Super moon distraction

Monday night was the rising of the last super moon for 2017. In our neck of the woods in South Australia, at 8:55 pm to be exact.

At this time of night I am usually settled in front of the telly with a wine in hand. Sitting drinking wine in the evening stops me from doing loads of things I could be doing, and I have just gotten into the habit I think, because that is me time. It's my time to just sit, but I've associated that time to drinking wine.

While having me time is a good thing, it just so happens that drinking most nights isn't so good. So I am on a mission to try and change that. 

In the past I have found that replacing one vice with another is usually the way to go. Or not...cigarettes instead of pot...tea instead of cigarettes(which I suppose was good, and no I didn't smoke the tea!)...

Coffee connoisseurs will gasp at the thought, but I've just bought some fake coffee. Coffee has NEVER really agreed with me, and I am not a drinker, but I actually am not minding a cup or two of this. Last night I made a mocha with it as I sat to watch Jamie Oliver and my SBS fix, Struggle Street. Did the trick...

Back to Monday night, Isabel and I jumped int he car and drove out of town a little, up on a hill and waited for the moon to rise. I don't have all the right equipment to properly shoot a super moon or any moon for that fact, but had some good practice for when I am the owner of a decent tripod and an appropriate lens. It was a great evening out with my eldest daughter, until she started complaining to go. I am sure it is the complaint of many a photographers family member., forced to stay until every photograph has been taken.

This is classic funny Izzy, pulling faces for the camera

Sports day preparations

I turned up at 3:15 Thursday arvo last week, to pick up Izzy from school. I could hear the war cries of school kids, practising their songs for sports day. 

It was loud! 

I could just make out what they were yelling chanting. What I could make out was the word 'banksia'. Izzys team!

There is nothing like hearing the joined chants of a team song, to bring a feeling of pride and belonging, a feeling that swells in the middle of your gut. I couldn't see her, but I knew Izzy would have been there, practicing along with her team mates. I hope she was excited, and happy. She seemed to be when I mentioned it to her when she came out of class that day. They each had a piece of coloured paper, coordinating with their respective team colours.

 Banksia war cry 1

Banksia, we are the best

Banksia, will beat the rest

Banksia, we're fast in sprints

Tabloid games and long distance

Banksia, will be on top

Banksia, will never stop

B-A-N-K-S-I-A

BANKSIA WHOOO

Banksia war cry 2

Running down the sprint lane,

In first position,

We are the best team in the competition,

We run strong, jump long

Listen to our mighty song

B-A-N-K-S-I-A

BANKSIA WHOOO

Sports day is not for a week, Izzy is in the red team. If they keep up the loud chanting on sports day, I think I may need a panadol and a lay down afterwards, considering there will be three teams altogether yelling chanting at the same time! Come to think of it, she might too. I hate to think about the teachers. I wonder whether or not they look forward to sports day each year!

Whatever happens, I will be cheering on team Banksia, quietly though, with fingers crossed hoping they win the day!  Moreover, I hope Izzy has fun and is proud of her team mates, no matter how they go. 

Our show success

We've just had our local country show this weekend. Izzy entered into seven sections of the kindy competition and I in the photography. We did pretty well.

Izzy won or got a place in everything she entered, so proud. She was first in her craft piece, a paper mache bowl that she made and painted; her decorated biscuits and her chocolate crackles. Her painting received second place and her drawing, eggs and flowers got third. She won the overall points for the kindy section and won a jigsaw puzzle and $8.50. Pretty cool.

I entered 26 photos in the photography section and got 4 firsts and 3 second placings. Happy with that, not bad for my first photo competition. I won 29 bucks. Awesoooome. I spent $18 of it on wine. Awesooome!

Definitely doing it again next year, might even get Summer involved too.

Izzy goes to kindy

Yesterday Izzy had her first day at kindy. With the same day start policy in place, and her turning four after the end of April she won't start full time kindy until next year. So this last term she is attending a half day on a Wednesday as pre-entry.

I have no problems with her not starting full time until next year. She won't turn four until next month. But for some of her kindy mates, who turned four way back at the start of May, three days after the cut off, the long wait to start full time kindy seems a bit ridiculous to me. But the powers that be obviously know what they're doing, I hope.

Tuesday night Izzy was telling me we couldn't go anywhere the next day because she was sick. I think she was having some doubts about this kindy bizzo. She knows the kindy and the teachers, we've been going there for playgroup. She is fine about me leaving her for an hour at gym with the instructor. I was quietly confident that she would be ok.

On Wednesday morning, I was excited, trying to make her excited, it was kindy day!! She said she was sick and couldn't go anywhere.

She was so proud putting it on all by herself and then
pestering "Can we go, I want to go".

I'm not sure what I said, it might have been something about her new backpack, whatever it was, all of a sudden she was feeling better. 

Izzy helped pack her snack, an apple and some pizza shapes into her new lunch pack, made sure she had her hat and put it in her  backpack along with her new water bottle. This was a bargain set I picked up at a market for 5 bucks. No fancy Barbie, Billabong or Disney backpacks here, it's only kindy. I have many more years of mind numbing brand name nagging when she hits puberty, or possibly before, I don't want to start a trend.

Nag she did though, "I want to go to my kindy", "Can we go to kindy now?". This went on and on. I was so glad when 12 noon rolled around and I could go drop her off.

I did feel a pang of emotion as we got out the car, we found her bag locker and signed her in, I stayed with her until 12:15, when lunch finished and said goodbye. No fuss. No tears. Nothing. I walked out to the gate, Summer on my hip, got in the car and pulled out the car park. 

A rush of freedom swept over me, I smiled. I smiled because it was easy. Stress free. She handled it like a champion. I was so relieved, like a weight had been lifted. She's gonna be ok. It was a different story with Jake when he started kindy, different kid.

I went home and gardened, Summer my little shadow. She was happy. I was happy. I gardened without the interruption of Izzy needing help with anything, not having to go see who was crying, no fighting. It was awesome.

I can't wait until next Wednesday!