Let the Festive Season Begin!

Posted on November 30, 2012 by natalietrew

This weekend officially marks the beginning of the festive season! Whether it’s celebrating with friends or family, it always involves lots of laughter, eating, love, giving and receiving!

Each week from now I will post a blog that is related to something that we traditionally do at christmas time. We are in love with this time of year and the excitement that it brings our children! We started preparing for christmas two weeks ago now when we got out all our lights out and started decorating the front of the house. So far we up to about 2000 lights with the finishing touches happening this weekend!

There is something so endearing about this time of year. Between Santa, reindeers, holly, red and green, stars, bells and snow flakes, it’s a wonderful time to decorate, celebrate and appreciate out family and friends! Now that we have children we have started many ‘Trew Christmas Traditions’ that we intend on continuing for many years to come!

Enjoy the festive season and I look forward to sharing with you our Christmas joy during the month of December!

Me & My Gals…..

Posted on November 28, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s been almost two years since we welcomed a second daughter into our family. Almost two years of being a party of 5 and almost two years since Bailey started school, therefore almost two years since its been just me and my gals at home!

We’ve had so much fun together! It’s been such a precious time watching Sienna nurture and love her baby sister. The time spent watching my daughters form their beautiful sisterly bond, has been captured and enjoyed over and over again. They laugh at each other, help each other to do things, they play nicely, they annoy each other, but one thing is for sure they look out for each other each and everyday!

The realisation that Sienna starts prep next year is really starting to hit home and as of this week, there is only three weeks left of the school year, which means only three weeks left of just me and my gals at home! Mia is going to be lost without her big sister. Her big sister is her one person who no matter what, will drop everything when Mia says “Sie Sie play!” Sienna can be half asleep and she will still drag herself outside to make her little sister happy! It will certainly take some time to get use to!

For me, I will miss the laughter! The girls laughing at each other and with each other is like music to my ears! So often their laughter will stop me in my tracks and I will just sit and watch and laugh with them! Mia is the funniest little person I know….who will be there to share in her antics now!? Sienna is such a proud big sister and always gets excited when Mia learns to do something new….Mia’s biggest fan is starting a new phase and the time they’ve spent together over the past two years will be so very different now!

But like anything, we don’t have a choice and we have to move on with the change! I don’t particularly like change though!!!!!! Like I said, it will be hard at first, Mia and I will feel like there is a piece to our puzzle missing, but we’ll get use to it…it was exactly the same when Bailey started prep! We are so happy for our Sie Sie girl and know that she is going to have a blast at school!

So in the next three weeks I plan on enjoying my time with just me and my gals – I will embrace it and all the greatness that it brings!

Guardian Angels……

Posted on November 22, 2012 by natalietrew

Today my family celebrates the 52nd birthday of a very special lady who sadly passed away 16 years ago:'( This lady is my aunty Lyn…the lady who was my god mother and who was like a second mother to me.

The passing of aunty Lyn was nothing but gut wrenching! I remember it like it was yesterday:'( I remember her being beautiful, happy and vibrant at my twin sister’s 21st birthday and before we knew it she was in hospital having a lump removed from under her tongue which ended up being cancer! The big C word…it’s criminal, it’s awful and it’s nasty! We were so hopeful and positive that once the lump was removed and radium was administered, she would go into remission and we could go back to embracing life for what it was…sadly that didn’t happen:'(

After 5 short months of being diagnosed with oral cancer, my beautiful god mother passed away peacefully with her loved ones surrounding her. On that day, May 22nd, I distinctively remember her waking for a moment and then taking her last breath! I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to hurt something!!! How can life be so cruel:'( That day two little boys lost their mother, a husband his wife, a mother and father their daughter, a sister and brothers their little sister and we lost our aunty Lyn!

Not a day goes by where we don’t stop and think about her. Aunty Lyn and her family were a huge part of my childhood memories. We spent many holidays together where we would play tennis, cards, swim, eat and laugh a load! When I close my eyes I still remember her smile, her voice and her infectious laugh! I was 16 when aunty Lyn passed away and I still wish everyday that she was here with us!

But even though she is not physically here for us to kiss, cuddle and talk to, she is with us in spirit. When Elton John’s Candle in the Wind (which was played at her funeral) plays on the radio, we believe that is her signal to us that she is close by! Her time on earth may have been up, but her memory will live on forever.

Sadly, 7 years after my aunty Lyn passed away, her eldest son Scott, was tragically killed in a car accident! Once again our family was forced to face another gut wrenching situation:'( That was tough. That was indescribable pain that we thought we were recovering from and we were knocked down at the point where we felt like we were starting to get up. But to help us with the grieving process of Scotty, we will always find comfort in the fact that he is together with his mother and I bet they are having a beer together as I speak:)

Our family has been through a lot in the last 16 years, but the love and close bond we share, has enabled us to grieve together, laugh together, share memories together and pick each other up when we feel down! As much as we’ve all asked the question why us, we are now at peace that we live each day with not one, but two guardian angels who look down on us and guide us through the mystical maze of life!

Happy birthday aunty Lyn…may you and Scotty be dancing in the heavens above. We love you both and miss you everyday!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxox

Don’t Forget…..

Posted on November 14, 2012 by natalietrew

We are getting to the crazy time of year where our to do lists are as long as our arms and we start to feel overwhelmed that things are just not going to get done! For the first time, as a wife and mother, I feel the most relaxed and organised I’ve ever been at this time of year! We’ve finally finished spring cleaning the house, just in time to spend the next couple of weekends turning our house into the land of ‘Christmas’!!! We are super excited, the kids are super excited and we can’t wait to live, breathe and eat everything Christmas!

But one thing that can happen at this time of year is forgetting the most important things in life! Yes we are all super busy and yes we are all super busy with stuff that is mostly unavoidable, but we can’t forget how to enjoy ourselves and relax (where we can) with the ones we love! Christmas only comes once a year and is over in the blink of an eye and if we spend the whole time highly strung and stressed over things that really aren’t worth the extra grey hairs, we’ll all look back and regret that we didn’t just simple embrace the festive season for what it is!

Today I got up and had my list of things I wanted to do, but thought why? Why should I fold the washing today when I can read a book to my children? Why put a load of washing on right now when my three children are cuddling on my lap? Why should I tidy up my laundry when my daughter is asking me to play tennis? So my today’s list didn’t quite get finished, but I don’t care, because my children are more important than any list I’ll ever write!

So this is how I will get through the crazy busy time of Christmas….if I want to I will, if it’s not important enough I won’t! I will still do what I HAVE to do, but I will do it and then treat myself to something that makes me happy – my children, my husband, running, crafting, baking, decorating! I will make sure I enjoy spending time with my friends and family and when I do have some time to myself I will use it wisely! I will stop when I’m tired and I will go like a crazy lady when I’m full of energy….but most importantly I will not forget why we celebrate this time of year in the first place!

Life is busy. Life is a rollercoaster. But if we let the business of life take over then we will forget how to live, how to love, how to enjoy! So don’t forget this festive season….stop, breathe, look around, and enjoy life for what it is!

Trick or Treat!

Posted on November 1, 2012 by natalietrew

Halloween….you either love it or hate it! It’s actually quite a controversial topic in Australia as a lot of people think we shouldn’t be celebrating it due to it not being one our traditional traditions. How this is changing! Over the past few years, the shops have added more and more to their Halloween stock which is why a lot of us are starting to embrace it! I have nothing against people not wanting to acknowledge it – each to their own. We do…why not, it’s all a bit of fun and the kids just have a ball:)

Each year since Bailey was about 2 we’ve gone trick or treating to only the people in our Neighborhood that we know, but this year was the first year we decorated our ‘red wall’! Like we do at Christmas, Easter and birthdays, I added Halloween decorations a few days before October 31st! The kids love the ‘red wall’ decorated! They were sad when I took the Halloween decorations down this morning and were already asking about the Christmas ones lol!

Our ‘red wall’ that we use to decorate for special occasions!

Ready for trick or treaters:)

In the past Kane and I have just taken our kids and my nephews trick or treating, but this year I cooked dinner for the family and we all celebrated the night together! It was lovely. It was a great excuse to also make Halloween cupcakes and experiment with my icing…which I might add I finally can make icing that does what I want it to do – for decorating purposes that is (thank you Michelle Shaw)!

My Halloween masterpiece:)

Roles were reversed with our children this year. Bailey usually always loves getting dressed up and am sad to say he wasn’t into the ‘dress up’ side of it this year:( but Sienna sure was and Mia well she didn’t have a choice lol!

My beautiful little Dracula:)

My baby fairy:)

Bay was a ‘gunman’ hence the gun lol!

Trick or treat time….

All in all is was a great night and our best Halloween to date! Our expectations are set high now as our children never forget a thing lol! Now it’s time to really start planning for our biggest and best celebration of the year….Christmas! Keep an eye out on the blog for my Christmas display post…it will be our biggest display yet!

The kids loved being visited by the Whitehouse Family:)

Spring Holiday Highlights!

Posted on October 12, 2012 by natalietrew

My goodness this year has flown, a week has already passed since the school holidays and before we know it we will be time to farewell another school year!

The September school holidays are usually my favourite for the year. The weather is normally pleasant which leaves plenty of opportunity to do a variety of activities. These holidays proved to be a little more challenging as I spent most of the time on my own as my husband either worked really long hours or was away! But we managed to do lots of fun things and create beautiful memories that we’ll cherish forever!

This is what we got up to:

A play at Chipmunks

Drawing

A trip to town on the train

Goma & Museum

Southbank

Reading

Bike riding to the park

Baking

Playing it cool

Riverheart

Swimming lessons

Beach

Swim at Nanny and Poppy’s

As you can see we had lots of fun! This mumma was sure buggered by the end of it, but considering we were so busy, I was the most rested I’d felt in a log time and when I returned back to work this week I was actually ready to go back….now that is definitely a first lol!

A Day to Remember!

Posted on October 9, 2012 by natalietrew

8 years ago today I married my best friend, my lover and the man that would one day become the father of my children! We had been together for 7 years and like most females, I’d been dreaming about this day since I was a little girl and what a beautiful day to always remember on this date!

I still remember that day like it was yesterday. The butterflies in my stomach as I approached my soon to be husband, my beautiful dress and how I felt like a princess and the happiness that filled my heart as I married my prince, my one true love!

It was a beautiful hot sunny day that day and like true wedding style, we had a few dramas leading up to the big day, but the actual day couldn’t have been any better! In front of 150 family and friends, Kane and I declared our love for one another in a traditional style church wedding…our children have since been christened there:)

Once the nuptials were completed, we headed over to the Roma Street Parklands, where our photographer captured some beautiful moments that we will cherish forever!

Having a large bridal party that consisted of siblings and friends, paved way to have loads of fun…many laughs were shared that day as well as tears of joy (mostly by Tash lol)!

Our reception was at the Paloma located at Sunnybank. We chose somewhere that would cater to the volume of people and central to where everyone was traveling from. Between having a delicious array of food, beverages and dance floor to kick off our shoes, the reception was our party to celebrate our love and unity and of course what better way than the groom doing a strip tease to the ‘Grease’ remix song lol!

We had been engaged for 18 months, which allowed plenty of time to organise the wedding day of our dreams…but like anything we had a budget to stick towards and although we could have had less people at a more extravagant venue, we chose to have the people we cherished the most. The day was all about us and the fact that we were two people becoming one. It was pink, girly, bright, florally which is all things me and the boys wore plain but handsome suits which is all things Kane! I still to this day love what I created (with the help of my one and only mumma) and to me our wedding day will always be the best!

To me getting married is more than a piece of paper, I take it seriously and the vowels we declared in front of our friends and family are ones our relationship faces everyday….”in sickness and in health, from richer to poorer, through good times and bad, till death do us part!”

I love you Kane Trew…happy 8 year wedding anniversary! Thank you for the times we have shared thus far. I’m so proud of what we have created and love you and our babies more than life itself:) And what better way to spend it than with my party of 5!

60 Years Ago An Angel Was Born!

Posted on September 16, 2012 by natalietrew

Yesterday marked another special occasion for our family….it was my dear Mother’s 60th birthday! We’ve had many celebrations this year where mum was the driving force behind the preparations, but this time it was our turn to take the wheel from mum and for her to take a back seat! Mum wanted something quiet and simple we wanted something super! Mum wanted it at a park with very little preparation, but how could we do that when she has created something awesome for everyone else in the past! So we did exactly what mum told us not to do!

We had it at my sister’s house where 70 of her closest family and friends came dressed wearing something purple – mum’s favourite colour! Her best friend since primary school was able to make it down from Cairns and of course my sister and her family came up from Melbourne. Mum was able to bond again with work mates from the past and relish in the love, fun and laughter that each of her family members have brought to her from the past and present!

We wanted the day to just be about the women we call mum. She is one of a kind. She is loving and loyal. She is selfless and always goes above and beyond! She puts everyone before herself. She is a true angel and without her, our lives would not be the same. Carol, Caz, Boof – is not only a wonderful person, she is the best mum, the most devoted nanny and a caring daughter, sister, aunty, cousin and friend. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting my mum or having her as a part of your life, you are richer for doing so!

After a month of preparations of invites, menus, photos, cake planning, decoration deciding and the like, the day was a huge success. Mum was thoroughly surprised, appreciative and had the best time. It was so nice to see mum enjoying herself with her loved ones and being waited on rather than the other way round! We are wrecked today, but it was so worth it to see the joy and happiness on my Mother’s face! I promised my children that the crazy lady they’ve been living with this week has left the building lol!

Memories from the party…..
Cake I made!
Colour theme – purple and yellow!
My favourite photo of mum we had blown up and placed throughout the party!

Family photos…..

Things I made…..

I also made fried rice and a Mexican dip and I created a slide show of 250 photos of 60 years of memories mum can now look back on. My sister Pete roasted all the meats and made a number of beautiful salads and my sister Michelle made some lovely desserts and helped me with the decorations! Between the three of us and the help of dad I think we pulled off a party that made mum proud!

Happy 60th birthday mum:) I know you had a wonderful day….here’s to many many more years of love, laughter and happiness!

60 years ago a true angel was born and I feel blessed everyday that this women is not only my mum, but my best friend!

Gotcha…that they did!!!

Posted on September 6, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s a well known fact that I am a photoholic! I love taking them, printing them off and then displaying them around my home! Sometimes I find a nice frame to put a photo in and sometimes I’ll use my love of craft and make a canvas. Either way it’s all about displaying a captured moment that represents love, a personality, fun and the like! Each year since we started creating our own family, I have always spent the time and money getting professional portraits of the children! I religiously used Pixi photos to do our portraits as that is what my parents used when we were little. Then a few years ago a good friend of ours started coming to our home to take photos of us in our yard, more natural shots which are my favourite.

After going from a studio to a location I swore I would never get studio shots again. Then a few weeks ago Mia and I spent the day together and were asked by Gotcha Photography (they were in the middle of a shopping centre) if I would like my daughter’s photo taken. I was quite reluctant as Mia had a cold and my rule was no studio photos anymore!!! So much for my mid year resolution of saying NO!!! Anyway I thought why not might be a bit of fun and I needed a nice photo of Mia for our new toy room!

Mia being Mia wasn’t very impressed and made the ladies work so hard for a smirk let alone a smile! After 15 minutes, which I was happy with some of the shots they had taken, they proceeded to tell me that because Mia wasn’t really up to it I would have to come back another day to finish the photo shoot! Again I should of said no but I thought well at least I’ll be able to get an updated shot of the three of my children! They were very happy for me to bring the three kids back next time! So on the Ekka show holiday I dressed all three up beautifully, bribed them with a donut and we went and finished the photo shoot! I didn’t want to spend much as I wasn’t even going to do portraits this year – I was waiting until next year to get portraits done by Nicole Ramsey! All I wanted was my free photo of the three kids and a 10 x 8 of Mia!

The day came to view my photos and I kept telling myself “you’ll be right, you only want two photos, be strong, say no thank you!” I kept hoping all morning the photos would be awful so it wouldn’t be so hard to resist! Pffft awful photos of my three children, how could that be lol!!! I walked up to the counter all confident with what I wanted and then they placed the photos down for me to view….this is the moment where my heart made a decision over my head! As I looked through each photo, I smiled and commented to the lady and she would nod her head and agree. Each photo was more lovely than the one before. My game plan changed then. I placed in a pile the ones I loved the most. The little voice in my head was still telling me what I was SUPPOSE to do, but my heart kept saying how can I not purchase these beautiful photos of my adorable dumplings!!!!

Makes my heart melt!

My three precious angels!

I love Mia’s face in this one:)

Mia looks so tall in this photo!

Bailey is like a little man in this photo and Sienna oh so angelic lol!

Growing up so fast!

Oh so pretty!

Mmmwah!

Cheeky monkey!

I love this one…”I’m a little tea pot!”

Now can you see why the sudden urge of needing to purchase more photos than I wanted overcame me! They are gorgeous, real keepers. I not only purchased this lot of photos, but I am also getting a hard covered large book with 20 of the photos included….that is my present to myself and I shall keep you posted when it arrives:) I’ve displayed some of these photos throughout the house and the left over ones will be given as Christmas presents, so at least I have started Christmas shopping! I’m guessing they are called ‘Gotcha’ photography for a reason because that they did, but when I think about it, it was my beautiful children who really got me:)!

My Dad…My Hero!

Posted on September 2, 2012 by natalietrew

Right from the moment I was born my dad was there to love and protect me:)

In light of father’s day I thought I’d write about a special man in my life….that man being my dad! I really have been blessed in life with not only a beautiful mother who is my best friend, but I have the best dad in the world to! He is my hero. He is my safe person. He is the father who will drop everything to help us out. He is strict, but has always had our best interests at heart!

Growing up we saw a lot more of mum as dad worked long hours, but when he was home we felt content and happy that our party of five were altogether! Dad has always made us laugh (and cry at times lol) and he has always been our number one fan! Having three daughters must of been tough on the poor guy, all those hormones geez lol! But dad never once made us feel like he was missing out by not having a son and supported our sporting choices and career paths and would always offer help and support where needed. Dad taught us to fish, swim, catch waves, drive a car and was the one we went to when mum said no! We would always help him in the yard, be the loudest cheer squad on the sideline when he coached footy and enjoyed a day at work with him in the truck!

It’s funny when you become an adult your relationship changes with your father. A mother and daughter’s relationship evolves as you get older but a father daughter’s changes – for the better I think! Now I’m a mum and dad is my children’s poppy, a new level of respect is earnt! I’ll always be his little girl or should I say ‘spud’ as he called me when I was little, but now I’m a women with children of course things are going to change! I still have a great relationship with my dad and my own kids adore their poppy! I’d be lost without him. He still checks up on us and makes sure our cars are looked after, our yard is in ship shape and is always there when a helping hand is needed.

My dad will always be someone I look up to!

Our children adore their Poppy!

My two favourite men…I’m so grateful they are great mates!

Mums are such special people to have in a child’s life, but it’s just as important to have a dad too. Dads teach us different things to mums and being a male, they usually see things in a different perspective! I’m so proud to have a dad like mine and no matter how old I am, he will always be my hero! And now it’s beautiful seeing my own children have the same feelings about their dad and my husband reciprocating the same love for his chicken, shnooky and darling!

Happy father’s day to my dad, husband and grandad and to all the wonderful dads out there!

My Party of 5

Category Archives: Family

Let the Festive Season Begin!

Me & My Gals…..

Guardian Angels……

Don’t Forget…..

Trick or Treat!

Spring Holiday Highlights!

A Day to Remember!

60 Years Ago An Angel Was Born!

Gotcha…that they did!!!

My Dad…My Hero!

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