Day 151 - Stained Glass Windows

My class is doing a science unit of work on energy and so a little while ago we made these stained glass window artworks. I love the way on a sunny day the light creates these light casts and it was satisfying to see the kids enjoy the light display so much!

Day 150 - Music and My Comfort Zone

Although music has always been important to me and I even worked in a music related job for quite some time, teaching music is not something that is always fully within my comfort zone. It's why, a couple of years ago I put my hand up to train all the staff on the yearly Musica Viva sessions that lead up to a musical performing group visiting our school. Usually when I attend the teacher inservice, most of the attending teachers are music specialists and I do feel a bit out of my depth. Music has its own tech speak and it doesn't come naturally to me! When I pass on the training to our staff it is in everyday lay teacher talk and I hope that the other teachers like me, find it worthwhile. The above percussion instruments is one of my favourites and I used it when I did the teacher training at our meeting this afternoon. I don't actually even know what it is called :P

Day 149 - Bickie Time!

A lazy Sunday morning... Henry still in his pjs by morning tea time! Well we can; it is the weekend after all!

Day 148 - Isn't She Lovely

Another visit today to see Henry and Jenna's new little cousin Kinzie and already in less than two weeks I could already see how she had changed. The photo shows her asleep as she was when we arrived - what a peaceful picture! Jenna loved having a hold of her very tiny cousin (what a change from Henry's almost 10kg) and Henry enjoyed posing for a few photos with her and then reaching for her face for a bit  of a squeeze!

Day 147 - Fancy That!

Today was our school fete day and as I ate my blue fairy floss at 9.10 am I should have known it would be a fun day! I had put my name down to do a fancy dress photo stall and I have to say that I really did have a ball. Another teacher, Caroline, became stylist for the day, assisting children with picking outfits and then posing them for me, the photographer. The day was full of laughs as we "admired" the childrens' costume choices and realised that some of them didn't need any assistance at all with posing! The photo above is a small section of one I took of three girls who dressed themselves as "princesses" with sequined masquarade masks, fluttering fans and old bridesmaids dresses! If I had looked at the costumes they had chosen I would have been doubtful. That is until they put them all on and posed in front of the black backdrop. The photo turned out beautifully - very creative!

Day 146 - Bit of this and bit of that

Henry had a bits and pieces dinner tonight... the steak was not so well received, vegies went down a treat, including smashed peas which he ate with his fists, carrots which he also ate by the fistful (in multiples as well) and lastly kiwi fruit. Usually his favourite, this one needed more ripening time, as it was a bit tart. The sight of the aftermath of his dinner prompted this photo.

Day 145 - So Close

It's a bit of a theme this week, but every day seems to be a struggle to get to Queanbeyan by 8.45. I have done it a couple of times this week by being ultra prepared the night before, down to the point of picking out my clothes and Henry's clothes in advance, but there always seems to be something extra to do... If I just put this load of washing on then it will be ready to hang out when I get home or if I just stack the dishwasher then I can unload it when I get home... there is always one more thing that I could do!

Day 144 - View from our Driveway

A little while ago I posted about the view from our window and said that I would have to work on finding a better view. Since our front windows have their view obscured by fast growing bottle brush trees I settled for the view from our driveway tonight. I love looking out over the sea of lights that is Tuggeranong. Tonight as I got home not much before 6pm I managed to capture the sunset as well.

Day 143 - Breakfast Ritual

I have to say that now Henry manages to sleep a little later in the mornings, I find it much harder to get out of bed for work, especially as it is winter and I have usually been up at least once in the night for him. In an attempt to speed up the morning family breakfast I have decided that I will have to lay out everything for the morning the night before and hope for the best with getting to work on time for once in a while!

Day 142 - Uggies!

I have been wanting a new pair of sheepskins for a little while and since we were so close to Parklea today we dropped by the markets for a look at the Ugg boot stall that is there. I picked up a nice pair of taupe knee boots and couldn't resist these little ones for Henry, which are just like his Dad's! Perfect for the Canberra winter.

Day 141 - The Silver Man

Jenna was amazed by the Silver Man at Rouse Hill today when we went shopping, and I have to say that his costume was very impressive. She put some money into his case and as he did for others who had also put in some money, moved briefly from position to raise his sword in a little flourish!

Day 140 - Baaaah!

We set off for another trip to Sydney tonight, as May 20th is Mum's birthday! Along the way we stopped at Goulburn to get Jenna some Subway for dinner. I waited with Henry in the car, although we did get out to snap a pic of the recently relocated Big Merino. Did you know that he has his own letterbox? Dim lighting made a good photo of it next to impossible, but I was surprised to see one of those cheap standard aluminium letterboxes alongside the big sheep! Fan mail?

Day 139 - An Uncluttered Desk

There is some sort of saying that an uncluttered desk is a sign of an uncluttered mind (or something like that anyway). Well my desk is always in a clutter... mainly because in my job I never actually get to sit at my desk. Anyone who has worked with me in the past (ie - not teaching) would probably be surprised by the usual state of my desk actually. Anyway, as the nuns came in to teach Catholic scripture in my classroom today, I decided that my aim by the time they left was to have a clean desk. I almost did... (this photo was taken from a pretty favourable angle :P)

Day 138 - Relaxation Time!

At the moment, one time and place where I feel that I can actually relax is when I am having my hair done. It is the only time that I know Henry is in someone else's capable hands and I am not working. This afternoon I visited the wonderful Vanessa and I admit that I nearly fell asleep having my hair washed! So it's me time... and I also walk out feeling like I have had a makeover!

Day 137 - Check Out My Toothy Pegs!

Henry doesn't like you checking out his teeth, so it has been hard to get a photo of his new toothy grin. Ok, so I didn't get a grin - actually he looks a bit cranky, and I guess that's fair enough when you are sprouting teeth. I can see numbers 4 and 5 are about to pop so I guess there are more sleepless nights to come...

Day 136 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

We always make a point of sitting at the table to eat breakfast together these days; even Dale has breakfast now. Anyway the point is that I think it's important for Henry to eat with us. Finally last night he sat down for dinner with us. His dinner time has been gradually getting a bit later so that he can have dinner with us (we can't eat as early as 5.30!) Tonight he ate chicken strips, green beans, carrot sticks and homemade oven chips. He is becoming very dexterous! I love how when he picks up something to eat he examines both sides of it first, flipping it over in his fist or passing it hand to hand.

Day 135 - Who Does Henry Look Like?

I went and got a bunch of photos printed today; just a few recent ones to update the magnetic frames on the fridge and I also got a couple of my own baby photos printed for one of those Match the Teacher to the Baby Photo things someone will be running at our school fete.

Anyway, when I looked at my photo (the one at the top) I thought I looked a bit similar to Henry. So here we all are. Dale is in the bottom left. I think they have the same nose and I notice that Dale had Henry's current hairstyle! What do you think?

Day 134 - Welcome to the World, Kinzie!

Welcome to little Kinzie, Henry's little cousin! Kinzie was born on Thursday afternoon to Erin and Dan (Dale's brother). I think she was about 3.4kg and has lots and lots of dark hair (of which, Henry is quite jealous!).  We went over to the hospital yesterday to visit Erin, who is recovering from her caesar and we couldn't believe how tiny little Kinzie is. It's amazing what can happen over 9 months, when we compare her to where Henry is now!

Day 133 - Another Masterpiece

He clearly has talent, right? And look at how inspired he looks while painting! Seriously though, I love these little artworks that sometimes come home with Henry! I know that as with all of Jenna's artworks we will probably accumulate quite a pile of them over time, so I plan to scan them and place them in a photo book. It will be great to see how they change over time, as he becomes more aware of the process!

Day 132 - Aunty Julie's Menagerie Arrives

I know a few people having babies at the moment so I asked Aunty Julie to make me some of her little crochet animals. Three arrived in the mail today! One will be for a baby born a couple of months ago,  one on the way - and one born today in fact!

Day 131 - Our Kitchen Rules

Yep, here's Dale in the kitchen making one of the best curries we have had for a long time! Using a recipe for a thai red beef curry, he adapted it to a simple mussaman curry adding peanut butter and potatoes. It was fantastic. I always joke that if Dale went on My Kitchen Rules, he would be like the guy who sat rocking in the corner in series one, but secretly he's pretty good in the kitchen :-)

Day 130 - A Chill in the Air

I just want to take my new school heater home! All of the heaters in our school were replaced during the school holidays because of the whole unflued heaters being slightly unhealthy thing... As you can see in the picture, the room was only 9 degrees this morning, before I switched it on... 10 minutes later (if that) and all was good!

Day 129 - Caught In The Act!

Uh oh - I can see some baby proofing is going to have to happen very soon, if we want to be able to save any of our stuff! Caught pulling DVDs off the shelf for a second time, Henry can't decide between Thumbelina, Titanic or Juno. At least he hasn't pulled out the board games yet.  I'm always telling him that he is lucky he's cute!

Day 128 - First Mothers Day

I would love to have posted a photo of Henry and myself (since it is Mothers Day), but this blog is supposed to be photos that I have taken myself. Regardless, this is such a lovely photo too! Yes I did take this one, using the timer on the camera. I have been wanting to try out my newish camera for some proper family pics, particularly since Autumn has hit Canberra and finally we did, this afternoon on what must have been the coldest Autumn afternoon ever, to be outside! After taking a couple of hundred photos in the piles of leaves we took refuge in the Portrait Gallery (unfortunately it was too late to get coffee in their coffee shop, but at least it was warm). I will post some more pics on my other blog, including some taken in the gallery afterwards. Happy Mothers Day!

Day 127 - And He's Off and Racing!

Yes it's official! Henry is officially crawling as of today... electrical cords, remote controls, DVDs and anything else in his path is at risk!  I love the look of concentration in this photo; he's been trying so hard for weeks and now he can finally do it!

Day 126 - Henry's First Mothers Day Craft

Awww... Henry's first ever handmade present for me! I have to say that I am a little bit excited about my first Mothers Day. This one will be straight to the memories box!

Day 125 - Well Hello Kitty!

I raced over to the Hyperdome this afternoon after school hoping to get Mum's mothers day present into the mail (no such luck) and while I was there I had a little look in one of those $2 type stalls. Not a shop, but more like a little market set up in the middle of the centre. I was very pleased to find some great $3 cushion covers as well as... wait for it... Hello Kitty Uno. Now I just have to keep it hidden from Jenna. She likes Uno so much that she almost killed it for the rest of us!

Day 124 - Skype with Frannie and Sammie!

Finally Frances and I managed to coordinate a time to skype when both bubs were awake (much easier now that Daylight Savings is over with it only being a half hour time difference between here at the *other* Territory!)

It was great to finally see Samantha for the first time and of course my dear friend Fran. It has been such a long time since we have seen each other, and now that she lives in N.T it is much harder than when she was in Melbourne. Another reason I love to use skype!

Day 123 - Everything Goes Better With Chocolate

It was a night of marking tonight and I am sad to say that I am almost out of Easter chocolate! I somehow stumbled across a pile of things that had missed being marked but I have to say that chocolate helps :P

Day 122 - Mushroom and Bacon Penne with Sage

I made this for dinner tonight and it was pretty good! First I fried some sage leaves from the garden until crispy, then I sauted the bacon and mushrooms in the same pan, added it to cooked penne and drizzled with olive oil and lemon, before topping it with parmesan. A quick meal I will have to remember! Usually when I make something up, I have no chance of remembering how what I put into it and I never  make it again!

Day 121 - Off to the Fair

It was a beautiful day out at the Michelago May Fair today; we took Mum and Dad out for a look and as I had never been out that way before I was quite impressed by the crowd for such a tiny village town. We had a look around, bought some daffodil bulbs, showed Henry the animals and stopped for some morning tea. Henry bopped along to the band playing while we ate! We were invited into the old disused train station there for a look around afterwards also.