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.

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.

Meeting and Movies

Yesterday morning we spent mainly at home, the kids played Minecraft and Slugterra and watched ABC2 for a while, and I had a great phone conversation with my friend B, and made a very yummy loaf of raisin bread, which was half demolished by the time we went out.

I had a meeting at 11.30 at the hall in Yarra Glen, to discuss plans for a Children's Week activity day that will be run in October (I was there representing the YG Homeschool Group, YG Toy Library and ABA). While I was at the meeting LiAM watched YouTube videos and Millie played with toys from the toy library - a beading set and some Schleich animals. Caitlin played Minecraft, read some books, and joined in the meeting. Someone suggested that Caitlin busk at the activity, and we talked about other jobs she could help at and whether our homeschool group could put on a performance for the younger kids.

After the meeting we hung around in the library for a while, reading and watching videos, then walked up the street to order fish and chips for lunch. There was a cold wind which I hadn't expected, I'm glad I took my big jacket. We went to the post office and the op shop, and picked up some cool games (including Harry Potter Scene It), a princess carriage, a jewellery box,some earrings and a couple of DVDs. We took our hot food down to the park to eat, and had a quick play in the playground, then headed to Ringwood to the movies.

We bought our tickets to see How to Train Your Dragon 2, and ordered a popcorn/drink combo with a special How to Train Your Dragon cup. The guy said that lots of people had ordered the combo and not wanted the cup so he had spares - did I want one cup each for the kids? So they each had their own goblet cup full of lemonade which they very generously shared with me. The movie was great (a bit scary for Millie a couple of times), funny and emotional and uplifting and very well made. I'm so glad we went yesterday - I'd been thinking that maybe one day next week would be a 'better' day to go, but there's been plenty of times I've thought that and then we've missed out on going all together so I figured best to go when we all felt like it and did have the opportunity, and it was a great day out. We listened to Harry Potter 7 on the way home and came back happy and tired.

LiAM decided not to go to karate so we had a quiet evening at home, playing Slugterra, watching TV, having a bath, feeding the animals, hanging out all together (Tony was home too - nice to have an evening with all 5 of us here).