Hsu-Yin's Beautiful Photos

We have just been away for a few days, for our first little family holiday. We had a lovely time catching up with friends and family, and a little bit of relaxing and swimming as well. It was a wonderful long weekend, but I also couldn't wait to get home so that I could share with you some professional photos we had taken of us a couple of weeks ago, by very talented Hsu-Yin.

A dear friend of mine, Jamie, kindly gave us a voucher for the photography session with Hsu-Yin, as a present. (Many thanks, Jamie!). It was such a thoughtful and special present, to capture these precious moments with our first son Alexander, who is already almost 7 months old. My goodness the time does fly. Hsu-Yin contacted me with an idea for the photography session, to do the photos in our home and neighbourhood, as kind of  "a day in the life of" style, rather than a sit-down, posed, sort of style. I really loved the idea and so we organised the date for the session.

Hsu-Yin came in the morning, after Alex's nap, and just snapped away as Shane and I went about our usual Sunday morning business, looking after Alex, having a coffee, reading the paper etc; as we chatted with her and got to know each other. It was SO lovely meeting you, Hsu-Yin, and we are sad that you and your beautiful family are moving back to Canada! It was such a lovely, relaxed photography session, so much so that Shane and I felt comfortable to be ourselves and act naturally. I loved this style of photography session as I find typical studio posing too stuffy and unnatural.

AND- the result is- beautiful, natural photos that capture us in a fresh and unique style! We are SO happy with these photos, more than I can express in words! I feel so blessed to have these beautiful images of our little family, of Alex at this gorgeous age, the age of "firsts"- first foods, first crawling steps, first teeth etc. When I first saw these photos I got a little teary- as if I was an old lady looking back on my youth and young family feeling nostalgic! (Is that strange??) There is something very unique about these photos. Hsu-Yin is brilliant with all things technical in photography- the composition, lighting, framing etc. But she also has a remarkable talent as an artist- this type of talent can't be taught in art /photography school.


Anyway- enough babbling by me, and time to show you the photos! Please go over to her blog and check out more of her amazing photos there.

The photos in this post are all originals by photographer Hsu-Yin Boo. You can find her through my links to her blog in this post, and also on her facebook business page, 'say boo'.

Thank you so, SO much Hsu-Yin! I can't wait to have these printed and framed in our home.
I hope you all have enjoyed seeing these as well.
Xx Sarndra

Clean Out continued

I think alot of you will be thinking about doing a bit of a clean out or declutter at this time of year. The influx of Christmas gifts and shopping at the sales are incentives to get rid of some old things we no longer need or want. If you are very short on space, remember the 'One In, One Out' rule. I just love donating things I no longer need, and I especially love the extra space in the cupboard/ drawer/ bookcase after finishing the clean out!

With kids toys, a good idea is to look at how many of each particular type of toy they own. How many barbie dolls does she have? How many similar trucks are there? If there are numerous similar items, losing a few wouldn't hurt. In my organising jobs, I included the children while decluttering their toys. Most kids I know would be happy to donate some toys to needy kids. Give them some power- say "Pick 5 special teddy's to keep and we'll give the rest to charity. A new child will love and appreciate your donations". This helps the child to feel good about the decluttering instead of feeling like something is being taken away from them.

Another great idea that my MIL Rhonda reminded me of recently, is to divide toys into 4 groups and only have 1 group out to be played with at one time. The other 3 groups are packed away and rotated depending on the season. Such a good idea as when the new season and the new toy box comes out, its like Christmas all over again for the children!

When decluttering clothing, a few tips to keep in mind are-

1. Go through the clothing one by one, from one side of the cupboard to the other. Divide clothes into piles- Wear, Store, Donate, Try On (and then decide).

2. Try to make a fairly quick decision about each item, otherwise the weekend declutter can turn into weeks of having piles of clothing everywhere which leads to not wanting to declutter again! (In my case, anyways :))

3. Get a second opinion- invite a trusted friend over to help you decide on the "Try On and Decide" pile of clothes. Ask for their honest opinion- does this style/ colour suit me? Try not to be offended with a No answer- your friend is helping to make some much needed space in your cupboard!

4. Pack the "Store" pile into a large clear plastic box and label it. I have one called "Old Clothes I Dont Wear but want to Keep" Lol :-) This box is stored way up high in the cupboard with the label facing out so I can see it if I need to.

5. Only tackle 1 cupboard or chest of drawers at a time, or one type of clothing, per weekend. Otherwise the job can get too overwhelming, the room gets too messy and the job never gets finished!

6. When you are finished with the piles, make sure you take the "Donate" pile to charity, or you may decide to try to sell the items on ebay. I like to put the "Donate" bags into the car straight away, so the next time I drive by a charity shop I can just hop out and be done with it!


I hope these couple of tips can help you with your decluttering this weekend. Please feel free ask me in the comments if you have any queries about your clean out!

Agonising over Organising

Hi all!

Hope you'll have managed to have some well-deserved rest and relaxation over the holiday period. We had such a special first Christmas for Alex, well 2 to be exact. We drove up to Shane's parents on Christmas day and then to my Mum on Boxing Day. Alex loved spending time with all his relatives and soaked up all the attention and fuss. Shane and I loved it too and while we couldn't see all of our family unfortunately, we loved the time we had with those we did manage to see.

For many Australians, the week or so after Christmas is usually a time to relax by a beach, go camping and fishing or just lie about in the air con watching the cricket or other sports on tv. For me, I generally cant really relax after a move until my home is neat and tidy, the necessary unpacking is done and my To-Do list is completed or at least attempted.

Since our big move about a month ago, I have been feeling very Out of sorts as I just couldnt find the time to get the new place tidy and organised, and it was driving me nuts! I'd be looking around the place at the mess and clutter and agonising about when I would be able to get on top of things! But I have had to learn to be patient and know that in time, things will get done. Alex is very close to 6 months old now, and while he's happy for periods of time on his own with toys, taking care of him is still very time consuming for me. Whether this is the case for all Mums I'm not sure, but I do know that I have an annoying habit of doing things the hard way sometimes! Being an "Older Mum" (at 33), I am quite set in my way I guess and I like things to be done, well, the way that I like them. Everything from the bedtime routine to making up his solid foods, I do in a very specific way for him because that is how I would like it done for myself. A friend told me recently, "its harder for us older Mums because we have done all the reading, and have had time to think about how having a baby will go or what kind of mother we will be. So when things don't go to plan, its very difficult to accept". Aahh SO true, in my case.

Hmm... sounds ridiculous, and especially reading it here, in black and white! LOL But at least I can admit it. SO basically since our move I haven't been able to fully relax. Even late at night I've been up doing dishes or folding clothes or trying to get the kitchen organised so that we can find what we need, quickly.

And Finally.. now, I am happy to say, the place is almost to the stage where I can feel relaxed. The kitchen is organised, the clothes all have homes and there is very little clutter around the place. We are lucky enough to have a large storage area with a built-in cupboard, downstairs next to the garage, so we have kept alot of our belongings packed up in boxes there. Things we don't use at the moment such as DVDs (as if new parents have time to watch a movie!! Ha!), ornaments that I want to keep intact when the little cutie pie is walking and grabbing things; and excess "stuff" that we don't use but may use in the future.

Whenever we move I try to do a big clean out. And if we haven't moved for a while I try to do it on a fairly regular basis as well, at least once a year. The clean out always consists of sorting things into piles. One pile is to keep out (in the home for usage), another pile is to pack away (not being used), another pile for Throw aways, and another pile for Give aways. Its very simple really but the tricky part is deciding which pile something goes into.

I find it useful to turn off the Sentiment, and try to bring out the Logic. (To a certain degree of course. Sentiment always gets first preference when dealing with anything from my beloved Grandma who passed away just before Alex's birth, for example). I think when you are holding something in your hand, and you are trying to decide if you want it or if it can be given to charity, the best thing to do is to think through a few things. Do I LOVE this object? Can I live without it? Will I EVER need or use it again? Could someone else use it? Will I feel terrific when I have less clutter around? Will I feel good about myself when I recycle this object, give it a new home, and do my bit for the environment?

Last week I was doing a tidy up and clean out in the garage. We hadn't had time to sort through everything before the move. I came across a few pieces of furniture and the first pram we'd bought second hand (and hated!) and I made a pile to be given to charity. I was so excited as I called the Salvation Army to come and pick up my growing pile of items to be donated. Sadly they couldn't take all of it. Some of the furniture was slightly damaged, and their standards seem to have risen alot since the last time I donated furniture. Anyway, I now have a bit of a predicament as to what to do with this unwanted furniture. I know this sounds bad, but an idea I have is to take it to the street where we used to live. This street is the kind of place, where you can take out an old vacuum cleaner (for eg), leave it on the side of the road, turn around to wave Hi to your neighbour, and then by the time you turn back the vacuum cleaner has disappeared in a puff of smoke! And the smoke probably isn't coming from something legal. Haha!

So if I took the furniture to this Street, left it there over night and go back the next day to make sure it has been snatched up by some needy person, what's your opinion?? Do you think that is ok? I think its ok, and certainly better than sending the items to land fill! Which is the only other place they could go since the Salvo's don't want them. As long as I go back and check the things have gone to a home or pick them back up, I dont see the harm in trying.

(By the way- I would leave it out the front here at our new place but I suspect someone who lives in the area is on the local council. An old air-con was left out the front and we all promptly received a letter from the council demanding the offending item be removed at once or fines will be given out! To whom they were going to give the fines, I'm unsure of. Otherwise I would have thought That Person would have received the fine already, and the rest of us not receive the Letter!!).

Darn it I am out of time already as Alex is about to wake from his nap. (And by Darn It I actually mean HOORAY as I just love picking up the cuddly little cutie pie from his nap!! How cute is he and Gosh he is getting 4 teeth now up top wierd hey?? I thought bottom's came first).   I might have to leave it here for now, perhaps to be continued.... I'm sure somewhere in this foggy mind I have some more ideas about how to do a successful clean out. Oh yes! I do! Definitely to be continued :-)

P.s I'd like to add a note here to thank you all for the comments on my last few posts. I haven't had time to reply to all of them I'm sorry, but I always read the comments and really appreciate you leaving your thoughts :)

Xxo

Happy Festivities

Hi everyone! I know, I haven't been around much, I'm sorry. We've just moved, and as much as I would like to write a post on staying organised during transition, this is the most disorganised I think I've ever been!! We are basically living out of boxes as the unpacking is coming along at a painfully slow rate. Anyway, instead of anything useful about moving, I'll just say have a very happy Christmas and New Year, all of you, and hopefully I'll be able to get back to the blogging world one of these days!
Love Sarndra xx

Pram & Nappy Bag

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the great tips on my last post, I have been working on my nappy bag (aka diaper bag) and pram (aka stroller) organisation. And my new system is working! A HUGE thanks to Marcia for doing a fantastic post on her nappy bag organisation, Here is the link.

So, here is our new pram!

It's fantastic, I absolutely love it! And, after getting over the initial shock of the price, Shane now loves it too! He agrees with me that it is worth every cent. The first pram we'd bought 2nd hand, and it was fine in the beginning, but then we could no longer fold it down to put in the car. Also the wheels would get stuck on the tiniest of bumps. I had a couple of scary moments where I would be crossing a road, and the wheels would get stuck getting back up on the footpath, and we have some very impatient and crazy drivers here on the Gold coast! New pram's wheels are GREAT and easily glide over big bumps, grass, dirt, even sand!!

I'm not getting paid for product endorcement by the way Haha :-) But for those interested, its a Baby Jogger. Some of the features I love are ALOT of storage, including a pouch with 6 pockets on the handle bar. This is where I keep my purse, sunglasses, phone, Ipod, keys.

On the other side of the pouch are water, bib, face washer, my hat, sunscreen, hair clips, lip balm, tissues, chewing gum, notebook and pen (yes, ALL of that fits here!)

There's a large storage pocket here on the back of the seat, with a smaller zip pocket there too, and the long strap you can see hanging down is how you adjust the seat up and down (easy as!)

Large storage bag underneath but not too big that it drags along the ground

Plenty of room here for a cardigan, umbrella, sling, baby blanket, and a bag of grocery shopping.

And I have a large hanging hook on the handle for another shopping bag.

Another feature I love is the hand brake. Also the side windows for air flow, and the window flaps are held open or closed with magnets, not velcro.

Ok, enough of the pram! (I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging about it, I just really love it! :-D ).

Next the nappy bag. Here is a view of it packed with essentials, with extra room on top for any extra things I need.

Inside are cloth nappies, a spare onesie suit, hat, extra sunscreen, nappy rash cream (still using the free sample!), socks, hand sanitizer, thermometer (I need to monitor Alex's temp because of his ureta reflux- if he gets a high temp it could be very serious); a few wipes in a zip lock bag (GREAT idea Robyn and Marcia), plastic bags, toy and face washers.

I also have another bag packed with essentials that I keep in the back of the car. I have started to work re-stocking the 2 nappy bags into my afternoon routine, while Alex has one of his naps. Its important I do this daily especially since I am now using cloth nappies full time, things get ugly if I forget to take the dirty nappy out :-)

We go for at least one walk every day, along the water. There is a lovely path that goes for a few kms, and along the way are playparks for kids, BBQ areas and tables, and a fantastic water park for little kids, called the Rockpools. They even have a lifeguard there watching over the little ones! It's right near a cafe and also a large grassy area where they have live music from time to time. I love living here :-)

I have also started going to a mother's group exercise class on Thursday mornings, and its held here by the water. Exercising is alot more fun with a great view and friends to share it with. There's also a music class for mums and babies too on Tuesdays, and occasionally we will go to the yoga for mums and bubs as well. Also we start swimming lessons next month, with Sunny and Jamie. When those start I will drop one of the other outings. It's nice to have a few social outings spread out over the week, but I always make sure we have a restful day at home the day after a social outing so its not too much for Alex.

Along the path

I don't have a pic of Alex in the new pram yet but here's a recent one of the little cutie in a beautiful tracksuit knitted by the mother of a close family friend

He is doing MUCH better lately since I have taken sugar completely out of my diet. This hasn't been an easy feat for me, as I am a sweet tooth but it is very much worth of it for we have seen results already. Alex is so much happier and doesn't vomit nearly as much. Also the diarhea stopped immediately.

Speaking of my diet, I sorted out my kitchen pantry and took out everything that contained sugar, and take a look at this! 4 bags full!

We are planning to give some of this to Kerry and Sunny if they want it. I don't like to get rid of food but its better in this case to not have all this in the house, partly as we just don't have the room and partly to minimise cooking time (so I dont have to keep checking labels!) and temptation. I must admit, I am a sugar addict and this new diet is definitely benefitting me as well as Alex. There is diabetes in my blood line so its a good thing for me to do. I have found some great natural substitutes,- Agave syrup, Rapadura and Stavia. I can use these for baking and sweetening tea etc.

Are any of you sugar free and if so, do you have some recipes ideas??  Please share :-) I am also off milk, cheese and most dairy products but can have butter and cream in small amounts (weird, I know; but it is to do with the lactose and fat content).
Hope u are well, 'til next time!
Xxo

3 months old already!

Our gorgeous boy is 3 months old, I cant believe how quickly the time goes! He is a beautiful, happy baby, growing very well, he has already doubled his birth weight :) He is in 100 percentile for height, so he is a big boy. How cute he was today as we watched the sun set together :)

We are in a great little routine at the moment. He is feeding every 3 - 4 hours over the night (Hooray!) and my darling Shane still gets up for the 5am feed to let me sleep. It works so well for us both. He crawls back into bed and sleeps til late morning. Then he gets to play with Alex for a couple of hours while I duck out to the shops for some "me time" or do stuff around the house. Alex naps every couple of hours during the day, sometimes for only half an hour and sometimes for a couple of hours. I walk him every day along the water in the pram or the sling. Its such a relief that he goes in the pram now as some days I just dont have enough energy to carry him in the sling. (For weeks he wouldnt go in the pram, but now suddenly he likes it!). I've managed to scrape enough time together to whip up a few pairs of pants such as these star and apple pants.

I'm quite proud of our night time routine. I've made it flexible but always manage to get him asleep by 7pm. We walk between 4 and 5, then its bath time. This is usually a struggle unfortunately. Some days I take him in the shower, other days in the baby bath. Either way, he cries (sometimes screams-) when I take him out. I don't understand it, I wrap him in a super soft baby towel straight away, make sure the room is warm but not too warm, and whatever I do he cries! (Only for a coupple of minutes luckily). Does anyone else have this problem? Most babies I've heard of love bath time. Hopefully he will grow out of this one :-/  After bath time we read a book, listen to one of our nursery rhymes cds ($5 from Kmart!) and then wind down with lots of cuddles before dinner. Some nights I have to feed him to sleep but other nights I can pat or rock him to sleep and I always sing "twinkle, twinkle little star" to him. Its very cute, he watches me closely and "coo" s as I sing, like he's singing too :) The he falls alseep by 7, I carry him to the cot and his eyes open a tiny bit, but I tuck him in tightly. I turn on the nightlight and the "rain" white noise, then kiss him saying "Mummy and Daddy love you very much and we will be there when you wake up". It's my little routine. He waits for me to say it before he'll go fast asleep :)

I am finding it a little challenging to be organised with "going out" bags. I have tried to keep a bag of things in the car, and one under the pram so in theory I could just walk out the door and have everything I need. The problem is, when I use something from the bag while I'm out, I don't always have time to re-stock it later. So the next time I am going out I'm not sure what I need to put back in the bag. Any suggestions? It takes me SO long to leave the house sometimes, and I always go WAY over prepared (umbrella in case it rains, 5 or more nappies in case of accidents, warm suit if its cool, cool suit if its hot, sunscreen, hat, a billion bibs, cloths, wipes, etc etc...) If I am going for a brisk walk along the water i dont take all this of course :) But if I am going shopping with Alex or if I know I will be out for a couple of hours, I really might need all those things!

I know some of you will be experts at this, how do you keep organised with your nappy bag??

Grandma, Grandad, Uncle Kerry, Aunty Sunny and cousin Jamie came to visit a couple of weeks ago
:-) We had such a nice day and loved having them here.

I have had to go off dairy and ALL sugar, including fruit and simple carbs, in an attempt to minimse Alex's vomiting (so far, it seems to have lessoned it! Yay!). Its challenging but of course its for a good cause, and an added bonus is that I've lost weight :) Most days I eat salad and fish, and whole grain breads etc. Breakfast was a challenge, not being able to have milk, cereal, spreads such as strawberry jam etc. But kind Shane has made me almond milk (soy milk and rice milk were also no-no's) and today we managed to make a sugar and fruit free cereal for me with bran flakes and puffed wheat with LSA and phsyllum husk. Shane is SO wonderful, he is such a fantastic father and so helpful. Its so good to have such a hands-on partner. I couldnt imagine what it would be like without him! He works SO hard at the restaurant but always helps me around the house too and always has time for Alex.

And one last one of Bubby and Mummy :-) Sadly wish I 'd had time to tidy up a little here before this pic was taken :)

Hope you have a lovely week!
Xx Sarndra