Our stay at Wallinga Farmstay, Mudgee

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During the recent school holidays, we went to Mudgee for a few days and stayed at Wallinga Farmstay. It was just what we needed, to ease back into life, after a pretty rough few weeks of getting sick with, and recovering from, Covid-19.

A short, three-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney made this trip so doable for a quick two-night getaway.

The last time I went to Mudgee was during my mining engineering university days about 15 years ago… it was a field trip. I remember staying for a night and thinking “If I ever have to move to a residential mining town for work, this would be a great spot”.

And this time, I got to enjoy it so much more and really fell in love with it. Who knew there was so much to do and see?

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How to help your kids get the best start in life

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This blog post is sponsored by ABC Reading Eggs.

A few years ago, I attended a talk by Dr Elanna Yalow, a world-renowned expert in early education and the CEO of Early Learning Programs at KinderCare Education in the United States. Dr Yalow has several qualifications under her belt including a Ph. D in Educational Psychology, an M.B.A., and a B.A. in Psychology.

Dr Yalow talked about how crucial the first five years are for our children, and that 70% of brain development occurs in the first three years of life.Continue Reading →

Ten tips on how to break the news of your separation to your kids

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Telling your kids that you are separating is probably one of the hardest things you will ever have to do. The news of parental separation can be difficult for your kids to accept and it will take time to adjust to the change.

For your child, this can be a period of grief and confusion, and they could be scared of the unknown and wondering what’s going to happen to them and to their lives. Your child might be angry, sad, and confused.

Here are ten tips on how how to break the news of your separation to your kids and how you can support your kids to help them cope with the news.Continue Reading →

Single Mum Solo Vacay – Koh Lipe

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In December I celebrated my first Christmas without my daughter. Okay, celebrated is the wrong word. For a carol singing, Santa hat-wearing, Christmas LOOOOOVING gal, “survived” is probably a more accurate description.

I always knew that after almost seven years as a single mum, and six Christmases with my six-year-old daughter, I would find it tough. So I decided that if I couldn’t celebrate with my daughter, the next best thing would be to take myself on a little rejuvenating vacay.

And so I did some googling and some price comparing and found the perfect spot… Koh Lipe.

Since posting about it on Instagram, and chatting about it a little on my podcast, I have been asked many questions about Koh Lipe and my solo trip there, and in this blog post, I answer the most frequent ones so that if you too are thinking of going to Koh Lipe, hopefully, it helps.Continue Reading →