The Modern Housewife

We should prepare our children for the future ramifications of their online and social network behaviour!   As every action as an equal and opposite reaction.   As technology and analysis techniques get more and more advanced, so do the chances that your online comments or posts will get analysed and affect your future. You can already get fired for something you say or do online.   Imagine what the future may hold. Visualise in a few years; there will be an analytic application that will process every comment or post ever written by you online or your mouse clicking behaviour and the output will be your personality profile.     This may warn an employer not to go near you because of bulling behaviour, or tell a university you shouldn’t be in their top pick for Vet School because your pet bunny died of unusual causes when you were 7.   Or it might send a potential boyfriend running for the hills because of your internet stalking behaviour.   ...

I have just been hit with the fifth cold this winter. That's ridiculous, its more colds than I have had in the last 5 years and I am not kidding. For two years I didn't even get a cold or flu (pre kids and during my first pregnancy). Its like my immune system is saying "woohoooo come one, come all, free entry to all colds and other annoying illnesses, I am shut down and don't feel like protecting my owner today". What is so different in my life today than three years ago when I was super healthy and never got sick. I have one word for you "CHILDREN". Don't get me wrong I love my kids so so much, but it seems that having two kids screws with your immune system. Well mine anyway. Seems lack of sleep doesn't help either. I also have to go with the fact that we are getting out and spending a lot of time around other kids at play centre and music class etc so we are bound to get more bugs. The sad thing is that my little man has been the one to pass...

When I say my green nappy, I don't mean my little man had kiwifruit yesterday and I am paying for it today. What I am talking about are keeping it green with environmental re-useable nappies. I am so old school in the fact that I LOVE my re-useable nappies. Or am I super modern? As these things are coming back into fashion. Either way I love using them, I love the feeling I get when I pass by the nappies in the supermarket and don't have to buy any. I love seeing those colourful little nappies all lined up on the line. I love that my rubbish bin is empty of disposable nappies. I love seeing that puffy little bum that reusable's create. Although I love using reusable's I realise that it is not everyone's thing, and I really don't judge or care if others don't use them. Whatever works for you I say. What brought this on? Well my little boy is no longer little and has outgrown his Nappy Days Bamboo nappies (small size). Yes I now realise I should have brough...

I am fascinated to see my children grow and develop. To see their personalities being expressed through everyday activities. When they were born, it was fascinating to see what they would look like, and where they got their looks from. Now I am more fascinated with who my children are becoming and what their little personalities are going to be like. Well it seems my older daughter is a little nutter. Hard not to be when you have two nutters as parents, that trait cannot be blamed on just me. She amazes me on a daily basis and is constantly making me laugh. She is a little performer, always signing and dancing for us, with the big finish and everything. Demanding that we clap at the end of her performance. She is stubborn, hands and the hips stubborn, but again that is a trait shared by both her parents. The attention span I have to say she got from her mother. She has the attention span of a fish, approximately 7 seconds and you have lost her. I am hoping it is because she is two....

My drug of choice is "SLEEP". I discovered this in the last week after getting at least 6 hours straight sleep every night. Its like I am on a total high, like someone has slipped something into my drink. Everything is lovely and even when the kids are being naughty they are still as cute as pie. Six hours sleep you say, that isn't much. Well you know what, I'm OK with six hours and I don't want to push my luck, I am thankful for what I am getting. For those of you without children, you have NO idea. Oh yeah young people I hear you saying, "what I go out and don't sleep all night sometimes". Yes that may be, but you haven't felt the result of continued loss of sleep on a daily basis, for months on end. Every night only sleeping in 2 to 3 hour segments. Yes it adds up but you can never really get into that nice deep sleep that makes you feel alive in the morning. There is a reason they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture, it makes you g...

It was Friday evening and Hubby called up from work saying should we go out for dinner tonight. Since it had been over 6 months since we had been out to dinner with the kids I said "Why not". So he booked in very early to avoid the crowds that are inevitable at Monteiths on a Friday. So we turned up at about 5:15pm and I could see the people around us doing that 'oh no they have kids' look, although I think the two high chairs should have clued them on to that one slightly earlier. We secured both kids in their highchairs, and only put the 2 year old in there so that she couldn't escape. It was great, lovely food and a good atmosphere. Luckily it was slightly loud in there so when my daughter decided to use her outside voice we didn't get any stares. It was great, as she is old enough now to understand manners and listens when we explain why she should or shouldn't do something. Whether she actually does it is another thing. For once I was fully prepar...

We are going for a short visit to my mums house this weekend. I was just getting used to travelling with my two year old daughter. She is potty trained now so her bag is substantially smaller than it used to be. I just pack her clothes as I would pack my own, maybe with a few extra pairs of underwear and pants. Since her clothes are soooooo much smaller than mine it means she only needs a little bag. Now I have to pack for a 5 month old as well, oh man. It seems silly that when you go and visit someone for two days that you take 50 bags and just about need a roof rack to hold everything. Ok it isn't hat bad, at least there is a cot, blankets and thousands of toys at mum and dads. Otherwise that car would really be packed to the rafters, with porta cot, blankets, teddy's for baby, nappies, clothes and toys for my daughter etc etc etc. Not to mention the two Nelly's (my daughters little soft toy doll she sleeps with). Why two Nelly's you ask? Well after my daughter got...

I was sitting down finally having a rest after putting both kids to bed.  Tired after a night of taking care of a little girl with a tummy bug, changing sheets after sheets.  Washing clothes, clothes and more clothes after she was sick on us all.  When the door bell rang, I got a little ray of sunshine.  Clare from goshorty was stopping by to drop off the dribble bibs and beanie that I had ordered for my little man.  Wow they are cool, not sure what it is about baby gear but it is so dam exciting.  I wish I could sew but alas I can't and even if I could I doubt my creations would be anywhere as brilliant as these goshorty ones. Check out her website, facebook page and blog Webiste: http://www.goshorty.co.nz/ Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/goshorty.nz Blog: http://www.shortbutnot.blogspot.com/

When I was pregnant with my first child I decided to start something that would keep me busy and utilise my creativeness.  I came up with this giant activity mat.  It was hard to get a picture of this one as it is giant, about three meters by two meters.  I painted onto the calico with material pants, that you iron on after the paint dries.  I painted a collection of pictures and words on the mat and also added numbers, English and Arabic and the alphabet. I initially wanted to put a waterproof cover on the back but due to the lack of my sewing skills and my uncooperative very old sewing machine, I pulled out of that idea.  My two year old is just really starting to enjoy it and loves me shouting out a word and she then runs and jumps on the matching picture.  It is also great for my 4 month old little boy to roll around on as it stops him eating hairy carpet.

I had a light bulb moment this morning, mummy needs to book in "Me time". My light bulb moment occurred as I was about to have a shower and I realised that my leg and underarm hair was nearly a groomeable length. The leg hair I could handle, I mean after all it is winter. But the underarm hair, I actually screamed and jumped back with shock. OK to much information you're thinking, agreed but I needed you to realise that when you are a mum sometimes the simplest of things fail to get done. The problem is, that on the lengthy list of things to do each day kids are first priority, Hubby second priority (what he has the ability to take care of himself). The house is the third priority and Mummy is the last priority. On the majority of days mummy gets jumped off the list to another day (aka just dropped off the list altogether). Why does this happen? Mothers these days are highly educated intelligent people who have temporarily dropped their careers to take care of their...

How do you feel when you see a child that is all snoty with a cold at kindy, music or other activities? Do you take your children out when they are sick? In the past I have always hermitised my daughter and I when either of us is sick. As I don't like going out and getting other people sick. Especially because my daughter is super cuddly and kissy with other kids and I would hate to have her smear her snot all over another child's face. I on the other hand don't really mind if other children are slightly sick at kids activities etc but do mind when they are fully, green snot hanging out of their nose, sick. With my second child having arrive in January I am now in somewhat of a conundrum . I now realise that with two children there is a huge likely hood that at least one of us will have a snotty nose at any given time during the winter. So the question is; to go out or not to go out? Having been in solitary confinement (ok trio confinement) for the past 2 weeks w...