House-hunting continues.....

The search for the perfect pad down under is limping along and so far only one house has warranted an application but it's in Bentleigh not Bayside (which is a stones throw from Brighton East so only about 10 minutes drive to the sea) however the plus side is that it's got 4 bedrooms so all you potential visitors, get your flights booked!

There have been a couple of milstones regarding the children's development over the past week, the main ones being Celia ditching her dummy and Max walking (like a zombie from the Thiller video but walking all the same). There have also been some not so welcome developments, such as the deafening screeches from Max whenever he spies anyone eating (even if his own mouth is already crammed full of food!) and Celia's obsession with everything having to match from clothes and hair accessories to plates and cutlery and not just her own!

So as a reward for Celia binning the dummy we promised her a toy of her choosing and as Target were having a huge toy sale we popped along last Saturday. Whilst there we spied a lovely kitchen unit which would be perfect for her birthday in 4 weeks time so I duly sent Andy back the next day to get it. Unfortunately it was the last one in the shop so he bought the fully assembled demo which of course was twice the size of the car (he didn't realise until he got it out to the car park apparently!?) So there was no alternative but to walk about 2 miles home with it in the trolley which sounds relatively painless but when you consider he had to get the trolley over the security barrier in the car park, across the Princes highway, over the tram tracks (which incidentally also acted like a security barrier because of the metal) it was no mean feat. Needless to say, I just had to take a photo when he eventually got home. Which reminds me, we still have the trolley in the garage - oops!....

We're back!

Well we have been back in Melbourne for 5 days now after a lovely trip back to Northern Ireland and I am very pleased to say that everybody slept right through for the first time last night and I feel sooo much better for it. The flight back (or more specifically, the 4 flights back!) was as torturous as expected, mainly due to my stressed state of mind rather than the children playing up. Saying goodbye all over again was very hard especially as we don't know when the next trip back will be so I was not the best travel companion!
The day after we arrived back the mother group were having a joint 1st birthday party for all the babies so a fun afternoon was had by all. This was actually Max's third birthday party which is a bit excessive especially as poor Celia has never had any birthday parties and she is nearly 3!

So life has settled back into the normal routine with the exception of looking for a new house. We need to be out by 16th September and we are determined to find somewhere by the sea as that was the original search criteria but it seems that is everyone else's too hence there isn't much coming up. We have a few week's grace before we need to panic (me) or compromise (Andy)!

Happy first birthday Max - what a year!

Today is my wee man's first birthday...and he is 10,000 miles away in Coleraine.
It's been an interesting first year for my son...

Born in London, 28th June 2010
Lived in 3 countries
Visited 8 countries, plus Tasmania
Flew to Australia at 9 weeks old
Learned to crawl
Learned to swim
Learned to say mama (but not dada!)
Survived a massive earthquake

Goodness knows what year 2 will hold!

Daddy misses you loads wee man. Can't wait to give you a big hug on Saturday.

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Last weekend it was time for a bit of man time. Friday night in the pub with work colleagues was followed by a bit of exercise in the morning (I'm doing the Global Corporate Challenge - it involves walking and running a lot) and then off to Sydney.
The best night for a long time started in Kiribilli, progressed through Surry Hills (some great bars in that neck of the woods) and ended up back north of the harbour at the famous Minsky's piano bar until 4am. Brilliant. I suggest Roger will revisit on many an occasion.

On a stunning warm 'winter' morning I took myself off on a long walk around the coastal paths of the North Shore ending up among the fantastic houses at Cremore Point and Mosman Bay. Much as we love Melbourne, I have to admit the scenery in Sydney is simply unbeatable by any city anywhere. That morning walk was simply stunning, and with 20,000 steps on Saturday it set me well on the way to a new record on Sunday too.

Sunday Morning Stroll

When the boys finally woke up from their single mens lie-ins (it will all change one day soon!) they surprised me again by taking me to another new and fantastically beautiful spot for lunch - Balmoral Beach. Definitely a hidden treasure away from the tourist track. Thanks for the tip boys. Loved it. Definitely a family location to aspire to.

Balmoral Beach, Sydney

An amazing weekend continued with a three hour Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb on just the clearest, hottest winters day ever. This was a wonderful experience and well worth the (expensive) price. If you get the chance do it.

Top of Sydney Harbour Bridge

My last weekend home alone was definitely a memorable one. Even the extra $325 to get home after Tiger Airlines cancelled all their flights with no explanation didn't put a dampner on it. Cheap airlines - same the world over. Fly the new Virgin Australia - very classy.

Northern Ireland - The new home of golf

What a proud day for Northern Ireland as Rory McIlroy becomes the second consecutive US Open winner from Northern Ireland. Fantastic performance and well worth the 4.30 am rise for a trip to the casino!

And what a difference a year makes.
Exactly 12 months ago en route to Belfast after missing the cut!

Home Alone

I'm all alone, in a big, sometimes cold, house on the other side of the world. My family have just flown 30 hours back to the UK while I remain in Melbourne for a few weeks work. I have to admit that I was quite looking forward to a few weeks on my own, but now that it's here it just feels, well, wrong! I'm missing my lovely wife and my noisy darling children. And I still wake up at 5.30am every morning anyway - force of habit I guess.

Lydia, Max and Celia have made it home safely. Sounds like Celia was a star on the flight while Max decided it would be a good idea to only sleep 3 hours out of 30 and consequently Lydia had no sleep whatsoever - oh dear! Still, it is over now and I'll be there to share the pain on the way back.

Just watched the apprentice. I think I'm the only person watching who still likes Jim. Not sure what that says about me? Isn't the new world fantastic that you can keep up with everything wherever you are.

The weekend is coming - and with work drinks (without a curfew), a round of golf and maybe some wine tasting on the cards I guess I won't get bored. Most of all though I'm looking forward to skyping my children at their grandparents - oh how one's priorities in life change!

hasta luego.

Winter in Melbourne

June is the first proper month of winter and although it's not cold by Northern Ireland standards it's chillier than I'd have imagined. I also wasn't expecting snow but it's forecast to be the best ski season in 10 years (not actually in Melbourne itself, but the slopes are under 3 hour's drive away).  Maybe we can fit in a weekend's skiing in September if the snowfall is good enough.

Anyway, back to winter in Melbourne - I must say the Australians are a woosy bunch.  When I was out running in my teeshirt and jogging pants last week I passed all these runners in woolly hats, fleeces and gloves - when I got home I checked the temperature and it was 10 degrees!



Well, it's only 1 week and 1 day to go before my first visit back home and although very excited, I am also extremely nervous about the flight over as it's just me and the 2 kids (Andy joins us on 2nd July). I will squeeze Max into a basinette, drug him, bribe Celia with chocolate and hope for the best!