Egg Hunt

Our chickens think it's Easter already - they have been hiding eggs all over the garden for us to hunt.  My mum has suggested leaving an empty egg shell in their nest box, to encourage them to lay there.  Father in law has suggested making the hens a nest with some straw in amongst the bushes, so that they might lay somewhere accessible.  We were getting 2 eggs a day, but have only found 2 eggs this week by searching the bushes.  We'll have to keep an eye on those hens!

I'm really pleased to have a little something I wrote posted over at 'little green blog'.  As January faded away and our family had all had enough of being indoors I made it my aim to take the children for a walk every day this month.  It started well, but the walk has sometimes been substituted with general time outdoors.  I think we may need to work up to a daily walk again... we just don't have the energy or enthusiasm!  However, a regular stroll was such a great part of our spring/summer/autumn rhythm so we will get back to it!

We usually go for a Sunday morning family walk but after a busy couple of days with my parents, we had a lazy morning playing indoors.  After lunch Tom and C continued digging a pit for the trampoline, while H and I have been crafting fishy picture frames for the newly painted bathroom.  R has just fallen asleep here in the sling so I may take this chance to do some baking with the boys, if we can just find an egg....

Stability

When, back at university, Syenna and I decided that having a family was the life for us, we thought only about when would be the best point in our lives to try and do this.  This left us with a choice:

1. Start as soon as we finish university

2. Have a career (each) first

Now, most people seem to choose number 2.  It's the sensible option.  There is the chance to secure yourself in a job, buy a house and earn a reasonable income.  This means that you might be able to afford private education, fantastic holidays and millions of other opportunities for your young family. 

However, we considered that parenting may be hard work, and so best tackled when you are younger and fresher.  Plus, from looking at internet forums and from research elsewhere, we saw how difficult it could be to actually have children, and a race against the (biological) clock seemed a stressful way to start a family.

So, we chose number 1.  Syenna chose it because it gave us the best chance of actually having a family, and also gave our (potential) children the best chance of a healthy life (chromosomal disorders and the like being more probable as the parents age).  I chose it mainly because number 2 was the sensible option.

It wasn't the smoothest path to starting our parenting journey, but we're here and I have no doubts that we chose correctly.  We are exhausted all of the time, but probably less so than we would be if we tried the same in 15 years.  We have never had the chance to get used to hoards of disposable income and so get caught up with buying the latest gadgets, going on holiday or whatever people do with it.  And, we still have the option of having more children, now or when H,C and R are a bit older (although difficult to imagine coping with any more children at present!)

current house

first house

second house

But just as H&C always opt for a 'mixture' when eating cereal, I can't help but wonder what it would be like if we had the pros of both choices.  A stable career, a house and a family.  At work, my contract runs out in October of this year and although I may be able to stay on, nothing is guaranteed.  And so, I have been looking around at other jobs, and houses near to those.  It would mean living in our 4th house since H&C were born but I would be able to continue my career, which is probably the least stressful path.  If I didn't have children, I would be raring to go; anything to climb that ladder!  But now, I have a different perspective.  I just want to settle down and embed myself somewhere.  I want to feel as if I belong, and give our children the chance to feel like that too.

Love Love Love

Sometimes I spend too much time dreaming of wonderful times ahead, of new beginnings, of things I'd like to change, positive steps and strengthening bonds.  Today, I am dreaming of all the happy times we have spent together as a couple and as a family.  Memories of the past, forever etched into our souls.  There has been so much good.  So much love.  So much to be proud of.  We are sometimes guilty of forgetting that our journey, with all its twists and turns, has actually been magnificent.

Re-organising the house

Season table / windowsill

I have wanted to set up a seasonal nature table for ages.  I've seen the idea in books and on other inspirational blogs, and bemoaned the fact that I couldn't find the space in the house (or motivation to do something about it).  Pretty stones, flowers, shells, nuts and so on are often played with or displayed around the home, but I love the concept of an area set aside as our 'alter' to nature.  

bird's nest craft

Over the last couple of weeks we have been on a mission to create more space in the house, through de-cluttering and reorganising.  We still have a long way to go but finally I have found a windowsill free to display our seasonal treasures!

We collected some budding twigs from the trees beside our garden, a crocus and some bright daffodils. A few daffodils came out around the village before all the snow fell, but look a little droopy now!  These ones here were an early Valentine's gift :)

I had also made this little nest from things around the garden, now sitting on the sill waiting for some little eggs as the weather warms.  I'm thinking of making some out of clay, but H is thinking chocolate!  Speaking of eggs, the chickens have been laying for a couple of weeks now.  Delicious fresh eggs.

The bedroom has also had a complete re-jig, since H and C (and Daddy) now sleep in another room.  I had written before about the baby trying to wake his brothers at night, so we all decided to give separate rooms a trial. 'My' room is now bedroom, study, and art area.  It's a bit of a squash, but I had really wanted to create some space for craft activities.  We used our old student desk as the new art table, and found a lovely vintage teacher's desk in a local antique/bric-a-brac shop for the PC.

I'm so pleased with the craft area, with all our supplies in one room.  Anyone can jump up on a chair and let their creativity flow, and I don't mind the fact that the floor beneath is often a sea of cut up pieces of paper!  Yesterday, we made some flowery spring window decorations using beeswax crayons, permanent markers and greaseproof paper.  I was quite proud that H came up with idea after finding the paper in a shopping bag!

As I went to take a snapshot of their bedroom, the boys decided to strike a pose!

On one of the other walls, I have put up a mural I had made out of coloured card.

We rearranged some more furniture to provide some extra storage space in our spare room, and the children have a little play-home area in here.  The porch has also been cleared and Tom made a simple bench for putting shoes on, thanks to some free timber picked up on freecycle. The bathroom has a new lick of paint (thanks again to freecycle!) with proper bathroom paint which won't drip down the tiles like the old colour!  Daddy and the boys have started digging the veg patch and mowed the lawn... it's been busy!

How have we managed all of this?  We would never have been able to do this work and give the boys enough attention if it wasn't for the fact that Tom took a few days off work and my parents helped with the children at the weekend.  I'm so grateful!

Tom's holiday also meant that we were able to spend time with the twins individually, which is nourishing for us all.

Playing in the forest with Daddy

Some time in the park with Mummy

Baby trying to take his first steps at 11 months

We are tired though!  Another cold virus... Why are the boys so prone to it this year?!  ... I mustn't complain though.  Tom has planned another few days holiday next week, we will be celebrating Rupert's first solar return in a few weeks, I'm looking forward to visiting my oldest and dearest friend to give lots of cuddles to her new baby, and some family are visiting from Iran later in March to celebrate Iranian New Year with us all.  I'm enjoying the build up to spring!

The twins' first gym class

As my children have grown, and as I have grown as a parent, I have discovered more about the various groups and classes available for preschoolers.  We have tried a few, avoided several, and learnt that mostly the children are happiest or better off within the family fold.  Yesterday was another learning experience!  I took the twins along to a 'teeny tots gym class' aimed at 3 to 5 year olds, which had been highly recommended to us by numerous friends and parents.  It was the first time I have ever left them in a class of any sort, and I couldn’t help being a little sceptical.

My boys are very energetic and H in particular enjoys gymnastics and yoga at home, so this could have been a fun group for them.  It's a local group but I hadn't taken them before because the parents are asked to wait in the viewing gallery and I hadn't been comfortable with that!  Children grow and change, and the boys (now 4 years old) seemed perfectly prepared to head off without me, even without much encouragement.  They had each other for support, and it's at times like this that I feel they are very fortunate to have a sibling close in age. 

I introduced them to the member of staff, and the boys happily waved me off as I carried baby R upstairs to watch.  I pondered over this unusual scenario: alone with R, and my other children being looked after by a complete stranger, and asked myself WHY I had brought them.  It had been a last minute decision, as I had only phoned up the sports centre that morning.*  I came up with 3 justifications: Firstly, I thought the boys would like to learn more gymnastics with equipment such as crash mats where they could confidently explore their bodies' capabilities.  Secondly, I hadn't planned anything else for that day (what a lame reason!) Thirdly, or perhaps this was the main reason, I had hoped to bring them along to a class such as this, to ensure that I appear to be giving them opportunity to socialise with children close to their age.  Socialisation... I am still compiling my thoughts on that topic!

I was glad to be able to watch from the gallery above, and I really wouldn’t have taken them otherwise.  The first shock was that the boys were actually listening to the staff.... I saw C skipping across the huge hall by himself and being called over to join the others.  With a confused expression, he sauntered back.  H stood up and started dancing on his piece of carpet, but after a few words from the instructor he was back on his bottom.   He couldn’t help himself though, and spun around on the spot, still seated.  That seemed to be allowed.  

With 4 or 5 children per instructor, there seemed to be a lot of sitting around on little pieces of carpet while they waited for their turn.  The actual ‘gym’ part seemed fun, albeit undemanding, and I was pleased to see the boys’ contented expressions.  They did some singing too which I know they would have enjoyed, so overall the class was OK.

However, I was disappointed to see a lack of communication between the children.  I didn’t pick up on any of them talking, or even smiling at each other.  So much for socialisation!  Of course the twins were clearly gossiping and giggling, sitting close to each other most of the time and making the most of it.  Is that why some parents choose to put their twins in different classes at school?  Perhaps it was the wrong sort of class for social interaction, or perhaps children at this age don’t readily talk to each other unless they are on very familiar terms? 

As the boys came out the hall I could see H was fighting a tear in his eye.  He asked me if we were going home, clearly unhappy at the thought.  I had flapjack waiting for him which diverted his thoughts, and a deeper conversation was saved for the car journey home.  He told me that he was sad to leave because he had wanted to roll the large hoops across the hall, but the lady had said that he wasn’t allowed.  He had hoped he could do it at the end, but alas not...

So will we be going back?  I’m clearly not that enthusiastic, but if the boys still want to go along after half term, then we shall.  I’m interested enough to give it another chance, especially while I brew my thoughts on the perceived importance of socialising young children together.  Enough from me for now. 

* I even emailed Tom to let him know that I was thinking of taking them.  We are co-parents after all!     

Dinner time blessings

Earth who gives to us our food,
Sun who makes it ripe and NOT good,
Dearest earth and dearest sun,
Joy and Love for all you've NOT done.

- Hugo's take on our dinner time song last night.

A year in the life of a field

I love the humble field behind our rented cottage.  We decided that we'd move here even before we had looked inside the house, because we had all fallen in love with the view.  These photos take us from the snows of last winter to the sprinkling of snow we received here this week.  I tried to remember to take a snapshot now and then to capture the changing seasons.  Here are a few...

Last winter, it snowed and snowed and snowed.  It was dark for weeks, but the fire inside roared with life.

Spring was gladly welcomed here, to the backdrop of frequent rainbows

Ripe wheat in the summer, ready for the harvest machinery...

Much to the delight of the boys, the combine made light work of the harvest

Cutting back the hedges

End of summer fun - Climbing straw bales

Autumn now, and the telehandler loads the trailer

Tractor ploughing in early winter - the field and the machines take a rest for now

Winter hail, the first the children had ever seen.  Can you spot them excitedly running through the garden?

Snow at the end of January