Monday

I read this quote today and nothing could express more clearly the way I have been feeling and thinking the past few days...

If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.

~ John Irving

* * * * * * *

Audrey had a starring role at her school assembly this morning.

Her line was:

Joeys and Possums will now sing 'If you're happy and you know it..."

We were proud.  :)

Tuesday

Day # 2 and I spent some extra time at preschool. 

Today Audrey's teacher said: "you are going to have quite a teenager on your hands in a few years time".  I'm not quite sure how I feel about my greatest fears being articulated by someone else... Her teacher's explanation was that "Audrey is quite contrary at times".  hmmmmm

I think I need to do a book post...

Tuesday

must be back in Canberra....
I had a great time in Darwin the past week with old and new friends from East Timor.  We worked long hours, but also had a little fun, seeing the king of the legend of East Timor. 

 

I was moved when saying my goodbyes to the team I worked with. People who live lives I cannot relate to, who have histories I can only imagine. Their tears at saying goodbye touched me.

 

 

And today back to normality with a preschool excursion to the National Museum of Australia.  The kids had a lesson in memories, and collecting.  The museum was great, and I only fleetingly thought of what might had been.

 

I'm looking forward to Spring and some time off work in the next couple of months...  being  tourist in my own city.  The time I plan to have off includes the next school holidays and I am determined to make them memorable for Nicholas and Audrey.

 



Tuesday

This morning was spent taking some time out at preschool.  Audrey's class were spending time in the new school kitchen, making Minestrone soup.  Audrey's contribution was the chicken stock! 

She has recently been cooking quite a bit at home - we made chocolate chip biscuits together the other week.  It was something Nicholas and I did often and breaking the eggs was his specialty.  I thought it was time to get Audrey involved as well - it seems too easy for me to err towards just wanting "to get the job done".  I am a creature of habit.  If I like a recipe I am not likely to try another version.  I make the same chocolate chip biscuits.  I make the same brownies and I make the same banana bread.

The other night she helped David cook a Japanese dish.  the sight of her cutting vegetables and chicken with out kitchen knives gave me chills, but I was reminded of the Montessori theory that young children learn more appropriately if using utensils, and they will learn to handle them with care....

Today Audrey cut up onions and carrots for her class soup. 

On cooking, these are my favourite family cookbooks.  Tana Ramsay (yes, wife of Gordon Ramsay) is a former Montessori school teacher and has a number of family cookbooks.  I love them because they each contain a variety of recipes that are easy to follow, with ingredients that are just as easy to get.

On Sunday afternoon I like to sit with her cookbooks and find 3 family friendly, time saving meals to make for the week (David cooks on Monday and we like to leave Friday night for something spontaneous so that leaves Tuesday to Thursday for me).  My menu then forms our weekly grocery list and I am left feeling all is right in the world!  :)

pyjama day

That time of year again.  In winter??!! 

Nicholas' pyjama day was last week.  I hadn't seen the note but I don't think he would have wanted to wear his pyjamas... he had a pyjama party at Joey's last night and when he came home he said he didn't take his coat off or undo his zipper.  Why?  the other boys (all two of them) had cooler pyjama's.  One boy had spiderman and Nicholas had Buzz Lightyear on his... I guess he is growing up!

He is the Lego king though.  In 2 days he made the large Star Wars Millenium Falcon.  He loves it!

 

New Beginnings

Day one of preschool.  Despite the knots in my stomach last night I left Audrey at preschool this morning feeling really happy and filled with love!  I think partly it was because she has the teachers I was hoping for and is in Nicholas' old class room, which she is very familiar with.

I am sure David and I could have left her at the gate and she would have run off to her classroom.  She was so excited that she squealed when we got in the car.  :)  Nicholas has happily taken on the role of proud big brother.

All was good and David, Nicholas and I left with kisses and smiles.

You can't have too much fun...

A preschool visit to the farm!

And tonight, celebrating a very speacial person's birthday! :)

Books, everywhere you look

Nicholas' first book week was this week. He dressed up as the Library Lion. Partly because my brain is too tired from the past week at work to think too hard of something else. But it proved successful. I used the horse costume Melanie made for Lachlan's birthday last year, and changed the ears and mane. I think it worked. And I made a tail. His teachers said that he proudly told them "mama made my costume". Yesterday he told his teacher what he was dressing as, and she hadn't read the book so asked him to bring it to class. She read it to them today. I think he liked that. I went to the school for their assembly. Lots of fun.


And tonight, I MET MY NEWEST NEPHEW! He was about two hours old. He is beautiful. He is perfect. And I will leave the first photographs for Melanie to post. :)

i wish...

... preschool could last forever.