Another milestone

Today was the 1st full day of pre school ... another step in the life and times of Mario. The ACT government provides for 12 hours of pre school for 4 year olds either over 2 or 3 days. We elected 2 days, Thursdays and Fridays. I know it is going to be tough with work and making sure I am on time but Mario is number 1 in all this and you do what you know you need to.

Mario had a 1/2 day yesterday followed by a full day today. He loved it!! He did some drawings and plenty of playing and I hear he gave his new teacher plenty of cuddles. He also learnt about morning tea and lunch and how you dont eat everything all at once. Note to mum ... pack an extra 1/2 sandwich for morning tea with honey or vegemite on it. A banana and a fruit bar just wasnt enough!

It was a great day and he was very tired when he got home - no more days sleeps or rests! He is ready for next week!

Happy Family Day ... and more

Last Saturday was our Happy Family Day. It was celebrated in unprecedented heat that took your breath away. I am sure we were living in a desert at the time and we managed to top over 40 degrees celcius around 4 days in a row. As we are on water restrictions due to the dryness there was relief provided which meant we could play under sprinklers and let the kids cool down.

Mario had a fantastic day and received presents .... 3 years ago we became a happy family. This year it was books - Dougal the garbage dump bear and Dougal and Bumble and the long walk home. They are such Aussie books and ones Mario can recite and we have so much fun with the characters. The books talk about "how bad things sometimes happen so good things can happen" and "just keep on trying, you can do it" and "how wonderful friends are".

We celebrated with chicken and pork adobo and sticky rice. I had planned on making halo halo but decided a good chocolate cheesecake with dollops of cream was the way to go. Yummo.

Of course this day was marred by the most horrific of days for residents of Victoria who were utterly devasted by the worst fires imaginable. So many lives lost, so many stories of despair and so many tears shed until you could shed no more. Although these fires are around 8 hours from us and we are not impacted on directly by smoke or anything you feel like part of you was affected. As usual in times like this Aussies have rallied together in typical Aussie spirit and support. It just must have been the scariest time for everyone involved. Seeing your home, your family, your community destroyed in minutes. Our hearts are with those affected.