pheasants, frogs and banana bread

Day of snow!

2012-02-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

A day of fun in the snow!
Not many words are needed to explain what's happening in this post :)

After the sledging we made some snowmen

or rather one snowman and one snowlady

K made her snowlady a skirt of leaves
while the boys hit their snowman with snowballs :)
Hot chocolate break
Back inside after a lovely day, now dry and warm and watching a movie :)

We finally got some snow!

2012-02-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

After waiting ALL winter, we finally got some snow!!
This picture was taken early evening when the snow had just started to settle. I love how blue everything looks.
The snow was thick enough for sledging at around 9.30pm, and because they had waited so long for the snow, Hubby said that B and K (the younger 2 were asleep) didn't have to wait any longer. The three of them got layered up in warm clothing and off they went.
The rest of these photos were taken by Hubby...

And there was still more than enough snow for the younger two when they woke up in the morning :)

Gymnastics

2012-02-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

The kids have started a block of gymnastic lessons. These aren't great pictures but I didn't want to take too many while they were having their lessons.
These pictures were actually taken after Kiki and B's lessons (in separate rooms for the respective age groups) but during K's and Goog's lesson.
B chatting to some of his friends while he waits for his brother and sister
K is on the right
and Googs is on the left
It is a bit of a faff managing to get everyone to their correct classes on time :) but they seem to be enjoying it.
Kiki came home and said "Daddy, look at what my maids taught me" :)

Nature walk

2012-02-06T13:06:00.001-08:00

This was a nature walk we took just before the snow.
I love how the children all get on with each other so well when out with nature.

I love how I get to have some great one on one chats with them all too.
We have no time limit, no definite destination, just freedom to explore.

Googs still can't be outside without picking up a stick :) I wonder how long he'll be doing it for?
Kiki found a fairy hole

K made up a story to tell to Kiki, they walked hand in hand, Kiki listening intently :)

Experimenting and cooking

2012-02-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

B fancies going fossil hunting again, he read that many fossils are found in limestone and that he'd be able to tell which rocks are limestone by putting them in vinegar. Limestone rocks bubble in vinegar.
After testing several stones that he found around the garden, he finally found limestone :) So I guess we'll have to carry a bottle of vinegar with us when we go fossil hunting.
Gran came round to cook with the kids. K wants to start using her River Cottage Veg book that she got for Christmas.
She wanted to make mushroom stoup with dumplings. The older two cooked while the younger two got up to mischief :)
and the cats slept...
dumplings made ready to cook
mushroom stoup
K adding the dumplings. It smelled so good :)

Paint bubbles!

2012-01-26T15:02:00.001-08:00

Cats look so cosy when they sleep, even when they're being squished by their brother!
We made some yummy custard slices with pink icing :)
It's been ages since we've made paint bubble pictures.

The kids soon got bored making bubble pictures and moved onto...
trying to blow the biggest bubble

and because there is washing up liquid in the paint it was very easy to clean up :)

Curling!

2012-01-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

The children got to have 2 weeks curling lessons with their home ed sports group. They loved it!

They said that it was weird being able to walk on the ice rink with their shoes on.

Messy fun

2012-01-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

The children had some friends come over to play. The boys went outside to play with the bow and arrows. And before anyone says anything, not even belts help to keep Goog's trousers up :)
We got out a huge amount of cornflour to make some gloop.
lots of messy fun
K played with it long after the others had left. Astro came to see what she was doing.

I got round to covering the wooden organiser that my mom gave me for Christmas.

And we made a yummy chocolate cake
And while the diet was ruined, we also made some meringues and defrosted some of our blackberries hmmm yummy :)

rainy days

2012-01-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

We had lots of rain recently so we took the opportunity just to have lots of calm indoor time.
The kids baked some yummy chocolate star biscuits with marzipan centres
Playing with slime. Googs played with it so much that it turned from green to brown and was no longer soft and stretchy :P
We used the fire to help the dough rise
Watching Daddy play games
Curling up in front of the fire with a sleepy cat

The baked bread
filled with tomatoes, beef and cheese. yummy :)

Bird Lecture

2012-01-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

We attended a lecture called "Birds are amazing" at the university. The children haven't been to a university before so it was a great experience. The lecturer was very good. A great mixture of information, a mix of media and props, and good interaction.
The children got a feather to investigate while it's properties were described.
And even a real golden eagle!!
After the lecture, we got a have a private Q & A with the lecturer :)

After which we went to go and say hello to the eagle.
The kids were so impressed :)
The exhibits that were put up were excellent.
Look at the holes in the bones

Once most of the other children had gone (yes, we were the last to leave) we got to see the eagle without its headgear, and have it's snack.
B then took the camera and went off to take these next pictures. I stayed with K, who wanted to stay and question the eagle's handler.

owl pellets

A great day learning with friends :)

Natural instruments

2012-01-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

So it's almost mid January and we've had no snow at all this winter so far! We'll have to see what February brings ... in the meantime, it is still warm enough for us to get outside quite a bit.

At forest school the children made natural instruments.

Googs made drums, of course :)

K's stick/bag creation
Kiki with her brick drum

B with his drum set
And this was K's favourite. She made a tambourine/rattle with her branch of dried leaves
To warm up, the kids went into the energy centre

Recycled paper!

2012-01-03T12:45:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of orangy financial newspapers left over from lighting fires, we decided to recycle some and make our own paper.
The boys got stuck into ripping the newspaper into small pieces
while K measure out the water
in went the pieces of newspaper
and everyone had a turn blending them
into the wooden frame went the brown sludge

removing the frame 'lid'
and drying the 'paper' with a sponge

squeezing the water out some more with the rolling pin. There is actually a mesh on top of the paper in this pic.
K using blotting paper to eek out some more water
and ta da! one small, beige-ish piece of paper. K has plans to write out the runes on it, which is a perfect use for it. Next time, I think we will go for more colourful paper, and perhaps even some glitter :)

Christmas Day!

2011-12-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas day started bright and early. The children sat on the stairs waiting for us to check if it was safe to enter the lounge, they didn't want to scare away santa :)
Entering the lounge
wow, they weren't on the naughty list!

K was so happy to get this book.

The kids got cameras! They were all so pleased, although the batteries were all flat by that evening.
The cats enjoyed the toys too

Christmas music was provided by the girls...and daddy :)
Then we went off to my parents house for the rest of the day.
There was lots of food waiting

I thought this reindeer was so cute
K's picture
After lunch there were more presents to open! These were from family though, not from Santa

K decorated the yule log

We had a lovely family meal.

And then snuggled up to watch a movie together.
I can't believe that this is the third Christmas that I have recorded on the blog! Time flies :)

Christmas Eve

2011-12-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas baking started with a chocolate Guinness cake. This is one of hubby's favourites so will be baked for years to come :)

The children all tracked santa. They got the globes out to double check where he was :)
Tracking santa has been a wonderful addition to our Christmas eve traditions. It is both exciting and at the same time calming. It allows them to have a structure to all the excitement which seems particularly important to B. It also helps with their geography :)
Kiki drew a Christmas dinosaur
Googs helped me make a lemon meringue pie
Kiki helped set the Christmas eve table. We had family over to our house for Christmas eve this year. It was fun to run around and get everything ready.
Choux pastry waiting to be baked
We lit a fire to make it all cosy when everyone arrived.

My Mom made this delicious gammon.

Everyone wanted to sit in the dining room around the food table. We all ate happily off our knees. Hours of cooking and baking and, in only a few minutes, its all gone :)

After supper we went to Mass. We came back home to eat pudding
Once everyone left the children put their sacks under the tree

And they put out a snack for santa and reindeer
The kids then practically ran off to bed, (the only time they will ever do that). And when we checked back later we discovered that santa had been!

Crafting for Christmas

2011-12-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

I am going to be late publishing all of my Christmas posts this year, but if I get a move on, I shall have them all up before new year :) And since we still have the Christmas tree up I feel that I can get away with Christmassy posts for a couple more days.
Here are some of the Christmas decorations that the children made this year.
Cotton wool snowpeople
Water painting and adding salt to create icy pictures

Gingerbread men

Sewing the paper Christmas garlands

B, K and Googs all made one.

This next project took the longest. It was a perfect craft project just before Christmas because the children could just add tiny pieces whenever they felt like it.
It started with the angels and the stable...
Santa made an appearance
and it just grew from there

Sinterklaas

2011-12-28T13:05:00.000-08:00

My grandparents on my mother's side are both dutch so my Mom grew up celebrating sinterklaas. This year she ordered lots of yummy goodies from Holland (lets face it, it's all about the food) and we celebrated too :).
Marzipan Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
Hopjes, stollen, and drop

speculaas
hmmm yummy
and of course, chocolate letters :)

Making a natural perfume/potion

2011-12-20T14:01:00.001-08:00

The children were set a task of making a natural perfume/potion. They had to collect and fill an empty film canister with anything they fancied from nature.
Smooshing it down

and sniffing it.

crushing up some fungus

They put in some wild garlic too.
Being smelly scientists. There was only one lab coat so both boys got into it at the same time :)

And sawing, of course...
and climbing :)

Christmas bits and pieces

2011-12-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

Just a few Christmassy photos from the last couple of weeks.
Baking, of course. Although I haven't done as much baking as I'd like. Oh well, there will be plenty of time once the snow arrives.
Kiki helped to fill the advent calendar, they are all helping to empty it :)
She was trying to draw a picture of Christmas but was just too excited to be able to sit still!
We made angels. Kiki chose the colour of this one, she requested a pink angel for her room too.
I bought the children some new colouring pens. They have spent hours drawing pictures.
And these were made for the children. Aren't they beautiful!!
Putting up the Christmas tree. For some reason we are always in our pjs when we do this :)

Animals and fairy house

2011-12-18T06:15:00.001-08:00

The forest school that the kids go to is held a a city farm.
The kids walk around looking at all the animals that they would like to have :)
Very friendly goats

After saying hi to the animals, the children then made a fairy house.

And of course Googs can't be outside without a stick in hand

Christmas cake making

2011-12-18T06:08:00.001-08:00

I don't think that this post requires any explanation :) I'm a little late in posting this.

Oh it all smelt so wonderful! I can't wait to taste it :)

A day of feathery surprises!

2011-12-14T12:06:00.001-08:00

It started off being a quiet day with the girls playing their imaginary games in the lounge, and the boys busy in the work room.
B completed a 3D puzzle,

and Googs put together a racing car.
Hubby then came home at lunch and brought in a budgie! which the children have named Bella. She has been hand-reared so is incredibly tame.
We didn't let the children handle her at first to let her calm down after her ride in the car.

Hubby then called the children out to the car to show them the new ducks
They even layed an egg during the trip back to our house :)

And that meant that the children got to try duck eggs for the first time!

blogs, blogs, blogs

2011-12-12T13:56:00.000-08:00

K has been pestering me for a while to allow her start her own blog. I gave in. She has been writing posts for hours! She is absolutely thrilled with it :) http://myhomemylifemyloves.blogspot.com/

Of course, as what always happens, her enthusiasm has spurred on her brother to start working on his blog again. I am really pleased as they are both researching, practicing their typing, their spelling, grammar, and composition.
http://bugsbugsbugs-bughunter.blogspot.com/ - not for the squeamish

Kittens, more pets, and baking

2011-11-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Kiki loves the kittens a lot more than they love her :/ So far they are being reasonably patient with her allowing her to carry them around like a baby.
Playing dominoes
and table tennis. And yes, I do know that it is not the right time of year for summer dresses but she does insist :)
Kitty snuggles
Gibbles loves to lie like this and have his tummy tickled :)
And we got new pets! Say hello to our ducks
The kids named them Rachel, Anya, Lily, and Yorkshire Pudding :)

The weather is getting cold so we have started baking to warm up tummies after time outside
We made syrupy sponge
And Kiki made meringues

eaten in front of the fire hmmm

Chicken love :)

2011-11-27T11:48:00.001-08:00

We have some very confused flowers! It's almost winter and we have blooming daffodils
Remember the chicks we hatched? Well this is Donna, Kiki's chicken. Turns out that Donna is a boy but he is the sweetest chicken :) He is very patient and seems happy with the kids picking him up. Kiki even takes him for walks.
Grating some cucumber on the top of the run
and finding eggs

Googs with Storm

Googs digging a pond :)

Ice Skating!

2011-11-26T04:05:00.001-08:00

I realise that these photos are not great, the combination of bad lighting and fast moving children meant that I gave up after I got at least one photo of them all :)
We have been going to regular ice skating lessons with our home ed group. We have 2 hours on the ice, with the older three having a 40 minute lesson within that time.
When I took this picture Kiki was using a penguin BUT she can now skate without it! She was so pleased with herself that she skated round the rink getting everyone to look at her :)
Goog falls a LOT! He seems to think that speed is everything :)
K skates by herself testing out different techniques, she can now spin, jump, stop, and skate backwards :)

B is also a speed freak, he skates with his friends and falls over on purpose :P

Having a lesson.

Chemistry!

2011-11-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

OK, I know that this post is about science experiments but I just had to post this Yin Yang kitty picture :)
So anyway, we decided to crack open B's chemistry set this week. Isn't is wonderful!
Our first few experiments we about Acid and Bases (or Alkali). So the first thing that had to be done was to make the litmus solution

Its such a pretty colour.
And after leaving it over night, it was bottled and labeled :)
Then to see the reaction of different substances

They were all so involved with lots of 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' :)
They younger two say that they are mixing magic potions :)

Better late than never :)

2011-11-21T12:44:00.000-08:00

I understand that I am late with this post but since this blog exists as a record of my children's life, I had to put it in.

The kids were invited to a Halloween party so I baked some bat, and pumpkin cookies. And everyone got to dress up. After being out all day, we only had 20 minutes to get dressed and put on make up so nothing spectacular this year :)
The day after, we went to my parents for bonfire night. But first the children had to put together some shoeboxes for the Christmas appeal.

We baked pumpkin pie for pudding.
The kids went upstairs to watch the fireworks before we ate.
After eating, we all walked down to the town's firework display.
ooh it was so spectacular :)
It is these annual posts that make me feel like life is whizzing by. It's been another year! phew

Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls

2011-11-15T13:36:00.001-08:00

I got this recipe off the net about a year ago, and we all LOVE it. I can't remember where I got it from so if you know just email me so I can give the credit to the right person.
Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls
Dough
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
½ cup canned pumpkin (1 can will make 3 batches)
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 egg beaten
1 pack yeast
1 cup plain flour
1 cup bread flour (don’t be stingy with the flour as it’s quite sticky otherwise)

Heat milk and butter until just warm and better melted, stirring.
In bowl put in pumpkin, sugar, salt, and milk mix, beat well
Add egg and yeast
Combine flours and add ½ of flour and beat for 5 mins.
Add remaining flour and mix
Turn into lightly greased bowl
Cover and let rise until doubled - about 1 hour
Punch down, on floured surface knead. Add more flour if too sticky
Roll out into 10x12 inch rectangle

1/3 cup brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon (I add a bit more)
2 tsp melted butter

Mix together sugar and cinnamon in bowl
Brush melted butter over dough rectangle
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar
Cut dough into 12 x 1inch slices (I use a pizza cutter) and roll up
Place rolls in 9 inch pan
Let rise for 40 mins
Bake at 180 oC for 20 mins
Icing

¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
½ to ¾ cup icing sugar

In pan melt butter, stir in sugar and milk
Cook for 1 min
Cool mix
Stir in vanilla, salt and icing sugar
Beat well

Forest school

2011-11-14T11:48:00.001-08:00

The kids have started going to forest school every week.
My Mom takes the the kids (and camera) so that I can get some work done.
Since I wasn't there I can't really comment :)

They made friendship bracelets

And made shelters

They did come home asking for pigs and goats though :P

Painting Princess

2011-11-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

Kiki made herself a crown and a necklace before sitting down to paint 'autumn'
She usually paints until there's no more space to place wet paintings.
She then moved on to drawing on her wall. Kiki told me that she drew two people falling off the unicorn...and a cup. hmmm
and on her cupboard!
It was such a beautiful day that we went for a walk down the road to go and say hello to the cows.

We popped into the garden centre. I just loved the colours on this tree.
The older two bought a book at the garden centre called 'Living off The Land'. They have been pouring over it for days and have made a list of all the animals they would like to keep, including the different breeds of chicken they will hatch next spring!

toffee apples

2011-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Oh yes! Its toffee apple time again :)
You know, this time we do actually have lolly sticks but I like using chopsticks, they are sturdy, reusable so environmentally friendly, and long enough so hands don't get sticky.
Making the toffee (recipe I posted last year)
and dunking the apples. The children wanted to try both red and green apples.

hmmm yummy
And the apple cores were enjoyed by the chickens :)

B turns 11

2011-11-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

B is 11!
He said to me the other day "Mom, I can't wait to grow up but at the same time I don't want to grow up" That's how I feel too, I am so proud of the wonderful person he's turning out to be and can't wait to see what kind of man he'll grow up to be but at the same time I don't want him to grow up!
Here he is admiring the card that Kiki made for him.

He was so excited to get this gift, a chemistry set. lol the others don't look too impressed but that was because B just pointed out that they are all too young for it :P
The pestle and mortar that he has wanted for ages :) thanks A.O x
And the bow and arrow set that he's been after since his brother got one :)
Now they don't have to wait for their turn
Later in the day some of B's friends arrived for a sleepover.
Hubby got out the paintball gun and set up some targets.
Between turns, the boys went to inspect the damage and collect any undamaged paintballs.

Even the younger two had a turn. K stayed inside playing with the kittens with a couple of the boy's sisters.
Next was archery

Then inside for homemade pizza.
After pizza they all went to play games in the dark. They got cold and wet so there was hot chocolate waiting for them when they came back in.
The kids then decorated B's birthday cake
and we lit the sparklers and sang happy birthday.

Making a wish.
Here's to another great year, my wonderful son xxx

New pets!

2011-11-03T06:07:00.001-07:00

We have new pets!
Feeling bad that the only pets that the kids could hug were the chickens, we decided to adopt some kittens :)
We didn't tell the children that they were coming...
They are 8 week old brothers
The boys named this one Astro

And the girls named this one Gibbles

The kids soon tired them out

I even got to cuddle the sleeping kitties :)

Den building and recipe testing

2011-10-30T04:15:00.001-07:00

Can you see the children in the field? There are 5 of them up there :) They spent the day chopping down the dry thistles to make a den.
So I went up to investigate.
K started her den against the trees.
Here is the den that they have all been working on.

It even has artwork in it :) A stick sculpture that B made.

Gran came over to do some recipe testing with the children. They were testing cupcakes by using two different recipes and seeing which one they preferred.
They were judging on how easy the recipe was, how they looked when baked, and most importantly how they tasted.
While the first batch of cakes were in the oven Googs made some bread for lunch.

Doing the blind taste testing. The results were that the one that looked the worst, tasted the best :) Luckily neither of the recipes was as good as the cupcake recipe I already use which not only looks good but tastes wonderful.

Walnut picking!

2011-10-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

We went picking walnuts for the first time ever! It was so exciting.

There were hundreds on the ground and on the tree. I haven't captured them on camera because I was way too busy picking :)

Aren't they lovely :)

Walking to find more trees. Googs found a ripe pear that had fallen off a tree.

After filling our bags, oh we could have picked so many more, we went for a walk.

The children were looking at a school of tiny fish

One thing I didn't mention was that walnuts stain your hands, big time!!! One of the mums was very organised and brought us all some gloves to wear. I still managed to stain my fingers :P I looked like I had some kind of fake tan disaster :)

'schooling' bits and bobs

2011-10-23T05:07:00.001-07:00

We have finally got the organ to work! Turns out all it needed was a new adapter.
K was really eager to learn especially since B is loving his guitar.
Its funny how the kids go through phases of toys and activities. This week they've been obsessively making hamma bead creations.
Googs asks to paint often but when he gets his paints he spends his whole time just mixing colours to make new colours. He loves it, he never actually paints with all his new colours :) just uses them to make more colours.
Kiki is different, she loves to paint many, many, MANY pictures in one sitting. It is usually the same picture over and over again in different colours. At the moment she is into drawing trees, either coconut or watermelon trees :)
And while the younger two paint, the older two sit at the larger table and do their work.
We studied snails as part of our animal block. After the writing work was complete we made clay snails.

the dry clay looks like snail trails :)

Googs turns 6!

2011-10-15T02:23:00.000-07:00

Early morning birthday hugs.
For each birthday the kids take hours making each other birthday cards. They draw pictures on three sides and writing on one.

umm yes, it looks a little dangerous from here but it doesn't have a pointy end.

Birthday cake!
Googs wanted a money cake ??? He likes to collect things and his most recent obsession is conkers and money :) So a pirate ship it was.
Singing happy birthday.

This is now his 3rd birthday that I have recorded on the blog! It is so great to keep this record for us all.

Sundown adventure land.

2011-10-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

We went to sundown adventure land for Goog's 6th birthday. Being a school day, the place was virtually deserted so the kids could go on the rides as many times as they liked without having to queue :)

he he, I tried to get some action shots. This was the first time that they had been through this ride so weren't sure what to expect :)

This room actually smells of mint!

In the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel.

Kiki stirring porridge in the three bears cottage.
Home of Jack in the bean stalk
Including the cow :)

fun in the stocks

And the last ride was the sleigh ride. It was my favourite :)

Googs had a wonderful birthday outing.

Celebrating the warm weather!

2011-10-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

The weather was 28oC so we just had to get out and find ourselves some water. We ended up visiting Chatsworth house, well the river not the house :)Googs has started a conker collection.

Off to see if the chunk of wood floats
sheep herding!
watching the big fish under the bridge.

Kiki came running back to me: "sigh* I am so sorry mom, I tried and tried but I just couldn't catch a sheep for supper" :D

Spiderwebs, corriander seeds, and cars

2011-10-07T13:47:00.001-07:00

We have had the most gorgeous weather for the last week or so which means that we have been able to carry on having our lessons outside :) It has been slightly strange to have very warm summery weather while sitting among fallen leaves and conkers...not that I am complaining!

With the spider season upon us, we decided to make some conker spiderwebs.

And pick the coriander seeds.

Since the others were at home shots I decided to add this picture of the children. I love the way they all play so well together despite the age range, it makes me smile every time I see it.

fungi, furry caterpillar and natural paints.

2011-09-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

The weather is due to be great this week, I didn't want to waste it by staying inside so we took our workbooks and went to the reservoir.
The water was so low! A month ago, where they are standing, the kids would have been under the water.
But lots more to explore.

A toadstool!

After lunch the kids (including a friend) sat down to learn about seals as part of our animal block. Here they all are making clay seals.

Kiki was stung by a wasp :( so while the others played, she sat with me.
And looked what crawled by, a furry caterpillar!!!
but after her sting, she was taking no chances :)
While we were out at the reservoir the kids discovered that with certain rocks they could write and draw. They then hatched a plan to make their own natural paints when they got home.
They managed to find brown, yellow, green and purple.
The art studio :)
The children weren't the only ones to enjoy natural paints :)

Snippets from our first week of 'school'

2011-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Because of our boating holiday we only started our official "school" work this week. As some of you know we loosely follow the waldorf/steiner curriculum for its gentle and very creative approach to education. What I find wonderful is the rhythms that are used in the day.
It is very age specific to work with childhood developmental stages. However, it is not easy to separate the children when you have four at home all day, so instead everyone joins in to their ability with most things and when it is time just for the older two I set up different projects for the younger two.
We also make sure that when the sun is shining we go out and play :) Here Kiki made a pond for fairies that she was very proud of.

K taking the neighbour's dog for a walk.
The first block that we are covering is man and animal. After discussing the human form they made clay models.
They enjoyed discovering how they couldn't make a human with proper proportions out of clay if they wanted it to stand up.

After shaping their little human forms, the kids stood them up but they wobbled over much to Kiki's delight :)
Once dried, the kids wanted to paint them. K made a tiny mouse too.
We also got stuck into bookwork. With new books to fill the kids were eager to work.
A different day, a different lesson :)

B called me outside one evening to look at the sunset. I grabbed the camera and snapped away at the pink sky.

"No, Mom, look that way!"
!!!!

This week we also visited a wood workshop. I wish I had taken more pictures not only of the workshop but it's setting. It was amazing!

Final day - Day 7

2011-09-22T10:20:00.001-07:00

There was a mooring that I had my eye on the whole week. Everytime we went past it there was someone already there BUT on the final day we got it!!!
There was a lovely path to run down with blackberies growing along it. A lovely spot to fish set back from other boats.
Off to explore, gather firewood and pick blackberries.
And a great spot for a row in the dinghy.
The guys could fish...
While I relaxed under the trees with a book and the kids and the cushions from the boat :)

Later on in the day a family of swans came to say hello. They allowed the children to sit and watch them for a long time.
B managed to catch his biggest fish of the holiday :)

And we made a fire

Mom baked an apple crumble and used the foraged blackberries. We all ate it round the camp fire. It was a perfect final evening.
K made herself her own swan nest.
So of course Kiki did too :)
On the final morning, the older two really didn't want to leave. Here they are feeding the last of our bread to the swans.
It was a wonderful holiday, one that we would love to repeat in a few years.

river aquarium and dinghies! - day 5/6

2011-09-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

We moved on the following day. Hubby chose this place because someone said that they had caught a big fish here :) It ended up being perfect because the trees that surrounded us on all sides created a wonderful wind breaker.
The sun came out and it was a glorious day. Also, because of the jetty, they kids could run around.
The water was teeming with tiny fish. The kids even managed to catch some and make their own little aquarium :)
The first little fish
using their nets to catch more

Gran and Grandad joined us just before lunch.
And we got out the dinghies!!!
They were naturals!

Everyone took turns

Gran couldn't resist for long :)
Time with Grandad
chatting
We happened to moor next to a professional fisherman. Here he was teaching the children to mix their own ground bait.

More fish

Once the children were confident on the dinghies we allowed them to go out a little further.

And we blew up the 2nd dinghy
Fishing took up most of the day. In fact that is what we did for most of the holiday; fish, eat, and read.
Kiki tried and tried to catch a fish with her net, unfortunately, she doesn't quite have the patience and got very frustrated. I was impressed at how long she stuck at it and eventually she managed to catch one. It was dead so slightly easier to catch but she loved it no less. She named it Lily and carried it around for most of the day waiting for it to come alive again :)
Later in the day she was given a little pot of maggots to look after. She named them all and showed them to the fishermen. She looked after them well until a gust of wind blew them into the water :(

windy day adventures - day 4

2011-09-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

It was VERY windy today so we stayed inside and read.

nipping out of the boat to hunt for conkers.

Then to play games
This was the evil mud fairies home that needed to be attacked.

eels! - day 3

2011-09-19T02:49:00.001-07:00

Breakfast!

My little monkey
We went off by ourselves for a couple of days.

Ruined abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Dancing on the boat.
hee hee
We had some leftover ham that the guys used as bait. Very soon they caught...eels!!!

Brandon had to handle with newspaper because of all the slime.

Kristin caught an eel too :)
Here Hubby was comforting Brandon who had managed to catch a boat which took his entire line and left the reel smoking. Brandon managed to hold on to the rod but he got a big fright.

Norfolk Broads - day 2

2011-09-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

We were up early and got busy mopping down the boat.
Breakfast eaten and boat cleaned, we were then ready to set off for another location.
The kids had a turn at driving the boat.

we reached one of the broads.

I got to drive too but left the reversing to hubby.

We moored up and took a walk. This is toad hole cottage.
Done up as it would have looked all those years ago.

This is the larder.
The fishing tools.
After the cottage we went to look at the windmills.
The back again for more fishing.

While the guys fished, we walked into town. The locals said that it was only a mile away but it turned out to be more like 3 :) At least it tired out a very energetic boy.

Norfolk Broads - day 1

2011-09-18T01:30:00.001-07:00

My parents took us all on holiday to the Norfolk broads!
It took hours to drive there, the children were excellent in the car, better than I was, as I always get fidgety. But finally we arrived, loaded up the boat and set out for a week on the water.

The kids loved sitting on the front of the boat while we motored around.

Our first mooring. The kids got into the swing of things straight away by getting their books out to relax.

And of course fish
inside our boat.
we backed up the two boats so that the kids could hop from one to the other. Hubby was nervous about handling the boat but he did a great job reverse parking :)
The swans came to visit.
And the girls bought some new horses for the trip.
The first fish!!!!

Kiki pretending to drive

Kiki caught a fish too.
That night, most of us slept well. Kiki, however, fell out of her bunk a couple times :P

crayon recycling and nature

2011-09-08T08:46:00.001-07:00

Chicken update: we have more males than we thought :( They are loved by the children but there is no way that we can keep all of these males!
Our apple tree only produced one apple because of the strong winds a few months ago! And we can't even eat it because the chickens got to it first :P
Brandon fed them the rest of the apple.
We went for a walk to the park with some friends

And later made some cupcakes.
We have a ton of broken crayons so decided to have a go at recycling them.
The kids cut them up
put them in a muffin tin
and put them in the oven until melted
peeling crayons

ta da! Don't they look great? The kids loved this activity but I really don't know when they would use these crayons.

Activity day!

2011-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Brandon and Kristin went on an activity afternoon with Brandon's football team.
Here they are waiting for their turn for the quad bikes.

then sledding

pretending to ride a Harley
before bowling

And exploring

Kristin had been for a sleepover the night before so was shattered when she got home :)

bread, blackberries and exploration

2011-09-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Making bread together. I know that we cheated using a packaged make your own but the process is still the same.

baked with cheese and rocket hmmmmmmmm
An abundance of blackberries
so we made poffertjies and placed a blackberry in each one.

they looked like mini volcanoes
and with the dusting of sugar, chewy texture of pancake and then burst of blackberry flavour, they were delicious.
Boo went off for a pony day and the for a sleepover at some friends. So they younger two played outside
and Brandon took old electronic equipment apart.
I hope that he learns how it all works and can be fixed, that would be a really useful skill to have :) as well as being able to put it back together again.
Kiki was telling me a story here.
I love capturing children engrossed with nature, OK, here they are watching a dying slug...but still nature :)

Hiking day!

2011-08-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hiking day again! Some place new to explore.

a butterfly
posing

Googs just runs ALL the time! It's going to be hell in the winter :P
There were posts along the way with different birds engraved on them.
conker!

checking out the view
I loved this place but it did make me a little tense with all the steep bits. I had a lot of rules for this walk :P

A fallen tree with a hole at the roots
inside the hole

Kiki found a fungus on the left side of the path.

The heather was so purple
one of those steep bits which made my heart go funny at picturing my kids falling off.
I still allowed them to crawl to the edge to look over, but they had to crawl :P
The younger two stood back a little

more holes

more fungus
Kiki found a butterfly

And the kids found some water
It was cold!
but it didn't stop them

A place to remember and revisit.

castle play with friends

2011-08-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

We met a wonderful family beside a river a month or so ago. They were from further down south so we didn't think that we would ever see them again until we got a call saying that they were camping nearby and wanted to meet up! So we went with them to Castleton.

The kids all play so well together. In fact that played together for 6 hours until I had to drag them away to go home.

Let's hope that there will be more chance meetings :)

blackberries, reading and money

2011-08-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

The kids have been out picking blackberries. We have still got some blackberries in the freezer from last year. Hubby moaned and groaned about the blackberries taking up the whole freezer :P so I am not sure that I will pick that many this year, lets see if he moans about a lack of apple and blackberry pie :)

The new calves
And Kristin's toad called Toady.
She loved it so much that we had to walk to the garden centre to pick up some meal worms for it. I have to say that Toady doesn't look as healthy anymore as Kristin made it a lovely home in a tub but then left it out in the sun and poor Toady got baked :P
Kiki and Googs made a fish tank :) They were so proud of themselves.
And Gran came over to read some stories.

Goog's latest obsession, yup, money! It's so weird, we are not sure what started it and why he is so interested in money but he is, he counts his money every day before bed. He has even asked for his birthday party theme this year to be....money :P

Pool fun and boat making

2011-08-21T02:18:00.000-07:00

We discovered some paddling pools just down the road from us! Actually, they have always been there since we moved here a few years ago, but they weren't in use so were filled with leaves and not much water. But now...
They are very cold :)

After a watery afternoon at the pools we decided to try our hand at boat making.
The materials needed: corks cut in half, screws, tooth picks and for the sails we used foam sheets.
First we put the screws into the middle of the bottom of the cork.

then push the toothpick into the other side
and they will look like this
Cut triangles of foam and put onto the tooth picks...and sail!

Kiki has plasters on the fingers in an attempt to stop her biting her nails.

Kristin's horse magazine subscription arrived :)
Then we tried sailing on a bigger ocean

The boats didn't last long but it was perfect for an afternoon of play. x

Luminarium and Cathedral

2011-08-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Going into the city on the tram. My kids love public transport :)

Brandon was on the tram too but rolled his eyes at me when I wanted to take his picture :D
We went to visit the luminarium!
The children's first instincts are to run, jump and climb. Unfortunately, there are very strict rules and all the kids could do was was slowly and sit.

But once they got used to the rules, it was very relaxing with the music and lights.
Gran with the kids

After an hour or so in the luminarium, we wandered over to the cathedral

It had a very military feel to it.
the crypt

And just outside, Grand treated everyone to ice-cream :)

Farmy friends

2011-08-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day out at a friends farm.
Kristin spent the day loving all the animals The boys played in the garden

And they all helped collect eggs for lunch.
Kiki loved seeing all the chicks
and Googs spent ages watering the garden. We had a visit with the hospital the day after this and were told that perhaps that it wasn't the best idea to let Googs play with the pigs and chickens as his cast was a bit stinky. It would just have been so hard for him to sit and watch all the others play while he sat out.
If hubby and I weren't allergic, we would love to get a cat for the girls.
The adults sat in the garden chatting for hours while the children played happily with each other and all the animals...happy days :)

Football, broken bones and giant snails

2011-08-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Brandon decided that he wanted to start playing football. Coming from a rugby and cricket family, we were a little surprised. Anyway, we took him to a local club who was recruiting. Brandon loves to be in goal and was selected for the team!
This was his first ever game :)

They won 7-2. I was the one at the game because Hubby was at the fracture clinic with Googs because...
He has a broken finger :( He got it caught in the car door and the top of his finger broke off the knuckle...it gives me the heebie geebies every time I think about it.
Chick update photo.
And our newest pets...Giant African land snails!

Pretending to be dogs with friends
Showing off his broken finger.
Snails again

Animal sanctuary

2011-08-06T03:53:00.001-07:00

While visiting friends, we went for a wander to the local animal sanctuary.
In this photo the kids were looking at a rescued fox. My goodness it stank!!!! It was a terrible chemically smell, which is why there is no actual photo of the fox - this was a close as I could get!
Off to find some more animals.
Hello goat!
In the one building there was an incredible angry little dog - we kept away from him.
There were quite a few shetland ponies. I wonder why so many need rescuing.

Kiki will always find a way to see what she wants to see.
My lovely friend gave us a very gooey chocolate cake recipe which we made that evening when we got home. As you can see by the droopyness, we had to ice and eat it while it was still warm :)

Bag making

2011-08-04T13:47:00.001-07:00

Not having ever owned a pretty bag, I decided to make one....and then I made two :)
I first crocheted the outside and then sewed the lining.
Googs made himself a bed to keep me company while I sewed.
It was the first time that I had ever sewn a zip so I was really chuffed :)
Here are the finished bags. I think that the flowing ribbons might be a little too flouncy for me, I might crochet a flower or something to go on the front.

Museum

2011-08-04T12:19:00.001-07:00

There was a new exhibit at the local museum all about sport, getting ready for the Olympics.
The Boneshaker

Sometimes I wish that these were still in style, you know, for those I hate my flabby bits/stretch mark days :P
Kiki testing her reflexes
And some dance program
Cycling round the park :) Brandon was chuffed that he got the number 1 spot. I know, I know, no fresh air but at least we didn't have grazed knees.

At the play butchers
building an igloo
yay we did it!

Day trip to Amsterdam

2011-07-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year my parents gave me a day out in Amsterdam as a present!
The plan was I went to their house the evening before and sleep over since we had to get up just after 4am. I actually can't remember the details of flight times as I completely switched off and just went with the flow :)
All I know is that we were in Amsterdam in time for breakfast :)
Here is the double decker train we took to the city centre.
I know that usually I do go a bit overboard with photos but for some reason I hardly took any pictures of the day. Probably because the children weren't with me, it was nice not to think about taking pictures. So here are the few that I did take.
We walked to the more expensive/crafty side of Amsterdam. I wasn't allowed to take pics in this shot and I very naughtily snuck a few. The hasty, no flash pictures don't do this shop or it's products justice, it truly was fantastic! Do you see those frames, they had hessian in them and then earrings hung up inside. The bean bag in the corner was made from giant knitting needles and GORGEOUS wool. And those big vases were wrapped in wool. oh if only I had more freedom to take more pics.
Cheese!
Me looking very scruffy and not caring.
windows!
cool rubber chairs.
fussy blue shop
crate chairs with planters in the back
oooh and this shop I loved! It was all reclaimed furniture and wood from boats.

My Mom waiting for lunch.
Still waiting for lunch. I fully intended on taking a picture of my kroketten but I wolfed them down before I remembered :P
See what I mean about not many pics. Oh well, it was a fantastic day! We got back just after midnight. I drove home the next day with bags of yummy dutch goodies for the kids. hmmm

Frog catching

2011-07-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying going out for our nature walks. It is fun discovering new places. Once we get over Kiki's moaning about having tired legs and how she is starving and wants to go home...once she connects with her environment (usually takes about half an hour) it is blissful. Everyone goes off to explore, coming back to each other to compare what they have found or heard, and they all just relax and get stuck in.
The boys admiring the foxgloves.

watch out for the nettles!

The kids naturally gravitate towards water. I pulled them back up to go for a walk first because I know that when they are wet and covered in mud it just won't happen.

They found a rope swing

Brandon is by the water on the left of the picture

Peeling bark
When we went back down to the water the children discovered lots of teeny tiny frogs.

Every time they lifted a rock they found a frog.

Not only were the rocks a great size for splashing, the valley was the best for echos! We yodeled for a long time :)

The kids insisted of taking some frogs home to put in the pond. I said that they could each take a few. Once we got home I found that Kiki had kept her's safe by putting them in the car door handle and getting them out was really tricky! I hope that I got them all as I am not exactly sure how many she had to start with. - this is one of the many reasons that I really have to invest in a car air freshener!