Pardon the off topic post.. I’ll return to technical posts in a little while.  For those not in the know, I’m on annual leave at the moment.  This is usually a time to recharge the mental batteries and return fresh and animated. 

However, since this is my first big trip with our bubbly and bright one year old, Jake, it’s been an interesting learning exercise.  We have managed to merge our usual drive for sightseeing and expeditions with the needs of our little boy wonder, albeit with some difficulty.

Here’s some bullet point learning from my holiday with my wife and one-year-old son:

• Forget planning all-day expeditions, period.
• If your toddler goes quiet for more than a minute and is out of sight, he or she is definitely doing something naughty,
• Take the number of hours you can normally stand being in a car, and divide by 10.  This is how long your little one will behave, before shouting down everyone in the car,
• There’s a precise time were toast is not too hot and not too cold to spread butter onto it,
• Never plan time for Professional Development when you’re away from home on holidays.  The opportunity rarely presents itself,
• Never check work e-mail or voicemail, there’s usually a reason you left the state/territory/country for your holiday,
• Don’t expect a noise-free stay at your hotel or resort, and I’m not talking about your little bundle of joy here either,
• Cooking your own meals saves a tonne of cash,
• If an attraction has won heaps of tourism awards, it’s probably going to be overpriced,
• Always keep the car well fuelled,
• There’s always a possibility you’ve over-packed,
• There’s always a possibility you’ve under-packed,
• You can’t control the weather (yet),
• You don’t have to do massive amounts of research to have a good time,
• Life is better with free WiFi,
• Take plenty of video and photos, they will help you remember stuff later..

/R