Finding Calm in a Busy, Modern Life

Finding Calm in A Busy, Modern Life.

When parenthood hits you are in a bubble of bliss. You have your new baby, life is a miracle full of love and all is good in the world.
And then, as it does, life starts to get busy. Babies grow and life becomes a bustle of rushing around.

I don’t know about your family life but my day to day can get pretty hectic!

Kids to get ready for school and kindy, lunch boxes to make, hair to do, uniforms to have ready, sibling fights to negotiate, then there is after school sports and activities, work schedules, housework, dinners to organise, meals to plan, shopping to do, appointments, events and then throw in some life events, accidents, unexpected hiccups and the odd illness or day care bug and of course the blog to look after and write and is it any wonder that life can get a little stressful? 
Stress as we know (and hear in the media) can be very harmful to our bodies.
Stress activates the body’s sympathetic nervous system and our inbuilt fight or flee response.
It is a very powerful design and does of course serve us well in times of emergency however activating this as often as we do in our stressful, busy modern lives can be very detrimental to our health.
In fact many experts now say we can eat as healthy as we like and exercise well but if we are not also making reducing stress an equal priority we can still get serious health issues.  

So as a busy mum when the new year clicked over to 2014 I decided my word for the year was going to be CALM…..
My mind, my body and my health had to start taking some priority if I was going to be healthy and happy and a great role model to my kids. I needed to bring some quiet, some peace, plenty of time outs and self nurturing and as much relaxation as possible into my day to day life. I needed more CALM.

So how do we get more calm into our busy lives?

Here are some of my TOP TIPS for blessing our lives with more beautiful calm.

• Get organised. Yes, it really does work. Have a calendar (I have two) plan out each day and major events/appointments/sporting activities/school dates/bill due dates/fee due dates/birthdays/banking reminders. Have it somewhere visible that you see all the time and use it as the great tool it is. If you’re a blogger you could even have one just for your blog and what you need to do/post and when.
• Have an organised space in the home for all the kids activities. I have a rack with containers for school (including bags), kindy, ballet, swimming, gymnastics etc. It makes life so much smoother to know everything for each activity is right in its spot when you need it and always has that organised home to go to. I find it also empowers the kids to look after their own stuff and also know where to put it each day.
• Bake it Sundays. This cuts out so much stress! Each Sunday I spend quite a few hours baking muffins, biscuits, quiches, sausage rolls or pies type things and then freeze them for the busy school/kindy week ahead. I can then take out what I need as needed for lunchboxes.
  I also try and make a few dinner options for “those night” things like a cannelloni, quiche, and lasagne, bolognaise sauce that I can freeze for any easy meal during the week.
• Mummy Time. Oh yeah, we soooo need it!! This can be as simple as an Epsom salt bath for 10 minutes, reading a book somewhere quiet, a walk on the beach, a gym session, yoga class, art class, dance class, a run around the block, catching a chai with girlfriends, making jewellery, painting, going to the cinema by yourself (and it’s not Disney), doing laps at the local pool, even cooking to music in an empty house – whatever makes you feel relaxed and full of JOY.
• De-Clutter – it’s amazing how much better you feel when you declutter! One of my favourite books, “Does this clutter make my but look big” helped changed my life and inspired me to de clutter my life! Yes, I am still not perfect and yes I have ornaments and things and occasionally some clutter creeps in here and there but every so often we have a family culling and it always feel wonderful!
• Insure what matters in your life.
  This can take a MASSIVE chunk of worry off your shoulders.
  Imagine rushing about your morning routine, kids in the car ready to go to where they need to go and you head down the road and the unimaginable happens someone goes right through that stop sign and hits you. You and your kids are all ok but your car, is a write off. What would you do? Who would you call? How when you still get the kids to where they needed to go, not just today but every day? You never realise how much you rely on your car for everything until you can’t.
  Trust me, I have had this exact thing happen and you guessed it, we were not insured and the other driver at fault’s insurance company only paid out the lowest market value they could find on the internet for our car. Not taking into consideration work or improvements (it was a 4 wd with accessories) and they took forever and a day too.
  We have more than enough on our plates already so take some stress away from the occasion, take out comprehensive car insurance and make sure what you do have is actually the right kind of cover and really will give you full peace of mind.
• Have regular health and dental check ups. Yes, it might seem boring but when they find and treat things early on – it works out so much better (and cheaper) in the long run!
  This year I got both my kids well known to our local dentist, they have had check ups and cleans and talks with him about the importance of brushing, plus he gave them barbie toothbrushes which as you can imagine went down rather well!
• Get on top of that paperwork. Did I hear you groan? Or maybe you are one of those super ocd organised people that I wish I was!! Yes, it can be heavy going but really a draw, cupboard overflowing with folders or a filing cupboard you just thing eergh about is not aiding to your new zeness! If you can afford to (and need to) hire a bookkeeper! Or make a day once a month to go through it all and keep it organised and filed and shred what you don’t need and if its not glossy – turn into super urber useful garden compost J
• Be Prepared. Some might laugh that know me well but yes, I like to be prepared! I have an extensive first aid kit in the car, one for the pram and one at home. In my boot I will have an umbrella, torch, mini tool kit, rope, 2 towels, change of clothes for both kids (including undies), spare thongs for everyone, money for a phone call, picnic blanket, bottles of water, non-perishable emergency snacks for the kids, wipes, sanitiser, even a toilet roll! Just In Case. Haha
  Yes, I guess it is a little dorky maybe even OCD of me ( I am a little bit) but you would not believe how many times over the years it has come in handy! And not just for me, sometimes for other people I have helped!
• Teach Your Kids Your Phone Number & Address. Easy to overlook put this is a really simple thing that could be very important if they ever got lost.
• Tee up Emergency Parent Pick Up Friends. Ever had that day when something happened and you couldn’t get to the school in time to collect your kids? Or needed to drop them off too early?
  A really great idea is to form a small network with some parents you trust that live near you where you can swap each other’s details and organise to be a drop off/pick up back up option when something important comes up. This really will REALLY reduce stress in your life. There is such relief in knowing if you get stuck, can’t get away from work, your car breaks down, an appointment runs over or is too early that you have someone you can call who can help!

Of course there are many more things you can do to reduce stress in day to day life, these are just a few that I have found really help me. Would love you to leave any tips you too have below as well for everyone!

Live well. Eat Beautiful. Stay Calm. Be Happy.

Bek XXX

This post is sponsored by Youi

Inflammation. Part one - inflammation & me.

Inflammation it seems is at the very root of many illness's and diseases, yet, it is not a topic often talked about enough. We all understand an injury and resulting inflammation during the healing process but what about other types of inflammation and how they effect the body?

I am really excited to be bringing you a series of posts on the very subject including guest articles by leading experts on inflammation, what it is, what it does, how we can deal with it and reduce it in the body.

This first post, I thought I would tell you a bit about why I am interested in inflammation.

Inflammation and me.
A bit over 2 years ago my life spun on its axis.

Before inflammation and AS with baby Violet, my youngest

With baby Violet healthy and happy 2011, lost all 26 kilos of baby weight feeling good.

Just after all the stress hit and starting to gain weight also, I though I was handling it, enjoying my work very much but my body was just beginning to unravel...

Many of you might already know that health, keeping fit, growing food, beautiful plant based wholefoods and living a vibrant life is so important to me and my personal journey so you imagine how upsetting it was to have been so in charge of my health and my body and then have it all fall apart. I gave up smoking 10 years ago and overcame fallopian cysts, I then had a baby - got huge and suffered post natal depression and then empowered myself and lost 30 kilos and kept it off for 5 years, I had a second baby and lost 26 kilos after her and felt just great and then...

My marriage of 12 years and 2 kids broke up after a very turbulent 12 months I had to say enough, for my kids. My grandad died, then I saw my dad and step mother for the first time in 18 years, you can imagine the emotions that stirred up, I even felt like a 13 year old girl again in so many ways...
Then I had an incident with someone I was working with, a good friend who I trusted and found myself having to fight for my integrity and name, for my rights, there was many tears and I had to take a lot of crap and it was ongoing for many months so the stress was indeed extreme and I was still dealing with a messy break up at the time too. My daughter no doubt channelling my off energy and reacting to her parents split began to be bullied at school as well, so suffice to say, it was a very dark time indeed for my little family and when I caught a hand, foot and mouth virus within weeks my whole body started coming crashing down.
I started getting hives for the first time ever in my life, for which a doctor prescribed prednisone which helped but caused me to gain 25 kilos and other side effects, my body was so inflamed my white blood cell count was through the roof and my blood pressure would have episodes of flying high. I then also hurt my neck and overnight found my vision filled with floaters and things, my life became one of headaches, migraines, neck pain, back pain, hip pain, chest pain tingling sensations, I developed sinusitis for the first time ever in my life, my blood tests were all over the place so doctors kept doing more and more tests, trying to figure out what the heck was going on....

At my absolute lowest point of my body health crash, pictured here with gorgeous friends. Yes, I am bravely sharing with you all! I just felt so awful in my own body, stress had taken over everything and my inflammation was extreme I found it so hard to enjoy life and even though I was drinking juices and eating really clean, wholefoods no alcohol, coffee, chocolate, sugar, gluten etc everyday felt like struggle. 

We still are really on a journey, but now we (doctors, specialists and I) know my body is most likely suffering from Ankylosing Spondilitis or AS as it is more easily termed (just awaiting more tests). AS is "a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton, with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures. AS is a member of the group of the spondyloarthropathies, with a strong genetic predisposition. It mainly affects joints in the spine and the sacroiliac joint in the pelvis. In severe cases, it can eventually cause complete fusion and rigidity of the spine" Wikipedia
It was described to me as a reactive form of arthritis which affects the spine, hips, neck, various tissues and joints (and all sorts of other joyful things) is an autoimmune disease, and often triggered by a viral infection when you have the gene, which I do and which is why until my body came crashing down with stress and HF&M I had only ever had mild symptoms my whole life.
It makes me think too of the possibly that had I not undergone so much stress all in one time OR been able to handle it better I might not have found myself, health wise, where I did and where I am now.
But I am shifting my focus onto wellness!

Isn't it interesting how STRESS can cause inflammation and weaken the body to a point that illness and disease sets in?
It reminds me of a story I read recently in the news about an elderly Sicilian man. He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in his 40's. So he decided to return home to the little village where he grew up to die. Every day he would play cards, laugh and drink wine with his friends, he even planted fruits and vegetables that he knew he would no be alive long enough to eat and harvest.
50 years later he returned to Australia to ask the doctors why he was still alive, only to find they were all dead. He was quoted as saying friends, laughter and wine were the secrets to his recovery.

As a horticulturalist stress causing illness is actually something I should have already known, I see it all the time in the plant kingdom.
A stressed plant is always vulnerable to pests and diseases. Its like a beacon has been lit and they seem to get hit with so much all at once, but take away their stress, calm them down with what they need and a less harsh environment, treatments and love and a good percentage of the time you cam save them and many will even fully recover or mostly recover but maybe even stronger with a twist or visible reminder of what they have been through.

Looking into inflammation and the bodies ability to heal itself is becoming another element of my passions and I want to do everything I can to help others whose lives have also been effected too and share the knowledge, support, wisdom and above all hope I find with you all.
This is why I am SO excited to be doing a series of blog posts on inflammation with experts and information.

I now know, that no matter how well you eat and exercise, how fit you are, how many green juices and salads you eat STRESS causes INFLAMMATION that will reap havoc on the body and our health and happiness.

On my healing journey back to me, having an absolute ball cooking live at Sunshine Coast Show

With gorgeous friends again 10 kilos down and feeling better from reducing inflammation

Reducing stress and inflammation for a healthy, happy life - lets do this!!

Sign up to my blog >>>>>
On the right hand side you'll find the box so you can join with me in this series on inflammation and reducing stress.

Eat Beautiful. Live Well. Be Active. Stay Calm.

Love Bek XXX

Nature Day - Getting Unplugged

One of the highlights of every week for me is our
Nature Day
Every weekend the girls and I make a point of escaping into nature, and recharging. This could be a walk in a forest, swimming in a waterfall, a river or the ocean. Exploring a national park, a mountain, a rock formation, a cave or a botanical gardens. Somewhere in nature.

It is an unplugged outing, without interruption of computers and mobile phones.

We just blissfully enjoy being together, 3 generations of girls, Grandma, mum and the two girls and somewhere where nature is your focus and you feel free to just explore, laugh and be.

 

Life gets so busy, and so noisy.
And kids do have so many routines and so many places they go they have to be still or quiet or walk slowly next to mum and dad. It is so releasing for them to get out and feel the earth beneath their feet, run around, explore, learn new things about the natural world and follow their imagination.
It is so refreshing for all of us to step out into some natural wonder.
To stop and notice the great trees around where you live. The wild places that have still been left to just be, the flowers in the gardens you might drive past all the time, the creatures and wildlife that bring these special places to life.

Our families Nature Day is a joy each and every week.
Rebecca XX

Motherhood Pressure Turned Into BLISS

Becoming a mother is many amazing things. It is the purest and deepest love you never imagined was possible. It is breathtaking joy. It is moments of treasured complete bliss marveling at this new, perfect person that loves you unconditionally and you them.

For some mum's In amongst the bubble of loving haze can creep in unwanted emotions. Anxiety, worry, fear, frustration even depression.
Sometimes when you become a mother too something almost competitive happens to you, an invisible pressure, an instinct to want to be a super mum, or to feel like you have to be a super mum, to always put on a pretence that everything is always perfect and ok because it can seem from the outside that all the others mothers you know are doing it all so perfectly, so effortlessly.

Sometimes a feeling of being inadequate can creep in, you compare yourself and your baby and children unfairly , maybe even against celebrities and often it all comes from us and our own unreasonable preconceptions anyway.
You can feel that no matter how much effort you seem to be putting in it’s just so hard to keep up with the other mothers! What am I doing wrong?
There can be this silent feeling that you have to do it all and do it all super well at all times. That you can’t have a bad day. Your child can’t be covered in mud when you arrive at the catch up, you can’t be at school drop off looking like a right mess, your children can't all catch head lice or a cold. You can't just relax even when your in the supermarket with a poo filled nappy baby or a power play creaming toddler. You should take to breastfeeding effortlessly of course. Your baby should sleep through...it can go and on.

You can create a world of pressure around yourself that saps all the joy out of the experience.

You can even feel too guilty and pressured to even just have a relaxing bliss day every so often, basking in the glow of motherhood and just being with your baby.

You can start to feel really pressured, that you should always be doing something and that your house should be spotless at all times, your baby growing at the top of the charts, hitting all the milestones early and of course sleeping all night. You should have all the latest baby must haves and you should even be juggling it all with a high flying career or making lots of money from home, while also making elaborate meals and of course looking fantastic and being back into pre-baby jeans in around 3 weeks and never skipping a beat with an ever chirpy greeting to everyone you meet.

Is it any wonder we as mothers can burn out? Get post natal depression? Get stressed? Become ill? Forget sometimes to just take a moment to just be? Forget what makes us, as an individual shine?

If you find yourself ever feeling like this, step back. Breathe. Centre yourself.

Just be the you as you are as a mother. An honest version of you. DO spend whole days just enjoying your baby, your kids, your husband, your own company. The time really does go so quickly and each moment is a precious bubble of time. Go with the flow more. Get over the things that happen beyond your control, let your children play in the dirt and climb a tree.
Have a career or be a stay at home mum-whichever YOU truly want, both are perfect choices when made from the heart.
Do things each day that make you happy, you deserve to feel happy. Cherish yourself. Have hobbies that thrill you and make you smile, ask for help when you need it-whenever you need it, follow your natural instincts with your baby, have friends over even when the house is a mess, follow a dream, enjoy stillness as well as delightful chaos, be honest with everyone who cares about you, be passionately happy, be exactly what YOU want to be.

Most of all as a mum be honest and supportive of other mums, respect each other’s choices and journeys.

Never be afraid to admit openly if you have had a horrible sleepless night, when you really need a break to your partner (before reaching a breaking point), say when you want a hand or even just a non judgemental ear to listen over a cup of coffee.
Do ask for advice when YOU want it or to talk about how you are feeling with those who support you.

Create, find or join a supportive group of mums and do swap ideas and tips with each other, laugh together, cry together, eat meals together it is amazing what we can learn from each other and the benefits this interaction really does have.

We all have our strengths and skills and sharing them with each other helps us all to grow.
Open up to the mothers around you and lest all support each other in this journey that is motherhood and above all else be the beautiful, talented, unique person that is you!
The ONLY you!
And after all a true SUPER MUM is every mum who parents with her heart!

Rebecca xxx

Small Steps to Big Changes

When we want to make changes in our lives.

When we want to get healthy, lose weight or achieve goals it can all to often seem too big a task.
It can be daunting and overwhelming.

Just too hard to start...

BUT..If we approach with small positive steps, one little step at a time we CAN make changes, we can make difference, we can get closer and closer to our goal.
We really can.

With self belief, a positive attitude ( at least most of the time ) and some thinking outside of the square sometimes, we really can take small steps towards bigger changes.

How much of our modern busy lives are now spent inside? Inside buildings, inside houses, inside cars, bus's and shops?

Life just seems to be so fast these days, with always so much to do.
It seems that having some time to relax, take care of our health and active or creative time together as a family is so hard to find. Even finding time to 'just be' and have some personal time out can feel nearly impossible.

BUT...One of the best things we can all do ( and should do ) is make time.

Make it a high priority to find that time each day.
Time to get outside!
Peel our tired, worn out selves away from the TV, computer, sofa and car. Away from the never ending chores and things to be done for a little while and go out of doors..

We need to bring some freshness to our lives.

Get out in that rejuvenating fresh air, smell some garden flowers, walk through a beautiful park, watch a sunset, cook a meal with your children from fresh ingredients picked together from the garden or sourced at a farmers market, plant a garden as a family or through a group, school, church or other organisation and bring some fresh energy into our life.

Be fresh, live fresh, breathe fresh and eat fresh.

It can be so easy to think "I am so busy with everything already-how could I possibly find time to go for a walk? Or start growing some fruit and veggies at home? Or cook a healthy meal Or make that outdoor family time each day??"

But the benefits of bringing this freshness to your life are such an inspiring experience that you can and do find that time...sometimes it may mean saying no to some extra workload, favours or other things you find it hard to say no to, sometimes it might mean creating an organised daily plan or cutting back on things that take up too much of your time or even are just time wasting, sometimes it might mean making a daily 'appointment' with yourself or as a family and making sure its kept!, sometimes it might be structuring family chores so everyone helps more or de cluttering some things in your life like your home to make tasks easier. It could be assessing your priorities and working out what is most important and what really makes you and your family happy. After all being healthy and less stressed brings such a vibrant energy to your life that everyone benefits..

Even a small change makes a huge difference-THINK
Try one new healthy recipe to start with...
Plant and grow one pot plant of something edible to get started...
Go for a short walk on your own as your refreshing 'time out' or as a family as a great healthy way of bonding every other day to get started..
Take up a small creative hobby that really helps you unwind and express your artistic side..

I have learnt myself that once you start bringing some freshness into your life it is just so wonderful and is so inspiring that you never look back.

For me starting a daily walk changed the way I saw exercise and how much moving more made me feel so much more alive and full of energy..
For me starting an edible garden and sourcing and using fresh herbs and ingredients changed the way I ate and saw the food I was putting in to my body and on my families dinner plates..

For me bringing some freshness to my life changed my life and opened my eyes to a whole new and exciting way of living..

Small steps lead to other small steps which all lead to new 'good' habits.

Always look for your self belief and for inspiration....and remind yourself that every step towards a healthier lifetsyle is a step well worth taking.

Rebecca xx