Very exciting.

Better than that even is that the Zoo Keeper & I will get 2 nights (if not the days) in Sydney without the rest of the zoo family :O!

Frenetic as usual. 

Work is great although it amazes me how some academics can let themselves get bogged down in the politics & forget about enjoying their jobs.

Had new guinea pigs but Frogboy & Chocolate Freckle (th pig) came to a misunderstanding about how stairs work & now we are back to 2 pigs (Zooer Untamed’s Treacle & Princess Pea’s new baby Panda who is the most talkative pig on the planet expecially in the middle of the night – squeak, squeak, squeak)!

Have lost a couple of chooks to age but looking to replace with babies come spring proper.  The zoo continues on.

Kids think it’s time to get in the pool.  Bbbbrrr – no quite warm enough yet but won’t be long.

ZooKeeper spending 2 days a week in Sydney & 1 day a week at Gold Coast casino.  Feel like I’m a single mum half of every week – don’t know how they do it frankly.

Mum & Dad currently OS – Scotland, USA, Canada.

Planning to head for Sydney myself for a fantastic looking conference on visualisation techniques for teaching science students & managing 1st years.  Hopefully we can arrange things so I can go:)

One plant is dead.  Other going much better.

Went to The Animal Farm at Maleny a couple of weekends ago.  Was great, kids had a ball, not the relaxing at the farm weekend I’d envisaged but good none the less.  Yet again we proved that husbands cannot be relied upon to successfully cope with sprogets alone.  Leanne & I had to go back to work on Mon, boys didn’t so they were left (with specific instructions on how) to pack the cars & transport children home safely.  We ended up with half the fridge contents going to the wrong house, we ended up with 2 families worth of sneakers & Zooer Untamed came home sporting an egg for a forehead that turned into a spectacular bruise as a result of walking into a car door (although it could be said the last wasn’t particularly the men’s fault it just happened on their shift)!  Some days we wonder whether this is all deliberate so we won’t ask them to help.

When I get the chance to breathe life is very good:)

Life has obviously been more frantic than usual.

Nothing dire to report.  Usual bouts of minor winter ills and end of semester stresses.

My office plants continue to live (I know Taureans are suppose to have green thumbs but mine tends to brown things up a bit more often than not – lack of attention usually).

Loving facebook – hence the somewhat lack of blogging.  More that I spend too many hours in front of this already.

Life is good.

Our new sleep number bed is awesome.  Never try one unless you plan to buy one – you’ll never want to sleep on another bed again!

Another 3hrs working on immunology study guides and workshop questions.

And then I logged in to QIBT to discover that I have 19 students enroled so for this semester which will cause me headaches tomorrow since I only ordered 15 copies of the study guide and I know they’ve already gone to press – doh!

Most exciting thing for the day – finally managed to get my facebook page working – yipee.  Have found a few friends from school days and discovered it is a somewhat addictive time waster in the ultimate but fun none the same.

Off to bed – I just can’t function on less than 8hrs of sleep a night and so far this week I haven’t done more than 7 and most nights more like 5!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Upshot is that yours truly is now an Associate Lecturer convening a subject in my first semester!  The best thing is my teaching contact hours are the same as when I was only going to be a sessional but my pay for the semester will be almost quadrupled and my super is double!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh course I do have to do more prep work, course development and marking but it’s all great.

Should get my office next week – comments have been made regarding this being my first ‘real job’ which the ZooKeeper fast retracted when friends and family suggested that on your first job you should always completely use your first pay packet on yourself!!!!  Still being negotiated!

School’s is in fine swing.  The Princess loves her teacher but not so much her classmates – which is fine with me as she’ll probably work better as she makes new friends.  She’s loving homework (but we are trying to convince her that 4-5hrs a week is not necessary for grade 3!).  Her dance company teacher was telling me yesterday how impressed she was with a few of the girls compared to the main cohort and will be featuring them in individual and small group dance pieces this year.  This is also her first year in choir which she is loving (although the ZooMaster does not necessarily enjoy the 7.30am start).  JPC is doing Grease and the Lyric Theatre this year and the choir that Princess Zoo is in will be doing an item in the opening which will be great experience.

Frogboy jumps ahead in leaps and bounds.  He’s yet to find school particularly challenging I suspect.  His spelling words are pretty basic and he can both verbally spell and write them by the end of the week they have to learn them.  Writing is not his forte (just like his father) he’s a very auditory and verbal child but we know this already.  He has also started piano this year and is loving it.  It gets frustrating though when he reads and says he’s playing with his left hand but he actually uses the right.  We’ll get there eventually and it’s great for his fine motor tone issues.

The Zoo Untamed may need renaming to perhaps Zooper Dooper.  He is more calm now he’s on the high dose fish oil.  Which is not to say he always is, just mostly but it’s a vast improvement.  He loves kindy and only wishes he could be there 5 days a week.  Next year can’t come soon enough for him when he’ll be in prep every day.

The Zoo animals are going along fine.  There is still talk of a bird for the Princess and that whole 10 year old thing we set is fast approaching.  Zooper Dooper is also keen for something other than a hermit crab but his current choice would be a gallah or a lizard neither of which is going to happen in my house.

We instigated pocket money this year.  50c a week for a set a chores, mostly involving feeding pets.  The kids have taken it on with amazing gusto.  We also added a huge array of other household contributions they need to make which are not for pocket money.  These involve bed making, packing/unpacking the dishwasher, putting their clean clothes away in drawers etc.  It’s quite amazing what they are capable of from such a young age and how willing they mostly are too.  The house is running so much smoother for it too.

Of course the chores lead to a very funny knife incident this week.  It started with Zooper Dooper fighting with Frogboy over unpacking the dishwasher.  They know that it is my job to do sharp knives and glasses but ZD got excited & FB tried to snatch the knife off him.  FB came running upstairs to us crying (as he does every day) to the normal response of ‘stop crying, there’s no blood.’  At which point I was shown a hand which very obviously did have a little bit of blood!  We’re not talking gushing artery or anything that even required stitches.  ZD’s response was to also start crying in the vane hope that we would also think him an injured party – his standard response to the possibility of getting in trouble at present.  All in all very funny on our part and I doubt they’ll be touching the knives any time soon!

Well enough of procrastinating.  Must get on and do a bit of immunology workshop prep.

 Panel was very impressed & the head of school rang me personally to tell me I didn’t get it but he still wants me on staff as a sessional as much as possible.  Turns out that won’t be more than I usually do in 1st sem anyway but a couple of new subjects (workshops only) & some developmental work on workshops as well.  Worse thing is that I’ll probably be working more than the 2 who got the jobs and getting paid about a quarter of what they’re getting.  As I said – sucks a whole lot.

School goes on.

 The ZooKeeper turns 37 today (or yesterday according to his mother).  Another year older and probably wiser.  He has three potential contracting jobs in the pot at present though whether anything will turn into stew remains to be seen.

Kids are feral as usual. 

Battled with contact for the best part of yesterday.  Princess Zoo will probably be scarred for life (like her best friend) because her mother does a crap job!  For the record foil-lined contact is ridiculous, holds every crease it blinks at and will never ever, ever be bubble & crease free on a book.  Bad decision not to let Princess Zoo decorate white paper covers then clear contact like last year.  In hind site this was a much better way.

Uniforms & pencil labelling today.  So far I think we’re up to about $800 to go back to school and that was only having to buy half the uniforms!  Gets worse every year.  All for the good of their education.

Got my job interview for Friday 25th Jan.  Excellent interview panel.  Comprises my 2 PhD supervisors, my best friend from undergrade, one of our collaborating researchers (who I have published a paper with) and the fifth is the head of the lab next door to my old one and whom has taught me since I was in 1st year!  Pretty spec huh?  Most of these people have known me on a teaching, working and social level for a minimum of 13 years and most up to 15 years!!!!!!!!!  Doesn’t mean that I’ll get it though.  30 applicants (3 in house) for only 2 positions but I’ve got a good crack at it.

Still raining, wish more would go in the dams instead of soaking just us.

Can’t believe 2 weeks into the new year already.

Most of the present getting and wrapping is done, there is a bunch of baking to do this week (mainly because what I had made has been consumed by the vorocious school holiday children).

The Zoo Keeper is again missing our wedding anniversary (8th this year) on account of being in another capital city (Sydney this year instead of Melbourne).

The children are turning feral 2 weeks into holidays and if I hear “can’t Santa just come tonight” one more time I’m going to scream.

Princess Zoo is now sporting a haircut 5 inches shorter on account of having a hairdressing experience with Emily (our 4 year old neighbour).  Em is now sporting an earlobe short bob courtesy of the Princess’s attempts where at least Em only cut the back of the Princess’s!

Biggest news for the week is that I tried on my alltime favourite dress yesterday and whilst it is somewhat tighter than it used to be on a size 10 me, I can now actually do up the zip.  Obiously all the hard work I’m doing at the gym is starting to pay off.  Now to survive Christmas & Camping trip pissups!

Our video died but the new one we have now has caused the Zoo Keeper to become a scripter, director, producer & editor all rolled into one.  His first effort ‘A Christmas Emergency’ sees the kids racing off the Gran’ma & Cuppy’s to decorate the naked Christmas tree!  It’s amazing what special effects & music can do.  Of course this new toy is quite time consuming & now we are battling over who gets priority on the computer ZK to do film stuff or me to finish the annual digital scrapbook in time for Christmas!

Kids had their 1st non-family sleepover with our neighbours on Sat while we went to my work Christmas dinner & the Spicks & Specks stage show.  The Lowes’ took them to the local Christmas Carols in the showgrounds which was fantastic.  Next year we’ll try to make sure we go too.  Apparently the kids didn’t go to sleep until after 10pm & were up again at 4.30am!!!!! Very tired crankies on Sunday for sure.

I’ve been awarded some sort of teaching award from work but that’s all I know because we had to leave the Christmas Party early which was a shame.

My last jumping castle sold last night on ebay for triple what I paid so I’m a very stoked little Santa.  My first foray into ebay selling must therefore be considered a huge success which I will try to repeat next year.  Hopefully Aldi has them again for $150.

I only have 2 more items and a bit of baking to do for Christmas aside from the photo album (only up to June there) and I’m done.

Hopefully will hear about interviews for the Associate Lecturer position some time this week.

I’m loving this Christmas season more than ever.

Only 3 days in and the kids are insisting on trying to kill each other every hour or so.  Was very glad Alex went off to childcare on Monday things would have been even more dire.  He has only 2 weeks left though and only Mon & Fri at that.

Chrismas parties galore this week.  Went up to Mt Tambourine on the weekend to have Chrissy with Shirl since she’s off to Egypt next week.  Needless to say there was much partaking of food and indulgence in wine and festivities.  Highlight was the kids doing a concert for us.  The control freak mummies (ie Deb & I) will have imput next year and there will be sufficient lighting, synced music tracks and the compare will not sit in front of each performance and need to be reminded that his sister & cousins are less than 3 foot nothing.  It was great anyway.

Got 2 work dos, Mum’s b’day this week & we’re off to see Spicks & Specks at the Lyric so that should be great.  Kids are very excited because they get to have their first sleepover at our neighbours house )countdown to which started 3 days ago when they found out they were going)!  This is a first and only happening because S&S doesn’t start until 9pm.  Our neighbours are wonderful.  They’re even taking all 6 kids (ours & theirs) to a Christmas Carols service in the local showgrounds!  Very game I say.

On other news, I have put in for a job as an associate lecturer.  Part-time job at GU which allows me to still do QIBT as well.  Downside is there are 3 of us inhouse who have applied 7 only 2 positions.  Will have to see how that plays out.  Hope I get it though as it’s a 3yr position!

Well I’m off to do more Christmas decorating & baking & see if the school has uploaded Princess Pea’s report card yet!