Lost for words

Don't you hate it?

I sit here every Friday or Saturday or Sunday night to write my weekly Blog post. This is the norm. I love it. It gives me a platform to express myself, my thoughts, my views. It helps me sort through whats going on in life. Hopefully it reaches out and connects with some people. 

I usually hope just someone will READ it. Even better, COMMENTS on it!

This week, I have sat at this computer, looking at this particular screen, the draft screen (yes, I am aware you don't get to see this screen, but you know, its what I am currently looking at as I haven't hit PUBLISH yet!). I have started 3 different blogs about 3 completely different subjects. After writing for 10 minutes, the flow eases and I go back and read through. My response to every read through has been "really?" followed by DELETE!

I have writers block. 

I am normally so expressive, opinionated, rambling. I have so much to say. That hasn't changed. I have plenty to say! I have about 6 pages of topics, with idea trees, bullet points, links for research, images and photos ready to add, everything is there ready to go. Just need to do the actual writing.

Nope. I am lost for words.

So, rather than stress about it, which believe me, I have been doing these past few days, I am going to accept it. I will continue to write down ideas. I will continue to revisit my half written drafts saved as Word Documents, or scraps of paper in my diary. 

I know, eventually the words will flow....

Now, Im re reading this post and thinking "really? Is that all you have got?" and while I'm considering deleting it, in good, usual sharing order, I will instead post it.

In the meantime, if you love me (and lets face it, I am pretty lovable!) you can check out my Instagram. Its full of lots of random pictures of my day!

Or, if you are REALLY interested, why not follow my dreaming, I mean planning and organising, on Pinterest?

In the meantime, I will continue to attempt to find my writers flow and get stuck into one of those 26 (yep, I just counted them, it is 26!) blog ideas I have for posting at some point this year!!

Froggers Feast!

No, we didn't eat a feast of frogs, or frogs legs or red frogs....

No, we didn't feed a mass of frogs either! eww!

Froggers Feast is an awesome event run by the local branch of an organisation called Red Frogs. If you have been to schoolies week, or any youth event, then maybe you have seen them handing out water and yummy red frogs!! Our local Red Froggers also goes into local high schools and makes sure students get a good breakfast of yummy pancakes. Basically, a bunch of amazing young adults reaching out to take care of other young adults and our youth. 

Once a month we open the doors of our church (well, they are always open, but you know, figure of speech type thing) and our kitchen and cook up a feed for the local uni students. Its a place they can gather, chat informally, hang out listening to music and other entertainment, maybe ask a few questions about our church, or not...and get a FREE feed! 

So April was the month that hubby and I stepped up and volunteered to feed the masses, Chinese food! Easy peasy we thought. We love cooking chinese food, and hubby is a great cook, so yeah, easy done. 

Soooo not as easy as we thought. 

Firstly there was taking our recipes for 4-6 people and turning them into a recipe that would feed around 50 or more people. Suddenly instead of 500 grams of meat, we needed like 5kg of meat! instead of 2 carrots and a few other veggies, we needed kilos of mixed veggies! It was a little scary and overwhelming!

But, being the control organising freak that I am, I broke it down, opened up a spreadsheet and planned it all. I chose the recipes, a nice mix for all eaters. I wrote down all the ingredients, how much we would need for each meal. All the extras like spices, sauces etc. Then I transferred all that into lists so I knew exactly what to buy in each area and what we already had. it looked like this....

The next step was prep. We do not have any sort of chopping machine. So a whole day and a half, several blisters and stained fingers, we had all our veggies chopped and our meat diced and marinating!

The day arrived. Adding the the stress, I had to work all day, and Miss Teen was hiking with Scouts, so it was up to Hubby to organise the troops and get cooking! He did a great job! By the time I got there, Miss Teen had also arrived and dived into helping and everything was well under way. The team of volunteers was working hard! It was so much fun working hard, chatting and just enjoying the camaraderie of our church family. 

As the uni students arrived, I got excited! It was so much fun, the atmosphere was bubbly and happy, there was music, and chatting, and kids (well, young adults acting like kids!) running around having fun! They happily dove straight into our meals and ate to their hearts content! 

We didn't have as many as we expected, mainly because we forgot about uni holidays! But, those that came had a ball, the food was enjoyed and plenty of left overs went home with the students to feed themselves in coming days, or to feed friends who couldn't make it! So nothing went to waste.

Doing things like this, serving our church, makes me feel so happy. I feel so light hearted, I forget about my own problems for a while, and see the bigger picture. I enjoy the company of like minded, genuine caring people that our church has in its congregation. I remember that in serving our church we are serving our Father God, and that is a wonderful feeling. 

It feels like home. 

It feels like I am doing exactly what I am meant to be doing.

And isn't that what we are looking for? That feeling of belonging? That feeling of safety and security? That feeling of family and home.

So yes, while we help to serve our church, it also serves us. It serves our hearts, our spirits, our souls. 

And that inspires me to do more. 

I cannot wait to help out again next month. Maybe not the menu planning etc, but I will certainly be a team member, in the kitchen, serving up a meal for the masses!

WE WON A HOLIDAY!.....We have to travel with a toddler......

We had discussed going to the Easter Show. Miss Teen and I had been many times, but years before, and she doesn't really remember it. Hubby had NEVER been! Ever! And obviously, neither had Mini Miss. But sadly, on my measly part time income, it wasn't going to be possible.

Then the wonderful Coffs for Kids ran a competition, and against all odds, WE WON!!! When I got the call from Alison I danced around the lounge room as I tried to take in all the details she was giving me!! 

I was excited! In just 3 days we would be heading off on a train trip to Sydney on the Countrylink Explorer and be lucky enough to spend 2 whole days in the city, including a whole day at the SHOW! 

Then reality hit.....a 9 hour train trip with an overactive "can't sit still for 2 mins" toddler. And a sometimes moody teen. And NO internet or phone access.

This sounded like the recipe for a horror movie really.

So what does a mother do when this kind of fear sets in??

She explores the internet for ideas!!! 
(well, thats what this mother does anyhow! I'm sure most mothers wouldn't go up those stairs, or open that door, but me, I'll go charging in regardless, but at least I'll be prepared!)

Surely somewhere, in that wide wide world that is the internet, there had to be some useful, informative information and advise for mothers needing to entertain her kids. 

(insert picture of a wild haired mother typing insanely fast at her keyboard and clicking madly on her mouse!)

Well, you get the idea!

Of course there was LOADS of information. Most of it was for travelling in a car, but easily adaptable. If anything, it is a LOT easier when on the train, as you don't have to concentrate on the road or other cars, or really anyone else but your family. 

Using information from a mix of sites, such as The Activity Mom, Kids Activities Blog, Better In Bulk and Family Food and Travel I formulated my plan of attack, as one does when planning a battle. Yes, thats right, a battle. I was under no illusions that keeping calm on a train for 9 hours with a bored Miss Teen and a hyperactive Mini Miss was a battle in the making!

My Plan looked like this:

Mini Miss REALLY loves STICKERS!!

Yep. A table. With pretty colours. And lots of ideas. Cause that is how I calm myself when panic sets in, lists, particularly in colour. (that's not weird, right?)

Reality was, in the 3 days we had to plan, where I was working everyday, and with the limited funds we had to buy stuff, the activities weren't quite that exciting. I did explore Big W one afternoon after work and scored some clearance bargains, including Dora stickers and a Mickey Mouse activity tin! At Officeworks I picked up some cheap basic shape magnets, some pencils and crayons. 

I even put my craftiness to good use and made up a colouring book of all Mini Miss's favourite characters! 

Our 9 hour train trip was NOT the nightmare nor the horror movie I was expecting. The lovely Countrylink people put us up in a day cabin, which is like a little private room. So Mini Miss could spread out and make mess and move around a bit. We did lots of colouring in, we read stories, and we played games with her little people figurines. We PLAYED pretend with Mini Miss, which we don't much. Mostly though, we talked and laughed and enjoyed being together, no interruptions.

It was actually really, really nice. And relaxing.

My tips for travelling with the family?

1. Keep it Simple. If you aren't driving, you need to entertain your kids, but take the time out to talk to them, play with them, read to them. They do love having your undivided attention!

2. Have their favourite healthy snacks available. It's cheaper and you can guarantee if they won't eat what is available, at least they will eat what you brought for them. 
Mini Miss wouldn't eat anything on board, but we had plenty of fruit, sandwiches, and biscuits and cheese that she was happy to eat.

3. Remember a family holiday, no matter how long or short, is for the whole FAMILY. You count as part of the family!!! Yes, you really do!! YOU COUNT! It's a secret kids have tried to keep for years!
So pack stuff for you as well. Hubby has his camera and had a ball trying out different ways of taking photos while on the move. I had magazines to read. Bring yourself entertainment too!!

4. Plan It. A plan of attack might sound crazy, but if you are prepared, then it gives you an arsenal to avoid meltdowns and disasters and makes for a more relaxed trip.

Have YOU got some tried and tested ways of entertaining the kids on long trips? Please, feel free to share them with me here!!!!

In the meantime, I am off to plan our next family holiday on the train! Or maybe plane....or cruise ship.....