Advice for a long drive with toddlers

Driving 8hrs in the car with two toddlers!

Here are a few of my must have things/advice for going on a long trip with toddlers. 

First off we purchased an in-car DVD player, my sons favourite movies at the moment are (Planes and How to train a dragon). This was a life saver, even if they still fought sleep it kept them occupied and rested so that eventually they drifted off. 

We do tend to start our trips later in the afternoon so that the bulk of the trip is done during the night in the hope that they go to sleep as they would normally at bed time.

Next thing is food and drinks - (but no sugary treats, you definitely do not want to give them a load of sugar when they are strapped into a seat with no where to release this energy LOL). I usually pack fresh fruit chopped up in little cups, some dried fruit, crackers and cheese and some greek sippy yoghurt. I also pack some savoury sandwiches just in case they didn't eat much at the dinner stop. And of course their little drink bottles full of water :-)

Next we pack a little bag with some pencils and colouring in books, or one of those dry erase boards that they can draw on until their hearts content,  just wipe it off and start again. Great to use as they create less mess in the car, the colouring books and pencils seem to just end up all over the place! Also throw in a few reading books (some interactive with fun buttons to press).

Last but not least is some cozy blankets and their favourite cuddly stuffed toys, for when it is time to wind down so that they can feel as comfortable as possible and have a nice long sleep! :-p

All these little things help but the timing of your trip makes a huge difference. Leaving later in the afternoon means that they are only going to be up for a few hours before its time for bed, and if you skip regular nap time during the day they should be nice and ready for a long sleep once it reaches bedtime. We usually have one stop during our 8hr drive, around dinnertime approximately 6pm and usually stop for at least 45min and do A LOT of active play. Then we are all set and ready to go for the remainder of the trip.

Hope this has helped some of you out there getting ready to head out on a family holiday. Enjoy the christmas break! 

Have a great week guys. 

Talk soon. 

Whats I my travel bag? Grafton Trip.

Saturday morning was spent packing up all my family's things and getting ready for the 8hr drive home. 

The kids are really good on the long drives considering they are only toddlers. We only need to stop once for approximately 40min during the whole trip. 

It has been a great 2 weeks at my mother-in-laws - fun outings, relaxing, great food and lovely family time.  The kids love their Grandma and really enjoy the visits.  My 3 year old especially, he attaches himself to her hip at times, even more so if she is on her iPad HAHA. 

As I was already packing up all my makeup etc I thought perfect time take a few pictures and on the drive home write this post about what I brought along with me for this trip.

Quick little post to say Hi!

Hey guys, I have been absent for a while. Visiting relatives and doing lots of extra hours with work.

Thought I would touch base and share a few photos of some of the things I have been up to this last few weeks. Visiting in-laws, lots of baking fun, a trip to the beach, good food and great company.

Heading home today and I have a lot of new products that I have been trying out. Hope to share with you guys in the coming weeks :-)

Beauty Box - LustHaveIt

About a week ago I decided to give beauty boxes another go. I was previously signed up with Bellabox but after multiple months of just nothing that impressed me, or shades being completely the opposite of my skin tone and just unusable I cancelled my subscription and took a break. Then I came across 'Lust have it'.......

So excited!!

Just a quick post to touch base..... It is my birthday in 2 weeks and my present from my husband and mother-in-law has arrived, but as it's not my birthday yet I cannot touch them hehe. Ahhhh!!!

Shopping Wishlist

Okay so I LOVE online shopping! I think I browse online stores daily at some point, even if just for 5 minutes.

At the moment I have a very long wishlist of items that I have been eyeing off for a while so I thought why not share a few of them with you guys.

So here we go.......

Baking fun with my Little Man.

Well it is cold, overcast and here today, perfect weather for a little baking.

I have both kids at home with me (2 year old and a 7 month old).

I had just put little Ivy down for her sleep and thought, perfect time to do a little baking with Mr Hugh for morning tea.

Did a little internet search and we decided on a Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake, with real apple slices on the top and a yummy crunchy cinnamon crumble over that :-)

We made loads of mess and had lots of fun - Hugh insisted on stirring and wafts of Flour filled the Kitchen LOL

Not the healthiest choice but definitely a lot of fun and a yummy result!

This recipe is nice and moist inside and has a delicious crunchy sugary cinnamon crumble on the top. I think this would be great served warm with a little custard or even a small drizzle of cream mmmmmm. Alas neither of which I have at the moment so we are just having it as is.

Here is the link to the recipe I used and a few photos of our baking fun. xx

Apple Tea Cake

Health and Fitness Overhaul!

Okay guys, so I had a baby girl 8 months ago and I was going great guns losing all the pregnancy weight. I even got back to my pre baby weight minus an extra Kilo about 2-3 months ago. :-)

BUT........ since then I have put on 4kg and it is continuing to slowly creep up and up. Mainly from lack of exercise and just inability to say no to soooo many yummy unhealthy foods, even snacking late at night!

I need to find some motivation and I thought what better way to help keep myself motivated and on track then to set a goal weight and write a blog post twice a week and possibly some videos about my progress etc.

I haven't got a plan as yet but I am thinking I will write posts on healthy dinner recipes and snack ideas, what my exercise routine is and some days just a general hello to keep me focused on my goal.

So keeping things realistic I would like to lose those 4kg over the next month (anything over that is a bonus) and just to more energetic than I currently do.

I will set the start date for Sunday 15th, this will give me the week to go shopping, make some meal plans and figure out what exercise routines I can fit in to my days.

If you guys have any great exercise tips, or maybe even a great recipe to share I would love to read them, just comment below. :-D

HERE WE GO!

Fathers Day Gift Ideas

Okay so Fathers Day here in Australia is still 3 months away, but as a lot of readers of my blog are in the UK and US I thought I might get onto the gift idea list early!

I dont know about everyone else's dad but my dad is usually easy to shop for when it comes to Fathers Day. He is a avid reader and a runner so usually it is books and new runners or gear related to running. But this year will be a little difficult. He hasn't been running much lately and well that only leaves books and with 5 other siblings we cant all get him a book LOL.

Anyway without further or do here are my top picks for gifts for all different kinds of Dads.

My Dad isnt a big drinker but my husband (Dad to our two gorgeous kids) has recently started getting into home Brews and even turned a little bar fridge into a Kegerator with a cool little Beer Tap on top. So this next gift would be for the Dad that has his own bar.

I found this cool little gift on etsy for $33.00.

Little trip to Adelaide

Well I'm sitting on plane writing this while my 6 month old is fast asleep on my lap. I was stressing about the plane ride with her as she is a little more boisterous than her older brother was, but here I am quietly eating a sandwich, having a cold drink and writing a blog post woo hoo!!!

Its only a quick flight, just over 2hrs.... Only 1hr 10min to go,  if I'm lucky she wont wake until we get there lol so cute! !!

Do It All Hair Treatment

I was given this little bottle of goodness by my sisters friend (who is a hairdresser). How to describe it!? It states on the bottle that it does 11 different things for your hair!!

1. Add Shine, smooth and softness.
2. Controls Frizz
3. Strengthens
4. Moisturises
5. Split Ends
6. Detangles
7. Heat protection
8. Body
9. Repair
10. Protect UVA and UVB
11. Prevent Sun and Chlorine Damage.

Whats in my Handbag? (No.1)

Hi guys, here a what's in my bag video for you this week.

Check it out :-)

Current Everyday Makeup Products

Hi guys, so I thought I would share with you my basic natural everyday make up routine. It is quiet simple and a barely any makeup look. I like having a foundation with a light coverage and very neutral eyes with a nice pink gloss (current fave - Nyx Butter Gloss in Maple Blonde) and a little bit of pink on the cheeks.

My first Video!

Check out my first video, Beauty Haul. It was an awkward one with terrible lighting and Im in need of some practice in filming LOL.

They can only get better and any tips from all you guys that watch would definitely be welcomed.

See you all next week for next video.

:-)

REVIEW NYX Butter Glosses

Hi guys,

Well finally we are able to buy NYX here in Australia. They have started stocking them in selected Targets, so I thought I would take advantage and go purchas a couple of Butter Glosses as I have heard so much about them. 

The four colours I got were Eclair, Creme Brulee, Apple Strudel and Maple Blonde.

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Mothers Day Gift Ideas

Mothers Day isn't far away (here in OZ its only 5 weeks away) so I thought I would put together some ideas to help you out.

First up Stationary:

First ever post + review Benefits Rockateur.

Well hi guys!

This is my first ever post.....a couple of years back I was googling some reviews on a product that I had bought (can't even remember now what it was), when I came across some youtubers and bloggers that had beauty channels and instantly became addicted.

I started out watching a video every few weeks, to following multiple blogs and channels and hanging out for a new post each week!

So here I am and have decided to start one myself.

I have two beautiful children, a son who is 2.5yrs and a daughter 6 months. I am a late bloomer in the beauty department and still have MUCH to learn.

Here is my first review......

Benefits Rockateur Blush. What can I say, LOVE it. The packaging is great, although not a huge fan of the print but that is minor. The colour is very natural and I think almost everyone could wear it. It is a fairly warm dusty rose, slight shimmer but hardly noticeable. The spray of shimmer you see on opening does disappear after a few uses so done let it worry you.

It has been my main go to blush for the last month (used a lot of product) and have barely made a dint! :-)

I highly recommend it!