Category: week in review

Last part of the school holidays, and Dad taking some longer leave from work, so he’s around more, without the distraction of work.

With a dentist appointment looming, Dad and Puff walked quickly to a cafe on the way there (5kms) for some catch-up time, a bit of exercise, and to work up an appetite.

Huff was more interested in the bungee options available, complete with covid-safe plan, that mostly seemed like the kids needed to wash their hands before climbing into the harnesses, but seemed to be okay. The shopping centres are slightly more socially distanced given the recent Victoria outbreaks, so we are making the most of the freedoms we have while we still have them.

Lunch with Huff, who was keen to take her own photos of this babycino.

Saturday lunch was with Uncle N and Aunty S, then back to their house to spend some time catching up.

Monday was a pupil free day, so Dad and Puff went for another less epic walk.

After that, the whole family travelled to Mount Annan botanic gardens for some more socially distant family time. The kids weren’t as convinced by this kind of activity as they would have been by a more traditional fun activity, but everyone seemed to have a good time.

Holidays are a mixed bag with a working parent,  but we managed to take an overnight trip and the kids had a new experience or two.

Here they are going out on a boat.

Huff learned how to steer the boat.

So did Puff.

It was fun spending the time with them.

Then on Sunday night we spent time with some church friends.

And today, it was finally a chance to catch up with the cousins while Dad worked.

A quiet week – the end of the school term (Huff was a bit disappointed to realise it was the end of term 2, not term 3) and the start of the school holidays.

Dad and Huff went out for a sunset walk, and Huff achieved her goal of going on the swings, while Dad stared at the sunset.

We went for a long overdue family trip to the mountains, and Huff took photos of the scenery.

Huff also took photos of her giant milkshake.

We visited old friends on the way home, which was also excellent.

Sunday, Dad and Puff walked the 8km from home to Doc’s house. We stopped for a delicious late lunch.

Here we are at the end of the adventure.

And today, Dad had a lunch break from his working from home so took the kids out for lunch.

No matter how freezing it is at the moment, the kids seem fine, even as Dad seems to be wearing an extra layer much of the time! 

This week was overshadowed by preparations for, and running, Grandma’s funeral. Thursday night was the tech rehearsal at the church, where we made sure the photo tribute would run, and the kids would be comfortable in the space.

We had dinner with J&C and the kids enjoyed a fire pit.

The kids helped out in the chapel by reading some of the prayers.

And on Saturday, we had a family afternoon tea, which we had originally planned to have with Grandma, and the kids taught some relatives how to play Throw Throw Burrito.

And now we are back to the normal last week of school term. 

A sad week. Not because Huff was able to wear a new pair of earrings to the school mufti and crazy hair day, which she enjoyed.

No; on Friday, we took Grandma to the hospital. Because of COVID restrictions, the kids were only going to be allowed to visit the once, and then Grandma would be limited in who could visit here.

The kids had a chance to laugh and have fun with grandma, and tell her how much they loved her.

Sadly, Grandma – who had been battling with the challenges of MND since her diagnosis in March 2019 – passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning. 

The kids continue to be amazingly resilient as we get ready for the funeral, and try to keep things as normal as we can for them.

Another week where school is back, and life feels like it’s returning to some kind of normal. Dad is back to uni and work, the kids are at school, Mum is busy looking after everyone.

We visited Grandma on the weekend.

Dad and Huff had noodles.

Huff has new pyjamas (and ice cream for dessert). Not only are these awesome, they glow in the dark!

Dad has been doing the school run a bit more often, knowing that the time is limited before working from home becomes more rare. It’s been good to have some unhurried time with each of the kids.

Huff was excited to show off this craft item: it’s a cover for a spherical robot to make it into a dog.

Another ordinary week. Huff and Puff visited Grandma and Doc and thought they’d try out Grandma’s new chair. It’s hard to tell who enjoyed it more. Huff?

Or Puff?

With all the driving Puff to school, Dad felt Huff was missing out on time with him, so we spent some time playing lego role-play together. It was pretty dark. But fun.

Dad paused and grabbed a quick photo of Puff before the post-car afternoon season (homework, chores, getting ready for dinner) began.

Huff watched the live feed of 5/6 camp, complete with activity sheets to look at.

It was certainly odd to have winter camp as a virtual camp instead of a face-to-face one, but there was a benefit in having some family time, even if it wasn’t quite a long weekend in the traditional sense.

Good, too, to be able to visit Grandma and Doc during the downtime after camp was finished.

First week back at school full-time. Dad has been trying to make the most of being the Dad-taxi, taking Puff to and from school and working back late to make up the difference. It’s been good to have some slabs of low-pressure interaction, and some good conversations have come up as a result.

We’ve been easing back into visiting people again. Here are the kids teaching new tricks to a dog.

Huff finally came to grips with what was involve in building the creations in the kiwico crates. Dad offered an extra pair of hands once or twice, but this was largely her build, which was good for her confidence.

The height difference between the two kids is becoming more pronounced.

We’re still spending time with Grandma and Doc on a regular basis, which has been enjoyed by all.

This was the last week of school from home. Managed to grab a few quick snaps of the kids in situation. Puff was getting pretty comfortable with his work environment, even if it was just the dining table.

We had lunch together (there’s still a fair amount of chaos in the room – one day we will tidy it).

The kids visited grandma.

Puff’s 5×5 Rubik’s cube arrived and he’s been trying to figure out how to solve it.

Huff was also enjoying visiting people now that the restrictions are a bit more relaxed.

And now we are back at school full-time. Dad has been driving Puff to and from school, as he’s still working from home, with an adjustment of work hours. Mum has been taking Huff to and from school. Lots more to adjust to, but the kids are dealing with it okay.

We’re currently reeling from the announcement last night that children are to return full-time to school from Monday 25/5/2020. This is much quicker than we thought would happen, and the kids are adjusting to the idea.

Huff spent some time visiting grandma this week (well, we all did, Mum in particular).

Dad and Puff went for a short walk together; Dad needs to work on his selfie expression. Or odes he?

Dad took Huff out briefly to get a DVD to watch with Grandma, and we paused to sit down at a food place while we waited for some food to be prepared. It was actually lovely to sit down with her at an “eating out” table.

The kids set up shop in a kitchen when we were visiting.

Oh, and back home, the kids came up with some minecraft projects to interact on together.

Trying to make the most of the remaining time having the kids around at home before they head back into the school-industrial complex.