The poc pocs

I had been quite upset again today and the weather didn't help, we had planned a morning out at a Xmas fair but it was pouring with rain and the brook flooded again making it difficult to cross with the car. So we spent the day at home and the boys came up with a great idea that cheered us all up immensely and provided hours of fun.
Isaac was playing simultaneously with his Lego and play clay when he asked me to make a poc poc (small creatures from the cartoon Abney and Teal that the boys adore), Reuben immediately lifted his head from the iPad and came to help as he knows where the eyes go... This was addictive, we made loads of poc pocs, made them cardboard houses and forgot all our upsets!! I heartily recommend it. Oh and excuse the dark evening photos.

The Poc Poc house

Evening Lego

Poc Poc with Xmas tree

Creative problem solving

Have to share this, my family thinks I'm mad doing all this problem solving with a 2 and 4 year old!
The problem: the boys have been going to sleep later and later and waking up later and later, I don't have a problem with them staying up late and going to bed with me but they are now not sleepy till 11 or midnight and I'm really tired by then. So last night, as Reuben was wriggling in bed not able to sleep, we had a little conversation where I suggested maybe him waking up a little earlier, he didn't seem convinced. This morning, as it was past 9.30 and they were blissfully asleep I decided to start drawing the curtains and mumbling about hot milk. They stirred but didn't want to get up, I felt I was being a little coercive here so when Reuben piped his head up to tell me I was sitting on his leg (unintentionally) I asked him how we could resolve this problem as I wanted them to get their sleep and feel comfy but I also needed to sleep at night. The resulting solution you can see in the photo below!!! We'll wake up early but can we have jam sandwiches and iPads in bed?

A little struggle but much hope

We're still struggling with some personal stuff, nothing to do with the boys, but we all certainly have been better! Today, on the winter solstice, I am trying to concentrate on the good things we have and how grateful I am for them. I am also wondering how to fix what is damaged and make some good plans for the future. I enjoyed going out to watch the sunset and lighting candles and the fire in our fireplace, it was very comforting.
I also spent a good two hours this morning finally booking our train adventure Leicester to Rome, we leave on the 3rd January and we are very excited. We will be catching three trains including the sleeper Paris to Rome which Reuben calls the sleepy train! And spending a couple of hours in Paris, hope there's a chic Parisian playground near the station!!!

I am a little ambivalent about Christmas as it all seems to be about the presents, in our current state of mind we've not been able to muster much seasonal cheer and not being in a Christian environment makes the celebration a little abstract for the boys. I have been talking to them about this time of the year being important for many reasons and they saw a small nativity play the other day so they might slowly be making sense of it. I hate lying about Santa but my partner has forbidden me to ruin the magic so we have come to a compromise where the boys know that relatives but them presents but Santa delivers them... A sort of glorified postman really...

So I remain ever optimistic and hope things will take a positive spin soon, I look forward to seeing my family in Italy and maybe the boys can finally start speaking some Italian... Bilingual unfortunately they are not!!

The Tiger Who Came to Tea live

The boys absolutely love the theatre, especially the Curve in Leicester so even though we have a bit less money to spend, I am happy to take them every other month or so.
Today we saw the adaptation of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Reuben had asked to go as he saw the posters for it a couple of months ago, so he was extra excited!

It is adapted from a short children's story, first published in 1968, written and illustrated by Judith Kerr. The book is about a girl called Sophie, her mother, and an anthropomorphised tiger who interrupts their afternoon tea. With interesting consequences.

The play was lovely, the boys were rapt and are still (6 hours later) singing the songs from the show, it might be a little less engaging if you are over the age of 7 or if you mind the actors looking rather deranged, but I don't and got carried away with the atmosphere!
You can find out more about the play here or watch a trailer here

And here is the complete narrated story:

Christmas at the Guildhall

We are very fond of the Leicester museums and enjoy attending most events aimed at children. For some reason we had never gotten round to visiting the Guildhall next to Leicester Cathedral, today my stepson Eddie joined us for some Christmas fun there.

The Guildhall is one of the best preserved timber framed halls in the country, dating back six hundred years. It has had many uses and lives. The Great Hall itself was built in about 1390 as a meeting place for the Guild of Corpus Christi (a small but powerful group of businessman and gentry). It was fascinating walking around the buildings and the boys had much fun running up and down the stairs and chasing each other round the halls, the buildings have had very many uses over the years and now it is a museum and performance venue. Our plan was to take part in the craft activities and the trail then see a puppet show there, by the time the show started Reuben and Isaac were very tired and we had to leave after only 10 minutes, Reuben shouting: "This is horrible, I want to go home!" was a good motivator to move!!! But they spent a couple of happy hours making puppets and searching for clues so I'm not complaining.

Art with Isaac

The boys have access to a wide range of arts materials, Reuben likes to work on projects where he knows what the outcome will be (generally decided by him but he also likes to look through books and websites for ideas) but Isaac is quite different. Any suggestion is met with cries of horror and hurt pride! He likes to have all the materials spread out on the table or the floor and he will go where inspiration takes him! He also likes to contribute to the large cooperative paintings we do. I put a large canvas or sheet of paper on the floor or wall and we all get stuck in, me and Reuben will have an idea of what we're doing (like an animal or space scene) but Isaac is more free wheeling. On a recent Xmas night scene he insisted we have dinosaurs! I hope he never changes!!

A mummy and Isaac production

I love the upside down canvas

Money matters

We recently have had a change in circumstances, for the better I hope! My partner has sold the business he worked very hard to create and run for over 20 years, so we now find ourselves in the situation of having some funds in the bank but no more income, we are planning on investing these funds but in the meantime we are being very careful with what we spend.
This is a major reorganisation and rethink operation for me, up to now I have spent whatever I felt was needed and wanted, if the boys asked for something I would get it for them and I think this attitude has (against the common idea that it creates spoilt and greedy children) worked well for us as the boys always asked for things they would enjoy and play with/use for a long time, very rarely have they asked for something that was not used, in fact I can't really think of anything... Having the freedom to purchase things has led them to try new foods and games and has not turned them into greedy consumers at all, in fact they seem to be very discerning about what they buy!

But this has had to change as I am now on a budget, so what has changed? And has it been that bad?

• The weekly shopping. We used to pop into Tesco or the farm shop whenever we needed something but I was spending a lot this way. Now I do my weekly shopping online and visit the farm shop just once a week. The boys can still ask to get things but now it all goes on the shopping list. This has cut my spending by half, I feel more organised, we don't have to trawl through the nightmare supermarket and the boys can still pick things our for themselves in the farm shop.
• Outings, as with the shopping we would go out whenever we felt like it. Now we tend to organise a big day out every couple of weeks (we had the Birmingham science museum this week), we have a long list on the wall of places we like or would like to visit, we decide in advance but we also see how everyone feels on the day. This also means packing a picnic instead of having lunch in cafes but it hasn't changed our enjoyment of the day!
• Regular activities. Nothing has really changed here as I know how much everything will cost (things like the home ed group and gymnastics) and have budgeted for it.
• Materials. The boys go through A LOT of arts and crafts materials. Changes I have had to make is save our purchases for a once a month trip to the children's craft shop in nearby Melton Mowbray, it is inexpensive, the materials are good and the boys can pick their own supplies. And for more specialised materials (the boys like to use "proper" arts materials, like acrylics, inks and oil pastels) I also save the purchase for once a month (often every two months) at the Great Art website.

• Making the most of local free facilities. We have always done this but now more so, we very much enjoy all our local museums, parks and playgrounds.
• Making the most of staying at home. I always used to fret that we had to be "doing something" but the autonomous way of life has shown me that creativity, insights and imagination cannot be rushed, they need space to develop. Over the years we have build up a lovely children's collection of books, resources and software for the computer and ipads as well as an extensive list of websites the boys use. They have model railways and toys like lego to play with as well as a large garden and a stream at the bottom of the lane.
• Travel. This is probably the most expensive thing we do, changes have included using the caravan more,staying with relatives and planning in more detail.

Ultimately we all feel that we would rather spend money on doing things opposed to having things, we are certainly time rich so can be more resourceful and not always go for the instant gratification option. We will have more money in the future but this is a valuable lesson for me and I feel that I won't go back to just spending without thought again