Tight and Toned Tuesday: Squat Challenge

I like to believe that there was once a time in my life where I was toned I used to go to the gym 6 times a week and watched what I ate. I was not skinny by any sort of the imagination on the BMI scale I was overweight by about 3 kilos, now I am considered obese. I want to get back to being healthy and in the healthy weight range.

When I was pregnant and now post pregnancy I have not had the opportunity to focus on my body because I have been looking after my darling V and spending every second I can with him. Now as he is nearing the six month mark and he is becoming more independent I would like to start to give myself some "me" time.  I want to get myself "tight and toned" again.  Now that we are only a sole income household I can't go to the gym anymore so home exercising is the way to go for now.

I thought the best approach would be to start off a little bit each day.

I found this squat challenge on Pinterest - the actual first source of it is unknown as it has been "pinned" a significant amount of times.



I will have to get M to take a photo of my "before" butt to see if it actually makes a difference. As to whether I post it on here is another story.

So who is in with me? - today is the first day!

I think when it gets to the bigger amounts I might just break it up and do it over the course of the day but at least it will get done!

Are you going to be in it to win it? Have you done the squat challenge before?

Mummy Monday: On the hunt for practical mum fashion and workwear

Since becoming a mother one thing I have found difficult is the transition from my pre mummy clothes i.e. lace and delicate clothes that would only be hand washed or dry cleaned to clothes that are able to be just chucked into a washing machine and little or no ironing is required.

I have also found that now after pregnancy my body shape has changed so now I am dressing for a completely new body type.

So now I am on the hunt for new clothes especially for winter which is practical for the days when I am home.

Dotti have this great warm jumper on sale for $29.00 I bought the black and white one it's called the Camden Stripe Jumper.

As a matter of fact Dotti have a number of great knits on sale most under $30 and for the budget conscious like myself this is a great find :)

In terms of footwear I am going to say something controversial..I hate flats I find they are so uncomfortable and I do not have a comfy pair - I wear them because I have to but I have come to the decision that my size 11 feet are just not made for flats.

I am looking at buying these Adidas Taekwondo shoes. They are currently 2 pairs for $120 at Paul's Warehouse  even though they are men's shoes who can really tell. I need them for comfort and for getting around and I think these will do the job. I will get a pair and I will convince M to get a pair to take advantage of the deal.

I also just realised I only have 6 weeks left of my maternity leave before returning back to work on a full time basis *gulp* just the thought of it makes me a sad as my son would be just over six months and I am scared I will miss the best moments like the first time he walks or talks.  I will definitely see how I go when I return to work because I hope that I will be able to work from home some days but at this point I really need to go back to work full time so we can save for a house.

For work fashion I have no idea what I am going to wear - I have about 5 kilos to get back to my pregnancy weight but 20 kilos to get back to the weight I was on my wedding day. I will start with small steps first and go from there! But in the meantime I will need some pieces to get me by until I lose the weight and get back into my old work clothes so far everything I have found has been seasonally inappropriate or too expensive!

Any help would be great also I need a little help as to what is in fashion at the moment. Where can I look to for inspiration?

What are your essentials for work and/or practical mummy fashion clothes?

Tried & Tested Thursday: Playgro's Picture Pals Teething Book

Disclosure: I have been provided with the Playgro's Picture Pals Teething Book for the purposes of review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.

In one of my earlier posts this week I mentioned that I would be reviewing with V the Playgro's Picture Pals Teething Book.  When I first received this item I had never seen anything like it before or even come across anything similar to it in the shops so I was excited to review and test this out with V.

This book has come at the perfect time given that V is teething at the moment.

So for those of you playing at home - let's take a closer look :)

The Playgro Picture Pals Teething Book is designed for 0 months + which I agree that it has been appropriately classified.

I love the fact that this book is nice and soft as well as lightweight for little hands so it can be easily carried around.  As you can see V has utilised the handle and was biting on the corner of the book and it is lightweight enough. Another good thing about it being nice and soft is that if little ones accidentally hit their head with the book it won't hurt them :)

The edges are smooth and rounded so little ones cannot get their fingers cut.

The orange handle doubles as a teether it is nice and soft and moveable so that little ones can manipulate it in their mouths. There is also a green clip which allows the book to be attached to a pram for instance - V used it as a second teether though!

The edge of the first page also has another textured teether in the shape of a triangle which also helps your little one turn the pages.

The book features six pages the first - the cover page is an elephant and the page has that crinkly sound for added texture.

Behind this page is a unique idea which allows you to put a personalised photo which I love! I think this is great especially if you want to keep changing the pictures over and keep them guessing what picture is next. This is a great concept by Playgro as there is nothing worse than a kid getting sick of a toy.  This allows you to change the pictures over as well as acting as a mini photo album.

The page after this is a panda on this page does not have crinkle sounds but when you squeeze the panda's right ear it makes a noise which is cute :) Every time I squeeze it V smiles so he loves it. I love the idea of a different concept for each page so that was a winner as well.

The next page allowed for another photo and there was a picture of an aligator on the following page

The back of the book featured all the animals that were featured in the book.

It also has an educational aspect to you can see there are little birds with each animal on every page you can teach your children counting up to three by asking them to count the birds on the page or if they are a bit younger like V you can count for them so they start to get the hang of it for later :)

I also love the colours - the book is brightly coloured so you can teach your kids all about colours along the way and when they are a bit older it is great for them to identify the colours.

V loves the Playgro Picture Pals Teething Book! Also whilst we were testing this book out he sat up for the first time by himself and now holds onto the book during playtime :)

Have you ever seen the Playgro Picture Pals Teething Book around? Do you have one or something similar?

If you are looking to buy one of the Playgro's Picture Pals Teething Books they are on sale at the moment for $15.95 here.

Walk it Wednesday: The Bay Run

Given the name of this blog I figured it wouldn't be much of a blog if I didn't talk about where I pushed my pram.

It is important that before setting out on any walk that you have a map if you are not familiar with the area and do a little research on the internet.

When I first went on parental leave I did not get out of our apartment at all. Then one day I was remembering all the walks I used to go on with friends or family around Sydney.

So I thought - what better way to get out not only for bub but for myself then to find pram friendly walks around that we can drive to locations then go for a nice walk for a change of scenery.  One of the first walks we did was the Bay Run.  Well for us - it was the Bay Walk.

The Bay Run is very pram friendly and you only really have to move out of the way for the serious runners and/or cyclists.  I like the fact there is a clear lane for people going in different directions as there are some people out there who do not stick to the left.

The Bay Run is located around Iron Cove, Henley Marine Drive, Drummoyne, Rodd Point and Five Dock in NSW. If you do the entire course it is about 7 km - we probably only did about a 1 hour walk because it started to rain.

For those who may have older kids coming along on the walk there are two playgrounds.  When I was super fit and I used to run this I don't remember there being many public toilets along the way - or maybe I was not on the look out for them.

For more information about the Bay Run it can be found here

A word of warning I found going during the day is best because in the morning and in late afternoons there are boot camps who run the Bay Run.

Do you have a favourite walk you go on?

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V's first job - Playgro Toy Tester

At the ripe age of 4 months old V was gained his first job as an official Playgro Toy Tester! Both V and I are are excited to work with such a great company as Playgro.

Whilst most people's jobs are not all fun and games for little V it is literally all about fun and games. My job - to use my mummy mind reading and observation skills to communicate his views on the products as well as take some photos along the way for our lovely readers to see our progress.

On Friday last week a lovely courier dropped off V's first box of toys - this was V's first ever package. When I saw who it was from I was excited. However as I did not want V to see it just yet I opened it in the cloak of darkness when he was asleep.  I wanted to make sure I got photos of all the goodies before he saw them.

L to R Activity Friend Roary Lion, Loopy Loops Ball, Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle and Picture Pals Teething Book

The toys provided are so lovely I did not know which one to choose so I decided to give V the box and for him to make the first choice for review...

So which did V pick from the box?

V chose the "Playgro Picture Pals Teething Book."  

On this blog I have introduced a new segment (I suppose I can call it that?) "Tried & Tested Thursday" where on Thursdays I will bring you V and/or I's reviews on different products so make sure you stop by for a visit.  This Thursday I will provide a review of V's first pick.

Now V is not the only lucky Playgro Toy Tester out there...the other Toy Testers and their mummies are on the same mission as us and have different categories. Our category is 0 - 6 months. 

I really recommend you check out the other bloggers as well as we all receive different things and as no two children are the same may have different views on the products. So without further adieu I introduce the other Playgro Toy Testers:

• Laura  www.mizzymummy.com
• Karina http://beautyandlifestylehunter.blogspot.com.au/
• Lauren http://xavierloves.wordpress.com/
• Nikita http://njtreviews.blogspot.com.au/
• Olivia http://budgetconsciousbeautymumma.blogspot.com.au/
• Peta http://www.greatgoogamoogas.com/
• Toni http://findingmyselfyoung.blogspot.com.au/
• Jeanine http://vidotfamily.blogspot.com.au/ 

First Foods

Exactly one week ago M and I started V on his first solids. We decided to use rice cereal as a first food. One thing we both agreed on was that V was to have minimal processed food as possible. I did look into making my own rice cereal but in the end decided to purchase organic rice cereal. Our choice was Bellamy's organic rice cereal this was based on the fact when compared to other brands, Bellamy's had more iron per serve and given that one of the reasons baby's starts solids is due to iron depletion, we thought to give V as much iron per serve as we could. Also organic in our opinion is always the best way to go - we picked this up on special for about $3 a packet which works out to be the same and even cheaper than the other brands.



I thought a good time to start his first solids would be around his midday feed that way if there were any allergies I was able to see them throughout the day.  I gave V his full feed and waited 30 minutes before attempting his first foods.  V took to it like a duck to water - whilst being just a little over 19 weeks I knew he was ready he loved it he had approximately one teaspoon of food.  It is important to remember though all babies are different.  We knew he was ready because:

• he was no longer full after his milk feeds and he was having about 220 ml a feed;
• he has good control of his head and neck; and
• every time we ate with V on our lap he would try to grab our food or even open his own mouth - he was mimicking the way we ate as well.

We thought it would not hurt to give it a go and see how he went and even if it didn't work out we would stop and try when he was a bit older.

On Tuesday I was going to attempt again but V came down with some cold symptoms and I decided to hold off and restart on Wednesday. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday V had rice cereal. On Saturday he was vomiting a bit so I decided not to offer solids as he couldn't keep his milk down.

Sunday and Today we offered him carrot which he loved more than the rice cereal.  Tomorrow I will try pear with rice cereal and see how it goes.

To be honest, when I first put V on starting solids I was so nervous he was going to choke or something was going to go wrong. I had to face this fear and every time I give him a new food I always have that little worry that something may go wrong. I just have to get used to it I suppose.

I also offered V cool boiled water after the feeds to make sure all bits of food that may be in his mouth have been washed out.

For the carrot puree:

I chopped an organic carrot and put it in the steamer for 20 minutes to make it soft. I then added cool boiled water and half a carrot and used the stick blender to puree.

How old were you when you first starting putting your little one on solids? what food did they like/dislike? what did you try first?