Thursday morning was a quiet one at home. Our new fruit and veg box arrived and the kids helped m fruit, and I made coleslaw with some of the left overs from the last box - I've never made it before, but Caitlin discovered she liked it at our friend's place last weekend, so I gave it a go. I made my own dressing as well which she didn't like as much, but she still ate it.
The kids watched a bit of TV and Amelie watched some more Pokemon, then after chicken sandwiches for lunch we got ready for Yarra Glen homeschool group. As I was putting the boxes in the car a Hunstman spider ran across one of the boxes - I quite like these spiders, I just don't enjoy being startled by them, so I screamed and dropped the box. It ran down between the driver's seat and the handbrake - Amelie was trying to figure out if she was safer staying right in the back in her seat, or scrambling past a bit closer to the spider and getting out of the car. I grabbed a big wad of paper towel to protect my fingers and attempted to grab one of his long, hairy legs - but he ran away from me and we haven't seen him since! I spent several minutes trying to find him before we all got in the car - and with my face right down looking under the seats LiAM kept saying 'You're going to get a Huntsman right in your face!!!' which he thought would be pretty funny. We named the spider Fred so that he'd be less scary - if he appears we can say 'Oh, there's Fred' - but so far he hasn't appeared. A couple of warm days with the car heating up a lot he is quite probably not alive anymore.
So spider drama over we made our way to homeschool group. There was no one there when we arrived (a little late) but we ended up with 10 or so families - some regulars, some who hadn't been for a while, some newer families, some long term homeschoolers who have never come but whose kids are older and are still interested in the group... Lots of good conversations, and the kids played with the toy library toys and did some craft and played on their iPads and played in the playground. Great to catch up with everyone after the break and to help everyone get back into the social aspect of homeschooling.
We headed home around 5pm and had a quiet evening, watched some tv and got ready for going to the Geelong Adventure Park the next day for Not Back to School Party. We had rice paper rolls with mashed potato and ham and veggies for tea - everyone ate quite a lot, it's handy being able to choose exactly which bits they want (Millie ate all the fillings without the rice paper, the others liked the rice paper and selected just some of the fillings). We got everyone off to bed reasonable early (around 10, which is early for us) and I had all the bags packed and everything organised before I went to bed as well.
So Friday were up very early. Tony is starting work at 6 at the moment so I got out of bed when he did, around 5.15. I woke Caitlin and she had a shower to wake herself up. LiAM got out of bed quite easel, Amelie took a little more convincing. Once she woke up though she was pretty alert, and spent a lot of the morning playing with numbers. For example I said 'We're leaving in 30 minutes' and she said 'Oh, you mean 3 tens of minutes? Or 20 plus 10 minutes' - little comments like that all morning. Everyone ate something and I packed the cold food, and we were in the car and on our way by 6.30am!!! We picked up Liam's friend K and his mum (my friend J) in Kilsyth on the way through, then off to the Adventure Park for the Not Back To School Party - an annual gathering of homeschooler to celebrate the start of the new year. This is the first time we have been though.
We arrived at 9.20, in plenty of time to get our names ticked off and line up for opening time at 10. We found some other friends, some from Yarra Glen group and some of J's friends, as well as other people we know from various places, and lined up with them. Once inside we put our stuff near the water play area, then Caitlin went to find her friends from Yarra Glen group, LiAM headed off with K, and Millie and I got in the water and ran through the water cannon and fountains and showers. LiAM's friends soon went off to float in the tubes in the 'Lazy River' and we saw Caitlin and her friends float by. LiAM, Millie and I went and waited til his friends came back around, and then joined them. Millie and I tried a double tube but couldn't get it to work, and she was happy just bobbing along without a tube for a while, then she discovered she could stand with the tube around her shoulders and bounce along while the water propelled her - I could look ahead and just see a little head bobbing up out of the tube every few seconds, it was pretty cute. I managed to get myself into a tube and float, and we went around 4 times, with Amelie climbing in and out of my tube and her own and swimming a bit, it was a lot of fun. Meanwhile L went on the Aqua Racer - a speed water slide, which he said was pretty scary, but he went on it 4 times in a row (and many more times throughout the day). Amelie and I had a bit more water play then went for a walk, and went on the Carousel (we sat in the swan) and then the little kids cars - Amelie drove and got the hang of it pretty quickly. We headed back to see what LiAM was doing and discovered L and C and all their friends on the swing ride. We watched them for a while and then Amelie wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel - I'd hoped to avoid it but figured she shouldn't have to miss out, so I gave it a go. I was nervous but not terrified - and it was pretty high and got quite windy up the top. I was apparently gripping the centre pole very hard - I thought I was acting pretty calm but she did ask me why I was so scared. She was comfortable with me being a bit scared of heights and it didn't worry her at all (neither the height nor my fear). We went around twice and as long as she didn't move around too much I was ok, and it was quite fun to be able to see so far.
We went back to our bags to have some lunch and reapply sunscreen. LiAM joined us, then he came with us to do some other activities. We did a few more laps on the Lazy River, then went to Mini Golf - lots of fun and LiAM did really well. We didn't have shoes on and the ground was pretty hot by this stage - a bit challenging to find somewhere to stand between holes that didn't burn our feet (well the kids were fine, I found it hard). We went down to the paddle boats but it was too windy for LiAM to go out on his own. I took Amelie out and LiAM went back to get K, the boys came back and had a go as well. It was hard work, although quite enjoyable to be out on the lake.
Back to our seats, more water play, and another couple of laps around the lazy river. Amelie liked to lie on top of me in the one tube, it was quite relaxing. I'd seen Caitlin on and off through the day and she said she'd had some lunch and she was getting to do all the things she wanted to do. LiAM had had several more goes on the Aqua Racer and the big water slides and the Ferris Wheel and Swing Ride. Amelie found an area with water spurting from huge mushrooms, with lots of pictures of dolphins, fish, and star fish on the ground, and a seal as well. She was pretty excited about the seal and we went back there a few times. L, A and I went over to the Archery and L and I had a go - I hit the target with all 3 arrows (one didn't stick) and it reminded me of how much I love archery - will definitely try to get back and do some with the kids soon. L hit the target with one of his arrows and we would have stayed for more except it was getting late and he wanted to go on the go carts. We met Caitlin on the way and she joined him in the go cart line - then we realised he wasn't tall enough and probably wouldn't be let on - seeing as time was tight (the rides were closing at 4.45 and it was now 4.30) it wasn't worth waiting to see if he would be able to ride. Caitlin wanted to race him on the Aqua Racer so they ran back there, and Amelie wanted one more Ferris Wheel ride so she and I headed there. This time were were stopped right at the top while others got on or off - a bit scary, then I noticed C and L at the top of the Aqua Racer and I was able to watch them race down from my high vantage point - pretty cool. We went around twice again, and could see that all the water rides had been turned off by the time we finished. Back to our bags, L went and got changed, the girls and I took our outer swimwear off and put t-shirts and pants/skirts on, and we packed up all our stuff and headed out.
An excellent day - the kids had been looking forward to it since November when we'd first discussed going, and it lived up to all expectations. I saw several homeschoolers who I hadn't seen for a while, and met a few new ones (some who I had met online or read articles by in magazines) - it was a great atmosphere and environment all day.
Everyone except Caitlin (and I) had a nap on the way home, so it was a quiet trip back. The traffic wasn't too bad, a couple of heavy patches on the Ring Road, but moving smoothly most of the way. I dropped K and J off at their place in Healesville around 7.30 - it was great to see them again after J being in England for 3 weeks, and we had a great chat in the car. LiAM was very happy to spend time with K again too. After we'd dropped them off we got fish and chips and burgers for tea and went home to Tony who had also just had a nap. We ate tea and told Tony all about our day, I had a shower and the kids watched tv. We watched Heartland (I was going to go to bed but it was a good episode...) then everyone got ready for bed, we were all exhausted. Tony and I were actually both still awake at the same time and had time to talk about our week before the kids came in and wanted him to rub their backs - we don't get a lot of time to chat during vintage so it was really lovely.
Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Friday, 26 June 2015
More birthdays and lots of activity
Sometimes when there's a lot going on, I find it a lot harder to write than when we are plodding along not doing anything out of the ordinary. The last couple of weeks have been a mix of big events and quieter days. Here's a bit of summary (in no particular order)
- LiAM turned 9. He had a lovely quiet day at home, playing with lego and playing Halo on the PS3, and playing with his Minecraft and Terraria figurines. He had a friend come over for a little while in the afternoon. For dinner we had a family meat pie and a family apple pie - his favourite tea, and some chocolate cake.
- We had a birthday party for LiAM. The kids played on the trampoline and with the lego and on their iPads and with soft toys (that was mainly Millie and her friends) and the adults chatted and relaxed - a very easy party to organise and to host.
- On a cold morning Millie and I saw hot air balloons taking off in the paddock next to our house. We walked down to watch them go from close up, and chatted to the ground crew. On the way back to the house we looked at the way the frost had formed on different types of leaves and blades of grass and the vines.
- We had an extremely cold morning, still below 0 at 10am (the morning of LiAM's party). There was ice everywhere outside which was lots of fun to explore.
- We have had 3 new chicks hatch. One of them died on the first day, the other two have survived that very cold night and morning and are being well looked after by their mother. One is black and one yellow and as always we can't believe how tiny and incredibly cute they are.
- The kids and I went to Bounce, finally, after talking about it since at least early last year. All four of us had a very fun time (I didn't jump, I wandered around watching and talking to the kids, and giving encouragement when they were trying something new and/or difficult (like Caitlin learning to jump up on to the wall in the performance trampoline area. She hasn't quite made it yet, but she made a lot of progress in this first session of trying)
- Caitlin had 2 performances with Victorian Youth Theatre. We all (And her friend S, and Grandma and Grandad) went and watched the first one, and F and I went to the 2nd one. As with last year, the productions were professional and very impressive, and Caitlin was great in her roles.
- We've been going to karate
- We've watched lots of movies
- We've started learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language)
- Caitlin and I have both (separately) learnt how to crochet a beanie, so we've been making those. I've also been crocheting head bands and I'm working on a scarf, Caitlin has been making beautiful flowers (she made one for each kid in her acting classes and took them in on the night of the last class)
- We've been to friend's houses and had friends visit here
- We've played with lego
- We've played big imaginary games with Millie's toys or LiAM's animals or the Skylanders or combinations of them all
- We've been to homeschool group
- We've been to the playground
- We've hung out at the library
- I've played the piano a lot
- I went to a rally, #bringbackasha, protesting against having babies sent back to offshore detention centres
It's the end of school term today so most of our regular activities will stop for a couple of weeks. As always at the end of term I am looking forward to some time with less scheduling and more going with the moment.
- LiAM turned 9. He had a lovely quiet day at home, playing with lego and playing Halo on the PS3, and playing with his Minecraft and Terraria figurines. He had a friend come over for a little while in the afternoon. For dinner we had a family meat pie and a family apple pie - his favourite tea, and some chocolate cake.
- We had a birthday party for LiAM. The kids played on the trampoline and with the lego and on their iPads and with soft toys (that was mainly Millie and her friends) and the adults chatted and relaxed - a very easy party to organise and to host.
- On a cold morning Millie and I saw hot air balloons taking off in the paddock next to our house. We walked down to watch them go from close up, and chatted to the ground crew. On the way back to the house we looked at the way the frost had formed on different types of leaves and blades of grass and the vines.
- We had an extremely cold morning, still below 0 at 10am (the morning of LiAM's party). There was ice everywhere outside which was lots of fun to explore.
- We have had 3 new chicks hatch. One of them died on the first day, the other two have survived that very cold night and morning and are being well looked after by their mother. One is black and one yellow and as always we can't believe how tiny and incredibly cute they are.
- The kids and I went to Bounce, finally, after talking about it since at least early last year. All four of us had a very fun time (I didn't jump, I wandered around watching and talking to the kids, and giving encouragement when they were trying something new and/or difficult (like Caitlin learning to jump up on to the wall in the performance trampoline area. She hasn't quite made it yet, but she made a lot of progress in this first session of trying)
- Caitlin had 2 performances with Victorian Youth Theatre. We all (And her friend S, and Grandma and Grandad) went and watched the first one, and F and I went to the 2nd one. As with last year, the productions were professional and very impressive, and Caitlin was great in her roles.
- We've been going to karate
- We've watched lots of movies
- We've started learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language)
- Caitlin and I have both (separately) learnt how to crochet a beanie, so we've been making those. I've also been crocheting head bands and I'm working on a scarf, Caitlin has been making beautiful flowers (she made one for each kid in her acting classes and took them in on the night of the last class)
- We've been to friend's houses and had friends visit here
- We've played with lego
- We've played big imaginary games with Millie's toys or LiAM's animals or the Skylanders or combinations of them all
- We've been to homeschool group
- We've been to the playground
- We've hung out at the library
- I've played the piano a lot
- I went to a rally, #bringbackasha, protesting against having babies sent back to offshore detention centres
It's the end of school term today so most of our regular activities will stop for a couple of weeks. As always at the end of term I am looking forward to some time with less scheduling and more going with the moment.
Thursday, 5 February 2015
Back into our activities
We've had a busy start to February, now that school holidays are over and all our activities are starting up again. Monday we attended Yarra Junction homeschool group at the Yarra Junction library - the kids all played with a large train set, and I talked to the other mums - there was one other regular, long-term homeschooler there, and 5 families who were just beginning, so we had lots of chats about how it can work, things to make it easier, how to manage common anxieties and questions about it all.
Tuesday we spent visiting another unschooling family - I had met the mum at the Sandra Dodd conference last year, and we've met the kids at a couple of unschooling meets. Caitlin and the daughter have been skyping and playing Minecraft together over the summer. This is the first time we'd been to their house - and all the kids (there are 4 of them) had a great day, playing on the slip n slide, trampoline, riding scooters, dancing, playing the keyboard, playing tiggy, playing monopoly, talking and laughing. We were there until 6, then reluctantly left with lots of promises to do it again soon. On the way home we stopped at McDonalds for tea, and after eating the kids played for over an hour in the playground - it was a useful transition from being with friends to going home.
Yesterday Caitlin started cleaning out the kids' bedroom, ready to install the girls' new bunk beds. Millie and I played a game with counters, egg cartons and skylanders - we sorted the counters in to the egg cartons, then the egg cartons flew into Skylanders territory and the Skylanders came to investigate the strangers, there were battles between Skylanders and some made friends with the counters... LiAM joined in too and the game became quite complex and lots of fun.
In the afternoon we went to Yarra Glen library - LiAM was relieved to finally be somewhere where he could watch YouTube videos again. Millie played with her toys and the library toys on the floor, Caitlin rode her RipStik in the park. The girls went to Guides, and were joined by Caitlin's friend S who is thinking of joining Guides this year. S's brother joined LiAM at the library and they watched videos together while I chatted with their mum. After Guides the kids and I went to the IGA to buy food to make tacos, we came home and Tony cooked (his hours haven't increased a lot just yet so he was still around and happy to cook) while I finished sorting out the craft tub for Yarra Glen Homeschool Group - I wanted it to be neat and uncluttered for our first meeting today. It had collected a lot of scraps and half made items over the past year and it was getting hard to find anything. It's lovely and organised now!
The girls were very keen to sleep in their new bunk beds, so at about 8pm we decided we would put them up (rather than risk Tony being at work every evening from now on and missing a good chance to install them). We finished clearing stuff out of the room, then had an extended search for our Allen Keys so that we could take Caitlin's loft bed apart. We eventually found them, as well as a lot of other stuff while we were searching. Everyone helped put the new bed together then 2 very excited girls got ready for bed and happily jumped in. Millie slept in her lower bunk for about half the night before coming in to us - I don't mind if she doesn't sleep in it all the time, having an extra bed available is going to make night times a lot easier all round.
Tuesday we spent visiting another unschooling family - I had met the mum at the Sandra Dodd conference last year, and we've met the kids at a couple of unschooling meets. Caitlin and the daughter have been skyping and playing Minecraft together over the summer. This is the first time we'd been to their house - and all the kids (there are 4 of them) had a great day, playing on the slip n slide, trampoline, riding scooters, dancing, playing the keyboard, playing tiggy, playing monopoly, talking and laughing. We were there until 6, then reluctantly left with lots of promises to do it again soon. On the way home we stopped at McDonalds for tea, and after eating the kids played for over an hour in the playground - it was a useful transition from being with friends to going home.
Yesterday Caitlin started cleaning out the kids' bedroom, ready to install the girls' new bunk beds. Millie and I played a game with counters, egg cartons and skylanders - we sorted the counters in to the egg cartons, then the egg cartons flew into Skylanders territory and the Skylanders came to investigate the strangers, there were battles between Skylanders and some made friends with the counters... LiAM joined in too and the game became quite complex and lots of fun.
In the afternoon we went to Yarra Glen library - LiAM was relieved to finally be somewhere where he could watch YouTube videos again. Millie played with her toys and the library toys on the floor, Caitlin rode her RipStik in the park. The girls went to Guides, and were joined by Caitlin's friend S who is thinking of joining Guides this year. S's brother joined LiAM at the library and they watched videos together while I chatted with their mum. After Guides the kids and I went to the IGA to buy food to make tacos, we came home and Tony cooked (his hours haven't increased a lot just yet so he was still around and happy to cook) while I finished sorting out the craft tub for Yarra Glen Homeschool Group - I wanted it to be neat and uncluttered for our first meeting today. It had collected a lot of scraps and half made items over the past year and it was getting hard to find anything. It's lovely and organised now!
The girls were very keen to sleep in their new bunk beds, so at about 8pm we decided we would put them up (rather than risk Tony being at work every evening from now on and missing a good chance to install them). We finished clearing stuff out of the room, then had an extended search for our Allen Keys so that we could take Caitlin's loft bed apart. We eventually found them, as well as a lot of other stuff while we were searching. Everyone helped put the new bed together then 2 very excited girls got ready for bed and happily jumped in. Millie slept in her lower bunk for about half the night before coming in to us - I don't mind if she doesn't sleep in it all the time, having an extra bed available is going to make night times a lot easier all round.
Saturday, 31 January 2015
Funeral and Start of Vintage
On Monday this week, Tony and I drove to Bathurst to attend a funeral on Tuesday. An old friend of ours, someone we hadn't seen in many many years, was killed in a road accident 10 days prior. The funeral was incredibly sad, I don't know if I've ever cried so much at a funeral, or seen so many other people crying. His wife (who was a very good friend of mine when we were in our early 20s) and his 3 kids (aged 14, 12 & 9) all spoke or had things read out, his wife sang a song she wrote for him, and some friends and family spoke. It was a beautiful send off.
In the days after I learnt of his death, I had several anxiety attacks - some about driving, some thinking about how I would cope if anyone important in my life died - and I was able to work through them without them taking hold too much, and now concentrating on the other reminders that our friend's death has given us - to appreciate our loved ones, to really live the life that you want to live, that friends and family really matter.
Despite the sad nature of our trip, Tony and I really enjoyed our time together in the car on the way up and back. 8 hours each way to chat, listen to music, and laugh (a lot). It was a great reconnection time for us, which is especially helpful given that Vintage is now upon us.
Tony came home from work on Thursday (he'd had Tue and Wed off, and Mon was a public holiday) and said that Vintage was starting Friday. He worked 12 hours yesterday and is working both days this weekend. So we're straight into it (although he thinks that this coming week won't be too intense). I'm feeling quite positive about it - I think I've organised our activities so there aren't too many and won't be too difficult to manage on my own, and I'm feeling confident that I can say no to extra things that are too hard, and concentrate on doing things that really nurture myself and the kids.
In the days after I learnt of his death, I had several anxiety attacks - some about driving, some thinking about how I would cope if anyone important in my life died - and I was able to work through them without them taking hold too much, and now concentrating on the other reminders that our friend's death has given us - to appreciate our loved ones, to really live the life that you want to live, that friends and family really matter.
Despite the sad nature of our trip, Tony and I really enjoyed our time together in the car on the way up and back. 8 hours each way to chat, listen to music, and laugh (a lot). It was a great reconnection time for us, which is especially helpful given that Vintage is now upon us.
Tony came home from work on Thursday (he'd had Tue and Wed off, and Mon was a public holiday) and said that Vintage was starting Friday. He worked 12 hours yesterday and is working both days this weekend. So we're straight into it (although he thinks that this coming week won't be too intense). I'm feeling quite positive about it - I think I've organised our activities so there aren't too many and won't be too difficult to manage on my own, and I'm feeling confident that I can say no to extra things that are too hard, and concentrate on doing things that really nurture myself and the kids.
Friday, 12 December 2014
Playstation and Homeschool Group
I had a very early morning yesterday, was awake at 4 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and sent a few emails, organised a few things that had been on my to do list for a while. By the time the kids were up I was feeling quite tired, and LiAM wanted to play Toy Story 3 on the Playstation with me, so I happily stayed lying on the couch and played with him for an hour or more. We've been playing quite a lot lately and I'm enjoying it - and I'm improving! When I first played a few weeks ago, Amelie said she liked watching me play because I was much worse than her at it - I could never figure out which way I was facing or how to run in the direction I wanted to go, I couldn't jump or fire at a target, and I constantly forgot which buttons on the controller to press to do anything. LiAM has been quite patient with me, and I'm slowly improving. I can now navigate and jump and fire and run, and I usually remember what buttons to press, even if my reaction time is still a bit slow. The part of Toy Story 3 we usually play (Woody's Roundup) has a lot going on in it, and we've pretty much divided up the tasks and can each go about our business, and help each other out on the harder bits. The girls (and even Tony) sometimes sit and watch and comment so it can be an activity that the whole family is involved in, and I'm really enjoying the time doing something specific with LiAM. It's also been a handy reminder to me of how social and bonding playing a video game with someone can be, and how much the players can learn. And it's not sedentary either, we jump around a fair bit, and we talk and laugh about all sorts of things while we play.
After a while yesterday I left him to the game and got us all ready to go to Homeschool Group in Yarra Glen. We left a bit early because I hadn't yet bought all the equipment we needed for our activities. We went and got those then opened up the hall. We had 8 families come along, a couple with kids from other homeschooling families in tow, so there was a big group of kids. Most of them played outside, and at one point one of the mums saw ALL of them, from the 4 year old up to the 15 year old, on the roundabout together in the park. The kids came in and out throughout the afternoon and some of them made decorations when they were inside - we did snow globes in glass jars, and decorated oranges with cloves.
After Homeschool Group we hung around in the park and/or library for a short while, then headed home. I was exhausted and didn't feel well so the kids put a Barbie movie on and I lay on my bed with the iPad and recharged a bit. Amelie came in and played with me for a while, then Tony brought home fish and chips for tea. Caitlin and LiAM skyped and played Minecraft with a friend and I read my book (The Railway Man) until I was ready to go to sleep.
After a while yesterday I left him to the game and got us all ready to go to Homeschool Group in Yarra Glen. We left a bit early because I hadn't yet bought all the equipment we needed for our activities. We went and got those then opened up the hall. We had 8 families come along, a couple with kids from other homeschooling families in tow, so there was a big group of kids. Most of them played outside, and at one point one of the mums saw ALL of them, from the 4 year old up to the 15 year old, on the roundabout together in the park. The kids came in and out throughout the afternoon and some of them made decorations when they were inside - we did snow globes in glass jars, and decorated oranges with cloves.
After Homeschool Group we hung around in the park and/or library for a short while, then headed home. I was exhausted and didn't feel well so the kids put a Barbie movie on and I lay on my bed with the iPad and recharged a bit. Amelie came in and played with me for a while, then Tony brought home fish and chips for tea. Caitlin and LiAM skyped and played Minecraft with a friend and I read my book (The Railway Man) until I was ready to go to sleep.
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Wedding anniversary and finishing activities
I have finished writing about our trip to Sydney, at travellingandexploringourworld.blogspot.com.au I still haven't added any photos for the first few days because they are on Dad's computer, not mine - hopefully I will get to that soon.
We've been fairly relaxed since we got back. Caitlin had her final acting performance for the year which was a pleasure to watch, and beforehand we had dinner on Lygon St with Mum and Dad and my sister and her family. The girls had their Guides Christmas Party and Caitlin had her last acting class for the year - both of which she was able to take her friend S along to, and both girls enjoyed being there together and sharing the experience. All our activities are finished for the year now except for one or 2 more homeschool gatherings, and Caitlin has a day and half more of school (next Friday and the one after).
This weekend was Tony and my 12th wedding anniversary. The kids went for a sleepover at a friend's house (all together) and Tony and I had some time alone at home, went out for dinner to the Thai restaurant in Yarra Glen - delicious food! - and then to the movies to use a voucher we received last christmas (thanks Mum). We saw 'Interstellar' which I knew NOTHING about going in, always a bit weird and also an enjoyable kind of anticipation. It was LONG although flowed pretty well, covered a lot of ground, and was interesting and thought provoking. Enjoyed Matthew McConaghy and Anne Hathaway - hadn't seen her in a role like that before. The only downside for me was that the music score kept the suspense level VERY high for nearly the entire movie - and although there were some shocks there was nothing terribly scary and nothing gross - so I spent nearly three hours all tensed up wondering what terrible things were going to happen. Could watch it again much more calmly, although don't know if I would bother. We did enjoy it though and talked a lot afterwards about the plot twists. We got home very late and had a bit of a sleep in this morning and a good chat about a lot of things. A very enjoyable anniversary celebration.
As promised here's some photos of Caitlin
We've been fairly relaxed since we got back. Caitlin had her final acting performance for the year which was a pleasure to watch, and beforehand we had dinner on Lygon St with Mum and Dad and my sister and her family. The girls had their Guides Christmas Party and Caitlin had her last acting class for the year - both of which she was able to take her friend S along to, and both girls enjoyed being there together and sharing the experience. All our activities are finished for the year now except for one or 2 more homeschool gatherings, and Caitlin has a day and half more of school (next Friday and the one after).
This weekend was Tony and my 12th wedding anniversary. The kids went for a sleepover at a friend's house (all together) and Tony and I had some time alone at home, went out for dinner to the Thai restaurant in Yarra Glen - delicious food! - and then to the movies to use a voucher we received last christmas (thanks Mum). We saw 'Interstellar' which I knew NOTHING about going in, always a bit weird and also an enjoyable kind of anticipation. It was LONG although flowed pretty well, covered a lot of ground, and was interesting and thought provoking. Enjoyed Matthew McConaghy and Anne Hathaway - hadn't seen her in a role like that before. The only downside for me was that the music score kept the suspense level VERY high for nearly the entire movie - and although there were some shocks there was nothing terribly scary and nothing gross - so I spent nearly three hours all tensed up wondering what terrible things were going to happen. Could watch it again much more calmly, although don't know if I would bother. We did enjoy it though and talked a lot afterwards about the plot twists. We got home very late and had a bit of a sleep in this morning and a good chat about a lot of things. A very enjoyable anniversary celebration.
As promised here's some photos of Caitlin
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| Ready to go to dance concert |
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| Dressed for Tap Dancing performance |
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| In the School Play |
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Movie day at home (and Top Gear)
A whole day at home yesterday was lovely and exactly what I needed! LiAM was a bit disappointed that we had no plans to go out, so I made sure that we did interesting things all day so that staying home became the fun option.
He and Amelie have been playing with felt shapes and boards lately, and I knew I had a set in my present/bring out when needed box, so I grabbed it yesterday morning. It was a farm set and as well as the barn and farmer and horses and cows, it had little eggs and nests and hatching eggs and ducks and chickens and lots of very cool shapes, Liam and Amelie played with it for ages.
Once that had lost it's appeal I suggested we look at the Top Gear 100 Fastest Cars book I borrowed from the library. LiAM wasn't keen so I said I'd just look at it myself as I wanted to check out the Ferraris. Once I opened it he curled up on the couch next to me and we started to work through the book from number 1 - he'd read the number, I'd read the name of the car, we'd look at the shape and colour of it and talk about that, then I'd read the (very funny) description, then he'd read the stats about power, speed, cost and cool factor, and we'd discuss that. It was a lot of fun and we did probably the first 15 cars in detail, then flicked through and did some random ones, then just looked at the pictures and the stats. When we watched Top Gear later that evening, some of the cars we'd looked at were on the show, so it was very exciting to get the book back out and check out the details again while we actually watched them driving the cars. Hugh Jackman (who plays Wolverine) was the guest on the show which was quite exciting, and there was a very funny hovercraft experiment which Caitlin and I couldn't tear ourselves away from even though we both wanted to go to bed.
During the day we watched several movies and played on iPods and iPads and the computer, and chatted about what we were watching/playing. We watched Ella Enchanted, then Hannah Montana the Movie, then Ella Enchanted again, and put it on for a 3rd time after Tony came home from work. I enjoyed both of the movies more than I'd expected, and we also spent a lot of time looking up where we'd seen the actors in both movies, who was singing the songs, what other songs those people had seen, which fairy tales some of the characters were from, etc. We played Minecraft and some minecraft spinoff games (Pixel Gun was popular), Township, some dress up games, Candy Mania, and others.
Caitlin had a nap in the afternoon - her big performance and rehearsal schedule is tiring her out. Exciting to realise that she is starting to listen to her body and have extra sleep when she needs it.
LiAM helped Tony clean his car out and I cleared EVERYTHING out of mine before taking it to the smash repairers today. We get a free wash and vac after the damage (from a rear end collision last week - a 4WD ran into the back of my car) is fixed - will be nice to have it all fresh and clean!
He and Amelie have been playing with felt shapes and boards lately, and I knew I had a set in my present/bring out when needed box, so I grabbed it yesterday morning. It was a farm set and as well as the barn and farmer and horses and cows, it had little eggs and nests and hatching eggs and ducks and chickens and lots of very cool shapes, Liam and Amelie played with it for ages.
Once that had lost it's appeal I suggested we look at the Top Gear 100 Fastest Cars book I borrowed from the library. LiAM wasn't keen so I said I'd just look at it myself as I wanted to check out the Ferraris. Once I opened it he curled up on the couch next to me and we started to work through the book from number 1 - he'd read the number, I'd read the name of the car, we'd look at the shape and colour of it and talk about that, then I'd read the (very funny) description, then he'd read the stats about power, speed, cost and cool factor, and we'd discuss that. It was a lot of fun and we did probably the first 15 cars in detail, then flicked through and did some random ones, then just looked at the pictures and the stats. When we watched Top Gear later that evening, some of the cars we'd looked at were on the show, so it was very exciting to get the book back out and check out the details again while we actually watched them driving the cars. Hugh Jackman (who plays Wolverine) was the guest on the show which was quite exciting, and there was a very funny hovercraft experiment which Caitlin and I couldn't tear ourselves away from even though we both wanted to go to bed.
During the day we watched several movies and played on iPods and iPads and the computer, and chatted about what we were watching/playing. We watched Ella Enchanted, then Hannah Montana the Movie, then Ella Enchanted again, and put it on for a 3rd time after Tony came home from work. I enjoyed both of the movies more than I'd expected, and we also spent a lot of time looking up where we'd seen the actors in both movies, who was singing the songs, what other songs those people had seen, which fairy tales some of the characters were from, etc. We played Minecraft and some minecraft spinoff games (Pixel Gun was popular), Township, some dress up games, Candy Mania, and others.
Caitlin had a nap in the afternoon - her big performance and rehearsal schedule is tiring her out. Exciting to realise that she is starting to listen to her body and have extra sleep when she needs it.
LiAM helped Tony clean his car out and I cleared EVERYTHING out of mine before taking it to the smash repairers today. We get a free wash and vac after the damage (from a rear end collision last week - a 4WD ran into the back of my car) is fixed - will be nice to have it all fresh and clean!
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Happy
Life is good at the moment.
I've been feeling that for a couple of weeks now, as an undercurrent to everything else is going on and it's a great feeling. There are moments where I just feel completely happy and content with the way our life is going, and that feeling is staying as a base of happiness even when other stuff is going wrong in the moment (which makes it easier to recover from the lower moments).
I think I've managed to get back to a place where I am living true to my principles and beliefs and making positive choices, so that even when things aren't perfect I can accept that and keep making choices that head us in the direction we want to go, and life still feels good.
I've also started doing karate with the kids on on a Thursday night - and I LOVE it. I spend the whole 75 minutes just feeling so happy and excited to be there. It's not as hard as I thought it would be and I'm learning more and more each week - it's something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember, but I thought I wouldn't be coordinated enough or be able to remember all the moves or it wasn't a suitable activity for a someone like me (what would people think?!).... lots and lots of excuses have helped me put it off over the years, and I'm so glad that I was able to push through all of that and give it a go. And apart from the self-esteem boost of being able to do it and the joy of doing something really fun, the physical exercise part is feeling physically amazing. I'm pleased too that all the yoga I've done over the past several years has helped with flexibility and fitness so some of the moves and stances are quite easy for my body rather than being brand new.
Caitlin is attending Victorian Youth Theatre classes on a Friday night - out of all the activities she's tried, this one feels like absolutely the right fit. She does 2 consecutive classes so she's there for 3 hours. The venue is in Croydon, about half an hours drive from here, so I usually drop her off and then go and do something by myself for the time she's there - a few times now I have gone swimming at Croydon Leisure Centre - it's been amazing to be back in the water swimming laps. The first week I did 10 (25m) laps and nearly fell over when I stopped, the second week I was able to do 20..... I love how quickly my body can fall back into swimming even after a long break. If I can do laps every couple of weeks or even a few times a term I think my physical and mental wellbeing will be boosted immensely. After swimming I normally do some grocery shopping - I like that there's kind of an allocated time now for me to get that done (and I have a choice of supermarkets in the area so I can vary where I go like I always have) rather than trying to fit it in around all our other activities.
We now have very few daytime commitments which I like, and hardly anything in the mornings, so we can have our slow, easy mornings at home and then head out in the afternoons if necessary. Caitlin has dancing on Monday evenings, the girls have Guides on Wednesday afternoons (Millie goes sometimes, when she feels willing to tie her hair back and wear shoes, and especially if they are doing something exciting like roasting marshmallows), Caitlin, Liam and I have karate on Thursday evenings, Caitlin has school on Friday and the rest of us go to L's house for her kids and mine to play all day (and for she and I to chat, or go out without kids if we have something on), and then Caitlin's Youth Theatre on Friday evening. We also have Homeschool Group in Yarra Glen fortnightly on a Thursday afternoon, and a couple of other monthly homeschool things that we sometimes go to. We do Toy Library duty a few times a term. Oh and while the girls (or just Caitlin) are at Guides, the rest of us go to the library and park in Yarra Glen. So I feel like we've got a lot on but it's at a manageable level and mainly at times that work for our family. The evening stuff is great because (except during vintage) whoever doesn't want to come along can stay at home with one parent.
I feel like I'm doing a much better job of meeting the kids where they are at and focussing on what they want to do at a particular time, offering more opportunities for fun activities at home and stopping whatever I'm doing when they ask me to come and play with them. I guess I'm feeling more focussed and determined to stay true to my priorities - the relationship with my kids and Tony being number one, and providing enriching, interesting and relevant learning opportunities for us all is next.
This last week we've all been quite sick, with a fluey/chest infection type thing. It's been pretty nasty, and everyone has had it (LiAM was last to come down with it, yesterday afternoon). There's been plenty of moments where I have felt exhausted and anxious and quite low - but when I think about it, I know that this is just passing, and underneath I have still felt happy and content with our current life.
I've been feeling that for a couple of weeks now, as an undercurrent to everything else is going on and it's a great feeling. There are moments where I just feel completely happy and content with the way our life is going, and that feeling is staying as a base of happiness even when other stuff is going wrong in the moment (which makes it easier to recover from the lower moments).
I think I've managed to get back to a place where I am living true to my principles and beliefs and making positive choices, so that even when things aren't perfect I can accept that and keep making choices that head us in the direction we want to go, and life still feels good.
I've also started doing karate with the kids on on a Thursday night - and I LOVE it. I spend the whole 75 minutes just feeling so happy and excited to be there. It's not as hard as I thought it would be and I'm learning more and more each week - it's something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember, but I thought I wouldn't be coordinated enough or be able to remember all the moves or it wasn't a suitable activity for a someone like me (what would people think?!).... lots and lots of excuses have helped me put it off over the years, and I'm so glad that I was able to push through all of that and give it a go. And apart from the self-esteem boost of being able to do it and the joy of doing something really fun, the physical exercise part is feeling physically amazing. I'm pleased too that all the yoga I've done over the past several years has helped with flexibility and fitness so some of the moves and stances are quite easy for my body rather than being brand new.
Caitlin is attending Victorian Youth Theatre classes on a Friday night - out of all the activities she's tried, this one feels like absolutely the right fit. She does 2 consecutive classes so she's there for 3 hours. The venue is in Croydon, about half an hours drive from here, so I usually drop her off and then go and do something by myself for the time she's there - a few times now I have gone swimming at Croydon Leisure Centre - it's been amazing to be back in the water swimming laps. The first week I did 10 (25m) laps and nearly fell over when I stopped, the second week I was able to do 20..... I love how quickly my body can fall back into swimming even after a long break. If I can do laps every couple of weeks or even a few times a term I think my physical and mental wellbeing will be boosted immensely. After swimming I normally do some grocery shopping - I like that there's kind of an allocated time now for me to get that done (and I have a choice of supermarkets in the area so I can vary where I go like I always have) rather than trying to fit it in around all our other activities.
We now have very few daytime commitments which I like, and hardly anything in the mornings, so we can have our slow, easy mornings at home and then head out in the afternoons if necessary. Caitlin has dancing on Monday evenings, the girls have Guides on Wednesday afternoons (Millie goes sometimes, when she feels willing to tie her hair back and wear shoes, and especially if they are doing something exciting like roasting marshmallows), Caitlin, Liam and I have karate on Thursday evenings, Caitlin has school on Friday and the rest of us go to L's house for her kids and mine to play all day (and for she and I to chat, or go out without kids if we have something on), and then Caitlin's Youth Theatre on Friday evening. We also have Homeschool Group in Yarra Glen fortnightly on a Thursday afternoon, and a couple of other monthly homeschool things that we sometimes go to. We do Toy Library duty a few times a term. Oh and while the girls (or just Caitlin) are at Guides, the rest of us go to the library and park in Yarra Glen. So I feel like we've got a lot on but it's at a manageable level and mainly at times that work for our family. The evening stuff is great because (except during vintage) whoever doesn't want to come along can stay at home with one parent.
I feel like I'm doing a much better job of meeting the kids where they are at and focussing on what they want to do at a particular time, offering more opportunities for fun activities at home and stopping whatever I'm doing when they ask me to come and play with them. I guess I'm feeling more focussed and determined to stay true to my priorities - the relationship with my kids and Tony being number one, and providing enriching, interesting and relevant learning opportunities for us all is next.
This last week we've all been quite sick, with a fluey/chest infection type thing. It's been pretty nasty, and everyone has had it (LiAM was last to come down with it, yesterday afternoon). There's been plenty of moments where I have felt exhausted and anxious and quite low - but when I think about it, I know that this is just passing, and underneath I have still felt happy and content with our current life.
Sunday, 22 June 2014
We went to the circus!
Millie and I were up before the sun and lay in bed playing on the iPad together. We wanted to watch the sunrise, but there were clouds on the horizon so we just saw the sun behind the clouds a bit - still interesting and pretty. Tony left for baseball and we moved to the lounge room to see if we could see the sun better, and Millie wanted to play Harry Potter - Scene It, so we had a game of it just me and her and it was fun, she had a good guess at all of the questions and we both had a lot of laughs. I remembered I'd also bought an interactive DVD game at the op shop so we checked it out - it is a Dreamworks Animation game, based on Madagascar, Shrek 2, Over the Hedge and Shark Tale. Millie was quite excited that we play it on the TV using the DVD remote. There are a range of games and each player can select the level they want to play at (based on age, which doesn't necessarily equate to skill or knowledge in our family, but we can just think of it as easy, medium and hard rather than follow the age ranges). Millie did really well at this game, knew the answers to the fairy tale questions and blitzed the physical challenge questions (especially the 'make 5 funny faces in 10 seconds' - she's a master at funny faces). The other kids wandered out while we were playing, so we played 4 player for a while until everyone lost interest.
The kids watched ABC2 and 3 for a while, and played Minecraft. I asked Caitlin questions from the cards in the Harry Potter game, and she knew most of the wizarding questions. Millie and I thought about making cake pops - we always seem to get distracted. I think if I made the mixture up and then suggested it then she'd be keen to pour it into the moulds and cook them (and decorating them will be the really fun part). We watched several episodes of Dragons: Defenders of Berk, which we've always loved, it felt more relevant having just seen the 2nd How to Train your Dragon movie, and we talked about the ways the characters were different in the movie, where they are so much older.
We went in to Yarra Glen and did a quick grocery shop, getting stuff we'd run out of and supplies for tea, then we went to the circus!!! Eroni's circus are performing in Yarra Glen and all week I'd promised we could go, so we decided to use our Saturday while Tony was at baseball to go and check it out. The kids had a play on the jumping castle before we went in, it had a part where they could climb up then a large and very fast slide - they all had a lot of fun and were knackered when they got off. We found seats in the raised section of seating, which meant Millie could see the ring. The last circus we'd been to had been rather sad and old so I wondered if this would be the same, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was professional and quite well run, and the performers were all impressive. Lots of trapeze/gymnastics type acts, some jugglers and magicians, a fire eater, clowns, a tiny pony, jack russell performing dogs, and palomino horses. Caitlin loved the trapeze and gymnastic acts, and the horses. LiAM liked the dogs and the clowns and didn't mind the jugglers. Millie liked the animals and the clowns - she was a bit bored in the 2nd half, it went for longer than she felt like staying. At interval they had show bags and toys and food for sale - I felt I'd spent enough money already, then remembered that the kids all had their own spending money left from our holiday (we'd been to fewer touristy places than usual so they hadn't spent money on souvenirs to the extent that they sometimes do). So with their holiday money they were each able to buy a show bag and a snack to eat during the 2nd half. The showbags were pretty good actually, quite a lot of items in them - a sticky hand, a clapping hand, a clown nose, a water pistol, a mask, a fake moustache and glasses, a windmill and maybe a couple of other things.
Back home to play with all the show bag goodies while I cooked tea - it was meant to be mexican meatballs but my meatballs fell apart so it was more like mexican stew - still quite tasty though, and Tony appreciated it as he hadn't eaten much at baseball and was starving when he got home. We started to watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation but the risk of Chevy Chase's character injuring himself became too stressful for Caitlin so we turned it off and played Minecraft instead. Millie and I went to bed and played the iPad for a while then she went to sleep and I read my book while the others watched 'We Bought a Zoo'.
The kids watched ABC2 and 3 for a while, and played Minecraft. I asked Caitlin questions from the cards in the Harry Potter game, and she knew most of the wizarding questions. Millie and I thought about making cake pops - we always seem to get distracted. I think if I made the mixture up and then suggested it then she'd be keen to pour it into the moulds and cook them (and decorating them will be the really fun part). We watched several episodes of Dragons: Defenders of Berk, which we've always loved, it felt more relevant having just seen the 2nd How to Train your Dragon movie, and we talked about the ways the characters were different in the movie, where they are so much older.
We went in to Yarra Glen and did a quick grocery shop, getting stuff we'd run out of and supplies for tea, then we went to the circus!!! Eroni's circus are performing in Yarra Glen and all week I'd promised we could go, so we decided to use our Saturday while Tony was at baseball to go and check it out. The kids had a play on the jumping castle before we went in, it had a part where they could climb up then a large and very fast slide - they all had a lot of fun and were knackered when they got off. We found seats in the raised section of seating, which meant Millie could see the ring. The last circus we'd been to had been rather sad and old so I wondered if this would be the same, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was professional and quite well run, and the performers were all impressive. Lots of trapeze/gymnastics type acts, some jugglers and magicians, a fire eater, clowns, a tiny pony, jack russell performing dogs, and palomino horses. Caitlin loved the trapeze and gymnastic acts, and the horses. LiAM liked the dogs and the clowns and didn't mind the jugglers. Millie liked the animals and the clowns - she was a bit bored in the 2nd half, it went for longer than she felt like staying. At interval they had show bags and toys and food for sale - I felt I'd spent enough money already, then remembered that the kids all had their own spending money left from our holiday (we'd been to fewer touristy places than usual so they hadn't spent money on souvenirs to the extent that they sometimes do). So with their holiday money they were each able to buy a show bag and a snack to eat during the 2nd half. The showbags were pretty good actually, quite a lot of items in them - a sticky hand, a clapping hand, a clown nose, a water pistol, a mask, a fake moustache and glasses, a windmill and maybe a couple of other things.
Back home to play with all the show bag goodies while I cooked tea - it was meant to be mexican meatballs but my meatballs fell apart so it was more like mexican stew - still quite tasty though, and Tony appreciated it as he hadn't eaten much at baseball and was starving when he got home. We started to watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation but the risk of Chevy Chase's character injuring himself became too stressful for Caitlin so we turned it off and played Minecraft instead. Millie and I went to bed and played the iPad for a while then she went to sleep and I read my book while the others watched 'We Bought a Zoo'.
Sunday, 27 April 2014
ANZAC weekend
After 2 1/2 weeks of break from our regular activities I'm feeling energised and ready to get back into things. It helps that Vintage is largely over and Tony is now home (and awake) in the mornings and evenings and on weekends. He had 3 1/2 days off over the Easter weekend and has had all 3 days of this ANZAC Day long weekend off work. He played and coached baseball yesterday but has been here the rest of the weekend and its lovely for us all to reconnect with him and for me to have a bit more conversation with an adult in my day.
On Thursday Caitlin went to her athletics carnival where she competed in the 100m, 400m, relay and triple jump. She was the only Under 10s girl from her school, so she spent the day with the girls from another school, its great that she can fit in easily with a new group of people and make friends so easily. While she was there LiAM, Millie and I went to L's for the day, the kids played Terraria and watched Terraria videos, played Minecraft Mutants (a game they've all made up) on the trampoline, and played an imaginative role-playing game on and off all day.
Once we picked Caitlin up we took her straight to the Guides Hall where she was having a sleepover before the ANZAC Day March the next day. She and most of the other girls slept outside in tents - it was our first really cold night of the season - down to 1 degree! - but they all managed all right and I think enjoyed the experience.
After dropping her off, we went to the library to return books, borrow some more, and watch some more Terraria videos. Tony met us there and took Millie home while LiAM went to Karate for the first time. He really enjoyed it and fitted in with the 2 kids who were about his age. I was really impressed with the dojo. Its a multi-age class - kids and adults in together. Some of the training they do as a whole group, other times they break into smaller groups with older kids helping the younger ones, or those at the same ability level working together. LiAM was assigned to a 13 year old boy to be shown the basics over the next few weeks - and he learnt heaps. (The next day he showed Caitlin how to do one of the kicks he'd learnt. The next morning Millie (from watching them) showed ME how to do it). Caitlin is considered joining the Karate class as well - and so am I. It might be a good way to get fit again and learn something I've vaguely thought about for a long time... There's a few fears standing in my way as well that may stop me, but hopefully I'll be able to overcome them. The dojo encourages parents and kids to train together, so I would be welcome from their point of view...
On Friday morning, L and M elected to stay home with Tony while I went to Yarra Glen to watch the ANZAC Day parade and ceremony. Arriving there and walking down the street and settling in to the crowd I felt so grateful to live in a small community, where I know so many people and we all come out to join in community events. There were several hundred people watching the parade. The Guides were running a bit late and the parade started as soon as they arrived. The crowd moves along the street with the parade (which set a cracking pace this year, I found it hard to keep up) and we all end up at the Memorial Hall and the War Monument. The Guides stand around the Monument each year, and this year Caitlin was one of the four who stood guard on the four corners of the Monument, she was proud to have such a prominent part in the ceremony.
The ceremony was moving and thought provoking. A lot of focus on being grateful for the country we live in and for the fact that we are not living with war on a daily basis. Recognition too for those Australians who are on active service at the moment in other countries.
After the ceremony I caught up with a few friends I hadn't seen for a while, then went and picked Caitlin up from the Guides Hall. Home again for a quiet afternoon - I installed a new Minecraft mod for the kids, which they played for a while, Tony had a nap then watched the ANZAC Day Collingwood v Essendon game (which fortunately Collingwood won!) and we pottered around, read books, tidied up a bit, oh, and I made Anzac Cookies. Millie and I popped into Yarra Glen later in the day and did a bit of grocery shopping and we came home and made nachos for tea.
Yesterday was also a quiet day at home. Tony left early for baseball, and we played Township and Candy Mania and Episode on the iPad, watched some DVDs (Season 2 of Full House, and the Ugly Duckling and Me), sorted through all our books to see if there are any we could donate to the stall I'm having for ABA next week (no kid's books were allowed to go, but I did find a handful of my books that I'm unlikely to read again) and then read a pile of the books that we'd pulled out, played the piano, made some rainbow loom bracelets, played Minecraft and Poisson Rouge, and the kids played a game where the girls are sisters called Sally and Rosey, and its their birthday today, so they spent hours getting ready for a party - they've made decorations and invitations and Caitlin is going to make a cake and toffee today and then we'll all go to the birthday party. It will be especially fun for Millie I think as she's really starting to hang out for her birthday which is still about 6 weeks away - this might ease the frustration of waiting a little. We also played a fun game of Chinese Whispers at tea time - most of the sentences made it fairly intact around the 5 of us, although a couple got mixed up in a hilarious way.
On Thursday Caitlin went to her athletics carnival where she competed in the 100m, 400m, relay and triple jump. She was the only Under 10s girl from her school, so she spent the day with the girls from another school, its great that she can fit in easily with a new group of people and make friends so easily. While she was there LiAM, Millie and I went to L's for the day, the kids played Terraria and watched Terraria videos, played Minecraft Mutants (a game they've all made up) on the trampoline, and played an imaginative role-playing game on and off all day.
Once we picked Caitlin up we took her straight to the Guides Hall where she was having a sleepover before the ANZAC Day March the next day. She and most of the other girls slept outside in tents - it was our first really cold night of the season - down to 1 degree! - but they all managed all right and I think enjoyed the experience.
After dropping her off, we went to the library to return books, borrow some more, and watch some more Terraria videos. Tony met us there and took Millie home while LiAM went to Karate for the first time. He really enjoyed it and fitted in with the 2 kids who were about his age. I was really impressed with the dojo. Its a multi-age class - kids and adults in together. Some of the training they do as a whole group, other times they break into smaller groups with older kids helping the younger ones, or those at the same ability level working together. LiAM was assigned to a 13 year old boy to be shown the basics over the next few weeks - and he learnt heaps. (The next day he showed Caitlin how to do one of the kicks he'd learnt. The next morning Millie (from watching them) showed ME how to do it). Caitlin is considered joining the Karate class as well - and so am I. It might be a good way to get fit again and learn something I've vaguely thought about for a long time... There's a few fears standing in my way as well that may stop me, but hopefully I'll be able to overcome them. The dojo encourages parents and kids to train together, so I would be welcome from their point of view...
On Friday morning, L and M elected to stay home with Tony while I went to Yarra Glen to watch the ANZAC Day parade and ceremony. Arriving there and walking down the street and settling in to the crowd I felt so grateful to live in a small community, where I know so many people and we all come out to join in community events. There were several hundred people watching the parade. The Guides were running a bit late and the parade started as soon as they arrived. The crowd moves along the street with the parade (which set a cracking pace this year, I found it hard to keep up) and we all end up at the Memorial Hall and the War Monument. The Guides stand around the Monument each year, and this year Caitlin was one of the four who stood guard on the four corners of the Monument, she was proud to have such a prominent part in the ceremony.
After the ceremony I caught up with a few friends I hadn't seen for a while, then went and picked Caitlin up from the Guides Hall. Home again for a quiet afternoon - I installed a new Minecraft mod for the kids, which they played for a while, Tony had a nap then watched the ANZAC Day Collingwood v Essendon game (which fortunately Collingwood won!) and we pottered around, read books, tidied up a bit, oh, and I made Anzac Cookies. Millie and I popped into Yarra Glen later in the day and did a bit of grocery shopping and we came home and made nachos for tea.
Yesterday was also a quiet day at home. Tony left early for baseball, and we played Township and Candy Mania and Episode on the iPad, watched some DVDs (Season 2 of Full House, and the Ugly Duckling and Me), sorted through all our books to see if there are any we could donate to the stall I'm having for ABA next week (no kid's books were allowed to go, but I did find a handful of my books that I'm unlikely to read again) and then read a pile of the books that we'd pulled out, played the piano, made some rainbow loom bracelets, played Minecraft and Poisson Rouge, and the kids played a game where the girls are sisters called Sally and Rosey, and its their birthday today, so they spent hours getting ready for a party - they've made decorations and invitations and Caitlin is going to make a cake and toffee today and then we'll all go to the birthday party. It will be especially fun for Millie I think as she's really starting to hang out for her birthday which is still about 6 weeks away - this might ease the frustration of waiting a little. We also played a fun game of Chinese Whispers at tea time - most of the sentences made it fairly intact around the 5 of us, although a couple got mixed up in a hilarious way.
Thursday, 10 April 2014
School Holidays
We are often asked if we stop doing school work during the school holidays, or some version of 'Do you let the kids have a break in the holidays'/'Does Mum give you time off in the holidays?' and the answer is not really a simple one.
We don't do formal or structured lessons that look like what most people imagine when they think of school. We learn (myself, Tony and the kids) all day every day, doing things that interest us or are important at the time. So we don't stop that during the holidays. Every day we learn from what is going on around us and from the activities that we all choose to do.
On the other hand, we do get a bit of a break during the holidays, because most of our regular activities stop for that time. So our week can be a bit more relaxed, a lot less wanting to be somewhere at a particular time. We can spend more time at home, catching up on activities we've wanted to do, or watching movies or playing games - we do all this during the term as well, but I find that being able to do it for a few days in a row without interruptions to go out and do other things, gets us all to a point where the learning becomes deeper and more connections can flow. We can really explore whatever it is we're looking at, rather than doing it for a few hours then being called away and possibly not coming back to it. Or we can spend more time visiting friends - we often use this time to see the kids' schooled friends, who often don't have so much time for visiting during term. Or having longer visits with our homeschooled friends, without either family having other commitments on the day.
One thing we do do less of during school holidays is going to public venues - we'll still go to the park in Yarra Glen or Healesville, although they are usually much busier than during term (except for yesterday when it was raining and we were the only people there) - we do avoid places like the zoo, museum, indoor play centres, shopping centres and so on. We'd much prefer to go during the week once school has gone back, and not be overwhelmed by crowds. Occasionally we are enticed by some of the school holiday activities that are offered by places and we do go along, but it is a much more exhausting and overwhelming day than our usual mid-term outings - so the activity only appeals if it is a particularly special one or something that is highly relevant to our interests.
So yes, we do do things differently during the school holidays, although probably in a different way than most people are thinking when they ask the question.
We don't do formal or structured lessons that look like what most people imagine when they think of school. We learn (myself, Tony and the kids) all day every day, doing things that interest us or are important at the time. So we don't stop that during the holidays. Every day we learn from what is going on around us and from the activities that we all choose to do.
On the other hand, we do get a bit of a break during the holidays, because most of our regular activities stop for that time. So our week can be a bit more relaxed, a lot less wanting to be somewhere at a particular time. We can spend more time at home, catching up on activities we've wanted to do, or watching movies or playing games - we do all this during the term as well, but I find that being able to do it for a few days in a row without interruptions to go out and do other things, gets us all to a point where the learning becomes deeper and more connections can flow. We can really explore whatever it is we're looking at, rather than doing it for a few hours then being called away and possibly not coming back to it. Or we can spend more time visiting friends - we often use this time to see the kids' schooled friends, who often don't have so much time for visiting during term. Or having longer visits with our homeschooled friends, without either family having other commitments on the day.
One thing we do do less of during school holidays is going to public venues - we'll still go to the park in Yarra Glen or Healesville, although they are usually much busier than during term (except for yesterday when it was raining and we were the only people there) - we do avoid places like the zoo, museum, indoor play centres, shopping centres and so on. We'd much prefer to go during the week once school has gone back, and not be overwhelmed by crowds. Occasionally we are enticed by some of the school holiday activities that are offered by places and we do go along, but it is a much more exhausting and overwhelming day than our usual mid-term outings - so the activity only appeals if it is a particularly special one or something that is highly relevant to our interests.
So yes, we do do things differently during the school holidays, although probably in a different way than most people are thinking when they ask the question.
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Tiring day
Yesterday was one of those days where we ended up doing too many different things and we were all exhausted. I was saying to a friend yesterday that I've learned not to do extra things just because we're in the area - and then I did exactly that and wore us all out!
We had a pretty relaxing morning at home. The kids played Minecraft - exploring a couple of adventure maps they have on the computer - and read some books. Caitlin learnt more of 'Harry's Wondrous World' on the piano. Tony and Caitlin and I rearranged our chicken set up which ended up being a bit more complicated than we'd planned. We've had 2 broody chickens, and one of them had 6 chicks hatch over the weekend. On Tuesday we moved both chickens, with their eggs and chicks, into our spare pen - they were in a box with 2 laying areas, one chicken in each side, so that was pretty easy. Then the chicken whose eggs hadn't hatched yet decided that it would be easier to simply look after the chicks that were already born, rather than sit around and wait for her own eggs to hatch - so we kept ending up with 2 cranky mother hens and 6 chicks all in the one box. We tried various combinations with an aim to get her sitting back on her own eggs, but in the end the solution that made every hen and chick happy was to have both mothers and all the chicks in the pen together, with one big box that they could all fit in to. So now we have 2 very happy co-parenting hens and 6 adorable little chicks (5 yellow, 1 black).
Around 11.30 Tony went to work and the kids and I went to Homeschool Gymnastics. Friends of ours were there this week as well so it was a bit more fun for the older kids. Once it was finished I grabbed some of the bread we like from the bakery nearby, and also some spelt chocolate hot cross buns. Next stop was to one of my ABA group's trainee breastfeeding counsellors, to give her the raffle tickets so that she can coordinate this years national raffle for our group. While I talked to her Caitlin read books to her daughter and Millie. She lives right near Chirnside Park shopping centre, so I figured we might as well pop in and get a few things that we needed... I replaced our soda stream canister (finally - its been several weeks without soda water on tap and we've really missed it), we picked up some new Skylanders which were on special, Caitlin found a new dress, I got a new nose ring, we stocked up on cat food and (saved the exciting bit till last) we bought a whole coconut from the fruit and veg shop. We were all pretty knackered after our shopping, there was a lot of walking and browsing and it would have been nice to go home at that point. On the way back to Yarra Glen we stopped at a gluten free bakery I'd been meaning to go to and we all picked something yummy to eat - I was impressed with the quality. (Less impressed with the girl insisting Millie say 'please' before she'd give her the finger bun - Millie had no idea what she was talking about and started to get a bit annoyed - next time I'll try to step in earlier to keep everyone happy) Back to Yarra Glen and dropped Caitlin at Girl Guides, while the rest of us went to the library, read some books, watched minecraft videos, borrowed some new things, then went outside and played on the swings in the smoky air - I was a little worried about LiAM playing outside in the smoke but he coped ok, it mainly seems to affect him at night. Picked Caitlin up and met a new family who has just started Guides in Yarra Glen and then finally back home.
I made a cuppa and disappeared into the bedroom with a book for a while, and the kids played with their new Skylanders. Caitlin cooked frankfurts and cheese for the kids and I made myself something to eat, then we watched Top Cat (the movie) which we enjoyed more than we thought we would. Once I got tired I went to bed and read Anna Karenina, and Millie came in and played the iPad next to me. Eventually the others came in too and played games, chatted, read until we all fell asleep.
We had a pretty relaxing morning at home. The kids played Minecraft - exploring a couple of adventure maps they have on the computer - and read some books. Caitlin learnt more of 'Harry's Wondrous World' on the piano. Tony and Caitlin and I rearranged our chicken set up which ended up being a bit more complicated than we'd planned. We've had 2 broody chickens, and one of them had 6 chicks hatch over the weekend. On Tuesday we moved both chickens, with their eggs and chicks, into our spare pen - they were in a box with 2 laying areas, one chicken in each side, so that was pretty easy. Then the chicken whose eggs hadn't hatched yet decided that it would be easier to simply look after the chicks that were already born, rather than sit around and wait for her own eggs to hatch - so we kept ending up with 2 cranky mother hens and 6 chicks all in the one box. We tried various combinations with an aim to get her sitting back on her own eggs, but in the end the solution that made every hen and chick happy was to have both mothers and all the chicks in the pen together, with one big box that they could all fit in to. So now we have 2 very happy co-parenting hens and 6 adorable little chicks (5 yellow, 1 black).
Around 11.30 Tony went to work and the kids and I went to Homeschool Gymnastics. Friends of ours were there this week as well so it was a bit more fun for the older kids. Once it was finished I grabbed some of the bread we like from the bakery nearby, and also some spelt chocolate hot cross buns. Next stop was to one of my ABA group's trainee breastfeeding counsellors, to give her the raffle tickets so that she can coordinate this years national raffle for our group. While I talked to her Caitlin read books to her daughter and Millie. She lives right near Chirnside Park shopping centre, so I figured we might as well pop in and get a few things that we needed... I replaced our soda stream canister (finally - its been several weeks without soda water on tap and we've really missed it), we picked up some new Skylanders which were on special, Caitlin found a new dress, I got a new nose ring, we stocked up on cat food and (saved the exciting bit till last) we bought a whole coconut from the fruit and veg shop. We were all pretty knackered after our shopping, there was a lot of walking and browsing and it would have been nice to go home at that point. On the way back to Yarra Glen we stopped at a gluten free bakery I'd been meaning to go to and we all picked something yummy to eat - I was impressed with the quality. (Less impressed with the girl insisting Millie say 'please' before she'd give her the finger bun - Millie had no idea what she was talking about and started to get a bit annoyed - next time I'll try to step in earlier to keep everyone happy) Back to Yarra Glen and dropped Caitlin at Girl Guides, while the rest of us went to the library, read some books, watched minecraft videos, borrowed some new things, then went outside and played on the swings in the smoky air - I was a little worried about LiAM playing outside in the smoke but he coped ok, it mainly seems to affect him at night. Picked Caitlin up and met a new family who has just started Guides in Yarra Glen and then finally back home.
I made a cuppa and disappeared into the bedroom with a book for a while, and the kids played with their new Skylanders. Caitlin cooked frankfurts and cheese for the kids and I made myself something to eat, then we watched Top Cat (the movie) which we enjoyed more than we thought we would. Once I got tired I went to bed and read Anna Karenina, and Millie came in and played the iPad next to me. Eventually the others came in too and played games, chatted, read until we all fell asleep.
Monday, 9 December 2013
Slowing down
Things are quietening down here a little as our activities wind up for the year. We've got a few final sessions this week, and by next Monday everything will be over for the year. I'm looking forward to 6 weeks or so with much less of a schedule. Time to focus on the things we really enjoy doing without having to cut them short to be somewhere else, and time to think about what activities felt worthwhile and that we'd like to continue next year.
I think we'll try to do a lot more swimming over the next few months. We've been 3 times in the last month and everyone's skills have improved greatly. Millie was still clinging on to me a month ago, and last week swam for nearly an hour just using a noodle, I didn't hold her at all. Liam can now swim several metres without any aids and his confidence has sky-rocketed. He did his Level 1 swimming badge at Cubs a couple of weeks ago - if he had tried that even 2 weeks earlier I don't think he would have been willing to get in the pool and try. I'm hoping that if we swim a lot over the summer then I'll keep it up during the colder months next year as well - we all enjoy it so much, and its really only that we have so many other things on that it falls down the priority list, I'd love to continue to make it a priority and possibly work other things around swimming instead.
I'm hoping to get back to Melbourne Zoo soon, we haven't been for well over a year - maybe even 2 (we've been to Werribee Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary several times this year, so our membership has still been worthwhile). I offered a trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago when we didn't have many other plans. Caitlin was keen but Liam was surprisingly reluctant. In part that was because he was sick - he had a virus for several weeks which sapped his energy, and a trip to the zoo was just too much. He's also not enjoying long car trips at the moment, so wants to save them for something worthwhile. Lemur Island will soon be opening at the zoo and he wanted to wait and go once it was available to see - lemurs are his favourite animal so this should be his ultimate zoo experience. I was quite pleased that he was able to say no and delay his trip to the zoo - it shows that he trusts that we will get to do fun things and he doesn't need to grasp at every excursion opportunity that is offered - and it also alleviated my worry that I hadn't been offering enough trip options lately - if he can say no, then he's not feeling like he wants to be going more places. Lemur Island opens on December 21 - I haven't decided yet whether we will brave the school holiday crowds and go and see it as soon as we can, or wait a bit and take advantage of being able to go on quieter days...
I think we'll also have the chance to spend more time hanging out with friends and/or at the playground. Those days tend to be the ones we enjoy the most, so it will be nice to have less time constraints on our social activities.
And once activities start up again next year, we'll be relaxed enough to be able to find a non-stressful balance between Caitlin's need for activities and groups, and everyone else's preference for non time specific activities.
I think we'll try to do a lot more swimming over the next few months. We've been 3 times in the last month and everyone's skills have improved greatly. Millie was still clinging on to me a month ago, and last week swam for nearly an hour just using a noodle, I didn't hold her at all. Liam can now swim several metres without any aids and his confidence has sky-rocketed. He did his Level 1 swimming badge at Cubs a couple of weeks ago - if he had tried that even 2 weeks earlier I don't think he would have been willing to get in the pool and try. I'm hoping that if we swim a lot over the summer then I'll keep it up during the colder months next year as well - we all enjoy it so much, and its really only that we have so many other things on that it falls down the priority list, I'd love to continue to make it a priority and possibly work other things around swimming instead.
I'm hoping to get back to Melbourne Zoo soon, we haven't been for well over a year - maybe even 2 (we've been to Werribee Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary several times this year, so our membership has still been worthwhile). I offered a trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago when we didn't have many other plans. Caitlin was keen but Liam was surprisingly reluctant. In part that was because he was sick - he had a virus for several weeks which sapped his energy, and a trip to the zoo was just too much. He's also not enjoying long car trips at the moment, so wants to save them for something worthwhile. Lemur Island will soon be opening at the zoo and he wanted to wait and go once it was available to see - lemurs are his favourite animal so this should be his ultimate zoo experience. I was quite pleased that he was able to say no and delay his trip to the zoo - it shows that he trusts that we will get to do fun things and he doesn't need to grasp at every excursion opportunity that is offered - and it also alleviated my worry that I hadn't been offering enough trip options lately - if he can say no, then he's not feeling like he wants to be going more places. Lemur Island opens on December 21 - I haven't decided yet whether we will brave the school holiday crowds and go and see it as soon as we can, or wait a bit and take advantage of being able to go on quieter days...
I think we'll also have the chance to spend more time hanging out with friends and/or at the playground. Those days tend to be the ones we enjoy the most, so it will be nice to have less time constraints on our social activities.
And once activities start up again next year, we'll be relaxed enough to be able to find a non-stressful balance between Caitlin's need for activities and groups, and everyone else's preference for non time specific activities.
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Rest day
We've had a lot of time at home lately and it's been lovely. Exactly what we all needed after a very crazy Term 3 and the first half of Term 4.
Yesterday we had nothing planned except resting at home and we had a varied and interesting and overall restful day. Some of the things we did
- Jigsaw puzzles
- dominoes
- lego
- watching and caring for the chickens, collecting eggs, observing the evolving pecking order now that we have so many new chickens
- gardening - watering, weeding, mulching
- planning a cubby house, drawing up plans using a drawing app on the iPad, and starting work on clearing the area
- drawing pictures on the iPad
- playing on the trampoline and swings
- Millie pretending to be a kitten and eating and playing like one
- packing picnic lunches and eating outside
- reading books (the bear books by Nick Bland, and others)
- playing games on ABC3 website - the 5th Boy, and Huebrix (this is a great puzzle game, Liam and Caitlin and I all had a go and between us were able to solve a lot of the puzzles. Liam really grasped the concept and quickly solved some that I struggled with)
- maths games on the computer
- playing Red Fish/Poisson Rouge on the computer - this is the best kids website I've come across and Millie can spend hours exploring it, while the older kids and I still enjoy it as well
- playing with MAB blocks
- Movies - The Incredibles, Cats & Dogs - the Revenge of Kitty Galore, Winx
- lots of discussions about all of the above as they were happening
It was interesting too, when I said on Monday night that we'd be having a rest day on Tuesday, the kids all said 'cool, we can watch movies all day!' I wouldn't have minded if they did, but they were so busy playing games and exploring other things that the movies didn't get put on until 5.30. And while there was a fair bit of computer and iPad use, it was all collaborative and very social
Yesterday we had nothing planned except resting at home and we had a varied and interesting and overall restful day. Some of the things we did
- Jigsaw puzzles
- dominoes
- lego
- watching and caring for the chickens, collecting eggs, observing the evolving pecking order now that we have so many new chickens
- gardening - watering, weeding, mulching
- planning a cubby house, drawing up plans using a drawing app on the iPad, and starting work on clearing the area
- drawing pictures on the iPad
- playing on the trampoline and swings
- Millie pretending to be a kitten and eating and playing like one
- packing picnic lunches and eating outside
- reading books (the bear books by Nick Bland, and others)
- playing games on ABC3 website - the 5th Boy, and Huebrix (this is a great puzzle game, Liam and Caitlin and I all had a go and between us were able to solve a lot of the puzzles. Liam really grasped the concept and quickly solved some that I struggled with)
- maths games on the computer
- playing Red Fish/Poisson Rouge on the computer - this is the best kids website I've come across and Millie can spend hours exploring it, while the older kids and I still enjoy it as well
- playing with MAB blocks
- Movies - The Incredibles, Cats & Dogs - the Revenge of Kitty Galore, Winx
- lots of discussions about all of the above as they were happening
It was interesting too, when I said on Monday night that we'd be having a rest day on Tuesday, the kids all said 'cool, we can watch movies all day!' I wouldn't have minded if they did, but they were so busy playing games and exploring other things that the movies didn't get put on until 5.30. And while there was a fair bit of computer and iPad use, it was all collaborative and very social
Monday, 21 October 2013
Still busy, feeling calmer
Once again its been a while since I've written a post. I feel like there hasn't been much time to breathe, let alone sit down and write, over the past few months. We've had all our regular activities, time with friends, medical appointments, some extra volunteer activities on my part - there hasn't been a lot of quiet time at home, or time to go to the zoo or anywhere new. I feel like things are quietening down a little bit now - or perhaps i'm looking at things differently - I feel like I'm breathing again anyway, and I've even found time to write.
Over the weekend Caitlin went to a regional Girl Guides Camp. There were over 100 girls there from the various Guide units around the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. Caitlin was in a group that slept in tents, and had their meals prepared and eaten outdoors. She had a wonderful time and made several new friends.
When I went to pick her up yesterday Liam and Millie reluctantly came along too. They had wanted to stay home all day (we'd had a busy day on Saturday - Liam went to a birthday party and then the 3 of us went to Healesville Sanctuary on the way home - it was easier for them to leave the party house as they were going somewhere else fun). Tony however was still on his way back from his uncle's place in Camperdown - he'd gone over on Saturday to pick up our new (to us) dishwasher - ours had died a couple of weeks ago so it was a good opportunity for him to spend some time with his uncle and see his Nanna, and get a working dishwasher as well. So the kids came with me and picked up Caitlin from the camp, and I said we'd try to find something fun to do on the way home so it was worth their while coming for the drive. As it was so hot (around 30 degrees - crazy, since 2 days before it was cold enough in the morning for potential frost, and we had the fire going) I thought we'd see if the Seville Water Park was operational yet (I thought it might be too early in the season). Happily it was turned on, and the kids were happy to play in it in their regular clothes, so they spent a very happy hour or so running around through the water jets, clambering over the dry rocks and through the tunnels, playing water pistol fights with some other kids (Caitlin even found one of her new friends from camp to play with!) We came home tired but happier than if we'd just driven straight to camp and back.
So I'm thinking that even though we are often busy, popping in those extra little fun activities is definitely worthwhile. A play at the park on the way home or dropping in to a friend's house, an hour at the sanctuary or stopping for ice cream - these things enrich our lives and stop us from feeling like we're constantly running on a schedule. These are the things that I want to focus on, not getting to gymnastics on time or making sure we've got everything we need for Cubs... We can still do all our activities, but they don't need to be the priority. My priority is spending fun and connected time with my kids, grabbing learning and playing opportunities as they pop up (and being open to creating them).
I think the reason that our busyness has felt so overwhelming lately is because I'd stopped having the fun times as well, it felt like there wasn't enough time. My days were more about 'having' to be where we needed to be, instead of thinking 'right, these are the things we'd like to get to today, how can we work this out so that everyone is happy'. So balancing Caitlin's need for activity and social contact, with Liam and my need for downtime and Millie's need to hang out at each place for long enough to feel comfortable - we can do all of that, if I prioritise our relationships, fun and learning, over sticking to a schedule and meeting external expectations.
Over the weekend Caitlin went to a regional Girl Guides Camp. There were over 100 girls there from the various Guide units around the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. Caitlin was in a group that slept in tents, and had their meals prepared and eaten outdoors. She had a wonderful time and made several new friends.
When I went to pick her up yesterday Liam and Millie reluctantly came along too. They had wanted to stay home all day (we'd had a busy day on Saturday - Liam went to a birthday party and then the 3 of us went to Healesville Sanctuary on the way home - it was easier for them to leave the party house as they were going somewhere else fun). Tony however was still on his way back from his uncle's place in Camperdown - he'd gone over on Saturday to pick up our new (to us) dishwasher - ours had died a couple of weeks ago so it was a good opportunity for him to spend some time with his uncle and see his Nanna, and get a working dishwasher as well. So the kids came with me and picked up Caitlin from the camp, and I said we'd try to find something fun to do on the way home so it was worth their while coming for the drive. As it was so hot (around 30 degrees - crazy, since 2 days before it was cold enough in the morning for potential frost, and we had the fire going) I thought we'd see if the Seville Water Park was operational yet (I thought it might be too early in the season). Happily it was turned on, and the kids were happy to play in it in their regular clothes, so they spent a very happy hour or so running around through the water jets, clambering over the dry rocks and through the tunnels, playing water pistol fights with some other kids (Caitlin even found one of her new friends from camp to play with!) We came home tired but happier than if we'd just driven straight to camp and back.
So I'm thinking that even though we are often busy, popping in those extra little fun activities is definitely worthwhile. A play at the park on the way home or dropping in to a friend's house, an hour at the sanctuary or stopping for ice cream - these things enrich our lives and stop us from feeling like we're constantly running on a schedule. These are the things that I want to focus on, not getting to gymnastics on time or making sure we've got everything we need for Cubs... We can still do all our activities, but they don't need to be the priority. My priority is spending fun and connected time with my kids, grabbing learning and playing opportunities as they pop up (and being open to creating them).
I think the reason that our busyness has felt so overwhelming lately is because I'd stopped having the fun times as well, it felt like there wasn't enough time. My days were more about 'having' to be where we needed to be, instead of thinking 'right, these are the things we'd like to get to today, how can we work this out so that everyone is happy'. So balancing Caitlin's need for activity and social contact, with Liam and my need for downtime and Millie's need to hang out at each place for long enough to feel comfortable - we can do all of that, if I prioritise our relationships, fun and learning, over sticking to a schedule and meeting external expectations.
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Wild Nights at Werribee Zoo
These school holidays, Werribee Open Range Zoo were open of a evening (they normally close at 5pm). I'd seen information about it and thought it looked cool, then forgot all about it. On Friday morning my Zoo Membership newsletter had a reminder about it, and I realised if we wanted to do it there were only 2 nights left. I mentioned it to Tony and he was keen to go, and suggested we go along after baseball on Saturday afternoon.
So we met after baseball (around 5.30pm) at a Red Rooster near the Western Ring Road, grabbed some dinner and left Tony's car there, and drove through the rain (finally some rain! Its been many weeks since we've had rain like this) to the Zoo, arriving just before 6.30. I was wondering if there'd be many people there, being a cold wet night and the last night-time session - the carpark was full and we could only find a creative parking spot over on the edge...
The zoo looked quite exciting in the dark, with just enough lights on for us to find our way to the entrance (although Liam and I did both step into a deep, water-filled pothole). Inside was even more exciting, there were lots of glittery lights, and triangle frames with fairy lights wrapped around them (to show the way down the paths) and in some areas there were tin cans with holes punched in them, and lights inside, which gave a speckled look to the light on the ground - it was like walking through a forest in the daytime, with the speckled filtered light coming through the trees.
We sat on wet hay bales in the rain and watched a Fire Show - some quite impressive fire twirling coupled with a lot of gymnastics, entertaining to watch (although a bit scary when one of the sparklers flew out of his hand towards the crowd).
From there we hurried to the cheetah exhibit to see them being fed - there were so many people there by the time we arrived we couldn't see through the glass so tried to see from another vantage point but only got a faint glimpse of them - when we got back to the glass most people had left so we were easily able to see both cheetahs eating, and then one came right up to the glass and walked past us all for a while, he wandered off and came back another 2 times - the kids were face to face with him (he was between Millie and Liam's height so they in particular were looking him right in the eye) and it was completely worth driving all that way just to experience this (especially since the cheetah is one of Liam's favourite animals). They were bigger than I expected, and their tails were long and seemed much firmer than a small cat's tail. One of them had his hackles up on the back of his neck and look quite threatening.
From there we saw some hippos asleep in the water, then went and roasted marshmallows over a fire. All 3 kids are getting quite good at roasting their marshmallows to the level of meltiness and crispness that they each prefer.
We wandered past the African Wild Dogs but they were hiding, then saw one of the lions sitting up in his shelter - then he lay back down again and snuggled up with his brother. The vervet monkeys had gone to bed and we saw a couple of groups of them all huddled together.
The last stop was in one of the African huts where there was flouro light (it felt like being in a nightclub. Kind of) and lots of flouro hoops, plates to balance on sticks, scarves to wave and balls in bags to twirl around. They all looked quite spectacular and we all had a go at everything. Liam's boots looked phosphorescent in the light, it was like he had alien feet. The girls both had a good go with the hula hoops, I had no idea they were so proficient.
When we finally tore ourselves away from there it was time for the zoo to close. We took off wet clothes and snuggled up in the car and drove home listening to 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' on Audio CD.
A very enjoyable spontaneous family night out, even in the rain. I'm exceptionally pleased that we went and will try to make it over there for one of their summer night events in January.
So we met after baseball (around 5.30pm) at a Red Rooster near the Western Ring Road, grabbed some dinner and left Tony's car there, and drove through the rain (finally some rain! Its been many weeks since we've had rain like this) to the Zoo, arriving just before 6.30. I was wondering if there'd be many people there, being a cold wet night and the last night-time session - the carpark was full and we could only find a creative parking spot over on the edge...
The zoo looked quite exciting in the dark, with just enough lights on for us to find our way to the entrance (although Liam and I did both step into a deep, water-filled pothole). Inside was even more exciting, there were lots of glittery lights, and triangle frames with fairy lights wrapped around them (to show the way down the paths) and in some areas there were tin cans with holes punched in them, and lights inside, which gave a speckled look to the light on the ground - it was like walking through a forest in the daytime, with the speckled filtered light coming through the trees.
We sat on wet hay bales in the rain and watched a Fire Show - some quite impressive fire twirling coupled with a lot of gymnastics, entertaining to watch (although a bit scary when one of the sparklers flew out of his hand towards the crowd).
From there we hurried to the cheetah exhibit to see them being fed - there were so many people there by the time we arrived we couldn't see through the glass so tried to see from another vantage point but only got a faint glimpse of them - when we got back to the glass most people had left so we were easily able to see both cheetahs eating, and then one came right up to the glass and walked past us all for a while, he wandered off and came back another 2 times - the kids were face to face with him (he was between Millie and Liam's height so they in particular were looking him right in the eye) and it was completely worth driving all that way just to experience this (especially since the cheetah is one of Liam's favourite animals). They were bigger than I expected, and their tails were long and seemed much firmer than a small cat's tail. One of them had his hackles up on the back of his neck and look quite threatening.
From there we saw some hippos asleep in the water, then went and roasted marshmallows over a fire. All 3 kids are getting quite good at roasting their marshmallows to the level of meltiness and crispness that they each prefer.
We wandered past the African Wild Dogs but they were hiding, then saw one of the lions sitting up in his shelter - then he lay back down again and snuggled up with his brother. The vervet monkeys had gone to bed and we saw a couple of groups of them all huddled together.
The last stop was in one of the African huts where there was flouro light (it felt like being in a nightclub. Kind of) and lots of flouro hoops, plates to balance on sticks, scarves to wave and balls in bags to twirl around. They all looked quite spectacular and we all had a go at everything. Liam's boots looked phosphorescent in the light, it was like he had alien feet. The girls both had a good go with the hula hoops, I had no idea they were so proficient.
When we finally tore ourselves away from there it was time for the zoo to close. We took off wet clothes and snuggled up in the car and drove home listening to 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' on Audio CD.
A very enjoyable spontaneous family night out, even in the rain. I'm exceptionally pleased that we went and will try to make it over there for one of their summer night events in January.
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Birthday Party Week
We've been home from Tasmania just over a week now and its been a rather busy week - although on the whole we're all still quite relaxed from our holiday.
We arrived home early on the Friday morning before Liam's birthday, which was on the Sunday. Friday we spent relaxing, unpacking a bit, and some friends came over for the afternoon and brought Stripey back. Saturday I spent fixing the washing machine and dishwasher which had both decided to have their own holiday, and then getting organised for Liam's party.
Sunday we woke up and did Liam's present giving in the lounge room. Caitlin gave him a wooden cat (to match Millie's) and a ceramic dragon. Tony and I gave him a Tasmanian Devil puzzle, a toy lemur (not Schleich, but a similar brand) and an iPod Touch - exactly what he wanted. I'd loaded his favourite games on it so he was entertained for the morning while we finished party preparations.
At midday we met his friends at Healesville Sanctuary, as well as Fi and James and Mum and Dad. Everyone had a picnic lunch, then I put out party food and the kids played in a large grassed area near the dingo enclosure. We played Pass the Parcel (Tony and I played the drums for music) and Liam (without us looking) won the main prize so he was pretty happy. Liam's presents included lego, a craft kit, a magician figurine, animal books, a vial of gold, and a Schleich dinosaur (velociraptor).
Eventually we packed up and went for a walk around part of the Sanctuary - we had 13 adults and 13 children there so we were quite a group. We did the wetland walk, the lyrebirds (a couple of us saw the male lyrebird singing), the reptiles and the parrots. We'd invited everyone back to our house because Liam had a piñata waiting - most of his friends came back (actually all our homeschooling friends). The kids played outside for a while then the piñata called - it was shaped like a crocodile and very cool. The tail soon came off and everyone was able to whack it and get a few lollies - and the rest of the body survived so Liam was able to keep it! Everyone stayed and played for a few hours and one the guests provided some dinner so it was a very relaxing afternoon and evening.
We were back into our usual routine through the week, with ABA, gymnastics, joey scouts, homeschool gymnastics and guides to go along to. In between Liam did a lot of the craft from his birthday kit, we watched tv and read a lot of books, played games, played with the animals (real and toy and imaginary), went to the library a couple of times and went to friends' houses.
On Friday we had Millie's birthday party. It was almost exactly the same group of people as we'd had here on Sunday - Fi and James couldn't make it and we had one other local family come along - otherwise it was Mum and Dad and 4 other homeschooling families. It was a very casual party, the kids (aged from 2 to 10 and an even mix of boys and girls) played inside and outside, with lego, craft, toys animals, on the trampoline and swings, listening to music, looking for our real animals in the yard etc. We had a beautiful cake and Millie's presents included art and craft supplies, a game, books and a felt board with a pet shop scene. Tony had finished work early, it being a Friday, so he was able to be here for most of it. A few of the families stayed for dinner and by this stage some of the kids were playing Minecraft on the computer and they kept us up to date with their new discoveries - playing as a social group they can explore and discover much more quickly than on their own, they really work well together.
In the midst of the evening part of the party Tony took Liam to Chirnside Park for him to go to the movies with his Joey Scout group - they saw Monsters University and Liam was very excited to go without any other family members, and to be able to buy his own snack to eat and drink there. There were still people here when he got back so he also didn't feel like he'd missed out on the party.
The other mothers (and one dad for a while) and I had a great chat sitting in the kitchen, it was a very easy party to get ready for and a very relaxing one while it was taking place.
Yesterday we had a visit from Pete and Cynthia who are staying at Mum and Dad's for the weekend - great to see them and Liam was thrilled because he'd wanted his uncle Pete to come to his birthday party but we'd left it too late to organise. They'd just visited the chocolate factory and came with gifts - giant chocolate freckles for the kids and a chocolate making kit and fondue set for the family. The kids enjoyed showing Pete all their lego (he was the first one to buy us any lego so he kind of has a vested interest) and the animals and their tree climbing skills, and I loved having a casual chat - we haven't had many opportunities to just visit each other over the last 20 years or so - hopefully we can do it more often.
Today Caitlin is going to an archery day with guides, and we have some friends coming over this afternoon while their mother has something else on. So another social day coming up and looks like this coming week will be quite busy as well - although its the last week of term so then there will be a change in our rhythm for a couple of weeks after that.
We arrived home early on the Friday morning before Liam's birthday, which was on the Sunday. Friday we spent relaxing, unpacking a bit, and some friends came over for the afternoon and brought Stripey back. Saturday I spent fixing the washing machine and dishwasher which had both decided to have their own holiday, and then getting organised for Liam's party.
Sunday we woke up and did Liam's present giving in the lounge room. Caitlin gave him a wooden cat (to match Millie's) and a ceramic dragon. Tony and I gave him a Tasmanian Devil puzzle, a toy lemur (not Schleich, but a similar brand) and an iPod Touch - exactly what he wanted. I'd loaded his favourite games on it so he was entertained for the morning while we finished party preparations.
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| Liam and his Lemur |
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| Liam and his iPod |
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| Liam's birthday cake |
Eventually we packed up and went for a walk around part of the Sanctuary - we had 13 adults and 13 children there so we were quite a group. We did the wetland walk, the lyrebirds (a couple of us saw the male lyrebird singing), the reptiles and the parrots. We'd invited everyone back to our house because Liam had a piñata waiting - most of his friends came back (actually all our homeschooling friends). The kids played outside for a while then the piñata called - it was shaped like a crocodile and very cool. The tail soon came off and everyone was able to whack it and get a few lollies - and the rest of the body survived so Liam was able to keep it! Everyone stayed and played for a few hours and one the guests provided some dinner so it was a very relaxing afternoon and evening.
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| Liam's turn |
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| Liam and the piñata |
We were back into our usual routine through the week, with ABA, gymnastics, joey scouts, homeschool gymnastics and guides to go along to. In between Liam did a lot of the craft from his birthday kit, we watched tv and read a lot of books, played games, played with the animals (real and toy and imaginary), went to the library a couple of times and went to friends' houses.
On Friday we had Millie's birthday party. It was almost exactly the same group of people as we'd had here on Sunday - Fi and James couldn't make it and we had one other local family come along - otherwise it was Mum and Dad and 4 other homeschooling families. It was a very casual party, the kids (aged from 2 to 10 and an even mix of boys and girls) played inside and outside, with lego, craft, toys animals, on the trampoline and swings, listening to music, looking for our real animals in the yard etc. We had a beautiful cake and Millie's presents included art and craft supplies, a game, books and a felt board with a pet shop scene. Tony had finished work early, it being a Friday, so he was able to be here for most of it. A few of the families stayed for dinner and by this stage some of the kids were playing Minecraft on the computer and they kept us up to date with their new discoveries - playing as a social group they can explore and discover much more quickly than on their own, they really work well together.
In the midst of the evening part of the party Tony took Liam to Chirnside Park for him to go to the movies with his Joey Scout group - they saw Monsters University and Liam was very excited to go without any other family members, and to be able to buy his own snack to eat and drink there. There were still people here when he got back so he also didn't feel like he'd missed out on the party.
The other mothers (and one dad for a while) and I had a great chat sitting in the kitchen, it was a very easy party to get ready for and a very relaxing one while it was taking place.
Yesterday we had a visit from Pete and Cynthia who are staying at Mum and Dad's for the weekend - great to see them and Liam was thrilled because he'd wanted his uncle Pete to come to his birthday party but we'd left it too late to organise. They'd just visited the chocolate factory and came with gifts - giant chocolate freckles for the kids and a chocolate making kit and fondue set for the family. The kids enjoyed showing Pete all their lego (he was the first one to buy us any lego so he kind of has a vested interest) and the animals and their tree climbing skills, and I loved having a casual chat - we haven't had many opportunities to just visit each other over the last 20 years or so - hopefully we can do it more often.
Today Caitlin is going to an archery day with guides, and we have some friends coming over this afternoon while their mother has something else on. So another social day coming up and looks like this coming week will be quite busy as well - although its the last week of term so then there will be a change in our rhythm for a couple of weeks after that.
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| The view out my window this morning as I wrote this blog post on a chilly morning of -5 C |
Saturday, 25 May 2013
2 months in one quick summary
Its been a while since I posted - we've had very slow internet combined with a very slow, about to die laptop and internet time was very limited. Now however we have a Macbook, the internet is back to - well, not fast, but less slow - so blog posts and other non-essential internet use can happen again.
So a bit of a summary of what we've been up to over the last couple of months
- a day at Collingwood Childrens Farm - the kids got to milk a cow, we saw some gorgeous week old piglets (I could have watched them all day), Liam took to the microphone and led a group in singing Baa Baa Black Sheep at the book launch of Alanah Campbell's 'Under the Persimmon Tree', there was a tractor ride and lots of tree climbing, and Fi and James joined us for a while
- an afternoon at Healesville Sanctuary with some friends
- lots of mornings, afternoons, days and even sleepovers at friends' houses
- activities at homeschool group in Yarra Glen and Yarra Junction
- exploring Op Shops
- a train ride to the city and hanging out in the Botanic Gardens with friends (and more tree climbing)
- watching the vineyard slowly turn yellow and then the leaves all falling off - they are nearly completely gone now
- playing with Stripey (the cat) and Buckley (the dog)
- Guides, Scouts and Gymnastics
- returning to ABA meetings
- having Tony around a lot again after the end of Vintage
- playing the piano, recorder and violin - oh, and buying a violin for Caitlin at the Healesville Markets
- busking in Healesville and Yarra Glen - Caitlin playing the recorder, and Liam occasionally whistling or playing the drums in accompaniment
- playing Minecraft lots - individually and connected on the ipad, and now on the new computer as well
- playing lots of other ipad games
- lots of lego
- horse riding
- trip to Maroondah Dam
- reading books of all descriptions
- drawing and writing and inventing
- a day at an Eco-festival in Yarra Junction - I was helping at an ABA Feed and Change Tent, and the kids helped there as well as going on donkey rides, doing wet felting, playing hopscotch, hanging out in the women's Red Tent, tree climbing, exploring the forest, trying to buy a guinea pig, eating ice cream etc
- trips to the library
- watching movies
- birthday parties - including a wonderful day at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie for my birthday - we were there from 11-5 and lots of friends and family joined us at different points through the day, we sat in the sun and ate chocolate and ice creams and other food and drank milkshakes and the kids played in the grounds and it was a beautiful day all round
- -conversations about all of the above
- puzzles, board games, card games
- magic tricks
- and LOTS more
If you want to know more about any of our activities, let me know in the comments and I will expand
So a bit of a summary of what we've been up to over the last couple of months
- a day at Collingwood Childrens Farm - the kids got to milk a cow, we saw some gorgeous week old piglets (I could have watched them all day), Liam took to the microphone and led a group in singing Baa Baa Black Sheep at the book launch of Alanah Campbell's 'Under the Persimmon Tree', there was a tractor ride and lots of tree climbing, and Fi and James joined us for a while
- lots of mornings, afternoons, days and even sleepovers at friends' houses
- activities at homeschool group in Yarra Glen and Yarra Junction
- exploring Op Shops
- a train ride to the city and hanging out in the Botanic Gardens with friends (and more tree climbing)
- watching the vineyard slowly turn yellow and then the leaves all falling off - they are nearly completely gone now
- playing with Stripey (the cat) and Buckley (the dog)
- Guides, Scouts and Gymnastics
- returning to ABA meetings
- having Tony around a lot again after the end of Vintage
- playing the piano, recorder and violin - oh, and buying a violin for Caitlin at the Healesville Markets
- busking in Healesville and Yarra Glen - Caitlin playing the recorder, and Liam occasionally whistling or playing the drums in accompaniment
- playing Minecraft lots - individually and connected on the ipad, and now on the new computer as well
- playing lots of other ipad games
- lots of lego
- horse riding
- trip to Maroondah Dam
- reading books of all descriptions
- drawing and writing and inventing
- a day at an Eco-festival in Yarra Junction - I was helping at an ABA Feed and Change Tent, and the kids helped there as well as going on donkey rides, doing wet felting, playing hopscotch, hanging out in the women's Red Tent, tree climbing, exploring the forest, trying to buy a guinea pig, eating ice cream etc
- trips to the library
- watching movies
- birthday parties - including a wonderful day at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie for my birthday - we were there from 11-5 and lots of friends and family joined us at different points through the day, we sat in the sun and ate chocolate and ice creams and other food and drank milkshakes and the kids played in the grounds and it was a beautiful day all round
- -conversations about all of the above
- puzzles, board games, card games
- magic tricks
- and LOTS more
If you want to know more about any of our activities, let me know in the comments and I will expand
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Dioramas and library
Well I did get a lot done on Wednesday when I was here alone, cleaned out a lot of those corners that get filled with stuff, and cleared out the hallway so now its full of nothing but space! It was tiring and it also felt good to really get stuck into one task for several hours.
The kids were disappointed that they missed the nets going on the vines. However they also had a lot of fun at Grandma's, watching the renovations happening, playing games and reading books with Grandma and Grandad, and Caitlin learned how to read music and play the piano! Mum had bought a book at the 2nd hand bookstore where she volunteers, and it set the whole process out very simply so that Caitlin was able to follow the steps and learn each of the notes and then play some simple tunes. She was very excited and its spurred me on to start researching (and then get on with purchasing) our piano.
We tried to have a quiet day at home on Thursday as a bit of a chance to rest - its been a busy week with more busy days coming up over the weekend and the next few weeks. Caitlin got out the glue gun and began making a diorama to represent Millie and her friend getting married, and she started planning the 'wedding' and invitations. She's put a lot of work into it and its very pretty and clever. I love the way she plans things and can picture a whole event and everything that needs to be organised.
Yesterday we went to visit a friend who is shortly moving to New Zealand (quite sad for us) and then went to the Homeschool Library Activity in Yarra Junction. We had 4 families there and we all know each other well, it was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon hanging out in the children's section of the library, doing the craft activity, reading lots of books, some of the kids played Monopoly, some played on the ipad, the big girls (Caitlin and S) and Millie went out and used the internet for a while on the library computers, the parents chatted in between reading stories. Caitlin borrowed a HUGE pile of books about animals - she went through the shelves and picked all the covers she liked - it was funny, it pushed my buttons about how many books it was 'OK' to borrow, but I did get them all for her, especially because I realised *I* didn't care how many she got, I was simply worried (quite worried) about what everyone else would think.... I'm still feeling the desire to justify it here, but really, I was happy to be able to say yes to her borrowing wishes.
The kids were disappointed that they missed the nets going on the vines. However they also had a lot of fun at Grandma's, watching the renovations happening, playing games and reading books with Grandma and Grandad, and Caitlin learned how to read music and play the piano! Mum had bought a book at the 2nd hand bookstore where she volunteers, and it set the whole process out very simply so that Caitlin was able to follow the steps and learn each of the notes and then play some simple tunes. She was very excited and its spurred me on to start researching (and then get on with purchasing) our piano.
We tried to have a quiet day at home on Thursday as a bit of a chance to rest - its been a busy week with more busy days coming up over the weekend and the next few weeks. Caitlin got out the glue gun and began making a diorama to represent Millie and her friend getting married, and she started planning the 'wedding' and invitations. She's put a lot of work into it and its very pretty and clever. I love the way she plans things and can picture a whole event and everything that needs to be organised.
Yesterday we went to visit a friend who is shortly moving to New Zealand (quite sad for us) and then went to the Homeschool Library Activity in Yarra Junction. We had 4 families there and we all know each other well, it was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon hanging out in the children's section of the library, doing the craft activity, reading lots of books, some of the kids played Monopoly, some played on the ipad, the big girls (Caitlin and S) and Millie went out and used the internet for a while on the library computers, the parents chatted in between reading stories. Caitlin borrowed a HUGE pile of books about animals - she went through the shelves and picked all the covers she liked - it was funny, it pushed my buttons about how many books it was 'OK' to borrow, but I did get them all for her, especially because I realised *I* didn't care how many she got, I was simply worried (quite worried) about what everyone else would think.... I'm still feeling the desire to justify it here, but really, I was happy to be able to say yes to her borrowing wishes.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
Social days then rest
The end of last week was very busy for us socially. Wednesday we had a park day - our regular Homeschool park day, as well as organising to meet some of Caitlin's other friends there - and other families we know were at the park as well, so we probably played/chatted with 6 or 7 families we already knew, and met a few more. Liam made friends with a girl from Diamond Creek and they played together for hours, mainly in the sandpit. Caitlin spent most of her time on her scooter and/or bike, and Millie played in the sandpit, on the roundabout or climbing on the equipment, and had a big swing at the end. We had a quick visit to the library then went up to R's for more of a play and came home very tired.
Thursday we went in to North Melbourne to see Caitlin's friend N, and my friend B (N's Mum) and were there all day - all 6 kids played together so well and B and I had a great catch up. The big girls played dress ups for about 5 hours and produced some beautiful costumes and stories to go with them. Liam made 2 magnificent cars from a construction set they had - if I can figure out how to get photos off my phone I'll post a photo here. After dragging ourselves away in the very late afternoon, we got some fish and chips (eventually - I took a while to find the place I was looking for) and met Fi and James and Fi's friend Jacq for a picnic in the park near Fi's place. It was still warm but not too hot by that point, perfect for having tea then a play on the playground, and some races around the oval on scooters and bikes. Millie has got the hang of her scooter although she does a lot of foot action for not a lot of rolling so it takes her a while to get anywhere. She loves having it though and can go long distances.
We took it very easy on Friday morning although I was feeling a tad anxious again with the hot northerly winds and high temperature. We went to The Full Pantry to stock up on our bulk foods (and lots and lots of lollies) then to my friend S's place for Liam to meet her son N and for the boys to have a game of chess. It was great to hear a 5 and 6 year old earnestly discussing strategy and taking the game very seriously. Caitlin was again worshipped by D, who is 2, and insisted on dragging her around the house to play with him. A swim was most welcomed by all and Liam in flippers and snorkel was able to swim even in the deep end without any anxiety. There were a lot of games played, some more dress ups and then everyone wound down a little in front of a Batman cartoon. The temperature had dropped by the time we headed home and we had a quiet evening, the kids and Tony watched Avatar on TV.
Yesterday we really needed to do as little as possible as we were all exhausted from 3 big days in a row. Avatar was watched again, and some more TV, a few word and number games, playing with animals, lots of resting. Everyone seems more level and calm today, and energy seems to have been restored. Tony has been to get our replacement iPad after the smashed screen got progressively worse so I'm currently trying to restore the backup and everyone is looking forward to being able to play with it again. Off to the park with Liam's friend J later this afternoon then Mum and Dad are coming for tea as a late birthday celebration for Dad.
Thursday we went in to North Melbourne to see Caitlin's friend N, and my friend B (N's Mum) and were there all day - all 6 kids played together so well and B and I had a great catch up. The big girls played dress ups for about 5 hours and produced some beautiful costumes and stories to go with them. Liam made 2 magnificent cars from a construction set they had - if I can figure out how to get photos off my phone I'll post a photo here. After dragging ourselves away in the very late afternoon, we got some fish and chips (eventually - I took a while to find the place I was looking for) and met Fi and James and Fi's friend Jacq for a picnic in the park near Fi's place. It was still warm but not too hot by that point, perfect for having tea then a play on the playground, and some races around the oval on scooters and bikes. Millie has got the hang of her scooter although she does a lot of foot action for not a lot of rolling so it takes her a while to get anywhere. She loves having it though and can go long distances.
We took it very easy on Friday morning although I was feeling a tad anxious again with the hot northerly winds and high temperature. We went to The Full Pantry to stock up on our bulk foods (and lots and lots of lollies) then to my friend S's place for Liam to meet her son N and for the boys to have a game of chess. It was great to hear a 5 and 6 year old earnestly discussing strategy and taking the game very seriously. Caitlin was again worshipped by D, who is 2, and insisted on dragging her around the house to play with him. A swim was most welcomed by all and Liam in flippers and snorkel was able to swim even in the deep end without any anxiety. There were a lot of games played, some more dress ups and then everyone wound down a little in front of a Batman cartoon. The temperature had dropped by the time we headed home and we had a quiet evening, the kids and Tony watched Avatar on TV.
Yesterday we really needed to do as little as possible as we were all exhausted from 3 big days in a row. Avatar was watched again, and some more TV, a few word and number games, playing with animals, lots of resting. Everyone seems more level and calm today, and energy seems to have been restored. Tony has been to get our replacement iPad after the smashed screen got progressively worse so I'm currently trying to restore the backup and everyone is looking forward to being able to play with it again. Off to the park with Liam's friend J later this afternoon then Mum and Dad are coming for tea as a late birthday celebration for Dad.
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