It’s complicated

July 14, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

I’ve had a few challenging days with Chanbe lately. After one such morning recently, I sat him down while Quindy was asleep, to see if I could try and get to the bottom of some of these behaviours. There’s lots of ignoring me going on, and he particularly loves having Quindy follow him in his naughtiness.

I broached the subject about his poor behaviour that morning, and that’s when he took over. He said to me that he seems to make bad choices when Quinny is around.

I was a bit shocked at how he used those words, and secretly impressed that he was aware of it without me spelling it out to him. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I asked him why he thinks he makes bad choices when Quindy’s around.

And he turned to me, cocked his head, lifted his right hand in an “I don’t know” gesture, and spoke out of the side of his mouth like so

and said

“It’s complicated.”

It was too much. I softened and enveloped him in a big cuddle. I asked him if we could talk about why it might be complicated, but he informed me that

“We’ve finished talking about that now Mama.”

I’ve really been focusing on spending quality time with him in the last few days. Hubs hasn’t been around much due to work, and I think our little Chanbe is noticing. He is often asking Hubs if he can stay home instead of going to work. So today we played Lego instead of him watching a movie which he normally does when the other 2 are having their midday sleep. It meant I didn’t get my usual “me time” but with he and Q at kindy for the next 2 days, there will be plenty of time for me to veg out.

It’s complicated. Sheesh. It sure is, buddy.

Happy Mothers Day

May 14, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

I’ve been meaning to blog about Mothers Day since Monday, but our computer died and I just haven’t had the inclination to fire up our new laptop (which we coincidentally and fortunately bought two weeks before the death of the PC.)

This year was a bit haphazard in that Hubs was working most of the weekend so things were a bit spread out. I got a nice sleep in and some time to myself (well, just with Darby) on Saturday morning, then Hubs worked most of Saturday arvo/evening. He had to work early Sunday morning, so I just hung out with the kids and made pancakes for us all. Hubs came home around 10am and I was given a few prezzies which was nice. Then most of the household had a rest/sleep/nap/movie time from noon til 3, at which time Hubs had to go back to work. So the kids and I spent the afternoon outdoors and did some painting and lounging about.

Thankfully Hubs didn’t have to work at all on Monday so I got another bit of a sleep in, followed by more presents! And some cuddles in bed.

That was actually Hubs’ first full day off (aka 24 hours) in 3 weeks. Yeah, it’s been full on! We then all went out for brunch and The Giddy Goat, our favourite place in Rocky, and spent the rest of the day just pottering around the house which was actually really really nice. I didn’t want him to go back to work the next day 🙁

Being a Mum to these three monkeys is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, and will ever do I’m sure. And even though I sometimes miss the days of sleeping in and not having to be responsible for anyone but myself, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Now, I have half an hour before I pick Chanbe and Quindy up from their respective places of care, which begs the question: Coffee, or nap?

The small things and why I won’t buy cheesecake again

May 14, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

I’ve written this post in my head about 8 times in the last 2 hours, so let’s see how it pans out on screen.

Today is my first day with just me and Darby-doo. Quindy began Family Day Care yesterday for 2 days a week which is great in so many ways, and guilt-filled in a few as well. Of course. I mean, what’s parenting without guilt, right? Here she is on her first day:

I know. She looks totally miserable about going, right? Anyway, yesterday went great and today is going very well too.

But this post is about cheesecake.

So Darbs and I set off at about 9:30 this morning to grab a few winter layers for the kids from op shops. I went to 2 places (almost next door to each other – so awesome!) and got everything I needed and done by 10:30. I was on my way home and I thought I should just quickly duck in to Stockland for a couple of things. This was my first mistake. One does not simply “duck in to Stockland for a couple of things.”

I got what I needed and before I went in to Woolies to buy milk, yoghurt, cheese, spinach and bananas, I decided to grab a coffee and sit down for a few minutes. There were a few people in front of me to order, which gave me time to spy some vanilla slice in the display cabinet. My mind immediately said “NO!” because I’m trying to limit my treats and because I’ve been walking and doing couch 2 5k every day and didn’t want all that hard work to go to waste.

But I wanted something yummy. And then I saw it. Cappuccino cheesecake. It looked SO GOOD. There was still someone ahead of me. I ummed and aahhhed and thought “stuff it” and decided to get the cheesecake. I didn’t want to talk myself out of it. I just wanted to have coffee and cake and enjoy it and not feel guilty for it.

I sat down and made conversation with a mum beside me who had a 6 month old boy. 15 minutes later, my coffee came out. No biggie. I wasn’t really in a rush, and it’s nice to savour moments like these. But my cheesecake didn’t come with it. I immediately prompted the staff member and she waved in the general direction of the counter and said it would be coming.

I know this isn’t a big deal, really, but when you’ve taken 15 minutes to make a coffee, surely it’s not too hard to have the cake ready to go out at the same time. So I started my coffee and kept waiting. A few minutes passed and still no cheesecake. I was starting to get annoyed now. So I asked another staff member on her way back to the counter. She said she’d look into it but when she got there, she served someone else.

It was at this time that I was telling myself to cancel the order. “Abort abort! You don’t need the cheesecake! It’s a sign!!!!”

I was already halfway through my coffee by this stage and finally it arrived. I greedily helped myself to a big chunk of it and half way through chewing, it hit me.

Gelatin.

Why, for the love of all human kind, do people still use gelatin in cheesecakes??? It gives it such a weird jelly-like texture (funny about that). I was so disappointed. “You don’t need to eat it.” I said to myself. But by this stage my emotions were running hot and I just had to have it. I tried not to eat it all, really I did, but I just didn’t have the willpower today. Aside from the gelatin, it was quite yummy. But it wasn’t mind-blowing amazing like it had been in my head.

It’s just those small things that can make a big difference to my day. I spent the next 2 hours kicking myself and feeling stupid for giving in to such a childish craving, but I’m moving on now. I just need to remind myself of this feeling the next time I’m faced with this decision…

14 days 14 photos

April 14, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

Seeing as how it’s been two weeks since I blogged, here’s what we’ve been up to.

The kids falling asleep in the car on our way from the Sorrento holiday house to the airport.

Too cute 🙂

And just another baby photo of Darbs

The disastrous first batch of cookies

The second batch was better

I’ve been walking the hills of Kelvin Grove and really enjoying the views from the top.

We celebrated a birthday with family

And we had very sleepy kids on the way home

Quinn is finally letting me plait her hair!

Ooooooh yeah. Look at that face.

There has been so much of this going on And it has been so gosh darn delightful.

And aaaaaah… another wedding

“That word. Say it clear now. L-O-V-E Love.”

Love these girls so so much.

That’s about it for now. We have another wedding coming up this weekend, and due to a clerical error (ie me forgetting to book a flight), Hubs won’t be joining us. This also means that I’ll be flying back to Rocky with the three kids on my own. But I’ve done it once so I can do it again.

Just FYI I’m loving life. I can’t wait to get back to Rocky and back to Hubs and back to our beautiful house and back to a bit of a routine.

Loving. Life.

A before and after

February 22, 2015 / Renae / 2 Comments

Before:

Oh man. I don’t think Quindy’s hair has ever been this bad. I’m normally pretty good at staying on top of the knots. And by that i mean once a week I spend 10 minutes working conditioner through her hair and pulling apart all the knots amid protests of “don’t dooo dat” and then comb out the rest afterwards.

This mass took 20 minutes, 3 lots of conditioner – I used about 1/4 of the bottle – and then 10 minutes of combing. She was not happy.

But the after shot?

Totally worth it.

Happy birthday to Quindy

February 1, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

Our dear little Quinderella. Holy moly you’re a cutie.

Those big brown eyes. Those gorgeous blond curls. You steal the hearts of all you meet and you have definitely stolen ours.

You are such a cheeky-chops and you get away with far too much, but no one seems to notice.

You love picking up your bag, my keys and whatever sunnies are lying around, and announcing you’re going to the shops. I ask what you’re going to buy and the answer is almost always the same.

“Ice and fruit and yoghurt.”

You love pretending to talk on the phone, and you use whatever is available to you at the time. Today you picked up a little hard paged book and pretended you had a flip phone.

You love your big brother Chanbe, and will follow him and copy whatever he does. Even when he turns on you, you can generally hold your own, and can give as good as you get. Not that we encourage such things off course….

Your latest antics are pulling a “funny face” when I’m trying to take a photo.

And even though you’re still not quite sure what to make of Darby, you do love to give him kisses and cuddles. I won’t mention the donks on the head though…

So my darling baby girl, keep smiling. Keep charming people with those eyes and curls. Keeping making Chanbe laugh with your silliness. Keep making your Gran and Grumpy smile at your sassy strut. Keep giving your baby brother kisses and cuddles – he’ll be giving them back soon enough. Keep your Dadda wrapped tightly around your little finger. And keep being my baby girl, just for a little bit longer.

A great insight

January 27, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

I remember when my friend went from having 2 kids to 3. I only had 14 month old Chanbe at the time and was enjoying motherhood, especially since he was finally sleeping through the night.

When I visited my friend, I asked her what having 3 kids was like, and I still remember her reply: There are always 3 things that need to be done immediately but you can only choose 1. Right now the breakfast dishes need clearing, I need to get dressed, and my cup of tea needs drinking. Okay so the last one is not necessarily pressing but gee it makes me feel better in the morning. Oh, and write a blog post. And do the folding.

It’s very true, and I’m learning to adjust and try and choose one thing at a time. Obviously when Darby needs feeding the choice is simple, but when war breaks out between the other two at the same time, things get interesting. I’m trying to let them sort themselves out and that mostly works which is good.

I’ve had a few outings with the 3 of them which have gone really well and I plan on taking them to the pool this week. That will be interesting. We went to church on Sunday and meet some nice people and we’re going to their playgroup this morning.

I think Rocky is going to suit us 🙂

Squeaky McGrunty Pants

January 1, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

For such a little human being, Darby sure can make some noise. I’m getting used to the squeaks and snorts and grunts but I’m still amused by it all. My little man seems to be either completely content and sound asleep, or building up to get rid of gas. At either end.

After a feed, he starts with the grunting, then there’s the whinging, and then he builds up to some yelping and screaming. And then after an explosion at either end (or both!) He relaxes again, although often he’ll throw in a case of hiccups to finish things off. And considering how often he feeds, this process can occur every 2 or 3 hours! As Mum says, it’s really quite exhausting for everyone involved!

Hubs is on his last night shift for this block and we really should do some organising for our move in his few days off. What will most likely happen however, is going out for coffee. But I’m okay with that…

Happy new year

December 31, 2014 / Renae / 2 Comments

It’s nearly midnight and we’re still awake. And on purpose! Hubs left for work an hour ago and the kids have been asleep since 8. And now it’s time for Mama bear to bid 2014 farewell, thank it for the experiences and the life lessons, and for my darling little boy, and say hello to the new year. A year full of promise for our growing family.

See you on the flip side.

Sometimes 1 decision is enough

December 31, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

As I mentioned in my last post I’ve been going round in circles trying to decide on an action plan for us leaving the Isa and getting to Rocky. The problem was that there were too many options and too many variables in each option. I was going to give you some examples but honestly my brain is fried from thinking about it. So I’ll just tell you that Mum and the kids and I are flying to Brisbane next Wednesday and Hubs is staying here another week after that to finish his shifts and supervise the packing and uplift of our stuff.

After that, I don’t know. Like I said, sometimes 1 decision is enough. Hubs starts work on the 21st so as long as we’re in Rocky a couple of days before that, we’ll be right. I have a feeling I might be arriving in a new town on my birthday again, just the way we arrived in Mount Isa. Happy birthday to me 🙂

So for the next week, I’m going to be culling and selling and giving away as much as I can part with. I’m trying to be ruthless, and comforting myself with the knowledge that there are op shops in Rockhampton if I need to replace things when we arrive.

Right now, Mum has taken Chanbe and Quindy to the library, and Darby and Hubs are both sleeping off their night shifts. I should also have a little nap but I’m feeling motivated so I’m going to do some squats (day 1 of a squat challenge) and then take some photos of stuff to sell.

Oh and I can’t believe it’s new years eve! I’ll probably make it to midnight but not intentionally. It will be because of this little man 🙂 Totally worth it.