woo's wicked week

My fearless feisty little girl has a big week of activities this year. She has started at a little kindy-creche, which she loved the first day and waved me off. Wonderful, I thought, this will be perfect. Such a change from Tiggy's anxieties about leaving me. But by the time I returned I found a puffy eyed, tear-stained, over-tired and extremely worried little girl. So much for fearless and feisty.

This was Woo on her first morning. She had been excited and rabbited on Wooie style about being a kindy-girl. Poor baby. We'll persevere though. She's such a social being that I'm confident she'll love it soon. Wow does she sleep afterwards though.




Next up is tambourine time. It's not that great actually, same old Wiggles CD cranked out each week - yawn! But she loves it. I stay with her and that thrills her. Me ... not so much. It's not that I don't want to be with her it's just that the teacher is disengaged, the parents are too. Even the children are and often seem to just go through the motions. We had a super emergency teacher in a couple of weeks ago and there were bubbles (see above), scarves, ribbons, musical instruments and fun, fun, fun linked with song, dance and music including aboriginal, polka, classical or as Woo likes to call it, ba-yay (ballet) moosic), synthesiser. Fabulous. We'll try and swap next term.
She had a ball but then she has a ball no matter who's taking it, what music there is or how repetitive it is :)

Finally, we round out the week with a good old swim. Again she loves it. I sit on the sidelines, applauding her bravery and fluffing out my chest at how clever she is. Again she sleeps like a top!

The top and tail of the week are home days, preparing for the week ahead, recuperating from the week's activities and playing heartily either at home or out at friends. She knows how to kick up her heels, does Woo.


Thanks for popping by and I hope you pack in as much fun as Woo does today!

E x

tiggy's tea for two

I have a precious blue box. In it are samples of Montessori Materials. Things that I made during my training. Samples of dusting cloths, pouring activities, sorting beads, maths cards, high quality books, feeling bags, language materials amongst others. Tigs has been fascinated by this box and its contents since he was very tiny. Occasionally, I let him take it out to look at and use. I'm both proud and protective of the materials within it and this has filtered to Tigs. He knows that he must be careful and almost reverent about playing with them. Recently he asked to use it (always when Woo is asleep, as he knows I won't let her at it yet) and I agreed on the usual proviso that he be extraordinarily careful with it all.

I carried on with my jobs and later returned to find this little event set up, complete with place cards, teeny vases of freshly picked lavender buds and basil flowers and two arrowroot cookies - as you may remember  this picture of perfection did have a less than perfect hiccup in the middle, caused by me not Tigs.  He'd even filled a miniature jug with orange squash and had poured me a cup. I think perhaps I've read one too many Enid Blyton books to him!  

The care and the thought with which he'd set it all up made my heart ache to bursting. This boy will one day care for the woman who captures his heart in a most wonderful way. It is a real privilege to be his Mummy.

I hope that you are being as loved and cared for today and thank you for reading,

E x

smooch

Where am I?
What's going on?
What am I doing?

Living. Breathing. Sometimes existing, sometimes fully engaged. Walking. Running. Aching. Praying. Cleaning. Cooking. Ferrying. Data entrying. Working. Eating (excessively). Sleeping (occasionally). Inhaling. Noticing. Feeling. Being.

And most definitely smooching. I love my family, extended as well as immediate, more than can adequately be described and am trying to be good to them.

I'm sewing today, for the first time this year, and will share as soon as I can. It's nothing grand or exciting - Easter egg cosies, as a matter of fact - I hope they'll be cute.

Love you Flossy.

Me x

don't faint ...

...it's a family portrait! As rare as hens teeth, to have the four of us in one picture. I have discovered the self-timer like it's some utterly new invention - brilliant!

grade 1

That was then - 2010.

And this is now - 2011! What a difference a year makes - most noticeable the length of the shorts!

The day began promisingly. The task charts that Tigs and I had created worked faultlessly and 50c has been duly logged at the bottom of the chart. Pay day will be on Friday night I imagine. Tigs was ready in no time and all tasks were completed without having to ask. Now that's my definition of success.




We were loaded in the car in plenty of time and arrived with time to casually stroll up to the new classroom. As we entered the lobby the cool kid who'd been several paces ahead suddenly jacked-up and reverted to my baby boy, leaning against me and looking decidedly anxious as we made our way through an absolute sea of parents and children from 6 classrooms. I kept hold of the calm and assertive energy I'd stocked up on and lead the way to the door.

His new teachers were so kind to us both as Tigs completely fell apart. Sore tummy shifted to sore throat (followed this morning by a sore knee). We were going so well. Poor little boy. And I'd deliberately tried to make the previous couple of days low-key, and even boring, so that school seemed like a better option. Eventually I made it out and I'm assured that within minutes he'd settled.

It was certainly a much happier face that greeted me at the end of the day. I'm optimistic that it will continue to improve, but only time will tell. That beautiful boy just loves being home and really loves his mummy. The feeling's definitely mutual. Any tips?

my angel

Thank heavens for little boys!

Preface: This is to remind me of what it important in life and to capture the positive moments that arise out of the grim. And lest you think Tigs is perfection personified, he was positively grim at times today! Okay, now you may go on and read ...

I had a catastrophe yesterday. Tigs had set up a tea party for the two of us using my 'special' tea-for-two set from my Montessori teaching box. A tiny plate held two plain biscuits. Two thimble-sized vases held lavender and basil flowers. A delicate creamer was filled with cool, sweet, orange squash. Each cup and saucer was set upon a double layer of minute, flannelette dusting cloths and marked with a handmade place card - he really is his mother's son!

I mentioned that we really needed three settings as Auntie Flossy was coming over she wasn't working due to Australia Day. "Great", he said, "Do you have another tiny cup and saucer?" .
"Why, yes I do my love," I beamed, "I'll just reach to the highest shelf in the kitchen, on my tippy-tippytoes and wiggle my beloved lemon-with-gilt-lining-Carlton Ware-demitasse-and-saucer over the edge, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH".

Smashed. To smithereens. First on my head and then all over the bench and floor. Completely, totally and utterly disintegrated...

NO!

I'm not sure why (hormones?), but I stood there and stared at Tigs with horror and became suddenly engulfed in misery. I put my head in my hands and wept. Tigs silently moved over to me and put his arms around me. "Don't cry," he said, "It was just an accident Mummy, you didn't mean it". I wept a little more loudly. Grateful that he understood and cared. I am well aware that I could have gone to my grave with nobody knowing how much I adored that little cup and saucer, and the precious Beswick Ware dish that met its demise simultaneously. That's often the way with little, treasures they matter so much more to their custodian than most people would ever know.

So how on earth do you think I clambered out of this tragedy? I remained paralysed and wailing (what a combination!) for some time before becoming increasingly aware of how ridiculous it was to sob over a little thing like this and more importantly to dump it on a six year old! I just couldn't seem to pull it together until Tigs stated, calmly, clearly and quite assertively, actually, "Think of the bright side Mummy." "What's that Darling?", I snivelled. "You could be dead and think how sad I'd be then!" God, I love him more than words can say. That's often the way with little, treasures they matter so much more to their custodian than most people would ever know.

lads!

Tigs has had a ball, this long summer, playing with his buddy who lives a long way away. He managed his first sleepover proper sleep over too. He didn't quite manage the second one though and was very kindly reunited with his Mummy and Daddy at 1am! Poor Lisa sweetly drove him home from the other side of town. Nevertheless both boys have a wonderful time when they are together. Never does a cross word passes their lips. Such good friends.

It astonishes me that in spite of the fact that Tigs doesn't have a gun he seems to know exactly what to do with it! Uggh! In fact he's shown me before that he doesn't need a real gun because he has one on the end of his hand - pshew pshew - index finger and thumb aimed at me!

I have been searching for some aviator sunnies for Tigs for ages and finally found some for him. Much cooler than his little boy, red, plastic jobbies and probably better for him than the scratched up lenses he had. Don't you think he looks great? Not many boys can get away with orange knickerbockers and look this good either, hey?

BTW this is the first post that reflects activities that have occurred this new year! I finally feel that I've caught up :)

E x