Getting a head-start

As I wrote the other day, after pretty much a lifetime of working it out, I've decided to do a degree in Physiotherapy.  And while I'm super eager to get started, I'm also a little nervous.  The amount of stuff I need to learn, especially the scientific stuff seems overwhelming at this point in time.

But in the meantime, the Big Fella has bought me a massage table!

Of course, he had to be the first one to try it out.

And I have to say, it was much easier to massage him at the right height than on the floor, couch or bed.

So now all I need to do is get myself some anatomy and physiology books and get myself a head-start so that I can ace my classes and become the most awesome Physiotherapist ever!  Lol!

I just want to get started already!!!

Blog?  What blog???

Yeah, I've been M.I.A. recently from the blog-o-sphere.  Sorry 'bout that!  We've been busy, the Big Fella has been out of action with sciatica, and I haven't felt like I had anything worth writing about.

As I've said before, it's my blog and y'all can just deal with it ;-p



Several people have mentioned how frustrating my post "Re-dreaming" was.  I apologise for the frustrating element of that.  At the time I was processing and needed to write it out, but wasn't ready to share the details.

When I was a child, my mum used to get very sore feet and she'd get me to rub them.  She told me to imagine how what I was doing to her feet would feel if it was happening to my feet.  In that way I learned how to do a pretty good massage.

By the time I got to late high school, I had to choose an occupation for "work experience".  I chose Physiotherapy, and got to see it in action in a hospital, rehabilitation centre, and in a hydrotherapy situation.  I particularly loved the rehab, but was completely scared off by the level of study required in both completing the degree, and the continuing education requirements for accreditation.

So I decided not to study Physiotherapy.

Life went this way (USA) and that way (Bible College), I got married, we moved states and had a child.  I worked in Customer Service and Administration, and pretty much floated along.

I met several Physiotherapists along the way - at College, on a trip around Kakadu, getting treatment myself.  And every now and then I looked into studying Physiotherapy again, but it was always too hard, or wouldn't fit with our family life at the time or whatever else.

On the day that I wrote the "Re-dreaming" post, I'd taken the Big Fella to see our local Physiotherapist.  I went in to his appointment with him as an extra set of ears, and to see if there was any way I could help him at home.

And it was like someone pushed a button in me!

I watched as the Physio assessed the Big Fella, and could see what she was talking about.  As she explained what was happening and how she could help him, I was honestly inspired!

When we got home I started looking up what options I might have to become a Physiotherapist myself.  Could I do some of it part-time?  By distance education?  Would I need to go to the campus?  Could that possibly work for us at this point in time?  Can I afford to study?  Is it even worth it?  Will I be too old?  Can my body physically do it?

I watched a short video on one of the University's websites and I was sold.  For the first time since high school, when I knew I wanted to go to the USA for Master's Commission, I actually had something I wanted to do!

I can't tell you how much of a big thing this is for me.  I'm a pretty laid back person.  I love being at home and just "bumming around".  And I've been basically happy to go with the flow as work options have come up.

But since having the Little Big Fella, and especially as school came looming up on the horizon for him, I've wanted to do something more.  But I had no idea what!

And now I do and it's got me so pumped up!  I'm really excited about it!

Yes, I know study will be work.  I've done it before and I know I'll probably be in tears at the end of most semesters.

I know it will change the dynamics of our household, and cause financial stress at times.

And I know travelling for residential schools and possibly on-campus classes in the future will be a big fat pain in the butt!

But I want to do this!  And the Big Fella fully supports me!  He said the other day that it's great to see me with a direction for a change.

I spoke to the Uni the other day and it looks like I'm going to have to take a slightly different path into the course than I'd originally hoped.  But it's possible I'll be able to start mid-year.

Honestly, I just want to get started now!  I want to start learning and practicing and trying stuff out.  I want to be able to help people in pain, and to re-gain movement!  I wish I was already qualified so I could help the Big Fella with his sciatica.

But now I have to play the patience game and make the most of this stage of my life.  Because soon I won't have as much "free time" to help out at my son's school, and spend the day baking, and take an impromptu trip, and just sit and read a novel all day (definitely going to make the most of that one before I get sick of reading for a while).

I just can't wait!  Can I start now????

Someone flipped the switch!

What a ridiculously crazy week!!!!  The Little Big Fella has finished his first full week of school (9 days, done and dusted), and I finally had a day at home, alone!  And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Although, I did clean the oven for the first time since we moved here (almost two years ago), and I hate cleaning ovens, so I guess saying I "thoroughly" enjoyed it is a bit of a stretch.  I do enjoy being able to see through the glass front and seeing that the racks are silver, not black.

Anyway, the Little Big Fella is definitely enjoying school.  He got up on Saturday morning and put his school uniform on, and was quite disappointed to be told it was the weekend and he wasn't going to school for two days.

Over the past two weeks it seems like someone (thank you Miss I) has flipped a switch in our son's brain.

On the first day he was writing his whole name (with a little reminder/help).  We'd been trying to get him to do that over the entire summer break!

From day one he started telling wildly imaginative stories that take 10 to 15 minutes to tell and are incredibly detailed.

He sat down and coloured in a page, choosing the right colours and basically staying inside the lines.  He has never done that before!  He'd always pick whatever colour he felt like at the time, colour a little bit, then scribble all over the page, then quit.

He drew a picture of himself, Daddy and Mummy for the first time ever!  Previously I've seen him draw eyes, nose and a mouth, but not whole people, and never specifically naming anyone.

Every time we pick him up from school, he's done something different and learned something new and wants to show us what he's done.  He's SO enthusiastic!

And then we get home and he wants to practice some more!

The other night we were reading a Spiderman book, and we worked out that he knows most of the letters!  Already!  In nine days!

We had a parent information session on Tuesday evening and his teacher, Miss I, showed us what the kids will be learning in one term (10 weeks).  I was floored!  I am amazed at not only the volume, but the depth of what they'll be learning in such a short time.  And that they have the capacity to learn that is simply amazing.

Although I know there are negatives, I'm loving that he's in a composite class.  There are 24 students in his classroom; 13 Preps, 8 Grade 1s and 3 Grade 2s (I think).  The biggest advantage is that that older kids are showing the new Preppies how things work and what they are aiming to achieve.  Which, so far, is absolutely inspiring my Little Big Fella.

The other night he sat at the desk and "typed" on the laptop.  Then he asked me to read it back to him.  He laughed when I read his gobbledegook.

He's had some of the older kids reading to him in class and he's so eager to be able to read himself!  And he's very keen for me to read to him each night (regardless of how tired I may be).

The one thing Miss I mentioned he needs to work on at this stage (when I asked her) was not interrupting others when they talk.  Which is fair enough.  As an only child, we've allowed him to interrupt us, mostly because it's easier.  So we've been making a point to help him learn to wait for a break in conversation at home.  He'll get there :-)

I'm still waiting for the day he says, "I don't want to go to school today", or, "I have a tummy ache".  I know it will happen sooner or later.  But I'm so stoked by watching him grow in front of my eyes, and simply be excited about everything.

It is awesome.

Starting school

The day had finally arrived.  After weeks of asking, and marking days off on the calendar, and talking and preparing, it was finally the first day of school for my Little Big Fella.

At 6:30 a little head popped up beside me in bed.

"Mum.  It's school day today!"

Really, I'm pretty lucky he woke that late!

But thus began the interminable wait for 8:15, when the Little Big Fella could finally say "it's time to go, Mum!"

We took the obligatory photos, and a couple of videos (oh shoot!  I haven't sent those to Grandma yet!  Sorry Grandma!  They're coming as soon as I've posted this!).

I took several hundred photos (I love multi-shot!) but still couldn't get a single one with both eyes open!  Sheesh!

Side note: don't you think it's crazy that a school with a black and yellow colour scheme specifies white socks in their uniform????  Seriously?  Have you ever had a child who can keep anything white clean???

Anyway, following in my own mum's footsteps, I'd decided that the Little Big Fella would make his own school lunch from day 1.  So the afternoon before, he made his sandwiches (one with jam and one with honey), put some fruit and yoghurt and some snacks into his lunchbox and put it in the fridge, ready to go in the morning.

Obviously he needed a little help, but even in the four days that he's been going so far, he's significantly improved!  And I can see a day in the very near future where I won't be wanted or needed for lunch-making at all!

My mum is a very smart woman :-D

Amazingly, the Big Fella wasn't working until well after school started on the first day so the three of us walked (a whole block!) to school, with the Little Big Fella just about jumping out of his skin with excitement!

As we got closer to the school, the Little Big Fella's hand found its way into mine and I realised he was getting a little nervous, probably because of the large number of people hanging around.

But we found where to put his bag and books, then found and put on his name badge.  His teacher said good morning and the Little Big Fella responded without doing his faux-shy act.

Then we spotted his best friend and life was brilliant from that point on.  Another friend who will be in their classroom but is in Grade 1 (it's a composite Grade Prep/1/2 class) was asked to help them get settled.

The first bell went and minor chaos ensued.  Kids were running everywhere, parents were saying goodbye, teachers and helpers were trying to direct everyone to the right place...

The Little Big Fella gave us hugs and kisses and then he was inside, sitting on the mat beginning his learning career.

And I was so immensely proud of him!  He took to it like a duck to water.  He wasn't afraid.  He overcame his brief nervousness.  What more could a Mummy ask for?

And because I knew he was okay, I was okay too.  How could I not be okay when I was so proud?

Throughout the day I often wondered what he was up to and what he was learning and who he was playing with and if he had enough food and if he was still okay.  And when it got to 2 o'clock I started to get excited!  Only half an hour before I could go and pick him up and hear his stories and find out what he'd loved about school.

And he did love it!  He'd done some drawing, and he'd written his name, and he'd played with his friends.  He showed me the magnet toys in his classroom (ironically, he'd loved playing with those at Super Carer's place when he was so much littler), and where his table was with his name on it.

How could a mother's heart not melt?

After all the loooooooonnnnnnnggggg nights, the hard days, the tears, the struggles, and the laughter, the fun, the games, the highs... we have reached one of the points of evaluation of parenthood and we've done our job - our boy is ready for school and therefore this stage of life without us.  Good job parents!  :-D

We have just finished our first week (four days) of school.  We're a bit tired and overwhelmed by the changes this new life is bringing.  So Friday after school was party pie and movies time.

But we've seen our son super-excitedly showing us how he can write his own name (you could basically read it too!).  We saw some of his classwork (including a piece about the class rules, where his response was something along the lines of "class rules keep us safe otherwise we'd be dead").  We've learned about "mat manners" and the importance of doing what your teachers tell you.  And we found out there's a fridge to put his lunch and drink bottle in.

It's been a huge week!  And the coming weeks are going to be just as big, with the start of swimming (both through the school and privately), Kindysports, tuckshop, P&C meetings, and Show and Tell.

It's exhausting, but it's also kind of fun and definitely exciting too.  And watching the Little Big Fella grow in such a short time is amazing!  I'm loving this new stage of our lives.

Priorities

I've wasted a lot of time looking at Pinterest tonight, but I also came across some wonderful new blogs that I'll read regularly, and have printed out some bits and pieces for the coming week.

A couple of themes have hit me as I've been reading:

1. People are more important than tasks, and 
2. I need to include the Little Big Fella in the tasks that need to be done.

Since Christmas I've noticed that my patience has been rather thin, and I've been grumpy with my Fellas.  And basically it's because I've been focussed on the tasks that need doing (cleaning up messes and "catching up" on the housework that got behind while I was working), rather than the two most important people in my life.

The Little Big Fella has been desperate for someone to play with.  Almost all of his friends have been away on holidays so he's been wanting mine and the Big Fella's attention and energy.

Yeah.  Definitely failed him on that one lately.

I haven't stopped to play games with him, or read him stories, or imagine with him.

So, instead of kicking myself (that won't help anyone!), I've written down a few things I'll do with him over the next few days/week.

And I'm planning a playdate for after the weekend.

I've also realised that the Little Big Fella is about to start school (duh!), and is definitely old enough to be a contributing member of our household.  So instead of putting him aside while I do things like laundry, dishes, meal preparation, and cleaning, I can make extra time now (while we have some!) to teach him how to do them.  Not only will he be learning valuable life skills, I'll be getting the essential tasks done and we'll be spending time together.

And, speaking of school, it's only 18 days until the Little Big Fella starts!  He's SO excited about it.  Every day he asks how long until he goes to school.

So when we were food shopping the other day, I picked up a cheap calendar, which we have hung in his room.  We've highlighted the first day of school (as well as our birthdays later in the year) and have been crossing off the days until school starts.

We did something similar in the countdown to Christmas (this year's version of an advent calendar), so he is starting to understand how far away a week is, and he's getting some great practice at recognising numbers!

Anyway, it's midnight (again) so I'm going to join my husband in bed for the next hour or so before he goes to work.  Goodnight!

Can somebody say, "excited"???

I was feeling the trepidation.

It was kindy pick-up time for the Little Big Fella.  I'd had a really full day and was mildy stressed about not getting other stuff done.

But that wasn't what caused my fear.

You see, the Little Big Fella doesn't like snakes.

At.  All.

He doesn't like bugs or even the rubber snakes that boys stereotypically throw at girls to make them scream.

Guess what came to kindy today.

Yup!  A reptile show.

So, I was feeling nervous.

While getting my hair cut and coloured I was imagining a stressed-out phone call from the kindy teacher telling me I had to come and pick up the Little Big Fella, with blood-curdling screams in the background.

Thankfully the Big Fella was with me for pick-up.  I had moral support!

We made our way from the car, through the child-proof gates, and along the side of the kindy building.

I couldn't hear anything!  No singing, no playing, no stories.

Sh!t!  The guy had an anaconda and ate everyone!!!

But, no!  We got around to the closed doors and the other parents were waiting patiently.  All must have been well.

The teacher opened the doors and the Big Fella walked over to get the Little Big Fella.  Out he came and ran into Daddy's arms.

Okay.  He's alive!  This is good!

The Big Fella motioned that I was there as well and the Little Big Fella pelted over to me and gave me a BIG hug.

And then it started.

The non-stop, high-pitched, high-decibel, excited talk about dragons that don't fly and 7 meter snakes and baby crocodiles and turtles with long tongues and... and... and...

It went on until we got to McDonald's (Daddy needed coffee).

Throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening there were sudden outbursts about various reptiles, generally in the high-pitched, high-speed, excited tones.

We had dinner and the Little Big Fella headed off for his shower.  When he got out I could tell he was tired.  His eyes were practically hanging out of his head.

"Yes!" thought I.  "He'll be asleep in no time!"

Ha!

As soon as I went in to say goodnight (the Big Fella had already headed off to work after dinner) the excited stories began again.  They began with him showing me all of the reptiles and telling me all about them.  Then then turned imaginative.

These snakes (the mummy, the daddy and the babies) each had their own little beds up and down his body.

This dragon can't fly because he doesn't have wings, but he can breathe fire!   And the turtle can breathe ice so that he doesn't burn when the dragon breathes fire at him.

The cage for these crocodiles only opens when I press this button on the wall and click my fingers.

I can magic this cage from over there.

I need a drink of water.  Can you watch my pets so they don't get scared from being along?

And on, and on, and on!  I don't think he took a breath for at least 15 minutes!!!  Eventually I was able to suggest that it was sleeping time.

The Little Big Fella lay down on his pillow and pulled up his covers (for the 100th time since coming in to his room), but the pets needed a story.

"One story" I agreed.

Up he jumped again to choose a book from the shelf!  (Honestly, I wish I had a fraction of his energy at this time of day!!!)

So the story was read and the child calmed enough to potentially sleep.  And I was left with a brilliant sense of my son's imagination and excitement about something I'd thought would bring fear.  I can't wait to see what happens when he goes to school!!!

Melbourne trip - part Aquarium

Week two in Melbourne seemed to be all about best friends!  I got to catch up with three of my best friends from various periods of my life and it was fantastic!

My best friend from Grade 1 until we moved towns in Year 9 just happened to be in Melbourne at the same time as us, and just happened to have a day free, so we caught up on Monday.

I caught the train into the city with the Little Big Fella, who'd never been on a train (despite his Daddy's job) and really enjoyed it!  We met P at the stairs of Flinders St station and walked to the Burke St mall.  My sister had told me about a place in Myer that have amazing desserts so we wandered our way through to there (stopping at the costumes for the Little Big Fella, and taking our time to convince him he wasn't getting one).

Apparently this store within Myer, Brunetti's, is the smaller version, and there's a much larger one elsewhere in the city.  I'm so glad we didn't go to the bigger one!  It was really hard to choose from the "small" selection!!!!

Eventually I chose a chocolate tart and the Little Big Fella chose an ice-cream/gelato.  For the first time in his life, he couldn't finish an ice-cream!!!  It was pretty rich, but absolutely delicious!

Realising that the Little Big Fella wouldn't cope well with being dragged around shops, I suggested we go to either the Museum or the Aquarium.  We chose the Aquarium and I'm so glad we did because it was brilliant!  Yes, it was expensive (although, if I lived in Melbourne I'd seriously consider buying an annual pass and going in pretty regularly - especially the shark area), and yes, we had to line up for ages to get in (and guess who had to use the facilities right then!).  But it was great fun, really interesting, and definitely worth it!

Here's a few pics to give you an idea:

As soon as we'd paid, we walked through an area where we were told to pose for a picture.  We knew they'd try to sell us the photos, but didn't realise they'd come out so well, and that we'd have access to the digital copies too.  The photos (3) were put into a book about the aquarium and the various creatures in it.

The first creatures we saw when we came in were the seahorses.  Seahorses are definitely my favourite sea creatures - not only because they're so interesting-looking, but the whole male baby-carrying thing has always fascinated me!

There were heaps of them, and in so many different colours and shapes (if you want to include the sea dragons in the seahorse category, of course).  I loved how they wrapped their tails around the seaweed to hold on.

There were several of these bubble things, where kids (and parents when they get dragged along) could crawl under the tanks and look up into where the fish and other animals were.  It was pretty cool.

There was also a really big tank/pond with lots of archer fish in it.  When the Big Fella and I lived briefly in Darwin, the couple we stayed with had archer fish in their pond in the middle of their living room (with a spiral staircase going over the top of it, mind you).  At night, when the flying termites came out, they'd turn off all the lights except the one over the fish tank.  The termites would fly over there, then the archer fish would spit at them, making them fall onto the water where the fish would eat them.  They're really good shots!

We went downstairs to the shark tank.  This was at the top of the ramp:

The shark tank is really amazing.  You walk through a tunnel, but the tunnel is made of very thick acrylic, and the fish, rays and sharks swim over and around you.  It is such a great experience!

I think if I lived in Melbourne, and had an annual pass, I would come to the shark tank as often as possible and just sit and watch them all.  Especially when it's not school holidays :-)

Eventually we headed back upstairs and had lunch.  Just next to the cafeteria area was a coral reef tank.  It was here that the Little Big Fella made a friend:

He sat talking and singing to this Moray Eel for ages!  And the eel seemed to be responding to him.  It was watching him, and even looked like it was talking to him, and didn't go away until he did!

Eventually it was time to go.  We headed back to the train station (on the tram of course!) and said our goodbyes.  I was really grateful for the chance to catch up with my friend, and that the Little Big Fella was entertained enough that we actually got to talk quite a bit.  There's even a chance that we might keep in touch a bit more than we have of late (I'm so bad at long-distance friendships!).

Melbourne trip - Part II

Before we came on this trip, I did a bit of research online.  I wanted to make sure that the Little Big Fella would have a great time, and that the whole trip wasn't taken up with me hanging out with my family and friends while he was bored.  I also wanted to have a few ideas of things to do with other people - because sometimes having an unusual experience together is as much or more fun than just catching up.

So our first day in Melbourne included a trip to ScienceWorks with my brother and best friend.  It's a hands-on science musuem where you can learn about all kinds of science-y things by playing with them.

We picked up my brother (and met his housemate), then my friend, then drove to the other side of the city.

When we got there I realised I'd made a silly misjudgment - it was school holidays!!!  There were people everywhere!!!!  We had to park in the overflow parking lot and line up outside to get in!  The air was icy cold (although it was quite lovely in the sun).  And guess who had to use the bathroom right then!!!

Sheesh!  What a great start!!!

Thankfully all was sorted and we got inside (where it was comfortably warm) and started checking the place out.

First stop, electricity!

Then, into the house area.  This photo is where you could watch how sound waves work.

Of course, you have to take photos in wonky mirrors!

This was one of the Little Big Fella's favourite part of the "house".  It's the hose of a giant vacuum cleaner.  You could run through to the other end, where you found yourself inside the main part of a vacuum cleaner.  They had dust and bugs and coins and junk hanging all over the place to make it feel "right" ;-)

Incidentally, his other favourite part of the house was where you could make the fleas jump.  No comment!

We eventually moved from the "house" to the "sports" area.  There was a "sports" sign made of concrete and the Little Big Fella (a.k.a. Batman today) climbed all over it for ages!

Once inside the sports area, the Big Fella and my brother found this exhibit.  The idea was to press the start button (low for kids, high for adults).  The lights on the buttons would then flash and you had to press it as fast as you could.  A different button would then light up.  You had to hit as many as you could in 30 seconds.  We all had a turn, but we had to keep dragging the Little Big Fella away to look at other things!

Like this canoe.

We all tested our grip strength at one station, and how much weight we could pull sitting down with our feet against the wall.  There were a few ball-based skills test, and the Little Big Fella and I raced against Kathy Freeman (unsurprisingly, she won!).

My bro then helped the Little Big Fella have a go on a climbing wall.

We decided it was time for lunch, so we headed outside (brrrr!).  My friend saved us seats in the little amphitheater, because there was a circus show starting soon, while I got food for us and my brother took the Little Big Fella to the playground area to run off a bit more energy.

The circus performers were really good!  The show was informative, funny and very entertaining.  The girl balanced things on her chin - a juggling club, a bottle of wine, a hat stand!  The guy did most of the clown-like roles, but also walked across a bunch of wine bottles without knocking them over.  They both did juggling (together and separately) and some balancing tricks together.

I guess what I enjoyed most about it, was that they really involved the audience - not just by having a dad participate, but they got us engaged with what they were doing; laughing at their jokes, joining in, and following instructions.  Considering that the major portion of the audience were children, they were very clever!

We had a little time to kill so the Little Big Fella had a short play on the playground, then we went into the lightning show.  To be honest, I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would.  There were some great demonstrations - creating an instant cloud in a bottle, using static electricity, and making lightning inside the large cage - but it wasn't particularly entertaining and I got rather cold and uncomfortable.

It was getting late-ish in the afternoon, so we decided to skip the upstairs part of the museum (which is a pity, because I'm lead to believe there's a digger up there!).  We took a couple of goofy photos then it was time to head home.

Unfortunately, we hit peak hour traffic so it took a while to get through the city and out to our suburbs.  We were all a bit tired by then so it was great to get "home" and have dinner with my parents (gotta love the slow cooker!), before bathing the Little Big Fella and heading off to bed.

Baths at Nanna and Granddad's became a highlight of each day for the Little Big Fella... but that's a story for another post!  ;-)

Gettin' our creativity on!

Because of our little accident, we didn't get to meet up with my parents in our old town.  They live two states away so we only get to see them a couple of times a year.  We were all really disappointed about it!

But then the other day the Little Big Fella received a parcel in the mail from my Mum!  In it was a gorgeous letter to him and a couple of books - one all about various motorbikes, where "Farting Freddie" wins a bike race, and the other from my parents' friends who were really keen to meet us as well.  It was about a robot with no bottom.

Needless to say, bedtime included a few giggles that night!

Well, in the letter Mum hinted that she'd love to get some more of the Little Big Fella's paintings (we've sent a few of his kindy paintings to each of the grandparents throughout the year).  So rather than grab one or two out of the drawer, I decided we'd do some painting at home.

Now, as much as I love arts and crafts, we don't tend to do an awful lot of it at home.  Mostly because I find it kind of stressful trying to keep the mess contained, so I need to be in a pretty good mood before we attempt it :-}

On went the painting shirt (my old Kidzone t-shirt, Brad!), down went the spill mat, out came the old kid-sized table and chairs, and the paper was blu-tacked onto the table.

Then, and only then, were we ready to bring out the paints!

The bottom photo is the Little Big Fella's "Hulk smash" painting.  He's SO into superheroes at the moment and when he was painting he just started saying "Hulk smash" and plopping the paintbrush down all over the place (with some force, might I add).

Since starting kindy, the Little Big Fella has also started to grow an interest in  letters and numbers.  So I've been trying to take the opportunities he presents to expand his understanding.

For example, I've taught him a rhyme to spell out his name, so now he knows the names of the letters in his name, even though he doesn't understand what that means.

I've taught him how to write the first letter of his name, and other words that start with the same sound.  For example, "d, d, dog" or "c, c, cat" (saying the sounds, not the letter names).  Through that (and I suspect they've been doing it at kindy too) he's started asking me for the names of letters and recognising the starting sounds in words.

At lunch yesterday he asked, "what's the name of w, w, waterbottle?"  Then we went through a bunch of other words as well.  No, he doesn't understand what a "W" is, but he's starting to grasp the basic idea that sounds are associated with letters and words.

So, as well as his "Hulk smash" painting, the Little Big Fella did one covered with the first letter of his name.  He's really got that one down pat, by the way!  So I started teaching him the second letter, but he wasn't really interested at that time.  I did, however, discover that he can draw an "O" no worries, and a heart!

Sometimes it's a bit fun being the mum of a pre-schooler :-D

Times are a-changing

This week was the Little Big Fella's first "full" week (3 days) of kindy.

On Monday he cried when I left.  As in, bawled his poor little eyes out.  Gosh that's hard for a mother to take!  Even though you know he's going to be fine, and will probably stop crying as soon as you're out of sight, it tears at you.

Of course, by the time we picked him up that afternoon, the Little Big Fella was telling us how much he liked kindy and that he'd had a good day.

As we were getting ready on Tuesday morning, the Little Big Fella turns to me, with a quivering lip and says, "Mummy, I'm going to be shy at kindy today".

I turned to him and asked, "why?  You said you had a great time at kindy yesterday."

After a little discussion about the things he likes at kindy, and the kids he plays with, I suggested that he try not being shy at kindy and see how that goes.  He reluctantly agreed.

At kindy I signed him in and we put his things away.  One of his friends came over and obviously wanted to play with him, so I encouraged the Little Big Fella to play, said goodbye and walked out.  I didn't hear him cry, but thought there might have been a quivering lip.

On Wednesday morning at kindy I signed him in and we put his things away.  He dragged me over to the reading room, where another boy was doing a puzzle.  The Little Big Fella watched and then tried to help (I'm not real sure the other boy wanted help, but what's that got to do with anything???).  When the puzzle was done, my Little Big Fella turned around, gave me a kiss and a cuddle and said, "Mummy, it's time for you to go now".

Have you ever had conflicting emotions?  Right then, mine were an internal fist-pump, and my heart breaking (okay, I'm being a little melodramatic - but I did feel slightly rejected).

I think I might have found the right words to explain what's going on.  For almost four years, I have been everything to my Little Big Fella, and he has been almost everything to me (Big Fella not excluded, of course!).  Now, all of a sudden our lives are beginning to diverge.  Of course it's a necessary, healthy thing, but it's still a bit of a shock to the system!

On Tuesday, on a whim the Big Fella and I decided to go to our closest major town.  We got to spend almost six hours exclusively together!

There were no interruptions, there was no whining, there were no additional requests for the bathroom when we only went 5 minutes ago!

We even got to go to an Irish pub and have lunch together!  It was SO pleasant!  We even got to order food that the Little Big Fella probably wouldn't eat without complaining (and certainly not without making a huge mess!).  Bliss, I tell ya!

I attended a CWA (Country Women's Association) meeting this week as well.  The CWA is all about supporting people, especially women and children, in rural environments.  They do all kinds of things, depending on the area and the needs they become aware of.

After my stay in our old town in December, I realised that I need to be doing something that helps people in one way or another.  Because the playgroup will be using the CWA hall, a few of us decided we'd join the CWA and try to contribute through that avenue.

Speaking of the playgroup, I've been enlisted as Treasurer for this year.  And I'm looking forward to being a more formal part of that group.

I've also applied for work, and even if I don't get this particular job, I'll be looking more seriously for part-time employment.

Last year I feel like I was kind of treading water - waiting for the move, slowly getting to know people here, working out how things work around here, waiting for kindy to start.

This year I feel like changes are happening that mean I'm moving forward again.  And I think I'm ready for that :-)

First day of kindy

Wow!  It's finally here!!!  My Little Big Fella started kindergarten this morning (the year before starting school) and he woke up SO excited!!!  We've been counting down to this day for about a month, and talking up how much fun he'll have and all of that.

Last week we had a "meet and greet" at the kindy to meet his teachers and classmates.  It was a fun hour and he was so enthusiastic afterwards!  (He decided to wear his Superman suit - he's on a major superhero thing at the moment)

Over the past couple of days I've labelled all of his kindy clothes, lunch box, "school" bag and so on.  And last night I made his lunch and packed it into his new lunchbox (that was a jigsaw puzzle if ever I've tried one!).

This morning I got up a little earlier than normal.  I wanted to make sure everything was ready and that it wasn't a stressful morning.

At 6:07 I heard someone moving about.  Then there was the telltale thumping run down the hallway and my Little Big Fella was in the kitchen asking if today was kindy day.  He was so excited he wanted to put on his backpack and go right then and there :-D

So we eventually got him in his new kindy clothes and took some photos for you all :-D

And then, all of a sudden, it was time to go!

Because of the weather around here lately, the Big Fella was home from work today (you know, it's kind of hard to drive a train when the track has been washed away!) so we all got to go together.

It was slightly organised chaos at the kindy, with kids and parents everywhere, trying to work out what they were supposed to be doing and signing kids in, and finding the lunch fridge and saying goodbyes.  The Little Big Fella headed straight for the sandpit and was quite happy, thank you very much!

But then all the kids had to go inside and sit down on the mat.  I took him inside and sat him down but he suddenly went all "shy".  I can understand though - he's never had to sit down on a mat before in his life, he didn't know anyone there, and Mummy was about to leave.  I quickly took him outside to give Daddy a hug and kiss goodbye, gave him a hug and kiss, popped him back on the mat and told him I'd stand at the door for a minute and then we'd go.

This was obviously my mistake.

He was fine until, after about a minute, I smiled, waved and blew him a kiss. Suddenly the lower lip trembled and his hands went over his eyes and he was crying.  He ran out and hugged me and I tried to tell him it would be okay.

Thankfully at that point one of the teachers came over and asked him if he'd like to help her get the paints ready for everyone.  And that was it!  He was off and so were we!

I've been waiting for kindy to start for months.  I love my son very much, but I've been hanging out for some time alone.

So imagine my surprise when I got about half way through the day and realised that I'd been feeling grief!  I nearly fell over the mop I'd been using to keep myself occupied!!!

Today is the first in a long series of letting go moments, and the realisation that one day my Little Big Fella won't need me was a tad overwhelming.  I guess especially so because I wasn't expecting to have any maudlin-style thoughts either.

Anyway, the day was filled with attempting to food shop in a half-empty store (more on that in another post), house cleaning, lunch and rejoicing in the return of the internet to our house.

Then, all of a sudden, it was time to go and pick the Little Big Fella up again!

When we got there he ran up and told me he'd had a good day, and I got to collect his first (of many, I'm guessing) kindy painting.  He even asked when he gets to go back to kindy, so it was obviously a good day.

It was quite hot today so we decided to go for a swim at the pool before coming home.  We had such a fun time playing together in the water and it was SO nice to be cool after such a hot day!

There was lots of laughter too, because the Little Big Fella was racing the Big Fella from me to the steps of the pool.  Regardless of what happened, the Little Big Fella declared, "I win!".  He even directed the Big Fella to swim toward me from the steps, before launching off me to the steps and claiming to win the race!

We ended up having an early dinner because we were all quite hungry.  The Little Big Fella had a shower and was in bed before it was even dark.  But he wasn't really tired yet.

Just then we got a phone call from one of his friends' mums, asking if we'd like to go to the park and have a play.

So we did!

We ended up having a play for almost two hours.  The sun was down and the lights were on and the boys still wanted to keep playing!  They're really good mates, and seem to have a similar approach to playtime :-)

When we got back home, the Big Fella informed us that his parents had been on Skype and desperately wanted to talk to the Little Big Fella about his first day of kindy.  So we quickly contacted them and had a chat before packing him off to bed.

I read him a couple of books and as he was laying down to sleep he told me a bit more about his day.  Apparently he'd read a book about dinosaurs and had been "teached" during rest time because he didn't have a sleep.

I feel so satisfied tonight.  My little boy is growing into an interesting, fun person and I'm awfully proud of him.