Babycinos

Last weekend I dragged my hubby and two bambinos off to a cafe that I discovered via Facebook - Babycinos (1 Northampton Pl, off Punt Rd, South Yarra). Great venue just off Punt Rd and there is ample parking...I know Punt Road and South Yarra are not not known for their ample parking!!! But next to the cafe is a four hour carpark. The cafe is set up for mums and bubs....they are 'toddler friendly, not toddler tolerant'. The seating is outside, but have no fear the veranda is enclosed and there are heaters. The outside area is tan barked and there is play equipment for the kidlets. There is also an indoor playroom if the Melbourne weather turns bad (it has been known to happen!). The coffee is good, the menu is simple but is comprised of good home-cooked food and caters for even the fussiest of eaters. Raffety's Garden and Heinz products are also available for the little bubbas and there is Pop Juice available for the older kids. I strongly recommend that the mums living in Melbourne go and check it out and support local small business - the owner is very friendly and is always up for a good chat. It would be a great venue for a mothers group with toddlers. The kids are safely locked in the backyard and can play to their hearts content while the mums get down to the real business of mother's group and blow off steam!!!! If you are on Facebook check out the Babycinos page and become a fan.

Not the only ones - Georgy:)

We have been going through a difficult patch lately with almost continuous illness in our household. My little boy is constantly getting viruses which result in a chesty cough and a runny nose, this of course leads to bad sleep and the ongoing juggle with work and taking time off to look after him.

Last week for what seemed like the first time in ages he was actually well and so started to put in place a sleep routine which saw him sleeping solidly through from 7pm to 4 or 5am - an early start but better then it was.

Unfortunately while he was well both my husband and daughter were sick. Now they are better and my little boy is congested again and hardly sleeping. It is hard to take and you start to feel like you are the only one dealing with this, particularly as unlike many of our friends we don't have parents in Melbourne to lend a hand.

Yesterday though I felt marginally better when talking to another childcare Mum to find out she is in the same boat. Just talking about it and having someone relate and understand so perfectly helped so much. So if any of you out there are struggling in this way at the moment, I hope you too can take heart in that you are not alone and I have been told it will get better once my little boy is just that bit older.

The Toy invasion - what to do with them all - Georgy:)

Toys and stuff that goes with children are everywhere in my house. As my husband says the soft toys are like gremlins, they just seem to multiply over night. We need more storage and joke that we are doing our house extension just so we can fit everything.

The problem with me is I am one of these people that hates clutter, I like things to be tidy and am passionate (or as some might say obsessed) about interior design and rooms being 'just so'. I have to admit I actually get a little stressed if things are a mess and look disorganised. Now I am not a minimalist, I love a house to have warmth and character and express the family’s personality, just in an organised way, so wanted storage options that also add to the style of the room. The other thing I am concerned about is the environment and so always feel a bit funny about the amount of plastic toys the kids get given.

So as you can imagine when I had my first baby friends kept reminding me 'don't worry about the house, relax, you can't keep it looking like you have, oh and when the baby starts moving you will have to put your ornaments away or move them to higher ground'. Relax about the house, not possible! And actually after my first I managed to keep things tidy organised and clean. I also never had to move anything (did baby proof cupboards and power points of course), as my daughter just didn't pull things down or mess things up, she was easy in that respect.

Now it is a slightly different story with my little boy moving around the house, things get messy quickly (his sister joining him in creating the mess) and he is a little more destructive then she was so have to watch him continuously. Strangely enough he hasn't pulled down ornaments or pulled books out of shelves either. Also with just one we could store most of the toys in her bedroom which we can't do now with the two in the one bedroom (we have a two bedroom house).

So being the neat freak I am have had to work out ways to deal with the toy explosion, both design / storage ideas and with my environmental hat on looking at the reduce, reuse, recycle concept.

Reduce - could say well stop buying so many as lets face it most kids play with it for about two minutes then loose interest, problem is we are not the ones buying them. My kids are the only Grandchildren on both sides of the family and their grandparents love to give them things especially as they live interstate from us so don't see them that often. We are trying to put limits on gifts and get them to buy books or things to make rather then more plastic. The great thing about books too is they have no extra packaging to get rid of.

Reuse - we have joined a toy library, so every three weeks they have different toys to keep them amused. We also often select games or puzzles which take up less space. Have also started the de-clutter of passing toys on that they have grown out of to either friends or charities.

Recycle - not an option for most toys unless you look at it in terms of giving to others as above.

Storage with a design element - as for the rest; storage, storage, storage - that fits in with the style of my rooms and is not an eyesore.

One of the best things I have discovered is small cane baskets from IKEA, they fit well into a standard bookshelf (and one thing I love is having bookshelves around the house, they can add a lot to a room if kept ordered, almost like a feature wall of beautiful things and colour) and in them I can store small things like cars, Little People, train set stuff, tea set. I have also bought larger boxes with beautiful designs (IKEA) and cane baskets that also act as side tables (from Queen Victoria Markets).

And now for the perfect segue into my new blog - if you want to read more about design ideas for a relaxed, family friendly home, design and gardening projects you can do with the kids, ideas for also dealing with the picture explosion (my daughter loves to draw, paint and make things) and trying to build a well designed extension with good sustainability elements please check out www.GeorgyGdesign.blogspot.com

Happy Mother's Day - Georgy:)

To all the Mums out there happy Mothers day. I hope you are getting to relax.

Unfortunately for me I have a sick hubbie and four year old so my day consists of looking after them. Plus at the moment we are trying this new routine with our little boy to help him sleep better (we have had a run of at least a month of very bad nights), which went extremely well Friday night but on the second night being last night, he decided to wake up at 3.45 and stay awake.

At 6ish I finally gave in, got him up and took him for a walk hoping he would sleep. But no such luck. Instead he was chatting away, pointing out things and generally very happy. Amazingly enough this is what actually made my mothers day, in my hazy state my little boy suddenly said something which sounded like 'I love you' for the first time. And so when we were nearly home and crossed paths with a woman going for a walk and she said to me 'Happy Mothers day', I actually thought yes it is.

Am I a better mum now that I am working?

As you know I have recently returned to work full time. I am three weeks in and loving it. Everything that I worried about before I went back hasn’t happened…Yet! I am sure it is coming but for the mean time I am enjoying the honeymoon period. I was at a 4 year old party today and I was chatting to my friends (all mums at my childcare centre). I was talking about how I was enjoying work and that I actually feel my ability to parent has improved also. The time I spend with my children is most definitely less in quantity but the quality is so much more….so maybe the old saying of ‘less is more’ is true in this case. I have heard celebrity mums espouse the line of …’working makes me a better mum’ and I would be there thinking yeah I am sure I could be a fabulous mum too if I had the cleaner, the nanny, the personal trainer and chef. As I have none of those services….seriously looking for a cleaner though….it is on the list of things to do…right after I have celebrated my son’s first birthday, organized his thank you cards (yes from his birth….seriously a bad mum!!!), organized my daughter’s fourth birthday party – as I am currently outsourcing the majority of my parenting I am most definitely outsourcing the party! But none the less I still have to call, book, organize invites, write invites and then send invites…please keep in mind I haven’t done my son’s thank you cards yet!!!!! But strangely I am feeling somewhat in control……when I returned to full time work after 18 months of maternity leave with my daughter there is no way I would even consider having a party for her birthday….so what is different this time? I am not sure, other than I am really enjoying my job, enjoying my time with my two beautiful bubbas, having a supportive husband, having a somewhat balanced life and a handy supply of Lovan and red wine!!! Seriously though, I believe that I am a happier person right at this moment. I actually enjoy getting up before the family to have my limited me time – well it is me, my coffee and Karl and Lisa (Today Show – Channel 9) and then I get myself ready for work and start what is a manic day until I crawl into bed 15 hours later…but you know – I wouldn’t want it any other way…well for the time being!