Gold Coast

It's Sunday and we're still here. No buffet breakfast though.

Geez it's nice here. There are Kids Club activities twice a day which the kids have been partaking in. Yesterday there was a mini golf tournament and Nate won! This morning was meant to be a go-cart rally which would have been wonderful because they have been asking if we could hire a few, but the weather is very unpredictable - bright sun one minute and torrential rain the next, like an inch in 10 minutes. Instead they are doing craft which they look to be enjoying. Masks and finger puppets so far.

Craft has always been one of those things that I wished we did more of because the kids love it, but I am a bit of a control- and neat-freak so I find it hard. Eli also tends to want to destroy whatever Nate and Maya are doing while they are in the process of creating it which means that I have tried to limit that kind of activities to when he's asleep. Then I find myself feeling disappointed if he wakes up before we're finished, and that sucks for him. Right now though, Eli is happily sitting between Maya and another kid, colouring on a mask with some textas. You wouldn't know that it's Eli sitting there. You know, Eli. The one man whirlwind of terror. He isn't that person at all right now. It's interesting when we decide who our kids are, give them a label, and then don't let them be anyone else in our eyes. Sitting here writing this is really good for me as a parent, and obviously really good for Eli because he will benefit from it.

Speaking of Eli, he is loosening his grip on me a bit. Whenever Nick heads off to do something, Eli wants to go with him rather than sticking with me or trying to make me go. He is willingly going to Nick in the pool instead of insisting on me holding him 100% of the time. It's a big relief for me, and I know it's nice for Nick who doesn't like to feel like he isn't pulling his parenting weight (which anyone who knows him knows he always is). I'm happy to see that Eli seems to finally be feeling comfortable, after a few months of big changes.

The biggest challenge for Nick and I so far has been the lack of alone time - individually and as a pair. For me personally, I have always taken time away from everyone to recharge when I have felt overwhelmed or irritable. I have found that being home, even in a different room, just hasn't been good enough. Taking a book to a coffee shop for an hour (or two) has been my favourite escape. Since we have been travelling though, we have been spending all of our time together. This Kids Club experience has been good because it is a perfect opportunity for us to go do our own thing/s (well, our own thing/s with Eli tagging along, but he's so easy when Nate and Maya aren't around - one kid is SO EASY when you have three kids). It has occurred to me, though, that this travelling experience is the perfect chance for all five of us to develop our own recharging skills. If we can find time and space for ourselves with four other people constantly around, that will serve us well for the rest of our lives. We will be able to channel inner peace no matter what the circumstances. Great life skill.