PUPPY LOVE.

It's so lovely to have friends who have children the same age as your children.

Julie and Phil, friends through a friend were over last Saturday for lunch. And their little girl Kahlia is just a couple of months younger than Madison.

They like each other - a lot. And we have evidence that will make them cringe when they turn 21. Yes we do.

And with the heat of the past week, they looked so cute in just their nappies so the camera came out. And here are the results.

Lunch was so much fun. And it was madness. There were five children under the age of 5 running around the house, but it was so lovely to have a house filled with laughter and excitement.

Above: Madison with Kahlia with nothing but their nappies and a smile.

playground attraction

BC - Before Children, my life was pretty cruisy. When I wanted to go out, I could grab my bag, get in the car, and drive straight to my destination pretty much without any distractions. In fact, I took it for granted. Why would it possibly be any other way?

When I became a parent, the other ways reared their ugly head. Because when you have a child, you need to:
a) get out of the house (Where are your shoes? Where is your drink? Where are your shorts? Why do you smell? Do you have a dirty nappy already?)
b) get into the car (C'mon, let's get in the car. Please - I am counting to three. No, we are not playing chasey now. No, I am not going to run around and chase you into the car. Get here now! Yes, now! Grrr!)
c) bring with you with all the appropriate appendages ie. shoes, drinks, snacks, clothes, hats, sunscreen, nappies, wipes... aaah, you get the picture!

And so that alone takes like 1/2 an hour (when you're organised of course). And that is if your child is willing and able.

And then there is the actual trip. Having my license for... well, some time now, I have forgotten that when you drive, you don't notice everything you pass. But when a child is sitting in the back seat near a window, they see EVERYTHING.

Every McDonalds playground, every pub playground, every park, every playground, every brightly coloured thing that a child would be attracted to because it has been designed that way because it is for a child! Oh, our little consumers...

So, getting back to going out... it's hard just to get from A to B without a winge, cry or excited little word from the back: "Swing." It's only a small word, but says plenty.

It means that usually there is a need at least twice (or more) a week where we need to visit a playground.

And getting there is just half the problem.

Eventually, we will have to leave.

And that's the other half of the problem.

It's so much fun being a parent.

Above: January - Ringwood Lake, February - Lillydale Lake, March - Croydon Park

a day on the farm

Last week we made the most of the lovely weather and headed to our Spring Gully property in Castlemaine where we did a little maintenance. Of course, it's too hard to tell Madison it's an investment property. But because of large space of land, the three horses, two dogs, cats and the odd bunny, it's the farm to him.

It's quiet and beautiful here, and the day is very busy for the little guy who spends most of his day pointing and saying excitedly, "horth (horse), deg (dog), kit (cat)", and then all the noises that are associated with each animal.

Instead of getting straight into the urgent maintenance matters, we made a day out of it, and I packed a picnic which we enjoyed sitting under the shade of a big tree.

By the end of the day, Madison was exhausted from running around the 3-acre property, chasing the cat, patting and feeding the dogs and running away from the horses.

Usually the last hour before leaving becomes a little challenging as Madison is too excited to possibly sleep his usual 3 hours in the middle of the day, but too tired to actually be functional for the everyday activity. And his poor eyes get so heavy. They just want to shut tight.

Above: Before and after: feeding the dog is SO MUCH FUN!, Madison needing a lie down after all the excitement.

all in a day's work

It's been 15 months since we moved back to Australia, and our house hasn't changed that much. But, we had BIG plans when we moved in.

Renovations were going to include: a new kitchen complete with floorboards, a large study/music room/studio, built-ins (oh, yes please!), carpet, central heating (yes, we have had one winter without it - not a liveable environment really)... the list goes on. And that's just the inside.

The outside was going to be fenced, pathed, and basically a landscapers' dream including serious coveting from all our neighbours. We were going to be "The Joneses".

Well, today I had a friend visit from a friend who recently moved to NZ - so she hasn't been at our home for five months. And so I was pleasantly surprised when she said lots had changed.

It was inspiring.

And so I am thrilled to tell you the exciting new installment to our home is... lawn.

Yes, lawn.

You may say, "Oh, that's not THAT exciting". But I tell you, it is.

Our little guy has somewhere to play french cricket, somewhere to put his little swimming pool. Somewhere for our girls to put down a towel when they want to 'bake'.

Trust me, lawn is very important.

Okay. So we actually don't have any lawn yet. But we have cleared a place, planted the seeds and spent quite a few hours laying brick. But it will soon be a place with lawn.

And that's exciting.

little gromit

It's typical that an almost two year old would be messy when they eat, and so we have made the most of these moments and there will be hell to pay when he gets to his 21st!

So, here are a couple of attempts of making the biggest mess possible.

Above: did you like what's left of that chocolate frog? would you like sauce with that? where's the spaghetti bolognese? Gone!

SNEAKY GETAWAY.

After a small taste of a lovely holiday which was cut short recently, we had to make haste and travel again for work.

Being the optimists we are and also hoping for some 'personal time' and (desperately needing a holiday) we thought we could we could make the most of our time away and sneak in another day at the beach.

So, off we went to NSW and after the work was over we drove south to a lovely beachside town for just a day.

Just another small taste of paradise...

THE BEACH, THE SAND, THE SEA.

Since Christmas we have been struggling to find time for a break between work appointments. And our challenge, should we choose to accept it, was to find time.

We accepted it with open arms, and managed to find three days where we could chill and enjoy each other's company and went to Lorne - our favourite Victorian seaside town. Our lovely friends offered their beachhouse for the week, but alas we stayed for just three days.The weather was perfect and so we hit the beach as often as we could and enjoyed every minute.

We just wished it was longer.