Full & thorough reporting: Babies & Besties & Brisbane & Beignets

It’s time for that Monday morning water cooler catch up, the kind that if we all worked in an office we’d ask what we got up to over the weekend. PLUS I was totally away for 2.5 days at the end of last week too so there’s HEAPS to catch up on. With bonus photos too! Let’s go!

Wednesday afternoon I slapped some make up on, packed my suitcase and mother guilt into my suitcase and headed to Sydney for a 2 day shoot with Bupa for a really great project they are working on. I was lamenting to Instagram Stories (what? That’s totally normal) about how I was feeling bad about leaving the kids etc etc and was overwhelmed with messages (see Rob there are real people at the end of my rants into space on my phone) from you guys telling me to SNAP OUT OF IT, and I TOTALLY GET IT etc etc and my favourite from someone who had a BIG BIG serious job (like she was OS presenting to the UN or something BIG) and even she was feeling shite about leaving her 22 month old at home and feeling guilty about that so I immediately slapped myself, and put on my big girl pants and ENJOYED the freedom without any guilt attached.

This guilt shit has to stop and I’ve decided that it can stop with me. No more feeling “bad” ok Beth? Roger that Beth. I arrived in Sydney a little early on a magnificent sunny afternoon so drove around to Lady Macquaries Chair for a look around. I mean COME ON SYDNEY. Look at chu!

That light! This view!

Snapped me out of it good and proper that’s for sure. I had a dinner to go back in the city with the crew that were filming on Thursday and Friday. We had a delicious dinner at Indu near Angel Place…great food but a very aggressive waitress. Cool vibe & interiors and AMAZING music playing and of courts some Indian food that I NEVER get to eat.

Thursday we hit the set with Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim & Dawn from Kangaroo Spotting two amazing fellow bloggers and Mums. We got to share some stories, give advice and generally have some great time together over 2 days. I’m really excited about this project that we will hopefully get to share with you guys soon.

And one moment, of you will, for the power of the false eyelash. Call me superficial and vain (of which I am likely both) but there is something SO good about some falsies…I felt like I could conquer the world. And the selfie options were endless I tell you!

Frank was unimpressed on FaceTime…

But I got to go out to dinner with my Father in law while I had them on and enjoy my first ever beignet…a kind of hot cinnamon donut that was quite possibly the most delicious little ball of deliciousness I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Chocolate sauce too for the win! We ate dinner at One Penny Red in Summer Hill which is really such an amazing suburban restaurant – love the food there so much.

Plus! I got to watch Real Housewives uninterrupted in bed with. Seriously how good is the current season of NY I am hooked I tell you, HOOKED. I do believe that Tinsley may agree with me re: the eyelashes too.

After the shoot on Friday it was up to Brisbane to attend the Problogger Evolve conference on Saturday where I got the chance to catch up with some good mates staying at Nikki’s place. After a revolting taxi experience from the airport (is it any wonder people choose Uber when cabs are expensive and I was verbally abused by the driver who told me to SHUT UP and that I was a bad person because I told him strongly that he could not tell me to shut up) which scared the shiz out of me I managed to settle in for a good catch up with Nikki & Kayte and then the conference all day Saturday.

I got some great nuggets from the conference and of course got to catch up with old friends and make some new. The highlight was finally catching up with beautiful Megan from Children’s Book Daily who has been through the wringer over the past 3 months. She is a true inspiration, strongly getting through (not over, but through) her horrific grief and new reality as a solo parent with 2 daughters after her husband suddenly died 3 months ago. Talk about amazing. I made it my job to try and make her laugh if I could, but I absolutely loved sitting and chatting with her, Megan you made my weekend.

Yesterday I got to have a personal styling session with Queen Nikkers who let me go through her wardrobe and borrow some clothes (and bags and scarves) for a beach and summery type trip at the end of August. She is such a great friend and mentor to me helping me with my business, and the balance of mothering small kids and work. She may be 10 years ahead of me (her son was the same age as Maggie is when she was my age) and I can’t help but think if I am doing as well as her in 10 years time, I will be a very happy lady.

I drove home yesterday afternoon and arrived to 3 little faces & 1 furry one peering through the windows of the froth door. The kids were happy. They’d had a great few days with their Dad who did a great and perfect job of everything.

I couldn’t help think about all the wonderful women I had spent time with over the last few days. Women sharing their stories and knowledge, their experience, their struggles and successes and business skills. How lucky we are that we live in a time where women can work and have choice, that my girls will know that sometimes Mum works and sometimes Dad and that while it’s always best when we are all together that sometimes it’s not always the way. While we may still struggle with issues and guilt that our own mothers and grandmothers felt, it’s the sharing and communication and connection that is available to us in 2017 that can make us feel less alone than ever. Someone is always going through whatever it is we are feeling: happiness or sadness, success or failure and that in sharing it we can all support each other as we go. And having the choice available to us makes us the luckiest generation of all.

This space has always been that for me, a place to share and connect, so thank you for letting me share with you guys. Fake eyelashes and all.

Today it’s back to nappies (right now I am sitting on the floor of a 2 year olds bedroom who is refusing her day time sleep and I’m wondering how I’ll get anything done, let alone a shower in the next 3 hours before the big kids get home) so you know, swings and roundabouts. But enough about me, tell me about YOU.

How was your weekend?
What did you get up to?
What are you feeling at the moment? A little guilt? Sadness? Success?

Comments

  1. Loving your false eyelash situation. RHONY is so good this season. Bethany and her one liners are tv gold. Wish I could’ve made it to Problogger this year. Sounds like it was a cracker of a weekend!

  2. Mother guilt is never ending! I’m feeling so overwhelmed at the moment, trying to parent 4 teenagers and a tween and feeling like I’ve given everyone everything I have and there’s nothing left. Except tears and mental exhaustion. But hey that’s life right?
    Thanks for sharing your stories Beth, I love reading your blog seeing your Insta stories etc xx

  3. What a great post. I don’t comment often but today I just wanted to say that I think you are so fortunate to have spent some time with all those amazing women. The power of connection.
    Im feeling mostly guilt today but really that is my default setting, Im in for the Gold medal in that event. I feel guilty for being a stay at home, it’s all I ever wanted and I have been fortunate enough to be able to do that but now that my children are mostly grown and flown I feel so much guilt that I haven’t worked outside the home. I haven’t earned money and paid taxes, I haven’t been a good enough role model for my kids. Have I shown my girls how to be strong independent women have I shown you sons how to be competent partners and fathers?
    Have I been enough?

    • Kate you have given your children and your husband the greatest gift of all – your time and love. You should never feel guilty about that. I don’t know anything about you or your family, but I am guessing they have been nurtured by you and have been safe to grow into independent people. They will NEVER look back and think about whether you worked outside the home or not, they will only think of the tremendous amount of love they got from you. So don’t you feel guilty about them. However if you are feeling that you, Kate, have missed out on something, then it’s not too late to change that. Follow your instincts and get out there and find something for you if that’s what you need. Hugs, Leoni xx

    • Of course you have been! You have given your love and time and patience and provided a safe and constant environment for your family – that is NOTHING to feel guilty about you should be proud! My own Mum stayed at home and looked after her 4 children until all of us were through primary school and maybe even the start of high school and I have nothing but admiration for all she did for us. It’s hard work, good work and IMPORTANT work and you should feel pride. But like Leoni said, if you feel like you want more it’s never too late and there is never a right time…listen to your gut and heart and go for it! Don’t waste your time on guilt….truly it’s all based on things in your head you have made up, not reality! x

  4. I want to know what an aggressive waitress is? And I’m intrigued to know why the driver wanted to tell you to shut up? That’s so out of left field! I have to disagree with you on the eyelashes. I had them put on for the first time when a friend did my makeup for her shoot, and I tell no lie, my vision was impaired! As a ‘busy mum of two’ I exclaimed to the girls beside me who were seasoned lash havers ‘OMG how can you see?’ and they said ‘oh you get use to it!’ so no thank you, I like to have all my peripherals unobstructed! They cast a shadow even across my whole eye!

    • Ha! OK here goes…
      1. Aggressive waitress was cranky the whole time. Think huffs and eye rolls. She seemed pissed off we were mostly all only drinking water and not alcohol. She told us a number of times that we had to move off the table because there was a second sitting due, she literally took the napkin out of our hands when we were leaving to hurry us up, when pouring the water did so so hard that it kept spilling all over the table etc. We for there at 5.30pm etc and would understand if we were a group of loud drunk obnoxious people (we were a table of 5, 2 pregnant!). That kind of thing.

      2. Cab driver came up with that out of no where. He got frazzles because he was lost and told me I gave him the wrong number (I told him 21 he said I told him 20 I told him they are next door so it’s not really a problem) I asked him to turn the other end of the street because that’s where I thought it should be, and he asked me why I was getting angry, I said I’m not angry! It was 9pm on a Friday night after a full day of work and travel and I was just tried. he then told me to shut up etc. It was awful – out of no where I literally had not said one word the entire trip until that point.

      Hope that explains it a bit!

  5. How good is Indu? We went there for hubby’s birthday a few weeks ago, such a treat! Shame about the waitress though – our service was magic. Drooling over your beignets – they’re my best! And we spent the weekend in the southern highlands – it made my feet very itchy for a sea change. Of course, we dropped into your local for some liquid refreshment, got our snaps at the big potato and tried to make inroads into your southern highlands guide. Thanks for that! So good to see Megan with a smile on her dial. Looks like y’all had a ball.

    • Glad you had a good weekend down here – sounded like the weather behaved too! Loved the food at Indu – definitely will be back.

  6. Oh wow – yes to the mother guilt being bullshit! We need to stop doing it to ourselves – but it’s hard sometimes. I’m a single parent, studying full time, working part time in a daycare centre. I see the mums who work full time dropping their littlies off at 7.30am and picking them after 5pm. So hard for them to do, and because of that I put in 110% with the love, care and cuddles for their kids…..whilst my own kids are in after school care…..and I sometimes feel guilty about that! So yeah, us mums are amazing – and we should all give ourselves a break now and then!

    • Sharon I love this SO Much – thank you for looking after our kids…I think those that work in early education and care are angels and from your comment I can see that indeed you are! x

  7. While I wasn’t quite brave enough to say hi on the weekend, it was lovely seeing your beautiful face at ProBlogger and hearing lots of people saying nice things about you. It was a really great day. I’m glad you were able to give Megan some laughs after all she’s been through lately. After losing our youngest son last year, I know how hard that grief biz is, so it’s always great to have your people around you and I think you guys provided a good posse on Saturday. Thanks for being you, Beth, and putting all your beautiful energy into the world xx

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