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Inspirational Skout

Get inspired by YouTube

There is no greater time waster than YouTube!  Some people are so very clever with the cute movies they make, and I always have great intentions to steal a few ideas.  Like the great montage of the pregnant girl with her ever-growing belly - the photos taken in the same room from the start to the end of her pregnancy...in the final frame the nursery is painted and the baby is in her arms.
 
Of course, the pregnancy came and went - with only a few dodgy snapshots taken to remind myself that I was ever actually that huge!
 
Recently, I saw another cute idea that I am a little late for...a year in the life of baby...I love this mostly because of the cute way it has been done, but it is also a reminder that our little people grow so much in a year, without really changing.  Just gorgeous.
 

I'd also like to share this other clip - it goes for about six minutes but boy, will it make you cry.  It makes me so grateful for my bub and I think it is something that every mum (and dad) would so appreciate.  Life is short, it is so important to value every day.
 
 
 
 

Pixel Art

There is no question that a digital camera and a cute kid (and, of your kid is THE cutest!) means that you have a thousand photos sitting around on USB sticks, hard drives or CDs. Even if you are one of those organised types who manages to print their photos, the next challenge is often how to display them.

One of the latest trends on the runways of late is pixel art...like these cute little dresses from UK designer Matthew Williamson (as worn here by actress, Thandie Newton).

So what better way to be on trend AND display all those beautiful images than by creating pixel artwork??

By: Amy Doak

Float Your Boat

How does it feel when you’re doing something you truly love?

Like you have no concept of time? Perhaps you are in a zone and just want to be left alone to swim blissfully in your ocean of fulfilment? Then it happens....back to reality and you have to attend to the little things that keep your world from falling apart.
You know...important things like clean undies, preparing meals and making sure you pick the kids up from school (if you have kids that is. Otherwise that would be illegal; you know to pick up kids from school that are not yours ;) to name a few.
Motherhood (and life) is mostly full of the same tasks day in day out. Generally speaking, I like routine and order...it helps my family and I feel secure. However, today was different and I got a little resentful...perhaps it was the broken sleep from the irritating cough I have that is keeping me up at night, or my kids who were acting like I had just fed them m&m’s with coke in a bowl for breakfast?
Could it have been that as I was leaving to do the school run, I locked us out of the house? Or the fact that I then requested my 4yr old to” just climb through this window sweetie and run to the sliding door and let Mummy in please”. Hmm, tick for not spending money on a locksmith, big cross for inadvertently teaching my 4yr old how to break into a house...
I can assure you that this is NOT how mornings usually run in our house!
I started to feel a little resentful, ok and stressed. It was only 9.30am and already I felt exhausted. However, the day had begun and with it came all the other tasks that have to be completed EVERYDAY. I now had the choice...to let my resentment build and continue going about my day in a stressed out approach OR recognise that my resentment made no difference to what had happened this morning or the stuff I still needed to do.
It just made me FEEL different!
Always one to look on the bright side, I let go of ‘resentment’ and it swiftly took its friend 'stress' with it. I then continued to do what needed to be done and rewarded myself by doing what ‘floats my boat’!
It got me thinking, if I dropped an anchor of resentment every time something went wrong or out of order, my boat would never float! Similarly, we must be mindful of the passengers we have onboard with us...they can either help or hinder our journey! Let’s aim to SPEND our time with people who put wind in our sails just by being around them, not those who are ready to drop an anchor every time a storm brews.
Likewise, we can either be the wind or an anchor for own and someone else’s boat.
Sometimes, amongst the day in day out demands of our ever changing roles, we need to STOP and ask ourselves; when faced with a storm, are you too busy looking for any patch of blue that you fail to see the beauty in the clouds?
The world needs you to do SPEND time doing what you love, chasing your dreams and being INSPIRED to enjoy life.
Never stop pursuing what 'floats your boat' and encouraging others to do the same...you never know just how close you are to launching your boat (or someone else’s) and setting sail!

Daddy Time

"Why don't you want to go to the cricket today?" "I miss my boy and my girl and want to stay home with them today."

This was the small conversation between my husband and I this morning. He had plans to go to watch the cricket today with a friend. At the last minute this morning, he cancelled them and I didn't understand why until I asked him. My husband LOVES the cricket. He has it on the television most of the day (when he wins that battle with our toddler!). It was even the reason we connected Foxtel - more cricket televised. But this morning he decided not to go because he really just wanted to spend time with his children, especially while he is on holidays from work. I felt warm inside to hear him say that, and loved watching him with my son on the front lawn giving golf swing lessons!

 

Photo courtesy of Mum/toddler/babe

Sometimes I feel like I don't encourage him enough in the time he spends with our two little ones, and feel like I probably nag him too much in the way he is with them rather than leave him and them be. The times I do leave him with our children what I usually find is a son covered head to toe in dirt/sand/food, the living room looking like a bomb site, no housework done, a son and daughter with food all over their clothes.....the list goes on. But do you know what I do find? Three smiling, happy faces. The part of me that gets anxious and stressed by seeing the mess around me and what (in my eyes) hasn't been done or done 'my way' often takes too much of a hold that I forget to look past all that and just appreciate the quality time being had by my children and their daddy. This time is so, so precious and I need to just let go of the controlling side of myself that just wants to see the mess gone and things done 'properly'. The mess can wait. And I don't want my husband to feel like the time that he does spend with our children is tarnished by my disapproval of the things that don't meet my standards, that in the grand scheme of things truly don't matter. I guess a lot of the time I become too task focused instead of family focused.

I also feel very blessed that my children have not only my husband but many other fantastic male figures in their lives and I don't want to take that for granted.

Now that my youngest is fifteen months old, I'm finding that I am getting more opportunity to leave them both with their daddy to get my own 'me' time. So this means more relinquishing control and allowing their daddy to be a daddy and to have fun connecting and growing his relationship with his children. I could probably learn a thing or two from their interactions too - about remembering to relax and just enjoy those silly moments with my children without worrying so much about all the dirt, germs and mess that could be involved!
 

By: Virginia Edwards

 



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