where we belong

we have completely found our collective groove again but surprisingly, after nearly three weeks at home, we are settled into an at home rhythm. The plan had been to take a relaxed and very overdue trip to the library today. it ticked all the boxes including the warm indoor destination box (as we still had no heating) but Bean said he didn't want to go out as it made him too tired and Pumpkin was happy with the idea of staying in.

The dens from yesterday are still up in the boys room and socktopus made an appearance dressed as a  knight today. Plum didn't wake until 10am so the morning was spent cooking scrambled eggs together and playing on reading eggs.

After Plum had woken, the boys followed me upstairs and spent some time playing lego and Bean got to drawing plans again. this time he wanted to post them and made one for everybody. After some time and him finding a good postal bag we all had to go to our own bedroom so that he could post them to us. This led to the suggestion that we should have a postbox each in case we weren't in when he delivered. We set to decorating our own postboxes, which didn't last long but Bean made a birthday card ready for his friend's birthday party tomorrow.

We got out the cotton buds that Plum had distributed all over the first floor the other day and Bean had suggested that we make something with them. We went through a few options and he chose to make skeletons with them. Pumpkin joined us and made a volcano picture with lava coming out.

The boiler was temporally fixed this afternoon and hopefully will stay so until they return with a new part. We have spent a large part of today learning about how to keep warm and imagining what it must be like to live without heating. We have blankets and duvets galore in the living room and a small heater to take the edge off the cold. We have wrapped ourselves in layers and layers and layers and had the oven on constantly baking or slow cooking stews. Our house is small enough that the oven heats the two rooms downstairs quite nicely.

And just before dinner was ready Bean decided to organise a treasure hunt for us all in the garden. Bean and Pumpkin spent an hour playing outside after they had eaten. Daddy bathed all the smalls tonight and read stories and the boys went very sleepily to bed about 8.30pm.

I want to break free

Thursday 4th April 2013

Today is the first day in weeks that i am beginning to feel that we are getting back into a regular rhythm. Bean especially was on top form. He has been at the lego and we have been sewing and baking and he has been really keen to do new things and be active rather than sitting and resting and watching (although there has been some of that too)

I found these socktopus on pinterest and we really enjoyed putting them together. they are the perfet sewing project for young beginners. just the right skills level and time commitment and a brilliant end result. Bean loved them. Pumpkin had a go later in the day too although i did most of his, he did help with the stffing and leg cutting.

Bean simultaneously set about drawing plans for his stone quarry machine that he wants to make. He wanted to put together a plan for me so i would know what items he needed to be able to build it. This led to him building a den in his bedroom specifically so that he could draw plan in it. He found a clipboard and pencil and has been putting together plans on and off all day. He scrolls them up and ties them with string and has used his money pot to store them in and moved his money into an old money box.

Pumpkin wanted a den too so we turned his bed into one. The plan is to sleep in his den tonight.

The need for an excessive amount of baking has risen as, yet again, we have no heating. Being that we live in a smallish house, putting the oven on does heat the two downstairs rooms nicely. Bean requested banana muffins and then helped to make them. i actually think it wont be long before he could follow this recipe independently. Then later in the day, i resurrected an old favourite and he came and helped with that too.

We also had friends come to play so they all disappeared upstairs to play in the dens in the bedroom and me and Plum spent some time playing together. She continues to love socks and toothbrushes and riding her scuttlebug but has also discovered walking by pushing the brick trolley and she took to it very quickly, being able to walk very quickly and turn it around.

Daddy popped home briefly this evening before heading out again to visit a friend which meant that i took his normal role of bathing and stories and putting on pjs before the evening shift. Pumpkin has returned to a more regular afternoon snooze and later evening bedtime and Bean is getting back into his normal rhythm and Plum is unphased by the clock change and dutifully still goes to sleep about 9pm which now is actually 10pm. This evening has seen a viewing of PeppaPig, Bean continuing to sketch things out on his clipboard including joining up the dots on his own made dot-to-dot and drawing a static excersise bicycle and one that you can actually pedal around (his words)

taking it easy

church day today. a great celebration of the resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ. only pumpkin, plum and mummy went as Bean is still ill. there was a moment when pumpkin didn't want to come too but then he changed his mind (as is his way)

we have been continuing to take it easy and i have been eager to speed it up a notch but the smalls are all on go slow so i'm trying to follow their lead and not rush them or over do it. Daddy has taken pumpkin swimming (Friday) and yesterday went to visit nana and grandad and see fa3 and family. mummy stayed at home with bean, we walked into town and back and got snowed on! we spent the afternoon watching tv and plum had a two hour sleep. it would have been a great opportunity to get some chores done but bean didn't want to be on his own so i sat and knit and folded some laundry but mostly curled up with him and watched tele.

today has been a treasure hunt which daddy organised and the boys loved and egg painting inspired by Timmy. a completely spontaneous activity but thankfully we had all the necessities to make it work.

i've been putting together the diary for April and transferring some of our missed adventures this last couple of weeks onto provisional dates. hoping bean gets better soon.

Crafty

A quick trip to the new craft shop on our road inspired some printing work today. the new craft shop so close to home may be our financial ruin.

Bean bought a packet of pipe cleaners and we spent almost half an hour twisting and turning them and making various loops and knots and twirls.

Pumpkin bought a stamp which after some initial experimenting led to us making our own and printing more pictures. It also reminded me that our craft supplies are incredibly low so I have done a bulk order of bits online and am now eagerly awaiting exciting parcel delivery to replenish stocks.

Bean continues to get up at 4am and have a peek few hours. Today this extended until about 4pm this afternoon (when he has been in bed for the night or had a nap in the last few days) He curled up on the sofa. He refused dinner after eating well all day and finally took himself to bed about 6.30pm and was promptly sick again :(

All in good time

Wednesday 27th March 2013

And the sickness continues. At least for Bean :(

Today's biggest adventure has probably been mine. We successfully got passport photos taken for mummy, Bean and Plum yesterday but Pumpkin refused. Desperately trying not to show any stress at this stressful situation (knowing that would make things worse) I sought the advice of other mummies that i know and trust. How to get a passport photo with Pumpkin's consent. A variety of ideas came forth and in a strange combination of events they all helped toward the successful and consensual photos being taken.

It all began with one mummy sending us photos of her boys (and Pumpkin's friends) on their journey to the airport and mummy and Pumpkin having a chat about what worried him about having the photos taken. Never being one to be overly clear about himself, reasons ranged from- not wanting to go on holiday, not wanting to go on a plane, being shy, not being able not to smile, not wanting to sit on the chair. I'm not entirely sure how helpful the conversation was in itself but it was good to sit down and give him a chance to talk it through even if it was inconclusive. I also got out all our old passports and left them on the table, he had particular fun looking at Bean's photo. During the course of the afternoon and more photos arriving from our friends journey, he declared 'i think i do want to go on holiday.' I didn't get over excited and I didn't mention the passport photos again...just quietly thankful for small steps.

We spent the morning doing various things but included a photo session for all the smalls. We just messed around and took silly photos of us in various poses including the funny 'trying not to smile' pose. It was my intention to use one of these photos as his passport photo. After this we went to the post office to post the completed forms and i noticed that they also took photos for you so i enquired whilst we were there and they talked to Pumpkin and showed him how they do it. He continued to refuse. but they did say they would check my home made version for me which i thought was good of them.

Later after lunch, I interrupted the boys watching something to get on the computer and do Pumpkin's photo. It wasn't a deliberate move more a necessity and I told them I would be 15 minutes. Pumpkin began to get more and more impatient and I explained to him that I had to do it on the computer because he didn't want to have it done at the shop. I then turned it around to clarify and said 'if you had your photo done in the shop then I wouldn't be on the computer' (no expectation just explanation) and he said, cool as anything, 'okay, let's go to the shop' I don't think i have got the children in the car so fast! he went to the post office, happy, smiling, bouncing, had his photo taken and home we came. easy as that!

Unfortunately it meant moving Bean when he was all curled up under a blanket and he fell asleep whilst we were out but he was so good about having to go. He woke up when we got home but was in bed by 5pm. He's still getting up about 4am though!

Cupcakes made from moonsand

Exploring the Antarctic by Bean

The photo shot:

It ain't rock and roll

It seems to me that we may have moved into a slightly jazz funk mode (although maybe not quite so lively) I've realised that normally daddy and mummy play the part of the walking bass in a jazz composition and provided some sort of constant rhythm occasionally speeding up and down or adding a twiddly bit to the plodding on of life and over the top of this the smalls play their own little improvisation that fits very nicely because daddy and mummy have chosen their rhythms to fit the overall composition. not so at the moment. mummy still feels unwell and is mostly not in action and daddy is picking up extra duties and is completely tired as the night wakings/early risings continue. we're like a jazz ensemble let wild, all still playing our own tune but the ease at which we used to play together has gone as all our own rhythms are unknown even to ourselves (fortunately, we have a Master conductor at the helm ;) )

It is slightly calming though as no one has any energy for anything so there's no friction or differing of ideas. it's just eat, sleep, rest in various combinations. Bean went to bed at 1pm yesterday afternoon and got up at 5am this morning. he went back to bed at 11.30am and got up at 3.30pm. He's asleep again now on the sofa.

Last night daddy was in a bed with Plum by 8pm and I headed to bed about 10pm to be greeted with Pumpkin in full cry. He was tossing and turning and not very articulate for nearly half an hour. It was clear that he was in pain though. He has some kind of (viral?) rash all over his skin (except palms) and it was too hot and itchy. I lay with him until he settled and went back to sleep. Plum woke during this time due to the noise level and daddy settled her but she was awake by 1am and nursed pretty much constantly the remainder of the night. Pumpkin woke a couple more times in the night but only for tucking in and Bean woke once.

Pumpkin has been awake all day but not energetic and has spent most of the day on the sofa and declared that 'I don't like Lightening McQueen' so today's viewing was cancelled! We did have energy this morning for a few magic tricks and watching Tommy Cooper and trying out simple tricks on each other. which was great fun. and we had lots of time for cuddles today, which is exactly what they need. lots of sitting with mummy under blankets, cuddling on laps, lying together in bed.

Pumpkin requested a chocolate cake with a picture of our house and road on it. this one thing took me all day and Pumpkin added extra sprinkles at the end.

The big news today is that, after 12 days with no heating, we have heating again. hurray hurray.

All night long

23rd March 2013

Well, that was an interesting night! Plum woke for a feed at 1am and after finishing wanted extra close cuddles which i was struggling with as i felt hot/cold/ill and passed her to daddy but she wasn't happy with this but i was just not in a place to lie comfortably with her, i also had two hot water bottles going so was a little concerned she would find this too hot. so, i moved to the bed in (what will be) Plum's room and spent an uncomfortable 3 hours trying and not succeeding to sleep. Plum spent the same time being very unhappy with my absence so daddy didn't get much sleep either. Finally, by 4am i felt better and returned to bed, settled Plum with a feed and as i was doing this Bean woke up. Bean had gone to bed at 3pm the previous afternoon.

Bean went downstairs and, well, i'm not sure what he did as we all went back to sleep but Pumpkin got up at 7am and daddy got up then too.

Daddy has been a bit of an all round star, really. He has spent the day running around after all four of us, asking for nibbles and drinks and other things all in our own time. he also did a few errands this morning and took Plum with him which gave me a bit of a rest. Mostly he went to get a passport form for me, as me and the smalls all need new passports before we head to the States in May, which is now official as the tickets were booked last night. We're very grateful (although i'm not really articulate enough to describe how grateful) to a friend of ours who has bought us the air flights so that we can go and visit mutual friends in Florida. It is a trip of a lifetime for us and not one we thought we would ever be able to take as a family or maybe even ever!

Bean went to bed at 3pm again this afternoon. He has such a burst of energy and appetite in the morning but flakes after a few hours and then sleeps after a few more. The rest of us are on a bit more of an even keel, taking it easy and eating teeny tiny bits but often throughout the day.

It has mostly been a lie on the sofa day and i'm beginning to lose count as to how many times we have viewed Cars this week. Sometimes lying on the sofa with your kids is all that's needed.

however, in a burst of activity, Bean has been working on a lego olympics long jump, queuing area and house next to a park with see-saw, round-a-bout, mini golf course. It's been 7 months since we were at the olympics and this is the first time he has used it as a springboard for anything further. Has it taken this long to process it all? I was also wondering if there was some unconscious nk between the play park and the olympics. Who knows?