Funk and Photos

My Blogtober plans have gone awry already as I missed yesterday.  I was in a bit of a funk and I spent most of the day in bed and in denial watching bad TV downloaded to my iPad.  This seems to be the way I deal with things and I used to worry about it but now I figure if a couple of times a year I lounge in bed all day and watch telly while thinking about life things are not that bad.

Last term Possum did a unit of work on 'Transport'.  As a result her class went on an excursion which involved catching a bus to the train station, catching a train to a nearby town to see a train museum, catching a bus to the airport to see some planes and then catching a bus home.  

Such.A.Big.Day.

I tagged along and snapped a couple of photos.  It was a lot of fun.

I cannot believe that term 4 starts tomorrow.  Where did the holidays go?

{Four} Belated Birthday Post

It is hard to believe that my small boy has turned four or that four years can feel like both the blink of an eye and an eternity at the same time.  As is traditional he picked a cake out of one of my Woman's Weekly cake books.  They love this part of the birthday and spend days looking at the cookbooks and thinking about options.

His early childhood teacher Bianca said that she loves Blue because he never fails to teach her something new each day.  I had discussed care options with her at one point and she said I was not allowed to move him and that was that.  Pre-school is his favourite and he loves catching the school bus home on pre-school days.  He NEVER naps during the day even though they all still try.

Blue loves being outside, he is gentle with animals but has started wiping his mouth after you give him a kiss because kisses are 'yucky' but he still happily lets me kiss him and snuggle him so that is ok.

He is starting to read some high frequency words by himself but would prefer to be read to than have to try to decode text himself.  He loves books and 'reads' in bed every night after we have read to him.  He always has a pile of books on his bedside table just like his big sister.

Favourite shows are Thomas and Friends and The Octonauts and his favourite colour is Blue.  He is dinousaur and insect mad and can cite strange facts on random topics at any given point in time.

He is happy to talk to anyone and everyone and is often complimented on his good manners when he answers 'how are you'? with 'well thank you'.  People often say he has an accent but he is just very well spoken.  He still has trouble with his 'r' sounding like a 'w' but this is getting better too and I predict by the end of the year it will be a thing of the past.

{Book Week}

I don't doubt that given the choice Possum would have preferred something a little more 'princess' and a little less elephant but I had purchased these costumes for a ballet concert only to have the teacher move away before the ballet concert could take place.  

I decided to use them for book week in a 'waste not want not' kind of way and I think it worked well.  To turn Possum into Elmer I basted some fabric off-cuts to her suit.  I didn't do anything to Blue's costume as he was happy to be the Tawny Scrawny Lion as it was.

I love the idea of book week and this did take the stress out of the costume making for our first year.

They were both excited to be able to wear there costumes to school all day.

Warrumbungle National Park

Back in early July we did a VERY  quick visit to the Warrumbungle National Park. A lot of the park was still closed due to the fires that recently devastated the area in January of this year.  We had intended to visit the park at that time but the fires obviously put our plans on hold.  It is a shame we did not see the park as it was but there was a beauty in the recovering landscape that was very inspiring all the same.

Regrowth is evident and in places the green growth frames the burnt areas in a reminder that nature is a cycle. This provided a lot to talk about with both children as we walked about and saw the evidence of the fires everywhere.

Siding Spring Observatory. This is a must see kind of place.  I was not sure what to expect but it was very child friendly with lots of hands on activities that made science fun.

You could stand on the scales to see what you would weigh on other planets.  I think I was about half a tonne on the sun but thankfully earth's gravity is different ;)

Then you could see what 1 litre of milk would weigh on different planets depending on their gravity.  Some were lighter and some you could not lift.  It was great and a wonderful way of demonstrating the concept.

Both children had fun and it was wonderful that there was so much for them to do so I was not having to tell them to not touch everything every two minutes like some places. 

The telescope was well worth the look too.

Whitegum Lookout was an easy walk that is sealed for ease of access.  This was a great walk to see the signs of the bush fire up close so that we could discuss it with the children.

Burbie Canyon was an easy 2 km return walk along a stream.  The children had fun walking (and running) along the track, scrambling and jumping the stream.

The lookout and Burbie Canyon walk were the only two walks open when we went.  I think more of the park is open now.  We will go back and camp one of these days so we can explore more of the tracks and the rock climbing too.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo - Part 2

Never mind the fact that these photos are from LAST school holidays and I am obviously so far behind in everything that I despair of EVER catching up; here are the rest of the zoo photos as promised in Part 1 some time ago...

My children are part monkey, they HAVE to climb on everything!  Thankfully the zoo caters for children such as mine and there are plenty of things for them to scramble on.

I love the zebras.  They are one of my favourite animals.  I love the distinctive stripes and the fact they are like fingerprints; all different.  I also think I like their similarity to horses.

We sat and watched the zebras standing in the warm sun for awhile before moving.  There was a baby foal that was very new but the mum was smart enough to have the foal in the middle of the big yard as far away from people as she could get.

More climbing...

This was a highlight.  The Galapagos Tortoises were under the heat lamps in the shed with the exception of this fellow.  He not only braved the chill but came over for a gentle pat.  The children loved it and it was very awe inspiring. 

Such wonderful animals with their wizened eyes.

There you go.  Given we visited way back in July this post has been a long time coming.  I have a lot of other things to catch up on too but I don't want to rush these things..!

BlogtoberFest 2013

I have barely blogged a thing in months so it is mad to think I will be able to blog for the 31 days of October without missing a day so my aim is to just get back to blogging as I can, to catch up, to take photos and to write as I feel like it.  No pressure, just fun.

I didn't take part in Blogtober at all last year but it is something I have enjoyed previously in 2009, 2010 and 2012.  Wish me luck as I will need it.  If you want to take part, or just see who else is pop over to Shell's blog for a look.

{thirty one} THE END!

We made it to the end of Blogtoberfest 2011.  Thanks for playing along, for reading and commenting and blogging.  Such a busy month in the world of blogs and good fun too!

I may take a day off from my blog, I may not.  Now that Blogtoberfest is over there is no blogging stress.  I made the target 31 days in a row of blogging.  No need to mention the fact that my content may have been a bit thin over the last week, I know it!

edit: did anyone notice that I spelt Blogtoberfest wrong in the sign Possum is holding up?  Sigh, I am glad it is the end of the month!

{thirty} happy

Second last day of Blogtoberfest!  I am happy to have made it this far without missing a day even if it wasn't the crafty kind of finish I had hoped for. 

 I don't think I have had a finished project to show off now for awhile but I have managed to prattle on regardless.

{twenty nine} pigs

According to the history of this game it was started about 3000 years ago in Piglonia and the average game took about 6 days to play because the pigs used to run away and hide in their mud bogs.

I don't blame them, if it is true...

I found this game for 50 cents at a local market stall.  I doubt this is an MB games best seller, but it is a bit of fun every now and then.  Pass the Pigs, please :) 

Do you think I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for Blogtoberfest inspiration?  You could be right!

{twenty eight} focus

I don't see Blogtoberfest on the list, or Blogger either...

Exam prep is underway here (as soon as I publish this post).

{twenty seven} knitting socks

I bought this Zauberball on a recent(ish) road trip North.  I really like the colours and have plans to turn it into a pair of socks, presuming I ever finish the pair I am knitting right now...

There is still a lot to go.  I need a big road trip so I can have some extra knitting time in the car.

{twenty six} thankyou water

I am not a person who usually buys drinks in town.  We mostly have water bottles from home with us because we are boring like that.  If I do need to buy water this is the stuff I now look for.  Thankyou Water!  It is for sale in these stores near you.

It is an amazing concept and a good way to help developing nations access what we take for granted, clean water.  100% of Thankyou Water's profit funds water projects in developing nations.

My only complaint is the use of the word thankyou. 

Thank you.

{twenty five} group work

I don't feel like I am represented on this picture.  Where is the person who sees the value in trying a cooperative learning task and wants the group to all contribute as intended for a desirable group outcome?

I am having trouble convincing the group that a cooperative learning task can only work if everyone has a discussion about the topic and moves on from there.  I have no authority over the group which adds to the challenge, but I don't want one person to write an essay and then get someone to check spelling and fob it off as a group activity.  Who will learn anything from that?

Rant over (for now!).

{twenty four} swing

The new (old) tyre swing is in the orchard near the cubby house and sand pit.

Such a great spot to spend the afternoon for us all.

The simple things really are the best!

{twenty three} MPAY

This week I am joining in with My Place and Yours over on Vic's blog.

The theme for this week is 'my pin cushion'.

Chicken via a swap, Felted cupcake via a lucky door prize, Apple made by me, Cupcake via a swap.

I have a few I love, but I don't really use them when sewing, with the exception of  this pin cushion. Shame I didn't think to pull it out of the sewing cabinet and snap a new photo, but follow the link because it is a bit special!

Just a little over a week of Blogtoberfest fun left for 2011!  I have not missed a day of blogging yet, but anything could happen in the last week!

{twenty two} Blue

Due for another haircut is my blue eyed baby.

Lucky for me Blogtober gives me an excuse to post these photos I took a couple of days ago.

This boy is a joy.

{twenty one} catch up

The assignment has been submitted and I can turn my attention to the next one due in two weeks.  The Mr has been absent over the past two weeks is back home and all is well.

Maybe I can turn my attention to window washing?

Do you think he is looking in and thinking about the dirt on the windows too?
How do children get windows so very dirty in the first place?

{twenty} creative space

A quick fix craft here due to the level of busy mentioned in my last post.

A key fob kit from Earth Girl fabrics that I picked up at Sew it Together.  You can buy it in kit form such as this was, or pick and choose webbing colours and ribbon to suit separately.

Simple, quick and SUPER cute!

More creative spaces here.

{nineteen} study

Two assessments due and exam prep to start...

At least I will have a good excuse if I fall off the Blogtoberfest wagon!