I've got a really new challenge which I wanted to write about so that I can monitor my progress and stay motivated.

It's to do a yoga session a day (or most days, because every day I am not going to be able to stick to!) for 1 month.  So lets say, til November 13th, which is also the twins' birthday.

What makes it less daunting in my head is that it's yoga for 15 or 20 mins, not an hour/hour and a half.  I've spent much time doing boot camp, spin classes and swimming and with work and home have just found myself a bit burnt out.  So then I thought, why not try and do something completely different?

I got myself a yoga mat ($10 from Bed, Bath & Beyond - yay).  And I got me some leggings for some flexi positions.  So I am SORTED.

I found this super cool awesome yoga online called Sarah Beth Yoga, who has a website and posts her yoga classes on YouTube.  I have looked at others but always come back to her - something about her style (calm, of course), voice and practicality.  There's something for everybody and everything:  bedtime yoga, yoga for flexiblity, beach body yoga, core yoga... and so on. Also Sarah Beth has yoga sessions from 5 minutes to lots longer and you can do some back to back or tailor it to what you're needing.

I have done it with the kids, too, and Saskia (nearly 2 years old) enjoys climbing on me while I do it which I'll take as extra resistance.  

​Right then, I'm off to do some yoga!

Namaste,
Anna 

I am writing a quick post today because I want to fit something in for myself this week. I have brain scramble and that's because I'm busily trying to work out how to have small children, have satisying work which earns us money to live and how to fit in relationships which matter (apart from children and marriage): extended family, friends, community and work.  And  clean the house, keep the garden, cook meals and grocery shop. And exercise to stay healthy physically and mentally. There are a million tips online on how to balance it all. A million articles.

The answer for me though i think is to commit to less. Do less. Not to find a way to cram it all in. So that's what I'm going to write about.

How to have 4 children, do some work, make some money, have some friends, keep a healthy marriage, mind and body.  First step. Say no more often (particularly at work). Second step is to change the baby's stinky nappy and get our butts to the walking school bus departure point on time. The rest will have to wait!

I just sat down to write a list of things to do and it's a bit long and overwhelming so I decided to write a blog post instead!

My list has things like, 'curtains - book consultation', 'sort out nanny contract', 'buy moisturiser', 'kids Christmas presents'.  Lots of buying things, you see - and it's not stuff we NEED, although you could argue you need curtains for insulation.  Anyway.  I'm thinking about Christmas presents for the kids.  This year though I spied something GOOD on this topic and easy to follow and have decided to subscribe to it:

Get the four following items and stick to it (this list copied from Frugal Rules):
1. Something they want
2. Something they need
3. Something to wear
4. Something to read

They already have so much stuff.  They get stuff all the time, not just from us but from others in our family.  So I like this principle very much.

The next challenge is that the something my six-year-old daughters want is a remote controlled fairy.  Can you get such a thing?  (it turns out you can, I just googled, pricey).  My son would like a remote controlled truck.  Saskia, my one year old, can't talk so that helps.

Another thing I'm about to do is to cancel our vegie part of our Fruit & Vegie box which is delivered each week.  We are going to live off the vegies we have already got in the garden!  The carrots are not good and growth was stunted somehow, but there are some potatoes, lots of spinach, cauliflower, lettuce, kale, beetroot, beans and there will eventually be tomatoes.  This makes me feel good too and sort of fits in with our Keep It Simple philosophy to cope with having four children under 7. 

Next stop (maybe, if we are brave enough), CHICKENS!  Watch this space.
Anna x