Mrs M

Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA


Joined November 1st 2006

Number of Posts:
161

Number of Comments:
2072

Karma:
10



I like to read, I like to write, I like to debate.

Currently reading:-
Springsteen - Christopher Sandford

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Recent Posts

CHILD REARING THROUGH POPULAR CULTURE

September 29th 2009 11:47
Cat Stevens' Father & Son son lyrics

From the moment I could talk, I was ordered to listen



The Godfather

I have a sentimental weakness for my children and I've spoiled them as you can see. They talk when they should listen. - Don Vito Corleone



Hmmmmm.....
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FATHER'S DAY

September 2nd 2009 01:10
This Sunday is Father's Day here in Australia. The day we give the dad's of this world a pat on the back and say "You know what? You're alright."

Mr M is a good dad. It's nice knowing that I chose a good man to have a family with. But what makes him a good man? It's not that he's flawless. He's not. Neither am I. It's the fact that Mr M doesn't hide or deny his flaws or limitations; he recognises them, addresses them.

Basically he's man enough to be honest with himself and rise to it.

And his reward isn't that this Sunday he will be celebrated (although it is nice) it's the fact that everyday when he walks through the front door the kids excitedly run up to greet him.

We're quite a few years off the teenage years so we'll see how the greeting process goes then.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY MR M!

DONE GOOD, PLAYED STRONG!

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How do you handle disappointment? Do you embrace it? Do you ignore? Do you distract yourself from it? Do you use it to empower you?

The thing about disappointment is that it is 100% guaranteed to come knocking at your door several times over.

Sometimes we have the ability to predict it? Sometimes it catches us unawares.

It can be big, it can be small and it can be everlasting.

Some disappointments are easy to get over. People often say when one door shuts another opens. They resolve to themselves that disappointment could be opportunity in disguise.

Is that true? Or are we just buying some time to get over disappointment?

Do things really turn out for the best? Or is that just spin?

Others think that enduring disappointment is like a savings bank account. Surely once they’ve accumulated enough disappointments in their life, then the universe will cut them a break.

Maybe…

But some disappointments cannot be resolved, or generate opportunity; they are disappointments that must be carried forever. A cross to bear if you will.

I have suffered many disappointments in my life. Suffered? Encountered? Semantics.

‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ is another popular adage. Or is it more accurately put that what doesn’t kill simply depletes you a little more; so you are less capable of dealing with the next disappointment.

How much disappointment can one person take?

How much faith can we have that tomorrow is another day… Another day….

What happens one someone resolves to themselves that it’s all okay as long as (insert dream here) comes true, everything will be okay. Dream is smashed…then what? Take a punt on another dream?

‘Look at one you have’ is often a piece of advice that is bantered around. It’s a good piece of advice. But what if what you are surrounded by doesn’t compensate for the disappointment you feel. For example, how does a successful career compensate for the lack of familial support say? They are two very different animals and one cannot make up for the other.

We can’t have everything. That’s true. And life was never meant to be easy. But is it meant to be hard?

So what to people say to overcome disappointment?
Glass is half full;
Always look for the positive in every situation;
Blessing in disguise;
There is someone worse off than you;
Plenty of other people have been through this and survived.

I always found that piece of advice curious. Somehow the volume of people disappointed is meant to be of some comfort, lessen the blow.

The thing with disappointment is that it is generally not a stand alone situation. It is generally riding on the back of something. A chain of events, a series of steps that all lead to this moment.

Most of us deal with our disappointment and are able to move past it, but what remains is sadness. It may or may not be a crippling sadness, but sadness none the less.

As a parent disappointment is a prickly subject. We need to show that disappointment doesn’t need to mean the end of the world; but what happens if the parent doesn’t believe the very thing they are suppose to preach?

There is pressure to overcome disappointment quickly ‘for the sake of the children’. Children are highly perceptive and generally lack worldly wisdom. As a role model, I am charged with their development, education and well being. I cannot falter; I cannot throw my hands up in the air and give up.

I am their rock. But after enough storms even rocks can crumble.
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AM I REALLY BEING UNGREEN?

May 24th 2009 09:13
About a month ago I announced to the family and friends that Mr M and I are expecting Baby No. 4.

Congratulations and delight abound I was feeling pretty good. Until I read the following article


[ Click here to read more ]
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An English health worker is standing by her "heartbreaking" decision to send her own son to prison after he became involved with drugs.
Mother Sends Own Son To Prison

[ Click here to read more ]
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HAVE WE LOST OUR ABILITY TO THINK?

April 15th 2009 01:54
Do you think we’ve lost our ability to think? I think we don’t give ourselves enough credit in some cases….and in other we give ourselves too much credit.

Over the last 8 years, since I became a parent, the amount of parenting titles available on our bookshop shelves has just exploded. Is there really a market for this many books? Is there any end in sight? There is of course the baby section, the toddler section, the preschooler, starting school, heading into the tween faze, teenage years….I’m assuming we stop once our children become adults. There are books concentrating on boys, and there are books concentrating on girls. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities


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HATS OFF TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

March 16th 2009 01:52
Over the last couple of weeks I have been watching parliamentary question time on ABC. I’m not altogether sure I gain any clarity on current issues as the politicians seem to always dance around the answers with their fancy deviations and verbose responses.

However, I truly sit in amazement for the speaker of the house. He keeps proceedings moving forward, he quickly pounces on anyone getting out of line and most importantly he keeps his cool


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HOMEWORK. RELEVANT OR NOT?

February 26th 2009 00:22
Did homework make you smarter? Did it give you that edge over the other kids in class? Did it make you appreciate more what you were learning in school? Or did you just do it to get to the end? To appease parents and teachers?

I’ve just had an article go on live on www.webchild.com.au titled Homework or Child’s Play? Discussing whether homework really is relevant


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LAST WEEK I BUMPED INTO JEANETTE HOWARD

February 11th 2009 00:56
It’s true. I was in my local Myer store looking for canisters to fit our variety of teas and there she was. Her mobile phone rang and it got my attention; I looked towards her. I instantly recognized her; but still I had to be sure.

As for the wife of a former prime minister she wasn’t all that striking. I don’t really know what I expected but she really just looked like my mum. No fancy shoes, no fancy bag, no fancy dress and no fancy hair. She just looked nice


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Below is an article I found on the smh.com.au website. I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head in despair. There are so many things in this situation I'm not quite sure where to begin.

A four-year-old US boy grabbed a shotgun from a cupboard and shot his babysitter who had accidentally stepped on the boy's foot.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Recent Comments

Comment by Mrs M
on FATHER'S DAY

September 2nd 2009 06:37
Yoda,

You're welcome,


Hi MNG,

I would love to see 3 teenagers run up and tackle you to the ground and possibly wind you in the process with squeals of delight

Maybe a cursory nod of the head is safer

I find it amusing that after the kids have greeted Mr M they come running up to me with their high pitched voices announcing that dad's home. They probably look at me wondering why I'm not jumping for joy like they are.

I am jumping....on the inside. And obviously the slow exhalation of relief isn't obvious enough for them.

Hope you have a good Father's Day MNG.

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on THE SURRENDERED WIFE. IDEAL?

September 2nd 2009 00:41
Hi Anonymous,

Thanks for your comments.

Balance and shared responsibility I think is vital in every marriage and if the book isn't as extreme as the publicity makes it sound then the PR surrounding the book does it no justice.

Thanks for dropping by.

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on AM I REALLY BEING UNGREEN?

August 13th 2009 00:41


Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on DISAPPOINTMENT - A NECESSARY EVIL?

August 13th 2009 00:40
Surely I'm allowed to have a bad day. Aren't I entitled to at least that?

Love & stuff
Mrs M
a.k.a Princess drying her tears and fetching a can of Harden Up.

Comment by Mrs M
on AM I REALLY BEING UNGREEN?

June 9th 2009 12:01
Hi Michaelie,

Thank you for your kind wishes.

The other thing about having a large family (I still can't believe I'm in that category, although Peter Costello lumped me in it during his last budget...) anyways... a lot of the cost cutting methods generally come about because of necessity.

All of a sudden you do realise how wasteful you can be and make changes. I don't know if I'd go to all the trouble of a vege patch if it was just Mr M, me and one child. I would just go to Woollies.

Thanks for the visit.

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on AM I REALLY BEING UNGREEN?

May 26th 2009 08:45
Hi Wilson,

I'm not in favour of the one child policy in China or anywhere really. China add to the controversy by preferring boys over girls. The amount of abandoned chinese girls in astounding.


Hi Janet,

From what I also understand, Australia's environmental impact on the world stage is quite insignificant. That doesn't of course give us licence to not change our ways, It was only 60 years ago that politicians freaked out and opened the gates to mass immigration to Australia because we needed more people here.


Hi Someone,

I honestly don't know how the one child policy works. I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of revolution...hang on I forget who we are talking about.

The need to have children is primal, for the lack of a better word. Personally, I would have been miserable for the rest of my life if I was only allowed to have one child. But that's me. And this is Australia. And these are the choices that are afforded to me. No way I would want that changed.


Hi Samaritan,

Mr M's 2 sisters have super large families. And their kids seem to have their heads screwed on right.

But I agree, more caring people in the world can only be a good thing. Actually, a necessary thing.


Hi naturestherapy,

To call yourself a green, or a left wing or right wing definitely comes with various shades of grey.

This is where you hope people can turn on their critical thinking caps and truly assess who is saying what.

I can see that this group is independent but words like National President can sound so huge.

Honestly, I don't think anyone believes that this one child policy will ever come to be. Considering Costello not too long ago asked parents to have one child for mum. one for dad and one for the country.

I'm sure Labor see it the same way.


Hi Morgan,


You're absolutely right. Never before have we had so many senior citizens in the world.

Again, I saw a doco a couple of years ago, it was based on the US, but it stated that in the not too distant future the US were going to have 70 million senior citizens ( or some number to that affect).

Basically they blamed modern medicine being able to keep us alive longer.

One doctor even suggested that we take a long hard look at ourselves when treating the elderly. What does their quality of life become?

One 70 something woman kept her mother alive who was in her late 90's but suffered from chronic athritis which has no cure but doesn't kill you either. The 70 something daughter just didn't want her mother to die.

I don't know how they work out the birth rate but in Australia in 2006 there were 285,200 births. There were 137,900 deaths in 2007. (Quick scan of the ABS site)


Hi Lilla,

Well yes, materialism is at the core here really. Disposability. Keeping the elderly alive. And wealth.

More money, more clothes, more things.

Mr M's eldest sister lives on a farm in central NSW. She breeds cows for her to eventually store in her freezer. Massive vegie patch. Chooks. Does deals with the flour mill and buys in bulk. They don't have a lot of money, but lack of money really clears the way for self assessment.

Stale bread? Make bread crumbs.

What food isn't consumed in time goes straight to the compost bin.

It is actually quite alarming how much food costs.


Thanks everyone for the comments and congratulations.
Baby no 4 is due mid October.

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on TWO SETS PARENTS, TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF PUNISHMENT

May 12th 2009 08:01
Hi Candice,

This issue is a huge one.

I read an article 2 days ago saying that the Chinese govt would throw people in jail if they commemorated the 1st anniversary of their childrens death after the earthquake last year.

So I hear you when it comes to civil rights.

My little post didn't even touch on the subject at hand. It is so dense with so much to consider and discuss.

But we should never stop thinking about what makes us who we are.

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on HAVE WE LOST OUR ABILITY TO THINK?

May 4th 2009 12:38
Oh and I almost forgot.

My mum used to use bicarb soda to help her burb.

And I recently used bicarb with red vinegar to simulate an erupting volcano....the kids thought it was great.

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on HAVE WE LOST OUR ABILITY TO THINK?

May 4th 2009 12:29
Well my bicarb box in my pantry says it can be used for your home, your family and body....as well as baking.

It can be used to deodorise your carpets. Sprinkle on carpets, leave for a few minutes then vacuum.

Put a small amount in the fridge to take away odours.

Clean stained tea/coffee cups - add to a damp cloth and scrub.

Freshen sink by slowly pouring in half a cup of bicarb down the sink with warm water.

Remove oil stains from driveway

Add to laundry.

Put in bath to give your skin feeling silky smooth.

And I suppose brush your teeth

My mother used to use vinegar and newspaper to clean windows and mop floors.

How's that?

Love & stuff
Mrs M

Comment by Mrs M
on TWO SETS PARENTS, TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF PUNISHMENT

April 29th 2009 02:03
Hi Lachy,

people who have blindly accepted societal values without questioning how or whether they are useful in their own situation

How do you know to question these things. Is it instinct or some sort of exposure to another way of life.

You said it yourself, people are herd animals. We tend to follow the crowd and we find comfort in that.

Many books have been written on how children, from babies to teenagers, like routine, order and boundaries. But we need to challenge these boundaries. We may replace the old rules with new rules but we still have rules. That we will never escape.

Societies, this intangible thing, do change the rules. Slowly but over time you can see the undeniable change in what is normal. It's never static.

I find it interesting that people, me included, make lifelong decisions that in time probably won't hold a lot of water anymore.

We can only make decisions on the information we have available at the time but the information is neither complete nor perfect.

What else can do you other than live by your mistakes.

Love & stuff
Mrs M