I Don't Like Cricket-ah....I Love It- ah!!!!!!

Congratulations to my 12 year old who, last Saturday scored his personal best at batting......25 runs, not out! Although this may not seem like much compared to the big boys, when you are 12 and still trying to decide if you are a batsman or a bowler, it is a big achievement! And as well as the 25 runs, he actually contributed to a lot more with great calling, running between wickets and taking every opportunity when overthrows or byes occurred!

It was a stinking hot day, too....well over 30 degrees celcius at the crease and the poor boy was so hot that when he came off at the drinks break, it looked like he had been under the shower when he took his helmet off!

And to top it all off, he got a wicket in bowling as well although I am not sure how many runs were taken off his bowling...a few, I think....I wasn't game to look!

So the game continues this Saturday as well.....hopefully I won't forget to take my camera this weekend!!!!

An Apple For the Teacher

Happy International Teachers Day!

THANKS FOR… making the difference long, long hours creating a sense of family being the keeper of dreams pleasing a lot using good judgment teaching for learning making reading fun forgiving being the wind beneath my wings that sensitive touch teaching class never giving up on anybody believing in miracles respecting each other taking responsibility for all students keeping a tight rein on discipline striving for excellence, not perfection being brave smiling a lot never depriving our children of hope being tough minded but tender hearted showing enthusiasm even when you don't feel like it keeping your promises giving your best your wisdom and courage being punctual and insisting on it in others providing creative solutions avoiding the negative and seeking out the good being there when students need you listening doing more than is expected never giving up on what you really want remaining open, flexible, and curious being a friend sharing keeping several irons in the fire being a child's hero going the distance having a good sense of humor being a dream maker giving your heart

Author unknown

You touch the future.....you teach!

(and before anyone posts to say that it is actually officially celebrated on October 5th, apparently in Qld we recognise it today! Go figure!)


Photo courtesy of freefoto.com

There Is Nothing Sweeter.....!

There is nothing sweeter than a little girl in a whirly, twirly skirt!

Many thanks K for getting it for us. It was definitely worth the wait!

A Week of Nothing!

It is indicative of what sort of week I've had, that I'm sitting here on a Saturday night alone in front of the computer! The rest of the family are outside doing their own thing and I am here reading and writing!

Now, if you asked me what I've done all week, my stock-standard response is 'Nothing much'. But on reflection, I have, in fact, done a whole lot. For a start, I've worked! I hate work days as they mean getting up earlier and rushing to get everyone ready and out the door by 8am. I've also cooked, cleaned, washed and all of that other stuff that mothers and wives do without even giving it all a second thought. I've run around after my children....the 12 year old went to a school disco last night and was off to cricket today. The 7 year old had her weekly swimming lesson which I drove her to. I've had work meetings which have lasted until late in the afternoon. I have visited family and rushed to the shops to buy the new Josh Groban Noel cd which finally appeared in Australian stores today (a couple of weeks after its US release...sad that we are often behind!).

So...blah, blah, blah kind of sums up my life atm!

That said, I also spent a good deal of last week watching an absolutely fabulous version of Robin Hood done by the BBC as a tv series. Of course, I missed it when it was on tv here so I was fortunate enough to secure a copy on ebay and spent most of my spare time watching it. In fact, it was so enjoyable that even Dear Husband snitched it to view. I think that he finished the final thirteenth episode at about midnight last night and so we are now both keen to see the second series aired here! We've both seen many Robin Hood versions over the years, but this one is great....good acting, good storyline and excellent quality!

So it has been a week of nothing much....nothing much but filled with a bit of everything!

Also, thanks to all for your enquiries about Ruby. I am pleased to report that she is bouncing around as healthy as ever although still has the lampshade on. She is so keen to get at her stitches that she has scratched her belly near it raw...the only part she can reach. Thankfully, stitches are out this week!

Poor Ruby!

It must be hard being a pet and being dragged, unsuspectingly, off to the local vet for your 'little operation'! One day you are happy, healthy and jumping up and down on the furniture (which you aren't, of course supposed to do!) and the next moment you are drowsy, sore and have awful, painful stitches in your belly.

Yep, Ruby is no longer a prospective breeder and now is the proud owner of four nice, neat stitches on her belly. She, of course, is co-ordinating all of this activity with her new look...the 'lampshade on the head' fashion for dogs who can't pull out stitches! Obviously, she isn't happy but in the long term is probably better off. We were advised by the vet that potential puppy-bearing could kill her (unless she bred with chihuahuas!) as she has such a small abdomen! So, the deed is done and now it is recovery time! Poor, poor, sore girl!

And on a completely different note....did any catch the Colin Hay interview with Andrew Denton on Enough Rope last night? Completely hilarious....what a talented man Colin Hay is! He can sing, he can act, he is funny and very entertaining. My husband and I both love listening to his cd (one of the few we both agree on!). If you missed it, it can be seen on the Enough Rope website: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/

The Belated Birthday Party and Other Weekend News

You know, there is something inside me that cringes when I think that boys get a kick out of dressing up in camo gear and shooting each other with fake guns....but that's what we did today for the twelve year old's birthday party and he had such a great time. Eight wild boys were thrown into soldier style clothes and sent off into the bush for some extraordinary fun.

The idea was that the 2 teams used these laser guns to shoot tags on the hats of the opposition team and if they managed to knock the other team out by cancelling their laser shots in their guns, they got to 'steal' a flag.

The organisers were great...they didn't put up with any nonsense....and the boys were really really well behaved. They had such a good time - there was no swearing, fighting, arguing or anything...they just reveled in working as a team to win a common goal.

This was all set in a slightly country backdrop and with fine weather so we grown ups set up a table with party food, headed off for pizzas just before then end (well one of us did this) and sat reading the paper and sipping cups of tea whilst watching the action and waiting. I was terrified that someone would spot a snake (it's the right weather for it) but thankfully all snakes in the area had enough common sense to keep out of their way. Phew!

So one birthday down for this year and one to go! Time flies, doesn't it!

Oh and the twelve year old is back to Saturday cricket! 8 am starts - yuck - and a grand total of 3 runs this week with apparently a totally unfair dismissal that should have been called a no-ball but wasn't by the bias umpire from the other team! Lol! At least that was the story I got when they came home!!

You Raise Me Up!

Last night I had the privilege of being able to go to see Josh Groban in concert. I have been an admirer of this great singer for a few years now.....ever since I saw him sing on an Oprah show.....and do have a few of his cds in my collection so you can imagine my excitement at having the opportunity to purchase tickets to see him in concert.

Now, our tickets were what I like to call the 'oxygen' seats (ie the air is a bit thinner up there!) but we were centered to the stage at the front section of the balcony and although Josh was a distance away, we could still see him adequately. Now his voice was simply amazing and if ever anyone could be described as having a 'gift', it is him! Not only was his singing brilliant but he was humorous and entertaining as well. He joked about the fact that some of his songs were love ballads, about his ability to 'take off' other artists (with a few hilarious impersonations thrown in to boot) and even about his tight jeans causing his voice to be higher! At one time he disappeared from the stage while the band played a musical interlude, only to pop up right at the back section of the balcony - microphone in hand - to sing to we shocked audience members way up there! In fact, he stopped and sang almost in front of me as I took out my phone cam and shakily snapped this pic! And it wasn't just the screaming female fans that he impressed. I watched a number of men in the audience jump up to shake his hand as he ran past them. And I must say that to run up and down all of those steps at the Concert Hall, he must be pretty fit! Lol!

Now the two biggest highlights of the show for me were his live versions of To Where You Are and the amazing You Raise Me Up. Both of these songs have personal significance and to hear him do them live was just an honour.

Do I sound like I'm a real fan now? Lol! I think that I am! I still love my rock music but I can totally understand why I overheard some heavily accented woman telling someone else in the foyer about how she was following him around the country and had tickets to all of his shows!

Fantastic concert, fantastic bloke and I highly recommend a listen! If you haven't heard him sing (as one now informed friend told me!) try these youtube links out:

Men Can't Read Maps Either!

A famous Australian body language expert has written a book titled, "Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps". Now whilst I have never read this book, its title always amused me as I just want to beg to differ everytime I read it! You see, I have a man here who definitely can't read maps! Hmmmmm....or maybe I should say.....he thinks he knows every exact route without having to read a map! Does this sound familiar to anyone out there?

Now while I admit that he is good at other things (he cooks a mighty mean bbq, for example!) his sense of direction seems to have been completely lost on its own! He always seems to want to drive around some destination and then back-track to get there.....in effect, taking the long route to get anywhere. His theory is that if you avoid 'all the traffic' then distance shouldn't matter. This theory, needless to say, has been the cause of many in-car arguments between the two of us over the years and has meant that in our family, I am the expert map reader!

So with that in mind, you would think that I would have known better when we set off for our jaunt to Toowoomba. For a number of reasons, it was decided that I would drive. Dear Husband sat in the passenger seat and proudly announced that he knew which way to go as he'd traveled along this road on a work mission so I should take heed of his expert navigational advice. Ok, I admit it....I should have tuned out then and there, but when he insisted that it was fine to pass the sign that said 'Toowoomba next right' as the way he was directing me to was 'much quicker as it is a new road' I really should have done a U-turn and followed my own instincts. I started to get suspicious, of course, when his fantastic quick route ended up detouring past a shopping centre (Springfield, for all you Brissie people playing at home!) and even though I kept asking him if he was sure that he knew where he was going, his response was that this way was bypassing Ipswich!

Now for those of you who don't know the area, it is suffice to say that we were supposed to take the Warrego Highway, which is north of Ipswich. Of course, we ended up motoring along the Cunningham Highway, which is south of Ipswich. And you can imagine my reaction when we ended up having to back track through the city of Ipswich to get back onto the correct road. And yes, it was me who ended up having to pull over and pull out the referdex (map) to study it and work out where on earth he'd taken us to....all this making our trip a good half hour longer!

So now, everytime I see that book about '....Women Can't Read Maps', I know that in this house anyway, it is all a load of rubbish. In fact, I think it should read, 'Women Can Read Maps - Especially When Their Husbands Have Gotten Them Lost!'

Holidays, Toowoomba and Other Such Stuff!

I have been quiet this last week because - you guessed it - it's holiday season! There is nothing better than sleeping in and lazing around the house but this last weekend, we also went on a trip to Toowoomba to visit friends.

Now, at this point I should be going on about all the wonderful things that we did in Toowoomba. No doubt that we did catch up with lovely friends and we did have a nice time...up until last night. I went out with our friend to run a few errands. Upon return I found a very stressed husband who met me at the car to tell me that there had been an accident. It seems that Miss 7 was (stupidly, I might add) walking downstairs with a toothbrush in her mouth when a certain child who shall remain nameless (also stupidly) threw a ball at her which hit the toothbrush, which in turn bore a huge hole in the back cavity of her mouth. The hole was so big in fact that originally we thought it was the actual hole that food went down.

Yes, it was disgusting and yes, I went weak at the knees from shock just looking at it and yes, we rushed her to the hospital. Now I have my hesitation about hospitals having heard so many terrible stories, but this one was great. They, in turn contacted an ENT doctor who recommended a course of antibiotics and self-healing. Apparently, she had hit just above the tonsils and actually exposed them to the naked eye. Ewwwwww! Had she actually ruptured the tonsil, her prognosis would have been worse but after lots of painkillers, a dose of antibiotics and cuddles she fell asleep. Naturally, I didn't let her out my sight for the whole night but it really is amazing how children heal quickly. Today the huge gaping hole has closed over although it is still swollen and red and she is on a soft food diet.

Now, there is nothing more terrifying than seeing your child injured and bleeding and in obvious pain. The moments that pass between the actual injury and the arrival of medical help seems like it is sickeningly slow. Thankfully, our little injury is trivial in comparison to many and will heal with time but it's a feeling that I hope I never visit again. What is more frustrating is the fact that it could all have been avoided so easily had both children acted in the way that we have told them thousands upon thousands of times to do....no walking with toothbrush in mouth and no throwing balls inside are stock standard rules that were overlooked in this calamity of errors.

And yes, unfortunately, we did postpone plans to do further travelling and came home a day early because of it. We did take in one winery tour which was lovely but these holidays will always be remembered as the 'Hole-y Mouth Vacation'!

Also, enjoy the picture of this lovely Toowoomba sunset. I really hope though that they get rain there soon. It was so dry that even my lips started cracking from lack of moisture in the air!