Home Time

My small girl and I at Brisbane airport.

If you follow me on instagram or my blog facie page you'd know a few weeks ago I buggered off for a girls weekend with Aurelia and left the boys in the capable hands of their dad (knowing my bestie only lives around the corner helped). One of my oldest friends was getting married and I wasn't missing it, and I certainly wasn't taking everyone that far half way through the school term. When we found out we were having a girl we'd talked about having boys weekends and girls weekends I didn't think it'd be this quickly though!
As strange as it felt to be away from the boys I knew it'd be over in a heartbeat so I tried to enjoy it while I could. I must say getting back into homework, bath time and cooking dinner has been hard work!

Cardigan socks. Obviously not in Mackay now Toto! 

I flew to Sydney where as soon as I picked up my luggage I was cold! Cold people! I hired the cutest little car that my luggage and pram barely fit into. I never drove a beep beep car, my first car was a v6 sedan. It was fun even though I didn't think I was going to make it through some of the hills in the blue mountains!
I wanted to fit in as many coffee dates and catch ups as possible, i don't make it home as often as I'd like to and now that were in the process of building a house (eek!) our travel budget has been rescheduled for house stuff, so before we'd even left Sydney I snuck over to bondi to see my gorgeous cousin and her very handsome little man Beau who's only a couple of weeks younger than Aurelia before the trek out through the blue mountains and out to my home town.

The Blue Mountains. Beautiful but always awful weather. 

I did a quick whip round the shops then headed out to see my gorgeous friend Emily and her new house which was only at insulation stage last time I was home. Whenever I see her its always like no time has passed, sign of a good friendship I think. I stayed almost all day which would have been nearly impossible if I had everyone with me.

Emily with her gorgeous hilarious daughter Grace and Aurelia. 

Saturday we headed off on a road trip within the road trip to babymacs hood which was even colder and man I loved it. We wore scarves and pants with real shoes and cardigans! cardigans! Its one of the big things I miss about home is the seasons, autumn leaves and cold crisp air. there's nothing quite like it.
We made it with just time to spare to get changed spruce up our hair and get our bums to the wedding which was gorgeous, not what I was expecting but very Tina which was perfect.

Ready to go!

My gorgeous friends and their hubbies. Wedding photobooth for the win!

Before mum Aurelia and I went back to Orange we had a yummy breakfast and a walk around the markets. 

Rolling green hills and moo cows, picture perfect views on our drive. 

Before we flew home I stopped off to meet another brand new cousin and catch up with his gorgeous mumma and my uncle Mike.

Hunter and Aurelia. Only about two weeks apart.

It's hard living so far away and missing all the important things like new babies in the family and new houses and the everyday coffee playdates but it makes going home and seeing everyone everyone extra special.

20 in 2013!

Last year was a crazy whirlwind, much more than I was expecting it to be. William kept me on my toes way more than I thought he would and like every year my list was a bit of a hit and miss.

Last year my list was like this:

1. Get through every day with four kids without ripping all my hair out and/or killing someone.

2. Find time in the week for me. 

3. Go to the beauticians/hairdressers more regularly.

4. Take the boys to their first football game. 

5. Go for walks with my two smallest people.

6. Visit some family off both sides.

7. Spend Christmas with those that we love, somewhere pretty.

8. Laugh more.

9. Stop and take time to play silly buggers with my boys

10. Go on dates with my hubby.

11. Say yes to things without worrying or stressing.

12. Stop second guessing myself, and just do it.

13. Go away for a kick ass family holiday.

So I did terribly. But it's nice to have something to work towards right?

I made it to the beauticians once, ditto with the hairdresser. We saw family but we didn't really do much traveling to see them. Lucky there's a new year hey?

So my list for this year may be a little more realistic, I know we've got a lot on this year already, pretty much every school holiday has been planned already, including Christmas and early 2014. 

1. Take the boys to their first football game (we already have tickets for May, is that cheating?)

2. Get a cleaner.

3. Save for a house (this better not be on my list next year.

4. Make the most of my Charlie bear before he starts Kindy next year. 

5. Go on dates with my big boys, often. 

6. Take Will to do fun baby things on our days just the two of us.

7. Buy a new dining table, and maybe a new couch.

8. Get some new winter boots (very important in my world.

9. Spend less time online and more time in the real world with my gorgeous boys and my beautiful girlfriends.

10. Blog more.

11. Take more photos of everyday stuff. 

12. Get some nice photos of all of us together.

13. Make new exciting dinners and don't get upset when the kids won't eat it.

14. Don't feel guilty about buying new knickers/bras/shoes for myself. 

15. Try to be less truthful with Michael, sometimes a little sugar coating is needed. 

16. Throw some kick ass birthday parties for the whole family. Life is more fun when you can celebrate with friends right?

17. Try to keep my car clean (ish).

18. Go to see proper grown up movies.

19. Be more organised, maybe then I would have posted this around the new year instead of February. 

20. Try to get the above 19 crossed off before 2014! 

Right what do you think of my list? Maybe not so realistic but hey it's nice to dream, what's on your list for this year? 

Pond Scum~The new Detox?

Green pond sludge drunk with a curly straw has to make it more interesting and tasty right?

I have over indulged this silly season, worse than ever before I'm sure. Sunday was my first alcohol free day since before Christmas, Christmas!
Along with the booze I've had a ridiculous amount of take out, party food, crazy dinners, big breakfasts and crap.
My waist line is suffering, my face is breaking out and I had to break the habit with something a little drastic, so this morning I had a strawberry chiobani yogurt and a green smoothie with added spirulina, I don't even know what that means but its obviously something good right?

What do you do to kick the binging habit? Liquid diet for a few days? Detox? Please tell me I need it!

My week according to Instagram

So according to Instagram, food and the weather were important. Typical for this time of year for me really.
My baby got super big and figured out how to use a proper cup and since then is all over it.
My hubby shaved his face clean for the second time in our entire relationship. he looks so weird to me but everyone keeps telling him how good he looks.
James found my animal bag and ran around the house with it on his face singing like a muppet. Hilarious.
Charlie became a vallet shark and parked as many cars on his garage as he could. He's going to do big things that boy.
Friday the boys and I wore our red for Daniel, what an emotional day, I was in front of the TV weeping along with a lot of the country.
Finally I won the trolley lotto and snagged the double toddler trolley. Winning right there even if my kids were both sad/crying/throwing tantrums.

Playing along with Tina. You should to, it's fun.

A day to remember.

You know those days when your kids are driving you mental and you question your parenting techniques and abilities and although you know there is an end to the tunnel but you have no idea where it is or if you'll ever find it?
Then some days they do something that makes you do the ugly cry and your heart bursts with pride, and you know your doing something right and all the hard work and consistent effort to teach them to be good humans has done something good.

This week Jack and I have been talking about remembrance day and what it means and why the poppy is the symbol. After seeing the ladies of the RSL outside the supermarket he brought me change from his money box and asked me to buy him his very own poppy badge.
Anzac day and remembrance day were always a big deal when I was a kid, having a Grandad that was the president of the RSL probably had something to do with it, I'm so glad I can pass that on to my babies.

Jack asked me to take his photo, but not before I brushed his hair.
You have to look respectable. His words not mine.
Heart. Melt.

My crazy busy life

 I got an email the other day asking if I was OK and if there was something going on and is that why I'm not blogging as much anymore. I didn't think anyone would think there was anything wrong so to put her mind at ease and anyone else who thinks I may not be coping with four I know I keep saying I'm busy and it sounds like a cop out but I really am just busy. 

I try to blog more and some weeks I do better than others but really it's not high enough on my priority list most of the time. After a full day I just want to pass out, actually some days by 1pm I want to pass out.
Our normal week looks like this:
Monday: School drop off, then Charlies swimming lesson, home for showers and whatever housework needs to be done before school pick up, homework, baths, dinner, more homework, bedtime.
Tuesday: School drop off, Charlie goes to daycare so it's just me and Will so while he sleeps I get the floors mopped, clean the bathrooms you know all those joyful things. Then I try to hang out with him as much as possible before we pick everyone up and start all over again with the feeding, cleaning routine.
Wednesday: School drop off, playdates/library/park trip. Housework, school pick up, homework, baths etc etc etc.
Thursday: School drop off, Charlie has Kindergym then home for quick lunch before naps while I cook dinner, school pick up, finish all the homework before it has to be handed in then at 5pm the big boys have swimming lessons, home for a late dinner and bed.
Friday: School drop off, Groceries/housework/library. No homework but we usually have a friend over or we go to a friends.
Saturday: Pool/beach/park. Try to have a quietish day.
Sunday: Nippers at 9am which means the big boys have a blast and I wear a cranky tired baby while keeping an eye on Charlie taking over the beach and everyone's toys. Home at lunch time, showers, naps, school baking/dinner. Washing.

Throw in a few mumma playdates and lunches and that's just about us. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted reading that. Michael is working 8 days out of 10 so most of the time it's up to me and with my koala baby I treasure nap times to get stuff done!
So thank you for your kind thoughts and lovely email I really am a-ok just really actually busy!

My Week on Instagram

So this was a busy week compared to last week by the looks of things!
Last Sunday I threw the boys teddies a party. I answered the door wearing my Fiona ears, as you do.  Michael and I have been engaged for eight years. Eight years! Jack gave me a foot rub and brushed my hair. Bless him.
Charlie threw many many epic tantrums. Epic. My eating better plan resulted in me eating cereal that tasted like cardboard covered in banana, and then today my biggest boy and I had a date lunch, movie and shopping, four whole hours just the two of us. Before I put him to bed he thanked me for a nice day. Love that kid. So that's my week, I'm tired just looking at it and its only getting busier the closer its getting to Christmas.

Playing along with the fabulous Tina

My week on Instagram

My week according to Instagram.

I've been ignoring my online world this week and hanging out with my mother in law and spending some 'screen free' time with my hubby so I took all of six photos. We spent last Sunday at the beach with our little nippers. William is standing up more and more and destroying everything he can reach which is pretty funny to watch, the big boys are not so impressed with him. My yummy sweet chilli salmon salad, and the boys pizza. I've stacked on so much weight while I've been feeding so I'm trying to change my eating habits. How cute are my new glasses for my increasingly blindness? I now have glasses and prescription sunglasses so I can see while I'm driving. The boys had lazy dinner last week so to make me feel better about it, I made their dinner into an animal. As you do.

Playing along with Tina

Old Lady

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at a friends place, the boys spent hours playing and I got to drink coffee and hang out with a friend.. Win win.
So last night the boys were exhausted and all three big boys passed out in front of Narnia by 9pm.

Instead of going to bed like a sensible person who will be up several times during the night with my smallest person I rebelled, decided that it's Saturday night and it's my weekend too so I made a cup of tea and caught up on some TV, played on pinterest while my hubby and I sent each other silly text messages. I know right? Rocking Saturday night right there!
A few years ago I would be just starting to get ready for a night out at 9pm not thinking about going to bed. It has been ten years since I was 18 and partying hard every weekend, I doubt I'd be able to do it now, in fact I'm sure I couldn't do it now. I really am an old lady now!

Did you have a rocking Saturday night like me, or did you party on age appropriately? 

Pinterest Love

I read this yesterday and conversations flashed in front of my eyes. I sent this to Michael and he sent me a one word message 'Agreed" Sorry about that. 

If I didn't spend so much time on Pinterest I would get a whole lot more blogging done. Actually I think I'd probably get a whole lot more done full stop. I find myself  browsing through things at 3am while I'm feeding Will then at 4am when he's asleep I'm still flicking through things on my phone. Dangerous business but I find it very calming looking at all these crazy ideas and gorgeous things.

Seriously how cute is this kitchen? 

I'm buying this bath mat for my boys just to see their reaction, it would be so worth it! 

Anything that's called Better Than Sex has to be a good cake right?

Are you a pinterest hopeless like me or do you know better and stay away? 

Juggling

I love blogging. I love the community and 'meeting' people and seeing what their lives are like and realising although we are all so different we are all so similar as well. I love this chick and what she says resonates so much with me. After reading this post last week one sentence stuck with me
'I'm not getting time to spend with my children, I'm just supervising them'
I keep seeing those pictures around the web with a happy mumma and a small kid with the words ' The best thing you can spend on your children is time' Those mum things always make me feel guilty, always.
Although I spend every day all day with my small people I could get through the day without spending time with them. Charlie watches playschool when we get back from dropping the big boys to school while I feed William and put him to sleep, then Charlie does an activity drawing, puzzles, playdough, trains etc. I usually get it all out set him up then put washing away, clean bathrooms, tidy the kitchen etc. He usually gets bored moves on to something else, goes outside, then before I know it its time for his lunch and nap time then back to school for pick up before hectic afternoon time, then its bath, dinner, bed and the day is done.
So for the last week instead of getting William to sleep then getting on with stuff I've been splitting Williams nap time in two, half for the housework then half for Charlie. Today we played with a sticker activity book and did some colouring. By the end he was sitting on my lap and we were colouring a dinosaur pink and yellow and laughing at each other. It took three quarters of an hour out of my day but it was time well spent and yes my washing is still sitting waiting to be put away and my dishwasher needs emptying. I know it's a terrible cliche but being a mum really is a juggling act at the best of times and no matter how long I've been doing it, it doesn't seem to get any easier, different but not easier.

Quick Slow Cooking (The Martha Stewart Edition)

This is what I did on Saturday. I felt like Martha freaking Stewart. I've seen a few different idea and methods around and I've pinned some on my boards on Pinterest.

I just chose a few recipes I knew my kids would eat that would freeze well and slow cook well. Spaghetti bolognase, chicken curry, sausage hot pot, moroccan lamb shanks and chicken cacciatore. I added heaps of  extra veg to the recipes so I don't have to do any extra cooking during the week.  I spent an hour chopping the meat and veggies getting the sauces and spices in the freezer bags and we were done. My kitchen clean up wasn't that bad afterwards either considering I wont have any mess to clean up for a week. 

Five dinners ready for the slow cooker. So far we've only had one but this morning I grabbed a bag out of the freezer and chucked it in the slow cooker. Easiest dinner ever. So now instead of spending half of Williams very small nap times getting dinner ready and cooking it everyday, it's already done and I can get other things done like cleaning the outside of my fridge, because obviously I'm turning into Martha freaking Stewart, you got that right? 

Just a minute

We've had a busy week, a little busier than usual and I've fallen off the organised train a little lot. So this morning when it was time for breakfast and we had no milk left for cereal and no marg left for toast or to make school lunches with, I thought we were in for a rough day. A quick look through my bag found enough change to buy the boys tuck shop for lunch, one crisis averted, for breakfast we snuck through the maccas drive thru for some pancakes, it's Friday after all. One maccas breakfast won't kill them.
So once we'd dropped the big boys to school Charlie, Will and I headed for Coles. I was still feeling pretty hopeless so we whipped around the shop past the deli for a cheerio for Charlie and with kiwi fruit and strawberries he couldn't go past we were out of there. As I was dumping all our stuff at the register an older lady that usually serves us walked past, she stopped and put her hand on my arm then this happened:

Her: 'I just wanted to tell you, you are a wonderful mother, whenever I see you in here no matter how many of your kids are with you, your always smiling, the boys are always talking to you and your listening to them, and your never as stressed as half the mums we get in here with just one or two kids with them, they are well behaved children your obviously doing a wonderful job'
With that she was done and red faced I stuttered out a thank you and tried to explain to her I am called cranky mum and she must have missed all the crazy shopping trips where I'm dragging a crying kid out of the shops because I wouldn't buy him a lollipop. She shook her head at me and told me off, because kids always have a bad day now and then it's not a reflection on you.
I paid for our groceries and we were out of there, once I stopped feeling so silly about it I felt so much better about sending the kids to school with maccas in their bellies and tuck shop for lunch.

It was so nice of her to stop and talk to me, it made me all warm inside and it took her just a minute.
As mothers we can be so critical of each other, especially across generations, it's so easy to see another parenting style and shoot them down straight away. I'm putting this in my memory bank for when I'm old and I stop young mums in the shopping center instead of telling her she's doing it the wrong way or to cherish these moments before there gone I'll compliment her. After all, were all trying the best we can to make small people grow to be amazing big people and sometimes when you think your not being the best you can be as a mother all you need is a kind word from a stranger to cheer you up.

What's the last compliment you were given?

Bling!ll

I had big plans for mothers day this year. I was of course at home with the tribe by myself so it involved washing which isn't really in the spirit of mothers day but hey.
I decided to get myself something I wanted so I ordered a personalised necklace with the boys names and birth dates, now I know it's been a while since mothers day (well a long while) but after a long wait my Lovestamp necklace arrived and I love it! I keep forgetting to take a photo of it, but here it is! It's not quite long enough for me so I'll have to get an extension from the jewellers and of course convince William not to tug on it every day, that will be super easy I'm sure.

Have you got any new bling lately?

Sick Face

So our house inspection has come and gone and I'm back to a grubby house with the help of a tribe of sick children who were so kind as to pass on their sickness to me through their desire to sleep, lay and watch TV on top of me. Thanks boys.

Throat infections, chest infections, ear infections. Lots of infections basically and lots of fever ridden boys wanting cuddles and loads of sleep, and of course an unhealthy amount of snot.

There has been many movie marathons, and medicine breaks. Lots of broken sleep over night resulting in lots of naps. There's nothing quite like a sick kid sleeping in the middle of the day.

Oh and just one hospital visit with this happy chappy who after a nap on me in a hospital waiting room decided he felt much better, pity it took til 2am for him to get there!

So today were having one more home day, some jelly and tinned fruit to get us through the day followed by pea and ham soup for dinner and fingers crossed by Monday everyone wakes up healthy and I can ship the big two back to school before the whining and fighting drives me completely crazy.

Mum Sit

My snow man, including scarf. I think he's pretty snazzy! 

This morning William fell asleep on the way home from school which is pretty usual for him and usually when he sleeps Charlie does some activities while I'm doing housework close by so I can help out with puzzle piece dramas or peeling stickers and make sure he's not drawing with texta on the walls. This morning Charlie's request was play dough and 'mum sit' 

We have a house inspection on Thursday so I really have a lot of other things to do on top of my usual everyday housework but who can say no to 'mum sit' so I sat and for almost an hour we made things, laughed at each other and generally had a really good time. 

Charlie made me 'nunch' he told me 'it's bake-a-beans'

William actually slept for 2.5 hours. Amazing! We managed to play with play dough then do a few puzzles together before he'd had enough of me and went outside leaving me to clean walls and fans.

 

I made a boat and got a bit creative. 

'Prise mum!' 

Considering he got shoved out of the baby spot in the family then lost his play mate to school a few weeks later he's done pretty well this year. We fight every day. Without fail one of us cracks it but I know there's only a short time when your kids are home before they go to school and you aren't the center of their world anymore so I'll soak up the 'mum sit' while I can.

Feet woes

This is what I did this morning while Will was sleeping and Charlie was engrossed in playschool. 

Honey on toast and a nice coffee and my blog. I had a million other things to get done while I could but I needed some time off the roller coaster.

This morning I went to school like this. I almost always have 8 million shoes in my car and today I just slipped two on my feet and jumped out of the car.

The worst part was I didn't even notice until another mum mentioned it. James' teacher patted my arm and said it's a sign of a busy mother and she did it once. I felt a little better but still very silly.

I'm still waiting for life to settle down a little after becoming a family of six and it's not happening. I've ordered a cleaner and Charlie is starting daycare one day a week soon. Hopefully then I'll be able to breathe again, until then I'll have to remember to look at my feet before I get out of the car.

Business for Ladies

If you have no lady bits you may want to skip this post (I'm looking at you Dad).

I've had a hard couple of weeks, I almost gave up on blogging, I was teary, hungry for chocolate, my clothes weren't fitting very well, I was sad, my face was breaking out, things were not good in my world.
Michael told me I was acting like I do when I'm pregnant, for a little while I thought he might be on to something and I freaked out.
Then yesterday after another hard day I realised I had a visitor. You know the un-wanted visitor that arrives once a month, sticks around too long. Yep that visitor.
It's been a fun 15 months without it but almost straight away I felt better my mood lifted because I knew what was wrong. I'd been suffering from 15 months of PMS compressed into two weeks. That's just cruel.
So this morning my jeans felt like they fit again and I wasn't so consumed with cranky thoughts and sadness. I can't believe we have to put up with this rubbish every month.
No wonder woman are hard to understand for men, were full of crazy hormones for 90% of our lives.

Escape.

I love these boys. I love them lots. I spend 24 hours a day doing things for them/with them usually without much complaining. William is six months old next week and I've spent no more than about five hours away from him in half an hour blocks. This week I needed some time out. This afternoon Michael is off on a fishing trip for a few nights and when he gets home he's dropping off his stuff and heading straight back to work and I knew if I didn't escape then I would be at home with my small people for another eight days alone and I knew I'd be rocking in the corner by the time Michael got home.

So yesterday afternoon I went off to the cinemas and saw Ted. A funny movie that didn't involve me having to think much it was a god movie to switch off for a while. I went all by myself, and I even had a hot coffee while I was there. I felt a little bit silly when I first walked in but by the time the movie was over I felt braver. I'd never been to the movies by myself and the last time I went to see an adult movie (not that sort of adult!) with an adult I had two kids that were both in nappies (those kids are now both at school).

Michael held down the fort pretty well while I was gone and when I got home the boys were bathed and dressed, the baby had been fed and dinner was cooked.

So now that I know Michael can do it with flying colours I've started planning more mini escapes.

Do you ever escape for an hour or two?

How Stay at Home Mums Get Fat/Stay Fat*

I've never been thin. After William was born I had lost quite a few kilos. Six months later I've started putting it all back on. Bum. So to try to figure out where I was going wrong I started keeping a food diary and here are some things I discovered.


Being happy with yourself thinking you've had a good day food wise then realising you've fed the children well and all you've had is 3 1/2 coffees, an apple slice and some one's left over toast while you stacked the dishwasher.


Eating a kilo of yogurt for lunch because it's easier to eat while your feeding the baby than making yourself a salad, and once you've started eating the baby falls asleep and your not game to move and by the time you make it back to the fridge the yogurt would be bad, so not to waste it you must finish it right?


Frozen Dinners. No explanation needed.

Having a family block of chocolate at 10pm because it's the only time all day you've had to yourself and you've eaten next to nothing all day and now your starving.

Uninterrupted sleep causing you to eat to keep yourself awake because you haven't slept for more than 3 hours in a row for so long you can't remember.

Play dates  and needing to eat the delicious treats your host made so not to appear rude.

Kids birthday parties and being stuck with your kids half eaten piece of cake and not wanting to throw it out you have to finish it right? (This gets worse with the more children you have).



Now with all this information it's amazing I've manged to stay as slim as I am really.

*Obviously not all stay at home mums, but maybe not just me am I right?