I like it Rough.

Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.

Does anyone ever sync youtube through the sound system and blare random playlists whilst they clean the house?? I love doing this - some of the most random songs ever always make an appearance!

Today, I cleaned the walls (among other things). Probably the most tedious task ever, so I researched ways to make it easier/more exciting than simply scrubbing the walls with a sponge doused in sugar soap...

Want to know the easy way to clean walls? Read on! :)

• First, dust the walls so you're not smearing the specs of dead skin and other gross stuff all over the place. Dry dust is one thing, but it's significantly more annoying once it gets wet!
• Then, grab a magic eraser block thing. These are one of the best inventions since the mobile phone! Follow the eraser directions and scrub at the more stubborn marks such as texta, handprints, scuff marks, etc. 
• Next up, you can go one of two ways. You can either fill a bucket with water and multipurpose cleaner and use a cloth to wipe down the walls, or you can buy a refill pack of those dettol floor cleaner things and use those to clean the walls! I went with the latter today because I wanted it to be as easy as possible! 
• Once you've finished cleaning the walls, grab some dryer sheets (I was fortunate to have a friend send me a bunch of awesome smelling ones - shame I don't have a dryer!) and wipe the walls and skirting boards. (you know, that wood that runs along the bottom of the wall?) These, as I discovered during my research, help REPEL dust, meaning you wont have to clean as often! YAY! (I'll report back on whether or not this is actually true.)
• Once you've completed your wall cleaning duties, grab your (clean) mop, a glass of wine, and crank some tunes to dance to whilst you admire your clean walls before unleashing your spawn to dirty them once more.

I am currently up to the last step. I bought myself a lovely bottle of red for mothers day and felt it necessary to 'test' the wine before sharing it with others tomorrow. ;)

Today's Playlist: (sample)
Three Days Grace - Pain
Hilary Duff - Chasing the Sun
David Guetta ft. Ne-Yo & Akon - Play Hard <--best cleaning song ever.
Ke$ha - The Harold Song
Andy Grammer - Honey, I'm Good
Hilary Duff - All About You
Christina Perri - Human
Go Comet! - Worlds Apart

This was similar to my actions earlier, lol.

Lunchbox Inspiration.

Every day, Spawn takes lunches to school that not only meet our needs (no additives, refined sugar, minimal gluten) but also the schools needs (no eggs, fish, kiwi, nuts). Being a single mum, I cannot afford to buy expensive pre-packaged food that meets our requirements - and finding such items is almost impossible anyway - so I make it all myself. Don't get me wrong: sometimes Spawn's lunch consists of nothing more than a carrot, a couple of mushrooms, a piece of fruit, and rice crackers with vegemite.... But most days I'm able to pull some stuff out of the freezer and give him an awesome lunch! It all comes down to how great your time management skills are, and how organised you can be.

I bet you're wondering what, exactly, does Spawn eat every day??? I'm blessed with a child who loves to eat healthy and knows that "too much sugar makes me silly, mummy!" He loves raw vegetables, which makes my life easier, so I just prep a heap of stuff once a week and pack his lunchbox the night before with delicious, healthy, homemade goodies from the freezer (or fridge, depending).

I see so many mothers complaining about being time poor, but it's really not that difficult - I dedicate an hour or two most weekends to meal prep, and then spend five minutes (max) each night packing Spawn's lunch.

Personally, I believe it to be worth it. Not cheating and giving Spawn packaged stuff (or boring sandwiches) means he is happier, calmer and more satisfied, as he loves eating his delicious lunches! Given his behavioural issues, I'm all for anything that helps keep him from having a full-blown meltdown!

So here we go. Below are some yumbox examples, and I've mentioned the things I make myself: some of these recipes can be found on my blog. We also use a 'regular' lunchbox when I'm too lazy to do the dishes, and Spawn enjoys rummaging for the good stuff on those days. ;)

Peace out. 

- L. x

Grilled chicken, anti-LCM..

Chicken Sausage rolls, homemade tzatziki..

Pizza scrolls (gluten free), muesli bar..

Rice paper rolls, dried fruit muesli bar..

Chicken pasta, hummus, banana & fig cookie..