Turn around

I was slightly nervous about today's adventures, after yesterday's unsuccessful trip out. However, it was, in fact, super amazing.

We began the day with Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, playing dogs and schools and running around the house and garden. They had the dollies out too and were dressing them and pushing them around in the house. At one point Pippin was attempting to take the scooter up the stairs. They hung the laundry up with me and fed the animals. They had a very busy morning.

Bean, 10, and Pumpkin, 8, watched scoobydoo (again) and Bakugan and played minecraft together. Bean got out the hotglue gun to stick a plastic snake to his tablet cover. He tried it three or four times but it wouldn't work. The hotglue would not stick to the cover. He realised that he could make things with the hotglue using the cover and then peel it off. He made an emoji for Pumpkin, a poo emoji for daddy, and a tellytubby for Plum and Pippin, he made mummy a heart. He used the marker pens to colour them in and Pumpkin came and had a go too.

After lunch we went out to meet FA#1 and cousinB at Sheffield Park. Bean got everyone's drinks ready. This is the third time we have been to Sheffield Park. The first time we went into the grounds and Pumpkin was nervous about the ponds. The second time we ate lunch in the picnic area in the car park and climbed the trees and then came home. Today we made it to the playtrail in the woods. We spent over an hour watching all the children making a huge den, complete with outdoor fire with fire guard, indoor seats, sofa, and bed.

After this we found a pub and went and ate out. I had mentioned that we would have battered sausage as we had originally planned to meet at a beach. FA#1 broke the news to Pumpkin and they agreed that next time we would go to a chip shop. The pub we found had a play area and did a children's menu including ice cream. It was all good. Bean got Harry Potter trivial pursuit cards as his birthday present from FA#1 so we played that in the pub garden whilst we waited/ate food.

Day Eight

On the eighth day of chicken pox, we went out, hurray. I took Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, to the little play park near our house. We were out for an hour and they were exhausted! We played on everything at almost hyperspeed and then we did it all again. We had a extra long go on the swings when an inquisitive cat arrived and was loitering for a stroke. We played hide and seek and then one more go on everything before heading home.

Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, opted to stay home and played lego together. When we got home from the park all the smalls went into the garden. Plum had plans to eat lunch out there. She got the playdough out, Bean got out the bug hunting kit and he and Pumpkin set to finding insects, Pippin had the bubbles out.

After lunch, grandma and pops came to visit. Plum showed them her new bedroom and Bean finished off the natural coaster he was making them so that they could take it home with them. Grandma played online games with Plum and Pops played with Pippin.

Once they had left Pippin promptly fell asleep on the sofa and Plum lay on the sofa watching on her tablet. The boys were watching Cartoon Network.

We watched We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Scooby Doo movies in the evening. Pippin, Plum and Bean had stories with daddy before bed.

Sleep tight

The morning was Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, playing in turns on Roblox interspersed with food and drink requests and "mummy come and look at this" and "mummy can you read yhis for me?" Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, played mummies and babies. They use the wardrobe in our room as the school and the bus, the laundry basket is the bath, the bed is the bed. They use the toy laptops as their ipads and the dollies go too. We made chocolate chip muffins together and played with the peppa pig toys too.

Then FA#2 came to visit. She brought birthday presents for Plum and Pumpkin. Pumpkin got a superhero lego set and got to putting it together straight away. Plum played board games with her all afternoon: orthello, jumior cranium, snakes and ladders, princess games box, gobblt, monopoly. Bean played the minecraft card game with me and then we played monopoly together uninterrupted for a whole game. Pumpkin had an uninterupted game of Roblox on the pc.

With FA#2 here i managed to fit in hoovering and dinner prep and laundry (of sorts) too. Our new tumble dryer was delivered yesterday, a welcome delivery after over a week of no dryer, and just in time for the washing machine to break down.

Bed time was a bit epic even by our standards. I bathed with Pippin after we had finished Plum bathed followed by Pumpkin. Meanwhile i planned to read Pippin stories and breastfeed and sleep. Plum sat on her top bunk and watched youtube whilst i put Pippin to bed. Pippin finished breast feeding and then started crying for daddy, "daddy home" for over half an hour before we left the bedroom. Pumpkin had been waiting almost 45 minutes by now for me to help him out of the bath. I took Pippin and Plum downstairs, five minutes later Bean came to ask if he could go to bed now (cue stories for Bean) I asked if he could wait five more minutes as daddy would be home soon. Daddy came home and took Bean to read him stories and Pumpkin became upset because he wanted his last turn on Roblox. There were a lot of tears from Pumpkin. We offered him to play on the pc downstairs and tried to distract him with the offer of food but neither of these worked. We talked through him having the first go tomorrow and all his feelings of disappointed and frustration and anger. Finally daddy offered to do stories in another room so he could have a few minutes play. This resolved the issue. I made toast for Pumpkin, Plum and Pippin. Daddy took Pippin to bed who went peacefully to sleep. By now it was 2 hours after her normal bedtime circa 10pm now. Pumpkin took himself to bed a few moments later (about an hour earlier than normal) and Plum asked if we could go to bed too, we read a story first and changed our pyjamas.  By 10.30pm everyone was sleeping including daddy.

Rejoice with those who rejoice

Sunday 8th January 2017

There are lots of things that we love about Home Educating and especially Unschooling. There are lots of things that are a direct result of us choosing Home Education, choosing to spend our days together. We can rejoice together in our good times and comfort each other in our sadness without the interuption or forced separation of school.

Today we travelled back to Kent and dropped daddy off at Nana's place where we left him with FA#3 and drove to her house. We unpacked, Plum, 5, immediately found CousinC and CousinH and picked up playing where they left off yesterday. Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 7, went and settled in their beds and were playing on their tablets. It wasn't long before daddy called to tell us that Nana had died peacefully. And not long after that that daddy and FA#3 returned home.

Over the next few days we stayed at FA#3's house. Ten of us in total, 11 on occasion. We cooked and played with the children, there was a lot of negotiation and refereeing, mummy took the children out for a walk to the beach, we collected stones and caught Pokemon, walked along the wall and climbed steps and stairs, and played hide and seek. We talked about fishing boats and the wind whistling, islands and land masses, oyster shells, harbours and housing development. We walked down Harbour Street and the boy's thought it could pass for diagon alley and renamed all the fabulous looking shops. We stopped and bought food at the supermarket and cousinC asked to buy flowers so we got some for FA#3, their daddy and our daddy. We played board games and puzzle games, magic:the gathering and top trumps and cheat. We watched movies and cbeebies, Pippin followed the cats endlessly around the house. By the third day the boys were beginning to long for their space at home. They were too tired to successfully take out but not comfortable or relaxed enough in the space they had created for themselves. That evening we came home.

Romans 12: 15

And can it be that I should gain

Feeling very blessed today. I read in a magazine ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life’ – and that’s certainly how I feel. How blessed am I that I am in a position to be with my children all day every day? And I don’t mean I don’t ‘work’ because as any stay at home mum or home educator knows we work very hard but how fortunate not to have to work long hours at something I don’t enjoy just to survive or slave for the fortune of someone else? 

I’m also feeling blessed at the beautiful gift of children. I’m blessed to have three healthy, happy children and a wonderful extended family. Today was the birthday trip to the in-laws, a large gathering, party lunch and wonderful cake courtesy of favourite auntie #3. I have mentioned how important family are to us before and there is no exception here. Some people have been surprised by my fondness for my in-laws as if it is the written law that everyone should be at odds with theirs, well I am not (so nerr) 

The boys today got busy drawing, something that I know nana and granddad will appreciate greatly being that way inclined themselves and the accompaniment of classical music in the background gave a very relaxed feel to the room. There  was also some individual pursuits in building and reading but mostly there was playing with L and J in the garden, all having a lovely time and all getting along fantastically considering it’s only the second time they’ve met. On the way home Bean asked, ‘how old is L?’ We weren’t sure so suggested we could ask fav auntie#3 or bfg. Bean suggested we could ask L. Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?

I rounded off the day attending church with Plum whilst daddy put the boys to bed. Had an update on a charity we support, Raising Hope Foundation, which only added to my feeling of how blessed I am. Daddy also cooked some supper for us. A very blessed day indeed.

It's a family affair

Family are such an important part of our life. Relationships and securing those relationships is vital to our health and effects well into adult life. It affects our interaction in society too. Our family relationships are the building blocks for future ones too.
This past week we have visited all our close family starting with favourite aunties 1 and 2, cousin b and uncle b. Here we spent a relaxed day going to the park, making chocolate easter nests and laughing at dropped jam tarts...sounds sticky!




This trip was followed 2 sleeps later with a trip to nana and grandad's to celebrate nana's birthday with favourite auntie no.3 and byfg, and cousin j. We stayed the night which we haven't done for a while and for Plum's first sleepover it went very well. Bean and Pumpkin got crafty and both made beautiful pirate pictures for cousin c.


One sleep later we are at grandma and pops. Hopefully playing in the new forest. Bean is going to stay a few days on his own.

I've got all my sisters with me.

Muse: family are important.

If we parent our children well and foster their place in our family, welcome them and show them their significance, then it follows that they will find and know their place in their friendship group, workplace, community, society.

If we show them the value of each member of our family, if we allow them to be part of every generation, if we demomstrate and value each generation, if we allow them to be part of the family (not seperate or silent) then it follows that they will value other members of their friendship group, workplace, community, society and equally expect to be valued.



If we demonstrate love, support, forgiveness and friendship within our family our children will learn how to interact with their family, friends, colleagues, community and society.
If we love (in verb) those closest to us and foster these relationships then relationships throughout life will be healthier and happier.
...maybe i could follow this with a muse on socialising ;o)

We are family

Mostly it's about family...but there was a lot of food!

I closed my eyes

Happy 60th birthday Grandma...Surprise!