Sunday 25 September 2016

Thoughts of the week

1. Hmmm, I don't have much this week. It's been a long, tough week, I haven't dealt with it very well. I've decided to set myself a challenge. I'm going to stop yelling at the kids. I don't yell at them very often, but I'm going to stop. Wish me luck. I'll need it.

2. Tigers Dad is still unwell but on the mend. I'm sure he's a cat because he's definitely got nine lives. He's been on the brink of death so many times and yet he always seems to pull through. This time we all thought we'd lose him, even the medical staff said that he wouldn't be going home and yet he's still here. Lucky he's a tough old bugger.

3. It's still freezing cold. Today is a chilly 12 degrees and raining. I'd like Spring now please.

4. I don't know how people drink every day, it makes me feel awful. I had a glass of wine two nights this week and by the third day the thought of alcohol made me feel sick. I used to be good a drinking until I got Crohn's.

5. Does anyone still use Snapchat?

Friday 23 September 2016

FFS Friday - Motherhood Failure

It's a given that if something is going to go wrong around here it'll happen when Tiger is away. Every. Single. Time.

Last Friday was the perfect example.

E woke up crying at 10pm. That's pretty unusual for him but he had a bit of wind so I thought that was the problem. I got him back to sleep and climbed back into bed. 

At 10.30pm he woke up crying in pain and saying he had a sore neck. He screamed every time he moved his head and I couldn't calm him down.

Chai woke up so I had both of them crying.

I gave Eljay panadol and waited, but he didn't get better.

When he said he had a sore neck the first thing I did was check for a rash. There wasn't one and he didn't have a fever, thank goodness. 

The after hours Dr didn't answer, so I started getting ready to go to the hospital. I had to lay Eljay on the bed and he screamed the whole time but I drew the line at going to the hospital in my pj's and dressing gown.

Chai cried the whole time he was getting ready, just to make things more fun.

As I was about to load them in to the car the after hours Dr called back. They were no help at all.

I loaded both the boys in to the car and headed to the hospital. On the way there Eljay stopped crying and wouldn't respond to me, so naturally I thought he'd passed out. Eventually I got a whispered response from him telling me that he wasn't okay. Poor baby.

Chai was still crying, he was crying because Eljay was sick, as you do.

We got to the hospital at 11pm. We left at 3am.

We got in there, waited a while and then were taken through to a bed. A nurse asked me a few questions, took Eljay's temperature and checked for a rash then told me a Dr would see us soon.

1000 Ways to Die came on the TV and I couldn't change the channel.

One of the nurses turned the tv off for me, but not before the boys had seen gross, bloody injuries.

When we eventually saw the Dr he didn't even touch Eljay!

He looked in his ears and throat then gave him nurofen.

He didn't check his glands or his neck, even though I told him that Eljay was complaining of a sore neck.

They didn't do an x-ray or anything other than give him nurofen.

The Dr told me that he didn't know what was wrong but that I should give Eljay panadol and nurofen and see the Dr in 3 to 4 days.

On the way home I saw a taxi on the side of the road with a man laying on the road in front of him. I didn't stop, no idea what that was all about.

When we got home I booked a Dr's appointment for Saturday morning. 

Thankfully the boys slept in, I was woken by Tiger calling. Three times.

I hadn't told him what was going on cause there was nothing to tell and no point giving him a sleepless night. When he called I answered, told him what had happened and that we were all sleeping. So he called back an hour later and woke me up again.

When everyone was up I had a think, cancelled the Dr appointment and booked a chiropractor appointment. We had to go straight there so I had a two minute shower, gave the boys a drink in place of breakfast and raced out the door. The chiro was twenty minutes late.

With that twenty minutes I could have given the boys breakfast, had a coffee and made myself look semi decent. Instead I spent it sitting in the waiting room trying to stop the boys killing each other.

Eljay's neck was a mess and it's why he was in so much pain.

The chiro massaged him, adjusted him with that clicky thing and told me to keep him on pain relief all weekend. Poor baby. 

Straight after the visit he was a lot better and by Sunday he was nearly back to normal. Just to keep me on my toes, Chai got sick on Sunday.

He got gastro.

Poor boy had it coming from both ends.

I ran out of the stomach calm medicine we use so went to get some but the chemist was out.

I went to another chemist but they were closed.

Chai was starting to feel really bad so we went home. 

He's not one of those kids who'll vomit into a bucket, he likes to make as much mess as possible.

When we got home he vomited all over himself and the lounge suite.

I gave him a bucket so he vomited on the lounge suite again.

The bucket was right next to him.

I went to bed expecting to be woken up by him vomiting all over me. Thankfully that didn't happen.

This week has been a motherhood failure.

I've totally sucked at parenting.

I don't even have a good excuse other than the usual tired and no time to myself.

Not good enough.

Chai's been off school all week.

He probably could have gone to school from Wednesday, but his belly was still a bit dodgy so I kept him home. 

Tuesday I took him for a therapy called Neuro Emotional Technique. It was very strange.

I have no idea if it helped but she said that he might be out of sorts for 24 to 48 hours. She wasn't wrong.

I feel like I'm about to explode.

Wednesday we'd been busy all day. I took the kids to three different parks and did everything I could to make sure they had a great day. We got home at 4pm and I was exhausted. I just wanted to sit down for five minutes, have a drink and a rest.

I got the kids settled, turned the tv on, gave them a drink and some food then sat down.

My bottom had just touched the seat when they started.

Mum get me an apple. 
Mum get me a drink.
Mum, I don't like this tv show.
Mum he's sitting in my spot.
Mum the dog is annoying us.

I lost it. I screamed at them to shut up and went to my bedroom.

The little fuckers followed me so I screamed at them to get out of the room.

They stood outside the bedroom door crying.

Nice work. Way to be a good parent. 

I eventually pulled myself together and apologised to the kids. I calmed them down and explained to them that sometimes I need a rest.

The rest of the evening was uneventful.

That night Chai wouldn't go to sleep.

I hate those nights. 

When he gets like that he won't stay asleep unless I'm in the bed with him.

I am so sick of sleeping with him.

It's been three years now and I'm done.

After crying for two hours he finally went to sleep. In my bed. 

I just wanted to watch The Bachelorette in peace.

Thursday wasn't much better. They were whinging, fighting and crying from the second they woke up. I just wanted to walk out the door and never come back.

We had to go in to town. As I was loading the kids into the car to come home my phone rang. I stood at the back of the car and Chai went in to panic mode because he couldn't see me. FFS.

I yelled at him to stop crying. 

Great way to deal with a kid with anxiety, yelling at them is really going to make it better. 

Luckily for all of us Chai went to sleep and stayed asleep Thursday night.

I got to watch The Bachelorette in peace. Bliss.

So far today I've managed not to yell at anyone but I still feel like I'm about to explode. 

Think I'm going to start having vodka in my morning coffee.

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Tisserand Wild Rose Pulse Point Perfume

Image credit

I don't often review perfumes, purely because I am not very good at describing scents, I can't tell you what notes I like and what the top, middle and base scents are. Wild Rose is one of my favourites though and since it's a rose scent it's pretty easy to describe. 

If, like me, you are a lover of rose scents this one is a beauty. It smells like those big red roses that you'd find in your grandmother's rose garden. 

According to Tisserand, precious french rose is hand blended with organic jojoba to create an elegant, natural perfume. This is ideal for anyone looking for an all natural perfume that's free from any synthetic fragrances.
Known as the queen of flowers, rose is a symbol of love and purity. To enjoy this exquisite aroma, gently roll onto pulse points. 

I purchased my Wild Rose Pulse Point Perfume from Echolife for $22.40. 

Ingredients: jojoba oil, rose absolute oil, citral, eugenol, geraniol, citronellol, farnesol, linalool. 

Monday 19 September 2016

Culling

I've been in a huge cull mode lately. I was inspired when Claire said that she tossed most of her make-up. I went through my collection and culled 62 products straight away. Then I started on my lipsticks and glosses, 60 of them went. After I'd put lots of products in the Use it or Lose it pile, I decided to subject my entire collection to the Use it or Lose it test. It'll take a while but I'm going to test everything and cull as much as I can.

After a few days of ruthlessness I'd culled 280 products. Yes, you read that right. How crazy. Why do I even have that many products to cull? It's ridiculous! 

Whilst I used to enjoy having a huge stash, I don't any more. Back in the days before children I had all my products easily accessible and used everything. Every few months I'd rotate products so it all got some love. These days my collection is packed away where the boys can't get to it and I only use a few products that are in my drawer. The rest of them sit there unused.

My aim is to have the drawer that I currently use and maybe 1 make-up bag of products. I don't need ten red lipsticks or a whole pile of pinky mauve glosses. I only wear one at a time so I only need one or two. 
First cull, 62 products gone
After the initial cull I went through and compared colours. I only need a few of each colour, so with any duplicates I picked the formula and brand that I loved the most. Easy.

Most of the culled products I've given away to friends and family, I'm sure some of them think it's christmas with all the things I've given them. Things that are really old have gone in the bin and some new products went to the womens refuge.

I've now got my skincare down to one tub. Last year it took up five tubs. My make-up has gone from three train cases to one. There's still a long way to go but I'm very pleased with my progress so far. 


Have you done a huge cull? How did it go?

Sunday 18 September 2016

Thoughts of the week

1. I'm still in cull mode, it's a lot of fun. It's also frustrating because I don't get time alone to cull as I'd like to.

2. Shelby was 16 weeks old on Friday. She has her needles Tuesday then it's ten days until we can take her out. She's itching to go out and we can't wait to take her to the park.

3. My friend Lisa has started a business selling bath and body products, check it out here.  

4. Alex won The Bachelor! I'm looking forward to the start of The Bachelorette. They're the only shows I watch on free to air TV now.

5. Winter is supposed to be over, can someone please let Mother Nature know!

Friday 16 September 2016

FFS Friday

Technology hates us at the moment. FFS.

Last week my phone died, Tigers phone died and my tablet died. FFS.

We backed up both our phones and did a factory reset to see if that'd fix the problems. It didn't. FFS.

My backup worked, Tigers didn't. FFS.

He lost all but 50 of his phone numbers. FFS.

We found an old sim card but they weren't on it. FFS.

I backed the numbers up to three separate places and not one of them worked. FFS.

Both the phones are under warranty so we swapped them over, but my tablet is five months out of warranty. FFS.

It wouldn't charge and wouldn't turn on. FFS.

I left it for a week, plugged it in to charge and it was fine. Not FFS.

FIL is still very ill in hospital. FFS.

MIL is not coping. FFS.

The Drs have told her that he won't be getting out of hospital. FFS.

You can imagine how well she took that. FFS.

The poor thing is trying to spend as much time at the hospital as she can, but she lives an hour away from the hospital so the parking and fuel is costing her a fortune. FFS.

It costs at least $20 each day to park at the hospital. FFS.

What a joke. FFS.

When someone is in hospital long term their immediate family should get free or very cheap parking. 

Having a family member in hospital is bad enough, the last thing she needs is the added financial burden. FFS.

Speaking of financial burdens, Tiger came home early because his Dad was sick, so he asked if he could go back to work early to make up for leaving early. They made it sound like he wouldn't be able to go back early, so we weren't prepared. We got 24 hours notice that he was going back early. FFS.

How considerate of them. FFS.

I'm starting to get really angry with his company. FFS.

First he gets a $25,000 pa pay cut, then they don't pass on my emergency message, then they give us 24 hours notice that he's returning to work. FFS.

Not happy! FFS.    


Ah well, at least he has a job.

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Thankyou brand overview


Thankyou have been around since 2008. They're an Australian enterprise that exists 100% for ending the effects of global poverty. Thankyou is owned by a charitable trust and 100% of their profits go to charities worldwide. Each product comes with a tracking id that you can use to see the details of the project your product is raising funds for. How awesome is that!

Today I'll be doing an overview of all the Thankyou products that I've used.  

Hand Wash - This is a constant repurchase for me. It's non drying, smells gorgeous and is reasonably priced. Added bonus for the nice packaging.

Hand Sanitiser - I pick these up when they're on sale.They're non drying, smell lovely and the little bottles are the perfect handbag size.

Hand Cream - I've long been a fan of the L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream but since trying the Thankyou hand cream my loyalties have shifted. This is the perfect hand cream, both scents are gorgeous, it's hydrating and absorbs quickly with no greasy residue.

Coffee Body Scrub - It smells like coffee and roses! Whilst that sounds like a strange combination it works really well. I don't think you can go wrong with a coffee scrub, it's a pretty difficult thing to mess up. The Thankyou coffee scrub is lovely and a bargain at only $14.95  

I'm planning on trying the Baby Ointment next, if anyone sees it in store please let me know!

What are your favourite Thankyou products?

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I purchased all products myself.

Monday 12 September 2016

The Foundation Files - Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation

I've heard so many glowing reviews of the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation that when I saw it for 50% off I had to buy it. I use shade 820 - Creamy Natural.  

Covergirl say that this is an all in one foundation with a long lasting formula that fuses primer, concealer and foundation in one step. I don't agree with their concealer claims, I still need to use a concealer on my dark circles, but it does do a great job of evening my skin tone and covering my pigmentation, as you can see in the photos below.  
Bare face

1 layer applied with the Real Techniques sponge
I tried a flat top brush, foundation sponge, foundation brush, buffing brush and my fingers. I got the best coverage when using the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge.  I use one layer to get medium to full coverage. It's easily buildable if you want more coverage in problem areas.


This would be great for people with oily skin as it's quite matte. Dry skinned peeps will need to use a good moisturiser underneath. I can see this being a favourite in summer because it's matte and lasts all day. 

Sunday 11 September 2016

Thoughts of the week

1. Winter is over. I can't say I'm sad about it. I'm looking forward to spring and a little sunshine.

2. Chai didn't go to school this week. He wasn't well so he stayed home. Every day he's been telling me how much he hates school.

3. My Mum and the in laws are the same religion. Last week when MIL needed support and I couldn't be there, I got her support the only way I could. I rang Mum and asked her to contact the church in MIL's town. Mum did that and MIL was inundated with phone calls and visitors, it was exactly what she needed. Both Mum and MIL are now gleefully telling me that god used me. Hahaha. They're both so excited about it, it's very funny.

4. I've been testing out a sensitive skin deodorant from The Physic Garden and I love it. A blog post will be coming soon.

5. Adult Vita Gummies are awesome.

Friday 9 September 2016

FFS Friday - What emergency?

Chai didn't go to school last Tuesday. 

He had a huge meltdown in the morning because they have to do jobs at school and they're too hard. 

All I could get out of him is that he doesn't like drawing squares.

Helpful.

I gave him the day off and we had a nice day together. 

The whole school thing continues to be a huge concern for me. 

If I thought it'd be manageable I'd home school him, but he's so resistant to learning that I don't think it'd work.

He's just not interested. 

I try to teach him at home in fun ways but he's all about playing and moving, not about paying attention or being still.

Once again this supports my case for selling everything and running away. 

I'm strongly in favour of this option, Tiger persists on thinking that I'm joking. I'm not.

Maybe we could go live in the middle of nowhere in Alaska or something. That'd be different. 

Last Thursday I had to call Tiger at work. In three and a half years it's the first time I've had to call him at work.

He can't have his phone on him at work so in an emergency we have a list of numbers to call.

I made ten phone calls before anyone answered.

10! What a joke.

When I eventually got hold of someone I said that it was an emergency and I needed to talk to him immediately.

Half an hour later I still hadn't heard from him! 

When I finally did hear from him it was because he'd seen the messages I'd left on his tablet. 

They hadn't bothered to contact him!

He wears a radio so getting in touch with him is a simple matter of getting him on the radio. They have radio's in the vehicles, offices and most of the staff have them so there's no excuse for not getting the message to him straight away but they didn't.

I'm so, so angry. Their delay is inexcusable. It's bad enough that Tiger works away, but not being able to get hold of him in an emergency is just not good enough.        

That delay could have been the difference between him getting to see his father or not making it in time.

Thankfully he got there and it all worked out okay, no thanks to his employer. 

   

Wednesday 7 September 2016

August outgoing and incoming

I've been decluttering again. My friend Claire recently tossed most of her make-up, which inspired me to do another cull. I got rid of 62 make-up items, most of which went to a new home. A few were really old and gross so they went in the bin.
Gone to a better, more loving home

In other exciting news, I've finished all my shampoo and conditioner back ups, I only have the ones in my shower that I'm currently using. I've been working on using up all my skin care samples, they're nearly all gone and once they're finished I'll be starting on my full sized products. 

Now for the empties.

I didn't manage to finish much this month, it was a slow month for some reason.
Malin + Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturiser

Swisspers - Next to WotNot these are my favourite face wipes.

Rexona Deodorant

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Sleeping Cream - I need a full size of this.

Clarins HydraQuench Cream - Holy grail always and forever.

SunSense Daily Face
Neostrata Matrix Support
Estee Lauder Perfectionist
Phyt's Creme Ylang
Lancome Visionnaire
The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Hand Cream

Beauty Blender - After six years of use it's time to say goodbye to my beloved Beauty Blender.

Nars Optimal Brightening Concentrate

Incoming:
My neighbour gave me these two gorgeous Body Shop products, they're lovely (and so is she!).

Speaking of The Body Shop, they had 20% off if you bought three skincare or make-up items. I'd run out of cleanser so picked up two more, a foundation and one of the new highlighters.
I placed my first Nourished Life order. The 100% Pure eye cream smells amazing. 

Advance Whitening sent me a tooth whitening kit to review. There will be a blog post about it soon.

I received two new Rimmel products for review, the Good to Glow Highlighter and Brow This Way Hightlighting Pencil. They're both amazing, Rimmel can do no wrong at the moment.
 
I won a prize from Aura Body and Home on Instagram. Everything is beautiful, I need more of it in my life.

Bonus empties photo because Eljay wanted me to take a photo of his hand
 

Monday 5 September 2016

The Foundation Files - Laura Mercier Mineral Powder



My poor neglected Laura Mercier Mineral Powder was destined for the cull pile. I nearly threw it out but decided to give it one last go and I'm very glad that I did because it's beautiful. I have the shade Tender Rose. 

Having sensitive skin I am often allergic to mineral foundations, but I don't have any problems with the Laura Mercier version. 

Laura Mercier says: A finely milled powder composed completely of natural elements with 15 active amino acids to clear the skin of toxins, promote healthy skin cell growth and fight the aging process. Pure Pearl Powders and Mica impart a soft focus effect creating a natural, healthy, youthful glow, while Zinc Oxide works as a sunscreen agent to block the sun's harmful rays.
Oil free and water-resistant.


Naked face

1 layer of foundation

When I first bought this and tried it I found it too glowy, not sure why. Maybe my skin is duller now, but I don't find it too glowy at all. It gives gorgeous, flawless, medium coverage with one application. What I really like is that it doesn't need to be buffed in, I use a flat top brush, sweep it on and I'm done. If I want full coverage I buff it in or apply a second layer, but most days one quick dusting is enough. Another great thing is that it has a twisty top so that you don't end up with powder floating all around the pot.

This is a really easy mineral powder to use. It doesn't need a primer or finishing powder, it gives flawless coverage all on it's own. It doesn't accentuate my pores or sink into fine lines, it actually makes them disappear. If you're looking for an easy to use mineral powder this is worth checking out. 

A 9.5gram pot costs $62. Considering the minute amount that you need to use, it's pretty good value.

Sunday 4 September 2016

Thoughts of the week

1. I've been in culling mode for the past few weeks. It's a lot of fun. My make-up collection has been drastically reduced and it's such a great, refreshing feeling. Still have a long way to go but I'm getting there. I'm being very, very ruthless. I decided to use each of my products and anything that I don't love is getting the flick. It's a long slow process but so worth it. I've rediscovered a few favourites and been surprised at some I thought were favourites that I realised I don't particularly like.

2. I've also been tossing household items. The toy room is in for a huge clean out when Tiger gets home. It's such a mess and the boys hardly play with anything in there because most of it is just crap that MIL has bought from the op shop. They play with things a few times then they're forgotten about. They don't value any of them because they know that MIL will just bring more. This is not how I want my children to be.

3. This week has seen a huge fuss over Alicia Keys not wearing make-up at the VMA's. This raises so many things for me, I don't even know where to start. Aside from the whole why should she have to wear make-up, ridiculous standards of beauty that we hold women to etc, my main issue is this. Why does anyone feel they have the right to be offended about what she chooses to do or not do to her face. It's her face, her body and her choice! If she doesn't want to wear make-up big deal. If she does want to wear make-up, big deal. Her body, her choice, end of story.

4. The FIL is still in hosptital. MIL is not coping well. I feel helpless. I can't be up in the city supporting her, I can't go up to visit for the day (due to the risk of infection he's not allowed visitors), I can only phone every day to see how they're doing. Knowing that she isn't coping well makes it even worse. I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up in hospital along with him.

5. Shelby is sitting on my knee keeping me warm whilst I blog.   

Friday 2 September 2016

FFS Friday - Funky

Hello Friday! How are you all? Got much to whinge about?

I'm in a major culling mode at the moment. I want to toss everything in the bin and start again. 

I've been walking around the house, picking things up, examining them and then throwing them in the bin, it's so satisfying. 

Over the weekend the urge to cull was strong. Trying to cull with the boys around is very problematic which lead to me being in a huge grump for most of the weekend. Either that or it was roid rage cause I was coming off my steroids.

Either way, I was so grumpy all weekend and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't lift myself out of the funk. My poor babies had to put up with my crappy mood, even though I tried not to let it affect them.

Just to add to the fun, Shelby decided that she'd start weeing and pooing inside the house again! She hasn't done that for about a month now so I don't know what the go was. Needless to say I was not at all impressed.

Naturally her chosen wee spot was on the rug that we got steam cleaned last week. Where else?

Monday I figured out what most of the problem was. Sleep. Or lack of it to be precise. Between Friday and Sunday nights I got a little less than 18 hours sleep. Yeah. That'll do it.

Since we got back from holidays Eljay won't sleep in his cot. FFS.

He's in bed with me and Chai by 11pm at the latest. It makes for a very uncomfortable nights sleep. FFS. 

I wonder if I'll ever sleep well again. It's been over five years since I had an uninterrupted nights sleep. I miss sleep. I was so good at it.