parenting

Spoil yourself mama! 

I know that once children come into our lives, that our paychecks tend to go to them and honestly that’s how I believe it should be! It’s totally acceptable for the children to get the majority and the parents to go without. However I know my husband is reading this and wondering when I have ever gone without and that’s because sometimes I think it is totally acceptable to treat ourselves! 

Whether it be purchasing something new, getting pampered or going somewhere that we enjoy. We as adults deserve something for ourselves! My husband and I are really into spending time as a family so we like to spend money doing things all together. I enjoy getting my nails done on occasion and like to splurge on makeup and handbags, my husband also has his vices. We don’t go overboard but we do allow ourselves treats, Rhemy is our priority as are our bills etc, but we like things that make us happy too.

Not everyone will agree with me and that’s okay but I think it’s perfectly acceptable to do things to make yourself happy, even something simple such as a cappuccino before work instead of a instant coffee one morning a week. Im a firm believer that a happy house produces happy children! 
Share your thoughts below !
Until next time

B 🙂 

Advertisement

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

The best baby name app! 

Now as I have said before we struggle when trying to agree on baby names and while it is only early days, the same can be said this time around. I think it may become easier when we know the baby’s gender but I could also be kidding myself! 

Enter the app, that I now consider my little life saver BabyName. Basically you and your partner both connect to the app and become linked. Then you flick through the names, swiping left if you don’t like and right if you do (yes, tinder for baby names!) Any matches that you find get listed so you can go back to them later. 

What a genius idea! It is supposed to help prevent  arguing over names, I’m yet to believe this one as I may be one who will push a bit if I find a name I love that he hasn’t matched to me. I guess time will only tell, in the meantime it’s fun and I can’t help but get excited when I see a little egg pop up on my screen to tell me a new match has been added to our list! 
What did you use as your naming tool? Did you read through books, search through pages on the Internet (been there!) or did you find a little gem like this app? 

Let me know below! 
Until next time, 
B x 

Why I blog and why you should too! 

Statistics say that the internet is inundated with over 150 million blogs! Some extremely successful, some not so much. None the less it is something a lot of people are finding themselves participating in at one point in their lives. 
Here’s four reasons why I blog, and why maybe you should be too. 

1. It is a great outlet! I find that writing soothes me, gives me time to reflect on our week and allows me to give all of myself to something other then someone else’s needs for a while! It is my creative outlet, my input to the online world. 

2. The blogging community! No matter what subject you write about there is thousands of other people writing about and interested in the same topic, which means there is a huge community of people who are there to discuss your passion. It is nice to be part of supportive group that encourages you to continue your passion.
3. Blogging is a way to open up a new interest. Being part of the blogging community means that you are more inclined to explore all types of blogs, on all different topics. This means that you are exposed to things that maybe you would not have had an interest in, prior to entering this online world. If you want to learn to cook, there are recipes for all tastebuds, ever wanted to do a homeware DIY? There’s a post for that too! 
4. Blogging can eventually turn an income. Now this doesn’t happen for everyone and takes a lot of hard work and persistence but sometimes blogging can turn into a way to make money. Some people even end up positing full time! Really how awesome could that be! 
Now turn that computer on head over to WordPress or any other blogging platform and begin blogging. I promise you will never look back! 

Unfriending! 

I sat down to write and I wasn’t sure if this is a topic I should really touch on or not. But I figured we’ve all done it, we’ve all had it done to us and right now we are probably considering it. The good old “unfriending” on social media! 

To be completely honest, this is one of the things I hate about social media the most! In “real” life when we are sick of someone or hurt by something they did, we avoid them for a while or stop talking to them all together. On Facebook when you push that unfriend button, the person you have “unfriended” may not be aware straight away but eventually they will know! It’s kinda shit! It creates unnecessary ill feelings and it is very easy for people to become caught up in how many “friends” they have and why someone would choose not to accept their friend request or to delete them from their list.

 I have over 500 friends on Facebook and how many do I talk to? 50, maybe more but certainly not often! How many have I unfollowed so I don’t have to see their stuff? More than I’d like to admit! I try not to delete friends because I would hate for them to know, but I have been guilty of it in the past. I make no apology for that. I have also been deleted and blocked and that’s okay. 

I feel this part of social media can create issues, people get so caught up in popularity online and it eventually consumes them. Technology is so advanced that most things can be done at the press of a button. Truthfully I love it, but it means that people can act on their emotions and can do things that maybe once they had settled down or had time to think, they wouldn’t have? That includes airing their dirty laundry, but that’s another story for another day. 
What do you think? Let me know below! 
📸 featured image: thegoodvibe.co

Where has my baby gone? 

Does anyone else feel like you have blinked and it’s already nearing the end of February? I swear it was a month ago Rhemy was born! She is now 7.5 months and the most roll-a-licious bub going round! She has said “dada” “bub” and “mum” although she certainly favours “dada” not to everyone’s excitement haha! 

She is so close to crawling, that it is  just frustrating for her! She rolls and pushes her self around everywhere and I can’t take my eyes off her for two seconds! She’s sassy and hilarious! She loves the theme songs to nearly every Disney junior cartoon and has a huge soft spot for Doc Mcstuffins! She wears a size 0 and I don’t think she will be too far out of a moving up to a size 1! If only they made them a tad shorter! 🙈 Lunch and dinner are when she has solids and she eats so much of it! Her bottles aren’t wanted nearly as often and she watches everyone eat, waiting for them to share!
She has started waking through the night again! I’m missing my beauty sleep for my little miss wanting company! Don’t get me wrong I love just hanging out with her but not at 2am! She screams when she doesn’t get her way and is so rough with her toys! She has no teeth yet and vomits very often! On the floor, on her clean clothes, on my face! 
All of this just makes Rhemy, Rhemy! I wouldn’t have her any other way! Bring on the next 7.5 months of adventures but it can slow down! 

Chronicles of a first time mama! 

Well as many first time mamas know, it is certainly a journey finding your groove in this whole new world of parenting. The type of parent you thought you would be, you normally end up nothing like. The time to yourself you thought you would miss, you don’t at all. The things you thought you wouldn’t cope with (dirty nappies, sleepless nights) don’t seem anywhere near as bad as you had imagined. 

It is literally like I am learning blindfolded. Every time I feel like I am getting the hang of this mothering thing, Rhemy goes and changes something and I am lost all over again! I find some days exhausting and others a breeze! I can read her ques like no one else and can’t get enough of everything she does. Everytime she does something for the first time, it is the first time I have seen someone learn them too! Every milestone for her, is a milestone for me! 

I’ve developed a dependance to Nespresso and a tolerance to kid’s tv shows! I have an unhealthy obsession with baby headbands and clothes. I love being with my little girl everyday. I find myself doing the most ridiculous things to get that one small laugh! I suck at nursery rhymes so I sing whatever I can, cause it makes her happy! I don’t need the sleep I once did and as long as she looks gorgeous when we leave the house, who gives a shit about what I look like?  To be honest I like who I have become since Rhemy! Whether I meant to or not, I changed and I think for the better. I was selfish before, most young people are. Now while I believe parents deserve to be spoilt sometimes, the children should come first! I have done that. She gets whatever she needs or wants and if that means we go without so be it! 
Comment below, share our changes, our experiences and obsessions ! 

Social media blues! 

I was listening to triple j on the radio yesterday and they were talking about Instagram and social media in general creating unrealistic expectations in people’s lives. They were referring to “clean eating” and all the gym selfies and how young and old people alike are putting pressure on themselves to be like these b grade celebrities. 
To be honest I couldn’t agree more, I think that the comparisons and expectations go much further then just gym selfies. I believe people compare their everyday life with the glorified version celebrities and even their friends share on social media. People are only going to share good moments and essentially what we see is a highlight reel of ones life. It’s not the argument they had their with best friend, the moment of weakness while dieting, the mundane day to day life with their husband. 
I personally have struggled with seeing so many people lose their baby bulge so quickly when I really haven’t. I could sit here and fib and tell you I have done everything right, but in reality that is just not true. I enjoy bad foods,  wine and soft drink. I don’t exercise enough and I lack motivation to make any real change. Yet seeing celebrities and my friends on social media bouncing back so quickly does get to me. I compare myself and feel guilty for not doing more sooner. 
What does social media do to you? I love it, it certainly has its place and has its benefits but there is a darker side to it. Comment below and let me know.  

Inspiration to keep organised! 

I know I told you all that my New Years resolution was to get organised! And for once I really, really want to stick to my resolution! I have decided to keep on top on everything I need to inspire myself! I’ve decided a pretty planner, that makes me happy when I open it is a great start. It’s also a great creative outlet and time for me! (Let’s face it, as mums we all love me time!) It’s one thing to get organised it’s another to stay organised! 

  

I have turned into a real planner “nerd” and I know it’s not understood by many and a lot of you may think I am crazy but Im hoping a lot of people can relate (and I’m not alone)! So I have put my life into sections, I have a spot for this blog and then a calendar where all our appointments,  my work days, my husbands work days and Rhemys activities are tracked. I have an area for expenses as we are also trying to be better with our finances too! It’s already filling up and I am feeling much more relaxed and on top of what is going on. 

As for university I have decided I am going to keep that seperate! I don’t have the space for it in this one and I think it is better if I keep it seperate from my day to day life. Study reminders and assignment due dates and tracking my readings will take up so much room that I want somewhere that I won’t worry about making pretty just functional! 

Our life is hectic, my days are full and this is truly helping. What do you do to keep organised? What do you do to relax or have mummy time? Comment below and let me know! 
Planner from: http://www.kikki.com.au

*gifted to me from my brother. 


📸 featured image: google images 

📸 Blog image: my own. 

The City vs The Country! 

Bringing up children has its complications and its pros and cons. Does the location you live in contribute to this? Or does it not matter where you are situated? 

When I was 18 I moved from my hometown to Adelaide. When I was 23 I moved back to Broken Hill. My husband got a job on the mine and we have family here. The decision was a no brainer. We both enjoy the relaxing, slow pace lifestyle that living in the country gives us. However I can’t help but compare what life would be like if we were bringing up our family in Adelaide. For many people Adelaide is just a big country town and not in contest with Sydney or Melbourne and while I wouldn’t necessarily disagree it is a major difference living there in comparison to living in Broken Hill.
First and foremost let’s tackle incomes and jobs, while Adelaide offers more opportunity in job prospects it does not allow my husband to work on the mine and come home to his family everyday. To earn the mining income and to be situated in Adelaide means FIFO work. Which just wouldn’t work for us. 

Secondly support, we both have family here. My mum is here for advice, questions, anything I need. In Adelaide we simply didn’t have that. We don’t need to use Childcare and I can return to work for two days a week and reap my entire salary, instead of returning full time just to make paying for childcare seem worth it. 

Lastly is our facilities and to be honest that’s where Adelaide shines, medically there is no travelling “away” to see specialists. Education- no leaving home to attend university or a private school. Location- no rip off plane fare that seems to be forever increasing, no six hour drive to be able to fly to our holiday destinations. 
 I love the country, to me the outback wins! My family is here, it takes me 5 minutes to get to work and I go home for lunch everyday. Do I miss the shops, beach and cafes in Adelaide? Yes! But that doesn’t mean that it’s the place for us to live. 

Broken Hill does offer a lot that the “cities” do, we have great mother groups and support in the hospital for new Mums. We know the people that live here and it’s friendly. 

What do you think? City or the country? If you ask me its all personal preference and I wouldn’t have that any other way!