Monday this week was like this.........................
Around 7am Faith rises and I am met wit kisses and "mumma I love you's" and "....can you please get up and make breakfast now?" And eventually momentarily I literally roll out of bed make breakfast and Carter soon follows all the good morning smells to the kitchen. He smiles sweetly and asks "...can you make mine too?" I head for the shower an emerge a new women.
I make breakfast for me next while the children care for pets (dog, cat, chickens, budgies, snails at the moment). Caring for their pets not only means feeding them but they have to cuddle and talk with them and play, check their fur, give a little brush you get the idea) and we all wander outdoors with a cuppa to enjoy the cool of the morning. Where we all read separately some in chairs, one in the hammock one on the verandah with quilt and pillows. Faith plays with rocks and shells and scouts for pets for the day like snails, ladybugs, butterflies, frogs and grasshoppers.
A visit from the three legged dog up the road. Anyone else's children seem to attract animals?
Sometimes we put on some nice music, read a book alone and together in the lounge or hammock, all while having another cuppa. I think about doing some sewing. I get some out and piece some together, but the dining room table needs cleaning and the floors needs a mop, so I tell myself maybe tomorrow I'll try again.
You'll soon notice the day revolves around being able to fit in a cuppa tea. I like to make tea in a pot at least 1-2 times per day when things are at a slower and more peaceful pace at home.
About 9-9:30am Gav (dad) rises, he works shifts and so his days are all over the place. Gav has breakfast at our morning tea time so we often have eggs of some sort and more cuppa's and drinks. Gav comments that this is where he'd like to be today.......
10am - Time talking with Dad and have at least a game (board game, cards, computer) and make more cuppa's and drinks. I fit in a load of washing, check emails and forum boards and smack myself for taking too long because Gav has to leave for work soon again.
Before lunch we are reading aloud. We finished Thomas Edison Young Inventor today and read a few more chapters of Little Pilgrims Progress and poetry from Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. I read Fairy Houses, Isabella's Secret, Sally's Secret, Halibut Jackson and the Root Children to Faith. Carter starts to write a letter to his pen pal in Western Australia and marvels that his pen pal has 5 siblings, he asks him in the letter if it's noisy at his place? While we read or listen to politics (all day today on ABC) Carter creates with Lego and Faith decides to do ballet at home.
Dress up time.
Come on you two I want you to smile at the camera at the same time.....
Daddy has to leave for work again............sigh.
12noon - TV - Behind The News, Backyard Science and Barney's Barrier Reef. Lunch time, leftovers - tuna bake and green salad, fruit, drink and a chocolate backed scotch finger!
ABC 2 had political coverage all afternoon, so we watched most of that, talking about what it all means as we go. Meanwhile Carter searched for a how to draw a Super Mario character. He went through 9+ steps of how to draw and added that picture to his letter for his pen pal. Finished his A4 page letter (I was impressed) and folded it into an envelope, addressed it and stamped it and we went straight down to the post office before all the school kids were out.
Carter's reads.
Faith's reads
While we were there I went to get more milk and picked up some colouring in competition pictures for Faith. Came home and she did it straight away and so wanted to take it straight back. Ok then we only live less than 2minutes from the local shops, so we did go back later on.
Early afternoon Carter does 2 chapters of Life Of Fred and types his notes out on his computer and then does the diagrams in Paint and inserts them into his notes. As Carter talks about his LOF chapter Faith picks up on the term and explanation of polygons and starts drawing them on the white board asking "...is this a polygon?" and so on. She decides to go a little crazy and proceeds to draw as many shapes as she can that aren't polygons laughing as she asks"...are these polygons?" and then smirking at me knowing full well they were not.
It's about 3:30am now and we drop the colouring in competition picture back to the local supermarket and go to a local park. Faith and Carter play but also make a movie in the park with Carter's dolls plush figurines, then I'm told we have to shoot a scene near the river at the Jetty. So we head to the Williams River. It's lovely and peaceful there. While the children played at the river and park I got almost 3 chapters read of Emma by Jane Austen which I'm reading for a book club meeting started for homeschooling mums.
We're home about 5:30pm and the kids play with the dog water the garden and each other, catch grasshoppers and ladybugs while I start dinner. Faith sneaks away with Carter's plush Mario & Luigi figurines and runs for her life. I hear yelling and squealing and have to chase her down to get them back and ask her to not do that again!
Carter practises his cornet for about 10minutes.
It's about 6:15pm now I make dinner and we take it onto the verandah and watch the world float by while we chatted and Carter told us a big story of his invention. We say grace at every meal and I read from The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos.
Faithy and I head to the clothes line and while I get everything off the line she builds a fairy house made of ferns, shells, stones, flowers and grasses making it as pretty as possible. Carter works on his computer or makes a movie or plays a game, then he has a shower.
7pm 8:30pm - Carter takes part on a Tween (8-12yrs) Chat room that is moderated by some mothers. It is fun for the kids to chat and learn to type an communicate online in real time. They have to work on their speed and spelling to keep in the loop but Carter enjoys it. The kids will play word games.
During this Faith has a bath and then it's my turn (new water, can't stand other peoples water) just cause I felt like it, I put an oil burner on and relax for 15minutes. Carter answers the phone and tells someone on the other end ...'she's just in the bath I'll get her for you.' At least I wasn't on the toilet and he was giving a blow by blow description of what I was doing. No picture here sorry!
Faith has gone to be after her warm milk and a couple of lovely stories and prayers.
It's about 8pm now so it's Chai latte for me and warm Milo for Carter.
Carter & I watch James May's Man Lab on ABC.
Then he's happy he has had some alone time with me and heads off to bed with a short read and prayers.
I get on my computer and wander around til I'm too tired for anymore then off to be to read and sleep.
It was a fairly average day at home. It sounds really quite uninspiring but it is reality and we like to have a little routine but also free flow with the day.
Each day is a bit different as we have other regular thing we fit in such as ballet, horse riding, music lessons, surfing lessons, book club/park play day, extended family meals and Bible study. We are not structured but have a general routine at home just so he kids don't have to rely on me or the clock to tell them what part of the day or week it is.
