Terraria, horse riding, games

My tiredness continued into yesterday - I obviously pushed hard all last week and then collapsed a bit on the weekend. Tony had yesterday (Sunday) off work though and we had no big plans so I was able to take it fairly easy. It got hot early and I found it quite exhausting, especially when I was in the kitchen.

I was up early and had a bit of time to myself, then LiAM, Millie and Tony came out. LiAM was very excited that Tone was home for the day, and the three of them played Terraria for a while before breakfast.

Caitlin went to a friend's house in the morning, I took her over there and then stayed while she had a horse riding lesson - I hadn't seen her ride much and was impressed at how straight her back was and how comfortable and confident she looked in the saddle. Her friend then had a lesson and I left Caitlin there for the day, and I went to pick up V to bring him back to our place.

Once we got back Tony, LiAM, V and Amelie all played Terraria together and spent a lot of time negotiating with each other to swap armour and weapons, and coming up with team strategies for defeating the bosses. They played on and off all day and I loved listening to the conversations. I don't find Terraria easy (or very enjoyable) to play, but I do know a lot about it and enjoy hearing other people playing. LiAM was reading the attributes of the items that he found too, without any help - he doesn't realise he's reading when he does that, because the words just make sense to him, and he still thinks that reading is difficult. When he understands what something says without having to try hard, he says he wasn't reading, he just knew the words. Which at first was kind of true, he was recognising certain words that he already knew, whereas now he often reads things correctly with no context, and with words that he hasn't memorised - it's quite fascinating (and exciting) to watch his reading develop so naturally.

Amelie watched some more pokemon and finished the series she has been watching. She then watched 'Annie' (the new one from last year), while the boys played Halo on the xBox. I did a lot of work in the kitchen and cleared most of the kitchen table and all of the area under it, ready to reorganise things a bit with some new furniture I picked up from hard rubbish. Tony and I did a scout around the house and yard to see if there was anything we could put on our own hard rubbish pile, and did manage to find a goodly sized pile of broken chairs, a ripped mattress, broken ride on toy and a few other things. Glad that we remembered to do it before things start getting picked up today.

Tony and I did a couple of geography quizzes - we work well together, we remember different things - and were going to play 'Letters and Numbers' but I felt too fuzzy and didn't think I'd be able to think quickly enough. I hope we get another chance to play soon because we both really love playing and it's rare to have an opportunity when we're both home and the kids are happily occupied without us. Amelie spent a lot of time in the afternoon during her elephant puzzle, both as a full puzzle and just making up each elephant separately. LiAM also played with it for a while after V left. Amelie also spent hours playing with her My Little Ponies, they had a great time flying around the house rescuing each other and then having a party on the kitchen table. StarLily (the Magical Unicorn) joined them for a while too.

Amelie and I learnt some signs for colours in Auslan, and refreshed a few other words. Now she can ask for pink milk, chocolate milk and hot chocolate by signing, which is very handy for all of us.

Caitlin stayed at her friend's all day and had fish and chips in the park, then they brought her home and she showed her friend around the property, especially looking at the chicks. Tone met the parents and the guys had a beer and we all chatted for a while. After they left we ate dinner and watched 'Australia's Got Talent', then the kids played some puzzle games on the computer, and Caitlin cleaned up the lounge room a bit to play Just Dance on the playstation - but couldn't find the game so played Book of Spells instead, which then led her to joining the Pottermore site on the computer.

Catching Up

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

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

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

And lots lots more!

Caitlin's 11th birthday

Yesterday was Caitlin's 11th birthday!

She woke early (the sun is rising before 6 at the moment so it's easy for everyone to wake up by 6.30) and we all had a big birthday cuddle in our bed before getting up to do presents. LiAM and I quickly wrapped everything (we'd gotten home late and very tired the night before, from party food shopping, and had put off the wrapping until the morning). Caitlin was thrilled with her presents - from LiAM, a Minions Mega Blocks hot dog stand, from Millie, a Lego Friends dressing room, and from Tony and I - a horse calendar, a Billie B Brown diary for next year, a note book on a clipboard, and tickets to see Taylor Swift in December!

The kids got stuck into making all the lego and then playing with it. We had bacon for breakfast and a very relaxing morning.

At 11.30 Caitlin and I went into Yarra Glen to get some little prizes for games for her party, then we picked up her friend S and went up to Ponyland for the girls to go on a Trail Ride. They were joined by another friend from Caitlin's acting class. It was a magnificent spring day, perfect for a trail ride. Caitlin rode Charisma, her very favourite horse, and the other girls rode on Charlie and Happy. Caitlin was allowed to do some cantering, and Charisma started then dropped back into a trot - but she loved the ride and the experience and 3 very happy girls came back after an hour on the trail.

We went back to our place and they had lunch, then made friendship bracelets and played on the trampoline. We set up the camper trailer in the backyard, and then 3 other friends arrived for the sleepover. It was an amazing evening. They danced, played on the trampoline and swings, chased each other with the water gun Caitlin got as a present,  told jokes, played lots of games (storytelling and making people laugh etc) and put on a talent show. Those who didn't want to participate were the judges (along with LiAM) - Caitlin and Millie acted out a play created by Caitlin, one girl did gymnastics, one sang and one drew a picture - they were all quite impressive. We had pizza for dinner, and after Caitlin's cake we roasted marshmallows on the fire. It was warm enough for everyone to be outside, even for the meal, which made it all a bit exciting as well. We set up everyone's beds in the trailer - the 6 girls all managed to fit on the floor, and they played more games in there - once I made sure everyone was comfortable and would let me know if they needed anything, I left them to it and obviously they all fell asleep at some stage. It was one of the most fun parties I've been involved in, very relaxed and very enjoyable, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Caitlin at 11 is so much fun to be around. She's funny and generous and talkative and really loves people. She makes friends easily and loves to socialise, although is also becoming more comfortable being by herself or just with her family. She thinks deeply about things and asks a lot of questions, particularly about relationships and social and cultural norms. She loves performing and is doing 2 drama classes a week which lead to a big production each semester. She really really loves horses, and is working on ways to afford her own horse as soon as she can. She is creative and learns very quickly so picks up new skills seemingly effortlessly. She has big dreams and actively works towards making them all come true, I love her enthusiasm and her commitment to what she wants, it is quite inspiring. She's also not swayed by convention or fashion or and very much makes her own decisions about what is important to her. She has a great sense of style and always seems very comfortable in herself. This year she has learnt to crochet and made beanies and flowers and lots of other things, and continued to create loom band products and even had a couple of commissions to make things. She has helped Tony out a few times at baseball functions and is really confident and competent at whatever job she is given.

I am so looking forward to hanging out with her more and more as she grows into a young woman.

Happy Birthday Caitlin!