Lockdown 2.0, Days 103 & 104

 The last 2 days have been very busy which I didn't really expect - I'm feeling happy and very tired.

Even though we are allowed to travel a little further now and see more people, I wasn't keen on rushing out on the first day, I figured it would be crazy out there with everyone going new places. But then I though about Mum and Dad having been alone so long, and it felt important to see them as soon as possible. I spent the morning doing housework and photo work and proofreading, and had a Telehealth gynaecology appointment as follow up to my hospital trip a few months ago. We decided the best course of action from here was to book me in for a hysteroscopy and a D&C. I rang Mum and arranged to meet at Lillydale Lake - they were very excited at the plan. I went by myself, and we sat in chairs away from everyone else (there were so many cars in the carpark, it made me feel a little anxious - most people were jogging, or walking their dogs, and the grassy areas there are so big that we were able to sit quite a way from any other people. There were no large groups there, people mainly in 2s and 3s). We had some lunch and a snack and a great chat. We were swooped by a bird a few times - we each got hit in the head at least once (Mum about 3 times) so we moved our chairs away from the tree we were near. It didn't hurt us, it was just a bit of a shock each time. It was great to see my parents and a relief to see that Dad is getting around ok, even though he's obviously a bit slower and less robust than he was previously.

I headed home via the post office, and hung out with the kids a bit when a friend rang to say his son really wanted to see Millie and could we meet them at the Yarra Glen park. Amelie was very keen, and I wanted to see his wife who is my very good friend and who also has been unwell this year. So the girls and I went to the park, it wasn't crowded at all which I was relieved about (it was after 5). Great to see my friend in person after so many months and have a chat with her. The kids had a great play, Caitlin talked to us for a while and took one of the kids up to the skate park, and went and got our fish and chips for dinner. It was sunny by this stage (had been grey when I was with Mum and Dad) and not too cold, until the sun went behind the mountain then we headed home.

Back home we ate then went for a quick walk around the dam, I had a bath because I was pretty tired (and cold, there was a pretty icy wind when we were walking)

Today I didn't feel motivated to be very active so spent several hours working on photo stuff, which was quite productive. I had a Zoom meeting with my homeschool group in the afternoon, great as always to talk to my friends, the girls popped in and out to say hello as well. I had a call from Eastern Health - Healesville Hospital is opening it's lists next week for the first time since mid-March, so I was able to be booked in for my procedure next Tuesday morning - really soon and unexpected, but I am happy that it will be done quickly, and I'm very pleased that I don't have to go to Box Hill hospital.

I went to Healesville to do the shopping - the bulk food shop, the greengrocers, Coles, the library, and Aldi, then drove over to Yarra Junction to pick up my milk - now that we can travel 25km I can go and get it myself rather than the farmer bringing it over to Healesville. I enjoyed the drive and it was great to listen to my audio book. I got home and was exhausted - ate the soup I'd put on to cook this morning then had a quiet evening in bed reading and playing games. The girls came in to chat and look at the Peregrine Falcon for a while.

Lockdown 2.0, Days 100 & 101

 Day 100 of lockdown!!! That feels pretty momentous. We talked about having a day 100 party but no one had any motivation to do anything about it. I celebrated by listening to a gorgeous song written about lockdown and shared on a friend's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thebengsons/videos/724609064791616.

I spent a good chunk of the day proofreading. I was thinking I should get the dishes done before I got started on the proofing, then realised I often put off the things I really want to do by saying 'I'll just do this first' and then run out of energy or get called to something else and miss out on what was important to me. So I proofed first and had a very enjoyable morning in my room reading. I had some lunch and did yoga outside with Caitlin and Amelie. We turned on our mats at one point and one of the chickens had nestled into the ground just behind us - cool to have a chicken join us for yoga. I did some more proofing in the afternoon but was a bit distracted and didn't enjoy it so much. I decided to go in to Healesville to get some more bread from the bakery (my favourite place to get bread) and maybe buy myself a hot drink and go on my Artist's Date for the week. I was delayed a bit by a few things and left much later than I'd planned. One of my delays was my phone slipping out of my hand as I tried to put it in my bag - it fell face down on our cork floor and the glass smashed - not the tempered glass screen protector, it's still fine, but the glass of the phone itself is cracked all over. I was pretty sad and just couldn't seem to pick up from there. The bakery was closed when I got there, so I went to Aldi, bought some cool things from the middle aisles and got some Aldi bread, and a peppermint chocolate milk drink and some chocolate croissants for myself. I drove to one of my walking spots within our 5km and took my food and drink and book and sat for a while. I got distracted easily (and there were lots of mozzies) and the croissants weren't really what I wanted... It was nice to be out by myself though and I stayed for about an hour, listening to my audio book and playing games on my phone for some of the time.

Back home I did the dishes and took Luna for a late walk around the dam. Liam cooked banana bread. Tony had had a huge day at work and had a long evening nap. It became an every man for himself dinner because I was exhausted - I had slept badly again. I watched some Umbrella Academy (I'm loving it more and more with every episode and love the quality of my computer screen) and chatted to the girls for a while before eventually going to sleep.

This morning I woke at 5am so had several hours to myself in the morning. When Amelie woke up she brushed and braided my hair (the first time she's braided). I chatted to the kids and Tony as they emerged, tidied up inside and outside. We spent a lot of time looking at a list of the 10 largest birds of prey, and researching the range of animals that they eat. Our favourite is the Eurasian Eagle Owl. We interspersed that with watching the Peregrine Falcon livestream. In the early afternoon we all played Cards Against Humanity (Family Edition). It was hilarious and very relaxing, and fun to have all 5 of us playing. Tony, Caitlin and Liam went for a run. I did some more tidying then sat and chatted with Caitlin while she crocheted, and we played Kiss, Marry, Kill. The others joined in for a while with that as well. I went for a long, slow walk and listened to my audio book, then did some work on the computer, and played the piano for the first time in ages.

I'm getting ready to head to bed for an early night, and eagerly looking forward to tomorrow - there will be announcements about what is happening with the restrictions. I'm swinging between thinking nothing much will change, and that heaps will be allowed. We had 2 cases yesterday and only 1 today - so things are certainly looking positive for some kind of easing. I'm less antsy about it than I though I would be, but I am very keen to hear what the plan will be going forward from tomorrow.

Lockdown 2.0, Days 96 and 97

 I feel the last couple of days have been quite productive, which is not really that usual at the moment. I am exhausted though, I think tomorrow will be a rest day. 

Getting some work done in my room on Sunday seems to have freed me up to do other things around the house, it had really been hanging over me. I did bits and pieces of tidying and cleaning and helping the kids with things in the morning, and knocked over a few more jobs that I'd been wanting to get done. Caitlin and I did yoga and I talked to a couple of friends on the phone (separately). Caitlin baked some banana bread - 1 loaf for us (which didn't last long, it was delicious!) and 1 loaf for our neighbour across the road (we met him a few weeks ago when he came to see if we had any idea where the dogs who were killing his sheep were coming from). I took Luna for a long walk so that she didn't want to go with the girls, who walked over to deliver the banana bread. He was thrilled with the gift and the thought, and the girls were thrilled when he let them go in to the a pen and help feed a week old lamb! He's promised Caitlin some wool when he shears in the summer, and said that we are welcome to walk on his land which backs on to our place - running along the creek. I'm pretty excited about that as it's always looked so enticing! I took the car to meet the girls on their way back and Caitlin had another driving lesson.

We spent a lot of time watching the Peregrine Falcon webcam, the kids played lots of video games and talked to some friends. I had a great phone call with one of my oldest friends (in NSW, whose birthday was last week - always so good to catch up). I went to bed early to do some work and the girls came in to chat after a while, a nice debrief for the end of the day.

Today involved more Falcon watching, some online shopping (new chargers and adapters for my new laptop), and a bit of tidying up and outdoor work. We all headed to Healesville in the afternoon, the kids met with their friend and went for a walk, bought some chais, did a bit of shopping. I had an enjoyable afternoon of shopping, I went to the bakery, the bulk food shop (so happy that we have that in Healesville now!), the greengrocer, Aldi, the library (just to pick up my books from the click and collect table), Coles and the chemist, then picked up my milk. I ran into the kids a few times as we were wandering around which was pretty cool. I also ran into one of the other mums from Guides and we had a quick catch up - very exciting to see anyone I know!

Back home Liam went back online to play games and chat to his friends, Amelie played some SIMS, and Caitlin and I went for our walk. We went down the back and crossed the fence to explore along the creek of our neighbour's land. It was so beautiful, lots of access to the creek, a range of foliage, lots of cool trees to look at (also lots of blackberry bushes to navigate around, Caitlin got scratched a few times). I'm looking forward to exploring there a lot more. I was so exhausted by the time we got home though. I cooked some soup (nice and easy) and watched The Block with Tony, and I'm heading to bed as soon as I can.

It's now mathematically impossible for us to hit our targets for Step 3 before Sunday. It's likely however that some restrictions will be eased - I think this week is going to feel more and more stressful as we wait to find out what will change next week. I just want to be able to see people more easily, and I think that's the direction the changes will take. I hope.

Lockdown 2.0, Days 87 - 94

 I missed a couple of days writing the blog due to busy evenings, and the longer it went on the harder it was to come back and catch up. I'll give it a go now. I've been feeling good this week, so perhaps feeling positive has meant that I don't feel the need to document quite so much - although the good days are much more interesting to write about than the low days.

Saturday last week was a very relaxing day. Earlier in the week I'd let everyone know I wanted most of the day to myself, I had a book that I wanted to read in one day, because I knew I'd get so involved in it and not want to put it down. I spent most of the day on the couch in the carport, reading my book and it was fabulous (the book was Ironheart, the 2nd book in the Valentine series, a teen paranormal mystery/romance). Our Narbethong friends called in in the afternoon to pick up some food that had been delivered to our place (because they don't deliver over the Spur) - it was so wonderful to see them and have a chat for a while. After they left I went back to my book and finished mid-afternoon, I felt relaxed and happy and grateful that I'd had the opportunity to nurture myself like that.

Sunday I pottered around the house and did some serious research on MacBooks. I talked to a friend and he helped me sort out exactly what I wanted, and on Sunday night I ordered one, finally, after months of research and thinking.

Monday we went to Healesville to do the shopping, Caitlin and Liam met up with their friend and went for a walk, Amelie and I went to Coles, the bulk food shop and Aldi. It was pretty cold and wet but the kids still found interesting places to walk. In the afternoon my friend picked up my new MacBook from JB Hifi and delivered it to my place - SO exciting!!!!! I spent the rest of the day setting it up and playing with it, it's so great and I am so so so happy with it. And so happy that I finally made the decision just to buy it. Having a working keyboard and a laptop that doesn't freeze up every 10 minutes has made everything I've done on it this week so much more efficient and enjoyable.

Tuesday I played on my computer a bunch more, had my Yarra Glen Zoom meeting in the afternoon, popped down to Healesville to get my milk and chatted to my friend when he came to pick up some more food that had been delivered here.In the evening I watched Shaun of the Dead on my new computer - a great screen for watching TV on. And I loved the movie too.

Wednesday I woke up in the best mood I've been in for a good while. I felt excited about the possibilities that the day could bring - vastly different from feeling like the day was just one more day to get through. Caitlin and I went to Yarra Glen to the Post Office and picked up 7 packages! We called in to the Chocolate Factory on the way home to get some beetroot relish (she had it on her Smashed Avo on her birthday and loved it) and drove home the long way. I had a couple of beers and a FaceTime call with a friend in the evening. 

I'd had an iced coffee from the IGA on Wednesday, and I could not get to sleep on Wednesday night. I eventually slept for 2 hours, woke up for a while, slept for another 2 hours then was awake for the day before 6am. I'd wanted to spend a whole day this week working on my photos, so I figured Thursday was a good time to do that seeing as I felt exhausted and lethargic. It was a lot of fun, sitting on the couch and doing a heap of photo organising and posting. 

Friday I planned to do a heap of tidying but it didn't really happen. I'd had another terrible night's sleep - late to fall asleep and awake before 5 this time! I spent a lot of time talking to Caitlin while she crocheted, and doing bits and pieces around the house in between more work on the computer. We went for a walk in the afternoon and I was feeling a bit flat but then we played fun music on my phone, using the lyrics of each song to inspire our choice of the next song, and that really picked me up. Our yoga practice was the last day in a 30 day session, and it was kind of a freestyle session - there was no verbal direction, we could copy what she was doing or do what poses felt right for us. It was a little challenging mentally but a lot of fun and it was cool to see how much we'd learnt in the 30 days. In the evening I watched a couple of episodes of The Long Way Round - Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's motorcycle trip around the world. 

Today I did get a lot more tidying done, as well as more photo work. I did half of the mending - a whole tub's worth of clothes either mended or put in the rag pile (some were just not worth mending). Some of that has been sitting there for many many years, it was so exciting to get it done! Caitlin and I walked to the back of the property and over a creek to a little peninsula of land bordered by Paul's Creek, the tributary that runs across the back fence of our place, and the fence which borders the farm behind us. It is so beautiful over there, and it feels so deserted and far from civilisation. We had to jump across the creek to get there - I thought I'd end up in the water but I made it (with a bit of help from Caitlin). On the way back we crossed another creek, and then went for a swim in the dam - it was cold, but so beautiful to be in the water looking at the clouds and the mountains. This evening Tony is watching the Collingwood v Geelong semi-final and it's not going well for Collingwood.

All week we've been watching the swallows who have a nest above our back door. They have 3 chicks in there and it's been fascinating to watch the parents come and go feeding the chicks - 3 huge beaks appear from the nest and gobble down the food. Yesterday they emerged from the nest and learned to fly - that was even more amazing to watch. They are tiny, and still fluffy underneath, and still have massive yellow, wide beaks. Otherwise they look like their parents. They sit on the ledge above the window and flatten themselves down so they just look like a couple of feathers. Then they jump off and fly away. They aren't great at landing but they got better at it as the day went on.

We've also been watching a live webcam of the peregrine falcons on top of a building in Melbourne https://www.367collinsfalcons.com.au. That has provided hours of entertainment for us this week.

We've gone for walks every day and Caitlin and I have done yoga every day. Amelie jumps on the trampoline and talks to her friends on the phone or Skype, plays the SIMS and Among Us and makes YouTube videos. Liam has been playing a lot of Terraria and talking to his friends on Discord. 

The numbers are low but maybe not low enough. Sitting around the 10 mark and we need them to be below 5. Another week until the next restriction announcement but it's unlikely we'll be fully able to go to Step 3. Maybe some new things will be allowed though.

Lockdown 2.0, Days 83, 84 and 85

 It's funny how quickly the days pass when I'm feeling content and happy. Last week seems like a distant memory, but this week has flown by and we're almost at the end of it. Caitlin's birthday tomorrow - I'm quite excited. Some of her presents have arrived and we've got lots of yummy food organised so it's going to be a fun day even though she's not able to see any of her friends.

I've kept fairly busy over the past few days (and been too tired to blog in the evenings). Tuesday was my usual shopping day, and this week the kids came with me. Caitlin and Liam went for a walk with Luna and met up with a friend, Amelie shopped with me. It was fun having some company. We ran into the big kids a few times, it was weird to see them out of the context of home, I haven't randomly run into them anywhere for many months now, we're always together! Wednesday I did a fair amount of work in our bedroom, clearing out everything on Tony's side of the room so that he can use the shelves and bookcases there for his stuff, and I can use more of the walk in wardrobe for my photography supplies. It looks good all cleared out, there have been boxes there for a very long time, it was exciting to finally take some action on them. Today Caitlin and I went to Yarra Glen to the post office, picking up a couple of her birthday presents and sending off some more parcels and letters. We browsed the lolly shop and popped into the IGA. 

In between those 'big' activities we've done yoga every day, been for a long walk every day, chatted about all sorts of things, spent a lot of time watching the birds around our house - there are 3 baby Welcome Swallows in the nest above our back door, sitting and watching the parents flit back and forth feeding them is really fun. The kids have played Among Us, Liam has spent a fair amount of time playing Terraria with friends, Caitlin and I have been cooking. This afternoon we watched Enola Holmes which was really really good. 

Numbers have stayed fairly low this week, the average is going down, it's feeling encouraging that restrictions might continue to ease.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 82

We had a disrupted night as the helicopter was flying from 2.30 for an hour or so. I had forgotten how loud it is - it felt like it was coming through the bedroom window as it flew over the house block of vines, and the walls of the house were shaking. Somehow Amelie slept through it all, everyone else was awake for at least some of it.

So a cold start to the morning which turned into an absolutely gorgeous sunny day.I sat outside and did my writing in the morning, and it was beautiful.  Caitlin and I did our yoga in the yard and I felt really hot. I sweated a fair bit doing my yard work. I had several phone calls in the afternoon and sat in the yard while I chatted to a friend then to Mum, and to the car salesman and my mechanic. While I sat there I watched the Welcome Swallows feeding their babies in their nest above our back door, and the Willie Wagtails and Blue Fairy Wrens flit around in the trees, and even a couple of lorikeets made an appearance. I haven't seen a magpie in our yard for a couple of weeks - I think the wind may have destroyed their nests. There's still magpies around the property but none hanging out in our gum or oak trees like they normally do, which is a bit disappointing - for them I guess and also for us, I was looking forward to seeing the babies. I had another phone call with a friend while I had my walk in the later afternoon - it was warm enough to walk just in a t-shirt. Weird that that's going to be below zero again tonight after such a warm day - then we head into much warmer weather for the rest of the week.

Only 5 cases today - the lowest since June 12. Such a relief although numbers are usually lower early in the week because fewer tests are done on the weekend. Everyone - well, most people - seem to be feeling a bit cheered by the potential bringing forward of the next step out of restrictions, we can hang on for another 3 weeks.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 59

 Today was unexpectedly quite interesting and varied - a nice change to most lockdown days. I woke around 7 and after doing some writing went out for a walk - I decided to drive down Houghtons Lane so that I could walk somewhere different without having to walk to the different place, it was nice to have a different view on my walk and explore a new area. I took my camera and got a few good shots too. It was also quite reassuring that my car started with no issues.

I planned to spend the rest of the day pottering around the house. Amelie had had a bad morning so I hung out with her for a while. Liam and I worked on a number puzzle that has me stumped. The kids and I all played Among Us for an hour or so. My earaches have been getting more frequent and Caitlin's throat has been sore for a while, so we decided to have another COVID test just to be sure. The testing facility at Healesville said it was open from 12-3 Mon-Sat so we headed down there (stopping briefly to see the Masked Lapwings and their babies on the way into town - we only saw one baby, he was quite well camouflaged so the others could have been hiding there too). The testing centre was closed when we arrived at 12.30 and remained so while we researched where else we could go. It looked like Knox Westfield was the best option, so we went for the longest drive I've been on in a while! It felt like so far away, but it's just down the road from Caitlin's Cheer gym - so I drive that far several times a week usually. The roads were steady with traffic but not busy - and when we arrived at Knox it was bizarre to see empty carparks - just cars near the supermarket entrances. The testing centre is a drivethrough one here so we stayed in the car and had our tests - mine was the easiest I've had so far, Caitlin's was more uncomfortable. Driving home I was confused a couple of times which was the best way to go but I soon remembered the way I usually go. It was enjoyable being in the car with Caitlin and chatting and listening to music.

At home I did some dishes and some of my outside work, then did some of my course. Caitlin and Tony went for a bike ride (Liam had gone while we were out), then Caitlin helped Amelie with riding her bike. Caitlin then cooked brownies, I played the piano, Amelie played on the trampoline and Liam on his computer. Caitlin went for another walk, and found a baby wombat with it's mother - she rang Wildlife Victoria and they were going to send someone out. We all went down to see it (it was on the edge of Houghton's Lane and so incredibly cute, and definitely alone. It kept falling asleep while we watched it). A volunteer rang and was still a while away and suggested that we take it back to the house, especially as it was nearly dark. Caitlin threw a jumper over it and got her hands on it, but it fought hard and slipped away from her and sprinted into the paddock and was on the far side of the field in less than a minute - there's no way we could have caught it once it went. It was reassuring to see that it didn't seem injured, and it was probably big enough to survive by itself.

While we were waiting for dinner we went outside to see the International Space Station pass over, unfortunately it was too cloudy to see anything. It was cool being out the front in the dark though, all 5 of us, so it didn't really feel like we missed out. We mucked around with torchlight and hiding in the dark, then came in for meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The girls watched YouTube, Liam did some maintenance on his computer, Tony and I watched Umbrella Academy. I didn't end up getting much done around the house at all but I did have a fun day and am feeling good.

The new case numbers are bobbing up and down either side of 100. Numbers of deaths are high - some of them are not recent, they are deaths that were reported to the Federal Govt and those numbers are just coming through. People are still dying though and it's so horrible to hear that each day. Looking forward (I think) to finding out tomorrow what the plan is from here - I don't think anything much will change for a while yet, but I guess it's good that we're at least at a point where we're starting to talk about it.

Lockdown 2.0, Days 56, 57 and 58

 I've spent the last few days oscillating between feeling anxious and feeling really flat. A bit disappointing after feeling so good on Tuesday afternoon, but it is what it is and I have let myself feel whatever I needed to at the time. I haven't felt like writing so I allowed myself some time off, I've focussed on doing things that I love and that feel right, and I knew I'd be back eventually. 2 long phone calls with friends today (one who I hadn't talked to for a couple of years) and a text conversation entirely in haiku with another friend really helped - I laughed a lot (especially at the haikus) and relaxed and am feeling more positive now.

Wednesday morning (seems so long ago!) was pretty good, I got a fair bit down around the house and on the computer, and had a long chat to Mum. Caitlin and I went to the post office and called in at the Chocolate Factory to get some more presents for people. I did some research on what was new car options. In the late afternoon Tony took me to Healesville to pick up my car - I chatted to the mechanics about the type of car I might buy and got some useful information. The know the receptionist at the mechanics and we had a long chat before I headed home. On the way I saw a baby masked Lapwing trying to cross the road and I was worried it might get hit so I stopped - there were 2 parents and 4 babies, and the parents were desperately trying to keep the babies from going on the road. When they were on the road they were too little to easily jump back up the gutter to the safety of the grass, so it was pandemonium. One of the babies got knocked over by the slipstream of a car going past, but after a tumble he got up and ran back to his parents and seemed fine. I'd tried to help herd them off the road, then one of the parents decided I was a threat and came at me, so I left them to it (everyone was back on the grass by then and heading away from the road so I think they were safe). The babies were so cute and their fluffy round bodies were backlit by the sun - I'm so happy that I saw it. 

I went for a late, brisk walk when I got home and saw the full moon rising over the mountains - very cool! I did more car research after dinner and suddenly felt completely overwhelmed and anxious, so I went to bed. I was awake for hours in the night (Winky woke me up to tell me she'd caught a mouse, and I couldn't quieten my mind enough to get back to sleep). After a while I got up and did some tidying in the kitchen, and some writing, and some photography work, then played games on my phone for a bit and eventually settled back into bed and to sleep. I woke later than usual and my anxiety was there but muted, and I kind of fell into a day of feeling bleugh. I was just over the whole lockdown thing, I am missing my friends, I don't think I can handle another week and a half of stage 4 but I have to really, there's no other option, and I don't think Stage 3 will be much different for us anyway... It just all felt too hard and I know the kids are finding it hard too so I was also feeling overwhelmed by their worries about it. I had a good chat with a friend which helped calm me a little. I did some more work on cleaning out the wardrobe in my room, and actually felt like I made some progress. In the afternoon the kids and I played Dixit which was fun - everyone is really emotional so there was lots of laughing and a bit of tears as well. I talked to Mum - Dad had chemo in the morning so it was good to get an update (he's feeling ok, tired, a bit grumpy. I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it all but I do like talking to them regularly). I did some of my course and some photo work and headed to bed fairly early.

I slept fitfully so woke up still pretty tired today, although it was nice not to be up for hours. I still felt flat but the anxiety had mainly gone. I caught up on some dishes, chatted to Amelie and Liam, then chatted to a friend on the phone while I weeded the garden. I worked a bit more in the bedroom, then had a wonderful 2 hour chat to an old friend. Caitlin and Liam went for a bike ride and started to help Amelie learn to ride Liam's old bike. Throughout the day I was sending and receiving haikus to a friend and they really made me laugh and helped to ground me. I felt much much better this afternoon and went for a mid-length walk and listened to my audio book. Luna ran off as we rounded the dam, and bailed up the big (BIG!!) male kangaroo over near the creek. I went over to try to distract her but I was pretty scared of him and he looked like he could head for me at any moment. They were at a standoff for a while then he charged her - he had his front claws out and if he'd caught her it would have been nasty. She avoided him then chased him into the dam - I'd already rung Tony and he and Caitlin drove down in the vineyard ute to get her - usually she can be distracted by the car. She reluctantly got in and was a bit sheepish when everyone was angry at her - but once back in the yard she was staring intently at the roos in the vines like she was ready to go again... I cooked dinner and then had a bath and a glass of wine, Tony watched the Collingwood game. I'm feeling pretty relaxed now although I have a headache so looking forward to sleep and a new day tomorrow.

Dentist, library and Healesville Sanctuary

Amelie had a dentist appointment yesterday so the kids and I went down to Healesville to have her front teeth checked - she had banged them hard on her knee when we were in Esperance a few weeks ago, then hit them again on LiAM's head a week or so later, and they have been bleeding and looking a funny colour since then.

The dentist said they were about to fall out (they are both baby teeth) and there's nothing to worry about, so that's a relief. He wants to get her back in for a filling - I'll wait and see when she's ready for that then book her back in.

Seeing as we were in town I was happy to hang around and explore somewhere. The kids wanted milkshakes from the fish and chip shop near Coles, where we often used to buy milkshakes before our trip. We started walking over, then talked about going to the library - LiAM realised that he'd want the iPad and his iPod if we went to the library so the kids kept walking to the shop and I went back to get the car. I couldn't find them when I arrived, then Caitlin texted to say they were in the library - the guy at the fish and chip shop had said they couldn't do milkshakes - unsure if that was just for today or permanently.

We hung out at the library for a while, reading books, finding books and DVDs to borrow, and playing on the playstation (Lego Indiana Jones) then Caitlin went over to the ice-cream shop to get milkshakes from there. They were delicious - more expensive and much tastier than the ones we normally get.

Everyone was keen to go to the Sanctuary, and I was pleased I'd thought to suggest it. We can go as often as we want on our membership, and it's so close to home, I hope we continue to pop in whenever we are in Healesville. We saw a lot in the couple of hours we were there. There've been some changes - there are cassowaries, a cool new koala exhibit and we hadn't been in the new lyrebird exhibit either. We watched the bird show, excellent as always, and we were all very very excited to see the wedge-tailed eagle when she came out. We went to feed the parrots - Caitlin was able to hold a red-tailed black cockatoo, it wouldn't go onto the arms of the other kids, and none of the parrots were interested in the food we offered them (provided by the keepers) - it was still great to see them and Caitlin was thrilled about the cockatoo. We saw the pelicans, bats, wallabies, more birds and the goannas, then raced back for the dingo talk, which seemed even more relevant after meeting dingoes on our trip. We learnt that the biodiversity on the dingo side of the dingo fence is in better shape than the non-dingo side. Makes sense really, if you take out the top predator, things change a lot. Also the dingoes keep the cat and fox populations under control. We saw echidnas and discovered they have rear facing claws on their rear feet. We saw a keeper syringe feeding a very old koala and talked to her about how they were helping this koala (she was 18), and LiAM asked about the echidna claws - it's so they can scratch themselves without getting caught in their own spikes.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon and I'm looking forward to going a lot more often and remembering to really explore our own region like we did at all the places we stayed on our trip.

Hanging out with Grandparents

I had an appointment at 8.30 yesterday morning, so Mum and Dad came down to look after the kids for the morning. Tony ended up still being at home with his sore back, though we figured it would still be easier for Mum to be here to help get breakfast etc and Tony could still rest. It was a foggy, cold morning when I set out, which turned into a beautiful sunny warm day by late morning.

I went to my appointment then called in to see a friend on the way home. Her boys were initially disappointed that I had turned up without my kids - then they were excited that they could show me where they were up to in their games, and they sat next to me and showed me their progress in all their favourite iPad games - it was lovely, and I realised that I don't always have a lot of interaction with them when my kids are there - I might try to check in on their games each time I visit from now on.

When I got home everyone had had a lovely morning. Caitlin and Dad had been doing some multiplication, LiAM and Mum had cleaned up the kitchen and LiAM and Millie had made more patterns on the peg boards. The girls decided to get in their swimmers and go on the trampoline with the hose, and LiAM was meeting a friend at Maroondah Dam for a picnic and to do the Aussie Backyard Bird Count. We left Dad in charge of the hose and 2 happy girls on the trampoline, and Mum and I dropped LiAM with his friend and then went out for lunch at Mocha and Lime in Healesville - lunch was my christmas present to Mum from last year, and we hadn't managed to find a day that suited us both until now. We ate great food and had an enjoyable chat and it didn't matter that it had taken us 10 months to organise it. We had a little bit of a walk around Healesville afterwards, then went back to pick LiAM up.

Back at home, Millie and Dad were playing Skylanders Guess Who and Caitlin had been to visit our neighbour and done some practice on her cursive writing. Mum and Dad headed home and the kids went back outside with the hose and played in the water and the mud - Caitlin caked herself in mud and called herself the mud monster. Tony had been to the doctor and was told that his back pain is muscular so should get better over the next couple of weeks, and he is better to be up and about as much as he can be.

Once everyone was clean, Caitlin and I sewed the green stripes on our karate belts (and LiAM's), and LiAM played Terraria. Caitlin went back outside to practice her cartwheels for a while - she's getting really good. We watched Big Bang Theory and Auction Hunters and Top Gear. Everyone was tired and ready for bed by 10pm which is unusual in our house. Tone rubbed the big kids backs and everyone crashed pretty quickly.