This blog post may contain affiliate links.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Nothing strikes fear into an allergy mum's heart like a dirty floor

It used to be so easy to keep my house clean pre kids. Then I gave birth to a small person... she morphed into a toddler tornado... and I said goodbye to my tidy home.

No more neatly arranged decorative items or spotless floors. They were replaced with random toys and tupperware... all over the floor, chairs, stairs, shelves, under and in the couch. It's like a lucky dip when you sit on the couch, you never know what you're going to find stuffed behind the cushions. My house quickly began looking like a ransacked toy store. With a healthy side serve of dirt, sand, grass and anything else the small child decided to traipse inside. It wasn't pretty all the time, but it was manageable. Then entered child number 2, destructor baby, and everything turned to complete and utter chaos. Now most of the time I can clean all day long and it still looks like a crime scene at the end of the day. Sometimes I feel like all I do is follow them both around with the vacuum cleaner and baby wipes, yet they still manage to cover the floor in crumbs, smear sauce in random places and sneak biscuits onto the couch.


I'm no stranger to mess, in fact you could go as far as saying I embrace it given we do lots of messy sensory play. The reason I get so stressed out over mess on the floors, particularly discarded food, is because of baby girls multiple food allergies. Nothing strikes fear into an allergy mum's heart like watching their child reaching for unsafe food they find on the floor. If she eats the wrong crumbs, finds a random piece of cheese or even a discarded spoon that's touched milk, it can mean hours of pain, screaming, rashes and no sleep... and nobody wants that.

We've navigated food allergies before, when her sister was little, but it was a lot easier with only one child. I always made sure unsafe food was kept away from her up high when we ate and because we didn't drop food on the floor ourselves, any food she dropped and found later was her own safe food. I didn't have to be so vigilant and follow her around micromanaging every speck she picked up. Having an allergy toddler and an older child is a whole different ball game though.

Big sister has outgrown her allergies now, but a lot of the food she eats is still dangerous for her little sister. She's pretty good at asking before she shares food with her, but no matter how many times I tell her not to make a mess or drop food, I can guarantee there'll be a trail of crumbs left wherever she's been eating. There'll also be a curious toddler eagerly waiting to swoop in and eat every last crumb.

Baby girl is only 18 months old so she doesn't understand that she can't eat certain foods, or why, she just wants to eat everything her sister does. Unless our whole family goes dairy, soy and nut free there's always going to be the possibility she can find some food that she shouldn't eat, so right now it's necessary for me to be the mean mummy and take things off her, until she's old enough to understand how to manage her allergies herself, or hopefully outgrows them. 

On top of all of her food allergies, I have quite severe asthma myself and am allergic to cats and dust so I have to clean like a ninja for my own health too. Did I mention we have an indoor cat and our entire upstairs level is carpet? Not exactly the ideal living situation for an asthmatic. I know I shouldn't have a cat when I'm allergic, but he's soooooo cute and so good with the kids, he's basically our third child.



Pre kids {and cat} I could get away with a light vacuum here and there to keep the dust situation and my asthma under control. Now there's a whole different level of carpet cleaning going on, even when the carpet looks clean to the naked eye I can guarantee if I vacuum there'll be all sorts of dirt coming out of it. Between the kids walking food and dirt up the stairs, the cat molting and general household dust build up, I'm cleaning the carpets almost every single day. All the allergies in this house have turned me into the cleaning fairy I always wished I had.

Even though our whole family is well versed in handling allergies, my kids are still messy like everyone elses. Like most mums, I can plead with them til I'm blue in the face please don't drop anything on the floor, please don't eat that, we don't eat food off the floor etc and they'll still do it. Mess is part of our everyday lives. Unlike most other households however, it can have dire consequences, so I have to be on the ball all the time. If you have friends or relatives with allergies please be mindful when you visit them because they're likely as highly strung as I am. Also please don't be alarmed if you ever see them running around like a headless chook picking up stuff off the floor, it's just what us allergy mums do..

Toni x


Sunday, October 21, 2018

Halloween Mummies Toilet Paper Roll Craft

Do you hoard all the recycling in the hopes of making crafty masterpieces with your kids? I have so many cardboard boxes, empty containers, toilet paper rolls, pieces of used tissue paper and bubble wrap just waiting in my garage for the day they'll be reborn into something amazing. Sometimes that day takes a loooong time to arrive, but I can always find useful ways to reuse recyclables. Read on to find out how to make these really easy Halloween mummies from toilet paper rolls or cardboard tubes.

You and your kids can make them in about 5 minutes and you don't have to be a crafty mum. They're so simple, my daughter started making them when she was 3 and only needed help gluing on the googly eyes. The rougher they are the better they look in my opinion. Also good news, empty toilet paper rolls should be a readily available craft resource in your household, even if you're not a hoarder of all the things like me.

halloween mummies made from toilet paper rolls and masking tape

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Easy PJ Masks Costume for Halloween

If your kids want to be superheros this year for Halloween then look no further than the PJ Masks! Everyone's favourite night time superheros are the perfect costume idea for kids for a night of dressing up and trick or treating. They're also an easy book week dress up idea too, just team the costume with your favourite PJ Masks book and you're done.

pj masks kids owlette costume
Sunday, September 9, 2018

Rock Pool Small World with Coles Little Shop Mini Collectables

If you love all things mini then you'll love this environmental rock pool small world using mini supermarket items. It's a great way to teach children about the dangers rubbish causes to aquatic life in our oceans and also a great way to open a discussion about recycling and putting rubbish in the bin. And don't worry, even if you don't have any mini toys, you can still do the same activity with just little pieces of rubbish like bottle tops, plastic, straws and bread ties. This is also a great activity to do in April for Earth Day.

rock pool environmental small world
Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Introducing kids to steam education with KiwiCo

Have you been worried about how to entertain your kids as they get older?

Confession time, I've always loved learning through play and I could happily set up small world or sensory play invitations for the girls all day long, but I'm well aware as they get older these types of activities will no longer cut it, and that's terrified me. I can do young kids, but I've always worried how I'd keep older kids entertained {other than craft and iPads}. But a year or so ago I discovered steam education and it's like a lightbulb went on in my head and I've been patiently waiting for bub's interests to catch up so I could unleash all the steam ideas!

If you've never heard the term steam before, it's an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. Steam education refers to fun learning activities based around these subjects that provoke inquiry, problem solving, collaboration and experimenting. Steam learning is process based learning that involves critical thinking to reach a solution. I've been slowly incorporating it into activities now bub is 5 by doing more experiments like the skittles rainbow and making volcanoes. We're only really at the start of our steam journey and I can see her interest in science and engineering in particular is growing as is her constant thirst for knowledge, so when KiwiCo contacted me to trial their steam subscriptions boxes it was right up our alley.




KiwiCo is a US based educational subscription box company that specialise in steam education for children 0-16 years. KiwiCo make science, technology, engineering, art and maths educational activities accessible, engaging and fun to inspire the next generation of scientists, artists, makers and creators. KiwiCo was created to celebrate kids' natural creativity and curiosity, while helping parents who want to bring enriching experiences to their children. They've recently introduced shipping to Australia and bub was lucky to be one of the first Australian kids to trial their boxes.


The crates are available for different age brackets and include age appropriate steam activities. We were sent a koala crate, kiwi crate and a tinker crate. With her 5th birthday this week, I wasn't entirely sure whether the koala or kiwi crate would be most age appropriate, so it was good to be able to trial both. The koala crate was definitely a big hit and we did those activities straight away. She's also really excited to make everything in the kiwi box though. Having seen both, I would recommend if your child is already in school go the kiwi crate, but if they're still in kindergarten or younger stick to the koala crate. Both require some adult assistance still. The tinker crate is obviously way out of her age range, but it was great to see exactly what's included and I was seriously impressed. In fact I'm sure it would take me a while to construct the hydraulic arm that was included in that box {a high school student could probably still do it quicker than me, because my brain is a little rusty thanks to kids!}.







The koala crate was our favourite because it included musical instruments, but I was really impressed that all the crates include a detailed {both pictures and written} instruction booklet, activity booklet and all the items needed for each activity. I love that the boxes provide hands on learning opportunities where kids can build their own items {with a little help}. It was so much fun watching bub's sense of accomplishment as she turned a few loose pieces into a fully working xylophone. I can't wait to finish building our arcade game from the kiwi crate.






Disclosure - I was sent some KiwiCo crates to trial and review. I did not receive payment for this review and all opinions expressed are based on our experience building and playing with the contents of the boxes.

*Some affiliate links have been used within this post. They do not affect the price you pay, but if you decide to purchase I may earn a small commission {to fund my toy addiction}.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Love me when my heart is tired

Have you ever been so tired you feel like you simply can't do anything, yet you somehow get to the end of each day with no clue how you survived? 

Chronic sleep deprivation is torture, like actual torture that is used in war time, yet here I am experiencing it in the middle of suburbia and it's been 14 long months with no end in sight. Nobody is coming to rescue me from this torture though, I'm expected to endure it with a smile on my face and tell everyone how much I love my kids and life etc, and figure it all out on my own. On social media people like to live out this fantasy land, when behind closed doors it's a whole different story. Because happy is easy to deal with and anything less than perfect isn't. The truth is sometimes gritty and harsh and painful, all the things people don't want to experience. So we run and hide from it and pretend it doesn't exist.

I'm not really one of those people though. I tend to call it like I see it and admit when things are falling apart. Having two children has been a lot harder for me than I ever imagined it would be. I'm not sure if it's because of the added pressure of allergies, a baby who's also allergic to sleep, a big {unintentional} age gap, or a combination of all of these things. Or perhaps everyone with multiple children experiences these feelings regardless of their situation.

There's been lots of crying, feeling helpless, feeling like I'm failing, lashing out {because my tolerance level is often minimal} and swearing. Yes I swear, I know it's wrong, I know I shouldn't, but I do. Sorry {not sorry}. I know at times I've turned into a cranky, yelling, generally unpleasant, borderline insane person and my friends and family have had to see me like this. Sure there are a few days where I feel like I'm winning at this mothering gig, but more often than not things feel like they're falling apart to some extent. So, this is my truth, and my apology, and my plea to everyone to still love me when my heart is so very, very tired.



To my friends...

Love me when I put up negative Facebook statuses. Don't ignore me, shut me down, or tell me it gets better. My brain logically knows it will get better at some point. I know I won't have a 15yr old sleeping in my bed waking for boobies every 2hrs {least I don't think that happens, right?}. I've done this before, I know at some point this will all be a distant memory. But at 2am when I've had one, maybe two hours of broken sleep interrupted 4 times by a baby that won't take no for an answer.. I forget that it will eventually end. In the cold, dark of the night {or sometimes the cold, foggy start of the morning} I vent on Facebook hoping for some kind of acknowledgement that I'm not alone. Hoping that someone out there sees me, someone gets me. Please don't respond telling me all the things I should be doing, because that makes me feel like I'm failing even more than I already think I am. Just see me. Let me know I still matter. Tell me to have a cup of tea. Even better organise a playdate so I get to see you in real life. 

To my mum...

When I call you in tears saying I just can't take it anymore, it doesn't mean I want you to question everything I've done. It means I've tried everything and I'm beyond done and please God come and help me. Don't tell me you don't know what to do and leave me lost and crying on the other end of the phone. Tell me you're coming over and everything will be ok. Because even though you might not know what to do and you can't "fix" it, my brain tells me you're my mum and I should run to you when I need help and everything will be ok. Listening to me and coming over will make everything ok, even if it's not. I promise I won't be a crying basket case forever {well hopefully not}.

To my husband...

You know all the times when I yell at you about stupid stuff because I'm just at the end of my God dam rope and the fact you haven't taken the bin out or remembered the kids drink bottles pushes me over the edge? Don't turn those moments into WW3. Just take them with a grain of salt. Remember I haven't slept properly in a really, really long time and I'm a slave to small children every. single. day. Its draining and constant and sometimes tiny stuff will set me off, for no apparent {logical} reason, because my tolerance level is below 0. 

It doesn't make sense. Tomorrow I'll realise that and know I was overreacting, but right here and now I need to vent so I don't lose my mind and unfortunately you're the only adult in the room, so it gets directed at you. I'm sorry, I know its shit. I know it's unfair, but I also know while this tiny dictator is still a sleep thief it probably wont change. My bad. Remember that invisible bubble the Dr told you to hide in when I was first pregnant 5 years ago? Maybe bring that back and camp out in it for a while, say another year or two.... I should be back to myself by then {oh God I hope so}.

To my big girl...

I'm sorry your world has been turned upside down and sometimes chaos is our new normal. It may seem like I think about you less and your needs don't matter as much anymore, but the truth is you're always on my mind. I spend so much of my day wondering if I'm doing everything right. Do I give you enough hugs? Have I told you I love you enough? Did I spend enough time with you, or did I unintentionally dismiss your concerns because your sister needed me? I don't love you any less and you aren't less important, it's just there's two of you and one of me now so waiting, sharing and not always getting what you want when you want it is the new normal and I know you don't like it or understand it right now, but unfortunately that's the way life is. One day things won't be so crazy I promise.

To my baby girl...

I feel like I'm robbing you of the mother you deserve. You get a tired, cranky, glass half empty mum most of the time when I want to be an excited, energetic, glass half full mum. I want to spend my days setting up all the play activities for you and nurturing your little mind, reveling in your new skills and giving you all of me. One day we'll get to that point, probably once you start sleeping through the night, for now boobies and cuddles are hopefully enough.

To myself...

Give yourself a break. Don't feel guilty that the house is messy, the to do lists never get completed and you feel like you fail more than you succeed. Forgive yourself for not meeting your own impossible standards. Reduce your expectations. Write have done lists instead of to do lists. Celebrate the small wins, because during this monotonous chapter of raising small people the little wins are the biggest victories. Give as much time and energy to yourself as you do to everyone else. Love yourself as much as you love others. You matter too. Love yourself even though your heart is tired.


*This post was in part inspired by Alan Walker's song tired, which has somewhat become the anthem to my life these past few months. I listen to it most nights when I have a shower, you can listen to it here.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Mokulock Wooden Building Bricks: A Natural Alternative to Lego

You all know how much I love toys, right?

My penchant for online shopping, coupled with the occasional opportunity to review toys for the blog, means I've pretty much been the toy queen in our house from day dot. When it comes to toys, my kids always come to me {possibly because I'm a girl and like the same things as them, or maybe because I hardly ever say no}. Anyway reasoning aside, for years daddy's been sitting on the sidelines patiently biding his time, waiting for the day he could finally introduce the girls to Lego and reign supreme in the toy department. He's literally been counting down since they were born. What he wasn't counting on though was me discovering a product even more awesome than Lego and totally stealing his thunder! Whoops... I almost feel bad about it {ok not really, because you all know how much I absolutely love wooden toys}. I've found the most amazing wooden alternative to Lego and the best part is it's now available in Australia.

mokulock wooden building bricks, a natural alternative to lego


WHAT IS MOKULOCK?


Mokulock pieces are wooden interlocking building bricks made in Yamagata Japan. In Yamagata 70% of the land is mountainous and the residents co-exist with nature, dependent on cultivating the forest for resources. Trees cannot thrive when they're close together in the mountains as not enough sunlight can filter through, so to ensure the survival of the forest as a whole, in the winter forest thinning occurs utilising the snow as a cushion when the trees are felled. The wood used for Mokulock bricks comes from the felled trees that are unsuitable for making furniture or architecture.

Mokulock is made from 6 different types of wood; Japanese Cherry, Japanese Zelkova, Japanese Bigleaf Magnolia, Birch, Hornbeam and Maple. Each individual brick is carved from a single piece of wood making them all unique with a different grain, texture and colour. No 2 pieces are ever identical, which if I'm completely honest would normally irritate my OCD, however I find the unique markings quite fascinating. Another plus is no chemicals, paint, glue or finishing oils are used in the production of the bricks, making them even more eco-friendly.




BRING NATURE INTO YOUR PLAYROOM


Research has confirmed wood has a calming, comforting effect. Mokulock is an organic, eco-friendly alternative for those who love the appeal of Lego, but hate plastic. It provides a multi-sensory play experience without the overstimulating bright colours and cold, hard feel of plastic. Instead Mokulock is warm and textured with subtle colour variations and a natural aroma, allowing sensory input without causing sensory overload.

Mokulock provides hours of open ended creative play that naturally aids fine motor skill development as the pieces are carefully manipulated into place. These bricks never get boring because they can literally be used to construct an unlimited number of designs, inspired by your child's imagination. As your children grow the complexity of their designs will evolve too.

The first time we played with Mokulock bub was coming up with ideas of what to build on her own then asked me to build one and she would copy. We did trees, people, houses and a pyramid all initiated by her. She got a bit frustrated when she couldn't get the bricks to join together perfectly the first time, but her stubborn streak is a blessing in disguise because she kept going until she mastered it. She's now asking me to search out more complex design ideas so we can build animals like dragons and crocodiles. Keep an eye out on Instagram to see all the creations we come up with.

child building with mokulock building bricks

mokulock wooden bricks



MOKULOCK IS FOR EVERYONE


Whether your children are building simple towers or intricate multi level buildings, there's a Mokulock set for every member of the family from inquisitive toddlers right through to the biggest construction lovers. Although the regular Mokulock pieces are small and best suited to children aged 5 and over, they're also available in bigger sizes so younger children can join in too. And of course adults can play too!

MOKULOCK

The regular Mokulock brick sets include full {8 studs} and half {4 studs} sized bricks. Mokulock sets are available in 24 pieces, 36 pieces, 48 pieces and 60 pieces.

TSUMIKI

Block pieces in the Tsumiki sets are 8 times bigger than regular Mokulock pieces. They're similar in size to Duplo and designed so young children can start learning how to build with interlocking blocks. Tsumiki is available in 28 piece or 56 piece sets and come with additional eye stickers to help bring kids creations alive.

BUBU

The Bubu car is the only Mokulock set that includes wheels and bevel cut pieces. The set contains 14 pieces designed to build a specific wooden car which is the perfect size for little hands. However, the pieces are compatible with all Mokulock bricks, so it can be used in conjunction with other sets to build even bigger vehicles. 

KODOMO

Kodomo literally translates to children in Japanese and these sets are designed to add a little bit of magic. The Kodomo sets include regular Mokulock bricks in full and half lengths with the added bonus of cute eye stickers to help bring kids creations to life. Kodomo is available in 34 piece and 60 piece sets. For your chance to win a 60 piece set enter the giveaway at the end of this post.

----------

After playing with the regular Mokulock bricks I would suggest they're great for children aged 4 and up {we don't have Tsumiki, but I would assume they would be good for 3+ as they're similar to Duplo}. I always supervise her while playing with them, moreso because I need to keep her younger sister away from them as she still mouths everything. Word of warning too, you will need to keep them away from adult males, if you ever want to play with them again. The good news though is that he has forgiven me for stealing his thunder and now enjoys regular building sessions with bub. It's actually really lovely having a toy they can both play with and enjoy simultaneously. Mokulock gives them the option of working together for a common goal or alongside each other and it's been great watching them bond over a shared interest.


WHERE CAN YOU GET MOKULOCK IN AUSTRALIA?


The entire Mokulock range is now available from Oskars Wooden Ark, Australia's newest online destination for quality open ended wooden toys. Growing up in Germany, owner Simon was surrounded by many high quality wooden toys thanks to his kindergarten teacher mother, which cemented a deep love of handmade wooden toys and open ended play from an early age. He and his wife Thuy recently opened Oskar's Wooden Ark {affectionately named after their son} after emigrating from Germany to Australia, in the hopes of bringing the wonderful handmade wooden toys he enjoyed playing with growing up, to children here in Australia. You can read their entire story here.



Oskar's Wooden Ark specialises in wooden toys, stocking popular wooden toy brands Grimm's, Ostheimer, Wobbel, Grapat, Mokulock and Magic Wood, who's products are sourced from sustainably managed forests in Europe. Wooden bricks, rainbows, cars, animals, Nins and wobbleboards are just some of the iconic toys that grace their online shelves. Each product is unique with individual grain marks made by nature. They're also great for developing fine motor skills, high contrast vision, letters, numbers, counting, mathematical reasoning and language development whilst engaging children in hours of open ended play.

To celebrate their opening and Mokulock being available in Australia, they're offering all Finding Myself Young readers 10% off* all Mokulock products. Just use the code finding_myself_young when checking out at www.oskarswoodenark.com.au. You may even be lucky and get a special Mokulock wooden key charm with your order.

Win Mokulock thanks to Oskar's Wooden Ark


Thanks to Oskar's Wooden Ark I also have a 60 piece Kodomo set of Mokulock wooden building bricks to giveaway to you! To enter simply follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget {so I can contact you if you win} and comment below letting me know what your kids would love to build with Mokulock? You can also enter over on Facebook and Instagram for additional chances to win.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS & CONDITIONS
Competition commences upon publication and ends at 11:59pm May 10th 2018. One winner will receive a Mokulock 60pc Kodomo set RRP $89.90. Finding Myself Young will not be held liable should the prize be lost in transit. Competition is open to Australian residents only, excluding ACT. This competition is a game of skill and will be judged as such. All mandatory entry steps must be completed to constitute a valid entry. Incomplete entries will be deemed invalid and excluded from judging. Entries can be made via www.findingmyselfyoung.com, Facebook and Instagram and one winner will be selected from the total entry pool. Winners will have 48hrs to respond or prize will be redrawn. This competition is in no way endorsed, promoted or administered by Facebook or Instagram.

* Discount code is valid 8th May 2018 - 10th May 2018

Disclosure - I was gifted Mokulock wooden building bricks for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed within this post are based on our experience building with Mokulock. I did not receive payment for this review.


Thursday, April 26, 2018

Bringing memories to life

This post is in collaboration with Brand Meets Blog

I remember being fascinated by our photo albums when I was little. They were so chunky and there were so many of them all lined up in a row on the bookshelf next to the Reader's Digest and our Encyclopedia Britannica collection. I'd regularly get them down and gently flip through the pages careful not to knock any of the photos out of place. They were the old-school albums where the photos were held in by sticky pages, except the pages became less sticky and kind of redundant as time went on.

I'd spend ages marveling at the fact I really was a baby once and there was a time before my brother existed, even though I didn't remember any of it. Those original baby albums probably inspired my love of photo taking and insatiable desire to capture memories. While I loved looking at them, when I was allowed to, I always wondered why mum put our photos in albums that sat on bookshelves collecting dust. I never understood why there weren't more hanging on the walls so we could see them everyday.



Fast forward 20 something years and chunky photo albums seem to be a thing of the past. In fact I've never even put together a physical photo album, but I have the modern day equivalent with 35 photo albums on my Facebook profile, an Instagram account {for photo sharing} and 9000+ photos sitting idly in my phone gallery. With so many things being digital these days, it can be easy to get lost in our devices and forget about the physical world around us. It's only recently occurred to me that despite the fact I take and share photos every single day, my kids don't actually see them at all {unless my 4yr old steals my phone}. They don't even have a dusty photo album they can pull off the shelf and flick through. For someone so obsessed with making memories, I can't believe I've been {unintentionally} forgetting to share them with my own children.

In my defense, creating some kind of photo wall display has been on my to do list for a while, but it's always been put in the too hard basket and not been a high priority.  I haven't printed photos out previously, because the thought of taking two kids into a store to use a kiosk then wait for the photos to be printed sounds like an awesome day out a special kind of hell {I know this because we all went with my mother when she printed hers}. I want to have more visible reminders of our time together as a family though so I decided to make a start on my photo wall with one of the maternity photos we had taken last year before baby girl's arrival.

It turns out, unbeknownst to me until two weeks ago, you can easily order canvas prints online from CanvasChamp. No long winded trips to the shops. No battling to get two kids ready to leave the house, or entertaining them while they get oh soooo bored waiting in line ups. Just a few clicks on my laptop and I had a 40x50cm canvas print ordered for our photo wall in under 5 minutes. In mum time that's the equivalent of Justine Clarke singing everywhere's a dancefloor {which incidentally is a good way to occupy the kids while using your laptop}.




canvas champ online ordering form



I could of bit the bullet and ordered the entire wall display in one go, but I'm indecisive and if I waited until I'd worked out all the photos I wanted it would never get done. I'd also never ordered canvas prints online, so if I'm completely honest, I was a bit apprehensive about the quality, especially given they were a lot cheaper than I was expecting {so being somewhat pessimistic I decided to try before putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak}. However, I'm happy to report the canvas arrived in perfect condition and really well packaged a week later.



I wouldn't hesitate ordering more prints online now and I'm actually considering ordering some for mum for Mother's Day. What better gift than memories of your children and grandchildren right? You can get a free 8x8 canvas print with your first order if you sign up to the newsletter too. They also have wood prints, how cool! If you know how obsessed I am with wooden toys you'll understand why that excites me so much.
canvas print of Finding Myself Young maternity shoot



This photo from our maternity shoot now takes pride of place on our wall. As soon as bub saw it she said "wow mummy look at the picture, that's when we were in the forest taking photos when bubby was in your tummy. It's so beautiful". Of course my heart melted. I'm so glad she has a daily reminder of our family adventure to the forest and how excited we were to become a family of four. I also love that her little sister will be able to look at it each day and know how much we looked forward to meeting her {and maybe one day she'll believe me she really was inside my belly}. Now I really want to print more photos and organise another family shoot with all four of us {even though baby girl's technically in this photo} so we can hang even more memories on our walls.



How often do you print your photos out?
Surely I'm not the only one with thousands of photos sitting on my phone?

Toni x


Disclosure - This is a sponsored post for CanvasChamp in accordance with my disclosure policy. The maternity photo shown in this post was taken by Katherine Maree Photography.

*Some links used within this page are affiliate links which means I may make a small commission, at no extra cost to you, should you make a purchase. 
Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Ultimate First Birthday Gift Guide

So my baby girl is turning one this week...

Everybody in my family thinks my kids are hard to buy for, apparently "they have everything" because our house resembles a toy shop. Yes, I agree, our house does somewhat resemble a toy shop {or a childcare centre} and we do have a lot of toys, buuuut there are always more toys. I guarantee I can always find things we don't have {that we obviously need}. If I had a bigger house and a never ending supply of money you can bet our house would be packed with way more toys than it is now. There's so many amazing toys out there, you just have to know where to look {or spend hours scrolling online shops while breastfeeding like me}. Thankfully you don't have to though, because I've done the hard work {aka research} for you and put together this awesome gift guide. I swear if toy scout was a job, I'd be all over it. If you have a one year old to buy for, or your own baby is about to turn one, this post is packed full of ideas, and they're all great for girls and boys.

WOODEN TOYS VS PLASTIC TOYS


I have to admit, when my big girl was a baby, our toy style could pretty much be described as plastic fantastic. I used to walk into all the department stores and be blinded by the bright colours, whizz bang sounds and cheap prices, I'd buy a new toy every time we went to the shops. I was so excited to finally have a baby I wanted e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. It's safe to say I quickly got over my fascination with all things noisy and plastic. The endless need for new batteries, creepy toys going off in the middle of the night and my house looking like shiny rainbow vomit had a lot to do with it. So began my obsession with wooden toys {around about when she was 18 months old}. 

Not only are wooden toys less likely to freak me out in the middle of the night, they're also inherently open ended providing numerous learning opportunities that evolve as your child grows. They inspire hours of pretend play, limited only by your child's imagination. They're also extremely durable and won't fade, crack or deteriorate as quickly as their plastic counterparts. All of these reasons are why I've only bought wooden toys for my girls for the past few years. The ones we've collected so far are such good quality I'm planning on keeping most of them for my future grandkids to play with.

But what do you get a one year old? They're too old for baby toys...


That's totally true, most one year olds are in that odd in between stage where they're too old for baby toys like teethers and blankies, but don't have the skills yet for things like puzzles and games. However, I like to think of toys that will suit them for the whole year not just what they can do right at this moment. Between 1-2yrs of age toddlers brains are developing rapidly and their physical, cognitive and language skills and abilities will also evolve exponentially.

During the next 12 months most toddlers will hit big physical milestones like learning to walk, but they'll also master less obvious ones like their pincer grip, through actions like grasping, stacking, transferring and sorting objects. They'll also start simple pretend play with their toys by mimicking actions you do with them. Not to mention their speech will start expanding and one of the best ways to facilitate this is through play.

I'm very passionate about learning through play so I've put together a list of some amazing good quality toys that will help develop these skills. And yes these are the actual presents she'll be getting for her birthday. The way she plays with each of them will continue to evolve as she gets older. Keep an eye out on Instagram to see them in action over the coming weeks and months.



*This post contains some affiliate links*



HAPE ROLLER DERBY


The Hape roller derby is one toy that's been on my wish list for months. We hired it for her big sister when I was still pregnant and it was such a hit I've been wanting to buy it ever since. It's essentially a more toddler friendly version of a marble run using bigger balls. Kids put the balls into the top hole and watch them fall down the ball run, through the different holes, changing sides as they go and then finally dropping onto a bell at the bottom. It's such a simple toy, but it provides loads of tactile, visual and auditory stimulation. It's also a really easy way for younger kids to practice hand/eye co-ordination while placing the balls through the hole. I imagine her big sister will be keen to play with this one too as she's used it before, so I'm hoping it'll also help the girls practice turn taking.

I was so excited when The Creative Toy Shop added the roller derby to their Hape range, because I'd been having a bit of trouble tracking it down online. The Creative Toy Shop is an online toy store that stocks educational toys, activity guides and resources to facilitate play based learning for children of all abilities. I first met owner Brianna via her notes from a home educator Instagram account where she shares learning activities she does while homeschooling four young boys. She's now living my dream and running her own toy store alongside her teaching job. Everything available in her shop has been carefully selected to cater for children of all abilities, including those with special needs. You can follow The Creative Toy Shop on Facebook and Instagram.


EGG AND CUP GAME


This rainbow wooden egg and cup puzzle set is a great little matching game for toddlers. They can start to develop fine motor skills, hand/eye co-ordination, learn about balance and cause and effect by grasping the eggs and transferring them in and out of the cups. What I love most about this set is that it essentially grows with your child because it can be used to learn and reinforce different skills at different ages. As she gets older I'll also use it to teach her the different colours, for colour sorting, problem solving, counting and sequencing. I dare say her big sister will probably play with these a lot too.

The egg and cup game is made from renewable birch and hand painted using vegetable based paints. I got it from Works at Play, a Brisbane based toy store with a focus on affordable, sustainable, open ended toys, resources and play sets for at home and childcare centres. Owner Melissa is an Early Childhood Teacher passionate about sharing her knowledge of play resources and learning opportunities with others. Many of the toys and resources sold at Works at Play are Montessori or Waldorf inspired. You can follow Works at Play on Facebook and Instagram.


GRIMMS 7 RAINBOW FRIENDS



When it comes to wooden toys Grimms are pretty much up there with the best of the best. I'd even go as far as saying they're probably the world leaders in open ended toys. I think the best place to start your Grimms collection for a toddler is with the 7 rainbow friends in bowls. The peg dolls will help develop baby girl's pincer grip as she grabs them and transfers them in and out of the bowls. The bowls can also be stacked on their own. They're also great for introducing colour sorting and matching and eventually we'll use them to sequence the colours of the rainbow. As her imagination develops they'll also be fabulous for pretend play.

This set is made from sustainably sourced alder and maple wood and is hand finished with non-toxic, water based dyes. Each piece of Grimms has unique markings from the natural wood grain so no two pieces or sets will ever be exactly the same. I also got these from The Creative Toy Shop, they have an extensive range of Grimms toys with options for babies right through to older children.


RAINBOW SOUND BLOCKS





Wooden blocks provide children with a delightful tactile sensory experience and are a perfect first birthday gift for toddlers starting to explore grasping, stacking and sorting. These wooden rainbow sound blocks have added sensory stimulation with coloured panels and different beads within each block. Baby girl is obsessed with anything that makes sound so I know she's going to love shaking, banging, stacking and knocking them over to explore the different sounds they make. They're also a good size for kids who are still prone to mouthing {always use them under supervision with young children} and they pack away neatly into the included storage box when not in use.

Like a lot of the other items included in this list, wooden blocks appeal to a large range of ages so I know they're something she won't get bored of or grow out of quickly {I still love playing with wooden blocks at 33}. As she gets older I'll also use them for introducing colours and shapes and in treasure baskets.


TREE TOP ADVENTURE ACTIVITY CENTRE



Activity centre cubes and tables are a pretty staple gift option for 1 year olds that you can't really go wrong with. Toddlers love to explore and play with anything and everything and activity centres give them a chance to play interactively with multiple items at once. Not only are they having fun putting items in and out, spinning, winding, opening and shutting, and pushing and pulling little pieces, they're also doing a great deal of learning. Each manoeuvre strengthens their hand muscles and assists fine motor skills as well as teaching cause and effect and problem solving.

We've had quite a few different activity cubes and tables over the years {I know I have a toy problem}, but I think this tree top adventure activity centre may be the best one I've ever seen, because it's a 3D tree! How cool is that?! The four quadrants that make up the tree include gliding tracks, bead runs, spinning beads and gears and flaps that open and close. What I also love about the tree design is that it's up off the ground so baby girl can play with it while standing {which is good because she's been walking since 10 months and prefers standing over sitting}. It also has enough room for both girls to play together. I'm sure her big sister won't be able to resist having a go, in fact I can just imagine all the pretend play that will happen here.



COLOUR AND SHAPE FLASH CARDS




These Two Little Ducklings Colour & Shape flash cards are a great way to introduce toddlers to colours and shapes. I specifically chose the colour & shape set as they're the easiest concepts for 1-2yr olds to learn. Although flash cards are a more structured learning resource, they work well for younger kids when used {under supervision} alongside other items. To start with I'll be using the colour cards in special colour themed treasure baskets {with toys and loose parts} to slowly introduce her to different colours. As she gets older I'll incorporate them into colour hunts {pick a flash card and go find items of that colour}, colour matching items to the cards, colour sorting and I'll also introduce the same activities with the shape cards.

The flash card set includes 25 cards, featuring primary and secondary colours and shapes, represented by everyday items children will be familiar with. They're printed on thick environmentally friendly 300GSM paper with rounded edges and come in a calico storage bag. I got them from Avidiva, an online store that stocks quality, stylish, natural, non-toxic gifts for mums and little ones. Avidiva stock a range of Two Little Ducklings flash cards including the high contrast cards {great for babies} and the alphabet, counting, fruits and vegetables and feelings and emotions cards that are all great for toddlers and preschoolers. You can follow Avidiva on Facebook and Instagram.


ONE YEAR OLD GIFT BOX



What's the best thing to get someone when you don't know what to get them? Easy, a gift box....  Gift boxes aren't just for adults, there's special toy gift boxes available for one year olds too. The Big Little Box Co is a Brisbane based online business specialising in curated and custom gift boxes for little ones from babies right through to 5 year olds. The best part is almost the entire range of products available are wooden educational toys designed to stimulate fine motor development. If ever there was a business right up my alley, this is certainly it! To compliment the amazing contents, the gift box itself is sturdy white gloss cardboard with a magnetic flap and your child's name is printed on top in vinyl in your choice of font and colour. The boxes themselves make great keepsake boxes after the gift giving is over.

The Big Little Box Co have a number of curated first birthday gift boxes, however because we have a couple of similar items already, I chose to create my own box. There's a huge range of toys and books available from The Big Little Box Co with prices starting at just a few dollars so you can put together a gift box for any budget. I chose all of our items based on where she's at developmentally and her current interests. She's starting to want to do simple puzzles so I chose the Hape colour and shape sorter and the wooden bee puzzle. The wooden lion is a screw puzzle to help work her fine motor skills. She also loves anything to do with music so I got an owl shaker. Finally we're collecting the "That's not my" Usborne touch and feel books so I chose That's not my duck to add to our collection. I can't wait to see her face when she opens up her box. I'm going to keep the box to use as a special baby memory box for her {and yes I'll be ordering a box for her big sister so she has one too}. You can follow The Big Little Box Co on Facebook and Instagram.


MORE GIFT IDEAS FOR ONE YEAR OLDS


Most of baby girl's gifts were deliberate out of the box choices as we have so many standard toddler toys already. If nothing on this list takes your fancy, other toys we already have that are great for toddlers are:




Hopefully this list has given you plenty of gift ideas for the little ones in your life. To see all these toys in action and the different ways we play with them over the next few weeks, follow us on Instagram. Now I'm off to console myself over the fact my last baby is already turning one. Why do they have to grow up so fast?



Disclosure - Some of the products featured in this gift guide were gifted to us and others were purchased. I have purchased from all stores featured in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I have only included items I was going to/have bought for her. All stock images have been used with permission. To see these products in action over the coming weeks follow us on Instagram. Always supervise young children while playing with toys containing small parts.

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience which means I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, should you make a purchase.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Personalised birth bunny from My Teddy

I have to admit I'm a terribly sentimental person. I love photos or objects that remind me of a special moment... and to be honest I can attach sentimental meaning to lots of things! I have quite a few boxes of sentimental things up in our spare room that I just can't let go of. So it'll come as no surprise then that I've always wanted something special to commemorate baby girl's birth. We got her sister a personalised teddy when she was a baby with all her birth details on it and one for our niece, so I've always been planning on getting one for baby girl too.

It's just taken me almost a year after her birth to organise it, whoops. Poor second child. Apparently all the stories about second children getting forgotten are true. I'm totally putting that down to sleep deprivation though and the fact I spend each day in a constant state of exhaustion. I only have enough energy to keep everyone alive most of the time, let alone organise non essential tasks. However I've finally managed to get hers organised and just scraped in before her first birthday thanks to My Teddy. Better late than never, right?

MY TEDDY PERSONALISED TEDDIES


My Teddy is a Queensland based online business that specialise in personalised plush teddies {and other animals}. Owners Toni & Chris started My Teddy from their lounge room back in 2004 and they've been bringing joy to kids and helping parents celebrate milestones ever since. The business has expanded in leaps and bounds over the last 14 years and they've now produced over 93000 personalised teddy bears including the birth bear we got for our niece a few years ago, so they were the logical choice for baby girl's teddy.

Ordering a personalised gift from My Teddy is super easy. All you have to do is choose which item you want {there's 96 plush toys and 30 teddy bears to choose from}, type in your personalised message and it gets sent off to your recipient. It's so simple and quick.



For baby girls gift I knew I wanted a plushie rather than a teddy. I know it seems a bit sacrilegious not ordering a teddy from My Teddy, but I knew that had so many other cute plush animals available and I didn't want a bear. Plushies are stuffed plush animals that can be personalised with embroidery on their belly or back. There are 96 different plushie options {many which are unisex}. All of them have a zip in the back meaning the stuffing pod is removable for easy cleaning {a must with small kids} and they can also be used as pyjama or storage bags if you don't want to use them as a stuffed toy.




For baby girl I chose the bunny cubbie. The bunny is perfect because baby girl was born just before Easter. It comes in grey, white or chocolate versions and you can get matching bunny snuggle blankets. I went with the single bunny in grey. I wanted a grey animal because her big sister has a grey elephant and their shared bedroom will be a grey, pink and white theme and my OCD meant I had to pick something that would blend in {the struggle is real}.




Once you've picked your 'teddy' you then choose which embroidery template you want sewn onto the front. I wanted hers to have birth details and be a similar design to her sisters so I went with the far right template on the second row. You can change the colours of the design to suit your own tastes. I went with dark pink, light pink and grey so it would blend in with the girls planned grey, pink and white theme.

I originally decided to get both girls special plush toys as keepsakes for their births {and just quietly it's a way of ensuring I always remember all their birth details}. I know in a few years time I'll still remember the date, but their weight and the time may become a bit hazy {my mum doesn't remember my exact birth details off the top of her head}. It's proven to be a good idea because when I was ordering the bunny I had to refer to a photo of the hospital card to remember her length. Looks like my memory is already going fuzzy! I also blame that on chronic sleep deprivation.

As you can see from the templates below there are heaps of options for other special occasions like first birthday and other birthdays, Easter or first Easter, christening and Christmas. Their great as an alternative to graduation bears to celebrate end of school years, or as a special teacher gift. They can also be embroidered with your own personal messages.


The entire ordering process took me about 10 minutes, but it could easily be done in under 5 minutes if you know exactly what you want. It took me a little longer because I had to look up her birth length {my bad} and I was looking after a cranky baby. Once you've ordered you get emailed a proof of your design the next day and you can send back revisions or approve the draft. 

Once I approved my draft {which I did late at night} the bunny was sent the next day and was at my house within 24hrs. It was super fast postage, which also happened last time I ordered from them a few years ago. I'm not 100% sure if that's influenced by the fact I'm also in QLD, but they definitely have one of the quickest turnaround times I've ever had from an online businesses. It's great if you ever need a last minute gift and only have a week or so to get something organised, which would normally rule out an online purchase.



The bunny I ordered looks just like these ones, infact the colours I chose are very similar to the one on the right. Her actual bunny is shown below {minus her name which has been purposefully blurred}.







It's safe to say she's pretty happy with her special bunny, and so am I {it's so soft I just want to rub my face on it... that's not weird at all}. I love that they're a gift they can enjoy while they're little, but they're also like a present for me too {an unofficial push present haha}. No doubt as the girls grow up we'll be getting rid of most of their plush toys, but the birth ones we'll be holding onto forever. 

Do you remember all your kids birth details?

Surely I can't be the only one who had to double check? *hopefully not*

Toni x



Disclosure - I was provided a My Teddy personalised teddy of my choice in exchange for this review. I was inquiring about ordering one when the opportunity arose to review one. All opinions expressed in this review are based on my experience with the ordering process when designing baby girl's bunny and the quality of the final product. I did not receive payment for this review.

Linking with Kylie