My Year in Review

Now you might be thinking, "hold up, it's a bit late to review 2015, it's almost March!" Well yes you're right, except I'm not exactly going to review 2015 for me. I want to review the last 12 months as Leo will be turning the big 1 year old on the 17th of March! So I want to look back and reflect on how this last year has been now that I have a baby!

Technically my life changed when I found out I was pregnant but that was more of an emotional change. It didn't seem real til I had my first scan at 12 weeks. Up until then I was convinced there was nothing inside of me! Anyway it wasn't really til I started to grow bigger and get tired more easy that things started changing. I had to stop working full time and slowly take my hours down as I got closer since my job at the bakery requires some physical work and being on my feet the whole time.

Fast forward to my due date the 14th of March and I didn't know how to feel I was nervous and scared but also so excited but mostly I just wanted the damn baby out of me! I couldn't get comfortable anywhere the couch, bed, car, you name it. I couldn't see my swollen feet and even though it was the start of Autumn I was still so hot ALL THE TIME! 

Due date 14/03/2015

Finally on the morning of the 17th my waters broke and it was full on from there. I won't go into much detail as I don't want to gross people out but it was definitely an experience I won't forget. I am so scared of needles so I refused to get an epidural and I just kept telling myself that even though I'm such a wuss when it comes to pain, millions of woman have done this and survived, how hard can it be? I got through it though with Clyde by my side and it was manageable. Don't get me wrong contractions are the devil especially to someone who has never had period cramps (imagine a mixture of cramp, needing to go to the toilet and someone twisting your insides)! He finally arrived into this world naturally at 2.55pm that same day!

He was here now in my arms my little Leo, but I was so much more scared now than I had been the entire 9 months. Out in the big wide world not safely inside me anymore. Was I holding him right? Was he hungry? Was he in pain? I couldn't sleep the first couple of nights as I had to make sure he was breathing 24/7. Worrying about every little thing! Unfortunately he wouldn't feed properly and I got an infection so we had to stay in hospital for 6 days and it sucked big time! I wanted to go home so bad that I almost discharged myself against doctors orders because I felt fine and was sick of being in the hospital.

A few hours after he was born 17/03/2015

When we got home I could finally relax and it was so nice to have my little family all together finally, but my boyfriend had to go back to work so the first few months I pretty much just stayed home where it was warm and safe, doing the same thing over and over again every day. It was good to be able to spend so much time with my new born and catch up on TV shows, being the middle of winter I didn't want to venture out in the cold at all.

In the blink of an eye he was 4 months old! Time went by so fast, he was growing so big and becoming more alert to things around him. Over the next couple months he started on solid food, learnt to roll over and sit up and play with his toys. I got asked if I wanted to come back to work but i just wasn't ready at all. I loved spending my time with my boy and could not even bare to think about someone else looking after him instead of me. I ended up helping out a couple of times to trial or train new people instead, just a couple of hours each time and it was so good to have some adult interaction. I always had such a sore throat after being at work from talking so much!

5 months old

The next thing I know he can crawl, boy was he fast! The house had to start being child proofed as I hadn't bothered to do so because we were planning on moving house but couldn't find the right one for us. Christmas was soon upon us and I made the decision to go back and help out at work 2 days a week so my boyfriend/Leo's dad looked after him at home on his days off while I went off to make some money. It was quite hard to do as I was still breastfeeding him, so I would rush home to see him every time as I was so full of milk I felt like I was going to burst! 

The week before Christmas he finally got his first tooth, make that 4 first teeth! and Christmas day he used a push walker for the first time like a pro. He got so spoilt by friends and family we were very lucky. Then it was New Years and I made the decision to go back to work part time so I could make some money and get out of the house and I love it, I still miss my baby like crazy on those days and I do need to get up at 4am to get ready for work but it is great!

11 months old

Now that his birthday is getting so close I have been madly planning his party. Usually the 1st birthday is more for the parents as a congratulations for surviving a year but I really wanted to put together a birthday bash for him and I will be putting up a post next week about his birthday and party planning! 

I can not believe that it has been an entire year that I have had my precious little boy in my life. I completely understand how women want more children and can go through the labour experience over and over again as the reward is truly the most amazing thing ever. I have never really been very emotional or emphatic towards people i know, like I'm not very close with my family but yet in a movie/show/book I will always get teary eyed so easily and feel the pain of these fictional people! When I met Leo for the first time and ever since I now have this immense love to give to him and it is so amazing! I don't know where it has been hiding but I would do anything for him. It actually hurts thinking about how much I love him! As much as I want a little girl in the near future I don't know how I can possibly love anyone as much as I love him.

I cannot wait to see what the rest of 2016 has install for us and all the new things Leo will learn and achieve. He can already walk several steps but he prefers crawling and I'm 100% ok with that. He is also finally get teeth number 5 & 6 too so that has been fun!.

If you have made it this far reading, congratulations and thank you! I know it definately isn't the usual average post content and probably wasn't interesting at all for anyone but me. I just wanted to record a summarised account of the last year for me to look back on whenever I feel.

I hope you are having a fantastic week so far, if anyone is a mum or if you're interested in being friends comment below with your blog so I can check it out :)

Cynta x

You can follow me here

Instagram _ivysaurus

Twitter ivysaurus_17

Bloglovin' ivysaurus

Pinterest levicorpus

Favourites

I had originally wanted to do a February Favourites post but I didn't really have any particular things I liked just in February as it is usually always the same things for me for instance CHOCOLATE! Now for those that don't know me I am probably the biggest chocolate fiend in existence! So I thought why not make a favourites post just for chocolate just to be a bit different! I hope you enjoy :)

#1 M&M Mini Eggs: These are my absolute favourite chocolate and are only available around Easter time. They're solid milk chocolate with mini m&ms inside and they are divine. I could eat these for breakfast, lunch & dinner.

#2 Cadbury Mini Eggs: These are another limited Easter chocolate edition. Solid milk chocolate with a thick candy coating on the outside. I only got into these last Easter & they are pretty darn good & you don't need to worry about having to unwrap the foil like the other ones which can be a downside as you can eat them so much faster! Weird thing is at my local supermarket they only had the small boxes which was rather annoying as they're demolished in a blink of an eye! So I found a bag of them when I was shopping at Kmart and they were revolting! I was so disappointed especially to find the gross ones were made in New Zealand!!!!! Were as the yummy ones were made in Poland! Looks like I'll be sticking to the little boxes from now on!

#3 Cadbury Energy Chocolate: Now I go through phases of binge eating and buying a certain block before I get sick of it & move onto the next flavour. I'm currently loving this one so so sooo much. Its only 40% cocoa so its not too dark and its lovely and creamy like Dairy Milk. It has been quite annoying being Summer here as the block is always warm and borderline melting but I refuse to put it in the fridge as I can't stand refrigerated chocolate.

#4 Chocolate Chip Cookies: Normally I bake double/triple choc cookies but this time round I wanted a bit less chocolate since I'm eating so much other kinds with Easter. I have only made this particular recipe once before to make a 'Gingerbread House' with and it turned out great and the little off cuts I had left over were delicious! So I baked these up & they were gone within two days as my boyfriend took a bunch to work with him! Might need to get my bake on and whip up another batch!

Anyway, that is it for my favourites. Maybe I will do Favourites posts for certain things or a Top 5 if you will, every month to mix it up a bit. 

Hope you enjoyed reading, comment below and tell me your favourite chocolate at the moment!

Cynta x

You can follow me here

Instagram _ivysaurus

Twitter ivysaurus_17

Bloglovin' ivysaurus

Pinterest levicorpus

What's in my everyday bag

So I think I should start off by mentioning that my everyday bag is probably a lot different to most people's everyday bag because it is full of Leo's stuff mostly! Like every other first time mum I originally carted around with me my handbag and also a Nappy Bag filled to the brim with so much crap that I almost never used any of it! I soon came to the realisation that I did not need to bring my entire household with me so I now have the necessities all packed in to just my handbag (Yes, it all actually fits in the one bag surprisingly) unless of course we are going out for a longer period of time or an activity which requires a bit more items!

So here it is my handbag, its nothing fancy or anything but I adore it. My boyfriend got it for me for our anniversary last year after me complaining for months about needing a new one after my current one fell victim to spilled, sticky food mess (arrgh).

It is a pastel blue colour with a crocodile skin look to it with gold details. It has two short handles and it made of quite sturdy material. The brand is Marikai, I had never heard of that brand before but it is from Strandbags. It has two zip compartments, one side has an inner zip pocket which I find fantastic so I can keep coins, hair clips or any other small items safe from tiny hands & mouths. The other side has two small pockets which I like to keep my phone, keys and pens in, the rest of my stuff just gets put in like I'm playing a game of Tetris!

First up the baby stuff I always like to have a couple of nappies, change of clothes, sippy cup, a toy, some sort of snack, bibs, sun hat and of course baby wipes! Even if you don't have kids these are so good! Now for my stuff which there isn't really much of I have my set of keys, card wallet, deodorant, tissues, hand sanitiser, gum, lip balm, pens, a notebook and lastly hair clips as I always keep hair ties on my wrist if not in my hair. That is all I have in my bag on a day to day basis as I usually carry my phone in my pocket and I don't bring any make up with me. 

My bag is a lot more full and boring now that I'm a mum! Perhaps I should do a what's in my make up bag post? Leave me a comment with your top 3 must haves in your daily handbag! Don't forget to leave your blog link also so I can check it out. Hope everyone is having a fab weekend :)

Cynta x

You can follow me here

Instagram _ivysaurus

Twitter ivysaurus_17

Bloglovin' ivysaurus

Pinterest levicorpus

23 Things about me

Being 23 years old I thought I would write 23 facts about me so you can get to know me a little better!

1. I have a tabby cat called Nala 
   
   
2. My middle name is Ivy which is where I got the idea for Ivysaurus
   
   
3. I could easily demolish a block of chocolate in a day. Cadbury is my favourite
   
   
4. My favourite YouTube channel to watch are The Shaytards
   
   
5. I am 5 foot 1 and a half
   
   
6. I love Harry Potter, still waiting on my Hogwarts letter...
   
   
7. I fell in love with my best-friend and our wee boy Leo Phoenix is turning 1 years old next month!
   
   
8. I was born in Australia, raised in New Zealand
   
   
9. I am super shy until you get to know me
   
   
10. I like to make people laugh and I'm pretty good at it too!
    
    
11. I have to make lists for EVERYTHING
    
    

    

    My baby Leo - 11 months

    
    

1. I have a love/hate relationship with Pretty Little Liars
   
   
2. Master procrastinator
   
   
3. I left school 2 weeks after my 17th birthday because I didn't want to run 10km for PE
   
   
4. I have no clue what I want to be when I grow up and I'm already a grown up
   
   
5. I am absolutely terrified of snake, eels, worms anything without legs and well just bugs and spiders in general but I can't even watch Snakes on TV
   
   
6. I have one younger sister who is 21 years old
   
   
7. I have started up a business with a best friend where we design and make our own baby shower things with heaps of plans for more to come
   
   
8. I spend far too much time on the internet doing nothing
   
   
9. I only learnt how to drive 2 and half years ago
   
   
10. I really want to have a daughter sometime in the next year or so. Their clothes are soooo much cuter
    
    
11. I have no qualifications as I have almost always worked full time since leaving school. I did do an intro design course in 2012 and was going to begin the film and animation course but they didn't have enough people and I wasn't keen to move to the North Island!
    
    
12. I love to dye my hair all sorts of colours! It is a lot harder to maintain and find time now that I've had a baby so I currently have semi faded dark pinky-purple coloured hair.

Leave me a comment with an interesting fact about you

- Cynta x

You can follow me here

Instagram _ivysaurus

Twitter ivysaurus_17

Bloglovin' ivysaurus

Pinterest levicorpus

The Best Ginger Slice Ever

Back in the day about 10 or more years ago, my sister and I used to always make Ginger Crunch from the pre-mix box recipes from the supermarket. Between then and a few years ago they disappeared off the shelf so I was on the look out for the best recipe to make some delicious Ginger Crunch! Now I have tried a few recipes and failed miserably, since moving out of the flat I had been living in I have come to the realisation that it was in fact the oven that was screwing up all my baking and not my fault!

Towards the end of last year I came across a promising ginger slice recipe on Chelsea Winter's website so I was excited to give this one a go as her recipes are simple and AMAZING!!! This recipe is oh so simple to follow and it was in fact the best ginger slice I have tried (even better than the one we sell at my work!) I think what stands it apart from other recipes and slices I have tried in the past is this one is an 'Oaty' one so it doesn't have that crunch to it instead it is kind of chewy! It didn't last long in our household as it is also one of my boyfriend's favourite slices so ever. Since then he is always asking me to make some more. So on Friday I whipped up a new batch and as I'm writing this there are only 2 slices left! I almost forgot to take a picture of the end product!

If you love Ginger slice/crunch I highly recommend you give this recipe a go. The recipe does say to refrigerate but beware if you do it can cause the icing to go kind of white looking and crack but it tastes better cold :)

Oaty Ginger Slice

Base

150g butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

3/4 cup plain flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1.5 cups whole oats

¾ cup desiccated coconut

Icing

150g butter

2 – 3 cups icing sugar, sifted

3 tbsp golden syrup

4 tsp ground ginger

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a 32cm x 22cm slice tin with baking paper.

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan over a medium heat, stirring gently to combine. Remove from the heat.

Sift the flour, baking powder and ginger into the pan with the buttery mixture. Add the oats and coconut, and fold to combine.

Press the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and leave in the tin.

Heat the icing ingredients (2 cups of the icing sugar) in a saucepan (just rinse the one you used for the base), stirring over a medium heat until melted. If the butter isn’t all mixing in nicely, add more icing sugar until you have a nice smooth icing – up to a cup more icing sugar.

Pour over the warm slice. Leave in the tin to cool then cut into slices. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week

You can follow me here

Instagram _ivysaurus

Twitter ivysaurus_17

Bloglovin' ivysaurus

Pinterest levicorpus

Credit:http://chelseawinter.co.nz/oaty-ginger-slice/

Hello 2016

Welcome.

I've been wanting to start a blog for years and years since back in the days of Bebo when you could post all sorts on your wall from questionnaires to ranting and raving. I'm finally get my but into gear to start doing something I have inspired to do for so long now!

I want to keep it short and sweet but that just isn't going to happen. I want a place to record my thoughts, feelings and accomplishments. I want to interact with people from all over the world.

A little bit about me;
Im 23 years old, I have a son called Leo who will be 1 in March (it hasn't sunken in that my baby is going to be a year old so very soon!) I live in New Zealand and it is a pretty neat place though I have thoughts of moving to Australia sometime in the future. Chocolate is probably one of the best things in the world to me, i love it so much! One of the main reasons I have stayed away from making a blog is my Grammar, I have almost no skills at all in that department though i like to think of my spelling skills to be on point even though my vocabulary is limited. I enjoy watching Youtube videos, maybe not as much as I used to as I don't have a lot of free time but I absolutely love the Shaytards and have been following them for years now! Sometimes I regret not continuing on with the Youtube channel i made with a couple of friends back in 2008 as it was such great fun being silly and there wasn't alot of that back then but I AM SOOOO camera shy it is ridiculous like I probably only have a couple of photos of me and my boyfriend and my son! but if I had carried on making videos with those people I wouldn't be where I am today with my beautiful son to the love of my life my soul mate #ewwsoppyromance

Plans for my blog;
You can expect to see a wide range of posts on here as I enjoy baking and like to try out new things also a lot of mummy related things like organising my sons 1st birthday. I also love making lists!

If you've made it this far thank you so much for taking the time to read my first ever blog and any advice is much appreciated. Please also leave me the link to your blog so I can check it out :)


Cynta x

You can follow me here

Instagram _ivysaurus

Twitter ivysaurus_17

Bloglovin' ivysaurus

Pinterest levicorpus