Christmas and a new year....

Well, Christmas has come and gone for another year....thank goodness. I don't think I coped very well with it this year, despite having most things organised well in advance.

Here are some pics of the kids on xmas day, and one of Mick, Ann (SIL) and Marjorie (MIL) at Mum's place for Xmas Dinner.

A summary of this year:

Harry was assessed by the School Counsellor this year and returned a result which was kind of expected, but still came as a huge shock for me. He has an IQ which is considered "Superior Intelligence". We have suspected this for quite some time, since his Pre-school teacher approached us when he was three about his ability with mathematics and science. This year he was given extended work in Mathematics and English, at Grade 3 level, to try to keep him interested at School. We are still in discussions about whether we will eventually accelerate him. Socially, I think he has improved a little bit, but he doesn't really have "friends" at school that he plays with everyday. Everybody speaks to him, but he doesn't really play with anyone. He has friends that he plays with away from school, but unfortunately his closest friend Shayne-Marie is moving away next year.

Charlie finished his last year of Pre-school and will start Kindergarten in January. He has matured greatly this year. He is not as clingy or whingy as he was at the beginning of the year. He made a few friends at Pre, but I think that he will find a few close friends at Kindy, that he will stay close to. He has grown heaps this year too. He is just 5 cm shorter than Harry and his feet are bigger now. He is a bigger boy overall and I think that by the time they reach puberty Charlie will have past Harry in weight and height.

Matilda has grown up a lot this year, from a little 18month old toddler, to a 2.5 year old child. She speaks really clearly now and can understand simple questions. She is able to convey her annoyance at her brothers for their interference in her play, or give them a good whack if they hurt her, and her tantrums, although few and far between, are legendary. Never have I known a child with such a strong will. She definitely takes after my Mum. We went to the shops this morning to buy a potty, because she has begun to take her nappy off all the time......and, of course, she has now decided that she is not going to sit on it, so I guess the nappies will have to go back on again.

This year feels a little bit blank for me. I don't feel as though I have achieved anything this year at all. It feels like a filler year, but unfortunately I won't get it back. Tuesday will be the start of a very different year. A year of a little more freedom to do some of the tings that I have always wanted to do. I have come to realise that things probably won't turn out the way I always thought they would, and so I am going to have to go out there and try new things to decide if I am willing to settle for what I have or if I am going to make some major change to bring about the kind of life I will be happy with.

I am not happy. There I said it. If Mum and Kyle read this I want you to not be concerned, because I know that I am the only one who can change it and it may not be the end of things but a different beginning. I know I am being cryptic, but I have plans and ideas and if they work out..then good, but if they don't I know what I need to do about it.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone.