Sunshine and Showers

Well what a mixed bag of weather we have had recently - torrential rains, gale force winds, and yet in the same day we can sit out and eat our evening meal in the calm and relative warmth of the setting sun. "April showers" it might be known as in the UK though here it is called "the winds of March" even though we have now left March behind. Locals are saying that it's a very late start to Spring.

It's not just the weather that's sunshine and showers, it's life in general here. We have so many jobs that need to be done

Fencing for the goat pasture
Fencing for the 'field hens'
Goats house to make
Chook house to make

Beehives to make and site

Plants to get out of pots and into soil

Veg to get planted up

Mulch to make and spread

Etc

...and so little time to do them. Now you may think that that's odd when both Ben and I are at home all the time, on the farm, but there are three little children that also need to be cared for, meals to cook, shopping to be done, animals to feed, crops to plant etc etc. The day looks like this.

7.30am - my day starts
7.30 - 8am - I get up, let out the fowl and feed both them and the pigs and change all the water bowls.

8 - 8.30am - R and B get up and need breakfasting help, getting dressed etc.

8.30 - 9am - S wakes and needs changed and fed, then breakfast of porridge.

9 - 9.30am - I get my breakfast (finally) and get washed and dressed.

9.30am - Ben gets up (sometimes at 9am if I'm lucky)

9.30 - 10.30am - I make bread, hang washing out, tidy some work surfaces

10.30 - 12noon - Chance to do jobs on the list for one of us whilst the other plays with children

12 - 1.30pm - Nurse S and get him off to sleep. Organise and eat lunch.

1.30 - 2.30pm - Collect eggs and change animal bedding. Get ready for afternoon outing

2 - 5pm - out doing something 'educational' somewhere other than LPM

5 - 6.30pm - I prepare the evening meal and do general house stuff plus feed the animals and birds. If the boys are settled, Ben gets chance to do another job on our list.

6.30 - 7.30pm - Eat meal and tidy up

7.30 - 8.30pm - Chance to catch up on emails, internet etc

8.30 -9pm - Get the troops ready for bed

9.15 - Go to bed.

So you see, in a whole day we maybe get about 3 hours in total to do 'jobs on the list' and it's only ever one of us at a time and some jobs would definitely be easier if it were both of us. That's the difficult bit about home-educating - that it always needs one of us to be on hand for the children. That's the 'showers'. But the 'sunshine' is that the boys are becoming interested in helping us and learning new life skills. In fact R is becoming an invaluable helper and indeed loves doing the animal related jobs.