10 Week Challenge!

Posted on October 11, 2012 by natalietrew

Another blog about cleaning! I know. It’s not for everyone and you maybe thinking blah blah blah, but the reality of it is no matter how clean we think we are, there are parts of our homes that get so dirty it’s scary to think we breathe in the filth that manifests upon our windows, blinds and the like! Next time you do your house work, look closely at your windows, the tracks of them, the oven, your screen door and walls!!! And don’t get me started on the outside!!! And now is as good as time as any as we are fast approaching the festive season!

I hadn’t done a proper house clean since just before the school holidays started. I couldn’t bring myself to look at my home for another second until my house work was complete! For me my ‘house work’ consists of dusting, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the toilet, bathroom, kitchen thoroughly, wiping down windows, mirrors and sweeping outside front and back! I like to do it once a week and I never leave it go more than a fortnight.

While cleaning away yesterday I started seeing things that needed extra attention. I started my ‘spring cleaning’ a couple of weeks ago and you know about my ‘to do list’ before Christmas, I figured if I worked on one of the jobs off my list each house work day, one – I’d only be spending one day a week cleaning, two – 10 weeks is a realistic time to get it all done and three – it means I have 4 other days in the week to enjoy my lovely family!

Yesterday I cleaned beside my fridge (I keep my recycle bags there and it was all dusty, I vacuumed the kids timber blinds and started sorting out my pergola! I pottered around from 6.30 in the morning until 12.30 when the kids and I had lunch! Obviously going for my 5.30 run paved the way for me to have lots of energy! I did enjoy my hour of sitting down though:) I could go around every inch of my home and add to my already to do list what needs to be cleaned and organised, but the list would end up so long and daunting that I know it wouldn’t all get done. The things on my list MUST be done over the next 10 weeks, other stuff is a complete bonus!

So from this week, I am setting myself a 10 week challenge to get our house to an organised clean state, just in time for Christmas! I encourage my readers to try and do the same:)

Rules:
1. Make a list of what you definitely want done in the next 10 weeks.

2. Set aside one day a week to do jobs from the list…for me it will be my house work day so I’m only dedicating one day to cleaning!

3. Do things as you see it! If you see something that looks like it needs attention and you have a spare 5-10 minutes just do it!

4. Once you’ve organised a cupboard or area, make sure it stays that way by consistently putting things back in its place (setting some rules for your loved ones may have to come into play here lol).

5. Be brutal and realistic! When sorting through stuff ask yourself how long since I used you? If it’s been more than a year than you don’t need it!

6. If you have children get them involved especially when it comes to their toys and bedroom!

7. Get your husband involved to. Mine is in charge of the Gurney!!!

8. Don’t stress if you miss a week, do extra the following week.

9. As you ‘spring clean’ write the job you did down which will help you create a ‘spring cleaning’ list that you can repeat each year!

10. When you’re finished be proud of the home you’ve created!

Good luck and keep me posted!

I’ll check back in 10 weeks time so I can catch you up with how it panned out for me!

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!

Two Becomes One!

Posted on October 7, 2012 by natalietrew

Well the school holidays have come to an end and what a busy one it was. Between being on my own for the majority of it and trying to keep three kids under 6 entertained at a level where all their interests were catered for, proved to be quite manageable but meant my ‘to do list’ wasn’t completely done!

I am happy to say that quite a bit was done and things that weren’t even on the list were achieved as well. It’s funny how we reach spring and suddenly we go into damage control and have this sudden urge for everything to be clean enough to eat food off. I guess the cycle is have fun in the summer, hibernate in the winter and then clean madly before the festive and fun season arrives again! And that is what I did! I cleaned windows, walls, my oven, sorted through our clothes and tackled the tupperware cupboard! I only have two rooms in the house left to organise, a bit of work outside and then finally after 10 years of living in our home I will feel the most organised I’ve been in this house!

Some people would be shocked that my house would be unorganised….yes I admit that I have a neat freak disorder lol, but there is a huge difference between being neat and organised!!! I guess somewhere between moving in all those years ago and having three kids, things built up and up to the point where I couldn’t stand it any longer! And I finally have taught myself to be brutal! I hoard too much stuff but as I’m getting older, I’m evolving and realising exactly what I want and being able to differentiate between needing and wanting is a must skill to have in an organised home!

Now that I will have one child back in school five days a week, it leaves me with my two girls and 10 weeks of three days a week to get my butt into gear!!! My original ‘to do list’ had jobs added to it that I wanted to get done by Christmas, so I decided to create a new ‘to do list’ – therefore two lists became one – which I am determined to go like a crazy lady to get it all done by the end of the year!

Welcome to my Zoo!

Posted on October 4, 2012 by natalietrew

“Mum, Sienna hit me in the face!” “Yeah well you pushed me in my stomach!”
“I’m sitting next to Mia!” “No I am!” “I want to pour my milk!” “No Sienna you’re too little!” “Mum Bailey’s being mean to me, he said I was little!”

And this all before 7am!!!!!!

Do you ever feel like your living in a zoo? Play fighting, constant hands on each other, verbal cheap shots and shout outs and squabbling over who sits where or who is going to have the yellow cup!!! Omg some days it just feels like I’m living in a zoo and my children are the animals and I’m the zoo keeper trying to create some peace and harmony amongst the flock! Don’t get me wrong I am not calling my children animals but when left alone to entertain themselves, when god forbid I need to go to the toilet or something, it can end up in a state that is not pretty!

I love school holidays! Being a teacher it’s my turn to have a break from my job, life is so much more relaxed and it’s so nice not to have to rush all the time! I don’t know about anyone else but as much as I love my children I’m ready to pack their school bags and get out the uniform ready for school next Monday! We have done so much yet the “why aren’t we doing anything today?” attitude still appears!!! Between play dates, trip on the train to town, baking, colouring, swimming and the like they can’t say they haven’t had a good holiday!

Individually each of my children are divine (most of the time lol), add two together especially the baby and the older child and it’s mostly heaven, but add the two older ones together and I have my work cut out for me! Then add my two nephews and that makes five children from 19 months to 12 years and there is everything other than peace lol! Why? Why do they like upsetting each other or inflicting pain on each other? They are awesome out in public and as soon as we get in the car to go home they are at each other’s throats….talk about trying to establish the king of the food chain!

This morning I was having a couple of girlfriends over and their children for morning tea….they rocked up Mia and I in pjs still, I was in middle of picking dog poo up so kids could play, Sienna kept tormenting Bailey, I was being asked questions left right and centre “mum” this, “aunty Nat” that….all this on very little sleep….but there was plenty of food I’d baked lol!

But it’s not always like this in fact the majority of the time it’s quite pleasant and fun…the school holidays just add a new dimension! There have been so many times where my two eldest have played so lovely together and I stop, watch and relish in those moments! I gazed in contentment today when I watched my 5 children (3 I birthed and my 2 nephews) were all sitting together laughing and chatting nicely on the lounge! It can happen and those are the moments you sit back and say….this is why I love being a mum!

You go through moments where you think “just shut up!” or you long for some peace and quiet and then you get some time to yourself and I don’t know about you but any longer than a couple of hours and I need my children’s arms hanging around my neck again! So my house may seem like a zoo sometimes, but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world….or maybe I would – stop fighting!!!!! Mummy loves you:) lol.

Love my crazy cats more than life itself!!!

Change of Life!

Posted on October 3, 2012 by natalietrew

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding jobs to do, but it’s hard work! You are ‘on call’ 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and there are times when your toileting and eating habits are pushed to the kerb as you become so busy at times, you literally forget to eat and go to the toilet! Imagine doing all of this and always being on your own!

Up until recently I had a husband who worked awesome hours and close to home. He would leave at a time in the morning where he was able to get breakfast for the kids, he would arrive home at a time in the afternoon where he was able to have a kick of the footy with Bailey and be an active participant during the witching hour and we always had our two days on the weekend where we spent time as a family and time maintaining our home! Things are quite different at the moment!

My hard working husband has a new job that is a much longer distance from home, long hours and most weeks he works on Saturdays! This has made for some big changes around our household! I now more than ever have to be super organised with everything!!! From the weekly groceries, to meal planning, my running, to after school activities, it has affected so much of how I use to do things! My husband’s new work hours sure shed some light on the reality of what a lot of people’s lives have always been like!

Prior to this, he was always around at crucial times when a second set of hands were needed, but now I’ve had to learn to cope on my own! I’m happy to say all is going well and I’m so use to it now, but I certainly crash and burn on the couch when the kids go to bed at night! The kids have been pretty resilient and are use to not having their daddy around as much as he use to be, or so I thought!

On the weekend my husband went down to Sydney to watch his beloved Bulldogs (lose) the grand final! Leading up to his departure, the kids had seen him for their usual hour each day during the week! They were satisfied with him going (as he has been several times before) but by the midmorning of the first day, Bailey started to feel the pinch of not having his dad around as much! He was watching me bake cupcakes and out of the blew he said “it’s not fair we don’t have a daddy anymore!” while my heart started to break, I put my arms around him and said “oh Bailey we do darling, you know he hasn’t gone forever!” One shattered little boy cried softly into my chest telling me how much he missed his daddy:(…tears welled in my eyes and I explained how much daddy loved us and wasn’t going anywhere!

Our life has changed (due to reasons that were out of our control) and you have to do what you have to do….a job with my husband’s new work hours, is better than no job at all! But it has made me realise how hard it must be for sole parents! I take my hat off to anyone male or female who are sole parents to their children! Not having another adult to help with feeding, changing, discipline and bounce ideas off when things don’t seem to be working. Always being the one to make the hard decisions and even just having an adult conversation at the end of the day! And as much as children are resilient, kids need a mum and a dad. I completely understand that situations happen where that isn’t possible, but from all of this, I’ve noticed more and more that a boy especially needs his dad!

So much of my life at the moment feels as though I am a single parent taking the brunt of everything….I’m the mother, cleaner, cook, decision maker, I have to think for everyone and there are times when I feel suffocated, but then one of the kids tell me they love me or plants a big kiss on my cheek and that kicks my butt back to reality to appreciate what I have! Our daddy/husband may not spend a lot of time with us at the moment, but we know he will return home each day! And it’s not as if he is out partying, I’m the lucky one who gets to see and spend so much of the day with our children while he is out there supporting his family! That I am extremely grateful for as I only have to work a couple of days a week.

I live in hope that our life will return back to what we use to have and that is having more quality time as a family! Our life at the moment is what it is and as long as we have our home and the kids are happy and healthy, there isn’t much more I could ask for….I know there is one thing I’d like though, after the year we’ve had – a two week tropical holiday!!!!!

My ‘BIG’ Bag Life!

Posted on October 1, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s common knowledge that I love fashion, whether it be clothes, shoes, accessories, I love shopping for it all! One thing I have always had a fetish for is handbags! I have bought that many since I was able to purchase my own things, that it would probably be close to over 100 bags that I have owned in my life so far! Big, small, clutch style, you name it I’ve probably bought it at one stage or another!

Pre-children I mostly bought small to medium style handbags, just big enough to fit my purse, phone, keys and the other few odd bits and pieces us females like to carry around! Oh how life has changed! For the past 6 years I’ve hardly sported many of my ideal style handbags as a nappy bag has mostly been attached to my shoulder! With each child brought a new nappy bag (or should I say several with each child heheheh)! I’ve gone from backpacks, to traditional style nappy bags, to a large style handbag that fits everything I need!

Most days I’m cool with not carrying a normal handbag around, but I still have the need to have a small one, especially when I go out on my own! I recently purchased a nice sized one from Esprit at DFO for a bargain $27….reduced from $100!!! This is my handbag I take to work or anywhere else I go on my own! The last handbag I bought was my $20 Kelvin Klein bag I got in New York – oh how I miss shopping in the states!!!

In reality, my life has come to a point where my nappy bag days are almost over (sob), but it’s still going to be some time when all I have to take out with me is my normal sized handbag when the kids and I are together! Between wipes, nappies, drink bottles and snacks, plus all the other essentials, it is definite that I need a big bag to carry it all!

I’ve been looking for a nice stylish large bag for a while now that is big enough to fit what I need, but not the size of a suitcase (although sometimes tempting) and today I found one! I went out to look for a pair of togs and came home with a bag – as you do! The best thing it was $60 reduced to $24….score!!!

I love my new big bag. It’s got loads of room, the colour goes perfect with so many of my clothes in my wardrobe and it’s made out of a cross between wool, hessian and straw (didn’t know how else I could explain it lol) which is different and I like different things! For now I will embrace my ‘BIG’ bag life as it means my babies are still very dependent on me and the day I won’t need to carry around what I do now, will be a very sad one!

My Longest Run To Date!

Posted on September 26, 2012 by natalietrew

Well I did it! Last Sunday I completed my longest run to date….10 kilometres!!!

It’s been just under a year now since I put my running shoes back on for the first time in many many years. That very first attempt of running was nothing shorter than painful. Every inch of my body, every muscle, every ligament and tendon felt that run, but that didn’t stop me from going back the next day and the next to slowly build on something that I to this day can be very proud of! For the first few months my aim was to run non stop for 20 minutes. Once I became more confident and felt myself becoming fitter and fitter, I started measuring the distance I ran. My pet run is 4km which I can now run in 20 minutes (pb 19.50) and occasionally I like to run 5km which I can run in 25 mins (pb 24.36)! For a long time a 5km run scared the hell out of me let alone anything higher!

Then slowly but surely I started to want to challenge myself to running longer distances. I slowly increased over time from 6, to 7km and up until last weekend my longest run was 7 and a half kilometres which I did in 40mins. My goal was to run my first 10km run by Christmas and I wanted to run it in under an hour! Well I’m happy to say that it’s only September and not only have I completed my first 10km run but I ran it in 53.40mins!!!

I sit here, three days later, still in disbelief that not only did I complete it, I didn’t once stop, feel like stopping and felt so good the whole time I was running! If someone had of asked me 12 months ago lets go for a 10km run I would have laughed in their face….how things change! I had it in my head that day that I wanted to increase my run to 8km. I was running a decent pace (2km in 10mins) feeling pretty good, but when I got to 6km it felt like I had run 12! I was feeling fine but it felt like I’d been running for 2 hours! When I finally reached my target for the day of 8km I knew I still had running in me so I kept going! I was 43mins at 8km so my last 2kms I really brought it home considering….the adrenaline obviously had kicked in!

As much as running is a physical challenge, it is one of those physical activities that is very mentally challenging! Something that seems easy at first or when you speak about it in conversation is actually really hard! It’s the same thing over and over again – left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot! If you think about the pain the run is harder, if you tell yourself I want to stop you most likely will! All this is controlled by how we think during running! I remember those days at first thinking, wishing my run was over, but now I’m the opposite! With the help of happy thoughts, my tunes and thinking about my loved ones or what I have to do for the day, my run is over in the blink of an eye and I enjoy every moment of it – of course I’m only human so there are still times where a run can seem harder than normal, but not on Sunday – my mind would not let me give up, I was so determined to do it! I felt so empowered after it as 10kms is a long distance!

So often I’m asked how do you do it? Or people will say I wish I had your motivation! You have to find something that motivates you and you have to want to do it! For me it’s my heart. In order for my aorta not to dilate any further, I need to prevent high blood pressure. By keeping fit and eating healthy this keeps my weight down and blood pressure down. While this happens my heart doesn’t get any worse and at the end of the day I need, I must be healthy for my children to have a mother….that’s a massive motivator!!!

So where to now?? I’ll just keep running 4-5 times a week. I’ll keep up my pet 4-5km runs and do a longer run each fortnight like I’ve been doing for a while! I get bored really easy so I keep changing my routes which really helps! My aim is to run a 10km run each month to see if I can improve my time! But my real challenge to myself now is to keep improving on all my PBS and get myself ready for 2013, as next year will be the first time I will enter into competitions! I never started running to compete against other people, it’s always been about competing against myself for myself, but I figure by entering in competitions, my money will be going to charity and it will be another great excuse to do what I love the most and that is running!

Thought for the day:
Believe in yourself by saying “I can do this!” Because the minute you say I can’t, you won’t!

Our Toy Room Facelift!

Posted on September 24, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s only taken 6 and a half years of being a mum and I finally have an organised and functional toy room! This room has been our toy room for about 4 and half years now but it’s the best it has ever looked after its recent facelift!

Having only 3 bedrooms and 5 of us, it doesn’t leave a lot of room in the kid’s rooms for toys, but fortunately enough having an extra living area the kids can have a room where they can relax, play, read and watch tv!

This room is not a massive space, but big enough for the kids to spread out on the floor and play the Wii. Over the years my problem was not having the right storage. The kids have always been happy with how it was, but now they love it….and so do I!

The before shots:…….

While it was always easy access for the kids to grab their toys, I was so sick of how untidy the open shelves looked, so I added to the Ikea’s range of expedits that I already had! This has made a huge difference! Between adding in an extra lot of boxed shelving, a new television, some bright cushions and a revamp of some photos and frames, the room is exactly how I’ve envisioned it to be for a very long time! It was a much bigger job than expected. Just going through all the toys took ages!!! The kids were so great though. They got rid of what they don’t play with anymore and were more than happy to donate them:)

This is how it looks now:…..

I love my new expedit…put together all by myself! Everything is all organised into categories or by child! So far the kids have coped well with knowing what goes where (helped by letting them help me organise it all)!

Our original expedit came in handy for a television unit. It fits all the DVDs and controllers nicely!

Cushions and rugs are from Ikea….perfect amount of colour that was needed!

The kids table and chairs many years old now, but also from Ikea:)

Neat, tidy and plenty of space to spread out!

It’s the personal touches this room now has that makes it meaningful to our home that we have created for our party of 5…..

A plain lamp bought from Ikea and decorated by myself with the kid’s names on it!

These photo blocks were bought for Bailey when he was a baby….now I have 3 babies they are perfect to finally use – Mia loves them!!!

These three photos chosen depict each of our children’s personalities and shows off how adorable they are:)

I love our recent family portraits. Even though they are almost a year old, I love them more everyday! I made these on small canvases and think they look lovely sitting on my Ikea shelf….this shelf has been used by the kids for years to roll their cars down, now I’m finally utilising it:)

It’s nice for the kids to have their own living space which is right now ours, so they still feel safe and secure when they are doing their own thing! I’m really happy with how the toy room turned out and am especially happy that I only spent just over $500 to get it looking how it is….thanks to Ikea and Big W. Like I said it was a massive job, but I know the kids will appreciate it for many many years to come:)!

I’ve Earnt My Tiger Stripes!!

Posted on September 23, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s been 7 years now since I had a flat, flawless belly where I didn’t have a handful of excess skin that hangs over my shorts when I bend over….but I’m not depressed or sad about it, as without the state my belly is in I wouldn’t have the three gifts of life I’ve been given:)

On our honeymoon 8 years ago before I became a mum!

I write this blog as the bikini season is approaching and since losing 13 kilos and working hard to get rid of my bulging belly, I’ve come to the realisation that my bikini wearing days are over! No matter how hard I try or how much weight l lose, the state my belly has been left in, from carrying my three babies, will always be an everlasting reminder of the miracles I have!

My body changes have all been worth it if it means being a mum to my children!

How things change once you become a mum:)! I’ve gone from this vein precise person to someone who worries about herself after everyone else is all settled! Before children my belly was the most toned part of my body and I was fortunate enough to wear whatever I wanted but now I chose outfits wisely that cater to my belly’s needs!

I don’t look at my belly and feel as though it’s ruined, it’s an area of my body the kids like to cuddle up to. They love it! Bailey calls it squishy and loves to see it wobble, Sienna loves the feel of it and Mia loves seeing how far the skin stretches out! Every night after dinner when we are on the lounge Mia always lifts up my shirt and relishes in the area of my body that they once lived closely to for a whole 9 months! Together they giggle and feel safe and secure. I’m not embarrassed by it, I would be more upset and mortified if the kids (and my husband for that matter) were repulsed and didn’t want to come near it!

It’s common knowledge that baring a child is going to have some affect on our bodies! I mean for goodness sake we are humans growing a human and it has to grow and stretch and come out some how! Some women are lucky enough to have none or very little scare wounds and then others are hammered with a lot! I was less than 60kgs when I had my first baby who was 9 pound 5 at 38 weeks – yeah you would think he did the damage to my belly, but it was my daughter who cracked the 10 pound mark. My pregnancy with her was the one that left me with my tiger stripes….the third just added a bit more stretch to the already over stretched skin!

My everlasting reminder of the miracle of life….and I always wanted a tatoo on my belly, imagine what it would look like now if I had of got one lol!

I don’t ever think why me! I would far rather have a belly looking like this and my three munchkins than the alternative. Would I have it fixed? Not at this stage….I don’t think my children would allow it! Lol! I have far more things I would rather spend our money on. Since finding out about my heart condition, it has changed my life for the better. My aim is to keep fit and healthy so I can be the best mum and wife and watch my children grow….anything beyond that is not a priority anymore! So for now I’ll wear my tiger stripes proudly and embrace a one piece swim suit this summer!

To Do List…..

Posted on September 20, 2012 by natalietrew

There is something grand about this time of year:) Winter is fading and summer is approaching. The birds are out in fine form and the flowers are blooming. But best of all the school holidays are about to start. For me the spring school holidays are my favourite. Between Christmas, Easter and Sienna’s birthday all involved with the other school holidays, it leaves September holidays to chill, potter and give the house a good spring clean!

I sat down today to write my ‘to do list’ for the holidays. I’m a list kind of gal and can not function without one. Not only does it leave my mind feeling scattered without one, I simply forget to do things if it’s not written down somewhere!

After writing my list the feeling of loving these holidays to chill out was overcome with disappointment, but I’m not going to let this list consume my holidays! I plan on doing something from my list each day and will not stress if at the end of the holidays things are left uncrossed! They will simply be done as soon as I’m able to get to it! This list is a ‘to do list’ for the September school holidays, but the things included on the list are things I want done before the festive season begins.

Running a household is a full-time job in itself. I admire full-time working mums as working two days a week I find it hard to fit in doing those odd jobs that need to be done, but are often pushed aside so the necessities are done!

It’s been a while since I wrote a list of jobs to be done around the house, but it’s time to get serious and finish things off that need to be cleaned out and sorted! We’ve been in our house for 10 years at the end of the year and I’m determined to have it to a point where we can sit back and be proud of what we have achieved!

I’m happy to say I have started doing one of the jobs from my list today:) I’ll keep you posted at the end of the holidays how successful I was!

Who else is a list kind of gal or guy?

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