Windows of Happiness ~ A childs Imagination

The gorgeous Fi from over at My Mummy Daze has started a new linky called

The aim is to try and beat the wintery blues that seem to be swirling around the place.
To find the positive amongst the rain and cold.

I know I am suffering, some days quite badly other days just mommentarily but ither way I dont like feeling this way and I dont like that a season has something to do with it!

I use to love winter! Curled up on the couch with a blanket & hot chocolate were how I spent many a winters day... Then I had my boys.

Winter now consists of snotty noes, chesty coughs, huge electricity bills from the heater, daycare & kindy runs in the wind & rain and finding things to keep a 4yo and almost 2 yo entertained when the weather is miserable outside.

So really this linky is perfect timing for me and my boy blues as we are having some yucky weather and they are going stir crazy!

Take a peek into week 1 of my Window of Happiness...

Saturday morning was a hard one for me, I dont like mess and Cyclone J and Tornado C has ripped through with a vengance.

When things arise that I have no control over I can get very overwhelmed, I then look to the things I can control which unfortuantly for me is my house.
Cleaning, organising and tidying all help me feel calm and make dealing with the things I can't control so much easier to deal with.

It is not a good thing I am fully aware of that but I am getting so much better at letting the house go and not worrying that I'm stepping over books, standing on duplo, tripping over matchbox cars, have a sink full of dishes or a mountain of washing screaming my name.

Luckily for me I've made huge progress and something Saturday morning stopped me, just as I was about to let loose and lose my cool I breathed, walked away and stopped and listened to them playing.

I was in awe, they were using their imaginations!

In a world of technology, foxtel and fancy toys my boys were playing the old fashioned way, the way my brother and I use to play.

At first I saw mess...

But really they were playing happily creating differnt scenarios.

At first I saw a stripped bed...

But really it was a pillow tv and they were laying on Master Js Cars couch watching a movie.

At first I saw a table getting broken or a child getting hurt...

But it was really master J driving his brother around in a Monster Truck and all would be ok if I was watching and listening to make sure Master J didn't get too carried away.

At first I imagined them filling up my shopping bags full of all their toys and then them tipping them out all over the house... (as they;ve done before)

But really they were going shopping at "Woolies" (where their daddy works) to buy Ice coffee (because thats what their daddy likes)
Lil C kept walking around waving saying "byyyeeee"


So this morning with a slight attitude change what would have normally stressed me out made me smile, made me happy and surprsingly for me... made me calm.

Even better... it made a bleak wintery morning all that much brighter.

Have you had a Window of Happiness this week? Why not link up with Fi *here* and have a peak into other peoples windows too ;)

Life Lately ~ iPhone 4 styles

The gorgeous Louisa Claire does these cute little blog posts called

"Life Lately"

Which is a series of photos from the week just gone.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea so thought I would join in this week too and give you all a sneek peek into our little lives, captured on my iPhone 4 and edited using picstitch and instagram.

There was...

Sunsets...

Spaghetti sauce faces...

pancakes for breakfast...

special momments...

brotherly love...

speech therapy sessions...

Veggie Smugglers cook books in the mail...

Project Life tittle page finished...

and

mummy & son time

How was your week?

P.s I'm trying to convince the lovely Louisa to make this a linky!

BUUUUT She'll only do it if people would link up!

Sooooo would you?

P.p.s I installed IntenseDebate comment system are you loving it? I am because now I can interact personally with all my gorgeous followers who comment ;)
fingers crossed there is no problems!

A day out ~ across a bridge and up an Island

My Aunty & cousins from Melbourne has been visiting our family here for the past week

So I was excitied that they were heading to Victor Harbour yesterday before they left today

It was set to be a good day out of the house with family 

& to take the boys somewhere they havn't been yet

My other aunty gave me and hour to get me, the boys dressed and fed, bags packed and to fill the car up with petrol before they would meet at my house and we would road trip it down together

All I can say is

gee thanks mouse!

But I did it with a few mintues to spare

woohoo

We wandered the streets a little grabbed some hot chippies for lunch had a play at an awesome park there

and decided to walk across to Granite Island

Master J had a ball walking across the bridge

Mummy was scared out of her wits every time he stopped to look over the edge into the water for the "fishies"

Trust me it was too cold for me to be jumping in after him ;)

I ended up telling him that the fishies were in bed asleep becuase it was too cold

Surprisingly that worked!

Once we got to the other side some of the big kids decided to do the full walk across the island
While me and my aunty mouse, my 2 boys and 1 big kid decided to haul arse UP the island to the other side

Master J at the top of the hill

Lil C enjoying being chauffer driven up the hill

My gosh I dont reccommend pushing a pram up that damn hill
But at least I worked off lunch!

Once we got to the other side it was gorgeous
Cold but the scene was beautiful

Master J climbed some rocks and explored nature oh and also just had to throw his 2 fist fulls of rocks into the ocean

checking out the view

exploring

watching J explore

throwing his rocks

We met the rest of the kids at the cafe and had a hot choccie and juice

and headed back to the "mainland"

Where we stopped at the little carnival they have set up there

I sent master J onto the bouncy castle with his Cousin and her friend

and he loved it!

We had a great day

lots of laughs and the boys were so well behaved

we even got some amazing photos on some pretty fancy cameras

which I cant wait to see and print out

The drive home was long but it was very quiet in the backseat

which was a nice change from the drive there

which was filled with chatter and blowing raspberries

It was refreshing to get myself and the munchkins out into the fresh air

and I am looking forward to finding more stuff to do with them

creating beautiful childhood memories with and for them

I've just gotta find more inspiration

but

I feel like I've found my mummy mojo again

I think tomorrow we might go have breakfast somewhere

Just us 3

What fun activities inside & out do you like to do with your kiddies?

Things I Know...

This week the

With Yay For Home

Are...

*I know that coming under budget which included buying extras is awesome!

And also allows mumma to buy a pretty new recipe book stand :)

* I know that I am addicted to Pinterest

There is so many awesome ideas out there that I've had to start a

"Stuff n things to do ASAP" board

for the things I reeeallly want to do.

* I know that life at the momment is tough

But that I will get thought it.

That there will be changes made and I am looking at a new direction

Not 100% sure which direction it is exactly but I'll let you know when I do!

* I know that i have big dreams for my career, my crafty hobby & my blog

but that I feel like I am striving for them alone

I feel like I have no-one in my corner.

I feel almost ready to quit it all

* I know that my boys can melt any negative feelings away in an instant with a few new words or a big gummy smile.

* I know Master J is talking more & more every day

* I know that he is getting too clever for his own good

*I know he made me cry tears of happiness with one small Heytell message.

how he even knows how to send one of those is beyond me lol

* I know that Lil C will be walking before we know it

he has mastered crawling and has just about mastered pulling himself up on everything.

* I know that Lil C finally has at least one toothie peg ready to pop through

* I know that he loves having a little independence when it comes to feeding himself

* I know that i think thats all I know this week and I that I should leave some

knowledge for next week

What do you know this week?

The things i know

I thought i would jump in head first and join in Yay For Homes 

Master J is 3 today

action shot playing with bubbles

and has come so far with his speech development

To the point every time he sees something that resembles a cake or a decoration he asks

"for my party mum?"

That throwing a party for Master J is an awesome idea

Kids love parties

but deciding to hand make all the decorations to match the theme is not so cool

when you can only work on them at night

and that the ink will always run out just before you finish printing the last of the decorations!

That Lil C

will smile through everything and i mean everything!

Bad nappy rash, teething, a yucky cold

He just flashes that gummy smile and It makes me feel less like a bad mumma

gummy smiles

That Toy Story is a winner in helping with quiet time

and a very good substitute for the 2nd scratched up Cars DVD.

yes he watches it that much we are on our 2nd one siiigh

Trust is easily broken, and if you talk behind someones back

they will always find out one way or another.

That you find amazing friends in unexpected places

and friends that are no longer can put differnces aside, well kind of for the sake of the children.

For every negative there will be a positive around the corner.

What things do you know?



Crying Babies and Anxiety

Crying babies give me anxiety

Image from Here

Yep tis true.

Every time i hear a bubba cry i get a little anxious

It dosen't even have to be my own could be someones in the supermarket.

But as soon as those cries hit my ears i start to fret.

Its not a bad anxiety it dosent cripple me but my heart starts to race and i start to freak out

I know you're asking why right?

The answer..

Sleep deprivation and being a new mum

Hearing cries brings back so many sleep deprived stressful memories.

My blue eyed Boofa was such a terrible sleeper and whingy bubba.

In the beginning he would feed and wake so often i would be stressed every time i heard him cry

At night was the worse, i craved my sleep in the early months and he didnt.

So every peep every noise every cry would send my heart racing, somedays the tears would fall

All i wanted was sleep, all i wanted was him to sleep longer then an hour here or a few hours there.

He was also a baby who needed attention

You had to be playing with him or he would whinge.

Its just who he was.

Mix all of this with being a new mum and thinking you werent doing things right

and of course i was going to get some sort of anxiety.

This was one of my biggest worries when i had Lil C

that he would be the same that he would not sleep very well and be quite whingy.

I was compeltely wrong

he hasn't been like this at all...

...except for the past week or so

You may have read in an earlier post he is not well

the poor owlet is teething and has a blasted cold

all of which is causing him grief, hes having trouble falling asleep and is just not a happy boy

 unless mummy is giving him cuddles.

So the anxiety has come back slightly

Before he got sick i could let him cry it out on the floor

Dont call DOCS it would only be for a few minutes while i finished what i was doing

and he would only be crying because he had gotten stuck crawling around or is ready for bed.

I could handle it because it didnt happen too often or i knew what he wanted.

But now the poor cherub is crying because hes feeling like crap :( 

Its brought back all the issues of i dont know what he wants!

I dont feel it all the time but if we've had a bad day it definatly makes me fret.

Second time round it is most certainly easier to handle the crying.

Most days i know exactly what is wrong

But that all goes out the window when they are sick

I just have to keep telling myself that hes sick and dosent feel very well

and it really helps lower the anxiousness.

I hope i am normal to an extent i even hope im not alone

Having such a difficult time first time round i guess it was only natural that it would carry over to number 2

Im just glad its not as bad and can seem to handle the crying alot better.

On a happier note if anyone is wondering

Master J ended up sleeping through the night at about 18 months old

the whinging?

 well lets just say mumma still gets slightly anxious and stressed some days ;)

But hey they are my babies and really in the end its all completely worth it.

brotherly love at its most perfect

*edited becuase my proof reading sucks!

Germs, be GONE

Sickness has struck us down

image from here

Guess its better then the rapture right?

The germs hit Master J first the poor thing a terrible cold

He's been quite sooky and whiney

and as much as that drives me crazy i know its only because he is just not well.

We decided swimming lessons was just not an option and stayed home.

It then struck Mr S

ohhh yes the dreaded flipping Man Flu

gaaaahhhhh

So of course i now have 2 children instead of 2 ;)

Then it decided 2 family members wasnt enough

Myself and Lil C are now sick :(

YES mummy is sick!

BUT as it is the unwritten code of motherhood

I suck it up and keep the house running

the hosuework and washing are getting done slooowly

and thats ok by me!

As for Lil C

the poor owlet is teething and now has a cold

hes off his food and not drinking as much as he was

Hes having trouble falling asleep so we've been co-sleeping a few nights

yet my gorgeous boy is still smiling

yes thats right the boy will smile through ANYTHING

So the end of this week brought tissues and wiping running noses

warm clothes, vicks and singlets

and lots of mummy cuddles.

I have been able to do some creating for my wee little FB business

TeeLee Blue

material cut out for wipescases

And its given me time to blog and build my Fb page

Mum-ments

i am still lacking some serious blog inspiration though :{

I've also been able to plan and start making things for Master J's 3rd birthday party

Can't wait to share that with you all.

So i guess this sickness thing has kinda worked in my favour

I've had a productive week.

I've acheived lots

As i type we are rugged up sitting inside with blankies and the heater on

watching Beauty & The Beast

as the rain and cold wind blows outside.

But as much as i love the mummy cuddles and this weather

i loathe the germs that come with it

I just want my babies better.

So germs to you i say.. 

BE GONE, you are not welcome here anymore...

kfanksbye!

homemade bubba food...

My kitchen must hate me i beat it to within an inch of its life at least once a week

Last week i made a whole lot of food for Lil C

and a few of my friends wanted recipes etc.

On this particular day i had an Italian chicken casserole just the Coles brand in the slow cooker

This was perfect as i used some of the sauce on his vegies for dinner.

I also made homemade vegitmite rusks

One of Lil C's favourites!

Just take 2 pieces of bread wholemeal or white

Spread vegimite on one slice top with the other slice and squoosh it down.

Cut all 4 crusts off and then slice the sandwhich into 3 fingers.

Lay on a baking try lined with baking paper

And cook in a low overn 125o for 1 hour or until hard.

They store in an airtight container for quite awhile.

Next on the menu was Apple and Strawberry

I peeled, cored and diced 3 apples (you can use any kind) and cut the tops off and cut into quarters a punnet of strawberries.

Pop them all in a small saucepan with some water and a sprinkling of sugar

(takes the bite away)

The colour of the strawberries will run but ot still tastes yummy ;)

Once they are all soft and mushy transfer to a bowl leaving behind the liquid and mash or puree

Let it cool and Voila!

You can use the liquid for their breakfast use it soften weetbixs or mix with baby rice cereal.

Vegie pancakes were a huge hit with both Lil C and Master J

Simply make a pancake batter as usual minus the sugar

mix in some mashed vegies ie. potato, pumpkin and sweet potato

grate some zucchini and carrott into the batter

and mix well

Cook as you would sweet pancakes

Master J loves having his cut into shapes using cookie cutters and served with tomato sauce

and Lil C just loves sucking on fingers of cooked pancake

I even attempted finger food vegies.

I simply peeled and sliced into fingers

potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrott and apple

then par boiled them in some water until they were soft, but not falling apart.

As they cool they harden a little but are still soft enough for little moths to suck/gum or chew and dont get mushed in their little hands.

At the momment the poor poppet isnt eating much because hes not well

but when hes feeling good he normally eats quite a variety of foods.

Homemade sghetti sauce with soup pasta

mashed vegies

banana muffins

Plain crackers or for something sweet yo yo biscuits

Strips/fingers of red capsicum and cucmber

Lots of pureed/mashed fruits

and

Yoghurt

Once hes feeling better and eating more again we will be moving onto

rices and differnt sauces including pureed casseroles etc

chicken nuggets and some more vegies.

So thats what gets cooked in my kitchen for my little Princes'

hope you can take some inspiration from it :)

and

Did your little ones have a favourite homemade food?

2 boys & wanting a girl... or maybe not?

I have 2 boys

2 handsome little men

Who i LOVE with my all

In actual labour with master J (L) My 2 babies now (M) Waiting for our induction with Lil C (R)

I wont deny the fact i was disappointed that one of my babes wasn't a girl.

I thought i wanted a pinky to dress up, go shopping with, share the mother daughter bond that i have with my mum

To share in all the girly things.

And up until recently i thought i still wanted that, that i still wanted a girl.

I watched the show 8 Boys and wanting a girl

and i felt for these woman because i wanted the same thing.

After watching that i had a talk to a lovely mumma of 3 beautiful boys Miss A

Who said i shouldn't want to have another baby JUST to try and have a girl

and you know what?

she was ABSOLUTLY right

(I look at the converstaion now and see how superficial it was)

So I was prepared to stop at 2 boys. 2 amazing little men.

But now im not so sure.

If you were to ask me

"are you done having babies?"

I couldnt say yes!

I just can not bring myself to say

I am done having children.

I just know in my heart there is at least 1 more babe in me.

Right now 2 is plenty but i would love to be pregnant again.

have another baby, raise another little human.

I loved being pregnant, dont get me wrong i complained

but overall i had 2 amazing birth experiences and i would love to go through it again

(if possible i know things could turn out completely differnt i was extremely lucky)

Would i want it to be a girl?

Yes, i would love a little princess

BUT

I think I would be just as happy if we were blessed with another baby boy.

(confused yet? yeah so am i!)

All of these thoughts running through my head have made me realise

we aren't ready for another baby yet.

That i need to be 100% prepared to have 3 boys.

(dosent that sound terrible!)

Right now in this momment i would happily birth another boy

But then i see a baby girl and think i would like to expereince that too.

Some people wont understand this as they read it and thats ok they dont need too

I know how very lucky i am

I have 2 healthy boys, i was able to carry my babes to full term with no complications

I was able to fall pregnant quite easily

I really am truly grateful for everything i have

There is just something inside me that would love to have a bond with my own baby girl.

Then theres something inside me that would love to have that mother son bond again.

So for now i am putting my all into loving my boys, they really are the light of my life

they are my everything and you know what 2 boys is fantastic!

I love having 2 Little Boys

We are just going to see where the wind blows us

All i know for certain is we will be going back for number 3

Im sure 3 boys would be even more amazing then 2...

Grateful for... Words

Im joining in over at Maxabella Loves for

And this week i am grateful for words.

Yep simple little words.

Words can mean so much, or so little but this week for me

they meant so much.

I love the words...

"I love you"

"Mummy"

they are the special ones i hear every day.

~

Lil C saying 

 "Ger - Ger"

(ok so thats a sound not words but he isn't quite talking as such just yet)

or

laughing and watching my mouth when i say

"Mum, Mum, Mum"

"Dad, Dad, Dad"

~

My mum saying

"I know i can't physically be there, but i am always here for moral support"

she lives in America (freaking hard at the best of times)

or

"I love you bubby girl"

~

Master J saying

"Happy Happy"

His version of Happy Birthday

or

"Daddy Fix It"

when something is broken or mummy just can't do it

~

Mr S saying

"We'll go out for tea instead for Mothers Day"

he's working till 1pm

or

Giving me a hug & saying

'I know this is what you need"

~

So many words this week, so many words every day mean so much to me

BUT

the ones i really needed to hear this week

were...

"After the rains, come the rainbows love. Of that you can be certain"

~ Miss Lauren from Lollipops, Lillies and Jellybeans

"Trust yourself, be strong, and don't trade off part of who you are for ANYONE!"

~ Rita from Made by Mama

Both of these i will hang on too forever.

Both of these have helped me through this week.

Both of these are simply beautiful.

Both of these are nothing but the truth.

What are you grateful for?

&

Dont forget to join in the fun over at MaxaBella Loves too.

2011 ~ The Best Easter so far..

My little familys Easter has been amazing this year.

I dont know why but something just felt so right!

We had decorated a small corner of the lounge room where the coffee table is

Muchily inspired by Jade of Super Organiser Mum

Master J's footprint bunny face ~ left, Easter wreath ~ middle, Lil C's footprint bunny face ~ right

Master J's bunny with a carrott ~ bottom

Coffee table display eggs in left jar, Easter finger puppets in right jar, baby chicks in middle jar

selection of Easter & Bunny books in basket

We ate Hot X Buns, we relaxed and we played with the boys.

Easter Sunday... Bunny Day was such an amazing day

Both the boys woke up early so we snuggled them up into our bed while we waited for Lil C to finish his morning bottle, and then the fun begun!

Master J found the Easter Bunnys footprints

master J jumping the way the bunny did

All the way to "The Stash" for him and Lil C

Blankets from Leroy & Lola Kids Stuffed owl from Owls 'n' Stuff Easter cards from Sonni Lou Designs

After the excitment of the Bunny Mr S cooked us up some Hot X Buns for brekkie

annnnnd unwillingly (how could i say no)

We let master J have some chocolate before his breakfst

while Lil C enjoyed his new blankie.

my smiley boy

Now i was totally against Master J having chocolate this year, apart from one small egg from the Easter Bunny so we decided to do an Easter Car Hunt instead.

I brought 6 hot wheels cars and hid them around the back yard.

Master J loved it!!

We then decided a family lunch at the Seaford Hotel was on the cards.

It was delicious! Master J had a ball playing outside on the playground and eating his "chippies"

and mummy got to enjoy a cosom slushie!

first drink since NYE!

Once we had filled our bellies and tired out the Master

we headed up to Oakbank for the rest of the day.

Oakbank is where SA's Easter racing carnival is held

and Mr S and his family camp up there every year on the Oakbank Hillside and get all dressed up for the Easter Saturday & Easter Monday Race Days.

We headed up on sunday just to relax, let Master J run wild and get all dirty and enjoy the fresh air!

Isnt that whats being a kid all about?

Lil C snug as a bug watching the camp fire

ANZAC Day/Easter Monday was Race Day! WOOHOOO

we packed up the car

cant believe the amount of stuff we had to take!

and left early to beat the traffic.

We got all dressed and pretty up there,

saved master J getting all dirty in his new clothes

the boys outfits

And made our way to the race track.

It was an awesome day.

Mr S & I put some bets on and even won most of our money back

HIGH 5!

Master J was so well behaved and even got into cheering with everyone else as the horsies ran by

 Lil C just loved watching everything that was going on.

just taking it all in

Once the day was over we stayed at the campsite for a few hours before heading home.

We all collapsed into bed exceopt for Mr S who decided he wasnt too tired to go fishing

Insert Grrrrr *here

Overall it was just the most amazing Easter.

So relaxed, so much joy.

Master J was so much more aware of Easter which just made things so much more exciting.

and

he bonded with his Nana (Mr S mum) soooo much more,

it was beautiful to see them together and hear him calling out all the time "nana nana"

Raceday was fabulous! so much fun

Master J playing planes

mummy & Lil C

Stealing a kiss & a photo

and

Going out to lunch with my little family NEEDS to be a regular occurence!

I can only hope that next year once Lil C is about 18 months old

it will be even better again.

I hope you all had an amazing Easter too

i know for me and my family the extra time off was just perfect!