With Bluey season 3 due to commence production late this year, we caught up with Melanie Zanetti, voice of Chilli, to chat about all things Bluey, what it’s like to be caught up in what has become a global sensation, and just how Chilli manages it all!
We were lucky enough to chat with Jules on our podcast KIDDO Chats, and it was like sitting down with an old friend. She regaled us with stories about growing up in Adelaide, and shared her insights about parenting and motherhood, as well as what’s coming up for Jules and her family for the rest of 2020 and beyond.
We chat with Amanda McPherson, the creative director and chief magic maker behind Santa’s Wonderland, about what this year’s event will look like and how she manages the jolly juggle of managing large scale events with her young family!
Got a question about life, motherhood or eating chocolate biscuits…? Ask Hayley @sweetlittlestory! This month, Hayley talks about losing yourself in motherhood.
The pressure to be perfect and the challenges of a perpetually plugged in social media life can be all consuming for young girls, but Adelaide based business, The Girl Gang Wellness, is here to help.
Turia Pitt inspired the nation with her story of survival and extraordinary resilience after she was caught in an out of control grass fire while competing in an ultra marathon in 2011. She suffered burns to 65% of her body, and then went on to, as her website says, ’defy every expectation placed on her.’ We chat with her about her new book, Happy (and other ridiculous aspirations) and her advice on how to be happy.
Of late I have resigned myself to the fact that I am a Free Range Parent. I had been resisting this parenting pigeonhole, fearing it had connotations of neglect or a lack of care or interest in my children. But, I’ve come to realise that it’s time to embrace the title. It can be hard to adequately keep across the social, sporting and schooling commitments of three daughters, especially when, like chickens on a free range farm, they choose to roam far from home. My middle child Milla is 11. A mature 11. Mature enough to be left alone for half an hour or so if we need to duck out of the house and she has zero interest in joining us. On one such weekend morning when the household commitments had pulled us in a multitude of different directions we returned to a note from Milla saying she was walking the dog. When she swanned in some time later she casually regaled us with her morning activities. She had raided her birthday money, taken the dog and her book on the 15 minute journey down to Joe’s Kiosk at Henley Beach, ordered scrambled eggs and smashed avo on toast and had a relaxing solo breakfast. Living her best pre-teen life. She asked to be reimbursed. Because no matter how free range our parenting is, it’s still our responsibility to feed our little chickens apparently. “You could have held off on the avocado,” I grumbled, reluctantly handing over twenty bucks. When I repeated this story to my Hit107 co-host Cosi he was MORTIFIED. He thought she was way too young to be wandering the streets and most of our listeners agreed with him. I second-guessed myself briefly. But we all know our own children. Milla is familiar with the local roads, she knows the local cafes and she had the dog with her. I would much prefer she had the confidence and initiative to get some exercise, fresh air and a meal much better than that on offer at home then stay trapped in the house, on a screen. Free Range is just one of the types of modern parenting styles. Others include: Helicopter Parents This is where you hover over your children like said aircraft. I am not and have never been a helicopter parent. My husband can venture into helicopter territory. Which, while mildly irritating, does increase our children’s chance of survival. When our first born was little I was dining al fresco with her and he rang to remind me not to let her run onto the road. “I’m so glad you called honey, just hold the line for a sec while I rescue her from the traffic because I had not thought of that.” Snowplough Parents This is where you remove obstacles that are in the way of your children so they don’t fail. Also not me. Kids have to fail, it’s how you learn and grow. They should also be allowed to make bad clothing and hair choices like we did so they can look back and cringe at their old photos. They don’t seem to do that anymore. They just look pouty and perfect from primary school. I’m not protecting my kids from failure if it’s their own fault. “Mum can you write a note in my diary saying I couldn’t finish my homework?” “Did you watch Netflix and Snapchat your friends?” “Um, for a little bit.” Then no note in the diary, princess. Tiger Parents The succeed at all cost, pushy parent. Nope, not me either. I can hardly find the energy to push myself to succeed. The pushiest I’ve ever got is yelling “up and in” at their school netball games. So, Free Range it is. All things considered I think my free range chickens are pretty well-adjusted, independent and resourceful farm animals. With expensive taste in breakfast. @rebeccamorse10
A Master Creative Growing up on a self sufficient Canadian wheat farm, Evelyn has always been aware of nature and has used her early skills in the crafts of knitting, crocheting and sewing to create objects as a living.
‘When women come together, extraordinary things happen’. We are Better Together. This is why Pip and Lenny decided there was no better way to celebrate than to come together and acknowledge the enormity of motherhood and the significance of a strong support network! On Friday 7 Feb guest speakers Teresa Palmer and Christiane Duigan (Lovewell), Sophie Walker (Australian Birth Stories) and Lucy Cornes (She Shopped) came together and chatted all things motherhood. This are some of the socials we snapped on the evening: Meaghan Coles Photography For more information: eventbrite.com.au/e/better-together-a-pip-and-lenny-event-tickets
Name: Bianca Nilsson Age: 22 Passion: Music When Bianca Nilsson launched Renegade Records, the entrepreneur had no idea how to run a record label, but she taught herself through YouTube. “I sign artists first for a single and if they’re happy to proceed we’ll distribute their music and create marketing campaigns, do all the digital assets, and book gigs, tours, also sync deals – just like the whole spectrum of everything music related,” she explains. “We’ve actually got a song on an advertisement right now with Volkswagen that’s aired in Paris, and is bringing a lot of traction to one of the songs which has almost 150,000 streams on Spotify. It’s called ‘Freedom’ by one of my artist’s Matt Cue who is based in Detroit, Michigan. He reached out to me via email about two years ago and I really loved his music, so I hopped on a call and then signed him and we’ve been together ever since.” Follow @renegade.records on Instagram to find out more.
What up, dads? I have some exciting news to share: I finally Googled something that has been on my mind for years – “what do birds do at night?”. Turns out many birds are able to switch off half their brain when they need to have a sleep, keeping one eye fully awake and alert to predators. Very cool. Perhaps one day, with scientific and technological advances, us humans will acquire the ability to keep a watchful eye on our kids while simultaneously ripping a solid nap (imagine!). But, until then, I’ll continue writing nonsensical magazine column intros with barely one half of my brain functioning. READ: POP GOES THE WEASEL – By James Patterson I read a lot of literary fiction, which is sometimes like choosing the healthy yet tasteless salad for lunch. Occasionally you just need to pick the giant, disgusting, fast food sludge you know is terrible for you. Enter this book, by apparently the world’s bestselling author. This mind-numbing instalment follows Patterson’s regular hero Alex Cross hunting a deranged British serial killer with diplomatic immunity. It’s stupid, with awful dialogue and riddled with crime clichés, but it’s oh-so-fun, and if you can’t find it just head to a second-hand book shop and pick any of the other Patterson titles that inevitably line a huge shelf in it. Available from Dymocks, $17.99 (or your closest op shop, probably) READ: THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA – By Judith Kerr Why didn’t I know about this book?! Written in 1968, it’s one of the best-selling children’s books ever, and sees a mother and daughter visited by a tiger, who eats everything in the house. There’s something really poignant about this book, with the tiger’s Mona Lisa smile, the girl’s adoring gaze at the tiger and an ending I’m still trying to figure out. Daddy-feels aside, your kid will love the beautiful illustrations and the fact there’s a fricken tiger eating all the food, so if you’re one of the seven people in the world that hasn’t read this book, add it to your roster. Available from Dymocks, $14.99 WATCH: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC This is a Sunday night special and it’ll make you evaluate your parenting decisions and what’s best for your groms. The film follows a family that has spent years living off-grid in the wilderness as they grapple with the death of their mother and their reintegration into society. Viggo Mortensen is brilliant as the tough yet tender father, with touching performances by the six children. But there are enough laughs on their road trip – to fulfil a mission to honour their mum’s wish to be cremated and have her ashes flushed down the toilet – so it’s not all heavy going. Lovely stuff. netflix.com DO: DIGITAL DETOX At the risk of sounding like one of those people – I’m gonna be one of those people. I’ve taken a break from the endless scroll the past couple of months, deleting social media apps off my phone. It probably won’t be a permanent thing, and I haven’t detached completely (I still use the accounts occasionally for work and stuff), but I’ve already found my mood has improved and the time I’ve spent having fun with my kid, reading, keeping fit, etc. has increased markedly as my screen time (and my brain worms) have dwindled. Give a detox a go this summer, I dare ya.
LISTEN: Reality Check podcast Welcome to my new guilty pleasure that I don’t actually feel in any way guilty about. This shiny new podcast is an iteration of the Shameless Podcast I recommended a few issues ago, the podcast for “smart women who love dumb stuff”. Hi. The Reality Check takes a leaf out of the same book, bringing you the sugar and smarts in equal measure, while dissecting the best and worst moments from the week in reality television. I refuse to believe I’m the only adult woman with an insatiable need to talk about everything that just went down on Love Island, The Bachelorette or MAFS, and the Reality Check podcast is the perfect balance of trashy TV chat with a side of insight, intelligent commentary and social analysis. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. READ: Not Bad People by Brandy Scott It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book, I’m not going to lie. My energy and brain capacity have been well and truly zapped lately by my kids clinging to me like mum jeans to a camel toe. By the by, I managed to pry my three small humans off myself for long enough this month to read Not Bad People, the debut novel by former journalist Brandy Scott, which is not a bad effort given it is 500ish pages long. The novel, set in small-town Australia, is a story of how seemingly harmless decisions can snowball into tragedy under the right (or wrong!!) circumstances. On New Year’s Eve, three thirty-something women and lifelong best friends, let off illegal Chinese lanterns filled with resolutions for letting go. The following day, newspapers report a light plane crash, with two victims pulled from the wreckage, with the friends left questioning whether their lanterns brought the plane down. Not Bad People is kind of a slow burn (pardon the pun), but definitely worth seeing through to the end, at which point you feel like you inherently know the characters like you would your own friends; they are realistic in their flaws, relatable and without being stereotypical. Discussing themes of parenthood, friendship and the balancing of modern life, all within a twisting and turning plot line, this is definitely a book to put on your summer reading list. Dymocks $32.99 DO: Volunteer to pack bags for new mums in need with The Village Co. The women from Adelaide based charity, The Village Co., are passionate about seeing all South Australian new mothers, regardless of their background or disadvantage, embraced and supported as they begin the life-changing journey of motherhood. Through generous donations of South Australians, The Village Co. provides mums in need with essential and practical items, with the hope that this gift will make them feel seen, cared for, and empowered to be the best mother they can be, with the ability to address the basic needs of their newborn and also themselves. If you want to play a part in being the village for a new mum who may not have much access to support, not only can you donate new items for these care packs, but you can also be involved in the collation of donations into bags at The Village Co. regular packing days. These days are about like-minded, loving people coming together to do something amazing for people they’ll never meet, while having some chit-chat over coffee, and getting to know other mums who make up the village. These bags are then distributed via agencies who care for vulnerable and at-risk perinatal women. Upcoming packing days are scheduled for February 11 and March 10, 2020 and The Village Co. welcome as many helpers as possible, with further details about how to get involved on their socials. We all want to give something back, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start; this is a good place. Just saying. The Village Co. @the_village_co eenie meenie miney mum
Letting go, letting go. (Sung to the tune of the Frozen earworm) When you think about it, from the moment they are born, all of our parenting is essentially about equipping our children to survive on their own out in the real world. And yet every step towards their ultimate independence is fraught with pain. It begins on their first day of childcare or kindy when you prise their chubby little hand out of yours and try to console yourself with the fact that the playdough/finger painting/yoga/guinea pig program on offer is much more comprehensive than the curriculum at home. Then in the blink of an eye it’s their first day of school and all of the mixed emotions that brings. Melancholy with a hint of freedom. Patent that scent and make it into a candle. When my first-born toddled off to school with her giant backpack I shed a tear. When the middle child started I experienced a twinge of sadness. When the third and final child started my greatest surge of emotion was whether I should be offended by the mother who remarked on my decision to wear activewear on what she deemed a momentous occasion devalued by my casual attire. It’s Lululemon, I muttered under my breath. The Reception classroom is a jungle of judgement. The next letting go of the child milestone comes with the transition to high school. Remember when they begged for you to come into the classroom instead of turfing them out at the drop-off zone? Cherish those short days because come high school they won’t even want a kiss on the cheek in the front seat in case their friends see them. I even get in trouble if I have the radio up too loud. The eldest embarks on Year 11 next year so I’ll blink again and she’ll be finishing school. She’s already fiercely independent, got a job as soon as it was legal and is learning to drive with zero assistance from me, which is lucky as I’m still unable to parallel park after a quarter of a century behind the wheel. In fact, I dread her getting her P plates because I feel like the journey to drop her at places is the only time I can hold her captive in a small space so I can make sure she is aware of the dangers of the internet/boys/alcohol/fad diets. We had to let her go for a couple of weeks recently when we put her on a plane to Japan for a school exchange. I set up a WhatsApp group optimistically titled CHECK IN WITH YOUR PARENTS and instructed her to update us daily. She did not update us daily. I was forced to monitor her Instagram for signs of life. I see you’ve landed in Singapore, I messaged as an airport selfie popped up on the Insta story. And I see that you are wearing my brand new tank top. I see you’ve visited Harajuku, I messaged, after her first post on the grid. And I see that you have also packed the pink skirt I have been looking for. And you’ve knotted it, which is a cute look but will make it difficult to iron on your return. When she reached her host family she finally began to want some contact with her mother. She FaceTimed me in tears one night, saying she was homesick. (I was secretly relieved as I’d feared at the tender age of 16 she was already equipped to travel the world alone with no pangs for the life created for her at home). She said she was having trouble getting her family to understand her and she wasn’t sure about some of the recipes being served up. Begging the question, why are you homesick? Sounds just like your daily life here. I’d missed having a teenager in the house. I even thought for a short time I may have been cool, without her constant reminders that I am far from it. How lucky we are if we can help our children see the world (she wasn’t handed the trip on a platter, saving up to contribute a portion from her part-time job). Letting go is hard. But a sense of adventure, bravery, curiosity and independence is a great gift to instill in our children. Especially since Japan is on my bucket list and I need a translator. @rebeccamorse10
In between the annoyance of not being able to find that favourite blouse amongst all the others or needing to pop down to Ikea to buy more storage for an ever-growing shoe collection, we often forget how truly lucky we are. There are thousands of women in South Australia who are facing a range of adverse circumstances whilst raising young children – be it domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, generational poverty and / or homelessness, with just the clothes on their back. Often it’s the same for the children who have never owned anything new, or age-appropriate, let alone suitable for school. Clothing provides practical benefits of course, but clothing also serves us in other ways; it’s an extension of our personality. Expression through fashion is a luxury. MumKIND are launching their major ‘Get Changed’ initiative and are seeking donations of high quality women’s, men’s & children’s clothing, shoes and accessories. Further to this, they are seeking partnerships with fashion wholesalers and retailers, and people who work in the fashion industry for donations of end-of-season stock. We need to donate mindfully. The sale of high quality clothing in charity shops is an important revenue source for many charities; with this income, we can support the most marginalised people in our society. These shops are run by volunteers and rely on high-quality donations. MumKIND are welcoming anything from winter coats, dresses, jumpers, skirts, pants, jeans, hats, boots, summer dresses, trousers, shorts and sandals – and even special occasion items like evening dresses and dinner suits. Want to make a direct impact? There are over 30 + drop off points in SA, so check their website for the one that is closest to you and GET INVOLVED! mumkind.com.au
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this parenting biz (if that’s even possible), bam! Here comes baby #2. Yes, Dad Words will soon surely suffer (or prosper?) when newborn life resumes, when trying to read or watch a movie sits at about #176 on the priority list. So, enjoy these well-rested reviews while they last. And don’t hesitate to contact me for congratulations, commiserations, babysitting offers or shiraz. READ: SNAKE ISLAND – By Ben Hobson Seeing the premise of this literary thriller (coastal town, harsh landscape, trouble afoot), you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d seen this novel before. But Hobson brings an originality to the crime-laden hamlet tale, and you barely get a breath throughout. Caleb, son of retirees Vernon and Penelope, is in prison and when Vern learns his boy is being bashed (while the cops turn a blind eye) by a member of the town’s violent crime family, he’s forced to act. What follows is a rollicking morality tale, told from the perspective of family on both sides and the police chief, forcing you to reckon with your own sense of what it means to be good, long after the final page. Available from Dymocks, $29.99 READ: THE ALL NEW MUST HAVE ORANGE 430 – By Michael Speechley Picked up this guy from the library recently, and while it’s way too advanced for my son, it contains sage messages about consumerism for six-to-eight year olds. The book follows Harvey in his quest to buy the all-new ORANGE 430 (manufactured by the overlords at Useless Object International or UOI). Why? He’s not too sure, but he knows he needs it! This is a tale about the useless stuff we covet and pile in our homes, when there are much more fun and important things to worry about. Speechley’s illustrations are vivid and fun too. Available from Dymocks, $24.99 WATCH: EVERYTHING MUST GO Will Ferrell’s an actor that divides the punters – you either love him or hate him. I’m firmly in the former camp, so I was rapt to spot this 2010 comedy-drama on a drizzly Sunday night. Ferrell plays Nick Halsey, a salesman and recovering alcoholic who loses his job following a relapse, returning home to find his wife gone, the locks changed, and all of his possessions scattered across the front lawn. Rebecca Hall, who plays a lonely neighbour who’s just moved in across the street, and C.J. Wallace (Biggie Smalls’ son), who plays a bored neighbourhood kid looking for companionship, both turn in ripping performances. But it’s Ferrell (who, if you’ve seen Stranger Than Fiction, is no slouch in dramatic roles) that packs the punches. Just don’t expect standard laugh-a-minute Ferrell terrain. sbs.com.au/ondemand DO: MORPHETT VALE RAILWAY If you’ve got a young grom that loves machines, this place is a no-brainer. Occupying about two kilometres of track in Morphett Vale’s Wilfred Taylor Reserve, the Railway owns a bunch of miniature trains and lays claim to the coveted record of longest and highest model railway bridge in SA (take that, runner-up!). It’s seven bucks for unlimited rides, but one seemed like an eternity – for my bony butt, at least. The little guy? Other than being a tad scared by the tunnel the first couple of goes, his smile went from ear to ear the entire time. mvrail.org.au