My baby Liam is just one month away from being ONE YEAR OLD! How exciting!

This month has been particularly fun, because both my big kids are at full-time school… so I get to hang out with my little baby all day.

It’s like having a first child again. Just me and a little kid who doesn’t talk back.

I’ll say things like: What shall we do today buddy? What about sleeping in a pram for 2 hours, while I catch up with some girlfriends in a cafe and then go shopping?

Oh, the glorious free time! Oh, the lovely long quiet mornings!

OK not really. The reality is that Liam sleeps 2 hours in the morning. And I do things like check my email and creep around the house trying to do the housework as quietly as possible.

Sometimes I might sit in the garden with a cup of tea and read a book. That part is pretty bliss.

This month, Liam has been a little sick. With teeth coming through and a chesty cough, he has been clinging onto my legs for most of his waking hours. For 3 days straight he cried to be picked up, cried to be fed, cried to be entertained. He was super-glued to my hip.

I get the impression that Liam is quite bored in the house – because, he stops whinging the moment I take him out.

It made me suddenly remember what I used to do when I was a first time mum – I went out every day!

I was busy with mother’s groups and play dates. I went to play gyms, music lessons, baby swim classes. I went out to the shops, the library, galleries, baby movie sessions. My schedule was fully booked!

And now? My schedule is also fully booked, but with work and chores!

I recalled that list someone wrote about how things change after each baby:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.

2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

(I wrote it all out here…)

Argh. It’s so tragic, but it’s so true. I hang my head in shame.

Anyway, this week I’m lifting my game and scheduling a lot more fun baby stuff for us.

On the development front… Liam can take 4 steps.

He does lots of clapping, waving bye, shaking his head, trying to repeat words we say, and trying very hard to walk.

Ah, won’t be long before he’s riding a bike!

One of the great things about being a parent is that you have all kinds of experiences you could never, ever have imagined. And here is my most recent one.

My son Liam very often does a poo while he is eating.

About half way through me shoveling food into his mouth, he will suddenly stop chewing, get a “far-away” look on his face, and then be overcome with intense concentration for a few seconds.

Then, when the “poo moment” has passed, he will look at me as if he is saying…”Well, I’ve done my bit… aren’t you going to clean it up, so I can get on with my lunch?”

And then he won’t eat a damn thing till I change his nappy. It has become part of our daily routine together.

But recently, he tricked me.

As usual, I took him to his room, lay him down, took off his nappy… but this time, I discovered that he was still doing the poo. It was just starting to come out.

Now obviously, as a mother, you get to see lots of baby poo. You get used to it.

And I have three kids, so I have certainly seen my share.

But even I have never had the experience of having to actually watch poo come out of another person’s bottom.

I’ll spare you the exact details, but it was a lot like watching brown toothpaste being slowly squeezed out of a pink toothpaste tube.

Wow!

And when it was finished, it was coiled up in the nappy like a fat little snake.

Just another memorable moment in motherhood!

Here is a really nice picture of some flowers in my garden, to make you feel better!

Sometimes I get so darn sentimental.

My oldest boy is moving up yet another shoe size.

I thought the image of the two boots would look cute. And as I crouched over them in my backyard, I was struck by the power of the image.

Time is moving on. New things will be old. Journeys will be travelled. New memories will be created. Life will be lived – no matter what.

And they’re just a couple of old boots.

Liam is 9 months and has 4 teeth. They have gown out of correct order, and it just looks so cute when he smiles. He looks like a drunken sailor with his teeth smashed out.

Over the space of a month, Liam’s development has EXPLODED and progressed at lightning speed.

It’s so scary. It’s like watching all the home video of our FIRST child – in fast forward! Eating solids! Picking up food! Crawling! Cruising!

Argh! Someone slow it down! It’s going too fast!

Liam used to crawl like a slow creeping lizard. He would pause and carefully examine the seam of the curtain, or the edge of a cardboard box.

Now he’s bolting around the house on all fours, like a little BULLDOG, getting into the toilet, the bathroom and all the rooms of our house. He even goes out the front door if we leave it unlatched!

But the weirdest thing is – he can now stand up by himself for 15 seconds, straight off the floor, without holding onto anything. He just goes from his “doing-a-poo” squat to standing straight up.

I’m completely horrified. He looks much too young to be balancing. It looks demonic – as if his head might spin around and around and he’ll say “I’m watching yoooouuu” in a deepy, raspy voice.

Fortunately, all he does is realise that he doesn’t know what to do next, so he just smiles stupidly, and then sits back down on his big nappy-bum. Then he runs away on all fours like a never-ending wind-up toy that just keeps going and going and going and going.

A few weeks ago, Liam first pulled himself up onto some furniture. What happened to the quiet, placid baby I had a month ago??

He used to be happy to be plonked into a room full of baby toys, but now he just wants to be where his older brothers are. And he’s not happy to just sit and watch. He wants to join in. He’ll get right into the action, grabbing his brother’s toys or messing up their pencils. Or he will scramble over to the TV, grab the Wii Remote Controller, and wave it around at the screen – obviously copying his big brothers!

It’s made me a little sad to see Liam bypass all the BABY BOY TOYS (think Thomas the Tank Engine) and go straight for the Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtle toys.

Under the worrying influence of older brothers, my last, iddy-biddy baby is growing up so much faster than the other two!!

OK. We don’t really have cleaners. And if we did, it would be such a shame, because I really love stumbling across weird “remnants of play” left by my kids.

This is me approaching my son’s bed. I was actually looking for my slippers, which I left by his bed, when I said good night to him the night before. Looks pretty normal, right?

But when I looked under the bed…

…toys were strewn everywhere, dust balls were collecting in the spider webs, and the fridge magnets were arranged in the words: “cubBy hoUse”, on the steel bed frame.

It reminds me that my kids live in a different world of imagination than I do. And I love to be reminded of that.

It’s gold I tell you.

I’m definitely past wearing maternity clothes, but I’m still breastfeeding, so I’m still on the lookout for nice nursing clothes.

I found this great online shop for mothers and expecting mothers, Queenbee.com.au.

They have SO much good stuff. They have the biggest online range of STYLISH maternity clothes in Australia that I’ve seen, but they also ship anywhere in the world.

I picked out a few items to try!

A lovely nursing top, in a smock style and a gorgeous nude colour. I love the fact that it can be worn as a regular top too.

I’m wearing size 8 skinny maternity jeans!

I was super curious to know whether you can fit maternity jeans when you don’t actually have a bump – the answer is YES! They fit surprising well. I really like the stretchy band at the top of maternity jeans… I wish regular jeans were like that.

The QueenBee website sorts out all the pregnancy basics and best buys, and their range is HUGE with maternity essentials, tops, dresses, skirts, jeans, pants, work wear, sleepwear, lingerie etc.

As I look back over my three pregnancies, my advice is to invest in some good clothes that will last!

The online shop also offer gorgeous gifts, nappy bags, travel accessories and a great range of carriers and gift ideas.

You must take a peek at these Petite Change Mat Clutches in vintage floral designs!

For all you mothers and expectant mothers, enjoy!

…

Check out more of my favourite online shops in my Online Fashion Shopping Directory.

I have a confession.

Two weeks before Christmas, I was getting very, very tense.

Liam had grown teeth, and breast feeding had become quite a chore. I was also anticipating family-in-law coming to stay, kids being on holiday, and all the other dreadful routine-destroying carry-on that comes with the festive season.

Both my older boys were becoming more and more rebellious, and treating me like a junior house maid. My husband seemed to be more distant, impatient, and less helpful around the house. In fact, I was pretty sure he was planning to leave me.

I knew this because every time he asked me if everything was alright, or if he could do anything to help, I could just tell he was purposely pushing my buttons and just trying to start a fight and I would blow up at him.

Then, one day as I was folding a towering mountain of laundry, and contemplating life as a single mother of two ungrateful aliens and a nipple chomping toddler, all of whom look a lot like the man that my mother warned me not to marry…

BAM!

I burst into sobs with a “OH MY GOD NOTHING IS GOING RIGHT IN MY LIFE! I’VE BEEN WORKING SO HARD AND I JUST FEEL LIKE SHIT! I CAN’T SEEM TO DO ANYTHING RIGHT! WHAT’S THE POINT TO ALL THIS? WHAT’S WRONG WITH MEEEEE? AAAAAAARRGHHH!!”

As I blew my nose into a towel from the laundry basket, a little voice inside my brain said, “Oh hey, we haven’t seen you around here in a while!”

Insecure, psychopath, moody, angry Karen! Welcome back!

The next morning, I discovered that my body had resumed it’s normal monthly routine. Everything was working just fine. I was so relieved!

I wasn’t going mad! It was just the temporary madness of PMS!

8 months have passed since I gave birth and I’ve enjoyed a great ride of non-stop, cruisey, happy hormones. After so long without a cycle, I was completely unprepared for the return of the PMS rollercoaster ride.

But little Liam’s teeth are a sure sign that my life, like his, is moving on again to a new phase.

And I’m okay with that!

I am now armed with emergency chocolate, and listening to boy band music from the early nineties.

Flowers from hubby. Some expensive chocolate. And a foot rub. He knew all along, and he was just waiting for me to settle into my new cycles. God, I love him so much.

Little Liam continues to thrive. He has reached the stage where he can easily pick up something as small as a mushy pea, and put it directly into his mouth. So of course, now he puts everything that he finds into his mouth to see if it is food or not.

Last week, I plonked him on the beach, which happened to be covered with lots of different varieties of seaweed.

The poor little guy! He was so confused by all the green and red vegetable-looking seaweeds. He chewed them for a long time, sand and all, bemused by the textures and flavours of the seaweeds. And I think he swallowed one of them, which is not actually recommended in any good parenting guide I have read.

I just keep reminding myself that it’s all good experience for him, and it must be doing his immune system wonders!

Since we had baby Liam nine months ago, we have been observing some pretty major change in the behaviour of our other children…especially Sean, our second boy, who is 4.5 years old.

He has become aggressive, ridiculously and recklessly noisy, unthinking, deliberately provocative, and shouts “No!” to everything – except offers of chocolate.

He was grumpy as an old man, until he found out why his bike wouldn’t go anymore. Then he thought it was hilarious!

His first ever word was “NO!”… so it is not really a surprise that when he discovered that he was no longer the baby in our family his reaction was… anger. At first, he thought he was getting promoted when he discovered that he was going to be a big brother: and that is certainly how we sold it to him before Liam was born.

But Sean has discovered the truth. Every boy in the family (including my husband), has actually been DE-moted one place so I can pour my attention on Liam.

But my husband is a big boy, and he wanted a third child as much as I did.

Callum who is 6.5 years old, is bitter. But he has had the experience before, of course, when Sean came along.

But for Sean, it is all new. At least Callum still has the unmovable status of first-born child and biggest brother, whatever happens. And Liam will now always be the baby in the family. But Sean has gone from being the protected baby to… well… nobody in particular. He is just – in the middle.

A few seconds after these pictures, he waved his hand and knocked the cup on the floor, and it broke!!

When Sean is alone with Mum or Dad, or at school, he is a co-operative joy to be with. Playful, witty, funny, sharing, considerate clown. But when he is around Callum, he fights, bites, spits, taunts and teases until Callum explodes in tears, and Sean ends up in his room, which he trashes. He is pretty good at slamming the door!

So, this is what the parenting books are talking about when they say “Middle Child Syndrome”.

I worry and worry what he will turn out like as an adult.

And then I realise that…both my husband and I are “middle children”.

Ahh! So that’s why hubby is so stubborn!

And maybe that is why he always says I am also so stubborn?

My husband has been teaching the boys how to fix up old bikes, as good father-son time. Changing tyres, swapping the seat from one bike to another, new brake pads. But the boys quickly got bored of mere maintenance.

So my husband decided to try and re-engage them with the promise of building a “funny bike”. My 6 yo, Callum decided he wanted a bike with a HUGE front wheel, and a tiny little back wheel. NO PROBLEM, said my husband, with no real idea of how this could be done.

They started dragging home old bikes of every imaginable size and variety from rubbish piles, as a supply of parts. Callum loved  hunting and collecting for parts with his Dad! The collection grew over several weeks to twenty or so bikes, which were piled together in a jumble of snagged spokes and pedals next to the washing line. Pretty soon, the spiders moved in. Great.

Work began on the funny bike, and when it became obvious that it wouldn’t actually work  (because the front wheel interfered with the pedals and it would tip over backwards) it was renamed a “prototype”.

The boys were unimpressed, but hubby was undefeated. More bike gathering. A new project was started. And after several weekends of bolting, grinding, and some very bad language…..TADA!

The funny bike lives!

There are parts from at least five different bikes in there. Callum rode it proudly in the park one day. People gawked, other kids went COOL!, and Callum was very, very happy. Hubby was even happier. I could feel his do-it-yourself pride glowing quietly.

But Callum hasn’t ridden the funny bike since – it is too heavy for him to ride as an everyday bike.  So the funny bike stands idly against the fence, with an uncertain future.

My husband is not concerned though. He says –  “It’s the journey, not the destination.”

And I realise he is right. They did it together, and that’s what counts.

Warning! This post contains a lot of discussion about baby nappies!

My baby is 8 months old and I have been using 50% cloth diapers and 50% disposable nappies since his birth. I find it very simple, good for the earth and I save a lot of money.

I’ve been using one particular brand of cloth diapers, Bumwear, which I adore. But many people have asked me about other popular diaper brands – which I have never tried, so I couldn’t really give an opinion.

I received an email from Mummy Knows Best, an online shop specializing in a wide range of cloth diapers and other eco-friendly baby products. I decided to try two very popular US brands that they stock.

I wanted to try them each for a good 4 weeks to make sure that I could give a good comparison. However, I discovered that I couldn’t really compare them… because they fill different needs.

Happy Heinys – One Size Diaper Review

The theory of the One Sized Diaper is that you can buy many of these ONE SIZE diapers, and use them from birth to 3 years (or more). These diapers can fold and button up in a special way that makes them fit a teeny tiny baby, as well as a big tumbling toddler.

When I first opened one up, I was immediately irritated by the number of buttons! Gah. As if I have time to fasten all those buttons and work out which goes where. Altogether you have to fasten 11 buttons, when putting it on your baby.

But as I figured out how it worked, I was actually very impressed.

The fit was superb – snug and compact around my baby’s bum. And when it was under his clothes, it wasn’t bulky at all. I really, really liked this design!

You can get the One Size Diapers with Velcro straps. But my preference is a diaper with Buttons Snaps (pictured). I have read some comments in a few forums, and it seems that diapers with Button Snaps last longer, but Velcro gives a better fit, especially before and after feeds, when your baby’s tummy has expanded to a size between the button holes!

The monkey and teddy bear prints are very cute too.

Check out the range of Happy Heinys One Sized Diaper at the Mummy Knows Best Shop.

Fuzzi Bunz – Perfect Sized Cloth Diaper Review

Fuzzi Bunz also have a One Size Diaper, but I haven’t tested it out yet. Instead, I tried these Perfect Sized Diapers.

How they work is that they come in Small, Medium and Large sizes.

I suspect that they are only “perfect” once you know the size of your baby – which involves measuring your baby’s thigh size, bum size, bum rise, and categorising your baby as a “medium build” or “average”. So immediately it sounded like there was a lot hassle involved in finding the “perfect fit”.

But really, babies start off small. They get bigger. And bigger. Until they are borrowing your car keys on the weekend.

So why would you buy 8 smalls, 8 mediums and 8 large sizes? When you could just buy 24 One Size Diapers? The answer is FIT.

Your baby might have unusually large sumo thighs? Or have a short body? Or narrow hips? So a One Size Diaper might not be a good fit – which is pretty bad if you go out and buy 24 of them and they ALL don’t fit!

In terms of FIT – They are nice and snug, not-bulky, not tight around the thighs, but unfortunately I ordered 2 MEDIUM diapers, and they were a little big for my baby (they came up above his belly button and half way up his back).

But there are only 4 BUTTONS on these diapers, so they are really quick, simple, no-fuss diapers. Also, it’s MUCH easier to insert the padding into these diapers.

I conclude that these diapers will be better for bigger and older babies, who don’t stay still, and wriggle around a lot – they are so much faster to button up!

Check out the range of Fuzzi Bunz Perfect Sized Diapers at Mummy Knows Best Shop.

Conclusion
In the end, you really need to own 18 – 24 cloth diapers to make them worth using. I really like the fact that I now have a mix of diaper brands, with slightly different cuts and fits. There are none that I dislike. I like them all for different reasons.

My advice is to buy 2 of each, use them for a while and then choose which fits your baby best!

Yes but what will I be doing?
I think I will buy 4 more Happy Heinys One Size Diapers to add to my collection (because my baby is still small). But when he turns 2, I’ll re-visit some larger sizes and buy some Fuzzi Bunz Perfect Sized Diapers.

NEW – Rump.a.rooz Diapers

The shop informed me that in January, they will start to sell new Rump.a.rooz Diapers, in some very, very cute designs – available for pre-order right now. Can’t wait to test them out too!

Mummy Knows Best also stocks cloth diapers, reusable cloth menstrual pads, designer maternity wear, breastfeeding accessories, organic prenatal tea, nursing tea, organic natural remedies, eco-friendly green toys and 100% natural household products.

I was prancing around in my backyard on a Sunday afternoon, taking photos of my tomatoes, as you do.

When I walked past our lounge room window and saw my little baby sitting up and watching me.

He was just sitting quietly with his eyes locked on to me. He had the biggest smile on his face, and he chuckled at me with big happy eyes.

His gaze! His expression! He is only 8 months old, but his eyes said everything – he was looking at the happiest and most wonderful thing in his whole entire life. Me?

Omg, it was just magic.

I was seriously a moment away from breaking into tears on the other side of that window.

Thank goodness I had my camera to capture the moment.

My little baby Liam is 8 months old. Within a week, he went from commando crawling, to a little hand-foot shuffle, to crawling on all fours. He is creeping along like a little lizard, happily exploring every nook and cranny of our house.

So it is now time to make the house BABY PROOF.

We have set up a play pen around our TV and electronics corner. Put away books, games and DVDs. Fitted kid-safe door locks on cupboards.

I have painstakingly picked out and packed away every single small-sized object and toy that could fit into a baby’s mouth.

Everything that is precious or breakable has been placed on higher shelves. Pot plants have been moved outside.

I guess it’s not such a big shock to me. I’ve already done this vertical migration twice. But it’s just funny to notice how our surroundings and living habits have changed over the years, as kids grow up.

Another big milestone for Liam is his eating. Ever since I introduced him to lumpy, chunky food, he has not looked back. He retches at pureed foods now.

If he eats a spoon of pumpkin puree, the next spoonful I offer him, he will actually look at what is on the spoon, and then decides whether to keep his mouth shut and turn his head away.

Sometimes I’ll try to trick him by putting a pea on top of the pumpkin puree, but he works it out pretty fast. I don’t remember my other two kids learning this quickly. And I don’t remember enjoying the humour of baby-feeding-time so much.

I think most of my pleasure comes from me being very relaxed about what he eats. It’s all very experimental and spontaneous.

He basically eats what we eat for dinner, just chopped up into tiny bits.

If I cook pasta for dinner, I’ll cut some up and spread it out on his high-chair tray. I might add some cooked peas, cooked cubes of potato, carrots, broccoli and grated cheese.

It all just sits on his table in one huge mess, and he will happily pick it all up piece by piece and pop them into his mouth.

It really is such a cute age!

That’s right! It’s that time of the year where I dress my children up and bribe them with chocolates in order to take The Dreaded Christmas Photo.

It’s my fault really. I like to make photo calendars and framed photos for the grandparents and great-grandparents for Christmas.

Anyway, taking photos of children is so bloody hard. I seriously don’t know how professionals do it.

My kids are like squirrels with rockets up their bottoms. They can’t sit still!

They wriggle and jiggle, they poke their tongues out, they make googly eyes, they open their mouths so I can see their tonsils, grin so hard that I see all their gums, they stick fingers up their noses, scrunch up their faces, bring their knees up, twist their legs around their necks… GAH!

So this was the best one of the lot. Turned out ok.

I also avoided dressing them up in red and green Christmas colour theme. Instead I bought cool t-shirts from Threadless, when they were having a sale. I bought 5 tees for $9 each! I’m sure they’ll have another sale closer to Christmas, so check them out!

I said, “Are you sure it’s God?”

“Yes! He holds a walking stick. And he’s like, surrounded by green stuff. Didn’t you know?”

“I think he looks more like Noah? Doesn’t God usually have a white beard?”

“Neh. That’s Santa.”

…

Apart from making me realise that I need to teach my kids that God is not just an old guy with a beard,  this conversation reminded me of all the other hilarious things my boys have said + done. I did a quick search on my site and these are some goodies:

Hey Dude Wants Some Pizza?

The One About The Spray Bottle

Callum and Calamari

Parents Can Never Be Cool

Callum And His Scary Photographic Memory

Sean and a Stethoscope

Sean and His Imaginary Friend

I can’t decide which of my children entertains me the most.

My 8 month old, Liam, sits up like a cute little chicken and crawls like a caterpillar.

He’s a real observer and likes examining things, be it patterns on a dress or the texture of a dried up leaf. He’ll also chase a slater bug across the kitchen floor, catch it in his hands and look at it very closely – WITHOUT PUTTING IT IN HIS MOUTH!

My 4.5 year old, Sean, has begun his career as a professional comedian. He jokes around all the time. He loves silly word play, daggy puns, slapstick humour and just hams it up for any keen audience.

When the boys play “pretend” sword fighting, he likes to get “stabbed” so that he can perform a 5-minute dying sequence full of sound effects, eye-rolling and body twitching.

My 6.5 year old, Callum, is the brainy, quirky one. He’s sharp as a tack and he’s full of in-depth conversations and questions about Star Wars.

He loves all his subjects, but most of all sports. Every evening, we play a bit of tennis, soccer, basketball, or bike riding in the park – trying to keep up with him is tiring, but I love it!

As much as they are wearing me out and driving me crazy, I’m really enjoying my kids at the moment.

I have had lots of people asking me what kind of foods I feed my 7 month old baby. At the moment, it’s been very simple. Pureed vegetables and rice.

I’ve forgotten the strange pleasure of turning lumps of hard vegetables into velvety, soft, creamy mush, then filling up freezer bags of colourful ice cubes.

And at the risk of sounding like a complete nerd, I just have to say – vegetable colours are so beautiful.

So without further ado, I hereby introduce you to baby food porn and all its pureed goodness!

This is raw pumpkin, chopped, ready for steaming and pureeing.

Pureed pumpkin. I find it hilarious that it looks the same coming out of the baby, as it does going in.

Ok move along, don’t look and think about it for too long.

Chopped carrots. Just check out the colour of the orange!

Broccoli, green beans and mushy white rice. Doesn’t the deep green just scream CALCIUM!

I slop all the goop into ice cube trays. When it’s all frozen, I transfer them into labelled freezer bags.

Then before feeding time, I defrost various combinations of green mush and orange mush, or mix it with mashed banana, apple puree or pear puree.

When I make apple and pear puree, it always turns out too tart, or just funny tasting. So I buy ready-made fruit purees and mix it with my own vegetable mixes.

I’ve been making baby food by the truck load these last few days. Liam is soooo hungry!

I’m sure there’s a growth spurt on the way. Or maybe just a very big pumkin coloured poo.

My mother used to tell me stories about “when she was a child”.

She grew up in a family of 10 children, and never had any money for toys. She and her sisters used to play with “dolls” which were actually sticks wrapped up in scraps of cloth. They used to collect bottle tops, glass jars, marbles, wood, broken furniture, and other bits of rubbish by the side of the road, and turn them into toys and games.

Of course, I re-tell my children these same stories.

I inflict them with the WOODEN STICK DOLL STORY, whenever my children whinge “Muuuuum I’m boooooored!”

Then there’s the story of when grandpa was a kid. Did you know he had to walk for MILES in the snow… in shoes that were too small for his feet… and he had to cut off the front of the shoe to make room for his toes!

Or the one where grandma’s family had 12 PEOPLE LIVING IN ONE SMALL HOUSE the size of our garage!

Then of course, I just had to throw my own stories into the mix, just so that they have ample ammunition for THEIR OWN CHILDREN in the future.

“Did you know my sister and I never played computer games. We’d spend all day climbing trees and swinging on vines in the jungle behind our house. We would make secret hideouts. And we would even draw on rocks and sticks and turn them into play things.”

So the other day, what do you know… I stumbled across my children playing with these rock cars.

During the school holidays, I decided to embrace the fact that I was now a mother of three kids. I was possessed by SUPER KAREN, brought on by my own boredom and a need to get out of the house.

So what did I do? I brought all my children out on a day trip, BY MYSELF.

You see, usually when I take all the kids out for a special outing, I am never by myself. Either my husband, my mother, or friends are with me.

Sure, I have taken ALL THREE KIDS out to the shops, library, or park by myself. But these are all places they are familiar with. They know how to behave in a shopping centre or a park. And I know exactly what to prepare for.

But how will they behave while walking along a crowded jetty? What will they do when they see open windows on a moving ferry? How will I get them to cross a busy city road inside a swarm of people? And how will I be able to find a public toilet in the city at 2 minutes notice?

Well I guess I was going to find out!

We caught a ferry into the city. It was the first time my kids have been on a boat travelling over a large body of water.

And oh look, there was only ONE OF ME there. If the ferry were to sink, I’d have to save ALL THREE KIDS by myself!

I took mental note of the positions of the lifejackets and quickest exit points. I worked out that I would have to grab one kid under each arm, and throw the other a life-ring that I would tie to my waist….

Thankfully the trip only took 7 minutes, the ferry did not sink, and I was saved from my own *insane, extreme and imaginary scenarios of disaster* that inflict mothers worldwide. Or is it just me?

At one point during our walk, I plonked my baby under the pram for a rest and stretch, because I couldn’t find a spot of shade. All was ok, until he rolled over and started to lick the wheels. I looked down at him and thought, oh well… I’m sure a bit of grit will be good for his digestion.

We walked around all day, sight-seeing and exploring. We sat in the Supreme Court Gardens, ate lunch and enjoyed the sunshine.

My kids behaved like perfect angels for the whole day. I had a brilliant day. I was completely NOT STRESSED. I was beaming with a relaxed glow. I could feel my bones soften, and my heart rate plod along at what I like to call, Ice Cream Speed.

Chips for lunch? Sure. Ice cream? Go for it. Whatever. Enjoy.

While I praised the kids for their wonderful behaviour, I made sure I didn’t over do it. Good behaviour should be a norm, not a special event.

But I must admit, I teased them a bit – Hey! Aren’t you going to nag me about who’s going to hold the ferry ticket? I haven’t heard any fighting! Give me some fighting! Argue about who’s standing closest to the pram right now! Give me a tantrum about the wrong ice cream flavour! C’mon, let’s hear some whinging!

My kids rolled their eyes at me, and said in a mock sensible tone, “Excuse me mum, but we’re going to have a good day today if you don’t mind.”

Gotta love em.

When I was a kid, I absolutely LOVED the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

For me, reliving my own childhood pleasures with my children, is one of the best parts of parenting.

So a few weeks ago, I borrowed the book from the library.

It was the 40th Anniversary Edition of the story, in large, hard cover format size.

I sat on the couch, with my two boys snuggled next to me, the book was spread across my knees and I launched myself back into the zany and delicious imaginary world of Roald Dahl.

Rainbow drops, suck them and you can spit in six different colours!
Candy-coated pencils for sucking!
Cows that give chocolate milk!
Eatable marshmallow pillows!
Fizzy lemonade swimming pools!
Hot ice creams for cold days!
Invisible chocolate bars for eating in class!
Lickable wallpaper for nursery walls!
Luminous lollies for eating in bed at night!
Magic hand-fudge, when you hold it in your hand, you taste it in your mouth!
Mint jujubes for the boy next door, they’ll give him green teeth for a month!
Strawberry juice water pistols!
Wriggle-sweets that wriggle delightfully in your tummy after swallowing!

My boys were bowled over with awe. I could see their minds exploding with wonder and excitement. They absolutely loved the story, and I had a great time reading it to them.

I guess it certainly made my list of eternal classic for kids.