The children's hospital , chess , camper vans

Sam is taking a keen interest in all things camper van wise. He searches on eBay and emails me any he likes the look of that are within budget. I had to go to the opticians today but afterwards we went to view one..sadly it needed too much work for us to take on.In the day time the children dodged showers and at the park with their friends.

We were up early on Tuesday to set off for the boys regular appointment at the children's hospital. For the first time ever we managed to get there in good time as the traffic wasn't as awful as usual. This meant we had time to wander round Birmingham before we went to our appointment. The children enjoy looking at the architecture and particularly love the Victorian buildings.

Their appointment went well and the consultant is happy with their progress. She wants us to try reducing one of their meds again. Sam got very upset about this as he is still anxious about getting ill, especially after a relapse early this year left him poorly for 12 weeks. We had to work hard to keep him calm , he's still not happy about it but he said he will give it a go.

The next day all of us are feeling a bit wiped out. Travelling, the stress of the hospital visit, a busy city centre and their normal jujitsu class have stretched the boys capacity. I am not great myself so decide an easier day than the one I had planned would suit us best.

We did some maths 

Played outside at the park and online with friends on our own server. Sam got a fit band and we did two miles walking together.

Owen has been enjoying researching DC and Marel comic facts, he also likes the Easter Eggs that can be found in the films. So he spent a while testing Blokey on which ones he knew.

It's been a funny old week and I haven't had time to write much about it. We managed to secure a mini bus, which will will turn into a camper van. It's a much more affordable prospect for us right now and frankly the campers we could afford needed a silly amount of work. More about that another time.

Sam developed a cough within three days of his asthma meds being reduced, so he's been up and down. Owen is having issues with some of the local children which is stressing him out and he's needed me there to help him. He has got some nice friends but there are a few others who love to goad him he hasn't quite got the skills to sort it out yet.

Next week we get married so I am flying around organising all things mini bus wise and wedding wise..not that there's a lot wedding wise but I am flapping a bit.

So the blog will take a back seat for a week or so to allow me to short everyone out with me adding the odd thing here and there.

The children played with friends.

We enjoyed watching this:

Maths, engineering , British Wldlife, meals out and lots and lots of outdoor play.

I was up early with Blokey because he is back to work today..*sigh*.. We will miss him and I suspect there is lots of work awaiting him.

Owen was up a little later and I made him oatcakes and cheese for breakfast before we did some Maths together. He achieved his first certificate this morning.

Sam got up late, he said he hadn't slept well. After breakfast he worked hard on his maths because he wanted to get his next certificate...and also higher levels of Flingaball!

Next we went to see friends and did some building/engineering. The idea was to build something that could take the weight of an egg.

MR Eggie..I dropped him!

Sam did a very simple but effective structure.

A mass of structures

There was also some building with our magnetic tiles.

More maths in the morning this was Owens .

Sam stayed in bed till 11:00 because he wanted to read more of his book in bed..so we had an early lunch , then he worked on his maths.

Was really pleased to see he is getting higher scores because it means he is more confident and can do the work quicker than before.

There was much playing outside, bike and skateboard riding and then jujitsu. 

The next day we played at home in the morning, then went to meet some friends. In the late afternoon the boys played in the park by our house. One of the older children brought Owen home in tears but he couldn't talk to me about it until the next day. He's having a tough time with another child, I am not totally sure what's going on, so am keeping a closer eye on things. We worked out a strategy to avoid what happened and his older friend is helping him. When we returned to the park the next day she came over and wanted to talk about it to me. She explained that he hadn't done anything but the other child was calling him names and generally giving him a hard time. Between Sam, myself , Blokey and his other friends we are keeping an eye on the situation. The next day Owen went back out with some new strategies under his belt and along with Sam they played out most of the day without any problems.

The next day Blokey had his rota day off and determined not to be put off by the terrible weather , we headed out to the British Wildlife Rescue at Amerton Farm. We were the only people there and despite getting soaked through , we really enjoyed our visit.

Owen loved feeding the birds.

A very miserable looking Gannet, who refused all attempts from Owen to feed him....felt like we should have complained under the trade descriptions act.

Trying to keep the children quiet enough so we could see a fox wasn't easy but we managed it.

Sam wasn't sure about one of the chickens that kept following him.

They were so interested in the animals, they didn't complain about the rain all the time we were in there.

The chipmunks were a huge success and we had to visit them more than once. One of the volunteers let Sam and Owen feed them...totally adorable.

They even had two albino ones.

We had a great time, then decided to go across to Stafford and have lunch at Pizza Express...thankfully we had vouchers and the children enjoyed having free rein to order whatever they liked.

Playing whilst he wanted for his main course.

PIZZA!

A huge dessert he enjoyed but couldn't finish.

If there is chocolate fudge cake, Sam's is very happy.

More maths too.

 

We are thinking of getting a motorhome /camper. We had a small 2 berth and awning tent in the past. The boys loved it it it was rather cramped for the 4 of us with two large dogs. Also we didn't have room to keep it on the drive when we moved, so sold it. 

As we have now sourced affordable storage we decided to check camper layouts that may suit us better. Off we went with two very, very excitable boys. 

We managed to narrow it down to 4 we liked . So now we need to look for something similar we can afford.. If possible. We shall see.

Once back home the boys went out to the park to play with their friends.

The next day we went swimming and inbetween the showers managed down chores, gardening and playing at the park.