Another pretty good day here today. Scarlett woke for under an hour at around 4am – which is pretty horrid but a vast improvement on what we have been living with so I am feeling positive about the action we are taking in that respect.
Zoombinis arrived in the post from amazon this morning – very impressive I only ordered it on Friday night 🙂 I had been reading on various blogs about it and decided that as Davies has been getting into some of the educational computer games we have and I have been fretting about maths it would be a wise investment. I installed him straight on it and he spent a good couple of hours there on and off. He is definitely not himself at the moment – I am waiting for him to show other syptoms of coming down with something as he is just so irrational about things – and this was one of them. He could do quite a lot of it, but he just wanted me to sit next to him the whole time, or do it for him, or just get him past a certain level. I struggle with that really as I feel there is little value to me doing it for him only to get onto a harder level which he still won’t be able to do – and also that he gives up so easily and insists he can’t do something which frankly is really not that beyond a child as bright as he can be. Anyway having asked on list it would appear that one of the other discs is slightly less challenging so I have said we will have a go at that one tomorrow. Quite impressed with it on the whole though 🙂
Had to go to Sainsburys today also (and posted your parcel Helen – you should get it tomorrow 🙂 ) so we did that next and the kids were amazingly well behaved really. They did insist on opening and eating a dairylee lunchables thingy each as we went round which did keep them quiet but was also tweaking at my bad mother in public antenna as Jamie called them rubbish last week! Spent loads as Ady had sent me a text earlier to say he has got a bonus coming in June 🙂 (not anywhere near enough to make even a small dent in the debts so we might as well enjoy it and spent it! Thinking about Disney for later in the year – if you are going to go bust why not do it in style 😉 ). Scarlett got a Dora magazine, Davies got Mary Poppins on dvd (probably our most watched video so worth getting on dvd IMO!). Then home for more Zoombinis for Davies and some colouring for Tarly.
Finally persuaded Davies he should come off the computer as it was making him too upset so we all sat and watched Mary Poppins and ate lunch – kids then played until Mel arrived with L and L to play. The four of them played really nicely as usual (if noisily and messily!) with the boys making a train track and the girls playing with the crafty stuff. None of them ate much but they enjoyed the idea of sitting together having tea! Mel and I seemed to find more to chat about this time – it’s been a few weeks (since before Melrose) which probably helped. She asked a bit about HE and I think she sort of got a bit more of what it’s about and why I’m doing it. She said she’d thought about me the other day when L asked something about volcanos and she couldn’t answer so we talked a bit about that.
Just as they were all leaving Ady arrived home so he was able to chuck the kids in the bath while I tidied up all the debris of four kids playing. I was upstairs sorting out a puzzle which Tarly had emptied over Davies’ bedroom floor when I heard Davies screaming and came down to find he had been running around with a towel on him, tripped over it and whacked his head on the foot of the sofa. Huge purpple bruise offset by his very grey face 🙁 Ady was cuddling him while telling him off for not listening when he had told him to stop running about and Davies was choking and saying ‘I sob can’t sob stop sob crying’. On the verge of hysteria. Managed to calm him down (thought he was gonna throw up actually) and then got the kids to bed while Ady got dinner on (roast beef to make up for not having Sunday roast last night!).
Ady is working from home most of the day tomorrow, Davies wants to play the other Zoombinis, Scarlett probably plans making a mess and I have at least three areas of the house requiring urgent attention (bathroom full of toiletries clutter, Scarlett’s room become a dumping ground and the craft stuff is totally scattered around the playroom and needs putting back into some sort of order ready for doing some actual activties with instead of random scattering!) and of course preparing myself for my solo trip to London on Wednesday 🙂
ooh, a parcel to look forwards to!
poor Davies. and to land on his head – bad luck.
i keep debating the zoombinis thing for SB
Comment by helen and chris F — 08 March 2005 @ 12:01 am
We love Zoombinis 🙂 Joe is currently playing Mountain Rescue, never gets very far, but somehow just choosing 16 zoombinis keeps him occupied for a long time!
Comment by Sarah — 08 March 2005 @ 8:25 am
Nic- it is the science museum next week isn’t it?
Comment by Roslyn — 08 March 2005 @ 9:19 am
Yes – I’m going to London to see Boss Lady tomorrow to talk about paid employment for me 🙂 Science museum is next Wednesday.
Comment by Nic — 08 March 2005 @ 9:49 am
Woohooo, got parcel, thanks v much. that was quick!
Comment by Chris F — 08 March 2005 @ 7:57 pm
Ouch at the bumped head, Lije does the horridly grey thing too although not the others.
Glad he’s enjoying Zoombinis 🙂 Other maths games Elijah has/is enjoying are Maths Blaster (4-6), and DK Bear & Penguin Big Maths Adventure (5-7) (they do a 3-5 version too which I haven’t seen, although Layla has it – the 5-7 starts off with adding up to 10).
In fact, if you want to borrow the Maths Blaster one you’re welcome. The Blaster series are really old! We used to have the 5-7 one, which was pretty good too, but it’s been lost for a few years – might have to buy a new one …
Actually, might have to buy a load of new software for the big girls! Haven’t bought anything new for months, so we don’t really have much that’s ‘educational’ that they can play.
Comment by Alison — 08 March 2005 @ 10:50 pm
You lot are all so bad for my bank balance!!
Comment by Joanna — 09 March 2005 @ 10:34 am
Yes please to maths blaster Alison – just done another Amazon order for a couple of the others 🙂
Comment by Nic — 10 March 2005 @ 5:04 pm