By responding to a personal challenge with an open heart, she’s managed to build a business that helps not only her own family, but many others as well.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m very blessed to be married to my best friend for the last 13 years, we are parents to two very spunky and lively little ones ( a boy and girl) who came to our family through intercountry adoption.

I am also the owner of an online children’s lifestyle store called Lime Tree Kids www.limetreekids.com.au  which keeps me busy! My son has some needs that require him to be gluten, dairy and “numbers” free .

This is a huge part of our lifestyle now, sourcing great food for us all to eat that doesn’t affect his behaviour or health!  I’m also an avid believer in play and that all great things start with fun! Bonding, learning, growing in all areas are so much easier when it’s in a relaxed manner.

Why did you create Lime Tree Kids?

Basically I started Lime tree kids as a way of bringing all of the products I had searched and located for using with my son and his play therapy. When he first came to us he had some attachment issues and needed help learning to trust and bond with us as his main caregivers (parents).

We did this by spending hours of time playing with him every day and developing a relationship through fun and eventually laughter! He learnt to trust us as we developed a relationship through play and meeting his needs continuously.

When I was searching for toys and items to play with it was so hard to find toys that were wooden and long lasting rather then plastic and flimsy. I found that things like sleeping bags and baby carriers and anything else I needed like sandwich cutters to help make eating fun etc where spread all over the internet and that no one store had everything I needed .

So I decided to start a “hobby” out of my bedroom and opened an online store that sold most of these products. It pretty quickly grew into what it is today. We just turned 2 and  have just moved into our first office warehouse facility , have over 250 brands and 1500 products lines. I’ve bought on board my brother as a business partner and he looks after the warehouse and packing of orders , my niece is in charge of Customer Service / Admin and we have another lady , Louise as well helping out doing accounts .

Why is play important for kids?  

I believe that children learn through play and it’s all they need for that stage in their time.  Play is like children’s work, they learn skills like interacting, sharing , communication , how far their boundaries can go , that they are safe or unsafe , encourages fine and gross motor skills which in turn help them with every day skills we use as adults every day.

There are so many reasons why just playing is important. Its impossible to list them all!  I remember being shocked when I learnt that the reasons that things like chalk boards and children using them and painting and  drawing on a board using up and down strokes, actually taught them to use the strokes that they use when learning to draw and write .. things like that amaze me !

What does healthy eating mean for you & your family?

Healthy eating to me and my family generally revolves around my sons dietary needs. We have managed to keep him off behaviour medication and turned around his ASD diagnosis by tweaking his diet.

We eat organic when we can, fresh vegetables and meat. We don’t eat anything with preservatives or additives if we can help it. I’ve learnt to cook a lot better and search the internet for resources ! If there are skin issues we address what food he has been eating and try adding or deleting that food.  It’s a constantly evolving thing as I wasn’t raised thinking of food as a source of nutrition and goodness.  I’m also a terrible cook so those skills are being tested as well !!

What are 5 of your kitchen pantry essentials?

Coconut Oil

Almonds (for flour or cooking)

Coconut milk

Rice pasta

Rice cakes for snacks

What do you indulge in?

Coffee – I’m trying to give it up at the moment but I just LOVE coffee !!

What are some of the things you value most in life?

Some of the things I value most in life are my husband and our marriage and relationship. My children and their needs, my good friends who are always ready to hear my crazy stories! My family, and creating memories with them as well as my friends. And SLEEP !!!

What is your favourite quote?

Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid !  – Albert Einstein.

Do you find time to nurture yourself? What does this involve?

I am very, very bad at this. My idea of nurturing myself at the moment is to take a bath, to go to bed early with my son (whom I lie down with each night and listen to sleep music) . I am about to start Yoga though so I can take some time out from everything !

What do you and your kids like to do on the weekend?

We lead a very busy life, so generally on the weekend, we will hang out around the house and just chill out, staying in our pj’s and slothing around. We will also go to the market and get some fruit and vegetables and do grocery shopping (woot woot!) . Every second weekend we catch up with extended family and have lunch and a play together.

Would you like to share one of your favourite healthy recipes?

One of our favourite family recipes is from Quirky Cooking Jo’s blog. http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/thermomix-fried-rice.html

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Shelley as much as I have.

You can connect with Shelley here:

www.limetreekids.com.au

www.facebook.com/limetreekids

www.pinterest.com/limetreekids

When I found an old appointments diary in a box recently, I flicked through it and realised the strangest thing.  I was far more frantic when I had two kids and a non-demanding job than I am a few years later with three kids, two step-children and my own business.

How?  Different types of busy.  My old diary is crammed with things that I took on for the wrong reasons: pride, self-consciousness, people-pleasing, avoidance, disorganisation, lack of assertiveness – it’s a mess!

And so was I.  Staring at my bedroom ceiling for three weeks, stricken with glandular fever – publishing contract in one hand, divorce papers in another, missing my pre-schooler’s first Christmas concert – I realised life didn’t have to be as hard as I’d been making it.

Here are 7 Types of Busy, (adapted from Soul Sisters Empowerment Group) that can take us seriously off-track:

‘Badge-of-honour’ Busy

You believe that being busy equals being significant.  Keeping your schedule jam-packed keeps you as important as everyone else – it’s how you create your worth.

People say, ‘I don’t know how you do it!’ (and secretly, you love hearing that).  The truth is, you don’t know how you do it either – or even if you want to.  All you know is that other people notice and admire you what you’re doing – and that feels good.

‘Nobody does this as well as I do’ Busy

You’d like to cut things out of your schedule, but you’d probably end up doing them anyway, because nobody else does things ‘properly’.  Exhibit A: the way he’s folded the towels!  Exhibit B: those sentences your colleague wrote!  You’ll have to do it all again!

You believe you’re the only one who can complete everything at the required level at work and at home to your exacting standards.  One of your most-used phrases is ‘Here – let me do it!’

‘Running away’ Busy

There is something big that you really should attend to: perhaps it’s addressing an unhappy relationship, moving out of an unrewarding job or something else that you find very daunting.

Instead of tackling what should be first on your list, you fill your diary with unnecessary tasks so that you ‘don’t have time’ to face the important stuff.

You could go on like this indefinitely, filling your life with distraction, pushing the real problem under the surface while you invent excuses for not having time to address it.

‘Comfort zone’ Busy

You’d love to try a new hobby, online dating, seek a promotion at work or start a health kick – but it’s a big step and you’re scared.  What if it doesn’t work out?

Staying busy keeps you in your comfort zone and protects you from taking risks.  The more busy you are, the longer you’re ‘off the hook’ and safe from potential failure.

‘People pleaser’ Busy

You have a need to be liked.  ‘Yes’ comes out of your mouth before you even consider an alternative response.  What if you say ‘no’ and they don’t like you as much?  What if there’s conflict?

Is it easier and safer just to take the request on?  YES!  You’ll do it!  And you’re exhausted!

‘Flapping’ Busy

You’re disorganised at home and at work.  You spend a huge amount of time looking for things that you’ve misplaced.  You’re regularly late for appointments.  You leave everything til the last minute. The first thing you do when you’re overwhelmed is write a Facebook status about it.

Your lack of organisation creates chaos and manufactures extra work.  It takes you much longer to accomplish things than it could, because you’re focused almost entirely on flapping.

‘Scared to ask’ Busy

You feel like a fraud at work.  You’re not sure you understand the task.  Rather than seek clarification, you go to enormous lengths to try to work it out yourself.

You’re scared of asking ‘silly questions’ and choose to complicate your life in an effort to avoid these.  You’ll send emails rather than call, then waste time waiting for a response.

Uncovering your motivation to stay so over-burdened is the first step in untangling yourself from a life that is ‘busy’ in unfulfilling ways, and creating in its place a life that is ‘full’.  If there’s not enough ‘white space’ in your diary, eliminate the 7 Types of Busy and start taking things on for the right reasons.

For more information on the 7 Types of Busy and to learn how to disentangle yourself from doing too much, receive our free eBook.

Emma Grey is the author of Wits’ End Before Breakfast! Confessions of a Working Mum (Lothian, 2005) and director of the life-balance consultancy, WorkLifeBliss. She writes on motherhood, work and relationships on her blog and her vampire-free teen novel is currently with a publisher.  Join her on Facebook.