Invitation to join my project

It's been hard going since my brother and his family returned back to the UK. We'd spent two fabulous weeks all together, and the return to work life and normality have taken a bit of a toll on my soul.... Surely life is too short to not be spending every precious moment with those you love!?

But if I continue down that path, then this post will become about priorities and the whole work/life balance, which would lead me to acknowledge and admit that mine is pretty out of whack. And I'm not ready to deal with the fall out from that just yet.

So to help me find my inner happy place again, I'm going to restart my Gratitude Project for the month of April (and beyond!) - and I would love for you to join along!

It's simple. Once a day, I'd like for you to sit quietly and think about three things that you are most grateful for in that day and write it down.

Personally this works best for me at bedtime, when I have a few quiet minutes to reflect without distraction. But if you find that it works for you first thing in the morning, or lunchtime, or whilst driving to the office, then go with what feels best!

{Photo credit}

I will be using my blog as my gratitude journal, and writing my gratitudes here - I usually add a little snippet of my day too... Not only does it give you all a peek into my life and who I am, but also for the days I struggle to find something to be grateful for; I like to look back for reminders or inspiration, and I find that leaving a small record of my day helps to jog my memory.

Maybe you have a journal or a diary, or even a post-it note that you stick on a door - just make sure you write it down. I find that the act of writing down the things I am thankful for solidify them in my mind. They might start off as something that feels a bit silly thinking of as a gratitude, but once it is written down it will become real and you will feel truly thankful for it.


And if you feel so inclined, please feel free to share your gratitude with me, I would love to see what makes you happy!... and to find inspiration from you - sometimes a gratitude can be hard to find.

I also will be taking pictures for my Mum's the Word Instagram page to visually share my world with you. I will be using the hashtag #MTWGratitudeProject. I hope to see you there :)

Here's to a month of being thankful!

Returning to business as usual

So it’s been a VERY busy two weeks – so much laughter, talking, eating, drinking and general hanging out with my brother and his wife and watching our children play together.  It was exhausting, elating and so SO good for my soul.

We mostly stayed at my parent’s house south of Sydney, but we did venture out to a gorgeous South Coast beach for two nights. The best thing about that (apart from two full days with just the two families), was that all the kids were so exhausted after a day at the beach or running around playgrounds that they were all in bed and asleep by 7.15. Which meant that we were all able to sit in peace and quiet with a glass of wine and watch the moon rise over the water. Bliss.

The other bonus of my two weeks off is that I had a forced break from my personal social media habit. Some of it was self imposed, but mostly it was because I had no WiFi and a rapidly dwindling data allowance!

The benefits of not being on social media for my mental health have been fantastic. I wasn't constantly posting witty statuses or pictures of my children, and then constantly checking for who had liked my posts or who had made a comment – in short, I didn't spend the whole time searching for a perceived “approval” from my friends.

I was still posting occasional pictures on Instagram, but I spent the two weeks trying my very hardest to be present in the moment.

It’s hard though. On the one hand I wanted to watch every moment that our children were interacting; watching the starts of bonds of friendship between the four boys. But on the other hand, I also wanted to take pictures of these special moments and record them for family members who couldn't be with us.

It’s a fine line, one that I think I managed to balance better than I had anticipated. Of course my obsession with Words With Friends was another issue entirely!

Every evening, as I lay in bed, I thought about the Gratitude Project post that I would have been making on my blog for the day. So even though I wasn't writing it down for all to see, I was still going through the process and appreciating everything that made up my days.

To be honest – pretty much every day ended with me being grateful for having the opportunity to spend time with my brother and his family, and to watch the four cousins interact.

The double bonus of my brother being over here, is that it’s made Mr M and I decide to set a savings goal for a trip back to the UK. I’ll be eligible for Long Service Leave in about 3 years, so we’re using that as a starting point for departure dates as it means I’ll be able to take 7 or 8 weeks.

It’s been a long time since we last traveled proper. And just quietly, the thought of having a trip to plan and a goal to meet has boosted my happiness through the roof!

When was your last big trip? Where did you go?

Gratitude Project - 1st to 3rd March

What a fab few days I've been having!! I've had a day just with my little family unit, a day with my Dad's side if the family and now a whole day with my brother and his gorgeous family.

I feel so blessed and blessed out; it's awesome!!

Things I am grateful for today:

1. Just to harp on about it; my bro. Seriously, he's awesome. His wife is awesome (and such a hoot!!). His kids are awesome. And they are all mine for the next two weeks!!

2. My extended family. We see each other two or three times a year, and it's always such fun when we get together. Rain stopped the boules comp this time, but there's always the next picnic!

3. My slow cooker. Came home from the family picnic to a house the smelt delicious. Dinner was practically ready and I had done next to nothing, bar some chopping. That's my kind of cooking! ;)

What's your favourite household gadget?

Gratitude project - 28th February

It was a long day at work - they usually are when you're trying to get everything done before you take time off. But it's done and dusted; I am now on two weeks leave, ready to spend pretty much all of it chillaxing with my bro and his family. I'm sure there's going to be a bottle or two to wash the conversations down with :)

Things I am grateful for today:

1. Getting my work done, and knowing that I don't have to worry about it for the next two weeks! Yay!

2. Tired children. They both went to sleep with little drama; such a relief!

3. Home delivery. No cooking and no cleaning. Best invention ever!

Did you have a successful day? What are your weekend plans?