Stepping into the world

Today, my little Lil-lil is reaching a big milestone – her first day of preschool. For the first time in her life she'll be cared for by someone we don't know. She'll be stepping out into the world and taking a new leap towards independence.

She's got her new backpack and Disney Princess lunchbox (essential for any girl's snack). I'm sure there are going to be plenty of tears. More likely mine than hers. I just can't believe my baby is so grown up. Best of all, I know she's going to have a ball.

How do handle the first day of school?

A mini grateful

As I said yesterday, this weekend is all about fun. Relaxing, enjoying good company and smiling until I burst.

What better way to put a smile on your dial than throwing a bag in the boot and hitting the open road? I love taking a drive and going wherever the road takes you. The kids are staying with their Grandma for the night and Skip and I are taking a long country drivve with another couple. If you're hitting the road for a bit of excitement, it's best to ditch the family wagon and take something fun and sexy, like a Mini Cooper S. In red, of course. So, that's what we're doing.

This is me on the road on our last Mini adventure.

We'll zoom up the mountain, stop where we like and then check into a pub, unwind and laugh the night away. A whole heap of fun, which is exactly what I need.

So this week I'm grateful for....

* The people who brought back the Mini. What a bloody fun car to drive.
* Grandmas who are happy to spoil and watch their grandkids.
* Good friends to share the experience.


See you on the other side! Have a fantastic weekend!

Play along with Maxabella and reveal what you're grateful for.

I'll think about that tomorrow...

Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, possibly the most beautiful woman to walk the planet.

When you're a mother you spend so much time preparing. Thinking ahead and planning for all the 'what-ifs'. Contingency plans. Organisation. Trying to smooth the path so the family can travel bump-free. It's all-consuming.

There are some days, though, when you've done all you can and you can't prepare or think or plan anymore. Today is one of those days for me. Next week is going to be a tough one for my little family, but at the moment I can't do anything to make it any easier or better. It is what it is. As Scarlett O'Hara says: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." [Man, do I love Gone With the Wind, must go and revisit it sometime soon.]


So today and the weekend will be about fun. We'll make time for all of us to enjoy ourselves and relax, individually and as a family. Laugh our heads off and put the 'should dos' and 'need tos' on the shelf. The boring, the tough and the tedious can wait for a few days.

This morning, I'm taking the girls to my aunt's house to splash in the pool and play with their cousins. On Saturday, Skip and I are taking a very fun trip to the mountains, which I'll fill you in about next week. On Sunday, we'll spend time together, just eating good food, hanging out and going wherever the mood takes us.

Bring. It. On.

A little deflated

Australia Day was hot, not as hot as predicted, but steamy none the less. We started the day with a dip at the beach to cool off, but a heavy fog made the whole experience very, very eerie.

We had a great barbie – prawns, butterfly veal, salads and, of course, Pavlova. The first pav I've ever made from scratch. It went off pretty darn well, except for  a little incident with the cream. We listened to the Hottest 100, I knew NONE of the songs, which proves I'm officially old. The kids played great imaginary games and then cooled off under the sprinkler and cooled us off as well.

After everyone had left, the kids were finally asleep in bed, Skip and I dug out the leftover pav (above). It was a  little deflated, a little tired, a little splodgy – a little how I felt. It was still delicious though!

Today I'm feeling a little flat. I seem to live with this constant feeling like I should be doing something, that something is missing and I don't know what it is. It drives me crazy. I'm hoping to cheer up and take my eldest gal out, just the two of us. Spend some time together and chat before she heads off to preschool. Play ladies.

Australians all

Tomorrow is Australia Day. A day off to celebrate. We almost always have a BBQ with Triple J's Hottest 100 in the background, well we have for the past decade or so. Tomorrow will be no different.

As I type, the pavlova is in the oven. I filled the fridge with nibbles and drinks this morning. Iceblocks in the freezer as it's supposed to be a stinker tomorrow, so I'm sure they'll be some iceblock action under the sprinkler. A typical backyard barbie. I can't think a better way to spend a day at the end of January.

Many years ago, I went to an Invasion Day event at La Perouse, where we were the only white people. I don't really know why I went, I must have been in one of my 'change-the-world' phases. It was strangely quite a celebratory day with music, dancing, stalls and Dagwood Dogs. Not unlike a local fete.

In 1988, the bicentenary, I camped at Cremorne Reserve with the family so we could guarantee a spot to see the Tall Ships, Ferry Race and fireworks on the harbour. I didn't sleep a wink wedged between a sandstone boulder and drunk people blowing horns all night.

Still the backyard barbie is still my favourite way to spend the day.

How do you celebrate Australia Day?

Oh so quiet

What an unusual weekend. It was quiet, really quiet. Ear-ringingly quiet. Which was really quiet nice.

Friday, there was dinner with a good friend, where I ate too much antipasto, too much pizza and too much Nutella calzone. That's right, Nutella calzone. It's as good as it sounds too. We had fun guessing why the other restaurants patrons were there – work functions, first dates, etc and making scenarios for them.

Saturday, we spent the morning at a neighbours' home for a 3rd birthday. The girls had a ball on their waterslide, chasing their guinea pig and chickens. They also ate their own weight in chips, sausage rolls and cake.

The rest of the weekend slide by in an almost eerie quiet. We hung out at home and went to our local park. Our normally bustling neighbourhood was just really quiet. A ghost town. Perhaps everyone was recovering from the holidays, preparing for Australia, or (most likely) at the beach.

Suddenly Monday is here. An action-packed week ahead of last catch-ups before it's back-to-school.

How was your weekend?

This week I'm grateful for...

It's been a lovely week for me. I've spent lots of time with the girls, chatting, exploring and playing. We went to the zoo, caught up with friends, we jazzed up their room. I got an evening out at a friend's art exhibition and then another night out dining with an old friend. Best of all there was lots of sunshine.


This weekend, we don't have too much on which is pure bliss. We're going to a neighbour's 3rd birthday party this morning, which the girls are very excited about. This evening will be quiet night recovering from a busy week and preparing for another busy week.

This week I'm grateful for...

* The zoo. We're Zoo Friends but don't get there as often as we should. It's always a lovely day out and brings back a lot of childhood memories for me. The girls love seeing the giraffes (who have the best real estate in Sydney), the new baby elephant (which was super-dooper cute) and the chimps (always a fave).

* Our neighbourhood. We've been so blessed to live in a great community. We have a big park across the road from our home, which is the girls' second home. We can go there any time of the day and there will always be someone the girls know to play with. I also get to catch up on the neighbourhood gossip (of which there's always plenty). It's nice to live in a big city and know so many of your neighbours. Everyone watches out for everyone else. It's a real community.

* Sunshine. After weeks and weeks of oppressive grey skies, the sun has come out. A little bit of sunshine can change your mood, put a spring in your step. It's also great to get load after load of washing properly dried!

Have a fantastic weekend! Play along with Maxabella's I'm grateful for...