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.

Lego club

Post holiday week, always a bit bumpy! Lacking the extra loving pair of hands to do....everything!

Monday we hosted the seasons first lego club. Five families came along, two new faces. There was a lot of rolling wheels on the floor in competition and several rounds of build battle. It ended with group games organised by the children outside, stuck in the mud, zombie it, grandm's footsteps. All played under a sepia sky, turned orange by the sand stirred up in the sahara dessert storm.

Tuesday and wednesday were our first home days in two weeks. We played minecraft together, made chocolate milkshake, played horses and doll's house and taboo. Pumpkin is still trying to find answers to stonehenge but we haven't got around to it yet. There was roblox and doghnut games and nerf games. We watched nanny mcphee and pirates of the carribean V.

Mostly it has been laundry, laundry, laundry and faciliating baths for everyone.

Questions, questions, questions.

Bean, 10, is on a crafing role. Today he began his day by makin a snowglobe for Plum. After alt of years of harbouring and collecting crafting items, they are now being used. Bean was notinterested in making using paint or glue when he was younger but recently asked if we could have a desigated crafting table.

Pumpkin, 8, was in a question asking mood. Do fish close their eyes when they sleep? What is nitroglycerin? What doyou call itwhen the moon is moretan half amoon but not a fullmoon?

Plum, 5, played doll's house and dollies with pippin, 3.

In the afternoon our friends came to play. A, J, H and their mummy. The big four played upstairs making traps and hideouts and playing roblox and sims4. H, plum and pippin played play dough pizza making and ice cream sets they also played momentarily in the garden with the small world.
We took themall to the park. Bean took the boomerang and they played a real life version of a roblox game similar to winking murder. This continued when we got home.

Saturday, daddy took all four smalls to bedgebury pinetum and meet FA#3 with cousins C and H. They had a good day exploring and climbing and doing a gruffalo trail. We watched Men In Black in the evening together.

In the house

The gaming computer is back in the house and fully functioning so bean, 10, and pumpkin, 8, spent most of the day on the sims4 and roblox, plum, 5, joined them on her tablet. We researched new rabbit hutches and watched Back to the Future 3 (having watched the previous two at the weekend.) I watched The tinkerbell movie with Plum and Pippin, 3.

Bean has discovered 5 minute crafting videos on youtube and has made telephones using paper cups, origami book mark animal faces and is now attempting a snow globe.

Pumpkin is enjoying roblox: cowboy showdown and murder mystery and warfare.

The big three all went to gymnastics and pumpkin and C played chess afterwards before we headed home. Bean, pumpkin and m

Plum and pippin played more doll's house together and misfits board game.

Weekly

I seem to be managing to post weekly at the moment. Not the plan but it's better than nothing. The problem is that i forget the detail of what the smalls have been up to.

Bean, 10, enjoyed Fisher's Farm with his friends. The tabogan ride, cannons, indoor play, crazy golf, bouncy pillows and waiting all day for skyfall to be open. He took the boomerang out for a spin again on Saturday and Sunday. Monday he had a good go at bowling without the bumpers up and the gaming computer had its first go on in months as it is now fixed. Sims 4 and roblox were the first games to be played. We met friends on tuesday and walked to an abandoned tank where they smalls played for an hour and a half. Bean also got out the dominoes again and attempted to make a run with operating parts. He also made a balloon catapult and telephone set using paper cups and strong.

Pumpkin, 8, is back to full health. Fisher's farm with friends included the tabogan, twin swings, cannons, gold, indoor play, feeding the animals, and bouncy pillows. He had a try at the skyfall by climbing to the first ledge but decided against it. He took his bike out on saturday and played boomerang with bean. He went out with daddy on sunday to play boomerang together. He thrashed us all at bowling on monday and thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the tank to play. He has been on the gaming computer playing roblox and has had his grossery gang out to play on the chess board and pirate ship.

Plum, 5, played all day with her friend V at fisher's farm. They fed the animals and rode the ponies, played in the tree houses, tabogans, bouncy pillows, cannons, twin swings, indoor play, golf, and probably more. She had a great time playing with her cousins C and H. They mostly played small world and role play games. We went to the play park and took a bath together too. Sunday plum went to the green and played boomerang with daddy and did hama beads with both mummy and daddy. Monday she enjoyed bowling with FA#2 and tuesday she rested a lot but also played doll's house with pippin.

Pippin, 3. Pippin is now three. We celebrated on her birthday with a HE trip to Fisher's Farm. She choose all the things she wanted to do. Pony rides, tabogan, feeding and stroking the animals, ice cream, chips, indoor play, tree houses, bouncy pillows, twin swings. After four weeks of not eating she is now eating like a horse! We had a family birthday party on Saturday. FA#1 and FA#3 with cousins C and H came to play. We played pass the parcel and a few other spontaneous games. We went to play pooh sticks and boomerang and to the play park before heading home for more play and dinner and a bath. She had a great birthday.

Day 5

Today was our last day of quarantine.

Bean, 10, made a birthday card for Pippin with moving parts. It took several attempts and reworking to get the length of the pulling parts correct and make sure they didn't get pulled out but he did it. He also ent about half an hour playing piano with me. We looked at all the keys and put coloured dots on the matching ones. We looked at notation and how it related to the keys. We played tunes together that we have played before and tried a new one. And then we had fun with the 'excercise' book. In the afternoon he did several 100+ piece puzzles, some with me, some on his own and some with Plum. He had a bath and was counting holding his breath and using a straw as a snorkle.

Pumpkin, 8, is currently immersing himself in 'The amazing world of Gumball,' i think he watched it all day except for when he put the film 'the house of magic' on. He did have a bath. Pumpkin also regained hos appetite today so hopefully, after fuelling up and resting today, he will be better now.

Plum, 5, played doll's house with me in the morning and then continued playing with pippin. They made a cinema for the figures using the doll's furniture and a tablet, the created a beach area using face clothes as towels and daddy's blue blanket as the sea, and they made a play park area too.
Plum played a shooting game with bean. They used unloaded nerf guns and had bases and were chasing each other around the house shooting. And then plum did a 100 piece puzzle with a little help from pumpkin. She then completed a few more with me and bean.

Pippin, 2, had a bath this evening, played doll's house with Plum, cut up veg for dinner, tried her hand at a few puzzles and watched Topsy and Tim.

Quarentine

We have had sickness, that is vomiting, in the house since saturday night. Plum, pumpkin and pippin have all taken a turn. We have consequently been quarentined and a little lethargic. Today we had a terrible morning with squabblong and arguing and tear so i suggested a walk to the play park, not far, some fresh air and a change of scenery. I can't say that it helped massively. The same irritableness between siblings continued and then, after a trun on the roundabout, pippin was sick on the floor. We went home.

Bean, 10, was upset and took himself to his room, pumpkin, 8, lay on the sofa and watched tv, plum, 5, was tired and went and lay on her bed, pippin, 2, had a bath and a change of clothes and some breastmilk and a sleep. I made food for everyone and there was peace.

And the pumpkin was sick again in the night.

I had a doctors appointment to attend. Plum and pippin came with me. Plum has been fearful of the doctors for a while, we rarely go, and i'm not sure where the fear stems from but today was a triumph. We talked about why we were going and she helped hold pippin's hand on the way there and the doctor was super amazing at talking with her, and she came away happy and we now have a lovely experience to refer to when we need to go again.

We went to collect medication and bought doghnuts and dvds to continue our quarentine back home.

Bean went to the green on his own for 20 minutes to throw a bomerang around. We managed to fix his watch so he could tell the time.