Friday 10 September 2010

Home Day.

My mindee was with me today, last Friday she'll be here all day.  From next week I'll be picking her up at 12pm from her nursery.  Thus no swimming this morning, instead we walked down to the bank, the co-op and then onto the park for fun sliding and swinging and running around giggling.  We ate our morning snack there and then as the sky began to look very ominious, we trundled back.

Once home the children played in the garden a little, played indoors a little with the train tracks, cars and threading beads and then before I knew it, time for lunch.  Dinosaur toast with marmite and cheese, followed by strawberries, and a story; Mother Earth and her Children, beautiful. The wee one had a nap, Rye bless him, wasn't overly chuffed at missus napping in his room.  My room is out of bounds because it's explictly excluded as a childminding space - and to be honest, I really do not want to childmind proof my bedroom.  It's MY space where I have my alter (with athame), candles, my yarn, my art supplies.  I explained that the only other place she could sleep would be the lounge and that would mean we'd have to go upstairs.  Rye conceded that the wee one having a nap in his room was ok. 

I promised him if she made a mess of his room I would help her to tidy it back up.  Resounding success beause she woke as I opened the door, so she'd not had chance to pull anything off shelves etc.  While she was asleep, I told Rye it was quiet time, and we sat and cuddled on the sofa and I read a few stories to him, I even managed to fit in 20 minutes glorious hooky time.

Friday afternoons are reserved for messy play.  I decided playing in wet sand and then traisping it through my lounge constituted messy play, along with sat at the table crayoning, and rolling them at each other etc. More stories, more free play, cuddles, exceedingly explosive nappy change, and it was tea time.  Mmmm, what a tea; I was inspired by this tea on Mummy's Learning too:  and roasted potatoes, fennel and onion, and then after 20mins added courgettes, mushrooms and feta cheese, which I mixed into cracked bulgar wheat and we had broccoli and sweet corn on the cob.  Yum, yum.  Then my mindee had homemade yoghurt, strawberries and a little honey to sweeten, and Rye just had yoghurt and honey - (he didn't want the strawberries).  I would have had some too, but I was pleasantly full after our meal, and to eat yoghurt and strawberries would have been greed.  If I'm hungry later I'll have some. 

LMAO; while walking back with the children, from the park, I was explaining to them that the rustling was the wind in the trees and could they hear the leaves rustling?  I told them the trees were saying "hello".  I also explained the big trees were Beech and the smaller tree turning yellow as an Ash.  Both children said bye bye to the trees as we left the park, and at teatime Rye asked if the broccoli, which he knows as a "tree" was an "Ash tree".  Bless him.  While the children ate their yoghurt I read them another story; this time the Whale and the Snail.  A lovely story - and can you belive it, I actually welled up when the snail went to help the beached whale, and everyone helped to free him.  Daft mare that I am!

Apologies for the lack of photos again, yesterday we were so busy having fun I had no opportunity to take any; and today the camera batteries went flat after one photo, which was of my mindee, so I can't show that to you anyway.

I'm really enjoying the rhythm; such positive influence, the children are playing with less squabbles and I only raised my voice once, to Rye because he deliberately ran his tractor into the wee one, while she was on  the little ride on toy.  Lovely to have a day without seeming to constantly nag the children to be nice and kind to each other, shooing them out of the house because they are running in and out like loonies.  There was some running, so each time I simply stopped them both, and looked them in the eye and told them that we run outdoors, and indoors we walk.  My house is just too small to have them racing in and out; the little one inevitable falls and bumps herself, so it's easier to have a no running indoors rule.  I was pleasantly suprised how reminding them to run outdoors worked better than shooing them out; to the point I'd get so fed up I'd be half yelling, "Out, out, out, out" lol, which of course, the children thought was a game and so came in all the more.

Rye is now upstairs watching Ponyo. He can have another ten minutes or so and then bath, stories, boobie and bed :-)   

2 comments:

arwen_tiw said...

Sounds like another fab day, I love to hear how things are working in your house. :)

mel said...

Oh, i LOVE the Snail and the Whale -- I think it's the most fabulous story...and you're not the only daftie, i assure you...lol

i was inspired by your talk of rhythm to reflect on our days...we used to have it, then it rather fell apart and things descended into chaos. which really doesn't work well for us. So we're reclaiming our daily rhythms and it's infinitely more peaceful and happy!!

xo