Newsletter

Welcome to our very first newsletter!

January has been a wonderful month for the grand opening of a wallet friendly kids fashion boutique.
Buying clothes for the kids can be fun and exciting but it can also be confusing and costly.

When my daughter began toilet training, some literature I had read suggested taking your child to the store so they could chose their very first undies as a part of the training process. It made sense.

So, off we go. Said daughter has her own over the shoulder coin purse, a ten dollar note in it and me hyping the whole experience up during the walk there.

When we got to the undies section I could not believe my eyes, they cost almost as much as my own and they were the same cut! How could a two year old feel comfortable in a bikini brief? I don’t even feel comfortable in a bikini brief!

But, we had made the journey and she was expecting to buy her first undies so after willing her to chose the ones that were on sale we headed home to put them in the laundry, she also hung them out to dry.

Those undies were the worst! They didn’t cover much in the gusset area and they were constantly up her bottom.

My girlfriend, who is Japanese, had her mother come to Australia for a visit, with her she brought various cool things for the kids, floaties, shoes and UNDIES!

These undies were so much more appropriate for little bottoms, they were soft, well elasticized and most important; they were a full brief!

My girl loves her “panties” and these have been integral to the toilet training process.

Building Blocks

I had a light bulb moment last week, and it was a beautiful one.  I have been struggling recently, I have been wondering... where has "Ness" gone?  "Mum" is everywhere and "Mum" is forever looking forward to nap time but it never happens as I would like...one goes down but not the other.  Or, one goes down too late and then won't go to bed until late late in the night.  Those nap times are when "Ness" gets to do her thang!  Those times were turning into a life line.

Hmm, writing this I realize how disturbingly true that was.  Why did I neeed the girls to go to sleep?   And to just to go to bed, with out the song and dance, with out the whining!  Please!  Far out, I don't think I've ever been so frustrated. Clearly some incense and quiet were needed...

So, the light bulb moment?  Well, D1 is always at me, "Play with meeee", "Run Mama", "Chase me", you get the idea.  I do these things but I'm limited to how many times I can run around the island bench in my kitchen yelling, "where's Evie gone"?!  So out of the packed boxes (just moved into our new house) come the bag of blocks...

BLOCKS ARE AWESOME!  Who knew?

The last time D1 and I played with the blocks the highlight was her "Tip!  Tip mama, I tip"!-ing them all over the floor, pack them up and yep, "TIP! TIP MAMAAAA"! all over the floor.

Last week we used every block, every single block, to build a really tall tower.  D2 would come along and knock it down so guess what?  We'd build another one!  Who do you think was asking to build another one?  Me!  That was the first day.

The second day, D1 brings out the blocks again and we build and we build, but this time, I find myself trying to control the build!  But I don't think much of it because, being a grown up, I know if you don't balance things that bad boy is going to fall right over mid build.

Day three, I suggest we build blocks and, of course, D1 is delighted.  This time, as we are building, I realize if we do things my way every tower is going to be almost identical...and boring.  Hmm, maybe I should follow D1's lead more?  Every tower becomes so different because D1 is doing her thang! Every tower is awesome because of Evie.  We are now building together, yes, I still keep things balanced but she gets to be as Dr Suese in the building department as she damn well pleases!  She is cool man, the girls got style!

So, what is the point of all this?  I can't remember if it was day three or day four but in a moment I realized that even though D1 and D2 are demanding, loud, energetic and, at times, irritating~SO AM I!  That, when they won't go to sleep and they are foiling my plans for some "me time", the real plan was and is to have our children and raise them.

I AM a mother of two daughters now, "Ness" is still here, there and everywhere.  If I get my time its a bonus, but, the best thing is having two healthy beauties who, for now, need/want me to hang out with them.

Hmm, building blocks showed me all that?!  Life really can be that simple.

Vanessa. 

Our really tall tower, just a bit wonky.