Oasis Magazine - Cairns & Tropical North Queensland Issue 21 - Dec|Jan 2018 | Page 3

In economics, the term ‘critical mass’ refers to the point at which a company becomes self-sustaining, and no longer needs additional investment to remain viable. Publishers Note And, despite having zero peer-reviewed data to make this claim, I firmly believe that, with parenting, four children can also be quantified as critical mass. The number at which you can add extra kids, and not even notice any difference. The cake goes into the oven, the spoons are getting licked, and I pop out of the kitchen for just bit. Honestly, it was no more than five minutes. Upon my return, I found my three year old, Audrey, (or Awful, as I have since dubbed her) had taken the remaining 32 eggs from the benchtop cartons, and tossed them against the floor, the walls, the furniture. Basically, anything with a surface. You see, I’ve got a swag of kids. Four of them, under 9 years of age. Horrendously, that’s actually not the worst part of this story. At the best of times, it’s complete and utter chaos. Every other time, you are actually in a warzone. And don’t even speak to me about the mess. But surprisingly, adding extra kids to the mix doesn’t add to the chaos. In fact, the more kids that are in our backyard, the easier the parenting task becomes. The worst part of the story is I thought I had found all the broken eggs. Two days later, I learned that I hadn t. (*vomits*) That was certainly my theory until recently, when my husband went away to work for a month. That’s when I realised that having a heap of kids is truly gruelling. It’s repetitive. And it’s bloody hard work. And, if making the twenty school lunches each week doesn’t bring you to your knees, the bed- hopping, the arguing and the extra- curricular activities actually will. On a side note, it appears my husband does more around the house than I may actually give him credit for. (Sorry about that, dear!) DISCLAIMER: Any form of reproduction of any content within this publication, including advertisements, without the written permission of the Publisher is strictly prohibited. While the greatest of care is taken to ensure that the information provided is correct at the time of printing, the Publisher accepts no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. The information on this site is for information purposes only. The Publisher assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. The views expressed in this magazine about each individual, event or organisation has been provided by such individual, event organisers or organisation without verification by us. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Publisher. Therefore, the Publisher carries no responsibility for the opinion expressed thereon. The publishers, advertisers and contributors are in no way responsible for any actions taken by an individual, organisation or any party on the basis of reading any of the material within this publication. dozen eggs were on the kitchen bench. Last weekend, the kids were pining for their dad, so I thought it would be a great idea to bake a cake. Now, I’m not famous for my domestic prowess, however it was a packet mix. What could possibly go wrong, right? Big families equal big wee ly grocery orders. urs includes 24 litres of milk, 50 bananas, 50 apples, litres of yoghurt and 36 eggs, among other things. After using three of the eggs for the cake mix, and losing one of them to a sibling jostle, the remainder of the three So, I’m convinced that being a FIFO wife sucks. It sucks eggs. Now, as I eagerly anticipate the return of my husband (which incidentally will occur precisely two minutes before I check into the nearest hotel for a few days of me-time) I want to send out a massive Christmas wish to all the families out there, no matter which way you are doing it. To the single parents, I take my hat off to you. To the nuclear families, the blended families, the extended families, the childless families, the grand-families and the fur-families. To the heroes raising kids that don’t have your DNA. The Oasis Magazine team wish all of you the most sensational time over the holidays! Stay ha y, stay hydrated, stay safe, and try to stay sane! Cheers, Jules xx JULES STEER Publisher | Oasis Magazine E: [email protected] P: 0423 959 648 4031 4112 FRIDAYS ONLY idareyou.com.au Shop 21 Oceana Walk 55 Lake Street, Cairns Issue 21 | 3