Keep your hands to yourself

Don't scare your brother.


Don't hit your sister.


Don't laugh at your brother.


And for the love of all things good, just brush your teeth and go to bed.


Yeah. That's my house right now.


One day they'll learn. I hope...

Tell me, how do you lose an entire sports shirt that got worn home?

And that, my friends, is my conundrum on this Sunday night.


I cannot find the stupid shirt. I mean, it's bright yellow, it should stand out wherever it is. At least you'd think it would.


But no, I can't find it. Wracking my brains trying to work out where he's left it and if I even washed it last week. It definitely wasn't in the wash yesterday.


Looks like he's wearing his old one to school tomorrow. It's a size too small, but that's life.


Now where is that damn shirt...

Working late on a Saturday? Check.

Okay, so I spent the day with the family - skate park, shopping (new helmet for the boy child), bbq with friends, in the pool, and all that jazz... but I still have to get about an hour's worth of work in - such is the life of the self-employed ;)


Emails checked, replied to and sent. Orders logged. Invoices planned and will go out on Monday.


And I just organised a visit to my brother later in the week and Easter accommodation.


Not bad for a Saturday night while the munchkins are watching Thor downstairs and the cat is sitting on my feet. Not entirely sure what the husband is doing, but I think I heard him moving stuff around in the gym, so that should be fun.


Aaannnddd I got distracted with another work email writing this post.


I think it's bedtime ;)

A parcel just arrived that I didn't order...

And it says "dumbbell rack" on the packaging...


That means it's mine. And my husband has been buying me pretty things for the gym.


Seriously, I might hold on to him for a bit longer ;)

So, that foam rolling thing...

I think I might just give in and get a foam roller.


After adding a twice-weekly run to the routine (on top of the 3x week weight lifting I already do), my poor legs have been copping it.


Yesterday I did a squat session in the am followed by a fast walk & stair climb in the pm.... and then turned around this morning for the usual scheduled run with the boy child. I stretched as usual, but I'm thinking something extra may be needed and the little massage ball I have just isn't cutting it.


So yep, a foam roller will be on the list for tomorrow when I run errands.


After all, you can never have too much gym equipment.


Right?

When life hits you like a tonne of bricks.

And the tears flow.


Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but more and more people I know and hold dear are being diagnosed with things. Sometimes the outcomes are good, sometimes not.


This morning I got news that a very dear friend had emergency surgery for a brain tumour. She has a long road ahead of her.


It just sucks is all. It just sucks.

I just like asking questions

That's what my 8yo told me yesterday.


He thinks he likes to ask lots of questions so he can learn about everything and learn about himself.
Pretty deep and philosophical for an 8yo.


Which is why my entire trip to and from school is peppered with random inquiries. Constantly.


I do have to admit though, when it comes to looking up answers, Google is a lot easier than trying to navigate the huge encyclopaedias we had when I was a kid.

My kid drinks coffee

And tea.


This morning my boy asked for a decaf latte.
He's 8.


No issues from this mumma - a tiny bit of coffee with milk isn't going to do any damage.


He also devoured two boiled eggs, bacon and some fruit.


It's just food.

He may be sending me broke eating so much, but otherwise.... it's just food.

A quiet day

We did have plans for today, but they went out the window when the husband woke up with a splitting headache. What we did instead was potter quietly around the house doing little bits and pieces and just hanging out.


That was a nice way to spend the day.


And the shelving in the garage is almost done :)

Last minute is always a good thing (well, generally)

We organised last minute this morning to have friends over this afternoon/evening for a swim and dinner.

Sounds good to me.

Packing the girl child off to a youth thing, so we'll just have the one child to contend with.

My girl is growing up *sob* Heading off to events without me or the husband!

I wonder if I can get a nap in before I have to drop her off...

Extra-curricular activities (for the kids I mean)

While I am very glad my eldest is enjoying her foray into high school, I'm hoping all the things she seems so keen on doing aren't too much.


She is on the swim team, with the first training session today. She's also signed up for ice skating during sport - that will start in a couple of weeks. She's joined up with the fundraising club and is apparently very keen to help out with bbq's etc (she must get that from her father as I just don't.do.selling.food - at all). Add to that choir and she was looking at the possibility of backstage work with the musical... I'm trying to work out where my shy and introverted child has gone.


Homework is pretty full-on, but for now she is handling it. I'm also being pretty hard on her and the boy because I want (and need) them to get a habit-based routine in place that they can eventually follow if I'm not around to make sure they get things done. I'm being hopefully optimistic that they'll have something sorted within 6 months?? Please.


The small boy auditioned for and got into the performance choir at his primary school. And has now decided to have a go at learning trumpet. As a former trumpeter, this pleases me immensely. Maybe now we can sell or give away those horrid violins that I have no idea how to play.


They both run once a week and swim in the backyard pool at least 5x a week at the moment while the weather is perfect for it. And the girl has youth group once a week and the boy has a junior youth group once a fortnight.


They are both growing up...


Maybe we can sleep in tomorrow.

What day is it again?

I have to keep reminding myself what day it is this week. For some reason it's really dragging.


Thankfully, today is Thursday, so it's almost the weekend - yay!
But that means only two days left to do some of the stuff I have to get done this week.


Oh well.


It will get done eventually, it always does.

Washing. The bane of my existence.

Well, that and cleaning.


I need to teach my children that they can actually wear their clothes for longer than 30 minutes at a time before throwing them in the dirty clothes basket. I guess the positive side is that they actually use the clothes basket?


Thank goodness for school uniforms.


In other news, today I bought my almost-9yo boy child deodorant.


I'm now officially freaked out.

Arachnids not invited

So, we were jogging along this morning, minding our own business and the girl runs head first into a spider web. Cue the screaming and minor panic attack that must have sounded awesome at 5.45am in the middle of suburbia.


Awesome mother that I am, I told her to wipe it off, suck it up and jog on the road if she had to.


Of course I jogged behind her to keep an eye on cars. I'm not completely insensitive ;)

Mondays mean a fresh start

At least, I hope they do.


I actually like Mondays. They are a symbol of a new week, a new stage, something fresh and full of possibility.


I like to sit down and plan out my week - work, kids, school, husband's stuff... it seems so busy at the moment, but I know very soon when uni goes back and AFL season starts again it's going to get a whole lot busier.


There is also the concern of how to fit everything into the limited number of hours I get to work, and to spend with the kids, just being available for questions and supervision while they do their homework and other stuff.


I guess it's just one of those things you do. Because you have to.


So for now, I still like Mondays.

World's Best Mum...

That's what it says on the little teddy bear figurine I keep on my desk that my husband and daughter gave to me when she was a teeny tiny little munchkin.


Definitely not feeling like it today.


Keeping positive is some hard shit. Honest.


But we do the best we can, and that's all you can do.

Long days..

It's been a long day. It's almost 9pm, the kids got to watch a movie on tv... I am more than ready for bed.


Thankful today that I managed to find a bottle of wine that doesn't want to make me scratch my skin off (I appear to have an allergy to a milk preservative sometimes used in wine) and had a lovely glass with the husband with our home made pizza for dinner.


Valentine's Day tomorrow. Today I was given two dozen red roses. So sweet.


I hope my little present is enough... I'm a bit worried now! I know it's a silly Hallmark occasion and we rarely do anything, but I wanted to do something little this year.


Here's hoping tomorrow is a lovely day.

The things we do...

My girl child's first high school swimming carnival.
8.30am to 3pm... followed by a birthday party. We got home just after 5pm.


I am wrecked. But it's youth group night.


For both kids.


For two hours.


That's two hours (ish) child-free.


I think I can sort of manage that chauffeur trip.

Excuse me while I try to sit my backside down....

Oh DOMS... what would life be without you.


That's Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness for the uninitiated.


I knew adding running to the weekly schedule would make things ache. And it's definitely caught up to me today!

The boy and I did 3.7km this morning during his mummy time running session.


I got home and basically looked at the stairs and cringed ;) A little bit of yoga and stretching did wonders, but am I ever glad it's a light day in the gym tomorrow followed by two rest days lol


It will get better - hopefully next week ;)

It's the little things

While walking back to the car yesterday afternoon, my son said...

"Mum, you're the best Mum ever"


Me: "Why's that?"

Mr8: "Because you bring afternoon tea with you every day. Not everyone's Mum does that."




The way to a kid's heart is through his stomach ;)
Gotta be happy with that.

Pancake Day

This morning my girl and I got up just after 5am, hit the footpath by 5.30am, went for a run and then came home and made pancakes.


Because.


Shrove Tuesday.


Best excuse ever.

Lifting heavy stuff makes me feel awesome.

The title pretty much says it all really.


I started a Hypertrophy stage this morning in the gym.


All my lifts are up hugely since last year.


Soooooo insanely happy, and such a positive boost to my mood.


Being stronger is one of the best feelings in the world.

Sunday, sunday....

There are days I think I should be split into several different parts or at least be cloned a couple of times so I can get more done and be there for more people.


Today is one of those days.


There's only so much of me to go around.


Today I've also had to make the decision to let go of something I enjoyed doing because I just can't fit it in any more, and the alternative option wasn't going to work.


But such is life I suppose. Ebbs and flows.


I've almost finished all my work. The house looks like crap, but I guess I'll catch up with that tomorrow at some stage.


Time now to get started on the usual stuff - dinner, check homework and all that jazz.


School tomorrow.
Work tomorrow.


Let's do this.

Working weekends

Such is life I suppose.


I try not to work on weekends, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.


So studio time interspersed with washing, housework and helping kids with schoolwork/assignments... just a part of life really.


The husband and boy child went to the skateboard park this morning for 3 hours, so that left me and my girl some time to get work done.


I love having a child that can use a vacuum cleaner ;)

Aiming for self care

I run my own business.


It's pretty cool. I make a product that both helps people and brings happiness. You've gotta be happy with that.

Unfortunately it can also get incredibly busy and insane and mind-numbingly frustrating all at the same time. And I've been juggling work, kids, house, family, holidays and whatnot for the last month or so.. constantly. I'm just about all drained out.


So I decided self care was in order. But, as I do, I incorporated a little bit of 'work'.


Every Friday I am blocking out some time to explore a different coffee shop. Have a coffee and do a little bit of planning before getting stuck into errands, groceries and whatever else my list entails. With the new school drop-off routine, this means before or just on 9am, which gives me plenty of time in the rest of the day to get my other work done.


I started this morning at a coffee shop I already frequent. And it was lovely. I blocked everyone else out and just did what I came to do. So peaceful, very calm and unrushed.


Now I just have to decide where I shall go next week :)

Running for it

Mister 8 has been bugging me for ages, so this morning we got up early and were out the door at 5.30am for a walk/jog/run.


Yes, that's early.

Yeah, I'm one of those morning people.


Which means I'm in bed by 9pm ;)


It was so nice. We shall be doing it again and I'm left wondering why we put it off - tired, busy, couldn't be bothered etc.


And then I did the school run, get home and have a text from a friend asking if I wanted a coffee. I needed human interaction, so definitely.


She needed to pick some stuff up so I entertained her munchkin for a bit, which isn't hard because he's adorable.


And now I'm back at work slogging my way through my list and I have the washing machine on (again) and the dryer going downstairs because, children and dirty clothes.


My life is so glamourous. I feel excited because I have fresh sheets on the bed and a new quilt cover from Myer. Seriously. I need a life.

Can we start today over?

Trying to have a discussion with a stubborn and argumentative 8 year old boy is like banging your head against the proverbial brick wall. Guaranteed headache even.


No sleep (again).


The only saving grace so far today (yes, I realise it's only barely 9.30am) is the 5am gym session I had this morning.


Although I'm not overly certain that lifting heavy pieces of iron in a dark garage at 5am when you've had about 2 hours total broken sleep is the best way to 'brighten the day'. It did make me feel better for a while though, and I am glad I did it.


Other than that... well I went the wrong way to school and had to backtrack through some side streets. That was fun. Not sure what I was thinking at the time, I think auto-pilot kicked in.


I have a full work day. I would take offers of coffee being delivered, but I honestly have a crap-load of work to do and am having difficulty figuring out just where to start.


It would almost be easier to work for someone else today. Guaranteed pay, cushy office, lunch breaks...


Okay. Whinge over. Time to get to work.

Assertiveness? Yeah, probably not.

I ordered my girl a custom made school dress uniform.


Because she's kinda height-challenged, like me, and has these fantastic butterfly swimmer shoulders that make fitting into this particular style of dress extremely difficult. And the one she could fit over her head? Yeah. It was reaching her ankles - not a good look.


I ordered them last year praying that she wouldn't have too big a growth spurt.


She's had a little one, but I don't think it will make too much difference.


Because the dresses haven't turned up.


Second week of school and they are nowhere to be seen.


My girl had to spend her first day of high school as the only person in the entire school in sports uniform. So still no pretty photos of her in her formal dress.


And she's dying to wear her new formal dress shoes and hat. Just like everyone else.


Ugh.


I'm emailing. I'm popping in to the uniform shop when they are open. I have no idea what the phone number is as it's a new campus (wouldn't matter when the shop is only open 3x a week anyway), otherwise I'd be ringing too. And I hate making phone calls.


Trying very hard to be assertive here, without getting peeved. It's not the uniform shop ladies fault, its the suppliers. I don't have their contact details or else I think my husband would have something to say to them ;)


I'm not the confrontational type ;)


Actually, I do hate confrontation.


Sunshine and daisies people. Sunshine and daisies.


But get your shit together and deliver.

Coffee, strong and black.

Take it or leave it.


My coffee tends to mimic my moods or the time of day.


The amount of looks you get when you're a 4'9 mini person who looks like the wind might blow her over and you ask for a long black, nice and strong... sometimes a double shot.


Like the other week when ordering coffee for myself and the husband. At a fancy schmancy little hole in the wall on the Gold Coast.


I ordered his first. Skinny mocha. The girl looked at me and remarked that she hoped there wouldn't be sugar in that.

First up. Rude and none of her business.

Secondly, the coffee wasn't for me, so give me my soy latte and let me pay extra for the privilege of not puking my guts up in half an hours time. Should've got a long black.


Thirdly, $5 (plus 50c for my soy) was too much for a tiny little "large" and your paper cups are too thin and need better insulation because they were bloody hot by the time I popped back across the road to give my husband his coffee.

Note. I will happily pay for good coffee and good service. We didn't go back.


Today though, long, strong and black. In my Nespresso machine. At home. After dropping children off to their respective schools and driving back home to get stuck into the mountain of work I have to do. Which I am behind on. Because, kids. And life. And all that jazz.


Thank you coffee, you make my Monday a little better.