12.29.2014

The cubby house.

For the past five months, we have been busy putting together something that will hopefully last in our  children's  memories forever.

We wanted them to have a cubby. 

But not just a cubby that is filled with spiders, plastic chairs and tea set....

We wanted another space for them to play and use their little imaginations.

We wanted it to feel cozy.

We wanted them to feel warm and safe in there.

We wanted it to be beautiful.

So we pencilled together a plan.

Dad'n got building and I got busy creating a styling vision for the interior.

It was a bit of a drawn out process but since we had until Christmas to get it sorted, we had the time to plod along at it. 

The kids were well aware of what was being built, but it was "Santa" that sprinkled his magic and turned it from the blank white space into something just a little bit special.

For those that came along on our cubby building journey on Instagram, I'm sure you are just as relived to see it finished as we were.

So here it is!

Our cubby.

















11.03.2014

Our iPad charging station.

We have to many iPad's in this household. It's ridiculous. But we do. That's life.

My daily dilemma was where to home them all while charging without looking untidy. We all know I don't like untidy!

One evening, I stumbled across a lovely Facebook page selling labels called Pretty Paper Label (for labelling addicts, your welcome!).

It was that evening, that our lives changed. Ha, dramatic... but true.

My prayers were answered.

An iPad charging station!

Here is what you will need:

1 x IKEA Kvissle letter tray $34.99

A drill with a large drill bit or we used tin snips to cut out the back holes to pass the cords through

1 x power board

Think iPad's, phones, laptops...

You're welcome!








11.02.2014

The princess and knight birthday party

Boo had a birthday. She turned 5! 

She wanted a Princess birthday party. As you do when your a little girl.

I am a little partial to a good kids birthday party, not to mention a good theme. Who was I to argue with her?

We did struggle with the theme once the guest list was finalised. We had quite a few boys coming, so we decided to turn it into a "Princess and Knight" party. Settled. Easy done. 

With our moving and renting in a non-friendly party home.... This was our first year that we have been settled and able to go all out. I felt like I had a few years of pent up party planning to get out of my system, so party planning is what I did.

We built castles. We made bubble princess wands and swords. We made princess hats. The list goes on. We basically lived in Princess and Knight land for the lead up to the party. Completely normal. No?

I know it's OTT. I can be over the top with a lot of things. No judging okay ;)

So here is a few snaps of our wonderful day.

 

 

 

 

x Happy Birthday Boo xx

10.29.2014

Organising a craft work station for kids!

With Boo and Ace growing up before my eyes, I am having to adapt some of the ways we organise things around the nest.

What worked for the craft / drawing station 12 months ago, isn't working for us now as we are hitting different stages with them both.

I decided this week that our craft / drawing table in the play room needed a make over to reflect them getting older and these different stages.

One of the things I have noticed, especially with Boo, is that she has her own belongings now. They are things that she looks after, and that it would be great if she had her own space to keep them safe. Up until now, everything has all been shared things. Sharing is great. We are all for sharing our things. But when Boo spends hours filling in her colouring books, it breaks my heart to see Ace follow behind scribbling all over her work.

We have zoned the table into 3 areas. On the left is Ace's area. Middle is shared. Right is Boo's.

 
- The set of drawer's is for their Smiggle cases, pens that they would like to keep special, their own stamps ect.
 
- The magazine holder is for their colouring books.
 
- The box on top of their draws is to put special artwork / pictures in that we want keep.
 
- In the centre is shared paper, pencils and textas.
 
- Craft supplies are in a separate cupboard.
 

 
 
 
 
All up the make over came in at $80.00 which included new textas and pencils.
 
All of the aqua desk organising items were on clearance from Target between $4.00 - $6.00 each.
 
The clear plastic drawers were from Officeworks - $16.00 each.
 
The white "stationary caddies" were cutlery holders from a local $2.00 shop for you guessed it... $2.00 each.
 
The labels were something I whipped up on a Word document and just laminated them.
 
Happy organising!
 

 




6.16.2014

What shall I be when I grow up?

I have this question going through my head over and over lately.

I asked it out loud last night, and the response from Dad'n was less than thrilling.

What shall I be when I grow up?

"What do you mean, what do you want to be when you grow up? I hate to break it to you Hun, but your thirty, and you're a nurse."

Well there you go hey, glad he cleared that up for me! Pfft. What does he know.

Is this the whole mid life crisis thing setting in ahead of time?

Is it itchy feet with one child heading off to school on the horizon?

It's definitely something. And it doesn't seem to be leaving me alone in a hurry.

So really, Dad'n did have a point.  I am thirty. And I am a nurse. But I feel that was so BC (before children). I don't completely feel like that person anymore and I don't enjoy it like I used to. Not to mention shift work being unfriendly to work around the family, school drop off / pick ups ect...

There are a few idea's that get me excited... Heading back to school is definitely one! But then the realities chime in and bring me back to earth and I am left right back at the beginning, asking what I shall be when I grow up?

Anyone else out there asking this same question?

xx

5.25.2014

Organising 'that' draw...

Do you have "that" draw in your kitchen?
 
The one that is chaos.
 
Not an organised chaos that you apparently know where everything is... A chuck it all in and then rummage for ages to find anything kind of chaos.
 
I had one.
 
It was the top utensil draw, BUT I am happy to report that it is no longer!
 
Sharing with you all in case you needed some inspiration to tackle your "that" draw.
 
Before
 
 
 
After
 
 
 
 
The containers used were $5.00 each from Kmart. Score!
 
Happy organising.
 
xx

 
 
 
 

5.10.2014

My tips to an organised pantry.

 Sharing some pantry love today...
 
There is nothing I love more than a well organised pantry.
And Tupperware.
 
A while back I even dabbled at being the Tupperware lady. That's how much I loved it.
 
Here are my tips of keeping a well organised pantry:
 
  • Labelled containers. They don't have to be Tupperware but storing everything in like containers will have you off to a flying start to having an organised pantry. It makes life so much easier, to be able to see exactly what you have. Not to mention, being able to retain the freshness of your items.
  • Baskets. These are great to contain like items all in the one spot that can't go into a container. I got mine just from Safeway for $9.00 each and I love them. I have one for bread, potato's / onions, lunch bags and condiments [including: oils, salt and peppers ect]. I feel a few more will be introduced in the near future as there are a few area's in my pantry that need reorganising.
  • Wire rack / shelves. I don't have any in my current pantry as I designed my shelves so I didn't need them. I had them in my previous home though and they worked wonders. They provide you more space, especially in storing cans ect. If you have deep shelves, or a lot of space between your shelves, they will use up the empty space. They are available at Ikea and are an inexpensive way to increase your storage capacity without storing items on top of items.
  • Weekly tidy ups. Like all of the different area's in my house that I like to keep organised, none of them would stay the way I like without weekly attention. If done weekly, it literally takes a few minutes of your time to get it looking beautiful again. With my pantry, I do this before food shopping day. It is  helpful time to take stock of what you already have [which helps with meal planning] and what you need to buy. Having everything in containers also makes this process easier as you can see exactly what is there.
 
 
 
 
 
 
In my pantry, I also designed myself "housewife station".
 
I didn't need or want a full study, but I really wanted somewhere to do my meal planning, keep my diary and everything homely and comes with being a housewife. I figured I loved my pantry, so why not put it in there?
 
Above my bench is a shelve designed for all my cook books.
 
Underneath, you will also see a basket [which came from the Reject Shop for $10], which is designated to all the kids artwork that comes home from Kinder. If it isn't getting hung up on their artwork display wire,  it goes in here. From here, once the basket is full, I will take photo's of the piece to add to a photo book. Kinder and school mum's will know that it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep every single piece that comes home.
 
Under there is also a hook to the left, that is my handbag hook. I have quite a thing for nice bags so decided I needed something to keep them off the floor. A $5.00 hook from Bunnings does the trick beautifully.
 
I hope that has given some insight into how I organise my Pantry and maybe shared some inspiration.
 

5.06.2014

Holidaying in Singapore... Here is how it went!

Our family holiday this year had us returning back to somewhere special, back to where Dad'n and I got married... back to Thailand!

The way the flights happened, it also had us in Singapore.

Why just fly through we thought? So we stopped over for four days on the way home.

Here is what we thought of it.

* It is amazing. Every second corner gives you something to wow about.

* It is beautiful. Everything is beautiful.

* It is the cleanest place I have ever seen.

* It is the easiest place to get around. Whether you brave the MRT, or get in a dirt cheap taxi. It is all easy.

* It has so much amazing food.

* Shopping... everywhere!

* Pricing... I would say is equivalent to Melbourne prices

* So many different things to do and see. So many that it is overwhelming to chose what to do when you are only there a short time.

* We stayed at the Swissotel Merchant Court which was in Clark Quay. We found the location really good. Rooms were really large which is rare in Singapore apparently. And the pool was a big hit at the end of a hot day out and about.

* And last of all... We will definitely be back!


Here is a bit of a look at our time...
 
 
 // Singapore
 
 
 // This is the highway. Can you imagine our highway lined with gardens like this?

 
// This is one of my favourite buildings we found. The Park Royal. Covered in beautiful greenery.

 
// Bugis Cube and Junction. A great shopping district.
 
 
// Chili Crab @ Jumbo's Seafood in Clark Quay - Bookings essential!
 
 
// We caught the cable car over to Sentosa Island. Beware if you are scared of heights. Lots of deep breathing required on my behalf. Views were worth it though.
  
 
 
// A day at Universal Studio's - Sentosa Island. A must.
 

// Hire buggy at Universal Studio's - Best $20 ever spent. It is a BIG day for little legs.
 
 
// Marina Bay Sands. What can I say. This building is breath taking to see in real life.


 
// A day on the "Hippo Bus" [Hop on Hop off bus]
A little exxy but it is a fabulous way to see EVERYTHING. It is a double decker bus that travels the whole town. As the name suggests, you hop on and hop off when ever you please. Your ticket is valid for 24 hours. The kids LOVED this day. 

 
// The Swissotel Merchant Court. We were very happy with our accommodation choice.
 
 
I hope that gave you a taste of Singapore.
 
If you are thinking of hitting it up, I highly recommend it. It's a pretty fab place.

5.02.2014

Cloud play dough.

It is a seriously dreary day here today.

Constant drizzling and COLD!

As soon as we got up this morning, Boo requested a home day. Who was I do argue ;)

Friday's are go with the flow day's here with nothing scheduled, so a home day it was.

Home days often coincide with pyjama days also. Do they at your house too? MMM pj's.

So with not much on for the day, I thought I would checkout my Pintrest craft board for some inspiration. We all scrolled through and decided to give "Cloud Play Dough" a whirl.

What you need:

Cornflour
Conditioner
Food colouring.

That's it!

That is half the reason that I sold the idea to the kids so hard... It was simple.

What to do:

Put your corn flour in a bowl...
Mix in conditioner until you get a dough consistency...
Knead in some food colouring...It is hard to give amounts because I only made a small batch with what corn flour I had in the pantry. Apparently it also depends on the type of conditioner you use to how much you need. It really is just a "mix until it feels right".

As simple as the instructions are, it was quite messy. I feel messier than normal play dough.

The dough became VERY sticky before it made a good play dough. I had to keep adding flour to help with it sticking.

It reached its best play probably after 30 minutes or so of playing. It stopped sticking. It was soft. It was "cloud" like.

I tell you what though, it was the best smelling play dough I have ever smelt :)

And I had two very happy little people.

 
 
 
 

4.30.2014

Dear Boo.

Dear Boo,
 
Last night you said something. It was something that brought me to tears and left your Daddy speechless.
 
It was something so important that it has made me write you this letter.
 
I want you to remember it forever.
 
Here is how is went...
 
Boo: I'm going to marry a Prince one day...
 
Mummy: Of course you are baby, I wonder where you will find him?
 
Boo: Oh I will just find him...
 
Mummy: Well whoever it may be I'm sure they will be just as amazing as you deserve.
 
Boo: Yep, he will have good manors, he will be kind, he will never ever be rude to me and he will treat me good. Just like Daddy. I want one just like Daddy.
 
Mummy: Yes Boo, just like Daddy (insert tears here as I walk out of the room).
 
Just as I said Boo, remember this forever.
 
Your Prince just has to treat you as you deserve. The way you knew, even being just four years of age.
 
Love you always and forever,
 
Mummy xx
 
 
 

4.25.2014

Holidays, hospitals and beyond... Day one!

So many different things happened on our holiday that it felt two weeks was actually two months.

There were so many high's but I will never forget the low's for as long as I live.

On our official day one, Ace was admitted into hospital.

This would have to be up there on a parents worst nightmare list.

Being overseas, and your child becoming seriously sick. It happens to other people. Not us. You know that feeling?

Ace had an infection.

He was fighting extremely high temperatures, and was having difficulties breathing due wheezing and a croupy cough. After our admission, he then followed on to have two febrile convulsions. It was then they started testing for some nasty things, including Influenza.

All his test results returned negative to anything nasty and it was just obvious that he was fighting an infection. I've never thanked who ever was looking over us as much as I did at the moment.

It all escalated so quickly. I mean he was swimming in the pool fine in the morning, and then this was him now, we couldn't even wake him at all?
 
  
The hospital was amazing. Thank god!

But language was definitely a barrier. Doctors and nurses were all speaking Thai and that was so frustrating for Dad'n and I when we wanted to know how and what they were treating Ace with.

After all had settled and Ace was a little more stable, everything was explained to us in English, but until that point, our anxieties hit levels that were out of control.

Being a Nurse, Dad'n would turn to me wanting to know what they were giving him and what they were doing. My response of "I don't know" was only adding to our anxieties.

As quick as Ace went down, he seemed to come back up.

The next morning, Ace and I snacked on Pringles and Pocky sticks for breakfast. Thai breakfasts were not what we were craving at all. Savoury porridge with minced meat on top, which I am sure was lovely... But not for us.


It was so surreal. He was sitting up in his hospital bed like not much had happened. I, myself, looked like I had aged 20 years minimum, but that was okay. As long as my little man was okay!

As I look back and reflect on it all, there are some things that stick out that helped us get through a sucky situation.

Having family travelling with us... Obviously.

We had support for Boo and we had support for ourselves.

Our travel insurance... They were amazing!

If you are in the market for a policy for your holiday, have a look at AAMI. Their support left us speechless. We had doctors calling us asking about Ace's condition. They offered to liase with his treating team so they could fully translate what was happening if they language was becoming to much of a barrier. They covered all medical expenses before we left the hospital so we didn't have to outlay money for the rather large bill! I can not speak highly enough about our experience. It was such a blessing.

Of course you never think it will happen to you, but this time, for us... it did.

Will we continue travelling with the children?

Absolutely.

This would of happened where ever we may of been. I will however research the hospitals a little more of where we will be travelling. I would like to have a better understanding of where we would have to go if we are somehow unlucky enough to frequent an international emergency department again.

So, that was "day one".

At least it could only get better from there!

 

3.30.2014

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!