Tag: Latest Posts

 

The fabulous feeling I get when I drop the children off at school, breeze out of the gates, and head out for a day of  gorging on donuts with friends is just too much to bear!

I have been desperate to get to Dandenong Market for ages, and so have my two local friends who joined me. What better way to spend a child free day? Friday, food and friends has to be the greatest combination in life!

Dandenong Market is a busy and bustling place, full of sights, sounds, smells, and bursting at the seams with wonderful produce. There truly is a world of taste, a treasure in every stall, and we were prepared with lots of canvas shopping bags, and heaps of room in our tummy’s!

Arriving at Dandenong Market you get a real sense of just how ‘global’ this market is. You really can shop the globe and eat the world, all under one roof. The market is alive with people selling, buying, eating, and enjoying themselves. We were making the most of everything on offer.

The ‘Munching Mums’ top purchases were:

Melina’s Bakery & Larder – We bought the most awesome sourdough loaf from Melina’s bakery, it was freshly baked, and delicious with my Saturday morning bacon! The cakes on this stall looked too good to eat. We gave it a go though!!

Dandee Donuts– We literally giggled with excitement when we were handed a bag full of hot, sweet, jammy goodness; we ate two each.. (can you imagine?) Then we bought 6 more, then 6 more on the way out, as we couldn’t have gone home without some spares!!! Even then dad missed out!!

 

Taylor’s Orchards– We managed to get our hands on some organic yumminess at Taylor’s Orchards. Perfect purple carrots, beautiful onions, and some super crunchy pears. I loved the lay out of this stall, the wooden crates, the smiling staff, the bunting… I’m a sucker for the pretty things.

Sam’s Spice & Grocery– Just follow the sweet smell of the wonders of the world, and you will find Sam’s Spice & Grocery. The staff have the biggest smiles, and the spices are incredibly beautiful. For all you avid Masterchef’s out there, this is the place to buy your ingredients. I came away with a huge tub of Murray River salt at a bargain price.

Ross Pecora Cheeses -Melbournians are obviously big fans of the cheese on this stall which has been at Dandenong market for thirty years and Ross Pecora’s reputation speaks for itself. The selection is awesome, and for three cheese loving mamas, decision time was a little tense. We went with the brie and the blue. All has now disappeared, along with four bottles of wine and our pears!! It was divine!!!

After an exceptional shopping spree, we had genuinely worked up an appetite, so we headed to the food hall area. We couldn’t make a firm decision on what we wanted, there was so much choice, and really, we wanted one of everything. We went for a ’round the world’ selection.

Our lunch selection came from:

King of Falafel– I can’t walk past a decent Tabouleh salad without buying one. This one was super special, and was first on the table.

PiqNiq Hut–  We bought two lots of Sri Lankan street food.  The ‘devilled chicken and roti’ was out of this world and so reasonably priced. Yuuuuuum!

Sansan’s Dumpling House – The sweetest lady you have ever laid eyes upon serving up traditionally hand made dumplings and soft buns. Oh wow, what a treat… Dumplings and golden pies were added to the table, and we began our feast.

Shopped out, full of incredible food, and the school run looming, we headed home with heavy bags, and a promise that this would now be a regular ‘thing’ for us.

I really can’t see why anyone would choose a supermarket over Dandenong Market. Easy parking, magnificent produce, wondrous plates of food, and change jangling in my pocket!

Thank you Dandenong Market for an all round Fabulous Feasting Friday!

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Dandenong Market trading hours:

• Tuesday: 7am – 4pm (The Bazaar opens at 8am)
• Friday: 7am – 5pm (The Bazaar opens at 8am and closes at 4pm)
• Saturday: 7am – 4pm (The Bazaar opens at 8am)
• Sunday: 10am – 3pm (doors open 9am

Getting to the market is easy, just click here!

For all the what’s on info, and school holiday activities click here!

Follow the links below for more info on tours and car charging:

Food Tours, Self Guided Tours, Free Electric Car Charging, Bus Tour Groups, School Tours

 

Good food is all the sweeter when shared with good friends – Unknown

 

South Melbourne Market has been a treasured inner city landmark and a favourite amongst locals and visitors since 1867. It is the quintessential village market, a place where people come not only to purchase fresh food, but to meet, eat, drink, shop, discover, share and connect.

We took two hungry ankle biters to the market on Saturday morning and we were thrilled with everything it had to offer. As soon as you walk in your senses become alive with sights and smells of all the wonderful products on sale. Having said that Monty just demanded the usual packet of Mentos, and threw an absolute wobbler because we couldn’t find any! Not even remotely satisfied with the plethora of lovingly made food on offer. Little “bleeper”.

There is coffee to top all coffee, fish, meat, flowers, clothes, shoes, jewellery, cheese, wine, oysters, pies, cakes, freshly made pasta, honestly the list goes on and on. People from all over Melbourne and from afar come to spend their morning buying fresh produce, relaxing with their friends and filling their baskets with top notch treats!

The Wilson’s top thrills this weekend were:

• The most dreamy, fluffy, scrumptious donuts from La Lapa
• The delicious meat on offer at Hagens Organic Butcher was second to none!
• The magical Terrarium’s at The Terrarium Laboratory caught my eye. I am desperate for one!
• The kids loved The Super Cool Kid, and also enjoyed the colouring in, and being able to measure themselves on the height chart! Anything to keep them busy right?
• Merchants of Change is my kind of shop! All things People, Planet and Purpose, and uber cool too, that you could ever wish for!
• Inside the Looking Glass wooed me with their awesome selection of jewellery, and funky patterns. If only I had won the lotto last week! One of everything please!
• Oh the joy on the kids faces when they spied Spin South Melbourne. Scooter, skateboard and bike heaven.. Lots for the grown ups too!
• I managed to pry Mr W’s wallet out of his grasp and spend some of his hard earned cash on some awesome crockery from In2 Homewares. So much lovely stuff to choose from.
• The Fresh Pasta Shop was mind blowing! So many options for dinner, it all looked delish, and I was running out of room in my bag and my tummy….

We loved the excitement of seeing everything the market had to offer visitors, from beautiful flowers and groceries, to original clothing and accessories. There were plenty of shops for the children to have a look round; they managed to touch everything they could see, and spend their pocket money too. It really is a great place to go to fully support the local community who are working tirelessly to bring you the best of the best that Melbourne has to offer.

South Melbourne Market has a full calendar of live music, events and activities. It is a happy and experiential place that celebrates the senses. Get yourselves down to South Melbourne Market, you never know what may delight you first!

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Opening hours

Wednesday- 8-4 /Friday-8-5 /Saturday-8-4 /Sunday-8-4

2 Hours free parking on market days

Fairy Petunia is at the market every Wednesday from 9:30-11:30 in the food hall, offering face painting, balloon art, colouring, music and loads more fun!

 

“Hard work should be rewarded with good food and beautiful presents” – Olivia Wilson

 

 

I wonder if we think of each other at the same time!

I wonder whilst I am sitting here looking out on a different land, if you are looking upon that green grass, the landscape that is so familiar to me.

I wonder if you ever think of me whilst you’re doing the things we used to do together.

I wonder if you try to call me by accident as much as I do you.

I wonder if you still miss me as much as you did a year ago.

I wonder if that longing I feel in my heart makes yours ache too.

I wonder if you look at your children, watch them grow and ever wonder what mine are doing right at that moment.

I wonder if you pray for the children’s friendships and hope they stand the test of time.

I wonder if everything has stayed the same!

I wonder if you still save a seat for me at dinner. It’s strange to think that those little quirky “we miss you” things may soon disappear from your girl’s nights out.

I wonder if you have saved a space in your life for me, for when I return with my arms flung open, to tell you I’m home, and start all over as if I never left.

I wonder if we will ever go back to exactly where we left off, all those years ago.

Please remember me. Remember us. Remember everything we had before this adventure of mine began. I took you with me, I took all of you, I had you tucked away in my heart, and I will always return to our friendship no matter how long I am away!

The truth is, I miss you. I miss the laughter that makes our faces ache. I miss our children playing. I miss our chats. I miss our moans. I miss our gin and tonics at inappropriate times of the day. I miss the world with you. I miss our time together. I miss our nights out. I miss hearing about your day. I miss afternoon tea in your garden. I miss your enthusiasm. I miss your kindness. I miss you knocking on my door. I miss seeing your car drive past. I miss your face. I miss your company. I miss your uniqueness. I miss stealing a squirt of your perfume when you’re not looking. I miss the jokes that we talked about for years.

The truth is, I miss you, I miss all of you, I miss everything we had.

So hold me dear even though I am far, keep the chair free for me, I will be coming home.

Friends come and go like the waves of the ocean, but good ones stay, like an octopus on your face! – Unknown

Netball nailed, starving kids, and a day of fun planned, we jumped into the car, threw some stale muffins at the brats in the back and headed to The Eureka Skydeck, on the 88^th Floor (a whopping 285 meters above sea level) of the incredible Eureka Tower!

This truly is an unbelievable Melbourne icon. Looking up at this tower, it’s hard to imagine how on earth we are going to be able to stand at the top and look down, especially as Poppy is already having palpitations at the thought! The Eureka tower is 297meters high, gold plated and stands as proud as punch next to the Yarra river. You can’t miss it, and you definitely don’t want to either.

We were ushered through security (I was praying Monty was going to behave), and into the lift. It travels so fast you almost blink and miss the journey! We arrived at the 88^th floor in no time at all, all poking about in our ears as they desperately needed popping! We stepped out of the lift, a little apprehensive about how high up we were, however, as soon as we clapped eyes on the view we all gasped. We gasped the biggest gasp we have ever gasped!! The view was was spectacular, astounding, stunning,  incredible, remarkable, dazzling.  I’m pretty sure Monty said “bloody hell;” I just walked toward the floor to ceiling windows in awe, pretending he wasn’t with me! The view is not only breath-taking, but the Eureka Sky deck is by far the best observation deck we have ever been in; and we’ve been in a few.  There is so much to see, to learn and to photograph. (*note to self, empty iPhone albums).

Walking around the deck, you get to see the whole of Melbourne, the parks, the sports centres, the bustling lanes full of shoppers. You get to see Melbourne from the best vantage point. As the highest public observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere, Eureka claims to offer a “visual masterpiece,” they’re not wrong.  The little telescopes they have highlighting the main attractions in the city are wonderful, we all loved them! Monty spent ages staring down at the MCG! Happy cricket fan right here! The Eureka Skydeck is the most wonderful way to get your head around where things are in relation to everything else! Great for everyone, tourist or local! It’s like staring down at a moving map of the most liveable city in the world! Are we the luckiest ducks you know?

Once we had made our way around the viewing deck oohing and aaaaahing, and I had stopped praising Mr W for bringing us to this awesome city, we headed to ‘The Edge’. This was the part of the experience I had least been looking forward to if I’m honest. I’m not a massive “heights” fan, Poppy is trembling! Honestly, we were all a little apprehensive!!

We were kindly asked to put covers on our shoes so as not to scratch the glass, the kids loved this as we looked like we had pixie feet! The man in charge asked us not to jump around or take any belongings into the box for safety reasons. I took a deep breath, smiled and pretended I was thrilled to be entering this glass box!  Here goes! We took our children by the hand and headed into the world’s first and only Edge Experience – we were in a glass cube, holding on for dear life. The door closed, the cracking glass sound effect made me jump out of my skin, and we began our journey outwards from the side of the 88^th floor.  With a little shuddering and pretty terrifying sound effects  within a few seconds The Wilsons were suspended almost 300 meters high above Melbourne city, standing on glass! Yes glass!!! I know!!!!!!! Monty knocked the door and was let out, the rest of us lasted a bit longer. You know who was the least terrified… Poppy! Tim was pretending to be Mr Cool, but I could see the terror in his eyes, bless!!!

Aside from the hysteria of being in a glass box above the streets of Melbourne, it was the most fantastic experience. It’s like nothing we have ever done with the children. It is a view like no other, and if you can brave the cube you will not be disappointed.

We survived the Edge, we posted postcards from the highest postbox in the world, we ate icy poles over looking the city below, and we let the children dangle themselves off the side of the building too! (That’s a joke, it’s trick photography for goodness sake).

 

We had such a great day out, there were no tantrums, no arguments, just pure enjoyment, smiley faces and lots of gushing about this wonderful city! I’m definitely going again, maybe on my own nest time, so I can really soak up the views in peace whilst sipping on an espresso, reminding myself what a bloody lucky lot we are!

 

Facts about the Skydeck:

• Eureka Skydeck 88 is the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere
• The top of the Tower can flex up to 600mm in high winds (eeek)
• There are two 300,000-litre water tanks on level 90 & 91 that prevent any excess swaying
• 3,680 stairs – 92 storeys – 52,000 sq. metres of windows
• The glass on Eureka’s top 10 levels is 24 carat gold plated
• Eureka used 110,000 tonnes of concrete and weighs 200,000 tonnes.

 

If you want to visit the Skydeck, head to the website for opening times, ticket prices and all the what’s on news about the Easter holiday activities too!! Monty thinks you should!!

 

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all – Oscar Wilde

 

 

I love a kid with spirit, a kid with guts, one who isn’t afraid to step up and be counted, not afraid to stand up for what’s right. The reason I love spunky kids is, I have a child just like this. My son is gutsy, knows what’s right and wrong, but very often pushes me a little too far with his strength of character. He is loud, brave, a little punchy, energetic beyond belief, and will always, without fail, step in if he thinks someone is being wronged. He can often be seen pushing his big sister out of the way, so as he can confront the big kid who’s being mean to her. He always runs to the aid of his friends. He has been delivered, straight from my side of the family, in every way possible. This is all good and well but sometimes, his protective nature gets the better of him and he takes it too far. Honestly, he has been known to make much bigger kids cry and run to their mums when he has been standing up for someone. He is small but fiery, strong but gentle, tough but loving, the guy you just have to be friends with, because he will always have your back, no matter what. He is loyal, very loyal, almost too loyal, and this unfortunately has landed him in trouble in many a play park.

Every parent has been in that nightmare situation at least once, where you turn up to school or day care and you’re told that today your child has hit someone, or bitten someone or pushed someone over. Your heart sinks. You’re shocked that your little darling would ever do such a thing; even though you know as well as everyone else, they’re all capable of a little nibble, slap or shove. I remember picking up Monty when he was only 2 and being told he had pinched someone.  I couldn’t make out whether my heart was breaking because I was upset that my child would hurt someone else on purpose, or whether I was sad for the other mother who was now being told her precious child was going home with an injury. Thankfully, I have not been on either side too often, and now that both my children are getting older these sorts of things happen less and less. However, last Friday proved to me that although rare, hitting can occur at any age.

My sweet daughter, who is quite the opposite of Monty in feistiness, came home from school last week with a bruise the size and shape of a ten-year-old boys fist. Shocked, flabbergasted, upset, concerned, angry; no livid, enraged, outraged, beside myself, sweaty, dizzy, pacing up and down the kitchen…. How could anyone do this? These kids should know better at this age. I spent the whole of Friday night, drinking wine, getting more and more cross. Saturday morning arrived, I was regretting the wine, and also regretting how horribly I had handled my emotions.

Thinking about a boy hitting a girl was pretty shocking to me, as sexist as that sounds, especially in Australia; a country so hell bent on cutting out domestic violence and a country that insists on teaching children about the seriousness of violence after so many “one punch” deaths… From my quaint English countryside point of view it can be a little too much detail for young children, however, domestic violence campaigners are currently calling for young Australians to be better educated about the dangers of violent relationships, though the new national curriculum. This only goes to prove how seriously they take it here. In 2015 New South Wales became the first state to introduce school lessons specifically on domestic violence.

In no way am I accusing Australia of being any worse than anywhere else in the world, but it is definitely a huge issue here and a fairly big talking point.

So, Poppy comes home injured, upset, frightened, and I somehow feel the same. How could this happen? Why was she not safe at school? Who was watching them? Why didn’t this get stopped before it escalated? Why would a boy attack a girl? I had so many questions, and just like Monty, I was ready to explode, I was like a lioness protecting her cubs.

Then, I got to thinking about how I would have felt if this was the other way around? What if Monty had hurt someone at school? How would I feel if I’d had a phone call to say he had punched someone so hard they had to go and have an x-ray? Honestly…. I think that feeling would far outweigh my frenzied lioness feelings. To learn that your child has shown such aggression toward another student has to be heartbreaking to say the least.

When we send our children out into the big wide world, we hope that we have taught them enough to cope in certain situations, how to stand up for themselves in the right way, how to use their manners ALL OF THE TIME! What we don’t really consider as parents is, sometimes they will forget these rules, accidentally let loose and lash out, forget to wash their hands or say please may I. This in no way is a reflection on the school or the teachers, nor is it a reflection on how we have parented our children. Sometimes kids just get it wrong, very wrong. I know I have done my best to teach my children the difference between right and wrong, yet still they lash out at each other, answer me back, shout, and throw tantrums. I couldn’t tell you I’m 100% sure my son would never lash out and hit a girl. Just in the way you couldn’t either.  I am in no way condoning violent behaviour, but I am willing to stand up for all those mothers who have done nothing but try their best, and are still made to feel like they haven’t done enough by the way their children mistakenly react to situations. The mothers who have tried and tried to teach their children to stand up for themselves in a pretty frightening world, but not so much so that they end up being the bad kid. How on earth can we be expected to get that balance right? We don’t want to see them hit, just as much as we don’t want them to be the hitter.

Primary school is where we send them to hone the life skills that we have implemented. We send them to be taught in a structured environment that they have never really experienced before. We send them there, into a room, with many different personalities, lots of little voices, all competing for one teacher’s attention. And yes, by the age of 10 they should have mastered lots of life skills, but still, 10 is so young, and a 10 year old still has so much more time to learn, and grow, and be taught.

So whether your child is the hitter, or has been hit is irrelevant. What’s most important is that they have learnt a valuable lesson. We must remember that school is there to help us teach them that life isn’t perfect and that people aren’t perfect. It’s there to teach them that some people forget themselves in situations, there are consequences for that, and that’s how they learn. As long as we all support our children, teach them how they should behave, and what is expected of them, then fingers crossed we can send them off into the even wider world of adulthood, where they will succeed as well rounded individuals. Let’s not make everything so black and white, let’s not blame each other, let’s just show our children that we can look at things from many different angles, and maybe just maybe, this will help them grow up to be even more compassionate, more understanding and more respectful adults.

Olivia xx

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar, is as valuable to the child as it is the caterpillar – Bradley Millar

 

 

I thought I was being clever at the breakfast table this morning when I asked my children where they are from. Monty looked at me as if I was mental and promptly said  “Australia, we’re Australians”, and Poppy paused, thought for a moment and came out with a confused  “I don’t really know”. This is the girl who walked along the beach last week singing the whole of the Australian national anthem, and then looked blankly when I asked her to sing ‘God save the Queen’. I’m not sure whether this should have concerned me. To be honest it didn’t! I’m secretly thrilled that they are becoming a new generation of “third culture kids”. Maybe if I had pressed the issue we could have come up with some other nationalities rather than Australian. Monty was adamant he was Cambodian for about 5 weeks after our holiday.

I grew up an “army brat”! I think I am right in saying my parents have moved 38 times during their marriage. (Pretty sure also that my  mother will correct me once she reads this).  As a child growing up in a military family, you just have to go with the flow, or put up with being in boarding school! The latter was never a good option for me.  I don’t think I ever really questioned where home was though. I guess as a child, home was where my parents were, and where I didn’t have matrons breathing down my neck .  I don’t think I was confused as such, and I’m probably over analyzing it now I’m an adult, but since moving to Australia I do wonder how my children will feel about the word “home” if we continue to live abroad and if we decide to move again from here in the future. It’s never easy being the new kid, especially more than once, and even more so when you struggle to answer a simple question like “where are you from?”

Being raised as a bit of a nomad, probably made my decision to up sticks and move to Australia an easier one. I am guilty of getting very “itchy feet”. I move the furniture round the living room monthly! I have weekly clear outs, just in case and I’m always googling what life in another place would be like. But it’s somehow different now. I am the adult,  it’s my children  who have to just go with it!

I remember vividly the horror and excitement when my father came home to tell us we were moving to Abu Dhabi! Back in those days, Abu Dhabi was not a big tourist destination, there were only a handful of hotels, and it was pretty authentic Middle East. Kids at school in the UK joked that I would be travelling to school on a camel instead of a bus. I was terrified.  I hated camels. In fact Abu Dhabi was so unknown that some people thought we were moving to Aberdyfi in Wales! But Abu Dhabi truly became “home” to me. Even now I think so fondly of those days. No real cares, a fairly disorganised international school, wonderful beaches, beautiful friends from all over the world, constant hot sunny days, fresh samosas at the souk, all that and you were able to order a pack of Marlboro lights to be delivered to your door from the corner shop, no ID required! There was no Facebook, or Instagram, we didn’t have Skype or FaceTime. I wrote letters to my long lost friends, we very rarely spoke on the phone, we just kept in touch the best we could.

One day I noticed there was no mail. Then I realised I hadn’t sent any mail. We had all of a sudden drifted apart. So all the tears I cried leaving my school buddies, all the letters I wrote  complaining about how much I missed everyone back in the UK, eventually faded to a distant memory. Not that I had forgotten them, but I had moved on and so had they. I was living a different life in,  what seemed to my 13 year old self, a completely different world, that I thought no one back home truly understood.For many years, if anyone asked me where I was from, I would always say Abu Dhabi! This wasn’t because I was confused and genuinely thought I was a UAE national, it was more than that.  Abu Dhabi felt real, it felt safe, it was the first place we had lived where I genuinely felt like it was home. I am  pretty sure that this was down to my awesome collection of international friends who were just like me, and also very different from me at the same time. They were following their parents around the world, they knew what being the new kid was like, they had also left friends behind, and we all clicked. We all clicked because we were in the same boat, and deep down we all knew we were living an incredible life, and the world was to become our oyster.

A fellow expat here in Sydney told me, two years of being away is when the messages become less, the phone and Skype calls become more infrequent, and you start to move on with your life. This frightens me. It frightens me because I know first hand, just how true this can be.

I am starting to see this happening to my children now, and although it’s sad, I am determined for them to make the most of being on this adventure. I don’t want them to lose contact with their old lives, but I do want them to be free to decide where they come from. I want them to be confident travelers, and be adventurous. I want them to look forward, not back.  I want them to keep their “first” buddies, but I also want them to fully embrace our new life and nurture our newly formed friendships. I want them to know where “home” is, and at the same time I want them to feel like the whole world is their “home”!

And then I ask myself, is home really just a feeling?  As long as the four of us are together, laughing, bickering, exploring, moving the furniture around, then surely that’s all we need, that’s all that makes “Home” Home…

I often wonder what the future holds for Poppy and Monty, and other “expat” kids. Will it be a different scenario now because of social media? Will this ruin the magic of being a “third culture kid?” The lack of contact while living in far flung places is what makes it more of an adventure surely? Going back to the motherland once in a blue moon, with your different accent that isn’t really one thing or another, the clothes you’re wearing that seemed pretty snazzy until you saw what everyone else was wearing at “home”! Will the modern world get in the way of the “expat kids uniqueness”. I really, truly hope not. Will they still be “International Children of Mystery?” I truly hope so!

All we can do as parents is give our children the best life we possibly can. So why worry when they have no idea where they’re from. Maybe that’s the magic of being them!

You must go on adventures to know where you’re truly from.

 

 

*Third culture kid (TCK) is a term used to refer to children who were raised in a culture outside of their parents’ culture for a significant part of their development years. The definition is not constrained to describing only children, but can also be used to describe adults who have had the experience of being an ATCK (Adult Third Culture Kid). The experience of being a TCK is unique in that these individuals are moving between cultures before they have had the opportunity to fully develop their personal and cultural identity.