Extraordinary Life.

My morning sickness has packed it's bags & moved away....and I waved it goodbye with a great big smile & a very happy heart!!

When I was around 5 weeks pregnant, I said to my dance teacher that I was secretly looking forward to getting some morning sickness as it was that constant reminder that I was pregnant & things were going to plan :) Haaa....be careful what you wish for!!! A week later, the vomiting, gagging, fatigue & all-day sickness begun!! 8 weeks later, I was still struggling.....I was not myself at all. I was frustrated & sick & always tired. Hey, I was in love with the little miraculous life growing inside me & nurtured my body as it created a placenta & increased blood flow & as my hormones multiplied......but boy oh boy, I am NO fan of morning sickness and am LOVING embracing each day now, with energy & 'my old self' back! It feels good to start each day now with a rounding tummy & a yearning for experiences & adventure again....

Today was Under 8's Day at my work {school}. As a year 3 teacher, we celebrated the joys & magic of being a kid and had a morning of FUN! On Fridays.....Ella is either looked after by my Mum or Chris's Mum....this week it was my Mum's turn :) She brought Ella up to my school to partake in Under 8's Day....and let me tell you: The Girl was ROCKIN' out being under 8 :) My class was in charge of the bubble blowing stall :) I love days, when I'm paid to stand in the sun with giant bubble wands & play around with excited, happy kids! And seeing my little girl there.....made it all the more sweeter!!!! {Thanks Mum!} {Above: me & my girl.....sorry Tara, I know I promised you a belly shot this week....but I'm being slack!!! You can kind of see a little bulge in that photo....and I'm officially in maternity clothes!!}

{Above: Shrek made a visit!}

{Below: Ella & her Grandma}

Last Saturday night, I squeezed into my little black dress {the last time I think I'll be able to 'squeeze' into it for a while}, dressed in heels, applied some make-up, grabbed Ella's Louis Vuitton clutch {yes, she has one, before her Mumma} and enjoyed a child-free, husband-free night out with a gorgeous friend & a bunch of amazing, likeminded women....who truly LOVE being Mum's & embrace it for all it's ups & downs!

It was the Sunny Mummy Mother's Day Dinner! And it was FUN FUN FUN!! I picked Kirsty up on the way, and was in Chris's new car which I've only driven once before....and due to it's fancy car alarm system, I couldn't open the door to let her in :) Haaa!!! So after several minutes of her standing shoeless in the cold night, waiting for me to press buttons & switches....I somehow get her in the car & off we went! Until we headed into Brisbane City & I said "Do you know where we're going?" Haaa...thank god for iphones & google maps!!! I should've known....coz everytime Kirsty & I are in a car together.....we get lost :)

OMG....the dessert table....AHMAZING!!!!

The next morning, I enjoyed a breakfast out with my 2 blue-eyed loves! 

It's getting chilly now :( But we're still managing to enjoy an evening neighbourhood walk or park trip:

{yeah, i know it's blury.....I took it on my iphone as I was running after my little Miss! Still makes me smile though!}

So...in a long-stretched nutshell! That's been the last week :)

Living Laughing & loving! Life without morning sickness is GOOD! And now, at 16.5 weeks, I don't crave a sickness feeling to remind me my baby is well....I now have a bulging belly, a 6kg weight gain & a constant clucky-love feeling acting as my 'sticky note' that something amazing is happening inside me! And that my friends, is good! 

More incredible things have happened this week! But, as crazy as this sounds, I'm a little too excited to put it into words yet! But I will.....soon :)

"Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me" (Carbon Leaf)

How can we help?

The Queensland Floods are out of control & each day we are waking up to more sad news, bad news & scary news :( At present, my suburb isn't flooded....it's a mud-slush & has PLENTY of water gushing down the streets, but nothing like the disaster zones that we're seeing all over the news!

I feel gutted for all the people who have lost their homes, possessions, pets & even family members. This is terrible & it looks like there is MORE rain to come! I feel a little helpless....I don't have a lot of money to donate & no words could make the pain & fear these people are experiencing go away!

BUT.....I can help in some ways.....even in little ways....and so can YOU!

How??

Simply donate $$ to the flood appeal here, or support the many businesses who are offering sales, discounts & offers which go towards the appeal, such as my offering for TODAY! Scissors Paper Rock is donating 30% of all PRINT sales from today, to the QLD Flood Appeal. So, please....get shopping {grab yourself an inspirational wall print or some prints for gifts} and help the appeal at the same time. It's the least we can do I feel!

You can buy my prints from here or here!!! Spread the word about this donation......tweet it, Facebook it, Blog it, however.....let's rally :)

Also.....the amazing crew at Sunny Mummy are doing wonderful things to help those in need during this disastrous time! I feel so inspired from the amazing Sunnies who are donating their money, their time, their possessions for complete strangers!!

You can help to.....with:

And here's how:

Sunny Mummy wants to help bring back some sunshine into these mama's lives by sending the little necessities & luxuries, that help us mums take care of ourselves!

 Today we are donating 50% of every Sunny Mummy Sisterhood membership fee, towards Project SHINE, which we will then use to purchase things like toiletries, underwear, skincare and so on.

 If you are not yet a member, today is the day to join!

   We are also seeking direct donations of goods such as:

Shampoo & Conditioner
Skincare
Make-Up
Bras & Undies
Pads & Tampons
Deodorant
Hairbrushes
Haircare
Razors
Body Lotions
Accessories
Stationery
Books
ANYTHING else YOU can think of that helps you feel like a woman and take care of yourself!
Please send all donations directly to:

 Sunny Mummy

PO BOX 488

 Burleigh Heads QLD 4220

 We will arrange the logistics of getting these items to the flood zones!

 {if you are located on the lower Gold Coast, we are also seeking assistance to sort & prepare the donations, please contact stacey@sunnymummy.com.au if you are a local & able to help}

 Things to remember: all items, with the exception of books, must be brand new and sealed/or tags attached, for hygiene and transportation purposes.

 No donation is too small, so if you can pick up a little something extra for a Flood Mummy in your groceries this week, it would be GREATLY appreciated!

At My House.......{a recipe for you}

In between popping in & out of the house....{I'm loving this weather & being able to get outside as much as possible} we've done some baking!! This morning Ella & I made some fresh Chocolate Brownies to take to a Sunny Mummy playdate......and I'm glad they were all scoffled up by everyone, because I would've ended up eating them all myself {the upside....yet downside of having a husband who doesn't eat a lot [or any]  sweet food}.

Yesterday, whilst Chris was playing with Ella & being entertained by her wise-little-ways :) I whipped up a Blueberry Custard Tart to take to Chris's parents for last night's dessert. I got the recipe from a lady I work with and it is so easy......and oh so yummy!

{image from here}

Blueberry Custard Tart

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
50 g caster sugar
25 g plain flour
250 ml milk
1/3 vanilla pod, cut open
200 g prepared puff pastry
2 tbsp thickened cream
About 300 g fresh blueberries
2 extra tbsp caster sugar
Icing sugar {for dusting}
About 150 g rich cream {for serving}

Preparation:

The original recipe said to use a rectangle tray....but I used a round pie dish!

In a bowl mix the egg yolks with the 50 g sugar for 1 minute, then mix in the plain flour.

Heat the milk with the vanilla pod until almost at boiling point. 

Mix the hot milk with the egg yolk preparation.  Transfer this preparation to a saucepan and cook on medium heat until it thickens.  Return preparation to the bowl, whisk for
10 seconds and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of about 3 mm and to form a rectangle about

35 x 15 cm.  Lift the pastry and line the base and sides of the tin with it.

Mix the thickened cream into the cold custard and spread this over the base of the pastry.  Garnish the top generously with blueberries and sprinkle with the 2 tbsp of extra caster sugar.  Trim the edges of the pastry.

Bake the tart in the preheated oven for abut 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and browned.

Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool.  Slice the tart into 6 portions.  Dust with icing sugar and garnish with a dollop of cream.

SO SO GOOD!!! ENJOY!!

Head over to Lou's blog to play along with At My House!

Hope you had a lovely Monday!

Random Act Of Kindness......{Thank You}

When I started blogging {in April of this year}, it was for 2 reasons...... {1} to promote my business, Scissors Paper Rock, and to share with the world my new designs, passion & creations.....and {2} I've always loved to write.....lists, journals, stories, diary entries, poems, love notes......so I thought the perfect way to collate all my writing was....a BLOG :) I never did it to get attention or have a million followers. It was mainly for me....and if other people enjoyed reading my posts....then that was a BIG bonus!

BUT.....over the past 4 months, my blogging has brought some amazing people into my life! I find myself everyday talking to Hubby or other people and saying "I read on a blog today......." or "I've been chatting via email with a lady from a fantastic blog I found.......". The online world has become a BIG part of my life recently.

AND......after a crazy, scary & sad week last week I've been touched by the online love & support I've received!!! The comments people are leaving on my blog are so heartfelt and the emails I'm receiving are Beautiful!! I feel very loved, supported and LUCKY!

Then....yesterday I was touched by a Random Act of Kindness from a lovely lady who I have never met in person.....but have come into contact with via Sunny Mummy and her lovely blog Taylor Made Baking. The gorgeous Katena contacted me about 2 weeks ago about me doing some invitations for her children's upcoming parties, since then we've bee emailing back & forth. I had to email her last week to let her know that her order would take slightly longer than planned....due to my hospitalisation. YESTERDAY, I received this in the mail from Katena:

She had sent Ella & I the most gorgeous package of prezzies & a lovely card to brighten our day!!!

I was so overwhelmed with her kindness! So very sweet!! And it did brighten my day!

THANK YOU KATENA!!

This morning, I have also discovered that another lovely blogger has blogged her thoughts & well wishes to me too......Thank you Sarah from S.K.K. You are so so lovely!

It goes to show, that a little act of kindness, a nice word, a simple gesture of love & giving....can go a really LONG way!

So, thank you to all the lovely people I've encounterd in this wonderful world of blogs :)

Sunny Mummy....{Feature Interview}

I'm super excited to present today's Feature Interview, because this lady truly is special! Stacey Sullaphen is the founder of a recent worldwide phenomenon.....also known as SUNNY MUMMY :)

I first stumbled across Stacey's online support business on Facebook in January of this year! Straight away I was drawn in by her positive outlook on life {and parenting} and her simple, happy way of looking at every situation! Since then, she has not only helped ME as a Mummy... but she has also given Scissors Paper Rock some amazing opportunities to be exposed, valued & supported!! I am so very grateful to Stacey!

I love being a Mummy....more than anything!! But I am honest in saying that it a the HARDEST thing I've ever done....and I've also discovered some parents also make it VERY competitive which in turn makes it so much harder than it should be!!  Stacey teaches & guides parents to prioritise themselves & their families and to just ENJOY life!

At the beginning of July, Stacey launched the Sunny Mummy Sisterhood {an online club} and I am a proud member! I definitely recommend if you are a Mum {or soon to be Mummy} that you head over & sign up here!!! It really is a warm, fun & inspiring place to be! I love logging on each morning for my dose of sunshine :)

So...enough from me!!! Here's Stacey {the Sunniest Mummy I know....she's amazing!!!}

Tell us a little about your business:

Sunny Mummy exists to inspire, motivate and support mothers to look after themselves first in order to look after their families best. Sunny Mummy is a community of women committed to enJOYING rather than enduring motherhood supporting one another and shining! The Sunny Mummy family consists of the official Sunny Mummy site including the blog and the recently launched Sunny Mummy Sisterhood!

What/Who inspires you?

I am inspired by life and everyday things. I am inspired by anybody who has turned their life's tragedy into a triumph, oh and Oprah of course!

What do you love most about what you do? That I am changing lives every single day just by being me and sharing my life with other amazing women.

What has been the highlight of this year so far?Being selected as a Live Positive Ambassador for Coke and experiencing my very first overseas trip as a result!

Explain a 'normal' day in your life: Rise early, jump out of bed excited to get stuck into the day, greet the sunnies, exercise, get ME ready for the day, wake my kiddies, get them ready, work from 9.30-2.30pm which can be anything to writing, motivating online, replying to emails, speaking, planning events etc

Your Favourite Quote/Motto: When you let your own light shine, you unconsciously give others permission to do the same - Nelson Mandela

What are your goals for Sunny Mummy? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? To have mothers from all over the world know about Sunny Mummy, to have secured a major sponsor for the SMS to remove the membership fee and to have my TV show...Mornings with Sunny! 

Why do you blog & What do you blog about? I blog to share my life and how I live the Sunny Mummy way. To let other women know they are not alone and that every day they have a choice to put themselves first.

3 Things you are: Positive, talkative, happy.

3 Things you aren't: Negative, shy, quiet

Anything else you'd like to share with my readers: Enjoy your life and the stage you are in. Love yourself first and foremost because you cannot give what you don't have!

Thank you Stacey!!

For a daily dose of sunshine, click LIKE at Sunny Mummy on Facebook! Or read & follow Stacey's BLOG! And definitely check out the Sunny Mummy website & join the Sunny Mummy Sisterhood :)

Stuck in a Rut?

Have you ever felt like you're stuck in a rut? Maybe you're feeling like this now! Maybe you have before & have come out the other side feeling better for it (or maybe even worse from it!). This post is for all the people who feel like they're STUCK! Stuck in a cycle of bad luck, negativity, depression or loneliness! Maybe you just feel like you're one of those mice/rats on a wheel.....going around & around....day in, day out....with no light at the end of the tunnel, or nothing to look forward to, or nothing that stimulates & motivates you anymore!

I'm no phyciatrist or councillor! But I'm a person who has felt before like I was stuck in a bit of rut! For the last 6 months of 2009, I felt like anything & everything that could go wrong....was going wrong! I felt like the universe was against me! I felt like my world was travelling in a direction that I was not happy with!!

Luckily, I wasn't depressed & being quite the resilient & optimistic person I am, I still managed to wear a smile & get on with my days! I also had amazing family & friends around who supported me & were always there for me!

However, not everyone has the ability to 'bounce back' from set-backs, and not everyone has a support network they can lean on in the cloudy times! My heart goes out to those people....but you can get out of this rut!!

I came across this image & I really believe in it's message:

So to those people out there who feel a little stuck!! HANG IN THERE!! Surround yourself with positive, supportive, non-judgmental people (even if it is only online people) and really analyse what's making you sad or 'stuck'. What can you get rid of? What do you have to persevere with? What do you NEED to change? Who deserves all your energy right now? AND....what makes you happy? Focus on those things and change your way of thinking!! I found 'The Secret' a really inspiring book to help transfer my way of thinking! I also found a lot of sanity & help & sunshine at 'Sunny Mummy' ~ I definitely recommend this site for all Mummies....rut or no rut :)

It's now May 2010 & I'm very happy to say that I'm out of that rut!

Hey, don't get me wrong....My life isn't perfect....but whose is? But I'm happy, my marriage is wonderful, my little girl is growing & learning & bringing us joy everyday, I'm getting a lot of satisfaction from my job as a School Teacher and Scissors Paper Rock is going great guns! Right now...what more could I ask for?! And I thank it all to my beautiful family & friends and my positive way of thinking :)

I also think we all need to experience the 'not so good times' because they make us appreciate the good times even more!! And don't forget to ask for HELP when you need it....even it means seeking professional help...that's ok!

Honestly believe that everything is going to be alright! And then do everything in your power to make sure it happens :)

{This post is dedicated to my lovely friend "S" who feels like she is stuck in a rut at the moment! You're a beauitful soul & everything will be alright soon....just you wait & see!}