School holidays - take one!

These are our first school holidays since the Little Big Fella started school.

It's the first time I've been used to him being out of the house for the majority of five days a week, and now he's not... for two weeks.

And it turns out that our Little Big Fella is pretty social, and doesn't really like being an only child at the moment.

And I really wasn't prepared for any of it!

I wasn't prepared to feel like I was being invaded by my own family, or to deal with the extra mess that appears just because they're home, or the persistent requests for friends to come and play or meet us at the park.

So I've suddenly had to do a big mind-shift.

After only 10 weeks of school, I've had to shift back to child-in-the-house mode and remember that he wants (and needs) at least some of my attention during the day.

I've had to shift back to playdate planning mode and arrange to meet up with friends, or have them here, because that is part of what he needs at this point in time.

I've had to remember to play games with him, and be patient about it.

And we've added learning to our holidays - learning small words and sentences, and remembering what sounds each of the letters make.

So, school holidays - take one has been a bit of a shock to the system.  But I think if I plan ahead next time, we'll all cope with it a little bit better, and maybe, just maybe even enjoy ourselves for most of the time!

Imagine that!

Starting school

The day had finally arrived.  After weeks of asking, and marking days off on the calendar, and talking and preparing, it was finally the first day of school for my Little Big Fella.

At 6:30 a little head popped up beside me in bed.

"Mum.  It's school day today!"

Really, I'm pretty lucky he woke that late!

But thus began the interminable wait for 8:15, when the Little Big Fella could finally say "it's time to go, Mum!"

We took the obligatory photos, and a couple of videos (oh shoot!  I haven't sent those to Grandma yet!  Sorry Grandma!  They're coming as soon as I've posted this!).

I took several hundred photos (I love multi-shot!) but still couldn't get a single one with both eyes open!  Sheesh!

Side note: don't you think it's crazy that a school with a black and yellow colour scheme specifies white socks in their uniform????  Seriously?  Have you ever had a child who can keep anything white clean???

Anyway, following in my own mum's footsteps, I'd decided that the Little Big Fella would make his own school lunch from day 1.  So the afternoon before, he made his sandwiches (one with jam and one with honey), put some fruit and yoghurt and some snacks into his lunchbox and put it in the fridge, ready to go in the morning.

Obviously he needed a little help, but even in the four days that he's been going so far, he's significantly improved!  And I can see a day in the very near future where I won't be wanted or needed for lunch-making at all!

My mum is a very smart woman :-D

Amazingly, the Big Fella wasn't working until well after school started on the first day so the three of us walked (a whole block!) to school, with the Little Big Fella just about jumping out of his skin with excitement!

As we got closer to the school, the Little Big Fella's hand found its way into mine and I realised he was getting a little nervous, probably because of the large number of people hanging around.

But we found where to put his bag and books, then found and put on his name badge.  His teacher said good morning and the Little Big Fella responded without doing his faux-shy act.

Then we spotted his best friend and life was brilliant from that point on.  Another friend who will be in their classroom but is in Grade 1 (it's a composite Grade Prep/1/2 class) was asked to help them get settled.

The first bell went and minor chaos ensued.  Kids were running everywhere, parents were saying goodbye, teachers and helpers were trying to direct everyone to the right place...

The Little Big Fella gave us hugs and kisses and then he was inside, sitting on the mat beginning his learning career.

And I was so immensely proud of him!  He took to it like a duck to water.  He wasn't afraid.  He overcame his brief nervousness.  What more could a Mummy ask for?

And because I knew he was okay, I was okay too.  How could I not be okay when I was so proud?

Throughout the day I often wondered what he was up to and what he was learning and who he was playing with and if he had enough food and if he was still okay.  And when it got to 2 o'clock I started to get excited!  Only half an hour before I could go and pick him up and hear his stories and find out what he'd loved about school.

And he did love it!  He'd done some drawing, and he'd written his name, and he'd played with his friends.  He showed me the magnet toys in his classroom (ironically, he'd loved playing with those at Super Carer's place when he was so much littler), and where his table was with his name on it.

How could a mother's heart not melt?

After all the loooooooonnnnnnnggggg nights, the hard days, the tears, the struggles, and the laughter, the fun, the games, the highs... we have reached one of the points of evaluation of parenthood and we've done our job - our boy is ready for school and therefore this stage of life without us.  Good job parents!  :-D

We have just finished our first week (four days) of school.  We're a bit tired and overwhelmed by the changes this new life is bringing.  So Friday after school was party pie and movies time.

But we've seen our son super-excitedly showing us how he can write his own name (you could basically read it too!).  We saw some of his classwork (including a piece about the class rules, where his response was something along the lines of "class rules keep us safe otherwise we'd be dead").  We've learned about "mat manners" and the importance of doing what your teachers tell you.  And we found out there's a fridge to put his lunch and drink bottle in.

It's been a huge week!  And the coming weeks are going to be just as big, with the start of swimming (both through the school and privately), Kindysports, tuckshop, P&C meetings, and Show and Tell.

It's exhausting, but it's also kind of fun and definitely exciting too.  And watching the Little Big Fella grow in such a short time is amazing!  I'm loving this new stage of our lives.

Up the mountain

Yesterday we didn't have anything planned for the day, so the Big Fella suggested we see if someone could look after the Little Big Fella so we could go fora ride and give me a bit more learning experience.

One of my friends graciously agreed and (after a false start with the Big Fella's battery) we headed off.

We decided to go up to the Tablelands because it's a bit of highway riding, a bit of country road riding, and a bit of twisty-turney mountain riding.

I definitely need to get a full-face helmet, rather than the one I have, which only has the face-covering shield (or whatever it's called).  My cheeks get a little blown around and go numb after a ride on the highway!  And I got a butterfly stuck in it, which was rather distracting.

Oh!  And I almost ran over a couple of snakes!  One was slithering across the road (maybe 1.5 meters long) and the other we decided must have been dead because it was in the same position on the way back.

We had to avoid cattle, including crazy mother cows and their skittish calf babies.

It's a really nice drive up there, which you kind of notice a bit more on a bike.  You also notice the change in temperature much more!

The ride up to the tablelands reminds me of the drive up to Olinda in the Dandenong mountains (east of Melbourne).  They're different plants, and a different climate, but it has a similar effect and it makes me smile every time.

The Big Fella told me I was riding well and took the corners at good speeds, especially considering the lack of visibility.  So that was encouraging.

By the time we got home I was completely exhausted though!  I suspect doing a workout beforehand probably didn't help.  But it was definitely a happy exhausted - I really enjoyed the ride and I'm looking forward to getting my full license so that I can just ride whenever I don't have the Little Big Fella with me.

I got a call the other day from the place that does the Q-Ride course/test.  Apparently I'll need to do at least one lesson with them because they don't do automatic bikes in the Q-Ride testing, so I'll have to learn to ride a manual.  That's okay, and it's probably a good thing, but I'm pretty nervous about it.  Trying to keep a bike upright, while learning to change gears, and keeping everything else happening at the same time is a bit overwhelming.  But I learned to drive a manual car, so I'm sure I can learn this too!

So I'm hoping to get my full license before we go to Melbourne in March!  Look out Melbourne :-D

Priorities

I've wasted a lot of time looking at Pinterest tonight, but I also came across some wonderful new blogs that I'll read regularly, and have printed out some bits and pieces for the coming week.

A couple of themes have hit me as I've been reading:

1. People are more important than tasks, and 
2. I need to include the Little Big Fella in the tasks that need to be done.

Since Christmas I've noticed that my patience has been rather thin, and I've been grumpy with my Fellas.  And basically it's because I've been focussed on the tasks that need doing (cleaning up messes and "catching up" on the housework that got behind while I was working), rather than the two most important people in my life.

The Little Big Fella has been desperate for someone to play with.  Almost all of his friends have been away on holidays so he's been wanting mine and the Big Fella's attention and energy.

Yeah.  Definitely failed him on that one lately.

I haven't stopped to play games with him, or read him stories, or imagine with him.

So, instead of kicking myself (that won't help anyone!), I've written down a few things I'll do with him over the next few days/week.

And I'm planning a playdate for after the weekend.

I've also realised that the Little Big Fella is about to start school (duh!), and is definitely old enough to be a contributing member of our household.  So instead of putting him aside while I do things like laundry, dishes, meal preparation, and cleaning, I can make extra time now (while we have some!) to teach him how to do them.  Not only will he be learning valuable life skills, I'll be getting the essential tasks done and we'll be spending time together.

And, speaking of school, it's only 18 days until the Little Big Fella starts!  He's SO excited about it.  Every day he asks how long until he goes to school.

So when we were food shopping the other day, I picked up a cheap calendar, which we have hung in his room.  We've highlighted the first day of school (as well as our birthdays later in the year) and have been crossing off the days until school starts.

We did something similar in the countdown to Christmas (this year's version of an advent calendar), so he is starting to understand how far away a week is, and he's getting some great practice at recognising numbers!

Anyway, it's midnight (again) so I'm going to join my husband in bed for the next hour or so before he goes to work.  Goodnight!

ScooterShell rides again!!!

Before I had the Little Big Fella, I used to ride a little 50cc scooter to work at the backpackers.  It was so much fun and cost me something like $3 a week in fuel.

It was also where I got the name "ScooterShell".

I just found a photo of my little old scooter.  It's not a great pic, but gives you the idea of the size.

You gotta love the tough expression, hey?

Well, when the Little Big Fella came along, it was time to ditch the scooter.  I ended up getting an awesome camera with the money :-D

But today I'm back on the road and am, once again, ScooterShell!

The Big Fella has bought me a brand new scooter for Christmas.  The idea is that I can ride it to work and free up the car, as well as reducing our fuel costs.  The new scooter is a tad bigger than the old one!

It's shiny and zippy and has SO much room and is fun and quiet and comfortable.

The Big Fella drove it home and I was just a bit jealous.  Okay, I was very jealous.  But because I'm on my Learner's, and hadn't ridden in four years, and the "bike" is so much bigger and heavier, we decided to let him do the hour drive home.

But once we got home (and put all the shopping away etc.) it was my turn!

Seriously, it is SO zippy!!!  I turned the throttle a little and was suddenly doing 60kms!!!  You should have seen the smile on my face :-D

I need to do a little practice at the slow stuff though.  I nearly dropped it twice on the first drive around our little town, both times when I was going slow and turning right.  I can't wait to practice some more!

Oh!  I forgot to tell you it's a Honda Forza 300, for those who want to know.

And it really is kind of heavy.  I just couldn't get it onto the centre stand without the Big Fella's help and I was so frustrated about it.  But after showing my new baby off to my neighbor, I finally worked it out.  I literally jumped up and down and did a little dance.

I'm hanging out to have another ride tomorrow!  This afternoon the Big Fella had to go to work and we ended up having the Little Big Fella's best friend and his brother here until bedtime.  Even though we were having fun, I was itching to ride!

But tomorrow is a new day and the Big Fella will be home and you can bet I'll be riding around our little town, getting used to my new scooter.  I can't wait!!!

My first day

I got a phone call yesterday, just before lunch time.  The HR and security processes are finally complete and when can I start two weeks training, full-time?

I'm sorry, what????

Yep!  After weeks (okay, it's been months, but who's counting???) of waiting, the bank is finally ready for me to start my potentially long career with them.

Of course, I freaked out a little.  Even though I've been semi-prepared for this, the actuality of it has been somewhat overwhelming.  Working out the logistics of caring for the Little Big Fella, and the fact that we only have one car, and the Little Big Fella has a fairly full schedule... well, it's been mildly stressful.

So this morning I left my Fellas home together and returned to the working world for the first time in four years.  I was SO nervous!

Would I be able to get my head back into work mode?

Would I be as good as I think I am?

Would I be overwhelmed by the amount of information I need to learn?

Would I get there on time?

Yeah, I was definitely nervous!

But it was a good first day!  I got the impression that I'll fit in pretty well, I got there on time, and my work brain did switch on.  As did my study brain because I spent an awful lot of time reading information and answering questions!  Which also meant I ended up with a tension headache, which, thankfully is almost gone already.

My body is not used to sitting still for that long, either!  At lunch time I walked up the road to a park and my legs definitely enjoyed the stretch.

Apparently tomorrow I'll be doing some more online learning in the morning, then I'll start learning how to be a teller.  I'm looking forward to the challenge of it, and getting back into a customer interaction role too.

I really want to acknowledge my friends, too.  The Little Big Fella's best friend's mum took him with them (after his final Prep Transition afternoon) to their swimming lesson, then to the park, then home today.  Tomorrow another friend is taking me in to work so that the Fellas can have the car.  Our neighbour is looking after the Little Big Fella on Friday and taking him to the school's swimming carnival.  And a bunch of others have offered to have him over the next two weeks.

I am so grateful.

Those four little words really don't express it well enough though.  I wouldn't be able to accept this job without them because there are no casual childcare options here.  And with the Big Fella's crazy work schedule, it just wouldn't be possible without them.

So thank you to all of you!

And obviously I want to acknowledge the Big Fella too.  He's kind of been thrown into this as well.  So now, as well as working crazy shifts, and attempting to sleep sometimes, he gets to experience the joy of predominant carer.  And he's doing an awesome job of it.

Us mums sometimes get so caught up in the stuff that we think is important, that we don't allow the dads to do important dad-stuff with our kids.  This week my Fellas have been for a drive to the wood mill, visited friends, done yard work, smoked meats and a bunch of other stuff that I would never do with the Little Big Fella.  And seeing the way they relate to each other is enough to melt my tough mummy heart :-)

Anyway, enough rambling.  I need to go get stuff ready for tomorrow, and Saturday's fundraising BBQ, and Christmas.  Okay, that's not all going to happen tonight!  But it's definitely time to get off the computer (actually, I'm on my tablet because the computer died this week) and get moving.

In too deep?

One of the things that's kind of awesome about being an at-home mum is that you have a lot of time.

Sure!  It gets filled with the needs of a child, the messes of a child, the friends and activities of a child, but as the parent of only 1 child I recognise that I have a lot of control over what happens and when in our house.

You may have noticed in reading my blog over the nearly two years I've been writing, that I tend to have periods of intense activity, followed by periods of totally boring domesticity.

With the development of Pinterest and the on-coming Christmas season, now is not a period of totally boring domesticity!

I have a few things on my plate right now and I'm starting to wonder if I'm in a little deep.

I've been Treasurer of our playgroup this year, which is a really easy job.  But we're planning the end-of-year party and there's a few bits and pieces that need doing for that.

The Little Big Fella is starting Prep next year, so he's having Transition afternoons at school over these three weeks.  And after meeting his teacher last week, we've been convinced that the more he knows in terms of letters and numbers, and the more independent he is, the easier starting school will be for him.

So he and the Big Fella have decided that the Little Big Fella can learn to spell his name (and then all the other words Daddy wants to teach him - he already knows the names of the letters but can only write 3 of them), and tie his shoelaces.

Which, of course, means that I'll be involved in support and supplementary teaching ;-)

Christmas is coming and I've been busily making cards, tree decorations, indoor decorations, outdoor decorations, trashing my house in a creative frenzy...

I joined the CWA this year as well and recently found out that our local supermarket offers the facilities to run fundraising BBQs.  After seeing the effects of Typhoon Haiyan on TV, and my family having various connections with the Philippines, I suggested that we run a BBQ to raise funds to send for their recovery.  You guessed it!  I get to organise it.

Just to make it clear, I'm excited about it, and I'm hoping to get a decent turnout so we can make a reasonable donation, but it's another thing on my list.  And, of course, I decided to make it slightly more intense by adding a cake stall, so I have to do a little cooking for it (as well as all the awesome people who've offered to contribute as well.

Then there are the various parties, events and Christmas gatherings over the next five weeks.  And the housework and feeding and entertaining of my Fellas.

Then we need to add a final, and potentially apple-cart upsetting element.  Last week I received an e-mail containing a letter of offer!

Back in March I applied for a 4-day-a-week position as a teller at one of the banks.  I didn't receive it, but was contacted in May, I think, for an alternative position.  Over the past months I've been waiting and going through various processes and have been offered a position as a casual relief teller, both in our closest town, and our closest large town.

Funnily enough, I spoke to the branch manager the next day and she hadn't heard from the Human Resources Department yet.  But once all of those processes have been completed, I will be required for two weeks of full-time training.

Most likely before Christmas.

No doubt at some point in the very near future I will feel completely overwhelmed by all of this, but at this point, I'm actually feeling exhilarated!  I have lots to do and I'm interested in what I'm doing.

All these crafty activities are encouraging to me because I'm good at them and I'm very satisfied with the results.

The organising tasks are exhilarating because I'm pretty good at that too!  Hopefully I keep remembering to delegate - not only to keep from overwhelm, but also to allow others to participate and enjoy these activities, which are often the kinds of things that strengthen friendships.

Oh!  And I finally caught up with the ironing tonight and have relocated the ironing board to the cupboard for the first time all week!

Am I in too deep?  Probably!  But all this activity, right now, makes for a pretty happy stay-at-home mum.

Now to reclaim my dining table from my frenzied craft activities, finish the stockings for the fence, put up the Christmas lights, finish the Christmas cards, make that wreath out of roadside weeds... and make sure I clean my oven before my grandparents get here for Christmas :-D

A Rambling Catch-Up

Obviously I haven't written a post in a while.

But, because it's not "work" for me, I don't have to!  And I find that I get on a roll and want to write about everything sometimes, and other times nothing seems good enough to share, or is just too hard to write down.

However, I do like to provide the opportunity to allow people (especially family in other states) to keep up to date with what's happening with us.

So, what has been happening with us?

Well, we've been for a visit to our old town and hung out with my grandparents, sister and nephews (and briefly saw my brother-in-law - sucks to have to work for a living!).

I've collected the enrollment forms for the Little Big Fella for school.  I just need a few signatures and a copy of his birth certificate and I can drop those off.  Some time next term he'll have a day or two at the school in preparation for next year!  It's all very exciting and a little bit trippy.

The Little Big Fella's best friend had his birthday party.  It was a great day for all the kids and I met some wonderful women too.

Speaking of birthdays, the Big Fella turned 40 last week.  But, being the Big Fella, not a big fuss was made.  He hates cakes and cards and balloons and fuss.

Having said that, we had dinner with his mate the night before, dinner with a great couple on his birthday night, and some friends over for the afternoon/evening a couple of days later.

And the Big Fella and I gave each other rings.  He gave me an eternity ring and I gave him a new wedding ring (his old one has been beaten and chipped and now sits, surprisingly sentimentally, in his drawer).

And although the Big Fella doesn't like fuss, I think ceremony is important.  So, on the day he gave me my eternity ring, I gave him his ring (I'd had it for several weeks) and read out a page I'd written about our lives together so far and how much I love him.  I guess it was our own, private re-commitment ceremony in our car, in the parking lot of a shopping centre.

Which is kind of funny, given that we got engaged in a car, too!  (Just to set the record straight, we'd been out to dinner at a fancy restaurant and had driven up to a lookout but it was raining.)

What else?

Oh!  We got a shipping container delivered.  No, we're not moving.  The Big Fella calls it our drug lab, but it's got all his workshop tools in it.  We now have so much more room under the house!!!

We had a stressful couple of days after the kindy teacher mentioned that the Little Big Fella might be lacking in some social skills, and possibly have sensory issues.  After talking with her, and reflecting ourselves, we decided that he probably needs a bit more direction (most often in the form of play) from us.  We're going to see how he's going in a couple of months and go from there if need be.

The CWA had a special morning tea before Father's Day.  They play a game called "bug" where you roll dice and draw a bug based on what you roll.  It's played in teams of 4 and is very fast-paced, and thus exciting.  It sounds strange and kind of boring, but it really isn't.

The school had a big garage sale and I shared a "stall" with another lady to sell some of the playgroup's extraneous equipment.  And baked some yo-yos (a traditional Christmas treat in my family) for the school's P&C to sell.

And, just this past weekend Australia had an election, so there was all the annoying advertising that goes with it to wade through in an attempt to make an informed decision.  Ha!

Then there's the normal work, play, shop, fix, garden, de-clutter of our lives.  And there you have about a month in a few short paragraphs!

Hopefully that will help me get back on the blogging horse for a while ;-)

Melbourne trip - Part V

After a friend-day, it was time for a family-day!  We had a bit of a slow start then jumped in the car and headed off to the Big Fella's parent's place.

We got there just as Grandma's client arrived (she's a seamstress and works from home).  So we said hi then headed out to the back deck (the Little Big Fella wanted to see the spa).

I saw a couple of parrots in the tree so popped inside and collected the box of seed.  We put some on the verandah's railings then sat back on the lounge to see if they'd come closer.

They did!

We ended up sitting and watching them for quite a while!  Grandpa was at work but came home for "lunch" and sat with us watching the birds.  Then Grandma and her client came down and watched them too!

Eventually Grandpa had to go back to work, but we arranged to meet up with him later.  He drives buses, so we decided we'd go for a ride with him after lunch, when he was back in the general area.

In the meantime, Grandma and I took the Little Big Fella to the nearby lake.  When we first got there, we noticed a bunch of old guys with remote-controlled yachts.  Of course, the Little Big Fella wanted to have a go!  I told him that he probably wouldn't be allowed to, but one of the guys generously offered so he had about 5 minutes of controlling a smaller yacht (with a little input from the owner) and, amazingly, didn't crash into any of the others!

The closest yacht, with the yellow hull, is the one the Little Big Fella was controlling.

The guys then had a race, so the controls were handed back and we walked a little way around the lake to feed the ducks.

Initially, there were only a couple of ducks.  But once the others heard there was food, they came flying in from everywhere!!!!

When we were out of bread, we went over to the playground (another brilliant one) and let the Little Big Fella run around a bit.  This was his favourite "toy" of the morning:

You hit the silver bits at the top and they make different gong-like sounds.

While the Little Big Fella was playing, the Big Fella called.  He was out in a national park for the week and there was no mobile phone coverage, so I was surprised (and pleased) to hear from him!  He'd driven to the only place in the whole park where there was coverage, just to have a chat!

Grandma, the Little Big Fella and I had a bit of a walk and talk around part of the lake, then headed out for lunch before catching Grandpa's bus.  The Little Big Fella liked Grandpa's bus (or maybe it was the lolly frogs Grandma brought to eat on the bus???) and we drove around with him for about an hour.

Back at the Big Fella's parent's place, Grandma put a movie on for the Little Big Fella - "Pete's Dragon".  This movie has strong sentimental value for the Big Fella's family, but I was surprised at how into the movie my son was!  He's not normally a musical movie kind of kid, but he was completely enthralled!

Grandpa came home not long after the movie started and sat with the Little Big Fella to watch it.

We had dinner together, then Grandpa and the Little Big Fella had a spa, absolutely making the Little Big Fella's day complete!

While they were down there, Grandma and I were on the deck talking and we heard something in the tree.  We looked around and there was a possum!

After the spa, a bath and a bit of hanging out, it was time to head back to mum and dad's.  We said our goodbyes, somewhat sorrowfully because it will be quite a while before we see the Big Fella's parents again.  Unsurprisingly, the Little Big Fella was asleep before we'd gotten 5 minutes down the road!

So closed another big day in Melbourne!

Melbourne trip - part Aquarium

Week two in Melbourne seemed to be all about best friends!  I got to catch up with three of my best friends from various periods of my life and it was fantastic!

My best friend from Grade 1 until we moved towns in Year 9 just happened to be in Melbourne at the same time as us, and just happened to have a day free, so we caught up on Monday.

I caught the train into the city with the Little Big Fella, who'd never been on a train (despite his Daddy's job) and really enjoyed it!  We met P at the stairs of Flinders St station and walked to the Burke St mall.  My sister had told me about a place in Myer that have amazing desserts so we wandered our way through to there (stopping at the costumes for the Little Big Fella, and taking our time to convince him he wasn't getting one).

Apparently this store within Myer, Brunetti's, is the smaller version, and there's a much larger one elsewhere in the city.  I'm so glad we didn't go to the bigger one!  It was really hard to choose from the "small" selection!!!!

Eventually I chose a chocolate tart and the Little Big Fella chose an ice-cream/gelato.  For the first time in his life, he couldn't finish an ice-cream!!!  It was pretty rich, but absolutely delicious!

Realising that the Little Big Fella wouldn't cope well with being dragged around shops, I suggested we go to either the Museum or the Aquarium.  We chose the Aquarium and I'm so glad we did because it was brilliant!  Yes, it was expensive (although, if I lived in Melbourne I'd seriously consider buying an annual pass and going in pretty regularly - especially the shark area), and yes, we had to line up for ages to get in (and guess who had to use the facilities right then!).  But it was great fun, really interesting, and definitely worth it!

Here's a few pics to give you an idea:

As soon as we'd paid, we walked through an area where we were told to pose for a picture.  We knew they'd try to sell us the photos, but didn't realise they'd come out so well, and that we'd have access to the digital copies too.  The photos (3) were put into a book about the aquarium and the various creatures in it.

The first creatures we saw when we came in were the seahorses.  Seahorses are definitely my favourite sea creatures - not only because they're so interesting-looking, but the whole male baby-carrying thing has always fascinated me!

There were heaps of them, and in so many different colours and shapes (if you want to include the sea dragons in the seahorse category, of course).  I loved how they wrapped their tails around the seaweed to hold on.

There were several of these bubble things, where kids (and parents when they get dragged along) could crawl under the tanks and look up into where the fish and other animals were.  It was pretty cool.

There was also a really big tank/pond with lots of archer fish in it.  When the Big Fella and I lived briefly in Darwin, the couple we stayed with had archer fish in their pond in the middle of their living room (with a spiral staircase going over the top of it, mind you).  At night, when the flying termites came out, they'd turn off all the lights except the one over the fish tank.  The termites would fly over there, then the archer fish would spit at them, making them fall onto the water where the fish would eat them.  They're really good shots!

We went downstairs to the shark tank.  This was at the top of the ramp:

The shark tank is really amazing.  You walk through a tunnel, but the tunnel is made of very thick acrylic, and the fish, rays and sharks swim over and around you.  It is such a great experience!

I think if I lived in Melbourne, and had an annual pass, I would come to the shark tank as often as possible and just sit and watch them all.  Especially when it's not school holidays :-)

Eventually we headed back upstairs and had lunch.  Just next to the cafeteria area was a coral reef tank.  It was here that the Little Big Fella made a friend:

He sat talking and singing to this Moray Eel for ages!  And the eel seemed to be responding to him.  It was watching him, and even looked like it was talking to him, and didn't go away until he did!

Eventually it was time to go.  We headed back to the train station (on the tram of course!) and said our goodbyes.  I was really grateful for the chance to catch up with my friend, and that the Little Big Fella was entertained enough that we actually got to talk quite a bit.  There's even a chance that we might keep in touch a bit more than we have of late (I'm so bad at long-distance friendships!).

Melbourne trip - Part II

Before we came on this trip, I did a bit of research online.  I wanted to make sure that the Little Big Fella would have a great time, and that the whole trip wasn't taken up with me hanging out with my family and friends while he was bored.  I also wanted to have a few ideas of things to do with other people - because sometimes having an unusual experience together is as much or more fun than just catching up.

So our first day in Melbourne included a trip to ScienceWorks with my brother and best friend.  It's a hands-on science musuem where you can learn about all kinds of science-y things by playing with them.

We picked up my brother (and met his housemate), then my friend, then drove to the other side of the city.

When we got there I realised I'd made a silly misjudgment - it was school holidays!!!  There were people everywhere!!!!  We had to park in the overflow parking lot and line up outside to get in!  The air was icy cold (although it was quite lovely in the sun).  And guess who had to use the bathroom right then!!!

Sheesh!  What a great start!!!

Thankfully all was sorted and we got inside (where it was comfortably warm) and started checking the place out.

First stop, electricity!

Then, into the house area.  This photo is where you could watch how sound waves work.

Of course, you have to take photos in wonky mirrors!

This was one of the Little Big Fella's favourite part of the "house".  It's the hose of a giant vacuum cleaner.  You could run through to the other end, where you found yourself inside the main part of a vacuum cleaner.  They had dust and bugs and coins and junk hanging all over the place to make it feel "right" ;-)

Incidentally, his other favourite part of the house was where you could make the fleas jump.  No comment!

We eventually moved from the "house" to the "sports" area.  There was a "sports" sign made of concrete and the Little Big Fella (a.k.a. Batman today) climbed all over it for ages!

Once inside the sports area, the Big Fella and my brother found this exhibit.  The idea was to press the start button (low for kids, high for adults).  The lights on the buttons would then flash and you had to press it as fast as you could.  A different button would then light up.  You had to hit as many as you could in 30 seconds.  We all had a turn, but we had to keep dragging the Little Big Fella away to look at other things!

Like this canoe.

We all tested our grip strength at one station, and how much weight we could pull sitting down with our feet against the wall.  There were a few ball-based skills test, and the Little Big Fella and I raced against Kathy Freeman (unsurprisingly, she won!).

My bro then helped the Little Big Fella have a go on a climbing wall.

We decided it was time for lunch, so we headed outside (brrrr!).  My friend saved us seats in the little amphitheater, because there was a circus show starting soon, while I got food for us and my brother took the Little Big Fella to the playground area to run off a bit more energy.

The circus performers were really good!  The show was informative, funny and very entertaining.  The girl balanced things on her chin - a juggling club, a bottle of wine, a hat stand!  The guy did most of the clown-like roles, but also walked across a bunch of wine bottles without knocking them over.  They both did juggling (together and separately) and some balancing tricks together.

I guess what I enjoyed most about it, was that they really involved the audience - not just by having a dad participate, but they got us engaged with what they were doing; laughing at their jokes, joining in, and following instructions.  Considering that the major portion of the audience were children, they were very clever!

We had a little time to kill so the Little Big Fella had a short play on the playground, then we went into the lightning show.  To be honest, I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would.  There were some great demonstrations - creating an instant cloud in a bottle, using static electricity, and making lightning inside the large cage - but it wasn't particularly entertaining and I got rather cold and uncomfortable.

It was getting late-ish in the afternoon, so we decided to skip the upstairs part of the museum (which is a pity, because I'm lead to believe there's a digger up there!).  We took a couple of goofy photos then it was time to head home.

Unfortunately, we hit peak hour traffic so it took a while to get through the city and out to our suburbs.  We were all a bit tired by then so it was great to get "home" and have dinner with my parents (gotta love the slow cooker!), before bathing the Little Big Fella and heading off to bed.

Baths at Nanna and Granddad's became a highlight of each day for the Little Big Fella... but that's a story for another post!  ;-)

Generosity

I've known some very generous people in my life.  People who've been generous with money, yes.  But also people who have been generous with time, skills, love, affection, kind words, praise, encouragement, smiles and laughter.

I'm sure you've met them too.  They are the people who give and give and seem to get such pleasure out of the act of generosity.  They are the ones that, every time you see them, they greet you with a hug or a compliment (or both!).

And generosity seems to just be in their nature!  They seem to do it without thought or concern about how it might affect them.

I love to be around those kind of people!  They make me feel awesome, and they make me want to be better than I am.

I've done a little bragging about my Big Fella.  And I'll do it again (after all, I'm married to the man and I think he's awesome!).  He is very generous!

He's generous with his money.  Not only giving people money, but also in buying things for them (particularly at restaurants with good food and wine - he'll often try to pay the whole bill).

He's generous with his time and skills.  He'll happily give up a day to help a mate build a shed, or fix their car or do whatever handy work needs doing.

He's generous with his praise.  He tells people when he thinks they're great - without going over the top or "blowing smoke up their... ".

My parents hardly had any money when I was growing up but that didn't stop them being generous.  We almost always had people living with us, or staying for a few days or weeks.  And mum would somehow pull food out of the cupboards to feed all the people that would turn up and hang out for the afternoon/evening every Sunday.

I have a new friend on the Fit Yummy Mummy forums who is constantly encouraging others to keep at their weight loss goals, and pointing out where they're winning.

I have a friend who, despite her personal pain and problems, is constantly looking for ways to encourage and help others who have major life issues.

And here's the thing I've noticed: what goes around, comes around!  Call it what you like - karma, sowing and reaping, maybe even fate - but I see it when I look at the lives of these generous people.

They offer their time, goods, love, and encouragement.  And they get it back when they need it.

None of these people are generous because they want to get something from others.  From my observations, they give because they enjoy the ability to give.  Nevertheless, they receive back when they're in need.

And when these people are having a hard time, people seem to jump at the chance to help them!  I've watched the givers being completely overwhelmed by receiving.

And I've watched people who lack generosity.  They are stingy with their money, stingy with their time, stingy with their skills, stingy with encouragement.  In some cases they've even taken from those who have nothing left to give.

And I've seen some of these people fall on bad times.  Then the people around them point to karma or say they got what they deserved.  I've even seen people snicker behind their hands at the downfall of these ones.

It makes me want to give as much as I can, in as many different ways as I can, and find as much joy as I can in the giving.  Not to get anything in return, or even simply from the fear of being the butt of a bad joke, but because I love being around generous people and seeing how happy the act of generosity makes them.  I want me some more of that, please!

Will we survive?

You might remember that a few weeks ago the Little Big Fella managed to cut his finger with a steak knife whilst trying to open a packet of tortillas by himself.  He learned that scissors are a better option.

Earlier this week the Little Big Fella was trying to do a handstand off the trampoline onto the concrete.  Obviously the fact that I'm telling you about it means that he was unsuccessful.  He learned that the grass is the best place to practice handstands.

Last night my darling son (again) couldn't wait for me to use the facilities while he was dying of hunger.  He got a scone (Americans call them biscuits) from the freezer, put it on a plastic plate and put it in the microwave.  First thing I knew about any of this was when I exited the loo to be told something about smoke, although I didn't decipher that part immediately.

"All right, show me what you've done", said I.

I was guided to the kitchen, to discover smoke pouring out of the microwave.

The next 5 minutes were spent throwing the black scone and melted plate over the balcony onto the grass and trying to get smoke out of the house, whilst waving a placemat at the smoke detector to shut it up.

The Little Big Fella has since learned which one button on the microwave he is allowed to push (our start button will set the time to 30 seconds).

But all of this makes me wonder if any of us will survive to his adulthood.  No doubt there will be broken bones in the future, especially given the new motorbike skills he's developing.  I'm wondering if there'll be electrocutions, loss of digits or limbs, all manner of (hopefully minor) fire incidents...

Then there's the reality that I am now a heart-in-mouth parent.  Watching my little boy get a few wobbles on that bike was very stressful!

But, the flipside of it all is that my "little" Big Fella is not going to be little for long.  He's learning how to do things for himself (albeit the hard way).  As well as food-related independence, we've been teaching him some letters of the alphabet while he's on holidays from kindy.  And he's soaking it up like a sponge!

So I guess now is a significant learning time for the Little Big Fella, and it would probably be smart for us to make the most of that.  Because soon he'll know it all ;-)