Im happy.

It seems life is going just how i want it to right now and even better im happy. My Uni holidays are coming to an end (4 days to go and counting) and i've enjoyed nothing more than to have a taste of and remember what it used to be like being a stay at home mum, and i would be lying if i said i didn't miss it but on the flip side im strangely looking forward to getting back into the routine, challenge and craziness that the University life brings.

The boys have been sick once each over the past few months and it's been awesome to spend some one on one time with each of them while the other was at child care, it's not something i've had much time to do since Kyan came along almost exactly 18mths after Izaak. Today was one of the rare days i've had to spend some one on one time with my eldest little dude and it was quiet but humbling all at the same time, it was bliss and what made it even more special was when this afternoon, we both lied down on my bed and read our books, just lying quietly next to each other not saying a word, that was until the Mr got  bored and started giving me snuggles and telling me he loved me and then he loved me SO much - melted my heart. These boys are so special, i love them with every tiny molecule of my being...

When im feeling organised and in control im so much happier, calmer and a lot more patient and reasonable. This is how i am feeling right now, even with the first semester of my 2nd year of Uni looming... i have my work books, new pens, plans to get my textbooks and car parking first day back and hope to head down to Uni on Friday to get my new Student ID card (with 2 boisterous young boys in tow im not sure how successful i will be but we'll see).

I have a relatively easy meal plan for each night next week which i created on purpose and i've accidentally filled my freezer with delicious healthy leftovers - sweet and spicy chicken fried rice with brown rice, spaghetti bol' meat with lentils added to make a shepherds pie (i'll just add a few more veggies), a sausage and veggie casserole AND leftovers from tonight's meal of what is essentially homemade baked beans - smokey chilli beans! 

I am ready, so ready to do this! I can't wait to see what this year brings... so until next time, i'll leave you with this positive, inspiring passage about success that i love (and im sure next time i blog it will be coming from a lot less calm me LOL, well im hoping i don't get too stressed too quickly):

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." 


Ralph Waldo Emerson.

So it seems im not very good...

at this blogging business. It's been a month since i last blogged hmmmmmmmmmm...

So one thing that i've been thinking about a lot lately and reassessing constantly is my choice in how and what i choose to feed my family. I try my hardest to buy locally grown, in season and fresh produce. Im getting there slowly, we buy meat from the local country butcher who purchases their produce locally, along with biodynamic/organic milk and yoghurt which is made locally and although there is not always time we try to go to the local farmers market often.

I love the feeling of know im feeding my family the best and freshest produce i can :) although i must admit it's not always budget friendly - this is my dilemma! I love cooking, i think i will start blogging some of my cooking adventures... this a one step closer the the positivity i speak of in the name of my blog - cooking is an outlet, which then means im feeling positive.

Until next time... which hopefully won't be so few and far between!

It's been awhile...

but im back! All the Christmas and New Year hoohaa has died down and we're slowly getting back to some kind of normalcy and routine, it's nice. 

It's raining today, has been for most of the day and is refreshing to say the least... but while we have water falling from the sky and are embracing it, our fellow Aussies in QLD  do not need nor want the rain as they have water washing away their towns and houses causing chaos and destruction and evoking the most raw emotions, ones i never thought i could feel.

I never considered myself an emotional person. I was bullied in school both primary and high school, my friendships never lasted- im too trusting and like to think the best of people but ALWAYS end up getting hurt in the end. During those times in school i was the 'tough' one sticking up for myself and almost never shedding a tear and well now, say boo to me the wrong way and i will bawl. I never used to cry at the drop of a hat like i've (almost) done so many times in the last few years...

I think im going to blame it on my boys, but in a good way... i love being the emotional person i've grown into now and i think it is the hormones of pregnancy and the pure, heart stopping love i feel for my children that has caused the new (well not so new it's been a few years) more emotional me. Sometimes it's not so great but it's all taken in my stride and i deal with it...

I tear up when i hear or read labour and birth stories, when one of my own or one of my friends children do or say something that takes my breath away, when someone tells me how proud of me they are for what i am achieving,  when my friends and loved ones are hurting, i hurt too, when i know all i've done is been there for, loved and trusted but still get hurt and especially when i see the raw and heartbreaking devastation and hear the terrified and broken voices of the surviviors of the floods and when i heard, read and saw the devastation caused by the 'Black Saturday' bush fires... it feels like my heart is breaking and then the tears flow and don't stop.

The QLD flood survivors and the unfortunate losses of life, the motivation for this post, i am sending love, courage and strength to get through this horrifying time xx

It's beginning to feel a lot like...

CHRISTMAS! I have made a pretty good dent in the Christmas shopping, some in store but most online (so convenient), the boys and i decorated the house with a few things last weekend and the plan was to put the Christmas tree up and decorate it this weekend as the tradition has always been to do it the first weekend in December. I however, had a very productive day while the boys were in childcare today and decided that seeing as it's the 1st of December, i would set the tree up and we would decorate it after dinner, and then i would try to get a good photo of the boys for the calenders this year. This is how it went:

The tree... not a bad effort i thought!

Aaaand the photo: these are three of the best out of about 25 that i took!

Do you hear that?

It's me sighing a massive breathe of relief... my final exam was this afternoon and it went preeetty well i think. Overall, the 3 exams i had were much better than i expected and i went into them and came out feeling pretty chuffed! Although, now it feels strange to not have my mind preoccupied with assignments, readings and exam study... instead it's filled with peaceful nothingness - which is an extremely odd feeling after the year i've had. One week of placement in the beginning of December (which i am very much looking forward too) and im done and dusted until March next year!

One thing i will miss for 3 months though is my Uni mates... most of who will be working their little behinds off over Christmas to save money ready for next years Nursing craziness. However, i am sure there will be a get together involving a little too much alcohol and lots of laughter to celebrate completing our first year without ending up in a corner rocking back and forth! 

As a side note, wish i could work but with the boys and Uni it would just not be physically possible unfortunately and it's just not worth getting a job for 10 weeks while im on holidays only to have to quit when i start back at Uni next year. I would love to be able to do a little part time work in an aged care facility but alas, unpaid clinical placement next year will have to suffice.

So, for now, i will be spending money and not saving it by entering the crazy world of Christmas trees, tinsel, present wrapping and the fast approaching arrival of the jolly fat man we call Santa!

(and i CAN NOT wait to read a normal book :D THAT is on the top of my to do list)!

My happy places.

I have many of these... happy places i mean. One of the most predominant ones is in the kitchen cooking - i LOVE to cook and enjoy it even more when it is received well and gobbled up by my 2 taste testers. I am always being asked for the recipes i use (which are mostly from cook books and magazines but who cares?) and i enjoy giving them to whoever asks cause' it means they will also enjoy the yummy food we are!

Tonight i made Spicy Chicken and Vegetable Pies (not spicy at all) and they were YUMMY and better yet, the boys devoured them! AND even better there are leftovers so they can be thrown in the freezer for Child Care days. I made Zucchini Slice the other night, another great one for the lunch box! I think i will blog about food more often, it is one of my many passions and some what of an outlet for me... just like blogging.

My family and close friends are also happy places for me... i can't wait for Christmas and New Years - i get to spend some awesome quality time just hanging out with my family and some of my bestest friends. It's only an added bonus that their is gift exchanging (for the record - prefer giving over receiving, seeing the look on the other person's face when they open their gift takes the cake, given they love what they get of course) and alcohol involved hehe. In saying that, this year is going to be 'quiet' for us... it will more than likely just be myself and my 2 boys, my parents, my younger brother and my grandparents. My older brother, sister in law (SIL) and 2 nephews are heading to Whyalla to see my SIL's family for Christmas this year. Quiet but good... sitting outside at Mum and Dad's on the deck looking out over the pool, drinking some bevvy's and enjoying good food and laughs - i think i can deal with that :D! 

I love to read, always have... reading a good book on a rainy day, snuggled up in a blanket with a hot cuppa sitting next to me is definitely a happy place!

I have many other happy places too... some im not willing to divulge into on here :p but for now, i need to go and study for my last 2 exams... one tomorrow morning and another Monday afternoon and then im done (aside from placement of course) until next year. Oh, and don't even get me started on next semester, i have NO idea how i will get through it! *sigh*

There IS light at the end of the tunnel!

Im not sure if i've mentioned it previously but i am approaching the end of the 1st year of my Bachelor of Nursing Degree... yesterday was exam study day, this involved 5 GREAT Uni mates, a massive breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms and juice as well as copious amounts of tea, coffee, chocolate, lollies, chips, biscuits and the list goes on. But most importantly, LOTS of laughter... i am astounded at the amazing friendships i've formed, one's i never would have made had i not gone on this roller coaster of a journey called University! Our ages range from 18-44 and we all have a quirky sense of humour that seems to be getting us all through, and i wouldn't have it any other way, i am so honoured to call these people my friends!

So, with one assignment to go, 3 exams (and a few more days like the above mentioned to enjoy), one week of placement at a Nursing Home and i am done and dusted... i would have made it through the first year of my degree! I can't wait to finish that last day of placement and breathe a massive sigh of relief...