It’s Wednesday today and I’ve just got home from taking the kids to a party at a playcentre in Fountain Gate. It was a friend of Bridie’s who also happens to be Beth’s buddy at school so she scored an invite too. Beth’s best friend shares her buddying duties so luckily she was there for Beth to play with. They all had a wonderful time though I think my autistic side came out when I found the noise all a bit too much. I hate the big playcentres, they’re so noisy and crowded.
We got back from our night in Lorne yesterday. It’s such a long way to go but we got a voucher so we thought we’d use it up. The kids were all excited about going so off we set on Monday morning. Let me just state this for the record, never again will I go on a three hour drive in a hatchback with my 3 kids! We took along the trusty laptop to use as a dvd player but even that wasn’t enough. Bethie was pretty good as she always is in the car, she’s happy to read or look out the window. Bill and Bridie however are a different story. They’re just so bloody loud. And Bridie is the professional whinger, the real ‘are we there yet’ girl. Every 5 minutes. If the answer she gets isn’t the one she wants to her she lets out a wail. Hence there were lots of wails all the way to Lorne.
We got there in pretty good time and booked into the restaurant for lunch. Paul and I both agreed that it was the best food we’d ever eaten. We took it easy over lunch, figuring we’d do the massive pig out over dinner. The problem was that when we went back for dinner the restaurant was closed. We decided on the Tuesday that instead of heading back first thing in the morning we’d go there for lunch again as the voucher still had $175 on it. We ended up eating so much that we owed them $10! Mind you, it wasn’t cheap and we all had desserts. The food was lovely too.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment though we may as well have just got a one bedroom one. Bill had decided that he and Paul would sleep in the loungeroom so that he could get the ultimate Foxtel hit. Bridie decided to join them so Paul took a mattress off the single bed in the kids room and lugged it down to the lounge. Beth and I had the big bed. It was quite a nice apartment though I didn’t like the fact that the outside door was up the front near the bedrooms. Whenever a character or a tv show came on that Beth didn’t like she headed for the bedrooms and we’d hear a door slam. We had to keep checking to make sure she hadn’t run out the door as it couldn’t be locked. The kids all had a swim in the heated pool then came back to the room for a spa bath. I like the setup of the bath, the window overlooked the lounge so you could watch them from the living areas.
Our balcony window overlooked the beach. I was amazed to see people having surfing lessons as it’s the middle of winter here. I watched them having little fantasies of learning to surf myself. Watching Puberty Blues the other night probably added to that though! Maybe I should learn to swim first.
Yesterday morning we went to look at Erskine Waterfall which was beautiful, before going for a play at the fabulous beachside park and a walk along the beach. Bridie wanted to bring some shells home and picked up a couple from the beach. She also scored the 3 big shells that our scallops came in on our seafood platter!
I must admit that although I know the rest of the family enjoy our time away I prefer to be at home. I don’t mind if it’s somewhere like Sandy Point that we go to frequently as it’s all familiar, I love the idea of having a holiday house down there one day. I don’t feel comfortable in places that I don’t know well and I’m always so conscious of how Beth acts and how people perceive her. Maybe I’m different when I’m with other families, safety in numbers, I don’t know. I guess it’s a combination of all of those things but I was happy to pick up our lovely Minka and get back home.
We’ve got a few friends coming for a play tomorrow afternoon so that should be a nice day, probably one of the quietest ones these holidays. I do find it easier to have people here as I don’t have to be constantly looking to see what Beth’s up to. She loves to explore other people’s places which I hate as she has been known to tip out a bottle of perfume or break the top off an ornament at times. At least here I know what she’s up to. Roll on Monday!