When things go wrong in the house

It was one of those days that you just seem to crawl through. I kept my calm and managed okay, considering my little boy has a cold and my baby girl is at that "I want to see everything and do everything" stage (a bit dangerous and you need eyes on the back of your head!) but in hindsight, it was actually a pretty daunting day. The toilet packed up, the oven was broken and I had no energy, well, just barely enough to do the basics - which is still allot on an average day. There was allot of hair pulling (my own). But we got through it, Im relieved and both babies are sound asleep in their beds. My little boy is on the mend and I managed to still write this. Thanks to my darling husband who seems to be a true jack of all trades. He fixed the oven and unblocked the toilet. I dont think there is anything he can't do, besides dancing. But that is all for now, till next time.

The value of a stay-at-home mum & uni-tasking

There are many instances when I feel like I a hamster running on a wheel non-stop, I suppose most stay-at-home mums feel like that. Dont get me wrong, Im very grateful and appreciative of the role I have - there are plenty of mother's who dont have this luxury and are forced back into the work place, missing out on the first precious years of the baby's development.  Did you know, on average, stay-at-home mums spend 71 hours a week doing housework - the many thankless jobs such as cooking, cleaning, washing, tidying up, baby/child care (feeding, clothes changing, nappy changing, teaching, playing, protecting, entertaining etc.) - all this is valued at £577 per week or a total of £ 30,032 a year.  Which brings me to my next interesting fact, discovered on a life insurance advert - 30% of parents would have  to work part time or stop work totally in order to look after their children, if their partner (ie. stay-at-home mum) was no longer around. Is it me or are we generally just very under-valued, under-appreciated and sometimes just plain down-trodden upon ? Our job is one of the hardest in the world, the most rewarding and forfilling, but it is really, really HARD WORK ! I have worked in an office, had a few career changes, many different bosses - over the past 12 years. I've worked in border-line hard labour jobs and also very dull, monotonous desk jobs. All of those jobs and careers pale into insignificance in terms of reward and tiredness, when compared to what I do now. I've always prided myself and the rest of female kind in our ability to multi-task. But I've come to the realisation that multi-tasking is really not that fruitful or productive most of the time. It's a panicked attempt at doing many things quickly and ultimately quite badly. That is because we are not super-human and are not really wired to complete complex and also simple tasks simultaneously, without causing an accident or just doing those many different tasks, badly. There is a new term, it's called "UNI-TASKING". Basically it means, doing one thing very well or completely instead of doing ten things badly or incompletely. Food for thought I say. To conclude, the only way to get by these days, whether you are a housewife, a corporate high-flyer, a teacher or a rocket scientist, is to focus on the task at hand, keep your cool and live in the countryside. Yes, you heard me, live in the sticks. Latest research proves that the mind is at its healthiest and most content when the body is living in the countryside away from urban hussle and bussle. Balmy, country breezes flood the human brain with mood elevating serotonin. I believe this firmly, I lived in an urban environment and found it extremely stressful and agitating. Now I live in the countryside and it's the best thing we ever did. We have been living here in the countryside for over seven years now. It took me over seven years to write my recently published novel, "Scorpio Moon", now I have to try and get it sold. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005L3RPE0
Okay, that's all from me for now, I am pretty knackered and still need to do some shopping (online). Till next time !

My book

Hi there again
For those of you who have the luxury of reading in your busy lives - I have just had my fictional book e-published online through Amazon Kindle and it can be bought in hard copy through Createspace e-store.My book has been a work-in-progress (in between emigrating countries, moving house, career changes and having/raising x2 babies, since 2002) and now Im finally unleashing it to the world and to you all, if you are interested ! You can pay to have it downloaded to your PC or any Kindle device (iPad/iPhone/Android). If you like what you read, let me know and spread the word - I have to do my own marketing and enlist the help of friends too. Cheerio 
 
Here is the Synopsis for my book:-

Scorpio Moon revolves around love, magic and time travel. The story is set on the east coast of South Africa in the subtropical city of Durban, during a time of great change. The story is woven around the metaphysical journeys that the main male character, Luke Ross, experiences as a result of dark magic. Luke has an overwhelming desire for adventure and danger. His innate power is fearlessness. The woman in his life, Maxine, goes to dangerous lengths in order to resolve her feelings of isolation and obsession. Her power is to evoke change through magic. Maxine does not realize the full magnitude of a spell she performs. It corrupts their lives and twists their emotions to the brink of madness and Maxine is propelled into deeper isolation. The spell is the complication that initiates the dark journeys which Luke experiences. His journey's span the countries of Germany during WWII, future Langley in the USA as well as present day Durban, South Africa. Luke's experiences in these countries are all interconnected by historical events. Max and Luke are separated by time and space but united by their shared, desperate love, even when it is on the brink of collapse. Their story is one of real love overcoming seemingly insurmountable difficulties and gaining strength because of it.

 It's available to order at:-

https://www.createspace.com/3628454

and also on Amazon Kindle e-books:-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005L3RPE0

Happy AND lucky...

It's a miracle Im even writing this. My whole day is filled with all the joy, fun and mayhem that makes up the life of an average stay-at-home mum and housewife. I have a boisterous and happy three year old boy as well as a very loud, chatty and sensitive seven month old baby girl. I am on the go non-stop. By the time I have them both tucked up in bed its usually almost 8pm. And that's when I look forward to my little luxuries in life. Like a soothing but quick soak in our 100 year Victorian bath tub followed by letting myself collapse on the couch in front of the TV.

Im very lucky and grateful. In one year I found two four leaf clovers whilst taking my kids for walks on the farm where we live. Cows love to eat clovers, I wonder how many four leaf clovers any given cow would eat in its life time. Food for thought. Besides the four leaf clovers, I feel lucky because I get to stay at home and be full time mum and housewife. Believe me, its not all a bed of roses. There are times when I feel isolated and never have time for myself. There are times when I feel no one cares what hard work it is looking after two kids and a household with no family or support around besides my caring and kind husband. Since we brought our baby boy home from hospital over three years ago, we have done everything on our own with no help and no day off at all. My husband and I have been on one date together since we had kids. That was over a year ago.

No one warns you about how you will be judged and criticised about every choice you make as a mother and parent, when you become one. Anyway, back to the positives. There are two things that help when you become a housewife and mother. The first thing is being super organized. The second thing is having the ability to multi-task endlessly, to the point of being ambidextrous. Yes, I mean ambidextrous as in using both hands to perform different tasks, preferably at the same time. If you can use both sides of your brain simultaneously, thats even better. Luckily must women seem to be naturally wired for using both sides of their brains. It also helps if you can sustain constant interruptions in your daily routine.

Having a creative outlet is what keeps me motivated. I draw and write when I can. Look at my art if you're curious, here is my art blog site:  http://www.costa-wagner.blogspot.com  I have written a thinking woman's  love triangle story - it was a work in progress spanning almost ten years, started when I was newly engaged to my husband. The book is available on Amazon Kindle and also Createspace:- https://www.createspace.com/3628454
http://www.amazon.com/3628454
It's called "Scorpio Moon". The story can be described as a mixture of themes - a touch of  "Twighlight", a sprinkling of "Charmed" and a dash of  "The Da Vinci Code" all woven around a very subtle love triangle.

My darling baby girl is beckoning me for her late night feed, so that is it from me, for now.