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Meet the Aussie mums making a career on social media.

Increasingly, new mums take to social media as a creative outlet while adjusting to motherhood, with some building up enough of a following to turn it into a career.

Marketers and brands know that in 2019 audiences are after authenticity, so they flock to these mums who are open and honest about their journey through motherhood – the good, the bad and the ‘insta-worthy’.

These Influencer mums do a lot more than just post cute photos of their kids; they are content creators and successful businesswomen, who share advice on pregnancy, style, health, travel and fitness. They have created a community of mums who can relate to their struggles and learn from their tips and sometimes just share in a laugh.

Here we’ve collected some of our favourite NSW and Queensland Influencers to follow for your daily dose of motherhood, fashion and travel and lifestyle inspiration.

1. @mumpacktravel

In 2016 solo mum Evie Farrell and her daughter Emmie left Australia with a backpack and a dream of spending time together. For more than two and a half years they travelled through Asia, living a completely different life to what they had at home and learning about the world beyond the suburbs. “I was working full time and trying to work out how to spend more time with Emmie,” said Evie. “As soon as I realised it was cheaper for us to travel than stay at home I started packing up.”

It was the best decision she could have made.

“This trip changed us,” said Evie. “We know each other so well now, we’ve spent so much precious time together and we have the most incredible memories.”

Evie and Emmie have been in Sydney for the past six months while they finished their book, Backyard to Backpack, all about their adventures. It’s available for preorder and is in-store from 5 August.

You can find Evie on Instagram at @mumpacktravel and at www.mumpacktravel.com

2. @theconniediaries

Connie, an entrepreneur, mother, step mother and wife living on the Central Coast NSW is passionate about the simple things in life and raising her boys simply in their coastal home town.

Connie and her family travel often in their renovated vintage caravan seeing many beautiful parts of our country. When they’re not traveling, you’ll find them having slow days around home crafting, gardening, cooking or you’ll catch them outdoors by the beach, 4×4 driving or taking a hike.

Between traveling and slow days, Connie manages her travel blog and a popular online business @thetimbatrendandfolk where her husband and herself hand make a variety of shelves for around the home.

3. @allherflowers

Elle Rampling is a photographer and mother to three girls; Audrey, Harriet and Magnolia. A recent sea change has seen Elle and her family move from an area surrounded by horses and paddocks in rural Australia to a sweet old cottage in a sleepy beach town on the Mid North Coast of NSW.

Elle is a lifestyle photographer, specialising in capturing families, but it is her sun drenched portraits of her daughters that captured the hearts of many and has seen her Instagram page, @allherflowers, grow in popularity.

Whether roaming in paddocks with their ponies or frolicking by the sea, Elle loves to capture her daughters as they explore their environment. The girls can often be found dressed in adorable matching outfits, a love Elle says she inherited from her mother, as her and her siblings always had matching outfits growing up.

4. @amothers.love

Jess Stevens is a mother of five from the Gold Coast in Queensland.  Jess became a first time mother at the age of just 16 and knew shortly after that she wanted to have a big family one day.  Fast forward 18 years and Jess has had her 5th and final baby, giving her 3 beautiful daughters and 2 sons.

Jess is also a Social Media and Lifestyle Influencer on Instagram where you can find them sharing snaps of their everyday life, items and brands they love. Jess and her children have a new love for travelling which has opened the doors to some amazing opportunities.  Jess has  only recently launched her blog where she shares with her valued followers her family friendly travels in more depth.  Watch her space for an amazing adventure coming up in October.

When Jess isn’t changing nappies, shooting content for brands or managing her socials, she likes to shop online, watch Netflix and look for that next adventure to go on with her children.

5. @bybrittanynoonan

Brittany Noonan is a mum, wife, fitness trainer and motherhood blogger from The Gold Coast, Australia.

You’ll never find anything less than her real self on her socials and blog. Brittany openly shares her struggles and low times through her mental health battles and her everyday motherhood struggles but she also shares her happiness and the things that give her joy and peace.

Brittany’s dream is that through sharing this real, unedited version of herself and her passion and knowledge for fitness and wellness, that she can inspire and help women everywhere to accept and embrace themselves and live a life they love.

Brittany is forever on a mission to find the balance between being a busy business owner, fitness lover, mother, friend and of course herself and just wants to share her experiences and to help you find that balance too.

6. @storyandco

Joanne Zammit is an educator, content creator and fashion lover who is obsessed with guiding others to find their purpose and live a life of gratitude.

Jo has an interesting story. Whether it was struggling with an unknown chronic illness for 20 years, losing her mother very suddenly the day she found out she was pregnant with her now eldest son, having degrees in marketing and primary education or being voted one of Google’s top 20 educators across Australia and New Zealand. Joanne’s goal is to help and inspire others whilst documenting her story for her children, from their mother’s perspective and as a legacy for her late mother.

Story and Co is a collection of stories, education, age old wisdom, curated interiors & fashion which Jo has learnt from her late mother, her journey as a mama and experience as a teacher- all with a healthy dose of gratitude.

Jo lives on acreage in Sydney with her Husband Adam and three children, Hunter, Archie and Evie.

7. @theorganisedhousewife

Katrina Springer is the ‘Organising and Checklist Queen’, and she is also the woman behind The Organised Housewife, one of Australia’s most popular parenting blogs.

Created nearly a decade ago, The Organised Housewife has grown into a one-stop-shop for a daily dose of domestic advice that makes life simpler, tidier, and less chaotic. Kat’s passion and skill in helping other mums create an organised home resonates deeply with her audience, which explains why nearly a million people tune in to her blog each month.

As a mother of three, Kat credits her accomplishments as an award-winning blogger, author, and celebrity ambassador to her children. Her honest and authentic approach has touched the hearts and homes of mums across the country.

This year Kat has released her first cookbook, taken home the 2019 Gold Coast Women of the Year People’s Choice Award, and been appointed Celebrity Ambassador for the Give Me 5 For Kids Campaign.

You can follow Kat on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Spiritual teacher, healer and medium, Oscar de Souza, shares why we need to acknowledge and nurture our emotions.

Experiencing emotions is our soul’s purpose, according to spiritual mentor and medium, Oscar de Souza. Honouring our emotions can also help us maintain positive relationships and manifest our desires.

We arrive here alone with nothing, and we leave alone with nothing, except the emotions we acquire, says Oscar de Souza, speaking from the Spirit Energy Centre on NSW’s Central Coast.

Acknowledging our emotions prevents us from offloading them onto others, especially our children and partners, and subsequently them rippling through society

Most excitingly, working with our emotions, rather than ignoring them, helps us manifest what we truly desire.

Despite the importance of valuing our emotions, Western society teaches us to disregard them, and worse, to feel ashamed for having them, which is not something we want to be infiltrating to our children.

The best way we can become attuned to our emotions is to observe ourselves, says Oscar. [Meditation is a great way to develop this skill.]

He says we need to be observant of the emotion that’s resonating within us, rather than being subjected to it controlling us, dominating us, and enticing us to act out.

Oscar’s been told by his guides, “Emotions are variable frequencies of energy operating simultaneously”, which is why some people can feel various emotions at the same time.

Oscar says, “The simplest form to expand the neurological system of the conscious brain to be able to harness, access and be attentive to the energy that resonates within us that’s constantly, forever fluctuating, is to first observe our mind, observe ourselves and not be puppets on a string.”

If we acknowledge our emotions, even understand why we feel that way, and to honour them, we are less likely to be puppeted by them and lash out at others. Unfortunately, those we love are often the first to be hit by our emotional releases.

“Instead of articulating what we’re feeling, we’re often being controlled by what they’re feeling”

Oscar explains a typical household scenario:

“The husband (or wife) comes home stressed. They’re going to be communicating on that level of emotion. We’re not usually observant and noticing these emotions inside. We don’t decide to calm them down or be attentive to them, so we don’t impose them on our children or each other (we don’t impose them consciously, we don’t even know they’re doing it).

“We get home, our own fuse is already at the end of its tether. Perhaps we’ve been treated badly at work, there’s traffic, bills, expenses, and then we have to clean, cook, wash up … it’s all putting you on edge.

“It’s then easy to turn around to your child and say, ‘Turn off that machine!’ or ‘Get off that computer!’

“Now, that child foremostly heard “Bang!”.

“Secondly, the words that were spoken.

“Months later our child speaks to us that way and we wonder why.

“We have just been puppeted by our emotions. We are all guilty of that.

“Everyone gets puppeted, and the problem is we indirectly, and even innocently, jab that pain and stress that we’re feeling onto the other person.

“So, it becomes a virus because that person jabs another person with it and it just swims through society.”

The more we understand our emotions, we’re less likely to be subjugated by them, and will be able to articulate in language by talking about them.

“People don’t want to say to their partner they’re feeling a bit insecure and feel like their energy is no longer connected to them,” Oscar says.

“Rather than asking questions based on this, such as ‘Do you want to do more things in life without me?’ we tend to brew, be fearful, and then start to fish … ‘What did you do today? Who were you with?’ or even go through their phone, which just makes people feel violated.

“Emotions people have shouldn’t control their dialect or behaviour, but moreso be a language to the brain to go this is what’s resonating, let’s attend to it.”

Oscar says it’s even worse for men as they have been conditioned to not feel or show their emotions, “don’t cry, suck it up”. “Poor men innocently have been trapped into a void that is not natural,” he says.

“And women, being intuitive, are hit with a brick wall when they try to broach this. They feel a storm inside, they feel fear, they feel confusion.

“The man’s like, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and it takes a while for them to process.”

Oscar says the consciousness of femininity and the consciousness of masculinity is the concept of Yin and Yang. We all have that in us, whether we are male or female.

Some are slightly off balance, some have more of either.

“Men need to start being more intuitive, talking about their emotions, listening to their inner self, not being just driven by the mind.”

“I can’t say that women now need to start applying the male consciousness because unfortunately 2000 years of male dominance, a patriarchal system, means women have already had to assimilate the masculine consciousness within themselves. But men are yet to assimilate the feminine consciousness within themselves.”

Not only can honouring our emotions be great in maintaining more harmonious relationships and averting the ‘virus’ of offloading onto others, they can help us manifest what we want in our lives.

The effect of our emotions was explored through the water experiments conducted by Japanese author and pseudoscientist, Masuru Emoto, whose work demonstrated how the sentiment of a word, which is energy, can affect the molecular structure of water. Keeping in mind we’re made up of about 78 per cent of water, words said to us can impact us strongly.

“If our thoughts (sentiments) on a piece of paper affects water, imagine we have that thought going over and over in our brain, ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not good enough. Life is shit. Life is shit,’” says Oscar.

People are not only putting that energy back into their whole water aspect and altering the energy there, they’re emitting it into the future, so naturally start to have those experiences; and it’s a vicious cycle.

When we realise the energy that resonates within us, the energy we’re emitting, the thoughts that carry it, we can stop causing that ripple effect.

Affirmations, prayer, spells, incantations, are effective when we feel the word, when we mean it and we say it with sentiment, says Oscar.

If we’re panicking on the inside and reading this word, then fear becomes the dominant emotion.

“The key is, when we do feel afraid, we comfort ourselves, ‘It’s ok, I’m afraid,’ that’s ok,” he says.

“Once we acknowledge it, we can move from there but when we’re fighting against it that it’s not going anywhere, so it helps to acknowledge the fear and where it came from. What experiences have led me to have this fear?

“When we know what caused this, ok it’s failed relationships that make us afraid of falling in love again, for example, it’s not so dominant in our psychology or our energy.”

Oscar advises writing down an affirmation in our own handwriting because our brain will absorb it much better.

We should then read it out aloud at least 20 times with no intention just to read it out so that the wording becomes familiar to the brain, so you know what you’re using.

And then our focus can be feeling each word.

For example, when someone says, “I love you,” it feels different when they really mean it. Quite often we want others to say it, but we rarely look in the mirror and say it to ourselves, it’s quite confrontational. And it’s the most important thing.

Have you ever been in a situation that is so out of the ordinary that you can’t help but laugh, even if it might be serious? This story from Ben Tari is about the bizarre real-life experience of donating sperm to help a lesbian friend become pregnant.

I try to catch his eye to acknowledge the bizarreness of the ordeal, but without luck. There is no camaraderie. This is serious business.

“Well if he can’t make it happen, at least you know mine works!” It was crude but we laughed, as friends do. Then my three kids blurred past in a cacophony of squeals and Nerida’s smile faded.

“Actually,” she said, “would you consider it?”

So now I’m on the 17th floor of a grey building in the city, in a waiting room surrounded by cream furniture and smoky glass, filling out paperwork about who can access my frozen sperm. The receptionist is appropriately professional, armed with a vocab that avoids words that could make the situation seem dirty, however, the repetition of the word ‘deposit’ makes me chuckle inside. The couple opposite seem earnest; I can tell they’ve been here before by the way they breeze through the forms. I try to catch his eye to acknowledge the bizarreness of the ordeal, but without luck. There is no camaraderie. This is serious business.

It all seems quite surreal and I can’t wipe the goofy grin off my face.

I’m handed a room key. It’s a chunky white plastic paddle with a red number one on it. Like a toilet key from a trendy cafe, so no one can walk in on each other. The nurse also hands me a specimen jar that seems kind of small, but I accept the challenge.

The ‘deposit’ room is a cross between a bathroom and a small hotel room. Except instead of a bed, there is a slick leather recliner like a dentist’s chair. It’s covered in paper towelling. There is a bright white sink next to which a stainless steel rubbish bin sparkles. There are two thick black folders of porn; one straight, one gay. A sizeable flat-screen telly looms on the wall in front of the recliner. The tilt of the chair and screen placement makes it like a cockpit but I decide against using the chair; there’s no need to mess up the place or have to clean. My aim is true. I screw the lid on and leave with a final glance to make sure I’ve covered my tracks; like a cat burying the evidence.

I see humour and wonder in the undertaking but I’m beginning to see that most cannot afford this luxury.

The corridor is lit supermarket-style, making me squint. I’m light-headed from the endorphins buzzing through my system as I lurch up to a sliding window and press the buzzer. A chirpy scientist in a lab coat smiles and offers to take my sample after signing more documents. It all seems quite surreal and I can’t wipe the goofy grin off my face. It’s way too early after a sexual act to be asked serious questions. The scientist can see my amusement. She rides a fine line between professionalism and a knowing smile. Her hair in a tight bun, serious glasses low on her nose and her doctor-esque outfit all combine to recreate a character out of the Black Label Penthouse I’d been gawking at a minute ago. Interestingly, I feel an overwhelming need to be held. And maybe chuckle. In a place that’s catered for everything necessary to procure my semen, is intimacy too much to ask?

For us, getting pregnant is about letting it happen and not getting in the way. The fertility clinic is the exact opposite.

Next week we have to go to counselling, my wife and I, where doubtless we will be asked many uncomfortable what if questions. We joke that Nerida is around so often at our house that the kid will believe they’re one of ours anyway; just another in the constant parade of ragamuffins. It’s going to be okay. For us, getting pregnant is about letting it happen and not getting in the way. The fertility clinic is the exact opposite. It conspires and calculates and demands that every personal detail be scrutinised, from ovulation cycles to sperm stalk numbers. All at a hefty price. I find it tricky to take the clinic seriously. Nerida finds it tricky to get pregnant. I see humour and wonder in the undertaking but I’m beginning to see that most cannot afford this luxury.

Author Ben Tari is a writer, actor, teacher and father of three. He gets his mojo from the power of stories and often finds humour in odd places.

Sue and husband Lee, from Melbourne, have been foster carers with MacKillop Family Services for two and a half years. They talk about their experience and the benefits of being foster carers, and how it has enriched life for their family and the community.

Between them, Sue and Lee have five children of their own, and friends thought they were taking on too much when they said that they were going to be foster carers, but Sue says the family has benefited so much from the experience.

Sharing their home with kids in foster care has enriched life for everyone in this family.

“It’s not about what you give, it’s all about what you get back”, insists foster carer Sue McLaughlin.

Sue and husband Lee, from Melbourne, have been foster carers with MacKillop Family Services for two and a half years, providing a safe and nurturing home for babies and toddlers.

Between them, Sue and Lee have five children of their own, and friends thought they were taking on too much when they said that they were going to be foster carers, but Sue says the family has benefited so much from the experience,

“With four teenagers and one nine-year-old, foster care is a team effort with everyone pitching in and helping with the babies. Our kids have learned a great deal from opening their home to other children,

“They absolutely love having the babies to stay. It’s been such a positive experience for us and it’s taught the kids a lot about the wider world. We share age appropriate information with them about each little one that arrives, they understand that sometimes people need support and that’s why we are caring for the babies.”

“With four teenagers and one nine-year-old, foster care is a team effort with everyone pitching in and helping with the babies. Our kids have learned a great deal from opening their home to other children”

Sue and Lee sat down and discussed how foster care works with their children before starting foster care training and she believes it has been hugely educational for them,

“Our kids are an enormous help to me and the babies just love it when they come from school as their big brothers and sisters are there to play. Some days I say to them, ‘Guys, I couldn’t have done this without you today.’ They just want to keep them all forever, but we talk about how we have the babies for a short time and it’s our job to keep them safe and as happy as possible in that time.”

Over the last two years, Sue and Lee have looked after two young children since they were six weeks and eighteen months old as well as providing emergency and respite care for other babies and toddlers when needed.

Sue’s kids have also become advocates for foster care among their friends and at their schools,

“They see the babies as their brothers or sisters but are also quick to tell people that we are a foster family. They are happy to explain to some of their friends who have not had any experience of foster care what it is all about and why there is a need. I am so proud that they are growing into compassionate people who have empathy for others and understand that people can experience difficult times in their lives.”

Sue’s kids have also become advocates for foster care among their friends and at their schools.

Children need homes for all sorts of reasons, sometimes it is respite care to give parents a break, sometimes parents are ill or in hospital and unable to look after their children. There are also situations where children may have been abused or neglected because the children are in a domestic and family violence situation.

Foster carers can be single, retired, studying or working and can rent or own their own homes. There are also many types of foster care. Care can be for a weekend, a few weeks, a few months or even years. Foster carers can choose the type of care that suits them.

MacKillop Family Services provides practical support to carers to support them to support the child. Intensive and ongoing training provides carers with a specific insight into caring for children who have experienced trauma. MacKillop also operates an after-hours service so carers can call for support 24 hours a day.

Babies, children and young people need all sorts of different homes, so if foster care is something that could work for you or your family, contact MacKillop Family Services who will help you work through the steps to become an accredited foster carer.

For more information, visit https://www.mackillop.org.au/

Is being a mum the hardest job in the world? Stay-at-home dads are starting to say no!

The stay-at-home dads are rising: statistics from the census data show a 38 per cent increase in the number of full-time fathers between 2006 and 2018, increasing from 57 000 to 80 000. This now accounts for 4.6% of couple families with children.

 

Institute Director Anne Hollonds tells the ABC, These stay-at-home fathers are a diverse group including dads with ill-health, a disability or who are out of work, as well as those choosing to stay home to care for children.” She adds, “Compared to mothers at home, stay-at-home dads tend to be older, with older children.”

But are these numbers enough to change traditional family roles?

Compared to the 80 000 unconventional fathers, there are still 298 900 stay-at-home mothers. Things are changing – but only at a snail’s pace.

Dr Jennifer Baxter, a senior research fellow at the Institute, notes that, “We still do have very strong gender stereotypes around caring that no doubt do make it difficult for some dads.” When considering the, “enjoyment and status and stimulation from work,” both women and males receive, she continues, “…we don’t necessarily expect to see massive increases in dads taking a really long time out of work to care for children.”

The stereotype of men being the main breadwinners is accompanied by financial obstacles such as the 23 per cent gender pay gap, as well as an increase in families where both parents work. 

Many just aren’t in a position to change the status quo.

Professor Rae Cooper, co-director of the Women, Work and Leadership Research Group, acknowledges in the same interview that, …unfortunately, things are still moving very, very slowly and are not catching up with our attitudes and our hopes and dreams about what we can access at work.”

Dr Baxter turns to the promotion of employment policies for long-term change. She explains these could reduce working hours for fathers and provide greater flexibility. Optimistically, these could one day see a shared role in caregiving and the true rise of the stay-at-home dads.

Cockatoo Island was a wonderful find – a local adventure for my family.

Set in the middle of Sydney Harbour, Cockatoo Island is easy to visit with frequent ferries, yet feels removed from a city environment.

Cockatoo Island is a wonderful, easy getaway for families to experience glamping under the night’s sky. This is so much fun for kids!

Surprisingly, it was a relaxing and tranquil environment, as well as a unique experience in which we learnt about the Island’s rich heritage, having been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, for its important place in Australia’s colonial development involving aboriginal, convicts and World War II history.

There were fun things to do as a family, including tennis, giant chess and a fascinating audio tour of the Island’s heritage.

But, probably the best part for us was glamping! We hadn’t been camping before (mainly due to my lack of practical resources to make it happen!), so this option was so convenient and enjoyable.

We got cosy in a spacious and kit-out tent, which comprised two separate bedrooms, a family room and and a small outdoor deck. Waterfront.

The beds were comfortable and everything had been thought of including an esky, lamp, snug, holiday chairs and tables.

There is also a cinema experience and opportunity to toast marshmallows by a campfire in traditional camping style.

While this was all great fun, I really relished the stay in their 1916-colonial style apartments. These were so romantic, maintained in sync with the colonial style, yet offered all the conveniences I have become used to – heating and fans, a modern kitchen, TV, lovely BBQ, deck and patio area and loads of space!

Cockatoo Island frequently offers events and exhibitions. For more information visit www.cockatooisland.gov.au/events