Miracle sorted, feedback, hats

1. The sevens ticket miracle has been sorted. I'm more than pleased. Now I can dress up as Marge Simpson at the Wellington rugby sevens in February with my sister and friend and join the biggest party in the world. No blogging that weekend sorry.
2. I received some excellent feedback today from my Maori language mentor about the work I'm doing in kindergarten. It was good to hear.
3. My daughter wants a new summer hat. Nothing seems right though. What do you want? Not that. What would your hat look like? More fancy. Aaaahh! The joy of daughters.

Saying goodbye, neighbours, cuddles

1. Lots of the kindergarten children are leaving this week or next for school. I'll miss them so much. Even though I only see them on Wednesdays, they become an important part of my life and I see them grow in confidence and abilities - then bam... most of them are never seen again. However, I do occasionally see them in the street - when that happens, I'm invariably treated with a giggly embarrassed smile.
2. We spent some time with some lovely neighbours tonight. My husband offered to cut down a tree on their property which was causing trouble. He's in his element with that kind of work and jumped at the chance as soon as he heard they wanted it gone. He did a marvellous job and we went over in our pyjamas to see him finishing it off. Then we all walked around the lovely garden they've created. It's surrounded on two sides by a creek and we spotted an eel curving past. Very exciting. It's the first they've seen there. It was a special time and the children each came away with an old stamp album from the depths of their garage.
3. We spend a few minutes each night giving each of our children a "cuddle time" to say good night. It's a lovely time when they tell us secrets from the day and we remember how much we enjoy being parents.

Lunch out, dinner out, family

1. I was lucky enough to be invited out for lunch with some women friends today. It was a very long lunch with plenty of laughter and delicious home cooked fare. Thanks girls! I needed that.
2. Then I was lucky enough to be invited out for dinner! My husband's parents shouted us dinner at a restaurant near their home and I devoured a wonderful Moroccan chicken dish. Mmm. I needed that too.
3. Enough about food. I feel very fortunate to be part of a large, loving family which is relatively functional as opposed to dysfunctional. Others less fortunate are all around us, and I need to remember to count my blessings.

Mind rooms, bloggers, maybe miracles

1. I worked with some students today on a short writing project using an idea I got from another blog. Blogs are great for that. It was the idea of someone else (I'll get back to you on that) about imagining your mind as a room and describing the room. The students aged 6-12 imagined their minds as various rooms and several produced great results. I can recommend it to other teachers. A fulfilling lesson.
2. I had cause to be thankful for another blogger today. I was checking out the blog of Meg4Meg who has started enjoying my word imperfect game. I noticed that a recent post of her was dedicated to how much she enjoys my word imperfect blog. Thanks Meg4Meg. I'm very pleased to be bringing joy to people far out of my normal sphere of influence. Hope the joy continues.
3. My search for rugby sevens tickets took me into uncharted begging territory today. They say it's not what you know it's who you know. Well, it's not exactly someone I know but someone my husband used to know. I phoned him with my request and he says he will do his best to try to find us some tickets through his contacts. It's not a miracle yet but it has the potential to be one. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Fun, pancakes, wind

1. Some friends from my husband's work visited today. We played soccer and cricket on our large front lawn and lots of fun was had by all. It was nice to play.
2. We had pancakes for dinner. I enjoy flouting custom every now and then and having dessert instead of a main. It's not a regular event in our household, but unusual enough to be considered a real treat.
3. I don't enjoy the wind and there's been plenty of it lately. But, on the good side, the washing gets dry. And I like that a lot.

Miracle, gala, butterflies

1. Finally, the world's kindest man has agreed to shift the swimming pool we have bought from its possy in Auckland to the whole in our lawn. It will cost us, but it's what we've been hoping for. Happiness reigns.
2. The local school had a gala this morning. I asked my son if he wanted to come with us. He said no. We were organising to go and he said "what is a gala?" When told it's like a fair, he said "Oh, I thought it was a garden centre. I'll come then." Something of a word imperfect moment I thought.
3. My daughter and I were shopping for tent pegs and also bought a swan plant so we can hopefully watch the monarch butterfly life cycle process. I haven't seen a single monarch butterfly for ages. Then, about 5 minutes after we arrived home, I looked out the window and a monarch butterfly flew straight past! Very weird.

Recycling, relaxing, hail

1. I helped the environment today by taking my recycling to the depot. I took my mum's recycling as well. It's not a big thing, I know, but it all adds up. I'm sure.
2. Now that my manuscript is in the able hands of my agent, I can finally begin to unwind and relax. It's a wonderful feeling. There are other pressures, of course, but nothing too onerous.
3. Today was the first day of summer in New Zealand. You wouldn't have known it though. It actually hailed! Hail is so exciting! The children didn't mind at all. There wasn't much and it melted fast. But it drew whoops of glee while it lasted.