More Reading

Princess keeps chipping away at breaking the reading code. She doesn't know she is, but I can see it.

She'll ask me as she's writing on her picture..."How do you spell 'handmade' again, Mum?" I can't remember how many times she's asked me (and I have it written on a piece of card near the art table for her as well), or how many times she has written it without asking.

But my job is to answer questions, and so I do.

Yesterday, she was studying her (rather disgusting lolly) for an extraordinary amount of time as we waited for a train, then she announced, "I think this says "Triple Power Push Pop" , and she was right.

Today she asked me to read to her, and so I did. I said I wanted to do some more tidying, but she argued that books were more important.

I said, "You are more important than the tidying". She agreed children are important, but books came next.

Later I was feeding Tombliboo and she asked if I would read some more. I said I would, or if she wanted she could read a book to Tombliboo. She wanted to read, and did very wel. She stopped a few times to ask what does "th" say, or some such thing...but mostly she read alone.

It wasn't a hard book (Maisy), but she did it, and she enjoyed it. She read "today" without sounding it out, and I was surprised. She didn't know how she knew it.

The bit that really amazed me was when she sounded out "delicious"...she was reading for meaning as well as sounding out every word. She read "di-eh-ll...delicious". I said, "You just read 'delicious'...that's a very big word- I'm going to faint!"

She said, "I don't see why- I only guessed- it had to say 'delicious'." And she was right, no other word beginning with d-e-l woudl have made sense in the sentence, but it was really cool.

Our Week so far...

Princess has been enjoying doing more colouring by key pictures. She drew this super-cool picture of Hubby and I dancing, looking at each other...it's very sweet- like me heels?


J-Man has been busy painting his LOTR figures, and making games on the computer.

Tombliboo has been making a mess in every room, and being cute. I found him yesterday cleaning up a gigantic rice bubble mess, saying, "Oh no, Mama- I (s)pilled it all ediwhere."


We had a slight breakthrough yesterday too, when I observed him pulling dvd's off the shelf and letting them crash with a giggle...I asked him to stop 3 times in different ways, but he carried on. I picked him up and sat with him in the kitchen and asked if he was ready to pick up all the dvd's...he said Yes! I asked if he'd like me to help him, and he replied yes to that as well. We started picking them up together, and he said, "Sorry Mama- sorry to do dat a dvds Mama."

N and B2 came to play, and we all had a lot of fun- and got some work done too...the same as usual, put away the magnetic marbles so the kids can throw them all ediwhere again and then put them away, and then watch them fly round the room again, etc.

But that kind of crazy-making (terribly standard) activity is not a bother at lal when there are two of you enjoying a chat while you work.


Tombliboo asked for a book about space over a month ago, and I ordered it as soon as possible- it finally arrived, and he has enjoyed looking at it. Princess wanted a trial of Reading Eggs and that came too, but she has only used it once...she loves it though. I imagine it would be more appealing to girls than boys, but it is fairly cool (except for the r-e-p-e-t-i-t-i-o-n, though Princess copes with it because she enjoys the program enough).

The kiddos found Twister (I didn't even know we had it) and had a ball trying to get as tangled as possible.



There has also been a bit of reading, a lot of chasing, a lot of ponies and Lego, and a few movies.

Kids who hit

Just because we are discussing this on our local list, I thought I would mention it here...

I've never struggled with a toddler/pre-schooler hitting a baby...but I do have a toddler who likes to push younger babies over sometimes. Not all the time, but more than once- and that is enough.

If I hadn't had Tombliboo, I probably woudl have supposed there was something odd about the family...now I can see there is very little I can do about this fact...except try to prevent it.

Since I don't really know *why* Tombliboo likes to push people over (I have a wee suspicion that newly-walking babies look a bit like skittles, and possibly he is thinking it would be fun to watch the baby topple?) I just have to keep close lest the desire strike.

I have noticed that preceding any episode, there is nearly always a bit of a cry for help...this is usually in the form of actually saying, "I want to go home."

This is him letting me know he has had enough, there is too much stimulation for his brain, or he is tired, or hungry, or just wants to be in his own space (where people love him best of all).

If I am too slow, and Tombliboo does hurt someone...I apologise to the parent, and then get down at eye-level with the child who is hurt, and apologise on Tombliboo's behalf.

By this time Tombliboo is probably bawling- he knows something is not right, I'm not certain really if he has gleaned that he has caused it.

After I have done as much as I can (I think?), I snuggle Tombliboo and tell him, "You hurt the baby- you made him cry. He didn't like being pushed over, and now he is sad- I hope he feels better soon." I might invite him to come and see if the baby is OK. I might suggest saying "sorry", but I don't push that- there is o point. Children, like adults, say "sorry" when they feel sorry.

Sometimes people feel so terrible about what they have done, but so confused or even angry about the consequences, they are simply not ready to say "sorry" right away.

Tombliboo, who is not a bully, has been pushed and shoved a few times himself. It is so uncomfortable watching a mother try to force a child to say "sorry". It's worse when they don't do anything, of course, but I can tell when a child is genuinely sorry, and it has nothing to do with saying a word.

Anyway, I'm rambling. This link is wonderful for ideas about children hurting other children. It's aimed primarily at those with siblings, but it is really about any child relating to any other.

Family Day at the Zoo

We got buy-one-get-one-free vouchers, so headed off to the zoo for a special day out.

We stopped off to get hot chips, and took them to a park- where some chickens really wanted to join in.


The zoo was wonderful...you see so many interesting things. You also see ugly things...kids being ugly to parents, parents being ugly to kids, kids being ugly to each other.

Some of it is too much to bear, and I find I am needing to shield Tombliboo's eyes, or Princess' ears.


We got to see the elephants being moved to a hill...we were really close- that was cool!



J-Man had decided to take his notebook in and record how many animals he saw. I thought he would give up after a few minutes and I'd be carrying the notebook- but he persisted until the end- he saw a total of 111 animals today.



We saw some really adorable things. The tamarinds for instance...too cute! Tombliboo said, "Too cute! Like me, Mama!"



But nothing was more adorable than watching a (teeny) baby meerkat breastfeeding! Wow..it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.





dh called us over because we were "missing something"...giant tortoises mating. Nothing looks quite as uncomfortable as that...the female was so much smaller, and therefore younger, and really didn't look to be having any fun at all. It took the male 10 minutes to get off her when he was done. He might have been over 150 years old, lol.

I can't believe he actually took a video, lol- at least it is short :0) Nope, it won't upload for some reason- tried twice, might another time :0)


We had water to drink, homemade biscuits, and apples and pears whenever we were hungry...it was a really neat day, finished off nicely with pizza on the way home.

Earth Hour

The idea with Earth Hour is to turn off all lights for one hour once a year...seems a bit on the soft side to me. McDonald's are advertising copiously it seems- they will turn off their golden arches for one year...and then what? They are guilt-free? Lol, it's too silly.

I want to turn off all the power for an hour. I thought about the freezer, and decided an hour won;t make much difference. Whatever additional power is required to ge the temperature right again will surely have been less than all our other electricity-use. Besides, we've had power cuts for 2 hours with no big change to the frozen goods.

DH thinks that's crazy..."You only have to do the lights" (waaa, waaa, waaa). he wants to watch the tv coverage of Earth Hour. Why am I the only one that gets that that is ridiculous? Everyone quick- turn off your lights, and watch the television!

J-Man was not interested, and didn't see why we couldn't at least leave the phone on so he could talk to his best friend. I was starting to waver, and wondering if I was being a bit stubborn. I also didn't think dh would actually turn the mains off since he was getting set to dig his heels in. I found the switch myself.

Suddenly I thought we might need chocolate. DH insisted noone needs chocolate. I countered that he couldn't possibly know what every person needed, and I really did need chocolate! He became my voice of reason, reminding me that we are trying to stick to a budget, and *cough* I ate a whole block the day before :0(

I remembered the cookies in the freezer, so quickly turned the oven on (I know, I know)...I had 10 minutes before the switch went. I boiled the jug so I could have a cup of tea in the dark. I put the cookies in, and managed to burn them. DH thought that was hilarious...well, I didn't know. They had really only just got to the right temperature when the power went off...amazing. I honestly didn't know you could do that. I always turn the power off a bit sooner than the recipe says...but I didn't know I could heat it, turn it off and the cookies will be burned before I know it! Not really, really burned, but over done. Still yum.

By the time we switched the power off, noone was particularly happy...we were all getting at each other. Actually, Princess wasn't- she was excited about something different....and Tombliboo was having a blast- blowing out our candles. We started a game of Ligretto but none of us could really remember how to play...it was a bit slow (and a teensy bit boring), plus we had to be on the alert lest we tip over the candles, and Tombliboo meanwhile was wishing to distribute the cards (on the floor)...J-Man couldn't get one particular aspect of the game, and that was exasperating his father no end...then it all looked like it was going to get decidedly ugly, but it didn't.

Everyone chilled, thankfully, and settled in to enjoy cards by candlelight, with burned-smelling cookies.

With 10 minutes to go, when it looked like J-Man might do a happy dance and initiate a countdown...he and Princess went in to the lounge where they had set up mattresses on the floor, to do some dancing. Tombliboo joined in and we watched. I quietly slipped out and switched the power back on at 9:30pm, just as dh's phone alarm started singing. The kids were having too much fun to notice, and when they finally did, J-Man cracked us all up by saying, "I do believe Daddy's bottom is ringing- he has made a musical fart."

We explained the hour was up, and they begged (I'm not kidding) for the lights to stay off, and nothing to be turned on. Tombliboo was ready for bed, so we toddled off, and dh slept in the lounge with the "big" kids (for an hour or so).

I was thinking (beforehand) that I woudl like to do that every night to really make a difference...but I'm not sure now. It wasn't easy. I like the idea of going to sleep with the sun, but when that becomes 5:30pm in a couple of weeks, I don't think so. But maybe we will head for once a week...it was fun after all.

And it's Friday again...

Only one more day until Daddy is home again...the kids are always excited by Friday. It is nice to be all together, and to have dh here to share our lives. I would love for us to work out some way to be together more- I think people get along better when they're with each other more. He's never been too keen to work from home, but maybe we will make a new plan when we move to a small town.

We've had a really cool week. On Monday we all walked to the local swimming pool. It's the first time we have been swimming during the week since we sold the car (7 months ago). It was really neat, and I can't believe we haven't attempted it sooner.

Tombliboo fell asleep on the way home, which was just perfect.

Tuesday we went for a walk to the shops to get some more groceries, mostly because Tombliboo was desperate for Bananas. We all went in the evening after dinner to get the rest of the groceries, and J-Man and I walked on the way there to spend some alone time together (while Daddy stayed home and helped Princess make a crown). For his month day, J-Man wanted to watch Hellboy 2 with his Daddy, so we got treats for them to eat while they watched it...we hung out in the study watching Scooby-Doo on the computer...then went off to read stories in bed. I finished reading Matilda to Princess after Tombliboo crashed.


Wednesday, J-Man went with A and J12 (his best friend) to a science show for older homeschoolers, which he said was "more like a kindergarten". He's yet to tell me anything at all about it, so I'm guessing no real impression was made. J12 and his Mum stayed for the rest of the day, and for dinner. The boys get on so well, and have a lot of fun together. It always makes me think of when people say that teasing is a normal part of childhood, but it's not- it's a normal part of school and organising the pecking order...but it's not a normal part of childhood without school.

They're starting to notice how each other's lives differ- J12 wants to know why J-Man doesn't do schoolwork, and J-Man wants to know why J12 doesn't have "Month Days".

I guess he figured everyone has month days...I explained that it's just something we do in our family. He asked why.

Well it's like this...we had this gorgeous boy, and when he got to be one month old, we were so excited, so we sang "Happy Month Day to you!", then he got to be 2 months old, and that was so exciting, so we sang "Happy Month Day" again, and then he got to be 3 months old...and you get the picture. He's 122 months old now, and we're still celebrating.

Thursday, I copied an idea from Shady Lady's blog and asked Princess if she would like to write out a nursery rhyme, and draw a picture about it. I figured she would, and was right. It's the first time she has ever written between lines- I thought she would need them to get the whole rhyme on paper.



Then she wanted to "do more". She asked me to draw a picture of a clown for her to colour in, "but just his head- don't make it all tiny" (She can be very exacting!) I drew the picture and made a key for which colours to colour it. I made simple sums for her to work out, then check which colour (on the key). I don't normally do things like that, but she loved it. She wanted more and more and more. We did a policewoman, a witch, a princess and more.



Tombliboo didn't sleep during the day, and went to bed at 8pm. This hasn't happened in months and months, and it was so lovely. Princess has been asking to play Settlers of Catan all week- I got it out, but that was as far as I got...so we finally got to play. It was so nice to not have to protect everything from being hiffed everywhere by our gorgeous toddler. We may even try to do the same today. Princess said, "We would do this every single day Mummy!"

Meanwhile, Toimbliboo's understanding is growing. I asked him what his sister's name was the other day, and he looked at Princess and said, "Mama" with a giggle. I asked him his name, and he thought for a second and said, "Hat!", I asked his Daddy's name, and he answered, "Dodo". It was really cool to see his sense of humour at work. I'm also watching him listen more, and while he is still utterly unreasonable at times (and does not understand "Wait" at all...just keeps pulling me until one or both of us fall over), he is beginning to slow down just a bit.

I actually brushed his teeth for the first time yesterday. Yes, he is 28 months old and I have not been able to brush his teeth ever. I explained I could see plaque on his teeth and it was filled with germs that we really needed to get off. I asked if he would let me brush the teeth and he said "yes", and then he let me.


While I was busy drawing pictures for Princess, he wanted one too, so I wrote his name in big letters for him to colour. I said "T" and drew it, then he said "o" so I drew that, then "m", and added the final letter as well. He has written a few T's and said what they were, same with O. It's exciting to think he might write his name not to far from now.

Sunday

Daddy and J-Man got up early and went to The Game Workshop so J-Man could paint his LOTR characters, and get advice about doing so. They were gone for several hours, and most of that he spent painting his Cave Troll (which looks really cool!). He cut off the head of another character, and glued it on the base, painted it including some oozing blood. The men at the shop thought it was a nice touch, lol on the "nice", it was fairly gruesome- but it was a pretty cool idea.

Meanwhile, at home we made pancakes for breakfast and were pottering around- tidying up, doing washing and so on. Princess played in her room for hours, with her ponies. She is a real laugh...some days she complains noone plays ponies with her- but when I pop in to see how she is doing, she'll more often than not scowl at me for intruding on her special little world.

The big boys got home around 3pm, and started playing a new playstation game dh had bought. They had a very late lunch, and breakfast.

I made a potato salad, and got green salad ingredients together to go to the park. DH dropped us off, then went to pick up pizzas, he came back and we ate dinner at the park and played around.

As it began to get dark, we started playing with a soccer ball which was a lot of fun for all of us.

We got home late, and the kiddos started painting LOTR men, then playing with Lego and LOTR men.