It’s only day 2 of our first heat wave of the season and I’m struggling.  All those posts and photos celebrating how sensational my city is in the summer are coming back to haunt me today as I sit at my desk in my air conditioned office with a little desk fan running at full tilt aimed squarely at my face. It will not surprise me if I end the day with my head in an open freezer or with a limb plunged in an ice machine.  Not one bit.

Speaking of limbs akimbo….

This is how bedtime rolls on the night before a big day at our house.  High jinks with pyjamas and teddy bears after every wheeled vehicle in the house has been driven to the bathroom, into the bath tub and back to the bedroom.  I’ve made my peace with the fact that our bedtime routine will forever be more giggles and rolls than quiet and restfulness.  

Yesterday was Toddler SSG’s first orientation session at daycare.  I’d attended the two hour parent orientation earlier this week and sort of knew which gate we needed to open and which room we were to meet in but it was all new for him.

I think I was more anxious than he was.  I’ve been very fortunate to have had the help of my extended family for all of this time while I’ve returned to work but this has also meant that Toddler SSG hasn’t really had regular extended periods with non family members or with children of his own age.  So I wasn’t sure how he’d cope with a sea of unfamiliar faces and voices in a new place.

It’s only early days yet, but I needn’t have worried.  At first, Toddler SSG played on his own after a solo walk around the outdoor play area and its gardens before he settled down on some cushions and played with the dinosaurs and some pretty funky looking building blocks.

As the morning progressed, he lost a little of his reserve and ventured a little closer to the other children at the craft station.  We have another session booked for next week before the real thing next year when I’ll no doubt be trying not to cry as I leave him to learn, explore and make friends on his own.

I still can’t believe that the wee little baby I placed (screaming) on this play mat for tummy time now sits as a desk with his play doh on top of that same mat.

And the baby whom I used to watch sleeping in the car in the garage (falling asleep in a moving car was as close to ‘self settling’ as we got in the newborn and infant eras) now sweeps it with his own little broom.

They do grow so fast and that dependence upon you that you thought would last forever dissipates before you even realise it’s gone.  I feel incredibly blessed to have been there through it all and that it looks as if I was doing at least some of it right.  May I continue vaguely heading in the right direction with this motherhood gig.  I’m resisting the urge to call it a journey….

It’s shaping up to be a busy December for Toddler SSG.  We’re going to the Opera House for Babies Proms which will be a performance of The Little Drummer Boy.  Each child present at the performance will be given a drum to play along with during the performance.  Thoughtfully, the Opera House will be collecting up these drums after each performance to give everyone’s ears a rest on the trip home.  I’m going to make a day of it and get a bite to eat after the show with some mums from my mothers group.  A cheeky glass of bubbly may well be in order because we will be using public transport there and back.

A week later, Toddler SSG will be coming in with me to work as one of several special guests at our Christmas lunch.  Quite a few little ones have been born into my work family and it’s shaping up to be a quite a special (and noisy) reunion.

As my diary gets fuller by the day with Christmas commitments, it’s just as well White Linen House are on still on top of my towels and bed linen.  They have a new special deal on linen sets for students.  Click on over to their website to find out more.

Ridiculous but strangely compelling clips and photos from celebrity land have become a bit of a regular fixture on the blog of late and today’s post will not be spared.