All Mum Said

Telling it like it is...

Kids Havaianas – Transformers & My Little Pony {Review}

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I am totally addicted to my Havaianas! I have been since the first pair I ever bought about 6 years ago. I even wore them under my wedding dress. Sshhhh!

I have been waiting for the day that I can introduce my boys to them as they haven’t really had an interest in anything other than crocs. That is until I showed DJ (5) a very special surprise that the mail man delivered whilst he was at school.

Havaianas have released some brand new designs just for kids. Much to the delight of my sons they have 2 different Transformers designs and for the girls they have now got My Little Pony!! Oh yeah, they also come with a toy!!

Now these are not only great quality pluggers/thongs/flip flops or whatever you call them but they are also super comfortable. I can personally vouch for that!! I love them.

Now as I only have boys and they weren’t interested in wearing pink My Little Pony Havaianas around; I have a pair up for grabs. One lucky reader is going to win a My Little Pony Pack.

Each pack contains 1 pair of Havaianas valued at $24.95 and a My Little Pony or Transformer toy.
Now I’m terribly sorry to everyone who entered this giveaway but I had to end it as Havaianas as a brand do not partake in product giveaways. I am truly sorry about the mix up.

 

 Disclaimer: I have not received any cash payment for this giveaway; I received a a pair of each as mention above.

All opinions are my own & always will be!

Part 2 – The Result of the Lesson

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The Result of the Lesson
It has been a bit over a week since I went all hard core and stripped Ds’ room down to nothing more than a mattress. How has he gone you ask? Has he learnt anything or was it a complete and utter waste of my time? Well this is how the week went.
The day of destruction and the couple of days following were not received very pleasantly by Mr 5. Not only did he hate his stuff, he now had it in for C and me. Which is fine, I completely understood where he was coming from. In his eyes I was the bitch that took all his stuff (that he hated so much!) and gave it to nicer and more appreciative owners. His little brother K was one of these happy new owners.
After a few days he cooled off and asked if he could have his toys back. The answer was ‘No’. This lesson will not be learnt if I just give his stuff back; it would completely defeat the purpose of what I did. I stuck to my guns. This time however instead of getting angry and kicking the wall or throwing something (makes it easy as he had no toys to throw) he simply asked K if he could play with some of his toys. K obligingly said ‘yes’.
We explained to him how there are people who have nothing and still don’t complain, they make the most of life and appreciate what they have and what people give them. This stuff might not be new, it might not be food they like but it keeps them alive. We showed D clips from the Red Cross and Salvation Army to show him that some people have nothing and how he should be grateful we can afford the things we do.
After seeing that kids not much older than him have to sleep on the streets and eat out of rubbish bins so they don’t starve it was like something inside his head clicked. He saw an advert on one the clips asking for everyone to donate when the door knockers came around and he asked if he could. He got his money box, so did K and they got half of their money out ready to donate. All we needed now was door knockers.
Well, as you have probably read in my post last weekend the door knocker plan didn’t go so well. If you missed it you can read it here. D couldn’t understand why they refused to take his money when there were people who really needed it.
Ds’ attitude has changed dramatically (for now at least!) but it’s a step. He has been helping more with everyday things, helping his brother, tidying up after himself, etc. By day 4 he asked if I could put his bed back in his room. After his help the past couple of days I thought there is no harm in giving his bed back. C put it back together and he made his bed.
Day 5 he asked if he could have his toys back again, I told him that he will need to ask K if he can have any of them back. If K says no then you can’t. Luckily for D, his little brother can be very kind and gave him a few back. It wasn’t all the toys K choose to have but more so a handful of matchbox cars. D was overwhelmed, he hugged K and said ‘Thank you so much K, I love you’.
By this point I’m thinking something has sunk in. Before he would have kicked and screamed and carried on that he wanted such-and-such a toy but not now. He was just happy to have a few cars. This is the lesson I was trying to teach. It does however go even further than this. C sewed a button back onto Ds’ pyjama shirt (yes C is the sewer of the family!) and D couldn’t have been happier or cuter I must add. He went up to his father and said ‘Dad thank you for fixing my button, I really appreciate it!’
D has continued to be helpful around the house and his attitude has maintained its adjusted new found appreciation so we thought it would be fitting for him and K to take the money that they were going to so kindly donate and buy a toy with it. I added the coins I was going to donate so between the two of them they had $39 each to spend.
He almost cried when I told him he could have this money to buy a new toy. That is a step in the right direction if I don’t say so myself.
I had no idea in the beginning how this lesson would turn out. Would it backfire? I wasn’t sure but in my eyes it was worth a go. Now in part 1 of this story I mentioned I may lose a few followers and guess what? I did. I however bid them farewell, my parenting style works for my kids. They know when I say something I follow through. I don’t joke when it comes to them learning life lessons (yes I know they are young but in my opinion a child is never too young to start respecting).
So for now, I would have to say that this lesson has been taken on board and accepted. Lesson learnt! I know that this issue will arise again at some stage in the future and yes I will do the same thing again. For my kids and I, this works. It teaches them.
How do you teach your kids lesson in life? Does it work?

Teaching a Lesson in Appreciation

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Teaching a Lesson in Appreciation
This is more of a rant for me to blow off steam then it is a heart felt warm and fuzzy feeling post.
I would however love and appreciate any help, ideas, suggestions or heck even some vodka if your buying! (This post was actually written last weekend before the doorknockers came)
I have officially had enough! I thought I was raising my kids to be grateful and respect what they have but the message seems to have been squished and washed away like a bug on the windshield. My 5 year old who I must say is generally well behaved, has decided this last week that being a horrible devil child is more suited.
It only appears to be when he’s at home that his behaviour changes, when he’s at school he is very well behaved and excels. At home he presses my buttons within 30 minutes (easily) of me being awake. All of a sudden he HATES everything! If I ask him to do something, anything regardless what it is he responds with “I Hate ‘that’”.
How has this happened?
How has this happened so fucking quickly?
He has always been disciplined so he has never gotten away with this kind of shit. I am absolutely stumped as to why he has become this little ungrateful so and so all of a sudden. I did however take matters into my own hands today; I have plain and simply had enough! I’m over this attitude and he will learn the hard way. He has left me no choice.
I asked him to clean him room – “I hate my toys” so in the bin they went! (I let K (3) choose some that he wanted and then I took the rest to the Salvo’s so a child who will appreciate them can enjoy them). He has no toys left.
I asked him to make his bed – “I hate my bed” so I unbolted his bed and removed it from his room. He now has a mattress on the floor in his room.
Right now you may be thinking that I am a horrible mother and have taken things too far, I however would have to disagree. He is the kind of child who needs to be shown what it is like to have nothing before he can understand. He will learn to respect and appreciate what we have and how hard everyone has work to own and enjoy the things they do have.
K our 3 year old is respectful (for now at least) so I’m hoping this lesson will be learnt and learnt fast. I cannot go on feeling deflated and at a loss, his attitude towards um…. Well pretty much everything sucks. It just has to stop. I’m putting a stop to it – NOW!
Some of you (if you have made it this far) may stop following my blog because of my blunt honesty and parenting techniques and that is fine. I will not pretend to be the perfect parent with the most perfect kids. I am learning! It is trial and error for me as it is for so many other mums and dads.
Judge me or support me – it’s up to you but thank you in advance for the honest and non-judgemental people who decide to stick around with me.
RANT DONE!
In the next few days part 2 – The Result of the Lesson will be up. So if you stick around you will see if it worked or if I need to try something else.

Chilli and Chorizo Fettuccine Recipe

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 We are all busy these days and it is always good to have some quick meals as a back up. My chilli and chorizo fettuccine recipe is quick, easy and budget friendly.
Prepared, cooked and on the table in under 20 minutes!

Chilli and Chorizo Fettuccine Recipe

Serves 4
Ingredients
3x chorizo sausages
1x small onion
1x tbs chunky garlic
1.5x tbs basil
1 tsp – 1 tbs x chilli (depending on how spicy you like it!)
400g fettuccine
1x jar of Dolmio pasta sauce (you can make the Nap sauce if you prefer)
1x tsp sugar (this prevents the sauce going bitter)

 

Method
1.  Boil water for pasta.
2.  Dice onion, slice chorizo and fry.
3.  Add fettuccine to water only when it is boiling.
4.  Add garlic, basil and chilli to chorizo and onion.
5.  Cook it off, you will smell amazing aromas as they entwine.
6.  Drain fettuccine when cooked.
7.  Add sauce to pan and stir gently until hot.
8.  Mix in sugar.
9.  Stir fettuccine through.
10. Serve to your grateful family with Parmesan cheese.
11. Leave the dishes for someone else!

 

Click for more pasta recipes.
Have you tried my Chilli and Chorizo Fettuccine Recipe? What did you think?

Dedication to my Mum

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Dedication to my Mum
In the spirit of Mothers Day, I wanted to write a post about how much my mum means to me and how much I appreciate everything she has done and sacrificed for me, my brother and sisters.
My wonderful mum & Me

 

This amazing woman not only gave birth to me and walked me down the aisle but she raised me to be strong and independent. She taught me to have confidence in myself and know that whatever I wanted to do if I set my mind to it and focused, I could achieve it. She showed me that I can be an individual and don’t have to follow the crowd. I can say no when I don’t agree and yes because I want to. I can be myself and not what I think everyone else wants.
She showed me that a sense of humour is an incredible tool in life. When you feel like life has dropped you in the middle of cactus field with nowhere to go, you can laugh or should I say pull the prickles out and know tomorrow will be better. She had a tough life but grew into a stronger and better person for it. This resilient woman sacrificed so much for us that I can’t even begin to list them.
My mum was tough at times when I was growing up but it was always for our own benefit. It has really only been since I’ve become a mum myself that I have realised this, well you know when your younger but you don’t appreciate it. I do now! 
She let us be kids and she joined in too. She let us set up camp with our mattresses in the hall way, she baked us cookies and cakes. She was fun and adventurous or at least she pretended to be and that was good enough for us. She would have running races with us – man she was quick!
We learnt the difference between right and wrong and were allowed to make mistakes. Boy did we make some mistakes!  She taught us values that are important and vital in life. Regardless what we did or even now what we do – she loves us unconditionally.
She had a ‘verbal’ list of what we called her favourite things to say. ‘Do we live in a tent? – Shut the damn door’. ‘You’re not made of glass – get out of the way’! ‘I should make an ad telling you to do your jobs – maybe then you’ll remember them’. There are so many more but I now find myself using these horrible and annoying lists of *mum quotes* that I swore I would never say. How wrong was I!?   
Her door was and still is always open when we want or need to talk. I love that she didn’t try and be my ‘best friend’ – she tried to be a great mum and she was. She is. She is the kind of mum I strive to be.
She made us laugh, she made us cry, she made us strong, she let us be vulnerable and she let us be brave. She let us be ourselves!
                                                     
She is amazing, she is beautiful and she is my Mum.
Thank you for everything you have done for me, you mean the world to me.
I love you.

xx Kell

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