Six weeks in Melbourne

Six weeks ago today we arrived in Melbourne. It's been mostly great, but pretty tough too. Having family around is amazing. The boys have loved hanging out with their cousins (older kids who are interested in them! They can't get enough.) It's been great having our mums around. (My mum spent the weekend with us, cooking and cleaning and stocking our freezer. So good.) It's great to be able to see our families pretty much any time we want, and to be involved in their everyday lives. Catching up with old friends has been brilliant. 

But it's been tough getting over the jet lag - particularly being very pregnant (33 weeks today). Even after 6 weeks I struggle to keep my eyes open past 9pm, so sleep has taken priority over some of the things I used to do in the evening - mostly blogging (hence my long absence!)

Nick basically started his new job the day after we arrived, and without the routine of the childcare we had in London and my network of mum-friends who made the days when I had the boys much more fun and structured (shout out to Rachel, Jo and Emma in particular), I've found it pretty hard. I've tried to get out and do as much as possible but the constant physical exhaustion of being pregnant makes keeping up with a four-year-old and two-year-old sometimes overwhelming.

We were lucky to secure one day of childcare when we arrived but no more as yet. It's not ideal as the week gap between days is too long - M really wants to make friends but isn't there enough, H struggles at drop-off every week when before he was always happy to say goodbye. We're trying to get a Kindergarten place for M but our top 4 preferences are all full...we're now weighing up staying on the waiting lists and taking a place at a Kinder a bit further away. I think he really needs the stimulation and routine of Kinder or childcare so hopefully we'll sort this out soon. 

H has found the whole move pretty difficult - he started getting more clingy a few weeks before we left (probably as we started packing and giving things away) and has been very clingy since we arrived. He's getting better but there were a few weeks when I couldn't even leave the room without him insisting on coming with me and constantly needing to be picked up. 

The admin has been relentless - having been away for nearly 8 years and with 2 boys who have never lived here and a new baby on the way, there has been a seemingly constant stream of forms to fill out, appointments to make, government agencies to call. So far we haven't had any major difficulties (and both boys have been dual citizens since birth) but for it all to happen at the same time is a lot of admin. 

The most interesting thing is being an expat in our own country. We travelled back to Australia 7 or 8 times while living in London, but living here again is quite different. Especially living here for the first time as a parent. It's subtle things, and it's interesting (apart from the cost of everything, which never ceases to shock me). I'm loving exploring the shops and finding out what things are good to do with kids (so far Melbourne Zoo is by far our favourite thing) and we're very much enjoying checking out all the new cafes (although some not so new now...) You can't beat a great breakfast in Melbourne and I never realised how much I missed Chai Lattes. 

So hopefully I'm back and with lots more to come from a new Australian perspective! x

Happy weekend! (The last in London)

This is our final weekend in London. I still can't quite get my head around it. We have some final things to sort out before the removalists come on Monday, some friends to catch up with and some London to soak up. Though the weather is making it hard to get out and enjoy our final days - and at the same time making it a bit easier to leave. It will be so nice to get back to some warmer weather (even though we are headed into winter, the average temperature in Melbourne in winter is 8 degrees Celsius - and the current weather is much warmer than this!)

Something else I can't quite believe? How much stuff we have and how much of it we could have got rid of ages ago. Broken toys, old clothes. I'm determined to be better at managing this kind of 'stuff' in the future. Opening cupboards to find things that we don't use and don't need is driving me crazy!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Image of fish'n'chips from my trip to Brighton this week. We ate on the pier - not the best time of year for it, but lovely nonetheless! 

26 weeks (flying)

I was in a store yesterday, chatting to the shop assistant, when I mentioned I would be flying to Australia next week. She remarked, 'that's a long way with a bump!' To which I replied, 'that's a long way with 2 boys and a bump!' I'm actually not too worried about flying with the bump (most airlines allow you to fly long haul right up until 35 or 36 weeks - with a letter from a registered medical practitioner or midwife after 27 or 28 weeks* - and I'm not too uncomfortable at the moment), but flying with a four-year-old and a two-year-old will be a challenge I think. Although of all the times we have flown with kids I think we're probably the best prepared we've ever been. We have two iPads (fully loaded with all their favourite movies, TV shows and apps), we've bought a few special books and magazines and I believe Nick has been secreting away a few toys. We've also booked our seats so we have two lots of two seats together, in front and behind each other, and I will sit with H and Nick will sit with M. We find they always behave better one-on-one and hopefully this mean a calmer, easier flight for us all. I'll let you know how we go!

*Although I technically don't need a letter, I've got one anyway. When I was about 20 weeks pregnant with H we went back to Australia and I was asked by someone from the airline exactly how pregnant I was. Maybe I was being over-sensitive but I thought she seemed a little sceptical of my response... So this time I decided to play it safe and get a letter.

Previously: 16 weeks / 17 weeks / 18 weeks / 19 weeks / 20 weeks / 21 weeks / 22 weeks / 23 weeks / 24 weeks / 25 weeks

Animal Plates by Zara Home

How cute are these melamine plates from Zara Home? I know H would totally love them. I think the pig is my favourite but the elephant is great too. 

Pig, Dog, Turtle and Elephant Melamine Plates - £5.99 each from Zara Home

The Fat Duck

One of the things we had always wanted to do in the UK was to eat at The Fat Duck. So once we knew we definitely leaving, Nick put us on the waiting list for every possible day until we left (as it books out months in advance). We were surprised (and thrilled!) to get a phone call the following week saying they had a table available the next day for lunch.

I'm definitely not a food blogger so I won't try and describe the amazing things that we ate (all 14 courses plus appetiser - even the bread was amazing!) What I can say is that the service is completely outstanding and never intimidating or pretentious (one of the things I loathe in exclusive restaurants). Being pregnant, they were also brilliant about adapting a few of the items on the menu. The setting is a traditional, low-ceilinged English cottage, right on the high street of Bray and inside it's small and cosy - which is somewhat incongruous when compared to the food served but definitely not unwelcome.

It's well worth eating at The Fat Duck for the amazing experience - and it really is an experience. Expensive, yes, but a fabulous way to spend four hours. We loved it.

Please excuse the terrible photos. You'll find plenty of better images online if you're interested. Though I was happy to get these - the other courses I simply forgot to photograph...like I said, definitely not a food blogger!

Above: Eleventh Course: Galette of Rhubarb, Neoli Scented Yoghurt and Rhubarb Sorbet. The sorbet was AMAZING. Possibly our favourite thing of all.

Third Course: Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream, Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast (adapted slightly for me and note the dry ice steam coming from the Oak Moss which was placed in the center of the table)

Fourth Course: Snail Porridge, Iberico Bellota Ham, Shaved Fennel

Sixth Course: Mad Hatters Tea Party - Mock Turtle Soup

Sixth Course: Mad Hatters Tea Party - Toast Sandwich

Seventh Course: Sound of the Sea

Twelfth Course: Bacon and Egg Ice Cream

(and before) Preparing the Bacon and Egg Ice Cream at the table

Fourteenth Course: 'Like a kid in a sweet shop' -  one of four parts - The Queen of Hearts (I think wafter-thin jam tart covered in white chocolate)

Girls SS13: Pink

I will admit it. Since I found out I was having a girl, I've been buying some things that are pink to supplement the hand-me-down wardrobe she will inherit from her brothers. (I wouldn't usually shop this early in a pregnancy, but since we are leaving very soon I've been stocking up on kids clothing of which there is a greater selection in the UK and at generally better prices). I completely understand the debate about pink and gender stereotyping for girls, but I actually have far more of an issue with the terribly twee patterns and motifs, inane and objectifying slogans, and those frilly, 'pretty' things which seem so restrictive. I'm all about comfort and functionality when it comes to kids clothing, pink or not, and I love the fabulous bright and neon pinks around at the moment. So here's a selection of a few things I love. (Don't be fooled by the striped trousers, center bottom, by molo - I got a pair of these last week and that is a proper neon pink!)  So what do you think? If you have girls, do you dress them in pink?

Basic Dress - Cerise
£28 - minirodini.com

Bright Pink Cotton Shorts
£4.99 - hm.com

molo Shocking Pink Striped Baby Trousers
£19.95 - littlesunflowers.com

Stella McCartney Kids Girls Neon Pink Circle Tee
£30 - alexandalexa.com

Bright Pink Flatform Plimsolls
£15-18 - next.co.uk

Pink Crew Neck Sweater
£8-9 - next.co.uk

Canboli Pink Organic Baby Hat
£6 - loveitloveitloveit.co.uk

Meduse Kids Fluro Pink
£13.99 - sunjellies.com

Happy weekend! (The second last)

It's our second last weekend in London...less than two weeks until we leave. I still don't think I'm fully processing that we are leaving for good. We'll be back one day, but who knows when? We've travelled to Australia quite a few times since we've been here - seven times in seven and a half years - so at the moment this is just like another trip. We get on a plane, we see family and friends...but then we stay there. Scary.

Anyway, this weekend we have lots planned with friends and the ongoing pursuit of having things organised before we depart (when we left Australia I worked right up until the day we left and almost had a breakdown when our removalists arrived - we're a little more organised this time). We're also going to see Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust - what a show, right? This kind of stuff just doesn't happen in Australia. It's one of the things about London we will really miss.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Image is of the Mad Hatters Tea Party at the Sanderson Hotel. One of my girlfriends organised it this week as a little leaving party (being pregnant doesn't make for boozy late nights) and it was lovely! Lots of very sugary things, so definitely take your sweet tooth!