Ride along and share in my life as a parent who dreams of being a famous writer. Taking each day as it comes and hoping for the best
Tuesday, December 28
Packing
Tuesday, December 21
Three days and counting
I just love Christmas! From the food to the decorations, to the joy and the bringing of people together. It is all just wonderful. Of course the presents make it pretty special as well.
Saturday, December 18
A world of rules
Friday, December 17
Barbie?
Thursday, December 16
So many ideas and so little time.
Monday, December 13
Tis the season...
Saturday, December 4
Dear Santa
dear mr santa claus
I am writing to you to day to advise you of the present that I would like to resive for christmas this year. In my opinion I would like a laptop for christmas because I think it is a great piece of technology.
I would like a laptop for christmas because I would be able to research for my homework so I could finish it on time and the teacher would be happy with me.
I think I should get a laptop for christmas because I can look for games to play outside with my friends and family on special days like for e.g. mothers day, fathers day and Australia day.
Mum and dad like to be active and run and play outside I agree with them on this matter. So by owning a new laptop I can look for new better improved games to play outside with my friends and family.
In conclusion I think laptops are a great piece of technology and I would really like to resive one for christmas this year.
Kind regards
Little Miss L
Sunday, November 28
Still trying
Ok so I have not exactly been making the 8333 or whatever it was a day. In fact at this point in time I have only just managed to pass the 2000 mark. Leaving me a mere 48 000 words to write in under 2 days. I am tipping that it is not going to happen. I would love to think that I could but as a mother I just can't step away from my duties for that amount of time. Even if it were possible to find someone else to care for them for that time I still could not bring myself to do it. Especially not for the babe. Plus two days without sleep is pretty hard going for old ducks like me. Actually it is not so much the first two days but it is the third day that is the trick because that would be sleep day and sleep and mothering are not the best of friends, especially not if both have been absent for two days.
Having said that though I am not just going to throw in the towel and stop writing. I know that I have missed a few days and I know that I am well of target but you have to agree that recent days, have seen a slight increase.
So in a bid to maintain and possibly even increase my written words I am going to leave my on going tally of words just to see when I do actually achieve the magic 50,000 mark.
In my last post I called for suggestions of goals to set to make up for my premature 21st post. Perhaps I have just found it.
Hmmmm
Maybe I should run a poll?
2398
Oh dear :(
I am 21 again!
Wednesday, November 24
May they Rest In Peace
Stop Wasting TIME!!!
Tuesday, November 23
Let's get started
Some things seems to never change
Friday, October 22
How Art Thou Spunk Rat?
Friday, October 15
Flash Fiction Challenge
I found myself being taken here, where before I knew it I had filled in the entry form and began not so patiently waiting for the first challenge to be set. Finally the long awaited day arrived. And when I say finally I mean a good 14 hours after the date set out on the website. (One of the many joys of living in Australia is that for the most part we are ahead of time)
Anyway for the next 24 hours I pondered on what I was going to create. For the past month I had been dreaming of creating a literary piece that would leave the judges blown away with the prize money all but in my pocket. Now that the time was actually here I struggled to even conceive a notion of a plot that was set in a homeless shelter, mentioned a fishing net and was a mystery.
Not wanting to be a quitter (or waste the entry fee) I managed to submit a charming little piece which I titled Sally and the Psychic Not exactly the most imaginative title I know, (actually the judge's comments were the title is to literal and thesis like) but it was the best I could do at the time.
While on the one hand I felt some sense of achievement in being able to produce something in under 48 hours, there was also a part of me that felt I had not done enough. Truth be told I probably only spent a total of 8 hours creating my work of art and at the end of it all I realised it would possibly not be the winner I had been dreaming of.
For the following weeks while I waited for the results to be posted I tried not to beat myself up too much. What was done was done. All I could do now was make sure my next attempt was an improvement.
As it turned out I had my efforts were worse than I expected. I failed to score at all. You could only imagine the disappointment that I felt. I tried to let it all go though as it was only 24 hours till the next round began. With all the best intentions I was certain I could still make it to the top five. These best intentions were quickly shattered when I saw I need to come up with a court room drama that mentioned a remote control car. One hour before the deadline for submissions closed I some how managed to send of Death by Accident
This time there was no pride. Just shame I had not been able to come up with something better. I felt my efforts were nothing more than just an entry. I was glad it was an electronic submission as it really would have been a waste of paper to enter such tripe.
I felt no anticipation for the results to be posted this time as I was certain that I would again fail to reach a score. There was a little disappointment when I received the email saying the results posting was delayed as I did just want it over and done with. However there was much surprise when I discovered I had actually been assigned 12 points. In the scheme of things this means out 22 writers I came in seventh place. Which given my effort levels I think is not too bad.
The best part of all of this is that I think it may actually be enough to spur me on a little...after all Nanowrimo is only a few weeks away now....stay tuned...
Monday, October 11
Habits
For example I put great effort into kicking the disgusting habit known as smoking. Which I must say is something I have proudly succeeded in. However forming the habit of writing on a regular basis is something that I am still to master... perhaps if were to think of it as breaking the habit of wasting my nights be idly clicking away on the old FB.
That is it for now... Sally Pearson is about to race in the 100 mts hurdles ... fingers crossed it works out better for her tonight
Saturday, October 9
Childcare
Child care is something I feel rather passionately about. As I imagine many mothers do. To me the best person/people to care for children are their parents. Well at least most of the time, barring drunks, drug addicts and those who willingly neglect the blessings that are sent to them.
I do not believe that children, should be sent to child care centres and quite frankly I struggle to understand how a mother can return to the workforce and leave her six week or even six month old baby in the arms of strangers. Aside from the obvious lack of breastfeeding opportunity it just doesn't seem fair to either party.
I understand each to their own and all that and I know that not all mothers can or want to breastfeed and that is their right and blah blah blah but I am sorry for not truly being able to accept it. To me, part of being a mother is the selflessness. It is waking up at ungodly hours to feed, soothe a new little soul as it adjusts to this world without complaint or grudge. It is going without at times in order to meet the needs of others. It is a devotion and love that can be draining and at times hard but also beautiful and more rewarding than anything else life can possibly throw at you.
As I sat down to write this post, an ad for a forthcoming current affairs show came on the old box. I didn't quite catch all of it but I did manage to here a group of mothers complaining about the rising cost of child care. I could feel my blood begin to boil as I questioned whether these mothers really needed to work especially if they were going to then complain about the excessive cost of paying someone to care for their flesh and blood.
As a society we have been conditioned to believe that self worth is gained through employment. Value as a person is often based on employment levels and achievement. Not nearly enough credit is given to mothers who choose to remain outside the traditional workforce to bring up their children. Instead mothers feel forced to deposit children in mass produced cages each and every day while apparently qualified carers tend to the needs of up to ten children at a time.
Now I must admit that I do know some wonderful people who work in this industry and they are passionate and caring people who genuinely feel for the children that they look after. However they are still not the parents of these children. I guess my biggest gripe with childcare is that to me it defies the point of having children.
Monday, September 27
Slowly, slowly ever so slowly
I think the biggest problem is the fact that I am not really sure what I want this creation to be. I have become so used to writing about parenting stuff that on the one hand it seems only natural to continue. On the other hand of course it feels slightly stale and boring and maybe time for something new. Then again the comfort of what I know makes it hard to break away...
Where to go? What to do?
I guess for the time being I will just plod away, post by post, come what may and see what grows. So far I have only shared the blog with one other person...I think it is nearly ready to be publicly unveiled... a few more posts first I think
Saturday, September 25
A picture speaks a thousand words
I had planned to put a pic in this post but deciding on the right one became to much. Staring at the home page of the much loved stock.xchng I couldn't even think of a theme to search for to get me started and naturally nothing on the page was jumping out at me so I left it. After all it was late and I was tired and while it had been a while since my last post I just could be bothered to go through with it.
After many days, I have finally gotten around to completing this post (well I have finally gotten around to working on it again...only time will tell if I actually get to complete it this time round...she says as she steps away)
Tonight when I opened this post I thought rather than go through the whole stock.xchng thing again I would just use one of the scenic shots I recently downloaded. I am not exactly a budding photographer, but I do have a relatively flashish camera that every now and then provides me with a rather nice shot.
Anyways...when I went to check the link I inserted at the top of the page was working the following photo jumped out to me
Wednesday, September 15
Referrals
As a mother of three I am not actually a supermodel. But then I never really thought I was... well not super... I certainly had some sort of model qualities about me in my younger years, not perfection but everything in all the right places if you know what I mean. Which at the end of the day counts for a fair bit.
Since the birth of my third little angel though it has been brought to my attention that I am in actually fact far from the model qualities of my younger years...unless of course there is a new modeling look that resembles a beached whale. This is all rather concerning for me and since it is a relatively new awareness I am not really sure how to deal with it.
Apparently there are a couple of fads going around called diet and exercise perhaps I should give them a go...in the meantime I will just remain in my little bubble of years ago
Saturday, September 11
Same old, same old...
Repeating the same thing creates a sense of comfort. There is something soothing about the sense of security that is created when one partakes in a repeated activity. Based on past experience we are fairly sure that the event will be in some way rewarding or pleasing (at least in the immediate to short term) otherwise we would not repeatedly carry out the act.
I think it is fair to say that I have a somewhat addictive nature. Though with enough effort I know that even the baddest of habits can be over come. Naturally these are the words of a reformed smoker. After being a nicotine inhaler for over ten years I take pride in the fact I have been able to give it the flick. I must say it took many attempts, one of which involved a failed blog (here if you are really that interested)
Often one bad habit is just replaced with another and while there is no direct replacement for my old nicotine habit, the fact I no longer have to get up from the computer means I am able to feed my addiction of mindless computer games for longer. Though as this old rambles post shows this is not exactly a new thing for me. Proudly though I say my attraction to PackRat has been replaced by the all consuming FarmTown which I have slowly been weening myself off with the introduction of Monster and Bubble Worlds....If only there was a way to make writing as easy and mindless as FaceBook games
Tuesday, August 31
Introducing....ME!
Heading towards my mid thirties I am a stay at home mum who dreams of being an accomplished writer. While waiting for this dream to reach fruition I dote on my girls. Mothering was never something I thought would be part of my life and yet now it is the most natural path for me to have taken. I am a mother for life and my life is mothering.
Like many teenage girls my dreams were of a corporate domination that yielded great power and responsibility. Essentially I guess you could say I dreamed of a power so amazing that if I wanted to I could take over the world. I never had any idea how this would actually occur or the form in which my success would take or any of the other finer details. I was just certain life would awesome. The kind of awesome they make on TV. Ok maybe not many shared that same dream but I am sure you know what I mean...
It took a while for the dream to actually fade and before it did I found myself questioning whether, even if I could, would I really want to rule the world? After all that kind of thing takes hard work and dedication. The hard work is not so much of the problem as hard work is what makes the world go round. It is essential that we work hard so to ensure we are fully appreciative when life is not so hard, but I digress... well sort of... as I was trying to say I am not very dedicated...I am let's just say easily distracted...oooooooohhhhhhhh shiny.... If you know what I mean.
As a result of my short attention span and to a certain extent laziness I have come to the realisation that the corporate world need not worry about any impending take over from me.
So moving right along...
The world of parenting has always been exceptionally kind to me. I never struggled with sleepless nights of crying or a failure to bond or anything like that really. In fact the first year of a baby's life to me is by far the easiest. Most problems during that initial year are easily fixed with a cuddle, nappy change and a boob not necessarily in that order but that is pretty much all it takes. Of course if you are and EC'er then the nappy change is replaced with a trip to the toilet.
In fact the first nine years of being a mum have been relatively easy for me. The actions required have varied a little but It has only been recent months...actually maybe even only a couple of weeks (time, as you will learn, is something of a blur at times to me) that I have began to question exactly what it is that my parenting instinct is supposed to be saying. As a rule I guess you could say my parenting style is basically instinctive. I take each and every matter on it's own and assess on a case by case basis follow what my gut tells me too.
Sounds good in theory but does not really assist with issues of consistency which according to many "experts" is rather necessary and also another post further down the line...
I am not sure what has gone wrong or which part of the universe has shifted but suddenly I seem to be unable to find what is needed to guide child number one. Part of me thinks that maybe, just maybe, she is experiencing the start of hormonal changes, but then this other part yells NOOOOOOOOOOOO, not yet she is still to little. Despite being the oldest of my loins she is still my baby.
So in an effort to maintain a clear head as I wade through this new phase of life I am here. For the first time ever, baring my parental soul with both fear and trepidation plus a whole lot more. There are many reasons, that only time will reveal, for my anxiety to share, and by share I mean truly share in an open frank and honest manner but I hope you stay with me and enjoy the roller coaster that is my life.
A new begining
So what will my wonderful new venture entail I hear you ask? Well if the name hasn't quite given it away yet then I am not sure you should even be here. As if there are not already enough thoughts and views on parenting I am now going to add my two cents worth. Well at least that was my initial intention.
When I typed the blog name into the google blog creator I envisaged I would create a whiz bang essential hand guide to parenting. On deeper reflection I now know that will not be the case. Slightly disheartened (can't explain why) I have been unable to write till now. You see I realised that my blog needs to be more than just my point blank opinion of how to raise a child. Sure that at times I need to state my case but I need not fear getting it wrong. After all we learn from mistakes...of course when it comes to raising children there is no real room for mistakes, well at least irreversible ones.
I have in the past shared many of my opinions in regards to the matter of raising children. (Anyone interested can check some of it out here)
So for those that don't know me, and I hope there are many as that would mean lots of new readers, here is a bit of an intro.
Friday, August 13
Nothing like a coat of paint
Repeat visitors will notice two things. The first is glaringly obvious, and is related to the layout and design and all that jazz. The second is perhaps not so obvious on the surface and is actually of no surprise as it relates to the frequency in which I post. Which is, well, less than not very often.
I am not sure if I will keep the current settings on a long term basis but for tonight they will do.
Much is about to begin....stay tuned