3/6/12: I had a good day today. Nina seems to be getting stronger and fitter. Monte has been working hard to care for her. He has become very attached to his ‘girls.’

2/6/12: the children were very quiet for some time. It turns out that they were spying on me.

1/6/12: winter! Holidays started today. I brought home some cakes; they were leftovers from our PD at school. We had cakes after our dinner. We laughed and chatted around the kitchen bench and it was the best part of my day.

31/5/12: last day of term for my students. Term one has been ridiculously long and I can’t wait until Tasmania brings in the 4 term year (not without a fight, but come on Tasmania, catch up to the Nation already!). I found a sense of peace (somewhat linked to exhaustion) in the playground with my dear 5-year-old son.

30/5/12: I painted Ella’s nails to match mine and I thought it looked so cute. She was so proud of them but daddy doesn’t like it. Too bad!

29/5/11: Georgia and Matthew are coming to work with me for most of the week, giving monte a chance to work in peace and meaning I don’t need to take time off at the end of term. It is exhausting, fun and challenging being teacher and parent simultaneously. Apparently Matthew’s creation here is me.

28/5/12: seeing the progress of the sand mandala that the Gyuto Monks have been creating at our school has been a wonderful experience. The mandala is made from marble sand and is the most precise and intricate work of art I can imagine.