If you were hoping for a post full of sunshine and rainbows today – unfortunately you’re not going to get it.
I have just picked my jaw up off the ground after watching one of the major morning TV shows promote the Lingerie Football League throughout the morning and to be honest, along with many women and men in the twitterverse, I’m not happy about it.
Lingerie Football League Website’s Homepage – the marketing message is obvious
The last 12 months has seen some of the biggest celebrities either give birth, adopt, or fall pregnant. For today’s post we thought a little fashion drool-fest was in order to inspire the maternity wardrobe for some of our sorellas who are expecting, and for the new mummies out there in the playgrounds or off to school pick up!!
I had prepared myself to see over-styled, unachievable ensembles, however I was relieved to instead find everyday casual looks that are absolutely attainable for all of us lacking a full-time stylist!
Yep – maternity and mummy-chic is about a throw-over pretty print dress, practical jeans so you can pick your child up from the sand-pit, flats or trainers to get you to the school gate on time, and comfy tops or jackets to give you a little style yet let you move freely to juggle your child, nappy bag, pram and other daily mummy essentials.
And let me tell you, most of these pics show limited hair & make-up work too (and we all know how achievable THAT is)!
We can’t start a post like this and not feature Sarah Jessica Parker at the top. Would you agree that she epitomises casual mummy-cool?
Flame Flynet
I love the vibe of a festival. The feeling of having nothing better to do but be in the moment, with a beverage, talking, watching, listening, enjoying – and that’s it, your only care is to soak in the atmosphere!
The full-day full-on all-out music festival is pretty much over for me – it could have something to do with not wanting to go to festivals that my students now go to! However I have still been going to the Byron Bay Bluesfest at Easter for the last few years….even dragging my kiddies along as it’s really got a great family friendly vibe. I also love going to the Woodford Folk Festival over New Year for the same reason – especially in the early days when it was in Maleny (in the Queensland Hinterland) and moving from one tent into the next only meant out one door a few paces and in to another! It was all really easy.
Byron Bluesfest. Little L not sure about these things dad brought from work for her ears! Now we see you can buy these from Peltor Kids – if only they were around when we needed them!
I adore Grace Kelly…
image via Harper’s Bazaar
I don’t know how or when it started – I can’t remember the first time I saw her but I suspect it had something to do with driving our mother crazy and her needing some quiet time. She probably plonked my sisters and I in front of Bill Collins’ Midday Movie and perhaps that particular day it happened to be the 1956 film High Society. It would very quickly become my all-time favorite movie, and Grace Kelly, my favourite ‘pretty lady from the movies’. Continue reading
It’s a common cry heard in car parks across the world. New parents shriek in pain and frustration at their state of the art, bullet-proof, environmentally friendly, in-vogue pram.
“Why can’t it just fold up easily like the guy showed me at the Pregnancy Expo?”
“Where the hell is that button he pressed to get the canopy-thingy off?!”
“Which of the 3000 fancy compartments did I put the babies drink bottle in? I know it’s here somewhere…..
“Why did I opt for the fashionable cream colour? Didn’t I know it would get dried biscuit all over it?”
“This bloody thing! If it had 4 doors it would be considered a vehicle and I’d need a licence to drive it.”
It seems we have come a long way in Pram technology – so much so, it’s often too hard to use them. But have you seen the one that can fold down (and back up!) automatically with a press of a button? (Check it out here if you don’t believe me). I need to get me one of these. I wonder if it can lift itself out of the car too? I wonder if it can also produce me a coffee so I don’t have to maneuver my way into a café – which I basically always avoid because has anyone else noticed that café’s never seem to be built around the caffeine needs of mums with prams?
Looking back at the beautiful prams of old – They are so gorgeous but imagine trying to get one of these into the boot of your car:
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Ok. I promise not to curse at you again fancy modern, can-go-jogging-if-i-actually-really-wanted-to-but-never-do pram. You win!
~ alisha
Do you have a love-hate relationship with your pram?
It’s Fair Trade Fortnight! This a great opportunity for us to understand how making more informed choices on the products we buy can have a huge impact on the lives of those less fortunate.
Fairtrade is described by the Fairtrade Association of Australia & NZ (an arm of Fairtrade International) as:
Better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices, Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
Fairtrade International have developed a strict global certification process to allow consumers greater confidence when buying products that may have come from areas where working conditions and prices paid for goods can be questionable.
I have worked in India with Oxfam, and Vietnam with CARE Vietnam and I have seen first-hand how the cycle of poverty can grip communities when they are treated unfairly. Why should we have the benefit of paying just $10 for a piece of clothing if it means a family can’t afford to eat? That doesn’t seem very fair does it?
Me with a local Health Worker visiting the Pune Slums in India
(In a simplified way) here is what can happen without ethical and sustainable supply chains: Continue reading
In case you have been sleeping under a rock – It’s Mothers Day on Sunday!
So we thought it would be timely to sit down with 5 of our beautiful friends and share what’s special about being a Mum (and what’s on their wish-list this Mothers Day – we hope their partners are taking notes!).
CARRIE
Hello I’m Carrie – I’m a Literacy Coach, wife, and mum of 2 children – Charli who is 10 and Zeke is 6. We live in Geelong in Victoria.
What makes being a mum special?
Just being a mum is special, I feel so blessed! Being a working mum, no matter how hectic my day may have been, coming home to cuddles and my children wanting to share everything with me is truly amazing!
What is the funniest thing your child has ever said to you?
They have said so many funny things but I have such a bad memory when it comes to sharing quotes but an instance that certainly made me laugh was when we were fortunate enough to travel through Europe for my brother’s wedding. Zeke was just about to turn 5 and one night in our motor-home in a caravan park in France he said, “Mum, say ‘parlez vous anglais’” {Translation: Do you speak English?}, so of course I did – with which he responded in his best French accent “little bit – little bit!”. I think perhaps he picked up on us wanting to speak more English with the locals than French!
How you will you celebrate Mother’s Day?
With all the whispers around my house at the moment I’m excited to see what is planned! My husband is so unbelievably thoughtful and he always helps the children make it a special day. I also love catching up with my mum so hopefully we’ll get together for lunch or dinner.
What’s on your Mother’s Day wish list?
I only have two things on my list! After receiving my sorella & me sleepshirt for Christmas I have pretty much lived in it each night when I get home and with the cold weather coming on I need something a bit warmer. So kids if you read this I REALLY WANT a grey lounge wrap and evening sky drawstring pant…PLEASE!!
It was that moment when you heard the words come out of your mouth – and you knew just as soon as you said it: they were the words of your mother.
We joked about it in our 20’s out of a false sense of security that it was surely just a myth. But the bubble has burst and many women are realizing that the ’joke’ about girls turning into their mothers is everything but (and you can hear the shrieks of self-realisation and terror from all corners of the country).
The metamorphosis is nothing less than horrifying, especially when you actually realise just how much you now look, sound and act like your mum*
* this does not mean we do not love every ounce of our Mums – it just seems a bit weird to now be a version of her when you thought that you couldn’t be more different, and more to the point, you vowed you would never let it happen. Furthermore, the comment “you’re so much like your mother” seems to be accompanied by an evil laugh from our husbands/partners/sisters/brothers and is extremely annoying. Continue reading
Would you like to win a $100 gift voucher to spend on gorgeous sleepwear at the sorella & me online store?
Although designed specifically for women who are pregnant or nursing in mind, any woman who is after cosy organic sleepwear can wear & look great in all pieces from the collection.
The term midwife is derived from Middle English:
mid = “with” and Old English: wif = “woman”
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during their pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also care for the newborn through to six weeks of age, including assisting with breastfeeding (Midwives Australia).
image©iStockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages
As the International Day of the Midwife is 5th May 2012 we thought it might be timely to learn a little more about the amazing work Midwives undertake.
Did you have a Midwife? It was something I didn’t consider during my first pregnancy but I was so grateful for the support and care I received by the Midwives in the hospital clinic during my pregnancy and then ongoing during my hospital stay. Did you know that most Midwives in Australia were first trained as Nurses before becoming Midwives? There is now a Bachelor of Midwifery, so no need to also studying Nursing. Continue reading
