momfamilychild-help

mompaulak MIA for a few days:-)

it's that time again! hasn't that rolled around quickly? am leaving home in 30 mins for hospital-uggh!

one back procedure down...one today, the last and main one in 2 weeks time...geez..you kinda just recover from one and then then the next one is up! have to say tho...the first was a great success...my level of back pain has definitely been reduced which has to be good!

secret: I don't consider myself to be a superstitious person but this morning I found myself drawn to same pair of blue knickers and same dress I wore to op 1 (clean of course!)...what's up with that???

second secret: this time I may have put on a touch of waterproof mascara because there MIGHT be certain hot docs in the pain surgery unit....heh, heh...ANYTHING to distract me at this time MUST be ok, right? wonder if Mr K would agree?  hmmm, might ask Claire & Leigh that one instead:-)

well, i'll be off then..can't postpone it any longer...you'll be in great hands...as my aussie mates from sassymamas, Megan from Imaginif and Rosey133 from AustralianMothersOnline will be Guest Posting for me here whilst I'm MIA. Have pre-set their posts and they are well worth you coming back to read...pls leave them a comment here and visit there blogs to say thanks on my behalf!

ciao, mompaulak xx

PS...do you have any superstitions that you would care to comment on???

Dear Paula aka sassymama (a glimpse at sassy support)

Unfortunately the internet is often like being back in highschool.. rumors start and just go crazy. However, unlike high school it's much easier to find out the truth of things! it was easy to find out that the TWO companies that other website said was the same as yours were completely different. Even the links they posted showed that.... I'm glad you did come forward to say who you really are, though I totally understand about wanting the anonymoty, especially considering your illness. I have physical and medical problems that keep me from doing as much as I'd like and totally understand where you're coming from. I think a lot of people just over-reacted, and the internet is a place that makes it very easy to make a mountain out of a freckle! LOL!

WOW Paula a brave thing to do to share what you have just shared given the circumstances. I'm not sure what I would have done.
I am also saddened about all that has happened but I feel that sassymama site can get beyond this situation.
This is all fear based. Let's hope everyone can get beyond their fear and make sassymama a site to be proud of.
What doesn't kill us serves to make us stronger.

How wonderful that you are creating such a wave that others can even be bothered to attempt to harm Sassymamas. The site's success and potential to erode other sites is being noticed....what the others do not yet realise is that there is an abundance of women and mothers to go round to make every social networking site interesting and relevant.
When someone is firing bullets at you, you are doing something right.
I will always support that which is right - attacking and sabotaging other people is not right.

I'll repeat what I said on Twitter...I am SO sorry you're having to deal with this!
And I totally understand where you're coming from in regards to your illness and the effect it has on all areas of your life. But I think you're off to a great start with this community and anytime you need a break, the other Sassy Mamas will still be here when you get back. :)

I've been off in my own little world, so I had no clue such drama was going on, and even though I got an email 'alerting' me to possible problems, I didn't pay attention - because instinctively I knew you were real and genuine. You've got my support, such as it is! :) I've had the nickname of 'Sassy' for eons, so I'm happy to be a part of a fun group of Sassy Mama's! :)

Sorry to hear you have CFS - I have a very close friend who has that, too, and I admire all you do in spite of it! :) (((HUGZ!!)))

Paula,
I'm sorry you had to do that. I'm proud of you though for doing it (for what it's worth). Get some rest and peace. We'll all be here tomorrow.

As a sassy mama with CFS and back problems I know exactly what you are going through. No worries here. 'I' is right you are doing something right! Your success is taking off. Congratulations and Us Sassy Mamas are going to stick together no matter what.

I'm a close friend of Paula's and I find it very sad that she has had to put up with all the abuse that she has in the last few days!!!!!! All she was trying to do was connect and do something for ALL us women. She is such a wonderful beautiful person and has an amazing family that stand by her, along with her friends too and it should never have got to the point that she had to reveal herself as per her stated reasons for not doing so but felt it nescessary to do so for the rest of you sassymamas! I'm so proud of you Paula and I'm honoured that you are my friend.........love ya heaps Claire aka sassysinglemum xxx

...just a glimpse at some of the many left for me on my social networking site, sassy-mamas.com. all of course left their names, but I have respected their privacy by leaving them off here...so out of this, we find the true strength and dignity of our mamas with sass...simply thank you ...Paula x0

and this touching blog post in support...from sassymama, STYLEMOM,

'Mothers Should Uplift & Support Other Mothers'

(Image from Redbook Magazine)

my family has this sassys heart

FIRST POSTED FRIDAY EVENING USA EST
I have been saddened & disappointed today by some really awful things that have happended, on what was to be such a joyous and celebratory day, after countless hours of hard work, but gladdened too, by the show of support by many sassy sistas. It seems, upon investigation, that the main problem has been that the mamas have been duped into believing that I want their 'contact information' for evil purposes (?) and that the awful 'website' (who does that?) that has been setup, makes it look as though my family company, K Group Holdings Pty Ltd is actually 'kholdings', which is some kind of 'money making venture'. I used K Group Holdings Pty Ltd, as is common practice to register my domain name 'sassy-mamas.com', to protect my privacy as a woman. I have reported the abusive site to wordpress under their abuse report, but the damage is done.

My name is Paula Kuhnemann, or mompaulak. You can find me here at sassymamas. I am a mom with 2 children, aged, 18 and 12. We live in Australia and I originally started this social networking group to make connections with like-minded women. I feel very isolated because for the past 3 years I have been quite ill with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This has lead to debilitating migraines and chronic lower back pain. My pain and poor quality of active lifestyle has gotten so bad that I have been bedridden for 12 months. I am this week about to have the 2nd of 3 back operations. This has been a huge burden on my beautiful family and friends. I started blogging as a way to keep my mind active and to connect with other moms from around the world. I still found it quite isolating and racked my brain for a way to form a closer community of moms, so that we could all feel closer-surely there were other moms like me out there....stay at home moms with children, or retired grandmoms, or businesswomen who work from home?

I started 'sassymamas' anonymously because I didn't want to let anyone down if I became even more ill. I carry enough guilt over my illness with my family. What I didn't expect was for sassymamas to expand so quickly and I have hardly had time to catch my breath. Suddenly my back operations were upon me and I still just wanted my privacy...it's that simple.

I'm a Mom, who loves her children fiercely and wakes up everyday knowing that it will be a better day because I will get to spend time with them. My husband is my soul mate and he runs his own business, in Real Estate, and has done for over seven years. We have a puppy, who has his own blog, sneakypuppy.com and he is the real star of our family and I treat him like my third child. I never thought that I would be a puppy person-I so totally am that I nearly bought another one 2 days ago!

I enjoy the company and the diversity of the talented women at sassymamas. I've always been involved in 'womens business' in one way or another and I always will be. I'm looking forward to the next stage in the sassymamas journey and to learning from each and every mama and wow, haven't I learnt a lot in 24 hours. I apologise for my mistakes, we all make them. I am still the same sassy, I just don't have a cartoon head anymore.

Hi, I'm Paula, and I'm a sassy mama........xoxo

REPLY TO YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AT SAT 6AM USA EST
Ok, after a much needed sleep and wonderful care by son and hubby, I have logged back on and I have to say it was with much trepidation. But first to my phone phone and text mesages from my wonderful Australian friends on here, Claire & Leigh..the 2 best BFF's a woman could ever have....I love you 2!

A special thanks to a truly remarkable sassy mama on here, StyleMom. wow! Now there is a strong woman. She DMed me while I answered my crtics on twitter and then helped me back here and then posted immediately after our long distance conversation (please visit her site and read, & comment a thankyou as a show of sassy support). She really gave me a lot of strength when I was emotional, tired and just plain 'done.' Thank you N. How can I ever repay you?

Next were all of the new members who are still coming because we are sassy special...first tears.....next I found very special DM messages from Claire (again, you rock) and CanCan. CanCan , I told you these things privately, but publicly, I want everyone to know that it was for great, warm, funny, intelligent, women like you, that I started sassymamas, cause I just didn't know how to find you otherwise (next tears and the laughter)...

These DM's alerted me to come here (copious tears..could hardly read what you have commented below)...you are very special, not only sassy, but special, women. I hope that those around you, family, friends, co-workers & acquaintences truly appreciate what they have in you. I'm starting to and I'm glad that I will have the opportunity to discover a lot more about you. I will answer you each below:-)

Ok, nose is red raw (tres attractive-NOT)..enough of the tears..time to get my sassy back and get this party re-started. On the upside, many cool, calm, collected and resilient women have stepped up to the plate here and we have a great platform to re-start from. So that's what we will do. Let's really create those connections for like minded women and yes, I would love your help..so thank you. sassyPaula xoxo

busy week for a busy mom! (and a proud mom!)

my blog entry this week is a series of footnotes because I have so much to share....

SASSYMAMAS: as you know, I am honoured to be one of the official 'sassy 16' for sassymamas networking community...not only is it a fun place to be, but what a great resource centre for bloggers! women from all Countries and backgrounds share their life experiences as Mums and professionals and bloggers and we all learn so much from each other...you can ask them questions and they are all so happy to help and generous with their time! This week I made friends @sassymamas with some fellow aussie bloggers, Deborah from AustralianWomenOnline and Rosey133 from AustralianMothersOnline, check out their sites & leave them a comment saying you came from here. There is even an AUSSIE SASSY MAMAS GROUP at sassymamas now too, and one for SASSY BRIT MAMAS! Check them out at www.sassy-mamas.com I 'heart' it there, in fact, I think that I am ADDICTED

FAVMOM BLOG AWARD: My blog friend Lacresha Hayes, whom I have posted about before here, bestowed this award on me ,and my Prize, get this, has been a week of Guest Posts, at her blog site, 'Pretty, Prosperous, Powerful'. Check me out over there & leave Lacresha a comment there on my behalf:-) Thanks Lacreshsa...you da best!

KREATIV BLOG AWARD: Yep, my week just keeps getting better. My blog friend, Veronica, 'Of  Mice and Ramen', bestowed this Kreativ Blog Award on me AND I'M VERY EXCITED! "I'd like to thank the Academy.....". I'll post more about this tomorrow, as I get to bestow this on '7' of my FAV BLOGGERS NOW TOO! YAY!!!

 

 

 

SUPER SOCCER SON: I've saved the best till last. Son, JK, has been selected in the top soccer division for Under 13's; U13, Division 1. After 2 years of injuries, including a fractured then dislocated toe, a bad tackle which knocked you senseless, severs disease in both heels, a locked lower back & psoas muscle and only 40% kicking range, you fought hard to make U12 Div 1 last season, played thru pain, had 10 enforced weeks off, did your rehabilitation, came back, set up a Goal to win the Grand Final (for best mate Rhys who made a superb shot), took crap from your critics, had feral parents stand over you....and yet here you are and painfree, thank goodness...you will make a fine man son....I am so proud of you....lov mum xx

with love on Valentine's Day

......I love that we chose to give where it was needed most rather than spend frivolously on today

......I love that you got me a soppy card & that your pen ran out of ink on it

......I love that you wrote my name on the card but you hardly ever call me by my name, you call me babe or honey and I like that too

......I love that I surprised you this morning with a small gift because you knew I had been in bed ill all week

......I love that we still got to share this day with our son and I wonder how many more we will get to share with him before he has his own girl to share it with

......I love that sneakypuppy wanted to play by jumping on our heads at 8am this morning

......I love that 'spooning' still makes me feel so special

......I love that you love me still after nearly 16 years

......I love you

****please remember our fellow Australians in Victoria and around the Country who have had their lives shattered by the recent bushfires. If you can, give generously. Donate at: http://www.redcross.org.au/default.asp

a newbie mom blogger gets noticed!

2 REALLY NICE things happened to me this week in the land of mom blogging.....I was asked to do a podcast interview as a newbie mom blogger AND I was nominated as  a FAV MOM BOG!  I was SHOCKED, then HAPPY, then SCARED, then HAPPY, then HONOURED, then SHOCKED!

THE INTERVIEW: I said to Mr K, "but I've only been doing this for 5 minutes, what is it that I can I offer?", expecting him to say something like, 'your charm, wit, savvy use of English, intelligence and deep insight into current blogging & world issues for moms and women.'  Instead, he agreed, with me, saying,  'Exactly!'  Hmmmph, not the answer I was looking for Mr K...maybe you be grounded with son!

So in my typical Virgo style, I launched a barrage (is that a word?) of questions at poor Brenden Wood from isitpossibletomakemoneyonline.com, so that I could prepare myself for my '10 minutes' of podcast fame.

I learnt some great 'stuff' (is this my savvy use of English I was bragging about before?) as I was doing my research:

*Brenden's site, isitpossibletomakemoneyonline.com is a great resource for all bloggers from newbies to oldbies (savvy wording again) and I highly recommend that you scroll thru the interviews and listen to the ones relevant to your business right now. I listened to Kate McKibben & Katrina Lawrence for Advertising & Marketing advice and Karen Cheng for MomBlog advice.

*People say UMMMM a lot during interviews (I swore I would not be one of them...listen to my podcast and see if I an saying AAAAHHHH  or UUUMMM, again tres savvy!)

*The 5 P's defintely apply to interviews Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

I was happy to give a shout out when asked during the interview to some fav sites, Entrecard, PoshMama, Bella Casa, MomBloggersClub, and girlsniteinbeautystore

You can listen to my podcast, 'FORMER MISS NEW ZEALANDS BLOG'  (am such a bignoter!) at http://isitpossibletomakemoneyonline.com/

THE NOMINATION: I had been following & tweeting (as a new 'tweeter') with Lacresha Hayes as she created her new blog, learntofeelpretty, when to my delight I awoke one morning to find a message from her in my TWITTER DM Box (more on TWITTER in tomorrow's blog) announcing that I had been nominated as a FAV MOMMY BLOG in her blog competition. WOW! What a compliment.

Lacresha is a very accomplished woman and the author of numerous books, a publisher, a Christian consultant, a minister, a wife and a mother. You can vote for me until Feb 17 (each day if you like, hint, hint) at learntofeelpretty plus learn from Lacresha and her blog.

I learnt some 'more stuff' during this process too:

*Angela from Angel Baby Boutique, that has the most gorgeous children's fashion and accessories, is a really warm and generous mom. She has been very warm and welcoming since I arrived as a newbie momblogger about 3 weeks ago and has been really consistent in her contact with me. Thanks for your votes Angela!

*Its is not ok to message 'your friends' to vote for you, on momblog sites, even if you are excited and do it nicely. Some of them complain and this is considered spam, not networking. Hmmm....

*there are some really wonderful women out there, like  Angela and Lacresha  who don't ask for anything in return and who are really making a difference in the lives of others. Thank you!

*You can rely on your family to vote!

*Mr K actually read some of my blog yesterday but I didn't ask him what he thought....will update you on that.....hhhhmmmm not like me....

yawn....tired now, as I have been up 'sweet tweeting' at TWITTER for 2 nights in a row, till the early hours of the morning....come back tomorrow and I'll report on HOW I GOT INTO TWEETING and IF I THINK TWITTER IS AN EFFECTIVE BLOGGING TOOL.

PS. Son is on Day 4 of australian bush camp today.....thunder & lightening struck that region this morning up in the mountains-eeekkk! I wonder if his 'bush toilet hole' is full of water? Prune juice stocked & ready for his arrival home tomorrow just in case....I miss him.

confused blogging mom!

please, please, please tell me that there are hundreds, ok, tens, ok, is there ONE MOM OUT THERE like me who is not familiar with HMTL (i hope letters are round right way but you get my drift), embedding, twitting, widgeting, litgitting, er no sorry, I think that should be Lijiting, RSS feeding, paint.net and while I'm at it, what the heck is TECHNORATI????? er, hello, am I the only non-techno blogging mom around or are there others like me of similar species.....seriously.......it takes me soooo looooong to do everything! granted, once I learn it, I've kinda got it, but FRUSTRATION LEVELS DEFINTELY PEAK at times and why oh why do I keep entering TECHNORATI WORDS when i don't know what they are??? duh!

am keeping this short and not so sweet as I am going back to some serious 'dropping' to all of you kind ENTRECARD bloggers who are sweet enough to drop in on me.....I GET the basics of entrecard, so I guess this techno-phobe mom will hang in there with that for now!

PS Please check out my BLOGGERS GIVE BUTTON (bottom left column) and info page........thanks heaps!

The Sun, The Sand, The Surf......

Wow!! Even I get blown away by how lucky we are to live in what has to be one of the most beautiful places in the World-Queensland, Australia!  I was born and raised in a small Country across the ditch (or Pacific Ocean) known as New Zealand (population 4 million+) and it too is beautiful and lush and green with breath taking scenery (the Lord of The Rings Trilogy was filmed there) and beautiful beaches......but nothing is quite like this paradise on earth known as Queensland.........and in particular a small spot on the East Coast called Noosa......a small inlet with beach on one side and river on the other, relaxed and laid back,  it is also a shoppers and foodies delight......

I've added a picture diary which I though you might enjoy more....as they say, "a picture paints......"

  friday 30 jan- arrive to stay at 'The Bay' overlooking the water at Hervey Bay...super large 2 bed condo with large heated spa on balcony overlooking bay.  Mr K and I relax in spa with drinks and books on friday night! no kids or puppy in sight!!!

Saturday 31st jan-leave Hervey Bay (home of 'whale watching') to travel south to Noosa Beach after Mr K's biz concludes......

arrive The Sebel Resort, Noosa. Room is luxurious 1 bed condo on the beach...love the mediterranean decor...service is amazing.  Mr K & I head to our fav bookstore to stock up on reading supplies....Mr K buys wine for him, soda water for me. Over to Noosa Sheraton (we love it here but needed a change this time) Bar  for a light snack and to watch people walk by on street....most dressed in bikinis, sarongs and havainas (flipflops or thongs or jandals/footwear).....a lot have walked straight off beach for an ice cream or cold drink.......

....we take romantic walk at sunset along Noosa Beach......very humid...around 90% humidity which drops to about 60% as sun goes down and remains at this for rest of evening......talk about eating dinner at our fav 5 star resturant 'berados.' after dinner we talk to Son, who informs us that No he does not miss us, Yes he is fine, no he did not hit his head on side of pool or meet with any other kind of accident, Yes he is eating junk food (eekkk!), Yes he is missing Buddy (puppy) but not us, No we should not hurry home, and to finish me off completely, CAN HE PLS GO NOW AS HE IS IN MIDDLE OF PLAYSTATION GAME!!!  I ask Mr K if I should take up drinking now or find a new son??? Mr K assures me that I AM a good Mother and that Son will know this one day.....I sulk for next 30 mins.......

sunday 1st feb-wow! is this a great place to have Big Brekky or what?  we eat Big Breakfast at Noosa Surfclub and this is our view from outdoor balcony.

after brekky, i head to my fav hair salon to have wash & blow dry, but find salon has closed down since we were here 6 months ago! damn! only one other in resort strip and it does not open on sundays....not happy, so MUST indulge in retail therapy to make up for it......very warm in stores whilest trying on clothes.....jeans have arrived in stores for our forthcoming Autumn (march/april/may) but seriously we really dont have autumn until may, so I just look at girl and say 'i don't think so.'

....have lunch overlooking Noosa River before we leave for home on the Gold Coast.....takes us just over 2 hours to drive home....Buddy so excited to see us that he wees all over Mr K...I so thought I wrote him a note in blog somewhere TO STOP DOING THAT!!  Son arrives home from sitters and does not wee in excitement but does lumber towards me and plants a kiss on my cheek....aha! he did miss me!  Yes, Mum, ok, he says, I got bored during the last 20 minutes, alrite?

all is right in my world again.....son missed me and puppy still weeing with excitement!

Packed & ready to go!

Quick update before we leave....YES!! I thought only wild horses could stop me from this getaway with Mr K!  all good in the 'K' household again:-)  Son came home and informed me he actually caught up with his homework during art classtime (allowed supposedly?) today, so he is ahead of his game....i know this tough love works but why is is do damned painful at the time?????  Soccer training was cancelled which he was happy about as he was exhausted....his trials for U13 Division 1 start next week (I feel sick already...more on that next week).......

my annoying back painful but mobile, so have my resort clothes packed and ready...just waiting for Mr K to arrive home from a few hours at work so he can bring my small overnight case upstairs....no lifting for me!!  tho I will have to closely supervise this 'bag thing' as the last time we made this same trip, we had a tyre blowout on the freeway and our 4 hour car trip turned into a 7 hour trip, then we arrived cranky and tired and Mr K had left my packed case on the bed at home (medication, clothes, toiletries, the lot!)....was not a happy camper!!!! I did get to go shopping but still.......

not sure if we'll have internet access or if I'll be able to work it out is more the case so I may be MIA for a few days.......can't believe we are having the highest temperatures in 100 years in some parts of Australia (I'm sweltering in a swimsuit) and I saw on TV this morning that parts of the USA are under snow.....it's incredible....son asked me 'global warming'?????

Note to puppy: pls stop weeing when excited!

Today has been a strange day in the ‘K’ household......son left for school in a bad mood because I confiscated his Xbox 360 last night for not completing his homework (he needs to know high school demands a work ethic and focus of some degree).....he seems to consider that art and music are not relevant subjects because he has no interest in them.....hmmmmmm........any family member leaving the house unhappy tends to leave me feeling unsettled and like the worst mom in the world, but tough love prevails! 

Then I took Buddy to the vet to have his stitches removed and he was so excited that he did a wee all over the vets counter.....so not a good look.....I got splashback as well as embarrassment....this morning was going from bad to worse and fast!

I squeezed in a spot of retail therapy to cheer me up (a sure thing) and found a gorgeous black see -through shirt, that will be perfect for wearing over a pretty camisole top for dinner out this weekend,  and a cute yellow and black strapless summer dress to wear on 4 hour trip in car. Mr K has asked me to tag along on biz trip to the gorgeous coastal town of Harvey Bay in Queensland and for some ‘us’ time (minus kids and puppy) we’re stopping overnight in the beach resort town of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast on the way back....this is one of my favourite spots in the world....a gorgeous little town (one main street strip) packed with restaurants, motels (and a Sheraton) and boutique shops situated between a river and the beach.....I heart it!!

At this point am a little doubtful I’ll make it as I saw my osteopath after shopping (nothing to do with volume or weight of shopping bags) and nearly fainted with backpain on her table!  Now my lower back has gone into a painful spasm and I am laid up in bed......damn! really want to spend the time with Mr K.........we seem to get so little of it.....he works so hard and my health is always so crap....migraines, bulging discs in lower back, chronic fatigue, food allergies....I could go on, but you get the picture (yawn, yawn).....

So, tweensitter organised, puppysitter organised, now if i could just pack a bag for 2 nites and actually walk to the ford explorer life would be good!  Wish me luck.......will let you know if i make it to my fav holiday spots or not....fingers crossed!