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Things You Need to Know About DRaT

This little space has grown so much since its humble beginning in March 2011.

This was originally a means to an end. The end being to make My Bestie Amelia laugh, and write about my little family as they grew.

To have a record of this seemingly surreal life.

And then, somewhere between 6-12 months later, DRaT became something more. For me. For you.

A place of sanctuary for the Opposite of Super Mums amongst us.

A place to document how imperfect I was. My children are. My marriage is.

But how much this life means to me.

And then, somewhere around 12-18 months along the way, it became less important to write about this life and more important to live it.

And that’s what I’ve been doing.

I changed. The space changed. My family changed.

We’ve gone from a disheveled house full of babies and toddlers with zombie parents to a disheveled house full of preschoolers, a hand made work at home mum, a hard working and involved dad – parents who value each other as much as their children.

I’ve gone from being an advocate for self-awareness and mental health self-monitoring, to someone who is now working towards mental health recovery.

And now, it’s time for DRaT to change. To evolve. To become something more than a mummy blog.

This space will, as of tonight, become an online store for my crochet creations.

This blog will remain here. Mrs P and I aren’t going anywhere – but when you hit www.daisyrooandtwo.com you’ll hit the shop first, and head to the blog – if that’s your fancy – second.

I’ll no longer be taking doll orders through Facebook and email – in fact, I’m so busy I’ll be closing custom orders until further notice.

I’ve currently got enough custom work to keep me hooking through until September.

I’ll let everyone know here on the blog, on FB, Twitter and Instagram when custom ordering will reopen – and let you know all the how’s and what’s that you’ll need to know.

I’ll be stocking the store with all manner of crochet creation, and there will be doll stockings (oh the ideas I have burning to be brought to life) – and you’ll have plenty of notice of these.

I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the past two years, for your orders, and for every person who told me that I could turn this into a real life day job:

I love you. And I hate you. But mostly, I’ll be forever grateful for your belief in me.

Over and out.

Daisy
xoxo

Lost in Translation

Things I’m learning this week:

Children ALWAYS know where they put things. They KNOW. And if they say they don’t know, they are lying. Case in point:

On that note, it’s nigh on impossible to tell my twins apart if I am not wearing my glasses.

Fingers can only move so fast. Despite my best efforts, I cannot crochet 5 orders in two days. It’s just not possible. Unless I don’t sleep. And even then, it’s dicey.

Having only one child in nappies is a LOT less expensive than two. Who knew? Fraser is day-trained and heading towards night-trained too. Oscar is refusing all attempts at toilet training and I have given up for now.

“Just give mum 5 quiet minutes” is four year old for “follow mum around constantly to the point where she cannot walk one way or another without tripping over me”.

You really CAN love your children without liking them. And that’s OK. My GP told me so.

–

Stay tuned, because I’m madly working on a mini-sticking of winter essentials – hats, legwarmers oh my!

Win $1000 to spend on your Ultimate Outfit with Berlei Dig Free

Sponsored by Berlei

You know you’ve had a tough morning when the first thing you say to the carers at preschool drop off is:

“Find me a pen so I can stab myself in the eye.”

What I love about our daycare centre is that they have a good sense of humor. Some of them even follow the blog (hi girls!).

Which could be a bad thing I guess, but I find its best to embrace this instance of unanonymity because I never feel like I have to pretend to be a super mum with them – or act like I think my children are God’s gift to Child Care workers.

My children are certainly not God’s gift to anyone but my family – and even then, most days I’m pretty sure my children are evidence that God’s sense of humor is firmly placed in the “slapstick/practical joke” category.

But today, despite having to face the Obstacle Course of Godly Humour in order to get my children out the door for daycare, I’m doing it all with a smile on my face, my head held high and my apron of stomach skin firmly tucked behind tights.

My Berlei Dig Free Hose to be exact.

I’m not leggings person – they always either fall down or ride up in a perfectly hilarious but entirely uncomfortable tribute to the camel toe.

And what this means is that my favourite go-to, feel awesome on crap day outfits – dresses – became null and void until Jack Frost gets wind (ha, see what I did there?) that he’s no longer welcome.

And jeans are awesome, but thanks to my recent and ongoing weight loss, finding jeans – that don’t either sit well below the one big stretch mark of skin apron I am the proud owner of, rubbing against my c-section scar, or that don’t make me feel like a total grandma because the waistband touches the underwire of my bra – has proven somewhat difficult .

So Berlei, in their great wisdom, have come up with the Dig Free Hose. Which incidentally, can be seen on posters carrying the line: “Muffin, you’re going down”.

I saw this ad on the shopping trip Berlei sent me on to find MY ultimate, feel good outfit. And was incredibly tempted to replicate the beautiful models stance, right next to the life size poster.

However, I was a little too shy to get Pal to grab a shot – and now I greatly regret that. Because what’s a blog post about tights without a shot of me next to a skinny model wearing nothing but said tights?

You’re welcome.

Oh, and see that outfit? It’s my new favourite, awesome, I feel so hot in this right now, ultimate outfit.

That’s what I’m wearing today. I also wore the dress and boots two days ago.

I’ll probably wash them tonight and wear them again the very next time I leave the house with the intention of being seen in public.

I’m pretty much in love with the dress. The boots and I are leaving Pal and running away together. The blazer is keeping me warm.

And the tights? Their magical Skin Apron taming qualities have me totally hooked.

And much less inclined towards stabby-eye pens.

What more could a girl ask for than being able to wear her ultimate outfit everyday, muffin-top, skin apron, and worry free?

How about $1000 to spend on YOUR ultimate outfit?

Berlei is giving one lucky person a cash prize of $1,000 to spend on the wardrobe of their choice, plus some Berlei Dig Frees all of their own!

All you have to do to enter is tell me in the comments:

‘What is your favourite go-to outfit to turn an ‘off’ day into a good day?’

1. Competition opens 7am Friday 10th May, 2013 and closes 9pm Friday 31st May, 2013.

2. Please read these Terms and Conditions of Entry

Nature age study FTW…

Technically, both my parents are high school drop outs.

My Dad left school to join the Navy at 16.

My Mum left to join the workforce at 15.

Both have owned and operated multiple businesses. Held multiple positions. Dad has a trade.

Both are now in their 50s, and both would be considered successful in their field.

And both have been mature age students.

My mother, at the age of 38 and with three children (two teenagers and one preteen – the joy that must have been) shifted our family to Canberra to begin her very first degree at ANU. She completed that degree, and her Honours, and her Dip Ed in the space of four and a half years.

My father is currently studying for his Masters in Business Administration in his “spare” time.

So, I guess leaving before finishing high school worked for both of them in the long run.

I’m a university drop out. Burn out. Crash and burner.

I’ve done it twice now – once when I attended university straight out of high school. Once only last year when it all became rather too much for me.

This last time affected me most.

I really wanted to do it. I wanted to study and be a stay at home mum. I wanted to be able to “do it all”.

And I couldn’t. Because I am an all-in person and was finding I couldn’t be all-in with both study or being a mum.

I do nothing by halves. I either do it 110% or I don’t do it at all.

In other words, I’m the laziest over-achiever you’ve ever known.

But I have hope. Great hope. Because it turns out that I’ve got these amazing examples to aspire to.

My Mum and my Dad. Both successful, both tackling tertiary study mature age (not nature age, Dad…)

And I know that with both of them supporting me, guiding me, I have found something in crochet that I both love to do and that is achievable with my current situation.

You know, that whole, pesky, stay at home Mum to three kids thing.

And one day, completing study may be on the cards for me. Right now, though, it’s not my turn.

Why Dads and typos/autocorrect should not be mixed… Thanks again for the visual, Dad…

This blog post was inspired by my Dad, who emailed me asking if I could share this link with you – he needs some help from the “Mums N Bubs” section of society, and seeing as I am firmly placed in that category, as are most of you, I said yes.

If you could fill out this QUICK survey to help my Dad get his MASTERS, then I’d be greatly appreciative:

Parents with young children - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G57BRC9

P.S. It’s completely anonymous and he needs about 15-20 more completed surveys. PLEASE? Pretty please with sugar on top? I’ll love you forever and ever?? I filled one in too!

Daisy Roo and Two

motherhood. crochet. cake.

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