This year is the Year of the Ox and Lunar New Year officially runs from February 12-26. Amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and living in a small regional town there are no public events to attend, however we still brought in the New Year with style!
On LNY Eve, we had a reunion dinner with our small family of four. For dinner, I made Yu Sheng/Yee Sang (Prosperity Toss) salad and Siu Yuk (Chinese Roast Pork Belly). It was my first time holding a reunion dinner and making those dishes! The salad was fresh, light and the perfect accompaniment to the fatty, crispy pork.
Now that I have my own kids, it’s important for me to impart our culture and traditions and an easy way I’ve found to do this is storytelling through food. Food is so important in Chinese culture and I hope that the kids will have fond memories of tossing the Yu Sheng and snacking on delicacies throughout Lunar New Year.
On the first weekend of LNY, we had a small hotpot with a small selection of vegetables, tofu, seafood and meat. With my time and energy busy with Mr M these days, we kept things simple and used a pre-made chicken soup stock with some vegetables as the base. No fancy sauces this time but a simple oyster and sesame sauce mix did the trick.
Although it was simple, it was lovely to sit down and share a special meal with my own little family during LNY. Of course we were missing extended family and not being able to see the grandparents during this time was sad. Here’s hoping that things will look up this year and we can see our families in the near future!
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous year of the ox!
Almost 6 months ago, we welcomed the newest addition to our family! Since he’s been born, it’s been a whirlwind and for a few brief months I was a mum to 2 under 2!
I’ve never been more tired and my days more hectic. However, I wouldn’t change a thing. Mr M is a sweet baby and quick to smile. He’s playful and loves to eat. He has hilariously big greedy eyes.
Miss K has welcomed Mr M with open arms and is the most wonderful big sister. Mr M is equally in love with her. It makes my heart melt to see them together. I can’t wait to see them play together!
For the last few years, I’ve chosen a word as a way to shape how I’d like the upcoming year to be. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was going to choose a word this year as life with 2 kids has been a bit overwhelming. However, the word FOCUS has come to mind and is the perfect word to guide me through this year.
Focusing on making memories with my family. Focusing on taking care of myself. Focusing on our bilingual journey. Focusing on growing my weaving business.
I hope that everyone had a safe and festive holiday period. Although the start of a new year doesn’t magically change anything, I’m still happy to put the chaos of 2020 behind me and look forward to what 2021 may bring.
I’m now the proud mother of two little ones and look forward to seeing my two babies grow up together, learn new things, and play together. The focus of this blog will change somewhat as I hope to share a part of our lives with you, along with the occasional crafty, memory keeping and beauty post!
At 37 weeks, this will be my final regular post for a while. I had originally intended to continue posting for at least another week or so but now want to spend what little time and energy I have left with my family.
This will be the last few weeks of us being a family of 3 and the last time I’ll be spending time with Miss K one-on-one. It’s a bittersweet feeling as I look forward to welcoming another bean into our fold.
In the past year I’ve really enjoyed blogging more regularly and I hope that I’ll be able to post more frequently after I’ve survived the 4th trimester! In the meantime, I’ll be posting on an adhoc basis, so please do check back here from time to time!
Wow, so it looks like we’re officially in the second half of the year! It’s simultaneously felt so short and long. With baby #2 on the way, the second half of the year is going to be a crazy whirlwind of pee, poop, milk and tears! And of course, let’s not forget the cuteness, snuggles and seeing Miss K being a big sister! Ask me again in another 4 weeks but I say, bring it on!
Taylor Swift’s latest album Foklore has just dropped and I’m loving it so far! There are some real gems in there. Such a ray of sunshine amongst all the doom and gloom right now.
Miss K has been fortunate to receive many beautiful dolls, however they are almost all Caucasian and blue eyed. I’ve been wanting to get her an Asian doll that’s more representative of what she looks like and found a great deal through Catch! Miniland dolls come highly recommended due to their realism and I’m very excited to give this to Miss K!
Sharing a beautiful local IG account that does the most amazing fresh and dried floral arrangements! I would really love a dried floral arrangement or cute pot of succulents but I haven’t figured out what I want yet!
Some interesting thoughts about praise from a Montessori point of view.
For such small beings, babies sure do create a lot of waste! After emerging from the haze of having a newborn, I started looking at ways that I could reduce our environmental impact.
Here are 10 easy eco-friendly baby product swaps that you could try:
Cloth or biodegradable nappies. Since Miss K was about 3 months old until very recently, we’ve mainly been using cloth nappies. I have about 30 cloth nappies with boosters and bamboo liners. It was a bit daunting at first but it quickly became routine. If cloth nappies aren’t your thing, there are a growing number of biodegradable nappies now on the market.
Cloth or biodegradable wipes. After tackling cloth nappies, it made sense to start using cloth wipes. You can easily make your own but it was far quicker and easier for me to buy a bunch of baby facial cloths to use as wipes. Every 1-2 days, I’ll wet a bunch of cloths in a container to use. You can also purchase biodegradable wipes.
Glass milk bottles. Glass milk bottles are a great alternative to plastic bottles. Their also easier to clean and last longer. We bought a combination pack of glass bottles from Cherub Baby and plan to use them for baby #2.
Reusable milk pouches and containers. To maintain and increase my milk supply, I pumped a lot. Any excess was placed into reusable milk pouches and containers. The milk pouches were purchased from Cherub Baby and the containers from Avent. Both are great but I prefer the containers as they have accurate volume readings and are great little containers for food and other items later on.
Reusable food pouches. While at a baby expo, I bought a starter pack of food pouches from Zestio. Their a great alternative to store bought pouches as they usually can’t be recycled. While you can put any sort of liquid in there, I mainly use mine to prep and freeze large batches of soup – usually pumpkin soup! Zestio also provide heaps of great recipe ideas and they’d be great to bring out and about.
Bamboo dinnerwareand utensils. Since Miss K has started eating I’ve tried so many different types of dinnerware and utensils – silicone, wooden and plastic. My favourite purchase to date has been her bamboo dinnerware set from Love Mae. Their all so beautifully designed and are also dishwasher safe and BPA free.
100% Cotton or bamboo clothes. As Miss K is prone to eczema flare ups, I only purchase 100% cotton clothes for her sensitive skin. I’ve heard great things about bamboo clothes, but I haven’t found these readily available for purchase. The added benefits of 100% cotton or bamboo clothes is their reduced impact on the environment. Natural fibres are less likely to produce microplastics when washed compared to synthetic fibres.
Cloth swimming nappies. Although we haven’t had the chance to use it yet, Miss K has the cutest pair of pink flamingo swimming nappies from Bambino Mio to use when the weather warms up! Their a great alternative to disposable swimming nappies and can be tossed in the wash to be reused again and again!
Organic bubble bath. Miss K loves her bubble baths! Their a great sensory experience and puts her in a good mood before bedtime. Due to her sensitive eczema prone skin, we use Childs Farm Bubble Bath for Sensitive Skin. It has a lovely tangerine scent and leaves her skin feeling moisturised and rash free.
Purchase second handitems. I love op shopping and ever since having Miss K, I’m always on the lookout for second hand clothes, toys and books for her. It’s trickier finding suitable clothes but I’ve purchased some good quality toys, books and even a coffee table for her from our local op shop. While there are some baby items that should be bought brand new, there are some things that can be bought pre-loved!
While I try to be as eco-friendly as possible, I just wanted to say that there are days when I’m exhausted, frazzled, or haven’t done the mountain of laundry that comes with using cloth products – and I’ll use disposable nappies, wipes and feed Miss K a pre-made frozen meal from the store. And that’s totally okay!
As mum’s we’re all doing the best that we can and we’re all on our own journey. I hope this list inspires you to try a few things and I would love to hear any other ideas that you have!
To read about our Waitomo leg of the trip, click here!
To read about our Rotorua leg of the trip, click here!
After a short 1-hour drive from Rotorua in which Miss K napped the entire way, we arrived in the lovely lakeside down of Taupo! After enjoying a busy but tiring first half of our holiday sightseeing, we would be taking it easy for the next 2 nights in town.
Quest Apartments
As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! While in Taupo we stayed again at Quest Apartments and had a lovely time there. Our apartment was notably smaller and had a more compact layout than our previous apartment, but it had everything we needed.
When you first walk in, it leads immediately into a narrow kitchen area and then the living room. The living room faces a main street, however there was little traffic so we didn’t have to worry about any noises. A sliding door adjacent to the living room revealed a small bedroom and bathroom that also contained the laundry facilities. Next to our bed, Quest was able to squeeze in a cot.
Although the apartment had air conditioning, the only unit was placed in the living room so the bedroom surprisingly retained quite a lot of heat at night. In the end, to keep Miss K cool we had to switch off the lights in the living room so we could keep the bedroom sliding door partially open to let the cool air come in.
To be honest, it was a bit of a pain, as that’s one of the main reasons we pay extra for a 1-bedroom apartment versus a single room but we made do!
There’s onsite parking at Quest and a small enclosed pool at the front of the property right where the carpark is. It seemed like an odd location to have a pool but the property is quite small, so I guess that’s the only spot they could place it! It was too cold to use the pool and I wonder how much use it gets from guests during the warmer months.
The location of the apartments wasn’t as central as we thought it would be. With a pram, it took us about 20 minutes to walk to the main strip overseeing Lake Taupo, which was too long with a toddler. We ended up driving into town for the rest of our stay, which was a lot more convenient for us.
Although we had a lovely stay at Apartments and the customer service was lovely, I would consider checking out other accommodation closer to the main strip for any future visits!
Around Town
Directly opposite Lake Taupo is a small strip of restaurants, cafes and bars. The view is amazing and the best seats in the house are at the front overlooking the lake. There’s a nice seaside holiday atmosphere. Heading inland, there’s more restaurants, cafes, bars and some lovely boutique stores.
About a short 10 minute walk up the road is Taupo Public Playground, which has several playgrounds for smaller and older kids. Miss K was still a bit young to enjoy the playground but she loved watching the older kids run around. I would recommend grabbing a gelato from Luna’s Gelataria to enjoy at the park!
Further up the road is the local Countdown where we stocked up on more groceries. While the town is small, it has everything you need and a wide variety of dining options. Unlike previous towns, we ate out a lot more in Taupo and really enjoying going out to eat!
LakeTaupo
If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that I was looking out at the sea. With a surface area of 616sqm, it’s the largest lake in New Zealand. When you arrive in town, it’s hard not to miss the very large Love Taupo sign at the lakefront. It’s the perfect spot for a photo opportunity and we were fortunate enough to get some photos taken on a quiet afternoon.
Along the lakefront there’s a path for cyclists and walkers alike, with many picnic spots in between. There’s also a viewing platform where you can peek down and see the crystal clear blue waters of the lake. While there’s many water activities to do on the lake, they must be held elsewhere as I couldn’t see any boats or activity on the lake.
Huka Falls
While there are a lot of activities to do in town, they weren’t really suitable with a young toddler so we decided to keep things low key and visit Huka Falls. The Falls are a relatively short 15 minute drive out of town and going straight after breakfast meant that we beat the crowds.
The water from the Falls originally comes from The Waikato River. Just before it hits the Falls, it enters a shallow ravine of hard volcanic rock. This causes the previously peaceful waters to accelerate at great speed before bursting out over the Falls and crash into a turbulent pool approximately 11 metres below.
There’s a bridge positioned right over where this natural phenomenon occurs and it’s a sight to behold! To get up close and personal, there are cruises and jet boats available. If you have time to spare, there are also various trails available that go into the native forests and offer different vantage points of the Falls.
Lake Taupo Scenic Lookout
On the drive out of town and coincidentally on the way to Huka Falls, is a small scenic lookout overlooking the town and lake. It’s a nice short stop if you have the time to take some pictures and take one last look at the lake.
In addition to the toys that I have at home for Miss K, we also borrow toys from our local toy library. I’d first heard of it from one of my mum friends who raved about it. For an annual fee and a volunteering session per school term, I can borrow various toys, games and puzzles!
The Albury Toy Library in particular is run by fellow parents and open during school term. There are over 500 toys, games and puzzles that are suitable for 0-8 year olds. There are various membership levels depending on how many toys and puzzles you would like to borrow.
Since joining at the beginning of the year, I’ve enjoyed borrowing a wide range of toys and puzzles for Miss K. She’s had fun playing with a lawnmower, ride on car, latch puzzle, various giant wooden puzzles, wooden instruments, megasketcher, and so much more!
It’s a great way to borrow age specific toys at minimal cost and not worry about cluttering up our small house. Miss K also loses interest very quickly, so the 3 week loan period is perfect for us. There’s also an option to renew for an additional 3 week period.
During the pandemic the toy library shut down for a few months but it’s now up and running with strict cleaning and hygiene procedures in place. To be on the safe side, we still wipe down the toys and we’re good to go!
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly, money-saving and storage friendly toy option, then I would definitely recommend checking out a toy library in your area!
Big changes don’t happen overnight and I’m always on the lookout for small changes that I can make towards having a more eco-friendly life. Here are 10 easy eco-friendly skincare and beauty swaps that you could try as well!
Plastic free shampoo, conditioner, body and face soap bars. My favourite brand to use for shampoo, conditioners and face is Ethique. They have such a wide range of products to suit all hair and skin types. On an unrelated note, they’ve also started stocking products for pets! For the body, I use Dove Original Beauty Cream Bar.
Bamboo or reusable electric toothbrush. I’ve tried using various bamboo toothbrushes but in the end I prefer using an electric toothbrush. The plastic head does have to be replaced but it’s a more eco-friendly option than a plain on plastic toothbrush.
Biodegradable dental floss. Dental floss has come a long way and there are now various biodegradable dental floss options on the market.
Reusable safety razor or permanent hair removal. Before getting IPL, I used to go through so many plastic shaving razors! I would definitely recommend getting IPL if you can or a gorgeous stainless steel reusable safety razor.
Choose glass or metal packaging. When buying products, I try to keep in mind the packaging it comes in. My preference is to choose glass or metal packaging over plastic packaging.
Reusable facial wipes. Since I’ve switched to an Ethique face cleanser bar, I haven’t found the need to use facial wipes to remove my makeup. However, it would be simple to switch to a reusable face cloth or reusable face wipes. There are some lovely options on Etsy.
Natural deodorant in a tin. I have to admit that natural deodorants have been a hit and miss for me. I first tried No Pong but it wasn’t strong enough for me. Since it’s currently Winter and I’m mainly at home, I started using a sample size of Ethique Lavendar and Vanilla deodorant and am pleasantly surprised that it’s working! The real test of its effectiveness will be during Summer while I’m out and about, however I’m happy to continue using this for now.
Menstrual cup and cloth pads. I’ve used a Diva Cup for several years now and haven’t looked back since. For those first few heavy days or days that I don’t want to use the cup, I use Hannah cloth pads. They have the cutest floral patterns and are made from organic cotton.
Biodegradable bamboo cotton buds. Cotton buds can be used for so many different things, yet their made of so much plastic! It was an easy switch to make. I use Go Bamboo Cotton Buds but there are so many different options to choose from online.
Compostable Konjac facial and body sponges. I have a small cloth that I use but another option is to use a Konjac sponge. Apparently their great for exfoliating problematic skin due to their charcoal and natural pH levels. Their also vegan and compostable!
If you are looking for some great online eco-friendly stores, I would recommend Little Eco Shop and Nourished Life. I personally shop from these stores and have found their customer service and range of products to be excellent!
Many of their products also have reviews, so you can read what others have to say before purchasing a product. Both stores are currently having sales as part of Plastic Free July, so a great chance to buy some products to try out!
