A good day today. 300 cases which is trending in the right direction. Caitlin and I got our test results back and we are both negative - thought that would be the case but it’s still a huge relief.
I was up early (before 6) which is my favourite way to start the day. I spent the morning on the computer and doing the dishes, working on the yard, chatting with the kids. Caitlin did some more sewing (she’s making a giraffe). Amelie was feeling out of sorts, she Skyped with a friend then Liam and her friend’s brothers joined in and they all played Werewolf.
I made a picnic lunch for myself (after feeding the kids) and went across the creek to my favourite spot where I sat and drank tea and read my book and ate my food. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to spend an hour. I took lots of photos too. I nearly let the neighbour next to the back of the property - she just waved to me from a distance.
I did some work on my photos then had a beer with Tony while he got the pizza oven going, and we sat outside near the fire, while Amelie jumped on the trampoline in the dark. After dinner Liam, Caitlin and I watched Point Break (I’m on a bit of a Keanu binge) - it was WAY more violent than I remembered- there were bits of it I couldn’t watch. We enjoyed most of it though and I’m glad the kids have seen it. More Gilmore Girls afterwards and Caitlin brushed them straightened my hair - it made for a late night but so relaxing that it was worth it.
Showing posts with label picnic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picnic. Show all posts
Saturday, 25 July 2020
Monday, 6 April 2015
Easter Weekend
Tony has had all 4 days of the Easter long weekend off work, it has been so wonderful (and also a bit weird) having home, in the mornings, in the evenings, through the day. He seems much more relaxed now too.
On Friday we had a quiet morning at home then LiAM and I went to a friend's place in the afternoon, and I took my friend H for a driving lesson, then stayed for a cuppa while LiAM played with the boys. On Friday night Caitlin's friend S came for a sleepover. The girls watched a couple of Hillary Duff movies and everyone played their iPads until they went to bed.
Saturday the girls worked on a slide show of photos from S's birthday party last month. She went home about 11.30 then we all went to Donnelly's Weir to meet Mum and Dad for an Easter picnic, after stopping at Coles on the way for supplies. It was a lovely lunch, and the kids played and explored around the top of the weir and in the edge of the (very cold) water. We had an impromptu easter egg hunt, then once the eggs were found, the kids and Grandad took it in turns to hide them again for the other 3 to find. LiAM found a big fallen tree to climb along, and with his brown and green clothes was well camouflaged into the bush by the time he got to the other end.
After lunch Tony, Caitlin and Dad walked to Maroondah Dam, while Mum and I drove the 2 cars over, with LiAM and Millie. The main carpark was VERY busy, but we parked further around, near the end of the Donnellys Weir track. The kids briefly explored the edge of the river, and I ran into a friend who I see quite regularly in random places, then Mum set off along the walking track to meet the others on their way. LiAM & Millie and I headed back to the playground, playing with some of the very cool bark from the gum trees on the way. LiAM had a bit of play then had had enough, and my back was hurting, so we lay on the picnic mat and played cards for a while. The others arrived shortly afterwards and Caitlin played with Millie for a while on the playground.
Back home for a quiet evening, with Tony watching the football, then at 9.20 we went outside and got comfortable on the trampoline to watch the lunar eclipse. We stayed out there until the full eclipse (the Blood Moon - very exciting as a Blood Moon happens occasionally in Terraria) at 11pm. It was a little chilly but we had blankets and lots of great conversation and laughs. It was incredible to watch the shadow pass across the moon and at different stages it reminded us all of different objects which sparked a lot of connections and conversation.
Once the eclipse had happened I went in and went to bed, the kids were fired up though so stayed up for a while in their room, making loom band creations from a new book Caitlin had borrowed from the library.
Everyone slept until after 7 on Easter morning, and the kids all waited very patiently until everyone was up and dressed and ready before they went out to the kitchen to see what the Easter Bunny had delivered. Everyone was happy and excited with their gifts - they each received a chocolate bunny, Caitlin got an egg in a Barbie cup, LiAM 2 eggs in an Avengers cup, Millie an egg with a My Little Pony snack box and drink bottle - which (unknown to the Easter Bunny) was EXACTLY what she'd wanted. Outside then for the Easter Egg hunt, lots of fun finding little eggs all over our very large yard. Once again everyone was happy with what they found, and after all were collected they happily traded with each other so no one had any flavours or types they didn't like. Chocolate for breakfast, and Millie had her drink bottle and snack box filled up, then everyone wandered off to play or loom or watch tv. Caitlin and I started cleaning up the dining room later in the morning, and we managed to clear the table and the floor so that we could eat dinner in there that night. Millie spent most of the day playing with Lego. LiAM watched tv and chatted to us.
In the afternoon we had friends come over for Easter dinner (the same friends we saw on Friday). It was a relaxed evening, the kids all played well, the boys made a car and a cat out of bottles, boxes, sticky tape and foam, Millie and J played Lego and dress ups, O played with the dinosaurs, Caitlin made more loom band bracelet/ring hand pieces, the adults chatted and sampled wine and Tony cooked a magnificent baked dinner which everyone ate quite a bit of, and a tasty pudding for dessert.
On Friday we had a quiet morning at home then LiAM and I went to a friend's place in the afternoon, and I took my friend H for a driving lesson, then stayed for a cuppa while LiAM played with the boys. On Friday night Caitlin's friend S came for a sleepover. The girls watched a couple of Hillary Duff movies and everyone played their iPads until they went to bed.
Saturday the girls worked on a slide show of photos from S's birthday party last month. She went home about 11.30 then we all went to Donnelly's Weir to meet Mum and Dad for an Easter picnic, after stopping at Coles on the way for supplies. It was a lovely lunch, and the kids played and explored around the top of the weir and in the edge of the (very cold) water. We had an impromptu easter egg hunt, then once the eggs were found, the kids and Grandad took it in turns to hide them again for the other 3 to find. LiAM found a big fallen tree to climb along, and with his brown and green clothes was well camouflaged into the bush by the time he got to the other end.
 |
| LiAM is at the other end of that tree somewhere... |
 |
| Easter Egg hunt with Grandad |
Back home for a quiet evening, with Tony watching the football, then at 9.20 we went outside and got comfortable on the trampoline to watch the lunar eclipse. We stayed out there until the full eclipse (the Blood Moon - very exciting as a Blood Moon happens occasionally in Terraria) at 11pm. It was a little chilly but we had blankets and lots of great conversation and laughs. It was incredible to watch the shadow pass across the moon and at different stages it reminded us all of different objects which sparked a lot of connections and conversation.
Once the eclipse had happened I went in and went to bed, the kids were fired up though so stayed up for a while in their room, making loom band creations from a new book Caitlin had borrowed from the library.
Everyone slept until after 7 on Easter morning, and the kids all waited very patiently until everyone was up and dressed and ready before they went out to the kitchen to see what the Easter Bunny had delivered. Everyone was happy and excited with their gifts - they each received a chocolate bunny, Caitlin got an egg in a Barbie cup, LiAM 2 eggs in an Avengers cup, Millie an egg with a My Little Pony snack box and drink bottle - which (unknown to the Easter Bunny) was EXACTLY what she'd wanted. Outside then for the Easter Egg hunt, lots of fun finding little eggs all over our very large yard. Once again everyone was happy with what they found, and after all were collected they happily traded with each other so no one had any flavours or types they didn't like. Chocolate for breakfast, and Millie had her drink bottle and snack box filled up, then everyone wandered off to play or loom or watch tv. Caitlin and I started cleaning up the dining room later in the morning, and we managed to clear the table and the floor so that we could eat dinner in there that night. Millie spent most of the day playing with Lego. LiAM watched tv and chatted to us.
 |
| Millie very excited about the Easter Bunny's offerings |
 |
| Caitlin and her presents from the Easter Bunny |
 |
| Easter Egg Hunt |
 |
| LiAM after having sorted his eggs after the hunt |
Friday, 9 January 2015
Easing into the New Year
Our pace of life has been delightfully slower since Christmas. Tony had almost 2 weeks off work (he went back on Monday this week) and it was lovely having him at home, having lazy days with no plans. We watched the cricket, played on iPads, played outside, listened to music, played board games, watched movies, chatted, read books, I pottered around and sorted some cupboards and tidied things up when I felt like it. Tony took the kids swimming and to a friend's house and he and Caitlin and LiAM went to the last day of the Melbourne Test Match (cricket). I only left the house once in the week after Christmas (I took LiAM and Millie to a friend's house, had a cup of tea, then Caitlin and I went for a swim and picked up our milk, then back to pick up the other kids, then I came home and had a lie down). I was SO tried after Christmas and it really took me a bit over a week of having no schedules before I started to feel OK again.
This week I'm feeling much better, and I've decided to go with the no schedule thing as much as possible. I've made vague plans with people for a few things, which will be confirmed on the day and no sooner. I don't want to push any of us more than we feel like being pushed. As it is we've had a busier week, which has been fun and manageable, with all our decisions about outings made on the day.
On Monday we went to Melbourne Zoo and met up with some other homeschoolers. I was reminded why I usually choose to avoid the zoo in school holidays - there were so many people there and we all felt overwhelmed. It was an enjoyable day though, especially for LiAM who met a couple of other boys his age and spent most of his time with them - great to meet another family who we click with. On Tuesday we went to a friend's house, lots of iPad, Playstation, jumping on the trampoline, make believe games, water play, while my friend and I caught up on lots of chatting and tea drinking. We've been to the library a couple of times this week - our closest branch had been closed over the holiday period and everyone enjoyed being back there, reading, borrowing new books and DVDs, using the internet (ours has been incredibly slow for the last couple of weeks as we used our allowance very quickly this month), and even catching up with friends. Yesterday we spent most of the day at home, watching movies, playing minecraft, playing with lego, reading books. When Tony got home from work we all went shopping and used some money we got for christmas to buy some chairs to take camping with us - we had a table to go with our camper trailer, but no chairs. I also did a grocery shop as we were rather low on a lot of items - now we have lots of food and I can make some things I had requests for during the week. Oh I did make a caramel slice yesterday which has been very popular! (Even without the chocolate icing. I only had dark chocolate and LiAM would prefer me to use milk chocolate, so we left the icing off and the slice is quite delicious as it is. It was funny too, when I gave LiAM the first piece, he said 'I don't like it as much' and put it down after 1 bite. My initial reaction (which I held back) was to feel frustrated as I had especially made the slice for LiAM. Then I thought 'I chose to make it for him, as a gift, that doesn't mean that he has to like it - someone else will eat it anyway'. Then I was glad I hadn't said anything because he clarified 'Oh it's really good, I just don't like it as much as the condensed milk by itself' (I had let him clean the tin with a spoon). And he loves the slice and ate several pieces throughout the day. It was a good reminder for me to take a moment to breathe before reacting, especially when I start to feel defensive, and also not to have attachment to any expectations of how things will work out when I do something - that can simply create pressure on others and lead to tension. I'd prefer to have peace, which I can help to achieve by doing things because I want to do them, and not needing a positive response from others to make it worthwhile).
The weather has been quite warm this week (high 30s and up to 40 on some days) and a change came through last night. We are expecting a lot of rain over the next couple of days - will be great to see our lawn growing again and a bit of relief before more hot days I'm sure that will be coming.
On the hottest day (last Saturday), when the fire danger was extreme, none of us wanted to be at home (although home is slightly more bearable on hot days now thanks to a new blind outside our kitchen window, made by my good friend L), so we went to the movies. The boys wanted to see The Hobbit, while the girls were not keen, so Tony took LiAM to The Hobbit and I took the girls to see Annie - I was really impressed with it, enjoyed it a lot. Afterwards we met up, bought a hot chook and a tub of ice cream and went over to Ringwood Lake for a picnic tea and a play in the playground. A very pleasant way to spend a very hot day.
This week I'm feeling much better, and I've decided to go with the no schedule thing as much as possible. I've made vague plans with people for a few things, which will be confirmed on the day and no sooner. I don't want to push any of us more than we feel like being pushed. As it is we've had a busier week, which has been fun and manageable, with all our decisions about outings made on the day.
On Monday we went to Melbourne Zoo and met up with some other homeschoolers. I was reminded why I usually choose to avoid the zoo in school holidays - there were so many people there and we all felt overwhelmed. It was an enjoyable day though, especially for LiAM who met a couple of other boys his age and spent most of his time with them - great to meet another family who we click with. On Tuesday we went to a friend's house, lots of iPad, Playstation, jumping on the trampoline, make believe games, water play, while my friend and I caught up on lots of chatting and tea drinking. We've been to the library a couple of times this week - our closest branch had been closed over the holiday period and everyone enjoyed being back there, reading, borrowing new books and DVDs, using the internet (ours has been incredibly slow for the last couple of weeks as we used our allowance very quickly this month), and even catching up with friends. Yesterday we spent most of the day at home, watching movies, playing minecraft, playing with lego, reading books. When Tony got home from work we all went shopping and used some money we got for christmas to buy some chairs to take camping with us - we had a table to go with our camper trailer, but no chairs. I also did a grocery shop as we were rather low on a lot of items - now we have lots of food and I can make some things I had requests for during the week. Oh I did make a caramel slice yesterday which has been very popular! (Even without the chocolate icing. I only had dark chocolate and LiAM would prefer me to use milk chocolate, so we left the icing off and the slice is quite delicious as it is. It was funny too, when I gave LiAM the first piece, he said 'I don't like it as much' and put it down after 1 bite. My initial reaction (which I held back) was to feel frustrated as I had especially made the slice for LiAM. Then I thought 'I chose to make it for him, as a gift, that doesn't mean that he has to like it - someone else will eat it anyway'. Then I was glad I hadn't said anything because he clarified 'Oh it's really good, I just don't like it as much as the condensed milk by itself' (I had let him clean the tin with a spoon). And he loves the slice and ate several pieces throughout the day. It was a good reminder for me to take a moment to breathe before reacting, especially when I start to feel defensive, and also not to have attachment to any expectations of how things will work out when I do something - that can simply create pressure on others and lead to tension. I'd prefer to have peace, which I can help to achieve by doing things because I want to do them, and not needing a positive response from others to make it worthwhile).
The weather has been quite warm this week (high 30s and up to 40 on some days) and a change came through last night. We are expecting a lot of rain over the next couple of days - will be great to see our lawn growing again and a bit of relief before more hot days I'm sure that will be coming.
On the hottest day (last Saturday), when the fire danger was extreme, none of us wanted to be at home (although home is slightly more bearable on hot days now thanks to a new blind outside our kitchen window, made by my good friend L), so we went to the movies. The boys wanted to see The Hobbit, while the girls were not keen, so Tony took LiAM to The Hobbit and I took the girls to see Annie - I was really impressed with it, enjoyed it a lot. Afterwards we met up, bought a hot chook and a tub of ice cream and went over to Ringwood Lake for a picnic tea and a play in the playground. A very pleasant way to spend a very hot day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)