Our Summer :: the Rainy Days

Thanks so very much for all your warm welcome home wishes yesterday, for Little Man's Birthday wishes and for the hugs and sympathy for the start of school. OK, I have to admit that in the grand scheme of things, yesterday was not really so bad. I know there was snot and tears, but we are all still intact, no limbs were lost, and no-one was irreparably damaged in any way.  I kind of lost the perspective there for a while when I was writing yesterdays post, those darn emotions, don't they lead us a merry dance sometimes? Silly old me.
Despite the traumatic start, Little Man did in fact go on to have a "great" day yesterday, and this morning, well he was still extremely clingy but no tears thank goodness. I am hoping the morning drop-off will get progressively easier day by day. That I will not traumatise the poor teachers and other mothers by snotting over them again.

So :: onward and upward. The next few days, if it's ok by you, I feel the need to review a little. To do Closure of our Summer. I like the word Closure. According to the online dictionary, there are several definitions, but the one that's most appropriate here is this ::
"an often comforting or satisfying sense of finality"

Somehow it seems important for me to record some of the past six weeks, to remember the ordinary, every day bits of summer  '08 that would perhaps otherwise get forgotten. To sort of lay them out, view them, then wrap them up and store them away and get on with the activity of Autumn. I was looking back through photos and a few of my posts-in-draft yesterday and was delighted and surprised to see that our summer this year was really rather good, despite the weather. I feel as if we enjoyed it hugely, rain and shine,  and the time spent with my Little People throughout the six weeks was really great.

These pictures were all taken on one single day at the start of the holidays :: Wednesday 30th July.

This day was very typical of the Wet Days we spent together at home during the summer, although as August went on, we increasingly seemed to have more and more children in the house. Number 24 has become a magnet for children up and down the street as well as various ajoining streets. It's been great fun if not a little noisy and chaotic at times (yesterday after school I had 5 extra kids in the house as well as my two, I kid you not). And as much as I love that they enjoy coming to our house, I did like the days when it was just the three of us.

There was crafting :: I bought the Littl'n's a Craft Chest at the start of the hols, and pretty much left them to their own devises with it. I didn't really do much in the way of organised activity, only helped out when I was asked to, and it was great to see what they came up with. A spider named Harry (Little Man's creation), and two little pompom pets (Little Lady made these). And over the weeks there have been all sorts of wonderful things constructed out of pipe cleaners, feathers, sticks and straws, card and foam, string and selotape, glue and glitter. It's been very messy at times (there is still a sprinkling of glitter throughout the house), but good all the same.

There was baking :: I baked a LOT during the holidays, mainly to provide snack material for the hungry hoards, but also quite often as a rainy day activity to keep Little Fingers busy.

There's nothing like the promise of smarties, hundreds and thousands and Writing-Icing to bring excitement and creativity into the kitchen.

There was morning coffee :: my treat each morning when I was missing my regular cafe visits. I have this great coffee machine, its a Phillips Senseo.
I can highly recommend this machine. The coffee it produces is mighty fine and has this scrumptious creamy layer on the top :: it's almost (but not quite) as good as a cafe coffee experience.

And its one of those little things that makes me hugely happy, one of life's little luxuries. My favourite mug with a creamy cup of coffee with a sprinkling of chocolate powder, and perhaps a little caramelised biscuit to go with it..mmmmmmm. I sit at the table with the Little People, sometimes crocheting, sometimes blog-reading on my baby laptop, while they get stuck in with the crafting.

There were stories :: cosying up on the sofa under the Granny blanket, reading together.

There was "work" :: I found these books in the supermarket and they have been great. Little Man loves to work these pages, and Little Lady has even started to read and write using hers. It was delightful to watch.

There was counting :: coins emptied from the money box and painstakingly counted (several times) into little metal buckets. Later in the afternoon we went out in the rain, carrying the money buckets to the local newsagent to buy a few sweets. Counting out the coins on the counter, exchanging pennies for lolipops to suck on the way home.

There was Home Cinema :: on this particular late afternoon, the Little People chose the Nanny McPhee dvd.

We adore this film :: I particularly love the children's bedroom scenes, with the beds all decked out in patchwork quilts and crochet blankets, the huge light filled window and the delightful butterfly mobile.

 

It's a magical film, perfect for a rainy afternoon.
So, that was the rainy, wet day that was 30:07:08.
It was ordinary, but oh so worth remembering.
Tomorrow, a look at the Sunny Days........

Comments

[Rebecca]

Writing icing is very appealing to all age groups - give a bunch of twenty year olds a batch of uniced ginger biscuits and a packet of writing icing and marvels will occur! (one of my friends did an anatomically correct and labelled drawing of a butterfly. Which she then refused to eat, because it was too pretty)

I have so enjoyed reading your blog - it's colourful, interesting and fun.

[Maddy]

Oglington Fartworthy, the best name I ever heard.

[Lisa]

Go with those emotions is what I say!
We're brimming over with them here, different reasons as you know, but it's important to just let them run their course as it's what life is all about and they are part and parcel of all life's milestones.
It's a lovely idea to spend a while reflecting on what has happened during the hols, especially with photos of scrummy cakes and chocolate dusted coffee.

[julia]

Sounds like the perfect rainy day! Looking forward to hearing more about your hols.
Andrea does sell the little glass pots with red lids, they come in a set of 5 and cost £7.95 plus p&p. Let me know if you want any.
Big day for my baby girl tomorrow, school starts, there's no denying it now. Tissues at the ready!
Julia xx

[Anna]

Sigh. You always paint such a happy idyllic picture. Your children are very lucky to have a mum with such an enthusiastic happy and colourful outlook on life.
And that coffee looks amazing! Do you want a job?!x

[clairey]

I've tagged you! xx

[Georganna]

Hello,
I just recently found your blog and it's lovely!
My daughter and family also love 'Nanny Mcphee' -- she has been on a quest to find good pics of this granny square afghan so she could make one like it for her little girl. I'll be forwarding your blog to her -- I know she'll love it too.
Georganna

[Lesley]

There is an award for you on my blog to collect :-)

That looks like the perfect summer your such an inspiration I didnt do half the things we planned!!
Lesley x

[cathleen]

Hey Lucy! I missed you and your colorful world of words and photos. Your lovely unique personality always manages to put a smile on my face. Welcome home.

[Alice]

Sounds like the horrible weather didn't stop you guys from having fun! We had a fair bit of 'crafty' things as well - notice I said 'had'. Quite a few bits seem to have already disappeared... hmmmmm, wonder how did that happen? lol. Are those icing pens really good? A while back, I think I made a mistake and bought a (bigger) tube of 'design icing' and I thought it was rubbish. Didn't realise there were 'writing' ones instead.

[crazyjane]

it sounds like a wonderful summer, can I come to your house next summer, I'll bring my own crayons promise?
Nanny Mcfee is one of my all time favourites too, wonderful colours, and I love the decor of the house espcially the hall way, my husband isn't so keen!!! I keep telling him it's the inspiration for our next house!!

[French Knots]

They seem so little when you leave them at the school gate don't they.
My two go back tomorrow and the house will seem really empty, until I get back into the rhythm of my days alone.

[driftwood]

your rainy days sound lovely, and so filled with colour, and I love the way you have reflected back over the summer, for some closure.
glad this mornings school drop off was easier, my two ran off without so much as a backward glance, so now I feel bereft and that they don't love me, so you just can't win.......

[simone]

You certainly know how to fill a day with activities. I have lived my summer through reading your blog. It has made me feel inspired, motivated and happy so thank you for all that. I am now inspired to make frothy coffee with a sprinking of chocolate!