Shopping for baby

Eversince Lucas was born, he has only worn Lachie's hand-me-downs. There could be one or two baby items that was given to him at birth, but he only ever worn them twice at the most! Alright, if you must know, he was almost 9 pounds at birth and went straight into a size 000! He seems to grow out of his clothes quite quickly, even the ones lovingly worn by his big brother at a much later age. Aaahh, the smell of these clothes bring back such happy memories.

Last week, I can't help myself buying some new clothes for Lucas. I wanted him to have something not a bit frayed at the egdes, not a little bit stained on the neckline. These little rompers were so cute I just couldn't help myself. Shopping with the christmas crowd was a little bit crazy though. I quickly grabbed a few items (queued at the counter for eternity) and quickly dash back out to the car. Scary stuff!

Tell you what's even scarier. I bought these clothes in size 1 and they were a snug fit!! Gaaaahhhhhh....

We're going for another concert this weekend. My rock baby will be wearing this.

A Letter to Santa Nuffie

Dear Nuffnang Santa,

My mommy started blogging about my brother and I just about when I started talking, and now there's no stopping her (or me). Everyday she takes my brother and I places so she has stuff to write about. She must take pictures of us doing every single thing even if it's silly. She makes us wait for our dinner because she needed to take photos of the yummy food she makes, even when we're very VERY hungry. She talks about her blog ALL the time!

My mommy told me she chooses NUFFNANG as her blog advertising provider because just like my mommy, they originated from Asia Pacific, and are based here in Australia, close to our hearts. They get ads that are highly relevant to where we live. She said that her blog will make us loads of money so she can buy me the new train set that I've been wanting all year!

I reckon my mommy should win the DELL Inspiron Mini 9 because it would look awesome in our going out bag. Because it is so compact, that would leave plenty of room for other more important stuff like my Mr. Bishi, loads of snacks for when I get hungry and the incessant supply of nappies for my stinky baby brother.

My mommy thinks NUFFNANG is so cool because aunty Karen Cheng uses it and she's SO COOL! She has even asked some of her blogger friends to sign up with NUFFNANG like my buddies at Joel & Jovan's little world and Lins Writes.

Dear Nuffnang Santa, my brother and I have been good this year. We wish for mommy to win this competition. My mommy tells me that one day when I grow up, I should be a "nuffie", just like her!

With lots and lots of love this christmas,

Lachlan XOX

A Time for Reflection

2008 has been a very important year for us. It marked the birth of our second born son, Lucas. He has brought with him so much joy and happiness into our lives.



Lachlan turned 2. It was a year of transitions and he made us tremendously proud by adjusting so well. He has bloomed into a vivacious, chatty and happy boy and is such a great big brother to Lucas.



In 2008, not so long ago, I started this blog. I would like to share with the world, through my writing and photographs, how being a mother is a privilege, how wonderful and beautiful life is with children and how every challenge we face each day makes us better. I wish to inspire others as I have been inspired many a times through reading blogs by others. I have met people through blogging, people with the same passion in life, people who love life.

I am truly honoured to get readers from all over the world and I thank you all for visiting every so often. And most of all, I would like to thank my two darling boys for making each day so interesting and for making blogging a breeze with so much to write about, just as it is...

A new kind of man

Seriously?! This is NOT my doing.

We spent a lovely day with some lovely friends, with the loveliest daughters, and THEY did this to my son! But honestly does it matter? He had the best time, making tea for Mrs. Teddy and her fluffy pink friends. It's great he's in touch with his feminine side.

Dadda Cool

L1 and his dadda, they're like joined at the hips! They have this wonderful relationship that is different from mine and L1/L2. L1 could be very engrossed in something like watching Thomas or playing with his cars... and all of a sudden, where's dadda??? where's dadda???? He'll run upstairs to his office, or if he's not there, he'll run to the front of the house just to make sure his car is in the front porch. If he's not home, he'll need some sort of explanation like dadda went to the post office or to see a customer etc. He MUST know! He is very emotionally and physically attached to his dadda. Most boys his age would go looking for their mommies. L1, however... is his dadda's little boy. Dada showers his love and attention, abundantly. (I shower him with scolding and nagging, just as opulently!). He is the one to run to when the batteries run out. He fixes little broken cars. He builds soaring lego skyscrapers. He gives him his bath. He tucks him into bed.

We are truly blessed, dadda works from home. As busy as he may be, he'll always find time to come downstairs, to sooth the crying baby or to lend a hand with poo patrol. If I look like I'm tangled in sticky tape, a pair of scissors will magically appear in front of me. Or if I'm about to have a nervous breakdown at the end of the day, he knows to shoo me off to the gym.

I love dadda. He's so cool.

Karen Cheng

This is Karen Cheng.

She lives in Perth, Western Australia, with her husband and her two sons, Sean and Callum. I stumbled upon her blog, snippets of life a little more than a year ago, and I must say I've become a big fan. She is inspirational, she is passionate about life and she writes beautifully. She is artistic, she's funny and she's got a great sense of style. In fact, she is the reason I started my own blogging. She gives me ideas on what to do with my own two boys, and what the hell to cook for dinner! So thank you Karen, if you're reading.

Last year, Karen won the Best Blog Design in the Blogger's Choice Awards 2008. She came second in the Best Parenting Blog and was runners up for Best Blog of All Time and Hottest Mummy Blog! I must say she very well deserved all those awards and she got my vote for yummiest mummy of all time! :)

Well, she's up for the vote again for 2009 Blogger's Choice Awards. I know who I'll be voting for. Hop over to her blog for step-by-step instructions on how to vote.

Christmas Festivities

I can't believe it's that time of the year already. About this time last year, we bought a christmas tree for the very first time. As kids growing up, my husband and I have never really celebrated christmas. Sure, there's eating (and lots of eating!) and an odd christmas party here and there. But we've never really REALLY celebrated. We've not exchanged presents or given presents. We never understood the true meaning of christmas. To this day, we still don't! Now we owned a christmas tree and two darling boys, it's about time we found out don't you think? O.o

The other day, our playgroup had a christmas party. It was held in an indoor activity and play centre called YoYo's Playland. It's like a massive GATED (I like this idea!) fun house. There was a generous play area in a centre, with a huge inflatable slide. There were padded play equipments, cubby houses, push cars and this really cool roller-coaster-ride-on-thingymajiggy.

On to one side, there's a super play structure with a huge cyclone slide, more super-duper slides, trampoline and a ball pit.

Just look at the face of this boy, magic! We had loads of fun, burned off mega calories (L1, not me).

Even babies get their own play area and play equipments.

Verdict: Super cool. Would go there again.

YoYo's Playland

108, Lewis Road, Wantirna South 3152.

03-9801 6488

Darn, I didn't get to sit on Santa's lap!

Santa came early

L2: Hmmm.... I wonder if he's for real?!

Blue or pink?

I'm terrible at keeping secrets...




But I'm so happy I can't contain myself! Heeeeee....


NOPE it's not me!


*hugz*

Good Morning

L1 woke up at 7 this morning, 2 and a half hours earlier than he usually does. We did some things we've not done before. First, I let him spread butter and strawberry jam on his toast for the very first time in 2.5 years. We had brekky on the kitchen bench.

Then, we baked some banana and date muffins. I let him peel and mash the bananas. We had to go through 4 huge bananas before we had enough to fill 1 cup! Some ended up on the floor, most went into his mouth and there were some on my hair. He put little patty pan cases in the muffin tray and helped mix the batter. When we've finished, I felt like I've eaten so much and it's barely 8am! Now we're just sitting on the couch watching Thomas the Tank Engine. These days I hardly spend such quality time with L1 it just felt so good.

Ta-ta, we're getting ready for a christmas party. Santa will be there!

Photobook Christmas Promotion

Have you ever thought about making a REAL book as a special christmas gift? It could be a memory book for mom from your childhood years, collection of photos from a recent getaway for your loved one or even a simple coffee table book of combination of photos and text. It's just such a creative way to share your love this christmas.

They're doing this christmas promotion - 20% off all photobooks until 15th of December, 2008 for shipping to Malaysia and Singapore only. However, if you're in Australia and would like 20% off, just ask me nicely. I'm sure my darling brother will do a thing or two for his little sister. Plus, there's free shipping!

Just use the code - XMASGIFT at checkout, and you'll get 20% off.

This sure beats the christmas rush at the shops!

Mid-week tuna pasta

I love cooking quick and simple recipes, using healthy, fresh ingredients or pantry items. Having two boys, I am short of time. I usually keep a can or two of tuna in the pantry, along with canned corn kernels, 5 bean mix and baked beans - an aussie essential. I have pasta of all shapes and sizes, I usually buy the ones with lots of holes and ridges in them like rigatoni, macheroni and spirals as I find that the sauces would stick better or that the veggies would hide between the grooves making it more difficult for tiny fingers to separate them!




This week, I made one of our all time family favourites. Tuna pasta with roma tomatoes and pantry essentials. It takes me 30 minutes tops to prepare and cook. What more, I have leftovers that I put onto a baking dish and cling-wrapped, ready to be popped into the oven with some grated tasty cheese for tomorrow's lunch. These days Lachie has become extremely picky with his vegetables, but I still try to put lots and lots of veggies in most of my cooking, hoping that this would encourage him to eat them.

Ingredients:

500g Rigate (or pasta of choice) - cooked in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain.

1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 stalks celery, chopped finely
250g cherry roma tomatoes
425g canned tuna in vegetable oil, oil reserved
1 can corn kernels
1 can 5 bean mix
A handful of oregano leaves


Saute onion and garlic in 2 tablespoon of reserved vegetable oil until soft. Add celery and roma tomatoes. Cook until veggies are soft. Add in corn, beans, tuna and drained pasta. Stir and cook gently until pasta is warmed through and sauces are evenly distributed. Season to taste. Serve topped with fresh oregano leaves from the garden. The sauce for the pasta will come from the roma tomatoes, but if you find that it's a little too dry, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and a splash of water or stock.

Here's a mid-week meal idea for you! Enjoy!