Crazy? Yes it seems I am!

I've just let my kids take on pamphlet runs!! Eeeekkk! 750 bundles of 11 brochures to fold and deliver in 2 days! As you can see Livia has already declared victory! hehehehe!!

The flu is going around.....bring on the homemade vegetable soup!

I threw on the slow cooker last night while I was waiting for Braith to go to sleep :)

I just chopped up some veggies that I have on hand - I had a soup start pack that I picked up 1/2 price, which contained carrots, turnip, swed, celery, pumpkin, potato, which I roughly chopped then slow cooked over night. I used the hand blender to puree the veggies, then added some sweated onions, capsicum, garlic and ginger. Salt to taste and top with your favourite fresh herbs!

Easy peasy!!

More Homeschooling Resources

Again I've been to Aldi! I really need to invest in Aldi Stocks! lol!! I couldn't resist picking up these model kits for various parts of the human body :)

Guess who has fangs!

Cluck cluck cluck!!

Livia's friend has new baby doggies!! Guess who wants one!! :)

A little pick me up....

A yummy pumpkin and feta salad to help ease my carb cravings :)

Slim Down Sunday

So it's been a few weeks since I joined in SDS... Life has been busy, but productive and so has my weight loss. I've started clean eating, 6 small meals a day, and have seen great results. I've managed to go down to 69.6kgs!!

And I've lost 10cms off my waist!!

But my weekends fail me. I manage to go up to 71kgs just by eating 'regular' food on the Saturday and Sundays!!!

I've often heard that successful weight loss is 30% exercise and 70% what you shove in your mouth!!! lol! This is very true for me!

I have discovered that I really really enjoy my exercise!! Its me time and sometimes I even use the treadie at 3.30am!! I'll give Braith a feed then throw the shoes on and do my HIIT for 30mins then do some weights (usually hand weights) and in the evenings I'll crank up the incline and fast walk at 5.5 or 6 for 30mins.

I feel healthier, happier and stronger and its been many many years since I've felt like this!

Its nearly September and of course I have new goals :)

1. Eat cleaner on the weekends, including not just myself but also the family!
2. Weigh in at 65kgs
3. Fit into all my favourite size 12 clothing - just in time for the warmer weather!!

How?

1. Maintaining my exercise and mix it up with riding with the kids and walking the bush trails with the dogs.
2. Eat clean more often then not!
3. Stay on track and motivated by surrounding myself with like minded pple.

A big shout out to the crew in blog land who also have fun with SDS!!

Cravings....

So the other day I have cravings for bananas and finally caved in and bought 2, one for me and one for Kaydence, as she was the only big kid I had with me that day. They cost me $4.20. It would have been cheaper to buy a block of chocolate! lol!!




Its been awhile since I bought banana's due to the price, and Kaydence had forgotten how to eat them!! She took a bite out of the banana before I had a chance to peel it!! Silly monkey girl!!

As you can see she was not impressed at having to pose for photos while enjoying her banana!

And how did I like my banana?? Well the one and only bite that I managed to sneak was delish! Of course Kaydence just had to eat mine as well!

Quote of the Moment

Sometimes something happens that helps you............

ap·pre·ci·ateVerb/əˈprēSHēˌāt/

1. Recognize the full worth of.

2. Be grateful for (something).

Today while I was shopping with the kids, my car was involved in a accident.

A elderly gentleman, had a turn in the car park and accelerated forwards, instead of slowly reversing and ended up hitting my car plus 6 others.

He hit my car (ok its a bus lol) 1st and managed to shift it across about 2m, and then it smashed into the other cars in the parks across from me.




LUCKILY no one was hurt!! Luckily I was not walking to/from my car with my kids when it happened or we may have been very hurt! Luckily I was not loading my kids into the car when it happened, or we may have been crushed by my car being forced across the car park. Luckily I can still drive my car at the moment. Luckily the man was insured.



Its moments like this that make me take stock of my life and realise how LUCKY I am in life and how I really need to appreciate everyone around me.


(Please excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken as a after thought and it was starting to get dark. The white car is mine, the gray car the elderly gentleman's, and also there is a photo of a couple of the cars that were still waiting to get moved)

Its a busy life we all lead .....

Its it ever possible to have it all?? Just when I seem to master one thing, another seems to slip to the wayside.

Now that I have a handle on my health and fitness, I've noticed that there are other areas in my life that could do with a 'spring clean'.

There is something that always needs catching up, or sorting out or just some general attention.

Is there others out there that perhaps can 'do it all'?? Or is it just a given that modern day motherhood is about mastering the art of juggling??

Now I have to admit that my hand/eye coordination is not that great, so juggling is not my speciality.

I'm hoping that my life will resemble more of a puzzle, lots of little pieces, that with a little bit of work, will fit together nicely to reveal a beautiful picture.

Not a big ask :)

Quote of the Moment

Healthy Eating - Lunches and Snacks

Apple and Protein Shake



Chicken Stir Fry with Glass Noodles




Warm Chicken and Vegetable Salad

Quote of the Moment

Quote of the Moment

Not sure who Pan the Man is but I'm loving this atm :)

I'm Grateful for.....

Living in the moment and just being.

I'm enjoying the warm days, reading books on the rug outside with my babies, Kadee hugging Braith so tight that he squirms in protest,

Watching the chickens chase imaginary bugs,

Laughing at Silas running up to me with handfuls of eggs, squealing with delight as he brings out another egg from his pocket, exclaiming that he tricked me into thinking there was only 2,

Helping Mike with the renovations, getting excited about how close we are to finishing that space,

Cheering on Callum at his soccer game, marvelling at how grown up he is becoming,

Taking my girls to the hairdresser, Livia getting her first ever 'style' a side fringe that she is fussing over every other minute,

Learning with Aliya, a programme called Reading Eggs, and shaking my head in amazement at how easily she is learning her words.

Being in the moment and able to appreciate the little things is something I am grateful for....

Thanks to MaxabellaLoves for hosting and to MahliMoo, Me and Three for the pointing me in this direction :)

Remember when I blogged about a weird plant..

That I had found at the local community garden, that I was considering eating but wasn't brave enough to??

Well my sister in law Taren was at a relies place in Dayboro and happened to stumble upon this very same plant!!

And luckily, her Aunty actually knew what this plant is........drumroll...........

Its Malabar Spinach

I was thinking that the berry part was the edible part but usually the leaves are the most consumed part of the plant :)

So there you go, Mystery solved :)

7 Quick Takes Friday

— 1 —
Today has been a awesome week! Nothing exciting or eventful happened but there was a lot of family interaction this week which always makes me extra happy :)

— 2 —
I've been on track with my eating this week and I've exercised everyday this week :) And it feels good :)

— 3 —
We have the dreaded cold back into the house with Silas, Kaydence and Braith all being miserable. Luckily for me Braith is the only one waking up constantly because he's getting congested. Getting up to one night owl is manageable for me :)

— 4 —
The stars are still aligned when it comes to the renovations :) We are still plodding along and hope to have some more walls and perhaps the roof installed this week :)

— 5 —
3rd last game of soccer :( I love being a soccer Mumma!

— 6 —
Sipping my cup of tea, wearing my dressing gown that I got for mothers day, in preparation for some mumma time reading blogs :) (This might have to be my standard #6) and here I am yet again :) and yep here I am again - well today I'm blogging this in the morning, eating my eggs and mushrooms, sipping my tea, dressed in my workout gear with my shoes waiting patiently for a run :)

— 7 —
Sometimes finding 7 things exciting enough to blog about is a struggle, little things that are meaningful to me, is about as boring as watching grass grow for everyone else! :)

Some more quickies can be found here @ The Aussie Coffee Shop and here @ Conversion Diary
and here @ Many Little Blessings

WW - Wordless Wednesday

Origami claws - just perfect for a WW :)

Other WW FUN & HERE

Slim Down Sunday

So perhaps its not Sunday, and perhaps I've been procrastinating over even posting my dismal effort this past week. But hiding my head in the sand will not gain me any favours when it comes to slimming down....

So what did I lose this week? only 300g!! :( and I did put alot of conscious effort into healthy eating and exercising 4 out of 7 days.
But I had a massive blow out on Sunday, (family bbq) where I ate nearly a weeks worth of food....I'm kidding you not!! Just think 3 bread rolls, sausages, steak, potato salad, mudcake and other mouthfuls of this and that......and that was just at lunch time!! I knew it was not a good thing to do at the time but sometimes I just get into these moments where thinking and being conscious just doesn't happen! And of course no workout that day either!!

I also had my Fitness Barbie friend come over for a epic workout on Saturday, she was able to give me a little push to get me out of my comfort zone.

I was doing lunges with 4.5kg weights, and doing lots of leg raises and I am now able to do interval running on the treadmill at 11kms per hr :) When I first started running I thought that 6kms per hr was fast!! lol!!

I thought I handled the exercise really well until the next day when I could barely walk and I couldn't use the stairs cause my legs hurt so bad!! I couldn't even sit on the loo properly and nearly tore the seat off cause I was flopping down on it!! SHAME that I'm so unfit!! lol!!

But this week is a new week and will a new treadmill I am more then ready to keep up the hard work.

SO goal this week - Exercise 5 out of 7 days (do better then last week)
and to prevent another food blowout!!

I'm off to check out other slim down sunday efforts here and here and here

Good luck with this week girls!

Happy Mumma - Means Happy Family :)

"One thing that seems to pull me out of my funk is to spend some focus time on me. When I am taking a little care of myself it all seems to pull together again. I seem to be able to focus on my well being for a little while before the daily grind of 'getting things done' seems to take over. This way I figure that I will be able to look back on my week and think to myself - better take care of numero uno to keep up the family harmony :"

Its not Monday ........... but did i manage to achieve some Mumma Stuff last week? I sure did :)

*I got some much needed and long overdue catch up time with my dear friend and Fitness Barbie. Did I mention that she also did her very own Bootcamp on me?! I was pushed to limits that I didn't know existed and I sure did wallow in the phrase "No pain, No gain!" My legs hurt so bad that I wasn't able to sit on the toilet without flopping and nearly ripping the seat off! But after 3 days they have come good again and now I can run :)
*I made time for myself and I exercised 5 out of 7 days.
*We caught up with Mikes brother, wife and their son (who is the same age as Callum) as they have moved into the same area as us, its been a very long time between catch ups and found out some exciting news, they are expecting again :) After 10 or so years of believing they were unable to have more children they are over the moon :)
*I've spent some time reading :) How I have missed immersing myself in a book and just letting myself get swept away by the story.........I think the last time I spent a good chunk of time reading was before Braith was born.

I'm a simple needs girl, who is happiness is triggered by little moments, I just have to remember to live in the moment, rather then being too busy to notice.

I hope everyone out there is also enjoying the simple things in life :)

Brrrrrrr Still Cold!

Just went we thought that the weather was changing for the better along comes this!

Ipswich Forecast

Tonight	0°C
Tomorrow	22°C

NO FAIR!!!

Home Schooling Resources

Just wanted to share another resource I scored from a fellow home schooling Mumma :) Magnetic Alphabet Tracers.

Kadee loves 'mucking' around with these, she is still working or her coordination in getting the little magnets to run with the pen.

I have such a collection already, I'm so excited about our homeschooling journey !! :)

Healthy Eating - Breakfast

Renovations - the downstairs living area

We are full steam ahead with our renovations :) We are currently working on the living space in the downstairs section with is destined to be my primary 'homeschooling space'.

As it is a bit of dark closed in space, we had decided to put a sliding glass door on the back of the room to allow in as much light as possible and to add that open indoors/outdoors feel.

Initially we thought we would by a brand new door for this space and we had started to feel around for prices and were horrified at the quotes of $800 plus for just a standard size glass door, without screens even!!

So I decided to hunt around for a good quality door, even if it was just a saving of a few $$$, when I came across this beauty for the bargain price of $350!! Yippee!! And it came with 2 side panel windows, opens up centrally (instead of just the one door opening) and already has screens :) Only 2 yrs old! As new condition :) It has completely transformed the space and opened the room right up :)

I'm so very thankful that I have my very own 'Bob the Builder' who can do all of this and save us even more $$$$!!! oxoxox

BIG FAMILY, little income: FREE TRIAL at Kiva

BIG FAMILY, little income: FREE TRIAL at Kiva: "If you were thinking about joining Kiva down the track, this seems like a great opportunity to see what it's all about and even experience ..."

Yay for warmer weather - could spring be around the corner?

Ipswich Forecast

Tonight	6°C
Tomorrow	25°C

With these sort of temps, I fully welcome a thunderstorm :) And I know my grass will love it too!

Quote of the Moment - In a bit of a Quote mood :)

7 Quick Takes Friday

— 1 —
And here we are again! I missed last Friday so I should have lots of fun stuff to share, right?!?

— 2 —
My wonderful brother Trevor and sister in law Taren (*Waves) came to visit with their 3 awesome kidlets :) The days went way to fast as usual but we managed to cram in lots of shopping, cooking, eating, playing and of course running around after the kidlets :) Miss them way too much and can't wait for our trip to Gladstone in September for more cuddles :)
We were so busy we forgot to get the camera's out but at the last min I managed to catch a photo of Silas and Zaylen :)

Ummmmm not sure what Zay's jacket is doing lol!!

— 3 —
Both Braith and Kaydence are sleeping alot better, I'm getting a couple of good 3 hr blocks of sleep each nite now, life is looking rosie again! I bought them both Amber Teething Necklaces, not sure if they work but they look cute :)


Here Kaydence is posing and showing off those pearly whites that are giving her (and Mumma) restless and sleepless nights. We are 'lucky' enough to be cross cutting her stomach and eye teeth atm, oh the fun and the joy :)

— 4 —
The home schooling jounery is still an exciting adventure, where I am starting to gather quiet a collection of resources, I have my eye on a white board to add to the collection this week :)

— 5 —
My brother Trevor, Sister in Law Taren (waves hello) and their 3 kids are coming for a quick visit this week! I can't wait to see everyone again, its been a long time between visits and is extra special as we will be catching up with each others new babies, Zaylen and Braith!

— 6 —
Sipping my cup of tea, wearing my dressing gown that I got for mothers day, in preparation for some mumma time reading blogs :) (This might have to be my standard #6) and here I am yet again :) and yep here I am again

— 7 —
Renovations are plodding along nicely, slow and steady seems to be the motto of the whole renovation process!! Will post some updated posts soon :)

Some more quickies can be found here @ The Aussie Coffee Shop and here @ Conversion Diary