April 18, 2011

School Holidays when I was a kid, a word of caution PLUS Lego Giveaway.

When we were kids, me and my siblings would spend the holidays playing. Really playing. Outside on bikes and down at the creek. We would play until the sun came down, which signalled we were going to get a bit of whoop ass unless we hightailed it home on our BMX Mongoose post haste.

We would be totally exhausted, fall asleep, wake up and do it all over again.

One time I recall we had a babysitter when I decided I would show the street kids how to ride down the hill with my hands in the air. This was back in the day when you were not put into jail if you got about without a helmet. So you could imagine my mum's surprise when the Babysitter turned up at casualty with me. Mum was working as an emergency nurse at the time and I was minus half a face.

I am fairly relaxed when it comes to my kids playing outside. They scoot and ride up and down our footpath happily while I am busy talking on the phone or unpacking the frickn dishwasher again. The bliss is often interrupted by large piercing wails of BLOOOOOOD by Jack as he tumbles over. We live in the city where drivers like to use our road for acceleration practice. I often fear for Chuey the Kitten.

In an ideal world, everyone would live in a cul-de-sac like we did growing up. Minus the psycho magpies. And Ben Brown the Bully who lived next door who I got in trouble for thumping one day. But just in front of Ben Brown's Mum. Back home my mum was stoked. He was an asshole. I often wonder if he is enjoying making number plates and packing spark plugs into boxes while being called Sugarlips by some terrifying and horny inmate......


It goes without saying that now I am a mum, Lego has saved my school holiday sanity on many occasions. Kids moan "I'm bored!" and I challenge them to make something out of Lego. The bigger the better as this takes more time. Harry is particularly obsessed. He can spend hours....


The only problem I have with Lego is probably best illustrated in a diagram I prepared earlier.


It is true. 9 times out of ten is it a particularly nasty sharp piece like this.



Off the back of a Lego Hot Rod

I think it is a small price to pay for the hours of peace you can achieve by pointing the kids towards the Lego. This April, LEGO Australia will launch four NASA- inspired products in the popular LEGO City range to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle and the 50th anniversary of man’s first space flight. So I did some maths and worked out that back then while they were preparing the launch of the Space Shuttle, I was getting my face put back together at Hospital. Satellite Launch Pad (RRP: $29.99) Launch the new communications satellite into space from the launch pad! Drive to the launch pad and help the technician prepare the rocket for blast off into orbit.

Space Shuttle (RRP: $49.99) Rocket into orbit on an important space mission! Help the astronaut open the cargo bay doors and use the Canadian arm to release the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit around earth. Space Moon Buggy (RRP: $79.99) Explore the lunar landscape with the six-wheeled lunar exploration vehicle! Use the digging tool to take rock samples and the satellite dish to communicate with the Space Centre on Earth. Space Centre (RRP: $119.99) Prepare the rocket for blast-off! Fill the rocket with fuel, use the elevator to get the astronaut to the top of the launch platform and prepare for launch from the control center. Start the count down and get ready for another exciting mission into space!


Speaking of exciting, Lego Australia has given me 3 FULL SETS TO GIVEAWAY! I know!


RRP of the sets is $279.96 each, which is tres-generous of them. Think about it. That is birthdays and Christmases sorted for a while. Or bribery done. Or roughly 4 weeks of continuous play quietly in another room while you watch Oprah! SCORE.


To enter, simply leave a comment telling me why you would like to win a full set of this brand spanking new Lego. To get ANOTHER entry, retweet this giveaway and come back and leave an additional comment saying you have done so. And no cheating. SawHole will be checking.


Winners will be drawn by Random.Org on Tuesday 26th April and announced here on WoogsWorld. Australian Residents Only.


Thanks to Lego Australia and to the gifted Doctor who worked hard to pull the gravel out of my face 30 years ago.



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