Tag: children

Posted in Lifestyle

Suds galore!

Posted on by Theworkingmum

imageIt seems like it may never end. Once you’ve finished one lot, sure enough there’s more waiting. With the chaos that is three boys under the age of 5, washing is to say the least.. there! Always! Just before the littlest musketeer was born I got creative and made a roster for all the housework in our house. Mondays was general washing, Tuesday was kids clothes, Wednesday was business shirts etc.. I follow it sporadically but its hard to stay on track when different things pop up. Sick kids, visitors, holidays etc. Once I get behind in the piles of dirt covered, baby spew items it seems to take days to catch up. And not to mention the linen! A friend showed me this article, that blew my mind. It suggests washing your towels after 3 uses! Holy cow! So 5 people, every 3 days…In a week I’d be washing 15 towels. Not to mention hand towels, tea towels and the seemingly thousands of face washers we go through! Here I was thinking that once a week was satisfactory! Well there’s no way I’ll be fluffing towels every 3 days. Who’s got time for that??!!

Here’s what happened when Mr. 3 decided to help with washing yesterday! I couldn’t help but laugh, he was only trying to help.

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My machine too full of suds to operate!

 

Really all I can say is ‘washing everyday keeps the piles at bay!” Laughing at myself at my poetry! But seriously, chuck a load in whenever you get a spare minute or two and hang it out.. whenever?! I’ll admit more often than not it could be a few hours before I hang a load out! While the weather is warm I’ve been doing heaps at night.. In Winter my house generally looks like a Laundry Room with clothes horses and airers spotted around the place. I used to stress if I had unfolded washing in baskets, recently I’ve come to realise that who cares! If I pull a T-shirt out of the basket and chuck it on.. at least its clean right? Gradually I’m overcoming my obsession for everything to perfect. If people judge me because I have clean washing unfolded, well.. they can go jump! or fold my washing!

 

Posted in Lifestyle

Being Brave

Posted on by Theworkingmum

BE BRAVERecently I blogged about ditching the guilt and standing strong. A friend had given me advice and her words still stand out..’be brave’. It got me to thinking. How does one be brave, what is bravery and why do I have to be brave? So many questions. The Oxford Dictionary defines Bravery as ‘courageous behaviour’. The first thing that comes to my mind is taking risks. As kids we take risks all the time, jumping off the swing, climbing to the top of the frame, reading a new book. As adults taking risks just seems so much more daunting. I am currently reading Lisa Messengers book;  Daring and Disruptive. It depicts how Lisa took chances, put herself out there and was brave. Some of her risks didn’t pan out, but others did, including the successful magazine The Collective. It’s inspiring reading about someone taking risks. If you haven’t read it- do it! What I’m taking from it though is without taking risks, being courageous and being brave, we don’t get the rewards.

My New Years resolution this year is to be brave. I feel it covers so many aspects. To try new things, to put myself out there, have confidence in my decisions and choices and not to worry about what others think. To buy that treadmill and take up running, to continue blogging and not care if no one reads it! It all takes bravery!

New Years resolutions are made and frequently given up on very quickly. I asked a few close friends if they were making resolutions. All were and they all had a common theme. No one said ‘lose weight, get fitter or go on a diet’ (thank goodness) but all had a common theme about life in general. About feeling confident in yourself and making choices that make you happy. Those are fabulous resolutions and likely to be achievable, way more than not eating chocolate (which I would have failed already!).

I took a big leap by starting this blog a couple of months ago and in 2016 I would love to keep this going. To find useful hints and tips for being organised, to try new fast recipes, to organise my pantry! and bravely share it with the world!

Be Brave, take chances, feel confident, be happy. That’s my hopes for 2016. x

 

Posted in Time Saving Tips

A trolley full of kids!

Posted on by Theworkingmum
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Waiting for the Woolworths truck

One running down the isle, one demanding food and one trying to grab everything in reach. This is my reality! Grocery shopping with 3 young kids in like an obstacle course designed for the pro athlete.

I find it ‘easy’ enough to pop in and grab one or two items, but any more than that and the littlies lose interest. So every fortnight I do my big shop online. I use Woolworths online but all the big chain supermarkets do it now. Before having kids online groceries was a novelty I’d use when we were hosting a large party. Now its a god send.

A lot of people find it difficult manoeuvring the website and finding the groceries you need… nope! My big tip is to have a list going on the fridge. We have one of the magnetic ones that we just add to each day when we need something, so by the time the fortnight is done we have a long list!! its especially convenient when you need large items like nappies and washing powder (two kids in a trolley does not leave much room!).

I use the search feature at the top of the website and type in what I’m looking for, I have found this easiest and quickest way to add things to your online trolley.

One reason I like the Woolworths site is that if I order things in the mornig before 10 they are delivered that afternoon! I mean really, why would I bother dragging the carnivores around the shops when I can click away while they eat their breakfast and have it delivered. Its also not crazy expensive, when you think about the stress and frustration of the shopping and chasing kids around the store.. $9-10 is nothing!

And the absolute best thing is that the boys love waiting for the truck to come (see photo!) and bring the shopping and they love putting it all away.. not always in the right spot but that’s a different issue! I saw its  win all round.

 

Posted in Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Last day of Preschool

Posted on by Theworkingmum
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End of preschool emotions! 

Emotions were running high today as my eldest finished Preschool! I was teary before I even got to the building. It’s such a big milestone in their lives isn’t it? I know we don’t remember much of our kindy year or even Junior Primary but as parents we witness the growth in our children. The confidence, self awareness, new skills, new friends, new adventures. Their brains are soaking up all they see and do and when they’re in the right environment they are like little sponges! The early years of education are so important and provide the groundwork for years to come. Not only in their learning but they really develop a sense of self and an identity. No tricks for time saving tonight, more of a reflection of time. It sure does go fast, they said it would but you don’t realise it until it’s actually upon you.

Posted in Lifestyle

The Perfect Bath

Posted on by Theworkingmum
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Relaxing Bath Tips

Having a long, hot, bubbly bath is the holy grail of relaxation for many. Once the kids are all tucked up and quiet I try to have a long soak once in a while! I take a glass of Red and my book and enjoy the solace while it lasts!! I thought I’d investigate various ‘ingredients’ to add to a bath to enhance the relaxation.

Here’s what I found..

No big surprise here- Epsom salts help aid muscle relaxation. I use both the liquid and crystal ones.

Green Tea- Add 4-5 Green Tea bags to your bath to ale your skin soft. Green tea is recommended to help with anti aging.. so I say dunk away!!

Milk Bath- well it worked for Cleopatra right?! Simply add a cup full of milk powder to your bath and float away.The lactic acid in baths helps to soften your skin. It’s also soothing on sunburn!

Lemon Bath- I found this one to be quite interesting! Apparently of you squeeze lemons into your bath water ifmts helps to tighten and refresh skin. I knew it reduced pores so it makes sense! I think it would be super refreshing!

Sea Salt Bath– Using Sea salt not the iodised cooking salt this is great for detoxing your body. Found this great recipe for DIY detox scrub here.

Lavendar Bath- Sprinkle some lavender into your bath and boy it smells fabulous and helps with getting to sleep afterwards!!

So give one of these a try and let the bubbles melt you away! As a working Mum, or a Stay at Home Mum getting some valuable ‘me’ time is important. Try to schedule some time in this week. X

 

Posted in Recipes, Time Saving Tips

The Biscuit Exchange

Posted on by Theworkingmum
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Peanut Crunchy Cookie

For as long as I’ve known my husband his family has had the Biscuit Exchange a few weeks before Christmas. Admittedly years ago I didn’t really appreciate or understand the concept. However, over the years I have developed an appreciation for the custom.

The idea is every family bakes a batch of biscuits of your choice. The biscuits get collected and resorted so at the end of the day you take home a large batch of various home made biscuits. My favourites are always the Meringues! It’s a lovely tradition that all the extended family partakes in. It’s a way of giving everyone a gift without spending hundreds and let’s face it, who doesn’t love a bikkie with their cuppa!!

I’ve yet to find my one biscuit that I make each year. Yesterday I made mine for this year. I tweaked a recipe my Mum found in an old book.

Peanut Crunchy Cookie

225 g butter

2 cups caster sugar ( it makes a lot of biscuits don’t worry!)

2 eggs

2 cups Sr. Flour

1 cup well crushed peanuts

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups cornflakes

1 cup choc chips

Method

preheat oven to 180/160 fan forced

Crush or blitz your peanuts first!

In a mixer ( or I used my Thermomix) Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs while still mixing.

Add flour and mix until combined.

Stir in oats, peanut, cornflakes and choc chips. Use a large bowl for this as it makes a big batch of dough!!

Place small balls onto a tray and bake for about 10 minutes. ** my best batch were slightly golden not brown!!

I’m looking forward to tomorrow to see what everyone else makes this year!

 

Posted in Recipes

Burrito Bowls

Posted on by Theworkingmum

I love Mexican food and thankfully so do the kids. So when I found this receipe for super fast and easy burrito bowls I was super keen!! Yum!! And it’s one pot so less dishes which always makes me happy!! Try it for Mexican Monday or Taco Tuesday!

Posted in Recipes, Time Saving Tips

Sunday night deliciousness

Posted on by Theworkingmum

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Today we took the two older boys to their first cricket Test Match. It wasn’t without its dramas but overall it was a fun day. Man was over eating fried foods though and was I looking for a decent feed when we got home. Thank goodness we had some left over stir fry from last night but it got me thinking about some of my favourite meals. One of my all time favourites is another Jamie meal. His sausage cassoulet is to die for! Find the receipe here! It’s great for reheating and there’s always plenty for the next night! I made it for a friend after she had her second baby and she loved it! So after all this.. Guess what’s for dinner tomorrow night?!! Have a lovely week, stay tuned for tips on a stress free Christmas.

Posted in Lifestyle

Mummy Friends

Posted on by Theworkingmum

imageIt’s hard sometimes to catch up with everyone you want to. Life gets in the way. Having kids changes things totally. It’s not so bad while they are still newborns who sleep happily in their pram but once they start moving, its over! Sitting for more than 5 minutes involves a constant supply of baby chinos and sugary cookies and the conversation revolves arounds ‘sit still, won’t be long, do you want my phone?!’. I had lunch with a dear friend last week and I was telling her about my new blog and my hopes. Her immediate comments were about how friendship changes when you’re a working mum. Maybe it changes just as a mum, not only a working mum but this blog is all about working mums..!!  As a working mum we are trying to balance our careers and our families and walking the tightrope that becomes our life. My dear friend spoke of how managing her own successful law firm and her beautiful daughter made it hard to catch up and stay connected with friends that didn’t have children. It got me thinking about how I catch up with my nearest and dearest. We don’t see each other lots and it’s definitely hard to coordinate around everyone’s different commitments but we make it happen and when we do see each other it’s like no time has passed. However it takes a special person for this to happen. My friends understand that life is busy. Theirs is too, just in a different way. True friends will accomodate and understand. Those that can’t understand, truthfully aren’t worth your time. It took me a long time to realise this. Cherish your dear friends, make time ( and it may only be every few months) even if it’s just for a quick coffee just to touch base. Life is better when you have friends to share it with, cliche hey?!! But so true!!

Posted in Time Saving Tips

Washing Time

Posted on by Theworkingmum

imageWashing! It’s never ending.. Just when you think you’re on top.. It’s bath time and there’s 3 more dirty outfits! This article has some great tips on how to reduce our time washing. I’m not convinced I could try not folding some things but her organisation is fabulous! I too have the odd sock box in the laundry where all odds go to try find their friends! Take a look here and let us know what you think. What are your tips for saving time on the washing?