Good times

Wow! What a day. I feel like I haven't stopped. Someone asked me this morning, when we were at our regular singing rhymes place, whether we would be going home straight afterwards. mmm...no. Next we went to gymnastics for Bean. This is our only scheduled structured commitment each week and is just enough for us, thank you. It's a small group and Bean is confident enough to have his voice heard here. We also like meeting with friends. He had, in the last 24 hours, started saying that he didn't want to go but with a little more discussion it transpired that a conversation we had with him about getting a good sleep before a gymnastics day (by way of advise on going to bed on a Sunday evening) meant that if he said he didn't want to do gymnastics then we wouldn't talk about him going to bed so much! He went to gymnastics very happily. Pumpkin found a numbers workbook this morning and choose to take it with us and sat and did some number work. He also spent some time copying Bean doing his gymnastics moves. 

This was followed by a play in the park in the wet/ drizzle, by chance the driest hour of the day. We met with six other home ed families, two of whom are new and it was nice to have fresh faces among us. Pumpkin and  M played in the puddles. We had waterproofs with us but not wellies. consequently, Pumpkin go very wet feet. they were covered in mud up to his knees when we got home but he had had a great time. I helped Bean on the zip wire several times. One of the things I like about being with my kids all the time is being able to help them when they ask/need it and leave them to it when they want to go it alone. I don't feel the pressure of only having one hour with them before school/ ballet/ bedtime and i also have to fit in dinner/ shower/ homework. I can schedule my day around the smalls needs. 

This does mean, however, that when we got home and Plum was sleeping, after i had bathed with Pumpkin and made us all hot chocolate, that whilst the boys had some down time, I had dinner and laundry and admin to do. No rest with a cup of tea for me today. 

Daddy came home from work an hour earlier than normal though which always gives the evening rhythm a more mellow flow. After all eating together (rare) the smalls disappeared with daddy for baths and stories and I got that cup of tea...no! A quick clean around the downstairs (it's amazing how much you can do when there is time and space provided) and now I blog with Pumpkin telling me his eyes are sore and me trying not  to push the 'your tired' theme again but explain that 'your tired.' and Plum is playing in the kitchen cupboards again. Bean is sleeping. 

and a cup of tea has appeared (thank you daddy) and Pumpkin is reading a book to Plum- precious.

Search me and know me

Church Day. Amongst other things at church today Pumpkin had his eyes tested! i have been watching his use of screens recently and noticed he gets rather close to them and was wondering if his eyes were okay. at the first mention of this to him he was adamant that he would not be going to have his eyes tested. so, trying to think out of the box, i remembered that a lady at church did something with eyes (!) and thought she might be able to help. what i was thinking was that she might have some idea what an eye test might involve and she could tell Pumpkin all about it so that he would feel a bit more comfortable with the idea. As it happened, it is actually her job to do these tests on children and she offered to do it for him and then if there was a concern we could get it done officially but Pumpkin would also know the drill. It was great. She talked him through it last Monday so when today came he just happily played the eye games with her and, as it goes, everything is fine. Can you imagine the stress that could have been caused if we had made him go and all for nothing. so thankful to God for our church family.

This afternoon saw daddy take Bean swimming, which he has been counting the days down to all week. They were gone for 2 and a half hours. This left me at home playing Reading Eggs with Pumpkin and trying to calm Plum, who has been out of sorts and crying all afternoon (very unusual, possibly teeth?) I was keen to spend time with Pumpkin just us and was hoping Plum would sleep but she wouldn't let me go which stressed me a little as I was looking forward some 1:1. Pumpkin did suggest we made chocolate butterfly cakes and it was good to be able to get to it straight away and not have to fit in the requests of another. 

spot the mistake? (they're on back to front!)

making chocolate butterfly cakes

one small step

15th March 2013

The boys opted for another stay at home day today although we did have to take the car for its MOT in the afternoon. We spent the morning looking at books and Bean remembered that he wanted to make a space mobile. How educational it that? He found several circular household items and lined them up in size order, followed by drawing around them and I cut them out for him as they were on thick card. He then spent time looking at which size circle should represent which planet and passed them to me to write their names on. He read all of the planet names himself. He then went and got the paints and choose colpurs for each of the planets and as we painted he asked questions about some of the planets and we used the book to answer them. We left them to dry. Whilst Bean did this, Pumpkin sat alongside us a painted a picture of gravity. 

Bean demonstrated a lot of aggression this afternoon and against my best judgement we all ventured of in the car to get its MOT. Pumpkin really got the brunt of it today and became the human punch bag for about 20 minutes. As the episode drew to a close, Bean voluntarily said 'sorry' to his brother and Pumpkin immediately said 'that's okay' and gave him a hug. What a lovely and forgiving soul he is. 

Whilst the car was in the garage we ventured to Homebase and selected a few packets of seeds for the garden this year. I'm a vegetable grower by heart but Pumpkin has chosen some flowers for us to try. It'll be an interesting experiment as i've not grown flowers before and these ones are supposed to help with pollination and pest control (that's what it says on the packet) so we'll see how the vegetable patch grows with them in the mix. Homebase is also a great place for picking up boxes of all shapes and sizes. so the boys both choose a large one each and pretended to be robots for a while.

Back at the garage, the car wasn't quite ready so they used the boxes as tables and did some colouring and puzzles in the books i had bought with me.

We drove around the block twice on the way home as Plum was very sleepy and i knew she would drop off into the land of nod soon, which she did but so did Pumpkin! Back at home was quieter with two of the smalls asleep at the same time and Bean and i put holes into each planet and string through each one ready to tie up. This actually might be a project we finish.

Goosey Goosey

14th March 2013

For today's adventures we took along fa#3 and cousinC. We spent the morning leisurely having breakfast and getting dressed and changing our original rainy day plans for a sunny day outing to Tilgate Park which also meant preparing a picnic. We were ready to leave about noon which gave us 3 and a half hours for our trip as we had a play date later in the day.

Tilgate park provided play in the play area and stick collecting and tree hiding and maze exploring and Pumpkin spent a lot of time finding the remains of any snow and throwing it at walls and fences, mostly he was enjoying the very satisfying noise that it made as it hit the surface and then onto the floor. Ker-splat!

The nature centre was also open but we had to quick march around as three and a half hours is just not long enough and we were running late for our play date. Bean was full of questions about the otters lying down together (mating season) and Pumpkin was very concerned for the ducks and 'gooses' because there were large areas of ice still on the water and they might get frozen.

Them Bones

13th March 2013

In preparation for today's puppet show, Bean drew posters to advertise it. He did all the writing on his own (it's spelt perfectly) and, much to my surprise, he choose to do a type of bubble writing on the poster. He explained that this was to make it big so people could read it when he put it up. I did the other one as we sat next to each other, it was a lovely thing to do together. 

The theatre also underwent a transformation today as Bean drew curtains and we then painted them together. He then asked me to cut them out for him. Bean and Pumpkin played out in the garden whilst I did this. They knocked a ball into our neighbours garden and asked if they could go and ask for it back. I agreed to the request, although I did follow behind them at a distance, but they were so confident and knocking on their door and asking. I'm so glad we have friendly neighbours who we speak to often.

During some tv watching today the subject of bones came up again and i found this toddler sized skeletal print out that i had up my sleeve for yesterday (but hadn't needed) so I got it out today and we put it together and talked about our different bones and felt some of them and named some of them. It took about 15 minutes altogether but i'm sure we covered more in 15 minutes than a whole afternoons work in school! We had a lot of fun doing it too and i'm sure it wont be the last we hear of our bones!

FA#3 and cousinC arrived soon after this and we are were treated to the puppet show when daddy arrived home. This is the first ever show that has been put on for us. I have memories as a child putting on dance shows and puppet shows for my parents and i'm sure this wont be our last one. It mostly consisted of Bean telling Pumpkin to 'say something' and then promptly beating Pumpkin's puppet in a Punch and Judy style way. It was a play in 5 acts and although the characters changed, the story line didn't!

It's cold outside

Pumpkin's choice of clothing for the day (shorts) temperature outside 2 degrees.

Not many photos today as my phone was hijacked (as it is regularly) to play Temple Run2 and Angry Birds!

The weather forecast had promised cold cold cold and the snow lay on the ground this morning although it thawed to nothing as the day progressed. I had a few things up my sleeve but, as is often the way, they were not needed (if I hadn't been prepared i would have kicked myself!) 

Today's adventures began 5.45am when Bean arose! I'm so thankful that daddy get's up early as i think it would kill me! Pumpkin also got up before daddy left. Daddy (along with the gritters) seems to be the only person who has to go to work in this weather and extra early too...boo. Plum woke at 9, which is more my style!

The day progressed smoothly through Reading Eggs and de-cluttering Anna's bedroom to accommodate fa#3 and cousinC coming to stay tomorrow night. Bean produced a model of Egypt (must take a photo) which included four pyramids joined together by a wall in a square with a fifth pyramid in the middle. I found two large boxes in the clear out, which Bean has been asking for, to make a tractor with. We had a good half an hour of fun hiding in it for Plum to find him and building various style houses with them until he eventually decided that they would be a puppet theatre. He also drew a clock which informed you when the show time is. We cut out the back of the theatre and it was all set up to go but he insisted that the show had to be at the right time (3pm) so it sat and waited.

Daddy and I have been having some discussions about how we can help and manage Bean with his aggression. One of the things we discussed was food. He doesn't eat any fruit or veg atm and very little carbs (...what does he eat?) Anyhow, we thought that we should try having more of the things he does like readily available. so, today we had food out on the table all day and it worked well. He certainly ate more than usual  and there was less aggressive behaviour although it has to be seen whether this will always be the case. We also took a walk this afternoon to buy fruit and veg as we are completely out. Despite the shop only being a 15 minute round trip including purchasing, it took us one and a half hours. I have no idea what took so long! Stopping here to look at icicles, stopping there to look at the building site. Bean choose grapes and corn on the cob and french beans and apples. Pumpkin choose bananas and pears and carrots and strawberries and blueberries. Just by way of contrast, this is what Pumpkin has eaten today: cheerios; porridge, cheerios and toast; cream crackers, cheese and ham; pasta and pesto and cheese x3; a plum, strawberries, banana; chicken pie, potatoes, corn on the cob; 2 banana muffins. No problems with his food consumption!

Pumpkin and I read the same Cars book as yesterday another three times. He is really trying to sort the story line out in his head. 

And daddy came home from work a few hours early, always a welcome treat, although we missed the 3pm theatre viewing as we were out on our walk to the shops. It's been rescheduled for tomorrow.

Better is one day in Your house

Sunday 10th March 2013

Church day. Saw mummy being woken with extra kisses and cuddles and a box of maltesers as it is also Mother's day. By mid afternoon the boys were requesting I share the chocolates which were as yet unopened and I had had the crazy idea that i would save them for after the smalls were all in bed and share them with daddy (what was i thinking?!) 

Church saw us all going our separate ways again as daddy took one class, Bean went to his own class and mummy took Pumpkin's class, Plum stayed downstairs with friends and slept through the message as continues to be her only regular sleeping habit (no comment!) It actually works well for us as we all have our own contribution to the after church conversation, mostly this benefits Pumpkin as he has his own thing to say rather than tagging on the end of Bean's thoughts.

The afternoon was spent with daddy and Pumpkin going for a swim, Plum sleeping a little, Bean and me working on Reading eggs together and then he opted to watch some iplayer and I decluttered the piano top and three shelves in the conservatory (slowly slowly) Plum has also been enjoying her scuttle bug and can now get on and off it herself. Bean often pushes her around and today Pumpkin pumped up the tires for her. 

The blog is one year old today, that deserves a glass of wine, I think. This time last year I was busy introducing you to each of the smalls and their personalities and interests. I thought an update might be in order:

Bean

The good Lord gave us Bean nearly six years ago. He takes after daddy in many ways especially in the way he absorbs information, he is like a sponge and remembers every detail. He has a very strong sense of right and wrong and playing by the rules and is every much the big brother, wanting to be in control but also caring very much for his siblings. He is incredibly articulate and very good at putting together an argument in favour of his case.

He is especially interested in outerspace, castles, the body, lego, nature and being outdoors and heenjoys reading, riding his bike, going to museums and beaches and the park. Bean loves the library. He loves for us to sit and read and piles books up for us to bring home. He loves a good story and will endure adventure and thrill and excitement in a book that he would never entertain on a screen.  He loves to build things and will use any materials going. Lego is probably his best medium but any recyclable materials are likely to be eyed up for some robot or castle construction.

Pumpkin

The good Lord placed Pumpkin in our care 4 years ago. He placed him in our family to remind us always that life should always have a little fun in it. Pumpkin mostly lives in his own world and only visits the real world when he chooses, and we are not always aware when he is visiting! My family always used to say that i had selective hearing and now i understand what they meant for Pumpkin only hears when he is visiting the real world and we have yet to find the key into his world. but it must be a great place because he has a lot of fun whilst he's there! 

Pumpkin is kind and thoughtful and will do anything to make others happy, he is silly and daft and crazy. He chooses to go out when the rest of the world stays in and wear shorts and tshirt when everyone else is in thermals, he likes the world upside down and the grass between his toes, he will question the way things *should* be and try it out all other ways just to be sure which is best.

Pumpkin enjoys pirates and lego and superheros and space and anything physical and outdoors. He loves his siblings and is an affectionate boy. We have discovered his love of rollercoasters this year and belly laughing to You've Been Framed. He loves snuggling up to stories and playing music. He is also developing an interest in light and shadows. His love of food and eating continues and he joins in the baking quite frequently.

Plum

The good Lord timed the arrival of Plum one year ago (almost exactly three year after Pumpkin) She loves to say 'hello' and kisses a lot! She also enjoys drinking my tea and Pumpkin's orange juice! She enjoys having music on and moves along to it in her own way. She has her own rhythm to life which no one else can fathom but she knows when she wants to sleep and when she wants to eat and when she wants milk and can communicate these things with ease so it's straight forward enough to meet these basic needs but no two days patterns are the same!

She loves pushing the toy cars around and rolling balls, she picks up almost anything she can and pretends it's a phone, she loves her scuttle bug and has found a little selection of books that she returns to daily but mostly she loves one special kitchen cupboard which she empties daily to distribute around the ground floor of our house.