Doing okay

Ours days are swinging between full on, everyone wants to do everything at once and i am stretched thin, to quiet, restful, everyone is engrossed in their own thing and i'm wondering if i have time to start a little project of my own (i haven't actually done it yet, mostly i potter around tudying and cleaning)

Thursday was gymnastics day, we took a quick detour to collect some handmade gifts (first Christmas pick up) and we also popped in on daddy to collect the rabbit food he had bought in town but couldn't carry home on his bike. Back home Plum, 5, and i sorted through her current wardrobe as the seasons are changing it is a good moment to do a full check. We pulled out items that she has never worn and others that are too small and did a stock check on warmer clothes. It turns out she only owns two long sleeve tshirts and no dresses so we planned a shopping trip.

I also did the same with the Bean, 10, and pumpkin, 8, but they have no interest in the contents of their wardrobe. Bean will wear whatever we put in there (although he does develop favourite items over time) and Pumpkin will decide when he pulls them out and puts them on and i will slowly gather a pile of items that he has rejected.

Friday we had a Big Day Out with other Home Ed families at Drusilla's (zoo). Bean and Pumpkin zoomed around the animal enclosures with the friend T and his mum. Plum and Pippin took a slower pace and we saw a few animals up and about that we haven't seen before (and we have been many times) It was rather windy and cool. We met up with the boys in the play area and we went in the indoor play area and then we went on the rides. Bean, pumpkin, plum and me went on the leaping cheetah several times and a hippo ride (similar to a magic carpet) Pippin was tired by this point and stayed largely in the buggy, T's mum and i took in turns to ride with the children. We also rode the hello kitty rides (cars, teacups and hopper) and ran around the maze several times.

Friday night the big three slept downstairs with the intention of staying awake as long as they could. Pumpkin figured out that if he took a nap in the car on the way home from the zoo then he would be able to stay awake the longest. Pumpkin and plum went to sleep about 1am, i don't know what time bean went to sleep.

Saturday we had no plans and everyone was tired. Bean and pumpkin did begin a lego scene together. Minifigures in battle. It has been an ongoing project since then. Bean also made a vehicle that transforms from a wolf style machine to a scorpion, rather like a transformer robot.

Sometimes i think we are not so busy, are we doing enough? And then i write it down, and i'm sure it's not half of it, and i realise we do a fair amount, we are doing the things we love, and we have time and space to play hard and relax hard and we're doing okay.

Four in a Row

We started this week with a trip to town, visited the library and Bean, 9, ordered some Pokemon books, we searched for a gift for Grandma's birthday and the smalls were all great and finding items that matched the criteria (Pumpkin, 8, found an exact match), we bought a few party supplies for Bean's up and coming birthday party, had our feet measured (eek! Pippin had gone up three and half sizes), bought Pippin a pair of crocks, searched for polysterene balls and came home all in two and half hours. We were stopped by market researchers to ask if we'd like to test a juice drink product in exchange for cash. Bean, being motivated by money, said yes so we are booked in on Saturday.

Tuesday we met friends at Nyman's woods. I have never been into the wood area before and we all loved it. We had a small hic cup leavig as Bean is/was very tired and refused to go. Not a situation that i handled well but i apologised when we arrived and things were instantly better. He was then the one who wanted to stay and play longer than the others. We met with one family and the children made a bridge by pulling fallen tree trunks to one space and laying them out together to form a walkway across the stream. The climbed rocky slopes and caves and sand banks and tree roots and paddled in the water. Bean and i sang 'when the road is rough and steep' on the way back up the rocky hill and dicussed what it means to keep our eyes on Jesus.

We had a home day on Wednesday. Pumpkin and i played a lot of Terreria and roblox together. The big three played roblox together a over an hour. There was lots of drawing going on and playing dollies. I had a phonecall to say my great uncle had passed away and they couldn't get hold of my parents (who were away for a few days) and could i go and sit with my aunt. I spent a long time trying everyone i knew to try and find someone to have the smalls but no one was available. My mum returned my call late afternoon. In the meantime, Pippin and i had dusted and hoovered the living room and Bean, Plum and Pippin had drawn and coloured a mountain of Pokeballs and Pikachu in preparation for Bean's party.

Thursday we were up early, the same time as those on the school run, we were off to Drusilla's with an organised HE trip and daddy came too. Dispite having to wake all the children up they did really well and we had a great day out, as always. Bean is still insistant that we follow the planned and mapped zoo route, plum is a little more keen to go off piste and do the things she loves only. Penguins are still a firm favourite with Bean and we discussed doing the special feed an animal or zoo keeper for a day. Pumpkin especially liked the owls and the new giant anteater which eats 30,000 ants a day (who counted them?) We played for hours in the play areas, indoors and out, rode the safari train (Thomas has been moved on) and rode endlessly on the hello kitty cars with Pippin whilst the other rode the tea cups and then the cars. Lastly, they strupped down and played in the water area, it was about 8°C today. We bought twisted slush puppies for the journey home.

Dr. Foster

The boys began the morning in an artistic mood. This time on paper!
Plum had a check up at the doctor's and then we headed off.

A Volcano by Bean

A day trip to Drusilla's even though it was raining and I thought all the animals would be in hiding. As it turned out we saw some animals we haven't seen out before and we have been a lot of times!

Pumpkin challenged himself on some of the indoor play equipment and went down a tunnel slide and the bumpy slide too on his own. He was so pleased with himself. He even held Bean's hand down an outdoor tunnel slide to give Bean some confidence as he won't normally go down these. Pumpkin also managed to find a puddle that was about 1/2 cm from the top of his boots.

Bean enjoyed me reading the information to him on certain animals and has definitely developed a preference for different animals. He continues to find Penguins interesting but won't go in to see the bats or the parakeets.

Plum's first ride on Thomas at Drusillas