NBN Delays and life without internet

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

This week was the week I had been waiting for! The week where I could feel connected with the online world again. I have literally been counting down the days until I had internet in our house again. Every day trying to do my usually daily tasks on my slow, slow 3G on my phone has slowly grated me down. So, when I got a call last week about a delay in getting us hooked up to the NBN, I was so upset! It's not even a small delay, no, but ONE week before our internet was supposed to be available, suddenly there is a delay in setting up the NBN infastructure, that will take 4 MONTHS to fix! So totalling 6 MONTHS without an internet connection and no home phone, for our entire street. In 2014?!? We still are considered the Perth metro area, it's just crazy! But, because it's a NBN area, Telstra has no infastruction here and we don't have any other option than to get crazy expensive and rather slow wireless internet, and my Optus mobile service doesn't really work at all in our house!

It's not just that I like browsing the internet that has made me so frustrated, it's the thought of everything I've worked so to hard to create (here on my blog & business) starting to fall apart because I am so restricted in what I can do. Having plans and ideas fail to eventuate because my internet is so restricted and painfully slow. Not only that, It affects the small amount of income I contribute to the family budget and it will cost us so, so much more to just have internet. I've also got some other plans that I've had or put on hold because of the lack of internet. The NBN Co have no answers, and just try to pass the buck, by saying 'oh we are just the wholesaler', plus they are the Government, and well it's pretty well documented how many problems the roll out of the NBN is having. If I could head out to cafés and have a coffee and use their free wifi, that would be awesome! But can you imagine how productive that would be with a baby and a toddler.

Anyway, that's my gripe, I've made a formal complaint, and have yet to hear a response, but I doubt they will do anything, because I'm not a rich business that can pay the money to have the NBN rushed. I've got a temporary solution coming this week, with a new phone provider and a new pocket wifi, so I'm hoping to actually be able to get on with online life a little more. So, I know it's been quiet around here, but, things are going to get back on track.. Somehow!

Iknow, I know, first world problems. At least I've got these two, a loving husband a beautiful new house and food in the fridge and you don't really need the internet to crochet!!

 

 

My Birthday Re-Do

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Saturday morning we woke bright and early (5.30am) to the sound of Ez vomiting in the hallway.

Yay.. What a perfect way to start a Saturday, and what an especially awesome way to start my Birthday. It wasn't really a surprise that he was vomiting, because he had already thrown up all his dinner the previous night, all over my few month old couch. I'm so thankful for couch cushion covers with zips! But I was really hoping it was just a one time thing.

Win a Gorgeous Robe or Kaftan from Be Still Homewares

Sunday, April 13, 2014
Be still homewares down that little lane
Wow, two giveaways in a row, how exciting!! What a good month to be a Yellow Dandy reader, I mean, apart from the fact that I STILL don't have an internet connection in the house and am surviving on my phones 3G, so my posts have been a bit few and far between. .. The end of this month they tell me!

Anyway!! This is an awesome giveaway that I have the pleasure of co-hosting with Down That Little Lane, where Sarah from the gorgeous Be Still Homewares is offering the chance to win your choice of Robe or Kaftan!

Personally I love a good robe, especially on a lazy Sunday morning, and these are so lush! I don't always get the chance to look presentable until late into the morning, so a stylish robe is the perfect way to greet the mail man, or to run down the street after kids! Ha!

Be Still Homewares was founded in January 2008 by Sarah an Australian Industrial and Graphic Designer.

Sarah has a passion for fabric and pattern and after a trip to Bangkok in 2008 where she fell in love with the gorgeous fabric that was available, she felt a need to transform that fabric into beautiful designs. The unique products created by Sarah make up the Be Still Homewares range.

Sarah continues to collect and use fabric from several countries including Thailand, Japan, India, Uzbekistan and Kashmir. In 2011 Sarah further added to her collection with a range of embroidered cushions that are designed by her and produced in India.


All you need to do to enter is leave us a comment telling us in 25 words or less - your favorite way to spend a Sunday morning.


Then follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget below and you are in with a chance to win.
The competition is open now and closes at midnight 20/04/14 AEST. Good Luck!


http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c9c3a814/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kiinde Twist Breastmilk System Review and GIVEAWAY

Friday, April 4, 2014

* I was sent a Kiinde Twist Starter Kit for the purpose of a review, but as always, all opinions are my own. 

Pumping, oh pumping. I used to think (before I was a Mum) that just pumping a bit of breast milk and then heading out for the day would be such an easy task. I thought I'd be leaving Joel with night time bottles and we'd be sharing night feeds, and I'd heading out on the weekends frequently. Then I had a baby, and then another one, and I realised that pumping and leaving milk behind isn't as simple as it seems! First you have to find time to pump, and it always takes longer for me than breastfeeding, because my let down doesn't trigger for AGES when I pump. Then, you have to actually have milk left to pump. It's easy in the first few weeks with my over abundant milk supply, but after that I have a hard time finding a time when I'm not stealing my baby's milk for her next feed. Maybe it's just me, but I have never been that great at pumping, if I know I need to go out it can often take me a few times pumping just to get enough milk for one feed!

So, if after all that time and effort, I then spill even 20ml of milk when I'm trying to transfer it to freeze it, or back into bottles, I will definitely cry over spilt milk!

So, when I saw this Kiinde Twist breastmilk direct pumping, collection, storage and feeding system I was desperate to give it a go! Anything that gives breastfeeding Mums a little more freedom and makes feeding my baby when I'm away easier, makes me a little excited! The Twist system is so simple, and prevents those breast-milk spills because you never have to actually transfer the milk.

So from pumping, to freezing, to warming, to feeding it all stays in the same bag! Brilliant! 


The Kiinde Twist system comes with attachments for most of the popular brands of breast pumps, so I use my Medela swing and I can attach the Twist pouch right on to my pump with the attachment, not like the Medela pouches, that if you dropped your pump (which happens more than you think when you have to jump up and stop a toddler or protect a baby) then your freshly pumped milk would go everywhere. The Twist pouch with the pump attachment won't spill, yay! These pouches are 150ml, but they also come in larger size of 225ml, but for someone like me who can't ever seem to pump very much, the smaller pouches are perfect!


You then just untwist the bag from the pump, put the lid back on, write the date on it, and store it in the freezer in their freezer storage system, the Kiinde Keeper, that means no loosing breast milk to the back of the freezer, or in my case with freezer drawers, the bottom! Yay for organized freezers!!


When you need to use the milk, you simply warm it in a bowl of warm water, or use the Kiinde Kozii, (which will be available in May) milk warmer, then snap the pouch into the Kiinde Squeeze bottle, attach the nipple to the top and you are ready to roll! The folk at Kiinde say that the active latch nipple can eliminate gas from your bubs meal, which is awesome! I just really love how easy the whole system is, and it is especially helpful that this part is easy because there is a pretty high chance it won't be Mum feeding the baby the breast-milk. It can easily be used by a grandparent, Dad or babysitter to quickly get a hungry bub their milk. There's nothing like a complicated bottle system to throw off a first time babysitter! The pouch, like the other leading pouches on the market, isn't reusable, but it can be recycled!


I'm a pretty big fan of anything that saves time and energy when you're a Mum of young children and I'm a fan of things that make sustaining breastfeeding easier! When you don't have a lot of extra time for stuffing around, things like this make things just that bit faster and simpler. I love that this Kiinde Twist system just helps to give breastfeeding Mums a really great system to pump, store and feed without unnecessary time wasting or spillages! And, the big plus is that Willow LOVES it, she thinks she is so clever holding onto the squeeze bottle and feeding herself, she's always been pretty efficient sucker! She actually cried when I took it off of her, even though it was totally empty!

The best part!! Well the folks at Kiinde Australia are giving away an entire Kiinde Twist Starter Kit (See picture above) to one lucky Yellow Dandy Reader, valued at $79.95 !!! Woop, Woop!

What You Get:
20x Twist Pouches
8x Direct Pump Adapters
1 x Keeper breastmilk storage bag holder
2 x Squeeze natural feeding bottles
1 x Slow flow active latch nipple with case
1x Medium flow active latch nipple with case
2 x nipple cleaning brushes

That is a WHOLE lot of stuff!

How to enter? 
Check out rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Ahh look at her, she does not want to give this up! 

DIY Washi Tape Easter Eggs

Wednesday, April 2, 2014
diy_washi_tape_easter_egg

I'm pretty excited that this Easter I finally have a child that is old enough to enjoy some good old fashioned Easter Egg decorating with me! Ever since I was little I've been a pretty big fan of Easter crafts, I remember making many Easter baskets throughout my childhood. But, now that I think about it, it was probably just because I was worried that the Easter bunny would forget me if I didn't have a pretty basket! There's no way I wanted to miss out on that chocolate!