ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FROZEN 2

Frozen 2 is coming and we’re getting ready to watch it 7 million times

Mummas!

Frozen 2 is coming are you ready to watch it 7 million times. Here’s a need to know:

THE PLOT

Elsa had a stressful time in the first Frozen but this time she’ll be a bit less stressed and feel she can open up and have fun again. That’s all we know for now but the ending has been decided. In fact it was decided before the first film was made!

Some story ideas getting around are: a love story for Olaf, a story about how Anna and Elsa aren't really biological sisters and how this affects their relationship but no one really knows.

RELEASE DATE

November 27, 2019

Having a Child Ages You By 11 Years

We can’t imagine Meghan looking a day over 25? Motherhood is set to change this according to scientists

My day pretty much revolves around me saying ‘Geez I’m tired’ well it turns out yes we are more tired and in fact actually older than women our own age who don’t have children.

Turns out having kids actually changes our DNA! Researchers at George Mason University, in Virginia, examined telomeres. These protect us from ageing essentially.

Anyway, in women with kids the telomeres were 11 years crappier than they were in women without kids of the same age. The scientists also said the more kids you had the worse it got.

They also found that having kids caused more damage to women than smoking or obesity.

Motherhood is also linked to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes.

If I’m going out I’m going out with a bang, pass me a wine and a cheeseburger!

BODY LOVE Fall in love with your body and your daughter will too

Lissome, Newcastle

What do you say to yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror?

Because your daughter will say the exact same thing to herself.

In this week’s show below we give you simple steps to help you love the body you're in and show how this love will flow on to future generations and effect how your daughter sees herself.

We’re joined by Nerida Bint the Founder of Lissome Newcastle.

Nezzy’s advice

• Grab a chalk marker and write positive affirmations on your mirror

• Whenever you say something negative to yourself about your body ask ‘would I say this to my daughter about her body?’ if not, don’t

• Celebrate your body for ‘what it can do’ rather than what it looks like

Also in the episode below positive changes you can make to how you move in 2019 and positive changes you can make to your diet that are easy to implement.

Also the truth behind having wine everynight and what it means for us! If you’d like to WIN a 6 week body transformation with Lissome listen to the show below and then write a review on your Apple Podcast App or any other Podcast App.

Good luck!

What do you say to yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror? Because your daughter will say the exact same thing to herself. Simple seteps to help you love the body you're in and teach your baby girl to do the same.

The Studying Mum

Towards the end of last year, my partner and I were rushed off our feet. Our goal for 2019 was going to be to cut back on things and lighten our load. So just before the year was out, I ensured that this goal would never come to fruition and enrolled to study! I take my hats off to all the mums out there balancing work, children and adding in that extra bonus of studying. It’s only mid January and I’m struggling! We have four kids between us and so far it’s only school holidays so everyone is relatively quiet with activities, or we are all together anyway. But once school goes back and sport starts back up, there goes our weekend, and my current study time. So here’s my apology to my friends now; love you all, but see you in 2020!

Have you started up studying after becoming a mum?

Birth Order and how it affects your personality

I have always heard about birth order and seen Facebook posts where birth order has defined someone’s personality. But really, can it? Everyone is so different, I feel like this habit we have of lumping people in categories is crazy. So I thought i’d test it out on my own family, because there are a few of us! I have three kids and my partner has one, so we kind of manage to fit a kid into each category.

Firstborns in relation to my oldest son Matthew, who is 7.

They say firstborns tend to be reliable, conscientious, structured, cautious, controlling and achievers.

I’m going to have to admit this is all quite accurate for my son. He’s my leader who I definitely rely on for the vast majority of the help around the house. He is happy to have the complete control over the younger siblings but I’d have to say the conscientious part is yet to be shown at school!

Middle Child in relation to my daughter Grace, who is 4.

Middle children tend to be people-pleasers, rebellious, friendship orientated and a peacemaker.

Wow! This is Grace completely. If the last point changed to instigator instead of peacemaker this would be right on the money. My little firecracker has the kindest heart and is an absolute joy to have around but is certainly the crazy one of the family and my little wild child.

Last born in relation to my youngest William, who is 3.

The baby of the family tends to be fun-loving, uncomplicated, manipulative, outgoing, attention-seeker and self-centered.

Haha, another one pretty accurate. Apart from manipulative (come on he’s 3) and self-centered, this is my little treasure all over. William was a huge surprise for our family at the time, but he has completed me in a way I never thought possible. Fun-loving is exactly how I would describe this little bundle of happiness, who seems to just appreciate life.

Only child in relation to my partner’s little man Nash, who is 6.

Only children tend to be mature for their age, perfectionists, conscientious, diligent and leaders.

Again, apart from the last point, the characteristics are spot on. Nash is our one set to be the honours student and who although so far only in kindergarten has already smashed it in the awards department. He’s now been thrown into a crazy family with three other kids so we shall see if any of these characteristics change as the year’s progress!

Your time on Facebook

I recently discovered a new feature on Facebook which allows you to see just how long you’re spending on the addictive app. I co-admin the NHM Facebook group so I was expecting it to be quite high, but I’ve also made a conscious effort to reduce my time on the app as much as possible to spend quality time with the family when I get it. My oldest son has noticed just how much I’m not on my phone, perhaps because he has to help me find it when I continuously lose it, but I was super proud when that happened. Less time on Facebook means that I probably check my news feed once a week and I generally ‘miss out’ on a lot of my friend’s posts. But you know what, this has almost been a good thing. I find I’m making an effort to pick up the phone and CALL friends to catch up on what is happening instead of just staying abreast of everything online.

So imagine my surprise when my stats came back saying that I have spent an average of 51 minutes a day using the app in the last week! No way! Anyway, check it out guys because it tells you your breakdown of each day in the last week so you can see what your popular FB days are. Luckily for me in my quest to pull back, the weekends are my lowest. From this feature you can also edit your news feed preferences to see more photos, and posts from those you want to and here’s the best bit, you can set a daily reminder once you’ve reached the time that you’ve allocated yourself on Facebook each day. How cool is that!

ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS IN 2019

Let us guess you want to carve out more family time this year but you've taken on even more responsibility in your career? This show will help you achieve all your goals this year and still have time for your family. Implement our time saving techniques to allow you to streamline your work and homelife processes and get rid of habbits that don't serve you.

Raylee Mahony from Inner Strength Coaching will give you incredible insight about how you can stay on track to achieve all your goals in 2019 too, baby steps - this will be your best year yet Mummas! If you’d like to win a 20 minute coaching session with Raylee keep an eye on our socials or check our WIN Page here.

Eleni found happiness and a healthier life by taking small steps towards her goals with raylee

This year is the stuff dreams are made of Mumma’s achieve all your goals and be happy listen below to find out how. You got this!

Let us guess you want to carve out more family time this year but you've taken on even more responsibility in your career? This show will help you achieve all your goals this year and still have time for your family.

New Year's Resolutions

Hey guys!

Have you made a New Year’s resolution yet? Do you feel you need to or are you happy just plodding through like me? Regardless, here are the top ten resolutions that people have made for 2019.

1. Diet or eat healthier

2. Exercise more

3. Lose Weight

4. Save more and spend less

5. Learn a new skill or hobby

6. Quit smoking

7. Read More

8. Find another job

9. Drink less alcohol

10. Spend more time with family and friends

So tell me, do your new year resolutions fit into these categories or have you thought of completely different ones?

FREE-DOM TO BE ARTY AT NEWCASTLE ART GALLERY

Newcastle Art Gallery want to let you know that they want your kids to come over. Far from a prissy friend who scoffs when your children enter the room. They are welcome into the Newcastle Art Gallery any time next year and particularly during these school holidays. Book in for your workshop here. All children from the ages of 5 to 12 are invited to come along and workshops are Free - $12.

Free Art Craft at Newcastle Gallery

FREE ART CART WORKSHOPS

Every Saturday & Sunday
10:30am to 12:30pm - 30 mins long

Cost: FREE

Art Cart engages children with the exhibitions on display through discussion and art making. Led by Gallery educators, every weekend Art Cart engages with a different work of art on display, and the event is staged in the Gallery space as close as possible to the original work. 

Art Cart grounds the child’s experience of the Gallery with tactile, hands-on experiences. Parents are encouraged to collaborate with their younger children and encourage their older children to extend the art activity with some new element of their own design. Activities can be simplified or made more complex depending on the child. Each activity takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, and we ask that you arrive no later than 12:15pm to ensure there is enough time to complete your masterpiece.

Newcastle Art Gallery is a hive of activity these school holidays, no whispering necessary!

SCHOOL HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS

ART APRON WORKSHOP

Tour through THE ERSKINE PLEDGE: a gift to Newcastle exhibition, be inspired by the 49 new works of art on display, and create your own personalised art apron to wear in future art-making endeavours. In this fun 1hour workshop, children will get to paint their own colourful patterns and designs.

Monday 14, Tuesday 15, Wednesday 16, Thursday 17, Friday 18 Jan 2019 

Sessions: 10.30-11.30am, 12-1pm, 2-3pm

1 hour

GEOMETRIC NECKLACE WORKSHOP

Monday 21, Tuesday 22, Wednesday 23, Thursday 24, Friday 25 Jan 2019 
Sessions: 10.30-11.30am, 12-1pm, 2-3pm - 1 hour

Tour through OLSEN ORMANDY exhibition, learn about the artists Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy, and make your own geometric necklace using paint pens, wooden beads and coloured wool.

Healthy Kids Food For Your Fussy Eater

Sam is a Mumma and Chef for The Little Unicorn Honeysuckle

When Sam Rolands had her bub she discovered a love like she’d never known but also a very fussy eater!

If you’re like us and you get anxiety over cooking for young ones only to have them turn their noses up at it rejoice, we’ve found Sam. Sam is a chef at The Little Unicorn Early Education Centre on Honeysuckle (where all your bubs meals are provided) and also has her own Facebook page you can follow to help ease mum cooking anxiety here.

Sam is going to share her wonderful recipes with us regularly and we hope you enjoy them.

MUFFINS FOR ANYTIME

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD

2 cups self raising flour

1 1/5 tasty cheese

1/5 grated carrot

1 tablespoon peas

1 tablespoon corn kernels 

Handful baby spinach chopped

1/5 teaspoon baking powder

Add all together in a bowl

Whisk

1 egg

1 cup milk together

Add to mixture

Place in muffin tray and bake on 180 degrees for 25- 30 mins (until browned) 

SWEET POTATO COOKIES



INGREDIENTS AND METHOD

3/4 cup cooked mashed sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato)

1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits

* Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet (with butter, oil or cooking spray).

* In a small bowl, whisk together the sweet potato and 1/3 cup milk. Set aside.

* In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with your hands, a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sweet potato mixture and fold gently to combine. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until all the flour is moistened. The amount of milk you will need will depend on the moisture of the sweet potato.

* Sprinkle a small handful of flour on a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the surface and knead lightly 2 to 3 times with the palm of your hand until the mixture comes together. Pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch-thick round.

* Using a 2 1/2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut the dough into biscuits. Gently reroll the scraps and cut out more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake until light golden brown and firm to the touch, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve these fluffy biscuits warm or at room temperature.

FRENCH TOAST

Perfect for the bubs that don’t eat egg!

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD

2 eggs whisk with a table spoon of cream in bowl

Thick whole meal toast

Dip toast into the egg soaking both sides

Fry on pan with coconut oil

Top with your choice. I use a tiny bit of coconut sugar and berries 

A Mumma's New Year

Sarge and Bec from NHM

It’s been an extraordinary year, so many parenting challenges mixed with incredible highs and lows and this, coupled with the launch of NHM - I GOT IT FROM MY MUMMA Podcast for The Little Unicorn Early Education Centres, our NHM website and socials has left us absolutely exhausted.

Our heart’s however are full of gratitude for all the support we’ve been given and we’re excited about the year ahead both as parents and career women.

In the show below we talk about what we want to do next year to work more efficiently so we can spend more time with our kids as well as ways to improve how we do things to achieve a better result.

New Years these days looks nothing like it did 10 years ago for us! In the show we lament on New Year’s celebrations and talk about fun ways you can enjoy New Years as a proper adult.

Happy New Years Mummas, Thanks for your support, Bec and Sarge xx

So New Years these days looks nothing like it did 10 years ago for us! We lament on that plus talk about fun ways you can enjoy New Years as a proper adult. Also another year done, babes, business, what have we learnt and how do we hope to improve everything we do to live our best lives in 2019!

The good and bad of the Christmas season

Yesterday I drove up to Taree and did the dreaded drop off of my three kids. I really shouldn’t complain, I was lucky enough to have the kids all over the actual Christmas days until the 27th and then they’ll be coming back on the 30th. Everyone has said, relax, enjoy some you time, make the most of it etc etc. But it’s Christmas and everywhere you turn are smiling happy families and little children off having fun. The last thing you feel like doing is having some ‘me time’ at this time of year. The kids on the other hand, were absolutely thrilled at the realisation that they would be getting two Christmases and potentially two separate Santa gift deliveries. What kid wouldn’t be excited at that?! So they literally jumped into Dad’s car after a quick kiss to me. I’m happy for them and I’m happy that he finally gets to see them because I know it was hard on him not having them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

So this holiday season, appreciate your beautiful family and spare a thought for a friend who may be a little bit lonely for a few days or even longer. Call them round for a Christmas drink now, my friend did last night and it was so appreciated.

Bec

xxx

A Mumma's Christmas

A handmade decoration of baby Summer’s first bath, sure to embarrass her in years to come

Celebrate A Mumma’s Christmas with NHM we chat about how Christmas has changed for us now as Mummas compared to when we were kids. Also how do you handle Santa’s arrival? And what Mummas see special in Christmas Day, it has nothing to do with receiving gifts from loved ones and everything to do with the smiles on our children’s faces and spending time with those we treasure most!

Merry Christmas Mummas!

Love Bec and Sarge xx

Christmas looks a lot differnt for us these days as Mummas. We now realise why our own Mummas seemed so stressed all those years ago. We talk about how Christmas is differnt as a Mum, how we deal with Santa's arrival and the babes Christmas morning and what we enjoy about Christmas, none of it is about recieving either.

HOW TO: A Relaxed, Modern Christmas Day Feast with Mama-P

How about a beautiful Christmas day? Where you weren't stuck in the kitchen the whole time but everyone was raving about the modern menu with a twist of tradition?

Enter Mama-P Newcastle's coolest Mum foodie Kylie Pheils. If you're a seasoned cook (pun intended) like Bec or you're a dunce in the kitchen like Sarge there's something in this show to make your Christmas WOW. From an easy and inspiring drinks menu to creative salads and never been seen befores, this episode will leave you inspired. Even if your list of things to do is making you feel weighed down! Sponsored by The Little Unicorn Early Education Centres, Explore, Play, Discover, Grow enrol now here. 

How about a cool Christmas where you weren't stuck in the kitchen the whole time but everyone was raving about the modern menu with a twist of tradition? Enter Mama-P Newcastle's coolest Mum foodie Kylie Pheils. If you're a seasoned cook (pun intended) like Bec or you're a dunce in the kitchen like Mel there's something in this show to make your Christmas WOW.

Bec and Sarge's Christmas Meal Plans

Our next Podcast release is a special on Christmas meals and we were lucky enough to get some expert tips! So in the spirit of giving, I thought we should share our own meal plans. Now, we are certainly not experts in this but we have family traditions, tried and true so here goes!

BEC

Mum’s Famous Ham:

No matter where the ham is from, it hasn’t failed yet! Grab a half ham, score it and put cloves into the join, rub american mustard all over. Then on the stove top combine orange juice, bitter orange marmalade, brown sugar, five spice powder and baste this on your ham. Pop it in the oven until it’s cooked and keep some of your sauce to pour over later. AMAZING!

My Layered Salad:

Ok, so this isn’t my recipe but I’m famous for it in my family, and it looks sensational on the table. You can prepare it the day before and just polish it up on the day.

Bottom layer: shredded iceberg lettuce.

Next layer: Frozen peas

Next layer: Boiled eggs, pushed through a sieve, combined with chopped mushrooms

Next layer: Grated cheese

Next layer: Combined sour cream, french mustard, lemon juice, shallots and mayonnaise.

Then I would leave it and pop covered in the fridge overnight.

Next layer: Crisp, fried bacon

Next layer: Tomato wedges, sprinkle over parsley

Wolah! And so pretty!

This year, we are also doing a roast pork with crackling, because well, crackling. I’m also considering grabbing a turkey and stuffing it with a herb and pancetta homemade stuffing. Someone else is bringing dessert this year but I’m super keen to try out a peanut butter trifle I saw in the latest Coles magazine.

SARGE

Sarge plans on serving up sticks of haloumi and watermelon. I’m keen to see how these work so expecting a message on Chrissy day! She’s also on cheese platter duties and is leaving the rest up to her mum! She says she feels guilty but in true mum style, says she wants to do it!

So ladies, put the diets on hold over Christmas, the food doesn’t get much better does it!? Also, feel free to share your own meal plans, we’d love to see them!

Unexpected Exit - Newcastle's Escape Rooms

Have you tried out or even heard of the Escape Rooms? Friends and I gave it a go last week and it was 50 minutes of hilarious fun. There’s a few different rooms you can try, although a word of warning they seem to book out fairly quickly. One is meant to be almost impossible to solve and another is intended to freak you out more than be a problem solver. Think, being featured in Paranormal Activity - I gave this one a miss!

We tried out the Blast Radius room. We had 50 minutes to get ourselves out of the room we were in by cracking codes. Make sure you go there with people you like because it can be a highly frustrating 50 minutes! Overall, it’s totally worth a try!

Out of ideas for Elf on the Shelf? Try these

Elf on the Shelf keeping kid’s accountable this Christmas

Our family have started the Elf on the Shelf tradition this year.

We’ve had quite a lot of family changes, including blending families, so I thought starting some new traditions would be a good way to go to have all the kids excited about something new together. I’ve always wanted to give Elf on the Shelf a go, so this was the year!

If you don’t know what Elf on the Shelf is all about, it is based on the idea that you ‘adopt’ an Elf, and he/she reports back to the North Pole each night with the behaviours of the kids in the household. Upon his return, he is found in a cheeky pose or doing something entertaining. Basically this shows he has moved and gone back to Santa. The Elf is accompanied with a beautiful book to explain his story to your kids when you adopt him.

So we’ve done many an entertaining thing with our Elf, snow angels in flower, hanging him from all sorts of places, he’s quite the acrobat as it turns out and my kid’s love him! My biggest challenge is as a tired working mother. Most nights, I’m up late working so by the time I get into bed I’m so tired, I drag myself into bed and then think, Oh no The Elf!

That’s ok, you say, just move it in the morning. Well, if you knew what time my kids woke up you wouldn’t be saying that! I recently read a FB post that combatted that very issue. There were a whole bunch of reasons why the Elf hadn’t moved. Things like, ‘the elf thought your behaviour could have been better yesterday so decided not to report back to Santa'.

We’ve combatted this problem for you and created several threads on Facebook that you can look up to easily seek out more Elf on the Shelf ideas here are a few.

For the most part, it has been a pretty entertaining ride as an Elf mother. I’m certainly no Pinterest mum who invents amazing Elf positions, and I’ve even seen some people knitting their Elves clothes. I take my hat off to these people! I’m the person who has been screenshotting the easy and achievable Elf tricks. Because, let’s face it, copying is the best form of flattery!

If you’d like to WIN a Scout Elf from Elf on the shelf go here and follow us on Facebook to adopt an Elf for a lifetime go here or to your local Christmas shop, Westfield or selected booksellers.

Merry Elf-Mas

NHM's Top Ten Ways to Tire the Kids - AKA school holiday activities

For some of us they’re here already! Yep, day one and I’m off to see The Grinch at the movies. Slightly concerning that I’m already using up an activity on the first day. Here is my list of trusted activities that will help make the holidays fly by!

Movies:

• Ralph Break the Internet

• How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World

• Storm Boy

Physical Fun:

• Inflatable World

• Megamania or Chipmunks

• Flip Out

• Revolution

• Ten Pin Bowling

• Ice Skating

• Tree Tops

• Holy Moly putt putt golf

• Any of the awesome pools and many have cool inflatables up over the holidays

Animals:

• Hunter Valley Zoo

• Oakvale Farm

• Blackbutt

• Hunter Wetlands Centre

There are plenty of interactive things on at The Museum and each of the libraries and galleries. I also love exploring our bushland but pack the mozzie repellant!

Whatever you end up doing, we hope you have a fun, happy and safe holidays with the kids!

xx bec and sarge

Mumma Relax

Endota Spa at Newcastle, Greenhills and Kotara is inviting NHM Mumma’s to join them

We don’t mean drink a green juice and have a prefect diet. If relaxation to you is nude on the couch downing a packet of twisties with a wine in hand so be it! Whatever helps to keep that mum anxiety at bay in this crazy let’s do it all and be the best that we can and then fall in a heap culture.

In our NHM-I GOT IT FROM MY MUMMA Mumma Relax Show below thanks to The little Unicorn Early Education Centres you’ll learn easy mindfulness tricks to calm you down and gain practical advice about getting through day to day life as a Mum without feeling like you’re going to self combust.

If you lie in bed at night after the kids have gone to bed stressed out of your mind this is the show for you!

Also by listening courtesy of Australia’s leading spa network – endota, GreenHills, Kotara or Newcastle you can win a two hour endota Revive spa package. An indulgent body massage, facial and foot treatment will relieve stress and tension while hydrating your skin. Warm jade stones heal the body while jade vitality rollers invigorate the skin. Nail care and polish complete this revitalising head-to-toe treatment. Get your partner to gift you something you want this season and mention NHM for 10% off products (excluding treatments) send this link to his inbox - Endota. Hey men aren’t technical creatures, we don’t want to make it too hard.

Mumma Relax and we don't mean have a perfect diet and sip a green juice. Learn simple breathing techniques to help ease anxiety and simple mindfulness practices that will let you observe your thoughts and prevent you giving too much time to those that don't serve you.

HOW YOU CAN HELP SOMEONE OUT THIS CHRISTMAS

What if you shared your home with children who call a home a hotel room?

Christmas is a truely incredible time of the year as a mother of a loving family with beautiful healthy children and a loving supportive partner but what if that’s not your reality? What if you’ve just left a turbulent relationship where your partner was cheating on you or you were suffering abuse? What if you’d just lost a loved one, the closest person to you in your life was gone from this planet and you had to spend your first Christmas without them? This is a reality for a lot of people this Christmas. We talk about it below and what it feels like to be in this situation as well as what other people who aren’t in the situation can do to help.

We also explore the sad reality for so many children at this time of year living without an actual home and existing in the four walls of a hotel room with carers around the clock.

We talk to one mum who gave a child a forever home for Christmas and how she’s changed a little boys life. If you want to find out more about giving a child somewhere to call home visit Catholic Care. NHM- I GOT IT FROM MY MUMMA Proudly Sponsored by The Little Unicorn, at Broadmeadow, Honeysuckle and soon to be Charlestown Square discover childhood education that supports the individuality of each child and their early learning journey -  explore, play, discover grow. 

Listen to the show below or search ‘NHM- I GOT IT FROM MY MUMMA’ in your Apple Podcasts App or on Spotify.

Are you recently split up from your partner or spending Christmas alone or without your kids? You're not alone this is the case for many this Christmas. We talk about our experinces of this. And what about Children who are alone this Christmas?Every child deserves a permanent, loving and stable home for life but that's not the reality for many.