Ten Minutes and an Ultimate Collection

 A few weeks ago I received and email.  True story.  It was one from a media company and made me feel rather special to say the least.  In terms of interaction with such companies I am still somewhat of a virgin.  I have never really sought them out but such offers are always welcome.

Now before I go too much further I want you to rest assured that I would never sell my opinion.  Or rather I doubt there are any companies out there that would be willing to pay the required price for my opinion.  Rest assured if I am being told what to say about something then I would have made a tidy little profit out of the venture.  And when I say tidy little profit I mean a massive fat wad of money, hence why it will never happen.  Which means any thoughts or opinions I give about a product will always be my own.

Glad that's out of the way.  As a wanna be professional writer I know the importance of ethics and all that.  Now where was I?

That's right, all excited about some email that was probably sent out to fifty other newbie bloggers under the misguided impression that blogging will in fact one day make them rich and famous.

Naturally I responded swiftly to the email and hoped that just maybe I might get something cool to share with my readers.  Or failing that something cool just for me and the girls.

What I got was an ultimate collection.  Actually what I got was

The ULTIMATE Kids Collection

A three disk collection of favourite nursery rhymes, activity songs and kids songs.  Apparently there are over 100 tracks for your listening pleasure.  Or rather my listening pleasure.  There was a bit of a crack in the front cover so it seems wrong to send it on to someone else.  Plus there really are some great songs on there that I have not seen on CD for ages.  

Brilliant songs like Hakuna Matata and Agadoo plus a whole heap of classic kid movie songs like Under the sea, I like to move it and You've got a friend in me.  Actually on disc three which is the Favourite Kids Songs CD I can't see a song that I don't want to listen to.  It is by far my favourite out of the them all.

The Favourite Nursery Rhyme CD does not actually do a great deal for me as I am not really a traditional kind of gal and it is chockers with traditional things like Baa Baa Black Sheep,  Pop Goes the Weasel and so forth.  It does make a wonderful change from some of the more commercialised things that are out for the little ones these days.

All in all it is not a bad CD.  I have no idea what it retails for or where you could even buy it from if you so wished. Possibly abcmusic.com.au as that is printed on back cover.  I am not even really sure if I was to write a review of it as in the email it said it was a thank you for wanting to be involved with the company.  Since there really were songs on there that I was excited to be in possession of I thought I would give it a bit of a mention though.  

The Blogging Olympic challenge for today is to write a post in ten minutes and hit publish.  This may have taken a little more than ten minutes to write, but I am putting that down to the need to get breakfast for the the starving masses that are apparently unable to fend for themselves.  So there you have it a double whammy, a ten minute post and review all in one.  Actually make that a triple whammy because it is Tuesday and I have blogged.

Joining in with the coolest meme ever at Diary of a SAHM

How to say goodbye to training wheels

For at least the last year, possibly longer, every school holiday break has seen me say to daughter number two, let's get rid of those training wheels.  The first few times I mentioned it she was hesitant to say the least.  She was quite content with the rickety old training wheels and could see no reason to get rid of them.

When she discovered scootering, bike riding became so last year that the poor old bike was relegated to the back of the shed and never looked like being ridden again.  My suggestions to try riding without training wheels were totally ignored and I was slowly resigning myself to having a child that would never ride a two wheeled bike.

This holidays all that changed though.

We were out and about, strolling through the park when we came across a mother teaching her young daughter to ride a two wheel bike.  When I say young I mean a good two years, possibly two and a half, younger than Miss Six.  This tiny little girl had just about got the hang of it.  Mum was still helping her get started but once going was able to let go and the little girl went for a while all by herself.

Miss Six was suitably impressed.

As soon as we were out of earshot of the mother and child, she informed me that she would like try riding without training wheels as soon as we got home.  Which naturally did not happen because there was dinner to cook, washing to fold and a whole heap of other things to be done that had already been put on hold in order for us to even be at the park in the first place.

Instead it took a few days till we could find some time to squeeze in a try.  Within minutes I had a two wheel rider on my hand.  Seriously, I am amazed that it was something that was put off for such a long time yet accomplished so quickly.

So with that in mind here are many handy tips on how to say goodbye to training wheels.

• Remember this can be a long slow process.  Each child will be ready at a different stage and each child will take a different length of time to get the hang of it.  It is one of those it won't happen over night but it will happen things.
  
• Patience is vital.  As is praise and encouragement.
  
• Start by adjusting the training wheels so they are slightly off the ground.  This will help the child to discover their sense of balance.  Some parents even take one wheel off altogether in the early stages.
  
• Once both training wheels are off spend some time holding the bike while the child rides.  Don't just let go straight away, give them a chance to get a feel for the bike and creating their own balance.
  
• Choose a large area away from obstacles and traffic to learn in.  If on the grass make sure that the grass is very short, otherwise it can make pedaling difficult.
  
• Always ensure helmets and covered shoes are worn.  Long sleeves and pants are optional but recommended if a fear of falling on gravel is present.
  
• When choosing a bike look for something your child will be strong enough to hold and control.  Smaller is sometimes better.  Have the seat a little lower as well to ensure child can place both feet flat on the floor.
  
• Have fun and enjoy this special time with your child.  You are not just teaching them a life long skill but also creating memories.

Blogging Olympics - Day 2 Challenge

In the past few days I have sat down to write countless times.  Sadly though the screen has remained blank.  In fact these words are the most that I have come up with and quite frankly they are on the verge of being deleted.

It's not that I have writer's block because I don't.  Complete opposite actually.  There are so many things that I want to write that I don't even know where to begin.  Which, you might be surprised to hear, is not a great place to be in.  Especially when there are apparently more pressing matters to deal with like feeding the tribe and housekeeping.

A little while ago I came across a blog that was offering a bit of an Olympic challenge.  Being a lover of all things Olympic I decided to find out more.  As it turned out it was blogging challenge so naturally I signed up quick smart.  A challenge is just what I needed to get writing regularly now that the school holidays are over.  Or so I thought.

Today is day three of the challenge.  This post is the challenge for day one.  Nothing like being on top of things now is there?  Actually this is the day two challenge, but the first challenge that involves writing.  The first challenge was an easy one, introduce yourself to the support group.

To be quite honest this challenge just didn't take my fancy.  In fact it still hasn't and I am not really sure how to go about it.  On the surface it should be simple.  All I have to do is write a post that mentions five other blogs.  Not exactly rocket science is it?

So why the struggle?

I guess the excuse I am going to run with is because I wanted to give you, my beloved readers, something a bit special.  Something a bit more interesting than just going "oh have you seen Pathetic to Pin Up?"  For five different blogs because quite frankly how is that going to entice you to go on over and check out a fantastic blog that follows Cie's journey to rediscovering her style?

Ever since I did my mother of an Olympian interviews I have been really conscious of maintaining a certain level of writing.  One that is a bit more than just another frustrated mummy crying out to be heard.  One that if by some bizarre chance a publisher stops by doesn't make them cringe and runaway at a hundred miles an hour.

Because you know it is totally possible that bloggers can one day be real authors.  Have you heard of Kerri Sackville or Allison Tait?  Both incredibly talented bloggers who are also published authors.  Sigh.  One day...

Of course unless I maintain this whole writing regularly thing one day may never actually come my way.  Now where was I?

Oh that's right in the middle of making an exciting post that links five other blogs.  Well done you on still sticking with me.  If you are keeping count I've managed to sneak three links in, only two go.  Which right now feels easier said than done.

Though perhaps there is a reason behind my procrastination.  You see once this post is done I then need to go and read some of the other great posts that my fellow blogging Olympians have written.  Posts that are now days old because they are all up to date and organised unlike yours truly.

Perhaps some of their organisational skills will rub off on me.  Stuff like that can be transferred by association can't it?  My fingers are crossed that it does.  Imagine how cool it would be to get some of the awesomeness found at Singular Insanity and Our Little Sins (who are also part of the Blogging Olympics) purely by being in the same Facebook group as them.

Anyway for now it is bottoms up and head down while I madly try and catch up with the other challenges I am slowly falling behind with.  Story of my life really.

Flogging my thanks for the Show

It might be Friday but boy am I thankful.

Oh. So. Thankful.

So thankful I am not even sure where to begin or what words to use.
Thankfully there are these to share while I gather my thoughts.

 Essentially, I guess I am most thankful that earlier today my mum and I thought,

To hell with the expense, let's take the kids to the show!  

Because let's face it taking three kids (and two adults) to the local show grounds when the show is in town, is never going to be a cheap experience.  


Oh me, oh my, was it worth it.

The fun that we had and the memories we created were just priceless.

Before I went off frivolously spending funds that were technically ear marked for such an activity but possibly could have been better utilized in the saving to have fun at my sister's wedding catergory, I am thankful that I took the time to get pretty much all of the housework out the way.

Yep that's right I am still singing the praises of my new vacuum cleaner.  I am seriously excited about using it, it makes me feel all Martha Stewarty.  And as such I am inspired to use it fairly regularly.  Well more regularly than what I ever have before.

I never really imagined myself as a domestic goddess, however I am starting to feel that it is perhaps possible.  Perhaps there is a domestic goddess within me after all.  I know this would certainly please my mother no end.

Back to this post.

I am thankful that the man at the gate said that Miss Six (by only six weeks mind you) looked like she was only five as he handed me back change from my expected ticket cost.  From there the day just continued to improve.  It really was a wonderful day.

We saw horses being ridden, cattle we could touch, baby chickens in varies ages, colours and sizes.  Then there were ducks and geese, turkeys, both big and very small.  Their gobbling gain laughs from one and all.  Miss Eleven was very disappointed we could not purchase one of the $10 babies for sale.
As tempting as home grown turkey for Christmas lunch may be, our yard is not so very practical for something like that.

The mouse circus

was beyond awesome.    I could have watched them for hours.

In fact we all could of.  The girls were just totally mesmerized by it all.  I have no idea how many there were, as they were too entertaining to stop and count.  I do know that I have been asked numerous times since then if we can please get our own mouse circus.  

Being able to take the girls to see all these wonderful things really was fantastic.  The brilliant behaviour and excellent manners all day showed they were loving every minute of it as well.  The heart warming, I am so glad we did this, moments were almost never ending.  I really am so thankful to be in a position to have taken the kids this year.  It is by no means something we do every year, making it that bit extra special when we do.

In other news I am thankful for friends that dropped by recently.  Especially after last week's post.  After I published it I worried that all the wonderful friends I do have would start to think I didn't appreciate what I had.  I am thankful that my friends are so awesome such thoughts would never cross their mind.

The return of school saw me go for a much needed solo run.  Many thanks for both events.  So pleased that everyone settled in like it was only yesterday they were last there.  Which was great.  Made only greater by the fact that because of the show, it is only a three day week.  Monday was a pupil free day so teachers could gather themselves and Friday a public holiday.  Yay!

Didn't I tell you I has so much to be thankful for.  I am sure there is even more but it is now stupid o'clock in the morning and I should try sleeping.  Public holiday or not children will still wake with the sun.  Apparently it is just what they do.

Finally I am thankful that awesome bloggers like Kate and Grace host such awesome memes for me to join in with and more so that awesome readers like you stop by and say hi.

#IBOT Love

Regulars readers will know that I just love blogging on a Tuesday,

so I can join in with #IBOT (I Blog on Tuesday) which is a weekly meme hosted by the ever gorgeous Jess at

I also have a love of buttons!

Some weeks, like when I have been chatting to mothers of Olympians I am super organised and have the post all scheduled to go before Tuesday even gets here.

Other weeks I wake up super early and get it written as the new day dawns before the ruckus of children begins.

Every now and then I struggle all day to get something up.

Rarely do I not find something to share but it has happened. Like last week. There was no blogging on Tuesday from me last week. Actually to tell you the truth blogging has been a bit tough for me of late.

I had decided to try and see if I could raise the bar a bit in terms of the standard of posts I put out. After the recent discovery of my interview skills I suddenly thought that maybe I could turn into one of those bloggers come journo types. I heard on the grapevine that journalists were concerned about the rise of bloggers or something like that and suddenly felt semi inspired to live out my once muchly dreamt of career path of journalism.

You know the thing that turned me off being a journalist? Well one of the things. The fact that you had to study to be one. You see after only having been exposed to the like of the NT News or the Daily Planet, I thought there was little to being a journalist. Lois Lane does make it all seem pretty straight forward.

Moving along though because clearly Superman is not coming to rescue me and nor am I about to make headlines as the mummy blogger who turned journalist and took on the world. At least not this week. Though I wouldn't mind being a blogger who wrote an awesome book that went on the best sellers list for weeks at a time.

All in good time I guess.

But enough of my pipe dreams for now.  I need to work on the whole writing regularly still before I can expect to have any hope of publishers knocking my door down and offering bags of money for my words of wisdom.

For now though, it is Tuesday and I have blogged which always makes me happy.

#IBOT is the one linky where I know I will get lots of visits and beautiful comments which give me the encouragement to write just that little bit more. So a big thank you to the lovely #IBOT community.

On friends and coffee

So there is this girl right.

Source

Well actually she is a woman, cos she is like a grown up.  Actually she is not just like a grown up she is a grown up.

Source

You know married with kids and all that.  That's what being a grown up is all about isn't?

Anyway as a grown up she often felt very lonely.  It was a funny kind of lonely though.  One that was hard to explain.  It was almost like she felt like she didn't have any friends.  Only she knew that she was very blessed to have some incredibly wonderful people in her life.  A tricky situation to be in to say the least.

The thing was she wanted more.  She couldn't help but feel that there was still room for at least one more in her inner circle.  Someone who would be there in many years to come having sailed the journey of life not necessarily in the same boat but certainly a similar one and most definitely at times on the same waters.

Adding to her frustration on the matter was the fact that she even had a particular person in mind.  A like minded soul, yet full of enough differences to create an exciting and learning experience for both parties.  In so many ways she was certain that they had been drawn together for this very reason but something seemed to be holding them back.

Something seemed to be preventing the relationship from blossoming and reaching it's full potential.  Yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  Nor could she work out how to get around it.  Why would the universe put her so close to someone yet leave such a big distance as well?

Throughout her whole life people seemed to just drift in and out of her life.  It was like she was just one of those 'season' friends sent only for a reason and once that reason was done with all parties moved on.  Normally it didn't bother her.  She had adjusted quite easily really.  It meant that she never had to get too close to anyone which in many ways she loved.  After all maintaining friendships is sometimes easier said than done.

It was only in recent years that had started to feel the need for more permanency amongst her circle of friends.  Sure thanks to the likes of Facebook she was able to stay in touch with her high school besties but as for seeing them in person?  Another story altogether.

They had all gone on to lead exciting lives, lived many many miles away.  Not exactly conducive to coffee catch ups.  That's what grown up friends were supposed to do wasn't it?

Source

Catch up for coffee.  Or a glass of wine here and there.

She wouldn't really know, she had never had one of those friends before.

Flogging my blogging With Some Grace

Thankful Thursday - A brand new sucker

Yep you read right.  Today I am thankful for the brand new sucker that joined our family this week.

And by that I mean this

That is right ladies and gentlemen (yes I do have male readers, this is one of them) I am now the proud owner of a brand spanking new upright vacuum cleaner and steam mop.  And O.M.G, cleaning just went to a whole new level.

Now those of you who know me, or have even just stopped by here before, will know that cleaning and I are not exactly the best of friends.  In fact there is very little that doesn't come before cleaning.  Well at least that is the way it used to be.

Since these wonderful fangdangled machine entered our house at the start of the week the floors have been vacuumed and mopped more than what they have the entire six years of living here.  Ok maybe not quite but I am pretty sure it goes close.


The best part of all of this is that it is not just myself who is enamored with them.  I have had to battle with Miss 11 over whether I could have a turn.  Ok maybe I didn't put up as much of a fight as her and my requests may have just been a ploy to test her keenness, but either way she was not giving up control of the floor cleaners to anyone.

To say I am thankful for her sudden desire to ensure the floors are clean at all times is an understatement.  It feels more like a dream come true.  Oh how I hope it lasts and is not just a novelty due to the newness of it all.

Joining in with Kate Says Stuff for

Oh and in case you were wondering this was not a sponsored post, I really am just excited to own such a flash vacuum cleaner, perhaps I need to start getting out a bit more...

Wordless Wednesday - The Circus

The other week the circus came to town.

Naturally we went.  I just love the circus.

Almost as much as I love this fella

We saw this last time they came to town.

We didn't mind too much because it is awesome.

I did have every intention of writing an awesome post about it all.  Instead this is what came out.  Can't win them all I guess.

Joining this not so wordless yet still not wordy as such, post with

The Sunset

Sitting there watching the sunset she wished she was anywhere but there.  Sure the colours were some of the most amazing that she had ever seen, but right now they were the last thing on her mind.

Perhaps if she was on some deserted island with a cocktail in hand she would have been able to appreciate the beauty in the unusual mixture of colours that were decorating the skyline a bit more.  But she wasn't, so she couldn't.

She exhaled trying to let some of the worry leave her, but it didn't  Not knowing had always been a bit of a problem for her.  The waiting and wondering, it allowed for her mind to create all kinds of possibilities. Her mind was always so good at imagining the worst possible scenario, that she generally expected things to be ten times worse than what they actually were.

Her eyes scanned the field one more time just to make sure he hadn't snuck back out.  She knew of course he hadn't, but she was nothing if not hopeful.  Stretching her neck she tried to peer round the poles that obstructed her view of the playing bench.  He was still sitting there.  This eased her mind a little but not much.  At least it wasn't serious enough to be taken back to the change room for medical attention.  The fact that his shoes were off meant his was out for the rest of the game.

Which was what really peeved her the most in some ways.

She didn't mind giving up her Saturday evening to watch him play.  In fact it made her heart soar to see him out on the field.  His booming voice instructing his team mates where to stand and so forth.  She felt like a giddy teenager watching her sporting idol.  She loved watching him do something he loved so much.

What she didn't love though was sitting there watching him not play, while she worried about how  damaged he was.  To make it even worse his team wasn't even winning and didn't look like they were going to either.

She let out another sigh and checked her watch.  There was still another twenty minutes till half time.  It was going to be a long one.  Unless he was playing she really wasn't interested in watching just for the fun of it.

Her mind went back to worrying.

She hadn't seen the incident happen, though she would probably neglect to mention that to him.  The children had mistaken her for a climbing frame at that point and were blocking her view.  As they moved out the way and her eyes returned to the field all she could she was someone on the ground clutching their knee and everyone else crowding round.

Her heart skipped a beat and then made it's way up her throat as she tried to find him on the field.  Somehow she just seemed to know that he was the one on that had gone down.  As the players dispersed while the trainer and coach bent down to help him up her worst fears were realised.

Trying not to panic too much she tried to recall which knee he had previously damaged.  The skin coloured support brace he wore couldn't been seen from where she was.  The lump in her throat kept on growing.

Every inch of her being was concentrating on not getting carried away.   Over reacting and excessive (and often unnecessary) panic were two of her strongest characteristics.  Though the effect her worrying had on the children meant that she was getting better at remaining calm in their presence.  Or at least present an outwardly calm persona.

Watching him helped off the field while the crowd politely clapped, she found herself hoping that this time it was he who was over reacting.  Her fingers and toes were crossed in the hope this would all just be fixed with ice and a bit of rest.  The children took up so much of her patience she wasn't sure how she would cope if she had an immobile patient to tend to.



It's Friday so I am flogging my blogging With Some Grace

Thankful Thursday - Life as a whole

As I was aimlessly wandering around the kitchen, trying to avoid the dishes, while simultaneously procrastinating on the dinner preparations, I found my mind wondering what I would post for Thankful Thursday this week.  Given the blessed life that I have it is sometimes hard deciding where my thanks needs to go the most.

Without a doubt being thankful for my children and Mr Awesome is always at the top of the list.  However I am fairly sure that regular readers eyes glaze over when I start harping on about them because I tend to do so all the time.  What can I say, he is after all Mr Awesome and the children are his offspring so by default are also awesome...but I digress

Last week Kate's Thankful post was done in pictures and it started to get me thinking what pictures I could use to show my thanks.

Lots of beautiful comments on recent posts 

that inspire me to write more

Beautiful memories being made

Special sisters sharing quiet reading time together

Source

No time restrictions, oh how I love the school holidays

Source

Sleeping in.  The girls have been so beautifully quiet of a morning 

that I have had the pleasure of a few rather lazy morning of late *bliss*

While my mind took to planning this post rather than dinner, I decided that maybe a spot of music might help get on with what needed to be done.  For as much as I wanted to just write this post the responsible mother within kicked in and I knew that feeding the hungry hoards was the right thing to do.

Given that on the spot decision making is not always my forte I decided to let Mac randomly choose a song from my entire iTunes playlist.  I like to live on the edge like that.  Would you believe that this was the song selected

Joining in with Thankful Thursday over at

The Blank Screen

Staring into the screen she didn't know where to begin.  Her fingers hovering over the keys, trying to decipher which ones should be pressed in which order.  Pen and paper was so passe these days.

Source

Any real writing that had to be done was always typed.  Mind you she had little choice.  Handwriting had always been too slow when it came to getting the words processed at the high speed that her brain would send words gushing out at.  She just couldn't write fast enough and it would turn out to be one big jumbled mess of nonsense.

At least typing allowed her fingers to move at a more acceptable speed, allowing for not such a jumbled mess to come out.She kept meaning to try some new voice to memo thing on her phone but by the time she remembered it and got it set up her train of thought was well and truly lost.

Everything always tended to come out in a humbled jumbled mess.  Past experience had taught her that the quicker she got get words cemented in a visual form the better.  The added benefit of typing meant she could quickly erase anything that was not quite right.  There was nothing more distracting than the messiness of scribbled out words on paper.  She shuddered at the mere thought.

Back in her younger years when she first realised her love, (or perhaps need) of writing there was no such thing as computers.  Well at least not home computers in the mass fashion of today.  She could still clearly remember the first computer that had come into the house.  It was apparently from the law courts and the memory had been wiped and the system rebooted.  Whatever that meant.

To her it was just funny looking miniature TV with a funny coloured screen.  She loved that it was for nothing other than typing out words.  A few years before hand she had been given an electric typewriter.  It was a step up from handwriting but at that stage her typing skills left a little to be desired.

As it turned out though, she had a bit of a knack for finding her way around this fang dangled machine.  Somehow she discovered that the internal memory had not been completely cleared.  For hours she would sit reading through the list of names that had once had the details of their divorce stored on there.

Sadly though this trip down memory lane wasn't exactly helping her get done what needed to be done.

She was supposed to be writing her father's eulogy.  Not that her father was actually dead yet, nor looking like it any day soon.  Sure he wasn't the fittest bill of health but he was not on death's door yet either.  Given that death was one of the few certainties in life though he had decided that he wanted to be prepared for the inevitable.  As such he had requested a copy of what his daughter thought she would say when the time had come.

While his exact words were "well you're the wannabe writer in the family, I guess we'll leave this one in your capable hands" she was sure he had meant to say "since you have such a lovely way with words I hope you can come up with something fitting to say" or at least words to that effect.  Though after thirty odd years of being his daughter she was fairly used to the way he spoke now.

It was just the way he was brought up.  So different to the way she was accustomed to.  Where his life was a pass the parcel from pillar to post, a was the norm for bastard children of his era, hers was one of love and stability that saw her parents under the same roof till the day one died.

That's not to say it had always been the most joyous of unions, but above all else her parents had always ensured that she and her brother had a loving home to grow up in.  Letting out a deep sigh she could hear her brother sharing his thoughts on the up coming pre funeral.  She doubted he would attend.  She wished that she could be so brave as to stand up and share how she felt about the whole matter.

Of course she would never really do such a thing though.  It wasn't in her nature.  Her thoughts on how her father handled his diagnosis were not relevant.  After all who was she to judge?

She was not the one who had just been told they had some rarer than rare form of leukemia that may or may not end your life.  Because that's how rare it is.  So rare they barely know more about it than some big long name.

Her brain hurt just trying to compute it all.  For now the screen could stay blank.  Picking up her empty glass she headed for a refill.  How she longed for this to purely be something easily fixed by a stiff drink.

This may or may not turn out to be a future best seller.  

For now it is me just making sure I make the time to write, something, anything.

Joining in with all the other awesome bloggers who blog on a Tuesday 

and then share the bloggy love via Diary of a SAHM

Also joining in with the lovely Penny who hosts

Thankful Thursday - The Little Things Edition

Today's Thankful Thursday is brought to you by a whole bunch of little things.

Little things like the way Mr Awesome had two days off work to help care for poorly little people. The fact that the bug which caused Miss Two to start vomiting lasted precisely 24 hours is also something to be thankful for. As is the way that I never got around to donating all the excess sheets I seemed to somehow accumulate. There is no such thing as excess sheets when you have a vomiting two year old on your hands.

The way Miss Two appears to have passed said bug onto Miss Six though is possibly not something I am thankful for. Having said that though I am thankful that so far everyone else seems spared.

I am also thankful for the recent opportunity I had to chat with two mothers of Olympic champions. Which in case you missed can be found here and here. There are actually a whole heap of thanks involved we this one. Including being thankful that the PR company found me and then all the lovely compliments received for both the articles. It has give me hope that perhaps this whole writing dream is not such a half baked idea after all. The fact that I received no payment or giveaway for my efforts is totally irrelevant. While they would have been nice just being given a go was more than awesome.

Part of the reason behind the Olympic mums interviews was to do with a Thank You Mum campaign being run by P&G. Which leads me to my next port of thanks, my mum. Like most mothers she gets a bit of a raw deal at times. Never enough thanks, taken for granted and all the rest of it. Well this week I am thankful for the lovely fruit cake she made me, the gorgeous clothes she made for the girls and the sleepovers she has given the girls this week which allowed lots of one on one time for everyone.

Even though the second week of the school holidays are drawing to an end I am thankful that there are still two more weeks to go. Which is great because there are still so many things we wanted to do. These first two weeks seem to have flown by.

Finally I want to give thanks for all the moments of peace and quiet I have been able to steal of late. Despite all the happenings there have still been many a time (more than expected that's for sure), where I have found myself enjoying a moment or ten to myself for which I am more than thankful for.

What about you? What do you have to be thankful for this Thursday?

Joining in with Kate Says Stuff


Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses

Getting to Know Eamon Sullivan's Mum

Like most new mums, Pam had no idea of the great things that her son would go on to do.  With the addition of her second child her little family was complete and the wheels in motion for the creation of one of the fastest swimmers the world has ever seen.

Oh and did I mention the incredible good looks?

Because the cute little baby pictured here went on to be not just a cute toddler as seen below, but also a rather dashing young man and one of the country's most eligible bachelors.

As an integral part of our relay swimming team in the up coming London Olympics, Eamon Sullivan is one hot topic.  However rather than catching up with the man himself I was able to chat with the Mum behind the man.

Pam Sullivan, along with Emily Seebohm's mum Karen, have been selected as P&G's Mumbassador.

Proctor & Gamble (P&G) are proud worldwide partners of the London Olympics and as such have launched a thank you mum initiative, highlighting not just the great work mum's do in raising Olympic champions but the wonderful job mum's do the world over raising all children.

As the wise Trish said in a comment she left me the other day "...we are all raising champions and doing a champion job as mothers"  I think this is the essence of P&G's Thank You Mum campaign, which if you are interested in being a part of you can join in here

I am not really sure why but for some reason I was slightly more nervous about chatting with Pam than I was Karen.  I think it was the whole, I would happily run off with your gorgeous son more than anything.

How could you not want to run off with this?

As it turned out once we got talking my nerves dissipated and I felt like I was once again catching up with a mum I had known for ages.  One thing that stood out to me though was the way Pam continually assured me that they were just an average family.  Growing up Eamon was just an average boy doing average things.

While he may have just been an average boy then he is far and beyond average now.  Pam did say that there were times when it all seemed a little surreal and it is hard to believe that he is  your son.

Eamon took up swimming in a bid to strengthen his lungs and aid his battle with asthma.  Not an uncommon story.  However when he stood on the pool deck at the trials for the Athen's Olympic team common flew out the window as the then 17 year old Eamon made his way into the relay team for the 100m freestyle.  He was the youngest male on the team at that point.

Like  most who have gone on to do great things, it has not always been an easy path for Eamon or his Mum.  Watching her son trying to recover from hip operations and injuries was one part of mothering that Pam could have done with out.  However the dedication and perseverance Eamon showed in these tough times warmed her heart no end.  He would take it all in his stride and just keep on going.

In fact Pam said that it was the way in which Eamon bounced back from adversity that gave her strength to get through it at times.  Though watching him swim laps with his legs tied so he wouldn't use them while they healed is one thing she would rather not have to go through again.

When I asked her how she thought Eamon got through these times Pam put it down to his self belief and the notion that if it is worth doing it is worth doing to the best of your ability.  A notion that Eamon had instilled in him from an early age.  However there was never any pressure to go on to greatness.  The Sullivan household was all about having fun, trying your best and seeing it through to the end.  Great mottos for any family to live by.

Even though Eamon trains in Sydney now, having moved away from his home base in Western Australia the family is still close and supportive.  In fact in true 'a mother's work is never done' style, Pam helps out at Eamon's coffee shop whenever needed.  Be it baking cakes and muffins or filling in when short staffed Pam is always there to lend a hand. 

One thing that Pam has enjoyed most about being a Mumbassador is the extra time that it has given her with Eamon in the lead up to the London Olympics.  You need only to look at the photos to see the special bond that mother and son have.

When I asked Pam what some of her proudest mummy moments were she said it wasn't so much the winning of the medals but more so knowing he was trying his best and giving it all.  Watching him live his dream and achieve his goals.  

She also said it was the little things.  Like when a fellow parent of a younger member of the swim team came up to her and thanked her for all the time and help Eamon had given their child.  A testament to his great nature and caring personality.  Though Eamon claimed he was simply returning the kindness and support that had been given to him as youngster on the team.

Pam spoke with great fondness of how Eamon had such a wonderful sense of fun and was only to happy to act the fool to create laughter when needed most.  She described him as an easy to get along with person who always fitted in well with whatever was going on.  The pride and love in her voice as she spoke was more than just touching, and again led me to feel the closeness of their bond.

As all mums would agree we don't do what we do to be thanked.  Which is lucky because more ofteh than not there is no thanks.  What there is though are special moments in time when our kids just make us go awwwwe and touch our hearts in ways they will probably never understand.  I asked Pam if she had any of those moments she card to share.  The first she mentioned was a "Love you Mum" tweet on mother's day, followed by a hug on the Athen's Olympic pool deck.  Getting non competitors onto the pool deck is no easy feat.

As the kick off to London draws near Pam, her husband and their daughter Pia are preparing to head off and cheer Eamon as he once again does not only his country, but also his family proud.  I would like to wish them all safe travels and wish Eamon the very best in the water.

Joining in with Diary of SAHM for #IBOT as a proud member of

What I didn't learn at Blogopolis 2012

In case you were unaware a pretty big event occurred on Saturday just gone.  It was the Nuffnang Blogopolis for 2012.  Mind you I don't actually know much more about it than that.  Given that I am a Nuffnang free zone I guess that my lack of knowledge about the event is not exactly surprising.

It is not that I am against Nuffnag or anything like that I just don't know very much about them.  You see when I first started blogging, many, many moons ago, I did it purely just so I was writing.  The whole handwritten journal had never served me well so I thought I would give an online one a go.  I liked the idea that because it was online I could pretend that other people would be reading it as well.

I honestly thought there would be so few people doing what I was doing, that readers would come purely because there was little else to read.  To say I grossly misunderstood the Internet was a massive understatement.  When I slowly started to become aware of what was actually going on and the size of IT vs me I ran away and hid.  Realising my disillusionment was so incredibly heartbreaking that I was beyond despair.  

It has only been in the last twelve months that I have really considered this whole writing thing seriously again.  My lack of self confidence meant that when I did resume blogging I thought things like Nuffnang Ads were only for the big blogs.  When I realised they were a whole community of all sorts of bloggers I put it on the list of things to do.  Perhaps there was a place for me there after all.

Unlike most people's to do lists, being on mine does not mean it will get done.  In fact most of the time it is the polar opposite.  I have actually considered renaming my to do list with will probably never get done.

Moving right along though.

If I was the super organised blogger that I dream of being instead of the fly by the seat of my pants type that reality currently is for me, I would be going over my scheduled post to join in with Diary of SAHM's IBOT linky.  It is another awesome interview with the mother of an Olympic champion.  A rather dashing and a little bit sexy Olympic champion actually.

Mind you at this particular point in time said post is not actually written which of course makes it difficult for me to go over.  All in good time I guess.

You see I am struggling to write it at the moment because I would much rather be off reading about everyone else's adventures at Blogopolis.  That's how I live, you know, vicariously through others.

For example I was just hanging out over with Tina learning how little I know about SEO and analytics.  Turns out it was even less than I originally thoughts.  It also turns out Catherine over at Cup Of Tea And A Blog, has already written a post with all the great Blogopolis posts.  While the lovely Denyse has done a nice little round up of who was where.

So that merry note I am off.  We both have some reading and vicarious living to do.  Oh yeah and I have that post for tomorrow write...did I mention the very cool pics I have to go with it?