Getting Organised.

When my husband is away I notice how organised I need to be so help life function smoothly especially when I am working like I am this week for 4 days.  These things are especially important as Haydens morning rountine to eat, and be medicated takes 2 and a bit hours.  Very little can get done in this time.

So here is my list of the things I do to stay organised.

1.  I run a full and up to date diary

2.  I plan my menu every monday, check out my posts, so that my supermarket shop is accurate and I am able to cook without having to think the dreaded question "What shall we have for diner?"

3.  I do at night what I might ordinarily do in the morning.  Things such as lunches prepared, washing washed and ready to hang for the morning, all communication books etc filled in.

4.  Diner is cooked if need be the night before.

5.  I make use of my lunch breaks at work to make necessary phone calls.

6.  The children have chores which will help them know what is happening in their day and help the day run smoothly.

Monday Menu 8 March

Not much in the linking this week as it needs to be easy when DH is away and I am working.  I have managed to keep the fridays meatless each week which has been one of my goals this year.

Monday  Crockpot Steak and Kidney with vege

Tuesday  Beef wraps  (like cold meat and salad for children)

Wednesday  Bbq chicken with baked potatos and green vege

Thursday  stirfry chinese style

Friday  flafels

Saturday  We have a family function to go to so we are out.

Sunday....Meatloaf and salad.

Fridays Fabulous 5 March 5

No time like the present to get on with the Fabulous 5

1.  I have been have EHD issues.  The real point is that everything I had on my desk top computer was off it as it has been in getting fixed.  I thought, stupidly, that nothing else could go wrong.  How wrong could I be, at the same time as my desk top was out being fixed my EHD failed.  Yes 6 years of photos, my heart died....well just about did.  I spent a week and a half thinking of all those photos and memories gone.  How wrong could I have been.  Thanks to the wonderful Marten, my computer geek, 99% of EHD recovered.  I am so happy.

2.  Sometime life is funny.  This page is just one of those moments.

The credits can be found here at Weeds and Wildflowers

3.  I have found some wonderfully relaxing music to listen to in the last month so here are my recommendations to relax to and chill out.

I belong to you by Muse

Warwick Avenue by Duffy

As I Am by Alicia Keys

I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

Better Together by Jack Johnson

4.  I came across this wonderful acronym  I hope you like it

R  Remind yourself of all the things you are doing that might be making you feel anxious

E  Explain to your Mum what you are feeling and what might be causing you to feel anzious

L  Lay  out a play with your Mum to hlep you take control of the situation

A Applaud yourself whatever the outcome, because you are trying and will succeed eventually

X X-hale inhale breath in slowly and deeply through your nose, and then breathe out slowly through your mouth.  Do this two to four times to help you RELAX

I think I might pin this to my fridge for everyone to read.

5.  Finally a great quote to finish with

The world always looks brighter from behind a smile. ~Author Unknown

And this memory always does that for me.

The credits can be found here at Nuts4Digi

Putting the Zing Back

Yup that's it.  I am trying to put back or even add more zing into my house.  Life has had its pressures in the last few years years for us.  Really since Hayden got sick we have been busy with the rest of life and adjusting our life and me trying to keeping our nuclear unit safe. 

I have decided to change that now that it has been 4 years since all the drama of Hayden started.  I have been thinking that my DH and I need to make time and find energy to add more zing into our marriage.  Not that it is in trouble but really needs a little.......spring clean ....I suppose.  So I visited many a site around the www came across one that gave me heaps of ideas just to spring board off.

So I have made a plan and when my husband goes away for work I am getting back to putting little notes in his case.  Send him little special email messages etc while away.  You can't do a togetherness moment while he is sitting London and I am stuck here in little old New Zealand.



Then I have set aside one night for us for the 3 days he has at home before he goes away for 13 nights.

Ah now you can see why I need to plan and even plan to be spontaneous.  When DH is at work he is away for lenghts of time ranging from two nights to 13 nights.  Just part of the rhythm of our life.

So watch out I have a plan and now to get the by in from DH.

Children and the Internet

I have to say that my children don't get  much access to the computers in our house but I can see the time is coming that this is about to change.  So the summer holidays was a time to lay out some ground rules for operations that we all could negociate to a happy point.

Here they are

1.  No Google searches without Mum or Dad present

2.  Only use pages that are bookmarked in Favourites

3.  Use is a 20 minute time frame once a day.

4.  Do downloading at all.

5.  No sharing name, phone number, address or photos with anyone on the internet.

6.  No joining anything.

7.  One child at a time on the computer.

So I was wondering as my children are still at primary schoo,l if there is anything that I have missed off the list and if so what.  So far it has worked well enough.  I have set up each child with their own window on the computer and their own bookmarks.  I have parent controls set age approapriately and really the last thing that needs attention is to bring the computer into the family space so it can be easily seen.

The consequece is in the rules.  Break the rules loose the use of the computer.

Wordless Wednesday 3 March

Another installment of Wordless Wednesday.

Have a great day

Monday Menu 1 March

Another week and another menu.  The menu is on the fridge and the children have been checking it out.

Monday  Steak and vege

Tuesday  Fajita beef style

Wednesday spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday  beef curry stirfry

Friday  Pizza

Saturday  Noodly dinner  its a home invention special.

Sunday  Leftovers

Fridays Fabulous Five 26 February

As usual friday is a fabulous day of the week.

This weeks Fabulous 5 on Friday are

1.  My first scrapbooking page in nearly two months and I love it.

You can find the credits here at Nuts4Digi

2.  My favourite feeling in the summer is feet in the sand.  It just gives me that feeling of relaxation.

My family are happily posing for this shot.

3.  We have had the most marvellously warm summer and I will be sorry that it soon be autumn.  Anyway camping had its funny moments and this was one of them.

We borrowed some old camp stretchers for the children to use.  As you can see one stretcher could not cope with DS on it.  When this shot was taken he was busy sleeping soundly

4.  I was looking back at what I was trying to achieve this year and thought that I should look more seriously at the point I made about a date night.  So I am off to look here and do some research.  The titles look worth reading more into.

5.  Finally for this week.  I just love learning more about journaling and how I can enhance things. Over at AUDacious there has been a weeks free lessons on making great journaling.  I know it has already happened but I am going to be sure to go back and particpate anyway.

Smile

I got grumpy this week.  There was no particular reason for this just one of those moments I guess.  Not that people dont do these things but I thought that it was time find something smile about/ with. 


Hmmmmmm yet to find it.


Then I came across this quote

Seize the Day!.  Enjoy the moment.




and decided to do just that.

Okay my children dancing to You Tube helped.



Have a great day.

Wordless Wednesday 24 February

Summer at its best, looking out at the Corromandel Peninsular, New Zealand.