There's a lot of it going on all the time, I guess, but this is one of those moments (in the big scheme of things) when I seem to have a lot of attention on it, too.
There have been changes for the kids at school. Megan's started Gr. 4 and has to cope with a bunch of new subjects being introduced and quite a lot more homework than before.
Michael's gone to Gr. 2 and seems to be so much more confident and capable than he was last year. I have often beaten myself up for holding him back a year but when I see him slotting in so nicely with his group and managing so well with his school work, I think it might have been worth it.
And for right now, I'm going to let myself have that, and not torture myself with questions and arguments and wondering whether I just took the lazy parent's route.
Jack and James are also enjoying their new classes at nursery school this year. Jack continues to be his cute and charming self while James has become quite the little ladies' man - the little girls in his class queue up at the door to wait for him in the mornings!
The boys have all had their annual haircuts, courtesy of Dad, and while I was sad to see Jack's beautiful, mildly gingery curls go, he definitely looks more comfortable without all that hair to deal with in the summer heat. James'whispy little blonde locks are also gone - perhaps not altogether a bad thing, considering what was left of them after Jack played barber toward the end of last year. From certain angles, he looked a bit like he had a mullet...
You may remember me saying in one of my last posts how our holiday had me thinking about making a few changes in our home life. Well, shortly after writing that post, I read about FlyLady on Pink Hair Girl's blog and over the past couple of weeks I've started doing the Baby Steps on the FlyLady programme.
Some days are better than others, but I can tell you that just doing a few of these basic things has already made an enormous difference to my household!
I must admit that I've been a bit slack on this for the last few days but every time I think about how fantastic it's going to be when I have my life running like clockwork, I feel inspired to pick up again where I've left off. I do believe that putting a little bit of order into my day to day life has empowered me to reach for those things I had given up on before.
Like the possibility of ever completing my studies.
A few days ago, I filled out my registration application for the 2012 academic year at UNISA and tonight David and I made a plan to pay the registration fees. So it's official - I'm once again a student.
Some of you may recall that getting back into my studies is something I've been wanting to do and have failed to manage for a couple of years in a row now, so this is really a big deal for me. I'd like to thank you for being an inspiration in this regard, Laura!
So yes, this is definitely a year for new things (and for rediscovering some not so new things) and I think it's going to be a good one.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 07, 2012
One Week
With the first week of the new year behind us already, there is only one week left of our holiday and I wish I could make time stand still for a few weeks until I'm ready to pack up & go home.
This holiday is our first ever, both as a couple and a family. Sure, we've had a day or two away here and there, or maybe even a week or two, but on every single one of those, one of us was working. This time, we actually went on *holiday* for the first time in 10 years and I have savoured every blissful second of it!
Getting away from the everyday grind for a bit has opened my eyes to a few things about our life at home and I hope to make a few changes when we get back. For example, I had no idea how cluttered our life at home has been for the last few years! We have so much *stuff* stashed all over the place at home, most of which we almost never use, if at all. I think we need to have a serious look at de-cluging our space and simplifying a bit. Here on holiday, we still have to cook and clean and do laundry - and we don't even have the luxury of our fabulous dishwasher. But somehow, it's just so much smoother. This may very well be because we're not also dealing with work stress and deadlines and the like, but we're still running around after 4 busy kids all day, every day. Trust me, that takes some stamina!
Otherwise, it has been wonderful to be able to just breathe a bit. Yes, the kids keep us running from morning 'til night, but I have so enjoyed watching them play on the beach and in the waves. I have loved our family meals around the table, TV turned off and just the six of us spending time together.
We've taken them to see some of the sights in the area, such as the budget permits; We saw the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George, where I thought Jack would die of sheer happiness, surrounded by all those gorgeous old steam engines. We've visited the Dias Maritime Museum in Mossel Bay, with the Post tree and the replica of Bartholomeu Dias' ship. We've visited a number of the different beaches between George and Mossel Bay, eating ice creams, building cars out of sand for the boys to sit in...
We rung in the new year at our local beach, watching the fireworks going up over Mossel Bay, sipping a glass of wine and sending off a sky lantern, which we watched as it carried our wishes for 2012 off into the air over the ocean.
And now we're going to wring every ounce of pleasure there is to be had out of our last week here, before heading back home to tackle the rest of the year. May you all enjoy a happy one!
This holiday is our first ever, both as a couple and a family. Sure, we've had a day or two away here and there, or maybe even a week or two, but on every single one of those, one of us was working. This time, we actually went on *holiday* for the first time in 10 years and I have savoured every blissful second of it!
Getting away from the everyday grind for a bit has opened my eyes to a few things about our life at home and I hope to make a few changes when we get back. For example, I had no idea how cluttered our life at home has been for the last few years! We have so much *stuff* stashed all over the place at home, most of which we almost never use, if at all. I think we need to have a serious look at de-cluging our space and simplifying a bit. Here on holiday, we still have to cook and clean and do laundry - and we don't even have the luxury of our fabulous dishwasher. But somehow, it's just so much smoother. This may very well be because we're not also dealing with work stress and deadlines and the like, but we're still running around after 4 busy kids all day, every day. Trust me, that takes some stamina!
Otherwise, it has been wonderful to be able to just breathe a bit. Yes, the kids keep us running from morning 'til night, but I have so enjoyed watching them play on the beach and in the waves. I have loved our family meals around the table, TV turned off and just the six of us spending time together.
We've taken them to see some of the sights in the area, such as the budget permits; We saw the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George, where I thought Jack would die of sheer happiness, surrounded by all those gorgeous old steam engines. We've visited the Dias Maritime Museum in Mossel Bay, with the Post tree and the replica of Bartholomeu Dias' ship. We've visited a number of the different beaches between George and Mossel Bay, eating ice creams, building cars out of sand for the boys to sit in...
We rung in the new year at our local beach, watching the fireworks going up over Mossel Bay, sipping a glass of wine and sending off a sky lantern, which we watched as it carried our wishes for 2012 off into the air over the ocean.
And now we're going to wring every ounce of pleasure there is to be had out of our last week here, before heading back home to tackle the rest of the year. May you all enjoy a happy one!
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