ISSUE 16
FOR MOTHERS WHO LIVE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
a g n i l iv
l u f i t u a e b ife l
AU and NZ $14.95 (inc. GST)
with your little one
ISSN
9
1836-4624
771836
462003
Inspiration. Real Life. Beautiful Things.
MOTHERHOOD
L O V E . M E R C Y.
grace. F O R G I V E N E S S .
Yvette Vargas lives her life by four words: love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. Before becoming a mother, she had no idea how such words would define her relationship with her daughter, Luella, and cement the bond she shared with her husband. Here is her honest story on motherhood. Words by Genine Howard Photography by Aver & Line Photography
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MOTHERHOOD
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INSPIRING MOTHERHOOD mums
“Bringing a baby into the world with my husband created a whole new level of intimacy between us.”
T
ell us a little about your life pre-Luella. Who was Yvette? Before I had Luella, I was a social worker. I worked in a variety of settings, including foster care, drug and alcohol and Family Services. I have always been very passionate about children and families who are suffering, and have seen it a privilege to serve them. Who is Yvette now? I’m a stay-at-home mum and absolutely loving it! When Luella (now four) was 10 months old, I had to go back to my social work job due to my husband retiring from professional soccer. Roddy [Rodrigo Vargas] was going to have to transition from soccer into some kind of ‘normal’ job, and at the time we had no idea what that would be. It was important to us to have financial security, so I went back to work three days a week. This was tough for me, as I had always wanted to be a stay-at-home-mum throughout my children’s preschool years. Thanks to my husband, earlier this year, I quit my job and I feel like I am now living the dream. I’m so grateful that I have the luxury of spending every day with my little girl. I feel like I’m making up for lost time when I had to work. What is your world like now that you have your husband and Luella? Life is great! Sure, it’s not perfect, but I really do live a blessed life. The first two years of parenthood were very stressful because Luella was a terrible sleeper. We were so sleep deprived that I was pretty anxious most of the time. Thank heavens, she started sleeping through the night at two years old, and from there, we started to feel normal again. My husband still plays soccer at
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a semi-professional level, and he also coordinates a high-school football program. More than anything we love family time. The three of us are as thick as thieves! What, if anything, do you miss of your pre-baby life? Having a social life! I don’t get out much, and when I do it’s always rushed so I can pick Luella up from her grandparents’ house. I’d love to have more date nights out with my husband. We haven’t managed many since having Luella. What was your pregnancy and birthing experience with Luella? I struggled through pregnancy because I was huge! It felt like my whole body was pregnant: arms, legs and face! I was so heavy and sore. Water retention nearly killed me! When I went into labour, I was surprised at the lack of urgency at the hospital. In all the movies I had seen, doctors and nurses had come running in from everywhere attending to the pregnant woman’s every need. In real life, I was handed a form to complete in the waiting area, and was told to wait. Then, I was told to go home! That was a huge shock! I was in pain and I was expecting the royal treatment. Obviously, I was very ignorant! When I did finally get admitted and proceeded with the birth, it was harder and more painful than I ever thought it would be. I honestly thought I’d never be able to do it again. I’ve mentally overcome that hurdle in my mind now, however. I think one of the biggest shocks of being a new mum was how painful breastfeeding was. I persisted with it though and got through the pain eventually. I ended up breastfeeding Luella for two years.
MOTHERHOOD
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PARTY time
T E L I YA H ’ S
4th birthday.
Mum: Deanne Dad: Jorge Siblings: Tayah, 8 Theme: Bohemian Princess Styling and Photography: Megan Masset of Love Every Detail
U
nfortunately illness prevented Teliyah from having her party on the day of her actual birthday, but after a fast recovery, the big day was a great success and the perfect way to celebrate a milestone year. “Teliyah is our shy, yet cheeky, little princess,” says mum, Deanne. “She is very chatty once she comes out of her shell and is always looking for something to do. She has an older sister who she looks up to and wants to be like. “This year we saw Teliyah achieve little milestones: kindergarten and finding independence in her own small way (but still being mama’s little princess). “She also has her own way of expressing her love by saying her little catch phrase, ‘Love you in the whole world!’ This always puts a smile on our face because of the innocent and loving way she comes out with it. Her special and spontaneous way of expressing her love is priceless..” Deanne did the initial research for the
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party herself and acquired some props, before engaging Love Every Detail to help bring it all together. “Megan from Love Every Detail brought an artistic flair to the event, provided further props, and styled, catered and photographed the celebration,” she says. “The styling, decorations, cakes, sweets and party favours made the day a huge success with the children and the adults.” The party was held in a local park, and the theme was also a hit with the guests – and the birthday girl! “The party had a bohemian feel to it with a touch of American Indian,” says Deanne. “The decorations consisted of a mixture of soft and strong pinks, oranges and gold colours which were arranged in a simplistic, yet effective, manner. “The use of the tepee created a secondary focal point to the exquisitely decorated sweets table, which the children and the adults alike, loved. The table setting tied in
with the surrounding parkland by the use of tree stumps for the seating.” The party guests enjoyed games of pass the parcel, musical statues and find the hidden golden toy, as well as sack races and egg and spoon races. They also took home some lovely handcrafted party favours. “We made feather necklaces for the favours, plus the kids were also given handcrafted lolly boxes finished off with twine and feathers and number-four gold cookie pops.” All in all, Deanne counts the day as a huge success. “Everything went off without a hitch, even the unpredictable Melbourne weather was on our side for a change!” she says. “The excitement on Teliyah’s little face on the day and seeing it all come together were the highlights of the day. Teliyah felt like a princess and still talks about her birthday to this day. We’re planning to do it all over again next year!” �
PARTY time
Advice from Deanne: “ I would highly recommend getting an event planner. The creative input of Megan from Love Every Detail was invaluable on the day. I would recommend her to anyone!�
Special party
details:
Decorations by Love Every Detail (loveeverydetail.com), Lark (larkstore.com.au) and Ruby Rabbit (rubyrabbit.com.au) Menu and cake by Love Every Detail Party outfit by Seed (seedheritage.com) and Dollcake (dollcake.com.au)
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THE PETITIE COLLAB
INTRODUCING ... THE
petite C O L L A B O R A T I V E .
Meet an exclusive group of influencers we like to call, The Petite Collaborative. The Petite Collaborative is a group of experts we have gathered to help Littleone Magazine’s mission to provide informative, life-changing, uplifting online content to mothers to help them become the very best versions of themselves … and in turn become positive role models for the little ones of our world. Genine Howard – Littleone Magazine littleonemag.com
Emma Hobley – Designs By Emma facebook.com/designsbyemmah
Head honcho at Littleone Magazine and The Petite Collaborative, Genine’s mission is to inspire mothers to live a beautiful life with their little ones full of abundance, style, ease and grace. She is also a business coach for mums as well as being an author, public speaker and mum to two little ones, Jack and Frankie Grace.
Emma started Designs By Emma to create unique, stylish and practical handmade tote bags for everyone. Emma loves all clients to be involved in the decision process to create their one-off bag and enjoys seeing the excitement when clients receive their individual product. Emma loves meeting and supporting fellow mumpreneurs who have built their own little empires in the handmade industry.
Alex O’Callaghan – MammaBelle mammabella.com.au
Lucia Philip – Something Wonderful Happened somethingwonderfulhappened.com.au
Alex O’Callaghan is the creator of and mamma behind MammaBelle – a stylish and seriously fun maternity and breastfeeding clothing label. Alex helps mammas to-be and new mammas look and feel beautiful from the inside out, by helping them to embrace their gorgeous new bodies and style their growing bumps. Alex advocates for positive body image through her philosophy of real women and real bumps and promotes positive mindset among women.
Lucia Philip used to be a corporate warrior who managed events for ASX 50 companies. Now she manages two rambunctious little boys and her third baby, Something Wonderful Happened, a company provides bespoke event planning and styling for mothers and their little ones.
Anne Sidebottom – The Startup Mum annesidebottom.com
Rebecca Gibson – Bubbaluvs & Me bubbaluvsandme.com.au
Drawing on her 10 plus years experience in corporate technology, business strategy, and a fast-growing tech startup, Anne has now embraced the small business startup world – making exercise, freedom and confidence accessible to all mums. Following ‘lean startup’ principles, and employing a range of mindset strategies and tools, Anne is on the learning experience of a lifetime.
Rebecca is a transformational business coach specialising in helping mothers in business be lovingly assertive in life and business. It is her purpose to allow mothers the space to find authentic self-love and inner peace to bring them into their life purpose to create a better world for our children to thrive in.
Beth Sebesfi – Bayberry Blue bayberryblue.com.au
Sarah Harris – A to Z Baby Planners atozbabyplanners.com.au
Beth, an early learning professional, realised that most families were eager to understand contemporary knowledge about early childhood so Beth started Bayberry Blue – a new and developing parenting resource provides practical advice for families as they navigate the early years with their child as well as online shopping of parenting essentials.
Sarah Harris is the founder of A to Z Baby Planners, named after her adorable little girls, Amelia and Zoe. She loves to travel and has been lucky enough to live and work in the corporate world in Jakarta, Sydney and Brisbane. She now lives in Melbourne with her family.
Caroline Fenton – Avidiva avidiva.com.au
Kate Pierce – Antipodean Love antipodeanlove.com.au
Mum to playful little Alfie, Caroline runs online organic baby boutique Avidiva and loves getting creative in the kitchen (if and when naps allow!). Caroline holds a BSc in Psychology, and has a passion for all things naturally yummy … especially when it comes to feeding hungry little bellies!
With a love for her homeland of Australia and the feel-good act of gifting, Kate Pierce realised there was a gap in the market for ‘non-tacky’, locally-sourced gifts. So in 2012, she launched Antipodean Love – the online home for the best Australian and New Zealand gifts.
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