Wordless Wednesday- Our Day At The Park

One on one time with the little boy whilst big sis is at school!

Kate xxx

Getting Organised

I always feel so good after I have done some organising at home! Today after our play at the park I started on organising the kids writing and reading areas.  This area is really important as I like to encourage writing and reading so having a tidy and organised place for them to do this is essential.  I was reading through one of my favourite blogs The Organised Housewife and I came across her section on organising school items and I was instantly inspired and knew exactly how I wanted it.  I took bits from her ideas and then worked with what we already had- why fix something that's not broken I say.  The area itself and the storage was working well it just needed to be better organised and clearer to all.

Firstly I went through each drawer and threw out scrap paper and rubbish that had found its way into the draws.  There was a lot of this as Master X is obsessed with packing away but packs everything away including rubbish!  So once the drawers were cleared of junk I sorted through what we had and put them into their relevant categories.  As we only have 3 drawers I needed a few categories in each so they are broad category, but this works for us.

 Above is the main learning station, next to this is the table and chairs.  On top is the magazine holder for the HOMEWORK, the small box storage is currently empty and the orange box next to this has sunscreen, wipes and anything else we need for outside (our back door is just next to this so handy for when we are getting ready to go outside).  I will explain the drawers below.

 This is the big bottom drawer and this is where Miss P stores her school bag and school library bag.  This is a great size drawer and Miss P can get her things out with ease so great for her to help in the mornings and afternoons.

This is the drawer above the big one.  It contains all of the kids educational games and puzzles.  There is peg board, egg numbers/shapes, threading, Leap Frog reader, flash cards and pre reader items.

And this is the top drawer.  Inside here we have all of the kids workbooks- I like to pick these up every now and then as Miss P really likes them and soon Master X will be doing them. Kmart often have them on special.  Also we have colouring books, school pens for homework (green container), word cards (pink container) and glue, scissors and erasers (blue container).

 

Above is what our reading and writing area looks like.  There are plenty of books, blocks, puzzles and a comfy foam mat to sit on. The kids love this area as the kitchen is right near not so when I am in kitchen they can be close too.  Beauty of our house is its very open!  The red bucket is right near the back door and next to the writing station, it holds shoes, towels and hats for outside.

So I still have a lot more things I want to organise but I definitely feel refreshed after doing this and feel a lot more motivated to organise other areas, might wait until after Miss P's party on the weekend though!!  Make sure you visit The Organised Housewife she has some fantastic ideas and places to start.

Kate xxx

It's One Thing After Another

So this week saw Master X start and successfully wean from breastfeeding! I am sad to end our journey but so proud of him as he has adjusted so well, actually there are lots more cuddles now especially at night so thats always great! As the weaning process didn't take anywhere near as long as i thought it would we are now about to embark on the next stage for Master X- toilet training!!! Miss P was toilet trained by just after her second birthday and I waited until around the same time to start her- as soon as they show me signs they are ready and willing I pounce! Sounds bad I know but I pounce nicely! I am toilet training them the same way, Master X will learn to sit on potty first and when he is older we will start the standing thing but for now he loves to sit on the potty. I bought this great pack from the baby and toddler expo so i am looking forward to using it. It's called 'Go Potty Go" and it is just a whole lot of fun and rewards for the kids as they master this new skill. Obviously I bought the boy pack as there is a pack for each. You can find their packs online here and I also purchased the Super Wee Man which will be used later on when Master X is mastering standing up to wee.

Today Master X showed me he is recognising his need to go (most of the time after he has been but its a good start) so I am now pouncing!  We don't use pull ups here unless we are going out or in car, its just undies at home!  Master X loves Thomas the Tank Engine so I have purchased several pairs of Thomas undies as he will be sad if he wets Thomas! He also loves trains in general and this pack is all about getting on board the potty train, kids are given a train ticket and follow along through the story.  There is also a reward chart which I find magical in the toilet training stage, who doesn't love a sticker!

So he has mastered one thing and now its onto the next, taking our time and doing it at his pace.  My little boy is growing up and then Miss P is 4 in 2 days!!!!  Time to get started on baby number 3 I think, well husband has been wanting to try awhile ago but I now feel master X is settled and the big changes are done or doing at the moment so perfect time to start trying now for all of us.

Do you have any great tips or tricks you used whilst toilet training? 

Kate xxx

Toot Your Own Horn

Do you do it? Toot your own horn that is? Well I never do, in fact I'm quite modest and feel a little uncomfortable with compliments. I mean I love them but always struggle with how to take a compliment when I'm given one. Well in this blog post I am going to toot my own horn, so don't think I have a big head or I'm arrogant I'm just doing something we should all do once in awhile!

1. As a mum- now I am by far claiming to be the worlds greatest parent, but I believe I do a great job raising and caring for my children. I spend my whole days making sure they are cared for, loved, taught and made feel special. I do go beyond the basic responsibilities of parenting and I couldn't think of being apart from my kids. I believe in rules and boundaries and I feel this benefits my kids- they feel secure knowing what they can and can't do and it also teaches them rules are there to protect. I'll never raise a hand to them and I'll never let anyone else! I love them to bits and I do the best job I can.

2. As a wife- hmmm well maybe emotionally I lack a bit as I am not like alot of women, I'm not a big hugger or kisser (poor husband). Not that I don't love them with the husband but it's just not my strong point. I'm working on it. But I am faithful, honest, respectful and love to look after my husband, they may be boring chores but cleaning the house, cooking dinner, etc means my husband doesn't have to do them after being at work all day (being a roofer he does enough physical work in a day as it is). Overall I am constantly working on my wife skills but generally I think I'm a pretty good wife to my husband.

3. As a friend- this has tested me the last few months but I have realized I am a great friend. I will do anything for my close friends, I will always be there and I hate to disappoint them. Even as a kid I always enjoyed the company of small groups instead of mass amounts of "friends" and that stays the same now, I prefer to have small group of true friends rather than lots of fake so called friends.

4. Me as well...me- I have my parents to thank for who I am plus some life experiences too. I am a very independent person (sometimes oo much so according to my husband), I don't like to rely on others. I like to do right by others but only if they deserve it, very rarely will I get walked over or used but if you do you'll only do it once. I have morals and values that make me a decent person, I have self respect as well as respect for others. I have my issues as we all do but the are definately over shadowed by my positive traits. I will do anything for my family, I will always back them and support them. No matter what our differences I willalways love them and be there for them.

Ok there you go I just tooted my own horn! Not an easy task for me todo but wow it feels good and sometimes doing it can make you realize what a good person you are. Take a moment every now and then to write down all the positive things about yourself- do it after a bad day, after an argument or just at the end of a big day. Take care of ourself by loving the person you are. I don't and can't stand in front of a mirror chanting 'I love myself' but I can take 5 minutes to write down the things that make me as a person and realize I'm a good egg.

Kate xxx

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Weaning

So i mentioned awhile ago that we would be starting night weaning with Master X soon....that soon is now! He loves to fall asleep feeding and feed back to sleep at night, it never bothered me and I really wish I could continue but in order for us to add to our lovely family I need to stop night feeds. Now i knew that this process was not going to be a one night thing and I knew it was me that had to do it- I wasn't going to send him to sleep over to break the habit nor was I going to send hubby in to settle- he is used to mummy and weaning will be hard enough for him let alone add mummy not being there too much stress for my little man. So for the last week I have been preparing myself for long bouts of screaming and just lots of cuddles (definately no cry it out here but Master X is a screamer at the best of times). So the first night came last night.....

Well last night was not half as bad as what I thought it would be, I know its only night one but he did so well. He woke at 830pm and for 15mins he screamed at me but in the end succumbed to my cuddles and slept and woke at 1130pm and did much the same. Then 355pm and wasnt as bad and then came waddling down to our bedroom at 5pm. To many this may seem terrible but I was so proud of him he did such a fantastic job! He was looking forward to his morning feed.

All day we have been talking about how we have milk in the morning whenthe sun is up and you can see outside, night time when it is dark you sleep and no milk. Master X uses the word 'bobble' for wanting a feed and today he has actually been teasing me with it. Coming up to me saying 'bobble? No' then smiling. He's getting it, he's really getting it and its the best feeling. I tried night weaning when he was 16 months and I just knew it was way too early, he wasn't comprehending it at all and it really affected him, but now he is almost 20 mths he is able to understand it so much more. Even tonight as he went to bed, normally he would feed to sleep but tonight he rolled around then fell asleep on his own next to me, it was great.

So weaning is well under way, hopefully the morning feed won't affect my hormones too much and I can continue it for Master X. I have had 2 beautiful and long breastfeeding journeys, both similar but unique too. For now I am going to lay down and maybe sneak a little sleep just in case tonight is worse than last night. It's the 2-3am wake ups where it's so tempting just to feed him back to sleep but I know I have to stick to it, consistency is the key! Consistency and gentleness I believe, the last thing I want to do is stress my poor boy out so we are taking it slow and doing it our way that suits him best. Wish me luck and hopefully by the end of the week he is taking it all in his stride still.

Just too cute isn't he! I love our nightime cuddles and being number two it's a rare time we get one on one!

Kate xxx

Till Death Do Us Part

Do you ever ask yourself why? Why am I sick? Why do we have debt? Why am I having to do __________ or ____________? Why did I marry him? No only joking to the last one, well most of the time I am only joking! No I really do love my husband- flaws and all! That's my point really, who lives in a perfect world, perfect society and perfect people? I sure as hell dont (damn I will be struck down for using that word! At least I will know why). Lately all i have been hearing on the tv, newspaper (do we still have newspapers??) is divorce, ugly seperation, how to be perfect, how to be a millionairs and be perfect, how to lose weight and be perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect! What is perfect? That is the problem, we all have different views on perfect.

*And before I get grilled for my comments on divorce or seperation let me add this- I do not judge anyone or anyone's situation, divorce and seperation happens I have friends and family who have been there so I for one hold no judgement, I am purely talking about reasons behind them not the actual action.*

Now where was I......oh perfect that's right. Not many people seem to want to work at relationships these days, it seems to be all just great to flick off one and start another, looking for the "perfect" one. Don't wedding vows mean anything anymore? Have vows just become materialised too, the "in" thing to do? My husband and I were talking over dinner the other night as we gazed into each others eyes......HAHA not really, actually anyone who knows me would know how far I am from doing that! Seriously, we began talking about some young guys that work for us and how their conversations go about relationships and I honestly hope my daughter steers clear of any like them, if they're all like this when she is older she is becoming a nun. As for Master X he will be taught very differently to these boys! Absolutely no respect for women, relationship and just a general lack of respect. Girlfriend got pregnant, off to have an abortion (whole new can of worms for me and I am sure I will blog about my thoughts on it) and onto next girlfriend. Now I am not saying all are like this nor am I saying every has to commit but where has the respect gone. My husband, 9 times out of 10, shows great respect for me, especially in front of other people! I guess that where I know Master X will be ok as his dad is a great role model in the way a man treats a woman and Miss P will look for someone who respects her as much as her dad shows her and myself. From what I see though it wont be an easy find.

Everything is disposable these days- workers, partners, children. It's all been made so easy for everyone just to move on. In some cases divorce or seperation must happen for safety- both physically or menatlly, unresolved issues etc but gve it a go. My parents have been married for 45 years- god love them- and my mum always says if she got upset at everything thing my dad did wrong or that annoyed her or made her upset she would have left many moons ago, but marriage is a marathon not a sprint! You put up with those annoying things, get over those sad moments and forgive the wrong (as long as it's not crossing boundaries!) and grow together. It is a bit of a rant this post but I just get a little tired of hearing "oh it's just not what I expected it to be" not because expectations lead disaster". I heard this one the radio the other morning- "Happiness = reality minus expectations". I love it and its so true, if you be happy with what you have, who you have then you will experience true happiness but if ou try and live to what you expected you will never be happy. Dream, by all means dream, but if it doesn't happen don't let that expectation rule your life.

I am not perfect (I am close HAHA), my husband isn't perfect but I am so happy with the reality of it all and I hope I am still arguing with my husband at 80 because it means we still care enough and passionate about something. This is not a cliche post, I am at fault for wanting it all now too at times but it doesn't make you happy. Sometimes dreams have to be let go, it's a way of life. These young guys wanting these "perfect" women are ruining women, making them into superficial beings who won't bring them any happiness in the long run. Life isn't about quick fixe or quick money, its about the journey. I just think too many people have become used to being a throw away society, too hard baskets are filling up everywhere. Wedding vows are no longer even a necessity anymore, just get that band on and start the party, which is fine but does anyone really listen tothe vows anymore? I am happy to say that both my husband and I would be there for each other through sickness aand health, through good times and bad, for richer and poorer til death do us part. Because we vowed to do this.

This post has no judgement on anyone or any situation, it is my views based on what I see happening around me. Each circumstance is indivdual and each person has their own rights, these are mine.

Kate xxx

De-clutter: Material & Financial

For a few months now I have been de-cluttering our house of material items that we either don't use or just don't need anymore.  I felt I was on such a roll and feeling great about it all but then I realised an area that needed SERIOUS de-cluttering had been overlooked!  Our finances! We have just been living, very freely actually way too freely!  A very easy trap to get into if one is not careful! So began the de-cluttering of finances- changing insurance companies, cancelling memberships that weren't necessary anymore and just generally clearing out items we really don't need.

I have always just spent money without really looking at the big picture.  What was the problem, kids were happy, we were doing things we enjoyed so what is the harm?  The harm was that we were living in the moment not reality!  We have a beautiful home, new car, clean and nice clothes and food this is all we need to be happy. I was so consumed by material and "doing" things that I lost focus on what was really important.  This isn't a post about never buying anything nice because some people have no food!  Just because you go on holiday or buy something nice isn't bad or wrong but doing this all the time can lead to problems!  I would rather be able to live with what we have and not stress about money than live with all these "things" but stress every night about money!

You know what we did this weekend?  We cleaned out our garage of all the things we no longer need, use or want!  Oh my gosh you should see how much we have to sell.  I will be on eBay all morning.  But it is the same feeling you get when you de-clutter your office or room, being able to breathe again!  I am yet to go through the inside of the house and find the items we no longer need or use but once that is done I will feel much more content.  Miss P's birthday is coming up and I have 4 lay-bys on with presents- RIDICULOUS!  I love buying things for the kids but honestly they do not need that many presents at a birthday or Christmas!  So I cancelled them too, we will be giving her 3 presents (3 things she has been asking for constantly and really wants) and a birthday party, so i think she is still a very lucky girl!  The choices we make about money and material things really does influence our children- the other morning I said to Miss P "we won't be having a jumping castle at your party, I am sorry but it is just too much money".  Do you know what her response was?  "That's OK mum, can we play other games?"  Honestly, this coming from an almost 4 year old!  

We now have a budget printed, with absolutely everything written down on it showing us everything we have to pay monthly.  We are going to stick to this and every cent earn over budget will be going straight onto the debts we have.  Normally we just spend it on something meaningless but we need to start thinking smart and putting it all away.  The extra $5 here and there may seem like nothing at the time but added up can pay something off quicker which will leave you debt free sooner.  So I was very quiet on the blog last week as I was struggling to deal with the stress and also spending all my time finding ways to cut back and also stay on track. I came to terms with something last week, I realised that if we lost everything material tomorrow (not that its even close to that but my mind wandered that way) it wouldn't bother me, OK I would be sad and feel bad but having our clothes, possessions, each other we would just dust off get up and start again. My husband, my kids, my family would all still be there no one can break us.  That may sound cliche but its the truth and it took this slump for me to finally realise that.  It doesn't stop me stressing about money or stop me trying to find ways to cut back it just puts things into perspective for me.

So now that you know why I was quiet!  I am back and hope to bring you lots of things that are helping us with finances and with a party only weeks away there will be lots of party posts I am sure.

Kate xxx

Musical Fantasy

So as most know I don't get out much, its not that I can't its just I don't want to.  I don't like leaving the kids at night so when we do venture out alone its normally through the day.  Thanks to my lovely mum who jumps at the chance to have her grandkids, hubby and I went and saw the Jabbawockeez on Saturday afternoon.  I booked the show tickets awhile ago and was really looking forward to it.  The show was at 3pm so we decided to head down early for lunch at the delicious Food Fantasy (best buffet around) and of course a gamble or two or three in the Casino!  I find it so much more relaxing to go out during the day than at night and I am not as tired too!  So lets begin at the food.....

That was dessert AFTER I had 2 platefuls of lunch!!

Devine is all that comes to mind when I think of the food I consumed.  The selection of beautifully prepared hot and cold food was amazing!  Whenever we go to Jupiters (which is every 2 years or so) we always eat at Food Fantasy and it never disappoints. Where our table was meant we had to bypass the desserts each time, which to some may seem like a bad thing but it helped me remember to not eat so much from the rest of the buffet so I had room for all of the desserts!!  By the end of lunch I was as full as ever, I kind of waddled out, the best way to leave a buffet I say!  Up to the Casino we ventured...

I amlike a little kid in a candy store every time I visit the Casino!  I am not a gambler, well I love to have a little gamble but I hate to lose money so once its gone I leave as the fun is gone!  My favourite game is Blackjack, and happens to be a favourite of the friend I went with too (you were extremely funny at the table too!) so in search of the cheapest Blackjack table we went!  Being the middle of the day not many of the $5 tables were open- dammit- so we settled for the $15 table.  I had a ball, I think I won double my money but i played it all back on the table so walked out with none.  Thats the way i gamble!  So once we were broke it was time to find our way to the theatre and be seated for the JABBAWOCKEEZ!!!!!!!

Excited much!!!!

When i purchased the tickets I did the usual check of where the tickets were and was happy with the seating thinking it was about in the middle and quite central. Well......upon entering the theatre the lovely lady checked our tickets and told us to proceed toward sthe front, at this stage I didn't think anything of it but then the next lady to check tickets told us we were front row, FRONT ROW!!  and smack bang in the middle of the front row too!!!!  Turns out the seating plan I checked was the old one!  So once the excitement of being so close settled it was time for the show to begin.....

 

The show was amazing to say the least, I don't really have the right words to explain it other than FANTASTIC! I would see it over and over again.  Those guys were amazingly talented, funny and just damn good.  I went in thinking it was just dancing, looking forward to it but it was way more than dancing, it was theatrical and funny as well as phenomenal dancing!  I was really hoping I would be chosen (as they chose people from audience a few times) but not this time!  It was a fantastic show and honestly if you have the time do yourself a favour and go and see it.  I thought it ended at the end of August but have since found out it has been extend until November.  I can't rave enough about it and at the end of the 90 minutes I was upset it was over.  Here's the link to the Jabbawockeez, take a look they are fantastic.

Kate xxx

Digital Parents Conference 2013

Ok this is huge for me.....I am wanting to attend the Digital Parents Conference 2013!  I am not one to normally ask for help (ask my husband he will agree!!) but I need help. I have a button on the side of this blog requesting sponsorship, I would love to get a sponsor on board so I could attend this event which I think will help my blogging which will help all of you, naturally!


So know anyone out there wanting to put their brand, label or business behind an up coming blogger (oh gosh I hope that didn't sound up myself)??  So don't judge me for asking please....I just had to put it out there and hope someone wants to work with me.

Click the badge on sidebar if you can help

Kate xxx