Mothers Day, Bittersweet for some

Well more sweet than bitter these days, thank god.

My Mum, in the 1950's

Each year Mothers Days looms down like a dark cloud on each of us that no longer have a Mum to celebrate it with. Similarly for those Mummy's that no longer have their children with them.
We battle our grief year round and it is at a pinnacle on Mothers Day. It is unavoidable. Promoted on TV, radio, catalogues, Internet & of course social media goes crazy. You look for the darkest cave to hide in until it is all over.

Me, my sister and Mum 1980's

This is how I felt, every year after my Mum passed away, until, I had my own children. It brings all the wonder and joy back into the day & this year my 2.5 year old {Little Miss L} gave me a beautiful poem & artwork which made me cry a little.... In a good way! ( thank you so much to the carers that organise this, it is very much appreciated!) I got to spend the day with my beautiful children, my partner & my WONDERFUL Mother in Law. I had a little teary the night before Mother's Day ( last night) but made it through the whole day I day with only happy thoughts & memories of my Mum. And a little bit of guilt that I didn't pay more attention or spoil her more on Mothers Day!

Little Miss L giving my Mother in Law her pressie that we made for her.

My Little Charlie and Me

The culprit for bringing a tear to my eye

It is Magic!

I have been nervous about implementing the 1,2,3 Magic system. I've been paying very close attention to my disciplining actions and I have discovered I talk too much! ( really???? I hear you say ;)) . Two year olds are unable to cope with all the chatter, explanation and emotion. Apparently. I didn't really believe this when it was bought up during the class, however, I have discovered they are right, of course. Today was my first try of the 1,2,3 system. Miss L wanted to play with my camera and I said no, it's Mummy's special camera and put it on top of the bookcase. Two minutes later I head back up the hallway only to see her half way up the bookcase, trying to reach the camera. I said ' that's 1'. She just looked at me and keep climbing, 5 seconds later ' that's 2' , she continued. 5 more seconds and I calmly & firmly said ' that's 3, time out' I picked her up ( she started screaming) and put her in her bedroom for 2 minutes ( 1 minute per year of age) . She cried for the first minute, then I heard chatter for the second minute. After the two minutes passed, I opened the door and she was standing there with a smile and a book. She said ' Lily happy! Caterpillar?' And handed me The Very Hungary Caterpillar to read. No discussion required, issue over. Normally this would require many ' lily get downs and putting her in the floor, only for her to climb up again and a huge fight breaking out! I must say, so far, I'm impressed! Watch this space.....

123 Magic

I am currently on the second week into a 3 week parenting course called 1,2,3 Magic. Admittedly, when my local community centre called ( yes they called me, they are amazing) and asked if I'd like to join the next course, I had never heard of it. But it was being run on my day off and they offered FREE child care (yes this place is seriously amazing! ) so I jumped at the chance. I have been looking for some kind of parenting course for about 2 years and was surprised that I kept coming up with dead-ends. I was shocked that there were not really any on offer in Hobart. As my daughter became a toddler I really felt I needed the systems in place for effecting discipline & I didn't naturally know what to do, so this course is perfect! So far it has been great & I am looking forward to pulling it all together next week. Have you ever been at the supermarket & heard a parent start with the " That's one...." Warning? Well this is it! Has anyone heard of this or completed the course? I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences.

The Garden Shed Reno

Recently, my brother and I did a little reno on the back garden shed. We live in a very small house & with 2 small children sharing a bedroom there is just not any room for additional toys in the house. We had a shed in the garden that was full to the brim of well, crap. It was a scary space, full of spiders and horrible things.  So many people had said to me ' why not turn this into a play room?'. I always nodded and said ' what a great idea!' but I was very doubtful this would ever happen. Until one day, my baby brother and his partner happily became pregnant with their third child and I bribed them with lots of yummy second hand baby stuff to get him to come and do the work for me! Oh, the benefits of having a handy brother.  He did such an amazing job that is was all over in 6 hours. It cost me only $100 ( for black board paint, a few rollers and brushes, an extension cord and 2 plastic stools). I had some carpet off cuts ready to go in, but when we pulled up the manky carpet we discovered wonderful, polished floor board. Yes,  in a garden shed! The kids love their new ' house' and I have since made curtains and we have added a few cute pictures to the walls.

 I must admit when it was finished, I did entertain ( for a millisecond) the idea of keeping it all for myself as a studio. It didn't happen, and now all the toys are moved in and it is a very funky space.