Five on a Friday

1. I’m sick again! I’ve probably caught O’s cold, nothing too terrible but enough to make me feel a bit rotten and sorry for myself! It’s the start of winter so not unexpected, and yet, we had a very healthy first few months of 2025, which I was getting used to. Ah well, could definitely be worse! But annoying because so far June has been busy.

2. The kids are sleeping better/longer now that it’s winter and the sun isn’t up at 4.45! Hooray. Though some days E sleeps past 7.30 and I have to wake her up and then getting out the door by 8.25 is a challenge. So we have to work on an earlier bedtime. It’s currently 8.30/9 (we start reading at 7.45/8 but the kids are still hyper at that time and take a long time to wind down).

3. We finally got our car back (Mitsubishi Lancer). After being in for repairs for maybe 6 weeks (we needed to replace the transmission due to damage sustained from Cycle Alfred), it’s finally back with us this week. Very grateful to mum and dad for lending us their second vehicle while it was repaired. In addition to getting our car back, we have decided to get a second vehicle- an EV compact SUV! My husband drives a van but it’s only two seater and so we’ve decided it’s time to see that and upgrade. I’ll drive the new car, and Al his beloved Lancer. (It’s quite sporty and has paddles to change gears which I have never used or appreciated). Electric Vehicles are getting some very impressive tax breaks right now which make them much cheaper than petrol vehicles, so it’s made them affordable for us for the first time. (We are just not people who want to spend $60K on a car).

   

   Thinking of a BYD Atto 3

4. I’ve been mildly obsessed with the case of the “mushroom case trial”. Erin Patterson is a woman in my home state of Victoria, who invited her 4 in laws over for a Beef Wellington (fancy old school beef, mushroom and pastry recipe) , but the guests all had death cap mushroom poisoning, 3 died and 1 only survived from a liver transplant. Erin miraculously was not poisoned. She’s on trial for murder and the trial is in its 7th week. My parents and brother and sister-in-law are all true crime fans like me so we’ve riveted. But even my little brother who’s not usually into these things has been following it. Here’s the latest on the trial if anyone is intrigued:

   https://amp.abc.net.au/article/105407684

   

   No photos or video allowed in the trial so we just get a sketch and summaries from journalists

5. I head to a conference in Sydney on Tuesday next week for 3 nights. In a way it’s not great timing because things are very busy at work and at home, but then again maybe a few nights away with only myself to worry about will be a needed break. Life has been a lot lately. My last conference travel was in February, and the next one after that is November, so I’m happy with the spacing this year (last I travelled for work at least 6 times and it was too much).

   
   

Finishing with a couple of cute kid pics. Here’s O with his favourite accessory- a backwards cap.

And here’s E with one of her many “talking toys”. This one is called Kitty. I love that she still loves dolls and soft toys

Happy Friday everyone! Does anyone have an EV? How is it? Anyone else love true crime genre or just me? Any tricks to helping kids wind down faster at bedtime?