Uni Update

Just wanted to not somewhere that I've got my first semester results back and I was pleasantly surprised!

3 Hd's - Thank-you very much!  I was quietly confidant that I had 2, but the third was not expected.  I thought I'd gone ok in the exam, but as it was a 70% exam and the other 30% was based on group-work, I wasn't expecting to do so well in the exam.  Seems I'm very bad at judging these things and ended up getting the 2nd highest exam mark for all the students.  Not bad for someone who spent the previous night tending to a sick little boy having a horrendous asthma attack!

It means I now have a very healthy GPA of 6.889 (damn that distinction in my very first semester!) and I'm very proud of myself.  I know that marks probably don't mean much in the long run, but right now, they are motivating. 

The next big step is starting 2 x 10-12 hour shifts EVERY week, starting in 2 weeks time.  I'm not even going to begin trying to work out how I'm going to juggle that, study plus I still have 4 women left to birth.  Eeek!

Winter Festival 2011

Grace's school always celebrates the seasons on the last day of the term, it's a nice way to wrap up the term and to break up for the holidays.  They are normally held during the day, but Winter festival is often held in the late afternoon or night, as often lanterns are used to celebrate.  It was our first winter celebration up at the school, so we were not sure what to expect.  The children had made special invitations, asking us to bring along either fresh bread or a pot of vegetable soup and to meet at the prep rooms at 4.30pm.

After getting to the school, the lovely Miss Pam put us into groups of 2-3 families, with instructions to follow the golden path up to the main part of the school.  She also told us to keep our eyes wide open as we may be seeing some magical things on the way.

We were in a group with 2 of Grace's closest friends, Molly and Olivia. Trude and Jasper also came along to celebrate. The children excitedly skipped ahead as the Mum's and Dad's brought up the rear.  As we rounded the corner to head to the Grade 1 class, there was somebody all rugged up in Pj's and dressing gown and resting on a chair.  In front of them was a lantern and a bell, with instructions for the children to ring the bell if they were asleep.  After much encouragement to the girls, who were very unsure of what was happening, the bell was finally rung.  Up jumped the woman in her Pj's and she recited the poem:

"Jack be nimble,

Jack be quick,

Jack jump OVER the candlestick"

The girls, still unsure, soon clicked and after a bit of a nudge, each jumped over the lantern.  They were then each given a candle and told to keep following the path.

Next on the path was a farmer with a tree full of apples beside him.  He also told a little poem and presented each child with their own pre-cored apple, telling them that their candle should fit in it perfectly!

We set off again, and the next stop was to the banker.  She gave each child 3 gold coins and told them at the next stop, they may be able to buy something very special

The next point on the journey was to the woman who was milling the flour and the children were asked if they'd like to buy some using their 3 coins. They were then given a bag of flour and sent on their way.

The baker was the next stop.  The children swapped their bag of flour for a bag of freshly made bread, which upon closer inspection, Grace worked out that it was actually THE bread they'd made in the class today!

Last but certainly not least, was a trip to visit the wizard and her fiery cauldron - a nice warm place for a cold winters night.  The wizard asked the children to make a wish and each wish was thrown into the cauldron and dramatically disappeared in a puff of smoke!  The children loved the whole trip, but mine especially were enchanted with the wizard and her flames.








We all headed back to the prep rooms, and waited for all the other families to finish the tour.  Whilst we waited, the children impressed us all with their sewing abilities, whipping up a little moon headband to celebrate the festival.  Below is also just one of the wonderful things that Grace has been busy making this year - a beautiful cushion that she embroidered her name on all by herself!  The children use them when they are sitting on the mat to kneel on. 

After everyone had ventured back from the exciting walk, we got to have a big, yummy dinner!  There was such a variety of warm, hearty winter soups and crusty bread with butter - Yum!  We all sat around in the prep rooms lapping up soup with chunks of bread, the parents chatting and the children playing.

After everyone was finished and cleaned up, Miss Pam told us that she'd be turning the outside lights off and we were to come out in family groups to say good bye.  The children were to hold their candle, and she would light them as we left.

It was so still and quiet as each child waited patiently for their moment with Miss Pam.  She lit the candles and whispered a wish to each child.  In the dark, just with candlelight, it was a very special and reverent moment.

We then walked out to the carpark, on a path lined with candles and went home.

What a wonderful and special night and just another reason why I love the community and school.

Intermission

I'm obviously a few days late with my photos, but I've given myself permission to have a break.  There are too many other things that I need to focus on, to get through this week, and then I'll be back to all the photo's I've missed (I have got pics most days, it's just the uploading etc that I don't really have time for at the moment.)

I have an exam on Wednesday at 1.30pm, backed up by my huge one the next day at 8.30am.  To say I'm not happy about them being so close together is a given.  I like to do an exam, then "brain dump" to allow a day or so to concentrate on the next one - something I'm not going to be able to do this time.  I've also got the added concern of one of my follow throughs being due, and going into labour at any time.  I'm hoping that if she doesn't go into labour tonight, she gives me a few days and then preferably goes after my exam on the Thursday.  I know that if I'm at the hospital and she is in established labour I can defer the exam, but that sucks too.  The deferred exams are a month away, and I'd prefer to just get it over and done with. 

Also added to my dilemma's is a sick little girl.  After boasting that she hadn't even had a sniffle since December last year (and dammit, I touched wood!)  she has spent the day lethargic and vomiting constantly.  She's sleeping beside me now, so I'm hoping that a good nights sleep will give her the rest she needs to recover.  I don't really want to go down the hospital route as per the last 2 vomiting episodes she has had.  Thank goodness for my lovely Mil who is coming up to watch both kids in the morning so I can go to an  appointment and then do some last minute exam cramming.

I'm so looking forward to Thursday afternoon when exams are over and I can relax.  I'll still be doing appointments and births etc, but it'll be a nice 3 week break from school work.  Before the onslaught of next semester anyway.

June 6th - From below

 

This beautiful hibiscus flower is on one of the trees up the side of the house, above the chook pen.  I had planned on taking some photos of the chooks from down low, but didn't realise how hard that would be to execute.  After unsuccessfully getting low enough to the ground  to get an "up" photo of Henny, whilst avoiding the chook poo, I gave up and went searching for pretties instead.  We have a very tropical garden with the only flowers around being these hibiscus and frangipanis.  When time and money permits, I'm actually planning on filling in all the empty pocket in the garden with colourful flowers.  Maybe then we won't have to raid the next door neighbours for fresh flowers for the table!

June 5th - From above

~~From above~~

It wasn't until the end of the afternoon that I remembered about today's photo for the challenge.  In between cooking a roast, as Duane's parents were coming over for dinner, and making all the snacks for the week, I grabbed Grace and we went outside for a quick photo shoot.  It's not very imaginative and certainly didn't involve any circus tricks to get high angles as requested, but it's technically from above.

Miss Grace is so easy to photograph (not like my other child who is a camera hater!) and so it didn't take long to snap a few photos from above.  I've also put 2 more of my favourites from the shoot in.

Whilst I'm here and I've got my beautiful daughters picture as inspiration, I thought I might give a quick update on Grace.  She is amazing and an absolute sweetheart and such a pleasure to mother.  She is loving school and we still haven't had a day where she's even hinted that she doesn't want to go.  She told me tonight that Kyran (who is one of the boys she's thinking about marrying - she has options!) kissed her - On.The.Lips.  She giggled and said that she didn't like it, but once questioned about if it really happened - she wasn't quite sure. and when  I asked whether I could ask Kyran about it, she made me promise that I wouldn't.  Man, isn't it to early to be dealing with this?

Apart from kissing boys, she's loving all the fun stuff at school and is busy knitting a scarf for her doll Marabella.  Each child has there own little basket of stationary and she was so excited last week to show me that she had been awarded her own pair of scissors and explained all the safety aspects of being a "scissor" owner.  They have 3 lessons per week of Italian, so she's been teaching us at home some words and songs.  Xav is her model student and is picking up the words easily, always wanting to know more about what she does at school and envious that he can't go too.

I was telling her yesterday how much I love her hair, especially since it's so silky straight and the colour is stunning.  Especially beside my frizzy mop that I can't seem to do anything with at the moment!  She did suggest I take her into the hairdressers and tell them I want my hair exactly the same.  If only it was that easy!

Pottering and the park

Today was a lovely, lazy Saturday - a perfect way to wind down after a very busy week.  I've been crazy busy this week, fitting in appointments all over town and trying to study for these damn exams I have coming up.  I'd decided to take today off school work, which was much needed.  Duane worked this morning, so unfortunately no sleep-ins for me, unless you consider the 6am wake-up that my little cherubs decided was wake time!

We spent the morning pottering around the house in our Pj's, something I relish now that our weekday mornings are so rushed and hurried.  I scrubbed out the oven with some Norwex cloths that I bought at a party-play thingy - I'm so in love with this product, they actually make cleaning fun!  The kids amused them self washing dolls in a plastic tub of water and then making playdough farm animals.

Then this afternoon we met up with the usual gang at the beautiful botanical gardens.  Trude wanted some photos of Jasper, so we spent quite a lot of time chasing the poor kid around poking a camera in his face!  He was the perfect little baby model though, although played very hard to get sometimes - such a quick little boy!
We got some very cute photos (not hard with such a cutie though!)

 

 ~~Cute Miss Lucie~~

June 4th - Green

 

The photo challenge today was of something green.  This beautiful tree, at one of our favourite parks, looked absolutely glorious is the setting afternoon sun.  It's not a perfectly composed shot, but as I can't bear to take of my 50mm lens, there are limitations with how much I can fit in the frame!