Just dipping my toes back in

Well, I think that may have been the quickest year yet!  And yet, one of our hardest.

It was mainly complicated by a crazy busy year for me at Uni.  Although the previous years have been just as hard, this year I was exhausted and drained as a culmination of 4 years of study, shift work, being on call AND having a family came to a head.  We did it though and I think we have all came out mentally unscathed!  I am now officially a Registered Midwife AND I have a job in the only position I applied for.  So although the craziness of being a student midwife is now behind me, I realise that the real learning now begins - but I'll at least be getting paid for it!

The holidays are nearly coming to an end, but I am so thankful that I've spent lots of wonderful time with the children - I probably wont ever have a big summer break like this again now I'm getting back into working land.  We've had a great time though and are all feeling ready to tackle 2014 with enthusiasm, excitement and only a little bit of trepidation!  I'm also ready to get back into blogging now there may be some free time coming my way (or am I just dreaming?) - either way, I want to get back into recording our life.  Not just for the kids to look back on, but for me to see how much we have to appreciate.  Sometimes life has been so busy I forget how awesome it really is.

Kirsten xx

Camping June 2010

**There are PLENTY of photos that I want to add to this post, but Blogger is not being kind. I'll hopefully remember and add them later!

We have just come back from THE best camping trip. Well, we slept in a tent. That is about the only real "camping" thing that we did, it was all a bit luxury to be called roughing it.

~~Our tent~~

~~The luxurious ensuite~~

We stayed here and although it was more expensive than we'd normally like to pay for camping, it was fantastic. There was so much for the kids to do and the facilities where amesome. We were a bit apprehensive about our first winter camping trip, but it was fine and I may even prefer it to summer camping. Maybe. We paid extra and had our own ensuite right beside the tent, and it was so convenient having it so close. The kids could go off to the toilet by them self and it certainly made the night trips quicker in the cold. It also had the added bonus of a heater inside to make getting out of the shower more appealing.

Jen and the kids crammed their tent onto our site for the first 2 nights. The kids all had a great time exploring the park: jumping on the giant pillow, playing mini golf, playing on the playground and scootering around the park. Just as we arrived to set up, there was an excavator clearing the bush on the park boundary, which fascinated the kids and allowed us to quickly set up in peace. I was tossing up whether to cheer the clearing on, or chain myself to a tree though, but having quite contained kids whilst Duane and I fought over the tent set up won in the end.

There was also a heated pool, which only Duane and Grace were brave enough to try. Xav and I spent that afternoon cuddled up in the tent having a sleep together. Bliss.

We were there for 5 nights, and spent most days out and about. The first day we visited Australia zoo, which was a highlight. Jen and her 2 kids were there for that too, and as no-one but me had been there before, it was an exciting adventure. The weather was a bit drizzly, but didn't create too much of a problem. There is so much to see there, and we could have quite easily spent another day and still not seen it all. Definitely somewhere that we will visit many times.

We visited the famous Eumundi markets, although they close quite early (1.30pm) so we only had a few hours to wander around. We then visited Noosa and Coloundra, taking the back roads home to get the scenic tour. Duane also managed to find 2 prize homes to visit, which I pretended to be excited about.

Next day we headed off to the sunshine coast hinterland, with a few stops on the way. First one was the big pineapple, which was slightly disappointing. Lucky we didn't pay anything, as it's really not very exciting. We got to go inside the big pineapple, which was extremely boring and stunk like a Grandmothers house. Next we headed to the Ginger factory, which was only a slight improvement on the previous stop. We had a wander around, took some pics, bought everyone a honey lollipop and headed off for the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Now, this was way more up my alley and so much more beautiful!

We drove to Mapleton first, then through to Montville. Both little towns were stunning, with gorgeous sweeping views back to the coast. We only did a few stops though, with Duane and I alternating who got out as the kids had fallen asleep in the car. They woke by the time we got to the picturesque town of Maleny, so we all headed out to wander the streets. I stole some time for myself, loving shop hopping in all the cool, funky stores. I even found a few op-shops to peruse, but didn't score anything. After meeting up with Duane and the kids, we headed to the Maleny Markets where Grace was in awe of all the crystals for sale. She has a real attraction for them, so picked out a few special ones to buy.

For lunch we bought fish n chips and heads to Gardeners Falls for a picnic. It was drizzling, so we started off eating in the Torago but soon enough it fined up and we layed out the picnic rug to finish off. After lunch we headed for a bushwalk in to see the falls. It's a lovely, easy walk only taking about 30 mins there and back. The kids loved it, pretending they were "going on a bear hunt" and jumping in lots of puddles.

The kids enjoyed the walk so much that we headed off for another one the next day. This one was a 40minute rainforest walk, filled with lots of beautiful moss all under a canopy of tall trees. Grace asked about half way through for a photo shoot, although it didn't look right her pulling out her modelling moves in the middle of such a tranquil place. She was fascinated with the moss trailing along the rocks though, and spent ages poking and prodding it. Xav was just happy to be running free and stopped every now and then to twirl and declare how much he loved "bushwalking". I'm so thrilled that they love it, and I've got great plans in my head of family bushwalks and picnics in the Gold Coast hinterland.

This camping trip would have to be one of my favourites so far. It wasn't hot, just perfect for cuddling up in the tent with a hot water bottle. It also lent itself for lovely day rests in the tent, minus the suffocating heat. During the day, the weather was mostly perfect and didn't stop us from doing anything. Our other camping trips have been all about swimming and watersports, but this one wasn't - which was a nice change! And although we were probably our busiest this time, it was still lovely and relaxing.

Back to school

I have been so slack with blogging lately. There's plenty to write about, but I've been busy and just haven't had the time or motivation to sit down and write.

Anyway, first things first. I'm officially enrolled as a Student Nurse. I'm still disappointed that it's not midwifery, but I'm just going to have to suck it up and move forward from that. I'm slowly getting excited about actually starting this journey, whilst quietly crapping my dacks about how I am going to manage. I'm kinda in denial about the enormous school load that I will have and the huge learning curve as I embark on tertiary study. I haven't studied for 10 years and that was a nice cruisy Tafe Diploma of Tourism. I can't even remember how to write an essay, let alone all the other formats for assignments and exams. To make it even worse, when you enrol in your classes you also have to enrol in your exams, so sitting nice and prominent on my Uni timetable is the days already blocked for exams. That's what really scares me. I remember the intense lead up to Exam time, full of late nights and junk food. I remember that being stressful without kids and no other responsibilities, throwing kids and a house into the mix is surely going to be C.R.A.Z.Y!

Also because I've only just enrolled, I was left with all the scrappy times for tutes/labs. It means I'm back and forth from the uni a bit, but it should work out ok with the kids. I go from 8-9 of a Monday morning and then again in the afternoon from 1pm-2pm. Although that sounds so spaced out and crappy, it's not too bad. I really wanted to keep going to the craft mornings up at the school, so having those hours means Wendy can come up of a morning and watch the kids, then I can come home and we can head up about 9.30am. After craft we will come home for lunch, put Xav to bed and then I'll head back out. Duane's home at 2pm, so he'll take over the kids and Wendy can head home. Tuesday I'll be at school from 1-4, and as Grace will also be at school I only have to work out Xav. I'm hoping that I can drop Xav at the Il's for a few hours which will give me some study time before uni and then once again Duane can pick up the kids after he finishes work. There are lectures on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which are only for a few hours each day. I'm in the process of finding out if I can just watch them online, which would be awesome as I could be flexible when I watched them.

I've still got a fair bit to sort out between now and the start date of 1st March. Blue card, police check, needles and CPR. I also have to organise books and stationary and might even treat myself to a special stethoscope! All nurses need one right?

~~Beautiful sunrise at Lennox~~

Apart from spending the last few weeks bitterly disappointed with missing out on Mid, We've been having a great time with Mum visiting. We spent 4 nights camping down at Lennox Heads which was fantastic. There were lots of lazy, hot days spent floating around in the tannin stained lake.

Our camp site this time was in a nice little corner, between plenty of kids around for Grace and Xav to play with. They spent most of their time scootering around the park, doing chalk drawings on the concrete and generally running amok during the day and crashing in exhausted heaps of a night.


They made friends with the kids in the caravan beside us and spent most of the time playing in their caravan and annex. Good choice of friends too, they were in luxury in a massive air-conditioned Van with all the mod-cons. A bit of a novelty and step-up from out modest little tent set-up.


We spent one day up at Balngalow visiting the awesome markets and the beautiful park by the river. It was a stinking hot day though, so only enough time for a quick look through before buying a homemade icy-pole and heading over to the cool, shady park.



The weather was beautiful, but hot on some days so we set up on the lake and spent the hottest part of the day down there. It's a lovely shaded spot, perfect for the kids to paddle in the water whilst the adults took turns watching and reading books. The kids also had their sleeps down there, on little made up beds inside the shade tent. Gave the adults time for a snooze and time to read or tackle crosswords.

We had a delicious and decadent breakfast one morning over at the surf club. Duane had a big hot breakfast, whilst the rest of us had a feast of banana pancakes with ice-cream and maple syrup. YUMMO!

On the way home, we stopped at Brunkswick Heads for THE best calamari and chips in the world, serious. It is just divine and Duane and I have even considered taking a day trip down just for lunch.

~~Yummy calamari and hand made chips~~

Mum's heading home tomorrow morning, so no doubt it will take a while for me and the kids to get back to just us again. It's been great having an extra pair of hands to wrangle the munchkins. on a daily basis. Duane and I have also made good use of the in-house nanny service, managing to go out for dinner one night and the movies another. I'm not sure it's been much of a break for Mum though, she's been dragged around to all our daily activities, which usually incolve more noisy children! She'll no doubt need some kid-free time when she goes home to recover!

The kids are going to miss her though. I've been able to get back to Tassie at least once a year for the last 4, but I'm really not sure when I'll next be able to get down. Time wise it's hard, but it's also getting hard financially considering we have to pay for both kids now. It's an expensive trip for all of us to travel down, much cheaper for me to just pay for Mum to come up. I'm not sure when she'll come up next though, hopefully with not too big a gap!

Almost a millionaire

I was almost a millionaire.

Almost had to spend days searching for my dream house & furnishing it perfectly - complete with humungous vegie patch, horse and an orchard.

I nearly got to go to several banks and pay off the mortgage of all my closest friends and family, then present them with their deeds in a frame.

Hubby nearly got to call work and give his notice, then spend his days being a stay-at-home dad who volunteered and spent lazy days on the golf course.

I was > - < close to being able to travel the world as I pleased, taking the kids to winter in Canada, safari in South Africa and any where else that took my fancy.

BUT it all came down to 1 measly number. 1 number stopped all of those ^^^^ dreams.

My husband told me today that he always buys a powerball ticket when he goes on holidays, in the hope that he wins enough money and doesn't have to go back to work. He could just extend the holiday indefinitely. It's not like he doesn't enjoy his job, but it's physically tough and hey, who wouldn't want the option to not have to go to work.

Anyway, today he fronted up to the newsagent and presented his ticket. "Can you check my loosing ticket" He asked. "Sure, but I hope it's a winner for you" answered the friendly shop assistant. She scanned it then looked over at his and smiled "Well, I can't give you that much, you'll have to wait for the cheque", she then said very excitedly. "You've won about $4700, but the bad news is you were 1 number off winning about 8 million dollars" Doh!

I'm stoked about winning nearly 5 grand. Within 5 minutes of Duane telling me the good news, I had mentally done up a wish list, and there wasn't much change.

First thing on the agenda is a service and air-con for the car. Next is the study cupboards done exactly how I want, and also a new solar hot water service. Duane's asked for $500 play money, not sure what he wants it for, but he never spends money so I couldn't really say no hey! The rest (if there is any!!) will go in the kids school account. It's already looking healthy, but considering schooling is going to be a large on-going cost, it needs to be supersized.

Oh, and the number that he missed out. 35. It's his age.

Lennox Heads camping trip

Right-o, what is the last thing you want to happen just before you are heading for a long drive in the scorching Queensland sun?

The damn air-con. It's been randomly squealing for the last few months, but true to my procrastinating personality, I've been putting it off and just ignoring the high pitched noises it makes every time I temp got high. Last week, I mentioned to hubby that the car was smelling like burnt rubber, but him having absolutely no clue, passed the smell buck to all the other cars on the road. It's not us hunny, its that car over there.

Well, we were both happy in our procrastinating and deflecting worlds, until the CLUNK and then the SQUEAL, that could not be ignored or blamed. A few calls later, it seems the whole air-con unit has gone ca put and the $$ value is about $1200. A lot of money for cold air hey!

So, the trip down south was in good old fashioned comfort. Windows down and breeze blowing through our hair - which in turn blew everything light out the window, much to the kids amusement. Grace, the whole trip down and back, made a game out of throwing wipes over the front of the car, only to have them blow straight back to her. See, who needs those fancy in-car dvd's?

We arrived at our home for the next 3 nights, set up the tent and filled up the inside with 80% of unnecessary items.

~~The Penney Tenthouse~~

Jen and the kids were joining us for 2 nights, so the kids all had a ball running around whilst we adults slaved in the hot sun getting the Penthouse all cozy.

~~Grace and her 2nd best friend Cass (Lily was top dog for that nano-second!)~~

A quick look at the Lake, that we had excitedly booked our site near, we were slightly disappointed. It was a murky colour that resembled a blood bath - Yuck! Of course, I scouted the area hoping to catch sight of some hot blood-suckers, feeling slightly disappointed when I couldn't spot any.

After chatting with a few locals, our minds were put to rest. Seems the lake is stained by all the tee-trees surrounding it. Once working out that the water wasn't festy and going to kill us, we eagerly shoved the kids in first to test the waters - so to speak. It was actually surprisingly warm, and soon enough we were all happily going in and having a great time.

~~The murky tee-stained water~~

The beach was also about 80mtrs from our tent site, so we spent a fair bit of time over there too. Except, the wind was up a bit, so getting whipped by sand particles at the beach, made the lake look way more enticing.

~~Xav chasing Grace, Grace chasing Duane and Duane chasing his hat~~

The kids all had a great time running amok in the caravan park, enjoying one of the best bits of camping - making friends. Grace, Xav and Cassie all decided one girl they met was their best friend. The never called her by the name (which was Lily), instead all three of them called her My best friend.

~~Oh, to be young and have instant best friends!~~

Lily was high on the popularity and sat on her pedestal bossing them around. Most of the time she made them sit quietly on the side of the path, watching her as she scooted up and down - and they obliged. I didn't care, it just meant the adults could sit down and relax whilst some random 4 y/o minded our children - bad?

On Sunday we excitedly headed up to Bangalow with all good intentions of going to the famous markets. I'd checked and re-checked the market schedule, and booked our camping trip around the weekend that the markets would be on. Well, seems they are on every other 4th weekend, except the one I went out of my way to go too. No, this weekend it was all about the Bangalow show. Ok, we will just go to the show, no biggie. Except, Sunday is pack up day - so NO SHOW either. With my bottom lip heading south, we decided to head to the local park and let the kids loose with the locals. It turned out to be a lovely morning with some nice photo opportunities, so I was happy in the end.
Most of the holiday was spent frolicking around in the lake, playing at the beach, exploring the local area and generally relaxing and having a great time!

~~Stunning, early (6am) light - just beautiful~~

Food also played a big part in the experience with bbq's every night, fish and chips on the grass beside the lake, lots of refreshing lemonade icy-poles, yummy summer fruit and a beautiful breakfast on the beach at the surf club on our last morning. I tried very, very hard to eat sensibly, even forgoing yummy pancakes:

For a big bowl of fruit and yoghurt. It was lovely, but damn the banana pancakes with maple syrup and ice-cream looked delicious.


It was a perfect holiday, well except for the lack of comfortable cool air whilst driving and the cyclonic winds that whipped us overnight. Our ten held up beautifully though, not buckling at all under the pressure.

We can't wait for the next long weekend, to be able to head off again!

WW week 15

It's been a snacky, food-picking week.

Every night, after the kids are in bed, I've searched the cupboards looking for something to satisfy my crunchy, savoury cravings. A big packet of chips would most definitely hit the spot, but I settled for crackers or little packets of rice wheels. The healthy lunch box ones that are sold in the health food aisle, except I don't let the kids eat them - I tell them they are grown up food!

I also had a few too many little cakes from the platter served up to the Mums at the Playgroups Christmas party. It was teeny-tiny melt-in-your-mouth caramel slice, very hard to say no too.

But all that aside, I've been fairly good so I was expecting to at least loose 400grams and make it to 10% lost.

Imagine my surprise when I hopped on the scales and the weighing lady told me I had lost 900grams!!! Yippee!!! Moments later I did ask for a re-weigh as I had my very heavy sunglasses holding back my hair. Taking them off, it actually bought me down to 1kg off, but she wouldn't change it. Oh well, I'll bank that 100 grams for next week hey!

So, now I'm 66.5, I've lost 7.9kgs all up. I'm only 500 grams away from my goal weight, but now I'm starting to think I might go lower. It's really only my flabby Mummy tummy that needs shifting now, so I really should make the effort to work on my non-existant abs.

We are heading down to lennox heads this weekend for 3 nights of camping. Then its back on Monday and cooking and preparing all day Tuesday for my gorgoeus girls 4th birthday party. I feel so dis-organised for it, so hope I can pull it all together in the small amount of time I have.

Working hard for his money.....

Yay, Duane has next week of work and I CAN NOT wait!!

Well, seen as how it is the weekend now, theoretically his holiday should of already started right? Nope, my too nice husband said yes to some extra work chauffeuring around some of the members of the golf club that he works at. He worked from 5am Saturday morning, came home for a few hours over lunch then was back out again until 2am. Poor bugger only had 4 hours sleep before he was out again Sunday morning, was home again over lunch and then headed to a friends house to watch the footy final. He did feel extremely bad about leaving me again, especially since the kids were in fine form, but I insisted that he go as it was something he had planned for ages. He came home in time to put the kids to bed, then back out for a limo job to Brisbane airport and back. It's nearly midnight on Sunday night and he still isn't home.

Thank goodness he will be handing over the limo for the next week as well as not having to go to his other work. The limo work started out just as a favour to the Golf Club and only supposed to be occasional. Apparently though the members all love him, so there has been lots of requests for him to do the pick ups and drop offs. He doesn' t mind it, and the pays not too bad. It just eats into a bit of our time and financially its a bit complicated. I have to estimate his income for Family tax, and with the extra work it's hard to make sure we don't get over paid and end up with a big tax bill. I know I could just over estimate his wage, but then its tough on the weeks that he doesn't get overtime.

Ok, the moneys not the main problem - the big issue is we usually miss out on our rare mornings together. He leaves for work every weekday at about 5.30am, then Saturdays is his golf day, so Sundays are the only morning that we get to spend together. Its the only day we all get to wake up together (I enjoy that for a second, then kick them all out of the bedroom so I can have a sleep-in!). The kids adore having Duane around in the morning, their excitement at seeing him when they wake is gorgeous.

ETA - He didn't end up getting home until after midnight. He was absolutely exhausted from all the late nights and early mornings, so spent the majority of today catching up on sleep. As much as I wanted to blare the music and get the kids screaming at full volume, I kept them amused outside and let him snooze on the couch. BUT, now he's caught up on sleep, there wont be any lazing around for the rest of the holidays, there are a bunch of things that I want to do. There's Ikea trips to be done, trips to Dreamworld and White water world before our 2 year pass runs out and lots of family time at the park/beach.

By the end of the week, he will be BEGGING to go back to work for a break!

Camping Trip

Well, we are back from our 2 night camping trip and we survived - Even having fun!!

It was a last minute decision to pack the kids and all their paraphernalia up and head down to Brunswick heads for a 2 night break. I had mentioned it to one of my friends, who has recently split with her husband and is doing a fantastic job looking after her 2 little kiddies, that we were going to head away and funny enough she was thinking about heading to the same place.

Worked out perfectly as C is one of Grace's best little friends, so the 4 kids all had a blast together.

Setting up the tent was not as much of a mission as we expected it to be. It took about 1 hour of Duane and I having many heated "discussions" to get the huge 4 room monstrosity erected and habitable. The kids were happy to sit and watch us fumble our way, could have helped that I had filled their hands up with red rock chippies!

After the tent was up, all the necessities were unloaded from the Tarago. Considering we were hoping to just take a few things, there was a lot of crap loaded into the bag of the car. The "tent house" was set up, so then we headed down to the beach for some fun.

The afternoon was perfect. Beautiful light for some gorgeous photos of the kids running around in the shallow water having a blast. Grace spent most of the time on her body board trying to catch the frothy white waves. To top it all off there were dolphins frolicking so close to us, it was beautiful. They were only about 20 metres from us and it looked like a pod with a few Mums and their babies. The kids were entranced as they watched and waited for the magical moment when the dolphins came to the surface.

The rest of the weekend was spent wandering around the gorgeous little town of Brunswick, hanging out at the beach, playing at the park and visiting the cute little library. The kids were exhausted every day so had nice long day sleeps and early nights. We kinda didn't think too much about how limiting it would be once the kids are asleep of a night, but luckily I had packed a good book, so I was happy to be tucked up nice and early and left to read. Duane was petrified of having to sleep that long (he rarely sleeps over 5 hours), so headed out to the local pub to kill some time with a drink and keno. The next day he made friends with some guys camping with their kids, so spent the next night down at their tent watching AFL. Very OTT campers, they had rigged up a TV outside, and had set up a little lounge area. Duane was happy though, watching his beloved footy whilst drinking a few beers. He was also questioned as to how he ended up camping with 2 women and 4 kids. Even though Jen & her kids were in a separate tent to us, it did look at times like Duane had 2 wives as we all took turns wrangling kids.

Meals were relatively easy. We just had Bbq's both nights and delicious calamari and chips for lunch. Its a crime to go to Brunswick heads and not go to Starfish to get their famous calamari and home made chips. Yum-Yum, the best I have ever had. Perfect to eat on the river, layed out on the paper with lashings of tomato sauce.

It was a fantastic little holiday and one that we can't wait to do again. There are a few things that I forgot to take and a few things that I would have done differently, so we will know better for next time. We are already planning the next camping trip in October some time to a place out Beaudesert way. Its a farm stay that you can either stay at the cabins or take your own tent and camp.

Here's a few pics from the trip. Lots of gorgeous scenery and views, but for some reason my lens never strays too far from my own beautiful kids.

~~A rare pic of my little boy and I~~

~~Wrestling with Daddy on the beach~~


~~Xav running from the waves~~

~~Cass, Grace & Xav having a "moment"~~

~~It still blows me away that these 2 sweeties are mine!~~

~~Grace in the beautiful morning sun haze~~

~~Nuddy children after the beach~~

~~Grace & Cass~~

~~My little beach girl~~

~~Grace riding the waves~~

~Surfer chick~~

Tassie Trip June 2009

~~The kids having a cuddle in the airport~~

Call me crazy but I decided on the spur of the moment to book a flight for me and the kiddies to fly to Tas. Yes that's right, taking my children who enjoy running around outside in the Queensland winter, bare foot and only 1 layer of clothes to a place that requires at least 3 layers, beanies, scarves and closed in shoes. So not the most ideal time, but the lure of going before Xav was no longer free was a big bonus! Also meant I got to meet my latest Nephew as a snuggly little 6 week old.

~~James - 6weeks~~

I booked the flight for 10 days away, so had time to get some warm clothes organised. Grace needed a pair of shoes (I don't think sandals will cut it!) and I wanted to quickly knit up some scarves for the kids.

There were no direct flights available, only ones that flew through Sydney airport. Ok, I was all brave when I booked it but after pressing the confirm button I realised the reality of it all. 6am flight out of Gold Coast, having to amuse 2 kiddies on the plane, negotiating Australia’s biggest airport, then another flight to Tas. Crap, what was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't.

Doesn't help that the airports and planes are just breeding grounds for the dreaded Swine Flu that is the latest fear campaign doing the rounds. So for the first time ever I bought a bottle of antibacterial gel and plan on lathering it on the kids at every opportunity.

So Tuesday morning was an early rise for me, 4am. The kids were carefully pulled out of bed at 4.30am and gently put in their car seats in the hope that they slept on the car ride to the airport. Didn't work, but they were happy to munch on dry cheerios without any complaints.

Duane took us to the airport and helped us check everything in. I pulled out all the airline talk in the hope that we could have 3 seats, instead of just the 2 that we were supposed to have - Xav was to be riding in my lap. The flight was full though, so couldn't guarantee it. I went light with luggage, but was a little difficult cramming 1 adult and 2 kids clothes into a medium suitcase. I used Grace's little suitcase as carry on luggage, holding all the "sit still & please, please, please don't carry on" bribes.

We were called to board the plane, so after giving Daddy big kisses and cuddles we headed out in the dark, morning air to the tarmac. I was holding a little chubby hand in each of mine and both kids were excited to see the great big plane in front of us. Well that was until the engines started up and scared little Xav stopped in his tracks and started crying. I scooped him up, and headed up the stairs - Grace eagerly skipping up the steps beside me.

We found our seats and promptly set everything up. Grace snapped up the window seat, pointing excitedly out the other planes on the tarmac and Daddy who was waving from the terminal.

The flight down was nice and smooth. The kiddies snacked on cheerios and Uht milk that I had packed in the bag. There were numerous trips to the toilet, until the novelty of the three of us cramped into the small cubicle wore off. It's a difficult task having three people shoved in, one person on the toilet, then up and shuffle to the right so that the next person could come from the left and have their turn.

The flight was only an hour, so it felt like as soon as we were up, it was time to buckle up and head back down again. Outside was foggy but we still got some lovely views over Sydney as we approached the airport.

We only had an hour to fill in at the airport, before getting on our next flight to Launceston. Just enough time for a toilet stop and for the kids to run around like lunatics and expel all the pent up energy. Our boarding gate was located right beside a row of travelators, so of course the kids wanted to ride on them for the whole time. They stayed close to me most of the time, but 1 time I was distracted by a call from Duane and Xav bolted towards the travelator. I ran after him, but he was too quick and leaped onto the travelator, but on the one going the WRONG way. I watched as my little boy ran three steps, fell flat on his face and then be sucked back. I dived in and grabbed him just as his flared pants were about to be sucked back into oblivion. That was our only hiccup of the whole trip down.

~~Naughty little children running away from Mummy~~

It wasn’t long until we were called to board the next flight. We once again settled in nicely and the kids and I snacked on a treat of Tiny Teddies (gosh those little things are yummy). Not long into the flight Xav asked for his “dum-dum” and blankie, curled up on his seat and promptly went to sleep. I naughtily bought Grace a small packet of original Pringles, set her up with a magnetic travel game of snakes and ladders and followed Xav to slumber land. Grace was happy to nibble and play and once again both kids were perfect on the flight. I proudly lapped up all the praise that I was given (there was lots!) about how well behaved and polite my kids were.

Finally we arrived in Launceston. The air was brisk as we left the plane, but the sun was shining brightly. The kids were excited to see Nanny; Xav had been practising saying “Nanny” on the way down. He was a little shy seeing her at first, but soon warmed up and now constantly wants to be with her. Grace instantly went to her for a big hug, attaching herself beside her and not leaving since.

We have had a great holiday, spending lots of time out and about in the cold winter air. We had a few nice days, but also our fair share of crappy ones. Here are some of the places we visited:

Ashgrove – It was a cold and wet day and we were racking our brains of somewhere to take the kids that would be out of the rain and let them stretch their legs. We decided to head to Ashgrove Cheese factory – lots of room, fake cows to amuse the kids and plenty of yummy cheese for us to stuff our faces with! Perfect!

When we first got there the rain decided to be nice to us and stop for a little while. The kids loved checking out the colourfully painted cows. Xav was a little scared at first, probably thinking they were about to start moving at any moment, but it didn’t take long before he was pretending to milk them.

The cheese tasting was just DEVINE. An unlimited amount of beautiful cheeses like cheddar, vintage, marinated fetta, lavender, wasabi, pepper and my absolute favourite Double Gloucester. Oh my, did I get my free tastings worth, sometimes being sneaky and slipping 2 bits of cheese on each toothpick! The kids only had a small lunch that day, their little tummies were full of dairy goodness. We did want to check out the cheese making room, but it was closed for the day.

Tasmazia – I had heard great things about this place, so was desperate to check it out with the kids. We took the opportunity of the first clear day to head up to the chilly base of Mount Roland and check out this well known Tassie attraction. We stopped quickly in Sheffield, to check out the “Hub, Recycling Centre” (the op-shop!). I picked up a large card file that I had wanted for ages for all my recipes, I was hoping for some more Tupperware, but no luck. As we headed out of Sheffield we spotted Grace St, so we did a quick stop to take a pic.


~~Grace Street, Sheffield~~

Silly me had forgotten my jacket, which is not the smartest thing to do when you are only wearing a thin top and are spending the morning outside under a mountain with snow clouds looming. I stole Xav’s scarf and blanket, looking oh, so fashionable! I really didn’t care though; I was just happy to no longer be freezing.

The mazes were a lot of fun. Mum and I both had heard the theory of staying to one side and then easily being able to find the middle, problem was we couldn’t agree on if the side to stay on was left or right. We decided to throw caution to the wind and let the kids decide which direction we would be travelling. I’m sure we covered way more ground than we needed to, but eventually we found the middle.

We wandered through the miniature town of Crackpot, the kids having a great time checking out all the tiny little houses. We followed the yellow brick road around the kiddy maze, then headed over to the balance maze. It was starting to drizzle at this stage, but the kids still insisted on perfecting their balance acts on the slippery maze.


The kids ran ahead, and I could hear them both giggling and splashing. Of course the little terrors had found a puddle to splash in, which would have been fine except I had forgotten a spare change of clothes.

We ambled around the rest of the maze, finding the 3 little pigs houses and also the maze of cubby houses. It started drizzling, so we desperately tried to find the end of the maze - knowing that the warmth of the famous pancake parlour was on the outside. We rushed about, stumbling into dead ends and seemingly going around in circles. In the end we cheated and found an emergency exit, but by that stage it was heavily raining and the challenge of getting out was wearing thin.

It was getting close to X's nap time, so we decided to have something quickly to eat in the cafe and then head home. Babycinno's warmed up the kids bellies, whilst Mum & I waited around for out order to come. After a 40 minutes (and noticing people who ordered after us were being served) I was starting to get stroppy so went to check what was happening. After uhming and arhing, we were told that it was on its way soon. Finally after another 10 minutes we got our food. Who would have thought that cheese toasted sandwiches would take 50 minutes. I wouldn't have been so annoyed, but trying to amuse 2 tired and cold kiddies for that long in a cafe was a bit of a nightmare, should have probably let the kids run feral then see how quickly we were served and shunted out.

Don River Railway - I had promised the kids that one day we would head to the Don River railway and take the train ride to Coles beach and back. We were running out of time, but managed to squeeze it in on the morning before we left to come home. The railway has been there for years, but I can't remember ever going as a child, so it was exciting going for the very first time with very excited children.

We got there about half hour before the train was due to leave, so we went for a wander in the yard and the kids had a great time climbing on all the old trains. Mum reminisced about her youth, and back in the olden days when train travel was so common. We had a look through a 1940's train that had been restored to its former glory, but gosh it was still so confined.




Finally it was time for the main event. Xav for some reason was a little reluctant to actually get on the train, but once he was on and realised what was happening, he was excited. Both kids scampered for a seat, and with a whole carriage virtually to our self and prime window seats everywhere, they chose to sit squished up beside each other. Sweet.

They spent the rest of the trip with little noses pressed up against the window, so excited to be going on their very first train ride. We got the the end, where if it was nicer weather we were planning on having a picnic on the beach, but due to being bitterly cold, we decided the best option was a quick stretch of legs and then straight back on the train.

The kids were lucky enough on the trip back to each have a turn in the train drivers seat.

~~Xav up the front of the train~~

~~Grace up the front of the train~~

We also got to spend some time with my Nan. She's Great-Grandma to the kids, and they both absolutely adore spending time with her. Grace remembers her from our previous trips to tas and also from the trips that Nan has made up here. Grace was instantly comfortable with her, constantly wanting cuddles and talking to her. Helped that Nan always has treats for the kids, so they were plied up with lollies, jelly, ice cream and milkshakes. Things that they normally wouldn't be allowed to have, but I figured she was getting joy from it and they most definitely were happy with the situation!

Xav took a few moments to warm to Nan, but as soon as he was comfortable he was fighting with Grace for all the attention. We only got to spend the 1 day with Nan, but it was lovely to see my grandmother with her great-grandchildren. We spent an hour or so trying desperately to get a pic with all of us together.

Now, THAT was funny. In between all the laughs, giggles and jokes, we finally managed something not too bad. I also got some great shots of the kids with Nan.

~~Grace with one of the Penguin locals~~

One of the fine afternoons we headed out to Bells Parade, Latrobe to feed the ducks and have a play. The kids had a great time running around in the beautiful autumn leaves, which I was pleased about as the lighting was perfect for some beautiful photo's.

~~I LOVE this photo, my beautiful children~~

This is the gorgeous Miss Emma, Mum's Rhodesian Ridgeback/Labrador who is I think about 15 years old. She's been a wonderfully loyal dog, but unfortunately nearly at the end of her time. She's really looking old now and I highly doubt that she will be round when I make my next trip to Tas. She's not in pain at all and still manages all the basics (except sometimes could do with a Tena!), so Mum is reluctant to have her put down. She's popping up lumps everywhere on her body and has suspected diabetes. Poor old thing. She's had a fantastic life though and I hope that when she is ready, she'll pass on gently and quickly.

Here's some pics from another day in the Autumn leaves:

I shouldn't have ever been worried about how the kids would be on the plane. They were absolutely perfect again on the way back, faultless in fact. Xav slept for most of the first flight, whilst Grace ate her little care package from Mum. She nibbled on gourmet cheese and cubes of home-cooked silverside. She also had her fair share of tiny-teddies and a lolly pop as she was complaining of her ears hurting. Sydney airport was a bit of a pain as we had nearly 4 hours to kill. Grace was a little hyper at one stage and kept running off and jumping on the travelator, then runnning backwards on it so she really wasn't going anywhere. She was swiftly put into a quiet corner and reprimanded for running off. I had a little bit more hand luggage on the way home, so found it a bit harder to confine Xav, chase her and hold all the luggage. I ended up getting the kids their craving, sushi, then finding a quiet parents room and containing them in there.

Finally at about 9pm, after leaving Devonport at 11.30am, we were back on the Gold Coast. The kids were jumping out of their skin to see Duane. The reunion between them all was beautiful.