My friend and I had another opportunity to go out and take photographs today.
I thought this was a cute shot.
Photography Outing: Lyall Bay
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Category Archives: Developing Yourself
Luv, Luv, Luv these posts!
If you have a couple of minutes to spare, and you want to be inspired about motherhood…please head over to see:
Sarah at Clover Lane, and read: “I don’t know how she does it: The real truth”
and
Cheri at I Am Momma – Hear Me Roar, and read:“The grass is pretty green right here”
You won’t be disappointed….trust me 
hugs xo
Mika
Roses & Chocolate on Valentine’s Day
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, we often associate it with roses and chocolate. Well, I was lucky enough to spend the morning photographing roses with my friend at Wellington Botanic Gardens….oh and we did manage to fit in a delicious hot chocolate as well
It had been raining heavily that morning and I wasn’t sure if we would have to postpone our outing again. (My oldest daughter fractured her arm last week…poor girl).
You would think that going out in overcast conditions, with a high chance of rain would be insane, but actually, it was perfect! No harsh light from the sun and rain drops on the flowers! Amazing!!
Here is my favourite shot of the day. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
Sending your last child off to school: a mother’s transition
We had a break through today! Day 4 and my youngest wasn’t sad to see me leave when I dropped her off to school.
I wish I could take the credit, but the reality is, her friend started school today!
As my daughter has been transitioning to school, it has been a bit of a transition for me too.
I was expecting to feel really productive….after all, with all this free time, there was a list of projects I wanted to tackle – decluttering being numero uno!
The first few days of being home alone, I kind of felt a little aimless. Thank goodness I had lunch plans on the first day of the school drop off, otherwise, I think I might have gone home and wandered around the house.
Just as my daughter has eased into school life, I am feeling like myself again now. Ideas are flowing and I just need to figure out which order to do them in.
I know that everyone is different, but here is what I found with my transition to being at home…alone!
- It is really helpful to take a moment to mourn your youngest going to school before the big day arrives. (Great advice from Widge at My guide to surviving and enjoying life’s mundane. This meant that on the day, when someone asked me “How are you doing?” or when there was a potentially emotional part of the day, I could handle it.)
- Make plans on the first day of school to have lunch with a friend or have a good DVD to come home to.
- If you don’t have plans to go straight into paid employment, you will find there will be many opportunities that can fill up your day. Pick and choose carefully, or do nothing while you decide. (I am choosing, not to commit myself to anything at this stage. For me, that is a HUGE step, to flex those muscles of saying “no” to things. I wrote about this in my posts “Taming the “Yes Beast” and “The serial volunteer”.)
- Be aware that general housework can easily eat a big chunk into your day, or can expand to take up the whole time the kids are at school!
- The first few days after dropping off your youngest to school….you may find moments in the day where you just feel sad.
- Watching DVDs (that aren’t aimed at kids) during the day is fun! (Even if you are folding the laundry during it.)
- Going out for lunch with family and friends is even more fun!
- You actually get a chance to do things that you haven’t tried before. You are only limited by your imagination! (So far, I’ve gone to zumba classes during the day, and made a family newsletter.)
Picking up the camera again
I’ve just realised that I am a technology snob.
If you aren’t fast enough and efficient enough, I don’t have time for you, “thank you very much.”
A computer that takes forever to make a blog entry, and doesn’t want to download my photos from my camera?…see you later.
A camera that has a short battery life, and a lens that often decides that the photo would look better overexposed?…so long.
How did my patience become so short?
But isn’t a new year all about stretching oneself and working on one’s weaknesses?
So the camera came out with us on an outing today and I decided I was going to blog about it.
Like all weaknesses you work on, you often get a chance (read: chances) to test oneself 
I try to remind myself that the good things, take effort…and time.
I am grateful that I decided to pick up the camera again.
I love capturing their gorgeous smiles.
I also love photos that remind me of the story behind it.
Like this one:
My oldest daughter gently helped my youngest daughter all the way to the top, and then took her time, and guided her all the way back down again. They repeated this many times while we were there. Love it.
Or this one:
My son persevered on a piece of equipment that we thought was broken. He worked out how to use it, and got the tricky piece of equipment moving.
Or this one:
My heart was in my mouth, when my son decided that he was going to balance himself at the top of the very high rope frame. That is so him! I was half proud, and half terrified!
I think 2012 is going to be about celebrating the everyday triumphs…like patience, perseverance, stretching oneself, and not giving up until you get to the end (or the very top!)
My creative space: Kia Kaha Christchurch
Our beautiful country has been rocked by another earthquake on Monday. Unfortunately, the resilient people of Christchurch bore the brunt of the earthquake, which registered 6.0 on the Richter scale.
All of New Zealand (as well as our overseas friends), have been thinking about the people in Christchurch who are going without power and water and picking up the pieces again (when the earthquake struck earlier this year it was summer, now it is winter in Christchurch.)
Kia Kaha basically means be strong, may strength be with you. It is a way to give our aroha (love) and support. xoxo
On Monday night as part of our family home evening, we turned off all the lights and sat around some candles and talked about what some of the families might be going through after the earthquake. We talked about the things that we are grateful for. Then finished off with a prayer of gratitude and a prayer of comfort and peace for those who may need it.
Art: Odosketch (Thanks Meghan for recommending it! My google reader didn’t bring up your picture when I read about odosketch, then when I went to your blog to get your post link…I realised great minds think alike!!). It does not have the ability to save to your computer or an undo button. I decided to do a screen shot of it so I could add text in Picasa.
I am linking up with our creative spaces.
Moments That Matter Most
This is such a beautiful video, that I just had to share!
Today, I am going to s.l.o.w down and focus on what matters most.
And when I get caught up in the “frantic activity of life”, I am going to watch this video again, to help me get the perspective I need
Enjoy! xo
My creative space: Personalised Print
My daughter’s best friend turned 4 today. This is the present that I made for her.
Just like last weeks graphic art, all the art was made using SAI (painting programme for Windows) and then I put it together in Microsoft Publisher.
After putting the present together, I ran around like a mad woman cleaning the house to get it ready for the playdate. Creating is so much more fun than cleaning
You can see lots of fab projects over at our creative places.
My creative space: Inspirational Quote
Guess what I have been doing instead of the laundry?!
My creative juices have been flowing lately as I have been creating art using the computer.
I usually start off with a rough idea in my head or a sketch I have done…then I keep on developing it, tweaking it and changing it. It usually morphs into something completely different from what I had in my mind at the beginning.
If I see a colour combination I like while I am surfing the net, or on a greeting card or a piece of fabric, I keep it in mind, then try to incorporate it later in one of my drawings.
The quote I used, is the one I posted a little while ago.
It reminds me of my role as a mother when I read this quote, and the role I have in raising my children. Each day we are planting seeds. At the end of the day, quite often we do not see the harvest. Hopefully the seeds we plant will sprout a happy, healthy and well-balanced “big person” who knows they are loved.
Do you have a favourite quote at the moment?
I’m joining our creative spaces for the first time! yay!
Are you burning out??
It was just one of those mornings where the kids got ready really well, hubby was going into work late so he could look after our 4 year old, and I did not have to be anywhere in the morning. I decided to make the most of it, by playing netball with my girls before school.
My 8 & 10 year old started netball for the first time this year, and they are loving it.
Their first game in the rain
When we got to school this morning, our daugthers’ friends joined in, and we had enough to play some netball against each other.
It felt good to run around again, thinking strategically, pushing my body to intercept or to create space to get the ball.
Then it hit….
….the wall.
The body that I had neglected for months by not exercising, started to slow down. My arms started moving more than my feet (imagine a stationary windmill! ha!) I started walking more, and to breath heavier.
“How the heck do they keep this pace up the whole game?!” I thought to myself.
As I walked home, I started thinking about what just happened, and how it relates to life.
We do not do anyone any favours, when we push ourselves by being an energiser bunny, being everything to everyone, and then inevitably burning out.
Unfortunately, we often don’t register that things are “too much”, until we burn out…and by then, the effects on us and our family are obvious.
So what do we do?
One way is to learn from the times we burn out. In this netball situation, I would learn that, if I wanted to play a full 15-20mins I would have to play the game differently and pace myself to “my level” of fitness so I could last the whole time.
In our life, we need to ask ourselves, what is too much? What is my limit?
Our limits constantly change.
- Going from no children to one child, one child to two children etc etc etc…..
- the family dynamics: babies, preschool age, primary age, teenagers
- being sleep deprived
- having a super active child
- work, study or church commitments
- etc etc etc!!
All of this means we need to take a look at our expectations – just because we were able to do it all before, does not necessarily mean we can do it all now. We need to listen to the rhythm of our life.
Everyone’s life is different. We need to slow down to our own “level”, not someone elses.
We are no use to our families or anyone else when we burn out.
Another thing that I learned from my netball experience is that if I want to play with high intensity longer, I would need to get my fitness level up. Just doing a little bit towards my fitness and often, would make a huge difference.
Doing a little and often, gives us the advantage in life too. If we plan ahead, and chip away at the things we need to do, we will avoid having to exert huge amounts of effort in one go, and burning ourselves out. This relates to our home (laundry, decluttering etc), our family (small acts often: eg dinners together, reading with them, dates with children) and our other commitments (working on assignments, projects, returning emails way before deadlines!)
And finally, a lesson that all sports people know, and will testify to:
REST!
A runner would not run 7 days a week, a body builder would not lift weights every day. If you ask anyone who is heavily committed to their sport, they will tell you how important the concept of rest is in avoiding injury.
So, indulge yourself ladies. Do not feel guilty about YOU time! In fact, it is ESSENTIAL to being a well-balanced and fully functioning mother.
xo
Happy Mother’s Day! Some great free resources…
I just wanted to wish you all a special Happy Mother’s Day!
I am grateful for the people around me, who also values and appreciates the role of a Mother.
Sometimes we may feel that we may not be doing our “very best”. We were never given a manual on how to be a parent, when we had our children. A lot of our parenting comes from instincts. I think if we can base our parenting on love and on helping our children reach their fullest potential, we are doing a pretty good job!!
So, THANK YOU MOTHERS, thank you so much for loving your children. That gift alone, will sustain them throughout their life.
Here are a couple of resources, that I think are pretty fantastic. Enjoy!
xo Meeks
Parenting Webinars
Until 2 August, Parents Inc is providing Free Webinars (usually $10 each) on a range of fantastic topics!
- Dads and daughters with Ian Grant
- Going the distance in your relationship with Jenny & Stuart Hale
- How to deal with angry children with John Cowan
- Mums and sons with Ian Grant
- My child the lawyer with Amanda Pilbrow
- Preparing for adolescence with John Cowan
- The perfectionist child with Jenny Hale
- The strong willed child with Jenny Hale & Nicky Cleary
Free Podcasts on Motherhood
Sign up super fast for this series of podcasts by NYTimes best-selling author and internationally renowned speaker,Linda Eyre, and her three married daughters, Saren (mother of 5, co-founder and co-director of The Power of Moms), Shawni (mother of 5, founder of the acclaimed motherhood blog, 71 Toes, and National Young Mother of the Year), and Saydi (mother of 4, social worker, professional photographer and blogger at BostonShumways).
You will need to register for the website The Power of Moms (which is free). Then register for the podcasts (which is free until Mother’s Day US time)
- Introduction
- Teaching Kids to Work
- Effective Discipline – Part I (introduction)
- Effective Discipline – Part II (specific methods)
- Building a Strong Family Culture
- Enhancing the Love in your Home
- Expecting Enough – but not too much – of your Kids
- Expecting Enough – but not too much – of Yourself
- Teaching Children Empathy
- Dealing with the Hard Days
Inspirational Quote: Urgent vs Important
{This photo was taken by the Wellington Waterfront}
Notebooks and Pressing Forward…
I have a stack of notebooks, each filled with jumbled thoughts, diary entries, quotes and learning gleaned from the scriptures.
When I open a notebook from the past, it is like re-visiting an old friend. I smile at the hurried notes, goals to work on, diary entries about triumphs and trials, and words of advice and encouragement .
Writing seems to help me gain clarity on my thoughts. I love that!
Here is something I wrote, that I found in one of my notebooks:
This journey in life is like a hike up a mountain.
You could focus on the others ahead of you…
…or you could take the time to see how far you have come.
You could lament over the wrong path that was taken…
…or you could get on the right path now, and learn from your mistakes.
You could complain about how tired you are and give a run down of all the things that are going wrong…
…or you could look out and take in the view and count your blessings.
You could get discouraged and want to stop – believing you are not cut out for this…
…or you could concentrate on your end goal and press forward,
just one. step. at. a. time.
Inspirational Quote: Be prepared to be wrong
Inspirational Quote: Planting the seeds
Ebb and Flow
“The only constant is change.” – Heraclitus (Greek philosopher)
I haven’t really given myself time or space to write or ponder, these last few months.
I think I have been content to just chug along doing other things, and have been busy being busy.
Things have started to settle, and I can see above the haze now.
We established a new routine for the kids a few weeks ago, and we are now reaping the benefits. The major one being that bedtime is a lot more pleasant.
The younger two were having trouble settling, and it wasn’t pleasant to constantly tell them to be quiet and hop into their bed.
We have our family prayer, and then we get our 4 year old ready to bed at 7pm – dressed, brush teeth etc (she has a bath during the day), and then prayers, stories and songs. During this time the older children are brushing their teeth, having showers and getting into their PJs.
At 7.30pm, the 3 older children go to the living room where I read them a story. This gives our 4 year old some quiet time to settle to bed, without noise around her bedroom.
Then at 8pm, the older children say their personal prayers and our 6 year old and 8 year old go to bed. They are a lot more relaxed and ready to settle down. By this time our 4 year old is asleep (and not singing songs and talking to everyone, like she used to.)
Our oldest daughter now has, “10 year old time”. She gets to stay up until 8.30pm. She can spend time with us, read a book, or some other activity. Sometimes she puts herself to bed earlier if she is tired.
One things I learned from trying out a new routine is that we need to be flexible to change things that used to work, when they no longer serve the family. Sometimes we get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, when in fact there probably is a better way to do it.
For the longest time, I used to feed the children early before hubby came home. They used to eat at the breakfast bench (where there was no carpet under the stools!). I was used to not sitting, because I was constantly getting up to feed a baby, assist a toddler, or get something for the younger children. This may have worked well at one stage of our family’s life, but it no longer served our family.
We finally made the jump to the carpeted dining room table. We moved the dinner time a bit later, until Daddy could join us, and it has been fabulous….for us, and our stage, and our children.
It is a lot more relaxed, I sit down and we take our time eating. I no longer have power struggles over food with my son. I don’t usually have to ask him to eat anymore, I just praise the kids who try new things, and then before I know it, “pop” into his mouth goes that item.
Motherhood is all about adjusting, and changing and ultimately enjoying the ebb and flows of life with our children. xo
Inspirational Quote: Make Your Heart Sing
Inspirational Quote: Being Abundant
Inspirational Quote: You are Braver than you Believe
Kate from Centsational Girl has this quote up on her boy’s wall.
I love it!
(You can download the quote at her blog)
Here is a video of the scene in Winnie the Pooh…..awwwww…
Inspirational Quote for Valentine’s Day
