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This is a crazy time and it's a good time to STOP and see where you're at. Check in with yourself. This blog is called 'The Over-r-whelm' for a reason! ;)

I recently tried a new healing exercise, EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique, otherwise known as 'tapping' and I had to share it. You can do this for even 5 minutes and you'll notice a huge difference in your breathing and posture quickly. It's super for kids and adults of any age so while you've got a bit more time than normal, give it a test drive.

Ok actually, this is how to get your family to eat eggplant! It's a beautiful aubergine coloured vegetable and generally kids don't like the looks of it. It can be bitter and chewy and rather unappetising. On the other hand, they're healthy and hey, we're meant to eat a rainbow of food and there aren't many other purple veggies!

I recommend getting your kids to help in the kitchen because when they see what goes into it, I've found they're more than likely to at least give it a test drive and try it too.

What a crazy time it is right now. Country by country we're going into lockdown and being told to isolate in our homes to stay safe. We're being told to social distance and not touch each other, in other words to detach and disconnect. No one could have predicted this (except Bill Gates in his amazing 2014 TED talk) and it's more far fetched than the weirdest science-fiction movie we could imagine. Is all hope lost?

Everything in the world has changed. How do we keep our families happy and healthy and keep putting one foot in front of the other? Well, we just do.

We all need to be realistic and vigilant and re-frame the situation. We need to be positive for our kids and ourselves and know that ... this too shall pass. The sooner we all take action and stay safe with our families, the sooner we can go back to many freedoms.

So in the meantime, what do we do?

I first heard Sarah Blondin on her podcast called 'Live Awake'. Her voice is calm, relaxed and almost meditative. I'm sharing her with you as she has so much to say that we all need to listen to. We all need to take 5, put our feet up and give ourselves a break and what better way then for Sarah to share her open letter to the women of this world. Go on and give yourself that one thing you can control, time, and tap into your inner strength that is there. Then watch the magic unfold.

I love helping out at my child's school whether it's in the canteen or sitting one-on-one with kids going over their timetables. I do this because the school asks for volunteers, my son likes it when I help and the icing on the cake - I get to feel amazing knowing I've done my part and have a little taste of his school world. Being a parent is fulfilling on many levels.

Allergic reactions are scary. Jasper had an anaphylaxis episode when he was only 14 months and meant to be napping. He wouldn't go to sleep and wouldn't settle. He was red and blotchy and I knew right away it was an allergic reaction.

I recently spent a weekend with a girlfriend and her daughters as one of them is battling an illness and they needed a helping hand. It was so nice to be able to step up and help leaving my family to fend for themselves. It was wonderful to join in the routine and activities of another family and forget about myself. My girlfriend is pretty much a single mum raising her daughters to the best of her ability on a tight shoestring budget. It was amazing to see how far she stretches a dollar and the experience was a real eye opener for me.

There are so many learning opportunities to teach our kids independence and help them stand on their own two feet and school lunches are no exception.

In our house, when you start high school, you're on your own!

Every year I pick an overall theme for the year and have a different focus each month. I set the themes of the 12 months of the new year before it ...

Earlier this year, my son’s first month of starting school was off to a brilliant start. Within a few weeks he had a new best friend, he had not lost his school jumper (yet!) and every day he was eating a variety of healthy sandwiches that were packed each morning into his lunchbox. I should have known that things were going too well and I was being lured into a false sense of parent contentment!

As i get older, I’m learning to embrace imperfection and know that life is a journey and not everything always ‘works out’.