Category: Life as a Wife

Woah Mama!

/ Renae / 2 Comments

Hubs and Chanbe and I are on our way to becoming a family of 4 🙂 I’m not quite 14 weeks pregnant, and check out this belly!!

Here I am wearing the same top in my first pregnancy. Except that in this photo, I was 20 weeks pregnant…

I heard that in subsequent pregnancies, you show a lot earlier, but this is ridiculous! Ha ha. Anyway, everything is going very well. The first trimester coincided with some of the hardest weeks/months of my life, but I’m feeling much better now. Chanbe and I have all but recovered from our nasty colds, and we are enjoying the gorgeous sunshine that Brisbane has to offer. My diary is filling up nicely with catch-ups, and the grandparents are loving having us (Chanbe) around.

So there you have it! The next lot of big news I’ll be sharing will be the location of Hubs’ internship next year, which we will find out in the next 2 weeks. Let the fun begin!

One of those days

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You know the ones. Where you’re sitting in your back yard in the sun, the smell of bbq in the air, surrounded by friends and good vibes? Yeah. Yesterday was one of those days. We had some good friends (fellow medical student and family) stay with us for a few days this week, and yesterday, another med student and family (happens to be Chanbe’s Godmum) came up to visit for the day. So there we were. 3 med students, 3 foxy wives, and 4 adorable children; sun, bbq, beers… what more could a gal ask for?

Hubs and I are still winding down after our whirlwind few weeks, but we are getting there and loving it. I said to Hubs on our walk today, how funny life can be sometimes. I mean, what are the odds of him choosing to start med in the exact same year as 3 other guys, who are all mature age students, and who, along with their families, have become such a huge part of our lives in such a short time. It sounds super cheesy, but it was meant to be. I truly believe that.

We are so fortunate to have such genuine, loving, caring, outrageously fun people in our lives, and I hope, in 10 years time, we find ourselves sitting in someone’s backyard, reminiscing of good times gone by. I have a good feeling it’s going to happen…

We have arrived

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It’s Friday night, Hubs and Chanbe are having a shower, I’m drinking a glass of milk, and all is right with the world. As I mentioned 6 days ago, things were going to be better in 6 days. Today they are better. In fact, things are the best they have been in months. Hubs and I are smiling. And not in the strained “we just need to get through the next few months/weeks/days” way we have been smiling this year. We are happy. We are relaxed. We are (almost) ourselves again. And I really can’t express how good that feels.

You see, this week has been pretty sh*t. (Sorry, but it has). Hubs has been away in Shepparton for exams since Sunday afternoon, so I have been solo-parenting this whole week, and after this experience, all I can say is that I have even more admiration for full-time single parents. Oh wow. Seriously. It was hard work. Especially since I hate staying at home on my own. But I’ve known this week was coming for a long time, so I did a lot of mental preparation. I didn’t want to spend the whole week anxious and scared, so I started focussing on the positives, and rationalising to myself that there really was nothing to fear.

And you know what? It worked. Chanbe and I actually had a really great week. I made sure I had things to do each day to keep us occupied (including taking a train down to Kilmore to pick up the car and drive it home – turned out the alternator crapped itself and it didn’t cost as much as we were thinking. Woo!) and I just really focussed on keeping positive and realistic about my expectations.

Sunday to Wednesday were quite challenging with Chance waking up every night for an hour or so for no particular reason (he probably missed his Dadda) and not having particularly long naps during the day. Wednesday was my mental “hump day” – if I could get to Wednesday without cracking, I could get to Friday. Wednesday was a really great day, with playgroup in the morning and haircuts in the afternoon – one of the mums in my mothers group is my hairdresser so I go to her house and our boys play together while we cut, colour and chat. I was there for over 2 hours and it was so lovely. By the time we got home, it was just about dinner/bath/bed time which was great.

And each night I had something to look forward to – I watched 5 or 6 episodes of Sex and the City every night. It was very decadent. I decided I was going to do 1 load of washing a day, but as far as other housework went, I was giving myself the week off. No pressure, no guilt, no worries. And it really worked for me. By the time Thursday came around, I was on the home stretch and I really enjoyed myself. I topped the week off with a night out with my mothers group where we went out to dinner, had dessert and laughed so hard we got a stitch. It was so therapeutic.

So after my week off from housework and good sleep, I made up for it today. Chanbe went to childcare at 8:30am, I came home and slept from 9:30-12:30, then did housework til Hubs came home at 3. And the hug I got from him when he walked in the door was one of our best hugs ever. We had made it. We had gotten through the toughest time of our marriage to date, and we were on the other side. Damn it’s good to be here 🙂

Twas the night before deadline

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Hubs and I are sitting at the dining room table, sipping herbal tea (yes, we’re old) and pressing refresh on the computer. Intern applications are due tomorrow, and Queensland Health have a page displaying all the intern positions available at each hospital, and the number of applications that have been submitted. Our first preference of Cairns isn’t looking good. It seems everyone has suddenly realised how awesome it would be to live in a tropical climate. Especially those of us who are about to endure sub-zero minimums for the next 5 days. Yeuch.

Everything has been a bit ho-hum around here lately. We spent a few days back in Mount Beauty this week which was very up and down for me. We arrived on Sunday for church and ended up having lunch with the minister and his wife – they are 2 of our most favourite people we have met in recent times. Even though there are close to 3 decades in age difference, we are very close to them and have a lot in common. We then headed to the student accommodation to unpack and settle in for the few days to come. Hubs took Chanbe to the park for a bit of a play, and since he hadn’t had his day sleep, the little guy had a pretty early night which left Hubs and I to an evening of stew and Tin Tin. The food was better than the movie 🙂

The next few days were a blur of wind, rain, horrible weather in general, sore throat, coughing crying non-sleeping toddler, farewell dinner for the boys put on by the medical centre (a great night out) and not much sleep. We ended the trip on a high though, with beautiful weather and my second favourite breakfast in the world (second to the breakfasts that Hubs makes for me) of eggs benedict with fresh ham and locally-made corn bread. The drive how was nice, and apart from having to unpack and all that comes with it, it’s good to be home.

It’s hard to be in this headspace at the moment. Hubs is in stressy study mode; I’m floating about trying to keep my head above water; and Chanbe is (hopefully) oblivious to it all. I know I’ve been writing a few of these posts lately, but that’s just how life is at the moment. It’s kind of hard and kind of sucky, but we’re getting there.

Now I think I might splash out and have a hot chocolate, right after I press the refresh button…

No structure

/ Renae / 2 Comments

I often find myself in a bit of a tizz. I feel overwhelmed by my tasks and can’t get my head around what to prioritise. When this happens, I end up doing one, or all of the following:

– I sit around watching Chanbe play (which is a lovely way to pass the time)
– I flit about from room to room, and look at what has to be done but not actually do anything
– I eat chocolate or chocolate-related goodies
– I pick a fight with Hubs about how I do everything around the house, even though it isn’t true, but you know, whatever
– I blog
– I play words with friends
– I watch the minutes pass by and get annoyed that I’m not one of those people who can just get in and get stuff done without complaining/procrastinating

And I know what needs to be done. I know what needs to change. We need a routine. We need structure. We need to do regular things on regular days at regular times so I can feel balanced and, for want of a (much) better phrase, “in control”.

So what does a routine and structure look like for us? At the moment, Hubs doesn’t really have regular hours and days that he is at the hospital, as he is in study time; Chanbe and I have mothers group (yes we still meet every week!) on a Thursday afternoon; I have decided on Tuesday and Friday mornings for Chanbe to be in care so I can go to the gym and do things around the house; I want to do some regular sewing and crafting; I want to take Chance for a walk and play in the park most afternoons (weather permitting) to get us both out of the house and to get my foot moving again; I want to go to our fruit and veg lady each Friday; I want us to go to Church each Sunday morning; I want regular “alone time” with Hubs.

That’s not too much to ask, is it? The problem (read: my excuse) is that we have so many interruptions in the next 3 months that I don’t see the point in initiating such a routine. But I know it will benefit us if I do. So, starting Wedneday week (we are away next week and the following weekend, back that Tuesday), I will try and get some sort of structure to our week happening. I may even make up a chart. Oooooh I do love a good chart!

Wish me luck!

A day for mums

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Today is Mothers Day (in Australia), and what a day it has been so far. Last year, I got very spoilt with a beautiful Kenwood mixer, and since that was my first mothers day, I figured things would be a bit more low-key this year. But then, I remembered who I’m married to…

I woke up to the sounds of our little man, who is the reason we celebrate mothers day in our house, and went in to bring him to our bed for some cuddles. He wasn’t in a particularly cuddly mood, so Hubs got up with him around 6:45am (neither of us are morning people) while I turned over and promptly went back to sleep. At 9am I awoke to the smells of another delicious breakfast being cooked for me (Hubs actually cooks me breakfast at least once a week anyway!) and a hot cup of tea sitting on my bedside table.

I came out to the living area and was greeted with cuddles and presents!! What better way to start the day?!

Even though we are on a pretty tight budget at the moment, Hubs kind of ignored that for the greater good (my extreme excitement and happiness!) and surprised me with:

Oh yeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhh….
I can’t even begin to tell you how much this excites me! Now when I’m pretending to host my own cooking show as I’m making dinner, I have the right equipment! 🙂 I have wanted a Chasseur pot for a little while now, but could never justify the expense in our current financial situation. But Hubs could! YAY! I was ready to get up for breakfast, when I saw these notes in the bottom of the pot:

There’s a trainer at our gym who looks SO much like Luke Wilson it’s ridiculous! I’ve been struggling a bit these last few months with my broken foot, and have been feeling pretty down about my body etc, and I told Hubs a couple of weeks that I really would love some personal training sessions. So that was present number 2! I’m so excited about this, and have already booked in 2 sessions for this week.
Surely that was everything?? But no. As I was walking to the breakfast table, I saw these:
The one on the right (remember it?) is almost life-size! And our wedding shot is just gorgeous. I may not have a wedding album yet, but this is a great substitute for the time being!
I was exhausted with excitement even before sitting down for my favourite breakfast (poached eggs, bacon, spinach, tomatoes and toast). After said delicious breakfast, Hubs and Uncle Ben (down for a visit this weekend) took Chanbe outside to do some more manly work, and here I am lazing about, reading blogs, listening to Adele and Paul Simon, and loving the fact that the house is a mess but I don’t have to clean it up! (That will be a job for Tuesday 🙂
Happy Mothers Day, to all the mothers out there reading this, and particularly to my Mum, who has not only been indescribably helpful these past few months, but who has taught me so much about how to be a great mum to our little guy. And to Hubs’ Mum, who is such a great role model and inspiration to us. We wish we could see you more, Ma, but we know that it’s all about quality, not quantity. We can’t wait to catch up with you both next week.
Thank you Chanbe and Hubs for another beautiful Mothers Day. You sure do spoil me rotten and I love you both so much.

Plummeting back down to earth…

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… with an almighty crash. 

This time last week we were surrounded by family and friends and a support network. We were staying in the same house, night after night, week after week. We didn’t have to pack and unpack and pack again every week. I felt relaxed and faced each day with anticipation and excitement, and had such a great time.

It’s hard to come back to our “normal” (I use the term very loosely) life after such stability. I am sitting here with my diary open, planning the next couple of months. 5 days back home in MB, then next week in Wang, then back to MB for a week, then the following week in Wang, then back here and so forth for maybe 2 months. Oh, and a few trips down to Melbourne thrown into the bag just for fun as well. 
I realise the choice to go to Wang with Hubs is mine. But at the same time, it’s not really a choice. If Hubs is going to be away for 5 of 6 days, and he’s going to a place where I have a whole bunch of awesome friends, well… what would you choose? I think the hardest part about this lifestyle is that I don’t know anyone else going through the same thing. So people can say they understand, but I don’t think they do. 
This is why next year, I need for us to go somewhere and stay put for a year or 2. We’ll go on holidays of course, but not every single freakin’ week. It’s already getting me down and we haven’t even started. Man this is going to be a long year.

A package deal

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When I married Hubs, there were a few things that came with him, like the desire to live in many places and experience different cultures, the want to try new things as much as possible, a lot of electrical cables and wires, 2.5 hobie catamarans, an amazing family, and this:

Most of the people in this (very dark) photo (taken on New Years Eve) are a part of Hubs’ extended family, and they are amongst my most favourite people in the world. They welcomed me into the fold with open arms, and I feel I belong. And this is how they are with all they meet. Everyone is a part of their family and some of my best times in Brisbane are spent in their company.

I’m looking forward to so many more good times to come with these folk 🙂

He’s still one

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Though, with the number of birthday parties we had for him, you could be forgiven for thinking Chanbe was already onto his second birthday! The day after we arrived in Brisbane, we had the whole family over to celebrate. I had found some gorgeous rocket ship invitations, so in keeping with the theme, I decided to make a rocket ship cake. Mum prepared the slabs of cake for me the night before so I just had to cut out and decorate.

We found Nanny’s old Kenwood to help with mixing the icing – how retro!

vanilla gluten-free and yummy chocolate on the bottom

The icing job was a bit more involved than I expected it to be, but thanks to some strategically placed snakes and smarties, you wouldn’t have known. I couldn’t wait to light the sparklers!!

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…
Blast off! The sparklers were awesome!
Happy birthday Chanbe! What a wonderful year it has been watching you grow up and learn so much. You bring your Dadda and I endless joy and we can’t wait to see what you get up to in the next year. Love, Mama  x x x

Happy Anniversary

/ Renae / 2 Comments

It was mine and Hubs’ wedding anniversary yesterday. 4 years ago, we committed our lives to each other and it has already been quite a journey for us. We have moved house 4 times, have met dozens of new people, made many new friends, and have grown in our love and respect for each other. Oh, and have had a little baby, which is kind of important to mention 🙂

We still reminisce about our wedding day quite a lot – it was the best day ever!

The only thing that’s missing? A wedding album. But we’ll get around to that someday, right Hubs? Looking forward to many more wonderful memories to be made.