Gettin it DONE!

I’m a busy person. I always have been.

I could tell you that after having cancer I became all philosophical about life – it’s possibilities and un quenchable desire to go out there and give it my all, that tends to follow such life altering experiences. Yet I would be lying. Not completely, don’t get me wrong. An experience like that rarely leaves one without and somewhat different view of the world. Though it wasn’t the bottom kicking excuse I needed to have a ‘Go get em’ attitude, it was merely just another reason.

I get asked a lot ‘How do I do it?’.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what people mean sometimes when they ask it, because truthfully, I never really feel like I have my shit together!

It goes to show that the perceived you, the real you, and the ego are all very different, yet unnervingly intertwined and evolving personas.

‘How do you find the time?’, I get asked.

I’ll tell you a little secret… come closer…. I’ll fill you in on something you may never have realised….

I have 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. The same as you. So maybe instead of asking me how do I find the time… turn to yourself and ask yourself this…

‘am I worth the time?’

There is nothing grand to my life, I have no magical spell to help you along the way, the difference, I suppose, when I reflect on this question. Is that I make the time.

That may seem easier said than done, but the thing is, you have to really want anything in life in order to justify it to yourself to be worth your time.

I’m also not fearful to give something a go. I mean, what’s the point? So maybe I’ll suck, but hey, maybe I wont!

I remember sitting in my car once with my husband, talking about something I was going to try that week, honestly I can’t for the life of me remember what it was, but he turned to me and said very proudly.

‘that’s one thing I love the most about you, you’ll try anything, you don’t give a fuck’.

And if I’m honest, that’s the attitude you need to have. You can NOT afford to give your time to someone else thoughts! YOUR life won’t wait for your ego to catch up! It’s now or it’s never.

One of my oldest friends caught up with me the other day after she went to a Tony Robbins seminar (google him if you have never heard of him) – his words to her (to everyone) was;

“surround yourself with doers and motivated people”

So she called me, and we caught up and had a big ole chat about her life, her plans and my reason for just ‘getting it done’.  He is right, obviously. There are people out there who will try to disenchant and disable your ability, to undersell your abilities to you and cut you off as you grow. These are not ‘YOUR’ people. These are not conducive to a life that is ‘gettin it done’. So find those people, make it happen, support other people who seek your love and spirit. Don’t ever feel unworthy of someone’s warmth and spirit in return.

You are in complete control of your choices. So make the choice, everyday, don’t look back and ‘get it done’. I do, everyday.

Lets begin again.

Im a mumma. For the longest time (going on 8 years now) i have struggled to understand what that meant for me. Im sure most women do.

Mothering is a many wonderful clichés, gifted to you in a most fashionable guise. Prettied up with all the trimmings - instagram worthy of course. But mothering, real honest to goodness mothering is back breaking stuff. Its not pretty, but it is real, and therin lies the beauty.

Mothering to me is a many splendid and aching things.  Its wet towels on tiled floors (again), its giggles from the bath tub. Its schoolbags chucked down at the entry, its conquering his home reader. Its their punch ups over whos turns first, its my eldest teaching my 6year old how to play footy. Its waking up for midnight feeds - its watching them squeal in delight when she crawled for the first time.

I guess im learning, that mothering is an ocean of existence. I am humbled by its magnificent greatness as it pours out from me, surrounding me. I'm realising that this mothering thing, there are no answers - only being. Only existing within its folds. Feeling the waves crash and tumble around me.

What is most important though, and i am only now beginning to realise this. Is we are already lost within its embrace. It takes hold and all is lost to it. Mothering is as much a state of being as it is in the things we do. We are forever changed, forever richer for having been granted the privilege that it is to be a mum. We just dont always realise it.

Mumma's fast and easy Chicken noodle

 Im nearly halfway with my third pregnancy. It has been an interesting experience this time, with nausea, vomiting and exhaustion making themselves well known. That said things have been worse still this week with me coming down with a chest infection :(   

Juggling full time work, kids and household are hard enough - throw in a bountiful belly and you have one chaotic ride!

I believe in nourishing myself as much as my children, but it can be hard when your flat out! This receipe is one of my favs as its delish, he kids eat it (thank GAWD!) and the best part is its easy peasy!.... oh and did i mention AFORDABLE... gotta throw that in there!

You will need...

1 BBQ chook from the deli (ready cooked - pull it a part and put the chicken in a bowl aside)

1 Large vegetable stock

1 large chicken stock

1 tub of leggos pizza sauce - i use the garlic, onion and herb variety

1/2 a celery - finely sliced

either a bunch of spinach or a bunch of kale - finely sliced ( i used the spinach this times, as it looked nice on the                                                                                day and we hadn't had it in a while)

cloves of garlic to suit you - finely chopped

1/3 bunch of parsley - finely chopped

2 cups of water

1/2 a pack of angel hair pasta

1 leek or some eshallots depending on whats in stock - finely sliced

Deep soup pan/pot

Method

With some oil fry off the garlic and eshallots until soft. 

Add your stock, paste, celery, parsley, chicken & spinach and bring to boil.

Turn to simmer and add Angel hair pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, you can decide if you would like to add water - i tend to as i like my soup more broth like, however it purely comes to preference, also the past can absorb a little bit of water so thats another reason i tend to add some more.

Let the pot simmer for a little while - we usually serve with garlic bread so i let it simmer while im organising that and the table, kids etc.

Serve with garlic bread or some crusty fresh goodness from your local!

It keeps well, I wack it in containers in the freezer and take it to work if i make a large batch, but generally it gets eaten.... the noodles is what does it i think... what kid can say no to noodles ;)

BR: Daughter - Jane Shemilt

Daughter

By Jane Shemilt (debut novel)

★★★☆

I picked this book up purely because i saw Tess Gerritsen gave it high acclaim. It takes a good thriller to really grab me and keep me on the edge of my seat - and this novel is not your typical thriller.

It peels back slowly and subtlety. Jane is a successful family doctor with a life one can only dream of, house, husband, kids. But her entire life comes crashing down around her in one swift night - and the story that unravels around her pulls you in.

This novel explores the notion of what lies beneath the surface, the happy family that live very different lives once you scratch the surface.

Jane's youngest child goes missing and whilst every worst case-scenario is explored its the side stories which pull you into the novel! You very quickly begin to suspect that nothing is as it first appears, and that sometimes the people we love the most are the people we hardly know.

Well written and easy to read. Especially for a first novel. Based in England the writers gives you a real sense of being immersed in the environment and the characters lives. You want to know more, you want the pieces to come together.

It took a while to get in to the 'guts' of this one - but once your there there is no turning back. I found myself getting really frustrated with some of the characters, their sense of self entitlement and lack of insight almost debilitating.

Do yourself a favour and pick it up.

Let's drink to that!

We live in Australia, and this summer has been a 'ripper'. Scorching days mean little bodies wither away easily, and sometimes keeping them hydrated can be a challenge. I'm fortunate in that my kids love the good old H2O. I know many children though that don't and it's not always the best to be reaching to the cupboard to make a jug of  number laden sweetness (cordial/koolaid). 

 This summer we have taken to using my Maxwell & Williams Olde English jug (find it here). My mumma got it for Christmas. the recipe i have been using as a cordial substitute has been a hit with the kids, and really you could get very creative and change things up depending on what you like, but here is one of our fav recipes below...

the main thing with the kids is that they love colour! And Most tea's that contain Hibiscus will give you that punchy red they crave. It can be great to include little hands to make it up, as it helps them understand and learn about what they are putting into their body.

Ingredients:

6-8 herbal tea bags (i choose fruity varieties so there is no caffeine, also you may need more depending on the size of your jug)

About 4-6 cups boiling water to steep your teabags in, plus more cold water for after

2 tablespoons raw Apple Cider Vinegar 

Stevia or Honey to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt

 juice of one lemon

Directions:

1. Add tea bags and salt to tempered jar.
2. Pour boiling water over tea bags and let steep 4-6 minutes
3. Fill jar the rest of the way with cold water.
4. Mix in vinegar and stevia or sweetener.
5. add lemon juice
6. Serve chilled over ice.

Notes: and option can be to throw in some mint leaves as well, it all depends on taste preference.

Herbal Tea. Herbal tea has a variety of health benefits, such as providing antioxidants, stress relief, promoting healthy sleep habits, and many other benefits.

Stevia. As ZERO calorie natural sweetener this herbal plant has many benefits such as lowering blood pressure, as well as preventing diabetes... but the list goes on 

Local Honey. Local honey is believed to help with seasonal allergies.

Apple Cider Vinegar. Supposedly, apple cider vinegar is practically magical and helps with energy, weight management, pH balance, cleansing of the lymph nodes, and a ridiculous list of other things.

Lemon and Salt. These items are used purely for electrolyte purposes. During summer, it’s very important to keep your body hydrated. 

Creating an authentic life?

Last year was one of the hardest years our family has worked through. Despite raising little babies and study and re-homing over the course of our little family’s life, 2014 was a big year for us.

In January of last year we bought our first home, a little cottage near the water in a rural coastal town, and as sweet an adventure as that may seem, it was quickly overshadowed by the daunting year that unraveled before us, as both my husband and I worked full time for the first time since we had our babies.

Graduating from university was a bittersweet moment, for the anticipation of endeavoring upon my career as a registered nurse, is was fraught with the notion that I would also have to undertake this year at a full time workload as per the requirement of my ‘new graduate’ position (an unfortunate con of living rural means limited options). The only reprieve from the onslaught of a constantly untidy house, tiredness, tantrums and takeaway meals was the knowing that come February 2015 I would be able to find a more appropriate workload. It was only a year.

2014 saw our family unravel, the grounding was gone and all that mattered was getting through the day; we all suffered as a result. Routine went out the door, as did the quality family time we so enjoyed. Stress was on high and the simplicity of life was no longer present.

We held large discussions again and again, but the footing never quite stilled, and so we continued on relentlessly aiming for this year, we welcomed 2015 with open arms.

One pay off for all the hard work was a double income. For the first time in years we had a disposable income, which most times was spent on the children, either in outings or gifts, if only because we had never the opportunity previously to do so. The problem with this however is that as the year ensued, their little minds became accustomed, and so now as a family we find new issues to deal with; issues of want and expectation.

These are easy fixed however. This year, 2015; will see us return to a basic, simple and authentic state of living, where time is a gift not to be overshadowed by objects. I’m excited to share with you our happenings over the year, a mix of moments and tid bits as we re-craft a simpler more authentic life.

Just over a year ago - before the move, before full time, before the chaos.

2/52 - summer dayz

Its the holidays, and we are spending  our days out and about. The perks of living among Australia's finest beaches means that there is always somewhere to go and explore. One of our favorite things to do though is to head to the local, where lately im enjoying a pot of peppermint tea to settle the tum, and then off to the local park. its surrounded by green grass and rich canopy with just enough dappled light to let us know the day is gorgeous, yet protecting the babes from the harsh nature of the Australian sun. 

This week in a midst the frolicking and beach play, my husband made a difficult decision. To hold our youngest back another year. It was a hard decision, only because really he is quite bright. what sealed it in the end though was his emotional and social abilities, which will probably be fine in a few more months, but we just didn't want to take the risk that they might affect his foundation at school. Jett only just turned 5 so there is no rush, and he is looking forward to staying home with mumma and the baby, he already can't wait to swaddling 'her' (we don't know what we are having its too early but he wants a sister) and helping mumma. I must admit i am looking forward to it too.

Linking in with Jodie and the 52 project 

This kid is too cool for school

       

 
        Its hard not to smile in his presence