Using the Vision Board that you created in Step 1, decide what kind of changes you need to make – perhaps start by selecting 2 or 3 areas that you would like to focus on. These might include things like:

• Reconnecting with your husband/partner
• Feeling good about your body and self once again
• Spending more quality time with your children
• Get more organised at home… etc.

Now you need to write down what action you could take daily (or at least a couple of times each week) to move you closer towards your goals. Keep it simple and achievable in order to have the best chance of sticking to your plan.

What’s really exciting about the idea of daily habits is that results happen fast. You will see and feel changes happening within weeks – not months or years.

This is the exact approach I took that enabled me to write You Sexy Mother whilst moving countries with a toddler and new baby, with no family or support network. It is simple, yet powerful and I know it can work for you too!

‘The mind and body are so connected that it’s impossible to work on one without simultaneously affecting the other in a positive way. My mind needs exercise as much as any other body part, and I have found that the more I use it in ways that excite and fulfil me, the more it rewards me with great ideas to improve and move forward in my life.

What I know now is that I end up feeling just as tired at the end of each day whether I just get through the day doing only what needs to be done or whether I stretch myself and work it so that my goals are that little bit closer. Even more amazing is that when I push myself and manage to fit in that exercise session, or make that important phone call, or spend an hour after the kids are in bed writing or editing my work, I always feel better for it.

I know that when I make the effort to go out for a walk or run I never come back and say, ‘I really wish I hadn’t done that today,’ and it’s the same with working on your passions. You never regret the work you do when it’s aligned with your highest good. I think that just like exercise, the stuff you do for yourself gives you energy. It’s when we waste time doing things because we think we should that we feel drained and depleted.’

(Extracted from You Sexy Mother)

Change does not necessarily require a big effort or a long period of time – the truth is, it happens in an instant; the moment you decide that you will no longer allow yourself to live a life that is anything other than the best you deserve!

“Hello  Lisa,
I would like to extend my congratulations to you for your win in the inaugural OHbaby! Awards.”

“Your product or service has been voted the best in its category.  The awards were a hugely successful campaign with over 5,000 voters and over 177,000 votes in total,  so you can rest assured there is credibility in the number of people that have voted for your product in these prestigious awards.  You have won in the category below:”

“CATEGORY: MATERNITY”

“BEST NURSING BRA – HOTmilk!”

Thanks OHbaby!  We at HOTmilk are positively stoked!! It makes all the hard work all the more worthwhile!!  xxx

Get clear about what you want

A vision board is a simple yet highly effective way of changing our thought patterns. Instead of reliving memories of our old life, we can start reprogramming our brain to focus on situations we want, that haven’t yet happened. Numerous studies have been conducted worldwide to prove the power that comes from focusing your thoughts on what you want. Books such as ‘The Law of Attraction’ by Jerry and Esther Hicks are perfect for those who want to understand this process more. Anyone who has seen The Secret will also know what I am talking about.

This strategy has been so powerful in my own life that I just want you to trust me and set aside one night this week to do the following exercise. This is what you need to do:

1.     Gather all the glossy magazines you can from friends and family

2.     Get yourself a cork board and some pins to stick things to it

3.     Put on some relaxing music and take an hour or so to just flick through the magazines leisurely. You are looking for pictures that call out to you in some way – anything that moves you or interests you, even if you don’t know why.

4.     Don’t over-analyse what it is that attracts you to an image – just tear it out and put it in a pile to use later.

5.     Once you have plenty of images, go through them to work out which you want to stick onto your vision board.

6.     Be open to what the images are telling you – you may have torn out a picture of a healthy woman running along the beach… this could indicate that you want to improve your health and fitness or be more connected to nature. The only rule is that if it moves you emotionally, then it deserves to be on your mood board.

7.     Resist the urge to put up pictures of things that validate the life you are already leading – ie. Models wearing clothes you already wear or a picture of a house like that you already own… this is supposed to be about change and getting you to move forward so you can experience new things and situations.

8.     Stick your pictures up on your board, alongside any words, quotes or inspirational lines that you come across.

Put your board up somewhere you will see it many times each day and watch as your ‘vision’ starts to become reality!

Often the transitional stages in our life, where there is the most upheaval and change, provide us with the best opportunity to grow and develop. Use these phases in your life to redesign and improve things, releasing everything that no longer serves you while you tap into your inner resources to find the strength and courage to begin creating the life of your dreams.

Isn’t it exciting to think that the only limits to your growth and potential for future happiness will be the ones you place on yourself? Start today by allowing yourself to be open to a new reality. Change doesn’t have to take forever. Recognise that things change in a moment – the moment we alter our belief about what’s possible.

The following steps offer a glimpse at what the Ten-Step Turnaround Plan is all about… if you think that your life would benefit from tools, strategies and empowering new insights specifically designed to help mothers create their ‘best life’ yet, then the You Sexy Mother series of books are for you!

The International Motherhood Study, 2009, reported that over half of mothers do not find time to do activities they enjoy regularly. Only 14% of mums said that they feel they are good to themselves and just 13% believe they get the alone time they need.

These findings indicate that we are putting others needs ahead of our own, in the misguided attempt to be that ‘perfect’ mother we hoped we’d be. The YSM philosophy tends to turn that way of thinking on its head and say why not focus on ourselves and ensure that we become a healthy, happy and fulfilled mother, who in turn is able to give 100% to her family as a result.

What good are we to anyone after all, if we can’t even prioritise our own health and wellbeing?

Resist the desire to look to the past or recreate it!

So often we find ourselves reminiscing about the old times and looking through rose-tinted glasses at the life we left behind. This is especially true for first time mums, as the memory of a carefree life with only ourselves to consider, is all too vivid! We can sometimes get quite stuck in this way of thinking – sabotaging our enjoyment of life by focusing on trivial things such as wishing we could fit into an old pair of pre-pregnancy jeans or longing to get our old job back. If we really looked at the situation honesty, we can often see that we are focusing on these old images simply because we haven’t taken the time to create a new and exciting vision for the future.

Enter the Ten-Step Turnaround Plan – a fast-track program designed to create explosive positive change and set you on the path to leading the life you truly want and deserve!

While the northern hemisphere  heads toward a picture perfect white Xmas (brrr!)  it’s time down in Australisia-land to break out that favorite summer frock,  sunscreen and the beach umbrella!

You Kiwis and Kangaroos don’t want your skin to dry out in the summer sun though. So purchase anything HOTmilk from your favorite lingerie store during December and you’ll receive two 10ml Baby Olive products absolutely free! This natural product from Tebe, is beautiful, gentle and natural – the ideal choice for you or your baby. So when you’re at your local lingerie store, being fitted for your ravishing HOTmilk lingerie, make sure you leave with a little something extra – from us! Xx

- This offer is valid while stocks last. One gift per person at any one time. And sorry Northerners, Southern Africans and South Americans too,  this promo is available in NZ & Australia only. Your time will come! Merry Christmas everybody!

We are so excited about the OHbaby! online awards – can you tell?

OHbaby! have launched the official, inaugural awards, recognising the best products and services in the pregnancy and parenting market. And guess what? HOTmilk has been nominated for the Top Nursing Lingerie Brand! We’d be so grateful if you could take a second to vote for us at the link below. As there are a LOT of questions, you can just skip on through by clicking NEXT, all the way to Page 9.

Thanks so much for your support!!

http://www.ohbaby.co.nz/article.aspx?ContentID=4179

Jennifer Kerr’s story, like so many of your was filled with joy , heartbreak and resilience through the hard stuff despite the challenges the life can throw our way. Here is Jennifer’s story again:

“My biggest challenges are my changing body shape – changing so quickly my brain can’t keep my with my changing dimensions and I keep bumping my tummy on counters and the edges of draws – and trying to feel good about the way I look, finding clothes to fit and flatter me, and that make me feel pretty.

But I am blessed to be having a very ‘normal’ pregnancy, to have a husband who is madly in love with me, and to be growing our beautiful baby inside me. Pregnancy can knock me around as much as it wants, as long as baby is okay, happy, healthy and strong. It would just be nice to feel pretty, too.”

Congratulations Jennifer, a gorgeous new HOTmilk  nightie is on its way.

Thanks again for all of your entries and keep a watch out for the next HOTmilk competition. Meanwhile why not go ahead and treat yourself. You know you deserve it!

- Beautifully shaped, embellished with satin bows and exquisite lace, this style also has A-frame support, one handed maternity clips for fuss free feeding and nothing short of a sophisticated air about it.

If this sounds like you, then here’s what you need to do to win it – Simply answer the question below right here on our blog and our favorite answer, as judged by the team at HOTmilk, will be revealed this Friday, November 20^th, 2010.  It’s that easy! Oh, and dont forget you’ll need to be a HOTmilk  facebook fan too to win this one.  So if you’re not a fan yet then pop on over to the HOTmilk facebook page and click on the  button at the top of the page!

QUESTION:

What were the biggest challenges you faced during pregnancy & being a new mother?

ANSWER:________

But wait – there’s more!…  While you’re in a winning mood, why don’t you sign up to the HOTmilk newsletter and be in to win a beautiful, natural HUNI skin care product. Ten winners drawn each month! It just might be your lucky day! xx

Fortunately, you are not the first to go through all this and some of those who have come before you had the common courtesy to write it all down, just for you!

First there were books and now there are blogs all sharing a wealth of knowledge that can be simply invaluable to a newbie parent.  And lets face it even some of the more seasoned parents still need a drop of sound advice from time to time, because contrary to what we like our children to believe, we simply can’t know everything all of the time.

One such portal of parental wisdom that boasts a plethora of pregnancy and parenting advice is a web site created by the bestselling authors of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, aptly called… www.whattoexpect.com (well you should have been expecting that at least!)

So next time your just not quite sure what to expect, at least you’ll know where to look!

Okay, so while pregnancy and being a breastfeeding mother may not be an excuse for bad behaviour, it really needs to be said that messing with a woman in either state takes a brave person. Because we are always right.

There are just some days when the slightest little thing will tip the balance and you’re quite likely to yell, “Because I said so!”. And you know what? You’re justified.

The cat’s been throwing up fur balls, your toddler has given up day sleeps – you tried for three hours to keep him in there and you’ve finally had to admit defeat. You got the time wrong for your midwifes visit and had been doing the over night fasting for your blood test – you’re ravenous and you really get what it feels like to be a Mama Bear! The washing machine is on the blink and the repair man can’t come until at least Tuesday.

“But I rang you last week!” you shriek. The quivering lady on the other end wisely declines to answer. She identifies with that hysterical tremor in your voice.

You are completely sick and tired of people nodding sagely, clucking sympathetically, cooing about hormones and the wonders of a good nights sleep. How will that ever happen? You’re too hot, you’re too cold, you have to prop up your belly with a pillow and your back aches, your husband wakes you to tell you the toddler is coughing (is he mad?) and then suggests you need to take things easy, you’re a little over-wrought these days.

What happened to the glowing skin, the silken hair, the heightened sexual appetite, the perfect house and always clean toddler?

If people would just agree with you, things would really be back in perspective.

We are sometimes our own worst enemy. While it shouldn’t really be said in public (so keep it to yourself, girlfriend!)  we women can sometimes – just very occasionally – take on the martyr’s mantle. Or, it’s actually just a whole lot easier to do it yourself than explain what you’d like done and then have to smile (grimace) through gritted teeth in thanks. Perhaps acting a little frail and wan, a little needy might just up the ante in getting a bit of help? Take a breath, organise a bit of time out for yourself and reconnect with your place in the world – it does wonders. And leaves you in a better frame of mind to tell the next person who dares to question you, “Because I said so!”.