Good Morning and Happy Monday! I hope this finds you all well rested after the weekend! Although we had a great weekend, we are not well rested and I am certain that hubby has gone back to work today to have a break from all the manual labour he was doing all weekend! We have been doing a backyard makeover, over the past few weeks, preparing for and putting in, an above ground pool for the kids for Christmas! Todays beautiful Super Mum interview comes at perfect timing really, as the importance of water safety is being reminded to us. This lady is a very dear friend of mine who I met when she was single, I then saw her become a girlfriend, fiancee, wife (and a STUNNING bride!) and now a wonderful Mum to a precious little girl. I am honoured to call her my friend, she is a beautiful person inside and out and the testiment for our friendship if the fact that we only see each other a few times a year, but know we are always there for each other and when we catch up we never shut up! I hope you enjoy hearing her story…..

“Faith Cook”

Mum and Daughter xxx

Tell us a little bit about you and your family?

I am 32 year old mother of one. My husband Ben and I live in Ashtonfield and have a wonderful daughter Tilly who will be 2 in January. I am currently working as a part time Events and Promotions organiser for Wine Selectors and a learn to swim instructor at Hit and Dip Greenhills. I am fortunate enough to love both my jobs and still have plenty of quality time with my family. I really enjoy staying fit and active & eating well. My husband is a terrific cook (thankfully, as I lacked that gene!) so we love to eat delicious healthy meals as a family. Luckily none of us have food allergies but we try to eat organically as much as possible.

Faith and Ben

What one ingredient can you not live without and why?

Dark chocolate. I am such a sweet tooth!

If you had half an hour to cook dinner and realized you didn’t have anything planned, what would you cook?

Probably pasta with olive oil, sundried tomatoes, olives, prosciutto and parsley. Sprinkle some parmesan on top & it’s delicious. It has to be served with a great red wine of course!

What is once piece of advice you can pass on to other busy mums?

Lose the guilt. I find that as a mum you worry that you are spending too much time at work, that the house isn’t clean enough, that you aren’t spending enough quality time with your kids, that you aren’t spending enough time on your appearance, that you are neglecting your friends, that you are relying on relatives for help…the list goes on! We can only do the best we can, there are only so many hours in the day! If you are playing with your child, focus on that, don’t worry about the washing, housecleaning etc. I heard a great saying the other day – there is no such thing as a happy perfectionist and it’s true! Mums, give yourselves a break – your kids are a testament to the great job you are doing!

Faith and Tilly

If you could have dinner with any 3 people in the world, who would it be and why?

I have dinner with my 2 favourite people every night! but if I had to choose 3 for a once off special dinner they would be –

Grandma Settle because I miss her!

Michelle Bridges to pick her brain about fitness, motivation and healthy living

Louise Hay for a spiritual wellness fix

You are a Swimming teacher…would you tell us why it’s important for young children to have lessons? Do you get satisfaction from teaching such an important skill?

I love being a learn to swim instructor. It is such a rewarding job seeing the kids grow more confident & enjoy the water!

It is so important for children to learn about swimming from a young age. We are blessed to live in a country with a terrific climate and some of the best beaches in the world. Thankfully drowning deaths are on the decline but 315 people still died in Australian waterways last year. Young children have such a curiosity about water so if we can teach them basic survival & safety from infancy it could save their lives. There are certain responsibilities we as mums have such as making sure pool fences are closed but also emptying baths & wading pools immediately after use. Also mums with infants get yourselves into a mums and bubs class! They are a lot of fun, a great bonding exercise and your child will be so much more confident when they start swimming on their own.