Lisette's blah-blah-blah Blog

No one really tells you how hard it is. And even if they did, nothing can ever prepare you for...

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:37:49 +1100

No one really tells you how hard it is.

And even if they did, nothing can ever prepare you for it.

The warnings are there but fall on deaf ears until you’re in its midst.

Then the understanding dawns.

For some it creeps up unnoticed.

For others it stares them head on - blinding.

But the essence remains the same.

A perennial paradox.

It is both pain and pleasure permeating the senses.

Sweet and suffering simmering in the same molten pot.

Love and loathing lurking in its depths.

Laughter and tears trailing through its path.

Motherhood.

How you confound me!

Our Funwall (beats Facebook’s any day!)

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:32:02 +1100

Marker Love from Timmy

This is how he bribes me... trinkets!

K's 1st drawing - red scribbles

Our Funwall (beats Facebook’s any day!)

Those three words

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:56:26 +1100

For as long as I can remember, every phone conversation my mum has ever had with my Lola (grandmother) always ends like this:

I love you.

I love you too!

…

We never tire of hearing those simple words from the ones we love.

Don’t hold back, spread the love.

Light up your life

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:26:19 +1100

When in comes to rekindling long-forgotten friendships, renewing fading family ties or even restoring broken relationships, don’t hesitate.

Our lives are a mere fleeting moment in time and for each moment that we chose not to do something that enriches it, our light is ever so slightly diminished.

Each one of us is a part of the Whole, the Universe, whatever you want to call it. And as a result, we have an inherent need to be with each other, to remain connected. The constant challenge is how we do this - how each conscious action we take satisfies this need.

Every day is an opportunity not to be wasted.

Don’t hesitate.

Take that step to happiness.

Photo

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:41:51 +1100

Sette's fisheye, K is bored

B-B-Bouncer

Chomp!

Flying with Big Daddy T

Leaving on a jet plane

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:20:07 +1100

Leaving on a jet plane

Slice of Summer

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:56:00 +1100

Pete & his iPhone

Hello my Lovelies

Cat & K

Peek-A-Boo Ger

Slice of Summer

Photo

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:31:57 +1100

Grand ideas, madcap schemes and ludicrous thoughts must always come to me in my sleep. It’s...

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:11:16 +1100

Grand ideas, madcap schemes and ludicrous thoughts must always come to me in my sleep.

It’s like that restful state brought upon by sleep unlocks them all and they roam free unchecked, unguarded and unabated in my head.

Whilst I float between the cusp of the unconscious and conscious, these rampant thoughts, emotions and images crystallise and come to a stand still.

My eyes fly open.

Blinking non-stop, as if the action itself will ensure that I grasp each and every thought.

Then I pause.

Furrow my brows.

Breathe.

Then it hits me.

I know what I need to do.

It is a moment of such clarity that to disregard, deny or denounc it would seem like an act of injustice.

But then here is my challenge:

Am I brave enough to follow through?

smack

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:51:12 +1100

No, sorry to disappoint, this is not a post about heroin.

Rather, the current contentious issue of smacking children.

The debate of “do we/don’t we” has once again come to the fore with new research claiming that smacked children become successful and happier adults compared to those that have never been smacked.

According to the research, children smacked up to the age of six were likely as teenagers to perform better at school and were more likely to carry out volunteer work and to want to go to university than their peers who had never been physically disciplined.

I have always been a staunch supporter of the wooden spoon method of disciplining kids (or in Tim’s experience, the frying pan) despite having never been subjected to it as a child. In fact, so much so that this was one of the things tabled at our discussion before making the big “let’s move in” decision.

Other (kinky?) ideas might have assaulted Tim’s brain when I asked him,

“So what do you thing about smacking?

… kids that is!”

His quickly reply, “Yep, definitely smacking them” assured me that we were on the path to true love.

Sure, other things sealed the deal like the fact that he’s the reigning Laundry King and Domestic Daddy-in-the-making (which I profusely thanked his mum for during one of our Tim conversations).

Oh but how quickly I digress.

Once it was agreed that smacking was indeed an optional form of discipline in the Duhigg household, it was only a matter of time before we needed someone to inflict this method of chastisement to.

Enter stage left, Kala Rosario.

Yes, at present she is only 5 months old and the extent of her mischief is quite harmless and at times endearing - like her record-breaking attempts at spitting the dummy across the room, slapping Tim’s face while he’s trying to squeeze in precious moments of sleep (the endearing part) and fake crying in a desperate bid to grab our attention.

The point is that soon enough there will come a time when Tim and I will need to bring out the big guns. When it’s no longer enough that you tell them “No” and when trying to reason with them is futile and a waste of breath - not that you can reason with a 2 year old to begin with. It is comforting to know that as parents, we are both on the same page when dishing out discipline. That we won’t be confusing the poor kid with conflicting actions, that consistency is our common goal and that tough love has its place.

I shudder to think that I will become the parent of a rude, irreverent, spoilt brat. You know the kind. Those kids who don’t listen to a cautioning word, those who throw roof-raising tantrums at the most inappropriate places, those who think that crying gets them what they want and yes, they often want everything.

I don’t want to be the parent of that child who everyone stares at, then shakes their head in disgust, shocked that such disrespectful behaviour is condoned all under the guise that to give them a disciplinary tap on the bottom is an infringement on their rights to a safe and happy childhood.

If a smack here and there is all it takes to set my child on the path to righteousness and learn the value of respect, then it’s an easy choice. So don’t judge me if you see me around sporting a wooden spoon as the latest mum-must-have accessory. Just walk away and rest assured that it is only ever used for the greater good.

If you can’t hold back on that sniping remark, be warned.

My Supermum senses mean that I have supersonic hearing and a deadly aim. I can tell you now that a ladle-shaped dent on the back of the head is not a look showcased in any of the 2010 Spring/Summer collections.

iheartlove: (via tiskyra)

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:51:51 +1100

iheartlove:

(via tiskyra)

Fadeless

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:24:39 +1100

Yesterday we drove for nearly 9 hours.

That’s 9 hours out of a 24 hour day.

Add a 5 month old in the backseat and you’d be thinking we’re insane.

I guess that’s one way of looking at it.

Despite the insanity of the it all, it was for a very momentous occasion.

Patrica Duhigg celebrated her 90th birthday yesterday.

I cannot even begin to imagine the life she’s lived.

But the one thing I do know is that she shared her life with a loving husband - Tim’s much adored “Pa”.

Unfortunately I never got the chance to meet him but I was able to get a glimpse of the kind of man that he was from one of the many letters he wrote to nana during the war.

…

FADELESS

Because we two have touched the stars, learned

the language of the flowers and the meaning of

bird-song, I shall not forget; because we have

joyed together and wept together and, sharing

life’s harvest, found it grand and lovely,

you are with me yet.

Nothing can obliterate the glory of what has been

no parting dim the treasure that once you gave

to me.

- Southern Cross.

To My Darling Patricia,

With love from Harrold.

10th June 1945.

…

Words I will live by in 2010

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:01:10 +1100

peace

perseverance

prudence

prosperity

Heads down, bottoms up and hopefully the I will reap the rewards.

K gets KO’d

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:53:53 +1100

K gets KO’d

"Holy Fuckballs"

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:26:45 +1100

“Holy Fuckballs”

- Marieke Hardy on twitter after Tony Abbott is “ordained” as the new Liberal Party leader

16 weeks today… Hip-Hip- Hooray!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:54:37 +1100

16 weeks today… Hip-Hip- Hooray!

The Finders Keepers Market

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:09:51 +1100

Put it in your diary.

See you there.

Chasing dreams

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:16:26 +1100

It’s one of the hardest thing to do.

Courage, be my friend.

iheartlove: alixjay: (via fuckyeahhlove)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:14:31 +1100

iheartlove:

alixjay: (via fuckyeahhlove)

FOX-y

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:12:18 +1100

Yes, apparently Megan Fox is a FOX.

But I still can’t get over her toe-thumb!

Lisette's blah-blah-blah Blog

No one really tells you how hard it is. And even if they did, nothing can ever prepare you for...

Our Funwall (beats Facebook’s any day!)

Those three words

Light up your life

Photo

Leaving on a jet plane

Slice of Summer

Photo

Grand ideas, madcap schemes and ludicrous thoughts must always come to me in my sleep. It’s...

*smack*

iheartlove: (via tiskyra)

Fadeless

Words I will live by in 2010

K gets KO’d

"Holy Fuckballs"

16 weeks today… Hip-Hip- Hooray!

The Finders Keepers Market

Chasing dreams

iheartlove: alixjay: (via fuckyeahhlove)

FOX-y

smack