A Typical Day in Mooloolaba

A typical day for us in Mooloolaba goes a little something like this…

Straight to the fridge for a "yoyo" (yoghurt)

6am: Reuben wakes us up. The sun rises at around 5.30am here so it’s hard to sleep in. He’s pleasant in the morning. We always cuddle in bed together for a few minutes. 6.15am: Reuben and I get up. He eats breakfast and we “chat” a bit. He requests Elmo of which I have a stash on Lee’s parents’ TiVO.

6.30am – 8.30am: We potter around the house. I usually check email and Twitter, respond to any blog comments and obsess over my Google Analytics. Reuben plays, reads books, feeds/chases the birds (chi-chis) and explores in the garden. I to-and-fro between him and my laptop – which is currently broken and can only be used with a monitor at the table. Breakfast is usually a smoothie or juice – I’ve been experimenting with making a large percentage of my diet raw/vegan. The tropical fruits are really great here which makes it easy. It feels great and gives me lots of extra energy – must be from eating all the Australian “sunshine”.

The Digital Nomad Dad

8.30am: Lee surfaces and begins to work – usually with headphones on so he doesn’t get too distracted.

8.30-11am: Reuby and I usually potter around the house so more. We’ll drive down to a nice shallow patch of ocean and paddle in the sea, play in the sandy canal at the back of the house or splash about in the paddling pool on the deck (patio). Lee practices Kung Fu and usually spends at least an hour doing a thousand (or two) side kicks every day. In fact, he did 50,000 sidekicks in the first six weeks we were here.

Sleeping Baby = Productivity

11am-1pm: Reuby naps. I blog. Lee works. It’s really too hot and sunny to do anything else at this time of the day.

1-2pm: When the boy surfaces we’ll go out for lunch (or go to the supermarket and make something at home). It’s usually sushi or Thai food because that’s about all we can get Reuben to eat (apart from yoghurt). The first time we were here in March 2011 we stepped off the plane and went straight to hospital because I had a severe asthma attack. The upside of this is that we found what must be the best Thai restaurant in Australia opposite the hospital in the hinterland town of Nambour. It’s the most unassuming restaurant, more like a canteen, and services the lunch rush from the hospital with A$9 plates of deliciousness.

Soaked in Water and Enjoying the Sun

2-3.30pm: More pottering, blogging, working, paddling, drinking out of the garden tap, chasing birds, reading books, eating yoghurt and watching Elmo.

A Swing with a View

A Babycino and a Gingerbread Man

3.30-5.00pm: Now that the sun isn’t so strong we all head out for a walk. There is a serious lack of ozone layer in Australia making the sun unbelievably fierce – we wouldn’t dream of going out in the sun between 11am and 3pm without wearing hats, UV vests and being covered in sunblock. Mooloolaba has a lovely oceanfront esplanade with shops, cafés, parks, picnic areas and what must be the most expensive piece of real estate in the world to house a public toilet. We stroll around, play in the park and then sit and people watch over a chai latte and a babycino.

5-7pm: We make dinner, watch a bit of TV, shower and clean Reuben up for bed. Lee works a bit more – his developers are based in India so this is a good time to get work done with them. By this point Lee and I are completely exhausted and can’t wait for a bit of peace and quiet. Reuby goes to bed very easily, so I’m told. No muss, no fuss. Head + pillow = sleep.

7-9.30pm: Lee and I drop like flies onto the couch and vegetate in front of the TV, drink peppermint tea and eat watermelon. We talk. He works. I travel plan, check Twitter and survey my analytics a little more obsessively. We don’t really watch much TV but when we do we’ll pick a series and watch a few episodes every night until we make our way through it. Last year we watched all six seasons of The Sopranos. This year we are loving The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. We play “Words with Friends” against each other or, as we like to call it, “Words with Nerds”. We’re highly competitive geeks after all.

9.30pm: Sleep.

That’s it. It’s a simple life but we enjoy it. The big benefits of life in Queensland are sunshine, fresh air and the sea. Nothing could be better for a curious and energetic toddler. We drop into a routine pretty quickly wherever we are. We need it with Reuben. Two months of this is about all I can handle though. I’m itching to get out and onto the road. I can’t wait to see what our routine will be like in South East Asia.

What is a typical day like where you are? Do you keep a routine for your children while travelling?