School time for James….

James loves school.  He hasn't started yet but he is sure he loves it.  There are two more sleeps until James starts school.  His big brother starts back tomorrow and James and I will have one more day, just the two of us, before he joins the "big kids".  

 Summer holidays are over….  

I am ready for him to start.  As ready as I can be.  I am more excited and happy than sad and worried.  I know he will be in a class with some great mates whose mums are great fun.  I know that his teacher is a good one.  I know that he will listen and learn and have his lunch and play games and tell stories.  I know all that.  I just wish I could be a fly on the wall, looking over him and making sure that all these things are happening and that he is happy and relaxed.

I will not cry on Friday when I drop him off.  I will give him a squish and wish him luck.  I will tell him to remember his manners, to be kind to his friends, to listen to his teacher, to eat the things in his lunch box.  I will tell him I love him.  But I will not tell him that I will miss him.  I will not tell him that I am worried or anxious.  I will not tell him that other kids can be mean sometimes or that the work may be tricky.  I don't want him to focus on things that could go wrong or be difficult.

James will have a great time.  And I have a lot to look forward to this year too.  I'll be going back to work and doing some short courses and generally getting back into the swing of things after a challenging 2011.

I had better go and get things organised for school bags, lunchboxes, uniforms, shoes, hats, sunscreen, water bottles …...


Have a great start to the the school year!

x Miss G

Camping Happens to Happy Campers

I love camping.  I have only just discovered this about myself in the last week or so.  After a lovely Christmas in Rutherglen with my hubby's family, we headed to Colac Colac (pronounced Clack Clack) Caravan Park.  Not sure what I expected but I was incredibly impressed when the guy led us to our "unpowered site" which was under 3 shady trees overlooking the creek.  Wow!

My last experience with camping involved hiking with a heavy backpack through Wilson's Prom in the drizzling rain, at "that" time of the month, with people I didn't really know very well.  I fell over a lot and sooked a bit. The setting up of camp was ok but sleeping on a cold, hard surface with a girl who shot daggers at me was NOT FUN!  I certainly was not a happy camper.  I filed that experience under "things I don't like doing and will not do again."

The difference this time was I had my adorable and adored little family with me and we were all excited by the adventure that laid ahead.  We set up camp and got a bit organised and then settled down for some dinner - pasta with sauce which tasted awesome because we had cooked it on a little gas cooker.  The boys wanted to go to bed early - the sun was still up and the birds were still singing!

Camping is something we would do again I think.  Once we were set up it was actually really fun and easy.  We heading into nearby Corryong for supplies and to catch up with friends who live there.  We fished, we went to the  Cudgewa pub for a parmi, and just enjoyed each other's company without our usual distractions!  

We didn't have very much new equipment - our inflatable beds, sleeping bags for the kids and a couple of torches were the only new things we bought.   The tents combined age is about 50 years old and they were great at keeping the wind out.  It didn't rain so we didn't have to test their water-proofness (frankly they may have failed that test) but we got some comments from fellow campers about our "cool vintage tents".

The creek was a great source of entertainment and it also provided a serene view from our tent.  Not too shabby for $28 a night and the daily papers delivered to your tent!  

Happy Camping

x Miss G