Monday 31 March 2014

Thoughts of the month

1. At the end of last month I had a light bulb moment. Tiger was away and I was at the shops with the boys. We walked past Subway and Chai asked if we could go in. I automatically said no because we'd already eaten and I rarely buy take-away food. Chai was accepting of it and said "Only Daddy takes me to Subway". It made me realise that now he's getting older I can start doing things like that with him. 

The next day we went out to Subway for lunch and had a great time. Normally when we go to a cafe he's an absolute nightmare, running around, getting into mischief and being a three year old. At Subway he was really good. He sat down, ate his food and the few times he did get up and run around it was okay because the shop was really busy and the other people there all had kids. 
We spent about $13 so it was a very cheap meal and something we'll do again.
It got me thinking about other things that I could do with Chai now that he's older. 
Any suggestions?

2. What on earth is with the crappy customer service here? I get so frustrated by it! All I want to do is spend my money and they make it so difficult! This time my complaint is with Blistex (Key Pharmaceuticals). Blistex have a new, limited edition Tangy Mango Tango lip balm that's out and I want to to know where I can buy it. Do you think Blistex will respond to my email? No! It's so frustrating! If they were clever they'd reply to me and help me buy their products. They should take a leaf out of Swisse's books.

I emailed Swisse on a Sunday to ask if their Vitality powder was okay for me to take whilst I'm breastfeeding. They replied the next day (Monday) and apologised for not getting back to me sooner. They told me that it's fine for me to take the Vitality supplement and also suggested another few products I could take. As a result of that, instead of me just buying the one product I'd been considering, I bought two products and they made more money. That's what happens when you get good customer service!

3. If you like Hart of Dixie, you'll be thrilled to know that the head make-up artist, Joni Powell is on Instagram! She posts a lot of the looks that they do on the show, with the make-up breakdown and is really friendly. She answers any questions asked which I think is awesome.  

4. I'm getting really sick of people telling me how lucky we are that Tiger has equal swings. Yes, I know that he only works for 6 months of the year, but what people fail to realise is the physical and emotional toll that him being away takes on all of us. He does 168 hours when he's away so by the time he gets home he's totally exhausted. And I'm with the kids 24/7 so by the time he gets home I'm totally exhausted too. It's not easy or fun.

5. Zoe Foster is launching a skin care line called Go-To skin care. It launches on 1 April. Can't wait. 

6. My heart breaks for all those affected by the Malaysian plane crash. There is one man with children that are the same age as mine, I can't even imagine how his wife is coping. I heard that there were 1,000 people directly affected by the crash which is mind boggling. I hope that they are all getting the support they need.

7. I've been trying to think of a new career for myself so that I can start studying however I'm coming up blank. Ideally I'd like something that I can do from home and be pretty self managed. Ideas gratefully accepted.

8. Zucchini fritters are awesome.

9. Revlon Matte and Lacquer balms are finally here. I'm tempted but I haven't bought any yet. I wonder if they'll live up to the hype.

10. That's all I have to say for this month.


Saturday 29 March 2014

Lonely part 2

I'm sure that Tiger being FIFO makes the loneliness worse. Solo parenting 24/7 is tough. I do have people that I can go to visit or who will come and visit me, but having Tiger come home every night used to make such a big difference.

After spending so many years working and always having people around, being alone all the time is an adjustment. Sure, I've been a sahm for three years now, but I still miss having company. As strange as it is, I love being alone, however being alone with kids is very different to being all alone. 

Whilst I do have people who I can visit, I don't get adult company every day. Ive been very fortunate recently because my BFF hasn't been working full time so we've spent a lot of time together. I have no idea what I'll do when she's back at work full time. 

My online friends are the ones who keep me sane and give me adult conversation, without them I think I'd go crazy. 

 

Lonely

Yesterday I was heading to the supermarket when I saw two mums with little babies, sitting at the park feeding and chatting. I had an overwhelming urge to stop and talk to them and then I felt like crying. It struck me again that I find being a full time parent a very lonely job. I know I've said it before, but seeing them sitting there together bought it all back. Being a full time parent can be very isolating, especially now that we've moved to another town and my mothers group network is gone. Making new friends when you don't work is really difficult.

Friday 28 March 2014

FFS Friday - Nucking Futs

Friday! We've made it!I hope you all have exciting things planned for your weekend. I plan to try and keep my sanity any way possible. Considering my day started at 4.27am this morning, I don't like my chances. 

Last Sunday, first thing in the morning, Chai decided that he wanted to watch Turbo. For some reason we couldn't get the DVD player to work. FFS.

It took us two hours to get the DVD player working. FFS.

During that time Chai asked for Turbo every few minutes, Eljay screamed because he wanted breakfast and then wanted to go to sleep and I was trying to make us all breakfast. Fun times. FFS.

And this was after a very rough night with Eljay waking up constantly and our day starting at 5am. FFS.

Whilst I'm not one to wish my babies lives away, I am really looking forward to the time when they both sleep all night and I can have an uninterrupted nights sleep.

It's been 3 1/2 years since I had an uninterrupted nights sleep. FFS.

We discovered last week that both the MIL and FIL are not well. FFS.

We've known that FIL is not well for ages, he's not a healthy man, however they have been lying to us about some of his medical conditions and we found out that he is a lot worse than they told us. FFS.

MIL has been unwell too and I'm really worried about both of them. FFS.

None of the family like to talk about what will happen when MIL or FIL dies, but I really think we need to talk about it and make plans. They live 3 hours drive from us so it's not like we can pop over there to make sure they are okay. FFS.

No matter how hard we try they won't talk about it with us. FFS.

Realistically, I don't think either of them are capable of living alone which is why having a plan is so important. If only they would acknowledge that. FFS.

I can see things getting really difficult when one of them has died and they are all trying to make decisions when they are not in a fit state to do so. FFS.

Tiger is back at work again and as usual the first few days of him being away are especially tough. FFS.

The first day after Tiger left Chai spent the whole day telling me "I miss Daddy" and crying, every ten minutes. FFS.

I'm not exaggerating. FFS.

It was all day. FFS.

Drove me nucking futs. FFS.

I try to be compassionate and understanding but after I've heard it for about the 50th time it gets very difficult. FFS.

By 1pm I was counting down the minutes until bedtime. FFS.

Every night when it gets dark Chai wants to go outside to look for Daddy and he keeps telling me he's worried that Daddy won't come home again, which is totally freaking me out. FFS.

Yesterday I put the dishwasher on just before taking Chai to a class. Normally we come straight home afterwards but this time we went to do some running around. When we got home I walked inside and there was water everywhere. FFS.


Most of the kitchen floor was soaked in water. FFS.


My first though was f@#*! FFS.


After that I thought it must be the dishwasher, however it was sitting there looking perfectly innocent so I decided it wasn't the dishwasher. Being clever, I thought maybe the roof had caved in. FFS.


Cause I'm sure if the roof had caved in there would only be water on the floor, no plaster or anything. I'm so intelligent. FFS.


I did some investigating and it turns out that Chai had jammed a shaker over the filtered water tap, leaving it dripping. FFS.


The water had run behind the sink, over the bench and onto the floor. FFS.


All of the junk mail (that I hadn't read) and the newspaper got soaked. FFS.


Whilst I was cleaning it up both boys had a great time playing in all the water, they both got soaking wet and thought it was great fun. I'll remember that next time we're all bored. FFS.


That concludes my weekly whinges. I'll leave you with a few things I've said this week that I never thought I'd say as a mother. 
"Get your penis off your brother!"
"Please don't sit on my head with your naked bottom"
Fun times.


If you'd like to read more whinges, head over to Sarah and Brad's blog. If you have had any FFS worthy moments, please tell me all about them so I can laugh at with you. 


Dear Baby G

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Latest Purchases and Beauty Diet Update

I've made my first purchases for the year! Behold my pretties!


I got the Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush in Ethereal Glow and a YSL Gloss Volupte in Fuchsia Oran. I'll review them soon but suffice to say I love them both.

Finishing products is going really, really slowly. The Use it or Lose it (UIOLI) products are easy to go through though, I'm being really ruthless so most of them have been losers. I have been a bit slack the last week and haven't used anything from the UIOLI pile, I need to get back onto that!

After discussing with Vita and Norlin, I'm including BB creams in my tally, which is great because I use them every day instead of foundation. It also means that I have another empty to add to my tally. Here's what I've used up so far:

These are the Use it or Lose it products that didn't make the cut.



Here's my tally:

Finished - 7
Culled - 23
UIOLI - 4
Purchased - 2
Number of products I'm allowed to buy - 8

I'm counting my culled products as 5 out 1 in. I did consider making it 2 out 1 in but that would really have defeated the purpose because it would have meant I could have bought 11 products after the cull.

Even though I can buy more products if I want to, I don't have any more purchases planned at the moment. I do want to get another Ambient Lighting blush however the colour I want isn't in stock on the Mecca Website and I'd rather wait to purchase it in store next time I'm in the city. 

Monday 24 March 2014

Worth the hype

I've written about the products that I don't think are worth the hype (here), now it's time to talk about the products that I think are worth the hype.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm - I've been using this for years and I love it. It serves a dual purpose as both an instant waker-upper and as a face mask. I normally use it as a waker-upper when I've had no sleep and I don't want to scare people. I put it on after my moisturiser and it makes my skin look healthy and alive.
As a mask it gives me a great hit of hydration and makes my skin look refreshed and plump. Winning.

Nars Velvet Matte lip pencils - These are amazing. They are non drying, long lasting perfection. I wore Sex Machine on my wedding day, which is a huge joke considering I was six months pregnant.

Carmex lip balm -  This is the lip balm that I turn to when my lips need some serious healing. It heals them quickly and more effectively than any other balm I've used. I always have a few pots and tubes of Carmex floating around.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder - I have Luminous Light and I'm in love. It's the best product I've purchased in years. Initially I was worried that the Ambient Lighting Powders would not be suitable for my 40 year old skin, but they are. Luminous Light blurs my fine lines and makes my skin look flawless. I will never be without this again.

Jurlique hand cream - If you haven't tried a Jurlique hand cream, you need to. They are super hydrating, non greasy and they smell amazing. The scents are beautiful. Rose is my favourite, however the other scents are just as beautiful.

MAC lipsticks -Good quality, fair price and an amazingly huge range of colours and finishes. What more could you want?


That's the end of my list. Is there anything I missed?

Saturday 22 March 2014

Bits and Pieces

Molton Brown are lowering the prices on their Anti-Ageing skincare collection. The reductions are significant too, for example the Peptide Rich Lip Booster has gone from $59 to $40. I love it when brands reduce their prices!

Olay's Fresh Effects range is available now and the products look lovely. I have my eye on powered cleansing system and BB cream. 

Adore Beauty now stock La Roche Posay. They are quickly becoming the one stop shop for all great beauty brands. They have free shipping for all orders and their prices are great, usually a lot cheaper than Strawberrynet!

The Revlon Matte and Lacquer balms are finally available in Australia! 


At Woolworths a FREE Veet EasyWax Refill when you purchase an Electrical Roll-on Kit! That’s $14.99 value, for free! I love the EasyWax, you can read my review of it here.
Offer valid while stocks last, not available in all stores.
 

That's all my news for today. Please let me know if you have any exciting news (beauty or non beauty).

Friday 21 March 2014

FFS Friday - Blue poo

Hello my lovely FFS Friday followers. Today's post is dedicated to wee and poo, so if you are queezy either stop reading when you get to the part that starts with "Monday morning we had a poo incident" or stop reading now and come back next week. 

We are supposed to be going to a wedding today. The first wedding we've been to for years. We were both really looking forward to it. As you might have guessed, we aren't going. FFS.

It's in a remote location, an hours drive away from our house and there aren't any children allowed. FFS.

Not even breastfeeding babies. FFS.

So we would have to book two hotel rooms, take someone with us and I would have to drive at least 15 minutes every time Eljay needed a feed. FFS.

I was hoping to go to the ceremony but there are no children allowed at the ceremony either. FFS.

I totally understand them deciding not to have children there, I'm just sorely disappointed that we don't get to see our friends get married. FFS.

It would have been nice to get all dressed up too. FFS.

Instead I'll be at home, covered in baby saliva and spew plus remnants of whatever food the children have been eating. FML. FFS.

Last Friday morning I decided to use a face mask. It was one I've used for ages, I'm onto my second tub of it and I've nearly finished the tub. I had an allergic reaction. FFS.

It felt fine the whole time I had it on, there was no stinging, no irritation or anything. When I took it off my skin started feeling really hot and sore and was very, very red. FFS.

Thankfully I had my EchoLife Lavender Calming Facial Mist which calmed things down within a few hours. Not FFS.


The PILS came down on Saturday. FFS.

They arrived at 5.30pm. FFS.

Tiger called to see where they were and MIL told him "we'll get there when we get there". No shit Sherlock. I thought perhaps they might arrive before they got here. FFS.


If I was lucky they would have arrived after they got here. FFS.

What a stupid saying. FFS.

MIL is full of stupid sayings. FFS.

I'm one of those annoying people who will answer the exact question that's asked even if I know that the person means something else. FFS.

Tiger is constantly saying me "would you like to get me ***" to which I usually answer no. FFS.

He still hasn't realised I do that. FFS.

Sunday morning I was making a coffee and MIL says "would you like to make me a coffee?" I was itching to say no. But I didn't. FFS.

It took all of my willpower not to say no. FFS.

She is sofa king annoying. FFS.

She's constantly telling me how to look after the kids and what to do. FFS.

Seriously, I am perfectly capable of looking after my children, I look after them all alone, unsupervised for half of the time and they are both alive and unharmed. FFS.

A little later hubby was saving a file to his computer and she pipes up with "Be careful you don't get scammed." FFS.

To which I responded "Oh for goodness sake, he's saving a file, you can't get scammed saving a file." FFS.

That afternoon Eljay was crawling around when she says in a panicked voice "Where's the bub?" I reply "Right here"
MIL "Oh, I couldn't see him"
Me "I could"
a few minutes later, in a panicked voice again "He's got something in his mouth"
Me "I know"
MIL "You need to get it out"
Me "No I don't"
MIL "He'll swallow it"
Me "No he won't"
MIL gets up and runs over to bub (who is right by my feet).
Me "Leave him alone, he's fine"
MIL "He's got something in his mouth"
Me "I know, he's fine"
then MIL realises that bub is chewing on a dummy.
MIL "Oh, it's a dummy. I didn't know what it was"
Me "I did, that's why I left him"
MIL "I thought you might not have seen"
Me "I look after both children on my own for half my life. I am perfectly capable. They are both still alive which proves that I know what I'm doing. I don't need you telling me how to look after my kids." 

Monday morning we had a poo incident. FFS.

Chai didn't make it to the potty in time and poo'd lovely blue poo* all over the carpet and tiles. FFS.

MIL asked if she could help so I asked her to hold Eljay whilst I cleaned up Chai and the poo. She kept on putting Eljay down and telling me what to do. FFS.

Each time she would put Eljay down right next to the poo and he'd make a beeline for it. FFS.

Each time I asked her to pick up Eljay so that he didn't get into the poo. FFS.

This happened at least three times. So not helpful. FFS.

She was fussing around trying to tell me how to clean up poo so I ignored her, cleaned up Chai and the poo and got on with things. FFS.

After a few hours I realised that she was in a bad mood but I had no idea why, I just enjoyed the silence. Not FFS.

She barely spoke for the whole day, it was lovely. Not FFS.

Later that afternoon Tiger told me that she was upset because she'd wanted to help me clean up the poo. WTF! FFS.

Seriously? She wanted to clean up bright blue poo? You have to be kidding me! FFS.

Next time she's welcome to it! FFS. 

I'll happily stand there holding Eljay whilst MIL cleans up crap. FFS.

Whilst we're on the subject of poo, let's talk toilet training. Chai has been toilet trained at home for months. Not FFS.

However, the second we go out he decides he can't be bothered and will wee himself, even if he's not wearing a nappy. FFS.

He does it on purpose, he even tells me when he's about to do it! FFS.

I've decided that I've had enough of buying nappies so he's wearing undies when we go out and I take a spare pair of undies and shorts with me. It hasn't fazed him one bit, he still just wee's in his pants. FFS.

Since Sarah changed the name of her blog to Move Fuel Love I've been waiting paitently for a new FFS Friday logo because it hasn't been in the posts where it usually is. Last week I noticed that it's been moved to the sidebar. I'm so observant. FFS. 

That concludes my weekly whinge. If you'd like to read more whinges, head over to Sarah and Brads blog and have a good laugh at the misfortune of others. Go on, it'll make you feel good about the week you've had.


Dear Baby G


*For those of you who are wondering, Chai requested a blue birthday cake with pink icing and that's what he got. I dsicovered that if you eat blue cake you have blue poo. I haven't eaten birthday cake for three days and I still have blue poo. I think my insides must be dyed blue. FFS.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Eles Dimensional Cake Liner

I've always loved cake eyeliners, there's something about using them that makes me feel like an old time movie star. No idea why as I've never seen anyone in a movie using a cake eyeliner but they just feel like the type of product that the glamorous women in old black and white movies would have used. For a few minutes I get to pretend that I'm a glamorous woman (which I am definitely not!)

For reasons unknown to me, cake eyeliners aren't that common so I always get excited when I find one. The latest one I've discovered is the Eles version which is brilliant because it comes with two different shades in the one compact. 
Eles have four different cake liners and I was lucky enough to receive one in Chocolate Spice for review. As you can see from the photos there is a matte shade and a shimmery shade with the idea being that you apply the matte shade first and then the shimmery shade over the top for extra oomph. 
I really like the idea of having two shades in one pot. It seems a waste having just one shade, in all the years I've been using pot eyeliners I've never come close to finishing one, I barely put a dent in them, even when I use them every day.

Contrary to how it looks, the glitter side isn't super glittery, it gives a soft sparkle and a deeper colour to the matte side. Both colours can be worn alone. To use I wet an eyeliner brush with water or MAC Fix +, dip it into whichever colour I'm going to use, an apply. If I need to pick up more product I don't re-wet the brush. It's as easy as that!
Swatches above and below from the top are matte with shimmer on top, shimmer, matte.
 I've found this to be a very long lasting eyeliner, it lasts all day with no creasing or fading. I'm planning on purchasing Blue Moon next, the colours look beautiful.

Eles Dimensional Cake Liners are available from their website and cost $39.00 (AUD).  

Note- This product was provided for review.

Tuesday 18 March 2014

La Roche Posay at Adore Beauty

Exciting news! La Roche Posay is now available at Adore Beauty! Even better, they have a launch offer - 10% off La Roche-Posay products for the next 7 days with promo code BONJOUR. Expires midnight 25/3/14.

I'm currently using (and loving) the Anthelios XL sunscreen.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/sh/j62l68tn8lgfwae/iICM8lg8m5/ANTHELIOS%20XL_Fluide%20Extreme%20SPF50%2B_50ml%20%2427.95.png?token_hash=AAFjtB-w0bG6pe-d7GYn5M9dXlYEGPsOK7Ons2gmu07wuQ
 Next on my To Try list is the Melt-in BB Cream.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/sh/j62l68tn8lgfwae/csprsSXC_Y/Uvidea%20BB%20Cream%20SPF50%2B%20%2432.95.png?token_hash=AAFjtB-w0bG6pe-d7GYn5M9dXlYEGPsOK7Ons2gmu07wuQ 
Considering that Adore Beauty has free shipping on all orders, now is the time to shop!

Monday 17 March 2014

Phillips VisaPure Facial Cleansing Brush

Image credit

 I've always thought cleansing brushes were an expensive gimmick and not a necessary part of a skin care routine but since I've been using my VisaPure I've partly changed my mind. If I hadn't received this to review I doubt that I would have ever tried a cleansing brush.

Whilst I still don't think they are an essential part of a skin care routine, I do think they they are a very convenient, time and money saving device. 

The Visa Pure brush can be used in the shower, has a gentle and deep cleansing setting and is gentle enough to use every day. My skin can be sensitive so I was hesitant to use it every day, however I've found that I can use it daily with no irritation. It comes with a gentle and normal brush. I use the normal brush on the gentle setting. The cleansing is set for one minute, so the brush vibrates every 20 seconds and then switches off after one minute to ensure there is no overcleansing.

I use mine in the shower every few days and I only need to charge it once every few months. The battery lasts six hours which is ages when you only use it for one minute a day. 

Aside from saving money through not having to buy a facial exfoliant, this also saves money on cleanser as I only need to use a tiny, pea sized amount. A few times I've used it with a foaming cleanser and I need to use even less. I personally wouldn't recommend using it with a foaming cleanser as it foams up a lot and I get soap bubbles in my nose which is never nice.  

The Phillips VisaPure Facial Cleansing brush costs $199.95, but I have one to giveaway! All you need to do is follow the instructions below!

A Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday 15 March 2014

FFS Friday - I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date

Hello and welcome to FFS Friday, which I am finally getting around to posting late on Saturday evening. Better late than never I say. 

Last Friday night was a shocker. Eljay wouldn't go to sleep until 11pm. I finally got him to sleep but every time I put him down he'd wake up. FFS.

The whole night he would only sleep whilst he was laying on top of me and even then he kept waking up every hour. FFS.

According to my FitBit that night I got 4 hours and 49 minutes of sleep. FFS.


The next night was just as bad. FFS.


I put Eljay to sleep and was planning on an early night. I got into bed, lay down and a few minutes later Eljay woke up. It took me 3 and 1/2 hours to get him back to sleep. FFS.

That night I got 4 hours and 57 minutes of sleep. FFS.

By Sunday I was a walking zombie. Not only was I still sick with the cold, I was totally exhausted. FFS.

Chai had been pestering me for weeks to get Nanna to come and visit him. FFS.

Sunday he was asking to ring her from the minute he woke up (5am). FFS.

She finally woke up at 7.15am and so he called her and asked her to come and visit him. She already had plans so couldn't. FFS.

He's a determined little thing so Sunday afternoon he asked to Skype Nanna and he took her to the front door, showed her what it looked like then asked her to come to "this front door" to see him. It worked and Mum arrived the next day. Not FFS.

WTF is it with customer service, or the lack of customer service, in this country? It's a joke. FFS.

I emailed Blistex three weeks ago, asking them where I could buy their new Tangy Mango Mania lip balm (that they haven't even put on the website). FFS.

They still haven't gotten back to me. FFS.

Way to go Key Pharmaceuticals. FFS.

You would think with the current economic climate companies would go out of their way to help me buy something, but no, they can't even reply to an email. FFS.

I'll just have to track it down myself, like I did with the Chapstick lip tins. FFS.

If Eljay survives his childhood I will be very surprised. FFS.

Chai does his best to kill him every chance he gets. FFS.

I can't leave them together unsupervised because Chai will sit on him, drag him around, pinch him, jump on him, drop something on him or who knows what. FFS.

I've tried everything I can think of to get him to stop but it's not working. FFS.

So now I just try to keep them apart. FFS.

Like I don't have enough to do when Tiger is away. FFS.

Friday morning Eljay decided to start our day at 4.15am. FFS.




Try as I might I could not get him back to sleep. FFS.


He was wide awake and managed to wake Chai up too, so we were all awake and out of bed at 4.30am. FFS.


Chai refused to have a sleep that day, so by the end of the day he was an exhausted mess. FFS.


He went to bed nice and early. Not FFS.


That concludes my whinges for this week. I will do my best to actually post on Friday next week.


If you have any FFS worthy whinges, please tell me all about them. 
If you'd like to read more whinges, head over to Sarah and Brad's blog


Dear Baby G

Monday 10 March 2014

I don't understand the hype

I've been thinking lately about magazine advertising and how a lot of products in magazines are probably featured because they are a big advertiser of the publication. It's got me wondering how trustworthy the magazine recommendations are. Frankly, I rely more on blogs when I'm researching products because I know that the reviews will mostly be honest as the blogger has usually purchased the product themself so has nothing to gain from writing a positive review.

There are some products that are always touted by the media as being amazing and I just don't understand the hype. 

YSL Touche Eclat -I know this is a favourite for many people but I just don't get it. It's a very expensive highlighter, in my opinion there are plenty of highlighters that do just as good a job for a fraction of the cost. Having said that, it does look pretty and for me that's nearly as important as how well a product works.

Maybelline Great Lash mascara - I've purchased this several times and it's crap. It does absolutely nothing for my lashes. I also don't know anyone who likes it, so I don't see why it's so popular.

Lucas Paw Paw ointment - There was a huge fuss a few years ago when people discovered that this contains petrolatum. The whole petrolatum thing is a huge minefield and I'm not going there. Personally I find that products without petrolatum work better for me. 

Invisible Zinc - This just doesn't work for me at all. I know it's probably my skin but I find it thick, hard to blend and it leaves my skin feeling very sticky.I have normal to dry skin so I don't see how this would work for someone with oily skin, it'd be a mess.

Micellar water - I've used a few different micellar waters and I don't understand why people love them so much. Sure they remove make-up, but they aren't great with eye make-up and still require a lot of rubbing to get all my eye make-up off. I'm happier with balm and oil cleansers. 


What do you think? Do you love any of these products? Is there anything I've missed?

Sunday 9 March 2014

Dear Chai

My precious baby, you are three! How did that happen? It seems like yesterday I found out that I was pregnant and now you are three. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. I was so worried that something would go wrong and so delighted when you were born and everything was okay. It took months to believe that you were actually here and that it wasn't all a dream, I kept on thinking I'd wake up and you wouldn't be there. I'm so very, very glad that you are here.

You are growing into a beautiful little boy. You have a strong character and are an absolute delight. I'm glad that you are a very happy, active little boy. You love people and are friendly and polite to everyone you meet.  You don't sit still for a minute, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep you are on the go. If I had your energy I'd be superwoman! You are a very curious little character, you want to check everything out and know what's going on.


It's gorgeous to hear you copy the things that we say, I'm glad we don't swear! You don't miss a trick, we only have to do or say something once and you remember it, months later you'll come out with it. 

You are an independent little character, you love to help and do things yourself. You are always by my side helping with the dishes, the vacuuming or chopping up food for dinner. Vacuuming, washing the dishes and chopping things up are some of your favourite things to do, I wonder how long that will last! 

Becoming a big brother has been a huge change for you but you've handled it really well. Eljay adores you and you think he's great too. Most of the time you are gentle with him, although sometimes you get a little rough.

Your strong will can be challenging at times, when you decide you want to do something there is no changing your mind and you can't be distracted either! I can see we'll have fun with that in the future, but at the same time I'm glad that you have a strong will.

You are very tall for your age, most people think that you are four and are very surprised when we tell them that you are two. You've had another growth spurt recently so people will probably start thinking you are five. I think you will be a very tall man, which is a good thing.

My beautiful boy, I am so glad that you chose me as your mother and I am grateful every day that I have you in my life. I love you with all my heart and soul. You are the sunshine in my day.  

Friday 7 March 2014

FFS Friday - Disaster!

Last Friday morning started out disastrously. FFS.

The absolutely worst thing anyone could ever imagine happening, happened. FFS.

It all started out normally. We woke at the crack of dawn, got up and started going about our morning business. I turned the coffee machine on, pressed the button, did a few things then went to get my coffee. All perfectly normal. It was only when I  was stiring my coffee that I realised what had happened. FFS.

I ran out of coffee. FFS.

It was 6am so I couldn't go and get more. FFS.

Disaster. FFS.

I frantically rummaged through the cupboards. Nothing. FFS.

There was no coffee to be seen. FFS.

It's quite disgusting that I have to put up with such inhumane conditions. If only I had a union to complain to.

Sunday night was fun. Or not. FFS.

We'd had a good, busy day so by the end of the day we were all tired. 

I had both boys in the bath and Chai was eating from a bowl of chips (rice crackers). He decided to float the bowl in the bath which was fine. Then he decided to submerge the bowl and was really surprised when the chips went floating all through the bath. FFS.

He collected the ones that he could and ate a few whilst Eljay frantically grabbed all that he could and stuffed them into his mouth. FFS.

I'm still fishing chips out of the bath. FFS.

After I'd bathed both boys Eljay was fussy because he was really tired. FFS.

When I was getting him dried and dressed he got upset and started crying. FFS.

Chai was so exhausted that Eljay's crying upset him, so he covered his ears and started screaming because Eljay was crying. FFS.

That made Eljay scream louder. FFS.

I tried to convince Chai to go into another room so he didn't have to listen to Eljay cry, but he wouldn't. The poor boy was getting really wound up but there was nothing I could do. FFS.

It took me twice as long to get Eljay dressed because he was straightening his legs so I couldn't do up his nappy. FFS.


Just after I got them both sorted out and calmed down, hubby rang from the pub. FFS.

He rarely goes out and I encourage him to go to the pub at least once whilst he's at work, just for a change of scenery and so that he can relax, but hearing him say he was at the pub after I'd just spent all that time listening to both children scream was the last thing I wanted. FFS.

He asked if I was okay and I said everything was fine. FFS.

I settled Chai with some food and got him to watch tv whilst I put Eljay to sleep. I'd just got Eljay to sleep and was about to put him in bed when Chai came in and said that he wanted to go to sleep. He then proceed to jump on the bed and make a crap load of noise until he woke up Eljay. FFS.

It took me two hours to get Eljay back to sleep. FFS.

It's times like these that I hate fifo. FFS.

To make things worse, I was starving hungry and totally exhausted. FFS.

When I say exhausted I mean so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. You know when you're so tired that your eyes hurt and they burn every time you close them? That's how I'd been feeling all day. FFS.

Thankfully Monday was a better day. Not FFS.

Until Monday evening when everything went to crap. FFS.

Luckily my Dad was over so he helped. Not FFS.

Once again, I had both boys in the bath. Eljay was tired so I got him out when Chai decided he wanted to get out too. FFS.

Rather than wait for me to help him he got himself out of the bath, slipped on the wet floor, fell over backwards and cracked his head. FFS.

Eljay was screaming, Chai was screaming and Tiger was on Skye trying to talk to us and wondering what all the screaming was about. FFS.

Tuesday continued in much the same vein. The day was good but the evening turned to crap. Literally. FFS.

And it was all my own fault. FFS.

I got Poo Thumb. FFS.

I was putting Eljay to sleep when I thought I could smell poo. FFS.

I tried to have a look in there with the light from my phone but I couldn't see anything, so I stupidly decided to stick my thumb in there. FFS.

And got poo on it. Gross. FFS.

I'm pretty sure my whole body has now been infected with poo or spew germs. FFS.

I'll never be the same again. FFS.

Wednesday we all came down with a cold. FFS.

This means I had two cases of mini man flu. FFS.

For Chai this mainfested as a lot of whinging and yelling. FFS.

For Eljay he cried every time I put him down and wouldn't sleep. FFS.

We had to go and get fuel that day. FFS.

Both kids screamed the whole way to the petrol station. FFS.

When we got there I was the third person in the queue. I checked which side the fuel tank was on cause I didn't remember, made sure I was in the right queue and waited. When I got to the bowser I found that the fuel tank was on the other side and the hose wouldn't reach my car. FFS.

So I thought "Firetruck this", got in the car and drove to the next station. The station I'd been at had fuel for 141.5, the next one had it for 149.9 so I thought "Firetruck that, I'm not paying 149", so I drove to the next station. Their fuel was 155.7. FFS.

So I drove back to the original petrol station, waited in line again (this time I was number two in line) and got my fuel. FFS.

Then I drove the whole way home again with both kids screaming. FFS.


There is one person who keeps on following and unfollowing me on Pinterest. I have no idea what she's hoping to gain, but she's been following and unfollowing me every few days for the last six weeks. FFS.


Yesterday I had to take Chai to the Dr because he's got croup. FFS.


We got there and the receptionist told me that they'd been trying to call me because the Dr had been called to the hospital and wasn't expected back for at least half an hour. FFS.


I checked my phone and sure enough I had a missed call. FFS.


You'd think they would have tried to call more than once. FFS.


Thankfully, it all turned out well. The got me in to see another Dr who was lovely (and a woman so Chai thought she was great) and she bulk billed! Bonus. Not FFS.


I could complain a lot more about the events of this week, but they are all pretty much the same as I've already complained about. I'm exhausted, we're all sick and Chai keeps on trying to kill his brother. Standard stuff.


If you have had any FFS Friday worthy events, please tell me all about them so that I can feel better about my week. If you'd like to read more whinges, head over to Sarah and Brads blog




Thursday 6 March 2014

March goals

I mentioned in my Thoughts of the Month post that this year I'm setting myself monthly goals. My goal for March is to do at least 10,000 steps a day, five days per week. So far I'm smashing it. Since getting out of the house to exercise is not possible, I spend half an hour every morning dancing, chasing Chai around the house (or being chased by him whilst he pretends to be a growly cat, dog catcher, dragon or monster), jogging on the spot, walking laps or anything else I can think of to get my steps up. By the end of the half hour I've usually done around 5,000 steps so I'm half way to my daily goal.Then all I need to do is make sure I'm active for the rest of the day and I'm easily reaching my 10,000 steps, usually I do at least 12,000.

The other goal I've set for this month is to drink at least 1.5 litres of water each day. I record this in my Fitbit app so it's easy to keep track of. Prior to getting my Fitbit I thought I drank a lot of water, but once I started recording it I realised that I don't actually drink that much, something I'm aiming to change.

That's my March goals. I'm not sure what goals I'll set myself for next month, suggestions are welcome.

Wednesday 5 March 2014

February Favourites


Vaseline Intensive Care spray moisturiser - I am in love with this, it's such a brilliant idea. Years ago I had a spray moisturiser (I think it was by Nivea), which I found really convenient, so when I saw this in Woolworths I had to get one. It's genius and has quickly become a staple. The spray works at all angles (even up side down) and is great for when I'm in a rush. I spray it on and as long as I don't hold the can too close to my body, I don't even need to rub it in. 
One word of warning. It makes the floor very, very slippery so I suggest standing on a mat or towel when you are applying it. I tried applying it in the shower and nearly fell over the next time I got into the shower.

MAC Bare Canvas Paint - I'm trying to finish this as part of the 2014 Beauty Diet. As you can see, it's pretty ancient, they don't even come in tube form any more and haven't for a long time. I've been using it every day and have been reminded how much I love it, it's a great base colour. I have the pot version too, which I'll start using once this one is empty.

Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator - This is my second bottle and it won't be my last. I love the illuminated, not tired appearance this gives my skin, it's great for those days when I've had very little sleep and I don't want it to be obvious. Yes it's expensive, but it's worth every cent.

Lavanila Deodorant - I have finally found a natural deodorant that I can use! It's been a very long hunt and it's over! I'll be posting a review of this soon, but those of you with sensitive pits who are looking for a natural deodorant, give this a go!

Audra James Skin Cleansing Balm - Love, love, love this. My beautiful friend Karen gave this to me last year, I used it a few times then forgot about it. I don't know why, because it's gorgeous. I pulled it out again a few months ago and I can't imagine ever being without it again. They say that the Eve Lom cleansing balm is the best cleanser in the world, but clearly the people who say this haven't tried Audra's version because it is so much better. If you are a fan of the Even Lom cleanser then you need to try this. It's cheaper, smells heaps better and can be custom made for your individual needs.

MyNewSkin - This is an Australian product that's made using natural, fresh ingredients and it's lovely. I've been using it on myself and on Eljay's eczema. For me it's making my skin feel lovely and hydrated and my chinkles (chest wrinkles) have reduced. For bub, it's helping to soothe and clear up his eczema. This is one of those products that's going to be a staple in my household. I love that it's all natural and that most of the ingredients are used within hours of being picked. You can read more about it here.

Kosmea Moisturising Lotion SPF 30 - I've only been using this for just over a week so this is an early rave but so far I'm in love. I'll write a full review after a month or so. This reminds me a lot of my hg sunscreen, Clinique's Super City Block. It's non greasy, hydrating, physical sunscreen and it smells like roses!

Yu-Be Moisturising Cream -Once you get over the strong camphour scent, this is a pretty good moisturiser. I've been using it overnight on my feet and am finding it really effective. I only need to use it a few times a week to keep my feet soft.



Tuesday 4 March 2014

Losing the baby weight update

I haven't updated my weight loss progress for ages, in fact I don't think I've updated it at all. This time around things have been going very slowly. I lost the weight with Chai a lot easier, this time it's not as easy for the sole reason that I'm exhausted and so I eat sugar to give me some energy. I wish that I could find a non sugar energy solution, then I'd be laughing.

Having said that, I am now only 3.5kg's away from my pre baby weight and 6.5kg's away from my goal weight. For a while there I wasn't losing any weight (and I wasn't gaining either), but the last few weeks I've started losing again because I've been more careful about what I eat and how much I eat. 


Exercise is non existent so I've been making sure that I do at least 10,000 steps per day and I intend to increase this by 1,000 steps per month until I get to 15,000 steps. When finances allow I'm going to start doing personal kickboxing lessons. We've got training mats set up out the back now so hopefully I'll be able to get someone to come to the house and train me. Once my knee and ankle heal I'll start skipping again too. 

It's taking a while, but I will get there! Even when I'm not losing weight, as long as I don't put any weight on, I'm not that fussed because I know it'll happen eventually and I'm really not putting much effort in.

If you have any suggestions for a non sugar, breastfeeding friendly energy hit, please let me know!

Monday 3 March 2014

February Empties

Another month, another empties post. 
 The Body Shop Honeymania shower gel - I love this, it's a definite repurchase. 

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush body scrub - Of all the Soap and Glory scrubs I've tried, this is my least favourite. Having said that, it's still a nice scrub. You can read my full review here.


Clearasil Vitamins and Extracts scrub - Tiger used and loved this. Full review is here.
Elixia Vitamin E Enriched cleansing cream - I don't have much to say about this, it was a nice cleanser, it did the job.

Haus of Gloi Vice Pumpkin Butter - This is one of my all time favourite scents so naturally it's love. HoG always make beautiful products, I'm yet to find one of their products that I don't love.


John Plunkett Multi Vitamin moisturiser - This was pretty good, it's quite a rich moisturiser so good for my dry skin. I'd consider buying it if I saw it on sale.

In Essence Gentle Cleanser - I love In Essence products, they all smell so good, as does their Gentle Cleanser. When I've finished my current stash of cleansers I'll definitely consider buying this one, the small travel size lasted me for ages.

Palmolive Tranquility shower gel - I didn't like the scent of this at all so I used it for shaving my legs.



Kerastase shampoo and conditioner samples - These are such a waste as I find it nearly impossible to know what I think of a product after a single use.

Sunday 2 March 2014

Dear Eljay

My precious baby. Today you are seven months old. The last seven months have gone so fast and yet I feel like you've been with me forever. In a way you have, you've always been in my heart and you always will be. 

You are such a beautiful, happy bundle of light, I love waking up to your gorgeous smile. At the moment you are trying your best to crawl. You've been commando crawling for a few weeks and you'd love to crawl, you try and try but it's just not happening yet. You've got the legs sorted, it's just moving your hands that's the problem. You love exploring, I leave you for a few minutes and return to find you on the other side of the house, looking around or playing with something you've found.

As of yesterday you can sit up without falling over and you love standing. You pull yourself up and stand there looking so pleased with yourself.  

Chai delights you, you think he's the funniest thing ever and you love when he pays attention to you, you giggle and giggle even when he's really rough. 

You don't have any teeth yet but your bottom right one is pretty close. You've been chewing on everything you can get your hands on and I can see it sitting there. I won't be surprised if it makes it's appearance in the next day or two.

I'm eternally grateful that you are a much better sleeper than your brother was. You sleep well at night, waking once or twice for a feed and you have three sleeps during the day. 

You've been on solids since you were six months old and you eat everything we've given you, however your favourite food (to my great surprise) is bread. 

My precious treasure, I will always love you more than you will ever know. I'm so glad you are in my life.