Funny Friday

I have had the most wonderful day hanging out with my dear friend Shaz, getting our bake on and decorating some biscuits. I had planned on popping in for an hour or so but in true Kate and Shaz fashion, we ended up talk, talk, talking and enjoying ourselves so much that I was there for about 4 hours! Four hours well spent I say :) Home now and I have put the kids to bed for a rest. I know Porky will sleep but I think Miss S will just chill out reading some books...I don't care what she does, just as long as it is quiet and I can have five minutes to myself.

Anyway, in honour of the good mood that is this Friday, I thought we would end the week with a few laughs. I know I have done similar posts many times before but it is because laughter rocks and there is nothing like randomness to make the giggles surface. Enjoy and have a lovely weekend xox

   

Breath of fresh air

The energy in this household this morning is indescribably awesome. Recently, E-man (the more challenging of the two) has been waking up screaming, fussing, throwing tantrums and generally being a poster child for rat-bag boys. It has been doing my head in and I just can't seem to work out what pleases him. Hubby was actually here long enough yesterday morning to see the hullabaloo and even he was surprised that his little boy could behave in such a way. Needless to say, E-man's endless carry on has made for one cranky Mumma and consequently, one cranky household. 

Good news today though, he has woken up in the most delightful mood. Why, I hear you ask? Thanks to my wonderful mother!! Recently, I asked my Mum to knit seven little cushions, no bigger than an deck of cards, corresponding to the seven chakra colours. I also gave her the seven crystals that relate to these chakras to put inside each relevant cushion. They look so lovely and are working an absolute treat... 

A few weeks ago, Sophie was carrying on like a real pork chop for a couple of days. One night, when she was asleep, I put the green cushion (heart chakra relating to love), the yellow cushion (solar plexus chakra relating to emotions) and the blue cushion (throat chakra relating to communication) under her pillow. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she woke up the next morning speaking nicely, feeling loving, accepting love and generally just being a far more happy and balanced child. 

As for Elliott, I actually have no idea what his problem is so I put all seven cushions under his pillow last night in the hopes that at least one of them would help him in whatever way he needs it. Low and behold, today he is a dream child!!! He is happy, giggling, loving and cuddly and I am totally crediting it to the chakra cushions. 

These events, amongst others, have really got my mind ticking about how tapping into the spiritual side of our lives could save a whole lot of parents a whole lot of headaches. While you wont find advice like that in traditional parenting literature, perhaps it is time to open our minds to something greater, something more spiritual, and see the impact this has on our children? Food for thought xox

       

Bake-tastic

I recently had my first official cake order for a baby shower and I was wrapped! Cake making is only a hobby of mine and I usually do them for family and friends, however word is spreading of my baking prowess (lol, kidding) and I had my first official paid order! It was a whole new experience having specifications from a client as to what they wanted but I still had a ball getting my creative on. Here are some snaps and as I have said many times before, I am certainly no photographer..

Delicious French Vanilla cake with milk chocolate ganache filling and fondant icing. The baby's name is Aria.

Yummy moist chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing. 

Scrumptious vanilla and lemon cupcakes with fondant icing

And of course, the kids creations...I told them that their work was so great that I wouldn't send their cakes to the baby shower, we would keep them and eat them for ourselves. Yum!

Up to speed

I mentioned yesterday that I will fill you in on the epic failure that was my Saturday escape plan. I have kind of moved on from it and don't want to dwell on the emotionally exhausting weekend that was, so I'll just give you a really short summary...

Hubby woke up, I woke up, we had the shits with each other pretty well all weekend. I wanted him to play with the kids and help with the household chores, he wanted to spend the whole time playing in his shed and doing whatever he wanted to do. I turned into "bitch wife" and put my foot down, banning the shed for just one day. Hubby got the shits with me, then I got the shits with him for getting the shits with me, and Elliott literally had the shits (diarrohea to be exact). Oh yeah, it was fun times in our household over the weekend. I did manage to escape for the afternoon Feng Shui class though (which I loved!!!) and hang out with a couple of girlfriends for a few hours so it wasn't a total failure. Good news though, all is well on the home front now...or I guess I should say for now. lol. 

Other than that, there was a whole separate family drama within our extended family and I went into "mum mode" wanting to fix everything for everyone. I have been in the middle for many many months now as the sounding board for all parties. I have heard everything from all angles and kept my lips tightly closed. The trouble was that I was taking everything on board and really starting to get stressed out. My mum and Jayde (future sister-in-law) gave me some really great advice...I can actually still be the sounding board for everyone and offer support to all parties but I don't actually need to take their issues on board. Genius! I know it sounds so simple but I hadn't really thought of it that way. I am pleased to report that all issues have been resolved and everyone seems to be in a really good place. 

So I guess that brings you up to speed. The weekend was emotionally exhausting but all has worked out in the end. Families are like gardens...they always need work, love and plenty of TLC. Oh and, my family might be a little crazy at times, but at least we aren't weird...

Love is in the air xox

Well, Saturday's grand escape plan didn't go exactly how I wanted it to, but more on that later in the week. Today is Monday, a day for motivation, inspiration, consideration and generally anything that makes our hearts sing and our minds open. I am writing this post half way through the day because since 3:45am, when my beautiful little Sophie visited us in our bed, it has been GO GO GO. What I am pleased about is the way that I have been really present with the kids, I have not raised my voice, roused on them, rushed them, interrupted them or bossed them around. I have been moving at their pace and while it made us nearly two hours late for Kindy, I just feel like a child paced day is just what both kids needed to feel nurtured today.

So I think it is appropriate to share some bits and bobs I have come across that both remind us how important we really are to our children and also how important it is to show our children they are loved...

We hold our children's hearts in our hands xox

Hubby's comeuppance

I am feeling a little frustrated with my husband today...just for something different. You see, while I accept the division of labour that we have and our "roles" in this phase of our lives, I am kind of pissed off with the way he thinks that he can say "Oh I'm stuck at work" and get off scott-free. I don't think he has even seen his kids awake since Tuesday night?!?! Don't get me wrong, I know there are times where he has to work late and I tolerate his absences with a smile on my face...most days. Frankly however, today I am sick of being a married single parent!! 

Darling husband worked late last night and because it was "Thirsty Thursday" (the night he has a few mates around for drinks in the man cave) I told him, explicitly, to call his mates and cancel because he wasn't going to be home. I was so clear that I said "Mat, make sure you call them and let them know it's not on. I have already taken my bra off for the day so I don't really want to be greeting company with my boobs resting on my hip bones!" Of course he said he would call them and of course, he did not. So I had three male visitors yesterday evening come to my door while I wore my daggy PJ's, had a rosehip oil treatment lighting up my face like a beacon and, yep, you guessed it, no bra on. Grrrrrr. 

Anyway, about 8:30pm hubby said he was on his way home. No worries, I thought, I'm pretty shattered and could easily go to bed but I will wait till he is home so I can see him. An hour passed and still no hubby. I called him and he says he has just stopped by a mates house for a drink!!!!!!!!!! This would not normally be a problem except for the fact that he said he was on his way home, I was waiting for him and for some unknown reason, Elliott had been up screaming for about 45 minutes and nothing I was doing was pleasing him! I just wanted a break! Needless to say, I eventually got Elliott back to sleep and went to bed myself with no husband in sight. 

As I lay awake this morning listening to hubby's ute driving out of the yard, I came up with a brilliant plan. Tomorrow, Mat is home. I am going to set my alarm for 5am and snooze it about 6 times. Then I am going to get up, get ready for the day, kiss him goodbye and say "I'm off to work". Then, I am going to spend the whole day out. I will tell him of course that I will be home about 11am, and then not turn up. Let's see how much he likes being on the other end of it. I will also leave a list of all the things that I was going to do tomorrow (washing, floors etc) and he can try and fit that in amongst playing with the kids and running some errands. I think I might catch a movie, go to the library and also a friend of mine just messaged me about a feng shui relationships course on tomorrow afternoon so I will be going to that too. I will also go to Indigiscapes and enjoy some solitude on a quiet little bush walk. Yep, and I might even pop over to Mum's for a nap...see how I go.      

I know this sounds utterly childish, but honest to God I have no idea how else to tackle this right now. I have tried explaining to him how I feel, I have tried negotiating with him, I have tried ignoring the problem entirely which just results in him doing whatever he pleases and to hell with the rest of us (this is a phase I call "The Mat Show"). I am sure his theory is that it is easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Not that he needs to ask permission, he just needs to realise that we are a family and his choices don't only affect him. As I said, he hasn't seen his kids awake for days now!

Anyway, I shall let you know how this all pans out next week. Wish me luck! Or better yet, offer up some strategies for dealing with a situation like this...? Please!!! Surely I am not the only one with a frustrating husband??!!

I am woman, hear me roar!

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had a handful of noteworthy empowering moments. Being married to MacGyver, I am used to hubby coming to the rescue whenever there is a challenging situation that needs to be handled. In these instances however, I took care of business myself.

First up, we were looking after Mat's parents house while they were away and they have a gorgeous fireplace to keep the house warm. Mat was running very late from work and the chill of the evening had well and truly set in. I reasoned with myself that if we were in the wild, just the kids and I, and I was the only one who could start a fire to keep them warm, then for sure I would be able to do it. So I set to work gathering supplies and can you believe it.....I made a fire!!!!!! I was stoked to say the least and I even got Sophie to take photos of me doing it so I could show Mat.

Then, a few days later I was all on my own at Mat's parents place, just about to leave and head back to our house (Mat was at work and his folks were still away). I loaded the car, put the kids in and turned the key...nothing. The bloody battery was flat. My first response was to call Mat and see if he could drive to me and fix the situation. Of course, he was working about an hour and a half away so that was out of the question. I then searched the shed for jumper leads but came up empty handed. Finally, I popped next door and asked to borrow a pair of leads. I then collected a solar charged car battery from the shed and jump started my beast. Boooyah! I am woman, hear me roar!

Then there was the time I was in the middle of some cake decorating and I managed to get three cuts on my fingers. Exposed wounds are no good when dealing with white fondant icing and neither are bandaids. I thought to myself "What would Mat do?" I came up with two options. One, he would use some electrical tape to plaster a dirty rag onto it...not really suitable seeing as the cuts were tiny, not gaping leg wounds and that method is sooooo unhygienic. Then two, he would just super-glue the cuts. Brialliant! That's what I would do. So the search began for some super-glue but again, I came up empty handed. I did however find some Bostik Multi Bond Industrial Strength All Purpose Adhesive and decided that would work just as well. I was wrong. It stung like nothing I have ever felt before and did little to seal the cuts on my hands. Now I am no doctor but I am putting it out there that perhaps medical super-glue uses a different formula to Bostik?? Just a theory.

The final empowering thing happened last night. I had separated some chicken breasts into smaller quantities and popped them in the upright freezer. The only trouble was that as one of the bags had frozen, it slipped through the shelving and expanded to the point that I could not get it back out. I resolved to leave it there until I next defrosted the freezer but it came to the point where it was either mince again for dinner or a chicken stirfry. I put my thinking cap on came up with a genius plan. I would pour boiling water over the chicken in the very back corner of the darn freezer, catch the run off in a bowl below it and presto, it would shrink and pop back through the racks. I began pouring and....it worked! Again, I was amazed and felt just a tad proud of myself. MacGyver would be so impressed!

So I guess the moral of the story is, don't ever feel like something is too hard or out of your league, just give it a go and you may be pleasantly surprised with the results. If it fails, you can always call 000 or RACQ. Oh and just in case you decide to pour boiling water into an electrical item like a freezer, I would suggest also training your kids to call 000. 

Self discipline

This is a bit of a buzz phrase for me at the moment and every time I say it nice and slow and really think about the meaning behind it, it is like something starts firing away within me. I get all motivated, responsible and accountable for all elements of my life. I just love it! I came across the phase in Women's Health Magazine, which I frequently purchase in the hope that I will become a fit and toned human being simply by association. Ha! And don't even get me started on the exercises I attempt from the magazine...they obviously assume their readers have an existing level of fitness and I question whether a 20kg overweight Mum with a sweet tooth is part of their target audience?? Either way, I love the magazine and get a lot out of reading it...hence my new buzz phrase "self discipline". 

I like this phrase so much that I came up with what I thought was a really unique idea. I would buy a wristband with the words "self discipline" on it and wear it every day to remind me of the power these words can have on my life. So I began researching...it turns out, there is a whole website in America dedicated solely to this phrase! They sell wrist bands, key rings, stickers etc all with the message "self discipline". So much for my original idea. Skip ahead a few weeks and I am now proudly wearing my wristband and hoping that it will help to have a very positive impact on my life.  

Have a go at saying "self discipline" nice and slow, again and again and see if it makes a difference for you. Ultimately we are all responsible for our own lives, our own happiness, our own health and our own wellbeing. As tempting as it can be sometimes to blame others for our problems and shortcomings, it really does all come down to us as individuals and our ability to be disciplined enough to create the life we want. I came across this profound quote that I think we all need to take on board when considering the words "self discipline":

     

Ah huh!

Well, there was definitely something strange in the air yesterday. In case you didn't pick up on the subtle message in my blog, I was exhausted. Elliott was also in a funny mood, full of cuddles and he even fell asleep in my arms...which never happens! Then, upon collecting Sophie from Kindy, I discovered she too had herself a little afternoon nap, which again is something as rare as hens teeth! So either we have all suddenly become narcoleptic or perhaps our busy weekend may have been a little too much for us all. I frequently find myself throwing my arms up in the air and asking "When did life get so busy!?!?!" and I know I am not alone in this line of questioning. We all seem to be so insanely busy and in fact, there seems to be some unspoken expectation that we should fill every spare minute of our lives with activity of some sort. What is with that?

On this topic of busyness, I have a story to share with you all today. I was recently chatting to my hubby about our goals and what we will focus on for our future. This sounds all lovely and rosy but it was more like we just had a low scale argument because we have completely different ideas of where we want our lives to go. During this "discussion" he revealed that he expects I will go back to work next year to take some financial pressure off him. While my return to the workforce is inevitable, I am simply not ready to take on that extra responsibility right now. I pointed out to Mat that I am the one who manages the complete running of the household, looks after the kids, does all the "man jobs" like mowing the lawn and washing the dog, I manage the finances, manage the admin side of his business and basically manage absolutely freakin everything when it comes to our existence. He nodded in agreement as I rattled these things off and supportively said "I know you do all these things for us and I know your busy". I was quite pleased with his level of understanding until this moment came... 

Me: "So you see babe, me going back to work a couple of days a week for just a few hundred dollars in our hand (after we factor in childcare and all the rest of the expenses associated with being a working Mum), it would just be yet another thing on my already overloaded plate". 

Mat: Simply nodded. 

Me: Astonished, I stared at him blankly, the man who was so adamant and passionate about the idea of me going back to work only five minutes before. "Mat! This is the part of the conversation where you are supposed to say that you would happily help out a lot more around here and take things off my plate if I were to go back to work!"

Mat: With some swift back-peddling, he says "Oh yeah, yeah, I would try but it's hard for me because I work so much". 

Now is about the time you would have seen steam coming from my ears. Instead of arguing my point further, I just shook my head in disbelief. Hopefully one day he will get it, but I think I will be waiting a while for that moment to come. Husbands! Who'd have 'em?!?

  

Insert witty title here

At 2am, my mind was abuzz with ideas to blog about for Motivational Monday. Fast forward seven hours, one phone call to the ATO, one glance at the dismal bank balance, one fussy four year old and one teething toddler and my mind is drawing a blank. I am finding it really tricky to muster up anything remotely motivating when all I want to do is eat bucket loads of junk food, curl up under a doona and fall fast asleep. Curse my parental responsibilities preventing me from enjoying such an experience. 

Do you know what I have figured out? Tiredness is my kryptonite. When I am full of energy, nothing can hold me back from having an awesomely productive day. Sprinkle on a bit of exhaustion however and everything goes to hell in a hand basket. I want to eat rubbish food, I don't want to exercise and I don't want to look after the household or play much with the kids. It sucks! Maybe in light of that, we could chat about ways to get enough sleep today...not very motivating but important none the less.

So, in order to get enough sleep, first thing's first: don't have children.......Bugger. 

Secondly, don't overcommit yourself and load your plate up with too many tasks to handle........Double bugger. 

Step three, don't consume caffeine or alcohol past 3pm. Oh come on, what am I, a Monk?!?!?!

At this point of writing today's post, I decided to Google tips on how Mum's can get enough sleep. I came across plenty of articles with advice for new Mums and even came across a newspaper article claiming that statistically, Australian and New Zealand parents have little to complain about because according to their survey, our kids are amongst the best sleepers in the World. Well, it's settled then. I am not a new Mum and I am blessed to be Australian so I guess feeling tired should not be a problem for me. Ha!

Thankfully, I did come across this article that has a few handy hints http://www.thesurvivorsclub.org/news-and-articles/moms-cant-sleep-synd-clone-1289424439-4 I have to admit though, I am so tired I didn't actually read it properly so fingers crossed it is a good article that I would be happy to refer to on my blog. If however I manage to read it in full later and find that it is all nonsense, I shall delete the link!

To sum it up though, here are just a few hints for us worn out Mummy's to get enough sleep:

• Start a worry book and keep kit by your bed. If you are like me and your mind races when you are trying to fall asleep, jot your thoughts down in your worry book...they will still be there tomorrow. 
• Avoid sleep aids and alcohol. Not sure I entirely support this 'no alcohol' theory but desperate times call for desperate measures I guess. 
• Ask yourself if your kids are the problem. Oh how I laughed when I read this one.
• Force yourself to stay awake. What the? This is kind of the opposite of what I am aiming for. 
• Limit your time in bed. Again, what the? Isn't this supposed to be about getting some sleep??? I am so confused!

You know what, I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what I am talking about today. I am sure these tips make sense if you read the whole article and not just the subject lines but unfortunately, that just aint gonna happen today. Sorry folks. I am off to have a cuppa with my Mum who has just popped over for a visit. Maybe I can convince her to take E-man home on her one day off and I can sleep the day away. Lol, kidding Mum! Happy Monday xox        

What goes up, must come down

I am pleased to report that about 90% of yesterday was awesome. The kids were happy and we managed to go to Spotlight, the cake supply shop, Aunty S's to feed her animals and do the grocery shopping all before lunch time. Their fussing was minimal and their cooperation was high...I was pleased as punch! Today however, it would appear the Universe has different plans for me...today shall henceforth be referred to as "Let's test Kate's patience" day...

It is 7am and so far there have been three noteworthy incidents. First up, Elliott screamed the house down when Mat dared to bring him into our bed for a cuddle. No matter how hard I tried to distract him, he wasn't having a bar of it. My thoughts were "Fine, bugger off then you ungrateful child" but what came out of my mouth was "OK Mr, if you don't want a cuddle, that's fine, off you go" said with a smile on my face. 

Incident two was my beautiful daughter coming into bed for a cuddle with Hubby and I this morning. Talk about special! She was delightful, full of smiles, hugs and kisses. Then, out of nowhere, she rolled towards Mat and declared "I love Daddy the best!"...insert my breaking heart here. 

Finally was incident three...Elliott's epic wobbly at the bench during breakfast. Sophie was allowed to pour her own milk onto her cereal because you know, she is three years older than her younger sibling and her motor skills are a little more refined. E-man decided this was just the most awful thing to ever happen in his life and on top of the usual screaming and fussing, he threw his FULL bowl of milky cereal onto the floor!!!!! I was pissed. In my head, many curse words were flying, but out of my mouth came a very stern sentence with no yelling at all..."That is completely unacceptable Elliott. I will not tolerate such nonsense. Off you go! If you throw your food on the floor, you miss out". I took him down from his stool and sent him on his merry way crying and carrying on like a real pork chop. Then I did what all resourceful mothers do...I let the dogs in to clean it up!

OK, make it four noteworthy incidents...while I have been typing this mornings blog, I have been blowing up balloons for the kids to play with while they dance around the lounge room to ridiculously loud music. One of the flipping things just blew up in my face while I was blowing it up!!! Luckily it missed my eye this time (refer to an earlier post "Patchy McGee" http://mummyslovejug.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/patchy-mcgee.html) but my chin and my forearm are sporting some pretty kick-arse welts. Note to self: must buy a bloody hand pump that I see at the shops and think to myself "What a ridiculous item, just blow the balloons up yourselves lazy people". Balloons 2, Kate 0. I would also like to add that tying up the balloons has been made all the more difficult by the cut I have on my finger. I was chopping vegies last night and tried to Masterchef the crap out of them. I sped up the chopping process and incidentally cut the top of my finger quite deep. Bugger!

Yep, no doubt today will go down in history as "Let's test Kate's patience" day. I hope things start to get a little easier because I have my first official cake order to make. One single tiered cake and 36 cupcakes...so excited about that!!!!! 

Have a great weekend everyone and I shall chat to you next week xox     

Thank you Universe

What a beautiful way to start the morning...the kids went to bed a little later last night which meant that they slept in for about half an hour longer than usual. Rather than jumping up to put the washing on or trying to sneak in some more sleep, I decided to start the day with a guided meditation. I grabbed my laptop, chose the file that I wanted and lay back listening to this beautiful morning meditation by Doreen Virtue. I feel so awake and recharged because of it and I am ready to tackle any challenges that come my way today. The most unusual thing that stemmed from this meditation was my morning interaction with Elliott...

To set the scene, the minute Elliott's eyes open, the whinging begins. He has never liked coming into our bed for a snuggle in the morning, and lately, he screams the house down if we even attempt to walk into our bedroom with him. He simply wants to have breakfast and get on with playing, none of this sissy cuddling nonsense. This morning however, I collected him from his cot and smothered him with cuddles and kisses before he was awake enough to protest. Strangely enough, the protest never came. He happily enjoyed my motherly affection and then gestured towards one of his much loved books (admittedly, it is the only book he loves and I tell you what, if I have to read much more of this bloody Night Garden story, I am going to scream!) Anyway, I happily grabbed the book and took Elliott into my bed for a cuddle and a read. As we sat down on my bed, I again waited for the protest....but it never came! We managed to read the book twice, play some "this little piggy" games with his toes and even have a wrestle and a tickle before he decided that was enough and breakfast time was a-calling. I was amazed! 

Interestingly, part of the meditation talks about all interactions today coming from a place of love and that everyone with whom I come in contact with today shall benefit from my positive feelings. This couldn't be more true with Elliott's complete turn around with his morning attitude. Now I don't know if it was the meditation that did it, Elliott getting a decent amount of sleep or the fact that perhaps his cutting teeth are having a break today. Either way though, I am grateful for whatever is happening in the cosmos that has delivered a happy, charming and delightful bubba boy to enjoy the day with. 

Happy Thursday everyone xox

Wet yourself Wednesday

I have shared this story with a few of you in person but it is just so hilarious that I need to talk about it on my blog. Our darling Sophie has a wonderful imagination and is well known for her use of big words, often in context. Sometimes though, she gets a bit jumbled up and the end result is something like this...

Elliott was in the bath over the weekend and Sophie was reading him a story. Well, she was actually making up a story as she thumbed through the phone book, pretending to be a teacher. I was smiling that proud way parents do when they look at their children when Sophie said...

"And the Enchantress grew ginas all around her". 

A giggle was bubbling up inside me and I asked: "What? Did you just say that she grew vaginas all around her?" 

With a very sincere face Sophie replied "Yeah" wondering what my laughter was all about. 

I managed to compose myself long enough to correct her "I think you mean giants maybe?"

"Oh yeah" she chuckled "I got infused". 

The laughter continued then...I think she meant confused.

The laughter on this little one's face is contagious!

Happy Days

Good morning everyone! Another gorgeous day and so glad you popped by for a read. I have just got back from a jog/walk (honestly, it was mostly a walk but I jogged up my street to make it look like I was running the whole time) and am currently riding the glorious endorphin wave. Elliott is happily playing with blocks and we are listening to the Wiggles blaring out of the stereo...such a gorgeous morning! I thought maybe today I would fill you in on my shift in thinking over the past couple of weeks while I had a mini blogging break...

Years ago, when I was new to this motherhood gig, I would wake up every day with a smile on my face and as I snuggled in bed with Sophie, I would ask her what kind of fun things she wanted to do for the day. I managed to juggle all of the household commitments, the business admin for Mat and playing with Sophie. They were happy days. I hadn't realised it but as the years went on, slowly things changed and I was not quite so excited to be waking up every day. All the tasks just seemed to hard, too plentiful and too overwhelming. It sucked. My mind would start racing the minute I woke up, even before my eyes were open, thinking of all the things I had to get done...get the washing on, clean the floors, feed the kids, walk the dog, do some bloody business paperwork, play with the kids, set up some engaging activities for the kids so I can take five minutes to have a shower, feed the kids again, mediate the kids fights, clean up after the kids, run some errands, feed the kids again (they never stop eating!) etc etc etc. It was endless and I felt exhausted before the day had even begun. 

Now however, I have made a simple little shift in my thinking. Instead of considering what I have to get done during the day, I ask myself "What am I going to try to accomplish today?" It sounds so simplistic and perhaps even useless, but for me, it is working a treat. I divide tasks into two categories: that which can be achieved with the kids around (eg- washing and household chores) and that which needs to be done while the kids are asleep or occupied elsewhere (eg- business paperwork and writing). I devote blocks of time and attention to playing with the kids and don't let anything distract us (not even if the phone rings, it just has to wait). Then I also devote time to myself...Yesterday I told the kids I was going to sit on the couch and read a magazine for 20 minutes and they would simply have to entertain themselves. I still conversed with them and only managed to read about one full page of the magazine but I stuck to my guns and just sat on my backside, not tending to another human being for 20 whole minutes. It was great! Sophie had her nose all out of joint about it but Elliott was happy to do his own thing (spot the first child, lol). Then today, I popped Elliott in the pram, left the messy house and list of chores behind us and we went for a walk/jog. I hardly even spoke to Elliott on the journey and we just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the empty streets. It was so peaceful that it was nearly meditative. Delightful!

So there you have it, I have shifted my priorities, put my own needs on the agenda and so far, things seems to be going along smoothly. More good news is that young Sophie seems to have lost that feral and disgusting attitude that she was giving me a few weeks back and is now a happy child once more (well, most of the time anyway). Happy, happy days xox

      

Yes I'm Baaaack in Blaaaaaaack!

The title of this post must be read as though ACDC is singing it. If for some incomprehensible reason you have no idea who these Rock Legends are, please follow the link to be enlightened:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwIvBNsSywQ

That reminds me of a time I was talking with a friend who was born in the 70's about the band KISS...he looked at me blankly and had had no idea who I was talking about!!! Shocking. To avoid such a thing happening in my kids lives, I actually have "music appreciation lessons" with them where we put on good old fashioned Rock'n'Roll and bust a move. I think it is important to let them know that back in the day, music was made with instruments instead of computers and the people singing were actually capable of singing without the aid of computer enhancement. But that's just me :) I love music and how it can evoke and soothe so many emotions we have inside us. Actually, I sang that Mockingbird Song to Sophie when I tucked her into bed one day and she said to me "Mum, that song nearly made me cry". Yep, music is in our blood.

Anyway enough with the rambling, as I was saying, I'm back!! I am so glad to be back in the blogosphere and I actually really missed writing every day. I don't think I realised how important writing is to me until I took a little break from it. Sure it might be just a blog, but it is writing none the less; writing to share my stories with the intention of brightening all of our lives and helping us to be the best possible versions of us that we can be. 

with today being Monday and the theme being Motivational, I wanted to share with you some words from Jacqueline Mooney, editor of Weight Watchers magazine. This exert was from the May issue and the power of the words really hit home for me, not just for weight loss, but for every element of my life. I hope you can draw on it to to invoke the intrinsic motivation we all have to live our happiest lives...

"...I've also learnt many valuable things. Amongst the memorable? Don't sweat the small stuff - focus on what really matters and things eventually fall into place. No matter how scary it seems, step outside of your comfort zone because the rewards are well worth it. Make one small change at a time and, pretty soon, those small adjustments will add up to one very big difference. Above all, if you want to change something for the better, don't wait for next week/next month/until things settle down. Start right now!" 

Happy Monday beautiful people and it is a pleasure to be back xox

Just a quickie

Good morning everyone :) This week is crazy busy with hubby away for work and too many things scheduled for the kids and I, but there was no way I was going to forego the chance to write our Motivational Monday piece! You cannot imagine how much I am missing blogging each day and although this weeks posting will be a little sporadic, I am confident that next week I shall be back in the full swing of it, inspiring us all to live our best and happiest lives ever (and of course, sharing plenty of stories of my less than grand parenting moments to make you all feel better about not being the "perfect" parent, lol). 

Anyway, in light of this mini break I am taking, I thought today could be a blog in pictures, relating to rejuvenating, refreshing and cleansing our souls...

Remember to breath deeply in times of stress. The power of your breath to affect change on an emotional level is phenomenal. 

Even in times of darkness, God's love and light will always find a way to shine through .

Call on the Healing Angels, your Spirit Guide and loved ones who have passed to help you refresh  and heal your soul. Hand your worries over to them for guidance.  

This says: Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be. Become one yourself. 

Love and light to you all. Happy Monday xox