Weekly Winners Sunday Meme

The last night of the school holidays for us – yay! We’re both looking forward to the start of the new year of preschool (the wee man’s last before moving on to “big school”). I have not used my camera much again – couple of unmissable episodes of “cuteness” are all I have for you. It’s about time I exercised my creativity again, pointed it at something other than cute kids and animals (though I know we all enjoy them anyway).

A stroll across to Lotus at Sarcastic Mom should find you some serious A.R.T. photography – that, or some more cute tushies and fluffy bunnies.

This is a sketch I did one night of the wee man in his ‘jammies that he hasn’t wanted to wipe off – he asked me to take photos of it so he can use his MegaSketcher again…lol.

Cheeky imp

The furry babies like to hang together – Mahlia and Rusty

Yup, it’s that pirate again. Eye eye, Captain!

What can you do with a face like this, except love it?

Ramping up the cute factor

It is that time of year. Yes, first Christmas concert at preschool, and I really ramped up the cute factor when I took the wee man along wearing his Santa hat.



Laughing our heads off at ourselves, paparazzi snappers and handy cams abounded as our little ones romped their way through a small program of Christmas carols. It included an Aussie version of Jingle Bells which I just love - "Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden ute, kelpie by my side, esky in the boot..." (translation for my OS friends: ute=utility vehicle, kelpie=Australian cattle dog, esky=cooler box...hehehe). I'm not usually so patriotic, but I think it makes a lot more sense to our kids.



It's been a tumultuous year for us at preschool. Not for the wee man, who soaked up the stimulation and social scene, and grew like a flower towards the sun. It was his mama, and her fellow committee members, who have dealt with all manner of challenges and feel stretched and expanded and greatly strengthened by the experience. The day before this concert, we were here having a mediation meeting with a staff member who has had a long history of bullying people (other staff members, parents, children, even former Directors) and getting away with it. Of course, we couldn't put it like that, but I think we did show her how committed we are to creating a place where that kind of behaviour is anathema. I'm wondering if she'll choose to return to continue the journey with us next year. She was singing along with the rest of us yesterday.



Next year, the wee men will be going 3 days a week. I'm not sure what the New Year is going to bring, but one thing I've learned from this year - I'm going to be trying to do the things that give extra meaning to my life. There has been some recent press about the need for more women councillors in local government, rather pointedly aimed at women "...skilled at juggling family, work and volunteering". Guess they mean me (*snort* don't know that there is much skill involved...just sheer bloody-mindedness - "I.will.not.drop.one.ball!") Anyway, I've asked for some information, and there's a meeting early in the year - the logistics of travel and time could be tricky, but I love the idea of a deeper commitment to my community.

Where does the time go?

Life has been a little hectic the last couple of days - I guess it's the same for us all right now, as we hurtle breathlessly towards the end of the year at the speed of light. Is is just me, or has this been the fastest year ever?

I've been hammering away at the keyboard while the wee man has been at preschool, knocking the preschool's enrolment package into shape for sending out to new and returning families for 2008. Even this initial foray into the world of schooling somehow requires 8 or 9 pages of information, forms and lists; I've tried to streamline and clarify the material as much as possible, remembering it being a bit much to take in on enrolment day this year. I was gobsmacked this morning when one of my playgroup committee colleagues told me that she just received a 30-page enrolment pack from the preschool she has chosen for her daughter!

I have felt rather guilty for not having time to post since Sunday. I hope I can get over that feeling - I have enough sources of unnecessary guilt in my life. Guilt for not being the mother I'd like to be (when I shriek and lose it, completely forgetting everything I read in "Buddhism for Mothers"); for not being the wife I promised to be (losing interest, losing patience); for not making the most of the abilities and talents I am given (blame my old friend Procrastination, if I dare); for not doing more about world peace and hunger and the people sleeping under bridges just down the road (I've added a button for Peace - click and help assuage my guilt - and your own). And I'm not even Catholic... ;)

I have an idea for a story lurking in the dark corners of my mind at the moment - actually it's a book-sized story. My timing really sucks. I should have had this idea a couple of months ago - then I could have beaten it into submission within the framework of NaNoWriMo, and I might have had 50,000 words to show for it. Now, the onus is on me to wrestle with my own demons, scoop some non-existent spare time out of my days, and see where this idea leads. Perhaps some of that discipline learned through my month of posts can be stretched to fit.

PS. It seems there may be another plan for the little shop already in place - my cafe dream must be re-shelved...for now.

PPS. That photo up there is me, aged about 2 1/2. Do you think the wee man looks just a bit like me? I always thought he looked more like his father, until I started looking at my own baby photos...

Crazy day

It's a crazy-mad day for me today. I don't want to think to hard about it, just hope that all goes to plan. Hence this first-thing-in-the-morning post; the wee man is eating breakfast and watching The Upside Down Show (the Umbilical Brothers are made for children's television, don't you think?!), and I have this small window of opportunity.

A little later the wee man and I are off to our playgroup, which I co-coordinate, then back at lunch-time.

The rest of the day is about the fund-raising film night our community preschool is hosting at the village hall. The movie is a fabulous documentary called "The Power Of Community", about Cuba, and how the Cuban people coped, adapted and triumphed over the challenge of reaching "peak oil" when their Soviet oil supplies were cut off after the collapse of the USSR. This was achieved through "cooperation, conservation and community" (80% of Cuba's agriculture is now organic), and is a really inspiring tale told by the people themselves.

I'd originally proposed this as the last fund-raiser of the year for the preschool - an economic necessity for community preschools, fees and government funding do not cover all expenses or provide sufficient resources.

However, after last Friday's tornado I kept thinking how lucky we had been at the preschool to be left untouched, when the school had lost two of its three buildings and numerous materials and resources. The committee met and we agreed unanimously to make the primary school the target of the fundraiser, so we've been running around like mad things ever since, changing posters and flyers and getting it into the local media to let people know, and hopefully tap into that amazing community spirit that buoyed us up over the weekend as the village cleaned up after the storm.

So, after I get back from playgroup, I've got to: finish putting a slideshow of photos from the tornado and aftermath together (along with any images or footage anyone emails or drops off this morning), burn it to disc, test it; bake some cakes or slices to sell after the movie; go down to the hall and help air and clean it, and set up and test the borrowed projection equipment; come back and clean up my house fit for the babysitter who is arriving to mind the wee man for the first time ever (fingers crossed...the beginning of life after 7.30pm for mama and daddy again!?!); cook something for them to eat, then go back to the hall 2 hours before the screening to get the final set-up organised; screen the movie at 7pm, hopefully with no hitches, then sell & serve coffee, tea & cakes afterwards before finally trudging home. I'm voting for cleaning the hall in the morning!

I know there is something I should be doing right now, and it's not this....!

Coming out of the fog

After a long time in the home-and-child focused haze that has enveloped me, I'm coming back out into the world. The wee man has just turned 3, started preschool and family daycare, and I am clawing some space for me in my life.
In fact, things have become a bit hectic after the dreamy drift of days of the last few years! I've leapt into the whole community volunteer bit, taking on the role of co-coordinator for our local playgroup, plus secretary of the preschool management committee...plus I've committed to writing something weekly as a "community correspondent" for our local rag. I'm busy, sometimes a bit stretched - and I'm loving it.
I'm still unsure what direction I'm moving in as the wee man moves off into the world of school etc...but there is a sense that things are going in the right direction. For the first time in a long time, I am genuinely happy on a day-to-day basis. Life is never perfect, but I like the shape it's in.