4my11kids.com

Welcome to another weekend

I spent a large part of today being in awe of a family in Cambridge, New Zealand that have decided to give their $1 million home away, in order to pursue their passions. Thats a huge leap of faith. You can read all about the Smith family here.

I figure that i’ll probably buy 1 ticket a week, until the big draw is made. That way I get to use the pics for my blog and win a beautiful home overlooking Lake Karapiro. I was sold after watching Close Up last night. What caught my ear was Lake Karapiro, up pricked my ears, especially since my younger teens involved being a hard core rower – single skulling, doubles, fours and eights … I loved it all, so why wouldnt I want to live overlooking that famous piece of rowing history!!

Heres to a family move to Cambridge in the new year!!

On another note, Ieremia started a part time position today. He really is a working mans man. When I started freelance writing I had also wanted to play a bigger role in my children’s lives, especially since I had worked most of their lives. What I did not realise was that playing a bigger role was going to be challenging with their “tried and true” Dad still being at home. The kids automatically approach their Dad first for everything and usually bypass me in favour of their Dad. Its something that I have grown used to, and I have absolutely no animosity towards Ieremia or the kids because of this behaviour but I think that with Ieremia returning to work, even if it is part time, will provide a great opportunity for me to play an increasingly active part in our children’s lives. The bonus of it all is that Ieremia starts at 6am and finishes at 10.30am, so we barely even get to miss him when he arrives back home!

As for everybody else, the roll call for today is a little like this …
Isiah will be missing in action for the next week while he goes on Retreat with his workplace. Leo is working. Sharquille is working. HoRoymana is doing the paper-run with Kaneihana. Fanatanu Ieremia just finished his game of Water Polo. Sivai, Danii and Caroline have returned from their cheerleading role at the Water Polo game. Troy is still glued to the television, watching his 100th re-run of Shrek, yes we will need to address that television time soon for our boy. And lastly Tiana is blending in wherever she fits best. A few minutes ago it was on my desk, trying to lie on my keyboard.

Bring on tomorrow, my family is going to have a family day out tomorrow. Hopefully the weather clears up beacuse we’re hoping to take the kids swimming and have a picnic to boot. Mum, Dad, my brother Patrick, his wife Agnes and their 8 children, my sister Caroline, her partner Danny and their 4 children, and hopefully my younger brother Tuna, his wife Natalie and, yeah, as you can see, they have a number of children to choose as their own for the day.

Until tomorrow … see you then.

Today was a good day

Today was a full day!!

The house was a buz this morning as we all got ready for work, school and for me a Work & Income appointment.

Its taken me almost 8 weeks to realise that I may be entitled to some accommodation support from Work & Income and so I filled out a generic form online, made an appointment through the contact centre and arrived on time at the service centre to see if I was infact eligible. I had found alot of information at their website, fairly user friendly and the online application is a great idea – Work and Income website!

After my appointment it was off to find a shirt for my 12 year old son’s leavers ball. Nothing too fancy, its a one off event and so I decided to check out our local St Vincent de Paul’s. We found a shirt that later on in the afternoon, after master 12’s approval we bought it, all for a bargain price of $5.00 and a really nice lilac coloured shirt too.

We made our way back home, I had alot of work to catch up with. To date I still have a website to complete, an e-book to finish publishing / promoting and a few other pressing jobs that need to be completed. They’ll all be done, all in good time. I have no doubt about that!

Mr 17, Leo, took our baby girl Tiana with him, about town, and no doubt she was spoilt with sweets and food galore. They arrived home at around 3.30pm and Tiana was absolutely pooped, infact she had fallen asleep on Toni’s shoulder.

It was around that time that HoRoymana and I made our exit to pick up a pair of shoes and any other bits n pieces that were needed for his Leavers dinner.

Im a great bargain hunter so we picked up a really nice pair of dress shoes, suitable to my budget and HoRoymana’s taste and made our way back home in time to sort our gift-giving event and to get ready for HoRoymana’s big 6.30pm date.

During the Christmas period our family celebrates our years achievements by buying a gift for an individual within our family.

Sharquille had bought Troy a new pair of shoes today and so we used that box to do our pickings. I put each person’s name on a piece of paper and put them into the box, whereby every child proceeded to select the individual they would buy for. We usually assign $10-20 as the maximum amount that each present is bought for, however, if anyone is able to contribute more we encourage them to put this towards a present that would benefit the entire family instead of their chosen person.

There was lots of laughter and although there is supposed to be some secrecy to the event, im fairly certain everyone knows who is their gift giver.

HoRoymana got ready for his Leavers dinner and I must admit I shed a bit of a tear, hes getting so big so fast, and before I know it he’ll be leaving home. I can imagine the flood of tears on that day.

My dashing young man was well dressed for the occassion. On his return we briefly discussed the event, he was fairly tired but did manage to keep his eyes open long enough to tell us about the delicious meal of chicken, pork, ham and rice, with a ice cream and chocolate sauce dessert that followed. I’m sure there was alot more food but my mouth is watering now so I wont torture myself anymore at this late hour!

Today was a good day … today was another great day in paradise!!

The end of the school year is near

Today was the junior/middle school athletics day at Sivai, Danii and Fanatanu’s school. We had gone to Fanatanu’s a few weeks ago, but today it was Danii and Sivai’s time to shine.

Both girls had fun, and Danii just got pipped at the finish line to gain a well deserved 2nd place.

Sivai usually isnt one for running but she gave a good effort today … dressed for the event, got her runners on and enjoyed the moment. Thats really what it all comes down to, having fun. Its always great to win but its the participating that counts.

The rest of the day has pretty much been a bit of a blur for me. I spent the rest of the morning enjoying the company of Leo’s girlfriend Toni and talking about the future and amongst other things, moving.

Its something that we have been considering for some time now, but its always been put to the backburner, something has always come up preventing us from packing up and leaving but I think the planets have finally aligned themselves correctly and I feel a move in the air.

About 7 years ago Ieremia and I had thought about the big move to Oz but because the distance was so great, we had to consider our older 5’s Dad and the impact being so far away from him would have on the big 5. Now that the big 5 are starting to find their own place in the big world, soon to be fleeing the paternal nest, I figure a move is on the cards.

Isiah got back from almost a week in wine country, Martinborough. Hes been putting in some long hours recently. Quite possibly it has something to do with our gift giving celebration being right around the corner.

Me, Ieremia and our children celebrate Christmas differently, infact we dont celebrate the birth of Jesus at all, but what we do celebrate is on or around 30th December, we reflect on the year that has past. Before New Years arrives where new goals are set, we reflect as a family and inidividuals on the achievements that we have made in the year that is about to end. This is what our family does instead of the somewhat traditional Christmas with presents, Christmas Trees and the likes. I’ll save that post for a later date where I can be alot more thorough.

Its been another wonderful day in our little corner of the world, where theres never a dull moment in our household.

Bring on the summer weather …

Its a sure thing that Summer is in the air when our family changes to sandwiches and cold cuts for dinner.

Ieremia topped off the cold cuts with potato chips and pies. Our family seldom eats takeaways, so the pies were a welcome treat for the kids.

After dinner I contemplated the meaning of life over the next few weeks, while HoRoymana, Sivai and Ieremia hit the streets to deliver newspapers.

Since the beginning of this year our tweens had been harping to get part time jobs to earn a little more cash and to add to their savings and so we told them that if we could find a paper run, they’d be the first to know.

It took quite a while, 6 months of a while, before we were able to get a run. But before long Fanatanu Ieremia (9) and HoRoymana (12) were doing a local run, just down the road from our house, which took about 30 minutes. We figured that the paper run would encourage 2 things, exercise and a feeling of accomplishment through earning your own funds. It seems to have done the job in both areas and so now our girls are keen to join in with their brothers.

A few weeks ago we took on a couple more runs as motivation for Ieremia and I to exercise but our daughters Kaneihana (11) and Sivai (8) have somewhat taken a shine to doing this run. After going over the run, we felt safe to have our girls deliver to our own street and occassionally they team up with their older brother or Ieremia to complete the run. And me, well, I havent even attempted to try a run … so much for the incentive to exercise!!

I have lots more on my plate like ummm making up excuses to not exercise!!

A reality check is what I need, and if I reflect on this time last year I was training to eventually do a triathlon. That is the complete truth. I lost around 20kg and decided that I would push myself even more by aiming for a triathlon but somehow I lost my way and I have gained almost every single one of those lost kilos. Now that Summer has come im dusting off my bicycle again and clearing the cobwebs from my sandshoes and i’ll see what comes of it.

But for now ive got my sights set on more change in my life and new experiences for our children, to take them out of their comfort zones once again. I welcome change and its something I hope to instil in my children.

Monday, Monday …

Its been a late night for us all tonight, we didnt get to have dinner till around 8.45pm and so the tweens are just finishing off their chores now.

The day started fairly early but drawn to a morning of movie watching, Ieremia and I didnt start “working” till after 1 today.

We watched a movie with Leo called “August Moon”. I loved the movie, thought it had a not so common storie line, but it did challenge the imagination. A bit of a let down in terms of the ending, but a great movie nonetheless.

Its my big sisters birthday today, as Mia put it, shes celebrating the 13th year of her 30th birthday. I spoke to her today while she was at the school picnic for Danny boy. Yes, there is a Danii girl and Danny boy in our family, both named after my sisters other half. Danii girl is older and her name is spelt as such because of DanII, Dan number 2, a unique twist on her name but cleverly put together by her Papa. I remember when my sister and I were younger, in particular her first pyjama party. We were bought up in Dunedin and attended a small Catholic school, but that year my sister had a pyjama party with a handful of her friends. I think I may have been more excited then she was about the whole event. It was a great night of junk food, giggling and im sure alot more, as I got sent to bed early, but it is my most memorable recollection of a birthday that my sister had, I believe it was her 13th birthday. She said she was going to pop round tonight and to bake her a cake, but at 10.06pm, I have the feeling their may not be a visit tonight, but if she should pop up, i’ll whip up a chocolate self saucing pudding to celebrate her birthday.

Ieremia’s just walked in the door to a grizzly Troy, whose routine is slightly askew, well, lets say its ALOT askew. The thing with routines is that if they’re broken you have to put the effort into resetting them. Troys bedtime routine has been off for over a week now but neither Ieremia or I have put the effort into resetting it. He now goes to sleep around the same time as us and then wakes at around 11am in the morning. I think that at this point what counts is that he gets his 10-12 hours sleep, the only issue is that hes now cutting into mine and Ieremia’s quality time. Im sure that if this gets to be a major issue that we’ll put him quick smart back into his normal routine. And thats part of the beauty of having 11 children, its like 2nd nature to know, do or reinforce things without too much drama!!

How to Pursue Meaning And Happiness For Your Life With Freedom From Your Job

Happy Sunday Eveyone!! Today, 28 June, 2009 (oops, that date is special, Happy Birthday to my cousin Rosalie and of course Ieremia’s brother Siaosi ….Taking a little bit of a side track here), I’m going to share with you my number one personal future aspiration, hint: the two big banners that are headed at the top of my blog.

And the biggest motivation of all, can be seen in the sliding door pictures below those two big banners.

My decision to work outside the home is based on a number of reasons. Since the birth of my first child in 1990 to today, I’ve had conflicting emotions with a number of factors involving my decision to return to work after each of my births. Each and every time I must weigh up the following:

1. Do I become a stay at home Mother and raise my Children?
2. Shall we both work and put our Children into childcare?
3. Do we reduce our Family income through having the highest income earner work and have the other parent stay at home?

I know this may be a feeling that you too have experienced. And the biggest, single, contributing factor to my decision to always return to work, and I’m sure yours also, has always been MONEY.

The second reality in my household is that I am the highest income earner and have always been. The two biggest industries that have helped feed my ever growing family have been IT (Information Technology) and in recent years the Banking Industry.

I’m not sure if it is because I am fast reaching 40 or whether the reality of my last two babies, Tiana (18 months) and Troy (2 ½ years old) growing up without me being an active part, has prompted me to pursue my own passions and goals. Of being a multi-tasking, stay and work from home Mother.

I can hear the deafening agreement from those who also relate or anguish over my plight. It is one that is common to many; I felt it with my mother, and I know it is with parents, including fathers in general.

I empathise completely with those that struggle with the mutually exclusive decisions to nurture their children or nourish their children. For some lucky few, they are presented with neither of these heartbreaking decisions, and I’ve often wished I was one of them.

I’ve ventured to find what has allowed some of these people the options that they have, and found some very interesting information.

There are a couple of positions that readily allow the balance I sought, first of all telecommuting or remote login; this allows someone to perform their work tasks from home. I tried to implement this at my current work; however, it failed miserably. Mainly due to a lack of support from and possibly, lack of foresight by management at that time.

My elder sister, Caroline, easily incorporates her Helpdesk support abilities into a remote login situation and although there is still a requirement for her to be physically present at times, she does not have to stress over taking leave to accommodate her children, she just works from home for the days that her family needs are more pressing.

The next option is to become self-employed.

As simply as I’ve typed that second option, the simplicity of it does not translate as easily.
So many questions and conflicting emotions come flooding to mind. Such as, “what can I do without a regular paycheck”, or “what will my family eat”? There is also the question of “how can I find the capital to fund my own business?” Or “What can I do to work for myself?”

We have an inbuilt security mechanism that brings out the big alert button when survival is challenged.

I’ve let my alert button go off and in less than 6 weeks will be finishing my day job.

How did I get to where I am? When Ieremia and I first started working in New Zealand, on our return from the USA, I automatically assumed that Ieremia would easily step into his highly paid career that he had established over 12 years in the States, however, the transition to his already established career in the States did not occur.

I think for a number of reasons, firstly because of the different approach that possibly New Zealand has to America in terms of sales in general, and the steel industry in particular. Secondly, because at the time, he found little or no positions for seasoned Inside/Outside Steel Salespeople when we arrived.

For this reason within a month of returning home, with our 1 year old son and me being 3 months pregnant, I returned to work.

I could have returned to the tried and true positions of the past. I had some pretty flash Sun Solaris, UNIX System Administration (software and hardware), Helpdesk and PC support qualifications / skills (that was a mouthful), that I developed and learnt under two great Team Leaders with IRD, thanks Sue and Annette.

However, that said, you must know that, I am the most reluctant IT geek/specialist that I have ever met. However, I am a very industrious one. The money is awesome, but my heart has never been in it.

The biggest part that I enjoyed of working within IT was initially the learning; I thrive on a learning curve. You know, I love to help people, that is my innate nature. Of all the IT knowledge that I had, Helpdesk is the most stress free. So I eased into it with a hop, skip and a jump from Reception, to Data Entry, to ANZ and on to bingo, Helpdesk.

After a couple more hops I found myself being Helpdesk support for the BNZ Online Channels, where I have been for the last seven years, unhappily as of late.

Ieremia on the other hand, at that time, in 2003, also eventually found a position that he also, enjoyed, with the opposition, now called ANZ National. I’ve not known him to never find his niche, for he enjoys almost anything he does, including now, since 2005, as a stay at home dad.

We made the hard decision for Ieremia to become a stay at home Dad after I became pregnant with our 9th child. During the Christmas period, both he and I were unable to find suitable arrangements for the care of our 3 youngest children, while we continued to work, as there day care centres were closed over a 4-6 week period. I was at the time 5 months pregnant and unable to take leave over this period, and Ieremia’s employer was also unable to allow the time off. We decided then and there that Ieremia would finish up work to take care of all our children.

It was a hard decision at the time, but was made a lot easier due to an initiative implemented by the Labour Government at the time, and which continues today, called Working for Families.

Over the years I’ve dabbled in different ventures, both paid and unpaid. From working for a family trust, or setting up a Music Course aimed at original compositions and expression. I’ve even dabbled at writing and producing a quality community newsletter as well as managing a band. I love community based stuff. So much that, I’ve even obtained government funding for community based groups, through writing and submitting their funding applications. A little more on the challenging side, but so very fun to do, is co-coordinating as well as organizing, concerts and events ,both home and overseas.

Lately, you may remember me and Ieremia, appearing on National TV in a set of adverts to stop smoking.

And even more recently I’ve participated on a parenting panel providing advice and options to viewers on The Good Morning Show.

In my attempts to be a work at home Mother, I’ve even tried to work from home by selling on Trademe and through this; I’ve expanded my knowledge from selling on Trademe to being an online marketer and blogger.

Some of my ventures have been extremely successful, rewarding and lucrative, and continue to be, others have been dull and lackluster to say the least. I would not consider anything a failure, more so, I would have at least gained experience on “what not to do”, and so I’ve chalked that up to experience.

So all in all, I have gained many skills and experiences, which have bought me, and you, to the place that I am today.

A year ago to this date infact, is when I started researching and learning about Internet Marketing and Blogging.

Through my Internet Marketing efforts, it wasn’t until Ieremia started to learn about it, that all the pieces began to fit into place. He’s absolutely, a great teacher. One of the main reasons (out of many) that I really don’t mind me working, and he’s at home with the kids.

Ieremia and I have tried to parent to our strengths.

To make a long story longer, I soon became excited about the possibility of finally providing a comparable income to my current wage. This for us is far from peanuts. I think we have found something that incorporates the things I love to do, as well as utilizes the skills I’ve gained professionally.

I will be writing about my experiences for the benefit of others. Internet marketing will be allowing me to enjoy being a major part of the raising of my 2 last babies and in playing a more active role in the development, guidance and nurturing of my older children.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many scams on the internet that pursue the almighty dollar, however, after a lot of stumbling around and gambling on this product and the next; I found some quality tools and information, to allow me to follow my passions, which brings me back again to those 2 banners at the top.

I’ve built this site with the help of a template pretty much from scratch. With no professional help, I was able to get myself up and running. And to date, I continue to learn.
I think it’s absolutely great!!

I can eventually see me teaching my own children the skills that I have attained so that they too may be able to pursue their passions without having to anguish too much over having to get just a job. I want my children to do, what I should have done: to do the things they love without worrying about earning the almighty dollar.

If it’s one thing that I’ve learnt in my journey to be an Internet Marketer, it is this, concentrate on your passions and the money will come. There are a number of options for Internet Marketing; my favourite is as you can see blogging. For I am passionate about my family, my children, and the relationship I have with Ieremia.

Ieremia is quickly becoming adept at Affiliate Marketing, another form of Internet Marketing. So that will be another future venture for us.

We will be setting up our own site for those interested to learn the skills of Internet Marketing.

At this point however, our favourite, and recommended sites, are the following:

** Site Build it – I wish I had found this site from day one for the skills to setup your online presence and business for whatever your passion maybe, whoever you may be. For me, I am a “W.A.H.M. (work at home Mother / Mum / Mom)”, so Site Build it has been instrumental in getting me up and running in my ventures.

** Wealthy Affiliate - A must have in-depth tool for newbies right through to seasoned Internet Marketers. You should always have the support, forum and tools available at this site to give you the best start to your journey in Internet Marketing.

** 2 Create A Website – A lot of great tips and information on this site for those looking to work from home.

** becomeablogger.com – How I started my first blog, from scratch on a miniscule budget.

So, that is why the banners, and what has bought me to where I am today. I’d love to be able to help each and everyone that needs assistance in their journey, like I already said, it is innately part of me to help others. Something to ponder.

Good luck with all your ventures this week, and see you back soon.