Cheese toasties for dinner?
Good Morning/Afternoon! 
Over the weekend I did the thing that I would usually be very passionate about advising against...
I went to a shopping mall during the "Black Friday" weekend.
It was just me and the girlies. I was keen to get out of the house and channel their energy somewhere that wouldn't involve picking up the pieces for 3 days after (plus I needed to get the 1-year-old to sleep, the car always works)
It was raining so I took them to Blacktown shops. Not totally my local but it's weirdly the shopping mall I feel most comfortable at.
Countless rounds of eye spy with my little eye later, we were still stuck in traffic. We didn't mind though. I was kind of expecting it and I could hear the 1 year old snoring in her car seat.
Eventually... we got there.
After spending an hour at a new playland (it is this one and it's one of those better ones, plus the green Macha latte rocks) and a quick run through the new time zone to see if I could find any old friends (this is where I used to work for over a decade, and no I didn't find any friends, poor us haha), we decided to grab lunch at our favorite sushi place and contemplate if we should head into the shops to try and find knee pads (she has been watching me skate a lot and now is very keen to learn herself).
Something to admit, I don't spend a lot of time alone with both my girls, and I often doubt my parenting skills.
Our experience at the shops could have gone two ways, spesh that baby face was getting irritable once again.
Big sister and I took a deep breath and dived into the shopping center abyss.
Fun Fact btw, stress leaks through the skin (and you can listen/watch an awesome talk about it here), and we could sense the intensity as soon as we hopped into the elevator.
And even though yes it was kind of crazy, she and I continued to hold our smiles, waited patiently for our turn for the things, and of course used every opportunity for small talk with the other shoppers (well not me, that's more a 4 year old thing).
I was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing and was reminded once again that I can parent (imposter syndrome as a parent is a very real thing, but I'll talk about that in another newsletter).
It also got me thinking... how come sometimes when I do things with the kiddies on my own, it can sometimes feel more chill when I have their beautiful baby daddy with me?
Now, before I continue, I just want to acknowledge how privileged I am to have a present partner in the family. Many people, including people I am very close with, are in different situations. I acknowledge this and just wanted to say that there are some absolute superstar single or sole parents out there. I bow down to you.
I heard Brene Brown talk about this once in her book, about her experience of when parenting alone can sometimes feel more chill than when parenting with another.
And the reason why was not what I was expecting, but made sense.
They figured out it was because they set fewer expectations for themselves and the day if only one parent was present.
When we go out and just roll with the how did they get away with it being that steep slippery dip waves rather than trying to get 3 things done at once (something I kind of do to some degree every time my partner is with me), I often tend to be more mindful and present (another disclaimer, this is not always the case. I've gone out before and come right back home too, we are all just doing our best!).
So, on Saturday, rather than trying to organize lunch and ask for the 4th time if anyone needs to go to the bathroom, I can just sit in a ball pit, holding a baby, watching the other one fly kick a foam wall, because that's all I need, and can do.
We humans are funny huh? We often need to have the options taken away from us for us to feel more relaxed, not the other way around.
Ever wonder why you can't decide what to have for dinner after a long day?
What to ask ChatGPT?
There are just too many options! Too many decisions!
It's why people like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg wear the same thing every day (I thought that life could never be for me, but here I am wearing Indigo Luna Flare pants and a Nin Yoga Crop top for literally the 1000th time).
It's why some of the greatest music of all time was created back in the day when they only had so many options to choose from in the recording studio, or why the most delicious cake is baked when you unexpectedly have an abundance of pineapple (wish I could say I baked this cake, but it was a dear friend, and dear friend if you are reading this, our family adores your baking always).
The fewer options/decisions we have in our day, the more brain power we have for the stuff that is going to rock the boat.
P.S. And if what matters is also letting the brain REST while you float in a sea of plastic balls and watch your children have the best time ever pegging them at each other, so be it.
Ok, That's the life musings for this week.
Looking forward to catching you at the studio sometime soon. We sold a wholeeee lot of x10 class pass last week, and we look forward to seeing all the new faces!
Sending you lots of creative bursts of energy 
Annika xx
P.S. The Nin Yoga Christmas Party is on the 16th of December, 4 pm - 8 pm at the Penrith Studio! All Students and Teachers are invited. You can learn more on the Facebook event here.
P.P.S. We have a FREE Aerial Yoga Class for one of our teacher trainees this Saturday 10 am and Sunday 9:30 am. You can book in by clicking here.
P.P.P.S. Still swooning over our community shoot last weekend with Charlotte Dabb. I'll keep sprinkling them in here to bring some color to your inbox just cause. The below photo is kind of cute and cringey at the same time and makes me laugh. I also feel sorry for the teachers not wearing shoes, as the earth at Werrington Lakes was not foot-friendly in the slightest.
