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Mama’s beauty go-tos 

Hi everyone, 

Today I thought it would be fun to share the makeup I have been loving lately. Not because I am good at doing at my makeup (full disclosure I am not) but because these are products that work for me and ones I find extremely easy to use and thought maybe some of you may want to give something new a try. 

The first product is foundation:


Wet & Wild Photo Focus is my new all time favourite foundation – It’s medium coverage, feels lightweight and has a semi-dewy finish. I purchased from Crush Cosmetics for $15.00 and in my opinion you just can’t beat it!!! 
Next is bronzer 


Soleil Tan De Chanel – its a creamy, warm bronzer. It can be used as a base under your foundation or over the top. I use it in place of a traditional powder bronzer. On occasion I use it as an eyeshadow too. It’s a bit on the pricey side but it is a large container and will last ages & ages. I purchased from David Jones for $69.00
Next is an eyeshadow palette 

Marc Jacobs Beauty Style Eye Con in 204 Starlet – is a great every day palette with lots of colour choice and I like that it is small enough to fit in a makeup bag when travelling, yet still has a decent sized mirror. The payoff is gorgeous and I feel like a little bit goes along way. I purchased from Sephora for $89.00 (currently out of stock) 
Lastly is lipgloss & lipstick 

I love lipsticks and lip glosses and honestly my favourites haven’t changed for a very long time. My favourite lipstick is Chanel Rogue Coco hydrating lipstick in Rose Cosmete. Its a nice pale pink and one I feel comfortable wearing everyday. I can’t find this colour readily to buy, however I orginally purchased from David Jones and they still have a great variety of colours for $53.00 


My favourite lipgloss is Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi Shine lipgloss in the colour Sugar Sugar 312. It can be worn alone or over the top of lipsticks, I do both but love wearing it alone when I haven’t got any makeup on but want to look a little put together. This lipgloss was ‘free with purchase’ so is a dinky travel size however Sephora sell the full size for $42.00 and it will be a purchase I make once I run out of this little baby. 
What have you been loving lately? What’s your go to makeup items, I would love to know! In particular mascara, I have the hardest time finding a mascara I actually like. 

Until next time, 

BCM

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Travelling with kids 

When we become parents we don’t wish to give up the opportunity to travel, however travelling with kids can be daunting and overwhelming to say the very least. Being a parent doesn’t mean you can’t travel, it just means you may have to travel slighlty differently. Taking the kids along on your holidays doesn’t have to be painful and I’ve got a few tips that might help! 


Personally we have only travelled by car with our little ones, they have yet to experience air travel. Travelling by car has its perks, in that we have an immediate way to get around the destination and we can stop whenever needed to give the kids a break. However just as car travel has its perks, it also has its negatives, such as the added length of time needed to reach the destination, the boredom the children face from being strapped in the car for hours and the lack of being able to move around without stopping and losing yet more time. 

I’ve found the best way to tackle travelling with kids has been organisation. It is impossible to have a smooth trip, without being adequately organised. I start packing days before we leave and have a huge checklist that I slowly tick off and even add to, as I remember other things we need. Having a 9 month old means we always take a portacot with us, it’s cumbersome and takes up a lot of boot space, however I don’t like relying on cots supplied from accommodation. It’s not always to our standards and is often forgotten. We pack bottles  half full of water for the car and a thermos of hot water to add to ensure the temperature is just right. I used to put formula into travel containers but found this unnecessary in the car, so I just have the whole tin in an easy to reach spot and add it straight from there. (I still pack our empty travel formula containers, to use while on holiday) 

We are lucky enough to have a dual screen DVD player in the car that was gifted to my eldest for her birthday and that thing has been a favourite since it was installed. It may not be everyone’s idea of entertaining children but it works for us. We also have toys in reach for the girls to play with and snacks upon snacks readily available at any given moment. 

We have a double pram and tend to pack that whenever we have the space, however an umbrella stroller and carrier can work just as well and take up much less space in the boot. Another thing we have found helpful when packing the boot is to pack the kids clothes in a small bag each and our clothes in one large bag, it allows us to make the most of the small available areas that always tend to appear when stacking a boot. 

Travelling with kids, toddlers and babies can be daunting and does mean that you usually travel with a lot of extra things but with a lot of organisation and smart use of the space in your car  it can be (nearly) painfree. 

We have yet to travel by air with the kiddies but the moment we do, I’ll be sure to share my tips on that too. If you have any tips please comment them below. If you have found my post helpful please like and share. 
Until next time 

BCM 

Mummy guilt! 

I know I have talked about this on a lot of my blog platforms in one way or another but it is one that is most relevant to right now. One I think most (if not all) of us feel at one point or another. Mummy guilt! 

It’s a bitch! It creeps up on us when we don’t expect it too, when we are going about our every day, when we are working, when we are trying to sleep! 

I feel it a lot – I feel it for Rhemy and how quickly she had to grow up. For the moments she needs me and I can’t be there for her because her sister needs me more, for the times I realise I expect her to be older than she really is and for making her share us before she really had too. I feel it for Miami because she doesn’t get the attention she deserves, because I feel like I haven’t got the time to give to her like I gave to Rhemy, I feel it because I can’t always be there when she needs me to be and that she always has to share us. 

I blame myself when Rhemy is naughty – even though I know it’s the naughty twos! I blame myself when Miami isn’t crawling – even though I know kids do things in their own time! I blame myself when they are hurting and think of ways I could have prevented it – even though I know I really couldn’t have! I blame myself when I miss things when I’m at work – even though I know being at work means I can give them more.

Let me tell you though that mummy guilt subsides when I see them playing together, Miami laughing so hard and Rhemy being so kind. When Miami lights up when I see her and Rhemy tells me she loves me. When they hold hands because they want too or when Rhemy tries to show Miami how to crawl. 

Mummy guilt is a bitch but deep down I know I’m doing this mama thing right! 

home is where the heart is…

When you become a parent, there are certain things, memories or feelings from your own childhood that you wish to recreate for your own children. Something that always made you feel comfortable, safe or happy.

For me the thing I most wish to recreate for our girls is the security I always feel in my parents home. I have not lived with my parents for 10 years, however their house is still without a doubt one of my favourite places in the world. The comfort in their four walls is something that I cherish. Their house is home, no matter where I live. As a child, coming from a close knit family, meant I enjoyed movie nights with my family, hanging out on Sunday afternoons or playing the nintendo until bed time (even though I truly sucked compared to everyone else). We created fond memories and they still radiate in the walls of their home. The familiarity of everything in that house calms me and is my happy place if I ever feel like I need picking up.

I want this for my girls, I want to create a safe haven, a cosy home for them to cherish. I want them to love being here with us and to feel the same warmth in our home, as I feel in my parents’. I want us to be their security, for our house to hold our family memories and for it to comfort them when they need it.

I want the photos on our walls to tell one story and the familiarity of our rooms to tell another. I want them to feel at peace here. I want to pass on the feeling of being in a strong family unit. I want this house to be their happy place and for it to be their home no matter where life takes them.

All that I am, all that I’ll be – I owe to my mother and father. (and I hope one day, my kids say that about us)

What do you want to pass on to your children? Or even what do you not?

 

Until next time,

 

BCM 

New room for baby and me.

Since our family is expanding we are doing a shift around in our house. We are hoping we can accommodate our new addition without completely breaking the bank.

We have decided that we are going to move into our spare room, Rhemy is going to go into our room and the baby will go into Rhemys nursery. When we did her nursery we made it gender neutral, so other then removing her name from the wall, we don’t have to do anything else. 

Now comes the fun part, decorating the two rooms. Rhemy’s is easy, we are doing Disney princesses, we have purchased a wall mural and the other walls can stay white. I’ve got a beautiful bookcase my parents painted with fairies when I was a child, that I am passing down to her and I’m hoping to keep everything else  minimal and fresh. 

Our room is a bit trickier! I’m not sure what colour scheme I want to go with. We know we want a king size bed, huge built in robes and honestly that’s as far as we have gotten. Any inspo you guys might have for our main room, feel free to share! 

I’m excited to share our progress with you all once the work begins.

Until next time, 

B xo

And just like that, we are gunna have two under two! 

So happy, excited and busting to announce that Rhemy, Sean and I are welcoming baby #2 to our family. Our wonderful bundle of joy will be joining us November 2016! 

  
Here’s a quick debrief: No it certainly wasn’t planned but yes we definitely want another! I’ve been sick as all hell and I’m already starting to show. Rhemy doesn’t have any idea but soon enough she’ll have to share us and a part of me thinks she’ll love it and another part thinks I’m kidding myself. 
Today I just wanted to announce our exciting news, but I will be sharing my journey as we go! Wish us luck 🙊 
Until next time 

X

9 songs that I’ll listen to until the day I die! 

I seen this posted on another website a few months ago and I thought it was such an amazing idea! So here we go, I’m going to share with you all 9 songs I’ll listen to until the day I die and why! 

1. Kiss – Rock N Roll All Nite: My dads favourite band when I was growing up was Kiss. I never really got it when I was younger but you hear something enough, you become used to it.  However when I was a teenager I went to their concert with my family and now the song has such a sentimental value to me that I actually really like it. 

2. Blondie – One way or another: Another memory from when I was growing up, we’d have sing alongs in the car when we travelled and my mum was a Blondie fan, to be honest I always liked to sing along too! 

3. Queen – Fat bottomed girls: I have a memory of me and my mum dancing around in our kitchen to this song. It was such fun and one we always laughed along to. It was our song, as we are of the pear body shape!

 

4. Aerosmith – I don’t wanna miss a thing: When I was in Vegas we went and seen Aerosmith. They were incredible! It certainly helps that this is the song me and my husband danced to at our wedding. It brings back such lovely memories. 
5. The Temptation – My girl: Like so many girls my age, this was a song my dad sang to me when I was young. It also helps that this was also one of my favourite movies! 
6. Brian McKnight – Marry your daughter: I walked down the aisle to this song, enough of a reason right there. The lyrics get me every single time! 
7. ABBA – Waterloo: Mum loves ABBA, I remember it playing as part of her “cleaning soundtrack” while I didn’t help clean, I certainly helped sing and bop along! 
8. Axiom – A little ray of sunshine: When Rhemy was born my grandparents came to see us and on the way they had heard this song and thought it was so appropriate. As soon as I listened to it, I knew it was too. 
9. Heartland – I loved her first: I danced with my dad to this song at my wedding. What a tear jerker this song turned out to be! 
Now your turn, share with my songs that you will listen to until the day you die and why?! It was so fun looking down memory lane and I know I have missed some out! I probably could have done 20 songs but ain’t nobody got time for that 😂. 
Till next time, 

B ❤️
(Featured image credit: http://www.scienceillustrated.com.au) 

What being a mother means to me! 

I thought seeing as today is Mother’s Day, I would share with you all what being a mother truly means to me. 
I am forever grateful for having Rhemy in my life as I realise how difficult it can be for some amazing ladies to have the children they deeply desire. I am extremely lucky and have been blessed with a happy and healthy baby girl. One who keeps me on my toes, challenges me and makes me laugh on the daily. She is my biggest achievement in life and the one person I am most proud of. 

I always knew I wanted to be a mother, I knew I would love it, try to to excel at it and learn from it every single day. And I was right, so very right! Some days are hard, Rhemy doesn’t want to nap, would rather cry about not much and cling to me for the entire day. Other days we play and laugh and she sleeps for 4 hours. Without those “hard” days, I wouldn’t truly appreciate the “good” days, I wouldn’t get hour long cuddles and I wouldn’t want to share her with her father when he got home from work. 

My daughter is my legacy, my family. She is my heart wandering around outside my body. I never knew what it was like to love someone so much until she came along.. and that is what being a mother means to me! 

 

My Mama always told me…

Today, I’m going to share some things my mother always told me, that I intend to use myself as my child grows. 

1. “We will see”; growing up I always thought that when my mum said “we will see” that she meant it, however as I have gotten older, she disclosed to me, that she used this to see how much I wanted something before having to even consider giving me an answer. If I wasn’t asking for it a couple of days later, obviously it wasn’t that important. Cheeky (clever) mum!! 

2. “If you have done something, it’s best to tell me first. It’s better for me to hear it from you then from someone else”; I was always told that if I did something, I knew was wrong or that I knew my mother would disapprove of, then it was always best if I told her first. I grew up in a small town, and my daughter will too, so it is inevitable that word gets around. It’s true that other people love to dish the dirt and it took the fun out of it for the gossipers if mum already knew! 
3. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”; self explanatory, used by many! But in a world dominated by social media and keyboard warriors, I believe it is now more important then ever, that my child learns to keep nasty thoughts and comments to herself! No one likes a bully! 
4. “It’s more important to participate, then to be the best”; I grew up playing sport, keeping my parents’ weekends full and wallets empty. I was taught, that I may not be good at everything (ain’t that the truth) but that I should always give it a go. Sport and other hobbies, allow kids to meet new people, develop skills and confidence. I look forward to passing this onto my offspring. 
5.”I’m your mum first, your friend second!”; I have always been close with my mum, it’s always been a wonderful relationship. But when I was younger, when it mattered most. I was taught that while we might have a close friendship, that she is my mum first, friend second. Now I’m older that has changed but especially as an adolescent I think it’s extremely important that these lines don’t become blurred. So Rhemy Sharen, I say to you, I will always be your friend, but first I will always be your mother! 
What traits, sayings, tricks has your mother passed down to you? 
Share below! 

The bond we share…

She’s six months old today, that’s right Rhemy Sharen is six months old! And what a wonderful, hilarious and beautiful six month old she is.

It’s so surreal when you look down at your baby and you realise that you have created something so gorgeous. It is amazing what the human body can do and what the end result is. 

Watching Rhemy grow and change everyday is what it is all about. I already loved her with everything I had before she born and I knew no matter what, I would do anything for her, to protect her and to be there for her. 

What I wasn’t as prepared for, was the bond we share at such a young age. We are already little besties, the way she looks at me, the trust she has in me and myself for her is out of this world. 

Knowing I have a very close relationship with my mum, you’d think I would have been expecting it, and I definitely was to some degree but not while Rhemy was so young, but here we are. 

She has such a big personality, she makes me laugh on the daily, her smile lights up my day, she’s as stubborn as they come and very persistent in what she wants (I wonder where she got that from?). She is my very best little friend, my heart wandering out of my body! 
Ask me about our bond when she is sixteen, when she is still stubborn and persistent in getting what she wants!