How are all my lovely September mummies tracking these days? I know the thread is getting progressively quieter, I'm sure we've all got huge lives going on these days, but I do think about you all often.

Arte - I LOL'd about W being born knowing about $$$. Some kids just do. Even now H is permanently baffled by her complete lack of funds, while E knows her piggy bank balance down to the exact cent. PMSL

Arte, it's awesome you're getting compliments about your gorgeous kids' behaviour. We all know you've done some very hard yards on very little sleep, so it's a really positive reflection on your efforts! LOL at the bonus bagpipe party. My E thinks there's an entire suburb of Radelaide named after her (excitment every. single. time. she hears it on the telly).

Re E, they don't have a school nurse thing here (I don't think). There was a kindy health check before she started school, but that was before all this happened. She's a bit more settled now that DH is back, but I'm still not convinced about her ears. They are doing swimming this week as school - which might give them a bit of an extra wash - and she gets a stick of gum to chew every morning (to promote eartube drainage through the jaw action). I think I might have to suss out whether there are any positive psychology programs for her, she does have that tendency towards anxiety - but she holds it in (so other people are oblivious to the fact that she's wigging out on the inside). Her teacher is lovely this year, and E seems to be doing well academically (ie, just jumped from reader box 11 to 16 in one fell assessment), but I've booked a parent teacher interview anyway, specifically to talk about this anxious/perfectionista streak.

Cass, are you going ok? Breakdown of cognition is a good sign you need more sleep or relaxation pool-side or at least some kind of chocolate binge. Massive hugs re family poo-poo-heads. Hang an imaginary ba-gua mirror on the front of your aura so that hate just bounces straight off. I guess the move was always going to be a huge transition - and the sting is that the change process is never over as quickly as we want it to be! I've always found the 3-month mark to be pretty gruelling - I've never really settled in by that point but I think I expect that I should have. Give it time. Make yourself a vision board or a brain-map or something of what you want your life to look like... and then do something to take a tiny achievable step towards that.

Re the less-than-ideal school. OK, drawing deep on my lived experience here: during my childhood, I attended 3 kindies, 6 different primary schools, and (thankfully only) one (less-than-ideal) high school - and educationally I turned out pretty damn ok. Once I'd mastered learning to read in prep, and had left the painting drawing and singing of lower primary behind me, I was pretty much bored ****less for the remainder of primary school... BUT what kept me going was the exploration I undertook in my own time. I *know* for certain that you live a full and interesting life with your little family, you expose them to a huge variety of sensory and cultural experiences and people. Seriously, that counts for more in your children's brain development and learning than all the high-end pedagogies on the planet. Sure, strive for improvements if you can, but take the angst/pressure off yourself. Your kids will be ok, and more than that they will thrive, just because of the fantastic family they are a part of. xxx