My energy returned slowly after my day of rest, and 5 days up at Mum and Dad's helped me restore my emotional energy a little. They were away, so we had the house to ourselves and shared with our friends who brought their caravan up and spent the days with us. The kids had a wonderful time, playing iPads, lego, zoo animals, the piano, swimming, watching movies, playing hide and seek and other games they made up that involved toys and stairs and upstairs and downstairs, bike and scooter riding, card games, talking and thinking and learning and laughing. The adults also had a great time, helping with all of the above, and doing puzzles and reading and chatting and relaxing. It was perfect timing for a low key trip away, and I felt much better once we got back.
Since then we've had a few quiet days at home, one of them with Tony here all day which was wonderful (he's still been working long hours, nearly every day). We had a really busy day yesterday, with all 3 kids visiting the dentist (teeth all doing well), then meeting friends at the museum for a very fun afternoon, then visiting my sister and her family before they go to England next Monday. The kids had a great time playing with their cousin - who calls Caitlin 'Cake', and the other 2 'more Cake' (possibly some combination of Caitlin and cousin?) - they love playing duplo and cars and trains with him, and being bossed around by a 2 year old. He is pretty cute. Once we left the kids all voted for Subway for dinner (I had been thinking we'd go to McDonalds, but without hesitation they all asked for Subway) - it takes us ages to order by the time 4 of us decided what we want and how many drinks etc, but it was tasty and fun and everyone was happy with their order.
Other things we've got up to in the last several days
- LiAM and I have played cards a lot - it was funny, a few times I started to suggest that he play a different card to the one he chose - then remembered that his strategic understanding of the game is as good (or probably better) than mine, so I kept quiet, and sure enough, he ended up winning doing things his way. He can think a long way ahead in a game and really understands what all the moves mean
-Tony took Amelie to McDonalds on his day off, she was so thrilled to have some time alone with him
-LiAM and I went for a walk around the dam and explored plants and animals and mud and animal tracks, and talked about all sorts of things
- we've watched lots of Heartland, which has sparked discussion about childcare, parenting practices, relationships, horses, jobs, responsibility, friendship, trust, script writing, decision making
- LiAM has played a lot with his Skylander figures, making up a game for them to play with each other and creating a score sheet for them
- More and more often LiAM is saying 'does this say '....'?' instead of asking 'what does this say?' when he sees text on screen or on a sign
- Caitlin has been helping Tony make some wine with some of the local grapes that weren't picked for use this year
- We've been reading random fact books and learning all sorts of interesting trivia
- lots of talk still about planets, dwarf planets and star constellation
- Caitlin had a sleepover with a friend, and the rest of us visited other friends for the afternoon, the girls played dress ups and did puzzles, the boys played playstation games, and the adults chatted
- we're going lots of planning for our big trip which is coming up rather fast
Showing posts with label skylanders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skylanders. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Friday, 15 January 2016
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!
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!
Saturday, 7 February 2015
Homeschool Group, karate, movies, dinner
When the kids woke up on Thursday morning they lay in the new bunk beds and listened to Caitlin reading to them - she was reading a book about a cupcake fairy and they were all fascinated.
Once everyone was up, Millie and I played a game where she was my pet puppy and she kept turning into a statue, and when she came back to life she could walk on her back legs and talk. Caitlin spent some time sorting out her photos on the computer, and messaging with a friend. LiAM played with his skylanders (not using the PS3, just using the figures to act out stories).
In the afternoon we had Yarra Glen homeschool group. We had 11 families there so it was very busy. The family we visited on Tuesday were there, as well as most of our regular homeschool friends and several new families. The kids played in the sandpit, on the play equipment, did craft with glue and glitter and straws, read books, played Minecraft and Terraria and on DSs, rode scooters and the Ripstik and ran around a lot. The parents chatted lots and played with the kids and helped with craft and it was a very social day.
After everyone else left we wandered up the street and bought some fish and chips for dinner. We were eating in the park but were visited by a wasp and Millie was very scared so we moved into the hall. Once we'd eaten LiAM got changed and we all got ready for karate - Caitlin returning after a break for the 2nd half of last year, and Millie attending for the 1st time (she has been waiting to start for about 6 months, she was very excited). It was great to be back - I had been a bit worried about my knee but it held up fine, not really even a twinge (I made sure I stretched REALLY well at the start). LiAM and I started working on our gradings which are coming up in April (I'm nervous already, although a term of working on the moves and combinations should help me feel more confident). Caitlin had some one on one help and the trainers were impressed at how quickly she picked everything up. Millie received an introduction to karate with another boy who is just starting, and after a while it became a bit overwhelming and she took a break. She came and copied me for a while but mainly sat at the side and watched - she'll try again next week. I liked that at the end of the session the guys called her back in to line up for the last bit and weren't worried at all that she had sat out half of the lesson.
Yesterday Caitlin woke me at 6am because the hot air balloons were taking off outside our house. There were 3 of them, one fairly close to our yard. Even though I've seen it lots of times now, it is still exciting to watch the balloons inflate and then slowly take off and drift over the vines. While we were watching I watered the plants, then Caitlin joined me on my walk.
We spent a quiet day watching movies and playing games. We watched Despicable Me, Racing Stripes, The Grinch, the Tale of Desperaux, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Millie and I curled up on my bed to watch that one). Millie and I played vets, she was the vet and I brought her soft toys to her for check ups. LiAM and I played cards and then the girls joined in as well. We played some more with the counters and LiAM with his Skylanders.
In the evening we went to Tony's work for a pre-Vintage dinner. The kids played tennis on the tennis court (Tony and one of his workmates joined them for a while) and rode their scooters/rip stik in the carpark, while Tony and I chatted and ate. The kids joined us for some food then played in the yard, danced to the music, chatted to people, climbed trees. Millie played her iPod when she'd had enough and fell asleep on my lap. We were there until almost 11pm, it was a pleasant evening and nice to touch base with everyone before work gets really crazy.
Once everyone was up, Millie and I played a game where she was my pet puppy and she kept turning into a statue, and when she came back to life she could walk on her back legs and talk. Caitlin spent some time sorting out her photos on the computer, and messaging with a friend. LiAM played with his skylanders (not using the PS3, just using the figures to act out stories).
In the afternoon we had Yarra Glen homeschool group. We had 11 families there so it was very busy. The family we visited on Tuesday were there, as well as most of our regular homeschool friends and several new families. The kids played in the sandpit, on the play equipment, did craft with glue and glitter and straws, read books, played Minecraft and Terraria and on DSs, rode scooters and the Ripstik and ran around a lot. The parents chatted lots and played with the kids and helped with craft and it was a very social day.
After everyone else left we wandered up the street and bought some fish and chips for dinner. We were eating in the park but were visited by a wasp and Millie was very scared so we moved into the hall. Once we'd eaten LiAM got changed and we all got ready for karate - Caitlin returning after a break for the 2nd half of last year, and Millie attending for the 1st time (she has been waiting to start for about 6 months, she was very excited). It was great to be back - I had been a bit worried about my knee but it held up fine, not really even a twinge (I made sure I stretched REALLY well at the start). LiAM and I started working on our gradings which are coming up in April (I'm nervous already, although a term of working on the moves and combinations should help me feel more confident). Caitlin had some one on one help and the trainers were impressed at how quickly she picked everything up. Millie received an introduction to karate with another boy who is just starting, and after a while it became a bit overwhelming and she took a break. She came and copied me for a while but mainly sat at the side and watched - she'll try again next week. I liked that at the end of the session the guys called her back in to line up for the last bit and weren't worried at all that she had sat out half of the lesson.
Yesterday Caitlin woke me at 6am because the hot air balloons were taking off outside our house. There were 3 of them, one fairly close to our yard. Even though I've seen it lots of times now, it is still exciting to watch the balloons inflate and then slowly take off and drift over the vines. While we were watching I watered the plants, then Caitlin joined me on my walk.
We spent a quiet day watching movies and playing games. We watched Despicable Me, Racing Stripes, The Grinch, the Tale of Desperaux, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Millie and I curled up on my bed to watch that one). Millie and I played vets, she was the vet and I brought her soft toys to her for check ups. LiAM and I played cards and then the girls joined in as well. We played some more with the counters and LiAM with his Skylanders.
In the evening we went to Tony's work for a pre-Vintage dinner. The kids played tennis on the tennis court (Tony and one of his workmates joined them for a while) and rode their scooters/rip stik in the carpark, while Tony and I chatted and ate. The kids joined us for some food then played in the yard, danced to the music, chatted to people, climbed trees. Millie played her iPod when she'd had enough and fell asleep on my lap. We were there until almost 11pm, it was a pleasant evening and nice to touch base with everyone before work gets really crazy.
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Wild weather and shopping
My morning walk yesterday was pretty wild and woolly - I definitely rugged up, in a waterproof jacket and with hat, scarf and gloves to make sure as much of my skin was covered as possible. The rain was icy and with the strong wind it was coming down almost sideways again - it was an exhilarating walk and I'm really glad I braved the elements.
It wasn't quite so exhilarating driving in that same weather later in the morning - LiAM had a dentist appointment in Balwyn North which is about 45 minutes from here. With the bad weather it took us about 10 minutes longer which wasn't too bad - there were branches across the road in a few places and some traffic lights out, so it was a bit tricky although could have been much worse. We had some great conversations about 'What if...' situations - if one event had happened differently (in movies, books, real life) how might the end result have differed and would that have been better or worse...
LiAM's check up went well, then we went to Doncaster shopping centre for our post-dentist lunch - LiAM usually likes McDonalds after the dentist, and if we go to Doncaster he can get that at the food court and I can have something else - it's a great food court, lots of choices and most of it tasty and appealing. LiAM and Millie had Happy Meals - I used to be very anti McDonalds, and Happy Meals - I am glad that I have relaxed about that and let the children choose things that bring them joy. A Happy Meal does bring so much happiness, in the receiving, and the eating, and the toy... Caitlin used to like them too but they don't fill her up, so she usually chooses a regular meal and is happy to forego the toy. She also was very happy eating her burger and fries. I had a delicious baked sweet potato with bacon, cheese and sour cream - a perfect hot meal for a cold wet day. Oh and by that time I was a bit frazzled because I had driven round and round the carpark trying to find an undercover parking spot and in the end given up and parked as near as I could to the covered area. A hot tasty meal really helped calm me down.
We went to Medicare (actually that was before we ate, the kids were very tolerant and patient) to get back quite a bit of money from LiAM's dentist visit, and after lunch went to a couple of mobile phone accessory shops for Caitlin to buy Millie a cover for her iPod touch - she got a very cute Hello Kitty one. The main purpose of our trip to Doncaster was for LiAM to buy some Skylanders with his own money - we went to 3 shops to look at them and he was very discerning - looked at the ones that would pad out his collection in useful ways, and looked at the prices, and checked out what was on special - for a total of $47 he ended up with 6 new Skylanders, a new world and a Giants portal - he was stoked and I was impressed with his shopping skills. I think the highlight for him though was chatting to the guy in EB Games about their favourite characters and the reasons why they were good. The girls also bought one character to share.
I was exhausted by the time we were finished (I didn't have any water with us - I stopped to buy some and once we'd all had a bit of water we actually had the energy to go to the last of the 3 Skylanders shops - I had said I couldn't do it but some hydration really helped). When we got back to the car I couldn't find the parking ticket anywhere - I gave up and pressed the help button when I got to the gate - I had to pay $10.25 to get out which was a bit disappointing since if I'd had the ticket it would have been free - then I figured it didn't really matter, $10 wasn't worth getting stressed about and I was just tired and would feel better once we were home and I'd had a bit of a rest. I'm finding I can do that more often now - recognise that I feel more anxious when I'm tired and so not react to it, and try not to talke much (cos I tend to be cranky when I'm anxious), just take it easy for a while and then put things in perspective once I'm rested.
On the way home we listened to the Frozen soundtrack which I'd bought at one of the shops, and that helped me chill out quite a bit. LiAM played with his figures in the back of the car and when we got home they all played Skylanders to check out all the new guys. LiAM was very happy. Caitlin played Minecraft for a while as well, and I had a bath and then felt much happier. Tony cooked a delicious steak and potato meal for tea, and we watched House Rules then LiAM went back to Skylanders until he went to bed.
It wasn't quite so exhilarating driving in that same weather later in the morning - LiAM had a dentist appointment in Balwyn North which is about 45 minutes from here. With the bad weather it took us about 10 minutes longer which wasn't too bad - there were branches across the road in a few places and some traffic lights out, so it was a bit tricky although could have been much worse. We had some great conversations about 'What if...' situations - if one event had happened differently (in movies, books, real life) how might the end result have differed and would that have been better or worse...
LiAM's check up went well, then we went to Doncaster shopping centre for our post-dentist lunch - LiAM usually likes McDonalds after the dentist, and if we go to Doncaster he can get that at the food court and I can have something else - it's a great food court, lots of choices and most of it tasty and appealing. LiAM and Millie had Happy Meals - I used to be very anti McDonalds, and Happy Meals - I am glad that I have relaxed about that and let the children choose things that bring them joy. A Happy Meal does bring so much happiness, in the receiving, and the eating, and the toy... Caitlin used to like them too but they don't fill her up, so she usually chooses a regular meal and is happy to forego the toy. She also was very happy eating her burger and fries. I had a delicious baked sweet potato with bacon, cheese and sour cream - a perfect hot meal for a cold wet day. Oh and by that time I was a bit frazzled because I had driven round and round the carpark trying to find an undercover parking spot and in the end given up and parked as near as I could to the covered area. A hot tasty meal really helped calm me down.
We went to Medicare (actually that was before we ate, the kids were very tolerant and patient) to get back quite a bit of money from LiAM's dentist visit, and after lunch went to a couple of mobile phone accessory shops for Caitlin to buy Millie a cover for her iPod touch - she got a very cute Hello Kitty one. The main purpose of our trip to Doncaster was for LiAM to buy some Skylanders with his own money - we went to 3 shops to look at them and he was very discerning - looked at the ones that would pad out his collection in useful ways, and looked at the prices, and checked out what was on special - for a total of $47 he ended up with 6 new Skylanders, a new world and a Giants portal - he was stoked and I was impressed with his shopping skills. I think the highlight for him though was chatting to the guy in EB Games about their favourite characters and the reasons why they were good. The girls also bought one character to share.
I was exhausted by the time we were finished (I didn't have any water with us - I stopped to buy some and once we'd all had a bit of water we actually had the energy to go to the last of the 3 Skylanders shops - I had said I couldn't do it but some hydration really helped). When we got back to the car I couldn't find the parking ticket anywhere - I gave up and pressed the help button when I got to the gate - I had to pay $10.25 to get out which was a bit disappointing since if I'd had the ticket it would have been free - then I figured it didn't really matter, $10 wasn't worth getting stressed about and I was just tired and would feel better once we were home and I'd had a bit of a rest. I'm finding I can do that more often now - recognise that I feel more anxious when I'm tired and so not react to it, and try not to talke much (cos I tend to be cranky when I'm anxious), just take it easy for a while and then put things in perspective once I'm rested.
On the way home we listened to the Frozen soundtrack which I'd bought at one of the shops, and that helped me chill out quite a bit. LiAM played with his figures in the back of the car and when we got home they all played Skylanders to check out all the new guys. LiAM was very happy. Caitlin played Minecraft for a while as well, and I had a bath and then felt much happier. Tony cooked a delicious steak and potato meal for tea, and we watched House Rules then LiAM went back to Skylanders until he went to bed.
Monday, 23 June 2014
Busy Lazy Sunday
I love Sundays - Tony is usually home, we usually don't make any big plans, so we can hang out at home or go out as we wish, and recharge a bit.
I was up early again and Millie joined me again before sunrise - we checked on the sun's progress several times and the best bit was when a mist came up and obscured the mountains and we could see the sun shining through behind it and over the top. Millie did some colouring and printing out from the computer, presents for Tony (a bird and some chicks, I helped her with the chicks) and once Caitlin got up the girls played Harry Potter - Scene It. When LiAM emerged the 3 of them played in the lounge room for a while, then LiAM sorted his Skylanders so that he could decide who he wanted to play with in what order.
Tony had a sleep in, then agreed to take Caitlin busking. She practiced her violin after checking it was in tune, then learnt some new notes and songs on the recorder, then practiced her old recorder songs. While they were gone, LiAM and Millie and I played another game I picked up at the op shop this week, a game of logic/puzzle cards. Some of them were pattern questions, or ones where you lay out the matches and move/remove a certain number to make a different pattern - LiAM and I had a lot of fun with those - or playing card arrangements, figure out the missing card (we did a hard one of those and figured out an answer although we weren't completely sure why that would be it - and we were right! Very exciting). While we were doing the harder questions Millie made her own very cool patterns with the other matches. We also talked then about whether it was safe to be using matches, and situations where it would or wouldn't be safe, the chances of a match accidentally lighting, what to do if it did light and so on. Having had wood fires for most of their lives, and several experiences of lighting outdoor fires, my kids know how to use matches safely and the consequences of not being careful - they are quite respectful and also comfortable around fire.
Caitlin came back with the remains of her haul of $53 from busking!!!! She had bought herself and the others a few treats, and also bought herself an iTunes card as she wants to buy the movie Frozen for her iPad mini. The kids had competitions then to see if anyone could eat a sour warhead without making a face - no one could.
The kids were playing sword fights with their swords from the circus showbags, and Caitlin made up a beautiful song about sword fighting and then walking away and keeping the peace.
Everyone played outside for a while - it was a beautiful sunny day, reasonably warm, perfect weather to be outside in. They played obstacle courses and races, and then Tony mowed the lawn with a bit of help from the girls.
In the meantime I had made up some cake mix to use for cake pops, so Millie and I put them in the cake pop maker. They didn't rise as much as I'd hoped - I think I didn't put enough mixture in each one. They looked like little mushrooms when we had them on their sticks once they were done. Oh - Millie did lots of number crunching figuring out how many sticks she needed, she had a tray with 3 rows of 4 spots and she asked me what was 4 lots of 3, then she had 3 sticks so counted all except 3 to see how many more she needed. Its so cool to see her having the mathematical concepts to figure out what to ask, and to start to figure out the answers she wants.
After the cakes were cooked I made vienna cream icing in green and blue and iced them, and Caitlin and Millie decorated them with the sprinkles Caitlin gave Millie for her birthday. They looked fantastic and most of us thought they tasted fantastic - Millie wasn't thrilled with the taste so we'll try some different cake recipes and/or decoration options.
The kids watched Scooby Doo then we all watched House Rules, then Big Bang Theory until most of us drifted off to bed. Caitlin practiced her high leg kick while she was watching TV. LiAM and Tony connected on Terraria for a while before they went to bed.
I was up early again and Millie joined me again before sunrise - we checked on the sun's progress several times and the best bit was when a mist came up and obscured the mountains and we could see the sun shining through behind it and over the top. Millie did some colouring and printing out from the computer, presents for Tony (a bird and some chicks, I helped her with the chicks) and once Caitlin got up the girls played Harry Potter - Scene It. When LiAM emerged the 3 of them played in the lounge room for a while, then LiAM sorted his Skylanders so that he could decide who he wanted to play with in what order.
Tony had a sleep in, then agreed to take Caitlin busking. She practiced her violin after checking it was in tune, then learnt some new notes and songs on the recorder, then practiced her old recorder songs. While they were gone, LiAM and Millie and I played another game I picked up at the op shop this week, a game of logic/puzzle cards. Some of them were pattern questions, or ones where you lay out the matches and move/remove a certain number to make a different pattern - LiAM and I had a lot of fun with those - or playing card arrangements, figure out the missing card (we did a hard one of those and figured out an answer although we weren't completely sure why that would be it - and we were right! Very exciting). While we were doing the harder questions Millie made her own very cool patterns with the other matches. We also talked then about whether it was safe to be using matches, and situations where it would or wouldn't be safe, the chances of a match accidentally lighting, what to do if it did light and so on. Having had wood fires for most of their lives, and several experiences of lighting outdoor fires, my kids know how to use matches safely and the consequences of not being careful - they are quite respectful and also comfortable around fire.
Caitlin came back with the remains of her haul of $53 from busking!!!! She had bought herself and the others a few treats, and also bought herself an iTunes card as she wants to buy the movie Frozen for her iPad mini. The kids had competitions then to see if anyone could eat a sour warhead without making a face - no one could.
The kids were playing sword fights with their swords from the circus showbags, and Caitlin made up a beautiful song about sword fighting and then walking away and keeping the peace.
Everyone played outside for a while - it was a beautiful sunny day, reasonably warm, perfect weather to be outside in. They played obstacle courses and races, and then Tony mowed the lawn with a bit of help from the girls.
In the meantime I had made up some cake mix to use for cake pops, so Millie and I put them in the cake pop maker. They didn't rise as much as I'd hoped - I think I didn't put enough mixture in each one. They looked like little mushrooms when we had them on their sticks once they were done. Oh - Millie did lots of number crunching figuring out how many sticks she needed, she had a tray with 3 rows of 4 spots and she asked me what was 4 lots of 3, then she had 3 sticks so counted all except 3 to see how many more she needed. Its so cool to see her having the mathematical concepts to figure out what to ask, and to start to figure out the answers she wants.
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| Millie with the cake pops before decoration |
After the cakes were cooked I made vienna cream icing in green and blue and iced them, and Caitlin and Millie decorated them with the sprinkles Caitlin gave Millie for her birthday. They looked fantastic and most of us thought they tasted fantastic - Millie wasn't thrilled with the taste so we'll try some different cake recipes and/or decoration options.
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| Decorated cake pops |
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Birthday Party
LiAM's birthday day and birthday party were lots of fun.
We were all up early before Tony went to work so LiAM could open his presents. Millie gave him a packet of berry flavoured mentos (and a packet for herself as well (she wrapped them together)), Caitlin made (hand sewed) a tail warmer, blanket and hat for LiAM's toy lemur, and we gave him some Schleich animals (a red panda, a baby crocodile (which LiAM thinks might actually be a caiman - 'definitely a crocodilian of some type') and a baby hippo), a dream lights puppy pillow pet, and 3 skylanders figures, so he now has one of each element. He was thrilled with his presents and turned the playstation on straight away to play with his new figures. Tony made pancakes before he left which was a lovely birthday breakfast.
The rest of the morning was spent playing with birthday presents, making loom bracelets and charms, tidying up the house (including putting away the rest of the stuff that had come out of the car after our trip), assembling the party bags and the pinata, and making the cake - half chocolate mud cake, half chocolate cake, in the shape of an 8, with green and blue icing to represent grass and water, with animals on it. It was a lot of fun to make, even working out how to manufacture a ring tin because I only had one, and then realising that there was too much mud cake mix for the subsequently smaller tin, and having to do a bit of a rescue operation in the middle of baking so that both cakes didn't end up smelling or tasting burnt. It all worked out beautifully.
The party started at 2pm, and LiAM had 4 friends come, along with their siblings, so there were 10 kids all together, plus 2 babies. Mum and Dad and my sister (with her baby) came as well, and all the parents stayed, and it was a fantastic afternoon spent with friends and family. The kids played with LiAM's birthday presents, with the marble run, with our other animal toys (soft and Schleich), on the piano, on their iPads (I think there were up to 4 people connected to the same Minecraft world at various points), and with Skylanders. LiAM also received anothe Skylander, some science kits, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, and a transformer type robot. We hung the pinata in the carport - a very cute dinosaur, who I think was a bit heavily full of lollies, because he kept breaking his string when he was hit, and then one big whack pulled the loop right out of him - so the kids took it in turns to shake the lollies out of the hole on to the ground. There was also a game of musical statues which everyone was so good at there was no winner - Caitlin had made some prizes so she worked out some other way to distribute the loom band prizes and everyone seemed happy.
Tony came home from work and was here for a little while before heading out to a baseball committee meeting - we had gone to the pub for birthday dinner the night before which worked quite well - Tony could still go to his meeting, and we didn't need to wrap up the party and then get ready to go out, I was quite pleased we'd done the evening meal the night before.
Once all the guests left we watched a movie (Finding Neverland) and some TV, had bacon and eggs for tea, LiAM watched some YouTube videos and we had a relaxing evening. I ended the day feeling so fortunate to have such a great group of friends, and feeling very relaxed and happy and content.
We were all up early before Tony went to work so LiAM could open his presents. Millie gave him a packet of berry flavoured mentos (and a packet for herself as well (she wrapped them together)), Caitlin made (hand sewed) a tail warmer, blanket and hat for LiAM's toy lemur, and we gave him some Schleich animals (a red panda, a baby crocodile (which LiAM thinks might actually be a caiman - 'definitely a crocodilian of some type') and a baby hippo), a dream lights puppy pillow pet, and 3 skylanders figures, so he now has one of each element. He was thrilled with his presents and turned the playstation on straight away to play with his new figures. Tony made pancakes before he left which was a lovely birthday breakfast.
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| LiAM with hippo and crodolian |
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| LiAM spotting his new skylander figures |
The rest of the morning was spent playing with birthday presents, making loom bracelets and charms, tidying up the house (including putting away the rest of the stuff that had come out of the car after our trip), assembling the party bags and the pinata, and making the cake - half chocolate mud cake, half chocolate cake, in the shape of an 8, with green and blue icing to represent grass and water, with animals on it. It was a lot of fun to make, even working out how to manufacture a ring tin because I only had one, and then realising that there was too much mud cake mix for the subsequently smaller tin, and having to do a bit of a rescue operation in the middle of baking so that both cakes didn't end up smelling or tasting burnt. It all worked out beautifully.
Tony came home from work and was here for a little while before heading out to a baseball committee meeting - we had gone to the pub for birthday dinner the night before which worked quite well - Tony could still go to his meeting, and we didn't need to wrap up the party and then get ready to go out, I was quite pleased we'd done the evening meal the night before.
Once all the guests left we watched a movie (Finding Neverland) and some TV, had bacon and eggs for tea, LiAM watched some YouTube videos and we had a relaxing evening. I ended the day feeling so fortunate to have such a great group of friends, and feeling very relaxed and happy and content.
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