partly for budget reasons and partly for dieting. I started off well, and even lost a kilo the first week but ever so quickly, I've lost the motivation and willpower I need to do this. I know I really want to lose weight, I know I really want to be healthy for my family but I feel like I just don't have the energy to make it happen. My goal was to lose about 5 kilos by mid-March for a wedding we are off too, but I don't even feel like I can manage that at the moment. Am hoping with venting about it all, my mojo will miraculously come back. 

I think sleep deprivation may have a lot to do with it too.....

And I think this is the part where I need to pick myself up, dust myself off and just get back on the healthy eating plan. Breathe.

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bedroom decor goodness

I'm a bit obsessed with bedrooms and looking for decorating inspiration at the moment as I've been giving our bedroom a bit of an overhaul and trying to re-decorate on the cheap. In my online travels I found this gorgeous new little Australian online store, oh mabel. They do organic bed linen that is inspired by the patterns and prints of yesteryear. I love it. So simple and stylish and exactly the kind of thing I have been going for of late. I might have to visit here again later though, as I've already bought some cute vintage print pillowcases for our room from here.

Am also totally loving this pillowcase set from Beneath the Sun.

And what about this gorgeous cushion as well? Love. The print also comes on a tea towel.

I like to change things up every now and then to breathe a bit of new life into things, so I've bookmarked these sites for later. What's your favourite style at the moment?

declutter and simplify

I'm on a mission. This year I'm hoping to really simplify and declutter our house. I'm sick of storing stuff that we don't use or need anymore, or things that are broken. I'm tired of sifting through all the useless stuff to find the stuff we actually DO use and need. I'm tired of cluttered up spaces. I just want what we need around us and for everything to have its place so we can live efficiently and so that things can be easily tidied up at the end of the day.

I started this mission in earnest when we first moved to this house but quickly I let things slide a bit with the busyness of life with two children under 5. Now that I have Josh at school all week and Zoe at preschool for two days, I've found that even though Ben is now here, I have a lot more time to start getting organised at home. So far I have cleared most of the main spaces in the kitchen - bench and pantry. Clearing out the pantry was so cleansing. The way we eat has even changed in the last year or two, and there is a lot less pantry type food now than what we've been used to in the past. I now have more room in there to store other things which has allowed me to clear most of the bench space in the kitchen.

I've also tackled most of the lounge room, and most of the bedrooms. Above are some pics of my bedroom after I'd done some spring cleaning in there. It feels so relaxing, peaceful and calm in there now, which is exactly what I wanted out of a bedroom, especially with having the baby rooming in with us at the moment.

I'm feeling more on top of things at home now and less bogged down in mess and clutter, which has been great for my mood and is making it an easier space to use and live in. I still have a growing list of things I want to achieve, but I have all year to slowly plough my way through. Next on the list is wardrobes. I'll be culling clothes from our wardrobe as well as Josh's. I did Zoe's wardrobe a few weeks ago, and I feel like I know what is in there now! Clothes don't get hidden and I can see everything that she has available to wear, and I know it all fits too! Can't wait to do that for my room.

How often do you declutter? Do you have a plan for how you do it? Any tips? Or are you a bit of a hoarder perhaps?

grateful for a happy, smiley school boy

It's been a big week here. I've been too pooped to blog. My big boy, nearly 5 year old boy, started big school this week on Wednesday. And so far, it has been a super smooth transition.

I'm so proud of where he has come. He started at preschool at 3 and we spent most of the year with him clinging for dear life on me when it was time for me to leave in the mornings. By his second year there, he had matured a lot and in the mornings would run off and play with his little mates. He had lots of ups and downs at school - people telling us that he may not be ready for school, that he would benefit from staying back a year, being made to feel worried that he wasn't mature or emotionally ready to cope with a big school, etc, etc. In the last few months he has grown in leaps and bounds, and although he is not in his set class yet, to see him so happy when I've picked him up these last few days, makes my heart sing. It reassures me, that at the end of the day, I know my child, I know what he can and can't cope with, I know how beautiful and delightful and bright and smart he is. Being at school so far, seems like it was the perfect thing for him. He is really relishing in the sense of feeling more grown up and I can see how proud of himself he is to have made it there too.

I'm oh so grateful for my happy, smiley schoolboy. He makes me smile.

are you the winner of the bunnings voucher?

Congratulations to commenter #12 melissa! You are the winner of the $150 Bunnings voucher courtesy of Turf Australia!

Am sure it will be put to good use to help get your yard back to how it was before the flood damage. Please let us know how you go with restoring it all. Shoot me through an email with your address and I will have the voucher sent out to you soon.

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first day of preschool

So here she is. My baby girl. Now the big sister. I've dropped her off for her first day at preschool. I'm not much of a teary mama with milestones like these. And actually I still haven't cried, I just feel sadder than I thought I would be today. For so long I've been looking forward to this year when I would have Josh at school, Zoe at preschool and a few days of breathing space with just the baby. But as much as I've been looking forward to it, there is lots of sadness as well. She's not my baby anymore, she's grown up enough to be going to preschool finally - a little bit more independence and a little further out in the world on her own. It always seemed such a long way off but we are here already. I'm sure I will feel the same way about Josh when I drop him off at big school on Wednesday.

Even though I have had days of just being at home along with Ben already thanks to my mum, today feels a bit different. The silence is more obvious somehow, since it's the first time Zoe has been left with anyone but family. She is totally fine. I stayed with her a little to get her bearings and put her bag and lunch away. But she is familiar with the preschool already since her big brother lead the way for her. Finally I said to her 'are you ready for mummy to go now?' and without hesitation she said 'goodbye mum'. I feel sad without my little miss, but I'm sure she's having a great time and I'll be used to it in no time.

Love you baby girl. xx

lazy day

It's just me and the boys hanging out today. Miss Zoe is out with her grandma. Josh is being pretty good today and we are having loads of fun, including trying to FaceTime daddy at work (reception was a bit ordinary). I'm still hanging out in pj's (oops), and the boys, well this is what they have been up to:

Ben has been:

+ drinking milk

+ letting out gas

+ watching Josh and smiling

+ drinking milk

+ having nappy changes

+ sleeping

+ drinking milk.

Josh has been:

+ enjoying some tv time with mum

+ enjoying chocolate frappes made by mum

+ enjoying choc chip cookies made by mum

+ watching Cars 2 on mum's laptop

+ playing lego city in the man cave downstairs built by dad

We're about to have lunch. I'm about to think about getting dressed for the day. We'll have lunch and laze about the rest of the afternoon. Must start thinking about Josh's birthday in a few weeks too. Need to do some research on where I can get Fireman Sam cake decorating goodies. Off a-ebaying I go!

'ave a good one!

Hope you are having a grand day whatever you are doing.

Here, well, daddy is home (hurrah!) and it's pretty cloudy and rainy where we are, so we're just having a lazy day hanging around the house. Daddy is playing Barbie with Zoe, Ben is asleep and Josh is at his grandma's, so mummy is having a little 'me' time for now. Feeling a touch tired as Ben has decided to wake for an extra feed overnight for the last two nights.....*yawn*.

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it's over

Yes. My hairdresser. She is pregnant and leaving very soon. She has been my hairdresser for the last two years, and is the only hairdresser I can remember having who has cut my hair perfectly, and the way I like it. I don't want to go anywhere else. I've never really been a person who has bothered about who my hairdresser is, but since finding her.....well, she is a gem! She even knows the right balance of being chatty and leaving you to read your mag in peace. How do you find the perfect hairdresser again?

I'm going to make sure I book in for a cut before she is off, and then maybe as we chat I will find out her plans. Maybe I can convince her to cut my hair while she is on leave? Do hairdressers sneakily do that, or even want to? Maybe I will just have to grow my hair until she is back? Will she ever come back?

What have you done when your hairdresser has walked out on you?

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you know you are sleep deprived when.....

you nearly pour the coffee over the dummy to rinse it, instead of the boiled water from the kettle.....

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get your grass greener

Lawn. Grass. Turf. This is the most I will probably ever talk about the stuff! It's not really my thing. The garden is my husband's domain. We have plenty of grass, and my husband is obsessed with getting it looking good. We have had a few bad patches here and there and he is always trying to fix the problem spots and loves to talk turf. Turf Australia recently offered to provide us with a lawn consultation and hubby needed no convincing on this one.

Most people don't really pay much attention to their good, old grass. It's under our feet in most of our backyards, covering a massive area, and yet we tend not to give it a second thought or really understand how best to look after it. A lovely man from Millers Turf in Sydney was sent out to us to check out our lawn, tell us how it looked, give us tips on how to best care for it and offer advice on how to fix problems or go about making any changes, as well as answer any questions. We learnt about the different types of turf and the different conditions they are best for. Our backyard is always in part sun and part shade and you could really tell this by how the grass was growing. You can see in the pic below.

Lots of questions were answered and hubby is keen to try the Sir Walter turf (which was the turf most recommended for our yard, and in fact most yards) out in a section of our yard to see how it takes. We may then slowly re-turf our yard with it.

It was certainly worth having Millers Turf come out to our place. Hubby was given a fair bit of reassurance that some of the care strategies he was employing were good, including how he was fertilising and watering the lawn. It was interesting to hear  about the different types of turf and how they respond in different conditions and also how fast they grow which translates to how much mowing it will need!! Very important information for the mowers out there.

If you want to learn more about turf, head over to Turf Australia. There is information there about the different types of turf, care tips and there is a directory of professionals in your local area who can help you out like Millers Turf did for us.

And for mum/toddler/babe readers, Turf Australia are giving you the opportunity to win a $150 Bunnings voucher to put towards looking after your turf. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me a little about the lawn at your place. Does it get lots of sun? Do you mow it or does hubby? What are the main activities that you do on your lawn? You can tell me anything you like!

Entries will close on Sunday 29 January at 11pm EST. I will announce a winner on Monday 30 January.

things I'm going to do this year

I was hanging out with Zoe and Ben this afternoon, enjoying the last light of the day. I suddenly remembered the days from when we first moved here, when I used to hang with Josh while Zoe slept, and how nice those times were, and I was usually armed with the camera, trying to capture our moments together. There were some great photos from that time. I did this a little less with Zoe, and then came the iPhone. I realised all the photos I have been taking were on my phone. So this afternoon, I grabbed my DSLR camera and made the most of the afternoon light, and took some snaps of my two littlest people, and just enjoyed 'being'. It was lovely.

I really enjoyed today and vowed that I want to get back to time I remembered. Enjoying life a little more. Doing the things I loved: being the moment with my family, not distracted by technology, blogging, taking photos, being inspired by others and that motivating me in my life. I started thinking about what I want to try and accomplish this year. So here's my list of what I'd like to achieve:

+ visit thrift shops
+ frame and hang artwork around our house
+ de-clutter our house
+ make my house more homely creatively
+ enjoy my little family more while I'm not working
+ take more photos with my DSLR and stop relying on Instagram
+ enjoy and spend more time in our backyard
+ lose weight
+ have a family session with tim coulson
+ get organised with structures and routines now I have 3 little people to look after
+ sort out what I want to do career-wise once I finish raising the little people into school and work towards it - I'm close to finalising what that might be!
+ bake a little bit more.

Do you have a list like this? Please share if you do!

a few of my favourite things

Yay, it's the end of the week! I've crossed a lot of my list of things to do this week - book eye doctor for Josh, book dentist appointments for two big kids, immunisations all up to date, full school uniform purchased for Josh, school labels arrived, bills being paid......phew. There is still lots to do but one by one, all is being done.

I'm also loving being on leave from work! It's such a relief not having the burden of it in the back of my mind, and it means I can solely focus on looking after my little family and our household. For the first time in a long time I have had time to sit down and read a book. Such a luxury for me! It also means I have had time to do one of my old favourite things to do - browse through Etsy and book mark all my favourite things. So I thought on Fridays I would start doing a post of a few of my favourites from Etsy. Here is my first lot for you to enjoy!

Season's delights I, II and III -limited edition print @ tsktsk

Childrens Art Print Poster, 11x14 Print, Here Comes The Sun @ pumpkinandbutterfly

be awesome today - cross stitch embroidery wall hanging gift @ RugglesMade

The Change - Large abstract art print - 19x36 - Open Edition @ AeropagitaPrints

Red LOVE Pillow @ HoneyPieDesign

There you have it! I might have to start saving for a few of those. Do you have some favourites bookmarked too? If you have a favourites blog post you'd like to share, please comment with your link below, I'd love to see! (Is it worth making the favourite things thing a linky type thing each week?Wow, that was a tongue twister!)

PS. I've just started a Facebook page. Please follow along if you would like. I promise it won't be boring.......much! And there's no danger of me posting too much either and clogging up your feed! Master Ben, 10 weeks, will be sure of that!

PPS. Just a heads up there will be a fab giveaway next that you won't want to miss!! Make sure you come by again.

wordless wednesday*

I loved catching this moment the other evening. Josh playing the Wii by himself, or so I thought. Blue Ted kept him company for a while.

Getting in early for Wordless Wednesday over here.

*or with a few words as the case may be

movie time

Thankfully the school holidays are coming to an end, as I'm slowly running out of ways to  entertain the kids. Thankfully, last week, Sony invited the kids and I to a private screening of the movie Zookeeper to celebrate its launch on DVD and Bluray. It was the first major outing I have tried to do since Ben was born. It takes a long time to get everyone ready in the mornings, but we did it and it was worth it! The kids had a great time before the movie doing some colouring in activities and getting their faces painted, as well as overdosing on lollies and other party food. We also had the pleasure of catching up with the ladies behind Woogsworld, Good Googs, Tina Gray {dot} me, and My Little Drummer Boys.

Then it was movie time! The movie is basically about the love life of zoo caretaker Griffin who is trying to snag the girl of his dreams. When he threatens to leave the zoo and get a different job to win her over, the zoo animals help him out with some animal style courtship tips. The movie has a PG rating and overall was ok visually for my kids to watch, but the story line and concepts I think are more aimed at older children and young adults rather than young children. Josh enjoyed it more than Zoe, who has the attention span of a gnat, so we didn't last the whole movie and had to head home early where I then got to watch the rest of it on DVD.

Here's Zoe with her painted face - butterflies, hearts and flowers of course!

And here's Josh, with his face painted with a green giraffe!

It's an entertaining and funny movie, worth a watch these school holidays if you get the chance! The DVD and Blu-ray both have extra special features as well, including some blooper reels. Who doesn't love a blooper reel? I love watching those!

putting some loving in the kitchen

These loooooovely little red love heart Salvation Jane tea towels will be making their way to my kitchen very soon. Just in time for Valentines Day perhaps? Speaking of which, does Valentines Day rate as much of a day in your world? I've always found it a bit 'meh'. Never been interested in it. Just think it's one of those days that is designed to put the pressure on and make you feel like you are missing something, when there really is nothing to be missed at all....did that even make sense?

Anyway, since 2007, I've been even less interested in Valentines Day, because my first born was born the day before, on the 13 February. So now all my focus goes to my boy at that time of the year, the best possible Valentines Day gift there could ever be really!

What do you think about Valentines Day?

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weekend time is family time

Grandpa came over on the weekend and the kids jumped all around him while he was cuddling little Ben. It quickly turned into photo time! I so love this. We didn't even need to set it up. It was a moment that created itself and hubby and I just jumped in quick to take a snap. Ben is one very loved little 8 week old that's for sure.

point + shoot

meal planning monday

So in an effort to get healthier, and finally shift some of this baby weight for good now that our family is complete, I've decided to try and meal plan a little, because if I don't organise what I'm going to eat in advance and have the food already in the fridge and pantry, I will be more likely to eat rubbish! I'm also breastfeeding at the moment, so really want to make the most of that situation too. After I had Zoe, I did Weight Watchers for a little while, and I found it so much easier to lose weight while I was breastfeeding than normal. '

I'm planning on using some of the scrummy meals I learned during Michelle Bridges' 12 week body transformation program that I did some time ago. I had lots of success with that program at the time and found it the best 'diet' I had tried. It really teaches you how to be healthy, mind, body and soul. All the meals are pretty easy to cook or prepare and I can easily adjust the calorie intake to more in snacks or meals as needed (for breastfeeding situation). The other great thing is that there is a treat meal each week, so I don't feel like I have to miss out on my favourite foods permanently. If there is something I'm desparate to eat, I still can, I just have to plan for it within my calorie allowance for the week. Best of all, it's the sort of food that the family can eat with me too.

So I'm armed with my new kikki-k meal planning notepad, plus receipes and meals from the 12WBT and I'm going to create my first week....with me luck.

Do you meal plan? Is it easy to stick to? Does it help with the shopping and keeping to a budget?

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fashion sos

Ok fashionistas! I need your help. In a few weeks time, I'm going to be one of those school mums who race around morning and afternoon dropping off and picking up kids. Now thing is, every morning I will have a newborn plus two little peeps to help get ready, leaving me probably about a fraction of a second to get myself ready for the school run. Now while it would be lovely to do the school run in my pj's and bed hair, I'm not sure my kids would appreciate it too much, and I probably wouldn't be giving Josh much of a flying start in making new friends at big school. Plus, we can't all be as naturally stylish as Zoe (see above).

So I need some fashion help from the school drop off fashion experts out there. What do school mums wear? Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal for me either, only I'm yet to shift this baby weight too, so I'm not at the point of feeling confident with just throwing something on and walking out the door. Getting dressed in the mornings is rather stressful, as I don't fit into much and I'm desparately trying to hide everything around my middle.....

So, how can I look half good when I only have half a second to get ready every day? I need some trusty outfits that look good without the effort (and without the smell and sight of possited milk on my shoulder). I'm thinking jeans/tops etc might be a good option? What do you wear everyday? Any tips you can share with me?