As promised, we had a little 'celebration' for Meredith being a VIP. It meant a lot to her. She wanted to go to Hays Paddock again. We were there real early. Within an hour, the playground became very crowded. Meredith spent the whole time at the sandpit and got frustrated many times because different kids either came to take her bucket to play or destroy the castle she was trying to make. So I decided we would have a nice lunch and head down to the beach. I was sure things would be better there.

The beach was nice. It wasn't very crowded. The weather was gorgeous. The clouds wouldn't allow much sunlight to pass through.

The tide was low and we could see more shells, many were moving and alive! Meredith tried to build her single storey castle with the tricks I showed her. Reegan was happy on the mat with me munching his sultanas. He liked the sand until I took off his socks and shoes. He would not put his feet down on the sand thereafter...


The weather was good but the water was still cold. We saw a brave little crawler having fun naked in the cool water...

And yet another brave one just sitting there for the longest time...

I thought I should also go down to the water. I loved it! When I walked back towards the mat, I saw the sweetest thing...

Meredith showing Reegan the seagulls that our neighbour had attracted.

Big Sister did not allow Reegan to use her spade and bucket. So when Big Sister was done and was busy putting on her shoes, Reegan secretly had a go and copied what he had seen Meredith doing the whole time. And he was happy! Well done!

Being a Very Important Prep

Meredith was happy but at the same time, sad that she was the VIP this week. Sad because she was having a little running nose. In the beginning of the week, she complained too much about herself being sick and why she had to be sick at this time....and nagged and nagged and nagged...Then she wasn't too happy that it was a short week, Friday being Anzac Day public holiday. But I cheered her up by saying that we can have our own celebration for her being a VIP on Friday. Phew! That stopped her nagging...

Some of the things she did as a VIP was to share about herself. She brought to school some of the things she really loved. Many have commented about her cute little Mouse Family.

And we had Popo to send over her 'horse' coin, so that she could tell her Prep friends the significance of the coin, it being a 2002 Year of the Horse special coin.

She was also to bring some photos to share. This we took a while to do as we searched through old photographs and I had to 'budget' the amount of photos she had initially wanted to bring. Miss Pacini pinned up the photos so everyone could see...

She was lucky because this week, her class won the Harlseton Cup, an award for a very well behaved class. And she could go up to collect the cup with Miss Pacini and get to keep the Cup in their class for two weeks!

But one very special thing she did this week, was to play her violin in front of her whole class. This wasn't part of her VIP thingy. Just that her violin teacher decided it's time for her to show to her Prep friends what she has been doing at violin class. Mum being a Mum, I was very happy to hear that she did that very well and all her friends liked how she performed her piece. I was very proud of her!

It's been two busy weeks of school. Friday, just as we opened our eyes in the morning, the balloons were huge by our windows. They decided to come closer to us. We could even count how many were on the balloons. They looked beautiful. They sky was beautiful. Meredith noticed these days, the sun is actually red. I have no explanation for that but just, hey that's good observation!


Friday was also House Day and Mufti Day. The kids wear casual to school. They were to wear as much of their house colour as possible. And all the kids of the same house would gather together to have lunch together.

Every Friday, Meredith's class has swimming. I took this picture because I was so impressed with the kids. They got into their line so quickly for their swimming lesson. They were ready before the teachers were!


We have been exploring a few playgrounds and parks. This one is called Beckett Park, at Balwyn. It is supposed to be at the highest point in Metropolitan Melbourne.


The view was awesome! I could just sit there for hours. But we had to get going quickly because the playground next to it was why we were there right, Mum?

Saturday, we were at Hay's Paddock. A real nice enclosed playground with many interesting play equipment. It also has a nice sheltered sandpit area. We were there after Meredith's Mandarin Class. I packed lunch for the kids and we sat by the bench to eat first. While doing that, Meredith studied the place carefully and had many ideas what she was going to do. But before that, she just had to wolf down those sandwiches, no matter how full she claimed (or tried to persuade me) she was!

The upcoming week is going to be a very important week! Meredith got a personalized letter from her teacher saying she is next week's VIP- Very Important Prep. She finally got the letter. She read it 3 times! She was very very excited and happy. She had to bring some photographs and 5 special things to share.

These sew-it-yourself stuffed toys was something she was determined to finished tonight so she could bring it as one of her special items. Boy was she going all out for it. She was already very tired, her voice was already husky. But she said "I want to finish it". She did it diligently, no mistakes. They look cute!

Before school starts

Meredith saw in the local magazine that Spongebob and his team was having a show in the mall. And she specifically told me its shown "DAILY" during the school hols. I had to take her there. She was allowed to plan her itinerary for the last two days of her school hols.

The show was fun for her. There were songs and stories and dance.

Then we went to the beach again. Meredith was ready to pick seashells. We saw a poor little seagull without one of her feet. It's a strong seagull. Meredith thinks she might not be able to swim like the others.

Reegan was busy exploring, making full use of his sense of touch...


feeling the sand in his hands...they are rough aren't they?

Following Big Sister picking up shells...


And Big Sister showing off her harvest...

They look so sweet together. It was a beautiful day!

Weather Report

The wind did not stop blowing since we woke up this morning. It was unusually dark and I had to switch on the lights. I realised it was not normal when the wind blew open our shut window and wreck havoc with the things we had at the balcony.

By midday, the powerful wind was still continuously blowing. I think I did not capture a good picture but the trees were very busy today, being tossed about non-stop by the wind, back and forth and left and right.

We watched the news to see what was going on. Apparently, because of the wild weather, bridges were closed and hundreds of trees had fallen across roads, houses, cars, railway tracks and powerlines! Many people had their electricity cut off. Ours did for a spilt second, the light we had on flickered and Meredith got scared. But our internet was down for almost the whole afternoon! It only came back when it was almost evening.

After dinner, when I was washing up and looking out of the window, I saw the brightest and most beautiful rainbow ever! And it was huge!




The rainbow seemed to be separating the light and the dark. Beyond the rainbow, the sun was shining so brightly. But our place was still largely overcast. It's like a phenomenon! I have never seen such a thing. We stared at it for a while, like watching the special effect from a movie! But I loved that really bright rainbow!

A Good Day

I didn't realise yesteday was the last day of March. We're now in the fourth month of the year. Time sure flies, quickly.

We decided to go to look at the sea again yesterday. Meredith attended a birthday party at a beach cafe and I had wanted to take them to that same beach. But I remembered one of the parent telling me about the Hampton Beach. I looked at the map and reckoned it should be easy to go.

Along the way, I was, well, as usual, attracted by some of the shops along Hampton Road. As we drove closer to the beach, it began to drizzle. But we found a spot where we could park and go down to the sand. But the place was deserted. The wind was strong and it was kind of cold. The news has said that strong wind was expected and people were advised to stay clear of some of the water.

We went to look at the sea anyway. It was breathtaking. But really, quite scary. It was overcast, the wind was strong, the sea was greyish blue.

I am actually afraid of the sea. But sometimes the sea gives me peace. But this one was scary. I imagined the eternal depth and imagined struggling in the cold water and rather violent wind on a day like yesterday...phew, I had to take a deep breath!

Anyway, we stood there for a while and saw some 'walker' and joggers. There were some big ships far far out. They might be coming in to the bay.

After that, we went to TSL. We had wanted to buy some flannelette bedsheets anticipating the colder weather. We were lucky, they were selling it at only $20 (other TSL were selling at $29) and we got the colours we wanted!

Past by an op shop and decided to have a look. I got a little fruit basket and a container and Meredith got a Science experiment book and a board game, "Who's the richest?' all at a dollar each.
Meredith's game was brand new, all still wrapped in plastic! She was very happy.
Played the game with her today. It's almost like Monopoly, but you buy houses from different countries and go to visit places of attraction in the different countries, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. In the game, the houses in France and Belgium are the most expensive. Not sure if this is true in real life. Also showed Meredith the places mentioned in the game on the internet. So today, she printed a picture of the Tower of Pisa and wrote some sentences on it. Tomorrow, she will choose to look at another place. I think she was quite fascinated with Big Ben from England.

Sometimes we get a real good deal from the op shop. It's interesting to pop by sometimes.