Books and Bogs

Well, as we promised ourselves, we had a whole day at home yesterday. Unfortunately, we did have a couple of sickies. In between 'episodes' we managed to get a lot of organising done around the house. I feel like this move is never going to end.

So this morning, after quite a disturbed night, everyone seemed pretty chirpy. It was a quick bowl of wheatbix for everyone before we jumped in the car to take Elsie to yet another swordsmanship class. She wasn't up to doing too much as she was one of the sickies yesterday. The children and I waited at the park which gave us an opportunity to read our new books.

We received our new books from the bookclub. We love getting parcels of books! There was a DK book about governments, another about 200 must-see places of the world, a twin book set containing idioms and history of the English language, and finally a beading book. They'll all be packed in a Wallaby Scrub box.

This afternoon was Tammy's court case, so I went to supervise the children at her house. It was a very pleasant afternoon, the children were delightful as usual. The computers were on again, the little people strewn creatively across the floor, and certainly lots of talking went on. But we had to have the same DVD playing throughout the afternoon because the keys to the study (where the DVDs are kept) were in Tammy's car. Oh well, the children can now recite the script of Cheaper by the Dozen II. After arriving home, Tammy opened the study and the children chose The Pacifier. Very funny movie.

So we stayed for dinner at Hitcho's. On the trip home, I called into Coles to pick up the Smarties that I had promised Emily. She had done such a good job of picking up all the pegs in the yard, that I said she may have a packet of lollies. She chose 'Smartie Pants'.

But the highlight of the whole day was John's phone call. He's back in range, and will fly in on Sunday. Can't wait. I was browsing my photos and came across this one. This is John's interpretation of, "Just going over the back to check out some bush, honey". Funny guy!? Took him a couple of hours to get out of this particular bog, if I remember correctly.

As the clock showed 8.30 tonight, the house was quiet. Children had slid into bed without any coaxing, the result of a very busy week. We have only five days left in this house, followed by two in motel accommodation, then it's off to Wallaby Scrub. So it's a good thing that the children will be well rested, there is more packing and organising yet to be done, and they'll need lots of energy for the next few days.

Friends

What a great day. Arrived over at Tammy's for a gathering at around 12.30. Leesa and her tribe where there, too. Twenty one children today, playing happily and at times noisily. Some of the games I noticed were tug-of-war (the girls winning simply because there were many more of them), some computer games, a bit of DVD watching, hours on the adventure fort/swings/slides, zooming in the little cars, riding bikes, tossing and catching the baseball (until it flew over the back fence and onto the main road behind the house), lots of chasing, running, screaming and squealing (yes there are technical differences between the two), and another day that ended with sleeping children in the car.

Mate they play hard! Especially my littlest man. The one game he never tires of is the sand pit. He got a little rough with Jed at one stage, but it was all in fun, and I'm amazed at how he just kept playing and playing and playing. Playing is serious business.

Shock horror, we're going to stay home tomorrow. The children and I have made a deal to finish off the packing and cleaning tomorrow. Elsie thought it was fair, considering she is going to another sword lesson tomorrow night.

By the way, all the children are just fine. The garlic bulbs they downed yesterday must be of some help...mmm...maybe.

So this post celebrates friends. Today was a really nice day spent with some of the best.

Aaah! Rotavirus...

Well now I realise what was affecting Matilda on Sunday night. I now have Emily, Jessica and Bethany down with it. Hucking and chucking, unsure of which end to put on the bowl. Lovely, huh?! Josiah is quite sure that this is worse than the black death, and is keeping a lot more than the necessary distance. It's peaceful at the moment, but it is the lull following the storm. We had two showers going, one had a vomitting 3 year old sitting in the recess, the other a 7 year old that had been vomitted on; I was mopping up the tiles with old cloth nappies, and then washing the tiles; putting on the clothes washer with soiled clothing, towels, rags; comforting little Willem who had been woken by the uproar; and then had my 12 year old daughter head first in the bowl. Ah! Motherhood.... Had a great day otherwise. Elsie had her two hours of swordsmanship, sparring with the other guys in the class. The rest of the children completed their bookwork in the shade at the park during Elsie's lesson. Willem practiced with the plastic sword, as usual, very cute. After the books, the kids hit the climbing tree. They're such little monkeys. All afternoon was spent at Tammy's. Her eight, our eight, and a neighbour's one, only 17 children. I'm always stunned and delighted at how well the children play together. 'Myth Buster' DVDs were played, robotic Lego assembled, sand castles built and demolished, many sandwiches assembled and devoured, 'Valiant' DVD enjoyed, poison balls thrown and avoided, 'Little People' animated, scratches bandaided, and many other wonderful adventures were experienced. Have a go at these gorgeous little spuds...

Some kind of public holiday

Well, the first I realised that today was a public holiday was when a neighbour came to the door asking to play with the children. We, however, did our bit of bookwork and tidy up first. After lunch all but Willem went over to watch 'Cheaper By the Dozen II'. Elsie worked on her blogs, and surfed the net a fair while. Jack did start on his room - the brave boy. I think I am just about finished the farm packing and there is little left of the storage packing.

As a little self indulgence, we are all heading up to the local supermarket to get some pantry items and come home to cook ourselves a yummy dinner. We've also promised ourselves to get the craft boxes out after dinner and make some cards etc. That put a smile on everyone's face.

Tildy just ran past, which reminds me, she was vomitting heartily last night, only stopping to put the other end on the porcelaine. Have no idea what caused it, and she seems fine now - obviously if she is running through the house.

Here is a picture of our Anzac Day flag, in front of which the children and I celebrated a small service at the farm back on the 25th.

LEST WE FORGET

My little Aussie Diggers

Aren't they just the best!?

A pleasant Sunday

The sky is growing very dark, and the rain is trying very hard to fall. It has been many weeks since we saw rain here. The children, however, can feel the electricity in the air and seem to be anticipating the storm.

Elsie has rung the sword shop three times today hoping the brothers would be there practicing. She'll be able to fit two practice sessions in before we leave for the farm. That will have to keep her going for another nine weeks until we return. Unfortunately, no-one answered the shop phone.

Both Elsie and Beth began their own blogs today. Elsie called hers Horseygirls' Heaven, and she will go completely overboard with horse information and pictures and horsey stuff. Beth has simply called hers Dear Diary. I haven't read her first post, but I'm sure it will be very 'Beth'. I believe Jack is keen to have one of his own, also. Wonder what he would write about....

Being Sunday, the children relaxed a bit. The Simpson DVD has been on, followed closely by Looney Tune cartoon DVDs. The two older girls wandered up to the fruit shop for milk and bread this afternoon. When they returned, we all realised how hungry we were and proceeded to finish off one and a half loaves of bread and half a kilo of tomatoes. I've been printing out and sorting into folder pockets this arvo. I'm looking forward to providing the opportunity for three of the younger girls to enjoy some of the thematic units I've been preparing.Not sure how much bookwork we'll get done this next 9 days, we'll probably use it as a time to relax from the stresses of packing!

A couple of the girls were asking to paint today... I felt bad about saying 'no', but the tables in the dining room were overflowing with all my 'organising', and it was another activity I would have to set up and clean up. Perhaps if we (should I say 'I') get all our necessary activities done, I'll have time to do some more playful things with and for the children.

Well, the clouds have finally let their drops fall. It sounds so lovely on the tin roof. Mmmm, I can smell that clean rain smell. There is a sombre orange grey tinge to everything now, a very peaceful feeling.

Willem is continuing to be cheeky. He likes to press the keyboard on the desktop computer while the children are playing on it. I can hear Emily's distress calls for someone to come and get her little brother before he wrecks her game of Hangaroo. Jack said she choses obscure letters when playing. Her first choice for one game was 'v'. She lets the kangaroo know that he is sillier than her and that she CAN spell.

Got a lot more packing done today, especially clothes and toys. My part of the wardrobe is bare. There is only one room I feel apprehension about - Jack's. Oh boy! that will be a challenge. I offered my help to either get him started or do it for him, which he quickly accepted, but neither of us really want to embark on this particular journey. I may get lost somewhere between the Macaano and the model ships and not be rescued in time to get to the farm.

I was really pleased to hear from John today, on the sat phone, even though it was only for a couple of moments. It is always weird to talk on that medium, with the slight time delay we tend to talk over the top of each other. I'm looking forward to him arriving home next weekend.

April's Princess Party

What a great night we had last night. About 20 teenage girls and their mums all together talking, laughing, singing, eating...

Elsie had a wonderful time catching up with her friends, this group of girls only get together once a month. I noticed everyone went home with a serviette covered with phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

All the children came along, obviously, because Dad is away, and they come everywhere with me. Matilda, Jack, Lilly, Emily, and Jessica hung around watching videos, playing the pianola, jumping on the trampoline, and basically having an easy going, carefree evening. They all appeared at supper time!

Bethany had a good time, too. She became involved in many of the conversations - as a silent participant. She was very confident when she played a memory game with the whole group, spoke clearly and nearly loudly enough to be heard, and managed to remember about 40 names and each matching item.

Willem was his usual adorable self. He fed heavily during the afternoon and evening. In fact, one of the ladies laughed when she noticed he was attached, standing on my lap, swaying his butt back and forth. He tends to hum when he's in this mood, too, so he was quite a sight.

10 days to go!

OK, we're into the nitty-gritty of packing now. The house is all turned upside down, and the children have that flighty edge. We are all so excited about the big move. I'm enjoying the packing and organising, and the children are enjoying the novelty of the experience.

After calling each child in one by one, they set aside any books they wanted to pack for Wallaby Scrub. By the time they had finished there was only seven books left in the particular bookshelf, so... I just packed them, too. Hey, you can never have too many books!