We are suppossed to be on holidays. In my mind this means minimal housework & plenty of down time. Well, I got the minimal housework. Cass signed up for the massed choir which will perform at the Strawberry festival in September. This has meant a 7.3oam boat & all day rehearsals all holidays. At rehearsals they taught the kids tonal harmonics then sent them home to practise. If you don't know what this is just count your blessings. If you do, please sympathise!
Friday after rehearsal we raced for a train so we could spend the weekend with my mother for her birthday. Train got cancelled. Next train NOT an express ~ 2 changes & the last one was a bus that went all round the sticks & took FOREVER. Cass exhausted. Mother besides herself & did I mention I suffer from motion sickness? There was a lot of motion & I did not feel at all well. My sanity levels are rapidly dropping.
At home Dearest was left in charge of running the workers to work. Theo has just begun a 2nd job, Dino arrived home from sea & the cat had a melt down. We are NOT discussing the state of the house.
Cass & I had a lovely time with my mother but she is pleased the 'tonal harmonics' have moved to my address.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Cubbies & other strange games.
My oldest son has a terrific imagination. He was much in demand as the istigator of ideas as between the 3 houses in our neck of the woods there were 10 children & they invariably ended up at our place, our place being the most relaxed & having the largest number of children to start with. However my oldest is something of a recluse. He would much rather slink off with a book than play so he invented these complicated games with complicated rules & then abandoned them to his siblings & their friends. One morning I poked my head out to find a wig~wam made of she~oak saplings decorating the next door paddock. It came with a picket fence & a half dozen minature sized hay bales & it was shower proof, as the kids discovered in the first rain. Over the months a complete city emerged in our bushland, complete with roads & paths, up in the trees & through the undergrowth. My son was happily upstairs reading in peace while the rest of the neighbourhood waged a complicated war.
However Jossie was a rather strange child. Having not seen him for several hours one day I went looking for him, He had made himself a ''nest'' under the outside stairs. It was thick with died grass. Several large round stones huddled amongst the grass & my son squatted begninly over them on his haunches staring vacantly into space. What was he doing? Hatching eggs! I have yet to see a chick hatch from a stone but whatever.
However Jossie was a rather strange child. Having not seen him for several hours one day I went looking for him, He had made himself a ''nest'' under the outside stairs. It was thick with died grass. Several large round stones huddled amongst the grass & my son squatted begninly over them on his haunches staring vacantly into space. What was he doing? Hatching eggs! I have yet to see a chick hatch from a stone but whatever.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Genetic musings.
Families are odd. The genes that get passed along are even odder.
My paternal grandfather died when my father was about 10, which means I never knew him, only the stories my father & his sister told about him. He was a quiet, dreamy, gentle man but any story my aunt told was likely to be highly coloured & to be taken with a large grain of salt. However this one has the sad ring of truth about it. She argued her brothers were a little wild. They were prone to perching my father, as the youngest of 5, in the avacado tree where his job was to swing a jam tin full of pebbles for his brothers to shoot at with their .22's. Eventually their antics drew the attention of at least one parent; my grandmother. My grandmother was of strong Scottish stock, a no nonsense sort of woman who was staunchly Church of Christ but redeemed by her cooking. Her predjudges ran deep.
"John!" My grandmother insisted. "Do something about your boys."
"Yes, Dorothy...And what would you like me to do?"
This tendency to oblivion in the midst of turmoil runs deep. My aunt painted through 8 decades of family drama. Her children say she would surface occassionly, smack everyone soundly as the fairest means of settling an arguement impartially, & sumberge back into her art. My husband insists I can read through any amount of chaos & never notice & I wrote my first book through 4 children under 5. I have a cousin with 5 boys who sits placidly doing cross stitch while her sons play Tarzan through her house. It is a genetic predisposition. It has an equal & opposite reaction in the next generation. They tend to be very practical & live in the moment children. It makes for an interesting mix. There's never a dull moment.
My paternal grandfather died when my father was about 10, which means I never knew him, only the stories my father & his sister told about him. He was a quiet, dreamy, gentle man but any story my aunt told was likely to be highly coloured & to be taken with a large grain of salt. However this one has the sad ring of truth about it. She argued her brothers were a little wild. They were prone to perching my father, as the youngest of 5, in the avacado tree where his job was to swing a jam tin full of pebbles for his brothers to shoot at with their .22's. Eventually their antics drew the attention of at least one parent; my grandmother. My grandmother was of strong Scottish stock, a no nonsense sort of woman who was staunchly Church of Christ but redeemed by her cooking. Her predjudges ran deep.
"John!" My grandmother insisted. "Do something about your boys."
"Yes, Dorothy...And what would you like me to do?"
This tendency to oblivion in the midst of turmoil runs deep. My aunt painted through 8 decades of family drama. Her children say she would surface occassionly, smack everyone soundly as the fairest means of settling an arguement impartially, & sumberge back into her art. My husband insists I can read through any amount of chaos & never notice & I wrote my first book through 4 children under 5. I have a cousin with 5 boys who sits placidly doing cross stitch while her sons play Tarzan through her house. It is a genetic predisposition. It has an equal & opposite reaction in the next generation. They tend to be very practical & live in the moment children. It makes for an interesting mix. There's never a dull moment.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Curriculum Woes.
I am not the most organized person I know. It takes me time to get my head round mundane but necessary things like ordering curriculum. Firstly I've usually finished a curriculum before it occurs to me I need to order some more. Well, Duh! Hello, jeannie! Secondly we never seem to finish at the specified times. Science & LLATL were both suppossed to last 2 years & we are finished both more than 6 months early. Science is a nightmare. My 11 year old has expressed an interest in marine biology. The only textbooks are for grade 12 with a biology prequisite. At present we are doing our own but while this is fascinating it is less science than an extended art class. We are drawing everything. I have the left hand side of a tidal pool at present. At some point the exotic concoctions that decorate the page will be labeled but whether or not this is actually science is arguable. I have a visual/spatial learner so no prizes for guessing why we are drawing everything.
However as I have been unhappy with the LLATL (both Cass & I are bored silly by it) I have actually done my homework & ordering early. I have opted for Sonlight for all those lovely books. Expensive but I hope worth it. The catalogue is a nightmare. I couldn't make head or tail of it. In desperation I rang the suppliers. That took days just to get through so I could leave a message on their answering machine. When they rang back it was after I was in bed for the night & I was half asleep when I was called to the phone. Lovely, lovely man!!! Sooo patient. Explained everything. I doubt I have everything sorted out ~ when did I ever? ~ but I am actually ok with that. Loverly, loverly man understood my consternation when I realised the catalogue prices were in US dollars, not Oz ones! (ouch!!!) & said I didn't have to order everything at once, just 5 or so books at a time. Big sigh of relief. My budget will cope much better this way, though my organizational skills are a hazard. Cass not impressed.
Mother not impressed either, though for different reasons. Band yesterday. We have extended waiting periods so during lunch Cass asked permission to try out the drums. She's had her eye on the drums for some time & while she hasn't seemed to have paid any attention while we've sat through the beginner's drum classes while waiting for the flutes to arrive she must have. The child sat down & began rapping out a beat. Her sense of timming & co~co-odination were really good. How good was highlighted when the next lot of students tried. I am NOT buying a drum kit! Where would I put it? To say nothing of the noise. However there is a spare alto sax around at present & Cass is planning on hitting on the teacher for that. Massive sigh. I am already climbing over instrument cases, music stands & spending wasted time looking for music that is never where it should be. Oh man. Another instrument I do not think we need & I am already worrying about how I am going to afford to buy the child a flute for next year when we will no longer be able to hire an instrument from the school. $6oo~Oz, maybe a bit less if we can find a decent 2nd hand one. Sax's cost even more. As music is an important & major part of Cass' curriculum I am starting to get a little wild around the eyes.
Dear Lord, you know our need; Help!
However as I have been unhappy with the LLATL (both Cass & I are bored silly by it) I have actually done my homework & ordering early. I have opted for Sonlight for all those lovely books. Expensive but I hope worth it. The catalogue is a nightmare. I couldn't make head or tail of it. In desperation I rang the suppliers. That took days just to get through so I could leave a message on their answering machine. When they rang back it was after I was in bed for the night & I was half asleep when I was called to the phone. Lovely, lovely man!!! Sooo patient. Explained everything. I doubt I have everything sorted out ~ when did I ever? ~ but I am actually ok with that. Loverly, loverly man understood my consternation when I realised the catalogue prices were in US dollars, not Oz ones! (ouch!!!) & said I didn't have to order everything at once, just 5 or so books at a time. Big sigh of relief. My budget will cope much better this way, though my organizational skills are a hazard. Cass not impressed.
Mother not impressed either, though for different reasons. Band yesterday. We have extended waiting periods so during lunch Cass asked permission to try out the drums. She's had her eye on the drums for some time & while she hasn't seemed to have paid any attention while we've sat through the beginner's drum classes while waiting for the flutes to arrive she must have. The child sat down & began rapping out a beat. Her sense of timming & co~co-odination were really good. How good was highlighted when the next lot of students tried. I am NOT buying a drum kit! Where would I put it? To say nothing of the noise. However there is a spare alto sax around at present & Cass is planning on hitting on the teacher for that. Massive sigh. I am already climbing over instrument cases, music stands & spending wasted time looking for music that is never where it should be. Oh man. Another instrument I do not think we need & I am already worrying about how I am going to afford to buy the child a flute for next year when we will no longer be able to hire an instrument from the school. $6oo~Oz, maybe a bit less if we can find a decent 2nd hand one. Sax's cost even more. As music is an important & major part of Cass' curriculum I am starting to get a little wild around the eyes.
Dear Lord, you know our need; Help!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tantrums.
I am the first to conceed that my children are just a tad unusual. This has never bothered me. Personally I like oddities. Their oddness began early & has developed nicely over the years. What I remember of the 'terrible two's' is the unusualness of the tantrums. Most of mine threw one absolute doozy which cured them for all time of ever throwing another.
Dino liked to throw his wobblies in public. The sweetest natured of all my children he was a chronic social butterfly & inevitably performed whenever he was told it was time to pack up & go home. This particular day I had taken all our kiddies to our small swimming enclosure. The tides were kind & we had had water for swimming in most of the day & the small strip of sand for the rest of the time. We had spent the entire day in the open air & everyone, but especially mum, was getting tired as the shadows lengthened. It was time to go home, wash off the sand, have tea & head for bed. I was looking forward to it but Dino wasn't quite ready to head home. He stood knee deep in the water & told me, 'No!' Then he hurled himself down to throw the biggest wobbly of all time. Half way down he realized he was about to go head first into the water & frantically tried to back pedal. His wail was heart rending ~ but he never threw another tantrum.
Liddy is a cat of another colour. A thoughtful & docile child we had a delightful few years with her but eventually the day arrived when she decided to test our mettle & threw her one & only wobbly. I do not recall what she decided to dig her little heels in over. I remember her standing there glowering thoughtfully before getting down on her hands & knees. Dearest & I stared at each other mesmerized as we tried to work out what our beloved daughter thought she was doing. Gently Liddy felt the hard wooden floor all over. Very, very gently she laid her head down & began to bellow. Dearest & I gaped. Eventially we realised this was Liddy's version of a full on tantrum. We couldn't help it. We let out a roar of delighted laughter. Mortally offended Liddy shut up, stared at us in disgust & took herself away to think some more. It was the only wobbly she ever threw. Liddy learnt early you catch more flies with honey than vinegar & has been plying the honey trade ever since.
Dino liked to throw his wobblies in public. The sweetest natured of all my children he was a chronic social butterfly & inevitably performed whenever he was told it was time to pack up & go home. This particular day I had taken all our kiddies to our small swimming enclosure. The tides were kind & we had had water for swimming in most of the day & the small strip of sand for the rest of the time. We had spent the entire day in the open air & everyone, but especially mum, was getting tired as the shadows lengthened. It was time to go home, wash off the sand, have tea & head for bed. I was looking forward to it but Dino wasn't quite ready to head home. He stood knee deep in the water & told me, 'No!' Then he hurled himself down to throw the biggest wobbly of all time. Half way down he realized he was about to go head first into the water & frantically tried to back pedal. His wail was heart rending ~ but he never threw another tantrum.
Liddy is a cat of another colour. A thoughtful & docile child we had a delightful few years with her but eventually the day arrived when she decided to test our mettle & threw her one & only wobbly. I do not recall what she decided to dig her little heels in over. I remember her standing there glowering thoughtfully before getting down on her hands & knees. Dearest & I stared at each other mesmerized as we tried to work out what our beloved daughter thought she was doing. Gently Liddy felt the hard wooden floor all over. Very, very gently she laid her head down & began to bellow. Dearest & I gaped. Eventially we realised this was Liddy's version of a full on tantrum. We couldn't help it. We let out a roar of delighted laughter. Mortally offended Liddy shut up, stared at us in disgust & took herself away to think some more. It was the only wobbly she ever threw. Liddy learnt early you catch more flies with honey than vinegar & has been plying the honey trade ever since.
A Mouse Tale.
We moved into our house when I was 9 months pregnant with Liddy. She was due any tick of the clock & we had just one floor down. The toilet & shower were working but could only be reached by a precarious journey along the beams & joists. No wonder our middle children were so good at sport. They used to run. Me, I'd be lucky not to topple into the hole!
Anyway, we were all camped down on the living room floor, all our worldly possessions stacked in boxes around us experiencing family togetherness. We also found we had an extended 'family' of very unwanted visitors ~ a mouse plague of enormus proportions. Yuk! Dearest bought huge numbers of traps & every night went about setting them & every night we would hear the regular snap, snap as the traps went off. In the morning Dearest went round tossing the limp bodies down our hill for the monitor lizards to consume.
We were always telling the boys not to touch the traps. Jossie, at going on 6, was quite sensible but the twins weren't quite 3 & chronic fiddlers. They couldn't leave anything alone & Theo was forever egging Dino on 'cause if Dino didn't get hurt it was safe for him to have a go. The inevitable eventually happened. We were woken by a sharp snap & a piercing shriek followed by loud wails; 'Ry' dead! Ry' dead!' Poor kid. The look on his face said it all. He thought he was about to follow the mice down the hill, hors d'ouvers for the monitor lizard!
I would like to say this experience vastly improved the listening capacity of my sons & their obedience levels but sadly this was not so. Some children only learn by experience. I own a large number of them.
Anyway, we were all camped down on the living room floor, all our worldly possessions stacked in boxes around us experiencing family togetherness. We also found we had an extended 'family' of very unwanted visitors ~ a mouse plague of enormus proportions. Yuk! Dearest bought huge numbers of traps & every night went about setting them & every night we would hear the regular snap, snap as the traps went off. In the morning Dearest went round tossing the limp bodies down our hill for the monitor lizards to consume.
We were always telling the boys not to touch the traps. Jossie, at going on 6, was quite sensible but the twins weren't quite 3 & chronic fiddlers. They couldn't leave anything alone & Theo was forever egging Dino on 'cause if Dino didn't get hurt it was safe for him to have a go. The inevitable eventually happened. We were woken by a sharp snap & a piercing shriek followed by loud wails; 'Ry' dead! Ry' dead!' Poor kid. The look on his face said it all. He thought he was about to follow the mice down the hill, hors d'ouvers for the monitor lizard!
I would like to say this experience vastly improved the listening capacity of my sons & their obedience levels but sadly this was not so. Some children only learn by experience. I own a large number of them.
Monday, June 11, 2007
The Ughs.
We have had an 'ughy' few weeks plagued by a low grade fever, tummy upsets & an ongoing migraine. Very ugh! In amongst this bedlam I came downstairs one morning to find Dino cutting his cast off with the kitchen scissors, Cass acting as his surgical nurse & Liddy offering a running commentary on how stupid he was being. His new skip had rung & he was heading back to sea. Ugh! Twenty minutes before he was due to head for a boat he was meandering around the house hunting up his sea boots, apron & wet weather gear, none of which he'd seen since he dropped them on my floor as he arrived home 6 months ago. Boys! Ugh!
Ten days later he rang to say he'd be home on the next boat: he wasn't. He was rather late & had brought all his washing home for mum but it never got done. Eight hours later he was heading back out with all his dirty washing intact & disturbed the entire house. Theo hadn't realised Dino was home, wandered into the bedroom for something & got the fright of his life when the bedclothes heaved! That meant Cass was awake very early. Ugh!
Friday Cass & I headed into town to sell off her old maths curriculum so we can afford to buy the new science curriculum! This would have been lovely ~ new homeschooling family, talking shop, wandering round the shops. Unfortunately we had a sudden cold snap & the wog kicked in. With the wog came a whopper of a migraine. Double ugh! Cait hates it when I get sick like that hours from home & on public transport. I think she has visions of us being stuck on the bus forever.
There is light at the end of this ughy tunnel. Liddy went back to work this morning! Yay, for Liddy. So was so excited. Just 3 hours to start with but I think she will find she is much tireder than she expects to be & 3 hours will be quite enough, thank you. Ugh!
Ten days later he rang to say he'd be home on the next boat: he wasn't. He was rather late & had brought all his washing home for mum but it never got done. Eight hours later he was heading back out with all his dirty washing intact & disturbed the entire house. Theo hadn't realised Dino was home, wandered into the bedroom for something & got the fright of his life when the bedclothes heaved! That meant Cass was awake very early. Ugh!
Friday Cass & I headed into town to sell off her old maths curriculum so we can afford to buy the new science curriculum! This would have been lovely ~ new homeschooling family, talking shop, wandering round the shops. Unfortunately we had a sudden cold snap & the wog kicked in. With the wog came a whopper of a migraine. Double ugh! Cait hates it when I get sick like that hours from home & on public transport. I think she has visions of us being stuck on the bus forever.
There is light at the end of this ughy tunnel. Liddy went back to work this morning! Yay, for Liddy. So was so excited. Just 3 hours to start with but I think she will find she is much tireder than she expects to be & 3 hours will be quite enough, thank you. Ugh!
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