We headed down to the Gold Coast for the day today and had a great time with Nanna and Poppy and Josie. Such fun!
“Does Poppy have ice cream?”
Answer: does Poppy ever NOT have ice cream??
I love the coffee shop next door!
And we had plenty of smiles for everyone!
Such a great day xxx
We’ve had a lovely cruisey start to the holidays and heaps more planned. The kids woke bright and early at 6am after going to bed at nearly 9pm last night (grrr) and Mum took them next door to the old house to find some toys to bring on over to the new house. I had a little sleep in while feeding Jules until just after 7 and then the day began!
Darby was getting into EVERYTHING that he shouldn’t so mum took him and Quinn for a walk to shake out the sillies and Chance stayed at home with me, Jules and Grumpy. We played a few board games like Trouble and a couple others (don’t know the names) which was nice to just hang.
Then while Chance and Quinn went to my mother-in-law’s for a play and Darby slept, I took Jules for a catch up with Sonia.
We went to a lovely little cafe in Nundah and had a great catch up. Then I grabbed a few things from Aldi (and no extras!) and headed home and not long after that took the kids to see the kites flying down at Pelican Park. Home for a long and much needed bath followed by a yummy slow cooked lamb and the old and getting the kids to bed routine.
The kids have been a little crazy but it’s to be expected with so much going on. All in all a great start to the holidays!
Look I’m not going to lie. It’s good to be home. Even though a couple more nights with Hubs in Syds would have been amazing, I did miss the the kids and was keen to get back to them. I think part of that is because I have a renewed energy to do more with them; a great desire to be more present and to just play with them more.
Enter the screaming banshee.
Darby has literally just entered into a screaming phase and boy can this kid scream. Your first impulse is to throw your hand over his mouth just to stop the noise as quickly as possible. Not an ideal solution but an effective one in the short term.
And I don’t know if it was the thunder storm that rolled in this afternoon, that I’d been away, the fact that studies have shown that kids do in fact behave 800 times worse when their mother is in the room, or a combination of these factors, but the kids pretty much went feral and bat sh*t crazy this evening.
Just for me.
I’ve been assured by my parents that the kids have been perfectly well behaved in my absence, apart from a bit of screaming, which obviously is a relief but is also entirely unfair.
They saved it all for me. Aren’t they just darling? I certainly didn’t get eased back into family life but it’s what I’ve come to expect, and now that they are all in bed, sound asleep I can feel grateful for my wonderful kids.
Come home quickly Hubs. Your kids are missing you!
This one
This one
This one
And this one is a new one
Had a pretty funny day. The weather was a bit crazy – windy and rainy and sunny and repeat. I did a lot of walking, some coffee drinking, caught up with my other Sydney friend, ate yummy Japanese food (so much food on this trip!) found an awesome op-shop, had to come and rest because of sciatica pain but I was very happy and exhausted.
Then went out again and helped Hubs choose suit material and designs for a tailor-made suit (yeeow!) and watched him get fitted and choose buttons and details and all that fun stuff, then finished up with an amazing dinner with Kel and her partner at an authentic Malaysian place.
Have I mentioned the food this trip has been incredible!? We have been in luck every time.
I head home in the morning and to be honest I do miss the kids! I’ve had some great sleep and sleep-ins and I feel recharged to get back in the parenting game. I know I have a few crazy months ahead of me but I’m certainly feeling energetic and optimistic about this time that is to come.
In 12 hours I’ll be homeward bound. It’s been great!
Unfortunately the bed in the Air bnb we’re staying at is only a double. Fortunately I couldn’t give a crap because not only did I not have to get up to kids all night (only to pee. Twice. Damn pregnancy bladder!) but I also got to enjoy it until 9.30 this morning. The last 3 hours by myself! Now that is luxury for a mum of three, let me tell you!
I headed down for a leisurely and delicious brunch around 10 (eggs benny of course) and then got my nails done. After which I headed around the corner to Darling Harbour to find a shady spot to read my book.
I then got a call from my dear friend Kel to see if I was up for lunch and a spot of shopping. Heck yes please!
After a light lunch and a look through a huge Salvos we ended up at a super cute and tasty gelato bar. A selfie was definitely in order.
Much like Guy and Hubs, Kel and I have been friends for over 20 years, and have been through a mountain of things together. So much history already, and so many more memories to be made in the years and decades to come I’m sure.
My time in Sydney is already half over but I’m appreciating every minute. I’m particularly appreciating the fact that I missed a 38 degree day in Rocky today. Thanks mum and dad! And sorry about that!
See you soon!
These guys
Hubs and Guy have been friends since high school. Both geeks, both gamers, both lots of fun to be around.
Both on completely different life paths but can always meet back for a drink and some banter.
Thanks for a great night!
So far so good Sydney!
I’m going for a light pack this trip. 4 days. 4 outfits. 1 book. I bag of toiletries. 1 pair of shoes. 1 Hubs.
That’ll do Wifey. That’ll do.
Hubs registered for a course in Sydney a little while ago, and as usual, I made all of his arrangements. Not because he can’t, but because I love that kind of thing. I love booking flights (even if they are not for me), I love researching accommodation, and I don’t mind that he gets a week “off” from family life, because I know that at the end of the day, he always misses us and would rather be at home.
Then a couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, one of my friends in Sydney told me that he and his partner are moving back to the UK in May, and if I was going to be in Brisbane sometime before then, he’d love to come up to catch up.
So I did one better and, to cut a long story short, told him I’d see him in Sydney! The long story is that Hubs obviously thought it was a great idea that I come with him, and after umming and aaaaahhing about taking either one, two, or three of the kids, I decided to take none. Well, just the one. The last time I was in Sydney, I was pregnant with Darby! Has it seriously been almost 3 years??
Because I have the world’s best parents, they will be making the trip up here this Saturday, to spend a few days up here looking after the kids. Hubs and I leave on Sunday morning and I fly back Wednesday midday, while Hubs doesn’t get home until the Friday.
I have two very very dear friends in Sydney, and their wonderful partners, and even though the city doesn’t exactly do much for me (too big!!) I can’t wait to catch up for coffees and brunches and all good things. Hubs also has one of his best mates down there, so it’s going to be quite a lovely few days!
I might even sleep in a little…
As we always do when we are visiting south east Queensland, we headed down the coast for the day to visit Hubs’ Dad and Nanna.
Road trip with a full car!
Lots of happy campers in the car.
Nanna is now 98, turning 99 in April! What a trooper! I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked but we did have a lovely day.
It was too hot to go to the beach when we arrived at 10.30 so instead we hung out for a bit, drank coffee and milkshakes and beer (not all at once) and then headed out for playground and fish and chips around midday.
If there is one thing I will never understand in Queensland, it’s unshaded playgrounds. I mean, I get that shade sales are expensive, but what the heck is the point of going to all the trouble and expense of building a playground, only to leave it in full sun from midday onwards?? Or worse, no shade from trees and full sun all day. Honestly it baffles me. So when we got to this playground, I just shook my head. But we were there and the kids were keen.
Brotherly love. They were discussing age in hexa decimal, and how this year it’s J’s f-teeth birthday and he’s looking forward to his 20th birthday next year. I know, right?
After a while it was time to head back to Nanna for an ice cream cone and a cheeky nap. Not that I got my nap, but the kids sure got their ice cream!
I told Quinny she looked like a pirate so she pulled this face.
We headed home via the airport and said goodbye to Hubs. He has to work tomorrow so he’s on his way back now. Boo. We will be road tripping home with Aunty Jess on Friday and we’re pretty much all booked up between now and then! With a sleep in for me on Wednesday of course! (It’s in the schedule!)
As is the way, I won’t be able to catch up with everyone I wanted to but it’s been great so far with lots more to come.
I feel this constant nagging, tapping on my shoulder. “You haven’t blogged in a while” it says. I have so much to say and share but nowhere to begin or end. There’s no huge announcement; no big realisations; no milestones to report; it’s just life. Life in all its monotony and mundane, and all its joy and abundance.
I’m sitting here on some very lush grass in Brisbane city waiting for my friend to arrive for a catch up. All the day-to-day happenings of the last 10 days are swirling around in my head but there’s nothing mind blowing to report. I want to document these things on my blog for nostalgia but I’m so tired of blogging from my phone. The photos take an age top upload and typing is tedious.
I found myself (actually carefully planned to be) child and husband free today. I started off by hitting up a few op shops and then had, I dare say, the BEST pedicure I’ve ever had (at Ella Bache Paddington for those playing at home.) The foot and leg massage went for a solid 20 minutes and I very nearly fell asleep I was so relaxed. I also bought a new pair of Birks.
How cute am I right?!
I then had lunch with this lovely lady
Before wandering into town for my 3rd coffee of the day and a stroll around. Which leads me to this grassy patch. And since the photos are taking no time at all to load, I’m going to share with you my last 10 or so days before I met up with my friend. Enjoy.
Road trip!
Nanna time!
The double scoop with free topping seemed like a good idea at the time. It was not.
This man. This achievement.
A visit with these ladies and this little guy. So much history here!
Am amazing day on the water watching whales with my crazy family. Such a great day.
Getting these two kids back together for a two hour run around in the playground.
Cuddles with cousins
And sisters (practically)
And a night alone with Hubs.
It’s now Wednesday morning (I got distracted halfway through writing that post) and I’m enjoying my last few hours on my own. I’m about to hit up some brunch before heading back to pack up. We hit the road tomorrow to head back to Rocky and even though it’s been an amazing holiday it’s always great to get home. It’s been lovely catching up and until next time xxxxxxxxxxxxxx