Countdowns

What a busy few weeks it has been.

Firstly I had my mum come and stay for 10 days. It was lovely to have her see our new place and spend some time with the kids as we won't be seeing her over Christmas. After initial waryness, Mr M became a firm fan of Nanny. She was quickly included in Mr M's gorgeous kiss and hug nightly routine. Whenever we went out he was quick to pick up Nanny's handbag, and even her walking stick.

It was sad to see her go.

Meanwhile the Christmas countdown has begun. As this will be our first Christmas in our new home (even though we are travelling this year) I thought it a great opportunity to start some new family traditions.

The first, a homemade activity based Advent Calendar. The kids are loving it. Today's activity is to snuggle up early tonight and read Christmas stories together. Well done kids for coming up with all the ideas.



There have also been the blog countdowns by artists I admire.
Tim Holtz did his annual "12 Tags of Christmas" demonstrating cool techniques using his Signature lines by Ranger and Stamper's Anonymous. It's already finished, but Tim has linked the tags on his blog sidebar - so I can find them whenever I finally find/make the time

Lisa Vollrath is doing her original printables download too. I was so excited about accessing this as while I was in Singapore I found all her websites were blocked/didn't load. Back in Sydney, it's working. Yay!

The costs of working

I've been tossing around the idea of getting a part time job for some time. With the economic climate the way it is, and the fact that we have a HUGE mortgage it seems like a no - brainer.

But ....

As a result of the fact that I'm unlikely to find "the perfect job" close to home (the downside of living in the outer suburbs), I'll have to add the costs of out of school hours (OOSH) care for the big kids and more long day care for MrM. I've looked at the likely payscales I'd be employed under, and by the time I add childcare fees it looks like we will be only about $50/wk better off. From that I will need to deduct vehicle running costs (as most positions I'm interested in require use of own vehicle), which probably wipes off all the gains. Sigh.

So, do people work for purely economic reasons? I know my mum thinks I should get back to work ASAP so as to retain my professional skills. I have to say my confidence in some of my skills has dropped, but I'm sure I'm still employable in my profession. What is it I want from work ... money, routine, social connections, a break from home/kids, the sense that "I'm contributing" ...

What about the things I'd miss out on ...

How to you place value on these things??

First Christmas gift giving

DH had a work trip back to Singapore last week. On the weekend he was able to catch up with some of our old friends, so I sent a few Christmas gifts to mark the occasion.

For the children of our friends I made this gift slider. The pockets contain gigantic Caramello koalas. A yummy treat from Australia.

This first one is for a great little guy. The stamps are Hero Arts. They are pretty new stamps too - I thought it was time to get some more boyish stamps for the men in my life. I think I'll use it lots - love the strong lines and how it lends itself to bright funky colours.




The second one I actually made at a SU! demonstration. I loved the stamp set so much, I just had to buy it.

My turn

Even I got some cards done. Having Ms A enthused about creating stuff got me back in the mood too.

The first card features a Tim Holtz/ Stampers Anonymous image that has been laying around since last month.

After I first stamped the image on an offcut of cardstock I had no idea how to design a card layout from it. Inspiration finally struck a couple of days ago - right when dinner was served - and all the stopping and starting (dinner, supervising baths, getting kids into bed) turned out to be a Godsend. I think it stopped me making some bad design choices. The only thing I would do differently would be to ink up/distress the edges of the layers. Otherwise, I think it turned out well.



This second one uses an image I bought years ago, but had never seen ink. Shameful, I know!

Its not a great pic, but I watercoloured the image with my watercolour crayons, highlighting the breast of the bird with interfence twinkling H2Os. I intended to create UTEE/Opals tiles ... alas I didn't have any, so I used glossy accents instead.

The charm is one of the "nonstock" charms from Far Flung Craft. (We occasionally found random charms mixed in the bulk packs when we repacked for retail sale) The charm sits on a stamped frame (think its inkadinkadoo) which was flukingly (is that a word???) the perfect size.

The young artist

Ms A accompanied me to a craft fair a couple of weeks ago. She had a blast, watching lots of demos, and even completing her first LO's.

The next week she had a few days off school and this is what she came up with:






She was rightfully proud of her accomplishments and has shown them off to all and sundry. An excellent first attempt at twinkling H20's.

Rediscovering my craft desk

Yesterday MsA and I got down and dirty at the craft desk for the first time in ages. It felt sooo good! Here is what we came up with:



This first one was actually the second card we came up with. It's a birthday card for my mum. It was fun to finally use the cuttlebug and the nestabilities. Ms A had full say in colours in positioning on this card. I think she did a great job, and Nanny will be pleasantly suprised.



This second one was actually what I had started making for mum. I played with distress inks for the background. I like the vintage effect, but in the end I didn't think mum would appreciate the "oldness" of it. SHe doesn't like being reminded of aging!

Finally MsA and I discussed plans for a special Christmas project which we see us share much more time at the craft desk soon. Yay!

Babysitters!

Last night DH and I went out for date night. We realised that the last time we did this was over a year ago, back when we had a live in maid. We have yet to find a babysitter here, but after the success of last night I think we will have to make it a priority to find someone.

The reason last night was possible was because my brother and his family were visiting. They had a two day stopover on the way back from QLD to their home in VIC. Talk about a blessing! Over a lovely Italian meal and bottle of wine we were able to talk about a lot. It was great and much needed.

So far, so good

I'm in the midst of "rocking the boat", and so far, so good.

I think I over analyse or always prepare for the worst case scenario, which means I am pleasantly surprised when things go smoothly! Maybe I'm just surrounded my gracious and understanding people.

How lucky am I?

Time to rock the boat

I suffer from the "disease to please".

I'm going to make some tough decisions over the coming weeks where I will aim to be selfish and think of myself first. I'm sick of feeling cornered into making decisions based on not wanting to hurt someone else's feelings.

I hope I am strong enough to carry through, and that those who are affected by my decisions understand and don't feel let down.

Getting things done

Today is MrM's second day at childcare. He started last wednesday, and of course loved it. I surprised myself by not crying, worrying about him etc. I realised that when both the other kids went to childcare I was beside myself. I was so concerned about my babies and sad that a stage of their life where I (and DH - better give him some recognition!) was their sole caregiver was over. I mean, how was someone else supposed to know how to care for MY baby.

I thought I would be even worse this time around, knowing that this was going to be the last time I would be handing over a baby. I think because I was so sick with the flu I didn't really consider it. I am sad that my last baby is fast growing up, I guess I just feel that I can enjoy the "growing up" stage more and don't have to concentrate on baby-ness.

Anyway, today is the first day that I have had to myself since we moved. I should be concentrating on FFC things, but as pre usual housework etc called first. I am glad that I did take the time to get some personal stuff done. I've FINALLY sent out email change of address, and I've already had some response to that which is nice. Even more surprising, I've had a response to a general email request re establishing some work options. It will be interesting to see how things pan out.

I still haven't touched my craft room though!

I'm sick

Urghh!! Still feel terrible. It's been nearly a week and I'm still feeling yuck. Unfortunately the kids now seem to be coming down with it. DH is keeping his distance, so he is the only one who is still healthy. I'm not sure whether DH is keeping his distance just because he is concerned about his health - just as I was coming down with the flu he bore the brunt of one of my temper tantrums, and was told he hadn't heard the last of it, there was still more to discuss. I think he is hoping that in my sickness I've forgotten!

Cool stamp giveaway!

Isn't the Stamping Queen generous!

Check it out

Persistence pays off!

Yee haa! I finally found it.

The missing handle of my cuttlebug has been found.

I was on the verge of buying a completely new machine, as it appeared the handle was lost in the move and it's impossible to buy spare parts. Thank goodness I found it. I was about to blow the money on buying a replacement at the Stitches and Craft show this weekend.

Now I can spend the money on something else - like Nestabilities!

Taking Charge

I've been moping around too long. The bitter cold snap hasn't helped. I've decided to get on with it and move forward. There's no point in pining for the past, or sitting back and waiting for new routines and friends to miraculously appear.

I've had a couple of productive days. I've finally got some of the basic things done - change of address etc, re-establishing contact with my stamping groups, research local childcare and work opportunities. All things that should have been done long ago.

In a way I have been surprised that I have had the most difficulty meeting people. I thought it would have been easy, what with walking the kids to school, finding playgroups for MrM etc. It seems that my concerns that Ms A would struggle making connections when social groups were already well established proved to be not so much a concern for her as for me! I'm going to have to push outside of my comfort zone to try and meet people. I wonder if there are social skills classes for adults??

Adjustments

Over the last few days I have started to try and assess how we as a family have coped with the move back to Australia. We have been back in Oz for 2 months, and in our home for about 6weeks. Surely that is enough time to find our feet?

Well, there are still boxes to be unpacked (mainly in my craft room), and cupboards to be reorganised as we continue to find that original storage ideas were not as convenient or intuitive as initially thought.

DH seems to have settled straight into work routines, having found the best and worst times for train travel into the city. I am enjoying the occasional work from home days he takes (I guess that is the perk of being the boss), it makes up in part for the fact that he is away from home longer each day (commute times). We still have some finetuning on the delineation of domestic tasks. He does make an effort, and for that I am thankful ... its just that there is soo much more to be done in a house this size compared to our tiny apartment. It would be nice for me to have time to think about something other than cleaning, laundry, gardening etc!

The kids are going OK at school. We had parent-teacher meetings this week. Ms A is doing fine, with the exception of spelling. Apparently her skills are ahead or on par with the rest of the class, which suggests to me that curriculum was harder in Singapore. I really felt that she struggled in G3 and her grades put her on the low side of average (more she wasn't pushed to apply herself, and instead enjoyed being a social butterfly). Interestingly, I think it the social side she is having trouble with now. She was faced with the difficult situation of making friends in the middle of the school year, when friendship groups are already established. It is unusual for mid year commencement here. In Singapore, comings and goings were an expected thing, and the kids were much more accepting of change. Here I see Ms A being "locked out", almost as if she is seen as a "try hard" by trying to initiate friendships with everyone. She doesn't seem to notice when she is given the brush off, but I see it regularly when I am doing the school run with her. It doesn't seem to faze her, maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.

MrT is loving school. He seems to have found a close group of friends already, and is excited to have been invited to 2 birthday parties. Academically he has coped with the step up really well. I knew he was doing well in reading and maths in Singapore, but there wasn't much in the way of bookwork going on when he was in kindergarten. He arrived mid way through year 1 (effectively missing 6mths schooling) and was thrown in the deep end with expectations for journal writing, dictation, spelling etc. These were all new things for him. He struggled for the first couple of weeks, but has really excelled himself now. He is the top reader (by 3 or 4 levels), and ahead in maths too. His writing is holding him back, and I could have laughed when the teacher said maybe we should think about OT referral if it doesn't improve soon. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I am an OT. I will work with him at home to improve stroke formation, fluency and endurance, but I'm not overly concerned. I know it's not a neuromotor problem or anything - just exposure. It doesn't help that he is left handed, male, and had learnt a different script style. We'll get there!

Now, as for me, how am I coping with all the changes? I honestly don't know. For the most part I have been busy trying to create/maintain normalacy for everyone in the family. I still grieve for what I have lost in terms of lifestyle, friends, work etc in Singapore. I know I have gained lots being in Sydney too: closer to family (can't believe dad came up and stayed for a couple of days to help organise the garden); weekend barbies etc.

There is a lot holding me form fully embracing the circumstances I now find myself in. I still feel bitter that I didn't have more say in the matter, and I still don't feel I have much control in whats going on. One of my biggest gripes is that I don't really understand our financial situation, and having been the one that paid the bills etc in Singapore, not knowing what our budget looks like at the moment scares me. I still don't have an ATM card for goodness sake! I don't know if I should be looking at going back to work straight away or not. I don't really want to, but I have to if I want to continue my involvement with FFC, and at least its an avenue to meet people.

Fruity

You Are a Banana

You are mellow, easy going, and a total softie on the inside. People find it really easy to get along with you. You suit most tastes. And while you're very sweet, you're not boring or ordinary. You have an attraction to the exotic, and you could show up anywhere... doing almost anything! You are spirited, energetic, and a total kick to be around. You're also quite funny. Your sense of humor is on the goofy side, and it fits you well.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

Waiting

I'm getting itchy feet. Sick of living in the serviced apartment and can't wait to set up house. We signed loan papers this week, but it I'm getting frustrated with the whole process ... the bank is taking ages to process everything, and they "forgot" to tell us that we need to have insurance organised before they will release the money and exchange contracts of sale. Hopefully all will be finalised by Friday, which is settlement day. We now have fingers crossed that we will have our furniture delivered on Saturday.

I've been feeling pretty helpless in this whole process. I mean, we had a mortgage broker, buyers agent, and lawyer do most of the stuff, and DH was the only one liaising with them. I always dreamed about looking for and buying my own home - but maybe it's a good thing I wasn't: I'm sure the stress would have killed me!

Hitting the ground running

We are at the serviced apartment in Sydney. Phew. Departure from Singapore was less than smooth, but that was probably a good thing as it stopped me getting all sentimental.

We checked out the new home on Monday afternoon, and thankfully it is not as bad as the photos DH sent. The bathroom is definately "snug" and in need of improvements, but the house itself is great. How can I complain - I have a craft room!

Today we visited the kids' school and picked up uniforms etc so that they can start next week. They are both walking around in their uniforms waiting to show off to daddy when he walks in the door.

I do hope the school transition will be OK. Apparently class sizes are pretty big. I'm most concerned that MsA will struggle in the big class - she is so easily distracted. It looks like she will be placed in a 3/4 composite class, I think that could be a good thing for her.

I don't have any concerns for MrT - other than I hope his inquisitiveness and desire to share his general knowledge doesn't come across as being a "chatterbox". I guess it wasn't a great start for him when he got in trouble from the principal during the school tour for jumping up and walking on the lunch benchs. Ooops!

Packing

The time has come. The movers are here, packing away 6 years worth of Singapore. I'm stuck in my bedroom, sitting on the floor trying to get enough signal to surf the net one last time before modem is disconnected.

I'm sad to be leaving. I'm tired - I didn't get to bed until 4am this morning, doing the final cull before the movers arrived. DH arrived back In SIngapore SUnday night, and I mistakenly thought he wouldn't be going to work - or have after hourse commitments. Whoops! Guess it really was up to me to get everything sorted!

Running into school soon for Ms A's class party. Tomorrow MrT has kindergarten graduation!

Think we have one last night in our apartment - sleeping on matresses on the floor! There was some misunderstanding about whether we had hotel booking tonight or not. The movers come back tomorrow afternoon to try and cram everything into the shipping container. Then we have Saturday to clean up the place, and hand keys back to the landlord on Sunday. MrT has a bday party for one of his best friends Sunday afternoon - we go from there to the airport!!!

Crazy!

Learning from past mistakes

I saw a snippet of a doco about Cambodia yesterday. It captured my attention for a number of reasons, not least the fond memories I have of our trip there in Jan 2004.

The doco raised a number of concerns which suggested that maybe the Khmers haven't learnt from the mistakes of the past which saw their huge empire come crashing down in the 12th(?) century and that despite their great intentions history may end up repeating itself.

The story focused on tourism, and the management of the ancient temples of Angkor Wat and surrounds. Construction of hotels seems to be going on without any controls or forethought. Apparently there are over 100 hotels in Siem Reap constructed, or under construction - and most of them look HUGE! I can't remember if the doco said 8,10, or 12 years ago - there was only ONE hotel. (I'm sure there would have been guesthouses/backpackers etc).

There are environmental issues associated with water pollution, illegal logging, lowering of the water table etc. It seems ridiculous that the province of Siem Reap which is the heart of the tourist trade is the poorest province in the nation. The ranking of Cambodia as second only to Myanmmar as the most corrupt nation in Asia is alarming, but perhaps sheds some light on the great inequities in the country.

What happens to these people when the tourists stop coming??...