Good morning everyone :) I have donned my Hazmat suit (well, my dressing gown actually) and am braving Mat's shed again this morning to chat to you all...must mean I love blogging with you guys or something! I see that his penicillin experiment is still going strong, despite me telling him last night that the medical world has advanced beyond this and I am more than happy for him to bin the whole mug! Not surprisingly though, that hasn't happened. I honestly can't believe how messy and gross this shed is; I am almost inclined to clean it up but I know it wont be appreciated. In fact, I would get in trouble for sure for throwing out something "important" that looks like rubbish to me. Besides, I have too much work to do inside after such an unproductive week.

That brings me to an important point...

Dear Cleaning Fairies,

If you are reading this...GET TO WORK! There's washing to be hung out and folded, beds to make, dishes to wash, floors to clean and don't even get me started on the state of the gardens! I have faxed my change of address form to you many times before but still, you manage to avoid coming to my house to clean. I strongly advise you to review your administration team because clearly there is a weak link there somewhere and it is severely impacting on your productivity and repeat clientele.

Regards,
Kate

Fingers crossed the Cleaning Fairies are surfing the blogosphere today and see my post :)

Before I go, I'll give you all an update on Elliott. His hand is slightly better today...the burns have blistered but he doesn't seem as bothered by them which is great. I was chatting to my dear friend, Shaz, who is a Vet and she advised that I dress the wound with honey (any honey will do) and a sanitary pad (yep, I'm talking a Libra ultra thin...wings optional) and some medical tape. I gladly put all my faith and trust in Shaz's medical advice so I will go shopping for some supplies today and dress E's wound right up. Mat rolls his eyes when he comes home to Elliott wearing high heels and bangles...I wonder what he will think of a sanitary pad taped to his hand lol :)

Have a beautiful day xox

PS - Just as I was about to publish this blog entry, Sophie calls out from inside "Mum, I made my bed!" My goodness, maybe the Cleaning Fairies didn't hear me but someone must have :)

What a day!

Oh my goodness, what a shocking 24 hours I have had...hence the delay in getting today's post up in a timely fashion. In fact, I am braving Mat's shed, and a possible need for a tetanus shot, to bring you today's blog. He has this archaic computer in his shed (doesn't even have Word on it) to view YouTube videos as he rebuilds cars by night. It is so gross out here...bugs, dirt, empty Jack Daniels cans all over the place and my favourite, the penicillin experiment he appears to be cultivating in a half empty coffee mug right beside where I am standing. Yuk!

Anyway, onto the last 24 hours of nonsense. You know how I planned to get a whole lot of stuff done yesterday? Well, I didn't. Nothing. Not a thing. Elliott was having one of those days where he was injuring himself left right and centre and needed constant attention. Just simple things like pulling toy baskets off shelves and banging them into his head, falling backwards off his bike onto the concrete and banging his head, dropping a little glass jar of my hay fever nasal spray and cutting his finger on the broken glass, and also catching his fingers in every door and drawer that he opened! It was just one of those days. Oh and then last night, I somehow managed to break Mum's laptop that I have been borrowing ever since I broke my laptop and PC on the same day!!! So today the computers went to the doctor and the only Internet access I have is in Mat's shed.

Before I was due to take the computers to the computer doctor, we had just returned from swimming lessons and my hair was a frizz ball. I decide to straighten it before going out in public so I did my hair, turned off my straightener and popped it on top of the bathroom drawers. Normally I close the straightener and lock it but today I was too focused on getting the computers out of the office and guess what I hear...screaming, oh horrible blood curdling screaming from poor Elliott. I knew straight away what he'd done and I raced out of the office to help him. Blocking the hallway and my passage to rescue Elliott was the timeout chair, the baby walker and Sophie on her bike. I pulled poor Sophie forwards on her bike with such force that she went riding, involuntarily, across the family room floor. I raced to Elliott, scooped him up and ran his poor little hand under cold water for as long as I could keep him there. I felt awful and am so mad at myself! He has burnt along the pad of his thumb and half way across the palm of his hand...he must of grabbed a good hold of the darn thing! So, after running his hand under water, I took him to the chemist, howling of course, and they gave me some cream and Nurofen to sort him out. We got back to the car and I drugged him up immediately and lathered his little hand in burn cream. He screamed. Poor, poor little guy!!!!

Right now though, he is soundly asleep and so is Sophie. Hopefully when he wakes, a lot of the pain will be gone and my guilt will have subsided just a little. A valuable lesson learnt by both of us today :( 

Sleep....oh sleep

I am having one of those days where there is just so much to do that I don’t even know where to begin! Housework to be done, errands to run and phone calls to be made…so here I find myself sitting to type up my blog (seems like as good of a place as any to start my day J)

What a laugh, did I just say “start my day”? Considering I have been up three times to the kids through the night and eventually up for the day about four hours ago, perhaps this isn’t technically the start of my day. I’d have to say that that is the one thing that comes as the biggest shock when you become a mother…the utter lack of sleep! Once you have a little human in your life, they will dictate if and when you can sleep for years to come. If they wake up with wind pains, you’re up too. If your toddler wets the bed at 2am, you’re up too, changing them and the sheets. If your 4 year old wakes up after a nightmare about a crocodile snapping her cuddly toy away, you’re up too. No matter what the reason for their waking, you will be the one there to soothe them back to sleep and make them feel safe again…regardless of how exhausted you might be. Then there is the off chance hubby wakes up as you creep back into bed post child settling. He is oblivious to the fact you have been up endlessly and announces “Can’t you sleep babe? I know what we can do…” nudge nudge. Good grief, they have no idea!!

This situation brings to mind a poem I came across by Kerri Sackville who is an author and columnist for Mamamia. It is called “Let me go the f*** to sleep: A wife’s lament” and I warn you, there is some use of very coarse language.   

The kids are finally in bed
With sweet relief I weep.
I go up to the bedroom.
Time to go the f*** to sleep.

In only seven hours my
clock radio will beep.
I need to catch each minute
of my precious f***ing sleep.

It’s been a long, hard day
of work and chores and problems deep.
I cannot wait to get to bed
and go to f***ing sleep.

I tiptoe through the door and
to my bed I softly creep.
Don’t want to wake the hubby
who – thank god – is fast asleep.

I slide beneath the sheets
and fall into a crumpled heap.
I close my eyes then hear a voice:
“Hey babe, are you asleep?”

I lie there very still and then I
start to count some sheep.
I’m hoping he will take the hint
and let me f***ing sleep.

Just as I drift into my dreams
his hand begins to creep.
He thinks it’s time for making love!
It’s time for f***ing sleep!

He snuggles in and nuzzles me
and out of bed I leap.
“Don’t even f***ing THINK of sex!
I want to go to sleep!”

He looks at me so hopefully,
his boxers torn and cheap.
“I bet I can convince you
that you’re not ready to sleep!”

I shake my head and climb back in
and lie on pillows deep.
“There’s not a chance in hell,” I say,
“now let me f***ing sleep!”

“We never do it anymore,”
says hubby. But he’ll keep.
Quite frankly I don’t give a f***.
I’m already asleep.

So spare a thought today for those exhausted mothers out there and the evening battles that are raging…battling to get kids to sleep and battling off unwanted advances from their husbands!! Sleep, sleep oh precious sleep, how I miss you so.  

Inspirational Monday

Good morning everyone J I have it in my mind that today’s Motivational Monday piece is going to be less about motivation and more about awareness. In particular, awareness of how we treat our loved ones and those close to our hearts. I came across this particular writing that I think puts my thoughts into words very well:

Family

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, “Oh, excuse me please” was my reply.
He said “please excuse me too, I wasn’t watching for you”.
We were very polite, this stranger and I, we went on our way and said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told, of how we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside me very still.
When I turned I nearly knocked him down, “Move out of the way” I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken, I didn’t realise how harshly I’d spoken.

While I lay awake in bed, God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While you were dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor, you’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you, he picked them himself, pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes”.

By this time I felt very small, and now my tears began to fall.  
I quietly went and knelt by his bed, “Wake up little one, wake up” I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?” He smiled “I found them, out by the tree.
I picked them because they’re pretty like you. I knew you’d like them, especially the blue”.

I said “Son, I’m very sorry for the way I acted today, I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way”.
He said “Oh Mum, that’s OK. I love you anyway”.
I said “Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue”.

_______________________________________

I know when I read this piece it really got me thinking about the way I talk to and treat my beautiful family. All too often I see the kids as being in the way or somehow being a bother, but when I read this poem, it made me stop and think. I thought about the damage I am doing and the hurt I am causing when I am concerned only with my own agenda (eg – getting dinner cooked like in the scenario above). So this week I am going to make a concerted effort to be less focused on the task at hand and more focused on the reason the kids are under my feet or demanding my attention. Are they feeling tired, sad, lonely or do they have something exciting they want to share, or do they need some praise for a job well done? Whatever the reason, I am going to enrich their lives this week by focusing on their needs…well that’s the plan anyway, my tune will likely change when I am trying to get dinner sorted this evening so I can be out the door by 6:30 to go to Circle!

I hope you got a lot out of this piece and it gives you the chance to think about the way you react to your loved ones and their actions. It was a real eye opener for me! Happy Monday J      

The morning after

OK, so it is the morning after my first Reiki experience and I have to say that it was amazing! My dear friend, Mrs S, was the one doing the Reiki and oh my goodness, you would not believe the heat coming from her hands!! The moment she put them on me I felt the heat and energy being channelled and my solar plexus chakra began bubbling away. The solar plexus chakra is located just under your breastbone and is responsible for your emotions (you know that butterfly feeling you get when you are nervous…that occurs in the solar plexus chakra). It is not surprising that the energy was immediately drawn to this particular chakra because between my depression and my general feeling of being an emotional basket case, my emotional centre most definitely needed some attention!

Several messages from Spirit came through Mrs S during the Reiki and I experienced a whole range of emotions…crying, overwhelmed, relaxed, empowered, excited and did I mention crying? Lol. Not blubbering mess crying but tears were just welling up and rolling down my cheeks that were totally beyond my control. As I said, it was an absolutely amazing experience that really must be felt to be believed.

So it was less than 12 hours ago that I had my first Reiki session but already I have noticed a few things...I woke up from the soundest sleep I have had in a very long time. Normally my dreams are awful and wake me up or I stir from the noises the kids make or from feeling too hot, but last night I didn’t stir once. I slept solidly through the night! What a great feeling J Then upon waking this morning, my stomach is noticeably less bloated. For ages I have had a horrible bloated belly causing me lots of discomfort, but today it is just gone! My belly is flatter, no horrible wind and honestly not an ounce of discomfort at all!  

Emotionally I am feeling a lot calmer and more relaxed and I feel like I could handle any challenge that’s thrown at me today. The best part though would have to be the way the kids seem really drawn to me. Elliott is not one to seek out affection and definitely not one to have cuddles but this morning I have been lucky to have several cuddling and kissing sessions with him. It is wonderful! Then Sophie came over to me after breakfast and climbed onto my lap for a cuddle. We snuggled for a long time and then Soph said “Oh no, we’re stuck with glue! We’ll have to stay like this”. How gorgeous! I am just loving it J

I hope these positive effects keep up for quite some time because I am feeling fantastic. I am amazed at how far reaching the impact of the Reiki is proving to be and improving elements of my being that I had not even imagined (ie-my bloated stomach). It really is amazing and I highly recommend seeking out a Reiki experience of your own J Happy Friday xox

Here's hoping!

I woke up today with an overwhelming sense of “I don’t want to do this”. Elliott was screaming and fussing from the minute his eyes opened and Sophie decided she would test my patience with every move she made. By 6am I had lost count of how many times I had said “Sophie, leave your brother alone!” and “Oh Elliott, give it a rest!” Things turned from frustration to laughter when I discovered Elliott in his room having the time of his life…he was emptying the baby powder all over the floor and gleefully stomping in it. What a sight! All I could do was laugh and enjoy the moment because after all, it was only powder J

By 9am our house was abuzz with activity because we hosted Mum’s Group here today. It was a really great morning and I am surprised how well the kids got on considering there were six of them stuck indoors thanks to the rain! They played with playdough and danced around to loud music like crazy kids, but the most fun they all had was playing babies in Sophie’s room. It was really just such a great morning.

To make today even better, I am heading over to a dear friends house tonight for a Reiki session! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Reiki, here is a brief overview of what it is all about, that I picked up from www.reiki.org:

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing.

So with this in mind, hopefully tomorrow I will be reporting to you all how fabulous and reenergised I feel. It will be my first Reiki experience so I am not too sure what to expect but I am looking forward to it like you wouldn’t believe! I am hoping this might be a great tool to utilise in getting my life on track and in a place where I want it to be. Fingers crossed and I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow xox

Busy busy busy

Hello everyone J Todays post is being put up a little later than usual because we have only just got home. After swimming lessons, we headed over to a friend’s house for a catch up and a play. It was lovely sitting back having a chat…wait a minute, did I say sitting back?

Lol, who am I kidding? We didn’t sit back! With two Mums and four kids aged between 1 and 4, there was no sitting back for more than 5 minutes at a time. One amazing skill that you fast learn as a Mum is how to have a fluent conversation with constant interruptions. Before kids, the disjointed manner in which I now communicate would have driven me mad, but now I can easily have a conversation in sporadic blocks of speech intercepted by jabbering kids, fight mediation, nappy changes and general child related happenings. Of course, it works best when it is with another Mum because we are on the same wavelength!

The fact that it is 1pm and I am only just sitting down to type up today’s blog has me thinking about being busy. When did we all get so busy? I don’t know about you, but I feel like I am constantly over committed, over scheduled and overtired! I spend so much of my time doing things for other people and things I feel I have to do that there is little time for me to engage in the things that I actually enjoy! I really want some time out. I really just want a good couple of weeks where I have no commitments beyond those that are completely necessary, and no obligation to be anywhere or do anything at a certain time. I know I have control over this but it is actually quite challenging to implement. Have you ever tried to drop off the radar for a week or two…it is so difficult! I did some research and here are a couple of tips that might be able to help us all slow down a little…

1.    Take time out at least once a week to be present with your family. No phones, no internet, no technology, just quality time with your partner and kids doing something you will all enjoy.

2.    Celebrate everything with your children. They may be 4 years old today, but they will never be that age again. Moments are fleeting so take the time to hug your kids, read with them, play with them and be genuinely interested in them.

3.    Bring out the fine china. Stop saving things for a special occasion because life is the special occasion. Use crystal glasses to have your water in at dinner time, use your fancy tea cups for an afternoon cuppa on your own and burn that beautiful candle that looks too nice to use…it is a candle, light it up!

4.    Give gifts on random occasions just because you can, not because you have to. A handmade gift, a card, a heartfelt letter or even flowers are small gestures that come from the heart. Reach out and let someone know how special they are to you.

5.    Laugh. Just laugh, stop taking life so seriously…no one gets out alive anyway J     

6.    Stop! You don’t always have to fill your time doing “things”. It is a really great idea to just stop, sit and breath…even meditate if you can. Seriously, just learn to stop.

I hope these tips will help you slow down and smell the roses…I know I am going to try a few! xox

Beautiful girl

I am feeling so very proud of my beautiful daughter today for the kindness she has in her heart and the way she always shares this with others. Sophie really does have the most beautiful nature of any human I have ever come across and there is no doubt in my mind that she is an old soul who has been on this Earth many, many times before. I will give you a few examples of her kindness to show you why I am feeling so proud of her.

When we were leaving Kindy yesterday, there was a chubby little boy playing puzzles all alone at the table. He is a child that I often see playing by himself and he seems to have a very introverted and shy personality. Sophie was jovially waving goodbye to her friends and teachers when she walked past this boy and saw him struggling with the puzzle. I watched as she went over to him, sat beside him and began talking to him. She picked up a piece of the puzzle that was in the wrong spot and said “Have a look at the shape of this piece, where do you think it goes? Look for the same shape”. The boy searched the puzzle board and found the correct spot for the piece, slotting it into place. He looked up at Sophie with a beaming smile on his face as Sophie cheerily praised him “Yes, you got it! Good job!” Then just as quickly, Sophie said goodbye to the boy and we were out the door. I praised Sophie for being so kind to this child and she reacted to my praise with a very nonchalant attitude. I guess in her eyes, there was really no other way the situation could have played out and she just did what she thinks any normal human should do. If only that were the common manner in which everyone treated each other…the world would be a very different place!

Then this morning at Kindy, there is a little boy, Ethan, who is new to Sophie’s class. I have a chat to his Mum, Michelle each day and they really are a lovely family. Poor Ethan is struggling to adjust because he is painfully shy and feels really sad when it comes time for his Mum to leave. This morning I could see Michelle having the usual struggle with encouraging Ethan to play so I went over to Sophie and suggested she approach Ethan and find something they could play together. She asked “Why” of course because that is Sophie’s favourite question and I explained the situation to her. She then happily skipped over to Ethan and began chatting away to him about nothing really. I watched as Ethan loosened his grip on his Mum and was entranced in Sophie’s jabbering away. I left the Kindy at this stage with a feeling of warmth in my heart that Sophie was going out of her way to make another child feel safe, welcome and happy.       

Sophie’s beautiful nature makes teaching her lessons of kindness very easy, but I wonder if I will be able to repeat the same thing with Elliott? I feel it is an essential lesson for children to learn from very early on that empathy, compassion, caring, nurturing and giving are fundamental elements of daily life. I want my children to grow up to be strong and driven people with a heart of gold. I want them to realise how great it feels to be kind to others and the far reaching impact this has for both themselves and the people they are being kind to.

I’ll leave you with this quote that sums this point up well:

“When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand that assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life”. John Lennon  

The Power of Positive Thinking

The much anticipated Motivational Monday on the Power of Positive Thinking is finally here J As I have mentioned before, this is something I am very passionate about and I truly believe in the Power of Positive Thinking and its relationship to creating the life you want. I may not always apply this rule because after all, I am only human, but I know that a shift towards the life I desire is no more than a positive thought (or 20!) away. So, let’s get started...

To understand this concept you first need to recognise that we exist in two “worlds” at the same time: the physical world in which our body exists and the non-physical world in which our mind and thoughts exist. A great way to grasp this concept is to consider the cells of your body; these cells have no intelligence in and of themselves and can only act upon directions given to them by your mind (consciously or subconsciously). Without the intelligence of your thoughts and messages from your mind, these cells would remain inactive. Considering this, it is easy to see that the energy or “vibe” we put out via our thinking will manifest itself in the physical world. You are attracting or repelling things in your life simply by the power of your thinking…positive thoughts will attract positive energy and negative thoughts will attract negative energy.

This is not to say that if you think positively, negative things will never happen to you. Life is not a success only journey and the challenges that we face are necessary to help us learn and grow. What the power of positive thinking will do however is impact on your reaction to challenges that come your way. After all, life is 1% of what actually happens to us and 99% of how we react to it. If you have a whole lot of positive going on in your heart and mind, it is highly unlikely that you will react overtly negatively to a situation. I’ll give you an example…when I am feeling good and thinking positively, the cup of milk knocked off the bench by one of the kids is really no big deal. “It’s OK darling, it was just an accident, let’s get a towel and wipe that up”. Problem solved and life goes on happily. Take this exact same scenario at a time where I am feeling very negative, stressed and depressed. “Good God child, watch what you are doing! Now you have made a mess all over the clean floor. I am so sick of this! All you ever do is create more mess for me to clean up! What a waste of money just pouring that bloody milk all over the floor. Just get away from me, go outside and play where it doesn’t matter if you spill a cup of milk!” What an overreaction! My negative thoughts in the latter scenario manifested themselves by creating a cloud of negative energy over us at the time. I yelled and said horrible things that hurt my child emotionally…a very negative outcome all thanks to the negative energy I was attracting courtesy of my negative thoughts and feelings.

Another way of looking at the Power of Positive Thinking is to say to yourself “As you think then so it is”. If you think you are going to have a rubbish day today, you will. If you think you are going to have a fabulous day today, you will. You will attract the energy from the Universe that your thoughts request. Shifting to a more positive way of thinking gives you the power to create the kind of day (and life!) you want. Positive energy will surround you and with a mind and heart full of positivity, the outcome of any scenario that comes your way will be great J

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10 000 ways that won’t work” Thomas A. Edison. (Now that is positive thinking!)

Challenge: With the above information in mind, I challenge you to give the power of positive thinking a genuine go. This week, acknowledge negative thinking that comes to mind and let it go, let it pass right through. Then shift your thinking towards something far more positive. With positive thoughts, your actions will be more positive, your attitude will be more positive and your reactions to various situations will be more positive. The outcomes will speak for themselves. Good luck and I look forward to feedback from you all on this amazing tool to transform your life. 

Nudge nudge

I have not been sleeping well at all lately and I can only hope it is a temporary issue related to my antidepressants. I am having wild and horrible dreams most nights and last night was no exception. The difference was I woke up from a deep dreamy sleep with a fright. I could hear the kitchen stools scraping along the kitchen floor, amongst other unfamiliar night time noises. I woke Mat up to investigate and of course there was nothing to be seen so he came back to bed grumpy about being woken up for nothing. I on the other hand would rather be safe than sorry! Anyway, a short time after he settled back into bed, the inevitable suggestion came from him that we should engage in some 3am grown up cuddles…

Seriously, whose idea was it to make men and women’s sex drives SOOOO different, especially after having kids? Nice joke isn’t it! Apparently, all men need is to know you are awake and conscious and they think sex is on the cards. Good grief, it takes a lot more effort than a nudge and some crass suggestive words to persuade me into a 3am rendezvous. I of course reminded Mat that in consideration of the very little sleep I have been getting and the fact that the kids will be awake in a little over 2 hours, I would pass on his request. He rolled away all sooky and then I politely reminded him again, as I have many, many times before, if I felt like having sex, we’d be having it!

After an exhausting day of running a household and having the kids climbing all over me, the last thing I want is anyone to touch me, but it really isn’t rocket science…some quality time together, genuine interest in my thoughts and conversation, help with the kids and household chores to take a little pressure off my plate and of course a foot or shoulder rub wouldn’t go astray! Poor Mat though, he really has it stacked up against him when you consider some well known factors that reduce a woman’s sex drive:

Antidepressants…check!

Fatigue…I have two young kids, so, check!

Decreased testosterone levels from the pill…check!

There is good news though; once I am off the antidepressants things should improve, once I am off the pill (which I am on for my skin) things should improve and once the kids are grown up and fly the coop, things should improve…there is light at the end of the tunnel J Of course, I don’t think it is quite that bad but if you ask Mat, I’m sure you would get a very different story (don’t ask Mat though…he would kill me if he knew I was mentioning our sex life on the internet!!! Lol)  

Always look on the bright side

I am feeling a little bit frustrated with myself at the moment because it seems I am on the verge of getting my life in order and in a place where I want it to be, but I just can’t seem to pull it all together. It is like the strings I am trying to pull on are made of cooked spaghetti and covered in oil…very slippery! It also doesn’t help that I am in the wallowing phase right now and a solution orientated approach to my frustration and “bluckness” is at least another few days away. On the bright side, at least I can recognise that feeling stressed, frustrated and down will pass and I will be able to get things back on track…eventually J

I have joined a group on Facebook called Love, Light and Fellowship and I am getting a lot out of their posts. I enjoy it because their beliefs and messages are in line with my spiritual journey but I know that absolutely everyone, regardless of their beliefs, could get a heck of a lot out of it. In saying that, I want to share a few pieces with you from this site that I think will remind you (and me!) of how great things really are…

"When you're good to yourself, you're actually being good to everyone around you because when you feel good, you'll only react well to other people. At the same time, it's very easy for you to do things for other people when you know that other people are just an extension of yourself." - Anita Moorjani

The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. ~Galileo

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. ~Buddha

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." ~Marianne Williamson

"If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher." ~Pema Chodron

Insert title here :)

Thankfully, things have picked up significantly since my last post. Despite Elliott having diarohea yesterday afternoon, the day didn’t get too much worse. Thanks for listening to my rant J

Today on the other hand has been lovely. We had swimming lessons this morning and then headed over to a friends’ house for a morning of play. It was great having a relax, the kids all entertaining each other and catching up with some great friends of mine J We’ve just arrived home to the painting all done (yay!) and the kids are down for a nap...time to carve out a little “me time!”

Something I like to do for “me time” is read a magazine. Just the other day I was reading Weight Watchers magazine and came across an article on how to get motivated for exercise and about incorporating incidental exercise into your life. There was a particular paragraph with a few points of advice on “How to exercise if you’re raising young kids”. Here is what they suggest and how it actually works in the land of motherhood:

“Seize every opportunity to exercise with your kids. Do core floor work while they are at home”. Yeah, this one is great in theory but in practice…ah nope. If I ever lay down on the floor, I am free game! I have the kids jumping on me, wanting to play aeroplanes and wrestling with me plus the dog in my face. It is an absolute circus whenever I lay on the floor so busting out a few core exercises just aint gonna happen.     

“Do extra laps of the supermarket aisles when shopping”. Bah! Absolutely no way on God’s green Earth will I spend a minute longer than I need to in the supermarket. I get plenty of exercise juggling the kids, a wonky trolley (every time), walking fast to get out of there fast and of course going back to previous aisles because I went too fast to get everything I needed. So no, I won’t be spending any more time in that delightful place than need be.

“Join in with playtime at the park”. Oh good grief, this article must have been written by a man. When the Mum’s Group girls and I take the kids to the park, we feed them up and send them off to entertain themselves. When they come whinging to us, we check for blood and broken bones then send them back off to play, advising them to leave us Mum’s alone unless they spontaneously combust. OK, it’s not quite that dramatic but we do encourage them, strongly, to run off and play so us Mum’s can have a relatively uninterrupted conversation. We have drink (water, wine or coffee), relax with our baked goods and chat the day away. Oh and we hate swings! We don’t want to play at the park, we want the kids to play by themselves and give us a break!

So with these “helpful” suggestions in mind, I think for the sake of my sanity, I will have to keep going to the gym. Hopefully one day it will all pay off J  

Bluck!

Today I am going to rant. Today I am in a foul mood and the power of positive thinking can kiss my sizeable dimply arse. You know, before I had even finished typing those two sentences Elliott had pulled something off Mum’s bench and smashed it all over the ground despite only having arrived at Mum’s house 10 minutes ago! (Sorry Mum if you are reading this at work and I have not yet had the chance to tell you!). Where do I begin…oh yes, last night…

I had to go out last night so I explicitly told Mat what needed to be done for the painters to start work first thing in the morning. Toys put away, dishes done, curtains pulled down etc etc. "No worries babe, I’ve got it" he told me after I explained things for the 8^th time. Anyway, I came home from my night out at about 11pm only to find my "darling" husband asleep on the couch, the house a mess, dishes unwashed and curtains still up! Are you kidding me!!!! Needless to say, I was pissed.

So this morning I skipped the gym, again (hence my description of a sizeable dimply arse…apparently just having the gym membership does nothing to help you lose weight). Instead, I raced around like a mad woman trying to get things in order for the painters to arrive, get things organised for Soph’s kindy and things organised for Elliott and I to have a day away from the house. Everything needed to happen by 7:15am so it was chaos. My dear, dear husband, completely oblivious to how difficult it is to get myself and two kids fed, dressed and ready to head out the door by 7:15am, just layed in bed while I frantically tried to get things in order…that was until I blew up of course. After my explosion, he got up and took the curtains down but my frustration levels were already through the roof. As far as I was concerned, he could do nothing right because all of these jobs should have already been done. I am not a believer in the old saying "better late than never". No way, I prefer to embrace the line of thinking "bloody well get it done now, in fact, yesterday would be better!"

Once Mat had left for work, the kids copped the brunt of my cranky mood…another tick in the box for my Mother of the Year Award. The blow up I had had at Mat was nothing compared to the awful way I yelled at Sophie. I lost the plot a few times but the one that sticks in my mind is yelling at her at the top of my lungs, my neck veins at bursting point, "Sophie, how many times do I have to tell you, leave your brother the f*#k alone!" Oh yeah, highlight of my mothering life, screaming the "f bomb" at my daughter. Class act, Kate, well done. The best part has to be that unbeknownst to me, the painters had arrived early and pulled up out the front. They could obviously hear me yelling and hid out the front for a little while but what gave them away was one of their phones ringing. The only thing that makes you feel even more like shit for those less than grand mothering moments is when total strangers bare witness to it. They don’t know that 99% of the time (maybe 90%, probably more like 80%, alright alright, 70% perhaps) I am actually a pretty good Mum. Oh no, they will now have a totally warped opinion of me because they caught me in a moment of fury and weakness. Again, well done, Kate.

So I am sorry if you hopped on to view my blog today hoping for some uplifting or inspiring words. Today you will just have to take away from this is that I am human, I have really crappy moments of motherhood and I have learnt a valuable lesson…if I am going to yell and swear at my kids, make sure there is no one outside who will hear!

Smile!

Happy Monday everyone J Today, I was hoping to elaborate on my perspective on the power of positive thinking but unfortunately, I have to make this one very quick. We have painters in the house today so Elliott and I are spending the day outside and out of the way. I have snuck in just now while the painters are having smoko to give Elliott his morning tea and quickly jump on the computer. So I am very sorry that there wont be any grand words of wisdom or motivational Monday stories to get you pumped today…I will however put my thoughts on the power of positive thinking into words later in the week when I have a good chunk of time to sit in front of the computer.

Until then, stay positive, be happy and make others around you smile. You never know who’s heart you impact on just by flashing them a genuine smile J     

Spread the love

I am feeling really grateful for my beautiful family today. Not just my hubby and kids, but my whole family. Last night, I had my Mum and her best friend, my younger brother and his wife and my older brother and his girlfriend over for dinner. I connected with Spirit to give messages to everyone and it was just phenomenal. Never before have I had so many loved ones from spirit come through and needless to say, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house (but if you ask the boys it was just dust tingling their eyes, not tears J). So not only was I blessed to be with my family in the physical sense but we all had family from “the other side” with us too. SOOOOO special!

What this experience has got me thinking about is that I need to let people in my life know that they matter. I want to let my family and friends know how much I love and appreciate them and I’m not going to delay it. All too often we find it a challenge to just pick up the phone and contact someone to tell them we love them and care for them…mostly because they will likely think we’ve gone nuts! It is quite sad when you think about it that as a society on a whole, openly telling someone you love them and appreciate them doesn’t come easily. So why not break this “norm”? Why not go out on a limb and let loved ones know what you feel in your heart? I know I am going too, right now, today. I am going to write a heartfelt letter to my Mother-in-Law to let her know how appreciated she is. With four sons, open affection and appreciation is not something she gets a lot of, so I am more than happy to fill that gap for her J

So go ahead, cease the moment and spend some time this weekend making phone calls, writing letters or even sending emails and texts to let people in your life know that they matter. It will warm their heart…and yours xox

It starts...

Well yesterday was just gorgeous. Things didn’t go to plan of course, they never do with kids in tow, but overall it was a lovely day. The highlight was definitely going to collect Sophie’s school enrolment papers for next year because she was just so chuffed with it all…

Driving to the school, Sophie excitedly asked if every large building was “her school”. When we did pull up out the front, she was chomping at the bit to get out of the car. Once I got Elliott out too, dancing on the spot, Sophie points to the gate and says “That’s the gate where we get into my school Mum. Come on, let’s go let’s go!” On the very short walk from the car to the school office, Sophie’s mind was going a million miles a minute…and so was her mouth. “Mum, can I meet my teachers? When I see my teachers, I am going to tell them how I went to swimming lessons this morning and show them my ouchy on my knee”. I then explained to Sophie that we were only collecting some papers from the office but she wasn’t having a bar of it. “Mum, what are my teachers names? Oh look Mum! School kids! Can I go and talk to them?” Then as we crossed the threshold to the office, I again informed Soph that we wouldn’t get to meet her teachers today and that we were just collecting some paperwork. “Ok, Mum” she responded and then went on to marvel at all the delights in the administration building…the trophy cabinet, the desk ornament, the comfy chairs that she sank into as she sat down and most amusingly, every adult she saw prompted her to ask “Is that my teacher”. It was just soooo cute!

Enrolment papers in hand, we headed back out the door and saw a group of school children having their lunch. “Oh look Mum, my school friends. I should go over and tell them I’m coming next year. Is it after Easter that I’m coming? Why did that lady say that I am coming after Easter? I will have to show them my sore knee. Can I talk to them Mum?” Before I could answer her, she spotted the supervising teacher and nearly jumped out of her skin. “Look, Mummy, look. There’s my teacher!!!! Can I talk to her now?” It was so precious J

We made it back to the car with me still trying to explain to Sophie that she won’t be going to the school until next year. I was driving along thinking to myself that I hope her enthusiasm is something that will remain for a good chunk of her academic life…hopefully all of it! She is genuinely excited about school and I think she will thrive there with the socialising and new learning opportunities. Then Sophie pipes up, out of nowhere, “I don’t want to wear my school uniform because it makes my skin itchy”. Oh Sophie! I tried explaining that a school uniform is like all her other clothes and that she will be fine. She continued to insist that she will not wear it because it will make her itch, to which I simply replied “Sophie, we’ll worry about this next year”. Good grief, we are just shy of 12 months away from starting school and the battles are already brewing! Sigh, oh well, as I said, I will worry about that next year by which time she will probably have forgotten her nonsense notion that the uniform will make her itch J   

Embrace the day

I woke up at 3:45am so it is going to be a long day. Surprisingly though, I am actually really looking forward to it with lots of fun things planned to do with the kids. Of course it didn’t start out all sunshine and rainbows…

I got home from the gym and said to Mat that I’ve set myself a goal. If I exercise every day for the rest of this month, I am going to reward myself with a manicure. His response was underwhelming to say the least and I went on to explain that it doesn’t mean I will go to the gym every day, but also do pilates at home. He then expressed his view that pilates isn’t exercise, it’s just stretching and according to him it doesn’t count. What the?!? The king of sedentary is telling me what warrants exercise? I challenged him to a pilates off on Saturday morning, explaining that it is hardcore exercise and he’ll be begging to just lay down and stretch…he declined my offer. I am not giving up that easily though and I will hassle him for the rest of the week until he agrees to the challenge.

Then there was this mornings play with the kids. I swear, if I have to spend any more of my time today playing freakin “weddings” with Sophie, I am going to scream. I don’t want to play weddings! Nor do I want to play Kindy, Mummy’s and children or cooking shows…go and entertain yourself for once dear child!!!!!!!!!!!

So these two minor events really got my knickers in a twist, presumably because I am tired (it is amazing how a lack of sleep can affect absolutely everything!) With the awareness to admit to myself that these were indeed minor and insignificant events, I consciously shifted my mood from frustrated with the world to “embrace the day”. Today we have swimming lessons followed by a quick trip to pick up some school enrolment papers for Sophie (eek!), we’ll then have a walk in the bush with the dog and then bath the wet, smelly dog. The washing will be finished off, fresh playdough will be made and then it will be nap time…for all of us I hope! Sometimes I feel guilty if I take a nap or watch TV while the kids nap, but then I remember how damn hard I work every day in my role as Mum. My advice to all you hard working yummy mummies out there…nap whenever you can and do away with the guilt!! xox     

You crack me up!

I have to make today’s blog a quick one because I am on a roll with getting through my “To Do” list for the day. As I sit here and type, Elliott is entertaining himself quite well wearing cookie cutters as bracelets and a headband as sunglasses while trotting around with one of Sophie’s dress up high heels on…don’t tell Mat J So with this brief moment of Elliott free time, I have snapped up the chance to jump on the computer and blog away. Today I want to share with you some more of the really random and funny things my gorgeous little Sophie says:

I bought Sophie some chopsticks in an attempt to make eating sushi novel for her. When we got home, bags of shopping in hand, she pipes up “Mum, where are my floor pickers?”

Sophie came into the bathroom to have a chat with me while I was plucking my eyebrows. She then asks, with the most puzzled look on her face, “Mum, why are you putting tweezers on your bry owls?”

Understandably, Soph loves grooving out to ABBA. But as far as she is concerned, the lyrics for Waterloo are not ‘Couldn’t escape if I wanted to’…apparently they sing “For goodness sakes I wanted to”.

Sophie asked me one day “Mum, what are we having for dinner”. “I’m not sure” I answered, “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet”. Sophie then responds with “Good, then I can change your mind. Let’s have chippy’s instead”.

One of the kids new favourite games has to be taking clothes off the coat hangers in my wardrobe and playing dress ups with them. Sophie left one of the coat hangers on my bed and when Mat and I were having a wrestle with the kids last night, I rolled over and landed on it. I pulled it out from under my back while saying “What’s this?” Sophie then took the coat hanger from my hand and informed me, quite sternly and as though I was stupid “Mum, it’s a hone caner”. Hmmm, I find them more useful for hanging coats rather than caning honers but each to their own J  

Finally, Sophie was very excited last week to tell us that she had grown taller. We measured her height on the wall and made a big fuss about how grown up she is getting. While we were having breakfast, she told me that she is getting so big that she will be a grown up soon. Sophie then excitedly went on to tell me what will be different for her when she is a grown up:

• “I can go near the stove!”
• “I can buy a house”
• “I can drive a car”
• “Bath the kids and wash the dogs. Five dogs, I’ve got five dogs when I’m a grown up”
• “I can have a deep, deep, deep bath!”
• “I can go to work. Work at home actually. I’m going to be a Mummy and have five babies. I will breastfeed from my boobies because that’s what grownups do”
• “My kids names are going to be Ryan, Casurina, Trustine, Silly Okey, Addie Eedie and Super Grover”. At this point, I was laughing too hard to point out that it appears she’ll have six children rather than five. Absolutely hilarious J