B is now 11 and Little Miss is 7.
Our weeks are full with school, homework, housework, work, pets, gardening, after school activities, play dates and family fun.
B is a proper tween and exercises a lot of attitude on the family. He is still obsessed with Minecraft and it proves as annoying as it is useful currency to get him to do stuff. His favourite thing is to skype friends while playing online with them.
He has a lap top, iPod and an iPad but desperately wants a mobile phone. Managing his computer time is my least favourite mothering task. He works me, badgers me, massages my feet and makes me cups of tea, all for a bit more screen time. He is allowed screen time on Friday afternoons and on the weekends. And if I am soft after school one day, but everything has to be done. We use a timer, but shouting is usually involved to disengage the boy from the screen.
B has mastered Minecraft as well as learning swimming, football, karate, scootering, running, bike riding, shooting baskets, boogie boarding and chicken rearing. He loves his chooks and takes the responsibility of letting them out and locking them up extremely seriously. He has an internal alarm at sunset that makes him shout "CHICKENS" as he runs to their aid to lock them up for the night. Several fox sightings and chicken nightmares have etched this responsibility into him.
Little Miss is a different creature altogether. She loves to create- drawing, painting, crafting and general mess making. If she is not engaged in a crafty activity she can usually be found in bed reading.
With a love of all living things and mythical creatures her current favourites are slugs and dragons. (Not what I expected from my daughter) Slugs have been bought into the house through the adventures of SlugTerra, a TV series, iPad game and movie. She knows all about them in a worrying kind of way and adores some slug figurines she has proudly worn on a self-crafted bandoleer.
The Dragon Riders of Berk, from How to Train your Dragon books and movie fame have also captured her heart. Pictures of Toothless are taped up by her bed and owning a couple of dragon toys have started her saving pocket money for more.
Little Miss has mastered the art of swimming, ballet dancing, karate, back-bends, walking while in a back-bend, cartwheels, and one handed cartwheels. She uses a special pet voice when talking to the guinea pigs, and is eager to learn to play netball.
Little Miss has a special knack for thinking of great names for animals. Orlando is her guinea pig and Little Legs is baby Daddy-long-leg Spider she has adopted for a pet.
Little Miss has sadly not mastered clean up time, tidying her room is like a punishment for her and always brings on some tears.
