When Michael is away, the girls play.

Michael is away in Coolangatta for the Beach Nationals tournament, which means it's just us girls here this weekend. We met up with some friends and their son at a big playground in Five Dock yesterday, and today we just went to the cafe and the playground and are just hanging out in the neighborhood. 

Every couple has different amounts of time that they are okay with their partner spending away from them. Some of the moms in my moms group tell their husbands they absolutely can't leave for a weekend away with the guys, or I have a friend who tells her husband that he can't be away more than one evening during the week while their son is young, because she needs help with him. I've known other people who don't say anything to their partner, but then say they feel like a "widow" to (insert extracurricular activity here). 

Michael and I have no such rules, and I am no widow. I actually think I am out more nights on a regular basis with friends than he is, and but then he goes away for more frisbee tournaments than I do. To each their own. I, personally, don't like to tell other grown adults what their limits are because I don't want them to tell me what mine should be. I'm sure other people don't see it like that, if they have agreements with their partners, and that's fine for them.

Penelope and I could have traveled with Michael, but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle this year. It's extra money, but we also have some visitors and travels coming up in the next two months, and I think those are enough. She is, as usual, very active and learning new words every day. Her latest "thing" is trying to escape from her sleep sack while she is napping or sleeping, and she always ends up with one arm out of the same hole as her head, or both arms through the same arm hole, or one stuck inside, etc. I never know what I'm going to walk into now. Pen also likes to say "row row" so that I'll sing "Row Row Row Your Boat", or "Num num num" when she thinks something tastes good. She enjoys picking out books to read from her shelf, which mostly ends up with seven books on the floor that produce a booby trap that she slips on when she's walking over them later. 

The weather has been perfect lately - cool at night and mild during the day. It hasn't rained much in several weeks, which is mostly good (but I'm sure the plants and waterways in the area are always happy for a sprinkle).

Now that we have a time frame forming for moving back to the states, every event we partake in here in Sydney might be the last one of it's kind before we go. There's always the chance we will come back for a visit, either because of Michael's work, or a special event like a wedding, etc. And, there's even the chance we could move back after several years back in the states, depending on how things are going. 

I am spending Penelope's naptime today re-setting up my watch. It stopped working properly under warranty, so now I have to redo all the same settings and it's taking forever. I suppose that's alright because I have nowhere else I need to be. Happy weekend, everyone!