David and I, however, are hitting our holiday strides. I pulled out those third pair of tracksuit pants (US=sweat pants) that I've been intending to make, and tried to finish them off. After several unpicks, I'm up to the elastic and the hems. Any luck and I might get them done before I go to bed. Trouble is my sewing table (aka card table) is packed away in favour of the Christmas tree and with nowhere else to put the table, I'm relegated to hoisting my sewing machine on and off the dining room table to accommodate the hungry hoards five times a day!
David and I are also busy looking at possibilities for travel in July and early August. We're planning on visiting Australia during CAJ's long summer holiday. This is mostly a holiday and time to visit friends and family, probably with a bit of deputation thrown in. We've decided to rent a motorhome and drive several thousand kilometres into the red centre of Australia to see Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock). None of us have been there and it really is a pity, especially as we keep meeting non-Aussies who have! It is also great opportunity to show the boys something of the essence of their passport country.
But again, it is the possibilities that we find exciting. Both of us enjoy planning that sort of thing (although David is better at nailing down the details than I am). Strangely enough it looks like we'll book the motorhome a month or so before we book the airplane tickets! The travel agency we consulted today doesn't open the books for July until late January, early February.
So it has been frustrating to deal with bored boys when we're having a great time ourselves. Thankfully our youngest son had a friend over for a short while this afternoon. However they couldn't find enough stuff to do.
Actually all four boys plus my husband ended up in the lounge room at about 3pm. My husband was helping the two Grade Oners with a science activity (Snap Circuits) the older two were just bored and causing trouble. This room isn't big, has paper-lined floor-to-ceiling doors on one side and the opposite side sliding cupboard doors that are also paper-lined (although slightly more sturdy). At present there is also a heater, and a Christmas tree in there too, besides our small TV. It is the only room in the house with carpet, so it is a magnet for boys wanting to wrestle.
But it just is too small for wrestling and indeed, that many restless boys. It is days like today that I really miss Australia with its larger houses and backyards. In fact we ended up throwing the middle son out of the house with his older brother who decided to do a mile run. The middle one isn't into running, but I think he rode alongside his brother. When they got back about 15 minutes later, I fed them and then allowed them to watch their new Top Gear DVD. Peace . . . for a little while, anyway! But I won't bore you with the rest of their painful antics today.
My big achievement is that I did actually finish those pants just after dinner. I was really desperate to finish them. I just wanted this project done and over with! I've decided that while I'm handy with a sewing machine, sewing isn't really my gifting.
My husband asks, "So, what's your next (craft) project?" Well, I have material for a tablecloth for our new extending table, but I think I'll wait on that until I can put up my sewing table again (in the lounge room!). I have a small cross-stitch that I'm framing and probably should get on with doing some more stitching. I have a large backload of small projects that people have given me over the years. They are easier than the larger ones, but the start up and finish (that I'm bad at) take up lots of time and slow my enthusiasm for them.
Tomorrow, though, I think we'd better concentrate on the boys a bit more. Today's reactive parenting hasn't worked well.
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