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Thankful for Car Safety Made Easy

March 1st, 2012 | Posted by Sara in Life | Thankful Thursday | Uncategorized - (2 Comments)

Before Worm came into our lives I can honestly say that I gave little thought to car safety. I should clarify, I always wear a seat belt & check my tyre tread regularly, but apart from that the fact that our car has airbags or crumple zones didn’t really mean much to me.

However from the first drive home with Worm (4 hours to the farm) all of a sudden these things became critically important to me.The health & well-being of my child, my husband & myself became paramount.

Since 1993 ANCAPS has conducted safety checks on over 380 new vehicles, the vehicles are given a star rating based on the level of safety they provide in the event of a car crash. Factors such as airbags, electronic braking systems, seatbelts and others combine, and cars are awarded or deducted points based on the results of these tests. All cars are subject to the same rounds of testing, which is conducted at 64km per hour. Observations are also made on the displacement of dummies during the crash, as well as the structural impact on the vehicles occupant compartment.

The ANCAPS ratings in a nutshell are really easy to read – the more stars the better. In fact occupants of a car with a 1 star rating have twice the chance of being killed or seriously injured in a crash compared to those in a 5 star car. This fact alone amazed me! After reading the materials I went searching on the ANCAPS website for our cars rating.

I was very pleased to discover that our car a 2007 Subaru Outback (with safety pack) achieved a 5 star rating. The report was very comprehensive and I was particularly excited to see that the Outback reached a total of 35.52 points – the highest scoring vehicle assessed by Australian NCAP for that year.

To check out how your car measured up, or to help you decide the next car you purchase I highly recommend checking out the ANCAPS website and using that information to make your decision.

You can check out the ANCAP website here: www.ancap.com.au, and the campaign Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/ANCAP-CRASH-TESTING.

This is a very important message so I would appreciate you sharing it via your networks.

What are your concerns about car safety? Have you used the ANCAPS ratings to make your decision before?

This post links in with Kate Says Stuff for Thankful Thursday – Please pop over & check out the other thankful posts today.

You can check out the ANCAP website here: www.ancap.com.au, and the campaign Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/ANCAP-CRASH-TESTING. 

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Sleep deprivation is torture.

February 28th, 2012 | Posted by Sara in Being a mum | Life - (33 Comments)

Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, it was used in times of war & is now being used in Australia.

Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel from 1977–83, described his experience of sleep deprivation as a prisoner of the NKVD in Russia as follows:
“In the head of the interrogated prisoner, a haze begins to form. His spirit is wearied to death, his legs are unsteady, and he has one sole desire: to sleep… Anyone who has experienced this desire knows that not even hunger and thirst are comparable with it.” Source: Begin, Menachem (1979). White nights: the story of a prisoner in Russia. San Francisco: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-010289-6


Sound familiar to anyone out there?
I’m not entirely sure what I have done to deserve this torture, but I’m sure having a baby 7 months ago has something to do with it.


Recently nights have been particularly challenging. We have moved the Worm into her own room, after 7 months of her having a cot next to my bed she now has the space, colour & noises of her own place in our house.

I admit that I wasn’t expecting the move to go perfectly easy, worm hasn’t slept particularly well since Christmas, when my lovely waking up once baby was replaced with a baby who wakes up 3-4 times a night. I shouldn’t complain as I know lots of people have that sort of disrupted sleep from day 1.

My nights used to consist of this: solids meal at 5. Followed by a bath. Milk feed around 6 & baby in bed at 6.30ish. I’m not a strict routine follower but most nights we stick to that system. Prior to Christmas it worked nicely, it meant that the Farmer & I got adult time after 7 & we were all in bed by 10.30.

More recently though the nights are much harder, Worm in bed at 6.30, crys, calls & worms around her cot, the farmer & I let her be until she gets upset then we go in. I usually offer more milk, a cuddle & then back to bed with a pat. 20120227-222007.jpgBy 8.30 she is usually asleep, she then wakes for a feed at 10.30, 1,3,5& 7. My perfect baby who fed at 10,3&7 is a distant memory.
Last night I was the worst in a long time, I sat on the floor of her room from 9-11 getting her to sleep. Then from 1-2 & again from 3-5.30. I eventually gave up at 5.40 (knowing we had a big day of travel ahead of us) and I took her back onto our room. I kicked the farmer out of our bed & Worm & I snuggled in together.
Bliss, I was able to sleep from 6-7.30 (actually now I have written it like that it sounds even more terrible!)

As I write this I am on a plane. Worm is snuggled in tight sleeping I close my eyes but sleep won’t come.

What are your techniques for functioning on minimal sleep? Have you ever done anything really stupid as an effect of sleep deprivation?

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The Amish Project

February 10th, 2012 | Posted by Sara in Being a mum | Life - (8 Comments)

I was watching Sunrise the other morning when they were interviewing a man from Chicago about ‘The Amish Project’. This man completely disconnected himself from his phone, email & social media for 90 days in an attempt to begin to ‘live’ again.

It has me thinking. What would I do without technology. Would I cope? I have at least 3 separate systems within hands reach of me right now. All set up to access the Internet, Twitter, Facebook. My friends are text message away. My 6 month old child already reaches for my phone when she thinks I’m not being interesting enough or if I’m chatting to someone rather than playing with her.

What kind of example am I setting her? She is growing up in an age where technology surrounds us 24/7. So her need & desire for connection will be engrained in her DNA instantly.

I mentioned in my 30 by 30 that I wanted to have 30 tech free days this year. I honestly thought this would be easy, it has been far from it. Sure I’ve had days with minimal tech, days when we are out of the house, chatting to real people. The month before Christmas when I was in Sydney & surrounded by real people was fantastic. Sure I blogged & tweeted but at a much lower rate than usual.

I am a stay at home mum in a small country town, I have friends here & I enjoy catching up with them however the hours where I am trapped inside my house with a baby who can’t hold a conversation yet. The hours when I should be cleaning, cooking or trying to make my home a better place. These hours are the hardest. When my husband goes to work and I am all alone.

Some days I’m so jealous of the Farmer for getting to leave the house, he stresses about providing for the family, he stresses about paying the bills, keeping his job, developing the business, keeping me happy. I have no stress, my only job is to keep the baby safe, happy & healthy, yet there are days I struggle. Some days it feels like the only contact I have with the outside world is via social media networks. I know I am exaggerating a little here – I can pick up the phone and arrange a walk with friends, I can call real people for a chat, however sometimes the best friends that a stay at home mum can have actually live on the other side of the country.

But what example is this?! I need to focus more on the moments I am experiencing. Focusing more on the child I am raising, not on how bored I am sitting at home. I need to encourage her to be more active, to help her develop, to play & to learn.

So I am making a commitment to my child. I commit to locking up my phone (in the freezer, car, or whatever it takes), for at least 2 hours each day. I will do this when she is awake, limiting my technology access times to when she is sleeping. This is the minimum commitment, it can’t hurt. I will read more books, tidy my garden, play with her during her awake time. This is my commitment.

Do you have ‘rules’ regarding your technology access time?

The Giving Bowl

February 9th, 2012 | Posted by Sara in Giveaways | Life | Thankful Thursday - (11 Comments)

Today I am thankful that there are people in the world who continually strive to make it a better place. People like Cate Bolt who despite their own struggles, challenges, successes & victories still keep the less fortunate in mind.

Cate was diagnosed with a condition in 2011 which has caused her eyesite to deteriorate. Her first thought was not ‘Woe is Me’ it was more along the lines of “what can I do despite my condition”. With this in mind Cate has taught herself to crochet with her eyes shut, she is still making the most beautiful blankets and selling them to support an orphanage in Indonesia that she established in 2010.

Cate’s most recent project is “The Giving Bowl” an international campaign for incidental altruism – or put simply, giving without going without. The concept is simple – buy a bowl, throw your spare change in it each day and when it’s full – donate the coins to your favourite charity or cause.

I know that my husband often has pockets full of change, that we periodically count up & put back into our bank account to pay bills. We don’t miss the money that lives in the draw for months, we make ends meet without it, and when we do find the time to count it up we are often surprised at the amount that is simply lying around.

Cate has produced the most beautiful Bowls that she is selling through her Esty store. The profits from the purchase of your Giving Bowl go to Foundation 18’s humanitarian projects in Indonesia, providing education, health care, food and clean drinking water to children at risk.

I would like to offer my readers a chance to have their own Giving Bowl, I haven’t purchased it yet, as I want the winner to be able to pick their own colour & design from The Giving Bowl Etsy store. I will order it when the winner decides what they would like.

The entry process is easy – Head over to The Giving Bowl on Facebook & “like” it then leave a comment below telling me what charity or cause you would donate the proceeds of your Giving Bowl too.

The fine print: The Competition will close on the 16th of February 2012, winner will be advised via email that night & has 48 hours to reply to my email otherwise it will be re-drawn. This is a random draw. I am the promoter of this competition & I alone am responsible for getting the bowl to the winner.

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I’m not here…..

January 14th, 2012 | Posted by Sara in Guest Post | Life - (Comments Off)

I’m not here today, yes I know it’s a Saturday & I’m rarely here on Saturday’s but today is special.

I’m not here today because I’m guest posting for Nathalie at Easy Peasy Kids.

Click here to learn about my biggest fear of all time.

Thanks Nathalie for letting me play at your place today.


Easy Peasy Kids