What’s Up Wednesday

Hi friends! It’s time to link up with Shay and Sheaffer for What’s Up Wednesday! Can you believe how fast August flew by? Woah, but I’m excited because it means we’re heading into my favourite months of the year. I love September to December— the weather warms up, colourful flowers pop up everywhere, the days get longer, and there’s only one more term until the end of the school year. Right after Father’s Day this Sunday, Halloween and Christmas decorations will start appearing in the shops. Then, before we know it, the festive season will be here! Oops, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but I love this time of year so much.

Before I get too carried away, it’s time to share a little bit about what August looked like for us. Let’s go!

WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK

Monday – Chicken Schnitzel, Veggies, Baked Potato with Big Dollops of Sour Cream and Gravy

Tuesday – Burrito Bowls

Wednesday – Pasta Bolognese

Thursday – Mango Chilli Chicken with Rice

Friday – It’s a surprise for everyone, including me!

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT

Today, our preschoolers went on an excursion to a local primary school, where they were celebrating Book Week with a “Dress Up as Your Favourite Book Character” parade. The school we visited is the same one my youngest son, Sam, attended from Kindy to Year 6. He’ll be turning 20 in October, so it sure has been a while since those school days.

Anyway, while we were there, I couldn’t help but do a whole lot of reminiscing. I thought about his first day of Kindergarten with his lovely teacher, Miss Choi. I remembered the last day of Year 6 when the children from the younger grades created an arch of honour, forming a tunnel for all the students to walk through to the song the ‘Cup Song’ from Pitch Perfect. I also thought about all the school events, like the times I went to watch Sam at his own Book Week parades, and the day he won a big trophy for being Swimmer of the Year. Sigh, it all went by too fast.

WHAT I’M LOVING

The early warm spring weather! It felt more like summer than spring and not like all the other freezing cold Augusts I remember.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

In August we enjoyed some lovely evening walks

We connected with our cousins!

celebrated Steve’s birthday

and saw some pretty spring blooms appear.

WHAT I’M DREADING

Hmmmm I’m not sure if I’m dreading this-dreading sounds a bit strong. but I’m definitely not looking forward to it and I’m more than less than excited about it! Ok, maybe I am dreading it and I’m trying to convince myself I’m not. As part of the requirements for my Diploma course, I need to log a total of 80 hours of placement in a long daycare centre. This includes 40 hours working with children aged from birth to two years and 40 hours with children aged two to three years. I already work with three to five-year-olds, so that part of the requirement is already covered.

I have no choice but to do this during our preschool Term 3 school holiday break, which is in four weeks. No holidays for me. Waaaaah! I could postpone it and do it during the summer break, but I’d rather get it over and done with now, rather than have it hanging over my head. It’s like eating your veggies first as a kid so you can get to the good stuff and truly enjoy it.

The thing that really annoys me is that I’ve worked with this age group for years before landing my current preschool role, but it doesn’t count. I still have to cover these age groups during my enrollment period in the course. I’m sure I’ll enjoy working with all those babies and seeing how another children’s service operates. But sacrificing school holidays? That stings!

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT

It’s Father’s Day on Sunday, so it’ll be fun to have Luke come over for lunch. We’re staying home and ordering Steve’s choice of takeaway. We also have Cousin Connect the following weekend and then I’m going to see my cousin perform with her dance group at Canterbury RSL on the 21st of September. Oh yes and I nearly forgot, we have our staff mid-term dinner next Friday night so that will be fun.

WHAT I’M WATCHING

I discovered a new Swedish series called Meaning of Life and it’s great! If you’re in Australia, you can watch it on SBS On Demand, and I thoroughly recommend it. It strikes the perfect balance of drama and humour.

I’m also watching the latest season of The Block, where five (I think it’s five) couples compete in a massive home renovation challenge. So far, I don’t really like any of the couples much. They’re often rude to each other, and there’s so much drama and arguing. I can’t help but wonder how they feel when they watch themselves on screen once it’s aired. Cringe!

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

The wind! It’s so windy today, and I can still hear it howling as I type. As I was walking home from work this afternoon, I felt like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. At one point, the wind pushed me back so hard that I thought my AirPods and sunglasses were going to fly off! Hahaha, it was kind of funny! There was a lady standing in her front garden who watched the whole spectacle, and we ended up laughing together as I walked past.

WHAT I’M WEARING

As usual, I forgot to take any photos of what I wore in August—I’ll try harder in September! But here’s today’s fancy ensemble for our preschool excursion.

High-vis vests and all the name tags—just to make my identity ultra clear. All the staff had to wear them, hehe.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH

I’d usually say I’m looking forward to the school holidays, but not this time. So instead, I’ll say I’m looking forward to getting those placement hours done and dusted.

That’s a wrap for August 2024. I hope yours was a good one!

Happy Wednesday.