Displaying Special Family Memories

I'm sure I'm not the only mum that has absolutely stunning photos of my kids saved in folders on my computer - just waiting (begging!) to be put on display.

Photos of your kids are just so precious, and I must admit I have a few more around the house of Miss M than of Little Man - so that's why I chose this gorgeous photo of him (taken about a year ago mind you), to have printed on a canvas by CanvasChamp.

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Brand Meets Blog. 

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Christmas Gift Ideas for Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers

Christmas is coming (again!) and every year I love to share my favourite picks from my favourite online stories and this year's is no exception. I've rounded up my top ten toys from babies up to preschoolers all from The Creative Toy Shop! Trust me - you are going to love this collection.

This post contains affiliate links. I was kindly gifted the Grimm's butterfly pictured towards the end of the post in exchange for this feature. 

Technically this Wooden Christmas tree puzzle would have to be an early present for your child to engage with in the lead up to Christmas, or it would be perfect for the classroom as you begin to decorate and celebrate Christmas. Great for fine motor skills, problem solving, balancing and creating and it's just so pretty. Can I have one please?

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Sensory Play for Every Sense {Guest Post}

I know it's not just me who thinks sensory play is the best thing ever! Lots of you do as well and so my guest blogger today has organised some fantastic baby and toddler sensory play ideas into each category. Meet Katie from Sensory Sensations.




My name is Katie and I run ‘Sensory Sensations’, a sensory and messy play business based in Kent which offers classes, parties and events to 0-5 year olds. I’m a former primary school teacher (having recently left after 10 years of teaching to ‘do mess’ full time) and I have two young daughters (Daisy, aged 4, Indie aged 2). I’ve been running ‘Sensory Sensations’ for 2.5 years and have loved every messy minute! I try and incorporate as many activities as I can that stimulate all the children’s senses, for both babies and toddlers.

If you google ‘sensory play’ there are thousands and thousands of activities you could try with your child and it’s a little overwhelming… so what I’ve done here is give an example of an activity for a baby and a toddler for your child’s senses - sight, taste, touch and smell to get you started!

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Why does my child eat at child care but is fussy at home? {Guest Post}

So many parents struggle with fussy eaters! I know I was as a child!! A perplexing issue that seems to be quite common is that fussy eaters are happily gobbling up their meals choc full of meat and veggies at Child Care, but turning their nose up at it at home. So frustrating!! So I called in Nutritionist & Feeding Therapist Simone from Play with Food to give her insight as to why this is a thing, and what we can do about it. 

Click here for Simone's recipe for this Roasted Carrot, Apple & Fennel soup. Yum!

Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with us Simone, I know you are a busy lady!

*This post contains affiliate links :)

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Teacher By Day {Nappy Cakes by Erin}

It feels like the perfect time to sit down and post another instalment of the Teacher by Day interview series - a cozy winter afternoon at the end of a long week. Little Man is asleep and the heater is on! Today's Biz Mum Erin is a fellow member of the Mums With Hustle Biz Club and creates nappy cakes - perfect for baby showers! She isn't currently teaching, but plans to return later in the year. Erin also has a Facebook group dedicated to sharing and celebrating play ideas which I'm sure many of your will be interested in joining. 

Welcome Erin.

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Little Lion Boutique {Feature}

This post is kindly sponsored by Little Lion Boutique. All opinions are my own :)

I've been so pleased to feature some beautiful local Adelaide businesses lately - and today I'd like to introduce you to Little Lion Boutique. They have some lovely things for babies, toddlers and preschoolers including clothing, play mats, toys, teethers, blankets and more. I recently blogged for them and shared my 5 favourite educational toys from their website - check it out here.

It is also thanks to Little Lion Boutique that I discovered (and fell in love with) the brand Make Me Iconic. The coolest funkiest and uniquely "Aussie" toys I've come across. Firstly this 4 piece watermelon puzzle is magnetic and there's a super cute surprise inside which adds an extra element when your child is putting it back together.

Watermelon Puzzle - SHOP HERE

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Lovely Blocks By {The Little Wooden}

It makes my heart happy to support a local biz mum who hand makes her products. Erica from The Little Wooden and I met up at a play cafe last month and our little ones had a lovely time (she is also expecting number two which is very exciting!). We got to sample her story blocks and geo pattern blocks (gifted for the purpose of this review) and I'd love to share a few of our play and activity ideas!

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How To Stop Sabotaging Your Child’s Sleep

Sleep!! It's the holy grail of parenting! We all talk about it. We ask each other "How are they sleeping?", "Are you getting enough sleep?". We all want that magical (sometimes mythical) 'slept-through-the-night' night. I'll start by saying that of course every child is different, and they can be complete mysteries, impossible to figure out and you may be constantly questioning your decisions. I'm so glad to have an expert on this topic to be here today! Meet Bianca from Hush a Bee, a certified sleep consultant to share her tips with us. 

Currently we have a 4 year old who is very energetic at bed time and takes a while to wind down, coupled with a hungry 14 month old who is in the bottle-to-go-back-to-sleep phase (and who also sometimes wants to start his day at 5am). So I am definitely taking note of Bianca's suggestions.

 Oh my Little Man when he was so tiny and he slept all the time, any time any where. 

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All About Being One

When I was one I had just begun.

- A. A. Milne

This Little Man has been one for a month now, and he's changed so much in that short amount of time - particularly with walking and how much he is understanding what we say. Today's post is a parenting one, all about being ONE! For other parenting stories - just look for the tab along the top, or in the drop down menu.

Please keep in mind these are just my experiences, all babies are different and develop at their own pace. 

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Happy New Year & Happy Blogiversary Teacher Types

Surprise! I'm back!

What do you think?

Like my new look?

I've been bursting to show you all. And what a perfect day to do it! We say hello to 2017 and it's Teacher Types' 3rd blogiversary.

So we had Christmas and it was absolutely magical (but oh so very hot - at least I wasn't 38 weeks pregnant this time!).

On the 30th of December we celebrated the Little Man's first birthday! He had a very happy day hanging out at one of our favourite play cafes with hot chips for lunch. And yesterday our close family came over to celebrate with us. I've been doing 'photo a month' with him like I did with Miss M. (You'll notice that 6 months is missing - I took one just not on this rug, and I had to double up on a few to fill the grid). But I just love it! It shows so many little milestone from the year - the smiles, the dribble, the rolling over, finding his feet, clapping hands, the teeth and all of the smiles. (Rug from Ecoviva and Milestone cards from Turquoise Designs). 

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10 Ways to Use Your Honey and Co Club Canvas Bag

You may have already heard of Honey and Co Club subscription kits - I've featured them here on the blog and Instagram from time to time, and they've made a great gift to give some of my friend's kids this year. I love how every month is a different theme and all the little goodies come in the loveliest canvas bags which can be used over and over again for so many things (and every month is a different funky pattern too - we've got a collection of 4 already!).

Today's post is giving you TEN ways to reuse your Honey and Co Club canvas bag. They come in so handy as you'll see...

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It Really Does Take a Village {Tree Hut Village Feature}

This post is brought to you by Tree Hut Village. 

It really does take a village to raise a child.

That village may look different to you and I. Everyone's village is different - some have their parents, in-laws, aunties and uncles, grandparents, friends, mother's group, neighbours but there are also lots of 'virtual' villages out there to help parents as well. Via my Jan 2016 birth club + the Mums With Hustle biz club on Facebook I met Eva and learnt about her brand new biz the Tree Hut Village so I'm helping her out by being a member of her village and trying to spread the word. 

Meet Eva!

Eva shared with me a bit about how the biz came about...

We have lived in Melbourne for over six years and are loving it. The food and the people are amazing and it was an easy decision to start our family here. We have welcomed our little man in January this year and love being parents. My husband I have wanted to start a business for a long time now. We've been busy with work and one day, when my brother visited with his little girl and we had to get so much stuff for her, we thought: "Wouldn't it be great to just get it from a mum down the road?". A bit of time went by and once I was on maternity leave and I had no more money coming in,  I felt that not only would it be great to not have to take a bunch of stuff when you travel but that bit of extra money really does help as well. The experience of being a mum myself and knowing how hard and nerve wrecking it is to travel with a little one and the feeling of not having any of your "own" money all of a sudden really motivated me to start Tree Hut Village.  

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Our Play Space for a Crawler and a Preschooler to Co-exist

He's 10 months old and well and truly on the move!

Crawling that is.

And that means it's a whole new ball game.

We suddenly seem to have this extra presence in our house and have to be aware of where he is and what he's doing all the time. No more plonking him down on the mat with a basket of toys to occupy him. Cupboards, drawers and doors are now hazards we have to be even more careful of Miss M's teeny tiny bits and pieces.

So, as we've gathered more and more "STUFF" our play area has evolved over the years, from this...

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I didn't plan on baby wearing... but here I am {and I love my Ergo}

It really fascinates me how two children raised by the same parents in the same home in the same way can be so different. This is when you really understand what they by 'nature vs nurture'. As Little Man is growing and developing and we are learning more about his personality and how he is so different to Miss M.

Long story short, he likes to be held...

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What To Do With All Those Special Baby Clothes?

Are you a keeper of all your little one's baby clothes? Do you organise them into sizes? Store them in nappy boxes? Tuck them away in a cupboard for if you have another baby or to give to a friend or family member to make use of? Or do you regularly purge and make trips to the op shop?

But what if you aren't planning to have any more children? What about all those super special teeny tiny items of clothing that you feel you must keep? Would you love to do something special with them instead of leaving them packed away in that cupboard to be forgotten about??

I was so pleased to meet Nicoleta via the Mums with Hustle biz club FB group. She turns those special baby clothes into keepsake softies that are just as cute as pie :)

Here's what I sent her...

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Handy Mum & Bub Products That Will Save Your Sanity

Being a second time mum, I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to surviving the every day with my Little Man. There are so many clever little products out there designed by mums who want to make your life that little bit easier.

Mummy Beads

If you're anything life me in the midst of #mumlife you'll probably find yourself rockin' the same jeans and black tops everyday. Forget about wearing your hair down or dangly earrings because that baby on your hip will just grab and hang on for dear life. AND we all know that babies put everything in their mouths, so if you want to at least look a little pretty with some jewellery on, these silicone + wooden bead necklaces from Indera Beads are what you need in your life! (Gifted - and yes that is baby dribble on my top #mumlife #keepingitreal)

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Book Week Book Review #1 {The Day You Came Into The World}

It's Book Week! Hooray! I miss being in the classroom at this exciting time in Term 3, so I thought I'd share a couple of book reviews this week. This first one, The Day You Came Into The World by Frances Lalor is perfect for young children, toddlers, babies and new parents (it would also make the perfect baby shower or newborn baby arrival gift - I have a friend due in a few months and I'm planning to get her a copy).

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Babies Be Like {Part 2}

Today I've got another installment of "Babies be like..." thank to my fabulous Jan 2016 FB mummies group... You can read (and giggle) at part 1 here which we compiled when our babies were only 2ish months old. But these days we are in a whole new world of eating, teething, runny noses, smiles, giggles, playtime and crossing our fingers every night for a decent sleep.

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Fat Mum Slim's ADORABLE New App!

Something exciting is happening today!

It's the release day of Fat Mum Slim's new app...

...and it's ADORABLE!

Chantelle has this way of making my day (which she's done more than once!). Like when I got a fun kit in the mail, or when I guest posted for her...or when she asked me to be one of the 50 lucky ones to test out Adorable for her!

Of course I squealed with joy!

You may already have her Little Moments app, and might be wondering what makes Adorable different? Little Moments is ideal for Photo-a-dayers to keep track of the daily prompts. There's a broad range of text and artwork for everyday things designed by a group of contributors. Adorable is specifically for pregnancy, announcements, bellies, babies, birthdays and milestones through the first five years. You can find something beautiful for almost every occasion. Of course there are pretty filters and frames. Even the logo is damn adorable.

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Beautiful Baby Sensory Classes {Review}

I think Little Man is suffering from second child syndrome... He gets carted along with Miss M to her activities like kindergym, the park or the shops and just happily hangs out in his pram. When she was his age she was already doing swimming, baby time at the library, mother's group etc... So I was really excited to take my little man along to try a Baby Sensory class last week! Miss M was at child care so it was the perfect opportunity for him and I to have some special time together.

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