21/52

you can check out this weeks picture here at my picture blog

Join me for a cuppa

I have noticed quite a few bloggers do an invitational blog, inviting readers into their home and into their life as they sit and enjoy one of life's wonderful comforts: a hot drink. For me it will be a semi-sweet black coffee, or a mildly sweet black earl grey tea. For a treat it's a takeaway coffee from a place here called Zarraffa's- black with hazelnut syrup added.
Today i am elated to be opening an invitation to you lovely reader, and I welcoming you into our humble home. I am sitting here in my 'usual' place, which is a rocking chair that we purchased when found out we were expecting baby brown eyes number one. It has seen better days, the material is starting to deteriorate so it is covered with a bed sheet, it also has my favorite blanket draped over it, the one that my husband gifted me on my first mothers day to keep me and baby warm on the chilly nights that i sat up feeding and cuddling out beautiful children. I have an earl grey tea next to me on a Gargoyle coaster that my mother brought be back from Notre Dame and now it is perfect drinking temperature so there will be a lot of pauses in my typing (not that you will notice). If i had you here however we would be sitting at our 80 year old dining table that was lovingly restored by my poppy and we would be enjoying our hot drinks and perhaps a snack there. Today you would be lucky to get more than fruit or nuts as i haven't done any baking for a long while and i very rarely buy biscuits from the shops. We would be toasty and warm with the very recent (3 days ago) addition of a fireplace to our home, it has been the most blissful feeling having a house with heating. We would most likely be talking about our children as that seems to be a very common topic among those of us with them, as much as we enjoy spending time with adults the conversation usually drifts back to this common and most comfortable topic. We may from time to time chat about other things that are happening in our lives that have nothing to do with our children though, perhaps a television show that we both enjoy or a hobby that we both share? I would be enjoying myself immensely as i love to be around people. Unfortunately however my time is up and my tea is done. So i hope to see you again soon.

new header

so instead of writing a more interesting post to follow the last rambling one i decided to make a new header instead and used the same type of thing on my other blog over here. I hope you enjoy :)

Taking a time out...

I am taking a 'forced' timeout while our fireplace is being installed.
I am trying to stay as 'out of the way' as i can as i don't want the installers to think that i am 'overseeing' their work. There would be nothing worse than to feel like someone was watching and scrutinizing your every move.... not that i would actually know what they were meant to be doing! It's always weird having strangers in your home though, i always feel i need to stay out of the way when we have people like pest control or anyone in to fix anything. I guess that's the 'female' in me, maybe if i were a male i would have to stand over them and make sure they were doing everything perfectly.  
I have tidied up the bedrooms, done the dishes, put the washing on and have no basic tasks left to do so i thought it would be the best time to visit my blog as i didn't think it appropriate to sit on the couch and watch TV while they work ha ha! I have my very best 'busy' face on and am ignoring them as much as i can :) It is really funny listening to their conversation though, wondering if they wished that i wasn't here so that they could swear!
I am really looking forward to having the fireplace in the house though and i was very disappointed thinking that it may not be put in today as rain has been predicted and of course, for once, the weather man was right. Luckily they got here at 8:00 am, and the rain started at 9:00 am.
As you can tell i am rambling because i don't really have that much to say on the subject. I may follow this post with another one a little more interesting :)

Sharing thoughts and moments

At this moment i do have plenty of other things that i could be doing, should be doing in fact, but if i don't do a quick post then i will feel a little bit disheartened as i haven't had much of a chance to blog lately. 

Last week i was asked to be a 'makeup model' for a friend who is completing a beauty therapy course. I said yes because it sounded like fun. It was really interesting to myself and the others around me transform as the day went by but it was a little nerve wracking having to have individual pictures taken in front of a whole group of strangers. I had so much make-up on, being that i have never had a 'professional' do makeup on me before it was a very new experience. Here are a few 'selfies' that i took, my lips were a lot pinker originally and my hair was out and a bit crazy. I am excited to see the professional photographers shots.

It is also starting to get very chilly here at the moment. We are a few says away from having a fireplace installed and i am very very excited about it! We have a lay down hearth ready to go and the fireplace (which we were so lucky to have been given) is out in the shed. I have been putting as many clothes on myself and my little boys as i can possibly get away with. The hats and beanies have for sure come out of hiding!

The coffee and tea is becoming more and more desirable to keep frozen hands warm as are the slow cooked meals and roasts to keep the cold bodies warm. We have two little boys crawling into our bed every-night when they start to freeze, but i don't mind because they give the best warm cuddles. 

I am also loving the snuggles in the couch sharing a blanket together, warms the body, heart and soul.

I guess that's all for now as there are jobs that need doing. Hopefully it won'r be long before i am back to visit this little space again

 ♥♥♥

Project 52

I am following along with the project at this lovely blog and thought i might add the links to my posts over at my other blog. You can find them  here xx

Contemplation and a cup of Tea

Sitting outside on this cold and blustery day, I am watching the sun peek quickly through the clouds only to disappear again within moments. It took me a little longer than it should have today to convince myself to brave the weather in order for my little brown eyed boy to have some much needed outside play. Sitting in our not so quiet yard in the middle of a not-so-quiet neighbourhood I began to think about why I am sharing thought processes and experiences here. I guess for me, like so many others this is kind of an open diary where I get to speak to whoever will listen and in some cases make myself accountable for the things that I hope to achieve in this life that I was gifted with. I believe that i do live an inspired life, I love people and the way that only another human being can make you feel. No matter how much 'stuff' we have in our lives, nothing will ever compare to a warm hug or a few words spoken from the heart. So that's my contemplation while I drink my cup of Earl Grey tea.

Love your body - Free your mind blog

I thought i was done blogging (at least writing them) for the night. However i just read the first post in this new blog here and it gave me goosebumps so i thought 'why not dive in and give myself some acknowledgement today'. Maybe this post came at the perfect time after i just finished writing this post earlier.
So in this post we are asked to:

 "grab a piece of paper and write down 5 things about yourself that you are proud of  - 10 things if you dare! This could include aspects of your personality, an special achievement, a good deed, anything! Then, read that list back to yourself, and come and leave a comment on this blog and and let me know how reading that list made you feel"

I'll give it a try.

1. I am proud that i am trying to make positive changes to improve my parenting

2. I am proud that i am making more of my time available to my children

3. I am proud that i would consider myself to be a good friend

4. I am proud that i am making an attempt to create a healthy diet for my family

5. I am proud of my creative abilities


I think 5 is enough for me and i found that pretty hard. It is true that we find it so easy to say so many nice things to others yet when it comes to saying anything nice about ourselves we really have to take the time to think about it. 

Looking forward to exploring more of these posts.

Lunchbox Obsession

Is happiness really easier?

Its easier to smile than it is to frown.... you use less facial muscles

Easier said than done

Even though i find something or someone who inspires me each day, be it a new idea or beautiful words, i still find it hard to find satisfaction in life. I have jumped, boots and all (actually thongs in my case), into an attempted new positive and routine based existence but i find it hard, really hard to stay motivated about anything for longer than it takes me to come up with the idea in the first place. I have a problem with my mind running a mile a minute and the minutes in the day just seem to slip through my grasp. I sometimes think about what i could have possibly done with any spare time that i may have had before i had my children.... not that i would ever wish for a life without them..... not even for a second..... i guess the selfish in me would just like to complete a lot of the things i start that i don't have the capacity to get done. My life is a mish-mash of half finished projects and maybe that weighs on me a little more than i should let it? So i find myself losing my motivational mojo just as regularly as it comes to me.

So back to the smiling thing, i guess what i'm getting at is that even though some may say it's physically easier to smile, in many moments of my day i find it easier to react in the way that i have allowed myself to become accustomed to reacting, and that is to frown, i'm doing it right now as i write this post... and i'm squinting a little as i can't see properly..... so right at this second its a bit of a squint frown thing going on.... but back to the point, and that is that i'm realising that smiling is actually something that i am going to have to work on. I wonder if my 5 year old self had ever thought that in the future this would become an issue? Now I've acknowledged it i think i can change it.

A few quick things about me....

I am an emotional person who is moved to tears on a regular basis especially by things and people that inspire me

The thing I value most I value most in life is my relationships with others 

(My camera comes in a close second ) 

I live in an unorganised chaos but I'm on my way to organising it....

Couldn't live without the chaos 

I have a definite addiction to chips 

I love to learn 

I very rarely drink alcohol and on the rare occasion that i do it has to be a cocktail 

I am a very picky eater however I am trying really hard to expand my tastes and food experiences in saying that, I love to bake and cook for others 

One of the greatest feelings that I've ever come across is the satisfaction of doing things for others 

I have been know to be called 'a bit of a hippie' due to my sense of style however I am kind of an eclectic mix of hippie, boho, tribal and gypsy...... And stay at home mum... ha ha!

(Edit since posting) I forgot to mention that I am human and I do tend to lose my shit on occasion ;) 

Sharing

As part of this journey that i'm embarking on i want to be able to share some of the things that i'm learning along the way that have given me insight or made things a little easier.
I love making my own little templates to print out for day to day things and i will share some of these with you too ☺
Tonight i am going to share the checklist that i made for big brother (if i can figure out how to do so). I created this to help take some stress away from us both in the mornings. It has been laminated and will soon be stuck to the wall in the front entrance. This way my it can be quickly checked off without any fuss and jobs that are sometimes forgotten will be remembered without confusion and drama. Hopefully you can follow the link below to a simple daily checklist that can be printed, laminated and ticked off everyday. I hope you enjoy.

Daily Checklist

House manual

It is written
Am sure I will add and change things as time goes on but the basics of it are down on paper.... At least they will be when i visit the printers (a.k.a. Nannies lol) this afternoon, possibly laminate some check lists as well. Will hopefully share some pages with you in the coming days. I hope you're enjoying this little journey of change ☺

New day: New attitude

Today has started out quite well so far. I got up this morning, turned the TV off at the power point and covered it with a sheet. Little brother reacted with "i want toonies on!!" however i asked if he'd like to read a book instead, then we played felt faces for 10 minutes. When big brother got up he played felt faces for a little bit and then we all sat together at the dining table and ate breakfast..... yes i actually ate a bowl of oats this morning. I had a lovely conversation with big brother about the changes that will occur and asked him for his input. I then got out the laptop and started working on our family/household manual, including chore chart printouts, task lists and guidelines. I am very much a planner and i am very good at organizing things however its following through on any of it that i have a problem with. However i am 100% committed to this change and in saying this i had better get off the computer and get back to living ☺♥♪

A Vow

I've been thinking a lot about life lately; how i see myself, how others see me, how i would like to see myself. Most of my thought processes have been rather miserable, self centered and negative and it took a little scare today to wake me up and bring me back to reality. I guess you could say i have been feeling a bit depressed, I've been so caught up on playing one of life's victims when i could actually be playing a hero, which is how i would like to be seen by my two most precious little boys. The grey cloud that I've been hiding behind feels as though it has lifted and instead of thinking why me, why does this always happen to me, why does my life suck, why do people seem to be able to stress me out and piss me off so easily, i am thinking well actually why not me? I've been self involved, unhealthy, and unavailable. I have managed to find myself seriously caught up in other peoples lives and even though i love to be involved with others, especially those that i love, i have found that i am prioritizing it all wrong and because of this lack of judgement the things i do for others seem to have far more importance than the things i do for my own special little family. I need to put them and myself first and then if i have the time and energy left i would love to be able to use it to help others .I love my friends but i know in my heart that i need to prioritize my little family just as they should theirs.  As a mother of the two most beautiful children one could imagine i have decided that this current state of living isn't good enough, changes need to occur and quickly. Instead of thinking about all of the things that i would love to do, have and be i am going to actually do them, have them and be them. So tonight i am making a vow. In about 5 months i'll be turning 30 years old (yes i said thirty!) by this time i want to be living the life i deserve, and that my family deserves. So i am going to make a list of the things that i plan to do to achieve this goal.

I vow to:

Always be available to my family (especially my children) and not just present
Avoid social networking and to only use it at certain decided times
Drastically reduce the amount of time the family relies on technology for entertainment
Create a healthy meal plan and start eating properly myself (no more skipping breakfast)
Involve myself and the children in more active time
Set aside 'special time' each day for each child
Allow myself a certain day to do something creative each week
Allow myself some time away from the children to be and adult and not just a mum
Set myself a household routine
Encourage a weekly family activity that isn't technology based (e.g. watching a movie)

I am sure there will be a few more things that i will think of but these are a few of the things that i really feel that i need to work on. I have realised more and more that i am treating my children like more of a hindrance and that is absolutely not the way i view them, they are my heart and my whole universe so i need to start treating them as such, and i also want to feel like i deserve to have another child, if that's what this life intends. So this is it, hopefully with some good planning and some even better follow through i will be embracing this short life with a much more positive perspective. See you on the other side (the better one..... you know where the grass is greener)