My pram

A little while ago someone asked me what I thought of my pram.
Well I love it!
I have a Mountain Buggy Swift and we also have the carry cot/bassinet.

Image via www.babyzonedirect.com

Pro's of my pram:
Lightweight
slim design - can get in and out of shops easily. And this is a must in Balmain and all the tiny narrow shops - One in particular being Seed!?!?
3 Wheeler
great on all terrain. I love going walking with my pram!
decent enough storage under pram.
great sun shade - when the seat is on the pram. Not the bassinet
Rain cover for both bassinet and seat
Fantastic affordable price point -$600 incl carry cot
easy to get spare parts and replacement bits through Mountain Buggy
Easy to get in and out of the car
My new cup holder!!! Now I can have free hands to push properly and not have to hold onto my coffee or juice!

Look!

image via www.babyzonedirect.com.au

The con's of my pram:
Fairly small bassinet - lucky for me I have a small baby. For others it could be a waste of money getting the bassinet (or would be better getting the Mountain Buggy Urban as the bassinet is bigger)
Once the seat is on you can not have the baby facing you, it only faces outwards
You can't get a sun shade for when you have the bassinet on only for the seat

And to be honest. That's all I can think of as far as con's go.

What type of pram do you have? 
What are the pro's and con's of your pram?

Step back in time

People ask me all the time if I miss being pregnant?
No, actually I don't. But I do wish I had of appreciated it a bit more while I was and I know if we go back for number 2 that I will take the time to appreciate my body and the changes (when I wasn't feeling like crap)
I also want to make sure I document my next pregnancy with more photos (and nice ones)

But for now, lets step back in time and look at the bump that was!

14 Weeks

16 Weeks

22 Weeks. Sun burnt in Noosa. I just looked fat.

24 Weeks. Moving day. Finally we were in our new house!

25.5 Weeks

26 Weeks

27.5 Weeks. Same clothes, same pose!

29.2 Weeks

30 Weeks. 10 to go! or so I thought!

31 Weeks. In desperate need of a haircut.

32 Weeks

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

37.2 weeks

37.2 weeks

38.1 weeks. With hubby (this time desperately needing a haircut!)

38.1 Weeks. And Abi was born 3 days later!

And that's me!

Did you document you pregnancy in any way?
Are you glad you did? Or wish you had?

I'd love you to share!

Dear Abigail (TWO months old!)

Photo taken at Quarantine Reserve - Abbotsford NSW

Dear Abigail,

Wow! You are already two months old! The time just keeps going quicker and quicker... I still wish that you would stay little for just a little longer.
Now you are smiling ALL THE TIME, cooing and ga gaing too!
You sleep so much better, but still hate going to sleep. There has been many a screaming match at our house and many many long walks in the pram.
We flew to Melbourne to see the family and back again and you would still have no idea that you went on a plane. I was oh so nervous, but you were so well behaved that I am not nearly as scared for next month when we are driving to Melbourne!
Your favorite toy seems to be your "Mick" dog (named after of our family dogs - a Blue Heeler that was originally named after Mick Dohan the motorbike racer) you could stare at him for hours!
You finally got to meet the real Mick and I think he took quite a fancy to you! You received a lick on the cheek and a lick on the hand too!
We love taking you out and about and you are generally a very relaxed baby.
We both miss Daddy lots and lots during the day, but both of our faces light up as soon as he walks in the door.
Today you went to your first birthday party! For Harry who turned 6! You loved being in the park looking around and all the coloured balloons too.
We have so many more adventures coming our way, we still love you more and more each day.

I will love you forever,
Love your Mummy.

Getting to know you...

The lovely Reezy from Peanut Butter and Honey tagged me in a

'Tell me about yourself award'

The gist is to tell 7 random things about yourself and forward onto other bloggers.

So some random facts/bits about me:

1. I am scared of birds. All birds so matter how big or small. I will take a wide wide berth around a bird and freak out if one even comes close to me.

2. I like raw pastry. If I bake a pie, queishe etc... I eat some of the raw pastry. Gosh it must be so bad for me!

3. I was the very first left hander in my family. Including all of my extended family. My sister and then one brother followed. Now some of my very young cousins are left handed, but it started it first!

4. I actually hate breastfeeding, I dont enjoy it at all. Don't want to do it, but know how important it is for Abigail so I preserver at it.

5. I know that the BF is important for Abi, but I'm also doing t for selfish reasons... It is a great way to lose the pregnancy weight gain! Going really well so far, I'm below my pre-pregnancy weight!
6. I really really really want to move to back to Melbourne. Although I will really miss my friends, I really really miss my family and I'm totally over Sydney and my husband working a million hours a week.
7. Most of my family still don't know about my blog! Crazy I know... But I kinda like it that way :-)


So I am supposed to pass this onto 15 more! 15! Golly Gosh! 
How about this instead... If you would like to complete this 'challenge' go on right ahead! (Let me know if you do! I'm love to read your 7 random facts/bits about you!)

Bargain Baby

We seem to be busy every day...
There is always something happening, someone so see, somewhere to go, something to do!
It's great! But it's also great when we have some quiet home time... (Like right now! Abi is sleeping!)

Just wanted to share our super bargain outfit from yesterday!

Here's Abi at 8 weeks and 1 day! Wearing A Cotton On top that was $5 And a pair of Bonds leggings that we picked up for $3.57 BARGAIN!!!

I ADORE Seed clothing and Abi has so so much of it (we bought even more today... Naughty). 

But for great everyday stuff and great stuff too! Cotton On Kids is EXCELLENT! They currently have 2 x leggings for $15 which is a great deal when they grow out of stuff so quickly. 

Sadly we already have a "too small" bag now. Abi is growing up so quickly. She now weighs about 4.1kg's and is getting taller all the time. She loves cuddles (a little too much) and gets excited when her Daddy gets home from work. Enjoys going to the cafe with her cousin (who has just moved to Sydney and is temporarily living with us) and the pub with everyone from our mothers group!

Today we went to the post office to pick up a package!

This is what was inside:

Finally I am going to get around to sending thank you cards... I ordered them from www.mooo.com.au

Friends have used them for their thank yous and it was just the easiest thing to do! A little expensive, but well you know...

Maybe old fashioned, but I really appreciate receiving a thank you from others. I just hope I haven't left it too late!

And the winner is...

Thank you all so much for entering my give away and for all your wonderful worldly advice.
I totally agree that we (my husband and I) need to find time for each other and at the moment that doesn't seem to be happening so we will work on that and hopefully sometime soon we will! (And I think we need to wait till Abi is a touch older!)

Anyway, the winner is.... Emmie Gemmie from Desert Darling!

Her advice: Pick your battles.
This is so simple and so true, but ringing in my ears at the moment. Many/most of you know that I have inlaw issues and this has come up and raised it's ugly head again this week. So for me, I really need to "pick my battles" in everything relating to them and my little family...

But, just so I can vent for a sec...
If your husband had a very hard, tough, long hours job AND a new born baby... (Like mine) and his brother was currently not working, and had no real commitments (my brother in law) Who should the mother and father (my in laws) call in the middle of the night and at all differnt times during the day to do stuff for them and drive them to differnt places!
Grr... F me. I'm pissed. But to not sound like a whinging bitch, I'm keeping quiet, I have decided that this is not something I need to argue or bring up with my husband. I'm carefully "picking my battle"

Vent over.

I also thought that this candle being "little black dress" was perfect for Emmie, seeing as she has a 9 month old and lives in the desert... When will she too get time for her little black dress!

While reading through the comments there was a comment that really made me giggle! So there is a second runner up prize for Liss who has asked me to "please, please, please never become one of those parents who lets their child run free in Woolworths (Balmain, I'm talking about you) who always ends up almost under the wheels of my trolley."
Liss, did you know that I live in Balmain! Did you know that I know EXACTLY what you mean! And I do very much promise to never ever become one of those people!!!

Girls, please contact me via email samanthaolson79@gmail.com with your details so I can post you off your prizes!

Having Fun!

Image via www.weheartit.com

It's been a big week.
Abi had her two month shots on Tuesday. She was a very good patient. I was no so much. I cried! She slept 'like a baby' afterward and that night too...
But ever since she has been a little out of sorts. But we are working on it, and having a quiet day today.

Wednesday the ladies from my mothers group met up again. Such a nice group of ladies and I can See myself keeping in contact and catching up with these ladies for some time to come.

Thursday we went and chose the photos from the professional shoot (and here) we had done... I spent $570 and I am sure I will spend more! Birthday and Christmas presents sorted! That's for sure!!!

I also called into work yesterday for a quick visit, ended up having lunch, having a great catch up and chat with my boss and left two hours later!
Things are looking really positive on the work front and I am looking at going back in February/March part time in a support role for my/our sales team. But... we will just wait and see how things go getting closer to the time...

Mum and Dad are coming through Sydney to visit for the night on Saturday night! We are very excited! They have been at my cousins wedding on North Stradbroke and holidaying in FNQ so they are detouring on their way back to Melbourne and stopping by in Sydney for the night.

I think I have a winner for the give away! Something that's ringing very true to me right now... But it's not too late to enter and change my mind! I plan to announce the winner on Monday.

Groceries

Image via www.weheartit.com

It's not easy trying to do grocery shopping with a little one.
We are really lucky where we live that I can pretty much walk everywhere. I hardly use the car anymore!
The Pram we have is wonderful, but I can't fit much in the little basket underneath (we have a Mountain Buggy Swift)
One of the girls in my mothers group showed me another storage thing she bought, so I went and picked one up!

www.babykingdom.com.au

It's great for being able to carry a few extra things, but still... It's just not enough... Especially toilet paper! I hate buying toilet paper... So big and bulky... And now Nappies too... Even bigger and bulkier...

Here is the answer!!! Off Your Trolley But for nappies... Ok Me

Now it's really only meat and the fruit and vegies that I need to worry about! Brilliant!

What other online + delivery sites can you recommend or do you use?


And! Hey! Don't forget to enter my give away!!! I'm going to draw/pick a winner in a few days!

250

So I'm posting for the 250th time!
Why not have a give away!!!

To enter, I just want you to give me a piece of advice... Something that relates to my blog title... Marriage Motherhood And...

So, whats the best marriage or motherhood advice that you can pass on?
Can't wait to hear them all!!!

Judging... Well quite obviously... I will pick what advise I think it the best! It might be something I too agree on, or it could be something new that I can try or use!

The prize... A triple scented candle from Glasshouse. The scent is Manhattan Little Black Dress (because  I have no idea when I might get the chance and a babysitter to put on my little black dress and party it up again!)

Spoilt chickadee

Did you know that Pumpkin Patch are having a sale?
Online and in store. Online there is free shipping!
It's 40% off then an extra 20% off with the promotional code AUVP

I don't really love Pumpkin Patch stuff... Well I don't like the slogan stuff and the ones that you "know" are from Pumpkin Patch...

This is what I bought.

Bought in 6-12 months size for next year

Bought in 6-12 months for next year.

Bought in 6-12 months for next year.

Bought in 3-6 months - hopefully perfect for winter!

Bought in 6-12 months for next year. 

Cute for Summer! Bought in 0-3 months.

Bought in 0-3 months! Can't wait to see this on for Summer!

In total all this cost us $87 delivered! I'm pretty damn impressed! I'm looking forward to receiving this stuff in the mail soon!!!

Abi has so many clothes... But I figure these are really well priced so why not?
Why on earth anyone would bother paying full price for stuff these days is beyond me... Especially babies... They grow so quickly!

The sale finishes tonight, so hop on and grab some bargains!

Back in town!

We are back! We had an awesome time in Melbourne. I'm quite sure that Abi misses her nana, pop, aunty and uncles just as much as me :-(

We really didn't do much while away, just spent loads of quality time with family and had loads of cuddles. We chatted to the dogs and the cows and even got to see two calves being born! Checked out the shed and the trees and much much more that you can do on a mini farm.
Abi was sensational on both flights! She slept the whole time! I had a dummy (I hate it... But...) and a bottle of expressed milk ready just in case and both were not needed.

Abi slept really well except for one night and we are even starting to get 6-7 hour stints of sleep at night! Woop Woop!!!
We are now only waking once in the night for a feed and then it's not again till a very reasonable time in the morning!

Abi got to meet many many many of her extended family. Including great grandparents.
She slept through the whole of the AFL grand final much to my mum's disappointment... Mum is a Collingwood supporter and had bought a little outfit and hat for the occasion... As a Carlton supporter (along with all the rest of my family) I was not too impressed, but allowed it as a once only. Such a shame they lost... NOT!!!

Lots and lots of photos were taken, but here is one very special one to share...

My nana who will be 70 in January. My mum (This was taken on Sunday which was her 51st birthday), myself and Abi.
Four generations of women. My mum is the oldest child, I am the oldest and was the first grand child and then Abi who is the first great grand daughter. My nana was a great grandma a few years ago, as my cousin has two young boys.

I have been catching up on every ones blogs, and am now going back to doing that while feeding Abi!

disappearing act

Just letting you all know we are on a bit of a break at the moment.
We are visiting my family in Melbourne.
There has been lots of nana, pop, aunty and uncle cuddles this week!

We will be back soon.
xoxo