Cleaning Made Easy

Hello lovelies!

I have been working full time for the past 6 months now and my house has turned into a mess! There is dust everywhere, a pile of clean laundry left in a basket on my bedroom floor that I rummage through every day, and I just don't feel happy when I walk around.

This madness needs to stop!

Hazaa! I have created a Cleaning Schedule.

This allows me to have a spotless and organised house every week, with only needing to do a bit here and there every day, and better yet it keeps my weekend free to just relax.

Now just take note that we have pets so in this plan I have scheduled when we need to remember to change the kitty litter, and even bathe our stinky dog. 

I structured it so that each day focuses on a certain area of the house, and also keep those areas we use most or enjoy clean for over the weekend.

Let me know if you test this out, what you like or don't like.

Happy house cleaning every one!

Download the AllAboutZoe Cleaning Schedule here:

Divorced Parents and Wedding Drama

My parents had a seemingly great marriage when I was a child growing up.

Little did I know until I turned 13 that there were skeletons in the closet consisting of 2 affairs (or more), 2 miscarriages, and a loveless relationship.

Yikes!

They stayed together for us kids... all 5 of us... and I am utterly grateful for that because I had a great time growing up with my family altogether. However now that I am older, have all the facts, and know a thing or two about relationships... it really wasn't the best thing and I don't recommend it.

So now for the past 5 or so years since they separated, we have had some family drama... no... A LOT of family drama. Who do I send the therapy bills to?

I found out that my mother had been telling my other siblings how she wasn't going to attend my impending graduation, engagement party, or even the wedding.

You can imagine how riled this had me, so I confronted her. And was shocked when she didn't even deny it.

I need to state that there is a lot more background to this mother-daughter relationship that ain't so pretty... but it would take me a few novels to get through it all.

Here is the topic: Divorced parents and the drama they bring to weddings.

Here is the question: How to deal with this. Anyone?...Anyone at all have the solution? No...? Great.

Well this is what I am going with:

1. Band all the brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, dogs, cats, God, whoever, together and get their help to talk to your parents. In my case my father is completely fine, it is my mother causing my distress so she is the target. I am hoping my siblings will be able to give advice to her that will make her realise the importance of these occasions, and the regret she will have if she misses out. After all you only get one life.

2. Try not to stress over it. If a parent is doing this to you, then it is more than likely you kind of knew this was a possibility, and it is true to their unfortunate character to be so horrid. They are the ones making themselves look bad to everyone else, and yes it may be embarrassing to have everyone around you ask where the parent is... but the main thing is that this day is all about YOU and no one, NO ONE, should take that away. They are in the wrong.

3. Find someone to replace them that you can count on and will only bring joy to you, especially on the big day. For me this is my sister. She practically is my mother, and is in fact 12 years older than me. She is my rock. The one I turn to for any and all advice. She is extremely intelligent, and I always have so much fun with her. She is who I will be leaning on for support, and looking to on the day. She is even my Maid of Honor. I always focus on how lucky I am to have her in my life.


Has this happened to you? Please share you story, experiences, and any advice!

If you are going through the same thing that I am, I am so sorry and wish you strength.

Ways To Entertain Your Toddler While Feeding The Baby

Congratulations on your new little arrival!


Having a new born is a lot of work, so if you already have a toddler as well then have a look at these tips. They may come in handy for when you need to give bub your full attention (such as during a feed).



1. It can be as easy and simple as a Colouring Book with some pencils (no mess, no fuss, therefore does not require 100% attention).

2. Imagination Box - filled with easy to find items, that may or may not have a specific use. This allows for creative play. A hair ribbon can easily become a gymnastics ribbon for them to twirl around with. 

Some ideas to put in the box include:
- ribbons
- wooden toys
- cookie cutter shapes
- blocks
- maracas (home make with empty plastic bottle filled with rice)

3. Large puzzle piece set.

4. Kid Friendly Photo Album (have one just for the children, or give them some photos so they can make their own).

5. Toddler Friendly Apps for the iPad or iPhone

Try these:
- Dr Seuss's ABC  $3.99
- Wheels on the Bus $1.99
- Kidzongs Preschool sing-along fun $0.99
- Tozzle Toddler's favourite puzzle $1.99
- Toddler Flashcards $1.99

6. CDs (music, or read along books) & DVDs (Baby Einstein, Sesame Streeet)

Good Luck!



What's YOUR favourite way to keep your little one occupied? Comment below and share your fantastic ideas!

 











P.S If all else fails, just give them an empty box. I remember the joys of this as a child! 

And this sums it up perfectly....

A Disappointing Reaction...

In my previous post I was talking about How I Asked My Bridal Party to be involved in our special day.
I hadn't yet asked my two best friends to be my flower women. We had decided to have our siblings be in the bridal party and we didn't want it to be too huge. 10 people including us was enough!

I came up with what I thought (and still think) was a really sweet way to still incorporate my friends so they felt they were still a big part of this special time. And ofcourse I wanted to ask them in a special way. This idea involved the irony of giving them flowers, accompanied by a poem I wrote (you can read this in my previous post).

Yesterday afternoon I went around to Friend 1's house to give her the flowers in person and ofcourse see her reaction and get all excited and girly with her. She was suprised and confused I was giving her flowers but still smiled as she read the poem. Then she briefly said yes and gave me a quick hug. Then made a comment about how funny it would be if she said no and we had a little joke about that (along the way I too was thinking how awkward if someone said no) and then she made a comment about how she's everyone's bridesmaid and oh how busy am I, all still joking around.
I thought it was odd she used the word bridesmaid and then was worried she was confused about what I had just asked her (even though it was written very clearly 'flower woman').
To avoid any awkwardness I tried to steer the topic into being positive and mentioned it was her and my other friend who would be my flower women because I still wanted them involved, and oh yay how cute you get to walk down the aisle with my little nephew. In saying this I thought I would get the excited reaction I was anticipating.

She didn't respond.

And for the next minute she was completely poker faced, monotoned, and said nothing. Didn't ask me any questions. (Also up to this point she never made any effort to ask about how I was going with everything, had I asked my sister to be MOH, or just anything in general you would think a best friend would ask when there's planning for a wedding. This is also a 'friend' who has been calling me to rant about how she's not engaged and everyone else is... and also made the comment 'oh everyone gets engaged on Valentines' trying to make mine seem less important).

And that was it.
She just brushed it all off, including me, and rushed out the door to go to work. I had planned to have some time before she had to leave so I knew this was odd and out of character for her.

I immediately called my fiancée and explained what had happened and how it was very odd, weird and just didn't seem right. I was really disappointed she wasn't excited (because I was!), nor did she recognise the effort I put in to 1. Ask her, and 2. Include her!

A few minutes passed and I got a text message.

'So I'm not a bridesmaid'


....








Because these are my reactions, I have chosen to ignore it whilst I sort through my emotions and try to get some clarity. It's hard to explain how I'm feeling as I'm sure some of you may be taking this differently, but this is the 'straw that broke the camels back' and it's really making me rethink the entire friendship. Because I have not been happy in this relationship for quite some time now. 

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, ideas, etc. 

I have a lot of thinking to do...