Friday Favourites: 27 January

When you go to a restaurant and they give you a tablet instead of a menu #fancy

We celebrated A’s 30^th birthday on Monday. It was also the date that marked us being together for 13 years!

Every time I think about the fact that we’ve been together for so long it blows my mind. We’ve almost been together equal to the amount of time we’ve been apart. We will be celebrating 5 years of marriage later this year and have been through a lot together.

Been dreaming of this amazing mushroom and pea lasagne. It was incredible

I don’t know where I would be without A in my life. He is my compliment in every way. He’s calm and steady where I can be erratic and mercurial. He’s the cool logic we need to temper my crazy ideas. He just makes life work. I’m incredibly lucky to have found him at such a young age.

He’s the most amazing dad and I just love watching him and Willow together. He’s a great cook and takes on his fair share of the housework 😉 he’s my best friend, my confidant, my rock in hard times, my sounding board and my witness to moments of joy.

Willow has developed an obsession with pistachios. They’re now her favourite thing in the whole world

We went to one of our favourite restaurants for dinner and had an incredible meal. I was so stuffed I was afraid A wouldn’t be able to get me home 😉

I’m really looking forward to all the experiences we plan to have together this year and beyond.

Paw paw ointment

Product of the week: I first bought Paw Paw Ointment because I heard it was good for nappy rash, but Willow never really got on with it. Since then I have found it to be amazing for chapped, dry lips, dry cuticles, soothing insect bites, helping burns and bruises and more. Seriously I find a new use for this all the time. My favourite application is for lips. My lips feel amazing when I use this stuff. It’ss great.

Rimmel’s Royal Blush in Regal Rose

Purchase of the week: I have seen quite a few international bloggers using the Rimmel Royal Blush and saying they’re quite good. So when I spotted them I picked up the shade Regal Rose. The packaging made it look a bit plumy, but the product is actually a very pretty, dusky rose. The formula is very interesting. It is a crème feel that blends out to a powdery finish. This shade is very wearable and I’ve found myself using it a lot since I bought it. It is quite pigmented and a little goes a long way.

Knitting, knitting, knitting

Project of the week: The baby jersey is… finished! Let the angels sing. It looks super cute. The third time was the charm.

Best moment: I did a major clean this week that included washing all our windows. I had an enormous sense of satisfaction when I was done. It was the best feeling to sit on my nice clean couch, in my nice clean living room, drinking a cup of tea while looking out of sparkling clean windows. I remember being immensely happy in that moment.

Looking forward to: We have a day of wedding errands for my friend coming up and I’m excited to spend the day with the girls getting everything together.

Adventures in Adult Braces: January

I had my first orthodontist appointment of the year yesterday and was a big one.

First things first, my palatal arch was removed! I’m so freaking happy about that you can’t even imagine. Don’t get me wrong, I got used to the arch and some days I didn’t even know it was there. But the thing was pretty uncomfortable for the majority of the time. It used to cut into my tongue quite badly and every time my teeth would shift it would find a new sensitive part to irritate.

Having it removed was not fun. The technician first had to grind off the glue that attached the device to my premolars. The tool she used caused the weirdest feeling. It was like having an angle grinder inside my head. It gave me the same feeling in my teeth that you get in your hands when holding onto the handlebars of a bicycle and driving over some intense corrugations.

Once all that was done she had to tug and pull at the device to get it to release from to collars around my back molars. After that, she was able to remove it pretty easily. The feeling of it lifting away from the roof of my mouth was unpleasant too. The top of my mouth had felt anything for 10 months and now it was hypersensitive to touch. My tongue, hurt, eating and drinking hurt. I don’t recommend it. Although I will say that I got used to it quite quickly and experienced absolutely zero lisp this time around. And we saved my tooth! I’m so happy about having avoided an extraction. Whoop!

With the arch removed I was given bigger gauge wires on my top and bottom teeth. I had another elastic tied around the tooth the want to move into the gap that has been created for it and I’m still wearing elastics day and night.

My mouth is pretty sensitive and sore at the moment, especially the back molars on my left side. I have had to resort to taking pain meds, which I haven’t had to do for months. I’m sure things will settle down in a few days, but for now, I’m on soft foods.

My orthodontist is really happy with my progress. In fact, he says things have progressed so much quicker than he was expecting. He looked a little shocked, to be honest. I do seem to have a responsive mouth. So I’m a little worried about this treatment sticking if you know what I mean. I do not want to go through this again.

But at least the end is in sight now. In April I will have been in braces for a year! He prescribed 12 to 18 months for the treatment so I hope that means that by April the braces will be ready to come off. At my next appointment, I’m going to chat with him about that possibility. With two weddings coming up I would like to be able to show off my straight teeth.

 

What Willow got for Christmas and her birthday

Today I thought I would show you what Willow got for her birthday and Christmas.

I will chat about the most successful gifts that have received the most play time so far. I hope this will help if you’re looking for a little inspiration for gifts for a two-year-old girl.

Cooking in her kitchen

Play kitchen – This was recommended for 3 plus, but Willow has been having a huge amount of fund with her kitchen.  I chose one that doesn’t have small parts and is very sturdy (it took A and his dad ages to put it together). But it has been hugely successful. Willow is always pottering around in it pretending to make food and wash her hands. It’s so much fun to watch.

Willow has really started to get into role playing. She especially likes imitating every day events

Cutting food – This is from Melissa and Doug and has been a great success. Willow will sit for ages cutting the food and putting it back together.

Coffee machine – Another Melissa and Doug item. This is a little pod machine similar to ours. Willow has made me endless cups of coffee. I see this as training for the future when she can actually make me some real coffee. Another great item has been her tea set. We have had a lot of tea parties.

Taking her baby for a walk

Baby Doll – Willow has developed a fascination with babies and loves having one of her own. She feeds it a bottle, wraps it in blankets, pushes it about in her trolley and puts it to bed in her bed.

Household cleaning items – I gave Willow an ironing board and iron and a dustpan and broom. She used them to imitate me when I’m cleaning the house and will potter about randomly sweeping the floors. I think this would also be a great universal gift. All kids love to copy every day tasks.

Dress up clothes – To be fair, she only got one set of fairy wings and a tutu as a gift from my mom, but these have been such a hit! I’m pretty sure we will be adding to our collection very soon. She is only starting to get into role playing now but its so much fun to see her dress up and run about in glittery wings.

Books – We added a few new reads to Willow’s growing library. She got some fun books with flaps which she loves. She also got a book all about her name from her grandparents, which has been a lot of fun to read.

Doctor’s set – This was a little doctor’s set for Christmas. This has been lots of fun to play with as she is a big fan of Doc McStuffins. She will check your ears, listen to your heart beat, administer medicine. It’s very cute.

Transitioning to the toddler bed

Over the festive period, A and I were forced to reevaluate Willow’s sleeping situation. Namely, we needed to transition her to a toddler bed.

I knew a change would be coming soon, but my timeline was rushed up quite a bit. The first indication as that Willow started unzipping herself out of her sleeping bag. I would often walk in to get her after a sleep and find that she was out of the bag either partially or completely.

Then I started finding her in the process of climbing out of her bed. Her bed has quite a drop to the floor and I was getting worried that she would hurt herself. She never completed the climb, but it was enough to get my mommy brain worrying in a big way.

Then came her second birthday. She was given a baby doll (which she is obsessed with). She was playing quite happily, pushing the doll about in her trolley. Then things got very quiet. I went looking for her because a quite toddler is usually up to no good. I found her in her bed in the process of putting the baby to sleep. She had climbed up into the bed all by herself and I’m pretty sure that if I had not gone to look for her that she would have climbed out as well.

I sent A straight away to take the side down. Luckily, because I knew we would be taking this step soon I already had one of those mesh guardrails on hand. So we were able to take the side of her bed down, put up the guard rail and transition her in one day.

I changed nothing about her bedtime routine. I just explained to her that the side of her bed was now gone because she was a big girl now. I showed her how to get in and out safely and that was it. I still zip her up in her sleeping bag at night and so far this has helped to keep her in the bed at night. We haven’t had any issues with her not wanting to stay in bed or with middle-of-the-night visits to our bed. I don’t think she’s realised that that is an option. During the day she happily climbs in and out of the bed to play with her dolls.

I worked out ages ago that with Willow it is best to do things in stages. This method worked like a charm when I transitioned her out of the swaddle and when I stopped breastfeeding. It looks to be working well for transitioning to a toddler bed. I would prefer to get more use out of the sleeping bags because then I don’t have to worry about her getting cold in the middle of the night. So I’m going to keep using them while I can.

I do admit that seems to have been a little too easy and I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe Willow was just ready for the change, maybe we will have a bump in the path still to come. In the meantime, I’m glad the side is gone for safety reasons and I am grateful for each full night of sleep we each get.

The big clearout

 

The piles of toys to sort through

 

One of the big things I wanted to get done at the beginning of the year was a huge tidy up of the house. It’s amazing how much you accumulate when you have lived in one place for a while.

Each year I do a big clearout of Willow’s toys. Willow gets so many new things for Christmas and her birthday that it makes sense to go through the things she’s not playing with or has outgrown. I decide what I’m keeping, but will put into storage, what will be donated and what will be organised in storage. This year I managed to clear out so much! I took a huge box to a local donation centre. It felt good to know that these toys will be enjoyed by other children.

While I was on a role I then went through the cupboard in the guestroom, the storage we have under our stairs, and the cupboards and shelves in the lounge. I was packing away the Christmas decorations and this all needed to be repacked anyway so I went ahead and did it.

My newly tidied kitchen counter

We also had a water filter installed so this was the motivation I needed to tackle the kitchen cupboards as well. I have boxes and boxes or things to throw out or take to the donation centre. It’s amazing how much stuff we were holding onto that hadn’t been used in years!

It feels so good to have lightened our load. I also did a huge clear out in Willow’s bedroom as well as my cupboards in the master bedroom. I still need to tackle the bathroom cupboards, as well as our pantry cupboard.

I feel really energized and refreshed since the giant cleanout. I was incredibly ruthless and got rid of everything that hadn’t been used in the [past year. It’s amazing to open cupboard doors and see everything I need and use standing in neat little rows.

The car full of items for donation

One thing I focused on getting rid of was plastic containers. Anything that was damaged, milky or hadn’t been used was tossed in a box. I want to start reducing the amount of plastic in our house and this was the opportunity to do it. I still have some that I will use in rotation with glass for the time being.

I’m proud of what the house looks like! It’s so neat and tidy. I worked really hard and I can’t wait for it all to be done.

Willow at 2

Willow has really started to get into role playing. She especially likes imitating every day events

Wow! this delightful little creature is getting so big. She’s TWO! What?! This is going to be a long post so grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable!

I swear Willow sprouts up overnight. One day she is straining to reach things and the next she is tall enough to open doors, reach the light switches, put her hand on the top of the balustrades, climb onto the bar stools by herself and reach the stove top! Oi Vey…

I admit there are still days when I look at her and I can’t believe she’s here and getting so big and is so much fun. I also often wonder who put me in charge and a lot of the time I feel wholly underqualified for such a job. But I’ve managed to get her to two years old without major incident. Yay me!

Life with a little girls means lots of tea parties

It was like a switch was flicked on her second birthday and she decided to completely leave babyhood behind. All of a sudden she is speaking in short sentences. Although I still act as interpreter to translate for those who don’t spend a lot of time in her company, she is not able to make herself understood 90% of the time. It blows. My. Mind!

She is such a sweet little person. She loves music and often sings to herself while going about her day. Her new thing is singing along to the music on the radio in the car. She closes her eyes to belt out the high notes in a special type of Willow Gibberish. It’s too adorable for words. She loves spontaneous dance parties and keeps incredible rhythm. I didn’t think that was possible for someone so young. I reckon she’s going to play an instrument and dance in her future. She now runs up to the music system and requests that I put some tunes on for her so she can get her bogey on. And she dances along to the music in shopping centers while being driven around in the trolley.

Taking her baby for a walk

She has her moments, especially at the moment. She is getting quite good at the fake cry, which drives me mad. I understand now why my mom used to hate it. She will throw strops over little things, dislikes being reprimanded, especially by her father and hates being hungry! That girl is dictated by her stomach – so scarily like me that it borders on the ridiculous. She gets hangry at lightning speed.

On the whole, she is an incredibly loving, affectionate and compassionate person. She isn’t at all impulsive and prefers to observe and analyze a situation before jumping in. Her natural cautiousness is very endearing. She is incredibly friendly, however. She loves other people, especially children. She is also currently obsessed with babies and walks around pointing out all the ‘babays!’

Cooking in her kitchen

She is very fastidious and concerned with cleanliness. She has to stop everything to throw rubbish away and needs her hands cleaned on a regular basis during the day. She loves blowing her nose and throwing the tissue in the dustbin.

Quirks

Walks on tippy toes a lot

Is tall enough to see onto the kitchen counter when on tippy toes.

Is tall enough to reach the light switches without a step.

Loves swimming and goes under water happily. Loves to jump from the wall into the pool and loves to be thrown in the air and then go under. Floats on her own and kicks to propel herself when trying to reach the wall.

Loves bananas, strawberries, cheese, cheerios, chicken, pasta, trout and salmon, zucchini noodles, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and baby mielies (corn). She refuses to eat sweet potato and orange veggies except for carrots. Tomatoes are hit and miss.

Speaks a lot. She makes short two or three word sentences: Where’d it go? There it is! Make Open, Go Away! Want more, Mine! Babay! Are phrases we hear a lot in this household.

Understands that everyone has a name. I’ve become Mommy and A is Dad or Daddy, others include: Opa (paternal grandfather), Oma (Paternal grandmother) Granty (Maternal Grandfather) and Nana (maternal grandmother, although sometimes she calls my mother mom too), Goman (Carmen), Gya (Kyla), Riki (Ricky), Day (Dave). Calls every one Teacher when she has a request.

She is getting the hang of please and thank you. Has figured out we will give her what she wants when she says please so she will come to you and shout ‘Please!’ while hold a cup or plate.

Her favourite song is still Twinkle Twinkle. She does little movements where she opens and closes her hands while singing it. You can also hear some lyrics coming through. Usually sounds like: Tink Tink, uh uh Star. Up above then gibberish. She also loves the wheels on the bus, row, row, row your boat and baa baa black sheep.

She loves Doc McStuffins. She got a doctor’s set for Christmas and sings “Time for Your Check Up” while checking your ears

She still has a nap in the middle of the day and will drink a bottle of milk before going down. She also has milk before bed. Her bedtime is between 7 and 7.30 and this works well for us. Currently, she wakes up at between 7.30 and 8am.

She loves books and being read to. She will also often fetch a book and browse through it looking at the pictures and babbling to herself.

She loves to help me in the garden and enjoys watering the plants and squirting them with the spritzer.

She loves helping to unpack the dishwasher and will bring you one piece of cutlery at a time to put in the drawer.

She is starting to role play and will now play with dolls. She lays them on the couch, wraps them in a blanket and gives them kisses. She also likes to give the dolls water to drink. We got her a kitchen for her birthday and she loves to bring me the spoon to taste what she’s made and delights in making me cups of coffee.

She loves accessorizing and will put on hats, necklaces and sunglasses. She also changes her shoes about a hundred times a day.

She can put on her own shoes (often on the correct feet) and takes off her own pants and nappy.

She is potty training herself and will often ask you to take her to the toilet by coming to you and announcing ‘Wee!’.

Back to reality

Willow checking out an elephant during the holidays. How cute is that miniature camping chair?

Well, the holidays are officially over and we are back to our usual routines.
This week is a little all over the place.  My car ran a wheel bearing and the garage didn’t have the part to repair it. It’s expected this week, but until the car is fixed A and I are sharing a vehicle. This makes mornings quite a mission as I need to dropped Willow off at school then A at work before I can head to work myself. 

I’m looking forward to restoring normality to our lives. The holidays threw quite a bit off and while it was fun I’m ready for some structure.

I’m happy to report that we had zero drama dropping Willow off at school this morning. She went happily to the teacher and waved us off quite cheerfully. We also start swimming again today. Which I’m sure she’ll love.

I want to get back into meal planning and reinvigorating my bullet journal. We are going to be really busy in the first quarter of this year and I have a feeling that sticking to a plan will be essential. 

So back to the grind we go. I hope you have all had a really good start to the new year. Posting will get back to normal around these parts now that I’m back at work and have my routine back in place!

Chat soon  xx.

Willow’s Second Birthday

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today is my baby girl’s second birthday! I know it sounds so cliched, but I just cannot get over how fast the time is going.

She is such a character. I’ve take to calling her my little dictator as she commands me to do things all day long. She demands that I do things by issuing an imperious “tone!” stretching out her hand and wagging her fingers at me Matrix Style. If she doesn’t want you to go with her she will push you and say ‘Go!” I even got told to ‘Go Away!” the other day. The whole Twonager thing is real, Yo!

But beyond being a demanding little creature she is incredibly sweet, sassy and just plain amazing. On Sunday she told A and I she loved us for the first time! Walked up to use, hugged us tight and said ‘love, love.” I, of course, promptly burst into flood of tears. I just could not handle it. Since then it’s gotten a lot more refined: “I looove”. It’s the cutest. thing. ever!

I have a proper update post on where she is at two coming next week, but I couldn’t let the day go by without acknowledging it.

We’ve got a big day as her Omi and Opa are here and we’re going to the zoo. We’ll do gifts this evening with Daddy when he gets home from work. We’ve gotten her a kitchen! The excitement is real!

I can’t wait to see what this year brings for us and to continue to watch her grow and develop. We are so blessed to have this incredible little person in our lives. Happy Birthday, Sweet Child. May it be filled with magic and everything amazing!

 

Goals for 2017

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it but I’m not the biggest fan of new year’s resolutions. But I do like to set goals for myself to work towards during the year. 

In my mind a goal is different to a resolution. It’s probably just semantics, but It works for me. I like my goals to be small tweaks that are actually achievable and will and do value to my life. This is what I will be working on in 2017.

Health: I have a few health related goals I want to achieve this year. I got very slack towards the end of last year and I need to work on improving my overall health.

• I want to complete the three 30 days of yoga challenges on Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube in succession.
• I want to work on cutting my caffeine intake to two cups a day.
• I want to start drinking lemon water every day again.
• I want to increase my magnesium stores by transdermally supplementing and taking Epsom salt baths once a week.
• I want to get outside every day. Fund time to be more mindful and enjoy the day.

Wellness: This year I want to continue the good progress I made on looking after myself. Self care is so important. If I don’t feel my best I can’t give my family my best.

• Continue to make time for, work on and develop my hobbies such as knitting, reading, gardening and sewing.
• Practise self care more often. Taking care of myself means the whole family benefits.
• Spend time in the garden every day.
• Get enough sleep and have a proper bedtime!
• Make more of an effort to finish things and downsize, especially items in the home that are just collecting dust.

Parenting: I would like to make small tweaks to how our family operate. I feel like it’s important to spend quality time together and make an effort to be in the moment.

• Take Willow to play areas and outdoor playgrounds at least once a week.
• Learn a few new recipes to have on rotation for meals during the week. Try be better at meal prepping.
• Cut down on screen time for the whole family!

What have you got to work on in the new year? I hope it’s prosperous and full of all the best things in life.