That time we went to Sydney {and survived Little Man's first flight}

Hello friends!
We have just got home from our first 'family-of-four' holiday. We enjoyed 4 days in gorgeous Sydney, more specifically Darling Harbour. It was crazy busy with the kids, trying to juggle everything and keep everyone happy - but we made it and the fun times far outweighed the tantrums and grizzles ;)

There was so much fun stuff for kids to do over there that I couldn't keep it all to myself and had to share a few highlights and snapshots of our trip!

The kids are checking out the view

7

Keeping up with the Kid's Learning During the Holidays

You might not even be contemplating or thinking about this yet (in which case please save, bookmark or pin this post for later in January). On the other hand you may be fresh out of a parent teacher interview or you've read your child's report and want to know how you can keep up with their learning during the long summer holiday break. (You'd be surprised at how many parents would ask me for 'activity books' and worksheets to be sent home with their child during the last week of Term 4). 

13

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...

6

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.  

8

Road Trip with A Toddler {One Year Later}

One year ago (almost to the day) we went on a road trip to Mount Gambier (South Australia) to spend time with family. This year we went again because my very clever brick laying brother built himself a house and got himself engaged to a great girl - so we decided to go while it's (relatively) easy before baby number 2 arrives.

I wrote about our previous trip last year... It was interesting to read back over these posts and compare what was different this time - most notable being our level of relaxation and not stressing about every little thing, but then again Miss M is a whole year older and there's a huge difference between one and a half and two and a half. So anyway, here's the previous posts from last year...

Road Trip with a Toddler - The Before

Road Trip with a Toddler - The After

So some main differences between then and now is that Miss M no longer naps - so we couldn't rely on her having a sleep for a chunk of the drive, and no more dummies and bottles to worry about! She packed her own backpack of toys, teddies and books (not all practical for the car, but for her to play with once we got there). Surprisingly this book is still one of her favourites, and keeps her busy for ages, so it came along again! She actually 'reads' books now to herself which is a bonus!

Minimal mess snacks were again a must - sandwiches, biscuits, muesli bars, water etc... and of course foolproof games and episodes of Ben & Holly and Peppa Pig on the iPhone. We made a deal with her that if she was playing games it was ok to hold, but for watching episodes we put it in the headrest.

A major difference this time was the toilet factor! She's been toilet trained for a couple of months now - but it was something we always had to keep in mind... No accidents luckily! My pregnant bladder needed frequent stops as well ;) Speaking of which...another struggle this trip was my 33 week belly in the way! Turning around to the back of the car or retrieving items from the floor was not easy let me tell you!

Miss M was old enough this time to teach her I spy, so that was fun, she loved it when she guessed it right (we did the colour version rather than the starting letter eg. "I spy with my little eye something the colour green" and gave her specific hints whether it was inside or outside of the car.)

On both trips (there and back) we stopped at the Morning Loaf Bakery in Keith (about 3 hours from Adelaide and 2 hours from Mt Gambier) and is one of the states best known country bakeries. We liked the kids play room so much it was the perfect place to stop both times.

Morning Loaf Bakery - Keith

We had a fantastic time in the Mount including;

• The Blue Lake
• The Valley Lakes playground
• A spot of shopping on the main street
• Chilling out at my brother's new place
• A great meal at the South Eastern Hotel (which had an awesome kids playground - we couldn't get Miss M out!)
• and Miss M's highlight of the trip - the jumping pillow at the Blue Lake Tourist Park
• plus some great quiet time back at our accommodation.

The Blue Lake

Awesome playground at the Valley Lakes

There was this moment on the trip, when all three of us were sitting around the table having ice creams. And all of a sudden it hit me - we are like a real little family! Miss M is like a little person now, a person who you have conversations with, share special moments, and she's so much easier and more compliant, it doesn't feel like hard work all - the - time. She can do what we do and enjoy those special holiday treats. We were making her childhood memories and it was happening right in front of me!

Well I think that's it for family travel for us for quite some time...I can't even imagine doing a trip with a toddler and a baby! Have you attempted it before? How did you survive?

Lauren x

12

Melbourne Hightlights | Our Mini Family Getaway

Do you know that feeling when you've just returned home from a holiday? You may feel a tad tired but overall you're probably relaxed and rejuvenated after taking a well earned break from your daily life. Well this is NOT how you feel when you return home from a holiday with a toddler! Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but it was HARD work! Read a bit more about our mini-family getaway to Melbourne below. 

{not a sponsored post}

------

It's always nice to get away over the Christmas/New Year holiday break. We spent a day at the river with my family, a day at the beach with my in-laws, and a few days in Melbourne. Our goals for this family trip were - a short flight (nothing with airport transfers), a nice hotel with a pool (we stayed at Mantra, Southbank), and a few fun kid friendly places we could visit as a family.

With only two full days, we had a few ideas on our wish list - the aquarium, the zoo, the museum and botanic gardens. But it all depended on the weather (turned out to be really hot!) Kid friendly eating venues are also a must, so I did a bit of research into these as well. It's so nice to be able to have an amazing (almost fancy) meal, but still feel like your children are welcome.

Flight 

It's sometimes just down to luck - but we had a spare seat next to us, so once the 'fasten seat belt' signs were off, Little Miss could have her own chair. We entertained her with mixture of fun new 'mini' toys (she loves everything 'mini' at the moment), some Peppa Pig episodes on the iPhone, snacks and books, and were there before we knew it. Miss M insisted on walking all around the airport on her own (let's rename her to Little Miss Independent).

Day 1

We began with a trip to Sea Life Aquarium and it was magical (I just wished we had have bought our tickets online to avoid the queues). Miss M very much dislikes her pram at the moment, but with a bit of bargaining luckily we managed to strap her in for the 15 minute walk, and let her roam free around the aquarium. It was a bonus too that we could leave the pram at the front desk. We loved looking at the fish, sharks, penguins, turtles, crocodile, frogs and many more. They have lots of interactive things for little tikes to do - hands on rock pools, decorate your own fish (scan and turn into a virtual aquarium), fun little tunnels underneath aquariums and stamps to collect at each area.

{aquarium photos taken by James Hunt - aka hubby}

--------

The plan for was for me to have some free shopping time while Miss M had her day sleep - but alas she had other ideas (hubby tried to give me as long as possible before telling me!) So they both chilled out in the hotel room for a bit and we met out for a late lunch, and a swim, followed by a great dinner out at Meat & Wine Co. After a day of delightful behaviour from this 22 month old - Melbourne must have been too exciting for her to go to sleep at bed time! zzz

Day 2

We headed out for an early walk to Birrarung Park along the river before it got too hot (this playground was a bit too old for Little Miss but she had fun walking along the bridges). Then a quick bite to eat at a cafe in the Atrium (at Fedaration Square) and a taxi to Highpoint shopping centre (by this stage we just needed to beat the heat). Back at the hotel luckily Miss M had her day sleep and we could relax and a nice afternoon swim followed.

I rarely say anything negative on my blog, but the only disappointment of the trip I must say, was the Ice Bar in Southgate. In my opinion, it really was not suitable for under 3's (which I later discovered it says on their website, but the staff did not inform me of this when I asked). It was quite expensive just to get in, you aren't allowed to take your own photos (you have to pay extra before you've even seen if the automatic photo is any good!) We weren't even in there for 10 minutes, and not that I was after a refund - some kind of gesture would have been appreciated seeing as we had a toddler with us.

Things improved though with a wonderful dinner at Bluetrain in Southgate (upper level). It has everything you need to be child friendly - pram parking, high chairs, children's menus, colouring in and super quick service. Could not recommend it highly enough.

Flight home

Well, all I can say is that Little Miss did the best she could. Alternating between my lap and her dad's, m&ms and Peppa Pig episodes, we managed with only one mini-meltdown when she needed to put her seat belt back on for landing. I made a real effort during the trip to take note of those little moments when she was being good, breathe deep and appreciate them (and her). I think sometimes during or immediately after those epic toddler tantrums, that's all you are thinking about and it's hard to remember the positives.

Here's a snippet of some of my iPhone-ography. If you follow me on Instragram, or Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day, you may have seen some of these before.

Well, teacher types has been rather busy to start the new year. Some exciting things are in the pipe line and I can't wait to share them with you.

Thanks for reading,
Lauren

13

Road Trip With a Toddler | The After

Ok so I thought I would write this post as we go... Did you read 'The Before'? No? Click here so you'll be right up to date!

8:00 am

Left Adelaide on schedule. Woo hoo!

8:45 am

We started singing 'baa baa black sheep' (requested by Miss M), a couple of snacks already, played with dolly (dancing, hiding and jumping) and doggy with the bumpy ears (which made her want to drive over bumps on the road). Trying to be positive, happy, not stressed, give her attention. 45 mins into the drive and we are watching episodes of Peppa Pig (but not giving in to every demand - "Yes you can watch peppa but no you cannot hold the phone.")

9:30 am

Note to self, make sure the magnadoodle pen is attached to the board. Impossible to find without stopping the car and getting out once dropped!!

But - favourite item so far are these 'view tainers' (raided them from Hubby's boys room - he tells me they were from Bunnings, followed by "I can feel a blog post coming on". Yes James I'm blogging about our road trip!) We spent ages posting Pom poms and pop sticks.

10:00 am 

First stop - sausage rolls for everyone. Patted some friendly dogs, successfully back in the car at 10:30. Driver swap.

11am

Sleep! Yay! Only half an hour but better than nothing. Grizzly for a bit but not as bad as I thought (made me imagine how it would feel waking up, not in my own bed, being tightly strapped in with no escape). Next stop at a playground at 12noon, followed by a bottle.

12:30 pm - 99 kms to go!

Rest of the trip went as well as could be expected. We had a 'toddler who cried poo' incident, thought she needed a change, got her out, no change needed, then refused to get back into her car seat! So I ended up sitting in the back with her for the last half an hour, reading books and putting coins in the money box. 

Arrived as predicted at 2:00 pm

Currently trying to get her to nap - not sure how we'll go...

Nope - didn't happen.

---------

The drive home...

Left at 10:00 am - off to a good start.

Played with dollies to start the long drive. Predicting it will be hard to maintain my positive, happy, not stressed and give her attention method on the drive home because I'm soooo tired. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, pitch black with A/C (I'm a fussy sleeper).

10:30 am

First stop already because I wanted to look at the 'trinketry' shops in a cute little town. James & Miss M go to the playground, and a lovely lady at a cafe heats up her bottle for her. Here's hoping a warm bottle in the car = a nice loooong sleep. Are you crossing your fingers for me?

11:30 am

Asleep! Better this time round because she had a warm bottle at the right time and took her dummy. Nice and cosy too in the car. I get to enjoy reading a magazine.

12:30 pm

One hour later - still asleep! We sacrifice our planned lunch stop (one of SA's best country bakeries mind you) and continue to the next town. Does your little one wake up as soon as the car stops or a door closes like Miss M?

1:00 pm

Awake & stop for lunch. Love all the little kid friendly rest stops we have discovered - most have play areas, pencils, chalk boards etc...

1:30 pm

My turn to drive. A few episodes of Peppa Pig kept her happy for a while, but she was quite grizzly on this next stretch. We made a quick stop for petrol around 2:30 and then I sat in the back to read books for a little while. Getting a bit over it now we think.

4:00 pm
Made it home safe and sound!

Phew! What a weekend. Was great to spend time with family.

--------

Do you have any road trip travel tips that you would like to add? If you're off on a holiday during the silly season, good luck! 

Lauren

37

Road Trip with a Toddler | The Before

Now I must confess - we are only off on a 5-6 hour drive this weekend with our little miss...I'm sure many more families go on much longer drives and have great ideas of how to keep their little ones amused! I just thought I would share the things I'm packing to take with us in the car. Our plan is to keep her entertained as long as we can for the first stretch of driving, stop somewhere for food and a play/run around, and then hopefully she'll sleep on the next stretch. I predict the time between when she wakes up and when we arrive will be horrendous so fingers are crossed for a nice looooong sleep! I'll have to write a follow up post when we get home and let you all know how it went (and what I would do differently next time LOL).

So first things first - toys! As well as a few of my busy bags (see previous posts) - I packed a 'surprise' bag full of miscellaneous things. Some of her favourites, some new things - things I can easily pass to her from the front seat. I've also thought of packing things that I can play with her if I need to retreat to the back.

She loves the TV show 'Mister Maker' and I saw this sticker/activity book in Big W and was thinking of popping it in her stocking for Christmas - but no, decided it would be perfect for the road trip. The little mini 'magnadoodle' will also hopefully keep her happily drawing (mess free) for a while.

I also brought along one of her favourite books "Big Book of My World" - it's quite long and has so many detailed pages so when we read it in detail cover to cover it takes ages! I would never leave her unsupervised with the money box and coins - but it will keep her amused for quite a while if I sit with her in the back.

Hanging toys and books that you can clip to the headrests are great (and you probably already have these in your car). Plus the little 'linky clips' are a must have so that little hands can reach the toys.

My lovely facebook mother's group also had some helpful suggestions to offer - music to play, a good repertoire of songs to sing, stickers, plenty of books to read... and this clever little 'Aquadoodle' travel mat from Toys R Us.

Now - food! The plan is to keep it easy and relatively mess free. Jatz bikkies, Cruskits, 'Rafterty's Garden' fruit bars are winners at the moment (don't you just love how toddlers taste buds are constantly changing! One day they love sultanas the next day not at all?) We packed her bottle too in the esky and are hoping that we can get it heated up when we stop. Dummies are a must have as well to increase our chances of getting her to sleep at the usual time.

We have episodes of Peppa Pig, Mister Maker and The Wiggles on our iPhones to play for her if we get desperate. Honestly - if it means she is happy and quiet and we can drive safely that's what's most important. We just pop it in the headrest and she's good to go! Just like a built in DVD player. I love that with the latest iOS update the episodes play continually.

Also did you know about the setting called 'guided access'? If you've got specific apps for your little tikes, you just triple click the home button (once activated in settings) and it locks them in to whichever app they are in - so you don't need to worry about them making calls, deleting precious photos or getting into mischief ;) I recognise that 'screen time' and use handheld devices are one of those parenting choices that not everyone will agree on - so please be respectful of our parenting choice :)

Wish us luck!
Lauren + James + Miss M

70