Thursday 17 April 2014

Because of Him

100 Days of Happiness - Day 36 and 37

Day 36

A day late again...I'm slipping. Yesterday I was loving the beautiful weather. It was the perfect washing weather, perfect relaxing outside weather and the perfect temperature. Unfortunately I didn't get in any exercise yesterday unless you count walking around the shopping centre which I kind of want to count....

I'm not sure what was going on at the shops yesterday but it was crazy town there. Maybe because it's a public holiday today and everyone thinks they might starve if they don't to their shopping. Okay that's exactly why we were there too. I had a activity on at church that night and would be able to make my family dinner so we had Subway for the 3rd day in a row..... shocking I know but atleast it's not McDonalds or something like that. The people who work there know my order now, kind of embarrassing. It's a pretty cheap meal though it costs under $15 for our whole family so I'm not going to complain about that.

Day 37

Today is Good Friday. A time to reflect and ponder on the sacrifice our Saviour made for us. I think it is so easy for us to "forget the reason for the season" and get caught up in the excitement of chocolate and the Easter Bunny (which when I think about it, is really quite a funny concept haha).

So here is a wonderful video clip to help you remember what it is really about.


Wednesday 16 April 2014

Weekly Menu


Here's the menu for this week. Tomorrow we have friends coming over and they are bringing lunch. They usually stay for dinner to so we might go out to eat or something. We also purchased some meals from a friend who is doing a fundraiser. 

Last week we didn't eat too much from what was on our menu....we went out to eat a few times and went to visit friends. Our favourite meal was the jerk chicken. AMAZING!



Marinated Steak

This is a vege curry but I just put chicken in instead



Tuesday 15 April 2014

Protecting our Children

100 Days of Happiness - Day 34

I seriously hope all this exercise I have been doing this week actually does something. My legs are sore and I am exhausted. Today I mowed the lawns...we have a decent size hard it took over an hour before I was itching and sneezing everywhere. In the end I didn't actually finish, the sneezing and itchy was getting too much and the people walking down the street were looking at me like I was a crazy lady. Aarahi finished off the last little bit when he got home. The freshly mowed lawns made me pretty happy today.

While I was in town today I was sitting down having a rest. There were three young girls sitting behind me, I could hear everything they were saying. They were 12, 10 and 9. They had been sitting there maybe 5 mins and a few young boys came a long. By the looks of the boys I would say they were around 14 or so. The boys began asking the girls how much money they had and if they wanted to earn some money. To cut a long story short these boys were offering the girls $20 to do sexual favours for them. I was shocked. I really couldn't believe what I just heard. I listened a little longer to the girls standing their ground. I was proud of them. They boys still weren't backing down though. I got up and turned around, looked at them and they soon left. Maybe they didn't think I was listening or whatever. I stayed by the girls until their mum came back to them. They began telling their mum what had happened.

The whole scenario keeps playing in my mind. If I could go back I would probably act a bit differently. Is this what is happening to our young girls these days? What are we doing as adults to make sure they don't fall into these kinds of traps. Are we raising our children to be able to come to us if anything like this should happen to them?

Now more than ever we need to teach our girls virtue and value in themselves. If we don't teach them who will? Where ever you look these days there are half dressed women on billboards, TV, magazines,walking down the street even. If our children are seeing these images day in and day out we shouldn't be surprised when they want to look and act like that too. As parents we need to be stronger that all of that. We need to protect our children, we need to teach them true beauty and true value. They need to know their bodies are sacred and not for parading around for everyone to see.

We must not forget our boys. Everything they are told and led to believe is that they have no control of themselves. Pornography is not ok in any form. I do not agree with it, I never have and never will. It destroys homes and families. It does not teach our boys self control but self indulgence. We must teach our boys to honour women and respect their virtue. Girls are not something to be lusted over.

Teaching our children these kinds of things is not something reserved for once they hit puberty. We need to start from the day they are born. Promote and encourage modesty in your home. As husband and wife be good examples of how you would want your children to treat those of the opposite sex. If children don't see it in the home they are less likely to do it outside of the home. These are just a few examples but I think the most important is to make sure there is an open dialogue within the family and with parents. Be careful not to make it  too hard for them to come to you.


The Zoo and Family Reunions

100 Days of Happiness - Day 34

I didn't get a chance to post last night but, yesterday was an amazing day! We were able to visit with my cousin Cindy and her family her were visiting from Queensland. I haven't seen Cindy since I was about 11 or 12. She moved to Australia when I was young so we never really had the opportunity to get to know each other well but it was so great to be able to reconnect again as adults and meet each others kids.

We planned to visit Werribee Zoo which is on the out skirts on Melbourne. It is a different kind of zoo in that the animals are't in cages. We were a bit disappointed that we couldn't get a very good view of all the animals while we were walking around. That however was all made up for when we hopped on to the 'safari bus'. The bus took us on a 40min ride into the big open enclosure that the animals roam in. Some of the animals, like the zebra were so close that if you were allowed to put your hands out of the bus you could touch them. It was really cool to be able to see them so close.

This was the last time we saw each other









Monday 14 April 2014

Cousins are the Best!

100 Days of Happiness - Day 33

I decided I need to do more exercise. I go through phases that don't usually last very long at all. Hopefully this phase will last a while. I messaged my cousin to see what they were doing today and that we might come over and visit. They live about a 30min walk away. I thought that would be a good amount of exercise, especially pushing the kids. That pram is HEAVY!.

The walk was good, the company was good. We were going to get pizza delivered but that turned out terribly so in the end we ended up with fish n chips. I think that probably cancels out the exercise.... Oh well.

I feel so blessed to have family close by. Even though the vast majority live in another country it truly is a blessing to have even a little bit of family. My kids love their cousins and their cousins love them!

Cousin are the best because they let you eat an ENTIRE block of chocolate all by yourself!



Saturday 12 April 2014

White Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

100 Days of Happiness - Day 32

Today it is simple. Cheesecake. Delicious berry cheesecake. Aarahi had asked me to make him cheesecake a couple of weeks ago but he kept eating the biscuits I needed to make the based. This week in the groceries I bought several packets so that I would have enough to make his cheesecake and satisfy his sweet tooth for biscuits.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients

Base

1 1/4 C Biscuit (cookie crumbs) I used plain biscuits
1/2 C Desiccated Coconut
80g Butter

Filling

500g Cream Cheese (softened slightly)
1/4 C White Sugar
2 1/2 Teaspoons Gelatin, dissolved in 1/4C Boiling Water
250g White Chocolate melted
1 1/2 C Thickened Cream Softly whipped
1 C Frozen Berries semi defrosted

Method

  • Combine the biscuit crumbs, coconut and butter in a small bowl. Press into the base of a 6 x 10cm spring form tin. Put into fridge to chill.
  • Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat well. Add gelatin and melted chocolate and beat until well combined and smooth
  • Gently fold in the whipped cream, followed by berries. 
  • Pour over the prepared biscuit base and return to fridge for 4 hours or over night. 

Notes:

I like to have a few whole berries left in the cheese cake but if you want you can defrost the berries completely and that will give you a move even texture. 

You can skip the berries all together and use chocolate only as flavour. Milk chocolate is good. 

Other varieties can include: Passion fruit and white chocolate (add pulp of 4 passion fruits) Milk chocolate cheesecake (omit berries and replace white chocolate with milk chocolate) Raspberry and White Choc (replace berries with all raspberries) 


Sorry not the best of photos but it was all my ipad could manage..





We May Not Agree But It's No Reason To Be Rude

100 Days of Happiness - Day 30

Today we started our General Conference weekend. The first session was almost a write off. The kids decided they couldn't possibly be quiet. So we watched while playing Spiderman on the floor. The second session we were able to watch peacefully since Lili was having a nap and Auron went down to our room to watch a movie but fell asleep pretty soon after.

I loved the messages that were shared. It's kind of like when you start a new year at school and you are all excited to start new and be amazing at doing all your homework etc. I feel like that after General Conference. Hopefully I can put some of the things I heard into practice.

Today's main 'theme' I guess was about how we should not be ashamed of what we believe and stand for. Just because the world is changing doesn't mean that God is changing. I liked that. While we stand strong for what we believe it is also important to do so respectfully. Just because we do not agree with certain practices or trends does not mean we have to be rude and nasty about it.


Ok well this video clip has nothing to do with what I was just talking about but I saw it a few days ago and it made me cry. I loved it.


Friday 11 April 2014

How to Start Your Food Storage

100 Days of Happiness - Day 30

Who knew I would make it to day 30? no me that's for sure. I'm not that great at things like this.

Happiness for today? Food storage. The last few months we have been working hard on our food storage. It's great to be finally see that we have made some good progress.

Why Food Storage?

It's about being prepared for the unexpected. I am sure most of you will agree that times are tough with employment and not to mention all the natural disasters that are occurring. If you were to suddenly face unemployment how much easier would it be if you had a sufficient supply of food to see you through that trial. Yes you may get money from government benefits or income insurance etc but that money will not stretch too far. 
In case of disaster and you were unable to go and buy more food, having a storage of non-perishables would be a much needed blessing for your family and no doubt those around you. 
It's all about being self sufficient.

How much do I need?

Well at the moment our family is aiming for 3 months worth of food with a long term goal of 1 years food supply. 

I can't afford that!

Yes you can.  It's not like you are going to buy it all at once. Look out for sales and buy then. Just add a few extras to your weekly shopping list. For example one week buy a 10kg of rice or a few extra bags of pasta. Aarahi wants me to mention not to forget the nice foods too like cookies, chocolate, candy etc. If you're needing to use your food storage you are probably having a hard time and a good sugary treat will be appreciated. 

What if we never need to use it?

Well lets hope and pray that there is never a reason we will have to rely on it. It's not just something you leave in a cupboard and forget about, you need to rotate it. So use food from it for your regular meals etc just keep replacing it as you go. That way things won't go out of date.

Source





Thursday 10 April 2014

Advice to an Engaged Couple

100 Days of Happiness - Day 29

Ok well this one is a day late but we were out all day yesterday and by the time I got 10mins to myself I was too tired.

Yesterday I had one of the happiest days yet! My little sister/cousin/friend (long story, too complicated to explain and you wont understand anyway) is getting married! You have no idea how excited I am! We have been doing secret wedding planning for a few months now, but were excitedly awaiting the moment when it would all become REAL! now it has! I remember being where she is now, it is an exciting, scary, and exhilarating time. Early this morning I was thinking about what kind of advice I would give to her and Alex at this special time. Here's what I came up with:

Dear Arpege and Alex,

Get ready! Get ready for the time of your life. This is wonderful season of life. Be careful not to let it pass without truly enjoying. Don't let the wedding planning become more important than the relationship.

Watch out! Satan knows your plans, and he does not like them. He will come after you with more force than ever before. Do not let him in! Guard yourselves against him. Study your scriptures together, pray together, keep your boundaries firm, do not cross them not even a little bit. Now is not the time to become complacent.

Practice! Practice selflessness. It has been said that almost all problems in marriage will stem from selfishness. How true that is. Practice now putting your other half before yourself. I promise that when you do yo will find more harmony, more love, less stress and less heartache. It is not easy we are selfish creatures.

Apologise! Even if you know you are right. Just apologise, trust me it's not worth it. Don't be too proud to admit you are wrong or let the other win the argument. It's not a competition.

Don't forget! Don't for get the reason for the season. The reason is to prepare yourselves to make covenants to each other and your Father in Heaven. Take this seriously. Prepare yourselves and do it well. I don't want you to be like me. To be so overwhelmed on the day that you don't remember it at all.

Have fun! Most of all have fun, enjoy this time together. Soon enough pregnancy and babies will come (YEY) and the whole dynamic will change. Enjoy this time when it is just the two of you, it is short. Fill it with adventure and strengthening the relationship so that it will stand strong when trials come. Make memories to last a life time.

If you think you are in love now, it is nothing like the love that is to come.

Love Candice and Aarahi

xoxo





Wednesday 9 April 2014

Weekly Menu

A few people have asked if I could continue to put up our weekly menu so here is this weeks one. This weekend we will be watching our church's General Conference at home. It was broadcast last weekend but because of the time differences we usually watch it the following weekend. 2 years ago we were blessed to be able to attend while we were on holiday in America.

As a bit of a tradition we usually have a special breakfast before we start and have lots of yummy goodies to eat a long the way. The conference is four, two hour sessions over 2 days. There are also two other session decicated for the males aged 8 and over and the girls aged 8 and over. It's such a great time to get some wonderful inspiration.

(Click the menu to see it full sized)


Here are some links to some of the recipes I will be using this week




Jamaican Jerk Pork (chicken)  Apparently this is Usain Bolts favourite dish. I saw it on TV last night it looked AMAZING.




Top 10 Books for Kids

100 Days of Happiness - Day 28

It rained almost non-stop today. Its cold and grey and I LOVE it. I love being able to just curl up inside. Lili is not feeling the best today so was just wanting to be cuddled. I think the extra cuddles is the perk about the only perk of having sick kids. I think if you didn't get those sweet cuddles you might just go insane.

Auron is on his 'Daddy buzz' at the moment. About a week ago Aarahi put a band-aid on his cut finger ever since then he is constantly telling me how Daddy fixed his finger. It really is true that Daddy is a son's first Hero. Never mind the millions of times I've fixed his bumps and bruises! I don't mind though, just happy my kids have such and amazing Dad.

This afternoon like most afternoons we spent about an hour on the couch with blankets reading books. I loved reading when I was younger. My mum used to read to be every night until I was about 12 or 13. It was one of the best memories I have from my childhood. I am thankful that my mum gave me that love for reading. I thought I would share with you some of our favourite books.

One

 Just Like My Dad This is Auron's all time favourite book. My mum bought it for Aarahi for Fathers day before Auron was born.

Two

Dinosaurs Love Underpants This book has little boys written all over it. Dinosaurs and underwear how could you go wrong?

Three

We're Going on a Bear Hunt While this is not one of my favourites both Lili and Auron always want me to read it to them. 


Four

Dear Zoo This is Lili's favourite book, no question about it. We will usually have to read it at least 3-4 times a day. 

Five

Giraffes Can't Dance I love this book because it is so easy to read. The words flow so well that it make for great reading. It also has a great message for kids about how everyone is different. 


Six

There was and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly I have very fond memories of this book from when I was young. My kids are think it's as funny as I do. 

Seven

Good Night Moon The perfect bedtime story

Eight

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy Another easy to ready book. It's also short enough to keep little ones attention

Nine

The Very Hungry Caterpillar This is such a classic book that I think every child should have. Auron enjoys counting all the food that the caterpillar eats. There are also many great craft projects you can do based on this book.

Ten

The Poky Little Puppy This was my husbands favourite book when he was a child. It's a new book for the kids we have only had it a few weeks but so far they are really enjoying this mischievous little puppy.





















Tuesday 8 April 2014

The Day We Had Ice Blocks for Breakfast

100 Days of Happiness - Day 27

Up at 5:30am again this morning, unfortunately not as productive. I spent half the night being sick but thankfully feeling much better once the morning came around. I had quite a few happy moments today.

To start I heard Auron dragging the chair into the kitchen. I was still in bed checking my emails. I gave it 5mins before I went to see what they were up to. I found them eating ice blocks, so I got one for myself as well, yeah I'm that kind of mother.

I had a really good conversation with my sister in law. It's really lovely to have to have someone who share a lot of the same views on things as you. I know we don't agree on everything but on a lot of things I feel like I can really speak my mind and that is something I don't take for granted.

Lili was not having a good morning. By 10am she was just losing the plot so I put her back to bed. She didn't wake up again until 2pm. During that time Auron and I cleaned up the house and managed to do LOTS of school work...well were on a break at the moment so we just played lots of school games. It was really good to have some uninterrupted time with Auron.

Aarahi wants to add in his "Happy" for the day. We filled out some online paper for our bank and found out that compared to other people our age, married and with kids we have more than 80% more in our bank account and save on average 90% more each month. That made him really happy because we didn't feel like we were doing very well in that area. Especially living on one income. What I am curious about is what in the world are people spending their money on?!


Khyber and I.
 Happy 10th birthday Khybie!
I love you and miss you lots
oxox
And yes that is a rat.





Sunday 6 April 2014

Why Don't You Understand!

100 Days of Happiness - Day 26

Today started early! I guess that's what day light savings does to you. I heard the kids get up and go out to the lounge. I stayed in bed a little longer but then started feeling guilty, they were probably hungry. I thought the time was about 8am....wrong it hard barely gone 6am! Oh well.

Every morning I write out a list on the kids blackboard of things I need to accomplish during the day. Today's list was long and included stuff that was going to actually take a decent effort. By 10am I had finished pretty much all of it and we were off for a walk to the park to feed the ducks.

See her hugging her piece of bread?
Oh wow feeding the ducks was an experience. Auron was all for it, he was happy to get up close...perhaps a little too close for my comfort to the ducks geese and other birds to feed them while they were swimming in the lake. Lili on the other hand held on to that bread for dear life. Auron became so frustrated with her. I guess he couldn't see why she would want to keep the bread and not enjoy the ducks like him. Auron kept saying "why Lili? why?" the exasperation in his voice was priceless. Lili just stared at him and said a very blantent "no"

We walked home and had lunch, I made them some yummy homemade sausage rolls which they didn't want...despite the fact that they LOVED them last week. Seriously there is no winning with these too. I made them eat them anyway. I think if I let them they would live on toast, cereal, banana's and yoghurt.

The duck feeding was the highlight of the day, who knew it could be so entertaining?




When Life Give You Lemons

100 Days of Happiness - Day 26

I always enjoy my Sunday School class each week. Today's lesson was on Joseph of Egypt who was sold into slavery by his brothers. If you don't know the story or need a refresher you can read a basic version HERE (it even has pictures!) The main idea of the lesson was to continue on in faith in Christ even when it seems trials and circumstances would have you fall. Joseph was subject to some pretty miserable stuff, I mean his brothers wanted to kill him! Instead they sold him into slavery which in that day in age may have been worse than death. After finding favour with his masters he was thrown in prison for years for something he didn't even do. I don't know about you but I think I would be pretty bitter by now. Joseph however never faulted in his love for the Lord. He made the most out of every situation that was put in front of him. As a slave he worked his way up to the highest honour a slave could have, and became Potiphar's favourite and most trusted. Once imprisoned he gained much favour again and earned responsibility there also. After his imprisonment he became second in command. Only Pharaoh himself was above him. Now think about that for a minute... Is that not something incredible? from slave to second in command over Egypt.

I think there is so much we can learn from this story whether you are Christian or not. It really resonated with me today while I listened. Bad things happen, it's just a fact of life. You have to take the good with the bad. But what if instead of asking "why?" each time a trial heads our way, what about if we asked "how can I turn this into something good?" I have spoken before of the death of my Father, but today's lesson caused me to dwell on it a little more. When he passed away it was sudden and unexpected. There were 5 children in our family at the time. None of us, except the youngest who had just turned 8 were doing exactly what we should be doing. Church and God were not things that we were putting much...if any thought or effort into. In the LDS church when children are 8 they can choose to be baptised (contrary to popular belief the do actually choose for themselves) Teina had turned 8 just a few days before but he had said he wasn't ready, and didn't want to. My sister Eleanor had just married her husband 3 days before hand but although she married a LDS guy they did not marry in the temple. My brothers while they should have probably been preparing to serve missions were more preoccupied with their social lives and gallivanting around the country. As for my self, the best was I could describe myself at that time was 'lost". I had had a tough few years previous and I guess I was just trying to work out who I was.

Now come a full year...down to the week! after our Father had died. My sister was sealed to her husband in the temple, I was married in the temple, Teina had decided to be baptised, one brother left to serve a mission and the other one was in the process of preparing. Now, had our family not had that wake up call of our father's death I doubt any of us would be where we are today. I am sure that we would not be as happy as we are now. I know we wouldn't be as happy as we are now. My mother has said numerous times now that it has been one of the biggest blessing but one of the biggest heart aches. I know blessing come from trials. It is often so hard to see it at the time. You think the whole world is caving in and, how can everything be okay again? Even through the hardest of times if you rely on your saviour the blessings and peace will come. Often they come in small ways that you don;t see until you are out of the darkest parts but I assure you blessings come. Our family is stronger than it has ever been.

So what do do when life give you lemons? Make lemonade.

As a side note, my lovely brothers aren't married yet so if you have some good prospects for them let me know. They are wonderful young men and any girl who manages to win their hearts will truly be blessed indeed.




See handsome boys right? 


Friday 4 April 2014

When Mess Makes You Happy

100 Days of Happiness - Day 24


Lili woke up 5 times between 1am and 8am this morning. When she wakes up she SCREAMS and there is pretty much nothing you can do to calm her down. I don't know what her problems is but it's unbelievable fustrating. I'm pretty calm, relaxed and can hold it together pretty well when it comes to my kids but she really REALLY tries my patience in the middle of the night. I think she just does't like the fact she's woken up and gets so worked up she can't fall back to sleep. When she actually wakes up for the day it's a whole different story, she's the sweetest thing ever and I wonder it the previous 7 hours actually happened.

Due to my lack of sleep I fell asleep on the couch this morning (Aarahi was at work). I remember waking up periodically to see what the kids were up to (really to just make sure they were both still there). They were quiet enough and I would fall back to sleep. When I finally did wake up about 90mins later I looked around my lounge and dining room to access the damage. Cereal all over the ground, 8 apples with bites taken out of them, I'm sure just about every toy they own was strewn across the floor along with the clean washing that needed to be folded. But you know what? That was like the best nap I have had in a LONG time. No amount of mess was going to get me down! I was just felt blessed that they were happy and played/destroyed quietly enough that I was able to get the rest I so desperately needed. 

I made the kids some play dough today. Auron loves it, he literally spends hours a day creating things. You can get the recipe HERE

Add caption



Easy Pizza Dough

100 Days of Happiness - Day 24

Last year sometime Aarahi and I thought now was the time to start some good traditions for our family. We have some pretty fun ones surrounding big holiday's etc but we also wanted some more every day ones too. Friday night in our house is usually PIZZA NIGHT! Homemade pizza because that makes it extra special. I used to make a big batch of yeast dough, divide it into 3 and freeze 2 and use one for that night. Now I am just not that organised these days. I have since found a super easy, taste and fast dough recipe that will have you chowing down in 30mins or less.
I love this tradition and so does my family. It's always fun for us to come up with new toppings. Tonight choice was, tomato, camembert, capsicum, chicken and cranberry sauce. So yes Pizza Night always makes me happy. It's usually finished off with popcorn and a movie.

On a side note, I had some left over cranberry sauce so added it to a bit of mayo and used it as a dip for the potato wedges we had...AMAZING try it.

Easy Pizza Dough

Ingredients

Makes 1 large pizza

1 1/2 C self raising flour plus extra for dusting while you roll it out
1/2 C warm water
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Teaspoon Salt

Method

  • Sift flour into large bowl 
  • Add salt and oil
  • Slowly pour in water mixing to form a soft dough
  • Turn dough out on to bench and gently knead
  • Add more flour or water if needed
  • Dust bench and roll out to your desired thickness.
  • Arrange your toppings on top
  • Bake in a 200 degree (Celsius) oven for 15-20mins


Wednesday 2 April 2014

Show Me the Money!

100 Days of Happiness - Day 24

This year I made it a goal to be more conscious of the money that we are spending. We want to start building our house at the start of next year some time so we...I needed to make sure I was on top of where everything was going. I think I am pretty frugal, and am able to make our money stretch quite well. What really really gets us is travelling. In the past 4 years we have spent probably around 30k on travelling. Maybe more that seems a little conservative. I would actually hate to add it all up.

So imagine my absolute delight when I received our gas bill and it said "account in CREDIT, NO payment required"

Yep made this cold dismal day just that little bit brighter! It's also going to be great going into winter in credit.



The Business of Being Born

100 Days of Happiness - Day 23

Today I watched an amazing documentary called The Business of Being Born. It was one of those ones that leave you thinking for hours...and probably days afterward. I have had two births neither one was exactly what I had planned or hoped for.

Auron's birth was honestly the birth from hell. My mother who is a midwife and sees births day in and day out was even horrified. It left me traumatised, and more that likely was the catalyst for my post natal depression. As horrible as it sounds I really didn't want anything to do with him after he was born. It took a good 6 month until I could finally say I was in love with my son.

When I became pregnant with Lili I swore it was going to be different. I sought help from a social worker and counselor to help me go through the process of healing. I chose a different hospital as I didn't want those memories flooding back as I walked through the doors. I research natural birth and fell in love with the idea of Hynobirthing. For the last 4 months of my pregnancy I did all the exercises and mentally prepared. When Lili was 2 weeks overdue, she stopped moving as much. I went in for monitoring and they decided to induce me. It was a bitter sweet moment. I was relieved to have this baby on the way, but I knew full well that being induced often meant more intense labour, and a high risk of further interventions. It also meant being strapped to monitors for the entire time. When labour picked up I was able to put all my hard work into practice. Oh boy did it pay off. After three hours of labour our sweet Liliana-Mei was born. I was able to mostly have the birth I wanted, but still the induction tainted the the experience a little. In comparison to Auron's birth though this was a walk in the park.

The documentary focused on how society has somehow convinced women that their bodies don't know how to birth. I wonder if I had been in a more comfortable situation, and felt more comfortable within myself if things might have been different. I feel thankful that I didn't end up having to have a c-section with Auron.

Today I was just thankful and amazed at how wonderfully amazing our bodies as women are. More so I am thankful for a mind that is able to overcome horrible experiences. Had I not been able to 'forget' I doubt our beautiful little Lili would be here, or that any future children would exist.


Tuesday 1 April 2014

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

100 Days of Happiness - Day 23

I almost forgot about writing something today. Unfortunately I think I have been struck down with whatever my dear husband had last week, minus the sore stomach thank goodness.
Since I really just couldn't be bothered with doing much today they kids are still in their pajamas from last night. This actually happens more often that I would care to admit. It's not like we're going anywhere right?
LAst night Aarahi went out to drop of the missionaries at the chapel after they had been at our house for the afternoon. When he returned he came bearing a beautiful bunch of flowers. At the moment they and sitting in the middle of my kitchen table, they made me smile each time I walked past today.
At the moment Aarahi and I are both enjoying hearing Lili learn to talk. Auron barely talked up until about 6-7 months ago so having Lili talk so much so young is all new for us. I am amazed at the things she comes out with. Her first word, was thank-you, just like Auron. She just loves to exert her opinion over everything, especially at the dinner table. Everything is "ew yuck" even if she likes it. She gets her point across well and wont be fooled. She was asking for a cookie today which she knew was in the pantry. I offered her a piece of cake from the bench she replied "No tootie! oben-it" while banging on the pantry door.

She was still Lil Miss Cutie even after flying and being in airports for the last 10 hours...still one flight left!
Sydney Airport 2014

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