Well, it appears Theverymoodyhousehold likes to adventure! The weekend just finished comprised of many an adventure – the beach, the city, the Manly Aquarium, Taronga Zoo, ferry trips, late nights, sunrises, new baby cuddles (albeit briefly due to Little Mate’s desire to swim), friends, Oxfam Trailwaker, olympics and lots of love. 

We’re extremely lucky to regularly have access to family accommodation around Manly, and as a parent, I’ve loved nothing more than developing our own little rituals when we stay. The days we spend around Manly and surrounds are definitely memory makers for our family of four. I almost can’t wait for the boys to throw these memories out in a reminiscing conversation once they’re older. Buy then, that’s sort of wishing the time away, isn’t it? I’m acutely aware that this apartment will form many of their happy childhood memories. 

My childhood holidays feel like they were spent singing “we all live in a yellow submarine” hurtling down the Hume Highway to spend sneaky weekend trips with family in Albury or Melbourne/surrounds (in our hideous yellow van that backfired all. the. time). Of course these memories are ones that I remember fondly, particularly all the cousin play and the car games – it just feels like we were frequently making the long drive! 

It’s the tradition of the family holiday that I love, and have certainly carried on into my adult years – always making time to take a weekends away with family and/or friends. I certainly hope to impart this with the boys, especially when we have such a wonderful tradition building around the Manly stay.

The weekend trip was planned around the Sydney Oxfam Trailwalker event – Grimace volunteered to act as support crew for a dedicated team of four. The event aim is for teams of four to complete 100km (Brooklyn to Balgowlah) through some of sydney’s most rugged bushland, whilst raising money for the amazing work Oxfam Australia does. This event is an absolute favourite of Theverymoodyhousehold, and while neither Grimace or I have competed recently, Grimace is inspirational in his passion and drive to support these amazing people. As it turns out, Team Western Motorcycles team rocked it and completed the course in a stunning 9th place (19 hours). Amazing stuff – If you’re interested you can donate to their team here or you can get along to their upcoming Roxfam show on Sep 9 in Marrickville to support their fundraising efforts (they’re aiming to reach $7500, a mean effort in itself).

I love this event with all of my heart – the concept is brilliant as it not only challenges people physically, it achieves it in such a way that the comrade rare is remembered more than the hurt the track inflicts on you (okay, so it’s been 6 years since I completed the event! Time has obvs healed all wounds!!), while raising money for my favourite charity.  I will do the event again one day (is 2017 the year? Probably not, but I’m hoping to support Grimace and his quest to participate in his fourth event) and I know this years event has added inspiration and deepened my adoration for getting out in the bush…and I didn’t even get to any checkpoints. 

While Grimace was attending to the legends that area Colin, Britta, Ian and Adam on Friday, I adventured with Giggles Magoo and Little Mate at the beach for the day – with a few visitors, of course! What’s a memory if you can’t share it with those you cherish? 

Grimace returned to us in the very early hours if saturday morning. When Giggles Magoo was sick of watching olympics (and i was sick of telling him to stay away from daddy…he was excited to hear all about trailwalker) and Grimace had caught up with a few hours sleep, we made our way to the Manly Ferry (and searched for a delicious coffee). We were headed to the city to purchase an early father’s day present (the Osprey baby carrier). Little Mate thought the ferry trip was the best thing he’s ever been able to do – so many people to smile at, so many places to explore and so many boats to wave to. 

After the excitement that was the ferry trip, Little Mate passed out in the pram – so we hit the MCA cafe for a champagne (adults)/strawberry milkshake (Giggles Magoo) brunch and a geez at the beautiful area that is The Rocks/Circular Quay/Sydney Harbour Bridge/Opera House. Highly recommend the dumplings! 

After we’d made the Osprey purchase we climbed back aboard the ferry – bound for the Manly Aquarium…and an ice cream treat.  It was the best watching the kidlets guzzle the sugary goodness of sorbet and then run wild at the aquarium. Another great spot – plenty of fish, sharks, penguins, manta rays etc etc… and it’s small enough that it’s not overwhelming.  

After the aquarium outing we were looking for an early dinner – and after a week of day-care olympics, Giggles Magoo (who had competed for Japan…Javelin champion!)  put in a special request for Japanese. We sussed out one restaurant away from the hustle and bustle of the Manly  Corso, and dined on more delicious dumplings (and Ramen). 

We’d planned a trip to Taronga Zoo for the sunday – and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The cracking weather obviously helped, particularly with Sydney as the background… it certainly is an exciting place to be! Highlights for the fam bam were pthe snakes, giraffes, chimps, gorillas, lemurs, elephants, seal show and the sky safari back up the hill.

Two very happy and tired boys…come to think of it, four very tired and satisfied people come sunday evening. 

I wonder what adventures the next weekend will have in store? Xx 

Life can be such a funny thing. A wonderful, funny thing, but it always needs to be laughed at (And I mean laughed at in a good way, not in a bitter/degrading way). 

Just like that, the waves of normality are flooding through Theverymoodyhousehold. The normal amounts of love, tears, time and clothes washing have returned…and I couldn’t be happier. Over the weekend, I found time to just “be” with the boys one on one; I found time to wash enough clothes for all of China; I found enough time to spend with one of my closest humans (and her beautiful children…at the park); I found enough time to meal plan, shop and cook meals for the week; I found enough time to chat with my Deutch-sister and my northern-Australian sister and to find out how their last few months have traveled; I found enough time to spend with my dad and revel in the laughter he causes; best of all…we found space for another TheverymoodyhouseholdADVENTURE. 

Sydney’s weather has somewhat improved since my last post, and when the weatherman (ie. The Weatherzone App) told me Sunday was going to be glorious, Grimace and I agreed to take full advantage. We have both bemoaned our current fitness level (lack thereof rather), so hitting the trail seemed the best option… activity outside on a glorious springtime day, while spending time as a family unit = winning. 

We hit the road by 830am (since children, it’s unheard of in our household on a sunday to be up and out the door pre-midday. Just impossible for some reason), grabbed a coffee from Zac at Cassiopea in Springwood and headed up the Mountain for the classic Undercliff loop walk via The Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls. 

As a side note, You’ll all be pleased to read that I didn’t require a helicopter rescue with this walk. In fact, I didn’t even fall over! I took great delight in regaling the boys with my rescue/broken foot story from 2010 during a walk at the same location – for any of you yet to hear the story, I’ll save it for another time. Giggles Magoo has since interrogated me about why a helicopter was necessary, but I maintain its necessity. The highway patrol police officers that were despatched to carry me up the one billion stairs would also agree, I’m sure. 
Giggles Magoo wasn’t overly pleased about having to walk (his preference was to be carried – much like a king), which meant Little Mate happily sat in the carrier…anything to help set big brother off! Nonetheless, Giggles Magoo thoroughly enjoyed all 3 hours of the walk, only needing a shoulder ride up a small section of steps. 

I have distinct memories of bushwalking as a young child, and the happiness and freedom I felt being out in the wilderness; not much has changed…except my age and the walking buddies. You can imagine my satisfaction when both offspring also seem to revel in the outdoors. I read somewhere once that if you’re going to take kids walking, make sure they have a buddy of similar age – and while I agree, taking friends walking infinitely increases the distance a child can walk, (complaint free), we seem to be able to encourage Giggles Magoo to walk without too much influence.

While the walk isn’t particularly hard, it is set in a beautiful part of the world (that allows for more challenging extensions if you prefer) for a comfortable 3 hour walk (at kids pace). Our fitness levels definitely weren’t challenged, but our family dynamic hugely benefited the time. It is definitely our intention to keep bushwalking with the boys, building their tolerance to longer walks. I’m excited at the prospect of attempting The National Pass walk (one of my all-time faves to the base of Wentworth Falls and along the Jamison Valley floor) with the boys in the not too distant future, but then, here’s hoping I can actually complete the ascent, helicopter-free!

With spring in the air, the days are getting longer. Work life has been funneled back into balance (just where it should be) and I’m feeling more content as the hours pass. Xx 

After what feels like a chaotic first half of the year, Theverymoodyhousehold packed a bag, and migrated north for a glorious 5 days, lodging in the beautiful Springbrook National Park in the Gold Coast Hinterlands. I should clarify – when I say a bag, what I mean is approximately one thousand bags…travelling with kidlets means you must take the entire contents of your house, just in case.

With the only expectation of the time away being to reconnect as a family, our days were filled with unexpected adventures, time together and lots of cuddles.  Although the boys were still awake at the crack of dawn each day, we still had slow starts, not wanting to rush around. There was a lot of tea, toast and television (kidlets) and book reading in front of the fire (adults).

When we felt the need to find a coffee, we’d get moving for the day – on the first day however, we sadly discovered quality of coffee in Springbrook was incredibly average, so had to branch further a field, searching for THAT quality brew. Luckily, our friends in the local area introduced us to some superb cafés around Currumbin and Palm Beach. As such, we ended up heading down the mountain (45min drive) each day to make sure our holiday featured some delicious food and beverages.

Now, the weather up north was just perfection. Cool nights, followed by stunning days – the antithesis of the wet, grey and cold weather that is currently on offer. Think perfect, blue skies; warm sun, slight breeze and you’ll have us. Perfect holiday weather.

One of the bushwalks we completed was the Purling Brook round walk (4km-ish), right in the middle of Springbrook National Park. We hadn’t really planned a long walk, and as such only had limited supplies. Our initial thought had been to walk the easy 300m out to a lookout, but upon arrival at the lookout the stunning waterfall seduced us to see it’s base. Back in our days before children were on the scene, Grimace and I were lucky enough to get to Iguazu Falls in Argentina – seeing the water rush over the edge instantly reminded me of that holiday and the power that a waterfall can hold. Purling Brook waterfall was in no way similar to the size of Iguazu falls, but it was nice to be transported back to that moment in time, and the intensity of my astonishment at the sheer size of the naturally formed attraction; how insignificant our “busy” lives are in comparison to the trillions* of litres that are pushed over the edge of every single waterfall around the world, each second of the day. I am completely liberated by that concept, and standing at the bottom of the giant waterfall at Springbrook brought those feelings flooding back (see what i did there?!). I cherished the opportunity for reflection.

We were incredibly pleased we took the unplanned walk – Giggles Magoo walked over three of the four km’s and the scenery was breathtaking. It was beautifully satisfying to take on the challenge as a family and come through the other side with such lovely memories (and photos). I am determined to channel the experience and be open to more spontaneous activities when the moment allows.

A few other family outings included a visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (and the Friday night food markets conveniently right next door to the sanctuary…brilliant concept), spending time with beautiful friends and their family just taking in their relaxed vibes, beach/river/park play around Currumbin/Palm Beach and driving excursions through the countryside taking in the water and mountainous Vistas.

Our trip home turned into a “Jack and Jill” style trail- as it turns out, we were determined to leave something at each of our pitstops. From leaving the family’s entire toiletries bag at the accommodation we’d rented, to leaving a whole heap of items in the hire car, to nearly leaving a child on the plane as co-pilot (see pic below), culminating in the piėce de résistance…leaving Grimace’s work laptop at the airport security gate… of course everything has turned out for the best and what was possible to have returned has been (Giggles Magoo definitely disembarked the plane). Something tells me that we will attempt to find that trail back to the Gold Coast Hinterlands again soon.

Rconnecting as a family unit, learning new things about the boys (Little Mate and the onset of his gorgeous chit chat; Giggles Magoo and his growing self esteem), reintroducing myself to Grimace – all in a beautiful setting. I’d say it was a very beautiful, Moody hinterland xx 

 

* I have absolutely zero statistics or studies that prove this claim; who doesn’t love a gross exaggeration/made up stat.

Thursday.  

The fourth day of the week (we all know the first day of the week is Monday. Any of you “Sunday is the first day” kind of people can shhhhhhh). 

Things I love about Thursdays – it starts with T (obviously the best letter); the next day is Friday; the sense of anticipation around the fun times the weekend will offer; late night everything; my cook book session to meal plan; evening dance off’s with Giggles Magoo and Little Mate after days at work/care; house cleaning by our awesome cleaner (every second Thursday anyway). I could go on and on about how good Thursdays are, but you already know how good they are 😉.

Personally, it’s a favourite night of the week as Grimace and I attempt to relinquish as many adult responsibilities as possible to relax just a little and maybe take in something on the box. It doesn’t always work out, as you know -children. But, we do strive to make it happen. At the moment we’ve been consuming ABC iview to keep up to speed with Rake; or using Google Play to stream Vinyl (the Jagger/Scorsese/HBO series). I can definitely recommend both! 

I’d love to get a few recommendations from you on which series to watch. Or which books to read; I’m feeling a little liberated from the work responsibilities that have consumed me (could have to do with my early finish time today…it was the earliest I’ve had for a looong time) and I’m ready to reintegrate with society/the family. 
Anyway, Thursdays are the best. May yours bring you the same sense of relief. Mine is currently taking me to these two ❤😆

What does your Thursday entail? 

2016 has offered up a hectic pace thus far, and of course I’m loving it (mostly, anyway…when I ignore the exhaustion and look for the coffee). 

Coming home on the train this evening I’ve been thinking about a few very exciting events that are taking place during the second half of the year, just to help take the edge off current state of chaos. I’m thinking about a lot of things that will replace the current work vortex I appear to have disappeared into…

Live shows and upcoming tours that I’ll actually be able to get to (pending baby sitters, good health etc etc) including, but not limited to:  

-Violent Soho/The Bronx et al 

– I Love Life Festival

– Camp Cope

– The Frontbottoms 

– Tex Perkins and the Tennessee Four playing Johnny Cash songs on cockatoo island (!!!!!) 

(please comment with any Sydney shows for the back end of the year). Hello live music world! 

Theverymoodyhousehold takes on the Gold Coast July 2016 (more specifically, the hinterlands) and seeing some of my favourite people (I’m looking at you bionic man and The Krooked Spoon).

A very dear friend’s hens weekend away followed very closely by her wedding. It’s always wonderful celebrating the love people have for one another, their future and of course, doing it with their community. I do love a wedding, not to mention the champagne. I’ll have all the champagne, please. 

Reverting to part time at work – I might actually have time to do adult things, like washing, groceries, pay bills etc etc. Or maybe, read a book or learn how to write a blog **ahem. 

Footy finals (and the return of cricket season, in particular the T20). Come on swannies, looking good! (As an update since writing this post, the red and white lost by 5 points to the Hawks 😣)

The second birthday season (we all have friends and family that just seem to congregate their days of birth around the same few dates…April and November for us).

Spring/Summer and all the outdoor adventures and social activities come with the warmer weather.

The C word (Christmas…come on, you were all thinking it).

Playing with these cool cats:

With all this to look forward to, I think I’m sitting pretty xx 

It’s like another introduction… an expected escalation of work content and intensity has seen my brain completely close off any thoughts that resemble ‘normal’ way of life. And while it was anticipated, I had not anticipated the brain-fatigue I would experience. My hat goes off to those people who seemingly juggle full-time work-place roles, along with with the very happy and satisfied family. 

Our family is definitely still happy; and I suppose work is also a happy place…but, geez i have to tell you, I just don’t seem cut out to play mum, commuting-fulltime-employee, blog-writer, wife, friend/socialiser etc etc… and as I sit here and wait for Giggles Magoo to drift off so I can scoff another 9pm dinner, I’m thinking “well duh!!!!”. What moron thought the above combination was achievable?! Me, of course – and in normal scenarios, I probably go alright. But leaving home at 7am and not getting back home until around 9pm for days and days and days…well, that’s just enough to throw anybody out of balance. 

I’ve simply stopped writing my little entries; I’ve just not had the energy to entertain any delusions of a life outside of my employment/mum status. Don’t get me wrong, there have been moments (days even) that have resembled ‘normal function’ however as they are very scarce, every moment in these cherished days is spent reconnecting to my beautiful boys.

The saving grace is that this intensity of workload is for a relatively short time frame.  Hopefully by the end of the month of July, Theverymoodyhousehold will be back to normal working hours and my cognitive thoughts will be unlocked from this sad-excuse-for-a-writer and spill out onto paper/electronic device. 
In the meantime…I’ll keep drinking coffee for everyone. And I mean everyone

So I don’t know if I’m too different to the rest of functioning society, but I feel like I get an awful lot of song lyrics stuck on repeat. They go around and around in my mind, until sometimes I think I’ll burst if I don’t hear the song immediately. Can anybody else relate to this? Know what I’m talking about? (Please) Anyone?

I’ve blogged before about Frozen lyrics burning their mark on (or is it in) those neural pathways through my brain. Grimace and I usually share a joke about going insane to either of the following The Wiggles tunes: Apples and Bananas (I know this is a cover and not the original, but my mind INSISTS on singing it in Emma’s tone) or Do The Propeller. I’m intentionally not linking you to these songs…if you don’t know them, DO NOT SEEK THEM OUT. They will not leave you alone. There, I’ve warned you. 

If I’m lucky enough, I sometimes get songs I actually like stuck up in the old thinker… like this week.  I’ve been doing a little reminiscing about songs from my later teenage years after seeing The Living End a few weekends back.

One reminiscing session on Spotify led to another and I’ve eventually ended up listening to Melbourne’s fantastically pop-punk band The Spazzys (I wish these awesome gals recorded more). In particular, their song Paco Doesn’t Love Me.  Great catchy song, especially when all you can remember is “Paco doesn’t love me!” followed by my own lame imitation of the guitar riff. I saw The Spazzy’s once or twice, and was always a fan of their obviously-Ramones influenced pop-punk. I always had a good time listening to their music (live or just on lame CD). In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, Grimace and I saw them in the very early days of dates-ville. Anyway, here’s to 1990/2000’s pop punk for opening up my eyes, ears and heart to music!

Heading back to where all this reminiscing started, The Living End’s sold out show (Sat 11th June 2016, The Enmore Theatre) was brilliant – played all of their major songs since their Prisoner Of Society/Second Solution EP (to this day, still one of the best releases I own) plus some of the tracks from their new release Shift. So good to see a double-bass danced with like that!

Check out a few youtube clips from the show – Second Solution and Prisoner of Society. Credit to “Steve-O” for the videos.

I was blissfully rocking out, taking in the energetic set with some new and some long-time friends (take note, I didn’t use the term Old 《bruce, I’m looking at you》) when I had what I can only describe as a minor panic attack.  It wasn’t in any way shape or form an overly dramatic event – I was fine; if I didn’t say anything, no one would have known.  After acknowledging the anxiety and legitimatising/assessing the risk likelihood, I calmed down and was able to relax back into the show. (The panic that set in was all around thoughts of crazy people recreating scenes from the tragic events that occurred at Paris’ Bataclan).

As I’m not drinking booze at the moment (story for another blog. Stay tuned), I felt clear headed enough to discuss the feelings I had experienced after the show. I’m such a lucky gal to have people in my life who happily listened and chatted at the pub about why those feelings had surfaced…I’m sure most other people would have laughed at me! I mean, let’s be honest – I was doing a child/work free activity, why the hell were those anxieties coming to the fore?

It was an interesting experience to have, and one I hope not to replicate too much.  It probably indicates the changes my life has seen over the 4+ years, and the responsibilities that come with creating a family. I think the reminiscing from music/times passed, coupled with the general mother-anxiety about future success for the kidlets sent my mind in to overkill. It’s made one thing absolutely clear in my mind though…I would dearly love to share a love of live music with Giggles Magoo and Little Mate… hopefully Giggles Magoo’s proud attestation of “loving punk music too” and Little Mate’s bum dance to The Spazzys are steps in the right direction.

Happy Thursday xx

A dear friend celebrated his birthday over the weekend, and while I couldn’t be there to pass on my best wishes in person, I took great delight in listening to some music in his honour  (for reasons that will never be known or indeed questioned, both Giggles Magoo and Little Mate had a looong Saturday afternoon sleep, together no less. It was adorable overload).

So when I found myself in the middle of a gigantic child-free cook-off, I was delighted to crank the tunes (to that level whereby you feel rebellious, but not crossing that unknown line that would disturb the sleepy two) and dedicate them to the birthday friend and all those fun moments we have shared over the years.

More specifically, I was playing  The Waifs and reminiscing about my love of Australian music particularly from the late nineties through the early-thousands. The Waifs lead singer has just the right amount of Australian twang, telling stories that strike a chord with me now, and way back when I resembled my youth. Musically, they make my toes (and heart) dance.  Eventually Little Mate woke up and I found myself in mummy-heaven dancing around the living room with him. 

As life moves on, I am finding that I am unable to be close by for more and more of my loved ones celebrations (as we all know, life can never stay the same) so I’ve made the decision to celebrate my loved ones if the moment allows – eg. I purchased a beautiful bunch of flowers for my little sister’s birthday and displayed them proudly in my house (she is currently living the dream and slowly making her way around Australia with her fellow. Check out her blog or on Instagram here and here.  They are taking some photos that I have no doubt will be published one day). I was sure to let her know the beauties were in her honour.

We also purchased a few cupcakes and devoured then in dedication to my big bro and his birthday a few weeks back.  It’s really fun to do…and you don’t miss out on celebrating. I’m seriously questioning my FOMO.

But then, there are always the celebrations I am present for…like, my own dear mother’s 60th birthday celebrations.

Happy Birthday Mum! This lady is such an inspiration to me and I am forever thankful to witness her as a grandmother. I have these memories from growing up – rainy weekend afternoons spent pottering about with mum in the kitchen and the music cranked – I suppose my Saturday afternoon was in a way celebrating mum and those memories too.

Anyway, after a beautiful weekend with the fam-bam, it’s back to the working week… I’m still channeling that moment of bliss dancing around the living room with my little fella xx

The title of this blog post could be my current anthem for life (always said with a smile).

I’m really loving this blog outlet; being able to tell my story. But, I’m finding it really difficult to find space to write the words I want to. Please, if you could be patient with me, my life will open right back up after a certain date in July and I will bring Theverymoodyhousehold back to the fore.

Currently, my work days are filled with chaos and calamity; my home-day’s are filled with connection and chores. My “spare” time is filled with thoughts of calm in an attempt to build a bridge through the turbulence that is work…it just appears to be all consuming, and I’ve been caught out – I didn’t anticipate juggling a brilliant and exciting job with home/family/life being so hard. Just like writing these posts. What a naive thing to have done 😀

But don’t worry, I’m working on getting all aspects of me balanced so I can find the words.

Happy Friday xx