I love... Tom (Tom)

My darling Tom (Tom),

I can't believe how quickly you have changed my world. You have taken me on scenic drives and adventures to "Bully" (Bulli) and "Wolongong" (Wollongong). You have spared my children from the sharp words of a lost Mummy, anxiously flipping through the pages of the UBD while trying to answer the questions of a 4 year old and soothe a 1 year old with an aversion to car travel.

For years I resisted the urge to buy you, believing that I could make do with  a street directory or a print out from Google maps. I never expected to love you as I do. I never thought that I would use you for local trips "just to see if there is a quicker way"; never imagined how useful you would be journeys I have made many times before, as you skilfully avoid the traffic (with your whizzy Live Traffic navigation).

Thankyou for being part of my life. Don't ever leave me.

Love always,
Erin. 

Image from here

I love... cloth nappies (most of the time)

We decided that we would use cloth nappies before Mr Sociable was born. I did a lot of research into MCNs (Modern Cloth Nappies) and, for the most part, have been pretty happy with my choices. Mr Sociable was in cloth during the day, disposables at night. Since I bought some great night nappies, Mr Fun is in cloth 95% of the time.

So, I thought I share what I love about MCNs:

1. Economy! I love that I save about $10/week in disposable nappies by using cloth. 

2. Once you have bought a set, you can use them for subsequent babies. The Baby Beehinds (BBH) fitted nappies can be used from birth right up to toilet training - so one set is enough (so long as you don't get lured by the pocket nappies, all-in-ones, night nappies, etc). I bought most of my nappy stash when Mr Sociable was a baby and am still using them for Mr Fun (just bought some replacement covers, which are relatively cheap).

BBH Fitted - 6 weeks old (Mr Fun)

3. Easy to put on. Some MCNs go on just like a disposable (the pocket nappies and AIOs), others are like two disposables (a fitted nappy + a cover).

BBH Fitted - 4 months old (Mr Fun)

4. Not contributing to land-fill. Every time we go on holidays (and I use disposables), I am horrified by the amount of space that nappies take up in the bin. 

5. They look cute! Look at this beautiful cloth bot :) No need to cover up with pants on hot days!

Greenkids Pocket - 14 months

BBH Magicall - 14 months

6. Clean up is pretty easy, if you line them with flushable liners.

7. Never run out of nappies. Don't have to rush down to Coles late at night because the nappies are all gone :)

8. Washing is surprisingly easy. They don't need to be soaked in napisan or bleach. They get dry-pailed (put into an empty nappy bucket) and washed every second day. In the washing machine, they need one cold water rinse cycle (to rinse out all the yucky stuff), then a warm water wash. The nappies take up about half a load in the machine, so I tend to do nappies & kids clothes together. On alternate days, I do other washing (Franky & my clothes, towels, sheets etc.).

2 days worth of nappies

9. They are a great present. I was lucky enough to receive a large part of my nappy stash as presents from grandparents. I have recently bought some to give to cloth-nappy-using friends when they have babies.

10. You can buy them second-hand if you are looking for a cheaper option. Or, you can often get specials on Modern Parents Vintage Ways.

I love... the cordless vacuum

Ok, lame - I know ;)

But to give you some context, our floor looks like this after most meals:

With 2 young kids, meal times are very messy. Before getting a cordless vac, I was crawling under the table, sweeping the floor with a brush and pan, up to 4 times a day!

A few weeks ago, my Mum loaned me her ergorapido. As soon as I used it, I loved it! It's lightweight & cordless - so really easy to use (even Mr Sociable can do it!). It's not as noisy as the "big" vacuum, so Mr Fun is not scared of it. It lives on a charger, ready for a quick vac under the table, or a once-over of the whole downstairs.

When my Mum saw how much I love it, she very generously offered to leave it with me. Thanks Mum!

I love... stairs (and so do my kids!)

I grew up in a house with 2 flights of stairs. My sister and I had a room each at the top of the house. When we were younger, we would put mattresses on the stairs and slide down them. When we were older, the stairs were a great asset to a messy teenage girls (Mum wasn't bothered about the state of our rooms when guests came over).

Now that I have kids of my own, we also live in a house with stairs. This past week, Mr Fun (aka "Mr Not-so-Fun") has been a bit sick and cranky, so today I was amusing him by letting him play on the stairs, watching him crawl up and slide down.

I started thinking about how much I love having stairs:

* They are great entertainment for babies. Both boys have loved them!! They have spent hours and hours going up and down those stairs.

Mr Sociable proving that rails can't stop him (16 months & 14 months)

Mr Fun learning how to climb the stairs (8 months)

* They are great entertainment for older kids too - racing cars down them, lowering "rescue" ropes from upstairs to toy victims waiting below, dropping parachute men over the railing and watching them float down

Playing "rescue" on the stairs while we were on holidays (3 years old)

* Stairs are great exercise - the number of times I walk up and down those stairs every day (often carrying extra weight - children or washing baskets ;))

And my last reason is a bit reminiscent of my teenage years....
* I love being able to hide all our mess quickly when people come over! It's much more achievable to keep a tidy living area than an entirely tidy house ;)

I love... pancakes

Today, I have no bread and no car. I knew last night that we had finished the bread and I meant to cook some in the breadmaker, but forgot. So we are having pancakes for breakfast! Everyone in our house loves pancakes (that's what we call them - but really, they have the consistency of pikelets). They are quick and easy to make, but still feel like a "special" breakfast (so I'm kind of glad I forgot to make bread...).

We have pancakes quite a lot, so here's what I've learned:
1. Use a good non-stick pan. I actually have a special non-stick pan reserved only for pancakes and eggs - I have found that cooking meat in the same pan wrecks the surface & causes the pancakes to stick.
2. Use low heat to cook. Because my pancakes are a bit thicker than most, cooking on low heat ensures that they are cooked all the way through, without burning on the outside.

Saturday morning pancakes

Lohtown Sweet* Pancakes
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Mix ingredients. Scoop out blobs onto a non-stick frypan & cook until small bubbles appear on the top surface.

 

 

Small bubbles on the top-side - ready to turn

Turn over to cook the other side. Put cooked pancakes onto a cooling rack. Serve with honey, jam, sugar/lemon, or vegemite (which my kids like!).

* I looked at some recipes on Taste this morning & realised that I use a more sugar than others do. The pancakes are quite sweet - nice to eat, even without a topping.

I love... Spring!

This is such an awesome time of year :) After months of cold dreary weather & sick kids, I love the warm sunny days in spring. I love...

the perfume of jasmine flowers

Our newly-acquired vine, courtesy of Franky's Mum

beautiful magnolia flowers

Port-wine magnolia

seeing new growth on the trees

Our blood orange tree - which, until recently, had looked a little sad

playing outside with my kids

Mr Sociable in his "dirt pit" (which is currently full of the sticks he
collected when we pruned a tree on the weekend)

the promise of fruit to come

Our dwarf lemon tree, covered in buds and small fruit

deciduous trees coming back to life

The beginnings of new leaves on the fig tree

lying in the sun (although it doesn't happen very often!)

Photographed by Mr Sociable ;)

washing drying outside on the line

Mr Sociable helping to bring in the dry washing

What do you love about Spring?

I love... pizza

A crispy crust, delicious tomato sauce, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capsicum, mushrooms, bacon, fresh herbs, cheese.... No, not Pizza Hut! I like real pizza, good pizza (eg. Pompei's at Bondi Beach). I also like making our own.

Recently, Franky has been making a thin crust with a self-raising flour damper, but today I thought I would try using the breadmaker to make the bases.

As a family meal, home-made pizza is great because you can hide so many vegies under the cheese! Tonight's had shredded carrot, capsicum, heaps of parsley, tomatoes, bacon, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, dried herbs & cheese. We've also used peas, beans and mushrooms.

Mr Fun (ate 3 baby-sized slices)

Mr Sociable (poor kid didn't want to stop eating,
even though he was falling asleep in his chair!!)

I love... our hammock

We have been using the Amby hammock for Mr Fun's day sleeps since he was a few days old. He sleeps so beautifully in there. I wish we had one when Mr Sociable was a baby!

 1 week old

 

2 months old (Hannah Jayne Photography)

 11 months old