Category: 250 in 2017

I am committing to writing 250 posts in 2017. It was going to be 365 but I think that’s a little ambitious…

What happens at Fit Mums…

/ Renae / Leave a comment

…is sometimes mortifying. And I’m not talking about the burpees or bear crawling or diaphragming which incidentally are all near impossible when over 30 weeks pregnant.

No I’m talking about this.

My little nugget decided to throw a wooden block across the room and crack!! I was absolutely mortified. My hands flew to my mouth but before I could even say anything our trainer, who has five kids of his own, told me not to worry about it; that is was bound to happen at some stage and he’s surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.

I thought he could do less damage if I put the gloves on. Gotta love fit mums.

And some nights

/ Renae / Leave a comment

I just don’t have it in me.

Even though I know an hour is all it would take tonight to do the kitchen and some tidying up that would make the rest of the week easier, I just can’t do it.

The heat + pregnancy + three kids is leaving me so drained and I’m just giving myself permission to rest. As long as my beautiful children are fed and loved, a full dishwasher, full sink and full basket of clothes makes no difference. Their bellies and hearts are just as full and that suits me just fine.

There’s always tomorrow.

Aah Hogs Breath…

/ Renae / Leave a comment

…you never fail to disappoint.

Now don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a Hogs-bash. Quite the contrary. It’s almost impressive how, no matter which Hogs Breath I go to, and I’ve probably been to only a few, and no matter how many times I’ve been, maybe only a dozen in my whole life, the food is always the same lacklustre quality.

They do not know how to cook a good steak. They don’t even know how to cut a good piece to cook! They pretty much always overcook their steaks, which I think was demonstrated by the language used by the 10 of us ordering tonight:

“I’ll have it as rare as I can.” The steaks still came out close to well done. Seriously. All of them. Hubs’ had the tiniest tinge of pink if you squinted, as did mine (I ordered mine medium).

And can I just say those curly fries aren’t all that? You can buy them in the frozen section at Woollies and cook them yourself. I didn’t even get them – I saw sweet potato wedges and was all over that goodness. They were the best thing on my plate by far. And I can probably buy those exact ones at Woollies too.

Look I’m honestly not complaining. My expectations were met. Those expectations just happened to be very very low, but hey! I wasn’t disappointed. Just underwhelmed.

And we still had a wonderful night as we were with good friends who had organised a night out, and I didn’t have to cook or clean up.

The only thing that did leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth was that it cost $80 for two mediocre steaks and a drink each. I don’t want to brag, but Dad brought up some super thick rib fillet steaks last time that Hubs cooked/smoked on the BBQ and I tell you what they were some of the best we’ve ever had.

So thank you Hogs Breath for remaining underwhelming and for helping us appreciate what we have at home.

I may never shop again

/ Renae / Leave a comment

It has taken me a really long time to truly embrace meal planning. I knew in theory that it was a good idea but I didn’t like the idea of being so restricted. Well I’m pleased to say that it has been great and has delivered everything it promised – less stress around the 5pm mark, no thinking about coming up with a meal idea at 4pm and realising I don’t have all the ingredients. Plus we are definitely eating better.

Speaking of delivering, I also finally gave online shopping with Woollies a go. I spent about half an hour ordering on Thursday and opted for delivery today. Oh my gosh what a game changer. I always said things like “I like picking my own fruit and veg and I like to get the reduced to clear bargains.”

Stuff that. I like to not have to haul groceries in and out of the car and up the stairs twice a week. Yes, they brought them up the stairs for goodness sake! I may never go to the shops again people!

I also signed up for unlimited deliveries for six months so mid week top up shops are covered.

Apart from all the plastic bags (I normally bring my own reusable bags) I give it two thumbs up!

10 things on the 10th

/ Renae / Leave a comment

10 things about me that I’m sure drive Hubs crazy

1. I change my mind. A lot. Sometimes mid-sentence.
Sometimes we will have decided on a certain course of action, and then I’ll go away and decide that we should do it a different way, and sometimes maybe I forget to tell him about the new plan. Ha ha. Lucky for him, I changed my mind about having another baby. (He always wanted 4 or 5 or +++ but I had to come around.)

2. I ask him to do numerous tasks and expect them all to be done at once.
An example – I’ll ask him to upload some photos to the computer, and get a movie ready for the kids for Friday family movie night, and to take the rubbish downstairs, and to help Chance tidy up the Lego. Then 10 minutes later I’ll ask if he’s done.

3. I rush him.
I have this unrealistic expectation and desire that I arrive at everything “on time”. Even if there is no real “on time”. Hubs has taken to asking me “is it possible to be late for this event?” ie is there even a starting time? He has very little sense of urgency or concept of time and I know that he hates to be rushed for no good reason.

4. I complain a lot about the heat. And being tired all the time. And lots of other things.
I’m really working on my complaining. As in, I’m trying to not complain so damn much. It’s a waste of breath, it’s counter-productive and it changes nothing. It also exacerbates the situation – if I complain I’m tired instead of just getting on with things, I feel more tired, and so on.

5. I have a tendency to overreact to things sometimes.
I’m kind of a “react now, think after” kind of girl. Instead of taking a moment to evaluate, I have a tendency towards the dramatics.

6. I get cranky.
Sometimes my mood can change very quickly (I currently blame hormones!!) and Hubs is like “ummm what the heck just happened?” Then I have to try and snap out of it. Something I don’t like to do!

7. I hang my bags on the backs of chairs.
This one is just funny. Even though Hubs isn’t the tidiest Hubs in the world, he has organised piles of things and he hates things hanging on the backs of chairs/on door handles/on curtain rods. Ha ha. I’m such a shocker for this one.

8. When I tidy up I don’t necessarily put things exactly where they should go – I’m more of a stuff ‘n go kind a gal. Hey, it works for me!

9. I sometimes undercook his toast.
This one is a funny one. He told me after we had only been together for a few months, when I had made him a piece of “warm bread” as he describes it now, that he likes his toast cooked more, and that he’d rather tell me now (then) than have undercooked toast for the rest of his life. Sometimes I do it just to stir him…

10. I can sometimes be over-sensitive to my needs and very insensitive to his.
I always considered myself a very sensitive person, but I do know I can be very sensitive to my own needs and feelings and disregard others. Something I have definitely worked on over the years.

I’m lucky he’s such a patient man!

Home scream home

/ Renae / Leave a comment

Look I’m not going to lie. It’s good to be home. Even though a couple more nights with Hubs in Syds would have been amazing, I did miss the the kids and was keen to get back to them. I think part of that is because I have a renewed energy to do more with them; a great desire to be more present and to just play with them more.

Enter the screaming banshee.

Darby has literally just entered into a screaming phase and boy can this kid scream. Your first impulse is to throw your hand over his mouth just to stop the noise as quickly as possible. Not an ideal solution but an effective one in the short term.

And I don’t know if it was the thunder storm that rolled in this afternoon, that I’d been away, the fact that studies have shown that kids do in fact behave 800 times worse when their mother is in the room, or a combination of these factors, but the kids pretty much went feral and bat sh*t crazy this evening.

Just for me.

I’ve been assured by my parents that the kids have been perfectly well behaved in my absence, apart from a bit of screaming, which obviously is a relief but is also entirely unfair.

They saved it all for me. Aren’t they just darling? I certainly didn’t get eased back into family life but it’s what I’ve come to expect, and now that they are all in bed, sound asleep I can feel grateful for my wonderful kids.

Come home quickly Hubs. Your kids are missing you!

Obligatory Sydney pics

/ Renae / Leave a comment

This one

This one

This one

And this one is a new one

Had a pretty funny day. The weather was a bit crazy – windy and rainy and sunny and repeat. I did a lot of walking, some coffee drinking, caught up with my other Sydney friend, ate yummy Japanese food (so much food on this trip!) found an awesome op-shop, had to come and rest because of sciatica pain but I was very happy and exhausted.

Then went out again and helped Hubs choose suit material and designs for a tailor-made suit (yeeow!) and watched him get fitted and choose buttons and details and all that fun stuff, then finished up with an amazing dinner with Kel and her partner at an authentic Malaysian place.

Have I mentioned the food this trip has been incredible!? We have been in luck every time.

I head home in the morning and to be honest I do miss the kids! I’ve had some great sleep and sleep-ins and I feel recharged to get back in the parenting game. I know I have a few crazy months ahead of me but I’m certainly feeling energetic and optimistic about this time that is to come.

In 12 hours I’ll be homeward bound. It’s been great!

Day 2 in Syd

/ Renae / Leave a comment

Unfortunately the bed in the Air bnb we’re staying at is only a double. Fortunately I couldn’t give a crap because not only did I not have to get up to kids all night (only to pee. Twice. Damn pregnancy bladder!) but I also got to enjoy it until 9.30 this morning. The last 3 hours by myself! Now that is luxury for a mum of three, let me tell you!

I headed down for a leisurely and delicious brunch around 10 (eggs benny of course) and then got my nails done. After which I headed around the corner to Darling Harbour to find a shady spot to read my book.

I then got a call from my dear friend Kel to see if I was up for lunch and a spot of shopping. Heck yes please!

After a light lunch and a look through a huge Salvos we ended up at a super cute and tasty gelato bar. A selfie was definitely in order.

Much like Guy and Hubs, Kel and I have been friends for over 20 years, and have been through a mountain of things together. So much history already, and so many more memories to be made in the years and decades to come I’m sure.

My time in Sydney is already half over but I’m appreciating every minute. I’m particularly appreciating the fact that I missed a 38 degree day in Rocky today. Thanks mum and dad! And sorry about that!

See you soon!

This Guy

/ Renae / Leave a comment

These guys

Hubs and Guy have been friends since high school. Both geeks, both gamers, both lots of fun to be around.

Both on completely different life paths but can always meet back for a drink and some banter.

Thanks for a great night!

So far so good Sydney!