Happy Birthday To Me!!

Yes, today was my birthday. Darren and the kids gave me a radio/cd player so I can bop around the van! They also gave me a small mirror to hang on the wall. In one way it was kind of nice not having a mirror in the van - not having to look at myself and obsess. But on the other hand, trying to do my hair blind was not fun - and then I'd get over to the amenities block and see myself in the mirrors there and cringe. So at least now I can check myself before going out in public.
So..because it's my birthday, I'm going to make this entry all about me!! I want to tell you the things that I love about living in the caravan. Firstly, there's no housework! I can go somewhere or sit and relax, and not once do I have to think about all the things I should be doing. And then there's the mornings. I wake up at around 8:30, leisurely drink a cup of tea, sometimes do a full cooked brekky for everyone...and not once do I have to scream, "Hurry up! We're going to be late!!" I also love being able to be spontaneous and just do whatever I want whenever I want. I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed in my life.
There's nothing negative about this life - nothing that I've found yet, but there are things that I miss. Or more precisely, people. No Thursday afternoon chats over a cup of tea. No sharing movies with someone who cries as much as I do. No long, long phone conversations about everything and nothing. No popping around for a couple of wines and a bit of goss. No girls' nights out that end in bad singstar performances to Jimmy Barnes. No pretending Playgroup was all about the kids! And no dance classes - I loved dance class! So don't forget me....I'll have a lot of catching up to do when I get back!!

Living on Qld time

I've lost count of how many times I've said to people, "We're still on Qld time." I hate daylight savings. I'm lucky if I can get the kids to sleep before 9pm, (that's 8pm Qld time - which is not too bad). I thought they'd be up at the crack of dawn every morning living in the van, but they've been sleeping in till nearly 9am every morning (that's 8am Qld time). I'm just glad we don't have to be at school. It helps Darren because he's not getting to sleep until about 1:30 in the morning after finishing work at midnight. He has his phone on Victorian time to make sure he gets to work on time. My phone is still on Qld time, so is the clock on the laptop, and the clock in the car. Casey's new watch that he got for his birthday is on Victorian time because we bought it down here. Thankfully it will all change in about 3 weeks and we'll all be on the same time.

It looks like we could be here until around ANZAC day, which is when the peaches are expected to finish at the cannery, and Darren's work will run out. It's getting quite cool at night already, but the days are mostly still warm. For those of you who saw on the news the big storm that hit Melbourne, we are about two and a half hours from Melbourne, but we did get a bit of a freak storm the following day. I was checking the radar on the internet and saw it coming, so I took the kids around to Mum's and put the car in their carport. There was a lot of rain in a very short period of time, some hail and very strong winds. We were relieved to see the van and annexe still in one piece when we got back.

Nothing very exciting has been happening, but it's really nice that we're all getting so much enjoyment from the little things. The kids and I have been out twice helping Mum deliver Meals on Wheels. Brodie carried the soup, Casey the main course, and Tara the dessert. They felt very important, and all the people we visited enjoyed meeting them. And then today, dozens of vintage cars rolled into town and stopped for lunch in the park next to the caravan park. I took the kids to see them and they had great fun picking their favourites.

Time to sign off. It's getting late - 10pm (but that's only 9pm Qld time!)

Can we call this home now?

Don't you love kids?! They come out with things you never expect and change the way you see life. Tara was riding her bike around the caravan park, and Brodie told her it was time to go home. He then asked me, "Can we call this home now?" -talking about the caravan. Yes, it feels like home now; and it doesn't matter where we travel, home travels with us.

We left the kids with Gran and Pop on Saturday night and went to the Mooroopna Cricket Club ball (at the insistence of my brother who happens to be president of the club). Of course, I hadn't packed anything to wear to a ball, even a country cricket club one, so I went op-shopping. The local St Vinnies saved me. My whole outfit cost $8:50! (See photo - me with my sister-in-law Michelle on the left, and her sister Amanda.) We had a great night.

Darren also started work this week at the SPC cannery. He's on afternoon shift - 3:30pm to midnight. It's good because he still gets to spend most of the day with the kids.

The other exciting news is Tara learned to ride her bike without training wheels! And I was the one who helped her!! I don't know whether I'm prouder of her or myself!!! It seems like I was always too busy to do things like that before - to have the patience and the time to give to something like that. Whenever I worry about whether we're doing the right thing, taking the kids away from friends and family and school, little things like that happen to remind me why we all really need this.