Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

It’s two minutes to midnight as I write this.

We have a bench to buffet on. Tables to eat off, and across 90% of the floor you won’t fall over anything. You go into Miss Moo’s room or ours and all bets are off. The big kids bedroom is spotless. But if you want to sit on the lounge with a coffee after lunch, well, I might just have to work on that in the morning.

The washing is collated, sorted and almost in some sort of priority order for completion. And I’ve managed 3 loads tonight, leaving a mere 5 or 6 to get me back on top of it all. I would like to get the vast majority of it done tomorrow so I can spend my “child-free” (at least big kid free) Monday packing clothes for our trip, and Tuesday other stuff for our trip. Wednesday will be busy with other things I need to do before I go (as in, for other people) and Thursday M&M has her school orientation, and then Friday we’re away.

I am excited and terrified at the same time. At least if I forget something I can get Hubby to bring it down with him.

But on that note, I’m off to bed, before I write something completely incomprehensible. Heh, at least I can still spell big wrods.

So little time.

Seriously

I need to clean out Miss Moo’s room and make room for Dad, clean out the big girls room and make room for bunk beds. I need to clean out our bedroom and make room for… well… nothing really, except the potential house-sitters. The bathrooms need cleaning. The living areas and kitchen are a mes. Laundry is overloaded and behind.

I am expecting at least 16, and potentially 25 people for lunch on Sunday, and I still have gifts to organise (although I have organsed everyone to bring something or other).

I have a Christmas letter to write, cards to send, presents for the family to organise, and secret santa shopping.

And we leave in…. six days. Sigh.

And clearly I’m doing the only thing I know how to do when I have too much to do. Nothing. I’m paralysed with feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating.

It doesn’t help it’s been 35-36 degrees every day this week, and we’ve spent every evening in the neighbours pool until 7:30.

Still, I think I need to start with a list.

Or a skip.

I love blogging, and let me tell you why.

Not long ago, I noticed Hubby wasn’t keeping up to date with my blog. I found this completely inexcusable, so I signed him up as an email subscriber (which you can do in the sidebar there ->) so every day he would recieve updates via email.

On Monday night this had completely unintended, unexpected, but delightful consequences.

We have a wonderful neighbour, and she has a pool. Most afternoons after work she has a swim, and as Hubby and her often arrive home at the same time, she invites the big kids around to swim with her.  Sometimes, Hubby or I will go with them depending on how Miss Moo is feeling.

Monday night I decided I might like a swim, and so I headed over with the girls.

For over an hour and a half. Woops! It was after 7pm when we got home.

But when we did, oh my, the smell was delicious. See, I had written my Menu Plan Monday post, which was automatically emailed to Hubby’s computer. When he sat down to check his email, there he had the menu plan for the week. Do you see where this is going? He had looked at the menu plan in the email, and cooked dinner!

Now I know why I signed him up.

Isn’t technology wonderful?

Well, another year of uni that is. Only 4 more to go.

I stayed up late Sunday night/Monday morning to get my last bits finished. It’s not due until today but I had had enough. There were so many drama’s to do with the last subject that I am not really too fussed on what I get now, as long as I pass (and considering I need 5/40 to pass I think my chances are pretty good).

The drama’s all started, I suspect, when the course co-ordinator gave herself 28 days to mark and return the previous assignment. The structure of assessment for this course was layered ie:

1st assignment 10%

2nd assignment 30%

3rd assignmenr 40%

With 20% for in class participation. The idea being that we would build on the feedback from each assignment in completing the next one, and each one was progressively longer, worth more, and more difficult. The first assignment was 500 words and an outline, for which I recieved 8/10, and as that was the top mark in the class, I felt pretty good about it. When I completed my second assignment I wasn’t so sure, so was looking forward to some feedback.

Apparently they were posted on Thursday. From Sydney. 2,500km away. A minimum of 3 days to get here.

I emailed the co-ordinator on Thursday night asking for my mark and any feedback she could give me to assist me to complete the assignment. No response was forthcoming.

On Friday I found out why - she was rushed to hospital Thursday night. I haven’t heard any reports on her progress but I hope she’s doing well.

I stalked patiently waited for the senior tutor to return my calls during the day, to discover I had recieved a mark of 19/30, but as he hadn’t marked any papers, much less laid eyes on mine, he couldn’t give me much in the way of feedback - so I was none the wiser, apart from the fact something I did in the second assignment clearly wasn’t right. Unfortunately I had no idea what that was.

So I decided to work with what I had. I worked hard over the weekend to get it done by Monday and give me time to get some other things done around the house and while I had some extra daycare days booked up my sleeves.

But that, in a nutshell, is the drama of this last assignment, and why, just now, I couldn’t care less what I got. I’m sure when my assignment arrives tomorrow or Thursday I will be very upset because despite changing the way I answered the question and my structure I am positive I repeated the same mistakes that I didn’t have a chance to correct.

Needless to say I am drafting an email to the coordinator to air my concerns about the nature of the assessment.

Image via Flickr

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it, but very soon we’re off on “holiday”. I don’t think there will be much holidaying going on, just between you and me. I am, however, happy to be proven wrong.

Given the fact we leave in 16 days, and I only have one assignment left before the end of my study year, my attention has started turning to the fact that there will be 6 people travelling in my car, and we will be gone for a minimum of 6 weeks. With three children.

Do I take the cloth nappies? 6 weeks is a long time to buy disposables, but they’d be so much more convenient.

I have to take Miss Moo’s cot. And clothes for 4 people. How many clothes do we need? Bottles. Formula. Special cups. Toys. Christmas presents. Dresses. Shoes.

I’m only slightly starting to stress. Mostly because I don’t have list.

Can you help me write a list? What do you need to take on a 6 week trip with 3 kids?

Really, I am. I have my head down and bottom up getting these take home exams finished. I have nearly finished the first one (should be done this morning) and plan on getting a good start on the second one later today.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not easily distracted.

Yesterday I responded to a request for photos of where I live by starting a flickr account. I know, I’m so terribly behind the times.

Anyway, there’s not much there yet, but I’m slowly adding pictures from around this beautiful part of the country.

So without further ado, here is the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinj/

And I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to make you jealous.

Well, this week might be a little quieter as far as running around goes, but I certainly have lots to keep me busy.

Monday

Monday the big girls are off to daycare, while I work furiously on my take home exams. I have two.

Tuesday

A repeat of Monday

Wednesday

The big girls at daycare again, my first take home exam is due, and a meeting at night.

Thursday

All the girls are home. Weather pending I’m planning a trip to the park to get me out of the house and away from the computer

Friday

Friday all the kids are off to visit the in-laws. I plan to use this time to sort out the guts of my second take home exam. All the research and outlining while I can’t be distracted.

Saturday and Sunday

I plan on these days being catch up day. Catch up with the family, the house, the washing, the internet.  And in that order.

What have you got on this week?