Fun and games

Mid-April already… how did that happen?

Now, here’s an idea for the world’s most difficult computer game: a true-to-life simulation of looking after a baby. The game must be played 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It comes with one hundred instruction manuals, all with slightly different rules. Just when you think you have a handle on things you are whisked to a new level and the state of play is nothing like you’ve ever experienced before. What you consider a brilliant move one day turns out to be a complete failure the next. You are permitted to hand the joystick over to someone else, however the effect of this on your score is hard to determine. The game is not ‘fun’ as such but the interface is so damn cute that the moment you start playing you are addicted. With over six billion people/ex-babies in the world surely I’m onto something here.

I now realise that women with young children talk about these children so much not because they want to be baby-obsessed bores, but because there is so little time left for anything else. For example since we’ve been back from Melbourne Romily’s sleep hasn’t been the best (let’s put it this way, I knew we were in trouble when I found myself thinking ‘last night wasn’t so bad, she only woke up three times…’) and so the majority of my day is spent planning and plotting and implementing methods that may help her get through the night and have good naps. The happenings of the wider world seem trivial by comparison.

What started as a ‘tales of our travels’ blog now looks like turning into a ‘lets look at the baby’ blog which was obviously not the intention at the outset. And while I find it fascinating that Romily can now roll over and seems to be displaying a preference for sweet potato over pear, I wonder if anyone else (well, aside from the other gals in my mothers’ group… and my mum) thinks this is an interesting topic of discussion. But it’s all I got, so here you go…

The Romily Tour: Melbourne February 2009

Standard question number one: so, how was she on the flight?

Standard answer: she was great… we were wrecks… but she was great!


I think my favourite moment was at the end of the ‘oh my god when will it ever end… I think time is moving backwards… dear god are we still just over the Indian ocean’ leg, otherwise known as the dubai to melbourne leg or what I prefer to call 16-hours in hell, when I turned to see all the other passengers waiting to disembark, each looking more tired, dishevelled and refugee-like than the next and there was little R bright eyed and bushy tailed, smiling and bouncing and looking like it was just the best day ever…ahh youth. I guess for a baby getting to sleep on one of their parents is the equivalent to a first class cabin.




Romily, like all babies, was born believing she is the centre of the universe. Being ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ over every day by scores of new people only consolidated this view. I don’t think she could have asked for more from a holiday. The sun was shining, B had a month off work and I got to sleep-in on occasion, so I don’t think we could have asked for more either.

Meet the Grandparents




and the GREAT-grandma



I've not come across warm weather before... but I think I like it!

Taking to Melbourne cafe culture like a native

The maternal line

Just chillin' with some family ...

...and friends