New Year.....resolutions

It has been a looong time since I have visited here.  So much so that I forgot the password....(or the combo of numbers and letters I regularly use)

It's a new year.  I don't know why I find January 1 so reflective and forward thinking at the same time.  It's really just another day.  But maybe it's because I have packed up the Christmas tree, and started my yearly chuck out rampage through the house that I think about what has gone and what will come.

2015 for me was great.  I even ticked a few of the New Year's resolution boxes - something I have never really done.
- I read War and Peace - long but good and much as the title suggests - a tale of war and peace.  Now all my history knowledge of the Napoleonic war in Russia in the 1800s comes from that book.
- I didn't buy any new clothes for most of the year (fell short by three days in Melbourne!) - after being convicted about trying to do my small part about the clothing industry and workers making cheap clothes
- I lost more than twelve kilos through the crazy strategy of 'Move More Eat Less'.  Although with my cheese consumption pretty high over the festive period I've taken a couple of steps backwards
- I swam a kilometre consistently for about 3-4 times a week all year, even in winter!
- I completed a mini-triathlon

2015 also contained some great memories - visiting Tonga on a short term mission trip, conducting a choir again for church carols, great holidays with friends in Stanthorpe, seeing kids blossom at work after patient and consistent input, performing with choir in some really interesting concerts, doing heaps of puppet shows, family weddings and going to the Boxing Day test in Melbourne.

But I think relationships, as they always are, are the best life can hold.  Deepening relationships and friendships, children growing up (BREAKING NEWS: ONE GIRL CHILD THROUGH GRADE NINE), families growing, new sisters in Christ, and ticking over 20 years of marriage to the most excellent Chris.  Sometimes they have been hard work, and I can always get better at them - more time, more attention, more love - but I know that furthering my relationship with God will spill into making my people relationships hum.

hmmmmm, goals for 2016
- blog at least twice a week
- continue on the downward weight path
- be able to slowly jog all of Park Run (5 km!)
- do another couple of triathlons
- read all of the books in book club
- continue to shop ethically

- and set my heart for forgiveness

The Gap Disappears

There's a lot of good stuff to be said about the girls becoming older.  They can dress themselves, mostly feed themselves, look after their belongings (I live in hope with hats and memory sticks), contribute to the household, be left alone for a little while, have a good conversation and laugh at my jokes.

But recently I have noticed one thing.

The Gap has disappeared.

The Gap between when I go to bed and when they go to bed.

The Gap where I can watch some bad telly, chill out on the couch, write blog posts, hang around on social media, chat with Chris, read War and Peace in peace (side note - this is our bookclubs book for this month - BRING IT) and eat the secret cupboard chocolate.

They are going to bed at the same time or AFTER me.  It is late at night and there are still children wandering around the house.

I know I have to get used to this - if I want them to grow to be adults then they should probably have more freedoms and responsibilities.

I will have to find another time for my Gap activities....

and never reveal where the chocolate is.

#swimaKeveryday

I made a big promise/resolution/decision in January - that I would try and swim a kilometre a day.  For as long as I could.

I have done one month of this - and have averaged about 5/7 days in a week of swimming a kilometre.  Heading into my second month.  Which should be a little easier because swimming squad has started again.

In term four 2014 I joined the local primary school swimming squad, and swum with the grade sixes.  That's about the level I am.  Each training session I do about 1.6 km - including BUTTERFLY.  I am trying to do 100 metres of butterfly in a row (with flippers).  Getting there.

Swimming is so good for me for heaps of reasons - it doesn't impact on any of my joints, I can spend the time praying and thinking and writing scripts in my head (hmmm wish I had a waterproof notepad to jot down ideas), there are no screens involved, my lung capacity is improving, my mental health enjoys it, and it is toning up all of my muscles.

I am getting big swimmers shoulders...but I kind of had those already.  Now I just deserve to have them.

I am going to see if I can keep this up for term one.  And crack the three digit weight barrier as a side effect.

Just keep swimming.....

flashback - Gab graduates

Due to government decisions made a few years ago, all the grade sixes in Queensland graduated in 2014, ready to start highschool in 2015.  This included my Gab.

Who is incredibly tall.  Possibly as tall as some year twelve students who graduated in 2014.  If I gave her a scarf, some scuffed jeans and some Vans she could rock up to uni in 2015 and no-one would bat an eyelid.

Graduation dress chosen by Gab after extensive searching and explanations of how she doesn't really wear a dress but will on this one occasion.  Phew.

Check it.

Oh to be 11 with long red curly hair and legs that go forever.

200 kids trooped across the stage to get their certificates.  It was.....extensive.  Fortunately, being an old hand at these things, I had packed life savers, crackers and tea in a flask.

The kids all had to sing a song together that Gab said took two hours practice each day for two weeks before the farewell night.  It was pretty impressive getting 200 kids to do choreographed moves, even the ones who clearly were not dancers.  Or singers,  Or movers.

Very proud of her,  She was awesome.

But I have just realised, as I cleaned out the girls drawers over the summer break - there is no more primary school uniforms.  I really have no reason to go back to primary school.  All of that hard won knowledge about the primary school lay of the land, the ins and outs, the people and the customs - is no longer needed.  From when I was a very nervous first time mum in prep, and gaining confidence through mistakes (forgetting bookpacks, the girls losing several hats, jumpers and lunchboxes, forgetting excursions, annoying other parents), to swanning around the school next to my enormous children..

I kind of forgot that I graduated primary school too in 2014.

Chin up.  What can possibly go wrong in highschool?

Scooter and her bad boy dog crush

One of my new year's resolutions is to be more regular with blogging.  I had kind of forgotten I wrote a blog.  So here I am back on the blog-wagon.

Other new year's resolutions include:
- learning how to make shortcrust pastry
- not buying any new clothes (excluding underwear and swimmers) - use what I have and opshop all the way
- moving more and eating less - this prompted this week's goal of 'swim a K every day' - I need to crack the three digit barrier
- cooking my way through Julie Goodwin's 20/20 book (I did this last year with Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals - great way to try heaps of new recipes and really commit to a cookbook)
- reading War and Peace
...
and whatever else I decide to try!

Anyway, onto today's blog topic.  My dog Scooter and her bad boy dog crush.  Over Christmas we went down to Armidale to hang out with family and friends.  We stayed most of the time at my friend's farm, where she had two dogs.  One was a border collie like Scooter, and the other was a cattle dog cross called Charlie.

Scooter could not leave Charlie alone.

She would follow him everywhere, yipping to get his attention.  She would gaze longingly at him. She would visit his pen when he was locked away for the night.  She would find a ball and bring it to him.  She would get into his space at every opportunity.

 If she could, I think Scooter would have Charlie's name tattooed on her neck, and photos of Charlie pasted up in her kennel.  She would find excuses to walk by his locker and gaze at him across the classroom.  She would write poetry and sing Taylor Swift.

Every couple of hours Charlie would tire of her obsessive behaviour and roll her, pin her to the ground with a paw and mouth her neck, just to show her who was boss.

Scooter loved it and would come back for more every time.  Treat me mean.  I'm yours.

It was slightly embarassing to be the owner of a complete Charlie fangirl.

Even now when we are home again we mention Charlie and she looks around, hoping he will appear at the door, ready for her love.

And I thought I would have to deal with my daughter's crushes.....not the dog's.

craft for year 3 RE

So I have been teaching RE (Religious Education) to grade threes now for about six years, and I have almost cracked the craft needs of this age group.

Apart from the origami disaster of term 3 2014.  But let's not speak of that.

The craft has to be:
- fitting in with the theme or story for the week - even if it is a very long bow being drawn...
- cheap (I need to purchase about 90 units for the grade - and the budget is...well..as much as I am prepared to spend...hopefully about 25c per kid)
- easy to do in 10-15 minutes
- yet complex enough to engage interest
- yet with differing layers of complexity for kids who just want to GET IT DONE and kids who want to pretty theirs up a bit (Can I use my textas Mrs Pine? Yes.  Can I use my highlighters Mrs Pine? Yes.  Can I give him blood and fangs Mrs Pine?  Probably no - it doesn't fit in with the story)
- easyish to prepare in bulk - we have a lovely group of older people at church who will cut out craft for me - but sometimes I am not organised enough to get it to them in time...
- I often try and write a memory verse or some of the story on the craft as well - just so when it is kicking around the playground or in the bottom of someone's bag the kids will know it is from RE

I have no illusions that I am making crafts to stand the test of time - but they may last long enough to go home and get talked about.  And so the story of the good news spreads.

So here are some photos of some crafts I have done this year.  I can't do a craft every week - it would do my head in.

And I will never try origami again.  I don't even have a photo of it...

Fishing game - tied in with the story of Jesus calling Peter the fisherman - long straw sticky-taped in half, string, small sticky backed magnet (I found these in a sheet of fifty), paper, paper clips - kids cut out their own shaped fish and wrote on the words

I do heaps of paper plate craft - this one was for Naaman being healed by Elisha by dipping into the river Jordan - used paper plate, long paddle pop stick and pre-cut cardboard man

Spinner - the Easter Sunday story - piece of card, two elastic bands - draw a picture of the tomb and then an angel on the other side - spin it round and round and it will BLOW YOUR MIND

Creation story clock paper plate craft - two paper plates joined by a split pin with a wedge cut out - we drew in the order of what God created in each wedge

Parable of the camel going through the eye of the needle - found a camel image, sewed two of them together with wool and pipecleaner needle

Story of the Holy Spirit like a dove coming down on Jesus - felt dove, scoobidoo string, googly eye

 Random little cardboard people that are useful for heaps of stories

Rainbow paper craft for the story of Noah - different coloured paper cut in increasingly smaller strips then stapled, says 'God keeps His promises

I thought I would also show you the cards I use to show the kids what we are doing each lesson.  We don't do everything every lesson - but it helps keep me and the kids on track, and know WHEN THE LESSON IS EVER GOING TO END

So, even though I am not a particularly crafty person, I do like problem solving about how to do craft with the kids that they will enjoy.  And that won't have me in sobs.

Except for the origami boxes.

That was poor craft decision making and planning on my part.  That day, my friend, I single handedly made 80 origami boxes.  The kids got steps 1 to 7 fine.  Step 8 was the killer.  I did everyone's step 8.

Warning to rookie craft RE teachers.

Don' decide that origami boxes with eight year olds are a good idea.

Stick to paper plates and pre-cut paper people.

haven't been here in a while

All my intentions of blogging fell in a heap of just doing stuff and not writing about it.

Soz about that.

So it's October already!

In August I went to Fiji with my mate Katy and her kids.  Someone had to help her have her holiday.  I shouldered the burden.  I'm helpful like that.

mocktails at sunset.  That's mocktails.  Shmocktails.

I had to sit and wactch the sunset and contemplate things.

Scuba diving in the pool.  I am too cheap to go in the real ocean.  And probably too scared.

We got covered in mud by that tall Fijian strolling around behind us.  His job was to walk around covered in mud all day.  We reasoned that since the mud had healing properties, the Filian had started his working life as an arthritic-ridden seventy year old man, and the mud has transformed him into a tall young strapping Fijian.  He didn't it was as funny as we did.

On a boat with some wine.  Lucky we were wearing our most attractive life vests.

Thanks August for being pretty good.

September was also good...I will try and catch up on that soon.

Although my 2014 track record is poor...