Motivational Monday

Good morning everyone :) As I mentioned on Friday, I feel like this weeks blog posts will have a very reflective tone to them as I celebrate turning 28. My life is not even close to how I imagined it would be by this age so I have a lot of reflecting to do and even more forward planning to dabble in!! So in order to work from the ground up, today I want to talk about taking stock of our lives...

Now you all know I absolutely LOVE Dr Phil and one thing that he says all the time is "You can't change what you don't acknowledge". This makes so much sense when taking stock of your life! We need to look at where our lives are at right now, look at what we like about it and consider which things are really working for us. Then we also need to look at what we don't like about our life, what's not working for us and have the courage to tackle these issues head on. It brings to mind The Prayer of Serenity: 

God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 

the courage to change the things I can, 

and the wisdom to know the difference. 

Amen. 

I did some Googling on the very topic of "taking stock of your life" and there were a common thread of reflective questions that I came across. I would suggest finding some alone time this week (today would be even better!), sit in a really comfy chair, grab a notebook and pen and start going through some of these questions. If you are really in the zone, you'll probably come up with even more questions to ask yourself and may even move into the "forward planning" phase of taking stock. 

1. Do you have balance in your life?

This one will be different for all of us because we all have different commitments in our lives but I imagine the main topics will center around work, family, health, relaxation, socialising and goals. The traditional view of a single set of scales balancing up two options is so far from how we operate in this fast paced world today. I picture it more like juggling balls and our attempt to keep all the balls in the air moving smoothly and rhythmically so as not to collide with one another and come crashing down. After asking yourself if you have balance in your life, dive in a little deeper and look at where things are out of balance. At this stage of reflection, don't overwhelm yourself by trying to work out how to balance things, simply take stock and see where things are out of balance. 

2. Do you regularly engage in behaviours that are nurturing for you?

This one is VERY important!! For some ridiculous reason, we tend to feel guilty if we dare to put ourselves, our interests and our wellbeing first. The reason it is so crazy is because how can we expect to care for others and put 100% into our lives if we are operating at less than capacity? It just doesn't make sense. As mothers, as women, as human beings, we must must must nurture ourselves first so we can be the best version of ourselves that we can be. When answering this question, identify the behaviours that are nurturing for you but also identify the behaviours that are not nurturing for you (eg - eating a whole cheesecake because your stressed...nurturing at the time because hell yes cheesecake tastes delicious, but not nurturing in the long run because nothing good can come healthwise from eating a whole cheesecake in one sitting!!)

3. Do you surround yourself with positive people that make you want to be a better person?

This question will really get you thinking. I am a strong advocate of surrounding yourself with people who enrich your life and bring out the best in you. I see absolutely no sense in allowing negativity and energy zapping people to come into your bubble and make you feel like rubbish. Of course, you are always going to come across people who rub you the wrong way and you may have no choice but to have contact with them (eg - family/extended family, friends partners, your children's friends parents once they start school etc etc). The good news is that yes you should be respectful and civil but you don't have to let these people get close to you. You just need to accept that you will see them from time to time, have to engage with them and listen to them spout off about things that you wholeheartedly disagree with but ultimately, you choose how to react to this. I am certainly a "water off a ducks back" kind of person and my self worth is not measured by other peoples perceptions, opinions and ideas of me. So if I have negative people in my life that I can't rid myself of, then I just tolerate them in the moment and don't give them a second thought when I am away from them. The biggest thing you should be asking yourself with this question is "Who are the people in my life that have a negative impact on me?" Once you have identified them, you can categories them into two groups: one group you can sever all ties with and abolish that negativity from your life, the other group will be made up of people you just have to have contact with and learn how to tolerate. Easier said than done some days!!

4. Are you clear on your values?

When I first saw this one, it really got me thinking. I hadn't ever considered putting my values and "life philosophy" if you will, down on paper, but it is a really wonderful exercise to try. Once you identify your values, you can take stock and see if your life (career, family, money, socialising etc) reflect your values and keep you moving in the direction you want to go. Really take the time to answer this one properly because it is very reflective.        

As you can imagine, there were LOADS more questions but I think these four will keep us busy enough for today. At some stage today, or this week, I am going to go through these questions and take my life's inventory. I hope you get the opportunity to do the same and I would love to hear from you on your experience of it :) Happy Monday xox 

Insert witty title here.......

Good morning everyone :) Sorry I did not get a chance to blog yesterday; my day was totally jam packed so I had no time to turn the computer on! I hosted our lovely Mum's Group gathering here yesterday until 2pm and then I spent the afternoon decorating a gorgeous cake while my darling children refused to nap. Then it was time for the dinner, bath and bed routine, except I had to mix it up a bit: While I was decorating the cake (which I will post pictures of as soon as I can find a computer other than Mat's archaic shed computer to upload them) Sophie and Elliott were playing beautifully together. There was no fighting, fussing or crying...really I should have known better. Once I had finished the cake, I discovered that they had been sitting outside on the mini trampoline absolutely lathering themselves in sunscreen, zinc and insect repellent. Into the bath they went while I vacuumed and mopped the floors and put dinner on. We managed to make it through dinner with little fussing then it was down to the bathroom to clean their teeth and then straight to bed. Naturally, Mat arrived home after everything was done so I recruited him to help me finish cleaning the house before our evening guests arrived. All in all though, it was a lovely day and a lovely night and my blog just had to go by the wayside so I could be present and enjoy everything in my day. 

Other than rambling on about yesterday, I wanted to share with you a couple of funny things from my gorgeous little girl, Sophie. I sprung her picking her nose and eating it and immediately said "Eeeew, Sophie, don't eat your boogas!" "Why" she asks with genuine questioning in her voice. "Because that's disgusting, you don't eat boogas. Yuk!" Sophie then innocently asked "Are boogas junk food?" I could do nothing but laugh :)

This morning, I wanted make pikelets for morning tea and excitedly informed the kids that we would be having a special treat and having some pikelets with jam and cream. Elliott was chuffed but Sophie whinged "Ahhh, I don't want pikelets, I don't like pikelets today, I want pancakes". Good grief. "Ok Sophie, just for you, I will make pancakes instead". "Yay, pancakes! I love pancakes. Can I have mine with jam and cream please?" I proceeded to make pikelets, called them pancakes as I put them on her plate and all was right with the world. Kids! 

Finally, after I finished decorating my cake and showed it off to Sophie, her response was priceless..."Oh Mum, that's just fabulous. Its so beautiful...and stunning too. I am so proud of you, you did a great job darling". Then she proceeded to hug me and give me sweet little kisses confirming how happy she was about my creativity...she is 4 going on 40!!!

Have a beautiful day everyone and an even better weekend. Next week is my birthday so I imagine my blog will have quite a reflective tone to it as I ponder how I have spent the last 28 years and plan on how I would like to spend the next 28....well maybe the next 12 months at least :)    

Remember Them

Today is one of the most important days of the year...ANZAC Day. It is the day we remember the Soldiers who have fought for us in the past, the Soldiers who still fight for us today and most importantly, the Soldiers who sacrificed their lives for us. These Soldiers are not blessed with the opportunity to grow old, they will never see the sun rise on this day, nor will they meet their grandchildren or share a beer with their mates and talk about Wars gone by. But we can... 

We need to make sure we do the remembering and appreciating for them. We need to pass this message on to our children and make sure the Spirit of the ANZAC lives on for generations to come. I highly recommend a book called My Grandad Marches on ANZAC Day by Catriona Hoy and Benjamin Johnson. It talks about ANZAC Day through the eyes of a child and is a totally age appropriate explanation of War and our Soldiers who fought so bravely. Understandably, a lot of parents are hesitant to talk to their children about this topic but you simply must. This book allows you to do so in an age appropriate way, but I warn you, be prepared for the questions it will raise and consider how you are going to answer these...appropriately. Our children don't need to know the horror of War so be mindful of how you answer their questions.      

Take the time today to remember what ANZAC Day is all about and appreciate the sacrifices that have been made for us. Most importantly, pass this message onto your children so that when all the War Veterans have passed, there will still be a nation of togetherness that will remember them forever. Lest We Forget.  

Running on fumes

Well that was embarrassing! I was on my way home from the Kindy drop off and my fuel light came on. No worries, I will stop for some fuel. I pulled up at the Servo and began rummaging through the nappy bag...calmly at first, then frantically. I couldn't find my purse! Then it dawned on me, I had left it at home in the handbag that I took out last night! Damn it! The trouble was, I really needed fuel otherwise it was unlikely that I would make it home. The possibilities started going through my mind of what I could do...

I knew Mat had a jerry can of fuel in his shed that was for the mower so I thought maybe I could drive as far as the car would take me and walk the rest of the way to get the jerry can. Then I would walk back to the car, with my purse, top up enough fuel to get me to the Servo and fuel up properly. Nope, that wouldn't work, I didn't have the pram and there was no way I was carrying Elliott all the way home!

I considered driving to my brothers house that was nearby and asking if I could borrow $10 just to put in enough fuel to get home. Then I decided that was a bad idea too because if he wasn't home or didn't have any cash on him, I would have wasted even more fuel. Logically I could have called him on my mobile of course, but it too was in my handbag at home! Genius :)

Next I thought about just fuelling up and doing a runner...my morals, integrity and honesty got in the way of me doing that one!

Then I thought about just pleading my case with the cashier that I had left my purse at home, fuel up and assure him that I would be back. The only trouble with that is that they like to hold onto your licence or something of value to ensure you come back. Without my purse or my phone, the only thing I had of value was Elliott and there was no way I was trading him for fuel!

Finally, I began searching through the car for loose change knowing Sophie had recently had her toy purse in there loaded with silver coins. I managed to come up with five whole dollars, made up of many, many silver coins scattered over the floor. I then slowly put my $5 of fuel in the car to make it look like I was not a cheapskate and only putting $5 in...I wanted to make it look like the time I had spent at the pump was at least $20 worth!! Then I had to sheepishly go in and pay for my fuel....it was very embarrassing!

Thankfully though, we had enough fuel to make it home and later today I will head back to the Servo, purse in hand, and fill the car right up...well maybe I will go to a different Servo just in case the same cashier is on!!  

Marvellous Monday

Good morning everyone :) How amazing is today!?! We are covered in a blanket of thick fog and as the beaming sun attempts to shine through, its perfect spherical shape is generating an eerie rainbow like glow...it is just stunning! When I got out of the car upon returning home from Kindy, I just stood in the front yard staring at this rarely seen beauty and genuinely enjoying the moment. It got me thinking that today's Motivational Monday piece should act as a reminder for us all to appreciate the beautiful things in our lives and to take pleasure in the simple things that we often overlook...

• The words "I love you, Mummy" followed by a smile, a cuddle and a kiss. 
• The sound of wind chimes on a lovely still day with the slightest breeze that sporadically brushes past them. 
• The lingering smell of your husbands aftershave that wafts up your nose hours after you have gone your separate ways for the day.
• Being so lost in a good book that when you put it down, you have no idea what day it is let alone what time it is. 
• Seeing friends and family relishing in a delicious meal you have just made for them. 
• Eating a delicious meal made with love by someone else and seeing the smile on their face when you compliment them with the utmost sincerity.  
• The smell of freshly mowed grass.
• The feeling of warm soapy water when you wash the dishes on a cold day.
• The beautiful smell of fresh bread baking in your home. 
• Laying down on the grass with the kids, staring up at the sky and making shapes out of the clouds. 
• Spontaneously going swimming fully clothed and with no towel or means to dry yourself afterwards.
• Going on a family picnic, sitting on a whole lots of rugs laid beside each other and sharing good food, a good laugh and lots of love. 
• Telling your family you love them every time you see them or talk to them on the phone.
• Waking up and knowing you have nowhere to be and absolutely nothing planned for the day. 
• Being alone at the seaside to watch the sun rise...it is such a humbling and empowering experience.
• The first blooming flower in the pots you have recently planted and the delightful fragrance your bloom develops in the days that follow. 
• The miracle of pregnancy and the treasured feeling of a baby kicking from the inside. What an amazing connection.   
• Writing your thoughts on a piece of fresh, crisp white paper with a sharp lead pencil. 
• Playing in the rain and splashing in the puddles regardless of if you are wearing your most expensive shoes or not. 
• Being alive, here, in this moment, right now. 

Our lives are filled with so much beauty and joy but often we are too focused and in too much of a hurry to notice. Try and remind yourself every day to stop and smell the roses...literally xox

Fabulous Friday

I swear, anyone reading this blog would think I have a mental health problem...one day I can be on the brink of a total meltdown but the next day, all seems to be OK with the world. Of course, these are severe symptoms of a condition called Motherhood: the most wonderful, happy, rewarding, thankless, exhausting and difficult time of your life...no wonder we all seem a little nuts at times!  

Today, I have cakes to ice and decorate and shopping to do. I am not looking forward to going to the shops because I had planned on staying home all day...I even got dressed for the day sans bra and in daggy around the house clothes! But, when I finish typing this mornings blog entry, I'll have to make myself publicly presentable and drag the kids off to the shops (yay). Right now, they are happily playing together in the cardboard box car we made this morning so I shall not disturb them until absolutely necessary!!  

Anyway, this morning I want to share with you Sophie's first dance lesson which she attended this week. It is a class that includes dancing, singing and drama so I thought it would be right up Sophie's ally...I was right. She had an absolute ball!! In the studio, there is a wall with HUGE mirrors on it, so Sophie was in her element and glued to her reflection. There is a part in the dance where the kids all have to skip around the room but Sophie was so busy watching her reflection that the rest of the class had begun skipping around while Sophie's feet stayed firmly planted in front of the mirror! Thankfully, as the class lapped her, she was ushered along to leave her reflection and join in with the rest of the dance...twice!! Then at the end of the class, the teacher went around to each student and asked what kind of songs they might like to sing. There were a few responses of songs from Pink and nursery rhymes like I'm a Little Tea Pot, and then came Sophie's turn. "Um, Highway to Hell by ACDC". Needless to say, the teacher responded with shocked laughter but strangely enough didn't commit to incorporating a little ACDC into the classes playlist. I wonder why?

Have a fabulous Friday and an even better weekend and I shall talk to you all again next week for Motivational Monday xox

Thirsty Thursday

I fear that if this PMT does not subside soon, I shall be stuck in a permanent state of "bitch". Let's review the week shall we? We had Motivational Monday and Terrific Tuesday which were good days. Then came what I will henceforth be referring to as Whatever Wednesday where my attitude was very much whatever. Now I find myself here at Thirsty Thursday with PMT in full swing and a strong desire to run away and join the circus. What is Thirsty Thursday I hear you ask? It is a day where your children drive you to drink! Of course my morals prevent me from cracking open a bottle of wine at 8am but come 8pm tonight, I am not so confident that the bottle of Sav Blanc in the fridge will still be corked!  

You know those days when you wake up and despite your best efforts, you know it is going to be "one of those days". It usually begins with the kids waking up far to early and in very feral moods...check! Then comes the whinging and demands from the kids while you are trying to make their breakfast...check! Then comes cranky, tired husbands unpleasant departure to work for the day...check! Then comes the realisation you forgot to buy milk after brewing your cup of tea...check! Then comes the shit and I mean literally, the shit. You get a whiff of a stenchy nappy and throw your hands up to the heavens asking "Why? Seriously, how much poo can one child produce!?!?!" Then comes the little voice from the other end of the house "Mum, I've done a poo" as if it is breaking news for the day...check! Then comes the mad rush to cook something to take to Mum's Group because you forgot all about preparing anything the day before...check! Then comes the dawning realisation that you put a load of towels on yesterday and forgot to hang them out. You then discover said musty towels still sitting in the washing machine...check! Then come the time outs, smacked backsides and shouting matches with the kids (namely a certain 4 year old!)...check! And finally, to top it off, then comes Elliott's injury for the morning...just a slightly bruised cheek after doing the splits climbing over my cross trainer...check!

Sigh. Yep, it sure is going to be one of those days. I know that once I get to Mum's Group and have a good laugh with the girls, everything will be right with the world again. Until then, I shall try not to crack open that bottle of wine, but without milk for my cup of tea, it will be all to tempting! Have a great Thirsty Thursday guys :)       

Did I really just say that?

I said some words to Mat last night that I know will come back to bite me in the backside. You see, he was home early from work so after I prepared dinner, I thought it would be great for him to bath the kids and get on with the night time routine. Seeing as I had to go out at 7:30pm, I got myself ready with about half an hour to spare. Yes I could have helped with the kids, yes I could have cleaned the kitchen, packed up the toys, folded some washing blah blah blah, but instead I decided to lay on my bed and do NOTHING! It was wonderful just laying there and doing absolutely nothing at all...and I have to admit, I took some small pleasure in hearing Mat battling with the kids to brush their teeth, put pyjamas on and pack up the toys. 

Anyway, while I was lying there, Mat came in a bit frazzled with the kids demands and asked if I could please help him out by doing the dishes before I left. I thought for a moment trying to come up with an excuse as to why I couldn't possibly do it, but nothing came to mind. So I went with honesty instead. I just said "Nope, I don't feel like it and I just don't want to do them". He was a little shocked with my answer, gob-smacked in fact. I went on to explain to him that it's not that I don't want to help him out, it is just that I don't want to do more dishes. I tried giving him the example that it would be like me asking him to come home and do carpentry after being at work all day doing carpentry. I get the "pleasure" of doing dishes every single flipping day, about 243 times a day. Between preparing meals for all of us, consuming them and cleaning up from them, some days it feels like I never even leave the kitchen!! 

So last night, I stomped my foot and acted like a 3 year old by refusing to do the dishes. The discussion ended quite simply with Mat saying "I am going to remember this" so I am sure it will come back to bite me in the backside really soon...stay tuned :) 

Terrific Tuesday

I am just feeling on top of the world at the moment and want to shout it from the rooftops! Maybe my Post Natal Depression is finally starting to take a back seat as I am feeling happy far more often than I am feeling down or numb. I actually feel like I am getting excited about my life again and look forward to the days, weeks and months ahead :) 

In true Kate form, I am totally overcommitted right now. I am making cakes for two occasions this weekend, writing a short story with a fast approaching deadline and I have three spiritual growth commitments that have fallen in this one week that are keeping me out until 10pm each night. Then there are the regular weekly activities of Kindy, swimming lessons, dance lessons, Mum's Group, doctors appointment, groceries and don't even get me started on the household chores (bloody rain and washing are not my friends this week!!!) 

But in mentioning all of the chaos of my week ahead, I say it without a grain of complaint. I really am thriving on being busy and loving the adventure of each day and the challenges it brings. I guess I kind of feel like I am getting ready to move to the next stage of my life. It is like I have taken the time out to focus on starting a family and have consequently been blessed with two beautiful children (...that I could throttle some days, but on the whole they are pretty wonderful). Now that I have brought them into this world and focused on grounding them and making sure they know they are loved, secure and safe to thrive in our family, it is time to broaden the focus to building a bright future for them. It's time to start focusing on my future career options and building financial security to help give my kids access to every opportunity that comes their way. But which way do I step? Which career path do I pursue?

Logically speaking, my background is in Human Services and Early Childhood Education but I don't see myself jumping back into either of those roles directly. In an ideal world I would be an author so perhaps I need to try and incorporate my skills base with my dream of being an author...? Who knows!?!? There is no answer to this of course, I am just rambling and letting my thoughts flow...my goodness this Blog is so therapeutic!! Thank you all so much for supporting it and I just love jumping on each day and seeing what words will flow to enrich my life and yours. Have a wonderful day everyone, in fact, have a Terrific Tuesday :)     

Motivational Monday

Good morning everyone :) Happy Monday! It is a perfect rainy day to stay in bed but because none of us can actually do that (despite every fibre of our being demanding it so) Motivational Monday is doubly important!! So today, I want to share with you some bits of advice on enhancing our self esteem and self worth. Life is going to go on whether we get involved in it or not, so why not take heed of some of this advice and improve your outlook of your life and yourself today...

Take full responsibility for your life, stop blaming others and give up the "victim" act. See yourself as the cause or source of what happens to you and then you will see you have the power to change things for the better.  

Conciously generate positive thoughts and feelings of self love and acceptance in place of old thoughts of inferiority and inadequacy. Be in charge of your thoughts.

Be willing to create a lifestyle that generates, nourishes and maintains sound self esteem and self worth. Associate with others who have high self esteem and don't stay engaged in relationships with negative people that bring you down. Surround yourself with people who enrich your life. 

Participate in life to the highest level you can. We are all plagued with the same problem of being time poor but make time to do those things that you enjoy every day.

Watch what you say and stop being critical of yourself and others. Look for something likeable in everyone you know and focus on that instead of the less desirable traits they may have. 

Keep your awareness and thoughts focused on the present time. Don't live in the past or borrow anxiety from the future. The only time you have is now and you have the power to respond to the present in whatever way you choose. 

Stop feeling guilty, wrong or bad. See mistakes a valuable lessons. See the cause and effect in your behaviours and learn from that. Every mistake is an opportunity for growth. 

Acknowledge yourself frequently. Keep a journal of your successes, wins, accomplishments, thoughts feelings and beliefs. I know it goes against the grain to "toot our own horn" but it is a wonderful developmental tool to put into practice. It helps reduce and hopefully eliminate negative self talk that can be unbelievably debilitating for our self esteem and self worth. 

Practice the art of relaxation (be it Yoga, massage, Reiki etc) and give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing periodically. Schedule time for you and don't feel guilty about it!

Whenever you have thoughts that start with "I have to...I ought to...I need to...I should...I better" stop yourself and change it to "I want to..." The perfect example is getting up and going to work (what a drudge that can be some days). Instead of saying "I have to go to work", tell yourself "I want to go to work so I can save for our holiday" or "so I can help pay the mortgage on our beautiful home". Try and put a positive spin on it :)

Most importantly, love yourself unconditionally. Love your life unconditionally and love others in your life unconditionally. All too often we say things like "Once we buy our first home, then I'll be happy" or "Once I finish this course of study, I will have my life in order" or "Once the kids learn to listen, I will enjoy being a Mum" (and we all know that is never going to happen...kids ears are painted on!!!) Don't put conditions on your happiness because your life will never be "in order" and there is no destination of happiness that you are going to reach. Happiness is a choice you can make each and every day and you will find that it comes from within you, not all these things around you that you think will make you happy. 

Quite simply, make the most of every single day and choose to be happy about the gift of 24 hours you've been given when you open your eyes in the morning. Happy Monday xox 

Funny Friday

Happy Friday J My goodness it came around quickly! With a million things to do today and only enough time to do perhaps three of them, I thought we would end the week on a light note with a few Friday Funnies. Enjoy J

I had a friend, Sharmayne, visit recently with her little girl, Eboney. One thing Sophie loves to do is emulate what goes on during the day in her imaginary play so it was no surprise when Soph all the sudden had another child called “Ebedy”. I thought that was quite amusing until she told me what her name was....”Champagne of course!” I could not stop laughing!

We were playing “I spy” in the car on the way home from visiting my cousin earlier this week and it was Sophie’s turn...”I spy with my little eye, something beginning with handbag”.

Sophie has a toy that says the Lord’s Prayer when you squeeze it...she is trying so hard to learn it:

Actual words	Sophie’s interpretation
Now I lay me down to sleep	....does to free
I pray the Lord my soul to keep	I praying that my socks to keep
As angels watch me through the night	Angels bathing for free tonight
Until I wake in morning light	Till....library high
Amen	A manners

Now, I have saved the best ‘till last...Mat was bathing the kids about a week ago and came out to share this hilarious story with me. Just to give you a bit of background information, I am always telling the kids they are so cute that I could just eat them up!

Sophie: “Oh, look at Elliott’s little willy, it is so cute I could just eat it up!”

Mat: Stunned silence and thorough amusement at Sophie’s utter innocence of what she’s just said.

Sophie: “Oh, and look at Elliott’s little balls...they are so cute I could eat them up!”

Mat: Flabbergasted, fumbling for words to try and rectify the situation. “We don’t talk about private parts like that Sophie...and Elliott’s aren’t little” (spoken like a true father!)

Sophie: “Why”?

Mat: “Because private parts are private. That’s it. Don’t talk about them”. Insert huge discomfort on Mat’s behalf here!

Sophie: “What about Elliott’s so cute, I could just eat him up”?

Mat: “That’s fine. Just no private parts”.  

Elliott: Playing with the bath toys, blissfully unaware that his “bits” were the focus of such hilarity.

Let's Write!

My mind is all over the shop this morning, jumping from one topic to another. There are about five ideas racing through my head but I can’t seem to catch one and land it long enough to develop it into anything remotely interesting to write about! It could be because my mind is wrapped up in a short story that I am developing at the moment...

My gorgeous friend, Shaz, put me onto a local short story competition yesterday and by golly, I am going to enter it. I am beyond excited as it is the first writing competition I have entered and I am really looking forward to the experience of it. I am not so delusional as to think that I will win, but it would be nice to make it into the Top 10 at least! J I fell asleep last night, pen in hand, writing away madly as the ideas just kept flowing and the story began to take shape...I like to actually write my stories in the beginning stages rather than type them because it makes me feel more connected to them I guess. Anyway, I have to share with you a little bit of “freaky” stuff related to this situation...

You all know I love my spiritual and psychic side of life and I put a lot of faith in the messages I receive from Spirit. Well here are two examples of how amazingly on the money they can be!

Firstly, some months ago I had a psychic reading with Rev. Marilyn from my Church. She knows very little about me, especially nothing about my desire to be an author, so I was amazed when she said that she can see me writing short stories. She said that she sees me writing in a notepad, not using a computer and that my stories will involve a lot of pathos. At the time I thought there was no way that was correct because I want to write children’s books, not short stories. But, low and behold, here I find myself developing my very first short story, written in a notebook and it certainly involves a lot of pathos (meaning sorrow and sadness that is necessary for the telling of the story, not just for the sake of pulling on heart strings). Amazing!!

Then secondly, one of my dear friends Mrs D and I both share a love of all things spiritual. Mrs D has a pendulum of which yes and no questions can be asked where it swings one direction for yes, the other for no and either doesn’t move or goes side to side for no answer. I was catching up with Mrs D one evening and we decided ask the pendulum about my writing. I firstly asked if I was going to be a published author within the next two years...it swung in the direction of yes (wooot!). Then I asked it if my first published work was going to be a children’s book...it swung in the direction of no. Again, I thought to myself “piffle” I only want to write children’s books so what on Earth would I publish otherwise...insert current short story competition here!

Very interesting I think! Of course, none of this is set in stone, it is just very interesting that my writing path has taken the diversion that it has after receiving these spiritual messages. Stay tuned...there may just be something published in the next two years with Author: Kate Ford proudly donning the cover J   

From my heart to yours

We have an exciting day ahead...we are off to visit my cousin, Julie, and her twin baby girls!!! It is a very special day because I will get my first cuddle of Emily and Joelle, despite them having been born at the beginning of December last year. You see, these precious babies were born very premature at only 24 weeks! As you can imagine it has been a long, hard road for Julie but I am happy to say that today I will be visiting her and her completed family of Mum, Dad, two precious sons and now two precious daughters. So very special!!! J Having been there through Julie’s struggles to fall pregnant, struggles to successfully carry her babies and the battles she has endured giving premature birth to all of her children, it really makes me count my blessings for my healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. So today, I want to share with you a little bit about the magical connection between Mother and child.

As I have mentioned many times before, there is nothing in this world that compares to the love you feel towards your child and there is a special reason for that...it is a soul to soul connection. I believe that our children choose us as their parents. We have been teamed together in this lifetime to learn from one another and help each other grow in ways we can’t even imagine. The good, the bad and the ugly that we face with our children are all necessary experiences to help us progress on our life’s journey and of course, to help our children progress on theirs too. They chose us because we have a vital role to play in their growth and development.

When you look at parenting from this angle, it really makes you think twice about the decisions you make and actions you take with regards to your children. I’m not in any way suggesting you scrutinise every little decision you make because that would just be ridiculous. Nor am I suggesting that you need to become a perfect parent that is always calm and happy, because we all know that doesn’t even exist! What I am suggesting is that in times of frustration, desperation, exhaustion and exasperation, take the time to look at the bigger picture. Ask yourself why you think you were paired together with your child? What can you learn from your child in this moment? What can you teach your child in this moment? What reason could there possibly be for facing this challenge together? Once you have asked yourself these questions, and quietened your mind and heart long enough to hear the answers, perhaps it will help get things back on track. Worth a try don’t you think?  

So remember, they chose you. The love and overwhelming connection between you and your child was meant to be and it is there for a reason. Never take for granted your presence in their life and try to remember just how special you are J

Chocolate overload!

Easter. Oh my goodness, Easter. All done and dusted for another year and I imagine it is quite a challenge to head back to work today and snap back to reality after four days of fun. What a weekend! It was so wonderful catching up with friends and family and especially wonderful having hubby home for the four days (mind you, it took three days for him to settle/be forced into useful husband and father mode)!! My childhood memories of Easter are totally awesome...chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, but now that I am a parent, it has taken on a whole new spin. I have gone from “Yay, chocolate!!” to “Bloody chocolate”...

Now don’t get me wrong, I am very appreciative of the spoiling my kids got from our gorgeous family and the Easter Bunny, but Sophie, Elliott and I have been locked in an ongoing chocolate battle since Sunday that doesn’t look to be ending any time soon. We have more chocolate in this house than the kids would consume in a year (I am one of those “do as I say, not as I do” kind of Mum’s when it comes to junk food J) and all I hear is whinging and “I want some chocolate” umpteen dozen times a day! I am not surprised though because on Sunday, I was really loose and just let the kids have whatever they wanted...they even tried red soft drink for the first time in their lives (funny how much more relaxed you are with your second child...Sophie had to wait until she was 4 to try red soft drink but Elliott is only 1 and happily took his first guzzles!!) The only saving grace is the electric toothbrushes Easter Bunny gave to the kids which are very novel for them at this stage. Sophie is in the bathroom several times a day cleaning her teeth and pipes up that she can have even more chocolate as long as she cleans her teeth afterwards J

All in all it was a lovely Easter but I am still left with the question of what to do with all this chocolate?? There is no way the kids will be eating it all and if I eat it all, I will really be undermining my plans to be fit and healthy (yes, plans...the healthy Kate is still somewhat in the making). Perhaps I can melt some of the chocolate down and make chocolate biscuits and chocolate cakes to take to friends houses for morning tea? Or maybe the kids can have a play day of melted chocolate in the bath and draw in it, slide in it and just have a chocolaty ball licking it off their fingers, arms and legs! I think that is what I will do, they will love it!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend and good luck getting back into the swing of things today xox

PS – In saying all of the above, I have to admit that in an effort to write today’s blog uninterrupted by Elliott, I sat him at the bench with a bowl of chocolate and didn’t hear boo out of him...perhaps chocolate isn’t as terrible as first thought J

Easter time!

Good evening everyone :) Another late blog after another busy day. Can you believe that Easter is already upon us?!? I still haven't worked out my New Years resolutions yet or my 2012 goals and here I find myself in April!!!! Perhaps this long weekend I need to focus on those things a little more?!?!

As I mentioned, it was another busy but wonderful day. Things started out a little dusty because in response to a letter from the ATO yesterday afternoon, I decided to have a glass or two of wine. I don't know how it happened but I woke up with one hell of a case of morning mouth and found an empty bottle of wine on the bench! I planned to do the necessary weekend's shopping at 8am but needless to say, that didn't happen! So off we went to Mum's group at about 9:30, sunglasses firmly fixed to my face and leaving in my wake a sink full of dishes and a house of unmade beds...the Fairies would take care of that :) Mum's Group was a blast as the kids enjoyed each other's company with very few dramas...and admittedly, any dramas that did arise came from my pair (they must have known I was feeling a little dusty and decided to test my resolve!) All in all though things went well and the highlight was the Easter egg hunt Shaz put together for the kids and also the delicious punch that she made for us Mum's...the jury is still out on it's contents but we are convinced it was spiked :)

I left Mum's Group at about 1:30pm with two very tired and cranky kids...and I went to the supermarket on the way home (hence why I think the punch was spiked...who in their right mind would shop with kids desperate for a nap on Easter Thursday?!?) Thankfully, it was all smooth sailing and I was feeling so good by this point of the day that I bought myself a lotto ticket. I have never bought a lotto ticket but was drawn to it for some reason...hopefully next week I shall be blogging that I am a millionaire!!! lol, wishful thinking.

The positivity continued with a visit from my brother this afternoon, a bowl of Coco Pops and a nice big nap had by all (the kids and I only just woke up at 5pm!!) It was great, and did wonders for my dusty hangover that is now 100% gone. I was just cooking the kids some dinner and made an omelette to go with their meals. I was feeling so good that I thought to myself "forget the flipper, I'm doing this one chef style". So I had a few practice actions without the pan in my hand, I then picked up the pan, did a forwards and backwards motion and whamo! Omelette went everywhere...even into the saucepan I had on the stove! Needless to say, I am no chef and now I have a stove to clean of half cooked egg and an omelette that looks like scrambled eggs to serve up to the kids. They wont know :)

Have a very happy and safe Easter everyone and I look forward to talking with you all next Tuesday xox



Oh Elliott!

I have just given the kids lunch and raced out to Mat's shed to write today's blog. Today is just not going my way...actually, more to the point, today is not going Elliott's way, which means my day is even more difficult than need be.

You are all well aware that Elliott is the most accident prone child in Australia, possibly even the world (chances are high!) and I have noticed a gradual shift in the way I tend to him when he hurts himself. Originally, I would scoop him straight up and shower him with love, cuddles and kisses to try and make him feel better. I would whisper little hushes in his ear and tell him reassuringly that he will be OK. Then I noticed my response shifted more towards picking him and dusting him off and telling him that he'll be fine. Then came the words "toughen up chief" and finally my exasperated response of "how on Earth do you manage it Elliott?!?" Well today, I am in a whole new realm of responding that makes me seem like an uncaring cow...but seriously, I am over it. The constant interruption to my day as I have to respond to his endless injuries is driving me a little mad. I have only just hung out the first load of washing and it is lunch time! So my new response seems to be a little more like this...

Elliott was swinging on his swing and somehow managed to lean forward far enough that he was hanging by his stomach over the seatbelt chain. I threw down the crowbar that I was using to dig up one of the dogs bones (which strongly resembled an entire cows limb) and promptly rescued poor Elliott. I gave him some cuddles and asked him how on Earth he managed it. He then moved on to riding his bike and somehow managed to ride backwards into a pile of metal Mat has against the side of the house to build a pergola "one day". Naturally, Elliott found the pointiest corner of the metal and gave himself a little puncture wound on his shoulder. By this stage, I just got a little frustrated with the poor guy and after a quick kiss and cuddle, I told him to go and stand in middle of the flipping yard so he would stop hurting himself! He didn't go and knowing my luck, he would have found a green ants nest and been covered in bites for sure! The last straw came when I was taping up the pointy metal thing that he had hurt his back on (I taped blue tack and paper towel over the corner with enough packaging tape to move house!). I was taking the tape back inside and hear an awful scream. I race back outside and see Elliott has fallen backwards off his bike and hit his head on the only bit of concrete in the whole yard, which is less than one square metre in size! I scooped him up and just started ranting. I put him inside and gave him soft baby toys to play with and ranted and raved some more about how he has to stop hurting himself (like he does it on purpose) and that I am sick of the fussing!

On and on I went and then had a light bulb moment...he is 1. He has no idea what I am saying and what I am saying would have no affect even if he could understand me. Poor little thing, I think I need to review my response systems again and alter them slightly. 

I better go inside because no doubt he's chocked on his egg sandwich or somehow severed a limb. Knowing Elliott, anything is possible! 

An interesting experience...

So, I went to that Children's Mind, Body and Spirit Festival that I mentioned yesterday...um, well...what can I say other than it was whaky. I think it was run by the kind of people that would plant their baby's placenta in the garden to nourish a tree or something like that. It was seriously bizarre. I am sure there may have been a lot of great information there somewhere but I wasn't able to see it through the drum beating hippy taking us on a journey to the pixies and water spirits in a tree trunk. I also must have missed the great information hiding there somewhere while we did a rain dance for the dolphins and reached our arms up to "Father Sky" and patted "Mother Earth" with our feet. Needless to say, we left a little earlier than we had anticipated because it was just so far off the beaten track of what I consider to be my spiritual journey. Each to their own though and if this makes other people feel good, that's great, it just wasn't my cup of tea at all. Looking on the bright side though, I did take a few things away from today...

Firstly, they had some very beautiful crystals at reasonable prices so I stocked up on a few of them. There wasn't a huge variety but considering my crystal collection is just starting out, the ones that they had were perfect for me. 

Then there was the lesson I learnt about Elliott; he is even more like his father than I imagined. When we were doing the rain dance for the dolphins and I had him on my hip "grooving" away, he kept looking at me like I had completely lost the plot. This was a look I had never seen in him before and it was his father's face through and through. His expression really did say "Ok, guys, Mum has totally lost her marbles now. I know it's been coming for a while but here it is, doing a rain dance for the dolphins...they live in the freaking ocean for Pete's sake, where there is an abundance of water!". Yep, his father's son for sure!!

Lastly, this is the first time I have done something out of the ordinary with Elliott while Soph has missed out by being at Kindy (if you can call it "missing out" lol). Elliott picked a crystal for her so I can't just pretend that we didn't go out so I am thinking I will just say we went to a special shop and Elliott wanted her to have this special crystal. Thankfully, I already talk to Sophie about crystals, chakras and energy so she will undoubtedly enjoy it as a gift. I would have loved for her to come too, just for the experience of it really, but I love having a break from her when she goes to Kindy even more :)  

That just brings to mind the fact that Mat and I haven't actually discussed how we want to bring the kids up in a spiritual sense. After today though, I think that it will be Sophie and I who are "into it" all while Mat and Elliott look at us like fruit loops from the sidelines. As I said though, each to their own :) 

Oh and if you hear on the news tonight of a pod of dolphins drowning in the ocean...that was our rain dance today sorry, apparently they needed even more water than the ocean could supply :)     

Happy Monday

Good morning everyone :) I sadly missed blogging on Friday but I am pleased to report that I am back in action today :) We ran errands on Friday (I had to go out four times with the kids in tow...geesh!) and in the afternoon, once the kids were finally asleep and I made it out to Mat's shed to use the computer, the flipping Internet was down! No amount of turning things off and on worked so I had to admit defeat and have a blog free day. Then to top it off, both kids have been sick with croup and Elliott also has a throat infection. Poor little things! So needless to say, Mummy duty has been taking top priority the past few days to nurse the kids back to health...there was no way I was going to miss out on sending Sophie to Kindy today so she had to get well fast!

As you can imagine, sleep has been a little elusive for me with both kids sick at the same time but on Saturday night they didn't make a peep. Mat on the other hand, he peeped. At 3:30am I felt tap tap tap on my hip. I ignored it but Mat persisted tap tap tapping away. I rolled over and asked in my grumpy middle of the night voice "What!?" to which Mat sleepily mumbled "Toby found us the welding sticks". I chuckled a little, "What did you say?" and Mat repeated again "Toby found us the welding sticks". I laughed some more and when I asked Mat if he was still asleep, he mumbled yes and drifted back off to the land of nod. So my one night of the kids sleeping through was interrupted with that very insightful dialogue from Mat. Got to love it :)

Anyway, update is out of the way so lets get on with Motivational Monday...Um, excuse me brain, I said let's get on with Motivational Monday...knock knock, brain, wake up in there, when I type "Motivational Monday" the ideas are supposed to start flowing. Still nothing. Nothing motivational seems to be coming to mind at all. It could be the fact I am distracted by Elliott being alone inside in his cot playing while I am in Mat's shed typing away. You see, he was out here with me to start with and after I typed the first three words of today's blog, he tripped over some big greasy metal thing in a really stupid spot and hurt himself. The best part is of course the way he is now totally covered in grease! I have given him a bath and tried using soap, sugar and actual industrial strength grease hand cleaning stuff but to no avail...he is still tinged gray right across his arms. chest, stomach and knees. Oh what a sight! I guess that is my lesson for today...be present and focused on Elliott and purchase a great big roll of bubble tape and wrap the poor injury prone child up in it!

I will have to leave it there today sorry guys, nothing motivational is flowing at all and I can hear Elliott screaming the house down. Duty calls :) Tomorrow I am going to a Children's Mind, Body and Spirit festival so I will likely be blogging later in the day, unless there is a miracle and I can get it up before 7am. Here's hoping!!

Happy Monday and I hope you can all look for the small pleasures in today. Find beauty in the simple things and appreciate what you have right in front of you xox