2015: The year of the unwritten blog posts

December 31, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

There have been heaps. Okay, at least a dozen blog posts that I’ve written in my head but never gotten around to posting here this year. Of course there have been a few in years gone by as well, but there has definitely been less activity around here than I was hoping for for the year.

But I digress. It’s been an interesting year. After being miserable in Mount Isa and being diagnosed with depression half way through 2014, I figured 2015 could only be an improvement. And I was right.

We started the year with a bang, by buying our first house and then getting caught in Rockhampton’s first cyclone in 50 odd years.

We headed to Victoria for 2 weddings, one in Feb and a family affair in March. I had been looking forward to that week for 6 months and it did not disappoint!

Our very dear friends visited in April and had a baby girl while staying with us. I know, right? A lot happened in April, actually.

May brought a lot of self-awareness and in turn, the start of some serious self-love. It paved the way for quite an overhaul of body and soul, and it’s also when I started my twice-weekly fit mums class.

We had Darby-doo’s Baptism in June (that I blogged about in September!) and then visitors stayed with us afterwards. It also saw me write this blog post about my dear Hubs.

In July, I joined facebook. It’s been interesting. We also had our nieces stay with us for a week, and I never got around to blogging about it, even though I’ve written the post “I love how they love him” in my head a hundred times. Stay tuned.

We really got into outdoor cooking this year and entertained the neighbours with various delicacies.

I wrote this post in September about being busy that seemed to resonate with a few of you. It also saw me coming out of a bit of a foggy haze. I feel like there were a lot of these posts, both published and not, this year. I’m hoping there will be more action around this in the new year.

In October I shared some “after/current” pics of this year’s hard work so far.

November was a bit light on around here. I started a new monthly post of 10 things on the 10th as well.

And then it was December, and we were in full birthday party swing.

And yeah, it’s now the last day of December, and this is my view for the afternoon.

Unfortunately my poor 101 in 1001 has been very badly neglected this year, and with only 2 months to go until the challenge is over, I’ve gone through the list and picked out the following things I aim to achieve:

011 – Go to a driving range and hit some balls

026 – Do something kind for Hubs every day for a month

033 – Write 20 letters to people (15 to go!)

038 – Go to a Roller Derby

060 – Make pierogi 5 times – 1 more to go!

066 – grow some herbs!

074 – Have my old blog turned into a book

086 – Celebrate my 1000th blog post – 12 posts to go

095 – send a secret to Post Secret

I’ll be updating my 101 in 1001 page in the next few days as it is so horrendously outdated, and I do want to go over my successfully completed items.

So that was the year. It was a bit light on in some areas, but full on in others. I’ve decided to write some ideas for how I want 2016 to look for me, and I look forward to smashing some more goals around my health and fitness.

Won’t you join me?

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!

10 things on the 10th

December 10, 2015 / Renae / 2 Comments

10 things I want to improve on in 2016:

Keep a tidier house – seriously! Other people do it! Why can’t we!?
Get our morning routine sorted – at the moment we rush and it’s stressful. Chance will be in Prep next year and I’m hoping that will actually help as we’ll be doing the same thing each morning.
Increase exercise to 5-6 days per week from 4. I’ve gone from sporadic exercise to regular exercise, and now it’s time to up the ante.
Join yoga class to help with mental health.
Be able to do a 10km fun run – there’s one in May which is plenty of time!
Not be so attached to the stuff in our house and get rid of a lot of it – See #1.
Be more patient and present with my children – it’s end of year and I’m crazy tired and I heat want to be a nice person for my kids (and Hubs) to be around.
Stick to a budget – I’m 35 and in charge or our family’s finances which are currently in the red. Enough us enough!
More reading with the kids – this has fallen by the wayside lately due to interrupted routines and opting for short films instead. Must get this back on track.
Start Christmas cards earlier next year – I love doing them but I don’t like being so rushed and not having time to write nice little messages on each one.

My Husband doesn’t care about my losing weight

November 14, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

Bear with me here.

Aaaaah losing weight. It’s a mission, isn’t it? Well, for some more than others. It can be a lifelong quest, with many ups and downs. Literally. Ever since Hubs and I got together 9 year ago (what the?…) he has never waivered in his admiration of me. Wow that sounds conceited, but it’s true. He thinks I’m beautiful and sexy and lovely. Even at my heaviest, his affections never waned. He just doesn’t see it. He sees me.

What a gift, right? And I do treasure it, I promise.

Whenever I’ve spoken to him about wanting to lose weight, or the latest gym membership I’ve paid for, or the latest class I’ve joined, he has always been encouraging, but never in a way that suggests to me I need to do it for him, or for us. In fact, the only thing he has ever said along these lines is “I believe if you lost weight, you would be happier because you would have more energy to do more with the kids, but it makes no difference to me.” Or words to that effect.

I remember in my late teens, my brother’s then-girlfriend and I attended Weight Watches together. She was wanting to lose about 10kg and I was probably wanting to lose more like 25kg. We would go to our weekly weigh-ins and my number barely budged, while she was losing her 1kg ish per week. I recall saying to my brother one day “I hope you’re being really supportive and encouraging of Deidre’s* weight loss!” (*oh wow, Deidre? Talk about protecting the innocent! Love that name by the way…) He replied to this with a bit of a shrug and a non-committal hmph.

I was so shocked and appalled and felt so bad that my brother was so insensitive! I was 19 after all, and knew all things about all things. Just ask my Dad 🙂

Oh man this is a random post. 2 glasses of wine and a returned husband from the UK will do that to you! Where was I…

Oh yes. My brother. What I realise now, was that he was saying he liked her just the way she is, and if she wanted to lose weight, she was doing it for herself, not to make him love her more. Oh yeah, I was so cluey.

So what’s my point here? I was wearing a denim skirt and “new” (op-shop $4) singlet today, and was feeling particularly svelte (hee hee!) when I went to pick Hubs up from the airport, but nary a comment was made. And that’s fine by me. If I ask him how I look, he will always say beautiful. If I tell him I’ve lost another 2kg, he’ll tell me “that’s great”. But it’s not a big deal, and to be honest, that’s just how I like it. I want to instil that in my kids. A number is just that; it doesn’t define you; it shouldn’t change how happy you are on a certain day. I get that, but sometimes it does.

That’s why I’m so grateful to have a Hubs that loves me from frocked up to completely veged out on the couch. He doesn’t love me in spite of my extra cuddly bits, he loves me because I’m the whole package for him. I guess. Either that, or he really loves my cooking. Which would be fair enough 😉

So my point is, even though I’m losing weight, the only thing Hubs cares about is how happy I am. And if weighing less, and in turn feeling fitter and healthier makes me happy, then he’s on board.

10 things on the 10th

November 10, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

10 things that get said around here every day

Is that a good choice? (Me)
I want some busy juice*. (I give Quinn a look). Can I please have some busy juice?
Please just leave Darby alone. He’s fine. (Me)
Where are your shoes? (Me)
I’ve got an idea. How about we have lunch at a cafe! (Chance)
But I don’t wanna go to kindy (Chance and Quinn on various days)
Seriously, put Darby down! (Me again)
Can I have a squeezy yoghurt? (Another look) Can I please have a squeezy yoghurt?
Please stop picking your nose!
I love you guys so much

*busy juice ie fizzy juice is a mix of soda water and juice

Wadda-heck?

October 26, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

… as Chanbe would say.

Since when can you email from an aeroplane? Hubs hit the skies on an A380 last night and a few hours later I got an email telling me he’d flown over Rocky and Mount Isa and was currently over Sri Lanka!

Seriously! I was so excited! I hadn’t expected to hear from him until he landed in London, which will be in less than an hour by the way. We’ve been sending little snippets of our day/flight which has been nice. He told me about his fritata and vodka and orange for breakfast, I told him the boys woke up at 5am; he told me about his beef something-or-other for lunch, I told him the kids were starting to get feral; he sent the following snippet:

No one to talk to in a crowded airport. Sitting jam packed next to people with ear buds in.
There is a couple with a four month old who have been to Spain and new Zealand. They told me it’s easy to travel with kids! And I told the person next to me that my name is Joe 🙂

And I responded with a smug “traveling with a 4-month-old is very different to traveling with kids.”

Anyway you get the drift. It’s been nice having that connection with him in this time. AND I was just chatting with a friend in line and she said “gotta go – I’m on a plane on the way to Spain.”

Seriously!? So freaking cool!

This post was going to be about the horrendous day I had with the kids today. I jotted down a bunch of notes when they went to bed, but I just don’t have the emotional energy to deal with that at the moment. I feel like a completely horrible mum after today’s efforts, yet the kids still hugged me and kissed me and told me they love me as I was tucking them in.

I guess one horrible day doesn’t ruin all the wonderful days. Kind of like when you eat well most of the time and then have a splurge. It doesn’t make a difference, as long as you move on, don’t dwell on it, and don’t let it happen often.

It’s the moving on and not dwelling that I may find challenging. But tomorrow is a new day and I have lots of things planned so the kids won’t have time to be little so-and-so’s and I can focus on the positives for the day. And now I’m thoroughly exhausted so I’m off to bed.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Tomorrow is a new day…

Dear Woollies laser lad

October 20, 2015 / Renae / 1 Comment

Hi! Remember me? You put my groceries through your checkout yesterday at around 5pm. I was the slightly frazzled looking lady with an adorable baby boy sitting in my trolley. You greeted me with an apology for taking so long putting the previous customer’s groceries through. You said you just weren’t on your game that day. I assured you that I hadn’t noticed.

We exchanged a few pleasantries; you asked how my day was, I said it had been fine; you asked where I had purchased my shopping bags, I told you I bought them at DFO in Brisbane, and so forth.

I started watching you pack my bags, and I must agree you were not on your game at all.

I’m one of those very considerate shoppers who groups like-items together on the belt so that a) it’s quick and easy for you to pack and b) it’s quick and easy for me to unpack at home. You should be so lucky to have me as your customer. I then tended to my baby boy and took no notice of your packing.

Let me just say here that I thank you, and appreciate that you have obviously looked at me and thought to yourself “now here’s a woman who has it all together. Here’s a woman who will be unpacking the shopping as soon as she gets home.” No really – that was so sweet of you.

The reality is, if one lot of shopping gets unpacked before I head back to the shops a few days later, I’m doing well.

So it rather perplexed me when I was loading the bags into the back of my car, that you had loaded up one of the cooler bags to overflowing and ridiculously heavy, and had only put one item in the other cooler bag. It happened to be meat and I almost didn’t even notice it in there and almost left it in the car thinking it was empty.

And then this morning’s discovery. I had only managed to unpack the cold stuff when I got home last night, and again I appreciate that you would think I would make a mental note of everything I was putting away, but alas I didn’t. So when I opened up one of the bags to put the sweet potatoes, potatoes and pumpkin away, I discovered the fresh lasagne sheets and 3 stray kids yogurts.

What the hell.

Lucky for you I’m able to breathe deeply and roll my eyes and move on, but not before blogging about it.

So thanks for the blog fodder, but next time please use your noodle.

Sincerely

Wifey

time + motivation

October 19, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

What a combination. I can achieve anything when these two things occur at the same time. The problem is, it doesn’t happen nearly often enough to keep up with everything that needs to get done. Especially when Hubs is working lots of long days in a row and I seem to be falling asleep before 9:30pm most nights which is very early for me.

Ugh. I’ve been trying to write this post for half an hour and it’s just not flowing. It’s 2pm and Quinn & Darby-doo have been asleep since just after 12 so I’m expecting them to wake up soon, but I’d like to have a bit of a kip as well. But I know I’ve left it too late. I got a few things done today, but the kitchen is still only half-cleaned after our dinner last night.

Okay. I’m falling asleep. I’m going to go and try and have 20 minutes of shut-eye before my two babies wake up.

I feel good (da-ner-nah-ner-nah-ner-nah)

October 10, 2015 / Renae / Leave a comment

Well, how would you have written it?

It’s Saturday night, we’ve just had a lovely afternoon/evening at our neighbour’s place, Hubs is back there tinkering in the workshop with the man of the house, I’ve just had a wee tipple of wine, and I’ve been wondering what to blog about tonight.

Oh, and I just remembered I need to book some accommodation for Hubs’ upcoming trip to the UK. Must do that next.

So I thought I’d tell you that I feel good. Like, the best I’ve felt for a long time. Not just emotionally, but physically. And it’s all thanks to Fit Mums.

I have been attending this class religiously since May, and I could count on one hand the number of classes I’ve had to miss in that time. It has been my saviour this year and I friggin’ love it. Even though most of the hard work is around what I shove in my gob every day, this little group of mums, Ben the trainer, and Ash the child-minder, have all combined to help me feel goooooooooood.

I even bought new exercise clothes! So now I’m not working out in my maternity wear. Instead, I’m looking totally buff in this getup 🙂

Look at those clowns in the background. I’m a regular now, and the kids are just a part of the furniture. Or pilates equipment…

I know, right? I still have a long way to go, but I’m closer than I ever ever have been.

Want some comparisons? Well, this was me 6 months after Quinn’s birth (so just over two years ago), after completing my first 5km “run” with the fabulous Beth. Remember that post?

That’s a maternity top I’m wearing btw. I’m pretty much the same “size” (a.k.a. weight) that I was then, but am leaps and bounds ahead in physical strength and fitness. When I did the Couch 2 5k that time, that’s all that I was focused on, and although I’m really proud of what I achieved then, I have so much more understanding of my own body and health now than I ever have before.

Speaking of before, this was taken in April this year.

And I share this photo not to berate myself or feel bad about my appearance then. I feel no shame when I look at this photo. I’m happy. You can tell by the big smile planted on my face. I’m surrounded by my beautiful family, and I’m holding a glass of bubbly in celebration of my friend giving birth the day before, and life was good.

I’ll say it again: I feel no shame. Not then, and not now. I didn’t hate my body or how I looked. I was confident in my own skin and could find nice things to wear that made me feel good.

But I knew that my mental health and physical health would benefit from more nutritious food, and more physical activity. And that has led me to where I am now.

I just feel good. And on this Saturday night, I just wanted to share that with you all.

Oh, and I need to book that stuff for Hubs… 🙂

10 things

October 9, 2015 / Renae / 2 Comments

Darby is finally eating food and not just rubbish squeezy things! He loved the cauliflower and chicken soup I made last night. Yum.
The lady who put my groceries through at Woollies today was maybe in her 50s and she was wearing no make up and was so pretty. I wanted to tell her but didn’t know how.
We’re having 10 people over for dinner tonight. So just the usual weekend night at our place.
I forgot to put yeast in the bread mix this morning. Making second loaf of bread now.
We made it home in the kombi with only small dramas.
I’ve started thinking about this year’s Christmas cards.
We’re working on getting renovations started at the beginning of next year.
I’m so sick of buying things (like appliances) and being asked for my name and address and phone number and email and blood type. Just sell me the damn thing!
I slept in until almost 10am yesterday. Thanks Hubs.
I’ve chosen a piece of furniture I’m going to restore. Watch this space…