Leading up to Las Vegas...

I am off to Las Vegas next week with a girlfriend for a week. The purpose of the trip is attend a Women's Business Conference, which is just so exciting! We have had this trip booked for months and now as we are in the final countdown, I am feeling a little nervous about it all.

For one, I have only been away for 2 nights from the kids at the most in the seven years of being their mother. We are use to my husband travelling for work, however, for me to leave my domain is a huge step. I will miss them incredibly, but I know, I will return with more patience and more time which is a result of time out for me.

As I check-in to my flight, I will be travelling as myself. Not as a mother or a wife, or as a family. Just me.

Lucky enough I am travelling with a great friend who is just as excited about the whole concept. We are on a mission together to absorb all that we can from the conference, shop as much as we can fit in our suitcase and enjoy our time out with gratitude.

Cant wait to share my travels and stories xx

How time flies by.....

The middle photo is my favourite photo of Kye and I. When he was stable enough, I would ask the midwives everyday if I could Kangaroo Care my baby. This is when your baby is skin to skin with you and next to your heartbeat. Whenever Kye was in this position his heartbeat, his breathing, his vital signs would all stabilise. It was where he loved to be. I would just stare at him and visualise him growing into a healthy baby. Some days this was hard when we had set backs, but most days, it would be the moment I would look forward to as it would give me hope.

People would walk past Special Care and take a double look to see if Kye was really a baby. He was so tiny, so tiny! It still brings tears to my eyes reflecting back. Tears of the memory of how I felt at the time - scared, uncertain, sad, frustrated and tears because time has enabled my son to grow into a little man full of life and great health.

I am thankful everyday for the recovery and growth Kye has made thus far in life. We have just noticed how much he has grown in the past few months. Its like he is on steriods! His physical development has always been slow which has never concerned us as we always knew it would take some time for him to catch up. But now, he really has grown into a gorgeous little man with long legs. He still has a baby's bum and minimal body fat, but he has a sharp mind, excellent eyesight, great speech and a personality that cracks you up with laughter.

He is my inspiration!

Rainbows

"The way I see it, if you want a rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain" - Dolly Parton

Baby Miracles

An extract from my book:

"Baby miracles change people. Mothers learn patience, self-control, endurance and, most of all, unconditional love. For the fathers who are searching for the true meaning of life there is a sudden understanding of what it’s all about"

Read more in the Sydney Morning Herald today:

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/parenting/baby/miracle-beginnings-20091022-hatw.html?page=-1&s_rid=rainbow:hp4:miracle-beginnings:eb:baby:23oct09

Enjoy xx

Weddings...

Scott and I attended a wedding last weekend with old friends. It was a fab night as we always have such a great time with the gang when we are together.

The happy couple are in their mid to late twenties, as are all their friends. So, us "oldies" showed them a great time with our dance moves on the dancefloor.

Aside from the champagne, great food and dancing up a storm, it was beautiful to see mothers from late 20's to late 30's let go and have a fab time. With all the kids being babysat, it was a forum to enjoy adult company and relax.

Weddings also give you an opportunity to think about your own marriage. I am lucky enough to have been married to my soul mate for 10.5 years and to have met him 18 years ago. When you hear the wedding vows, you always think back to your special day and look how far you have come. I feel extremely blessed to still love my mate more than ever.

Growing Pains

Its hard to know why we go through difficult times in our life and what we are suppose to learn from the experience.

However, when you are longer in that moment, you can reflect and think about the lessons learnt. Going through hard times is what I call "Growing Pains".

We are women, as mothers, need to keep growing in every area of our life, especially with regard to our spirit. We often shy away from opportunities that seem to hard, too confrontational or too risky. BUT if you take the leap of faith and grab the opportunity, you will experience some growing pains with a huge reward on the other side.

I remember how hard it was for me to go through therapy after Kye's birth. It was confrontational, emotional, hard work and just exhausting! But now on reflection, I know that was the most important moment of my life for myself thus far. I cleaned out all the scares and learnt how to take one step infront of another to move ahead in life. The reward was my sanity and becoming a better, not bitter, person.

If an opportunity knocks on your door that asks you to step outside your comfort zone, I dare you to take the leap. Dont worry if you are scared, we all are! Just know that you are putting pieces of yourself back together and the journey is so much more rewarding than the destination.

To have growing pains means you are living your life to the fullest!

The excitment about the book

Its all happening in our house! It's hard to tell if the kids think its normal that their mum has written a book.

When we received the delivery, there was alot of excitement!! Then there was the launch, which the kids arrived at the tail end and felt the excitement. They observed all the flowers arriving and the presents, plus Scott and I celebrating every minute of the day.

Today I walked into a book shop and spotted Miracle Beginnings on the shelf. I had to remain remotely cool, but felt like punching the air, jumping on the counter and yelling out "can you see my book!". Instead, I just starred at the copies and felt shocked!!! Until my four year old Kye YELLED OUT "Mumma, look, they have the same book as we do at home". Brings it all back to reality.

Tonight, Hanna asked me if she could read Miracle Beginnings. We gave her a copy. She came downstairs after 45 minutes to announce she had read the book. We asked her what she thought and she said "It made me feel sad when I read about Kye, but it made me feel happy when I was born and I thought it was funny about me". She had stopped at Kye's birth, thank goodness. Probably best for her to read later on in her life........

Breathing Space....

Take the time today to ....

take 10 deep breaths
close your eyes for 3 minutes

eat a piece of chocolate guilt free

call a friend just to say hi

send a thank you email to someone you love

be grateful for all that you have

Take the time today for you!

Overwhelming Response....

What a week it has been!! Have sold an amazing amount of books in my first week and the responses have been overwhelming. I have had friends and family texting, emailing, calling me to tell me how much they enjoyed the book.

Here are some of the responses:

"My bestie is sitting out on my back lawn reading your book bawling her eyes out! She is a mum of 4 and loves your honesty"

"I read your book!!! You moved me, I cried, I felt your pain, you are a remarkable woman and mother, what an achievement, you should be so proud, as I am of you. You will touch and open many hearts"

"Thank you VERY MUCH for causing my sleep deprivation! Couldn't put your bloody book down last night! Already half way thru and aim to finish it tonight! Its weird reading a book when you know the characters in it! Great idea to have Scott's contribution too"

"Oh my god Raquel, I’m only into the first couple of paragraphs and feel like I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster with you. I had no idea what you went through... you are truly amazing!"

"The book is FANTASTIC! You are an amazing woman and you inspire me in every way. I can't believe it I nearly finished reading it and I can't put it down. You went thru sooooo much but could always find the positive side and move on. I LOVE the book and I think you are a gorgeous person"

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I am so grateful for all the wonderful feedback and encouragement. Thank you!!

PS I received a text yesterday from a special friend who told me she had just walked into Dymocks in the City and there on display is Miracle Beginnings with 20 copies.......so excited!!!!!!!

The Official Book Launch

What a special day! Celebrating with my closest family and friends to launch the new book Miracle Beginnings. The photos say it all - happiness, champagne, friendship and celebrations...here are a few photos - enjoy!

Scott popped in after the celebrations as it was strictly females only!

This is my mother in law (on the left), Nanna Lorna in the middle and my mother (on the right)

Beautiful friends from school and our fabulous web designer, Flora, in blue

My long time friend and business partner, Jodie

This is Bec who you will read about in the book

My special friend Amanda (who you will read about in the book) presenting me with a gorgeous clock to represent so many important things to me

My stunning girlfriends celebrating with champas

Every woman loves flowers

I am waiting for my books to arrive......cant wait! As I am waiting, I have received beautiful bunches of flowers from gorgeous friends sending their love and congratulations for the launch of Miracle Beginnings.

To receive flowers, to me, is such a special way to show your feelings. I am always grateful for the thought to send the flowers and the thought of choosing the flowers to send. I just wish they could last forever!!

As of next Tuesday, Miracle Beginnings is on sale in all book shops around Australia and NZ, as well as from our website. I cant wait for you to read this special book and share in what I have written over the past four years.