The Life of a Super Organized Mum

Last Post

2010-01-15T16:47:00.002+08:00

Thank you everyone for all of your kind words about the new site : ) Today's post will be the last one coming up on blogger so please come on over to the new site tomorrow for a sneak peak post on nursery organising. I have some fun stuff planned for new week on the refreshed blog.

The team will be doing a wonderful link soon so if you come here you will be sent right on over to the new site : )

We have been working really hard to get this site up and working but please be patient whilst we get the links etc working !! All of my old posts and photos are now on the new site and are categorized to make it really easy for you to search for old posts !!

Menu planning

2010-01-15T06:20:00.000+08:00

Whilst spending some time this past few weeks updating things around the house for the new year I also gave our little menu planner an update : ) I am thinking this will be something I do every year along with changing the planner routine and making a new calendar. I touched a little on this planner in my very first blog post back in June, since then this great download has become available on the Becky Higgins website in an word document so you can edit it which is even better!! It will not let me link the exact post for some reason but it is the November 10th post.

I have been using this simple planner for most of last year and our family LOVES it. Simon said it is one of the best things I have implemented in our home recently- so I was pretty happy with that : ) I love not hearing the "What's for dinner" question all day long as that we all know what we are having for the whole week. I love that it has gotten us into a great little routine of sitting down on a Sunday night at some stage and spending 10 minutes talking about the up and coming week and what we have on. Under each day of the week there is a what's going on section- this is where you can write a basic message about what is happening on that day. I have all of this info in detail in my planner but it is just a reminder in reference to dinner plans.

We then chat about what frozen meals we have pre prepared and what meats we already have in our freezer to make meals out of- this cuts down unnecessary trips to the shops and extra cost. And that is really it. There is not a lot to it- it's a pretty easy system to work with and we love it. The meals often change depending on the day of who feels like cooking etc so it really is just a guide but it is every so helpful- as is looking back through the previous months meals for inspiration. I hope that explanation helps those of you that asked.

Documenting a pregnancy

2010-01-14T06:11:00.000+08:00

I decided when I fell pregnant that I would refuse to fall into the trap of doing nothing for baby boy #2 as he is out second child. I want him to have the same documented memories as Flynn did and so I have made sure that we did the same weekly pregnancy shots as we did for our first pregnancy. Something I am doing a little differently is I am also journaling a little each week, this will be great to look back on over the next few years as you tend to forget so much once the baby comes along.

I try to keep up to date with this project every Monday night and then when I get my photos developed I put it all together in the album. Sorry in advance for the terrible photos but these were the best I could get. So here are a few of the layouts I have completed, this would also be a great project to do for a new baby or as a beginner scrapbooker as a little book like this (6x6) is really easy to put together.

Looking forward to receiving my kit.

2010-01-13T07:47:00.001+08:00

I know a lot of you ordered a Project Life kit and I was so excited to received the update email last Friday to say that the kits were on their way !! I am so looking forward to receiving my kit and getting started on this years amazing journey. I loved doing the project last year but there are a few things I want to do differently this year in an attempt to tell more stories about what we are doing. This year I journaled when I got my photos developed and put them in the album, this was ok but it meant that the stories were not being told in the moment and as I would usually do 1-3 weeks at a time.

So I am going to change a few things for this year.

1. I am going to take the journaling cards with me and journal throughout the week- in the moment. I am hoping this will help me to tell my stories in more detail and more in the moment.

2. I am going to put my entire album together when I get it as I am going to be really busy this year so this will be one less thing to do : ) Dating the weeks gives me one less thing to do during the year.

3. I am going to try and do some multiple photo 6x4 prints (you can get these done at Big W) instead of thinking I have to choose one favourite photo per day.

I hope you are all coming on this exciting journey, I can absolutely guarantee you that you will not regret one minute of participating in this project. The end product is something you will treasure forever.

Here is one of my shots from last week. Just Flynn creating some Australis day art, you can't see it in this photo but there is a die cut of Australia tapped to this paper that Flynn is "colouring" on. I am going to make these into some little cards which I will be sharing soon.

New website

2010-01-13T07:06:00.003+08:00

So the news !! Some of you noticed last night that when you came to my blog it looked very different !! For a little while last night you were auto directed over to my brand new blog site Here . Doesn't it look awesome? I was approached by the wonderful owners of Beyond the Baby a few weeks ago with and idea/ proposal to move my blog across to their amazing sight.

When I first received this email I quite literally read it over and over about 4 times nearly fell off my chair and ran and got my husband who was as surprised as me!! Someone reads my blog and really likes it LOL!!!! Anyway the idea was that I would move my blog and all of the existing work over to their lovely site where I would have access to their great team to help me make the blog look amazing- I am really website challenged to the more help the better and also to have the opportunity to bring to you my readers some great resources : )

The other reason I felt that this was the right decision was the owners of Beyond the Baby love the blog just the way it is, so rest assured the content you have been reading for the last 7-8 months will not change : ) Another great opportunity was the idea to have a forum linked to the blog with an organizing section where you could all chat about organization an share photos and ideas : ) How great is that !!

And so in about a week or so when the blog looks just right (we have had a few issues with some photos not transferring over etc) you will be auto directed over to the brand new site : ) So in the meantime come on over to the forum (click on the word forum to take you there) and join up into our organizing section and come and say hello !! I look forward to seeing you over there.

Changes...

2010-01-12T08:39:00.004+08:00

Expect some super fun blog changes coming over the next few days : ) I will explain in further detail VERY soon but for now I will keep you in suspense !! Please don't panic if the blog goes down for a little while at some stage whilst we are getting everything in order.

Weekend fun at the Lake

2010-01-12T06:05:00.000+08:00

We had such a fun time over the weekend : ) We went up to a Lake about an hour away from our home to have a picnic and go for a swim. Flynn had such a great time, he had this gorgeous smile planted on his face all day, it was so sweet. I love doing family activities where we just all hang out together, it was a day of family and friends and I couldn't think of a better way to spend our Saturday. These are the days that enrich your memories as a child and the ones I want to make sure we create with Flynn.

Doesn't this place just look like heaven : )

Someone was getting a little tired by here ...

And we can't go out anywhere without baby brother making an appearance- as embarrassing as it is he has to actually pull my top up to talk to his new friend!! It is a little bit cute though : )

On the blackberry ...

2010-01-11T07:00:00.000+08:00

I think it is so cute that at 2 1/2 Flynn loves talking on the phone to everyone : ) Whoever I am talking to he wants to have a chat to and he is getting better and better and having conversations on the phone. I often wonder what kinds of technologies he will have available when he is all grown up !!

Cutting up fruit

2010-01-10T06:51:00.000+08:00

I love summer fruits : ) There is so much variety and every time I do the shopping I am able to get something different, you can never get bored of the fruits in summer. I find the same with fruit in our house as I do the vegetables- we are much more likely to eat them if they are washed and cut as as soon as we get home. I spoke about cutting up your vegetables a little while ago in this post but I just wanted to post this photo of this very yummy fruit salad as a reminder that this system works really well in summer as well for your fruit.

You are much more likely to pop some on your breakfast, take some to work, feed some to the kids for lunch if it is all already done for you. A lot of people commented in last Thursdays post about how I do it all and I honestly find it is simply habit now. You have to do something over 10 times for it to become habit- so if you think this would suit you make an effort for the month of January to decanter and chop up your fruits and vegetables as soon as you get home and before you know it you will be doing it without thinking!!

Timing your food shop is also key everyone is different but I have found afternoons work really well for us to do a food shop. So I do it when I get home from work and Flynn has just woken up from his nap. I take a myriad of snacks and quiet toys like cars, books etc to make the trip enjoyable and then when we get home I put a movie on whilst I unpack to keep Flynn occupied. It might work better for you to go in the morning but Flynn is way more active in the morning so it doesn't work for us. Timing this effectively will means less stress at the shops and more time to unpack properly when you get home.

Now I am off the eat some of that fruit salad : )

New Routines

2010-01-09T05:27:00.000+08:00

For the start of the new year you might want thing think about establishing a new routine- consider what worked for you last year and what areas you really struggled in. If the mornings are hard for you make a morning routine checklist and include a list of the things you would be able to get done the night before to help alleviate that extra stress. I made up one of these last year you might remember this post. I put this sheet together 6 months ago and since then our circumstances and routines have changed a lot and so with the start of the new year I have made up a new list for the mornings.

With the help of our previous list we have have become a lot more efficient in the morning and there is a lot less stress involved in getting out the door now but there is still room for improvement. I still want to get more done the night before when I have more energy. Once you have decided what area you struggled most in last year write up a routine of how you would like this to work in your ideal scenario. Consider buying a clipboard and either magnetizing it for the fridge or sticking it up elsewhere in the kitchen where it can serve as a daily reminder for you. Review the Routines throughout the year and re-write them if you feel like they are not working for your family.

Here is a snapshot of our new Family routine we will use this for the next 5 or so months until the new baby is born. When I took down the old one I just slipped it into out 2009 family scrapbook as it is part of our year and will be great to look back on in the later years.

This years has a list of things we need to do the night before to make the morning rush easier. These include-

Lay out clothes for the morning

Pack any necessary bags for work/school

Check menu plan and write shopping list if needed

Pack dishwasher and tidy kitchen

Hang out any washing and put another load in the machine for the morning

Pick up /tidy family room.

We do MOST of these things already but having this list up in our kitchen serves as a daily reminder to us. Down the bottom of the page I have typed out Flynn's weekly schedule so everyone knows what he is doing each day : ) This system works for us at the moment with only one child once we have multiple children doing activities I will looking for a system more like this Family Planner for the fridge by Mom agenda (I LOVE their stuff, so cute!).

An update on baby #2

2010-01-08T06:13:00.001+08:00

I went for my 20 week scan this week for baby #2 and I just wanted to share with you a few of the precious photos we were able to get during our scan. We were very happy to hear that we have a very active and healthy baby boy growing : ) He is the perfect size and is growing really well, everything looks perfect. I love that moment when they pop up on screen and especially at the 20 week scan where you get to see so much detail of the little person they are becoming. We were lucky enough to get a 3d shot this time (the photo on the right) even though he was sucking his thumb!! It is amazing how much love you feel for them even at this early stage.

Just as a side note a few people have asked me how I photograph things at home with the backdrops so here is a quick snapshot of what I do. Find some scrapbooking paper, nice tea towel, wrapping paper whatever you love the print of. Then set yourself up on a table/ottoman (like me in the picture below) that is flooded with natural light. Put your camera on the manual setting and play around until you get a photo that you like- on the manual setting and with the natural light you will have no flash ruining your photo. Hope this helps : )

You : )

2010-01-07T08:17:00.000+08:00

So with the start of a new year and lots of exciting things to come I want to hear from you, my readers :) I would love for you to drop me an email at superorganizerblog@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post about what you want to hear about this year organizing, recipes, photography etc.

I create a master list every 6 months of things I want to share and that are important to me but I also want to make sure I am covering things you want to know so ask away : )

That Cabinet

2010-01-07T06:49:00.001+08:00

So A few of you commented/emailed me regarding the cabinet in my last post so I thought I would post a full photo of the front on and where you can buy it (I am nice like that LOL). The cabinet itself is purchased as individual bookcases from Ikea called Liatorp it is actually 3 bookcases and you get the capping which goes along the top to make it loot like one cabinet so you can attach as many as you like. You then add the doors we did solid at the bottom for messy stuff like vases and Flynn's china and glass at the top for the "pretty" stuff : ) We love it and it works really well for us as extra storage in our living room.

Taking it all down

2010-01-06T06:50:00.001+08:00

Taking Christmas decorations down is a little sad for me. It is such a happy and family filled time of the year and packing them all away generally signifies going back to work as well!! So I keep mine up as long as possible and hold out until the very last minute. And so I will do the same this year and by the time it all comes down I will be putting up some bits and pieces for Valentines Day- now that will make me happy : ).

On another note as an organizer all those little white (Ikea) boxes lined up on our cabinet make me very very happy. This is an Ikea cabinet as well and we love it. It provides so much storage and the top and bottom of the cabinet are used for all of our wedding china, large plates and serving dishes, vases and china Flynn has been given. We we assembled it we were a little stumped as to what to put in the middle and so little white boxes it was. They are a great place to store keepsakes, candles and notebooks etc.

The most unhealthy fudge you will ever make

2010-01-05T06:02:00.000+08:00

Sorry in advance for this recipe I know a lot of you will be on a health kick for the start of the new year but you seriously have to try this. A girlfriend of mine shared this with me a few years ago and I have been making it ever since.

Ingredients for the base-

180g Butter

2/3 cup Castor sugar

1 1/2 cup plain flour

3 Tbs Cocoa Powder

Melt butter, mix together all ingredients into a slice tin. You will need to press it into the tin quite firmly as it is quite a crumbly mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes on a medium heat.

Ingredients for the top chocolate layer-

1 pkt Dark chocolate drops

3/4 cup cream

1 pkt white chocolate drops

Mix chocolate and cream together in saucepan until chocolate has melted and blended with the cream.

Let this mixture cool a little and then mix in most of the packet of white chocolate drops. Mix quickly and then pour onto the cooled base. Sprinkle the remaining drops on the top of the slice. Allow to set in the fridge and then devour without guilt : )

I don't actually start making the top for this slice until the base is out of the oven and has mostly cooled.

Enjoy : )

For the love of all things plastic

2010-01-04T14:07:00.003+08:00

I love Tupperware : ) I love plastic containers and all of the lovely bright colours and different sizes. I have a lot of Tupperware- more than any one household could ever possible need and when friends come over they over leave with bits and pieces as I am always trying to get rid of the stuff. In fairness I was previously a demonstrator and stopped somewhat suddenly and so I ended up with lots of extras.

Anyway enough with the Tupperware ramble and onto the point of this post- Containers. Important/necessary in my opinion to stay as organized as possible when it comes to family and food. Some of my favourite containers are the lunch style containers as I use these a lot. They are great for leftovers and for pre-cutting up snacks for lunch boxes in advance. The products I would recommend as essential for lunches would be-

Sandwich keepers- these are the perfect sizes for holding a sandwich or crackers.

Snacks Cups- the market these for little kids but I think they are fantastically versatile for adults as well.

Small microwave containers- Shown in my pregnancy snack posts these are great for storing left over dinners/ smalls snacks etc.

Although expensive buying good quality containers is worth the money as the lifetime guarantee it provides means it will last all through your child's school years. There are lots of cheaper alternatives on the market though that you can buy at the local supermarkets that would make a great start- Nude food movers are a new brand onto the market and are available in Coles and Woolworths. I think companies like this show a shift in the public perception on plastics and using glad wrap etc.

I was thinking about the concept of school lunches the other day and how hard it must be to get up in the morning and have to think about what to pack. My idea of pregnancy snacks could be adapted to school lunches. Pre-packaging food into containers could be done at the start of the week and then packed each day into lunches. It is much easier to decanted in bulk than to have the motivation to do this every day especially in the morning.

So as your kids get ready to go back to school considering a few things to make this year more organized in the morning- buy adequate containers and pre- pack as much of the kids lunches in bulk at the start of the week, it will make the mornings a lot less stressful : )

Starting Early

2010-01-03T06:00:00.000+08:00

So I know we just had Christmas but I like to start thinking about each Holiday super early- I LOVE this time of year as there is always so much going on and so much to look forward to. I know a lot of people dismiss Valentines day as a commercialized Hallmark style holiday but I love it : ) We have never done the gifts/ going out for dinner etc thing in this house it is more about time and appreciation for us than presents.

For me and us as a family it has always been a holidays to celebrate and express our love for those closest to us. For us thats means crafts, cards and baking to show those special people how much we care. So in me research here are a few of the baking ideas I have found-

I hope these photos give you a few ideas of your own of things you can bake with your kids this holiday : )

Thinking ahead ...

2010-01-02T06:32:00.000+08:00

I love January. It is a great time to reflect on the year that was and to think about what is to come for the year ahead. Here are just a few of the things we are thinking about starting 2010-

*As a family we have a lot to be grateful for and I want to make sure I remember that every single day.

*As we organize and anticipate the arrival of our second child many many questions swirl around in our heads as to how we will cope with this change in our household.

* I have created my yearly Project List which is mainly related to scrapbook/crafty type projects and I will be sharing this over the coming weeks.

* Planning out a weekly chore list to help us stay on top of our household stuff.

* Continuing to menu and diary plan weekly

*Participating again in the photo a day concept.

*Re-organizing the garage to make room in our spare room to move Flynn into his big boy room.

* Continue out family fun list tradition of making season list of fun things we want to do as a family and then working through them.

These are not so much resolutions for us as lot of these things we do already but more Project lists for our family. I can't wait to jump right in and get started.

I will be sharing my pregnancy album over the next few days along with that year in review album I spoke about a few days ago. These mini albums showcase a great easy way to document the year/pregnancy ahead and just been. But for now I am signing off for the day to make a start on some of my list and to have an afternoon nap : )

Project LIFE- Day One

2010-01-01T16:50:00.004+08:00

For those of you starting this project this is a timely reminder to make sure you take a shot of something you did today : )

We had a fabulous New Years Eve with some friends at home which was great as I could just fall on into bed when I got really tired!! Today we started off 2010 with a family trip to the beach, start how you want to year to continue is our philosophy and we couldn't think of a better way to spend the morning together, now after an afternoon nap we need to think of any easy summer dinner- I am thinking quiche.

But before I do that after sorting through today's photos there are to many I want to use for use for my POTD!! I might just have to include a few : )

Have a great New Years Eve

2009-12-31T08:39:00.001+08:00

I hope something makes you happy tonight and you enjoy time with family and friends : ) I will try to share my tulip lollipops, promise!!

Pregnancy Snacks

2009-12-30T07:00:00.000+08:00

I spent a little bit of time whilst dinner was cooking yesterday packaging up some healthy snacks for myself. As I get further along in this pregnancy I am finding that I need to snack a lot more regularly. So I went to the grocery store just for snacks for me, I know the broccoli is a bit weird that is my latest graving!! I am going to try and do this at the start of every week so when I leave the house I can grab a few bags of different things to have ready for when the hunger hits !! I don't always eat this healthy, please don't be fooled but I am trying : ) So for this week we have rice crackers, grapes and the vegetables at the front.

Attitude is everything

2009-12-29T19:35:00.004+08:00

I have a belief system that a happy daily life requires a great attitude. I have thought this over the last few years and it has helped me to deal with the "stuff" that life has a tendency to throw at you, just to test you. That is why you will find on my blog mainly the things which enrich my life and make me happy- not because my life is perfect (because it isn't) and not because I am trying to pretend that it is either but just because these are the things I like to focus my life on. As humans we have a tendency to focus on the negative in our lives and not to let go of the past, I believe this can bog us down in the present and cause us to be unhappy.

This faith and belief system that everything happens to us for a reason has been tested to it's absolute limits for me over the past 18 weeks of my life. I wake up ever morning hoping it will be different, hoping that on this day I will feel great and I will not have to pretend to be happy and well. And almost every morning is the same- I feel sick from about 10 minutes after I wake up- that's about 6am until I go to bed at about 11pm- that's 17 hours of feeling like I am going to die.

But through it I try to decide to be happy every day. Why? Well because it is not all about me anymore, I have Flynn now and he deserves better, he deserves a mummy who is able to get up and make breakfast and do activities and be the best mother possible under the circumstances. This is not to say he doesn't see me meltdown- he does only the other day I sat down in the middle of the nursery and just cried and cried- because I was tired and frustrated and exhausted and wanted so badly to feel better.

This was taken a little while ago and although I was not aware it was being taken I am glad it was as this is real life, this is me at the moment and this is part of my daily struggle- having a sick moment. I was so grateful to have a break from the sickness over Christmas/boxing day but now it is back with a vengeance.

Staycations : )

2009-12-28T13:20:00.000+08:00

What are they? Well they are holidays where you just stay at home! We have stayed at home this Christmas Holidays the last 3-4 days have been spent exclusively at home and it has been great. Not having anything to do can be hard for me at times as I am such a busy person but I have tried to just enjoy it and I am going to try and have an afternoon nap at some stage this week. We have some fun activities planned for the rest of this week but for the weekend there has been nothing- it is so liberating.

Taking a moment to capture what I love most, family-

Lots of comfort food, sausage hot pot in the slow cooker, home made pizza's, crepes and scones just to name a few : )

Getting dirty in the backyard-

A sneak Peak

2009-12-28T07:58:00.000+08:00

Here is a sneak peak of what I have been working on over the weekend. A little mini album of the best of 2009 for us as a family, more to come tomorrow.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-27T13:58:00.004+08:00

We had a great Christmas morning this year, it was so great to see Flynn so excited that Santa had come to the house. It was so wonderful to see his face light up as he was ripping open all of his gifts : ) I touched yesterday on that I would talk about how we have made Christmas morning a little easier. After our first Christmas with Flynn we realized that the first thing he wanted to was rip open the present and then use it straight away. But then came the time to unwrap the actual gift from the package with all of the twisty ties and plastic snaps and then to find the batteries (hoping you have the right size).

Then with a gift like the Tag Junior you also have to load the machine onto a laptop and register it along with each book. This took Simon about half an hour. So what we do now (starting last year) is open the actual present and add batteries, register it etc and then put it all back in the box/bag in this case. This way when he opened it on Christmas morning he was able to play with it straight away. It makes for such an easy morning and saves all the time involved in opening some of the more complicated toys : )

The Leapfrog Tag Junior was a huge hit this year : ) I am so pleased at it was my pick, admittedly I tend to buy the education toys whereas Simon buys the fun stuff!! It is a good balance though. I bought one book- The Winnie the Pooh one and the pack came with one book. We also bought the cute house travel bag and I am so glad as it keeps the Tag nice and safe. Flynn was lucky enough to receive another 2 books from my mum which was great. This little machine reads out the stories in the books to the kids and also adds sounds, houses, colours, numbers to things in the book which is great.

We have spent the last few days reading the books over and over again which is fantastic : )

Christmas Day : )

2009-12-26T20:03:00.005+08:00

I hope your Christmas and Boxing Days were as wonderful as mine. The day spent with those you love is the most important thing, but the yummy food is also nice : ) We spent this years at my mums house which was great as there was minimal work to do for me, it was nice to have a year off an just enjoy ourselves.

I think I have learnt a lot about entertaining from my wonderful mum. She truly takes it all in her stride, no rushing around on the last day shopping and cleaning, no complaining about the work involved in hosting she really does it all so well. We had 21 for lunch and it was wonderful, great food and great company- what more in there to say!! Days like Christmas make me appreciate even more what a wonderful family that I am truly blessed to have.

Flynn had a great day as well and loved opening his presents- Some more tomorrow on that and how we make Christmas morning easy !!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T10:21:00.002+08:00

Twas the night before Christmas ...

2009-12-24T20:35:00.003+08:00

Have a great day tomorrow with your families.

I know I say it a lot on this blog.

2009-12-24T07:54:00.004+08:00

I know I say it a lot on this blog and you are probably sick of hearing it by now. But it really is the small things in life that make it amazing and worthwhile and will create moments that you will remember forever, like Flynn getting ever so excited about making cupcakes with mummy.So on that note on Christmas Eve 2009 I want to share with you a letter a wrote to my gorgeous boy.

Dearest Flynn,

It is Christmas Eve 2009 and on this special holiday there are so many things I want to say to you. Is has been an amazing year for us as a family and so much has changed since last year. In all that has happened you have been so adaptable and always willing to come along with whatever new adventure we have planned for you.

Your language is amazing now and you are starting to construct your own sentences and have your own opinion about things- it is amazing how much you have changed in this last year. You love going to daycare/school now and have fun there with all of your friends playing trucks and making crafts. You also still equally LOVE having your Nanna and Grandma over to look after you during the week, this is still such a novelty for you and you run excitedly squealing to the door when they arrive !!

This year the concept of Christmas has become clearer to you and we have had so much fun this year explaining it all to you and helping you understand the meaning of Christmas. You have participated this year in all of our traditions instead of just watching which is wonderful. The best thing for me has been watching your whole face light up when you see Santa, a Christmas tree or get given a present to open.

We have also spent lots of time towards the end of this year talking about your new baby brother who will be arriving in late May. You have said so many cute things like "I want to get baby brother out now", "I share my grapes with baby brother". You think he is in my belly button and you love to peer in there and see if he is awake and you will talk and wave to him in mummy's tummy. I cannot wait for you to meet him and see what an amazing, helpful and loving big brother you will be.

You have taught me a lot this year Flynn, how to be extra patient- we all know you cannot hurry a toddler!! Learning to let go of the mess with a boy has also been a learning curve for me as I have had to stop myself from changing your clothes a thousand times a day and just ignore it. Learning to love the everyday and seemingly mundane moments with a toddler has been great, moments like this photo where you were so happy to be at home with mummy for the day making cupcakes : ) These are the moments I want to remember forever with you, they are so special to me.

Most of all know that mummy and daddy love you more than you will ever know. You are the treasure in our lives and the light in our hearts. We cannot wait to show you the rest of the world. We hope you have an amazing Christmas Day tomorrow and that Santa brings you all of the things you wish for.

Love Mummy

Small gifts for colleagues and neighbours

2009-12-23T16:35:00.007+08:00

It really is the thought that counts over Christmas : ) I made a few of these before I went to work yesterday morning for some work colleagues and neighbours, simple but effective. I just used some cookies we had made the day before and packaged them into these plastic stripy bags that I got from Spotlight. Added a gift tag and tied with a cute ribbon.

It shows that I care and that I am thinking about these people in my life over the holiday period and they have a personal touch.

I had a girlfriend ask me the other day where I get a lot of these gift bags I use on the blog for packaging. These ones came from Spotlight but it is best to find them in the cake decorating section not necessarily the Christmas section- there were a few different designs. I also get a lot of stuff from a gorgeous Etsy shop called Cute Cups . She has loads of cute stuff for baking- a lot of it comes from Japan and it is really well priced. *Hint* start thinking about ordering for Valentines Day now, I know I am.

Breakfast

2009-12-23T07:52:00.001+08:00

We are having a bit of a Christmas breakfast this morning : ) Have a great day !!

Quiet time

2009-12-22T18:56:00.004+08:00

We are having lots of this around home this week. With all of our Christmas presents, shopping and cooking etc done we are using the time to just chill out together as a family with a bit of work, baking, colouring etc all mixed in together.

We made these cute snowman chocolate chip muffins the other day : ) The muffin tin was just from my local Coles and only cost $5, I think it adds a cute Christmas touch to some ordinary muffins. I kept the decoration really simple, white chocolate buttons and mini M&M's attached with white chocolate.

I hope you used some of the Christmas checklists I blogged about late in November so that you too are sitting back relaxing before Christmas and not rushing around with the crowds at the last minute : )

A great website.

2009-12-21T11:58:00.003+08:00

I just wanted to share with you this amazing website- Family Fun It is such a great resource for parents. I have printed off a lot of my Christmas crafts and ideas from this site, there is lots of great stuff and best of all it is free!! Even better : ) It is a great place for extra inspiration and ideas, I love to use resources like this as it keeps ideas fresh. I love the Santa postcard and Christmas wish list printables from this site, very cute and great to keep for when the kids are older.

And just because I can't have a post without a photo, Flynn discovered his Christmas presents and opened one LOL.

Those Chistmas tree bags

2009-12-20T10:43:00.008+08:00

Yes they were lolly/treat bags, great guess Paulette! I always do these now for birthdays, our Christmas BBQ, Christenings etc. I love to be able to say thanks for our friends and family for making the time and effort to come over and it saves sending out thanks you cards later : ) I generally lay everything out and put the bags together the night before.

And here is a glimpse of some of what I included in the bags- just little Christmas bits and pieces.

These were Flynn's contribution : ) This was just our basic sugar cookie recipe found here. Once they were bakes we decorated them with green icing and then some Christmas sprinkles.

This was the final product. The red and white stripy bags were for the kids and the paper bags were for the adults : ) I think it is a great way to say thank you to everyone for coming to your event and adults always love a lolly bag !!

Wow well this post turned out to be longer than what I thought but hopefully this gives you some ideas for your own little treats bags.

Mothers Group

2009-12-19T07:25:00.001+08:00

I still love being able to sometimes participate in Mothers Group. Now that I work full time it is a lot harder and I don't get there as often as I would like and often as I did in the past- but I try !! This week we had a little Christmas Party as it was out last meet before we break for the holiday season. I hosted and we had 3 out of the 4 kids attend. We started the group with something like 8 but other girls have moved away and gone back to work and so we are a little group now! There are two of us girls who are pregnant with baby no 2, one due in March and then me in May so our group will grow again. They have been a great source of support over the last 2 1/2 years.

We are hoping to add to our activity list next year now that work has settled into a routine we will be doing swimming lessons on a Saturday, and Gymbaroo and Playgroup after work. We have come and gone from some of these in past years when it has suited our changing work routines. I think it is great for kids to be able to interact with kids their own age group and to have both free play with them and also structured activities for them to learn and develop. I am looking forward to these activities starting in Term 1.

Some yummy snacks for the mums and the toddlers : )

The kids reading through my scrapbooks : ) I have them out on the coffee table at home and Flynn loves flicking through them and looking at himself and pointing out family members. They are pretty robust and I love that they are able to enjoy them !!

Can you guess ?

2009-12-18T17:01:00.000+08:00

Can you guess what we are going to make with these?

Our Christmas Decorations

2009-12-18T07:44:00.000+08:00

This year I decided Flynn was old enough to help make out first Christmas decorations together. We wanted to start this as a family tradition and something we would do together every year. We started really simple this year as I wanted something Flynn could do that was easy as well. First I traced some simple Christmas shapes - bells and baubles onto some white cardstock. Then I let Flynn go crazy with the glitter glue and then crepe paper gluing for the bells. It was great fun, I try and make it a little educational when doing stuff as well as fun- like counting out the crepe psper squares etc.

Waiting patiently to start-

Finger painting with the glitter glue-

And the finished products : ) We made extra's to give out to family and friends-

Coming Tomorrow...

2009-12-17T07:42:00.002+08:00

What we made with these : )

Sharing and some 365 photos

2009-12-16T06:29:00.000+08:00

Here are some of my recent 365 photos for December. I am so looking forward to do this project again next year it has been such an amazing experience and I am so grateful that I have been able to secure a kit for next year which should be arriving in January.

Trying to bribe Flynn to drink some milk (with sprinkles) !! He is not a big milk drinker and so we are trying lots of different things to try and get some extra calcium into his diet.

Do you ever buy yourself flowers? I do : ) When I am having a not so great day they work well at cheering me up, try it next time you need a little pick me up.

Apparently baby brother was very hungry and so Flynn thought he would share his grapes. So cute !! He thinks that baby brother is in my belly button and likes to look in there and wave/talk to him etc LOL.

If you don't like baking...

2009-12-15T06:35:00.003+08:00

Then these are for you : ) I know a lot of your who read this blog don't necessarily like to bake and so this post is especially for you. These chocolate balls are one of my favourite desserts, they are super easy to make and really yummy, perfect!

Ingredients-

1 packet of milk arrowroot biscuits

1 can of condensed milk

Desiccated coconut

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa

Put half of the biscuits in a zip lock bag and break up into tidy pieces with a wooden rolling pin. Repeat this process until all of the biscuits are crushed into very small pieces.

Add the condensed milk and cocoa in a bowl and stir until all ingredients are combined.

Roll out the mixture into small balls and then roll the balls in coconut.

Put them in the fridge to set (or if you are really impatient like me put them in the freezer for 10 minutes)

What does summer look like at your house ?

2009-12-14T06:37:00.001+08:00

Summer at our house is great : ) There is so much more to do and it is just generally more fun, food is more relaxed, the light lasts longer and water becomes more fun : ) I have decided I am definitely going to make sure I do a few Summer layouts this year that include snippets of everything we do over the next few months.

Fun times at the beach, we are loving our new beach tent this year

A new favourite snack for Flynn-

The sprinkler has suddenly become fun and Flynn went in and got saturated over the weekend before I even had time to undress him!

Yum : )

2009-12-13T08:10:00.000+08:00

And yes they are already all gone !! I love chocolate chip muffins they are a new favourite of mine, and the rest of the family.

Pregnancy #2

2009-12-12T06:52:00.001+08:00

So I thought I would share a bit of an update of pregnancy number 2 for me and how I am finding pregnancy second time around. Firstly I have come to one of two conclusions- I have forgotten how bad it was last time or it is a LOT harder second time around. Or maybe it is both? Anyway I have to say I am finding it extraordinarily hard this time around, I am sick again as I was with Flynn all day every day until I go to bed at night.

With my first pregnancy I worked part time, had a much smaller house and did not have anyone else to look after. I remember coming home from work and sleeping until dinner, eating dinner then going back to bed !!! Those were the days : ) Now I come home from work (which is now full time) and spend the next 4-5 hours running around after Flynn, cooking, cleaning, blogging, baking, crafting, reading stories, running baths and playing dinosaurs. Then Flynn goes to bed I am usually up for at least a few more hours getting ready for the next day and trying to fit in some relax time.

What is so much more amazing this time is watching Flynn get excited about the prospect of having a baby brother - it just literally melts my heart. He is such a cute boy and loves kissing and hugging baby brother/my tummy. He loves running around and getting things to share with baby brother : ) It is very sweet.

I was hoping this pregnancy would be different than my first in that I wouldn't be sick for as long but at nearly 16 weeks it is getting worse every single day, not nice. I am so grateful though to be growing a healthy baby who is already very active, we cannot wait to meet the next addition to our family. Anyway there is a little wrap up of how I am travelling.

And seen I have been asked it a million times already no this is not our last baby- yes we will be having more : )

One of the greatest investments you can make.

2009-12-11T06:53:00.000+08:00

In my opinion anyway, is a bubble machine : ) Although you can obviously still just blow bubbles having a bubble machine is so much fun, we all love playing with ours and it means we can chase and enjoy all of the bubbles. I snapped these cute photos of Flynn yesterday before I went to work having some bubble fun outside with his Nanna- my mum I wish I could have captured his hysterical laughter as well ...

Now get outside and go and blow some bubbles with your kids, they will love you for it : )

Where you live

2009-12-10T08:32:00.007+08:00

Over the weekend when our family went to the Christmas pageant we strolled through our beautiful city of Perth. I had my camera with me and so as we walked around I snapped a few buildings and sites that I had never really noticed before. Isn't it funny how you live somewhere your entire live and you never photograph your own city and appreciate it's beauty?

Well I took the opportunity to do that on Sunday and thought I would share a few photos of this beautiful city that I live in. And more than ever these photos truly make me appreciate and love where I grew up.

There you go, that is just a snippet- a great street in the city where I live. Now I have to go and make a layout on this exact topic : ) Just to make sure I never forget.

Even the muffins...

2009-12-09T06:14:00.000+08:00

have a touch of Christmas spirit : ) I did warn you that I do like to make everything Christmassy (is that even a word?). Anyway when Flynn and I made these last week I thought I would add a Christmas touch by making some toppers for them. The great thing about cupcake/muffin toppers is they can be re used time and time again and are really easy to make.

With the Christmas toppers the way I made these is I got a sheet of 12x12 scrapbooking paper and using my scallop circle bunch I cut the paper up in circles, I then attached each circle to a toothpick with a little piece of sticky tape. If these are for a party etc I usually make them double side- so you use double side tape and put something on both sides of the circle. It is an easy way to make some banana and raspberry muffins look cute : )

Epic Fail

2009-12-08T08:52:00.004+08:00

What an absolute fail !! I really tried to get a cute Christmas photo today but master Flynn was just not in the mood : ( Oh well he is such a funny boy-

Mini Christmas Puddings

2009-12-07T18:16:00.004+08:00

I cannot take any credit for this recipe/idea I got it from a great friend Anna and I just love how they turned out !! These are the easiest Christmas puddings you will ever make. They are great little gifts for friends and family and really quick and easy to make which is great if the kids are helping.

You will need-

A packet of Royal Arnotts biscuits

White chocolate

A packet of Spearmint leaves

A packet of Jaffas

Melt the white chocolate and then drizzle over the biscuits. Then place half a spearmint leaf and a Jaffa on the top. Place in the fridge to set.

See, super easy and they look so cute : )

Thanks for posting the link in the comments Leah- Mini Christmas Puddings

I can't help myself : )

2009-12-06T12:35:00.007+08:00

I know I said I wouldn't post anything about organizing but I just can't help myself !! We went off to the Christmas pageant in the city today and after coming home I thought I would just post a few of the things we do before we head out for a big day.

Firstly- do a little bit of research the week before. Most events have a website than run through locations and where you can park- what roads are going to be closed etc. This can really help reduce stress levels on the day. I printed this out last week and we took it with us to refer back to. We knew what was going on and where and what times etc- a great help !!

Food- An absolute necessity in our house with 2 boys- soon to be 3 someone is always hungry and bought food at events of this size are generally unhealthy and over priced. I really find it difficult to swallow paying $8 for a roll?? It makes going out as a family so expensive. So we pack food, I get up early before Flynn is up and put the bake at home rolls in the oven and then chop the salads/chicken ready for the rolls.

Whilst they were baking I also put our water bottles in the freezer and got out the fruit ready to take as well. It worked really well especially today as the other options were chips and sausage sizzles.

I bought some of these great Stick with me wrist bands awhile ago and use them when we go somewhere with huge crowds (green tab on the left at the bottom of their web page) They are seriously worth the price at $10 for 12. You write your children's details on them including your phone number and their name and if they get lost you will be able to be contacted.

As soon as we got to the pageant there were calls for lost kids : ( Not the place you want to loose them with thousands on people everywhere. This just gives me a little piece of mind!! We got the blue dinosaur design- I told Flynn it was a watch : )

Watching the floats go by-

Christmas Cards

2009-12-05T13:15:00.004+08:00

They are finished for another year : ) I tried to keep it simple this year as we had a lot of other things going on but they still seemed to take forever !! I tried to cut down to 40 this year but already I have realized that I will need to make a few more for extras.

Sorry about the lighting in the photo but the white keeps over exposing the shot (just above the from the Conran family it says Merry Christmas 2009) but you get the general idea. On the inside I stuck a small photo of the baby's ultrasound and a personalized message. We then type up our annual newsletter which we include in the cards so that family and friends who we haven't seen in awhile get a little update on what we have been doing.

Some Christmas Cupcakes

2009-12-04T07:13:00.000+08:00

We made come yummy Christmas cupcakes by request of the little Flynn yesterday. We had a great time and Flynn just loves cooking- a boy after my own heart. But yesterday licking the mixture was all that mattered : ) To make things red and green we had some green santa cupcake wrappers, red icing and then some red and green sprinkles : ) I got all of this from Spotlight.

Stirring is also a favourite cooking activity-

And the best part- licking the mixture, yummy-

And the very yummy final product-

And now to try and stop eating them : ) I will have to distribute them amongst friends tomorrow !!

Our house so far...

2009-12-03T07:47:00.006+08:00

We put up our Christmas tree a few days ago and a few decorations around the house which makes it feel a lot more festive. So here are a few snapshots of what Christmas looks like in our house so far this year.

This is our buffet in the front foyer and yes those are all of our Christmas cards finally complete and in the post !! (Photos of our cards this year to come !)

Organizing your Christmas Decorations

2009-12-02T07:05:00.000+08:00

A few years ago I bought these fantastic containers from Target for Christmas Decorations. They are great for storing all of the little balls and other decorations : ) They are made by Sterilite and are absolutely fantastic, I feel so organized every year now when I pull them out. See here. I have seen similar option this year at Target and also Spotlight that are collapsible. I also managed to get a wrapping paper one which is the tall one on the right hand side of the website picture- I will post photos of this soon.

Christmas Disclaimer : )

2009-12-01T19:17:00.004+08:00

Just so that you know what to expect for the next month from me- nothing but Christmas stuff : ) Ideas, cooking, crafts. home decor, ornament making, baking for friends, cards and tree decorating- not an organizing tip in sight, apart from tomorrow where you can expect and post on Organizing Christmas decorations- but that's it !! A fun month of Christmas.

And part of my disclaimer is that you should know that I like to give EVERYTHING some Christmas cheer!! It helps me get into the festive spirit and I am constantly thinking about what great thing we are going to do next, it is such a fun month. So enjoy- have the month off and don't organize a thing, but rest assured I will be back in the new year with plenty of organizing tips to keep you busy : )

And just to give you an idea- some Christmas quiche I made tonight.

Time out

2009-12-01T07:36:00.001+08:00

Now my mum is going to kill me for posting a time out photo of her most well behaved and treasured Grandson having a tantrum during time out but here it is- (sorry mum!!)

We don't often have to use time out for Flynn as he is generally able to stay within what is expected on him behavioral wise at home and we are all happy. Then there are the days where he will just not co-operate, throws tantrums will not listen and is just generally naughty. This was one of "those" days where he woke up grumpy. So the mean mum that I am after a few warnings for various behaviors a time out it was. We generally only have to do 2 minutes and he is usually willing to say sorry- but not this day. Flynn was feeling particularly stubborn and ended up there for 3 time outs and each time the 2 minutes was up he refused to say he was sorry. He did eventually give in though!!

So we use the Super Nanny Method.

1. 3 warnings

2. After 3 warning place the child in time out (a quiet corner works for us) explaining why they are sitting in a time out and for how long (1 minute per age)

3. After the designated time kneel down and explain again why the child was placed in the time out and then ask for an apology.

Saying sorry to mummy-finally !!!

And no less than 10 minutes later we were having a picnic afternoon tea outside= success : ) I am happy to use a technique that allows Flynn to understand what he has done wrong- have some time to think about it and apologize and then get on with the rest of the afternoon. It was like 2 different children and I love the after result !!

What works for you and disciplining your toddler at home?

It's the Innocence I covet

2009-11-30T11:31:00.002+08:00

Just to be a child again. Totally innocent to the "real" world that is out there. If only we could shelter them forever.....

Some summer Icy Poles

2009-11-28T15:13:00.004+08:00

I tried making these for the first time last night and they worked out really well and so I thought I would share the recipe here : ) With summer well and truly here I thought it was time to make up some yummy summer icy poles for Flynn to have on those really hot days.

So for my Icy Poles I used-

A tub of vanilla yogurt

Raspberries

Strawberries- washed and quartered

Some honey

I just threw it all in the blender and whizzed it all together. I then used the Tupperware Icy Pole holders to put the mixture in to freeze. These are not a regular range Tupperware item so if you see them out on a monthly special grab a few for yourself. I have 3 sets which makes 18 icy poles, this is a lot more economical than buying them and also a lot healthier as well, which is always a good thing !!

Thankful Day 4

2009-11-27T17:06:00.002+08:00

Today I am grateful to have spent some great family time together this afternoon in our backyard, kicking the ball and having a picnic- Life is good : )

Christmas Traditions.

2009-11-27T06:57:00.000+08:00

I have been a busy little beaver over the past few days making all of the Christmas cards for our family and friends- I will be sharing some photos when I am done : ) I am hoping to have all of the cards finished over the weekend to post first thing next week. Making these cards has become one of our traditions along with including a family photo and newsletter of what we have been up to over the past year. It is a great summary for friends and family especially those we might not see frequently.

Once we had our own family Christmas took on a whole new meaning for us. It meant the start of our own family traditions. These will change constantly and we will add and remove things as our family grows but at the moment our Christmas Traditions look something like this-

*Dec 1st or the weekend before put up the Christmas tree together.

*Make Christmas cookies, cupcakes, fruit mince pies, lollipops and any other yummy goodies we can find.

* Special stories with Flynn on Christmas Eve- Cookies and milk out for Santa and water for the Reindeer.

*Christmas crafts and activities throughout the month of December

*Hand make the Christmas cards with newsletter and family photo

*Christmas BBQ for close friends to catch up with friends the weekend before Christmas

*Watching the Christmas Pageant in the city

*Visit Santa land in the city and ride the mini train

*Local carols by candlelight

*Christmas Eve dinner- immediate family

*New Pajamas on Christmas eve for the family.

*Then we do the family gatherings for lunch on Christmas day and Boxing day

These are a few of the things we will be getting up to over the next month, and I can't wait to share this years journey with you : ) Today I made our traditions into a scrapbook page which will live on the fridge for the next month to remind us of all of the fun things we have to look forward to over the next month !!

Thankful Day 3

2009-11-26T16:10:00.005+08:00

Today I am grateful that everyone in our house is happy and healthy. After all your health really is all that matters- I have been reflecting over this for the past few days.

I also just wanted to say that I am grateful to all of my wonderful blog followers and readers. When I started this blog about 5 months ago I did so as I was getting a lot of organizing type emails from people wanting help with things and so I thought I would start a blog so everyone could read my organizing adventures!!! I honestly never believed after such a short time I would have close to 40 000 hits on this site, it amazes me that anyone is remotely interested in reading my dribble : )

And so when I was having a look through some of my followers I thought I would share with you some of their wonderful blogs which will hopefully inspire you even further.

Getting Organised and Clean

Magical Cake Creations

KBA Designs

And many many more. So thank you blog readers and followers- I am grateful to you : )

Project 365 photos

2009-11-26T07:44:00.002+08:00

I know a lot of you have purchased the kit from the Becky Higgins site called Project LIFE previously called Project 365 this year. I thought I would post some of my recent photos so that you are able to get some ideas ready for next year. Remember that everything about your life is interesting- you might not think so but through someone else's eyes or as you look back throughout the year you will be so glad you captured that everyday life stuff- I know I am : ) If you need some extra ideas check out this fantastic list from Creating Keepsakes (a scrapbooking magazine) they posted this last year when they launched 365.

Both the boys posing-

Breaking in some new thongs, summer is well and truly here-

Feeling thankful for our little boy who brings us endless amount of joy-

Looking very pregnant already-

Some toilet training time-

Thankful Day 2

2009-11-25T13:50:00.000+08:00

Thankful for such an awesome job that sometimes allows me to take a much needed time out for a few nights and enjoy a change of scenery- especially in such beautiful beach side towns : )

For your Laundry

2009-11-25T07:31:00.000+08:00

I have been using this little checklist in our laundry for a while now and it has been working quite well and so I thought I would share it here : ) I have printed out a Stain Removal Guide and laminated it adhered it above my sink in the Laundry.

Thankful Day 1

2009-11-24T07:34:00.004+08:00

I lot of the blogs I read are from American writers and I have been inspired this week by a lot by posts surrounding being thankful for things in our lives. I think a lot of my project 365 posts can be related back to what I am thankful for in my life at the the moment but I am going to take more time this week to think about all of those wonderful people and things and celebrate them. I love the tradition of taking a day to have dinner to celebrate family and what you are thankful for- this is an American tradition I wish we could adopt here !!

So here are a few blog who a doing a photo a day of what they are thankful for Ali Edwards and Becky Higgins.

So for my first photo for the week- Monday's photo, I am thankful for all of the modern medicines it takes to keep my severe morning sickness at bay and hopefully allow me to get through the day without being sick and allow me to start to put on some weight to grow a healthy baby.

So what are you thankful for today?

A little file folder

2009-11-23T08:52:00.000+08:00

On Friday night I put together a little file folder as I was sick of little papers getting crumpled in my handbag for things I needed to keep in there like prescriptions, flyers, doctors referrals etc. I got this little folder from a scrapbook shop and it is the prefect size. I covered a piece of card with some patterned paper and then added a photo of the new little boy and some little embellishments : ) It looks pretty and it really practical especially for all of the baby related paperwork I now seem to have endless amounts of now!! I have added an A4 folder to my existing folder system that I talked about here- File Folders for all baby and pregnancy related paperwork but I am going to use the small folder for when I need to take something into appointment.

Here is the back of the folder-

Like father like son

2009-11-22T08:04:00.001+08:00

Do your children like to copy everything you both do? I know Flynn does, he mimics everything we both do and say, but none more so than Simon. Anything that Simon does- Flynn wants to be there, it is so sweet to watch. He is starting to get to a great age for photos where he will follow a basic instruction which is really fun!!! Simon is learning through time and mistakes that he needs to be really careful with both what he says and does as he needs to set a good example (and I keep on threatening to start a swear jar!!)

I have started to seriously think about Christmas cards over the last few days they need to be finished by the end of next week so I need to get a move on. I only have about 40 to make this year which is not too bad and I have the photos all ready to go- now just to get started on the cards !!!

Was I really that big???

2009-11-21T14:41:00.001+08:00

I was sorting through some photos yesterday and stumbled across my pregnancy album from last time with Flynn. We took a photo every week from when we found out I was expecting and I am so glad we did as it is so wonderful to look back on and reminisce back to those times. It was not something I looked forward to or enjoyed at the time but I am so glad that we did it now. We are doing the same thing this time around and it is also fun to compare the two pregnancies.

So far they have been quite similar, I was sick with Flynn for 20 weeks and was hoping that this time would be different but it does not seem to be relenting yet and looks to be actually getting worse. This is a bit of a shame as I was hoping I would get lucky this time and have one of those wonderful healthy pregnancies where I felt wonderful and floated through like some other women I know do (so jealous!!) But that was just not meant to be, oh well the result is well worth the sickness : )

The photo below was taken about 24 hours before I gave birth and was as we were walking out of the door to go to the hospital. So glad we grabbed this shot as it brings back so many memories from this day, and now the scary part- doing it all again!!!

What's a pregnant girl to do?

2009-11-20T07:43:00.001+08:00

When you have a craving for something, but make it yourself !!!! I have started feeling a lot better over the last few days and I even felt up to baking again- I have been less over the past few months. So yesterday afternoon I felt like some muffins and put these together- Banana Raspberry and they were a really great combination, I need to go and have some more before they are all gone !!Have I posted this recipe before ?? I just went and had a look and yes I have !! Just in case you want to have a go here you are.

http://superorganizer.blogspot.com/2009/07/banana-and-rasberry-muffins.html

A linen closet

2009-11-19T15:19:00.005+08:00

I know I said I was going to post this last week but things have been a little crazy around here !! Every time I remember I have to photograph this it is dark, so I got onto it this afternoon. I apologize in advance for the photos as our linen closet is a U shape and it's impossible to get a decent photo so sorry about that : )

We obviously built in quite a large linen closet when we designed our house but a lot of the same principles can be adapted any any size linen closet so below are a few tips to adapt to a smaller sized linen closet.

1. For smaller item such as tea towels and pillow cases buy some white storage boxes from Ikea, you will fit so much more in the space on your shelf and it also looks a lot neater that having little things falling all over the place.

2. If you have a small space get some vacuum sealer bags for the larger things like pillows and quilts- you can then put a few bags in a white box- again just to make it look neat and create a feeling of space.

3. Get a light over or near the closet- make the space light will help you to easily find things and keep the area tidy.

4. If your family struggles to put things back in the right place label the actual shelf as to what goes there ie- King size sheets, quilts etc.

The right hand side of the closet- chair pads, picnic rugs, fold away coolers and bath mats. The top shelf is just used for extra house stuff we are not currently using.

Ok so the last photo is the left hand side of the closet. This is where we store a few suitcases, extra quilts, our extra sets of sheets and beach towels. Again the boxes up the top are miscellaneous bits and pieces that don't really have homes, extra cushions, candles, baskets frames etc.

At the moment I keep Flynn's linens separate as he has a big closet so I will share with you soon what I do for his stuff. This will change over time but for the moment with changing bedding so frequently especially when he is sick etc I find it easier to have all of his things separate.

A Christmas Gift Idea

2009-11-18T07:07:00.001+08:00

Well with Christmas around the corner I thought I would get started on some little gift add ons to give to our family with their presents. I bought these little 4 by 7 inch canvases from our local newsagents for $3.00 and we did some handprinting. The grandparents love getting little projects and it adds a personalized touch to any present. I decorated the back of mine with some cute cardstock and a photo of Flynn. They could rest these against a shelf or on a desk at home etc.

A new baby in the mix : )

2009-11-17T11:16:00.000+08:00

Well I said last week that there was a reason behind my lack of organizational posts of late and this is why!!! I am 12 weeks pregnant : ) We went together as a family for my 12 weeks scan today and they were 90% sure it is another boy. He was super healthy and all of this results came back perfect.

And Flynn loves his baby brother already !!

A free printable chore chart

2009-11-16T07:01:00.000+08:00

I stumbled across this fantastic customizable chore chart on a blog the other day and I just love it !! I love the idea of being able to fill in your own "chores" and adapt it to each individual child. I am going to start using this next year for Flynn (2 1/2 years old) and I will being adding things like packing away toys, doing a wee on the toilet, using his manners etc etc. Not so much "chores" for a toddler but more boundaries as to what behaviour is expected at home. I think I will laminate the chart and Flynn can colour in the circles- that way at the end of the week we can just wipe it clean. This option means that you will not have to remember to reprint the chart every week and have stickers all over your house !!

Here is the link- enjoy : )

http://www.modecokids.com/index.php/2009/10/21/free-printable-chore-chart-for-kids/

I am a complete contradiction

2009-11-15T07:49:00.000+08:00

Well my scrapbooking desk is anyway : ) It my place in the world where I allow myself to be totally messy- and I love it. The more messy it is the more I am usually creating and coming up with ideas and projects that I want to start or complete. So at the moment as you can see by the stack in the middle of my desk I am mini album focused at the moment. This is because I am currently up to date with our family, Flynn's and my 365 project (this rarely happens!!) and so this allows me extra time over the next few months to start and finish some extra projects.

One of the projects that I have decided to take on this year for Christmas is the December daily album. I am so looking forward to doing this as I have felt way too overwhelmed in taking on such a massive project over the Christmas Holidays in previous years- but this year I am going to give it a go : )

You will find a lot of detail on the project examples here on this blog-

http://www.aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/page/2/

But basically you document your December in photos and journaling and create a mini album. The idea is that you complete the base of the album before December 1st to make it nice and easy to compile throughout December. My album is the top green mini album in the pile and I will post some photos once I have finished compiling the album.

It's for sale : )

2009-11-14T11:39:00.003+08:00

I had a lot of people email me regarding the Project Life kit and I just looked on the website and it is for sale !!

Here is the link

http://www.beckyhiggins.com/projectlife/

Just be warned though shipping to Australia is pretty Expensive !! The kit is still worth the money though when you look at everything that is included you would pay about $70 alone for an album in Australia and Page protectors are about $10/12 for only 10- you get 54 in the kit. The box is fairly big and heavy which is why I would assume shipping is expensive.

It's open

2009-11-14T07:48:00.000+08:00

We were so excited to see that our local water park had opened over the weekend and so we headed down there this week in the afternoon to check it out. This place is truly awesome, there is so much for the kids to do and Flynn had a absolute ball. It is great being water sprayers and not an actual pool they literally run around the entire time.

We were there for over an hour just having fun and enjoying colling off after a hot day. Here are a few photos-

When I knew it was time to head on home !!-

Start to plan Christmas

2009-11-13T07:28:00.001+08:00

Ok so I like to get a lot of Christmas planning and buying done by the end of November. I try to have most of my presents bought and wrapped so they can go straight under the tree on Dec 1 when we decorate.

This year I am going to use the Martha Stewart Christmas checklist to get started and help to keep me on track throughout the next 6 weeks leading up to the big day. So far getting things done early in previous years has worked really well as there is a lot less stress getting to the end of December.

So for starters I have booked in a shopping day for next Saturday and I should get most of my present shopping done there. I will go with a list and just stick to that. As soon as I get home the presents are wrapped straight away. I need to start my Christmas cards ASAP as I make them all and include a photo and a family newsletter I need to make this a priority over the next 2 weeks as they need to be out no later than about the 25th Nov.

If you would like to download the checklist for yourself and use it as a guide to get you organized here it is-

http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/2009Q3/ms_checklist_holiday.pdf

I hope that helps you to start to get organized for Christmas.

Project LIFE

2009-11-12T06:35:00.001+08:00

How cute is this new kit?

This the new version of the 365 kit for 2010. I am so excited as I was not sure if there was going to be a kit for this year. I so loved doing this project this year- I cannot even begin to explain how much I treasure all of those extra special memories I have captured this year by shifting my focus to capturing the everyday moments that make up our life and not just the "events" like birthdays etc. In the years to come I think I will treasure and love these albums even more as you can so easily forget all of those details that make up you life- especially when you are so busy working and raising children etc.

I think this kit is going to be a little more flexible than the last one in that you don't necessarily have to take a photo every day maybe just once a week. But to be honest I love taking a photo a day and I have not really found it that hard to keep up with. I print the photos every 2 weeks or so and try to complete the journaling at about the same time- I try to not get more than about a month behind or can become very overwhelming to catch up.

I encourage anyone even if you are not a scrapbooker to try this project even if not for an entire year why not capture a month in your life? You literally take your photos and slip them into the divided page protectors as per the above photo and then journal on the cards and slip them in- easy !!

Just to add the kit will be sold online on this website-

http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2009/11/project-life.html

It is due to be launched this weekend at some stage- I will post as soon as I know : )

My oh my : (

2009-11-11T07:28:00.000+08:00

When Flynn came home like this on the weekend after going for a walk in the forest with Daddy I was sad : ( My whole life of dirt and mud and mess flashed before me, then I realized it is just one of the joys of having boys !!! (He did actually have sandals on this is how dirty they got with shoes on)

Apologies for the lacking of organizing posts my reasons for this will soon become clear, but rest assured there will be a post on linen closet organization later on this week and also getting organized for Christmas so look out for those : )

A quiet weekend

2009-11-10T07:21:00.000+08:00

It was a refreshing change for our family this weekend to purposely plan to do nothing and stay at home. We were tempted many times through the weekend though with invitations of BBQ's, dinner and time at the beach but we said no to everyone and took some time out. It was great : ) We looked at our schedules for the coming weeks and with Christmas approaching it is sure going to be busy around here with everyone having their own things on in between Christmas as well. So with that in mind we took this weekend off and chose to spend it at home- doing nothing just spending time at home.

My time consisted of stories with Flynn, some naps, water play outside, some baking, a little scrapbooking and just spending time out in the sun.

Now to get my head into work mode for the rest of the week : )

Why didn't I think of that ?

2009-11-09T07:13:00.002+08:00

Sometimes you see/buy something and think exactly this. This little invention is pure genius. It cuts up your sandwiches into cute little dinosaurs and cutting off the crusts at the same time. I bought this a little while ago from a local kitchen shop and pulled it out over the weekend for a fun twist on lunch. It worked a treat Flynn thought his sandwiches were really cool and talked and talked about them.

MMM now why didn't I think of that?

Enjoy your Monday : )

Water play in summer

2009-11-08T07:19:00.000+08:00

For Flynn's second birthday he got this great water play table for his Nanna, unfortunately due to the cold winter was have not been able to get it out to play until this week !!! And boy does he love it !!! I think this will be staying out all summer, there is heaps to do on it and there is a cute little umbrella to protect t he kids from the sun : ) Oh and don't you love the choice of footwear? Flynn has obviously started wanted to dress himself

Freezer Stock up

2009-11-07T08:48:00.002+08:00

So last night when I was waiting on Simon to get home I wrote out a little Bulk cook up freezer list for myself as I was to start to replenish our deep freezer stores for next winter. We have let it run low to use up everything we have in the freezer and to try some new recipes.

I bought this great cook book awhile ago called Frost Bite by Susan Austin. All of recipes from breakfast to dinner to party food all come with specific freezer instructions and have been designed with freezing in mind. It is a fabulous book and all of the recipes I have made so far had turned out fantastic.

So I have chosen 14 meal recipes so far of which I will be making 4-6 family sized serves per cook up. So thats about 2 months worth of family meals for winter : ) I am also going to trial cooking up a load of snacks like muffins and cakes to freeze. The plan is to cook one extra meal per week for 3 1/2 months through summer and one extra snacks per fortnight. This means by the end of May the list should be complete.

Once I have printed off my menu plan I will post it on here.

Once apon a time.....

2009-11-06T20:05:00.006+08:00

There was a little boy born into a family of just 2. He was a gorgeous little thing who had the cutest little tooshie. Then one day out of the blue a few years after he was born he said to his mummy "I want to use the big boy toilet". Although this was a very proud and memorable moment it also meant to another step out of babyhood : ( I find this transition incredibly sad, I do want Flynn to experience all that is toddler life but I also want my little baby back.

But then today when we put his big boy pants on for the very first time my heart swelled- it was still the same cute little tooshie. And boy was I proud of him today- he took to the toilet like he had been doing it forever and seemed so happy with himself.

Onto another phase in his life and we are just so proud.

A typical toddler breakfast in our house looks like...

2009-11-05T07:38:00.004+08:00

Porridge : ) This is my photo of the day I am usually way too busy in the morning to take any photos at all and so this morning AI made an effort to capture a bit of the morning madness for my 365 photo.

From about 12 months we moved on from having rice cereal for breakfast to porridge. Flynn has always loved porridge and it seems to really fill him up. I add pureed fruit (today was apricot and pear) and also any chopped fruits we have that suit (today was blueberries and strawberries). I am so glad I captured this morning shot as I know Flynn will not be eating the same foods forever- they grow up so quick!! As the year draws to a close I am trying to capture all of the photos left of my list, to finish off my 365 album.

Have a great day : )

Just so that we are clear....

2009-11-04T17:13:00.003+08:00

No way, no how is my house tidy all the time !! With a 2 year old tornado nothing stays tidy for long around here but there are a few things we do to make life easier and clean up quick.

Make your toddler help- Flynn had to clean up the above mess before he was allowed to go outside and start playing out there.

Get into the habit of trying to get them to pull out one thing/box/toy at a time. We are still working on this one, but we are getting there!!

Have ample and easy storage for the kids to be able to pack away themselves, for example this basket of toys sits in our family room under a coffee table and toys are changed regularly. It is nice as easy for Flynn to be to pull out and pack away on his own.

Make it fun!! Sing a pack away song and lead by example help the kids pack away as well instead of standing over them barking orders, they are a lot more likely to oblige of you make it a fun game.

I don't think it is easier to just do it yourself when the kids are in bed- it does not teach them any responsibility and you will soon get sick of cleaning up after everyone.

These are just a few things we have done at home to make packing away the toys easy !!

A bit more on activities

2009-11-03T07:44:00.002+08:00

My post last week about doing activities during the week struck a cord with a few of you who felt the same way, especially the working parents and so I thought I would expand on why I do this and what it means to me : ) We all feel that terrible thing called Mothers guilt and this seems to be amplified when we choose to or have to go back to work, we feel guilty about everything already and then compounded on that is the guilt about returning to work.

I have gotten better not feeling so guilty over the last nearly 2 years I have been back at work and I want to share a few things I do to help with that. Doing activities with Flynn before/after work is one of the those things. I am lucky enough to have a really flexible job where I come and go as I need and my office is at home- this helps a lot. I have tried to make sure that along with the normal after work stuff dinner, bath, stories and bed that we attempt to fit in some play dough, colouring, crafts etc. This does not always happen it just depends on how busy we are but we really try. This really helps me not to feel so guilty about walking out the door the next day.

Cooking our meals in bulk helps with this as it allows us the time in the afternoon to do this- like this afternoon I put a pre made lasagna in the oven to cook and we all went outside and watered the garden together and then played with musical instruments- such a nice way to spend the afternoon.

I have always believed in quality time whilst parenting and not quantity- you could be a stay at home parent and spend all week shopping and having coffee instead of quality time with your children (most SAHM I know are fabulous and don't do this at all this is of course just an example!!), therefore it is not about how much time you spend with your kids but making that time great!!! Since understanding that I have come to realize that as long as every moment we are together I do the very best parenting job I can then I am doing the best thing for my family- regardless whether I work or not.

And here we were this afternoon having a tea party in the backyard. I hope this inspires you to change the way you think about that precious time when you are at home : )

The rest of our Halloween #2

2009-11-02T07:25:00.001+08:00

And some gorgeous cupcakes that my great friend Jemma and her mum made- so cute !!!

Lolly bags for the party guests-

Some bat inspired Quiches -

The rest of our Halloween #1

2009-11-01T15:39:00.000+08:00

Adding a little orange to our friends party last night, I picked up these cute plastic orange houses from our local newsagents last week.

Our little love bug : )

We packaged up some cookies into these cute little bags to give out to friends and family-

I used the basic sugar cookies recipe for these and just made them look a little Halloween like : )

Some Halloween Muffins

2009-10-31T14:43:00.004+08:00

We are going out to a Halloween party this afternoon and so one of the treats I have put together to take are some choc chip muffins with a little Halloween twist : ) These gorgeous muffins cases are from a great online store called sweet themes, they have so much great stuff for all sorts of holidays and parties throughout the year- If I want a cookie cutter this is where I go. http://www.sweetthemes.com.au/

Here is the recipe

Ingredients-

2 cups flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

2 ts baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

125g melted butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugars, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl mix together milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.

3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the milk mixture.

4. Stir to combine, then fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Spoon the batter into prepared muffins pans and bake at 200 for 15-20 minutes.

Then just to add some extra spook I added some cupcake toppers : )

Bubbles

2009-10-30T07:13:00.002+08:00

I am not sure about your house but bubbles provide hours and hours worth of entertainment in our home, so when I found some little Halloween bubbles I thought they would be perfect to add to the theme of the week : ) Watching Flynn try to learn to blow bubbles was priceless!!

Look out for some yummy Halloween cooking tomorrow : )

Decorate for Halloween

2009-10-29T14:58:00.005+08:00

I like to make an effort to put up some small decorations for the Holidays. I have mainly done Easter and Christmas in the past but this year I started doing Halloween. You can start small and just add to your decorations each year.

This year I just bought a few things like the hanging pumpkin from my post a few days ago.

I love to add bits and pieces to this wooden tree each season as well !!

Even some special serviettes will get you in the festive mood : )

Recent POTD

2009-10-28T21:55:00.007+08:00

Whilst I am waiting on some extra Halloween stuff to photograph and post for you tomorrow I thought I would post some of my recent POTD. I am still loving this project so much. I cannot believe how much it has changed my everyday POV of what a want to capture for us to be able to look back on over the coming years as a family.

I was really excited to read on Becky Higgins blog last week that she will be doing some sort of kit again next year Yay!! I am so excited as I was getting a little worried about what I was going to do for next year.

http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2009/10/q-friday.html

As soon as I hear/read anything more about this kit I will let you all know as I know a lot of readers are interested in doing something similar for next year.

Flynn and mummy watching a special movie together over the weekend with popcorn-

A family dinner on a typical weeknight

Flynn going a little sticker crazy

Man's best friend

Flynn after 3 year old Kindy open day trying to eat his balloon dog!!

Halloween Painting

2009-10-27T07:57:00.000+08:00

There is no need to pretend we all like painting with kids !! Lets be honest it is messy, there is a lot of set up and clean up and it generally only entertains my 2 year old for about 20 minutes. So why even do it? Well I like to give Flynn as many great/ educational experiences that I can at home. I work full time and so I do not have as much time as I would like to do things like this but whenever we can we are cooking, making play dough food, doing some craft or painting. I decided early on that I wanted to be a part of this fun stage of his development and that I was not going to leave it all up to daycare and playschool.

Although I love Flynn's daycare and he loves going there twice a week I also think they miss out on a lot of one on one time there as they have 15 toddlers in the room who all want to paint !! And so those are the reasons why I take the time and put up with the mess to be able to provide Flynn with those extra experiences at home which are also great fun for both of us : )

I have done Potato stamping a few times we make up some great gift tags for our Easter treats this year using Flynn's stamped Easter bunnies !! He seems to really enjoy the painting and creating different shapes. We just use cookie cutters we already have at home. This time I decided to lay out some long paper and let him go crazy outside- that way I did not have to worry about any mess !!

And this was the finished product : ) I drew around the spiders with a black pen and then gave them little faces. I then attached some orange popsticks to the back. Flynn can now give these out to his little friends for Halloween.

Mini Banana Muffins

2009-10-26T08:09:00.000+08:00

Care of my wonderful friend Naomi is this fabulous recipe for banana mini muffins. These are so great for little kiddies, they are just the right size for them to hold in the palm of their little hands. They can also have more than one without getting in trouble. Flynn helped me make these yesterday morning.

Ingredients-

1/2 cup light margarine

2 eggs

2 medium bananas

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp bicarb soda

50ml warm milk

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 self raising flour

Instructions-

1. Cream butter sugar and vanilla together.

2. Add eggs separately, beating well.

3. Mash bananas and add to mixture.

4. Disolve soda in milk and add flour and milk alternatively.

5. Bake in mini muffins trays at a 180 oven for 15 mins until golden brown.

Halloween

2009-10-25T16:09:00.004+08:00

Wow this really crept up on me and when I realized I only had a week until Halloween I knew I need to swing into action to get some of the things I wanted done !!! We did some Spider potato painting outside this afternoon and I hung some pumpkins in the living room, that's a start at least!!! I will be sharing our cooking and craft creations throughout the week : )

Annoying Spice Containers

2009-10-25T07:34:00.001+08:00

Hands up if you find those annoying little spice containers, jars and packets really hard to keep tidy !! So that's probably a lot of you. I agree I found it incredibly frustrating to find spices and keep them fresh in the pantry, and looking neat as well!! I found spice racks to be over priced and they really limit how many spices you can store in them. So when I looked under my second sink I decided this was the perfect place to store those annoying containers !!

You could use any small cupboard/shelf and achieve the same result. After I decided where I was going to store all of my spices I set about replacing them all with the large Tupperware spice containers. This way they were all the same size and shape so they would stack easily and neatly in the cupboard.

I have labelled these on the spine with the actual spice name and then just the starting letter on the top to make the correct spice easy to find. They were in alphabetical order (very anal I know!!) but once Flynn discovered this cupboard those days were over !!

Pre-make a salad

2009-10-24T07:24:00.001+08:00

So it is finally spring !!!!!! And coming with spring and summer is all of those great foods we have been waiting all winter to eat- namely BBQ's and salads. I have been pre making our weekly salad for awhile and it has been working so well I thought I would share it here : )

At the start of the week either Sunday or Monday night I chop up our salad for the week. We are then able to use either all or pieces of this salad for all different things like- an actual salad, stir fry, sandwiches/wraps, tacos etc. We use bits and pieces depending on what we are eating that night. I top it up throughout the week when it starts to run low and then clean it out on the weekend to start again.

I use the Tupperware Serving Centre which is absolutely love. These will set you back about $50 but are worth every cent in my opinion as they last forever and have so many different uses. Almost every party we have I pull a few out and fill them with different snacks.

Another great use for these which is something a girlfriend of mine does is she she chops up snacks for her daughter on a Friday night like cheese, polony, fruit and dips etc and puts it on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Then her daughter can access this over the weekend whenever she wants to have a snack. I love this idea and will definitely be using it once Flynn is old enough !! What a great way to help your kids to make healthy snacks choices whilst still controlling what they are eating : )

How does your garden grow ?

2009-10-23T07:14:00.000+08:00

We are very new to gardening especially planting to eat. We decided to have a go at strawberries and we have been amazed at how easily they have grown in our garden and how many fruits we have !! It has been such a great experience for Flynn as well to not only watch them grow but also to help water/tend for them and then explaining to him when they are ready to be eaten.

We have planted a large fruit tree orchard in the backyard and hope next year to start seeing lots of fruits from these as well. And the vegie patch- well we want to get that done in the backyard as well- eventually, but for now we will just enjoy these sweet strawberries- lovingly grown by us. : )

The cutest teddy bear cookie ever!!!

2009-10-22T18:48:00.003+08:00

I bought a new cookbook today and this is one of the recipes : ) Is this not the cutest teddy bear cookie ever? I will be giving them a trial over the weekend and if they turn out you will see the recipe up sometime next week. For now I am off to catch up on the last few weeks of my Project 365.

Christmas present idea

2009-10-22T07:21:00.000+08:00

Every year I make something for our mums for Christmas, they love getting a hand made gift and having extra photo's they might not have seen. I have started duplicating these little books as I found that I also wanted one to keep and making 3 is not much harder than making 2.

Last year I found these gorgeous books at a craft store called 10 things I love about my mother. I thought it would be perfect for this project. I filled the mums albums with photos on them with Flynn, myself and Simon from the last year and mine was photos of Flynn and me.

I did the scrapbooking for all of them and Simon wrote in his mum's and mine and I wrote the journaling for my mums. The things that Simon wrote literally had me in tears on Christmas day and this little book has now become something I will always treasure.

I hope this inspires you to make something for those you love this Christmas, they will surely treasure it.