A Conversation with The Boy

The Boy: The bad thing about school is dance program.
Me: You used to love the dance program.
The Boy: I hate it.
Me: Why?
The Boy: Dance program is lame.

and there you have it ... the power of the peer group.

Last Thursday was convict day for The Boy. Earlier in the week he took in some information about his ancestor George Wood to share with the class but on the day played the part of a highwayman transported on the First Fleet. He spent two stretches in solitary confinement ... the second time was for fun.

The kitchen table Saturday morning ...

looked like this. A combination of paperwork that entered the house in the previous 24hours, workshop paper writing and DIY projects.

One of Hubby's DIY's was the new heater in the kids activity room, so they can study at night without freezing.

 

In between writing I did a few sports runs. Still needing to tape her fingerl, but an 18-8 win in basketball.

 

 After Hubby had finished his DIY, he tackled a project The Boy has been wanting to do for a while
now.

 

 And it didn't disappoint.

This week's links ...

1. I don't know what your to do list looks like but mine is something like this.

2. Self-watering pots DIY.

3. 10 Tips for better photographs of your kids.

4. The Boy is always looking for some good books to read. Here's a list of 40 Fiction Books for Boys.

5. If you love putting on a themed party this site has tons of ideas.

The Five of Us :: 5

Taken on Mother's Day ... and it gives a good indication of how cooperative The Boy has been lately.

The Five of Us :: 4

This was the photo I picked for our Five of Us shot for April. Out the front of our factory in China on opening day.

This week's links ...

1. I think 10:51pm may be a little too late to start the day over (especially since I was writing past midnight last night) but you can grab the free printable.

2. Gardening is on my radar at the moment since I have an almost empty bed waiting to be planted. I am notoriously bad at making sure my veggies are well supported and under control. Tips and Tricks for Trellising Veggies.

3. Yesterday my fairly new iphone5 went dead. There was no warning, just a blank screen and I was unable to turn it on. I was out at the time and was getting worried (my life is on that phone and the kids had no way to contact me that afternoon if plans changed) and the simultaneous pressing of home and power didn't work. As soon as I got home I googled an answer and as ridiculous as it sounded it worked. I still have absolutely no idea what the problem was. So, if you have an iphone that suddenly goes dead for no reason toggle the mute button a couple of times and then press the home and power buttons simultaneously and the apple icon will appear on your screen. That's my tip for the day but here's many more ... 40 Secret iphone Features.

4. The funnest (my grammar police mum would be on to me right now) Wizard of Oz Cupcake Toppers.

5. I'm a big fan of pinterest, it's where I keep all my links to share on Saturdays. Here's a tutorial on adding a pinterest gallery to your blog.

Around here ...

Picking the last of the crop

before clearing and topping up the bed.

Two nights away on camp. I ran into one of the pastors on Sunday and she had spent a chunk of Saturday with The Boy. The assessment: "He could talk the leg off a chair", which is pretty accurate when he gets on a roll. This is the return. One very tired boy, but he had a fabulous time with his mates.

Cooking Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies (thanks to Amy for pointing us in that direction). Plus The Exchange Student served us up Korean curry on Sunday night, so I got two nights in a row off cooking.

Writing. Due Saturday.

The most gorgeous autumn day for watching or running cross country, much better than the crazy wind on Friday for The Boy's. We have a least one more this year because The Little Girl qualified for the school team.

Testing whether regrowing really does work. The spring onions have been there about 5 days, the lettuce I put in today.

Making a big pot of chilli. The bonus is that there will be less to move when I clean the pantry out.

The majority of the weekend was spent ferrying kids around. Saturday night we were rostered on to host at Dinner Tonite but The Big Girl had to be dropped at a party at 6pm so we decided that I would go by myself. I wasn't feeling that enthusiastic, sometimes it can be a fairly difficult job, but the people at my table were very talkative and we had some good conversation, then three of us went into chapel ... and I didn't have a little group a people waiting at the door trying to hurry me up. The night turned into a real blessing for me, filling me up rather than draining me.