Our little Miss L turns two

Today you are two.  The happiest of birthdays to you my beautiful girl.

It feels like just yesterday you turned 1.  I think this has been the fastest flying year in history, and my oh my have you grown.

You've learnt to walk, and run and jump and climb and spin around until you fall down on your bottom.  You can also dance, and you love that.  You've very good at it too and just LOVE to be the centre of your big brother and sister's attentions.  If any of us try to dance with you, your chubby little finger points and you very firmly tell us "No! Stop it! I do it!"  We're only allowed to watch you and that's just how it is.

A day at the zoo to celebrating with your best friend and the cutest cake ever (which I didn't make!)

You can also count to ten, sleep right through the night in your own bed (hallelujah) and sing twinkle twinkle little star.  We can tell you're a third child as your most favourite phrases are "I do it too and mine turn".  You also quite often say "I do it, I five!" which drives your sister crazy as it's taken her a looooong time to get to five and she's vey proud of that.

You love shoes....and hats....and skirts!  You love them even more if they are mummy's or your big sisters, and some days it's a very hard task trying to get you to wear anything of your own. We bought you some flashing Minnie Mouse 'clipity clop' shoes for your birthday and you have not taken them off since.

Wearing your sisters shoes

We've been spending a lot of time together lately, you and me, while your brother and sister are at school,and I treasure every minute.  You teach me every day how to slow down and just live in the moment.  You're fascinated by EVERYTHING and you love it so much when I show you every little thing I'm doing, so that you can do it to.  You are especially helpful at taking washing off the washing line while standing on your little step.  You're very chatty too and we have such lovely looooong conversations in the car.  The best bit of all are your cuddles.  My heart reaches full capacity when you bury your little head in my neck and me squeeze tight.

With your own baby 'Annabel'

Some days I wish I could just bottle you up...........your smile, your infectious giggles, your cheeky grin and sparkly eyes, just so that I can open it up and inhale you when you're all grown up. (Which will happen by the time you are 5 according to your sister).

We love you to the moon and back baby girl and I can't wait to see what you're going to do in the next year.........but not so fast this time please!

How do you store all your precious memories??  Would you like to bottle them if you could??

Simple SEO for Bloggers

Last Saturday morning I snuck off to The Blog Society: Blog Retreat.  It was just one of those mornings where Sydney was properly showing off and I couldn't have been in a better place to watch her.  The autumn sun was shining over the Opera House and I was surrounded by some of the most inspiring and creative people in the blogging industry.  It really was an escape from the every day and in a short and punchy three hours I came away feeling so excited and even more sure that blogging is what I love to do.

One person that grabbed my full attention from the minute she stepped on the stage was the gorgeous Kirsti Hughes from Saachi and Saachi.  She was invited to speak at the retreat to try and de-mystify SEO for bloggers (and business).  In 30 minutes she did just that!  I'm not a 'techie' person by any means and no matter how hard to try to get my head around SEO I just end up more and more confused.

Today I finally GOT IT!!

In my own words this is what I learnt from Kirsti.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation.  What this actually means for bloggers is that we have to create content that enables Google to quickly, easily and clearly answer the questions that people ask her.  We have to think of Google as a very sophisticated, human like robot, that like us, likes to keep a tidy home.  The more we are able to help Google keep a tidy home, by making 'our things' easy for her to store, categorise and search, the more she will reward us with a higher ranking.

Kirsti said that we should think of Google in the same way we do our mother-in-laws:  They can be high maintenance at times, but if we just them and keep them happy, they'll make our lives SO much easier in the long run.

Google loves it if we make our blogs easy to read and navigate.  It's her job to send people who are asking questions to the right answers.  If she sends someone to your site and they can't immediately find what they are looking for (because you page is not easy to use), then she is not likely to send anyone there again.  So to increase your ranking with Google, you need to make sure you page is easy to navigate and read.  Remember that people who use Google are aways looking for something and quality, user friendly content always wins.  

12 ways to improve your SEO ranking

1. Picture Google as a person rather than a machine and try to imagine what would keep her happy when implementing your SEO.
2. Make sure your posts are always longer than 300 words.  Google only sends people to your site if you are able to 'solve a problem' or 'answer a question'.
3. Make sure your headings match your content.  If you lure Google in with a great heading about 'How to make a Christmas pudding' for example, and then write about 'Autumn leaves', you are just going to make her mad and she won't trust your site again, which essentially means less traffic coming to your site.
4. Re-name all your images so that they match the title and content on your blog post.  Google loves photos/images and if they are relevant to your content, it will increase the amount of traffic she sends your way.
5. Re-check who your audience is every few months.  If you suddenly have a big influx of British readers but are still targeting all your posts to Australian readers, this could make Google not want to send as much traffic to you.  Essentially you are 'not providing a full solution to all your readers' and she will start to think that your page is no longer relevant.
6. Use social media.  If Google sees that your profile is in more than one place on the internet and is doing well, she will start to believe that you must be someone who is trustworthy and will send more traffic your way, therefore increasing your ranking.
7. Subscribe to Google Trends.  This is the quickest and easiest way to find out what questions people are asking Google at any given time, which can help you compose relevant content.
8. Google does not like duplicate content but you can always gain more traffic by linking back to old posts that you have written previously.  Just make sure you like back to the original URL.  A post you did on Halloween three years ago will be just as relevant on Halloween now as it was back then, and quite possibly you will have a lot more readers now too. (*This point has been edited as per comments below*)
9. Check that all your links actually lead somewhere.  Google really frowns about broken links or sending people to a 'dead-end' so to speak.
10. Reconsider any advertising that is on your site.  If you are a Finance blog but have an advert for a breast pump, for example, this is not considered relevant and will hurt your google rankings.
11. Do an Open Site Explorer search and check who is linking to you?  If there are any negative sites linking to your blog you should contact them and ask them to remove the link ASAP.  These negative/spamy links can really hurt your google ranking.
12. Try to keep your bounce rate low.  If people are clicking on your site and staying there, Google thinks she's done a good job sending them there as they're finding what they were looking for.  A simple navigation system on your blog is a sure way to keep your click rate high and your bounce rate low.

Food for thought??  I thought so.

Here are 4 top sites recommended by Kirsti that will keep you on top of your SEO.

1. Matt Cutts, who is the head of Google (think Mr Google himself) has his own blog. Reading this from time to time will aways keep you up to date and in-the-know.
2. Search Engine Land is another highly recommended site, to give you the most up to date information and all things SEO.
3. Google Trends as mentioned earlier.
4. Check out Moz.com for a fantastic guide to SEO for beginners.  You can also sign up to the 30 day free trial and get Moz to give your site a full evaluation to see how you are currently doing on the SEO front.  Remember to cancel before the 30 days is up otherwise you will be charged - unless of course you want to keep your monthly membership.

Finally the biggest message I took home with me was

NEVER TRY TO OUTSMART GOOGLE!

I really hope I managed to help at least one blogger to the every changing mysteries of SEO.  I also hope that Google likes this post and that 'I'm providing a solution' for a least one question she may be asked.

How good is your knowledge of SEO?  Do you have any tips you might like to add?

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How to catch a pet rabbit

After A LOT of thinking and re-thinking and more thinking! I finally decided to let the kids get a couple of bunny rabbits.

They're actually very cute (I did have my doubts) and the kids have named them Coco (black bunny) and Marshmallow (white bunny).   Although Miss L just calls them both Hop Hop Easter Bunny, because according to her, all bunnies are Easter bunnies.

These poor little bunnies have been cuddled and loved and squished and kissed to within an inch of their lives.  Thank heavens we picked a couple of good ones, as they have been so placid and gentle and we're hardly had any problems with scratching.  Even Miss H is happy to cuddle her bunny, which is a miracle because she is usually scared of just about anything that moves.

Everything was going swimmingly well until the toddler (little Miss L) discovered how to open the bunny hutch and set the Easter bunnies free!!!  The first time she did it, Marley, our neighbours cat thought he'd just won the cat lottery!!  Fortunately between Miss H's death piercing scream and me grabbing the hose pipe and spraying him, we managed to shoo him back over the fence again.  I think we must have given him the fright of his all his nine lives as I have not seem him back in our garden since.

Enjoying a bit of bunny freedom AND eating my hydrangea!

The second time she set them free I spent over an hour chasing them around the garden trying to catch them.  They're so damn quick that I had to literally dive bomb them several times......with not much luck.  I'm glad no one was watching either as I crawled around on my hands and knees trying to pounce an unwitting bunny!  I was pouring with sweat, out of breath, verging on a lot more than irritated, and starting to panic.  I only had a few minutes left before I had to pick the kids up from school and I could not leave them in the wilderness (of the back garden).  Luckily I managed to get them back in just in the nick of time!!

I told Mr D about how it was nearly impossible to catch the bunnies and he thought it was a great idea to let them out the hutch for some garden adventures, and decided to let them out again.  I warned him, but typically, he SO thought he knew what he was doing!  Guess what happened next?????  Marshmallow escaped under the back fence .............. and into no-mans land!

Oh how I laughed!!!  And panicked at the same time!! "Babe" I stressed "there is no was I am telling the kids you've lost their bunny.  You better get it back - NOW!!" "Don't worry", he assured me "I know exactly what I'm doing".  "You better!!" I said before going back inside.

I went back out about half an hour later and he was leaning over the back fence with a bucket dangling on a piece of rope.  With a carrot inside it!  "So this is your plan??" I asked.  "You're trying to coax it into a bucket with a carrot in it, while its chomping away on wild lettuce leaves (in the neighbours veggie patch).  Honestly that's like trying to get it to want a Malteaser in a garden full of M&M's!!!"

This whole debacle when on for hours!!  There was string involved, two cardboard boxes, a mini cricket bat (to hold the box up) and more carrots!!  Eventually he managed to catch them by luring them back into their hutch for food (which you would have thought was plan A not plan Z).

The very next day, little Miss L let them back out again!!!

We've given up now and just secured the any holes in the garden fence.  They are now happily living in our back garden, hopping around as if they own the place.  We still put food and water in their hutch which they do eat, but I think they actually sleep in the ferns.  It's quite weird seeing bunnies hopping around when I'm out hanging the washing up.  I think they've got quite used to us now too and are very happy for us to give them a cuddle.

Lets just hope Marley (that cat next door) has well and truly forgotten about them.

Do you have bunnies at home?  Do they live in a hutch or have they broken free like ours??

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Seashell by Jacki Bruniquel

The prompt for day 14 of 'blogging every day in May' with Claire Hewitt is

My favourite image of all time.  

Without a doubt it has to be this one of my two boys.  It was taken in South Africa by my amazing talented cousin Jacki Bruniquel.  I think she even won and award for this image.

If you have a spare hour or two five minutes and you love photography you should pop over to her blog JACKI BRUNIQUEL and have a look at her work.  It will blow your mind!!

You can also follow her on Facebook HERE.

Do you have a favourite image?

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The apple of my i (phone)

Today's prompt for Blogging (almost) every day May with Claire Hewitt is:

Describe your relationship with your phone - Honestly! 

I don't know why, but the first word that springs to mind is 'unhealthy'.

I've been swirling the question around in my head all afternoon and actually I don't think it's unhealthy at all!!  Maybe on the odd occasion it might lean towards the unhealthy but I am pretty happy with the relationship I have with my Apple.

Yes I do.......

• Check my phone first thing every morning!  BUT Mr D can't function without a coffee as soon as his eyes are open and my kids have to sit like zombies in front of the TV before they're capable of getting ready for the day.  Thats just how we roll!

• Have my phone with me all the time!  BUT imagine what might happen if I didn't??  I might miss a call from the kids school or not know if Mr D is staying out late at work, or be able to respond to one of you lovely readers on here????

• Watch TV and sit on social media all at the same time.  What can I say, multi-tasking is a skill.

• Spend a lot of time on social media.  BUT I enjoy it.  I really love this blog and chatting to all the lovely people that read it.  It's also the only way I can catch up with friends and family that live abroad, especially when it's not possible to just meet up for coffee (or wine).

• Use it to get me from A to B - literally.  Without google maps I would be a nervous wreck in the car!

• Use it as my second brain.  All of my notes, memos, diary dates, phone numbers, emails and pretty much all important information is on my phone.  I would be lost without it.

• Use it to keep me up to date with what's happening in the world.  Who (with kids) has time to sit down at 6pm and watch the news on TV???  I wouldn't have a clue what was going on if it wasn't for SKY News (Facebook, Twitter and Mama Mia).

 I try my best not to......

• Use my phone between 3pm and 7pm.  This time is just for the kids and all the craziness that goes with it.  Any social media between this time I try to schedule in advance.

• Look at my phone every 10 minutes too often when I am catching up with friends.  Unless of course we're all addicts and then its ok.

• Loose it or break it.  This can be pretty tricky when the kids drop it on the floor, lick it, or fight over it.   I can't always blame them though as I might have done things like leave it on the car bonnet and then drive over it, or wash it in the washing machine!!

• Use it as the occasional babysitter.

There is so much said these days about how terrible we've all become with modern technology, but actually, used in moderation (like everything) I think it's ok.

How would you describe your relationship with your phone??

Spoilt rotten on Mothers Day

I had the most loveliest of Mothers Days yesterday.  In fact, I think I heart just grew a little bit bigger.

Last week I helped out at the school Mothers Day stall, so I kinda knew what I was in for in the gift department.  I had to cover my eyes so many times while they chose their perfect gift for me to make sure that I wasn't 'cheating'.  They both chose gifts (the obligatory mum mug and choccies) that I probably would never have chosen for myself, BUT the look on their little faces as they handed over their money was something I will always treasure.  They were both bursting with excitement and total pride that they had picked out a gift for me, all by themselves.  I couldn't have loved them any more in that moment.

On Sunday morning they were even more excited to give me their gifts (which they had both managed to keep hidden) and of course I acted TOTALLY surprised and told me they were PERFECT!!  I was also showered with the most beautiful and thoughtful homemade cards and origami flowers.  I know its a cliche but I really felt like the luckiest mum in the world.

We spent a very chilled day together by having ice-cream cones BEFORE heading to our favourite surf club cafe for bacon and egg burgers on the beach.  The kids picked me all the beach flowers they could find (sorry Mother Nature) and put on a 'dance and trick' show for me to watch. Master J has an incredible flair for acrobatics, but sometimes it really does give me the heebie jeebies!

Later that afternoon Mr D took the kids out to burn off some energy and I went home and watched catch up TV on the sofa.

According to Master J, Mothers Day is the best day EVER because "We get to have ice-cream before breakfast and then dad takes us out somewhere cool so that mum can be alone!!"  Love it.

My precious 3.  (although Miss L managed to swipe my ice-cream)

I think my face says it all!!

aaaaaand relax........

Did you have a wonderful Mother's Day?

My kids don't need a Super Mum, they just need me!

Having a child of your own is not only the fastest way to grow up but also the fastest way to learn everything about yourself that you didn't already know (which is a lot, believe me).

I thought I was SO ready for a baby when Master J was born but my world came tumbling down around me when I was diagnosed with Post Natal Depression (PND)*.  I gave myself such a hard time too, for not being the perfect mother that I imagined I would be (or should be).  For not fitting in with all the cliches about motherhood and bonding with my baby.

I think the truth was that I had absolutely no idea about what to expect, and I was totally unprepared for the onset on PND, which can happen to some us, even the best of us, without any fault of our own. I didn't know how to be a mother or how becoming a mother would affect me.

Amazingly I was still able to take care of my precious little boy, even with PND and not really understanding how I felt.  At the time I didn't think I had bonded with him at all (in fact I was convinced he hated me) but looking back now I can see that I actually had.  I loved him, nursed him and protected him without even realising I was doing it and that, I believe, is something that only a MUM can do.

I was lucky to get another two chances to feel that initial bond when both my girls were born.  I know it was there with Master J too, it just took me a little longer to realise.

As time has passed it's been my three kids that have taught me how to be their mum.  They love me, no questions asked and all they need is the same in return.  They don't care what I wear, what our house looks like, whether or not I have stuck to my weekly goals or whether or not I am doing things the right or the wrong way.

What they do care about is that I am there after school so they can rush out and show me their latest masterpiece, or that I am on the side on the rugby pitch watching the game, or reading them a story before bed or just giving them cuddles when they're hurt or sad or just plain soppy.

There isn't one single formula to being a perfect mother we can only do our best and the greatest thing of all is that they love us for it.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL MUMS (and especially to my mum too, even though it's not yet Mothers Day in England).

*You can read more about my journey through PND here.

Who I am inspired by......(right now)!

So we're on day 8 of Blogging every day in May.  Admittedly I have skipped a couple of days with the extremely poor (but very real) excuse of just running out of time!!  Yesterday was one of those days but it had a great prompt ..."who is your mentor" and just incase you're reading this mum, it's you!!

So, getting back to today....WHO AM I INSPIRED BY??

I'm going to live in the moment on this one and the people I need inspiration from right now are those that do NOT suffer from procrastination and the terrible habit of perfectionism!!

Why is it that I cannot sit down and do some much needed work when the floor needs vacuuming, the dishwasher needs to be unpacked, the washing needs to be folded and put away, and the toys on the floor..........well don't even get me started on those!  I WISH I could just turn a blind eye and concentrate on the list of things I would actually love to do with my (minimal) child free time.

I was like this as a kid too.  I remember that I could never sit down and do my homework until my desk and even my bedroom, and sometimes even my wardrobe were tidy!!  (Sadly none of my kids have inherited this).  Everything has to be 'just so' before I can concentrate on anything else.  It's procrastination at it's best and it's a TERRIBLE habit.

I so aspire to be like those people who can just overlook the mess and actually achieve something in their day.  I could do so much more with my time, if only I would just let myself (and stop wasting time).

The worst part about about needing to clean up all the time is that it never ever stays clean and tidy ......... and I know that!  So why can't I just ignore the mess - even for a day???

Are you a perfectionist??  Or do you suffer from procrastination?  Tell I'm not alone.

If you're not hung up on everything being perfect before it's finished, or you're able to overlook the mess in your house, please please send me some inspiration (and tips)!!

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In 10 year time I will be......

The mother of two teenagers and a tween!!!!  Eeekkk!!  That is one thing I know for sure!! Instead of lego towers, play dates and My little Ponies, there will be make-up and dating (and homework that I'll probably be hopeless at helping them with).

It's a little sad to think of my babies entering a whole new stage of their lives but at the same time but it's pretty awesome that I will be there with them the whole way.  There is so much still to look forward to luckily all my memories along the way will never be lost.  I must admit, I'm pretty damn grateful for that! (and I seriously can't imagine being the mum of teenagers!!)

Excuse the grainy photo - I had to scan it!!

So where will I honestly be in 10 years time??  I don't know!  I think it's too far ahead to even try and predict.  If I was asked this question 10 years ago, there is absolutely no way I would have predicted that I would be a mum of three beautiful children and living in AUSTRALIA!!  I could not be any happier though, and I can only hope for the same in the next 10 years.

So that was Day 6 of blogging every day in May!

Do you know where you will be in 10 years time??

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Back to the very beginning...

It's day 4 of Blogging Every (single) Day in May with Claire Hewitt and today's prompt is:

Your Earliest Memory 

This is a tough one (especially after having 20 five year old girls over for a birthday party in our garden this morning).

When I think of my earliest memories I can't quite differentiate between what I actually remember and what are in the photographs my mum has kept.  Do I remember the event or just the picture? Does anyone else have this problem??

I thought I'd just a list a few of the really early ones that really stand out (and in no particular order - except that they were all loooong ago).

• I remember being a bridesmaid for my Aunty's wedding with a boy haircut because my cousin cut all my hair off during a game of hairdressers we were playing the day before.

• I remember getting the bus to school and the bus driver was in love with our nanny and always used to give me little love notes to hand to her.

• I remember cutting my shin on something swimming in the lagoon at the beach and almost passing out from the all the blood, while trying to find my mum. (Nothing has changed there as I'm still just as squeamish when it comes to blood).

• I remember when we got our first puppy, Sparky, and he had to have casts on both his front legs.  We though it was so funny when he tried to run down the passage at home and kept slipping and sliding all over the place.  Poor little thing!

• I remember when the boiler on the outside of our house caught fire.

• I remember when the sugar cane fields surrounding our first house where burnt (harvested) and the soot fell out of the sky like black rain all over the garden.

• I remember when my Gran got chased by an egyptian spitting cobra across the lounge room of her house (only in Africa!!)

• I remember spending hours (or what seemed like hours) totally engrossed in books in the library when my mum was working as the local Librarian.

• I remember when my baby sister tried to eat a frog in the back garden.

• I remember looking for lizard eggs under this huge tree in the garden and then wrapping them in cotton wool and putting them in a match box, hoping they would hatch (they never did).

• I remember loosing my first tooth and being too terrified to look under my pillow the next morning just in case the fairy was still there.

• I remember going on a family holiday to Zimbabwe and the house we stayed at had big, scary fish in the swimming pool.

• I remember being happy.

Wow!  I have loved writing this post.  Thanks for the prompt Claire.  I hope my kids grow up with some wonderful memories too.

What's your earliest memory? It's not that easy to pin point is it?

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You and Me ....

Day 3: Changing Tracks - A song that you hear that reminds you of a certain time in your life 

You and Me by Lifehouse is one of my all time favourite songs, mostly because it has a double whammy meaning for me.  Every time I hear it (which isn't very often) it stops me dead in my tracks and I just listen......... I love that about songs, how they can just transport you to a whole other time in your life in a matter of seconds.

You and Me was released in 2006 when I was pregnant with Master J.  It was my first pregnancy and I was utterly consumed by it.  I had every book you can imagine and I obsessed over every detail and picture of how he was changing and growing inside me every day.  With no sibling to look after it was literally just him and me.  I couldn't stop listening to this song and it still reminds me now of how I treasured that little thing growing inside me.

Mr and D and I got married 18 months after Master J was born and 'You and Me' was the song we chose for our first dance.  This time is was just him and me in that moment and I will never forget that either.

Do you have a song takes you right back to a moment (or two) in another time?

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Sweet Home Alabama

It's day 2 and I'm still on track to blog every single day this month with Claire Hewitt .  Today's prompt was 'A favourite movie'

I loved this film.  I think I saw it at the cinema at least twice and I won't admit to how many times I've watched it since (including the other night).  I just googled to see when it came out and it was in 2002!!  Man that makes me feel old.  It seems a life time ago when I still child free, dating and shopping the streets of New York .........

I'm a hopeless romantic at heart and this movie grabbed me and sucked me right in.  It's pretty funny too and if I can give you one good reason to watch it, it's gotta be Josh Lucas - those eyes!!!  As a very young twenty something, I think I fell in love with him.

Have you ever seen it??  

Does lightening really make glass??

Do you love romantic comedies too or are you more a serious movie type?

Enjoy your Friday evening and THANKS for all the lovely comments after my shocker of a day yesterday - it made all the difference xx

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A truly horrible day in just 100 words

Today was a shit day and I'm going to attempt to give you a brief run down in just 100 words.

I woke up tired!  Master J and I argued because I wouldn't let him cross the road by himself so he refused to give me my usual hug.  I had a lump in my throat.  I called Mr D to offload - it didn't help.

I spent the rest of the day trying to do too many things and achieved none.  Poor Miss L had a day of ipads and TV.  More mummy guilts.

I picked the kids up, headed to the mall, misjudged a parking space and wedged my BRAND NEW CAR against a pole.

I sobbed and sobbed. Please let tomorrow be better.

(100 words)

Don't you love how Master J is standing there with his hands on his hips inspecting the damage!

Today is the 1st of May and I am happily (I think) jumping on board with Claire Hewitt to blog every day for a whole month.

She even has a whole list of prompts too.  A bit like Fat Mum Slim's A photo A Day but this time I'll actually have to write something.  I can't promise that some wine won't be involved but I'll do my best.

Will you be blogging every day in May??

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Dipping my toes into something different........Wordless Wednesday

There are some very exciting things happening behind the scenes on Mrs D plus 3 (well, very exciting for me anyway!!).  We're having a full blown make over!!  It's quite a daunting task as I've got a head FULL of ideas but seem to spend half my time going round in round in circles not knowing where to start!!  The other half of my time has been totally lost in Pinterest - I mean really, who invented Pinterest??  Genius I say.

There is still LOTS to be done and I don't want to give too much away but here is a little peak at some new formats I have been 'playing with' for displaying my photos.  Nothing is set in stone yet, so watch this space.

The biggest change of all for me will be the move from Blogger over to a self hosted Wordpress site.

If anyone has any tips or advice for me, or any widgets I MUST have, please do tell.  I'd love to hear them all.

Happy Hump Day :)) and linking up as always with lovely Trish from My Little Drummer Boys. I also usually link with the lovely Bree from Twinkle in the eye, but she has just had a beautiful baby boy today so (obviously) won't be hosting - congratulations Bree, wonderful news xxxx

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'Reboot with Joe' Days 6-10. Top tips for doing a juice detox.

I really meant for this post to publish straight after my Reboot with Joe days 1-5 post, however my limited technology knowledge completely failed me.  I attempted to schedule the post while I was sipping wine on the beach over the Easter break but unfortunately it didn't work.  So better late than never - here it is....

I survived my 'Reboot with Joe' detox days 1-5 relatively unscathed and was ready to dive straight into the next 5 days of just juice.  I would much rather have eaten food if truth be told, but I was on such a roll that I couldn't stop now!  The next few days got really tough at times.  I struggled to get my head around not eating - at all!!  I just needed to chew.......something, anything.......(I could have chewed a couple of kids at one point, but luckily it didn't get to that). The first two days for me fell on a weekend which was absolute torture.  Mr D and the kids ate their saturday morning pancakes while I sipped on a 'Joe's mean green' trying not to breath through my nose as the delicious smells wafting through the air were enough to make me leave home (well at least for a walk around the block until they finished breakfast).

I did get into the swing of it though and found the week days much much easier.  There were some juices that were really tasty and filling and others that I had to talk to myself (like a mad women) just to keep swallow them!!  So here's my low down:

Day 6 
I managed it!  That's all.  Sorry if this doesn't sound encouraging but it was really tough getting through the day, even though (strangely enough) I wasn't actually hungry.  It was definitely a mental game.

Day 7
Not much improvement today.  Mostly because it was still the weekend and I was surrounded by all the foods I wanted to eat but couldn't.  I did love the feeling of not being bloated at all AND I managed to get my skinny jeans on!  I still couldn't do them up yet, but that's just details right? HAPPY DAYS!!

Day 8
By now I was in the swing of juicing and apart from the celery and cucumber ones, I was actually starting to enjoy them.  I made sure I had one in my handbag everywhere I went so that I could just sip on it all day long and that really helped keep hunger (and occasional dizzy spells) at bay. My skin also started to break out a little, which to me was a good sign because it mean it was getting rid of toxins! I had a few uncomfortable tummy craps but managed to fix them by eating a small handful of raw almonds. Cheating, I know but at least it wasn't chocolate or bread!!!!

Day 9
I had a really really busy day and I felt exhausted and totally zapped of energy.  I had to dig deep not to make myself a ham and cheese toasty or a bowl full of carbs.  I think I might have even dreamed about one!!

Day 10
Total was weigh in day for me and I was another 2.5 kilo's lighter.  That's a total of just under 5 in 10 days.  I honestly couldn't wipe the smile off my face all day.  It's been tough but oh so rewarding and I was really starting to feel fantastic.

If you think you'd like to join in you can fin all the details HERE.  You can also find out how I did on days 1-5 of this detox program HERE.

I still have 5 days to go to complete my challenge, so stay tuned and I'll keep you updated on my progress!

TOP TIPS

• Don't do any heavy exercise, you just won't have the energy for it.  I managed to do my body step classes in the first 5 days of my detox but when I was just on the juice there is no way I could have managed it.  Running around after the kids was more than enough!!
• Make sure you have ALL the fruit and veg you need for the duration.  Believe me you won't be happy if you're desperate for your next fix and you don't have the right ingredients in the fridge.
• Don't give up.  You CAN DO IT.  It's for such a short time and you will feel fantastic at the end.
• Avoid places like coffee shops or restaurants if you can, it's just not going to help.
• If you are feeling really unwell at any time at all during the detox, consult a doctor.

Have you ever felt like you could eat just about anything before (even a kid)?

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5 today! Can you please stop growing so fast!

"Mouse (our nickname for Miss H) can you just stop growing for a little while, mummy can't keep up"  I whispered to her at bedtime the other night.  "But mummy, I just don't know how to stop" she told me.  "Could you maybe just try, for me?" I asked.  "Ok mummy" she said "I'll stop growing, but only until I'm 5 because when I turn 5 I'll have to be 5 and not 4!!"  "Okay, that'll do" I said as I kissed her goodnight.

Today she is 5!  That means she'll have to start growing again and there is nothing I can do about it except watch her with a heart so full of love it could burst at any given moment.

These five years have been a whirlwind of smiles and I am so proud of the little girl she is becoming every day.  I adore her big heart and untainted view of the world.  The way she still needs me when she's feeling a little shy or nervous and her huge enthusiasm for just about everything life throws at her.  I couldn't be more proud of you my darling and I love you to the moon and back.  Happy Birthday.

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