Blessings and Challenges

Today had definitely had its ups and downs. I've been blessed by:

• see Eric run his hardest in the 100 m and 60m hurdles in a the junior pentathlon
• seeing Eric thoroughly immersed in reading
• great company and conversation at my social knitting group this afternoon
• Anthony tidying up the living area and vacuuming to give me a head start on the housework for the night
• Scribing a letter for Daniel to his new pen friend in California

However there are also some challenges:

• A very strained conversation about my work (or lack thereof) and how we can manage just on one much smaller income
• The great unwillingness and mini tantrums being thrown by one son whenever he is asked to help out with anything.
• Piles of laundry everywhere that must be dealt with before Thursday (when I'm leaving on a jet plane, la la la la la la la la)

Blessings

A friend wrote on her blog today about things that she is thankful for or "blessings" and she was able to add some photos. What a great idea! This has inspired me to take more photos of everyday things and to "count my blessings" at the end of the day especially on a day like today when not much has gone right!
So no photos today because it is 10:27pm as I write this (after a Little Athletics meeting that ran LATE) but the following is what I am grateful for tonight:

• My sore left arm because it means I've been vaccinated and am now safe from swine flu
• The little boy curled up on the bed behind me watching his favourite Scooby Doo cartoons - his Prep class did an assembly item today about all the LetterLand characters they have learned this year and it was excellent!
• The wonderful teacher that Prep boy has this year.
• The other, almost 9 year old boy who has already passed out in his own bed and his wonderful love for reading. He's up to the 4th book in the Harry Potter series and just can't put it down. He was in the athletics clubhouse reading when it was time for his 400m tonight!
• The Wii Fit because it meant I could squeeze in 15 minutes of exercise this afternoon even though I didn't make it to the gym.
• The help that I get with recording at Little Athletics. I was really frazzled when I got there tonight because we were running late, I've mislaid the age patches that I'd ordered in the mail and the boys couldn't find their gear to put on but once I'd been there for about half an hour and had a chat to few people, registered some new athletes and started recording sprint times everything felt much better.
  

A Slow Week

I think the highlights of this week were mainly today!
(Aside from the super awesome Gold Class movie experience on Wednesday night!) We had a slow sort of week for the second week of the school holidays, pottering around the house and not getting much done at all. But in brighter news I have re-discovered my knitting mojo and I've been knitting up a storm in order to finish my Noro patchwork top.
This morning I did a knitting class at Threads and More and learned about the fine of art of putting knitting pieces together. I've sewn up 5 out of 14 sections of one side of the top and I've got 2 1/2 sections to finish knitting before I can assemble the second side. The pieces go every which way as they are joined together so it makes an interesting effect. It would take one good knitting night to get the knitting finished but for the sewing and weaving in of loose ends I'll need some time where I can sit at a table. If I don't get much work this week who knows what could happen! So knitting class was a highlight and tomorrow I'm going to a social knitting group where I might be finishing my top or starting a face washer (wash cloth) knitted in scrumptious cotton yard in teal and cream. That will be the first highlight of next week.
The other high point was this afternoon's Little Athletics meeting which was my first as Chief Recorder in addition to being Registrar. I was kept very busy all afternoon and we got nearly everything right. I just forgot to write times on one lot of 800m tickets but they'll live. One of the new parents was my assistant and we had a great time chatting in between recording times and registering people. I have met some of the nicest people I know at Little Athletics. The boys did alright at their events but they are still getting into the swing of things for the new season. E did his very first 800m this afternoon and ran 3:58.3 min which puts him at red level which is the second achievement level for his age group. I think he goes well over a long distance and if I were to attempt anything similar I'd need an ambulance to be called!

The Week That Was

I seem to have done a lot of "tail chasing" this week. My motivation levels are really up and down so I seem to have tackled small parts of many tasks without getting a whole lot done. So I've done part of the washing. I've been to the gym only once and I planned and cooked meals for part of the week. I feel a bit guilty about this because I certainly don't have work to get in the way of me getting things done at home but everyone keeps telling me that it will take time to establish a routine.
On Wednesday I went to a social Knitters group at Threads and More. It seems to be a very social group and I got a lot of knitting done. I also got a lot of knitting done last night while I watcher Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with Eric (who has read the book!). I went to a Trivia Night at school on Friday night where I sat at the Prep parents table. We didn't do particularly well at the trivia but we certainly had a good time.
The biggest task was probably the Little Athletics Sign-On day yesterday where we signed up 77 athletes which is a bit down on last year's numbers but still promising. I was much less stressed this year as I know the registrar job now and I had spent a lot of time getting prepared. Eric came and helped as a "model" for the uniform and to hand out the extra water bottles and ticket books for families with more than one child. He was very useful to have around so I'm hoping to persuade him to do it all again next week when we are likely to be even busier.
We packed about 100 goodie bags to give out at the sign on yesterday and today I went back for a Little A's working bee where I packed about 100 more. It is good to have all of that "stuff" out of my house after only a week. 300 water bottles take up a LOT of room.
My goals for the coming week involve exercise - there's no reason why I can't go to the gym 6 days a week as it is only a 30 minute session and cooking - I've planned meals, something to bake and a salad that I can make and eat over a few days. I hope to be reporting in with some more progress next week!