Ok so today was my first Mother's Day as a single mum and to say it sucked pretty badly is an understatement. I guess I could say it was mostly my fault that it sucked but there are so many little things to consider when you are starting life as single mum that it seems like a political minefield to organise a peaceful and happy day to celebrate yourself.
Firstly my ex's family are all here in the same state for a holiday and it had been suggested we would all go for a big Mother's Day lunch with my family and his just like old times but due to a few things that have happened over the past few months I didn't really want to spend the day with my ex-inlaws and my ex-husband as I felt it might ruin my mood and there could be underlying tensions that I didn't really feel like dealing with on Mother's day. After all, it was my decision to end the marriage so I wasn't sure how our first meeting would go being in the same room together. (luckily my fears were not necessary and everything was completely normal when we did eventually see each other).
The second reason it sucked was because my kids weren't with me when I woke up and again this was kind of my fault as I had been out on a girls night the night before for a close friend who had arrived from overseas and this night was the only time we could all go out so my kids were on a sleepover at the in-laws and therefore not with me to make me a well deserved (terrible) breakfast in bed when I woke up. #fail
Thirdly, what are the rules for Ex's assisting with children to help them buy Mother's day or even Father's Day presents these days? I would imagine in an amicable break up, that the ex is still required to take the kids shopping and sling them maybe $10 bucks each to buy the ex-partner a nice coffee mug or unwanted body lotion. Does this seem unreasonable? I think not. Of course I understand if the ex partners hate each others guts then that would be unreasonable but in this case I'm thinking I got ripped off....
And lastly the final reason why my Mother's day sucked is because I have a 12 year old, moody, hormonal and lazy daughter who thinks that every day is about her and who cannot be bothered to stop watching her stupid Youtube channels to take 5 minutes to make me a home made card, or help me make dinner, or put her folding away or clean her room or put her 10 glasses away from her room....the list goes on people!!!!
Anyway, I will remember this day for the shitteous day that it was and make sure I organise something much more fabulous myself next year!
I hope you all out there had a better day than me
xxx
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Sunday, 27 March 2016
The single mum phase has begun
I thought it was about time I gave you all an update on how things are doing since my last blog which was pretty raw and pretty shocking to a lot of people. It has definitely been a difficult time in my life and probably when I think about it, the most difficult time I've ever faced in my 46 years.
In my last post which you can read here I told you about my decision to end my marriage after 17 years of being together and how I had so much ahead of me to deal with and now as I sit here in my new rental house by myself whilst the kids are at their dads it really has dawned on me how much I have gone through in the past few months.
Ending a marriage is probably one of most stressful things you can ever go through, I really wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy but to live life being constantly unhappy is something no human should have to endure and to make the decision to end it is incredibly brave. For people who are involved in marriages that are volatile and violent it's a no brainer to end that situation if they can but to end a marriage that has no conflict, no ups and downs, no drama its a different story, one that takes a lot of courage and a lot of soul searching especially when kids are involved.
After one week of being by myself I feel I have made the right decision. As much as the lead up to moving and physically separating was the most stressful of my life, I feel a kind of peace and contentment which I haven't felt for a long time. Yes we are still getting used to being apart and trying to work out a schedule with the kids and its all a bit of a juggling act but I know in time that will work out and even though I did cry today when I dropped my daughter back to her dads I think that may have had something to do with the fact I had just spent 2 hours shopping with her which is a HELL in itself and not because I actually miss her! (and I maybe premenstrual which explains itself really).
There are a lot of things that I'm scared about, am I going to manage financially, am I going to be lonely, will my kids be ok mentally growing up with divorced parents, will I regret my decision one day? So many questions constantly run through my head but I have such a huge support network with friends from so many different groups I know they will always be there to build me up and help me move forward. Twitter friends, Facebook and Instagram friends, Photography friends, work friends and friends I've known for many years have all reached out and given me strength whether its been from a uplifting tweet, a private message or in real life, the support has been overwhelming and calming. I've never felt more loved and supported in my whole life than I do right now.
So I wanted to thank you all for being there for me these past few months, whether its just been listening to me rant on Twitter, reading my updates on Facebook, sending me love in any way shape or form I appreciate every single last one of you. Couldn't have gotten here without all the love.
Thank you xx
In my last post which you can read here I told you about my decision to end my marriage after 17 years of being together and how I had so much ahead of me to deal with and now as I sit here in my new rental house by myself whilst the kids are at their dads it really has dawned on me how much I have gone through in the past few months.
Ending a marriage is probably one of most stressful things you can ever go through, I really wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy but to live life being constantly unhappy is something no human should have to endure and to make the decision to end it is incredibly brave. For people who are involved in marriages that are volatile and violent it's a no brainer to end that situation if they can but to end a marriage that has no conflict, no ups and downs, no drama its a different story, one that takes a lot of courage and a lot of soul searching especially when kids are involved.
After one week of being by myself I feel I have made the right decision. As much as the lead up to moving and physically separating was the most stressful of my life, I feel a kind of peace and contentment which I haven't felt for a long time. Yes we are still getting used to being apart and trying to work out a schedule with the kids and its all a bit of a juggling act but I know in time that will work out and even though I did cry today when I dropped my daughter back to her dads I think that may have had something to do with the fact I had just spent 2 hours shopping with her which is a HELL in itself and not because I actually miss her! (and I maybe premenstrual which explains itself really).
There are a lot of things that I'm scared about, am I going to manage financially, am I going to be lonely, will my kids be ok mentally growing up with divorced parents, will I regret my decision one day? So many questions constantly run through my head but I have such a huge support network with friends from so many different groups I know they will always be there to build me up and help me move forward. Twitter friends, Facebook and Instagram friends, Photography friends, work friends and friends I've known for many years have all reached out and given me strength whether its been from a uplifting tweet, a private message or in real life, the support has been overwhelming and calming. I've never felt more loved and supported in my whole life than I do right now.
So I wanted to thank you all for being there for me these past few months, whether its just been listening to me rant on Twitter, reading my updates on Facebook, sending me love in any way shape or form I appreciate every single last one of you. Couldn't have gotten here without all the love.
Thank you xx
Saturday, 9 January 2016
Facing the realities of separation
Hey guys, so yes its been awhile, over 12 months actually which seems insane to me. How could 2015 have gone by so quickly? I felt like we just blinked and it was Christmas again. Crazy times.
So 2015 was a strange year for me, I definitely had a mid life crisis at 46 and now I'm starting 2016 as a single mum after making the huge decision to separate from my husband of 14 years. Wow, I said it, I'm now a single mum with so many fears in front of me but also a lot of hope and excitement.
You see, I've not been happily married for many years now, I can't really remember the last time I was happily married and when I look at old memories that keep popping up on Facebook it gives me a shock to think about how long I was living a lie. The thing is, my life was not bad at all, in fact it was a pretty good life, my kids are healthy and happy, my husband is a lovely man, great father and all round wonderful bloke and we lived a pretty comfortable existence but in my heart I've been lacking something for many years. Lacking a connection, lacking a spark, missing the incredibly important parts of a marriage of wanting to be with my husband, wanting to spend time with him, wanting to have sex with him wanting to make a happy family life with him. All those things have been weighing heavily on my heart for many years now and it finally hit me, I'm 46, 4 years to 50, so close to not ever experiencing those things again and I knew I had to be brave and live my life for me. Time was running out.
After 5 years of trying to make it work, visiting Dr's, therapists, naturopaths, constantly whinging to my closest friends about how unhappy I was I finally told my husband I couldn't do it any more. It wasn't a surprise to him, we had discussed it numerous times before but we had always swept it under the mat, fearing the consequences and the impact it would have on our children. We both didn't want to face the fact that we were both incredibly unhappy. But how long can one be unhappy for before they lose their mind? Sure alcohol helps and the random flirtation at work is always fun but at the end of the day living life unhappy really sucks.
We decided not to tell our children until after Christmas and we officially decided to separate in September so it was a long few months of living a lie. Sleeping in the same bed, pretending everything was rosy when underneath it our hearts were breaking. We did tell close friends and we had a lot of support and advice which were all taken gratefully but the fear of telling the kids after Christmas was something we felt physically sick about. They had never seen us argue or fight, we never raised our voices to each other, we were and still are good friends so we knew it would come as a big shock to them.
How do you tell your kids you're separating without breaking their hearts? Well honestly, you can't. Unless of course you both hate each other and are constantly fighting and yelling and the kids are praying for it to end, but when you are friends it is impossible to do it without hours of tears and screaming and yelling about how could this be real? How could we do this to them? Why can't we love each other any more? The emotional nightmare still lives in my mind from that dreaded night. And then of course you have to tell them that separating means selling their beloved house, moving into separate houses, renting, living in complexes, juggling time between mum and dad, trying to work out a routine, it really is the ultimate cluster fuck. But also there is a feeling of relief, relief that we can now finally move forward, stop living a lie, get on with our own lives, maybe even meet someone we want to be with and fall in love with (although that sounds so damn strange right now).
So yes the next few months will be tough and I'm sure there will be many more tears yet to be cried from all of us but when I think about staying how things were, living in an existence where I had no spark, no connection and no fulfilment it makes me smile just a little to think about what may happen in all of our futures.
So 2015 was a strange year for me, I definitely had a mid life crisis at 46 and now I'm starting 2016 as a single mum after making the huge decision to separate from my husband of 14 years. Wow, I said it, I'm now a single mum with so many fears in front of me but also a lot of hope and excitement.
You see, I've not been happily married for many years now, I can't really remember the last time I was happily married and when I look at old memories that keep popping up on Facebook it gives me a shock to think about how long I was living a lie. The thing is, my life was not bad at all, in fact it was a pretty good life, my kids are healthy and happy, my husband is a lovely man, great father and all round wonderful bloke and we lived a pretty comfortable existence but in my heart I've been lacking something for many years. Lacking a connection, lacking a spark, missing the incredibly important parts of a marriage of wanting to be with my husband, wanting to spend time with him, wanting to have sex with him wanting to make a happy family life with him. All those things have been weighing heavily on my heart for many years now and it finally hit me, I'm 46, 4 years to 50, so close to not ever experiencing those things again and I knew I had to be brave and live my life for me. Time was running out.
After 5 years of trying to make it work, visiting Dr's, therapists, naturopaths, constantly whinging to my closest friends about how unhappy I was I finally told my husband I couldn't do it any more. It wasn't a surprise to him, we had discussed it numerous times before but we had always swept it under the mat, fearing the consequences and the impact it would have on our children. We both didn't want to face the fact that we were both incredibly unhappy. But how long can one be unhappy for before they lose their mind? Sure alcohol helps and the random flirtation at work is always fun but at the end of the day living life unhappy really sucks.
We decided not to tell our children until after Christmas and we officially decided to separate in September so it was a long few months of living a lie. Sleeping in the same bed, pretending everything was rosy when underneath it our hearts were breaking. We did tell close friends and we had a lot of support and advice which were all taken gratefully but the fear of telling the kids after Christmas was something we felt physically sick about. They had never seen us argue or fight, we never raised our voices to each other, we were and still are good friends so we knew it would come as a big shock to them.
How do you tell your kids you're separating without breaking their hearts? Well honestly, you can't. Unless of course you both hate each other and are constantly fighting and yelling and the kids are praying for it to end, but when you are friends it is impossible to do it without hours of tears and screaming and yelling about how could this be real? How could we do this to them? Why can't we love each other any more? The emotional nightmare still lives in my mind from that dreaded night. And then of course you have to tell them that separating means selling their beloved house, moving into separate houses, renting, living in complexes, juggling time between mum and dad, trying to work out a routine, it really is the ultimate cluster fuck. But also there is a feeling of relief, relief that we can now finally move forward, stop living a lie, get on with our own lives, maybe even meet someone we want to be with and fall in love with (although that sounds so damn strange right now).
So yes the next few months will be tough and I'm sure there will be many more tears yet to be cried from all of us but when I think about staying how things were, living in an existence where I had no spark, no connection and no fulfilment it makes me smile just a little to think about what may happen in all of our futures.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Can it really be 20 days till Christmas?!
Hello strangers! Yes it's been a long time in between posts and I'm sorry, time just gets away from you and before you know it we are putting the Chrissy tree up again. I'm not sure about you but for me this year has flown by in the blink of an eye. I have some theories why and my first one is because I have a new hobby which has completely consumed me this year. Any spare time has been taken up with photography, taking photos, learning about it and meeting new photography people.
My second theory is that as you get older the years go faster so considering I turned 45 this year my years are bloody flying by now! My last theory is that as our kids get older and do more stuff they basically suck the life out of you and this also makes the time go faster as you are constantly trying to catch up!
So all in all 2014 has had some major highs and major lows, the high's being my trip to Hawaii which you can read all about here and the lows being about my Father in laws cancer scare which you can read about here. (We are still waiting to get some results back from this so I will update when I know more.) The strange thing is for me that I'm usually so excited to start Christmas early as seen here but this year I just can't get my head around it and I think it's because my kids don't believe in Santa anymore. Yes, that's right, the old Santa story got told this year due to some little kid at school telling my daughter he wasn't real and then because she also found an old present list in my notebook with all the presents I had bought them the year before. (we all do that don't we? Write everything down so we have an even number of presents?) So a little bit of magic has disappeared from our Christmas day and I'm super sad about it. I really wish that I had of tried to keep the story going one more year for my 9 year old sons sake but too many kids know the truth in the school yard by grade 5 and it is kind of impossible. In one way it is good as now the kids realise we buy the presents so their requests for the most expensive presents are laughed at and we can be a bit more realistic about what to expect. No you wont be getting that Apple Macbook pro you would love! I will still give them presents from Santa on Christmas morning as I believe it is fun to keep the dream alive and I hope my kids don't be that kid in the school yard that tells other people Santa isn't real.
So as we come to the end of another crazy busy year I hope that everyone gets some time to relax and recharge over the Christmas break, maybe go on a holiday, spend some time with friends and family and indulge in some cocktails and yummy food. It will be lovely to have a break from the school routine and get a few sleep ins but I'm sure after a week I will be counting down the days until school goes back on the 27th of January!
Have a great weekend
Katie xx
My second theory is that as you get older the years go faster so considering I turned 45 this year my years are bloody flying by now! My last theory is that as our kids get older and do more stuff they basically suck the life out of you and this also makes the time go faster as you are constantly trying to catch up!
So all in all 2014 has had some major highs and major lows, the high's being my trip to Hawaii which you can read all about here and the lows being about my Father in laws cancer scare which you can read about here. (We are still waiting to get some results back from this so I will update when I know more.) The strange thing is for me that I'm usually so excited to start Christmas early as seen here but this year I just can't get my head around it and I think it's because my kids don't believe in Santa anymore. Yes, that's right, the old Santa story got told this year due to some little kid at school telling my daughter he wasn't real and then because she also found an old present list in my notebook with all the presents I had bought them the year before. (we all do that don't we? Write everything down so we have an even number of presents?) So a little bit of magic has disappeared from our Christmas day and I'm super sad about it. I really wish that I had of tried to keep the story going one more year for my 9 year old sons sake but too many kids know the truth in the school yard by grade 5 and it is kind of impossible. In one way it is good as now the kids realise we buy the presents so their requests for the most expensive presents are laughed at and we can be a bit more realistic about what to expect. No you wont be getting that Apple Macbook pro you would love! I will still give them presents from Santa on Christmas morning as I believe it is fun to keep the dream alive and I hope my kids don't be that kid in the school yard that tells other people Santa isn't real.
So as we come to the end of another crazy busy year I hope that everyone gets some time to relax and recharge over the Christmas break, maybe go on a holiday, spend some time with friends and family and indulge in some cocktails and yummy food. It will be lovely to have a break from the school routine and get a few sleep ins but I'm sure after a week I will be counting down the days until school goes back on the 27th of January!
Have a great weekend
Katie xx
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Who me, sick? Never!
So we all know those people who seem to be constantly sick. You know the types, they always have something to complain about, some ailment that is worse than anything you can imagine, their sore foot is so much worse than yours, their flu symptoms are like nothing you've ever experienced. Yes those annoying types. Well, I'm not one of them. In fact I'm the opposite. I never get sick and although I do have several annoying ailments I deal with them in my own way and really only complain to my husband about it! (That's his job right?) I never take sick days and can't really remember the last time I was bedridden with sickness. Yes I'm very lucky.
Anyway, this is why last week when something did knock me for six it was such a huge surprise to me and my family because it just isn't normal. I'm usually the one powering through all the sick people, making sure everyone else is being looked after. I'm nurse Katie.
This particular morning was different. I woke up at 4am with the craziest dizzy spells in my head. I immediately had the urge to vomit so I walked slowly to the toilet and did my business and then returned to bed thinking that was weird. I went to roll over to sleep again and the dizzy spells returned with the vomiting urge so up I got again and did my business and went back to bed. I remember thinking to myself, Ok this is doesn't feel good, I'm sure I will be ok in the morning. Well I wasn't ok in the morning, I was a hell of a lot worse, so bad I ended up falling over on my way to the toilet and not being able to get back into bed. Hub was a little worried especially when I started bawling CALL MUM!! (The only person who could fix me I thought). He quickly rang my parents and sent my daughter over to the neighbours who happens to be a nurse to see if she could figure out what was wrong. Within 10 minutes the bedroom was filled with people, even my dogs who were there wondering what all the commotion was about. My neighbour took my vitals and decided it was best to call the ambulance as my bloody pressure was low and she could see I was not dealing with it well. At this point I would like to say how amazing the ambulance officer was. She was so calm, so thorough, so reassuring. Truly an awesome person. She drove me to the hospital where I ended up staying for the next 6 hours being tested for everything you could imagine. They gave me meds to stop the vomiting and came to the conclusion that I had something called Labyrinthitis which is an inner ear infection which causes the dizziness and vomiting. They gave me a script for Stematil and sent me on my way. At this stage I looked a treat. Hair everywhere, in my pjs, face all pale and vomity head. Just lovely! Hub took me home and I was told to rest as much as possible which is the only way to get better apparently.
Well I'm not sure about you but resting is very hard with 2 kids, 2 dogs and a job that you have to go to as your boss has just decided to go on a spur of the moment trip to China and you are the only one left! I did take the next day off but was back at work on the Thursday and Friday. BIG MISTAKE!
This little ailment makes you feel like you are hungover 24/7 without a drink! (So ripped off). It knocks you for a big 6 and it makes you tired, grumpy and uncomfortable in your own body. It quite literally sucks. It makes superwoman (me) a little whimp. It makes housework, cooking and driving a challenge. It makes walking the dogs a chore instead of enjoyable and it makes life in general really hard. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy (of which I don't have any really but it sounded good).
So the moral of the story is, my friends, nobody is superwoman, no woman is immune to sickness, little Miss Katie girl CAN get sick and must learn to rest otherwise the whole household can turn to chaos!
You will be happy to know I'm slowly getting there, I'm taking every opportunity to rest and I'm doing everything in slow motion which suits the dogs and me as we are all getting old!
Katie
Xx
Love ya guts
Anyway, this is why last week when something did knock me for six it was such a huge surprise to me and my family because it just isn't normal. I'm usually the one powering through all the sick people, making sure everyone else is being looked after. I'm nurse Katie.
This particular morning was different. I woke up at 4am with the craziest dizzy spells in my head. I immediately had the urge to vomit so I walked slowly to the toilet and did my business and then returned to bed thinking that was weird. I went to roll over to sleep again and the dizzy spells returned with the vomiting urge so up I got again and did my business and went back to bed. I remember thinking to myself, Ok this is doesn't feel good, I'm sure I will be ok in the morning. Well I wasn't ok in the morning, I was a hell of a lot worse, so bad I ended up falling over on my way to the toilet and not being able to get back into bed. Hub was a little worried especially when I started bawling CALL MUM!! (The only person who could fix me I thought). He quickly rang my parents and sent my daughter over to the neighbours who happens to be a nurse to see if she could figure out what was wrong. Within 10 minutes the bedroom was filled with people, even my dogs who were there wondering what all the commotion was about. My neighbour took my vitals and decided it was best to call the ambulance as my bloody pressure was low and she could see I was not dealing with it well. At this point I would like to say how amazing the ambulance officer was. She was so calm, so thorough, so reassuring. Truly an awesome person. She drove me to the hospital where I ended up staying for the next 6 hours being tested for everything you could imagine. They gave me meds to stop the vomiting and came to the conclusion that I had something called Labyrinthitis which is an inner ear infection which causes the dizziness and vomiting. They gave me a script for Stematil and sent me on my way. At this stage I looked a treat. Hair everywhere, in my pjs, face all pale and vomity head. Just lovely! Hub took me home and I was told to rest as much as possible which is the only way to get better apparently.
Well I'm not sure about you but resting is very hard with 2 kids, 2 dogs and a job that you have to go to as your boss has just decided to go on a spur of the moment trip to China and you are the only one left! I did take the next day off but was back at work on the Thursday and Friday. BIG MISTAKE!
This little ailment makes you feel like you are hungover 24/7 without a drink! (So ripped off). It knocks you for a big 6 and it makes you tired, grumpy and uncomfortable in your own body. It quite literally sucks. It makes superwoman (me) a little whimp. It makes housework, cooking and driving a challenge. It makes walking the dogs a chore instead of enjoyable and it makes life in general really hard. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy (of which I don't have any really but it sounded good).
So the moral of the story is, my friends, nobody is superwoman, no woman is immune to sickness, little Miss Katie girl CAN get sick and must learn to rest otherwise the whole household can turn to chaos!
You will be happy to know I'm slowly getting there, I'm taking every opportunity to rest and I'm doing everything in slow motion which suits the dogs and me as we are all getting old!
Katie
Xx
Love ya guts
Friday, 15 August 2014
A little bit of Katie time
So I have just returned from an amazing holiday in Hawaii where I attended a friend's wedding and I went without my husband and kids. Yes, no kids and no husband for a whole week! Just me, a few very close friends and lots of cocktails. To say it was amazing is an understatement. It was probably the best time I have had since I got married 13 years ago. To have no responsibilities, no schedule, no one to keep organised except myself was beyond liberating.
When I was first invited to go, my initial reaction was to say no, I just couldn't manage the cost of it and also the logistics of organising the kids with my husband working shift work, it all just seemed too hard but after talking to my mother in law who volunteered to come up and help with the kids and who told me I would never get this opportunity again I started putting the plans into place. I was also extremely lucky to have another friend offer to pay for the accommodation which was such a huge and amazingly generous gesture I just knew I had to go. So operation Hawaii began. 6 months of saving money to pay for the flight, 6 months of telling the kids we can't afford to buy stuff cos mummy needs to save for her holiday, 6 months of getting extremely excited but still trying to keep it on the down low so other people (husband) didn't get too shitty with me! Then of course the spanner got thrown into the works and boy was it a big spanner, father in law having cancer and needing treatment straight away! This certainly took the excitement away from the holiday and left us all reeling. How could I be excited about a holiday when my beautiful father in laws health was so up in the air. Thankfully after weeks of tests his diagnosis was not life threatening at this point at and his treatment plan was put in place. I felt relieved as I didn't want to go away and be having a great time when my family was at home facing such tough challenges. Life certainly knows how to turn you upside at short notice. I was so lucky my own parents put their 50th anniversary plans on hold and stepped in and came over to stay for a week! Bless them.
So on the 2nd of August I left on a plane by myself and boy was it all worth it! One whole week of relaxation, fun, booze, shopping, sun and sunsets not to mention an amazing wedding which I had the pleasure of taking photos of. It was also an opportunity to remember who Katie was before she got married and had kids, before the responsibilities of life in general and before the time when she had to put everyone else's fun before her own. I reconnected with friends I had not seen in years, I laughed so hard I nearly wet my pants on numerous occasions and I started drinking way too early on most days but I didn't care as I had no one to take care of except myself. The only problem was, it went way too quickly! Each night when we crashed into our beds (3 of us in one room was also fun) we stressed about how quickly the days were going and how we only had 5, 4, 3, 2 days to go. We wanted the holiday to go much longer but we also knew we couldn't run away from our responsibilities for ever. Our kids and partners needed us and my suitcases were both chockers so after a week of living it up it was time to say goodbye.
Arriving back into Brisbane last Sunday night I felt torn, I was happy to be home to see my family and my puppies but I was sad to get back to reality, work, routine, cold weather and not putting myself first anymore! Lets face it, how often do we do that when we are mothers and wives? Not enough really.
So as I sit here in my dressing gown, watching the rain pouring down I urge you to put yourself first whenever you can, go on a mini holiday with your friends, drink a little too early sometimes and try to laugh so much you nearly wet your pants as much as you can. You deserve it!
Have a great weekend
Katie xx
When I was first invited to go, my initial reaction was to say no, I just couldn't manage the cost of it and also the logistics of organising the kids with my husband working shift work, it all just seemed too hard but after talking to my mother in law who volunteered to come up and help with the kids and who told me I would never get this opportunity again I started putting the plans into place. I was also extremely lucky to have another friend offer to pay for the accommodation which was such a huge and amazingly generous gesture I just knew I had to go. So operation Hawaii began. 6 months of saving money to pay for the flight, 6 months of telling the kids we can't afford to buy stuff cos mummy needs to save for her holiday, 6 months of getting extremely excited but still trying to keep it on the down low so other people (husband) didn't get too shitty with me! Then of course the spanner got thrown into the works and boy was it a big spanner, father in law having cancer and needing treatment straight away! This certainly took the excitement away from the holiday and left us all reeling. How could I be excited about a holiday when my beautiful father in laws health was so up in the air. Thankfully after weeks of tests his diagnosis was not life threatening at this point at and his treatment plan was put in place. I felt relieved as I didn't want to go away and be having a great time when my family was at home facing such tough challenges. Life certainly knows how to turn you upside at short notice. I was so lucky my own parents put their 50th anniversary plans on hold and stepped in and came over to stay for a week! Bless them.
So on the 2nd of August I left on a plane by myself and boy was it all worth it! One whole week of relaxation, fun, booze, shopping, sun and sunsets not to mention an amazing wedding which I had the pleasure of taking photos of. It was also an opportunity to remember who Katie was before she got married and had kids, before the responsibilities of life in general and before the time when she had to put everyone else's fun before her own. I reconnected with friends I had not seen in years, I laughed so hard I nearly wet my pants on numerous occasions and I started drinking way too early on most days but I didn't care as I had no one to take care of except myself. The only problem was, it went way too quickly! Each night when we crashed into our beds (3 of us in one room was also fun) we stressed about how quickly the days were going and how we only had 5, 4, 3, 2 days to go. We wanted the holiday to go much longer but we also knew we couldn't run away from our responsibilities for ever. Our kids and partners needed us and my suitcases were both chockers so after a week of living it up it was time to say goodbye.
Arriving back into Brisbane last Sunday night I felt torn, I was happy to be home to see my family and my puppies but I was sad to get back to reality, work, routine, cold weather and not putting myself first anymore! Lets face it, how often do we do that when we are mothers and wives? Not enough really.
So as I sit here in my dressing gown, watching the rain pouring down I urge you to put yourself first whenever you can, go on a mini holiday with your friends, drink a little too early sometimes and try to laugh so much you nearly wet your pants as much as you can. You deserve it!
Have a great weekend
Katie xx
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| Sunset in Waikiki |
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| Surfs up in Waikiki |
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| Me and my Holiday Husband |
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| My beautiful friend Tanya |
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| Me, Scott, Louisa |
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| The bride and groom |
Friday, 23 May 2014
The weekend whinge
Hi everyone,
Ok so its been a little while since I've blogged and I can blame that on my photography addiction which seems to have taken over my life in the past few months. Not that that is a bad thing, it's definitely a good thing as far as I'm concerned as I have a new passion for life and feel like I have finally found the one thing that makes me happy besides my family and animals. You can generally find me driving around the Coast looking for new and exciting things to photograph and then sitting at my computer mucking around with my Facebook page and Instagram accounts and yes I say accounts because I have 3 on the go at the one time! Anyway I'm pretty happy doing this and am in the process of trying to set up a little business to start making money from my hobby so if you are keen to check out my work you can find it here: www.facebook.com/katiemuzphotography or on Instagram @katiemuz.
Ok so changing topics, today I'm here because I want to find out what happens with other people's families on the weekends. I am becoming a little bit frustrated with my kids and want to know if it is the same in other people's houses. The weekends go like this in our house:
Saturday mornings spent chauffeuring the kids to their sporting activities all over the Coast, then home for a bit of a relax and then normally my husband and I suggest going to the beach or for a drive somewhere to get out of the house but my kids are always pretty adamant that they are not interested in these activities. They either want to spend the whole day watching TV/Ipads or want to find someone to have a sleepover with and if this doesn't happen they spend the entire afternoon whinging and bitching about how bored they are even after we have suggested to go and do stuff! It really does get very frustrating because if we ever do manage to get them to the beach or somewhere else they have a great time and don't want to leave so it baffles me that they kick up such a stink when we suggest things to do but they refuse. I know that some readers will be saying: We don't even give our kids a choice, we just force them, but to me there is nothing worse than dragging 2 annoying kids to do something when they are not interested.
Plus I'm not sure about other kids but if my daughter who is 10 doesn't get to have a sleepover at someone's house or for someone to come to our house for a sleepover she gets in the foulest mood and it's quite unbearable. I mean, I'm happy for kids to have sleepovers but to expect one every weekend is just plain silly. I understand that kids need friends to play with but it gets to the stage where I'm sick of having other people's kids here and entertaining them on what should be my weekend too!
I really feel that I have failed in my parenting when it comes to teaching my kids how to entertain themselves and not have to have someone to play with 24/7.
The one other thing that I want tobitch blog about is the constant asking for junk food from my kids. My whole weekend is spent saying, No you can't have that, you just had chips, no you can't have chocolate you just had cake, no you can't have chips you just had chocolate, I mean for gods sake please choose a freaking healthy option for once in your life! But all I hear is this: I hate bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, pears, yogurt etc etc. I DON'T CARE!
Sheesh this parenting thing can be such a hard slog on a lot of occasions!
Anyway that is my whine session for the afternoon! I just really needed to get it off my chest so thanks for listening and I would really love to hear from other people how they get their kids motivated to do stuff on the weekends.
Katie xx
Love ya guts
Ok so its been a little while since I've blogged and I can blame that on my photography addiction which seems to have taken over my life in the past few months. Not that that is a bad thing, it's definitely a good thing as far as I'm concerned as I have a new passion for life and feel like I have finally found the one thing that makes me happy besides my family and animals. You can generally find me driving around the Coast looking for new and exciting things to photograph and then sitting at my computer mucking around with my Facebook page and Instagram accounts and yes I say accounts because I have 3 on the go at the one time! Anyway I'm pretty happy doing this and am in the process of trying to set up a little business to start making money from my hobby so if you are keen to check out my work you can find it here: www.facebook.com/katiemuzphotography or on Instagram @katiemuz.
Ok so changing topics, today I'm here because I want to find out what happens with other people's families on the weekends. I am becoming a little bit frustrated with my kids and want to know if it is the same in other people's houses. The weekends go like this in our house:
Saturday mornings spent chauffeuring the kids to their sporting activities all over the Coast, then home for a bit of a relax and then normally my husband and I suggest going to the beach or for a drive somewhere to get out of the house but my kids are always pretty adamant that they are not interested in these activities. They either want to spend the whole day watching TV/Ipads or want to find someone to have a sleepover with and if this doesn't happen they spend the entire afternoon whinging and bitching about how bored they are even after we have suggested to go and do stuff! It really does get very frustrating because if we ever do manage to get them to the beach or somewhere else they have a great time and don't want to leave so it baffles me that they kick up such a stink when we suggest things to do but they refuse. I know that some readers will be saying: We don't even give our kids a choice, we just force them, but to me there is nothing worse than dragging 2 annoying kids to do something when they are not interested.
Plus I'm not sure about other kids but if my daughter who is 10 doesn't get to have a sleepover at someone's house or for someone to come to our house for a sleepover she gets in the foulest mood and it's quite unbearable. I mean, I'm happy for kids to have sleepovers but to expect one every weekend is just plain silly. I understand that kids need friends to play with but it gets to the stage where I'm sick of having other people's kids here and entertaining them on what should be my weekend too!
I really feel that I have failed in my parenting when it comes to teaching my kids how to entertain themselves and not have to have someone to play with 24/7.
The one other thing that I want to
Sheesh this parenting thing can be such a hard slog on a lot of occasions!
Anyway that is my whine session for the afternoon! I just really needed to get it off my chest so thanks for listening and I would really love to hear from other people how they get their kids motivated to do stuff on the weekends.
Katie xx
Love ya guts
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