Bribery or Strategy?...

My daughter is going to be a flower girl on Saturday, so we headed off on a mission to find gold sandals to go with her gorgeous dress. Unfortunately she was less than impressed about trying on multiple pairs of shoes, and it didn’t take long before she announced her need for a trip to the toilet. I sighed, hid the most promising pair of shoes under the rack, put her own shoes back on and dragged her out of the...

A Stormy Week...

This week Brisbane has been hit by some very nasty storms. One in particular brought down trees and powerlines all around us, and many homes have been damaged. It’s been a chaotic, unsettled week for my kids and more storms are forecast. Here’s what I’ve learned so far from the storms: Nothing brings a community together quite like a natural disaster. It’s easy to take the roof over your head...

Skirmish – Toddler v Mother...

My husband played skirmish today. It’s a highly dignified sport whereby grown men run around shooting each other with paint pellets. He came home grinning from ear to ear, despite the fact that he was totally covered in angry red welts from where he’d been “shot”. He told me that he’d been on the front line, so he’d had to take a few hits for the team. Most of the welts will be covered...

It's about time...

I don’t think you choose to be a writer.  If you are one, you just are.  I’ve been a writer all my life.  As a child I remember narrating my life quietly to myself, as if each day was another page in my autiobiography.  Ok, so I still catch myself doing that sometimes!  It’s about time I started a blog.  I have scraps of writing in notebooks, on pieces of paper, in word documents and of course,...