a Beer, a Whine and The Spirit

Chance has been getting lots of cuddles from everyone since we arrived, especially from his:

Posted by Renae at 5:46 PM Comments

On Sunday the 19th December, I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of 2 new friends of ours. You may remember this wedding - well, the wedding last Sunday involved Nathan's brother Pete, and it was a truly wonderful occasion. The wedding was held at Emily's (the bride) aunt and uncle's old B&B come holiday home in Trentham, Victoria. Unfortunately the weather wasn't too crash hot - freezing cold and rainy - but that didn't dampen the mood in any way. We had a wet weather plan, but ended up being able to have the ceremony outside in the courtyard and it went splendidly, despite being only about 12 degrees!!

Hubs took care of Chance during the ceremony, and it was lovely to see their faces amongst the crowd, even if it was only from time to time! It really was a lovely ceremony, and Pete & Em decided to self-cater which gave the day a lovely family feel. Oh, and the desserts were awesome! (And look at the scenery behind the house!)


We all had a great day and spent the night before and after at this gorgeous holiday home in Blackwood - we could have happily stayed there another week, just enjoying the surrounds, watching DVDs and enjoying good company. And thank goodness for the fireplace! I believe it got down to 6 degrees overnight. I don't think Mother Nature got the memo that IT'S DECEMBER!!!!!!

Congrats Pete & Em!! And here's a lovely little family pic from the day (and yes, our son is going cross-eyed. Focusing is hard at this age!!)

Posted by Renae at 10:12 AM Comments

We've been in Brisvegas since last Monday and it has rained every day. The only good thing about this is that it's been surprisingly cool for this time of year so the humidity hasn't knocked me around too much. We've been having a really great time catching up with family and friends, but it's now time to catch our breath, so we're laying low for a few days. This means watching the cricket (1st day of the Boxing Test = embarrassing), eating Christmas leftovers, and having lots of baby snuggle time.

In the next few days/weeks I will be attempting to blog about the following:
- Hubs going fly fishing with Dad and catching 2 fish
- Our few days in Melbourne
- The wedding in Trentham
- Our trip up to Brisbane
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
and whatever else tickles my fancy.

For the time being though, I'm going to check my google reader and see what's been happening while I've been sitting around, staring lovingly at my boys.

Posted by Renae at 6:56 PM Comments

Posted by Renae at 9:01 PM Comments

We leave for Melbourne on Tuesday and there seems to be so much to do before we go. Actually, we only have a to do list of 4 things, but when you have a newborn, even finding 15 minutes to clean the kitchen is a challenge! I really didn't understand that before - how new parents don't even have 2 minutes spare to answer a text. I mean, come on! It's 2 minutes! But really, it's thinking about it at the right time, knowing where your phone is, remembering who it is you're supposed to be texting, and then hearing the baby cry, changing a nappy, doing a feed, settling him again and finding something else you've neglected, completely forgetting about that damn text you were going to send 2 hours earlier!! Ha ha. I'm not even kidding...

So we're just going with it at the moment; embracing the fact that Chance has no routine and that no 2 days are the same. We're super excited about catching up with friends and family in Melbourne, and then I'm conducting a wedding for friends tomorrow week, then we'll be on the plane Monday to Brisbane!!! And then I'm just going to collapse in a heap :-) Crazy to think that we were going through the same thing this time last year, without the baby. And that was busy enough!

Anyway, here's another photo to keep you all in suspense....

Posted by Renae at 4:08 PM Comments

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Posted by Renae at 11:13 AM Comments

I've started writing this post half a dozen times and it never seems quite right, so I'm just going to dive in and see what eventuates. In case you missed the news, I gave birth to a little baby boy, Chance Harry, 10 days ago, and ever since then, I've just been living in cliche world. I don't know why, but I thought I'd be the exception to many of the "rules" of parenting in the early days. But no. I'm just like everyone else. Let me give you some examples of the thoughts and feelings that have been going on inside my head:

- I've used the term "they don't call it labour for nothing you know" more than once. So cliche.

- I was told on day one to expect the "three day blues" on day three and, still being pumped up on adrenaline and hormones, I was all like "naaaaah, that won't happen to me! Look at me! I'm fine! I love being a Mum. How could I possibly get the blues??" Almost to the hour, the three day blues struck me down and I've been crying on and off every couple of days since. Fun! And so cliche.

- For the first 2 days after we got home, I had to check on Chance every 2 minutes. My friend sent me an email (you know who you are) saying he bets that's what I'd be doing and he was right. Dammit!!! And how did he know? Cos that's what every new parent does. So cliche.

- I think I have the cutest, most beautiful baby in the world and I can lose an hour just watching him sleep. So cliche.

- The house looks like a bomb hit it. I don't know why, but I thought I'd avoid a lot of the chaos of bringing a new baby home. Gosh I was really and truly kidding myself on that one. So cliche.

- I'm convinced that Chance smiles at us and that he's not simply passing wind. So cliche.

So there you have it. I finally understand what parents mean when they say "it's different when it's your own kid." I used to feel sorry for mums who had to duck out to change their baby's nappy or breastfeed or console their crying baby, but now I get it. It's not a chore - it's an absolute honour. Now I get it - your priorities do change. Now I get it - Hubs and I are just loving being parents and everything that comes with it. I know it's early days, and we have already had a couple of really rough nights, but all I need to do is look into our baby's eyes and know how blessed we are, and know that no matter what, everything will be okay cos we are a part of an amazing family.

So cliche. And loving it.

Posted by Renae at 3:38 PM Comments