Orientation

I did my second week of orientation for my new role next year - part-time IGCSE coordinator.  I am excited to be closer to high school than I have been for a few years!  I am also pleased to be doing something with IGCSE again.  I think it will be a good fit as it is lots of varied little bits that need managing and communicating, so there's very little opportunity for it to get tedious!  I do think I will have to be disciplined though at setting boundaries for how much I do as I don't want it to interfere with my "real" life : )

Contented

I was in the middle of a very vivid dream, having fallen back asleep after Steve left, and was woken rather abruptly by Joshua and Naomi.  They wanted me to get up right away but I was having a hard time coming round!  Josh was so excited about going to "school".  (Despite having told me yesterday that he didn't want to go today as it was boring!) This is his final session until he starts for real in August.  They have made the programme 5 days a week next year (it is currently only 4) so it will be full on for him but I think he's ready.  I'm so glad we did not push him this year but let him have the extra time to mature and learn enough to find the idea of learning more at school interesting.
Naomi and I had a pleasant day.  We went swimming at 8:15 - the pool was already lovely and warm and as I lay on my back in the water looking up at the bright blue sky and puffy clouds I said a thank-you prayer to God for being here and spared a thought for those in a British spring!
Then we did our food shopping then we picked up Naomi's friend so she had a playmate until we went to pick the children up from school.  They played much more quietly than Josh and Naomi play!!  They played with the cooking things and the doll's house and had a lovely time.

Dressing Priorities

We went swimming this afternoon while Steve was playing football.  Naomi and Rose had friends there so they were happy playing with them but I was Josh's playmate.  We had lots of fun.  I can't believe how much he has progressed in his confidence in the water.  He is trying to get to the bottom of the deep end of the pool - and getting pretty close.
When we were getting dressed after swimming, Naomi was taking her time (nothing new there!) so I tried to chivvy her along.  The other lady in the changing rooms chuckled with me as Naomi decided that the most important item to put on first was her pair of pink sunglasses!!

Fiddler

Tonight we got to see this year's production: Fiddler on the Roof.  It was superb - as they often are.  I loved the set - it was simple but effective.  Rose had said she wanted to go "to the show on the roof" but we thought it was too long - it didn't finish till 10:20, and after having a sleepover last night that didn't involve a full night's sleep, there was no way she could have managed.  She lost interest in going anyway once she realised it was not staged "on the roof". : )

Goggles-boy

Joshua decided he had to wear the goggles he found under the stairs (where we store our swimming toys - we have lots of them!!) today.  His world became lurid green!  He wore them to pre-school, at different times they were on his eyes, on his forehead or he carried them in his hands.  The other kids thought it was cool!  He kept telling everyone he looked a bit like a superhero.  It was very funny.  But the funniest thing was they broke right before we went home.

One of the dads comes and helps out at pre-school as part of the parent rotation.  The boys in particular love this. When we went down to the playground for their playtime, Josh shouted "It's time for tag with Mister Tom", the boys all cheered and they ended up running around the playground with him for the half hour we were down there.  By the end of the 30 minutes, almost every child had joined in.

Week 3

Josh has progressed to going up with the car pool ride to pre-K.  I think Naomi is actually finding the day more exhausting than Joshua!  Josh has one session left of pre-K.  I think he has really enjoyed it.  Last week he told me he did "nothing but work!  Work, work, work!"  When we asked him what work, he said, "nothing".  Typical!

Switching it Up

My kids decided to change room arrangements at 5:30 this morning!!  They were trying to do it quietly so as not to disturb us but that wasn't too successful!  When I finally got myself up to check what they were doing, Rose and Joshua were halfway through putting Rose's clothes in Josh's room and they had moved all of Naomi's clothes to the other bedroom.  They did get bored of moving everything and left Rose's clothes on the floor, but finished it off when we got home from Church.  Josh had swapped beds too.

Daddy Day

After breakfast the kids decided to "style" Steve's hair.  Josh had the spray, Rose had the comb and Naomi was giving him a back massage ("cos that's what hairdressers do, too").  Josh tried to convince Naomi to be the scissors but she refused.

Then while I was out, they painted some stones into hedgehogs.

The fun of having Steve home for the day!

Naomi's Day

Naomi and I had some cool one-on-one time today.  Josh walked straight into class again and we went up to the library to choose some books.  After that we ran some errands and then went swimming.  It was only 8:30 and the pool was already warm!
We had lunch out at the mall, did a bit of shopping then came home. Naomi fell asleep in the car so we both had a nap on our bed and got up ready for Rose and Josh to arrive back from school.
It's funny getting used to being just the two of us but it has made me realise how little "special"attention our youngest has probably had.  It's a good thing for her.

Sports Day

I don't know what "Field Day" conjures up for you but it refers to the "field" events in Athletics, hence Sports Day in our parlance.  It was split into 3 sessions and Rose's class was in the first session.  I went to watch - Naomi and Josh started watching with me but were more than happy to go off to pre-school when it was time!  Then I stayed and helped time the running races in the other 2 sessions.

The first session was rainy and it was very nice as, although it made the humidity worse, it was a little cooler than when it burned off and by the end of the day I was reminded of the line in "Fools Rush In" - "..the white people are burning".  My face and arms were glowing!!

I also managed to get my mobile phone wet and my shoes fell apart through the day, but it was a lot of fun.

Result!

It's been a productive morning!  We decided to clear out the playroom in an attempt to find the remote control that has been missing for a week.  Plus there is always the bonus of clearing out some toys that the kids don't play with.  We hadn't started very long - but the kids were already bored and were playing while Steve and I did the grunt work - when we discovered the pesky mouse and more babies.  They had made a nest behind the stuffed toys box.  The young mice (bigger than the ones we found before) were easy to catch but we ended up chasing the mother around the kitchen for a while till we finally cornered it behind the cooker.  Steve managed to pin it blind, and we killed it.  Hopefully that is the last of the rodents.
Meanwhile, Kate arrived bearing my new camera.  I'm so excited.  I have missed having it.  I have even gone against character and read the manuals online so that I had a working knowledge when it arrived!!
We did get the playroom tidy and cleared out some toys.  We didn't find the remote, though!
However, when Steve was tidying the shoes, he found the remote in one of the shoes.
Aahhhh.  A satisfying morning.

Police Report

Reckless Imprudence leading to Physical Injury.  That was the title of the police report on my accident. While I was glad to get it, collect my license and see the back of it, Steve thought this was highly amusing and wanted it blogged!  He wonders how "reckless" and "imprudence" go together, as they suggest different things to us.
Our insurance company seems willing to cover the costs of the hospital bills so that is good.

Admiring Circle

This is Joshua at preschool on Tuesday.  He sat at this table and immediately a flock of girls sat by him (and Lucas).  His friend said, "Joshua, don't sit there. It's a girls' table.  Sit on the boy's table."  (So funny how they already like to segregate themselves at this age!)  Joshua replied, with great aplomb, "It's not a girl's table, it's everybody's table."
I had a little chuckle.

And then there were 2

Josh was a little bit anxious yesterday about attending pre-K today.  Not that he expressed that anxiety, but he did get very emotional about a silly incident several times during the day. Although it really helped having a "field trip" from preschool to the Kinder room.  The teacher asked them if they were excited about joining her for pre-K and they all said "Yes" loudly - apart from Josh who didn't look very sure!  The 7 kids moving up came back excited and full of what they would be doing there.
Imagine my surprise today, then, when we arrived at school today and he stowed his backpack in his cubby hole and disappeared straight into the classroom without so much as a goodbye! I, on the other hand, had a big knot in my stomach : )
Naomi and I were a little bit unsure what to do with ourselves but Naomi settled into a groove of "let's do .... mummy".  It's very quiet with just the two of us!

Growing Up

I have been thinking about how Naomi is going to miss Joshua when he goes to school but it never really occurred to me that Josh might miss her.  Until he was trying to persuade her not to come shopping with me this morning.  His argument: "I'm going to school soon and we won't be able to play together anymore."  Made me pause for thought.
Naomi's theology is definitely developing.  When we were out shopping (we all three did end up going!) Josh said he was going to tie me up with the chain at the till.  Naomi said, "Don't do that, it's not nice. Jesus wants us to be nice".  I have to admit I was a little put out that love for me didn't figure in the equation but I guess you can't have everything!

Easter Sunday

On the way to Church we were listening to an Easter cantata and so we ended up discussing various parts of the Easter events.  I've got used to Rose and Joshua being able to comment on biblical things but Naomi joined in today and was adding details (Jesus was put "in a rock after His death") about what happened over Easter.  It did my heart good and I'm sure it made God smile too.
I love our church.  I love the fact that we don't have to do things in just one tradition. (Never thought I would say that!!) Today the service included 2 children being dedicated, a child baptism and adult baptisms.  Instead of our typical "contemporary" singing we had the Manila Symphony Orchestra and the Church choir (who normally lead the second service).  Rose and Joshua were involved in dressing the cross with flowers at the beginning of the service.
I have had a special Easter.

Doing the mum thing

We went swimming this afternoon. We were meeting Steve there and he forgot to put his swimming stuff out before we left but I realised so I had put some in for him.  I had got the kids ready to go, made sure they had clothes to change into and put sunscreen on them.  When I went to get changed, I realised I had not put anything in for me to swim in!  I knew I needed to take it off the line before we left and forgot to do it in the busyness of getting everyone else ready!  Thankfully, I had brought my book on the off-chance I got to read so I was pretty happy - except hot.  I also did not remember to put clothes in for Steve to change into after swimming so he had to drive home in his shorts. : )
We went to see "Clash of the Titans" tonight.  I remember when the first one came out when I was a kid.  I watched it at our neighbours' house and it was so amazing.  Those special effects!!  Of course, not it doesn't seem so hot on the special effects but it was still better than the one we saw last night! And it was in 3D which we did not realise so we paid more to see it and it added nothing to the film!

Good Friday

It's sad that so much of Easter in this country focuses more on the death of Jesus.  I mean it's called Good Friday for a reason - that even though Jesus died, we have the hope of the Resurrection on Sunday.  I was very moved as I shared a reading of the George Herbert poem "The Sacrifice". It brought a freshness to the  sacrifice Father and Son made and reminded me of the purposefulness of God's plan from Creation through  Easter and now being played out till Jesus comes again.  Talk about hope!  It gives me tingles thinking about it.

Start of the Long Weekend

We have these next 4 days off school for Easter.  Yep!  No two weeks Easter holiday for us, no such thing as Easter Monday here.  But hey, I'll take what we get.  It's probably a blessing in disguise because Easter often coincides with the Filipino summer school holidays so it is expensive to go away anyway!
And what greater pleasure than the chance to spend time with friends?
I went to Taytay fabric market with Bonnie this morning and we found a few places open and I got plenty of material.  This evening we did sleepover for the kids and games again.  So much fun.
And those lucky teachers didn't even have to suffer April Fool's Day!