Aprill {life & family in the Southern Highlands}

Ohhh such a backlog. So as you can see from the title, the school holidays are over and school has been back for 3 days. Fraser started year 3 at a new school this year and so we had a few tears on Monday. After being introduced to a few other year 3 boys, by another mother who was there on Monday morning, he has been playing with them and seems to have settled in ok.

The week of camping we had planned to go up until the day before school went back ended up being a bit of a disaster. Except for the first day, it rained non-stop. There were some good things: Fraser enjoyed riding his bike around and playing cricket with some other kids and Lincoln enjoyed playing with the younger ones; Lincoln and I had a nice time at Seven Mile Beach; and the boys had plenty of swimming time in the pool at the camping ground. But overall, it wasn’t that much fun. The rain started pooling on the top of the tent and things were getting damp. So, we packed up and came home on Australia Day.

Let’s just face it; we’re cabin people.

Before I get started, I just wanted to point you back to this post. Amanda asked me for a how-to for making the shell curtain, so I’ve added some commentary in the comments.

So, what have you been doing the past week? I’ve had the whole week off, thanks to our parents taking the kids since last Sunday. Each kid went to one set of grandparents and they swapped over half way through. They enjoyed their full-time attention, though Lincoln did say how much he missed his big brother. It was lovely seeing them reunite today. Fraser ran up and gave Lincoln a great big hug.

Anyway, they both had a nice break. Fraser went fishing, enjoyed the company of my uncle’s dogs, saw The Muppets again, played mini-golf  and went bowling. Lincoln had a couple of play dates, played mini-golf, went to the park, and played “army men” and watched some new DVDs.

As for me, I enjoyed the blissful silence. Matt left for nerd camp last Tuesday so it’s been just me, on my own, for six whole days. SIX! I crafted, I rearranged Lincoln’s room, I went to Sydney for a meeting and a TV show taping, I went to the gym a couple of times, and I worked on preparing a presentation for a seminar that’s coming up in March. I stayed up really late, slept in a little bit, and watched West Wing eps. I went to the Bowral markets and the Old Pot Factory at Braemar. I bought this kangaroo that was on sale.

It was heaven. The quiet obviously did my brain some good because it kept trying to work when I was ready for sleep.

But tomorrow we’re all back on deck. The boys are back today but tomorrow Matt comes home. Fraser has swimming lessons this week, Lincoln goes back to pre-school on Wednesday and next week we’re off camping.

I just time travelled back to January 2011 and my first post for last year was about jettisoning the stuff we don’t need—literally and mentally.

It seems appropriate to continue the theme by joining in on Debra’s 52 Weeks to Simplify Your Life. This is week 1′s post, which I should have posted last week but am a bit late.

Week #1 Challenge: Create a list of everything that went “right” in 2011

So, yeah, there was a bunch of stuff. And 2012 is going to be even BETTER. (But more on that later.)

• We sold the farm, which we’d been trying to sell for ages. I was disappointed at the price we sold for but…
• We bought our current house for a bargain price. It’s the worst house in the best street, but it’s got the most fabulous yard and is so quiet and private.
• I had the opportunity to travel solo to Perth to attend a conference.
• I won an award at the conference.
• I’ve found myself with new career options as a result, which I’m really excited about.
• I got a new car, finally.
• The boys are both flourishing, socially, and Fraser is still doing well at school.
• We had a fabulous European holiday, thanks to my parents and my Nana’s inheritance. (Thank you, Nana!)
• Matt and I reached our ten year anniversary, and to borrow a lyric from The Beatles, it’s getting better all the time.
• I got a tattoo.

If you feel you could simplify your life, click on the badge over there –> and join in. I’m not finding life messy or complicated, but January is always a great time to take stock of where things are at.