1. Aldi had children's books for $5 this week and titles included Graeme Base hardcovers, Disney hardcovers, Margaret Wise Brown hardcovers, Willibee the Bumblebee (by the Wonky Donkey writer) and lots of Scholastic books like Dear Zoo. We grabbed Animalia, Goodnight Little One, Willibee the Bumblebee and a couple of others to add to E's well documented library.
2. Coles has Babylove nappypants at 50% so just $8.50 a bag which for the walker size (25 nappies) equates to 34c a pair. At that price I stocked up in prep for tackling toilet training when I start maternity leave.
3. Target has long sleeve children's tops for $4 from today ... only down from $5 but still great to stock up on for kindy & play. We have lots already but they wash and wear so well plus little boys tend to get dirty a lot so extras in the cupboard never hurt.
4. Mary Higgins Clark finally has a new book out - I've Got You Under My Skin. Hoping I will get some time on my aforementioned maternity leave (only 1 week to go) to read this.
5. A bunny sippy cup for E for Easter ... only $5 from Target and holiday themed. How could I resist?
6. Mix apparel ruffle band lounge/sleep pants on sale for only $8 (from $14). In a soft jersey, I figured these will be perfect for hospital with nursing singlets and for home after so I bought a pair in navy and grey marle.
7. Lindt Lady Bug Boxes were $7.50 on sale at Coles and will make the perfect gifts for E's kindy carers ... now I just need to remember to take them in before Easter.

I can't believe how quickly Easter is coming up! We were originally going away for Easter with my parents, sister & her family and some friends but that was booked before we knew B2 was on the way and given its only a few weeks before my due date, we have decided it best to stay closer to home this year just in case. I start maternity leave around this time so it will likely be a low-key holiday in our house with a few fun things planned for E and hosting lunch for the in laws.

So on the subject of Easter, I have been thinking of suitable gifts for E. We always got an assortment of chocolate when we were young and as we got older it became items like books, CDs, pajamas etc which I always appreciated because Easter chocolate was never my thing and 6 months later I would eventually throw it out mostly untouched. So with that in mind, I've been thinking of different options.

Let me start by saying that I'm not anti-chocolate for E by any score - too bad if I was because my dad gives him a freddo every couple of days at least for starters - but I'd prefer not to give him chocolate from us for Easter. I think its best I leave that up to his 'fun' uncle Johnno (my little brother) and that way he gets a treat and not truckloads of the stuff.

I've already bought a small gift for each of our nieces but keeping it practical and simple with a hardcover Disney Treasury book (Little Mermaid for the older two and Beauty and the Beast for the littlest) and a pair of winter pajamas.


For E I've come up with:



Wooden bunny puzzle of some sort - going to investigate further at our local Farmer's Markets with the elderly wood carver there. He sells gorgeous wooden toys and furniture so I'm sure he will have something suitable like the one pictured.

Stickers - E is loving stickers at the moment (as long as they aren't on him) so Easter ones will be a lot of fun.

Easter book - I want to find a nice book that explains the meaning of Easter with beautiful illustrations to match. Any suggestions?

Bath crayons - E loves bathtime and showers and with all the white tiles in our bathrooms I can see these being a huge hit ... for E at least.

Toy Story cutlery - an enormous Toy Story/Buzz/Woody obsession has developed in our house so I know these will probably be his favourite gift of all.

Peter Alexander Toy Soldier pjs - we bought these at the local Peter Alexander outlet a while ago and put them away for Winter so they make a nice addition to this basket.

A new toothbrush - I'm on the hunt for a Toy Story licensed electric toothbrush but will settle for something similar like Thomas the Tank etc. as he is due for a new one.


I've also been busy web browsing and am planning to steal ideas from Pinterest to make Easter fun and one of the ones I espcially love is to do E a fruit brekky in eggs as pictured if I can find the coloured plastic eggs anywhere. I also thought it would be fun to use those coloured plastic eggs to fill with his favourite healthy snacks (dried fruit etc) and hide them around the yard for a new take on an Easter egg hunt.

How are you spending your long Easter weekend? Are you planning  chocolate coma?