Time waits for no one.
2009 has begun with a flurry! Hope your NY was a good one.
This year is all about simplifying for me. Less stuff and less mess. More time with the kid, doing fun toddler-things.
Less fuss. More time.
What's your priority for 2009?
I hope your Christmas is filled with fun and laughter and lots of sane family time.
I will be thinking of all the little children who receive donated gifts this Christmas, and of all the charity workers who will have helped make someone else's Christmas sparkle.
Talk to you in 09.
Baby Centre released the list of Top 100 names for 2008..
Emma and Aiden have taken #1 spot. This is list American, so there are some uniquities....however, the most of the names are popular here too. Read on for the list......
Girls Top Ten:
Emma
Sophia
Madison
Isabella
Olivia
Ava
Madeline
Addison
Hailey
Lily
Boys Top Ten:
Aiden
Jayden
Ethan
Jacob
Caden
Jackson
Noah
Jack
Logan
Matthew
See the whole list at BabyCentre.
I just stumbled across this post about a brand-new Hello Kitty Maternity Ward in a Taiwan Hospital.
Everything is pink and 'Hello Kitty'-themed. The staff wear pink Hello Kitty uniforms and the sheets, curtains, wraps, towels are all graced with the cute puss. Perhaps a bit too far for some, but perhaps perfect for others.....
Noticed on yokiddo and original post by Dear Dr Moz. This post is going down as one of my favourites!
(Image does not demonstrate correct use of bath, but it was the only one I had!)
Living in a one bedroom, one bathroom unit has been a challenge at times. Luckily we both hate clutter and love multi-functional pieces!
This Sassy Inflatable Bath has become the easiest and cleanest way to transform our shower to a baby-friendly bathing environment. We use it every day and simply pack it away in the laundry when we’ve finished.
Aesthetics:
The bath is bright and cheerful while still maintaining some simplicity and style.
Sizing:
The bath is deep enough to allow our toddler to bathe effectively in a sitting position, with her legs stretched out! Many other baths we’ve looked at are either too shallow, or would require her to bed her legs up to fit them in.
Portability:
As I said before, once we are done, the bath is put away. We don’t bother deflating it in between uses, but if you were really short on space, this would be an option.
Cleaning:
The bath has a drainage hole/plug at the bottom allow it to be emptied effectively after each usage. So long as it dries out in between baths, no other cleaning is required. It is after all, a bath!
Price:
The bath retails for around $20 and we found it at Target.
An update to our previous post – after 12 months of use, I can confirm that this highchair was a good investment!
Let me list some of the features that work for us:
Aesthetics:
The highchair is only available in black. It clips nicely onto our black granite bench top and doesn’t get in the way. My idea of a perfect chair really! No frame to trip over, no bold colours or vinyl and no trays to accidentally pinch bub’s chubby thighs.
Sizing:
You can realistically only use this once bub is sitting up unaided. The harness is effective but I found the back of the chair quite hard and used to slip a cushion in to protect bub’s back before she grew big enough to fill the chair out.
Portability:
We’ve taken this chair to restaurants, Grandma’s house, dinner parties etc and we’ve never had a problem with it. Admittedly, you need to clip it onto a sturdy table, which some little coffee shops don’t have, but usually high chairs are available at those places.
Cleaning:
About once a month, I unclip the chair and give it a good soaking in hot water and detergent, followed by a thorough scrub. This works really well, so I only need to wipe it over after every meal to keep it looking decent.
Price:
The chair retails for less than $70 making it one of the most affordable high chairs on the market!
I hope to incorporate more reviews in this blog, so please let me know what you think!
It's great weather for ducks in Brisbane this week. Its wet both in the pool and out.
We started swimming today with Rackley's Swim School at Spring Hill Baths Such an awesome location. I love the colourful change rooms and much to my surprise, the water wasn't too cold.
However, due to a photo shoot involving Stephanie Rice, our lesson was cancelled at the last minute! Oops. We were still allowed to use a section of the pool though and had a great time splashing round and watching the shoot take place.
I didn't really mind the cancellation. It's not every day you see a champion swimmer in person. (Well actually in Brisbane, it sort of is......)
There are plenty of sales on in the lead up to Christmas!
One I am keen to check out is minifashionista - 20% off storewide till this Friday!
We live in a humid environment and I think I have finally found a solution to our moisture problems that is kid-friendly. I always worry about Holly eating some of the other granular-type moisture solutions.
The Dreambaby Dry Egg is a re-usable mositure-absorbing egg that draws the moisture out of the air, changing the colour indicator to pink. Once the egg is 'full' it can simply be put in the microwave to 'dry out' and slides back into the stand to fight mildew for another day!
The Dreambaby site has lots of info, and lists their online stockists.
Holly's Christmas's have come all at once with our recent purchase of "Biscuit the Fun Lovin Pup".....
I hear he is now regarded the #1 Toy for Christmas 2008. Since we've had him out of the box, we've had so much fun. He's really life like and performs all sorts of tricks on command.
The official media release states:
FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP
(Approximate Retail Price: $179.99; Ages: 5 and up; Available: Fall 2008)
Man’s best friend is about to become a dream come true for kids this fall as Hasbro introduces the FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP pet puppy, the newest, most realistic pet to ever join the FURREAL FRIENDS family. Kids will love to interact with this adorable life-size golden retriever – through highly innovative voice recognition technology, the FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP pet puppy will obey six different voice commands including “sit,” “sit up and beg,” “lie down,” “give me a paw,” “speak” and “do you want a treat?” Just like a ‘real’ dog, BISCUIT, MY LOVIN PUP will move his head and ears, blink his eyes, wag his tail and bark. This playful pup will also sniff his ‘bone’ and chomp on his tasty treat. The FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP pet puppy will also respond to touch; kids simply pet their new best friend on the sensors located behind his ears, on his head and on his back, and their new pal will wag his tail to show his delight. Additionally, the FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP pet puppy includes an innovative ‘bark-back’ feature that will enable him to respond when he is spoken to! The FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP pet puppy comes complete with his very own comb and dog ‘bone.’ Six ‘D’ batteries are required but not included.
I got him from Deals Direct - but it may pay to shop around for the best price, as he's not cheap!
Today is Blog Action Day The day when all bloggers post on the same topic: in 2008 we are blogging about poverty.
Most of us complain about the "recession", our mortgage, our superanuation decreasing...and while we are maybe facing some hard times, are we really facing poverty? The short answer is no.
There are plenty of kids out there born into poverty, and this year, to help out, I am joining in the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child - a drive which results in children of South East Asia and the South Pacific receiving a Christmas gift box put together by someone just like us. Have a read and see if you can get involved!
Breastfeeding is back in the news again thanks to Angelina's new cover on W magazine.
I know she gets a lot of media attention and that this is just another story the press will flog to death, but I have to say, she hasn't set a foot wrong recently. While other celebs are in and out of rehab or losing custody of their kids, Angelina always seems in control and happy. Lucky she got the 'wild girl' out of her system before the kids came along!
Our new helios keeps our iced tea so cool! Summer has nothing on this smart little puss.
We bought ours from a place called Stitch in Diakoyama, Japan. If you get a chance to check it out, this shop is seriously cool.
My name is Katie Mackenzie. I have a gorgeous baby girl, and a husband who shares my appreciation for design. We hope to bring Holly up in a place that is full of fun, style and function. We have no room for clutter. And we are limited to products that are available to Australians. This blog summarises our efforts.
