10 FOLLOWERS!

I am so excited, humbled, and tickled PINK! I can't believe that I have 10 followers and I am certain that you are all fantastic, beautiful and inspiring people. I would love to hear from you and to make some bloggy friends - so please feel free to send me a message.

Isn't bloggy-land fabulous? And to think that I nearly ran away from it in the early days - but was lured back from Amy from Life With Soul (fantastic blog - a definite MUST read!) when she suggested that I live my Life with Soul - NOT FEAR!

Thanks to all my favourite bloggers - I now live my life with more soul, more sunshine, more cooking, more craft and mostly - more love.

I hope to continue to entertain and inspire you to love your lives - no matter what it throws at you!

Heres to the next TEN!

xx

The one and only rule....

I have a case of the Mama Guilts. I have broken the one and only rule that Mr H set when Moo was born....and that was NO TV.

A few days ago, Moo was cranky - she didn't want to play on her mat, she didnt want to jump in her Jolly Jumper, she didnt want me to sing her songs, and she didn't want to swing in her swing.

So, as I was just about to pull my hair out - I put her in her seat and sat her in front of ABC2 Kids.....and she loved it. It was only for an hour to watch Thomas the Tank Engine and Playschool! She talks to them, blows raspberries - all while having a lovely smile on her face and plays with her feet! When they sing - she makes all these noises! Moo LOVES Playschool!!

So, as honesty is my thing - I rang Mr H who was working hard out in the paddock and told him what I had done and told him how much Moo loved it - all in the one sentence. It appears that Moo has weakened her daddy with her charm because the reply I received was....'As long as she is happy'.

But then the Mama guilt set in (It is so evil)....I find that since Macie is hearing impaired - I always think that we have to do things doubly as hard so she is 2 steps ahead. I thought that I should be singing, dancing, reading books and doing the crafty thing instead of putting her in front of the TV. But then I thought - I am only human - she is only a kid - and it's only an hour!

So I have included Playschool in Macie's routine - I see it as entertaining and education and it also gives her "MOO TIME". I crave 'Me Time' so I figure that she needs 'Moo Time'. I wonder why I feel like I have to justify my decision...

Do any other Mamas feel like this??

Only one more day to go.....

After reading my daily dose of Sunny Mummy , I felt I had share the sunshine today....

I woke up today feeling not so sunny.....in fact, I felt a wave of cloudiness over my eyes and wondered why I felt this way. I lay there evaluating what was going on with ME - and why I felt so down after just waking up to grace the wonderful day. And then I leant over and realised that Mr H was already up and getting ready for work....

Then Mr H came in to kiss me goodbye....I looked at the clock and it was only 5.45am. Another day where he is gone by dawn and home after dark.....and I realised that is why I felt sad, cloudy and I suppose - a tad lonely.

I am a self-confessed honest-aholic - I always let my Mr H know how I am feeling and why. I am sure, if not positive, that is why we have such a strong relationship - honesty is our fuel to keep us running and gives us the awareness on how the other person is feeling. So, with my honesty in check - I told him that I missed him and I didn't want to play the leading role as the 'Farmers Widow' anymore.

And while kissing me on the forehead, he replied....

'I know - only one more day Mama Bear.....Harvest is NEARLY finished!'

And with that response, the sunshine came flooding in! My Mr H will be home for the weekend and I am just so excited. I will have my little family together embracing the sunshine and cherishing life.

So even when you wake feeling cloudy - try to get in touch with your feelings - be honest with not only yourself, but your loved ones. Thankfully I did - and for that - I am going to have another beautiful day in my ever so beautiful life.

BUSTED!

Moo was cheeky today....at times I wasnt looking, she would grab her ear and consequently her hearing aid - and then inspect it....with her MOUTH! Oh No!!!

I caught her numerous times and managed to get a few moments on camera! No matter how many times I said 'NO MOO - That does not go in your mouth' - I was greeted with a cheeky smile and a look as if to say 'Whatever Mama!'.

I remember the stories my Mama told me of times when I didn't want my hearing aids in. I would be ultra-cheeky too and hide my hearing aids in sandpits, toy boxes - absolutely anywhere I could think of. My poor Mama wouldn't realise until we had got home and then would proceed to pack us back in the car and go to search the park where we were playing or the kindy we were attending. Back in those days, we didnt have the choice of coloured hearing aids and they were all the standard BEIGE.....so looking for beige hearing aids in the sand was not a pleasant moment for my Mama. But she always found them - and we never went a day without them.

She would also tell me stories of how we would jump in a pool without taking them out, or we would take them out and then not put them back in so they would sit outside in the rain or the dew. Or we would be playing with waterbombs and get hit in the head and they would be wet.....Needless to say - we were always doing something we shouldn't be doing with our hearing aids....and causing my Mama plenty of grey hairs.

So, as I put Moo's hearing aids back in for the tenth time today, I found myself laughing. Karma is such a terrific thing isn't it! I put my Mama through hell when I was a child - so imagine what Moo is going to do to me!!!

Oh the joys!! But I wouldnt change it for the world. Not when these innocent eyes are looking at me!

Counting my blessings....

When life throws you lemons....just take a moment to take a step outside your life and take a peek through.

We got home from our Easter break today and were horrified to see our freezer door slightly ajar and dripping. Hundreds of dollars of meat was sitting there thawed and wrecked.........



We then put a load of washing on....and soon had a lake in our laundry.



We went to give Macie her bottle and the water filter was empty.

We then said to ourselves.....what more could go wrong?

To be honest - a few swear words went flying with the steam coming out of my ears.

But then I saw this....



Our little family of 'Lousy Jack' birds playing in our sprinkler! We have a family of about 10 birds who greet us daily with their beautiful chirps and playful nature. They made us all smile and realise how beautiful nature is.

And then I saw this....



Baby Moo supervising Mr H cleaning up the lake of water in our laundry! She was soon sitting on his lap while they inspected the reason for the leak. Enough to make my heart want to explode.

And then I saw this....



Mr H playing with Baby Moo outside and enjoying the sunshine.

My beautiful family are completely irreplacable. The puppies will love the meat from the freezer, the meat can be purchased again and my washing machine can be fixed.

So I am counting my blessings....and I realised I am rich - with love and happiness - and what more do I need??

The greatest compliment of all....

Yes - I am gloating about my little angel....

Baby Moo met so many new people over the Easter break. She met family friends, strangers, children, etc - and she just loved every moment of it. Everyone she met fell in love with her smile and her happiness - they would tell me that she is beautiful, happy and I would simply say to myself 'I know!!'.

But the greatest compliment of all were comments like 'she is so alert', 'she follows every sound', 'she responds to your voice', 'she is so advanced for her hearing impairment'. And that just made me so proud of my little girl.

My sister (A teacher of the deaf) was just amazed with Moo's ability to pick up any new trick that was taught to her. She was playing Peek-A-Boo within minutes of being shown, poking tongues with her Poppy and giving kisses to anyone after her Granny taught her!! She searches for the voice that is speaking in a conversation and listens intently, she smiles when she is spoken to and then will most times speak back!

It taught me that I made the right decision with choosing her hearing aids. I could have chose the fashionable type - the smaller, cuter aids. But instead I chose the aids which were bigger, bulkier....and all because they focus on voices and sounds while eliminating background noise. To see the difference in Macie's awareness since she has been given her hearing aids.....just shows me that the BIG IS BEST!!

So after the greatest compliment of all - what I knew already was confirmed. Nothing is going to hold Baby Moo back. The world is her oyster....and nothing like being hearing impaired is going to stand in her way! And to see this and hear this from my family and friends.....was the proudest moment yet of my Mama career!

To fight or not to fight....

We had an appointment with Australian Hearing on Wednesday after the drama that they put me through on Tuesday. I walked in there with my head held high, a smile on my face and ready to fight. The reception girls refused to look at me and instead sent the 'fix it' man to greet me at the desk. It's unfortunate for them....as that just gave me more will to fight.

Eventually we met with our audiologist and she got in first - the reception staff told her 'their version' of the story so I was officially classed as the 'Super-pushy, dramatic, emotional, all-of-the-above Mum!'. Yay for me!

However, I stuck to my guns and asked for answers - answers for lack of appointment availability, answers for resistance from the reception staff, answers for why Macie is missing out because there are no appointments, answers for rudeness, answers for cancellation of appointments. And more importantly, answers for why the moulds are taking so long....

In the end, I was told that the reason why I am experiencing all these problems is because of LACK OF FUNDING. The government is only funding the branch for an audiologist to be in the office for 2 DAYS. My blood boiled - and I asked for clarification....yep - I heard it right. Macie was missing out because the government saw these children as NUMBERS not the beautiful little miracles that they are.

And then and there....I realised that this is when I need to fight. This is my purpose in life. To fight for Macie, and every other deaf child and their family. The service that we are receiving from Australian Hearing is just not up to par, is not family friendly and most importantly, the kids are NOT benefitting from it.

So - I am going to advocate for everyone. I am going to go higher up the chain and fight for more funding for our AH branch. I dont care if I have to go to Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott. I will get more funding - no matter what. There is no way that Macie is going to miss out because the government is doing a bodgy job maintaining the needs for this branch.

So I made the decision.........I am going to fight.....and never stop until the kids get what they deserve.....and that is care, service and respect....at ALL times.