What a day.

All day I’ve been trying to write a post about our day at the park yesterday. I’d write a sentence then be called to some other emergency involving a small person and usually the emergency was that they were hungry (again) or thirsty (still)

My post was to talk about the hellish school holidays we’ve been enjoying and the fact that I would like a little break, some space to think and breathe if only for a couple of hours.

It’s just not happening people.

So right now I have opened a bottle of wine which I’d requested Glen buy on the 18th of September. I’m clearly a big drinker. I couldn’t be bothered using one of my pretty yet rarely used wine glasses so I’m using a cup.

Not a big drinker and nor am I a classy one.

So as I vent, enjoy some park day pictures.

I needed to get out of our house. I CAN NOT keep it clean. It is driving me bonkers. My kids can tell I’m frustrated and take advantage when I’m distracted.

I thought that heading to the park may allow me to get a little thinking space while they were busy, I thought they’d be happy to play and run free. They were quite happy, except I didn’t get the slight peace I thought I would, when Buddy wasn’t on the boob I was rescuing squealing kids from prickles. (They refuse to wear shoes. Goodness knows who they learnt that from.)

*3 hours later*

I only finished that one glass, I mean cup of wine so don’t worry I’m not impaired any more than normal. I also took a moment to look over the park photos. Tip – do not take Oreos as a snack when you plan to get some cute shots (or be seen in public!)

So I’m not so much in need of a vent right now. Glen’s home from work we’ve had dinner and the little ones are all asleep now. But the last couple of weeks have been tough. School holidays suck. These happen to be a little worse than any others, Glens acting supervisor while his boss is on holidays himself. So we’ve had only a couple of days together, not that we’d planned to go away or anything, but hey an extra set of hands with 5 kids, 3 of which are busy toddlers, a 3 month old breast-fed baby, and a disgruntled, repetitive 10-year-old, would be extremely handy. (excuse the pun.)

So park day didn’t turn out to be the relaxing, distraction I needed. Kids liked it however which is great but I’m trying to save my sanity!

My kids are good, but they are kids. I love being a mum but I am a person too.

I need a breather.

Goodness knows I deserve one!

Tomorrow I’m trying out for roller derby, I am afraid, and excited. The excitement outweighs the fear. I HOPE that I love it because I need something just for me, I need to get out and do something so I don’t go loopy.

….well any more loopy than I already am.

So I’m totally distracted watching the renovators (love it) and trying to wind down, I promised myself an early night, before 11pm which is probably why my limitless patience isn’t so limitless at the moment.

So I’ll leave it at that.

I apologise for the lazy post and PROMISE a decent well written post over the next couple of days. Tuesday’s newspaper is going to have an article about our Yager Babies blog which is also exciting, which also means I should step up my game a tad.

Keep an eye out for that step up!

It’s sure to be a great success or a great failure.

Both of which will be interesting to witness.

My fave child?

Back in the day when it was just Bella and I getting around on our lonesome, she was totally my favorite child. I loved her to death, and would do everything she asked. I spoiled her rotten -and I’m not afraid to admit that- she was my very best little friend.

I always told myself that I COULDN’T have more children because I loved her so much and didn’t want her to ever have to share all that love. I didn’t know if I could love another child as much as I loved and cherished her. I felt like if I had more kids it would affect her in negative ways, and that I wouldn’t like them!

Then she turned five and for some reason my cluckyness kicked in big time. I HAD to have a baby it was the only thing I could think about. So Sophie was planned and next thing I know I have a new beautiful daughter.

I loved that Bella had started her first year of school just a month after Sophie was born. Perfect; Sophie was my favorite during the day and I over compensated and made Bella my favorite when she came home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched 7pm project tonight and saw that they’d asked the hard question.

Do parents have a favorite child?

Turns out a dads favorite child is most likely his youngest daughter. A mum is more likely to favour her eldest son. And a middle child is least likely to be anyones favorite.

In a poll asking do you have a favorite child? The results are as follows (don’t quote me on exact percentages as I was taking notes as they spoke)

50% said ‘no’ they didn’t have a favorite child (Liars)

17% said yes (Don’t feel bad)

33% said ‘no’ but meant ‘yes’ (Thats more like it)

(Do those percentages equal 100?)

Any who; So I thought about the question and tried to be honest and answer it myself.

Immediately I thought of Buddy (which adds weight to the fact about mothers favouring their eldest son. How about only son?) but I also think I have a soft spot for him because he is my youngest, my only boy AND I came so close to loosing him (see please immunise your babies.) He also LOVES me and looks at me with such adoration and just loves mummy cuddles.

I then thought of Sophie, I have a soft spot for her too as I had desperately wanted another baby and I had so much free quality time with her when she was so small, she’s the best cuddler and has such a sweet nature. But then again she can get a mean streak and be a bit of a bully which I don’t like at all.

Next came to mind Violet. Yes she’s my favorite because I feel bad that she is literally our middle child, two older and two younger. Smack bang in the middle the poor baby, I don’t like the idea of middle child syndrome and Jan from the brady bunch freaks me out. I plan to make a point of Violet being my favorite so she doesn’t start having weird internal conversations. She gets cranky and grinds her teeth and scrunches up her face and makes fists out of frustration then lets out a high ear piercing squeal. Are all middle children like this? Maybe it’s the noise they make to get attention which causes them to be the least favorite.

Molly and Bella sadly were thought of last. Purely because they pester me non stop. Both can give me a head ache in seconds and both annoy their sisters for no reason at all. Neither listen to me and both go behind my back and get into things. They challenge me and I like that. I wouldn’t learn a thing from ‘easy’ children. They both happen to be adorable and when good they’re brilliant and hard to resist. It is hard to favour a difficult child though.

So favorite, favorite??

Hmm… I like so much about each one and I dislike so much about each one too. I like that they are all my children because regardless of which one is my ‘favorite’ at any given point in time at the end of they day they are all mine.

And all my faves for different reasons.

Its like having a handful of mixed lollies they’re all good but you might want to eat the frogs first.

(Maybe that was a bad comparison, I don’t want to eat my children, but now that I think about it…….Bella would be first; not because I like her least but because Molly is sooo scrawny! Maybe the question should be which child would you eat first? The last one left MUST be the favorite. Molly for sure. She’d be a terrible eat!)

For now my answer is ‘Buddy is my favorite son.’ In a world where we must not say ‘certain’ things, yet be truthful, that’s the closest I’m going to get. Plus he can’t say ‘no’ hedoesn’t scream and isn’t into my pantry pulling things out!

Yet.

Do you have a favorite child??

And why?!

Cry Baby Cry

Babies cry.

We all know that, we don’t however know why sometimes.

It is their only form of communication, it is their only way of letting us know that they are hungry, bored, tired, feeling un-well, are wet or dirty, cold or too hot.

To listen to someone elses baby as a mother, it isn’t a big deal, it may be annoying but that’s really about it. When a mothers own baby cries? It’s like a drill boring into her temple.

That cry is distinct and a mother can tell her babies cry out of a million at ten feet away. The connection between a mum and her own baby is indescribable to anyone who doesn’t have their own child. I think sometimes even dads will never understand the way a babies cry affects its mum.

A mum will wake from the deepest sleep at the slightest sound from her own baby. something that others would sleep right through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a hard time with Bella dealing with crying, she was my first and you immediately assume that when a baby cries it needs to be stopped.

A non-crying baby equals a happy baby.

A happy baby equals a good mum.

Thats so not true.

Some babies naturally cry more than others.

And as long as you know your baby hasn’t got a temperature, has a clean and dry nappy, isn’t to cold or hot, is not hungry and have ticked every other possible box, then it is ok for a baby to cry.

Who knew?

It is ok for a baby to cry. (Yeah I know I repeated that, but some mums needed to hear that twice!)

Some physicians even think it helps develop their communication skills later in life. I personally don’t agree, but I do think that babies were made to cry and having a ‘silent’ baby is not natural.

There has been some study relating quiet babies being more withdrawn later in life (personally Sophie wasn’t a crier and she’s far from withdrawn!) And that loud babies are more out going, opinionated and independent. (Bella fits this so far.)

For the first 2 years of Bella’s life I spent pretty much awake. She’d cry and I’d jump to soothe her right away.

9 times a night like clock work for 2 years I’d get up to her.

I had to work something out.

I am all for the self soothe method when putting babies to sleep (I’m not talking newborns, I mean babies from about 3-4 months this is when babies get to know their patterns and surroundings.) Self soothe is basically a really nice way of saying I listen to my baby scream until it goes to sleep.

There are nice ways to do it.

Firstly make sure baby is fed, clean, dry and fresh nappy, you’ve talked and played and cuddled until they are really tired. Snuggle them up in their place of sleep, give kisses, cuddles, say good night, then walk out and close the door.

Baby may cry.

No need to rush back in as long as you know 100% your baby is safe.

If your baby is still crying after 5 mins quietly go into the room and check on them. The only way this will not make things worse is if you make sure your baby does NOT see you. If you rush in and turn lights on, grab your baby and pick them up then the last 5 minutes were a waste of time.

(It is KEY that your baby does not know your there. They may step the crying up a notch to get your attention, go double-check if you feel the need, but if you pick your baby up at this stage, next time you try they’ll begin with the ‘bigger better’ cry right away. They’re clever and know what gets them what they want.)

Once you know your baby is ok leave.

Keep doing this if you need reassurance, until your baby goes to sleep. After a few nights your baby will get the picture.

 I eat, I get cleaned and changed, I get cuddles, I get tucked up and soft whispers. Then I sleep.

Trust me It will be harder on you than your baby!

Babies learn patterns, they don’t care what time of the day things are done but through routine and a ‘pattern’ they can adjust.

It took a couple of weeks and I finally was getting some sleep! I immediately did this with all my kids after Bella and it has helped save so much sanity!

Bed time takes us about 30 with books and cuddles and play time included! Sophie 4, and Violet 3, share a room. We give them hugs and kisses, turn the lights off and close the door. They go to sleep (except occasionally when they decided they want to have a chat) Molly 2, is in her toddler bed, same thing, kiss hugs, lights off close the door. Sleep.

Buddy’s still breast-fed so he sleeps in our room. He’ll have his feed a nappy change and then I tuck him up in his bed and off he dozes, even if Glen and I are in the room. He knows now that once he is in his bed, that’s where he stays until his next feed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Crying and lack of sleep can be the worst thing ever. If we can be a little relaxed about it all, things can go so much smoother (babies also feel our distress and feed off it.)

When baby cries, un-tense your body, take a deep breath, remove any ‘her we go again’ thoughts from your mind, access what may be the problem and talk to them in a calm voice while dealing with whatever it is. “Oh look you’ve got a wet nappy, how about we change that?’

 (A good way to tell if baby is just ‘attention’ crying is that they stop as soon as they are in your arms, they just wanted mummy, which is pretty sweet. A good way to tell if a baby under 12 months has an upset tummy is if their poop is a greeny colour, its hard to know if baby is in pain especially without a temp, sometimes there are other signs.)

Nothing working? Turn some music on and bop and sing along with baby. Show them a mirror, make some weird random noise.

Last resort. Put baby in a safe place and walk away have a breather and come back.

Babies are made to cry, mothers were made to react to that cry.

It’s normal.

Don’t stress!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 (This was written with my own experiences in mind, if your worried about your baby please seek medical advice or a professional. I’m a professional with my own kids and that’s it.)

*Thank you for the emails ladies, hope this helps, any further questions feel free to email me.*

Yowie.

So I said in my previous post that I would clarify what I meant by ‘yowie infested bushland.’

This is yowie infested bushland.

When I was younger my mum and dad liked to go four-wheel driving with family and friends. We loved crashing and bumping around the bush in our old landruiser. Our dad used to try to scare us and tell us stories about Yowies. I’d ask him thousands of questions about these yowies and he knew everything. When I could think of no more, I’d sit staring out my window as we bashed around the bush, searching so hard to see one.

 I have always wanted to see a yowie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now yowies live in bushland, any really, the bushier the better.

You’ll never see them -unless your very lucky and convince them in soft whispers that you’ll help protect them- they are very shy and very protective of their homes. This is what their homes look like.

You’ll never find an entrance because just like yowies they’re camouflaged so well. I guess you may actually see a Yowie but you just won’t know it.

They see you though that’s for sure.

Yowies are actually very large. And hairy. Their newborn babies are the size of a 6-year-old! Which if you’re not careful with your children in the bush and leave them unsupervised, they will take young children and raise them as their own bald babies.Which wouldn’t be too bad as they are actually quite lovely.

 To look at one they are basically a very tall human, as tall as the biggest trees sometimes, with two legs, two arms. And really hairy. They come in a wide variety of colours all natural browns and greens, so they can blend in easier. Sometimes the really old yowies actually grow moss and lichen in their course long hair to help them blend in easier as they aren’t as quick to hide as the younger ones.  They don’t speak like us but their calming voices blend with the natural sounds of the bush.

You may think your hearing a kookaburra, but it may actually be a young yowie calling to its mum to warn her that there are some humans in their territory.

When you go into the bush you need to stay together. You need to keep your eyes open, you may catch some movement to the corner of your eye but when you look nothing is there.

Next time take a closer look, things may not be as they appear.

This isn’t an actual yowie, I’m just trying to show you how the blend in so easily. They may be right in front of you and you won’t even know it!Blends in well doesn’t he?

They may throw rocks, not at you but near you. You’ll hear the whir through the air, then a crash bang when the rock hits the ground and tumbles across the littered bush floor. It can be a little scary, especially if they are close. They don’t want to hurt humans, just get them to move along. We wouldn’t like it if yowies came noisily stomping through our house now would we??

Yowies shed their hair at different times in the year. The only way to describe it would be like the hairy fine bark that falls from certain trees. Which doesn’t actually fall from the tree, it gets caught on the rough branches and twigs as a yowie goes by and falls to the ground. You’ve probably see it a million times.

Now you know what it really is!

Bella has asked me what they eat. They eat yummy fresh fern shoots, and tasty looking plants they are omnivores though so sometimes they may eat birds or eggs too.

Bella also asked where they shower, well in the rivers or creeks of course! occasionally you may smell something terrible when in the bush, like a dead animal smell. It is usually a grubby young yowie who won’t let its mum bathe it.

Bella loves yowies and sometimes falls back a few metres to talk to them and let them know that she won’t spill their secrets should they reveal themselves to her. She swears that she may have seen one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note.

Now that you have read this information about yowies you must not tell anyone, you need to keep it to yourself to protect the beautiful peaceful creatures that are yowies. They are everywhere but are so shy and don’t like to many humans in the bush. We also need to work hard to keep our bushes free of litter and look after the bush so that yowies always have a safe and beautiful home to live in.

The bush can be a big and dangerous place and we should always respect the plants and animals that live there, we should always be very careful and stay with our parents. Parents know all about yowies and their secrets. They know how to look after you and protect you. Which is exactly what yowies are trying to do with their babies by hiding from humans. Protect them. They don’t fully understand us and we don’t fully understand them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The world is a magical place for those who believe it is, everyday things are so much more exciting when your imagination is stretched and pulled and open to new, fun, magical things.

Children are so good at doing it everyday.

Go have an adventure. Go find a yowie!

Miss Molly Ann; You’re 2!

Such a pretty baby;

Never had I put a number to the amount of children I’d have, I just thought that having 3 meant that I had the average amount of kids and I was at peace with that.

I don’t think I ever thought about it at all. I didn’t have 3 and say ‘thats it no more’ yet I didn’t have 3 and plan to have any more either.

Just like a whole lot of other things in my life, she was unplanned and awesome.

Just look at the little devil……

Unplanned? Who the heck cares?! I couldn’t ever have planned anything so perfect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Bella was 8, Sophie was 23 months old, Violet just 6 months and we’d only just relocated to Queensland. I’d spent weeks packing and cleaning and it took us 5 days to travel from our old home to our new home.

 Only 5 days to move our entire lives.

I’d spent 2 weeks cleaning and UNpacking and getting ourselves settled, I was crankier than normal but I figured moving interstate away from everything we knew with 3 kids may be to blame.

Another week passed. One afternoon as I sat down with a coffee, that fleeting thought breezed through my mind ‘hmm my girlie things should be due soon…..’

Soon?….Yeah like REALLY soon, really, really soon….when did I last have them?

Within moments it was the only thing I could think about. I immediately went out and bought a couple of tests, I immediately came home and did them and immediately I got an answer.

+

Such a small insignificant symbol that changes whole lives.

I’d been so caught up with what we were doing I hadn’t even taken notice of my own body.

Holy moly, here we go again. Was basically the only thing I could think.

I couldn’t tell Glen. Well not in words. I tried, then I cried and then he said ‘You’re pregnant.’ I cried some more and nodded. He smiled and said it was great and then began telling everyone!

Well to say the least his reaction made me feel a little better about it.

So Molly my fourth baby, the one who blew everything I knew out of the water. Once I passed that unspoken yet very valid line between 3 children to 4, well it was no problem to plan in Buddy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your cheeky and funny and such a giggle pot. You’re a bit of a diva and yes you get on my nerves, you don’t like no for an answer and most of the time your like a wolf in sheeps clothing. Your always into everything and so far the most difficult child I’ve had yet!

Your also the best cuddler, you’re a petite little thing with the most beautiful smile, your lovely curls and ash blonde hair, my tiny sweet Molly Ann.

Your high-pitched giggles and the way you scrunch your face up and laugh at naughty things is irresistable.

I love you little Miss and I hope you have a great 2nd birthday, I know you won’t be able to remember it but I made sure to get plenty of snaps so one day you can look back and know that you were showered with extra love on your extra special day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your day began with daddy’s bacon and eggs (with Father’s day, Bella’s and Mum’s birthday we were tired of birthday pancakes.) Then some presents.

Then we got ourselves organised and went out for a picnic lunch and bushwalk.

(Mum and Dad knew they’d need a little extra pep.)

Turns out mum is the only one not afraid of goannas. She knows that they are dangerous and has seen the damage they have can do to people but considering no one else was going to get him to move along (as he was only a couple of feet from us and our picnic) someone had to!

 He was interesting to watch though.

We were all so enthusiastic to go on the 2 kilometre walk through yowie infested bushland -I’ll clarify in a later post- down to the beautiful water holes.

We had a few pit stops to check out the pretty surroundings.

Dads turn with the camera. The water was icy but so refreshing! We watched row-boat bugs, tadpoles, and stick bugs. We explored and swam and listened to kookaburras.

Then our backpack took a few family snaps of us all before we headed back.

P.s there are no photos on the way back because we had 3 tired crying children and only 2 adults. At one point mum carried Violet AND molly while dad carried the camera and backpack and Bella pushed Buddy. Then Molly was in the pram and mum carried Buddy while Violet whined -loudly- Molly then screamed and fought to get out so Violet hopped in, with Bella pushing so dad could carry Molly. I then piggy backed Violet when Buddy hopped back into the stroller and dad carried Molly. (Thank you Bella and Sophie for being big girls!) At one point I plonked myself down beside the track to feed Buddy, I was seriously thinking we’d never reach the car park. I had no problems sleeping with the goannas but I’m not sure how my princesses would have liked it. (No offense Glen) And that was only 5 minutes into the way back!

Finally we made it.

After chineese for dinner it wasfinally  CAKE time. (Cake is the only thing Molly wanted, all day we’d say ‘it’s your birthday Molly, yay!’ she’d reply ‘eat cake?’)

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Molly, Happy birthday to you!

Hip hip hooray!

Make a wish!

1

2

3

BLOW OUT YOUR CANDLES!

Happy birthday!

Molly’s Fairytale Birthday Cake

Ok so I did it again, I made a lazy birthday cake. I’ve gone to some effort to make it LOOK like I’ve put in, well effort, but really I haven’t.

I love the finished product, I love being creative and I love that I have saved loads of time.

Here’s Molly’s 2nd birthday cake.

I wasn’t totally sure what I was going to do with the cake when I started, so I prepared myself. The profiteroles were on special so I grabbed them thinking they’d make for a great little kids cake as no cutting is involved and they can each have a hand sized piece (or two) each. I picked up some little meringues, choc sprinkles, blueberries and Molly’s favorite strawberries.

So First I placed all my profiteroles where I wanted them. Took a couple of tries to place them the way I wanted. (Sophie sneaking some chocolate.)

Next I used the spray icing to stick the meringues to. (I LOVE the spray icing, so fun.)

Once my meringues were in place, I went bonkers with the silver choc sprinkles.

It took me 10 mins to make, and I am certain that if I hadn’t been stopping to take pictures at every step it would have taken far less time.

I like that I can create an individual cake, made with just as much love as a cake from scratch would in an eight of the time. Its fun for me too, I can get as creative as I want. I really liked the way this one turned out. It reminds me of Molly, light, sweet, whimsical and sparkling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

We didn’t use the blueberries or strawberries but we put them to good use.

Skinny Sunday 8 & 9

*I know its early but I have a birthday post for Molly tomorrow*

So what is Skinny Sunday?

Glen and Cristie are using it to share their progress on their health and weight management. Using Skinny Sunday to keep track of goals achieved or not. They will weigh in and post photos to document their progress each Sunday. Any one wanting some encouragement to lose weight or get into shape is more than welcome to join them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So how did you go with your seventh and eighth week of Skinny Sunday?

Cristie says: “7th week was ok, I was a bit slack in the diet department. Basically getting lazy with portion size. 8th week was terrible! I pigged out on my birthday and finished off the chocolates I got over the week, I also haven’t been on the treadmill for 8 days now.”

What are your weight goals?

Glen says: “To gain weight and get into the 90’s, around 95kgs. I don’t want to be a fat 95. An in shape 95.” Cristie says: “I’d like to get back down into the 70’s. My healthy weight range is between 59 and 71 kgs. So I’ll aim for 70.”

What changes are you going to make?

Glen says: “Start working out. Get some protein drinks and stuff. Eat healthier food.” Cristie says: “Eat lots of fruit, veg, nuts and lean meat mostly chicken. Start doing some exercises like sit ups and push ups. Start running again, well work up to it. Just be healthier and say no to bad food.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WEIGH IN

                                                 Glen                                                                       Cristie

Weight  1st week                    77 kg                                                                      95 kg

 Weight 2nd week                  77 kg                                                                       92 kg

Weight 3rd week                     79 kg                                                                      91 kg

Weight 4th week                     78 kg                                                                      89 kg

Weight 5th week                      79 kg                                                                     88 kg

Weight 6th week                       80 kg                                                                   86 kg

Weight  7th week                          ??                                                                     85 kg

Weight 8th week                           ??                                                                     83 kg

Current Weight                     ?? kg                                                                      83 kg

Difference                                 ?? kg                                                                       0 kg

(rounded to the nearest whole kg)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Photo’s

NO PHOTO’S OF MY AGAIN UNTIL I LOSE THE NEXT 10 KGS! (for impact purposes! Got to think of the entertainment value.)

(Behind the scene photos? http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/YagerBabies/196004863777995 see them here.)

What do you think of your progress?

 Cristie says: “Well I am thanking my lucky stars. I thought I would have possibly gained weight because of my really bad week but I’m thankful that I didn’t.”

What changes have you noticed? 

Cristie Says: “Well it didn’t take much for my body to crave sugar again. I wish I’d never had any because I’d worked so hard and pushed through any cravings I was having now I basically have to start again. “

What do you hope to achieve by next Sunday?

Cristie: “Again I hope to lose just 1 kg at least. I going to get motivated and hop back on the boring treadmill. I know I can do this. I’m nearly half way. KEEP GOING!!!’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cristie says:

Laziness creeps in so sneakily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calorie King

join it

An awesome website that I became a member of is called CalorieKing.com I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to lose, gain or maintain their weight.

It has lessons each week to teach you and educate you on everything from why, how and when we eat, how to motivate yourself and keep moving, why people gain and lose weight and all the health benefits involved with both.

It also has a diary which you can record your exercise and diet. If your into counting calories you can type in any, and I mean ANY australian bought food product and it will tell you how many calories are in it. How much fat, carbs and protein to, so you can pick empty calorie foods or rich nutritious stuff to fuel yourself with.

Anyway, JOIN IT, try it and its FREE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New week, exciting and scary!

Wish us luck!

And

Good luck to you!

True colours.

So I’m feeling like I’m at a major turning point in my life. I’m feeling pretty excited about it.

I also feel a little nervous about it.

Nervous why? Because sometimes people don’t like it when someone else is doing more or better than they are.

I’m not saying I’m doing anymore or any better than anyone else but in the eyes of others it sometimes seems so. I don’t like to talk about things I do or want to do or am doing to avoid awkward vibes.

 I know I’m not the only who feels like this.

Jealousy and a competitive nature can be the root of all evil. It can make or break relationships and people can absolutely hate you for it. It is really sad that as humans we were given the powerful emotion that is envy. Think of how much we could get done if we could get past being envious and actually support and genuinely be happy for each other?

Some people do have this quality.

They are genuinely happy and supportive of other people’s successes. I am lucky to have some of these people in my life. In unexpected places too which is all the more comforting.

Though I do also have some of the other kind in my life too.

Just one example, when I began skinny Sundays, in an attempt to lose weight and gain some energy and extend the length and quality of my life I received an out pouring of support and I was very thankful, but as the weeks progressed and I was actually losing weight, the support dwindled away.

Some true colours were shown.

I got support and kind words when I displayed unattractive photos of myself in my underwear but as I started looking better and better the support kind of wasn’t genuine anymore.

One thing about me, if I say I’m going to do something I most likely will.

Sometimes it seems like the worse off someone seems the happier others are.

There is this competitive nature within us that makes us feel the need to rank people from best to worst. From successful to failure. From good to bad. And then to somehow place ourselves in amongst it all and compete to climb that ladder no matter how many people we walk all over to get to the top.

I refuse to play that game.

I jumped off the ladder long ago.

I just don’t want to compete with anyone. I do get annoyed when people try to compete with me however. I don’t want to set anyone elses success as my bench mark to work towards. I don’t want to copy anyone else or do what they do. I like being unique. I like thinking my own thoughts and I like that I have my own brain and can make decisions and create paths and open doors for myself.

I just want to do what I do in peace.

I don’t want to follow anyone and I certainly don’t want to ‘be’ anyone besides myself.

I may think that what some one else is doing is awesome but it doesn’t make me want to run out and do the exact same thing.

I’m an individual, just like you.

My sister has commented before that I am so ‘naturally talented’ I’m good at nearly anything. Besides it not being true it’s also not quite that simple.

It makes me a little annoyed to be honest.

I have worked my butt off.

I still work my butt off.

I work so hard to learn, everything I know, everything I do or have done; I’ve done all on my own.

The effort that goes into doing something sometimes is neglected. I’d be pretty jealous of somone who was ‘naturally’ talented at something I really wanted to do too.

If I do something I want to do it well.

I WANT to succeed at what I do.

I am not ‘naturally’ successful.

Never have I woken up one morning to discover I magically have a new talent or ability. If I wanted a new talent or ability it took time to gain it, lots and lots of time.

As corny as it sounds I plan to be everything that I can be.

I don’t know what that will mean in the long run, but I have a life time to dapple.

Jumping off that ladder means the path  for me is clear, there is no one to rank myself against, I can do anything I want. I have the freedom to go as high as I choose to.

It also gives me the ability to be happy and supportive of those who are successful within their own lives when they make independent choices and succeed.

They aren’t my competition, they are my friends. I love and support them and their happiness involves me. If I got jealous of everyone I know who was smarter, prettier, cooler, funnier, better parent, better partner, richer, more successful….

well I’d be one sad soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I feel like I’m at a major turning point in my life.

Which is exciting and scary.

I know that when I get to points like this true colours are shown. I lose some friends, I gain some friends, and I find out which ones are there no matter what.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To those who know exactly what I mean, it can be hard facing the true colours of the ones we love most. Stay strong and follow your dreams. Please don’t let one person hold you back or deter you from being and doing what you want. We really can achieve just about anything, it is just a matter of chosing to go for it rather than sit back and ponder on it. Just do it. Support may come from unexpected places and even if you have no support who cares?! Be who you want, do what you want.

You will always gain more respect following your dreams even if you fail, rather than talking about your dreams and never giving it at least a shot.

And to those who’d like to compete…go ahead. You’ll waste your time struggling along behind because I am not one to stop, and eventually I will forget your there, I don’t look back. I have my own plans and I’ll keep on going, I may fall back, trip or stumble along the way but please know that I’ll always get back up and run along with a smile on my face and a freedom in my heart that can only come from being true to oneself. I suggest you move on and follow your own path as mine takes drive, determination and a whole lot of honesty. I wish you success in your own pursuits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I support the supportive, love the loving, share with the sharing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He’s back. I’m back.

What a rather large week we’ve had.

So Monday was my 27th birthday, which to tell you the truth being smack bang in the middle of my eldest daughters and my youngest daughters birthdays I somehow manage to forget about it.

I do try to remember it purely because I feel awkward when asked how old I am I stutter and stammer and blurt out a number which sometimes I’m not totally confident about.

So for at least this week I know for sure that I am 27.

I got very spoilt. OVERLY spoilt. Glen not being able to keep a secret gave me 3 presents early.

(3! I know, I expected one maybe, but 3! I think perhaps that he may have felt a little guilty when I mentioned it would be nice to be ‘surprised’ rather than ‘asked’ and perhaps my birthday present should just maybe come some time around September and not February and that just possibly it should be separate of my christmas present.)

So the weekend before my birthday he gave me a brand spanking new sewing machine and overlocker -which now I think he regrets, there goes any scrap of free time I had- he also bought me all of Adele’s songs to put on his iPod, he wanted to buy me the cd but there is nowhere to buy cds in our town or within an hour radius of our town!

Then on my actual birthday I got a little sleep in (that would have been plenty) the girls and he then made me pancakes for breakfast. Once I’d eaten all I could they piled me up with presents. My beautiful girls and Buddy picked out an assorted array of crafty bits and pieces. Storage containers (Molly’s idea) Canvas, paints, jewellery making bits, thread and beads. They made cards and wrapped everything themselves. Glen then gave me the 2 presents that had been staring down at me from the top of our wardrobe cupboard stirring lots of curious thoughts. I’d been dying to know what they were but avoided mentioning anything as I knew Glen wouldn’t have needed much prompting to give them to me. And I knew he’d regret not having at least one surprise for the actual day seens as he’d gone to so much effort to be organised this year.

Turns out they were a huge tub of maltesers (I have previously kicked an addiction to these) and also two big blocks of my favorite dark chocolate.

Um, Delicious?!

So I made an allowance in my new healthier diet for my birthday.

I kinda had to extend that for the week.

And oh baby have I taken advantage.

So I was totally and very rottenly spoilt. I have NEVER unwrapped so much in my life. My girls were so proud of themselves when I opened a present from them commenting on the superb wrapping and sticky tapping job and then they absolutely beamed as I declared that I’d never had such a lovely bright white canvas to paint on before or that the many, many, MANY, bead storage containers were exactly what I had needed.

Glen then washed ALL the dishes!!!

Ultimate Dad moment (2 years ago)

THAT would have been plenty.

But sadly we had to drive to Emerald and drop Glen off at the airport so he could travel home to be with his family. Pop had passed away and his funeral was the day after. He HAD to go, it is a sad thing to go through and he HAD to be with his family, for him and for them.

Glen with his dad, his Pop and very new Molly.

So we waved him off and the kids and I drove home.

We spent the rest of the day playing and mucking around wasting time til we went out to pick up dinner. We had our take away and watched a movie together munching away on maltesers.

Bed time came and it was hmmm….hectic? No; that doesn’t quite cover it.

The girls don’t mess with Glen.

Cause he'll eat them. No he won't don't call anyone.

I think by far I am the meaner/tougher/stricter parent, but somehow they listen to him more. (I think I must be all bark. Noisy, annoying and ineffective.) Perhaps because there’s a bit of a my way or the highway type attitude.

Glen says go to your room.

Girls go to their room.

Mum says go to your room.

Girls whine and sook and don’t actually go to their room.

Mum then has to pick them up (Sophie being 26 kgs sometimes is a struggle) take them to their room. Place them on their bed then listen to them whine louder once the door is closed.

Why??

I don’t know.

So the girls had a field day with me.

For two days and two nights.

I handled it -with a massive headache- but I used a lot of threats that involved things like messaging dad. Calling dad. And yes at one point I even photographed a trashed room to show dad when he got back. (I would post the picture if I weren’t completely embarrassed by it!)

So basically I told my kids I was going to dob on them

The very same thing I tell them NOT to do.

The honest truth of it all was that I was pretty jealous that Glen was able to pack up and leave without a second thought. I know I couldn’t do the same. He HAD to go and he had an awfully good reason to go but I wished I could see my family too.

I thought we’d be totally fine.

I thought I was in total control.

In the past I’ve thought about what would happen to us should anything happen to Glen and I totally thought I was the more important parent in our family situation. I seriously thought that if anything happened to Glen we would in the long run, be ok. I’m the primary carer for the kids, I’m the cleaner, the cooker the everything in our household. Money isn’t everything and as long as we had a roof over our heads and food in our belly we’d be fine.

On the other hand I thought even though I am in no way shape or form the financial provider for our family that if anything should happen to me that my kids whole world would fall apart. Everything they knew would be shattered.

It still probably would should anything ever happen to me BUT I realised that Glen’s just as important a parent as I am.

I was so up my self to think I was the only ‘important’ parent.

We balance each other out.

He’s the extra set of arms I should have growing from my ribs. The extra set of eyes that someone neglected to place into the back of my head.

He’s the only one I can dob on my own kids to!

Baby Molly

He’s the extra hug when someone bites their tongue during dinner, the extra player for piggy in the middle, the extra height when one of the kids wants to touch the roof -goodness knows why- the extra muscle cause mum can’t throw kids high enough, the extra hugs they’d miss out on before bed should he not be here.

Most of all -among many other things- he’s the extra team player I do actually need.

Sometimes I think I can do it all on my own. And as hard as it is for me to admit, sometimes I need to shut up and realise I do sometimes need help.

I’m just lucky he’s willing.

 Commando I call him sometimes. His way or the highway.

It works, and my kids respect him.

They need him. And yes, I admit it, I need him too.

They missed him. I missed him.

We’re so very glad he’s back.

Balance? balance?…..Where are you?

So I’ve done it to myself again. I get over excited and piled a whole heap of stuff onto myself and then I end up walking around getting nothing done at all!

And feeling guilty about it.

So what have I been doing the last few weeks?

First of all I spend a great deal of possible sleeping hours on my blog. I love it and I’m passionate about it and I most likely won’t stop anytime soon.

I’ve also been working on designing and making a range of kids clothes called ChocMelon, (just want it eat it don’t you?) I planned to name each range something delicious inspired by the colours I’ll be using. I then would have a style in each colour inspired by each of my kids. Ie, Sophie-princess/glam, Violet-boho/surfer chick, Bella- retro/vintage and so on. I also want to create some funky dolls too. I used to make them by hand but it took hours, I assume a sewing machine can help with production time.

I’ve been throwing storylines for some kids books around in my head. Also been going over a children’s story I wrote nearly 2 years ago now to tweak it to perfection and give it an ending which it currently has not got.

I have not had a chance to put any of that on paper as yet.

And then the normal things like cleaning, cooking and let’s not forget my babies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My day begins around 7ish with making breakfast and Bella’s school lunch. I then skull a coffee while I check out Facebook, reply to emails and possibly type in a heading for a post I don’t want to forget about writing while trying to wake up. If Buddy’s hungry I may feed him while I’m at it. Once the kiddies are all dressed and Bella’s off to school the girl’s head out to the back yard while I feed and change and play with  Buddy. Next it’s kitchen cleaning and I then head downstairs for my treadmill time. I watch the girls on their bikes or we put on some music and they have a dance off. Once I’m done it’s morning tea time. I stick a load into the machine and one onto the line before heading upstairs and this is usually when the girls have ‘animal’ races. Ready, Set, Go cows…and they moo and crawl along the lawn.  I make their lunch and feed and change Buddy. After the kids have eaten I have a shower with an audience. We then before lunch do some reading, or crafts of some kind, painting, playdough or colouring in are favorites.

We have lunch and I’ll pick up toys and tidy while they eat. Once they are done it’s Molly’s nap time she’ll have an hour and a half. So this is rest time for everyone. Sophie and Violet will sit quietly and watch some ABC 2 or a movie, I now have lunch and hang out with Buddy while he has a nudie kick, I then bath him, feed him and put him down for his afternoon sleep. In the 15 minutes quiet time overlap I’ll check out Facebook again and possibly write the first paragraph of the post I don’t want to forget.

After rest time is when I try to do some kind of baking with the girls or catch up on washing that needs to be done while they play in the yard. I also try to clean their rooms, vacuum if needed and possibly mop. Bella arrives home and has afternoon tea, changes out of her uniform, does some homework or usually pesters me because she’s bored. Once it starts getting darker we’ll head upstairs and I’ll attempt to fold and put away the growing pile on my bed room floor.

5.30ish I’ll begin dinner and make lunch for Glen to take to work the following day. I also check Facebook and emails while dinner is cooking and the bigger kids are showering.

Glen arrives home at 7ish just as the girls are finishing dinner. He helps me to read to them, play round and round the garden or little piggies, say goodnight and tuck them in. It’s now about 7.45ish I heat dinner for Glen and I and we eat together, chat and muck around. Then I shower and then he showers and then our day is officially over. We may chat in bed or talk to Buddy who likes to keep us up with his cuteness. I try not to stay up late typing in bed on Glen’s work nights, unless I have something I am compelled to write.

I tuck Buddy up into his bed so I can get a few hours sleep, when he wakes he hops into bed with me and sleeps with us for the rest of the night because I am too lazy and its easier to feed him in bed.

Then its 7ish again and it all begins again.

(There are probably a few more nappy changes and feeds in there and Molly’s in toilet training but still in nappies. And I know for a fact I go to the fridge ten million more times than mentioned!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So when Glen is off from work I try to fit in as much as possible. When he is at work and I decide to concentrate on my own things and what I want to do, the house is disgusting and I feel horrible for not spending enough time with the kids. If I spend all my time with my kids, the house is neglected, If I spend the day cleaning, my kids are neglected.

Sometimes I feel like I just can’t win.

So when Glen’s home I try to clean, I try to spend time with the family AND I try to write, make, create, draw, sew, photograph, exercise and in general do all the things a I am passionate about but feel bad for doing.

Time flies.

It’s horrible. Before I know it it’s time to start dinner, I have projects coming out my ears, none of which are finished and I feel like I have wasted a day rushing around, stressing myself out with all the things ‘I’ve got to do’ and yet not one single thing has been completed. I get so deeply distracted and spend a lot of time within my own head, working things out step by step, who I’ll do this and how I’ll do that.

I sometimes end up having sleepless nights because I cannot switch off, or I will just stay up to do what I couldn’t during the day.

I can honestly say I work far better under pressure and with a pile sleep deprivation hovering around my head.

But I know when enough is enough and I think it is now.

I need to stop. Take a breath. Calm down. Get my fantasy filled head to slow down and hang around with my feet which I feel are firmly planted on the ground for a while.

I’ll pull out a pen and paper write down each and everything I want/need to do and take it one step at a time.

I need my balance to come back, at full speed if possible.

I’m ambitious to say the least. Sometimes I feel like my body is just too slow for all the things I need to do.

I think it is good for my girls and Buddy to see that life is not just playing mums and dads and happy families, there is so much more out there and there is so much we are capable of if only we take it on a give ourselves a chance to succeed.

I also want them to know it is possible to do and be what you want and be balanced too.

Just takes a little work.

My girls love to get involved in all my little schemes and plans and I know they are learning a lot, I share with them everything I know. I hope more importantly that I am showing them that if they think it can be done that mostly likely it can be done. That if they want to do something, that really there is nothing stopping them.

So whats my plan of attack? How am I going to get all aspects of my life, kids, family, house, and ME back into balance???

Like I usually do.

I’m going to hide away, focus on everything that is important to me and take it one step at a time.

First I will switch off my computer. For 7 days.

Second I will put away all my projects.

Third I will turn up the music loud and clean my house.

Fourth I will spend copious amounts of time on my kids and husband.

Fifth I will sleep.

Sixth I will spend a little time out to get my plans back into a sensible manageable order.

And finally I will breathe deep, smell the roses and remember that tomorrow is ALWAYS another day and not everything will happen right now.

Patience, dear Cristie. Patience.

Your time will come.