Weekly Thought: Darcy Bussell

I came across this quote from one of my favourite ballerinas, Darcy Bussell. It was in my new book "Things to do now that your... a mum". 

"Being a mother has made my life complete."

My New Beach Bag

With the warmer weather approaching I felt inspired to make a large beach bag. I love bags and never seem to have enough of them. I wanted a bag large enough to hold all of our towels (3 peoples worth) and other beach essentials and not to mention extra items for our little boy. I made the bag out of bed sheet material (I chose this because I like the feel of cotton and it's easy to wash). I got the external sheet from the local fabric shop and the internal sheet was found in our cupboard (just white sheets that no one has used in years). There are 4 large pockets inside the bag, perfect for sun-screen, water bottles or baby wipes. 

Weekly Thought: Happiness

To start the week off I thought I'd post this thought. This weeks thought came to me through an email from my mother in-law. Hope you enjoy and have a HAPPY week. 

Weekly Thought: The role of mother...

Today's thought is found in a new book my husband got for me at the second hand shop. Every time we go there he always thinks of me and finds me lots of nice things. 

"The role of mother is probably the most important career a woman can have" 

-Janet Mary Riley

My Family Proclamation

To join in the celebration of Family 2011 I have been inspired to post a photo story of my family and how we have been influenced & guided by The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Enjoy! 

"Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny."

"We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife."

"...spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan..."

"Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."

"THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife."

"HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other..."

"... and for their children."

"THE FAMILY is ordained of God."

Thanks to the many bloggers of "Celebrate Family 2011" who have all inspired me to blog and reflect upon the blessings of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

My Costco Experience

On arriving at Costco our little boy was fast asleep, what a perfect way to start! We began our journey with lunch trying the hot dogs, pizza, and frozen yoghurt. The food wasn't bad considering it was pretty cheap and I must say the pizza was pretty good and it was a pretty generous serve (I guess it's the American serving). The frozen yoghurt was yum, it tastes just like soft serve ice-cream. 

When we entered the store we were welcomed with many big and shiny TVs. We've recently been looking around for a TV so we had an idea of prices and it was pretty good at Costco. We were definitely tempted to buy one but decided against it as we didn't have enough room in the car. From the TVs and electronics we moved onto the jewellery section. It was a little hard to believe the lack of security they had around this section given that they had a diamond ring "worth" $400K. Moving along to something more affordable was the kitchenware. They had some nice pots and pan sets for a reasonable price, and if you like stationary there was a pretty decent range, but remember everything is bulk, so you'll be looking at buying 10 pens rather than just one.
The fresh produce wasn't too bad, but most things were pre-packaged so some things weren't as cheap because of the packaging. But the refrigerator rooms were pretty amazing and cold! What was good if you need to buy bulk was the pre-packed salads. It would be perfect for parties or church functions when you need to feed a lot of people. What I really liked was the bakery section, we got a pack of 12 muffins for $10 and I'm talking about the big kind of  muffins! Because 12 is a lot to eat at once we've put some in the freezer in seal-lock bags which will come in handy when those sugar cravings hit. They also had amazingly huge apple pies, chocolate cakes that weighed 2.5kg and black forest cakes all for a very reasonable price. 

From left to right, top to bottom-
Pizza, A few things we purchased, Nathan & Charlie in the massive refrigerator room,  A massive apple pie.

Now on to the toy/clothing/book/dvd/everything else section, there was seriously something for everyone. For Charlie- they had really cool timber cubby houses, something I really would like to get for him. Nathan and I have talked about making a cubby house for our kids but who needs to when you can buy them for pretty cheap. Just timber alone would cost about the same amount. There was also really cute patio play sets and mini kitchens and plenty of books for all ages. For Nathan- there were a couple of things Nathan had his eyes on, the US Divers Snorkel and Flipper set for only $54 and golf bag and clubs (I think was no more than $200). For Me- there was a beautiful nativity set I would absolutely love to have and I know my mum and mother-in law would want one too. It was gorgeous! There were some nice jackets too ( yes I know I have so many already, but I think you can never have too many jackets and coats). One in particular was the North Face winter jacket, it was so soft and cosy looking. 

My Costco Wish List

Now back to the food you can buy the pizza that they sell at the cafeteria frozen for $15, these pizzas are bigger than any pizza I've seen here and there is so much topping! They also had buffalo chicken wings hot or frozen, which we'll have to try next time for lunch! It was pretty cool walking around seeing all the things they sold and the bulk packaging. I can see why there was so much hype and excitement when they opened. It is a good place to shop especially for those bulk items like toilet paper, nappies, and wipes. What they didn't have much of was beauty products, there was only a handful of face creams and make up products. All in all I had a great time at Costco and you can make good savings there provided you've done your research as there were some items that could be purchased for the same price at a local supermarket without having to buy in bulk. I look forward to visiting Costco again and also trying some of our American treats! Feel free to leave a comment of your experience at Costco and what you've found to be a good buy. 

From left to right:
Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate with Marshmellows $4.79, Skippy Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter $5.69, Ocean Spray Craisins Dried Cranberries 1.36kg $9.39

Covercutie Competition

Our little boy is in the running for the Cover Cutie Competition. Please vote for him!

http://www.covercutie.com.au/vote_details.php?i=859d1498f98c1de863e8268890021cfc85ea6cf6

Sleep Training

It has been 15 months since we brought our precious little baby home & sleep training began from the very beginning. Our first night in hospital was a real learning experience, he was born 6.40 AM and slept like a baby almost the entire day. So when it came to night time he was wide awake. And not knowing much about babies and especially new born bubs I didn't really know what to do. I was in a shared room so I didn't want Charlie crying and waking up our room-mate. I called the nurse once in the middle of the night but I didn't find her too helpful as she didn't even speak to me and automatically moved Charlie into my bed and pulled up the bed-rail! I was horrified when she did it, having done my PhD in SIDS research, it is strongly recommended that babies sleep in their own bed and not share with their parents. I left Charlie there for a few minutes but felt so uncomfortable I moved him back to his crib and hung my arm over it so that he could feel me touching him. 

Brand new baby fast asleep in the birth suite

We only stayed in hospital for one day, I couldn't wait to get home and get into our normal life routine with our new baby. When we were home I made a conscious decision from the start to train my boy to be a good sleeper, some of the decisions I made from very early on was:
1- not to rock him to sleep in my arms, 
2- let him lie in his crib well fed and awake so he gets familiar with his sleep environment and falling asleep on his own 
3- set a bedtime routine that's consistent but can be flexible with changing circumstances. 


It may sound easy but trust me we had our hard days & nights but if your determined to train your bub to sleep well it will happen eventually... Make sure your partner is in on the training regime, it is all about consistency. So take the time to sit down & talk about how you want to sleep train your baby, it's a team effort.

When Charlie was a newborn I noticed his natural sleeping rhythm, it was to sleep through the day and be awake at night- this is how be was in the womb. He was fast asleep while I was awake and moving around but as soon as I rested and slept he was having a party in my tum. So to help him understand day and night when he had his day sleeps I would put him in a room where the sun shone brightly through the windows. 


I tried very hard not to cradle him for too long while he was asleep in my arms, it's not that I didn't want to sit there for hours gazing at my beautiful baby but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, what kind of toddler do I want, what sleep habits do I want him to have?! Ideally I wanted him to be able to go to sleep on his own without any fuss, and don't all parents want that?! 


We had him sleep in a bassinet in our bedroom and around 2 months we moved him into his own bedroom and cot. We found it difficult to sleep with him in our room and vice versa. Once he was in his own room he slept much better. I used a baby monitor for a little while when we first moved him into his own room as I felt anxious and was worried I wouldn't hear him cry when he needed a feed. It worked and I woke up every time, but after speaking to a friend and having tried her advice I'd like to pass on her wisdom. 


If you can resist don't use the monitor while you're sleeping, the baby will cry loud enough for you to hear them when they are ready for a feed. We had Charlie in the room across the hallway from us and we all slept with the doors shut, trust me I heard him! Eliminating the monitor allowed me to get those extra few minutes of sleep when he would wriggle and gurgle prior to the call out for milk.


As he got older putting him to sleep during the day got a little tougher as he wanted to keep playing. Sometimes I would let him 'cry it out' before he'll fall asleep and if he didn't fall asleep I would go and give him a cuddle and try to put him back down. After a while of letting him do it he has become more proficient at falling asleep. 


For a while he has only been having one sleep during the day & I use to put him to sleep mid-morning around 10am. Recently I have moved his day-time sleep to anywhere between 11.30-1, I have found this to work much better for both of us as he is much more tired by and he'll go to sleep easier and by the time he awakes in the afternoon he doesn't need to stay awake for "too" many hours before bedtime. Now that I have also reduced his breast-feeds to morning and night when I put him to sleep in the middle of the day I give him a bottle of milk and then put him to sleep in his cot. This has worked well as he knows the routine and seems much happier to comply. 

14.5 month old fast asleep during the afternoon

It has been a long day-to-day process in training this active boy to sleep well, but once we got ourself a good routine all that effort was well worth it. I'm so glad he is sleeping through the night and taking his necessary nap during the day, and if there is a day he doesn't take his nap I don't stress over it too much as he'll most likely want a really long sleep the next day. So for those who are training their precious bubs to sleep, hang in there and keep on at it! If things aren't quite working and you've been trying for a while, give something else a go. There is no real right or wrong, every baby/child/parent/family is different so do what works for you. I just wanted to share my experience and what has worked for us.