How is everyone doing? Loaded question? How do you answer that at this stage...... its really not easy. Locked down for months, working from home, home schooling and unable to have any real social time. Well it has been a challenge, it has come with many positive aspects but there have also been many things that will have a long term impact on us all. Almost everyone I have seen or spoken to has put on weight and feels less fit. Its has impacted all of our family & friend relationships and our mental health, I was feeling very isolated and was finding it very hard to even leave the house to go and get bread from my local bakery, the other day while catching up with a friend at the park I realised that it was all due to the implementation of the MASK rule. The last time I went out with the mask I felt very anxious, like I couldn't breathe! I got so hot and flustered and couldn't wait to get home.... now that I know what has been making me feel this way I can deal with it one masked step at a time! X

Whats a Mama Group you might ask????? Well for me its a bunch of Mama's (prerequisite to have a child in your life, grown children included) and be willing to share the good and the bad. For some this last part is a challenge, there are lots of photos of perfectly decorated home made birthday cakes or clean kitchens but the mess of our lives that it takes to get us there is one that Is not often shared. My mama group is like a box of chocolates, some filled with sweet cream and others dark and a little bit crispy. I love it that way, the little quirks you find when you sweep off the dust from the surface, the inside jokes, the support and most of all the laughs. In this time of uncertainty there has been a constant for me, my family and my mama groups! I have a few.... there are the mums that have kids around the same age/ gender/ interests, with these I get to whine, share photos and laugh at daily goings on that others could not relate to or would not think are that funny. I also have the 'old' friend mamas group which is as the name would suggest 'old' friends, not OLD lady friends more like long term car park friends. These friends may have older/ younger kids, babies, adult children but we have one thing in common, we all care for each other (some more then others...hahahahhhahahhaha). These mums provide that support that reflects on you as a real person along with you as a mum, they remember you before you were a mama, when you still had a personality. Sorry, I mean a personality that is not impacted that much by real life!, your still living in that world where you might move overseas for a year for some adventure, or you might have a savings account for a rainy day! These mums get it when you make dramatic threats about what you will do to your husband or kids if they don't *take the rubbish out *put their dirty clothes in the hamper *dishes in the sink and they know you will get over it within the next few minutes. They also don't usually bring up any outbursts you have had recently unless you do,,,, normally to apologise. Well these are the groups of women that have made my isolation experience (and my life in general) more! More!, m ore what? More Fun More Exciting More Emotional More understanding More reasonable More supportive More motivated My life is so much richer from having these amazing women in it, I know how much I have learnt from each and every one of them. I hope you have a mama group to support you! XX

My son turned 11 during May Lockdown in Melbourne. We were anticipating how to celebrate his birthday and how to make it feel special. Usually we have a family party on the day of his birthday which is really my brother and his family, my mum and any friends or family who pop in on the day. The party usually involves some basic decorations, lots of food, a cake and spending time together. Then depending on the child (some are a little more demanding then others :)) we have a weekend party which can be school friends, family friends etc the size and guest list of the party is usually determined by the location and again which child :)))) We have had things like Riding school parties, laser tag, bouncing, parks lots of play centres when they're younger, these days things seem to have calmed down a little, the kids like having their friends over, a buffet of food and sweets to choose from and of course another cake :))). So this year we decorated the indoor/outdoor room we have at the back of the house with balloons (courtesy of KMART! love that place) So there was a string of coloured balloons (pic above) and a blow up happy birthday sign. There was a 'favourite meal' Lasagne in 3 versions, a traditional lasagne for the kids, a vegetarian lasagne for my sister in law and a mixture of the two (best of both worlds) which included roast veggies and a bolognese sauce for my husband, brother and myself, an amazing salad, corn on the cob and some garlic. bread!. We then had a rainbow layered sponge cake also a favourite of the birthday boy and shared some of the gorgeous smelling & looking donuts sent to him by some special friends for his birthday **you know who you are. All in all it was a successful night, obviously helped by the fact that we have 7 kids in the family! Our birthday boy was happy and said he had a lovely day/ night. A group of friends and I have discussed doing a big party at the end of corona for all of the people who had their birthday In lockdown :) So far I think we might have about 5 just from our little group. XX

So in a house full of boys one of the main considerations is our daily food schedule, what we need, what we want and what we should be eating. Our menu has not changed much since being in lockdown but there has been an increase in fridge & pantry visits due to the increase in consumption!!!!! There has also been a lot more cooking! washing dishes and trying to think up new ways to work with staple ingredients. I have never been a big fan of cooking, I find it a real time waster..... is that bad to say! Oh well, its the truth! I go out and get all of the ingredients, prepare, cook, serve and its all gone in a few minutes :) which is the only good part, then the clean up! putting everything away, the fridge, the sink, the dishwasher, cleaning the cooktop! The whole process takes a few hours! Exhausting! I am a big fan of quick and easy meals which is what we usually do but lately I have tried some of the more involved recipes, hence my picture on top :) PITA, Potato (Krompirusa) and Meat (Burek), they were a hit! I have also tried making some traditional soup (Trahana) and even a open chicken flat pie (Kvrgusa). I enjoy the fact that since the boys were little I have encouraged them to at least try things I put in front of them and I am usually honest about flavour, like when I am eating my mums home made sauerkraut (Kiseli Kupus) that is so delicious but smells terrible!!!. Enough about food I am actually making myself feel hungry! I will add some snaps of some of our family favourites. Xx

Its been a minute since I have had a chance to podcast, I was beginning to get into the swing of things and then this! Well after a few weeks of trying to decide when, how and what to podcast about I decided to try adding a Blog to my website. I thought this would be a little more flexible for me and also allow me to add some links and photos of things we are doing at the moment and all of the amazing food we are eating. A little recap of the last few weeks! Kids have been on school holidays! last week they were back to school, home school that is! We have been in isolation for over a month now and have taken it quite literally! We have locked down! I am cooking much more then I have in a long time, making some of those recipes I never have time to on a normal day as we are rushing out of the door!. I will post some snaps as I am quite proud of some of my attempts. Kids have had a few video call playdates where they draw while online and show each other the pics. They have also played various games while online and had a few one on one conversations. Today we did a group happy birthday song & message which was a nice way to say our happy birthday! I will continue with my recap tomorrow ..........

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