This week has been especially busy. Last Saturday night, Sharlene, the boys and I went to the ELC to work on the packs that each of the children will receive as they leave for the final time or when they leave our break up party. It was a late night for me, I burned almost 50 CDs, caught up on comments in communication diaries, and sorted photos into individual files. Sharlene was huge help as she put certificates, diaries and CD's into the appropriate pack. The rush that night was due to our break-up party being on the next day.
I had hired the Mackay Society of Model Engineers to come and run their model steam trains for our ELC children and families on Sunday. It wasn't all easy getting everything there, but the day really did go well and it seemed that everyone left happy. That afternoon, I borrowed a trailer, got a load of dirt from behind the ELC, took it home and built a garden. (The soil/sand at our house is pretty gutless).
All this week has been quite emotional, saying goodbye to a number of families for the final time and receiving gifts. We have such a wonderful group of parents this year.
On Thursday, Sharlene finally got her wisdom teeth pulled. Now she has a very swollen and bruised jawline. She ended up getting them out under general anaesthetic. She has kept ice on her jaw ever since.
Today, we had our final wet day on the slip 'n slide for the year. Numbers were down today but we all had fun anyway. I took Zemiel with me to work and Sharlene's parents took Azariah and Zekiah. Azariah joined us for our wet play, while Zemiel stayed all day and was reasonably behaved. The highlight of today for him was getting his face painted for the first time. It only happened because I was painting some other children's faces - mainly tigers and butterflies, while Zemiel would constantly interrupt and point out the picture that he wished to see on the next candidate. He would grab a brush and start bringing it ominously close to the poor child's face. Finally, I allowed Zemiel to paint my face, which he did with conviction. I had orange and black everywhere - in my eye and up my nose too! When this was finished, I pinned him down and asked him what picture I could do for him, and he chose a lion. I painted the mask and got him to look in a mirror and he was hooked! He started rarring and off he went to rar at all the other children who yet remained. He commented several times this afternoon that he was 'a big lion.' I'm pretty sure now that he will get his face painted again.
