Dancing queen

Here's our little music lover Florence, busting some serious rug-cutting moves accompanied by her idols The Wiggles

This freelance life

I spent a few enjoyable days last week finally learning to embrace the extra time I have on my hands as I look for work, freelance and permanent. On Wednesday we  took Flo to Redleaf pool to meet up with Julia and Jo plus assorted children and parents. On Thursday, with both children occupied by school and daycare, I drove 90 minutes north from the city to Palm Beach Sydney's most northern and most exclusive suburb. I was there to research and update the online guide to the area for London-based uber magazine Monocle. I spent a few happy hours strolling the streets checking details on shops and restaurants before hitting the beach for some rays and then swimming my 20 laps in the ocean pool at the southern end of the beach. On Friday I spent most of my day at Scarlett's school co-ordinating the hot food lunch, a bbq the parents put on once a term to feed 300 kids hot dogs and chicken kebabs. It was great fun being in the school during lesson time and seeing what goes on. During a break in setting up, I sat in on a school assemply, perfect timing as it happened as Scarlett was the recipient of an award for getting 10 merits in one week. I'm not sure who was prouder, Scarlett or me.Finally, below is a video clip of Julia and her mother carol doing their famous doll wink. 

It's freakish at best.

Happy 2nd Birthday Flo!!

Our super-fruity, gorgeous, funny, popsicle Florence turned 2 today. Can it really be only 24 months since she came bursting into our lives? Here she is, funny as can be, shortly before being taken to the beach for the morning with her new bucket full of beach toys. After her lunchtime sleep godmothers George, Amelia and Melissa arrived bearing gifts. After a cake care of Daddy we sang Happy Birthday (amid emotional tears from Flo) and then hit the local bowling club with Martin and Godfather Drew for bad food and cheap wine for the grown ups. Lots and lots of fun. Happy Birthday sweetheart.

Backflips, babies and bicycles

What an active weekend. On Friday night I attended an acrobatics class for a story for the Herald. I was absolutely dreading it as the last time I put myself through some bizarre physical task - the trapeze - it was no more than an exercise in humiliation and defeat. In spite of the median age of the class being 14, I rocked. I did handstands, cartwheels, walkovers and round offs without any trouble at all and had an absolute blast. I didn't quite manage a backflip but had help from the instructor with two good handsprings. I left the class completely exhilarated and keen to do it again. On Saturday of course, I resembled  a 90-year-old lady as I limped about the place rubbing my sore muscles - my arms in particular were agony. After Scarlett's ballet class we went to see our old neighbours Rob and Freya whose baby girl Faren (I know, that's what I said) was born on Scarlett's birthday. The girls loved playing with this real life 'doll' as we toasted her good health. We spent Saturday night at a dinner party at Julia and Richard's house - fantastic food and company and lots of laughs - and we drove home through the city to see the throngs of party goers out celebrating Mardi Gras.

Last year Scarlett had a go at riding her bike without her training wheels with short-lived success. She had a blinding first run followed by  a massive crash which ended with a bloody nose, fat lip and a declaration that she wouldn't ride her bike again until she was 5. So yesterday morning we took the girls to the park  so Scarlett could have another go and Flo could try her new bike - got for $20 at a local garage sale on Saturday morning . It was a great success as after 10 minutes of stroppy 'I can't do it' behaviour, Scarlett finally mastered it and is now a fully fledged grown up bike riding girl. Flo did not have as much fun as even if her legs could reach the peddles, she wouldn't be strong enough to push them. Cue small crying episode.

Foam angels

Now that Dad and Alexandra have left us, the weather has changed but we're not allowed to tell them that . DAD AND ALEXANDRA - STOPPING READING NOW. It is glorious Autumn weather, cool mornings and evenings but long, warm sunny days. In fact I've have just filed my first freelance travel story and am about to head to the pool for my 20 lengths. Scarlett has had a few late arrivals in the present department this week.  A brilliant toy and book sent by Maria arrived in a huge box filled with foam shapes. Scarlett loved the gifts but there's no question the box and foam were a highlight too. Here are some pictures of the girls going mental with it.

Talking of going mental, for my second freelance commission, tonight I have to attend a backflip class  at a dance school run by a finalist from the tv show So You Think You Can Dance? and then have to write about it for the SMH. I don't think I can dance, I've never said I think I can dance, but there you are. I am prepared to be enveloped by the same deep humiliation and shame that I experienced after my trapeze class.

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Happy 5th birthday Scarlett

Scarlett's day began with  a pile of presents to open, something she was strangely casual about, preferring to take her time and wait until after her birthday breakfast of - her choice - Tiny Teddy biscuits and orange juice.  She got some great clothes, a snorkel and mask and fish to dive for at the bottom of the pool and a waterproof torch from her sister. 'Perfect,' said Scarlett ' for exploring underwater caves.' She's right, of course.  From 10 to midday we had a tea party for Scarlett and 4 of her little mates with Rob and I as the entertainment. Never has musical chairs been so politically played and you've have thought we were overseeing the Middle East peace process when it came to What's the time Mister Wolf.  We spent the afternoon having a teddy bears' picnic in the garden followed by a pizza and pasta dinner for 13 in nearby Haberfield . Scarlett had a brilliant day, and after we heard our friends Rob and Freya gave birth to a baby girl on the same day, Scarlett greeted that news by declaring it 

"the best present ever."

Farewells and au revoir

Thankfully, the last few days of Dad and Alexandra's visit were sunny. I know it's disappointing to have rubbish weather on a holiday but the dull weather meant they got to do a lot more than just lie on the beach. They mastered Sydney's tram and bus system, visited Paddy's market, Manly, went to the movies, checked out a new shopping mall, lunched at flying Fish and found time to sort out our garden which needed a good prune and helped create a new raised garden bed for our herbs and salad greens. And Dad got to visit his beloved Harry's Cafe de Wheels for a classic Tiger - pie, mash, peas and gravy - not once but twice. When the sun was out they fitted in visits to Balmoral beach, the harbour pools at Redleaf and Nielsen Park,  4 open air inner west pools and drinks on the deck of the pub at Watson's Bay. We farewelled them yesterday, the evening after a spectacular final dinner at Aria.  As they left the day before Scarlett's birthday, she was allowed to open presents from them a day early. We had an absolute ball having them here, the tv was never on, we ate together every night and then sat around talking and talking, recounting stories old and new. It's now just 16 weeks before we see them again in the UK. Huzzah.

Wet, wet, wet

While our neighbouring state of Victoria is being ravaged by bushfires and scorched by high temperatures, along Australia's east coast the weather has taken a dive. For a week now it has rained all day every day and the temperature has dropped down to around 20 degrees.  Any trip outside involves macs, brollies and determination. Inside we are going stir crazy. To attempt to alleviate some of Dad and Alexandra's disappointment that  they will not be returning to the Uk with a tan (not at this stage anyway), we have been trying to fill their calendar with events. On Friday we took them to lunch at Flying Fish, a great restaurant at the end of the wharf in Pyrmont. We dined royally on oysters, fresh fish, prawns and crab and a few glasses of wine, while boats sailed by the floor to ceiling windows. Morning tea at Martin and Drew's, while rain lashed the windows, filled Sunday morning and today I took them to the Chinese Friendship Garden near Chinatown, for fish feeding, lizard spotting, tea and dim sum. Suddenly the clouds parted, a strange gold orb shone in the sky, that took us some moments to recognise as the sun, and we raced home to rehang washing, put more washing on and for Dad to change into board shorts and sit in the garden in the sun.

Surprise!!!

Returning home from a walk with Florence on Tuesday morning, I found my Dad and Alexandra sitting in our family room. I COULD NOT believe it. I haven't seen them for  just over 2 years and they have never met Florence. It was absolutely brilliant to see them, a fantastically executed surprise by Rob - who made up some nonsense about a friend coming here on business from NZ, and they are here for all of February. They left Heathrow in thick snow and arrived in Sydney during the hottest number of days over 40 degrees since records began. Today it is 42 - yes, you read it right - 42 degrees. And guess what the forecast temperature for tomorrow is? Go on, guess. It's going to be 47 degrees. We have spent this morning at the pool and this afternoon we're off to a mate's place with a pool. Tomorrow it's the pool for us followed by a kid's party at another beach. God help us.

Happy endings and new beginnings

There has been a lot of change in our house this week with Scarlett starting school. The other big news is that I took redundancy from the Sydney Morning Herald after nearly 10 years. I absolutely loved working there, but I hadn't been happy with my new role since returning from maternity leave last February. I was promoted into a new job in November which  was then made redundant and things went downhill from there.  So it's out into the world again to see what's there. Most of old colleagues want me to freelance for their sections on the the herald and I've had interest from a couple of magazines already, so the future looks bright , even if it all feels  a bit scary. I am going to miss my brilliant friends at the paper but had a fantastic send off. My friend Nick gave a wonderful speech, as did two other colleagues Doug and Conrad. After cake and presents - an ipod thank you very much -  we went to the local pub for the night.
Just 24 hours later we got together with loads of my work friends again.  My journo mate John married  anaesthetist Martine on Sunday, but on Saturday we were all invited to the Clovelly bowling club for a bbq and to for all the bride and groom' s family and friends to meet once another. It's probably the most picturesque bowling club in the world, perched on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific.
On Sunday Rob and I left the girls for the afternoon and evening with our wonderful babysitter Julie and headed off to the adults only wedding at the Icebergs Dining Room and Bar in Bondi. The Icebergs is an institution in Sydney, with its ocean pools on the southern end of Bondi beach.  Again the location was spectacular with John and Martine making their vows with the waves crashing onto Bondi beach in the background.  After the most amazing, thoughtful, articulate and emotional speeches I have ever heard at a wedding, there were tears all round followed by much eating, drinking and dancing late into the night. Brilliant.

Scarlett starts school

Oh....my....God. Where did the time go? Scarlett started school today aged almost exactly 4 years and 11 months. I spent the morning fretting over her lunchbox contents (public schools in Australia don't do lunches), but she danced about happily in her massively over-sized school dress - that she loves, just as it is. Scarlett showed absolutely no signs of distress at all that she was about to enter a new school knowing only two other people (one not even in her year), neither of whom would be in her class. Am I bovvered? Not in the least. Me? I was in tears as soon as we arrived at the school, along with a swarm of other eager parents, grandparents and siblings. Rob managed a late pass to work so was there too, and Flo's godmother Amelia came long for welcome moral support. After assembling in the school hall, Scarlett was pleased as punch when her name was called and she paired up with a buddy from year 6 (Grace) who led her beaming from the hall without a single look back. Rob and I wept. What will we be like on her wedding day? We left it a few minutes before sneaking down to take a peak through her classroom window to find her already happily playing. The classroom is nothing like the primary school classroom of my (distant) youth. The teacher's desk is pushed off to one side, rather than being the centrepiece of the room, there's a play kitchen, bottles of paint and craft supplies everywhere, computers and a huge stuffed snake the kids sit on for books and when listening to teacher at group time. Her teacher is a young English woman, Miss Ward, who has only been in Australia for 18 months but loves it. "I never want to leave," she told me. "I used to teach in a school in the East End." Enough said. I went to work after dropping Florence off at daycare and looked at my watch repeatedly until 2pm when I had arranged to leave so I could pick Scarlett up on her first day. In my haste to make sure she didn't walk out from her classroom into a sea of strangers' faces, I was 30 minutes early. All the mums and dads gather under a lovely big shady fig tree to chat which is great, and I bumped into 3 women I knew. Scarlett emerged from the classroom with a grin, declaring school to be "Brilliant!" "Do you want to go back again tomorrow?," I asked cautiously. "Yes, please". Ice creams all round.