Atura Vaycay

Ahhhh when I think back to how decadent life was a little calmer and a whole less emotional……………A little slice of paradise tucked just out of the hustle and bustle of the city! What a little beauty it was staying at the stunning Atura Hotel Blacktown.

A weekend full of wining and dining and laughs to make a fabulous weekend away. Not only has this gem got the most comfortable, dreamy beds I have ever stayed in, but the rooms are so warming and friendly, you feel like you never outstay your welcome.

I cannot get over how many things there are to do at this place. Base yourselves here and spend the day slipping and sliding all over the place at wet n wild Sydney only to come back and chill by the pool (if you aren’t waterlogged already) with some delicious cocktails, Then to top your night off head over to the drive in movies (which are right next door…if you are lucky enough you may even see them from your hotel rooms) and end it old school. The next day treat yourself to some chilled tunes and amazing food at the Royal Cricketers Arms just the other side of the hotel. What better way to wind down after a crazy busy day before. honestly, SO. MUCH. TO. DO!!!! Did I mention how close it was to eastern creek race way?? I know, crazy!

Here I am already planning my summer weekend away with the fam bam (they even have interconnecting rooms that we can all fit in to…..so important when wanting to go away as a family, actually staying together haha!

FYI – I hate those places that advertise free breakfast and its all the cold food and pastries…. Not here, from scrambled eggs, hash browns to waffles, you know where you’ll find me between 7 and 10, long brekky anyone!!!!!

From bathroom envy to breakfast of champions I couldn’t recommend this place enough!

#aturaflair @aturablacktown

Brekky with Britt

The beautiful Brittany Noonan has taken time out to answer these Christmas questions about how she spends time with her family over Christmas. Even though Christmas is a highly stressful time for some (Britt has openly spoken about this in her blog) I really appreciate her answering my Christmas questions. 

 

What does Christmas day look like in your house ……..

We start the day with opening our gifts under the Christmas tree. As Millie was so young the last 2 years we managed a sleep in but I’m sure that will all change this year and the excitement of Christmas morning will start very early.

After presents we have coffee and a light breakfast and will go for a quick dip in the ocean before all the family arrives and my self and sisters and Mum will usually cook the lunch. We have a big Christmas lunch of seafood, cold meats and lots of salads and treats – this year we will be hosting Christmas again so everyone comes to us.

Our Christmas afternoon will be spent at the beach, in the pool or playing with our new gifts and evenings are quieter as we all relax after filling our bellies full of Christmas food.

 

What’s your ideal Christmas??

My ideal Christmas is honestly just seeing Millie happy and smiling, enjoying her gift and being surrounded by family. Plus lots of yummy food.

 

Do you have traditions with family or are you looking to start new ones??

Honestly not really but Im sure as we grow as a family we will create our own.

 

What’s a Christmas tradition you would like to pass on to your kids??

Having just one gift from Santa which is wrapped differently from the rest.

 

Are you a caroller?? (do you enjoy heading a lot to carols in the park ect??

No they kind of drive me mad but Im sure that will have to change as Millie gets older.

 

What’s more exciting……giving the presents or buying the presents??

I love seeing Millies face light up BUT I also love planning what gifts to buy everyone.

 

Are you a blow the budget kinda gal or keeping it within reason??

Come on Taryn you know me…. Blow the budget everytime. I’m really good until likw 2 days before Christmas then I get all festive and want to buy everuthing for everyone.

 

Are you leave to the last minute or prepare throughout the year, for present shopping??

Last minute. Every time.

 

Top 2 prezzies you have got for the kids this year for Christmas…..

Busted. I haven’t started BUT I do want to get Millie an arts and crafts table wih a heap of things to creat and play with.

 

How has Christmas changed for you over the last 10 years??

Totally changed. As a young adult it was all about getting “jolly” aka druk with my friends and ending up with a nasty hang over on Christmas Day but now its all about enjoying time with my beautiful husband and daughter! I know which Christmas I prefer that’s for sure.

 

www.bybrittanynoonan.com
 @bybrittanynoonan

FAIL TO PREPARE, AND PREPARE TO FAIL!!!

FAIL TO PREPARE, AND PREPARE TO FAIL!!!

This has been my motto for a while now, when it comes to life… especially food. I have been on a lifestyle change for about 2 months now and I try to implement it in all aspects of life, including food preparation.

Food prep for the kids has never been so easy with Tip Top The One Mixed Grain bread. Not only do they love to eat it, but they get so excited and feel so grown up getting in the kitchen and preparing not only their lunch but even their toast… SUPER CUTE!!

They love cooking their own toast (I use the term cooking loosely; they press the button to watch the toast goes down and then celebrate when it pops back up) and they love making their own Sandwiches (cheese and ham for the win at the moment). Of course they don’t chop up the toppings themselves, but once all the knife cutting preparation is done, this is when the children take over! I know this is when they’re each getting their 4 whole grains – a 1/3 of their daily target of whole grains in one serve, plus it’s high in fibre and it’s also got added vitamins and minerals. So much goodness, it puts my mind at ease!

 

 

 

Being able to prepare their food for on-the-go life and have them involved in the kitchen and preparation makes me feel like they are learning to live a healthy balanced lifestyle that’s easy to obtain with no more than a couple of extra minutes in the kitchen of a morning, not to mention learning about the importance of choosing healthy options.

Mum Guilt on a new level!

This day.

Four years ago.

On our way to the hospital.

Having more of an idea then our first delivery (I say our cos you know hubby’s do a lot of the delivery work ), although having many more mixed emotions….

Excited to meet the new little bundle will it be blue or pink, scared cos I already knew what labour was like….I knew what I would be in for…but would it be worse? More painful? Slower? And then guilt. Guilt that we were driving up leaving our precious little 19month old at home.

Bringing a sibling in to her life. Was it too soon?? Had I wasted her first 19months spending the last 10 being pregnant? Then the other kind of guilt… would I love this baby as much as I loved Olivia?? How could I. surely my heart wasn’t that big.

I remember asking Ryan so many times “how can you love both of your kids equally?” He just smiled back and said “you just do”. Really helpful Ryan….REALLY EFFING HELPFUL!

But annoyingly he was right. You do.

I don’t love one more then the other. Ever. I have never felt that, the guilt is still there, it always is as a parent….even after talking to my mum 30 years later there is still guilt.

But as I sit here and think about how much my life has changed having Isabella bless our family with her sass and determination. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Although I have another level of guilt today, today marks Isabella’s birthday. But at the beginning of the week I decided to tell her it was tomorrow. Mainly because her father isn’t here due to work to celebrate but will be back in the weeeeeee hours of Thursday morning. So rather then spending her birthday at a place she doesn’t really like (daycare) with people she isn’t extremely fond of and her dad not here. I thought we would move it to Thursday and have one on one mummy daddy and Bella time and indulge  her with time and attention… you know I wouldn’t want her to have middle child syndrome!

So go ahead. Judge away.

Yeop. I have told a little white lie to my now 4 year old that her birthday is tomorrow. In my eyes, it’s a better day for her.

Like a dear friend said to me today, a loving and vivacious 4 year old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABELLA MAE!

DECADE

 

Sometimes as parents, wives and husbands we feel like we are drowning, drowning in responsibility. Working to make ends meet so much, that we lose ourselves. We lose who we are as husband and wife. That connection and spark you had when you first started dating disappears and replaces itself with nagging, frustration and your ability to hold niceties has vanished.

 

I am learning, That this is OK.

 

This month we (my husband and I) celebrate ten years being together………..Ten years nothing to bat an eyelid at! Where has that time gone.

This hasn’t come without its hard times. This is real. This is life together. This is what I have come to believe is the norm of not just marriage (as you might not be married but finding the same bumps in the road) but together as a co-habitat of life. There are days, weeks and months that are hard. It’s not like you are fighting all the time, you are just there, you are present, but you are constantly thinking of what needs to be done next, what part of the daily routine is next, you don’t mean to. It just happens. You mentally have checked out without realising and are cruising on auto pilot and going through the motions of the day.

 

Its ok to feel like we are doing more then we believe we are capable of, being stretched to the limit, as a parent and neglecting that promise we made as husband and wife.

I have come to value the times that are a bit harder as it makes me really appreciate the times where everything falls into place and seem that bit easier.

Just recently we have had a bit of a social buzz taking us physically away from our roles as parents. I didn’t realise how badly we needed it. Life has been a huge juggling act this past year with hubby working away. Parenting on my own, taking on the responsibilities for work, house life, mum and parenting as well as working from home. 12 months of this, 12 months of being a solo parent 5 and ½ days a week. – I tell you – parents who do this 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year my hat is firmly off to you! What an adjustment!!! Without even realising I would make tiny changes in routine and not communicate these and expect him to know what they are. Then get cranky when he wouldn’t do it (such a bitch I know). Then adjusting to him being home, don’t get me wrong. I was so grateful he was home but I hadn’t realised how much we had changed in 12 months to not really living together to all of a sudden back to life together. I was so excited but naive to think that we were the same people (I hadn’t realised how strong emotionally I had become without him around) and it would be as though nothing had changed. Being contracted back down home meant readjusting to sharing the parenting role, readjusting to sharing the work load again and readjusting to our lives together as a family 7 days a week. This came with its challenges and hurdles but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love that he is home every day and the kids get to actually see him for more then 36 hrs a week.

Not realising until these last 4 weeks how much we needed it to be just us. To reconnect for that strong parent alliance again. At the beginning, I felt horrible leaving the kids, I don’t normally but with everything that has been going on I was emotional, then I realised how much I had missed this man. How much I have craved time with him. Adoring the moments with him and him alone. No one tugging at my clothes to get me to get their drink, or that they wanted a hug or they can’t open the toilet door.

I won’t feel guilty for it. Yes, I missed them. But I know to have a healthy relationship and demonstrate how a marriage should work I need to reconnect with him. With the man who has given me my dreams and more. Grateful that he chose me to be the mother of his children. That he trusts me enough to raise them with him. Know that I will hold my head oh so high with the 4 children I have been blessed with in my life. What greater gift than your partner believing you can be the best asset to their child.

I appreciate everything he does, I always have.

So, take those moments.

Take the dinners, the movies, the day dates.

Reconnect.

Be together.

 

 

13 Reasons why I am questioning what the future will be like for my Kids.

There has been a lot of buzz around the TV show “13 reasons why” showing on Netflix, I had first heard about it while doing a wedding make up for a family of all girls, saying how every parent should watch it. I thought it couldn’t hurt to sit down and watch…little did I know how deeply this would impact me and make me question the future for my kids…… exactly what it was supposed to do.

 

I fear for my children growing up (I know, how horrid does this make me sound). When it gets to the point and they can’t talk to us anymore, about anything. That time will come and as I sit here and think about it, I fill with dread, I fill with fear of the unknown of what may come in to in the teenage years and beyond for my children. I pray that I do all the things I know how to do, to talk about what makes a good person, to talk about how saying something may seem like a good idea but you can never take it back, once it’s said it’s not forgotten. As a parent this is a huge fear of mine, it makes me so so sad to think one day any of my children could go through this feeling that they are all alone and there is nobody there to help them. That there is nobody who cares enough for them?? …….. HOW??

 

 

There has to be something we can do?? Something MORE we can do??

Isn’t there??

• Talk more to them about how to deal with emotions that make them feel like its too much and the world is swallowing them whole??
• Talk more to them about bullying??
• Talk more to them that some days will feel like the world is against you and you have no other option??
• Talk to them about being treated the way you would want to be treated, the way you would want someone to treat your sister, your brother??

 

How can we make this a better world for them??

 

To those parents who have lost children to depression, bullying and suicide, my heart breaks for you. A thousand times over, it breaks.

How did we create a world where this is even an option?? How did bullying get to a level so intense they can’t even escape it at home? How do we create children to think they are better than everyone else and think its ok to make one and another feel like a failure at life and have a certain social power over others???

 

I say we…… WE are all responsible.

We path the way for our children….. to a degree, we as society have to take a look at ourselves and say what kind of role models are we portraying to the future?? We need to be accountable for our actions, accountable for our choices. To show to our children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews that how you treat people have consequences, it starts  by leading by example.

 

Tell me I’m not the only one who has these fears for their children?? And it’s not just for my daughters either. I fear for all my kids. This will be taking responsibility to a whole new level. Being responsible for someone who thinks they are responsible and grown up enough to make their own decisions??

 

How can we make this easier?? How can we help them without covering them in bubble wrap and allowing them to grow up on their own without being a helicopter parent? Are there things in place at school that are taken seriously like a math test?? An algorithm isn’t going to save your life, will talking about morals and ethics?? Why isn’t life in there as a subject we can help teach and guide them?? Documentaries of families and friends who are affected by bullying, who are affected by depression who are affected by suicide??

 

WHAT CAN WE DO??  Tell me I am not the only one who feels this lost and it hasn’t even begun!

Holiday Life

6 weeks on holidays pure bliss!!!! 
Sleep ins.
Relaxing.
Long walks and adventures.
Coffee dates.
Wondering the shops.

WRONG!!!!

More like, up between 5 and 7am, in the kitchen until at least 10 with the breakfast prep, cleaning up any of the spills, cleaning the dishes, changing the clothes they insisted on changing into before breakfast and then preceding to spill their entire breakfast on the clean clothes, get changed AGAIN, put dirty clothes in machine ready for first wash of the day.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh and so it begins, holiday life with 3 children under 5! 

I learnt very quickly this week (beginning our third week of holidays away from home) after the hype of Christmas and New Year has died down, Dad has flown back home for work how much the kids and I are customized to our everyday routine and how sitting around swimming and not really doing anything out of the house puts all 4 of us in a really shitty mood.

I had a couple of breakdowns the other day and couldn’t quiet figure out what was going on and then it dawned on me how much of a different pace our holidays are with our every day life and that potentially we need that structure and routine. The girls need their socializing with other kids (preschool and daycare structure), I need that half hour session to work out on my own so I have don’t h ability of being about to approach my motherhood duties with in a rational manner as opposed to the breaking down and losing my shit approach!!!
So to all those wonderful Mumma’s out there enjoying their holidays with their children and their ability to relax…. TELL ME YOUR SECRET!!!!!

 Or is this just the way my family is wired? To live with the pace of structure and routine?! 

All Day is ‘mum’ ‘ma’ ‘muuuuuuuum’ ‘MUMMY’ and drive me bat shit crazy with consistent arguing with each other and constant feeding (honestly all they do is eat, Aldi I need to buy shares or turn my profession into chef??) 

Ironic really how  I thought holiday life would be any different to work life?? 

I have to admit though, now I have realised the glitz and glamour is far less then what I imagined with holidaying solo with kids. I am looking forward to the rest of our time away keeping in mind  some kind of activity routine for the next three weeks… ahhhhhhh #holidaymummode