In Melbourne now it’s Showtime. That period steeped in tradition around Australia, where we all trudge along to buy our Pluto Pups (me), or cream polly waffles (my dad), fairy floss (Adam), or sample all and sundry (Keira). I opted to stay home with Riley, just like last year, thinking it might be a chance to spend some quality time with my son.

Right?

Wrong.

Most of the time, he looked like this:


Why? Because, and I hadn’t figured this before, he revels in his role as the ‘quiet, but cunning’ one. Keira deflects a lot of the stuff he gets up to and she is a great enabler (“You want to pull the toilet paper off the roller, Riley? Sure, I’ll help you!”) So, given I was able to devote almost 100% of my attention to him yesterday, that meant his mischief making was quashed. And he wasn’t happy.

Until sister returned! Replete with facepaint and showbags!

That is, until it was makeup time, from a cheap kit she won on the clowns:


Then he went back to wishing he had the house to himself……..as did I later, once my face also took on that lovely shade of ochre….

So who else has been to the shows this year?

karen andrews

Karen Andrews is the creator of this website, one of the most established and well-respected parenting blogs in the country. She is also an author, award-winning writer, poet, editor and publisher at Miscellaneous Press. Her latest book is Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity