Meeting a sibling for the first time…

Lovely friends of mine have just welcomed their second child and their first born has coped really well with meeting her little brother.

This got me thinking about when H met E and the advice we received going into it.  Their first meeting went really well… we couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

He walked in and we had huge cuddles and kisses… it was the first time I had been away from him and I hadn’t seen him for two nights. I had E wrapped on the bed and I was standing waiting for my little man to walk in. We had big cuddles and then I just let him go and explore. He went straight to the phone and then E squeaked… all of a sudden H looked and saw her and exclaimed… look Sis, it’s Sis and he was so interested so we had a look and they got to meet. he was fascinated with her facial features. After a minute he was done and we went on to check out the rest of the room and open some presents.

From then on he was and still is a wonderful brother. He is very patient and on the whole very loving and protective.

Here are my top 5 tips for introducing your older children to their new sibling…

1. Have a present from the baby for the older sibling/s

2. Don’t be holding the baby when your child/children walk into the room. Have your arms free for cuddles and kisses

3. Let them find the baby of their own accord

4. Allow the older child/ren pay as much or as little attention to the baby as they want. Don’t push the issue

5. Lots of cuddles and kisses and make yourself available as much as possible

Any tips to add to it? Would love to hear your meeting story…

Jx

DIY: chic and affordable children’s artwork…

I made these when I was pregnant with E. I looked around on the web and couldn’t find exactly what I wanted (an initial on a canvas) and what I did find wasn’t quite right or not in the right colours. So, I decided to make my own and this is what the finished product looks like…

I bought my supplies at Eckersley’s and Spotlight. I have provided links below for each item you need for the project.

To make these you will need…

• Canvas
• Letter or any other decorative item. More letter’s here
• Paint – minimum of two colours – one for the canvas and one for the initial / decorative item. You could use as many colours as you want if you want a rainbow effect or just something more colourful. The sky is the limit. I used acrylic paint but I think any paint would do. Depending on how many you are doing you won’t need much. Some more options here and here.
• Glue

1. Paint the canvas – I gave it a base white coat (in hind sight I don’t think this is necessary) and then two coats of colour. Allow it to dry in between coats. Most paints come with instructions of time recommended left between coats.
2. Paint the letter – I gave it at least two coats. Just judge for yourself what the coverage is like and stop when you are happy.
3. When everything is dry line the initial up on your canvas where you would like it and very lightly with a pencil mark some small guidelines.
4. Put glue on the back of your letter and place it carefully on the canvas being sure to look for your guidelines. apply some pressure for a little while to make sure the glue bonds.
5. You’re all set to hang or place around your child’s room.

You could also do smaller versions, larger versions, fluro or glitter versions. Really the only limit is your imagination and your decor aesthetic.

I hope you have fun with this…

Have you made your own artwork before? Ever made something similar?

Jx

From the archive… Favourite first books…

In honour of Book Week I am reposting this from the archives… We still love these books and read them most nights to E before bed.

Hello Baby and 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes by Mem Fox are without a doubt two of our first favourite books. Both of my babies love these books…

I read 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes to H in utero and I believe it’s the reason it fast became his favourite. It is currently E’s favourite book. At the end of the book the little baby in the story gets three little kisses on the tip of its nose… we kiss the tip of our finger and touch their nose three times. H got to the stage and E is there now that they know it’s coming and look up at you when you’re reading the last page waiting for their kisses.

H adores books and always has. E is loving them more and more and I get such a thrill to see her get excited when we sit down to read these two books. They are a big part of our bedtime routine… every night we have a book before bed. For me, it ensures the children are reading/read to every day and it’s a terrific wind down/sleep cue for them as well…

I highly recommend any new Mother’s or expecting Mother’s to add these books to your collection. They are beautiful stories and the illustrations are gorgeous…

For anyone looking for a great baby shower or baby gift these are terrific… the board books are terrific as little exploring and excited hands can’t rip them. It does take a little while for them to learn not to rip pages so board books are a definite plus…

Where is the Green Sheep and Time for Bed, both by Mem Fox are also favourites.

Are these books in your collection?
Please share your favourites and must haves, I would love to hear them…

Happy reading… Jx

All photos copyright Jess Flett

Book Review… ‘All I know’ by Mary Coustas…

I bought this book to take and read on our recent holiday. I had seen the interview’s with Mary and George on 60 Minutes so knew loosely what to expect… you can take a look here, here and here…

Wow! What an inspiring woman. This is a lovely read. Mary writing is so incredibly heartfelt, witty, endearing and honest. What she has endured to reach her dream of becoming a Mother is unbelievable. She has overcome challenges and grief no one should ever have to experience.

I laughed, I cried and I cheered. This is a wonderful read about strength of spirit and how to come out the other side smiling.

Mary, I admire your strength, your optimism in the face of extreme heartache and challenge and your ability to love and persevere. As you have so aptly said… Nothing good comes out of giving up…

I highly recommend giving it a read. You can get a copy here…

What have you read lately? I’d love to know and need some ideas for my next read…

Jx

Friday Flowers… Yellow and white to brighten up your day…

Friday is here already. I can’t believe it’s come around again so soon. I had every intention of blogging more this week but it’s gotten away from me and the time I have had on the computer I have been working on the new blog layout. You like? Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Anyway… on to making your Friday pretty and happy. The yellow and white of this little bunch that I picked up from Pearson’s Florist during the week is so cheerful and happy and the little green vase it’s in just tops them off don’t you think?

We have a busy weekend ahead filled with kids things… like visiting the aquarium (we are doing it this weekend as opposed to last like I thought) and swimming lessons start for both little ones so it’s go, go, go for us.

I hope you have something nice planned… care to share?…

Whatever you’re doing… have a good one… Jx

Instagram… the week that was #1…

I know it’s already Tuesday and I’m a bit slow on the uptake but I wanted to share with you some of my photos from last week on Instagram. There are such great and challenging communities on there… just to name a few… @fatmumslim and her Photo a Day project – #fmsphotoaday, @foxinflats and her monthly style challenge #foxinflatsstyledare and thirdly, @its_my_week where every week it’s a different prompt and last week was #myweekofnature and this week it’s #myweekofhome. Jump online and check it out. I am loving it more and more and finding new communities all the time. I will share more on these in the future…

Here is a collage of some my photos from last week – @alittlepartoftheworld

 

Happy Tuesday… Jx

Friday Flowers… because it’s always nice to stop and smell the roses…

I took these photos a few weeks ago and want to share them today to brighten up your friday. Flowers always put a smile on my face and make me happy and I hope they do the same for you…

I hope you have a great weekend… we have very little planned which is always nice. Maybe a trip to see the Octonauts which will send H into overdrive!! stay tuned!!

Take a moment to stop and smell the roses… Jx

Easy kids craft – treasure chest…

We made this a few weeks ago and H is still into it. It is a treasure chest. Harry found the shoe box as I was preparing to throw it out and was calling it a treasure chest (they did an under the sea project at kindy earlier this year and as a class made a treasure chest)

I decided to help him decorate it and turn it into his own design treasure chest…

I thought I would blog it in case any other parent out there is looking for a easy and cheap craft project. Especially with the wet weather we’ve had it’s a great project for those days…

What you’ll need….

• A shoe box – preferably one that has the lid attached
• A4 paper
• Scissors
• Sticky tape
• Markers
• Stickers
• Any other decorating items you can think of. For example… ribbon, buttons, paint, felt, glitter, glue

In this instance I just covered every surface I could with plain white paper. Using sticky tape to attach it and cutting it down where needed. 

Once that was done I gave Harry his markers and he went to town colouring and decorating.

Later that day I was at a shop and saw the pirate and toy story stickers… two things he is particularly into at the moment and brought them home. He loved them and with some help took great pleasure in decorating his treasure chest.

As you can see it’s still getting lots of use and he is still very interested in it to store all his ‘treasures’

The next thing we will be doing is a pirate’s spy glass… I just have to finish the paper towel roll!!…

I know it’s very simple and to some of you probably very obvious but it’s a fun, cheap and easy project to do with your little one and something they can make their own.

Ever made a treasure chest?…

I would love to hear about other craft ideas…

Jx

White cooked chicken with soy and ginger dressing…

This is one of the most delicious and easy meals you can make… it’s the kind of meal that is so tasty and makes you feel wholesome and healthy eating it. You almost feel virtuous when you’re finished.

It’s inspired by Kylie Kwong with some variations and additions . I found the original recipe online here and still use it for reference.

Ingredients

1.6kg organic chicken

Stock

Shaoxing rice wine – 750 ml (3 cups)

Green onions, trimmed – 8

Garlic, peeled and crushed – 12 cloves

Sliced ginger – 1¼ cups

Sea salt – 1/3 cup

Coriander – roots from a bunch

Dressing

Shoyu or soy sauce (see note) – 60 ml (¼ cup)

Sesame oil – 1 tsp

Cane sugar (see note) – ½ tsp

Julienne spring onion, plus extra to garnish – 1/3 cup

Julienne ginger, plus extra to garnish – 1 tbsp

Peanut oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander – big handful chopped for garnish

Red chilli (sml) – sliced (seeds removed) for garnish (suggest you leave this on the side for everyone to control their own spice)

Method

For stock, combine ingredients and 5 litres of cold water in a 7 -litre stockpot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. (The original recipe calls for 6 litres of water in a 10 litre stock pot but I don’t have one so I worked with what I have and it works perfectly)

        

Rinse the chicken under cold water and trim any excess fat. Gently place the chicken breast-side down into stock and submerge for 14 minutes, ensuring stock doesn’t return to the boil. Remove pot from heat and stand for 3 hours. (When placing the chicken into the stock I often place the pot in the sink in case there is any overflow if you’re concerned about the water levels – this way you avoid any mess on your stove top)

Using tongs, carefully remove chicken from stock and place on a tray to drain.

For dressing, combine all ingredients except for peanut oil in a heat-proof bowl. Heat peanut oil in a saucepan, then pour over dressing ingredients and stir to combine.

Pull all the meat of the carcass and shred into small pieces or leave as chunks and arrange on a platter. Drizzle dressing over chicken, garnish with extra spring onion, ginger and coriander and serve immediately. (The original recipe calls for you to use a Cleaver to cut the chicken into pieces and arrange on a platter)

Serve with white or brown rice and a side of steamed asian greens (like Bok Choy or Choy Sum) served with a drizzle of oyster sauce over them. Also serve the chilli with it so everyone can dress their own.

Enjoy…

Jx

Favourite first books…

Hello Baby and 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes by Mem Fox are without a doubt two of our first favourite books. Both of my babies love these books…

I read 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes to H in utero and I believe it’s the reason it fast became his favourite. It is currently E’s favourite book. At the end of the book the little baby in the story gets three little kisses on the tip of its nose… we kiss the tip of our finger and touch their nose three times. H got to the stage and E is there now that they know it’s coming and look up at you when you’re reading the last page waiting for their kisses.

H adores books and always has. E is loving them more and more and I get such a thrill to see her get excited when we sit down to read these two books. They are a big part of our bedtime routine… every night we have a book before bed. For me, it ensures the children are reading/read to every day and it’s a terrific wind down/sleep cue for them as well…

I highly recommend any new Mother’s or expecting Mother’s to add these books to your collection. They are beautiful stories and the illustrations are gorgeous…

For anyone looking for a great baby shower or baby gift these are terrific… the board books are terrific as little exploring and excited hands can’t rip them. It does take a little while for them to learn not to rip pages so board books are a definite plus…

Where is the Green Sheep and Time for Bed, both by Mem Fox are also favourites.

Are these books in your collection?
Please share your favourites and must haves, I would love to hear them…

Happy reading… Jx

All photos copyright Jessica Flett