Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 52

"The greatest gifts you can give your children is the roots of responsibility 
and the wings of independence"  - Denis Waitley

Last Friday was Miss LC's 3rd Birthday, it's been a some what chaotic year so myself and her dad didn't really think about what we would do to celebrate too much until the end of the summer. I had kept thinking though about this little idea of incorporating 3 good things we could do with her that would be for the benefit of others, one for every year she had been with us. I talked it over with he other half we both agreed it would be a special way to spend her birthday.

Now the idea for this actually came from another lady who I had come across on Twitter called Robyn Bomar, a few years ago Robyn had the idea herself to do 38 random acts of kindness on her 38th Birthday, from this she created The Birthday Project, you can read more about what she got up to and her charity on the website, which I would urge you to do, she is an amazing lady and her story was our inspiration!


So here is LC's story and what she got up to - myself and her dad decide the week before what her random acts of kindness would be so we could get organised as we wanted them to be meaningful for her. We printed off information cards from The Birthday Project website so we could explain to others what we were doing and then I stapled my blog details to them so everyone who was a part of the day could follow her story.

The day before on the Thursday, LC and I spent the afternoon baking cakes and the first stop on the Friday morning was her nursery. We made around 40 cakes in the end, enough for all the children and the amazing ladies who take care of her when she is there. We our so grateful for the hard work and the wonderful job they do looking after her, everyone was very pleased to see her and get to taste one of our yummy cakes.

After lots of cuddles and Happy Birthdays were said we moved on to the next stop - originally we wanted to go to the children's hospital, LC had stayed in there once when she was younger and we wanted to show our appreciation of how brilliantly they took care of us but we only had teddies and books to donate and they need stuff that could be sterile. We did have however a lot of junk round the house so in the end she helped us to take that to the charity shop. She carried her old nappy bin and when we got to the shop we explained to the lovely lady that it was her birthday and what we were doing and handed her one of our card, she was delighted and so was LC.

We jumped in to the car again and headed to our nearest Starbucks, anyone who knows our family well knows that mummy is a big Starbucks fan and consequently so is Miss LC! Once there we ordered coffee and cake and then asked the baristas to help us out. We explained what we were doing and then bought a gift card, asked if they could save it along with the information card and then give the gift card to the next mum and baby that came in so they could have coffee on us! They were thrilled at what we doing and more than happy to oblige, they all made a fuss over LC and wished her Happy Birthday, I have to say we were so impressed with their attitude and the support we got from the team there, it really made the last random act of kindness so special. We drank and ate our treats and then said our goodbyes to everyone but we never saw a mum and baby come in while we were there so we never got to see who would benefit from it which we felt sad for but knew it would brighten their day and if any of the staff or lady who got the card are reading please do get in touch and let us know what happened!

So then we were done and it felt a bit sad that it was over, truth be told we could of done it all day, it was the loveliest feeling giving back to others and although LC didn't entirely understand what we were doing she loved taking part and myself and her dad really got a buzz from giving back, my biggest hope is that as she gets older she will understand and take pride in what we are doing. Our plan is to do it with her each year now, LC is so loved and had A LOT of toys and wonderful present which we are truly grateful for but we want to teach her the importance of giving herself and that a special day for her can also be a special day for others too. What was also nice is that others got in touch and told us about random acts of kindness they had done so it seemed we inspired a few others! LC went on to enjoy the rest of her birthday, we took her shopping and out for lunch and had a family tea party with grandparents, aunties and her cousin in the afternoon.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in her birthday and helped us to make it a success and we hope they enjoyed being involved in her random acts of kindness. I hope to that our adventures have inspired others to give something back to others too, it's amazing when you see how one little thing can brighten another's day! Do get in touch and let me know about your random acts of kindness too!

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 40

"To keep the body in good health is a duty...

otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear" - Buddha 

Over the weekend my health has slowly gone down hill, I'm not sure why, last week LC went away camping with her Grandparents for 3 days and we actually had 3 nights of full, uninterrupted sleep! It felt like heaven and the OH and I really indulged ourselves with lie-ins and breakfast in bed, we actually had the time before work. So after being so well rested I'm not sure why I then came down with a sore throat and a tickly chest on Friday afternoon, anyway it got worse over the weekend and by Sunday I was confined to my bed and the OH did a fabulous job in taking care of us all.

Being sick has just reinforced to me how run down I have become, it's hardly surprising over the last few months that my body has got over worked with loss, stress and comfort eating, then I lost lots of weight and I think it's just got its self in a pickle and started to give up! So not only do I need to be eating well to maintain my healthy new figure and to boost my chances with infertility as I have already mentioned in last weeks Feel Good Friday post, but also, simply so my body can function and my mind remain strong, I have so much I want to achieve, do, experience that having a healthy body and mind is paramount for this and even more importantly I need to be well for my family, our house goes in to chaos when I'm in my sick bed all day and it's especially unnerving for LC, she gets very worried now when we say I'm sick, even with a cold. 

This week then I will be looking at even more ways to eat myself to optimum health and reporting back to you with what I find, I would love to hear your healthy tips and ideas for eating well too so do leave me a comment below!   

5 Feel Good Things to Brighten your Day!

It seems November is shaping up to be quite dreary and although the festivities of Christmas are on the horizon there is still another week or so to get through of this month so here are 5 ways that you can instantly feel good about your day...

1. Switch off the TV and run yourself a steamy bubble bath using your favourite bubbles and soak, maybe take a glass of wine and a book/magazine to accompany you?

2. Wear your most expensive, sexy underwear! Doesn't matter where you are going, having some thing that makes you feel good against your skin will give you a boost, whether it's windy, rainy or just chilly!

3. Phone a friend or your mum or anyone who makes you smile, even if its just to talk about nothing, having the chance to talk your cares away always help to unload the stress on your shoulders after a long day!

4. Get moving, whether this is chasing around a toddler, taking the stairs instead of the lift, doing a work out DVD or walking the dog. Managing even 10-15 mins of exercise can do wonders in boosting your mood and making you feel great, dancing round the kitchen in you underwear while making your morning coffee definitely counts too!

5. Have a Christmas movie night in preparation of the up coming season to be jolly! Maybe treat yourself to some chocolates, snuggle under a blanket on the sofa and just relax and get excited about Santa coming! What's your favourite Christmas movie?

Do you have a plan?

I never used to, the OH and I always clash because he is Mr Organised with lists, maps and emergency plans B,C and D! I have always been officially known as Miss fly by the seat of her pants, causally wandering through every chore, task and event in life with a "oh well, it'll get figured out" attitude! But recently I have been looking around and wondering, why aren't I satisfied, why can't I mange to stay on top, get things done, really achieve what I want?

The OH describes me and my way of getting through my day as random! Normally I would just ignore his silly musings but this one struck a chord and left me wondering why this was and what could I do about it? So after admitting that he had a point and wanting to get more out of not just my day, but what I was trying to achieve generally with my life I started look in to this problem and do you know what I found? Successful people who achieve and are satisfied with their lot in life are organised, they actually plan!

So with this in mind I have set about doing something different with my daily "routine" and made a positive change. Now this is no easy task, as adults we have all this learnt behavior and changing our attitudes and habits is tough, it takes energy and commitment and being open minded enough to admit that what you are doing can be done differently and better. But looking at what I wanted to achieve and what my goals for the future are, what I was doing just didn't work.

Over the last couple of weeks or so I have read a few things have helped me a long the way - an article about a busy and dynamic woman who runs her own business and has children, she makes lists, creates spreadsheets and organises her tasks all to keep her home and family life running smoothly. I have also read about other women carrying around notebooks in their bags to write down ideas and things they want to get accomplished, so simple! I used to work for a busy doctor who had shifts all over the place but her family always had a great home cooked meal because very week she planned out a menu, stuck it on the fridge, bought everything she needed in one go! Again so simple and easy!

I for one can get easily distracted and some times wonder from my well intentioned planning or to do list (see being random!) I recently read a blog page about achieving your goals which suggests that instead focusing on the long term goal, get stuck in on how you will get there, for example every week I want to empty my ironing basket, yes I am one of those stupid people who likes to iron clothes, but sometimes I look at the pile and can't be bothered or I get up and think right I'll get it all done today, but things get busy and I can't find the time. So instead I now pledge to myself that I will just make sure LC's stuff gets done or I will find just half an hour and that way something gets done!

My friend gave me a good idea too, she always changes her sheets and shaves her legs on a Sunday, it's now become a habit of mine too, it always gets done! I find dedicating certain time slots really works too, for example Wednesdays I am home alone so I always use that day to recycle, do paper work and clear out the clutter! There are loads of other new ideas I have adopted and I really am committing to forming some new habits because planning, making lists and staying organised is really working out for me, even just by making small changes I feel more in control and that makes me feel great, in fact I am even making a packing list for our holiday, see I am a changed woman!

I use a Chalk Board to keep me organized!

Here are some handy tools and resources to help you on your way to organised greatness!

Fun and cute To Do note pads
http://www.thepresentseason.co.uk/to-do-notes-notepad---with-2-tear-off-pads-1151-p.asp
http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/NOTEPADS/To-Do-List-Notepad/69188
http://www.johnlewis.com/231541512/Product.aspx

Downloadable and print off To Do lists
http://www.printabletodolist.com
http://www.mommytracked.com/downloads

To Do/Get Organized Apps
http://www.toodledo.com
http://evernote.com (My personal Favorite!)

Feel Good, Live Better......

Sleep...

....we all need it, to rest and recuperate and nurture our minds and bodies but there are sometimes in life, like becoming a parent or dealing with stress, when getting enough sleep is hard task to achieve and quality of sleep is just as important too!

I never realised how much I valued sleep before I had a baby, infact my number one tip to first time pregnant mums is sleep as much as you can and never feel guilty about sleeping whenever your child does.

We all tend to underestimate how important sleep is for our state of mind too. We are all much better equipped to deal with difficult situations, trauma and decision making as well as many other important issues in life when we are rested. When we get enough quality sleep our anxiety levels lower, we look better, and our immune system works better - all great things to help us get on with whatever life is throwing at us, I can not stress too much how important sleep is for our well being and mental health, so how do we make sure we get some?

1. Make a plan
It may seem silly but actually planning a good bedtime routine will help you to get into good bedtime habits. For example you may decided to take a shower at 8, PJ's on after, hot drink by 9 (decaffeinated of course!), into bed and read for 15 minutes and lights out by 9.30, something similar that suits your lifestyle bearing in mind you are aiming for a reasonable bedtime.

2. Talk to friends and family
There are two points here, firstly if the rest of the people in your house are not helping to make bedtime harmonious then have a group talk with everyone who is old enough to join in, if your partner is not coming to bed until late and that is also keeping you up then have a chat about bedtime styles and see if you can meet in the middle.

Secondly ask everyone you know what they find helpful to aid them into sleep. You could send round an email or tweet/ Facebook people tips and ideas, my best sleep aid is reading for 15 minutes before bed and Badger Balm http://www.badgerbalm.com/c-31-sleep-balm.aspx - try it, works wonders for adults and children alike!

3. Work out how much sleep you actually need
The National Institute of Health states that an average adult needs 7.5-9 hours of sleep each night. We sleep in 90 minutes sleep cycles thought out the night which continues to repeat itself over and over until you wake up. These cycles have different stages to and the more time you spend in the deep sleep stage the better as this helps towards your body actually getting rest and being able repair and take care of itself.

4. Tackle those night time demons
I'm not talking nightmares although if this is a problem for you then this is something to deal with as well, talking to your GP maybe a good place to start. What else is disrupting your peaceful slumber? Outside noise, inside noise? Light, uncomfortable mattress, scratchy bed clothes? Write down all those bug bears and start to eliminate them, think creatively about solving the problem. If you are a parent and it's little people that are keeping you awake try to make an agreement with your partner about sharing the nighttime wakes and have a look at some of the various self soothing techniques you can read up on in parenting books/magazines I like Jo Frost's aka Supernanny's ideas http://www.supernanny.co.uk/  You could also ask other parents what has worked well for them.

5. Change your get up time
Another way to ensure quality sleep and that getting enough is to change the time you get up, previously I talked about us all sleeping in 90 minute sleep cycles and waking up at the end of one of these cycles will leave you feeling more refreshed and awake, rather than having a get up time half way through one, so if you can change the time you set your alarm, if you go to bed at 10pm then set your alarm for 7am, this time frame will fit in many multiples of 90 minutes, if you go to bed at 11, set your alarm for 6.30 or 8, you get the idea!

So here we have a few ideas on where you can start to makes some positive changes, if you feel that your sleep problem is more serious than just making some of the changes mentioned here it really is worth getting some proper support, talking to a professional about any issues you are having can help you to get the much need sleep you need, again your GP is a great place to start wether its a problem with discomfort or something like stress induced insomnia. If you fancy trying something different you can look in to aromatherapy, reiki or acupuncture to help.

If you want to learn more about sleep cycles and information here go to http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

Sometime a bad nights sleep is down to a one off occurrence, if you find your self short of sleep and want to hide the evidence check out beauty whizz Mrs Jones's tips and ideas on the best beauty buys for tired eyes, she recommends some great products to try out as well as some DIY ideas! (Her blog is rather fabulous too!). http://www.keepingupwithejoneses.com/2012/08/top-tips-for-tired-eyes.html

What are your sleepy time top tips? Night, night and sweet dreams!

Feel good, live better.....

I'm always happier when I feel motivated and I'm doing positive things in my life, whether that's painting my toe nails or studying for my degree, taking care of my needs and being true to myself helps me to feel like I am living the best life I can.

So a few weeks ago I decided to do a bit of de-cluttering, my mind was feeling messy and unfocused and I didn't feel like I could really relax and focus at home when I needed to get things done. I looked around and realised that our house had become a bit over run with odds and ends we weren't really using and was zapping all my energies and the OH's as well!

So it was time to take action, we have been in our new house for almost 2 years but never really sorted anything when we moved as LC was only 10 weeks old (never, ever move with a new baby if you can help it!), we were still getting to grips with being parents and my PND was rearing its head a bit, after I had dealt with that I was really starting to enjoy motherhood and couldn't be bothered to sort the house when I could have fun with my baby, soon I was returning to work and when I did I became a working mum and things just got away from me.

Anyway, now I work from home and have so much more time on my hand, LC is much older and can help out a bit too, she loves to pack anything in to bags or containers so it's nice to include her and making it something fun we can do together! So where to start??? Well as the Autumn/Winter season approaches and I'm thinking about my wardrobe (seeing as we haven't seen any flipping sun this summer and my summer clothes are hanging up lonely and rejected in my wardrobe) and dreaming of my new must haves, I decided to make some room as really it's just bulging with unworn and out dated items and so was OH's and LC's.

Operation Clear Out the Closets was born and I went through each of the, although cleansing OH's was harder as he is very sentimental about his clothes??!! So I started with mine and this is how I did it.

1. Pulled out everything I hadn't worn in the last year and decided, honestly if I would ever wear it again, this was hard, kept a few items that were real favourites but most of it went. If I don't love it now I don't think I would again!

2. Then we had a fashion show and I tried on everything to see what was fitting now, thankfully there were only few items that were from my single days left over which I knew I would never, ever get into again!

3. Next I sorted out everything that I used as maternity clothing and really shouldn't be wearing now and stored it away with the rest of my maternity clothes.

4. Now I was left with my capsule wardrobe of clothing I knew I loved wearing and that fitted me, I sorted it in to skirts, trousers, dresses and tops sections and in each section grouped all the colours together as that is what works best for me.

5. Finally I put all my unwanted items into carrier bags and then called my local women's refuge, I had also sorted through LC's closet and had some bits of hers that weren't need any more too and so was able to donate it all to other women and children who may make good use of our unwanted clothing. With OH bits I donated them to the local night shelter.

Now we all have clutter free wardrobes and I can see more easily what needs to be add for the next season, we have a family holiday to Canada coming up in October and we always buy lots of clothes when we go there! Doing this has really helped me to start feeling more focused, even just one area of the house being organised and tidy has made a difference and motivated me to start somewhere else, infancy I have already cleared out a few odds and ends from the kitchen which also went off to the refuge too!

Just some of our junk ready to go to a new home!