Lockdown 2.0, Days 100 & 101

 Day 100 of lockdown!!! That feels pretty momentous. We talked about having a day 100 party but no one had any motivation to do anything about it. I celebrated by listening to a gorgeous song written about lockdown and shared on a friend's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thebengsons/videos/724609064791616.

I spent a good chunk of the day proofreading. I was thinking I should get the dishes done before I got started on the proofing, then realised I often put off the things I really want to do by saying 'I'll just do this first' and then run out of energy or get called to something else and miss out on what was important to me. So I proofed first and had a very enjoyable morning in my room reading. I had some lunch and did yoga outside with Caitlin and Amelie. We turned on our mats at one point and one of the chickens had nestled into the ground just behind us - cool to have a chicken join us for yoga. I did some more proofing in the afternoon but was a bit distracted and didn't enjoy it so much. I decided to go in to Healesville to get some more bread from the bakery (my favourite place to get bread) and maybe buy myself a hot drink and go on my Artist's Date for the week. I was delayed a bit by a few things and left much later than I'd planned. One of my delays was my phone slipping out of my hand as I tried to put it in my bag - it fell face down on our cork floor and the glass smashed - not the tempered glass screen protector, it's still fine, but the glass of the phone itself is cracked all over. I was pretty sad and just couldn't seem to pick up from there. The bakery was closed when I got there, so I went to Aldi, bought some cool things from the middle aisles and got some Aldi bread, and a peppermint chocolate milk drink and some chocolate croissants for myself. I drove to one of my walking spots within our 5km and took my food and drink and book and sat for a while. I got distracted easily (and there were lots of mozzies) and the croissants weren't really what I wanted... It was nice to be out by myself though and I stayed for about an hour, listening to my audio book and playing games on my phone for some of the time.

Back home I did the dishes and took Luna for a late walk around the dam. Liam cooked banana bread. Tony had had a huge day at work and had a long evening nap. It became an every man for himself dinner because I was exhausted - I had slept badly again. I watched some Umbrella Academy (I'm loving it more and more with every episode and love the quality of my computer screen) and chatted to the girls for a while before eventually going to sleep.

This morning I woke at 5am so had several hours to myself in the morning. When Amelie woke up she brushed and braided my hair (the first time she's braided). I chatted to the kids and Tony as they emerged, tidied up inside and outside. We spent a lot of time looking at a list of the 10 largest birds of prey, and researching the range of animals that they eat. Our favourite is the Eurasian Eagle Owl. We interspersed that with watching the Peregrine Falcon livestream. In the early afternoon we all played Cards Against Humanity (Family Edition). It was hilarious and very relaxing, and fun to have all 5 of us playing. Tony, Caitlin and Liam went for a run. I did some more tidying then sat and chatted with Caitlin while she crocheted, and we played Kiss, Marry, Kill. The others joined in for a while with that as well. I went for a long, slow walk and listened to my audio book, then did some work on the computer, and played the piano for the first time in ages.

I'm getting ready to head to bed for an early night, and eagerly looking forward to tomorrow - there will be announcements about what is happening with the restrictions. I'm swinging between thinking nothing much will change, and that heaps will be allowed. We had 2 cases yesterday and only 1 today - so things are certainly looking positive for some kind of easing. I'm less antsy about it than I though I would be, but I am very keen to hear what the plan will be going forward from tomorrow.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 60

 The most important thing about today (even bigger than Fathers Day) was the announcement of the roadmap out of restrictions. I was very keen to see what the plan was, even though I wasn't expecting much to change in the near future. It does seem like a well-considered plan and it is contingent on numbers dropping significantly - I really really do hope that enough people will abide by the guidelines and we can well and truly get the virus suppressed enough so that we can ease restrictions and start to see people again. In the short term nothing really changes for us, we still can't have people over or go outside our 5km zone. In a week though we are allowed to be with one other person in a public place. We realised that our 5km zone overlaps with one of the kids' (and my) friend's 5km zone - so we might be able to meet up with them somewhere in the overlapping part and go for a walk or something. Otherwise, not much will change for us really until the 3rd step around October 26th. Caitlin is disappointed that she won't be able to have anyone here for her 16th birthday, and I'm feeling the pain of not being able to see friends for another 7 weeks - but the plan makes sense and I agree it is the right way to go, slowly and steadily, and really try to get this under control.

We had a busy and fun day despite spending so much time thinking and talking about the roadmap. I was up early (woke at 5.30, which is my favourite time to wake) and had a few hours up by myself, mainly on the computer - I also saw the sunrise on a beautifully clear, crisp morning. Once the others started to get up I had breakfast and started cooking lasagne for Fathers Day lunch - a meat one and a vegie one. Mid morning I cooked bacon and eggs for Tony and made him a coffee, and we took him breakfast in bed and gave him his Fathers Day presents. Liam gave him a bottle cap darts game, and the girls made him a movie trailer about their quest to find him a gift - it was awesome! - and gave him chocolates from the chocolate factory. We all hung about in the bedroom for a while, the kids helped me clear off the top of my cupboard and we sorted through some clothes, all while chatting and hanging out.

I did dishes and finished making the lasagne while watching the press conference, and popping in and out to discuss points with Tony. We ate our lunch around 2 - the lasagnes turned out well. Tony and I went for a walk, he headed back after a while and I continued on a longer one - it was a warmish sunny day (although the wind was a bit cold) and I marvelled at how much the ground has dried out, given how muddy it was not that long ago. Caitlin had another driving lesson in the manual car - she's getting quite good, did her first hill start, and did a 3-point turn on a hill as well. I had a shower then did some work on my photos, Tony played chess with Liam, then watched some football. I chatted to my Dad for a while, he's doing well. We ordered Indian takeaway for dinner which was delicious, and afterwards headed off to do our own things (more photo work for me, online games with friends for Liam, drawing using her new app for Amelie, talking to a friend for Caitlin and football then Tour de France for Tony). Tony and I walked out the front together to put the bins out - it's a clear, still night and we got a great view of all the stars. It was weird being out at the road and no cars coming past - it was significantly less busy than a usual Sunday night (it's the first time since curfew started that I've put the bins out, so I hadn't noticed before). Everyone seems to be in a good mood this evening, and Tony said it was his best Fathers Day.

Another important thing - my COVID test came back negative. Caitlin still doesn't have her result.

Lockdown 2.0, Days 56, 57 and 58

 I've spent the last few days oscillating between feeling anxious and feeling really flat. A bit disappointing after feeling so good on Tuesday afternoon, but it is what it is and I have let myself feel whatever I needed to at the time. I haven't felt like writing so I allowed myself some time off, I've focussed on doing things that I love and that feel right, and I knew I'd be back eventually. 2 long phone calls with friends today (one who I hadn't talked to for a couple of years) and a text conversation entirely in haiku with another friend really helped - I laughed a lot (especially at the haikus) and relaxed and am feeling more positive now.

Wednesday morning (seems so long ago!) was pretty good, I got a fair bit down around the house and on the computer, and had a long chat to Mum. Caitlin and I went to the post office and called in at the Chocolate Factory to get some more presents for people. I did some research on what was new car options. In the late afternoon Tony took me to Healesville to pick up my car - I chatted to the mechanics about the type of car I might buy and got some useful information. The know the receptionist at the mechanics and we had a long chat before I headed home. On the way I saw a baby masked Lapwing trying to cross the road and I was worried it might get hit so I stopped - there were 2 parents and 4 babies, and the parents were desperately trying to keep the babies from going on the road. When they were on the road they were too little to easily jump back up the gutter to the safety of the grass, so it was pandemonium. One of the babies got knocked over by the slipstream of a car going past, but after a tumble he got up and ran back to his parents and seemed fine. I'd tried to help herd them off the road, then one of the parents decided I was a threat and came at me, so I left them to it (everyone was back on the grass by then and heading away from the road so I think they were safe). The babies were so cute and their fluffy round bodies were backlit by the sun - I'm so happy that I saw it. 

I went for a late, brisk walk when I got home and saw the full moon rising over the mountains - very cool! I did more car research after dinner and suddenly felt completely overwhelmed and anxious, so I went to bed. I was awake for hours in the night (Winky woke me up to tell me she'd caught a mouse, and I couldn't quieten my mind enough to get back to sleep). After a while I got up and did some tidying in the kitchen, and some writing, and some photography work, then played games on my phone for a bit and eventually settled back into bed and to sleep. I woke later than usual and my anxiety was there but muted, and I kind of fell into a day of feeling bleugh. I was just over the whole lockdown thing, I am missing my friends, I don't think I can handle another week and a half of stage 4 but I have to really, there's no other option, and I don't think Stage 3 will be much different for us anyway... It just all felt too hard and I know the kids are finding it hard too so I was also feeling overwhelmed by their worries about it. I had a good chat with a friend which helped calm me a little. I did some more work on cleaning out the wardrobe in my room, and actually felt like I made some progress. In the afternoon the kids and I played Dixit which was fun - everyone is really emotional so there was lots of laughing and a bit of tears as well. I talked to Mum - Dad had chemo in the morning so it was good to get an update (he's feeling ok, tired, a bit grumpy. I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it all but I do like talking to them regularly). I did some of my course and some photo work and headed to bed fairly early.

I slept fitfully so woke up still pretty tired today, although it was nice not to be up for hours. I still felt flat but the anxiety had mainly gone. I caught up on some dishes, chatted to Amelie and Liam, then chatted to a friend on the phone while I weeded the garden. I worked a bit more in the bedroom, then had a wonderful 2 hour chat to an old friend. Caitlin and Liam went for a bike ride and started to help Amelie learn to ride Liam's old bike. Throughout the day I was sending and receiving haikus to a friend and they really made me laugh and helped to ground me. I felt much much better this afternoon and went for a mid-length walk and listened to my audio book. Luna ran off as we rounded the dam, and bailed up the big (BIG!!) male kangaroo over near the creek. I went over to try to distract her but I was pretty scared of him and he looked like he could head for me at any moment. They were at a standoff for a while then he charged her - he had his front claws out and if he'd caught her it would have been nasty. She avoided him then chased him into the dam - I'd already rung Tony and he and Caitlin drove down in the vineyard ute to get her - usually she can be distracted by the car. She reluctantly got in and was a bit sheepish when everyone was angry at her - but once back in the yard she was staring intently at the roos in the vines like she was ready to go again... I cooked dinner and then had a bath and a glass of wine, Tony watched the Collingwood game. I'm feeling pretty relaxed now although I have a headache so looking forward to sleep and a new day tomorrow.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 44

Feeling very tired tonight even though I had a fairly relaxing day. I was up early (it poured rain around 5.30am and I think that woke me up) so had a relaxing morning, did a bit of work outside, came back in and chatted to Liam and Amelie. Liam and I had a long talk about early 20th century Russian history - one of my favourite time periods, with lots of people who really intrigue me. He'd been watching some videos about it so it was interesting to compare stories about what we knew. 

Liam and I then played Othello - he very nearly beat me, I only won by 2 tiles. Closest game I've played in a very long time. He went for a bike ride and I tidied up some more. He bought himself a new computer game (Fall Guy) and spent a lot of the rest of the day exploring that. I did some work on my course and with my photos, chatted briefly to a friend who popped by to drop off some supplies, went for a walk before it got too wet - it was cold and it did sprinkle on me a bit, but I had time for a long, slow walk around most of the property, and talked to Mum on the phone for about half of it. I got the washing off the line when I got back home, and just as I brought it inside we had a sudden heavy downpour that turned to hail. The wind was icy all day and we were very grateful for the fire.

The girls continued watching The Dragon Prince and I made a citrus cheesecake. I had a long hot bath while I read my book and drank some of my caramel brownie tea. Tony stayed back at work for a while organising firewood, and picked up pizza and pasta on his way home, then headed to bed for an early night. I watched the end of Season 3 of The Dragon Prince with the girls - there's obviously another season coming, so we're all looking forward to that.

Numbers are the lowest today they've been since we went to Stage 3. A sense of relief every day as they go down - I really really hope it's because there are fewer new cases, and not that people are just not getting tested.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 43

 I realised last night that we have completed 6 weeks of lockdown- if we’d stayed on the original Stage 3 plan, today’s the day that restrictions would have eased. Although we have all had our crazy moments this week in particular, I’m impressed that we have got this far and on the whole are pretty happy and mainly getting along. There’s still about 4 weeks left of Stage 4 and who knows what after that, but I’m feeling hopeful and positive about the future.

It was a good day today. Chats with Liam in the morning, a game of Othello with Amelie, work on my photos, number puzzles, watching The Dragon Prince with the girls, sorting out the piles of fabric that have been taking over our lounge room. Liam went for a bike ride, the girls and I went for a long (slow) walk - I’m still sore from my strength training and Caitlin from Cheer training last night. 

At 4.30 we video called with 2 other families for our hot chocolate festival. Liam and 2 of his friends made their hot chocolates and then chatted while they drank them. (We had ordered lots from the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, they came with melts to put in hot milk, couverture choc to melt and pour in, a flavoured marshmallow and a treat of some sort to make it super special. Liam had a wagon wheel slurp, Caitlin a ginger one, mine was Gatytime themed and Amelie’s chicken shaped marshmallows with a sprinkle covered egg. The girls and I made ours and we FaceTimed with the adults.. After a while one of them had to go, and I kept talking to my other friend while we had a glass of wine together.  The hot chocs were a great experience and the conversation was really fun. 

We had a pork ragù for dinner - made by the chef at de Bortoli - it was amazingly good! We kept watching the Dragon Pronce and I started making something with my t-shirt yarn, then did some of my creativity course and have ended the day feeling very happy and content.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 40

 I felt much better today, more positive about the future and felt happy with where I am right now. Yesterday was the anniversary of my miscarriage so that could well have influenced my mood.

Amelie and I made some designs with a compass and pencil and then played Mr Squiggle for a while. I did some work outside and on the computer and around the kitchen. I had an RACV guy come to look at my car battery because it's been playing up a lot, he thinks it might be fine if I just make sure I start the car every few days... I'm not convinced but if I keep having problems I'll get him to come back and put in a new one. I played the piano, Caitlin crocheted some gorgeous little dinosaurs, Amelie talked to friends and played Roblox, and hung out on the trampoline, Liam talked to friends and played on his computer. Amelie and I had an intense game of Mastermind (well, she guessed correctly in 3 turns, I took a lot longer and it stretched my logical thinking quite a bit), Mum and I played Boggle remotely, then Caitlin and I went for a walk around sunset, coming home pretty much in the dark. Luna is getting really good at staying near us even when we're not holding the lead - as long as we leave the lead attached to her collar. We all watched the Grand Final of Ninja State of Origin - we were so hoping for a Victorian win, but the WA team have several of our favourite ninjas so we weren't too disappointed when they won (and at least Vic was in the final race).

Looks like the weather is going to be a bit unpleasant for the rest of the week - it's already getting really windy outside and I think there's going to be a lot of rain.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 31

 Another good day today. I feel like I've settled in to this lockdown and we're all doing things that we want to be doing, as well as having plenty of time to hang out and relax.

We had waffles for breakfast (home=made on our borrowed waffle maker - they were really easy and very yummy). Everyone was up and about by mid-morning which is very unusual. I spent some time outside working in the yard, Amelie jumped on the trampoline, Caitlin played with Luna. The 5 of us did some quizzes on Kahoot, they were fun and funny. Amelie had spent a lot of time creating a quiz about herself, it was very cool. Amelie and I did some monster sudoku puzzles and a few other types. I went for a walk in the early afternoon while I chatted on the phone to another friend who was also walking. It was such a beautiful day - sunny in patches and just a really lovely feel and everywhere I looked made me feel so happy to live here. Liam and Tony went for a bike ride in the morning and Caitlin did the same in the afternoon. Liam and Amelie and I played Monopoly on the X-box - way more fun than I expected. I spent some time uploading photos, making gifts for people, and working on my course. After dinner I turned one of my favourite dresses, which was stretched and had holes in it, into a big ball of t-shirt yarn. It was fun and it's exciting to think of all the things I can make with it now (I've already made a hair tie). Caitlin used a section of it (before it was cut into yarn) to make herself a top - she's doing things with sewing that I would never attempt!

Lockdown 2.0, Day 30

I didn't even look at the numbers today - I'm having a week or so off reading the news, feels like a break would be good for my mental and emotional health. The only news I heard today is that the school I did Yrs 11 and 12 at (in Newcastle) has also closed due to a positive case.

I felt a lot better again today, could pretty much operate as normal. I had a few rests after doing stuff in the garden or around the house, and I couldn't walk as fast as I usually do on my walk with Caitlin, but otherwise felt great. I'm just about ready to start doing pull-ups again. Well, not doing them as such, but working towards doing a pull-up. 

Amelie and I played Guess Who this morning, and Caitlin and I had a go of it later as well. Liam bought Skyrim on his computer last night so we had lots of chats about how it was to play on the different platform and how much he was enjoying it. He and Caitlin played Call of Duty and Halo for a while. Amelie spent a lot of time on the trampoline and talking to a friend on the phone. I hung out in my room for a while doing number puzzles, very relaxing, then I wrote a poem and posted it on my Facebook page - the first time I've shared a poem with others since I was in primary school I think - scary and exciting. Tony came home late for a Friday because he chopped wood at work before heading home - he'll pick it up in the trailer after work next Friday, rather than making a special trip on the weekend like he usually does. He brought home takeaway pizza and had picked up the mail - which included my first tea subscription box from T2 - I have been SO looking forward to it. I got French Earl Grey, Apricot Jam Rooibos, a sleepy time tea and a Darjeeling. They all smell so great and I'm drinking (and loving) the apricot one right now. Earlier in the evening I had a zoom call with an old friend - I haven't seen her in years (we live on opposite sides of Melbourne and are both busy with kids and life, and have talked about catching up and just not managed it) - it was SO SO wonderful to talk to her and we're planning to do it again soon. We had a beer together and filled each other in on big family news and just enjoyed hanging out.

Here's my poem:

Lockdown Days

Lockdown.

Each day much

The same

As the one before.

'What day is

It, anyway?'

The same activities

To pass the time.

Check the numbers,

Play a game.

Look at Facebook,

Hang the clothes.

Watch a movie,

Go for a walk.

A long walk.

Take as much time

As we can.

Then suddenly -

It's evening!

Where did the day go?

What about all

The very important
Things

I was going to do?

 

Oh well.

They'll be there

To do tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Or the one after that.

As the days pass

Quickly and slowly

And begin

To blend

Into one.

 

 

Annie-Lou Regan 7/8/2020

Lockdown 2.0, Day 29

New case numbers were in the 400s today, still not great but better than higher. For the first time in ages though I just glanced at the numbers and was able to go about my day without dwelling on them. Although I was interested to hear to that one of my old high-schools in Newcastle was closed because of a positive case.

Today was also the first morning in weeks that I woke up feeling my normal levels of energy and I was able to go about my usual morning routine. I still got tired quicker than normal but sitting down with a cup of tea or a drink of water picked me back up fairly quickly. Amelie and Liam and I played a board game, the kids watched Pocahontas and I had an hour by myself doing some colouring in, we all went for a walk in the afternoon. It had been raining on and off in the morning, the afternoon was sunny and not too cold. The ground is pretty muddy out there. We saw heaps of kangaroos - we always see some, today I think we saw ALL of them - probably 80 or more. The girls and I finished watching Gilmore Girls - I really loved it, much more than I expected to. I didn't ever really watch it when it was originally on tv, and I've so enjoyed the experience of sharing it with the girls. They went on to watch the new 10-years later sequel, but I didn't stick around for that - I like to just imagine the characters carrying on from where the original show ended, and I don't want to see someone else's imaginings of where they turned up. I started up my photography pages/accounts on Facebook and Instagram (huge learning curve here!). Tony watched the Collingwood game (he's enjoying the current 20-days-of-football fixture, there's always something to watch). We all headed off to bed by 10pm which is unusual for us -although Caitlin came in and chatted to me for a while so we were up a bit later.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 27

Not much to say in regards to COVID information. Numbers in the 400s again, more information on workplace lockdowns, looks like Tony's work comes under food and beverage manufacture so he will still be going to work. Watched the press conference and felt so frustrated at the way the journalists keep asking the same questions, even in the same press conference, like they think the answers are going to change. 

I woke up feeling pretty woozy,  went for a morning walk as it was still sunny and the forecast was for lots of rain and maybe hail and a very cold day. It was certainly chilly on my walk around the dam - the longest walk I've done in a week and a half and it was good to be out there again. A beautiful morning. I had a shower and still felt pretty dodgy, so lay down for a while and tried to have a nap. Liam and I went out to patch a bit of the driveway I wanted to fix up before the rain (he did the work for me) and after that I felt pretty good. I was able to do a bit of tidying up, played the piano, did some computer stuff. I talked to the dr again and decided we'll try a few other things before going to the gynae clinic because I don't want to go out if I don't have to. We had hail and rain on and off throughout the day, and lots of our friends had snow. The clouds lifted a couple of times and we could see the snow on the fields up around Toolangi - that's the first time in the 9 years we've lived here that we've been able to see the snow - there's been other years it snowed but the cloud cover stayed low. Liam and Amelie jumped on the trampoline in the hail, and we spent a lot of the day going out and looking at the clouds, the rain, the hail, the sunlight - the late afternoon light was spectacular, sunlight from the horizon with very dark clouds above us. And an icy wind the whole time.

The kids and I played Forbidden Island in the afternoon (and we very nearly won but not quite). Caitlin cooked waffles on the waffle maker we borrowed - they were delicious!  I cooked pumpkin soup for dinner (it was definitely a soup kind of day) then we all watched Ninja Warrior, with our usual Facetime call to some friends to watch for a while with them. A good day overall. 

Lockdown 2.0, Day 14

Today was hard. Numbers are way up - over 500 for Australia, most in Victoria. We’re 2 weeks into lockdown and things aren’t getting better. It’s scary and worrying.

I woke up with my head all stuffy and my throat scratchy. Caitlin woke up saying she felt really sick - she’d been heading that way for the past couple of days. I feel like mine is hayfever, hers might be too or she’s just exhausted, or she’s picked up a cold from somewhere... but it’s not worth assuming that and being wrong, so we went to Healesville to get tested. It was a bit odd having it done on the same room I do karate in...

Liam and I had a fun morning playing games - Othello (he’s pretty good but hasn’t beaten me yet - probably the only game o can say that about!), Flux, Burn and Kaboom. Amelie joined us for a while too. After Caitlin and I decided to go and get tested he was a bit worried so went to his room to play on his computer and stayed there for the rest of the day. Amelie spent a lot of the afternoon on the trampoline and playing with Luna. Caitlin and I watched Gilmore Girls, she did some sewing and i researches website and storage options. The girls and I went for a late walk and played with Luna a bit more. The dam was beautiful in the post-sunset light.

We’re all a bit on edge. Caitlin and I both became more anxious as the evening went on - a duet session at the piano had us laughing hard and helped quite a bit. I had a bath and Caitlin talked to friends- I think we’re all a tad stir- crazy and feeling anxious and it caught up with is all today. The house is a mess and I feel like I have a massive list of things I want to be doing and m not getting to - hopefully tomorrow I’ll either be able to do some of them, or stop worrying about them!

Karate, Guides, friends and car service

This is the first full week of school term and all our activities are back on. On Tuesday we mainly stayed at home. We played Titan, played Minecraft, watched TV, Millie and I watched some Pokemon, we did Sudokus, played cards, played with Barbies and pillow pets, jumped on the trampoline, Millie did some more drawing, we read books. In the evening we went to karate - Amelie came with as Tony was at work - she could have joined in, though chose not to yet. She watched from the side and played on the iPad. I really enjoyed being back - I was a little worried about my knee, but I'd warmed it up before we got there, and strapped it, and I was very careful doing kicks (it meant that I really concentrated on doing them correctly), and it was fine. There was one leg sweeping move that one of the black belts was teaching us that looked too risky for a questionable knee, so I sat that one out - one of the things I love about this dojo, that no one is expected to anything that they are not comfortable with. The kids played in the playground after karate which for Amelie especially made the evening much more fun.

After karate we popped into Coles for more chocolate milk and a snack, then home for a late dinner of potato wedges and dim sims. Tony came home after we did, and had some dinner then went to the shed to practice his darts for Wednesday night. He's trying to get to bed a bit earlier because he's working so much, so I'm doing more of the helping everyone get into bed part of the night, which means I'm going to bed later than I usually do, and then waking up later as well. I think I'm getting the same amount of sleep, just at a different part of the night, and it's taking me a little bit of time to adjust.

So Wednesday morning I didn't wake up until 8.10, and I was dropping the car off to be serviced at 9! I quickly cleaned everything out of the car and grabbed something quick to eat (raspberries and cream). H had come over to be with the kids so I took the car down, then walked to the bus stop in the rain which was quite pleasant. I thought the next bus was at 5 past 10, but there was one at 9.30, so I was home again within 40 minutes of leaving. All the kids were up once I got back and H was getting them breakfast.

H and Caitlin spent most of the day sewing, making a halter neck top for Caitlin. It was very cool to watch the process, as neither of them had done it before and they didn't have a pattern, and they worked together to figure it all out as they went, and tried different ideas and adjusted as necessary. The top is beautiful and looks well made, I was impressed and inspired by the way they just had a go and worked it out. H also helped Amelie make some clothes for her barbies, and they played with the dolls for a while. The kids played Minecraft with H and watched some TV. I was able to a heap of tidying up and cleared most of our kitchen table which was quite exciting, haven't seen that much of the table for a while!

In the afternoon V came over to play with LiAM, they tried to play Jetpack Joyride but we couldn't update our copy, so they played Minecraft and then went outside on the trampoline and swing. I had a cuppa with R, then she took Caitlin with her to get S from school and go to S's swimming lesson. I caught the bus back to Healesville to pick up the car (which now has a new battery, hurray! Hopefully we won't be stuck unable to start the car anymore for a long time now). H had got the kids ready and I piled everyone into the car on my way back through. I took V home and left my kids at his place, H and I took Caitlin to Guides then H drove home. I had a good chat to L while I watched her boys on the trampoline, then back to pick my kids up and a quick cuppa, then picked Caitlin and some friends up from Guides, dropped the friends off and then home. It felt like a complicated afternoon, but it worked quite easily and everyone got to be where they needed to be and had a good time.

We had a bit more food, Caitlin did some more puzzles, we watched Heartland (they are now showing Season 3 on ABC3, which we have seen on DVD but not on TV, so we were quite excited) then Amelie and I went into the bedroom to watch Pokemon until she was tired enough to sleep. I was in and out with the others while she was watching.  Caitlin watched a movie about horses. LiAM did an online survey that asked for a 6-11 year old boy - I was reading the questions for him and he was able to read about half of the answers, picking up a few new words along the way. Tony came home while were all still awake and was able to help LiAM get to bed and we all made it to sleep a bit earlier than the night before (although still quite late). Actually Caitlin has been reading a lot in bed too, so she's going to bed with the rest of us then reading for an hour or two, she's immersed in the sequel to The Princess Academy and she's really loving it.

Homeschool Group, swimming, stars

We all slept in a bit yesterday (except Tony who started work at 7). Millie was first awake after me and she curled up on the couch with me and chatted for a while, then played Slugterra on the ABC3 site. When the others got up they watched a little bit of TV then they all kept playing Titan - getting the hang of the battle rules and strategies and I'm amazed at how well they understand the game, it can be quite complicated.

After lunch we went to Yarra Junction library for the homeschool activity there. The girls joined in and made butterflies by scrunching up small pieces of crepe paper and sticking them on butterfly-shaped cardboard. They came up with some gorgeous designs and Amelie took a lot of time to get hers exactly the way she wanted it. LiAM played computer games with his friend, and I chatted to the other 2 mums who were there - so great to catch up with a good friend I haven't seen since before christmas, and the other family as well. Once the activity was over the kids got some books and DVDs together that they wanted to borrow, and then played Minecraft with their friends. LiAM tried to watch some videos after the others had left but the wifi wasn't strong enough and kept dropping out.

The girls really wanted to go for a swim across the road at Yarra Junction Aquatic Centre - Amelie had been asking to there instead of other pools for the last 6 weeks or so. LiAM was tired and didn't want to swim - I try to not insist that anyone does something they really don't want to do, and try to help the others have what they'd like at a different time or something. In this case it felt like a great opportunity to let Amelie have the swim she'd been wanting for so long, and I couldn't tell when we'd be back over this way again. So I did agree to go, and suggested that LiAM play on his iPod or my phone while we were swimming. He wasn't thrilled with this but did agree. Once we got to the pool he decided to go swimming with the girls as long as we didn't stay long, which was fair enough.

Amelie's confidence has increased again, even in the last week (and coming back to a familiar pool possibly helped as well). She walked down a few of the stairs of the middle pool (where she can easily stand, and it's deep enough to swim around in) and then launched herself off into the water. She was swimming a couple of metres at a time, either with her head above or below water, and happily on the ramp in the big pool just at the edge of where she can stand up - she's starting to confidently push her limits - while remaining careful not to go past her limits.

We swam for about an hour, the big kids mainly jumping and diving into the deep end, and occasionally coming back to Amelie and I. On the way home we stopped at several of the hard rubbish piles that have been left out the front of people's houses, and picked up some discarded items that are still in very good condition. Some toys, pillow pets, plush toys, buckets and crockery. LiAM has been looking forward to this time of year for months so he was very happy.

Tony had baseball so he wasn't home until late and we had the evening to ourselves. I cooked some omelettes while we watched Australia's Got Talent (and then Farmer Wants a Wife which was surprisingly compelling...). The girls and I went and put the chickens to bed (our wayward Mummy chicken now takes her chicks into the big shed to sleep, although she sleeps on the top shelf with the other chickens and the chicks sleep on the bottom shelf. We usually move them all into a laying box - partly to keep them used to being handled, which we did with the previous lot of chicks, and they are more tolerant of being touched than the older chickens. So we moved the little ones, patted the middle sized ones then locked them in (while I avoided a very large spider that was sitting on the door near the lock....) and then looked at the stars for a while, the sky was so clear and we could see more stars than we usually notice. We looked at Orion's belt and at Mars and looked for other patterns, such a great night be outside.

Tony came home while we were stargazing, then the girls spent time drawing and writing more letters to each other to put in the letter box (Millie drew a 3 headed hydra and a crab, so cool). I went to the bed and the kids played Pacman and headed off to bed shortly after.

Writing, drawing, board games, tv

LiAM woke up feeling much better yesterday which is a huge relief. While I don't like that he is on so much medication, the alternative is constantly struggling to breathe, so I am grateful that the medicine is available and affordable and helps him so effectively.

After our late night the night before and a big week just gone, and lots of things coming up this week, we decided to stay home for a rest day. Millie played Minecraft and experimented with different ways of spelling 'Rudolph' as she has a reindeer skin now and wanted to name it. LiAM watched TV and played his monster game and some Minecraft. Caitlin played dexterity games on her iPad mini and is getting really good. She got frustrated with one level on Pivvot and asked me to try - I couldn't last more than a couple of seconds, my brain doesn't work that quickly in terms of reacting to obstacles and figuring out which way to go. She also found an online Soduko site and between us we did several Sodukos throughout the day. Millie also helped me with my Spanish lesson.

In the afternoon the kids decided to play Titan, and Tony joined them. The 4 of them played on and off all afternoon - LiAM is getting a good understanding of the strategies involved, Caitlin enjoys growing her legions but doesn't really like battling, and Millie is learning the rules and understanding how it works quite well.

While Tony was cooking tea the girls made a letter box out of cardboard boxes and tubes, and went outside to paint it. The tubes got a bit wet and started to break, so Caitlin came up with a few great ideas to strengthen them - she talked about stuffing them full of paper or something heavier, using sticky tape for support on the outside, strengthening them with a stick inside - she kept working at it and ended up with a letter box that opens at each end and is supported by a pole, and has the little flag on top that lets you know if there is mail inside. She has set it up in the lounge room for us to post letters to each other - she and Millie spent a lot of the rest of the evening writing letters to each other and posting them. Millie also did some drawing and writing on the blackboard - doing a fantastic drawing of a fish and a dolphin and labelling them F and D respectively.

She also read the word dolphin when we were looking a photos later on. She and LiAM we were looking at the map of Australia to see where our friends are in their bus after leaving 2 days ago, and where they've been and where they are going. We then looked at some of the places we'll be going on our trip and how far they are from us, and then a more detailed look at some of them, including the photos on Google maps, particularly Shark Bay/Monkey Mia in Western Australia, where there are lots of dolphins and Millie cannot wait to get there. We also looked close up at some reefs of the west coast, they looked like sting rays from the wide view, but are actually areas of shallow water and rocks and look fascinating however close up or far away they are viewed from.

Caitlin and Tony did some gymnastics outside (they started in the kitchen where there wasn't quite enough room...) - mainly Tony flipping C over his shoulder, it was cool to watch how much easier and more graceful it became for both of them as they practised. Caitlin was then able to flip Millie over her shoulder as well which was pretty cool.

In the evening we watched Looney Tunes then Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which is entertaining but a little far fetched sometimes (apart from the premise, there were things that didn't quite make sense. I do like that the kids can notice these things and we can talk about them, while still really enjoying the movie. For example, it was getting hotter and hotter where they were, well over 40 degrees, but they weren't sweating or moving slower or seeming impacted by the heat in any way). Afterwards we watched a bit of cricket and tennis, then an old episode of Heartland, then Rage - they had the top 20 on so the kids were quite excited, and thanks to Caitlin listening to Nova radio these days, I actually knew most of the songs. Interesting to see some of the video clips and to talk to Caitlin about what she thought of them - again, being able to critically analyse them and think about why they make the videos like that means that she's not going to be influenced by the messages without thinking about them herself first.

Quizzes, McDonalds and house organisation

I've discovered a quiz website that I love - www.jetpunk.com - and over the last couple of days we've all done many many quizzes on it. Lots of geography - I now know all of the Asian countries, including all the -stans and how to spell them, and am getting better at South America and Eastern Europe and Africa - as well as general knowledge, movies, words, sporting teams, and The Avengers and Harry Potter. LiAM and I did an Avengers quiz on Friday - name as many of the 100 people who have ever been on the Avengers list... At first we got about 16, then we looked through the answers at the end, then browsed his Avengers Character Guide book, looked up a few on wikepedia that were listed in the answers but he felt could never have been Avengers (and discovered, for example, that Sandman did try to work for good for a while, and did join the Avengers, then became corrupted again). We tried the quiz again and got closer to 40 - we'll come back to it again probably today and see how many we get. We did a lot of Harry Potter quizzes yesterday, with everyone joining in, and knew most of the answers (all the horcruxes, lots of spells, characters, locations, how characters died). The hardest (and most fun) was to name the 100 characters who are most mentioned in the books. We got around 60 the first time, then Caitlin had a go on her own (she wasn't there when we did the first attempt) and got close to that, then together we all did it and thought of 87. It's been so much fun - and one of the things I like about the site is reading some of the comments at the end of the quizzes - most of the people doing them are really keen to learn and keep trying the quizzes over and over until they have learnt all the answers. Especially the geography ones, I am finding it exciting to see people truly eager to remember all of the countries of the world. None of it is knowledge that is  necessary for getting on in the world, but it's interesting and fun and I love to see people learning because they are enjoying it, and I am enjoying it all so much!

On Friday we met up with another unschooling family, we had planned to go to a park but it was raining pretty hard so we met at McDonalds in Ringwood instead. I tried to use the self-ordering system (partly because our order is always a little bit complicated, and it seemed easier to take on the complications myself rather than explain them to the server) - it was so confusing and I ended up ordering 2 meals for myself and the wrong burger for Millie... The staff were lovely and gave me a voucher as a refund for my extra meal, and I went back and bought the right burger for Millie (although forgot to take off the onions and pickles, so she nearly didn't eat it anyway (I scraped them off and ate them myself, they are actually my favourite part of a McDonalds burger). The kids played with their friends in the very cool playground, and I chatted with the other mum, and once our food was all sorted out it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. We were going to finish the visit with mega choc waffle cones - but their ice cream machine wasn't working! So both of us promised our kids we'd get them at a McDonalds on the way home. I was able to use my vouchers which was pretty cool - the kids had a quick play in the new playground at Croydon Maccas, I don't think it was as fun as it looked, Caitlin had been so keen but was a bit disappointed. They ate their ice creams on the way home and that was a lovely end to our outing.

I had a bath when we got home, while Tony cooked spag bol, then he went out to a darts practice night, and the kids played outside on the trampoline and swing, and looked through their binoculars at things, while I ate my tea outside with them and then read my book until it was too dark to read outside. I also took lots of photos of them, including some of them jumping all at the same time on the trampoline, it was very cool. After we came in we watched the christmas bonus episode of Heartland Series 4, then turned the tv off and headed for bed.

Yesterday we had a whole day at home with no plans (my favourite kind of day). Millie and I played Neopets, we all played with the fish/animal puzzle at various times, the girls did their nails, we watched some TV and the movie Rango, LiAM and Millie played with the dinosaur pattern board, Millie and Tony did jigsaw puzzles, LiAM and I had sword fights outside using pool noodles (it was hilarious - at one point L had chopped off my leg so I could only hop, and I had knocked his sword out of his hand, so he was running around trying to get it back while I hopped around it and waved my sword at him - exhausting and really really fun), and we did heaps of work on tidying up, sorting things out, more rearranging of the dining room so that I can start putting things away in there. I felt like I made heaps of progress in lots of areas yesterday, it was a great day. Caitlin has also set up some cool new lights in her room - a long strip of lights that can change colour, and she can operate by remote control! They look very cool and inviting, and she's loving having light again in her room (I broke the one powerpoint in her room a couple of weeks ago, so she's only been able to use battery powered light, it's great that she now has another option, and we've got ideas for how to get her more).

Fresh produce, movies, games and Alexander Technique

Having spent a few days with friends everyone was happy to have a quieter day at home. In the morning the kids watched some TV and played on the iPad and we chatted about what we were watching. Caitlin and I watched 'You've Got Mail' in the bedroom and Millie watched Barbie and the Pink Shoes on the computer.

Our fruit and veg box arrived (the first one since a few weeks before christmas) so we had a lot of fun going through that, discovering what we'd been given this fortnight, and cleaning out the old stuff from the fridge and fruit bowl to put the beautifully coloured and fresh new produce in. The chickens were happy with lots of old veggies to eat, and I stewed the peaches and apples that had been in the fruit bowl - I'd planned to make crumble but didn't quite get there, maybe I'll do that today. We all enjoyed having fresh produce to snack on through the rest of the day.

In the afternoon my friend H came over to play with the kids. I had an Alexander Lesson - I hadn't seen my teacher for ages and it was wonderful to reconnect with her, and then to be reminded of all the things I can do to help my body function more effectively. After a couple of hours with her I had no more pain in my back or my knee, they both feel wonderfully free and loose and I am walking without holding everything tightly in place. We also had a good chat about the uses of vinegar and I am feeling inspired to do some pickling, make my own vinegar, drink apple cider vinegar and honey.

On the way home I went to the library and the supermarket, and came back to find everyone happily playing. Millie and H were playing our Neopets board game, then everyone connected in Minecraft for a while. I did a bit of housework then felt extremely tired so sat down and did a bit of work on my photos. The girls all played with Millie's StarLily unicorn for a while. We watched what turned out to be Lleyton Hewitt's last game in the Australian Open. After tea I took H home (she drove) and I had a chat to another friend when I dropped her off, then home to help everyone get organised for bed (including the chicken and her chicks). We looked to see if we could see the 5 planets aligned in the sky but it was too cloudy. Caitlin was in my room watching Heartland outtakes and special features which were funny and interesting - we all watched for a while then turned it off and headed to our various beds.

Catching Up

I had decided I wasn't going to blog until I was caught up with my emails - which doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon, and I've been missing blogging. So now I'll try to write as often as I can, and sort out my emails afterwards, without the pressure of feeling like I 'have to' get them done so that I can write.

Actually I tend to get much more done in general if I do the things I want to do first, then I'm in a relaxed state and can happily do the less enjoyable things too. If I try the 'work hard first, have the reward at the end' I can feel slightly grumpy through the whole thing, and often don't bother finishing and just skip the 'reward' part. The kids are all the same, to a greater or lesser extent, although they've never had pressure to do things the other way, so they can easily say no if someone is trying to convince them to do something by offering a reward at the end of it, and they automatically do the things they enjoy, and are happy to do the harder things if someone asks them too, when they are ready, they don't need anything at the end to motivate them. I'm hoping I can continue to remember this about myself as well, instead of slipping back into the more culturally expected method of operating.

So a bit of a summary of the past 6 weeks or so
- Caitlin finished her performance season and had another enjoyable night of acting. I saw this performance and was impressed with how her class performed a very powerful and important scene within the play, despite being one of the youngest groups.
- Caitlin has been to sleepovers at a few friend's houses, which also included going to a nail salon, helping feed sheep, going swimming, going shopping, going to the movies
- We all went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens the day after it was released - Caitlin with her friends at a birthday party, and the rest of us at the same time in a different movie theatre (the new one at Eastland which has reclining seats and is SO comfortable). And we all LOVED it!
- Tony and the kids went to see it again, with his sister, just before New Years
- We had 3 nights in Queenscliff with my family, lots of fun at the beach and hanging around the house, you can read more at travellingandexploringourworld.blogspot.com.au
- Christmas was really lovely, we spent the morning here at home, playing with what Santa bought, and opening our presents to each other, then we went up to Mum's for the rest of the day, had a lovely christmas lunch then another round of presents, then relaxed and played with presents, hung out in the spa and so on
- Tony and the girls stayed overnight at Mum's on Christmas night for more of the same. LiAM and I came home, on Boxing Day I did a bit of housework and we both had a quiet morning, then headed back up to Yea in the afternoon for another enjoyable evening of leftover Christmas food and playing with T and all our presents, then we all came home that night
- I had 3 nights in Sydney between christmas and new year, catching up with a couple of friends and with my brother in his new house
- We had my dad's 70th last weekend, a fun and relaxed afternoon party at his house, very well organised by Mum
- We've been to the Healesville Outdoor pool several times on hot days - sometimes we arrange to meet friends there, other times we just go alone, and we always find lots of people we know to play and swim with
- Caitlin and I went to see The Dressmaker (which I loved completely), and LiAM and I went to see The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 2
- We've watched lots of movies at home
- We've played lots of board games
- I'm working on cleaning out the last part of Caitlin's new room - she's sleeping in there but her desk is covered in all my sewing stuff so hoping to get that organised over the next few days so the space is all hers
- We've had friends come over and been to visit friends and played lots of games, inside and out
- LiAM and Millie have played a lot of Skylanders - Super Chargers, which they got for christmas
- Everyone has played a lot of Crossy Road (except for me - I played for the 1st time yesterday, so I have at least now played it. Not sure if I will get right into it like the others, I found it quite stressful)
- LiAM has been playing a lot of soccer in the back yard, with anyone who will play with him. The girls have been playing a bit, and Tony and I as well, and whichever friends come over
- We've been swimming in the dam a couple of times
- Caitlin has been horse riding at a friend's house

And lots lots more!

Back pain and movies

Tony has had a sore knee for the past couple of weeks, and this week his back also started to give him a lot of pain - possibly from limping on the sore knee, or possibly a separate cause (he'll probably go to the doctor today and see what's happening) - so much pain that he took Friday off work and spent all day Friday and Saturday in bed. Having Tony home but bedridden was not how I thought Saturday would turn out - and it ended up being a really lovely, fun and relaxing family day, and way better than I'd hoped for even before Tony was incapacitated.

Millie and LiAM and I started the day playing Harry Potter - Scene It. When the on screen questions involve unscrambling letters or filling in letters we skip to the next question, and I sometimes reword the written questions from the cards or make them more general for Millie, otherwise their knowledge of the movies is enough to play on equal terms. It was a fun game of Harry Potter trivia, and in there we also had a long discussion about odd and even numbers, leading to LiAM explaining that 1 is a more useful number than 2 because you can just keep adding 1 to numbers and get any number in the world, and you can't do that with 2, and Millie suddenly had a realisation that odd and even numbers 'are like stripes on a tiger' because as you count it always goes odd, even, odd, even. (It's so cool to watch her learning, because she has such a strong sense of patterns, and she applies it to most things that she learns - it's as if she converts everything she's presented with into a visual pattern in her head and then she can understand it). Millie also had a go at reading some of the instructions and was happy at being able to figure out some of the words.

The kids watched Scooby-Doo for a while and I tidied the kitchen and played on the iPad and Tony attempted to stay out of bed, but headed back pretty quickly. He decided to pass the time by watching movies, and started with Pitch Perfect, which he hadn't seen. I was going to go and do the washing or something, but decided to stay and hang out with him and watch the movie, and Caitlin joined us when she woke up. It was so great, watching a movie with Tony - we used to do it all the time and I'd really like to add it back in to our lives as a regular thing.

Tony then watched Australia, which neither of us have seen, and LiAM and I cut up some veggies to make chicken stock and some lunch. He is great with the sharp knife and loves to cut any vegetable I give him - he explores the texture and colour and shape and finds the best way to cut them, even though he very rarely eats them. It's funny, he's probably the most excited about our box of veggies arriving each fortnight, because he gets to play with a whole range of new cutting up options.

After the movie was finished LiAM and Millie and Tony played Terraria together for a while, and Caitlin and I did some logic puzzles. I also watched an episode of Green Lantern that I hadn't seen before and really wanted to see what happened - but it didn't resolve the story line I was interested in so am hoping the next episode is on today. Caitlin and I sorted out a lot of the hair and jewellery baskets that are around the house - she's getting her dressing table set up and wanted to find all her hair accessories, and it was great to go through the baskets and get rid of the things that are broken or no longer used. Millie was given all of the little metal bangles that Caitlin has collected over the years, so she is very happy.

Tony and LiAM put Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet on next - and I wanted to watch the start of it, then settled in to watch the rest of the movie as well - it's a long time since I'd seen it and I love it so much - the sound track, the actors, the cleverness modern adaptation. It was also the first time I'd ever seen it and not cried - unusual for me to not cry at a tragic ending, even if I know it's coming! LiAM watched bits and pieces of it, but the kissing scenes didn't interest him and he decided to go and play with Millie making patterns on the peg boards instead.

I cooked a late dinner - mince curry - while Tony watched Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and the kids watched the Batman Lego Movie  (LiAM gravitated between the 2 tvs at first and ended up with Star Wars). While we ate tea, Caitlin skyped with Tony's sister, who is coming down to Victoria in a few weeks for Caitlin's Confirmation, which we're all very excited about. Millie and I had a good chat to her as well, and then Caitlin and I spent some time looking at saints names so that she can pick a Confirmation name.