lanne

The elves are coming...

TONIGHT!!

But first things first..

This morning we all got up and went out to Belesis for breakfast.. a fav hangout.. french toast, with a side of bacon and a coffee.. (I know I know I walked it off!) ..LOL Then.. despite the rain.. we tried out an open air fruit and vege market - a farmers market. Something satisfyingly fantastic about it .. and I am def doing it again. It was pouring rain..we were beyond unprepared... but I love knowing I paid the man who grew them, rather than a chain. There were rows and rows of gorgeous product... fresh real... product which was devine and tastes heavenly. :) AND.. it was much much cheaper. So we came home laden with fruit and veges...
They (like us) were all sopping wet and I lined them all up on the bench to dry. .Andrew and I were chatting.. lochie was playing.. nice family morning. Then we decided it would make a great photos.

We actually ended up with a tonne of asian veges, garlic shoots (these are awesome and STRONG) potatoes, carrots, beans, snow peas, mushrooms, spanish onions, capsicum, broccoli, sugar cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, asparagus, herbs and a few more I cant think of..LOL .. and some mangoes (summer is close), advocado, necterines, peaches, grapes, apples, banana etc... So nice to see my awesome huge fruit platter just blooming with fresh fruit.

This is a small sample of what we got - (excuse the photos..vege still life isnt my thing.. I needed sharon!)

I did some work this afternoon.. not enough (whats new)..but I helped out a friend with some prints, had another skype call and then wasted 1hour 45 mins of my life making small talk and jokes with an apple tech support guy .. Hi Nathan.... who helped me to get Bert and Ernie to talk to one another.. sheeeeesh!
Like it was hard work!

Nathan was unable to fix the pixelated images in Coverflow.. which was my ' secondary incident' and so apparently I am going to live with it.. HMMPH..or I can reinstall leopard..which would mean reinstalling PS.. as it doesnt like having leopard put over the top (in my case.. turns out I am on the only person on the planet this has happened too... and no.. even Nathan wasnt buying that one!)

Then I cooked the MOST yummy chicken caesar salad for dinner - only to find the chicken was off.. salad ruined and we got the worst maccas I have ever tasted..ever... YICK... it is Mc Happy Day.. what do you expect.

So now I am catching up on work and blogging whilst stuff loads because 3 dear blog readers have emailed and said.. POST..LOL

Tonight is the night that the elves come!! So I have to be done soon and go to bed early so that they can come. You see we bundled up all of the christmas decos.. and put them out the front door.. and the elves will come when we are asleep and decorate the trees (the elves will have to forgive me I haven't bought a single decoration for the rest of the house.. OPPS)...

We have written a letter to Santa... Have I ever mentioned how much I love this kid? He was UBER cute.... i wanted to just hug him. I will type his letter out later...The letter goes in the basket (along with a drawing he insisted on doing for Mrs Claus so she didnt feel bad about not getting a ride in the sleigh.. Awww) and the elves will decorate and then take the letters back to Santa..

He has asked for some pretty simple toys. He was concerned that the reindeer shouldn't have to fly a heavy sleigh and was worried if he asked for too much other children might miss out (we have been talking about charity and the importance of giving).. I could not be more proud of him. He has a kind heart like his Dad.

This is what the elves will find when the come.

He was packing the basket and saying.. ohhh Mummy thats so SWEET that you got me these decorations.. ohhh thank you Mummy for these decorations....

I have a feeling Santa might be generous! This kid is on the NICE list.. MOST of the time anyway!

** Yesterday I got the treadmill set up and cleaned off and working.. spent 4.5 hours doing groceries..and getting them all upstairs..ack (only healthy food came home with me... although diet isnt a problem (excuse my odd chocolate outbreak) it is movement!.. I scrubbed 2 bathroosm within an inch of their life.. dramatic change in what was a clean bathroom..LOL cleaned and wiped and dusted and swept and did.. was a very very busy day. I have managed to walk about 3km since the last blog post. With barely any time it was a start.

Accountable...

I have been trying to find a way to go for a walk pretty much every day for a month. Not one walk yet!
I am truly not an unmotivated person. I am drowning in work and family responsibilities.. i have been prioritizing client needs above my own, and i dont mean to sound dramatic but I have preferenced getting work out or getting one more email in before walking.

Andrew also hasnt been home and available for me to go.. and ... it has been raining a LOT in the evenings. I am barely getting any sleep and I WILL NOT be getting up earlier.. I know this is always an option.. but I fall into bed at 1am.. I am not getting up at 5am for a walk! I just wont last the distance.

It is about to get HOT here... summer is coming and I dont do heat well so day walks are pretty much out.. but.. even if i could..Lochie cant walk fast enough.. and doesnt fit in a stroller or backpack. and he grew out of the bike seat!

I have priced Gyms, and even if I go I have to take Lochie.. he has a hard enough time with school let alone a gym. I have no friends close by to walk with and i cant justify the 1 hour round trip to catch up with someone.

But at the same time... it isn't working.. and I am looking for a solution.

We have a treadmill. I hate it. It makes me nauseous. I feel motion sick on it. BUT... I can set it up at the end of the garage, reverse the car out and get lochie set up with some toys downstairs (he can do whatever on the concrete and we wont be panicked about the timber floors.. :) :) two birds, one stone.. and I can practically hear him asking for more time down there once we get started...

The plan is before his rest... 4 days a week.. I will walk and he will play. 1 hour. And if I feel truly sick...so be it. I will have done my hour.. and can rest whilst he does (I usually work but I can work if I feel better.. if not..oh well .. something has to give).

I also plan on doing GOOD cleaning one day a week. I keep the house pretty tidy most of the time but cleaning is something I really have to schedule. We both clean on Sunday afternoons and have the house immaculate to start the week but now that I am home more I am going to try vacuuming 3 times a week, and cleaning windows monthly, both bathrooms on Fridays instead.. maybe this will clear sunday afternoons for a walk rather than cleaning.. and will give me the benefit of more exercise and less cleaning for Andrew (he vacs on sundays now). Instead he can relax with Lochie whilst I walk.

So.. Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fridays.. I will be on the treadmill.. Fridays I will be cleaning and hopefully Sundays I can take another walk.

each of these days I am going to post how far I have walked/what I cleaned (vigorous cleaning.. for exercise as well as clean!) and I would SOOOOO appreciate it if you guys could keep an eye out for the distance.. and if you dont see any.... give me grief!

Thanks!

Cancelled Today

I didnt cancel all of today .. but I cancelled a few hours of it.

In case you haven't read between the lines, I have worked some serious hours in the last few weeks.. I mean serious. And whilst I spend my days with Lochs (for the most part) I have been working all day Wed, Friday - he is at school and Saturday when he is with Andrew. I have worked almost every single night.

With a headache in place since Sunday... I woke up this morning (thursday) and went.. gahhhh!

So I packed the 5D (yeah right ..like I was actually going to leave it for pro shoots only..LOL) and some water, a spare lens, a money card $20 cash and my adorable son.. and off we went. Both sunscreened and pleased to be spending time together. He is such a good kid.. Just one of thi.. GOOD kids.. he is easy going and mature for 4.. and we have such fun hanging out.

We parked at the state library and I offered him 4 choices. Train, Ferry, Muesum, Library Games.
He choose Ferry. So we walked through Southbank, stopping off at a rainforest (we had 20 mins to fill in before the ferry).. he found a lizard and a duck. He also saw someone smoking. Growing up in a house where Dad smoked I don't know if I ever gave it any thought. But Lochie lives the clean good life..LOL and he said.. Quick Mummy help.. that man is on fire! (as an older man blew smoke... I bent down to explain as the man drew on his cigarette and made smoke rings * funny old guy heard lochie obviously..LOL* ...
Lochie said. ohhh dont worry Mummy.. he is just a wrinkly old dragon.. and moved on. LOL take that!

Loved him exploring and looking for creatures..

He is seriously obsessed with these boots. When I get to scrap again these are soooo on my list. He says.. Boots or Crocs.. and has been known to cry if boots is not the answer.. not a tantrum cry.. just a heartbroken.. lil sob.

It is OK I KNOW how biased I am about those I love.. but come on... isnt he perfection?

We got the ferry and walked up into the Mall. It was super busy with the lunch time crowds so we escaped into a bar.. haha. Hey . I had a cute lunch time date what is a girl to do?
I dont even drink.. so dont call the cops just yet!
We went to a nightclub called Strike.. which has ten pin bowling alleys included. Forget the daggy shoes and smelly vinyl of old.. This place was COOOOOOOOL. Awesome lighting effects, a full bar.. (karoke room LOL) and gorgeous bowling area... massive curved lounges (even I wanted a cocktail and a lay on them) .. and at the end of the lane is a MASSIVE screen with the latest dance videos.. awesome fun.. rocking soundtrack banging out whilst you bowl. Big plasma overhead with the scores all auto totalled.. gosh.. who knew bowling was so cool. Apparently this is a very cool place to be seen. Of course not many people were seeing us at lunch time on a Thursday but given it was Lochie and I that was best..LOL

So we changed in the rather cool looking supplied shoes (dont get too excited they still stank!) and we headed in for a game. It was kinda expensive but a TONNE of fun.

Lochie was doing this awesome victory dance every time his ball went down the lane. He insisted on rolling it, rather than using the kid thing.. and i figure..good on him for trying.. life isnt easy!
I did beat him but just left that out of the conversation. I cheered him on and he cheered me on. He was such a good sport and very patient and turn taking.

(please excuse the photos.. there was some serious lighting to compete with!)

Lochie at the lane....

I LOVE this one.. he was soooooooo into it!

This next one cracked me up too.. the column near us was lined in mirrors.. he is doing this and checking himself out..hahahahaha He was totally cracking up the group of 15 early 20somethings that came in and played next to us.

We finished there and grabbed a fast lunch... before heading back. The city mall is in full christmas mode and has these awesome angels up throughout the mall. There are covered in fairy lights and would look fantastic at night (we are going back in for the lighting of the christmas tree next week so maybe i can grab some shots of them lit.

I also had the delightful pleasure...of chatting to Ms Emily this afternoon.. (well actually I didnt do the time conversion and it was after midnight her time - SO SORRY EM!).. but it was fab as always. I adore her.. and I can not wait for her to get her package next week. She let me pick some photos (of hers) to get printed and put up on her kitchen wall... ohhh the pressure. Hope she likes what is in that parcel! It should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.. about the same time as my shipment (via Em) from the states.. woohoo

And now.. I will continue to sit here and wait.. I am reinstalling PS. (THIS DOES NOT MAKE ME HAPPY)..
I am cranky cranky cranky actually.. PS has stopped talking to Mac OS Leopard.. grrr.. I can no longer open an image via finder,... it opens.. sure... but then it kills PS.. or .. it lets you work and dies as soon as you have finished editing and go to save.. not much makes me crankier as quickly..LOL. So I am reinstalling PS CS3 and hoping it stops misbehaving!

Murder at 7

Dinner guests are ALMOST all invited..

Whilst shopping yesterday I remembered I needed to get some cards for a client who was doing photo-cards for christmas this year. I had offered to pick them up for her as there were none in shops near her. and whilst there I decided to look for some paper for the murder dinner party. For someone who cant paper scrap to save herself I sure do loooooove paper! So I flicked through the invitation book guide and found a wedding invitation which was modern/minimalist.. and some black and off white striped paper (bonus it has dots on the back!) and some matching off white semi metallic paper. They had ribbon and lil buckles there (always thought these were cute but had no need for them.

I decided to decorate the table in black and white... and instead of name cards.. I would do character cards... with the guests 'name' and character profile on the front (helps to remember who you are!) and on the back, print the evening's menu. (given you play one round per course).

I figure the 20s were about formalities over dinner, and glamour.. The centrepeice will be some pure white flowers, and black ribbons. I also have some black and silver candles for the table (they were left over from the last studio.. :) I also have some black christmas decorations I couldn't resist... PLUS the black and white print paper I bought as christmas wrap for PWL (and found a lil much when I got home).. will make a perfect paper table runner to line the candles on. We will dine/play by candlelight (tonnes of candles so we can read!) and the game comes with a CD we play to help set the mood. I think we will rearrange the lounge/dining room to accommodate the tables (2 matching tables to create one big one!) and we will be ready to part - Y!

The invites made great placecards (IMHO) .. and were super simple. 2 per A4 card.. and I trimmed 4 cm off the bottom. I printed the name to one side, character profile to the other.. The back then has the menu run right down the back... I used double sided tape along the top to adhere the striped paper, and along the bottom I offset it so that it was half on the paper (therefore holding it in place, and half exposed.. I threaded through the buckle.. and used the exposed tape to adhere the ribbon - trim at the end.... EASY! even I could do it!

The menu reads:

Tonight we must uncover which of our fellow diners has committed murder. Please interrogate the guests over the following feast...

Entree

Whilst revenge is a dish best served cold this soup wll be served piping hot and accompanied by fresh breads and butter.

Main
This hearty pie will restore the warmth into even the most cold blooded of killers. Served with salad to keep the trim figure of our guests of the 'fairer' sex.

Dessert
As this may be the last 'proper' meal for our murdering guests, we have saved the best till last. A rich cheesecake served with chocolate curls and a clear conscience.

I promise dinner wont be as boring as it sounds..LOL I have a fab soup recipe to try and nothing beats GOOD bread and soup! .. I am going to make individual open pies in ramekins..and then top each one with a HUGE star shaped peice of light flakey pastry.. (just cut the star shape out.. bake and add to the top of the ramekin!) The salad will be a big platter of salad veges all open and ready to choose what you like YUM.. and saves people digging around for what they want! and last but not least.. mini cheesecakes.. I just make as usual, but put one tablespoon of biscuit mix into a cupcake paper, flatten and add a lil cheesecake mix to the top.... refrigerate as normal.. top as you please. I thought I would served white, milk and dark choc scrolls, fresh berries and cream... and again everyone serve themselves (a normal mix makes 16 mini cheesecakes (2 each if anyone wants seconds over another coffee later in the evening...) Best thing is.. everything is made in advance, or cut just before guests arrive.. and I dont spend all night in the kitchen!

One thing leads to another

As regular blog readers would know... many moons ago when I first left school I nannied for a gorgeous kid.. who I still have regular contact with :) We have been lucky enough to watch him grow and become a fabulous teen. (really I am completely biased but this is one fab kid!). We have also been lucky enough to stay friends with his Dad whose family has grown to include a new wife and two more gorgeous kids over the years, and whilst they no longer live nearby they are always in our thoughts :)

I called on the Saturday because we are due to have the said Fab Teen on the weekend of my birthday. I wanted to confirm we were having him (you need exactly 8 for the dinner party) and b) to see if he was OK with joining in or if he was too cool for our old people games... LOL

As luck would have it his Dad was in town, and catching up with friends and family. He had K and K's girlfriend with him and we were able to have an impromptu dinner last night. Years ago, after I finished working for the family I would still see D and K on weekends.. often with a mutual friend and D's brother Andrew (not my husband!). We occasionally went for Yum Cha in the china town mall and had long afternoons of rest and relaxation. K was about 3.5 - 5 and would come and join us :)

Last night's impromptu dinner was.. well impromptu and we had just gotten back from being out all day. So .. a quick scan of the fridge and some dietary requests from the guests.. and we declared chinese takeaway!

D and Andrew went and got the dinner whilst we set the table and were entertained by Lochie's overtired guitar playing... We all sat down to dinner and I had to take a photo....

12 years on...Yum Cha made way for the takeaway - There was a 4 year old at the table.. and an Andrew..at the table.. except they were both mine now, and the other guest was 16 years old... looking pretty much an adult and we were joined by his girlfriend. D and I feeling pretty much the same as we were..lol although maybe older and wiser?

What a pleasure it is to watch them all grow :)

(Hope you and the boys can join us next time Jo!)

We had intended to go to Shorncliffe on Brisbane's northside... Andrew visited a school there earlier this month and thought it might be a nice spot for us all to go. Unfortunately it rained as we arrived and the 5D wasn't getting wet..LOL But I did snap a couple of photos of some trees at the end of a dead end street.. and one quick one of lochie exploring in some long grass.

Did I mention the shopping? Given that we were rained out.. we decided to try and tick a few more christmas items off our list. We have capped Lochie's christmas presents at $250 all up and let Santa know he has to fit into this budget. We have one child and could go quiet mad with presents.. but I prefer to buy ONLY educational/imaginative play toys and skip merchandise and cheap plastic stuff. I also like to buy creative presents..

However... Lochie is desperate for a Batman from Santa but...he is not the in thing at the moment and impossible to find. We managed to locate one at Kmart and will be sure and let Santa know! Maybe Lochie will get it afterall.

We have been looking everywhere for a Knights outfit for Lochie (see earlier post) he looooooves the one at my friends but i cant find the same one (not surprising given she has had it for a few years!) but.. the fabric ones (as beautiful as they are will be far too hot here in summer (we have a summer christmas remember!) and so the hunt has begun.

We got lucky at Chermside's Mr Toys and scored the EXACT same suit for just $20 - it has a helmet, shield, chest guard thing.. and a sword which will be disappearing! Nik is hoping to buy him a horse from Ikea..to play with it. Sorry for the poor photo I was hiding in our room capturing them before disappearing them into the wardrobe.. LOL they are going home with Mum today for stashing until Christmas.

n

These horses are available from Ikea for $10... what a fab gift idea.. for $30 you have a full knight/horse kit!

I also decided to get him some stationary of his own. Something funky and fun and colourful. (If in Australia and keen to buy something a bit more interesting for the kids in your life check out SMIGGLE.com.au ... they say not for kids under 5 ... but.. I am pretty cautious and willing to buy for Lochie). Not all their new stuff is on the website tho!

He just drew the coolest skeleton this week (I framed it! I think it is really important to value his work and framing it means alot to him - he is currently working on a family portrait of us for his room!) :) :) makes me so happy.

I picked him up some cool clips (i have these in yellow hehe) and a funky pencil case, his own glue stick, a super cool notebook with a slot car design... an alien eraser... some chunky oversized paperclips (easier for lil hands) and some chunky pencils.

(Again please excuse the bad photo)

Lochie bought Andrew a remote control plane for christmas... hehe (and yes it is exactly what andrew wanted.. he even picked it out. They should have lots of fun together! Lochie bought me a calendar from Kikki K.. which you can add photos too.. of course I might have mentioned it (ok so i picked it and handed it to andrew and said.. this one..LOL but... Lochie thinks they chose it and he paid for it himself!

We also went to T2 for some herbal garden teas for a friend.. and got her a water jug with an infuser in so she can make summer teas...

and my christmas cards have shipped from whcc (lets hope they make it. $40 for the cards.. $35 for postage! and it isn't trackable! LOL)

Off to see how the family portrait is coming along...

and then they partied...

It is November..... only a couple of weeks until my birthday.. it kind of crept up on me this year.. Must be all those crazy hours..LOL

I have kind of left it a lil late to organise something actually... opps. I was thinking maybe breakfast somewhere? THEN.. we went to a lil boutique toy store this morning with Lochie (scoping potential christmas presents) ... when we came across a How to Host a Murder Party. I had one of these when I was an early teen.. and I am pretty sure we threw another when I was a bit older... and .. we had one for a staff christmas party one year... We hosted one when I was pregnant with Lochie.. and I have to say.. it can make for a good night!

So we grabbed this game -

In How To Host A Murder®, the world's best-selling mystery dinner party game, you and your guests assume the roles of humorous suspects – each with a motive and opportunity to commit the crime – in a light-hearted murder mystery.

THE CHICAGO CAPER: It is September 1928 in Chicago. The return of notorious gangster Harold "Hal" Coppone is expected to trigger a wave of violence. Instead, Coppone has disappeared, mystifying police and the criminal underworld. To the small group gathered in a speakeasy near Coppone's headquarters, the crimelord's whereabouts become only part of the mystery when murder is discovered. There's no shortage of suspects, motives, speakeasy glamour or gorgeous flappers in this crime tale.

I figured that the 1920s theme would be lots of fun!... think flappers/speakeasy/chicago/nightclub singers and houses of disrepute ;) So...

Obviously Lochie is going to Mums..LOL and I am going all out on the table decos.. Menus and invites.. so if you can think of any scrap supplies which might suit the theme..Also any hints on cool table decos.. ;) I need to make invites ASAP.. let me know!!!

We are making a rule that everyone wears ONE item to denote their character.. should make the whole costume thing a lil easier.

Fun new blog

Stuck for ideas on entertaining the kids...?

check out this blog... lots of fun and I know the author in real life. She is just about the nicest person ever and very creative... I am so excited that she is blogging all these fun experiences.. and .. because she is an early childhood teacher she even adds some educational information.

http://vimagination.blogspot.com/

Happy Playing!

I need to be working

Instead I have been distracted by a bad headache, some coffee, made dinner (which is a good thing to do whilst waiting for a migrane tablet to kick in) because now I have free time with the boys tonight! before heading back to work!

and...

I got to have a chat with Lisa.. well I actually kinda chatted to her adorable children more... they sound SOOOOO super sweet.. *melt*... i really wanted to have a video chat with them but frankly.. today was not the day to be video chatting with anyone.LOL halloween is over!

Now I am dreaming of a blog makeover..... and have decided I can do one.. just as soon as I finish this work. Wish me luck... when you see the blog all purdy.. you know my work is complete.

It wouldn't be so bad if i wasn't already exhausted and now i am staring down another 36 hours... *groan*

Least I get to do what I love...

Stick your chest out.. and be brave

WARNING... lots of photos ahead...

Had a nice day off with Lochie today. :) He has been going to school on Wednesdays (normal day) and Fridays as an extra whilst I try and get one top of things. I am just soooooo into this lil boy at the moment. He is just downright adorable.. and having an entire day to just be with him is fab. I am exhausted from work but we are playing hard too.

A friend had an operation this week so we dropped in this morning to check in, and to give her almost 4yr old lil girl a playmate... nice morning :) we took flowers and scones (fresh from the bakery..LOL) and I did some dishes for her and checked for washing/cleaning that needed doing as she isnt walking around yet.

The kids had a great time playing..and Lochs was in heaven as once again he found their Knight's costume. I don't do swords and battle gear.. I dont do guns or weapons at all. I have even been known to buy a pirate figurine and carefully remove his weapon with a stanley knife before handing it over ;) But lochie LOOOOOVEd this costume. So.. I have decided to get him one for christmas, and just ditch the sword. My friend was wondering what to get him.. and we decided a horse for the knight might be a good idea. Ikea have trusty steeds at a reasonable price/quality. :)

Look at my lil knight.. off to rescue fair maidens.. ( LOVE how he sticks his chest out..LOL)

excuse the poor photos..I was laughing whilst capturing.. and I am allowed to!

This is what happens when you are being a brave warrior.. and your Mummy makes you giggle.. hehehe

We left her place and went to a boutique toy store (I was actually hoping for a knights outfit but...no such luck)..i did however buy two new presents.. I loved both couldnt decide and bought both.. and as i thought.. Andrew was OK about it.. :)

They are gorgeous detailed play mats. Rubber backed and then a fine layer of felt/carpet like surface.. SO COOL. The timber floors in our home are rubbish. beautiful but lacking hardener.. so ANYTHING marks them and scratches the surface.. we have mats down but it is very dull for lochie to play on and the cars and lil figurines stick to the surface loops.. so he is using the coffee table and marking it.. grr.

I feel that he lives here too and whilst he shouldnt damage things we need to provide space for him to be himself.. so these were perfect..

I gave him this one tonight.. safari! great for cars, dinosaurs and animals.

The detail is just exceptional.

and this one.. pirates.. I am saving for christmas.. but it will give him new play spaces. :) SO excited.. he didn't move for 2 hours and we dragged him off to bed. Def. a winner!

and whilst he was playing this afternoon I managed to do our christmas card! wooohooo feels good to check that off our list!

I am ordering a 5 x 5 trifold from whcc.com but was having trouble getting the grid to fit in and allow for the bleed..I am super particular about these things and was struggling with the idea that the borders might not be even..LOL

THEN,.. I happened across this layout from Jennifer Johner.. i LOVE her work and thought it would be the perfect christmas card cover..

PLus it had some room to move to allow for bleeds etc.

So here is my scraplift.. (i dont have time/creativity to be original this year!)

(click to make it bigger?)

and the whole card.. looks like this..

(left side is the inside cover, the middle is the back of the card.. the right side is the cover)

and the inside...

I loove these photos of him.. they were super quick to do - a few mins of .. show me your funny faces as I snapped..LOL but they capture him right now .. and are a lil fun.

I have saved the sorry santa ones for gift tags.. best of both worlds :)

EVERYTHING is by the uber talented SMJ....www.shabbymissjenndesigns.com I think I got a lil from almost every kit.. haha well certainly lots of them.... frankly .. run over and just buy out her whole store.. but.. if you want to know where I got something in particular let me know.. Lots of birds of paradise for the fiddly bits.. and Bohemian Traveller.. for the papers.. but everything was so lovely and easy and all went together :) Thanks Jenn... you rock! and I adore your work!

phew.. must be time to go and work again.. or.. shall i round off today with ice cream snuggled on the sofa with andrew.... Mmmmmmm?

C&K

I am not sure about the rest of the world but Kinder/Preschool is HARD to get into here. Basically.. you can enrol when pregnant and you might not get in! There has been one perschool per suburb or so for the longest time, and they take 44 kids max. (2 sessions of 24).. so.. if you are one of the lucky 44 kids whose parents enrolled you very early on... you might get to go to preschool.

The State government have addressed this situation by providing all children in our state with a Prep year.. think preschool/first grade type year. Fabulous idea that I support 100%.. this is an essential learning time. Unfortunately they changed the starting age... and so.. because of when Lochie's birthday is I have to keep him at home for another year.

I HATE this.. as an educator and a parent I have very strong objections to the hold over. The cynic in me says it was at least partly done for money. (the six month hold back gave them a slower intake year one which helped to ramp up resources)..

We did not enrol him in a preschool whilst pregnant because we didn't know where we would be living and the registration fees can be very expensive.. I know a friend spent $1000 in fees trying to ensure her child would get in SOMEWHERE... and then.. we moved when he was one. We moved back in April.. there is no enrolment! So poor old Lochie will have to make do with child care centre based preschool. Which isn't BAD.... but he has been there since sept 06.. and would have to repeat it again next year. The main problem being kinder/preschool is 9 - 2.30 5 days a fortnight.. and working parents simply cant access that.... childcare is also very expensive (we are full fee paying).. so accessing childcare even a couple of days a week costs $350 per fortnight.. ack.

Isn't is a good thing I quit my job and now have a boss who is very flexible about Lochie's needs.. ME!
So after speaking to our neighhour (she got in mid year when other children left, and they worked their way down the list - AND - lots of people enrol at 4 and 5 centres).. i decided to throw my name in and try my luck.. who knows.. maybe I would get in mid way through too.. no harm in trying.

So I sat on the phone ringing around... 400 on one waiting list.. 280 on another.. .. why bother? It seemed like I was paying the registration fees for nothing.

But the other day I felt the need to do it again, I got 2 lovely centres, and one which was a little short with me for being such a late starter..LOL One lady said there was a good chance he might get in mid year.
*so excited about that possibility*

They called last night. WE GOT IN. I can not tell you how excited I am for him. He got into a C&K which is like the BEST early childhood preschool I could ever think to send him to. They are beautifully resourced..teachers are always dedicated professionals.. it is a kindy plus program...thurs, friday one week.. wed, thursday, friday the next. :) from 9 - 2:30... BUT.... they have a afterkinder program..so for an extra fee he can stay until 5:30pm if I need him too.

I will be taking up that option one day a week which will let me do a midweek shoot in the afternoon, and I will have mornings for newborns, editing etc. Andrew can get him by 5:30, leaving me able to work until 6 and be home by 6:30. I will also have 5 days a fortnight.. with about 5 hours to get stuff done.. i currently have two day a fortnight with about 8 hours so I am excited for the extra time :)

My main excitement though is for Lochie.... he will just blossom in that kind of environment and will enjoy all the new challenges resources and friends...

C&K here we come!