Mum with a mission... (Cont. Ho, ho, ho ! Merry Christmas ??)

I've been busy whole week. Yes, I've been mum with a mission to bring Christmas spirit into our house and minds of my kids. 

We were cutting, drawing, hanging, cooking, decorating....but also listing carols and talking about what is really going to happened at Christmas Eve. It's important for me that they knew the story about baby Jesus, us well. That they understand what we are celebrating. We have this talk every year, just to remains them :) 
Here are some photos, how everything together turns out:

It wasn't about to make stylish decorations. I've used some things that they had made during the year and Christmas decorations which they have brought from school and kindergarten. They were so proud, happy, and excited!!! It was worth it!! 

One evening when we were baking and decorating ginger mans, my son went to bad with a song on his mouth- 'Santa is coming to town...' . So I think my mission is accomplished:) I managed to bring Christmas spirit into their maids.

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas??

I would like to write about joy, happiness and whole that crazy spirit of Christmas but in my situation that is bit difficult. First time we are not going to Poland to calibrate with our families and friends, instead we are staying in Australia. I'm not want to tell that here we can't see preparation for Christmas but it's not familiar to me.

In Poland we have ( mostly) white Christmas, we cook warming up dishes, days are shorter so it's possible to see decorative lights everywhere. Whole that visible signs brings us/ me into that magical time. So, unfortunately nothing in Australia is like I used to know, that is why it's hard for me to wake up in the festive mood.

Christmas are around the corner and I was about to give up, I said 'That's it there will be no Christmas spirit this year' but after I've said it I've realised that is not about me! It's about my kids. They need whole that fuss, they need to remember every Christmas time us special! What will I tell them in few years? That mommy one year hadn't felt magic, so there was no Christmas? Well NO I can't do that. I realised that I need to show them that wherever we are Poland, Australia etc. we need to keep our tradition and we can add some new from the country we live in now and that will make our unique family custom. 

If I won't panic I still have enough time to bring festive mood into my house. Happily kids already have written letters to Santa, and put them us every year under the pillows so elfs could take them ( our family tradition:) )  - I can thick that. But what else will bring magic about Christmas? What I can do? Oh, I forgot to mention that we are going for holidays in Christmas time and going to sleep in a tent. That is real challeng for me I have to admit :)

This is what I've figured :

My to do list to bring magical spirit alive:

- bake gingerbreads

- decorat house with kids

- figure out Christmas tree ( we won't have normal one)

- cook one the most traditional polish dish for Christmas Eve ( normally we have 12)

- decorations for a tent ( maybe lights ? )

- sing polish carols

I heve one week so I better harry up :)

Perfect Saturday

Saturday morning  (well not that morning 10 already ) I'm doing as usual flat pancakes. Kornel is still  sleeping,  older kids in their pyjamas talking in one of the room. Niki is giving the instruction about how to behave at the school "You can go on monkeybares , but you never ever allowed on the oval Klara" ( she starts school in few months). My husband is busy with something outside.

I'm thinking, what o perfect moment no rush, no screaming, no fighting. Everybody are doing what they want in their individual time. I'd like that moment lasted forever. I'm even not worry that kids are speaking English, I let it go in that moment. Only what I'm feeling is joy. Sky is perfect blue, sun is shinning, no one waked me up to early, I don't have to rush anywhere.

Than reflection appears: How is this happening? How after such exhausted week in one moment I can be grateful just for being ? How after all those dark thoughts  I'm ok again ?  

I have the same live, the same kids, the same husband, I didn't win big money. Nothing has changed, but I'm haveing this perfect morning, I'm happy. No, something has changed- my point of view. Someone could tell that's nothing, but it can make huge deference. The same glass can be half full or half empty and only from us depend how we see situation. We can do whatever we want with our lives, we can dream about things we can't have now or never, we can ask ourselves 'what if...?' ,or we can choose to be happy. I know that sometimes it's easy to say and much harder to do it, but if we, if I will keep going in the and I would be able to say, that at least I was trying to live out the happy life.

Nursery (building bond with a baby brother)

Preparing nursery is one of nicer thing while I'm waiting for my little guy :) . This time (us you remember third time) I want to make some more effort in preparing. My situation this time is different, becouse with me (and husband) are waiting us well my older kids and I want to involve them in preparation.
They are excited alredy but with making something and helping I hope they felt important and  that they started their journey of becoming older brother and sister, that they started building bond with their little baby brother.
This is also idea for how to make nursery in budget. I've bought just few new things like cot, chest of drawer, materials for decorations, changing mat cover, bouncer. I haven't bought a lot of new cloths or toys, most things I've got from opshops or after my older kids, I've got some things also from friends. As an experience mum is easier to choose, what is really important in nursery I have to admit :)

So what exactly we have done?

• We've prepared a cot 

       

• We've made decoration

        I've asked kids to make drawings for their little brother whatever they wanted.

        Thay have sewed little hanging toys which we first had choosed in the shop.

        Then we've made hand printed animals :) and I've sewed bunting

• We've put clothes into a drawer

When baby will born kids with dad will finish preparations :)

This is mobile that Klara has made for Kornel

And this is how they had met little Kornel and me in the hospital.

I should have been published this post long time ego, but last couple month has been bit crazy :) Now we back on tracks so I hope there will be more time for me to write. 

Gołąbki - cabbage leafs stuffed with mince meat and rice

You are thinking about buying cabbage, but you don't know what to do with it, this is perfect recipe !!

You will need 
1 medium white cabbage
500 g pork mince meat
500 g beef mince meat
1 mug of rice (white, basmati)
1 onion (finely chopped) 
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped) 
1carrot (grated)
2 cups tomato sauce
2 bay leafs
Salt and paper

Place cabbage into dish with half fill with water and boil for 30 min or till cabbage is tender. Onion and garlic cook on a pan then mix it with mince meat and carrot and raw rice, salt, paper. Take off cabbage from water, cut out the hard middle and separate leafs. From leafs cut off hard centres. Than make an egg shape from stuffing and place it on leaf, wrap it tight. Place all gołąbki in dish tight and cover with water add bay leafs and cook for 40 min- 1 hour, in the and of coking add tomato sauce. Serve with boiled potatoes or sour dough bread, enjoy!!!

Mental health

Happy mum with happy kids :) 

Last week I was in the hospital for rutine visit. Between some magazines my daughter had found a brochure and she handed it to me and said ' Mumy look somthing for you and new baby'. I looked at the title 'A guide to emotional health and wellbeing during pregnancy and early parenthood' I thought hmmm.. interesting.

At home I started to read and I was so surprise, that this kind of information are in the hospital us a brochure, it was good surprise. I thought if only I knew that when I had my first baby, it would be so much better for me, so easier. I wouldn't have felt so lonely with my thoughts, I would seek for some help and advise. I  know that you are very curious now ;) what the... Was in that brochure?

Well it was about negative feelings that you may experience during pregnancy and early parenthood, but the most important thing was that this is ok and you don't have to feel guilty. 

Sometimes we and people surranding us say only about joy and happiness because of baby. No one seems to notice and acquiescence these negative feelings like anxieties, stress, panic, anger. Even magazines and media promotes happy, sweet and lovely time during pregnancy and early parenthood. We can starting to feel guilty, that something is wrong with us becouse we are not that happy like we shoud. 

The brochure olso was about how to care about ourself and that is very important to care about our wellbeing us much us of a baby, how to preper for changing, how to help our partners which sometimes completely doesn't understand what is happening with us or with them. For dad's is olso not easy, they have to juggle job, parenting and being there for us, sometimes they could felt helpless or stress becouse of not knowing what to do. Sometimes is our job to show them how to cope with new situation, but what if we are feeling bad? So that is why knowledge of that new situation( becoming a parent) from different directions is so important, it only will help. 

Remember 'Happy mum means happy baby and happy relationship' :) 

I will make a scan of brochure, so if someone would like a copy let me know :) 

Angry woman

Do You also have days, when you fill that nobody understand you ? I'm during that day. I have literally enough, of asking for a bit of comprehension my family. 
Maybe it's because I'm pregnant, maybe it's because I'm emigrant, maybe because I'm a woman...Or all that together. 
Today I'm angry mother and very angry wife.  Everything have started from morning, I add that Saturday morning, so all family is at home. Like usually at Saturday for breakfast we have pancakes (big and flat, not those little and fluffy), so I'm doing pancakes, washing some dishes, kids are running around and all the time asking for something and my lovely husband asking if I could make a tea for him...and that was it to much...I thought so I'm pregnant woman in my last weeks of pregnancy and my family is acting like that, no way... So I'm screaming and crying in the same time... My husband it's not the type that will come and gave me a hug or say something that calm me down  unfortunately, and I have knew that even befor I have started screaming... So I was left alone with my miserable face. I backed to pancakes.
But after breakfast my husband and kids have started cleaning all house, I think he felt guilty so he thought that if he will clean I will feel better. Unfortunately I'm a woman and all I needed was attention, understanding, good word, hug and assuring that I'm loved. He was doing good thing in his opinion but I still didn't got what I needed. 
Is that situation familiar for you ? It's classic from book 'Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars' . I have read this book long time ago, and I know that my husband fills that I was unfair for him. He was traing so hard and got only my tears. To bad that he have never read this book.   
Now they all gone for some shopping, so I can relax and seat in quiet house not bother by anyone, I really needed that...
We will see what will happen till evening, but I know that only way to got what I need is to tell him about this, he won't guess... ;)  

Pregnant for third time...

                                                                   Photo taken by my son :) 

Today I would like to write about pregnancy. Well, I'm pregnant third time and every single one was different.
First time was very exited because everything was so unknown. I wasn't sure about a lot of things, is that ok that my belly hurts? Are they a baby movements? What should I eat? Can I ride a bike?  And so long... Only what I could do was to trust my doctor and hoping for the best. During pregnancy I have been few times in the hospital. Now when I'm thinking about those days I'm not sure if that was really necessary...

Second time was bit better becouse I have known already more. So I knew that some pain is ok and doesn't heve to mean that something is wrong. Unfortunetly my doctor was doing everything to put me into hospital, finally I heve anded there couple of times, but still in my opinion unnecessary. While I was at the hospital I was taking only basic medicines like folic acid, so what you think? Rather nothing was wrong. But my doctor tried threatened me that I could went into labour any time and that it was necessary that I stayed in the hospital. 

Those two times I felt like a incubator, doctors didn't care aboute me, they didn't ask if it's ok to do this or that, they just assumed that they can and that I didn't mind. 

Now I'm pregnant third time and my experience in that matter is huge I exactly know what I need and how I would like to be treat. This is also some kind of new experience becouse first time I'm pregnant in Australia and I have to say that a lot of things are different here. I won't write about all of them, but only one: No one treats me like a incubator, doctors asks how I feel, if it is ok to do this or that. Of course not everything is ideal, sometimes I thing that they are to relax and maybe they should be more concerned, but on the other hand if everything is ok ?  

From that place I would like to thank everyone my friends from Australia and Poland, my family, my kids, my husband, teachers from kinda and school, strangers  for their kindness, concerns, help, for all those beautiful words, for their joy because of new baby. All that was such a great experience, gave me strength in difficult moments, when I felt so bad, when I felt down... THANK YOU!!! :) 

Homesick

Photos of Poland ( from letf: river Biebrza,river Biebrza, river Drwa, medow, Oaks in Białowieski National Park, Casel in Malbork, my house, winter in our garden, forest near our house, forest, medow near our house, winter in our garden )

I have never thought that I will be so homesick when I was living Poland. In this first months I was searching constantly for something familiar, for something that recall memories about Poland. I had started to cook very traditional polish dishes like pierogi ( dumplings with stuffing ), bigos ( stew from cabbage, meet, mashrooms and spices ). I heve never cooked them in Poland.
I started to appreciate our heritage more, how rich is the polish culture, how beautiful is the landscape  and the nature. What a great and long history we have with heritage buildings in every corner. I missed to polish forest to sounds of the nature, the views. I barly could stand yellow, dray grass, gumtrees, flat landscape around me.
There were better and worse times. Days when I was crying and days when I was great full for this journey. Days when I liked Australia and days when I heated it.
This swing of emotions was huge. In just few days my live have change so much. I didn't have friends, family, job, I was alone. My husband was working a lot, travelling a lot to different parts of Australia.
But there was one thing that kept  me going - my kids. I knew that I had to be for them. They missed also to their grandparents, friends, house even to their toys...
Very helpful was technology, us soon we got connection to the internet I was relived :).

First months in Australia

Kangaroos ?? = Welcome in Australia :) 

We landed in Australia at the second half of August. It was a rainy and cold Monday. We were exhausted after 24 hours flight, especially I and kids, because my husband seemed 

not notice of the time change. When we were driving to our new home from Melbourne I couldn’t watched views I was to sleepy. When we arrived to our new house all three of us went straight to one bed for a long nap and my husband went straight to work.

At late in the evening we woke up and found out that there is nothing to eat. So there it was- first shopping in Australia. At the super market first person that I spotted was barefoot women with messy hair and she had little girl in trolley who was dressed in dirty pajama. I thought ‘So, this is how Australian looks like?’. After few months I have used to people who didn't bother how they looked like. That was the first difference I have noticed, because in Poland people worried a lot about their appearance.  

That was my first day in Australia and the rest of the week was looking pretty much the same. We were sleeping till 1 pm then we couldn’t slept at the night, but every day was bit better in that matter, so after a week had past we started to cope with time change.

After we survived the first changes: time, season ( in Poland was summer), traffic ( we drive on the right side of the road ). I had to start a normal live.

I started organised our house by buying furniture and other necessary things. I also had to managed with kindergarten for kids. I didn’t feel confident with my English at all so, my husband was helping with communication. In Poland I have learned English for many years, but after I finished my education I didn't use it often. I had this big barrier with talking.  I thought that I sound silly that I was doing a lot of mistakes, that people can’t understand me. Believe me first months weren't easy at all, from businesswomen to women how was struggling with the  easiest  things. Sometimes I felt flustered and confused. Everything was different. There were many times that I was angry at my husband and at myself that I wasn't  doing well. At this first months I just wanted back home...homesick was huge.    

Resettlement

When we were living Poland I have to admit that I was relived. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, my house, family, frainds and my work. On the other hand being working and so busy mum of two young children wasn't the easiest thing.
Last few months in Poland was really exhausting for me. I was allone, my husband was already in Australia. I had my family and friends to help, but still most of things I had to do by my own. Sometimes I was filling really stressed and  I had a panic attacks during the night when I was thinking about next day, 'How will I manage with everything ?'.
So, yes I was very skinny, tired and frustreted.
When we were boarding on the plane in one hand I was afraid of the future but on the other hand I was relieved. I knew that I won't work in Australia from very beginning, that i will have time for kids and live will slow down for me.
I wasn't stupid and I realised also that dealing with other cultur and language won't be easy, too, but I like challanges, so I'd rather was looking forward...

G'day everybody !! Witajcie !!

Hi I'm Magdalena, from almost two years I and my family  live in Australia. I'm mum to two young kids in age six and four and now we expect the third.
As you can learn from my blog title we originally are from Poland.
Why we came to Australia?
It was quite spontaneous decision. We never ment to emigrate abroad, but one day my husband asked ' What you think about Australia? ' He knew that I have always dreamed about Sydney Opera and Australia was my amazing holiday destination. He got proposition from work to came to Australia to take care of the new factory.  The answer was only one - Yes, we are going !!!
Despite of all my plans - my business have just started to grew (garden designing), my students have got familiar with me (I used to teach at high school). I have decided that this is one of the kind opportunity to visit and to live outside my country. I believed that everything gonna be ok and we won't regret any of the moment. 
So that's how, we have started our new journey.
I, Michał, Nikodem, Klara and now our family is going to grew !! 
What I'm going to write about ? 
Myself, my family, our live in Australia, how everything got change, our struggles, about happiness, my hobby (crafting, cooking, gardening). Hmm...well about all other things in my mind :) 
P.S. I'm sorry if my English is not perfect, I will tray doing my best to improv it.