The Moon

 Beautiful photo's of the moon taken by my very clever hubby :)

When the sun shone

 A few random photo's from when it was warm and sunny :)

Getting back to normal!

 Charlie has more or less got over the chicken pox now after a quite hard week of putting calamine on sore spots, itchy, crying bedtimes etc he is on the mend. So we have been playing games, Charlie isn't to happy about losing and games can sometimes end in a bit of a grump but he seems to have turned a corner and really enjoyed playing a new game we bought recently (making up the rules but having fun anyway).

 At the weekend we went to Speke Hall in Liverpool, wow, how can we not have discovered this gorgeous place before? Beautiful hall, brill playground, a maze (charlie loves mazes) and lovely walks. We will definitely go again :)

 A random photo of Charlies treasure box and how he loves to put his crystal collection in various order.

 Tree climbing at Speke Hall.

 My boys watching a mama duck and her babies on the pond.I did try to take a photo of the cute little ducklings but they were very well hidden amongst the lilly pads.

Charlie took this photo. We were walking in the grounds and came across this couple in period costume so Charlie very politely and confidently asked them if he could take their picture.

Aarghh..a moany post :(

Aaarghhh...OK, I understand if you really don't want to read a whinny post about a mama struggling and needing to talk about it somewhere..here on MY blog just about seems the right place.
Ive got a big dose of cabin fever, I MISS our long walks in nature or even just a walk to the co-op. Ive been so patient and understanding, Ive nursed our boy, gently and carefully whilst much crying was happening put calamine on sore pox, put cold wet flannels on hot foreheads and slept with a wriggly itchy boy.Ive played games, painted, crafted, read, watched children's TV, hugged a whinny, crying child, who really doesn't know why he is crying in the first place. Ahh I sound horrid moaning now don't I? But I'm tired too :(
Can I tell you also about my constant struggle to be at home with charlie and 'home ed' (sometimes I don't like the term home ed!!, we all learn all the time anyway), OK back to the point. In our house at the moment is mama, daddy, big brother and sisters, Kristy 22, Jake 21 and Lucy 18. Generally we all kind of live together doing our own thing, coming together at most mealtimes but also theres tension and bad moods to deal with, yes I know this is very normal in every family but....Lucy and I have a somewhat stormy relationship, we hug alot but we also mostly don't 'get' each other. She is only in college 2 days a week and so tends to be around the house  a lot as lack of money means tight budget for going out. Erm, tight budget as in Lucy hasn't got a job so therefore we still have to support her! Fair enough but I don't think we should support her love of clothes, make up and nights out with friends! This is where the problem lies. She follows me around whilst I'm trying to do activities with charlie, moaning constantly about everything, I am really struggling to carry on, We have had many heart to heart chats about being independent, helping out, not bringing the atmosphere down all the time but alas...OK..aaarghhhh..its all I can say.
I so want a peaceful life together, to enjoy home edding charlie without teenage moaning, without pressure :(
Whats the answer? I don't think there is one and maybe one day, we will look back and laugh about all this whilst right now I'm crying!
The one thing that keeps me sane is a bit cheesy I suppose but its true, every day I count my blessings, the blessings of 5 beautiful children and a wonderfully patient very loving husband.I needed to write this here as its part of our journey, the good bits and the bad. I need to remember it all.
Thank for being with me, you are all lovely friends x

Playing and chicken pox.

 Charlie loves to write and copy letters, we have the Waldorf Alphabet book which he uses most of the time, as he prefers the beautiful illustrations than ordinary 'learning' books.

 Poorly boy snuggling on the sofa as he has just started with chicken pox :(

 Nothing stops a bit of Lego building though.

Charlie made a fab castle scene.