No! Don't do it!

That is what I want to scream at people who look at websites likes this Though for some reason, which I am still trying to discover and totally understand, I found myself doing earlier this evening.

I mean sure, baby number three took it's toll on my once youthful and skinny posterior but I am also quietly confident that with enough time I will be able to return to my pre-baby self. Or at least I thought I was until recently.

After thirty odd years of not giving my weight or physical appearance much thought it is strange for it to be suddenly that has become so time consuming. Without sounding too cocky or over confident I feel that it is fair to recall my youthful appearance as nothing to be sniffed at. Granted I was never award the Miss Australia title much like my parents had me once believe I was apparently destined to but I do feel it is fair to say I had all the right bits in all the right places. Which counts for something doesn't it?

Point + Shoot

I first heard about Point +Shoot over at hello owl a few weeks ago.  Since then it has been on my list of things to do.

Yesterday was an action packed day celebrating Miss L's tenth birthday.  Naturally there were many photo opportunities.  Unfortunately though there were not as many 'perfect' end results as I was hoping for. But there were still plenty of keepers.

The birthday girl

The birthday girl's lunch

The cake, not the fanciest looking, but since we were out and about the most practical and super duperly yummy.  Was an Apple and Raspberry Muffin Loaf (I sort made it the recipe up)

DD2 in her most beautiful Monsoons & Mangoes skirt.  A very clever local lady who makes unique clothing.
There will be a post shortly of her awesomeness so stay tuned

DD3 enjoying the beach on sunset

A beautiful end to a beautiful day

Another Day...another...

.... ... ... feel free to insert as applicable.

I actually started this post at about 10.30 this morning.  It is now twenty past four.  This is as far as I got on my first attempt 

So far for me it has been another rushed morning, which saw us unable to locate necessary items (such as school uniforms and socks).  To improve the situation (not) I discovered two day old watermelon in DD2's school bag.  Eventually we arrived a good fifteen minutes late for school (I think that is actually a new record for us as well).

In between all of this there was the constant discussion with Miss L on why she is actually going to school today.  She felt that her birthday yesterday granted her the "I'm too tired to go to school" excuse.  When that failed, the absence of her latest 'bestie' (who is apparently too tired to go to school today because of her double training session yesterday) became the next reason.  Which much to Miss L's disappointment failed to sway me.

Part of me thinks I will not actually progress much further now.  I feel like I have been on the go all day long yet not actually achieved anything.  Well at least not anything of great importance or even highly noticeable.  Though I guess everyone would notice if I didn't have the food to put on the table for dinner tonight.

Yep! I was right didn't get a whole heap done.  It is now 11.09pm.  Twelve hours have passed since I first sat down to write this post.  On the whole I guess I did make some progress on the whole getting the housework in order thing but as always there is so much to do.

Anyway on that happy note I am going to leave it here.  I feel sleep is my best option at the moment.  If you haven't already can you please swing by and vote me.  Many thanks and here's to another tomorrow!

 if you have already voted for the people's choice award please take the time to vote here as well.  This is a ranked directory needs regular votes (once every 24 hours)
once window opens vote has been lodge 

Actual Action.

Tomorrow sees DD1 hit the big old double figures.  Which is a pretty big deal.  It means I have been a parent for a decade.  That is a long time. When I think about it there are few people who I have known longer than Miss L.  In fact a lot of the people that are currently in my life are there because of her.  Just another way in which she has improved my life.

We have an action packed day planned tomorrow.  We will meet a friend from school at the Pet Expo, after which we will head to the Wharf for lunch which will then be followed by a dip in the Wave Pool (which reminds me I must call and check they are open, I was told of a rumour they were closed tomorrow)

Should we have any energy (or money) left we will go to the foreshore for a much loved Mr Potato Man potato.  In between it all we will try and do a photo shoot so the girls can model and show off their beautiful new Monsoons and Mangoes creations.  I just love the way that home made clothes are making a comeback.

Personally I grew up in handmade and I loved it.  I even worked at a flash surf shop in my teen age years and for the most part had homemade clothes.  Lucky for me though my mother is a very crafty being and was able to make the time to create special treasures for me to wear.  I must admit though that I am feeling very inspired lately.  I think I am almost at the stage where I am ready to push myself a little further and try something new.

Just the other day Miss L had a skirt with a broken zipper that after a bit of thought we decided could be given new life with a few modifications.  Of course said modifications have not actually occurred yet but at least we are thinking about it.

Of course thinking about it is not always enough.  Who ever said that it is the thought that counts didn't actually put enough thought into their statement.  Some times thought is not enough and actual action is required.  Which is actually the story of my life.  I need to create some actual action.

Speaking of which here is a sneak peak of my to do list for this afternoon

• blog/write
• run
• mow lawn
• clean kitchen
• card
• present

Oh my I think I might stop now before I get to carried away.  I haven't even gotten to the shopping for dinner/breakfast/snacks and of course the preparing of said meals/food yet or the thousand other things that keeping jumping into my head.

While I go and get started you go and vote for me (if you haven't  already)

Darwin Life and Home Expo

The first ever DarwinLife and Home Expo was recently held at the Darwin Convention Center.  This is one of the newer parts of town.  To me it seems so modern and flash.  Not like the dusty little town I vaguely remember as a child.  Now it really does feel like a thriving city, a place where all the cool people want to hang out.  

 

There has been a conscious push to enhance the greenness of the place as well lately.  It is funny for me to think what this place once used to look like.  Some would say it was just a wasted space while others saw it as a precious environment.  Either way now it is a commercial enterprise disguised as a public place.

But enough of that for now after this is the recount of a day of fun and frivolity.

This was an attempt at getting arty with the camera.  I really like balloons and there were lots of them around.  They just looked to bright and cheery bouncing around in the air.

Now I know that any blogger worth her weight would be able to tell you what kind of car this is but I would much rather keep you in suspense

And again trying to be all photographer like.  Another thing I have noticed in my blog travels is that a lot, ok most, possibly even all, bloggers seem to take and share lots and lots of photos.  I guess that is just the visual world that we live in these days.  I think I still need to practice a bit (lot).  Turns out there were nearly as many things to photograph as  I expected

Finally the refreshing ale that we stopped for after we had finished looking around.  This really was one of the loveliest days we have had for a long time.  The was no worrying about housework or washing or dishes that needed to be done.  There was also no arguing, bickering or constant I wants.  The free give aways at all the displays satisfied all the girls wants

Best Australian Blogs 2011

So I think that I have been accepted as a last minute entry in the Sydney Writer's Centre Best Blog 2011 competition.  Now to be honest I am not really to sure on many of the details.  It was all very last minute and a little rushed.  I actually thought I had found out about it too late but figured it couldn't hurt to try.  Which as it turns out might actually have paid off.

I have found myself on the People's Choice List and I believe that the list can be found here.  It is alphabetical so I am on the first page.  (A Parenting Life)  This is a one only vote.  Unlike the Top Mommy Blog button there is no need to go back every day and vote.  Once is enough, though you do need to click through till you get to the Finish button. 

 I am sure you know how much I appreciate you taking the time to go and vote for me.  The prize is a writing course which I would dearly love but more than anything I want to use this as a chance to share A Parenting Life with people.  Though I must be careful that I don't get to caught up in the whole how many readers thing.  I think that could be tricky.  I mean the most important thing is that I increase the frequency of writing which will in turn increase the quality of what is written.  Which will then take those few steps closer to reaching my dream.....(oh it sounds so easy when I say it like that)

(deep sigh, back arch and a good stretch)

All this excitement is almost too much to handle.  Must write.  

Before I got all caught up Best Australian Blogs 2011 I was going to write a post about my future plans for APL.  I have been spending a lot of time reading other blogs of late and I have noticed that all the good ones seem to be loosely themed.  Or rather have loosely themed pages.  Such as Nic and her Meatless Monday and the Push game (which I am yet to be part of but it is on my list of things to do) over at hello owl I am still working out the details of what my feature will be but I can see some organisational changes coming in the not to distant future so stay tuned.  Choose a follow preference or 'Like' my FB page and never miss a post again :)

PS Dont' forget to vote

At least it is something

Despite the burning eyes and the ridiculous hour I feel I should make an appearance.  After all if I can sit around and play silly Zuma blitz or whatever I should be able to spit out a few words here.

(Long deep sigh)

To tell you the truth I feel a bit drained.  This is just such a busy time of the year for me (when isn't though?)  In a few short days DD1 (who I am now considering calling Miss L) will be turning 10.  Hard to think that I will have been a mother for a decade....

Anyway I would actually like to be in bed but I need to wait for the cake to cool down.  Miss L requested a chocolate cake to take to school tomorrow. Being the good mother I hope to be, I baked her requested cake.  Unfortunately though I didn't put the baking paper in properly so there is not an even round edge.  I am trying to convince myself that it is a flower shape but I am just not sure.

After all, she is taking this to school.  I would hate for her to be picked on because of my baking inadequacies.  Sure she should be thankful that her mum has gone to the effort to make her a cake but if it looks silly...

See for yourself

Hopefully in the morning it will look better covered in a beautiful chocolate icing, hopefully.

For now though I need get this silly editing job out the way.  Oh what's that? Didn't I mention that, in amongst everything else I try and do a bit of freelance editing here and there.  Actually I really only have one regular client and she is not exactly regular.  She has been seeking my services for well over 12 months now, possibly even close to two years.  She translate Korean into English and I polish it up for her.  Sometimes it is an enjoyable read, other times, like tonight it seems more like crazed jibberish.  But hey, makes me feel important and gives me some money to play with.

Don't forget to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs, all you need to do is click on the box below and wait for the window to open.  Easy as! No sign up no nothing just one single click every time you stop by :)

Breast is best

To vote all you need do is click the box, wait for the page to load then click back to here

Recently I was involved in an online conversation regarding breastfeeding.  I used it as an opportunity to flaunt a Helium article that I wrote way back in 2008.  Unfortunately though my true feelings towards breastfeeding were not accurately portrayed.

You see I love breastfeeding.  To me breastfeeding is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.  It is by far one of the my biggest mothering highlights.  I can not accurately describe the warm fuzzy glow I feel in my heart when I think about how much I love being able to be a breastfeeding mother.  Only the above articles does anything but give that impression.

Feeding with DD1 had been a breeze.  It clearly confirmed to me that I was meant to be a mother.  Everything came so naturally it felt like I was born to have babies.  I remember feeling quite sad about weening time.  This occurred somewhere between 2 and 2 1/2.  I am not sure why I chosen then it just seemed like the right time.  DD1 wasn't pleased about it all but was relatively accepting of it all.

After such a wonderful experience the first time round I was sure that the second would be a breeze.  How wrong I was.  This time round there was cracked nipples, pain and even at times blood.  The beauty and joy that I was expecting was no where to be seen.  As you can imagine I was gutted.  The midwives assured me that my attachment was fine and that they could see no reason for my discomfort.

Knowing what was on the other side if I just kept going I preserved and after a few weeks, actually quite a few weeks of covering my nipples in lanolin, the pain was gone and breastfeeding was everything I remembered it to be.  However I felt quite betrayed.  My mother assured me that I had been using the lanolin while I was still pregnant the first time round but I can't recall.  I know I certainly don't recall any pain either.  From that point on I decided that as much as I loved breastfeeding I needed to let other first timers know that it was alright if it hurt at first, they just had to stick with it.

DD2 and I went on to be a feeding team for just over two years.  This time however I was devastated to end the feeding relationship and she was less than impressed about it as well.  Unfortunately DD2 had began to become rather possessive of my attention and felt that feeding was the best way to retain it.  Since to me that did not seem right I decided it was time to ween, regardless of neither of us wanting to.

It was not a very easy time for either of us and I suspect that it probably even took it's toll on DD1 and Hubs as well.  It is interesting to note that the article, titled "What you need to know about breastfeeding" that I was passing on to an expectant mum in my virtual mother's group, was written roughly around the time DD2 and I were ending that precious aspect of our relationship.  Which sort of explains the negative feel to the article.

I still stand by everything that I said in the article I just wish that I had of taken the time to put a slightly more positive spin to it all.  No where do I mention the beauty or love that can be felt when a mother feeds her child.  There is no mention of that special connection that a feeding mother feels as she looks down at her suckling young.  Instead I offer the words of a woman who knows she has dutifully fulfilled her required tasks and is in some ways now rendered unneeded.

(Deep sigh)

I have thought about changing the article to bring some of the positives into it all but I don't really want to.  As a high ranking article it is not really in my best interest to change it.  On the other hand I would be gutted to think someone might read it and then decide not to feed.  Oh the quandaries of being a writer...

To vote all you need do is click the box, wait for the page to load then click back to here

Good times

So today has been rather exciting for me.  Though the excitement is probably oIy something that other newbie bloggers would understand.  As I have already mentioned today saw me accepted into Top Mommy Blogs Directory.  Hopefully that will help more readers come across me.  So far I have already jumped by about 300 places.  I started this morning at 699 and am currently sitting at 318 so a huge thanks to all that have voted.  Remember you can vote once every 24 hours.

Adding to my excitement I am slowly making ground in working out some formatting and technology issues.  I have just managed to create a blog button for the site.

Granted not the most advanced button but for now it will do the job.  I still want to find out how to create a link so that I can share the button on other pages but at least for now this can be used as a banner at TMB

I think I may also have managed to change the date and time stamp for my posting.  I find it incredibly annoying that posts are stamped some 14 hours behind when I actually wrote them.  Another pleasing achievement for me today was putting a voting banner on all my future posts (yay me!)

Well for now that it all.  I should be doing dinner and a whole heap of mummy type things.....

If you haven't already today don't forget to stop by and vote :)

I got accepted!

Recently I submitted A Parenting Life to Top Mommy Blogs. An American rated and ranked directory of Mommy Blogs. Much to my delight I received notification this morning that I have been accepted. Yay!!!!

So what does this all mean?

Well it is a great way of getting more people to stop by and have a read which will take me a few steps closer to my inevitable fame, which in turn takes me closer to reaching my ultimate goal of being considered an acclaimed writer. All sounds pretty exciting really.

So what do I need from you?

Naturally I need you to tell all your friends about this great blog you read and more importantly I need you to click the banner below. This tells the people at Top Mommy Blogs you think I am ace. The more clicks the banner gets the higher my ranking will go. I am currently at 699 or something like that so there is plenty of room for movement.

The best part is you can vote once every 24 hours! To make it easy for you I will start putting the banner at the end of every post. There is also a button at the top of the right side bar. Easy peasy.

Thanks again for all your support, I really can't begin to tell you how much it means and I promise when I am rich and famous I won't forget the ones who helped me along the way :)

So what are you waiting for....get clicking...

Another day in paradise

That is the best way to describe today.

Children didn't stir until nearly 7.30 and when they did Hubs swiftly swept them downstairs and away from my slumbering eyes. This allowed me and DD1 to remain dreaming for a further two hours. Absolute bliss I tell you. I could have gone a little longer but did not want to waste the day. After all we had nothing but fun planned.

After a quick coffee we got dressed and headed off to the Darwin Life Home Expo. Which I must say I was quite excited about. I couldn't help but look forward to all the pens and stuff I hoped to come home with. As a child I can clearly remember Expo show bags being a highlight for months after the event. Since it was pretty much a free event we got to go every year.

We had a great time looking at all the stands and the girls loved the showbags. Which I must say have certainly improved since I was a kid. We now have an abundance of environmentally friendly (apparently) reusable bags. The freebies were pretty awesome in general actually. The girls picked up stubby coolers, pens, drink bottles, jelly beans and a whole range of goodies.

Since I was fortunate enough to be given a free family pass we were able to have lunch while we were out which was a super big treat. Hubs and I found a lovely little alfresco dining area attached to a place called the Fiddler's Green. Almost felt like we were in a pub, of which we both only have a hazy memory of.

On the way home we stopped by Nan's for a visit and all 3 girls behaved beautifully which meant for happy times all round. Nan can be a bit touchy at times. Her views on child rearing differ to mine at times. Thankfully though today this subject was easily avoided.

The rest of the afternoon was essentially free time for all and passed with out any major upsets or incidents. Which is always nice. Even bed time seemed to run particularly smoothly. The joy of exhaustion :)

I have recently added a Top Mommy Blog button to the top right of screen. If you think that this is a Top Mommy Blog (and I really hope you do) Can you please press the button for me?

Photos from today I will put up later (tomorrow) The day out and about may have been very lovely but it did not get the housework done. Part of me had hoped the housework fairies might have stopped by while we were out but alas they much have the day off as well...

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

As I was doing my regular trip around blogoshpere I stumbled across a post that was part of the Ultimate Blog Party. Naturally I wanted to find out more and see if I too could join in the fun.

It turns out that I was only hours away from the party deadline but at least there is still time. All I had to do was write a party post (which you are currently reading)

The whole idea is about meeting new people and their blogs. Which is great as that fits perfectly to my 2011 theme of trying new things. So if this is the first time you have stopped by here are a few of my favourtie posts.

Introducing Me 2011 Year of Trying My Place and Yours

They will all give you a bit of an insight into the fun and laughter (mostly but not always) that is my life. Feel free to have a browse through some of the labels and past posts to the right if you are after even more. There are plenty of laughs to have if you look hard enough :)

In a nutshell though I am a happily married mother to three beautiful girls. I dream of being a famous writer though I don't really write enough at this stage for that to occur. I am slowly trying to change this though.

The photo today is off the banner that we made for DD3's recent first birthday celebrations. One of the easiest and cheapest things I have ever done. It is simply tissue paper stapled over kitchen twine.

Anyway thanks for stopping by, please have a look around and feel free to leave a comment, I love meeting my readers. If you want to stay up to date click one (or both if your super keen) of the follow buttons on your left and never miss a post again

Thanks

So as you might have noticed I have been rather pleased with life at the moment. Mind you with all the wonderful things that have been happening around me it would be hard not to.

Yesterday not only was it DD3's first birthday but I also got word that I had the opportunity for the very clever Nikki to make me one of her beautiful patchwork skirts. Which I super excited about. Her custom spots are currently on par with winning the lottery so it is warming to know that the powers that be are watching over me.

I love the fact that there are so many clever women out there who are willing to share the beautiful things they can make. I also love the fact that almost every day I am discovering more and more of them. It makes me wish that I could make something beautiful to share with the world. (though maybe I can and I just don't realise)

Today I won a free pass to the Darwin Life and Home Expo thanks to Humidity Gifts and Homewares through their FB fan page. Let me tell you I am just over the moon about it.

Many years ago in Darwin there used to be a wonderful Government funded expo that was held every year in July. In many ways it was the poor person's answer to the Royal Darwin Show that was held a few weeks later. You see the expo was free admission and always had lots of freebies. It was almost a guaranteed event and generally highly anticipated. While there were many things that my family did do, going to the Royal show every year was not one of them as it was just ridiculously over priced for my parents. The Expo however fitted in just fine.

I am not sure how long it has been now since the last NT Expo but I am guessing at least five years, possibly even more. This new version has been advertised for many months now and I could slowly feel the excitement in me building. That was however until I found out there would be an admission fee. Now I know that $25 for a family ticket is not all that much but to a single income family of five that kind of money can do get you a lot if spent well.

Anyway now it is all a bit irrelevant as I have free tickets!! Yay!!! In all the excitement I was going to try and squeeze it in to an already packed tomorrow but on second thoughts and discussion with hubs we will head in on Sunday morning. Thinking that it might well be a good photo opportunity. My blog research has indicated that photos are important. Todays photo is from my own personal collection. I am not really sure what I was doing in terms of changing colours and things but hey as long as I learn something along the way it is worth it I say. Since I discovered many a cool thing my new photo app can do then it is all good.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today I celebrate the first 12 months of DD3's wonderful life. As I sit here typing I can honestly say that I have never been happier. I have a wonderful life which is blessed in so many ways. A quick glance at my sleeping now one year old swiftly confirms just how lucky I am.

This time last year DD3 and I were snuggly tucked up in bed 23B of the local hospital. It was not exactly the birth I had been thinking of but at the end of the day the end result is all that really matters. I love the notion of homebirth and I truly envy women that are fortunate to have them. It is my ideal birth but for some around me they prefer the comfort that is seen within medical walls. I guess deep deep down inside me there is a teeny tiny part of me t

hat agrees. But I digress...this post was not meant to spark a debate about homebirth (for the record I do believe that a woman's right to birth at home should not be taken away from her)... it is supposed to be about my beautiful baby girl who today turned one.

After such a fantastic day I am buzzing with enthusiasm for life. Which actually makes writing a somewhat difficult task as the ideas are just bouncing around my head at the moment. There are so many different ways this post could go and I just can't decide which would be best.

Do I just recount my day...

We had a relaxing morning at home while the Grandmothers and Nan came to visit. Around lunch time we headed out and collected the new remote from the post office (yay! we now have cool TV again) We also indulged in some golden arch delicacies which was actually more a treat for DD's 1 & 2. We ate as we drove out to visit our very bestest friends who also have a birthday to celebrate today.

As always all six children played beautifully and it was wonderful to see DD3 finally being able to join in a little. It is amazing the difference that being close to walking makes.

Do I post a photo?

If so which one do I choose, as there have been so many of late. Of course to post a photo of the day it is more than likely to have the children in it and as yet I have not decided whether I am really prepared to put their faces up here...Internet security and all that...

Of course if I just post a picture of the presents I avoid all of that.

As you can see though a picture of presents is not really all that exciting... though a lesson has been learnt.

I should leave photo retouching to small things like the flakes of stuff on the carpet that is in need of a good vacuum. Trying to retouch the toys in the top left was a bad idea and too hard to undo.

Mind you I have now spent so long trying to get this photo thing right that it is way past my bed time and my train of thought is completely gone. Given the time I expect that the birthday girl will probably wake shortly. One would think that after such a big day with such little time for sleep she should be right till morn, but then again...

It is party time!

In many different ways as well.

This is one of my favourite times of the year. So many great things seem to happen to me in March and April. I mean aside from my birthday, there is also St Patricks Day, Easter, a couple of kids birthdays, school holidays, the start of a change of season... It seems like the list could almost be endless.

Aside from all of that I also have reason to celebrate with the addition of a new follower. It really does make me rather chuffed to know that someone took the time to click that little button. I have been adding myself to quite a few blogs of late in the hope that it may somehow get a few more people to join me. Hence why it is so super exciting to see that it may have actually worked. If you want to bring about some more happiness for me you will find the follow button off to the right. I also have a fb page that you can go and like (I am yet to work out how to but a fb 'Like' button here but it is on my to-do list)

Tomorrow is DD3's first birthday party. She is sharing the event with two of her new little buddies. One of them shares the same birthday as her and the other is just a few days beforehand. Their mums are also members of the mum's group I joined late last year. Since we have some mutual friends we thought a joint party would be loads of fun.

I am just waiting for the cake to cook, then I will head to bed. It is amazing how relaxing a joint party is. Having the workload shared three ways is just the most awesome idea ever. I can't ever remember feeling so relaxed this close to a party. Normally I am a flurry of activity trying to get everything done. Certainly not in a position to idly sit around writing blog posts.

I had hoped to have some photos of my cake making skills. I was thinking that a step by step story board could have made for an interesting read. I am making a giant cupcake. Unfortunately though I was rushing a little and didn't take one of the batter in pan before it went in the oven.

Since photos do make a post look a little interesting I went and found one to include. Heading over to the ever faithful stock.xchng I searched for the words party time and received a mere 7 hits. Removing the 'time' part however gave me 17 pages to choose from. Thanks go to Jan Willem Geertsma for my final selection.

For now I return to the kitchen to check on cake, but I go with my camera in hand.