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With seven children between them, Edited Interiors co-founders Nadia Yelland and Caroline Owler know just how much an organised home can contribute to a happy family life. Meeting when their children started school together, the pair soon discovered a shared passion for creating beautiful homes and interior spaces. After years collaborating on styling and organising their own homes it was time to turn their hobby into a business. Thus, much to the delight of their friends and family, Edited Interiors was born. Edited Interiors now offers home styling, product sourcing, editing and organising. “We are professional organisers and stylists who believe that style and organised go hand in hand.” Nadia Yelland. Caroline and Nadia’s top tips for an organised and stylish pantry 1. Use clear storage containers. Decant items like flour, sugar, rice, pasta, nuts and cereals into clear airtight containers. They make it easy to see what you have left and what you need to stock up on. 2. Like with like Use storage bins or baskets to group similar things, such as snacks or tinned goods. Also try to keep together items that you use together, like baking goods or spices. 3. The right containers for your space Look at the space you have and choose your storage containers accordingly. Although large baskets and delicate glass jars might look great in a large walk in pantry it probably won’t be suitable nor functional in a small pantry. Aesthetically, stick to two or three types of containers, bins or baskets as this instantly helps to make your pantry look and feel more organised. 4. Lazy susans / turntables Lazy susans and turntables are perfect for storing sauces, oils and spreads you use frequently and are also great for those under-utilised corners in the back of the cupboard. 5.Labels Label as much as you can! Labelling all your containers, baskets and canisters helps to make sure items are easily identified and everything has a home. Edited Interiors  Instagram: @editedinteriors Facebook: @editedinteriors 

Planning a celebration? It’s a piece of cake with LENZO, the one-stop online party shop. LENZO was created by Adelaide born, Elleni Pearce, whose objective was to create the ‘eBay of parties’. Today, it is exactly that. Anyone from suppliers to buyers can utilise the website as a hire business, event service, party supply store or venue finder, all in the one place. We know that kid’s parties are sometimes challenging. You feel like you can’t do the mermaid theme again, because your daughter’s friend or cousin had that at her birthday last week. Coming up with new and exciting ideas can be difficult, but now LENZO will do all the hard work for you! We’re not the only ones in love with LENZO. Recently celebrities such as Bec Judd and Rozalia Russian have shared their own LENZO parties on social media. Think decorations like neon lights, multicoloured balloons, monochrome themes, teepees and confetti. Parents are side-stepping the clowns and face painting for giant balloon installations and extravagant table settings. LENZO has also worked with major brands such asSEED Heritage, Witchery and Mecca Cosmetica. We quizzed Elleni Pearce on how she became the queen of entertaining: WHAT DID YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT GROWING UP IN ADELAIDE? I love Adelaide – still do! Despite having moved almost 15 years ago, it’s still “home” to me. More than anything, I don’t think it’s relevant where you grow up, but really who you grow up with, and the people around you. That’s why I still call Adelaide home because of my friends and family. Elleni as a child WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE CHILDHOOD PARTY EXPERIENCE? Preparation! Pulling the prettiest of partyware together. Even as a 4 year old, I always had a clear vision and theme in my mind. My most memorable parties were the ones hosted at home with friends and family with a pass the parcel out the back and an Australian Women’s Weekly cake creation by Mum (which was pre-ordered by me about 6 months in advance). WHEN DID THE LIGHT BULB MOMENT FOR PARTY WITH LENZO OCCUR? I have always had a love for entertaining. For me, it was all in the details! After celebrating my wedding and my 30th I realised there was not a curated platform for the best in the events industry. I had to Google and search to find exactly what I wanted (and that’s not easy when you’re a little fussy). So I knew there was an opportunity. Then I had my first daughter in 2012 and started the initial business plan but succumbed to the day-to-day pressures of it all and rather than pursuing LENZO, I went back to my career in advertising sales. After my second daughter was born I was adamant this was what I was going to do. The fire was in my belly. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT LENZO? It is the only place where you can shop from a curated range of stock and services for your next event. Rather than being a directory, LENZO allows you to search for the product you want. We inspire via our blog, THE LENZO EDIT and then allow you to get the look via the Marketplace. We now also offer a national service ‘Parties by LENZO’ where we act as an online virtual party planner and pull an event together. This is great for time poor mums that still want a beautiful, personalised event but just don’t have the man hours to pull it off. HOW DO YOU JUGGLE BEING A MUM OF TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS WHILE RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? A juggle it is!!! I am also pregnant with my third baby (a little boy) so things are about to get very interesting! Over time I’ve realised you can’t do everything at once. You need to prioritise certain things in your life at any given point of time and give it 110%. I try to be present I am home, I feel that’s really important. When in LENZO mode, I have to be super productive. It’s easier now with a fabulous team and support around me. WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR RARE DOWN TIME? I love to get away for the weekend. A simple road trip to the Mornington Peninsula will do the trick. I am very much an extrovert and gain energy from those around me. On the weekends, I ensure that I balance the crazy work life with social activities with friends and family. This is very important to me and although it’s not traditional down time, I feel I have a balance. The kids love it too! WHAT ARE YOUR KEY STYLING TIPS FOR ANYONE PLANNING AN EVENT? Choose one key element you love. It could be a reference to a pattern, colour or texture. Create a mood-board around this element and if you find something doesn’t tie in, then ditch it! This focus will keep you on track and ensure you execute a cohesively styled event. DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL AESTHETIC IN 3 WORDS? Fresh, playful and chic. WHAT IS INSPIRING YOU RIGHT NOW? I went to a talk recently called ‘The Resilience Project’. It was probably one of the most inspiring two hours of my life. They have an app and I love it. It’s all about three key ingredients to achieve happiness: gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. I strive to live by those and try to implement them into the lives of my girls. Instagram: @partywithlenzo  Website: Lenzo.com.au  Elleni Pearce Portrait Hugh Davies Photography  Lenzo photography by Kas richards 

Deeply rooted in the Indian Classical tradition and gifted with her father’s ability with the sitar, Anoushka Shankar returns to WOMADelaide 2018 to share her musical innovation and exploration. With a multitude of accolades including five Grammy nominations, Anoushka is a bold composer. She is also a mother of two boysand an impassioned supporter of women’s rights and social justice, which is reflected in her recent collaborations. We chat to Anoushka to get the scoop on how she juggles being both a mum and famous travelling musician. So you’ll be gracing the stage of WOMAD this year, how exciting! What are you looking forward to about WOMAD? Just being back in general. WOMAD is one of the more memorable show experiences that I’ve had and that says a lot. The last time I was there was back in 2010, so it’s been a long time and I’m really looking forward to coming back. I’m playing with some amazing musicians and I have some other friends that are playing the festival. What is the value of your music and world music festivals like WOMAD to families?  My music at its heart is based on the Indian classical music I was raised with but then it sort of broadens out from there into something you could say is a bit more accessible. You could say it’s a great way for new listeners and young people to be introduced to what could be a new sound for them. You’ve got two kids yourself? Has motherhood inspired any of the content in your latest album ‘Land of Gold?’ Absolutely, I just had my second son a few months before starting working on the album so it was hugely influential on where I was at emotionally and mentally when I started making the music. I think probably I wrote the whole album in response to the ongoing refugee crisis, but primarily it was the experience of sitting with my own children in a kind of place of safety and watching the experiences of other families, other parents, other children and that was really the thing that broke my heart. Above all I think there is a difference at least for me, a different level of sensitivity and empathy for what that must feel like now that I have children of my own, that I love as much as I do. I can just immediately relate to what that must feel like and therefore I felt really compelled to want to express that musically. Tell us about inside me, the lyrics are about feeling the life inside of you and you wrote this whilst you were pregnant… Yes that was a few years ago when I was pregnant with my first boy. So that was my first experience of being pregnant and of feeling a child moving inside. It’s a really amazing experience that I had with both of my kids whilst making music. Hearing the child inside and feeling the child inside kind of responding to the music I was making. So it was a really beautiful experience of being in the recording studio and feeling the baby kick when we were playing the music, so that became, one of the songs that I was writing, about what it feels like to feel a life dancing.   I read that in the past you’ve taken one of your sons Zubin on tour. Do you still tour with your kids? Are they interested in learning from you the way that you learnt from your father? Now because he’s school age it’s a lot more infrequent, but when he was a baby and I just had one kid and it was a very particular time where I was still booked the way I would have been booked if I hadn’t had a kid, so I just took him on the road with me. And we did an incredible tour with my album ‘Traveller’ where he just was with us. We built a little crib into the back of the tour bus and we did about 90 shows that year. It was iconically amazing for me and it was also exhausting and really stressful. You know, it’s that thing a lot of parents go through where I had no idea what it would be like until I was finally doing it. That pressure to try and do everything and feel like I had to keep going with everything that I said I had said I would do as a musician and then also wanting to be the perfect mother and be present all the time. I kind of did it all but at the end it was a little bit like ahhhh phew okay Is he interested in learning from you the way that you learnt from your father? Not at the moment, he’s quite young. He’s quite interested in the electric guitar at the moment though. I’m guessing it would be a little hard from them to learn the sitar yet considering it is one of the most complex musical forms? Can you tell us a bit more about the sitar? What I had was a bit of a musical grounding before I started the instrument so that’s really helpful. So we do a lot of basic singing, understanding of the notes etc. We do that and he studies piano and he has fun on the guitar. But when he’s a little bit older, if he’s genuinely interested then of course I would teach him, but it’s not something I feel like I need to do for the sake of it.   How long would it take one to learn to play the sitar? Oh god, I’m still learning! Years for sure. It’s a really complex instrument and it’s a intricate intense classical music form so it takes a lot. Is there anything else you’re going to do whilst you’re here in Adelaide? How long are you here for? We are there for a couple of days. We get in a

Healing illness can come in many forms, and probiotics are one natural source leading the way. Daina Lindsay will never forget seeing her baby boy, Sands, struggling to breathe. Covered with tubes and attached to machines in intensive care, the then one year old’s immune system had shut down from a respiratory infection. He had endured countless viruses and had five rounds of antibiotics in three months for repeated ear infections. So when a caring nurse told Daina and husband Dan that their son’s immune system had been compromised by the antibiotics, she put all her energy into finding ways to improve her family’s health. “My kids have been completely different since I started using probiotics,” says Daina, mum of four year old Maiia and Sands, now two. “From having to call the doctor every two weeks, they are now so healthy even being in daycare four days a week. If they do get sick, it’s gone in a day or two and we haven’t had to use antibiotics since.” The radio station sales executive was so convinced of the healing properties of the health supplement, she started her own brand, PONO Probiotics, making combinations that are particularly baby and child friendly. In fact, they can be taken by babies from birth. “I give it to them every day,” says Daina, 34, a born and bred Adelaide girl who recently relocated her family to Brisbane. “My kids love to eat the coconut powder off the spoon as a treat. I also put it on their Weetbix, and in their water bottles. It can stay for hours in chilled water. Or I’ll make up a smoothie with the tummy tonic liquid or green powder. A teaspoon each day and you’re done.” Mum of two and naturopath/nutritionist Jess Blair is also a big advocate of probiotics. “The benefits are far and wide, from reducing gastrointestinal problems, to helping conditions such as colic, allergies and eczema,” she advises. “My son, Taika is 11 months and has probiotics in his formula almost every day. My eldest son, Harlem is 7 and we have used probiotics on and off over the course of his life. In times of stress, sickness of travelling overseas we all make sure we are taking probiotics as well as pre-biotics to reduce risk of getting sick or reduce the severity if we do come down with something.” The recommended daily dose is between 5 to 10 billion CFU good bacteria per day, or 20 to 30 billion if recovering from illness or preparing to travel. The key ingredient doing all the good work is ‘Lactobacillus’, which flushes out bad bacteria and replaces it with beneficial ones. “It’s great for reducing inflammation, as is ‘bifidobacterium’,” adds the health practitioner. “These strains are great for general babies’ health. If your child has a certain condition, different strains can be added to combat this. The research is ever evolving with gut health, and more research is getting done in relation to microbiome of babies however the two strains above are very well researched and tolerated in babies and in adults.” Jess Blair on how to give an infant probiotics · For breastmilk, express a small amount and mix with the correct dosage of PONO Baby Probiotics and syringe it into the mouth. · Prior to breastfeeding, hand express a small amount of milk around the nipple and rub PONO Baby Probiotics onto the nipple prior to the baby latching. · If baby is taking a bottle, either breastmilk or formula, mix the correct dosage of PONO Baby Probiotics in with the liquid · If your baby is on solids you can also add the correct dosage of PONO Baby Probiotics in with cooled or room temperature food. Do · Take a probiotic during and after antibiotic administration. Research has shown quite clearly that you SHOULD take probiotics alongside antibiotic therapy and taking probiotics concurrently will reduce antibiotic associated side effects and symptoms such as diarrhoea. · Dose your probiotic either with food or within 30 minutes of eating. Studies suggest that probiotic bacteria have a much better survival rate when taken with a meal. Dairy or grain based meals optimise this survival rate through the upper gastrointestinal tract. · Provide your gut with prebiotics by consuming foods such as dairy, fermented foods, cooked and cooled starchy vegetables and rice. This gives the probiotics something to feed on. · Consult your healthcare practitioner if you are concerned about taking a probiotic supplement and whether it is right for you. · Follow the probiotic storage instructions. Certain strains of good bacteria can only survive in the right temperature conditions. Dont · Stop taking a probiotic after one course. Probiotic bacteria don’t permanently colonise the gut on their own and need constant support through our diet and lifestyle · Take probiotics at the exact same time as taking an antibiotic. While you should be taking a probiotic during antibiotic therapy, spread the dosing out by a couple of hours. · Assume that you are getting a therapeutic dose of probiotics through cultured yoghurts. Yoghurts only contain a small number of probiotics, if any at all! You can however add PONO Probiotic to your yoghurt. · Cook or heat your probiotics as this will kill the good bacteria cells. Research shows that probiotics die when heated to high temperatures, however can survive at body temperature. If adding probiotics to your oats in the morning, don’t add them prior to cooking, only add the probiotics once cool enough to eat. Probiotics can be added to cool foods or drinks that are then frozen and naturally defrosted, as the bacteria will remain dormant in the freezer. @ponoprobiotics ponoprobiotics.com

Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed by just how busy my beautiful, but chaotic life has become. Before I’ve even had my (first) cup of coffee of a morning, I can feel the adrenalin running through my veins, fuelled not only by the caffeine but by the packed schedule that lies ahead of me that day. This feeling doesn’t stop, either. Even as I lay in bed at night, eyes gripped shut, mind racing; I listen to my Husband snore next to me and beg myself to fall asleep. It’s an anxiety that has been building for some time but at this point in my life it has reached its peak. I am a wearer of many hats: Mother, Wife and Friend, just to name a few. Each one of these roles brings with it a sense of responsibility and an expectation that all these relationships can co-exist and thrive. But can they? Most of the time I feel as if I am doing a lousy job at all of them, my head bobbing up and down in the water, I could sink at any time. I’m busy and there’s no denying it: there’s my kids nap schedules, social lives and activities. And of course there are the mundane but necessary daily tasks required to run a household, none of which I can keep on top of thanks to my darling two year old, who leaves a trail of destruction wherever she wanders. Then, there’s that issue of one on one time with my Husband (does a quick butt-grab as we cross paths in the kitchen count?). I didn’t think so. And what about catching up with my friends? When the kids are around we can barely manage to finish our coffees while they’re still hot, let alone delve into an authentic, stimulating conversation about each other’s lives. Finally, fill in any gaps in my schedule with a bunch of other things I don’t really want to do, but say ‘yes’ to anyway, because I’m a chronic people-pleaser who feels too bad to say ‘no’. Life feels like endless to-do list, jotted down on tiny scraps of paper sprawled around the house, a jumble in my head or in notes on my phone. I was recently discussing this topic of ‘busyness’ and my habit of list-making with a girlfriend who supportively replied, ‘if you don’t have a list, are you even living?’ But maybe the question is actually quite the opposite: are our lists, our packed schedules and our inability to say ‘no’ actually stopping us from living our BEST lives? There is a movement currently gaining momentum on social media called #slowliving and a quick look on Instagram at the hashtag #theartofslowliving conjures feelings of calmness and simplicity in those tiny little squares: an overhead shot of a cup of tea and an open book, a sunset over the countryside, a bunch of flowers on a rustic farmhouse table, a close-up of a baby’s feet. It may sound corny, but it is these beautiful simple things, these beautifully simple moments that are continually overlooked as we race through our hectic days, weeks and years. As a society, we seem to thrive on being busy. Some may even say that ‘busyness’ can be used as a measure of success. ‘I’m so busy’ is a phrase we hear every day; we wear it like a badge of honour. But what if we made the conscious decision to un-busy ourselves? If we were to simplify our schedule and take the pressure off a bit, would we feel better for it? There is certainly nothing wrong with working hard, thriving on a routine or a having an enviable social schedule. But perhaps, as Women, we need to stop striving be the perfect Mother, Partner, Friend and to start saying ‘no’ to things, without the guilt, when life starts to feel like too much. Maybe then, we will have the time to stop, sit down, and finish a hot cup of tea without thinking of the next item on our to-do list. Just do your best to drown out those inevitable toddler tantrums going on in the hallway, they don’t stop for anyone. @dannii.odonnell 

There is nothing like having children to make you question every aspect of your existence. And whilst it may be one of the most superficial, defining your sense of style as a Mum can actually be one of the most challenging. After reflecting on my own style evolution, I can clearly break it down into three definitive phases: Before kids, Pregnancy and Motherhood. Phase 1: Before Kids It was a time of excess, of expensive impulse purchases. I had no one to spend money on but me. Why shouldn’t I treat myself to that sequinned blazer I would only wear once? It was also a time of perky side boob (long gone) and impractical, but fabulous footwear choices. Fashion was fun and I was accountable to one person only, and that was me. My closet was bursting at the seams, a mish-mash of styles and trends, tags still swinging from a multitude of items. And there was black. Lots of black. I wore a new outfit every weekend; it was all about instant gratification and maximum impact. Was it fun? Yes. Was it sustainable? Absolutely not. I can count on one hand those items that I still own. The rest have succumbed to a fate of eBay auctions and the bottom of The Salvo’s bin. Phase 2: Pregnancy It’s a 40-week roller coaster ride of emotions and sartorial hits and misses. Early pregnancy is a breeze in the style department: just stick to your usual game plan and try to ignore the fact you look like you’ve had one too many burritos for lunch. Then, as your belly really starts to grow, it’s all about denial, denial, denial. That is, believing you can still wear your pre-pregnancy clothes in a pre-pregnancy way. I can still picture myself at a dinner with the girls, dressed in one of my favourite t-shirts and some drop-crotch pants, my bare belly making its presence known between the two. I shudder at the thought of ever leaving the house like that. I’ll blame the hormones for my poor decision making. And what is it about growing a child that makes you want to dress like one? Think overalls, pinafores and nonsensical layering. It wasn’t all bad though. I had some memorable moments, like printed t-shirts under vintage slip dresses. And oversized knits under loose linen playsuits: that is, until my belly got so big that the crotch started reaching new heights and it was swiftly pulled from rotation. Come the third trimester it really is a matter of practicality and sheer desperation: which pair of jeans will best hide my compression shorts? Which top can I fit these gigantuous breasts into? Will these shoes fit my puffy, fluid-filled feet? This leads me to the Final Phase: Motherhood Coming to terms with your post-partum body is a feeling that all new mums can relate to. Getting dressed in the morning becomes a big effort. And let’s be honest, whatever I do choose to wear will end up covered in spit-up milk and dried in mashed banana by the end of the day anyway. Whilst active wear becomes the easy option when deciding what to wear of a morning (actual exercise not required), not even that is safe. Of this I am harshly reminded as I bend down to pick up my daughter, my mummy-tummy flinging itself over the waistband of my leggings. And if I do decide to make the effort to choose an outfit, exactly how many pairs of jeans can I try on until I find a pair that fits? The pile of rejects builds higher and higher on the bed, a towering reminder of my pre-baby body. I slip into my final option (and, let’s face it, the only option that was ever going to work): my stretchy pregnancy jeans. But just as the nights get easier (we won’t talk about the four-month sleep regression), my body confidence has slowly returned. And with it, so has my sense of style. Albeit, a little different. Since having my babies I have found that I am no longer drawn to black like I used to be. My colour palette has become softer, possibly to counteract those dark bags under my eyes. It is less about maximalism and more about minimalism: fewer options equals easier decision-making in a Mum’s time-poor day. My purchases are also more considered and less trend-based. I shop with my daughter in mind, so that one day I can pass down to her my most loved and treasured pieces that she can wear and love in return. And while I most certainly own fewer clothes than I did before becoming a Mum, my sense of style has only grown. I feel more at ease with my personal style than I’ve ever been. My kids and Husband don’t care what I look like. They would love me in track pants and a decrepit old band tee. I get dressed for me, and that I believe, is the key to great style. @dannii.odonell

Life’s a circus for this little trio. When it comes to families, you can’t get more colourful, creative and crazier than Koral Chandler’s brood. A musician, producer and publicist, Koral has now added the role of ‘mum’ to her resume. Her partner Tom Flanagan is an entertainer with his own acrobatic/comedy show, Kaput. And their pride and joy, baby boy Ernie, completes this roadshow of non-stop hilarity. “We are a bit of a travelling circus packed into a little family of three. I kind of have to juggle a fair bit to get it all done, but juggling is what circus folk are good at, right?” Koral says. Pre-baby, life was just as hectic for the creative powerhouses. Koral juggled working as Marketing and Publicity Manager for The Garden of Unearthly Delights while organising the production for Tom’s shows, as well as prepping for her own, while Tom focused on Kaput while they travelled and juggled multiple events at a time. Post baby? Life hasn’t changed much. “I seem to remember more hangovers though,” Koral recalls of life before Ernie. “No more last minute trips to Morocco for a romantic date or jumping on a plane at the drop of a hat to be in a show in London,” Tom chimes in. Welcoming their baby might’ve seen the first time parents lose a smidge of freedom and a few restful nights, however, they gained an awesome sidekick for life – and a huge fan instead. “Today Ernie laughed at me doing slapstick for the first time. It was the greatest moment of my comedy career to date,” Tom proudly says. Thanks to a showbiz-like attitude where ‘the show must go on’, Koral and Tom have the profession and parenthood mix down pat. Luckily, Ernie has also taken to his parents’ creative world like a duckling to water. “Tom and I love what we do, so it was never a question that we would get stuck back in as soon as we could,” Koral explains. “Ernie just kind of fits into our lives in a great way because he’s such a chiller. I take him to meetings where he charms everyone, hold him on my lap while I run the production for Tom’s shows or Tom (or other musician mates) holds him (wearing cute little hearing protection earmuffs) at my gigs.” “Being a creative is the best life for a kid,” Tom adds. “Playing is how we live, it’s how we survive, and it’s part of our life. Ernie will grow up playing every day. I couldn’t imagine a better childhood.” It’s not all glitter and glam. Koral admits she and Tom have had their fair share of ‘parenting moments’ over the past five months. “Some days are harder than others. Some moments I just put my phone on silent, close the computer and make sure I look at my partner in the eyes or play with my child. Some days we have to ask for help from our community. Some days we crack and have a cry, hug each other, take a deep breath and try again.” The publicist and entertainer are extremely thankful for their support network. And by support network, the pair credits everyone from amazing neighbours to the extended arts crew in Adelaide, including Koral’s boss. “My boss (and working mum hero) Michelle Buxton from The Garden of Unearthly Delights was once given the confidence, tools and opportunity to get back to work after having her babies by another arts boss mama. She has since done the same for me. We get on with it; we make it work,” Koral concludes. Koral’s Fringe Tips For Parents The Garden is pretty much the best place to be as parents. The directors have designed their ultimate event with their own family in mind: a safe environment, family shows, carnival rides, big shady trees, grass and bars. Ernie is going to have the best time. Adelaide Fringe must see and do Splash Test Dummies will be hilarious as always. Two of our newly married acrobat friends have developed a new show called Jelly or Jam and I think Ernie is going to go nuts for The Amazing Drumming Monkeys. We are also totally going to boogie at Monski Mouse’s Baby Disco because we miss going out and dancing up a storm. Morning dance party? Yes, please! Have I mentioned Kaput? Seriously, Tom’s show is an absolute ripper (which is lucky because I don’t think I could have a baby with a person who I didn’t find hilarious), and it’s not just for the kids. Fave non-Adelaide Fringe hang out Africola. We went there two days after Ernie arrived. The incredible team there made it the most relaxed and special evening. I could not love a restaurant more. Tickets to Kaput’s final show on March 12  Available here Photography by Meaghan Coles 

I have no words to describe the school holidays with my three children. I do, however, have a delightful selection of obscene gestures. Being with my five year old twins and my three year old 24/7 during school holidays made it difficult for me to be the parent I had always imagined I’d be. In fact quite often during the holidays I felt the urge to just go out into an empty field and scream for an hour. In no shit Sherlock parenting news; this whole motherhood gig ain’t easy. There were good times, there were bad times. There were worse times. There were times when I hid in my walk in wardrobe hoping they wouldn’t find me. But with my twins on the cusp of starting year one at school, I find myself wondering how on earth I’m going to bounce back from my first [of many] rounds of real summer school holidays; holidays that taught me that time is an abstract concept and that, despite what the ancient Egyptians would have you believe, days can indeed stretch to being 67 [arduous] hours long. On thinking about writing a piece on post school holiday burn out self-care for mums [catchy right??] I actually had to google self-care because if I’m doing it at all, I’m pretty sure I’m not doing it right. Not unless self-care is that moment between Netflix episodes where you see your reflection on the black screen and wonder what the fuck you’re doing with your life. But for the first time in five years I feel like I might need to know this stuff! I’ll be home with only one child instead of three for a good portion of the week now. Maybe I can set aside some time to do something for myself! [probably not]. Let me tell you, when you google self-care there’s a lot of herbal tea drinking, self healing, meditating, hot stone massage and skin-eating fish pedicuring going on that sets off my inner eye roll emoji. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to do things like that but I have a brain that is more like a kitchen utensil drawer upturned onto a mini-tramp, so to me meditation is just silent inner shrieking with frequent moments of “what was that sound I just heard?” I know I can’t be the only parent like this, so I’ve come up with a list of down to earth [lazy], accessible [easy], self-care techniques for [broke] mums with busy brains and little time [that like to drink wine]. Seems obvious. Coffee; because jail is a real thing. Coffee; because punching people is wrong. Coffee; because you need to be less 2007 Britney. Coffee is self-care. It’s a way of saying to yourself you know what, I like you. I want you to be happier. Here’s a little something I prepared earlier to make your day better. Please don’t get arrested. If you don’t like coffee then all I can suggest is eat bacon. If you don’t like bacon either then I’m going to have to question whether or not you’re really committed to this. Simple things When you have a moment to yourself, read the whole internet twice. Go on Pinterest because time isn’t going to kill itself. Watch a Ryan Gosling movie and remind yourself how thankful you are for the gift of sight. Just do something that you enjoy doing whilst being at one with your inner awesome. Preferably while eating something delicious while you’re not having to hide in the pantry to do so. Embrace your natural self Everyone needs some time to just embrace looking like something the crap dragged in. Not every day. Just some days. Wear stretchy black pants because jeans are for rodeos and Matthew McConaughey. Exercise #amiright? Enjoy the sound of no one talking to you Cleanse And by cleanse I mean, throw shit out. Get a big black rubbish bag and throw out stuff you don’t need. And by don’t need, I mean, toys. Toys with one arm, or that make repetitive loud noises, or that hurt when you step on them. Toys that your kids never play with but if they saw you smuggling out, would inevitably be unable to live without. Go to Kmart Because, as I have discovered, there is absolutely nothing as cathartic as spending $138 on things you didn’t know you needed before you walked into Kmart. Vitamin Sea Go to the beach. Take a jaunty light weight bag. Don’t make a single sandcastle while you’re there. Bask in the glory of the couch cushions not being on the floor Be particular with the distribution of your time In fact, every time you’re asked to go somewhere ask two questions: “will there be food and can I wear my gym clothes?” If either answer is no, maybe it’s not for you. Watch strongly edited footage of your childrens’ best bits on your phone Because we all do it when our kids are out or asleep. Go on then. You know you want to. And if all else fails, never underestimate the healing power of singing really loudly by yourself in the car. Blog: www.eeniemeeniemineymum.com  Instagram: @eeniemeeniemineymum Facebook: facebook.com/eeniemeeniemineymum