As close to typical as we get

I’ve been trying to think when would be a good day to do a photoday this year. Not one of my working days cos they’re not typical or what I hope characterises our days, not a weekend cos they are exceptional with Ady around. We’ll have to see but actually today would have been a good day as it had many of the elements which make up a normal day for us.

We had friends over, we see people pretty much every day, it definitely sums up our lives, we mix and mingle. Lucy, Richard and Rebecca were round for the morning. D&S were playing with geomags while eating breakfast and I washed all the stones we collected yesterday in the bath to get all the salt and other sea debris off them. The Dr Who games continue with Davies making cybermen, daleks and the Doctor
Lucy and co arrived and the children were mostly off playing while we desperately tried to catch up with each other. They came all wearing croc-a-likes so the kids set up something of a crocs parade in the hall which I rearranged for photo opportunities 🙂

Davies got out a balloon kit which had been a Christmas pressie from Lucy and co and set about blowing up a green one for Rebecca (her favourite colour) a red one for Richard (Davies’ own favourite colour 😆 Richard was asleep so unable to express a preference!) which he fixed onto sticks and then as I refused to do it for him he got the instruction book out and worked out how to make swords by twisting them. I was impressed :). They then tidied all that up and got the lego out while we made some lunch. Aside from lots of interuptions to grown up chatting it was a very harmonious few hours. 🙂

After they left we brought in the stones which had been drying in the garden and my papier mache Yoda, spread out loads of newspaper and did some painting. I explained that I wanted to make a good selection to take to kessingland to show people to give them ideas and we looked through the books trying to find some good examples of stones painted using the natural stone colour underneath, stones totally painted, stones with pictures painted on and stones which suggested an idea so strongly from their shape it was obvious what you should make them into. Davies did a great job of following the picture instructions to make a ladybird and a rabbit and he did some other bits too. Scarlett did a very good ladybird and then just painted lots of faces on the rest. I did a ladybird, an owl, a penguin, a crocodile, one with a rainbow, one miniature me and one which just looked like Wallace’s head so much I had to make it into just that. Actually looking at my animals they all have a very Aardman look to them – not sure if that is me seeing that in anything cartoony or me being too influenced by that look – will try and do some more lifelike painting on the next lot. I also painted the first coat on Yoda and later did the detail for his face. I’m quite pleased with him so far although I can see what I would have done differently another time, finishing touches to be added tomorrow / Saturday – hopefully he will pass muster with the birthday boy on Sunday :).


We cleared the painting stuff up, the children cleared themselves up 😆

The children had dinner – Scarlett who goes for weeks eating the same dinner every night and then moves onto the next one is currently in a potato waffles and eggs phase and then Ady arrived home with the new car. He had to go and collect some plants so we all piled in, the children tested their new car seats and the new dvd player, Ady filled it up with petrol, I had a quick go – will have a proper play when I have it for the day on Saturday but I think 6th gear might take some remembering to use :shock:. Anyway, we’re very pleased with it – it fulfils my desire for a higher up car like my Sharan, the kids get to have a dvd player they can listen to and watch without being disturbed by us listening to the radio, the rear seats fold into the floor so we don’t have to decide between space in the back or seats in the back and it just has so much space – camping this summer will be a breeze to load the car up :).

Home, bed for kids, bath, dinner, Grand Designs and about to be bed for us. Work tomorrow.