Wordless Wednesday 7 October

Here is my photo for this week. 

The first swim of the season.  A bit cool it was reported and the swimmers did not stay in long.

I am linking this post to My Little Drummer Boys.

Being a Parent on the Sideline.

I am a parent on the side line watching my children participate in sport.  For me I am a hockey mum. I proudly stand and support my children playing their chosen game.  I love seeing them mature and develop, get stronger and grow their skill base. 

Unfortunately there are times when parents are less than positive on the sideline watching their children.  So this has got me thinking about what my role is as a hockey Mum/ Dad.

So my thoughts are.....

• Be a positive supporter on the sideline not only for my child but players from both teams.  Great play is great play no matter what colour shirt the player is wearing.

• Remember that if my child has not played as well as they might have, they know it.  Sitting in the car being reminded about is not ideal and sure not supportive.

• Celebrate their successes, even the little ones.

• I am not the coach...the coach has that role and never the lines do meet.

Spring brings variable weather.  In fact just a couple of weeks ago it rained so much that the very small creek  overflowed with the help of a king tide.  Oh yes and see that shed on the right.  Yes the really large one with the white door......well all our house hold posessions are there.  Underwater just a little.    Hmmm and guess what.....last time we lived in the same temporary accommodation (thanks Mum and Dad) with the same household storage situation, the creek flooded.  Yes the last two times that that creek flooded we have had stuff in the shed.  

Boy life can be cruel sometimes.

Wordless Wednesday 29 September

Spring is here and the weather is warming up.  When suddenly  it hails and doesnt stop for 30 minutes.  The grass turns white and stays white with hail.  In fact the next morning there was still some hail on the ground.

It was very exciting in our house.  It does not snow in Auckland and the hail really behaved like snow.  What more would you do with settling hail but to make a snowman decorated with leaves and sticks.

Add caption

I am linking this to My Little Drummer Boys and other Wordless Wednesday Days posters.

Oh boy ...oh boy

It is amazing how time flies.  I have been so busy in my house that I think I will be busy wiping cobwebs off until Christmas....and oh boy Christmas is less than 100 days away so not far.

Well what has life been throwing at me.  Since I last posted I have got my house ready to sell.  Sold it in 10 days and then packed and moved  a house load of belongings.  Then of course we had no place to move into so my wonderful parents, once again opened their house up so that we could have a place to stay.  So in cabins, yes two of them, my husband and I have a bedroom and in another is one child.  Two children are inside each with their own bedrooms.

So we have been busy trying to work out our next step.  That has taken a lot of time and energy.but finally the solutuon to our long term housing needs has been decided.  The next exciting adventure in our lives has begun.

Our needs were specifically related to my disabled son and the need for my other children to have space.  A place for peace and quiet, a place to study, and a place where the bathroom facilities are clean.  I know the last one is an unusual item on the list but essential when you have a child who does not appear capable of using a toilet without flooding the bathroom.  Hmmmmm

Luckily we had access to purchase a piece of land but to build was prohibative to fill our needs.  So we came up with a solution that comes with some risk.  We are going to move a large house from a place about 30 kilomerters from out land.  How very exciting for us but very stressful and keeping us, in our house, very busy.

There is no doubt that I am going to have plenty to blog about in the weeks, months and years to come as we move this house on and fully renovate it.

So while we take a break from the stress of ordinary everyday life with two teenagers (one being disabled) and tweenage boy I will be able to catch up on some sleep, make some new lists of things to do, clear my brain ready for some of those creative decisions that will need to be made to get the house ready for use to live in.

Oh yes the weather is terrible.  While we have no control over this fingers are all crossed in our house that the rain goes away so the ground is firm enough and the weather dry enough to cut a house into 6  pieces and move it onto site.

A photo taken while Iwas out walking,,,yes in the reain.

Wordless Wednesday 11 February

Nothing like summer in my house.

I am linking this post to My Little Drummer Boys

Just look inside

With February being the month of things from the heart I thought that it would be timely to consider what it is deep inside me that I love. 

There is no way around it that most if not all, people have things they love that have never emerged to reach the light of day.  I am no exception. I love the fact though that the most important things that I love are out there for that matter to see....my family.

But seriously it vital that I love myself first and foremost.  Without that nothing else really matters....well in my opinion.  I am at a point where, but I guess I have always known it, that I have to put myself first in the list of things I love.  As part of my life make over I more deeply realise that if I don't love myself then it is difficult to be a happy place.

So loving myself now looks like this:

• make sure I exercise as it, by default, gives me time for myself.
• eat a balanced diet and don't deny myself the treats.  They are part of the balance.
• laugh......everyday.   I am sure it shares all those happy endorphins and it is contagious.  Finally I am sure that I have read somewhere laughing helps keep the face well toned and in my steadily advancing years that is important.
• dream and be inspired to fill my life with things that I love.

 With that I leave you a quote to think about for today.

 (credits....all products by tangie baxter)

Monday Menu 10 February

Another school week is underway and all the after school activities for my children has begun.  Some are even first thing in the morning.  So I am still trying to remember what I do for my meals when I am out and about being taxi driver.

Monday  spaghetti bolognese

Tuesday   leftover meat from monday with salad and baked potato.

Wednesday  chicken capsicum red onion and mango chutney wraps (my own recipe)

Thursday   Vegetarian quesadillas

Friday  home made hamburgers 

Saturday  kung pao chicken zoodles

Sunday  leftovers

I am linking this post to I'm an Organising Junkie.

Fridays Fabulous Finds #67

I have plenty of links just waiting to be shared.  So there is no time to be wasted so lets get straight on to the links.

• You sure can not take the teacher out of me and I am certain that is whey that the use of the printable grids on Picklebums.com appeals to me so much.
• Tips for fabulous self portraits.  Got to love them all.

 Here is my effort at a different type of self portrait.  I am with my daughter

• My favourite  recipe find from last week.  The meatloaf is so easy to make and loved by everyone in my house.
• Just for that moment when you are without power like we were in December 2014, for 24 hours then here are some tips for surviving just such a moment.
• Finally a lesson on how to strum your guitar the Bo Diddle way.

I can't wait to be linked up to any of your favorite links.

My Mojo

I am on a mission to look after my mojo.  Yes you know, that special little something that really keeps you well motivated and on top if everything in a fabulous way.  When everything working just as if magic was involved.

So here is magic mojo finder recipe.  It took a while to work but still did at the end of the day.

 A recipe to find your mojo

Take a portion of each component and generously apply it to 

• smile and make the others in my house smile as they walk by me.
• take a little time for myself (go for an hour long walk) just to get a little head space for myself.
• laugh....a lot.  It is amazing what a difference it makes

and if all that does very little to help then

• take a 20 minute nap.   You will be surprise how much better one feels after a nap.

 and finally never forget

Wordless Wednesday 4 February

I am back to my blog finally.  I still have no idea how to get my computer to let me comment on blogger (so anyone who can help please......) but here is my first photo for the year.  It is from January.

Just another selfie...my daughter and me.

I am linking this up to My Little Drummer Boys.

I wonder........

I wonder why it is that some people...(yes I am talking about myself) are emotional eaters.   I know that stress rules my life in may ways.  Being the primary carer for a highly dependent, significantly impaired both behaviorally and cognitively child is not easy.  In fact it is fair to say that this is the primary source of my stress.  The stress not only impacts on me, but the relationships in my family and the happiness that many families experience due to the freer lives they have.

I know that my weight represents how I am looking after myself and how I feel about myself.  It possibly could be called carers fatigue.

So when my weight (I guessed what it was because I could not fit the largest clothes in my cupboard) hit an all time high, and after some months of denial, I did something very proactive about it.  I went back to Weight watches and stood on the scales.  Oh my gosh.

Anyway that does bring me back to me wonder why it is some people are stress eaters.  Maybe it is all tied back to the whole comfort eating thing.  Or perhaps it is just plain not eating a balanced diet.  Then of course there is the whole thing about exercise.....or lack of it as in my case.  For me it is sure all of the above.

I hope know  I have learned to deal with my stress eating.....cope with my sweet tooth and have promised myself to exercise and am walking for an hour 5 times a week and doing pilates at home through a programme I found on line.....it is free too.  There are now simply no excises not to exercise even if I have to push my disabled son in his buggy which makes it much harder.

I am at the stage of trying to keep my self exactly where I am.  I am happy with how fit I am, how I feel about myself and that I can participate in life without being constantly tired.  In the next month I plan on keeping life at this point of equilibrium even as the school year kicks in and the out of school activities all start up.

(credits for this page can be found here)

Monday Menu 2 February 2015

Back into the routine of planning my meals.  I know that I have been busy but this is a life one life saver I must get back into. It is very muggy and hot here at the moment and my meals reflect that.

I have just lost 15kgs so am trying to be careful with the type of food I prepare for my family as well as myself.

So without delay here is my menu for the week.

Monday  Cold chicken meat with green garden salad and baked potato

Tuesday  mango and chilli chutney with grilled capsicum, grilled chicken breast in a wholemeal wrap.

Wednesday  Meatloaf and garden salad

Thursday  Chinese pork mince stirfry

Friday   Homemade pizza base  made with a topping of salsa, capsicum, feta cheese and  fresh basil.

Saturday    meatballs and salad (my own recipe)

Sunday   leftovers

I am linking this post to I m an Organising Junkie.

Numbers for January 2015

It has been some time since I have blogged and now I have sorted myself out I have decided to get back to blogging and start with my number for the month of January.  It has been a month of holidays in my part of the world so the numbers are way different to any other time of the year.

• January was the month were we spent two weeks camping by the beach (yes that is my knee)

 (my layouts credits can be found in a gallery here)

• My husband and I spend 2 weeks with an airbed that had a hole in it and slept on a bit of foam on the hard and lumpy ground.
• My family spend every night playing board games.
• My 14 year old daughter spend 12 nights and days without access to wifi.
• My 10 year old became 11 years old thus marking the start of something new in my house were I have 2 children at college, 1 at a special education school.  
• I lost 5.1 kg in January thus completing stage 1 (yes I have lost 15kgs in total) in my 'looking after myself' life changing story.
• Petrol in my house now costs us approxametly 30 cents less a fill because the price of pertrol has dropped so much.
• My 3 children and I painted 190 m2 of deck yet again.
• I read 3 books while I was camping.
• I have walk for at least 1 hour 5 times a week every week of January.

•  1 child started his new school and has spent 3 days loving it.
• 1 child went for one day and came home ready for the weekend
• 1 child is yet to start.
• I had to buy 4 new pairs of shoes (ouch my poor wallet.)

 Well I think that is sure enough when it comes to numbers from me for the month.

I am linking this post up to Notes on Paper