Spring

Well spring has barely sprung but the spring cleaning is all but done. I am not entirely sure what possessed me but I have been through the house and cleaned the whole kit and caboodle. I just have to refold clothes in Boo's wardrobe and do a full house steam mop then we are complete. 

There were a few minor areas that weren't working for me one being art materials at Boo's level in the playroom which he kept opening, another being the laundry storage shelves getting crowded and finally hubby's wardrobe becoming a bursting at the seems storage blackhole (I couldn't even work out where things were meant to be)

To rectify this I have rearranged the playroom cupboard so that art materials are high out of Boo's reach, the crafting and wrapping paper which were crowding the laundry are now in this cupboard also, far more logical. And I have moved Christmas things onto the topmost shelves as they are of course least used.

For hubby's wardrobe I have moved things off the floor into the uppermost shelf as they are not currently being used. I have sorted and matched sheets sets and folded them and stored them in the corresponding pillowcase as this makes them near and keeps sets together making the task of making the bed as simple as choosing a sheet set and a doona cover set.

It is so incredibly blissful to start the new season with an organised space. I gave hubby the grand tour and he is thoroughly impressed.

I would love to know how you my lovely readers plan on greeting doing?

In love (cleanliness) and laughter  Andii

Settling in to life with 2

Well it has been 2 weeks since our little girl joined us. Hubby is now back at work leaving Boo, Bean and I to settle into our new normal. Boo is a delightful older brother & mother's help. He will proudly grab me a spit up cloth or a nappy when I mention needing one (often from his own cupboard, I really must put Bean's nappies lower). He is often up for a cuddle with Bean or with Bean and I. He is very proud to be seen out with his sister and is getting used to his new seat in the pram. Boo is also practicing his balancing and climbing particularly at playgroup and is playing around with walking on his toes. In the last week he has also begun to play independently for longer periods doing more complex tasks independently, like shape sorting.

Bean has visited the Child Health nurse where she smiled at mummy's bad jokes.  She is beginning to stay awake for a bit of a cuddle in the early evening before bed and is also getting feeding and sleep fairly well sorted. This last few days she has also begun to be ok with a little bit of tummy time. Bean also slept happily in the pram for playgroup only waking for a quick feed in the middle, which was very helpful. 

 I as a mummy am beginning to remember that getting a feed done in 35 minutes with a new baby is pretty good. I am also beginning to remember that tired and sleepy can lead to a little bit of weepy by the end of the day. 

We have had a week of walking this week as my lovely old car had an overheating issue (when I say old I mean old, my car was made the year I was born, I dream of modern day luxuries like aircon and central locking). As a result of walking we got to catch up with a friend and her boys as I walked past their house and saw they were home on the way to the child health nurse. We also caught the bus a few times which Boo is always a fan of and I had both children asleep in the pram for an hour at one point, unfortunately a bit late in the day for me to use the opportunity for a quiet coffee and cake. 

All in all we are settling in well. What changes have you and your family been adjusting too?

In love and laughter Andii

Housework is Child's play

Recently I did a post on housework and home care inspired by the lovely JL Scott's book At Home with Madame Chic, which I have loaned to my mum as she has so admired my consistently clean house. Since taking on a plan for cleaning and enjoying the task at hand my house has been running really smoothly; the washing is managed, I go to bed at night with clear benches, and a clean space waiting for us when we wake in the morning.

Since first reading JL Scott's book the only thing I have altered about my efforts is how I undertake them. Some days I still do these tasks in a fast and efficient manner, like hanging the washing before playgroup when we have very little time. Generally, however, hubby and I have been working with Boo to get things done.

Ever noticed how children hang around you no matter what you are doing and try to get involved no matter how everyday the task is? Children love to spend time with their parents and are great mimics, they love doing what we do, no matter how boring we may think it is. So to embrace this trait, I have been endeavouring to include Boo in my day and share the load. Boo now unpacks the washing machine, sweeps the floor, hands me pegs, shadows while hubby or I vacuum, sits on the bench while I bake (I want to teach him but he is still a bit too messy with the flour), makes sandwiches and wipes the table. He also helps in the garden, to unpack the dishwasher and puts his plate in. Not always consistently, but most of the time.

Having Boo participate in the running of the house in this way impacts us as parents in a few ways. Firstly we enjoy the task more; Boo takes such joy and pride in doing these jobs it is hard not to find yourself smiling and enjoying it too. Some jobs take forever like unpacking the washing machine. I could sit and have a cuppa in the time it takes, but it is one of the few jobs he can really do by himself. You have to let go of how you want to do it. With Boo handing me clothes and pegs I end up hanging my washing all over the place rather than grouped by person. This just means a bit more walking around when I bring it in as I sort it and fold it from the line.

Sweeping Leaves with Dad

Boo helping also means I have to pay attention and be aware that he is learning. We have had a broken bowl from unpacking the dishwasher (it was my favourite patterned dessert bowl). But while that was sad, and I told him firmly we need to be gentle or else we break things, I didn't get angry or upset (it took a lot of conscious effort not to) because ultimately if he learns the skill in the long run one bowl is insignificant. Often Boo helping looks like him handing me cutlery, mugs, glasses etc., he will put utensils in the draw and the plates and bowls away with guidance as he can reach these. He will take his own plate from table to kitchen but needs help putting it in the sink or dishwasher. 

Don't get me wrong, this is not every meal of every day, some days he is too tired or frantic to be able to listen and help. Other days I am too tired and impatient or we just don't have time. On a whole I try to make time because as he becomes more independent. With each task he becomes prouder of himself as he knows his own skill. Additionally he gets to be part of the team/family dynamic that exists around keeping our house nice, as it is our house not mummy's house alone. It allows home to be a place where we as a family contribute.

Do you have your children helping around the house? What are their favourite jobs?

Tending to our wheat, they have been telling the Little Red Hen at playgroup.

Love (parenting) and Laughter Andii

A special delivery

Early in the morning before the break of dawn. On a rainy April day a little girl was born. 

After a week of waiting (she was a bit late) our family of 3 became 4 this week with the addition of a baby girl. Bean is a lovely little thing and her brother is rather taken with her. We are all home and well and hope to be settled soon. 

Boo runs to our room at every little squeak and wants to check on her constantly. Luckily for me hubby is home for a couple of weeks so I can rest when she rests, even if Boo needs to play. Though we all 4 got a nice nap this afternoon. 

Daddy admiring the tiny fingers of our little bunny girl

 

Love (Joy) and laughter Andii

Happy Easter

Well here we are at Easter,

Can you believe it is here already!!!

Well at this point I thought we might have a new bubba but instead we are still waiting. However, this means that as Boo is now 18mths it feels like the first Easter where he can fully participate in our traditions and I get to be with him to enjoy it.

Here he is at Easter last year so much smaller than now, in a hand-knitted bunny hat with a cottontail on his suit. He had scrambled eggs for his Easter brekky.

This year it is all about creating and sharing traditions. On Friday we made Hot cross buns with Grandma (my mum), Boo mostly just helped eat them.

And on Easter Sunday we have three main traditions.

The first is of course Easter eggs delivered by the Easter Bunny (or Bilby) to our beds. We are a bit of a fan of Lindt in our house as you can see. The top egg is the smallest I could find for Boo to use in our egg rolling tradition. 

The second tradition is the Easter egg hunt. This year we have set up a super small one for Boo (below) in our lounge, which he excelled at. Hubby is so proud of his speedy egghunting boy. Later there was one for all the adults at mums that Boo was also pretty good at this one we found 73 of 76 mini eggs. 

Mum loves to set them up. We have a rule that you can only collect one egg at a time and then you must return it to the basket before you collect the next egg. Mum also keeps count to ensure we find them all. It usually takes us over half an hour to complete, hubby says more like an hour and there is usually 1 short that we spend 15 minutes looking for.

Our final tradition is a Scottish one which involves rolling our eggs from the Easter bunny down a hill until they break. You are not allowed to eat them if they don't break. A tip is that Lindt bunnies do not roll and take a fair amount of pelting to break so do try actual Easter eggs.

What traditions do you have in your family? I would love to know.

Write soon

Andii

I am not sponsored in anyway, all opinions are my own

Getting Crafty and Nesty

March has been a busy month full of lists and catch ups but I have found myself a little time to get crafty. I have finished my to do before bubs list about 3 times but always found another thing to add. Below are the highlights of my Crafting and Nesting.

A hot Air Balloon or coloured lamp

I had a white Ikea paper lantern sitting around (for about 4 years) and we have recessed lighting meaning I can't hang it as a light. So I thought I would see if I could turn it into a hot air balloon. Using my school watercolours I created a rainbow hot air balloon, it looks pretty good I think. You can see it featured below in our new playroom.

Cloth nappies for a doll

As we are expecting our little one very soon (I am currently 4 days overdue), last week I made some very simple cloth nappies for my old baby cabbage patch kid Tracy. I am hoping that Boo will be able to play while I change Bean etc. I found the pattern at one little project and just simplified it by using old toweling nappies.

Creating a playroom

Next on the pre-baby list is to create a playroom with a feeding space so Boo can be with us but entertained. Hubby painted the clouds, I made the hot air balloon and TeePee (which finally has a space in our home) and we moved in all the toys on one of the expedits from our lounge. I have also created a box of blankets and play cloths for cubbies, dress ups and snuggles as time progresses.

Lastly Nesting is complete

The house is clean, the play room setup, the cot awaits and my bags are packed now just to have this baby. We are having bubs in with us to start but will hopefully move them in with Boo once we are all settled. Scary and exciting all at once.

What have you been up to this month? 

Any tips or going from one bub to two?

Regards Andii

I am not sponsored in anyway, all opinions are my own and links are provided for your convenience.

Hubby's Birthday Week

Well it is one of my favourite weeks of the year, hubby's birthday week. This year we had 3 days of celebrating meaning I spent most of my week baking Yay!

I also had collected a number of small gifts then looked at my wrapping paper and realised if I got him 2 more gifts I would have enough to wrap him one in each colour of the rainbow. 

Then of course the rainbow theme took off as I realised I had rainbow decorations, place mats and candles.

For Hubby's birthday I sent him to work with a surprise in his bag of an unsweetened chocolate brownie using 90% Cocoa Lindt and this recipe, which was excellent according to him.

I then made these Chocolate muffins with ganache for his colleagues which went down a treat. They have a fairly good texture and are simple but I did not find them fudgey but they were a hit with Hubby's colleagues (he has just moved into a new team so I thought it was a good opportunity for wifely brownie point gathering) 

For his birthday cake I made him an almond meal based chocolate cake again with 90% Cocoa Lindt from Stephaine Alexander's Cooks Companion which I iced with the same chocolate as a base for a Sour Cream Ganache.

Hubby seemed pretty pleased with the whole day. 

From my parents he received an Avengers Carry on suitcase, from Boo, Bean and I he received  a few chocolatey treats with a NZ flavour, a new alarm clock,  Captain America The winter Soldier, Castle Season 6, and a walking elephant which he and Boo both adore.

I spent Thursday making one awful batch of Cinnamon scrolls before using a recipe for Overnight Cinnamon Scrolls which worked well.

We spent our Friday, Hubby's day off, at a local park having a picnic. Seemed a good time to break in my Christmas present. For this I made Homemade Lemonade

A Cous Cous and Haloumi Salad and Sweet and Spicy Chicken. 

Which was all delicious, the park had a toddler area for Boo though he was a touch short for some of them by about half a foot. This is my lovely boys playing together.

Last celebratory bit of the week was my mum dropping in early on Sunday and deciding to take Boo with her out to breakfast which meant hubby and I were able to lie in bed and relax for about 2hours. Complete luxury.

I hope you also had a wonderful week. I would love to know what you have been up to.

Andii