Day Trippin'

On the weekend just gone I thought that I would do the right thing by my husband and take the kids out for the day.  That way he was able to watch the AFL grand final in peace (as it turned out Collingwood and St Kilda drew).  First stop was the Big Pineapple. 

The kids had a great time feeding the animals, patting native animals and taking the train ride.

As our visit to the Big Pineapple drew to a close I found myself constantly pulling them up and telling them off.  I know that it is getting really bad when I get sick of hearing my voice constantly barking out instructions.  I ask you, how hard is it for 3 children to stand still so that I can take a photo of them in front of an iconic Queensland tourist attraction?

So I launch into my well practiced routine.  I have performed it many times.  I explain how it is meant to be a fun day for all of us.  That I have made the effort to take them out and about.  Why is it so hard for you to make an effort I implore.  Is this really fair on me?  (you get the idea)  Bellow is the photo that I took after they promised that they would be on their best behaviour.

Next stop, Bellingham maze.  It is a hedge maze and the trick is to find your way to the middle.

I had been here before with son number 1, as daughter number 1 pointed out.  She didn't want him to give away any surprises.  She wanted to lead the way.  Son number 2 wanted to go his own separate way.  I wanted everyone to stick together.  I explained how difficult it was to find the centre, let alone a lost child.  Everything was going relatively smoothly until we sat down at the cafe.  Daughter number 1 stood over son number 1 until he moved so that she could play with the puzzle he had chosen.  Son number 1 then went over to son number 2 and took from him the puzzle he had been working on.  I stood up and walked away.  Needless to say I launched into another monolog full of retorical questions designed to elicit guilt.

In a last ditched effort to find something to do to keep them out of the house longer I drove to Caloundra.  By luck we found a section of beach that had a sheltered spot for swimming.  Everyone had a lovely time and I was reminded of the reasons why I love spending time with my children.

My beautiful girls

My intention is to write about my day to day experiences and things that take my fancy.  Saying that, every now and then I come across some old stuff.  Below are a couple of of my favourite photos of my girls.

School holiday weather

Earlier this year a good friend of mine considered renaming her blog 'Weather and Children'.  I personally love reading about the weather in Latvia and what Marianna's children are up to.  But only a month into blogging I am getting a feeling that I too could become all consumed in describing the weather (yes the 4 kids are happy and healthy).

My fascination with the weather stems from the fact that I walk to and from work and that the success of my weekend market stall depends on it.  It is also related to the kids.  School holidays commenced this week, and so has the drizzly weather.  Hopefully we survive the next 2 weeks.

Don't give up your day job.

While my job pays the bills it does not nourish my creative soul.  So I have joined my friend Sarah at the West End Market.  While we normally share a stall I have gone solo the last 3 weeks while Sarah has been in Melbourne.  Last Saturday started slow but towards the end of the day I had some success.  I was particularly pleased when I sold the following jewelery that I had made.

The lady that bought the jewelery really loved my style.  I knew that there must be other people out there like me.  Not that I am giving up my day job, yet.

Kids gets invited to the best parties

Yesterday I took son number 2 to a 4th birthday party.  Two mums from Children's House combined to throw the most amazing party for their daughters.  As the girls are friends I made them matching t-shirts.  But I also made them different so that they each had their own style.  I now consider myself having great foresight for having hoarded kids clothes all these years.  You know, the ones that have great design.  The ones that you wished came in adults sizes.  They are now the perfect source for up-cycling clothes.

As I said, the party was amazing.  I was in a local park in Paddington (where it appears everyone has kids parties on that side of town).  The photos I took don't do it justice but the party was little girl heaven.

This was no ordinary party in the park.  To top it off the party bags contained toffee, fudge and marshmallow, all homemade.  I suspect that the mums had more fun than it kids.  It was lovely feeling girly for one afternoon.

Grounded in Vegas

Here it goes.  The start of my new blog.  I will expain in a later post why I called it 'Grounded in Vegas' but want to do a quick post to get started.  Walking to and from walk has had a lot to do with wanting to blog.  Lots of time to think up of witty thing to say.  I also get to see many intersting sites.  The photo above is a view of the city with the Go Between bridge in the foreground.

The following photo was taken on my walk to work this morning.  I love that fact that I get to see chickens as I walk through the inner city streets of Brisbane.

More to come in the next few days and weeks.  Until then, here's to blogging.