He's bright, he's bored, they're challenged.

The teachers are lovely. One is slightly less lovely than the others and it has nothing to do with appearances. She came to the meeting unprepared, I think this might be a habit.

I was gracious and direct with a bit of sugar to help things along.

The child has straight A's. There are kids that are failing, but not him. Yes he is a bit like the pied-piper of talking, he starts, they follow and then mayhem. I am all for the decrease in talking during class time. I told them, boy and teachers. If the kid completes his work and double checks it and you have not gotten the challenging work out yet, well frankly sounds like a personal problem to me, we are in week seven - crack that challenging work out.

No I have not had him tested. They'd like me to test him. I am not a fan. I get the impression, everybody wants to test their kid. I don't, if he's clever, great, give him more work, make his brain all kind of wrinkled, I don't need to label him in order for the public school system to educate him.

So we both survived the meeting. He was much more subdues this evening, and a little contemplative. That is all I am asking for. He is still a child.
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Things we have learned in our new house.

The neighbours dog has a rubbish gut, she does not like broccoli.

Australian cats are baffled by squirrels. Squirrels will yell at cats regardless of their nationality. No matter how much a cat paws at the window, squirrels will not come over and say hello.

If the dishwasher hose comes disconnected from the rubbish disposal under the sink while the dishwaser is running, there is enough water to mop the entire living areas of the house. This is not the ideal way to mop floors.

Wood laminate floors are very slippy. If you run in your socks and then skid you can make a slide approximately 10-12 ft. Timber doorframes are HARD. If you hit a timber doorframe while performing a slide it is both painful and embarrassing. Hitting a doorframe during a slide does not give you a concussion, but it might feel like one.

Glass jars will break on the concrete floor of the garage even if you are doing a good deed when you drop it.

Burned popcorn does not make the smoke detector go off, toast stuck in the toaster does.

It takes nearly two hours to retrain the electric garage door opener to a new keyless entry remote and a built it car remote. Retraining garage door openers might encourage someone to drink heavily or give them an eye twitch. Or both.

When it is nighttime and all the lights are out, it is good to remember the location of the light you just turned off, NO ambient light filters into the new house.

Cheers.

morning surliness.

what is so difficult about greeting the day?

Wake up, feed the belly - it can't possibly be the honey nut cheerios that are making you crabby, there's nothing in them. Does the task of making your bed so drain you that you no longer have the energy to be kind to those around you or is the cleaning of your teeth that sent you over the edge? Possibly I think it was the gentle reminder that it would be best for YOU in the long run if you were to try and talk slightly less during class each day, even if said class is boooooring. I can remind you for many reasons, the topmost being I know and you do not, just how much you are talking in class each day. For starters, you do not think about it, you are 11, it is not on the radar, it is not shaped like a ball so it does not thrill your mind to ponder it. I have spies, as well as being all knowing with regard to your life, I chat with those whom attend the educational institution with you and tactfully inquire without their knowledge about your behavior. Hey when you are a single mum you have to be clever, I am outnumbered. The other reason for the reminder and the inquiry... I know I have a meeting scheduled for Thursday with your science instructor, at her request. She thinks you talk tooo much. You think she is dull as a fence post out in the middle of the bush, I know and after the parent 'Meet the Teachers' night in the second week of school, I agree with you. So I will meet with the queeniness of dulliness, and you WILL have to chat less in class, and I will have to graciously remind said teacher that Grade 6 science is the year where you start doing really cool experiments and practical learning is much better than Charlie Brown's droning teacher. All will be well.

So wake up, love the new day, it is full of adventures yet had!

At times it makes me crazy.

I whinge about it. They break all the time. It is tired and crabby like a disfunctional teenager, occassionally just deciding on a whim life is just too hard and it willfully, or so it seems, chooses not to function properly. It runs too slow, misplaces important items -never to return them, manipulates important files so that they can never be sent in any format, and periodically just shuts down whether in the middle of something or not.

But really, secretly, I LOVE IT.

My computer. I NEVER ever could have survived an international move without it. Much less two.

Tonight modern technology has once again brought that goofy happy grin to my face. After, yes it has been two months, without our own computer with a broadband connection, we are once again IN THE BUILDING! Woowaw. I feel I should run and pop my pretty heels on just to type. The computer arrived via UPS, the poor cable guy came over yesterday to drop a new line in -yes I want the broadband on that wall- it was less than perfect, he ended up calling two of his mates to come a help him. I like the texturing on the wall, honestly I had no idea it would be so difficult. So he spent a large portion of the 4 hours he was here in the attic. Truely not my fault, no matter which wall I wanted the broadband on, he was going to be in the attic. Cableguy also delivered my cable connection - we now have soccer. Woo-hoo! The boys have watched part of two English Premiership matches today alone, they also attended school and did their homework, chatted online and attended soccer training. So last night I installed the software so we could chat with folks, and then I felt I must test it out and make sure it was working alright - you know just so the kids wouldn't get frustrated when they tried to talk to their mates today. I was testing it out til way on up in the morning ... it was a decent hour in Australia, unfortunately that is not the time zone we're living in, so I was very tired today at work, and at the shops. They say never buy groceries on an empty stomach, I think I might ammend that for our family.... never shop on a tired brain. I think we might just be eating waffles, risotto and fruit for the rest of this week. I have no idea what ended up in the trolley. Jam I think, you can put it with lots of stuff and make a meal right?

So anyway. Technology makes me happy. I am exhausted, however, tonight, due to modern advances, I clicked a button on the msn chat, and talked with my English friend who lives in Australia for free. A little Creative microphone& webcam, Dell's lovely shiny silver speakers that arrived with a woofer (who knew?) And it sounded like we were just right there beside each other. I could close my eyes and pretend we were going for our Friday walk through Toohey forest, and talking over the week's happenings and life and what was thrown at us that week.

Once again I am reminded that while sometimes I whinge and grump and try and give my cranky away over the blasted computer, today it has made me smile a little goofy for quite a little bit.

Why the bloddy trigger trombone?!

Hundreds of years people have been getting by just fine.

But not now.

NOW the collective of band directors in our new'home' town have decided it'd be so much better for students to learn on the trigger trombone. No mentionof the fact that they are more expensive when they tell you that your son makes a lovely sound out of the trombone, ok so they didn't say "lovely" but my still australian ears heard it that way. Everyone else on the planet seems to struggle through learning on the regular old slide trombone. That a poor child should have to slide that brass all the WAY out to hit the proper notes, who knew it could damage them so?

My thoughts.

I never thought I'd be so thankful for Ebay.

I am liking purchasing the trigger trombone for the cost of renting one for 9 months, now if I can just convince the child he only needs to walk down to the creek behind our new house to practice it each day....
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The spending spree continues.

Last Monday I bought a car. Paid in full. Insurance and all.

Last night I bought a desk top computer to go in the house that I bought today.

Tonight I bought two beds to go in the house so we have places to sleep tomorrow night.

We move in on Saturday, I am so excited. I might pop. I can't though, it'd muck up the little creek behind the house. Bites worrying about the environment.
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I pick our cats up from the arctic circle of my mum's house on saturday, hopefully they will thaw out by Halloween.