Food, travel and farm life from the Great Ocean Road

Week 30: Flights, Pram & Paid Parental Leave – CHECK!

2–3 minutes
Week 30 and getting more things done in preparation for the big day. 10 more weeks to go!
I have booked flights for my parents to come and visit me in Melbourne (my parents live in Malaysia) on the 27th June 2012. I know that seems ages away, but I booked those dates for various reasons:
  1. The flights on that date are the CHEAPEST flights I could find on Air Asia’s website.
  2. It would take a lot of getting used to – having an extra person in the house aka a BABY, I think hubby and I would appreciate as much “family time” just the three of us and getting used to it first before having my parents also stay in the same house.
  3. I’m sure my parents would have more fun meeting their 6-month old grandchild for the first time who can smile back at them and interact better.
We’ve also purchased a PRAM today! I know we didn’t really have to rush into buying a pram, but here’s the thing – we didn’t rush! There was a sale months ago on www.bambinobrands.com.au – I think I’ve mentioned it before on my previous posts – where the Baby Jogger City Select was on sale for $599 (the normal price is $929). We’ve missed out on that sale, because we procrastinated. Then, we went to Baby Bunting to physically check out all the different prams on offer. It was a nightmare! So confusing, so many choices… and then we saw the Baby Jogger City Select and we loved it. The thing was, the cheapest Baby Bunting could offer at that time was $720. Oh bummer… we’ve missed out on a GREAT deal online for just $599!!
THANKFULLY, the online sale came back today. Same price, same pram, same sale. And we bought it!! Hooorrrayyyy!! We picked the “Ruby” pram as the only other option is “Diamond” which is too white for my liking – I don’t trust white things around a baby, it’ll just get dirty too easily!
To view full specs of this pram: http://www.babyjogger.com/city_select_dtl.aspx
To view a list of accessories that can be purchased separately: http://www.babyjogger.com/c-31-Accessories.aspx#cityselect
And finally, I’ve submitted my claim for Paid Parental Leave – it was all done online, and it took me three attempts to get the application right. So many things / paperwork I needed to get together in order to provide all the information the Australian government / Centrelink needed to process this claim! Paperwork is so important, all my Australian Visa stuff, all the passport details, Tax File Numbers, Employer Details, Income Details, etc – so important to stay organised and have all this information properly filed so it’s easily available whenever an application like this needed to be completed. Thankfully, it’s all done now. Just need to wait for their response.
If successful, I think I get 18 weeks Paid Parental Leave funded by the government at the current National Minimum Wage. Not much, but better than nothing and a few thousand dollars more than the Baby Bonus when you add them all up. For more information, visit this page.

Thanks for reading

From Kim’s bookshelf

Keepsakes made to be filled in

Busy Mum Planner 2027 on a sunny coffee table with a cup of tea and flowers

New! · 2027 planner

Busy Mum Planner 2027

For mums juggling life, kids and work, with meal plans, budgets and a Me Time page every week.

Baby's First Year: A Month by Month Memory Book standing on a table

Memory book · Paperback & hardcover

Baby’s First Year

A month by month memory book for milestones, photos and all the little firsts.

The Getaway Planner: A Trip Planner for the Mindful Traveler

Travel planner · Print & digital

The Getaway Planner

Plan every trip in one place, from daily itineraries and packing lists to budgets and photo memories.

Us, Always: A Journal for Two on a coffee table with a couple relaxing on the couch behind it

Journal for two · Now on Amazon

Us, Always

A shared journal for couples, with questions for two, date night logs and love letters to keep.

Be Still: A Guided Prayer Journal with Daily Devotion on a desk

Prayer journal · Now on Amazon

Be Still

A guided prayer journal with a daily verse, short devotion and space to reflect and pray.

More about me →

Leave a Reply

You might also like