sshh mummys on the phone

The Rollercoaster Rush

2012-03-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

In the words of the great philosopher of the last century, Ronan Keating.....'Life is a rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it.'

Considering, he also sings this in the same song...

"Hey baby, you really
Got me flying tonight
Hey sugar, you almost
Got us punched in a fight
(That's all right)"

I'm not so sure about the philosopher tag.

But how come when we have got soooooo much going on, we go into survival mode and start kicking organisational butt?

This month is ultra busy for me. And it's like I've stepped it up a gear or seven.

The month is laid out and entered into every sort of organisational tool you can imagine.

Meals are being cooked in advance.

Child minding has been organised weeks in advance.

I am running on an average of 5 hours sleep a night.

I even swept the living room floor yesterday AND put two pairs of shoes away. Where they belong. I know, right???

And the only reason I can think of why this is happening is because it is like being on a rollercoaster.

You're at the top of the track and you are about to go flying down, flung through two loops, reversed, and sent through another loop.

You have the choice to flail your arms about and scream at the top of your lungs. Or hang on tight to the bar bit that squashes your lady nuts, put your head down and face that track head on.

I think I have done the latter this month. And it feels goooooood (except for the squashed lady nuts bit).

I also did some research (and by research, I mean Wikepedia, so it MUST be right) and checked out the definition of an adrenalin rush, because I believe your senses are heightened when you are in this rollercoaster mode.

And that's why you tend to perform at a higher level, as opposed to when things are half busy.

This is what it said:

"An adrenaline rush is the fight or flight response of the adrenal gland, in which it releases adrenaline (epinephrine). When releasing adrenaline, one's body releases dopamine which can act as a natural pain killer. An adrenaline rush causes the muscles to perform respiration at an increased rate improving strength. It also works with the nervous system to interpret impulses that trigger selective glands."

And while the dopamine hasn't quite cracked the stepping on Lego pain barrier yet, I definitely feel less achey.

And while I'm no body builder, the increased respiration in my muscles meant that I could pick 2YO AND 4YO up and run across a wet car park yesterday in the teaming rain.

And I think my organisational gland has been triggered. There are excel spreadsheets for days here right now.

Hell, I'm even typing this faster than normal.

And while I know that the ride stops (it will slow down in April) and I will drop more balls when I am less busy for some obscure reason, I am enjoying flying down that track right now.

As long as there are no low flying geese around, I'll be fine.

Working Mothers Guilt: Pow! Right in the Kisser!

2012-03-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

I have a busy month on. Lots of consultancy work ($$$ yay!). An event next week for our mums in business (love love love running these events). And planning for the next four events in Queensland, Sydney, the Central Coast of NSW and Melbourne (crikey!). Plus, my regular lecturing gig at ICMS (I have the most gorgeous students this term).

The month is planned to within an inch of it's life. It's like a military operation over here.

Last night, I went to a networking event. The regular monthly catch up with the Mum Entrepeneurs group on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Such a great bunch of girls.

When I was explaining to 4YO that Mummy would be out tonight, he brought me to my emotional knees with eleven words....all pieced together so clearly and succinctly.

"Where will we go and live when you go to work?"

POW!

RIGHT. IN. THE. KISSER.

It was the innocence of it. The big blue eyes looked up at me.

And a little slightly audible,"ohhhhh...." escaped from my lips.

WD was there and he managed to explain that there would be no one living anywhere except here and that he would be home with them while Mummy went to a work event.

4YO was happy with that and off he wandered, completely oblivious to the invisible dagger he had left in my heart.

There's that mother guilt again.

I righted myself. Repeated to myself as I do so many times that I am not a demon for being a working mother.

Pushed it to the back of my mind and continued doing what I was doing, which was sweeping up rice bubbles from underneath the kitchen bench after feeding time at the zoo, because that is about as glamourous as it gets here.

Now, to be fair, the kids had just spent the weekend at their grandparents as WD and I went to Berry for a wedding. I think the comment had a little bit to do with that.

But, seriously. Youch! Is this a dagger I see before me?

No, it's the innocent question from a four year old child that will make you feel as though you have been cut in two.

On a day that I started to feel as though I was piecing myself back together after a month of catching up.

Last night, when I got back from the event, I sat on 4YO's bed and watched him sleep so beautifully unaware of the stresses of modern day life......mortgages, the cost of electricity, global financial crises, petrol prices, Justin Bieber and the reincarnation of Hey Hey It's Saturday......and I ran through the justifications silently in my mind for doing what I'm doing.

We all know them.

We've all said them. To ourselves. To other people.

Last night they rang a little more hollow than normal.

This morning, they couldn't have cared less that I wasn't there last night. Cuddles and kisses and dissecting the audio levels of Rice Bubbles post milk pour were all we focused on.

And I realised it's not the kids who define me as a working mum.

It's me.

To them, I am just their mum.

And they're right.

A Wedding, a Pair of Gumboots and an Interior Design Conniption

2012-03-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

We went to a beautiful wedding on the weekend in Berry. Such a beautiful spot in NSW.

And yes it was wet. And yes the bride and most of the guests ended up in gumboots, including me - they're my gumboots up there. But nobody cared.

The wedding had a vintage theme. All the props lovingly sourced from secondhand and vintage stores from all across Sydney and the Southern Highlands.

An old typewriter for us to tap out a message to the bride and groom on.

Homemade jams and chutneys for the guest gifts.

And the entire event was home catered - by the bride's mum. Unbelieveable.

And we stayed in this amazing old house on the outskirts of Berry. 6 bedrooms. 6 bathrooms. No neighbours.....very important considering the two late nights we had out on the balcony with a whole lotta dancing and music....and wine.

But the inside was full of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. And lots of stuff that doesn't match. Or mix.

Stuff from Thailand.

Stuff from Indonesia.

Stuff from India.

Stuff from 1920.

Stuff from 1950.

Stuff from every where and every time.

The gorgeous Jane Frosh would have had a conniption I am sure of it. And I would have liked to video her face as she walked around......and then sold that video to make lots of money.

Everywhere you looked there was something. And then something more. But no dust. One of the girls went around looking for dust and found nothing. We might want that cleaners number.

Speaking of the fabulous Jane Frosh, she has started a campaign to attend an Abigail Ahern workshop in the UK in September.

For those of you who don't know Jane, she presented at two of our workshops in 2011 and the girls loved her design ideas and her fancy footwork!

For those of you who don't know Abigal Ahern, she is a big deal in the styling world and has offered Jane a free place in one of her highly sought after masterclasses if Jane can raise the funds to go.

To London.

So, Jane is offering up some fabulous design and styling offers in return for sponsorship and contributions for her trip to the UK.

Check it all out here. A great chance to get to work with a fabulous stylist. And a determind working mum.

Go Betty.

The Teapot Spot #11

2012-03-04T00:51:00.000-08:00

Image Credit: me!

Normally I have a picture of a teapot on this post, but we went to a wedding in Berry this weekend and it had a vintage theme. These tea cups were set up on a gorgeous wooden stand ready for tea at the end of the night, so thought I would share this pic instead. And I Can. Not. Wait. to show you the pictures from the er......eclectically designed house we stayed in. Jane Frosh will have a conniption.

So busy mums who haven't had a chance to catch up on Sshh Mummys on the Phone, here is the abridged version!

This week I started off pondering......never a good sign. But I realised that I had started to use being a working mum as an excuse for not doing things, not seeing people...it started to roll off my tongue a little too easily. Have a read of Working Mum: Is it an Excuse? and tell me what you think.

I did a write up on the Bloggers Brunch I attended last week, where I got four new lady crushes.

And ran a giveaway for our Mumpreneurs MASTERCLASS in Sydney on Tuesday 13 March. Now, we do have a winner. She is in Melbourne though, so I have offered her the chance to transfer her double pass to our event in Melbourne in June, although she was keen to come up to Sydney for the event. If she does, I'll do a redraw. I'll keep you in the loop.

I also shared a wonderful experience I had with Angela from WillowBelle when we did a photo shoot together. It was a whole lotta fun! Check out a sneak peak of the results here. This week I'll show you some more of the final results.

This week, you can sign up to our Mumpreneurs MASTERCLASS in Sydney.

You can also sign up to our Working Wardrobes Webinar for Working Mums. It will be on Tuesday 21 March 8:30pm AEDT and hosted by the fabulous Nikki from Styling You, who appeared on TV twice this week!! Register for the free webinar here.

Lots on this week. Lots of contract work, so will be popping in and out of here. It's good to be busy. I will have well and truly earned my Friday night wine time this week, I am sure of it.

xxx

Getting my Glam Face on

2012-02-29T12:54:00.002-08:00

You know when you hear models and stars talking about what a drag it is to do photo shoots? Getting their hair and make up done by professional make up artists and hair stylists? Getting to wear gorgeous clothes? Having the focus on them?

And you just want to punch them because you haven't got your hair done professionally since before you had kids. Or had your make up done outside of your own car in three years. And have been wearing four garments on high rotation for the past six months?

That was me.

I have had my hair cut twice in three and a half years. I can even name the years. 2008 and 2011.

I got my hair done for a wedding I went to when I was 38 weeks pregnant (you can imagine how comfortable I was at THAT one!)....but it was by my sister in law and I spent the whole time passing her bobby pins and watching Dora the Explorer to keep her then two year old entertained while we did it.

As for professional make up, I had a makeover with Revlon last year, but that's it in I don't know HOW many years.

Before kids, I used to saunter into Myer in my lunch break to get my make up done, because I bloody well could!

Before kids, I used to get my hair cut AND coloured at Toni & Guys every 6 weeks.

Yesterday, I chucked a box of Clairol Nice'n'Easy Root Touch up into the trolley when I was doing the grocery shopping.

Gives you an idea of the last time I really felt glammed up.

So, that's where Ange from Willow Belle stepped in. I needed some new head shots. I have been asked to be involved in an exciting e-publishing project and when I saw the list of authors contributing, I peed my pants.

When I got the request for my head shot, I peed them again.

So Ange and I teamed up to get some updated head shots. I was really clear with my brief. Nothing posey. Just me.

This is the WillowBelle studio. Pretty huh?

So Jess did my hair and make up while I sipped some tea and talked girlie stuff with both Jess and Ange. I wasn't overdone. You could still recognise me. Although now I want to wear fake eyelashes every day.

This is Jess trying to tame my wild and woolly hair

And then we started the shoot. It was at the WillowBelle studio in Cromer on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. It was all very private and while I started out feeling a little posey and self conscious, Angela gave me strong guidance on where to place my head, shoulder, hip etc.

While that made me feel a little like Gumby or Punchinella from Romper Room (some of you will remember), when she gave me a quick preview of the shots she had taken, I could see she knew what she was doing.

By about oufit change #3 I was really warming up to it. And we got this.

This is me.
Jess tamed my wild and woolly hair.

Cool huh? Hello corporate head shot.

But more than anything, I really enjoyed the whole process of focusing on me, to put it bluntly.

I do try and look nice when I go out. I will put some make up on (although my hair normally ends up getting tied up in a clip a lot). I like mixing and matching my clothes and accessories....

But the difference when someone else is doing it for you. Then capturing that through photos. That helps.

I think sometimes, after we become mums, we lose a bit of the style we once had.

Or we at least push it right down inside and never really let that stylish chick pop up again, unless it's for a special occassion.

The whole process with WillowBelle allowed that woman to reappear for me again, even if it was just for four hours.

And it was a whole lot of fun getting my Elle on. And chanelling my inner Miranda.

While I won't be on any catwalks in the near future, it was fun to feel as though I could be.

Here's me with Ange

Next week I'll bring you the dreaded BEFORE shot. Oh my Lord. Wait until you see it. You will die laughing. Trust me. It will make you feel reeeeeaaallly good about yourself. ;-)

And some more of the after shots.

Now, WillowBelle has two products.

Head Shots for Corporates
This actually doesn't include hair and make up. Angela gave me the whole nine yards because she wanted me to get a feel for the whole experience.

Portrait Couture
This is the hair, the make up, the styling, the shoot, the photos, everything. And this is what I would recommend to reclaim that little piece of woman you used to be before motherhood gave you grey hairs and saggy boobs.

For more information, pop by WillowBelle's Facebook page and say hi. And click on the logo below to have a look at some more of Angela's work.

WillowBelle are also sponsoring our March Webinar: Working Wardrobes with Nikki Parkinson of Styling You. Register here!

Small print alert: WillowBelle offered me a photo shoot as part of their Working Mums MASTERCLASS sponsorship. I looked in the mirror and said yes in 3 seconds flat. This is the review.

Business Mums Who Have Got it Going On and a Giveaway

2012-02-28T11:13:00.001-08:00

I went to a networking lunch yesterday. And I am always amazed by the women I meet.

I shared a table with two fabbo ladies I already know. Lorna from paperbag marketing and Mandie Spooner from TenFive Designs .

But also on our table were Jane Winter, Princess of Sales, Jennifer French from Inside Out Colour and Design and Susan Ingall, a career coach at Invest in You. And we had a ball.

So many women like you just do it (to coin the phrase from Nike).

And this is what our Sydney Mumpreneurs MASTERCLASS is all about on Tuesday 13 March.

I want to introduce to you two business mums who just did it! And did it quickly!

Their businesses are less than two years old and they are thriving.

Quite often at events, we hear from business people who have been around for years. And that's great. But often I feel that I can't quite relate to them. I think, 'well, that's where I'd like to be in five years" but it all seems a bit too far out of reach.

So that's why I asked Cath from Lunch Boxes with Love and Andrea from Fox in Flats to speak at our event. Their businesses are less than two years old, a similar age to many of the mums who hang out at our events.

Most of the business mums who come along are either thinking of starting up a business, have just started, or are in the first few years of the process.

When I met Cath, straight away I just loved her energy. And she was so focused and determined. Not once did she sit back and expect any sort of success. I was always hearing about her exhibiting at this expo, setting up a stall at that market - she worked her patootie off getting her products out there. Now? Less than two years old, her business is thriving.

This is the busy Cath Bakker from Lunch Boxes with Love.
She is cheekier than this photo suggests.

And as for Andrea from Fox in Flats, she pulled on her years in corporate land to create a website devoted to navigating motherhood in style. I regularly jump over to her blog and then find myself there for ages clicking away on all the different articles. This link from Andrea explains why she started Fox in Flats and also has links to the top ten articles written in the first year. Useful or what?

This is the gorgeous Andrea from Fox in Flats

And, she also scored an invite to attend Copenhagen Fashion Week to hang out with this ubermum.

This is my lady crush.

Now if that's not a sassy bunch of brunettes right there, I don't know what is.

GIVEAWAY

So our registrations are looking good. There are some pretty fabulous business mums coming along. We have 15 seats left.

And I want to give two of those seats away - yep! A free double pass to the Mumpreneurs MASTERCLASS.

Two easy steps to enter! And an extra step to increase your chances of winning.

1. Be available to attend on Tuesday March 13 10:00am - 1:00pm at Crows Nest in Sydney.

2. Type your name, your business' name and / or website in the comment box below. Great way to share and promote your business as well as giving you the chance to go in the draw to win the double pass.

3. For more entries, share the comp on Facebook (tagging our Working Mums MASTERCLASS page) or Twitter (tagging with my twitter handle @pennyworkingmum) and I'll add your entries up!

GOOD LUCK!

THE SMALL PRINT (and conditions of entry)

1. Competition starts at 06:00 AEDT Wednesday 29 February 2012 and closes at 11:59 on Friday 2 March 2012.2. Entries unlimited based on conditions of social media sharing stipulated in above post.3. Leave a comment below with your name, name of business or link to your website.
4. Entry limited to Australian residents only5. The winner will be drawn at random using www.random.org and will be published on this blog on Saturday 3 March 20126. Please leave your email address on your comment if you don't have a google account /blog/website or published contact details where you are easily contactable.7. If the prize is unclaimed or the winner uncontactable within 48 hours, the competition will be redrawn.

Tips for a Healthy, Happy Life

2012-02-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

So last Friday I attended my first Bloggers Brunch, hosted by the wonderful Kids Business team.

We all rocked up to Centennial Park in Sydney to basically chinwag and listen to some inspiring women...one of my favourite past times.

50 bloggers in one room can sound like 50 ducks in one room, but that's half the fun.

Kids Business had organised three fabulous mums to talk about their tips on a healthy, happy life.

All were just fantastic and if anything, I wish we had more time with them.

SO here are their tips:

Anna Gare : Caterer, Chef, TV Presenter

Anna's honesty around the truth of motherhood was very refeshing. She confessed to feeling bored and needing a creative outlet which is why she started up her catering business. Her tips:

1. Exercise: Goddamn we all know it and we all nodded when she said it. Then looked at each other forlornly wishing that one day someone would say, here is a magic pill for that sort of stuff! Nevertheless, Anna'a secret was exercising WITH someone. Less chance of making excuses for not going.

2. Tolerance: especially with your children. Even if you can chop an onion in 30 seconds, and it takes your kid to do it in 3 minutes, let them do it. Not a metaphor. Anna's actual example Because she CAN actually chop an onion in 30 seconds.

3. Dance. Love this one. In fact, I am still limping slightly from a mistimed high kick from some recent dancing shennanigans.

Mandi Gunsberger: Founder of Babyology

Mandi's business has sky rocketed in the past few years and the fact that she started it, like so many of us nutty business mums do, when her kids were ultra young, is testament to her dedication and belief. Mandi's tips are:

1. Outsourcing. For your business AND your home. Do what you're good at and bring in other people to do what you're not. I am a big fan of outsourcing I must say and totally agree with Mandi here.

2. Set clear boundaries. Have a dedicated work time and space and make that time and space clear to clients, staff and family.

3. Take time out for yourself: Small amount of time for yourself each day. We all nodded again. Sometimes my time out is in the shower, and is usually interrupted by a 2YO's nose squished up against the glass, but when I put my head under the running water, I can block everything out.

Therese Kerr: General Manager of KORA Organics

Yep! Miranda's Mum. And man, did we get a lesson in genetics. Therese was tall, lean and a wee bit gorgeous. Therese discovered tumours in her spleen in 2002 which gave her a big wake up call. Her tips hovered around emotional health:

1. Distinguish the things that drive you or control you to get power back over your life.

2. With ever experience in your life - good or bad - look for an opportunity to be thankful.

3. Move on. What happened, happened but it's important you move on from that point and choose who you want to be.

Lori Dwyer: Writer and Blogger at RRSAHM

There is a quiet calm and courage about Lori. So many know her story. I guess I love how she doesn't let it define her. Lori discussed mental health and her three tips were gorgeously crafted around gratitude, something that I find difficult sometimes.

1. Forgiveness: Forgive what you can when you can as much as you can

2. Mindfulness: This is simply being in the present. I am quoting Lori directly because I loved this saying:

"If you look to the past you'll give yourself depression. If you look to the future you'll give yourself anxiety. Simply be in the present."

3. Gratitude: Pick 3 things every day that you are grateful for. Big things. Little things. It all counts. Develop that into a habit. Feel the genuine gratitude in your heart and then let it go.

And another quote from Lori that really resonated with me,

"If you are feeling gracefulness at the toughest points of your life, then you'll be okay."

Love.

It truly is an honour being in the same room with these incredible mums.

What are your tips for living a healthy and happy life?

All comments go into the draw to win a Healthy Chart, encouraging kids to eat and drink sensibly and well.

Working Mum: Is it an Excuse?

2012-02-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

I thought about this yesterday. Last week - a number of times too - I found myself saying, "It's because I'm a working mum."

Using it as an excuse or a reason for not doing something. Or not doing something well.

I went to do it again yesterday and caught myself.

How long can I blame things on being a working mum? And should I really do that in the first place?

Before Christmas, I went to see my kinesiologist and she noticed how knotted up I was. Physically I was retaining fluid, had adrenal exhaustion and apparently a magnesium deficiency. I posted about it here.

I also posted about how I blamed all of that on being a working mum.

And how my kinesiologist basically said, 'So what?"

Yesterday I found myself saying it again. I ws explaining why I was putting 2YO into another day of daycare. My business is at that point where I either move it forward or put it to the side. I have made the choice to move it forward so that when both kids go to school, I have a career and a business.

Both kids are now in daycare or pre school 3 days a week. The most they have ever been. I didn't think I felt guilty about it.

But I must have because yesterday out these words tumbled.....

"It's because I'm a working mum."

Last week Mum and I went and saw Annie the musical (thank you to my MIL for the tickets!). Mum and I chatted in the intermission about bringing up children.

I always remember my mother being around in the early years. She didn't go back to work until my brother and I were back at school. She mentioned how she really enjoyed hanging out with us, playing games.

I told Mum that I think the time pressures on mums these days make it less enjoyable (ie the pressures we put on ourselves). And, lo and behold! Out the words came again....

"It's because I'm a working mum."

And I know I said it twice last week when explaining to someone else why I don't get as much time to catch up with my sisters in law who are stay at home mums, and when explaining away an unswept living room floor.

"Oh, it's because I'm a working mum."

Really?

I'm going to blame everything on that?

Ill health. Bad diet. Not enough sleep (although THAT one might be true ;-) . A slow down in the old rumpy pumpy stakes. Not having picked up a book since 2007.

Labor leadership wrangle?

Global warming?

Why bloody not?

So I guess I'm going to have to take a little responsibility here.

It's nothing to do with being a working mum. While it certainly is a contributing factor, it's me and my response to what I do that is responsible.

It's so easy to hide behind the moniker of working mum and play victim or pull the 'I'm too busy' card.

But I have to remember it is my choice to be a working mum.

So it is my choice to deal with it and do it well. Or deal with the days when I don't do it well too.

And stop blaming absolutely everything that goes wrong in my life and the fluff monster that lives behind my fridge on 'being a working mum'.

How about you? Have you ever used 'being a working mum' as an excuse for anything?

The Teapot Spot #10

2012-02-26T01:35:00.000-08:00

This teapot sort of reminded me of me this week. Trying to be more things than I'm probably capable of.

I am still running a bit behind after 4YO fell ill a few weeks ago. But slowly catching up.

Unfortunately, I let the stress get the better of me and my body pushed back the only way it knows how. Taken down with a migraine on Thursday afternoon that lasted on and off for two days.

TIMBEEEEEEEEERRRRRR......!

Thanks for the warning, body.

So it was a little quiet on the blogging front, but managed to celebrate turning 38 last week with this post.

38....how original.

And this post. 38 Years of Learning from my Mistakes.

Aaaah sarcastic melancholy. Is there nothing better?

And then I bounced back on Saturday with a post about the interior design project I am working on getting 4YO's bedroom sorted out. And it's starting to look a whole lot less beige thanks to Pop it in a Frame and Call it Art.

I also managed to squish in a show when Mum and I went to see Annie - the musical, thanks to my mother in law who got me tickets for my birthday. Although I am still reeling from hearing Alan Jones sing.

Am also reeling from seeing Adriano Zumbo in a tight t-shirt when we gawked through the window of his gorgeous concept store at The Star. You will die and go to macaroon heaven, or go into a sugar coma. One or the other.

And I got to the Bloggers Brunch on Friday with thanks to Christie at Kids Business. Will blog about that this week and my new lady crush, Anna Gare. In my dreams we dance on tables together.

This week, it's all about gearing up for our Sydney Mumpreneurs Brunch on Tuesday 13 March. You can register here. Earlybird tickets only available until midnight 29 February. Save yourself $15 and book today.

And letting you know about a fun photo shoot I did with Ange from WillowBelle Portraits. Here's a sneak peak.

I still haven't taken the eye make-up off or my fake eyelashes!!!

Have a lovely week, working mums!

Pop it in a Frame and Call it Art!

2012-02-25T00:25:00.000-08:00

I am working away on my interior design project for 4YO's room with Naz from Stretched Interiors and loving it.

Bit by bit, it is all coming together.

During the week, I dropped 4YO at pre school and did the IKEA dash with 2YO.

2YO was strapped into a pram and had a meatball shoved in his mouth every time he said 'Expedit' and all was well.

I picked up these frames, guided by Naz.

Cheap as chips. They start at $2.99. I ended up getting 4 x $2.99 ones and 2 x $3.99 ones.

In her initial concepts, Naz suggested I source frames for 4YO's bedroom to display his art and add a bit of colour to one of the very beige and boring walls (my words, not hers!).

The plan was to source them and paint them different colours like this.

I love these. But unfortunately, when the craft gene was handed out, I must have been loading up on the sauvignon blanc gene and my craftiness exists only to outwit my children, not scrapbook about them.

So, unprompted, Naz also suggested I go to Ikea - OKAY! - and get the colourful Nyttja frames.

Double okay.

So I did.

And because they're cheap and cheerful, WD had to fashion a more secure holding platform with some wire and little round screws.

But we ended up changing that particular wall from looking like this:

To this:

Much better.

All for less than $20.

Aweeessomme (say it like Barney from How I Met Your Mother).

38 Years of Learning from my Mistakes

2012-02-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

Last year when I turned 37 I popped a post together about learning from my mistakes.

Now I can add another year to it.

When I was 1 I learnt my brother was smarter than me. He would take me out of my playpen and climb in with his LEGO and leave me to freely wander. My mum learned to get two playpens.

When I was 2 I learnt that my mum was scared of graveyards because we would have to run past every single one. We lived across the road from one. We ran a lot that year.

When I was 3 I learnt that being the youngest cousin meant the eldest cousin hated you because he had to hold you in every photo, babysit you at every playground and double dink you on the bike.

When I was 4 I learnt that if you said you were going to kiss one of the kids at pre school people would line up to watch. That's when I discovered my knack for event management.

When I was 5 I learnt that skipping on a rug in front of an episode of Romper Room means that you will split your lip open on the channel button.

When I was 6 I learnt that library bag fights got you into trouble.

When I was 7 I learnt that you should invite the girl who moves in across the road to play handball with you: 31 years and counting for our friendship now.

When I was 8 I learnt that I had had a growth spurt after I got stuck in the dirty linen basket during a game of hide and seek.

When I was 9 I learnt that opening a can of Two Fruits will slice the top of your finger off.

When I was 10 I learnt that I could play softball and became a regional rep with Mrs Woog which lasted one season. We also learnt girls who play softball were a little bigger and tougher than us, and that purple knickerbockers were not our pant of choice.

When I was 11 I learnt that if you volunteered to take the trophies for the end of year school presentation across the road to the function centre, you could write down the winners and ask people to pay you for that information when you returned to the schoolyard.

When I was 12 I learnt that boys thought throwing you in the urinal meant that they liked you.

When I was 13 I learnt that what you wore to the Blue Light Disco was more important than the mark you got in English.

When I was 14 I learnt that single sex classes just made the girls bitchier and the boys hornier.

When I was 15 I learnt that you think green taffetta and big hair is high fashion.

When I was 16 I learnt the principle of out-sourcing when Dad declared he wasn't teaching me to drive.

When I was 17 I learnt that what you got in your English mark was more important that what you wore to your Year 12 formal.

When I was 18 I learnt that the uni bar was open during lecture hours.

When I was 19 I learnt that I wasn't very good at assignment deadlines.

When I was 20 I learnt that jeans, RM's, Country Road shorts, plaited belts, pearl necklaces and earrings or fob chains were the clothes of choice at uni and that a ute-driving country boyfriend with a massive bullbar (not a metaphor) were the accessory of choice.

When I was 21 I learnt that my parents were going their separate ways.

When I was 22 I learnt that living overseas was the only way I could cope with it.

When I was 23 I learnt that all Scottish men don't look like Mel Gibson in Braveheart.

When I was 24 I learnt that the crew cabins on the QE2 were NOTHING like the passenger cabins.

When I was 25 I learnt that Russian acrobatic pirates were not marriage material.

When I was 26 I learnt that my family needed me and it was time to go home.

When I was 27 I learnt that tiger print floor length coats and black leather pants were not an investment purchase.

When I was 28 I learnt that you shouldn't get excited with the real estate agent and accidentally offer $100,000 over market value when you bid on your first property.

When I was 29 I learnt that the man who was under my nose at work for the last four years was my soul mate. Enter stage right WD.

When I was 30 I learnt that our Double Income No Kids lifestyle was the wealthiest place I would be for many years to come!! I wish I had appreciated that and the ability to sleep-in a little more ;-)

When I was 31 I learnt that by resigning from a company because you knew your job wasn't the right fit for you means you get offered a better, higher paid job in that company.

When I was 32 I learnt that the M2 and I had a precarious relationship which culminated in a break up and a rental property in the Inner West.

When I was 33 I learnt that in one year you can get engaged, adopt a kitten, get married, move interstate and fall pregnant. I also learnt weddings were expensive, but sooooooo worth it.

When I was 34 I learnt that it was WD and I versus the world when we discovered the business ethics (or lack thereof) of the people WD took a business over from. I also learnt that people like that don't matter because we had our first son.

When I was 35 I learnt that I had missed my calling and perhaps had a career in wrestling considering the grip I put on the midwife when she went to turn the epidural down BEFORE the 4 kilos plus of our second son had come out of you-know-where.

When I was 36 I learnt that starting my own business and having two children is the hardest yet most fulfilling thing I have ever done.

When I was 37 I learnt to be okay with being paid so little to do so much.

And now I am 38?

I have learnt to not give myself such a hard time and to step away from the people who do.

38

2012-02-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

I turned 38 on Sunday.

I have never felt happier and more in love.

And it took a visit from wonderful friends from the UK and Tasmania, and a couple of rollicking good nights out with friends who allow me to breathe, for me to notice.

And WD organising a limo for the Saturday night helped too!

Thank you.

Don't forget to join us for TIP TUESDAY over on the Working Mums Facebook page today for your tips on keeping your adult relationships healthy and happy.

And register here for our FREE Webinar on Relationships tonight.

The Teapot Spot #9

2012-02-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Donna Hay for Royal Daulton

I am reeling from an intense week. Happy times and a little stress.

I turned 38 on Sunday. I have never had an issue with my age, until I tried to eat out and party two nights in a row!! Youch.

Have been feeling a little behind and blogged about it here. That feeling of overwhelm that overtakes you sometimes, you know? So the last nine days of February are all about putting my head down and just getting what I need to get done. No dinners out!

I did manage to do a quick organisation post on how to use Magazine Files for alternative ideas for storage.

AND I managed to make a phone call to my health insurance company and save myself $1320 for the next year, as part of my financial health kick I'm on this February.

I have been merrily working away on my interior design project with Stretched Interiors. Last week, I got held up by my nearest Lincraft stores running out of the material I need to cover the lamp and make the cushion. Nothing the discovery of Lincraft's online store can't sort out though! SO putting my order in this week. And will have our first Before and After shots for you soon.

Photos of Fiesta de Mama (3 days birthday weekend) to follow.

Have a great week.

Money: How I saved $1320 in 10 minutes

2012-02-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

I got me all inspired by Kylie Ofiu when I discovered her website.

WD and I are always looking for ways to save money and make money.

It's such a slog some days with bills rising, child care fees, interest rate rises....and that feeling of helplessness that you just can't do anything about it.

So this month I've looked at few of our big arse expenses and to see what I can do about it.

Health insurance was costing us $248 a month. It was through NIB. Never had a problem with this company. I have always had good customer service.

But the fee rises just kept piling up.

So, looked into it.

Went to www.iselect.com.au and did a comparison check. Three health insurance companies with similar policies popped up on my screen and I could compare costs with quite a lot of detail around how much each company pays back etc.

And then I rang NIB and got talking.

Great conversation. We stepped through our changing needs as a family. Taking the pregnancy cover off was a big one.

That shop is shut!

And will require 24 hour security surveillance to prevent any break and enters. ;-)

So that helped and then we talked through our current plan and what we need now.

I am now paying $138 per month! Huge difference.

It adds up to a $1320 saving over 12 months.

Cha Ching.

Bingo.

Show Me the Money.

The theme tune to Donald Trump's 'Celebrity Apprentice' show.

You name it. I said it and sang it when I got off the phone.

It was all about taking the time to actually make that call. As life takes over, you just forget about all of these policies / direct debits you have going on.

Out of sight.

Out of mind.

Out of pocket.

So make some time this week to look at one of your big household expenses and get on the phone and see if you can negotiate a better deal.

Next stop? Home and contents insurance.

Will let you know how I go.

PS. No contact / review or paid anything from iselect or NIB. Just my own experience.

Behind

2012-02-16T01:22:00.000-08:00

Not that sort of behind.

But the behind you get when everything piles up on you.

My work kicked in again at the beginning of February. After a couple of weeks with 4YO in hospital, I was more behind than ever.

So was playing catch up these past two weeks.

And I managed to get myself behind in everything.

And today turned into a total and utter behind day.

1. I left my phone on silent. Don't hear alarm at 5am which is when I normally get up to do some work. Behind.

2. Conditioner runs out. Realised after I had shampoo-ed my hair. Behind.

3. Forget to put 4YO's library bag in his pre school bag. Behind.

4. Get in car. Petrol light on. Off to servo before I drop off 4YO to pre school. Behind.

5. Garage door decides to open itself as I drive off. Pull back into driveway to physically pull down garage door. Behind.

5. 2 minutes from pre school 4YO complains of tummy pains related to his illness. No steroids on me. Turn around to get medication. Behind.

6. Medication sourced and administered. Can't remember if I locked the front door. Turn around. Drive back. Behind. (it WAS locked by the way)

7. Go to the shops to do weekly food shop but most importantly the chicken for tonight. Chicken not on shopping list. Remains in store. Behind.

8. Go to Lincraft to buy a specific fabric. Not in stock. Behind.

9. Large client invoice remittance advice in email inbox. Funds not landing for another 48 hours. Behind.

10. Special trip to the shops to get the forgotten chicken. Behind.

The whole day I was behind.

Was it because I was feeling so behind in other areas?

Was it because I was so preoccupied with the extensive To Do list that I forgot the Doing Right Now list?

I changed the kids day care around this year and it works out that I have one less child free day to do my work in. I only have one child free day now and that is when I lecture.

2YO is starting to drop his daytime sleep. He slept today but only because I forgot the chicken and we had to walk back to the shops and I wore him out.

4YO is at pre school now instead of long daycare which means squished up hours. Sometimes it feels as though you drop him at pre school, go home, have lunch, then turn around and pick him up again. Definitely having trouble adjusting to these shorter hours.

So I sat down and contemplated.

I have to re-jig.

I could feel the overwhelm rising up again.

I have 2 projects for a client due that is worth good money. And I haven't even started them yet. Behind.

I have been looking for a nanny to help with the home workload. No dice. Even more behind.

So, I made the decision to pop 2YO into daycare on Fridays. I rang our centre and they had just had someone not take a position up, so I nabbed it. $97 a day means that most of that kid free day I will be working for the child care.....behind!

But at least I am bringing in an income.

And at least it means I still have clients when 4YO goes to school next year and my income will be more and my expenses will be less.

Blimey!

How long do we have to be behind to move forward??

Organisation: Magazine Files

2012-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I saw on the Inner-b Facebook page a creative way to use a magazine file. It's not just for magazines.

www.innerb.com.au

I have also used magazine files for a different purpose. I use them to store the kids colouring books. Colouring books get all bent out of shape quickly and slide down when you try and sit them upright on a shelf, and don't look neat and tidy if they're just in a pile. So I pop them in a magazine file.

Neatens it up.

So then I went on the hunt for some other ways to use your magazine files.

So for scrapbookers, use them to store your cards and scrapbooking material, like here:

www.thescrapmaster.com

Or for your manila files at your desk:

www.creationswithcristina.com

Or flip them on their side and use them to help contain kitchen drawer clutter:

www.thekitchn.com

So where to buy your magazine files?

IKEA: Lingo files 4pk / $4.99

Smiggle $6.95

Officeworks $10.95

kikki k $14.95

Have you got any creative ways you use magazine files?

The Teapot Spot #8

2012-02-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

Teapot available from Taste Living

This was my last week of what were unofficially my holidays. Next week I start lecturing again and running training sessions for clients. And I can't wait. As much as I love time off to potter, spend with the kids, and let the washing pile up, I love having the structure of work back in to the home.

So last week, I introduced you to the exciting interior design project I am working on with Stretched Interiors. 4YO's room is getting a makeover. And this week I will be posting about the completion of Wall 1! Yep - doing it wall by wall.

TIP TUESDAY was all about what to do with Fussy Eaters and introduced our giveaway for the month of February. All you have to do is contribute to TIP TUESDAY this month to go in the draw to win a Healthy Chart. Easy.

About this time every year, I dive into an ebay frenzy as I sell anything that isn't nailed down to get us through the lean months of Dec/Jan where I tend not to have work on and where we obviously have increased outgoings thanks to Christmas. Here is my 7 Ways to Ebay post. I usually average about $100 a week extra and every little bit helps!

And lastly, I got an organisational bee in my bonnet and cleared out the boys cupboards to make way for some more hand me downs. And this is how I do it.

Have a wonderful week.

Organisation: 8 Steps to Completing a Kids Clothes Clearout

2012-02-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

My sister in law has the best taste in clothes. I would wear half the stuff she dresses my little niece in (if I was a kids size 4).

Which is why I love it when she drops off hand-me-downs for us. Her son is 18 months older than 4YO so usually twice a year a big garbage bag full of fabulous funky boys clothes turn up at my house.

Which means that twice a year I do a big clearout of both boys wardrobes to make room.

And I continue to pass the love on and share the boys clothes out too - between friends and charities.

And this is how I do it.

1. Have a cup of tea and lock yourself in the kids rooms. Do not let 2YO in because he will dive on all the neat little piles of clothes and make you shout at him.

2. Have the bags that you are going to use, ready to place the separated clothes straight into. Don't make a pile first. Just put them straight in to the bag. No need to add extra steps to the process.

The bigger garbage bag for clothes going to charity on the left.
The two pink bags to girlfriends.
The smaller bag going to another girlfriend whose house is for sale so keeping the
amount I give her to a minimum so she's not storing and lugging it around.

3. Have a set criteria. If you are passing clothes on, think about the seasons and the ages of the kids and make sure they match up. It's better someone gets a smaller bag of clothes they can actually use rather than a big bag of stuff they can't.

4. Be ruthless. While the top or the onesie is still wearable, if it has those delightful yellow stains around the front of the neck, chuck them out.

5. I also use this criteria:

Inside - for items that you are going to keep.
Outside - for items you are passing on to charity or friends
Kurbside - for items that you are going to pop in the bin and kick to the kurb.

Some people have real issues with throwing clothes out. Let it go. If they're not functional or clean (beyond getting them into a wearable state again), you don't need to keep them.

6. When you are finished clearing out the wardrobes and have made your bags up, pop them NEXT TO THE FRONT DOOR immediately. This will encourage you to take them with you the next time you are leaving the house.

Do NOT - I repeat - do NOT place them into another storage area. I have a close friend who does this. Clears everything out of her house only to place it in her garage. This does not fix the problem. I am buying her Corrine Grant's Confessions of a Hoarder book.

7. When you are going through the hand-me-downs you have been lucky enough to receive, be ruthless again. Will your kids wear them? (Anything with bunnies on it got handed on at our house....I just could not put the boys in anything with bunnies. I think it's a knock on effect from watching Watership Down). Do they work seasonally? If they don't, hand them on again or give them to charity. It's absolutely fine to do this. Don't hang on to them and use up further storage space if you're not going to use them.

8. Have a place for the clothes to go. And label them. 2YO has the bigger wardrobe - a nice big double built in - so I use one half of his cupboard for storage of clothes.

And I place them in boxes and I label them.

Like a nutter.

An anally retentive nutter.

Right down to seasons! But it does help me speed the whole clearout process up when I do it again.

I even pop a post it note IN the box in case the one on the outside comes off. See? Nutter.

I bought these blue boxes from Big W a few years ago. Dead cheap. They're cardboard but they do the job. The plastic ones are from Bunnings I think. Once again - cheap but definitely do the clothes storage job.

So, the kids are all good to go for another 6 months or until the seasons change.

Now I just have to get on to my wardrobe!

7 Ways to Ebay

2012-02-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

I am an avid ebayer. It has got us out of a number of financial scrapes.

After having the second baby when our savings ran out.....ebay.

January every year when I realise Christmas expenditure and my seasonal work (ie no work in January) means tiny bank balance.....ebay.

Seeing a gorgeous Charlie Brown dress and not having the funds to purchase then and there....ebay.

When I am on my ebay wagon, I usually aim to make about $100 a week. It's a great way to supplement an income, or save up for something.

And here are 7 tips on how to give good ebay.

1. Quantity

I am a busy person. I actually don't have time to upload a stack of items and manage the communication - messages, questions - etc that goes with that. So I minimise the items to 2 - 4 or to the revenue goal of $100 a week.

This week for example, I posted a great Howards Storage World toy storage shelf which I knew would go for a good price. So I have just posted that and two other smaller items.

There's no point in stressing myself out. If you have time, then go for it. But my slightly exhausted brain tends to get all confused with more than 4!

2. Tell a story

People love to know the story behind your purchase. Don't just say Howards Storage World storage rack and then give them the specs. Tell them when you bought it and what you used it for.

It's the same rule that applies to when you're selling houses. Real estate agents tell the potential buyers about how they can use each space....'This is a great parents retreat and this room can be used for a rumpus room.' etc. Do the same with your items on ebay.

The storage shelf I sold this week? I told them where I purchased it (Hobart) and for how much ($129) and what I used it for - firstly for the nursery to store clothes. Then moved it into the toy room to store cars and action figures! It helps the buyer think about how they would use it in their place.

I have a beautiful wooden mobile for a nursery on sale at the moment. It is sitting amongst a sea of plastic Fisher Price mobiles on ebay. So I told the story of the mobile. It is hand made. Bought from a beautiful store in Tasmania that sells handmade toys (as opposed to Toys R Us!). Purchased by my mum for her first grandchild. See? A story. Instead of a generic purchase that anyone could make.

And especially if you are selling to other mums, it's all about building trust and understanding.

3. Features AND Benefits

Stating the features are very important. Give exact measurements of the item. Explain what it is made from. And if there is any damage, be absolutely honest about it and provide photos of the damage or offer a pre sale inspection to serious buyers.

But ADD to the Features by telling them the Benefits. For the toy unit, I mentioned how I used it, but explained that the coloured boxes were great for keeping specific toys in certain boxes. Matchbox cars go in the blue boxes, action figures in the red boxes etc....This appeals to any mum who knows what a trial getting the kids to clean up their toys can be. Anything to make it easier.....!

4.Photography

I am no great photographer at all. But when I do take photos of the items I try and do it in natural light, so the buyer gets a really good idea of the standard of the item. Filters / muted light / Instagram (!) are a no go. It doesn't truly represent the item and can land you in hot water after the sale.

Depending on the item and how much I am putting it on for, I will take more than one photo. If it is a piece of furniture for example, I'll take a few shots from different angles. Otherwise, I'll take one really good shot with all components of the item (including the box if you are selling with that) and upload that.

5. Box it Up!

And speaking of boxes, try and hang on to your boxes or original packaging the item came with. People love items in boxes for some reason. Must be because it feels like you're getting a brand new product even though you're not.

If you don't have the box, or if you're selling something that didn't come in packaging, package it up nicely or pack it smartly when posting.

When I sell clothes, I will put it in a little shopping bag. I have a million of nice shopping bags that I have kept over the years (not the recycle Woollies / Coles bags!). Or if I am posting something, I'll wrap it up in tissue paper and put a little sticker on it. It just feels a little less secondhand that way.

6. Don't argue with your buyer

I have only ever had one negative experience. I sold one of my favourite maternity tops. It was such a great top that I wore to work when I was pregnant, comfortable and quite expensive. It was a good brand. The seller didn't like it and complained that the tummy was stretched. It was a maternity shirt. Unreasonable? Yes. But you know what? Its easier to keep the peace and ask for the item to be returned.

You don't want other people's negativity to affect your feedback rating. Don't get in a fight. It's not worth it. Most of the time it's their problem not yours.

Only follow up if they have left what you deem as unreasonable negative comments.

My husband did this after he sold a drum kit and the buyer gave him negative feedback complaining that there was a scratch on one of the drum thingies, even though WD had included the damage in the item description. He followed this up and sorted it out.

As for the top, I gave it to a girlfriend who was very very happy with it and also wore it all the time.

7. Look closely at Feedback comments

I got caught out by this just recently. I had a bad experience with a buyer who didn't turn up to pick up the item (and it was payment on pick up) and then did not respond to my emails or an SMS asking when they wanted to reschedule the pick up.

My son was in hospital at the time, and while it wasn't too hard to make sure someone was home to do it, it was the lack of follow up that peed me off. If she's not going to pick it up, tell me so I can put it back on to sell or put it to a Second Chance Offer.

Initially I had checked her star rating - it was 100%.

But ebay actually makes it difficult to affect the star rating if you have a negative experience. You have to go through the whole rigmorale of reporting it...blah blah blah. It takes time and effort and to be honest, I didn't want to give that person any more of my time.

So when I looked closer at the comments in her feedback, I saw that other people had the same issue. Unfortunately, you have to select Positive to leave this negative feedback (I know, right?), but this is where most people had chosen to leave the negative comments rather than go through the whole complaint process with ebay.

So check the feedback comments closely and make sure they align with the actual star rating of your buyer and seller.

I have a pretty good success rate with ebay. I would say 80 - 90% of what I list gets sold.

So I hope this helps you make a little extra cashola too!

TIP TUESDAY: Managing Fussy Eaters

2012-02-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

Today, we have Margaret Minter-Isbister guest posting on our first TIP TUESDAY for February.

Margaret developed HealthyChart , a magnetic incentive chart for children that promotes eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water and getting enough exercise throughout the day. HealthyChart was her solution to living with a fussy eater, but it is also a great tool for helping all children develop positive, healthy habits that will last them a lifetime.

Today Margaret shares her tips on Managing Fussy Eaters.

You can win your own very own Healthy Chart valued at $45 too!

There is nothing more demoralising than coming home at the end of a busy day to find that the lunch box that you so lovingly packed at the crack of dawn has barely been touched, or to hear that the nutritious dinner you managed to cook up with the speed of a short order cook described as “yucky”. Worse still, is going to bed with the nagging sense of guilt that your children are not getting the nutrition that they need.

Being a working mum is a tough job. Even if your kids are not fussy eaters, it is still difficult to keep track of their nutritional needs when you have too many other things on your plate. So as someone who works 2 jobs (I’m the owner of HealthyChart and 2IC of Fussy Farm), and who has the Fussy Eater of all time to deal with every day, here is my advice:

Treat your family’s nutritional needs as a job.

You are now the Manager of Nutrition & Development in your household. Congratulations.

In this new role, you will need to do the following:

1. Establish the ground rules

Just as every workplace has a code of conduct for employees to follow, you need to set the rules for eating in your home. These rules can include what types of food are eaten, when they are eaten, how they are eaten (such as using cutlery not fingers), and basic table manners. Make sure everyone is aware of the rules and that they understand the consequences of breaking them.

2. Be consistent

For your own sanity, be consistent. No one wants to work in an office where the rules change every day. So the same should apply to your kitchen. Be consistent about the rules you set as well as the types of food you have available in your house. If you don’t want your children to eat junk, then don’t buy junk.

3. Plan and prepare

As a good manager, you need to plan and prepare what is needed to get the job done. This may involve doing research or bringing in an expert consultant. Take the time to menu plan and cook a few things ahead of time. There are lots of nutritious meals that can be frozen for those nights when everything goes pear shaped.

4. Delegate

Any good manager knows that they cannot do everything themselves. Delegate tasks to others in the house so that they are involved and are committed to the goal (eating nutritious food).

5. Give feedback

How would you feel if you never got a performance review from your boss? Children love praise. So don’t forget to acknowledge their effort when they do eat everything in their lunch box, or help set the table for dinner.

If you would like to learn more about HealthyChart, please visit the website. If you would like to know more about living with a fussy eater, then please visit our blog. And find out how to win your very own HealthyChart below.

For your chance to win a HealthyChart, all you have to do is contribute to TIP TUESDAY in the month of February. You can leave your own tips on the Working Mums Facebook page, or in the comments section of this blog here.

Today we we are asking you to share how you deal with fussy eaters and keep the menu nutritional and healthy at your house.

THE SMALL PRINT (and conditions of entry)

1. Competition starts at 07:00 AEST Tuesday 7 February 2012 and closes at 11:59 on Tuesday 28 February 2012.
2. Entry limited to 1 per person per post / per TIP TUESDAY
3. Leave a comment below sharing a healthy eating tip or take part in February's TIP TUESDAYS on the Working Mums MASTERCLASS Facebook page.
4. Entry limited to Australian residents only

5. The winner will be drawn at random using www.random.org and will be published on this blog on Wednesday 29 February 2012

Design: The Kids Room Conundrum

2012-02-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

I worked in event management for fifteen years. And quite often I would be asked to come up with design concepts, themes, decor looks etc. And to be honest, I was okay at it.

Not fabulous. Okay.

I would see it all in my head, but for some reason I didn't have the knack of translating the design I saw in my mind to the event space.

What I COULD do very well, was explain my ideas to an event stylist or designer and let them run with it.

The same thing has happened with an interior design project I am working on with Stretched Interiors.

4YO is...well.....4! And I have wanted to redo his room for about a year now. You know that awkward transition stage where he isn't a baby anymore or a toddler, but he's not at school?

How do you make the baby room grow up when your baby hasn't really grown up?

You know what I mean?

Now, 4YO's room has some great pieces of furniture - the 40 year old lime green, wooden desk is my favourite. A super red tub chair I bought for next to nothing from somewhere - think it was Fantastic Furniture in Tassie. And we just recently bought him a good quality ensemble bed.

There is lots of colour, but it is lacking consistency, shape and character.

So thats when Naz from Streched Interiors stepped in.

I sent her these! How embarrassment....

For some reason, I have left 3 walls boring and beige, then shoved everything onto one wall!

When I sent these through to Naz, I also completed a quick questionnaire - it probably took me about 10 / 15 minutes, asking me about what 4YO likes to do (draw draw and draw), what items most definitely have to stay and most importantly, what I can afford to spend.

So I gave the Stretched Interiors guys all that info and they came back with this - their concepts page!

I am a highly visual person and immediately I could see how all the suggested items could work together.

And they have kept and used existing pieces - the red tub chair, the green desk and the coloured circle canvas that is already hanging in the room.

With the concepts page came a fantastic rundown on what they suggest and why AND the cost involved!! And they have done a wonderful job of staying within budget.

I said $400 was probably the max I could spend, so all of this - by using current furniture and by doing a bit of DIY - means that I can stay under this budget.

So when I sent back that I was very happy with these intial concepts, Naz sent me through a wonderful list of 'How to's.'

how to cover the lampshade
where to find the fabric
where to source the items
advice on where to find the frames
ideas for canvases 4YO can make too
and plenty more info

It's all there, along with floorplans and a budget builder.

So, you get the advice, the tools, the project management guidance from a qualified interior designer and then off you trot and finish it off yourself.

This is great because you still get to be hands on AND can create some great artworks with the kids to include, but it means that it won't look cobbled together.

It also means you're not spending time traipsing around shops looking for items. You have a list. And a budget. You go in. You buy. You walk out.

Now THAT'S time management.

Now, this is the Stretched Interiors Essentials Package. You can choose to have them more involved. It's up to you, your own time investment and your budget. Check out the design packages available here.

So, over the month of February, I am going to work on each of the DIY projects, get sourcing and sewing (haaaaaaaaa...no sewing thank goodness unless mum helps, but glue gunning yes!) and will share each project with you.

And I just know I will end up with a pretty snazzy looking kids room for 4YO (which is excellent because that's his time out space....so he tends to spend a little extra time in there ;-)

Small print: Stretched Interiors has provided the Essentials Design Package free of charge for the purpose of review. Please note, the review is my honest opinion. If it was a negative experience, I would tell you.

The Teapot Spot #7

2012-02-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

Loving this idea for a table centrepiece.
Image via Wedding Bee. Image credit: Southern Accents

So a busy week where the highlight was most definitely having 4YO discharged from hospital. He is definitely on the mend. Thank you once again to everyone who sent their love and best wishes to us.

We started the blogging week off with a community announcement for all men. Wife Speak gave the fellas guidance on what we REALLY mean.

Tuesday I wrapped up the H2O Challenge - the results were very positive. The most positive aspect being that reaching for the water has become second nature for me now.....just got to get that happening with the gym too!

I managed to have time to read through Kylie Ofiu's fantastic website - so much information and help on saving money and making money. So I have decided that February will be all about getting my finances whipped into shape too with February Finance Fitness. I started yesterday with some shopping around to get a good deal on my business credit card to make it work that little bit harder for me. I think 4 free flights annually with Virgin (part of the Virgin Money promo the have got going at the moment) certainly did that for me!

Friday I got my mojo on and listed the 15 Mummy Mojo Moments - you know when it just all goes right for longer than 30 seconds? Yeah that.

Once upon a time, my Saturday nights were spent dancing, drinking champagne, eating at ridiculously priced restaurants, drinking champagne, then dancing like Madonna. Now? I do a blog post about home organisation on Saturday nights! How to Organise your Hallstand!!

I really did use to be cool. ;-)

So this week I'll be introducing a fun interior design project I am doing with Stretched Interiors, they of the amazing MyraMel towels.

And will continue the February Finance Fitness theme with a post on selling on Ebay - considering there are 29 people watching one of my bookcases at the moment and it's only $40 off the retail price I paid for it, I must be doing something right!

And February already, huh?

Really???

Blimey.

Organisation: The Hallstand

2012-02-04T01:22:00.000-08:00

We have a hallstand. As soon as you walk in the door, there it is on your right.

It actually came from WD's bachelor days - and Copperart by the looks of it (gawd remember that store?).

It's no great beauty but it's free - a bit like me when WD met me.

And because it's as soon as you walk in the front door, it is a dumping ground.

For anything.

Ever since I attended a kikki k Paper Flow workshop last year, I have had an in-tray on the hallstand but it was getting lost amongst all the other bags, hats, junk mail, keys....you name it, it got chucked there.

Bags. Bags. And more Bags. Really?
How many bags can a family have?

So I got an organisational bee in my bonnet and sorted it out.

And now it looks like this.

Two baskets purchased from Victoria's Basement on special reduced from $60 each all the way down to $12 each. That, my friends, is a bargain in anyone's language. Because I am an adrenalin junkie I also took 2YO with me and let him help me carry the baskets.

One basket per child with their names on blackboard tags from Another Donkey Design (5 for $4.99 on special. Kate just had a baby but will be back in business soon. Sign up to be the first to know when she re-opens. She has great stuff).

Each basket has the kids daycare / swimming / pre school stuff in them.

Created an In and an Out section with my kikkik box - note, the Out tray is half the depth of the In tray to prevent it overflowing and to encourage clearing it out.

The In tray collects anything that comes into the house - mail, bills, junk mail, cards, drop offs. Then we go through the tray every couple of days and place in it's spot in the house.

The Out tray is for anything I have to get out of the house. Got this tip from the kikkik Paper Flow workshop too. They recommended using a bag to store your Out stuff, but there was already bag overload at that hallstand, so I just made another tray.

Things in your Out box can include mail you have to post, DVDs to return, books to give to friends, magazines to swap with your mum....whatever is leaving the house. Putting it near the door encourages you to keep the 'see ya later' circle going.

See the smelly candle on the middle shelf?....that's because I live with 4 males (including the cat) and smelly candles are the only thing that saves me and the house from drowning in the smell of dirty socks, misdirected wee and squashed bug guts.

The hat and bag collection got streamlined. You would think The Brady Bunch lived here with the amount of hats and bags we had on the hallstand. Some have gone to charity, some have gone to friends, some have gone into the bin.

And now we have a streamlined, purposeful hallstand.......from Copperart. Nice.

Top 15 Mummy Mojo Moments

2012-02-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Before blogs existed and certainly before I had a blog, I used to send emails to my friends titled 'Top Ten.....whatevers'.

Email was in its infancy at that stage, and my friends would firstly ooh and aah that they had an email in that thing called their inbox.....then read my Top Tens.

I kept some of them...the rest of them are probably sitting in the inboxes of my friends emails that they don't use anymore bnecause it's under their maiden name. If you've got any, girls send them through.

Today I was actually looking for one I wrote about Top Tens of going to Thailand...because I went with Mrs Woog in 2001 and we had a very....umm...interesting time. One of my highlights was when Mrs Woog caught her handbag on the table leg of a pub we were drinking in, proceeding to drag the whole table outside with us when we got up to leave.

Couldn't find it, but found this one.

Top 15 (because 10 mustn't have been enough) Mummy Mojo moments, written about 6 months after our first son was born.

You know you're having a Mummy Mojo moment when:

1. You manage to do five loads of washing AND shave your legs on the same day.

2. You use the hairdryer to actually DRY YOUR HAIR instead of using it to quickly dry a fresh vomit stain on the clean shirt you put on just before you were heading out the door.

3. You use the hairdryer to dry ALL of your hair instead of just the front part before you hear the baby cry and just put the rest of your wet hair up in a clip.

4. You use the hairdryer to block out the baby crying and don't feel guilty.

5. You trip over the rocker, the playmat and tread on Mr Croak AND manage to stay upright with no permanent ligament damage or stubbed toes.

6. You navigate your way with the pram through a shop that insists on floor displays without knocking any of the floor displays over.

7. You knock over a floor display to teach the shop a lesson.

8. You don't upend the pram at the top of an escalator.

9. The lift doors don't close on the pram.

10. The swinging door you were trying to get through with the pram doesn't swing back and crack you on the back of your ankle, leaving a permanent indentation.

11. You put the pram up with one hand and one foot IN the supermarket carpark WHILE its raining AND while somebody else is waiting for your car spot with no tantrums (yours not the babies).

12. You dodged the wee and the spew before it hit you (and for bonus points, it hits your husband instead!!).

13. You had the bottle ready before the screaming started.

14. You wore the one shirt the WHOLE day.

15. A truck driver gives you a honk and a wolfwhistle while you're standing at the lights with the pram, yelling out obscenities about what he'd like to do to you and his toothless, leering grin makes your day!!!!

Had any Mummy Mojo moments of your own lately?

February Finance Fitness (say that Five times Fast!)

2012-01-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

While it's quite common for us to make physical fitness resolutions at the start of every new year or at the end of devouring a packet of Tim Tams, quite often we forget about our financial fitness.

Pre-kids my physical fitness was limited to how much effort it took to press the Purchase button online or the exertion involved in giving my credit card a workout as I disposed of my err...disposable income.

After giving birth, it became clear that the only thing disposable in our house now was nappies.

I recently found Kylie Ofiu's website, author of 365 Ways To Make Money and have been loving going through all of her money saving and money making tips.

This month she is focusing on her finances so I am going to follow her lead and blog posts and give our finances a mini makeover too with weekly updates on how I'm progressing.

At the moment, if it's not nailed down it's going on Ebay. I have a pretty high success rate on Ebay so will share some of my tips with you next week. I happily make about $100 a week on Ebay - that adds up after a while. And certainly helps us through some slippery situations.

I am also going to take the opportunity in February to look at whether we can get a better deal on everything - insurance, electricity, mortgage and see how we go.

So, in the meantime, check out Kylie's Saving Money posts here.

And for those of you playing at home......

For your first exercise I want you to start a budget plan for Christmas.

Whaaaat??? I know. You don't want to event start thinking about bloody Christmas again.

But it will save you time, anxiety AND money at the end of the year. That wonderful time of year when you have no time, plenty of anxiety and no money!

At our Christmas workshop last year, Valerie from Inner-B encouraged us to sit down in January and put together all of our receipts and expenditure from Christmas.

Include it all. Food, drinks, presents, gift wrapping....everything!

Sit down and work out how much you spent. $1000? $500? More? Less?

Then divide that amount by 11.

So say I spent $700 on Christmas in 2011.

I divide it by 11 (months), which equals $63.60.

So, if I put away $63.60 each month from February to December, either in some sort of savings plan or under my mattress ;-) I'll have my $700 all ready to go for Christmas.

A great way to prevent going into debt or using credit cards for Christmas 2012.

AND here's my tip that you can start on in February to save money in December.

Sign up to a frequent shopper program and save up all your points over the coming year ready to use in December.

I am a member of Fly Buys. It costs nothing. Last year I accumulated enough points to redeem $350 worth of Coles vouchers, which I then used for our big Christmas food shop.

Simple!

Do you do anything to prepare your finances for Christmas months in advance?

PS. BLIMEY! It's February already.

H2O Challenge Progress Report FINAL

2012-01-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

Last day of January and the H2O Challenge is over.

And while the environment wasn't so controlled, thanks to a 10 day hospital stay with 4YO, the results are still pretty good.

So, my criteria was Weight, Waist measurement, Sluggishness, Skin Condition and Eyes.

WEIGHT

Dropped three kilos over 4 weeks. Not bad. The Commando wouldn't yell at me for that I'm sure - although I'd probably yell back at him if he did. Nice slow and steady weight loss is good.

WAIST MEASUREMENT

This went from 85cm to 79 cm, which is under the Heart Foundation's guidelines for women. And I can feel that my clothese aren't so tight around the waist. And that's a nice feeling.

SLUGGISHNESS

I write this after 3 weeks of broken sleep with 4YOs illness, but I must say it has only been a few times that I have felt absolutely exhausted. And to be honest, that was really emotional exhaustion. While I was staying in the hospital with 4YO I made an effort to stick with the water and green tea. Fell off the wagon a couple of times when I finished off his apple juice and accidentally swigged his drink that makes his stools soft (!) but apart from that I pretty much stuck to it. I think it helped.

SKIN CONDITION

In the first two weeks of the challenge, I could see a huge difference. My skin felt hydrated from the inside and the redness - while still there - had definitely subsided somewhat.

EYES

Once again, about midway through this experiment, I could see a huge difference in my eyes. They had gone from bloodshot to quite clear, with only a little bit of red in the corner of the eye. I was even getting comments on how blue my eyes were looking, which is a measurement that made me feel pretty good.

Because I gave the challenge a 95% success rate, as I'm pretty realistic about not giving things up completely, I did have alcohol while on the H2O Challenge. 2 beers, 3 glasses of white wine and 3 vodka slushies.

And that was it. For the WHOLE MONTH.

I know!!! Counting it on two hands! No toes needed.

But most of all, I think what has happened from this little experiment is that a habit has formed.

I automatically reach for the water instead of the juice or soft drink.

I automatically make up a green tea instead of a black one (although a friend has just sent me a package from T2 which means I may be hanging on to the back of the tea wagon with my fingertips....half on half off).

There is a big jug of water with some slices of fresh lime sitting in the fridge right now.

And it looks great.

How did you guys go?

Wife Speak: What we really mean

2012-01-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Facebook yesterday - am so sorry I can't find who posted it or where the original came from - if anyone knows, pop it in the comments so I can credit it. The google site I found it on looked a bit dodgy so don't want to credit that.

But as always, it made me smile. That wide gulf between what women say and what we actually mean.

I thought I would add a few more words and sentences to it.

1. 'Right'

This means wrong.

2. 'Right okay'

If we add okay on to the end of right, it means 'you're still wrong but please proceed at your own peril'.

3. 'Can you do me a favour and complete (insert household task here)?'

This is a nice way of saying I have asked you to do this 7 times. This is your final warning before I call Hire-a-Hubby.

4. 'How is your playstation / iphone / ipad / computer game going?'

We have no interest in how your games are going. This is what we say just before we let you know that the children have created a mural from mayonnaise and tomato sauce on the lounge room wall while you do a record lap at the Monaco Grand Prix.

5. 'Are you okay to clean that up?'

This means that there is no way we are cleaning it up. The kids did it while under your supervision, so that then transfers cleaning up rights over to you.

6. 'Have you seen (insert missing household item here)?'

We're actually not asking you to answer yes or no to this question. We are expecting you to stop what you're doing and help us find it.

7. 'Would you mind doing (insert task here) for me?'

We aren't actually asking if you mind it. You need to do it, because we are asleep on our feet and have probably completed that same task - emptying bins, changing nappies, cleaning out lunch boxes - a total of 328 times....this month.

8. 'Why don't you go out and have a night out with your mates?'

While this request can be a double edged sword - in the early stages of a relationship it is - by the time we are married with children it isn't. This means that we want a night to ourselves to watch Bridesmaids, eat chocolate and drink wine without someone eyeing off the rapidly declining level of wine in the bottle rubbing their hands together expecting a little rumpy pumpy.

9. 'Would you mind putting your socks in the dirty clothes basket?'

This is the dirty clothes basket. It has been sitting in this spot for 9 years. You see it every time you walk into the bathroom. It has a lid. The lid opens. Things can then be placed in the basket. And the lid can then be replaced. Please use it before I go absolutely and utterly spare on your arse.

Got any you'd like to add?

The Teapot Spot #6

2012-01-28T23:58:00.000-08:00

From the T2 T41 range. $30

Time to brew yourself a cuppa, sit back and read up on all that's happened at Sshh Mummys on the Phone this week.

How gorgeous are these T2 teapots from the T41 (tea for one) range?

This week started off in a whirlwind when 4YO was admitted to hospital, so the three posts I managed to get done focused on the amazing work of the doctors and nurses of Westmead Childrens Hospital do.

We spent Australia Day in a hospital room, and I watched the Twitter stream about the announcement of Geoffrey Rush as Australian of the Year. Surrounded by people who dedicate their lives and their careers to making other lives better, I wondered about the people who go unrewarded, quietly going about their day....finding a cure for this here....or a reason for that disease there....and nominated my own True Australians of the Year here.

This post got a great response, especially from one person in particular. Kate, an old school friend of mine is a nurse and responded to the blog post on my personal Facebook page.

I had to share it with you in Nurses: You're Born This Way. Thank you Kate.

And we as a family were the recipients of much love, strength and support from our friends and family from everywhere - IRL and online. It was just what we needed. People were asking if they could do anything to help and while I found it difficult to ask for it, I did......and this is what happened.

And things started to get moving over at the Working Mums MASTERCLASS office.

We had our very first Webinar, focusing on child behaviours around starting and going back to school. And also on how to improve communication with your school. Many thanks to our wonderful presenters, Nathalie Brown of Easy Peasy Kids and Denyse Whelan, Education Specialist.

Our next FREE webinar will be at 8pm AEDT on Tuesday 21 January and we will be talking about Adult Relationships. Join Chris Owen from Pink Apple. Click here for more information and to see what we have coming up.

And this week we also released tickets for our first Mumpreneurs MASTERCLASS of the year for our Sydney business mums. Click here for more details. Earlybird ticket price only $40 (save $15).

I am hoping that the next post I write will not be sitting beside a hospital bed.

Sorry isn't the Hardest Word....Help is.

2012-01-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Sir Elton got it wrong.

Sorry isn't the hardest word to say.

Help is.

I wrote about the four words mums need to learn to say in the March 2011 edition of peekaboo magazine. Click here to have a read (page 36).

Yes. No. Thanks. Help.

In context, they're all actually kind of hard to say.

But Help has got to be the hardest.

Last week, as you know, 4YO was admitted to hospital. He is still there and showing positive signs of recovery. We are hopeful he will be discharged some time this week and allowed to ride out the rest of his recovery on the couch at home watching Pixar movies ;-) and working on his DS skills.

I was on the phone to the smartest chick I know - my best friend Kristen in Tasmania. I was telling her how I was struggling with keeping up with the shopping. The fridge was bare. The cupboards were bare. WD and were like ships passing in the night, swapping hospital shifts, never having time to cook up nutritious meals for us or 2YO.

And she stated the obvious.

'Put a shoutout on Facebook. Tell people you need help with food."

And I baulked.

Why do we always baulk at asking for help?

Then I pushed my pride aside and put the shoutout on Facebook.

Notice my disclaimer in there and mentioning I feel like a scab? Why do we do that?

And the attempt at humour? Maybe to cover up my embarrassment at not coping?

Why do we do that too?

So on Friday night, WD gets home to a care pack of pasta bake, lamb shanks, cupcakes, lollies, bread and biscuits.

On Saturday I arrive home to a doorstep of fresh fruit, beef and red wine casserole, spaghetti bolognaise from some more wonderful friends.

And I got a message through FB from a special friend that she has organised a voucher for us to spend at Gourmet Dinner Service . All I have to do is jump online and order meals and they will arive on my door step from these guys.

This is just not even the half of it.

We are now set for the week.

I am about to go back to the hospital. I'll probably be there for 3 days running. I have packed an esky of pre-cooked food, goodies and fruit to label and pop in the fridge in the Parents Room there.

I know that 2YO will be fed well while WD looks after him around his own busy work schedule.

It is a huge weight off my mind.

And all because I swallowed my pride and put the call out.

Thank you to our wonderful friends and family and the readers here too who have sent their best wishes, hope and strength to us this past week.

Now, here is another Mum who needs your help. Much more than I do.

Naomi at Seven Cherubs told us about Lisa King and her family this week. How much can a family be put through? Lisa lost her son a few months ago and just this week, her husband passed away.

Click here to find out how you can help.

Nursing: You're Born This Way

2012-01-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had some wonderful comments on the post I did about my True Australians of the Year.

I posted it on my personal Facebook page to - I don't normally do this with my blog. Only when I want to share something with my friends.

A nurse called Kate commented on the FB page and I cried. Really really cried. And so did she when she was writing it.

I went to school with Kate. Primary school and high school. We lost touch until the magic of Facebook and a 20 year school reunion has put us back in touch again.

This is us here at our Year Ten formal. I am in the centre in the green. Kate is two to my left under the yellow taffeta.

And this is what Kate wrote in reponse to my post yesterday.

"I am now in my 21st year of nursing.

I have nursed thousands and thousands of people.

I have been the first person in the world to touch a baby, I have been the last person in the world to touch an elderly man.

Every patient I nurse is my brorher, my sister,my husband,my mum, my child,my pa...i go beyond the call of duty....after some shifts I come home and cry myself to sleep, other shifts I feel proud to be a part of helping my patient heal or aiding their peaceful death.

I have studied beyond studied to get where I am today, but all that study doesnt make a nurse a good nurse, its the laughing, crying and being beside my patients giving tbem someone they can trust.

Its holding the hand of the wife as her husband slowly slips away, its lending that shoulder to cry on, or the encouragement to walk again when my patients have given up.

I have taken care of pets, I have washed patients clothes, I have spoken at funerals and I have seen things that hmost gruesome episode of Greys Anatomy wouldnt be able to re-enact.

Some days im covered in wee, poo, blood...and any other body fluid that I didnt even know existed... .... today I took lamingtons in, my patients were plastered with aussie flag tattoos [despite them being attached to their dialysis machines where - they couldnt escape).

We held a thong throwing competition, and I heard the most dreadful rendition of our national anthem (many times).

Not every patient is mr or mrs nice, no patient is ever the same.....nursing is a hard, stressful, painful, emotional, heart wrenching, job..... But......i love it to bits xx.......anyone for a tattoo!?!.....love ya Pen (still the best 2 minute noodle cooker ever xx) one day ill write a book.....at the moment still cleaning the kitchen from those lamingtons.

Kate xx "

Sometimes I think people like Kate are just born that way.

Selflessness, kindness, patience and making a career out of making other people's lives better.

I have nothing but intense respect and admiration for all of the Kates out there.

And she's right. I am the best 2 minute noodle cooker ever (it's a fine art).

The True Australians of the Year

2012-01-25T22:52:00.000-08:00

Image credit

For the last five days I have been wandering the corridors of Westmead Childrens Hospital.

4YO was admitted via the emergency department with an illness that we have been told is serious but not life threatening. His recovery is expected to take some weeks.

I share these corridors with anxious parents, visiting grandparents, siblings of the ill children who have no idea of the seriousness of this place. And also of the miracles that take place within it's walls.

And I share the corridors with my true Australians of the year.....

Like:

Scott, the ex rugby league football player who has retrained as a paediatric nurse and re-makes a bed faster than anyone.

Or Matthew, the emergency room nurse who has hearing problems but has not let that stand in his way of focusing on a nursing career and caring for others.

Or Deb, the Emergency Room doctor, who came and visited 4YO at 11pm four days after he was admitted (her next shift) just to see how he was going.

What about a trophy for Emil, the surgical consult in emergency who quietly dissected the issue down and sat with us and drew us a picture that showed us what the CT Scan was saying, and who pops in to say hi every day with his beautifully quiet and calm smile.

Or happy Kate, the emergency nurse with her freckles and braids, who didn't bat an eyelid when 4YO asked her what she liked to drink for breakfast, after she gave him a morphine hit.

Maybe Meredith should get a write up in the paper, another emergency nurse, who stopped in the middle of a busy emergency room to give me a hug.

How about Jessica, the take charge nurse in the Clancy ward who has leader and capability written all over her - way more than someone else who gets a lot of front page news on a day like today and is meant to display those same qualities (yes, Julia am looking at you).

Or maybe we should give the award to Dr Lee, the young gastroentrologist who is tender with 4YO and runs like a rabbit whenever his hero, Dr Shun, calls.

What about the quite paediatric nurse, Amile, who quietly moved us into a less noisy room. No bells. No whistles. Just making the stay better for a sick 4YO and a sick with worry mum.

I am sure Geoffrey Rush is an amazing man - I know his talent is so.

But will the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age dedicate any news space to these guys, working on Australia Day in paediatrics at Westmead Childrens Hospital?

Not likely.

Not when the role of Australian of the Year seems to be more about promoting Australia overseas rather than celebrating it at home.

Thank you to all the Merediths, Scotts, Matts, Emils, Jessicas, Dr Lees, Amiles and Kates of Australia.

You are my Australians of the Year

The Teapot Spot #5

2012-01-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

Romero Britto designed teapot:
Available at Matt Blatt

This is a tad late - I'll tell you why later.

In the meantime, brew a pot of tea, grab a cuppa and read through the weekly wrap up from Sshh Mummys on the Phone.

We started up with the H2O Challenge Check in for Week 2. This week the big news was the waist measurement. In 2 weeks I have lost 5 centimetres off my waist. Not bad.

And then we moved to the first of two posts about 4YO being ill where he took on the behaviours of the demon child in The Exorcist - in the Remake of the Exorcist in Suburban Sydney.

Followed by that feeling of helplessness as a mother when you just can't help them get better, which I'm sure we have all felt and been frustrated by.

On to happier things and Denyse Whelan, Education Specialist guest posted for us, all ready for our Back to School Webinar on Tuesday night - have you signed up yet? Sign up here.

And then we finished the week off with another H2O Challenge wrap up - no weight loss this week, but a big improvement with the skin and eyes. This is a habit forming challenge - now I automatically find myself reaching for water, instead of anything else.

As for the week ahead, I am imagining there will be a few hospital blog posts! Yep - we are in Westmead Children's Hospital. 4YO has been admitted with a bowel / stomach illness which incidentally is nothing to do with gastro. The diagnosis has not been made. They are a little miffed and stepping through test after test ruling out elements and adding to the case they are building.

We are in amazing hands - the doctors, the nurses, everyone here - they are all talented, patient and kind.

And nothing like a hospital to get the blog post juices flowing.....or to get you whistling the theme song from Scrubs.

Thank you for the lovely thoughts we have received via Twitter.

Am sure everything will be fine. Its just one step at a time at the moment.

H2O Challenge Progress Report 3

2012-01-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

So Week 3 brought an unexpected challenge in a sick child, which meant I am back to feeling like a walking zombie. Would I have felt worse if I'd not been necking back the water?

Probably.

Hopefully 4YO can get better soon and the household can go back to normal and we can all sleep through the night. Or get through the night without having to empty out a spew bucket.

Got a comment from a friend who started drinking more water just this week - she said the dark circles under her eyes are already starting to lighten even after just a few days of swapping to the H2O.

As for my report card? I plateau-ed on the weight and waist measurement front.

The sluggishness I will bypass - as this week has been full of broken sleep and worry.

But the skin and the eyes are the standout performers. My skin most definitely feels more hydrated than it has in a long time.

And my eyes have improved hugely - even with the broken sleep.

When I started the H2O challenge, my eyes were bloodshot all over. The whites of my eyes were dotted with tiny red veins. Right into both corners of my eyes.

Now, there are a couple of tiny veins in the corners closest to my nose and that is it.

Wish I had of taken a before and after shot to show you.

So looks like the water is making it's impact on me aesthetically too - which, on a week like this, is fine by me.

Tonight I am attending a 40th Birthday - a beach party, where there will probably be a little bit of this:

And maybe a little of this too:

Which will probably end up with a little bit of this.....

Bring it. After the week I've had, a little table top dancing won't hurt anyone (except the table).

Will be sure to add ice cubes to keep up the H2O intake ;-)

The Heartbreak of Helplessness

2012-01-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

If you've been following the blog this week, you'll know that 4YO has been taken down with this gastro bug that is flying around Sydney.

And it's been awful.

We're thankful that it never eventuated to both ends of the gastro spectrum - only hurling.

We're thankful that we seem to have dodged a bullet and no one else in the household has become ill (the 2YO Viking Warrior seems to have the constitution of IronMan - only getting his finger stuck in the sliding doors will bring him to his knees).

But, oh my lord, that horrible feeling of helplessness.

I can see the weight has dropped off him.

He hasn't been able to sleep properly because his tiny tummy keeps cramping.

The whimpering of a child that is too exhausted to muster up a full blown cry.

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

And then what they say to you.

"Mummy, can you please make me better today?"

Ooof! Right in the guts.

Or this one.

"Mummy please take the pain away. The medicine isn't working."

Youch. That one got me in the breadbasket.

Or this one.

"Mummy your kisses aren't working."

That one made me tear up.

And then the clincher.

"I want Daddy. He'll make me better."

POW! Right in the kisser.

I love that he wants his Daddy. Every little boy should see their Dad as some sort of superhero.

But, blimey, that one got me. 4YO has been sick for 5 days. We have not left the house except to go the doctors (off there again shortly). I have emptied spew buckets, washed clothes and sheets that have been hurled on. I have sat with him while he gingerly takes a sip of water then spews it back up again.

I have held him sitting on the couch watching four episodes of Peppa Pig. IN. A. ROW.

I have celebrated when we hit 12 hours without a spew.

I have noticed the weight coming off him. His shoulder blades starting to protrude. The circles under his eyes darkening.

And yet, I still can't make him better.

This is the dark side of motherhood.

And now I'm thinking I should have ticked Nursing instead of Hotel Management on the University application form all those years ago.

Gastro, you have us beat.

Now, leave my son alone and go and pick on someone your own size.

Guest Post: Denyse Whelan, EDUCATION SPECIALIST

2012-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

Denyse Whelan is an experienced school teacher and principal and now runs her own consultancy business helping parents educate themselves about education.

Denyse is also taking part in our Back to School Webinar next week on Tuesday 24 January at 8pm AEDT. Joined by Nathalie Brown from Easy Peasy Kids, they will discuss child behaviours around starting the school year (for all ages) and how to improve communication with the teachers and the school. Click here to register. Remember it's FREE.

Take it away, Denyse.

I’ve been a school teacher, a deputy principal and school principal in Primary Schools (K-6) all over N.S.W., and in Western Sydney & The Hills District.

More importantly, I have been a parent & a grandparent of school kids.

This makes me lucky enough to have been on both sides of

“the school fence”.

It’s the middle of school holidays right now, in places all over Australia.

I see in the media, at the shops and on-line that parents are planning

“Back to School” .

Meaning,

“Back to Normal”

or is that not the case for you?

I have a true story to tell. This one is via a friend of mine who is currently a primary school principal.

Late in 2011, the school was presenting a major event for parents to view. It was a concert. These events are a highlight for the school’s staff, students and families.

On the day of the concert, a Kindergarten child’s mother arrived at the school’s office demanding the principal’s time NOW over a matter that was very important to her.

Of course, a problem relating to YOUR child will always be your highest priority, it may not be the school’s….at that time,

unless it is life threatening…then watch a school’s principal in action. I hope THAT never eventuates…

because, unlike the home, where your child is one in your family…or in a pre school where your child is one in a small group…

My friend, the principal said:

“ when their children come to us, they are often part of a class of 20, and maybe a grade of up to 150. Sometimes the school would like parents to understand that the priority of the parent may not be that of the school, at that time. But I will do all can to help within a reasonable time frame relating to the school’s priority”

I’ve thought about this too, now I am guiding parents, and I hope I can be the connecting person between home and school.

My tips for managing these three matters (as examples)

1. Your child’s belongings, such as a lost hat, or lunch box, I’m recommending start with the playground and a quick look around, then ask the teacher can you or she/he check the classroom (after school hours). If then it still does not show up, the next morning, ask at the office if you can check Lost Property. And, sometimes, even labelled items do not show up. I know it’s annoying but in most cases, the school will do what it can.

2. Your child is not wanting to come to school anymore, please ask at the front office to make an appointment to see the child’s teacher. Sometimes teachers are available then, other times they have prior commitments. However, a child who suddenly does not want to come to school is indeed a serious enough issue for both you, and the teacher to investigate. Sometimes the problem can relate to a home issue, other times something from school. It can be worked out.

3. Your child is being teased by a peer group, and has come to you crying in the afternoon and you are shocked, as your child was always friends with that group. In this case, your conversation with your child should give you an inkling of whether this is a DO something now, or it can WAIT till the next day. Whichever way, you want an answer. Of course! Usually there is little point in having a full investigation into the matter without the other children being at school, so here’s my ideas:

- Please call in to the school’s office to tell the staff there, so that if the class teacher or the school’s executive staff are available, they can hear the story that day.

- Hopefully if that has occurred, and there is to be follow up from the school back to you, then you should hear about an outcome within the next day or two.

- If however, you hear nothing back, this is not good form, and I suggest a phone call, to the school, asking to speak to the school’s executive staff about the matter and why you have not been called.

- If that is not satisfactory either, please ask to make an appointment to see the school’s principal.

I always hope that ‘fair and reasonable’ action is taken within a ‘fair and reasonable’ time frame, but if it does not, please follow it through. To the school’s principal. Do not be tempted to make contact with the other children’s families or the children themselves as this is not appropriate.

Has anything like this been a problem for you with one of your children at school?

How did you manage it?

The Remake of The Exorcist in Suburban Sydney

2012-01-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

This is what 4YO has been carrying around and sleeping with for the last three days.

His very own personal spew bucket.

The gastro bug that seems to be sweeping Sydney has reared it's ugly vomitting head at this household and I have been changing clothes, washing clothes, washing sheets, rubbing backs, changing sheets, changing pillowcases, washing pillowcases and my favourite job of all? Washing out the spew bucket, post chuck.

Delightful.

Now, my boys normally don't get spewy. 2YO hasn't been taken down the bug yet. Although to be fair, we think that 2YO is actually a throwback from some sort of viking warrior and only has to worry about mermaids taking him down, he's that tough.

They are usually rashy.

Look sideways at chlorine. Rash.

Walk near grass. Rash.

Eat something other than a piece of cardboard. Rash.

Rash. Rash. Rash.

So we are stocked up with any type of ointment, cream, sachet, powder you can think of for rashes.

For spew bugs?

Nothing. Except an old bucket we use for painting.

It seems to be all we need.

So I have learnt a lot these past few days.

I have learnt:

'Mummy I'm going to spew' actually means 'Mummy I have spewed.......on the carpet.'

they will wait until you stand in front of them to projectile vomit right at you

they will wait until you have picked them up and put them on your knee to vomit...down your top

to use towels.....hundreds of towels on and around the bed

a t-shirt will smell like weetbix and banana spew forever...regardless of how many times you wash it

that t-shirt will never be the cheap one from Big W, it will be the only Fred Bare one your kid has

the sick child will work out pretty quickly that normal Mummy replies such as 'you dropped it, you pick it up' and 'you've got arms and legs, use them' will temporarily change to 'can I get you anything sweetie?' 'Would you like another Hydralyte iceblock?' and 'Don't move. Mummy will get it.' and promptly take advantage of this rare situation.

you could beat Hussein Bolt in a mad dash to the toilet carrying a 4YO in a log hold if it means not having to wipe up another spew puddle / lake off the floor

even if you make it to the toilet, your child's spew will hit every tile, every toilet roll, every part of the bathroom except the toilet bowl

the non sick child will think the spew bucket a novelty and promptly place on head

to make a silver lining out of my own dry wretching while cleaning up - working my abs, working my abs

despite waking every hour to a sick child at night, I can still function..sort of...albeit slowly....and to look for my car keys in the butter compartment of the fridge next time.

And I will go and get my mum a big bunch of flowers and thank her for all the times she has nursed me through bugs, fevers, nasties and self inflicted West Coast Cooler hangovers.

To all the mums nursing sick children out there at the moment, may their fever subside and your wine be cold.

H2O Challenge Progress Report 2

2012-01-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

Another week down and I only fell off the water wagon once.

Excuse #1: WD was away for work last week so when he arrived home with Thai takeaway and a bottle of wine on Friday night, I did partake and have 2 glasses.

Excuse #2: It was Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

And that my friends is why I set the task at 95% completion rate - sometimes life takes over and we shouldn't be made to feel guilty about it.

But still getting good results!

This week I got a little bored with the water so started experimenting a little more. I actually wrote about ways to liven water up here yonks ago. And talked about popping some watermelon in your water which is wonderfully refreshing.

I caught up with Lorna from paperbag marketing who helps me with the Workings Mums MASTERCLASS and we talked about all thing water and what we both do to mix it up a bit. Lorna and her husband cut up pieces of lemon or lime - if they've used it for zest in a recipe and have a rudie nudie lemon sitting about - and pop the mini slices in an ice cube tray.

I decided to take that one step to the left and cut up pieces of watermelon and mint leaves and make ice cubes out of them. Very easy to do.

Above: Just sliced a strip of watermelon off the top.

Above: Use the smaller leaves from your bunch of mint.

Above: Use a pouring jug to put the water in
to keep it looking neat.

And Whullah!! (how DO you spell whullah anyway!???)

Straight away you get the fresh taste of the watermelon, and the zing of the mint comes in as the ice cubes start to melt.

I would imagine, but don't quote me here....that it wouldn't be so bad in a vodka and soda!

So results!!! Here they are.

This Saturday coming, I have our friend's 40th, and was always planning to have a few wines. Won't need many though. After a few weeks of no drinking, I was ready to dance on our outdoor table after two glasses on Friday night!!

How are you guys going?

The Teapot Spot #4

2012-01-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

Love this teapot. Found at www.shelterness.com

Welcome to the condensed edition for our busy mums who don't get to read the blog during the week. Brew a pot of tea and sit down and have a read.

I started the week of with an #H2Ochallenge update. So far so good! I'll have another update for you tomorrow. I haven't jumped on the scales yet (partly because of the Turkish Pide and doughnuts I ate today), but I did get a comment from my client saying my eyes look bluer, which I can only put down to the additional water intake.

Lorna from paperbag marketing specialists shared her smartz and gave us her Top Ten Tips for Creating a great ENewsletter. Lorna helps me with Working Mums and she is fabulous. Check out the special she is running for Sshh Mummys on the Phone readers.

The we talked First Aid storage on TIP TUESDAY. Pop your tips in the comments section and go into the draw to win this gorgeous Medicine Storage box from Retro Kitchen below:

Medicine storage box by RetroKitchen at www.steadysticks.com

Later in the week I got all motivated and decided that 13 months after it was given to me as a gift, perhaps I should actually file my recipes away in the kikki.k Recipe Folder with some Recipe Organisation.

And finally, we started a flurry of online shopping with the review on the beautiful MyraMel towels available at Stretched Interiors Online Store. Two of my most stylish friends are purchasing them, which is a testimonial in itself. They truly are a great product.

And go into the competition to win a kikki.k organisation pack. All you have to do is go to this blog post here and tell us what you would like to see more of or less of at our Working Mum and Mumpreneurs events this year - as soon as we hit 1000 Likers on our Facebook page, we'll draw the prize. Not long to go and excellent odds!

Happy days!

No More Stinky, Wet Towels!

2012-01-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

Naz from Stretched Interiors sent me a MyraMel Towel at Christmas time as a thank you for some work we're doing together.

I don't know what I was expecting....just another beach towel perhaps?

Instead, I got one of these.

A 100% cotton towel, but not with the heaviness of a regular towel. I was a little unsure whether it would actually do the job.

Over the Christmas period, I ended up using it as a tablecloth and picnic blanket - it's so light and easy to wash.

And then we took it to a friend's pool party the other day. And I used it on the kids when they got out of the pool. What a difference. The absorbency was waaaaaay better than your regular beach towel. And it took about half the time to dry.

You know when you go to the beach or friend's places with pools and you end up chucking the wet towels in the back of the car?

This time I could fold the towel up and pop it in my bag. No stinky, heavy wet towels.

I also like the 100% cotton. Both my boys look sideways at grass or chlorine and get eczema, so I try and use clothes and towels with as much natural fibre as possible to minimise flare-ups etc. And these gorgeous towels meet that criteria.

And you can fit plenty in your linen cupboard rather than putting two big beach towels on the shelf and that's it.

So now whenever 4YO goes swimming at home, it's our towel of choice.

And I'm going to get some more.

Stretched Interiors have a special on for the month of January, which is going to make this a whole lot easier - 30% easier in fact.

30% off when you purchase towels from their online store, for the month of January. Simply enter coupon code 2012 at checkout. Simple.

Thanks Naz, they really are a wonderful product.

FINE PRINT: This is an unpaid review. Product was received as a gift and I'm writing about it because I really really like it.

It only took 13 months but I did it: Recipe Organisation

2012-01-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

I would like to say that WD got me this kikki.k Recipe Folder for the Christmas just gone, but alas he got it for me for Christmas 2010, which means it has sat neatly in it's beautiful white box on a table in my office for 13 months.

It also means that every time I would do my menu planning for the week, I would have to look through this.....

Ummmmaaaah....

So it finally got on my......

And last week I sat down and sorted it all out.

And now my recipes are all sitting beautifully in my Recipe Folder like this.....

Except for these ones, which are still in my homemade recipe book. (I am still cranky with Coles online for substituting my glue stick order for a bottle of Clag - I didn't even know Clag still existed). See how my pages are all wrinkly???

Blimey - first world problems or what?

So now I have my homemade recipe book tucked neatly into my kikki.k folder along with all the looseleaf recipes.

Look at it sitting neatly here, next to my "cooking wine" and my lethal weapon of choice.

I also took the opportunity to cull those recipes that I liked the look of and looked pretty in the picture but I would probably have no chance of recreating.

What the hell is a syllabub anyway????

What has taken you a year to get around to doing???

Please note: no goats were hurt in the pictorial use of metaphors in this post.

TIP TUESDAY: First Aid Organisation

2012-01-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

I have a dirty little secret that I am going to share with you.

It's my medicine ~~shamozzle~~ cabinet.

And this is it.

Just checked there is no embarrasing ointments like haemorrhoid cream or a tube of Canestan visible!

Phew....all clear.

Umma - the cupboard is above the fridge so waaaay out of my sightline, which I think is why I let it get like that.

Well no more.

I saw this in the paper on the weekend. And now I'm getting one.

Medicine storage box by RetroKitchen at www.steadysticks.com

You can have one too! This will be our prize for January's TIP TUESDAY.

All you have to do is tell us how you keep your first aid and medicines in order - comment on the blog here. Or over on our Working Mums FACEBOOK page.

All contributors to our TIP TUESDAYS for the month of January will go into the draw to win this great organisational prize.

And check out the Steady Sticks website too - you might just fall in love with their products. Just gorgeous.

THE SMALL PRINT (and conditions of entry)

1. Competition starts at 09:00 AEST Tuesday 3 January 2012 and closes at 11:59 on Tuesday 31 January 2012.
2. Entry limited to 1 per person per post / per TIP TUESDAY
3. Leave a comment below sharing a first aid / medicine storage tip or take part in January's TIP TUESDAYS on the Working Mums MASTERCLASS Facebook page.
4. Entry limited to Australian residents only5. The winner will be drawn at random using www.random.org and will be published on this blog on Wednesday 1 February 2011.

Guest Post: Ten Tips for Creating a Great Newsletter

2012-01-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

Lorna Gordon runs Paperbag Marketing Specialists. She is savvy, smart and Scottish! We met at the Northern Beaches Mumpreneurs Network and clicked straight away and she helps me with my ENewsletters: gave it a makeover and upped the click rate and open rate which is digital marketing gold.

I have also been getting some pretty fabulous comments about the newsletter. And when Julia Bickerstaff, who is no stranger to the world of small business thanks to her work at The Business Bakery and on Kochie's Business Builders, dropped me a note to say how much she loved the new look, I knew Lorna was doing something right!

Now I am spending more and more time running marketing ideas by her. And she doesn't think I'm crazy when I send her an email at 3am with an idea I just had to tell her about.

Here are Lorna's Top Ten Tips on creating a great newsletter. And check out the special offer for readers of Sshh Mummys on the Phone at the end of the post.

Running your own business is kind of like getting on a roller coaster, you come out of the gates very excited and start that slow process working up to the first peak, heart pumping, adrenaline rushing and then you get to the top and come down the other side screaming, holding on for dear life!

This is exciting for all of about 5 minutes, but you soon realise it isn’t a good way to run a business. Instead of living your business life as if it’s a white knuckle ride with the highs of lots of new clients and lows of having no work, you need to find a way to even it out and enjoy the fun without losing your lunch/sleep/sanity.

You can help deal with those highs and lows by constantly communicating with your target market. You don’t need to invest thousands in big campaigns, adverts or ineffective letter box drops, it can be done simply and, most importantly for small business, at a low cost.

As well as using social media and blogging, regular newsletters to your peeps can keep you in front of them and they are very easy to do. Here are my top ten tips on creating a great newsletter:

1. Have a plan. Sit and work out at least 3 months worth of content that fits in with your scheduled events or promotions before you get started to avoid writers block.

2. Be regular. I’m not talking about eating your bran, schedule your newsletters to go out at the same time each month or quarter and try to stick to that timing.

3. Use your band. Most online providers will let you customise your newsletter, make sure you use your branding to keep up continuity.

4. Give them what they want. Think about what your target market might enjoy from your business and include it e.g. recipes, links to other blogs, hints and tips, reviews, things to make or do, giveaways.

5. Keep the articles short. Your readers are not sitting down to read War and Peace. If you have a lot to say, blog about it then link back to that.

6. Think outside the box. As well as regular news updates, use them to promote special offers, gain information through surveys, highlight new products or invite your target market to events.

7. Don’t spam. Have a sign up form or make it part of your terms that clients are included on your list when they do business with you, please don’t sign people up that don’t ask for it!

8. Make sure you have an unsubscribe button. Not only will it keep your readers happy it makes sure you are following the legal guidelines for newsletters.

9. Use a reputable provider. Some that you can check out are Mail Chimp, Constant Contact or Your mailing list provider.

10. If all else fails, outsource. If you don’t have time or your creative juices aren’t flowing, find someone who will do the work for you!

Your newsletter will help keep you top of mind without being pushy, helps generate leads for your business, is a great tool to direct people back to your blog or website and, if done well, will help get rid of those pesky highs and lows and get you off that rollercoaster.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR SSHH MUMMYS ON THE PHONE READERS

Fancy a newsletter for your own business? Make it easy with our special offer exclusive to Sshh.. Mummys on the phone readers.

If you arrange a schedule and template and book a block of 3 newsletters with us before the end of February 2012, we will give you one extra newsletter for free, saving you $110!*

Our schedule consult (either face to face in Sydney or on Skype) will help you work out the basic content for the next 4 months of newsletters. Using this information we will then set up a fabulous template that will impress your readers. So what will this cost you?

Schedule consult and Template set up $270 +GST

Block of 3 newsletters $330 + GST (payable at $110 + GST each month)

Extra newsletter Free!

To take advantage of this fantastic offer simply email Lorna.Gordon@paperbagmarketing.com.au and use SSHH as your subject line. Or phone 0402 586 244 and let me know you saw this offer through Penny’s blog.

*Terms and conditions apply. Offer is for a schedule and template package and 3 months of newsletters, with one extra newsletter for free. Not available to existing newsletter clients. Not available with any other offer. Not redeemable for cash. Offer ends 29 Feb 2012.

H2O Challenge Progress Report 1

2012-01-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

So this time last week I spoke about giving myself a challenge.

The H2O Challenge. I was exhausted. Not feeling myself. And the kinaethiologist I go to every month suggested, rather forcefully, that I drink more water.

So I have. For the last 7 days my liquid intake has been a cup of green tea in the morning, and water or soda/mineral water for the rest of the day.

It brought up a discussion about how much is too much. I am basically going through 2 x 600ml bottles of water a day (just filling it up from my tap), a cup of green tea, and a glass of soda water with lunch and one with dinner. So I'm probably hovering between 2 - 3 litres a day.

And results?

I'm getting them.

Check this out.

So the most obvious changes are the weight loss and the shrinkage around my waist. I even weighed myself after breakfast. You know how sometimes you weigh yourself as soon as you get up in the morning (or after your morning wee), before any food has managed to get in and add itself to the scales?

Well I forgot to do it first thing. So this result is after breakfast (and a chocolate kingston, just quietly).

I am still quite tired, but previously I have been feeling tired around lunchtime. Now, I seem to be getting tired around mid afternoon - 3pmish. This may be a result of the H2O Challenge, although I am thinking it may have a little more to do with the 2YO and 4YO I live with (daycare goes back tomorrow....give self high five, which is like one clap, which is weird...but who cares, daycare goes back tomorrow!!!).

My skin is definitely feeling a little more hydrated and my eyes are less bloodshot. I still have those teeny weeny red veins at either ends of my eyeballs, but I can see more white now, which is giving my eyes a brighter look.

And I want to make it clear, I have not deviated my diet in any way. If anything, as we are still in holiday mode, and I cooked a batch of cupcakes last week, I have probably eaten more biscuits and snacks than normal.

I also have not undertaken any formal form of exercise - I know I know - this will happen...ummm later. Have just been doing the regular amount of activity - housework, walking to and from the shops every couple of days, teaching the kids YTT style dance moves...you know, normal every day stuff.

Although I have been in the pool with 4YO a little more this week thanks to the hot weather. But this usually means sitting on a Noodle under the shade of the frangipani tree supervising 4YO monkey gripping around the pool and saying 'Mummy watch this' 752 times. Not really taxing. The Commando would be shouting at me, put it that way.

So the weight loss I can only put down to the water intake and cutting out my regular vices ie sauvignon blanc and cleansing ales.

If WD had been sitting on a chair on Friday night, when he got me a beer out of the beer fridge (yes, we're good Australians with our 2nd and 3rd beer fridge in the garage) on Friday night, only to have me turn it down, he would have fallen off it.

It has been surprisingly easy to not drink alcohol. Guess I have just not been in the mood.

I may or may not still be counting down the days to my friend's husband's 40th - one of my rostered days off drinking water.

But pretty happy with the results thus far.

I have an appointment with the kinaethiologist on Tuesday. I haven't clued her up to what I have been doing. Will see if she notices first.....and ask for a discount if she doesn't.

How have you guys gone?

The Teapot Spot #3

2012-01-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

You can buy this teapot hear at The Heart Tree UK

So The Teapot Spot is back after a festive season hiatus. This is where you catch up with a week of Mummys on the Phone with a cuppa. So get brewing and put your feet up.

This week I started with a challenge to myself and have got a few of you on board as we all try and rid ourselves of some of festive food and beverage overload, and up the energy levels while we're at it. Find out more about the H2O Challenge here and feel free to join in.

I'll give you an update tomorrow - I can actually already feel some of the benefits and have not wavered from the water / green tea intake (surprisingly!). Twitter hashtag is #H2Ochallenge if you want to keep up to date with my progress or tell me of your own.

I may or may not have mentioned a Captain Feathersword and Anthony sandwich in this post 10 Things I Learnt at the Wiggles Concert. Seriously, Anthony is even more gorgeous in real life. And cheeky.

I posted pics of our Christmas Buffet for the 5 day long fiesta that was Christmas this year. Yep - 5 days. With all of our various family activities thrown in, Christmas went from Christmas Eve right through until the 28th. Which is why I turned into a screaming banshee on the 29th.

Then while everyone posted pics of their holidays on Twitter and Facebook, I pondered the myth of that old chestnut - the Staycation. The term created by people at home who are pissed at people on holidays.

And then I was posting an update on our Working Mums Facebook page and realised we were a smidgeon off 1000 Likers, so decided to run a competition. All I need is for you to pop over to the FB page and comment underneath the question about what you would like to see at our events in 2012. All contributors will go into the draw to win a kikki-k gift pack. When we hit 1000 Likers, we draw the prize.There's only 2 comments there at the moment, so the odds of winning are pretty high! Too easy, Campese.

As for next week, lots happening.

An update on the H2O Challenge, a guest post for our business mums on ENewsletters from Lorna at Paperbag Marketing and plenty more.

See you then.

COMPETITION: We want you! Well, your ideas.....

2012-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

I love our Working Mums FACEBOOK page. I love trawling through information to upload on there every day. Stuff that can help you.

Us.

Or stuff that doesn't help us at all.

It might just make us smile for a while.

So this morning, when I was on there doing a status update, I saw we were very close to 1000 Likers. Which is very cool.

I have never actually done the 'Please Like Me' thing. I figure if you like the page, you'll click and stay.

Click and play.

Click and comment.

Click and drink.

So each of the 971 Likes on our page at the moment are a little confidence boost to me. It says that we are doing something right. It's like you guys are hanging around and having a cuppa with me.

SO!

Because you can't run a competition on Facebook without downloading a third party app and getting written confirmation from them. And because I figure that if they suggest locations for my photo albums (does that freak anyone else out? One of them knew the NAME OF THE PUB I was in for one of the photos), then they would sniff out a competition pretty quickly.

So I am running it here on the blog.

My blog. My competition.

SO!

Would love to get your thoughts on what content you would like to see / hear us cover at the Working Mums and Mumpreneur events for 2012.

We have big plans. More regions covered. Webinars. Online interviews. It's all happening.

I just want to make sure it happens the way you want it too.

Suggest presenters. Suggest ideas. Suggest times. Suggest days. Suggest anything.

Just head to the Working Mums MASTERCLASS Facebook page and add your comment under the QUESTION status.

When we hit 1000 Likes - could take a day could take a month! Who knows?.......but when we do, all commenters will go in the draw to win a kikki-k gift pack which includes:

my little notes book
shopping list
sticker book
recipes insert pad
weekly planner

So get commenting and let me know what you think.

And thank you for your support in 2011. Seriously peeing my pants about what's coming up in 2012.

Damn pelvic floors.

The Mighty Myth of the Staycation

2012-01-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

We are spending our summer holidays at home. WD only has minimal time off work - just the days in between Christmas and New Year - and with a Christmas that managed to stretch itself across five exhausting days, that didn't leave a lot of time for getting away.

So we got away. At home.

Which kind of feels like every other ordinary day here. WD is back at work and so it's the kids and I.

And the cat. He's here. Sleeping for hours at a time. Stretching in the sun. Meowing until someone gets him food. It's like he's on holidays every fricken day! I swear he used his tail to jack me the other day.

So when I go on holiday I :

order room service
don't wash sand off my feet because I know someone will come and sweep it away for me
don't make the bed and smile every time I return and it is miraculously made!
have a 5pm cocktail. Four if I'm there for happy hour
sit on a stool in a pool (best invention ever!) and drink said cocktail(s)
inhale the contents of the mini bar. For dinner
ask reception / concierge stuff, just because I can, and they have to listen to me
put dirty clothes in a plastic bag, never to be seen again, until the return home
choose a resort with a kids club
don't feed the cat, because he's not there, which also means I don't scoop up kitty poo
have an afternoon nap in crisp, cold white cotton sheets
watch Abu Dhabi's Next Top Model on cable
order more room service

And when I go on a Staycation, I:

do 7 loads of washing a week
call the local takeaway and curse when they tell me they don't deliver BLT and Wedges at 11pm
get in the pool but spend my time duck diving to get all the Hot Wheels cars out that have been thrown in by 2YO
eyeball the cat and DARE him, goddamit to poo inside
put the bins out (and put my prawn heads into the neighbour's bin under the cover of darkness cos THEY are in Forster for 2 weeks...bastards.)
change and check nappies for PlayDough pellets that are on their way through 2YO's intestines
trawl the internet looking for things to do with the kids that will cost less than $450 for a day out
go to the Towers instead, window shop and appease 2YO and 4YO with milk arrowroots while they sit on those ridiculous rides at the shopping centres, while we wait for someone else to put $2 in. I refuse to. On principal
decide to use January as a detox so can't have a 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm etc cocktail unless it involves ice. And water. And that's it.
cook dinner every night but add a tomato cut into a flower for added 'resort' flavour
count down the days until daycare re-opens. It's 4 if you're wondering. Bring it.

I think the term staycation is really just about polishing the proverbial poo, no?

Buffets, Backdrops, Big Balls and Bunting

2012-01-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

This is the last Christmas post, I promise.

Actually just got forgot about the pics because I was ridiculously organised and had taken them off the camera on Boxing Day, sitting on the hard drive.

So here is some pics of the buffet I created for Christmas lunch, night and Boxing Day. We ran three separate meals using the old smorgasboard strategy.

Worked perfectly.

I didn't take any pics of the food all set out on the table, I'm sorry. People were too quick to chow down.

But here is the link to the menu. So you can imagine. And salivate.

So here was the buffet all set up on Christmas Eve ready to go.

Backdrop made from offcuts from Mum, dowel and cermaic rings from Recycled Garbage (Marrickville) $5
Cloth is Warwick linen. I got 5 metres on a roll at Recycled Garbage for $13. It's a lovely material and has actually washed really well ready for next time. (and I still have about 2.5 metres left on the roll).
Flowers from Sydney Flower Market $36
Bottles from Domayne. They were on special this week for $4.50. Think I paid $9.
Platters, bowl and basket - stylist's own ;-)

And these were the only pics I managed of the food. Sorry about that! But hosting three sittings for for over 25 people all up meant I didn't have a whole lot of time to grab the camera.

Shame because the red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing and bright blue stars looked amazing. Will do an encore for you at some point.

These have got to be the easiest pre-dinner snack to make. I got the idea from Jacki at Blissfully Sweet when she presented at our last workshop. Peccorino tomatoes, green olive, bocconcini ball, basil leaf, black olive on a skewer. Too easy.

The vintage Waterford crystal glasses (saved from a clearout at WD's parents house some years ago) were brought out too. I love them. I use them all the time, actually. Life's too short to not drink your champagne out of crystal.

WD's nan has been unwell. She said she just doesn't feel like eating anymore. And had hardly eaten anything for two days leading up to Christmas. She ate this all up. Christmas lunch will do that to you. Bless her.

So lunch was inside but dinner was outside, so I dressed outside up a little too, in keeping with the Australian Country Vintage style I was rolling with.

And engaged the best sewer I know - my Mum - to help with the Bunting. I love it. It's still out there.

Also loving our new wooden screen which gives the verandah some more privacy and creates an outdoor room for us. My talented brother in law built it, finishing it just before Christmas, which is why I forgave him when he said, 'WTF is THAT?' when he saw my buffet backdrop. Pfft! :-)

We kept it simple. Used the outdoor wooden table that just got a makeover (see how shiny it is?) and linked it up with our big old Freedom furniture wooden table that I got for $120 8 years ago because it had a scratch on it (it seats 8 people - bargain). Ran a linen and lace runner up the centre. Silver Christmas crackers and that was it. Easy.

Next party at ours. Australia Day! Better get Mum on the bunting again.

10 Things I Learnt at The Wiggles Concert

2012-01-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas, because I didn't have anything to do, I took 4YO to The Wiggles concert.

It was in Castle Hill, under the Big Top, and it was wild.

Here is what I learnt:

1. What you think is a jumping castle from a distance is actually a merchandise tent.

2. You may need a second mortgage to eat there. 2 waters and 2 popcorns cost $26!

3. Anthony is even more gorgeous (and cheeky) in real life.

4. You may find yourself drifting away dreaming of a Captain Feathersword and Anthony sandwich.

5. Take earplugs. The noise....my lord! The noise of 1000 screaming toddlers. Think of the noise 1000 quacking ducks would make, then double it. No. Triple it.

6. The appearance of the Big Red Car will cause 'the ducks' to practically take off and make your ears bleed.

7. The profit margin must be huge. Basic production + $45 a head x 1000 people x 3 shows a day. You do the Math.

8. Two kids = 3 toilet trips mid show.

9. On your return from the toilet, your 4YO will go into the wrong section and everyone will laugh at you.

10. You are awesomely married to a man whose office is 500 metres from the Showground which means you don't have to pay for parking or get caught in the ridonkulous traffic jam.

Awesome, though. May or may not have sung louder than my 4YO.

The H2O Challenge: You Oughta Drink Water

2012-01-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

I love Water. I have always loved it.

When I was a kid, I would swim in our backyard pool for hours on end.

When I grew up, I lived and worked on a cruise ship and would stand at the back (aft, for those mariners playing along at home) of the ship if I was feeling a bit meh and just watch the ocean stretch as far as the eye could see.

Or let my imagination work overtime when we crossed the North Atlantic and it was a millpond (traditionally a cacophony of grey, agressively churned water). I would half expect a sea monster to rise up out of the water, pick up the QE2 and it eat in one gulp. Like I said. Imagination working overtime.

I lived in Spain in my twenties. In Mallorca, and apart from having the Skases' drive past me in their gold convertible Mercedes, my other highlight was swimming in the Mediterranean every day.

But my tipple of choice has been wine and tea for years.

I see a kinaethiologist / chiro every month and last month she told me I was dehydrated, adrenally exhausted and had a magnesium deficiency.

To which I replied:

'Of course I am. I am a working mum with a 2YO and 4YO. Waaahhhhh!'

And she said this:

'So what? Are you just going to let yourself feel that way and use that as an excuse all the time?'

Which made me do this....

I don't pay someone $75 to tell me how it is!!! Oh. Wait. Yes I do.

So then I said this:

'Okay I get it. What can I do?'

And she spelt it out for me...very simply.

H 2 O

Apparently, if I'm not weeing every two hours, I'm not drinking enough water.

Apparently, if I'm feeling tired and sleepy in the middle of the day, I'm not drinking enough water.

Apparently, if my skin is dry, red and itchy, I'm not drinking enough water.

Apparently, if I'm spending $75 a month to have a kinaethiologist tell me I'm exhausted, I'm not drinking enough water.

So, I am challenging myself this January.

You can join in too.

In January, I will only drink water and green tea.

No soft drinks. No juices. No regular tea - the Twinings will get pushed to the back of the pantry.

No beer. Cripes. No wine. Oh blimey. No champagne. Wahhhh!

(Except for the 21st of January, which is an old friend's 40th birthday known for putting on cracking parties).....But apart from that!!! Nada! ;-) Got to love 95% commitment, huh?

And to be fair, my Kinaethio-blah-blah (got sick of typing it), did say green tea must be limited to one a day as it does have a small level of caffeine in it too. I just need something warm to kickstart me in the morning.

So, every week I will report back and let you know the results. This is the criteria and my current state:

Bit nervous about sharing my weight online, but there you have it. The reason I included my waist measurement - and used an apple in the image - is because I am an apple. I have legs like celery sticks but hold my weight around my stomach area, which according to the Heart Foundation is a no go.

So join me in giving 95% to this experiment (hey, we're only human!) and feel free to let me know how you're going every week too in the blog comments. Or on the Working Mums Facebook page.

Dive in.

Twitter hashtag #H2Ochallenge

Just Being

2011-12-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

I will be honest. The 'festive' season wasn't so festive for me.

Five days of family occasions sandwiched into the end of a year where I have never felt so exhausted.

It took its toll.

And I'm a little glad it's over.

So what do I do now? As a mum who runs her own business and works part time, I do what I do every day.

I get up when the kids knee me in the face when they run into the bedroom at 6am, have a cup of tea and put a load of washing on.

See? Exhilerating.

And that's why I do enjoy a new year. The chance to put stuff behind you.

The chance to close a book.

Open up another one.

.....or not.

Your choice.

See that's the good thing about brand new years....it is your choice.

As for resolutions, I don't really make them anymore. I rejig my business plan every few months.

And I find that every day, regardless of whether it is 1 January or not, I make resolutions every day.

They tend to centre around being alone in the bathroom, not having to navigate a kid's fight naked with conditioner in my hair and finding the car keys within a 5 minute window.

Small wins.

This week everyone's resolutions were flying around thick and fast.

And this is what I liked the best.

The justb girls posted this on their Facebook page on Friday. And I loved it.

Less about lofty goals.

More about defining who you will be.

So, these are mine.....

BE Brave

BEhave

BE Me

Every day we make a brave decision (and I'm not just talking about getting on the M2 bus where the drivers are frustrated Formula 1 drivers). I want to be brave in what I do every day. When I was in my twenties, it was nothing for me to pack up my backpack and move to another country, get a new job, travel to whatever city or town I needed to with whomever I wanted to. And while I know kids and my work limit that a little now, why bloody not give it a crack? Or be brave in new ways.

I need to behave. I yell at my kids too much. I know. I know. We all do. But I want to bring it down a notch. I'm getting counselling this year on how to manage my expectations of myself and of the people around me. They are way too high....as is the decibel level of my alter-ego : the screaming banshee. Enough. I need some stillness. And so do the people who live with me. (not the cat, though. He scratches my couch. He still gets yelled at).

And I want to be me. I'm okay, you know? I have some rough edges. I'm not perfect. But I'm pretty good at some stuff. I'm a bit funny. I can do the MC Hammer dance in a long dress and heels. And I like myself most of the time. I have never been anyone else. It doesn't sit right with me.

What are you going to be in 2012?

The Top 5 Posts of 2011 (and a couple of my favourites too)

2011-12-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

So after a brief blogging hiatus thanks to 5 days of ~~exhausting~~ festive family functions, Sshh Mummys on the Phone is back.

Feeling very reflective....as you tend to do at the back end of a year.

Thinking about 2012....and what I want to do and how I want to do it.

But in the meantime, here are the Most Clicked Posts of 2011 on this wee blog that talks of all things mum, working and life.

Of the juggle.

Of the mayhem.

Of the frustration.

Of the love.

Of the 42 inch TV in our bedroom that may or may not have been a marriage saver.

Thank you for your support in 2011. The blog has grown beyond all my expectations.

Because of you.

1. The Elephant in the Room

This one, my friends, got Stumbled Upon....and as a result ended up with over 13,000 hits. Yeow! Love a bit of Stumble Upon action, I must say.

2. Can't Touch This: A History of Dance

This was a popular one! And I daresay it's because a lot of our gorgeous readers are frustrated Young Talent Timers. Will wait for the Twitter stream to go off with tweets from green-eyed late 30 - early 40 somethings when YTT starts up again next year. ;-)

3. My Life in Undies

This was a surprise hit, as I wrote this at 3am one morning when I couldn't sleep. I think it might have more to do with the content and the 'search' habits of certain people on Google. 'Nuff said!

4. Dinner Parties: Then and Now

You know when you write those posts and you chuckle as you write? This is one of those. This is one of my favourites of the year and fourth most clicked. I still wish I was this age in the 70's. Oh, the fun (and fondue parties) we would have had!

5. Do the Bus Stop

This is an okay post about travelling on the bus into the city. Certainly no Pulitzer Prize winning post. But the clicks came from the google search for 'Indian bus' (check out the picture). Bizarre.

As for MY top posts of 2011 (cos sometimes your really good ones get pushed down the click list because of an Indian bus):

This is Serious

I thought about this mum for days. I would cry every time I thought of her. She and her son made it. Her husband did not. It was written almost a year ago but as we approach the anniversary (always seems like the wrong word to mark a such a horrific situation), we will think of the Queenslanders and Victorians who lost so much in January 2011.

It's Not That I Don't Want To

I write with honesty. Have never polished the proverbial poo for you. And one day i was just feeling like crap and thought about all the things that I wanted to do, but couldn't. And found a bit of humour in it. This is my favourite keeping it real post.

Motorboats, Towtrucks and Pork Buns

Yes, I've had a bit of car trouble this year. And this was the start of it. You couldn't make this palava up. Featuring Special Guest, Mrs Woog.

The Working Mum Event Experience

And THIS is my favourite wrap up of why I do what I do. The events for Working Mums.

My consultancy work feeds my kids.

My mum events feed my soul.

Game on 2012.