In the last couple of cays
- Amelie and I played a game where she was a Persian Cat called Purry, who could sometimes turn into a tiger or a person, and sometimes talk even when she was a cat, and I was her owner (and sometimes her mother). She hasn't played games like this quite so frequently lately as she used to, and it was fun.
- LiAM and I have had a couple of late night talks as he's been going to bed (he likes someone to be close by as he settles down to sleep, I've been sitting on a little green chair next to his bed and he's been chatting to me). We've talked about Pokemon and movies and ways that world peace might be achieved and if it's actually possibly, and what would happen if one country took over the whole world, and what civil war means, and Wolverine and Magneto....
- Amelie made little dog treats for an imaginary dog, out of coloured straws
- Caitlin rang up and organised to go back and groom the ponies again, I dropped her off and the owner stayed inside (it was a hot day) and Caitlin did all the work (catching the ponies, grooming them, checking their feet, spraying a cut, feeding them, popping them back in the paddock) by herself - she was thrilled and loved every minute
- we went to the library and read books, played board games, watched youtube videos
- we met friends in the park and played for a couple of hours
- Caitlin found herself some great clothes at the op shop, and I bought a game and a heap of towels iand some DVDs and kitchen stuff
- we went to the bakery and got a yummy snack
- we had friends come and visit for the day, the boys played Minecraft and the Lego Movie video game, Amelie and J played pokemon (cards) and lego and My Little Ponies
- Amelie played a new board game (where you build a wall out of bricks and sit Buzz Lightyear on top, then use aliens to push bricks out and try not to collapse the wall)
- we watched Dragonnest (which reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings) and Bridge to Terabithia - none of us had ever seen it, and we really loved it
- oh last week we watched an anime movie which is now one of my new favourites - The Wolf Children, it was incredible. People who are half wolf/ half people, motherhood, children growing up and finding their own way, friendship, accepting difference - a whole heap of my favourite topics, and very well mad
- Amelie watched more Pokemon and a Barbie movie (Barbie and Swan Lake)
- everyone has played Disco Zoo, and LiAM is getting more comfortable every day at reading the notifications himself
- Amelie and I played celebrity head, and she wrote some of the labels for my head herself (Zoo, Cat). It's such a fun game to play with her, she asks such interesting questions when guessing her own, and answers my questions in a really fascinating way when I'm guessing
- we practised lots more Auslan - I've been doing some every day and I feel like I'm retaining more of the signs than I was, and then I'm able to use them when talking to the kids and they are picking them up
- Tony came home early enough last night (just after 8) to eat dinner then play for a while with Amelie and her soft toys - she was so happy
Showing posts with label My Little Pony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Little Pony. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Friday, 26 February 2016
Sewing and karate
On Wednesday night Caitlin had found a library book called 'Made by Me', with lots of patterns and ideas for things to make and sew. She said that she'd start making some of them on Thursday, and she did. She made a doll, several drawstring bags, and some other little decorations. She worked really hard and spent hours sewing, asking for help or ideas when she was unsure, and taking a break when she was getting frustrated. I am always impressed with her sewing skill, and this was no exception, the things she made looked fantastic and she did them fairly easily.
LiAM played Lego Marvel Superheroes again and realised he was close to the end so was excited at the thought of completing the whole game. At one point something had happened in the game where he'd missed his chance to do a vital action in order to finish that level. He tried lots of things and I looked up the walkthrough, and in the end it looked like the only way to finish the level was to start that section again, which was a lot of work. He was pretty upset, feeling like all the work he'd done so far had been wasted. He stopped and had something to eat and eventually decided to go back and do it all again, and was able to calm down enough to enjoy it even though he hadn't wanted to do it. When he got back to the same spot I was able to read the walkthrough to him (he really didn't want to miss his chance again) and he defeated Rhino and Magneto and was thrilled. I'm impressed at his increasing ability to calm down and continue when he's upset or anxious. He still feels and expresses his disappointment, when he was younger though it could mean the end of the game, now he's more able to work through it and get some perspective.
Amelie watched and helped LiAM play, did some more pokemon and planet quizzes with me, watched some more Pokemon, played with her My Little Ponies.
After a while LiAM had enough of his playstation game, and spent time playing with the Titan characters.
When Caitlin had finished sewing she went to visit our neighbour next door and took her creations with her - everyone there was quite impressed too.
We went to karate in the evening. Amelie joined in and trained for the whole class this time. She was quite overwhelmed by the end of it, it's a lot to take in (and at the moment there are 7 kids who have just started, so the group she's training in is quite big which would make it much harder). Afterwards she had a quick play in the park, while LiAM talked Terraria with some of the older kids.
Back home and we had a bit more to eat, and watched Degrassi (far less full on than the previous night) then Heartland. Tony came home and went almost straight to bed. The kids put on a pokemon movie and I went to bed, they got themselves to bed once it was finished.
LiAM played Lego Marvel Superheroes again and realised he was close to the end so was excited at the thought of completing the whole game. At one point something had happened in the game where he'd missed his chance to do a vital action in order to finish that level. He tried lots of things and I looked up the walkthrough, and in the end it looked like the only way to finish the level was to start that section again, which was a lot of work. He was pretty upset, feeling like all the work he'd done so far had been wasted. He stopped and had something to eat and eventually decided to go back and do it all again, and was able to calm down enough to enjoy it even though he hadn't wanted to do it. When he got back to the same spot I was able to read the walkthrough to him (he really didn't want to miss his chance again) and he defeated Rhino and Magneto and was thrilled. I'm impressed at his increasing ability to calm down and continue when he's upset or anxious. He still feels and expresses his disappointment, when he was younger though it could mean the end of the game, now he's more able to work through it and get some perspective.
Amelie watched and helped LiAM play, did some more pokemon and planet quizzes with me, watched some more Pokemon, played with her My Little Ponies.
After a while LiAM had enough of his playstation game, and spent time playing with the Titan characters.
When Caitlin had finished sewing she went to visit our neighbour next door and took her creations with her - everyone there was quite impressed too.
We went to karate in the evening. Amelie joined in and trained for the whole class this time. She was quite overwhelmed by the end of it, it's a lot to take in (and at the moment there are 7 kids who have just started, so the group she's training in is quite big which would make it much harder). Afterwards she had a quick play in the park, while LiAM talked Terraria with some of the older kids.
Back home and we had a bit more to eat, and watched Degrassi (far less full on than the previous night) then Heartland. Tony came home and went almost straight to bed. The kids put on a pokemon movie and I went to bed, they got themselves to bed once it was finished.
Saturday, 20 February 2016
Township, Ghostbusters, Pi
After having such a busy week it was a relief yesterday to have most of the day at home. The kids all slept in until mid morning, so I had some time on the computer, then tidied up a little and then had a much-anticipated bath and read my book for a while (Us by David Nicholls. An interesting style, but very readable). Amelie woke up and came and joined me in the bath until we were both hungry so we got out to have some breakfast.
Amelie played Township on the computer and we upgraded the Township app on the iPad, and everyone played throughout the morning. It was fun having the 4 of us involved, discussing strategy and deciding where to spend our money and so on. I haven't played for months and it was enjoyable having a go again.
Caitlin put Heartland Season 5 on so that I could catch up to where they'd watched the night before. I pottered around in the kitchen doing dishes while we watched, and Amelie and LiAM played some Minecraft. A friend called in to drop off my Norwex order, so we had a cuppa and a chat, and Caitlin played with her 2 little girls, taking them out to see the chickens (LiAM also helped let the chickens out), playing on the trampoline with them, painting their nails and showing them how to make loom band bracelets.
After they left I continued to sort out the fruit and veg from the day before and started a chicken stock and a zucchini slice. H arrived for the afternoon and she and Caitlin spent some time planning the decorations that H is going to do on Caitlin's new desk. Caitlin then started practicing her manga drawing and came up with some impressive results, especially for her first try. LiAM played with the Titan character pieces and Amelie played with her My Little Ponies and her Barbies.
AT 4.30 I left with Caitlin to go to acting, and the others stayed with H. I picked up Caitlin's friend and dropped the 2 girls off, both excited and a little nervous about the first class of the year - who would be in their class, and who would their teacher be? While they were there I went to Costco and got some groceries, and a really lovely-to-feel copy of Les Miserables (the book) for $17 - the cover is like rubber, and has words etched into it, I really love it. I also saw some diaries that I would love - the lines are not ruled, they are the text of various novels, in a really tiny font. There's Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes, some Dickens... And one with the digits of pi running all the way through the diary.... Definitely on my wish list!
From there I went to the library and borrowed a heap of books and DVDs covering everyone's current and regular interests - Manga drawing, foreign coin identification (Grandad and F both recently let LiAM look at their foreign coins and Grandad has asked him to figure out what country they are from), African animals, Ghostbusters (we watched it on Monday for the first time (well, first time for the kids, I've seen it many many times) and all week we've heard the music in other shows or heard references to it in unexpected places. So when I saw a book about the movie on the feature shelf at the library, it made sense to borrow it), Afghanistan and so on. When the library closed I raced down to k-mart to get more swimming tops for Caitlin and myself, and some shorts for LiAM, then back to pick Caitlin up at 8.30.
When we got home the kids were playing Toy Story 3 and H said they'd had a good evening. I unpacked my cold groceries (playing a bit of tetris to get everything into the freezer) and Caitlin and Tony and I watched Sia sing and then be interviewed on tv, then I took H home (she drove). Once I was back I got everyone a drink and then headed into bed, Amelie came soon after and the others weren't far behind.
Amelie played Township on the computer and we upgraded the Township app on the iPad, and everyone played throughout the morning. It was fun having the 4 of us involved, discussing strategy and deciding where to spend our money and so on. I haven't played for months and it was enjoyable having a go again.
Caitlin put Heartland Season 5 on so that I could catch up to where they'd watched the night before. I pottered around in the kitchen doing dishes while we watched, and Amelie and LiAM played some Minecraft. A friend called in to drop off my Norwex order, so we had a cuppa and a chat, and Caitlin played with her 2 little girls, taking them out to see the chickens (LiAM also helped let the chickens out), playing on the trampoline with them, painting their nails and showing them how to make loom band bracelets.
After they left I continued to sort out the fruit and veg from the day before and started a chicken stock and a zucchini slice. H arrived for the afternoon and she and Caitlin spent some time planning the decorations that H is going to do on Caitlin's new desk. Caitlin then started practicing her manga drawing and came up with some impressive results, especially for her first try. LiAM played with the Titan character pieces and Amelie played with her My Little Ponies and her Barbies.
AT 4.30 I left with Caitlin to go to acting, and the others stayed with H. I picked up Caitlin's friend and dropped the 2 girls off, both excited and a little nervous about the first class of the year - who would be in their class, and who would their teacher be? While they were there I went to Costco and got some groceries, and a really lovely-to-feel copy of Les Miserables (the book) for $17 - the cover is like rubber, and has words etched into it, I really love it. I also saw some diaries that I would love - the lines are not ruled, they are the text of various novels, in a really tiny font. There's Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes, some Dickens... And one with the digits of pi running all the way through the diary.... Definitely on my wish list!
From there I went to the library and borrowed a heap of books and DVDs covering everyone's current and regular interests - Manga drawing, foreign coin identification (Grandad and F both recently let LiAM look at their foreign coins and Grandad has asked him to figure out what country they are from), African animals, Ghostbusters (we watched it on Monday for the first time (well, first time for the kids, I've seen it many many times) and all week we've heard the music in other shows or heard references to it in unexpected places. So when I saw a book about the movie on the feature shelf at the library, it made sense to borrow it), Afghanistan and so on. When the library closed I raced down to k-mart to get more swimming tops for Caitlin and myself, and some shorts for LiAM, then back to pick Caitlin up at 8.30.
When we got home the kids were playing Toy Story 3 and H said they'd had a good evening. I unpacked my cold groceries (playing a bit of tetris to get everything into the freezer) and Caitlin and Tony and I watched Sia sing and then be interviewed on tv, then I took H home (she drove). Once I was back I got everyone a drink and then headed into bed, Amelie came soon after and the others weren't far behind.
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
A day at home and Caitlin's solo trip
I woke up a bit earlier yesterday than I had been - around 7 instead of around 8 - and I think it makes a huge difference to my energy levels throughout the day, I feel so much better if I've woken earlier.
Yesterday was a quiet day at home, sandwiched in amongst lots of busy days. Millie and I played Hungry Babies on the iPad, and Caitlin helped for a while. Millie and LiAM played Toy Story 3 on the playstation (Mil asked me if she could play by spelling out Toy with her fingers) while Caitlin did sudokus on the computer, then LiAM and I played Halo for a while. I wasn't much help to him, unless I just stood around and acted as a re-spawn point for when he died - I was happy to do that. I have been amazed at the graphics in Halo ever since I first saw LiAM play it, and I was even more impressed when I was playing myself, they are so realistic, and beautifully created.
In the afternoon Caitlin caught the bus into Yarra Glen by herself, to get the library books and return the ones that were due. She also went over to the IGA to buy milk, then caught the bus home again. I walked her to the bus stop and sat across the road while she waited for the bus, and she texted me from her iPad when she arrived, and I sent her a reminder text when it was time for her to go back to the bus stop in town - we spent a lot of time planning the trip so that we were both comfortable with it, and it all worked seamlessly. She was very excited to successfully manage her first solo trip and I was impressed with how well she managed it. I knew she was capable of it, I think I was most pleased with the way she let me discuss the plan with her in so much detail, instead of brushing me off and saying 'I'll be fine.'
When she got back the kids watched one of the Tinkerbell movies we'd borrowed, and I continued clearing the kitchen table - and I got it all clear and put the new filing shelves on it and it looks fantastic! And we have a complete table to use, we could easily fit 5 people there for dinner, or more if we were happy to be a bit squished. Hoping I can keep it that way. I also made some spiced vinegar and prepared some parsnips for pickling - I usually end up giving parsnips to the chickens, so I am hoping that by pickling them I will eat them in time and they won't go to waste. It's my first attempt at pickling so a bit exciting.
LiAM played several maths and strategy games on the computer in the afternoon, and then spent a long time playing with the characters from Titan, lining them up and really examining the drawings and looking at differences between them.
In the evening we watched Australia's Got Talent and Farmer Wants a Wife. At the same time LiAM played Minecraft, Caitlin explored more on Pottermore and Amelie continued her My Little Pony game. She's made tables and cakes out of lids and bits of foil and the ponies all stood at their little tables and chatted and ate.
Amelie helped me put the chickens to bed - she's really taken this on as one of her tasks for the day; the night before she even went up there herself to put them to bed but had forgotten to take a torch so couldn't do it all. She also feeds Winky most nights.
Amelie moved into the bedroom while we were watching TV and watched another Tinkerbell movie, and I joined her there once I'd tidied everything up for the night. Tony was home from baseball by then and helped the other kids get ready for bed once they'd finished watching TV.
Yesterday was a quiet day at home, sandwiched in amongst lots of busy days. Millie and I played Hungry Babies on the iPad, and Caitlin helped for a while. Millie and LiAM played Toy Story 3 on the playstation (Mil asked me if she could play by spelling out Toy with her fingers) while Caitlin did sudokus on the computer, then LiAM and I played Halo for a while. I wasn't much help to him, unless I just stood around and acted as a re-spawn point for when he died - I was happy to do that. I have been amazed at the graphics in Halo ever since I first saw LiAM play it, and I was even more impressed when I was playing myself, they are so realistic, and beautifully created.
In the afternoon Caitlin caught the bus into Yarra Glen by herself, to get the library books and return the ones that were due. She also went over to the IGA to buy milk, then caught the bus home again. I walked her to the bus stop and sat across the road while she waited for the bus, and she texted me from her iPad when she arrived, and I sent her a reminder text when it was time for her to go back to the bus stop in town - we spent a lot of time planning the trip so that we were both comfortable with it, and it all worked seamlessly. She was very excited to successfully manage her first solo trip and I was impressed with how well she managed it. I knew she was capable of it, I think I was most pleased with the way she let me discuss the plan with her in so much detail, instead of brushing me off and saying 'I'll be fine.'
When she got back the kids watched one of the Tinkerbell movies we'd borrowed, and I continued clearing the kitchen table - and I got it all clear and put the new filing shelves on it and it looks fantastic! And we have a complete table to use, we could easily fit 5 people there for dinner, or more if we were happy to be a bit squished. Hoping I can keep it that way. I also made some spiced vinegar and prepared some parsnips for pickling - I usually end up giving parsnips to the chickens, so I am hoping that by pickling them I will eat them in time and they won't go to waste. It's my first attempt at pickling so a bit exciting.
LiAM played several maths and strategy games on the computer in the afternoon, and then spent a long time playing with the characters from Titan, lining them up and really examining the drawings and looking at differences between them.
In the evening we watched Australia's Got Talent and Farmer Wants a Wife. At the same time LiAM played Minecraft, Caitlin explored more on Pottermore and Amelie continued her My Little Pony game. She's made tables and cakes out of lids and bits of foil and the ponies all stood at their little tables and chatted and ate.
Amelie helped me put the chickens to bed - she's really taken this on as one of her tasks for the day; the night before she even went up there herself to put them to bed but had forgotten to take a torch so couldn't do it all. She also feeds Winky most nights.
Amelie moved into the bedroom while we were watching TV and watched another Tinkerbell movie, and I joined her there once I'd tidied everything up for the night. Tony was home from baseball by then and helped the other kids get ready for bed once they'd finished watching TV.
Monday, 8 February 2016
Terraria, horse riding, games
My tiredness continued into yesterday - I obviously pushed hard all last week and then collapsed a bit on the weekend. Tony had yesterday (Sunday) off work though and we had no big plans so I was able to take it fairly easy. It got hot early and I found it quite exhausting, especially when I was in the kitchen.
I was up early and had a bit of time to myself, then LiAM, Millie and Tony came out. LiAM was very excited that Tone was home for the day, and the three of them played Terraria for a while before breakfast.
Caitlin went to a friend's house in the morning, I took her over there and then stayed while she had a horse riding lesson - I hadn't seen her ride much and was impressed at how straight her back was and how comfortable and confident she looked in the saddle. Her friend then had a lesson and I left Caitlin there for the day, and I went to pick up V to bring him back to our place.
Once we got back Tony, LiAM, V and Amelie all played Terraria together and spent a lot of time negotiating with each other to swap armour and weapons, and coming up with team strategies for defeating the bosses. They played on and off all day and I loved listening to the conversations. I don't find Terraria easy (or very enjoyable) to play, but I do know a lot about it and enjoy hearing other people playing. LiAM was reading the attributes of the items that he found too, without any help - he doesn't realise he's reading when he does that, because the words just make sense to him, and he still thinks that reading is difficult. When he understands what something says without having to try hard, he says he wasn't reading, he just knew the words. Which at first was kind of true, he was recognising certain words that he already knew, whereas now he often reads things correctly with no context, and with words that he hasn't memorised - it's quite fascinating (and exciting) to watch his reading develop so naturally.
Amelie watched some more pokemon and finished the series she has been watching. She then watched 'Annie' (the new one from last year), while the boys played Halo on the xBox. I did a lot of work in the kitchen and cleared most of the kitchen table and all of the area under it, ready to reorganise things a bit with some new furniture I picked up from hard rubbish. Tony and I did a scout around the house and yard to see if there was anything we could put on our own hard rubbish pile, and did manage to find a goodly sized pile of broken chairs, a ripped mattress, broken ride on toy and a few other things. Glad that we remembered to do it before things start getting picked up today.
Tony and I did a couple of geography quizzes - we work well together, we remember different things - and were going to play 'Letters and Numbers' but I felt too fuzzy and didn't think I'd be able to think quickly enough. I hope we get another chance to play soon because we both really love playing and it's rare to have an opportunity when we're both home and the kids are happily occupied without us. Amelie spent a lot of time in the afternoon during her elephant puzzle, both as a full puzzle and just making up each elephant separately. LiAM also played with it for a while after V left. Amelie also spent hours playing with her My Little Ponies, they had a great time flying around the house rescuing each other and then having a party on the kitchen table. StarLily (the Magical Unicorn) joined them for a while too.
Amelie and I learnt some signs for colours in Auslan, and refreshed a few other words. Now she can ask for pink milk, chocolate milk and hot chocolate by signing, which is very handy for all of us.
Caitlin stayed at her friend's all day and had fish and chips in the park, then they brought her home and she showed her friend around the property, especially looking at the chicks. Tone met the parents and the guys had a beer and we all chatted for a while. After they left we ate dinner and watched 'Australia's Got Talent', then the kids played some puzzle games on the computer, and Caitlin cleaned up the lounge room a bit to play Just Dance on the playstation - but couldn't find the game so played Book of Spells instead, which then led her to joining the Pottermore site on the computer.
I was up early and had a bit of time to myself, then LiAM, Millie and Tony came out. LiAM was very excited that Tone was home for the day, and the three of them played Terraria for a while before breakfast.
Caitlin went to a friend's house in the morning, I took her over there and then stayed while she had a horse riding lesson - I hadn't seen her ride much and was impressed at how straight her back was and how comfortable and confident she looked in the saddle. Her friend then had a lesson and I left Caitlin there for the day, and I went to pick up V to bring him back to our place.
Once we got back Tony, LiAM, V and Amelie all played Terraria together and spent a lot of time negotiating with each other to swap armour and weapons, and coming up with team strategies for defeating the bosses. They played on and off all day and I loved listening to the conversations. I don't find Terraria easy (or very enjoyable) to play, but I do know a lot about it and enjoy hearing other people playing. LiAM was reading the attributes of the items that he found too, without any help - he doesn't realise he's reading when he does that, because the words just make sense to him, and he still thinks that reading is difficult. When he understands what something says without having to try hard, he says he wasn't reading, he just knew the words. Which at first was kind of true, he was recognising certain words that he already knew, whereas now he often reads things correctly with no context, and with words that he hasn't memorised - it's quite fascinating (and exciting) to watch his reading develop so naturally.
Amelie watched some more pokemon and finished the series she has been watching. She then watched 'Annie' (the new one from last year), while the boys played Halo on the xBox. I did a lot of work in the kitchen and cleared most of the kitchen table and all of the area under it, ready to reorganise things a bit with some new furniture I picked up from hard rubbish. Tony and I did a scout around the house and yard to see if there was anything we could put on our own hard rubbish pile, and did manage to find a goodly sized pile of broken chairs, a ripped mattress, broken ride on toy and a few other things. Glad that we remembered to do it before things start getting picked up today.
Tony and I did a couple of geography quizzes - we work well together, we remember different things - and were going to play 'Letters and Numbers' but I felt too fuzzy and didn't think I'd be able to think quickly enough. I hope we get another chance to play soon because we both really love playing and it's rare to have an opportunity when we're both home and the kids are happily occupied without us. Amelie spent a lot of time in the afternoon during her elephant puzzle, both as a full puzzle and just making up each elephant separately. LiAM also played with it for a while after V left. Amelie also spent hours playing with her My Little Ponies, they had a great time flying around the house rescuing each other and then having a party on the kitchen table. StarLily (the Magical Unicorn) joined them for a while too.
Amelie and I learnt some signs for colours in Auslan, and refreshed a few other words. Now she can ask for pink milk, chocolate milk and hot chocolate by signing, which is very handy for all of us.
Caitlin stayed at her friend's all day and had fish and chips in the park, then they brought her home and she showed her friend around the property, especially looking at the chicks. Tone met the parents and the guys had a beer and we all chatted for a while. After they left we ate dinner and watched 'Australia's Got Talent', then the kids played some puzzle games on the computer, and Caitlin cleaned up the lounge room a bit to play Just Dance on the playstation - but couldn't find the game so played Book of Spells instead, which then led her to joining the Pottermore site on the computer.
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