Back to school this morning! Hooray! The only part forgotten was Ian's water bottle, so not a major catastrophe. Lunches, PE clothes and home folders with library books all got out, so not a bad start to the term!
Noticed that an Australian won the Masters Golf this morning. Goodness! Would have thought they landed on the moon or something! Found out it is the only tourny that Greg Norman didn't win, so this is a big deal. Course, I don't do golf. Tried it a few times. Have a wicked slice that I corrected by turning my body so it looks like I am going to hit 45 degrees off where the ball really goes. Scared a few real golfers. Decided it is not going to be my retirement game. HA!
I'm getting excited to start working again next week. I am finishing up a short term contract that has me working for the Mandarin language teacher. It really is just supervision of the kids, so not too stressful. I'll be teaching some basic Spanish to the upper classes this week as they are finished with the materials left by the teacher. Yay!
I had a bit of a breakthrough with Ian over the school holidays and his struggle with reading. He has always had a hard time getting his thoughts into words, both with how he says and what he says. The speech production is clearing up and he is so much easier to understand! He has a hard time remembering sight words, but I discovered that when I put them into a game on my phone that he knows lots more than he can read! He knows the words on sight, as long as he HEARS the word! It was a light bulb moment for me-and keep in mind that even though I am a teacher, reading is not my area of expertise. At least I do know who to talk to and what to do to continue his journey. The big fight of getting him to go to school without a fuss and saying how much he hates it seems to be over for now. He adores his teacher (we do too!) and while she pushes him, he also feels that he is valued and will work so hard just to hear her compliment him. He also has some great friends that he looks forward to seeing every day. I'm just glad he has come out of his shell!
Annika seems to have recovered mostly from her lung infection. She is still using an inhaler to help with the cough, but sounds so much better and isn't doing that little cough all. the. time. like she was before the trip to the doctor. She and I also had our eyes checked last week-no more glasses for her! That is, of course, subject to change as her genetic predisposition for bad eyes is overwhelming, but for now, one less thing to remember to bring to school! I ended up with pink-eye after the exam. Think it was from the contact case I had to use while they did the eye exam. It is nice to note that the medication for this is available OVER THE COUNTER in Australia! No doctor visit needed. Ha!
Lyle is actually home this week. His first one in several weeks. He pulled out his calendar last week and has had only 10 days in the office in Brisbane so far this year. You do the math. That is a LOT of time away from home, even though he was home on the weekends. It seems strange to be having to do the grocery shopping and plan for all of us! Have to put a bit more effort into it!
The littles are doing some after school sports this term. Annika is going to give Rhythmic Gymnastics a try. I have to giggle as when I think of the "typical" for this sport, I think of a Russian or other slavic girl with the name of Svetlana or Oksana. Annika should fit right in! Ian is continuing with tae kwon do and so excited for class days. I was able to find classes that overlap somewhat, so I only have to hang out for an hour and a half instead of 2 or more hours on class night.
Better wrap this up and get going on dinner. Butterflied lamb shoulder with roasted potatoes and butternut squash. Pasta and cheese sauce and baked beans. Yum! I love winter food. The weather is certainly not winter like yet. It was 84 today and beautiful sun! I felt bad for the kids who had to switch into their winter style uniforms this term-long pants on the boys and sweaters or blazers for both. The schools we go to don't have a totally different uniform for this season, you just layer on a sweater/jacket for Alex and the littles can wear long navy pants and a jacket. Much more low key!
Love you all! Have a great week. Miss you and counting down the days until we can come home.
Noticed that an Australian won the Masters Golf this morning. Goodness! Would have thought they landed on the moon or something! Found out it is the only tourny that Greg Norman didn't win, so this is a big deal. Course, I don't do golf. Tried it a few times. Have a wicked slice that I corrected by turning my body so it looks like I am going to hit 45 degrees off where the ball really goes. Scared a few real golfers. Decided it is not going to be my retirement game. HA!
I'm getting excited to start working again next week. I am finishing up a short term contract that has me working for the Mandarin language teacher. It really is just supervision of the kids, so not too stressful. I'll be teaching some basic Spanish to the upper classes this week as they are finished with the materials left by the teacher. Yay!
I had a bit of a breakthrough with Ian over the school holidays and his struggle with reading. He has always had a hard time getting his thoughts into words, both with how he says and what he says. The speech production is clearing up and he is so much easier to understand! He has a hard time remembering sight words, but I discovered that when I put them into a game on my phone that he knows lots more than he can read! He knows the words on sight, as long as he HEARS the word! It was a light bulb moment for me-and keep in mind that even though I am a teacher, reading is not my area of expertise. At least I do know who to talk to and what to do to continue his journey. The big fight of getting him to go to school without a fuss and saying how much he hates it seems to be over for now. He adores his teacher (we do too!) and while she pushes him, he also feels that he is valued and will work so hard just to hear her compliment him. He also has some great friends that he looks forward to seeing every day. I'm just glad he has come out of his shell!
Annika seems to have recovered mostly from her lung infection. She is still using an inhaler to help with the cough, but sounds so much better and isn't doing that little cough all. the. time. like she was before the trip to the doctor. She and I also had our eyes checked last week-no more glasses for her! That is, of course, subject to change as her genetic predisposition for bad eyes is overwhelming, but for now, one less thing to remember to bring to school! I ended up with pink-eye after the exam. Think it was from the contact case I had to use while they did the eye exam. It is nice to note that the medication for this is available OVER THE COUNTER in Australia! No doctor visit needed. Ha!
Lyle is actually home this week. His first one in several weeks. He pulled out his calendar last week and has had only 10 days in the office in Brisbane so far this year. You do the math. That is a LOT of time away from home, even though he was home on the weekends. It seems strange to be having to do the grocery shopping and plan for all of us! Have to put a bit more effort into it!
The littles are doing some after school sports this term. Annika is going to give Rhythmic Gymnastics a try. I have to giggle as when I think of the "typical" for this sport, I think of a Russian or other slavic girl with the name of Svetlana or Oksana. Annika should fit right in! Ian is continuing with tae kwon do and so excited for class days. I was able to find classes that overlap somewhat, so I only have to hang out for an hour and a half instead of 2 or more hours on class night.
Better wrap this up and get going on dinner. Butterflied lamb shoulder with roasted potatoes and butternut squash. Pasta and cheese sauce and baked beans. Yum! I love winter food. The weather is certainly not winter like yet. It was 84 today and beautiful sun! I felt bad for the kids who had to switch into their winter style uniforms this term-long pants on the boys and sweaters or blazers for both. The schools we go to don't have a totally different uniform for this season, you just layer on a sweater/jacket for Alex and the littles can wear long navy pants and a jacket. Much more low key!
Love you all! Have a great week. Miss you and counting down the days until we can come home.
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