FIVETRIBE

The kids went back to their respective schools today. Even though I could have done with another good week of holidays I do think we all do much better with the routine that formal education brings to us. :-) Time is careening by; it does not even escape Faiths notice as today she commented: "Mom, it was just the other day Rach was in Grade 1 and now she is in GRADE 5!! Its incredible; just crazy how time goes by. " And this from a 7 year old? I spent a good few hour re-ordering my shambles of a house. I let things slide in the hols for fear of becoming the Neat Police so there was some order to be sought today. Extramurals only start next week so we have a gentle slide back to normality. This terms school activities include soccer, (Levi) crosstraining (all 3)  and squash (Rach). I am dragging my sorry ass back to the gym tomorrow. And to a *group exercise* class. Can you tell how bad my mojo is? It has been many a month since I got my sweat on so the time is NOW...

I grew up in a cricket-loving family. It did nothing for me. I had cricket-captain boyfriends. Not even they could persuade me to show up to a game. I have always HATED AND LOATHED it with a passion. Enter Hooli. That my boy in the white cap, loving his 'houding'! My son played his first match today. After 1 practise. I have been so fortunate in that the local mini cricket for the Gr 1 to Gr 3's has said that he can join their squad. This is soooo cool for him - I am really impressed that he has the courage to join in despite the fact that he is so much younger and obviously less experienced. He handles 'comments of (ahem) encouragement' from the older boys with grace and tries his best. Today he faced a spin bowler of note. At least 3yrs older than himself. He didnt get near the ball. Not once out of the 6 balls he faced. And yet - HE GLOWED. He truly loved being out there - he was nervous, mildly anxious but abundantly excited to be part of the action....

Last week the school had their annual prize-giving. I was NOT looking forward to it as in previous years it has been a long tedious drawn-out affair.  I was very pleasantly surprised this year – the evening was a superb combination of a slick production with a distinct family feel about it. I was exceptionally proud of both my girls who did extremely well. Lulu  and Mrs Butler Overall Academic Excellence; Conquesta Literacy and Numeracy – Gold. Honey and Mrs Venter Overall Academic Excellence, 2nd in her grade, Best Actress 2011, Special Art Award, Conquesta Numeracy and Literacy: Bronze; Math Olympiad and Humility Award Both girls were very happy with their achievements but I had to have *the talk* with them. You know the one hey? It went a little bit like this: ” I am so proud of you girls but I want you to always know that it is not important to me for you to BE THE BEST at everything but it is very important for you to ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST.” My dil...

I have been amazed at children's ability to absorb the amount of stuff required of them. Not just my kids but those of my friends aswell. To give you some idea of what is in Honey's immediate future (ie next 10 days) Technology project Poetry competition Assessments begin (daily revision required) Violin recital All words to be memorised for role as Puck Play rehearsals twice a week  Bearing in mind her regular violin, piano and swimming commitments. Honey is completely unstressed. I, on the other hand, am feeling some pressure because we all know who is responsible for making sure everything gets done! Fortunately a wise woman (my sis) reminded me to take it in MY stride (like my daughter) and just stay calm and postive about it all. How do you guys deal with school pressure as parents?

Today is the girls Big Walk. We cancelled our trip to Mcgregor this weekend because they are so excited about it. Bleh. Talk about parental sacrifice. :-/ We camped out in the garden last night and suffice to say it wasnt my best night. The kids of course slept like logs and thoroughly enjoyed it. I dont like camping. I discovered last night I dont like camping even in my front garden. It sucks. It is overrated and quite a bizarre thing to do. I can totally do nature and beauty but give me a basic building with running water, a bed, toilet and shower from which to enjoy said natural beauty. I do think the wind played a huge factor last night - it was HOWLING - I could not believe the kids slept through it all. Suffice to say this morning I was a tad irritable. Does not help that it is the Big Walk....and the wind is STILL howling. I made a *quality* decision to relinquish the parental big walk duty to my man based on his spoken desire to be more involved in school activities. My pleasu...