This small noisy chick moved in next door with a whole bunch of kids and she is living proof that, although the miracle of childbird is amazing not all babies are beautiful. Some of them are really ugly.

On the upside the kids are loving seeing these noisy little babies poking their heads up for a feed. Kinda reminds me of our house at dinner time - only these kids aren't knocking any of the food back because it doesn't look right and they really wanted fish and chips.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Lee

Not feeling very wordy (is that a word?) today .... here's a sand turtle I made earlier.

Good bye beach.

I decided it was high time I took a break from reality and my everyday groundhog style like life of washing, grocery shopping and taking care of everyone else's needs.  It has gotten to the stage where I can only remember what day it is by the activity in front of me at the time. Oh, swimming lessons - must be Thursday.

I think perhaps I need to work on my idea of a break from the everyday because I brought reality with me. He sat on the plane next to me and made a plane trip of just over one hour feel like we had been travelling for an eternity. Note to self - more activities, snacks, toys and books for our trip home and ask for a cushion, the fact that a two year old sits by the window but can't actually see out only adds to his desperate need to try and escape from the confines of the seatbelt and those pesky, stay in your seat rules they have on planes.

Anyhoo, I have come to visit my mum in Fingal Bay, New South Wales. Which, in case you have not ever been here, is a really lovely part of the world. I wanted to take this time to share some of what we have been seeing with you all - mind you, Mum does live in a retirement village, so don't go expecting any wild party shots.

So, now to make some plans for not much for the rest of the week. Maybe some fish and chips by the beach ... maybe some icecream. I'll worry about the gym when I get home. It's just nice to have this time to hang with my mum while I can - her being one of my favourite people and all.

Just case I don't say it enough... love you mum.

Cheers,

Lee

For those of you who have never been to Melbourne (and even those of you who live here but don’t get out much) I have a treat for you today. I am going to take you on a visual tour of some of my favourite spots in Melbourne. 

Melbourne has to be one of the most people friendly cities in the world and there are lots of things to see and do but today I have focused on just a few. Enjoy.

You may notice from looking at the map that I only covered a really really small part of Melbourne on today's visual tour but there is just so much to take in I didn't want to overwhelm you on our first day out!!

If you have enjoyed the images please let me know and if you would prefer them as still images instead of a slide show let me know that too!! Next time, I think we will look at some more kid friendly places to go.

Cheers,

Lee

Why use words when pictures are so much more efficient?

OK, I know theoretically that Disney Land is supposed to be the happiest place on earth but I really feel that happiness is much more personal than going with what the crowd thinks. If chocolate is what makes you happy... then go to your happy place my friend.

Wishing you warm chocolate hugs,

Lee

PS. If you really love chocolate as much as I do,  sign up with San Churros on Facebook, they offer lots of yummy, special deals to their Facebook friends. mmmmmm

Everyone knows it demonstrates a poor example of mothering when you set the kids up in front of the TV for hours whilst you get through your daily chores. Oh, alright, while you spend your time focused on 50 Shades of Grey.

So, in an effort to get the kids out of the house and "get more culture" into our lives, I packed up the 2 and the 9 year old (who is already on school holidays - I'm sorry, didn't we just have those, like a week ago?) and we headed off to Scienceworks at Spotswood, Melbourne.  

Scienceworks is hosting a new exhibition at the moment - Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention. (It runs until November). You have to book a time to go in, which seems to be the way things are going now with major exhibitions at museums but it wasn't overly crowded and you did not have to get out when the next group was allowed entry but it didn't matter as we'd had enough by then anyway.

It has lots of interactive stuff - as you would expect from Scienceworks but it was much more suited to kids 5 or over - my 9 year old really enjoyed it but the 2 year old just didn't get most of it. This was fixed when we went upstairs to the 'Nitty Gritty Super City', aimed at smaller kids who want to touch everything!

'Playing with Light' an exhibition which is also now on at Scienceworks until February 2013 was a clear favourite with both kids. So much fun the kids didn't even realising they were learning something at the same time.

'Playing with Light' is included in the initial entry cost but Wallace and Gromit are extra . I didn't think any of it was overly expensive for what it was - you could easily spend the whole day there and it costs about the same as going to the movies.

Don't just take my word for it, go check it out. Here is the link http://museumvictoria.com.au/scienceworks/ just in case you are  after some more information. 

If you find anything great for the kids to do in Melbourne during these school holidays or at any time really, I would love to hear about it.

Toodles,

Lee

I know it's Melbourne - where are the four seasons in one day that everyone talks about so fondly? - Not me, mind you.

Well this morning as I walked my 9 year old to the bus stop in a balmy 9 degrees it got me thinking about winter and what people actually see in it. I mean, people actually move to cold areas FOR THE COLD??? New job, new love ... whatever, I get that. I just don't get the enjoying the cold bit and moving to be closer to it.

So, in an effort to see what others see,  I looked around a little on my stroll alone back from the bus stop and took the "vision" that is winter in.

Well, still not enjoying the cold ... but who doesn't love a good puddle and a moody sky!?
I believe you've gotta find your joy where you can!!

I would love some comments on what you enjoy about winter or even better (if you are like me) what you are looking forward to doing once it gets a bit warmer. I know it's a long way off but we have just passed the shortest day of the year, so it can really only be up from here!

Find your joy,

Lee