The gift

The kids and I are all set for a day of fun in the sun. We have swimming lessons this morning and then we are heading to Wellington Point for a play in the water with some gorgeous friends of ours J Such a beautiful way to spend a sunny day J

Often when we have social outings planned during the week, I worry about all the things I am not getting done at home (errands and chores mainly). Sometimes I worry so much that I cancel or delay the outing just so I can get the things done that I think “need” to be done. Then yesterday I heard some words spoken that have changed my perspective entirely…

“Ask yourself if what you are doing is a gift to your children or is it to satisfy yourself?” This is not a direct quote but rather some paraphrasing from an episode of Dr Phil (love my Dr Phil when I get the opportunity to watch it!!!) Basically, what I am taking from this is that I need to consider if what I have planned for the day is a gift to my children, their development and their happiness, or is it just to satisfy myself. Granted, I know there are days where totally boring but necessary chores and errands must be completed and that’s OK. It is also OK if I am feeling totally exhausted and choose to have a day of doing very little. But on the whole, I need to consider if what I am doing is a gift to my children. Is it a gift to enhance their happiness? Their development? Their wellbeing? Is it a gift to facilitate the development of skills that will prepare them for the next stage of life? After all, that is our role as parents: to prepare our children for the next stage of life with the overall goal of ensuring they become functioning and contributing members of society. And of course to make sure they are happy and loved!  So asking yourself this simple phrase can really put things in perspective.

A little footnote: I know many of my beautiful blog followers are not yet Mums so I wanted to add a little bit on how to apply this theory to your stage of life. Ask yourself when presented with an opportunity or a request “Is this a gift towards my future?” Ask yourself at the beginning of each day if what you are doing is a gift to the future you. Set goals and make decisions based on reaching those goals. It will help keep things in perspective and keep your life progressing to where you want it to be J

Happy hump day xox   

Expectations

I have just completed the BAS (woot woot) and am now dealing with a very cranky little guy…he’s unimpressed with my lack of attention towards him over the past 24 hours. Perhaps I should study the advice I gave yesterday on time management so this cram session doesn’t happen again in the future (wishful thinking!)

Elliott’s frustration brings to mind the ridiculous expectations we have of ourselves as women, particularly as mothers. Elliott has been conditioned to expect my full attention and a day packed with engaging activities. Sure there are days where he and Sophie have to fend for themselves while I get some necessary chores done, but on the whole, I am at their beck and call (one of the “highlights” of motherhood). What I struggle with is the guilt I feel when I don’t engage with the kids to my utmost ability or when I have a down day and dabble in some economy class mothering. I hold myself to impossibly high standards and when I don’t reach those standards (which happens most days) I beat myself up about it. How foolish!

If any of my friends came to me and expressed that they were feeling guilty for not be consistently on top of their game, I would pull them up straight away! I would tell them they are doing a fabulous job and that it impossible to be 100% happy and productive 100% of the time. I would tell them there is no such thing as Super Mum and that being the most super Mum they can be is perfect for their children. I would tell them to be more realistic about their expectations of themselves, which, in turn, would create a far happier and more relaxed household.

So if this is what I would tell my friends, why is it so hard for me to hear this golden advice? Who knows!?! Hopefully, one day very soon, this advice will resonate with me and I can take steps towards a more realistic idea of what being “Kate” means for me and my family. Food for thought anyway J

Motivational Monday #3

Good morning everyone J If ever there was a Monday that I needed motivation for, today is the day. I got up for the gym and battled with the notion of getting straight back into bed…I even pulled up out the front of the gym and considered driving home and getting back into bed! I didn’t though, which I am pleased about, and I pushed myself super, super hard. Now, I am exhausted. It’s been 4hrs since my workout, the euphoria has worn off and the reality of the day has set in...today, I have to do the BAS for Mat’s business (bluck!). Because BAS is due tomorrow and I am only starting it this morning, I thought I would address the topic of Time Management in our Motivational Monday segment…

“Saying you have no time is no excuse; we all have the same amount of hours in a day”. Unknown

I absolutely LOVE this quote because it really puts things in perspective with regards to time management. We are all busy, we all have goals, we all have “things that must be done” and we all have 24hrs in which to accomplish these tasks. Those with effective time management skills will obviously excel at making the most of every minute of the day and achieve what they set out to do. For the rest of us mere mortals struggling with time management, here are a few handy hints to try and become less frazzled and more effective:

1.    Write a To Do list. This is an important step and consequently, it is important that you do it right. Be specific. A large task such as “Clean the house” needs to be broken down into more manageable and measureable tasks, like “mop the floors” and “clean the shower”. Being specific will ensure you avoid procrastination and stay focused on the task at hand.

2.    A To Do list is a brilliant tool, but an important element of a To Do list is to Prioritise the tasks on it. You need to move past the notion that everything is urgent and identify the difference between Urgent tasks and Important tasks. For example, if you have a document at work due this afternoon, it will obviously take priority over the very important quarterly review that is due on Friday.

3.    Set goals, both professional and personal. This is so important because it gives your life direction and purpose. I like to imagine myself as a ship leaving port…if I don’t set goals, how will I know where to go? I could get lost at sea, run out of supplies or get caught in a storm and never make it to the destination I hoped to get to. If I set goals and plan ahead however, the likelihood of me making it to my dreamed of destination is considerably greater than just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

4.    Stay focused. This is a tough one because we are all faced with an endless wave of distractions throughout the day, welcomed or not. Those time management masterminds deal with or ignore these distractions quite well; the rest of us “normal” people however are usually swept up into the distraction wave. The result is a whole lot of precious time lost that could be used for working towards our goals. I am not in any way suggesting that you do away with fun and free time, what I am saying however is when you next log on to the internet to research your current project, ask yourself if reading up on Kim Kardashian’s latest butt implants is really that important? (The irony that while I was writing this particular point, I was distracted by a phone call).

5.    Work with what you’ve got. If you are like me and the morning is your most productive time, run with it. If however the evening is where you shine, get your head down and bum up after 5pm (this is not a Kama Sutra position, but rather a reference to work and productivity J). Most people cringe at the thought of working out at 4:30 in the morning but for me, it is the only time that works. Tap into your productive parts of the day and schedule more challenging and time consuming tasks for these times. You will be amazed at the difference this can make!

6.    Finally, and most importantly, learn to say “NO”. Taking on too much, or other peoples burdens will do absolutely nothing for you in terms of reaching your goals. Essentially, all you are doing is teaching people that they can use you or walk all over you because you never say no. Of course it is reasonable to help people out at times and saying “No” isn’t always possible. It is however possible to refuse requests that can be fulfilled by someone else and that don’t bring you any closer to your goals in life. Stay focused on what you want to achieve and only take on tasks that you feel are important.

I hope these little tips help you with attempting to become an expert at managing your time. Happy Monday J  

Fabulous Friday

Hello beautiful blogee’s J Sorry for missing yesterday’s post! It was such a busy day with no time to sit in front of the computer. I tell you, if I could cut out my need to sleep, I would be far, far, far more productive…wishful thinking.

Anyway, what a gorgeous day we had yesterday J One of my dearest friends, Shaz and I took our beautiful children into the city to see an exhibit called “We miss you Magic Land” at the Gallery of Modern Art. It was just unbelievable the amount of work and detail that went into this display and I highly recommend checking it out. The highlight for me was the “dot room” (although, I’m sure that is not what it is called) where the kids can stick coloured circle stickers anywhere in the room. We all had a ball in there! Other highlights included the visit to the Museum where there was a display of live fornicating stick insects (seriously, it was an insect orgy…thank God they blended in with the trees or we would have had some explaining to do to the kids!!) and the visit to the State Library for the kids to have a play. It really was just a marvellous day out and exactly what the doctor ordered…I was in desperate need of some time with my kids away from the humdrum reality of day to day life to revamp and recharge J

Speaking of being recharged, boy was I spoilt on Wednesday night! Mat arranged for a masseuse to come to our house and give us each and hour long massage!! It was heavenly!!! I set up my craft room (my haven) with an oil burner, relaxation music and dimmed lighting and escaped away in there while the masseuse, Amanda, worked her magic with an all over body massage. Seriously indulgent, I just loved it. Mat did a brilliant job of keeping the kids quiet and away so I really did get to relax. By the time I was finished, the kids were in bed so I had a long hot bath, read a magazine and had a glass of wine. Heaven J

So all in all, since my last post, I am feeling much improved. The kids are happier, I am happier and the energy in the whole household has made a significant shift in a positive direction. I must go now, Elliott has just walked into a wall and is screaming his head off…seriously, this child will have no brain cells left by the time he’s at school if he keeps knocking his head like this! Have a wonderful weekend J xox

Economy class

Oh my goodness I am struggling today…curse you PMT. I didn’t get up for the gym, the kids (mainly darling Elliott) are driving me to the point of yelling or crying and, to top it off, we have to do groceries after swimming lessons. Absolutely nothing good can come of grocery shopping with cranky kids and an even crankier Mum. I would put it off again, as I have done for days now, but we are down to slim pickins so I have no choice. Couple crankiness with PMT and I guarantee you I will fill the trolley with rubbish like Coco Pops (yum!!! Sugary cereal is one of my favourite “treat foods”), chocolates and biscuits…great news for my taste buds, bad news for my sizeable arse.

I am not exactly sure how I will turn today’s cranky mood around…I am even considering just running with it and being cranky. I know it isn’t the end of the world, it’s just PMT and fussy kids so it shall pass. It is funny how we often fight with and struggle against our emotions instead of just acknowledging them and running with them. It is also quite funny how when we are down, we tend to review all our life’s shortcomings. What a silly idea. When we are down, we blow everything right out or proportion and turn little things into huge life issues so perhaps today is not the best time to reflect on the progress of my life’s goals. So it is decided then, I will allow myself to feel less than grand today, the kids can endure a day of economy class mothering and hopefully tomorrow I will wake up with a bright and cheery enthusiasm for the day ahead…fingers crossed!

I hope you enjoy your day ahead and believe it or not, I think I will too. Now that I have acknowledged my crankiness rather than fighting it, I’m actually feeling a slight improvement in my mood…the Wiggles CD is blaring, Soph is trying to play hairdressers with me as I type and Elliott is screaming in tantrums because he can’t get his toy to do what he wants; but I am not crying J I am not yelling J I am not even bothered by it all just now J Hooray!  

Daddy Duty

I really have to laugh when I hear Dad’s saying that they are babysitting their kids…heads up fella’s, it’s actually called parenting. In my household, as I imagine it is in many, Daddy duty is SOOOO different to Mummy duty…

One morning recently, Mat was leaving a little later for work. It was such a rarity that I decided to let him tend to the kids running amok in the play area and I enjoyed lying in bed listening to the news. When I turned the radio off, all I could hear was Mat talking on his mobile phone and the muffled cheeky giggles of the kids. I jumped up to investigate what the kids were up to and discovered that they were very easy to find…all I had to do was follow the trail of tampons. The kids had raided a box of tampons from my bathroom and were now gleefully pulling them apart whilst sitting in my car in the garage! Naturally, Mat was completely oblivious to the events unfolding and simply said to me “I was on the phone” as though it was a legitimate excuse. I politely reminded him that it was a mobile phone he was speaking on!    

Then there was the time when I was outside mowing the lawn and asked Mat to keep an eye on Sophie (this is before Elliott’s time and side note: I LOVE mowing the lawn and happily trade an hours parenting for an hour mowing the yard). Anyway, I came back in to discover Mat in the office playing solitaire and Sophie, my bedroom floor, my mirror and her toy elephant covered in red lipstick. I drew Mat’s attention to the situation and no legitimate excuse stumbled from his mouth so I simply said I will clean up the mess but he has to clean Sophie. “Yeah, no worries” he said, so we went our separate ways to tend to our jobs…or so I thought. Mat went back to the computer and let Sophie go into the lounge room to spread the lipstick joy further! I was furious by that stage as you can imagine. It amazes me how few Dads have the foresight to see “Hmmm, a child covered in lipstick that will stain anything she touches…ah she’ll be right, I’ll just finish what I’m doing and worry about that later”. What the?!?!

Another Daddy Duty incident that comes to mind is recently when I was at Church, Mat was home with the kids getting them off to bed. I came home, had a chat to Mat who was playing in his shed. His reports were that the kids had gone down fine, no dramas at all. I went in to tuck the kids in and saw that Elliott had launched his cot away from the wall and thrown all blankets, pillows and toys onto the floor. I then checked on Sophie and here she was, sound asleep but wearing my togs with a cushion, 2 toys and a book shoved down the front. Sigh, Daddy Duty strikes again…they went down peacefully because Mat was in the shed and couldn’t hear them!

Finally, on Sunday night just gone, I went off to Church and Mat was left to complete the bath and bedtime routine. He had trouble getting the kids to sleep so his solution was to give Elliott toys in his cot and allow Sophie to get up and watch a movie. What the?!?! The end result was overstimulated kids and Mat falling asleep on the lounge room floor!

Yep, there is no doubt Daddy Duty is completely different to Mummy Duty. I am not saying it is worse, but the risk of injury and the clean-up are always more significant when Dads are involved. But you know what, I wouldn’t have it any other way because it makes the kids happy and no doubt, the dads happy too. Memory making at its finest J    

Motivational Monday #2

Good morning beautiful people J Happy Monday J Today's motivational snippet relates to our health and fitness. Let's face it, Monday is usually the day we all start our diets and exercise plans, only for that enthusiasm to peter out over the coming weeks, days or even hours (guilty as charged!) I have myself a little inspirational board that I look at every day in an effort to keep me going, and I thought I would share a few of my favourite sayings with you:

• Motivation is what gets you started; habit is what keeps you going.
• If you don't do sh*t how do you expect things to change?
• Actually, I can.
• You don't always get what you wish for, you get what you work for.
• I am not saying it is going to be easy, I'm saying it is going to be worth it.
• You earn your body.
• Dear Fat, Get the f*#k out of my body. Sincerely, Kate.
• Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.
• It takes 4 weeks for you to see your body changing, it takes 8 weeks for friends and family and it takes 12 weeks for the rest of the world. Keep going!
• If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done.
• What you do today can improve all of your tomorrows. 

I hope you get as much out of these sayings as I do and that you feel motivated to turn your life around today. Never put off creating a healthy lifestyle because without our health, everything in life is more difficult. Be happy, healthy, fit and strong, and the world will be your oyster J  

Here's to new beginnings

Friday Funnies

Talk about spoilt! Elliott was just having a little meltdown in my bedroom so I picked him up and sat on my bed cuddling him…and he actually cuddled me back! We sat there cuddling for about 20 minutes and it was so special! Since he was born, I can count on one hand the number of times this has happened, so I am pretty chuffed J J J

Speaking of my precious little man (he’s fallen asleep so it’s easy to call him precious when he isn’t whinging at me and tantruming his tail off), I have to share a funny funny story with you; it’s about his latest trick. As you know, Elliott and head injuries go hand in hand…if there is a way to hurt your noggin, Elliott has it covered. Naturally, when he hurts his head, he gets lots of love, cuddles, fussing and attention to try and soothe him and ensure he isn’t seriously injured. Well, his new trick is that when he is being told off and guided away from mischief, he will go and bang his head on the wall and the door frames! It is absolutely hilarious to watch, especially because he is trying to do it gently so he doesn’t hurt himself. Once he has self-administered his little head bang, he whinges and fusses in anticipation of receiving the same sympathy he gets when he has a genuine head injury…of course he is left wanting! There is no way I will reward that kind of behaviour and soon enough he will work out that it doesn’t help him to get what he wants, but in the meantime, how very very clever of him to try and trick me like that J

Another Friday funny to share with you involves my beautiful little girl, Sophie. She is playing by herself very nicely at the moment, playing restaurants I think, and she just bought me a cup to have a pretend drink. “Oh this is delicious, Sophie, what a yummy drink you’ve made. What is it?” She looks up at me, a big beaming smile on her face and says “Kids wine of course. It’s different from grown up wine ‘cos kids can have it too. It’s very yummy hey?” LOL, I don’t actually drink that much wine but listening to Sophie you would think it was a daily staple! Oh out of the mouths of babes J

Have a fabulous Friday, a wonderful weekend and I will talk to you again on our Motivational Monday J

New life

Good morning everyone J I am feeling on top of the world this morning. I’ve been to the gym for my hour long workout, the kids are still asleep and Mat and I have just enjoyed a morning cuppa together (and more importantly, childless!!), which is a rare treat. I have my relaxation music playing and while we were having a cuppa I said to Mat “Isn’t this music such a beautiful way to start the day, such a relaxing transition into the chaos”. His response was “No, not really, I don’t find it relaxing at all but I tolerate it because I know you like it”. How sweet, lol. He then went on to explain that it reminds him of Goose dying in the movie Top Gun. Then I got to thinking about what it reminds me of…LABOUR!

This particular CD is one I played over and over again when I was in labour with Sophie (to catch all you wonderful new readers up, I was in labour for three freakin days with my first child but ended up with an emergency caesar…fun times!) Mat and I then went down memory lane of how difficult Soph’s labour was and that this CD was the only thing that kept me sane…well, the hospital drugs helped too J Here is what Mat remembers of my labour with Soph and the reality of how it actually happened:

Mat: “It was tough you know, I had to hose your back in the shower and rub your back during contractions”. As I recall, over the three days, he did this about five times.

Mat: “It was really hard staying awake”. Really Mat? Really? The days before I was admitted to hospital, he slept soundly while I was up all night with contractions. Yeah, must have been tough for the poor guy…I was awake for three days!!!!!

Mat: “The hospital chair was so uncomfortable, I couldn’t getting any rest at all”. Oh my, the poor Dads having an uncomfortable chair to ride out labour in. Lucky us Mums get to kick back in a luxurious bed and be waited on frequently by nursing staff…ah that’s the life J   

The biggest thing I remember of my labour with Sophie was that at the end of it all, when our new family of three were back in our little hospital room, Mat complained that he was feeling so tired...that was when we had our first argument as parents J

All in all, it is no surprise that us beautiful women are the ones to endure pregnancy, labour and childbirth because quite frankly, the boys are not tough enough to handle it. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a battle of the sexes, it is just a simple fact…baby making is hard work!!! It is called labour and not leisure for a reason J  

This post today is dedicated to a gorgeous friend of mine and Mum-to-be, Cathee, who is so close to popping! Thinking of you xox

What a morning so far...

Oh my goodness, it is 6:30am as I sit down to write todays blog and I am already exhausted…it is going to be a long day! I got up at 4:15am and headed to the gym. Jayde, my brother’s beautiful girlfriend, has started coming with me so it is making it much easier to get moving at that ungodly hour. Returning home, the house was silent except for Elliott’s little stirs as he began to wake. Knowing my “me time” was about to inevitably expire for the day, I popped on some relaxation music and did some stretching in the lounge room. “What a gorgeous way to start the day” I thought to myself…and then the kids woke up…

Elliott began howling his little head off, clearly unimpressed that I had left him stirring in his cot for 10 minutes while I did some stretching. Lunches needed to be made so I offloaded Elliott to Mat and headed out to the kitchen. Mat did his best to cheer Elliott up but to no avail so Elliott came wandering and whinging out to me in the kitchen. I really love how Dads can go “Oh well, I tried, go see your mother”. I wish we had that option some days! I did ask Mat if I could go and be a carpenter for the day and he could stay home with the fussy kids but he declined my generous offer. Hold that thought, the kids are silent right now while I am typing which can only mean one thing…mischief. I shall return….

All good, the kids are just playing in my wardrobe, donning high heels and trying to put on my bras. When I sprung them they both burst into fits of squeals and laughter, which made me laugh too J

Anyway, back on track. Oh yes, my fussy kids. Breakfast was a nightmare, you would have thought I was trying to feed them arsenic the way they were carrying on…It was actually porridge. Oh the drama. Each of them ended up only having about 5 mouthfuls of food before I gave up on the battle. No doubt they will be begging for morning tea by 7am. Then the piece de resistance was undoubtedly the conversation Sophie and I had that resulted in her bursting into tears. She asked about a movie called Barnyard and why Odie’s Dad died. I explained how the wolves got him and he had to go to heaven but that he was OK now. This lead to a conversation about how wolves eat other animals and poor Sophie was in tears. She kept crying “I want my Daddy right now” because in her mind, there was a chance her Dad might just get eaten by wolves today. Oh dear. I put her mind at ease (I hope??) that there were no wolves here and Daddy would be perfectly safe. Phew, crisis averted.

Now, I am thinking of popping on some washing and quickly mowing the lawn before having to leave for swimming lessons at 8:30…quite possibly wishful thinking because the kids are a little over the top this morning. Right now, Elliott is chasing Sophie around the house with a pair of her knickers, presumably in an effort to get her dressed for the day. Sophie is running away from him in one of my dresses and a pair of my high heels (her wedding outfit of course) while carrying a bouquet of musical bells…such a peaceful house I live in. Their squeals of laughter and delight are just too precious; time to be present with my beautiful children, the chores can wait J

Have a beautiful day and remember to be present in everything you are doing today, it will have an amazingly positive effect on you and your productivity J

Nasty Nancy

There are some pretty revolting people in this world and I, unfortunately, had this displeasure of dealing with this scum on my blog yesterday. Let me set the scene for you. I logged on to check the comments and found the following under the post “Where do babies come from?”…

Anonymous: “It’s so lame that you delete a comment simply because it doesn’t work in your favour. You’re so full of shit”.  

Naturally, I had no idea what this awful Anonymous character was on about so I responded with “Cool your jets Anonymous. I haven’t deleted any comments so I am not sure what on Earth you are talking about. Take your negativity elsewhere, this Blog is certainly not a place to carry on like that”.

Anonymous then said back “I guess it was the spirits then Kate. I just got a message from a spirit for you…they say you will be divorced. Funny how they say girls marry men similar to their fathers – I’d keep an eye on Matt if I were you”.

Talk about pathetic. First and foremost, Anonymous was up in arms about me supposedly deleting a comment they had left, but further investigation revealed they had actually left that comment under “Parliament Question Time”, not “Where do babies come from?” as they thought they had. Talk about an ID-10-T error (an “idiot” error) on their behalf. So from here, Anonymous went on a belligerent rampage that resulted in a comment thread excessive of 50 posts, attacking me for reasons unknown. They claimed, falsely of course, that they were having a sexual relationship with my husband; They attacked Australian Soldiers, including my younger brother, referencing a misguided notion that all Soldiers are dumb and high school dropouts (despite the fact that Sam completed high school). So sad that these amazing Soldiers are actually fighting Wars protecting some vile humans like “Anonymous” and their ability to have the freedom of speech, no matter how destructive it may be; They attacked my older brother and his difficult past overcoming a drug habit. They are obviously currently out of the loop because Ben has overcome this, fought his demons and won. Talk about amazing, Ben, conquering that on your own…unbelievable!; They went on and on trying to get me to buy into the bait that they were having a sexual relationship with Mat but I took the high road, knowing there was no way it was true; They then went on to attack me about being a stay at home Mum and so on and so forth.

Overall, they attacked me, my family and my loved ones in an attempt to make me believe Mat was having an affair with them. So so pathetic. I of course know who was involved but I just have no idea why they decided to this. They are a few pathetic individuals who have crossed my path in the past and I wrote them off because of their vile behaviour. I haven’t had anything to do with them for years but I am flattered that they are following my Blog so closely. I hope that they can open their simple minds to absorb many of the messages from my Blog on being a decent human…but there are some people who are beyond repair so I don’t hold my breath. Thankfully my character is strong so that my self worth is not measured by these kinds of horrible and sad people. “Anonymous”, I wish you a bright future, filled with many learning opportunities to help you evolve into decent human beings. Best of luck with this as I know it won’t come easy for you guys but trust me, it will be worth the effort.

So now, it is on with the cleansing. Sage sticks have been used for centuries to cleanse houses of evil spirits. Today, my Blog is having a virtual sage stick cleansing to rid it of the negative energy brought forward by “Anonymous”. I have expended as much energy as I am prepared to by sharing the above situation and now, it is time to cleanse and move forward.

So go forth and enjoy this beautiful Valentines Day. I know Mat and Sophie will when they open their lunchboxes…I made them love heart biscuits, love heart sandwiches and covered their water bottles and lunchboxes with love stickers. So cute J

Motivational Monday #1

Good morning everyone J Happy Monday. I have decided that all of Monday’s future blog posts will fall under the category of “Motivational Monday”; that way, we can all start our week off with a bang! I’ll share motivational, inspiring, uplifting and humbling stories with you, as well as plenty of quotes (love my quotes!!), photographs, poems and goodness knows what else. I would also love to hear from you with anything you would like to share to pump us up for the week ahead J

Today, I am motivated but with a different goal in mind than I usually have…my goal this week is simply to rest and nurture my body.  You see, last night at Church, I had a message from Spirit that was given to me by Russell, which I have summarised below:

• I am running around and around and around in circles after my children and it is absolutely wearing me out.
• I need to stop and rest, look after my body and rejuvenate. Russell suggested getting hubby to have the kids for a few hours a week so I can get a break…I laughed and asked to get that in writing!
• Russell said that spirit was showing me swinging in a hammock and that I need to make more time to relax, rest and quiet my mind. In doing so, I will be more open to the communications I am receiving from Spirit.
• Diet. Spirit emphasised the need to eat living foods like apples, lettuce and celery (yay) and detoxify. This will also aid in resting and rejuvenating my body.

Upon reflection, yes I am absolutely running myself into the ground looking after the kids and as Russell said, what mother isn’t feeling this way? Regarding the suggestion to have Mat take the kids for a few hours so I can have some quiet time, well, that is an area that needs a bit of work. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than happy to hand the kids over and say “get out of my space” but the challenge is convincing Mat to take them! Then there is Russell’s mention of relaxing my mind and the positive effect this will have on my communications from Spirit…I am certain of that! The more relaxed and rested I am, the better I am able to connect with loved ones in Spirit. Finally, the notion of diet and detoxification is undoubtedly something that needs extra attention in my life (Spirit must have known I’d bought a KitKat that day to eat after Church lol). My body has recently broken out in eczema from my neck to my knees with no known cause so perhaps it is my body screaming out to me for a detox. Who knows? I will however look into this further and tweak where tweaking is needed (there is A LOT of room for tweaking J)

So all in all, the message was very relevant and has assisted me with shifting my focus for the week from “getting things done”, to looking after myself. I am off to have a nap (Yay for Sophie being at Kindy and Elliott being fast asleep!!) and I hope you too can find some time this week for some much needed and deserved R&R xox

Sugar and spice and all things nice

Happy Friday everyone J For the past few years, Sophie has always gone to childcare on a Friday so it was my one day a week that I looked forward to like nothing else…a break from the endless questions!! Now, however, I look forward to Fridays for a totally different reason, I call it my “Being a Mum” day.

Our week is a little busy, as life undoubtedly is for us all. From Monday to Thursday we cram in Kindy, swimming lessons, Mum’s group, washing, household chores, grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, gym, meditations, socialising, evenings out and of course engaging with my children and meeting their endless list of needs. Come Friday however, there is a shift in the busy chaotic feeling and I am present with the kids. It is just the most wonderful feeling. There is no rush to start the day, we sit down at breakfast and talk about all the fun things we want to fit into our day and the three of us are generally more relaxed and happy overall J

Today, we are baking biscuits for the Psychic Fair at Church tomorrow, we are doing some splatter paintings, making fresh playdough and possibly some melted crayon pictures too (only if Elliott has a nap this morning). For outside time, we are doing the kids beloved sand and water play as well as a scavenger hunt through the bush out the back of our house for sticks and interesting rocks or bark that we come across (which is one of Sophie’s and Toby, the dogs, favourite activities!). It’s days like today I love being a Mum J

So what I wanted to share with you today is the delicious Sugar and Spice biscuit recipe that we are making. So simple but SOOOOO tasty. My Mum used to make these biscuits for us when we were growing up and they are just delicious! Give them a go, you will love them:

Sugar and Spice biscuits

125g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup raw sugar    
1 egg
2 tbsp wheatgerm
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
2 tbsp wholemeal self-raising flour
1/3 cup extra raw sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180°. Line baking trays with baking paper. Combine 1/3 cup raw sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.  

Beaut butter and vanilla until creamy. Add 1/3 cup raw sugar and beat well. Add egg and beat only until combined. Stir in wheatgerm and then sifted flours.

Roll mixture into small balls and roll balls in extra sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on your baking tray and press flat with a fork.

Bake at 180° for 10 minutes.

Enjoy xox

Don't worry, be happy

Good morning everyone J My apologies for not getting a post up yesterday, it just wasn’t my day for productivity. We had swimming lessons in the morning followed by a morning tea picnic at the park with some lovely friends. Then I was babysitting a friends beautiful little girl for a few hours (note to self – very pleased Mat has had his vasectomy…looking after three kids is so much more time consuming than two!) I then started on the household chores and before I knew it, it was time to dive into the evening routine of dinner bath and bed for the kids. So unfortunately, sitting down to type my blog eluded me, but, today I am back in action. It is 6am and I have Elliott whinging at my feet (just for something different), Sophie is still asleep (what a treat!), Mat has left for work and the dog, Toby, is pacing around the house trying not to bark at Elliott’s continuous whinging. Fun times J

Anyway, I wanted to talk about how frustrated I am with myself at the moment. It’s like this: I have a picture in my mind of how I want my life to be, I know exactly what I need to do to make it happen, I know it is achievable and I know it will increase my happiness and wellbeing on an overall basis… but I am just not making it happen. Why? Why am I sabotaging myself and not achieving to my full potential? Why am I selling myself short and just “getting through” each day rather than really living each day? It is very frustrating because I know I am capable of change, I know it will be for the better but yet, here I am, stuck in the same rut of negative thinking and a lack of action. It is time to start drawing on some of the advice that I give to others when they are feeling down…

Rule number 1: As you think, then so it is. This is a very powerful tool and it refers to our thoughts and the Law of Attraction. Our thoughts are just that, thoughts, and they can only be expressed when they manifest themselves in an external manner (ie – through speech, actions etc). It stands to reason then, that if we play a reel of negative thoughts in our mind they will manifest themselves in a negative way in life. Emphasise positive thinking and watch the shift towards a more positive existence occur.  

Rule number 2: Be kind to yourself. There is no way on God’s green Earth I would talk to anyone else the way I talk to myself. I am always looking for flaws, shortcoming s and things I don’t like about myself and when I find them, the negative self-talk begins. On and on this negative self-talk goes until I have manifested my own wallowing pity of misery. This rule definitely relates to rule number 1 and I know that if I change my thoughts, I will change my life.

Rule number 3: Throw away the notion of “selfishness”. For some ridiculous reason, us beautiful mothers seem to think that if we take 5 minutes for ourselves we are being selfish. This is absolutely not true! We are always putting our children and our families before us but in reality, how can we do an effective job of taking care of them when we are not taking care of ourselves? We can only give what we have so if we are operating at 60% due to lack of healthy eating, exercise and downtime, then all we will be able to give to our family is 60%. I think we need to put ourselves first not to the detriment of our family, but rather to the benefit of them and ourselves.   

Rule number 4: Make the most of every day. A life lived without passion and enthusiasm is certainly a dull one so find something that makes you excited to get up each day. Let’s face it, no one wakes up going “Yay, I can’t wait to change a pooey nappy today and do endless loads of washing while mediating sibling fights and treading on Lego”. Find things in your day to enjoy and make time to engage in your passion J

I will stop there because there are so many “rules” coming to mind that I think I could write a book! This blog entry has been very therapeutic and put me in a good mood for the day. I will try to dismiss all negative thinking today and be present for my children. Bring on a very happy and positive day J

Writers block

Hello everyone J I appear to have writers block today. I have attempted to sit down all morning and write my blog, but to no avail. Nothing is flowing!! I could write about how my washing line has become my wardrobe or how Elliott is sporting a bruised cheek after I threw him onto a pillow when we were play wrestling last night...he missed the pillow and hit the bedhead instead (I should have known that would happen, I can't even successfully throw a ball let alone a human!) Or I could even write about my exhaustingly defiant daughter, but nothing seems to be on the mark today. There is absolutely nothing flowing at all. I just realised I have written about not being able to write...that's a bit of a brain teaser isn't it? Even I'm confused!

So anyway, with the absence of the written word, today I will express myself and hopefully brighten your day through pictures I adore xox

Happiness

Good morning everyone…Happy Monday J Today I want to share with you a little piece from a book I am reading called “Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s all small stuff” by Richard Carlson. I have mentioned this book before because I just love it. I am getting so much out of it and I think that this piece will help all of us open our eyes to the reality of happiness…

Be happy where you are

Sadly, many of us continually postpone our happiness – indefinitely. It’s not that we consciously set out to do so, but that we keep convincing ourselves that “Someday, I’ll be happy”. We tell ourselves we’ll be happy when our bills are paid, when we get out of school, get our first job, a promotion. We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough – we’ll be more content when they are. After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. And on and on and on!

Meanwhile, life keeps moving forward. The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and be happy anyway. One of my favourite quotes comes from Alfred D’ Souza. He said, “For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life”. This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

Pretty Crappy Mum syndrome

Hello, Mother of the Year reporting for duty…not! Good grief, I have just got back from grocery shopping with the kids (why do I do it to myself?!?! I must investigate this online shopping business) and I am officially declaring myself a pretty crappy mother today. Actually, the title of “pretty crappy mother” is really an accumulation of all the pretty crappy things that have happened this week…

As you know, Elliott is prone to head injuries on a frequent basis (if he has learning difficulties in the future I will know why!) This week was no exception. Poor little guy was playing with Sophie on the top level of the playground, which is at my head height, and I was standing right there beside them. Elliott ventured over to the other side of the playground, probably only 1 metre away from me. I told him ‘No Elliott, back over this side now thank you”. He was a great listener, he turned around right near the edge but unfortunately instead of walking back over to me, he thought he would sit down in defiance. It all happened so fast but Elliott took a huge tumble off the top level of the playground and landed smack on his poor little back and head. I screamed and raced around to the other side of the playground and picked him up gingerly, hoping he hadn’t broken anything. Thank God he was OK and after a lengthy cuddle he pepped up a bit and continued to play. Well done, Kate (yes, that is sarcasm you detect in my voice).

Later that same day, Elliott got himself stuck under the desk in the office and rolled the chair over his fingers. Poor thing, I went in to rescue him and as I propped him up on my hip saying ‘Poor little guy, you are in the wars today”, I banged his head on the cross trainer (most action that thing has seen all year)! Tears galore and more Mummy cuddles followed. Again, nice one Kate.    

Then just now, Elliott was sitting on the ground, which is the last place you would expect a head injury to occur. He thought he would have a look under the couch but as he got into an all fours position, his hand landed on one of Sophie’s plastic mirrors and it slipped right out from underneath him. Bang went his head on the tiles and more tears followed. Holy dooley, Kate, buy the kid a helmet!

To wrap up my “pretty crappy Mum” efforts with Elliott, yesterday afternoon I was frustrated and distracted while sunscreening the kids up to play outside. Sophie pumped a huge dripping handful of sunscreen into her hands so I wiped some off, lathered it in my hands and smeared it over Elliott’s face and arms. Within the hour his face was blotchy and his eyes were red and watering. Bloody Hell! I had smeared his face with the sunscreen he is allergic to! So into the shower he went and I scrubbed him from head to toe through fits of screaming protests. Thankfully nothing else came of it but seriously, way to go Kate.

Moving onto Sophie…she is sunburnt! Shame shame shame! We went to the pool yesterday and despite carting three different sunscreens with me (Elliott’s sunscreen, one for Sophie’s body, one with zinc in it for Sophie’s face and also a stick of zinc) she still managed to get burnt. She burns like a piece of toast! So when we were doing the groceries today, my crappy motherness was on display for all to see and pass judgement on. Boy was I judged! Perhaps it was Sophie’s sunburn, perhaps it was my constant telling off of Sophie, or perhaps it was the lolly pop I had hanging out of my 16 month old baby’s mouth just to shut him up. Who knows, but I did not get one friendly smile from a fellow mum with that “I get it” look, instead I got frowns and judgement thrown at me through glares of disgust. I have to admit though, I have been one of those judgemental mothers in the past so maybe today was a lesson from the Universe on reserving judgement. Lesson duly noted Universe, now can I put my order in for a more positive week next week please?