Waste in Melbourne, a New Nephew and Potties

Last week was super busy. Socket Software have been preparing for a big expo in Melbourne to present a new What Bin Day product for Australian councils. At the same time Alison and Nelly were spending the week up in Toowoomba with the rest of the family, including James, Dora, Thomas and new baby Andrew who had all just come in from Singapore to visit.

Chris and I were pretty excited to head out on our first interstate Socket Software trip. Packing everything we needed for the expo booth into one check in bag and carry on luggage was a challenge but we just about made it under the weight limit. Even so, it wasn't much fun carting the stuff around the airport and the streets of Melbourne until we could dump most of it at the exhibition centre.

We were glad to see our AV equipment and furniture had already been delivered and set up for us to use when we arrived at the expo hall. Finishing the rest of our prep would have taken less than an hour if we didn't have to contend with the dodgy power cable we were provided. In the end we didn't have many other technical hiccups so I guess we should be grateful, though I must confess that I won't be paying for overpriced and slow internet connections at these things in the future. Live and learn.

Standing on your feet and talking to people for over eight hours a day for two days straight is pretty tiring. There were about 1500 attendees registered for our expo and a lot more in the two affiliated expos next to us so we saw a fair bit of traffic. Things started off pretty slow but by the end of the two days we were happy with the number of councils that we got to meet and show our product. With some luck and perseverance we might even be able to get some decent conversions too so I'd rate the whole exercise as a success. In talking with the other exhibitors we discovered another conference for councils that takes place at Coffs Harbour in June so we'll probably try and attend that next year.

I drove up to Toowoomba the day after we flew back to Brisbane, eager to spend some time with the family. It was lovely to meet Andrew and hold him, a reminder of what we have to look forward to in our little family come March next year. He's very different from Thomas and we're very lucky to have two beautiful nephews. While Nelly seemed a little concerned about the attention we were giving the new baby, she soon warmed up to Andrew and was very loving and gentle as we hoped she would be.

Thomas and Nelly also had a chance to play a lot more than they have in the past. It's great to see them growing up and interacting with cuddles and toys. Sheena arranged for a quick visit to a nearby farm to see some animals which the kids loved as well judging by the shrieks I heard when they came home.

Dora was kind enough to let Nelly play on the piano which would be the first time our little girl has had a chance to use a full keyboard (I'm not considering the little toy pianos we've given her in the past). I was curious about how she would react to it and pleasantly surprised that she didn't just bang on the keys mindlessly. I'm probably biased but I'd say she was enjoying herself which only strengthens my resolve to get us a digital piano once we have the room for it at home. Of course Daddy wouldn't mind playing on it too.

We have been trying to encourage Eleanor to use the potty/toilet for the better part of 6 months now with not a lot of success. In hindsight we probably started trying a little too early which didn't combine well with our daughter's stubborn personality. Our reward system (a sticker and chocolate for a wee and two stickers and chocolates for a poo) started off well enough but lost steam pretty quickly. Playing her off friends at school that had been toilet trained wasn't getting us anywhere either.

Just a few days with Thomas however ignited the competitive spirit in Nelly as she saw us praising and clapping whenever Thomas went to the toilet. Before long she was trying to do the same in Toowoomba and since returning to Brisbane I'm pleased to say that not a day has gone by without something being deposited in our little potty. It might be too early to say that she's cracked it but I think if we keep up the momentum it shouldn't be long now.

This is a picture of her sticker chart. Most of those have only come in the last week and I think we might be running out of room. The other worrying development is the amount of chocolate she's now ingesting as a result of regular success. Small price to pay for progress I suppose. Here's hoping we'll be out of nappies in the next few weeks!