Month: February 2016

Posted in Relationship

Leap Year proposal, do the ladies really need it? Some one here didn’t. 

Posted on by mummakate

Why is it that every four years women of the world are given approval to take the hand of their mate and propose marriage?

Well it was one lady who made it all happen back in fifth century Ireland. St Bridget toddled off to St Patrick  and informed him that women needed a chance to get in on the action and take control of their destinies. The men were dilly daddling so they needed a shake up in the system.

Thirteenth century Scotland got it right putting a law in place. It stated that any man who refused a women on this year would be required to pay a fine. With this there was the first documented case of a female proposing on the 29th February.

Very progressive of St Bridget back in the day to give us ladies a chance to make the move. But really why do we need an excuse? I didn’t.

Young crazy love, I was only 23 had spent Christmas apart from him and realised that I never wanted to be apart from him again.

I’d planned a Beastie Boys mosh pit proposal but it all got a little hectic in there so I put it on the back burner.

The following month I organised a proper grown up dinner with his family and friends for his birthday. Love was in the air and after talking at length on the subject with friends over wine they left and I was prepped and ready to pop the question.

He was in disbelief, I was full of nervous adrenaline sedated slightly by the wine. This is our love story. He said yes and my parents received a 2am phone call.

No Leap Year needed.

Posted in Parenthood

One question with a loaded answer

Posted on by mummakate

It’s interesting when I talk about mummakate with people I always get the question ‘so what parenting method do you ascribe to?’ . It throws me for six a little as I’m not sure if I’m meant to follow some method to be a proper parent or have a particular way of doing things in the blog. 

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I am my method, it is going great, thanks for asking. Most of the time anyway. The kid is two after all. I’m a bonafide success story.

Parenting adds definition to my person, I’m a Mum, Matisse’s Mum, I’m also a wife, a writer, an employee a terrible cook and an okay housekeeper. I love it but I would put my ‘method’ down as chaotic. It’s all labels. A bit of this and a bit of that. Actually it’s possibly more instinct and what fits the family dynamic. 

Growing rather large and very excited at the prospect of becoming a Mum I researched all possibilities and ways in which you do things. One gazillion books and many blogs, stories upon stories about what works. They say the magic will happen if you  follow the steps but it doesn’t necessarily work for everybody. 

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I quickly learnt my heart ruled. Wow, that sounds stupidly mushy. I couldn’t handle her crying so I would stay with her until after she was asleep so that I could creep out ever so quietly avoiding all creaks in the floor. It was ridiculous but it worked for us. I was the failure at self settling. Many hours were spent and in the end I discovered feeding her to sleep was the most brilliant thing ever invented. Whoever came up with it, kudos to them. 

Ultimately I have found that the parenting gig is pretty cool when you take the pressure off and keep muddling along. No real method in this but if you find one that makes life work for you let me know.

P.S Through all the trials of the first year she now goes to sleep like a champ. Most of the time…..

Posted in Parenthood, Positivity

Does sleep deprivation rule you? Five ways to beat the doom

Posted on by mummakate

If there is ever a time in your life that you know full well that you are going a little bit loopy it is after you have had a baby. The sleep deprivation is like being stuck in a torture chamber with a screaming animal in your face. The endless cycle can be suffocating as you work around the feeding and sleeping routines. The baby and you will get in to a rhythm eventually so don’t panic just yet.

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It is okay to feel like you are losing it, it is okay to let yourself go and have that extra coffee, you deserve it but never feel like you are alone.

When you next walk down the street watch them. They are the women pushing prams, dragging toddlers along between balancing shopping and life. They are your new kind, the ones that you will find solace with in times of need.

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Procreation is much easier to face when you are ignorant to the reality of obsessive tendencies, repetitiveness and clock watching (was that just me?). There is a build-up of stress and tension when you clock up the sleepless nights, it affects you, your relationships and the way you interact with your child.

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Five ways to help get you through the sleepless doom:

  1. People– make them come to you, hand them your baby and relax.
  2. Get out– Activities are great. They are awesome for you to be social and give you a chance to actually try and put a sentence together. If it doesn’t make sense the other person isn’t really listening anyway as they are in the same position.
  3. Libraries– Rhyme Time, Reading Time, all the times in the world. Right there for you and free. Councils are a good one for free stuff so always keep your eyes open.
  4. Meditate– Get an App, whatever works, sit in a bath listen to some tunes. Take your mind away from the day. Breathe in and out a few times, it makes a difference.
  5. MAKE THE MOST OF NAP TIME– Screw house work, sleep. You are the business of the family, if you aren’t running properly the ship won’t sink but it won’t be as smooth sailing.

Make yourself a priority for at least 20-30 minutes a day and you will feel that little bit more human.

Very importantly please talk to someone if you are feeling down. It’s hard to get out of the house when you can’t physically or mentally comprehend getting out the front door.

I scatter the page with pictures of a sleeping Matisse as every day I would send one to Dan in amazement that I finally got her to sleep and that face is what made it all worth it.

Be kind to yourselves

MummaKate x

Posted in Parenthood

When life becomes a big old pile of washing 

Posted on by mummakate

I had a  little laugh at myself this morning as @JustineClarke_Official and the Playschool crew joined in on the mundane task of washing
washing
‘build it up, build it up, build it high
build it up up up into the sky

built it up, build it up, build it higher

build it up up up up up into the sky’

Two loads drying and one in the machine looks like I’m going to build it up up up in to the sky today.

The operation manual never informed me that this would become a staple in my life.

Dear friends,

I hope your day is more exciting than a pile of washing.

MummaKate x

Posted in Just Me

MummaKate takes on Mu Upstairs

Posted on by mummakate

I had planned a family day but I ended up flying solo, whoa mumma! I love a surprise singleton outing and for a grown up event too. Excitement plus.

My talented friend had very kindly asked me to attend her gallery opening.

First stop, lunch, Vapiano on Flinders Lane. They give you a card on entry and it starts your very own tab. Bonus,the perfect answer to the split bill dilemma. The food is cooked in front of you and delicious.

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On to Mu Shop which you will find in the Royal Arcade. It is a gorgeous little boutique shop with cute trinkets and sunglasses that take up your whole face. I almost
bought them but the ridiculousness was too much, I couldn’t even look at myself without laughing. Eyeing the corner of the store there stands the impressive golden winding staircase to Mu Upstairs. This is where I took on Mu Upstairs, you’ll see when you get there that it took great courage to go up there in a dress.

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Here is where I made my purchase of ‘Leidon Girl’ and ‘Gucci Spring Summer 2015’. You will see why I bought them below. The detail and technique draws you in with the colour explosive to the eye.

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‘Leidon Girl’                  ‘Gucci Spring Summer 2015’

The artwork in the exhibition is immaculately displayed featuring Johanna Dziadkeiwicz’s impressively inspired fashion illustrations.

The art space is for your eyes only so go and check it out. Showing until March 13th.

Posted in Relationship, Writing

Bee My Valentine- what a great start to Valentine’s Day

Posted on by mummakate

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I arrive home, it’s 10:30 PM and the whole house is asleep. I knew this already from the SMS I received stating my mate was going to bed. My mate, he is my forever life-long mate and I have a sweet card for him.

I retreat to the lounge room, the Writer’s Gala I had attended that evening had brought out the bookish in me. Yes, I am bookish but alas I never get to read. I choose to read over sleeping, this will help me unwind.

As I settle in to my couch and crack open the book slightly I hear an almighty bang. I wondered if it would wake the household but luckily they are all dead sleepers. I had no idea what it would be, I thought it must have just been my bag that dropped. Instinct told me to look closer.

what was it????

A full bottle of single malt whiskey lay before me, SHIT, there goes Dan’s Christmas present. I thought although there was a little crack I might be able to save the whisky. I take it to the sink and as I am inspecting the slight crack the bottom falls out of it. I’m standing there drenched in whisky, it’s all over the floor and the smell was more powerful than I had faced before. It felt like I’d had a big night but none of the fun.

I looked at my cute Valentine’s Day card and a little person spoke to me ‘hide the evidence, don’t ruin ‘V’ day’. For the following hour I scrubbed the floors, me, the sink and hid the bottle. I felt as if I had performed the perfect crime. It was a complete accident but I felt bad for Dan so thought I would omit the fact.

Life turns around…I will not put blame on  the toddler

Happy Valentine’s Day! I have started the day off with a lie. I wasn’t sure how long I could not tell him for. The day went off without a hitch, then I noticed the pumping crack in the tiles. I stupidly brought it to Dan’s attention, then it clicked. The bottle. He told me it must have been Matisse and I couldn’t even let that slide. I told him the truth. He assumed I had been terribly drunk as when he woke up unwell in the night I smelt like a distillery. Ah no, not quite.

With this Dan rejected my request to Beeeee my Valentine so I’m free if anyone is in need of one! Hey, next year I may just buy him a bottle to replace it. So romantic.

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Posted in Parenthood, Positivity, Relationship

Stormy Baby Connects Mums Forever

Posted on by mummakate

There is a massive community of Mum’s, yes it is a thing, I don’t know how we would operate without them.

Constance Hall is a great example of this, promoting a positive tribe of women uniting to empower themselves in their current situations.

Motherhood is all too consuming and going from blissful oblivion to parent is a huge adjustment. Crazy huge! Maybe you are going stag, in a couple, married there is no level or preparedness for the change that is about to come upon you.

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We don’t even know what the word baby means here

 

 

Think of yourself on a beautiful pacific island sipping cocktails in the sunshine, swimming whenever you want, sleeping, eating, leaving the room without a bag, maybe a towel then a stormy thunderous cloud descends upon you. BANG! You are hit. You are with child.

It is without a doubt the most wonderful experience you can go through and there is nothing better than the love you get to give and receive from them but it’s still damn stormy. The consolation, the wonderful people you meet along the way.

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On the train this morning there were two pregnant women I gave one my seat and like a creeper listened to their beautiful conversation, they had just met and were giving each other support already. Add a bump and automatic unification. Seeing them chat and being at ease with another it inspired me to share ways in which you can build your own community.

Mother’s Group– You will be counting down the days until this starts and then dread it when you have to work it in to the little ones schedule. Be prepared to be overwhelmed with information and to hear incredible stories.

Playgroup- There isn’t any planning or thinking, you rock up with a bit of fruit and a wealth of advice.

Play Centres, Playgrounds, Cafe’s (love a coffee) the list could go on forever.

Online is also a great resource. The moment you conceive you are able to join groups and go through the pregnancy hurdles together. Your community starts from there.

If you want to check out the Constance Hall Facebook page click here

Posted in Personal Development

Is This Really Me?

Posted on by mummakate

I like to think of myself as organised. The three of us go alright, we get places, mostly late but we get there. At Christmas my whole family laughed at me when I tried to claim the title as the most organised out of the three of us kids. It was my reality check, I seriously have my head in the clouds.

Now is my time to shine, I just can’t get my head around how to be prepared for everything. Dan said to me the other day ‘why do we always unpack the childcare bag and why don’t we have a swimming bag permanently packed?’ Well Dan, why don’t we? At this rate I am going to keep the backpack companies in business. We are going to have an everyday bag, a swimming bag, child care bag and a spare clothes bag, when does the toilet training end? Then there is my work bag, laptop bag, lunch bag.

See where I go wrong? The most trivial of things like packing bags takes up my time in even writing about getting organised.

Calendars rock, we have the wall calendar, a joint calendar that links computers and phone, technology is amazing. I have an editorial calendar for this blog, I have started it but I am still trying to find time to work on a whole year of planning. Then there is the less reliable one, the one I have in my head.

I want to make my life easier so I write things down. I have at least five notepads around the house, somewhere, say no to lists Kate! When I got a magnetic shopping list from Father Christmas I thought all of my dreams had come true. I keep forgetting it’s there as it has to go on the side of our fridge, the downside of stainless steel.

So I have really convinced you that I can help you to be organised haven’t I? I think the point is that you have to do it for yourself but I will try and lead by example. Let’s do it together, actually can you help me? I’m going to need all the support I can get. One day there will be two kiddies to chase around and right now, we could be doing a better job at streamlining our day to day processes.

What’s a girl to do? Well reaffirmation is amazing. Apparently writing everything down is the way to go, maybe I need to simplify and choose one place to write them like on here or on my phone. Check this article out and see if you can find some pointers on making your life better.

10 Habits of Really Organised People- Lifehack

One of my own little Mum hacks that I find useful is menu planning. It’s awesome and there are so many websites out there than can provide menu plans for you. The Veggie Mama has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. I’m not a superstar cook but found the recipes on her website leveraged my little talent and brought praise from the Dan in the house. Happy days.

What’s the thing that keeps your life intact and organised?

MummaKate x

* By the way the main picture is not my pantry. I couldn’t keep a pantry that clean for longer than a day.

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This is my pantry. To maintain authenticity I didn’t touch a thing, trust me it was incredibly tempting but I think you can tell it hasn’t been touched by the messiness.

Posted in Uncategorized

The Best Kind of Kind

Posted on by mummakate

The best kind of kind is being kind to yourself and others of course. I had my alarm set for 5am this morning to get some writing done and I said no way Jose! I am going to take this hour and sleep and wake up refreshed. The week was taxing and I needed it. Guess what? The child slept until 7 am and I couldn’t have been happier. She never sleeps past the numbers 6 and 30 but today she gave me a 2 hour sleep in. Woo hoo!!!!

We had her first swimming lesson this morning and she loved it. We all loved it, it is so weird sitting there watching and feeling proud. She wasn’t even really doing anything but there I was grinning and laughing like an idiot at her having an amazing time, splashing and blowing bubbles. Of course I took a million photos, this kid has permanent paparazzi following her. I wonder if this will give her a warped view in later life. Well we will worry about that, later.

Last night after my post ‘I should Have Done It Sooner I received a beautiful email from a friend of mine. Emotion aside she said if you need to talk I am always here. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives or just don’t know how to approach someone  to ask Is everything okay? These simple words can mean so much to a person and sometimes make such a difference. So thank you my beautiful friend you made my day.

Now I am currently sitting in the car on the way to meet our friends in the countryside, put up our colossal sized tent, grab a drink and relax. I can actually breathe now… the morning has been less breathing and more stressful. One night equals four bags of clothes, one bag of toys, one huge tent, a potty, an esky, a monster bag of food, every possible stuffed toy a girl could sleep with, porta cot and a queen size blow up mattress.

My husband threw every comment of disdain to my packing abilities as we madly rushed out the door post swimming. Swimming finished at 11 am we left our driveway at 1:15… SLIGHT FAIL!  Dan played along unhappily but he put a stop to the blow up pool.

Apparently a trip that lasts less than 24hrs doesn’t warrant a blow up pool, go figure. There are always things we can work on.

MummaKate x