My Revelation

It has been quite a while since I felt moved to share a personal experience in church. But today, for whatever reason, God has put it on my heart to share this, so share I will. 

It's funny. The last 2-3 months I have been struggling, flailing, floundering, and failing, I have been trying to push forward, trying to "get ahead", trying to find a way I can go back to work so we can have more money. Trying to move forward, grow, bring something more into our house, provide more than I do. Be better than I am. 

Trying, fighting, struggling, failing. 

The reason? I have been doing all this alone. Not in conversation with my family or friends, not in conversation with my husband or kids, and certainly not in conversation with God. 

Almost in silence, I was trying to achieve things, and not even I was sure of what it was, I was blinding ploughing forward, irrespective of everyone and everything else around me. 

I thought, if I could get "there", wherever there was, that "things" would be better. Pretty vague huh? 

To be a Christian, to me, is to accept Jesus as our saviour, to accept He sacrificed all on Calvary, so that we could be free from sin. Part of all that is also accepting God as the author of our lives. And so, I should want only to follow His path. 

This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. (Isaiah 48:17 NLT)

Obviously blindly walking along is not what I mean. One cannot just blindfold themselves, sit at the wheel and drive, with Faith steering the car safely. Rather, to follow Gods path, to follow His plans for our lives, we need to stop. We need to listen. We need to pause our lives every once in a while. We need to pray for direction.

Every author uses the Semi colon (;) in his books. Its a point where a sentence could end, but instead, after a pause, it continues. Its used to pause, refocus, to take note of what has been said, and then continue on with the sentence. To make you reflect on where the sentence has been and where it is going. Emphasis. 

It is ok, in fact it is good, to use the semi colon in our lives. To pause, reflect on what has been and what may be ahead. To stop and listen. Get direction. So you can continue on the right path. To pray for guidance so that you take the next steps on His path, and not just your own path. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT)

And that is what I have failed to do. Pray. And that is why I have failed in trying to get "there". Without Prayer, without consultation with God, how can I know where this mysterious "there" is? Clearly I want to follow His path, but I am never going find it on my own, in my own time, by myself. 

Today, for a moment I paused, as someone at church, giving a communion message, made me stop & think. I could almost hear God say "FINALLY!!". And, in almost a rush of revelation, as if I would quickly start trying on my own at any second, He revealed some very important insights to me. 

For God to reveal the next steps in my path, OUR path in fact, I must pray. We must pray together. As a couple. As a family. For us to know where next to tread, we must first consult with God, together, so that we take the right path, not only for ourselves, but for our family. 

I must step outside my comfort zone. Individual prayer is something I'm used to. It's safe. If I say the "wrong" thing, I know God won't judge me as he looks beyond the words to my heart. But I worry about judgement from others, even my own husband. So I avoid praying with others. 

And as if all that wasn't enough, at the end of our service, our Pastor brought up Baptism. I have not been baptised. Our church seems to love doing baptism in winter & I don't want to get in the freezing cold water & be baptised in the middle of winter. So I have never put my hand up & mentioned I would like to be baptised. But God clearly said NOW is your time today. It is not about my comfort, or about the temperature of the water. It is about cleansing my spirit, giving myself to God and His purpose for my life. It is about pushing further into relationship with Him. And so, despite all these negative thoughts rushing through my head, I said "really? *sigh* Ok then". 

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. (Ephesians 4:5-6 NLT)

If feel you are struggling in life, maybe it's time to use a semi colon. Have a momentary pause, to reflect & to pray & to listen. It may not be what tou want to hear, what you are looking for, but I can guarantee you if it is His path for your life, it WILL have a fantastic ending and you will definitely be happy! 

Renovating Rambles

My poor Dad.

We live in his house. On his property. In the most gorgeous semi rural area.

When he bought this house, it was for Himself, Miss (now) Teen & Myself. 

The day we moved in Dec 2007 

Australian Animals Week - Preschool Homeschooling

Given where we live (semi rural area) Mini Miss has seen Kangaroo's since she was born on a daily basis. They are nothing new to her, but suddenly her interest was peaked by watching 2 young males having a fight in our backyard. 

The idea of Aussie Animals week was born.

We started off with something fun, an animal dice game. She rolls the dice, and whatever animal it landed on, she had to imitate...

Making Pancakes is learning too - Green Goo Pancakes!

Mini Miss woke one morning and decided that it was a baking kind of day.

I went with it, choosing something easy, so she could help me. I do, afterall, love to cook!

Welcome to Green Goo Pancakes!

Domino Maths

Doing child lead learning sometimes leads to lots of fun! 

Mini Miss was very keen to play with the dominoes last week. I was busy trying to clean up, so I tipped them out in an out of the way place. I told her that we would build the dominoes up to knock them down, once she sorted them into colours.

Mini Miss was very excited by this, and set about sorting the colours. As I worked, we talked about the colours. She then counted the number of each colour.

Our Search for the Tardis!

As you may already know, I am a geek. Our family are geeks. 

And we all love Doctor Who.

So when I recently heard about a Tardis being discovered on a property only hours away, I knew immediately that I would have to try and find this Tardis.

So a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure (read minor torture!) of driving Miss Teen and her friend to see One Direction in concert. This was to be their first concert without adult supervision, so I brought Mr Moo along for the ride too. 

After a couple of days in Brisbane, exploring the city, we headed home. This Tardis was said to be on a property north west of Ballina, about 1/2 way between Brisbane and home. So we explored.

So off we went, down winding roads, in the middle of nowhere. Possibly getting lost, but all too excited to care. 

After driving for about an hour. We stopped in this little town. The people in the pub stared that "you aren't from around here" stare, as we stretched our legs. 

Then I couldn't get my keys out of the ignition. Then my car wouldn't start! Thankfully, the local mechanic was a lot more friendly and patient, as the reason they keys wouldn't come out and it wouldn't start was so silly, I should have known. My car needs to be in park in order for the keys to come out, and it needs to be running to put it into park, and it needs to be in park to start! 

My car was in Drive still.

Anyway, while I was making a fool of myself, Miss Teen and friend asked around in the 2 or 3 little shops in this incredibly small main street about the Tardis. Eventually, the take away shop owner said "oh yeah, that Doctor who thing!" and had very good directions! 

More driving down roads I probably shouldn't have been driving in my little sedan (definitely 4WD country this was!), but we made it! Guarded by a Dalek, was a life size, beautiful Tardis, in all its blue glory!!

What followed was a lot of silliness as we all posed with our new discovered Tardis, and dreamed of it being REAL!!

I remember once, not so long ago, that I would have never done this sort of impromptu exploring. I was always so rushed, in a hurry to get home, do chores, get to work, get home.....go go go.....

Slowly I am learning. Kids are only kids for a little while. All too soon they are grown up and ready to leave home. Sometimes its ok to stop the rushing, and just have fun. Be a bit silly. Explore. 

Without breaking down. Or getting lost. 

This was just lots of fun! 

The Solar System

If you follow my FACEBOOK page, then you would know that recently I have become very interested in homeschooling my muddled kids!

Miss Teen is already set up with Distance Education and is doing much better with her work in 2 weeks than she did all last year at school!

Mini Miss, watching Miss Teen do her work, wanted her own "school work", so I have reintroduced Activity Monday into our everyday lives. I am actively schooling her through craft, play, science experiments, tv shows, ipad apps and even YouTube videos. We also do worksheets when she insists on being just like her big sister! 

I am letting her lead the way to a degree, so when she started to show a big interest in the Solar System, I thought we should explore that interest further.

First we did some craft.

We made a name rocket, using THIS original idea. This was great building the rocket, spelling out her name, gluing (one of her favourite things to do) and decorating it.

Then we moved onto the Solar System. We watched some You Tube videos using these links from Natural born homeschoolers. 

Then we built our own solar system. We talked about all the planets, their position in the solar system. We talked about the sun and how its a ball of gas and super hot. Mini Miss was just soaking it all up and asking lots of questions.

Then finally we finished off with some free craft time using printables from Picklebums. As Mini Miss pasted her cut outs, she told a little story to me about the astronaut taking the aliens space ship and how they worked out how to share. Very cute!

So our first experience with focusing on homeschooling = success. 

Do you home school? 

Do you have solar system activities or videos that your kids love?

Feel free to share below!!

I'm the Mum of THAT child

You know the child I mean. The one that runs wildly through the shopping centre, with no regard for other people. The child whose tantrum over the fact I've sat her in the trolley can be heard for miles. The child who seems unperturbed by her mother trying to keep calm and not cry while talking to her, trying her absolute best to control her and make her understand what she is doing, her behaviour, is simply not socially acceptable.

Yes, I said her. People look more, I think, because she's a girl. They pay more attention, stare. Normally THAT child is a boy, and a boy, well you can write their behaviour off. "Boys will be boys" "oh maybe he has autism or a behavioural issue". Apparently girls don't suffer from these things. They are automatically well behaved, they don't "get" autism or behavioural issues, they don't "suffer" from sensory processing difficulties. 

Except when they do.

My little wild child. My Mini Miss. My princess who marches to her very own beat. My smart clever little girl who almost has a photographic memory. She is THAT child.

Today I took the first step. I've known for a while she has difficulties. Today we got a referral to a pediatrician and I made the appointment immediately as I knew it would take time to get in to see him.

 

➡️ She cannot tolerate loud noises and will cover her ears and curl up into a ball, squinting her eyes shut too, as if that will help further block it out. 

➡️ She hates you touching her head and the only way to brush her hair is to completely immerse her in something else so she barely notices. She also hates clothes. 

➡️ She barely eats and will literally gag when food she doesn't know touches her mouth. Literally I can get her to eat Ham, Cheese slices, chicken nuggets, Vegemite sandwiches, and occasionally apples and strawberries. That is mainly what her diet consists of, with maybe 1-2 other things very occasionally. But never anything she hasn't had before. 

➡️ Don't attempt to make eye contact with her. She will simply roll her eyes in every other direction and if you try and force her, she simply closes her eyes.

➡️ Meltdowns occur over the littlest things, such as playing the Frozen soundtrack on random instead of "from the ice song, the first song", or not saying hello to the camels when we pass them in their paddock, and a major tantrum can last hours. And you can't comfort her, she will push you away and scream more.

➡️ Repetition. The same games over and over. The same song has to be listened to over and over and over again. If you change it....meltdown.

➡️ Knowledge rules her life, if we want that life to be calm. She wakes up each morning and asks "what's our day mummy?" Which means, what day is it and what are we doing. She needs that run down on what to expect. She knows what regular activities happen on what days. If those activities don't happen, there has to be a good reason. The first week after swimming went on break for summer holidays we had a meltdown as she "needed" to be at her lesson.

There is so much more, but you get the idea.

On the up side, she is so smart. At 3.5 we are doing pre reading and simple sight words. She can count to 20, and back down, she can count by 10's to 100. She knows all her shapes, including 3d shapes, and all her colours. She has a facination with Egypt and can rattle off facts about pyramids and mummies and the river Nile. She also LOVES space & learning about the planets, stars & moons.

So I am THAT mother of THAT child. I'm not sure if she has a medical or behavioural problem. If she has a sensory processing problem. Or if maybe, she's just one of a kind.

But I do know she doesn't react like other kids her age. She's not naughty, at least not on purpose (most of the time. She can be purposely defiant at times too, like your typical threenager!) When she does finally realise what she did was wrong, and sometimes it takes a LONG time for her to get it, she is so full of remorse, it's almost like a depression at times. 

So the next time you see a mother with a "wild" toddler, one who seems out of control, stop and think. Does that mother look exhausted? Does she look like she is trying her utmost to control this little bundle of energy? Does her child look like he, or she, is behaving this way on purpose, to be naughty? Does that mother ther look like she loves her child even though they seem possessed? 

Maybe don't be so quick to judge. Don't be so quick to say something nasty, or tell that mother about "back in your day". It's not helpful. Maybe instead try to feel some empathy. Give that mother a gentle understanding smile instead and go about your day. After all, this one interruption will only be a small part of it.

Chances are her child simply doesn't fit "the norm". And in a society where we are all taught a certain way, expected to act a certain way, when you don't fit the norm things are harder. Harder to teach, harder to fit in, harder to "control". It's not bad, it's not wrong, it's simply different. 

And in a world where we are trying to be accepting and tolerant of others religious and cultural differences, just maybe we should offer this same tolerance to THAT mother and her child. 

Chances are they are both doing the best they can.

And it's back....

Sometimes things can be going along fabulously. My emotions are stable, I'm coping with things, decisions about the future have been made and I am happy with them, the house is running smoothly, the kids are happy. My medication balance is perfect. I am genuinely happy.

BANG! 

Just like that the dark passenger (yes, I do love some Dexter - thankfully though I'm not a serial killer) that is my depression, my anxiety slams me. No reason. No rhyme. No cause. Just like that. 

Suddenly EVERYTHING is harder. I feel like I'm moving through knee deep mud. I have to force my body to move. In my head it's like there's a thick fog, my thoughts are slow, I can't find the right words. I can't remember appointments, tasks, errands, to eat or drink. I write messages but forget to send them. I pick up the phone to call someone only to be overwhelmed with anxiety & then can't remember who I was calling. My emotions are like a roller coaster on steroids. One second I'm fine, the next I'm angry or crying. I can stand apart from myself and think "what the hell are you doing?!!" 

But I can't stop it, I can't control it.

2 years ago I saw a behavioural psychologist. She taught me all these great techniques for handling emotions, mood swings, my dark passenger. Unfortunately most of the time they don't work. Why? Because they all work on the idea you can feel it coming, the darkness, the anxiety, the wave of uncontrollable emotion. 

But I can't. 

They work on the premise that you can learn your triggers. 

But mine literally change every time. One thing that was fine yesterday will set me off today. The thing that set me off last week, that's fine now.

I fight it, the darkness. I use her techniques whenever I can. I force myself through the mud and sludge of each day. I smile at the funny stuff, "im fine" is my motto. I take care of the kids, battle with the housework. I hibernate & avoid people as much as I can because pretending is exhausting. I sleep. A lot. 

I can feel the dark passenger pulling me down. I know I'm not at the bottom yet, but I don't know where the bottom is this time. 

And I hate it. I can see what it does to my family. I shut down all but the essential parts of myself. My kids don't have their full functioning mother, just the one that can tend to their needs one at a time. My husband has lost his wife replaced by this empty shell of a person. 

And I'm scared. I'm scared this time it will be so far down, that I can't climb back out. That I will lose myself, my family, my friends. Forever this time.

Life Captured - Day 7

What do you feel guilty about right now? 

Wow. 

This question is intense. 

There are so many things I feel guilty about right now, who knows where to start. 

Well, I guess with Mini Miss. She is struggling to adjust to having a little brother & sharing our attention with both her brother and sister. She is also going through the typical 3yr old struggle with independence v's still wanting to be the baby. 

Add into that mix 2 sleep deprived parents & 1 parent who has had a migraine for nearly 5 months and a chronic illness and yeah. We lose patience with her way too much. I yell, way too much. So does her Dad. 

The result is an unhappy overly sensitive little girl, not all the time, but lately a lot. 

So today I talked to her about it when we had some quiet time, just the 2 of us. She told me that we yell at her too much and sometimes we don't listen to her and sometimes she struggles to remember the "good" words she needs to say.

So I apologised for being too quick to yell and promised instead to listen better as long as she promised to listen and try and behave herself. And I promised I would talk to daddy about doing the same.

Still.....the guilt is heavy. Having one child with anxiety & depression already, the thought Mini Miss could head down that road too, as the result of my bad parenting.....the guilt and worry is crushing. 

Some of the other things I feel guilty about at the moment? 

That I don't give my friends, the people I love, enough of my time and support. I just cannot seem to juggle being the friend they deserve me to be & all my parenting responsibilities. I feel I am constantly letting them down and I'll be lucky if they still call me friend.

That I am failing as a SAHM because my house is constantly a mess, I rarely manage to cook dinner so hubby ends up doing it, that I don't as many activities with Mini Miss as I used to, that Mr Moo isn't getting enough developmental time, that I'm not pushing Miss Teen as much as I should be now she is home schooling....

That my husband carries the weight of providing financially all by himself. I've always contributed to helping with finances. In fact for a very long time I was completely independent financially, so I feel lazy not contributing.

That my mental illness is getting worse, not better, and that it doesn't just affect me. It affects my whole family. That I seem to be losing control, what little I had & I don't know what will happen next.

There's more, but I do think that is enough for one blog post. 

Things that made me smile today...

# singing at church. I love being blessed to be able to lead our church family in worship once a month. It's when I feel closest to God. The joy it fills my heart with is complete. 

# having beautiful people who care for my children. Mini Miss came with me this morning and when she was upset and I couldn't help her, a lovely lady stepped up to comfort her. It's a blessing having such a loving church family happy to stop in when mum can't.

# an impromptu afternoon swim with Mini Miss. Just the 2 of us, then Miss Teen joined us. It was divine. For an hour it was just us, having fun. I needed that. So did both my girls. 

Life Captured - Day 6

Name a song that triggers emotions from the past and describe those emotions.

This one is hard. I LOVE music. There is a song for every occasion in my life. So I'm going to do 2 songs, both which trigger very strong emotions.

First one is Forever Young by Youth Group

http://youtu.be/rQi8wEHMm5Y

This is a sad one. It was the last song we played at my Mums funeral. She was only 56, it was released around the same time as her passing and she loved top 40 music, so it just seemed so fitting to play it. 

This brings up the emotions of those first few months, the pain, the heartache, the overwhelming sense that she is gone. That's it. It brings up the sense finality, I never get to see her again, to feel her arms hug me, see her smile, look into her eyes & know what she is thinking, to hear her voice. Even 7 years later I tend to cry when it comes on the radio. It's a very intense song for me & usually when I hear it I've been thinking about mum more than usual, which I always think is her way of saying "I know darling". 

The second song is Butterfly Fly Away by Miley Cyrus.

http://youtu.be/hl_TCt9wtNE

This brings up the time before I met Muddled Hubby, when I was a single parent. It's was just me and Miss Teen for 9 years. It was hard, it was beautiful, it was fun, it was filled with love and good times. Miss Teen and I have a very close bond because of that time (think Gilmore Girls!). She has always been full of big big dreams & when she was buzzing from excitement or upset and couldn't sleep I would sing her the chorus. There is plenty of time to fly away kiddo, just hold on tight for now. 

3 things that made me smile today...

# waking up with both my babies in my bed after a wet accident in the middle of the night. Giggly fun times in bed are the best.

# watching Miss Teen & her friend record themselves baking a cake so they can put it on YouTube. Teenagers are funny!

# spending time socialising at our ladies Christmas party at church. Such a beautiful inspiring amazing bunch of women I am blessed to have in my life.

What made you smile today? 

Life Captured - Day 5

What can you see from your kitchen window? 

This is my kitchen window

Not much of a window huh?

But, when my husbands car isn't parked under the patio (thank you summer storms!....no really, thank you!), here is what I can see

Take out the car & this is our covered patio & a bit of the pool. This is where Mini Miss plays in her paddle pool, or with her pirate ship. This is where we do messy crafts & painting. This is where I lay down a blanket for Mr Moo so he can enjoy tummy time & rolling around outside. This is where we have BBQs with friends and family, set up the folding table & watch the older kids play in the pool. As far as outside goes, this is our hub of activity.

Look past the patio & you see our backyard. Inside the fence is getting ready to undergo a makeover. Then you can see out to the creek, amongst the tree line, which is where the edge of our property is. It is green, it is natural, it is beautiful. We are blessed to be able to raise our children here.

What can you see from your kitchen? 

3 things that made me smile today....

# Dropping Mini Miss & Mr Moo at daycare this morning. Not for why you might think. Yes, I enjoy my "child free" time, but I love the way Mini Miss runs to her daycare teacher for a cuddle & the way Mr Moo smiles at his carer & happily plays with the other little ones in the nursery. It's reassuring to know my kids love their daycare & the people in it. And I love that I can clean my house properly without interruption! 

# My clean house. Yep, sad but true. I feel like I have done a good job when I have a clean house. I feel more in control. Mess & clutter mess with my PND & make it hard for me to do anything, it's overwhelming & crippling. So my Friday  mornings I spend cleaning & give my house a good once over!

# Sitting down in the complete peace and quiet of a child free home with a hot cup of coffee & some trashy insignificant tv. I can shut my brain down & just relax. 

What made you smile today? 

Share it with me below or on my Facebook page! 

Life Captured - Day 5

What's the last thing you do at night?

Once the kids are finally asleep, we, hubby & I get the kitchen tidied, bottles made for overnight & then I just collapse. It's a rare day that I'm not in bed by 9.30pm.

Once in bed, I do what most people do these days....grab my smart phone & check my social media....

Facebook, Instagram & my Blogs Facebook Page. I quickly answer messages or/and comments & then mindlessly scroll. Hubby usually does the same & we share funny or shocking things. Then, once Mr Moo has his last bottle around 10-10.30, it's time to just sleep.

Things that made me smile today

# watching Mini Miss at playgroup. Normally she is very all over the place, flitting from one activity to another. Today she sat & played with Playdough for about 40mins & was happy to play with & chat to whoever joined he

# Fargo trying to eat my cereal. Never had a cat so insistent, climbing on my lap, onto my shoulder, trying to get at my cereal bowl. I let him drink the milk...

# Finally late night cuddles with Mr Moo. He snuggles in so close & instantly relaxs. It warms my heart every time

Captured Life - Day 3

What's the first thing you do in the morning? 

At the moment I am blessed to be a stay at home mum. So mornings for us usually start slowly. Laying in bed with Mr Moo, Mini Miss will wander in, hop up & lay on daddy's pillow (he leaves early). Sometimes we chat, sometimes she watches the iPad. We stay this way until someone gets hungry.

Things that made me smile today 

# Doing christmas craft with Mini Miss, talking about christmas and designs, just listening to her imagination.

# Watching our little kitten Fargo fitting in at home. Lucy has taken him under her wing & mothers him, even letting him suckle & cleaning him. And watching him get used to our gentle Jasper, realising he has no intention of hurting him.

# Laying here right now, with a wide awake & very chatty Mr Moo. Watching him practising a new skill (swapping his dummy from one hand to the other an back again) & then watching me clap & try to copy. His face awash with concentration. 

Hope your day was just as amazing ❤️

 

Capture Life - Day 2

Which is your favourite chair in the house & why?

Our lounge is my favourite spot. For sitting it has the perfect view of the tv, has the lamp for reading, the nice wide arm to hold the all important coffee cup. If I'm laying then this lounge is the perfect nap place. Warm & comfy, right under the air con of its hot. Perfect.

Now I feel a bit like Sheldon 😃

And today's moments to remember 

# laying in bed with my beautiful boy as I was feeling awful. His smiles & placid nature made me smile despite my migraine. 

# Worship practice tonight. I always come home feeling lighter, happier, when I have been in our church, when I have sung praise, even if it's more relaxed & casual, God knows I always sing from my heart.

# My family working together on our property today to clean things up. All hands on deck from my Dad to Mini Miss & our foreman Mr Moo! Even our dog Jasper was into the clearing! Doing things as a family, even hot sweaty hard work makes me smile.

How was your day? Do you have a special chair in your house? A special memory that makes you smile today? 

Life Captured - Day 1

Describe a moment from today you want to remember always.

At this time of year, life is fast paced. Everything is rushed, stress levels are high. All for good reason. You want your family to have the best christmas possible. In all that, it's easy to forget to appreciate the little things, the moments that made you smile. I saw this challenge going around the blogging community and decided to play along for December. A short quick post, maybe with a picture if it's captured, of a moment that made me smile, a positive. Something to remember. 

So here it goes....

# Coffee with a beautiful friend who I love. We have only been friends a couple of months, but already she has made a big impact on my life & I can tell she is a "forever friend"

# managing to shop with both little people without a tantrum or any real crying & they even stayed in the trolley. A pure miracle & a blissful (rare) shopping experience! 

 

# 3am smiles from Mr Moo, who wanted to have a conversation rather than sleep. Even though I was exhausted, his little face always makes me smile.

So what do say? Would you like to join me? Even just once a week, share a moment that made you smile. Leave a comment here or on my Facebook page. I'd love to hear your stories.

A Little Bit of Christmas Love Giveaway

Soooooo.....

If you are following me on Facebook or Instagram then you will already be aware I am VERY excited for Christmas!

I just LOVE the anticipation, the build up as my kids (including the Big Man Kid) try to guess what they are getting, while they count down the days. Watching the excitement build as shops fill with decorations, Santa arrives at shopping centres, telling Santa what we want.....

And then Christmas morning....the closeness, the casual comfortable air of happiness and excitement as wrapping paper piles up....

Yeah, I LOVE it!

And so I want to share my love of Christmas by giving a lucky reader, or 2, the chance to get a present from me!

I LOVE the Bikini Cookbooks. They are the books I use to menu plan each week. Each meal is around 300 calories per serve, making it perfect for losing weight or just some serious healthy eating. 

Michelle often shares sample recipes on her Facebook Page, so its worth heading over and having a look there too!

So, to share my love of these books, I have not 1 but 2 to give away! 

The Snack book has to be one of my favourite to date, with loads of snack ideas, both savoury and sweet. There are lots of finger food ideas for parties or kids afternoon snacks. And so, with Michelles approval, I am giving 2 of these books away!

So all you have to do is....

1. Follow or subscribe my blog if you don't already. I am hoping to boost my numbers in the new year. 

It has been pretty quiet this year, but I am hoping to have weekly posts on things like kids activities, weight loss motivation, PND, dealing with depression & anxiety, and my general observations of motherhood. Hopefully a few laughs as well as a few tears along the way. Also, more giveaways!

2. Like my facebook page. This is my main source of communication, where I do actually post daily! 

3. Share my competition with your friends.

Thats it. Simple.

COMPETITION RUNS FROM 2.30PM 20/11/2014 - 8PM 30/11/2014.

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON ONLY.

 (Please note. This is NOT a paid giveaway. I bought these books and asked permission from Michelle to give them away. Nor is this competition connected to Facebook in any way)

UPDATE: You can now also enter via Instagram. Go to my Muddled Mum instagram account, share the post & tag me in the share to go in the draw. 

My Bullet Journal Journey....so far....

After hearing so much Hype on various other Mum blogger facebook pages about this "Bullet Journalling", I thought I should give it a go.

Don't have any idea what a Bullet Journal is? Check out the Website or this VIDEO.

The basic idea is that you use a journal to record your everyday events, similar to a diary, but with the flexibility to add the things YOU need, with plenty of room to write up whatever it is you need to add. 

I guess you could say its a planner and basic journal all in one.

I do have a smart phone, and no doubt there are hundreds of apps out there for this exact purpose, however, when it comes to this sort of thing, having it on actual paper, the actual act of sitting down and planning out my week, and then recording my day, on paper, helps to not only cement in my head what is happening, but helps me focus.

I bought a simple journal from Officeworks (THIS is the journal I chose). 

I wanted something nice looking, small enough to carry with me, and relatively inexpensive, at least while I trialed the system. Now I know it works well for me, when I need to get a new journal, I may spend a little more and get an even nicer one! 

The basic bullet system doesn't use colour, but I find the use of colour motivating, helps me focus and see instantly what is important. So I use a 4 colour pen, keeping the most important things in red, next most important in green, then daily tasks, regular appointments etc in black or blue. 

One of the important parts of bullet journal is the BULLETS, using symbols to signify what the task/appointment/note is for. These you can personalise to your own use. These are mine at the moment, although I am still refining my journal. Once finalised, this will be stuck to the inside page of my journal as a reference.

Then there is a Index Page. This helps you to find certain information if you need to go back over something. I number each page as I go, so if I do a major stuff up, I can rip that page out and start again! Eventually, at the end of my diary, I will have simple reference lists such as birthdays and anniversaries, long term goals, renovation ideas, etc.

Next in my journal is my 2 of my most important lists, daily and weekly tasks. As a stay at home mum with 3 kids, husband and my Dad all living under the same roof, organisation is important, so these 2 lists are part of my everyday.

Then comes your monthly planner. I have a little calendar at the front of each month, where I can write in appointments, birthdays, etc for the whole month. Then on the opposite page I have a monthly To Do List. This list is bigger tasks that I want to accomplish this month. As September was my spring cleaning month (post on that to come!) a lot of my tasks for September were de cluttering type tasks.

With the next section, I have trialed a few different ways, but the one I have settled on works well for me. Basically, the idea is to have a daily journal, something like a quick fire reference of each day. Whether its a page long, or just a couple of lines, then when that day is done you rule off and start the next day. The problem I found with this is I like to plan my whole week on a Sunday night, so I had to section, put a reasonable space limit on each day so I could map out my whole week. This, in the end, is what works well for me.

2 days to a page, with plenty of room for planned things, then a quick summary of each day, things I may have done that I didn't plan, a summary of the day. There are plenty of ways you can do this daily part. Check out my Pinterest Board to search other bloggers ideas. 

I plan on adding to this journal as time goes on. I want to have a menu planner included in it, rather than having it as a separate document. I also want to include a symptom tracker, so I can track the progress of my disease and the symptoms it presents. This will be useful to show my specialists in the future. They will be able to see not only the symptoms, but how busy or quiet my day has been, and eventually even maybe a food diary, so we can see if any foods cause a flare of certain symptoms. 

So, after a month of using this system, what do I think?

I love it. 

I chose to do this last week without filling out the journal, just to see how I managed and have to say, with all honesty, that I am much more organised, focused and on task using the diary. The process of sitting down for 30 mins on a Sunday planning my week, then for 5-10 mins each night to fill in what wasn't planned but did get done, really helps me be more organised. I love that there is so much flexibility in this system. Just take the basic idea and make it work for you. 

I will keep refining, and after Christmas, I will again review it. I will see if I am still sticking with it, or if the wheels fell off, and if so, how I have managed to stay on top of everything (if, in fact, I have managed to stay on top!).

I also have a bit of an idea on how to get our weekly menus, a food diary and a symptom tracker all organised and connected, and will give it a go, using my Christmas planner. Being such a big time of year, and big financial burden, and a major social and family time, I want to be prepared, and so I am following Organised Home Challenges and getting all the tips and ideas on how to prepare for the big day! Check out their page and give that thumbs up a click! One of many pages I use as inspiration.

How do you organise your family, you house and your life? Do you have a fail proof method, a tried and tested method? Please, feel free to share it in the comments below! I am always looking for ways to improve and save time! 

Dinosaur Fun -

Our local shopping centre currently has a brilliant Dinosaurs Alive display. The dinosaurs move and make noise. Its a treasure trove of fun for the toddler and preschooler alike!  There is information on each one on display, which I must read over and over, and the best bit for Mini Miss? There are foot prints all over the shopping centre leading to each display! She is so focused on these foot prints every time we go, much to the annoyance of some older, less interested shoppers (to them I now say, get a life, she is 3!!). 

 

So for obvious reasons, Mini Miss has been OBSESSED with dinosaurs! No, these obsessions are not confined to boys! 

My first activity I found on Pinterest and as always, altered it a bit to make it more fun and more personal for my Mini Miss.... We built..... 

Dinosaur World!!

I bought a Kitty Litter tray from our local Dollar Tree for $3. Yes, that sounds gross, but I promise Miss Lucy is not allowed to use it! They are great for containing messy crafts, science experiments, and other fun stuff. You will see the 2 I bought starring in a lot of the science and messy craft Mini Miss gets to do! 

To do the landscape, I filled the tray with Baking Soda, which acted as the sand. I made a Bubbly Blue Lagoon using Vinegar with blue food colouring. I decorated with plastic trees and rocks. Then, The Piece de Resistance, The Erupting Volcano. 

I made the outside of the Volcano using our favourite home made Playdough recipe. (find it HERE). To make it more interesting I mixed granulated coffee (I know, it seems like a waste, but it was cheap coffee & it really did make a difference) into the mix to give it the brown colour, but also a bit of texture. Inside the Volcano was a plastic cup with a water/vinegar/dish soap mix coloured with red food colouring.  

Finally I added some dinosaurs and the masterpiece was set & placed outside (a great place for messy play, I highly recommend it!) 

apparently, from this photo, they were all headed to the Bubbly Lagoon!

Mini Miss got stuck straight in and had a ball with this. She loved the Bubbly Lagoon and although I missed taking a photo of the Volcano as I was supervising its eruption, she loved it! It oozed red bubbles everywhere. Lots of mess was made.

Of course, once all the contained bubbly fun was had, she got into the Making Mess part. This is more just fun than science, although there is colour mixing, more chemical reactions...you get the idea, but basically, its like playing with colourful mud! 

And then later in the day, even more messy play was had! This involved measuring and pouring, scooping and loads more wet gooey mess seeing as I had been busy with Mr Moo and hadn't got around to hosing it all away.

Yes, a bath was VERY necessary after this day!! 

Tips:

• For ALL outdoor messy crafts I keep 2 things nearby. A bucket of soapy water and an old towel. That way the mess does not make its way into my house!

• Spend time talking about why the vinegar and bicarb when mixed together bubble up.

• Encourage your child to think about what the world was like when there were dinosaurs, what was the land like? Were there people? Where did all the dinosaurs go? What about Volcanoes? What makes them erupt? 

If they have questions you don't know the answer to, I find honesty the best policy. I am not all knowing, but I do know how to find out and I love to show my kids how to use the tools they have to find out more. Mini Miss is already learning the value of Google. Investigating together is great fun and it teaches such valuable skills like researching, making sense of the information they find, and coming to your own conclusion with the information you have found. 

So get building, get messy and have fun with your kids! Play is such an important part of learning at this age!