Good Morning and Happy Monday! 8 sleeps until Christmas and YAY I survived the hectic weekend with not much sleep and NO I am not in my Pyjamas this morning!
Friday night my Mum came down to babysit our 4 children, Hubby and I got all dressed up and we headed out to the ‘Kidz on the Coast’ Cocktail Party, celebrating their 10th Birthday! We had such a fun night and it really was lovely meeting some other business owners from the Central Coast. I have spoken to Debbie and Simone many times on the phone and by email but had never met them in person, so I was thrilled to be able to actually meet them!
Me with the gorgeous Debbie and Simone
These ladies truly are 2 beautiful Mums who look so happy and content with their busy lives, finding a work – family balance and were glowing with incredible smiles and you can see clearly they LOVE what they do….so what better time to share them with all my Cut out the Crap friends…..so here they are as my Monday SUPER MUMS!…..ENJOY!
“Debbie and Simone”
Tell us a little bit about you and your family?
Debbie – I am 45 years old, wife to Steve (we’ve shared 21 fantastic and exciting years) and mum to my beautiful son Jack (16). We moved to the Central Coast 21 years ago from Sydney and now live in East Gosford. Steve does the “commute” to Sydney everyday and I am lucky enough to work from home. My business is Kidz on the Coast magazine (celebrating 10 years in business this December), which I run with my business partner and gorgeous special friend Simone Evans. I’m also a freelance Graphic Designer squeezing in a few design jobs when I can. Our 4th family member is our family’s personal trainer – our 5 year old Border Collie, Badger (sister to Jinx). Rain, hail or shine – Badger demands that we all get out and exercise for at least an hour each day! I love playing netball and have just taken up the bass guitar earlier this year (a very effective way to de-stress after a demanding day). My son has a mild allergy to peanuts, but is easy to live with as there are so many other healthy types of nuts to enjoy.
Simone – Our family consists of:
Husband – Peter……dependable, loving, patient, & very funny….but his jokes are dreadful! I can’t work out why I laugh so hard at them, but I always do! He has the amazing ability to see good in everything and everyone.
Child # 1 – our daughter Isobella (15) calm, sweet natured, loving & intelligent
Child # 2 – our daughter Graycin (12)…gentle, funny, creative, such a beautiful spirit
Child # 3 – our son Noah (7) …kind, cheeky, athletic & very easy to love
Dog # 1 – Jinx…a divine border collie who is my running buddy
Cat # 1 – Tabitha – a 17 year old tabby cat who, according to our vet is obese!
And Me – I’m 43 years old, my children are always my first priority so I feel very lucky to work from home which allows me to balance family committments and work. I like staying fit and run most days. I enjoy cooking for family and friends and am an avid reader. We live happily at Green Point on the Central Coast and feel blessed to enjoy life in such an amazing community. We realized long ago that to fuel our bodies for the busy lifestyle we lead, we had to choose food wisely. So we eat clean, fresh food…and our family has no food allergies.
Debbie and Simone with their Children!
What one ingredient can you not live without and why?
Debbie – I really had to think about this question, there’s nothing that jumps into my head. I would probably say lemons and/or limes. They add great flavour to meals and even the humble glass of ice water!
Simone – I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT HERBS…They make plain food interesting and are so diverse in flavours. They don’t just taste amazing but have a myriad of health benefits as well.
If you had half an hour to cook dinner and realized you didn’t have anything planned, what would you cook?
Debbie – A quick and easy favourite of mine, and my son’s is pasta (recently converted to gluten and wheat free) with a simple tomato sauce consisting of fresh or tin tomatoes and some herbs.
Simone – In half an hour, I would whip up an omelette (using fresh herbs) and a garden salad with which ever fresh salad ingredients we had available.
What is one piece of advice you can pass on to other busy mums?
Debbie – My advice would be to try and stay as organised as possible. Just getting a few things done each morning before you start work. This is something that I haven’t always been great at but learning from my very organised business partner Simone. It’s amazing how more productive you are when you have a tidy desk!!!
Simone – Be kind to yourself. Children don’t come with a manual and you will receive so much well meaning advice. Choose what suits your family best and don’t doubt your decisions!
If you could have dinner with any 3 people in the world, who would it be and why?
Debbie – Well, I’m going to cheat here and give 4. They would be Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, my husband Steve and son Jack. Music is a big part of our family, listening to and playing. My husband has always been a huge fan of the Beatles, which has rubbed off on myself and Jack in quite a big way. I would absolutely LOVE to engage in conversation with these brilliant musicians and to witness my husband and son experience a dinner such as this, would just make my day!
Simone – Jamie Oliver – amazing fresh food & interesting banter
Carole King – amazing music & interesting banter
My husband Pete – bad jokes & interesting banter
10 years ago you started “Kids on the Coast” Magazine and it is growing with each issue and loved by so many. I would love to know how this started. What inspires you? What keeps you going?
First and foremost, we are best friends and enjoy sharing our days together. This has been the basis of our successful working relationship. We made the pact 10 years ago to not allow any differing opinions to come between us and we have upheld this throughout the years. We laugh a lot and we swear a little too.
We came up with the KOTC concept 11 years ago as young mums on Coast and decided to combine our experience and create a publication that would assist local families. We are very passionate about supporting community, hence all information and contributions are from our local area. The feedback from our readers and hearing that our publication does make a different to their lives, is what helps keep us motivated each issue.
Check out our website www.kidzonthecoast.com.au for our current issue.
www.facebook.com/pages/Kidz-on-the-Coast-Magazine/124713427543885
When you see these Mums together you can see the amazing friendship they have and I think this is so lovely and inpsiring!
A MASSIVE Thank you to Debbie and Simone for allowing me to interview you and an even bigger THANK YOU for supplying us Central Coast Mums (and lets face it, Dads, Grandparents and Carers) and awesome Free Magazine!
Wishing you all a wonderful week, don’t forget to take time to stop and enjoy these fun moments with your kids, drink lots of water in this heat and give thanks for your health and family!
Take Care of You,
Collette x
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Super MUMS from "Kidz on the Coast"
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