I wrote this on Friday, but was too tired to finish it. So here's Five Things, the Saturday Edition!

1.We had Archie's first birthday party last weekend. It was pretty freaking awesome. He got sufficiently spoilt and had a ball. Although I'm pretty sure he was more excited about the balloons than anything else. That kid sure does love balloons.

Also, I realised that my high-falutin' cake ideas were waaaay out of my league. Apparently becoming a mother does not automatically allow one to create amazeballs birthday cakes if one has never made said cakes before. My planned awesome cake of awesomeness failed miserably so I had to re-make the same cake I made for playgroup.

2. In other news,  Archer has started walking! Very wobbily and stiff-legged, like a drunken cowboy, but definitely taking steps on his own. A whole new adventure awaits us now. Like most milestones, I am partially excited about it but am also missing the days when he just stayed still and was happy to roll around and garble to himself contentedly. Now he is Mr Personality, and will waddle over to snuggle up then smack me in the face, poke a finger in my eye and growl like a lion. More independence is a beautiful thing, but he is now a toddler, not a wee baby anymore. Sob!

3. Living in Warrandyte means we have access to a river with lots of ducks. Big, noisy, quacking ducks that are obviously used to being fed. So much so that they come right up to the pram at baby head height and QUACK! Archie was so excited that he was literally shaking all over and huffing and quacking and waving his arms, not unlike a duck. I foresee plenty more duck feeding time in our future.

4. We discovered that there is an current planning permit for a two storey dwelling on our new property. HELLO! For anyone unfamiliar with the town planning process regarding renovating houses (which is most of you (except my dad. Hi, dad!)), this is potential GOLD. Hopefully, we can just amend the existing planning permit with our new design and re-submit the permit. Then we need a demolishing permit and a building permit and oh god that's enough.

Meanwhile, Lee and I are doing our first official day's work on our new house tomorrow. To say we are excited is an understatement. Who even are we any more? I never thought I would be looking forward to a day spent in a cold, stinky house, pulling up carpet that is probably rife with STDs and bong water, and yanking down old cobwebby plasterboard. Oh, but I am excited!

5. My current attitude towards the news and mainstream media and politics is to make like this (a big deal to a former political journalist) but trickles of the news have gotten through to me this week and GOOD LORD I have so much rage about the way the PM is being treated. This and this and this and this. It is beyond embarrassing. I am not her biggest fan, but I am even less of a fan of her opposition leader. And irrespective of what anybody thinks of the Prime Minister herself, at the very least respect her position. The whole political Australian fair-go, tall-poppy-slashing, larrikin, matey thing had transgressed into a cesspit of disrespect and snivelling and snark and teenage-boy immaturity. Grow up.