Travel afar

It shouldn't be a surprise but Pumpkin, 7, has discovered David Walliams and Miranda in the past few days and he loves them. He's always loved laughter and playing the joker. He likes Mr. Bean and Gigglebiz and Diddy tv, The Simpsons and You've Been Framed, expanding onto more comedians makes sense.

Monday: Bean, 9, and Pumpkin played Magic:the gathering in their bedroom this morning before we went to visit friends. We stopped on the way to buy food. Bean helped me choose a few things, he picked spring rolls and chicken goujons and frubes, i also bought individual pizzas. We haven't been to A and J house for a while. They have added to their collection of swings, hammocks, ladders and hanging seats. The boys enjoyed most of their time hanging and swinging and sitting in them. Plum, 4, enjoyed using the gym mats to tumble on in her new leotard (given to her by a friend at church, she didn't take it off for the first 48 hours) Bean, Pumpkin and A played on their tablets a little today. Terreria and minecraft being the focus. Bean got building wi5h magnetic shapes that held together. Pumpkin was tired after a later night to bed than usual and getting up early. He kept making himself feel dizzy/sick on the hammock and wanting to go home. Plum was busy with J. They played mummies upstairs, Plum was a real mummy and J was a mummy cat; they played dens together under the kitchen table; they painted plaster of paris. Plum was having such a fantastic time that she didn't want to leave, i tired everything that i could think of to tempt her to the car but it was the surprise gift from our friends mum that clinched it (great idea, saving it for our friends too) Pumpkin wasn't in the car and had gone to hide behind the garage. I decided to drive up to him and pick him up like a bus stop but he got upset because he thought i was going without him. We had a big long cuddle and he was going to move to sit next to me but then changed his mind. The remainder of the day involved wrestling, harry potter magic, colouring, roast pork, baths and stories.

Hark!

Friday: We took the bikes to Horsham Park today at Bean's, 9, request. I took a risk and took Bean's, Pumpkin's, 7, AND Plum's, 4. I wasn't sure that Plum would manage without a significant amount of help and that would be difficult with Pippin, 2, with us as well but she insisted that she could ride. And she could. We rode to the skate park and they played a games where they each had a house and they rode to each other's houses. We ate most of our picnic here too. We moved on when some older lads arrived on their bmx. We continued to cycle around the park, climbing trees, using the excercise equipment and catching pokemon along the way. We cut across the middle to catch water pokemon at the pond and spent a long time looking at the ducks and swans. We left in a bit of a panic as Bean opened the biscuits and the swan thought it was linch time. The children were not keen on the swan approaching. Next stop was the maze where the house game was picked up. The we completed the loop back to the car park and home. Pippin walked the entire way.

As we had left in the morning Pumpkin had located a Pikachu with a Christmas hat on but it took us so long to tether devices, engage gps and log in that it had disappeared before we left. We drove by that way just in case it reappeared but we saw no more signs of it all day. We will of course try again.

Saturday: A day of unplanned events. Plum was so excited to have rode her bike yesterday that she wanted to show daddy so he went back to the park with her. Me and Bean and Pumpkin snuggled on the sofa a watched together. Bean went upstairs and recorded more game play on his tablet. In the evening daddy and Bean went to see Star Wars: Rogue One. I watched Nativity with the others after they had play wii together.

Sunday: Church Day twice today. The search for a Christmas Pikqchu continued. Bean caught one but after locating the today Pumpkin remains unsuccesful Carols by candle light this evening followed by a very late dinner and a late wrestling game which we had to pause because we realised the neighbours children were probably in bed. So, Harry Potter dualling ensued in the living room. Bean and Pumpkin had baths. And Pumpkin went to bed much later than he has been in recent days.

Room for everyone

Pippin, 2, was busy this morning playing board games and other family games from the shelf. She got out dotty dinosaurs, dinosaur races and pop up pirate. Plum, 4, has been devising and perfecting a game with the building blocks similar to Jenga. Pumpkin, 7, has been playing with the pokemonGo update, and Bean, 9, has been working on his gaming rexording and fixing the problem with the sound recording.

Pippin and Plum played 'babies' together upstairs and then moved downstairs to get the play dough out and play cafes. They made pizza with toppings and then we sliced it up, this was followed by tea and cake. Plum told me all about her birthday party and what was going to happen there (i wrote it all down) Then we got out the old Christmas cards and they both cut up pictures and made hanging decorations for the tree and Christmas pictures.

We attempted to go out and meet friends but we couldn't find the car keys. After half an hour of searching we discovered that daddy had them at work. Playdate was postponed. By this time Pippin was tired so she went for a sleep. Plum came and sat with us , watching on her tablet with headphones on. The boys were doing their own thing downstairs. We rested for an hour.

The, now, usual wrestling game occured whilst i prepared food and we watched Elf together whilst we ate. I managed to redirect Pumpkin upstairs for a bath and then Plum and Pippin followed,and next was Bean. All clean.

Come a long way

A day without the car usually enforces a well needed At Home Day however the sun was shining and Bean, Plum and Pippin were keen to go the play park around the corner. Pumpkin was persuaded with the idea of playing PokemonGo and simultaneously not wanting to stay at home on his own.

It had been Pumpkin's, 7, idea to bake biscuits in the morning to take with us to the play park. Plum, 4, and Pippin, 2, rolled and cut the dough with me. Pumpkin spent the morning watching Dan TDM (trying not to laugh) and You've been Framed amongst other things.

Bean, 9, has been playing a lot of minecraft again. He found and downloaded an app to record his game play on PE and then spent most of the morning recording in his bedroom.

Plum, 4, played doll's house and babies and watched on her tablet on her bed.

We went to the play park for an hour or so. We swung on the swings, span fast on the roundabout, raced down the slides, rode the see saw, played hide and seek, and played hide Peppa pig, and ate biscuits. Pippin fell asleep on the way home with Bean and Plum singing made up lullabies to her.

When we were home Bean went and watched on his tablet in his bed, Pippin watched on the computer and Plum sat on the sofa with headphones on. I sat in the reltive quiet and drank tea, uninterrupted.

I was reminded today how things have changed for us as a family, how the passing of time, children growing older and me not being pregnant and feeling a little more rested and having more time (because i'm not breast feeding every few hours day and night) allows us to manage things differently and more satisfactorily. The passing of time has also enabled us to see that all the worrying we did about qhether we were doing the right thing and were the boys doing enough was wasted. They are fine, happy, engaged, motivated, enquisitive, all the things we would hope them to be.

Blessed

We took a planned trip to town, returning library books and getting some new ones, buying candy canes for the tree, getting kinder surprise eggs. The library has a pokemonGo display currently and Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 7, enjoyed showing pippin, 2, all the differentokemon and her repeating them when they told her their names. Bean chose another graphic novel to bring home, this time he found a lego ninjago story. Plum, 4, moved the mats left in the children's area from rhyme time and put them all together in a line, she then went tumbling along them, cartwheels and forward rolls, run, skip, and jump. It reminded me to contact the local gymnastics class to see if they have space for her. We bought four boxes of candy canes, each with twelve in them, it was Pumpkin's idea that they can eat one a day until Christmas, although Pippin has already eaten four. Our trip to Sainsbury's for kinder eggs (and shopping for mummy) also ment we bought helium balloons for Pumpkin (darth vader), Plum (frozen), Pippin (peppa pig) and a Harry Potter sticker collectors books for Bean. We dropped the book on the way home, Pumpkin said he remembered that it had fallen out in the alley way down the road, so Bean set off on his own to look for it, fortunately with success.

The remainder of the day Bean and Plum were busy getting a Christmas package together for our friends. Bean made a story book and Plum drew pictures and made cards. We watched Disney's Robin Hood, there were baths and wrestling games and a game of babies. There has been a lot of sibling harmony today and it reminded me that we are blessed to have so much time together to nurture relationships and they really do enjoy each others company and find games that they are able to all play together. Plum and Pippin played doll's house together and sat on Plum's bed and watched cbeebies on the tablet.

On daddy's return home he was joined by a reporter who recorded his entrance into the house. I deliberatly hadn't said anything to the children and we had discussed that the reporter would have to take us as he finds us (i.e. it might be great but we can't guarentee what the children will be doing at that exact moment) but it was a good welcome home, as most of them are. And then the reporter interviewed mummy (he had already interviewed daddy) about the psycological effects of disrupted commuting by train on the commuter and all the time the children watched their film and showed daddy the books they had made and played happily together. It reminded me how much things have changed for us in the last 12 months. We are blessed.

Joy to the World

Monday with a twist today. Plum, 4, dressed up as an angel (a pink one) and Pippin, 2, dressed up as a donkey (with a bright green cardigan and no ears but a beautiful painted black nose) and we all went to Little Verse to join in the Christmas Special: Nativity. Bean, 9, took his tablet with him and he had downloaded a few programmes to watch. Pumpkin, 7, was fidgetty and poking his siblings so we redirected him to another room to go and play, Bean went with him. The adults at the group read the Christmas story and the children went to the front and joined the nativity scene when the part they had dressed as was in the story/whenever they wanted. Plum took Pippin to the front to join the stable animals and they both sat with SGG for the rest of the story. Plum also inteoduced me to some of the children that she plays with regularly.

The rest of the day was spent wrestling in mummy's bedroom; playing 'run away from Pippin'; watching Pokemon, DanTDM, The Simpsons; Plum is loving the Christmas Tree and has made herself a cosy nook just below it; Bean requested a bath; we all played minecraft together; Pippin enjoyed her usual round of stories (current favourites Brown Bear, Brown Bear, We're going on a bear hunt, dinosaur roar); Pippin jumping everywhere and giggling; Plum and Pippin drawing at the kitchen table whilst i prepared food, Plum drawing her family below a rainbow with flowers and drawing a picture to put in a bottle for her friend who lives far away, bedtime stories for the boys (continuing Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

Bean has been playing with words a lot today. He came to ask me why we had the word 'yoj' on the tree, he was teasing me. And why do we have the word 'leon' hanging up? And the sudden realisation why DanTDM is called DanTDM, it never even occured to me that they wouldn't know but he does now.

Silent Night

Friday was Fisher's Farm day this week. The taste of fresh air the previous day spured most of us out the door. I had to agree with Pumpkin, 7, that it would only be for two hours and we could play Pokemon whilst we were there.

Plum, 4, and Pippin, 2, enjoyed the outdoor play area today, the carousel and ski jump rides, beacons nest and the ride on tractors. Plum can now peddle one independently. Plum also had a pony ride today.

Bean, 9, and Pumpkin went on the squirrel scramble and the taboggan slide, they took in turns to ride with Pippin, and the beacons nest. They rode the motorbikes and bounced on the bouncy pillows. After all this we went inside to the large soft play area. Pumpkin was keen to leave by now so we sat and snacked and had a drink whilst the others played.

Bean spent the remainder of his pocket money in the shop on a second ty dog, a pug this time.

Saturday was the long awaited Christmas Movie day. Bean had compiled  all Christmas Films and ordered them ready to watch with daddy in a movie marathon. The Snowman, Father Christmas, Elf, Polar Express, Gruffalo, Muppets Christmas Carol, The Star of Christmas. Mummy went Christmas shopping.

Sunday. Bean andumpkin stayed at home with mummy. Bean had a super long bath. Plum and Pippin went to church with daddy. We put up the decorations. It did not go well. We have revised that next year we will put them up in the night whilst the children are sleeping for a nice Christmas surprise.

After a brief period of time where i thought sleep patterns were improving things are all change again. Bean has been struggling to settle to sleep, dispite choosing when he goes to bed and being visibly tired, he is taking an hour or more to go to sleep. However he is still getting up at the same time in the morning and is therefore currently very tired and tearful.

Pumpkin is surprisingly the most settled of all. He has consistently been in bed before 10pm for a while now, with the occasional later time, and getting up at a similar time to the rest of us.

Plum is continuing to sleep in her top bunk but needs hand holding most nights at some point in the night. Unlike when she slept next to me i can't hold her hand and go back to sleep, now i have to stand with her for between five and 10 minutes.

Pumpkin is restless. She has a cold. She is sleeping less in the day which is upsetting her sleep patterns and she tosses and turns most nights often on top of me or in search of me, sometimes she needs breastmilk, often it's a cuddle but i.am.tired.