2016 Edition: School Holiday Ideas in a Jar. GUEST POST on Karen's blog, Mummy Do It

Hi there friends! Hope your week is off to a good start.

Just a quick note to let you know I am a guest over at Karen's blog Mummy Do It today. I am sharing an updated, 2016 Edition of 'School Holiday Ideas in a Jar'. There are more ideas & more activities, to keep your children entertained these school holidays. Enjoy!

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Bone-Shaped CHEESY Sticks - Guest Post (#ToddlerFunFriday)

Today I have the lovely Claire from Girl on a Mission sharing a quick and easy cheesy stick recipe and to add a bit of fun, she is using a bone-shaped cookie cutter...Enjoy!

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Do you have a toddler in your home who is obsessed with Pirates, Dinosaurs or Paw Patrol? If yes, then they will love these super cute bone-shaped cheesy sticks, and best of all, your toddler can help you make them. These sticks would also make a great 'trick or treat' snack for kids at Halloween, so be sure to PIN IT for later. 

Let's get started...

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'MY FAVOURITE SPACE' - Featured Post on The Builder's Wife

Hi there friends! Hope you are having a great week.

Just a quick note:
I wanted to let you know, I am a guest over at The Builder's Wife with Nicole today, sharing 'My Favourite Space' - my daughter's bedroom - Can you guess the theme?

MY FAVOURITE SPACE - Miss B's Paris-Inspired Bedroom

Head over to The Builder's Wife - and share the blog love. Leave a Comment, Pin, Tweet, Share, whatever you like - I would really love to hear what you think of 'My Favourite Space'. While you are there, be sure to check out more of Nicole's blog. She has a gorgeous home, family and some great tips for 'Home Improvement'.

If you are visiting from Nicole's blog - Welcome! Thank you for visiting Teacher by trade, Mother by nature. Read more about me HERE. If you like what you see and read, Subscribe to my Blog.

Enjoy,
Charlene

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Decorating and Organising A Little Boy's Bedroom {GUEST POST}

The article is contributed by RenovationMates NW3.

Organising and decorating your little boy's bedroom can be fun and burdensome at the same time. There is so much stuff to think about and so little storage space. In addition, you have to combine colours, match designs, find appropriate storage containers and so much more! It is labour-intensive and time-consuming and it can cause you headaches. But it's worth it, especially when you see that your small one is having fun in his bedroom. So, to help you decorate and organise your boy's bedroom, here are a few tips and tricks. Let's get it started.

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PLAY IDEA: Spaghetti Sensory Play for Babies and Toddlers

Hi guys!

My name is Maria and I blog over at Pastels & Macarons. A blog about all things female and motherhood. The main things I blog about are mums, kids, babies, home decor, DIY Projects, Craft and Travel. I'm so happy to be guest blogging for Charlene!

I have two sons. Locky my 26 month old and Cooper my baby who is 10 months old. I'm always looking for ways to entertain my kids with new and fun activities even if it means cleaning up masses of mess! Sensory play is so much fun and so vital for their development.

I decided to give Spaghetti play a go with Cooper to see if he enjoyed it and how he went about playing with it.

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DIY: Tool Bench - Guest Post by Grillo Design

This post was created by the incredibly talented, Medina Grillo, from Grillo Designs. Medina shares "unique, creative and easy to do DIY designs for the home". Today she is sharing a tutorial for the DIY Tool Bench she recently made for her son. Enjoy!

My husband and I are quite hands on when it comes to decorating our home, and it's certainly rubbing off on my three year old. He loves to pretend that he is drilling holes or putting together furniture just like his dad! We bought him a little toolset a while back, and I decided to take it a step further and make him a tool bench to store all his DIY bits and bobs. Buying one was out of the question...because well, what's the point of buying something when you can just make it and have so much fun doing it ! 

My first thought was to convert an old cabinet into a tool bench. Although I hadn't seen many tool bench makeovers before, I had seen quite a few DIY play kitchens up-cycled from cabinets so I knew couldn't be that hard surely! ;) 

Here are some of my inspiration pictures from Pinterest: 

Here's the cabinet I eventually sourced off eBay for 10 pounds (what we call a bargain here in the UK). It was a little battered and old with a few knocks and holes but I fell in love with it! It opened up at the top for internal storage as well as having two shelves underneath! It was great and perfect for the makeover.

 I gave the cabinet a light sanding with sand paper and dusted off. I also removed all of the old antique knobs. They wouldn't have fit the makeover I had in mind so they had to go!

I painted with Valspar tester paint (Red, Sea blue and light blue ) using a roller to get a smooth finish. I watered the paint down ever so slightly and did about three coats of paint leaving 2 hours in between for drying time. 





Once it was all dry, I then used a customised plastic stencil that I had also bought of eBay, to paint my son's name. I used a white acrylic paint for this and a thin paintbrush. 
I also added in a chalkboard element (I love my chalkboards) on the cabinet doors. I thought I could use it to list all the things my son needed to do around the house (can't beat a good to do list!) 





I then sprayed the whole cabinet with two coats of varnish (yes I'm a I'm a little lazy and I'm not a huge fan of painting so spray ons are my go to all the time!)

Next: Attaching the 17mm hole peg board to cabinet This is where my hubby comes in. He sawed the 3.5mm peg board to the desired length ( as it was slightly bigger than needed at 600 mm x 600mm) He used L shaped brackets to attach the board to the cabinet. 















Now that the basic frame was completed, I then proceeded to add little bits and bobs to make the tool bench more appealing. 
- peg hooks: for his tools
- plastic tubs: for his screws etc
- an old spice rack: for wood storage
- a dowel bar with hook: for his tool belt
- a wire basket: to store his drill
- a clip on IKEA light
- CAUTION sign
- old measuring ruler
























































Apart from the IKEA light and the peg hooks which I had to buy off eBay (my second favourite 'go to place' after IKEA) everything else I added was things I had lying around the house not in use anymore... So yes very frugal! Frugal is always good. 
Medina Grillo


***FINAL PRODUCT***






Inside the lid:




 Inside the cabinet:













Want to see more DIY projects like this? 
Follow Grillo Designs on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM & PINTEREST

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Q is for Q&A with Always Made With Love {Guest Post}

The letter of the day for #AtoZChallenge is Q - So I thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know another mummy blogger with a bit of Q & A. I am delighted to welcome Lydia from Always Made With Love to my blog.  Lydia is a fellow Kiwi Mummy blogger, who I've been following since I started blogging. I am so glad I found her 'little corner of the internet' and I know you will too.

Say Hi to Lydia

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Lydia, a hopeless romantic, lover of all things girly, wifey to Steve and Stay at Home Mummy to Sebastian. I love cooking, baking, reading, the sand between my toes, spending time with my family and friends, travelling, good food and even better wine, butterflies, the sound of the rain on the roof, the glow of flickering candles, the feeling of being cuddle up under a blanket when it’s cold outside, long summer days and even longer summer nights, fresh flowers, yoga, easy listening music, the excitement of what the future holds and (of course) my boys. Let’s not forget chocolate, strawberries, coffee, cheese, chippies and ice cream. 

1. What is your biggest achievement? 

Being a mummy to Sebastian

2. What is your favourite quote? Why? 

“The BEST is yet to come – Dream it, Believe it, Live it”. It is my 2015 Motto

3. Everyone has a favourite/least favourite post. Name yours and why? 

Looking Back ~ The Early Days  http://wp.me/p4Dc5X-dC

Letter to my Little Misters  http://wp.me/p4Dc5X-hw

 Both of these posts were written either to or for my little man. They are straight from the heart and look at my time as his mummy (my greatest achievement)

 4. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? 

This morning to pick up Puppy Poo (keepin it real)

 5. If you could meet any one person (from history or currently alive), who would it be?

Mother Teresa - need I say more

6. What was the last thing you bought? 

 Gumboots, see question 7

7. What is your best childhood memory? 

 Jumping in puddles in torrential rain, can't wait to relive this with Sebastian

8. Your blog is turning ONE soon *Exciting*. Do you have any tips for bloggers that are just starting out? 

Don't stress | Don't get caught up on stats (it's really hard not too, trust me I know) | Try not to compare yourself to others | Be yourself | Enjoy what you do.

9. Tell us 3 random facts about you. 

My little pinky toes freak me out | I dont eat bananas only in cake, loaf or muffins | I have yet to dye my hair - 27 years and counting  

10. Who inspires you?

My Mum, if I can be a mum half as good as she was to my brother and I, then I will have done a great job - Love you Mum xx

Lydia // Always Made With Love can be found on:

{Facebook} {Pinterest} {Instagram} {Google+} {Twitter} {Bloglovin}

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Second Pregnancies and Baby Showers {Guest Post}

I came across Courtney's lovely blog Bliss & Baby Brain via Kiwi Mummy Blogs - another fellow New Zealand Blogger I happen to have a few things in common with. We are both stay-at-home mums, teachers by trade & new to the blogging world.

I recently asked Courtney if she would like to be a Guest Blogger and share one of her amazing & honest blogposts on Teacher by trade - Mother by nature. I was very happy when she replied Yes! So today she is here, sharing a post that she wrote earlier this month - "Second Pregnancies and Baby Showers"(3/11/14). I encourage you to head over to Courtney's blog and read some of her other posts and LIKE her Facebook page here for more regular updates.

Here's Courtney! Enjoy!

Bliss & Baby Brain

Hi everyone! I'm Courtney; a 27 year old mama who has been blogging for nearly a year now...Mostly about (but not limited to) my opinions and experiences in this journey of motherhood. A Social Sciences teacher by trade, and we are just 2 weeks away from expecting another little blessing! What an honour it is being asked to guest post on this fantastic blog! Thank you Charlene and I hope you all enjoy.

Second Pregnancies and Baby Showers

Yesterday my best friend threw a baby shower for me in celebration of bubba #2, something I was hesitant about at first.

Having a baby shower for a second child is considered to not be very traditional, and since I had only just had one less than a year and a half ago, I kept telling my bestie I wasn’t sure about it when she’d bring up the subject.

But she kept insisting I should have one and that she wanted to organise it… and I’m so glad she did!

It is so important to celebrate each new life that you are bringing into the world. It doesn’t need to be a baby shower; it could be a simple brunch, a blessingway (I keep reading about how these are growing in popularity), a baby ‘sprinkle’ or ‘nappy shower’, a gender reveal party, anything at all to share the joy of your new baby with your loved ones.

I call yesterday’s celebration a ‘baby shower’ but the one thing I didn’t want a big focus on this time was the gift-giving aspect. We were so spoilt last year and there really isn’t a lot we need to buy this time around. I wanted most of all to just celebrate with the people closest to me and for there to not be any pressure on them to bring along a present.

Yesterday’s celebrations were also a great opportunity for me to take some time out. My partner and daughter headed out for the day and stayed the night at his family’s home, giving me some time to rest. Typically, I had a terrible sleep without them and still woke up at 6.30 (sigh!) but it was definitely nice to have an evening / morning with just me and the bump. I recently wrote about how different this pregnancy has been (here) and how it feels like it’s whizzing by unnoticed at times. It was so great to bring my focus back to our new arrival.

I have read comments online on this topic that are mostly quite positive, however the odd person has said that it is rude, inconsiderate and tacky to have another baby shower, particularly if gifts are given. What about parents who have a huge gap in age between children? Or perhaps are having a child of a different gender for the first time? Or simply are so busy being parents already that they just haven’t had the time to really think about and get excited for their new arrival? If someone offers to throw you a baby shower / sprinkle / brunch / blessingway or whatever, don’t feel embarrassed! The people who truly care about you will want to celebrate with you, and if they think it is in bad taste well that’s their problem and they don’t have to attend.

If it’s something you truly don’t feel comfortable with then obviously it’s ok to go ahead and politely decline the offer, but don’t do so because you’re worried about what everyone else will think. There are no “rules”. Why do people keep referring to all these imaginary “rules” about baby shower etiquette that they just pulled out of thin air? What imaginary person is going to punish you for not following these “rules”? I mean honestly.

Don’t we want every child to know that there was joy and anticipation surrounding their birth? Do SOMETHING to celebrate the impending arrival of all your children, whatever that may be. Create memories and stir up some excitement for both you and your family.

Courts xox

Thank you so much for being my first Guest Blogger, Courtney. It was an absolute pleasure having you here! I wish you all the best for the upcoming birth of your second child and look forward to following your blogging/motherhood journey. Arohanui, 

Update: As of 22 February 2015, Courtney has a new blog design and a new blog name -
Raising Queens

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