Monday
Owen was asking about Howard Hughes at breakfast time, what an interesting, driven and complicated man he was. Owen said 'Do you think he had Aspergers?'
We baked some bread. Then followed Batman, Minecraft and me trying to explain knock , knock jokes with a horrendous migraine. There was much laughing, possibly for all the wrong reasons.
http://amomwithalessonplan.com/knock-knock-jokes-for-kids/
Sam and I started building a model castle out of bricks. You have to mix the cement etc...I thought this was fabulous. Confession time. I couldn't wait to get started and was secretly hoping I would be left to finish it too.
So there I am mixing and sorting 'my' bricks etc..then curiosity got the better of Sam and we did the first three levels together. He struggled with the smell and gritty texture of the mortar. So thankfully my inner builder wasn't completely shoved out of the way. I mixed and applied the mortar , he placed the bricks ( with copious hand wiping from the youngling).
Owen was very impressed with our progress and now fancies a go too. *darn*. Later he put in an hours work and finally I was left alone to channel my inner builder...not that they had left me much to do. I have another kit in the post. My keep it to myself bwah ha ha. After this the boys teamed up with a friend and enjoyed some Minecrafting online whilst I prepared tea. My cooking was accompanied by raucous laughter...I enjoyed this particular incidental music very much.
We were up bright and early the next day, the sun was shining and the children were up for a bike ride. We called at the post office and then on to the park. By chance we met another family and as we all hit it off, we had a great time playing. A quick play, turned into a couple of hours and eventually we cycled back home and the boy devoured a large lunch.
Afterwards Owen and I looked at the Adventure Time app and he showed me how to make a platform game.
Later him and Sam studied their books and we did some maths. This bit was amusing..they wanted to do a maths program, one we previously gave up on because they were hating it. So I explained the previous issues but they still wanted to do it..20 mins in they were nearly in meltdowns of frustration and I saved all our sanity with a liberal application of humour. In a positive way, it made me realise how far we have come, we don't do too much stuff like this anymore and for very good reason. We do real time, real life, living and learning, making it more well rounded and suited to the boys personal style...it's fun, it's and it makes them happy. Later they played with friends online, got themselves ready for bed and we all snuggled up with blankets for Dr Who.
In other good news this week, we finally got our car back on the road..we are all looking forward to getting out more and catching up with friends ..can't wait.
Oh transitions ...grrrr... I have been berated by the boys for the absence of the car and their need for the library and to see friends. So when asked to go to the library today I agreed immediately.
I expect the negotiations to start about the arrangements, so I am not surprised when the questions start pouring out the second the boys wake.
Sadly this causes starts meltdowns before and over breakfast. I can't say or do anything to help and experience tells me to back off..which I do. After an hour both the children are fed, watered and their meds done.
My shopping arrives and things are sufficiently calm to prepare the children to leave the house..it's going well. We get to the library where both decide they no longer want any books. I just acknowledge this and back off, looking at titles they may like without saying anything. I just lay them out on the floor. I would be lying if I said I wasn't grinding my teeth ever so slightly.
Then there is a flurry of activity and they choose some of the scattered books I have pulled off the shelves. Owen promptly buries his head in one of the books. There is no point in rushing him, so Sam and I go to check out his books in the meantime. Owen composes himself and gets his books to the counter with his card. The lovely ladies at the library have kept a book back for him and this cheers him up enough for me to ask if he minds me nipping next door to book a hair cut.
Both boys were really helpful and we get into the car without further stress for O and my hair appointment sorted out. I then struggle to get the car out of the parking spot..not because I have been boxed in..just because it's been so long since I drove and I need to get used to the car again. When I look in the mirror I see the frowny faces glaring at the back of my head. They are picking up on my embarrassment at my rusty parking skills. A cluster headache starts to stab the back of my eye in warning. Thankfully it's just a short drive home. On arriving home I feel anxious and tired, Owen and Sam head off to their respective corners and zone out. I head for the injections and some water.
I know that in another week or so they will readjust to going out. It's sad that even though they want to go out , they are finding it stressful to make the necessary transitions. We do so well these days but I am reminded that when life happens and we have to accommodate those annoying inconveniences , we have to ease the children back into things again and that we regress a little.
I could cry at how hard it is for them at times like this and I am frustrated. Not with the boys but with the dark shadow that clouds our view of the world. Those clouds blow away much quicker now and I am relieved that the boys find it easier to get back on track than they used to.
I had been following a Kickstarter project relating to coding. So showed it to Owen over breakfast to see if he was interested. There was a sample free to try before committing to buy.
Now although the boys are very interested in coding, we are yet to find something that suited their learning styles. So I was pleased when Owen got very excited using the sample BitsBox supplied. So much so he asked me to sign up for the monthly projects. Since both boys are not too interested in gaining stickers and cards I arranged to try the PDF version ..quicker and less costly on shipping too. It starts on the 20th and Owen is looking forward to receiving the email.
After lunch we go off to the park to meet friends. It's much busier than normal, due to the school holidays, but the boys have a great time. They are very tired when we leave and it takes a good couple of hours for their speech and actions to calm down. A good day.
On Saturday we take the children to the Nature Reserve at Wolseley. We have a brilliant time wandering round and when the children started to tire, we called into the garden centre for lunch. Back home, after tea, we all cuddled up and watched Dr Who on Netflix.
Took some time to convince the boys this chap was real!
Sunday
the children and Blokey went swimming, I baked our weekly bread rolls and a loaf and caught up in some chores. We had lunch and the children played together for a while, before doing their own things. Sam wanted to watch some Pokemon and Owen did a big build in the Home Ed Minecraft server with his friends. I painted some pictures and Blokey kindly hung them on the living room wall for me.
Blokey spotted a bargain PC on EBay and was lucky enough to win it for Sam..so they headed off to collect it.
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