Anything For a Slurpee!

Posted on November 28, 2013 by natalietrew

Yesterday at 2.45pm, we were leisurely strolling to the car after school. The kids were happily laughing and chatting to their friends. We said goodbye to the Baker family who were parked the closest to the gate. As I was chatting to one of my friends, we watched the kids take off down the path. As I yelled out “be careful, stop running on the path” (as one of the kids had just fallen over), Bailey went down like a bag of potatoes!!

I didn’t freak out, I didn’t move my feet any faster than what they were moving, all I could think and it actually came out of my mouth when I got to him was, “how many times do you have to be told not to run on the path!!!” The first thing I noticed was a few grazes and the worst thing I noticed was the lump that instantly came up on Bay’s arm, as well as the fact that his arm was looking a little crooked! He was so upset, the worst I’ve ever seen him after a stack! I couldn’t believe it. I knew it was broken. I was praying that it wasn’t, but my instinct knew otherwise!

It’s hard to see in a photo, but
this is Bay’s arm before having it straightened and casted!

The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of events from going to the GP, to QLD x-Ray, back to the GP to finally be told at 5.30pm that we had to go to the hospital!!!! A simple break would have been plastered there and then at my GP’s surgery, but because his radius was sitting at about a 15 degree angle, it needed to be put back into place…ouch – my poor baby boy;(!!!!

Now if you have known my son since birth, he has always been highly strung when it comes to pain and has always been filled with lots of fear when it comes to the unknown! When he originally fell down, he was extremely upset and ‘dramatic’ for a good 15mins, but once the initial shock of falling over past and he settled right down and stopped crying, I never heard another whimper or complaint from him. He was the complete opposite. Extremely calm and took everything in his stride…I am so proud of how he handled it all! All he was worried about was “mum if my arm is broken, will you help me put my pajamas on?!?”…bless his little cotton socks!

Now for what we think was the hilarious part of the day. I know it’s not very ‘parent’ like to laugh at your child, but it was better than crying! For Bailey to have his arm put back in place, they first tried without any intervention, even then bay didn’t flinch, but the look of horror on his face showed how much pain he was in. That’s when the happy gas came out and for the next 5 minutes, Kane and I would be amused by the funniest 7 year old going! I shouldn’t admit this, but I had to film it! Isn’t life about creating memories….this sure will be a good memory to whip out at his 21st lol!

“I love that happy gas, give me some more!” He kept saying!

Thankfully the nurse practitioner was able to put Bay’s arm back in place with the help of the happy gas and general anaesthetic wasn’t required. After it was done, he told his father it really hurt when she pushed on his arm, but he didn’t want to cry…bless him! A final x-ray showed that his arm was set back in place and we were finally right to go home by 10pm!!! They only backslabbed his arm for now due to swelling, so we are off to the Fracture Clinic next Tuesday to get his proper cast on!

What a year! We started the year with Sebby breaking his leg and so much has happened in between and now the year ends with Bay breaking his arm:/ And the worst time of year! We have so many Christmas functions coming up that involve swimming;( and we go on our beach holiday in a months time!!! Fingers crossed the doctors are hoping for a 4 week recovery, which will be just in time for Christmas! At first I was so annoyed, but am just blessed that it’s not that bad and a broken bone is fixable…so many other poor children are suffering way worse off than Bay!

Today was a brand new day, new beginnings or should I say the beginning of Bay’s broken arm! I took him up to school to show his friends and teacher as he will have the rest of the week off school! On our way home, he said since I have a broken arm can I get a slurpee, sorry I’ll rephrase that and say one of the first things he said yesterday was, if I’ve got a broken arm can I get a slurpee?…in my muffled state of mind I obviously said yes!!! Slurpees are a holiday treat at our house, but guess who got a slurpee today? He deserved it after being so brave yesterday, BUT my son sure will do anything for a slurpee lol!

Road Trip….

Posted on November 24, 2013 by natalietrew

If you’ve been following my blog, you would know that our family has dealt with a lot of emotional hardship this year. We’ve gone from losing one of the oldest and dearest members of the family to one of our youngest…all within a fortnight of each other. And if we’ve learnt anything this year, family is truly forever!!

This weekend we went on a road trip to Kingaroy. My cousin and her husband live in Kingaroy. They bought a fudge, wine and cheese business over three years ago and have been there since. We’ve been to Kingaroy a few times now and always have the best time. The aim of this weekend was to have everyone take a road trip and spend time together before the rush of the festive season. There were over 20 of us celebrating an early Christmas in the park yesterday and we had a ball!!!

Mia’s longest road trip…she really was awesome and we’ve planned to do it more often now:)

This was our longest road trip we’ve been on as a party of 5! Mia has been our worst car traveller. We barely make it to the coast without her cracking it! We were so proud of her. I made sure I had everything charged from iPads, iPods, DVD players and plenty of food and books and I can honestly say we barely needed anything!

We spent our first night having dinner at one of the local pubs…there are so many hotels/pubs in Kingaroy!!! It was so lovely catching up with Megan and Shannon. They have had such a tough year this year and seeing them being able to smile and have fun, makes me so proud to call them family. They are an absolute inspiration to anyone who knows them.

Ladies of the family…

The kids had a ball at our motel we stayed at. It even had a pool. I recommend anyone who stays at Kingaroy to check it out…Kingaroy Country Motel!

They lived in the pool any chance they got!

The weather was very unstable but we were lucky enough to enjoy the day we had planned in the park! Megan and Shannon put on an awesome BBQ and we sat around reminiscing and laughing…love family for that reason!!!

This is some of mum’s side of the family who were able to make it!

Once we dispersed for the day, we cruised around to get dinner…I can officially say I know my way around Kingaroy very well after going to several different places to satisfy everyone’s desires lol. I also learnt that if you resided in Kingaroy, you wouldn’t need to go anywhere as they have everything you need! Big W, Target country, Woolies, Aldi to name a few…they even have a Loot Homewares store – I was super impressed!

Today was our last day and ended as great as the whole weekend! We went to Megan and Shannon’s for brekky…thank you Shannon for an awesome feed. They’ve done a fabulous job with the renovations to their house, it was great to finally see where they live:) After breakfast we went to their shop and stocked up on their fudge…I’m currently in a fudge coma as I type this lol! Check out ‘Taste South Burnette’ if you’re ever in Kingaroy!

We had an absolute ball. The kids even said “it’s sad we have to leave Kingaroy!” Lol. We are already looking forward to our next trip. Thank you to Megan and Shannon for an awesome weekend!

Our trip home….
Wasn’t as good as going, but hasn’t put us off another road trip! And we are so grateful we purchased the car we did…so comfy and so much space!!!!
The kids will be in bed at 6.30….and so will mummy and daddy lol!

We love driving past Wivenhoe Dam and it was also great to see our country side was beautiful and green!

Now to nibble away on all our fudge….

Feeling Fragile….

Posted on November 19, 2013 by natalietrew

It’s almost here. I’ve been dreading it. I knew it was going to consume me with grief. But I have to live it. I have to feel it. In a year’s time it will probably hit me again or not, maybe a little easier. But for now I am trying really hard to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for my children, for my husband, for my grandad, for my mum and the rest of my family and most importantly for the lady who would dearly love to be here for it….my nana!

It’s been almost 6 months since I lost my nana. The sweetest lady I knew. The lady who taught me so much and loved me unconditionally. The lady who I could tell anything to. The lady I would both laugh and cry with during one phone conversation. I miss her soft touch, her beautiful kisses and her voice. I miss her so much, it hurts more than ever and at the moment I’m feeling fragile and stricken with grief all over again like I did the day I had to say goodbye.

As each day has passed since then, our lives have slowly been going back to normal. You get back into the routine of living and the days turn into months. For a while you start to smile again and enjoy the comforts of your friends and family. But I knew that this Christmas would be hard. I think it really hit me last week when I wrote out my Christmas list and I went to write down nana’s name and I remembered…I don’t have to buy a present for her anymore ;( The littlest things at the moment remind me of a memory of nana, which usually ends in tears and sadness. I find it hard to look at photos and where I was finding comfort in talking about nana, I can barely speak the word without wanting to howl! If I’m feeling this fragile at the moment, I can’t even imagine what my grandad and mum are feeling;(

Christmas has been celebrated religiously around family my whole life and nana use to create the best Christmas for us. She is the only person I know who had a fresh Christmas tree when we were little and she use to buy us the most beautiful gifts that we would love and cherish (I still have my cabbage patch doll she bought for me)! The matriarch of our family taught us how to cook a Christmas lunch that would feed an army and she taught us has to work hard…nana would always be the last one standing in the kitchen!

Over the past decade, it’s been so nice looking after nana and waiting on her on Christmas Day, just like she always did for us. But now, those days are over. We won’t get to celebrate another Christmas with our lady. For weeks now a part of me wishes I could close my eyes and live through this Christmas, but that’s not the answer. Moving forward is about experiencing these emotions. Christmas is about children, family, rejoicing in what we have. We may not have our nana with us anymore, but we will always have her spirit to guide us and her legacy that she left behind.

On the weekend we decorated our house. We put up our tree and covered our house with over 2000 lights. It is usually one of my favourite weekends of the year. But this year felt different. The kids were super excited and that’s what kept me going. I would walk away when I felt overwhelmed and teary and kept going when I felt ok enough to. I have to put on a brave face my children. They are sad that nana isn’t here anymore, but kids are so endearing when it comes to loss. Every night when we go outside to look at our lights, Sienna picks out the brightest star in the sky and says “nana is watching us!” Or she just yells out “hello nana!” 😉

As I sit here watching my precious babies eat their dessert while relishing in our beautiful lights, they will pull me through this fragile state. Christmas will come and we will shed tears, but we will smile when one of the kids says something adorable and we will laugh when someone says something funny. We owe it to the greatest women we know to embrace the festive season. Nana can’t enjoy Christmas and the great things that come with it, but we will do it for her. I can just see her saying “pick yourself up and have always

I will always have the most amazing memories of our last Christmas with nana, these memories will be cherished forever!

My Little Evolving Lady:)

Posted on November 12, 2013 by natalietrew

My how things can change quickly!!! In the world of a toddler, their development can immerse over night, let alone a week! This time last week, I had convinced myself that Mia (2 and 8 months) wasn’t going to be toilet trained anytime soon and like I would have been in the past, I wasn’t really fazed. Over the years of being a mother, I’ve relaxed into my role. With my first I was so routine and structured and wasn’t flexible at all. Then my second came along and the reins were loosened a bit and by the time our third came along, well lets just say that left me with very little time to worry or stress over much. Everyday I hit the ground running and my goal was always to make sure the kids were fed and bathed, the rest always fitted in around that. The only common denominator to all three children was consistency with rules and boundaries!

Over the past 7 and a half years, I’ve changed thousands of nappies, wiped poo and wee off three tiny little bottoms and am happy to say (but with a tear in my eye) my days of nappies are almost over. Last Thursday a miracle happened (well it was to me because it felt like it was never going to happen lol) Mia finally did a wee on the toilet!!! Hearing those 5 little words “mummy I did a wee!” out of my sweet little girl’s mouth was like music to my ears! I’ve been working (inconsistently) on toilet training for a few months now. On a nice warm sunny arvo I would let Mia run around in undies and we would go through the steps: Where do we wee or poo? Tell mummy if you need to go to the toilet! I’d ask her every 10 minutes if she needed to go and I’d sit her on the toilet every half an hour.

Mia could talk the talk, but she couldn’t walk the walk. Half her problem was that she wouldn’t sit still and concentrate on going. She is a real fidgety child and no matter how much I would remove everything around her so she had nothing to touch, she still would find an excuse to fidget. I never got mad or frustrated at her, as it was my fault that I wasn’t being consistent with the whole process. I’m the biggest advocate for consistency with anything to work successfully and that I wasn’t doing. When Bailey and Sienna toilet trained, I didn’t have anyone in school. We could stay home all day and focus on the task at hand. Now I have two kids in school, my days are busier than ever and am rarely home.

I had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t able to be consistent until the Christmas school holidays, but I knew Mia was close to finally letting go of her nappy. Instead I was being patient and encouraging her every chance that I got. Over the past month, Mia has gone from accidents all the time, to holding on for a couple of hours and then doing an accident, to doing a tiny wee in her undies and stopping herself from going, to actually telling me she needed to go…but still not actually going – this was happening even when offering a treat as the prize!! Then that moment of glory and what I would say was the key to my success….diced bacon!!! “Diced bacon” you say lol!

Last Thursday afternoon was very different like all the other days I’d tried. Mia seemed focused and determined to hit the jackpot and earn her treat! Instead of sitting on the toilet for 5 minutes trying to go she was determined to stay there until she did a wee. I kept saying “let’s try again later” Mia kept saying “no I’ll do it now!” I went about my business, cooking dinner, homework and the like and when I checked on her while chewing food, I had her attention. She asked could she have what I was eating – diced bacon. I placed a few bits in her mouth, just enough to allow her to relax and alas…she did a wee!!!!!

We were all SO exited!!!! We did a happy dance and she thought that was hilarious. She was super proud, as was I and she happily enjoyed her treat! She told the world! Well the world to her is all her family. Every time someone called or came over…”I did a wee on the toilet!!!” and we’d all cheer again! She didn’t go again that night but the next day I was determined to take this lead and run with it!

Mia enjoying her treat after her first wee on the toilet!

I was really hoping that the day before’s success wasn’t a once off and I had a really good gut instinct that once Mia did that first one, she’d take to going to the toilet like duck to water. Thankfully I can say she did. Day two was deemed a huge success. No accidents, telling me when she needed to go, a dry day sleep nappy, a successful shop visit even with a pit stop, and OMG her first poo on the toilet! I went to bed on such a high and was super proud of the little lady who had told me for weeks that “I’m too little to sit on the toilet!” lol!
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Super proud of my super star toilet trainer!

Almost a week on and Mia is completely toilet trained with her wees. She doesn’t wear a nappy to bed in the day now and even though it only took to day three to wake with a dry night nappy, I still put one on her just in case. BUT where she had done a couple of poos on the toilet, all of a sudden she has decided that she doesn’t like doing a poo on the toilet anymore! Again I’m not to fazed. I went through hell with my son and number 2s and if there is anything I learnt it’s not to force them. This is my next hurdle with ‘a life with Mia’ lol, but like everything else, I will be there for her and we will get through it!

It’s all getting a bit real now. My days of having a baby are almost at the end of its trail. I’m in two minds about it all. Apart of me is happy and I’m really embracing the little lady that is evolving before my eyes, but then I let myself think back to all the wonderful times I’ve had when my children we little babies and I’m sadden that I’ll never get to birth or breast feed again. I’ll never wrap another baby up or smell them like they are food (how delicious do babies smell lol). But one thing is always for sure, no matter how old my babies are, they’ll never be too old to kiss or cuddle. I may not be needed like a was when they were tiny babies, but while I’m on this earth, I’ll always be needed by them, just like I always need my mumma:)!

I’m sad to leave the baby phase behind, but I know there are so many exciting times ahead of us!

For now I will enjoy the baby that is left in Mia. She is cutting her last tooth…finally and in the new year she will go into a bed. I think once our home doesn’t hold a cot in it anymore, that will really be the day that my baby days will be over;(

Tug of War…

Posted on November 5, 2013 by natalietrew

I’ve…hit…a…brick wall…my brain is in a state of ‘tug of war’!!! We are ALL tired…the kids are a weeping mess. It feels like we’re running a marathon on empty. We can see the finish line, yet it’s still so far away. This year has been a massive one to say the least and with a husband who has had two weeks holidays in two years…let’s just say – we need a holiday!!!!

I don’t know about you, but at this time of year I always fall into a trap where I’m torn between wanting the year to hurry up and end so we can be on holidays and enjoy the fun of the festive and holiday season. But then I don’t want it to go to fast as I want to enjoy it and if it goes fast that means my babies will be turning another year older….sigh!!

I find once the calendar turns over to November and between the end of year jobs as a teacher, the end of year things to organise as a parent and everything that Christmas brings, before we know it we’ll be shouting out “happy new year!!!!” But for me this year is different. This year has seen so many highs and some of the lowest of lows emotionally. It’s the year my first born baby girl started prep…and it’s the year we’ve lost one of the most precious people in our lives…nana;( Yes a new year will bring a new start for everyone, but it means letting go as well…tug of war!

I’ve absolutely enjoyed the school year as a mum…having a child in prep is awesome! This year has been even more special as Sienna has had far more hurdles to overcome than Bailey ever did when he started prep. I’ve had the privilege of watching my insecure and shy girl grow and evolve into an outgoing and happy 5 year old, who is nothing like the girl who walked through those prep doors at the beginning of the year. I’m so grateful that by only working two days a week, I’ve had three days where I’ve been able to share in puzzles and games with my little preppie and now being able to help with literacy groups once a week has been a real treat for both sienna and I!

Sienna has come so far thanks to her amazing prep teacher!

At the end of this week, there will only be 5 weeks left to enjoy being a prep mum. The light at the end of this tunnel is that I get to do it all over again in 2 years time. I’m also at peace with knowing that my little girl is ready to tackle the challenges of grade one. Ask me that 6 months ago and I wouldn’t have been able to give a confident answer, but I’m super confident now…I just want to hold on to the next 5 weeks for as long as I can though;( because once your child finishes prep, they’ll be in grade 3 before you know it…which is my son!!!

How did I come to have an almost grade 1 and grade 3 child…they were only born yesterday weren’t they?;(?;(

The precious time I’ve had with Mia this year has been so special, as it’s the first time in 5 years I’ve been able to spend quality time with only one of my children, rather than bits here and there. A new year for Mia means making the decision to start her in kindy…tug of war or maybe that one is having to clip the apron strings;(

Feels like Mimi has gone from a baby to a little lady over night!

I often get into a slump where time (and the lack of it) defeats my thinking. I start to feel sad and down about how fast my children are growing up and how the weeks keep rolling into months and I somehow get myself into a state of panic where I feel suffocated…weird I know, but that’s the control freak coming out in me!!! The past week I’ve felt so suffocated by everything and on the weekend I felt defeated. But then realty knocked on the door and made me realise that I’m in control of whether I’m defeated and that I will NEVER be!

It’s at times like this that I have to put my big girl pants on, take a big deep breath and just take each day as it comes. Knowing that every weekend is busy for the rest of the year is not going to defeat me, rather it will excite me at the possibilities of fun that is ahead of us. The fact that almost everyday for the rest of the year has something on is not going to bog me down, rather I’m going to feel grateful that my life is full of wonderful people and events to create new memories at! The fact that my children are going to get more tired and more irritable as the school year gets closer to finishing is not going to make me lose dignity as a mother, rather I will try and stay as calm as I can…and that goes for keeping as calm as I can with my husband to lol!

I have faith that together we will cross the finish line at the end of the year….there may be a few bumps along the way, but we will stay united until the end! Most importantly if there is ever a time in the year to appreciate the amazing things in life, it’s now. As we venture into a time of craziness, I will remember to stop and enjoy the small things in life. I will try and be the best wife and mother I can be. I will be organised and efficient and do the most important things that need to be done in a day. When I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed I will stop, sit, take some deep breaths and remember the most important things in life are…to love, to laugh and to live like there’s no tomorrow!

Sometimes they drive me up the wall, but mostly they always make me laugh!

My Party of 5

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Anything For a Slurpee!

Road Trip….

Feeling Fragile….

My Little Evolving Lady:)

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