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Today is officially the first day of school holidays and for a lot of us in the southern hemisphere, the end of the school year. As Master Six skipped away from his empty classroom, without so much as a backward glance towards his beloved teacher, I don't think he realised the significance of this particular exit. He was too excited about beginning school holidays and the upcoming visit from Santa Claus.
When I enrolled him in this school, I chose it because it had a small student population and I thought he would receive a more individualised school experience. There is a closer school, but we travel five kilometres out of our way everyday to attend this school.
When I found out he was going to have Ms Y as a teacher, I have to admit, I was wondering how that would work out, because she seemed young and I wasn't sure that she would keep the children in line and focussed on their school work.
Now that the school year has passed, I look back and chuckle at the thought. Ms Y is truly a special teacher and my son is so fortunate to have had her in his very first year of school. She stole the heart of each and every child in her class, and that of the parents too.
She treated the children as if they were her own. In school assembly, she was there, sitting side by side with her students. She minded my son after school when we moved house and when I had an exam to sit. When there was a discipline issue with one or two of the other boys, she took it in hand immediately and some of those boys have grown, with her guidance, into lovely boys. She attended my son's sixth birthday party and brought a very thoughtful gift that suited him perfectly, demonstrating just how well she knew her students.
Yesterday, she left Cairns to start her journey around Australia, after which she will settle in her home town for a few years. We are so sad to see her go, and for me for selfish reasons, because I was hoping she would become Master Four's teacher in a year's time, but we wish her all the best. The students at whatever school she chooses to teach at in the future will be very lucky indeed.
When Master Six figures out that he is not going to see Ms Y again for a very long time, I think it will be very hard for him. She has been a very special part of his life for the last year, and we would like to thank her for her dedication and for 'going the extra mile' for every one of her students.
Coral Spawning Spectacular and a BBQ on the beach was on the cards for tonight, but we got our dates mixed up and missed it--guess we'll have to save our marine life voyeurism for another year.Not to waste an opportunity for a BBQ dinner on the beach, hubby, the kids and I packed up the esky, the snags, the buckets and the spades and headed to our local beach. I cooked up a feast whilst the boys had a dip in the ocean and collected pippies. They turned up at the picnic table soaking wet, covered in sand and hungry as bears. I'm sure they managed to get sand in every nook and cranny possible, and the next time we feel like going to the beach, there will be no need, because half the beach is on the floor of our car--but I digress.
When the sun dipped over the horizon, the full moon greeted us warmly with its hues of orange and pink. The temperature was a balmy 29 degrees C and the water was as warm as a baby's bath. We ate our dinner gazing at the waves gently lapping at the shore and felt the gentle breeze that swayed the palms. We didn't worry too much about the kids' table manners and there were no dishes to do. We could feel the tension of the day slipping away from us.
On the way back home, we rolled down all the windows of the car, opened up the sunroof and drove very slowly. "Heartache Tonight" by the Eagles was playing on the radio and we sang along. Will stopped the car to point out two curlews at the side of the road. As we were admiring these odd-looking birds, that used to freak us out at night with their baby-like cries, a wallaby hopped across the road as if to say, "Well, if you think they are so great, look at me!".
When I first came to Australia, I used to scoff at the folks back home who used to think that, in Australia, there were kangaroos hopping down the street. I used to think that was like people thinking Canadians all lived in igloos! Well, since I have moved to Cairns from Sydney, I realise that they DO hop down the street! Our house is two doors down from a field where everyday we see about 100 wallabies lazing in the shade to escape the afternoon sun.
Having these creatures so close to us, does not take away from the joy and wonder I feel every time I see them. That moment in the car with my loved ones singing the Eagles off-key and Australian fauna making themselves known to us, that too is not lost on me, and I hope I remember it and that my kids remember it for many years to come.
Wallaby photo source
She emerges squinting from her den, eyes bloodshot, a slight limp to her gait from the pins and needles that have taken over her limbs. Her hair is dishevelled, and there are chunks missing from where she has pulled handfuls of it out in frustration. Her clothes have that wrinkled appearance, as though she has been wearing them for days. Her skin is slightly grey from lack of exposure to the sun. The odour that emanates from her is not entirely pleasant.Her children are wary of this strange, disoriented woman in their midst. They hide behind their father's legs and are uncertain whether to approach.She holds out her arms and says, "It's me, kids! The assignment is finally finished, and I can be your mummy again!"The children simply ask, "So, can we have pancakes?".
I started to study for a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Science) back in 1999. I was working as a secretary, and I wanted to get my foot in the door to the IT industry.
10 years later, my degree has changed names, institutions and locations about a dozen times in total, and I have taken years off to have two babies and recovery time due to illness. Now, I am a WAHM and probably will never use my qualification (that I still have one year's worth of part-time study to achieve), but am determined to finish this neverending course of study. It is a matter of principle now.
Now, I am studying for a Bachelor of Technology via distance learning, but I think it should be renamed to Bachelor of Procrastination, because in all these years of studying that is what I have learned to do really well.
I always start out with the best of intentions. Each study period, I organise my study materials and take copious amounts of notes, neatly penned with ruled underlining for the titles and highlighted main points--for about the first week. Then the books get tossed aside and forgotten until about two weeks before the first assignment.
When an assignment looms, I pull my finger out, and my family doesn't see me for two weeks. I eat, but when I am at the table, I am a zombie. I put the food in my mouth, but my eyes are staring off into space as if in a trance. I am trying to figure out whether to use a 'for loop' or a 'do while' loop, and can't for the life of me, figure out why my program isn't compiling.
This is the kind of stunning repartée Will is subjected to when I am in assignment mode. I talk the assignment through with him, and he just nods and murmurs as if he understands.
He is a saint. He takes the kids out for whole days on the weekends that I study, and I know that when he comes home, he is exhausted, but then he gets the kids bathed and ready for bed. He puts up with my stressing out about my assignments. He just nods when I wail for the umpteenth time that I have definitely failed my assignment/exam this time. Then, he celebrates with me when I manage to achieve a high mark or even just a pass. When I am about to chuck in the entire degree, because I have had enough or because of personal crisis such as illness or death of a family member, he always manages to talk me out of it.
Now, all this wonderful support is not always offered with a smile on his face; he is a grumpy saint, but a saint nonetheless.
When I finally get my piece of paper, I should cross off my name and put Will's there, because without him, I wouldn't have finished this blasted degree.
So at the end of this, I should get a piece of paper, a sense of achievement, knowledge that my mother would have been proud (not of the procrastination, but of the higher education), some free time, a huge HECS (student loan) debt, and my family back (if my saintly husband doesn't divorce me first--and I am only joking a little bit!)
I have an assignment due a week from Sunday, so I had better go and get started on it!
We were invited to a barbecue at the home of Will's boss. Everyone was expected to bring a dish, a 'potluck' barbecue, if you will. A week or so ago, Will comes home and says "The barbecue is on 22nd November and I said you were going to make Spinach Dip."Well, it turns out that it was not on the 22nd, it was yesterday and I made Cookies & Cream Slice, just to spite him for not bothering to ask me what I wanted to contribute to the menu. So take that--you inconsiderate, date-mixing-up fool! You will just have to eat this delicious, mouthwatering dessert as your penance!...(?) I think I have to re-think his punishment in future ;-)Anyway, this recipe has been very popular with our swimming circle, as out of the five of us, three of us have already made this recipe. We all took advantage of a freebie cookbook offer with Kraft Philly Cream Cheese. We just had to buy three of the product range and got a beautifully-photographed cookbook. I just love cookbooks with lots of lovely pictures. I have way too many, but cannot resist adding another to the collection.Lucky for me, I have just found this recipe on their website, so I don't even have to re-type it for you--bonus!Here is the recipe.I hope you enjoy it!
CheekyBoy* had a little accident yesterday. His hand was on the door jamb of the car, his older brother didn't see it and slammed the car door shut. (I am secretly wondering if this was a result of his subconscious self trying to get back at his annoying little brother for usurping him from the throne of cuteness).
It wasn't as bad as his father made it out to be, "It might be broken! We should take him to the hospital!". This is a common reaction to any injury in our house, and one I usually take with a grain of salt. My kids have to be on their deathbeds before I will take them to the doctor, as I have been to the doctor/hospital that many times, pulling strings to get them in or waiting in a crowded emergency waiting room for eight hours, only to be told to wait a few days, he will come right.
Well, before five minutes had passed, he was right as rain and wanting to go out and play again. However, whilst he was waiting for the frozen peas wrapped in a towel to do their thing, he said to me with horror in his eyes, "Mummy, that is the hand I use to click the computer mouse!"Hmm, I think I have to limit his time on the computer from now on. That might be hard to enforce, when I, myself, am on my own computer 18 hours of the day. *I am still not happy with the pseudonyms I have chosen, so watch this space I will probably change them a few times before I get it right, just to confuse you.
I had the title words and tune to this song in my head all of Sunday. I know. It is Rainy Days and Mondays, but let's not be too picky. It also has completely depressing lyrics, but bear with me here, I am sure I can turn this one around.
The rainy season in the Tropical Far North is starting to rear its ugly head. Cyclone season is upon us, humidity percentages will go through the roof, stinger nets are out, aircon units will be going full tilt for the next five months, days off work will be had due to flooded roads, grocery store shelves will be bare at some point during this season, more critters will be out and trying to sneak into our house to get dry and the list goes on. Now what was I saying about depressing? Oh right, I am going to try to pull a 'positive' side to this season out of my butt thin air--You just watch me.So, on Sunday, the rain was bucketting down. The kids were on the back patio sticking little hands out from under the overhang trying to feel the rain. They were getting more and more daring as each moment passed. Soon, there would be some toy left out in the yard that just HAD to be put away at that precise moment. They're perfectly happy to leave their toys strewn about the yard any other time, but today there was a pressing need to tidy. Eventually, Will just said, "Go ahead, get your umbrellas, you can have a play out in the rain."
You never saw two faces light up so much--beacons of happiness they were. They grabbed their kiddie umbrellas--in the form of one frog and one tiger--and dashed out into the downpour. They jumped and splashed in the puddles. Pushed their Tonka trucks in and out of the lake that was forming in our backyard, twirled tiger and frog faces around until they got dizzy and got drenched from head to toe. A better time has not been had in a long time.After we showered and dressed the kids in clean, dry clothes, I made a slap 'em up hot breakfast with the works, and we spent the afternoon playing board games, watching family videos, eating popcorn and constructing Lego.Rainy days are a good excuse to stop doing work or chores and just spend some quality time with the kids. So given that rainy season lasts until May, these kids have a LOT of quality time in their future.
Today is officially the first day of school holidays and for a lot of us in the southern hemisphere, the end of the school year. As Master Six skipped away from his empty classroom, without so much as a backward glance towards his beloved teacher, I don't think he realised the significance of this particular exit. He was too excited about beginning school holidays and the upcoming visit from Santa Claus.
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