hello! Are you well? We are! We are at our beach house enjoying long lovely walks along the beach and through the bush. We are enjoying the peacefulness of our quiet little enclave by the ocean where all we do each day is walk, play, eat simple food, read and sew a little.
We have built sandcastles, watched giant ships come in, found treasure and eaten ice cream.

I just wanted to stop in quickly and write about a few of the things I want for the coming year.

2009 has been an amazing year for our family with many more highs than lows - AND I think it deserves a post of it's own when I get back to a real computer.

For the coming year:

- to continue learning to be more present and live more simply.
- to live an even more handmade lifestyle
- to eat high quality locally produced and purchased foods.
- to learn how to make my own bread and to do so each week.
- to fall into a daily rhythm of life that encourages learning for Harris.
- to continue to evolve my blog
- to learn a new skill each month.
- to continue living the natural parenting lifestyle.

I think that should keep us busy !

What Are your plans for thecoming year? I'd love to hear about them...

I think those

Off to the Beach we go!

We are off to the beach for a few days of R & R before I start back at work....see you when we get back!

Our Christmas day..

and we're not done yet.....

My LIttle Reindeer

Have a happy and Safe Christmas Everyone!!!

I have sewed and sewed and sewed this week and I still have more to do. The christmas present making I undertook was more complex than I anticipated - but they are done and I can't wait to share my creations with you all. It will have to wait until tomorrow however as the intended recipient pokes her nose in here occasionally!

I am so looking forward to our first christmas as a family of 3! 

The little Action man doesn't really know whats going on and why on earth there is a tree inside our house!

I am going to go and charge up the camera batteries so I can capture all of the fun for him!

Hope Santa is nice to you all xo! 

Trust

If I was to ever get a tattoo - which is unlikely because I am not really a fan of self inflicted pain. This is exactly what I would get.

A constant daily reminder to simply trust myself, trust in my ability to achieve, to parent, to cope, and to live the aw I hope to.

Simply to trust in my knowledge and especiall in my intuition.

Everything I need to achieve what I want in life - be it being a great wife, friend, mother, daughter, employee, weight loss etc - it is all within myself.

I just need to trust myself.  I may get a bracelet with those letters on it. Just as  a reminder.

My Child is the best - No Really.

I am VERY conscious of the comparisons that go on between children and I strive (oh how I strive) to remind myself daily that my child is my child and different from every other child in his strengths and weaknesses.

This is one of the things that I feel most strongly about and I believe that it is SO important for him to grow up knowing that he does not need to compare himself to anyone else in any way.

Something I have said from the beginning is that I want Action man to have the greatest amount of self confidence and belief in himself andhis abilities. I want him to feel supported to go out and get whatever it is in life he may want and to dream big in the process. I wan "No Limits" to be our family motto.

This great article was published in the Opinion Pages of the Sydney Morning Herald Yesterday. It really hits the mark about how we should think of our kids.

Parent trap: disappointment comes with the territory

December 19, 2009 Adele Horin

'Tis the season to … rank the kids. The Higher School Certificate marks are out and the high achievers' lists are published. The university entrance scores are known, determining with decimal-point precision a child's future direction, at least in the short term. Whether 'tis the season to be jolly depends in some households on how the kids have rated: better or worse than expected, better or worse than their peers, their cousins, their father's boss's daughter?

In a country that elevates teenage sporting stars to hero status, it is good to see the brainiacs on the front page, and whole pages of fine print devoted to academic high flyers.

But when the evanescent moment has passed, let's get some perspective on how we rank our kids. A lot of parents will be feeling disappointed with their child's results. Disappointment comes with the parenting territory. Parents may be crazy about their kids. But often they are their child's worst critics.

They notice the weaknesses in their children and overlook the strengths. They worry about poor grades and overlook kind hearts. When it comes to ranking the kids, our set of criteria is too narrow.

It's the guilty secret of parents that they cannot help but compare and contrast their children with the others, and all too often find their own wanting.

If their children are sporty, parents worry they don't study enough; if their children are academic, parents worry they don't play sport. If the children are gregarious, parents wish they'd read more; if they always have their head in a book, parents want them to be more sociable. Just about every parent worries their child spends too much time in front of a computer screen enjoying themselves when they should be studying/sleeping/exercising.

There is always a new opportunity to worry that a child is lagging in some department and in need of improvement. Even children with talent are compared to the protege, and can end up feeling a failure.

It's a perilous journey parents take between neglect and encouragement. Be lackadaisical about study, be of the school that maintains the system puts children under too much pressure and the HSC is over-rated, and children will be hampered, possibly for life, by a poor work ethic and an embarrassing HSC mark. Be a nag and parents can forget to enjoy their children for who they are.

Most new parents with tiny babies will tell you they just want their children to be happy. But before long, a worm of desire wiggles into parents' hearts - for the child to be the greatest, the best, the first, to shine for others as he or she shines for them. Sensible parents know it is pathetic to bask in the reflected glories of the child but they accept the congratulations, anyway.

Competitive parenting starts in the mothers' group when it is impossible not to notice which infant sits up first, walks first, talks first. Later parents notice who reads and writes first. How well I remember my nights at a particular house when I was part of a babysitting co-op. Surrounded by mind-expanding puzzles, clever board games, and tomes on the Ancient Greeks, the children expounded in the sweetest way on everything from the wonders of the milky way to the evolution of a post-communist society. I exaggerate a little, but I'm sure the eight-year-old was reading Anna Karenina when mine was working his way through the Goosebumps series. I always left feeling in awe and inadequate.

The tendency to compare is the killjoy of parenting. Try as parents might to disguise pride in a toddler who is first off the mark, or disguise worry about a late-starter, it seeps out. Fortunately parents rarely go as far as Mitsuko Yamada, a Japanese mother who killed a two-year-old girl in a fit of envy after the toddler beat her own daughter to a place in an elite nursery school.

After hearing my complaints about a son who preferred soccer to study, an acquaintance who was a teacher at a tough high school asked me: "Is he sneaking out the window at night to go drinking?" No, he wasn't. "Is he turning up at school every day?" Yes, he was. "Well what are you worrying about?" the teacher said.

Perspective is all. The antics of boys from tough schools may seem of little relevance to a privileged family, such as my own. But as children grow up, stories of middle-class teenagers who sell drugs, drop out of school, are paralysed by depression, are psychotic with anorexia, or travel with a bad crowd are constant reminders that academic ranking is not everything, not nearly the most important thing.

Parents with new babies and syrupy wishes for a happy child are right. Having a clever child is less important than having a happy one. Having a child who tops the ranks means little if he has a mean streak, a big ego or an inability to get on with people.

It takes a long time to see how your children turn out, an older, wiser parent once told me. How we end up rating the kids when we are old, sick and needing them may have little to do with how clever they are and everything to do with the kindness of their heart.

Health Food Guide

I came across this magazine a while back and didn't realy pay it all that much attention, However, I picked it up again today (helped along by the fact that it came with a goodie bag jam packed with stuff) and I am really pleasantly surprised.

This mag has some really quality information about making healty food choices and helps to steer people away from 'fad' diets. Basically it is  about good healthy eating and getting plenty of nutrients to help your body to run properly.

It also has a great dedication to allergy sufferers with many recipies that are gluten free or dairy free included.

The website has heaps of really healthy recipies along with interesting articles and tools to assist with whatever food realted mission you might be on!

I am going to make this awesome sounding porridge for breakfast in the morning! YUM

Sourced from Healthy Foods Guide

This porridge is delicious and diabetic-friendly when made with traditional whole grain oats and yellow box honey.

 Divine Apple and Spice porridge 

Recipe Information

Portions: 4
Time to make: 15 minutes
Total cost of all ingredients: $3.18 / $0.79 per serve

• Low sodium  
• Recipe by: Jackie Charles
• Photography: Louise Lister

First published August 2007

Ingredients

• 1 large (215g) apple, peeled, cored and finely sliced
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Instructions

Place the apple, oats, cinnamon, mixed spice, milk and 2 cups of water in a large microwave-proof dish. Cook on high (100%) for 8 minutes, stirring every minute, until thick. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Serve drizzled with the honey and slivered almonds.

 

Nutrition Information

	per serve
Energy	860 kJ (207 Cals)
Protein	7.9g
Fat - saturated	6.9g 1.6g
Carbohydrates - sugars	28.4g 15.1g
Dietary Fibre	3.7g
Sodium	45mg
Calcium	150mg
Iron	2.2mg
* NS: Not specified

Mamamia

I read a gread book a few weeks back by Mia Freedman - entitled Mamamia (also the title of her eponynmous website).

Since then - in those rare moments that I get a chance to do something entirely unscheduled and unecessary - I pop on over to her blog and have a bit of a look.

I stumbled across this article today What Do Stay at Home Mums do All Day?

It is a great article and so spot on.

I too was one of those people who thought I would have all the time in the world and would be bored silly staying at home all day long. i was so wrong.

There is so much going on that I have poles of sthings on my "To Do" pile that just never get done.

That is mainly because the only realy chance I get to do anything at all is during Action Man's nap times - if I happen to be at home during that time and am not out walking because he refused to go to sleep in the first place and the only chance I will get to have 5 minutes of peace to myself is to go for a walk and then he MIGHT go to sleep and I Might get to have a coffee in peace without him waking up...Phew!

The rest of the time is spent running errands, obtaining some sanity through Mothers group, going to storytime at the library, going to paint and play, visitiing relatives, or simply playing Oh and eating - that takes up a disproportionate amount of time.

I have had to learn to be VERY patient and learnt to tell myself that my things can wait and Action man doesn't know what waith means yet and it is far more important that I spend time with hime than worry about whether or not the Laundry is done .

Bottome line is - finding the balance is hard and giving yourself permission to do the things that give you balance is even harder. As he gets older it get harder and harder because he just wants to be with me, part of what I'm doing, climing on me etc - and I don't want to deprive him of that.

On the topic of books another I have read and thoroughly recommend for it's brutal honesty for anyone who is a mother - but especially for someone who might be about to become a mother is called - The Mask of Motherhood by Susan Maushart. It is the most honest account of all the aspects of pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding and early motherhood that I have ever come across and I wish that i had the opportunity to read it before I had my boy - I would have felt so much better prepared!

What If?

what if...

What if I just slowed down and watched the world go by?

Let all of the lovely moments into our lives

and not blink as they pass by.

What if we just sat back and enjoyed the simple things?

Exploring nature, good food, family, friends - and all that they bring.

What if I just didn't need more stuff?
Would I feel less cluttered and not yearn to have...enough?

What if I learnt to just stand still - and be in the moment - live for right now?

I would be OK - I might even be great.


Quietly, quietly - my new found consciousness awaits.








I've never really been one for writing poetry but this came to me this morning and I felt the urge to put pen to paper.

Motherhood has brough me many things but the one thing that stands out is how much my thinking and  thought processes have change and continue to change.
It is a little overwhelming at times and I am still working through it.

The one thing I have found to be the most profound is that it is so importnat to have confidence as a parent. To be confident in your choices and to try and not listen to too many experts - especially to not compare yourself and your choices to others.


To let your baby guide you - to let go of control.


This is one of the parts I am trying to work on.

Namaste Yoga

I have wanted to participate in a yoga class for a while now but it seems as though the ones at the gym are always on at really inconvenient times for us (ie- Dinner Time or Baby bed time).

I was thinking about buying a DVD but unless you can try before you buy, you just never know the quality that you are getting.

So the other day I stumbled across a program on Fox called Namaste Yoga - and it is awesome!

I've only done it a couple of times now but I always feel great afterwards and have found it to be very grounding.

Just like that early morning walk - I find it to be very cleansing and calming.

The program has beautiful settings and music and the narrator has a very calming presence. Each episonde lasts for about 20 mins - which is just the right amount of time.

The other great thing about it is the presenters/instructors all have the most amazing bodies - very lithe and supple - not to mention motivational!

My Creative Space

I have been tardy in my dedication to My Creative Space this year - hopefullly I can rectfy that next year! I am hastily trying to complete christmas present - I still have much sewing to do!!!

Play along with Kristy HERE!

Why Down in the Shed?

Hi All,

I've been thinking that some of you might be wondering that Down in the Shed is a strange name for a blog.

Well it is a little - but there are plenty of strangely named blogs out there.

I thought for a long time about a new name and I wanted something that reflected our family and the direction it was headed.

"The Shed" is an important part of our life because that is Mark's little haven, that and I can also see my little one wanting to spend time Down in the Shed with his daddy.

But really a shed is like a metaphor for any place that we go to escape, the home gym, the sewing room, the play room.

So I thought it was apt!

I also have a few ideas floating around in my head for a little project that will involve my blog - but I am still working on prototypes! You will have to stay tuned!!

I was sure I had something else to post about tonight but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

I hate to admit it...

but I think that I may just be a morning exerciser. I took the dog out for a walk this morning and ended up running nearly 3km.

When I get out there and into it I just love the crispness of the morning air and the fact that there isn't too many people about just yet.

It really sets me up for the day ahead and gives me focus and energy.


As you can see from my picture above - I have been a busy little santa's elf and wrapping up presents.

We don't actually have a tree because we don't have anywhere to put it that is baby proof and I just know that it would be too tantalising for little baby fingers.

We will probably get one and put it up closer to christmas day - that way there are less days of temptation. I still won't be able to put the presents out though.

I still have a few things to make and I'm really hoping that I can get it all done. Next week is shaping up to be a very busy week so fingers crossed!

Silly me hasn't been taking any pictures of the things I have made - but there are a few double ups so there will be somein the coming week I am sure.

What have I been doing?

I feel as though I have been really busy this past week BUT I have been doing lots of things that feed the soul and help to organise our lives.

I am trying to learn to be more present in this life, to not wish away the days and to live for now.

the hardest part I find is simply to remind myself to do it!

I have also given up all Caffiene this past week and so far so good. Once again the hardest part is reminding myself why and remembering that I'm not drinking coffee or coke anymore.

I realised that I drink coffee for the experience of drinking a coffee - there is just something different about it to drinking a cup of Tea. Tea is good in it's own right however. So I have had to cast aside my thinking about coffee and if I REALLY want it - I drink a decaf - which isn't all that bad. The biggest challenge will be when next I am feeling stressed out - to not turn to a Can of Coke ( which is what I do).
Mostly I wanted to give it up so that I wasn't modelling that behaviour to Harris - How can I drink it and then tell him that he isn't allowed to.

I have also been doing a fair bit of Sewing this past week, shorts for Harris and today I cut out a dress for me.

I've been doing lots of reading and thinking and contemplating - which I have to say is probably my most favourite thing to do.

All in all it's been a good week -

How about you?

Barefoot Magazine

I thought I would share this magazine that I have recently found and love.

It is a beautiful collection of Australian articles about parenting and living more 'green' and poetry printed on recycled paper.

At only 5.95 - it's also a bargain!

You can buy it at Borders - or you can subscribe Here!

they also have a Blog

25 Days of Crafting

I have plenty of christmas sewing to do so I thought I would challenge myself to 25 days of Christmas crafting.

There are garlands and ornaments to be made, and presents to be crafted with love.

So here is the first of many more to come. Interestingly NOT a christmas themed item, but a birthday crown.

With me heading back to work after Christmas I thought I would get a head start on the birthday crafting also.

Layne Beachley on Success

There is a show on the Business Channel on Foxtel called Switzer which I don't really watch all that often - however, the other day I happened upon a really interesting interview with Layne Beachley on this program and it inspired me.

Essentially Layne was discussing her pathway to success in surfing and business.

I'd love to share a few of her quotes from the transcript with all of you:

Layne on Focus and Determination -

“When I turned 25 I was considered a veteran. But I didn’t win my first world title until I was 26. You know, as women, we do tend to get better with age.”
What took her so long?

“I wasn’t ready,” says Beachley. “I wasn’t ready to win. I was still very distracted. I didn’t give it 110 per cent. Once I started to really focus in on it and take all the other distractions out of my life and make that my number one priority then I won and I stayed there for as long as I did.”

This is something that I have found to be so important - when you want to achieve something you have to focus on it and it alone 100%. You can't be attempting to acieve 6 major goals at one time because you simply don't have the enery to give them all the attention they need. The other important point here is that you really really have to want to achieve the goal you are aiming for - you have to want it with all your heart - only then can you truly focus on you goals.

A friend was relaying a story to me last night about a guy he went on a work trip with who was a marathoner - he routinely declined invites out for post work drinks and that kind of thing because he valued his training so much that it was more important to him - he wanted to get up and go for his 20km in the morning and he wanted to be fresh when he did it. It was more important to him.
That is the mindset you need to achieve your goals.

More from Layne:

Beachley says her support networks have been crucial to her success.

“Even though I’ve been perceived as being an individualist, I’ve always had a team of people around me that have allowed me to maintain my focus and have pushed me in a different direction if it looked like I was falling off the rails; have been honest with me, have been trustworthy; people I’ve respected and also have experienced things that I never have so I could learn from them.”

This is another thing I have learnt along the way - it is absolutley crucial to have a team of people in your life who support you and your goals. They have to validate and believe in your approach as much as you do and not be the one who is derailing you. Does your partner constantly try to get you to eat junk with them or go drinking with them? It's not that they want you to fail - they just dont see how much you value your goals -it is so much easier to ahieve a goal when your support crew is behind you 100%.

She looked to those around her – including four times world champion Wendy Botha and Australian surfing legend and fellow world champion Pam Burridge – for advice.

“I basically became a sponge,” says Beachley. “Anyone I could see that had achieved what I really wanted, I asked for their guidance.

Another really great point - find someone you admire, someone who has achieved what you want to achieve and find out as much as you can about how they did it - then do it better!

Layne continues “If you want to stay ahead of your competition, you have to find ways to reinvent yourself; you have to be willing to improve and you have to be willing to learn and acknowledge that you don’t know it all. There’s always another way to do something.”

So, what is Beachley’s advice to women? What are the words they need?

“I’m worthy. I can, I am. It’s about, firstly, having a really positive attitude, having a goal that you can work towards. It’s really important that you have a goal. Write it down. I stuck it on my mirrors in my bedroom and just looked at that through the toughest times in my life. You’ve got a purpose to get yourself up in the morning, that will give you the motivation to overcome any obstacle you can ever encounter.”

Excerpts taken from Layne Beachley interview on Switzer.http://www.switzer.com.au/small-business/women-in-business/feature/behind-every-great-woman/

Full interview can be seen here.

What is a true treat?

Interestingly through the process of finding myself again in the haze of new motherhood I am discovereing interesting things about what I truly treasure.

I have found that time and how I use it has become increasingly important to me.

This is mainly because when I do get those precious few moments to myself each day I have to choose wisely how I spend it.

I find myself getting annoyed if Harris falls asleep while we are out because that means the quiet alone time that I get to spend doing things for me are stolen by being out driving or at the shops.

Sometimes I choose to spend the whole of the first hour that he sleeps in the day doing house work - because I know that means I will get the second sleep of the day all to myself and I can spend it looking at things on the internet, reading, sewing, studying or just watching TV.

If I do manage to get out of the house without Harris, I am usually in a rush to get back again (mother guilt!)

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go out and do something completely indulgent with no agenda - that was to go and just sit at a coffee shop and have a coffee and read a magazine. To not be anxious that he might wake up at any second and spoil my relaxation time - or to simply not be in a rush to finish my coffee because he is squirming in the pram or yelling - was a true treat.

I was amazed that something so simple could fill me up to the brim of relaxation so easily. It made me realise that my prior thinking - of going out for a walk each day and "treating" myself to a coffee and a cake at a coffee shop- wasn't in reality a treat at all. It was more like something I was telling myself I deserved - but I wasn't really able to enjoy it.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I have learnt to savour those things that are truly treats and to give them the level of importance they deserve.

Recarging your batteries is so important when you have a baby - and ideally you would have a lovely husband who gives you the love and supoort you need to be able to achieve this. Luckily I do and I really don't know what I would do with out him!

I am learning every day!

Rumbling along...

It's funny you know....Shelly posted this post a few days ago and for all the world she could have been talking about me. for that is exactly how I feel. It doesn't really bother me though and that is half the problem. I seem to be happy just ambling along and doing what I can when I can. Although I haven't quite regained the lows of body fat percentage I had before I had Harris, my weight HAS even out back to approximately where it was before Harris and that makes it hard to be motivated. I really should get up and put my work skirt and pants on every day to remind myself that in 6 short weeks I have to wear these clothes again.
But then something stressful happens and its back to the old habits we go again.
I'm sure we will figure it out eventually.

I have been thinking a lot about whether I want to continue to blog because I find it quite a drain on my prescious time alone.

However just this week I have been coming across things here and there and I think to myself - I would like to write a blog about that! and so I think I will try to start blogging again more frequently.

So hopefully you will see me around again a little more often!

Just this past week I commenced a Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Education - the course that you need to complete to become qualified as a breastfeeding counsellor.
At the moment I am really motivated and happy to be learning again. Not studying something seems to leave a bit of a void in my life. I have an incessant need to learn. I am putting the wheels in motion to make a career change in the next few years and I am really excited about it. Unfortunately it will be a slow process, but it does involve lots of study and I am a bit excited about the process as much as I am about the end result. Hopefully - this path will take me to where I have wanted to be all along.

I'll be back soon with more!!!

Two Weeks to get my act together

So for the next two weeks I am going to be focussed and pulled together and get into some good habits - all with the purpose of t rying to regain the mental state that I had prior to having a baby.

I was SOOOO into health and fitness back then - it took up all of my mind space. It's time to find that again - simly because I love being in that healthful place!

Why the next two weeks?

for two reasons:
1. Because I need something to focus on
2. Because Mark is going to whyalla in SA for two weeks with work and it will just be me and the little one at home.

What does that mean? It means that I don't have to worry about feeding Mark and I just have to look after myself.

I have made a deal with Mark that when he gets back I get three times per week where he looks after Harris and I get to go running. The key is thatthose are the times when I get to do my me activity - something purely indulgent and just for me.

That is the activity I choose to have for me.

So for the next 12 months I am going to choose events to focus my running towards and get back to the super state of fitness I had pre little one.

First event? 6km Womens and Girls Jogalong at Weston Park on the 6th of December.

Few and Far Between

It seems really few and far between posts for me at the moment - but the reality is the computer isn't really a big priority for me anymore and because Harris is into EVERYTHING it is difficult to get on here when he is awake.

I ran into someone from work the other day and she reminded me that it is only 10 weeks or so until I have to return to work. Then I remembered that I was meant to be doing daily exercise in order to improve my endurance for work....hmmmnnn that one got forgotten.

It can be a bit hard to find the balance between everything, going to the gym, keeping the house clean and doing things that enrich my life (not that the gym doesn't enrich my life) and then when we have a week where Harris isn't sleeping well or we go away somewhere (which invariably means Harris doesn't sleep well for the week following) then all of the other stuff tends to get a bit forgotten.

A few weeks back I managed to get the house really tidy and I felt like I was on top of everything but now it feels like it has slipped somewhat.

My goals for this week are:

* To get back on top of the home organisation and tidying.
* To drink 3 Lt of water daily.
* To do the tasks I set for myself each day

oh and I have 10 weeks till I go back to work and presently only one of my work pants fit me and none of my skirts - I need to get my butt into get and lose a few kilos!

I was helping mummy in the garden and....

 well I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Day 2 Very Tired

Broccoli from my Garden.

I am very tired today from my big baby weights training program walk (Read 8.5kg baby in a back carrier up a mountain with a dog) and a weights session at the gym.

I am already feeling the DOMS and I'm thinking I won't be able to lift Harris tomorrow.

We are having evaporative cooling installed tomorrow so no gym for me - but I am planning on doing some gardening and a session on the spin bike!

That's all I can write for now because I am soooo tired (and I have to tidy up before the contactors want to come into my house!)

Fitness Monday

The Michelle Bridges program is split into Fitness and Toning - alternating each day. Today was Fitness and me being my usual self couldn't help but add to it. I guess I am probably a little fitter than many who would do a program froma book (but probably not much!)

Today's fitness session was a circut of two rounds, consisting of the following - each being 20 reps.

* Fast low step running Rt Leg
* Fast low step running Lt Leg
* Push Ups on Knees
* Freestanding body weight squat (and I just realised I forgot to do this entirely!)
* Standing shoulder Press with light weights
* Static Lunge with support
* Standing biceps curl with light weight

Abs
* Crunches
* Crunch with Right twist
* Crunch with Left twist

I also did 25 minute on the treadmill - 20 mins at 6% incline walking at 6.5min/km and 5 mins or 1 km running.

The great thing about this program is that it is designed to be able to be done either at home or at the gym. So if for whatever reason I am unable to make it to the gym (and with limited Childcare hours that is often the case)I can still get it done at home.

I found out this morning that due to increased membership they are limiting the childcare to 20 places per session - with 2 sessions tunning each morning AND you have to book them in on the morning of the day you want to go. It does make it that little bit harder and if you ask me I think they should just extend the childcare to 2pm. The gym offers a reduced fee membership for "Off Peak" times which allows you to go between 9am and 2pm each weekday. Considering that Childcare is only available between 9am and 12pm it really limits when you are able to go.
Next year I am going to have to change to the more expensive membership so I can go in the morning before work or in the evening (not that that will probably happen because Harris is always mr Grumpy pants in the evening). I might change gyms though - I'll have to wait and see next year.

I got thinking while I was at the gym that perhaps I needed some new gym clothes - my two pairs of leggings were a little threadbare and prone to falling down. I also decided that I needed a new pair of running shoes. When parts of the shoe are falling off it is probably time! So after I was finished at the gym thats what I did!

Now I just have to make sure I keep using it!

And So...

I come to the sombre realisation that in Two and  a half short months I have to return to work...BooHoo...

I am 100% positive that this is going to hit me like a steam roller even though I know it is coming.

So I am begrudgingly going to attempt to be all  grown up like and start being super organised and doing things properly and such so that it doesn't come as SUCH a massive shock to me and I lose the plot entirely.

Last week we were confirmed a place at the child care centre which is located on the hospital campus. I cannot tell you what a relief and weight off my shoulders that was! I was secretly stressing about it I am sure. Having Harris at this childcare centre will make it so much easier for both of us.

Once I get back into the swing of it all and Harris is a teensy bit bigger I am hoping to ride my bike to work at least twice per week.  We only live 5km from the hospital and I'm hoping to pack us both up and ride up there each day - that may be wishful thinking but I will at least give it a go. Mark can collect harris at 4pm on those days because he finishes work an hour or so earlier than I do. 

I am going back to work 3 days per week and I think I will stick to working that until we have finished having kids and they are at school. I think it is a nice balance.

What I want to do before we get to that point though is try and increase my stamina again and start going back to the gym properly. I am going to start scheduling it into my diary and making it part of our day and working the other things that need doing in around that and the general household organisational things. As boring as it may seem, I think it is important that I stop living in the little fairyland of coffee mornings and shopping and start living to somwhat of a schedule again. After all it will be enforced once I head back to work.

Its probably going to be hard and I'm probably not going to like it - but hey thats what life if like sometimes!

A while back I bought the Michelle Bridges book - "Crunch Time"  - I'm going to try and follow the training plan in there for the time between now and going back to work - just to increase my fitness and help me to not be so tired at the end of the day.

Having a baby is fun and I love playing with him all day but I think it is time to get down to business again.
My leg is still a little twingy but I'm hoping that some stretching each day will help it along.

So I'll hopefully be updating here a bit more in the coming weeks!

A New and Exciting Venture

Welcome to Down in the Shed! Watch this space and see it transform into my new and exciting venture (which is still in development at the  moment). I am still working on the finer details - like blog design.
But fingers crossed, my latest idea will turn into a reality very soon.....

Hints and tips

Not much of anything except babycare going on in my world at the moment. As it creeps closer to the time I am planning on returning to work I find myself wanting to spend more time with Harris. I have had a sore leg for the past few weeks which has hampered my desire to get back to running

I thought I would do a post on the things I could and couldn't live without when I first had Harris. I didn't really overbuy but there were things I barely used.

Must have's
-sling/baby carrier - I have a baby bjorn and a baba sling but I could easily have bought a hug-a-bub and used it just as much. (And I just bought and Ergo baby carrier - but they are better for when the baby is bigger)
-Stretchy escape proof wraps- the baby may be small but they are certainly a good escape artist
-reusable cloth breast pads - these were much more comfortable than the disposable ones
-a baby bag that is comfortable, not too heavy when packed and that you love-I have two; a fancy Oroton one that I hardly use and a smaller lighter one that I love!(mine is from H is for Handbag)
- cloth flat nappies for wiping up after baby (Didn't think I would actually use these and they have been invaluable)
- a car seat/capsule
- my walking pram

What I didn't use all that much

- baby oils, powders, shampoos and washes. Babies don't really get dirty and usually have very dry skin, the only products have really used is Weleda nappy rash cream and moogoo moisturizer
- port a cot - we were given one and I haven't used it yet
- snuggle bed


other things
- I did't use our highchair until Harris was 6 months old and am glad I did' t buy one before hten. Hairchairs are possibly the most annoying creation on the planet. They get filthy, snap your fingers off when you are trying to clip them up and are brilliant food hiders - if you can borrow one to figure out what you need in a high chair then do that!)
- I didn't buy Harris a play mat with dangly toys until he was 2 months old and then by the time he was 6 months, he was destroying it so much that I had to pack it away. I would buy second hand You can pick up some great bargains on ebay!).
- cloth nappies would have been difficult for me to manage when Harris was a newborn but now I love using them. Green kids pocket nappies are great as are baby bee hinds.
- don't buy too many newborn nappies in bulk -we had three boxes of 108 and he was out of them before we could use them up.
- don't buy an expensive baby bath - ours from ikea was perfect for 14.95!




That all I can think of for now!