Every now and then something comes across your path that just makes you say YES!

Today it was this…

 

To read more about this speech, check out this information from Joe Berkowitz

I am really excited to introduce today the first Australian Design In Focus business to Louisa Claire: MummaBubba Jewellery, owned by the incredibly lovely Tash.

 

Since becoming a Mum I have said goodbye to many lovely necklaces, either because one of the kids (I’m looking at you, Bear!) has broken them or because I too afraid they will be broken to wear them. Enter MummaBubba jewellery and Tash’s gorgeous range of child friendly necklaces, bangles, bracelets and pendants.

I was introduced to MummaBubba at the same time by two different women I admire and thus it sparked my interest. I now am the delighted owner of two necklaces (one I bought and one I was gifted by my lovely friend Alli when Bluey arrived) and the only reason I don’t own more is because I can’t decide which one to get next!

Today we get to go behind the scenes of MummaBubba and chat with the creater Tash…

Tell me how MummaBubba came about? What sparked the dream? When my baby was about 5 months old I would take my bangles off for her to hold while I changed her nappy. Of course the first thing she would do with the bangles was put them into her mouth. I suggested to my husband someone should make Jewellery that would be safe for babies to chew on, which he responded “That’s a silly idea”. I then researched the market and thought that I could make a contribution with my designs and ideas.

What’s your vision for MummaBubba? My vision is to take MummaBubba around the world. We have already expanded to New Zealand and we have Japan and the UK only weeks away from launching. I hope mums continue to find our products an essential part of their wardrobe.

Can you take us behind the scenes and tell us a bit about what a typical day looks like? Our  morning is usually full of chaos. I have two little girls ages 2 and 5 so by the time I drag them out of bed at 7.30am we do the usual morning routine that I’m sure every other mum has to go through.  After school drop off  I then head to our office/warehouse where I spend the rest of the day either on the phone, skype or email talking to our factory, our stockists and our customers! There never seems enough hours in the day to get everything done and I generally have to log back on at night after the girls go to bed.

What do you love most about running MummaBubba? I’m a creative person, so I find the design process of my business the most rewarding. I love playing with pantone cards and drawing up samples and ideas for our next release. The best part of all is when I see a stranger walking in a shopping centre or out and about wearing my jewellery. I still get so excited and run up to them like a crazy person.

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I am more than willing to put my hand up and say that my MummaBubba necklaces are an essential part of my wardrobe, so that’s one person you have converted on your way to global domination Tash! I have previously listed MummaBubba as one of my top buys for new mums and continue to rave about them. They are fresh, fun and durable and it’s so great to be able to add a safe accessory to the mama wardrobe each day!

Tash has offered to share the love with one lucky Louisa Claire reader so today we are giving away a necklace and bangle set of your choosing. You can enter easily via the Rafflecopter box below (note: this is the first time I have used Raffelcopter so if you have any feedback on how you like it then I’d love to hear from you!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yesterday I learnt that our government has excised all of Australia from the migration zone. This means that noone who arrives in Australia via boat without a Visa is entitled to apply for protection under the Hague treaty. It gives Australian authorities the right to remove anyone, including children, to a detention center for processing where they are not allowed legal representation. The media ban on access to detention centers has also been upheld.

I cried…am crying.

I am ashamed, so deeply ashamed that this beautiful country, my home, could have made a decision so ungenerous and inhumane.

A couple of years go members of the local and national Australian community came together through this blog to raise funds and goods for people in detention. Last week Bliss' school did one of their regular collections for the Asylum Seeker Refugee Council and next week our church will do its monthly collection for the same center.

Almost everyone I know abhors the way our government and the one before it treated asylum seekers. Almost everyone I know would love to help, to see change. But where can we even begin in the face of an issue so big?

Removing the emotion from the equation, how a Labour government could have made this decision, taking even further the actions of John Howard is…confusing. Why do they perpetuate the lies, the fearmongering when they have a chance to do the opposite, to truly lead.

Have they forgotten who their voters are? Who they represent?

I am but one person and all I have is this one little blog…but I'll be damned it I don't use it.

 

{If you only have five mintues today then forget the post below and please visit www.millionmums.org.au – PANDA urgently needs your help and with only 2 clicks and your postcode you can send an epostcard to your local MP to help PANDA take their helpline 24.7 Many, many thanks.}

 

For those with more than 5 minutes…

 

Last week I wrote about spending a night away from the older two kids – The Architect & I in the city – a great dinner, a nice hotel, yummy brekkie. A chance for us to have a proper conversation and spend some quality time with our newest bub. It was such a treat! As I read the comments coming through on the competition to win a similar date night, I saw a common theme.

Mums tired

Mums messy

Mums thinking about their family, not themselves

And it took me right back…

When Bliss was born I was given a PANDA magnet as I left the hospital. I brought it home and dutifully stuck it on the fridge.  I would occasionally look at it and whenever I found myself at my wits end I would think about that magnet and PANDA. No matter how overwrought I was, I never thought PANDA was for me – surely what I was going through was normal? Surely…

 

The few times I seriously considered calling were outside of their operating hours – back then the helpline was only open Monday-Fri, 9am – 4.30pm (currently the helpline runs Mon-Fri 24/7 9am-7pm). I don’t know if I had postnatal depression with Bliss but I do know that I isolated myself to the point where I lost a friendship. That I didn’t lose more friends is simply a testimony to how amazing my friends are. I withdrew, I didn’t return phone calls let alone initiate them and I felt like the biggest failure on earth.

How could it be that I didn’t take to motherhood like a duck to water? I found all the tasks easy, and we were pretty relaxed on the things that made other new parents anxious, but the emotional transition completely took me by surprise. I had always wanted to be a Mum, a full time stay at home Mum at that. I loved my daughter but I was scared and tired, so very tired. Well meaning comments meant to make me feel less alone, a la “that happened to me too” only left me feeling more isolated, more lost.

More than anything, I felt embarrassed.

A large reason I don’t feel embarrassed today is because I know that this is a really common experience and I know that because other people, including a lot of bloggers, have told me through their own stories. If in sharing my own journey just one person feels less alone then it is all worthwhile.

5 years and 2 more children on and I am incredibly clucky. Incredibly! With each child it’s been easier and with Bluey, I have finally taken to it like a duck to water. I love having a baby in the house and easily want another (our bank account currently does not agree with this sentiment). Yes having 3 children has been a total gamechanger and I have never felt busier, but I have also never felt clearer – like I have finally figured this thing out. I think that’s why I have the idea of another baby in my mind…I have finally gotten the hang of things, I’m not ready to stop!

My story, so far, has had a happy ending. But I know this isn’t always how it goes…and I know that it could only take a few weeks, that turn into months, of sleepless nights to send me backwards.

Last year I started working with PANDA as a charity partner through Brand Meets Blog. I identified with their mission and shared their desire to make support services more available to the public.

Around 48,000 women will be diagnosed with post natal depression this year and PANDA (the Post and Antenatal Depression Association) is the only national helpline that offers counselling for struggling families. Currently they are only able to help 7% of mums each year through operating their helpline Mon-Fri 7am-9pm.

Through my work with PANDA I have learnt that the PANDA helpline offers more than just phone counselling to people who call. PANDA actually take responsibility for making contact with the callers as often as required, for as long as required to ensure that the caller is able to access local support services. PANDA also offer in home visits for people in situations that require it – I find that completely amazing!

But 93 out of 100 mums and thus, their kids, are missing out on help they desperately need.

 

So often stats like that can feel completely overwhelming. Thankfully, this is not a stat that needs to overwhelm. You can help with 2 clicks and your postcode!

Visit www.millionmums.org.au and complete the epostcard to your local MP to help PANDA take their helpline 24/7. We all know that parents don’t struggle just during business hours!

Today is the day you can make a real difference to the lives of Australian parents.

 

 

Last month I sent my little girl off to school camp for two nights.

As a mother, I found it full on. I missed her, I was worried she would miss us and two nights feels like a really long time when they are little.

But my anxiety was unfounded, she returned having LOVED it and so full of confidence. It made me feel so proud, and also so glad that I hadn’t let my fears and my anxiety impact her experience…or even let it stop her from having the experience all together.

While she was away I shared my anxiety on social media and in doing so was met with a lot of surprise that a child of her age would be off on school camp. What really shocked me was the stories that were shared about parents who don’t let their children attend school camps even at the older ages of 8 and 9. Children who miss out on being with their peers and of learning the inner satisfaction of growing up and into some independence.

Education choices are very personal and I definitely realise that a 5year old going on school camp is outside of the norm in Australia but I can tell you that it was an entirely positive experience for Bliss and for all the other kids. I think it was probably also good for me and my journey as a parent.

I can also say that the one reason I was willing to send her to camp was because I do trust her school.

It’s the issue of trust that stood out to me as I heard the stories of children not being allowed to attend camp. If you can’t trust your school to send your child on camp with them isn’t there a much bigger issue at play and a much more terrifying situation for our children?

Or am I misunderstanding this situation….??

 

 

This is a sponsored post

Do you have a motto or a word for 2013? My motto is that this will be my year of fun a year of embracing the moment, saying yes to opportunities and living like I am 32. Sometimes being 32 with 3 kids leaves me feeling quite a bit older, and more dowdy, than I am and I am seriously dusting off that attitude this year.

Last weekend, like a few other bloggers around the traps I was treated to a night out by Berlei. They invited me to go on an Ultimate Date Night remember what it feels like to be young, carefree and in love! This fits VERY well into my 2013 motto and what a great night it was!

One of the things I like the most about a mini break is that I don’t have to think about getting anyone else organised. Am I dressed? YES! Am I packed? YES! Have I gone to the toilet? YES! And then, amazingly, I only have to get myself into the car. Even having Bluey with us it still felt oh, so easy!

In choosing a restaurant The Architect wanted to go somewhere you can’t book – simply because with kids you can NEVER go anywhere that doesn’t require a booking – the kids can’t sit at the bar and wait or eat and a table takes around 2 hours to get. With that in mind we headed into Chin Chin in Melbourne’s CBD and enjoyed the most delicious dinner going. Nevermind it is located a stones throw from where The Architect and I spent our first night out together, talking away until 5am in the morning. Memories!!

I am going to admit that getting into stockings was a bit of a mental hurdle for me as I am most comfy in my jeans and normally put a ladder in any pair of stocking I own within 10minutes. Would this really work?

I am happy to report that the Dig Free stockings that the lovely people from Berlei sent over are amazing. They are comfortable, flattering and surprisingly hard to wreck (definitely a bonus!) AND I’m also going to say that putting stockings on, instead of jeans, is really a good ego boost.

The Dig Free range hold in all your wobbly bits, and sit high enough to keep things looking neat and tidy (good bye mummy tummy – well, almost). I really found these stockings incredible comfy and love that they come in a sheer ($14.95) and opaque ($19.95).

In the last 5 years The Architect and I have spent a grand total of 4 nights away from the kids. For us, those 4 nights have been such a treat! The Architect and I used to love heading out to dinner in the city and a mini break was (and still is!) pretty much my favourite thing to do! Like most parents, finding the time, money and babysitters to do it over the past few years means that it’s a very rare treat.

I am sure I am not alone in this.

Berlei would love to give one lucky blog reader the chance to win their own Berlei date night! This will include dinner, limousine transfers and a night in a hotel in your nearest capital city to the value of $1000.

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me what you do, or would like to do, to make yourself feel desirable.

This is a game of skill and there are opportunities on a number of blogs to win this experience with one experience being up for grabs. Entries close on Friday May 24th. The Terms and Condition of this competition can be found here.