Winner!

Alexie from In My Little Alexie World

Congratulations, I hope you enjoy your brand new Hello Owl bag! Please email me your postal address and I'll get it shipped to you ASAP. Be sure to blog a pic of you and your new bag when you get it lol.
If you missed out on this stunner, check out Hello Owl Designs on Madeit, Dani's brand new store. In the coming weeks it's going to be filled with lots of goodies so be sure to add it to your favourites. Thanks again to everyone who entered and shared the love ox

Tequila!

Since we have our very own live-in babysitter (my sister) we thought we'd make better use of her before she goes on Thursday. Steve made a reservation at our favourite Mexican restaurant on Sunday night. We washed and fed the baby, put him to bed and we managed to get there on time.

I haven't really had a drink (besides one or two West Coast Coolers.. lame) since I found out I was pregnant. Tequila was my drink of choice but I knew that the first one I'd have would throw me and boy did it ever. I got halfway through my gigantic Long Island Iced Tea and I was a goner.

Like my top? lol, c'mon, it was date night! The drink was heaven and I was giggling all the way home. I should mention I only had one. We haven't laughed so much in ages, you know, at something besides Aidan.

It was really nice to have some alone time together. We didn't talk about Aidan at all... we were too busy laughing at what a one-drink-wonder I'd become. We talked about his upcoming trip to the states next week and celebrated his work achievements. We don't really do Valentines Day but if we did, this date was perfect.

The food is always soooo good. Last time we just had Nachos and while they were first class we thought we'd be a bit more adventurous this time. For our entree we had yummy Quesadilla Bites: Tortillas with chicken, onion, capsicum & salsa with ranch dressing.

For mains we had Sizzling Lamb Fajitas and it was such a display when it came out, everyone in the restaurant was looking. The table was covered in salads, salsas and dips. It was so delicious we thought we were going to explode when we waddled back to the car.

I honestly can't wait for the next date night. We're not going to try and aimlessly commit ourselves to a date night once a month but we will do it every time we have visitors. We deserve it and Aidan has to learn that he can trust those close to us to love him, feed him and put him to sleep. He didn't do too badly but he screamed when I wasn't there for our late night snuggle before he went to bed for his big sleep. Luckily we got home 15 minutes after the stint started. Baby steps.

Photos for a Cause

by Samantha Pearce

My new friend Samantha from Samantha Pearce Photography loves doing a good deed and I want to help spread the word about her current offer for 4 lucky people (I'm one of them!!! Ah the joys of Facebook notifications). Donate $500.00 to the Smith Family Back to School Appeal, email her the receipt and you will receive:

• Photoshoot (incl. sitting fee)
• 10 Gift Prints (5x7 or 8x10)
• 10 Full Resolution digital files on disc

Files can be the same or different to the prints, so there's potential for 20 images in total from the shoot!

This package is usually worth $700.00 but all you pay is $500.00 direct to The Smith Family and you can even claim it back on tax. It's win-win all round. Check out Samantha's blog for more details.

Sticky Situations

by ppbaby888

Steve and I are facing many new challenges being first time parents. We like to think we're as prepared as we can be. We've read all the books, the magazines and forums. We have friends we can call and our parents are always there to answer any questions. One area that still remains a little grey is sex. Sure, people do it but it's rare to come across people who discuss it openly and honestly. I'm used to talking about sex, it used to be a part of my job.

I haven't really approached the topic too much on my blog because no one really responded when I did, and that's ok. Sometimes it can be a funny thing to write about, but sometimes it just needs to be written. I've had this post brewing in the recesses of my mind for quite awhile so I'm just going to go with my gut and post it. If you don't want to read it, then don't but if you do then please do so with understanding.

Steve and I never had to worry about contraception in all the years we've been together. Sure, maybe the first few weeks but then we both got tested and we just relied on the pill. 12 months later I came off the pill so we could start trying for a family... as you know it took us years to be blessed with Aidan so in all that time contraception wasn't even on our radar. Now it's at the forefront of minds.

At this stage we want to wait until around Aidan's 2nd birthday before we try again. Our options for contraception are pretty limited. I don't want to take anything that alters hormones so that pretty much cancels out anything I can take or administer which leaves the job up to Steve. I thought one of the perks of being married and faithful meant we didn't have to worry about using condoms. When I see them I get flashbacks of awkward teenage escapades and the whole vibe I get from condoms just doesn't seem to give justice to what I experience with my husband.

The thought of using the "trusty" withdrawl method gives me heart palpatations! For someone who couldn't wait to get pregnant a year ago, I'm completely anit-sperm now. I love Aidan and I love being his Mumma... I just don't want to be anyone elses for awhile. I want to soak up my little boy and take things slow. When he was born I wanted to have another straight away, as did Steve but then we thought about it, really long and hard. My main reason for wanting another child straight away was because I was scared that the mythical gates of fertitily might close up on me if I didn't and that wasn't a good enough reason. I just had to have faith that just like last time, it'll happen when it happens.

So for the time being I'm going to have to deal with situations like the one I had the other day at Coles. Steve and I went to the shops for formula and had a bit of a look around as we rarely go to the supermarket now as we do most of our shopping at Aldi and our local grocer... anyway, we get to the hygiene section and I'm looking at tinted moisteriser and casually ask Steve to grab a packet of condoms. He picks up a random product off the shelf and pretends to read it like he can't hear me. I ask him again as I still can't make up my mind about the moisturiser and this time he says "I think we need milk, I'll be right back" and quickly scurries off to the other side of the store.

Men.

Crack for Babies

Aidan's taking to solids really well. At the moment he mainly eats sweet potato, pear and apple and he's now having 5-6 bottles a day which is brilliant. He wakes once a night now. We're very proud.

He's having breakfast and dinner everyday now but with these hot summer days and his sore tiny gums I've been giving him afternoon tea as well. Around 2-3pm I pop him in his highchair, give him a mesh feeder filled with frozen pureed watermelon and he sits and watches Toby & Charlie outside.

I wish I could express how much he LOVES his watermelon. I think you really have to witness it first hand to appreciate the situation but I can never manage to video it because he flips out if it comes out of his mouth and I have have my hands free to help guide it back in.

The lovely cool fresh watermelon is bliss for his gums. I'm waiting for that first little toothy to break through. It keeps popping up to say "hi" but never sticks around. The watermelon soothes him and makes everything better... heaven help anyone nearby if it falls out/gets out of reach/empties etc

Each siting he usually has 2 ice cubes... only one fits in at a time so you can imagine it doesn't please him when it's completely sucked dry and you have to pry it from his hands (or he throws it at you like he is here) and you have to refill it ASAP.

He isn't like this with anything else, be it food or a toy, or even me... just watermelon. By the end of it his little lips are so blue but he latches onto that mesh feeder for life.

Once a month I just buy half a watermelon and puree it, freezing it into ice cubes. Too easy.

Get your craft on

by Lilley's Handcrafted Lovelies

Lately I've been feeling the itch. The itch to stitch, sew and stuff. I don't know where the urge is coming from but it's been lingering in the back of my mind for awhile. I haven't started anything because I'm afraid I wont be committed to any project long enough to finish it. We have a few visitors over the next couple of months and I'm really excited about it all but I know deep down I'm going to need a creative release soon or this twitch in my fingers is going to become permanent.

by Nicole Pyle

I ordered and absorbed Handmade Home and love it. It's what pushed me over the edge, I didn't just want to make something, I needed to. I've been toying with the idea of making a quilt for awhile now. Nothing outrageous, a few squares sewn together, maybe a playmat for Aidan. A simple project to do whilst Aidan napped... rather than sitting on facebook or my baby forum. I really like "Arcadia" collection by Moda which the quilt above it made off. I'm going to suss it all out at my local quilt shop tomorrow but I'm not making any promises to myself.

by The Joys of Jess

If I get to the shop and it's all too much I have a back up plan. I'll embroider. I like the whimsy of Lilley's stitches in the first image. I have a few drawings sitting in a file waiting to be framed but maybe I could reinvent them with thread and linen. I'm still taking photos... they're just mainly of Aidan and I'm finding hard to see inspiration in anything else lol. I think I just need something new and different for a little while... I'll let you know how I go.