If you are tearing your hair out with the weather and the kids are already driving you potty then you might want to try doing something different.
When life isn't going smoothly it can be really easy to grumble and moan about everything that is going wrong, or getting on your nerves, but never actually doing anything about it. (And then guess what things get even worse).
I know I am guilty of this sometimes. Sometimes it is because we are stuck and just can not decide on the best course of action to take. Sometimes it is just because we quite enjoying doing the victim thing.
Often we will seek the advice and support of friends who will share their solutions and observations of the situation, which we then completely ignore and carry on talking about our latest problem.
And if you are the one on the receiving end of the grumbling, how frustrating is that!
Perspective and objectivity is a great thing and we all possess it but not about ourselves.
So if something is getting you down or irritating you try taking a step back and tackling the problem in a different way.
Still stuck - then talk to a friend or a close family member and ask how they see the problem.
Listen to what they say and rather than disregard it with the familiar yes...... but.....syndrome, see how perhaps you can take some, or all of their wise words and use it.
You never know you might not get what you have always got but something different and a lot better.
Now I am off to take my own advice.
Labels: busy mothers, happy kids, keeping kids busy
This blog continues the adventures of Woody and Jessie rabbit.
Initially my girls spent their pocket money on buying the rabbits, rabbit toys from the local pet shop. They were regularly bathed and brought in the house and played with, much to my consternation.
They also invested in rabbit leads. However these were not very successful as the rabbits managed to chew through them.
In fact the rabbits managed to chew through quite a lot of things including the flowers and the back of an old sofa which we kept in our family room. Even so I found myself becoming quite fond of these little rogues.
Woody had quite a temper on him and would enjoy picking up his china bowl with his mouth and throwing it around. Whether it was this particular occupation - or his diet - I don't know, but I seemed forever to be taking him to the vets to have his nails and teeth clipped. Apparently it is not uncommon for rabbits teeth to become dangerously long. (Fortunately Jessie was not suffering with this particular affliction - just the continuing gammy eye).
One time I had noticed not only were Woody's teeth very long but he seemed to be getting rather thin.
To summarise the prognosis, Woody had an
abscess on his gum and our local vet told me that any operation to remove this (as it was in the rabbits jaw) would be
unsuccessful and lead to a lot of suffering for the rabbit. I was told that Woody should be put to sleep.
Now as I said - I am not a great fan of rabbits, but this little chap seemed in quite good spirits jumping round the garden, despite being a bit on the thin side. So Woody had his teeth cut short yet again and I went away to have a think about what was the best thing to do.
Well thank goodness for the
Internet. I did hours of research and finally found a famous rabbit vet, just twelve miles from where we lived. This vet had written books on
veterinary rabbit stuff, and even had a rabbit operating table at her practice.
Woody was seen and given a quite different prognosis. She told me that she would not be able to remove all of the
abscess, but she could lance it. Rabbits she told me live very successfully in the wild with
abscesses in their mouths. She also suggested we had Woody's front teeth removed.
That was three years ago. My old vet was sceptical about the whole thing and just refers to him as the miracle rabbit. Woody does need his food or special treats like carrots to be cut up or even pureed -but apart from that seems quite happy. He often comes up and gives us a lick or sometimes you can see him sucking on the odd plant, but apart from that being toothless has not affected him one bit.
As for the girls -well they have long since lost interest in Jessie and Woody and regard them as a bit of a chore. So now most of the time there is 50/50 split of me and the girls looking after them. Yes I know I should be stricter and have made them take responsibility for them but sometimes you just have to stick to fighting the big battles and lose a few of the small furry ones.
So if rabbits are not really your thing - I would steer well clear of getting one. They are cute, cuddly and adorable but also in our case have been very expensive, time consuming and they live quite a long time! And sadly if you are like me you will grow very attached to them even if rabbits are not quite your thing.
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Labels: busy mothers, childrens pets, looking after pets, pet care, pet rabbits, pets corner, rabbit care
I have just sent out my monthly Busy Mums Bulletin. It is always an opportunity to have a think and try and put something which I think people like me may find useful and informative.
I thought it might be useful to put this excerpt into my the Busy Mums Blogg - for my entry today. You never know someone somewhere with a problem may find it a good way of tackling something which to date they have drawn a blank with.
I was once away at sales conference and speaking to a very successful man. And when I say successful - he seemed very financially successful to me, but more importantly, successful in the personal sense. He was self assured with clear personal values and integrity. Someone who I had a real sense of admiration for on many levels.
This prompted me to ask him what was his secret of success. He said to me "Recognise that every problem has not one solution but many - it will open up your life"
I have always remembered that and I really do now try hard to adopt that philosphy, when I come up against some problem or challenge.
I write down the problem and then all of the solutions I can think of. It does not matter how stupid or outrageous the solutions are - I write them down anyway.
I am not quite sure what happens - but this somehow seems to open up another creative window in my mind and from that appears even more solutions I had not thought of before. The end result, is a path I had not considered, or a "combination solution" which I would not have thought of, if I had not taken these steps. I owe that man a big thank you for his advice.
So next time you have a problem or challenge. It does not matter what area of your life it is - it could be work, relationships, money, or your family....
Try it - it works.
Labels: busy mothers, busy mums, busymums, coaching, parentcoaching, parenting tips, problem solving, school holidays parents, solutions to problems
