Half way through

Nearly 11 years on and my body still complains about Canberra winters. Mornings are a struggle. It seems exceptionally cold this time but I probably forget every year that it was the same the previous year. This is why we make it a point to escape every winter. I’m counting down the days. Stay tuned.

From Winter2017

It’s the first week of the school holidays. The kids just finished the first half of their school year. They received their reports and we met with their teachers. No major concerns. Term 2 was enjoyable for Catherine especially since she adores her teacher. Since the break started, she’s been asking when school starts again. She cried when her best friend left for a 3-week holiday. She also wrote him an emotional note. It was very sweet and nice to know she can express herself well.

Her after-school activities this past term included after-school care 2 days a week, swimming and gymnastics. She is done with early Saturday morning gym and decided to join her best friend in dance class next term. Those Saturday mornings were tough. Glad that’s over for now.

Nicholas is enjoying the break from the pressures of the school routine (me too). Since joining band, he’s had to remember to bring his clarinet to school and back at least 3 days a week. It’s nice to hear that he and a friend show up early to band practice together and help set up. The same friend often comes over to play with Nicholas after school or vice versa a couple of times a week. They live close to each other so they’ve been able to walk between both houses by themselves.

Phil has been on a number of work trips – mainly to Sydney and Melbourne. He is no longer acting head of the Centre and is now officially Deputy Head. I’ve increased my work days which now include a day working from home and three days in the office with time to do the school run in between. Plus side is that Mondays are a bit more relaxed for me as I don’t have to rush to the office that day. Minus side is that by the time Fridays come along I’m exhausted and haven’t had a chance to help out at school again since my change in schedule.

Other activities we’ve been up to include going to the movies a couple of times to see Despicable Me 3 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and checking out some winter festivals. We’ve also had some dog mayhem and found Comet and the neighbour’s dog, Arlo, escaping to each other’s yard. They’ve decided to make their own play dates. It’s prompted us to get our fencing around the backyard fixed up. Oh and our kitchen update is finally done!