Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Mummy Mafia - Why It's Not All Bad


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | The Mummy Mafia - Why It's Not All Bad
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one. ― C.S. Lewis

Last week, I read an interesting article written by Em Rusciano via Mamamia titled, 'Why I'm Not Friends With Other Mothers' and it really struck a chord with me.  In actual fact, it made me feel quite sad and sorry for her;  I'm sure that's not the reaction she was after as its tone was quite self-effacing, but it made me realise that I truly can't imagine being without the friends I've made through our school community and through my children generally. In the case of the article, I am the complete opposite to Em; these days I definitely have more girlfriends with children than without. That's kinda normal though, right?? When it comes to schoolyard friendships, apparently not.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

2014 - A Snapshot So Far

*This post looks like a baboon's bum when viewed on mobile due to images - best viewed on your desktop!*

How has your 2014 been so far? Are you getting a handle on what sort of year you're going to have yet? I've been hoping for a peaceful and steady one with plenty of happiness and a little predictability;  I'm not yet convinced it's going to be that way but gimme a few more weeks to assess and I'll get back to you (you know I will!).

I recently read a post by the fabulous Styling You who completed the list below and invited her readers to do the same, so I thought I'd give it a go. If you're into it, why not try it yourself?  Thanks also to Pip from Meet Me At Mikes for the original inspiration - it was fun and thought-provoking.


So far in 2014, I'm:

Monday, January 20, 2014

One Year On! (And Other Cliché Headings)

IMAGE : MORGUEFILE.COM | One Year On!

So this week marks one year since I shared The Mother Load Australia blog for the very first time. *insert proud, overbearing stage mother face here*.

Back then, I set myself a little writing-a-blog goal and although the sharing was the most uncomfortable bit (yes - hard to believe at this point, right?), the response has definitely been the most rewarding part of the journey. Not in my widest dreams did I imagine that people would take the time to read, comment and share with their friends, the thoughts I randomly transfer from my scrambled brain onto the page with my usual irregularity and lack of planning. I still cringe with a small sense of embarrassment when I consider the concept of having an 'audience', but that is far outweighed by the privilege of getting a response every time I write.  What a rush.

I've had such a blast writing my ramblings, meeting other bloggers, learning how to do it better and seeing the audience grow. The most fun bit for me is that The Mother Load Facebook page is heading towards 200 followers - that's nearly 200 people who are happy for me to appear in their Facebook feed on an ongoing basis which is kinda mind-blowing and awesome. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to comment, 'like' stuff and share;  I'm certain the goal would have died a long time ago without the encouragement and accountability of all of you (because half arsed, unfinished goals are also a passion of mine it seems).

Anyway, here's to the year ahead. The Mother Load Australia will continue in 2014 and my new goal is to see it evolve, continue to do it better and hopefully entertain with more ramblings of parenthood, instinct, opinion, occasional wisdom and more than a little dysfunction.

S. x


Saturday, January 11, 2014

Life B.C. - A Little Stroll Down Memory Lane


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Life B.C - A Little Stroll Down Memory Lane

I'm a Mum of two girls and I love it. Let's be clear - I barely remember the person I was before our two junior family members entered my life; frankly, I don't really miss the person I was and I wouldn't change things for the world.  Yada yada yada.  

Having cleared that up, let it be said there's a decent sized list of stuff I miss about my life B.C. (Before Children). Call me a questionable mother for publicly listing them but dammit, sometimes a mother has to reminisce.  Remember the freedom you took for granted before children? No? Perhaps my stroll down memory lane will help jog your memory!

Let's start with spontaneity. That's officially the first thing you toss in the skip as you leave the hospital with your new bundle of joy. It never returns and you barely have time to mourn its absence. To this very day, I miss the ability to go somewhere fabulous without great consideration for a) whether appropriate behaviour from the junior attendees will be likely b) what will be required to accompany us in order to maintain said appropriate behaviour c) whether the potential for trouble outweighs the need to go out all and therefore should the plan be aborted for sanity's sake. These factors come into each and every outing decision you make. Spontaneity is awesome and if you still have it, use it! Or come around to my place and look after my kids while I use it for you. 

Another thing is eating out in a grown up, civilised manner. That's something I REALLY miss. The simple task of going somewhere nice, spending time pouring over a menu or wine list with mature, ponderous conversation and eating as slowly as biologically required, without what I'm calling 'parental indigestion'. If you have kids, you already know what I mean. 'Parental indigestion' is usually accompanied by phrases such as "sit down and eat - we're in a (bloody) restaurant" or "for the love of God, pass me four thousand napkins while I clean up the tidal wave of iced water that has just ended up destroying my Pad Thai". Yeah - that. I miss eating out without the usual knot in my stomach. 

Then there's grocery shopping. Although I was never one for pacing the aisles of Coles for hours in a leisurely fashion, there are now times I'd pay good money for the ability to do it. Lock me in there for a night - please. I'll pay for everything I eat, just give me the peace. Remember the days of doing every aisle and carefully comparing prices and specials? Remember ending up at the checkout with a trolley full of the items you chose with clear and concise precision and not peppered with random rolls of sticky tape, confectionery and cheap-arse toys that you have no memory of collecting on your journey?  I also sigh despondently at the wonderful memory of not caring who else was in the supermarket, knowing full well that back in the day, you alone would never have asked the large lady if she has a baby in her tummy, or referring loudly to the Sri Lankan Nun as "Blackface". Before kids, I was able to control how to prevent embarrassment and the dishing out of insults, as I saw fit. Those were the days.

Lastly, who remembers a visit to the Doctor before kids? Oh, I do. Sooo many things to remember and miss - how about a calm, predictable waiting room experience?! Remember not caring about whether there was a sufficient array of colouring pencils to keep your entourage entertained while you're trapped in a room with a bunch of hacking strangers for an unnecessarily lengthy period of time? Remember also not having to worry about using the term 'inside voice' in every third sentence in that same waiting room? Recently, I was lucky enough to have a four year old with me when going for my routine pap test. Yes, hooray - a pap test. I'd struck the proverbial jackpot one would say. I had meticulously booked the appointment so I could attend on my own, but naturally at the last minute the babysitting fell through and I was forced to drag Miss 4 along with me. For the love of God, if this ever happens to you, simply concede, cancel the appointment and happily pay the penalty fees in the knowledge you've avoided experiencing the highest level of parental punishment possible. I'll spare you the details but needless to say, the doctor recommended I attend again the following week for a repeat test due to her "not being certain I was relaxed enough. Really? Quelle surprise!! And who doesn't love enduring a pap test two weeks in a row?

So there's the mere beginning of the 'Life B.C'. list. I admit that conversely there's a really sizeable list detailing how much better my life is with these small people in it and how lucky I am to have been able to have them in the first place, but sometimes it feels good to remember the good old B.C. days even just for a minute!

Now excuse me while I go and wipe the smeared breakfast jam from my new, overpriced dress...




Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Welcome 2014 - Are You Diving In Or Are You Treading Lightly?


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Welcome 2014

Happy New Year! How did you ring in 2014? Did you welcome it with wide open arms, great gusto and copious amounts of champagne?  We did it small but laughed until our stomachs ached - hopefully it's a sign of things to come this year.  Quite amazingly, I made it to midnight! I learned that if you say enough times that you have no intention of getting there, you seem to have a greater chance of reaching it without realising. Miraculous. In other news, I managed to have kids in bed by 10.30pm which in itself is monumental and perhaps a little cruel on NYE but holiday exhaustion had officially set in so they were ushered to bed without a huge amount of argument. Again, miraculous.

So farewell, 2013.