None of us like to say we live our own lives through our children. We recognise that their lives are their own – not a do-over for ourselves. But what do you do when you see your kids be offered an opportunity that you think is fantastic, but that they want to turn down? What if that opportunity is a really big deal? Can you stand back and let them allow it to pass them by? It starts early.... 

When we left Australia on the 17th of August, 2008, I didn’t realise I might never step foot back into our house again. Sure, I knew we were pretty likely to eventually sell the place, but it just didn’t occur to me that it was the last time I’d be inside those walls. The home that held so many memories. The home that I renovated hand in hand with our conveniently located builder... 

Conversations with my family are wonderful. I love the little chats had with the kids and the husband in passing as we all go about our daily business. Sometimes, though, the sentences that spill from the lips of the wonderful people who live in this house should never have been shared. I wish they never spake them (ooh, I said spake). Here are some examples: 1. “Mum, I can aim this gun really... 

As a blogger, you need lots of good pics. Especially when using a theme that needs a really good one for the main feature (you don’t want a lack of a pic to be something that stops you posting). I thought instead of just keeping all the pics I’ve rejected from intended posts, I’d actually make a post featuring those pics, so you can share the pain/humour. Halloween 2008 This was... 

When Max leaped across from Sydney to join us for three weeks in January, we took lots of pictures. As mums do. I promised myself I’d get them organised, and create a nice montage. As mums do. Now we’re halfway through February, and the planned montage didn’t happen because other things got in the way. As they do. Max enjoying the view. I decided I was being too much of a perfectionist.... 

Moving to Denver meant we moved to the heart of Speed Stacking. We’d tried it out back in Australia, because you know, it’s freaky to watch so as soon as we saw the ad on tv we just had to give it a go. The sport hasn’t taken off in Australia like it has in other some places. But Denver is where it originated, and so here we are, equipped with cups, timers and mats. This sport is... 

If you’re looking for a great deal for skiing, then a little preparation is in order. Think it out early, and you’ll save lots. Leave it to the last minute, and you’ll be paying for it – literally. As a grad student mum with extremely limited funds, I have got hold of some great deals, and I wanted to share some resources with you. The Colorado Gems Card. For a $10 initial... 

Disney really has wrapped up every part of entertainment. Everywhere, the Disney organization has a presence. Even in this horrid economy, Disney reported an 18% increase in profit for the fourth quarter this year. The brand resonance of Disney is nothing short of amazing. Older women remember their favorite Disney princess, and still buy pyjamas, t-shirts and lots of other merchandise. Feld Family... 

This week I was happily invited to join some other Colorado-based bloggers for a few adult snacks, refreshments and the opportunity to build a basket of goodies to take home. It was a great evening, put on by Glade’s parent company, S. C. Johnson’s wonderful PR team from Edelman in Chicago, to promote their Sense & Spray product. This event demonstrated Edelman actively identifies... 

There’s something magical about arriving at the airport with all your luggage and just two of your kids for the upcoming 28 hours of travel between countries, and reaching the check-in counter to find out every bag comes in just under the 23kg weight limit. Score. And there’s something even more special about being handed your boarding passes and passports, turning around and seeing the... 

Running a startup isn’t easy on anyone. The glorious trails of successful entrepreneurs are littered with the scars of broken relationships and bitter resentment of cold dinners and missed birthday parties. It takes a special kind of relationship to weather the storms of startup life. At Darling Harbour, Sydney. It takes a special kind of kid too. A kid who will understand that daddy or mummy... 

What to do about (drum roll) sexting? Approaching the topic of sexting in a way that best meets a receptive outcome from your teenager is paramount. And grabbing their mobile phone to go through every message is not generally going to get a positive response. Unless… Did you originally say to your teen “Hey, I’m gonna go through your phone occasionally to check up on you?”... 

I never dreamed I’d live anywhere other than Sydney, Australia. When you’ve got a good job, a house you’re constantly doing ‘something’ to, kids, dogs, routine… the last thing you think of is moving. Anywhere. Least of all to a country you’ve never been to before. But then I came home from work one day and Jed told me his start-up dreams weren’t done... 

In Australia I spent a heck of a lot of money on educating my four fantastic children. It won’t surprise many that as an educator, and someone who got her post-secondary education ‘the freaking toughest way you’d ever decide to’, education is my priority. It’s what I do. It’s really my life. As a full-time teacher at Granville TAFE, my favourite times have been... 

I joined Twitter on my first trip to the US, in 2007 at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. And I remember thinking it sucked. I had no connections other than the conference channel – which was tweeting  basically nothing. That sucked. Segway (does it have a ue?): I’m a tertiary level teacher of marketing and journalism in Oz, and every Christmas break (5 weeks long) I commit myself... 

Taking the family out can be tough when the economy is having a downturn and there’s more month than money. That’s why I’m really excited to give you the chance to win a great prize in my blog’s very first competition! And if you don’t win, I have a code which will give you the opportunity to buy your family of four or more tickets for just $11 each! If you live in Colorado,... 

Once upon a time, there was a big lake that crossed two suburbs, Ambarvale and Rosemeadow. Surrounded by ticky-tacky public housing, the murky lake was home to eels and ducks that those local residents who couldn’t afford the cost of movies for entertainment would feed with stale bread. The children of the areas would group up with friends and hang out around the lake, playing in the marshes... 

Yesterday we took a road trip to Vail. It’s just two hours away. I found a great sledding area in Vail courtesy of a website which lets you locate good sledding runs (free) in your neighbourhood. We entered the address in the GPS, and off we went! The day cost us nothing apart from the car’s petrol and wonderful pizza we ate for dinner. We’ve discovered the following: a. I need... 

Harry loves to hike through the Rocky Mountains. There are more trails around here than you can poke a … hiking staff at. (Sorry.) Harry’s decided to do a series of Hiking with Harry videos, which will show everyone a little bit of what new things he’s experiencing in hiking in a completely different environment. This is his first one, where he is seeing his first ever frozen lake.... 

Halloween is officially over. The only candy left is the real crud that nobody will eat so I’m about to chuck it out. That’s not bad for an entire month! The other great thing was the jack-o-lanterns. We had heaps of fun carving them with our US friends and they decorated the outside of the house with their scariness for a while. And the kids even had a jack-o-lantern competition at school... 

I am swimming in the B pool and I’m not happy. (Don’t try telling me getting a B is okay. It’s not.) I have some kick-ass papers to write. I have a great brain and a wealth of experience. But I’m not getting the grades I want. Graduate school is difficult. This week I had what I’d describe as a ‘crash and burn 24 hours’. There were lots of reasons to just... 

I was wondering which of the Desperate Housewives I am. I don’t have a gardener, we’re not rich, my kids are not dysfunctional, I’m not blonde in real estate and I’m not pretty and stupid. I guess some would say Lynette is the closest to me, because she has billions of children and was a great worker outside the home. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.  I...