Babies & Prams - help needed

I am asking for advice from all of my knowledgeable friends out there.

Now that we are in the second half of this pregnancy we are starting to think about what we will need for bub. At the moment I am really focused on getting a pram/stroller that I am happy with. 

I have a few requirements and I think that in order to get something I am happy with I am willing to invest a bit more in it.

My requirements are:

Lightweight - I found when I had Nicholas (years ago) that even a few kilos makes a big difference and I ditched the bulky pram early on in favour of a better quality stroller that had a lay back options and higher handles.

Ability to add a toddler seat

Suitable from birth to toddler

Compact - I don't want anything too wide or bulky, when we go away I don't want the pram taking up a third of the space we have

All terrain - I want to be able to go for walks easily and not battle with gutters or dirt tracks

I think that's about it, I would love to hear your recommendations and opinions on prams/strollers that you own or have used. Please spill all, the good and the bad I am finding it all a little confusing.

The steelcraft strider seems to be very popular but also very wide and perhaps a little bulky

Steelcraft have just released a compact version of the Strider that sounds better, narrower and lighter

Phil & Ted have a few from their range that seem to fit my requirements

Please help??? What do you think?

Photos from Steelcraft and Phil & Ted's websites

French Script Cushion

Good morning all, I hope you have had a great week so far. We have been enjoying the relaxed pace of the school holidays and the beautiful warm sunshine.

I have some new goodies in store and I wanted to share a few of them with you. My favourite is this soft and cuddly French script cushion. I love it. It is one that I actually use on the lounge and don't just pop on the floor when I sit down. It is a fantastic size 50 x 70 cm and it is perfect for helping me get comfy now that I am getting a little bigger. Find it here for $49.95,

I also love this range of candles and room diffusers, so pretty, they smell fantastic and are available in 6 different fragrances: 

Find them here, candles are $19.95 and room diffusers are $14.95 each.

I had a special request for a Brisbane Bus Roll Tea Towel and fortunately I was able to find one for the lovely lady so now I have a few more available in store. If you want one or know of anyone that would love one you can find them here for $8.95 each

The black and white vase is $25.95 and you can get it here

The black & white pot is $32.95 available here

I love this Antique Style French Vase and you can grab it here for $45.95

If your getting organised for Christmas please keep my store in mind and stop in to see if you can find some of your gifts there.

Enjoy your day, we are going for a drive to have lunch with my SIL in Wellington, it is a beautiful day for it and just one of those little things that makes me so thankful that I no longer work full time for someone else and I have the flexibility to spend more time with family and friends.

xx

20 Weeks Pregnant

Yay, we've made it half way and I even remembered to take a photo to document this point in the pregnancy!

Who knows, by the end of this my self portraits may even improve :-)

Hope you all had a great weekend. 

We had a fabulous time celebrating the baptism of our friend's baby boy and also celebrating my nephews 5th birthday. It was wonderful catching up with my family, four out of the five sisters and their families were able to make it, unfortunately my youngest sister missed out though  :-( 

Families, gotta love em!

Enjoy your week

xx

Its a .........

Close you eyes if you don't want to know what we're having :-)

It's a baby.....BOY!

Our 19 week scan went very well and I am so thankful that the baby is healthy and well. So far all of the measurements look great and our darling boy was not shy about letting us know he is a he! However he was a little uncooperative and wouldn't move into the right position to get all of the measurements required, so after emptying half my bladder, then all of my bladder then coming back a few hours later he was still being difficult and I will be going back in 4 weeks to have another scan. I'm quite happy about that because it means I get to have another peek at our little boy.

Mean while big boy has gone off to Maths camp for a few days in Sydney, a few kids from years 5,6 7 & 8 were selected to attend. I am just so proud of him and I love that he gets involved in a range of things and love seeing him enjoy what he does. 

So hubby and I have a few nights alone, I guess that will be happening less often soon so we best make sure we enjoy it while we can. I will try extra hard to stay awake past 9 and not fall asleep on the lounge tonight :-)

Thank you for all of your prayers and support, it is so wonderful to be almost half way through this pregnancy and we are just so thankful for the blessing this baby is already.

xx

East Orange Village Markets

The Markets went really well yesterday, it was a looooong day but surprisingly fun. 

Both my boys spent the day with me and that made a huge difference, I was very thankful for their company and help. It's fun to be able to do stuff together as a family, they were both troopers, didn't complain at all, did all of the heavy lifting and were both so wonderful.

I must admit that going to market is such a lot of work but it really was so lovely to hear everyone's feedback on my stock and set up.

I learnt lots from my first markets and I am considering doing it again but hopefully better next time. 

I definitely needed more space, unfortunately I didn't have enough room to display everything I had and what I did put out was very crowded. Oh well, you live and learn.

 

I also wanted to thank you all  for all of your advice and encouragement I really appreciated it.

Hope you all had a great weekend and wishing you a fantastic week.

xx

PS. My 19 week ultrasound went well today but I will be back tomorrow with more details :-)

18 Weeks Pregnant

This morning as I was about to rush out the door I realised how much I am enjoying being pregnant at the moment. I no longer feel sick, I am not so tired and I have learnt to eat smaller meals so the discomfort after eating is under control. I have started to look pregnant not just fat but I am not so big that I am uncomfortable. I have energy again and motivation to get things done, yay :-)

It occurred to me that I should document this wonderful moment just in case it doesn't last or I get selective memory and can't remember enjoying being pregnant. See I don't really remember enjoying being pregnant with Nicholas. I love him to bits and I wasn't scarred from the experience, it wasn't what stopped me from having more children for 13 years (that just happened, you know, life happens not quite how we plan sometimes). Anyway seeing as I would love to have more children making sure that I remember that there is a time where I like being pregnant might be good encouragement for next time.

Forgive the photo, I am really not very good at taking self portraits, it took me 4 turns to get a decent photo. 

So to my future self:

"Look, your skin has kinda cleared up, your jeans still fit you and you have a cute baby belly not just a fat gut (maternity tops help) You have energy, you are feeling bub moving around and you are no longer sick or extremely tired. You are enjoying this stage of pregnancy :-)"

We have our 19 week scan on Monday and I am really, really looking forward to it. We will find out what we are having and I am hoping it's a baby :-)

In all honesty I don't mind whether we have a boy or a girl but I have a feeling bub is a boy. We'll see if I am right or not.

Thank you for all of your well wishes for Sunday, I best get back to getting organised. Hope you all have a great weekend.

xx

Off to Market

I thought I still had plenty of time but the last few weeks have flown by and my first Market day is on Sunday!

It is all very exciting and I am looking forward to it but I am a little over whelmed at everything that you need to prepare in order to sell at a market.

I will be taking all of my stock with me including these fabulous French Market Baskets so my online store will be off line on Sunday, just for the day. I won't be able to update the inventory throughout the day and I would hate for someone to buy something online that I actually no longer had so the easiest thing to for me do is to go offline, but it is only for the day so come Monday you can shop again, that is, if I have anything left :-)

I am hoping I have a great sales day because I am looking forward to stocking up on new goodies just for Christmas and I really do need to make some room to store it all.

If you live in or near Orange come on and visit me at the market. It is on between 9am and 2pm Sunday 16th September and East Orange Public School and it is meant to be a fabulously sunny day.

xx

Spring Cleaning via the Organised Housewife

Somehow today I came across the Organised Housewife Blog and I was inspired to get organised and join in her "20 days to organise and clean your home challenge".

I confess that the last few months once morning sickness and the pregnancy tiredness kicked in my motivation disappeared and everything suffered. I got out of routine and it was just so easy for the day to slip away and I didn't really achieve a lot.

Now that my energy has returned and the morning sickness has disappeared and Spring has sprung I am motivated to get organised and get my house back in order.

I am a week behind in the 20 day challenge but that's ok, I will still get it all done (I hope) and it is a great way to get me back on track.

Today I tackled the kitchen, I have no before and after shots because I really don't think you would notice much difference, it really is all the small stuff, greasy build up and small marks here and there. 

Now it is all done and know that it is, I think that's the best thing when you clean, the satisfaction of knowing it's done.

Is anyone else doing the Challenge? How is your spring cleaning going? Are you an organised cleaner or do you just clean as you get the chance? 

I would love to hear how you tackle your house work.

xx

Keep Calm & ........

This is such a popular quote and you can find all sorts of different endings for it as well as all sorts of items that the quote is printed on.

I saw these cute coasters and just loved the pretty spring colours. 

They are available in my store for $11.95 for the set of four.

I just love linen so when I saw this new linen artwork I just had to get some in.

The "Gace Linen Artwork" measures 40 x 60cm and is $39.95 available here

The "Love Always Linen Artwork" measures 60 x 80 cm and is $49.95 available here

I hope you are all having a fabulous week and that the strong winds haven't wreaked havoc in your part of the country.

xx

Hello Spring

I am thrilled that Spring has arrived. I love the warmer weather and I love getting back outside to enjoy it.

I think it helps that my energy levels are picking up and the morning sickness has all gone.

 I am 17 weeks along and the pregnancy is going well so far. This is the week when my waters broke with Charlie so I am really praying through this week and trying to remain positive and trusting that all will be well.

The sunshine is certainly helping to keep my spirits up and the yellow daffodils are certainly very cheery.

We have been keeping busy around the house (ok, more the hubby part of the we but I do keep him fed and full of energy so it is a team effort) 

and we now have lovely new storage cupboards out the back to keep all of our outdoor candles, sprays, lanterns etc in as well as a great storage unit to hide the table tennis table in when we aren't using it.

I am looking forward to watching all of the plants take off  this spring. We planted a lot of star jasmine last year and I am impatient for it to start covering all of the fences and lattice. It will really soften the yard and provide some lovely greenery and a little more privacy.

Hope you are all enjoying spring as much as I am.

xx