Life moves so quickly... Hold on for the ride!

Recently, the church across the road had a block letter sign out the front saying "Your children only get one childhood"...and it dawned on me how important a great childhood really is.

Luca is a year old now and as he grows I'm starting to re-live my own childhood. The amusement of toys, the excitement of the world, rediscovering things that seemed mundane (like a simple stroll to the shops equates to an Indiana Jones style adventure).

It's great...and I know what this whole parenting thing is about. But would it be different if my childhood was shit? I believe so.

I'm glad I had an awesome childhood, I'm one of the lucky ones..and it's not until I had a child for myself that I appreciate the things my parents did for my brother and I.

The swimming lessons, the ballet, the saxophone, the clarinet, the tennis, the basketball, the baseball, the netball, the family holidays, the outfits, the dinners, the parties....everything my mum and dad offered to us made my childhood the best it could be. It wasn't that we had a lot of money, it was the quality time my parents spent making sure we had the best time we could in whatever we chose, with what we had.

There was never a moment I can remember that my parents forced us to do anything. If we had an interest in something, they nurtured it...and if we turned around and said 'well actually, I don't think I want to do that anymore'..they didn't think it was the end of the world. Their attitude was 'ok what else interests you?'...and off we went discovering what other fun activity was out there.

These experiences turned us into the people we are today.

On a personal note, I strongly believe it gave me the confidence to travel across the world by myself and experience all life has to offer, to live on my own in the big bad city at a young age and be responsible for myself and not depend on my parents to bail me when I couldn't make the rent....and to eventually settle down with the right person, get married and start a family...the right way around.

I also think it has shaped my life to never settle for 'The Mediocre' of life but to always seek new things and educate, excite and grow spiritually.

Deep I know for a Wednesday night. :-)

But my dilemma is...how do I offer the childhood I had to my son? When life is now different to the 70's and 80's?

We live in an apartment, my husband and I both have to work to pay off the mortgage and if we eventually own a house, we'll be seeing less of each other, which also means Luca will be spending more time with his grandparents or in daycare rather than in our close-knit family unit.

I know, everyone in todays' world has this sorta family pain...whether both parents are at work, or life is just faster meaning everyone is time poor....but what will this generation of daycare grown, reality watching, iphone wielding, faceforking, blue steel poser kids be like?

Will there be any damage?

I know Luca wont be the first kid to grow up in an apartment, or be the first kid without a pool, or a backyard...but I'm not sure I'm willing to let go of the dream that one day he will live in a house identical to my childhood home and have the opportunities I had.

Am I living in a fantasy world? Maybe. I mean, there are kids out there who have everything, have been given everything their heart desires and are a waste of space.

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I interview, I search, I earn da money.. not so I can keep up with the Jones'es...but so one day Luca will be writing on his blog that he had the best childhood ever too.

I live in hope.

Good Night
xxx

Cheerio Vegas....

Las Vegas airport...hot hot hot on the tarmac..

great view from Starbucks
Bling-tastic items in the gift shop...wowzers...who would were this?

of course...pokies at the gate...

We're now waiting at Las Vegas airport for our flight to LA on route to Sydney.

I'm actually looking foward to getting back...I need a holiday from our holiday! Its tough travelling with a young one but we've had some great and memorable moments.

Luca is sleeping soundly in his stroller as I'm writing this...he's had an amazing 4 weeks. 2 Teeth, 2 words (mamma, dadda), 1,000's of admirers and hundreds of new tastes, sounds and sights.

Perhaps Claudio should give up his day job?!

The Venetian

Luca warms up the crowd...

and then hits the high notes "Nessun DORMAAAAAAAAAAAAA"


CHEESE!! well lets stay in theme here...FORMAGGI!!

Luca's getting excited for the Gondola ride...

Hang on a sec....what's Humpty Dumpty doing in Las Vegas? We caught him drunk at a bar...no wonder he's always having big falls!!

We caught a cab down the Strip to the Venetian and had breakfast at an illy cafe...oh bliss...proper coffee.

The Venetian is another over-the-top casino decked out in gold plated statues and murals on the ceiling...the centre of the casino is set up like Piazza di San Marco with replica bridges, canals and buildings - right down to the Gondola rides. Not to mention, people walking around singing opera in costumes from the Shakespearean era.

We decided that a Gondola ride was definitely on the cards..and Luca loved it...didn't make a sound until right at the end when we were about to get off.

The relaxing ride made Luca tired and he went to sleep soundly in his stroller...taking advantage of this we walked across the street to Fashion Show mall, which much to my disappointment, had all my favourite stores...including Zara. And low and behold...this Zara was cheaper than New York and more like the store I was missing from Europe...BUGGER.

Nevermind, Dave bought his brother a little something and once Luca woke up we caught at taxi back to the hotel.

Late in the afternoon the 3 of us put on our cozies and hit the pool. The wave pool was great...Luca loved it..and he even went on the lazy river with Dave.

I cant tell you how many people came up to chat with Luca...its heart warming everytime someone mentions how handsome and cute he is...I'm such a proud parent. Luca knows exactly when to smile and wins even the young Gucci yuppies that have taken kids out of their equation. One even telling us we need to put him on TV. Hmm..might look into that.

We let Luca have an afternoon nap before going downstairs to The Pub for dinner. It was a fitting end to our American adventure when we both ordered Burgers...and they didn't disappoint. The best burgers we've ever had with a mountain of fries...and even tho we didn't have a gallon of coke to wash it down with...we felt like we'd given our final salute to the stars and stripes.

Tomorrow...homeward bound.

Luca says Dadda for the camera...but said Mamma first!

Outlet Shopping...too many bags

Oh dear not again...yep...more outlet shopping. Might have to start going to DFO when we get back...saves suffering from withdrawals.

A few good shops, Converse, Calvin Klein, Samsonite, Vans, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Bose and a tonne of others. We spent the whole day there...poor Luca must have been so BORED...imagine yourself being dragged around a mall all day..when you have no shopping power... Thankfully he napped and was a good boy all day...the shop assistants loved him...wanting to pinch his cheeks.

At lunch, Dave had a heart attack smorgasbord....a hot dog with a pretzel outer crust...he drowned it with ketchup and mustard...and followed it up with a greek Gyros caked with sour cream...well done honey...did I menti0n the gallon of coke that it came with?

What I've noticed is..American food is like the food that you get from the Easter show. Its fatty, greasy and you always leave feeling guilty, bloated and fat. The funny thing is....healthy food is a rareity....you have to request it seperately.....you ask f0r a green salad and they serve it with Ranch Sauce and fries... it defeats the purpose. The serving sizes are just ridiculous...such a waste of food..1 slice of pizza from a food court store...is the size of a family pizza in Australia.

Looking forward to getting back to a normal diet...I'm also looking forward to fitting into some jeans..Ive put on a bit of weight....DAM YOU FRIES.....DAM YOU DUNKIN DONUTS...DAM YOU HOT DOGS....DAM YOU BUCKET OF VANILLA FLAVOURED COFFEE....why do you have to taste so good??

Off to the Venetian tomorrow for a gondola ride....last full day of holidays before heading back to OZ. Kinda sad, Kinda happy.

Big Fish, Little Fish

Floating pink blobs

Holding Luca tight when the big sharks swim past.

Big Fish, Little Fish

We started the day at Mandalay Bay, had a big hearty breakfast and a bowl of coffee before heading into Shark Bay Aquarium.

Luca was fascinated by all the exhibits and we had a great time showing him the different fish. Dave and I even got to pat a sting ray....ewwie gooie.

Afterwards we took a walk through the linked casinos...The Luxor and Excalibur. Stopped briefly for another coffee and a very disgusting Krispy Kreme donut. Oh boy, It was good tho.

We took Luca back to the hotel for an afternoon nap and once he woke up we took the cityrail monorail to the Bellagio to view the fountain spectacular and across the road to Cesar's Palace for Dinner at Planet Hollywood.

On the way home, we stole Brad Garrett's cab. The guy that plays Robert on Everybody Loves Raymond. His girlfriend was a quarter of his age...why do Hollywood actors do that?? so gross!!

We had a great day.

Off to the outlets tomorrow.