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December in 3 minutes! 😅🤪🥳🎅🏼🎄 December in 3 minutes! 😅🤪🥳🎅🏼🎄
My easy Galaxy Cake hack 🎂 It’s one of the surpri My easy Galaxy Cake hack 🎂

It’s one of the surprisingly easier cakes I’ve decorated over the years and follows my usual “just keep going till it looks edible” philosophy 😝 Buttercream really does hide a multitude of sins! 😅

I stopped baking my own party cakes years ago because even with the best foolproof recipes,it never tasted any better than a shop-bought @colessupermarkets #mudcake. With the added bonus of saving me a heap of time and being way cheaper than if I’d baked it from scratch. Also, let’s face it that most cake at kids parties land up on the floor or half licked/squealched/poked and then binned anyway. So save yourself the effort! 😎

#kidsparties #momlife #cakehacks #partyplanning #birthdaycakeideas #boymom #parenting #momsofinstagram  #momblogger #kidspartyideas #birthdaycake #mudcakehack #starwarscake
Throw together a bunch of 9 year old boys, inflata Throw together a bunch of 9 year old boys, inflatable light sabres and sugar… what could possibly go wrong? 🤪🤣🥳🤩

Happy 9 the birthday our sweet guy! It’s taken me almost your entire birthday month just to put together the videos from your birthday. But you can’t help that you were born during the busiest time of year for me work-wise. What with Halloween, Black Friday and Christmas brand campaigns coming out my ears at this time of the year. Things have been busy! 🙃

So here’s a tiny recap of his birthday party weekend for the memory banks. 🥳🎂🎉
I have a bit of a kooky tradition I do the night b I have a bit of a kooky tradition I do the night before my kids birthdays… 

I sit in their rooms in the calm and the silence and think back to the hours before their birth. I try and take myself there, in the room, standing next to my past self. I observe her so full of uncertainty and fear, with all the million and 1 things that go wrong in childbirth swirling around her I smile and calmly reassure her that it will all be fine, that they grow up to be perfect and healthy wonderful little humans that you will be so proud of. You will forget the pain and you will definitely be able to sleep on your stomach again!

 I hold space for her and shower her with love and admiration for all that she will accomplish and endure. Feel broken and defeated one day and elated and wise the next. I remind her that everything she needs to know will find its way to her one way or another and that she doesn’t have to try so hard. But she’ll only work that out much later on.

Then I come back to the present moment and wonder if my future self is sitting with me right now in this moment, holding space for all the bitter sweet memories that now flood me with nostalgia. I’ve spent years wishing away the sleepless nights, the nappies, the tantrums, the sea of perpetual Lego beneath my feet. Yet I find myself going back more and more regularly to sit with myself at those 5am feeds or stay strong beside her through those epic tantrums. 

Happy birthday my sweet boy, 9 years now in the past, but I will come back to these moments so many more times to come. 🥹💞💙
This is the first year they’ve really gotten into This is the first year they’ve really gotten into Halloween 🎃👻🦇🕸️ I feel like I’ve created a monster in more ways than one by letting them have a say in the video editing process 🫣🤪
Mid-week meals can still be amazing (and easy) wit Mid-week meals can still be amazing (and easy) with a few simple short cuts! 👌🏼I find a stirfry can actually be more work than a roast that cooks itself! 🍖🥕🥦 #momspiration #momlife #momblogger #momfluencer #mompreneur #mum #parenting #momsofinstagram #mumlife #whatsfordinner #familymeals
I get it. I really do. It’s HARD to let/encourage/ I get it. I really do. It’s HARD to let/encourage/train your kids to do things, for a number of reasons.

Mom guilt.
It’s exhausting.
Resistant child.
Time it takes.
Anxiety or worry.
Liking things done a particular way.
Those are all valid reasons.
But...
When it comes to raising capable kids we have to keep something in mind.
It’s not actually about raising a capable kid. It’s about raising a capable ADULT.

By taking the time to teach your kids how to be independent, self-sufficient, hard working, self-starters, and multi-faceted, it not only boosts their confidence, but teaches them important skills that help them now AND in the future!
Let your kids show you what they are capable of.
They might just surprise you.

So here are 3 ways we incentivise our kids:

1: Chore checklists 

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sit down to scroll on my phone or watch TV until I’ve done all my “jobs” for the day. So it works the same for our kids. We’re a low-screen family, my kids don’t do screens in the week during school time. But they can earn screen time over weekends & holidays if they’ve ticked off all their chores on their chore checklist. 

2: Finding jobs

We don’t pay our kids to do chores but we do pay them for jobs they proposition us with, like yard work, cleaning the car, sorting recycling etc. It also helps that we don’t buy them toys unless it’s their birthday or Christmas. So if they really want something in the meantime, they have to find a way to earn it! 😉

3: pick-a-stick

I write down little jobs on paddle pop sticks and stand them inside a jar. Things like “team clean with your sibling your bathroom” or “pack away all the shoes you see around the house” etc.  When my kids whinge they’re bored, don’t get what they want or keen to earn extra time towards something I suggest they pick a stick to earn time towards something fun or bank it to use at a later date.

It’s a win-win because I never have to nag them to clean up their spaces and they never have to nag me for stuff they want! 

#momlife #momspiration #momblogger #momfluencer #mompreneur #mum #parenting #momsofinstagram #mumlife #capablekids #family #raisingkids
It’s been about 5 years since we emigrated to Aust It’s been about 5 years since we emigrated to Australia and not a week goes by where we don’t get asked questions like “how did you know it was the right thing to do?” My answer is always read the book “The mountain is you” by @briannawiest 

Here’s what I took from it:

 ⛰️ Self-sabotage is a means of getting an unmet need fulfilled (albeit in a maladaptive way). 

It’s often believed that self-sabotage is the result of trying to punish ourselves, this is actually not the case at all. It’s a coping mechanism, a means of getting a need fulfilled, usually a need we aren’t fully aware we even have. So get clear on your needs and stop settling for less.

⛰️ “Your new life is going to cost you your old one.”

Many people avoid doing necessary internal work because they realize that if they heal themselves/their situation/go after what they really want, their lives will change–sometimes drastically. This could mean losing relationships and friends, you could become less liked and understood. It may mean floundering for a while until you find your north star. “It doesn’t matter,” insists Wiest. “The people who are meant for you are going to meet you on the other side. You’re going to build a new comfort zone around the things that actually move you forward. Instead of being liked, you’re going to be loved. Instead of being understood, you’re going to be seen.”

⛰️ Comfort is the driving force of human behavior.

Human beings seek what they know best because it is what is the most comfortable and therefore safe, even when ironically it’s often to their detriment. “Human beings are guided by comfort. They stay close to what feels familiar and reject what doesn’t, even if it’s objectively better for them.” Comfort zones are such a cliche, but it’s a good idea to train that dealing-with-discomfort muscle every chance you get. You never know when it might come in handy?

⛰️ The only person who can save you from your own madness is yourself. The one person in my way is myself and that I am also the only person who can save me from me. 🤪 Master the art of stepping out of your own way. Know you can decide to want better for yourself, especially from yourself. 🙃
It’s a whole new world! 🥴😮‍💨🫠 #momspiration #momli It’s a whole new world! 🥴😮‍💨🫠 #momspiration #momlife #momblogger #momfluencer #mompreneur #mum #parenting #momsofinstagram #mumlife #modernparenting
A trip through Brisbane wouldn’t be complete witho A trip through Brisbane wouldn’t be complete without a pit stop at the South African Shop! 🇿🇦🐘🥩🍬🦒🍖🥃🏈🦓
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