I drive to school twice a day, every day. Sometimes I drive there three times and on a particularly disorganized forgot-my-lunch, left-my-sports-uniform-at-the-door, volunteer-to-decorate-another-freaking-classroom day. I end up making the drive four times. No. We do not live close enough to walk.
I could put the children on the bus, but I actually really like the process of the school drop off and pick up. When I went back to work full time it was one of the things I really missed. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being back in the office, but I felt a little robbed. I love those blissful first 5 minutes when school breaks up. The 5 minutes where everyone’s happy to see you and still in a state of euphoria of school being over. It usually takes about 5 minutes before everything turns pear shaped.
Except on Thursdays. The world is good on Thursdays.
We have a little Thursday afternoon ritual. Thursday is the end of the working/school week here. We stop at the corner store and everyone is allowed to chose 3 things for movie night (another Thursday ritual). We also count goats. Goats in motion.
He smiled for the camera.
Fluffy goats. We love the fluffy goats.
The “corner store” is full of surprises. Sometimes they have milk, sometimes they don’t. They always have bread. They always have chick peas, lentils and laban. Everyone has Laban. Laban is great, particularly if you are not putting it in your coffee when you’ve mistaken for milk. Yes I did.
The little travellers will peruse the lolly isle for roughly 10 minutes before choosing the EXACT same thing they chose the week before. It is never the lentils or the chickpeas.
In Australia, they’re Cheezels and Twistees. These names still make me laugh:
Why don’t we call them Fonzies in Australia? I’m highly partial to snacking on a Big Ring.
And on the trip home, while we’re discussing what we’re going to eat first, we keep counting the goats.
What are your family rituals?
Have a great weekend everyone and Eid Mubarak to my muslim friends.
✕
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Saturday morning chocolate crepes at our favourite cafe along with giant bag of popcorn from the farmer’s mkt. Not nearly as exotic as yours! Although when our dog gets clipped she goes from sheep to goat in appearance.
Friday nights at home are generally pizza and popcorn throwing nights. Kids choose a movie which is squabbled over like a life and death issue, then talked through. During the end credits, there is silly dancing, which is the highlight. There is usually vodka too…which helps.
Snap! Although I vary the vodka with occasional bubbles 🙂
the mother who stares at goats 🙂
I’m so immature, big ring, tee hee.
We have a few things that we always do, which is a lot of fun!
We have games night on Thursday http://blog.mummybrain.com/search/label/Games%20night and we have Family Meeting on Wednesday http://blog.mummybrain.com/2011/09/family-meeting.html and on Sunday is always Roast Night http://blog.mummybrain.com/2011/08/sunday-roast.html
Friday night @ local Surf Life Saving Club watching the whales go by and drinking fav champagne (and yes this is a family ritual as we all go… but kids play with their friends and hubby has his xxxx gold).
Oh my! I am loving this post! i Just so happen to LOVE
goats, camels horse and pretty much most things on four legs. I have a few
photos like this myself, but mine are from varies areas around saudi arabi!
Thank you for this! Cheers!
I was so disappointed when we didn’t see a camel in the back of a truck/ute yesterday. There is nothing funnier than pulling up at a set of lights and being eye to eye with a camel.
I’m guessing I am not the only person who will read this comment and be INSANELY jealous.
You just made me laugh out loud. Thank you!
Where else but Sunshine Beach on the glorious Sunshine Coast, Qld Australia… miss ya babe – looking forward to your next visit!
Oh I love it!
because of the nature of my family we don’t have any weekly rituals… just one rule – never leave without saying I love you.
I’m from the US, so counting goats reminds me of counting sheep to try to get to sleep….it made me giggled a bit. Great pictures!
Our family doesn’t have a weekly ritual, but when Papa is out of town we have at least 1-2 meals be popcorn, apples, and whatever fancies us.
You do it everyday since I discovered your post about being the lonely woman in Jakarta, on a very cold night after a whole day of breastfeeding and fighting the colic crisis of my then 1 month old baby(while my husband off course in doha for work). Wow, its almost 1 year ago! Thank you!
Yup. Jealous. 😉
We do pancakes and bacon/sausages with maple syrup at the weekend. This is a special ritual because the mix of the meats with the maple syrup is American and my British kids love the American-ness of it. And they love the flavour! and I think it’s also special because they’re all teens now, so very busy doing loads of things all the time and this is a meal that we all have mid morning together around the kitchen table. Even though the teens love being independent, they also love staying connected with the family (which is reassuring for us parents!)
smiling goats and Big Rings … the Universe clearly has a sense of humour! our favourite ritual is takeaway pizza on the Saturdays that Dad works. clearly i need to add a trip to the dvd shop and popcorn … xt
Don’t forget the wine…..or the vodka……or the bubbles 🙂
When we lived in Texas, every Saturday morning was pancakes, bacon and eggs. I love those memories. We had a different set up in the kitchen than we do now and The Little Travelers would all sit on one long bench on one side of the table and we’d sit on the other.
Due to location our bacon days are over but we relive the scenario when we go back to Oz over the summer. Thanks for taking me back for a moment. x
Counting sheep in the US reminds me of Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. I agree, when G is out of town we have upside down days, breakfast for dinner is my favourite.
I’m staking a claim on your ritual – I think we do it MOST of the time – but I don’t think we remember to do it EVERY time. That’s a goody.
P.S. Love you and your Boo – I’m a subscriber so you pop up in my inbox each day. Kx
Family night, dependent upon schedules for the week – usually involves a movie or board games, we are highly competitive. Always a tradition to watch Man Utd. our football team while enjoying loads of snacks.
Yeah…I put Laban on my cereal. Bleh!! Not a fun surprise!!
My kids are grown, but now we have grandkid rituals. When we visit, I always make monster pancakes for breakfast. Monster pancakes are actually the big flat Dutch pancakes, as big as the frying pan you make them in, as big as a dinner plate or bigger. Yes, I am Dutch, but my grandkids are American and they love these monster pancakes. You put honey or syrup or jam on them, or whatever you want and then you roll them up and cut them across into manageable bites.
I grew up with these things and never thought they were anything that special and exciting, but it’s the first thing I hear after the hugs and kisses: Oma, will you make monster pancakes tomorrow? The answer is always yes.
PS: This does not work while Skyping 😉
OOooh, they’re Fonzies here in Switzerland too! No ‘Big Rings’ though – despite being huge cheese producers, everything here is Paprika flavoured, so maybe they thought that “Hot Rings” was a bit risque?
Top post as always, Kirsty!
Kids love tradition and rituals. Particularly our Christmas ones, putting up the tree, open house with lots of home-baked goodies, one gift opening Christmas Eve, etc.
But, our Saturday night family dinners together are just as important. As are the weekday meals when we’re gathered around getting our 2-cents in and voicing our opinions to one another! It’s all good!
I love this story. Rituals like this are so ‘memory making’ , to use a jargonistic term. We don’t have children home but Sundays are about a special breakfast, pulling out the good cups and plates, and making real coffee before alternating outside jobs with inside lazing about – and the rest!!!
Ours is a Christmas ritual started in my childhood and my kids insist on even now.
Growing up, each Christmas morning we breakfast first then do the dishes. Everyone goes to the lounge and sits in a semicircle around the tree. Dad puts on his Santa hat and gives the gifts out from under the tree, one by one.
I like to hoard my gifts for as long as I’m able – which isn’t very long as the kids always want to see what everyone else got!
It’s a tradition the kids still love, even though they are adults now. 🙂
What a sweet ritual! And I totally agree – obviously the fluffy goats are the best!