Peace The World Cannot Give.

The husband and I were having a conversation about how things are going for us this lockdown. We're both grateful to be Catholic because our faith grounds us and breaks us free from the usual worries of the world. Life still can be hard, but there's a sense of peace that flows through our day to day. Our children are our blessings (not burdens), and that perspective matters in the way we are with them. Home is our safe (and noisy) haven from the outside world. I think we're doing pretty okay, all things considered. 

We're making use of the time at home to carry out little home improvement projects, things we usually wouldn't have time to do. I've finally gotten down to buying new Catholic formation books to keep up with our children's hunger to read. I'm refreshing our children's toys and organising parts of the home. 

The husband is enjoying more time in the garden and giving his seedlings lots of TLC. He's also teaching the children more board games and reading up on new games to add to our collection. 

In random bits of news:

- Our big boy has just lost his top front tooth (after lots of whinging at meal times) and now has another loose front tooth. Oh joy.

- Our big girl is as always, the peacemaker among the siblings. These days, though, she can also give a misbehaving sibling a good earful. She told her big brother off today for being distracted in his work. I whistled and told her she scolds him harder than I do!

- Our little man now goes by the name "Pupstar". 

- Our little lady loves helping me feed our compost. Lately, she toddles through the garden with me and we visit the worms to give them some food. She watches while I unload veggie scraps into our compost bin. She's very earnest about it all and wants to see everything I'm doing.

Building the Sky Tower this morning. 

The floor is lava in our front yard this week. 

It's the feast day of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel & Raphael. We had a special dessert to celebrate and prayed the prayer to St Michael at night prayer. Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael , pray for us. 

Seeing Cubes.

Our big boy is quite exceptional in his visuospatial abilities; he easily draws 3D shapes where his sister and I struggle.

Our big girl made a geo board last week and this is him playing around with it this morning:

It's pretty cool. 

Keeping Things Interesting.

Our little lady has started walking down and up the stairs. Not crawling anymore, walking. She's happy to accept applause at the end of each attempt, or clap for herself if you're not.

We watched the movie, Fantastic Mr Fox, this evening. Our big boy gamely read most of the book aloud to his siblings this afternoon after we said we'd get to watch the movie after everyone had had a chance to hear the book first. This one responds exceedingly well to dangled carrots. 

Our big girl is currently working on a cross stitch piece. I remember doing cros stitch as a child, so it's nostalgic for me (yes, husband, roll your eyes.) She was very keen, so when I spotted this going second hand for $5, I picked it up for her. This will keep her busy enough for the coming week, at least.

It's the last week of school before term break. Not long more to go! 

Hacksaw.

Carpentry was on our big boy's mind the moment he woke up. He was excited to learn to use the hacksaw, and this was the day! He told me he had a dream about using a hacksaw just before he woke up. 

Before 9am, he'd had breakfast and we were outside having a go at the hacksaw. Very exciting! We soon learned that because it's a fine-toothed one, sawing takes a lonnnnng time. He ran out of patience quickly and engaged papa and I to help when his arms got tired. 

Woodworking got full-on at 3pm when all three older children were outside. For awhile, the metallic, syncopated clinking of hammers was all you could hear. 

I taught our little man to use the screwdriver today and he managed to make a face for his robot using nails and saw. 

Takeaway from today: saw work is fun! But we need a bigger saw! I'm also happy to report that all fingers and toes are intact at the end of a busy day of carpentry, although our big girl did hit her thumb with a hammer! 

Tonight was game night with our big boy. We played Pandemic, a game I've been wanting to play since the pandemic started. It's a cooperative game where we race against time to find a cure for the virus before it spreads across the globe. We won!! Now if only things were so simple in real life. 

It feels like things have come full circle somewhat; Pandemic was one of the first games we bought when we started our hobby in 2013. I remember sitting at the foot of our bed, speaking in hushed tones as we played this game. On the bed, our firstborn slept, oblivious. Today, he's playing that very game with us! 

Hammer & Nail.

The birthday blessings spilled over into today as well, when a truckload of compost was quite literally spilled onto our front yard at 8am. Happy birthday, husband! 

Several boxes of specially-curated beers from my mom arrived shortly after.

A knock on the door later in the morning revealed our sweet neighbours who'd put together a selection of treats, cured meats and a bottle of wine for him, with a thoughtfully written card.

For a man who is happiest flying under the radar, he's certainly received a lot more attention than he's used to. And lots of food and drink, too, for which he's definitely not complaining! 

Also excited were our children who received their much anticipated carpentry set in the mail today. The courier delivered a large sack of wood offcuts yesterday sans tools, very anticlimactic. 

They were shouting with excitement when the box of tools was eventually delivered at lunchtime today.

They wasted no time getting started:

We focused on safety rules and getting comfortable working with hammer and nails today. 

Our little man isn't too keen on woodworking just yet but gave it a try. Our big girl knew she wanted to make a geo board and jumped right in with planning and getting it started, minimal guidance needed. Our big boy flitted from one idea to another (robot to stool, to boat...) he eventually made a boat but loved the little nail critter he made and named Bob. He probably called my name every two minutes. All very different styles and approaches but the older ones have a common interest in it. 

Given how costly labour can be here in New Zealand, we thought it would be great for them to get comfortable with some basic carpentry. As a result, this little carpentry station was born. 

They have their own toolbox and carpentry supplies cupboard at the moment; it would be great for them to have a table of suitable height to work at as well. A work that's definitely in progress.

We handed them our old rice cooker to dismantle this evening and they had a grand time going at it with screwdrivers and taking it apart. Fun!

Bubble Birthday.

Birthday breakfast delivery! He says it was his favourite part of the day.

The children got the day off school on his birthday; he still worked. Go figure! 

His mother prepared a slideshow of his baby pictures and regaled her grandchildren with stories of his growing up years over Zoom. That was memorable! 

I'm glad for a low maintenence husband. Doesn't take too much to keep this one content. Japanese curry for dinner and pandan chiffon cake with a birthday song. 

Two cubic metres of compost arriving for him tomorrow morning. Happy 35th birthday, love. 

Lockdown Day 35. (The Last Day)

中秋节快乐! Happy Mid-autumn festival!

Thank you, Popo, for sending us the lanterns to enjoy. 

Also, lockdown ends at 2359h tonight and we go into level 3 for 2 weeks.

We already have placed our first click and collect order. To Mitre 10, our local hardware store! Takeaways will have to wait! 

Lockdown Day 34.

A friend asked me this morning if I was loopy yet after weeks of lockdown. I said I was mentally quite exhausted and probably would need to have a good cry if lockdown was extended. Thankfully, it hasn't been extended and we go down to alert level 3 tomorrow night.

We'll still be in bubble life but takeaways and click/collect shopping is likely to be more accessible.

I hadn't stopped to think about it, but her question made me realise that the responsibility of keeping the home going, always having a finger on the pulse of the children's wellbeing, while keeping them busy has been tiring. Fulfilling, but tiring. It's a big ask for one person, but by the grace of God, I go. 

One step at a time. We're still enjoying the days together,the children are joyful, and that's a huge blessing. Plus, I still have ideas to take us through the next few weeks! 

enjoying the sunshine, and our planks are a slide this week. 

participating in her big sister's online tasks too. 

Lockdown Day 33.

We're on a mission to cover the floor with completed jigsaw puzzles. 

To be continued. 

Lockdown Day 32.

Big girl: Dear guardian angel, thank you for the wonderful walk we had this morning as a family. Amen.

A child's prayer often speaks volumes. It was indeed nice to get out to walk as a family. She loves the muddy puddles best!

Our other daughter also loves to put her feet in... unconventional places. 

here's her papa pulling splinters or prickles out of her feet this morning, probably gotten from traipsing barefoot in the grass or scaling the wooden ramps in our front yard. 

Lockdown Day 31.

The husband remarked that it's a good thing we planned our snow trip for the July term break instead of the October one. It sure is! We'd be travelling hot on the heels of a lockdown and it would be more worrying than enjoyable. I'm glad the children got to see snow before all this unfolded.

We watched The Lion King this evening. Predictably, our big boy was running away to hide at the scary parts. Overall though, it was enjoyable for all. I think it was the first movie I watched in the cinema with my mum and brother decades ago. Nostalgic! The soundtrack was amazing and the husband was singing along to ALL the songs! Haha!

30 days into lockdown and a break is much needed. Takeaway would be nice! We can't get that at the moment so we'll settle for the weekend. 

Lockdown Day 30.

Making a "Garden in a dish" was one of the tasks assigned to our big girl for online learning today. She dived right in and spent HOURS putting her garden together. Pokemon, gemstones, cars all went right in there. 

I have been growing some windowsill vegetable cuttings and it turns out sprouting bak choy makes a good tree in a mini garden! Carrot tops are good too!

She cut some of Papa's red nasturtiums for the garden, too. They really brightened up the scene. 

Our big boy constructed a popsicle stick house just for her (and used up all our hot glue gun sticks in the process).

To top it off, Papa gave them some salad green seeds to plant in their garden. They were hopping with excitement and they can't wait for the seeds to sprout. They just need to resist the urge to reposition the plants/water the plants/poke the soil every few minutes and we'll be fine. 

From the start of the week, we've been venturing out for a bike ride every afternoon. We do a short loop around our neighbourhood. The children love it because it's short and they can go as many rounds as they want. Our big boy enthusiastically decided on 10 rounds today, up from 6 yesterday. It was hard work keeping up with him! While my idea of a nice bike ride is going different places every day, these guys are chomping at the bit to go the same route every.single.day.

That being said, it's great to see them having an enthusiasm for daily exercise so I'm just gonna take their lead on this one. 

Lockdown Day 27. (And it just got 7 days longer)

And so it is. Level 4 lockdown has been extended by a week. Watching the alert level announcements would often fill me with a sense of hope that deflated as the announcement unfolded. I decided awhile ago that I'm done tuning into the live announcements. Finding out after the fact definitely helps, especially when I have helpful neighbours who update me!

What changes? The husband is likely to have a bubble birthday this year. We'd already come to accept that. It's become more likely that we won't be able to get him a gift delivered in time. That being said, who needs a present when one has 4 months' supply of strong Kopi O Gao lovingly sent across the seas by his parents? He'll be caffeinated enough to survive lockdown! The man wants a truckload of compost for his birthday. We might be able to make that happen, if our ducks play ball and line up.

The children? We've told them to expect to go back to school only after the school holidays, in four weeks' time. They took the news pretty well. One of the perks of having three siblings is that you're never short of a play mate. If you're bored or annoyed with one, the next one might prove better company. 

Our little man recently moved out of our bedroom and is now roomies with his older two siblings. Imagine that, waking up with all the ingredients for play right next to you. I'm often woken up by their happy chatter in the mornings, even as they TRY their best to be quiet while thumping down the stairs. 

I have much to be grateful for. I'm itching to do some online shopping, considering we'll be home for awhile more. The only thing holding me back is the currently overloaded postal system. Order something now and I'll probably get it when we're out and about again. Ah well. 

busy bodies this afternoon. 

Lockdown Day 26.

Their first time venturing out of our little lane in three weeks, it was a pleasant walk in the bush. 

My experience yesterday informed our trip today, and most of us wore gumboots. Squelching through muddy puddles was a new but not entirely unpleasant experience. In fact, there was a certain feeling of invincibility around knowing the mud could not reach my toes!

We find out tomorrow if lockdown will be lifted soon. There are several unlinked cases which hopefully won't throw a spanner in the works.

Lockdown Day 25.

Self-care today came in the form of a 30 minute brisk walk around the neighbourhood. I discovered a bush walk tucked away just across the street from us and embarked on a little adventure of my own.

Also, this arrived for us today:

A box filled with Lego that the husband built with growing up. Now, that's well-aged Lego!

Hours slipped by as the children played. We now have a heaping lot of Duplo at home! 

Lockdown Day 24.

We made 拉面 (hand-pulled noodles) today! It went smoother than I thought it would, and I really liked how everyone got involved. We used an easy mince sauce recipe that was scrumptious.

We also taught the children how to apply WD40 to squeaky hinges. They had so much fun they checked every door in the house!

Yay to the weekend! This mama's ready for it! 

Lockdown Day 23.

Tonight, our big boy broke his bed when he jumped on it. To be fair, it was just a slat that cracked and was just displaced on one side under his weight so it's still functional.

He was in tears and frustrated with himself for the mistake. Papa and I weren't as upset as he was, but we did say he'd have to continue sleeping on the bed until we get a chance to reposition the slats in the morning. Natural consequences. 

Our most expensive child to upkeep, he is known to break things by accident (or negligence), especially things that don't belong to him. He's cracked a toilet seat in one of our previous rental homes, busted a hole in a friend's wall, and broken his siblings' toys on a few occasions. He certainly feels the pinch this time because it's something that is his own.

Well, he certainly keeps life interesting. Never a dull moment! 

He went from not knowing how to fold his own pants last week to being able to fold the family's laundry, like he did this morning, unasked. He's a big help, and those mad origami skills are coming in handy!

Popo sent a box of treats tonight and he was intrigued by this IQ game. 

Our big girl loved the glow-in-the-dark solar system from Popo and was proud to show off her creative arrangement on the wall.

The day ended a little less than ideal but it has been a pretty smooth day overall. Papa's weekend has effectively begun as his school is on mid term break tomorrow. Woohoo!

 Ending my post with a picture of these little sausage rolls snug on the couch this morning. Now that's the life! 

Lockdown Day 22. Happy Birthday Mother Mary!

The little man is a dependable helper in the kitchen. He follows instructions well and stays on task. His older brother prefers freestyling or adapting instructions! For example, insisting on grating cheese with all four sides of the box grater when you really just need cheese grated one way. 

I made Filipino Spanish Rolls for tea and the little man helped with the finishing touches. 

The rolls are "painted" with evaporated milk and rolled in breadcrumbs to give the buns an extra crunch. Yum.

It's the feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We sang a birthday song and had some sweet treats. And the children did a special colouring for the occasion too. Happy birthday, Mother Mary! 

The little man was initially not keen to do this, but our big girl expertly talked him into it by displaying all the colour pencils beautifully and telling him how Mother Mary loves blue, which also happens to be his favourite colour. As they coloured, she taught him about Mother Mary and Jesus too. She truly has a special way with the younger ones, our big girl.