Issue #12 Do lots of activities! All the time to try and tire them out so they sleep well at night. It’s good for children to be active; to explore their surroundings and learn what they’re capable of as well as how far they can push themselves and their boundaries. As parents this can be really hard because: · We would really love some ‘down time’ to decompress · We would really like to protect our children from being hurt, getting sick or whatever other consequences there may be for pushing...
9 months ago • 2 min read
Issue #11 Musings on Motherhood Motherhood is hard. It’s about choosing your hard though. No one warns you that you’re going to lose yourself when you become a mother, whether it’s the first time, the second time or whatever number you might be up to. Every time you see those two lines on a pregnancy stick, you immediately have new hopes and dreams. Just they’re not for you, they’re for someone else; someone completely new who exists only in you. Motherhood is hard. The new version of...
10 months ago • 1 min read
Issue #10 From surviving motherhood to thriving in motherhood Doom scrolling on social media tends to show you one of two pictures of motherhood – one who has it all, the picture-perfect family, house, seems to have life and motherhood all figured out, always looking so pulled together, never a hair out of place, house is always clean and organized. The other is the complete opposite – overwhelmed with the never-ending mental load of motherhood, overstimulated by the unending noise of...
10 months ago • 3 min read
Issue #9 To the Mama about to be How exciting! It is such a life changing event. There are so many wonderful things that happen when you become a mama, some not so wonderful things and some downright terrifying things (not to scare you too much just yet though). Most of the well-meaning advice generally focuses on the ‘sleep while you can – it’ll be years before you sleep properly again’ and ‘sleep when the baby sleeps’ – when exactly is that again? Helpful tip #1. When I was expecting my...
10 months ago • 1 min read
It takes a village to raise a child There’s a saying “It takes a village to raise a child” and that in today’s day and age there’s an acceptance that we don’t or won’t always have a village around us anymore. As it has become easier to keep in touch and toe world more connected, the opposite is also true and happening – feelings of isolation, loneliness and disconnected have never been so prevalent. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the life we portray on social media is highly edited,...
10 months ago • 1 min read
School is back! How was last week? Kids going back to school – how happy were they? What a relief for parents everywhere. Weren’t they excited to see their friends again. Did you breathe a sigh of relief before the flood of approval forms and notifications started flooding in? It was good to get the kids back to see their friends again and make new ones. Also with the start of the school year is the onslaught of sports and after school activities. Do you have a plan for multiple children...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Back to School! Which do you find to be busier and/or more expensive - Christmas or Back to School? The arrival of Christmas signals a potential relaxing of routines, long hot days, picnics and swims at the beach, in rivers or lakes, the family reunions, the promise of Summer. As with everything, time passes, and the inviting endless eternal days of the seven week stretch of school holidays comes to an end. Now, instead of Christmas Day and presents, it’s school uniforms (how much have they...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Auckland Anniversary Day! Happy Auckland Anniversary Day! Finally, it is the last week of the school holidays. Just a few more days left to savor all those precious moments! Isn’t it wonderful to have long weekend close together with beautiful summer weather to enjoy before school starts for the year. To ease my way back into next weeks routines, this is the week that I’ll be trying to get them implemented and established. A good routine makes life a little bit easier. This is the week...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Monday! We’re two thirds of the way through January. Two to two and a half weeks of the school holidays are left. How are you juggling all the balls? Are you using the school holiday programs or taking the opportunity yourself to take an extended break and recharge? Two of my favourite ways to recharge are getting out in nature and reading books. This year I’ve set myself a goal to read twenty six books - one a fortnight for the whole year. January is off to a good starting with four...
11 months ago • 1 min read