I went outside after one of the nicest sleep-ins I had for awhile (9am thank you very much) and there was not a cloud in the sky. Glorious. The weather app says it got up to 20 degrees today, however I'd beg to differ as sitting in the sun I was toasty warm (having said that I was wearing trackies and thick socks at the time!). It's just after 4pm now and the temperature suddenly dipped about 15 minutes ago, chasing me inside the house to ensure these warmed-up bones stay that way!
So last night I stayed up late watching my all-time favourite movie...yes you guessed it, Gone With The Wind. It's unbelievable how they could make such an epic film in 1939 and how it has really stood the test of time. They really knew what they were doing, the burning of Atlanta was convincing despite special effects and CGI being decades from inception, and making such a strong female character in an era where women were meant to stand there and look pretty to catch a husband was pretty ground-breaking. Scarlett of course is my idol, as despite being capricious, selfish and manipulative, ultimately would do anything she had to to ensure the survival of herself and her loved ones. A survivor, not by choice but by circumstance. I think she defines the saying 'you never know how strong a woman is until you put her in hot water'.
I can relate.
So apart from a solo trip to the shopping centre to peacefully window shop without a shopping-allergic boy whining every two minutes (my feet hurt, are we going yet, this is boring), I've spent a lovely day at home that was relaxing apart from the washing machine issue, of course. After the brown-out we experienced the other night, my washing machine has now decided to play silly buggers and not work properly. It won't fill with water and none of the cycles operate for more than 10 seconds before the entire thing just starts beeping incessantly and won't play ball. Grr.
So in order to get two loads of washing done, I've had to manually fill the damned thing with water and detergent, mix them around a bit, drain the water (every 10 seconds), then refill to rinse...and repeat.
I felt like an olden day washerwoman and really could have used one of those old-school wringing thingies today. As it was I had to squeeze as much water out as I could, hang on the line all day and now I'm drip feeding them through the dryer to finally get the bloody things dry. Fun and games.
On the upside, I got a really cheap steam mop and used it for the first time today and it's BRILLIANT. Now I have no excuse not to have clean floors as with this wonderful new addition to my arsenal. I literally did the whole house in less than 15 minutes. Effortless and quick is the way I like my housekeeping. Domestic goddess I am NOT.
One of the best things about living here is watching E play outside in the sunshine and fresh air, something we sorely missed in Brisbane. We had no gardens or outdoor space at our building except for a patio, and the nearest park was a good 30 minute walk away. So I'm ashamed to say that little things like teaching E to ride a bike was put on the backburner.
He got an awesome bike for his birthday 2 years ago which was too large for him at the time. I tried to teach him a few times to ride on the pavement but it was the most frustrating experience that left E in tears and vowing that he HATED bike riding and simply wouldn't do it. I guess we just put the bike in the underground carpark and forgot about it, to avoid the post-traumatic flashbacks.
Now he's got a lovely long driveway and a really large concreted area near the garage to practice on, I decided that nearing 12 years old, it really was something we had to accomplish. I was envisaging more trauma, only to behold number one son hopping on, putting feet on pedals...and just going.
I guess all the ripstik practice has come in handy as he has amazing balance and literally was riding up and down the driveway immediately! In two weeks he's taught himself to turn and is well on his way to 'look mum, no hands!'.
Wow. So proud of him right now.
He's now looking forward to riding to school (maybe with another week's practice!) and showing off his 'mad skills' to all his mates.
Another son brag: his school uses this 'self management' system which to be honest, at first sounded like the same kind of hogwash that every other school spouts and then is never put into practice. I'm completely LOVING his new school as they actually are practising what they preach.
Each kid is taught to manage their own behaviour and to be accountable for what they do. At the end of each term, they have to perform a self-assessment, followed by a student/teacher discussion on the outcome and whether the teacher agrees with their assessment. A bit like a performance review. Should the child be found to be 'self-managing' they're eligible to attend a special end-of-term event (ie. this time it's bouncy castles and a BBQ).
I completely love this idea, and it allies closely with what I always tell E, which is to take responsibility for his own actions.
So E brought home his assessment on Friday to be signed and I have quite the hard little taskmaster! He was really tough on himself and after answering the questions on the assessment, determined himself to be 'Developing Towards Self Managing' with the comment:
I am developing towards self managing but I think I'm doing pretty well for the new kid.
Awww.
Luckily his teacher disagreed and thinks that he IS indeed self managing so he is very excited to be included among the special elite who get to bounce to their heart's content.
Good thing this wasn't around in my day as I have an inkling that I was entirely delusional and oblivious. Having said that, nothing was ever my fault so why should I say it was????
So excited for tomorrow's The Voice grand finale. It's going to be an amazing show and I'm just sorry it all seems to be finishing so quickly. I am still backing Karise to win, I don't think anyone could possibly knock her off her perch. The others are quite formidable but she truly is destined to be the next (and hopefully less tragic) Amy Winehouse.
Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! Back to the grindstone tomorrow, but actually looking forward to it being as I'm still 'new girl' and every day is exciting!
So weekend wrap-up:
- Discovered something new this weekend (bead shop) - check
- Did something silly (drunk at bead shop) - check
- Finished Deadlocked and now halfway through Tote Bags and Toe Tags - check
- Watched all-time favourite movie - check
Love it!
xx
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| It's a beautiful day |
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| Glorious! |
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| The bike master at work |
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| Yes, you're awesome |
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