Helpful Hints

11 ways to flatter your post-baby tummy by Mums on the Go
in Helpful Hints
23 Apr 2012 | 0 Comments

My son loves my jelly belly. He loves to crouch down next to me in bed and jiggle it with his hands, accompanying his movements with a sort of whirring sound from his chubby lips, and innocent peals of laughter.

Me? I don’t love my post-baby tummy. If I had to name my least favourite body part, that’d be it. And I’m not alone.

53% of mothers say their ‘mummy tummy’ is their least favourite body part.

Here’s 11 tried and tested tips to disguise your mummy-tummy:

1. Avoid flimsy fabric.
Materials like ponte, garbardine or stretch cotton – especially in tailored form – give the body structure. Thin fabrics show every bulge.

2. Play to your strengths.
Emphasize your strongest features – great legs, or a lovely décolletage – and divert attention from your tummy.

3. Find your ‘best waistline’.
Move your waist up or down by experimenting with belts to find the most narrow part of your waist. It’s worth taking photos of different positions and seeing what looks best. You’ll be amazed.

4. Go vertical.
Think pin-tucking, stripes, and piping on your clothes – vertical detailing will elongate your torso. Add long layered necklaces, and when it’s cooler, a scarf that drapes down to your thighs will lengthen your look.

5. Ditch the sack.
Body-conscious – but not tight – clothes are always best, whatever your size. A figure hidden in yards of fabric always looks bigger.

6. Layer it.
Add a fitted jacket, or waistcoat – the structured tailoring will deflect from a round tummy.

7. Focus on the fit.
It’s easy to get hung up on that number stitched onto the label of your clothes, but instead, focus on what fits you the best. Aim for clothes that fit properly around the neckline, bust and shoulders, and skim around your mummy tummy.

8. Go for draped details.
Seek out tops that drape around your neck and downwards. The vertical folds of fabric will skim effortlessly over your tum. Jersey with a heavy drape is best.

9. Ballooned and banded tops are top.
Choose a blouse that balloons and gathers under the belly, or one with a band that sits flat under your tummy. These provide a relaxed look that is especially comfortable, but don’t swamp you in fabric.

10. Accessorise upwards.
A statement necklace, stunning earrings, hat, brooch or feature hair clip will keep the focus on your top half.

11. Invest in comfortable and attractive shapewear.
Good shapewear will flatten and smooth the jelliest of bellies and many brands these days are designed especially to help manage a post-baby figure.

Thanks to Andrea from Fox in Flats for these great tips!
FoxinFlats.com.au shares tips, ideas and inspiration to make it much, much easier to navigate motherhood in style.
9 hours in a car with kids ... that sounds fun! by Linda Anderson
in Travel with Kids, Helpful Hints
24 Jan 2012 | 0 Comments
Tomorrow afternoon I am embarking in the longest car trip I have ever undertaken with kids. I am hoping we return to Sydney with smiles on our faces.

We have decided to make a 4 day weekend, thanks to Australia Day, and head bush to visit friends who live near Coonabarabran ... this is a 6 hour drive without stops. How many hours will this be with kids involved? I have laid a bet with my husband that says "9".

Here is my plan that I hope will make this enjoyable (or at least manageable) for all of us:
- leave Wednesday around 4pm. Drive 90min then make a short dinner stop at the Golden Arches or some such I thing. Drive onto Mudgee which is another 90 minutes away
- I have booked us into a motel here for the night. Hopefully we arrive by 8pm so we can settle kids to sleep before gets too late. I have splurged on 2 rooms for the night so my husband and I can actually sit up for a while together
- Thursday morning, take a stroll around Mudgee after breakfast then set off around 9am hoping that Miss 13months will fall asleep.
- Pack lots of CD's and books for Miss 3, throw in a Chupa Chup at a critical moment and hope this keeps her happy while her sister sleeps.
- Keep middle seat in back free from bags etc in case I have to sit in the back to provide entertainment.
- It will be 3 hour drive to friends house ... I figure 1 playground stop needed and some snack?
We then have 3 nights on our friends property, we are pitching the tent. They have promised a good country BBQ/party with fireworks for Australia Day, a camp fire and camp oven meal on Friday night under the stars, and some kid friendly bushwalks. I should note my friends have 3 kids, the eldest (twins) just turned 2 last weekend. This should be a lovely few days.

Then the drive home ... the BIG unknown. Sunday we will set off some time after breakfast for the long drive back to Sydney ... 6 hours without stops ... with kids ... can we do in less than 9 hours ???
My plan:
- frequent stops in cute country towns, playgrounds, coffee etc
- more music
- more chupa chups
- "discover" the portable DVD player for Miss 3 (hopefully I haven't needed this before then
Have you done long car trips with your kids? What tips can you share to help me keep my sanity? Or do I just need to suck it up and remember if the car trip is horrid the weekend away with friends will still be worth it?

Linda x
Lesson learnt camping with my kids by Linda Anderson
in Travel with Kids, Helpful Hints
12 Jan 2012 | 0 Comments
Camping has been part of my life since I was a small child - and camping as a kid involved having to dig trenches to use as toilets ... that's the kind of camping I was raised with.
So as an adult (without children) I embarked on lots of camping adventures in National Parks, multi-day hikes in places like Patagonia where everything I needed for 6 days had to be carried on my back. This kind of camping involved being efficient with what you packed, keeping everything light weight and perhaps not super comfortable ... but I loved these adventures.

Now I have 2 small children, currently 3.5 years and 13 months and my husband and I are committed to having our kids camp from a young age so that it becomes part of our family culture. However, I confess I find camping with such young children a challenge and each time we go I learn valuable lessons.

Last weekend we set off for 3 nights camping in a National Park. It was the third time we have been camping with kids and only the second time with 2 kids - and perhaps the hardest trip so far.

I learnt some very valuable lesosns this trip:

If you buy new gear be sure to test before you leave

So enthused about camping this summer my husband and I gave each other all sorts of new camping gear for Christmas - and managed not to duplicate any gifts! For my birthday I received a camping fridge that runs off power, the car, or gas. What luxury ... no more UHT milk, no more melted ice. Luckily we tested it before we went as it didn't work when hooked up to the gas and we had to swap it over the day before we left.

I also received an email this week sharing this story "we bought a new double air mattress (twice the thickness of the typical air mattress) with a built in pump only to arrive, pull it out the box to realise we needed electricity to pump it up ;-)"

Extra adult makes life much easier
This was the first trip where it has just been my husband and I and the girls. Previously we have camped with another family or taken an adult friend with us. The lack of an extra adult was probably the factor that made this trip so challenging. My 13 month old can't be left alone for 5 seconds without getting herself into trouble which meant that at all times 1 adult was on "kid duty" and 1 adult was on "logistic duty". For example when we arrived my husband had to set up our big tent alone while I took the girls for a long walk to get them out of the way. At dinner time my husband took care of food preparation and cooking while I kept girls entertained. I found this quite exhausting so I think until the girls are a bit older we should ensure there are more people involved in our camping adventures ... even if this means more kids because I could have looked after 4 kids as easily as my 2 and life would have flowed more smoothly with an extra adult to help out.

Simple food still the best
With the arrival of all our new, luxury, camping gear - such as the fridge - I decided indulge in camping food we wouldn't normally take. Bacon & Eggs & pancake mix for example. This sounds great except it meant someone had to cook each morning and with the lack of an extra pair of hands this was very time consuming. I think next time I'll stick to good old fashion weetbix and keep it simple.
I had also bought a whole lot of "treat" foods for snacks during the trip - little packs of chips, packets or sultanas, jelly snakes, little juices etc. Only the jelly snakes actually made it as we managed to leave 3 bags of food behind! Note to self - don't assume hubbie has picked up all the food I have put together ... always do a check.

Bushwalking important for us
We discovered that the campground we went to was really set up for surfers. It was a 10 minute walk to the beach which isn't really far but for 2 small kids it is. If the weather wasn't good for the beach there was really nothing else to do. Normally we would take the girls bushwalking when we camp but there was really nothing there. Note for self: only choose camping areas with bushwalking nearby and try to have the beach access closer to the camp ground.

National Park organised activities are great
As it was school holidays the National Park had a selection of activities running each day. I had looked ahead at the weather before we left and noted one day was forecast to be cool and wet. On this day there was an aboriginal painting activity scheduled so I booked Miss 3 and myself in for this. It was fantastic ... for 90 minutes she was totally absorbed in the activity and the stories being told, we were dry under a shelter, and my husband got to chill out listening to the cricket on the radio while our baby had her morning sleep. It was so lovely to relax and let someone else create the activity.

Plan your "tent time" toys
"Tent time" can be a challenge for some kids ... whether it is forced by wet weather, or just because a little rest time is needed. This seems to be something we do quite well which is good. My trick here is to pack a small range of light weight, compact activities/toys that can have multiple uses.
For example:
- Finger puppets or small dolls ... great for variety of story telling activities. Miss 3 also like to put them all to bed in her sleeping bag
- Colouring in: I always buy a new colouring in book for Miss 3 before a camping trip. She can spend hours absorbed in this. However, this trip I also found her colouring in the flowers on her leggings! She told me she wanted to make them really pretty and I have to say she had done a very neat job so it was hard to be too cross about it. Guess what, 3 days later when I got to wash the pants at home the text washed out ... washable textas are an amazing thing!!
- Books: I packed 5 books for the girls to share. I pick ones that Miss 3 knows well so she can "read" them to herself or we can snuggle up and read together
- Small plastic balls: we have this small, light weight plastic balls that came out of a paddling pool years ago. A handful of these create great entertainment for both girls in the tent ... rolling between us, hide and seek, learning to juggle etc
Our next camping trip will be a little different. We are heading out west at the end of January to visit some friends and will pitch our tent on their property ... so there will be plenty of extra hands and a house to play in during the day. Our challenge on that trip will be the long drive to get out there. Then I will have to search for our next adventure.

What great lessons have you learned about camping with your kids?

Linda x
Camping with Children for Beginners by Linda Anderson
in Travel with Kids, Helpful Hints
2 Nov 2011 | 0 Comments
I have just had my first "real" experience of camping with children ... and survived! We haven't been as adventurous as our good friends currently travelling around Australia or the Hoffmans who did 10,000km with 4 kids and a tent

Camping was a really important part of my childhood. My Dad had a great group of friends from Uni who all had kids around the same time and would set off on bush camping adventures ... dig a trench for a toilet kind of camping. In turn I grew up loving bushwalking and being away from the hustle and bustle of other people.

Before having children my husband and I had many great hiking/camping adventures together. Multi day walks, carrying everything we needed to eat, sleep and stay warm on our backs which meant keeping things small, light and to the bare essentials.

So when it came time to think about camping with small children it as quite hard for us to adjust to a new way of thinking. More gear, much bigger tent, probably driving to our destination and camping with lots of other people around. When my eldest was about 18 months old we invested in our "family" tent and set off camping for 1 night. We invited another family with an 18 month old and we all shared our tent together. I couldn't bring myself to 'car camp' so I picked a campsite that involved a 500m walk from carpark - LOL. It was a great weekend but as it was only 1 night it didn't feel "real".

So last weekend we set off for 3 nights to Wilsons Promontory with a 3.5 year old, an 11 month old baby and a good friend. The weather forecast was for showers, wind and top temps of 13C ... hardly enticing. I reached out on facebook to seasoned family campers for tips to make this a great weekend - tips included:
- Take lots of things to keep them entertained in the tent if its raining
- Take lots of snacks
- take lots of blankets or extra clothes to wear in bed
- Buckets to put wet shoes in
- if your child is toilet trained at night, use the bucket to pee in, so you dont' have to do the horrid walk to the toilets in the middle of the night!!!
- gumboots and a rain coat
- take the car dvd it is good as well when raining to sit in the tent and watch movies
- Lay out nappy changing gear and kids spare clothes before you go to sleep and have a small torch next to you.
So what was our camping adventure like? and what did I learn?
- Wombats like gumboots: our first night a wombat came to visit, dug a hole under the tent fly and left a "present" on the gumboots we had borrowed for Miss 3. She thought it was fantastic a wombat had come to say hello!
- It is really cold at night: the nights were cold and VERY windy. We all slept in many layers of clothes and that seemed to do the trick. I dresses my kids in their clothes for the next day, then PJ's on top ... that way I didn't have to strip them the next morning in the cold.
- Camping with the masses has an upside and a downside: The upside was there were plenty of kids for Miss 3 to hang with, play hide and seek with etc. Hot showers were also much appreciated. The downside was how noisy it was at night ... I craved the silence of the bush as I listened to the really annoying teenage girls next door still shrieking, swearing and carrying on like idiots after 10pm.
- Snack and Activities: lots of snacks was a very good tip - both my girls had extra appetites. A result of fresh air and activity but I also think an important part of staying warm.
- Babies, tent, sleep: these things don't seem to go well together
- Camping brings out the best in Miss 3: she really was wonderful to be with. She listened well, she played really happily in the tent with colouring in and finger puppets when the rain forced us to say indoors, and she had a great time bushwalking with a few "treats" to help keep her spirits and motivation up along the way.
Overall we had a great weekend and look forward to more camping over summer when we return to Sydney ... hopefully this also means much warmer camping! I did find managing the cold and little kids the hardest part of the weekend. Like all things it will also get much easier the more often we do it.

Linda x
Tips for protecting your images online by Linda Anderson
in Helpful Hints
18 Oct 2011 | 0 Comments

My recent blog about finding an image of my child on a marketing flyer has sparked a lot of online comment and media interest.

As I sometimes write about my family as part of Mums on the Go I will still, on occasion, use images of my children online. So I was keen to learn what I could do in future to better protect these images against use without my permission.

My good friend, Darren White, from www.peakactionimages.com had this to say:

It is not common that people "take" images off google, flickr, Facebook etc for commercial use, and yes it's stealing (www.copyright.org.au)

Rather than not putting anything online it's good practice t:

a) put a non intrusive watermark on your photos (there are lots of free programs that will do that)

b) post only low resolution (800 pixels wide. 100k size maximum

c) and perhaps most importantly ensure that the metadata is intact. (Metadata is data stored within the file itself and depending on your camera you can put your copyright rules and name on the file that proves its yours easily)

Linda x
Happy Blog Day! by Linda Anderson
in The Mums on the Go Journey, Women who Inspire, Helpful Hints
31 Aug 2011 | 2 Comments

Happy Blog Day to you!

Apparently today is Blog Day. What is Blog Day I hear you ask? Well, it seems it is a day where people who blog (me!) take time to acknowledge and share other blogs that we like with our community.

Here is a list of 6 blogs that I enjoy reading ... they are not all Mum/Parent orientated ... just things I like and perhaps you will too. These are in no particular order ...

Motherless Daughter : Once upon a time I invited a wonderful woman, Cheryl Strong, to write a guest post for Mums on the Go. Her post was all about what is was like to be a Mum without the presence of her own Mum, who sadly died 13 years ago. Her post touched many Mums who read it, and the comments left online inspired Cheryl to start her very own blog. It is beautifully written and a sacred place for all Motherless Daughters to connect.

Write Change Grow : I confess I have a soft spot for this blog because it is written by a coaching client of mine. When I met Thea several years ago she was doing a writing course by correspondence and dreaming of perhaps one day being a fulltime professional writer. She has shown great courage and determination n pursuing her dream and is now writing full time. I always enjoy reading this blog full of honesty, humour and interesting perspectives.

Woogs World : - I am always uplifted by Woogs World. Humorous, intelligent and thought provoking. Written by a Mum, and often containing posts about family/parenting - however, the overall content much more diverse.

The Modern Parent : Mother to 5 boys Martine writes a blog focussed on supporting mums & dads thrive in their journey as parents. I have met Martine in person and found her to be a grounded, generous and interesting woman. Her blog contains all of these qualities too.

Sphinxx : sphinxx is a social enterprise committed to achieving gender balance in leadership. Their vision is to see women equally represented in leadership roles – in business and in our communities. This blog is informative, supportive and inspiring.

Planning with Kids: written by Mum of 5 and uber-organised Nicole Avery. This blog is a fantastic resource anytime you need inspiration about making life run more smoothly, simply or enjoyably in your family. There is an amazing wealth of information here.

So these are some of my favourites? What are some of yours?

Linda x
Child-Friendly Handbag by Linda Anderson
in Child Friendly Experiences, Helpful Hints
30 May 2011 | 0 Comments

I have always been a really slack Mum when it comes to packing some "entertainment" in my handbag for my toddler when we go out to cafes. I just never seem to think about it until I am actually at the cafe and my toddler is fidgeting and getting bored waiting for her food. No wonder my business mission is to find child-friendly cafes that provide things like a toy basket so I don't HAVE to remember - LOL

I always look at other Mums with envy and amazement as they unpack a seamingly endless supply of entertainment from their tardis like handbags to make cafe outings happier for all.

Here are a few things I wish I would remember to pack in my handbag!

Colouring In - a small packet of crayons or pencils and some blank paper or colouring in book can be a great distractor. However, for my toddler it is a mistake to bring this out early if I want her to eat as she gets so engossed she refuses to put it away when her meal comes. Best hidden until afterwards when she has finished eating but I still want to linger over another coffee

Magnetic Doll - a local cafe has this great wooden box where the lid is magnetised and has a well love picture of a girl on th it. Inside the box are magnetic pieces of clothing you can dress her in ... they are all things like ball gowns, tiaras, gloves etc. My daughter loves playing with this but as there is only one in the cafe it is often unavailable. So I bought online an alternative Magnetic Doll so we could always have one on hand ... however it doesn't come in a box making it harder to transport and keep pieces together, and the "normal" clothing options don't capture my daughters imagination the same way ball gowns and tiaras do! Still, a good idea though.

Mega Bloks - I was recently given a set of Mega Bloks and I really love them. The big chunky pieces make them easy to use, easy to find if dropped and easy to clean if a babycino gets spilled on them! I throw a good handful in a big ziplock bag and take them out with us for some construction time at coffee time.

Stickers - what is it with stickers? My daughter and her friends LOVE them! They just like the endless process of peeling them off a sheet, sticking them on the paper ... then when they are all on the paper she tries to peel them off without ripping sticker or paper so she can do it all over again. Sticker sheets are cheap, light, and small making them excellent handbag material.

What are your favourite things to pack in your handbag to keep your child occupied?

Linda x
Turning Dreams into Reality by Linda Anderson
in Wellbeing for Mums, Helpful Hints, Relationships
14 Mar 2011 | 0 Comments

My husband and I shared the dream of traveling to Nepal for 5 years before we actually made it come true. You might be wondering why it took us this long? Well, we had other dreams which we decided to turn into goals and achieve first.

For example our dream to travel around the world for 365 days without having to work, we had a dream to buy a house together, we had a dream to get married. All of these dreams became reality.

What was REALLY important during these 5 years was that we kept our dream of traveling to Nepal "alive". It was essential to keep refreshing the dream, plugging into it, to ensure it didn't fade into the background and become forgotten.

Have you ever had a dream that just seemed to fade away over time?
Dreams need to be kept on our radar and given some energy!

Here are some examples of things we did to keep our dream alive:
* we went to see the movie "Himalaya" which inspired us with amazing mountain scenery (this was our 2nd date together)
* we hired the DVD of "Himalaya" a couple of years later to reconnect to this
* we gave each other guide books on Nepal and Trekking as gifts
* we talked to our friends about sharing this dream with us
* we collected travel brochures and newspaper clippings
* we included traveling the world and climbing mountains together forever as part of our wedding vows

I have personally found it much more challenging to stay connected to my dreams after having children. For me this is caused by becoming consumed by the "busyness" involved in raising children. My husband and I recently made time to sit and discuss our dreams for the next few years to make sure we don't lose sight of them.

What dreams do you have right now?
* Write them down and then list one thing you can do to help keep those dreams alive.
* How do you turn one of those dreams into reality?
* Commit to it, make a plan and start taking action!

Remember - if you can dream you can do it!

Linda x
Feeling Romantic? by Linda Anderson
in Motherhood, Helpful Hints, Relationships
14 Feb 2011 | 2 Comments

On a scale of 1 - 10 how romantic do you feel in your relationship?

Although I personally dislike the commercialism of Valentines Day I do find it a good day to stop and reflect on the level of romance in my marriage.

I know it is easy to allow the romance to fizzle when my day is full of breastfeeding, toddler tantrums, cooking, keeping on top of work, endless loads of washing ... you get the idea ... When my husband comes home do I feel romantic? Absolutely not! Even when the day has been largely "happy" and "easy" with the kids I still feel pretty drained by 6.30pm.

I also know that if all I focus on is the "doing" of parenting the "being" in a loving, nurturing relationship suffers so it is really important to find simple ways to regularly connect with feeling romantic.

Part of wanting to feel romantic is about how you feel about yourself.
Here are some hints for how you can add more romance all year round:
1. Ask your partner to ditch the present and write a list of all the things they love about you
2. Ask for a weekly back rub in bed (perhaps your TV-Free night?)
3. Request a regular weekly sleep-in where he takes the kids out of the house for the morning, and not return until it's time for their lunch. You sleep in, give yourself a facial,and have a shower...by yourself...with No interruptions!
4. Write romantic notes for each other and leave them to be found (in the fridge, your handbag, on the computer etc) - they only need to be a few words

It doesn't take much effort to do all or a combination of these things every day, and you will be amazed by the change in your relationship.

Linda x
The top 10 ways to be a 'good' parent by Mums on the Go
in Motherhood, Wellbeing for Mums, Helpful Hints
19 Dec 2010 | 0 Comments

Mums on the Go is all about Mums and their personal needs. We are not a parenting site. There are plenty of resources catering to parenting questions and concerns ....for example, Amazon has 40 thousand pareting guides. To put that in perspective, western world's other obsession - dieting, Amazon only has a 'slim' 16 thosuand books available.

A Mum is a parent, so at times it is hard to draw a clear distinction between the two. But Linda and I strongly believe that you will be a good/better parent by valuing your needs as much as you value your childrens. Most of us fall into the trap of neglecting our needs and putting ourselves last. And then we are reticent to ask for help.

I picked up a magazine this week and my interest was piqued by an article titled "What makes a good parent? A scientific analysis ranks the 10 most effective child-rearing practices. Surprisingly some dont even involve the kids."

The article appeared in 'Scientific American Mind'. basically the authors conducted a meta study where they compared many of the most popular pareting models with what parents actually did, and then compared these to their children's behaviour. The top 10 are:

1. Love and Affection - provide lots of this to your kids

2. Stress Management - you ensure your stress levels are at a minumum

3. Relationship Skills - you model a 'healthy' relationship with your co-parent whether you are together or separated/divorced.

4. Autonomy and Independence - you treat your child with respect and encourage them to be self sufficient

5. Education and learning - you promote and model learning and provide educational opportunities for your child

6. Life Skills - you provide for your child, have a steady income and plan for the future

7. Behaviour management - make extensive use of positive reinforcement and use punishment ONLY when ALL other behaviour management tactics have failed

8. Health - you model healthy eating and regular exercise

9. Religion - you participate in spiritual activities

10. Safety - you take precautions to protect your child and maintain awareness of thei friends and activities.

So what does this mean? I believe it means that you need to value your needs in order to be a good parent. There is no excuse about not having time to look after yourself - be it a visit to a gym, a dietician or talk to someone about dealing with stress. because if you are serious about being a good/better parent, you need to ensure you are in a healthy space in your life.

Looking forward to the new year - can you think of a resolution from the list above where you can spend more time on yourself? I am going to try and encourage my kids to be more independent and autonomous. I kind of fall into a trap thinking I have to do EVERYTHING for them - even when they are old enough to do it for themselves (like gettting dressed).

I'd love to hear what inspiration you can get from the list. And your thoughts to the article itself.....

This is the last blog for the year. I am going to have 2 weeks off and try to recharge my creative juices.

Thanks for being part of the Mums on the Go Community this year - i look forward to seeing where 2011 takes us

I wish you a safe, enjoyable and relaxing festive season

love Calli

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