**My apologies for this post being late - I have the flu (and bollocks to the flu, I'd like to add!). I managed to assemble the few brain cells that aren't completely stuffed and we've pressed 'publish'. Hopefully it's not a total balls up**
WooHoo!!
This post means it's half way through June and only three more weeks until my husband stops working stupid-end-of-financial-year-hours and returns to the fold.
I would just like to say that my sanity will be THRILLED to see him. Miss 3 will also be glad to have him back and it'll mean between the hours of 4:30pm and 8:30pm I will no longer hear:
- Is Daddy home?
- When will Daddy be home?
- Can I check if Daddy's home?
- Why isn't Daddy home?
- Why is Daddy at work?
- Can I go to Daddy's work?
- Can I call Daddy?
- Can I call Daddy, again?
- I can't eat dinner without Daddy.
- I don't want you, I want Daddy!
- Will Daddy ever come home?
- Why are you crying?
So - without further ado, I bring you the Digital Parent's June Blog Carnival!!
- Georgia from Parental Parody is bringing us 'FFS?! Friday: The Karmic Edition'. An epic (long winded) take of why it's important to eat your veg. And also to get your rings sized to fit.
- Twitter: @Parental_Parody
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ParentalParody
- Michaela from Five Frogs on a Blog would like to present 'A Love Letter to My Brain'. I came to the realisation that the batshitcrazy parts of me were just as worthy as the sane parts. Thought my brain might like to know that I finally get it.
- Twitter: @fivefrogsblog
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/FiveFrogsOnABlog
- Kristin from the epic Wanderlust is bustin' out with 'I Went to the Media and Here is Why'. Because of concerns for my family's' safety, I contacted the media. As a result, a local news station does an investigative report on why my ex-husbands child pornography case has stalled at the local level.
- Twitter: @wanderlust_lust
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wanderlustlust
- Jodie from Parent Wellbeing will attempt to answer the ageless question 'Does it get any Easier as your Kids get Older?'. A question came through recently from one of the parents in our online program around whether things get easier with time. And whether, armed with this knowledge, parents can relax a bit more in those early years. The answer is yes...and no!
- Twitter: @parentwellbeing
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/parentwellbeing
- Beck from The Rambling Mummy is tackling 'A Hard Decision'. Post is about my decision to return to work early and how it was hard for me to make that choice.
- Twitter: @ramblingmummy
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/RamblingMummy
- Jess from Whoa, Mamma! is proud to bring us 'My Best and Worst Mothering Moments: brought to you by Facebook'. In this post I confess and share about my shameful addiction to Facebook and how it culminated in my worst act as a mother. On the plus side, I share how the fabulous community of mothers online saved my sanity and helped bring out the best in me.
- Twitter: @JessWhoamamma
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/whoa.mamma.jess
- Salwa from 'Salz Dummy Spit' would like us to know 'I'm that Mother'. It's a post about being that mother that does these things that some mothers and people frown upon.
- Twitter: @_Salz_
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/salzfoodblog
- Rachel from Redcliffe Style is bringing us '10 Things: Qualitites I Value in Friends now that I am Nearly 40'. This post is about qualities I look for in friends now compared to when I was younger. I need more than someone that likes the same nightclubs, same wine and the odd sneaky cigarette. I am looking for friends that make me want to be a better person.
- Twitter: @RedcliffeStyle
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/Redcliffe.Style
- Bernice from 'btsoi blogs' would like to present '(Almost) Wordless Wednesday'. A series of photographs of my boys in the backyard. My older son was a little upset and my younger son took it upon himself to go cheer his big brother up.
- Twitter: @btsoi
- Talia from 'The Climbing Tree' is updating us on 'Infant Dairy Intolerance: Lior's Story'. This post is about my son and my experience with infant dairy intolerance. It has been a heartbreaking few months, and we're finally on top of things. We've struggled through poor doctors, poor health, and a plethora of different remedies, treatments, and experiements to finally get to the bottom of his health issues!
- Twitter: @taliacarbis
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/climbingtree
- Lisa from 'Two Point Five Kids' is proud to bring us 'My Mother's Day'. Just a snippet of my Mothers Day – the lows and......and......and......the one nappy change my hubby did before he went to work.
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/twopointfivekids
- Rachel from 'Mummy Muddles' is making us jealous by 'Escaping the Everyday'.
- Twitter: @rachkln
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mummymuddles
- Susie from 'New Day New Lesson' wants us to remember 'Don't Wait for Diease to Force Your Hand'. Disease, especially cancer, has a way of forcing your hand. A way of making you re-evaluate what needs to be changed and what to keep. What I have learned from my patients is to try and not wait until disease forces you to a make a change you know and you need to make.
- Twitter: @newdaynewlesson
- Denyse from 'Tales of School Days Too' is bringing to us 'Families Week Day 1'. I'm Denyse Whelan, and as a retired school principal, mother and grandparent I blog about families, schooling and life. This post is called Families' Week. Day 1. Family Rules and Habits where I outlined what our family's life has been like, and invited readers to do the same in comments. I hope that you find this interesting and comment too! Comments are the connections we make through our blogs. I love that!
- Twitter: @denwise1
- Rachel from 'The Kids Are Alright' covers the news that 'You're Not Special' (but in a nice way!). "You are not special. You are not exceptional." Harsh? These words were spoken by a high school teacher to his students at their graduation ceremony this week.
- Twitter: @_kidsallright
- Janet from 'Footprints Australia' brings us 'Yummy Mummy or Motherly Mother?'. What is the difference between a yummy mummy or a motherly mother? Which would you rather have...and which would you rather BE?
- Twitter: @footprintsmag
- Yvette from 'Delightfully Tacky Lil Squirts' is bravely telling us about 'Papsmear - Hospital Visit to get Treatment for Pre-Cancerous Cells'. I found out I have HPV CIN III Virus: Pre-Cancerous Cells before they turn into Cervical Cancer. This post is Part 5 - my journey to the hospital to get them removed. And how it is so vital for every woman to get have regular papsmears for this silent killer.
- Twitter: @DTlilsquirts
- Carly from 'Tune into Radio Carly' wants us to know about 'Skin Hunger'. Skin hunger sums up how I feel about the lack of touch in my life. I have a severe skin condition called ichthyornis and though am loved and touched by doctors for treatment, I yearn to be touched lovingly. I was overwhelmed with the readers who related.
- Twitter: @carlyfindlay
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tune.into.radio.carly
- Rhonda at 'Pink Ronnie' brings us her journey 'On Blogging for 10 Years'. This October, Rhonda - or Ronnie - will have been blogging for ten years. In this post, she reflects on the roller coaster journey, especially why she ran away from her blog and how she came back again.
- Twitter: @pinkronnie
- Shelley at 'Tropical Mum' is sharing 'The Gift of Letting Go'. She was only 15 years old, a Cree girl in a frozen northern town, practically a baby herself. What she was thinking at the time, I'll probably never know, but now that I am a mother, I can try to imagine...
- Twitter: @troppomum
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/troppomum
- Belinda from 'belblogger5' is happy to present 'Learning to Write'. I wrote it after I found a whole heap of paper containing all my youngest daughters squiggles. I even found she had accidentally written a word which I thought was hilarious.
- Monique from the 'Your Cheeky Monkey' Blog presents 'A Picture Says a Thousand Words'. I'm sharing a very special photo of my new baby girl with her 2 big brothers!
- Twitter: @yrcheekymonkey
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/YourCheekyMonkey
- Eleise from 'What's on in Wollongong' would like us to know 'Why we are Raising Money for Kids Fund'. This post is about training to run the City 2 Surf in August and about the daughter of one of the team members who was born without a heart beat but survived!
- Twitter: @Thegongwhatson
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/whatsoninwollongong
- Sazz from 'All That Sazz' is popping her Carnival cherry with 'Weaning and The Four Old Breastfeeder'. When cyberspace was all a flutter over the Time Magazine 3 year old breastfeeding cover story, I was quietly breastfeeding my 4 year old, grappling with the changing nature of our breastfeeding relationship as she ages in a culture that shows underwhelming support for breastfeeding at the best of times.
- Twitter: @allthatsazz
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/allthatsazz
- Ali from 'At Home with Ali' is another Carnival newbie and would like to show us that 'Summer Fun = Messy Play'. My post is a photo essay featuring all my kids' favourite outdoor messy play activities from the previous summer.
- Twitter: @athomewithali
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/athomewithali
- Crissy from 'Phenomenal Woman' would like to share her 'Mother's Day'. What started out as a disastrous Mother's day, turned out to be one of the best this far. All of my cherubs in the one place, at the one time, a rare occurrence. Even more so, being treated to my beautiful Boof, cooking dinner for me!
- Twitter: @CDelloiaco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Phenomenal-Woman
- Thuy from 'Inside a Mother's Mind' is bringing to us 'Feelings & Emotions: The Value of its Expression'. As parents we need to teach our children how to understand and express their feelings and emotions. But first, we must model this behaviour so they understand that it IS okay to be sad sometimes.
- Twitter: @insidea_mm
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/InsideaMothersMind
- Deborah from 'Learn with Play @ Home' wants to show us how easy it is to make a 'DIY Writing Board'. This seemingly simple post ended up being one of my most popular of all time. probably because of the versatility, simplicity and fun of the DIY Writing Board. Here I show you how to make your own DIY Writing Board to use as a memo board for you or as a fabulous learning tool, promoting early literacy for kids.
- Twitter: @Learn_with_Play
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/learnwithplayathome
- Beatrix Quills wants us all to know that 'Attachment Parents get Frustrated Too'. This post is about how aspiring to be an attachment parent doesn't mean you have to be perfect! If we strive for a close relationship with our children, and try to learn from our mistakes, we're practising the most important parts of attachment parenting.
- Twitter: @BeatrixQuills
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeatrixQuills
- Jodi from 'Mummyhood101' is sharing a 'Childhood Memory'. This post came about after thinking about all the fun things I did as a kid, and what I wanted my own kids to experience! My favourite night of the year was Cracker Night! :)
- Twitter: @mummyhood101
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mummyhood101
- Claudia from 'Crafty Little People' is making us get handy with her step by step guide to a 'Home-Made See-Saw'. My kids attempted to make a see-saw with bits and pieces from the pile of rubbish we had been collecting down the side of our house. This gave my husband and I a good idea to build them a see-saw. The kids absolutely love it so we wanted to share how we made it. Enjoy!
- Enid Bite'Em is talking about our favourite thing as parents...'Sleep DeprAvation'. Sleep DeprAvation is about why it is perfectly normal to put vegemite in the freezer, toothpaste in the shower, think your husband's head is an alarm clock, or write poetry to your vacuum cleaner about its power to settle your crying baby (or is that just me?)
- Twitter: @EnidBiteEm
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnidBiteEm
- Natasha at 'Home of the Small' is covering 'Great Expectations'. The post is about the day we went in to have our 20 week pregnancy scan & what happened when we wanted to find out the baby's gender.
- Twitter: @l_littlelove_l
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/littlelovecompany
- Kylie at 'Octavia and Vicky' is showing us 'Easy DIY Wall Art'. This post is a how-to for some super cute and super easy wall art. You could have a custom art piece on your wall in just a few minutes!
- Twitter: @octaviaandvicky
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/OctaviaAndVicky
- Lara at 'This Charming Mum' is sharing 'On the Party of the Year: Access All Areas!'. It’s the party of the year and anyone who’s anyone will be there. Join us for the red carpet arrivals, the food, the fashion and all the behind-the-scenes gossip. Well, it’s a pretty big day when you turn 4 isn’t it?
- Twitter: @thischarmingmum
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/This-Charming-Mum
- Danielle is proud to present 'Stress is a Four Letter Word'. This blog post was really a call to all mothers who find it hard to be honest about how hard it is to be a Mummy. I have lost so much and sometimes feel so guilty admitting that I do it tough and get frustrated and angry. I want people to understand that even if you know that life is fleeting it is OK to still admit that you get your cranky's on sometimes, just like everyone else.
- Kate from 'Mee Too' is reviewing the 'Wallace & Gromit: World of Invention at Scienceworks'. My post is a review of the recently opened Wallace & Gromit exhibition at Scienceworks, which we attended on the opening day and realy enjoyed.
- Twitter: @meetookids
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/meetoo.com.au
- Lisa from ' New Life on the Road' is updating us on 'What Went Down at School the Other Day'. A reflection of what went on at the Primary School with one of our sons Teachers. We had to have an interview with our second grade primary school teacher because she was concerned with how little he knew. It was his first day back at school after being Homeschooled for over a year.
- Twitter: @newlifeonroad
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewLifeOnTheRoad
- Cas at ' Peaches and Maple' is showing us around her newly renovated home with 'House Tour - Lounge Room'.
- Twitter: @peachesandmaple
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/peachesandmaple
- Claire from 'Scissors Paper Rock' is entering the debate on whether 'Breastfed Babies Are Smarter'. I ran into a friend recently who was absolutely devastated that her 8month old was self-weaning off breastfeeding & was now only taking a bottle of formula. I looked over at my 2 healthy, thriving formula-fed babies & thought about the overrated debate between breastfed & bottle fed. This re-emerged some memories of when I had my first born so I decided to blog about it.
- Twitter: @SPRockDesigns
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Scissors-Paper-Rock
- Kaz from 'Melting Moments' has some 'Tips for Getting Your Happy Snaps off your Hard Drive and into Your Home'. Here are my tips for organising your photos and getting them off your memory devices and out into your home where they can be viewed and appreciated.
- Twitter: @MeltingMoments
- Ash at ' Mumdeep' is making our mouths water with 'Crack French Toast'. Seriously the best, most addictive French toast ever, loved by kids and adults. You cannot stop at one piece.
- Twitter: @mumdeep
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mumdeep
- Danielle from 'Keeping Up with the Holsbys' is sharing the 'Victoria's Secret Diet'. I've never been one for diets but I gave birth 5 weeks ago and I immediately started jokingly referring to my eating habits as the Victoria's Secret Diet. We've all seen how those girls bounce back. A little ice cream? Sure, I'm certain it on the Victoria's Secret Diet. A glass of wine? Just a little, that's all I'm allowed on the Victoria's Secret Diet. Here's a very tongue in cheek account of my new diet and exercise regime to get me back on the catwalk in world record time.
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeepingUpWithTheHolsbys
- Kim-Marie brings us 'Let's Write: How Do You Start Your Day?'. From the Let's Write blog hop - a humorous tale of how Boyo and I are late every single morning, despite waking at 6am!
- Twitter: @kimbalikes
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kimbalikes
- Kylie from 'Kylie Ofiu As Well' is helping us decide 'How to Prepare for a Recession'. With the global economy so uncertain and job cuts across the world, here's a little guide on how you can prepare and what you should do to prepare for a recession.
- Twitter: @kylieofiu
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Kylie-Ofiu
- Courtney from 'FoodMuster' is tempting us with her recipe for 'Kingston Truffles'. This happens to be a very simple recipe using Arnotts Kingston biscuits, cream cheese and chocolate. So easy, but such an amazing result and anyone can make them. I make these for get togethers and they don't last very long. They are also good to give as a present in a cute jar or bag. The best thing is that if you don't like Kingstons, you can use Oreos, Tim Tams, Mint Slice. Basically any cream biscuit that takes your fancy. Enjoy :-)
- Twitter: @renrut22
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/FoodMuster
- Karen from 'Yellow Dandy Dreams' is telling us 'Why I Ditched the Baby Books'. This post is about my personal journey in Motherhood and dealing with the abundance of information and advice that you can be overwhelmed with as a new Mum. And, how I am learning to trust in myself and my Mummy instincts rather than thinking I "should" be raising my son a particular way.
- Twitter: @yellow_dandy
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/yellowdandy
- Jan at 'Baby Parent Blog' wants us to know 'Baby Poo - What's Normal?'.
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SettlePetalPCH
- Lisa from 'Mum of Adult Kids' is discussing 'Under-age Drinking. Is There Really a Solution?'. I wrote this post in response to media coverage of proposed changes to NSW liquor laws, making the supply of alcohol to a minor illegal even where their parent/s permit it. I have fairly strong opinions about under-age drinking, and having parented my kids through their teenage years, I've had a bit of experience with it too! But I'll be the first to tell you that I just don't have the answers.
- Twitter: @mumofadultkids
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mumofadultkids
- Melanie at 'A Welcoming Hearth' is asking 'What makes you Happy?'. It is good in this world to focus on the things that make us happy. It helps keep us positive and in a better frame of mind.
- Twitter: @WelcomingHearth
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/AWelcomingHearth
- Tahlia from 'The Parenting Files' brings us 'Fun Outdoor Games'. Stuck on some outdoor games for the kids? This is my simple yet fun, interactive, educational ideas for outdoor games. And the kids will love it too!
- Twitter: @parentingfiles
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/theparentingfiles
- Emily at 'emilywebb.net' is highlighting how 'Barbie Kickstarted my Journalism Career'. I owe my journalism career to Barbie. As much as she is maligned, I wouldn't be where I am today without her.
- Twitter: @emilybwebb
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/emilywebbjournalist
- Peta-Jo is teaching us all 'Lessons on Loving a Cranky Mother'. So what do you do when you love your kids more than your husband?
- Twitter: @misspetajo
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Peta-Jo
- Bron from 'Big Brother, Little Sister & The Baby' is proud to bring us 'Bike Riding'. My fav May post is about my two children getting to bike ride together for the first time thanks to an adaptive trike my son got given, it was something i never dreamed possible due to his physical disability.
- Liz from 'Mumstrosity' is showing us her 'Mini Lounge Room Makeover'. Change is as good as a holiday - especially when it's so cheap!
- Twitter: @mumstrosity
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mumstrosity
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to the close of the Digital Parents June Blog Carnival!
A massive thank you to everyone who participated...
I would like to thank the Academy, Digital Parents, a deity I don't believe in and my second counsin's half brother on his father's side for the opportunity to host the Carnival this month and proving to my husband that when I'm on the computer it's for something sensible...(cue closing music to drown out the rambling...)