It's that time...... Toilet Training Time!

Yep the fun and exhilarating task of toilet training is in full swing in our house hold.

I have been avoiding it like the plague and shrugging off friendly "suggestions" from family and friends that he's ready.  I mean hey, it's my boy, it's me who will be scrubbing pee of the floors and tipping poo out of tiny little undies into the bin right? Maybe, just maybe, I need to be ready too.

To be honest, I think I am still scarred from how long it took with Miss 4, and she's the intelligent one! Oh dear.

So we had prepped him up over the week explaining to him that on the weekend he was going to wear big boy undies because of course he's a BIIIIGGG BOOOOYYYY now (as you explain in your stupidest kiddy voice).

Unlike when we toilet trained Miss 4 we decided it was all too hard to stay home for 3 or 4 straight days.  So we chucked on the undies, made a huge fuss and headed out to a cafe for coffee at 10am.   Let's face it, a Mumma needs her coffee.

We had no accidents all morning and then one minor one at sissy's gymnastics class.  The girls at the gym were lovely and helped clean it up so that was a save.

We came home and it was an extremely hot and sticky day so what better way to spend it than in the pool.  At least this way accidents won't get noticed right? Wrong! Mr J decided that it would be a good idea to hop out of the pool and squat on the timber deck to do his first pee of the afternoon! Thanks buddy.  So back in the pool he went to wash it all off ;-)

Besides a tiny little bullet in the toilet he hadn't done a poo all day which is extremely unlike him.  That was until....... We put his night nappy on.  Oh of course that's when he was confident enough to relax, let loose and well you know the rest!

So I think considering it was day one we did pretty well.  Three accidents, a bullet on the toilet and I still have no idea where all his water has gone.

Wish me luck for the next few days, I think I'll need it as it is completely and utterly draining walking around asking a 2 year old with the attention of Dory "Do you need to go to the toilet Jimmy?".  In most cases he responds without even stopping what he is currently doing with a loud and passionate "Noooooooo".

At least Toilet Training means seeing more of this cute bum!

5/52 - The 52 Project

Tantrums are inevitable.  I've been around enough children now to know that there is no "perfect" child who does not tantrum at some point.  The extent and level of the tantrums do differ though.

So on this note I can now honestly say, my daughter is just epic at throwing a tantrum.  She is well-behaved 70% of the time (that number was calculated using a precise and exact formula).  However, in that remaining 30%, boy oh boy does she go wild.

She is like a child possessed.  I've tried so many different parenting techniques and methods to try and limit the extent of the tantrum.  I try extremely hard to reduce any collateral damage.

This week we had a nice easy stay at home day.  For the most part it was fun, enjoyable, relaxing and just what we all needed.  Yet, there was that one, crazy, completely erratic tantrum in the afternoon thrown by Miss 4.

I was chatting recently to a good friend who told me a new method they had adopted in their house for dealing with tantrums.  One thing I implemented with my girl was to ask her to tell her teddy what is wrong.  I felt it would help her express her feelings without having to look me in the eye and tell me what she was thinking and feeling.

It was the first time I had tried it and I definitely felt it worked.  She likes to be left alone during a tantrum to let it all out so I left teddy on her bead and told her to take time and calm down and when she felt ready explain to teddy what was upsetting her.

How is this related to my 52 Project you ask.  Once I could hear that she had finally calmed down in her room I went in to check on her.  When I did I found my boy consoling his big sister.

All I can say is it completely melted my heart.  So what did this normal, rational mum do in this situation??? I grabbed my camera of course (and I'm really glad I did).

Here are some photos of my beautiful boy comforting his sister after her melt down.  I may have cheated a little and added more than one photo as I thought all four were extremely beautiful.

4/52 - The 52 Project

We were having a lazy Saturday morning at home before the kids spent the night with their Aunty.  James decided to dress up in Daddy's work shirt and I captured a few funny snaps.

The girl:

The boy:

The truth is..... I miss you!

I miss you.  I miss you with my whole heart.  It aches when I think of how unfair life can be, taking someone so special.

Although we are all feeling pain today, my message is for my beautiful, strong, brave, resilient Aunty, Uncle and two cousins......

be courageous

have faith

go forward

~ thomas edison

3/52 - The 52 Project

The Boy:

This week we had some friends stay with us for a few nights.  As fun and exciting as it is for the kiddies, the adventures take their toll and their little minds can become extremely overwhelmed.

James took some much needed time out on Sunday morning to catch a minute to himself.  Very sweet.

"Life is a balance between rest and movement" ~ Unknown

The Girl:

Earlier in the week we had an extremely hot day, I decided on a last minute trip to our new favourite beach.

We caught up with a gorgeous friend and a quick swim tuned into dinner and a bath back at their place.  The afternoon wasn't planned until 3pm that day and it proved once again how important it is to be spontaneous.

Whilst swimming it started raining, that didn't seem to worry the kids and they continued having their fun in the rain.

Some of the best memories are made on a whim.

"Spontaneity is the best kinda of adventure" ~ Unknown

My challenge…… Do something unexpected.

~ STRONGER ~

As the anniversary approaches I have been thinking a lot about my experience.

I lost something very special to me.  My two babies created out of love, magically conceived and developing inside of my body were taken.  These two souls have been imprinted in my heart and will remain there forever.

Although I have not forgotten them, I have grown stronger.

It took time to heal, yet I did just that.  I took the steps needed to recover, heal and be happy again.

I fought off the whispers of negativity, I ignored the notion of "get over it" and I certainly did not let the various antagonising looks or opinions hurt me.

Instead, I embraced the positivity and allowed people to support and guide me through this time.  I knew I would get through and I knew at the end of my journey I would be stronger.

There were many cycles of the healing process and there were many triggers along the way.

For many months I looked for answers, and when I couldn't find any I blamed myself.  I felt my body had let my babies down, it had let me down.  Then, I not only realised that there are no answers but I accepted it.  It doesn't matter how much we search, how much we plead, sometimes in life, the answers simply aren't there.

I feel living in the present and not in the past was a step which I needed to take in order to not only move forward, but to enjoy my life.  To be grateful for the blessings which I have been given.

My life is busy and as much as I try, I can not seem to slow it down.  It seems that my mind is just as busy as my lifestyle. So in order for me to appreciate the beauty of my life and to also slow down my mind, I engage in reflection.

In order to realistically achieve this I go to bed each night and reflect on the day which has passed.  That day only.  Not the week before, not the month before, just the last 12 hours.

I feel that reflecting on the joy and hopefulness which surrounds me allows me to truely be happy.  To feel content at a deeper level than I did before losing my two babies.

It allows me to know and accept that they are not with me, however, I am here, I am alive, I have a beautiful family and we need to create memories and cherish our lives.

I have stopped saying "I almost died" and instead I say "I survived", I have stopped grieving for what could have been and accepted what is.  I try my very hardest to control my mind and my irrational thoughts.  I no longer compare my life to others, instead I learn from others and I teach others.

Life isn't always fair, life isn't always kind, despite this, life is ours.  It is ours to live and we dictate our own peace of mind.

"Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be" ~ Sonia Ricotti

2/52 - The 52 Project - Monday 11th January 2016

Week two of The 52 Project, I captured this photo which to me perfectly reflects my two babies personalities.

It was a Thursday morning, work day, daycare day, rush day.

No time for morning cuddles, no time for lazying around and relaxing.  It's go go go from wake-up at 6am.

Yet I tend to experience the same thing every.single.Thursday! 

Me: "Chrisssssss, get in the shower, babe hurry up and shave, darling, get dressed, hunnnnnn the kids will miss breakfast at daycare!".

Meanwhile, darling husband is normally cuddled up in bed with the kids, laughing and playing.  This isn't the plan.  I need to run the Thursday routine like a military style operation.

He is always telling me to stress less, slow down, care less, don't worry.

On this morning, this morning only, I took his advice.  It was a cool Summers morning, I could hear the rain outside my bedroom window.  Both kids were curled up in bed.  They could not stop laughing.  

She was sheepishly smiling and of course he was being his normal cheeky self.

I jumped in bed with them, captured some snaps and had a cuddle and of course some tickles.

In spite of me refusing to slow down, I am glad on this particular day I did, even just for a moment.

Pasta overload…...

This pasta making thing is extremely new to me, I'm far from an expert.  However, thought I might share my recipes from last nights cook-up.

Although making the pasta itself is extremely simple, it is one of those things that you look at the clock and realise you've been in the kitchen for over 2 hours.  So if you don't have the time to make home-made pasta you could use the sauce recipes and pour over store bought pasta.  If doing this, I would recommend fresh pasta from the chilled area of your supermarket (not dry pasta).  Prior to making my own this would be all I use.

Why is there two dishes…… Well that's easy.  I set out to make Crab Ravioli and half way realised how long it takes and how fiddly the process was.  So I decided to cut the remaining pasta in to fettuccine and make a second sauce.

The Pasta:

Ingredients:

Note: This is considered one batch of pasta, for my two dishes I made two batches so double ingredients

* 4 eggs

* 400g plain flour

* pinch of salt

Method:

1) Place eggs in Thermomix bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 5

2) Add salt and flour and mix for an additional 5 seconds on speed 5

3) Kneed for 3 minutes on dough setting

4) Tip all ingredients onto a clean workbench and kneed by hand into a ball

5) Set aside in a bowl and let rest for half hour

6) Break off small portions of pasta and roll out until flat then run through the pasta machine.

7) The fettuccine can be cut through the machine and hung out to dry, the ravioli is assembled as per instructions below.

The Ravioli Filling:

Ingredients:

* 200g of crab (I purchased mine in a jar from De Costis)

* 100g of fresh ricotta

* fresh chives

* salt and pepper to taste

Method:

* Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well combined

* Once pasta has been rolled out place a sheet of pasta over the ravioli maker (I purchased mine from a kitchen shop at my local shopping centre).

* Spoon the crab mixture into each ravioli

* Cover the ravioli with another sheet of pasta and cut using a rolling pin

Note: If you don't have the Ravioli Maker you could do manually.  It looks like this (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/320745868015?limghlpsr=true&hlpht=true&ul_noapp=true&hlpv=2&chn=ps&lpid=107&ops=true&viphx=1)

So by this point you should have finished your ravioli and cut your fettuccine and your work bench will look something like this………

The blue bowl had some fettuccine in it which was too short to hang.  It was the offcuts from the ravioli that I didn't want to waste. 

The Ravioli Sauce (Burnt Butter)

Ingredients (this is where it gets interesting as I didn't measure everything):

* 100g butter (approx)

* teaspoon minced garlic

* fresh parsley cut finely 

* lemon rind of one lemon

* juice of half a lemon

* salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1) Melt the butter in a pan on high heat

2) Once melted turn the heat to medium and add garlic, lemon rind, salt and pepper

3) Mean while cook ravioli in boiling water for approximately 3 minutes (be sure not to over cook, fresh pasta cooks extremely quickly)

4) Once ravioli has cooked add to the burnt butter

5) Pour parsley over the ravioli and let fry in pan for 1 minute

6) Flip ravioli in pan to fry opposite side for an additional 1 minute

7) Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice

8) Serve and eat immediately

Fettuccine Sauce (Creamy Crab Sauce)

Ingredients:

* 200g crab (as per above, I purchased two jars)

* 300g cream

* 2 teaspoons minced garlic

* lemon rind of one lemon

* salt and pepper

* fresh parsley cut finely

Method:

1) Heat half the cream cream in a pan on low heat

2) Once simmering add garlic, lemon rind and parsley and stir through

3) Stir through crab

4) Add additional cream and stir through on low/medium heat

5) Mean while cook pasta in boiling water for 2/3 minutes

6) Add pasta to pan and season with salt and pepper (I also added a little fresh lemon)

So this was a first for me….. Writing up a recipe.  I cook at a whim and don't normally remember what ingredients I use let alone quantity.  Taste as you go and of course experiment.  Most of all enjoy and have fun.

I'm always open to feedback and suggestions!

I hope I've left you with a little inspiration.

1/52 - The 52 Project - Monday 4th January 2016

So I declare that I will participate in The 52 Project created by Practising Simplicity and today is the beginning of week one!

The girl - Week one:

I was putting my little girl to bed and after a few minutes of silence she whispered to me "Mummy, I don't want to fall asleep, I don't want to dream of Witches!".  I thought about this comment for a moment.  I immediately felt torn.  Do I follow the advice of my psychologist who always recommends I tell her that "Witches are pretend", or, do I keep her my little baby girl for longer and tell her "They can't hurt you darling, Mummy is here to protect you".

I like to try and think through what I'm telling my children, think about how it can impact who they are and who they become.  What we say to them today shapes them for the future.

So I squeezed her tight and said "Baby girl, Mummy has told you Witches aren't true.  They are just made up for books and movies.  It doesn't matter anyway, Mummy is here and I will always protect you!".

She snuggled into my pillow and drifted off into her long, peaceful sleep.

The notion of helping her fall asleep sounds wonderful, however, in reality it can be stressful and exhausting.  Yet each and every night, once my baby is laying asleep next to me in my bed I take a moment to stare at her face.  The beauty, the innocence, the perfect calmness that covers her face the moment she drifts off.

This moment, it helps me refocus and realise once again why I have adopted this gentle approach.

1/52 - Sleeping Princess.......

The boy - Week one:

It was a rainy morning and Sophia asked if her and James could play with bubbles.  I let them play outside on the deck with a wand of bubbles each.

Bubbles soon turned messy when they finished the contents of their wand and decided to fill it up with dishwashing liquid (ok so they may have seen me do it first).  Within 15 minutes the deck was filled with suds.  Mess, mess, mess everywhere.

I walked out and confiscated the bubbles and began to wash the deck down with the hose.  To let off some of my frustration with my extra cleaning job, I decided to ever so slightly hose down both of my children.  I did it as I was annoyed.  It backfired.  They absolutely loved it and not before long they were running around the backyard, in the rain, with me hosing them.

Of course by the end they were completely drenched and it was only 10am!  This didn't really sit well with my "plan for the day", however, it made me realise how important it was to let go and enjoy a simple moment.

Both children were laughing, the deck had a nice wash down and I now felt relaxed and happy.

I gave them both a bath and we all had smiles on our faces.

Let your children change your plans!

1/52 - Messy then clean........