Itinerary

My plans for the weekend alone with the kids are starting to take shape. Here's the rough itinerary--

• Friday morning farewell E. Drop Little e at preschool, then go to the library for a while with Little i.  Maybe go to a cafe and Vinnies too. Home for lunch and Little i's rest.
• 3pm, pick up Little e from preschool, go to a fish shop and buy a whole fish. Take Buddy for a walk. Go home, and get kids to help me make fish and chips. Movie night with chocolate custard.
• Put kids to bed. Ahhh. Watch football. Have a cup of tea and smoke a cigar. watch a kung fu dvd in bed. 
• Saturday morning. Eggs for brekky, and a slowish morning. Late morning drive down to Symbio Wildlife Park. Home in the arvo, make something for dinner, kids to bed etc. Tea. Cigar. DVD in bed.
• Sunday morning, church. Then go to some friends' house for lunch. Home in arvo, play in the yard, do some gardening. Late afternoon, welcome E home. Phew.

ps-I reckon about four minutes of the three days will be as peaceful as in that photo..

Stop The Commemoration!

Remember the days when you went to Google, and you just saw a normal Google logo?  And then once in a while, there was a fancy, clever logo to commemorate some famous persons' birthday?  Maybe Thomas Edison, or Albert  Einstein or something?  And it was a bit of fun?

Those quaint ol' days are gone, friends.  Now, we are being so drowned by commemoration that it's hard to even remember what the normal Google logo looked like.  A lot of famous people have birthdays, I understand that, and I'm all for a bit of credit where credit's due. But where do you draw the line?  It seems they're willing to celebrate any old fellas' birthday these days.  John Brown the butcher down the road from here, who cuts a good rib eye and is friendly to your children?  I think he's getting a Google birthday logo next week. The word 'Google' is going to be cleverly crafted in sausages, I hear.

And it's not just Google, there's over-commemoration going on in all sorts of spheres. It came to a head yesterday when I bought my coffee, and one of the 20c pieces I got back in the change was a special commemorative coin celebrating 100 years of the Australian Taxation Office.  Awww, come on!  The Queen has done lots of good stuff, and has earned a lot of respect. This year she celebrates 60 years on the throne. Now, that is deserving of a coin, sure.  But the tax office?

It's all just going too far. I say put a stop to this nonsense before that annoying neighbour who has a barky dog, and throws rocks at small children, and who steals your mail, and who runs an underground cock-fighting tournament in his basement; before he gets his own flopping commemorative coin.

B-Boy

Lost

I'm feeling very at sea this morning. Yesterday arvo I somehow got off the bus without my backpack, and was wandering about Town Hall for ten minutes before I even realised there was nothing on my back.  I always check the seat ten times before I get off a bus, and pat my pockets to check I have all the necessary bits and pieces.  But, somehow yesterday, I was just lost in my thoughts, and get off without my whole bag.

It makes me feel sick in the stomach, there was so much important stuff in there- house keys, work keys, car keys, my glasses, my books, notebooks, my Bible from E, ,my USB with a stack of important stuff on there, etc, etc, etc...

We've done all we can- put an ad on Gumtree, called the lost property at the bus depot.  I really, really hope it turns up.  In the meantime, I need to try and get over it, not get all bitter and stupid, and not obsess over it.  I find that hard.

Dad Weekend

E's going away for the weekend with the girls of her family, so from Friday morning to Sunday night it'll just be me, the two littluns, and the dog.  It'll be a challenge, but I'm kind of looking forward to it too. 

I think the key is going to be planning enough stuff to do so we don't all go bonkers sitting at home. While I'm a big fan of 'pottering around the house', it always sounds a lot better than it actually is, when kids are involved. 'Pottering' in child language translates to 'lets squabble and wreck stuff as much as we possibly can'. 

So, Friday (I'm taking the day off, and Little e goes to pre school) and Sunday (church in the morning) will be okay, but Saturday is going to be the biggun.  Just a big expanse of day. I'm still trying to nail down that Big Outing, which will tucker out the kids, but not be too ambitious as something I can handle on my own.

Hmmm..  

..And Up Goes The Drawbridge

I wonder if it's wrong to feel so ecstatic that the kids' parties are done and dusted for another year..

The Quiz

1. I wish you could have seen..

2. A memory that stands out from primary school

3. A memory that stands out from high school

4. Something you never get tired of

5. A word that's crept into your vocabulary

We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Well, what is this crazy place?  I don't know either.  You'll have to excuse me for a while as I tinker around with the template, text etc to find something I like. Life was a lot easier when I thought there were only about 4 template options.

Somebody Stop Me

Yikes, I'm going font crazy here. No wonder I've never changed templates till now.

I'm out of control.

Have a good weekend, friends.

Ps- Bring Your Brollies

We are meant to be having a 'fairy garden party' tomorrow for Little e.  I'm hoping it isn't a water fairy garden party.  It's fairly rainy out there today..

Time For A Change

I'm thinking it may just about be time to get rid of this ye olde blue-with-pretty-spots blog template. It's wearing out it's welcome to me, and I'm feeling like I need a bit of freshness.  White maybe. 

But it sort of feels like throwing out that pair of old trusty undies that have holes and no elastic anymore. Sad.

Risky Business

I've been reading this book called Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge. I got it yonks ago, but got turned off by all the silly quotes from Gladiator and Braveheart and all this  stuff about heroes and damsels in distress. 

But, as often happens, I happened to pick it up again the other week, and it was just what I needed to be reading. I love how God slips things in my path.  I've been getting a lot out of it, and if you can sift out the bits that feel a bit dopey, there's some great stuff in there.  Here's one bit got me-

Most men spend the energy of their lives trying to eliminate risk, or squeezing it down to a more manageable size.  Their children hear "no" far more than they hear "yes"; their employees feel chained up and their wives are equally bound. If it works, if a man succeeds in securing his life against all risk, he'll wind up in a cocoon of self-protection and wonder all while why he's suffocating If it doesn't work, he curses God, redoubles his efforts and his blood pressure. When you look at the structure of the false self men tend to create, it always revolves around two themes: seizing upon some sort of competence and rejecting anything that cannot be controlled. As David Whyte says, "The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears".

I've Still Got The Blues For You

Well, while I was pretty bummed to see the Blues go down again in Origin last night, I thought at least they put up a good fight, and overall, I thought the team had been pretty well-picked. Great to see Robbie Farah get another shot at last, and he was really solid, so hopefully that'll mean he's in the side for the next few years. Although you never can tell- another series loss will inevitably bring a completely new team next year. Because that tactic is working so well..

On a side note, the reason I haven't mentioned Origin at all before now is because it once again painfully coincides with Bible Study, and knowing I'd miss most of the game, I wanted to lessen the pain by not talking about it too much.  Needless to say though, I was out of BS like a shot, and sped home to catch the majority of the second half. 

Was Inglis' final try really a try? Hmmm. Dunno about that one. But still, beaten reasonably fair and square. So, congrats to you Queenslanders, and hopefully the next game will go our way, to make game three count.  

And to pre-empt your suggestions, yes I did suggest the group watching the game together (but have found myself in a group of the only ten men in the Shire who don't like football. Come on!), and no, we don't own one of those new-fangled machines that lets you record stuff off the tele (new-fangled meaning anything invented in the past three decades).

Art Appreciation 101

I don't know why exactly, but I love this picture of ol' Spidey. Not sure of the context, I just found it somewhere on the net a while ago.  But I like the fact that he for some reason needed bed rest.   

I wonder what it was.  Sore throat? A minor sprain?  Hard to say.  But it seems like it's all come upon him pretty quickly, as he hadn't even time to get out of his costume and into his jarmies.  Come to think of it, maybe his costume is his jarmies. 

What is this spartan room he's in? Is it a hospital ward, or his own apartment? If it's the latter, has he got the tele on? Ellen? 

And I wonder what that is over there. Dimetapp Daytime/Nightime? Benadryl? Or something harder..

Also interesting to ponder, is the empty glass. It's nice to know a superhero is comfortable enough with his masculinity to use a straw. But I wonder where he put the straw, because as you can see, there ain't no mouth-hole there. Hmm.  Maybe it's a bendy straw and he tucked it down through the eye hole. Or maybe he just sucked it through the costume, and it's now a bit damp and smelling of flat lemonade. 

Whatever the story, I feel some sadness for Spiderman, but also somehow, closer to him than ever before. He's one of us, after all.

The Voice

I haven't managed to see all of The Voice, as it usually coincides with trying to get the childers to bed.  But Lakyn is still my favourite, even though I thought his version of Forever Young the other night was a total dud. He should do stuff like this.

Wednesday Book Review by Crazyjedidiah

Imperial Hostage

by Phil Cantrill

Review by Crazyjedidiah

As a hostage Erech, is sent to Poseidia the The Capital of the Empire, to keep his nation in order. On arrival he is taken to the Temple of Bel where he is brutalised due to a prophecy. He is rescued by the High Priest of the Temple of One. Where he is brought up with kindness and respect. He makes friends with the other hostages and some of the “Homelanders”. He also travels around and explores the area around the city with his friends while learning important skills. Erech must also on numerous occasions outsmart attempted assination attempts from the Temple of Bel.

It was quiet an interesting book, a fantasy that reminds me Ancient Greek Mythology and Atlantis. It is the story of growing up and overcoming challenges to become the person you are meant to be. However I didn't entirely agree with everything that was in there.
I would recommend this book to any one who loves Greek mythology and stories about Atlantis. It would also be good for anyone who likes historical fantasy.

Thanks for the review! Crazyjedidiah blogs at Gibberish

Passing The Torch

We got Little e a few pressies for her birthday yesterday, but the one that had special significance to me was that I gave her Her Very First Comic. It was a Smurfs comic, the old original Smurfs that the 80's show was based on. I had really wanted to get her Bone, but we figured she wasn't quite old enough yet. When I read some to her last year, she loved it, but had a nightmare about the Rat Creatures.  So, my plan is to leave that until she turns 6.

One of my first comics was a Smurfs one, back when I was a kid. I have always loved comics, but actually never really read that many superhero ones. I grew up on Archie, Asterix, Tintin, Peanuts and stuff like that. It wasn't til later that I got into other ones, like 2000AD and then as an adult things like Hellboy and B.P.R.D. And of course my beloved Conan.

But I think as a medium for kids, comics are underestimated in their value, kind of seen as a trashy thing to read when there are real books available. But kids can learn a lot from comics, about visual language and storytelling. I also expanded my vocabulary a lot reading Asterix for example. In some ways a comic is like watching a movie, but rather than a kid turning into a zombie in front of the tele, a comic makes them work. they need to use their brain to read the words, obviously, but also to read the pictures, and to make the connections between one panel and the next.

Without comics I probably wouldn't have become  interested in drawing, and wouldn't have gone down the carreer path I chose. Even though I work in animation, I never really had that same love for cartoons, it's always been about comics, and this was as close as I could get! So, in my mind yesterday was a significant passing of the torch.

The Quiz

1. Something satisfying you did on the weekend
2. Three things on your bedside
3. You'd be surprised at how angsty I get about..
4. An author (living or not) you'd like to meet
5. Today I want to try hard to..

Happy 5th Birthday Emmy!

The Dog House

I was putting the bins out last night, and Buddy snuck between my legs, out the gate, and did a runner up the street. I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to catch the stupid little lovable rogue.  I'd get real close, and be all kind and loving, plaintively calling, "Here Bud, come on, boy..", and get closer, closer, and than pee-yow, he'd be off again, thinking it was all an awesome joke. He nearly got hit by a car or two, and I kept expecting to hear tyres screech and a yelp. 

He'd also do this thing where he'd run right up to people's front door, make the sensor lights come on, and I'd have to traipse up there into the light, looking like a goose, and I'd be just about to get him when he'd do a Benji Marshall step, and whiz past me again.

Truth be told, I was angry. Very angry. I was fantasising about the punishing wrath that would be quenched when I caught him. RSPCA, avert your eyes.  He knew it too. He could tell that my plaintive calls were actually thinly veiled death threats. He reached that point where he's like "well, I'm in for it anyway, I may as well just live it up and do as much naughty, fun stuff as I can before I'm caught."

Anyways, after running about the streets in my slippers in the dark for a fair while, what finally worked was a bit of reverse psychology. I turned around, and started walking home, pretending not to care. He eventually followed. And in he dashed, through the gate, and ka-lank! I locked it. And he finally came face to face with his judge.

What happened next is unfit for printing.

I'm Only Wrong When I'm Asleep

NOTE: E DON'T READ THIS POST

It's really frustrating when you totally think you are in the right, and then you realise you are actually half-asleep and talking nonsense. This happens to me a lot. And I'm very self-righteous when I'm asleep.

Last night Little i had a nightmare, and after trying to console her for a while in her room E brought her into our room.  I was half asleep at the time, and when E goes "I'm just bringing Little i in for a bit, okay?", I said "Okay, but just watch out for Buddy." She goes "What?"

How frustrating. Is it not obvious? Must I be woken and disturbed from my slumber to clarify something so blatant? There's a puppy lying right there between us, be careful about putting our toddler daughter on top of him. Sheesh. Can I go back to sleep now?

"Are you asleep?" She says, obviously trying to awaken the beast.

"No! Be careful. Of Buddy. He's Right There!" (Angrily sighs and rolls over in a huff).

"You're asleep".

Through the sleep seethes the wrath. You don't want to see me when I'm angry. I face E again, kindly willing to explain this ONE. LAST. TIME.

"BE. CAREFUL. OF. BUDDY."

"Buddy's out in the laundry. What are you talking about?"

And in an instant, the sleepiness vanishes, I realise I'm totally wrong, and have no leg to stand on. The bed is dogless. I roll over and go to sleep so I don't have to deal with being wrong. Maybe I can get away with that, and pretend to not remember in the morning. Yeah. Good plan.

Homework

I'm working from home today, as we have another school tour this morning- this time the local public school. After that we have to start trying to come to some kind of decision. Yikes. 

Wish I could work from home a day every week..

Myths Of Parenthood #1: Everyone Else Is Coping

Karen wrote a really helpful post the other day, here's a bit of it..

I don't think we as mothers do ourselves any favours here. I think that many of us work hard to cultivate the image that we are going fine, that we are managing everything very well and that life is just rosy, thanks very much for asking. I am highly guilty of this. It perpetuates the myth that everyone's coping and it means we are not being honest about what we are actually going through.

Read the rest of it here. It would be great if there was a lot more talk like this in Christian circles among parents.

Book Review Wednesday by Crazyjedidiah

Taliesin
By Stephen R. Lawhead

Review by Crazyjedidiah

Charis is a young Atlantean Princess enjoying the life of luxury and technology that goes with the territory. She doesn't understand that the time of peace for her people is drawing to a close and they are on the brink of war. Her mother is killed when her family is ambushed, and unable to deal with the grief that she feels from her father she leaves to join the religious bull dancers. After being injured she returns to her fathers house to find things greatly changed, he was greatly wounded in the war that unfolded and is nursed by his strange new wife. Charis tries to warn her people of the impending doom that was prophesied before her mothers death but people do not listen to her. She manages to secure ships so that those who live in the palace are able to escape.

Meanwhile Elphin, the son of the Chief of Gwynedd, is the brunt of jokes of his people because they believe he has bad luck. That is until when searching the weir he finds a beautiful baby boy, who changes his luck, through Taliesin he finds his wife, and gains the respect of the people. Taliesin is trained to be a bard and druid for his people and is the greatest of these. The Cymry are attacked by barbarians and are forced to flee. They come to the land where the remnant of the Atlanteans have settled. The two peoples form an agreement where they can exist and also keep their respect. However Charis and Taliesin wish to marry which is frowned upon by Avallach. Charis father. So they are secretly married and live together many miles away. They have a son and he is named Merlin. They then set off to be reconciled with Avallach but will they make it back?

This is the first in Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, about King Arthur, the following books are Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon and Grail. I love how this has been set closer to the time period where the actual person that Arthur was based on probably existed. I also love how the story starts with Merlin's parents, giving a context for how Merlin was brought up and his roots, and I love the idea that the Atlanteans settled in Britain. I would really recommend this book to anyone who loves myths legends and folklore, as well as unusual retellings of them. It is also recommended to people who love Arthur in all it's retellings and the history of the British Isles.

Thanks heaps for the review! Crazyjedidiah blogs at Gibberish.

Painting Diary: Tramway Substation

I went painting the other week. It was a fun few hours. I specifically chose an out of the way spot, on the side of a very infrequently used old tramline near my place. I was needing some alone time. It was a cool place, all this great old broken down machinery and stuff. I didn't even realise it was there, it was in the bushes just off the highway. 



how's the serenity?

 

busted up old tram





more tram junk

 So there I am, loving the solitude, and I look and these workmen are looking over my shoulder, commenting on the painting. They then brought a forklift, and were moving great big chunks of old tram tracks and dropping them beside me. They were like, "aw, don't worry mate, you'll be right, don't move". But I tell you, it's not super easy to concentrate with a forklift behind your back. They were good guys though, and I laughed at my thwarted efforts to be alone.

my muse

rough sketch to work out composition, with help of ants and flys

my set up

blocking in the darks

the forklift arrives



serenity now!



nearly done

Then a little later, a tram rolls slowly by, carrying a bunch of tourists and retirees into the National Park. It slowed to a stop near me, and an old lady calls out "what are you working on there?", and I held up the painting to show them. Funny.



my tram friends arrive



I was painting this little building that I liked the look of, but was wondering how I could find out what it was called. Thankfully, my forklift friend came over when the painting was done, and goes "you should call it 'Tramway Substation, Loftus'". So I did.

Have a look at the finished painting over at my painting blog.

An Important Question

Why is it that other people's raincoats always smell like they've been stored under a dead mans' armpit for a hundred years?

Death By Tea

I was looking for some herbal teas the other day, and amidst the back info on one of the packets, was a little graphic of a bomb in a circle, with a line through it. Below were the words, Nuclear Free. All I can say is a big, big, PHEW.

It was such a relief to learn that this herbal tea contained no bombs. To be honest, that was what I was most afraid of, and what had kept me from buying herbal teas previously. So, to whichever maker of herbal teas it was that was kind enough to omit the weapons of mass destruction, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

In unrelated news, I was also recently finally able to find a pair of ugg boots that were lactose free. I thought the day would never come.

How To REALLY Care For Extroverts

Batten down the hatches.

 Militant extrovert on the loose.

How To REALLY Care For Introverts (Part 1)

You've probably all seen this introvert list, it's fairly old news now in the blog world. Soph wrote a good post on it.

But I just wanted to add a few cents to the discussion.  Firstly, I reckon the majority of people aren't strictly introvert or extrovert, but rather one of many possible shades of grey inbetween the two. But, for what it's worth, I'd describe myself as a pretty extroverted introvert. What this means practically, is that I totally identify with the points on this list, but sort of also wince when I read them, with the extroverty bit in me giving me a 'snap out of it' clip around the ear.

I don't quite get the context of this list. Are we talking about children here? How to look after our own kids, or kids in the classroom? Or is this grown up introverts saying to extroverts, this is how you should treat me? If it's the latter, then I think that's kinda irksome. At the very least, it feels like a biased list to me, so here's my additional thoughts to each point.

1. Respect their need for privacy. Yep, I like to be private. I like to keep all my worlds separate, and never the twain shall they meet. That's my default. But should I not be pushed to move beyond that, and open up a bit? And what about my extrovert friends? They are so loud and confident that they have no need for privacy? Respect the need, sure- but encourage them to step beyond this as well.

2. Never embarrass them in public. Well sure, I hate being embarrassed in public. I'm not sure I know anyone who likes it though either.

3. Let them observe first in new situations. To be honest I don't think I fully understand this point. Want to explain it to me? Is it saying give them time to suss everything out before making a move? I do that to an extent. I don't know if it would be overly helpful to give me even more procrastinating time though. I think I'm more in need of encouragement to make that first move, to just get out there and do it.

4. Give them time to think, don't demand instant answers. I'm not that great under pressure, and I do need time to process before I make a sensible decision. But come on, there are a lot of situations that require fast action and fast response. Yes, we'd like more patience from people, but I'm sure introverts are impatient towards extroverts also, just in a different way.

5. Don't interrupt them. Okay, now the list is starting to feel aggressive. Maybe it's that big font on the word "Don't". Once again, yes, an obvious courtesy that should be given to everyone, introvert or otherwise.

6. Give them advance notice of unexpected changes in their lives. This is the point that makes me think  the list was written with children in mind. On that level, it makes sense. This is a big deal to one of our daughters- it is really beneficial for her to know what's going on in the coming week, and for there to be stability, and no surprises. Yesterday morning, the first thing she asked me when she woke was "what are we having for dinner?" I think she inherited some of this from me. I loathe change and uncertainty, I hate to be surprised and caught off guard. It's good to understand this, and cater to it to some extent. But there's also a need to learn to be able to cope with surprises, because life isn't predictable, and God's very complex plans for our lives include a stack of unforeseen  curve balls.

I'll respond to the last 6 points next time. But I think my overall call would be to say this list is helpful for helping our children, and clarifying some things about ourselves. But I think it's a real danger for adult introverts to cling to this list, and wear it like a badge of honour, like a passive aggressive "Understand me, you cruel extrovert world!" kind of way.

The Quiz

1. Please don't ask me..
2. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever..
3. What can you see out the nearest window?
4. A smell that stops you in your tracks. in a good way.
5.  I wish I wasn't so quick to..

Thanks

I recently passed the 150,000 hits mark on my blog. That's cool.  Thanks a lot to you all for reading over the last few years, and especially for you patience when it gets so quiet around here at times. I hope this blog goes on for a lot longer still, that the passion stays, and that you readers stay too. Cause I like ya.

Wish I Was There

Would love to blog, I have a head full of backlogged posts. It's starting to cause cramps. But I'm totally under the pump this week, so I gotsta take care of bizness first.

Quick Update

Super busy at work. I worked from home yesterday, which was fantastic. wish I could do that all the time. In the morning we went and had a tour around a local Christian school. It seemed really good, I was very impressed. In a couple of weeks we are having a tour around the local public one, and from there we'll have to try and work out what we are going to do with Little e next year. Tough decision- lots of factors to weigh up..
Have stuff to blog, but as I say, super busy at work...
Have a good weekend, friends.

Wednesday Book Review by Belle

Let's Pretend This Never Happened
by Jenny Lawson


Reviewed by Belle

Jenny Lawson, also known as The Bloggess, is very funny - the kind of funny that makes you snort sometimes. I started reading her blog after my mum forwarded me this post, which happened to be one of the stories she included in her new “mostly true” memoir, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. I’m not sure what makes a good memoir; is it how much of it you can relate to? Because there’s not too much I share in common with Lawson. This book is a collection of stories about things like growing up with a crazy (but loving) father in Texas and meeting her husband while browsing alongside him in the witchcraft section of a bookshop and dealing with anxiety disorders/OCD and being strangely obsessed with zombies and taxidermied animals.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, and laugh more than I did. There were truly hilarious parts in it, including a story about laxatives which had me wheezing at one point, but I found Lawson’s chatty writing style a little wearing and predictable at times and didn’t really mind that the book ended. I’m not sure that I’d recommend the book to anyone who isn’t already a fan; I would, however, recommend her blog (I should warn you first: The Bloggess is irreverent and doesn’t mind swearing). Check out the blog, become a fan, and then consider reading this memoir.


Thanks Belle! Go check out Belle's Elbows.

This is only a test...

Do not adjust your personal internet viewing devices.
Ignore the author's name. I really am Ben.

DO NOT LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN!


(Anyone need some brains? A heart? I've got these nice red shoes...)

Up Close And Personal

Navigating The Weekend

We are for the most part a single-income household, for various reasons I won't get into now. This has lots of different ramifications, some good, some bad. But, I've been thinking about one of these ramifications (is ramifications the right word? It sounds good to me), one that may seem minor, but that actually has a fairly big impact on day to day family life, and one that I don't hear discussed all that much.


To put it simply, I am away from my home for pretty much all of the daylight hours of the working week drawing pretty pictures hunting and gathering. About 11 hours a day, or 55 hours a week.  Being the mote-loving homebody I described yesterday, this means I look forward to getting home, shutting my doors, and not going out again.  I'm very excited on Friday afternoon.


Now, on the other hand, E has a long week with the childers, and spends a lot of time busy at home.  There are lots of outings and whatnot, but yeah, certainly some long hours under that same old roof, or in that yard. For different reasons to mine, her week can be long, and so she too is generally excited by Friday afternoon.


So then, you'd think it would all be fun and games from there. It's the start of the weekend and we're both happy about it, looking forward to the weekend, and the respite from routine it promises.  But, often friction arises on the weekend, and it always takes me by surprise.  I'm a slow learner, I guess. 


But I think what it comes down to is our different expectations, and the fact that we are excited on Friday afternoon for pretty different reasons!  E is like, 'yay, we can get out of the house and do things, and I can get some time to do the stuff I don't get a chance to do during the week'. And I'm like, 'yay, I can pull up the drawbridge and not leave the house, and potter around doing all those fun things I'm thinking about during the working week'. 


Whether or not this seems like a petty issue, I think it's something to be mindful of.  The weekend is an important time, because it's the one block of time where we are all together, and also the one block of time where we can factor in time out for each other. I guess it just has to be about compromise and communication. And I think for me it needs to be about being more selfless and giving, and aware of where my family are at, rather than thinking, tippity tops, now I have two sweet days to do whatever.


Has anyone else encountered this sort of a thing? What has worked, and what hasn't? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.