To Find A Silver Lining

Urgh - I am turning into the type of parent I never thought I would be, nor did I ever want to be... I am 'The Screamer', and I HATE it. * Since writing this things have calmed down significantly... I am not perfect and have my rough days, but very rarely do I get so wound up that I end up screaming. I haven't really given it much thought, but I believe Button is responding well because the house is more peaceful in general now - so with a more peaceful Mummy, comes a more peaceful Button, comes a more peaceful house! Yay! I have also noticed that 'lil M doesn't get wound up when others are crying or upset now, so I am wondering if he was just crying because of the whole atmosphere - not because of 'a stage' as I say further down. Hmmm - grateful to be living in peace once more!!!!! Picture Source If you click on the link above, it'll actually take you right through to a blog post about anger management; hahaha, how ironic (I was just lookin

This is my third post on Living Gluten-Free; you can find my second post  here , and my first post  here ! Over the coming weeks I am going to try and find the time to do some research on the history, and other area's of interest; as well as share some recipes and cooking tips... I don't want it all to be boring and dull! Today however, I promised you some recipes - so I am going to share with you two different recipes; one a main meal that is quick and easy and tasty. It is a go-to meal at our house, for those nights where everything has gone wrong (or right in some cases) and there is just no time to prepare something hearty and nutritious; but you still need something filling and semi-healthy. This is a one-pot dish that everyone in my family, including the baby, likes.  The other recipe is a 'Sweet Treat' (you seriously don't have to miss out on sweet treats just because you're living gluten-free) , it is quick, easy and very impressive; togethe

Wednesday dawned like any other day... the alarm went off (before any of the children) , and we snuggled down hoping to sneak another 20 minutes of shut-eye before the inevitability of another day dawned. We managed it - tick, it was a good start! Button got up with us, but 'lil M stayed asleep until 8am - another tick! By the time he woke, we'd all had breakfast, and were all dressed. Hubby had left a good hour earlier, and I had cleaned the kitchen, made the beds and got Button's Preschool bag packed and her lunch made. I was starting to feel a bit Super-Mumish (is that such a word??) ! I had his breakfast ready, and his clothes laid out - so all I had to do when he woke, was get him dressed, feed him and race for the door to drop Button off at Preschool by 9am. The plan was to be out of the house by 8:45am, and I was feeling pretty good about it all... He and I would then head straight down to the shops for a quick cupboard top-up, and then dash to K-Mart for a coup

I don't think they could decide what they enjoyed the most!

Not half tired Mum!

I know I have alluded to this before, and have - for a long time, been keeping you all in suspense (hahaha) ! You've been coming back just waiting and hoping I'll give in and tell you all now, haven't you - just admit it!!!!!!! I know, I know - you've all got much more important things to be doing than waiting, let alone thinking or wondering about what all these changes are... and when I'll give in and tell you! So - before I bore you and you disappear; here is the post to reveal all! Things have been evolving, and it has taken a while to really iron out what I want, where I want to go with blogging, and how I am going to get there. But  Blog Bootcamp  really started to put it into focus a bit for me, and then a meeting with  Vicki  clarified it somewhat! And so, after many discussions with hubby, it has been decided... I LOVE blogging and writing, and I want to continue!  BUT this blog has been somewhat of a 'fail', and aft

Dear Friend, I often think about you, wondering if the feeling is mutual. Wondering if maybe, somewhere, sometimes - you think back and wonder what I am doing now as well. I don't know what happened, why we lost contact over the years - possibly just 'busyness', and being at different stages in our lives... possibly. But sometimes I wonder if there is more; if maybe I hurt you somewhere along the way, unintentionally, and you chose to turn away - rather than risk more hurt. My friend - if that is the case, please accept my unequivocal apology... I have never once, ever, meant to hurt you. But if I have, I would love the opportunity, one day, to make amends and to apologise to you in person. I suspect you never really knew the depth of my admiration for you... I know you have faced demons in your past, and yet you stand strong and firm today. Your strength in the face of this is astounding - the work you have put in to be the person you are today, has always res

I have a splitting headache today... no sleep for two nights in a row will do that to you! So it is all about 'survival of the fittest' today; and I am hoping I will manage to survive! It is bad enough that I was up at 4am sucking back the pain relief, and have had some more since; I don't take pain relief easily! Saturday night we stayed up and watched the AB's whip the Wallabies (Wannabes) live, so didn't crawl into bed until after midnight... of course, that happened to be the night that 'lil M decided his teeth were sore enough to be awake from 2am to 4:30am :-(! Thankfully hubby is happy enough to get up and do his share as well, but neither of us slept during that time. Poor little man wanted to sleep, and tried to - we gave him pamol, cuddled him, and popped him down; and he tried really hard, he really did... for 30 minutes he whimpered and tossed and turned, but then he gave up and roared! So we gave up and gave him some ibrofen as well, those mola

I just realised I have been on instagram for a year now, so thought I would share a few of my favourite instagram photos from last year, and compare them to this year! How quickly the kids have grown up... I don't get photos of them together very often now, 'lil M is so busy, he just doesn't stay still and pose... most of his photos are mid-play, hopefully soon he'll get old enough to understand and allow me the chance again to take photos together ! I was very surprised to see two photos of them together this month *grin*! Look how much we have grown... My 'baby' is no longer... he is a full-on toddler who just doesn't stop, ever! He even moves in his sleep! My big girl is getting more beautiful, and is blossoming into a really sweet kid. She is so affectionate and positive, and can't get enough cuddles, even now! And they're just going to get bigger and bigger... it doesn't seem that long ago that I was cuddling the

Here is the second post on my series about gluten-free living; you can find my first post here !  I have been mulling it over for a while now, unsure of exactly what this second post should focus on... but I think basic shopping and 'safe' ingredients should be fairly high on the list of 'what to know'; so have decided to start here. People generally freak out when they hear 'gluten-free', and worry about what to feed us when we come to visit; but seriously - it is not that hard to come up with a main meal that is safe and tasty! Lunch is a much harder meal to plan for, as bread is a main staple in New Zealand, and tends to be the focus of most lunches. My main rule of thumb has been 'keep it whole and keep it simple...' you will find it is mostly processed foods that contain gluten, so things like my old favourite 'Maggi Cook-In-The-Pots' are totally out now! However, if you look in the gluten-free aisle of your local supermarket, y