I used to fall into the trap of talking myself out of exercising because I couldn’t fit the right thing in. I’d plan a 20 minute walk but then I’d think “what’s the point? I need to go for an hour long walk or go to an hour gym class to make it worthwhile.” Or “I probably won’t exercise the rest of the week so why bother going on a walk today?”

What I’ve finally learnt is that there is no “right” exercise and it’s all “worthwhile”.

The right exercise is the exercise that gets done and I enjoy and makes me feel good. I’ve been doing a bit of Tabata lately and can do a full workout in under 20 minutes. So that’s what I did today. I had been feeling less than stellar after a very rough night and early morning, and not being able to nap due to too much coffee at the wrong time (dammit) and even though I started talking myself out of it, I thought “in 20 minutes I could either be done or I could still be sitting here trying to talk myself into it.”

The other thing I’ve (finally) realised is that the more often I exercise, the more likely I am to back it up the next day with more moving and better food.

So it turns out in a slow learner but hey, I’m getting there! Now all I need is a good night sleep and my day will be compete.

(Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I do amuse myself sometimes.)

When we moved to Rockhampton nearly two years ago to the day, it’s the closest we have lived to Brisbane since moving to Melbourne in 2008. And we have made the trip down the coast in the car quite a few times since then. It’s an easy drive and the kids know the drill now.

We had to do a mid arvo departure last time which I was initially annoyed about but it worked out really well. Instead of the usual two or three stops which would make it a 10 hour trip, we stopped once and punch through after that as the kids were fast asleep. Which is what we are doing this time as well. We left at 3:30 this arvo and we’re hoping to get in around 11. Very reasonable indeed.

I did the first leg from Rocky to Childers – very impressed that the two weakest bladders in Chance and I made it the full 3.5 hours – and now we’re in the second stretch with Hubs at the wheel.

Brizzie we’ll be seeing you soon!

Gosh. This statement could apply to so many areas of my life at the moment. Another year renovating (inside instead of outside this time); another baby on the way; another rainy day in Rocky (bliss!!); another coffee; another year over and a new one just begun.

But the “again” I’m actually referring to, is a road trip to Brisbane. We leave on Thursday afternoon once Hubs gets home from work, and hope to arrive sometime before midnight! I do love a good road trip, and I love coming to Brisbane, there’s just so much to organise before we leave. Snacks and activities for the kids, devices charged and topped up with movies. Oh, and the packing. I’ve tried to simplify my packing as much as possible lately, but we still end up with too many clothes. I go for the idea of four outfits per child, and washing (thanks Mum) every second day. But then of course I have an emergency set of clothes, and what inevitably happens is that on the day of leaving, the kids choose something different to what I’ve laid out for them, so it ends up being five or six sets! That’s a lot of clothes!

Anyway, I am excited, and I have organised a few catch-ups already. We have a wedding to go to on Saturday up at Toowoomba, and we will be child-free for about 24 hours (thanks Lsl!!) so I might even catch up on a few zzzzz’s if I’m lucky. I’ll also be in Brisbane for my birthday this year, (without Hubs as he has to come home for work), so that will be nice. Then we will drive home the following Friday, in time to rush around and get Chance ready to start school on the Monday. Oh and Quinn starts kindy on the Wednesday! It’s going to be a big week!

So if you’re around Brisbane town next week, I will try to catch up. Otherwise Rocky is a short eight hour drive up the highway! 🙂

This was our Santa photo this year. I think I’ve only ever done two or three. The kids were not overly keen but I bribed them with a cafe visit after. But there was no way they would be doing it on their own! Can you tell by the big gap they left between them and Santa?

Chance was holding on to me for dear life!

I felt a bit sorry for Santa. I felt like he was being overly cautious not to touch the kids or to freak them out. He didn’t even ask what they wanted for Christmas! It was very much a snap and move on kind of photo.

Are there still happy Santas around or are they all too scared of being accused of inappropriate-ness?  I hope there are and I hope to find one some time.

I love having the time and inclination to make pizzas from scratch. I know that they are not difficult to make, but in a small kitchen with no full size oven, it does make it more challenging, so I only do it every six months or so. It’s also fiddly and messy so I like to not have to parent too much at the same time.

Today was batch up day for our home made tasty BBQ sauce so I figured it was a good night to make pizzas and utilise it!

Tasty BBQ sauce

I didn’t actually get any photos of the making of the pizzas but here are the end results. So delicious and so worth the effort.

My full size oven is actually on our deck at the moment. (And conveniently not in this shot…)

And this is why I don’t make pizza very often…

Can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow!

When you have three children and another on the way, and a husband who does occasional shift work, you never really expect to have regular good night’s sleep. I remember, from when Chance was about six months old, “helpful” people were insisting that he should be sleeping through the night and not waking up every two hours for a feed. I would go to bed every night for the next 7-8 months, hoping, wishing, praying that tonight would be the night I’d get a full night sleep.

I actually remember the first night he slept through, I still woke up every two hours of course and by 3am I was so full of breast milk that I ended up giving him a dream feed just to relieve the pain! And just hoped that he stayed asleep (he did!)

Ever since then, with two more babies added to the household, a full night sleep for me is a stretch of five uninterrupted hours. And when I get that (maybe once a week??) I tell you I feel like a million bucks!

Last night was not one of those nights. I feel like every time I got settled and started getting into that nice deep sleep, I got ripped out of it by cries of neediness.

I need a blanket on. I need some water. I need you to take me to the toilet. I need to get into bed with you. I need to wake you up because I noticed you were drifting off to sleep again.

What I need to do on mornings after nights like this, is to jump out of bed, armed with a PMA (positive mental attitude) and a plan for the morning so I can start the day well. What I in fact did, was ignore the children and let my good friend Kate step into parenting for me. She’s the best.

I might still have time for a quick nap now…

Rocky has had a couple of impressive Lego events in the past year that the kids and I have been to. Remember Brick Event? I still talk about that! Today we went along to the Art Gallery to have a look at the Towers of Tomorrow display and to do some building of our own.

I say “we” and “our” but I was merely the chauffeur. Chance and I went with our friend’s teenage son who lives down the road who my kids adore (as do we) and who is always up to playing whatever the kids want.

So while I read my book and blog, they were busy building their creations.

The display consists of sky scrapers from around the world and they are super impressive!

Recognise any of them?

The final masterpiece

Brick event is still my favourite just because it was so interactive and the people who ran it didn’t have the “look but don’t touch” attitude of the previous one we went to. I really hope it comes back to town this year!

In the mean time, there’s always our ridiculous Lego collection to keep us occupied. 

And yes we are finally starting to sort it!

My dear friend Kate and her lovely son Alex are staying with us for the week which is just fab. Hubs mentioned yesterday that he could take the four kids for the morning so Kate and I can have some kid-free time together. He had a rostered day off and that’s what he offers to do. That’s just the kind of guy he is. No fuss. Just love.

Ummm heck yes please honey!

So of course this morning came around, we packed the kids into the car to go to Yeppoon, and we couldn’t decide what to do!!! Ha ha. We narrowed it down to brunch and a massage and then maybe an indulgent midday nap when we get home.

The weather has been rainy and cool which I absolutely adore so I’m thinking a movie at home with the kids this arvo will be just the ticket.

Thanks honey. You really are the best…