Week in the life of…

Week42

12 -18th October 

I love google timeline – for those, like me, who have one heck of a shocking memory (I’m blaming Jack btw), it’s my friendly little google feature that lets me track myself. Yes, I know, if it means that I can track myself, what must Google be doing with all that juicy info??? Being bored following me from one coffee shop to another probably! Looking back, this week was quiet. Jack and I had a pretty yucky bug that seems to be doing the rounds, which resulted in, shock horror, me being stuck at home, for entire days at a time! By Thursday I was back to my normal self, which was just in time for Jack to head to childcare. I headed out to the Plaza to grab some singlets from Target as my local didn’t have what I was after. After having a quick wander, and checking out the new stores since I was there last, I ventured home. On Friday, we took Nanny to Baby Bunting, and stopped for a coffee of course. But no cake – we never get cake when we have coffee. We’re both really, really, really good at not listening to our stomachs… We also went past Lombards to check out all things party related – Jack had a ball! He was enthralled at all the decorations hanging in the store, and he was constantly looking at the ceiling, straining to see all the balloons! It was probably more exciting for him to stare at those than to go to the aquarium!

Saturday we took Jack to the new park at Saltwater Coast, in Point Cook. The grand opening was the following day, and it was great timing to go the day before, as crowds on the Sunday were huge! Jack had such a ball on both days. He was happy having a swing with Dad, and loved the water park features, especially the fountains that turn on and off and change in height. I can see many warmer days being spent here! The only thing that an organised mum would do, would be to bring a towel and a change of clothes. I took none of these things. Lesson learnt. The following day at the opening Jack had a great time dancing to the band that was playing and I really enjoyed the little crocodile shortbreads that they were handing out, even if they were meant for the kiddies.

Saturday night James, Evan and I ate at Big Boy BBQ in the city, we wandered the streets after dinner, until I eventually caved. The little boy had decided the night before that it was party at our place between the hours of 3:50 and 530, so I was one very tired mummy. Thankfully James kept me company as well during those times or else I would have gone completely batty. We are thinking that the teeth are playing havoc at the minute, he’ll wake up very sad, not want the dummy anywhere near his mouth, and not want to lay down or do anything sleep related. He is however, happy to play peekaboo under the doona, attempt to crawl over you and laugh at you, and he will tickle poor puppy’s toes.

On Sunday I headed to the Flemington Market – I had my usual coffee and egg and bacon roll for brekky, Jack fell asleep on my back (I’m attempting to back carry him as much as possible before the trip) and he lasted for about an hour, which I count as a big win. I wandered the stalls with Leanne, and had to avoid Megan as we had somehow managed to arrive wearing the exact same jumper. This isn’t the first time that we’ve done that either!

There should be one more ‘week in the life of…’ before our trip. I’ve installed the app which lets me post from my phone, so there may end up being a whole plethora of posts, or there may be none… All depends on data/internet and how much spare time I have. Some days these posts seem to take 15 minutes, and other times it takes days to progress past the first paragraph.

One week to go!

Getting super excited and slightly stressed at the same time! This time next week the family, minus poor Benny, will be in the air and on the way to LAX.

Itinerary

25th October – fly to Brisbane, to connect with a flight to LAX.
Hilton Garden Inn LAX/El Segundo
I’m hoping this flight will go smoothly, and we all get a few hours sleep to tide us through for the rest of the day in Los Angeles. It’s looking like a beautiful day, currently predicted at 76F  (24°c) and partly cloudy. Our aim is to keep busy and to stay awake by being outside and keeping on moving.  The plan is to drive to Santa Monica for breakfast, pick up phone SIM’s and wander along the beach. James is heading to ‘Hell in a cell’ WWE event later that night, while I’ll stay local to the hotel.

26th October – fly to Chicago (via Detroit)
ACME Hotel Company Chicago
Another early morning flight (7am EDT) and we don’t get in to Chicago until just before 4pm (CDT). Once we check in at ACME Hotel, we’re basically running to grab dinner (thinking Shake Shack) and head to the United Center to finally see our first NHL game! We’ll be seeing the Anaheim Ducks play against Chicago Blackhawks . If anyone can remember back to our honeymoon, the NHL had a lockout, which left both of us very disappointed that we were unable to attend a game. But, the great news is, we have managed to squeeze in seeing 3 whole games! Super, super excited!

27th October
Thinking of seeing the sights of Chicago today on the Hop On, Hop Off bus. We figure it’s probably the easiest way to get around with Jack.

28th October – fly to Pittsburgh
Cambria hotel & suites Pittsburgh
We leave Chicago at 2:15pm (CDT) and arrive in Pittsburgh 4:46pm (EDT). Travelling through multiple time zones through the trip will be interesting. Or damn right confusing by the end! Thank god for smartphones that should automatically correct themselves! Our aim for tonight is to find a bar, to enjoy watching another  NHL game (Pittsburgh at Capitals). 

29th October
Exploring Pittsburgh by day, and by night, yep, you guessed it, another NHL game! This one I’m excited about – James gets to see his beloved Pittsburgh Penguins, and we’re gonna be nice and close to the ice. Penguins are playing the Buffalo Sabres.

30th October – drive to Niagara Falls
Embassy Suites Niagara Falls
Leaving Pittsburgh early and driving out to Niagara Falls for just the night. We’re staying on the Canadian side and hopefully have a great view of the falls. I’m sure you’ll be seeing some photos appear either on here or on Facebook. We’re hoping that the Maid of the Mist (or similar) will be running, and the weather is kind. The long range forecast is predicting a cloudy day, with a top of 16°C and a low of 5°C.

31st October – fly from Buffalo to Orlando (via Atlanta)
Bluegreen Vacations Fountains
This is going to be a fairly long day. First we have to drive over the border, and head to Buffalo. Our flight leaves Buffalo around 11am (EDT) and arrives in Atlanta around 1pm (EDT). The connecting flight leaves before 2pm (EDT) and arrives in Orlando around 3:30pm (EDT).  All things going well, we will be in the air for just over 3 hours and 40 minutes.
It is Halloween so we will most likely head out and see how Orlando celebrates this holiday.

1st, 2nd, 3rd November
Our plans for Orlando are a bit lacklustre at the minute. We’re definitely planning a trip to the Kennedy Space Center and we’ve been looking at which Disney Park we could get the most out of. I’m hoping for fantastic photo opportunities with Jack that we will cherish for a long time. Our accommodation is close to the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet, and James had mentioned looking after Jack while I go shopping! This could be dangerous! I think after the busy start to our holiday, and with hopefully warmer weather, this could be our relaxing stage to our holiday!

4th November – drive to Miami
Bentley Hotel South Beach
We figured a night further down the coast wouldn’t go astray and James is keen to use his knowledge of Grand Theft Auto Vice City to prove that he can navigate around Miami!

5th November – fly to LAX
Magic Castle Hotel
We drive from Miami back to Orlando, for a late flight (7pm EST) to LAX, which will arrive after 9:30pm (PST).

6th November
We have plans to head to The Grove and Farmers Market during the day – if we haven’t managed to visit The Cheesecake Factory along our trip, we will be definitely going here for lunch. Oh and this time, I’ll be having one of those candy apples from the stall! My mouth is actually salivating thinking about it! We also have to squeeze in a visit to the LA Live precinct and the Yard House. There is a Woodchuck Raspberry Cider with my name on it! Hopefully it lives up to my memories from 3 years ago.

7th November – fly home, via Sydney
Our last day, and our last ice hockey game. This time we’re heading to the Staples Center to see the Florida Panthers take on the LA Kings. Our flight is just before 10pm. Last time we flew out around this time, I think I had a few drinks before leaving, and a few more on the plane, and strangely enough, I slept like a baby. I don’t think I’ll have the luxury of a few alcoholic beverages this time.

9th November – fly to Melbourne
We land in Sydney just before 8am, and our connecting flight will get us back to Melbourne around 11am.

Week in the life of…

Week41

5 – 11th October

It’s getting so close to our trip, I’m feeling a little like Santa when writing my packing list – making a list, and checking it twice!

On Saturday night James and I celebrated our joint 30th birthday party – I’d just like to thank everybody who came and celebrated with us, it means a lot to have each and every one of you in our lives!  I’m hopeful that everyone was well fed and surprised that the slushie machine was empty after the night! A big thank you to Doris – who not only worked tirelessly to keep Jack occupied and quiet in an attempt to let me socialise, but also for delivering a tiramisu and a delicious pavlova. Also, thank you to Megan for not only letting my furbaby Benny have a lovely playdate with your Bella and Lucy, but also for making a simply droolworthy white chocolate mudcake. Mmmmm, yummmy!

In other news this week, Jeff and I went for brekky at Alamanda on Monday morning and we saw the house being set-up to feature in Bunnings catalogue Christmas light display. It was quite a team to set the house up on a stinking hot Monday and Tuesday. It was great to see the lights but a pity that they were dismantled and packed up. It definitely makes me want to get in the spirit and dress our house this year. But knowing the amount of effort it takes to do it, and to put them away, maybe we’ll wait until Jack is old enough to appreciate it. On Monday, James took Jack to the Alamanda pool in the evening. James also took Jack to his first swimming lesson at Jump on Tuesday night. Interesting for me to sit on the sidelines and relinquish control over something that I really had enjoyed.

Benny had a few friends over this week! Not only did Dom bring over his Jack Russel while he was packing stuff, I also found a greyhound wandering the streets when I took Benny out for an evening stroll. Thanks to the facebook world, we located his owner and were able to reunite them later that night.

Babytime returned this week! Jack is just loving crawling and running away from me during the sessions – half the time I leave him, and the other half I spend trying to get him back in front of me! He still loves being picked up, bounced around, thrown upside down. I just love seeing that huge smile on his face.

Nanny, Chris, Jack and I headed to Wyndham Cache on Friday morning for coffee and a bit of breakfast. James, Jack and I popped into Hopheads on Friday night to have a drink with Glen for his birthday before they headed out for dinner. I had taken Jack to the park earlier in the day, and Jack loved having a ride in the swing. So when we arrived a little early, I got the chance to go with James to the park near Hopheads. Jack didn’t mind having another go on the swing, and he loved the noises that the pipes made when he banged on them.

Week in the life of…

Week40

September 28 – October 5

This week was the last time I get to do swimming during the day. We’ve swapped Jack’s lesson to a Tuesday night which means that James gets to take Jack! With it being a public holiday on the Friday, James came to watch a lesson, and he took some great photos of us as well. With the trip to the US getting closer, James took Jack out for a bike ride in his trailer, so that he could get some exercise in. Benny was lucky enough to have a play date with Bella and Lucy. Lucy is always happy to see Ben at first, until she gets tired, and the Ben uses his mass to start harassing the girls back! Bella is less interested in Ben – until Ben attempts to steal her ball!

On Monday I travelled to LaManna Direct and caught up with Jas and her gorgeous little girl Kareena. Jack was very, very spoilt as Jas had bought Jack an early birthday present – a rain coat from Rainkoat to take away for our trip (http://www.rainkoat.com.au/). Thank you Jas for the gorgeous coat that will last Jack for this and many rainy days!

On Wednesday, we drove to Leroys cafe in Newport to have a playdate with some of the bubs that attend the Wednesday babytime session. As the school holidays are on, Babytime doesn’t run, so it was nice for the mummies and kiddies, of course, to have a bit of play.  Thanks to Rochelle for bringing the camera and getting some great photos!

Jack also had his first full day at childcare this week. He’ll be attending each Thursday now, until we head away! Getting so excited about the trip, although I haven’t started writing lists for what we need to pack, what we need to buy. Hmmm, shopping… Just a pity that the aussie dollar isn’t all that great. Anyway, hubby suggested I write a post detailing our itinerary and what our plans are. So that might be on the list for tomorrow, while Jack’s in care. Once I’ve finished cleaning the house, of course!

We headed over to Nanny and Poppy’s on Friday night for dinner, while James headed out to work. We spend the remainder of the weekend filling the trailer up and headed out to the tip on Sunday. Even though we filled and emptied the caged trailer, it feels like it hasn’t made the slightest difference to the house. But at least we now know that the trip to the tip isn’t as complicated as we both thought it was going to be. It’s amazing how much cardboard you find!

Week in the life of…

Week39

21st-27th September

We celebrated James’s 30th this week, the return of Poppy and Nanny from their overseas adventures and finished the weekend with a BBQ for Sarah’s birthday. Nanny and Poppy brought back a Miffy pirate soft toy, some snazzy new clothes, some books, a wooden pinocchio toy and a cow bell that Jack likes to shake and make as much noise as possible. Benny was spoilt too – he got a new leather collar. I’m still eating my way through all the chocolates and I keep wearing my sparkly earrings, even though I keep waiting for Jack to notice them and pull on them. Nanny, Poppy, Sam, Abbey, James, Jack and I headed out for dinner to the Sporting Globe on Sunday night to catch up for James’s birthday.

Spring time in Melbourne is just fantastic – BBQ’s, drinks, warmer weather, longer days… ahhhh…. I also returned to boxing this week – I figured that with the spring weather comes shorts and tank tops, and I definitely need to work on getting some muscle back now that Jack is already 10 months old. There’s only so much that walking can do for you, before you need a bit more of a workout to tone those muscles. We bought a bike trailer to take Jack in, so that we can all head out for a ride. We tested that over the weekend and while Jack protested to start with, he soon fell asleep. We had to buy him his own little bike helmet – they’re so damn cute when they are tiny.

Jack is pretty much on the go, all the time. I’m writing this nearly a week late, but he has now progressed to needing 2 people to hold him down at nappy time. All he wants to do is roll over and start crawling away from you, then he’ll turn around and give you one heck of a cheeky grin, before running off again. If you haven’t managed to get that nappy on him, the last thing you see is that bare bum running away. He has also started using mum/dad/ anyone lying down as a jungle gym – he’ll climb straight up and over you, the higher you are, the bigger the challenge.