my life: when the day begins at 4.46am

It's 10.35am on a Sunday morning and I'm already exhausted. Our day started at precisely 4.46am when Noah decided that enough was enough when it came to sleep. Lucky that we were staying at my parents house for the night (since Rob is away visiting his family), so I got to go back to bed at 6am for another few hours, but it still already feels like it should almost be dinnertime.

Somewhere in my delirious state when I felt like cursing the sun for rising so early, I thought back to an awesome article I read this week on Daily Life about the realities and competitiveness of motherhood. I must admit that I found it somewhat comforting to know that for most of us, life isn't always sunshine and roses.

I find articles like this so refreshing. It can sometimes seems as though everyone you know leads the perfect life, and often it's because it is the only part of their life you see (I'll blame the endless Facebook status updates and beautiful photos of holidaying friends on Instagram!). Sure, I'll always be one of the first to jump up and say that I love being a mum, and that it's been the best experience of my life to date - being a naturally positive person I can't help it. But I'm also the first to tell anyone who asks what the reality can be like. Yes its tiring (amongst other things!), but I wouldn't change it for anything - except maybe sleep from time to time, but that's what grandparents are for!

Thinking back to this post I made a few weeks ago, I can definitely see why comments like these made by Miranda Kerr can sometimes grate on people. Although I agree with what she was saying in this instance, there's definitely a feeling of superiority when someone talks about their seemingly perfect life. We all have our ideals about parenting but we also need to be prepared and supported when our reality turns out completely differently. To me, the only thing worse than sleep-deprivation is a feeling of inadequacy, and frankly there's no place for that in parenthood.

Word.

So if we all have the same goal when it comes to raising children (assuming that everyone wants theirs to be happy and healthy!), then the fact that we all do it differently really shouldn't be an issue. Sleep-deprivation can make you do crazy things, but being judgmental or feeling inadequate when things don't always go according to plan ain't helping anyone. That being said, if anyone's got any tips on how to make the sun rise just a little bit later, I'd love to hear it.

P.S. If reading about this kind of thing is totally up your alley then you'll love my friend Jacqui's awesome (and honest!) blog Talking to Ladybugs.

get real

Awhile ago when I started looking into the health benefits (and risks!) of drinking real (raw) milk compared to pasteurised milk, I came across this fantastic article in Nourished Magazine. My friend Cass from Choose Life posted the link on her Facebook page this week and I thought it was worth sharing again.

Ingredients for my cacao-hazelnut hot chocolate

It's a bit scary to read when you think of how much milk most of us consume on a daily basis - just think of all of the coffee we drink to start! It's almost impossible to avoid completely (and where's the fun in that anyway?!) but as always, being mindful of our consumption is a good start.

I must admit that I'm a bit of a milk snob these days and would rather not drink non-organic milk when I can help it - I just can't stop thinking of all the hormones and antibiotics it has! But obviously raw milk is in limited supply so I do still drink pasteurised organic milk occasionally too.

My problem is, when I'm on the go and want to grab a coffee (and by coffee, I also mean a chai or hot chocolate), I still can't decide which is the lesser or two evils between regular (non-organic) milk and soy milk? Sometimes a herbal tea just isn't going to cut it but I'm not sure which way to go. So the jury is still out for me on this one...

my life: it's been awhile

I know, I know, I've been MIA for ages - but life got busy all of a sudden! This is what I've been up to and into since I've been gone... 

home renovations: We're in the middle of some more home reno's which are taking up quite a bit of my time, but it's worth it. I've been waiting so long to finally get our house finished! Plus these days I'm also dealing with major sleep deprivation due to a certain toddler who now thinks that 5am is a reasonable time to start the day. Lets just say that I cannot wait for daylight saving to start!

Day one of renovations

making kefir: This stuff is ridiculously good for you - think of it as Yakult on steroids. It has heaps of good bacteria (which we could all use a good dose of - one serve has way more than your standard probiotic) and is a great internal cleanser. Its super easy to make too - mix the grains with your beverage of choice (I use raw milk but am also keen to try it with coconut milk) and leave it at room temp for about three days. My new favourite breakfast is this mixed with almond milk and homemade muesli, topped with fruit and raw honey. It's surprisingly tasty (once you add a bit of sweetener)!

Homemade Kefir

online shopping: My new iPad has helped me rediscover online shopping - I have a feeling that things are about to get cray-cray! Perhaps I should start my Christmas shopping early this year?!

smoothies and juices: Finally! My love of cold drinks has been reignited with all of this warmer weather. Our Vitamix is getting a workout again and I'm already feeling better because of it. I've still been getting bouts of morning sickness even though I'm over 22 weeks pregnant now, so hopefully these will help me stay on the healthy bandwagon for the next few months.

Apple, carrot and strawberry gelato

blog hopping: A new season means I'm in the mood to be inspired by some super-stylish peeps. Here are a few of the blogs that I'm kinda addicted to at the moment:

http://www.sincerelyjules.com/

http://www.manrepeller.com/

http://allthingstyles.blogspot.com.au/

The Man Repeller

And that's it from me today. I promised myself an early night after today's 4.45am wake-up!