The Souvlaki Kid

It appears the youngest member of the family has developed a penchant for the popular Greek wrap.

Having caught sight (and probably scent) of what we were eating for lunch at Sunday's market, Jack circled past our picnic bench for a closer look (and signature 'sniff'). Without so much as a pause or flicker of interest, he continued on his circuit but swooped, mouth agape, on the third lap and tore a piece from the souvlaki, narrowly missing my finger. As he wandered off, all we could hear was an appreciative 'mmm, mmmm' for his lunch on the run.

A Lazy Sunday

There's nothing quite like waking late on a Sunday morning (of course, that's all relative... 7.30am is considered 'late' in our household) and taking the time to smell the proverbial coffee, dip into the weekly papers for an update (forget the in depth features, Jack allows about 20 minutes before paper recycling commences), then wrapping up warmly and heading off to a local outdoor market to sample the visual, craft and gourmet fare on offer. The indulgences necessitated an afternoon stroll where we took turns flying Anna's new kite while Jack studied sea lice and other sand creatures on Carrum beach. Ah for the simple pleasures in life.

A Trip to the City

This past weekend we decided it was high time we headed out of the burbs and into the city (talk about house move/packing avoidance behaviour!).

After a quick pit stop on the banks of the Yarra river (it was a hasty sandwhich, as it's still pretty chilly here), we headed to Federation Square where The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is hosting an exhibition celebrating PIXAR's 20 of animation. I thought it would be 'one for the kids', but it turned out to be really interesting with a behind-the-scenes look at how Nemo, Buzz Lightyear and other such characters were conceived of & finally brought to 'life'. Anna & Jack were mesmerised by the multiple visual displays. "Wow, so many TV's Mommy," Anna whispered, shaking her head in disbelief before reverently dropping to her knees in front of the closest plasma screen. Admittedly, only minutes later, it was I who was gawping in uneducated awe at the next installation - the Toy Story Zoetrope. 'Using over 150 modelled characters from Toy Story 2 including Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye and the Aliens, this magical technical achievement employs early cinematic devices to achieve the perception of motion through the illusion of continuous activity. Rapidly rotating a sequence of objects, the zoetrope demonstrates the basic principles of animation before the invention of film' (explanation curteousy of the ACMI website). Fascinating.

Once we'd managed to drag Anna away from the attendants handing out freebies to promote 'Ratatouille' (the next big release) and cousin Dylan from the Wii consoles, it was nearing the 'tea hour' and the heavens looked ready to open. So we made our way back down St Kilda Rd to the National Gallery and headed for the members area in the hopes of finding a corner in which to enjoy a pot of tea and where the kids could stretch their legs. The members area turned out to be 'not one of those places' (more like a quiet 5 star hotel library), so we beat a hasty retreat to the gardens out back where the kids could romp & scoff chocolate cake impolitely. Perfect!

Mess Monsters & Mudcakes

We're sorry that the blog is a bit light on text of late, but the pictures speak for themselves... it's the (current) story of my life. Enough said.

The Party Season Continues

It was cousin Liam's (aka Buzz Lightyear's) turn to blow out the candles on the third of Aug & boy did the kids have a ball with party games, dress up costumes & each other for company!

Viv laid on a feast of treats... Jack, the erratic grazer, didn't leave the food table for 40 minutes after arriving. In fact, he even helped everyone finish off their milkshakes :)

Needless to say, everyone slept very well that night.

Another Year Older & Wider

Bring on the cake!!!!
Viva la crab apple tree bakery. It was heavenly.
Even sweeter were the strains of 'happy birthday to you' sung from the heart of the little ones... or rather, their stomachs - the gene strain is strong!
PS: click on the pic of Jack for a close up of that 'heart felt' singing... well, it's more like humming, but he's got soul

An Enchanted Outing

It's not often that one can claim to enjoy an entire day trip with a tantrum-prone three-year-old & a buggy-loathing 14-month-old, who relishes the new-found freedom of being able to determine his own direction in life. However, the 'Enchanted Maze' proved to be the perfect destination for such an outing.

Sandwiched between the wine farms of Red Hill & Mornington Peninsula's scenic Authur's Seat, the Enchanted Maze is a hidden collection of ornamental gardens, mazes & sculptures, creatively combined to spark the imagination of toddler and adult alike.

We enjoyed several idyllic hours exploring the quirky hedgerow mazes (ideal for Jack, who simply bounced along the green corridors after his sister) & obstacle courses (aka brainteasers) for kids. There were hidden mazes, meditative monk tracks, faerie gardens (much to Anna's delight) and old farming equipment artistically welded together to provide hours of entertainment in the form of little tractors and inspiring outdoor sculpture. Our peanut butter sandwhiches were devoured beneath a beautiful gazebo uner the gaze of one ambitiously-trimmed Loch Ness monster.

Not surprisingly, the farm animal enclosure proved particularly popular with Anna & Jack. Jackson immediately made a beeline for the feathered variety (on all fours in the goose poo, shrieking with delight), while his sister threw her arms around the rear end of a stonking old sheep. As I tried in vain to pry them from this filth, some dung-clad goat nosed around my handbag. D' lightful! Needless to say, it was a teary farewell that the kids bid these animals.

Handbag-eating goats aside, it was a perfect day... I was even allowed a visit to a local artist's gallery (and discovered a cherry-picking farm on the way home for you, Mom!)

Nothing like a bit of mid-weeek escapism - highly recommended!

A Trip to the Mountains

Despite having relocated in search of warmer weather, we found ourselves bundled up in snow suits hurtling down the snowy slopes of Lake Mountain last Sunday.

Even then, the sun was out & the weather was great! They'd had excellent snow during the week so we were spoilt with good coverage... perfect for 'tobogganing'.

Lake Mountain is about 2 hours East ('ish) of Melbourne & a perfect Sunday morning drive through the Yarra Valley vineyards... reminiscent of Stellenbosch with rolling hills, crystal clear dams, misty valleys & clear blue skies overhead - really beautiful.

As you can imagine, the kids were in their element (although Jack could have done with his morning nap). But so were the other 1000 day trippers, so there was a distinctly manic vibe to the hills with hundreds of kids jostling for prime track space & delighting in smacking into the back of others. It's a wonder no one broke anything, although poor Liam did come home with a bloody nose.

Once the cold had penetrated several layers of socks & Jack had a complete sense of humour failure, we headed back down the mountain in search of warm food and were duly rewarded with a good lunch in Maryville.

Looking forward to the next trip.

Sun Worshippers

Well, the sun finally came out this weekend and the kids reveled in it.

As soon as the doors were opened, Jack made a beeline for the largest & deepest rain puddle & promptly christened himself. He looked like a little bug, busy with some sacred act of mud worship - bum in the air, forehead to the ground/puddle (a pity I didn't have the camera to hand then). Once done with that, he moved on to a bit of gardening.

Anna soaked up the rays while she worked on her nature scrapbook... determined to stick down her latest find - an extensive strip of paper bark she tore from the neighbour's tree whilst on the way home from a walk last week. Needless to say the scrapbook doesn't close anymore and there's now a family of insects inhabiting its pages.

We finally managed to bundle them into the car for a Saturday afternoon drive & headed down the peninsula... found a lovely wine farm just outside Red Hill & sampled some delicious varieties of Pinot Noir & Shiraz - just doing a bit of local research (and stocking up the cellar) for our overseas visitors you see!

My Family & Other Animals - An Update from Down Under

Well, we're finally here...
six months in & 17,000km Down Under...the adventure has just begun!

Spurred by the shame of how lousy we've been with correspondence (our apologies to so many of you, my head is hung low), we've decided to try out this blog thing to keep you in the loop.

We survived the initial summer heat, water restrictions, local hoons on wheels, creepy crawlies (thank God there have not been too many), culture shock, as well as a family dose of Chicken Pox, and are finally starting to 'settle in', as they say.

Anna's adjusted well enough with ballet lessons, swimming classes, and music on the go. And loves (almost as much as me) her local play group, which she goes to once a week. As for 'little Jack'... not so little anymore having celebrated his first birthday in May. He started walking last week, much to all of our delight, but is still an avid toilet & bin rat.

Scott is working for Computer Associates as a PM on a banking project, which is fairly demanding but good experience. He's looking forward to Summer when he plans on cycling a 250km race around the bay (and when his car has a chance at being a convertible again rather than Mother Nature's bedpan). Actually, we're all looking forward to some warmer weather. Jack constantly pounds the windows and points to go outside, and one of Anna's first questions every day is whether or not we'll be able to go to the park. Aside from the usual day-to-day domestics associated with the young uns, I've really enjoyed exploring the area, meeting new people, and spending time on the beautiful beaches with the kids. We joined the National Gallery last week as the Guggeheim collection is in town on tour, and hope to get up to the city more often. It looks to be a hub of creative energy. The Melbourne Design Exhibition is on at the moment too!

We've already been spoiled with visits from family and friends this year - despite the distance. And look forward to the arrival of Nikki & her kids in September. For those of you still pondering the relocation question - two thumbs up from this end! If you don't believe us, book your tickets and come and stay for a while.

On the 'house front'... we've found a lovely place out in Mount Eliza, which is situated about 40km south of Melbourne's CBD on the Mornington Peninsula. Very exciting. Hopefully, more news on that later...

Well there we go... it's a start.

Here's to being in touch with you more often.