This year - at least until July - feels like it is shaping up to be the craziest one yet. Although without a Big Ride this year, I have no idea why I am feeling this way. I mean, hell, we're only going away this weekend for a one-day ride, not a nine-day affair!

But right now it doesn't exactly feel "calm". The wind is picking up, and the storm clouds are building, and I have that eerie sense you get when you feel like it's going to be a big one. Batten down the hatches... the next three months are about to hit.

I blame the netball, of course. Without the netball it wouldn't be so manic.

This is what our timetable is looking like - and all I can say is thank heavens the rep netball finishes on the first weekend in July. I don't think it is something we could sustain all year.

Cait is playing rep netball in town. (Three times a week into town for training, club training and rep game, and then club game.) Her rep training has already been happening.

Ali is playing rep netball up here - and her rep training starts late - on the 17th. So she will then have two training sessions a week - rep and 'club' - and then she plays two games on the weekend.

They both have between 4 and 6 rep carnivals to go to on Sundays between now and State Age in July. Not all the same ones of course, seeing they are playing with different associations.

Marc is going to coach the 'club' team up here that Cait and Ali are playing in together. Cait is going to coach a junior team on another afternoon - so I need to be there as Parent supervisor/manager/communicator with the parents. That all starts next week.

Cait also still has a few more weeks of Touch to finish - which clashes with her netball on Wednesdays, so we have to balance that out and take turns - now that rep selections are over and she's in the team.

She is also going in the high school musical as a dancer (performance in May) so has rehearsals for that on Tuesday afternoons and Sundays which are going to clash a bit with the netball. (Means mum doing frantic taxi runs is what it means.)

Ali and Zoe still do swimming one afternoon a week. (I have to take Ali to a town nearly 2 hours away this Thursday for the high school Regional swimming carnival, and I'm being a horrible mother and hoping she doesn't get through to State... she really isn't a serious enough swimmer to go to State!!)

Zoe does a tennis lesson on Wednesday afternoons. And she will start junior netball - in the team that Cait is coaching - so this year for the first time she will have training one afternoon a week.

Last year Ali was doing flute and recorder through an extra-curricular class offered at primary school. To continue she has to go to band after school at high school, and I have no idea what I was doing when I convinced her to do it. With the recorder she has opted to go to the Opera House again this year for the Combined Schools Recorder Ensemble on the 10th June, so that will involve a few after school lessons.

Zoe is also doing recorder and flute at school, and is also going to the Operal House for the Recorder Ensemble.

Heaven help me, I think that is all... Now you know why I call myself crazy. All I can think is that it leaves them no time to get into trouble! ["That'll keep 'em off the streets" says Mum.]

In many ways it seems like TOO much - but somehow I suspect they'll still find the time to sit on the computer playing stupid games, or on inane chat on MSN.

If I survive, I'll see you out the other end... and with a bit of luck manage to post a few things in the midst of it all. I need my downtime of course!

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Edited to add: I acquired the picture above a while back via the Australian movie 'Look Both Ways'. The movie uses animations painted by Director Sarah Watt.. and I think this picture was from them.. somehow.. can't remember where exactly I found it. It was a great movie by the way! Watching the trailers again makes me want to go find it and watch it again.