Candle burning at both ends

I'm not going to apologise (much) for leaving you all high and dry over the holidays... I was just TOO BUSY to blog, which tells you something. I'm not going to try to catch you up either. Sorry. There's just too much water under the bridge for that, suffice to give you one or two headlines.

• There are black scorpions in Sedgefield. One crawled on me. Two others came home with us in the car.
• I backed my car into a wall (no - I wasn't looking!) That wasn't the problem - the repair company was. Even now, nearly a month later, my blood starts to boil when I think about it. Let's not go there.
• #1 has started school! WOW! Grade 1!
• #2 has started a new nursery school around the corner. (Nice and convenient!)
• #2 has also been given a new diet to help cure his eczema that includes: no dairy, no wheat, no sugar, no aspartame (artificial sweetner), no yeast, no honey, no peanuts, no preservatives, no colourants, and all fruit must be peeled (e.g. no apple skins). He is also not allowed any contact with soaps or detergents. Hmmm. Ja. Ok then.
• Hubbie has started a new job (internal promotion), with all that entails, while continuing with his original job because he hasn't been replaced yet. Hmmm. Ja. Ok then. (And then the servers failed as well - still no email, nearly a week later!) Talk about STRESS!!!!!

Because the school holidays were cut short by a week (thanks, national education dept!) we all started the year still a bit tired and frazzled. Our time away was lovely though - glorious days of just swimming and swimming and swimming - in the lake, at the beach, in the river mouth. We even got a few days of camping practice in, so #2 seems ready to rock 'n roll on that front now. (Bring on weekends and Easter!)

When I'm tempted to complain about the tiredness though, and the busyness, I just remember that the extra work I did last year has paid for #1's school fees in full for this year, and when the rest is paid into my account (hopefully at the end of Feb), it will also pay in full for #2's fees. That will take a significant financial pressure off us this year. Although it was hard work, and took me away from my family a lot at the end of the year, I think it was worth it.

So - forward ho, into 2012 we go! I'm not counting weeks or days yet, but I am really looking forward to Easter. I'm looking forward to having some time off (read: away!) with the family, our 14th anniversary celebratory get-away,  and hopefully getting some rest!