Okay so I know in my last post I said I'd be off line more often. And here I am again back so soon! I actually have been offline far more. I've been very productive at home cleaning, baking, finally mending some things and more. When I do go online it is more often with a purpose and I get much more accomplished in a shorter time because I'm not just browsing and such. This post I'm writing while waiting for my boys to fall asleep, since I'm sitting in their room with nothing much else to do I figured I'd write about our day. Watch out this is a long one!!
No two days are alike over here. As you now we don't have a set schedule or curriculum to follow. We learn about whatever the boys are interested and what is going on around us. Over the summer we have also been watching a little girl similar in age to the boys. I have observed that the combination of 3 kids is a tricky one for them to navigate. It always seems like someone is left out after a while. They are all having so much fun, and learning to negotiate and cooperate together has been a good experience for everyone. We have been visiting splash parks, creeks, the library and playing at home. Paper airplanes and Go Fish have emerged as the topics of interest this past week.
I have noticed though that I have not been as present/engaged as I usually am. Now most likely because I'm 38 weeks pregnant, tired and busy. But I have noticed the fighting, whining, attention seeking behaviours amongst my boys has increased. This weekend has been somewhat different. I little more like it used to be (when I had more energy and attention to give).
The boys spent several hours in a creek, along with personal attention from Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa! Lots of exploring, fun, love and treats. They had a good day yesterday. This weekend I was in a huge purging/cleaning mood. Some say nesting, I just felt that the house was a mess and ragging me down. So I got busy cleaning. I finished every room by Sunday morning. With nothing left to distract me I was able to be far more present with the boys today and that made a huge difference.
TJ woke up and usually likes to watch TV in the morning. We worked together to make him some breakfast and he watched some bible stories on video. Over the summer we are less consistent with getting to church. The children's program is different and we are often away. I asked TJ if he'd talk to me about what he watched today instead of going to Sunday School and he thought that was a good idea. MJ joined in a little later. We discussed the stories they watched and what they learned from it. TJ got far more than his brother.
Later TJ wanted to make another pirate treasure map. So he did. This led on to a drum concert. I was rather intrigued and delighted when I thought back about how he may have gotten to thinking about this. Often we can think our children are rather random. But because I am with my son so much, I believe I was able to follow his train of thought.... Yesterday we moved the boys' Playmobil farms to the playroom. I'm making space in the family room for the baby swing. When we put his toys on the shelf he re-discovered a pirate treasure map scroll he had made a long time ago. Then this morning TJ wanted to make a new map, but he also liked using the wooden dowels for the scroll to make music. This gave him the idea to make a drum set like he had done months ago.
First he got out all the pot lids, but he really wanted a set he could keep for himself. TJ found a metal bucket in the playroom. I suggested some jars and to look outside in the shed. He found more in the shed and recycling. Next he wanted to give a concert and have space for everyone to sit and watch. I mentioned that an outdoor concert might be nice. Luckily we already had some chairs out from the day before. I got to enjoy a fabulous outdoor drum concert. (Check out our FB page for videos). Of course little brother copied the idea and made up his own performance for us afterwards.
The boys continued to play outside on the trampoline and swing for a while. Some strong disagreements, and such led them back inside. They found the Trashies (very small toys they got from the dollar store. very popular with school kids right now) and played nicely together for quite some time. During all of this daddy worked on getting our van fixed up all day. I did some house work, finished packing my hospital bag and tidied. Once the boys had played long enough (usually when they start bugging each other or wrestling) I got out some things for lunch.
After lunch I read a whole pile of library books. TJ wanted to give daddy a concert, so me moved his drum set inside to set up for that.
I did have a number of chores to get done today. The boys weren't engaged in anything in particular so I asked them to pick one thing to help me with from my list, or they could think of something they could do to help (TJ wanted to make his bed, so I added that it should help the whole family). The boys chose to help with the laundry and baking (they get to taste things if they help bake!!) Dumping laundry and sorting the clothes into piles is so much more fun together. We often sort the clothes into piles of who they belong to. Makes putting away faster. They started getting rather silly and messing up the piles so I said I'd fold later. They both ran off to play while I set up for baking. TJ pretended to fish with his rod while MJ made lots of pictures, cards and got out envelopes.
The boys decided on cookies and bread. Unfortunately we didn't have enough flour for bread so we made lots of cookies instead. I had wanted to make scones but since I'm the only one who likes the flavours I was going to make, I'll get to that some other time... TJ was a huge help with the baking. MJ kept working on his cards and joined us for a little bit. The most fun was squeezing the juice from the orange. They both love that part. We ended up making two different types of cookies, a total of over 8 dozen!! I froze lots so we don't have to bake next week.
The orange juice brought up questions about how store bought juice is made. MJ knew they probably added water. The boys tested out several other additions including sugar, salt and cookie dough?! Then this concoction needed to be frozen.
The baking soda reminded TJ of explosions with vinegar. This led to lots of test tube volcanos, food colouring and putting peas into the mixture. Of course once they ran out of vinegar they wanted to add all sorts of other things. So we got out the basket of spices and they made some crazy mixtures while I was taking cookies in and out of the oven.
After cleaning up the table, something MJ said made TJ think of the movie Wall-E and they asked to play the Wall-E game on the Wii. I was up for a break by then so off they went for quite some time. I enjoyed a nice much needed break. I guess folding laundry isn't much of a break, but I got it mostly done. I did also sit for a while too.
I'm no sure when, probably after the Wii and MJ playing on the iPad. It started off well. I gave them a little pep talk reminder about not getting upset if you don't win, or if the game doesn't go your way for a little while... then of course I put a house on a square that MJ had wanted, he was also almost out of money by then and flipped out. He scattered the board and bust in to tears. TJ went outside and I gave MJ some space (got some mending done). MJ and I tidied up the game and I got dinner going. The boys played outside until we ate.
After dinner the boys helped me empty the dishwasher, then had ice cream outside. They played/ argued over the swing. It got quite buggy and frustration levels were rising at times. By then it was pretty much time for our evening routine. They boys wanted to watch more bible stories. They had an evening snack and watched their shows.
Getting to bed always takes some time. There is teeth, pyjamas, sometimes stories and stall tactics... TJ had his fishing gear and toys to tidy up. MJ needed to keep finding more toys to put into bed with him. And I settled in to write this post. The've since fallen asleep and I'm done writing!
My evening.. well I'll probably tidy the kitchen, watch some TV and get ready for another day. Like I said at the beginning, no two days are alike. Weekends daddy is home a little more (and I try to get more office work done on week days), but we just live life every day of the week. This week we have a few different creek playdates, midwife, library, and the new Google Camp on the calendar. I can't wait to see where the children will lead us with their curiosity.
Be sure to check out our FB page.
I'd love to know what you have been up to!!!
This post is linked to:
Mom2Mom Monday Link-up
No two days are alike over here. As you now we don't have a set schedule or curriculum to follow. We learn about whatever the boys are interested and what is going on around us. Over the summer we have also been watching a little girl similar in age to the boys. I have observed that the combination of 3 kids is a tricky one for them to navigate. It always seems like someone is left out after a while. They are all having so much fun, and learning to negotiate and cooperate together has been a good experience for everyone. We have been visiting splash parks, creeks, the library and playing at home. Paper airplanes and Go Fish have emerged as the topics of interest this past week.
I have noticed though that I have not been as present/engaged as I usually am. Now most likely because I'm 38 weeks pregnant, tired and busy. But I have noticed the fighting, whining, attention seeking behaviours amongst my boys has increased. This weekend has been somewhat different. I little more like it used to be (when I had more energy and attention to give).
The boys spent several hours in a creek, along with personal attention from Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa! Lots of exploring, fun, love and treats. They had a good day yesterday. This weekend I was in a huge purging/cleaning mood. Some say nesting, I just felt that the house was a mess and ragging me down. So I got busy cleaning. I finished every room by Sunday morning. With nothing left to distract me I was able to be far more present with the boys today and that made a huge difference.
TJ woke up and usually likes to watch TV in the morning. We worked together to make him some breakfast and he watched some bible stories on video. Over the summer we are less consistent with getting to church. The children's program is different and we are often away. I asked TJ if he'd talk to me about what he watched today instead of going to Sunday School and he thought that was a good idea. MJ joined in a little later. We discussed the stories they watched and what they learned from it. TJ got far more than his brother.
 |
| Money slide, drum set, treasure map, paper planes |
Later TJ wanted to make another pirate treasure map. So he did. This led on to a drum concert. I was rather intrigued and delighted when I thought back about how he may have gotten to thinking about this. Often we can think our children are rather random. But because I am with my son so much, I believe I was able to follow his train of thought.... Yesterday we moved the boys' Playmobil farms to the playroom. I'm making space in the family room for the baby swing. When we put his toys on the shelf he re-discovered a pirate treasure map scroll he had made a long time ago. Then this morning TJ wanted to make a new map, but he also liked using the wooden dowels for the scroll to make music. This gave him the idea to make a drum set like he had done months ago.
First he got out all the pot lids, but he really wanted a set he could keep for himself. TJ found a metal bucket in the playroom. I suggested some jars and to look outside in the shed. He found more in the shed and recycling. Next he wanted to give a concert and have space for everyone to sit and watch. I mentioned that an outdoor concert might be nice. Luckily we already had some chairs out from the day before. I got to enjoy a fabulous outdoor drum concert. (Check out our FB page for videos). Of course little brother copied the idea and made up his own performance for us afterwards.
The boys continued to play outside on the trampoline and swing for a while. Some strong disagreements, and such led them back inside. They found the Trashies (very small toys they got from the dollar store. very popular with school kids right now) and played nicely together for quite some time. During all of this daddy worked on getting our van fixed up all day. I did some house work, finished packing my hospital bag and tidied. Once the boys had played long enough (usually when they start bugging each other or wrestling) I got out some things for lunch.
After lunch I read a whole pile of library books. TJ wanted to give daddy a concert, so me moved his drum set inside to set up for that.
I did have a number of chores to get done today. The boys weren't engaged in anything in particular so I asked them to pick one thing to help me with from my list, or they could think of something they could do to help (TJ wanted to make his bed, so I added that it should help the whole family). The boys chose to help with the laundry and baking (they get to taste things if they help bake!!) Dumping laundry and sorting the clothes into piles is so much more fun together. We often sort the clothes into piles of who they belong to. Makes putting away faster. They started getting rather silly and messing up the piles so I said I'd fold later. They both ran off to play while I set up for baking. TJ pretended to fish with his rod while MJ made lots of pictures, cards and got out envelopes.
The boys decided on cookies and bread. Unfortunately we didn't have enough flour for bread so we made lots of cookies instead. I had wanted to make scones but since I'm the only one who likes the flavours I was going to make, I'll get to that some other time... TJ was a huge help with the baking. MJ kept working on his cards and joined us for a little bit. The most fun was squeezing the juice from the orange. They both love that part. We ended up making two different types of cookies, a total of over 8 dozen!! I froze lots so we don't have to bake next week.
The orange juice brought up questions about how store bought juice is made. MJ knew they probably added water. The boys tested out several other additions including sugar, salt and cookie dough?! Then this concoction needed to be frozen.
The baking soda reminded TJ of explosions with vinegar. This led to lots of test tube volcanos, food colouring and putting peas into the mixture. Of course once they ran out of vinegar they wanted to add all sorts of other things. So we got out the basket of spices and they made some crazy mixtures while I was taking cookies in and out of the oven.
After cleaning up the table, something MJ said made TJ think of the movie Wall-E and they asked to play the Wall-E game on the Wii. I was up for a break by then so off they went for quite some time. I enjoyed a nice much needed break. I guess folding laundry isn't much of a break, but I got it mostly done. I did also sit for a while too.
I'm no sure when, probably after the Wii and MJ playing on the iPad. It started off well. I gave them a little pep talk reminder about not getting upset if you don't win, or if the game doesn't go your way for a little while... then of course I put a house on a square that MJ had wanted, he was also almost out of money by then and flipped out. He scattered the board and bust in to tears. TJ went outside and I gave MJ some space (got some mending done). MJ and I tidied up the game and I got dinner going. The boys played outside until we ate.
After dinner the boys helped me empty the dishwasher, then had ice cream outside. They played/ argued over the swing. It got quite buggy and frustration levels were rising at times. By then it was pretty much time for our evening routine. They boys wanted to watch more bible stories. They had an evening snack and watched their shows.
Getting to bed always takes some time. There is teeth, pyjamas, sometimes stories and stall tactics... TJ had his fishing gear and toys to tidy up. MJ needed to keep finding more toys to put into bed with him. And I settled in to write this post. The've since fallen asleep and I'm done writing!
My evening.. well I'll probably tidy the kitchen, watch some TV and get ready for another day. Like I said at the beginning, no two days are alike. Weekends daddy is home a little more (and I try to get more office work done on week days), but we just live life every day of the week. This week we have a few different creek playdates, midwife, library, and the new Google Camp on the calendar. I can't wait to see where the children will lead us with their curiosity.
Be sure to check out our FB page.
I'd love to know what you have been up to!!!
This post is linked to:
Mom2Mom Monday Link-up
Comments
Post a Comment