Fun and Furious all in one day...

Whew!  What a whirlwind week this has been.  I have been really looking forward to this easter break, where for the first time in a long long time we have absolutely no plans.  There is something nice about waking up and just lying in bed, letting the kids watch cartoons and not rushing somewhere.  Bliss.
There was a moment this afternoon where I just sat staring into space with no idea what to do with myself.  That hasn't happened in a long time.

Of course, I am a sucker for punishment or perhaps just a little bit crazy.... so with such a blissfully blank weekend in front of us, I organised for Jaimee's best buddy Jordis to stay the night last night.  The kids had a blast Thursday afternoon playing out in the 'new' playroom (more on that soon) away from my ears , and then  we all curled up after dinner and watched the movie "Brother Bear".  It was fun to finally have the girls at that stage where we can all giggle along at the funny bits together and don't have to explain them as we watch.  Have you seen that movie?  The I Spy (Tree) scene is the best ever.

 The wonderful thing about having a sleepover with a 5,6 and 7 year old is that everyone is sound asleep before 9.30pm.  The not so wonderful thing is that the 5 year old makes sure the fun and games start up again at 6.45am!  We woke on Good Friday to giggles but the Kidzone channel saved the day and we were still able to get a sleep in.  Home made hot cross buns for breakfast and an easter devotion set the idealic mood for the day.....
you would think so anyway.

Actually, what followed was not quite so lovely.  Jaimee requested some time alone with Jordis.  Fair enough.  

Let me give you a wee bit of background here: We are doing a Parenting course at the moment, and one of the things we have been thinking about more is the need for the girls to be able to have time to themselves - not easy when they share a room and are best friends.  I had spent all of Wednesday swapping around our guest room and our playroom so that the girls would have a really nice space to 'get away' - a room that they can go to and just hang out alone if they want some space.  Jaimee has just started hinting that she would appreciate some time out.  Unfortunately, Kate is on the crazy end of the 'needs people with her' scale and the idea of time without her big sister is the most devastating news she could ever recieve.  She HATES being alone.  If it isn't Jaimee, it must be a parent.  Never alone.  So this playroom will be just as good for her as she learns to enjoy her own company.  

Back to today.  We were happy to grant Jaimee and Jordis some 'friends' time together without little sister tagging along.Off they went, leaving behind a miserable Kate, howling with tears and utterly ANGRY at us for allowing such a horrid thing to happen.  What followed was one of the worst meltdowns we have seen from one of our children.  Full on screams, tears, stomping, yelling, more tears and more screams.  It was not a pretty moment.  Did you not hear her?  Eventually, Marty was able to settle her by playing a game of "Guess Who?" with her. So much for learning to love her own company.  It was not happening after a late night and with TWO big girls excluding her at once.  After an hour, she was welcomed back into her sisters fold happily, and peace reigned once more.

Jordis went home, the afternoon rolled around, and so did that staring into space moment I mentioned earlier.  So when Luke woke up I suggested we go out for a bike ride, something I had been hoping to do this weekend. while the long summer was still around.  We had borrowed Marty's sisters little bike trailer for the weekend so we could all go together, even Luke, exciting!   Luke happily hopped in the trailer seat, but took a while to convince that the helmet was a good idea (once he was distracted by the bike moving he ignored it thanfully).   Then we had the drama (while still in the driveway) of Kate not actually being able to get onto her bike.  A quick lesson followed, and we were off.  Not quite.   The chain on my bike was discovered to be off within 10 seconds down the road, so we all pulled over while daddy fixed it.  Finally, we were off!!  The girls felt so important riding on the road (where there was a cycle lane) and were pretty good at checking the driveways like the policeman at school taught them last week.  We rode down to the local primary school and played follow the leader on our bikes around the grounds.  Then it was a quick stop at the playground, where Luke called out to us "pooossss!"....which led to a quick stop at granma and grandads house round the corner for a nappy/singlet/shorts change.  Yep, it was one of THOSE nappies.

We all arrived home in a much better mood, with most of the mornings tantrums, whining and grizzling behind us.  And that was our Good Friday - Fun and Furious all rolled into one.