Crazy Busy Disorganised Chaos.. But making progress :-)

Well life has slowly been returning to a 'new kind of normal' in our household this week. Jobs that were getting done by bedtime (such as making the bed, before you get in it.. or showering for the first time when you would normally be taking your nighttime shower etc..) have been getting done in a more timely fashion (even if mine and hubby's dinner was eaten at 11pm this evening!)  Organised chaos, isn't that what they call it?  Although I would probably still describe our household as disorganised chaos, compared to the 'before' shot.. but hey.. its early days and were still in the trial and error stage when it comes to forming a routine that works around Charlies, 'Non-routine'.  

 At this point in time, Hubby and I taking half the night each - one does the early bottle, one does the late and the bottle/s in between we are both awake for - we find we are both too drowsy to go this bottle alone & whilst one is feeding, the other is ironing the uniforms and preparing the lunches for the next day.  This seems to work well, although the last thing you feel like doing is ironing and preparing lunches at 2am.  Charlie seems to like sleep, but he tends to sleep more on his 'mobile basinettes' (aka - Mummy & Daddy) and his rocker over his basinette.  Im on top of the washing now (2 days ago after a few days rain was another story..) but the ironing pile makes Mt Everest look like a teensy hill - I really must tackle that tomorrow morning (although I think iv said that to myself for a month prior to Charlie's arrival!). 

My other littlies homework is all up to date and we have been enjoying our regular Thursday night shopping trip.. I like to keep things as normal as I can for him, I don't want him to feel like he is missing out now just because there is a baby in the house.  After all, he is my baby too and was used to having me largely to himself for 6 years.. Sometimes I feel insanely guilty when the times he wants to do something is bottle time, but getting him involved with Charlie and seeing their relationship is so heartwarming - he really is a great big brother and should be so proud of himself, as we are. 

Some of the things I am planning on embarking on next are;

* The ironing..

* The garden.. (planting out for Spring)

* Getting back into the swing of baking regularly

(I have 2 tubs of untouched cookie dough that cost a fortune sitting in the fridge..)

* Online shopping for groceries...

* Venturing out a little more..

* Organising a bills and budget folder to maximise my 'home' time.

*  Venturing back to work 1 day per week

So yes, I have a few things in the pipeline that I will chip away at for the next couple of months.. I know its early days yet and our family is still adjusting to adding a new little person to the mix, but we wouldn't have it any other way.. I can't say we are going to go back and have any more..we'll see what the future holds, but for now a grand total of 5 kids between, we couldn't ask for any more (Well maybe just a little more sleep.. hehehe).

School Holidays.. *Bliss* & School Friend Gifts.

After a long and drawn out 12 weeks, we have finally reached the school holidays.  I love school holidays for their sleep in's, late breakfasts, extended PJ wearing time (particularly now it's getting cooler) and of course getting to do some wonderful activities and spending time with the kids. 

On the last day of school my Son took in a little present for each of his school friends and a chocolate bunny for his hard working teacher, I have made this a tradition each year for special occasions since he started Kindy 2 years ago and he really enjoys handing out these little gifts to his friends. 

Last year and the year before I used the little Easter marshmallow shapes and chocolate eggs, but this year I took a simpler approach and opted to use the little plastic eggs I have often seen at discount stores and we placed a chocolate egg and some easter stickers in each one, sealed them up with another easter sticker and sent them on their way :)  I also sent an additional bag of eggs for him to hand out randomly to friends (at $1 you can't go wrong.. )

My son said his friends loved them, they didn't take me all night to prepare (as these gifts often do) and it was something he could help me out with each step of the way!

Cute Chicken & Bunny Craft.

Today Indi and I tackled two Easter craft projects that I found on Bianca's blog, A Little Delightful

One involved making a hand print Easter chick & the other a cotton wool bunny.. both were a lot of fun, so cute and will make gorgeous Easter cards.  I love that you use the hand print for the chick's wings & it was so fun actually making the hand print, we used paint & tracings of his hand for each of the different chickens. 

I decided to pop some split pins into the 'wings' so the hands could move up and down also, this was an addition I added in after the photographs. Such a simple craft activity but it was a favourite in our home today xo

A Lunchbox Shopping List to Cringe at..

Making lunches for 2 adults and 4 kids can be quite expensive! I actually think we use less food when we are at home, rather than packing to go to school & work - tonight I made Monday's lunches, ready for the morning and this is what I used;

• 6 Bread rolls
• 150g Ham
• Cheese
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1/2 Cucumber
• Handful of Spinach Leaves
• 10 Cheerio Sausages
• 6 Muesli Bars
• 2 x Tins of Tuna
• 1 x Box of Arnotts Shapes
• 6 x Apples
• 6 x Poppers/Juices
• Handful of Snakata Corn Chips
• 1 x Packaged Cheese dip/crackers
• 2 x Yoghurts
• 1 x tin of baby corn.

OMG! No wonder I find myself in the grocery shop every day.. And I'm not even one to use all that much pre-packaged food (I usually wouldn't use muesli bars as I typically make Muffins, but didn't get around to it this weekend as yet) as boxes of such snacks etc don't last long in our family, unless you buy in bulk.. 1 lunchtime equals a whole box of these products normally because they only contain 4-6 serves.. so I usually fill containers with crackers, cut up fresh food etc..

This term we only have my step kids every 2nd weekend, so the lunch list isn't this offensive every day, but next term when we have them for the entire term, it will be.. and then their will be another little mouth to feed too! .. Some of my favourite lunchbox snacks for the kids are;

• Cut up cherry tomato, olive and cheese.
• Sandwiches or wraps with various fillings.
• Snakata Rice Cracker Corn Chips with a container of salsa to go with.
• Various Muffins, Pikelets or homemade cookies
• Fresh fruit cut up! Grapes, Watermelon, Apple Slices, Orange pieces, mandarin, grapes.
• Cheese sticks cut up from home.. rather than those plasticy shop bought ones..
• Cheese and Vegemite scrolls.
• Tins of tuna with crackers to go with

I always pack the kids 3 individual lunch boxes for school and send along a fruit juice box/popper and a drink bottle filled with fresh cold water.  The reason I pack 3 lunchboxes is to ensure the kids have a sufficient amount of food for each break and it stops the older ones eating all of their packaged food during 1 lunch break (which I was finding to be a problem..) Kids need a sustained release of energy over the entire day and I find, this way, it ensures they aren't under or over eating at each of their breaks.

The first lunch box if for munch and crunch or brain food time, which our school participates in, where the kids are allowed a healthy snack during school time usually 10am.  For this break I send cut up fresh fruit or crackers..

The next lunch box is for first break and it contains a piece of fruit cut up and usually a muffin/cookie or yoghurt.

And the third lunchbox is for 2nd break which contains a sandwich (or equiv.. wrap, pasta, tin of tuna etc..)  some cut up olives, cherry tomatoes, cheese etc.. and a small treat such as a lamington finger/biscuit etc.. (depending upon what the other lunchboxes have contained..)

I mix these up often and the best thing I have found for the kids lunchboxes is a sectioned container which has a large part and 2 smaller parts.. perfect for 2nd break. I fill this up and add it to a zipped cooler bag with a frozen water bottle and it ensures their lunch stays healthy and fresh til 2nd break!

Space for Tween's...

I have two 'tweens', you know the age 9 (going on 10) and 10 (going on 11).. They have outgrown many of their younger childhood toys, feel they should be treated older and most definitely crave their own space, particularly away from each other & their two younger siblings who are aged 7 and 6. I tried a little experiment starting a couple of weeks ago, whereby I was seeing how they went at making their beds and keeping their rooms tidy and organised.. needless to say it was an abomination!

The Before's!

So today I caved and tidied their rooms for them.. I could no longer stand walking past their rooms and looking at the mess.. I love their beds, they are loft beds with a desk, drawers, wardrobe etc all built in, so they are the ultimate space savers which is handy in a house of soon to be 5 kids! Today I have focussed on the lower half of the space, tomorrow I will remake their beds with fresh linen etc.

My Stepson aged 10, enjoys reading, playing his DS, playing lego, sketching and his Bop-it indoors.. We added a computer and a desk lamp to his desk today, so I know when he returns on the weekend he is going to be super impressed by the new setup.. here's hoping he keeps it clean!

And my stepdaughter she enjoys much of the same, plus Littlest Petshop, Pixel Chix, Beado's and making her friends endless books, cards, friendship bracelets etc etc. she is also branching into an interest in scrapbooking and beadmaking, so I have set her up some baskets to contain all of her supplies;

So now iv cleaned up, I think I'll find it much easier to keep it clean (and for them to keep it clean..) and hopefully it will spark some new interests for the both of them! 

It's the Little Things, gifts kids give to make your heart smile xo

Its the little things each days that make your heart soar.. I have been truly blessed with an adorable little man who loves to leave me little handmade surprises of cuteness, he has always done this and although my storage box of all of his necklaces, paintings, drawings, craft ventures and gifts is HUGE, I love that he is so giving and thoughtful, it really does make my heart smile..

He has also constructed this wall of his own artwork, drawing and handwriting that he is proud of and I was happy to let him pop it outside his door. Im not usually one for attaching things to walls, but seeing his pride in creating and presenting his work, how could I say no? Im not too sure what we'll do when we paint the walls of the dining room, I guess Ill find a cute little cork board for him to display things on outside his walls. They also have one in their room, but it's much nicer im sure to have it all out on display! :)

The other day before I returned to work, he created this gorgeous little sticker holder for me to take along to school for my student's rewards. After a tough first day back, it was so lovely to sit and stare at this very thoughtful gift he had made me during my lunchbreak and smile.. smile for all of his thoughtfulness and care.. He even filled it up with his own stickers and prizes from his room.  When I got home that afternoon he wanted to know how many stickers I gave out.. he was so proud 

 And I always am!