So although you had thought I'd forgotten to come back in and update, I've just been doing not much at all. See the Blah post from before. As I said, it's not that I feel like crap or feel sad or anything like that, I just feel lazy. Lazy! The days have been more relaxing than usual lately - the children have been relatively stable and the crazy outbursts that they are prone to seem to happen maybe only once a day or so. Very manageable, usually related to lack of sleep and not something that tries my patience too much or exhausts me emotionally like it did when the bouts were much more frequent throughout the day.
Ahhh...a long exhale and after the children are asleep, I've been tripping the light fantastic. I've been out and about, enjoying my newfound evening freedom. I've caught up with horrifically long neglected friends over a cider or two, been to my book clubs (yes I am in two and yes they were both held at pubs and yes one of them may have spilt over into a longer evening than expected...), and out to a dinner at Finger Wharf (James' boss shouted us a dinner at China Doll which was yummy).

At the festival there was real jousting. This was Ted's favourite part, apparently. The lances had removable ends which smashed in a highly satisfying manner as they clashed with the opponent's shield. The riders were dressed in chain mail and plate armour, the horses were decked out in the glorious coats of the time. 'Twas very cool (although the PA system wasn't very loud and we weren't really engaged with the machinations because we couldn't hear the announcer clearly).

What did Harriet end up spending her money on? A $5 archery experience, which was totally worth it and a great decision. After a couple of dud pulls, she got the hang of it and nearly hit a nearby target with her last shot.
Ted was enthralled by a medieval band, playing medieval styled instruments. He refused to leave, watching them play for around twenty minutes until they went for a break. I went up and asked if he could have a little look at the instruments they had there, to which the musicians enthusiastically discussed each instrument and answered our questions. Ted picked up their business card, which has about ten instruments beautifully drawn on there. He came home that night, stuck it on the wall next to his pillow and fell asleep literally with his arm extended touching the little card. Feel the music love!
We also had a WONDERFUL experience with a magician (read: a fool) who performed this trick with three twenty cent coins and transferred them from one of his hands to Harriet's hand. It really was magic to watch, especially given Harriet's current interest in magic tricks. He was a true professional and we were all enthralled.

Another hit these school holidays has been our trip to the Opera House tour run for children. It was raining and freezing cold, but we were all in a great mood. Harriet even volunteered to pose for a photo. Hey the what now? Ted wore his dress from Harriet and got 'girl' all day, not that either he or I cared. Harriet received a bag full of goodies, including colour pencils in a funky tube, a water bottle (sans any labeling which I found rather odd but refreshing) and among other things I can't remember, a little booklet to fill out about the tour.
There was a nice little group of us walking around. We got to go into a few different theatres where the mechanics were setting up - for Aida in one and for Flight of the Conchords in another. Ted loved the part where the guide told us that Utzon had wanted people to feel as though they were sailing aboard a ship at one point. He has mentioned it time and time again in the week since, and cracked up laughing about it. So cute!
Harriet loved learning about how many tiles there are on the sails (1 056 006 if you'd like to know), and the division of the theatres (one side holds only opera and ballet shows, and the other holds everything else). Ted loved that one whole side was covered in deep purple carpet. We all loved that!
The trip home was arduous and exhausting, but only from the end of our street. Why can it take sooooo long to move children those last hundred metres? Ted also loved to run in the opposite direction of where we were wanted to walk, but we had no timetable and he was having a ball chasing after seagulls - I was just left wishing I'd brought my e-reader so that I could have been working on my book club books.

Anna Milbourne is a favourite author in this house - in fact she wrote the very first children's book I ever bought in anticipation of our own children, before I even knew I was pregnant. We bought On the Moon when browsing in a bookstore because it just looked so darn cute and the protagonist looked a little like what we thought our (at that stage) mythical daughter might look like. Lo and behold, she does look a little like her. We also have In the Castle which is perfect for our Middle Age interested family. This latest acquisition, How Big is a Million?, is so cute. I found it hidden amongst a list of preschooler books of choice on someone's blog and recognised the author's name, got excited, and bought it. It's fantastic, but I can't tell you what Pipkin finds a million of...
Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a picture book for grammar nerds. It has a correctly punctuated sentence on the left hand side, with an accompanying picture above it. Then on the right hand side, it has the sentence punctuated incorrectly and the accompanying illustration points out how the punctuation has changed the meaning. Ahhhh...it just can't get old, can it?
The others were acquired from a particularly good day at the local op shop. Alexander's Outing is set in the city of Sydney, so Ted loved reading it after our Opera House tour. Angel Mae is by Shirley Hughes, so no more needs to be said on how sweet that tale it. And Rosie's Holiday is a random find which is about a little girl who doesn't want to leave home to go on holiday, then falls in love with her holiday experience and doesn't want to leave the holiday home, only to fall back in love with her home when she gets there. Perfect for children who find transitions difficult!
This post is starting to get veeryyy long, apologies! Just a brief journey into some other school holiday shenanigans. We constructed a pretty awesome large cubby in the backyard. In fact it was so cool, that we invited Harriet's best friend over to play in it with her.
Then, in a flash, the house was full of children! Dressing up, running around, making mothers feel cold by their refusal to don clothing in plummeting temperatures. Priya popped in to this maelstrom while Zoe zipped up the road for a short while and everyone played together so delightfully.
There was a lot of love, so Lucy and Harriet hatched together a plan involving Harriet's first sleep over at a friend's house. She had previously spent a night with Nana and Grandpa in their caravan, but not with another family. Huge! She was so excited about heading off and wrote up a list of essentials to ensure nothing was forgotten (Bear was taken along too, which must have surprised him).

And James called me over to the wall of cases. Awesome. Gosh how I love that green case SO MUCH.
We arrived to pick up Harriet, knowing to expect tears. But not only were there tears, there was hysterics. Anger. Rejection. Here Lucy has thrown her despondent hair into Harriet's side, in horror at Harriet's departure. Harriet, refusing to look at anyone from her own family, exhausted by sobbing for a good fifteen minutes or so, had finally resigned herself to sitting in the car.
We invited Lucy to stay over at our house tomorrow night. The logistics of it all will be interesting, given our limited space and sleeping environs, but I'll give feedback when we emerge from the other side.
I'm hoping the walls don't heave from the emotional outpouring.
ps - apologies for the post length! jeepers! too much!
4 comments:
How did the sleep over go?!
The medieval festival looks great, we'll have to check it out next yr.
you guys have been busy, how fun!
I adore the green suitcase!!!!!! No doubt they want a fortune for it. If that's the warehouse I'm thinking it is, I could spend a whole day wandering that place (without kids of course). Cass, you are the second person this week to recommend The Little House - I must track it down. Do you know Goodnight Moon? It's a gentle bedtime book. My guys have outgrown it now, but it will remain a treasured family favourite that I'm sure my kids will read to their kids!
Fantastic Blog.. wonder if this might be of some interest here are some excellent Paisley Photographs of the Paisley Abbey Medieval Festival which took place on September 15th 2012. www.paisley.org.uk
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