Happy Mothers Day !
This year was my second Mothers Day with my family. I still think it’s a hallmark holiday, money making retail excuse but hey I still got involved.
I get so much love and acknowledgement daily from my family so I could never ask for more and honestly couldn’t think of anything either. Since being pregnant and not feeling 100% Ben has supported me so much by cooking most meals and encouraging me to rest so that’s been a present in itself.
We didn’t do much today, just a quick coffee trip, eating and being with family. Last night was the first night Sonny’s slept in our bed since he was about 10 months old, he was in some kind of awful pain and we did everything we could to try and make him comfortable but in the end he just needed us. In my exhausted, tired state all I kept thinking was how much I loved having Sonny next to me, calm and drifting off to sleep. I could have put him back down in his own room once he was asleep but these moments are so rare these days, he so busy, moving around all day, all I wanted to do was lie still next to my baby who’s growing up so quickly right before my eyes. Sounds corny but it was a perfect way to spend the start of mothers day, doing a mothers duty of comforting her child.
I wanted to thank all the beautiful mothers and mothers to be in my life (there are a lot of you at the moment!!) for all the advice and support you give me. You’re all such wonderful women and your children are so lucky to have you all. Hope you all enjoyed your special day <3
Parenting Politics, Sigh !
Once again I’m so disappointed at the politics of parenting. I feel like everywhere I look the media is just trying to pin parents and different parenting choices against each other and what a surprise, people are taking the bait.
Maybe they have too much time on their hands or can’t see others points of view, but minutes after a major network runs a story on anything parenting related their Facebook is engulfed in parents attacking one anthers choices. When did everyone become an expert? Sometimes I don’t even think the experts are experts!
They will always find something to bait the general public with, always, because everyone isn’t going to realise that everyone is different, which is why everyone SHOULD parent differently.
They can talk about anything; dummies, co sleeping, self settling, vaccination, breastfeeding, formula feeding, child care, over parenting, the list goes on.
Just the other month Baby Centre posts on Facebook one of their routine ‘questions’ (that always just happens to turn nasty) which was “What are your thoughts on dummies?”, parents were ripping each other to shreds over the use of a dummy!? I read some of the comments and felt the need to comment on the status after feeling disgusted by the rude comments back and forth between people. My comment read; Who Cares?
Because honestly no one should care or feel the need to get so overly involved in other families personal choices.
I have felt guilty time and time again for making informed choices for my family, but then reminded almost straight away that feeling of guilt need not apply when I see how great, healthy and happy my family is.
The moral of this rant is that this senseless awfulness needs to end. Everyone chooses different paths for their children and no one (especially the media) has the right to tell you you’re wrong. It’s hard enough to make choices, let alone be made to feel guilty for trying to be the best parent you can.
Support one another or at least be respectful that everyone is different.
12 Week Reward
This morning we experienced one of my favourite parts of pregnancy, the 12 week scan.
The tingly feeling you get in your stomach when you see your new little baby in black and white on the screen in front of you, that fleeting moment when the heartbeat echoes through the room, the smiles shared between my husband and I as we look at the new love in our lives.
This little baby is looking healthy and active. So much like it’s brother but then again almost all 12 week scans look the same!
What a fulfilling morning.
After getting better acquainted with Trueman 2.0, Sonny and I went down to the park to burn off some energy, followed by a mini family breakfast with my sister, mumma and step dad.
Sonny is now napping away and I’m sitting here just on a wonderful high from the day so far.
I’ve started feeling better, just getting pretty tired around midday, luckily getting a second wind in the afternoon, so glad I feel human again!
Getting To Know Paul Vøge
As tomorrow, the day when 2 of my lovely dear friends get to say their I do’s, gets closer and closer I wanted to re post this awesome interview I had the privilege of doing a few months back with Paul Voge. He’s going to be the celebrant tomorrow for this beautiful couple 
So excited to bring you this interview with Paul Voge. He’s a husband, father, music store owner and marriage celebrant. Yes one busy man was kind enough to let us learn a little more about his life. Residing in Brisbane with his wife KC and daughter Lucca Frances Voge, 2 going on 13 (as Paul describes her) this family is beautiful and what an awesome celebrant he makes!
Name and age of your little girl?
My daughters name is Lucca Frances Voge and she is 2 going on 13 on November 1st
How did you and your wife meet, when did your daughter come into the picture and when were you married?
I meet KC about 13 years ago when I worked in a Fruit and Vegetable part of a shopping centre. She would come in shopping with her mother a lot and I would try and get myself in a position to talk to her, it was old school stalking, not like modern day Facebook stalking hahaha, this required effort. We bonded over our love of punk rock, made mix tapes for each other and all the “must do” things in an early relationship. She is the most amazing person I have ever met, that’s for sure. I should probably tell her that more often.
We were married July 11th 2009 and Lucca came into our lives November 1st 2010
How do you juggle owning a music store, being a marriage celebrant and a dad?
It’s hard. I have always, since I was little wanted to own a record store, but sometimes I hate it due to the amount of time it takes off me being able to see my daughter. Most Dad’s might get a few weeks off when they have a child, I had two days before I was back at work after she was born.
Then to now start being a marriage celebrant does take up more of my time, but I try and include my family when I can. I have a wedding in Newcastle so we’ve based a holiday around it, I have no idea what there is to do there but we are having 3 days off together so I am happy.
I just have to keep reminding myself that yes I have 3 or 4 jobs, but my number one job and my favourite one is being a Dad.
What’s the best thing about being a dad?
That is a hard one. Just being a Dad is crazy to me. I still think I’m a 18 year punk with bleached hair and too many band t-shirts and albums in my room. But when I am just sitting down watching a TV show with Lucca and she is engrossed in whatever is on the screen (most likely Dora & Boots), I just find myself staring at this little perfect human that I created and that I would do anything for. I guess the best part of being a Dad is having something so important in your life that it gives your life real meaning. That and hearing her yell “Daddy!!” when I get home from work haha
What year did you open Kill The Music and what made you go from working in a shop to owning one?
I starting working for myself and setting up Kill The Music in December 2006 and we opened January 12th 2007. I had worked in so many different types of music stores that I just felt ready to do it my way and for myself instead of someone else. As I said I had always wanted to do this since I was little, so honestly it was a dream come true, a very tiring and time consuming and expense dream. haha
Most memorable live show at the store?
Easy…Brand New playing to about 300 people in 2008. That played for over an hour. I still remember that day vividly.
A few words to describe your wedding?
Total DIY, hard work, a blur, my wife was beautiful.
What in your opinion is the most important thing about a wedding day?
Honestly it’s about making the wedding represent the 2 people getting married. Make it about you, that’s what I want to see. I want to say “That wedding was perfect for them”. A personal approach is always the best.
What inspired you to become a celebrant?
I got a lot of inspiration from our own wedding in all honesty. I just want couples to know what they can do in a wedding ceremony and help them see what is possible. I also get inspired by a lot of the new photographers out there that are making weddings look amazing these days. I also get to wear my suit a lot more now haha.
What can you expect when Paul Voge is your marriage celebrant?
I talk a lot, I just have a over excitement to help people with their weddings which causes me to talk to them a lot haha.
But to be honest I just want to guide couples as much as I can. Weddings are stressful affairs and the ceremony is the one part that most couples stress out about the most. My goal is to make the ceremony perfect for them and have them feel relaxed about it, I still like “romantic nerves” and they will never go away, but I want the couple to enjoy their ceremony and I want them to say it was their favourite part of the day.
Any advice for the bride and groom to be?
With my previous couples I have always stressed when writing your own vows to say everything you have ever wanted to say to your bride or groom. Don’t hold back, don’t “not say something” cause you think its too cheesy or anything like that. It is your wedding day, so say the things that you love about your partner, it’s what makes the ceremony so special.
How do we go about booking you for the big day?
I am at paulvogemarriagecelebrant@hotmail.com
my site with all my information is here http://paulvogemarriagecelebrant.tumblr.com/
or call me on 0401 886 666
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Wow, such a smart and easy to hum sentence!
After feeling like death for the past few weeks (still right now) I have come to the point where I’m sick of complaining about being sick. It’s boring and not fun. Although it’s good to acknowledge my body is going through some big changes, it’s time to change the record!
My new theories;
If I get up and put my face on I’ll automatically feel better than if I didn’t.
Washing my hair needs to be done.
Seeing my awesome friends is the best cure.
So far these few small things put in to practice have really helped the past few days not be so glum.
Morning sickness is apart of my pregnancy and I’m so happy to be carrying this baby that I will try not to dwell, instead try to enjoy. Before I know it we’ll be counting down weeks, then be a family of 4 and have something else to worry about, so while there’s only one loud and crazy child around me I’ll be doing my best to keep positive and smile more.
I am lucky and I’ll never forget that.
Super Sonny Breakfast
When Sonny started eating it was all purees and spoon-feeding, now we’re in the awkward stage where he isn’t quite coordinated enough to feed himself with a spoon, he’ll only eat a few things from us off a spoon and the rest is pretty much finger food. So breakfast was a challenge for me when this phase began.
He took to toast so well once he got teeth and but was it the best thing for a young growing boy to be eating for breakfast?
We came up with this meal which we now make for him every morning and he loves! So I thought I’d share as it can sometimes feel like groundhog day and a little insight into other peoples way of cooking and eating can definitely spark up some new creations and ideas in your own kitchen.
To get Sonny off to a good start for the day we feed him this healthy, quick and super cheap breakfast every morning!
For one Sonny (15 months) sized portion you will need :
2 ripe good-sized bananas
1/2 cup muesli
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
1 tablespoon of flax seeds
1 tablespoon of LSA
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Just mash-up your bananas in a kiddy bowl, adding the other ingredients once mashed and storing in till all mixed up together. There should still be some chunks of banana.
And that’s it !
If you’re child insists on feeding themselves then add more muesli for a less mushy and easier to handle texture.
You can add other fruits or purees, and for the warmer months add porridge instead of muesli.
If he’s still hungry after this we offer him more banana or then the toast can come out.
If you can find a health food store in your area that you can buy the flax seeds, LSA and chia seeds out of bulk containers then they will be very cheap for large quantities that will last you ages! Also make sure your child is at an age where you have introduced most food groups, such as nuts.
