Our plan :)

I've been missing writing on this blog, and the connection with people who know my 'journey' I often think about making time for it and sharing my journey again - we have come so far and there IS so much to share. I am just out of the habit of actually writing... Instagram is good (and bad) like that!

He literally takes me by the hand, pulls me down and pushes my face at the flowers! So cute!

So I'm sorry if this post is a bit all over the place but I feel like i just have to go with it and my flow will come back :)

Back to the beginning - our journey to a dream, I feel that Al and I have been really good at keeping our main goals in our head as this last year has progressed. Our marriage first, happiness of all three of us, family time, work time to be sure we are travelling in the direction of our dreams. We are becoming less focused on the 'dream' and more on the 'journey' lately. Maybe having your own family does that? I saw this clearly when a house round the corner from us came up for sale at a very reasonable price, it has only a small garden and so would have been dismissed by us in the past but we ended up chatting for a long time about it, and deciding buying a house like that would be great for us right now. We talked about how it'd be a good investment - its a great time to buy, maybe sell in 3 years or so, how we love the area where we live, how we plan to concentrate on growing our business over the next few years and how if we have another baby in that time we'd need the time we want away from our business to nurture our growing family :) Buying land to build a home this year and start our dream farm is just not the right focus of energy and time for us... Plus how would it even be possible, at this stage of being self employed? We want to keep working hard on Itty Bitty Book Co, it is bringing us so much joy and fulfilment :) We hope to be in a position to step out of the day to day running of the business and have the time to invest in our smallholding when we find it :)

We're happy with that plan, it feels right :) and its nice to write it down too, to share it with you guys :) I know theres a lot of smiley faces in this post but I really am smiling so :)

A rare shot of the 3 of us (all facing the camera!), at a lovely family wedding last Saturday :)

Ché Phoenix and I went on an adventure to find the sheep - I still love the closeness you get using a baby carrier, when he gets tired on our walks i put him in and he cuddles up to me and 'talks' and points at what he wants me to notice, birds, planes, cars... And I kiss his face every 2 seconds until he looses patience with me and then he starts telling me 'no nu' and shaking his head lol I love him so much... More on him in the next post :) 

The cost of a baby... $ £ €

I always wondered how a baby could possibly cost as much as people said. Now that I have a baby I can see why they can be a huge expense. 'Can' being the operative word there :)

Here is a few of the things we have chosen to do that keep the cost down and that I think benefit us and him too.

• We let people know that we planned to buy second hand, I told people because I think it's an ethical way to shop and don't believe there should be such a stigma about it so I proudly told friends and family that we planned to buy as little as possible new. That had a surprise benefit of people offering us things, once they knew we were happy to use second hand things (some people are funny about it) they gave us things we needed that they were going to give to charity anyway! It's great, we got given all Ché Phoenix's clothes, his play mat, rocker, blankets, car seat, cot/toddler bed and we were offered a pram too but we babywear - see point below!

• Cloth nappies and washable wipes, we bought our last packets of disposables and will be switching to cloth this week, it works out soooo much cheaper (about 10x) even with the washing machine costs, plus the health benefits to the baby and environmental benefits, makes it a no-brainer for us. We searched online for cloth nappy 'libraries' and found a local group who rents out cloth nappies for you to try, 20 different types so you can use them all and see which type suits you before you invest in a set, we pick ours up this weekend :)

• Baby wearing! All you need is about 4m of non stretch fabric, thats it! In my opinion this basic wrap is far more comfortable than the expensive carriers out there, and super cheap :) There are so many benefits to carrying your child instead of pushing him, carried babies are more content, sleep longer, less likely to be light sleepers, you keep fit! Contact with you regulates their heart rate, temperature and aids the digestive system. Carried babies have a more developed sense of balance, and their communication development benefits hugely from being so close to your face while you talk, sing and engage with others. Oh the list goes on for miles - google it if you're interested, I was fascinated!

• I breast feed. It saves a lot of money! No bottles, formula, sterilisers etc... That's not why I do it at all but its a bonus. Ireland (north and south) have one of the lowest breast feeding rates in the world. It's so sad. This is a topic I am massively passionate about but I'm very aware of how sensitive people are about the choices they make for their children and don't want to offend anyone... Just please do your own research before you decide how your baby will be fed (and weaned) and if you see a woman breast feeding, give her a smile instead of quickly looking away like you've seen something offensive.

• Baby toys... People gave us some as gifts, our friends and family know us pretty well so the toys were mostly wooden or sensory :) And 'no plastic shite' lol thats our parenting mantra! Newborns don't want or need toys, they want to be held, talked and sang to, fed and kept warm, basic needs :) At Ché's age he's starting to hold things, become aware of his hands,  follow noises well and generally loves any interaction and stimulation. This doesn't mean it's time for expensive toys. It's all about sensory development and you can use so many things from around your house for playtime and things from the natural environment too. Feathers, christmas tree lights, tinsel, ribbons, pieces of different fabrics, wool, pine cones, wood, glow sticks, big stones, shakers made from water bottles filled with pasta, lentils, glitter and water, anything interesting looking or that makes noise. The more different things your baby experiences the better! Don't forget temperature things too, warm facecloth, ice cubes/frozen toys. Once you start you realise the possibilities for free sensory toys are endless!

• Cosmetics, we were given some lovely smelling baby moisturiser, Ché loves the bath and the water dries out babies skin (ironic isn't it...) well we used the moisturiser and his face reacted slightly to it, causing little bumps and red colour, also still dry. We found out that a tiny bit of olive oil or similar natural oil massaged in is much better, plus no chemicals. If you only use a little bit your baby won't look greasy. I wish I'd done that from the start but you live and learn! Also it's basically free :)

• Our healthcare is free so I can't comment on insurance etc.

• Bulk buying things like baby wipes, the ones I like were on a buy one get two free deal a while back so I bought enough to last ages, works out much cheaper in the long run. I'd recommend doing that with non baby items too!

• We didn't buy a new car, everyone said we'll need a 4 door but we don't really, we have a little 2 door diesel clio and even though it's awkward to get him in and out of his carseat in the back, its not impossible! We manage :)

So thats my little list, I hope it helps anyone wondering about the cost of a baby, I would have loved to hear this perspective when I was pregnant. Ché Phoenix is 4 months old this friday and if I had to guess a number I'd say we have spent around £250 ($380) on him. If we hadn't been given so much by friends I'd say that number would be doubled but still... 

We believe if you want your children to be happy and 'turn out well' spend less money on them and more time with them!

If you have any questions or money saving baby tips please leave a comment below :)

It's winter :)

Well its definitely winter here in Ireland now, there is frost on the grass and everywhere thats in the shade most mornings and there's a chill in the air. It was minus 2 degrees last night and I'm still sleeping with the window wide open, pregnancy heat's lovely :) Poor hubby has to sleep in Pj's and a dressing gown, with a hot water bottle! LOL

The down side to the frosty weather is undoubtably the cost in heating your home to a comfortable temperature, over here most people have oil fired central heating and the cost just keeps rising... We've opted for a wood burner since we have access to local, cheap wood and we love having a real fire in the house :) A friend of Al's dad is coming tomorrow to fit it into our chimney, I'm so excited...

The only thing is, do you think we have enough wood gathered up?? hehe

We borrowed Al's dads saw for the long chunky bits, it was brilliant,
about 1,000,000 times quicker than by hand!

There is something so lovely about opening your garage and smelling cut wood, sometimes I just stand for a few minutes and look at it smiling (like a crazy person!). It's just comforting to know that we will be warm and cosy this winter. Gathering up this wood has given me so much pleasure over the last few months, as I get older I seem to be more and more happy about the really simple things in life, does that happen to everyone?

My lovely hubby :)

He knows how to put a smile on my face thats for sure :)

With this kinda looking after I'll be better in no time! Ps only 9 days till our honeymoon!

Bring on the freeze!

Christmas Eve 2010, down the road at Lough Neagh, the largest lough in the northern hemisphere, frozen over! A group of guys actually carried a boat out to the island and back! I know the ice causes havoc for millions of people but I can't help seeing the positive, it turns our country into a magical winter wonderland. You can't do anything about it anyway so when it gets here, wrap up, find your inner child and try to enjoy it! xx

Surprise veg!

In April this year we had to move house quite suddenly, it was a real shame because we had done a lot of gardening and all round preparation for the season ahead at our old place. The thing I was sad about leaving the most was a large square raised bed I'd made by hand from scrap wood, it had taken me about a week, I loved it and was so proud of how well it turned out. I had layered compost, sand, dead leaves etc to make a rich soil base for the mixture of onions and carrots I planted, they were looking so promising when we left but all too small to pick.

We've been back a couple of times and seen it totally overgrown, I figured there mustn't be much under the weeds. How wrong I was!! We are cat sitting for the owners (Al's parents) this week and thought we'd have a dig around, after 7 months of total neglect this is what nature (and my loving preparation and planting) provided...

I'd say about 2kg carrots and 1kg onions!

Aren't they perfect, with all their imperfections :)

So tonight we feast on 40p lamb, free carrots, cabbage (reduced down to 10p) and gravy that's home made - with flour the old fashioned way! I'm so happy!

This is saving for our dream in style and appreciating the small things - just what we're about!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekends :)

P.S are you noticing a pattern with my saturdays? Not that I'm complaining!

Some of the ways we save for our dream.

Our mission is to save a lot each month so that when we buy a home/land we will have a substantial deposit, get a low interest rate mortgage, be able to pay it off in 10 years then live debt free after that. Ambitious I know, but we are ambitious people and we'll make it happen :)

Shopping...
We worked out when the reduced items come out at our local supermarket (friday 7pm) and it saves us a fortune! We buy meat and just freeze it straight away, other items are usually fine for a few days. We also bulk buy, when something we use a lot of or buy regularly is on a really good deal we stock up, no point paying full price next month. The 800g mayo you see below was £1.62 usually £3.15! It's one of the few expensive brand names we do shell out for so when I saw this deal I was so excited. The meat is an amazing deal - each packet was £4 now 40p (only use by tomorrow) and lamb is my favorite too!

The big bills...

Rent - always the same but we love our home, so don't mind paying for it each month. Electricity - we are just sensible with it. Internet and phone deal - we regularly check we are getting the best deal, they change so often its really worth it (mobiles are just PAYG). Car Insurance - same as Internet we change up nearly every year and haggle down the phone! Car Tax and running - we own a small clio so tax is really cheap. It's a diesel and we share it, only having one car can be an inconvenience but its so worth it for the money we save.

The wee bills...

We write it all down, on a notepad in the kitchen, one page for each week and it really helps us. From that we can see if we are on track for our monthly targets or if we've spent a lot and need to cut back next week etc.

So those are some of the things that help us reach our savings target each month, nothing ground breaking lol but they work for us :) I will say that we are not in high wage brackets by any means and we are not scrimpers, we are savers. We do treat ourselves, we go out, we put the heat on when its cold enough and we use lights at night. We don't believe in sacrificing or struggling now for something in the future, we believe in happiness today while doing what we can to ensure a secure, comfortable future :)

If your on the same page/journey and have any tips to share I'd love to hear them 

Astra xx

10 things that are making me happy...

1. When out of the blue one of my preschoolers says 'Astra (or Ashwaa) I love you'.
2. Getting excited with Al about our honeymoon which is next month!
3. The really strong winds we've had these last 2 weeks.
4. Crunch corners.
5. Watching Scrubs over lunch in the staff room (even though I've seen them all).
6. My job, the security, the satisfaction, the fun and the creativity.
7. Being given a lovely gift (that I didn't expect) from an appreciative parent at work.
8. Music and silly moods to wake us up in the mornings.
9. Being welcomed to the blogging world by wonderful people with inspiring blogs - Eco Footprint.
10. Writing happy lists!

Meet Pumpy!

 Happy Halloween weekend! 

Al and I love Halloween, we spent our 1st one as friends in Plymouth, I was a bat, he was a zombie version of his best friend. It was a great night filled with laughter, shots and music. Next Halloween we were madly in love, living in Ireland in our 1st home together...

2007

2007

2007

Every year since we've got into the spirit and this year is no different, I've planned a Halloween party at work and got my outfit sorted (you'll just have to wait for that!), we've got all sorts of fun and spooky games planned, I can't wait.

At home we were waiting to get a pumpkin for a reasonable price, yesterday at tesco's we found one for 75p! It had so many seeds in it too, I can't believe people throw away the seeds, seems crazy to me. I roasted all the seeds from my works' pumpkins too, with vanilla and brown sugar - the kids loved them :)

Al getting stuck in sorting Pumpy's innards!

In the background is the start of our kitchen jar collection :) 

Thats salt not sugar by the way :)

Mixed in salt then in 180 fan oven. 

Pumpy gets eyebrows...

I'm not sure he likes them lol 

Meet Batty :)

Mix after 20 mins

Mmmm crispy salty pumpkin seeds (about 35mins)

Does anyone eat the pumpkin after? I'm not sure that it'll still be OK after 3 days but I hate to waste food... What do you think?

I hope you all have a brilliant weekend and get into the spooky spirit! xx

My 1st 'Happy List'

I love the idea of happy lists, everyone has their own take on them but mine will be about the little things, the things that at the moment are giving me a rush of happiness no matter how small or silly!

1. Watching 24 on the sofa bed with my man.
2. My routine of on the weekend baking bread and treats for the coming week.
3. The feeling of overwhelming love I got when I held a work mates 18 day old baby girl.
4. Leaning over to kiss my husband when I get in the car after work.
5. Autumn and everything that comes with it - wind, rain, cold and all!
6. Seeing my little sister happy (via facebook, she lives in England).
7. Watching Cara, our cat, sleep peacefully.
8. The satisfaction of dealing with an issue at work head on before it manifests.
9. Cadburys fruit and nut chocolate.
10. Best of all, looking through old iphoto events and laughing my head off, there seems to be some of us goofing around in every album! These are from about 2 years ago, they still make me laugh out loud! 

    

  

This last one is my favorite, I don't know what the hell we were doing
 but who cares, it was hilarious!

I loved writing that happy list, in fact writing happy lists is going to be on my next happy list! 

If you've done one recently let me know in the comments I'd love to take a look.

Astra xx