Which is which?

Can you guess which baby is C and which is E? ;)

Salt dough Ornaments

I've always loved Christmas - even as an atheist - but as an adult with two small children, it's much more about the lead up to Christmas that I enjoy now. I love holiday baking/cooking and Christmas crafts. Yesterday C and I started the Christmas time activities. I made a giant red and green Christmas chain that hangs from one side of the living room to the other. We also made gingerbread cookies and salt dough ornaments. 

C loved using the cookies cutters and the rolling pin. 

 GINGERBREAD COOKIES

gingerbread "spidermen" 

(I'm not sure why she was calling the man cookie cutter a "spiderman")

SALT DOUGH ORNAMENTS

1 cup salt

1 cup flour

1 cup water (roughly)

Mix together with hands, roll out, cut shapes and bake at 100 degrees C for about 6 hours

I used a bit of sea salt in my dough because I wanted it too look a bit like snow but I think I would do without next time. 

We haven't finished painting them yet. I painted a few last night to make sure that they looked alright with the sea salt in them. I think painting these will be a weekend Xmas project. 

Hope you'll be enjoying the Holiday season with crafts and baking too! 

xoxo

Reupholstered Glider Chair

This post is really just to show off one of the projects I accomplished while waiting for baby #2 to arrive.

One of the things I had on my "To-Do Before Baby Arrives" list was buy a second hand glider chair. I didn't intend on reupholstering it until I got it home and realized that I really hated the upholstery. The chair and cushions are in great condition but I couldn't get over the ugly fabric. So, I went to Spotlight and found some great fabric that we liked (they were having a great sale on decorating fabric, bonus!) and got online to figure out how to reupholster glider chairs.

I used this blog to help me work out how I would go about this project. All I did, really, was make slip covers for all of the cushions because they are all easily removed from the chair. I measured each cushion, cut the fabric to be slightly larger, sewed the fabric pieces together and then used snaps to close off one of the sides. 

Chair and ottoman before

Chair after

Chair and ottoman after

I even had enough fabric left over to reupholster our 6 dining room chairs. They look really fantastic.

And of course, a picture of the girls - C loves to lay in bed with us in the morning after she wakes up. 

Our new addition

This blog has been neglected for much too long but it has been for good reason. We have spent the last few months preparing our home for a new addition and a few weeks ago we welcomed our second baby into the world. We had a beautiful, uncomplicated home birth that lasted only a few hours and have been getting settled in ever since.

C is coping surprisingly well and loves her new sister. We're all getting used to the new addition and getting to know her more everyday.

Our lovely midwife, Debbie, took this photo minutes after E was born. 

One of the first times C got to hold her new sister

Dad with her girls

E's first trip to the beach

Sisterly love

I'm hoping that I'll be posting more because we're getting more settled all the time. xo

Fermentation Frenzy

Ever since I read Michael Pollan's article, Some of My Best Friends are Germs, a few months ago I had been wanting to try fermenting some veggies but was actually a little scared by it because I thought that I could make my family really sick if I did something wrong (which is also why I don't make jam).

Then about two weeks ago I read another article in Nurture Magazine by Dr. Sarah Lantz about the amazing health benefits of fermentation and decided that I really needed to give it a try. And I am SO glad that I did. I am now addicted to home fermented veggies and won't ever buy store bought pickles again.

To begin with I pickled some jalapenos just to see if I was doing it correctly and they turned out great so I then tried cucumbers, green beans - which are by far my favorite - cabbage and even carrots. I love them all but the green beans are fantastic. We ate an entire jar in just one day.

So, I highly recommend trying to ferment some things at home. It really is incredibly easy and the end product is nourishing and so tasty.

My pickled veggies. So yum!

The process I used was a combination of many things I read online. 

Firstly, I made a brine of good Australian sea salt, water and white vinegar -you can leave the vinegar out, I just really love vinegar. 

Next I added spices to my jars, a few slices of green chili in some, fresh chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, dill, pepper corns. Really anything you think you might enjoy. 

Then I packed my veggies into the jars and poured my brine over the top (I waited to pour in the brine until all of the salt had dissolved). In some of the jars I added a piece of cabbage to hold the veggies down in the brine but I don't think that it's really necessary. Then I put on the lids. I reused jars that I've been collecting along with the lids and it worked great. 

Lastly, I sat them in a warm place for about 4 days and then gave them a try. We loved how they tasted so we put them in the fridge and started to eat them. Yum! 

Seriously, it's really easy. I hope you all give home fermentation a try!

We've made an entire wall in our house C's Gallery Wall and she loves to look at her paintings. (There are many more since this picture)

Making more art for her Gallery Wall with homemade finger-paint.

C and her cousins

We found this hat and C really likes looking at herself with it on. 

We were in NSW this past weekend visiting C's cousin for his birthday so I will hopefully be adding a lot of new photos soon. Fingers crossed.

Hope you're all well! 

XO

Homebirthing in Australia

Brett and I have decided on a homebirth for baby number 2. In deciding about the birth of this baby, we did a lot of research and found out, disappointingly, that there really aren't many birthing options for women in Brisbane. There aren't any stand-alone birth centers like where C was born. There is only 1 hospital affiliated birthing center BUT you must live within the catchment area of that particular hospital to even be CONSIDERED to birth there. Originally we were going to hire a private midwife (one not associated with the hospital) so she could be our voice and make sure interventions were kept to a minimum and that certain things, like delayed cutting of the umbilical cord, were carried out by hospital staff. I was never really okay with this option because, even with C, I wanted a homebirth but because we weren't living in our own home it just wasn't the right time for a homebirth.

The reason we initially considered having a hospital birth is because homebirth is an expensive option here.  Medicare doesn't cover the birth at home (because OBs have recently pulled support for out-of-hospital births- which is why the only birthing center in Brisbane has been shut down) and only covers minimal costs otherwise. BUT after much discussion and many sleepless nights we finally decided that the cost was, of course, well worth it. So, we found a midwife who does home/water births and here we are.

I've been doing a lot, lot, LOT of research and lots of planning and cannot wait for the birth. I've been to one Homebirth QLD support meeting- not sure if it's my cup of tea but- it was incredibly nice to be around like minded women. The birth is still fairly far off (about 15 weeks!) and we still have much to do but we're getting really excited.

We were completely shocked by the small amount of options pregnant women have for birthing in QLD. I seriously hope in the future things get better, there is a lot of support for homebirthing in QLD and it's only growing.

On another note, our small family is doing well. C seems to be through that horrible sleep regression but has now decided that she will throw a fit at the drop of a hat -like screaming, throwing herself on the ground fits. Really, it's a good thing I suppose, at least the new baby isn't here yet and we can learn how to cope with this new phase of parenting.

C is talking like crazy and can communicate with us extremely well. She is loving daycare and the two days a week that she's at daycare are a wonderful break for me.

All in all, we're doing very well. I'm going to try to keep up with the blog more often but I'm getting extremely tired again so we'll see how I do.

xx

She LOVES the slide, climbing up the slide that is...

Swinging with Daddy

She loves pushing her little pram around but she likes being pushed in it more. 

Maybe she'll be a geologist when she grows up. She loves collecting rocks from outside and putting them in her little bucket.

Hipster.

How to Survive Your Child's First Day of Day Care

Today is Chucky's first day of day care. I am exuberantly excited and extremely nervous all at the same time. I know she'll be okay- more than okay- she'll have a wonderful time with new kids and new experiences. Really, I'm worried more about myself. What will I do with 8 child free hours?!

So here's my game plan for surviving today without crying or picking her up too early (please, please don't let me do this)!

Work on much neglected projects and hobbies.

SLEEP! For the entire 8 hours!

Blog.

Clean the bathroom because it really really needs it.

Go see a movie.

Go shopping.

Have lunch with a friend.

Paint my nails.

Sit on the couch and not move all day.

Have a drink - even though I won't really be doing this because we're expecting our second baby in October! But maybe you could!

So, I'm not really sure how today will go but at least I have - sort of - a game plan.

Here are some photos of what we've been up to lately (I know, it's been waay too long since my last post)

She loves her cute little bear coat. Thank Debi! 

 

Aww..the ball pit. So relaxing.

She's recently decided to loves to draw - on the walls and tiles also...

Wearing my shoes around the house

Road trip to Inskip

Camping at Inskip - C checking out the soldier crabs

C's first ride in a boat! She loved it! 

On the beach at Inskip

CUTE!

Grabbed a tub of yogurt off the counter...

Daddy & Daughter

First ever carnival ride - Greek Fest 

First day of Day Care!! 

AND of COURSE! Baby #2! Coming October 2013! :) :)