The Royal Melbourne Fair with Toddlers!

Unless you are made of money and infinite patience, we do not recommend taking 3 toddlers to the Royal Melbourne Fair. For those of you in Ottawa, imagine the Exhibition but 2X as pricey, 2X as big and 3X as busy. We thought "Oh, the petting zoos might be fun" - 20 minute line for your kid to pet a chicken for 2 seconds. We thought, "Well, the rides should be free since we are paying $27 each to get in." - "$4 per ride for 2 freaking people?!"$&". We thought, "There is bound to be some kind of free play area for younger kids." - "Hey there is a play structure...oh wait. That is a display play structure for sale from an outdoor furniture company...oh well kids, lets go!"

Oh, yeah I almost forgot about the "Show Bags." Think of Super-Sized Themed Loot Bags. We saw families with 15 of these bags on the handles of the strollers, at $20-30 a bag! We were laughing at these parents and then Jeff was convinced by the people at the HotWheels demonstration that these bags were EXCELLENT value, next thing I know, he has purchased a Dora bag and HotWheels show bag. So long budget. Poor Cooper...

We have no pictures because I left our memory card in the computer downloading pics for all of you. Just as well we have no record of this event taking place.

The highlights:
1. Wyatt got to see Sampson the monster truck crushing some cars and a motorcross demonstration.
2. Wyatt got a free HotWheels poster that now decorates his room.
3. Jeff only bought 2 show bags.

Visit with Grandma and Granddad Batchelor!

My mom and John arrived Tuesday the 23rd – which is also my wonderful husband’s birthday. After a lot of pre-trip stress (my mom is not a fan of flying, especially over water – sorry for moving to Australia Mom!) the actual trip was relatively stress free. Reportedly, the worst part of the voyage was the hour long wait for their luggage in Melbourne. After this delay, they were quickly whisked through the quarantine area and shoved out a back door while Wyatt and I waited patiently (as patiently as any 3-yr old can wait in a stroller at the airport) at the normal exit point for international arrivals. Close to two hours after our arrival, my mom came sprinting towards us and gave Wyatt the craziest hug he has ever received! We were all thrilled to see one another.

Their arrival dinner coincided with Jeff’s birthday dinner so at his request, we prepared our standard “Welcome to Australia” shrimp and steak on the barbie and our new favorite Mud Cake, which is absolutely to die for. The kids are quite fond of chocolate cake. "Piece. Piece. More Piece. " being a popular refrain.

My mom has been crazy helpful! She has been doing laundry, cleaning and taking care of the kids in between reading, sightseeing and enjoying some time away from the chaos of her own home. I think that her favorite part of each day is the morning when she gets a snuggle from all three grandkids in their early morning daze! On this particular morning, Wyatt was in RTC mode (REFUSING TO COOPERATE).

Wednesday we hit the aquarium and a bit of Southbank Melbourne. Thursday we trekked off to Healesville for our second visit to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary. This time round, the kangaroos were much more sociable and we were able to feed them and pet them. Friday I took a day of rest with the kids and sent the folks off to explore. They hit some galleries and enjoyed a cursory tour of the CBD.

Then Saturday we ventured off to the Mornington Peninsula, Jeff stayed behind to watch the AFL finals and enjoy some quiet time, which meant that the rest of us could all fit in the van. This is a stretch of beach that stretches South from the eastern outskirts of Melbourne, and curls up around the Port Phillip Bay. We drove to Sorrento, enjoyed the adventure playground there then had a picnic lunch. Wyatt and Cooper were absolutely hysterical in this double swing, they were laughing and screaming for a good 10 minutes, entertaining everyone nearby.

Then we ventured back to Rye where the beach seemed to be more accessible and child-friendly. We enjoyed a beautiful spring day (sunny and 25) and the kids loved making sandcastles and particularly enjoyed the ice cream cones that Granddad bought them after the beach.

The beach was very quiet (as was the rest of Melbourne) since all of the Aussies were either attending the AFL Grand Finals that afternoon, or they were having a Grand Final Party. As such, it was the perfect day to drive on the highways and visit some of the most popular beaches around. We returned to find Jeff in the throws of the Grand Finals, with the last quarter about to start. It was a close game between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Geelong Wildcats with the lead shifting equally between the two for the first 3 quarters, then the Hawks pulled away and won with a final score of 51 to 38??? The kids were so zonked after their day outside that they were quite content to let Jeff watch the end of the game with little disruption.

On Sunday, we thought we would go visit the St. Kilda Adventure Playground so Mom and John could check out the Esplanade market and the St. Kilda Foreshore. We arrived only to find out that the park (which is staffed by a member of the community) was on school holiday hours, meaning we had to wait 40 minutes for the gates to open. After a good play at the park, Jeff and I decided to take the kids to Mackers (McDonalds). I asked Wyatt if he would like to go to Old Mcdonalds for lunch (this is what he calls McDs). His response “I would love to go there Mom.” Dramatic pause. “Mom, you are so kind.” He is MADE to star in commercials. Such gratitude for getting him hooked on food that may eventually kill him…

Art with Toddlers

Chalk drawings - everywhere, on the house, on furniture, on stuffed animals, sometimes on the ground, sometimes on one another, sometimes chalk body outlines like in CSI


Birthday cards - stickers, markers, stamps, stencils. Always a big hit!
Painting - must be done outside while naked (the kids not parents), have lots of plastic bags on hand, use old plastic take-away containers to hold paint, NO SHOES, encourage finger painting, buy rollers, have a huge roll of paper so it is big enough for everyone to paint on without fighting, they decide it is done, then get a huge bucket of soapy water and let them go to town...outside of course! Wyatt thought the bubbles were great until he realized what soap does to the eyes...

Life with Catty & Leslie!

Thanks to all of your for your concerns about my wellbeing (and that of our children) when left alone to care for them. We all fared better than expected. I had a wonderful day on Saturday. As Jeff mentioned, the weather was beautiful and as we enjoyed the park yet again, 2 (yes count them, 2) women that I have met came and talked to me. It seems, I have friends here in East Malvern! YEAH ME! Wyatt is also famous – “Oh, is he the Canadian boy that just started at Central Park Kinder?”, followed quickly by “And, don’t you have 3 children under the age of 3?” So things are picking up for us here in the land down under.

Those days are once again behind me as Catty and Leslie (Catty’s friend) have arrived. It is nice to have help and the girls (as I affectionately refer to them) are already adored by the kids. Wyatt wakes up and within minutes states “I think we should wake Catty and Leslie up.”, then Maddy walks around going “Bye Catty. Bye Lelie.”, even Cooper is trying to say Leslie (sorry Julia). I have signed up to coach some junior high ultimate and as Jeff mentioned, we will be playing in the local leagues in a few weeks time. I am still running with the Moms of St. Mary’s School on Tues. and Thurs. mornings and I am feeling more and more like the me I remember being (almost before kids…).

Catty got to experience her first Melbourne Nap Party. Some days when Cooper and Maddy are put to bed, they don't immediately fall asleep. Instead, they have a Nap Party. They do some serious jumping in their cribs (which will eventually break), they laugh, scream and squeal with delight, and if the party is really good - they throw everything out of their cribs. Blankets, stuffed animals, pillows...then usually, they manage to fall asleep. That is, unless Maddy has somehow convinced Cooper they are having a Nap Party and she slyly convinces him to throw out all of his precious belongings, at which point, she lies down and snuggles up with her blanket for a nap. This is too much for Cooper to bear and he will not go to sleep on principle. I fear this is a hint of things to come - House Parties at 10Fern anyone???

Our kids are very funny. Maddy is a mini-me (a big sorry goes out to the men & boys of the house - and the world). Check out her hari after a few rubs on the trampoline!

Wyatt will bash into her on the trampoline and she creases her brow, wags her index finger and says “Yaya (Wyatt), one warning.”. Her enunciation is not perfect but she does pretty well. Wyatt is a busy guy these days with Soccer and Kinder and he is doing very well in both. Whenever I leave without him, my return is greeted with “Mom, did you get me a special treat? – I was hoping that you were going to be getting me a special treat.” Trying to convince him that me returning IS the special treat is going about as well as can be expected. Cooper is a super mime with countless facial expressions. He has these big expressive eyes (he also doesn’t seem to blink as frequently) and can cry the biggest tears I have ever seen. Our time in the yard and at the parks (both have only 2 toddler swings) usually involves at least one of the following episodes…Maddy decides it would be fun to go in the swing. She looks at the swings and starts to rush towards them. Wyatt sees that she is looking at the swings and sprints towards the swings yelling “I want to go in, I want to go in!”. Cooper slowly clues in to what has become the “in” thing to do and he waddles over to the swings, index finger pointing to his chest, eyes wide and innocent, saying in his sweetest most plaintive voice, “Me? Me?” He must be getting used to the “You get the next turn” speech by now but it still breaks my heart to see his sad little face. Wyatt and Maddy state the obvious. “Cooper is sad. Cooper wants a turn on the swing.” After a set amount of time – I take both kids out of their swings and put Cooper in the swing. No one else is allowed to share “his turn”. Maddy stalks the swings saying “Naddy’s turn. Naddy’s turn” and Wyatt tries to convince me he should be given a turn in the free swing. With any luck, another child comes and fills the empty swing and they all move on to the seesaw…see the problem.

St. Kilda's Adventure Park

Yet another amazing park in Melbourne. We really are spoiled. St. Kilda's has a community adventure park - open on weekends and evenings. The park is a garden of found toys and objects, abstract metal art, wooden pirate ships and a half-pipe slide! There are chickens walking around, a community kitchen with a stocked fridge and a room for parties. Our kids are a bit young to reap the full rewards of this amazing park - flying fox and all, but we all enjoyed the experience and we are sure to return again soon. Enjoy the colourful pics!

Pigtails.

Just once. For about 25 minutes. Small victory!

Stuff...

We've been fairly busy the last few weeks. If you've been reading you will have noticed that Mel had her hands full with all three kids for the last few weeks.

I've had my hands full at work managing a team of developers at work. So neither of us has had much time on our hands to do any blogging these days.

The van is holding up quite well against the assault of our three kids.

The weather is starting to turn...it actually went up to 26 degrees on Saturday here. It was like a different city. People were outside in shorts and t-shirts. The populate seemingly doubled overnight ! I'm starting to suspect that some people just don't have any pants or sweaters and only come out when it gets above 25 degrees ?

Sadly it didn't last and it's back to being 15 degrees, windy, and rainy this week.

We've managed to find spots for ourselves on an Ultimate team here in the summer league. The league kicks off at the end of the month and games are played in Albert Park. There are 5 or 6 teams in this division of the league and another 5 or 6 in the lower division. So, 12 teams in total in a city the size of Toronto. Compare that to Ottawa where the league has about 300 teams. We are both curious to see what the level of play is like here.

I've been doing a fair bit of cycling on the weekends while the kids nap. Nothing too exciting but it's good to get out and explore the city a bit on my bike. I hope to start commuting for good soon now that the days are longer and I won't be riding home in the dark.

I think that's pretty much it from my side of things.

Buoyant bums!

Jeff and I love taking the kids swimming. We often took the kids to the Sportsplex back home and we enjoy taking the kids to the Waves Leisure Centre here in Melbourne. I would like to think that Jeff and I are intelligent people, but early on a weekend morning, when it comes to swimming we seem incapable of learning from our mistakes. We have had a number of occasions where we have arrived at the “toddler pool” with all 3 kids in tow (no strollers to speak of) only to find that the pool is closed – for a swim meet, for lessons or other mysterious reasons. If the pool isn’t closed, I regularly forget to pack new diapers, bathing suits, towels, etc… Last week when we arrived, the toddler pool was closed (due to fouling), the wave pool was closed (reason unknown), and that left us with a small section of the main lap pool where we could swim around holding 1-2 kids in pretty cool water. Not so much fun. We learned from last week and called ahead, then checked in before unloading the kids. Everything looked good. I was very confident as we entered the family changeroom. Then it dawned on me - this week’s swimming challenge – I forgot to pack swim diapers. So we did the best we could…we kept their regular diapers on and put their bathing suits over them. This worked of course until the diapers absorbed so much water that they were busting at the seams and stretching their swimmers out of shape – I wish I had taken pictures of their poor bums – on the plus side, their bums were sooooo buoyant that they could easily glide along on flutterboards without assistance. Eventually, I felt so bad for each of them that I braved it and took their diapers off one at a time. They enjoyed the swim but even the chlorine was not enough to get rid of the Grumpies and Wyatt the Tyrant went down for an early nap…and that brings us to now…fingers crossed.

Back to basics…

Friday I smartened up. We met Lisa, Declan and Sean for some playtime at the adventure playground on Thomas Street. The kids loved it. You can tell things are going well if I have time to take loads of pics!













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Saturday, Jeff and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and we headed to Brighton beach. We had no expectations. Perhaps some feet in the ocean, a few sandcastles, a chance to check out the Brighton Beach Boathouses and then we would have a calm afternoon at home with the kids. And that is what we got, with a bunch of gorgeous pictures as a bonus! Don’t get me wrong – Wyatt is still being a complete bully tyrant, but with both of us around, we seem to be able to minimize the carnage… A very successful day.

Flying solo at Socatime Joeys.

Well, what was I saying about having no expectations, staying close to home, etc… Seems I should read my own blog and take my own advice. Tuesday evening saw me colouring with the kids – what was I colouring you ask??? I was scrawling a note to Jeff that read “Today was NOT a good parenting day!”. I needed him to know but didn’t know if I could verbalise these feelings in anything other than a guttural scream! Wyatt has taken to hitting (and not a gentle tap - a full fist blow, a sturdy whack with a solid obejct, or a sort of slap). What does he hit : anyone, everyone, anything, anytime. His newest catch phrases - “BAD MOMMY!” and “BAD GIRL MADDY (who, much to Wyatt's dismay - has decided to copy his hitting and she is very strong and has great aim!)”. I had a bad night of sleep on Tues., and by 7:15 Wyatt was up and being a tyrant. Jeff was worried about us and kindly decided to work from home. As a result the day was great. We went to the park, then the library, did some groceries and all of the kids had a glorious nap. I was hopeful that Wyatt might have shaken off the “Grumpies” but alas, they are taking up permanent residence and he terrorized the family for yet another night.

Thursday I foolishly decided to ignore my better instincts and carry through with my plan to enjoy trial sessions at Socatime Joeys. The session for Cooper and Maddy was from 9:30-10:15. Most of the kids had jerseys, shorts and socks from the program and were very eager to get going. Wyatt loved being the superstar (the class was for 1-2 year olds) and he behaved quite well for the duration. When Coach took out the bowling pins (called skittles here????), Maddy immediately started walking around eating them. Coach said “Line them up and encourage them to kick the skittles with the front of their shoes.” Perfect I thought, they can do this. But could I? I had between 3-6 little shoes flying at my face before I could even get 1 pin back in place for them to kick! Pins are flying everywhere, Wyatt is eyeing other kids pins…Next drill sees the arrival of the soccer balls.

Coach : “Line up 3 skittles and see if the kids can kick the soccer ball at the pins and knock them over”. Cool, except, my kids won’t stop kicking over the pins/skittles. I am only one person. I am seriously outnumbered. Coach keeps commenting on how well behaved they are. I then realize I am the one with the screwed up expectations of what soccer skills 20-month old kids should have. The session continues on, the kids seem happy enough but are getting restless by the end. There is free time between sessions (this is when I had the time to take the pics included here), the kids love this! The 3 of them racing down the gym, all kicking soccer balls in perfectly straight lines. A proud moment.

Then, Wyatt’s session is set to begin at 10:30. I think a snack may be enough to keep them all going and at first I think I may have succeeded. I have Cooper and Maddy sitting quietly on the bench eating, while I take Wyatt over to the group for some 1-on-1 time with me. That lasts 3 minutes. Then Maddy starts heading for the open door saying “Home”, Cooper starts emptying my bag onto the floor looking for more snack and Wyatt decides he is done and would prefer to lay under the bench and watch. When I threaten to go home, he says “Mom, I am coming.” in a very exasperated voice. Then he joins me for one kick, only to retreat under the bench once again. I accept defeat (not without some SERIOUS cursing and bad parenting moments) and graciously thank the coach and suggest that until my nanny comes I will only be doing one session of the 2, with all 3 kids if that is alright. He is wonderful. He agrees.

I then turn into the mother you see in horror movies (or at least in bad family sitcoms about dysfunctional parents). I literally throw the kids in the van (still cursing). They all fall asleep within minutes of being strapped in. When we arrive at home and I take Wyatt out he mutters “But mom, I was having so much fun at soccer…” then dozes off again. There is only 1 of me. I am outwitted and outnumbered.

I accept defeat (but not without SERIOUS cursing).

The Day After

Yeah. No.

Superboy Does Kinder!

As mentioned in a previous blog, I found a spot for Wyatt in a 3-yr Kinder program. The kinders here are not affiliated with the local schools but are often run in coordination with a childcare centre (daycare). It is most common for kids to be enrolled two 2-hr sessions a week but Wyatt's kinder is a 3-hr session Monday afternoons from 1:30-4:30. Those of you with young kids should see the immediate problem with this - that is NAP TIME! Not only would I be screwing up Wyatt's nap, but until Caty comes, I would also be screwing with Cooper and Maddy's naps as well...Oh, well - here goes nothing!

7 am - "Is is time to go to school yet?" - "No honey, school is after lunch time."
7:15 am - "Mom, can I have some lunch?" - "No honey, it is breakfast time. Then we will go to the park, then we will have lunch and then we will go to school."
8:30 am - "Is it after lunch yet mom?"
12 pm - "Wyatt, it is lunch time." - "Mom, first I need to pack my backpack for school." - "Wyatt, you don't need to pack trucks to go to school, there will be lots of toys at school." - "Then I will pack this container to put my new cars in." - "No, honey, you don't get to take the toys home." - "Mom, I need my cup for school, what else do I need then?"
12:25 - "Cooper and Maddy, I am going to my school. You can come to my school only today. This is my backpack. You don't get a backpack. Mom, can we go to my school yet? We need to take the van to my school. Or you can run there like you did yesterday (on a jog I took him by the school so he could see it)." - "Your school doesn't open until 1:30 but we will be getting in the stroller to walk to your school soon." - "You should run there Mom."
1:15 - Wyatt is almost asleep in the Chariot, Cooper is asleep and Maddy is ready to party!!! I arrive at the door to read a note that says - "We have one case of Hand Foot and Mouth Disease." I think about turning around before Wyatt wakes up then I hear - "Is this my school? Can we go in mom, please..." So in we go, fingers crossed.
1:30-2:00 - Kids come and ask Wyatt his name - "My name is Wyatt, Cooper is my little brother and Maddy is my little sister."
2:00-2:30 - Mom the control-freak teacher tries to keep Wyatt participating in the music session going on - Wyatt is like a kid in a candy shop, trying to locate all objects with wheels, either 2 or 3 dimensional in nature, he can't sit down, I threaten him with leaving and promise that he can play again after the session is over. After each song they sing, Wyatt claps and says quite loudly "Is that the end - am I done?" He is very happy once he gets a stamp on his hand from Dixie the music teacher.
2:30-4:00 - Wyatt plays with everything he can get his hands on. His attention span is -4 seconds. He loves this. The twins cope pretty well - other than half-chewing much of the fruit put out as a buffet and replacing it in the pile if they don't love it, Maddy eating the playdoh, Cooper painting another child and my own kids fighting with one another, I could almost leave them here as well if there were spots for them. I make loads of friends - seems I am quite popular with the 3-year old crowd. Kids making me playdoh coffees and pancakes and trying to force me to eat/drink them...Wyatt was a bit of a loner but since he desperately needed a nap, I think that was the best option for him.
4:05 - "Mom, I want to go to my school every Monday." - "Okay honey, we will come every Monday." - Whatever will I do when school holidays roll around...
4:08 - Wyatt is asleep in the Chariot.
4:20 - Maddy is asleep in the Chariot one block from home. I decide to walk to the supermarket to get some dinner and prolong their naps. Cooper is awake and stroking Wyatt's head as he sleeps. I wish I was Wyatt right now.
4:40 - I am caught at the train crossing which turns into a triple train crossing with the alarm sounding for a solid 5 minutes, Wyatt wakes up miserable. I curse train crossings.
4:45 - Home, 3 kids awake and wired. "Attention mothers - the witching hour this evening has been extended by 2 hours. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."




7:30 - Lights out for all kids.
9:00 - I start snoring on the couch. Sorry Jeff. Maybe tomorrow will be saner. Fingers crossed.

First week flying solo…

I survived. In fact, I had a pretty good week. I believe the key to enjoying looking after 3 toddlers is to expect the worst, have very few goals and stay pretty close to home. That being the case, I was able to enjoy the moment (also thanks to the book I am reading – grace a Kerri Lambert – Buddhism for Mothers) and appreciate the kids for all that they are and can be. A stubborn 3-yr old that has NO INTEREST in being potty trained and races to use whatever toy he sees any of his siblings show a glimmer of interest in. Next in level of difficulty to manage, is a very bossy, demanding, vocal, pushy, aggressive mini-me who is a bit of a hoarder (if she were a true bitch she would be the kind of dog to pee on EVERYTHING, marking it as their own). Last in line and always the one to settle with leftovers, is lovely little Pooper (yes, Maddy still calls him this) who is very laid back, he takes abuse with a smile on his face but when he cracks, he cracks. He becomes inconsolable and won’t even let you approach him in an effort to comfort or calm him. No idea where they get these traits from…

We made quite the impression on the neighbourhood though, the 3 kids piled on top of one another in the double chariot, quietly eating snack or sleeping on one another while we went to the local parks, library and even a few trips to the markets and grocery stores.

On Friday, I even got brave and took them to Target for some shopping and the boys got haircuts. Wyatt’s attempt at Australian Shag was more than I could bare and he is too cute with short hair – his eyes stand out and he reminds me of my younger brother Jeff at that age – cute and trouble for it! Cooper got his first cut. Sad to see his big loopy curly combover go, but it was time and he looks like a real little boy now.













Maddy was spared (or should I say, I was spared Maddy's reaction to a haircut). She wouldn’t do well with hair bits on her neck, the dryer blowing on her, or pretty much anyone coming close to her with scissors, a razor, etc…Luckily, she loves her hats (like her mom) which helps me camouflage her bad hair. Check out the hottest wheels in our house at the moment. On a good day they all take turns pushing each other around, in their "finer" moments, Wyatt uses this simple stroller as a weapon of mass destruction or crash test dummy vehicle.

The days are pretty good, but the witching hour is between 5-6 as they are tired of me, I of them, I am trying to prepare dinner with Cooper at my feet calling for “Noodles – Noodles”, just praying that Jeff is on his way home already...

Another lifesaver has been that I have started back on some kind of fitness regime. I started doing a workout tape and went for my first real jog in a while at 6am Tues. morning. After my jog on Tuesday, I met a mom who invited me to join a mother’s running group at a local park so I went out early Thursday morning and met 4 really nice women who have tons of kids between them and lots of advice on great programs in the area. As a result, I have signed Wyatt up for 3-yr kinder Monday afternoons and all of the kids are trying out a program called Socatime Joeys next Thursday morning.

Hope next week goes as well!