I have a 5 year old, wait what?!

Meg wears JFahri dress, Tony Bianco shoes similar here. Austin wears Nike Court Royale’s, Target Tshirt, Next jeans.

So something happened. Yep, the kid turned 5. FIVE, yes, F I V E.

Wow, I’m not really sure when or how this happened. Ok, it actually was a few weeks back now. But this little boy, who was once my little baby, is BIG. Like growing REAL big. He’ll be taller than me soon (ok, we all know that won’t take much effort ha ha).

They say time goes fast when you’ve got kids and I’m pretty sure I blinked and five years passed, but well here we are. And because Austin is 5 now, we have been looking at where to send him to school next year. We are keen for him to go to one of the local state schools, and have put in his application. We are pretty much on the borderline of two schools and are applying to the one which is just on the other side. Fingers crossed it all goes well, will keep you posted!

Lego for the win

Once in a while, something amazing happens, something so unexpected, something so good that you just have to run with it. And that thing in our house is LEGO. Not duplo, not building blocks, not wooden blocks… but the real deal. Teeny, tiny pieces of finicky little lego. That feel like tiny, little, nails under your feet, that get lost everywhere, that could drive you completely mad…. except… it keeps the kids absolutely and completely, totally occupied. Hallelujah.

So our new teeny, tiny, blocky friends have been coming everywhere with us. On the plane ride to Fiji. In the car. A little visit to Grandma’s house. And of course off to our brunch at Clubhouse Malvern. What’s better than delicious chia pudding and bacon and eggs? Chia pudding and bacon and eggs with happy, quiet, occupied children who are busy playing with their lego (and drinking vanilla milkshakes).

Hey, I think we’re onto a winner here. To all the forces above, please let the lego phase be one that goes on and on and on…. Thankyou!

Bulla baby!

Well, you can never really predict what is going to happen when you travel with kids. Will all our plans go smoothly? Will it be amazing? Will everyone have fun? Maybe they will hate it?? After a lot of deliberation we took the kids to Fiji. Hubby and I talked about it for weeks and weeks. “Soon we’re off to Fiji” “Can’t wait until we’re in the sunshine!” “Only five more days until happy hour by the pool!”

Finally the day came, and off we went to the airport. Things started off really well. Got everyone through security, customs and to the gate. Onto the plane, no worries. Sitting in our seats waiting to take off. Now that Remy is 2 he had his own seat. But as soon as the plane took off, oh no, he just wanted to sit on Daddy. And he stayed there for the next 5 hours, despite the lonely empty seat next to Austin and I (don’t worry, we definitely made use of that ‘lonely’ seat with a mountain of random things). I’d packed a stack of kids toys, magazines, stickers and other activities and it took every single item to get us through the 5 hour journey without a huge meltdown from the kids. So finally the plane descended and phew we had made it! Except first we had to get through customs, only Remy refused to put his shoes on, so I wouldn’t let him walk on the floor so he screamed and wiggled in my arms while we waited for twenty minutes (fun!). And through all this the lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder to let me know there was a big gooey gross piece of gum stuck to my bag (no, not mine). Why??? So gross!

Anyway, we eventually made it to the resort and I’d like to say it was smooth sailing for the rest of the holiday but nope! Austin spent every day saying he wanted to go home. Remy shat the bed twice, through everything, three layers and sheets. BUT…. it was a glorious 26 degrees every day. The beach was beautiful. The kids club was great (hello alone time for hubby and I - woo!). And it really was nice to get some quality family time in together.

All I can say is thank god we only booked 6 nights. After ‘poo-gate’ and ‘I-wanna-go-home-gate’ and ‘Austin-not-eating-any-food-for-6-days-gate’ we were well and truly done by the end! I’d like to say we’re gonna book our next holiday to go back, but I think we’ll be going to old trusty Queensland next time. Just a little bit closer, a little more familiar and hopefully a lot less complaining from the kids.

Review: Avene XeraCalm

I’m always on the hunt for new moisturisers, and if it is something that can be used across the whole family then that is massive brownie points in my books. We’ve been trying Avene XeraCalm and it has ticked all the boxes for me. It is gentle on sensitive skin so it is safe for babies and kids and it also helps to soothe itchy and dry skin. Both the boys have dry skin in winter, usually behind the knees and elbows, so finding a really nourishing, gentle moisturiser is so important in our house. I also find doing a bath every second night helps the dryness on their skin heaps (sorry to all the mamas out there who are routine queens, but it’s true!).

The Avene XeraCalm range is formulated so that there is no need for preservatives or fragrances, but most importantly I’ve found it to be a dream on my skin too! I’ve been using it with the Avene Water Spray underneath and my skin has been thanking me.

A house full of boys (and full hearts)

Meg and boys wearing Me and Mini Tshirts, Meg wears Kookai skirt similar here, Remy and Austin wear Next jeans.

Never, ever did I think growing up I’d be a boy mama. I was always the little girl wearing pink, going to dancing classes and twirling and swirling around. I even decided at one stage I would only drink pink drinks (wow, fussy much?!). But having two boys in the house (three, if you count hubby too) is showing me a whole new world.

Slime, lego, fart jokes, soccer mornings… all the things that make up my day to day now. And? It is refreshing! Each new phase they go through, a new set of toys, the new ‘in’ thing, some new gross joke (Austin at the moment likes to breath his morning breath on us, using it as a weapon…. um thanks kid haha) is all new to me. What on earth will be next?! I have no idea! But I do know a house full of stinky, naughty, (and oh so very cute) boys makes for a heart full of love <3

Activity day (the best kind of day)

Meg wears Petal & Pup dress, boys wear Seed Heritage shorts similar here, and T’s similar here

My favourite type of day is an ACTIVITY DAY. You know, the type of day where you squeeze in as many things as possible? Preferably at least one big notable activity, and then maybe sandwich it with little ones either side and then you’re making me one happy gal.

Hubby is the opposite. Or maybe he just thinks someone needs the responsibility of calming down my activity day ideas. Our Friday night conversation usually starts with me saying ‘So, I had an idea of what we can do this weekend…’ and then he’ll give me the look. You know the one, that says ‘oh gawddd nooooo’ and he’ll follow it up with ‘Why don’t we just chill this weekend?’

But we all know the saying happy wife, happy life, so yep you guessed it, i usually win that argument. These gorgeous pics hubby took down at Chelsea Beach a few weeks back. Now this was a kicker of an activity day. On the road early in the morning (snacks, bags and outfits all organised the night before for an early departure). We got to the beach super early, and thought it would probably be deserted, but nope half of the peninsula was out for their morning walk. But hey, this made it super fun for the kids with all of the dogs out for a morning splash in the water.

After we’d explored the beach and pier we headed down to Mordialloc to SunnyBoy Beach Club for an early lunch (yep, we were those people waiting for the doors to open at 11.30am #parentlife). Fish and chips all round, babcinos, a sneaky rose, and all with stunning beach views. And after all this we were back on the road heading home by 12.30. And all with plenty time to plan an afternoon activity. Yaaaaaay.

DIY cubby time

The kids new cubby house.

Austins herb garden has basil, chives and alyssum flowers. We also planted tomato and petunia seeds.

Before and after.

I had planned on making a cubby house for the kids Christmas present, but the whole thing got a tad overwhelming ie. where will I make it, how will I hide it, how will I complete the whole thing and have it ready for christmas morning??? So… it didn’t happen! Until about two weeks after Christmas.

I really wanted to do one of the Kmart cubbys, but couldn’t get my hands on one so a friend recommended this Rovo Kids cubby which I purchased through eBay. The actual cubby house itself is smaller than the Kmart one, (one meter by one meter) but the massive positive is that it comes with a base coat of paint already on. Depending on the look you are after you could just leave it as is but I had other plans.

I knew I wanted to do grey and white, so drew inspiration from several blogs that already detailed their very stylish cubby hacks. I love love love what Alicia Adams did in her cubby reno, and there are also about a million other fabulous cubby hacks on Pinterest if you are after some inspo.

So what did we do to tailor our cubby? I started off by painting over the pink doors. I used Dulux Weathershield in ‘Oyster Bar Grey’ (ummm hell yes!) to paint the door, roof and some detailing on the front. And then after I had done that I decided I wanted to do another coat of white over the whole cubby so did this in Dulux Weathershield Vivid White.

The doormat, door handle and front porch plant were all from Bunnings (oh boy, did the kids enjoy our trip there - babycinos, playgrounds and running wild through the aisles). And I picked up the flowers for the planter boxes from Target.

Austin's garden box we picked up from Aldi aaaages ago (over a year, but just never assembled it). It was all brightly coloured and I painted over it in the Oyster Bar Grey. We planted a mix of seeds and ready plants, just to keep him interested and to have something visually there that needed water and tending to straight away. He’s really loved watching his little garden grow. The seeds have already sprouted so fingers crossed they keep growing well.

The cubby house is super cute and fits really well in our courtyard, but in saying that I’d say it would be best for 1-3 year olds, as poor Austin is just a tad too tall to comfortably get in and out. I should add though it doesn’t seem to bother him, he just sits on the outside and gets Remy to ‘serve’ him all day.

Let's escape for the weekend

Austin and Remy wear oh so cute Lovestruck the Label T’s on our visit to Hedgend Maze

So we had a random few days away last week. Pat really wanted to get away, pretty much anywhere with a pool and after doing a little AirBnB search, we found the last house in Vic with a pool. Yep, I kid you not! And it was in the Yarra Valley and available the next day (cue me running around like a mad person trying to pack).

Although we were pretty much happy to go anywhere in Victoria I’m so happy we ended up here. Who knew there was so much to do in the Yarra Valley? Well probably most people except us, ha! And it only took us an hour from Melbourne to get there.

We managed to squeeze a lot in to our little trip, we hit up Healesville Sanctuary on our way down, went to Hedgend Maze the next morning, then to Yarrawood Estate for a lovely picnic lunch. This was such a great spot if you have kids with you (or even if you don’t). Lots of space to run around and they had balls and games set up all over the lawn (and the rosé was pretty damn good too, just sayin’).

We stayed in The Manager’s House at the Yarra Valley Grand Hotel. You could easily fit two families in here as it is a four bedroom place and the pool of course was the main attraction for the kids! But Pat and I loved that we were connected to a grand old pub (and not just for the rosé this time) the pub had a great outdoor playground, indoor play area, pretty damn good pub grub and a beer garden. Everyone wins!

When travelling with kids you never know how it’s going to turn out, no matter how well planned, so thank goodness our little random getaway was a hit!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Austin wears LTL PPL grey jumper, Seed Heritage shorts, similar here, Birkenstock sandals. Remy wears Jamie Kay cardigan, Tip Toey Joey Parky sandals.

Christmas! It’s nearly here. And we’re getting really excited. Especially Austin who has asked if it is ‘present day’ for the last 27 days straight (no kid. It is a loooong way off). Remy has gone bananas on the Christmas tree pulling baubles off, putting them back on and tugging on the branches and well, I’ve just been trying to tick of my Christmas present list which seems to be getting longer and not shorter (why does that always happen?).

So we’re nearly a week and a half out from the big XMAS DAY and I can’t wait to see their cute little faces on Christmas morning. Definitely one of the best moments you cherish as parents <3

Life's a beach

Meg wears Target dress and Converse sneakers, Austin and Remy wear Target shirts and shorts similar here.

Kids are so completely unpredictable, am I right? We went to the Brighton Beach Huts a few months ago and both kids had an absolute ball so I thought, let’s go back, why not! And so we did and of course things didn’t go quite to plan…

Austin simultaneously wanted his shoes off but also hated the sand touching his feet, so that was fun. Remy had a blast, but beelined for the water over and over. And when we let him get his feet into the crisp morning water he cried because the water was too cold.

So although we packed buckets, spades, towels and snacks we lasted about 40 minutes at the beach tops! Here’s hoping we have some better luck as the warmer weather rolls around.