the cuteness kills me

The cuteness of these guys really does kill me sometimes. The big two are fighting so much less these school holidays which I am so grateful for, and they are mostly delightful to watch playing together. My favourite thing at the moment is when Josh blocks Zoe's way and he tells her she needs to say the magic words to pass through. After trying to guess what the 'magic words' actually are with 'please', 'pretty please', 'sparkles', etc. Josh finally tells her the magic words are 'I love my brother'. Hilarious. So willing, Zoe declares 'I love my brother!' and is allowed on her merry way. I've since heard Zoe use 'I love my sister' as her magic words for Josh. Cute. So Cute.

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.

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!

that four letter word ..... LEGO

I'm not sure how or when it started but Josh some time this year became OBSESSED with Lego. So obssessed that he got wind of the Lego website from his dad and would wake every morning and look at all the different sets you could get, watch the little video ad for them (which he memorised, I love hearing him muttering "each set sold separately"!) and made a list of all the ones he wanted. It finally got narrowed down to a few that we said some he could save pocket money for, and others he could get as Christmas presents. His favourite Lego was mostly Lego City police sets, but he has now branched out to Ninjago and Hero Factory Lego too. For Christmas he was lucky enough to get the Lego City Police Station (I got the last one on sale at Target!) and the Lego City Police Boat. These were added to his growing collection of the rest of the Lego City Police vehicles and figures. I think we worked out today that he now has all the sets in that Police category! Outrageous....

So now we have the problem of storage. Our house is not huge. We don't have a separate play area, nor are the kids bedrooms very big. At the moment Lego lives in just about every nook and cranny around here. On the top bunk in Josh's room, in several containers, lounge room coffee table. I set up a little table and chairs in his room to house the police station (see above) so it would be a good place to play with it too. Inevitably though, the sets get broken up and we end up with bits of the stuff everywhere. My latest threat is that if there is any on the floor that doesn't get picked up, it's getting sucked up by the vacuum cleaner (which lucky for him is not happening too often at the moment with my time taken up with a newborn!). I don't know where to start with organising how to store the stuff. When I was little, it all just went in the one big tub. But I didn't have a lot of 'sets', mainly just bricks and my imagination. Josh has lots of sets. We keep the instructions, so do I store each set in a ziploc bag with its instructions? Or do we just throw it all in one big tub and refer to the instructions when we want to rebuild? Or do we organise and store pieces by size and colour? What do you do with your Lego (besides moan and curse when you step on the damn pieces on the floor!)? I need some help with this from all the Lego experts out there!

big school time.....*sniff sniff*

See this little baby of mine? How did that baby get to be nearly 5? And when did he get to be nearly ready to go to school?

Josh is super excited about going to school next year (even though he probably doesn't know what's going to hit him!!). He saw me with his school uniform purchase and asked if he could try it on. So here is the obligatory school uniform photo that most 4/5 year olds have! He is wearing his school hat with the sports shirt and uniform shorts -  a bit of a mixup of the sports and normal uniform, but his uniform nevertheless!

I just love the smile on his face too. He doesn't hand out the 'nice' smile too easily these day (normally we get a sillier version when we ask him for a photo) but he was so chuffed to be wearing his uniform you couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

I'm so proud of Josh and how far he has come, especially in his two years at preschool. He is such a delightful and bright little man, with an awesome imagination and mind. I can't wait to see him flourish and grow more as he starts his schooling life. I know it will have its ups and downs too but I can't wait to see the man that this precious little boy will become. Love you lots Josh. xx

the little runaway

So this little cheeky-faced, Lego obssessed and 'mummy's boy' man decided to 'run away' from home this week! He's only 4 and a half!! On Sunday, as we were driving to my mum's house for lunch as we often do, he thought he might like to have a sleep over at his grandmother's house. I told him that it was fine with me but he needed to ask her first. So he did, and it was fine, and so he stayed the night. This was relief to me, as now at 36 weeks, the whole dinner to bedtime chunk of the day not only does my head in but is super exhausting for this mama. Putting only Zoe to bed is far easier.

However, the next day he told my mum that he wanted to stay away for three days. He was very clear about this. My poor mum was fine with this too, so I took it as a chance to get lots more things done around our house that I have been meaning to, especially with a newborn babe due to arrive soon. It's impossible for me to get any major chores done around here at the moment when my two cherubs are around. So I enjoyed the three days where it was just me and my girl, and we got HEAPS done together.

I just found it quite funny that my little 'mummy's boy' was so determined to stay away from home "for 3 days"! He either doesn't want to stay there or only will stay for a night, but this time......I was surprised but enjoyed while I could. It made me miss him a lot, so there were lots of cuddles when he finally did come back home. Sometimes time apart is just the ticket!

behind mummy's back

This is what my two got up to behind my back the other morning. One of the perils of working from home is that I sometimes I have to duck off to the computer to read or answer emails* and I am usually surprised at just what happens when I turn my back for five minutes....

On this fine morning, the kids were finishing their breakfast, so I thought I would quickly check on work while they were occupied well. Within minutes though, one of them ran to the toy room and grabbed this write-on plate that had been gifted to Josh. I had been keeping it aside for a day when we could do it together and I could help him create something special.....well, Zoe and Josh had other ideas. They took out the markers for it and scribbled all over it. I couldn't resist taking photos it! They were having so much fun together and Zoe stated, 'craft! doing craft mummy'. 

This is probably the most reasonable thing they have done together while I'm not looking......there have been worse things, but I won't talk about those!!

What do your kids do when you turn your back for a few minutes?

* I think I need to invest in a laptop that I can work from the kitchen and still keep the kids in view!

bend and stretch

We've just enrolled little J in a gymnastics class and he starts this Saturday. He is super duper excited about it. It's his first proper class of any kind of sporty/extra-curricular type of activity. We went and visited the gym to pay our money last week, so we got to watch some of the kids in the holiday class doing their training. Fun!! The head coach was really lovely, and J didn't want to leave! I keep reminding him that he only has x sleeps to go before it starts. It always brings a smile to his little face.

Does your little one do any classes? How are they finding it?

I can't wait to see J in action! 

PS. Don't forget to enter my super duper amazing giveaway here too. Odds are good at the moment too!

image

beep beep - new wheels

Well, I hope you didn't think it was me with the new wheels! In actual fact, it's Josh with the new set of wheels. I had a big fail with Christmas presents for Josh and Zoe in some super cheap Disney scooters. They were very difficult to put together and couldn't really be tightened properly so Josh's scooter sort of became a little unsafe to drive. My reasoning behind getting them was that if they weren't a hit then I hadn't spent too much money on them! Turns out Josh really loves the scooter, and recently when we went to the local park, he spied a little boy (and his sister) with this rad little scooter! It's called a micro scooter. Josh couldn't take his eyes off it and eventually coerced the little sister into giving him a turn of hers. He was in love. For days after, he didn't stop talking about THE scooter. So I caved, did some research and got him one.

He is still in love with it. It's a great little scooter. It's a Swiss design and there are two wheels at the front instead of at the back, and to steer it you lean from side to side. It also has a little brake on the back which is very cool. We bought the model up from the one we saw at the park. The toddler one isn't height adjustable so we upgraded to make sure Josh would get the maximum enjoyment out of it for years. If your little one doesn't have a scooter yet and you are planning on getting one soon, I'd definitely recommend looking at this one! We got ours from Rebel Sport and the mother I spoke to said she was always getting comments on the scooters. Now I know why, they really are great!

Hope everyone is having a great week. I have a few brilliant giveaways coming this week and next so please come back and visit later too. Anyone have children back or going back to school? I can't wait for Josh to start preschool again next week. Am fast running out of things to do to keep him occupied.....tips?

a little retail therapy

I was feeling a little flat yesterday and thought a little retail therapy might cheer me up. I remembered that I had a Westfields shopping voucher and some cash from my grandmother for my birthday, so I ducked up to our local shopping centre with Zoe in tow.

I'm reluctant to buy too much clothing for myself at the moment, given I'm still desperately trying to drop some kilos, so in the end I bought some clothes for my little munchkins.

Miss Zoe scored herself this above Country Road ensemble to go with her skinny leg jeans. And my big boy Josh scored his own pair of CR skinny leg jeans as well as some khaki canvas trainers. I got Josh to try on the jeans when I got home. They fit perfectly - but my three and a half year old suddenly looked about seven! He looked so grown up!

I was pretty pleased with my retail efforts and was certainly cheered up! Buying for the kids is just as rewarding as buying for myself. Do you find that too?

Have you got any recent retail therapy experiences to share? Pretty please?

you're just like ice cream

Do you know what time of the day is my favourite time? Bed time. 

And not because of the obvious reason that it means the children of the house will sleep (though that's a bonus!). 

More specifically I love Josh's bedtime. Usually it means Zoe is already down for the night in her room, and then I scoot off to Josh's room, read him a bedtime story, then we turn the light off and snuggle under the covers and have a gorgeous little chat together about what we did that day. These moments are so beautiful and precious. Josh often comes up with wonderful insights regarding our day and every night - without fail- the chatting is peppered with lots of the following quote: 'I love you so much mummy'. Often accompanied with lots of cuddles. 

I remember the first time I heard those words from Josh, I just wanted to cry, my heart burst a thousand times over.

And tonight, he did something so adorable, I wanted to eat him up right then.

He gave me a kiss and said 'you're just like ice-cream'. At first, I wasn't quite sure what he was getting at. But then he leaned over me and proceeded to give me a succession of the most delicate little kisses on my cheek, including sound effects, and I realised he was telling me how sweet I was.

My heart burst a thousand times all over again.......

What does your little one say or do that makes your heart burst?

This blog post was sponsored by Kidspot's Baby Club. It's a lovely space for mums and mums-to-be to get together, chat, share, relate and even win some goodies. The best thing is that you can visit at any time of day or night, and if you haven't had time to shower or do your hair, no one will notice (and there's a pretty good chance no one else has either). Pop over now and register. Connect with other mums today.

image

it's raining it's pouring

What do you when it rains?

We are really fortunate to have an outdoor covered balcony. So our sanity is saved from being stuck indoors totally to being able to escape outside for a little. Josh has his little car he likes to drive and Zoe loves to push her babies in a pram around. I love that the kids think they are still getting outside but we are still protected by even the most torrential of rain - that's if we can brave the cold!

someone's feeling a little better

Ok, so my little revolutionary is feeling loads better. Today was his first day back at preschool after holidays. He wasn't too happy when I left him poor little thing. Such a HUGE mama's boy. I'm sure he's having fun now though (in between a few more tears!). Will make sure I'm there a little early today to pick him up and then he'll be back tomorrow.

Today I'm tired.....again. I've been getting to bed past midnight for too many nights. My own fault. I really need to be disciplined with my bedtimes. My problem is I enjoy the nights so much as it's finally time to myself mostly and there is so much I want to do in that time.....

I will be back later with a promised pic of my painted bargain chairs from ebay. You'll have to let me know what you think!

my new art collection

With my little three year old a preschooler now, I've become one of those mums who collects delightful little artworks each week. I've been pondering what to do with them. Each week when Josh gets home from preschool I've been taking these little artistic impressions and pegging them on our fridge. I'm sure the 'good' stuff is staying at school and being collated in his journal that we have heard about. However, not sure I have the heart to part with the pieces that make it home yet. I bought one of these delightful little Fiona Kate artwork folders today where I will put them away for now and decide later their fate. 

I heard a fabulous idea the other day that you can use them as wrapping paper. I think this is a great idea! Especially since it fits right in with my little goal for this year to try may hand at more creatively wrapping my gifts for others.

What do you do with your little one's masterpieces?

{image}

there were three in the bed....

So sleep huh? You either get too much or not enough....unfortunately I fall in the latter group. I knew that would happen as a mum but sometimes there is only so much you can take before it really starts to fry your brain and affect your mood badly during the day....even my driving skills. Zoe used to be the nightmare at night - for a good part of last year in fact. But how times have changed. She is now the angel child at night and Josh has become the child that wakes several times a night, coming into my bed at night. Hubby and I started a rule that if it was before 4am he had to go back to his bed, anytime after and he could stay. It's wearing thin though, let me tell you.....

I've been wondering what to do about it. I'm at the point where I just want us all to sleep - uninterrupted through the night. Tough ask? Probably, but I'm so tired and I want my 'once a great sleeper until I turned two and a half' to go back to being a great sleeper again.

Today I've come to the decision that we need a bed upgrade as the solution. Currently we sleep on a teeny tiny double bed. So you can imagine that once we have a 17kg toddler in the bed things get kinda squishy in there. I found a great big king ensemble today that I can pay off slowly. I just have to convince hubby now that this is the solution. I'm already dreaming about that huge bed and all the room I'll have, even with Josh in it. 

My next problem will most likely be trying to get him out of the bed at some stage, but for now sleep calls.

{images we heart it}

don't you just love....

...an all-in-one sleepsuit?

I must admit I love these, even on my toddler. There is something just so cute about seeing a little one all snuggly and cosy from neck to foot. Josh is a pretty fidgety sleeper too, so I like him to be covered well in his pjs at night in winter as he is very likely to end up with the covers off.

I like a good pair of pjs too. Last year I went on the hunt and all I could come up with was a cotton Sprout all-in-one, which was VERY cute. I actually really liked these but there was only one left. I also ended up getting a fleecy all-in-one from Target. I have to say, though, I much prefer my children to not sleep with synthetic fibres against their skin. Not a fan.

I've always been a fan of Snugglebums pjs - everytime I've seen them either online or in a shop I've wanted to buy them. But they are on the pricey side at full retail price for a set of pjs (about $40) so I've never bought them. I went hunting online yesterday for some and found a whole heap for sale on their website. The all-in-one sleepsuits are $25 each! I thought that was a great buy and bought three like the one in the photo above. They arrived today (so quick!) and I've removed them from their packaging ready to wash. They are so cute and I can't wait to put them on Josh......wish they came in adult sizes too. Teehee!

this little man

It's hard to believe, but this little man of mine will be off to preschool tomorrow. He has never been out of my care, or the care of my family so, as much as I know how he will love it, it's going to be hard to hand him over to the teachers tomorrow without fretting. 

It's the first step, I guess, of letting him go out into the world to fend for himself, even at only three years of age. But I know he is ready. He really loves interacting with other kids and learning so this will be a great period of growth for him in new areas. There is only so much I can provide him with at home, and I need to also remember that it will give me much needed one on one time with Zoe.

Plus you guys will be here to get me through it right?

at our house

 

Busy hands at our house today. 

Josh loves playing with this transport set*. I listen to him making up stories as he plays. It's so great for his imaginative play and his active little mind.

*{village & transport playset from little pinwheel}

at our house....play along here

the birthday extravaganza

I think it's safe to say that Josh had a great time on the weekend. We cut a cake on Saturday morning (mummy's attempt at a number 3 Postman Pat cake!) and family dropped in to celebrate with us. Josh loves his dollhouse from us (and I'm sure that Zoe will get much use from it too), cars from grandparents and his favourite present from Grandpa - a remote control Jeep!!

I had loads of fun preparing the night before by blowing up lots of balloons for Josh and putting up streamers in his doorway. He was suitably impressed in the morning. It was the first time he really 'got' what his birthday was and it was so special watching the delight in his little face all day.

I love you little Joshy boy. xo

good day sunshine?

image Pink Sherbert photography

Are we ever going to see the sunshine again in Sydney? Everywhere is still rain, rain, rain, wet, wet, wet. The kids and I are getting a little stir crazy being inside so much. Lucky daddy was around yesterday to take Josh for a walk to the creek to throw rocks and get his 'outdoor fix'. 

I've had to face facts that I'm going to have to resort to using my dryer if I'm ever going to wear clean clothes again.

I'm in birthday plans mode now for Josh. His birthday is this Saturday, so I need to get my thinking cap on about his cake and I want to try and make the day special for him now that he really understands it better. I'm thinking helium, balloons.......