Part of the Blogging Community...

I love writing posts for my own blog here at SquiggleMum, but the blogosphere is a community and I also contribute elsewhere as much as I am able.  Community is about giving and not just getting.  Community is about belonging, supporting, encouraging, and coming along side.  (The pics above are of me meeting up with many members of the online community.  Still so many I’d love to meet, especially over there...

Mum’s Stuff...

I’m not precious about stuff.  Stuff gets old, stuff gets broken, stuff gets lost.  It’s all just stuff.  I’m usually quick to say, “Never mind.  No big deal…” to the kids when accidents happen.  Usually.  Not this time.  I could have cried. There are very few things in our home which are solely mine, and my laptop is one of them.  It got a special mention in my 100th post,...

Hi-Tech Play School...

If you visit my blog regularly, follow my tweets or read my facebook updates you’ll know I’m a Play School fan.  A big one.  Partly because after more than 40 years on Australian television screens it remains the #1 program in the hearts of Aussie mum and kids – and partly because I secretly wonder if I’ve missed my calling in life by not being a presenter. Yesterday the show opened with regular...

Seriously Sleep Deprived (Parenting Aus)...

A couple of weeks ago the results of a ten year Australian study were released, refuting once and for all the notion of Mummy Brain.  But I say the phrase will stick around, because most of us know that our forgetful and even irrational behaviour following the birth of a baby has nothing to do with brain changes and everything to do with sleep deprivation. Duh. Saying you have “mummy-brain” is coded language...

Teeny-Agers (Parenting Aus)...

I’m having a bit of a rant over at Parenting Australia this week regarding fashion for young girls.  I didn’t mean to get up on my soap box, but I feel so strongly about some of the clothes that we are “supposed” to be dressing our kids in and the messages we are giving them. When did we decide to skip childhood and fast track our babes from tots to teens? This week’s junk mail catalogues are...

Marriage First...

I often hear parents say that “the kids come first” and while this sentiment is lovely in a way, I’m not sure that the philosophy is actually right.  Of course there are many times as mums when we have to put aside our own desires to attend to our kids.  There’s a lot of sacrificial love involved in becoming a parent!  But I don’t think the kids should always come first.  I think the...

Friendships Off and On...

I’ve been thinking a lot about friends lately.  It’s been a rough start to 2010 for my family, but every time I’ve thought I’m at my limit, a friend has pulled me through.  I have a great community of women around me, both online and off. Online I have some close friends who I am yet to meet in real life!  We have never shared a cuppa, or shopped together, and our kids have never had a playdate...

Overdue Times Two (Parenting Aus)...

It’s funny.  I’ve had two kids but I have no idea what it’s like to go into labour!  Not naturally anyway.  With both pregnancies I had to be induced at 41 weeks.  You can read the story of my two overdue arrivals at Parenting Australia this week.  Here’s a teaser… Most of us spend a considerable amount of time during pregnancy thinking about labour. First we dream about it, then we...

Handbag Of Tricks...

If you have to take your children out to a place where they need to sit still and be quiet, a bag of tricks is a prerequisite!  I’ve often been amazed at the small items mums have tucked into the pockets of their handbags and nappy bags to entertain their littlies.  I have seen some mums with mini crayon packets and notebooks, and others with a stash of small cars.  One creative mum I know has a transparent scarf...

In-Between Mums (Parenting Aus)...

What kind of mum are you?  A SAHM?  A WAHM?  A Working Mum?  Or like me, are you an in-between mum, falling into a grey space between those titles…?  I’m sharing my thoughts on the topic over at Parenting Australia today.  Here’s a snippet: I loved teaching, but resigning was the right thing for me to do when my daughter was born in 2006 as I knew I wanted to be at home with her full time.  Over...