Succintly

I am going to be brief.  I say this to remind myself, dear readers, as I do have a tendency to verbally wamble.  Hehe.

The past two weeks have been a blur.

An exciting, exhilarating, exhausting, terrifying, mind-numbing blur.

So many names to learn.  So much to do, both at Preschool and at home.  Keeping on top of the washing and meals is enough.  The rest of my already skimpy 'to do' list has been scrubbed.  Other than the urgent things like paying Munchkin's childcare provider and getting our landlord in to fix security catches on upstairs windows (as they stop Munchy baby from opening to a point he could fall out!).  There are strawberry plants still in a bucket in the garage, waiting to be replanted.  There are still boxes everywhere.  Oh well, I guess they aren't going anywhere in the meantime so they can just wait.

Our days usually follow a similar pattern.  Get up, dressed/showered, fed, bags packed, out the door.  Have short breaks while at Preschool in which I eat and occassionally go for short, brisk walk.  Spend day with children.  Return home to child.  Poor boy does get the tail end of things and I'm having to work really hard to be kind, and loving...there have been a few times Mummy has had to apologise, and a few more where Mummy has had to remind Munchkin that my patience is wearing out and I need him to go to bed so I can go to bed!  Once home, unpack bags, empty lunchboxes, organise dinner (Boyo has been helping and/or cooking dinner A LOT - wonderful  man - and has done bathrooms one week, and vacuuming the next as well as extra washing duties!).  After dinner, bath for the boy, and get him into bed...then the tidy up including making lunches for tomorrow, sorting out something for breakfast, putting library books into Preschool bag, and doing other odds and ends like moving guinea pigs so there is at least some grass left growing where their cage has been!  I miss my cuddles with them, but this is just life at present.

Unexpected things:
Munchkin is crying almost every time I leave him at Preschool.  Not exciting.  This week he therefore went with a brooch and hanky of Mummy's attached to his jersey in the hopes he might feel less sad.  We think it helped, but are not sure.  He is perfectly happy the rest of the day, he is just missing Mummy.  He even cried today when I left, and yet had been excited to be spending the day at home with Daddy.  Ugh.  Very "awful Mummy" moments.
Did an entire newsletter for Share ministry.  Unplanned.  I was going to write a paragraph but just felt inspired to share more and it turned out well!  I was home sick with a cold so it was time well spent.

Expected things:
Got sick.  Yup.  Managed 5 days then got a cold.  How I expected to stay well in an Early Childhood Centre when every single person I have talked to said you get really sick for the first year of work and my last placement was over 2 years ago, I don't know.  Felt miserable all weekend, dragged myself to work Monday and plodded through the week.  This is a good outcome for me really, considering the kind of colds I've had in recent years - feels like the herbal formula and probiotics for my throat really helped - the symptoms were not nearly as severe as they could have been, although still gross and nasty.  Gave cold to son and husband, but thankfully both have currently more robust immune systems than me and are quite chipper already!  Gave in and went to doctors Thursday after a night of coughing.  Sounds like cold is iritating underlying asthma, resulting in cough.  Doped me up, and immediately I started to improve. I am SO GLAD I went. I tend to avoid going, but am learning to take my husband's advice and get there a bit earlier with nasty colds like this.  Hopefully I will now not cough for three weeks.

Great things:
Loving the children, so delightful. 
Loving the staff, so helpful despite it being really hectic and many of them also unwell. 
Loving the learning - about me, about teamwork, about kids, about how a centre of this size runs, just everything.  This is definitely the right thing for me to be training in.

Not so great things:
Very tired.  Coughing not helping the sleep department at all.  Hubby and son not seeing me much.  Didn't make lifegroup and might not next fortnight either (I LOVE going to lifegroup and rarely miss it - it is just so good to get out and meet up with other women and hear about what God is doing in our lives and be encouraged regularly like this - gutted I didn't get there but I would've fallen asleep on them...or coughed the entire time!).
Loads of planning stuff now to accomplish in the final two weeks.  At least I'm feeling like I can think clearly now after a week of glug and brain fog!  There's a professional journal for daily reflections, a focus child report, some Learning Stories to contribute to the team, 2 days of being teacher this coming week and 3 the next (that means I have to set out at least 8 inside activities, and prepare for 3 mat times this week, then prepare morning and afternoon tea the following day...then do it all again the following week, adding a day afterwards where I set out all the outside activities, whew, definitely a good learning curve!). 
Boyo's study load is suffering, but he is coping okay.
Power bill is higher in new house.  Maybe because the plan has changed slightly, maybe because the hot water cylinder is older, maybe (and most likely!) because we have used the bath A LOT the past three weeks!  Just loving the bath so much we don't want to ease off. Grin.

So that's us folks.  Still here, but zoned in on the study.

Amy. 
Teacher extraordinaire.  Or at least I will be by the time I'm finished!

Photo I got the kids to take of me after a face painting time together!