How Sport Makes our Family Stronger + an Amazing Comp

By Robyna on August 30, 2016

This post is sponsored by Bupa.

Being a sports fan is new to me. It wasn’t big in my own family but it was huge in my husband’s. A family of basketball stars and football fanatics. Now we are growing our own. Our seven year old is obsessed with soccer and is a keen lover of AFL and NRL. Our three year old has a knack for winning the family tipping competition. Yep, we are part of an extended family that runs a footy tipping competition. The kind of family where my husband helps coach the kid’s soccer team. The kind of family that holds season passes. The kind of family where sport is important.

Not just playing it but watching it, discussing it and being excited by it. Barracking for our favourite teams and going to games as a family. It’s part of our household DNA. What makes us us. Read more…

How to protect your loved ones when the worst happens

By Robyna on March 29, 2016

This post is generously sponsored by Firths,The Compensation Lawyers. It does not constitute legal or financial advice and you should always seek expert, personal assistance when deciding on your financial matters.

Economic independence has always been important to me. I found employment the moment I was old enough to hold a job. I remember my first pay cheque and the extraordinary realisation that I had the capacity to support myself. There was empowerment in that moment. It may have been all of $50 but I felt the richest person in the world.

Fast forward to marriage and children and my attachment to economic independence has taken a back seat to the needs of my family. The day my last maternity leave payment came through and our income shrank back to the size of a sole-bread winner was sobering.

What is even more sobering is the thought of my husband being unable to support us. Read more…

Little Tanning Dress – A Review (+ discount for readers)

By Robyna on February 27, 2016

Like so many great ideas, Little Tanning Dress started out of necessity. Busy boutique owner, Brooke Jones, needed to have something fashionable she could wear to her tanning appointments and in her store. But there was nothing on the market that would preserve her tan and her style. So she created the Little Tanning Dress. A stylish black dress made from a polyester/spandex blend that doesn’t blot or absorb tanning products. As an added bonus it doesn’t crease either.

Sleep: How to get it (Sponsored)

By Robyna on January 21, 2016

this post is sponsored by SleepMaker

Some people keep a sleep diary. This is how mine would go:

Dear Log,
It’s has been approximately 2,555 nights since my last decent sleep. Occasionally, my captors give me some relief and allow me a night without interruption, but it only serves as false hope. If I ever get a chance to escape, I can’t sleep 4am. My body has been ruthlessly trained to crave more sleep and yet be unable to gain it. Sometimes the youngest captor, who is by far the master at sleep interruption, will allow me nights and nights of sleep. When that happens, the eldest captor (who taught the younger all he knows) will wake with a variety of complaints – nightmares, a need for water, growing pains. They have cleverly worked together to make sure that I will never sleep a full night again…

Maybe I am exaggerating (maybe I’m not) but a thing that was once taken for granted is now a VERY BIG DEAL. And is for every mother of young children I know. How do we get more sleep? And when sleep is in short supply, how do we improve its quality?

The REAL story behind my coffee addiction

By Robyna on November 16, 2015

From mid-September to mid-October I gave up coffee. You can read about how that went here. It was an interesting month. There were things that I expected – fatigue, irritability, head-aches. But there were quite a few things that I did not foresee. I chatted to Karina Francois, naturopath and author, about what happens when our bodies and minds are addicted to caffeine and what happens when you give those things up. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Please note that the below is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have any health concerns, please see your health professional and never rely solely on the internet for your information.

Keeping things fun and fit (sponsored)

By Robyna on September 9, 2015

This post has been sponsored by Bupa

Murphy is alive and well in our household. If I drop the toast, it will be butter-side down. The morning of my twenty year high-school reunion, I broke out in acne reminiscent of my seventeen-year old self. And the week my family signed up for the Bupa family challenge supporting Healthy Harold, we were hit by the dreaded Brisbane flu.

But we persevered and will take some of the challenges with us into healthier weeks. That’s the great thing about the Bupa challenges – you can easily extend them beyond the suggested week. In fact, hopefully they result in changed habits so that you extend them into life in general.