I recently read this beautiful article published in the local Porse Magazine about why me time is vital. It spoke about the importance of self love and really stuck a chord with me. I think until you've been through mental health issues you don't realise the seriousness of taking that time for just you and not feeling guilty about it. I used to often give a lot of myself in my job to the children, to the teachers and to the parents. Supporting them, lifting them up with kindness and positive words but then go home and feel deflated, tired and sad myself. Today is the first of October and that marks the start of Mental Health Awareness month here in New Zealand. I think it is the perfect time for me to tell you that from my own personal experience with mental health it's never too late to start taking care of your mind. Theres so much hype at the moment around taking care of your body and focusing on healthy food choices and I think that movement is awesome and totall...

I've decided to start a new series in my blog called Mum Rant. It's basically just me having a bit of a rant about something that has upset me recently and which I'd like to get off my chest. I also thought it might be amusing or entertaining at least for those of you are are currently going through challenges of being a new parent. So here goes Rant #1 in what I predict to be a lengthy series. Today I was doing my grocery shopping with baby boy aka my 'sweet little man'. Everything was going along swimmingly or seemingly until I reached the frozen goods isle. I had given my sweet little man a packet of chippies to play with (don't worry they were a closed packet). He loves the sounds and sensations of new textures at the moment and so this had kept him amused pretty much the entire half an hour trip around the supermarket- winning! That was until the frozen foods isle where I meet a very rude old lady. She looked around to the crinkly noises of my litt...

I'm the first person to pled scepticism when it comes to fitness. I'm not fit at the moment by any means and I honestly haven't really been properly fit since I was a competitive swimmer in my preteens. That's a bit sad to say the least because there once was a day when I loved sports especially swimming. That is not my current status but I'd like it to be. New hobby that's paying off: A couple of weeks ago I started doing some morning Yoga classes on YouTube. I had no idea how I would go or if I'd enjoy it but I'm pleased to say I really am! I've been making it part of our daily routine. I get up, eat breakfast, give baby boy his milk, have a shower and then yoga for 15-20 mins. Or basically as long as I can get through before Mr wriggles gets upset or needs a cuddle. I'm finding so much pleasure in the simple practice of breathing and movement. The bonus for me is I'm losing weight! I figure if I can go through what I've been through ...

With the Election looming I have been thinking a lot about what things I value and what is important to our new little family of 3. Housing.... As many of you know we've been looking to buy a house for over a year now. It's exhausting and time consuming and we've put in a lot of offers and keep missing out. We've saved up our deposit ourselves and we want nothing more than to have our own little piece of NZ to call home. The problem is...so does everyone else! We just can't seem to get in and it's pretty devastating. Sunshine, space and no mould please... We've been living in a really dark flat for the past 18 months. Not only is it dark but it's also damp. The outlook is beautiful (we can see Wellington harbour and lots of bush) but the lack of light, the damp smell and crying windows really gets you down! I found this especially depressing when I was working full-time. Coming home in daylight savings to a cold, dark house. It's not a 'f...

1. Your hair falls out! I'm not sure if it happens to everyone but apparently the changes in your hormones can cause all kinds of weird stuff to go on and one of those things is that your hair falls out. I'm not just talking a little bit here. A LOT!! I have a lot of hair anyway but everyday i brush my hair  now and a rather alarming amount is in my hairbrush. It is also getting everywhere and on everything in my house and on my clothes *sigh*. I mean it's not like you had enough weird body stuff to deal with already... oh wait! You do!   2. You never really knew the concept of 'Tired' before. I'm an Early Childhood Teacher so I used to be pretty tired before becoming a Mum. I used to come home from work somedays and go to bed at like 8 o''clock because I worked shifts and somedays I was just really physically drained. Those tiny humans can really take it out of you! Then I became a Mum....Being a Mum is a new level of tired. You're so t...

Since becoming a Mum I have been through some trying times. In fact even for this qualified and experienced Early Childhood teacher I have had days where I threw my hands up and wanted to cry. Being a Mum is HARD! It's so hard, it is the hardest job I've ever had and I'm still learning everyday on the job! Lately I've been reading a lot online about Mum's who feel guilty for their parenting decisions for whatever reason. Maybe you forgot to boil some pumpkin for their lunch so had to give them baby rice again (shock horror) or perhaps you are beating yourself up about not letting them sleep longer because you want to meet a friend for coffee (and end up feeling like you're such a bad Mum!)  One of my Dream catcher creations a made for a beauitful friend of mine. Also a good way to unwind after a tough day. NEWSFLASH! No you're not! I have a lot of knowledge around educational psychology and philosophies after almost 9 years of teaching and I ...

I've been teaching in the Early childhood sector for almost 9 years now and in that time I've learnt a lot about educational philosophies. When I became a Mum myself I was pretty set on using a lot of the principles of the RIE philosophy because I know that the work of Magda Gerber has been studied and proven over the last 70 years. I personally love many of its principles because it was how I was raised (Even though my Mum didn't know about it). It is essentially placing love at the centre and viewing the baby and child as competent and capable. Sadly (like anything) there's a lot of hate out there about how the RIE philosophy is too strict or too old fashioned but I argue that those people have no idea what there talking about and here's why... I have seen the RIE philosophy work in practice in 5 different settings now (3 of which I've personally worked in). II dont think it's a strict rule book becuase it's about creating a culture of kindness fo...

My journey to motherhood was a pretty crazy one. Some of you know all of the details and some of you don't so I wanted to post a little something about my experience of pre-eclampsia. When you do a google search there doesnt seem to be that much out there about people's experinces perhaps becuase it's pretty scary! I was an extra tricky case because even now after lots of tests the doctors couldn't officially diagnose my illness. They told me that's because I didn't have all of the symptoms. I'm 99 percent sure that's what I had though because all of my symptoms (post birth) match up perfectly even if all the bloods didn't! Pre-eclampsia: It's a pretty weird condition... Pre-eclampsia is a disorder that about 10 percent of all pregnant woman get. It can make you and your baby really, really sick. How is is diagnosed? Most people have 2 or 3 (or sometimes all) of these symptoms: Vomiting later in your pregnancy Protein in your uri...

I've been thinking about starting this blog for awhile now. I wanted a place to share my crafty projects, experiences and mostly just document my journey as a new Mum.  As some of you know I had a pretty non traditional start to 'Mum life' and now that I'm through the pain and trauma of my birth I wanted to celebrate this new chapter by making this blog. I've been through a lot in the past 4 + months and through it all I have learnt a lot about myself, my family and my little boy. Come along on this ride with me and I promise I'll be real, open and creative (because that's just who I am).  I hope you enjoy it as much as I think I'm going to. Stay tuned... X SR