Today was supposed to be Pulborough Brooks day. We’ve not made it for quite a while – I know December was the day after France so we didn’t get there and today we were supposed to be taking Tasha, Toby and Vinnie with us too. But I staggered out of bed just before 9am (I didnt get to sleep til gone 3am somehow?) and had to wake Davies who was still very pale. When I asked them both children said they’d rather not go and just stay home instead. So I text Tasha and arranged to see them tomorrow instead.
I was actually a bit disappointed; I’ve not seen Tasha for a while, I knew Julie was going and I’ve not seen her either since cancelling seeing them last week due to Tarly being ill plus there was at least one new family planning on going and I like meeting new people. I also quite like the fresh air and exercise for all three of us that the walk offers. But I decided to be a responsible parent (for once) and not drag a coughing child round outside. It turned out to be the right decision as it started raining about half an hour later and didn’t really stop all day. Julie left a message on the answerphone to say they’d got soaked there so I’m glad we gave it a miss.
Davies and Scarlett were doing that threes a crowd thing over the weekend with Chloe – Davies was tired and being hard work so Tarly jumped into the breach and was very happy to have Chloe all to herself. They both got a chat from me about that yesterday and today were back to being bestest friends and played together all day long with barely a cross word. I had warned them that if we were having yet another enforced day at home they had better ensure it was a harmonious one and they pulled it off really well.
They played DS for a while and I think Lego star wars was a favourite then they played with the lego and recreated it all. Most of the lego collection is stuff Frazer and I had as children and it’s odd to watch D and S sitting playing with it in fairly similar ways to how we used to. That got put away and they asked to watch Star Wars so I let them put that on while I went to do some baking – cheese scones for lunch and some flapkjack just because I’ve not made it for ages and a chocolate chip cakey / biscuity tray bake too.
The film went off and they got out the geomags to make all the characters and carry on a game which seemed loosely based on the film but with the usual D and S style additions.
I decided to have some productive time and complete a few of the tasks still kicking around from last weeks bout of efficiency so I finished shredding the last of the paperwork (now have four bin liners of shredded paper to use as chicken bedding). This was very theraputic as I came across both sets of school place application forms. No idea why I kept them at all but they were both there. I also found pin numbers for all the credit cards we used to have.
I then tackled what is my least favourite householdy task and put away the mammoth pile of clean washing. This included some stuff from being away at the weekend and to my shame some of the washing from after Helmsley that never quite made it to being put away. All clear now though :). I also stuck two loads through and got the first hung up to dry so that all felt very productive.
While I was doing this first Scarlett and then Davies got out their paints. They are really good at putting away what they have finished with first before getting out the next thing. This makes a real difference to my enthusiasm for them getting stuff out in the first place as I now have confidence they will put it away again after themselves rather than me ending up either nagging or doing it myself. I’m not sure whether this has dawned on them or persistent nagging has finally drilled it into them to just do it in the first place! It also helps having the playroom so sorted as everything is accessible to them to get out as and when they please :).
They both did some nice painting – really must sit and do some with them next time, I love painting 🙂
Then it was time for their dinner. It is well documented that Ady and I eat late, I have always eaten late even when still living at home and when first together Ady and I between us worked 4 nights out of 7 til 8pm so dinner time was always at least 9pm. Davies when he first started eating dinners had a 5pm dinnertime which has only really gotten slightly later as he and Scarlett have got older. Ady and I enjoy eating together, just the two of us as a social / reconnecting / still Nic and Ady not just Mummy and Daddy type thing of an evening after the kids are in bed. I am really reluctant to lose that just yet particularly given I sit and eat lunch with the children and they have a sociable dinnertime together the two of them anyway.
It does mean though that we’ve always had two different meals happening and now the children are getting older and are willing to try new foods without it being a big deal or a battle I think it’s time to start introducing them to the dinners we eat rather than the more traditional kiddie-fayre they have been eating. Retrospectively it was probably time a long while ago or maybe even from the beginning but starting now is fine :).
So my plan is to either feed them what we are having later, or a version thereof, if it is feasible to cook a portion for them and then do ours later. Some dinners will be possible to cook for their dinnnertime and either keep warm or reheat later for Ady and I and some will be better cooked for Ady and I with leftovers kept for them for the following day.
So today was salmon fillets. Ady and I had it with mini roast potatoes in their skins with rosemary, and peas. Neither of the children likes frozen or indeed cooked peas (happily eat them raw out of the pods in season though) and I didn’t want to present them with a completely unfamiliar plate of food so they had salmon fillets with potatoe smiley faces. They both ate the lot and loved the salmon so next time I will do them different potatoes too to try knowing they will eat the salmon anyway. This isn’t designed to be some big battleground or turn into something that could give them food issues / potential eating problems. More about expanding their food tastes, letting them try new things and just broadening their horizons a bit. Not to mention hopefully being a bit cheaper. Next stage will be to get them more involved in the planning and eventually cooking of the food too – we talked about where the salmon came from, what cut it was and how I cooked and seasoned it. I’m looking forward to them trying things like (mild) curry, tacos and fajitas and some of our other favourite meals :).
Bedtime stories were Wheels Keep Turning (Wonderwise)
, Traction Man Meets Turbodog
and various random facts from How Much Poo Does an Elephant Do?
Ady and I had our salmon and entertained ourselves with some Gavin and Stacey, some Masterchef and then two rounds on a Telly Adicts DS game he’d found – he won them both!