Yesterday was hot - exceedingly and unexpectedly so. The forecast was in the low 30s, although apparently that was revised up by about 9 degrees overnight! It got hot early and the temperature kept climbing. By the middle of the afternoon I didn't feel motivated to do anything, I lay on my bed playing Hungry Babies for a while which was fun and relaxing. I was frustrated though that I felt no motivation - until I went out and got in the car and the thermometer said 39 degrees - it means our house would have been sitting in the low 30s and I do find it hard to do much in those conditions - our house gets very stuffy with all the windows closed and usually on a day that was going to get that hot I'd plan to be out of there by 2 or 3pm at the latest.
As it was we left at 4 and it was much more pleasant in the car. I dropped LiAM off at K's house for a trip to the pool and then an evening playing video games, I dropped Amelie off at E's house for an afternoon of unicorn games, Wii games and a zombie apocalypse game (and a run under the sprinkler), and I took Caitlin to acting. While she was there I got a new screen protector on the iPad (I can stop hassling everyone about being careful with it now), did some grocery shopping and hung out in Ringwood library for a while, borrowing books and DVDs and reading my book for a lovely half an hour. While I was in the shopping centre apparently there was a storm - the ground was wet when I came out and I couldn't figure out why, since it was still hot and sunny, and I found out later there'd been a storm and then it had cleared to become more hot and humid.
After we all got home it was still warm outside but pleasant enough for Amelie and I to go and lie on the trampoline and look for patterns in the stars. She can recognise the Southern Cross now, and the Pointers, and we discussed the difference between planets and stars, and why our sun looks so much brighter than the planets, and why we share our sun with other planets, and how far away various stars might be, and what makes one star brighter than another, and whether the brightest of the pointers might be the Second Star from one of the Tinkerbell movies, and whether it's ok to share your wish when you wish on a shooting star, and whether the moving lights we could see in the sky were aeroplanes or satellites... It was a lot of fun.
Earlier in the day
- my sister came to visit and the kids showed T the chickens (he loved them and kept wanting to go out to see them again) and played lego and cars with him, Caitlin and F played the knock-Buzz-off-the-wall game, F and I had a good chat, and we took T over near the shed to look at the tractor and the grape picker (he was thrilled)
- Amelie and LiAM read the latest Guinness World Records book, which has a special section on gaming records
- Caitlin did some more painting - she drew a Manga style girl and painted her, I was impressed. She wasn't happy with how the mouth turned out - for her first attempt at painting a person it was amazing
- We did some Harry Potter quizzes, including a very tricky 'who said this quote' quiz, which was hard but we got most of them
- I did some more geography quizzes
- Caitlin fixed our little fan that sprays water and was able to help cool everyone down
The forecast for the next week is for every day to be 30 or above, with some high 30s later in the week. Normally I don't mind hot weather (although it is a challenge to keep our house cool enough to hang out it) but the fact that it's now March makes this seem really bizarre and a bit harder to cope with. The leaves on the vines are turning yellow and red - the weather is supposed to be getting cooler, not hotter... We're going up to Yea for a few days next week, I wonder if it will be cooler or hotter up there (could go either way).
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 March 2016
Saturday, 20 February 2016
Township, Ghostbusters, Pi
After having such a busy week it was a relief yesterday to have most of the day at home. The kids all slept in until mid morning, so I had some time on the computer, then tidied up a little and then had a much-anticipated bath and read my book for a while (Us by David Nicholls. An interesting style, but very readable). Amelie woke up and came and joined me in the bath until we were both hungry so we got out to have some breakfast.
Amelie played Township on the computer and we upgraded the Township app on the iPad, and everyone played throughout the morning. It was fun having the 4 of us involved, discussing strategy and deciding where to spend our money and so on. I haven't played for months and it was enjoyable having a go again.
Caitlin put Heartland Season 5 on so that I could catch up to where they'd watched the night before. I pottered around in the kitchen doing dishes while we watched, and Amelie and LiAM played some Minecraft. A friend called in to drop off my Norwex order, so we had a cuppa and a chat, and Caitlin played with her 2 little girls, taking them out to see the chickens (LiAM also helped let the chickens out), playing on the trampoline with them, painting their nails and showing them how to make loom band bracelets.
After they left I continued to sort out the fruit and veg from the day before and started a chicken stock and a zucchini slice. H arrived for the afternoon and she and Caitlin spent some time planning the decorations that H is going to do on Caitlin's new desk. Caitlin then started practicing her manga drawing and came up with some impressive results, especially for her first try. LiAM played with the Titan character pieces and Amelie played with her My Little Ponies and her Barbies.
AT 4.30 I left with Caitlin to go to acting, and the others stayed with H. I picked up Caitlin's friend and dropped the 2 girls off, both excited and a little nervous about the first class of the year - who would be in their class, and who would their teacher be? While they were there I went to Costco and got some groceries, and a really lovely-to-feel copy of Les Miserables (the book) for $17 - the cover is like rubber, and has words etched into it, I really love it. I also saw some diaries that I would love - the lines are not ruled, they are the text of various novels, in a really tiny font. There's Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes, some Dickens... And one with the digits of pi running all the way through the diary.... Definitely on my wish list!
From there I went to the library and borrowed a heap of books and DVDs covering everyone's current and regular interests - Manga drawing, foreign coin identification (Grandad and F both recently let LiAM look at their foreign coins and Grandad has asked him to figure out what country they are from), African animals, Ghostbusters (we watched it on Monday for the first time (well, first time for the kids, I've seen it many many times) and all week we've heard the music in other shows or heard references to it in unexpected places. So when I saw a book about the movie on the feature shelf at the library, it made sense to borrow it), Afghanistan and so on. When the library closed I raced down to k-mart to get more swimming tops for Caitlin and myself, and some shorts for LiAM, then back to pick Caitlin up at 8.30.
When we got home the kids were playing Toy Story 3 and H said they'd had a good evening. I unpacked my cold groceries (playing a bit of tetris to get everything into the freezer) and Caitlin and Tony and I watched Sia sing and then be interviewed on tv, then I took H home (she drove). Once I was back I got everyone a drink and then headed into bed, Amelie came soon after and the others weren't far behind.
Amelie played Township on the computer and we upgraded the Township app on the iPad, and everyone played throughout the morning. It was fun having the 4 of us involved, discussing strategy and deciding where to spend our money and so on. I haven't played for months and it was enjoyable having a go again.
Caitlin put Heartland Season 5 on so that I could catch up to where they'd watched the night before. I pottered around in the kitchen doing dishes while we watched, and Amelie and LiAM played some Minecraft. A friend called in to drop off my Norwex order, so we had a cuppa and a chat, and Caitlin played with her 2 little girls, taking them out to see the chickens (LiAM also helped let the chickens out), playing on the trampoline with them, painting their nails and showing them how to make loom band bracelets.
After they left I continued to sort out the fruit and veg from the day before and started a chicken stock and a zucchini slice. H arrived for the afternoon and she and Caitlin spent some time planning the decorations that H is going to do on Caitlin's new desk. Caitlin then started practicing her manga drawing and came up with some impressive results, especially for her first try. LiAM played with the Titan character pieces and Amelie played with her My Little Ponies and her Barbies.
AT 4.30 I left with Caitlin to go to acting, and the others stayed with H. I picked up Caitlin's friend and dropped the 2 girls off, both excited and a little nervous about the first class of the year - who would be in their class, and who would their teacher be? While they were there I went to Costco and got some groceries, and a really lovely-to-feel copy of Les Miserables (the book) for $17 - the cover is like rubber, and has words etched into it, I really love it. I also saw some diaries that I would love - the lines are not ruled, they are the text of various novels, in a really tiny font. There's Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes, some Dickens... And one with the digits of pi running all the way through the diary.... Definitely on my wish list!
From there I went to the library and borrowed a heap of books and DVDs covering everyone's current and regular interests - Manga drawing, foreign coin identification (Grandad and F both recently let LiAM look at their foreign coins and Grandad has asked him to figure out what country they are from), African animals, Ghostbusters (we watched it on Monday for the first time (well, first time for the kids, I've seen it many many times) and all week we've heard the music in other shows or heard references to it in unexpected places. So when I saw a book about the movie on the feature shelf at the library, it made sense to borrow it), Afghanistan and so on. When the library closed I raced down to k-mart to get more swimming tops for Caitlin and myself, and some shorts for LiAM, then back to pick Caitlin up at 8.30.
When we got home the kids were playing Toy Story 3 and H said they'd had a good evening. I unpacked my cold groceries (playing a bit of tetris to get everything into the freezer) and Caitlin and Tony and I watched Sia sing and then be interviewed on tv, then I took H home (she drove). Once I was back I got everyone a drink and then headed into bed, Amelie came soon after and the others weren't far behind.
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
A day at home and Caitlin's solo trip
I woke up a bit earlier yesterday than I had been - around 7 instead of around 8 - and I think it makes a huge difference to my energy levels throughout the day, I feel so much better if I've woken earlier.
Yesterday was a quiet day at home, sandwiched in amongst lots of busy days. Millie and I played Hungry Babies on the iPad, and Caitlin helped for a while. Millie and LiAM played Toy Story 3 on the playstation (Mil asked me if she could play by spelling out Toy with her fingers) while Caitlin did sudokus on the computer, then LiAM and I played Halo for a while. I wasn't much help to him, unless I just stood around and acted as a re-spawn point for when he died - I was happy to do that. I have been amazed at the graphics in Halo ever since I first saw LiAM play it, and I was even more impressed when I was playing myself, they are so realistic, and beautifully created.
In the afternoon Caitlin caught the bus into Yarra Glen by herself, to get the library books and return the ones that were due. She also went over to the IGA to buy milk, then caught the bus home again. I walked her to the bus stop and sat across the road while she waited for the bus, and she texted me from her iPad when she arrived, and I sent her a reminder text when it was time for her to go back to the bus stop in town - we spent a lot of time planning the trip so that we were both comfortable with it, and it all worked seamlessly. She was very excited to successfully manage her first solo trip and I was impressed with how well she managed it. I knew she was capable of it, I think I was most pleased with the way she let me discuss the plan with her in so much detail, instead of brushing me off and saying 'I'll be fine.'
When she got back the kids watched one of the Tinkerbell movies we'd borrowed, and I continued clearing the kitchen table - and I got it all clear and put the new filing shelves on it and it looks fantastic! And we have a complete table to use, we could easily fit 5 people there for dinner, or more if we were happy to be a bit squished. Hoping I can keep it that way. I also made some spiced vinegar and prepared some parsnips for pickling - I usually end up giving parsnips to the chickens, so I am hoping that by pickling them I will eat them in time and they won't go to waste. It's my first attempt at pickling so a bit exciting.
LiAM played several maths and strategy games on the computer in the afternoon, and then spent a long time playing with the characters from Titan, lining them up and really examining the drawings and looking at differences between them.
In the evening we watched Australia's Got Talent and Farmer Wants a Wife. At the same time LiAM played Minecraft, Caitlin explored more on Pottermore and Amelie continued her My Little Pony game. She's made tables and cakes out of lids and bits of foil and the ponies all stood at their little tables and chatted and ate.
Amelie helped me put the chickens to bed - she's really taken this on as one of her tasks for the day; the night before she even went up there herself to put them to bed but had forgotten to take a torch so couldn't do it all. She also feeds Winky most nights.
Amelie moved into the bedroom while we were watching TV and watched another Tinkerbell movie, and I joined her there once I'd tidied everything up for the night. Tony was home from baseball by then and helped the other kids get ready for bed once they'd finished watching TV.
Yesterday was a quiet day at home, sandwiched in amongst lots of busy days. Millie and I played Hungry Babies on the iPad, and Caitlin helped for a while. Millie and LiAM played Toy Story 3 on the playstation (Mil asked me if she could play by spelling out Toy with her fingers) while Caitlin did sudokus on the computer, then LiAM and I played Halo for a while. I wasn't much help to him, unless I just stood around and acted as a re-spawn point for when he died - I was happy to do that. I have been amazed at the graphics in Halo ever since I first saw LiAM play it, and I was even more impressed when I was playing myself, they are so realistic, and beautifully created.
In the afternoon Caitlin caught the bus into Yarra Glen by herself, to get the library books and return the ones that were due. She also went over to the IGA to buy milk, then caught the bus home again. I walked her to the bus stop and sat across the road while she waited for the bus, and she texted me from her iPad when she arrived, and I sent her a reminder text when it was time for her to go back to the bus stop in town - we spent a lot of time planning the trip so that we were both comfortable with it, and it all worked seamlessly. She was very excited to successfully manage her first solo trip and I was impressed with how well she managed it. I knew she was capable of it, I think I was most pleased with the way she let me discuss the plan with her in so much detail, instead of brushing me off and saying 'I'll be fine.'
When she got back the kids watched one of the Tinkerbell movies we'd borrowed, and I continued clearing the kitchen table - and I got it all clear and put the new filing shelves on it and it looks fantastic! And we have a complete table to use, we could easily fit 5 people there for dinner, or more if we were happy to be a bit squished. Hoping I can keep it that way. I also made some spiced vinegar and prepared some parsnips for pickling - I usually end up giving parsnips to the chickens, so I am hoping that by pickling them I will eat them in time and they won't go to waste. It's my first attempt at pickling so a bit exciting.
LiAM played several maths and strategy games on the computer in the afternoon, and then spent a long time playing with the characters from Titan, lining them up and really examining the drawings and looking at differences between them.
In the evening we watched Australia's Got Talent and Farmer Wants a Wife. At the same time LiAM played Minecraft, Caitlin explored more on Pottermore and Amelie continued her My Little Pony game. She's made tables and cakes out of lids and bits of foil and the ponies all stood at their little tables and chatted and ate.
Amelie helped me put the chickens to bed - she's really taken this on as one of her tasks for the day; the night before she even went up there herself to put them to bed but had forgotten to take a torch so couldn't do it all. She also feeds Winky most nights.
Amelie moved into the bedroom while we were watching TV and watched another Tinkerbell movie, and I joined her there once I'd tidied everything up for the night. Tony was home from baseball by then and helped the other kids get ready for bed once they'd finished watching TV.
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Homeschool Group, swimming, stars
We all slept in a bit yesterday (except Tony who started work at 7). Millie was first awake after me and she curled up on the couch with me and chatted for a while, then played Slugterra on the ABC3 site. When the others got up they watched a little bit of TV then they all kept playing Titan - getting the hang of the battle rules and strategies and I'm amazed at how well they understand the game, it can be quite complicated.
After lunch we went to Yarra Junction library for the homeschool activity there. The girls joined in and made butterflies by scrunching up small pieces of crepe paper and sticking them on butterfly-shaped cardboard. They came up with some gorgeous designs and Amelie took a lot of time to get hers exactly the way she wanted it. LiAM played computer games with his friend, and I chatted to the other 2 mums who were there - so great to catch up with a good friend I haven't seen since before christmas, and the other family as well. Once the activity was over the kids got some books and DVDs together that they wanted to borrow, and then played Minecraft with their friends. LiAM tried to watch some videos after the others had left but the wifi wasn't strong enough and kept dropping out.
The girls really wanted to go for a swim across the road at Yarra Junction Aquatic Centre - Amelie had been asking to there instead of other pools for the last 6 weeks or so. LiAM was tired and didn't want to swim - I try to not insist that anyone does something they really don't want to do, and try to help the others have what they'd like at a different time or something. In this case it felt like a great opportunity to let Amelie have the swim she'd been wanting for so long, and I couldn't tell when we'd be back over this way again. So I did agree to go, and suggested that LiAM play on his iPod or my phone while we were swimming. He wasn't thrilled with this but did agree. Once we got to the pool he decided to go swimming with the girls as long as we didn't stay long, which was fair enough.
Amelie's confidence has increased again, even in the last week (and coming back to a familiar pool possibly helped as well). She walked down a few of the stairs of the middle pool (where she can easily stand, and it's deep enough to swim around in) and then launched herself off into the water. She was swimming a couple of metres at a time, either with her head above or below water, and happily on the ramp in the big pool just at the edge of where she can stand up - she's starting to confidently push her limits - while remaining careful not to go past her limits.
We swam for about an hour, the big kids mainly jumping and diving into the deep end, and occasionally coming back to Amelie and I. On the way home we stopped at several of the hard rubbish piles that have been left out the front of people's houses, and picked up some discarded items that are still in very good condition. Some toys, pillow pets, plush toys, buckets and crockery. LiAM has been looking forward to this time of year for months so he was very happy.
Tony had baseball so he wasn't home until late and we had the evening to ourselves. I cooked some omelettes while we watched Australia's Got Talent (and then Farmer Wants a Wife which was surprisingly compelling...). The girls and I went and put the chickens to bed (our wayward Mummy chicken now takes her chicks into the big shed to sleep, although she sleeps on the top shelf with the other chickens and the chicks sleep on the bottom shelf. We usually move them all into a laying box - partly to keep them used to being handled, which we did with the previous lot of chicks, and they are more tolerant of being touched than the older chickens. So we moved the little ones, patted the middle sized ones then locked them in (while I avoided a very large spider that was sitting on the door near the lock....) and then looked at the stars for a while, the sky was so clear and we could see more stars than we usually notice. We looked at Orion's belt and at Mars and looked for other patterns, such a great night be outside.
Tony came home while we were stargazing, then the girls spent time drawing and writing more letters to each other to put in the letter box (Millie drew a 3 headed hydra and a crab, so cool). I went to the bed and the kids played Pacman and headed off to bed shortly after.
Thursday, 21 January 2016
After the sleepover
It was a quiet morning here yesterday, with the girls away on a sleepover, and the boys sleeping in for most of the morning as they'd stayed up playing The Lego Movie game until late. It was raining too which was fantastic, there really hasn't been much rain at all this summer and it was lovely to be out in it, letting the chickens out, checking on my plants etc.
I was able to get heaps done since I had so much time to myself. I sorted out a lot of the stuff that was piled in our walk in wardrobe, so Tony can now easily get to his work clothes, and heaps of stuff has been put away, put in the op shop pile, or recycled. I also helped Winky get a rat out of the bathroom - she killed it then had no idea what to do with it, it was so much bigger than anything else she's killed before. I'm not happy with the idea that we had a rat inside, although very pleased that Winky was able to take care of it.
When the boys woke up they kept playing games on the xbox. I made them some French Toast for breakfast and had some myself after lunch - hadn't made it for ages and it was fun (and so yummy!). I also made lots of butter with the cream I'd bought on Monday, and doing lots of batches meant I could experiment with adding different amounts of oil and salt and see which version we like the most (I'd prefer no oil, but it does help it spread better, so figured I'd try and find the optimal amount).
Mid afternoon the girls came back and everyone had a bit of a play here, before the others went home, and everyone collapsed a bit - late nights for everyone and being out of their comfort zone can be exhausting. I got everyone some ice cream (and made some home made stuff for me and Caitlin, with cream and frozen banana and frozen raspberries), and we watched tv, played with the animal/fish puzzle, played on the iPad and had a very relaxed afternoon. Millie wanted to watch Toy Story 3 and the others wanted to watch Modern Family so they went into my bedroom and Millie and I watched in the lounge room. I made some pasta for tea and took it to everyone where they were. Millie and I moved Snowy and the chicks, which was a little scary because Buckley decided to help and made it much much harder! Once the movie was finished Millie wanted to play Toy Story 3 on the playstation, so I played with her until LiAM came back out, then he took over. Caitlin watched the Heartland Christmas Special on the Heartland series we currently have out, and everyone went off to bed fairly easily once that was over.
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
A hot quiet day with multiple sleepovers
Yesterday was hot (37 degrees, so not the hottest day we've had this summer, but quite warm) and we had no plans to go anywhere - I decided to really work hard on keeping the house cool and to see if we could manage to be home all day - often it gets too hot inside and we go out because we're so uncomfortable. So I concentrated on closing the blinds and windows at the right time and turning the air conditioner on earlier than I thought I'd need it, so that it didn't have to cool the house down as well as keep it cool, and it was fine inside. Around 4.15 I started to feel hot, and turned the air con in the bedroom on as well, and that helped to keep it bearable. I think it also helped that we weren't going in and out through the door all day, LiAM and Millie and I stayed inside pretty much until after 4, so there was no hot air being let in. It is encouraging to know that if we really want to, we can stay home on a hot day.
It was a pretty quiet day overall. I pottered around and did housework, Millie played with her barbies and soft toys, I mended a few of her toys that were broken, LiAM played Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare, Millie watched him for a while, we all played with the animal/fish game that we bought the day before (LiAM is very good at it), we had pancakes for lunch, I tried all day to put off reading more of my book (because I was loving it so much, I wanted to have a big chunk of time to read it when I went back to it, especially as I was getting close to the end) - then I realised I was not getting much done anyway because I was thinking about my book, so I went and read for a while, and felt better, and then got on with tidying up (I wrote about doing things that way only a couple of days ago, and I keep forgetting that it's ok to have breaks, to do enjoyable things, before I finish all my work. Hoping that if I keep reminding myself that it will get easier all the time, and I'll be more content more often). I also played the piano a few times and did some Spanish - I hadn't been doing much of either lately and I'm excited to get back into them.
Caitlin came home around 4.30, and the girls did their nails and looked at some stuff Caitlin wanted to show S. They both looked gorgeous in new dresses from the op shop in Yea. Caitlin was going to go and stay the night with S, and V was staying here with us - as they were also having 2 girl cousins over for the night and he preferred not to be so surrounded by girls. The boys started playing The Lego Movie game and apart from a bit of a jump on the trampoline once it cooled down a bit, they played that all evening and well into the night. They did a really good job of negotiating which bits they were going to play next, what their strategy would be, which character they would play and so on, I was very impressed.
Millie went with Caitlin to play with S's cousins, who were about Millie's age. The plan was that we would go and get her later in the evening, but when we said we were coming she was upset that she wasn't staying the night. She seemed quite settled and happy there so we let her stay and have heard this morning that she was fine. She'll be thrilled, because it probably feels like her first sleepover that is for her with her friends, rather than staying somewhere just to be looked after because Tony and I were going out.
We had to move Snowy and the chicks from her little safe spot again. It's getting easier each night for me to reach in there and grab her, I'm less scared each time that she's going to peck me (or less concerned about being pecked, if she gets me she gets me, and it will be fine). It sometimes amazes that I can handle the chickens so confidently, when they used to freak me out a lot more when we first got them. It's cool that the kids, especially Millie, are so comfortable and confident with them, they won't have the fear around animals that I had for so long.
It was a pretty quiet day overall. I pottered around and did housework, Millie played with her barbies and soft toys, I mended a few of her toys that were broken, LiAM played Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare, Millie watched him for a while, we all played with the animal/fish game that we bought the day before (LiAM is very good at it), we had pancakes for lunch, I tried all day to put off reading more of my book (because I was loving it so much, I wanted to have a big chunk of time to read it when I went back to it, especially as I was getting close to the end) - then I realised I was not getting much done anyway because I was thinking about my book, so I went and read for a while, and felt better, and then got on with tidying up (I wrote about doing things that way only a couple of days ago, and I keep forgetting that it's ok to have breaks, to do enjoyable things, before I finish all my work. Hoping that if I keep reminding myself that it will get easier all the time, and I'll be more content more often). I also played the piano a few times and did some Spanish - I hadn't been doing much of either lately and I'm excited to get back into them.
Caitlin came home around 4.30, and the girls did their nails and looked at some stuff Caitlin wanted to show S. They both looked gorgeous in new dresses from the op shop in Yea. Caitlin was going to go and stay the night with S, and V was staying here with us - as they were also having 2 girl cousins over for the night and he preferred not to be so surrounded by girls. The boys started playing The Lego Movie game and apart from a bit of a jump on the trampoline once it cooled down a bit, they played that all evening and well into the night. They did a really good job of negotiating which bits they were going to play next, what their strategy would be, which character they would play and so on, I was very impressed.
Millie went with Caitlin to play with S's cousins, who were about Millie's age. The plan was that we would go and get her later in the evening, but when we said we were coming she was upset that she wasn't staying the night. She seemed quite settled and happy there so we let her stay and have heard this morning that she was fine. She'll be thrilled, because it probably feels like her first sleepover that is for her with her friends, rather than staying somewhere just to be looked after because Tony and I were going out.
We had to move Snowy and the chicks from her little safe spot again. It's getting easier each night for me to reach in there and grab her, I'm less scared each time that she's going to peck me (or less concerned about being pecked, if she gets me she gets me, and it will be fine). It sometimes amazes that I can handle the chickens so confidently, when they used to freak me out a lot more when we first got them. It's cool that the kids, especially Millie, are so comfortable and confident with them, they won't have the fear around animals that I had for so long.
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
A day out shopping
Caitlin and her friend woke early (around 7) and lay in bed chatting for a while then played Harry Potter - Scene It, then went outside to play on the trampoline. Her Mum came and picked her up around 9.30, by which time my mum was also here, as I had an appointment and she was looking after the kids for the day.
My appointment was at 10.20, and I didn't get called in until about 11.20, which meant a lovely hour in the waiting room reading my book uninterrupted! (Currently reading 'The Girl In Times Square' by Paullina Simons - it's a kind of sequel to Red Leaves, which I enjoyed, and I am really seriously loving this one.) My check up only went for about 5 minutes, so by 11.30 I was out!
I was going to buy some stuff from a fabric shop in Lilydale, but they were closed, so I went to the Salvos op shop instead. A friend met me there, and we decided to go to the Mustard Tree Op Shop where we could also sit and have a coffee. We sat and chatted for ages, not often we get to talk for so long without kids around. Eventually we had a bit of a browse and bought a few things, then went to Not Quite Right (which I always think is like an Op Shop but for food). I grabbed quite a few things from the dairy and freezer section and it only cost $15, it was pretty handy.
From there I went to Lilydale Market Place and got a big plastic tub from the Reject Shop - I need lots more tubs for tidying up the house, and for when we go away later this year, so I'm working on grabbing one whenever I see a good price. I browsed in Spec Savers for a while, trying to work out what I want for my reading glasses. I did an Aldi grocery shop, then headed back to Yarra Glen to the library, and then home, feeling fantastic after a day of nurturing myself.
Caitlin and her friend S had arranged to go home with Mum and stay the night in Yea, so they were keen to get going once I arrived home. I helped them get out the door, and LiAM went with them to have a play with V for the afternoon/evening. Tony had baseball all evening so it was just me and Millie at home. We played The Lego Movie game on the Xbox for a while, then watched the Lego Movie. We spent ages playing a new puzzle game I bought at the op shop, where we have to put marked tiles on a variety of base boards, following certain rules (fish can only be on water, animals only on land, nothing on a snake) and it was challenging and lots of fun. We went outside to check on the chickens and Snowy had her chicks in the same corner behind the shed so we tried to move them into the pen. She wasn't quite settled enough yet and ran away whenever I got close, taking her chicks with her. I tried to chase her into the pen but she kept circling around and going back to her spot. (And her chicks kept wandering off so she was much more concerned with finding them then with running away from me). Millie thought that perhaps a trail of chicken food would lead them to the pen, so she spent a lot of effort making a long trail, and it worked for a while, they made their way along about half of it, then got spooked and went back to their corner. We decided to leave it until she had fallen asleep when she'd be easier to move.
Millie played with her Barbies, one of them in the new Dr Barbie outfit I bought today, so she became a vet and was fixing all of Millie's animals. I tidied up for the evening, then when Tony came home we went and moved the chickens. LiAM came home soon after and played Harry Potter Lego - he'd finished Year 7 Part 1 before he went out so was keen to finish the story off completely. I went to bed to keep reading my book and the others came in after a while.
My appointment was at 10.20, and I didn't get called in until about 11.20, which meant a lovely hour in the waiting room reading my book uninterrupted! (Currently reading 'The Girl In Times Square' by Paullina Simons - it's a kind of sequel to Red Leaves, which I enjoyed, and I am really seriously loving this one.) My check up only went for about 5 minutes, so by 11.30 I was out!
I was going to buy some stuff from a fabric shop in Lilydale, but they were closed, so I went to the Salvos op shop instead. A friend met me there, and we decided to go to the Mustard Tree Op Shop where we could also sit and have a coffee. We sat and chatted for ages, not often we get to talk for so long without kids around. Eventually we had a bit of a browse and bought a few things, then went to Not Quite Right (which I always think is like an Op Shop but for food). I grabbed quite a few things from the dairy and freezer section and it only cost $15, it was pretty handy.
From there I went to Lilydale Market Place and got a big plastic tub from the Reject Shop - I need lots more tubs for tidying up the house, and for when we go away later this year, so I'm working on grabbing one whenever I see a good price. I browsed in Spec Savers for a while, trying to work out what I want for my reading glasses. I did an Aldi grocery shop, then headed back to Yarra Glen to the library, and then home, feeling fantastic after a day of nurturing myself.
Caitlin and her friend S had arranged to go home with Mum and stay the night in Yea, so they were keen to get going once I arrived home. I helped them get out the door, and LiAM went with them to have a play with V for the afternoon/evening. Tony had baseball all evening so it was just me and Millie at home. We played The Lego Movie game on the Xbox for a while, then watched the Lego Movie. We spent ages playing a new puzzle game I bought at the op shop, where we have to put marked tiles on a variety of base boards, following certain rules (fish can only be on water, animals only on land, nothing on a snake) and it was challenging and lots of fun. We went outside to check on the chickens and Snowy had her chicks in the same corner behind the shed so we tried to move them into the pen. She wasn't quite settled enough yet and ran away whenever I got close, taking her chicks with her. I tried to chase her into the pen but she kept circling around and going back to her spot. (And her chicks kept wandering off so she was much more concerned with finding them then with running away from me). Millie thought that perhaps a trail of chicken food would lead them to the pen, so she spent a lot of effort making a long trail, and it worked for a while, they made their way along about half of it, then got spooked and went back to their corner. We decided to leave it until she had fallen asleep when she'd be easier to move.
Millie played with her Barbies, one of them in the new Dr Barbie outfit I bought today, so she became a vet and was fixing all of Millie's animals. I tidied up for the evening, then when Tony came home we went and moved the chickens. LiAM came home soon after and played Harry Potter Lego - he'd finished Year 7 Part 1 before he went out so was keen to finish the story off completely. I went to bed to keep reading my book and the others came in after a while.
Monday, 18 January 2016
Chickens
Sunday was a much quieter day compared to our busy Sunday. For the most part we stayed at home. LiAM was feeling quite worn out from being at the rodeo (and he did 20000 steps on Saturday, so figured he could sit still all day on Sunday and still have 10000 steps per day for the weekend) and watched a fair bit of tv and played Plants v Zombies and Lego Harry Potter. He and Millie also played Minecraft for a while.
3 new chicks were hatched early in the morning, 2 black and 1 yellow (we have SO many black chickens now). They were still in a laying box in the main pen, so we needed to move them to the chick pen. I put on long sleeves and gloves as Darkness, the mother, is quite vicious when she has chicks (actually she's vicious most of the time, just more so (understandably) when she has chicks. We had another hen (Snowy) have chicks in December and although she's very protective, and a very big hen, she's way less scary than Darkness). I grabbed Darkness out of her box and Millie carried the chicks one at a time to the new pen and I popped the mum in with them. It all went pretty smoothly (although one chick fell under the hay in the new box and couldn't get out, so I braved Darkness again and went in and rescued it, and rearranged the hay a little so that it was unlikely to happen again. Later in the day I went to check on them and one of the chicks had become stuck under the bottom bar of the pen. Trying to rescue her I got a sharp bite from Darkness - but I got the chick out and she looks ok.
Apart from chick wrangling I spent most of the day pottering around and catching up a bit on my general tidying. In the afternoon Tony took Caitlin to meet a friend at Healesville pool, and Millie went next door to see our neighbour. LiAM and I stayed home and watched some Green Lantern and a couple of other shows. Caitlin's friend came home with her for tea, and then it was organised for her to stay overnight. The girls played Lego Harry Potter with LiAM, jumped on the trampoline, went for a bike ride, played on the iPad, chatted lots and had a fun evening.
When they put the chickens to bed they discovered that Snowy and her batch of chicks were not in the main pen - I'd hoped that when she couldn't get into the chick pen (because Darkness was shut in there) she'd take her brood into the main pen. We lost 2 chickens probably to foxes earlier this week when they didn't get shut away, so I really didn't want to leave a hen and 5 little chicks out. I searched for ages and eventually found them all tucked in between our brick pile and the shed, she was quite well hidden. I had all the kids help me - once again I grabbed the (shrieking) mother and the kids grabbed the 5 chicks and we safely moved them all into the main pen.
After all the chicken excitement we all got ready for bed (it was quite late by now anyway) and wandered off one or 2 at a time.
3 new chicks were hatched early in the morning, 2 black and 1 yellow (we have SO many black chickens now). They were still in a laying box in the main pen, so we needed to move them to the chick pen. I put on long sleeves and gloves as Darkness, the mother, is quite vicious when she has chicks (actually she's vicious most of the time, just more so (understandably) when she has chicks. We had another hen (Snowy) have chicks in December and although she's very protective, and a very big hen, she's way less scary than Darkness). I grabbed Darkness out of her box and Millie carried the chicks one at a time to the new pen and I popped the mum in with them. It all went pretty smoothly (although one chick fell under the hay in the new box and couldn't get out, so I braved Darkness again and went in and rescued it, and rearranged the hay a little so that it was unlikely to happen again. Later in the day I went to check on them and one of the chicks had become stuck under the bottom bar of the pen. Trying to rescue her I got a sharp bite from Darkness - but I got the chick out and she looks ok.
Apart from chick wrangling I spent most of the day pottering around and catching up a bit on my general tidying. In the afternoon Tony took Caitlin to meet a friend at Healesville pool, and Millie went next door to see our neighbour. LiAM and I stayed home and watched some Green Lantern and a couple of other shows. Caitlin's friend came home with her for tea, and then it was organised for her to stay overnight. The girls played Lego Harry Potter with LiAM, jumped on the trampoline, went for a bike ride, played on the iPad, chatted lots and had a fun evening.
When they put the chickens to bed they discovered that Snowy and her batch of chicks were not in the main pen - I'd hoped that when she couldn't get into the chick pen (because Darkness was shut in there) she'd take her brood into the main pen. We lost 2 chickens probably to foxes earlier this week when they didn't get shut away, so I really didn't want to leave a hen and 5 little chicks out. I searched for ages and eventually found them all tucked in between our brick pile and the shed, she was quite well hidden. I had all the kids help me - once again I grabbed the (shrieking) mother and the kids grabbed the 5 chicks and we safely moved them all into the main pen.
After all the chicken excitement we all got ready for bed (it was quite late by now anyway) and wandered off one or 2 at a time.
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
New chicks and hanging out at home
Tony was still feeling quite unwell yesterday - as well as his sore back he's had a fever on and off and has been pretty miserable. He stayed in bed for most of the day yesterday, with the kids and I popping in and out to chat or play games, then around 4pm he got up and sat on the couch for a while, then as the evening progressed he felt better and better and was able to move around and do things much more easily. He's feeling quite relieved that things have improved!
The rest of the chicks have hatched - we've got 5 little balls of fluff and I could spend all day watching them pecking and cheeping and climbing on their mum. One is looking a bit fragile so I'll keep an eye on that one in particular - last night I went to check on them and it hadn't figured out how to get back into the box with it's mum and siblings, poor little thing was falling asleep standing up and kept jerking awake. I was able to distract it's mum by holding a piece of wood in front of her, which she attacked, and then I was free to pick up her chick and pop it in with her. There's no way she would have let me pick it up if she wasn't feeling attacked from another direction.
Millie watched all of her Winx DVDs yesterday, which the others weren't completely thrilled about - so they negotiated watching choices for today and then were happy to let her watch them (and watch some of it with her). I have the song stuck in my head which I really don't mind - the show is about believing in yourself and believing in magic and looking out for your friends, I'm happy to have those thoughts running through my head constantly for a few days.
Caitlin mowed more of the lawn and I planted the plants Mum had given me on Monday. LiAM helped tidy up the garden a bit. It was a warm, humid day, pleasant to be outside in the morning but progressively less pleasant as the day went on. The kids played with the hose a bit more and spent time jumping on the trampoline.
In the afternoon LiAM decided to make chocolate balls, so he and Millie did that by themselves. Caitlin did some more work on the car she's making out of a recycled milk carton. She also played lots of drawing and word games on her iPad, and visited our neighbour, and LiAM played Terraria for a while.
Caitlin, LiAM and I went to karate in the evening, it was a good night, going back through some of the basic moves. Great to have a reminder of how to do things properly and to slow down and really practice the technique. We only stayed for the first session, then chatted in the playground and carpark to our friends, and got home the same time as we would have if we'd stayed for the whole session.
When we got home Tony took the kids for a ride in the Kabota, then we watched the new episode of Big Bang Theory, and later the final two episodes of Two and a Half Men (which were funnier than I'd expected), and everyone went to bed pretty easily after that.
The rest of the chicks have hatched - we've got 5 little balls of fluff and I could spend all day watching them pecking and cheeping and climbing on their mum. One is looking a bit fragile so I'll keep an eye on that one in particular - last night I went to check on them and it hadn't figured out how to get back into the box with it's mum and siblings, poor little thing was falling asleep standing up and kept jerking awake. I was able to distract it's mum by holding a piece of wood in front of her, which she attacked, and then I was free to pick up her chick and pop it in with her. There's no way she would have let me pick it up if she wasn't feeling attacked from another direction.
 |
| 3 of the chicks (and the leg of a 4th one, under Darkness's feathers) |
Caitlin mowed more of the lawn and I planted the plants Mum had given me on Monday. LiAM helped tidy up the garden a bit. It was a warm, humid day, pleasant to be outside in the morning but progressively less pleasant as the day went on. The kids played with the hose a bit more and spent time jumping on the trampoline.
In the afternoon LiAM decided to make chocolate balls, so he and Millie did that by themselves. Caitlin did some more work on the car she's making out of a recycled milk carton. She also played lots of drawing and word games on her iPad, and visited our neighbour, and LiAM played Terraria for a while.
Caitlin, LiAM and I went to karate in the evening, it was a good night, going back through some of the basic moves. Great to have a reminder of how to do things properly and to slow down and really practice the technique. We only stayed for the first session, then chatted in the playground and carpark to our friends, and got home the same time as we would have if we'd stayed for the whole session.
When we got home Tony took the kids for a ride in the Kabota, then we watched the new episode of Big Bang Theory, and later the final two episodes of Two and a Half Men (which were funnier than I'd expected), and everyone went to bed pretty easily after that.
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.
Saturday, 24 January 2015
Movie, chickens and swimming
I've been waking up earlyish again lately - between 6 and 7 usually - and I've been going outside and watering my plants, then going for my walk. I hadn't been walking much over the past couple of months and it's wonderful to be doing it again. Going that early too I often get to see the sunrise or close to it, and see the early morning clouds reflected in the dam. There are often kangaroos still up on the dam wall at that time, and the ducks are just waking up. It's a great start to the day and I think it's helping my energy levels and my anxiety overall. (I've had a few anxiety attacks this week and the walking definitely helps me keep things in perspective).
Millie woke up not long after I got back from my walk yesterday, and she sat on my lap while I checked email etc and she played on the iPad. Then we moved onto the couch together which was more comfortable. She was looking at something to do with the moon in one of her games and asked what it was called when it was a certain shape, so we looked up moon phases and chatted about how it changes, what it's called, why we can see what we can. The other two kids eventually wandered out, and we all curled up on the couch and watched 'The Princess and the Frog'. I was feeling very sleepy and dozed in the musical sequences, and managed to watch most of the rest of the movie. A very relaxing way to spend the morning.
Caitlin had commented that our little chick was getting 'so big' after she didn't see it for 3 days when she was away on horse camp. I thought she was imagining it - the chick still looked tiny. However when I went to check on the broody hens yesterday and discovered 2 more brand new chicks I could see what she means - the new chicks are TINY and the older one has grown quite a lot. I love how excited we all feel whenever new chicks are born, even though we've had it happen quite a number of times. They are so incredibly cute and tiny and we all love watching them. We really enjoy watching them grow up too, discovering what colouring they are going to have, and whether they are a hen or a rooster - Caitlin and I discovered yesterday that the 4 month old chick which we were sure was a hen is actually not - he was practising his crowing so looks like he was not the bird that laid the tiny egg we found the other day.
Being Friday, Tony was home around 2pm which is always lovely. He played Terraria with the kids for a while, then he and I played Donkey with Millie. Tony had a nap while I played Go Fish with Millie. I had a lie down myself (still feeling sleepy) and the kids played Test Match and did some drawing. Caitlin was very keen to go for a swim and it was quite a hot day so when I got up we rushed around and headed back down to Healesville outdoor pool. (At first I felt like it was too much effort, and felt that we'd planned to have a day at home so we should stick to that. Then I realised there was really no reason for us not to go, part of having a sparkly, joy filled life is to take opportunities when they come up, so it was ok to change our plans and do something that one of us really wanted to do. I'm so glad I chose the joyous option and not the default option.) Tony came with us too. Millie and I played around in the shallow end of the big pool, she practiced swimming out to me from the steps, and was also a dolphin who loved to eat catfish and I was the human supplying her with the catfish. The other 2 kids found some friends - two boys who had been in the Chicken Little play with Caitlin last October - and played with them and bit tyre tube up in the deep end. Tony and I each spent a bit of time with the big kids and a bit with Millie, then Millie put her backpack on and came up the deep end with all of us. We stayed until closing time (6pm) (we'd gone quite late), then bought pizza and went to the Train Park to eat it. It was a lot cooler by this stage and sitting outside felt lovely (apart from the wasp who wanted to share our dinner). After eating the kids and I walked the labyrinth, trying a few different techniques, then played Hide and Seek and then 40-40.
Back at home people played Terraria, I looked up some Terraria information for LiAM, Caitlin played minecraft and looked up dresses on the internet, Tony and I put away the camper trailer, we watched the cricket (quite exciting, Australia won in the last over) and the tennis then wound down and made our way to bed.
Millie woke up not long after I got back from my walk yesterday, and she sat on my lap while I checked email etc and she played on the iPad. Then we moved onto the couch together which was more comfortable. She was looking at something to do with the moon in one of her games and asked what it was called when it was a certain shape, so we looked up moon phases and chatted about how it changes, what it's called, why we can see what we can. The other two kids eventually wandered out, and we all curled up on the couch and watched 'The Princess and the Frog'. I was feeling very sleepy and dozed in the musical sequences, and managed to watch most of the rest of the movie. A very relaxing way to spend the morning.
Caitlin had commented that our little chick was getting 'so big' after she didn't see it for 3 days when she was away on horse camp. I thought she was imagining it - the chick still looked tiny. However when I went to check on the broody hens yesterday and discovered 2 more brand new chicks I could see what she means - the new chicks are TINY and the older one has grown quite a lot. I love how excited we all feel whenever new chicks are born, even though we've had it happen quite a number of times. They are so incredibly cute and tiny and we all love watching them. We really enjoy watching them grow up too, discovering what colouring they are going to have, and whether they are a hen or a rooster - Caitlin and I discovered yesterday that the 4 month old chick which we were sure was a hen is actually not - he was practising his crowing so looks like he was not the bird that laid the tiny egg we found the other day.
Being Friday, Tony was home around 2pm which is always lovely. He played Terraria with the kids for a while, then he and I played Donkey with Millie. Tony had a nap while I played Go Fish with Millie. I had a lie down myself (still feeling sleepy) and the kids played Test Match and did some drawing. Caitlin was very keen to go for a swim and it was quite a hot day so when I got up we rushed around and headed back down to Healesville outdoor pool. (At first I felt like it was too much effort, and felt that we'd planned to have a day at home so we should stick to that. Then I realised there was really no reason for us not to go, part of having a sparkly, joy filled life is to take opportunities when they come up, so it was ok to change our plans and do something that one of us really wanted to do. I'm so glad I chose the joyous option and not the default option.) Tony came with us too. Millie and I played around in the shallow end of the big pool, she practiced swimming out to me from the steps, and was also a dolphin who loved to eat catfish and I was the human supplying her with the catfish. The other 2 kids found some friends - two boys who had been in the Chicken Little play with Caitlin last October - and played with them and bit tyre tube up in the deep end. Tony and I each spent a bit of time with the big kids and a bit with Millie, then Millie put her backpack on and came up the deep end with all of us. We stayed until closing time (6pm) (we'd gone quite late), then bought pizza and went to the Train Park to eat it. It was a lot cooler by this stage and sitting outside felt lovely (apart from the wasp who wanted to share our dinner). After eating the kids and I walked the labyrinth, trying a few different techniques, then played Hide and Seek and then 40-40.
Back at home people played Terraria, I looked up some Terraria information for LiAM, Caitlin played minecraft and looked up dresses on the internet, Tony and I put away the camper trailer, we watched the cricket (quite exciting, Australia won in the last over) and the tennis then wound down and made our way to bed.
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.
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