Best buds

When D first arrived on the scene, Lil-lil took him under her wing, often sighing: "I just love him so much." Goosey, on the other hand, liked him but thought he was a little dull, unless of course she pinched him.

Over the past few weeks, as D reacts more and more to his surroundings, he's become interesting to Goose. I often catch her having little conversations with him, telling him about the world, what's been happening, things she's going to do with him one day. He, in return, thinks she's pretty spesh and offers up some gorgeous smiles just for her. When he hears her voice his little head turns and looks for her. 

I can't wait to watch their relationship blossom.

Crocs winners

Here are the winners are the Crocs comp to spread a little Christmas cheer:

Cherie @ 'a baby called Max'
i-mumma
Mum on the Run

Congratulations!! Please email me your details so I can get your prizes out.

Merry Christmas

I have the best family. Seriously.

Friday night brought the end-of-year Christmas concert at the girls' preschool. What a night!

We were so lucky to find this preschool for the girls. Simple, community preschool with a small dedicated, loving staff. It's made this year so amazing for all of us. It's everything I could ever have wished for my girls to start their education. No bells and whistles, no six course sushi lunches, no super-modern sterile facilities, just honest, warm and old school. I know the girls are going to have amazing memories of this time.

The Christmas concert had all the parents gathered in the decorated preschool grounds, everyone sharing a plate of food. The kids got up and performed two Christmas songs with gusto and huge smiles. Santa came out to everyone's delight and gave the children a book. The kids then gave their parents a bag and a book they'd loving created over the past few weeks.

Lil-lil's bag

A page from Goosey's book

I'm going to treasure these gifts forever!

Watching the girls singing together, so happy and excited had my heart swelling with pride and love.

When Santa came out my heart grew. See, Santa was played by Skip. He'd put his ego aside to be a bit silly, dress up and give the girls (and their mates) the biggest thrill. He'd given up a work function to do that for his girls. Made me so proud that he was the father of my kids. 

So as I watched the three of them on the stage and looked at D strapped to my chest, I realised that we were in the midst of creating the most incredible memories.  I realised that I'm lucky enough to have the best family ever. What more could you want for Christmas?

Rock your world

Sick little D

Little D has his first cold. Nothing breaks your heart more than when you see your baby unwell and they don't know what the hell is going on. That croaky splutter, watery eyes and pale complexion.

Last night, when he usually screams the house down, he just groaned. He'd try to smile and then the effort would make him he'd cough. These little things make your heart do absolute flip flops. On average babies have 8 colds in their first two years or something crazy like that, but that first cold or illness is heartbreaking.

These little beings make your heart go to all sorts of extremes. They can make you crazier than anything else yet there's pure love at the same time. Once you have a child your heart is never the same again.

Some friends had their first baby yesterday, her name had a musical link and when I sent my congrats I said 'She'll rock your world'. And she will. On SO many levels. Life is never the same again, sure there's nappies, sleepless nights and guilt galore, but there's more. More love, more pain, more fun, more frustration, more joy, more heartbreak. It's like every emotion you've ever felt gets amplified by a million.  Your nerves are stripped back so you feel every simple thing more keenly. Like up until now you've been living life with the mute button on.

That first cold breaks your heart into a million pieces. That first smile makes it soar higher than before. And it's just when you think your heart will recover and go back to normal, they do something else to astound you, to rock your world.

Christmas shopping Daze style

Today I was supposed to go Christmas shopping. The last chance I'll get to do some without any kids. Then the baby got sick and spluttered half the night. Not wanting to infect the babysitter, I'm home with the poor little poppet. Thankfully, I already had an easy-peasy shopping plan to buy some lovely gifts, I'm going to share it with you.

Shopping with kids is a nightmare, as I'm sure many of you are well aware. To make the experience painless here are the shops and online shops I'm using this year to stock up for the festive season. If you're part of my family please stop reading now if you want a surprise on Chrissy morning. Disclaimer: While I know the people behind some of these shops, I've not been asked to do this and am not receiving anything for it. I just wanted to share these lovelies with you.

Artis & Grove

Artis & Grove descibes itself as "an online destination for hand-made, inspirational and functional pieces by artists and designers from around the globe." I call it a gorgeous little online store filled with unique gifts. If your looking for a gift for someone who loves to fill their home with unique and stylish objects this is the place to go. I know the lovely lady behind this Sydney-run business, so support local! 


Tiny Trappings

 

Do something original and buy your loved one a piece of art. You can bet they won't be lining up in the sales to return it! Tiny Trappings is run by Michele Morcos, a talented Sydney-based artist (she also happens to be wonderful friend). Her tiny site has very affordable pieces that will brighten up any Christmas stocking.

Sienda

Sienda is a divine gift and homeware shop tucked away in a little arcade in Gladesville (in Sydney). It's run by two gorgeous ladies, Michelle and Lisa, who just happen to be my cousins. They've always had exquisite taste, the kind of people that get told 'you should open a shop' so they did and it's gorgeous. I love going in and I always wish I could buy out their stock (most of which is quality product made locally in Australia).  Best of all, for me, is they entertain the kids and offer to make me a coffee (which I can't guarantee they'll do for you). Sienda is located at  Shop 4, 225–227 Victoria Road, Gladesville (in the arcade between Victoria Road and Coles). They also have a website.

Kmart online

Now for something completely different. The kids will want a bit of fantastic plastic under the tree, so Kmart made it super-dooper easy. During their Toy Sale in July you could go online pick out your loot, pay it off and they'd hold on to it up until Christmas Eve. So we got toys cheap, didn't have to wander aisles looking at which My Little Pony was which, we didn't have to store it and we could pay it off, so  the wallet was wounded all at one time. Utter, utter brilliance, methinks. The easiest Santa shopping ever, in fact Santa did the shopping one Sunday night while sipping a wine and listening to the wife snore on the couch. You won't be able to do it this year obviously, but keep it in mind for next. 

What are your go to favourites for Chrissy shopping? 

Croc rock + a giveaway

My girls love shoes. They have a cupboard full of shoes. Sparkly, shiny inappropriate shoes they love to wear everywhere. Try and buy them sensible sneakers or sandals and they turn up their noses. It has to be pretty.

Which would be fine if all they did was go to tea parties, but Lil-lil loves to run. She'll run everywhere and anywhere. She ditches her bike and scooter as she just loves to run. Goosey is a scooter maniac, who terrorises everyone in the park with how fast she rides. So pretty, sparkly shoes just don't cut it.

Not so long ago we received some Crocs. Now before I go any further, I have never worn Crocs. I've always turned my nose up at them. The girls, well they LOVED them. 'Oh so pretty!'
Being the sandal-style version, rather than the clog, I had to admit they looked good.

Best of all, they've survived preschool, the park, swimming lessons. They can wear them to the beach. They're sturdy, they don't stink, they're waterproof. They're tough, but pretty enough to satisfy these active girly-girls. 

 

So while I'm not ready to don a pair, I think the girls are going to live in their Crocs this summer. 

To celebrate the arrival of summer (let's just hope it warms up soon), Crocs are offering 3 lucky readers a free pair of kids Crocs!  Choose from a range of fun, colorful, and comfortable styles all made with Crocs’ unique croslite material which is odor resistant, impact absorbing, lightweight and waterproof. Visit their site to view the range available. 

To enter, comment below and tell me what you're looking forward to this summer. 

Entries open to Australian residents only. Entries close Sunday, 18th December 11.59pm.

What a card!

I adore Christmas cards. I can be pretty slack in getting gifts and writing thank you cards (although I always think about it), but I'm good at the Christmas cards. I really like sending a festive note to those I know and love. It's the little bit of energy taken to sit down and write and post a card that I think is special.

As a kid, I loved it when the cards starting filling up the letterbox. Opening a shimmering card helped make the wait to Christmas go faster. I still love it know, thought the tradition seems to be dying.

The past couple of years, I've had cards made with a nice picture of the girls on it, to send to people we don't see every week. This year, time and getting a decent picture of all three has proven hard, so I bought cards that donated the proceeds to RPA Newborn Care. A way to acknowledge our gratitude for helping little D.

Last week, Goose was given a card with a candy cane by a preschool mate. She carried that card around all weekend and showed anyone she could, so chuffed to receive it. Yesterday, I decided to introduce the girls to the joy of giving cards. They picked out the  cards they wanted and then sat down and wrote (or drew) cards for the special people in their lives. I let them do cards for whoever they wanted and it was interesting who they chose. They sat at our big table totally engrossed in the whole process for well over an hour.

I hope they continue to keep writing Christmas cards for many years to come.

Is there a tradition you love? That you'll pass on to your kids?