Bits and Bobs

We're having another busy week...home all day today, which is nice, but I can't seem to keep up with the mess! Tombliboo is a whirlwind, and whiel I'm busy cleaning one mess, he's off making another.

It's not the first time this has happened, but it is really bugging me today...luckily, when I just lost the lot (oh dear!), big sister Princess came to the rescue...helped me clean the latest mess (flooded laundry) by getting me some towels, and then took her little brohter away to watch a movie, and calm him down after hearing Mummy yell (most unsually) for the second time today...sigh. He's asleep now, on her lap.

Meanwhile, I feel totally awful for a) yelling at my toddler, b) getting stressed abotu a stupid house and probably a whole variety of other letters as well ;0(

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Lots going on around here...

Tombliboo had his first ever gymnastics class...it was fun for him, though soooo much waiting around- he's younger than the recommended age, but still- I don't know why *everyone* wasn't complaining about the structure. The big kids went to the library to get books, and watched the class. J-Man (10 doesn't know why he needs to sit in on a class for pre-schoolers when it is only 2 minutes from home. He wants to stay home playing on the computer, and be able to call me if needed. It seems like a reasonable request, but the class goes for an hour, and it doesn't feel right. Still thinking about that one.

Tombliboo counted backwards from 10 a few weeks ago...that was exciting for me, because I had previously only heard him count back form 5 (courtesy of Little Einsteins). He is saying loads of "I" sentences, in fact most of his sentences begin with "I", often the second word is "need"...as in, "I need boobah", or "I need strawberries"...if it were me, I'd be saying ,"I need chocoalte!"

Princess seems (once again) on the verge of reading. There was an ad for an online program called Reading Eggs on a homeschooling list, and we decided to begin a 14 day free trial. Princess loved it, and unlike her brother was determined to finish it. Unfortunately she seems to have got as far as you can go in half a day rather than 2 weeks. I don't think she learned anything, but she loved it, and I think as she moved up the levels she probably would start to learn some more.

I finsihed reading The Witches to her, and have begun James and the Giant Peach. I'm feling a bit sad that I didn;t start earlier- think how many cool books we could have got through by now! On the other hand, it is not easy to read with Tombliboo in the hosue...the little boy who has sat and pored over books since before he could walk, does not like me to read. He always takes the book from me, insisting, "I read the book". Seeing as he is up from around 7am-11pm each day, with only an hour's sleep (if we're lucky), the available times for reading are a bit light. I'm sure it's just a stage, but it is an annoying one nonetheless.

Anyway, reading...it has now been around 5 years since Princess knew the sounds and names of all the letters...it's a slow process compared to her brother...but boy, it's fun!

I have had times of wondering when it would click, and why it hasn't already, but am now (once agan) in a place of absolute trust that Princess will work this thing out in her own good time.

She is enjoying the computer at the moment...she likes to play the same game I do- Packrat, an application on Facebook. What was just a fleeting passion for J-Man, has become a daily adventure for Princess. She soon caught up on all the current sets, expertly consulting the wiki for recipes, and has now completed 3 retired sets as well...that's left us both rather credit-poor so we probably won't for another for a while.

J-Man clocked a game this week, Silverfall on PSP...I think it is the very *first* time he has completed a game *ever*. Actually, he is telling me he finsihed WoW, which of course he did just a day or two before they moved the goalposts...but the two children play very differently. He is more likely to be all over the place, with fingers in every pie, while Princess is persisitent and methodical about her gaming.

Princess and Tombiboo played with straws- he had hiffed them everywhere and so they were useless for drinking out of...with scissors and cellotape they made various things (well, only Princess really), and had a lot of fun.

J-Man made a banana phone, which was quite amusing, and also made a potion so he could kill a patch of grass...it was truely disgusting but gave him a lot of pleasure, and he even involved Tombliboo- finding and adding digusting things in the fridge. He also painted himself yellow, with help from Princess, for a horror movie he planned to film, then decided against.

J-Man and Daddy went to see Twilight at the movies...he said it was the best movie he has ever seen, which was high praise. I must look fr oa copy of the book for him to read or for us to read together.