The scallywag

Buster started at preschool today.  A very exciting day for all.  A day where you can expect to get a little teary and expect for there to be some separation anxiety.  But there was none of that. 

We arrived at preschool to lots of welcomes.  Buster was shown to his locker where his bag is kept.  He took out his lunch and snack bags and put them in the fridge.  We did a quick tour of the toilets, but he was not interested.  No, Buster was more focused on getting to the play part of preschool.  So off he went to the toys, slides, and the sandpit.  While he was happy playing, I said my goodbyes and hot tailed it out of there.  No tears.  Not from him.  Not from me.



Putting his lunch and snack in the fridge.
 

 

 

I won't lie.  I did check my mobile phone a few times during the day, in case I had missed a call saying he was too upset or too tired and I should come and collect him early.  I did wonder how his day was going without me.  I had packed a spare change of clothes in case he forgot to go to the toilet and had an accident.  I was fully expecting to collect him in the afternoon and find him in his changed clothes.

 

Instead, when I arrived to pick him up, I peaked through the window.  I wanted to spy on him and see what he was up to.  He was on a playmat with some other kids and they were all laughing and having a chat.  I sneaked through the door and got a debrief from one of his teachers about his day.

The report was that he had had a great day.  He joined in at group time, he listened to instructions, he even sat down and ate his lunch.  A few activities they asked if he needed help with, but he gave them a firm "no" because he wanted to do it himself.  Mr Independent.  They told me he did have a few tears and wanted his mama when he accidentally got hit in the face with a rubber ball, but had a cuddle with a teacher, settled down and went off to play again.

They also told me he was a bit obsessed with the toilets.  It turns out he had realised he could sit on the toilet and flush it at the same time.  This became a bit of a game and he had spent a lot of time in the toilets enjoying himself.  I asked Buster about it and why he kept flushing the toilet, his reponse "the water was tickling my bottom".  Oh dear.  Then his teacher casually remarked "he has a bit of scallywag in his character".  Oh yes, he does.  Labelled a scallywag on day one.  Way to go Buster Boo. 

And so it turns out that they have earmarked another scallywag in Buster's class.  I was told the two scallywags hooked up for a bit of play, got up to who-knows-what and the teachers decided it best they be separated.  Oh deary, deary me.

So not a bad first day.  We are now looking forward to hearing how day two goes tomorrow.

 

School holiday wrap up

It is almost the end of the school holidays.  Henry goes back to school on Wednesday, Buster starts preschool on Thursday, and Milly starts school next Monday.  These school holidays have seen such a mixture of weather conditions.  We've had plenty of hot, sunny days where we have made the most of getting out to playgrounds, bike parks, and swimming at the pool or the beach.  There has also been lots of rain, so have had movie days and Lego days, plus Henry has got the most use of the Wii before heading back to school.  Here is a bit of a photo wrap up. 

 

 

A rainy day and Milly and friends are all set up to watch a movie.
 

Lots of fun at the ocean baths.
 

Always prepared, Buster sleeps with a gun.
 

While Henry did not help me make these biscuits, he was very keen to have his photo taken holding them.
 

 

Flying fox fun.
 

While Buster didn't last longer than five minutes in this pool...

... Milly couldn't be removed, even when her lips were turning blue because the water was so cold.  She did, however, manage to perfect doing a jumping somersault into the pool.

It's a Barbie world

As a young girl I could entertain myself for hours playing with my Barbie dolls.  I had four Barbie dolls, a pink convertible car, a campervan, a horse, as well as a house.  I also had a mum who could sew and make clothes for them. 

Milly has never shown an interest in playing Barbies (or with any dolls really) until recently.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  Art and craft activities have always been her thing.  When her cousins visited recently they did some Barbie play and that sparked her interest a little.  However, it has been our next door neighbour's little girl, Bridie Rose, who has got Milly mad for all things Barbie.  You see Bridie Rose loves playing with Milly, and Milly loves playing with Bridie Rose.  Bridie Rose is almost four years old and an only child.  She thinks of Milly has her big sister, which is rather sweet.  Bridie Rose got a Barbie Mansion/Dream House, a Barbie Glam Pool, and some Barbie dolls for Christmas.  Now when Milly goes over to play, Bridie Rose wants to play Barbies.  My inner child is screaming "hell yeah" who wouldn't want to play Barbies when they have a Mansion and Glam Pool to add to the mix.

So now that Milly is all jazzed about Barbies, she wants a Dream House of her own.  Being the creative girl she is, she made her own out of some spare shelves we had in the loft and large Duplo blocks.  She even made a staircase to get to the first floor.  She's pretty chuffed with herself and we are too.  She now happily spends time in her room, keeping herself busy and not tormenting the rest of us.  Her Barbies have a very busy life.  They watch TV, go to the movies, go shopping, they have discos and some of them even have careers.  One of them is a vet, another an artist, with another a ballerina.  She has even assigned one of the Barbies to a Cinderella like role, who has to cook and clean for the rest of the Barbies.

But I have to laugh.  She wants her Barbies to have more clothes, but not glamourous dresses that sparkle and glitter.  She has asked me to find her Barbies some shorts, singlets and joggers.  After all if she is going to play with them they need to dress like Milly too, and that means no dresses or skirts.

Milly's self-made Barbie Dream House.

Open plan living.  A dining room and lounge room complete with flat-screen TV.

Not quite a walk-in-wardrobe, but clothes and accessories a plenty.

Nigh nighs Barbie.

 

 

Looks like Ken is in for a good night.

Ringing in another year

Yes, above you will see I finally got to make and enjoy drinking that Frozen Lychee Vodka Martini.  Due to the heat it was less of a frozen martini and more of a super cold one, but it hit the spot.  In fact it's fair to say it hit the spot a number of times on New Years Eve. 

It was just me and Michael at home this New Year.  We put the kids to bed, popped some champagne, mixed up some cocktails and watched a few movies.  I even managed to watch most of the second movie before I started dozing.  Yes, I know I'm a lightweight and barely make it past 9.30pm on any given night, but I'm blaming the vodka and a humid evening for making me a bit sleepy or as my friends call me "Tiffy Nigh Nighs".  I woke up just in time to watch the Sydney fireworks on the TV and really wished I hadn't.  I thought they were a bit boring.  So Happy New Year one and all.

I have to admit I'm enjoying the school holidays at the moment.  Not having to rush around making school lunches, get kids ready and be out the door at a certain time.  It's nice being lazy in the morning, having leisurely breakfasts and still being in my pjs after 10.00am.  The kids have been playing ratherly nicely together and I haven't reached that stage yet where I wish they were back at school.

 
One of the Christmas presents from Santa was a Junior Monopoly board game.  It has quickly become one of Milly's favourite games to play.  Sometimes there are tears when she is bankrupt but she just wants to keep playing and playing.  No surprises she is actually quite shrewd when it comes to negotiating properties.  It's a lot of fun when we play it as a family.