Healthy Habits..

**I have always had a long standing relationship with Coca-Cola the soft-drink (Coke just doesn't sound right there!) Ever since I was a child it was my drink of choice and all throughout Highschool and my working life, 600ml Buddy's were my 'buddy's'! I never drink coffee and have only the occasional alcoholic drink per year so the sickly black liquid soon became a beverage staple for me. I ditched 'Coca-Cola' back in 2004/2005 whilst pregnant with my Son (I couldn't stand the taste) but by the end of the 9 months it was the first thing I asked for after his delivery! I had a short lived fling with Pepsi Max in the lead up to my wedding in 2009 but soon saw the error of my ways and switched to Coke Zero, when the Honeymoon was over, I was back to my old faithful. After consuming 1.5 litres daily it was time to admit to myself.. " Hi Everyone, my name is Danielle and I'm a 'Coke-a-holic'" I realised it had to come to an end. My sugary obsession was making me pile on the kilo's and gave me a headache every time I stopped drinking it for more than a day!** **I am pleased to say it has now been two weeks and I have officially kicked my unhealthy beverage habit! Hooray! How do I know I'm cured? The first week I found it an arduous task to bypass the appealing red label and saw Coke everywhere! In the petrol stations, restaurant and on TV I remained strong, however and resisted temptation! Friday I went grocery shopping and this time didn't even give the bottles a sideways glance! Hip Hip Hooray! So the first step towards a healthier me.. complete! Now lets hope I don't fall off the wagon so to speak!** **I have also started up a food journal that I printed off the Project Girl website, a great tool for popping onto the fridge and noting down all of the foodstuffs you consume during the day. I was quite surprised by this weeks consumption and a little horrified at times! I will be putting this up on my Blog at the end of every week so I can continue to alter my eating habits to reflect a better lifestyle. This week I aim to eat more, but of the good stuff only! I am also trying to achieve 8 glasses of water a day, so hopefully I can reach that milestone this week also! Wish me luck!!!**

The template gives you room to write down your breakfast/snack/lunch/snack/dinner/snack and then a section to circle up to 8 glasses of water daily! I modified my last snack box to include the tablets I take daily, so I could tick them off (I'm always forgetting otherwise!)

My Weekend Whereabouts..

**Weekends to me are seen as days for small luxuries.. a little sleep in (children willing), something other than muesli for breakfast, getting to spend time with the kids that isn't constrained by routines or appointments, catching a movie and winding down from the busy week that was. This weekend was no exception (minus the sleep-ins! and the basketload of ironing I did tonight!)**

**Soccer was the highlight of my Saturday, I really do enjoy getting out onto the soccer field and participating in Grasshopper Soccer with the boys, we all have such a fun time. I think it is a wonderful concept that the parents join in with the younger children and become the 'Big Grasshopper', the children thoroughly enjoy it and in this day and age, where some parents work and life is so busy, it is a special time to spend with your child**

**Today was spent checking out the local markets, buying fresh meat, eggs and produce from local farmers. Nothing quite like fresh fruit and vegies, organic free range eggs and a Sunday roast! The remainder of the day was spent at IKEA, spoilt for choice we got a fantastic new red rug (amongst other purchases) which really brightened up the rainy day and has finished off our loungeroom perfectly! **

*~Daily Note to Self~* Keep in touch with relatives, time goes by so quickly, it is essential you stay in touch with your loved ones - I know myself, just a quick call can make my day~*

Above Pics: Small luxuries.. Chocolate jewel pancakes, my gorgeous red rug and some of the things I bought from IKEA to assist me with my Kitchen Organisation Challenge! 2 Weeks to go to an organised kitchen.

Lots of Love for Lots of Stuff..

**Cant believe its Friday already! I have decided I was going to take the time on Friday to note down the things I loved during the week..

1. Soccer Saturdays! Getting out on the soccer field with my little man and interacting with all of the activities is a lot of fun. This week it was ecspecially special as we met up with Mum on the way and she went out on the field with him too.. Great memories.

2. Movies! Avatar, Valentines Day and The Blind Side.. All great films.. Seen with lovely people!

3. Attending school activities! One of the many things I treasure dearly about being a SAHM.

4. Taking inspiration from other blogs and deciding to organise certain aspects of my home. Then setting up a challenge with a friend to spur each other on! LOL. Nothing like a bit of motivation and inspiration to make things happen..

5. Op shopping! I love this every week.. but this week I got some gorgeous buys including some lovely springtime dresses for my Stepdaughter and Tops for myself..

6. My new skincare.. Mum bought me this for my Birthday and I absolutely adore the range of Sukin products. I have a cleanser, moisturiser, eye cream, night cream, shampoo and conditioner. All natural and all Australian! I dont feel guilty about slathering this stuff on and it makes my skin feel devine!

7. Gardening with my children - we updated our planters with pretty flowers, lots of variety and lots of colour. The kids got to dig, weed, water and collect many interesting things in the yard. Including a 2c coin, a birds egg, snail shell and a marble I used to play with as a kid!

8. Talking.. talking to anyone who will listen.. communication plays a vital part in my life and I love to talk.. it gets things off your chest and makes the world seem a friendlier place!**

*~Daily Note to Self: Sleep! Sleep More and appreciate Sleep!~*

Honorable Mention of the Day: Lisa for fuelling our motivation and starting our organisation challenge! Lets do it.. :)

My devine skincare.. The eye cream is great for late nights!





Pretty Petunia's and Seaside Daisy..

The Dining Table.. the hub of our home..

**So, I purchased a new dining table this week, why? because I wanted a bigger one and happened to come across one on eBay for a bargain price! So I thought, why not? When I mention this to people they always say "Oh we don't even eat at our dining table" but to me, the dining table is the central hub of our home. We eat breakfast, lunch and tea at it, celebrate our birthdays around it, the laptop is often positioned on it, the kids do their homework on it, draw at it (and often on it) and sometimes we just sit around it to chat or entertain visitors. Our old dining table shows signs of great use there is felt pen, fork marks, cat scratches and children's etchings - the marks of a well used, well loved piece of furniture. Our only reason for upgrading was some extra seats, we went from a six seat to an eight seat to alleviate the children kicking one another underneath the table and to minimise the munching noises. So with the old one retired to eBay the new one sits in the dining room gleaming - unaware of what is about to be unleashed upon it - I'm sure it too will feel very loved in time!** Daily Note to Self: Take one job that needs to be done and complete it.. only then do you move onto the next challenge. That way you will conquer something and feel accomplished rather than having one thousand unfinished tasks to complete. Honorable Mention of the Day: My lovely husband, Damian - who takes great care of me and the kids and tirelessly works to provide a pretty cool life for us all. (Plus he was offended that he is never mentioned in my online life..LOL)

Career Calling..

My teacher registration number showed up today.. a licence if you will to 'drive' the minds of a classroom full of children. I had a series of mixed emotions upon opening the envelope, particularly butterflies in my stomache! I think it was a mix of excitement and fear.. Excitement because after 10 years of pottering around with a degree (that has probably cost me more to attain than I will ever earn..) I have finally achieved the end result! And fear because I haven't worked in a little over 5 years so the prospect of returning to the work force and all it entails is a little petrifying!! Not to mention horror flashbacks of how relief teachers were treated back in my day! So yes now comes the fun part trying to find resources and ideas to keep the children educated, amused, enthralled and enticed for 6 hours.. and then ill hand them back to their classroom teacher ;-)

~* Daily Note to Self: Smile tomorrow when the Delivery Men deliver your dining table, even though they are delivering it 2 weeks late, no sense in getting mad, wont make it get here any faster!*~

The Little Things..

**It was quite cold when I woke up this morning and to my delight there was dew on the grass! So outside we went with the camera into the cold to capture the beauty of a lovely crisp, cool morning.. My son full of questions "Why is the grass wet if it hasn't rained?" "What is dew?" "Is it Winter now?" his inquisitiveness quite refreshing at such an early hour. It was lovely to greet the new day in person and both of us seemed all that more alive for it - far better than sitting in front of the cartoons to wake up!** ~*Daily Note to Self: Wake up on the right side of the bed every morning with a renewed appreciation for the day ahead! Endeavour to not be late and smile..*~

Taking the time to chill...

** I have decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon.. this week I have immersed myself in the blogs of crafty, super organised Mums and realised that although I am more like a 'cluttered super disorganised Mum' I too enjoy the written word and sharing my wisdoms (even if few and far between) with others. Even if it just gives me a platform to place down my thoughts each day and no one reads it, I will be happy to know it is there for my children to one day look upon and say 'Geez that Mum of ours.. no wonder she was up so late every night!' **

** I began this week alike any other 'second' week in our household alongside my Hubby and Four Children (One whom I am genetically responsible for and three whose defects I can blame upon their biological parents - LOL) A blended family - a great blend at the best of times made up of many elements not excluding chaos! A blend that I have become accustomed to over the past 3 1/2 years and have grown to love. Tomorrow I will commence the week alongside my Hubby and One child, another great blend! Irregardless of the week we are a 'family' and I dont have a preference for either formation as both have their positives and negatives - this is our 'lot' in life **

** I entitled this post 'taking the time to chill' as this week had an undertone of disorganisation, isolation and sadness, however, by the end of the week and in particular the weekend I realised how important it is to do those things that make you happy! find items, tasks, activities and most importantly people that make you happy! Drawing with your child, falling asleep with the radio on, catching up with friends and family, being honest about your feelings, discovering a hobby, going and seeing a great movie, eating out and being thankful for every moment were all great mood boosters for me. Each of these elements helped to change the perspective of my week and alter the way the week ahead will pan out, they will alter the way many things pan out in the future **

**I guess iv taken inspiration from the blogs i'v read this week and perhaps one day I will be crafty and super organised.. but in the meantime, Im just happy to be me.

2 + 4 = 1**