Cool Cubes

I used to hate packing. It was a job that I always put off until the last minute and then I’d leave for my holiday with that horrible uneasy feeling of having forgotten to pack something.  Not any more….

I had read about packing cubes before and thought about trying them but the ones I had seen were always expensive and I wasn’t sure if I would get on with them. Then I saw some in Ikea. I think they were £7.99 full price but only £5.00 with an Ikea family card. Sold!

I started off with some pink ones for my daughters and some blue ones for me (they come in two colours). You get four cubes in a pack which is a bargain. This means you are able to put shorts in one cube, t-shirts in another, underwear in another etc. When you roll your items you get so much more inside. Then, when you are done, you just stack them all neatly inside your suitcase. Nice and organised!My daughter found opening her trunkii so much easier. Everything didn’t fall out everywhere and she could find what she was looking for. I now look forward to packing for a trip!

What makes your life easier when it comes to packing?

 

Morning Routine

Okay, so my morning routine needs an overhaul. I could be so much more productive and I’ve read so much on maximising your mornings. I’m totally convinced by it so why is it so hard to change?

With children around, it is so hard to find time for myself during busy days. I could definitely better utilise my mornings to make time for the things that are important to my me, my health and well-being. If I wake up and nurture that side of myself then surely I can fulfil my roles as wife and mother with more energy and zest.

My mornings go fine when I am at work. I get up at 6.30am, quick run, shower, dressed, breakfast, out the door at 7.30am. It is still a rush however and I could probably improve things further. When I am at home however, the morning doesn’t go so well. The problem I find is that if I get up early I have to set an alarm, which then wakes my husband who does not want to get up this early (and gets grumpy with me) and then cannot get back to sleep! I then proceed to wake my children up unintentionally when I go in the bathroom (you can hear everything in our house) so then there is no point getting up early to have time to myself. Dark and cold (English winter time) further serve to put me off venturing out of bed too early.

It is never a good start to the day when my daughter comes in to wake us up. This immediately sets the day off on the wrong foot and there never seems to be any time then to get myself ready.

In an ideal world I would like to go for a run, have some quiet time for thinking about the day ahead, have some time to read or study something new, have breakfast and get dressed – all before the others wake up. Ambitious?

In an attempt to get on top of things I have just signed up to Hello Mornings. Hopefully this will give me the kick start I need. Anybody out there got any advice for me? What do you do that works well?

Why do I teach?

The Starfish Story (originally written by Loren Eiseley)

A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore.  Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean.
“Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?,” he asks.
“Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them further in they will die.”
“But, old man, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it!  You can’t possibly save them all, you can’t even save one-tenth of them.  In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won’t make any difference at all.”
The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference to that one.”

I love this story and it perfectly illustrates why I went in to teaching. What about you? Is there a story/poem/piece of art that inspires you to do your job?

My Friend The Nutribullet

“Put it back dear,” said my husband as I loaded the Nutribullet in to our Costco trolley, “you know you’ll never use it.”

Ha! How wrong he was.  Here’s why the nutribullet has become my best friend in the kitchen:

1. I can set up my breakfast the night before, meaning I don’t need to think about my healthy smoothie in the morning. I just put the cup out on the side in my kitchen, throw in a bit of frozen kale or spinach and some frozen mixed berries and leave it to defrost overnight. I also throw in a handful of seeds or nuts. In the morning I can just grab a banana to add or quickly chop an apple, add a bit of liquid, put the blade on and voila! A lovely healthy start to the day and a great breakfast after going for a run.
2. I can make lovely fruit smoothies for my daughters. My two year old is a bit unsure but the baby loves them and it’s much cheaper than buying pouches of Ella’s kitchen.
3. It is so easy for our baby to eat what we are eating. No faffing about making separate baby friendly meals for us. We just put a portion of whatever we are having in the nutribullet, add a bit of milk or water depending upon what it is and we have healthy, nutritious pureed baby food. Easy to make as smooth as you want or with lumps for when they get a bit older.

I’m also going to try making some different sauces in it too as I discovered cheese and milk blended makes a lovely cheese sauce!

So husband dear, you may eat your words!

Anybody got any great recipes to share?

Paper, Paper Everywhere!

I finally got sick of trying to squeeze any more papers in to my little black filing box. The final straw came when I cut my finger on a sharp bit of metal while groping around in the bottom of the box trying to find a paper that hadn’t been filed. It had got that full that I had just taken to dumping papers anywhere and shutting the box. Very quickly.

When I decided to finally tackle the paper problem, I decided to invest in a filing cabinet. Not an expensive one, just a cheap Staples one. I knew that I wanted to do the job properly and in order to do that I needed more space for my papers. I also knew that I didn’t have the time to make my own system, so I googled ‘ready made filing kits’ with not a lot of success.

The only system that I found that fulfilled ALL of my needs was the Freedom Filer. The more I read about it, the more I realised that this was the system for me. Being in the UK, I had to have it shipped directly to my home address from the US as for some unknown reason Amazon (UK) don’t currently stock it.  This was quite an expensive option but I figured it was worth it as I don’t plan on changing the system any time soon. I love that it is colour coded and self-purging.  If you want to learn more about it, there is a great video on Alejandra.tv which explains all you need to know.

Now my paper clutter at home is contained, I just need to get on top of my school paper clutter.  I will be sure to share this soon.

What do you do to reign in the paper chaos? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.

A Little Bit of Spanish

Following on from my last post on running, I thought I would share how I’ve been managing to accomplish another goal I have set for myself. A while back I wrote down all my goals and decided that now was the time to start working on some of the larger ones.  If not now, when?

We are all busy people and often pushed for time so I began to think about the time that I do have and how best to utilise it. I realised that there is a lot of time in my life that exists during everyday tasks such as driving, cooking, cleaning, running etc. that is not being used effectively.

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts recently and have come to really enjoy them. There really is something for everyone and all for free! The ones I have been listening to are informative and educational.  I started to catch up on my favourites while doing my everyday mundane tasks and do you know what? Those tasks became a lot more fun 🙂

A goal I have had for a while is to start learning Spanish.  We travel to Spain each year to holiday there and it would be fantastic to learn enough of the language to get by and be understood. So, I decided to listen to a short podcast on each of my runs.  Normally I would listen to music, which is great, but by listening to something educational it is helping to smash another of my goals.  I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before!

The podcast I am currently listening to is Coffee Break Spanish and it’s great. Just enough content in each session to give you some basics.

I’d really like to know if anyone else is using any other great resources or has any tips on language learning. Please comment below.

Pounding The Pavement

Over the years I have tried many forms of exercise.  As a competitive gymnast in my childhood, exercise has always played a huge part in my life. When I don’t exercise I feel tired, irritable, lethargic – the list goes on.

As a new(ish) Mum, time is now of the essence.  I have to do something that is short, sharp and hits the spot. That’s where running comes in. It’s fairly easy (if you stick at it for more than a few weeks) it’s free and you don’t need to travel anywhere to take part in it.  Huge advantages in my book.

The best time of day to run, in my opinion, is first thing in the morning.  When I’m at work, the alarm goes off at 6am and I sleepily grab for my running gear. I do it before I have the chance to fully wake up and realise what is going on. In the Winter it is cold and dark and the shock to the system almost takes your breath away.  But it is so worth it.  Here’s why:

• Starts the day in a positive way
• Increased productivity
• Mental alertness
• Strong body = strong mind
• Release of endorphins – the feel good factor for the rest of the day
• You feel a sense of achievement

No more excuses for me.  I don’t get to the end of the day and feel too tired, busy etc. to fit my run in because I made it a priority. It’s so important to make time for myself and my needs at the beginning of the day, that way I  can be a better wife, mother, teacher etc.

I only run about 2.5k each day, a bit further when I have time. However I am fairly consistent with it which means that I do see results in terms of feeling fitter, stronger and keeping my weight down. A couple of friends recommended the Strava app to me and I’ve been trying that out for a while now.  It keeps me accountable.  I like that I can track my route and times and see when my friends are running and how they are doing.

How do you keep yourself in check with exercise?

Finding Some Headspace

One of the best things I did for myself while I was pregnant was to take some time out and practise a bit of yoga. I found a local class especially for pregnant Mums and went along feeling somewhat sceptical. I had been to the midwife the week before, complaining of a bad back.  At 30 weeks pregnant this was hardly surprising as I was carrying also much extra weight. The midwife recommended simple stretching exercises to alleviate the pain. I considered buying a DVD and doing some stretches at home but with the best will in the world I was probably not going to do them regularly over the next 10 weeks. I decided to hold myself accountable by joining a class.

The class was really informal and all the ladies I met were lovely.  The teacher was obviously very well qualified and after the first session my lower back pain had eased. I was truly amazed! Each class followed the following format:

1. Introduction – We had to say our name and due date. The teacher also asked a question each week that we had to answer e.g. Tell us one thing that you are going to do this week to help you to relax.

2.  Warm up – A guided meditation focusing on our breathing.

3.  Main lesson – Stretches with a thorough explanation on which areas of our bodies were benefitting and how the exercises could help in labour.

4.  Guided relaxation –  The lights were always turned off during this section of the class. We were encouraged to close our eyes and lie in a comfortable position. We were encouraged to focus on and connect with our baby.

5.  Eat chocolate – Our favourite part of the class! The teacher bought us either chocolate, sweets or biscuits each week. We would pass them around the circle while chatting and connecting with other Mums.

What did I get from each class?

• A rush of endorphins – I always went home from the class feeling relaxed and happy.
• The stretches cured any aches and pains I had.
• It reduced my overall stress level.  As a busy primary school teacher I always looked forward to my class knowing that I could channel my stress and put things in to perspective.
• I met new Mums, some of whom I am still friends with.
• I didn’t feel alone.  Other people understood.
• Time to connect with my baby.

I really feel that my successful water birth was as a result of all the things I learned from going to yoga. I felt fit and had a positive frame of mind when labour started.  I also used many of the visualisation strategies we had been taught to breathe my way through the pain.

I have a second beautiful baby girl now and am busier than ever, which has led me to reflect on my yoga days. Just thinking about the many benefits of a regular slot of time where I could just focus on myself and my body have made me question why I am not carrying this practice forward in to my life right now. I stumbled upon an app called Headspace after listening to the Podcast of the same name. I am only on day 4 of the free trial but I can already see the benefits of building something like this in to a daily habit. Anyone else tried this? It’s rather like the yoga warmup we used to do. There is a lot of focus on your breathing and letting go of your thoughts in order to reach a more relaxed state. Andy Puddicombe’s voice is very calming and I will certainly carry on with my trial. I’m trying to find 10mins at the beginning of my day to practise.

I’d love to hear about your thoughts on giving yourself some ‘headspace.’ Let me know in the comments.

The Perfect Planner/Diary

‘Productivity is never an accident.  It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort.’

Paul J. Meyer

Whenever I come across someone who looks as though they are doing it all and juggling everything, I often think to myself, how is this possible? They are so lucky that they have the time to do x, y and z while working full time and taking care of children. It is only really since having children that I have truly begun to understand what it really means to be organised.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not without organisational skills. I mean, I’ve taught classes of 30+ children for the last 15 years so I know that I’m not a total disaster.  It’s just that I never seem to have enough time to do EVERYTHING I need to do in a single day.

So, in my quest to find out how to do/have/be everything, I did what I do best.  Researched.

We all start off with the same amount of time in any given week – 168 hours to be precise. I just came to realise that some people make better use of their time than others. So all these people who look as though they are effortlessly cruising through life? Well they’re not, they’ve just learned how to manage their time efficiently.

I started to look for tools that could help me to do the same. Many people use electronic calendars and apps and really get on with that but after a short trial I realised that this method just wasn’t for me. Possibly in the future I may have to switch over to this method as life gets more complicated and I can see that having the option to synch my calendar with my husband would work great when co-ordinating the school run etc. However, I love the physicality of my pen and paper. I love handwriting and colour and writing lists and plans so I carried on with my search.

I wanted something different.  Not just a boring old diary.  I want to enjoy carrying it with me each day and enjoy crafting all these plans I will be making. So the diary section at Staples, WHSmith and Rymans just didn’t cut it. I turned to the internet for help in finding this beautiful little tool I craved to help me to be that person who does it all .

I narrowed it down to two options. The Passion Planner and Emily Ley’s Simplified Planner. The Passion Planner is available to buy or download.  I decided against a planner that I would have to print out as I thought it may be costly (I don’t have a great printer) and if I had to take it to Staples or somewhere to get it bound etc I may never get around to it.

Therefore I came to terms with the fact that I would need to purchase my planner as a ready-made product. Hmmmm.

The Passion Planner

OR

Emily Ley’s the Simplified Planner

Which one would you choose? Both so pretty and so functional.

I finally decided on the Simplified Planner. Why? Because it is just that. Simple.  I knew that I wanted half-hour time slots throughout the day so I could manage my time efficiently: both planners have this. The only other things that were top of my wish list were a to-do list and a meal planning box. Both of these items were covered. Perfect for home life and my never ending list of teaching duties at work.

I really loved the passion planner also but I felt it was more of a journal type planner and although there are so many cool features in it, I think it would be too distracting for me and I would want to fill in all the journal pages and spend lots of time making it look pretty. I LOVED the goal setting part of the Passion Planner and aim to take something from the logical way the PP allows you to integrate your goals in to your calendar. It’s definitely a product that I would use in the future and I will keep it in mind for 2017!

The Simplified Planner is now sitting in its beautiful box on my desk just waiting to be used. I can’t wait to start 2016 with intention and new plans. I’m taking back MY time!

Anyone else have experience of using these Planners? How do you organise your time? Love to hear from you x

My favourite Baby Changing Bag

Early on in my second pregnancy I made the decision to buy a new changing bag.  A changing bag is one of those items that you don’t realise how much it is going to impact your life until you start using it everyday.  It can totally make or break how organised you are.

First time around I decided on a standard black bag. It was just a run of the mill black changing bag, chosen so my husband wouldn’t feel self-conscious if he ever had to use it on his own (I’m not sure that pink is his colour!) Back then, we did not realise what an important purchase this was. I wanted to show you all a pic of the one we had but it doesn’t look as though it is made anymore. Just as well, as the zips broke off pretty early on and it wasn’t the strongest design. It had two pockets on the inside and a cooler zip compartment on the outside.

When I went out for the day I would pack the bag with everything I thought I was going to need for a newborn.  Typically, nappies, wipes, cream, muslin square, change of clothes, cardigan, coat, hat etc. I would also put my own things in there to eliminate the need to carry another bag, so in would go my purse, phone and keys.  This quickly turned in to a nightmare whenever I wanted to find anything!  My phone would ring and I would be in the middle of a shop or the street and would be pulling everything out trying to find my phone at the bottom of the bag.  Or the baby would be sick and I would be trying to find the Muslin underneath a mountain of things.  I’m sure you get the picture.  This would be made all the worse when punctuated with a crying baby.  I would get red, hot and flustered which, lets face it is never a good look.

The bag was also heavy and never hung well on the pram.  It was forever slipping down the handles which was most annoying. This prompted me to really do my research when purchasing a brand new changing bag.

Enter Pacapod.

Exactly. what. I. was. looking. for.

My friend Alison actually recommended this product to me as she was so happy with hers and I ended up getting the same model but in a different colour.  The reason that I went with this bag is because of its ingenious design.  It is called Pacapod because it is literally just that – two pods that are packed inside a bigger one.  They can be used separately or together.

What do I think of it? I love love love love it!  Everything is organised. One pod is for nappies and the other is for milk and has a bottle cooler inside or when your baby is weaning you can carry food inside.  They are a very good size.  I currently use it for my two girls, one of whom is potty trained now but there was a period that I needed to fit two lots of different sized nappies in there to accommodate both girls and I could do that with ease!  I also carry an industrial sized pack of wipes and they also fit with no problems.  My mini cream pot and hand sanitiser snuggle in nicely too. There is a little pocket inside of the main pod compartment with a fold away changing mat.  This is very durable and has lasted us despite numerous little accidents on it.  Ooops! I also love that the nappy pod itself has a little pocket on the back so that if you decide to use the pod on its own then you still have somewhere for your mat. It’s great just being able to take the pod part off the bag to take in to the toilet instead of lugging the whole bag around.

The food pod is also big enough to accommodate drinks for both my girls and sandwiches/fruit/snacks. All you need really.

The truly fabulous part about the bag is that it has one side just for me. Woohoo! There is a zippered part where I can put my phone (in a special little pocket) my purse and a clip on an elastic where I can put my keys. No more lost keys! The bag is also incredibly stylish so I don’t mind so much that I’m using a changing bag as it doesn’t actually feel like one.

What’s in it for my husband you may ask? This next feature definitely sold it to him. Wait for it. It turns in to a rucksack!  My husband loves rucksacks.  Now my Mr can feel all manly – and with a changing bag of all things!

Now these little beauties come in a variety of styles and colours.  The one pictured is just the style and colour I personally chose. I would 100% buy this bag again.  It wipes clean and shows little signs of wear and tear despite having used it rather heavily.

A step in the right direction on my quest to become even more organised.

So over to you.  Do you have a favourite changing bag? Anyone else using Pacapod? I would love to hear from you.

• All opinions are my own.  I am not an affiliate of Pacapod.