Things I can't live with out #8

Welcome to 'Things I can't live without #8'. Obviously this is is a rather drastic statement about a bunch of products that I like and are in no way things that my child or I really need to exist. All we actually need is food air and gin (that one is just me). The rest is fancy dressing that makes our lives more bearable... Do with this what you will. 

My last blog (which was the first one in about 18 months) was about body image and was written in Perth hungover when I was away from my baby for 5 days and decided that, due to said hangover and extreme weather conditions I needed to get over myself and start wearing shorts instead of covering up like a Greek widow no matter how humid the day. It was pretty much the most open I have even been on paper let alone on the intranet for all to see and it was even published on the wonderful site www.mamamia.com so I had the rare pleasure of sifting through hundreds of comments that strangers made about my most personal thoughts (and typos - I KNOW IT IS THALIDOMIDE - IT WAS A MISTAKE! DONT BE SUCH A MEANIE!). I am going to go back to talking about shiny things that I can buy with money that tell you little to nothing about my frame of mind of inner monologue for a bit. Hope that is ok... x

The only bib you need ever own.

Annabel Karmel red plastic bib

I know that all those cotton ones look cute but honestly, who needs to wash bolognese sauce out vintage lace embroidery? This one is plastic, red, rolls up, wipes off, gets chucked in the dishwasher and catches all the dropped food (second course!). When I found this one I gave all the others away. We have used only this one for OVER a year. Easy.

iBert child's bike seat.

This one attaches to most bikes on the front (better for balance, child's vision), looks funky, is compact and gets massive compliments (this is what my life has come to - counting compliments on my child's bike seat... honestly). I bought it off Amazon in the US. Still cheaper even with postage than buying in Australia (as un-PC as that is - I am frugal first and foremost)

Ikea 'Antilop' high chair.

The cheapest, simplest high chair around. Can't really be beaten to be honest.

Trunki.

We love the Trunki. From age 2 it has been a great travelling companion fitting all the toys, books, spare clothes, nappies (no I haven't potty trained yet, we've been busy. Shut-up). Plus as a bonus you get to swing your baby around airports, scaring the other travellers as your child screams 'Yee haaaa!!!'.

But....

I have just seen this Scoot ride-on suitcase and I'm having major fomo and might need to buy it...

Anyone want to buy a second hand Trunki?!

Saltwater sandals.

We bought a red pair for bubs a year ago (this one above with the thicker sole) and it has seen her through 3 summers (granted that had been over a 12 month span, this incessant travel has its benefits). They are totes retro cool and I even have a pair do we can be all matchy matchy as we ride our bike to get a babycino (I am physically gagging at my own cliched middle class, suburban self to save you the trouble)

AppleTV.

You probably get that we travel a lot, yeah? Well I love my AppleTV at home, I basically watch most of my tv through it via series downloads (Game of Thrones anyone?) and not only do we download kids tv (See next item for our faves) but when bored you can flick through countless movie previews (or in our case the previews for Happy Feet 2, Puss in Boots over, and over and over again...) or look up clips on YouTube (Little Mermaid for her, Sexy Sax Man for me).

But the best thing is that I can take this small unit (about 15cm squared), remote and the HDMI cable Wherever you travel and plug it into the TV in the hotel or flat or friends house. Too easy.

TV shows we have come to love (sort of... The first 40 times they are watched maybe).

Yo Gabba Gabba 

Guests like Mos Def, Solange Knowles, The Killers & Jack Black plus good tunes and funky designs keep this a favourite in our house. I even made this cake for bday #2 

(one of my proudest moments ever but I'll let you in on a secret - I can't bake so the cake underneath this awesomeness is half unrisen and stuck together with Nutella and half bought from Coles so rest easy...)

Justine Clarke 

We love her, the songs, the musicians playing on the songs (there are some top class Aussie Jazz boys playing on her records) and the videos are a treat. It is baby disco often in our house anytime 'Do the hullabaloo' comes on.

Charlie & Lola.

I love this show. The design is quirky and smart, the music great, the stories helpful and Charlie us like the best older brother ever in existence. I love Lola too, she is inquisitive, precocious and a whole lot of other charming big words. I love it. 

(postscript - I am a little obsessed with Caitlan Moran at the moment - there may even be a blog in the future about her book 'How to be a woman' and in the introduction to her new book she professes a deep hatred of Lola... I feel a bit sad to be honest but I stand by my love for them both...)

Road Trips...

I remember road trips as one of the undisputed highlights of my youth. I asked my parents if they were also fun for them or if I am remembering a rosy tinted version but they said they loved them too! The only answer I have for this is that I was an only child until I was 13 so never had any siblings to yell at during the trip. That and I had no problem reading, drawing and writing as we drove so kept myself occupied pretty well.

I have been thinking of the humble road trip and how I can make them fun for my child (and maybe 'children' in the future). I am keen to hold off the lure of the in-car dvd for as long as possible as I would like to give my kids the fun road trips of my youth. Plus, the sound of Dora the Explorer in the back of my head might be unsafe for me as both a driver and a person (honestly - is there any way I can keep that perky, ugly-merchandise selling little girl out of my little girl's life? Please tell me there is...)

We were in Sydney on the weekend (I would talk about the flying but to be honest Bebe is kind of 'another day, another flight' about the whole thing now) both working and visiting the grandparents. We went to dinner with some friends for a 40th bday party (happy birthday Julie!). I met a lovely couple who told me about their massive road trips between Darwin and just about everywhere - I think if was 13,000kms in 6 weeks (could that be right? That seems like a lot - I may have been a bit tipsy). They were determined to not use DVD players so they had some great tips:

1. Cup holders. If you don't have them in the back seat they suggest cutting the bottom off a large Coke bottle or similar and putting that in the door or seat pocket. That way there is always water or juice handy.

2. Fill a large crate with toys (they have one that is about double a milk crate size) which sits in between their two kids and is filled to the brim with books, toys, pencils, crayons etc, etc. One by one each item gets played with and then thrown on the floor so at the end of the day they just fill it back up and it is ready for the next day when it all happens again.

3. Eat in the car. They always take their sandwiches, drinks and snacks with them in an esky and then everyone eats as they drive so that when they stop (every two hours - see below) the kids are given missions like 'run over to that tree and back', go and find a large twig and bring it back here' etc. Otherwise the kids just sit there in the break and don't get the blood moving which makes their threshold for sitting in a car all day a lot lower.

4. Stop every 2 hours, get the kids to run around (see above), stretch your legs yourself, all go to the  toilet and fill the car with petrol. They say that even up north in true outback there is generally not more than 2 hours between petrol stations so this is totally doable most places in Australia.

So there you go - anyone else got some good road trip ideas/advice?

x
Ali

Another quick word about strollers & travel

I am currently without use of my computer so can't post the proper blog that I'd like. I have three on the go 1) Baby clothes (or why Pink is making me turn to the drink), 2) Things I can probably live without but don't want to & 3) Take the goddamn bottle, my boobs are tired (I may rename that after I have eaten and slept..) but I need my computer to add photos and nice stuff.

So hear is a quick word to add to the stroller discussion.

Recently I had to travel across London via tube with Bebe on my own. I have done this a couple of times but this time had the added bonus of trains breaking down and football crowds. Hurrah. I ended up carrying the pram up or down 6 flights of stairs and onto two buses. On three occasions I was offered assistance by a friendly passerby (2 ladies & 1 man - ladies always offer more often, I don't know why) but to be honest I find it easier to pick the pram up myself and carry it. It doesn't hold up the traffic as much and I can keep it nice and level.

So hear is my quick word:

Make sure you can lift your pram (also with the car seat and a bit of gear shoved roughly in the bottom carry space) by yourself up stairs. You can't rely on others when traveling (certainly not in a big city) and you also need to be mobile or you will never leave the house and do stuff.

Bebe & I are now getting ready to fly (on our own this time) back to Australia. Bags are packed, body clock is on edge and books are ready to not be read. Bring it!

X

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad (thank God for this or I'd be stuck without any form of technical civilization at all!)

Have stroller, will travel.

How many of you spent an inordinate amount of time choosing a good stroller? You would have got advice from everyone, stopped mothers on the street, gone to countless stores and looked at every website you could. Some of you may be happy with the choice you finally made, some not. Whatever the result I'd love to hear it!

Some strollers are best for newborns, some better for toddlers, some easy to fold up, some good for running with and some maybe nice and versatile. There is no perfect answer.

Here are a few that you have all told me about. I am only interested in strollers that are good for traveling with. The things I look for are ease of use (both getting around and folding up), compactness and versatility.

Please tell me your favourite and I will add to the list. I am not going to rate them but maybe when you go to buy one we can arm you with a handfull of suggestions from seasoned travellers.

Rock 'n roll...

Bugaboo Bee

This is the stroller we bought. I have already talked about it in a previous blog but basically we find it easy to use, it was great from the minute she was born, it can face us or later we will face her out to the world, it is lightweight, pretty and when you get to know it, it is easy to fold up and put in the car, on a plane etc. My friend Helen said she decided not to use this one because the ladies in the store couldn't work it. I had the same thing when I went but a quick look at the video on the Bugaboo site fixed that. But I should point out that one of my favourite things in the world is putting together Ikea furniture so I could be unnaturally (and nerdily) predisposed to this kind of thing.

The QuickSmart™ Easy Fold Stroller

This is the stroller my friend Lara suggested and is featured on the Equipment page. I haven't seen it in person but the video looks pretty good! 

The Baby Jogger

Here is a comment from my friend Helen (her and husband Clark are other traveling gypsy types like us). I love how they finally came to their decision - very proactive!:

In my research (and believe me there were far, far too many hours spent in front of my mac and far too many trips to baby stores across Europe) it became quickly apparent that there was no 'ideal' pram for our specific travel needs. Or at least what I perceive our needs to be - as we're still 7 weeks away... yikes.

I was seeking the ultimate: super compact, really light, fully reclinable/reversable seat, easy fold, car seat adaptable, well hooded, fabulous stroller!Let me tell you it doesn't exist...

The closest is the Quinny Zapp but it doesn't recline! Actually that's not true they have recently released a seat section that will recline, which we were super excited about, only to discover that the recline section is non-collapsable; which completely negates the Quinny being the world's most compact stroller. Oh well.

We then moved on to the Bugaboo Bee. Yes it is extremely cute and has the most divine ride and turning circle but we had a nightmare reversing the seat and collapsing it and after two assistants in 2 different shops told us “Oh this one must be broken..." as they struggled with it AND finding broken Bugaboos on the shop floor (from some more forceful customers) we decided we'd probably break it within the week.

Well my partner Clarke was MCing the circus stage at a gig at the Bristol Harbour Festival while I (mostly) checked out the serious "pram porn" in the crowd. Their were hundreds of strollers and prams it was unbelievable! By this time I'd moved on to interviewing parents about their pram/strollers- "Hi, I'm sorry I know this is a bit weird but, are you happy with your pram?" - and cataloguing favourites on my iPhone. Yep, I told you I had it bad.

I thought this was embarrassing Clarke but it actually inspired him to run a spontaneous stroller competition on stage!!!He invited three people and their respective wheels up on stage then tested the prams for off road (drive over his body), for comfort (he rode in them) and then, the ultimate, collapse your pram as quickly as possible and hold it over your head.

Wow.

As two struggled one lady’s pram collapsed with a single one handed lift.Under 3 secs! There was a collective gasp from 50% of the crowd as all the pram pushers wondered what the hell is that thing???She won the competition and we finally found our stroller. 

We’ve ordered it in the states as it’s way cheaper. Along with the car seat adapter and travel bag. Next year it will come to Europe and New York with us so I’ll let you know how it travels.

And then there is of course the ol' staple MacLaren which I have never heard a bad word about and I see plenty of them in the playgrounds around the world so they have to be doing something right!

So there you go. A little bit of food for thought on the stroller question. I am, as always very interested in hearing your views and opinions so keep the comments coming!

x Ali

3am...3am... Eternal...

I am writing this blog from the couch at almost 3am with KLF haunting my weary brain...

I will write a full blog in the next couple of days about what I have learnt about jet lag in the last week. I have new theories about 'length of flight versus time difference', and 'why sometimes the easiest flight = the hardest recovery'.

But for the moment I will just share this little gem:

'Maybe think twice before flying twice through timezones in one week and follow that immediately by going to a wedding.'

I'm just sayin' is all....


I am also working on a blog entitled "things I have bought that turned out to be crap". Gripping stuff.

I hope you enjoyed the guest blog - do you have one you want to send me? Or do you have a nomination for "best travel strollers & prams"? I'd love to get your comments.

So goodnight, and from the Ancients of Mu Mu themselves I shall point to the fact that time is indeed eternal.

X

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad (I know! How exciting! I got it for my birthday!)

Location:London

Things I can't live without # 5

I have the best friends in the world. For my baby shower they all chipped in (along with my extraordinary mum) to buy me this amazing Nappy Bag. It is expensive, in fact it is the dearest bag I have ever owned but it is too fantastic for words. It clips on easily to our stroller and I can fit everything I need as well as all my own stuff in what I have made my own personal pocket at the front. It is also completely slylish and I can take it out when not with bubs and not feel like a loser. Result. They bought is from Bebe (great store, great name).

Love, love love. Thanks ladies x