We'll, it happened. It's come to an end! I am a little sad....but also looking forward to the prospects of moving on! It's been a wonderful time, we've shared good times and bad, high's and low's. We've had ice cream, taken walks, watched movie's, read books, watched t.v., slept in....but......it's all over!
That's right peeps. The "school holiday's" are over and its time to WAKE UP and smell the school books.
Oh I've really enjoyed my time off. Last term I started homeschooling my 2 younger children. And I have to tell you, its not all sweetness and light. There is a big commitment to bear when you are responsible for educating your little cherubs.
Hats off to all you Teacher's out there! I don't know how you do it! :)
But I did make the commitment, and so I will follow through. I had in mind that because I am in control of my own school term, that I would start the children 2 weeks earlier, and get a start on things......
WRONG!
It was me who couldn't break out of the holiday mode and get back to reality. I don't think I've enjoyed my holiday's so much.....ever!
So I am going to have to dig deep and pull out all the stops this week.
By nature I am the Queen of Organisation, Cooking, Cleaning....its my passion to run my household, that's what I am good at. My girlfriend even calls me KWDG,
"Kelly Waldeck Domestic Goddess"....wow, if she could see me now, she would be disappointed.
Having kids with me all the time, requires me to be even more organised, even time to myself now has to be scheduled in.
People are always commenting on how I do things. For example they are blown away when they see a menu, and chore list on my fridge, or when I open my freezer and have a load of baked goods ready to go, or that 2 lots of dinner are being cooked at the same time.
I love it! And I find it natural and easy to do, and I assumed everyone else did too! NOT SO. Apparently there is only a small minority that think and act this way? So, I thought I would share these things with you.
I am a frugal home maker. We have always been a one income family, and times have been very tough. And as home maker it has been my job, (one of them), to steer this family through on one income, still eating well, still providing for, and still enjoying life....not easy to do, an art some may say. But when the stakes are high and the money is low, you have to think outside the box!
So meet me here tomorrow, and we'll start the journey of KWDG, and all the things I have learned along the way!
See you then x
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Tuesday 31 January 2012
Monday 30 January 2012
Back to the Grind!
You know, it doesn't matter how we try to escape our lives sometimes, we always have to come back to ourselves!
Have you ever noticed that? You may go away on holiday, forget all your worries and cares, it doesn't matter how much time has passed, inevitably, you always have to return.
It's great to escape the hum drum of life, go away on a holiday somewhere, and rest and relax, but life has a routine for us, a pattern to follow. Even if you take the day off at home, there is still the basic running of the house, feed the animals, wash some clothes, cook a meal. There is no escaping it! There will always be things you need to do, just to keep the house ticking over.....and if you have kids?......need I say more?
After having just spent 4 wonderful days in an exotic location with my DH (dear Husband), I feel like I have had a wonderful rest, a time of wining and dining, movies, shopping, swimming, and sight seeing...it was wonderful. Things like that are the glue of marriage sometimes. I remember from our first year of marriage, someone older and wiser gave us the advice to have a date night once a week, even though the kids were small....we have always done that!
Over the years it has progressed to holidaying without the kids at least once a year! Of course we go on family holidays together, but having that time alone can really keep you connected after 20 years of marriage! It is the glue that keeps you together.
There are stella moments on holiday, no holiday is perfect. But you are still having your stella moments away from home, so it still counts as a holiday!
Its the returning that's the problem. Yes, there is a returning! You have to come back to your life and face your music....mine? 4 kids, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 fish and a mountain of washing.....STELLA!
Have you ever noticed that? You may go away on holiday, forget all your worries and cares, it doesn't matter how much time has passed, inevitably, you always have to return.
It's great to escape the hum drum of life, go away on a holiday somewhere, and rest and relax, but life has a routine for us, a pattern to follow. Even if you take the day off at home, there is still the basic running of the house, feed the animals, wash some clothes, cook a meal. There is no escaping it! There will always be things you need to do, just to keep the house ticking over.....and if you have kids?......need I say more?
After having just spent 4 wonderful days in an exotic location with my DH (dear Husband), I feel like I have had a wonderful rest, a time of wining and dining, movies, shopping, swimming, and sight seeing...it was wonderful. Things like that are the glue of marriage sometimes. I remember from our first year of marriage, someone older and wiser gave us the advice to have a date night once a week, even though the kids were small....we have always done that!
There are stella moments on holiday, no holiday is perfect. But you are still having your stella moments away from home, so it still counts as a holiday!
Its the returning that's the problem. Yes, there is a returning! You have to come back to your life and face your music....mine? 4 kids, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 fish and a mountain of washing.....STELLA!
Thursday 26 January 2012
Simple Pleasures
There is a lot to be said about simplifying life.
The "rat race" is getting rattier, people are getting busier, and chasing the dream, but I have noticed most people are not happy...at least part of the time. What does make us happy?
I don't know of anyone on their death-bed who wishes they spent more time at work, or more money accumulating more things....it really is quite an empty existence, as most of us know things do not make us happy.
So where do we find happiness. All of us are different, and will be wired differently as to what "floats our boat". I have noticed that when I simplified my life, went back to basics, I started to notice the "little things" in my every day. Things that used to go by the wayside when I was too busy to notice them. But when you slow down, they stand out.
I have never noticed how beautiful watermelon could be, as I was always too busy to notice. It was even nicer, the fact that I shared it with a friend!
Even slowing down to talk to the animals can be nice....(no I am not Dr Doolittle, nor do I possess special powers to understand them). But talking to the cat or dog, can add a smile to the face. It takes more muscles to smile than it does to frown, so actually you are exercising at the same time.....thats got to be good?
A happy cat means a happy house!
Just sitting in the garden, coffee in hand and a cat who is actually smiling whilst basking in the sun is definately a simple pleasure....it doesn't cost anything, but you can't put a price on it either, its priceless. Also, you never know when a simple pleasure is going to appear! They come and go, even if you are too busy to notice, you may not see them, but they are there. To see them requires you to still yourself enough to hear or see them (like fairies in the garden!)
The more you look for simple pleasures, the more you will see them. And you will also notice, not everyone has the power to slow down and see them, its a special skill that you have to practice.
Look at this beautiful face! Who can resist those puppy eyes. Everyday I face this simple pleasure. This is one of those investments that keep on keeping on. Yes there is a certain amount of upkeep, feeding, walking, entertaining, cleaning up, but a simple pleasure to have in life!
What are your simple pleasures? Allow yourself to find them in your everyday life. We all have them, you just have to slow down and look for them.
Don't look too hard, just when you think you are bending down to appreciate the simple pleasure of pink flowers, you end up with a "stella moment" !
The "rat race" is getting rattier, people are getting busier, and chasing the dream, but I have noticed most people are not happy...at least part of the time. What does make us happy?
I don't know of anyone on their death-bed who wishes they spent more time at work, or more money accumulating more things....it really is quite an empty existence, as most of us know things do not make us happy.
So where do we find happiness. All of us are different, and will be wired differently as to what "floats our boat". I have noticed that when I simplified my life, went back to basics, I started to notice the "little things" in my every day. Things that used to go by the wayside when I was too busy to notice them. But when you slow down, they stand out.
 |
Even slowing down to talk to the animals can be nice....(no I am not Dr Doolittle, nor do I possess special powers to understand them). But talking to the cat or dog, can add a smile to the face. It takes more muscles to smile than it does to frown, so actually you are exercising at the same time.....thats got to be good?
A happy cat means a happy house!
Just sitting in the garden, coffee in hand and a cat who is actually smiling whilst basking in the sun is definately a simple pleasure....it doesn't cost anything, but you can't put a price on it either, its priceless. Also, you never know when a simple pleasure is going to appear! They come and go, even if you are too busy to notice, you may not see them, but they are there. To see them requires you to still yourself enough to hear or see them (like fairies in the garden!)
The more you look for simple pleasures, the more you will see them. And you will also notice, not everyone has the power to slow down and see them, its a special skill that you have to practice.
Look at this beautiful face! Who can resist those puppy eyes. Everyday I face this simple pleasure. This is one of those investments that keep on keeping on. Yes there is a certain amount of upkeep, feeding, walking, entertaining, cleaning up, but a simple pleasure to have in life!
What are your simple pleasures? Allow yourself to find them in your everyday life. We all have them, you just have to slow down and look for them.
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Beauty and the Beast
I've come to realise over the years, that the trick to staying sane in those "stella" moments, is to find the beauty in it. That's not always easy when you want to throw your hands up in the air and cry, but there is beauty to be found in all circumstances.....
As a mother of 4 girls, I often feel tired and frustrated...after all kids can suck your life dry at times, (bless them!), but its often in those moments that we are taught life's valuable lessons!
Now for example, me? I'm a perfectionist. Did not ask to be one, do not particularly like being one, infact it's my downfall at times, but it's something I manage, and work on constantly...the "letting go" and not taking myself so seriously!
So one thing I am working on is letting go and not expecting things to go so perfectly all the time.
One example is allowing my children to help with daily activities, like cook dinner with me. I have mostly taken on that role over the years, WITHOUT enlisting the help of the troops....but after all, "6 people live here, 6 people should pitch in and help out", (that is another catch cry of mine when I feel overwhelmed and under valued).
There are lessons to be had here people! Teaching younger children to take part in daily chores is an invaluable lesson. Yes I know, its not always going to get done "perfectly", but it gets done, and in that process they are learning....don't forget, we are raising adults (future ones at that), but still adults.
Its in these moments you find the beauty. Sometimes the beauty is very small and you really have to squint hard to see it, but its there, and when you find it....wow...its like gold.
Now this is the tricky bit. With every beauty, there is a beast!....
Now as a perfectionist, the beast for me is the messy part. The part that MUST happen in the process to find the beauty. That's always been the tricky part for me. But I am learning to tame that beast. After all you cannot have Beauty without the Beast!
Yes there will be mess, yes it looks worse before it looks better, but don't forget people, to find the beauty, you have to get past the beast.
Life is messy, it is full of our "stella" moments. Every day we encounter them, its how we deal with them that can make it "Beautiful" or "Beastly".
Oh, and if all else fails.......Homemade ice cream, always hits the spot!
As a mother of 4 girls, I often feel tired and frustrated...after all kids can suck your life dry at times, (bless them!), but its often in those moments that we are taught life's valuable lessons!
Now for example, me? I'm a perfectionist. Did not ask to be one, do not particularly like being one, infact it's my downfall at times, but it's something I manage, and work on constantly...the "letting go" and not taking myself so seriously!
So one thing I am working on is letting go and not expecting things to go so perfectly all the time.
One example is allowing my children to help with daily activities, like cook dinner with me. I have mostly taken on that role over the years, WITHOUT enlisting the help of the troops....but after all, "6 people live here, 6 people should pitch in and help out", (that is another catch cry of mine when I feel overwhelmed and under valued).
There are lessons to be had here people! Teaching younger children to take part in daily chores is an invaluable lesson. Yes I know, its not always going to get done "perfectly", but it gets done, and in that process they are learning....don't forget, we are raising adults (future ones at that), but still adults.
Its in these moments you find the beauty. Sometimes the beauty is very small and you really have to squint hard to see it, but its there, and when you find it....wow...its like gold.
Now this is the tricky bit. With every beauty, there is a beast!....
Now as a perfectionist, the beast for me is the messy part. The part that MUST happen in the process to find the beauty. That's always been the tricky part for me. But I am learning to tame that beast. After all you cannot have Beauty without the Beast!
Yes there will be mess, yes it looks worse before it looks better, but don't forget people, to find the beauty, you have to get past the beast.
Life is messy, it is full of our "stella" moments. Every day we encounter them, its how we deal with them that can make it "Beautiful" or "Beastly".
Oh, and if all else fails.......Homemade ice cream, always hits the spot!
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Stella Moments - We all have them!
What is a Stella moment you ask? A stella moment is when you are frustrated in the moment. Its something that happens to me all the time...after all...4 kids and a husband will do that to you!
I started crying out "stella" in those moments, you know the ones, a baby has filled her nappy just after you have changed her, or the dog runs in with mud on his paws after you have just finished mopping the floor! We have them everyday. Stella is my catch cry, when things go wrong!
What I didn't realise is.....we are all having stella moments everyday. We are not alone! Life is what happens in these stella moments. Grab a coffee, and come visit me in my stella moments, we might just be having them together!
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