Announcement!!

Good Morning!
I would like to let you all know that my Love Life in 31 days is being postponed!

I sincerely apologize for this I would NEVER do this if it wasn't in your best interest!

I have had AWESOME Businesses come on board and donating the best prizes and giveaways!
So in order for the businesses to promote it their end I have given them time to get organized.
Trust me when I say this is going to be GREAT FOR YOU we have spa treatments, hair makeovers, jewelery and much more! All to GIVEAWAY.

Stay tuned because I will continue to bring you delightful info until the challenge!

Love & Laughter

Bra Queen xx

Live Your Life, Love Your Life

For the first time in a long time I have clarity and do you know what? It feels Gooood!

I am dedicated to helping you feel GREAT about yourself!
Do you feel like you are just floating through life? I did, until I gave myself permission to be.
I want to teach you how to grab your life by the reins and live your life, love your life. It starts with finding yourself, choosing to be the real YOU.
Let’s start with the small things. That will give you the confidence you will need to deal with the big stuff.

Let's go on this journey together.

Man! Some people just DON'T get it!

Do you have a body baby?
I have always called Maddison my body baby. She has been attached to me since I took her home from the hospital at 6 weeks until then it was just patting and cuddles were few and far between.
Everyone said “She’ll grow out of it” but alias 3 years later and not so much!
Pretty much like clock every 10 minutes she will come up to me and say “MUMMY, I want cuddles”
I often wonder if she craves more “cuddles” because of her lack of them in the beginning.
What do you think?
I think now she is much more aware that something isn’t quite right because she is craving even more affection (if that is possible) She knows that she is going in for her surgery and Tom is going to fix it for her, but I don’t know!

As hard as it is to try and explain and prepare her for it and watch her frightened eyes as she goes under, I know that every time I go in I come out stronger and right now I feel like I need that strength for the next chapter.

For each time we go in we walk out stronger, more inspired, more compassionate and a more united family.

Her surgery was booked in for 2 weeks ago then got delayed due to a more critical baby. Some people’s thought process was “It can’t be too serious if they are delaying it” to you I say this-
I feel sorry for you as clearly you are from another planet. Clearly you weren’t there in the beginning; you didn’t see what I saw.
Do you grasp the reality of what life is about I wonder? You aren’t there every time she chokes, stops breathing and vomits everywhere or every time she goes blue because no air is going to her lungs. It’s real, it’s very real. Whether you choose to believe it or not.

Maybe it isn’t “as serious” but I know that because I see and I breathe and I feel for every sick child and their parents because I know what they have been through and what we continue to go through because whether it is or isn’t as serious as the next child we move on but we don’t forget and we never really get over what happen.

BUT make no mistake I am so incredibly grateful to live and to tell my story.

Prescription Drugs Have Become the New Black!

Are we now a nation of quick fixes? With prescription drugs being handed out like there is no tomorrow. God forbid if anyone actually deals with their problems! That is far too hard when you can just duck down to your local GP and they can give you a pill for your problems!
According to new figures, Doctors in Australia are handing out dangerous amounts of prescription medication.

1 in 10 GP visits are people seeking help for a mental health problem and 1 in 2 Australians seeking help each year.

Doctors prescribed 12.3 million treatments with antidepressants in 2005-06, compared with 9.8 million prescriptions in 2000-01.

Now Xanax is used to treat anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and anxiety caused by depression has risen by a whopping 40% in the last 10 years.

That is not even taking into account the 60,000 times Valium has been prescribed in 1 YEAR in NSW alone! Or
Zoloft (an antidepressant) has been issued more than 230,000 times in the past 12 months in Australia.

Who do you think we are really helping, the one in two Australians who are genuinely seeking help or Doctors and the Pharmaceutical companies?

Seriously people CAN NOT be on this medication forever. It is a quick fix, a smoke screen for the real issues. We HAVE to start being accountable and start teaching society how to deal with depression and anxiety.

More talking and less pill popping! We need to work through our issues. So with every prescription of Zoloft, Xanax or Valium there needs to be a plan to get you back on track.

Once you know the secrets and discover how you can tackle your problems you will quickly become a happier you.

Here are some quick ways you can deal with Anxiety:

Slow your breathing down- You need to stop and breathe. Sounds easy? It is and it works.

Be honest yourself- You have to ask yourself what are you feeling and what bought it on? Sometimes you can get upset by something but it’s just the icing on the cake it’s not the real problem.

Think good things- Easier said then done. With every thought or anything that happens in life you can choose how you view. This takes practice and work but stick with it you will feel much better.


Your life will not change if YOU don’t change!

Depression is nothing to be ashamed of and once you tell someone you’ll be surprised with how many people feel or have felt the same way.
Are you ready to feel better? Dig deep there are some serious skeletons in that closest and it ALL needs to come out.

Every feeling you have relates back from somewhere, sometime. What do you do?

•Write it down; keep a diary of your thoughts, your feelings and whatever pops in your head.
•Talk to someone- A friend, a family member or if you what someone who will not judge you talk a Counselor or now you can see a Personal Development Mentor who is a proactive source to help you.

Now with the likes of the web you can get help at the touch of a button. Read other people’s stories such as the myself and UrbanSmiler.wordpress.com we openly share stories and our life experiences with you reassuring us that we are not alone.
Beyond Blue do great work and have all the information you need to get you back on track.

My TOF Baby Starts Solids

It's not the consistency it's the content!

What is usually a happy time for a parent for us well we are shit scared!
So many things are going through our mind. OK are my CPR skills up to scratch, OK don't panic you'll scare her even more.

For us the puree wasn't too much of a problem although it did take her a long time to get the idea of eating, like a month. Then at 7 months we tried mashed food Hmmm not so easy for her. That's when food started to get stuck, choking the red face you know how it is.
But we let her guide us as to when try something new until we eventually got to grains of rice, peas and corn. We were still pureeing meat mainly mince with gravy was all she could tolerate. She stayed there for ages until she was 18 months or so.

Amanda her paediatrician was a god send because you know when you take them to the Health Care Nurse and they ask about solids and where they are at. They get worried when you tell them that they can only eat mash! Amanda told me this "It's not the consistency it's the content don't worry!"
So I relaxed with it because that gave me peace of mind. But you know what? It doesn't matter, who cares as long as your child is well nourished then who gives a flying rats as too what texture it is.

THEN because I relax well! She relaxed too and she started to eat chunkier food like mince with gravy, some pasta's, pieces of bacon and sandwiches! She was about 18 months old before she had a sandwich. WOW it was great.

Still now Maddison is nearly 3 she can't eat most meats (unless chopped super fine) we have a sauce with everything. Most fruits she can't eat even though people say but it's soft! I feel like smacking them across the head! Or when they try to sneak and give them some bread custardy thing and they think it's just hilarious but really you would love to give them a treat like that but the fact of the matter is you're not doing it "because they only eat healthy foods" you're doing it because it will get stuck and they will choke and it's as simple as that!

My daughter is 3 and she has never had a lolly! Even her GP went to give her a jelly bean after I just finished telling him that she is a TOF Baby and blah blah blah.

Then on the flip side you have my poor old Mum who freaks out if she coughs and I say "Mum relax she's OK don't freak out then she will freak out"
But at least she is more then aware and I love that.
It's a fine line you know you don't want to treat them any different or give them any special treatment but at the some time we are accountable and responsible for them so we have to be cautious.

So looking back my advice is:
* Trust yourself and let them guide you
* Relax with it and don't worry about the consistency as long as the content is good.
* Make sure they are progressing if you haven't read My TOF Baby Strictures please read it's a must.
* When they do choke because they will, as hard as it is STAY CALM and just encourage them to bring it back up. Make sure their food swimming in a sauce. When they get older you can encourage them to have a drink to try to push it down instead of throwing up all the time. Now Maddie says "Towel Mummy towel" that means she needs to throw up! Isn't she graceful!

But at the end of the day it isn't anymore scary then what we have already gone through.

Maddison goes in on Wednesday for another dilation so I'll let you know how she goes.

Are you a Supermum?

Supermum’s come in all shapes and sizes and what makes each mum a Supermum is different.

Sometimes this gift is a good thing and sometimes it drives me CRAZY!

I was doing a grocery shop today with my Maddison and Milly. Maddie in the trolley and Milly in the Baby Bjorn, I’m shopping away and I went to bend down and pick up a case of milk (of course they were right down the bottom) a lady walks up and says “Do you need a hand?” And I said “That would be great, Thank you!” she was a lady in her late 50’s and she put it in my trolley and she said “You know you’re not a Supermum and you shouldn’t try to be. You look after yourself” My usual emotional self (which I’ve come to get use to and I’m ok with it!) I just felt like hugging her!

Then I thought: Why do we do it? It’s crazy! Every week I lift 12 litres of milk along with everything else in my trolley with Milly who is 9kg in the Baby Bjorn. Hello…

Why? Time management! I have excellent time management I HAVE too. I choose to have a business, blog, 2 kids under 3, build a house and do whatever else I need too. It is crucial I have excellent time management. I have to calculate every minute I have sleeps, solids, bottles, business and blog to fit everything around everyday. (not to mention the 5000 loads of washing)

That makes you a Supermum!

My Mum is a Supermum she had all of the housework done by 9am! House was always spotless she was always on top of her game and she had 5 kids and she worked. Maybe it’s her fault! She lifted the bar to high. Now I have these crazy exceptions of myself and the only time I sit down during the day is to work.
But you know, I love that she made me make my bed because now I hate an unmade bed. I can’t think straight if the house is untidy or unorganised. Why? We are creatures of habit it’s what I am used too. My mum made us drink water growing up, now I drink oodles, I can’t not. Little things you don’t realise that shape us into the Supermum's we are today.

So Mum, I love what you have moulded me this way otherwise I wouldn’t get anything done! I’d be fluffing about all day long achieving nothing. Then I really would be crazy!

Chris said last night why don’t you just do the shopping on Friday (my child free WORK day) I said I NEED that day to work. I have one day in the week that I can sit down and work from morning to night I need it and it is a very productive day.

I choose to organise my week around my Fridays so they are free to work, work, work.

What crazy things happen in your house?

What Makes You Smart?

If you are “smart” you believe “smart” has more then one facet.
Are you smart?

• If you are a spiritual person you will believe you have a core.
• If you are a scientific person you will believe you have a chemical balance.
• If you are a builder you will believe you are structurally sound.
• If you are into computers you will believe in your hard drive.

No matter whom you are or what you believe in. Everyone has a core that balances you and makes you feel right.
If you are lucky you know what you believe in and you get to do it everyday and this will balance you. Hopefully it is your job and excelling in your field with passion, love & laughter, this is what makes you smart.

Then sometimes life throws you a curve ball and brings you off balance.
You know when things happen and with in an instant they can take you back to a time like it was yesterday. I had one of those moments this week and unfortunately it wasn’t a good moment. Which lead me to this……?

If you’re off centre, you don’t have sound scaffolding or you are missing your hard drive.
You can’t function to your full potential. It is like wearing an uncomfortable or ill fitted bra. It will kind of do the job maybe but not well, and in the long run not at all.

So think of a bra as setting the foundation, if you get that right the rest will just fall into place. Improve posture, it is very slimming, very comfortable and it will make your clothes look nicer and give you confidence.

Like life if you can get your foundation, core, chemical balance (whatever) if you get that right the rest will just work. So when life gives you a curve ball you can quickly tweak it and you’ll be back on track.

Ready?