We all headed to the Queen Victoria Markets first thing today. The delicatessen section is great. Every imaginable type of sausage, cheese and bread. And the butcher shops have all kinds of meat at reasonable prices. There is a large fresh fruit and veg section - all bustling and busy. Everyone bought something. J got "Beats" headphones, a boomerang and a Vans hoodie. I got a woollen trilby hat and some Sennheiser headphones. C bought a pretty black and blue dress. We all got food. It was fun.

Then we drove over to the DFO in Essendon - a shopping Mecca for the fashion and budget conscious. Amanda bought a T, shorts and knee-high leather boots. J got jeans and Vans shoes. I bought a long-sleeve T. C got Vans. They are both growing so fast at the moment. J's jeans are mens 30inch size. I only wear a 34! C's new dress is a womens size. This led to a comparison with Amanda. She comfortably fits J's new jeans and is now looking forward to inheriting them in only a few months when he has outgrown them. And C stood nose-to-nose with mum and there's no more than a cm in it. I came around a corner the other day to see Claudia from the back standing in jeans and a shirt with her hair down loading something into the car. She could have been 18. It is a crazy part of being a parent, but that was a very sad moment.

I cooked steak from the market on the Webber which doesn't work very well under the awning in cold rainy windy conditions.