When love came to town

March 2, 2016 / Renae / Leave a comment

Hubs and I have lived in many cities and towns together. Starting off in Brisbane, where we met, fell in love and got married, we then headed south to Melbourne. Then came Wangaratta, Mount Beauty, back to Wang, then north to Townsville, Ingham and Mount Isa, and finally Rockhampton.

Looking at this list now, I can tell you that into our lives have come kindred spirits, unexpected connections, small-world coincidences, and four top-class Godparents. We are blessed, we are grateful and I like to think we do not take these blessings for granted.

So when an opportunity comes along to see one or more of these fine people (like on our recent trip to Melbourne) we grab it with both hands.

Enter The Godfather.

We struck up a friendship with Felix in Mount Isa very early on through a friend of a friend (I think!?) I still remember the first time I met him – it was at the races, and I had no idea that this was the beginning of a very special friendship.

One thing that really draws us to people is when they are interested in doing things spontaneously and we found ourselves going 4WDriving with an hour’s notice and it was great. Then there were the Saturday morning garage sale ventures where Hubs and Felix would go and “look at some stuff” with the kids on a Saturday morning while I had a sleep in. This would be followed by brunch and maybe even plans for Sunday would be made. And of course the kids grew to love uncle Felix.

So when Darby-doo came along, it was not a hard choice or Godparents. We had already become friends with Sonia in Townsville and had all moved out to the Isa together. We were a strong support for each other, especially in this early weeks and months, and when we found out we would be in Rockhampton together I almost burst with excitement.

So en route to his new soon-to-be home town of Orange, Felix decided to pop in and stay for a couple of nights. It was so nice having him around to play with the kids, and they fell in love with him all over again. And I just loved having one of our little crews back together, albeit only for a moment.

Honestly I’m just feeling so grateful right now for all the incredible people in our lives.

Holding an ice-cream-eating toddler while wearing a white shirt? Now that’s love. (And Napi-San a couple of hours later…)

Offering and being excited to come to playgroup, AND getting crafty with the kids.

Getting the Godparents back together in the same town again!

Coming to watch Chance get his special prep award.

Reading at storytime (so I don’t have to.)

Buying a completely adorable outfit at an op shop.

For these reasons and so many more, it has been a simply marvellous couple of days around here. I look forward to the next reunion!

The Happy-haps

December 18, 2015 / Renae / 2 Comments

And there goes another week without blogging. Sheesh! So what’s been happening? Well this time last week I was stressed up to my eyeballs trying to decide whether to drive to Brisbane, or fly, or stay in Rockhampton for Christmas because my poor little brain wasn’t coping with it all! The short story is, I ended up booking flights for the kids and I, using frequent flyer points (for the win!), flying in tomorrow evening. Mum had already booked to come up on Thursday (yesterday) to drive back with us today which was the original plan.

So then at the gym on Tuesday, I put my back out. My damn sciatica is playing up again, so Wednesday was spent flat on my back on pain killers. I gotta say, it was nice to have a break for the day, but I could have done without the pain!

And then, as per our original plan, mum arrived yesterday to save the day! Or at least, to save me from the washing pile. So we are getting prepared for our flight at 5pm tomorrow and we are all very excited. We are sad to be leaving Hubs behind to study, but you know, that’s the way it goes.

Here’s our last week in pictures:

We finally got a new roof! May get a better picture for you.

Chance has been making some epic Lego vehicles all by himself!

Been reading a lot of Strangers in Paradise while resting my back.

It’s well and truly mango season!

I’m really excited about heading to Brisbane for Christmas. It’s going to be the first time all the great-grand children on my mum’s side of the family will be all together! Photo ops! See you soon everyone!

Cream and sugar

July 20, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

I could hear scratching coming from the next room; rummaging, fossicking, and then silence.

I had two choices. Do I go and investigate, or do I drink my hot cup of coffee and enjoy my cuddles on the couch with Chanbe for just a few more minutes.

I knew it might be to my detriment, but I opted to stay in the couch on this cold and windy day. I take my 11am coffee very seriously and it would take a lot to get in the way of it.

I then went to take a look, and this is the sight that greeted me:

She was supposed to be having her daytime sleep.

But, obviously, smearing zinc cream all over her arms and legs seemed like a much better use of her time.

I have started planning some baby-proofing measures for Darby, but it seems I need to Quinn-proof a few of my drawers first.

Q: How can it take 45 minutes to walk 1km?

May 25, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

A: Because of three kids.

That is literally how long it took us to walk home from picking Quindy up from kindy the other day. Darby and I left home at 2:20pm to walk down to Chanbe’s kindy which is only 650m down the road. Pushing the big pram, this normally takes about 8 minutes. We picked Chanbe up from kindy, and he hopped on his bike that I brought along with us. The whole way to Quindy’s family day care is flat, and Chanbe can really scoot along on his balance bike, so I have to walk quite quickly to keep up. Even so, with all the stoppages, drinks breaks, “my feet hurt can I ride in the pram” stops etc etc etc, the 1.5km can take up to half and hour to complete.

We arrive at Quindy’s kindy (ha ha) and as her educator is giving me a great debrief of the day, the kids play for a bit longer together and the carer has a cuddle with Darby-doo. By the time I put Darby and Quinn in the pram, and get Chance sorted with his helmet, then stop to find Q’s drink bottle, it was about 3:30. The walk home is 1.2km up a bit of a hill.

This is where things start to get ridiculous. Now I have to say off the bat that I’m in no hurry to get home. The longer it takes us, the better as far as I’m concerned. So when Q wants to hop out and walk, I encourage it. and then when C wants to get back in the pram, I say “sure thing buddy”. It’s when they both want to get in, that my back and neck and shoulders let out a whimper. This means I have to strap Darby into the carrier on my front, and push the pram, (18kg) Chance (20kg) and Quinn (10kg) up the small hill. Oh, and Chance and Quinn like to stand up in the pram and try and touch the low hanging trees.

Look, it’s a lot of fun really. Apart from when, 50m from home, Chanbe had a bit of a meltdown – I think he was honestly so tired from a full day of kindy, and riding most of the way home (he was back on his bike at this stage) and he’d just had enough of life really. But we got there in the end, and now that we have a wonderful, glorious, huge backyard, this is what we spend most of our afternoons doing…

I actually have a really cute video of the kids on the tire swing (behind the plane) but I can’t quite get it to work (still getting used to WordPress!) and since then, Hubs put the Red Barron plane bed up as a swing! So. Totally. Awesome.

A glimpse

May 21, 2015 / Renae / 2 Comments

Do you ever catch a quick look at yourself in the mirror and see something you didn’t expect to see?

That happened to me last Thursday. You know, the cheesecake day? After spending the majority of the afternoon kicking myself for eating too much cake, my self esteem and body image were taking a bit of a battering. I was faffing around in the bathroom when I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It actually made me stop and smile.

My sunnies were holding my hair back which made it nice and spiky out the sides; I had been bothered with a bit of foundation and mascara that morning, which were both still present; and I just didn’t look as tired and worn out as I was certainly feeling at the time.

I had to go grab my phone (and move to better lighting) and take a photo for the sake of my self esteem.

Okay, so I took a few photos 🙂

I gave myself a metaphorical pat on the back for looking at myself and seeing the good stuff. Far too often I am critical of my appearance and dwell on things, when I could be spending that brain space and emotional energy on more meaningful things instead. Like loving myself, and telling myself that I’m doing a pretty damn good job at this thing called life.

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…

Today I’m playing with Lego

May 4, 2015 / Renae / 2 Comments

I decided pretty early on that I’m not adulting today. I just need to play and be with my kids. Or just play, and let the kids do their own thang. So this was my first couple of hours:

I know it’s hard to tell, but this will eventually be a helicopter, if I can find all the damn pieces. But since I “sorted” the Lego a little while ago, I now have to sift through all the pieces to find the parts for each model. From now on, each model will stay on it’s own in a zip-lock bag. I wish I had thought of that a few months ago…

So the washing shan’t be done today. We are eating lots of easy things like crackers and tomato and cheese, fruit and sultanas. I’m just letting the kids dictate the direction of the day, and not worrying about getting adult things done. Just lots of sitting around and just being. I’ll deal with the adult things once the kids are in bed. I’m glad I made the decision this morning, because the only other way today would have gone, is me moping about the house “knowing” I “should” be adulting but not wanting to.

This way, everybody wins.

It’s a girl!

April 24, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

Wow have I ever got a story for you! Remember our friends who we met in Townsville, Haz and Maz, and their gorgeous boys Jaz and Az? Well, Maz was pregnant with baby number 3 and was due this coming Sunday. And being as crazy/adventurous as us, they are currently driving from Townsville to Perth, where Maz is from, to spend a couple of years over there, and planned to have the baby somewhere along the way. When they asked if they could stay with us for a few days, it was a given, and when they arrived on Tuesday afternoon, I told Maz that she was to stay until the baby was born. I also asked her if she could have a girl as I had heaps of gorgeous clothes to give her.

And boy did she oblige! Mia was born in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and is the teeny-tiny-est baby I’ve ever seen! Well, it feels that way since she weighed in at a delightful 3.2kg whereas all my babies have been over 4kg. And here she is with Darby-doo:

Who is currently weighing in at a very healthy 8kg 🙂

It’s hard to convey the excitement about them staying with us and sharing this lovely time with our little family. The kids have been playing together wonderfully (again, most of the time!) and after they have opened their house to us on numerous occasions, it’s so nice to be able to return the favour. They will be leaving us tomorrow which will be very sad but gosh it’s been a terrific few days. Our next plan is to go to Perth for a visit! Moments like this just warm my heart:

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.