Little by little…

~ Fridgesays ~ 30 Comments

A Tanzanian proverb that filled by cup.

Today I want to talk about celebrating. I learnt this from a online entrepreneur who I follow on social media called Lana; she does youtube clips, blogs, master classes and all sorts of delightful enriching and motivating things. I may even be like her when I grow up (although I think she might be the same age as me, plus I do have plans to be a Mermaid). She celebrates anything and everything and lately I have discovered the joy of  celebrating in other people accomplishments. As a British citizen it is by nature that I am meant to be ‘pleased’ for others but not really show it, kick others down where possible and as a women there is also this catty nature of not raise each other up.

Not on my watch.

This week my heart broke for the talented blogger Wendy who is responsible for the fabulous site Naptime natter, as her son was rushed into hospital extremely ill and with doctors not really able to tell her what it was (although thank heavens it wasn’t Meningitis). Through Instagram she shared her worries, thoughts and it gave me and others an opportunity to send her some much needed love. (The blogging community rocks at times), however today (22.02.18) the photograph we had all been waiting for was released – they are home safely. Hurray for medical expertise, the power of positive thinking and her child being a little warrior.  I do not know her, but I felt relieved. I commented that I’d be celebrating this weekend and I blooming well will did. I opted for a cocktail and toasted her families triumph. I then toasted and was/am grateful for my own families health. Celebrating makes you feel good. Celebrating for others is also super fun. My last Champagne toast was for a friends birthday (even though she wasn’t really celebrating herself or with me), in the week little dude bought a beautiful piece of work home – we celebrated, this time with a more appropriate child friendly hot chocolate (with whipped cream), later that week we celebrated again with a pizza party thanks to a sticker regarding his improvements in reading. *note to self: not all my celebrations are food motivated.

Life is too short and like the quote states – too little, to wait for my next birthday, invite to a party or even Christmas. The journey is more joyful with little moments of celebration and recognition as you go…a little celebration makes for a life of parties. That’s the kind of life I’m interesting in living.

Interested in the party lifestyle? Time for some homework: this week I urge you to celebrate as many times as possible. When your child read’s well, blow up some balloons that you’ve got stashed in the draw. When a friend tells you they have a promotion – toast that! When you get some social media comments that make you smile, dance. Seriously, spontaneous dance parties in my kitchen are very common and a bonus is you can burn calories that you can then use later in celebration of something else. (Oops the good things back again)

Its often the little moments, the little wins and the little memories that stay with you. Create some fun this week and comment below with your antics (I can then use these as an excuse to further rejoice in).

The Saturday Session #24

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Welcome to week twenty four of our lovely linky. This week was the one before the storm…a slow paced week prior to more data being inputted, parents evenings, meetings and meetings about meetings for meeting tick box sake. So I took advantage of being home and present in the moment. I purposfully made time in the week for some couple time – we decided to watch a film and on another evening do some yoga together, I also had time with my son for some creative play, a little extra school work (for him) and made some of his favourite meals. I also made time for me, so my nails are painted and whilst I marked in the week I popped on a face pack – bliss! Ive also started a new book for leisure purposes which always makes me smile. Reading seems to feed my soul. 

This week my featured blogger nicely links in with the theme of my future weeks – parents evening. Click the link here to read Empty Nest Mummy’s funny and honest account of her fear – Teachers. Both Hayley my cohost and I are exactly that and so rather than resonating as a parent, I found myself on the other side of the desk laughing at how someone could fear 4ft11 me. However, in the up coming parents evening I promise to smile a little larger, speak a little slower and hopefully win over any anxiety ridden parents. My career is super important to me, I feel privileged that parents trust me, us and our school with their most precious piece of their hearts, but I never thought for a moment that I made anyone feel fearful…

“It’s the teachers, and their Special Powers of Parental Control, that reduce me to a quivering ball of fear”

As my son started school himself this academic year I do find it odd sitting on the other side of the table, but I will confess a secret to our special powers quoted above…we are human and parents are often really scary. Particularly if they are writing notes, nodding when a nod isn’t something you saw coming, or frankly they are arguing with the other parent in front of you (totes awk). Please take time to read this fab post and why not see who Hayley selected as her featured blogger this week by clicking here . Rules for this weeks linky are below and I look forward to seeing your photo’s on IG by using the hashtag #thesatsesh 

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays @mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

I like my music so loud I can’t hear my thoughts

~ Fridgesays ~ 37 Comments

Quote Anon.

We are a musical family. My record player is blasting from the kitchen, in the car the base is always turned up and even in bed I often hit Spotify for some relaxing melodies to drift me off to the land of nod, bath music is often classical and did I mention music in the garden too. However, one thing is true – I adore my music turned up loud.

My personal music collection is eclectic and I tend to pick a different genre depending on the time of day, mood I’m in or mood I wish to create.

There is also a power in the silent moment of life which id like to acknowledge and have previously written about. However, when my mind is overloaded with lists of things to do, or if I’m building myself up for the day ahead – I often quieten my brain with my music turned up LOUD. I am totally a karaoke car Queen. I also thankful to Bluetooth, which means people now think I’m on the phone rather than giving myself a pep talk, raving, jiving or am a pop princess. Sometimes I make up lyrics to classical pieces (warning this is a simple way to destroy the power of Mozart in seconds), however if you often get anxious, are an over thinker or generally find your brain a hard place to be then music can be a pleasant vacation; you also don’t need to prebook via a travel agent, it’s often free and jet lag never occurs. In my opinion the louder the better helps to push away the outside distractions and internal frustrations.

How do you use music to control your emotions?

The Saturday Session #23

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Ok, so I loaded up a blog last night and some how it all crashed out?

So todays #23 is going to be short and sweet.

My featured blogger is Mum bore, apart from the name (It gives me serious brand envy) I was completely drawn to her post titled ‘The pursuit of happiness’ I would totally recommend a read. It was a good reminder that happiness isn’t about being perfect (which since I’m writing this in a rush because of some technical hitch, its now become rather ironic to say the least). I particularly liked this line

“we forget that happiness is not a static emotion. Once reached it does not mean that it will remain.”

I often find society is consumed by searching for happiness and in doing so they often miss out on the current gift – the present. Which is totally cliche and blooming true. Anyway, please give Mum Bore the love she deserves and I hope she can collect her badge from my side bar…seriously I couldn’t cope with anymore computer fails today 🙂

You can also check out my cohost Hayley’s featured blogger, we each pick one every week by clicking the link here  . So now to the rules…and lets kick start week 23 with a little more structure, calm and sunshine. Thanks for joining us if you are a regular and if you are new on the block then I apologise for the erratic post today.

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays @mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

Don’t be bitter. Be better

~ Fridgesays ~ 28 Comments

Quote by Habeeb Akande

Welcome fridgesays peeps, this week we are letting go of the bitterness and being better. This sounds simple. In cooking it would equate to a basic sponge cake or a classic scone. However, in my experience the simplest of things are sometimes super hard to make. The sponge can lack a fluffy texture and the scones can be too hard or stodgy.

When I’m feeling bitter (often) it’s easy to compare what others aren’t doing, what they are ‘getting away with’ or just judge with bitterness and disgust, sometimes this can be therapeutic but hold on to the bitterness for too long and if we return to our cake recipes, you’ve just added lemon and lime to a scone and grapefruit to a sponge cake…it’s going to repeat in your mouth, taste ‘unique’ and not be as good as it could be.

My recipe recommendation: It would be easy to say ‘don’t be bitter’ but sometimes a little lime slips into life’s chaotic moments, instead I say, cover that cake in cream and jam.

Jam and cream can make just about anything taste good and in life these are the lovely moments. Instead of becoming bitter of others, reflect on what went well in your day. Gratitude is the cream and jam of life, those little moments of triumph, those sparkles of joy and best of all…they make us better or will at least help us to get to a place where we aren’t moaning about others but are focusing on what we did well.

A better me, makes a better mummy, teacher, friend or family member. So why not leave the lemon and limes for a cocktail and enjoy the cake of life.

The Saturday Session #22

~ Fridgesays ~ 2 Comments

Week 22 saw me tick off the final week before half term (in the UK) however, before I tell you it was like a breeze – it was hard, super hard. In the world of child protection it involves my emotions flying from zero to hero…and then back to zero in minutes, it involves complex phone calls with parents, horrendous Police interviews (the kids not me) endless meetings with social workers and often watching parents sacrificing their souls for the children they adore….

So, my featured blogger this week is ‘View from a beach chair’ – her post on meeting her Foster daughter on a Saturday (click here to read it) made me appreciate the wonderful world of carers that are out there. In a world that can often be so negative, some people love hard. From reading a few more posts it seems her daughter is soon to be adopted and I have nothing but love for this kind of family. Please check it out and show true appreciation, foster care is hard and adoption can often be a battle. For the right people it comes with huge rewards, but early childhood trauma is never a calm sea journey, I salute you all.

Please also make time to see who my cohost Hayley has picked this week – you can click here or take a peek below at the rules and press the blue linky button to read all the fab bloggers who have joined us for week 22. Today my assembly was all about being thankful, and so I would like to thank all our regular bloggers that make time for joining us week after week, you are truly appreciated and #thesatsesh would be nothing without you.

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays@mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

The Saturday Session #21

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

As we step into a new month #thesatsesh climbs the twenties. Happy February lovely people. I’ve decided that February is going to be fabulous. I’m going big with my goals and looking forward to what lies ahead. Many people find January dull and at time hardwork and so I picked my featured blogger this week because the post made me laugh and is definitely something any parent could relate to, after all it is fabulous February. I do enjoy a poignant post but sometimes a laugh and chuckle hits the spot.

Andy is my featured blogger, his account of Cbeebie’s Bing had me in both stitches and thinking of all my issues regarding children TV – of which there are many. Click here to have a giggle and also consider his moral dilemma, what is a Bing thing?

Children’s TV is odd and mainly why we allow J to watch DVD’s of films. I much preferred it when he was a baby and would happily sit in front of the music channel. The music entertained me and even if Taylor Swift for shaking it off or Eminem was bouncing around the screen, the little dude was stimulated with visual movement and colour *Once again, I realise why I’m never going to win a mother award.

Anyway, please send Andy the love he deserves, his writing style is upfront, honest and he always makes me smile. Now lets unleash week twenty one of #thesatsesh with a splash of rules and a gallon of good will.

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays @mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

Remind yourself that you cannot fail at being you.

~ Fridgesays ~ 30 Comments

Quote by Wayne Dyer.

As we approach the end of the first month of 2018, I felt this quote resonated with every human on the planet who had set a new goal, challenge or New Years resolution. Particularly those who have already hung up their gym pass, quit the diet or has found their soul drowned in another bowl of soup… it happens.

For goal setting targets I’ve written several posts Click here to read why it pays to be stubborn but at perhaps a time that you have ‘failed’ ‘given up’ or realised that dry January isn’t an excuse to drink gin for a month (*I was sad when I heard this too) I want to remind you that you are awesome just the way you are. Sounds sickly I know, but it’s true. You are good at being you. I promise that if you have kids they love our imperfections and all; although I wouldn’t directly ask them. This week I curled my hair and my son (four years old) told me I looked like Rapunzel. As a Disney fan I was blown away – until he corrected me that it was the witch he was thinking of.

I don’t want to bring my children up in a world where perfection is ‘plastic fantastic’ where desirable looks can only be accomplished by a thousand filters and the social media acceptance of an abundance of hearts, likes and comments. I don’t want humans to become robotic and only come in ‘one size fits all’, our imperfections create our beauty.

We all have talents that vary from scientist geniuses, medicinal wizards and international superstars… I make a fantastic roast, can occupy a toddler in a car for multiple hours and give good hugs (not all at the same time), I make a good friend, kind teacher and feel accomplished most days.

As we jump into February I urge you to take five minutes, pour a coffee and write a list of everything you like about yourself. I advise you to be kind to yourself; treat yourself to those new jeans, the shoes or that ‘thing’ that floats your boat. If I was a doctor I would prescribe you with a luxury treatment, a trip to the cinema, or a date night that’s overdue… if you have a new born then I’m adding a hot drink to that prescription. Allow February to be the month you made time for self love, for gratitude for all you do have. I promise it’s more than most.

You’re the best and being you. You’re already winning in 2018, you don’t need to change a thing.

The Saturday Session #20

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Ohhh I like the sound of #week20 it sounds ‘accomplished’ this is my favourite word and motivation at the moment. I have to say I’m really enjoying January and will be sad to see it go, alas we must adapt and hit February with the love it needs. I’m also enjoying a few newbie bloggers joining our crew and would love to recruit more. So, if you’ve seen a blogger who may have never taken part in a linky before, or even knows what a linky is, send them our way and we will have them badged up and ready to party. Nurturing new talent is an aspect that have evolved in #thesatsesh linky – also don’t forget its also open on Sundays. So no rush to add posts, take your time and load up as you see fit.

My featured blogger is Captain Bobcat or more specifically Eva. Her values of eco living and travel shine through her posts. Hit the link and check out where this wildcat has been….I had serious photo envy. I’m not sure if it was food envy from the churros, the blue sky or the first line where she says she went on holiday with just her hubby, but it wasn’t long before I was on a holiday website planning our next trip. As I wrote previously, I adore January…but “please come back sun, we miss you vitamin D” As always my cohost the lovely Hayley from Mission Mindfulness also selects a feature blogger, so click the link above and see who she has elected from week 19.

For new peeps joining, please follow the rules below – for team satsesh regulars, please don’t let the team down and forget to comment, badge up or tweet me an Hayley up. Its an honour to share so many talented posts.

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays @mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument

~ Fridgesays ~ 27 Comments

Quote from Desmond Tutu.

As I read this quote I couldn’t believe the depth of truth in so few words.

When I began working in a school I had the opportunity to work with a experienced teacher called Violet. She was originally from Ghana and she controlled the class with consistency and a whispered voice. To see her teach was an honour. The loudest and most brutal child from London was putty in her hands. To hear her they had to listen carefully. Plus, as I quickly realised – she was always right. She didn’t need to raise her voice, there was an inner calmness and it was magical to watch.

In our home voices aren’t usually raised (unless I’m singing) we tend to bicker it out, not that I’m sure this is any better? However, in the classroom I only tend to raise my voice to give instructions, particularly when the students are absorbed in the previous activity.

This quote is going to find its way on to my classroom wall. As I work in an all girls school they can be LOUD. Teenagers are often full of opinions and willing to express their distaste should anyone disagree. It makes sense that we are at our most vocal during our teen years, as we find our way through societies behaviour patterns, rebel and with a little magic come out unscathed in our mid twenties.

As I age (like a fine wine) I have become quieter (but in no way quiet) the hot air of my twenties is behind me. I cringe at some of the arguments I’ve had in the past and can see that with age comes a better understanding of ourselves and as Desmond suggested – an improvement in argument.

This week I’m going to consciously listen to arguments and how loud the voice of the weaker disputer is.